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

God's Timing

 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! II Corinthians 13:5

Dear Brothers and Precious Sisters in our Lord Jesus,
Scripture tells us to examine ourselves.  While engaging in self-examination we must be cautious not to be sidetracked by taking our eyes off Christ. The enemy will even use ‘good’ things to keep us from our true focus. My mind refused retreat as I reflected on spiritual growth.  ‘Is my walk in the faith? Do my words and the tone of my voice reflect faith? How does God feel about complaining? Gossip? Lies? What about my attitude? Do I walk to be noticed and approved by men or to please God? When you cannot pry sins grip from your ankles what do you do?
The Father has left us as much dependent on the Lord Jesus work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness. It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross (died to sin) that sin’s power for those in Him is broken.” MJS
For the last few years I have met once a week with mothers to pray for students and staff from the high school. My granddaughter was my student last year. God allowed a long, gut-wrenching test in regards to this prayer time when a mother, new to our group, joined us changing things. Even the day and time changed. I found myself annoyed with the changes and critical thoughts bombarded my mind. I was flummoxed and could not think of a single reason I should not like her, but my natural self did not sync with this woman. I am embarrassed to remember how even the way she pronounced her students name, repeating it over and over in prayer, grated on me! I bulked in my heart at being paired with her to intercede. Pretty ugly. As I type, I feel my chest tighten just the way it did last year. I hurried to my car as soon we finished praying that first week. As God held up His holy mirror so I might glimpse my sinful heart condition, I questioned 'why am I feeling this way? I like almost everyone! What is wrong here? Help LORD!
Then Jeremiah 17:9: pierced my heart…
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
Repenting, I felt all was fine.. but the struggle for my mind was merciless as I wrestled with my ugly feelings. Falling on my knees in repentance numerous times would not relieve me. Was I not crucified with Christ? I committed Phil 2:5-10 to memory. It speaks about my attitude being the same as that of Jesus Christ … ouch. . My attitude was far afield from the love of Christ. I would reckon myself dead to sin and claim Romans 6:14 that ‘sin shall not have dominion over me.’ How often I spoke the words, “I am crucified with Christ.” Then each week I experienced this too familiar battle as my feelings raised my old sin nature right out of the casket

As the battle raged I quoted, “I walk by faith not by sight. (II Corinthians 5:7), “Not I but Christ”. In brokenness I cried out ‘LORD, love her through me. Why am I struggling like this? Change me! Help LORD, this woman has done nothing to deserve my disdain!!’ To my disappointment the year ended with out any significant change in my heart and I struggled, confessing my guilt and unbelief and finding rest in Christ. “I am trusting You with all I do not understand . Thank You LORD for teaching me though I ‘feel’ I have not gained a thing, but have messed up, refusing to count myself dead to sin. Thank You for all You have for me in this trial. You are faithful beyond imagining.”

Driving to Mom's prayer meeting this year I thought again of this woman. Her name had not surfaced for months. I prayed, “Oh no, You are not going to allow me go through this again are You LORD?” In surrender I prayed, ‘Your will be done Lord, just don’t pair me with her to pray.” These prayer words barely left my silent lips when they were replaced by a smile. For I knew in that instant my Father-God was going to do exactly that. What does God think when we tell Him in our finite foolishness what to do?  I smiled again when I found myself sitting across from her. The most amazing thing... there was not a trace of struggle emotionally! Not a finger print of disdain! Were negative feelings playing hide and seek? Not one negative feeling was anywhere! I was not expecting this training period of the LORD to be suddenly over. I wanted to shout Hallelujah and dance around my chair, but it may have provoked a question or two which I would not want to answer. Instead, I unexpectedly began to cry for I was in awe of how my Father works. This was huge for me. God gave a sweet time of fellowship with this sister. I received a miracle.  Freedom so sweet I am not sure my feet touched the ground when I left. My car became a sanctuary of praise as I made my way home.
 As for God, his way is perfect... Psalm 18:30
You may not have such strong and clear feelings of deliverance as you would desire to have, but humble yourselves in His sight, and acknowledge that you have grieved the Holy Spirit by your self-will, self-confidence, and self-effort. Bow humbly before Him in the confession of that, and ask Him to break your heart and bring you into the dust before Him. Then, as you bow before Him, just accept the teaching that in your flesh “there dwelleth no good thing,” and that nothing will help you except another life. AM”
Christ in you, living by His Spirit, not your trying hard to be like Him. His fruit. His will. You died and your life is hid with Christ in God. Col 3:1

