Running the Race Marked Out for Us

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 Hebrews 12:1-2 Dearest Sisters who are in the LORD, You who are His treasure, God's greatest agony and His greatest glory are revealed in the Cross. Also obvious is God's great love for mankind and mankind's great hatred toward God. The Cross means daily death to us who love our Lord. Jesus could not return to His glory in heaven until he first surrendered to death. The Holy Spirit applied this principle to me letting me see its importance: in my life and fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it is impossible for me to share the fulness of His life until i have first surrender myself  daily as having died to sin and the world. There are believers who think once they have claimed Christ's death in the fellowship of the Cross, and have counted themselves crucified with Him, they now consider it as past and done with, but this is where we are to abide unceasingly in our daily walk.  The attitude that was my Lords is to be the disposition that marks my life daily.  AW Tozer writes: A bad disposition has been called 'the vice of the virtuous,' which brings us directly to the conclusion that it is time we Christians stop trying to excuse our un-Christike dispositions and frankly admit our failure to live as we should! Ephesians 4 speaks of putting off the old (that which is of the flesh) and putting on the new (that which is of the new nature.) So Bartimaeus the blind man threw off his begging cloak, representing his old life and all he was, when he came to Jesus. He was dead to the old. He could not rightfully go back to his old life of begging.  We too, leave behind the old and put on Christ. Hebrews 12 instructs us as believers to throw off everything which hinders and the sin which so easily entangles. We do this by counting ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ; daily denying ourselves and taking up our Cross. God's provided no other way.  If we are weak in understanding the principle of complete justification by faith, we will be strong in seeking to produce our own sanctification. mjs Paul speaks in Philippians 3:7-8  I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom i have suffered the loss of all things, and count them rubbish that I may gain (know intimately) Christ. Beware this hunger consumes the heart and it is in loss we gain Christ. Counting myself dead to sin I am alive in Christ. Loss for gain.  It is easy to make excuses of why we behave badly blaming our weakness we rationalizing our repeated struggle with sins of our disposition.  "I'm just naturally impatient" or "sensative or resentful or I speak my mind and give my honest opinion or I was born with a temper it's just how I am made." To walk by faith is not  to live by how I feel, but daily allow the Holy Spirit to apply the Cross to my flesh, my old sin nature and know the freedom that resulted from Christ taking us to the Cross with Him. It is so amazing that this God who is beyond definition, too great to explain or understand, bends low sharing our tears. His love meets us where we are and lifts us up, enabling us to walk in strength and obedience to Him. He knows our struggles and waits for us to surrender our 'rights' and die to self so we might know Him and become like Christ.  It is what we are that tells. It sends us to the cleansing blood, to Calvary. AC Let His words in John 14 move you to pursue Him and know Him intimately: "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments."  Oh that we might receive all that He has provided. Our reward? Himself! Let this promise of Jesus to disclose Himself to You, lift you up. As I allow God to fill my heart with this Truth i throw down my begging cloak and run to Him " Lord i want to love you well, fill my heart with love for You!" Then I hear this conditional promise and my heart skips knowing in myself i cannot 'keep' His commandments, only as i die to self do i know His life in me. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." John 14:21 I it any wonder Paul counted all things loss for the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord?! Adonai, You who left the glory of heaven to save me, I am in awe of You. Search me and reveal where there are things that 'hinder' and any sin that so easily 'entangles' that i may repent and be cleansed in the fountain of blood. Abba, You who know where i struggle to trust You fill me with faith and teach me to count myself dead to sin and alive to You daily taking up my cross. I love Your word and ask to be given a greedy hunger to know You through Your living word. Thank You for lifting me up for being Strength and giving me a heavenly perspective of this temporal life. i want my life to count eternally and this will only happen if You do the impossible through me. i pray in dependence on You my King and Daddy. In the holy Name of Jesus who promised to disclose Himself to me, amen Running the race marked out for me, az

