New Years Resolutions....

 Therefore we… know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight…So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. II Cor 5:6&9

My Brothers and Sisters a Blessed New Year to You in Jesus our LORD,

A new beginning.  A fresh start. Another chance to do better.  Many resolutions are made after reflecting over the past year.  A perfect time to come humbly before the Lord of heaven and cry, “Examine me O Lord.”

Resolution: noun, a firm decision to do or not to do something. (will power) 

After becoming a Christian I realized how futile it was to make “New Year’s resolutions”!

My experience revealed that such thoughts and actions were another way of trying to make the old sin nature better, hence  acceptable to God. In my strength I was planning to live better and be kinder and love others. I would stop complaining and grumbling and express gratitude! My feeble attempt to live in such a way was to bring glory to God. This lasted about as long as a snowball on a hot sidewalk, and brought frustration and discouragement along with shame and failure. God has condemned the flesh and will accept nothing from it. Still it is so easy to fall back into self-dependence vs Christ-dependence.

 When a believer begins to discover something of the awful tyranny of the self-life, he becomes intensely concerned about the denial of self with the resultant freedom to rest and grow in Christ. ms

We have many ways to try and improve ourselves, one of which is making resolutions. How exhausting it is to keep our rebel self under control. More meetings, more Bible study, more prayer. All feeble attempts to have victory over sin and self, but it is not God’s way. Prayer, Bible study and scripture memory are very important and strengthen the ‘new man’, but will not accomplish actual change anymore than making a resolution; as it places our focus on keeping the resolution (on ourselves) rather than on Christ. God’s way of dealing with our rebel self and the beginning of all Christian living is the Cross. Death. The flesh will only yield to the Cross. Ours is to appropriate this truth: our old sin nature is crucified with Christ and we are risen with Christ; alive in Him.(Gal 2:20, Rom 6)

 

Paul: 'For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.' I Cor 2:2

 'I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God, in Christ.' Phil 3:14

Setting a goal by faith, knowing you cannot attain it without God, puts the focus on Him; for what is impossible with man is possible with God!  

Paul stated that he ‘might know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings being conformed to His death’… this was Paul’s goal! Being conformed to the likeness of Christ does not take place by taking up a resolution, but by taking up a Cross. Paul's goal was to please Christ  Cor 5:9.

And after all, is there anything in all the world to be compared with the joy of doing His will? I know of no other like it. ac

When you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. I set goals with the aim of pleasing Christ. I love to take one or two verses of scripture to be my 2012 verses which I record in my journal, memorize, pray and paraphrase. I love God's word it keeps on giving all year and sets my feet to dancing! Along with setting goals for exercise (physical/health) relational goals, artistic and intellectual goals, by faith I set spiritual goals. I desire above all else to know Him more intimately at the end of 2012. 

I want to ‘please’ Him. I do not have tomorrow nor do I own the next minute of life and it is arrogance to set resolutions that I believe I can keep. My prayer is 'Lord make my goal be to please You more than myself.' I know it to be truth that without Him I can do nothing. John 15

Father of every tomorrow, Keeper of my heart, You are LORD. You are worthy Holy One, You whom I love and follow. I know I cannot follow without a cross, keep me faithful to deny myself and take up my cross. You came and lived humility and gentleness and patience and You know I struggle with pride and fall short in every area. Pride always wants pass itself off as something more than it is. Lord thank you for Your mercy and goodness. I need Your grace. Without You I am nothing and can do nothing that matters beyond the grave. Teach me to walk with You humbly. I want to be like You. When Your Spirit is filling me I am not struggling to produce the fruit only You can produce, it is then You are glorified in me!  I am in awe of You, blessed be Your name Adoni, I am your servant. I pray this imperfect prayer, to my perfect Father, in the name of His perfect Son. I love You precious LORD,     Amen and amen

Without Him I am nothing and can do even less, there is great freedom in this! The Christian life is not about me, but about Him... O how He loves you precious ones,

az

The Eleventh Commandment

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. I John 4:16

Thanks be to God for His indescribably gift. II Corinthians 9:15

Dear Ones who love the Lord Jesus,

I hope this season is lifting you up rather than producing heart calluses. My heart was soaring this morning reading the Gospel of John and I was reminded men put in the chapter divisions. It is natural to stop at the end of a chapter for it gives an exact place to begin reading again. I like to go back a few verses into the previous chapter for contextual unity. Chapter 14 does not begin in verse one, but is a continuum of the Lord’s supper recorded in chapter 13. It was here I found something priceless. I so enjoy discovering 'connects' in His word! I define this as a 'Love' chapter! Love spoken, Love promised, Love demonstrated, Love incarnate washing dirty, smelly feet.