Casting my self-life at the feet of Jesus and trusting in Him to work His will, in His time, is never easy. There is no deliverance to be found in anyone else. Is there anything to kind for Him to do? No not one thing. If He will do this for one like me in my need, will He not abundantly provide in His way for His children wherever they are?


Majestic One, Divine Creator, I bow before You my deliverer. Thank You for Your cleansing blood and for taking the ‘all things’ in my life an using them to transform me into Your likeness. I long to be an extension of your love and Hope and Peace. Thank You I do not have to hide my struggles or focus on them for You already know all there is to know. Only You can change me as I trust You to work. Enable me to live so that I will not let troublesome days pass without gleaning from them what only troublesome days can give! I want to live in such a way as to bring You glory and Hope to this lost world. I desire to do Your will to the smallest detail. I surrender. My life is ‘not I but Christ’ for..


I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!. Job 19:25-27

Come soon Lord Jesus,

 az







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The Race Marked Out for You

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Brothers and Sisters in our Sovereign LORD,
What a powerful scripture this is for encouragement and instruction. God's Sovereignty is personal, like sweet perfume, causing me to dance in delight and praise. I am awed that there is a race personally marked out for me! There is security and rest knowing nothing can come my way without first receiving His permission. All passes through His hand for His approval. Nothing is overlooked and nothing sneaks past His will for me. Not one thing. Why? because the race I am running is marked out for me by Jesus Himself. The warnings intimate there will be encumbrances and sin ever ready to entangle us. Anything to keep us from running the race He has set before us. Therefore I am instructed to run with patient endurance. Most importantly, as I run, I am to fix my eyes on Christ. This requires a conscious choice to focus on Him instead of whatever opposes me. I am to consider Him, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. To put my mind on Him who endured such hostility of sinners against Himself, so I will not grow weary and lose heart! (quit running, give up, lose focus, or embrace  discouragement)

Consider Him. 'Consider' indicates to ponder, to think over by weighing or comparing...we are to consider all our Savior endured in His life and death. This  key opens the door to a good race. Would He ask us to endure if it were not possible? Each of us has met with the temptation to quit. We have all 'felt' like throwing in the towel! When I have felt most compelled to quit are, I am ashamed to say, when living is about 'me'. On the contrary, when I have taken a long, deep look at the Cross I am strengthened to take up my cross and my living is "not I, but Christ". (Galatians 2:20) This Cross of death gives life and Hope. Have you ever placed yourself at the foot of the Cross? What do you see? really focus, look past the blood spreading over the ground. Can you hear the groans of pain? Hear the thunder and see roiling clouds? Listen to the words He speaks with strained effort? This man who looks so ordinary until you lock eyes with Him and hear words uttered out of unspeakable suffering. See beyond the physical suffering. This One who hangs in naked shame and has chosen to shoulder the worlds sin out of nothing less than Love, is He who marked out your race! Shall we complain? The Father marked out the race for His Son and His race took Him to the Cross. Prostrate in awe of the Most High God.
When we finally understand that the Lord Jesus is our Life, we will no longer think in terms of 'me'. In my prayer should my attention be to unite God's will with mine? Is He a cosmic vending machine who is supposed to crank out what I ask for as I push the right buttons (go through the motions)? I read that the mark of a truly classic spirituality is rare today. "The saints of centuries past struggled in a different way-- not to get God to do our will, but to die to ourselves so we can accept God's will." GT
A woman I greatly admire at church has struggled for many years with health issues resulting from a car accident of which she was not at fault. She is my heroine. I have never heard her complain. She also has suffering as a mom and mentioned her daughter was struggling with infertility. Anyone familiar with infertility is aware of what a painful journey it is. Though painful it should not be hurtful. Yet this young couple were told they needed to search themselves to see if there was any sin of which to repent, as this may be God's discipline. This was cruel, hurtful and wrong. I think of Paul who suffered much and it wasn't because of sin.
God marked out Paul's race and it included much suffering. Read what Paul wrote...
 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;  sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. II Corinthians 6:3-10
Surrender doesn't come easily for me! I am independent. I like the fast lane and the shortest route to get where I am going. God allows enough speed bumps or a slow car in front of me to cause me to stop, focus, and take a deep breath and swallow the complaint that was playing on my lips..."Why do they have to move so slow?" It may be I should ask 'why do I move so fast?' True faith considers Him and listens for His voice. Surrender enjoys His Presence and though it may be a struggle, comes to a point of realizing it is not my great my faith, or how 'perfect' my prayer, but how great and how perfect He is yesterday, today and forever. Believing He is sovereign means I can pray the perfect prayer in any situation, "LORD not my will, but Your will be done" and mean it!  This would certainly reduce the amount of presumptuous prayers.  A 'God heal me or else mentality.' Though we do not phrase it as such our attitude is that we assume only healing will bring God glory. Why do we think that or is it we just want our own way? God heals. God also chooses not to heal. God gives and God takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.God carefully chooses the vessels He allows to suffer the mystery of His will. He trusts them with a trial the average Christian will not be allowed. As He creates the likeness of Christ in these chosen ones, they bring forth the sweet fragrance of Christ, as trials crush and press and relentlessly. Those who have been hurt deeply, He often uses greatly. May God have mercy on those who in presume to judge others. Things may be going well in their life and so they speak out of shallow, self-righteousness. It reminds me of Job's 3 friends who criticized Job without hesitation. God had harsh words for them. God instructed them to humble themselves and 'go to Job and he will pray for you' so that God would not deal with them according to there folly. Job 42:7-9

