Here is a Word of encouragement:
Psalm 30:11You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
I have been asking the Lord about the days ahead, and His response was:
1. Remember-what He has done for me, the miracles, the answered prayers, the deliverance just like in Psalm 30 above
2. Walk step by step, moment by moment with Him. Trust, have faith, believe.
That's it. Through each miracle the Lord has walked me through, He has taught me the same thing: walk with Him step by step, moment by moment. We cannot walk with Him tomorrow until tomorrow arrives and yesterday is gone forever. Now, today is the day we have to walk with our God. Walk with Him, trust Him, stay in the Word to build your faith and watch what He will do.
grace and peace
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Hope
This one will be short but I want to pass onto you a theme the Lord has placed in my heart: hope. As the days become darker we need to keep the spark of hope alive in our hearts. We do this in and through the Word. This particular scripture really nails the concept down for us:
1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
We must keep faith, hope and love alive. Imagine with me for a moment just how far these three words could take us through this darkness if we all fully embraced them. How far can faith take us? All the way. How far can hope take us? All the way. How far can love take us.....all the way.
Our supply and provision and anything else we need comes from the unseen world into this seen world through faith hope and love. What am I talking about? Manna in the desert for Israel during the exodus is an example. The Lord provided a way that could not be anticipated, made no sense in the physical, was not rational or scientific etc. The Lord loved His people, He provided for them, end of story.
If we are on this earth and we are His children, He will have to provide for us or we will not survive. Do you think He knows this? Of course He does. Love, trust, hope, faith these things have been laid on this writer's heart to share with you. We who believe have a hope that the world does not. We have more than this, we have a blessed hope. Please remember to keep faith, hope and love alive. Focus on it, remember it morning noon and night. The Lord wrote this 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. Lets remember what our loving Father has written to us.
grace and peace
1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
We must keep faith, hope and love alive. Imagine with me for a moment just how far these three words could take us through this darkness if we all fully embraced them. How far can faith take us? All the way. How far can hope take us? All the way. How far can love take us.....all the way.
Our supply and provision and anything else we need comes from the unseen world into this seen world through faith hope and love. What am I talking about? Manna in the desert for Israel during the exodus is an example. The Lord provided a way that could not be anticipated, made no sense in the physical, was not rational or scientific etc. The Lord loved His people, He provided for them, end of story.
If we are on this earth and we are His children, He will have to provide for us or we will not survive. Do you think He knows this? Of course He does. Love, trust, hope, faith these things have been laid on this writer's heart to share with you. We who believe have a hope that the world does not. We have more than this, we have a blessed hope. Please remember to keep faith, hope and love alive. Focus on it, remember it morning noon and night. The Lord wrote this 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. Lets remember what our loving Father has written to us.
grace and peace
Thursday, July 18, 2013
A Loving Father
Just a quick note here to share something the Lord impressed upon me today. The Lord is as good as He possibly can be to us and for us based on our soul's condition and what our mission is. What does that mean?
1. Our soul's condition-If a childs soul/spirit is weak from being neck deep in sin, there is only so much blessing the Lord can do in that childs life without them using it as fuel to drive themselves deeper into the hole they are digging for themself.
2. Our mission-some of the Lord's children are destined for higher glory in heaven because they are enduring hell on earth here. Some are destined to be severely persecuted, martyred etc. Not all are martyrs, not all are apostles, not all are teachers etc. We all have different missions.
Here ^^ are two reasons (I am sure there are more) why we are not to judge each other. Who knows what your mission is, or mine? The Lord knows. One person lives a life that is very very hard on earth, others live lives that are not as hard (relatively). Is the Lord unfair? No way. He sees the end from the beginning, He sees eternity and you and I in it. ALL will be settled. The Lord Himself explained this better than I can:
Keep your eyes on the Lord. As the days grow dark we must keep our eyes on the prize which is Christ Jesus and us being found "in Him" and thereby possessing all things.
grace and peace
1. Our soul's condition-If a childs soul/spirit is weak from being neck deep in sin, there is only so much blessing the Lord can do in that childs life without them using it as fuel to drive themselves deeper into the hole they are digging for themself.
2. Our mission-some of the Lord's children are destined for higher glory in heaven because they are enduring hell on earth here. Some are destined to be severely persecuted, martyred etc. Not all are martyrs, not all are apostles, not all are teachers etc. We all have different missions.
