court is held

Psalm 84

2 “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”

6 “Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools,”

10 “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

according to Wikipedia, the royal court of a monarch is explained as: “A term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure.” with Jesus Christ as my Lord, Adonai, He is meant to be the central figure, Monarch, of my life. we can go into great depths on Him being the KING of Kings & LORD of Lords some other time.

the reason I explained the above is to bring to light the phrase, “the courts of my Lord” in the Psalm. King David wrote Psalm 84 & he was all too familiar of the life within the court of a king. but compare the biblical phrase to the Wikipedia definition.

did you notice it?

David fainted for the court, extended household, of his Lord. see David knew that he was a joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:16 & 17) so that meant he was a part of the extended household. but as part of that extended household it is his duty to attend to the ruler, ie: the Lord. David actively sought out where his Lord was at all times. it made it ever the more easy to attend to his needs & wants by doing so. he even went to so far as to exclaim it was better than a thousand “ordinary” days.

to take it further, we read that the Lord was holding court. in the valley of Baca. in the well! what an odd place. Baca means weeping or sorrow. this life is by no means Heaven. it is constantly full of sorrow. not just the current national situation but in general. apathy & death abound! but not so when you attend to your Lord. by keeping one’s eyes & attention focused on Him, you soon forget about the surroundings & pass through it. but in a well? while this life is dry & dusty a well is a place of refuge & regeneration! what better place to hold court while on active duty!

Recently I’ve found out that my Lord is holding court in that well. to pass through Baca I must voluntarily enter the well. but how? by digging into His Word, donating my full attention to Him & doing His will on a daily basis. it truly is sweet as you notice in verse 7, “They go from strength to strength.”

stay in court! attend to your Lord! only then can you survive Baca!

not about me

I am going through something I have never experienced in my entire life. the devil & his army of demons have been personally attacking me this past week. their primary goal is to sway me from becoming what God has for my life. beyond that the attacks have nothing to do with me at all. I am just the means to attack God Himself. by attacking me the devil is actually attacking the Father.

I have been using Galatians 2:20 quite frequently during the attacks. recently Romans 12:1 - 3 have made an impact; "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

- living sacrifices don't get to pick & choose what happens to them.
- in order to become holy & acceptable I must become a living sacrifice.
- it truly is my reasonable service as Jesus Christ paid for all my sins.
- Christians should only conform to Christ.
- to renew one's mind the Word of God must be implemented.
- God's will is that every child of His do His good, acceptable & perfect will.
- by doing His will, He is going to prove me to see if it still is the forefront of my life.
- upon choosing to become a living sacrifice, I have been shown who I really am in God's eyes.
- the only way I can survive the attacks is to place all my trust, as a living sacrifice, in Jesus.

God is always good and God is always right.

be doing

I Chronicles 22:16b, “Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.”

two commands are presented in this verse; Arise and Be Doing.

if one is ever going to do anything for God they must arise. arise out of the slumber of life. arise out the mundane world. arise out of religion and its traditions. arise anew in Christ in order to be doing. be doing the work of the Father. be doing the life of Christ lived through you. be doing the will of God as told through His Holy Spirit and His Word. be doing what God has called you to do after you have arisen.

the last portion of the passage is implied. once you arise and begin doing, the LORD is with you. He is with you when you arise. He is with you when you begin doing. He is with you while you are doing. He is with you when it is time to lay down the doing & follow Him home.

today’s churches are full of people who have arisen but have never began the doing. little do they know that God Almighty is the same yesterday, today & forever. meaning He only calls you to the doing that He knows you can do through Him.

whatever is on life’s path has already been approved by Him for you. for me. therefore I must arise and be doing.

letting God lead

Numbers 14:1-10a

Vs. 7: “And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.”

The phrase ‘to search it’ means there was a reconnaissance mission to find out how to go forward in God’s will. Prayer & fasting, coupled with saturation of the Word, will bring that to light.

Vs. 8a: “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us.”

‘If the Lord delights’ hinges on God delighting in us while being obedient to His word & will. ‘Then he will bring us’ accompanies the Lord delighting and our obedience, but doesn’t always mean we are to go forward. Sometimes we must be patient & wait right where we are while He brings & gives what He has for us. Though here we see that God’s delight and our obedience is what will bring us into the land of promise. That is God’s plan for our life.

How is this accomplished?

1. When God moves, you move!

Vs. 9a: “Only rebel not ye against the Lord…”

YOU is implied emphatically as the one that should not rebel. If God is moving DON’T stand in the way! A friend of mine once gave the analogy of God being the engineer of a train. Now we have the choice of either being on the tracks or on the train. If we are on the tracks, God will run us over. As we are His children He wants us to obey & if not then we are asking for the chastisement. But if we are on the train then we get the opportunity to experience His blessing of doing His will.

2. While God is moving, don’t fear.

Vs 9b: “neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them…”

This is so cool! He is saying to not be afraid as the people that are in the land already are more afraid of you than you of them! They don’t have a leg to stand on with God and you against them! Amen! Being on God’s side makes it so much easier especially knowing that the moving forward is part of His will.