'The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.' Galatians 5:7  Let those words find a place in your mind and heart and digest them and pray them and feed on them. Love doesn't wound a brother or sister. If you who have been wounded by a fellow Christian I encourage you to forgive. Hear Jesus words from the Cross: "Abba, forgive them for they know not what they do." God in love is preparing you for His purposes by the race He has marked out. Are you dancing? This is so amazing. . Life is a battle and it will always be. Give thanks for we only have to live it one moment at a time.

Abba, You who have marked out my race. Who better to mark it out for You who know me intimately and love me immeasurably. God of mercy I thank You for the suffering that draws me near for You are Comfort and Refuge. I long to please You and trust You. I long to bring You glory. When the race takes me to deep places and Your Spirit seems to move away and I am tested with loneliness and failure and inadequacy, carry me. Who else hears my cry for Help? Fill my heart with faith to trust You for all you give, all You allow and All You withhold and with every turn and stop and contradiction. There is so much I do not understand though I long to love You well. You who are power beyond comprehension, i quake exceedingly as I get small glimpses of Your greatness and wonder how can I ever serve You, Adoni, my Adoni... my tears wash your feet as I bow before you. I love You.

az

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All Means All

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust,

Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day. Good and upright is the LORD;
And He teaches the humble His way.

All the paths of the LORD are loving-kindness and truth… Psalm 25:1-2,4-5,10

Greetings in the wondrous name of Jesus to each of you who were in the heart of the Creator since before the world began,

In my growing-up years my family would gather to celebrate holidays. This meant good food and a lots of it… and piles of dishes! Dinner finished, I would sit eying the numerous plates and utensils and groan inwardly. Inevitably as my mother began clearing the table she said, ‘Getting started is half the battle. Just get up and get started’.

As a Christian I have heard 'Acceptance is half the battle'. Acceptance means a letting go, a releasing into God’s hands, acceptance indicates that you have stopped wrestling and fighting your circumstances and have surrendered your will to God's will.  I have often fought acceptance of hard things until I found myself on my knees crying out in desperate prayer, "Lord, help me to want Your will more than my own way!"

Amy Carmichael has said “In acceptance lies peace.’  

