Where Are You?

Gen 3:9  And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

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Our life is an open book to God. There is nothing that we do or say that He does not know. We may be able to keep them hidden from other human eyes, but there is nowhere to hide from the eyes of God. He is a God of love and even in our disobedience He seeks to find us. God desires that we come out in the open and confess our unbelief, our sin, our disobedience. The wages of sin is death, but God has provided a way for us to return back to Him. We who have lived in darkness, can come into the light of God love and forgiveness. The debt has been paid, Jesus died for the “apple” we have eaten. We don’t have to find a place to hide from God for our shame, He calls us out, “Where are you?”. Come out from living in darkness into the marvelous light of God’s grace.

Help During Trouble Times

Psalm 46:10, 1 Be still, and know that I am God… God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The rain falls on the just and unjust. Bad things happening is no respecter of persons. When a plane crashes, when a terrorist bomb explores, or an earthquake destroys cities. People of all color, nationalities and religions are taken from us. Many hold God responsible and become bitter in their heart and refuse to acknowledge Him as a good God. To the believer in Christ, our lives are in God’s hands and He knows the number of our days and those of our loved ones. He is God and He knows what He is doing. He sees the beginning to the end and understands what we are going through. Instead of becoming resentful toward Him, He invites us to call on Him for refuge and strength. During our most trying times, He is our helper in time of trouble. We need to get alone with God and be still before Him. For in Him, we know He does and allows all things for His purpose. 

Spirit of Adoption

Roman 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Fear of being lost, fear of the unknown, and fear of death. Set free from the bondage of sin, free from unbelief and being forsaken. As children of God, we have been adopted into the family of God. We are no longer children of darkness, lost in sin and seeking the sinful pleasures of the is world. We no longer are bound and enslaved by Satan’s power. The Holy Spirit has given us the assurance that we no longer belong to this world, but have been made heirs with Christ. The old ways have passed away, and we have been given a new life and a new family. We are not just children of His creation, but we have been adopted, we are a part of His household. Our relationship with God is intimate. We can come boldly to the throne of God and call him Abba! He truly is a Father to the fatherless, and “daddy” to all who love Him.

Unkind Words

1 Sam 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret…

Hannah, a young women in the prime of age to have children was barren. A women not able to bare children was devalued and pitied. Her adversary added salt to her wound by taunting her every year she came to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. Words have a way of cutting to the soul. Contrary to the common phrase “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”. Words are a powerful weapon that can can be emotionally damaging to someone who is already dealing with low self esteem or psychological issues. It is never right to speak words that are unkind and hurting. Speaking the truth should always be done in the spirit of caring and love. The answer to harsh word is to turn to God for refuge. He who knows the heart is able to bring words of comfort and reassures that He will take care of His own. Fret not, God values who you are and desires to make you into a vessel of honor and praise for His glory.

He Is Precious

1 Peter 2:7a Unto you therefore which believe he is precious…

Precious: “something of great value, not to be wasted or treated carelessly” He is the main cornerstone of our spiritual life. A precious stone that we depend on and basic to living this Christian life. He is the solid rock, the foundation that is laid as we build our spiritual house. As the cornerstone, he holds our life together, fitly frames to stand during test of time. He is treasure of great pearls. Without Him, Christianity would be just another religion with some good moral teaching, but He bring religion to a whole new level. He is precious because he breathes new life into every believer. To those who believe that He is precious will not be led astray. Hold firm to the living stone as we build our spiritual house here on earth

I Will Praise Him

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

We praise Him not because we feel like it. Praising the Lord and exalting His name is not necessarily a cause and effect action. Yes, He is good and does wonderful things and for this we praise Him, but praise is an attitude of the heart. Even when things are not going so good we praise Him. Even when life seems to be given us lemons and nothing appears to be working out. With purpose and will, we make the choice to praise Him in spite of all that is happening. We praise Him because He is God and is worthy of our praise. I don’t claim to understand all the workings of God, and I certainly don’t have all the answers to the “why” and “why nots” of life, but this one thing I know, God is love and He is all that I need to make life complete. For this, I will praise Him.