Here ^^ are two reasons (I am sure there are more) why we are not to judge each other. Who knows what your mission is, or mine? The Lord knows. One person lives a life that is very very hard on earth, others live lives that are not as hard (relatively). Is the Lord unfair? No way. He sees the end from the beginning, He sees eternity and you and I in it. ALL will be settled. The Lord Himself explained this better than I can:
Luke 6:20Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
Keep your eyes on the Lord. As the days grow dark we must keep our eyes on the prize which is Christ Jesus and us being found "in Him" and thereby possessing all things.
grace and peace
Sunday, July 7, 2013
A Request For Direction
There are people looking for direction in this world. Where can they find it? Can they pray for it? Yes, but what else, what else can they do where else can they look to find direction? Here is one gigantic clue the Lord gave us:
Col 3:3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
In order to find direction you must find yourself. And where are 'you' at? The true you is now hidden, in Christ. So, to find and connect with yourself you must find and connect with Jesus Christ in whom you are now hidden. This is your first and greatest job each and every day. If you cannot even find yourself, how will you ever find direction for the other things that occupy your mind?
This is a win/win proposition. Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added unto you, remember?
Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When you seek to find yourself, you must first seek to find Christ Jesus in whom you are hidden, and Jesus Christ can be found in His kingdom. A way to visualize this is to draw a circle and write your name in it. Then draw another circle around that circle and write the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in it. Then draw another circle around those two circles and write "the Kingdom of our Lord" in it. When you draw this out, what do you see? Our Lord has set us up for success by the system/laws He has created.
Seek His Kingdom to find Christ and thus find yourself and all these things will be given to you as well....What you seek is hidden away in the kingdom of God, in Christ Jesus. Another way of answering how you can find your direction is: seek the kingdom so you can find Christ and thus find yourself so you can find your direction.
Col 3:3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
In order to find direction you must find yourself. And where are 'you' at? The true you is now hidden, in Christ. So, to find and connect with yourself you must find and connect with Jesus Christ in whom you are now hidden. This is your first and greatest job each and every day. If you cannot even find yourself, how will you ever find direction for the other things that occupy your mind?
This is a win/win proposition. Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added unto you, remember?
Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When you seek to find yourself, you must first seek to find Christ Jesus in whom you are hidden, and Jesus Christ can be found in His kingdom. A way to visualize this is to draw a circle and write your name in it. Then draw another circle around that circle and write the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in it. Then draw another circle around those two circles and write "the Kingdom of our Lord" in it. When you draw this out, what do you see? Our Lord has set us up for success by the system/laws He has created.
Seek His Kingdom to find Christ and thus find yourself and all these things will be given to you as well....What you seek is hidden away in the kingdom of God, in Christ Jesus. Another way of answering how you can find your direction is: seek the kingdom so you can find Christ and thus find yourself so you can find your direction.
Allow me one last way of explaining this then I will leave it alone. If you approach someone and ask them for the directions to the nearest walmart, their directions will only be good if you know where you are starting from. If you do not correctly identify your starting location/situation, the directions will not help you reach your destination. Understand? By centering yourself in the kingdom, in Christ and in the hidden you in Christ, only then can you understand where you really are right now as a starting point so when you receive your directions they will get you to where you need to go.
grace and peace
Friday, July 5, 2013
Encourage Yourself In The Lord
There are days when you are believing the Lord for an answer when you feel like you can barely get out of bed let alone ask for help, pray or believe for a miracle. What do we do when inside we feel like we are scraping the bottom of the barrel for our faith? You ask for more faith. When we don't have something we can either 1. complain about it, or 2. do something about it (ask for more) and wait for it.
The Lord gave us many examples to learn from. In the following example David and his men were doing some amazing things. You would think from reading the text that David's men would be more loyal, more trustworthy, whatever but read how they reacted and what David did in this situation:
You can read 1 Sam 29 for more background
1 Sam 30:1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
David's story is a good one. He was the beloved of the Lord, a man after the Lord's own heart and yet look at this situation he is put into. His men want to stone him and his wives are captured and taken away. Can you imagine? Not a fun day. Was David distressed? Yep, he probably felt like someone kicked him in the stomach a couple times then left him for dead, but what did David do? He encouraged himself in the Lord. And what was the result? The result was good.
What is all the trial and tribulation about here on earth? Is it just to trouble us for no reason or is there a reason? The reason is to get to know and love and trust the Lord our God. Are these trials easy? No, in fact they can border on feeling like we are close to death but again why are we facing these things? We will learn to rely on, trust and love our God.
All these just words? I mean, does brother D write all this for someone to feel good? No and yes. No this is not just to make you feel better. This is REAL, there is power behind the words. Not my words but His Word. The Lord wrote everything to us for a reason. This brother has a testimony for you, I have been through this. I have scraped the bottom of what felt like a deep dark lake where by faith was attacked in a way I did not think possible. I have felt abandoned and alone and without the Lord's presence. It was for a very short time but I have felt it. Who else felt it?