In John 13:1 Jesus knew His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father and then something precious is added in the narrative: ‘having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. He will so love us. He is the same faithful God yesterday, today and forever. These words were followed by a description of Jesus humbling Himself, removing his outer garment and washing the smelly, dirty feet of His self-centered, disciples who were just arguing about which of them was the greatest! His suffering was just ahead of Him and He encouraged His followers that He would be glorified and He gave these men, who were teethed on the Law of Moses, (10 commandments) a new commandment. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34

The answer to their self-occupation was  to love one another. Not just 'love each other' but get to the truth of what it means to love. Jesus said 'love as ‘I have loved you’. This changes our normal perception of loving and we must conclude He is asking the impossible, unless we take up our cross and follow Him we can never love as He loved. To love His way is to reveal Him to a lost world as Savior of all. He challenges them saying, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (14:15) This connects directly to verse 34 in Chapter 13 and the new commandment He gave them and indirectly refers to their pride revealed earlier.

I think Jesus was saying this to the disciples?

'If you truly love Me you will lay down your pride and serve others. You will stop arguing and maneuvering to promote yourself and instead become servant of all. To love Me you must love others.

To love God with all our heart means to obey His word and willingly have fellowship with Him. It means to sigh after and long for Him. How false is a love that takes no pains to go and see One it loves! ff 

When I tell God I love Him with all my heart, am I embracing my cross or just using words I have been taught?

The Lord loved to the point of laying down His life for us. Do we love Him according to His example? Let us cry out to Him for the impossible that He will love through us. Life will stop being about our being loved and become about Him loving others through us. John speaks much of love and it is interesting that he ends the Gospel asking Peter, "Simon do you love me?" three times. Kneeling put your name in place of Peter's listening as God ask you “Do you love me?”. 

That best portion of a good man’s life are His little nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. Ww

There is a wonderful happiness in being loved, we all know it; but the further we go on, the more we know that what matters most is not to be loved but to love. ac
God did not begin strong and then become weary of loving and say: “I quit, this was a big mistake!“ He did not begin with me like a pot on the potter’s wheel and when I became marred walk away. He already knew I was a hopeless case, found wanting and cracked beyond repair, unfix-able! His plan all along was to rescue me with His love and grace; giving me a new nature and eternal forgiveness. There is no greater gift.

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

We need to trust all that God’s love gives and all that His love withholds. What a privilege to be a vessel He willingly pours His love through. It will have a ripple affect and who can say where it will go and whom it will touch. I believe the world has yet to see what God will do through one wholly surrendered, crucified life.

  Abba, Daddy, You who defined Love on earth, You, the indescribable gift of God, revealed what love is to a harsh, self-inflated world. I so need Your love to remake me and refine me and fill me to serve the way You have planned. I want to love You perfectly but cannot. Enable me to embrace and live the eleventh commandment by Your Spirit in me. You are Strength to lay aside my pride and enable me to serve loved ones and those You bring into my life. I am so quick to be self-centered. Help! When I do not take up my cross and reckon myself dead to self and sin I make life about me. Forgive me and cleanse me. I want to remove all that hinders and be filled with Your Spirit for only You can live this love-life through me. I bow and fix my eyes on the Cross. Imprint on my heart what it means to love as You loved Jesus, in Your most holy Name I pray. amen

Merry Christmas, a blessed Holyday,
az

The Joy of the LORD...

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Dear Brothers and Sisters who are loved by the LORD,

Joy….  His desire for us. His prayer for us. His gift to us. His strength for us. His command. Joy!