  

Peace is only possible when I truly believe ‘All the paths of the Lord are loving-kindness and Truth.’ (Psalm 25:10 nas) Once we know that His plan and purpose for us is always wrapped in His loving kindness and that He uses trials to move us to deeper dependance on Him, there will be acceptance followed by rest and peace.

When we resist trials and refuse to accept what God allows in our life, we will be discouraged and restless much of the time. Our life will become all about us. God specifically begins verse 10 with the word ‘All’ in Psalm 25. Think: If God says 'all' He means all. He does not mean ‘nearly’ all nor does He mean ‘all but the path I am on right now’ or 'all but this painful path' and certainly not ‘just the paths that make sense to me!’ His Son, Jesus, came and lived the path of His Father's choosing and it made no sense to the disciples. Wherever you are in life, it is not what happens to in our lives but what we do with what happens. Be it unexplained trials with sharp stones and briers, or a baffling guidance just out of reach of your common sense, or loss, all are His loving-kindnesses working out His purposes for good in our life. Nothing less. They will not 'feel' like loving-kindnesses! But as Christians we do not live by feelings but walk by faith. In acceptance is peace and by faith acceptance is possible.
"We walk by faith and not by sight-" (by feelings) II Corinthians 5:7

Our Father creates need in our life to wean us from self-dependence to Christ dependence. Acceptance results in a Galatians 2:20 life of ‘not I, but Christ’. Then Jesus is our focus even in the face of tremendous struggles and suffering. Have you not seen men and women ennobled as they suffer, for they are experiencing the life of Christ through them? (reflecting a light even from within) So many of God’s children see with physical eyes fixed on their trials and life becomes about them. They do not see with the ‘new man’. Only God’s Spirit within can turn our eyes to see the invisible and ennoble us to suffer for His glory. Instead we frequently and foolishly wrap our affections around that which will pass away!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Cor 4:16-18

 Those who have the deepest appreciation of grace do not continue in sin. Moreover, fear produces the obedience of slaves; love engenders the obedience of sons” JWS jr

I am thankful I am not on probation. My God does not love me because of the good He finds in me, there is none, He loves me because He is good. How amazing is that? It isn’t that God lives, but that God is Life! God is trustworthy and when He says  ‘all’ He means ‘all’. Faith will rely on God’s chastening (discipline) hand as a mark of His loving-kindness. Until we are sure of our standing, of God’s loving-kindness and His sovereignty over our lives and that He is working all things for good in our life, (that good is our being conformed to the likeness of Christ Romans 8:29) we will not have the ability to embrace the 'all' of Psalm 25:10 in faith. Fear will keep us from  believing God's word. Let His love enfold You and remove the fears as He fills your heart with faith to trust Him. He treasures you.

Creator God, though outwardly I am wasting away, inwardly I am being renewed day by day. When everything is shaking around me, hold me steady with Your loving kindness. Thank You that my frustrations and limitations will not diminish Your glory. Thank You that by Your Spirit I am able to fix my eyes on the eternal and then You give a heavenly perspective and peace. Thank You that my trials achieve an eternal glory that is far weightier than the trials themselves. What a promise!  It sets my feet to dancing before Your throne, Abba. You, Most High God, are comfort and Hope and Grace, as You establish me in every good word and work! I bow in awe of You. I lift up every person reading this devo, asking You to bless their socks off…. Surprise them with Your love today as You open their eyes to see who You are. Lead them in Truth, teaching them Your paths. Be glorified now and forever, amen in Yeshua

 much love

 az

What did it Really Cost?

For you have been bought with a price… 1 Corinthians 6:20

My Sisters and Brothers, you who are His treasure,

Jesus has an encounter with a woman who had been sick for twelve years. The crowd pressed in on Him from every side when suddenly He felt power go out of Him! I always saw this story from the perspective of the woman and her faith. Now I was jolted by another perspective. Luke 8:43-46

“a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
Jesus is not just anyone!

