THE DOPE ON HOPE

 

Romans 4:18  / Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.......

I love this verse!  God has made a promise to Abraham. Kind of an outlandish promise, but hey...isn't that just like God. God never plays it safe when it comes to carrying out His plans. He tells Abraham that he is going to be the father of many nations. Wowzers!

One problem.... Abraham is past the age of being able to produce an offspring. Not to mention that his wife is on the downhill slide of child bearing also. yeah...but God promised. Looking at the truth and facts of their situation, how could you not conclude that odds seems against these two elderly folks. But there is an ace in the hole, if you will. And that ace has a name, and that name is Almighty God. Here is where the rub is for those of us who claim to be a part of humanity. All the facts say one thing....all the evidence points to one conclusion.....but God has said differently. So now we've got to make a choice. We believe God and what He has promised, or we fall upon the hard facts of what our understanding tells us. I think I will fall on the "God-side".

So in spite of what Abraham saw......

In spite of what his mind told him....

In spite of what he felt in his body....

He believed!! He threw his hope over on to the promise that God has spoken. He (here it comes) hoped against all hope. You see, there is hope that the world has to offer, which really is no hope at all. Or there is the hope that God affords to those who are His, a hope that is tied to every promise God has made. I think maybe I will come down on this side.

Why all this hope business? Because the coming days may be hard. Not trying to be all doom and gloom, but realistic. So if such may be headed our way, would it not be in our best interest to begin to search the scripture for those promises that God has spoken. To find them and tie our hope to His word. Tie our hearts to His heart. And let our steps be in the steps that He has walked out in front of us. I think maybe yes, this would be a good thing.

Think on this today, and don't let the world dictate where your hope should go.

God on you...

mbb

SATURDAY MUSING

 Unless you've been living under a rock, you are probably familiar with the phrase, "you reap what you sow". In this case, talking spiritually, how you live will come back to bless or bite. Simple as that. Yet most give no heed to this statement. Or if they do, they push it to the back burner, giving it no though.

Kind of found myself stuck in Romans 2 this morning, when these verses seem to jump off the page for me.

V.5 - But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.

When I read the words "Storing up wrath" I had this picture of a space where God's wrath and anger were being held in check (by him of course). But it was a limited space. In other words, He will only hold back for so long. Keep in mind that He is constantly reaching out to us to repent, to change, to turn from our own wickedness and repent. In other words, God isn't just getting angry, He is also moving His Holy Spirit around us, over us and in us to give up our sinful attitude and behavior.

V.6 - God will repay each person according to what they have done

V.7 - To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.

V.8 - But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

"Oh but God would never do that!!! He is a God of love...of puppy dogs and ice cream, rainbows and unicorns." Such is the mindset of some. While others simply deny that God is real. Mercy on those who live in such a manner.

If anything is clear in this world today, and in this country today, it is the simple fact that people have cast off any moral restraint and have given themselves fully to living under the influence of "SELF". To them, there is no higher authority than "Self". There is no power greater than "Self" and anyone who tries to interject any belief or view other than "SELF" had better back off.

If ever we needed God, it is now.

If ever we needed a nation to be revived, it is now.

If ever we needed to repent, it is now.

God on you...

mbb

"KINGDOM" TILL THE END

 

                                                      (Re-posting from November 2008)

The End of Paul

Apostle Paul.....writer of letters to the churches.
Not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power to salvation.
Counted everything as loss in view of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
Ex-con. Prison record.
Had a bounty on his head as others sought to kill him.

Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend a Bible study at Gadsden Vineyard. They meet each Sunday afternoon to study through the Bible. Todd Bagley heads up the meeting and also teaches. It is a wonderful time to gather with a few "zealot's" and feast on God's word. This group has been making their way through the book of ACTS, and yesterday they finished up.
As Todd was teaching, the very last verse of Acts caught my heart. It was speaking of Paul's final days as a prisoner in Rome. "And he kept on receiving all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all freedom of speech and fearless confidence, without hindrance."