Consider Him

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3 Dear Sisters of my heart,  May the sweetness of who He is be the perfume of your spirit this week. And now.. "Consider Him." The heavens are telling of the glory of God;          And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Psalm 19:1 So limited. We see sun, moon,  and a minimal sprinkling of stars. Unless you are seated in the Omnitheater viewing 'The Hubble", as I was privileged to do this past week. The difficulty was in remaining seated vs shooting up from my seat shouting 'Glory to God, Hallelujah to my Creator!'  This was no birds eye view, but an up close, in-my-face experience leaving me minuscule and breathless! Viewing star clusters trillion of light years away and moving through space amongst stars is surreal. Consider Him...... He who knows the names of every star and unbelievably He knows my name!  Our faith in this All-powerful God gains us approval. When I consider Him, I am cognizant in a small measure of who He is and I taste His terror. Job cried out God terrified him! "For God has made my heart faint, timid, and broken, and the Almighty has terrified me..." Job 23:16 "For the Lord Most High excites terror, awe, and dread; He is a great King over all the earth." Ps 47:2  O God, awe-inspiring, profoundly impressive, and terrible are You out of Your holy places; Ps 68:35 Listed in Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith are saints we recognize (ex: Moses, Abraham, Daniel), who 'considered God' and experienced the miraculous. Some were delivered, some healed and some empowered to accomplish mighty things in Jehovah's name, bringing Him glory. Reading, I was inclined to place a final period after vs 35a ending the chapter. God in His perfection does not stop but transitions in vs 35 using two words: 'and others'. This transition is important: not all men and women of faith experienced miraculous release, but were sawn in two or tortured, tempted, stoned, some died, while others were destitute with no place to call 'home' and lived in caves and holes in the ground. Was it their lack of faith? It was God's will to heal and deliver but they just didn't have faith? Not according to the scriptures. The 'others' had faith but God chose in His Sovereign and perfect will, to deal differently with them than with those just mentioned. God will not to be manipulated by our attempts at 'believing hard enough that He is obligated to answer our prayers". That is not faith. It is pride. Faith is a heart that seeks God's will not our own way. He will work His perfect will as we trust Him. I have personally been healed many times and not healed at others. Digest God's powerful pronouncement in verses 38-39 regarding those who were not part of the miraculous mentioned first, God states: "Men of whom the world was not worthy...  And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,"  " Such as these have said goodbye to the world's toys; they have chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God. They have accepted toil and suffering as their earthly portion.' AWT  Oh to be willing to trust God to deliver or not to deliver, to heal or not to heal. And still truly believe He is good, faithful and wise. He desires us to trust Him in whatever circumstance we are being tried. I have so often heard in a praise service dozens of testimonies of God meeting needs miraculously, providing amazingly, then they acclaim His faithfulness and goodness.  Is their testimony based on who God is or the miracle He provided? Is He not good to those who have prayed and believed, who have not experienced the miraculous? Is it their lack of faith as many believers insist? Oh, how we wound each other when we insist on being God in another's life. I remember a family who lost a young daughter to cancer and some 'godly' believers felt led to visit and lay a merciless burden on two grieving parents; telling them their lack of faith was responsible. A wounded young woman going through a divorce was told her lack of faith was why God didn't bring restoration. This from one whose marriage was mercifully healed! I grieve over such cruelty. May God deliver us from the pitiful, prideful presumption of thinking we can be the Holy Spirit in another life. Consider this: God is Infinite. He never makes a mistake. God alone knows what is in someone's heart. God is good and faithful if He never answered a prayer! It is who He is and because of who God is He bends low to lift us up. Because He is Love, He loves us immeasurably. Let that Truth wrap around you and encourage You from head to toes. You are precious my sisters. Look up at the night sky and try and number a few stars. Now imagine (not possible) trillions of stars and that God counts and names each one. He knows your name and desires your love. Blessed be your name Adonai, Most High God, You who knows our secrets, our pride and failure. You who are Perfect in all your ways, I bow in awe as I consider there is no limit to Your greatness and no words to begin to describe You. How do I grasp what You endured on the Cross, despising the shame and have sat down at the right hand of the throne of God? Teach me. I want to 'consider' Your greatness, for with You God is a terrible majesty. Your Cross is my cross. Your resurrection is my resurrection. Your Peace is my peace. As feeble as an attempt to measure the ocean with a spoon, so I feel deficient to consider Your person. I pray in your Holy Name, the great name of Yeshua, amen Considering the love of Him who calls the stars by name, az

Rewarded

 O God, you are my God,
   earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
   my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
   where there is no water. Psalm 63:1


My Sisters in whom is the very life of Christ,
David expressed his heart hunger in this Psalm. We enter a new month with it's pocket full of difficulty, joys and sorrows. Our faith will be renewed and strengthened and tested in ways we would not choose. Experience teaches 'difficulty' is a severe instructor. 