Filled with the Holy Ghost

Act 2:4 … And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..

The idea of being filled implies there is an indwelling presence of something. We say that we are filled with joy and running over, or filled with excitement and can’t contain it. Such fillings are emotions that are created by experiences and situations in our lives that cause us to express an outward manifestation of happiness. The day of Pentecost was more that just a day of great joy and expression of emotions of happiness. The coming of the Holy Ghost into the heart of believers was a spiritual experience that transcended the mind and emotions. The Father sent the Comforter, the Holy Ghost to fill the heart to those who were praying in the upper room. They gathered for one purpose, seeking God for power and purity. Power to stand boldly in the face of opposition, and purity to live a life holy and acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer is what caused the world to turn upside down. The church of Jesus Christ was born, built on the foundation of Christ alone, His Spirit empowered His church to spread the news of His love, grace and mercy.

The Duty of Man

Ecc. 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again”. The mundane things of life. The endless daily routine of doing the same thing over and over again. Some would say. I live a boring life, I get up, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, come home, eat supper, and get ready for the next day” We repeat the same routine the next day until the weekend, then there are the many “things” that need to be done around the house. Yes, it does appear at times that this is the cycle of life. What does it mean to live? How do we fulfill life’s joy in the repetition of life? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” In the midst of endless things to do, our focus in life is to fear God, and keep trusting Him that He does all things well. 

The Heavens Declare His Love

Ps 19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament show his handiwork.

At night during a cloudless evening away from the city lights, you only have to look up into the sky and wonder at the vastness of the universe. Hard to phantom that those stars are light years away. God is not bound by time, everything to God is in the present. For God is the creator of time and His creation declares His greatness, presences, and holiness. The denial of His existence is futile, who among men can deny in their right mind that there is not a God. Knowing that this God cares for humanity is mind blowing. His love reached down from the heavens to have fellowship with His creation. Through Jesus, we are His new creation, made to love and serve Him. I may not understand how He did it all, but I understand that His love made me a new creature.  The heavens declare His love, and the firmament show His power to work in our lives if we give it to Him.

Where is the Water?

Ps, 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsts for thee, my flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Going through a dry spell spiritually? I would guess we all have been there. You may even be going through one now. Going through the motions of daily devotions. Reading the Bible, filling our heart and minds with truth, doing what is right, yet emotions have been dry and God appears to be busy working in someone else’s life. Going to church faithfully and thankful for a pastor that preaches the truth, but there are less people sitting on the pews than in the past. Where is the water? My heart is thirsty for the presence of God. Praying and waiting for God to open up the heavens and pour out His glory. Let the showers of blessings fall. May the rivers flow again. It is a desert place, but I long to see a stream of His presences.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubles

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Becoming anxious about the future and events that may or may not happen has a way of troubling the heart. We fret and worry about many things. We are afraid that life will take us down a road that will cause pain and suffering. We look about us and we see friends and loved ones that are facing difficult situation and it is only a matter of time that we will come face to face with our own troubled heart. It will come, but Jesus say, don’t let it consume your life, don’t let it trouble your heart. I promise peace during times of trouble. I will send One who will comfort the heart when it is troubled.  When the rubber hits the road, and the reality of life’s troubles are at our door step, there but only one who can bring peace, it is peace that comes from the Father above. When your hearts becomes trouble, trust not in the peace of this world, but believe God that He will give you peace that will calm the storm that troubles your heart.

God is Good

Gen. 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Every blessing that we receive is from the Father above. He does all things good. He works all things for good and according to His purpose. Evil, the hideous curse of our world is the work of Satan. He seeks to destroy and cause God’s creation to turn away from their creator. The battle of good and evil started in cordials of heaven, when Satan challenged the holiness of God and His authority by asserting his will above God. Created as an angel, he was cast out of heaven, and now is the princes of darkness that seeks to destroy the apple of God’s eye. Because God is good, He sent His son to destroy the work of the devil and deliver man from evil. To those who serve God, their eyes have been open to truth, and see God in all of His goodness. “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” God is good, all the time!