Eph. 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Review from yesterday…..

God never intended the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the resulting manifestation of divine power, in the Christian’’s life, to be an optional accessory to salvation. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. The new birth in Christ affects our position with God, and transforms our darkened spirit. Paul refers to it as becoming a “new creation”.

2 Cor. 5:17 (Amp. Bible) Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

While the new birth addresses our relationship with God, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit deals with equipping the new believer for service to God, in the harvest fields of the world.

Acts 1:8 (Amp. Bible) But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

This command to be filled with the Spirit is meant to restore two conditions, imposed upon man by sin: Emptiness and Silence.

Silence …

God designed us for fullness and outflow. Everything about our engineering indicates that God fashioned us in His image and likeness, intending man to be His voice in the earth. A man with nothing from God to say, is living below his ability and short of his destiny. Conversely speaking, every time anyone came from the Presence of God, they were overflowing with something to say.

When Adam left the Presence of God, he lost his voice. From that time, every successive generation of man has droned on, expressing the same anemic, misguided theories, instead of uttering the commanding words of Light and Life. The world has suffered for 6000 years under man’s spiritual silence.

The reason why man has no words of power or substance to bring from God, is that he is silent before God. To have utterance you must have hearing. To speak you must be spoken to. With separation came silence. After his fall, Adam’’s first indication that something dreadful had occurred in him, was that a dark silence fell upon his spirit, causing him to hide when God came calling upon him. Man’’s spirit fell silent. And since then he speaks from the shallows of his head. Man has been bound by the silence of alienation towards God ever since. Without direct fellowship with God, man has nothing of power or life to bring with his words. All his declarations and philosophies are but pitiful probes in the darkness of his own spirit. Man, once designed as God’s vocal fountain, has run dry, disconnected from God, silenced with ignorance.

Lam. 3:27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Lam. 3:28 He sits alone and keeps silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

What many Christians fail to understand is that being born-again and having the Gospel of Truth, is itself not enough to change the silence of our spiritual voice. We must have anointing, filling, overflow, unction. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is meant to give Christians a voice of power with which to speak the words of Truth.

Luke 24:48 And you are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:49 …but wait…until YOU be endued with power from on high.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:and (then) you shall be witnesses…

It takes more than Truth to break man’s silence. It takes power also. The Apostle Paul had great ability to speak. He was highly educated with a razor sharp mind. His oratory skills were finely honed in the best Hebrew schools. Yet after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus Saul of Tarsus knew that he was no more than a spiritually silenced man, with no life in his words. Even after receiving Jesus as his Savior and embracing the Truth of the Gospel, the converted Paul knew he needed more than Truth, human intelligence and boldness to have a voice.

Eph. 6:19 And (pray) for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Paul knew that speaking for God comes from being filled with the Spirit. True boldness, that reveals the mystery of the Gospel, has to come from the infilling of the Spirit and not just human zeal. In Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “The Sounds of Silence”, they observed that men talk without speaking. That is a spiritual condition. Man can talk from sunup to sunset, and never break the silence of human deadness. “Utterance”, the ability to speak words that shatter the silence of sin, comes not from being right, or even righteous, but from being filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s mission was not to be the example of a man with special gifts and calling from God, but he was an example of what all Christians are to be. Paul received the baptism of the Spirit, intended for every Christian. Otherwise he would have been like an Old Testament Prophet rather than a New Testament witness.

Today we fight a tough spirit of secularism and rebellion in the world. Most people of the Western world have had enough exposure to the Gospel to build up callous refutations and inoculate themselves with indifference. And many Christians are complaining that the sinners have become Gospel-hardened. But how much harder can they be than the Jews, Romans and Greeks of Paul’s day? It’s not that the world’s become too hard-to-hear; but that Christians are speaking from reason rather than Holy Spirit power. What we need today is that filling of the Spirit, with which the first century witnesses of Christ shattered the silence of their world. If we would return to seeking and receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit we’d be amazed at how attentively the world would hear our voice.

Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Acts 8:6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

Acts 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

Acts 8:8 And there was great joy in that city.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Eph. 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God never intended the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the resulting manifestation of divine power, in the Christian’’s life, to be an optional accessory to salvation. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. The new birth in Christ affects our position with God, and transforms our darkened spirit. Paul refers to it as becoming a “new creation”.

2 Cor. 5:17 (Amp. Bible) Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

While the new birth addresses our relationship with God, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit deals with equipping the new believer for service to God, in the harvest fields of the world.

Acts 1:8 (Amp. Bible) But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

This command to be filled with the Spirit is meant to restore two conditions, imposed upon man by sin: Emptiness and Silence.

Emptiness…

Man is designed for fullness and overflow. Everything about our engineering indicates that God, fashioning us in His image and likeness, intended man to be His Command & Control center in the earth. Implicit in God’’s inaugural charge to man, is the idea of fullness, outflow and overflow…

Gen. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, andmultiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

But with sin, comes separation from God, and man’s soul is gutted. By choosing knowledge and independence from God, man quickly finds out that his sense of fullness and confidence has left him. He’’s now plagued by an inner gnawing hunger that no amount of material acquisition or accumulation of friends, can fill. Separated from God, he’’s like a fish out of water, gasping franticly until death comes. In the succeeding generations, man has no memory of the days when Adam walked the earth, full and satisfied. Every generation of man embraces emptiness as the human norm. Yet emptiness, with its resulting hunger, is a curse – a corruption of our nature, that leaves us sucking wind, with a sieve for a soul.

Isa. 29:8 It shall even be as when an hungry man dreams, and, behold, he eats; but he awakens, and his soul is empty:

So Jesus has to command us to be filled with the Spirit, before attempting to take up the mantle of our ministry. We are so use to emptiness – so use to consuming knowledge without filling our souls – that the disciples are ready to go preach the moment they get the right message. It’’s no wonder that the Church today is so willing to send empty believers, armed with Truth, into an empty world shrouded in deceit. Fullness is something we’ve never know.

We are use to laboring on an empty stomach!

Isa. 55:2 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

But if we’re going to truly fulfill our calling we have to recognize the natural tendency of man to be willing to labor with knowledge only. After all, it was with knowledge that we replaced our relationship with God. We’re use to emptiness. Even Christians think very little about running on empty. In many Christian circles, it’’s considered emotionalism, to be concerned with the fullness of the Spirit; as though the tough, hardcore, dedicated Christian ought to be like a camel, able to go great distances in the desert, without water. It is so wrong that we consider laboring without the fullness of the Spirit, as a measure of dedication, when it’s really a measure of disobedience! But Jesus has the right vision of us. He sees us the way we’re suppose to be: dispensers of His Spirit, bearing His anointing, laboring with His power.

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Laboring on empty is proof of nothing more than foolishness. Jesus intends for Christians to minister out of their fullness, not emptiness. And there’’s only one substance with which man may fill his spirit, from which living waters will flow.And that is the Holy Spirit. Christians need to return to the Upper Room experienceof daily filling, through which Jesus will introduce Himself to the world.Instead of going to counselors, pastors and friends, to satisfy our emptiness, let’s go to Jesus and ask Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Friends, pastors and counselors may be able to tell you how to feel about your emptiness, but only the Holy Spirit can solve the problem, and restore you to God’’s intention, for which you were designed: Filling and Overflow. You, filled with the Holy Spirit, are the witness of Jesus that the world needs to see!

Stay On The Path!

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Eph. 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Being filled with the Spirit is not a suggestion. It’’s a command. Being full of the Spirit, to the point of overflowing, is not uniquely reserved for select Christians with special callings. There’’s a prevailing notion among Christians that being full of the Holy Spirit is for those who “need it” in order to fulfill special ministry functions.  But that whole line of reasoning is backwards, because God’’s idea was that ministry would flow from filling and not filling flow from ministry. In short, it’s wrong to think that God reserves the outpouring of His Spirit for those who are committed to the type of ministry that requires it. Truth is that the need and potential for ministry is all around us, and just waiting for Christians to be “filled with the Spirit” in order to fulfill that ministry. The result of being filled with the Spirit, is that we suddenly become aware, equipped and led by the Spirit, into ministry. Ministry is the result of being filled, and not the other way around. True ministry is simply fulfilling Jesus’ command to all believers:

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Because of the institutionalization of the Church, we have mistakenly institutionalized the call of every Christian. The error goes something like this: We are supposed to preach the Gospel to the Lost. So let’’s pray for the Spirit to work through the missionaries and evangelists who will actually be doing that work. In this model, the Holy Spirit is like some kind of abstract, divine accessory, that we hope, works through the efforts of our frontline laborers, who will do witnessing. But in reality, the call of every Christian is to be filled with the Spirit and receive power to be a witness. The doing comes from the being, not the being from the doing. The ministry of witnessing comes from being filled with the Spirit, and not from responding to a call to go preaching

Having the Truth is not enough of a qualification to go preaching to the world. If it were, Jesus would have let His disciples immediately go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth, the moment they had the Truth. But in spite of the fact that Jesus had indeed raised from the dead, and in spite of the fact that His disciples now believed it, and had gotten the message straight, Jesus still ordered them to wait until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit. Because the ministry of the gospel is not accomplished by Christians armed with Truth, but by the Holy Spirit armed with Christians.

Luke 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but wait YOU in the city of Jerusalem, until YOU be endued with power from on high.

If the disciples who saw the risen Christ were not qualified to witness without first being filled with the Holy Spirit, and empowered to be witnesses, then obviously the accuracy of the message alone wasn’t enough without the presence of the Spirit in the messengers. Then how is it considered progress if two thousand years later we’re processing young people through our institutions and thenpraying that God will “go with them”? Compare the results of the first few chapters of Acts with our averages today. With all our advances, maybe we’ve forgotten something and need to go back and pick it up. Consider the great example of the Apostle Paul.

1 Cor. 2:1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

1 Cor. 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

1 Cor. 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

1 Cor. 2:4 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1 Cor. 2:5 that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

There are many forgettable preachers among us today, with a lot less intellectual prowess than that of the Apostle Paul. Yet Paul’’s enduring influence surprisingly, has little to do with his great intellect, and everything to do a trait we are all able to exhibit: dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Paul’’s great secret? It’’s simple. He didn’t try to get by on the greatness of his call, but on the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 9:17 And Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Paul knew that the power to affect the lost with the Gospel of Jesus didn’t come to him as an awareness of the Truth but when he received the Holy Spirit’’s Baptism. It was the filling of the Spirit that transformed his own life. He knew that the secret, indispensable element of transformation, in the life of the believer, was being filled with the Spirit. Everything else needed would flow from that. That is God’’s simple formula and model for taking the Gospel to the world. And if taking the Gospel to the lost is going to be the ministry of a few authorized reps of religious institutions, then maybe only a few special vessels need to be filled with the Spirit. But if the world is meant to be reached by the “affected” and not the “educated”, then who should be filled with the Spirit?

Eph. 5:18 …but be (YOU) filled with the Spirit,…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Heb. 2:11 For both He Who sanctifies making men holy and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren;

Heb. 2:12 For He says, I will declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.

Heb 2:6-12

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

As we come to the close of our study in this devotional we are left with the picture of Jesus standing in our midst and speaking.

Heb. 2:12 For He says, I will declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.

He is God’’s Authority restored in man. Though He returns to Heaven after the Resurrection He is not removed from us. In fact, in resurrection He is glorified again with omnipresence; and through the Holy Spirit He rules in our midst. By means of the same process we are seated with Him in Heavenly authority. When we are in proper prayer and worshipping relationship with Him, there is this dual-point dynamic working between us. He’’s here with us – we’’re there with Him. Though this dynamic is not yet fully tangible it is authoritatively active. While we can’’t see Heaven vitally, we are there legally.And while we aren’t enjoying the full benefits of Heaven here on Earth we are endued with its power to exercise authority through this dual-point dynamic in Christ. Part of our salvation involves a relocation: He relocated to Earth and we to Heaven. We relocated our citizenship and He His Lordship. He was Lord of Heaven and Earth, but situated in Heaven. He is now Lord of Heaven and Earth situated in Earth, by means of His Body.

This Oneness is the great point of the Gospel. For through this oneness we are able to be and do all that pertains to our calling in Christ. Christ in us and we in Him.  It’’s more than an exchange and sharing of natures; it’s an exchange and sharing of locations – the link between Heaven and Earth. It is through the Church’’s personal relationship with Jesus that Heaven affects the Earth. God doesn’t just arbitrarily slide down sunrays to occasionally do something on Earth. He doesn’t float in through the atmosphere like an invisible radio wave to secretly invade our world and mysteriously leave us to guess at His purpose. Instead He uses this wonderful dual-point dynamic between Jesus and us, His Body on Earth. Whatever He does must involve provoking His Bride to pray and act. He has restored our authority so that He can respond through our intercession. He prompts our hearts to pray with His will. We act with His authority. He moves through our faith. Heaven touches Earth.

“The Spirit and the bride say come.” Rev. 22:17

This is one of the most profound statements of the New Testament. God woos the lost through the combined voice of Jesus and His Church in harmony. God speaks to the world through us and we speak to the world through Him. God talks to fallen men through the redeemed authority of risen men. Since He has redeemed us and restored our position in the Earthy as His representatives, we supply the authority and He supplies the power. In right fellowship with Christ, the Church can harmonize with the Holy Spirit to speak to the world with commanding authority, and turn the hearts of men and course of nations.

And don’’t forget; lest you should visualize the Church as a sprawling institution and lose your perspective. YOU and a few others else are the Church. It comes down to YOU. Will you say, “”Come” to the world? Enter into prayer, worship and fellowship with the Lord today and fill you place in someone’’s destiny.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Heb. 2:11 For both He Who sanctifies making men holy and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren;

Heb. 2:12 For He says, I will declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.

Heb. 2:6-12 (Click link to view text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Can there be any higher proclamation, any happier tidings than the announcement that God is welcoming us into His Fatherhood? The significance of referring to God as “our Heavenly Father”, has been smothered as a religious cliché. I really don’t think that most Christians really look at God as their Father. Perhaps the thought is too remote, too abstract. That’s a common problem. The original disciples had the same difficulty…

John 14:7 If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him through me and have seen him in me.”

John 14:8 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.”