Isaiah wrote:


But I said, “I have labored in vain;
   I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand,
   and my reward is with my God.” Is 49:4


How often a trial has trampled through your life, leaving in its wake rubble and brokenness with nothing of value visible? You have stood strong in the Lord believing God rewards the righteous and your palm is outstretched waiting for the 'good' promised; but nothing.... You feel left alone and vulnerable, stripped, unrewarded, abandon and forgotten. Testing of our faith is full of what God wants to teach us and I remember the day God showed me a promise I believe is true for us as well as it was for Abram. Hold on and be blessed.

 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Genesis 15:1 KJ

Feeling like a pawn on God's divine chess board, expendable and of very little value in the cosmic plan, I balked at the taste of God's Sovereignty crying out for mercy with all my heart. Slowly learning over many bitter trials "God Himself is my reward". Ask God to plant this truth deep in your heart. Growing in Christ is knowing Him more and more intimately. Sweeter and sweeter grows the wine of His Presence until no earthly offering, nor temporal possession nor reward proffered will ever compare to this sacred invasion of my being.

The Levites were given no possession in Israel: Ezekiel 44:28  “‘I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.

My heart is quickened reading His promise to the Levites and these words to Abram: 

1. Do not fear

2. I am your shield

3. Your exceeding and great reward

Add your name to the end of each of the 3 statements. Read it again. How can we remain discouraged when we embrace such an amazing Truth?

Let me only enjoy the sweet company of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ in my trial, and I ask no  more. I do not want even the power of His hand to deprive me of one drop of consolation supplied by the tender love and profound sympathy of His heart. I know He can deliver me, but if He does not see fit to do so, if it does not fall in with His unsearchable counsels, and harmonize with His wise and faithful purpose concerning me so to do, I know it is only to lead me into deeper and richer realization of His most precious sympathy. C.H.M.

 The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. The Shepherd is my exceeding and great reward. 

I am praying again Father, You who are my exceeding and great Reward. Who is so great as to say "Fear not, I am your Shield!" Only You. Your greatness is unsearchable. Give us heart-hunger for You and allow us to know You more and more intimately. Help us to trust You for all we do not understand and all we do understand. You are our possession and we are Yours! I am provoked to worship as I tap these keys. I need to stop, get on my knees and cry out holy praise to You. I am in awe of You, You who love perfectly. Enable my sisters and I to receive all that You so lavishly give. I pray in Jesus my Savior.

Only the mistakes are mine,
az

Glory in the Cross

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.  Galatians 6:14

Dear Sisters who share in an inheritance that can never perish!

The world, in all its glitz and glamor is merciless in it's pursuit to woo the human heart. Pressure comes to us through the world, the flesh and the devil.  Hear the his diabolical whisper, "Come, follow! You will be famous. All you need is to make a lot of money and you will be happy serving the changing winds of compromise! Were you not created to fill your cup and glory in the world's applause? I hear the hiss-ss of deceit in such words for it is the world's system of thinking. Even the hearts of our little children are crowded with so much 'stuff'. 

Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. I john 2:15-17

At some time in our life, we have each wanted to perform better than someone else and be noticed for it. Whether academically or a 'win' in sports or in music and acting, or any other accomplishment, longing to have glory for ourselves. Beauty and talent controlled by the flesh is a formula for disaster. Blind to God's purpose for their lives they are numb to all God's promises. Many of us have family who are deceived and chasing the wind. Countless lives have been destroyed on the world's stages seeking the ever elusive riches, and fame, few survive their successes. Others are blindly convinced happiness is found in a change of job, or their marriage partner and move on to satisfy the flesh and their futile thinking.

But we are called to the Cross. The Cross is an instrument of death just as ugly as a guillotine. Called to a paradoxical life of dying to self to live, losing ourself to find ourself, giving to keep, washing another's stinky feet, serving instead of being served, taking the lowest seat, expecting and welcoming trials and taking up death (our cross). Have you ever heard a young person respond to the question of their future and what they plan to be? "Well, I really, really want to be a servant. You see, it requires dying to my flesh and I have always been attracted to washing stinky, dirty feet."