Power went forth from our LORD; it cost Him something to heal. And that power which went forth from Him passed into the poor sick woman and in her  it became peace. “Go in peace” He said to her. So as you pour forth power to help others, that power- if you are living deep in your Lord and Master and drinking deep of His Spirit- will pass into peace for others, healing and peace. Ac

Though I had read this many times, this was a new thought to me that Jesus paid a cost to heal her. It may be a new thought to you also. It is well to remember Jesus lived in a human body that grew weary, experienced hunger and thirst, required sleep, sweat and bled and shivered in the cold, as we do. He felt the drain of those who clamored for Him to meet their needs. The whole human experience was His. As my children were growing up there were many days I felt the drain of meeting their needs. It costs to love.

It cost God the Father to send God the Son to rescue us…

It cost the Son to leave God the Father and walk in the world He created.

It cost the Son to be placed as the seed in the womb of a young Jewess and be born in a humble stable

It cost Him to dwell among the earthly, He who possessed all the glory of heaven

It cost Jesus to be be the Lamb of God and be mocked, rejected, misunderstood, forsaken and suffer the torture and humiliation of crucifixion.

The cost was horrendous for Jesus and His Father, when the Father turned away from His Son as the sins of the world were laid on Him.

It cost His life to purchase our freedom on the cross with His blood and satisfy God's wrath against our sin.

It cost Him immeasurably to LOVE us!

 Meditating on these Truths cause me to ask ‘Why would He do this for me?’ Then my heart bursts with being loved so deeply by Jesus and worship floods my soul.

  
These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Rev 14:4

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. I Cor 6:19-20

 What is the cost of living?

Purchased I am not my own! I must ask: ‘Does my life speak of the wonder of His forgiveness and the wonder of who He is?’ I long to be with Him now and dance before the throne. Then I concede ‘it is enough for now’ that He indwells me. “Love through me today LORD and enable me to embrace the cost. For I am crucified with Christ and death to 'self' is the cost of living for Him each day. It costs to love a lost world and those God has given us. Gifts cost something…. a gift of love will cost us precious time in our busyness and require dying to self and to pride. Choose to love.....
TODAY:

I will give the gift of laughter, laughing with someone is loving someone. I will loosen up and learn to laugh at myself. I’ll be fun and Dance!

 I will give the gift of love and write a note to encourage or send a card snail mail or email and brighten someone’s day.

 I will give the gift of really listening to someone. It is a rare gift of love that doesn’t half listen or interrupt.

 I will give the gift of praying for someone and with someone.

 I will give encouragement as the Holy Spirit leads.

 I will give the gift of saying thank you to those who serve me in any capacity. A grateful spirit is a wonderful gift to give.

I will say I love you to someone and give an appropriate embrace.

The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Matt 25:45 (wow! are you dancing?)

  

Father, Cost-payer, thank You precious One for redeeming me. I am in awe of You and the horrific cost You paid to save me. When power went out of You did it drain your body of strength and energy? Were You ever homesick for Your heavenly home? Lord I am so thankful for the cost You paid; for You understand the hurts we live in our earthly walk. Thank You for your nearness and comfort.  In Jesus

Bought with a price,

az

 

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Thankful?

Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, I Chronicles 16:7-12

My Brothers and Sisters, chosen by God,
God's word is living and powerful and surprising! David was King. The Ark of the Covenant was back in Israel and it set David's heart to rejoicing and his feet to dancing! Food was distributed to each person in Israel. David appointed Levites to minister before the Ark of the LORD and celebrate by giving thanks and praising the LORD. Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD. They were skilled and trained in singing and musical instruments.
 
Picturing myself a relative of Asaph, I wondered what would I be thinking about my assignment? Giving thanks is a spontaneous action of my spirit and far from something assigned to me! My spirit bristled at this phrase until I reflected on the Psalm which followed. It was filled with beauty and worship and praise to our LORD; expressed in singing and with musical instruments. This was coupled with the speaking of a His wonders. Verse 11 calls you to seek the LORD and while 'seeking' the LORD and His strength, remember His wonderful deeds and in verse 29 ascribe to Him the glory due His name! With word and song praising His attributes now and forever!