Let this familiar scripture meld, becoming your strength. How often I read beloved portions of God's word, tasting the comfort and encouragement, but do not move on to something far deeper. God desires His truth to go beyond head knowledge. Beyond reading and memorizing. He desires to engage my heart, as His word is ingested, shaping who I am. He makes Himself known to me! This moves me to tears...

 A plethora of scriptures on joy shout ‘grace’. In John 17 Jesus prays for believers and for those who will believe in Him through their testimony (that’s us!). “these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.vs 13 Jesus is asking the Father that we would know His joy fully and in the same breath He speaks of great difficulties we will experience. We will be hated because we are not of this world and so He prays for the Father to keep us from the evil one and goes on to request that we be sanctified in Truth: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth v17  Lock onto Jesus words for they explode with grace as He applies joy to life.

In context... what has joy to do with being hated?  the joy He prays for us has naught to do with things going smoothly or circumstances being conducive to happiness. Joy is much richer. No diet food here. Joy is the richest of God’s gifts. Not  dependence on our feelings or smooth sailing; but strength for the hard days. I am to trust in the One who proved it true: fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross... Heb12:2  

What has joy to do with being tortured?!

       1.   Not just any joy, it's His joy!= grace

2.   Joy for us in our world now, not just in the future with Him = grace

3.   God the Son asks for our protection, so His joy is ours even in danger= grace

4.   Joy is ours in spite of how we are treated!= grace

       5.   Joy independent of circumstances= grace

       6.   Joy for every trial= grace

I see grace meeting every need. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

 The Thessalonians knew joy in much tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 1:6
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Psalm 70:4

As I first read this I did not see that this is a command. In spite of all that will come against me, in spite of grudges, resentment, loss, lies, loneliness, misunderstanding, His joy is mine as I choose to receive it from Him. This sets my feet to dancing!  My loving Father has planned well.

“He calls us then to make an act of faith every time we would naturally be pulled down into the pit of joylessness, for there s an end set to the sin and sorrow and confusion of the world as well as to our own private trials. We only see today. He whom we worship sees tomorrow. “ ac

Reckon: to count as true

In the beginning of our Christian walk we begin to reckon on Truths for our salvation. We reckon on Christ’s death on the cross for our sins and count on the shed blood for cleansing. Gradually we fall back into depending on our own strength to live the Christian life. Only after years of failure in life and service, are we prepared to recognize the battle between our old sin nature and the Spirit of God inside us. We must come to a point of need before we surrender and take up our Cross and follow Christ. If we neglect reckoning ourselves dead to sin of Romans 6, we will end up in the muck of Romans 7 until we are so discouraged we cry out for help. Eventually we embrace the truth Jesus not only freed us from the penalty of sin but also from its power and domination. Lack of joy is just unbelief. Unbelief is sin. We easily ignore unbelief as if we cannot help it. But in our exhausting struggle we are growing hungrier and hungrier for the Truth that will move us into Romans 8. God uses failure in powerful ways in our lives. We must see we have a ‘choice’ and are responsible for our what we choose.

When I fail to reckon upon and abide in the Lord Jesus as my new life, the old life expresses itself by ‘the works of the flesh’ in my members. Paul wrote this: neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Rom 6:13

Where does joy fit into this struggle? When I am wrestling with my old sin nature; walking by faith seems impossible, I must accept that it is impossible and fall back on my life verse:  Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.

This is not true because I reckon it so, but I reckon on it because it is true. I am risen with Christ; alive in Him. His joy is mine. I am a new creation in Christ. My reckoning has to do with my position in Christ, not my condition. His fruit in me is by the Spirit. His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Galatians 5:22-2

Crucified One, You who have intricately planned good things for me and allowed me to know You, I bow. I get weary of my old sin nature lifting the lid of the casket and usurping its boundaries. Teach me to reckon on the truth of Your provision. You were victorious over satan at Calvary, he is a defeated foe. You are my life. I want to bow and thank You for the joy You provide in situations that are void of happiness. You are my joy, I have all that I need, O Loving King. Your nearness is my good. I pray in Your name and for Your glory, amen

