the 3 R's

Luke 15:11-32

(I will not type the whole passage but the synopsis is the prodigal son.)

several months ago the Holy Spirit had me read this passage at the beginning of a trial period in my faith. at that time I was shown something that would get me through the trial. it did, praise the Lord, along with other scripture texts. the trial was directed at my faith, & the devil used the “hath God said” tactic he so clearly overuses. hey, it worked on Eve. by the middle of June I was shown that my loving Savior was carrying me through the trial. I’ve always loved the poem “Footprints” but never expected to be in the poem. one finds they love their Savior all the more when shown that aspect of Him.

onto the topic… once the trial was completed, & yes I passed, I reread many of the passages read at the beginning. lo & behold the Holy Spirit showed me something between the lines! Amen!

in verses 13 & 14 we read that the younger son “wasted his substance” & “had spent all” on riotous living; i.e.: he spent it on pleasure & partying or things the world dupes people into believing will bring joy. but notice verses 22 & 23 where the father replaces all the things his younger son had wasted.

R #1: Replaced. I myself was that younger son. I chose to spend all I had spiritually accumulated on the things that the world duped me into. yes, I knew it would never bring me true joy yet I vexed myself daily in striving to attain what I could never achieve alone. it is only through God’s mercy & compassion that He is giving me another chance to replace what I lost. I truly do NOT want to get to Heaven empty handed! through His grace, it will not happen.

second, in verse 15 we look at how the younger son “went and joined himself to a citizen of that country.” oh the numerous times that I did that! it sickens me! James 4:4 says, “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” I clearly CHOSE to hook-up with the world thus placing myself in the bull’s-eye of God’s Brillo pad (Hebrews 12:6).

R #2: Rejoined. verse 27 tells of the joy when a lost sheep is rejoined safe & sound into the fellowship of the Believers. I praise the Lord for the scourging, purging, rinsing & repeating until He decided I was fit for use. I am by no means finished but from now until death visits me, my Lord is showing me it is better “to be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Amen!

lastly, verse 17 tells how he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror, “when he came to himself.” he finally saw how dirty & filthy he had become. for me it was realizing my hand had been caught in the proverbial cookie jar (see post #23 Journalizing). it wasn’t just on the outside but also on the inside. this caused him/me to seriously exam his/my heart & see that his/my only hope was truly in returning to the Father.

R #3 is Regenerated. verse 32 proclaims how the father lifted up his voice in praise as his son, “was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” July 26, 2010 is the date that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the fact that I was truly converted. not just outwardly as a show to men but inwardly to my Heavenly Father. of course I had to travel through the trial, endure hardship as a good soldier & yield to my Father’s will to find this out. my sole purpose on this earth is to carry out God’s plan for this life that HE designed long before I was in my mother’s womb (Jeremiah 5:5). ALL GLORY GOES TO GOD!

one thing I must mention: if you are a Believer & still in the hog pen of this world, PLEASE come back before its too late! not only does your Heavenly Father desire the fellowship you both once had but your brothers & sisters-in-the-Lord have been praying that you return. several were praying for me. we will not debate the attitude of the elder brother in the passage, but verse 26 says that a servant told him what the commotion was about! as a child of God we are all servants. please don’t let time run out! yield to the chastening!

mountain tops

Psalm 72:16, "And there shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall fourish like grass of the earth"

life is full of ups (mountains) and downs (valleys). how does one survive the valleys? by gaining sustenance upon the mountain tops. get all you can while on the mountain!

I am speaking spiritually, ie: God's Word. it is by being daily in the bible that you will gain the nourishment from your Heavenly Father for the valleys that He has prepared for you in life. as it is throught hose valleys you will grow.

I find it interesting that is says the "fruit shall shake". in order for fuit to shake it needs to be in a constant state of movement. for me it means spiritual fruit that the Father has planted & watered within a Christian upon the mountain tops. most valleys are dry so one needs an abundance of fruit for the duration. it is only through the valleys that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is tested. will they sustain the Pilgrim or shrivel on the vine?

lastly, "the city will flourish". how? by submitting to the Father's cultivation on the mountain top, the Spirit's guidance in the valley, & the Saviour's life lived through you on a daily basis. one can never slack while on the mounatin top! prepare for the coming battles in the valley ahead! only then will our living Saviour be able to flourish through day by day.

the moving cloud

I know. the blog posts are few and far between. but when you are in God's classroom, passing notes is strictly forbidden! the only chance I get is in between sessions.