John 14:9 Jesus replied, “I have been with all of you for a long time. Don’t you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

On the one side we see Jesus as the Son of Man – one of us – we relate to Him. He’’s very approachable. But do we really recognize just who He is? When Philip asked to see the Father Jesus makes a jaw-dropping revelation of His true identity, “…”I Am the Father, Philip. I’’m Him coming to you. I’’m more than His Rep. I’’m Him in the form you need Him in. You have needed to see and understand what the God of creation and Father of all living is really like, –what He wants, what He’s saying,– and so here I Am!””

Isa. 9:6 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

From Biblical prophecies hundreds of years before His coming, we are told to look for a Messiah Who would be our Heavenly Father. So what are we to expect from our “Father”? Probably the most direct way to present an answer to this question is to simply say that we should expect the Father to treat us as He treated Jesus. He has extended the very righteousness of Jesus, over us who receive Him as Savior… so that He can treat us as Sons.

2 Cor. 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Gal. 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba (Daddy), Father.

The Father has put the Spirit of His Son (Jesus) in your heart. As a born-again Christian, it is within you to know the Father’’s love. With Christ in your heart God extends to you the same relationship He had with Jesus.

John 17:21 That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.

One of the most beautiful and powerful moments in the Bible occurs just outside the empty tomb where Jesus meets the ecstatic Mary Magdalene…

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

So as I said in the opening, Can there be any higher proclamation, any happier tidings than the announcement that God is welcoming us into His Fatherhood?

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Heb. 2:6 It has been solemnly and earnestly…What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You graciously and helpfully care for and visit and look after him?

Heb. 2:7 …You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands,

Heb. 2:8 For You have put everything in subjection under his feet…But at present we do not yet see all things subjected to him [man].

Heb. 2:9 But we are able to see Jesus,

Hebrews 2:6-12 (click to view entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

It is self evident that we do not see man walking in this authority, where“ everything” is under his feet. In fact, man himself seems to be under the feet of just about everything from microorganisms and illness to betrayals and deceptions. Man surges forth to explore the universe while strife and temptation dismantle his families. He organizes to form great governments and lofty constitutions but falls prey to depression, addictions and suicide. No, we definitely don’’t see everything under man’’s feet at all.

But we do see Jesus. A man under whose feet all authority and power had been placed. He neither strove for nor negotiated this authority. He simply had it, walked in it and bestowed it. In fact He came, as man, to earth in order to reclaim the fallen authority of men. He first defeated the forces that had taken control of our authority: Satan, sin and the guilt of our rebellion.

1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus Christ, as man, defeated Satan, triumphing over all his efforts and placing him under His feet.

Col. 2:14 (Christ) Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.

Col. 2:15 [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].

He then bestowed on us, the renewed position of sonship, with it’s reclaimed authority.

Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

When you saw Jesus in action against the powers of Satan, you are seeing Him at work with your own authority.  Listen to His reply to the Pharisees, about His right to forgive sins and heal the sick. He refers not to His divinity but His authority as a son of man upon the earth.

Luke 5:24 But that ye may know that the Son of man has authority upon earthto forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

What is amazing is how removed the Pharisees have become from the idea that man should have such authority. We’ve been without power, under the control of Satan for so long that we just assumed we have no authority. But if that were really the case how could Jesus make promises like the following?

Mark 11:23 “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

Obviously we don’’t have the power to move mountains in the way that Jesus describes, but it’’s not “power” we are moving the mountain with, it’’s authority, –the authority of the Sons of God. God furnishes the power as we exercise the authority.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Jesus was never in a power struggle with the devil. The authority God had given man to rule and reign may have become ineffective, due to his corruption with sin, but God never removed it. Jesus, as a man unbound by sin, simply took up the mantle of man’’s authority, and with godly righteousness, He overturned the effects of the curse. He undid the effects of sickness, broke the bonds of demonic oppression and released sinners from the captivity of their condemnation. And there was absolutely nothing Satan could do to stop it. It is precisely that re-established authority which we receive when we come under His Lordship.

Luke 10:17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

Luke 10:18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”

Try to find even one instance where the devil was able to resist the authority of Jesus. As long as people received His authority with their faith, the devil had no way of breaking in to short-circuit Jesus’ actions. So we should simply look at every command and promise of Christ with absolute confidence. For whatever He has said His will for us is, that He has given us authority to do.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

More tomorrow so until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Heb. 2:6 It has been solemnly and earnestly said in a certain place, What is man that You are mindful of him…

Heb. 2:8 For You have put everything in subjection under his feet.

Hebrews 2:6-12 (click to view entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

“All things in subjection under our feet”; that is a mind blower, especially considering that for all our technological advancing, we are still morally stalled out at Sodom and Gomorrah. Were it not for the fact that God Himself declares that “all things” have been placed in subjection under our authority, one would have to view that statement as the observation of a blind and weak mind. But in actuality it is an observation from One Who sees more than we. It is a statement of fact, meant to bring us into the perspective of reality. The reality that we were designed to bear divine authority; an authority, which we have allowed to get out from under us.

When police are called to a home with criminal children, the parents are still held responsible, even though they have long since relinquished control to their delinquent kids. The authority has been placed under the parent’s’ feet, even though they aren’t exercising it. In fact, although their children have wrestled control from them, the parents still have the legal authority. Unfair as it may seem, God will not decide to remove the responsibility just because they’’ve lost the power.

Think about that rationale for a moment. God does not decide to give authority, responsibility and accountability to someone just because they are able to seize control. If that were the case then God would always recognize the authority of brutes, tyrants and usurpers. Whoever held power would hold legitimacy. But thanks be to God, Who is the Supreme Head of all authority, that in His infinite wisdom and goodness, He refuses to cede authority to the illegitimate. If He must turn the world upside down in order to return power to its rightful authority, He will do that before ever allowing one criminal to maintain control, just because he has it temporarily. God will never recognized the right of sin and Satan to possess the world, even though, for a season, they have run the house under the failure of weak parents. No amount of power, in the present grip of sin, will ever earn Satan the legitimacy he craves. God has sworn in His righteousness, concerning man, and He will never change His mind. But He will bend history through the hearts of men, by the grace of His Son, Jesus Christ, until all power is placed back under our feet!

Know this that the very responsibility for the condition of the world, which God lays at your feet, is itself the evidence that rightful power belongs to YOU. If God were to ever take away your accountability, it would be the fearful sign that power will never be returned to you.

These are considerable thoughts: thoughts for those questing for their rightful destiny in God. For those who keep rising from the canvas with an irrepressible cringe at the notion of sin ruling their life.The deep inner traces of regal authority and divine ambassadorship, yearning in the depth of your heart, cannot be wiped out by circumstance or bought off by indulgence. There is a fighting spirit in the hearts of many people who feel the call of God. It’’s a call from our ancient beginnings to our absolute destiny. Man was created by God to be His companion, and that call alone fixes our legitimacy, beyond the reaches of any lawless power. The right is ours alone to claim, and ours alone to lose. Through Christ, that right is placed back in our hand. And the placement of that right signals the inevitable end of the tyrannical reign of sin and its master, and the ultimate restoration of all things.

1 Tim. 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

More tomorrow so until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Heb. 2:6 It has been solemnly and earnestly said in a certain place, What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You graciously and helpfully care for and visit and look after him?

Heb. 2:6-12 (click to view entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The question that arises, out of awe for God’’s longsuffering and patient kindness, doesn’t’ focus on why God is that way, but rather, what is it about man that qualifies him for such special treatment.Most people live hard unattractive lives. Some live a mediocre existence sprinkled with a few highlights. And there are the rare occasional lives of virtue. But on whole, the human race is less productive with its moral abilities that mice are at breeding. So what is it about man that God finds so compelling that He yearns over us in patient expectation?

I like the way the question is framed in Hebrews, “WHAT is man…?” It drives us to look beyond our achievements and beyond our behavior and beyond our relation to the Universe. It forces us to consider our essential purpose of interest to the Creator. Just what did God make when He made man? Without building a bridge of reason or a trail of evidence, let’’s just take a quantum physics leap into the ultimate answer: God made us in order to bring us into Glory

Heb. 2:10 For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory,…

For the moment let’s leave the term “glory” in the grip of your imagination. We’’ll define it later. But let’’s get locked onto the idea that YOU have a destiny. And it involves being brought into God’’s glory by Jesus Christ. God is VERY concerned about YOUR destiny. He has already prepared a “place” for you. And He hovers over your every waking day, looking for opportunities to introduce you to your destiny and hasten you along in its progress.

So concerned with you is He, that God is ever “…mindful of YOU…”.

Heb. 2:6 …What is man that You are mindful of him…?

And we thought that God was primarily concerned with our behavior. That’’s what religion teaches. But one has only to look at Jesus’ selection of disciples to learn that isn’t true. There is something far deeper in the heart of God towards you. Not you generally, but YOU personally.

Just one thought to punctuate this point before we pause until tomorrow…

Eze. 22:30 And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.

Whatever this “glory” is, that God has destined for us, our place in it is so significant that just one man, standing in that place could turn away the righteous wrath of God from a wicked rebellious land!THAT is influence. That verse was written long before Jesus appeared, to bring “…many sons to glory…”. If God were to look today He would certainly find sons and daughters standing in His glory.

More tomorrow, so until then…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion // Add Comment »

Dan. 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion // 1 Comment »

Psa. 3:1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

Psa. 3:2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.

Psa. 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

“Many” are the occasions of stress and sorrow throughout life. There are certainly more days of trial than there are days of happiness. David said:

Psa. 3:1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me…..many are they that rise up against me.

And David was a man who walked with God and pleased the Lord. But none of his good deeds, or acts of heroism, or zeal for the Lord, or obedience to God, seemed to shelter him from troubles. They surrounded him as Satan taunted him through his trials. But then the devil lied and went too far. He told David:

Psa. 3:2 …..There is no help for him in God.

It was true, that there may not have been any friends for David among those who were making his life hard. And there may not have been any mercy or relief for him in the circumstances that surrounded him. But one thing was definitely a lie: THERE WAS HELP FOR HIM IN GOD!

Psa. 3:3 But THOU, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

“But THOU, O Lord” – Your Heavenly Father is the one thing in your life that is never affected by your circumstances. Satan will camouflage himself with your natural circumstances. He will hide himself in even the smallest annoyances of life and wait to exploit them against you. He will patiently arrange obstacles against you, until he can jump up in your face at the moment when you are overwhelmed and tell you that even God can’t help you. But then he’s gone too far!

No matter what beats you down, if you will look with all your heart to the Lord through praise and acknowledgement of His goodness, then He will LIFT YOUR HEAD. No matter how life busts or spends you, it can never rob your “help in God”. So always remember, when the devil speaks from behind the obstacles of your trials, and tells you, “There is no help for him in God”, he KNOWS it’s a lie!! Just lift your voice and praise the Lord. Sing songs of deliverance, and watch your God lift your head!

Psa. 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strengthbecause of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Psalm 8:2 contains a remarkable divine strategy which was later quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16. The harassing accusations of the devil would be able to be silenced by the praises of God’s people. This strategy is so powerful that even young children could execute it with demon-binding effectiveness.

Note: the Psalmist declares that the purpose of praise is to “still the enemy and the avenger”.

Most Christians are completely unaware that their daily life is the center of controversy in the spirit realm. They don’t realize that their troubles often result from satanic conflicts, for which they hold the key. Feelings of obscurity and insignificance are part of Satan’s poisonous weapons-of-the-mind, designed to confuse you in battle, and keep you from realizing that you are at the center of a great struggle, and fighting in a crowded arena.

Satan stands against you and accuses you before God, raising challenges against your rights as a child of God.

• He continually points out your faults and by them, questions your right to the will of God.
• He always seeks to maneuver you into defending yourself on the merits of your own righteousness.
• This he hopes you will do rather than to rely upon your position of grace with Jesus, and overthrow the devil’s accusations with the praises of God.

But always remember 3 things:

1. Regardless of whether people notice your struggles, your actions have significant consequences upon beings that want to use you as a pawn.
2. Everything God’s Word declares about the children of God is true about you, regardless of your circumstances or how you feel.
3. You can silence the devil’s claims against you without ever having to defend yourself. Simply lay claim to your relationship with Jesus and give praise to Him as your Lord. You will slap the devil’s mouth shut every time.

Spiritual progress is a WAR; all else is the outcome of it.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

You must wage the battle that YOU are at the center of.

2 Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

You are always on display.

Eph. 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Heb. 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,…

Your earthly struggles are the result of battles with spirit beings. The cause of trouble upon earth is conflict in the heavenlies

Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Until Michael the Archangel is ordered by God to expel Satan from the heavenlies (Rev. 12:7-10), Jesus has given the responsibility of resisting, binding and restricting his activity on earth, to you.

Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus came to earth, lifted us to citizenship in His Kingdom and placed His authority upon the Church. Now that the “keys of the kingdom” are with us, something you do on earth is going to have an impact in the heavenly realm.

Isa. 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

To be ignorant of these things only exposes you to Satan’s harassing attacks, and eventual bondage.

2 Cor. 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are notignorant of his devices.

So a Christian, you go through your days giving little thought to how significant your life is. You seldom consider the impact you are having on the conflicts of the heavenly realm. Yet consider this, that God has arranged to have Jesus’ victory over Satan administered through your obedience and praise!

• Every time you choose God’s will over your own;
• Every time you lift praise to the Lord instead of complaining;
• Every time you trust God for provision rather than worry;
• Every time you turn to the Father’s mercy rather than remain frozen in condemnation……

…… you deny the devil his victory and you enforce the will of God over him. Good for you! Your simple acts of obedience to God give power to your praise of Him, and make you very dangerous to the devil.

Matt. 21:16 (Ps 8:2) And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise…,that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion // Add Comment »

Jer. 20:7 O Jehovah, thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock all the day, every one mocketh me.

Jer. 20:8 For as often as I speak, I cry out; I cry, Violence and destruction! because the word of Jehovah is made a reproach unto me, and a derision, all the day.

