In The Cave

 1 Kings 19:12
And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Elijah demonstrates the humanity in each one of us. Even the most spiritual person deals with discouragements, and even a level of depression. We often speak of living at the top of the mountain, and it is wonderful to live in such a state of mind both spiritual and emotionally, but the reality is life is a roller coaster of events that influence how we feel. We sometimes flee to a “cave” and isolate ourselves from the real world.  We have done all we know what to do and believe that we have obeyed God, yet we still question if God cares and sees where we are. Elijah could only see the moment, he was not able to see the big picture of what God had planned. He was hoping that God would send judgment from heaven to destroy the enemies of God, but God does it His way. We may think our efforts are all in vain, and the work we do is fruitless. But God whispers to us that He is in control and all things are going as planned. We are not alone in this battle, there are others who God is using to accomplish His will. He desires that we just trust and continue to obey His voice. Even in the “cave” God wants to speak to our hearts. Take courage, God is in control and He does all things well.

The Name of Jesus

Philippians 2:10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.

There will come a day when the wheel of time we stop and ceases to turn, that Jesus will be all that remains. He who controls time and space will be sitting on the throne . He is the Lord of all, King of kings, His Name will be lifted up on high and all will recognize that He is God. All will worship Him, will see the folly of their way and the deception of Satan. The atheist, the agnostic, worshipers of false religions, and all who refuse to believe in Him will fall to their knees and confess that He and He alone is the only way to eternal life. Those who believe already have bowed their knees, kneeling at the foot of the cross, confessing their sinful state and asking Jesus to save them from eternal damnation.  Confessing the Name of Jesus and believing that He is God and the Savior of the world. The Christian has humbled himself before God can now approach the throne of God and speak Jesus to the Father. For in the Name of Jesus, all is well, and we can trust in His Name to do all things according to His will.

Pray For Loved Ones

 2 Tim 1:3

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day.

The Apostle Paul took Timothy under his wings, and thought of him as one of his own. Paul probably had some influence on Timothy’s life, but much of Timothy’s life was influenced by his mother and grandmother Eunice and Lois. Their faith was true,  unwavering, and unshaken by the criticism and skeptics around them. They passed this faith on to Timothy. Sustaining this faith is not done by tradition that is handed down, it requires diligent prayer and supplication. Praying for those close to us daily is crucial in keeping the faith. Satan is relentless in his attacks. He seeks to defeat and destroy those who believe in Jesus.  Being rooted and grounded in faith is made possible through prayer. We need the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us the power to overcome the trials and temptations we face. When our faith is attacked, it is the power of God in prayer that will keep us faithful to the teachings of Christ and keep our relationship with God genuine and sincere. Those of us who have children, we have a responsibility to hold them up in prayer. Yes, we need to pray for the sick and the lost, but praying for our children should be a daily priority. We may not be able to help them in many ways, but praying that they will keep the faith and trust God in everything is paramount.

Penitent Prayer

 Psalm 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The sin of David in our day would be considered scandalous. A man in a prominent position, a person that many hailed as a wonderful leader, succumbed to his selfish desires to take another man’s wife and commit adultery, and hired a “hitman” to have the wife’s husband killed. If such an act were done in today’s society, his popularity would have dipped to an all time low. Such a man is held to a higher standard and should be an example to those who look up to him. Yes, we all know that we are just humans that are not perfect, and make mistakes, but David not only messed up, but he willfully disobeyed the commandments of God and sinned against God. He tried to cover it up for a while, but God sent the Holy Spirit in the form of a prophet to uncover his sin. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction and guilt to our hearts when we fall short of the mark and are found wanting. David was found guilty and his sin was revealed to everyone who heard the prophet Nathan. David was a man after God’s own heart, and his guilt brought him to his knees. Unlike Saul, the former king,  he made no excuses for his actions and took full responsibility. Forgiveness comes from God and God alone. Man can forgive, but it does not bring complete healing of the heart. The penitent prayer of David and God’s forgiveness reminds us that God is merciful. He desires that we don’t continue in sin, but He is faithful and just to forgive us of our failures. He will wash us, and make us clean, whiter than snow. Restore us back to Him.