Hear Jesus garden-words echoing  from the great struggle between two spiritual worlds: 'not my will, but yours be done.” Even God had to choose the Cross. And He  chose to glory in the very Cross where He would suffer immeasurably and die. We are called to glory in His Cross... our daily choice. 

Created to bring Him glory by being transformed into the image of His Son Jesus. Understanding and appropriating the facts of the cross prove to be the most frustrating and arduous phase for a growing believer. Calvary is the secret of it all. It is all He accomplished on the Cross which counts; becoming a force in our lives as we appropriate it by faith; it is the starting point at which all godly living begins. 

"We shall never know the experience of 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.  There is no victory for us which was not first His."ms  Calvary is as much the foundation of sanctification as justification; as both are birthed from the Cross.  We have been delivered from what we deserve, hell, and we are daily in need of deliverance from what we are.

When I look at the Cross, I see my cross. When I look at the Cross, I see Love poured out through His pure and holy sacrifice, for He became sin for me 'who knew no sin, that I might be made the righteousness of God in Him.' II Cor 5:21 Standing on the Truth of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary, His dying for me,  gives the Holy Spirit freedom to apply this finished work in my life, giving me freedom from the penalty of sin (justification). As I stand on the Truth of my dying with Christ in His death to sin, the Holy Spirit gives me freedom from sin's power, (progressive sanctification). I am completely freed from sin's grip. It has no more power over me than I allow moment by moment. How can I not glory in the Cross? I will lose all else. The storage areas in my house hold all I will leave behind. Glorying in the Cross moves me to dance and worship spills out on my knees. Both joy and sorrow compete in my heart for there are those I love, who love this world. I am entrusted to pray faithfully for them. The Truth we embrace is foolishness to those who do not believe. Stand strong on His word for it will enable you to glory in the Cross and that is eternal.

It's a fact of life. We will ultimately lose whatever or whoever we've been hanging onto except for the love of Jesus Christ, poured out on that cross. It's not just a cross. It is the only anchor that will be there when there's nothing else to hold onto. RH

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. I Peter 2:24

God of all glory, You who cause the sunrise and sunset to shout for joy as they glory in You,

 I bow in awe of You. I 'feel'  as though I cannot truly glory until I am free from this body and before the throne. Until then, work in me to be content to glory in the Cross and in the Lamb here, daily, as I wait for Your return. I lift up my sisters to You asking You to teach them to glory in the Cross. To glory in the grace and mercy and love that You pour out continually day and night. Fill our hearts with faith to trust You and to realize that to glory in You, is to draw near to You. Thank You. As we become more and more like Jesus, You teach us how important the Cross is to our daily living. You have planned this to cause us to be dependent on You. Thank You for Your word, it is true and unchanging. We are so grateful. We love You Jesus. I pray in dependence on You my Sacrifice Lamb,

In the shadow of the Cross I glory,

az

By His Doing

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, 

"LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." I Corinthians 1:30-31

My dearest Sisters who are purchased by the blood of Christ,

'By His doing', Those three words stopped me; my feet started dancing and just as quickly I was left on my face in awe and in worship! I am in Christ Jesus only by His doing. Not by my cleverness or ingenuity or strength or wisdom! He chose me. As a child I remember standing on the play ground, holding my breath, as teams were picked for a game, fearful that I would not be chosen. 

He chooses the weak and foolish and base for His purposes so that no man may boast before Him. Jesus became to me all I need and all I will ever need. Salvation must be wholly of grace otherwise how will God get the glory? Paul wanted to get this point across to the Corinthians because they were guilty of glorifying men. When we give glory to men, even godly men, we are guilty of robbing God of the glory He alone deserves. The world excels at giving glory to mankind. Humans work very hard for the world's applause; including many Christians. Consider the awards given out for best actress, actors or writers; they spend their life portraying what is so often vulgar and of the flesh. Pride fuels the competition in pomp and dress. Their life will profoundly fail to satisfy in the end. How it must hurt our Savior to see us support and be drawn into the deception that the world's applause is worth pursuing. 

When all else fails us we find that God is enough. That which we most need in life- love, unfailing love- is abundantly and satisfyingly ours in the Lord Jesus. But we so often seek it elsewhere. ms

God places no reserve on His love. Has He not given the best in heaven for the worst on earth? Surrendering my heart to God, to want from Him only what He wants to give me, I will be content. He is all-wise and good. I have only to walk by faith being occupied with His promises and praising Him with a grateful heart.

