Joy & Hope…Retrain the Brain.

Two simple words. Yet all too the often these words fail to connect with humanity. All too often hate and sorrow are life’s constant companion. All too often if joy is captured at all it is but a brief glimpse, a blink of the eye…and then it’s gone.

How can we capture and experience true joy and hope? How can life become so much more potent and alive? It begins with a climb up a sheer rock face. Not a real climb mind you, but a journey within one’s thoughts and attitudes. This climb takes us from where we are to a place above in which we train our minds and prepare our thoughts. Where we change the thought patterns within our lives and attempt to see life around us as we have never seen it before.

This isn’t some new age philosophy here either. We aren’t attempting to reach within ourselves, and recognizing our bad habits within our own thoughts. We face the blatant behaviors and poor choices. We confront the darkness that resides within our minds. This is the place where hatred, selfishness, sadness, and greed reside. Our minds truly are a battle field. We wage a war that is mostly unseen. It may sound mystical but in reality where do our actions come from? -Our thoughts. Where do those choices come from which hurt others, hurt ourselves and lead us into deeper alleys of sadness? -Our thoughts.

What would happen, if we could change this pattern of thinking? What would happen if we could redirect our thinking and what we think on? What would happen is that we could begin to experience joy and hope not just in mere fragments but in every instance.

So how do we do this? How do we capture our thoughts and conquer these dark patterns?

1. Seek Guidance:

Understand that we have been created by God and that His fellowship with us can and will change and transform us. This isn’t some sort of dogma we chant or words we use to line up the masses all straight and uniform in organized religion either. This is a very personal and intimate relationship that God desires from each of us. When He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins He made a way for that relationship to be restored once and for all. So when we confess our dark patterns to Him and accept His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives we are accepting a better path.

This relationship offers guidance to a better way of living too. Do you know that followers of Jesus were once called ‘followers of The Way’? This is truth for us today. Because Jesus offers us a better way to live. One that frees us from the bondages of sin and those dark patterns of thinking.

His guidance is available to us and is truly the only way by which we can truly conquer the unhealthy and dark patterns of thinking. We begin this climb by asking for God’s guidance through prayer and supplication. But don’t stop with just your words speaking repetitions and utterances…listen.

2. Listening:

Part of the conversation with anyone and even God is not only talking but listening. This is where instruction and guidance can begin. We need to prostrate ourselves before God and be available to listen…simply listen. How else are we to hear from God if we do all of the talking? Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God…” Be still…we are to stop and listen, to be still and hear. Listening takes patience, silence from distractions and tuning into what God is saying to us. This act is truly an act of personal worship in a very intimate setting. It’s not some mystical mumbo jumbo that we do. You may not audibly hear God speak to you, but within our hearts resides his voice…within our soul He longs to permanently take up reside. He will speak to us in moments of silence and in moments of deep devotion. But all too often we are so distracted by the world around us that we hardly tune in to hear what he would say to us.

3. Meditate:

Not in some Eastern philosophy sense, but rather meditate on the very words of God. By that I mean read His words written for us in the Bible. Study it. Read the red letters of Jesus in the synoptic gospels. Read what Paul instructs the early churches to do. Understand what James has to say about the tongue in His book. Study the Bible, don’t approach it as some task or arduous homework assignment either. Do it out of love and devotion to God and the longing to live a healthier, holier life-style.

4. Discipline yourself:

Not by flogging yourself or punishing the flesh, by any means…but by being disciplined in your daily routines and attitudes. Be serious about wanting this joy and hope in your life. When we seek His guidance and listen to His voice we begin to find peace and understanding. We begin to want to spend more time with Him. For some five minutes in prayer is very difficult, but if we discipline ourselves in regards to prayer we will slowly begin to find five minutes isn’t nearly enough time to talk with God.

2 Corinthians 10:5b says, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We we can make this climb out of our dark patterns of thought through God’s help, we will begin to understand this verse. We can truly experience pure joy and hope because we have, through the power of the Holy Spirit, taken captive of every thought. And we are in turn thinking within the realms of Joy and Hope.

Does this seem far fetched to you? I hope it doesn’t because God does not want us to reside any longer in the darkness of our minds, but He wants us to surrender every nook and cranny of our body, soul and mind to Him. When we are or have done so little by little we can begin to experience this joy and hope in every moment of our lives.

July 12, 2013 1

Officership: A Calling For a Lifetime?