Jer. 20:9 And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot contain.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In the previous 2 devotions we saw from Mark 4:35-41 that God holds back from revealing our impending collision with trouble, as we follow the Word with which He has directed us. Yet it is for our benefit that approaching trials need not be anticipated. Instead He has taken responsibility for our care, preparing grace for us to overcome, when we meet with troubles. When He spoke to His disciples to enter the boat and journey with Him across to the other side of the sea, there was in that order, the prophetic implication, that they would arrive at the other side. The storm that was hidden from them at the outset, was an unavoidable trial which Jesus had already provided a bridge over.

The Prophet Jeremiah provides a classic example for us, when we encounter the unexpected and harsh reactions of a hostile world against our obedience to God’s Truth. Here is some background. See if you can relate to the elements of Jeremiah’s situation.

• From his youth, God had called Him and revealed a strong prophetic Word to Jeremiah. He was called as a “Prophet to the Nations”.
• That sounded VERY promising. Surely Jeremiah expected a ministry that would be appreciated by ALL who loved God.
• But the Word of the Lord God had put in Jeremiah, was one of reproof and warning to God’s people, and they hated him for it. This was NOT the reaction he expected. And he was miserable as the more he obeyed God, the worse his treatment by his peers became.
• Now dejected and feeling trapped by the Truth he knew was real, and surrounded by deceived people who had no regard for it, Jeremiah protests. He lays out his case to God:

1. God used His irresistible powers of persuasion to enlist me into Prophetic Ministry.
2. He never told me it would be like this and I was unprepared.
3. Every time I open my mouth, His Word comes out as a reproof against the backsliders; and they plot harder against ME because of God’s Word.
4. I tried to decide not to prophesy the Word of the Lord anymore, but the flames of passion that His Word has caused in my soul, just burst from my lips. I can’t keep silent because I am so convinced by what God has shown me. I’m ruined for any retirement!

In reality, God hadn’t forced His call upon him. He simply persuaded Jeremiah with the wonderful purity of His Truth. In receiving God’s Word, it became a flame of passion in Jeremiah’s life, and he had obeyed God implicitly. Contrasted against a culture of self-delusion and moral betrayal, Jeremiah held God’s Word like a fire in his heart. It’s purity and righteousness was beautifully superior to the contrivances of compromise all around him. It was as though he was feasting off the finest cuisine while all other men were licking dirt. Yet, there was one huge result, which God had elected not to tell him, upon which he had not counted. And that was the total rejection that he and his Word would be met with. Now they were plotting to eliminate him because of his message, and Jeremiah was devastated.

The Word that God had called Jeremiah with was beautiful, like a refiner’s fire. Yet, just like that refining fire, it brought a separation between him and his peers which Jeremiah didn’t expect. Nor had God warned him about the severity of their rejection. But, by keeping the trouble concealed from him till it actually happened, had God really sent him forth unprepared? The question remains to be answered, in the next step, so……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // 1 Comment »

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them (His disciples), “Let us go over to the other side.”

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them (His disciples), “Let us go over to the other side.”

Tags: Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you……

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Since people tragically mess up their lives in the effort to satisfy their craving for acceptance, modern counselors have concluded that appeasing them, early on in childhood, with mega-doses of unearned affirmation, will saturate their insecurities and develop a well-adjusted adult. This tragically destructive ideology is indicative of Paul’’s statement in Romans 1:22…

Rom. 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].

The reason that appeasement is a fool’’s solution to man’’s need for acceptance is that it bypasses the real need by simply eliminating acceptability from the equation. Life will not simply tolerate freeloaders who want credibility for being acceptable without having to prove anything. True acceptance requires maintenance not just certification. In simple terms, if you stop being acceptable you’’re going to run the risk of rejection. Now that may be too harsh a reality for our sensitive fragile culture to face, but you’’ll never change the truth of it.

In the post-modern western world we are in a heated battle where a culture-of-self, demanding carte blanche acceptance is clashing with the claims of God over acceptability.

This is exactly why anti-Christian forces are pressing for a stronger secular influence over our society. If they can quarantine God in religious institutions, and by extension, isolate the claims of acceptability – then people will be “free” to have a sense of full acceptance without any standard accountability. But that is never the way it works out, nor can it. Because people want to be accepted according to the standards they admire. In other words, you’’ll never get acceptance as a great athlete just because you show up in an expensive Nike outfit. And if you demand to be accepted as one without running the race, and winning a few, you’’ll end up being labeled the very thing you fear most: a poser.

So you have to do what you love and believe in, as unto the Lord, because you love and believe in it, and not for the acceptance of men. When you live and run your race truly for the approval of God you’’ll never be defeated for lack of acceptance.  Because there is just no love like that of our Heavenly Father. He supports you as His child without robbing you of your need for accomplishment by giving you false credit. His total love undergirds you while His Spirit challenges your efforts and compels you beyond your short falls.

Col. 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Col. 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Paul the Apostle makes one of the strongest statements in the Bible on the subject of acceptance, when he says……

2 Cor. 10:12 Not that we [have the audacity to] venture to class or [even to] compare ourselves with some who exalt and furnish testimonials for themselves! However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely.

Paul knew the enslaving traps of living with an eye towards the acceptance of man and under the fear of his rejection. In this statement he cites the “ministry” for becoming polluted with comparisons, and all because men want validation and endorsement from each other. And they believe in their hearts that they can’’t succeed without it. What a tragedy of faith. What a betrayal of love. If you’’re affected by the need for acceptance, I urge you right now to find a trysting place with God, and redirect your need to Him. Don’’t stop until you’’re free. Don’’t leave a shred of your inner need left dangling in the world. Lay it upon the altar where Love knows you best and helps you the most.

Mic. 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 1 Comment »

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you…

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The principle is simple really: Acceptance is based in Acceptability. If you want to be accepted learn to be acceptable. The problems arise when you begin to sort out just whom you want to be acceptable with. If you always try to be accepted by people I hope you’re a chameleon, because you’ll need the skills. Your safest bet is to find out what it takes to be accepted in God’s eyes and let everything else find its place behind that relationship. That way the Lord will set the standard for your acceptability. You can survive without acceptance from people but you can’t survive rejection from God. And if you’re acceptable in God’s eyes then you’ll be also in the eyes of those who matter. When you do this, then acceptability focuses you upon your need for transformation, development and maturity. Then you place your need for acceptance in God’s Hands, Who has the power to extend true credibility to you. Since you are seeking to please Him, Who is just, compassionate and merciful, your acceptance will be meaningful and fulfilling.

Okay then, just what does the Bible say about acceptability in the eyes of God? I thought it would be a good idea to just list a few of the verses that mention what God views as acceptable. There is more, but this will give you a good start and you can research the rest through a simple word study of the scriptures.

A heart that is humble and right before God will always have a tongue that speaks acceptably…

Prov 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

To act with justice and discretion is more acceptable to God than trying to make up for sin…

Prov. 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

A true heart seeks to have its thoughts and words to be acceptable to God, and not just its actions…

Psa. 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, beacceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

One seeking to be acceptable to God knows it is only reasonable that his body, with its abilities and strengths, belongs to God…

Rom. 12:1 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.

It is acceptable to God when we live the truth and righteous standards that we profess, believe and proclaim…

Eph. 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Eph. 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Eph. 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Making it a priority to pray for all people and those in authority, is an acceptable practice with God, especially in light of our propensity for complaining…

1 Tim. 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

1 Tim. 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1 Tim. 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

It is acceptable with God for widows to receive support in their time of need, from the family members they have nurtured…

1 Tim. 5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

It is acceptable with God to show humility rather than retribution when you are reproved for your errors, seeing that God knows the truth…

1 Pet. 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, thisis acceptable with God.

God has made us to be accepted in Jesus (without our having to earn it). Ttherefore we should live to show forth praise for that gracious gift…

Eph. 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made usaccepted in the beloved.

You have a choice. You can waste your life being hung up on getting acceptance and falling under the modern misconception that you have a basic right to it. Or you can focus your efforts on being acceptable before God and have the fulfillment and satisfaction that it brings to your life.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you…

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

From “What Do You Believe?”:

There is nothing more essential to the Christian walk than faith. If you can operate in genuine God-like faith, then all Heaven is opened to you. If you can’t seem to get from blind wishing to focused faith, then all the promises of God’s Word will do you little good in this life. To speak with God you must know His language, faith. Every praise, plea, complaint and petition will be heard by God when expressed through faith. But the most brilliantly crafted legal case will fall on deaf ears if it’s argued before God without faith.

The secrets of faith are found in WHAT, WHY and HOW you believe.

We have covered WHAT you believe and WHY you believe it; and now we’re ready to look at HOW to exercise faith. Let’s remember that we’re not talking here about beliefs, but rather, faith. Beliefs are thoughts but faith is action. Faith exists in theNOW. Faith is not something you are going to do or something you did do. But true faith is always validated in the present. What are you believing RIGHT NOW?  THAT is your faith. Consider the statement of Heb. 11:1

NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

After studying and practicing the secrets of faith that we have shared up to this point, a lot of the HOW TO believe, has already come to light. Let’s review the insights we’ve covered so far:

You must have real desire behind the thing you are believing God for. Half-hearted interest will never sponsor faith.  Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mere beliefs can survive in the regions of the abstract mind, sharing thoughts with doubts and insecurities. But faith requires complete focus and the full commitment of your desires to its goal.

Make glorifying Jesus Christ the reason for your desire. When glorifying Jesus is the main reason for your desire, then your reason will line up with Heaven’s reason and you’ll have a divine connection. God will endorse your faith with His answer, because it agrees with His purpose. God doesn’t heal us just because we need it, or He’d be guilty of ignoring millions of afflicted people. The REASON that moves Heaven is the exaltation of Jesus. And the exaltation of Jesus is the only true help for mankind. In other words, God does want us healed (as well as His other provisions). In fact He sent His Son and already provided it and demonstrated His preference through Jesus’ ministry of Healing. But like every other provision for man’s vast needs, God has made those provisions in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the answer to every need and desire. He is willing to provide it as long as you are willing to receive it in Christ!

Base your faith in the promises of God’s Word. Heb. 1:3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power…” Jesus exercises all His authority through the power of His Word. He is glorified by the fulfilling of His Word. He is the Word made flesh. Psa. 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered themfrom their destructions.” If you base your faith for healing on anything less than God’s Word of promise, your faith will falter and not operate. God will not meet faith that is based in any emotional high, sense of human confidence or self-righteousness. Only His unshakeable promises can support true mountain-moving faith. So anchor your confidence in His Word, not your condition.

Allow your faith to manifest. The true act of faith (unlike beliefs), must express itself. Heb.3:1 “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus…” Jesus acts in His High Priest capacity towards us, as we furnish Him with our profession of faith from a sincere heart.

Don’t kill your faith with unbelief.  Faith comes from God, and like Him, it is jealous and unwilling to mix itself with fear and unbelief.  So keep your attitude of heart and the profession of your lips fixed on your faith’s objective. Don’t undermine your prayer of faith with double-mindedness, complaining or unbelief.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Furthermore, no farmer plants seed and then digs it up every couple days to see if it’s growing.

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

James 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

So like the wise farmer, don’t be foolish with your tongue. You can’t sow faith with your lips one day and then dig it up with doubt-filled complaining the next, and expect it to grow.

Faith is alive. It has flowed from the risen Jesus into your heart. And when you make request of Him, on the basis of His promised Word, it gives an opportunity for faith to arise from you can carry that request back to God, where He can be glorified in fulfilling His Word. We must live under the influence and discipline of faith, learning its ways, governed by its principles, walking in its victories. It is the way of our Lord Jesus.

Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // 1 Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // 1 Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // 1 Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // Add Comment »

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises // 1 Comment »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

If there is anything true of this world, it’s the fact that strife and conflict are an inescapable part of life. And in a world of conflict, half the battle is knowing the real source of trouble. The other half is having the power and will to deal with it

They who neither discern the source of conflict nor possess the power and determination to defeat it, have no business talking of peace. Because all they do is talk about it, but they cannot produce it. Man cannot achieve peace because he is forever fighting symptoms and failing to discern and attack the true source of trouble

From families, the cell social, to the greater community of nations, we see the failure of man to secure peace for himself. Every generation picks up the fallen banner of their forefathers efforts and zealously charges up that hill of human conflict, assured they will succeed where their fathers have failed. And just like the generations before them, they all make the same errors in discerning the source of strife and choking at the will to face what must be done.

Families, embittered with internal strife, attack the inability of their members to accommodate, the one with the spirit of manipulation and control. They attempt impossible strategies for peace, by laying its responsibility for it on the wrong shoulders; demanding that its members appease and accommodate the troublemaker. They exist in a state of paralysis, unable and unwilling to do what it takes to bring peace to their home…

Prov. 22:10 Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease.

Reluctance to confront the source of trouble produces a strategy of appeasement. And appeasement and accommodation are not tools of peace but of procrastination. Kicking the can down the road – postponing the fight for someone else to deal with, is a politicians idea of accomplishing peace. Postponing a fight is not achieving peace. It’s simply a calculated decision to accept strife and leave it for someone else to deal with. God has always had this contention with His people.

Jer. 8:11 “And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, Peace, peace, But there is no peace.

Dealing with the source of strife takes real leadership and often results in little cooperation from others. Even resistance fro those oppressed and living without the benefit of peace. Truth be known, most people would rather live without freedom and the peace it brings, than to involve themselves in difficult and unpleasant business of removing hindrances to peace. Because those hindrances are usually in the form of bullies and brazen self-servers. It’s much easier to gather a committee, form a dialog, and say that at least you worked for peace, after consensus fails to secure it.

The Nasty Truth About The Wicked……

Countries whose national and foreign policy is based in consensus can never win and never sustain peace. Because consensus allows the wicked to have a voice. The U.N. will never produce peace anywhere in the world, because the wicked sit on their councils. The global pickpockets and thugs who sow international discord are being asked to resolve conflict and bring peace.  And the fox guards the henhouse. This is why the House of Man is without peace and divided.

Matt. 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matt. 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

Matt. 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

Matt. 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Matt. 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Matt. 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children castthem out? therefore they shall be your judges.