The message never changes. It is about the Kingdom of God. The rule and reign of God here on earth in the hearts of his people. The ever increasing Kingdom that has no boundaries or borders. Cannot be stopped by any dogma or ideology. The same today as it was when Paul taught it. The Son of man was manifested or appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Sickness, disease, demonic oppression, addiction, adultery and every other sexual sin, greed, hatred, division, and every form of godlessness that could be conceived in the heart of man. Jesus came to break it's power and did so by dying on a cross and rising from a borrowed tomb.

Every time someone is prayed for, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone is fed or sheltered by a believer, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone carries out any act under the direction of the Holy Spirit, no matter how small it may seem, the Kingdom of God is being advanced. God's Kingdom come, His Kingdom will be done, here on earth as it is being done in heaven. 

What if we truly believed this. What if we truly believed that we each have been given a mandate from heaven to be the conduit for the work of God to flow through. That we speak the words of God, we carry out the wishes of God and we do so to a lost and dying world that does not know God. What an incredible thought.

To change our little corner of this world for God.
Go for it.
Believe it.
Then walk it out.

God on you today....

mbb

DON'T JUST BE FREE-------LIVE FREE!!

 

Luke 10:3
"Go your way. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves."

"Lambs among wolves?"
I don't know if I like that example or not. Sounds to me like we are being served up as the main course for some hungry, ravenous animals.
Not what Jesus was saying. First off we need to see what Jesus is saying. "You've got a life to live. Your going to learn a new way of navigating through all the problems and situations that will come your way." But your nature has to be one of seeking the Father's will and face at every turn. Oh and by the way....He is sending us out.

It's one thing to be set free....
It's another to be set free and then sent back out into the world.
Some folks thrive in their recovery as long as they are in treatment.
They are model clients. They do all the work. They zoom down those twelves steps with no problem. But they simply stay cloistered, never venturing out. Kind of like when Lincoln freed the slaves during the Civil War. Many heard the good news that they were no longer slaves, but chose to remain on the plantations because they didn't know how to be free. The thing we have to wrap our heads around is that 1.) Jesus has saved us and is sending us out and (2.) He would never send us out ill equipped to take that journey.

The analogy of being lambs among wolves is a pretty daunting idea, isn't it. But in this case, we need to remember one thing. I call it the Psalm 23 factor. What is it that lambs have? Shepherds. What do shepherds do? They protect the flock placed in their care. So if we are sent out as lambs, we have to rest in the knowledge that we have the ultimate shepherd watching over us to protect us and keep us from those who would seek to destroy us.

Psalm 23:1 reads: The Lord is my Shepherd.....I shall not want. Catch that? Who is it that is watching over me and my recovery? Jesus ---the ultimate shepherd. And what is it I can truly say from this position of being a sheep with Jesus as my shepherd? I shall not want. I like the fact that the statement "I shall not want" is open ended. It leaves room for whatever needs I have. It leaves room to insert my cry to Jesus as I trust Him to guide me, care for me and protect me. Sounds like a winner to me.

So don't be satisfied to simply be free.
Go live free.
Give away freely what has been given to you.
God on you.....
mb

DISCOUNT? REALLY?

 

Everybody loves a bargain. It gives us the feeling that we are getting something for less than the real value of the item we want. We are getting something that is important to us, but we are not paying the full price for it. Like I said, everybody loves a discount.

We have discount stores where (supposedly) every thing is marked down right there for us to scarf up and rush to the checkout so we can make our get away. In fact, part of human nature is to tell your friends about the "discount" you got, and how you didn't have to pay full price.

Reckon how we would feel if Jesus had operated in the same manner when it came to our salvation? What if Jesus was all about offering discounted grace, mercy, love and relationship? Would we want a discounted Jesus?

Part of what I'm trying to say is that maybe we don't realize the value of who Christ truly is. Maybe we don't find value in learning how to "listen" and then act upon what He tells us. Maybe we want a Jesus that we can control, pulling Him out to perform when life gets hard. That would be a discount Jesus. Some may proclaim me to be wrong in my assumption. Truth is, I have had to search my own heart to see what I truly believe in this relationship I have with Him.

