So You Need Help?-- Well....

"Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted ('murmur') within me?  Hope ('wait') in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God....Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance ('face') and my God."  (Psalm 42:11 & 43:5)

The Word translated, "help," in both passages is, "Yeshuah," and you know Who That Is.  We could translate it, "....I shall yet praise Him, the Jesus of my countenance and my God."  The Interlinear says that the Word, "Yeshuah," means, "deliverance, help, prosperity, salvation, security, victories."  It just cannot get any more plain that that.  This is also, I realized this morning, a further illustration of yesterday's devotional.

In view of the great declaration in our text, we can ask again, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?  This does not minimize the heartache, the pain of suffering, turmoil, loss, disappointments in life.  They are real, and they can bring one to the point of despair and collapse.  But the Holy Spirit continually asks you and me the same question which the psalmist asked his soul.  He will keep asking us this question, yes, over and over, so that the injection of, "the Words of God," will continually go into the depths of our beings, strengthening, empowering, lifting us up.

The question of the text is not to mock us in our suffering, but to be the, "yeshua of my countenance ('face').  Our face says a lot about us.  May, for you and me today, our "faces" reflect our Lord Jesus Christ, Who Is our, "deliverance, help, prosperity, salvation, security, victories."

Father, I thank You that You are my, "Yeshuah."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"Lord, If You Are Willing...."

"A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.  Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man.  'I am willing,' He said.  'Be clean!"  Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy."  (Matthew 8:2, 3-NIV)

I wonder why "evangelicalism" has neglected what so dominates the Gospels, "I am willing....Be clean!"

It is as though evangelicals/conservatives, or whatever one wants to call them, have selected certain religious formulae to propagate Christianity.  What the Bible calls, "The faith of Jesus," however, goes way beyond our "comfort zones."  Peter told Cornelius that Jesus, "went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed by the Devil."  Translated into today's disparaging phrases, by those who have severely robbed humanity of the Great Biblical Message, "faith healing, and deliverance ministry."

This same selective Christianity is what I have been calling "cliche christianity."  It is a religion of what certain strong personalities have said, formulated and propagated, over the years, and the masses just blindly follow.  The solution to break out of this is a Church which is committed to every member reading, "the Words of God," with great frequency, allowing the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus says, "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

Jesus said to the sick man, "I am willing."  What is it in your life today about which you travail, wondering if "this is the will of God for my life?"  Perhaps rather than attempting to reason it out, or go to the cliche books, one should go to the Bible; find out what Jesus "thinks" concerning our state.  There are treasures in Jesus which only His Words can uncover.  In three centuries, the Church took over the Roman Empire, because the Church was still believing what Jesus said, not the interpretations of a select few.  That all changed relatively early on, however, and, as the saying goes, "the rest is history."

It is time for you and me to change history, not by some self-willed agenda or new screwy ideas, but by careful, meditative-reading, accepting and obeying Jesus', "God-Breathed," Words.  Maybe instead of wondering about "the will of God," we should read to find out just what kind of "things" He has clearly shown as His will.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I have probably allowed myself to be robbed of so much you have for me because of casual, rather than listening-reading.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"The Lord Merely Spoke...."

"The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the Word, and all the stars were born.  He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs....For when He spoke, the world began!  It appeared at His command....Let Your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You."  (From Psalm 33, NLT)

The wording of our text seems "simple" enough, but it reveals the Grandeur, the Majesty of the Living Triune God in Jesus Christ.  Jesus, "breathed the Word," and the Universe was manifested.  I chose "manifested" because there is a very real sense in which the Universe already was.  It was just waiting the "appearance."

This is also true of Jesus.  The NLT translates John 1:1a as, "In the beginning the Word already existed."  Again, I believe we can say this of all creation.  Creation manifests just Who God is, beauty, majesty, grandeur, provision, and on and on.  There is the great declaration in the passage that when God speaks, His purposes happen.  Jesus, "....assigned the sea its boundaries...."  And we can say, "....The world began...at His command."  This is true of our sojourn here.  This is true of our daily lives, everything.  This is a root power of, "Let not your hearts be troubled....My peace I leave with you."

I pray the prayer of our text for you today, a prayer which comes from some realization of the Almightiness of Father, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit, "Let Your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You."  His, "unfailing love..," is, "....our hope...."  Love is Who He Is.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

I've Had A Revelation

"Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land."  (Genesis 12:10)

This was a missionary trip for Abram.  It was the Living Triune God taking Abram to Egypt to reveal His ways to not only Abram, but also the Egyptian king, and, I might add, the Egyptians.

After reading the article which I sent to you earlier, I believe Jesus spoke to my heart and said that the reason the Democrats won the majority in the US House of Representatives was/is to expose to the world its evil intent, and embarrass it.  And, if anyone has a heart for Jesus Christ, His Kingdom and Church, they will see such evil, repent of their self-will and surrender their lives to Jesus.  I believe this is a, "for this purpose I have raised you up," season. 

"Well, isn't that a little over the top?"  No.  For too long Christendom has chopped up the Bible, e.g., The Pentateuch, The History Books, Wisdom Literature, Major and Minor Prophets, Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.  This has been used by the Enemy to keep church-goers from seeing in the Scriptures that, "Jesus Christ is Lord," is not something to shout in religious gatherings and sing about.  It is a life style "shout" to the nations just what is the reality of, "Jesus Christ is Lord", viz.,  "The Lord sat as King at the flood; yes, the Lord sits as King forever."  King of what?  King of the nations, King of the Universe.  This should be the "mission statement" of every local church and mission organization.

Jesus has been showing me something which I don't think I realized before, at least not to the extent I am seeing it now.  Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, et al., were not giving prophetic utterances in some vacuum of a charismatic revival meeting.  They were issuing, "the Word of the Lord," to kings and nations (see, Isaiah 7, Jonah 3).  They were not just addressing some praise gathering, some prophetic seminar, or conferences on "how to pray."  They were calling, yes, Israel, but all nations to conform their life style to, "The Word of God," Jesus, the Christ.  The United States of America and all nations will either rise or fall based upon their acceptance and obedience to, "Jesus Christ is Lord." 

Mordecai did not only participate in worship and prayer gatherings.  He stood outside the "White House," challenging the reigning super power to acknowledge the Reign, Rule of the Blessed Trinity.  O, and I'm sorry, "separation-of-church-and-state people, he became Prime Minister of that super power, as did some of his other comrades who didn't stay where they were told, e.g., Joseph, Daniel, even Paul, who ended up in, "Caesar's household."  I have a renewed sense of urgency in DC.  Pray with me that we as the Church pray "correctly."

Father, in Jesus' Name,  expand my "vision."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2