Matt. 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Matt. 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Matt. 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

The Failure Of Consensus……

The reason Jesus is called the Prince of Peace is that peace, true peace, cannot be produced by consensus, but by the One in whom there is the power and will to overcome the enemies of that peace. The concept of consensus is based in the ideas of democracy. And the weakness of democracy is that it grants a say-so to those who should never have the stewardship of peace, because they lack the understanding and will to maintain it. This is why the Founders of America abandoned the idea of a pure democracy in favor of a Republic – representative democracy. They recognized the need for the best and brightest citizens of freedom to make decisions for peace, in the behalf of the citizenry. Rather than leaving it in the hands of a consensus mixed with ignorant and self-serving people. The republic could not survive without a public, well educated and uniformly committed to hold its laws to a high moral standard; coupled with the will to elect only worthy representatives. Once selfishness prevails over our legal system and public standards, peace will be impossible to maintain, because men will vote their self-interest over the common good.

And so its been said that consensus is the absence of leadership. And that is why man still seeks “peace on earth” through committees, dialog and consensus. It keeps the futile process going and masks the dismal reluctance of man to face his real enemies for what they are. This is why no government of man will ever maintain peace on earth until it is mantled by the Monarch of Heaven.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Selfish Desire…s Threaten Peace…

Jesus as the Prince of Peace, demonstrated His ability to locate the real source of conflict and point the way to peace, in the story of Martha and Mary. As Mary sat at Jesus feet listening to Him teach, Martha busied herself with preparations for dinner. All was fine until Martha began to get annoyed at the fact that she was working alone. It ate at her soul until she was convinced that an injustice was being perpetrated against her.Quickly Martha transformed herself from a servant to a victim, as she zeroed in on the “wrong” that Mary was committing against her.Her peace and joy in serving disintegrated into animosity.

Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

Luke 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Martha thought that what Mary was doing caused her lack of peace. But Jesus showed her that she lacked peace because she made her attitude a hostage of Mary’s behavior. This caused her to blame both Mary and Jesus. Whenever we decide to let someone else’s actions determine whether we will have joy in our own good deeds, we forfeit freedom and the peace it brings. Most bound, addicted and enslaved people have made themselves such.

The world holds out a false concept of peace that most people universally hold to. It maintains that everybody in the world becomes elevated to a higher moral conscience resulting in harmony tranquility. But this ideal fails to take into account “the wicked”, who have only hate and murder within them, and will never be pacified. They are the undoing of every peace-plan. So real peace must deal with the untamable wicked. It is hard to fathom, but some people are hell-bent, and no amount of reason or grace will ever turn them from their pernicious nature. If God concludes that to be the case, how arrogant is man to believe that he can succeed to pacify the wicked.

Is. 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.

The truth about peace is that it is impossible without conflict and unsustainable without force.

This is why Paul wrote…

Rom. 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Jesus is The Prince of Peace because He alone has the ability to go to the root of strife and deal appropriately with it.

Rom. 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Gal. 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.

At the root of all conflict is the nasty little secret that peace is always lost because of what someone wants. In every family that’s been afflicted with strife, in every community torn by unrest, in every nation boiling with turmoil, there is someone or some people who are destroying the peace with the pursuits of their wicked desires. Because our desires have driven us from our God, human desire is the root-problem with the loss of freedom and absence of peace.  And broken fellowship with God is broken peace. This is why Jesus alone is the only One qualified to produce peace. He knew that the fallen will of man would always desire things that destroyed our peace with God.  Deep within the spirit of man, his greatest enemies – sin and death – have robbed eternal peace from every person that enters the battlefield of life. Though man is the only one who can defeat these enemies, he is powerless against them.  But God left His throne in glory on a mission to become a man and win for us the victory we could never gain. For this reason Jesus is called the Prince of Peace – the One in whom there is both the will and the power to bring final peace to earth.

Col. 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Col. 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

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

Jesus peace is based in making the Fathers will our own desire. Jesus peace was a position He maintained in the center of the Fathers will. People who resolve their own inner conflicts with “Jesus peace” – who live the not-my-will-but-yours-be-done creed – are best suited to live at peace with others. Their peace is a Prince named Jesus.

Col. 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // 1 Comment »

Josh. 24:15 “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Josh. 24:28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

(this devotional was written Christmas 2005, when Christmas fell on a Sunday, just as it is this year, 2011)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’’s begin by establishing the truth that there is nothing in scripture requiring Christians to celebrate Jesus’’ birthday, on whatever day is chosen to represent it. However, if we were looking for an event to honor, Christ’’s Advent, coming into the world, certainly qualifies as a worthy observance. So Christmas is more than the observance of Jesus of Nazareth’’s birthday, it’’s acknowledging the significance of God coming into the world to bring us the gift of forgiveness and Life. Whether that happened on December 25th or July 4th is immaterial. But the fact that a day has been universally chosen to celebrate the Advent presents an opportunity for all believers to acknowledge their faith. And now it also presents a target for all anti-Christians to attack. Like it or not, Christmas is no longer simply a holiday.

Let’’s also acknowledge the fact that by instituting events we create the opportunity to commercialize them and dilute the significance of their meaning. This is the occupational hazard of institutionalism. For example, the Pharisaic order arose to lead a revival back to faithfulness to God, hundreds of years before Christ’’s birth. Yet that revival became galvanized into the institution that rejected Him when He came. And so Christmas is also filled with holiday activities which conflict with its true meaning.

A war on Christmas has also arisen from among secularists, progressives and atheists, who want to see all references to God erased from public life in America.  ACLU lawyers are threatening schools and public institutions all across America with litigation, if they don’’t remove all references to Christmas and Christ from their pageants and displays. So the Winter Holidays and Winter Trees are becoming the new reason for giving thanks. Secularists are attempting to force Christianity into a private underground, and create a judgment-free society, free from any accepted criteria that sets moral standards and thereby condemning bad behaviors. And now the anti-Christian ACLU has chosen Christmas, as a symbol of Christianity, against which to focus these attacks.

These are pretty complex issues every year rally around Christmas, and many believers would be tempted to simply say, ‘”Take Christmas, we don’’t need it”.  Our worship is in Spirit and truth, not holidays.’

But the fact is that the anti-Christians aren’’t attacking Christmas as a point of worship but rather as a symbol of our right to influence the world.

It is the right to introduce the Gospel in American culture that is being attacked. And that is a reason to defend our celebration, regardless of its commercialization.

December 25th falls on a Sunday this year.  And several large churches (as well as others) decided to close their Sunday services on Christmas Day, in order to avoid being an imposition on families’’ plans for gift-giving and big meals.  How far have we drifted from our mission as Christians, and from the purpose of the Church? If an accommodation must be made, why isn’’t “serving God” given the greater consideration? Rather than believers serving Christ as members of His Body, many churches are run as a service for individualism.

This brings us to my text out of Joshua 24.  At the end of Joshua’’s life, after having led the Israelites into the Promised Land he delivers this final address.

Josh. 24:15 “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

After numerous battles to drive out the enemies and dividing the land to the tribes, Joshua reminds them that they have been led there by God to SERVE Him and not just to live there as His people. This is the critical error we make today. We view our churches as settlements granted by God for our purposes. Thus the Church serves the needs of people, while they slide into self-service.

Josh. 24:28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

How in the world can a church dismiss its people from their regular day of worship, seeing that it’’s a fundamental service to the Lord, in order to free them to serve themselves. Wouldn’’t the message be much greater to unsaved guests and family, to see us leave our gifts under the tree and put dinner on hold, in order to gather together with the greater family of God, and honor Jesus Christ, our Lord?

The war on Christmas has changed the dynamics of how we view this holiday honoring the Advent of the Lord. Whether we like it or not, we cannot ignore the fact that the godless forces of humanism have chosen Christmas as a door they can use to challenge and restrict our freedom to publicly present the Gospel. We, by canceling Church to accommodate Christmas, demonstrate what is surely perceived as a disregard of the Lord’’s right to be served above our interests. Then we ourselves make the point that Jesus and His Gospel belong hidden in people’’s private homes, because even the Church bows to their personal plans. Imagine winning the world to Christ with an army of believers that will assemble for service when it’s convenient for them.

No. It is not a small opportunity before us that Christmas falls on Sunday this year.  Every Christian should fill the lanes and roadways of our towns and cities on Sunday morning, December 25th, making their way to Church, and let the world know that the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, to bring us into His family, precedes the plans of all families. We need to let the anti-Christians know that we won’’t allow the name of Jesus to be driven from the public. There is now the greater issue of our right to publicly declare Christ, presenting itself before us. The secularists claim that the mention of thanks to Jesus Christ offends the beliefs of other religions, and that the only way to remove the offense is to remove the Name of Jesus. What’’s worse is that professing Christians have been brainwashed into agreement with this demonic strategy. We who know Him realize there are no competing Truths. There is the Truth, Jesus Christ and all else is a deception. If we allow our testimony of the Gospel to be removed from public display, with the argument that other religions are offended by its claims to be THE TRUTH, we show ourselves as cowards and unconvinced by the Gospel we claim. That is not Christianity, it’s Universalism. Do not fail to understand the battle that is forming around you.  This is a War on Truth. For hundreds of years the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been freely proclaimed on our national monuments as well as our courts, schools and public facilities. In the recent few years an invisible army, hidden behind anti-Christian lawyers, has arisen to take away the precedent of Christ. And nobody but Christians will stop this threat.

Matt. 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

We have a responsibility to Jesus Christ to be the light to all that are in the house (of humanity).

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 2 Comments »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In the first 3 descriptive names of Jesus: Wonderful, Counselor and MightyGod, we are seeing what He does and produces. But in this 4th name, Everlasting Father, we are seeing much deeper. We are looking into what He is. At the core of His being, Jesus is an everlasting flame of paternal love. As we have looked at these first 3 descriptive names for Jesus, it’s important that we understand that they fall short of explaining what He is. For if any of them were the core nature of His being, we would be in trouble.

If Jesus were essentially a Wonder-Worker, we’’d become increasingly callous and indifferent to His miraculous demonstrations, because seeing the supernatural doesn’’t change the depths of people’’s hearts. Miracles don’’t reach our deepest need.

Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

If Jesus were essentially an overwhelmingly wise Counselor, His words of wisdom would become heavy yokes of condemnation around our necks, because of our inability to follow them. Counsel doesn’’t reach our deepest need.

If Jesus were essentially a mighty God of dominion, our sinful rebellions would become the first casualties of His power. Power doesn’’t reach our deepest need.

Man is designed around his need to love and be loved. The paternal love of man’’s reproductive process reflects the theme our Creator’s core being. We are designed to arrive in life, delivered into the hands of loving parents. Everything about Adam and Eve magnified the Fatherhood of God. It is no mistake that when God comes into the world to deliver us from our sins, He takes the nature of a son and carries out His sacrificial life in relationship to The Father. Asked by Phillip, at the Last Supper, “Show us the Father and it will suffice us, Jesus answers……

John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father….

If we explored the genetic information, locked in the DNA of Jesus’ blood, we would find the Father of the Universe. And from the essential code of His nature flows perfect Fatherly Love for us. It is hard to imagine how Jesus feels towards us, since we see one another from the perspective of siblings. But He, from the drama of eternity, sees man as His lost children, and the redeemed as His children returned.

Jesus is the Father of humanity.

From eternity past, man was the love in the heart of God, the force behind His creation.

Man is how God signed His creation. We are the projection of Himself into the world He made. The universe is a home for God and man’’s fellowship together. It was created as the reality within which God would share His love. As man gazes out into the seeming endlessness of the starry sky, his sense of physical dimension tells him he’’s insignificant. Little does he know that all the universe cannot compare to the vastness of his value in the eyes of God. Man is larger than the celestial terrarium in which he’’s been placed. The earth and the heavens could sooner roll up and fade away before God would abandon His children. We are what the universe is all about, and that is why the Creator did’n’t beam His Light of purpose into the stars, but He turned it into our hearts, where love could be understood and returned.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

What man needs God is. Man’’s deepest need is LOVE. Man searches and labors for love. He is mediocre without it, angry when denied it, and rises to his best under its influence. Man was designed with love in mind.

When inspiring Paul with these words about Love, God was speaking of Himself….

1 Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,

1 Cor. 13:5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

1 Cor. 13:6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

1 Cor. 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Cor. 13:8 Love never fails;

There is a reason why man needs and responds to Love. To discover the answer to that question is to learn the most essential truth about God. That God drew us out His heart and designed for and by love. By understanding our basic need we can begin to understand God’’s basic nature.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.

Tomorrow we will look at another of the 5 descriptive names that God said Jesus would be known as. Until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The Mighty God is a title associated with God as the Almighty Warrior……

(from Strong’s Concordance) “Mighty = gibbowr, ghib-bore´; or (shortened) gibbor, ghib-bore´; intensive from the same as 1397 (a valiant warrior); powerful; by implication, warrior, tyrant:—champion, chief

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom in exile from the Earth. And the people of the world lie under the domain of Satan, The Usurper; to whom they foolishly sold their authority and lives. Now God must re-enter the world through the friendship of loyalists to the rightful crown. And through the ministry of His ambassadors, must win back the hearts of a people, conditioned to slavery and void of the memory of freedom.

Every culture has its legendary stories depicting this eternal drama. Robin Hood was precisely that story of the rightful King Richard, returning from the Crusades, working through loyalists such as Robin Hood, to defeat the evil prince John who had supplanted the kingdom in his absence. These kinds of legends exist in all cultures because the basic theme of this drama is imprinted in the souls of men.

All the world is locked in spiritual warfare. And the wars of men and nations are but border skirmishes along the outposts of two kingdom’s in conflict. The escalation of wars, leading to His return, is only a physical result of the struggle of Darkness against the Returning Light.

As The Mighty God, Jesus is named the Commander of God’s armies. Both men and angels populate the ranks of His forces. In unison, we fight to free people captive behind fortresses of deception and prison bars of demonic lies.

Psa. 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psa. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Psa. 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

Psa. 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Jer. 32:18 …the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name…

God has revealed Himself as the King of the Battlefield. He is The God of war in the struggle against evil. He has always revealed Himself as the One who will infuse the warrior with victory, who fights in His battles.

1 Sam. 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

Jesus is the manifestation of God, being ever willing to enter the battlefield of faith, and fight on our behalf. He is not so much sending us to personally fight evil and deception, as He is positioning us to bring Him personally onto the scene.

If you want to see Jesus, The Mighty God, moving through you, you must get close enough to the Lord’’s battle.