Brothers and Sisters, you are loved and prayed for. Feel free to leave a prayer request. Thank Him for the joy He has planned for you and the grace that brings it... no grace, no joy.

az

Face to Face

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face… faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:12-13

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Nature’s measured seasons come and go faithfully. Life’s seasons are reflected in nature. We endure winters that try our spirits and result in our dependence on Christ; in this dependence rests our spiritual growth and fruitfulness. Just as in nature the fruit producing plants and trees need winter. Each winter (trial) we endure strengthens our faith as we cast our care on Him; proving His love and faithfulness over and again. The best part of this is that we are crowded to Christ and He allows us to know Him more deeply. Invite this Truth to pierce your heart as you realize that in your need He reveals Himself to you. This is humbling.

"The great work of the Lord Jesus was wrought on the Cross to bring us to the Father; His death and His Blood, His ascension and sitting on the Throne; all mean one thing–our being brought nigh to dwell in the Father's presence. And with what object? That the Father may have us, to mature us, to work in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight. Let no one think that the entrance into the Holiest is the end; it is only the beginning. It brings us into the right position, in which the Father in His divine power can work out His will and purpose in us–conforming us to the image of His Son." -A.M.           AMEN!

The more we rest in His Spirit the more we are brought into right position allowing Him to work His purposes in us; conforming us to the image of Christ. Only then do we truly reflect Jesus to a lost and dying world.

I have found His nearness creates a greater desire to be near Him. Time with Him satisfies my hunger but inexplicably creates a deeper longing and hunger to be near. I wake in the morning wondering ‘is this the day?’ Will I get to see Him today? I thought of A.W. Tozer’s words, ”We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.”

Worship calls me to seek Him with all my heart. The word ‘worship’ means to ‘feel in the heart.’ It is not a ritual nor a religious act, but my whole being in response to the living God, who loves beyond definition! Love enough to pay my sin-debt, by a sacrifice of His only Son Jesus for my salvation. Heaven is not  only a place we access after death; but now. Eternal life is not someday, but now!

"The Lord Jesus stood where I was, and now I stand where He is, and that is the only place I have before my Father. We may fail and grieve the Holy Spirit, but that is where we are set." -J.N.D.

His church needs to move beyond being grateful they are not going to Hell and realize it is paramount as believers to live out of our heavenly position. For we are in Christ by faith, as we repent of our sins believing Christ died for us personally and we invite Him into our lives as LORD, instantly the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13  

Take notice of the hundreds of times in scripture it will say: “in Christ” or “in Him”. In Ephesians 1 you will find it about a dozen times. It is two of the richest words in scripture. Feel them warm your heart as you read and study His word and rest beloved.

 

Anyone who has ever traveled any distance with a child has probably heard this refrain: ‘Are we there yet?’  My question many mornings “Lord, am I there yet?’ Could this be the day I will see You face to face? Am I there yet? is it time? In my growth I will never reach the point of perfectly bearing His likeness. But one day, when my precious Lord returns to take me home, or I die and leave this body behind I will see Him face to face. I long for this day.

There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

Am I there yet? No, but it may be in this next instant!! O what glory that will be!

Psalm 29:9

The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Lamb of Glory, You who disguised yourself in human flesh and allowed evil men to crucify and abuse You, all to give us life! I bow in awe and tremble with wonder when I think of You and the power it took to speak the billions of galaxies into space! Thank You for being a God I cannot comprehend or manipulate or explain! If You were to manifest Yourself to me right now, I would literally sink to the floor in dread and fear. My physical body could not tolerate Your holiness and Presence. Thank You for providing me with a new body when I am finally home. I tremble when I think of seeing You face to face. I have never known the pure, up-close Love You are…. It melts my heart. I love You Abba, keeper of my heart.

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me! Job 19:25-27

Am I there yet?

az

Light of the World

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

Dear Family,

I am in awe! God’s word is alive! I love it when His word connects in my head and heart as I am reading and His Spirit brings related scripture to the forefront; It sets my spirit to dancing. At other times one verse can stop me in my tracks. I know God reveals Himself in creation, but creation is not enough to convey the Truth of who He is or of His great love for us. God chose to give Himself in a most intimate and revealing way through His Son Jesus Christ. Hear the words of Jesus in John 14:9 “He that has seen me has seen the Father.”