Mark 15:34
And just as our Lord trusted the Father and the result was our salvation, in each of our trials no matter how dark or hopeless things appear we must trust and seek the Lord until we have our answer. Why? Because this brother is telling you I have been delivered out of all my troubles (now I have some new ones but thats a different story). The Lord has answered when I have asked. I am not special, what does the Word say?
I have had to wait for my answers, but I received my answers. The Lord has been faithful and true. He has helped me and He will help you, just dont give up. The Lord has performed many miracles in this brother's life, many and although they have been wonderful to behold I understand they were not just for me. Example, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead was it just for Lazarus that the miracle was performed? No, it was for every believer who ever believed after that miracle was performed. The raising of Lazarus was just as much for you and me as it was for Lazarus and those standing around watching it on that day long ago.
Keep the faith, hold on, hang on. If you cannot take a step forward then at least stand your ground and do not retreat, just stand. Part of these things we go through is for the Lord to reveal His power and His majesty to us. Through every hardship and resulting deliverance the Lord is revealing Himself to us. I have been through many of these and I can tell you my heart swells with love when I think about how the Lord rescued me, delivered me, saved me from my troubles over and over again. And no most of the time it was not a quick fix so I did suffer while I waited but some of that suffering was self imposed. Why didn't I trust the Lord more? After so many deliverances and miracles why
do I still sometimes not walk and think like I should? I am human, so are you. Don't beat yourself up. Focus on the solution not the problem.
Ask, seek, knock. These Words were written to us for a reason, they are not empty. Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. These are facts, not just suggestions. Ask, seek and knock are the commands our Lord gave to us to help us. Remember the story of the unjust judge, persist.
On the day you get your answer it will all make sense. On the day the arm of the Lord is revealed in power on your behalf, you will understand. On that day you will forget your trouble and your heart will overflow with thanks and joy then you will be a light for someone else's miracle. You will have a testimony based on fact when the Lord comes through for you just as He has come through for me and all those we read about in the Word.
Keep the faith, grace and peace
The Lord gave us many examples to learn from. In the following example David and his men were doing some amazing things. You would think from reading the text that David's men would be more loyal, more trustworthy, whatever but read how they reacted and what David did in this situation:
You can read 1 Sam 29 for more background
1 Sam 30:1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
David's story is a good one. He was the beloved of the Lord, a man after the Lord's own heart and yet look at this situation he is put into. His men want to stone him and his wives are captured and taken away. Can you imagine? Not a fun day. Was David distressed? Yep, he probably felt like someone kicked him in the stomach a couple times then left him for dead, but what did David do? He encouraged himself in the Lord. And what was the result? The result was good.
What is all the trial and tribulation about here on earth? Is it just to trouble us for no reason or is there a reason? The reason is to get to know and love and trust the Lord our God. Are these trials easy? No, in fact they can border on feeling like we are close to death but again why are we facing these things? We will learn to rely on, trust and love our God.
All these just words? I mean, does brother D write all this for someone to feel good? No and yes. No this is not just to make you feel better. This is REAL, there is power behind the words. Not my words but His Word. The Lord wrote everything to us for a reason. This brother has a testimony for you, I have been through this. I have scraped the bottom of what felt like a deep dark lake where by faith was attacked in a way I did not think possible. I have felt abandoned and alone and without the Lord's presence. It was for a very short time but I have felt it. Who else felt it?
Mark 15:34
| And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") |
And just as our Lord trusted the Father and the result was our salvation, in each of our trials no matter how dark or hopeless things appear we must trust and seek the Lord until we have our answer. Why? Because this brother is telling you I have been delivered out of all my troubles (now I have some new ones but thats a different story). The Lord has answered when I have asked. I am not special, what does the Word say?
| "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you |
I have had to wait for my answers, but I received my answers. The Lord has been faithful and true. He has helped me and He will help you, just dont give up. The Lord has performed many miracles in this brother's life, many and although they have been wonderful to behold I understand they were not just for me. Example, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead was it just for Lazarus that the miracle was performed? No, it was for every believer who ever believed after that miracle was performed. The raising of Lazarus was just as much for you and me as it was for Lazarus and those standing around watching it on that day long ago.
Keep the faith, hold on, hang on. If you cannot take a step forward then at least stand your ground and do not retreat, just stand. Part of these things we go through is for the Lord to reveal His power and His majesty to us. Through every hardship and resulting deliverance the Lord is revealing Himself to us. I have been through many of these and I can tell you my heart swells with love when I think about how the Lord rescued me, delivered me, saved me from my troubles over and over again. And no most of the time it was not a quick fix so I did suffer while I waited but some of that suffering was self imposed. Why didn't I trust the Lord more? After so many deliverances and miracles why
do I still sometimes not walk and think like I should? I am human, so are you. Don't beat yourself up. Focus on the solution not the problem.