Jehoshaphat and all Judah are delivered from the Ammonites, Moabites and armies of Mt. Seir, when their fight became God’s battle…

2 Chr. 20:3 And Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD; and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

2 Chr. 20:4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

2 Chr. 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2 Chr. 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

The “Lord’s battle” is that conflict where a soul has cast all their hope and care upon God, making the struggle about repentance and redemption, instead of fighting to have their own way.

Psa. 46:9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

Psa. 46:10 “Cease striving [be still] and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

When the battles of life become about trusting the Lord, The Mighty God shows up in the behalf of those who have laid themselves out in dependence upon Him.

Psa. 3:1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

Psa. 3:2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

Psa. 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

Psa. 3:4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

When God says that the battle is His, He means that at the core of the struggle there is a demonic resistance against God Himself and His purposes. This distinguishes the struggle from all other earthly conflicts in which men entangle themselves. The child of the King is not free from being a servant of the Lord. And as such, he is not free to engage in any battle he chooses, and expect the Mighty God to intervene on his behalf, simply because he is a King’’s kid. But those battles that are the Lord’’s, are such because His interests are at stake and not just ours. The “Lord’’s battles” also include delivering His children under attack, when they cry out in repentance and reliance upon Him. Because then the issue is one of honoring His covenant promise to deliver His dependents. The humble and obedient servants of Christ must remember they serve the Mighty God.

Josh. 5:13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?”

Josh. 5:14 He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?”

Josh. 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.

Tomorrow we will look at another of the 5 descriptive names that God said Jesus would be known as. Until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Jesus’’ counsel always begins with you. He never taught plans for success or even methods for overcoming. His teaching is Counsel. It isn’’t academic. It’s parental and it’s authoritative.

Rev. 3:15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.

Rev. 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

Rev. 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

Rev. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

Rev. 3:19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.

Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.

The target of His counsel is always your relationship with God.

John 21:22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

Jesus never assumed that you were able to succeed by following a plan. He knew that the source of your troubles wasn’’t the lack of a plan, but the lack of communion with God. You needed The Counselor not another teacher.

Here is essentially the difference between teaching and true counsel. The goal of teaching is learning, but the goal of counsel is doing. When a teacher is finished teaching you will have learned. But when a counselor is finished counseling you will have succeeded.

Prov. 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Prov. 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

The counsels of man are based on the idea that there are many ways of doing things. They are observations and opinions, at best. But the counsel of God is based in His own perfect will. He is Designer-Creator and has the power to bring all his counsel to pass. Therefore His counsels never change.

Heb. 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promisethe immutability (unchangeableness) of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

God cannot be persuaded of a better way. This is why Jesus is the great Counselor. He is the Way the Truth and the Life. He is the Counsel of God to you.

Avoiding Jesus The Counselor is to succeed for a moment at the expense of eternity. It is foolish to encourage yourself in your own plans (apart from God), just because the worst hasn’’t happened… yet.

Here is an example of Jesus The Counselor in action……

Luke 6:39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Luke 6:41 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Luke 6:42 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:43 “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

Luke 6:44 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

Luke 6:45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Luke 6:46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Luke 6:47 “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:

Luke 6:48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

Luke 6:49 “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Here Jesus masterfully uses 4 dramatic illustrations to drive home His essential counsel to man….

1. Blind counselors will lead blind followers into the pit.

Is a blind counselor validating your life? Either a parent, relative, friend or perhaps a movie character or a personality you’’ve pieced together from a composite of characters.

2. You cannot avoid becoming like the one whose counsel you follow.

With a blind counselor as your teacher you cannot avoid becoming blind.

3. Helping others begins with being helped.

Why follow the counsel of hypocrites who are blind to their own faults and don’’t follow their own counsel?

4. Goodness is determined by the content of your heart.

To DO good you must BE good. The counsel of men will never change what you do or produce. Those changes must come from within you. To change yourDoing you must change your Being.

In summation, Jesus The Counselor is saying to us, when it comes to forming a basis for the actions of your life, there is no foundation in the counsels of men. Their wisdom is surface sand, because they simply offer observations and opinions about a life they haven’’t mastered. Building on their advice is a gamble at best. Notice in His Parable, that Jesus wasn’’t saying to find a place to go where there is no shifting sands.Instead He indicates that the solid foundation is to be found by digging down below the surface soil and striking your footing on the rock beneath. For there is a foundation under your feet, but you’’ll have to dig for it.You’’ll have to remove the shifting sands of worldly advice in order to get down to the Rock of your life, – Jesus The Counselor.

Psa. 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psa. 1:3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Tomorrow we will look at another of the 5 descriptive names that God said Jesus would be known as. Until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ // Add Comment »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The “Wonderfulness” of Jesus is that He introduces God to us as the One with whom all things are possible. Suddenly every dead end now has a way out. Hopelessness has been ransacked. And in Jesus Christ, anyone could now have the right to believe God loved him.

He removed the lid from our faith and instantly brought us into the world of infinite possibilities with God. Through Him we discovered a Father who is more than willing, He is eager, to manifest His power in favor towards those who worship Him. The willingness of God to manifest His mighty deliverance on our behalf is called “wonderful” because He does it out of His love as a Father. He’s not coaxed or bribed by our righteousness and promises. He’s not compelled by the desperation of our messes. But He is moved, as a Father, by the humblest petition of faith, from the heart of anyone who comes to Him as a child. That is truly wonderful news because it leaves room for anyone to qualify, regardless of their position and performance in life. That makes power available on the basis of love.

Now the worshipper of God is never stuck w/o a way out!

When the hurricane on Galilee was about to sink their boat…

Mark 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

When 5000 men (not counting the women and children) followed Jesus into the wilderness and became hungry, with no food to give them…

Matt. 14:16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

Matt. 14:17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

Matt. 14:18 He said, Bring them hither to me….

Matt. 14:21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

In describing Jesus, Isaiah uses a Hebrew word for Wonderful that far transcends any notion of earthly goodness. For all earthly experiences of goodness are temporary and based upon the sifting sands of circumstance.

The word Isaiah called Jesus was, “Miracle”…miraculous limitless wonder.

(6382 Strong’s). peh-leh; from 6381; a miracle:—marvelous thing, wonder(-ful, -fully).

In other words, all the wonderful things that come in this life are subject to the changing conditions of this life. What is wonderful today will most certainly not last. What is wonderful one day in this life can dissolve the next, as circumstances change.

Your gesture of love can be accepted as “wonderful” one day. But the next day, when your spouse is in a different mood – in a different place – your goodness can become an irritation; simply because the conditions for your spouse have changed.

The cruel lesson of life is that its goodness is never enough, and becomes meaningless, because the perspective of people is ever shifting. Every family member and married person knows this to be true.

The Holiness Of God…

But the “wonderfulness” of God is the product of His holiness, or ‘Otherness’”. God is “Other than” His creation. He is not subject to His creation. He does not draw His inspiration from the world, but from His own nature.He is pure objectivity, safe within the perfection of His own nature of divine love and righteousness.

Mal. 3:6 For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

His goodness does not depend upon conditions, but upon standards set by His own righteousness and love. This is wonderful news for us who are constantly disappointed by the changing conditions of all earthly loves.

Heb. 6:13 For when God made [His] promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear,

Heb. 6:14 Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.

Heb. 6:17 Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly andbeyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath.

Heb. 6:18 This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath]in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us,

Jesus is Wonderful because He is the payment of the Oath. Love’’s manifest changelessness.

Heb. 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The Omnipresence Of God…

In His holiness (otherness) God is omnipresent. That is, He is not limited to the laws that confine His creation, such as time and space. That means that He is completely and personally attentive, through His presence, at all times. In other words He is not just an immeasurable lump of love. One who is so large that there is enough potent, love-packed pieces to go around for everyone, so that the piece you get will be big enough for you. But if God’’s love is subject to the laws of creation, and measured in size, there’’s always that remote possibility that your need just might be the one that’’s beyond His allotment. There are always those people who fear that their mess is the ONE that will break the bank of God’’s compassion.

No. Jesus is “Wonderful” because He is ever standing before you personally in His fullness. He is ‘Jesus – The Wonderful’ to every person. Made wonderfully available to every person through the nature of His holiness.

It is literally His holiness that provides each of us with His full, personal, unhurried and undivided attention 24/7. This is the miracle quality of Jesus’ wonderfulness: that no shifting circumstance of an ever-changing world, can force Him to deviate from His Love. Even His judgment and chastening is controlled by His holiness (freedom from the world’s manipulations), and moved only by His perfect love. We are never dealt with according to our failures but according to His nature and plan.

Psa. 103:10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Psa. 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

Psa. 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Psa. 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

He commands us to act on what His Love has given us. Jesus is Wonderful-Miraculous to us because He has imparted a love to us that lifts us beyond the limits of our failures, to receive His perfect fellowship, while we yet struggle against our outer circumstances.

1 Pet. 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

It is literally His holiness that enables us to receive perfect relationship within us while we work through our circumstances and imperfections without.

Phil. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

A little girl asks her parent why the mangled flower, she has tried to pry open, can only be opened by God.

When God opens it it’s perfect. But when I try I just ruin it.”, she says.

Then before they can respond she breaks in, “I know. It’’s because God opens it from within.”

Tomorrow we will begin to look at another of the 5 descriptive names that God said Jesus would be known as.  Until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Isa. 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Who Is Jesus????

Men have been all over the map of truth trying to stake a claim for the answer to this question. Is He God? Is He man? Is He Messiah or simply a teacher? Is He from Heaven or simply earthly, like the rest of us?There is an answer that must be stretched over several questions in order to unfold entirely.

The Person of Jesus is so enormous that viewing Him from only one perspective will not reveal Him. It’’s like trying to explain the horizon before men figured out what the earth was. Like the horizon, our vision of Jesus is ever expanding before us as we move ahead. It’’s the last thing we see before our vision falls into infinity. It’’s the leading edge of our line of sight limited as it is, by our inability to see around the corners.That is, unless we’re assisted by elevation and movement.

Elevation And Movement

Eph. 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Eph. 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Eph. 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

Elevation and Movement describe the effect of the Holy Spirit upon our understanding. He lifts us and moves us forward, from glory to glory, as we stretch to see the Son of God with our understanding. It’’s like chasing the expanding horizon in the Space Shuttle, as opposed to standing in your backyard, looking west. To understand Jesus, one must have certain pillars of truth raised in their minds and firmly planted in their hearts.

So here are the 3 questions over which we consider, Who Is Jesus?

#1 – What is God – What is man?

This is a 2-part question, because only man can know God. To know God, we must understand our own unique creation. It’s not until we realize our own superior distinction among all other living things that we begin to grasp what God is.

Jesus calls Himself “the son of man”, 32 times in Matthew alone.

Matt. 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

As son of man, Jesus is the perfect display of humanity: the image of God. His Son, communing with Him. But Jesus also claims to be God.

John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

So Jesus is the God-Man. He is the very image of God’s intended purpose for us, from the beginning.

Heb. 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

Heb. 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

Heb. 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

He represents our becoming!

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

#2 – Why don’’t we know God?

Moral blindness. We are spiritually incompatible with and unable to see God. God cannot be known simply as a principle. He must be known as an eternal moral Being. You believe Genghis Khan existed but you don’’t know him. We are separated by the darkness of sin.

To answer the question, ’Who Is Jesus?’, you must first understand that you are separated from God by sin, and that whatever Jesus is, He is designed to solve that problem.

John the Baptist knew Who He was, by knowing what was wrong between God and man:

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold theLamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

#3 – How can we know God?

We can’’t go to Him so He must come to us. So Jesus came to carry us to the Father. By His offering He bore us…carried us, to the Father.

John 17:13 And now I come to you…

John 17:21 May they all be one! Even as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so let them be in us…

John 17:23 I in them, and you in me, so that they may be made completely one, and so that it may become clear to all men that you have sent me and that they are loved by you as I am loved by you.

John 17:24 Father, it is my desire that these whom you have given to me may be by my side where I am….

Jesus carries us to the Father…

Psa. 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

Psa. 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

Psa. 24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Jesus did this!)

Jesus Himself is the answer to each of those 3 questions.

He reveals God. – He reveals man.

He reveals why we don’’t know God.

He reveals how we can know God.

While all other religions and belief systems truly are the opiates of the human race, Jesus is man’’s ‘wake up’ from lethal sleep. In Jesus, Paul tells of having his eternal perspective awakened, as he begins to reach beyond his mortality, to grasp his identity. In Jesus, Paul is made aware of himself as an eternal being, and at the same time painfully aware of his ability to follow Him into eternity. This sets up Paul to begin to grasp the significance of the “Son that was given”, and the significance of His death and resurrection.

Phil. 3:10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

Phil. 3:11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

(also, Gal 2:20)

Jesus is the literal bridge between God and man. Spanning both the temporal and eternal worlds, He is both the image of God and the template of man. And because He is our design and designer He is perfectly suitable to be the son offered on our behalf.

Gen. 22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Gen. 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Gen. 22:12 And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Gen. 22:13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Gen. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”

Gen. 22:15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

Gen. 22:16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Gen. 22:17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Gen. 22:18 “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

We were made in the image and likeness of God so that we would seek to commune as He does, and He could respond to us in kind. We are perfectly engineered for fellowship. We were designed like Him so our actions towards Him could provoke reactions from Him.

Jesus was God giving us something we could offer to Him, a response that would provoke the blessing He desired to bestow upon us.

Jesus was God’’s response to Abraham’’s sacrifice.

Tomorrow we will begin to look at the 5 descriptive names that God said Jesus would be known as. Until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus // Add Comment »

Mark 4:26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

Mark 4:27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows— how, he himself does not know.

Mark 4:28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

Psa. 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Life has a rhythm, a lot like walking. The foot that’’s reaching ahead to where you want to go will soon be the same foot you withdraw from where you’’ve been. In the motion of walking – like the motion of living – we straddle both where we were and where we’re headed with each step.

Where you are today is the result of steps you took yesterday. And tomorrow you will either regret or rejoice in the steps you take today.

Sowing & Reaping…

The entire Kingdom of God operates on the sowing and reaping principle. The farmer sits at his table today and eats the fruit of last years’ labors. He then gets up and returns to the field to labor for next years’ happiness.