My desire was to have my complaining heart transformed into one joyfully surrendered and actively worshiping God in my daily walk! I believe I needed to settle a few things for this to happen. The key was to decide what I believed about God. Did I believe He is good? truly and deeply believe this? Hand in hand with this is 'Do i truly believe He is in control of all things?' If I do would I not surrender to Him and embrace His will and do so without insisting on understanding? If I am complaining over how my day is going that either reveals I do not believe He is good or I do not believe He is Sovereign. If He is good and Sovereign... making no mistakes, worthy of all praise and always acting out of His goodness while superintending my day, would I be grumbling? For if a Christian cannot thank and praise God as well in calamities and sufferings as in prosperity and happiness, he is as far from the piety of a Christian as he that only loves them that love him... For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith. (law)

It was then I thought of I Thessalonians 5:18: 'in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' It is easy to say these words but living them in the mundane calls for death to the flesh. When my attitude is grateful and I am being thankful in word and attitude, I bring Him glory. It was exciting to see in some mysterious way the giving of thanks and making known His deeds is symbiotic! Hand in hand this heart moving scripture (I Chron 16:29) further instructs us to bring Him an offering and worship in holy array. And Hebrews 13:15: Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. This is such a powerful verse I am drawn to stop typing and fall on my knees with a hungry heart. I want to know this kind of thanksgiving. Praise that costs the giver.

Thankfulness is the opposite of griping and is ours through reckoning ourselves dead with Christ and alive with Him. Surrender to the Holy Spirit fuels a grateful spirit. It comes through Christ... it is not the natural outflow of my human heart, but by His enabling, His life through me. Giving thanks is to be continual, not a Sunday thing, not a Thursday in November thing, nor is it dutifully contrived thing any other day. 
Begin today. Begin giving thanks for small things which is often the most difficult. God is worthy to be praised no matter what He allows in our day. I believe the sweetest praise given is that which costs. It is praise rooted in sacrifice... the fruit  of my lips. Thanksgiving spoken or sung aloud. I believe this discipline will grow into full blown, daily praise to our King bringing Him pleasure. This too is a mystery... How can rebellious, sinful human bring this amazing God pleasure anymore than an ant crossing your foot could 'give' you anything?

Praise: He loves me and He is good.
Praise: He attends my way in perfect wisdom because He is Sovereign and in control.
Praise: For He is worthy to be praised regardless of how I 'feel' or what mood I am in.

O that we would be a praising company before the throne to bring honor to our King. Can such praise be 'assigned'?  It's embarrassing to admit, at times I find it hard to be grateful even when it is a good day. This reveals just how terrible and ungrateful my sinful nature is and I must choose to surrender to Galatians 2:20, 'not I but Christ'. Only then will His fruit produce the sacrifice of praise in and through me. 
The world is filled with negative words and actions. Let us see it as an opportunity to make known His deeds by simply being thankful and expressing it throughout the day... yes even while driving, or waiting in line, a long line. Even when disappointed and in the face of rejection and loss we can remember the goodness and faithfulness of the LORD and find we are lifted up and strengthened as we speak by faith words of thanksgiving. 
Lord, help me to brag not about who I am but about who You are. Never let me run out of words to praise You for your goodness and kindness. AS

May grumbling cease for it cannot co-exist with a grateful spirit. We wound our loving Father when we are ungrateful.
Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols. Ezekiel 6:9

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;  Isaiah 63:10

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
II cor 4:17-18

When we look on the Cross, and really see Jesus  and believe His faithfulness, how can we gripe and grumble? Let us rise in His strength and count it all joy? Paul was so content in his prison he sang songs in the darkness and stench of his surroundings, which provided him with more than sufficient reason to complain. How unfairly he was treated and beaten and maligned. But He sang praise... make today one of praise. Read all of  I Chronicles 16 for a real blessing.

Father, worthy One, I seek Your face! I want to be faithful and thankful and remember your faithfulness and wonderful deeds. Splendor and majesty  are before You. I exalt you. You know how I struggle every day with being grateful. Forgive me and change me! I want to go beyond birth truths and know You intimately. Teach my sisters and brothers and me how to be grateful and offer You the sacrifice of praise and to glory in Your praise. I ask You, Compassionate One, to lift us above the rebellion of complaining. Thank You for Your nearness  and Love. Your nearness is our good. In the name of Jesus, amen

Assigned to give thanks,
az

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