Some officers have struggled with this. Some officers haven’t. I have heard some argue about the lifetime calling while others argue the calling ‘for a season’. I would like to outline both arguments in this article. My purpose for this? To help clarify, not further muddy the waters. To shed light on both contentions and for the reader to draw their own conclusion.

So what is the calling of The Salvation Army officer? Do we deem it sacred? Is this calling infallible? Or do people make mistakes from time to time?

First let’s explore the Officer Covenant:

What is a Covenant?

In the Bible covenants were made by God to people. They were also made by people to God. And lastly covenants could also be made from one person to another. A covenant is simply a promise or an agreement, something that could be deemed as binding.

So when one enters into a covenant with God this person is making a promise to do or abstain from something. With the definition of covenant being given, let’s now explore the two main arguments that are prevalent in our Army today.

Argument #1

The Covenant an Officer makes to God is for life!

I have heard it said that within this calling, a Salvation Army Officer enters this covenant which is sacred. What makes it sacred? Certainly not a simple piece of paper with writing printed upon its surface? Of course not! There is, at the end of an Officer’s time at training college, a time of commitment made to God before their peers, the training staff and sometimes the territorial commander. When the soon to be newly commissioned officer sign this covenant page, they are declaring and affirming their calling to serve the Lord in the capacity of Officership. What is said about this signing by many, if not most, within leadership that it is a solemn declaration that is for a lifetime.

The argument has sometimes been taken to mean that should an Officer resign later on they have broken their covenant with God. I have heard stories of Officers who have left the work that were told that they had sinned against God for leaving the work and breaking their ‘Officer’s Covenant’. The Argument seems valid, yet could be construed as far too legalistic in nature. Who are we as fallible people to claim that another person has turned their backs on God?

There is a need for accountability and a standard to uphold, however this argument presents a challenge in that how do we uphold this perspective as individuals? In the legal sense should the terms we use be more clear? legally speaking what does ‘all my days’ mean? Is it ‘all my days’ that I’m an Officer? Or are we to take it to mean ‘all my days’ of life that God has allotted me?

I know this sounds superficial but some could interpret this Officers covenant to mean one of two things. So is this Covenant we sign for a lifetime or for a season?

Which brings me to the second argument:

Argument #2

The Covenant an Officer makes to God is for a season!

Some would express that within the Officer Covenant there is adequate enough verbiage to interpret what we sign as a calling ‘for a time.’ This isn’t generally how most view the covenant, however this is a part of argument #2 and its justification.

Do we truly sign our lives away so to speak and in an instant we no longer have independence in terms of where we will stay and where we will go? Obviously when one becomes an Officer it isn’t because we are hugely overpaid, nor because we feel inclined to become stylishly dressed in uniform. It is because we wish to serve the Lord and serve others through the means of Officership within the structure of The Army.

But does this necessarily mean that it is for life? Obviously Officers don’t view it as some sort of prison sentence and we plod on serving 20 to Life. But what happens should God call one who is an Officer to something else? Have they broken their Covenant with God or has God simply used the means of man to adjust that covenant into a newer and different territory?

Furthermore we shouldn’t presume that the workings of man are necessarily the working or the will of God in every instance. For in our holiness tradition we are taught that through the continued promptings of the Holy Spirit we look less and less like our old sinful self (old has gone, new has come) and more and more the image of Christ. In so doing we mature in our faith, could it be that in this maturity some have felt compelled to take a greater leap outside of the Army? I’m not arguing for all who have left, but some appear to have taken this leap.

Lastly on this argument looking back at the context of our Founders, William Booth specifically was quite militant in his view of Officership. Even his own children who had served within its ranks for a time then leaving were considered ‘deserters’ to the cause. This paints for many this notion that William Booth propelled and enforced our understanding of this Officers Covenant.

Grace, Prayer & Holiness:

One wonders where grace falls within the Army at times. When some leaders, a minority mind you, have condemned those who have left the work as traitors and sinners. Grace rises above such lowly expressions. We too ought to reflect and pray on how we minister to one another within this army. How we treat one another, while at the same time reminding each other to live holy lives and continued prayer and devotion.

We are in the business of saving souls, but the saving of souls isn’t done solely by uniforms and ranks and officials…it is done first and foremost by the blood of Christ and secondly the workings of the Holy Spirit. May we ever be diligent in this fight that we do not ostracize those who have, for whatever reason personal or otherwise, left this calling of Officership. That we continue to live worthy lives before God first and foremost and that we live within that grace instead of condemnation and militant rules and stiff regulations.