Mark 4:26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

Just like the natural laws that govern farming, our lives also are the result of sowing and reaping. If one can manage his life with that rhythm in mind, rather than always living only in the moment, he can live a productive life. Today’’s decisions can set up tomorrow’’s happiness. So don’’t react negatively to today’’s regrets over the fruit of yesterday’’s planting; but simply correct your sowing for tomorrow’’s improvement.

Like the stride of a walker, the value of his steps lay in the direction of his path. It’’s where he’’s going that makes each step important. In the same way, the value of the present is that it’’s an opportunity to either reconsider or reconfirm the direction of yesterday. Then either renew or change your direction for tomorrow. The present is the ONLY POINT along your path where you can insert a change of direction.

It is certain that the Bible teaches the great principle that happiness is harvested. In that very principle, the Apostle Paul paced himself as he pursued God’’s purposes for his life.

Phil. 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it (perfect spiritual maturity) my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to ,

Phil. 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 3:15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Paul understood that his life, lived in its present moments, was no better than the pursuit in which he invested those moments, while they were his to control. Standing around, trying to find happiness and meaning in each solitary moment of life is a sure recipe for depression. Because the aimless, unproductive soul is weary. Purposelessness deprives the soul of its power of life. Thus Proverbs declares:

Prov. 20:4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

Paul also understood that sowing his life into the pursuit of “the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” was what made life worth living. Previously Paul had sown all his efforts into developing the best life he could live for himself now. But after finding Jesus he realized the ultimate worthlessness of “pressing on toward” his best life now, rather than “what lies ahead”. In fact, the principle of sowing and reaping was exactly what Jesus had in mind when He called us to discipleship by saying:

Matt. 16:24 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Matt. 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.

The words of Jesus countermand the entire modern Christian concept, of using the divine principles found in the rhythm of life, in order to develop your best life now, rather than sell it off in sacrifice, for His best life now and forever. This is exactly what Paul understood. And he reconciled the sins and failures of his past with the blood of Jesus. That ended all grieving and remorse. Time to move on. He then reset all his priorities and redirected all his efforts towards fulfilling Jesus’’ claims over his life. This won’’t remove trial from your life, but you will live days without regrets. Because you’’ll enter each new day in the peace produced by your efforts of the previous days. I know that tomorrow, when I come to it, I’’ll be happy in the fruit of the life I’’ve lived for Christ today.

In one of the rare glimpses of our life with Him in eternity, Jesus prepares us by stressing this important principle: that our faithfulness today will set up our position in the life that awaits us.

Matt. 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Paul also reinforced the same focus for us, as we walk with God today.

1 Cor. 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 3:12 Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

1 Cor. 3:13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

1 Cor. 3:14 If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.

1 Cor. 3:15 If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.

So the rhythm of life, with it’s overlapping cycles of sowing and reaping, will carry us right into eternity. When our life is weighed out for all it’s worth, be certain of this, that your deep concern will not be whether you were happy in every day, but did your days bring you to a happy place.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order // Add Comment »

Mark 4:26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

Mark 4:27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows— how, he himself does not know.

Mark 4:28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

Psa. 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Life has a rhythm, a lot like walking. The foot that’’s reaching ahead to where you want to go, will soon be the same foot you withdraw from where you’’ve been. In the motion of walking – like the motion of living, – we straddle both where we were and where we’’re headed with each step.

Where you are today is the result of steps you took yesterday. And tomorrow you will either regret or rejoice in the steps you take today.

Living for the moment…

No one who lives solely in the moment ever lives a successful life. But like the painter’’s canvass, life is stretched between the past and future. The moment we that find ourselves in, never exists unto itself, but it’’s a place we’’ve arrived at along a path we’’ve been traveling. The reason why significant and dramatic change is usually difficult to make is because people usually want to experience it instantly. But a true turn-around in life is more like navigating a large ocean-going vessel, in which a wheel must be turned, and held, until the rudder has affected a true redirection of our course. God can insert pivotal moments into our lives if we allow Him to. But then it takes faithful determination on our part to stay in the radius, endure the pressure of the turn, until we can straighten out the wheel, and move in a new direction. So instead of life unfolding in minute second-by-second movements, the increments of our life are more like a person throwing a ball, catching up to it, and throwing it again. We are always pursuing the place where our actions have led us.

One of the great themes running through the Bible is the plant-and-reap rhythm of life. You sow today for tomorrow’’s harvest. God has designed life to flow along the course of this principle. All of nature is locked into its rhythm:

Gen. 8:22 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The wise individual understands that life is a walk across time. The person who only has vision for the moment and regrets over the past will never learn how to walk successfully with God, through life. To walk with God one must coordinate evaluating the past, discerning the present and focusing for the future, with each step they take. For when tomorrow arrives you will have become what you’’ve prepared to be, through your actions today. Paul writes in Galatians about this inescapable law of life.

Gal. 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

Gal. 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

It is impossible to live only for the moment and be happy, because the status of your happiness in this very moment was largely determined by your actions yesterday. Though we may mourn our sins and failures, the Lord is gracious to blot them out when we repent. But we live with the heartbreaks over lost opportunities to do good, which we can never go back and recapture. So one of the best things you can do with the “moment” you have, is to realize that there are moments to come, and invest yourself wisely towards them. Happiness is a cumulative experience. In part, we are made happy by our immediate circumstances and state of being.But in addition to that, our happiness is also contributed to by the thanksgiving of others, over things that we have done well, which have benefited them. The satisfaction this brings today is the result of unselfish sacrifices we made towards the good of others yesterday. Those sacrifices rarely bring joy in the moment they are made. In fact, they are often made at some expense to our own immediate happiness. But the deep joy that the thankfulness of others (who are benefited by our sacrifice) brings to us today, far outweighs any momentary happiness we may have sacrificed yesterday. And knowing the worth of this joy, and the awful weight of regrets over missed opportunities, let us wisely navigate the rhythm of life; sowing today for tomorrows harvest.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 1 Comment »

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 1 Comment »

Matt. 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away; sold everything he had, and bought that field.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Nothing could be more clear in Jesus’ statement about the Kingdom of God:

The person who found the treasure bought the entire field in which it was found, and did not simply pluck out the treasure and run home with it.

Let’s define elements in Jesus’ illustration:

The Treasure is Jesus, Himself, the Savior and Lord of all.

The Field is the Gospel, the whole message of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is the entire sphere of Christ’s rule.

The Finder should be YOU.

The message of Jesus is the offer to you of a new life in a new Kingdom. His offer is not one of a “fix” for your kingdom, but an offer to live anew, in His kingdom. In His illustration about God’s Kingdom, the Treasure comes with the Field.

Jesus is not offering Himself apart from His Gospel, but through His Gospel.

It’s purchasing the Field that gave the Finder legitimate right to the Treasure. Jesus’ illustration never conceives of a Finder who simply lifts the Treasure from the Field and scurries home with it. Like oil in the ground, the Treasure of the Kingdom cannot be separated from the Gospel. Think about that for a moment. You can actually trace most people’s failure in faith to attempts at taking Jesus into their hearts but still living deep within the interior of their own lives. Is it possible to have Jesus in your heart without entering His Kingdom, living in opposition to His Gospel? The fact is that there is a big difference between going to Heaven with Christ in your heart and living a fruitful and productive life in His Kingdom, here upon the Earth. The thief on the cross had no time to live out his faith in the few moments he had left after meeting Jesus at Calvary. But Jesus never presented that model as a recommendation for people who plan to go on living.

Jesus is a King with a kingdom.

Yes, Jesus the Savior entered our world; made by Him, placed under our management. The kingdom of man had collapsed, having fallen into the hands of Satan. Jesus entered it, not to become it’s new King, but to offer it’s fallen subjects the opportunity to enter a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. Jesus cannot heal your old life and make it meaningful in the fallen kingdom of darkness. He can’t make things right for you, if you insist on holding onto your old citizenship in a sin-cursed kingdom. The Finder in Jesus message of the Kingdom of God, sold off all his assets and claims in this world, in order to purchase the Field of Treasure. In other words, you must take the Gospel (the Field) and make it YOUR NEW HOME in order to have its Treasure, Jesus. What does this really mean in practical terms?

Jesus is telling us that if He is going to be able to be a “Treasure” to us, then we must live within the guidelines and priorities of His Kingdom in order to receive His benefit. In short, when we are pulled between the demands of this life and the claims of the Gospel’s higher priorities, we should be putting His Kingdom’s interests first. In the simplest of terms, if Christ is King then His interests should rule. The business of the Gospel is the business of His Kingdom. While our “business” is of interest to the Lord, His business is His priority, and that’s how it should be with us.

Do Christians today feel as though they’ve bought the Field?

When a Christian leaves church and heads off into a new week, how does he/she view their path? I gave God His time, so now my time can be blessed? God is not unsympathetic to our responsibilities, but if something needs to be done for His Kingdom, are we open to disrupting our plans in order to answer the call? Why did Jesus say?

Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Wasn’t that statement a reminder for those who want the Treasure in the Field? No Field, no Treasure. Jesus proves the real worth of His Treasure every time we put prayer, fellowship, witnessing, sacrifice for His Church, and the like, before our own interests, and then watch Him bless us (and others) for it. The Kingdom of God is expanded every time a believer inconveniences his/her own schedule to give their time and energy to the cause of Jesus’ Gospel. Individuals adding Jesus to their agendas do not make the Kingdom of God visible. But when individuals set aside their agendas to join the efforts of His Church, they are acting in His interests and under His rule. That’s the Kingdom. That’s purchasing the Field.

But how far do you go with such sacrifices. The needs of the ministry seem never to end? For that answer, be sure to read tomorrow’s devotional. In the meantime……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Matt. 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away, sold everything he had, and bought that field.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Jesus’ message concerning the Kingdom of God is very revealing in this statement. But because of the brevity of His comment this powerful statement could be easily overlooked. Here is the most important truth in Jesus’ statement about the Kingdom of God:

The person who found the treasure bought the entire field in which it was found, and did not simply pluck out the treasure and run home with it.

Let’s define elements in Jesus’ illustration:

The Treasure is Jesus, Himself, the Savior and Lord of all.

The Field is the Gospel, the whole message of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is the entire sphere of Christ’s rule.

The Finder should be YOU.

The message is clear: the Finder, after discovering the Treasure, leaves it in the field and goes away to make arrangements to purchase the entire field. He does not attempt to remove Jesus from the context of His message, the Gospel. He doesn’t simply snatch up Jesus and attempt to fit Him into his life, as it presently exists. In fact, the Treasure, having been found in the Field, is considered the property of the Field. And removing it would be tantamount to stealing. The Finder actually has to purchase the Field in order to have proper ownership of the Treasure.

Jesus isn’t available to us apart from His Gospel.

Think about that. Removing Him from the Gospel is not an option in Jesus illustration. Remember that Jesus is explaining the Kingdom of God. So if we try to take Jesus out of the Gospel, and simply attempt to fit Him into our routine, we lose the Kingdom of God. In other words, Jesus is not presenting Himself as a fix or solver of our lives. He is presenting Himself, within the Gospel, as the way to enter the Kingdom of God.In reality, Jesus never preached a “fix” or “solution” for your life. Instead He provided a way for you to sell off your life and enter into a whole new life, in a new kingdom, governed by new principles, under a new Lord: Himself. The Finder actually sells off his entire life to buy the Field, the Gospel with Jesus in it. Are you beginning to see how totally opposite Jesus’ actual message is, compared with the way people present it today?

Consider these similar examples. Could you purchase an exotic fish at the pet store, bring it home, lay it on the coffee table and expect to enjoy it for long, without buying the fish tank? Could you go to a concert where you were thrilled by the music, purchase the instruments, bring them home, and enjoy a perpetual encore? Throughout life there are many wonderful things that you have to step out of your life’s routine to experience. In the case of Jesus Christ, He is the highest epitome of that principle. He is a King Who comes with a Kingdom defined by His Gospel. His Kingdom will not enter yours and exist. You, the Finder, must liquidate ALL that is valuable to you, in order to afford the value of citizenship in His Kingdom. What does that mean, really? Read tomorrow’s devotional and find out.In the meanwhile…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order // 5 Comments »

Heb. 3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;

Josh. 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Joshua turned around one day and told the Israelites he were leading, “Okay, if it’s too much of an imposition on you to serve the Lord, fine; decide who you want to serve and go follow him. But I am going to lead my household to follow the Lord. “The foundation of success for every great follower of God is the decision to possess their own house. An obedient home is the support for public authority. Joshua knew that there was no way he could lead Israelites to public victory who weren’t serving God in their private lives. Leaving the backdoor of compromise open to the devil, in your home, leads to of God’s covering in your public life. The Lord is nothing, if not decisive. God and wishy-washy people don’t mix well. The Holy Spirit can correct people who are wrong but not people who are indecisive.

James 1:6 …For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The double minded are unfaithful. They are absolutely sincere…for the moment. As I said in yesterday’s article, too many parents put their foot down, and then shift it around whenever they feel their popularity is being threatened. Households like that receive nothing from the Lord. They are unstable in ALL THEIR WAYS. The refusal to make godly decisions and stick to them is the basis for being unfaithful.

Christianity is all about restoring authority to lost people. We become responsible under God’s authority. Then God expects us to exercise authority over the sphere of responsibility He has given us. That requires being decisive, and possessing your house. Ultimately you can’t make your children be what they don’t want to be.But you sure don’t have to contribute to their confusion as to what is the right way. Kids NEED honest, decisive influences in their lives. It’s a total lie of the devil that kids today, won’t respond to traditional leadership. Modern Christians keep giving in to pressures to compromise with righteousness, in order to “reach” their kids. By doing so, they’re not saying they don’t believe that kids will understand authority. What they’re really saying is that THEY don’t have any faith in true godly authority. It’s THEIR OWN DUPLICITY with which they are poisoning their kids, and not pressure from society. We have many believers today who are double minded in their own moral code, and so they are “unstable in all their ways“.