3. Watch God while you move!

Vs 9d: “and the Lord is with us…”

Keep your eyes glued to the One doing the work. Too many times I tend to focus on what I think I’m doing for God. It is at these times that God politely puts me in my place only to tell me that it isn’t me doing the work. It’s Him working through me in order for Him to get the glory. I’m glad God is merciful enough to remind me gently instead out of vengeance.

4. Willingly move with God.

Vs 24a & b: “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully…”

Moving begins in the heart long before it gets to the feet! If you are ever going to follow God it MUST begin in the heart. The action of your heart is closely linked to all the other areas of your body; mind, eyes, ears, mouth & etc. People say that your heart must be in something in order to do it; though I know many that did something without any part of their heart being involved. It’s the same with following God. If it truly comes from God, it will begin in your heart & then travel throughout thus making it easier to follow with your feet. Hence the prayer & fasting coupled with the Word. The only way to follow God is fully – no half-heartedness!

Proverbs 3:5 & 6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (bold for emphasis)

hungry?

too many of today’s independent fundamental Baptist churches are starving. by this I mean that the preacher sent from God to feed the congregation is not supplying the necessary food to strengthen and sustain the believers. born-again Christians need more than just the sincere milk of the Word given to them Sunday to Sunday. Spirit-fed meat should be found in their daily walk with God but also served up on the preaching menu on a regular basis. the downside to this is that too many of today’s independent fundamental Baptist preachers are not off the milk themselves. how can they expect their congregation to grow?

so my question is: are you hungry? the Holy Spirit has driven me to a desire for meat from the Word that it near ravenous. physically I like a good ribeye loaded with all the trimmings, and spiritually the Holy Ghost has been serving just that.

Matthew 14:22 – 32 is a favorite section of Christ’s earthly walk that I have always loved. mainly because it tells of the only 100% human to ever walk on water, Peter. but until the other day the Holy Spirit showed me something that I had never noticed. so here goes…

verse 22: "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship." this is only a portion of the verse but notice that Jesus constrained his disciples. meaning He "urgently & repeatedly suggested" they get into a boat and leave. no doubt one could see the Lord almost physically picking them up one-by-one and placing them into the boat, telling that one to stay, and doing the same to the next just like parents do with their own children. this was done because He knew about Verse 24.

this is good! verse 24: "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed about with waves: for the wind was contrary." I love this! Jesus Christ knew the wind was going to be contrary! do you see that? He knew when He was constraining the disciples to get into the ship in verse 22 what was going to happen in verse 24! now you can’t tell me that He isn’t the Son of God if, by chance, verse 24 just happened. nothing happens by chance to God!

so what does Jesus do? He goes for a leisurely stroll… on the sea. verse 25: "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." I can see it now – wind and waves billowing about, a little ship being tossed to and fro like a ragdoll in a dryer, and there’s my Saviour. calmly, serenely, maybe even whistling, walking on the water – to His disciples. do you get what I am saying? Jesus knew when He was constraining in verse 22 about the storm, He even knew about taking a walk on the water, and all for what? to go to His disciples. He placed them in the exact position where the only place to go for help was to Him. and there He was. in the midst of the storm – but in control.

verse 27: "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I: be not afraid." He placed them into a boat. He placed them into the midst of the stormy sea. only to prove to them His power and might over the extenuating circumstances that surrounded them. Hallelujah! my God is mightier than any storm surrounding me! my God even places me into storms if only for me to see how mighty He is. to see that He IS in control no matter what befalls me. to prove to me that He is there at every turn of life’s wave whether calm or contrary. no doubt He does it just to flex his everlasting muscles so His children can ooh and aah over them aka give Him the glory He so richly deserves. it’s like, "Hey Christian, watch this" and then he flexes his big muscles and the storm is calm. that’s my God!

now that was all said for this. Verse 28, "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." did you catch it? Peter ASKED to leave the safety of the ship and step out into the stormy sea. exactly where Jesus was. it wasn’t satisfactory to be in the ship NEXT to Jesus. no, he wanted to get out INTO the water. he wanted to LEAVE the ship and replace it with the Saviour – eternal security. he wasn’t content with the norm. he wasn’t satisfied being with the other 11. instead he asked Jesus, "Can I come out there with you?" I’m sure he knew how safe/unsafe those fishing boats were and decided it was more safe on the water. the key is that Peter ASKED to go out to Jesus. we’ve all heard about Peter’s faith in walking on the water and his lack of faith in sinking once out there, but we fail to realize that Peter asked Jesus if he could go to him. and where was Jesus? on the water.

now here is the meat. Jesus placed His disciples into a position in order to prove to them He was mightier that their surrounding circumstances. but once in those circumstances, He wanted to see who would take the step TOWARDS Him. God places each of His children in circumstances we do not have control over. but it is only to see if we will in turn run to the One in control of those circumstances while in that situation. the next time you find yourself in a storm, ask the one in control of the storm if you can come closer. Peter found it easy for Jesus to stretch out His arm and catch him while sinking in the waves as Jesus was right in front of him.