Who would have expected Jesus to say, “I am the Light of the world?” Isn’t that comparable to saying ‘I am the sun and moon and stars? Is it early morning? perhaps the sun is just rising. The sun was a symbol of Jehovah God. (Psalm 84:11) There is only one sun for our earth. What did Jesus mean by declaring, “He is light?”  

It is rich in Truth, Purity, Righteousness! His Light not only banishes the darkness that causes me to stumble; He lights the path He has marked out for me. How often I have read something amazing like this and just mundanely continued reading without even being ambushed by a question or a spirit of awe! Today it captured me. What if there were no light? We could not live! What if we had to create light? Or we were required to deserve, purchase or earn light? We are no more capable of creating or sustaining light than saving ourselves.

As a small child I remember being afraid of the dark. I was the youngest. On our way home from the skating pond (a few blocks from our house) my older siblings would take off running. I was left far behind in the dark, accompanied by their residual laughter and the frightening echo of words shouted to scare me silly.

Love so pure brought Christ into my religious darkness; bringing Light to my soul, a soul shadowed by fear and sin. When His Light shines the darkness of sin is revealed in men’s hearts; but His Light also brings hope and the promise of forgiveness. Don't you just want to kneel in wonder and thanksgiving?

God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. I John 1:5

I loved the words Jesus spoke, “he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life.” To walk in the Light I must follow, to follow I must take up my cross daily, counting myself dead to sin and alive to God. If I do not take up, my cross I am not following the crucified Savior. Please hear this. We have a cross.

All our religious activity does not  enable us to walk in the Light of the Savior. Let Truth sink in as you meditate on this scripture in John 12:26 and Matthew 10:38

If anyone serves Me…  he must follow Me if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. We have a cross.

As I walk in the Light, Jesus keeps me and protects me and comforts me. The darkness will not overcome me! To be His disciple and have fellowship with Him I must follow and walk in the Light as He is in the Light. The world, my flesh and the devil are always ready to bring darkness into my home, especially through electronics. It is much easier to fall into sin when it is served up as a sweet side-dish with every choice we make. But we have a cross.

…there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. A new cross a new philosophy. The old Cross has little place today. The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. The old Cross is a symbol of death. God saves the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life. God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. We want to be saved but insist on Christ doing all the dying. So subtle is self that scarcely anyone is conscious of its presence. awt   Remember ‘we have a cross!’

As our Substitute, He went to the cross alone without us, to pay the penalty of our sins; as our Representative, He took us with Him to the cross, and there in the sight of God we all died together with Christ. We may be forgiven because He died in our stead; we may be delivered because we died with Him. mjs

He died for us hopeless incurables, to bring Light to our darkness. Hallelujah! Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. How can it be that He allows me to shine His light in my words and actions? That sets me to tremble!

He is our Light and Victory. The Cross is the secret of it all; It is what He did there that counts, and what He did becomes a force in the life of a Christian when it is appropriated by faith. We are not to just believe in Him for salvation truths but trust Him by following. This is the starting point at which all godly living is born. We will never know Christ’s victory in our lives until we are prepared to count (reckon) upon His victory at the cross as the secret of our personal victory today. mjs

Holy One, I come to You, You who are the Sacrifice Lamb, You who came to take away the sin of the world, I bow in awe of You. Light so pure I cannot comprehend it. Death and the grave could not hold You! Glory to Your Holy Name! Because You went to the Cross I am free. O Lord, keep me from living as though I do not have a cross. Teach me to humble myself and take up my cross daily and follow You. Keep me from pretending to walk in the Light, pretending to be your disciple and lead me to life that pleases You. Thank You for indwelling me. It makes all the difference; for as I count myself crucified with You and surrender for You to live in power through me. I have a cross and when I take it up and follow You I have fellowship with You! Sweetness indescribable. Lord, I love the Light! Thank You! Wow….