Consider Jesus famous parable of the talents:

Matt. 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

Matt. 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Matt. 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The sin here was not that of failing to make money. It’s that of failing to make decisions! The talents didn’t represent monetary value to God. They represented authority. It was the refusal to exercise authority – to make decisions and stick to them. God had no sympathy for the man who was afraid of making a decision. Upon reading the whole parable we find that the guilty man’s refusal to be decisive stemmed from his bad attitude towards authority. Parents who have “problems with authority” themselves, always think they’re doing their children a favor by refusing to dictate solid policies for their home. Then they’re shocked when their kids don’t appreciate the “open range policy” under which they’ve been allowed to grow up. They’re amazed that their children are rebellious, hateful, unappreciative, or confused. How in the world do kids have a chance at becoming solid, responsible, self-controlled and loving, when they were allowed to pursue their impulsive natures without any consistent consequences. Children raised in such homes become clever at discerning people’s moods and how to navigate around them; but they seldom learn to respect others. Why would God endorse, with His blessing, a home that subverts His authority, and makes it subject to the arbitrariness of indecisive parents.

You don’t need money to make decisions. You don’t need an education to use authority properly. You don’t even need others to support and agree with you, in order to take a stand on what is right in your own home.If Satan were truly powerful enough to just waltz in and capture whole families, he wouldn’t need the plethora excuses he offers parents, to get them to hand their authority over to him.

“My kids won’t love me…”

“If I take this stand it’ll drive them away…”

“They’re gonna find a way to just do what they want anyway…”

“You can’t legislate morality…”

“My Mom and Dad just loved me, and I’m OK…”

“They’ll hate God if I MAKE them follow the rules…”

“I know he/she has a disrespectful mouth, but there’s a reason…”

Let me hasten to add that rules are no substitute for leadership and care. Sometimes parents make rules to replace leadership. That’s copping out on responsibility. Nothing replaces personal interaction and TIME WELL SPENT. Children aren’t cattle; they’re people. Rules designed to keep parents from having to listen to a matter and make a decision, are doomed to become traps for your kids. You can’t enforce rules that The Heavenly Ruler won’t endorse. The most important rules in the home should have to do with having a right relationship with God and with parents. Doing well in school, excelling at skills, keeping a clean room, handling money well, having friends; these are all good things for kids to learn. But there’s going to be a lot of educated, talented, orderly, popular kids that are going to reject God, because they got all the advantages, except for consistent godly leadership at home.

The greatest ministry in the world begins with “Possessing Your Own House!”

Stay On The Path!

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Heb. 3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;

Josh. 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God told Abraham that, the offspring born of His covenant with the Lord would, ”Possess the gate of their enemies.”

Gen. 22:17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Jesus is The Seed of Abraham.

Gal. 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,”that is, Christ.

And we are the born again, children of His covenant. We are the ones to ”possess the gate of our enemies”. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. If there’s one thing that should mark our character aside from Love, it’s authority. Not being bossy, or social superiority; but conducting yourself with the authority of a clear conscience and an honest personal life, lived under the authority of God’s Word.

However, in the face of such availability of good Bible teaching, I have never seen such reluctance on the part of Christians, to possess their house. It is the qualifying mark of true believers, to hold their own houses in God’s order, as a moral basis for any public influence. Yet today, believers are literally running away from their responsibility to exercise godly authority in their own homes. For example; God says we should not be walking in the counsel of the ungodly.

Psa. 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

We have absolutely no business subjecting our covenanted lives to the counsels of godless people. The collapse of Christian families is a serious problem, yet believers refuse to rule their homes according to the Word. Parents, scared to death of becoming unpopular with their kids, have listened to bad advice, and won’t take a stand in their own homes and stick to it. They’re more afraid of losing the love of their children than the favor of God. How in the world do we expect God to back us in our public testimony, when He knows that we flip-flop on His Word in our private lives.

1 Tim. 3:5 For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

The biblical standard for authority in the home is simple: the whole household is to live under the rule of the Word of God, and His standard of righteous judgements. The rules are not to be enforced and withdrawn arbitrarily, on the basis of one member’s temperamental cycles. No one’s emotional fluctuations should determine how everyone else behaves. It’s absurd to expect God to answer prayers for a household that won’t honor His order. How can we possibly expect Him to bless parents’ prayers when they refuse to provide consistent leadership for their children? You wouldn’t think of running a red light as a reward for just having obediently sat through a long red one. So why do we lay down guidelines for our kids, that they might not like, and then lift them occasionally, as a reward for “good”? If the rule wasn’t important enough to follow all the time, then it never should have been made in the first place. Too often parents make “bad rules” in a moment of frustration, rather than taking the time to intelligently sift through the matter and resolve it. So, of course, they end up flip-flopping on their own rule because it wasn’t a wise one to make in the first place. Children quickly learn their parents’ inconsistent patterns, and how to adjust to them. Where is the leadership??!!

How often do Christian parents allow their kids to misbehave because their own compromised behavior leaves them “feeling” powerless to hold their own children to account? The cycle of compromise is staggering.To ravage an entire family, all Satan needs is the head of the household to relinquish authority. It’s hard to uphold authority when you yourself are consistently guilty of undermining it with your compromises. One of the scenarios Christian Teens witness in their homes, is the irresponsibility in financial matters of their parent(s), and the double-talk that justifies it. Then the same parent(s) grills their kids about sex, drugs and keeping bad company. God cannot bless a mess like that.

We are petitioning God today, for a visitation upon our churches, and their essential components; the families. Yet, it’s far too frequent, that we are asking God to bless what He has commanded us to possess. The pattern was clear from the beginning: God’s blessing followed the families that were “Led” by faithful, humble and consistent, servant-leaders. Moses was faithful in his house. Joshua was faithful in his house.And Jesus is faithful in His house. And the Lord asks:

Matt. 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath maderuler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

How desperately do we need such faithful servant-rulers today? Very desperately.And who IS that faithful and wise servant?

1 Tim. 3:5 For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

He is the one who first possess his own house!

More tomorrow…….

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

To serve God one must be sent from God. You don’’t have to be sent far. You can be sent from your knees to your feet, but God must send you if your service is going to be empowered by His Spirit.

Rom. 10:13 for “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Rom. 10:14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom. 10:15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

The progression shows that no one can be saved without someone being sent. There is a direct connection between being sent and being saved. And what this connection tells us is that the work of God is the power that saves. And that power cannot flow from human good intentions or skills. It must be sent from God. This means that people can’t just decide to use their talents and abilities for the work of the ministry, and then expect that God’’s power to save, will flow from their efforts. In fact, the work of the ministry can easily be divided into two categories: that which is initiated by God and carried out under His power, and that which is the result of some person’’s good intentions. The currents of the Holy Spirit travel upon obedience to God’s own will. And the Holy Spirit isn’’t standing by, waiting to fall upon someone’’s good idea, and add the power of God to it; just because it falls within the area of God’’s general purpose.

Is. 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah heard the voice of God asking, ”“Whom shall I send?”” God didn’’t ask, “Whom can I use?” And so Isaiah’’s answer wasn’’t, ““Here am I. Use me!””  But instead, Isaiah answered, “Send me!”. This isn’t a nit-picky point. In fact, it’’s one of those important conceptual truths that seem so close to the error, that the difference seems irrelevant. But when you follow the tangents out, and apply them, it becomes apparent that one leads to God and the other doesn’’t. For example, the people organized into a bucket brigade couldn’’t put out any fires unless the last man throws the bucket of water that the first man sent down the line. It’’s the water that extinguishes the flames. No matter how well organized they are, the people couldn’’t stop the fire unless they use the water. And when someone decides to “use his or her skills” for God, it’’s just like rushing up to a fire without carrying any water! How do we know someone has been sent to help put out the fire? He’’s carrying the water. In the application of this analogy it’s the Living Water of the Holy Spirit that we must be sent with if, we want to have any hope of rescuing people from the flames of sin.

John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”

John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive;

The message could not be clearer: the Lord never intended to build His Kingdom on the wood, hay and stubble of human talent and skill, but by sending us under the supernatural agency of His Spirit.

Psa. 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it…

Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Let’’s look again at Isaiah’’s response to God’’s call. Standing in the Presence of the Lord, and under the influence of divine enlightenment, Isaiah’’s response is well thought out and precise:“ Send me!” Isaiah did not have the concept that God was choosing to use him. But he had the very different concept, that God already had all that He needed to use to accomplish His will, and was simply sending Isaiah as a vessel through which to pour out His Spirit. The Lord had some fires to put out and He filled Isaiah with the supernatural water to impart to the flames.

The desire to be used is not the same as the desire to serve.

The person who seeks to be used for God desires self-fulfillment. The person who seeks to serve God desires to please the Lord. The motivation to be used for God may not be bad, per se, but it does come from a different place than the desire to serve Him. It comes from a place that’s without the living water of the Spirit. So the intentions may be good, but in reality, ability and good intention by itself, just isn’’t enough to accomplish God’s purpose. Only God has what it takes, and the most we can do is let Him send us with His anointing.

So to serve God one must be sent from God. You don’t have to be sent far. You can be sent from your knees to your feet, but God must send you if your service is going to be empowered by His Spirit.

John 17:8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You did send Me.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Outreach & Evangelism // 1 Comment »

Ex. 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

Ex. 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Ex. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Ex. 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Ex. 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Ex. 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Ex. 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Ex. 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Ex. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Ex. 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Ex. 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Ex. 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Ex. 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Ex. 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Ex. 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Ex. 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Ex. 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

All man’’s ills stem from failure to keep the 10 Commandments. This wonderful consolidation of moral light encompasses the entire complexity of human sin. Never was a more perfect and simple charter set before men.Every errant, deviate group known to man is flushed out and caught like flies on a “Shell No-Pest Strip”, by this simple document of decency. There’’s something on this list to offend everybody. Like a great divinely impartial locator, the 10 Commandments zero in to find that specific spot in each heart, where rebellion has lodged its poison.

Every crime, atrocity and misery of humanity derives its inception from the rejection of one of these commands from our Creator. With the 10 Commandments, God has given mankind the great gift of defining right from wrong. Over the framework of the 10 Commandments, man is able to fashion every instrument of law and self-government.

These are in essence, the 10 Reason why we fail. An honest study of exactly what these commandments meant to God, will reveal why we will never do more than destroy ourselves, if we insist on proceeding without Him.Their wisdom escapes none but the self-confident fool.

Here they are……

6. You shall not Murder.

Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

“Kill” = (7523 Strong’s Concordance). jAx∂r ratsach, raw-tsakh´; a primitive root; properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a human being), especially to murder:— put to death, kill, (man-)slay(-er), murder(-er).

7. You shall not commit adultery, breaking the marriage covenant.

Ex. 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

9. You shall not lie against your fellow man, perjuring yourself.

Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10. You shall not lust after anything belonging to your fellow man, not his wife, his house his material possessions or any of his advantages.

Ex. 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Most all reasoned people agree that these are good ideas. But because these are, in fact, not ideas or suggestions, but commandments from God, the God-rejecters in our society are fighting against them. They agree in principle with all but the first two commandments, which have to do with honoring God.

The 10 Commandments, with God removed, is a sterile sentence of death, leaving man with no possible means of success. But the 10 Commandments, taken as they were given, with the presence of God, as the Law Giver, provides the opportunity for help and mercy, when we fail at the Law. If we have no God, then we have no Redeemer.  And no Law can redeem, but only condemn. Remove God, and with Him, take away the possibility of mercy and 2nd chances, and eventually people will abandon the Law itself.  Because under the Law, all eventually become guilty.  And to be guilty under the Law, without God, is inescapable condemnation.

The basic human need for freedom cannot survive under condemnation.  People will always seek to free themselves.  And if they have rejected God Who alone can free them from failure under the Law – then they will reject the Law to be free of its condemnations.  The 10 Commandments give us the 10 basic Reasons for our failures. They reveal the 10 basic roots of sin. And it is vital that we treat the breaking of these laws as sins, for the word “sin” means the transgressing of God’’s commands.  If the 10 Commandments were reduced to eight, with the first two removed, we would be doomed; for broken Law may not be forgiven, if the Law is to be preserved.But sins can be forgiven, because God, the Law Giver, has the authority to grant mercy to repentant transgressors, since the sins are against Him personally.

And thus when you become guilty before God He presents you with an Advocate.  And you have a choice other than condemnation and death. The whole purpose of the Law is to point us to the broken relationship with our Creator. The absolute worst thing our society can do, in their ignorance, is to reject the 10 Commandments, especially the claims of the first two. For to reject the 10 Commandments, and the divine claims of the Commander, is to forsake the mercy we so desperately need.

Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Rom. 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, Goddid: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Rom. 8:4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Ex. 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

Ex. 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Ex. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Ex. 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Ex. 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Ex. 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Ex. 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Ex. 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Ex. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Ex. 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Ex. 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Ex. 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Ex. 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Ex. 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Ex. 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Ex. 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Ex. 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

All man’’s ills stem from failure to keep the 10 Commandments. This wonderful consolidation of moral light encompasses the entire complexity of human failure.  Never was a more perfect and simple charter set before men.  Every errant, deviate group known to man is flushed out and caught like flies on a “Shell No-Pest Strip”, by this simple document of decency.  There’’s something on this list to offend everybody.  Like a great divinely impartial locator, the 10 Commandments zero in to find that specific spot in each heart, where rebellion has lodged its poison.

Every crime, atrocity and misery of humanity derives its inception from the rejection of one of these commands from our Creator. With the 10 Commandments, God has given mankind the great gift of defining right from wrong. Over the framework of the 10 Commandments, man is able to fashion every instrument of law and self-government.

These are in essence, The 10 Reasons why we fail. An honest study of exactly what these commandments meant to God, will reveal why we will never do more than destroy ourselves, if we insist on proceeding without Him. Their wisdom escapes none but the self-confident fool.

Here they are:…

1. Do not practice idolatry: worshipping anything other than the Lord God, Who is our Maker and Redeemer. From the failure to acknowledge the supremacy of God, flows every corruption of arrogance and self-deception.

Ex. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Do not worship the false gods of man’’s imagination. They are invented and therefore worshipping them is sinful.  For you are giving worship owed to the true Living God, the Creator, to that which is an imposter, invented in ignorance, incapable of responding.

Ex. 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Ex. 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:

3. You shall not degrade, make desolate and morally ruin the name of the Lord your God, Who is the pinnacle and wellspring of all truth and moral excellence.  For through the true reverence of His name every moral good and spiritual value is retained.