Ask, seek, knock. These Words were written to us for a reason, they are not empty. Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. These are facts, not just suggestions. Ask, seek and knock are the commands our Lord gave to us to help us. Remember the story of the unjust judge, persist.
On the day you get your answer it will all make sense. On the day the arm of the Lord is revealed in power on your behalf, you will understand. On that day you will forget your trouble and your heart will overflow with thanks and joy then you will be a light for someone else's miracle. You will have a testimony based on fact when the Lord comes through for you just as He has come through for me and all those we read about in the Word.
Keep the faith, grace and peace
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing
1 Thess 5:15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. 16Rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19Quench not the Spirit. 20Despise not prophesyings. 21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22Abstain from all appearance of evil.
I wanted to share with you something the Lord brought to my mind yesterday about "pray without ceasing." Why would the Lord tell us to pray without ceasing? Because He never intends to answer us? Because He likes us to do futile things? To frustrate us? No to all these things. He tells us to pray without ceasing so we may receive AN ANSWER to our needs.
Ask, seek, knock, why would the Lord tell us to do these things? To get AN ANSWER from Him. Our God does not speak idle Words. If He said it He meant it and He meant it for our good.
So pray without ceasing offering up a multitude of prayers and requests and do so with thanksgiving.
This world may be entering into unprecedented troubled times in the days ahead. If that is so we will need the Lord to answer many prayers and requests and to show us His tender mercies every day.
Keep the faith. grace and peace
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Our Momentary Troubles
The Lord gave me this one yesterday so I pass it on to you:
Our momentary troubles enable the Lord to demonstrate His power and glory to us. Without troubles and conflict and tribulation, the Lord would not have much reason to demonstrate His power to us. Every good story has an element of conflict in it so it can be resolved, so it is with us.
You may say "but brother D I dont need any more conflict or tribulation, my plate is full!" I understand and I have felt the same way at times in the past. I can tell you now having been delivered from every trial that the Lord is true to His Word and although it may seem unbearable at the moment if you ask for strength and wait for the Lord He WILL come through for you. How, what, when, where are all up to the Lord but He will come through for you. What did the Lord say? What did He promise? What can you take back to Him in prayer? This:
This ^^ my friends is absolute truth. This brother can testify to you that I have had troubles and tribulations and trials and the Lord has delivered me from them all. They were not pleasant, and I would not want to go through any of them again but having gone through them I now see and know that the Lord is true to His Word and He can be trusted to the uttermost.
The Lord wants to display His power and majesty to us. I am standing with some of you even now in prayer for your miracles. What is going to happen when the Lord delivers your miracle? You will see the power and majesty of the Lord. You will understand in a deeper way what kind of God we serve. He is awesome.
I write this to encourage you today to pray and not give up. Ask, seek, knock and the door will be opened. Trust the Lord, hold on and you will see the power and majesty of our God when He works on your behalf. There is little to nothing in this world like seeing the Lord move in power on your behalf. He still works miracles today, thats a fact. He wants to reveal Himself to us in His fullness, we just have to believe and not give up.
grace and peace
Our momentary troubles enable the Lord to demonstrate His power and glory to us. Without troubles and conflict and tribulation, the Lord would not have much reason to demonstrate His power to us. Every good story has an element of conflict in it so it can be resolved, so it is with us.
You may say "but brother D I dont need any more conflict or tribulation, my plate is full!" I understand and I have felt the same way at times in the past. I can tell you now having been delivered from every trial that the Lord is true to His Word and although it may seem unbearable at the moment if you ask for strength and wait for the Lord He WILL come through for you. How, what, when, where are all up to the Lord but He will come through for you. What did the Lord say? What did He promise? What can you take back to Him in prayer? This:
Psalm 34"4I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
This ^^ my friends is absolute truth. This brother can testify to you that I have had troubles and tribulations and trials and the Lord has delivered me from them all. They were not pleasant, and I would not want to go through any of them again but having gone through them I now see and know that the Lord is true to His Word and He can be trusted to the uttermost.
The Lord wants to display His power and majesty to us. I am standing with some of you even now in prayer for your miracles. What is going to happen when the Lord delivers your miracle? You will see the power and majesty of the Lord. You will understand in a deeper way what kind of God we serve. He is awesome.
I write this to encourage you today to pray and not give up. Ask, seek, knock and the door will be opened. Trust the Lord, hold on and you will see the power and majesty of our God when He works on your behalf. There is little to nothing in this world like seeing the Lord move in power on your behalf. He still works miracles today, thats a fact. He wants to reveal Himself to us in His fullness, we just have to believe and not give up.
grace and peace
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