Standards are important, leadership is vital, but grace is often the shepherd loving the sheep and gently and allowing growth to take place out of love instead of might and fist.

July 11, 2013 1

Home Sweet Home

It’s interesting when you see these hanging in homes. For most it’s a sentiment that evokes love, acceptance, peace, somewhere to not only hang your hat but to rest. These signs are a dime a dozen in tourist shops and craft stores…trust me I’ve been to many of both. But the real sentiment which is relayed in these wall hangings can be found within our searching can’t it? We automatically identify places that are not home to us. Perhaps its in the decor of a place, or in the beds we sleep in, or in the company we find ourselves in. But in our searching we can identify where home is and where home isn’t.

Similarly this should be the case in our spiritual relationships. If we are familiar with our Eternal Father in heaven we can quickly identify where He does not reside. And if we are tempted and go to these places we will continue to feel ‘away from home’ in them. Isn’t it interesting that the places we call home don’t just make up things or tangible surrounds? The reasons we call certain places ‘home’ is because of a heart-attachment. By that I mean we are emotionally, historically, and internally attached to a certain place because ‘this is where I’m from!’. Do you see the context here? It’s not four walls of some building that makes a place home, it’s an attachment to us that goes beyond the physical realms.

Similarly in our searching we find ourselves asking ‘big questions’. Questions like ‘who made me?‘ or ‘Are we alone in the universe?’, ‘is there a God?‘, ‘Can I really believe what the Bible says?‘. You see we are all searching in some way, shape, or form for home. Ever since Adam and Eve initially were expelled from the garden of Eden we have been in search of home. Something within us is missing. A crucial life component that makes us whole again.

It’s like working so hard on a thousand piece puzzle and coming to the end of it and discovering you are missing one vital piece of the puzzle. Without that one piece, the puzzle is incomplete.

Intrinsically we are created in God’s image, yet because of this fall into sin, our image of God in us is severely marred…we are missing a piece from within us. This is what A.W. Tozer said on this subject:

“Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply “things.” They were made for man’s use, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him. But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul.

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and the things were allowed to enter. Within the human heart things have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.

This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble.”

Do you see now why we are still in search for home? As Tozer puts it, the sacred shrine within us that housed God has been replaced with the external things of this world. We have settled for the creation instead of the Creator. But sin is an utterly poor replacement for God. It’s like calling a mildewed and molded shack with no roof ‘Home’…and settling for something far below what God could provide us.

Our search for home is probably the most ancient sentiment and emotional attachment to this now vacant shrine within us. Everyone in all of creation has now been born with this longing to find home once again. There is a spiritual ache within us. And in order to be whole again we, like the prodigal son in Christ’s parable, have to come to our senses and return to Him. He longs for us to choose Him. When we consider the ‘slop’ we have put into our lives and within our ‘sacred shrines’ we cannot help but feel ashamed.

Yet Christ provides us this missing piece. Our image, our relationship can be restored…we can find that peace, perfect peace of Home once more? It can only be found at the foot of the cross. May we stop seeking and starting looking to the One who desires to make us whole once again!

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

July 11, 2013 0

Seeing the Miracles (Poem)

Perhaps it is in the simple things…

the catch in the throat,

the sliver of light cresting the horizon,

in the fresh morning dew lending itself

to the growing blooms.

Perhaps the eye catches but a glimpse

of God’s amazing miracle

appearing and disappearing all around

touching our souls,

igniting and renewing our faith…

perhaps that is what He meant

when He said, it is the blind leading the blind

for we donned on our pharisee clothings

we play our parts and move along

but the it is all brain work

closing off the heart valves

staving all emotion

as we simply go through the motions…

Yet perhaps we’ve miss the mark.

Perhaps we lost sight of His miracles,

closed our eyes and failed to truly see.

Oh that we may open them once again…

to catch miracles on our fingers

touching the blood coursing through

our veins

and then again ignite our souls…

perhaps this happens in an instant…

or in eighty years…

but dear Lord let these scales fall from

these blinded eyes again.

July 10, 2013 0

Get Ready!

“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites. ³I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” (Joshua 1:2-3)

Moses is dead. For a short moment the people of Israel are unsure of their new leader Joshua. He is to fill the sandals of Moses…a tall order. After all Moses gave them the words of God. Moses lifted his arms up as God dealt with the Amalekites. Moses was the conduit in which God set his people free. Now Joshua is to step into this role.