In the name of the Lamb of God, I pray.

az

Where did the Quiet Go?

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. II Corinthians 11:3

My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him. Psalm 62:5

My precious Brothers and Sisters,

Though simplicity may be our desire I find it counter-intuitive to the way we live. In our complex culture daily life is anti-simplistic. In reading Christian classics it is obvious the great saints of the past embraced quiet in their living. They paint a very different picture of a spiritual walk, on the canvas of their lives, than we experience. We overflow with endless activity and make lists awash with all we must do. At one time these characteristics described a secular life. Today, sadly, it is true of much of the church. They have forsaken ‘quiet’ and are strangers to ‘Be still and know I am God”. 

As the years have passed I long for freedom of simplicity. ‘LORD, how does one go from a life of busyness in an all but quiet life, where guest-rooms are lacking guests and our storage is overflowing with stuff, while the clutter of work-saving conveniences spills from our cupboards? ‘LORD, where is the simplicity that invites You to be our Days? Is it busyness or the false security of our cherished clutter which plugs our ears and keeps You at a safe distance?’

Pascal speaking of young people and nowadays people in general: Their lives are all noise, diversions, and thought for the future. But take away their diversion and you will see them bored to extinction. Then they feel their nullity without recognizing it, for nothing could be more wretched than to be intolerably depressed as soon as one is reduced to introspection with no means of diversion.

G. Thomas:  Our chaos of the soul and busyness of the spirit robs us of our God-given destiny to find fulfillment in a relationship with Him.  A voice deep within our souls tells us something is wrong, but we are too afraid to slow down and find out how life could be different.

Pascal: Young or old, rich or poor, powerful or weak, influential or anonymous… the thing we fear most is quiet. Yet inner peace is conceived in the quiet. Without quiet we grow restless.

         G. Thomas: The more people rejoice over something outside God, the less intense will be their joy in God: and the more their hope goes out toward something else, the less there is for God.

          For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, 2 Corinthians 1:12

         To begin cultivating simplicity is difficult; it hurts!  It’s quiet! But the reward is immeasurable. God gives Himself. He delights to communicate to us who He is! His nature is to give because He loves. God is not selfish and keeps nothing from us that we are ready to receive. Unbelief weighs us down like excess baggage. When I am wrapped up and entangled at every turn by busyness and ‘stuff’, I am left numb by its assaults, jaded, and without energy to care about what is really important. Like Young Augustine who wrote: “thus with the baggage of this present world was I held down pleasantly, as in sleep.”

         Hear this:

         No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life (stuff!), so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. II Timothy 2:4 “Lord, remind me often it is You I am to please and this life is not about me.”

         For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires (stuff) which plunge men into ruin and destruction. I Timothy 6:7-9

Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for He, Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

         I wound the One I love, grieve His Spirit as I let stuff get in the way. Material stuff, busy stuff! Things to do, places to go, people to see. Isn’t that how we do life? Where is the quiet? Out in the world I often hear, “It’s all good”. No, to be political incorrect, it’s not all good! (Is this verbiage the secular version of Romans 8:28?) Without apology I state, ‘all things are not good, only God is good, always! Only God takes all our messes, our sins and all that is not good, even our feeble efforts to serve Him, and He works all things to create the likeness of His Son Jesus in us. Hallelujah! What is impossible with man is possible with God.

         If I am abiding in my risen Lord, it will show itself. I shall not be afraid of changes around me. I shall live not in apathy and listlessness, but in the exercise of lively affections and energies toward my Lord, Another great evidence of my abiding in Him is quietness. I have my portion in Him above and I walk on. JND

         I am humbled that He honors my quiet;

         Lord, I need the quiet. You who command the angel armies, teach me to find quiet each day whether it is short or long, I want to be with You and know You intimately. Lead me to simplify my life that I might know You as my ‘Life’. Reveal where I waste time or expect too much from myself. I really need discernment for I view things so differently than You. Enable me to do the next thing that pleases You. I am Your servant, Adoni. I pray in the beautiful Name above all names, Yeshua. amen

Quiet is so uncomfortable sometimes.    az