Nothing Too Hard for God

Jeremiah 32:17
‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

It did not seem that there was any hope for Judah. Babylon was allowed to besiege their land, yet God promised that a day would come that Judah would once again reclaim what was theirs. At the time this seemed to be unlikely to happen. But Jeremiah realized that God, who is in control of nations and governments rising and falling, recognized that with God, nothing was too hard. There are things in our lives that look impossible. We recognize that unless God steps in, there is no hope. Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” The word of Christ was spoken to his disciples when things seem to be impossible to accomplish in the human. Especially when it comes to the salvation of the heart. There is nothing that man can do to achieve salvation with human efforts. Salvation comes only through Christ. The person gone deep into sin or the person who was raised in a well refined culture home all need to be saved. There is nothing too hard that He can do, He can save to the uttermost all who are willing to believe. We need to continue to pray for family, friends, and souls that are lost in sin. No matter their walk in life, Jesus desires to reach down and release them from the bondage of Satan. He has the power and desires that no one perishes, but that all come to repentance.

Lift Up Jesus

 John 3:14-15
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The bronze serpent lifted by Moses was the salvation of the people. The people had greatly sinned against the Lord who just delivered them from bondage. They were still in bondage to their selfish desires. Their hearts of unbelief started to doubt God and Moses. They became impatient with the way God was doing things. For their disobedience and unbelief, God sent poisonous serpents that brought death to many of the people. Death among many brought them to the realization that their sin was the cause. The wages of sin is still death. God in His mercy made a way of escape. We live in a day where sin and unbelief is found among those who profess to be followers of Christ. They have put their faith in religion and self-reliance. Jesus is still the answer. If we only look to Jesus. He is the only one that can bring deliverance from sin. Let us lift up Jesus to a messed up world and exalt Him. He and He alone can give us eternal life.

Rain Bread From Heaven

 Exodus 16:4

…Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you,..
Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide (Gen 22:14) the promise given to Abraham and now given again to the people of Israel as they make their way through the wilderness. Like Israel, we are making our journey through life in this world. Navigating are way through the difficult circumstances, traversing across unknown territory. We all face different unknowns and wonder how we will make it through our situation. The needs are different for each one of us. Some needs are material, others emotional or spiritual. The reality is that Jesus is all we really need. He is the bread that is rained down from Heaven, He will supply all our needs according to His riches in heaven. When we seek first Him and His kingdom all the things that we really need are added to us. God knows what we need and how to supply it. It is not always in the way we think, but our needs are met and His name is glorified, for He knows what is best. It is about to rain bread from heaven, start gathering your baskets for He is Johovah-Jireh, He is enough.

Conform Not

 Romans 12:2
​​Do not be conformed to this world,  but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..

The pressure to conform to the WOK ideology has never been greater. The freedom to believe and think according to one's own conscience only applies to those who conform to the political correctness of this present culture. The world is defined in scripture as a life living in opposition to God’s moral law and the teachings of Jesus. The philosophy of the world is to trust the arm of the flesh and believe that self is the supreme god that rules. Every man doing that seems right in their own sight. As Christians, we are not to conform to the thinking of this world that is contrary to what is good and holy and acceptable to God. We are to present our lives as a living sacrifice to God. This is the will of God, that His people be transformed, set apart from sin, transformed by His grace, showing forth the gifts of God given to each one of us. The carnal mind has been renewed into the mind of Christ. Our lives are transformed, and seek to be more like Jesus.

Steadfast Under Trail

 James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Trials and tribulations are part of life. No one is exempt from facing them. Some people go through severe testing, but we all will face them at some level. Trails are defined as hard times, difficult situations that can cause us to doubt that God is in control, or that God is able to come through on His promises to help us. When we begin to doubt God, we are like the wind tossed here and there, unstable in our ways, unsure of our footing. Our direction is lost and we wander around without real purpose. Temptation is of the devil who’s only desire is to cause us to fail and start doubting what God has said. God does not tempt, but He will test us. He will test our resolve and our determination to stay faithful and steadfast. His testing is designed to make us stronger and to be rooted and grounded in Him. He does not delight in our failures and will use our failures as stepping stones to put our trust in Him when we face our next trial.