You can almost see the uncertainty in the people’s faces. If Joshua had not been a seasoned warrior and general already, mass mutiny and hysteria would have most certainly broken out. Yet Joshua was the right leader for the job! His resume was full, and he trusted God.

Looking out onto the mass of people that he now commands, for a mere moment Joshua is nervous. People are depending on him. So many lives depend upon him to make the right decisions as their leader. As the momentary panic escapes his chest with a quick exhale, he pushes all doubt aside. ‘I have full confidence in the Almighty to provide us the way’; he thinks to himself.

Though they have yet to cross into the Promised Land, Joshua is just as certain as he was 40 years ago when Moses had initially sent in the spies. Thinking back to that moment when He and Caleb were the only spies to give a positive report while the other ten spread doubt and dissension among the people. ‘Had they only listened then’; he utters to himself, ‘things would be so different now.’ Again Joshua sighs, this time in sadness and regret. ‘Perhaps if we had been more persuasive, they would have listened’, He wonders aloud. He grits his teeth in renewed frustration as he dwells for just another moment on the memory. Then, with rebirth of confidence and stubborn conviction he thinks to himself; ‘I won’t let that happen again!’

Then it happens, all at once. God speaks to Joshua. He had witnessed the glow emanating from Moses as he came down from an encounter with God, tablets in hand. But now as the voice of God speaks to him, he can’t help but quiver in fear. Joshua, the mighty warrior is in the presence of Almighty God. In his quaking and quivering, Joshua hears God say, “Be strong and courageous!” The words of God give him encouragement and instant strength! The One who spoke life into everything promises to be present and available. Joshua has the ultimate adviser known in the entire universe!

God tells Joshua to get the people ready and cross over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. This is the moment that he’s been waiting for! The wilderness has been inhospitable to God’s people. The hot sun scorches the barren rocky earth and destroys any attempt of planting crops or grazing cattle. Crossing the Jordan will provide them new life! A New hope! It is a chance at finally sampling the promises of God in a land that He has granted them.

Many have died before witnessing this day. Those who had not listened to God were all gone. Now redemption, a second chance…Joshua was not about to blow it! He would ensure that the people were ready this time! God again said to Joshua; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Joshua led with conviction and faith. He prepared God’s people for the crossing and the conquering of the land. He did not want to see the failure of an entire generation again! Later in his epic journey Joshua tells the people; “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

What faith Joshua possessed! When God told him to get ready and cross the Jordan, he got ready and crossed. When God instructed him to conquer Jericho through a daily march around its walls, he and his people marched! These new territories were foreign to him, and yet he trusted God to lead and to provide!

Application:

How about you? Is God calling you to get ready? Is He asking you to make a faith journey across unknown territories? We can’t sit on the sidelines and do nothing when God calls us. We must act! God tells us to gear up and get ready. Our response depends upon how much we trust Him. Will we go? Will we do what the Lord has for us to do? Joshua was a fearless leader who relied upon God to direct His path. May we do likewise in our lives today! We may not have to face huge armies and fortified cities like Joshua did, but may we but faithful to God! May we be prepared to cross our river Jordans when they come…whatever they may be.

-Just a thought.

July 9, 2013 0

Breaking The Stone Altar

It started out as a random conversation about our favorite books. Each person told us what was their all time favorite novel and why. Some were books we all knew and loved, while others were books somewhat foreign to us. As the conversation wound back around to the originator, someone hit upon a truth. We all were in agreement that we really loved the C.S. Lewis books, “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Someone indicated that they really fell in love with the Narnia world. Another lauded the characters of Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy, giving particular moments in the books that really struck them as ‘wonderful’ or ‘brilliant’ through these characters. Again we all went around the room and shared specifics of the books that we thought we memorable and epic.

Then, someone said it. I’m not sure who it was, but once the words were loosed it hung in the air like a lingering fog in the early morning hours. The lights went on in all of us as we all nodded in agreement.

The Epiphany: Aslan giving up his life resembled that of what Christ had done for us. Aslan was sacrificed by the White Witch on a stone altar.

For a moment no one spoke. Each person recalled the scene.

Then, it hit me. Aslan died for all of Narnia (which represented our world). He willingly laid down his life before the evil White Witch. Then, Aslan died. As a kid I remember hearing this story, my father reading it to me, and I wept. Still a lump forms in my throat even now as I remember it. Though, the story didn’t end in the death of the mightiest lion. As a matter of fact while Lucy and Susan wept bitterly over Aslan, something miraculous and completely unthinkable takes place. As the sun begins to rise from the darkness of night the stone altar that Aslan’s body is still resting on breaks in half and the great lion is resurrected.