Ex. 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…

4. You shall remember the Sabbath Day of Rest and keep it holy unto the Lord, as a day of worship so that you and your family may remember and refresh yourselves in the truth that the Lord is your Provider and source of blessing.

Ex. 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. You shall honor your father and mother, and not denigrate the sacrifice of parenthood, for you are sowing to your own and future generations, with your example.

Ex. 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee…

Tomorrow, 6 through 10.  So until then…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 2 Comments »

2 Tim. 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 Tim. 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2 Tim. 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

2 Tim. 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

2 Tim. 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

“…”…difficult times will come…””

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

We have moved into a time of great moral confusion.  Those who want to live upright before God are beginning to find it hard to maintain moral clarity and purity.  Common sense, and the most basic understandings of right and wrong have begun to collapse.  Society is falling back into the dark period of the antediluvian world, when ”“men did that which was right in their own eyes”.” Distinctions between the moral standards of the fallen world and those of Christians are dissolving, and confusion is flooding the Church.  In Matthew 24:38 Jesus warned us about the times we are now entering:

“”As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.””

The Collapse of Reason

There is one basic shift in the Christian world view, which will open the floodgates to allow the collapse of reason. It will be a major paradigm shift from a God-centered view of morality to a man-centered view of morality. In other words, the basic concept of right and wrong will be determined by what individuals want rather than what God wants. Morality will be determined by what seems to appeal to people, as opposed to the claims of God, as they are laid out in scripture.

So far as it relates to this era of moral confusion, it is quite apparent by now that we have crossed a line and fallen within the grip of Biblical prophecy. Paul precisely quantifies the root of moral collapse by leading off his commentary with this observation…

“For men will be lovers of self…”

While the events of ecological and political upheavals may be debated, as signs of the end times, the degrading of moral certainty is blatantly apparent.

Today this paradigm shift is manifest among Christians in 2 basic moral failures: Addiction To Acceptance and Fear Of Making Judgments.

Fear Of Making Judgments…

Because accepting people, along with their sin, has become the new way to show love, many people now believe they have a right to have their behaviors protected from rejection.  They have extended the meaning of ‘love and acceptance’, to include all their behaviors and not just their souls. Most Christians now feel pressured to “show love” towards behaviors that they should be reproving.  They are intimidated into accepting peoples’’ sins in order to accept the person.  They have abandoned their Biblical responsibility to exercise simple judgment toward moral corruption. We’’re not talking about condemnation, but simply exercising discretion and discernment. Jesus made clear that we ought to examine the fruit of people’s’ lives:

Luke 6:43-44 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

Under the pressure to accept (“love”) everyone, it’’s becoming increasingly unpopular to call sin for what it is. In order to avoid people feeling rejected, Christians are reclassifying sins as problems. Everyone simply has “problems” regardless of whether their behavior is good or evil.  And of course, “problems” don’’t reflect on a person’’s moral standing.

The concept of good and evil is now being classified by popular opinion rather than any Biblical standard. A thing is good or bad based on whether it’s helpful or hindering to what people want,instead of whether or not it agrees with or violates God’’s righteousness.  Wrong doing is no longer viewed as sinful because it’’s an offense against God, but only if it’’s an offense against man.  The desires and standards of people have become the determining factor in deciding society’’s moral tolerance.  And God’’s laws have been tossed aside as meaningless.  Murder is still wrong in our culture, but no longer because it breaks God’’s commandments, but because it violates man’’s laws.

Because we are no longer willing to tolerate the concept of a God who sets absolute moral laws and makes judgments accordingly, a new image of God has evolved in our culture. The new concept of God is one who is the facilitator of your dreams. He’’s viewed as simply watching over people, with divine sympathy, as they struggle in their sins; waiting for them to let Him bless them. We have privatized sin.  Therefore moral neutrality is the new position many churches take in order to fulfill what has become the goal of ministry: helping people live their best life NOW.  And because of this new ministry focus, Christians are afraid to judge anything as sin, choosing rather to morally sterilize all bad behaviors as problems or issues.

But problems and sins are not the same thing:

People solve Problems between themselves….  But sin is something between you and God.

Being overdrawn at the bank is a problem.…  Fornication, Immorality, homosexuality, lying, etc. are sins.

I can accept your problem and maybe I can help….  But I can’’t accept your sin… - I don’’t have that right because your sin is against God.  I don’t even accept my own sin.

Confused Christians increasingly see their role in the world as givers of social charity without calling people to reconciliation with God.  But how then do we account to God for the mission He has entrusted to us as His Ambassadors?

The more we fail to be honest about God’’s requirements, the more people are losing their tolerance for a God with requirements.  It’’s a church that’’s losing its saltiness that enables a world to become more rebellious.

Jesus never forgave unrepentant people. On the cross He offered forgiveness for those who crucified Him in ignorance.  But to make the forgiveness complete one must accept it by confessing their sin and asking for the mercy.  In that case the forgiveness is immediate and sure.  Beside Him on the cross He responded to the man who took responsibility for himself, but ignored the unrepentant sinner.  It’s cruel for Christians, who have been given the responsibility to represent the claims and Gospel of Christ, to hide behind a veil of neutrality what they know is right from wrong,  realizing that God will judge the world for it’s works.  How can we even pretend to come close to representing the Gospel, by refusing to tell the truth about what God says in His Word concerning sin.   John the Baptist, the great forerunner of the Savior, introduced Him by calling the world to repentance for its sins.  He was specific, straight, unapologetic and unflinchingly honest in his presentation.  If those who shun the light demand that we dim our standards for the sake of their comfort, and we accommodate them, then all we have done is made ourselves more likeable while pushing them farther from Heaven. When we are dealing with the eternal destiny of other people how can we take liberties with the Truth in order to make our own selves appear more popular? Since Jesus died for the sins of the world, we who have become the beneficiaries of His grace are obligated to tell the truth about it.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // 3 Comments »

2 Tim. 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 Tim. 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2 Tim. 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

2 Tim. 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

2 Tim. 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

A time of great difficulty will arise as we enter the last days. We are moving into a time of great moral confusion, in which those who want to live upright before God will find it very hard to survive. Common sense, and the most basic understandings of right and wrong, will collapse. Society will fall back into the dark period before the flood, when “men did that which was right in their own eyes.” The clear distinctions between the moral standards of the world and those of Christians will also dissolve, and confusion will flood the Church. In Matthew 24:38 Jesus warned us about the times we are now entering:

“As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

The Collapse of Reason… There is one basic shift in the Christian worldview, which will open the floodgates to allow the collapse of reason. It will be a major paradigm shift from a God-centered view of morality to a man-centered view of morality. In other words, the basic concept of right and wrong will be determined by what individuals want rather than what God wants. Morality will be determined by what seems to appeal to people, as opposed to the claims of God, as they are laid out in scripture. So far as it relates to this era of moral confusion, it is quite apparent by now that we have crossed a line and fallen within the grip of Biblical prophecy. Paul precisely quantifies the root of moral collapse by leading off his commentary with this observation… “For men will be lovers of self…” While the events of ecological and political upheavals may be debated, as signs of the end times, the degrading of moral certainty is blatantly apparent.

TODAY this paradigm shift is manifest among Christians in 2 basic moral failures: Addiction To Acceptance and Fear Of Making Judgments. Addiction To Acceptance… The principle of Acceptance is simple: Acceptance should be based in Acceptability. If you want to be accepted learn to be acceptable. But because acceptance is associated with approval, there is a dilemma. People want to enjoy the benefits of acceptance from others because acceptance makes them feel approved by others. They can even deceive themselves that they are righteous, when others give them acceptance, even though their actions are unacceptable and undeserving of acceptance. But they refuse to disassociate from unacceptable behavior, and then raise the accusation of discrimination when their actions are rejected. In simple terms, people are demanding that their behavior be considered as off-limits to evaluation while they themselves are shown full approval. So increasingly people are actually believing they have a basic right to acceptance, and crave it, without being responsible to fulfill any standards of acceptability or achievement. Acceptance today is used as a kind of whitewash for unrepented sin. This sin is compounded among Christians who want acceptance from man while their acceptability before God is kept free from evaluation. As a result they fall prey to the “fear of man”. They become emotionally addicted to the opinions of others, which are fickle, when it is the opinion of God is that really matters.

Matt. 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Prov. 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare…

Giving people acceptance without any discretion, has become the new way to show love. And a right to acceptance without reservation is what many Christians now expect as a show of love. They also believe they have a right to be protected from rejection, and have extended the meaning of ‘grace’, to include freedom from judgment of their behaviors. Most Christians now feel pressured to “show love” towards behaviors that they should be disassociating from. And it’s all because those who practice shameful behaviors have made overlooking them a prerequisite of acceptance and love. We can no longer love the sinner without loving the sin too.

Consider the case of Cain and Abel, the first murder. Cain is furious that his brother Cain’s offering is acceptable and his isn’t. In his competitive insecurity and insatiable need for acceptance, he determines that it’s easier to kill off the competition that makes him feel inferior than to raise his own standards. God even counsels him that the solution is easy; just “do well”yourself, and you’ll be accepted. But in the murderous mind of the craver of acceptance, eliminating the competition is the only answer. In the heart of Cain was born the first twisted logic of political correctness.

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you…

God hadn’t initially reject Cain when his offering was poor. He simply explained the needed correction and gave Cain a ‘do over’. Cain was blinded by his craving for acceptance instead of being motivated by the desire for acceptability. He killed his brother out of jealousy instead of submitting himself to scrutiny. We see the same today when goofed up parents enter the Principal’s Office (sometimes with a lawyer), demanding that their misbehaving child be spared any judgment and extended the same privilege of acceptance as the achievers. Find out what it takes to be accepted in God’s eyes and let everything else find its place behind that relationship. Let the Lord set the standard for your acceptability. You can survive without acceptance from people but you can’t survive rejection from God. If you’re acceptable in God’s eyes then so you’ll be in the eyes of those who matter. Tomorrow we’ll look at the second great moral failure of our time: The Fear of Making Judgments.  So until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement // Add Comment »

Jas. 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s begin with a quick review of the essential purpose of joy…:

…To take command and overcome (through joy) trying temptations.

Joy arises when faith exerts itself over circumstances. That is the key to gladness…

Psa. 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…

Joy begins, not with a feeling of happiness, but with a change of mental focus, a shift from considering the circumstances to remembering God’’s Word of promise.…

Before joy is ever a feeling it begins as a thought, a remembrance….

Recalling the goodness and greatness of God, which lies beyond what you see, is step one. And for this you must know His Word….

In other words, we rejoice in the Truth, not in our circumstances….

Let’’s assume that you find yourself in the middle of a typical set of uninspiring circumstances. Remember the “fog” we spoke about yesterday, and how it shrinks your world down to seeing only the immediate images of your trial. The realities of God’’s blessings become obscured, and typical of navigating through fogs, all your attention is focused on what’’s right in front of you. So how do you begin to bring joy into the situation?

First you realize that joy will not arise from your situation, it must arise from within you. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a force of God, if you will, that resides within you, as God’’s child. So you don’’t need to find joy, it simply requires an act of authority on your part to release it. You begin with step one, then two,… three, …four, and finally, step five. Joy most definitely is a disciplined progression. And here it is:

We shared this point yesterday. It is the critical start-point of joy. It begins with knowing and recalling the wonderful works and promises of God.Sometimes we need to stop in the middle of a trial, and cast our thoughts out beyond the fog, to behold the vast universe that God has made; the universe He has stretched out and the detail with which He maintains the order of every system. And we are more valuable to Him than all the material of this celestial terrarium in which we dwell.

David said: “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you” …(Psa. 42:6)” 

Remember God. Think about what the Word says concerning His goodness and faithfulness. Recall His credibility and the deeds that confirm it. This 2^nd step requires that you understand something about God. To recall His faithfulness you must have a revelation about His goodness. Though Moses had seen God’’s acts of power, the first time it’s recorded that Moses worshipped God occurs when God reveals the glory of His goodness to Him.

Ex. 34:6-8 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! The Lord!A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth and worshiped.

We cannot worship, nor can we begin to exercise joy in the Lord until we have a revelation of His goodness. It is remembering God’’s goodness that gives joy a reason to exert itself. Moses was able to rejoice in the Lord even when Israel could not seem to stay faithful. The Israelites under Moses shrank back from facing God because they only saw His acts of power. But Moses understood God’’s essential nature. Therefore Moses could sustain himself with joy while the children of Israel died in their fears, though both faced the same trying circumstances.

Psa. 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Once you have focused on God, remembered His goodness and mercy; then it’s time to verbally acknowledge His Truth, as superior to your circumstances. So many of David’’s Psalms are a wonderful mixture of Him laying out his dilemma and then contrasting it with declarations of God’’s goodness and help. At that point it was like David was counseling himself out loud. And that’’s exactly what he was doing!

1 Sam. 30:6 David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Joy will always spring from your own preaching of the Truth. At this point joy begins to exert it’s authority over the claims of your temptations. And the Truth-declarations of your rejoicing are alone, the only force that can defeat your temptations.

Psa. 27:5-6 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Now it’’s time to give thanks to the Lord …out loud. Innumerate your blessings. Look outside the unpleasantness of your immediate trial and as you remember God’’s goodness, thank Him for each blessing, as though you were holding it in your hand. And joy will see to it that you do. David knew that ‘going to church’ and thinking about God, or even complaining to God was not enough. True deliverance comes through praise and thanksgiving:

Psa. 69:29-31 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Thy salvation, O God, set mesecurely on high. I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an (sacrifices) ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

Step Five: Praise

Finally after focusing on God, remembering His goodness, acknowledging His Truth, and thanking Him for it, joy is arising! Now you’re ready to praise God with temptation-busting power. Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is YOU’R strength”. And this is how the joy of the Lord arises in you and becomes your joy, …your strength. This is how praising God lifts you up and defeats Satan’’s strategies against you. When you follow these 5 steps to joy you will overcome rather than being overcome by your trials.

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes you have ordained strength because of your enemies, that you might paralyze the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus said to them, Yea; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes you have perfected (ordained) praise?

By rejoicing through trials with the Truth of the Word, He has ordained our deliverance. God’’s blessing of joy to every Christian is so powerful and impartial that the only way for us to be defeated is to simply keep us from rejoicing in the Lord.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion // 1 Comment »