I don't want to be like the Samaritan woman at the well who was having a conversation with Jesus. In her mind, it the topic was water. You know....the wet, liquid stuff that sustains life. But Jesus was talking about something far greater. In fact, in John 4:10 Jesus lays out to her what is truly going on in this conversation the two of them are having.

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

The woman did not see the value in the man she was talking to. But isn't this just like Jesus........He didn't scold her, or call her names. He spoke truth to her about what He had to offer. So I guess if I could say anything today. Don't settle in your mind or your heart for a discounted Jesus. Ask for the real deal Christ....and He will come to you.

God on you...

mbb

MONDAY: THE STARTING POINT

 

Acts 17:11 /  Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for the received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

From Rod Hembree:  "Many people talk to me about finding the will of God in their life. Too many people want to "feel" the will of God, but it is obvious where all of us need to start. The Scripture says that one of the first things we need to do is to become a student of the word."

The very heart of recovery is found in the cross of Christ. It is the compass point that directs us to His word. It shows us the "HOW" of living a new life. The Holy Spirit gives us the "WAY" we are to walk out every day in every situation we face.

Funny to me that so many scream and shout about this so called "intrusion" of Christ and religion when it come to recovery. Without Him, we become blind men trying to read a map. Oh we can see with our natural eyes, but the map is gibberish to those who haven't given themselves over to the One who gives us life. It seems to me that there are those who work overtime as guardians of the Steps, to keep Christ on the outside. Isn't that like trying to grab a fist full of water? You can't. Why? Because your fist is closed. You cannot accept or lay hold of any of the directions Christ affords all who come to Him if your heart is closed.

Let's look at Step #11 of the Twelve Steps;  We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out. I get the prayer part, but I am intrigued by the "Meditation" part. What are you meditating on? Could it be that we turn our attention to the Word of God? Could it be that our thoughts are focused on God's Word and how it applies to our lives? I think maybe it is.

Prayer: Talking to God.....

Meditation: Thinking on what God is saying to us through His word as we read it.

His Will for us:  Putting into practice those things we have learned.

This is such a good place to start here on Monday morning! Let's see what the week holds for each of us, and let us grow as those Berean fellows did, so that we will be of noble character. What do you say?
God on you.....

Mbb

SAMUEL CHADWICK ON PRAYER

 

Samuel Chadwick on prayer: "Satan dreads nothing but prayer. The church that lost its Christ was full of good works. Activities are multiplied that meditation may be ousted and organizations are increased that prayer may have no chance. Souls may be lost in good works, as surely as in evil ways. The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."

This I know all too well.

It is easy to be caught up, swept up and carried along by the

busy-ness that creeps into our relationship with Jesus.

To put off the true heart of God and the things He desires from us

to lay hold of tasks and works thinking all the while that we

are truly doing God's work.

Then we wonder why everything is so dry.
Why our teaching falls on deaf ears and hard hearts.

Why? Because the words we say, even though are from Scripture,

lack the power of the Holy Spirit.

They are God's words spoken through mans efforts.

I can write this not to point to anyone else but myself.

Seeing the need to return to "time with God."

Not a cursory nod of the head or a sentence here and there

to acknowledge His sovereignty, but to

realize that I am nothing without Him.

One of my favorite stories comes from John Wimber, leader of the Association of Vineyard churches.

John relates a story of being on a trip to Detroit and just being physically wiped out.

Sitting on the plane, ill and angry at the way things had gone, John began to pray.
"Why Lord, why are things turning out like this?"

The answer came back quickly.

"I've seen what you have done and I'm not impressed."
God went on to speak with John, "Now are you ready to see what I can do?"

John resounded with "Yes!"

In my own life, I have seen what I can do and I really am not impressed.

I think I'm ready to see what God can do.

To lay aside everything except where He leads me to.

To pray with purpose.

"Your kingdom come......Your will be done.....here on earth as it is in heaven."
Let it come...

God on you...until tomorrow....

mb