now to make it hurt. Jesus could have reached out His arm and catch me all those years ago before I stepped into sin. if only in the middle of the storm I turned and asked to go to Him, instead of running from Him. ouch.

my 180

friday, july 24, 2009.

that’s when it happened. my 180. true I had repented and turned many months ago, but that was the day the Father had me realize that the 180 was complete. Psalm 30:2 states, "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me." I have simply poured my heart out to the Father just like David. I have invited His divine hands to break me, mold me and make me into what He desires. my heart longs after Him. He is my glue.

how did this happen? the Word. the daily diving into the Word (coupled with prayer). Psalm 107:20, "He sent the word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." yes, destructions – i.e. plural. meaning the path I was headed down had more than one snare I could have fallen into. seems King David had more than the one snare of being a whoremonger. if God can heal him why can’t He heal me?

He can only if I allow Him. Psalm 78:41 (this verse will change your life) reads, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." Scary! they turned back. they chose NOT to obey God fully. they tempted God. they also chose NOT to trust God fully. plus they limited the Holy One of Israel! they had compacted God into this neat little box. set Him on a shelf. and made Him watch them turn and tempt. they only needed Him for one thing. once that was complete, they disregarded Him all together. that one thing was deliverance. Israel was constantly getting into trouble and relying on God to deliver them. but God was big enough to deliver them AND keep them out of trouble so as to break the cycle!

that is my 180. I by no means am perfect. I am not prideful enough to say I can never return or will ever step away from my Saviour. but what I can tell you is that God Almighty has healed me. my thoughts are no longer plagued by my past life, though the devil tries from time to time (I Cor. 6:11). my desires have been transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom. 12:2). I have willing placed myself, and continually, under God’s microscope (Prov. 1:23). and my greatest fear is to once again hurt my God and my Redeemer. should that be the fear of the Lord, then it is worth fearing (Prov. 2:5).

my God is so big, so strong and so mighty. there’s nothing my God cannot do. so true is that song. He IS strong enough to pull my sinful soul out of destruction. but ALSO strong enough to keep me close to Him. oh let me no longer limit the Holy One! may God receive the glory for what He has and will do with my life!

duh

if only life was this simple. truth is, it could be. you see this label should attached to every baby along with a copy of God's Word before they leave the hospital. that is life's instruction book.

too many times we forget to read the instructions and go off willy-nilly on our own. and we wonder why life is so hard. duh... we forgot to read the instructions!

this is becoming ever more prevelant in my life as I continue to follow my Lord. right now it is in the area of women. true last time I totally messed things up; but I've realized that if God is first BEFORE things start, then I'm headed in the right direction. hence reading the instruction book! I've already decided that should God choose to give me a wife it will only be because she is needed in my ministry and we can perform that ministry more completely together for our Lord. should she not be needed then I am willing to do the minstry alone.

right now, I am testing a certain female that I am interested in at church. the Father, through the Holy Spirit, impressed me to ask her out to soulwinning night... and SHE CAME TO IT. just so you know I'm kinda stoked about it. I will ask her again this Sunday night and it would be nice if she says yes. the Holy Spirit has mentioned to have no expectations just in case she refuses. the Lord MUST be first in this arena should it proceed any farther. if He is not, then any relationship will fail. by placing God first, and reading the instruction manual, it will allow God to have His will in this matter. God must get the glory for my life, including this.

and they encamped

it's been awhile since my last post, but God has been blessing while teaching me to trust in Him and Him alone. I just want to share with you something good from todays devotions. I hope it is a blessing to you as it was to me. It is in Exodus 15:22-27. I will not type the whole passage but this event happens just after the children of Israel have been delivered by the hand of God from the Egyptians at the crossing of the Red Sea.

no sooner had they been delivered they find themselves at the bitter waters of Marah, verse 23. and they did what? they complained. in verse 25 we read that, “and there he proved them.” their whole position was orchestrated by God simply to test them. would they long for Egypt or would they put their trust in the one who delivered them? now that the Almighty God had received honor from Pharaoh and had destroyed their enemies, He only wanted them to trust in Him before moving forward. we say simply trust but too many times its harder to trust than it is to follow. see trust, or faith, “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

verse 26 states, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord, that healeth thee.” God is stating that if you trusted me to get you out of Egypt why can't you trust me to get you into Canaan? Marah is just a trial. if you think Marah is bad how will you make it through the wilderness? we've just started and now you're complaining. but they had to trust. we have to trust. I have to trust. and how? do that which is right in His eyes, give ear to His commandments and keep His statutes.

now here is the good part... if I do that, and only by His strength, I will find myself in a place of rest. verse 27 finds the Israelites in Elim filled with pure water and an abundance of palm trees for shade. it says they encamped. meaning they took up residence for a brief time until God moved them. daily in life's trials and tribulations I must submit myself to Him and Him alone. and daily I am tried and tested as God purifies with fire. but through it all I can find rest within the same hands that molds me. I must encamp within the one who has saved me, delivered me and conforms me to His image. in whom will you encamp?

cleansing

Psalm 119:9 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."