How awesome is that?

Like Christ, Aslan dies for all the world. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Aslan is killed in the darkness surrounded by every evil thing in the world. But as soon as the sun crested the horizon that morning, resurrection takes place.

Jesus, God’s one and only Son arose. Aslan arose.

When Jesus died an earthquake shook the ground. The curtain in the temple, which separated the holy of holies, was completely torn from top to bottom.

Significance: God’s presence was said to dwell in the temple within this sacred space called the ‘Holy of Holies’. Only High Priests who were clean could enter this place. It was not accessible to common people. But when the curtain was torn it signified that God’s presence was accessible to everyone, and that He was not bound by four walls. He was omnipresent and and omniscient.

The Stone Altar Broke:

At sun rise, Aslan is resurrected. He comes back to life and at the same time the stone altar on which he was slain breaks in two. What could be significant about this? Could it be that the power and ‘creature made’ order was broken? Could it be that Aslan couldn’t be bound by evil? Could it be that Aslan couldn’t be bound by any creature? Could it be that the old ways were now destroyed while original intent was now restored?

YES TO ALL OF IT!

Do you see the significance of the breaking altar?

Man’s order of things, man’s fall, man’s rituals are broken. They are not paramount to the redemption that Christ offers! Christ came, He died, the curtain was torn, He was dead no longer and God’s original intent for the world was now restored!

The only thing that stands in our way from restoration then is OUR CHOICE.

We can choose to be restored and be made clean through His blood, or we can choose to reject Him. Either way it boils down to a choice we all have been given and we have to make. But the really amazing thing is that God has made Himself available to us…everywhere! Man’s order doesn’t bind God. Man’s rituals don’t impress Him.

The Stone Altar has been broken for all of us. Each of us are free to receive His presence…but we have to choose to received Him! We have been set free, what we do with this freedom and redemption is now up to us…I hope you choose Him!

“None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning–either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in it’s inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

“If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most, or else just silly.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

July 4, 2013 3

Attention: People Pleasers…it’s pointless.

When it is all said and done, our feeble meanderings and our efforts of people pleasing will be meaningless…in the grand scheme of things and in God’s glory if we have not lived as servants first and spent our time sharing the grace of God with others we will have little or nothing to show of our earthly efforts and endeavors. -Just a thought.

June 25, 2013 0

Broken Bread

Broken Bread

One night

Quite late

In adoration

Kneeling,

I pleased with

My new found Lord,

“Reveal Thyself

To me.”

So sleep stole in

Enfolded me

In sweet and

Welcome rest.

Now, in my home

Famished, hungry,

I found a loaf

Of bread unbroken.

Even as

I reached

To satisfy

My need,

Stood a Stranger

By my side

His eyes

Upon my bread.

Without a word

I broke it

Giving Him

The larger half.

Then as He passed

Into the room

Where dear Mother

Had lain in death

With burning heart

I shyly spoke,

“I know ‘tis You,

You’re Jesus.”

Round me His arm;

In Mother’s tongue

He softly said,

“Ich Bien!” (I Am)

Oft when I’m tired

Careworn and sad,

He whispers,

Oh, so gently,

I need you still

To break the bread

My hungry ones

To feed.”

So strengthened,

Satisfied, content,

I carry on

For Him!

(By Brigadier Harry Strissel, my Great-grand Father)

June 5, 2013 1

A Steadfast love!

Lamentations 3:21-23 (NIV)
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Do you sometimes have trouble recalling the love of God in your life? Are you far from God right now? Are there days when you wonder what God is doing with you? Are you struggling right now?

If the answer is yes and ‘I don’t know’ to these questions let me encourage you today. The inventor of love, the Creator of the Universe thinks that you are special! He thinks that you are worthy of His fellowship! Now when I bring that statement to mind how do you feel? I hope it evokes in you a warmth of love and peace because our Father in Heaven wants us all to know that we matter to Him!

These beautifully written verses tell us that His grace and love are new every morning for us. How awesome is that? No matter how badly we’ve screwed up in the past our God wants to mend and forgive. The only issue that keeps us from receiving these promises of love and compassion…is us. Do you doubt? We cannot allow doubt to replace faith in our lives. Doubt can pull us away from God because we just can’t grasp Him in a tangible sense. But know that He is there and faith is the evidence of things unseen and believing in Him!