Numbers 9:18 23 tells of how and when the Israelites followed God in the wilderness. Verse 18, "At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents." right now my tent is pitched and for a good reason. God is remolding this vessel though the vessel insists on creating new cracks. but every time a new crack is made He comes along and in love mends the vessel.

yesterday I had the opportunity to watch Him mend. and even though this vessel still has broken pieces, cracks and missing parts He still chose to use me. we as humans still use cups and dishes even when they are broken, chipped or even have cracks in them. how much more so does our Heavenly Father use us even though we are no better than our serving ware? as along as He knows the part that is usable is fully relying on Him and His Holy Spirit, then it is usable. I can only tell you of one instance yesterday.

some of the work at my part time job is to deliver documents to local downtown businesses. yesterday afternoon, with all the sunshine, I grabbed the documents, filled my shirt pocket with tracts and decided to walk while delivering both sets of documents. now the one set had a specific destination to the businesses but the other set had Divine destinations to specific individuals. so after delivery of the first set, I headed back to my job and found I had one more tract to hand out. it was then came across a friend I hadn't seen in a while. the Father gave me an opportunity to brag on Him AND give out the last tract.

will they read the tract? only God knows. but what I do know is that even while God has you pitched, even when He is remolding and reshaping the vessel, He can use you. if He can use someone like me, while reshaping this lump of clay, then I know He can use you. will you allow Him to use the usable part?

then came amalek

the first three words of Exodus 17:8 are by no means cheery. they are written just after God's people have been refreshed from the water at the smitten rock. yesterday for me was a day spent with the Smitten Rock (Jesus Christ). He and I accomplished many tasks. but just about 10:30 pm Amalek, or the flesh, attempted to take over. my denied, starving for attention flesh seems to attack, many times, right about 10:30 pm in hopes of being satisfied.

I have to praise God that it is only through Him that I make it without succumbing. you might ask, is it difficult to resist? I will not lie and say no. it is at those times I lean ever more pressed into the Lord. the Father brings to mind verses to help me resist and reminds me of the deliverance He has already given.

verse 16 states, “that the LORD will have war with Amalek, from generation to generation.” we will continue to battle our flesh until we are freed from it's earthly grasp either in death or at the rapture. and who will be there every time to make sure we obtain the victory? none other than our Heavenly Father! now that's worth shouting about. especially at 10:30 pm! HALLELUJAH!

faithful is He

when I was young my mom was faithful. who would wake me up every morning? Mom. who would make me breakfast? Mom. who would help me get ready for school? Mom. as I grew older I soon learned to trust her to help me with a host of other things. homework, projects, cleaning my room and when I had my first crush on a girl she helped me make a valentine. not to mention being a good “back seat driver” when I was learning how to drive. mom was always there.

now isn't that the exact place God wants to be in our lives? I Thessalonians 5:9 & 10 reads, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” now we know we cannot obtain salvation any other way except through Jesus Christ, but once we have accepted Him we should be living with Him; daily. this should be done whether we wake (that means alive) or sleep (that means to be deceased). the totally cool part of this is if we skip to verse 24 of the same chapter reads, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” HALLELUJAH! not only is God our salvation but He is faithful in helping us to be His children! our Heavenly Father wants to be there whether we wake or sleep in order to make sure we are living right for Him. this is good! this parallels with II Corinthians 5:9 "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him." I once heard a radio preacher state that we shouldn't talk to God on every subject in our lives. WHY NOT! He already knows our hearts, knows what is going to happen anyway and I'm pretty sure He is the one who brought the situation into our life. um, why wouldn't you want talk to God on every thing in your life?

so what your'e saying is that Jesus Christ, who saved you, will also help you live for Him? bingo, I think you've got it! He is more faithful than my mom, no offense mom, as He is there at every step and every turn of my life. only God knows what's exactly in store for me every morning when I awake. just as He knows what step I should take at every turn of my life; God wants to be there to make sure my steps, turns and walk is with Him. if I am deceased then I am already walking with Christ in heaven. but as my heavenly life has not began, my Heavenly Father wants to walk with me in my earthly life. oh, how this makes one put their life into a different perspective.

I would rather walk aside the One who never fails than to step alone with the one who fails always.