If our hearts are not in the circle of divine love they have really got nothing, for as Christians we have no portion on earth. CAC

Verse 30 covers my past, present and future! God shows His wisdom by:

righteousness (we have been saved from the penalty of sin), 

sanctification (we are being saved from the power of sin),  

redemption (we shall be saved from the presence of sin).

All this is mine by His doing. I am dancing! I glory and boast in the Lord Jesus. No one can undo what He does. I hope this wiggles its way down in and deeply fills your heart.  It is all "By His doing."  

Paul came to the Corinthians wanting to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." I Corinthians 2:2-5

O that my life might be one of embracing Truth, demonstrating God's presence and power by His doing; leaving people drawn to Jesus, captured by His glory. 

I am praying again Crucified One, Infinite One, Lord of all the angel armies! I find words inadequate to the need of my heart to praise You. You who have become to me all I needed and will ever need, You who are faithful beyond understanding, You who love me fiercely and perfectly, I worship and adore You. I love you Keeper of my heart. You alone are worthy to be worshiped. Thank You for being so good and by Your doing  have provided me with such abundance. I ask You to penetrate the heart of every woman who reads these words. Touch her with Your Truth and Love and leave her heart bursting with desire to glory in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah what a Savior! In whose name we are welcomed to the Throne. amen


His, by His doing,
 az

Learning to Love

Love is patient and kind. I Cor 13:4  

My Sisters dearly loved by the Lord,

Some lessons we learn quickly and others take a lifetime. I am being stretched this week as a caregiver to one who has been the continual source of hurt. Talking to a friend about what I expect in the near future she advised, "run, get out now!" Her response reflected the world's system of thinking.  I have thought this through and know I am where I am meant to be because God is teaching me to 'love'. Love as Christ loved. He has called me to trust Him.

To love those who love us is not stretching. But God often calls us on to that which is hard, even impossible in our strength. That is when we learn to Love as God loves. 

 As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

When my too frequent failure to love has confronted me again and driven me to my knees, in desperation I have cried out  "Change me.... forgive me, love through me Lord, I cannot love ______!"

I rest in the Truth that the fruit of the Spirit is 'love' and the Spirit lives in me, as I count myself crucified with Christ I will experience His love for others. He will love the unlovely, the people in my life who are a source of pain or just plain annoying. I am learning to fully depend on Him for sanctification by faith. I recognize I am not overcome the 'flesh' in order to walk in the Spirit. I am to walk in the Spirit to overcome the the flesh.MS  Hear this important truth. I am not to wait until I feel I have some mastery over the flesh; more confidence in my attempt to walk in the Spirit or that in the future i will do better than i have done in the past. It is just the opposite. Until i walk in total dependence on the Spirit i shall not overcome the flesh. I must count myself dead to sin... receiving this victory over my flesh by faith. It is a matter of receiving His Love for others.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:22-25

The lessons of 'love' are always challenging because it requires dying to the flesh. Love is an action and an attitude. Love pleases Him. The world will tell you to consider your 'needs'. But are they not all temporal? Love is eternal. I have been helped by this statement from Joyce Meyers: 

"You don't have to concentrate on getting your needs met. Just concentrate on doing what is right and God will meet your needs." 

Trying to meet my own needs may be a temporal distraction but it does not satisfy. Our flesh will always try and avoid the cross, but we are called to daily take up our cross and follow. I long to lift Jesus name high by loving others. Not in words that sound so nice, but in deed that requires total dependence on Christ.

Giver of Life, Lover of the unlovely, where else would I go? I run to You. You are Life and Love and Hope. The lessons of Love you teach come through conflict and impossibility and You intend it to be so!  Remind me the person I struggle to love is one for whom You died, one You love as You love me. Thank You my failure is redeemed by You for my good. Remind my sisters we are  continually an object of Your love and Your plan for each of us is to transform us into the likeness of Your Son. Fill our hearts with a hunger to know such transforming love. May we be a conduit of Your love to our brothers and sisters;  a living testimony to a lost world that You are alive and You are Love. Make us willing to pay the cost of loving. I pray in the Name of Jesus, who is Love, amen

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

az


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