Do you stumble and trip in sin? I want to caution you that this life isn’t a game. We are granted grace by God, but that grace isn’t some ‘get out of jail’ card that we flash every time we choose to sin and think callously ‘oh well God will forgive me.’ We have to get serious about our faith, meaning if it is in our power, which it is and God can grant us that power, we must avoid the trappings of temptation all together.

Yes God’s love and compassion are steadfast! These attributes of God are not going anywhere, but we have to wise up and shake up our lives in order to receive them from God! He is spurring us to change our patterns and to accept Him and His renewing grace every day! Will you receive it anew today? He loves us so very much and desires for us to love Him back without strings or conditions attached.

This beautiful passage always strikes a chord in my life and evokes for me a sense of His perfect peace that He offers anew to us each and every day. How awesome is that?!

June 5, 2013 0

Have You Forgotten???

Psalm 103:2-6 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Do you have trouble remembering what God has done for you? Are you lacking in your confidence that He is actually there for you? Sometimes it’s beneficial to read scripture passages such as Psalm 103 to bring to mind once again in great detail what the Lord has done for all of us. Look at these verse above once more…it says right at the beginning “forget not all his benefits.” The psalmist stresses the need to never forget the things that God has done for us, and then he goes on to list them for us, just in case we’ve indeed forgotten.

What Are the Benefits of God?

1. He forgives ALL your sins!

Not just some of your sins, but all of your sins! Think of it, what God offers to each and everyone one of us is complete and total absolution for our sins. The slate is literally wiped clean! When the slate is wiped clean, we are provided freedom from sin and death. This first benefit is epic in that we can be brought back into a right relationship with the Father. No longer do we have to be bound by the shackles of sin, but instead the binds of bondage are taken from us…we are free indeed!

2. He Heals all your diseases:

Don’t misunderstand here, perhaps we may yet have to endure actual physical health issues or struggles, but ultimate we will one day be complete healed and given new heavenly bodies. But God does in fact still heal His people here on earth. Miracles do still take place and He can provide this blessing of healing to those He deems in need of it…but the problem arises for us when we consider the question, ‘what if He doesn’t choose to heal me?’ When we submit our lives to God we take on a vital component of the Lord’s prayer in action in our lives when we pray, ‘Thy will be done.’

3. (He)… redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

Because God forgive ALL of our sin we have been saved from eternal punishment and instead have been given the right to be called sons and daughters of God! We have been grafted into the family of God because of Jesus Christ! He stands before us with nail scared hands and wraps His arms around us and showers us with His love! Isn’t that awesome to think about? His love and compassion escorts us into the family and we are able to sit before the Father of all creation because of Jesus and what He’s done for us!

4. (He) “satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”

Does God provide for you? Is He not the Jehovah Jireh in your life? God have given us all that we need, not all that we want. He provides us with the things that are vital to our lives, but be careful that you don’t mistake wants for needs. God will always give to his children that which we ask for in His name, not ours. Make sure the things we ask for aren’t for any selfish intent or prideful purpose, but rather humbly ask for things which God will grant to benefit his children living His kingdom out here on earth right now! He does satisfy our needs and He will sustain us and renew us within all our energies and motivations.

5. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Be assured that those who are oppressed, those who are serving Him through difficult circumstances and facing trials and persecution will one day find justice from those who have wronged them. This isn’t a vindictive statement but a holy truth. God is Lord of all including those who are unrighteous and those who oppress His people. Everyone will one day have to stand before God and take account for their actions here on earth. I know that God will bring His pure and true justice upon us all. I also know that God still works through the oppressed and impacts this world for His glory regardless if man and their kingdoms oppose His message. His will always prevails despite the attempts of the enemy to discourage and dismantle His cause. Know that despite their trials, and even ours that we serve a God who doesn’t fail even if we do. If we are faithful to Him and do what He asks of us, He will provide the victory even if we do not get to see it fulfilled in our life time.

Have you forgotten? Do you lack understanding of what it is exactly that God has done for us? Read this passage again and be encouraged! Understand the God is on your side and wants you to know that He prevails in and through all things! Don’t forget these awesome facts and bring them to mind whenever you feel discouraged or downhearted. May the Lord remind you in your times of trouble that you matter to Him and also what He provides to you still today!

June 3, 2013 1

Tag: God