The Courage to Cast Down

3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." II Cor. 10:3-6

Like it or not, we are in a battle. If you haven't noticed, it is raging more and more with every passing day. In fact, I am sure you have noticed. Each day, we have a choice: to be defeated and dejected or to use the weapons God has provided us to walk in spiritual victory.

I have not learned this in an easy way. Nor have I learned it to the extent I need to. No way. For me, the battle is in my thoughts. How about you? In sermons, I have heard this statement: "A thought can make or break you." Every day, we are inundated with thousands of thoughts. The one secret I have learned is that I do not have to accept the thoughts that come into my mind as my own.

For we are surrounded by an atmosphere around this earth and this atmosphere is under the domain of God's enemy, the devil. He is called the "prince of the power of the air" in Ephesians 2.

1 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

The thoughts, ideas, and opinions of this world system stand opposed to God's thoughts. God tells us in Isaiah 55 how our thoughts compare to His thoughts. There is no comparison.

8 ​​“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
​​Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 ​​“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
​​So are My ways higher than your ways,
​​And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Today I read in I John 2 and was struck again by how the world system is totally opposed to God's way of thinking. John tells us

"15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

So, that is one way I can test my thoughts. Is it concerning the lust of my flesh or eyes or having to doing with pride in my achievements? Then I can be certain it is not from God and I can cast it down as a vain imagination that rises up against the knowledge of God. For every thought has one of two origins: either from God and devoted to His glory or against God and devoted to the enemy's lies and destruction.

I used to foolishly think God was selfish in order to want every thought to be for His glory, until I learned that His glory gives the highest and best to fallen creatures such as us. Think of what happens when the opposite occurs: what is the benefit of evil being glorified? Only misery and bondage and death.

GOD is LIGHT! In Him there is no darkness at all! (See I John 1:5) When I summon the courage to deny a thought that comes into my head as not being true, and cast it down, I walk in the light with my God. Sometimes, this is hard for me because my mind is screaming that the thought just has to be true, but if I resist it, the devil will flee. James 4 reveals:

7 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Even if it is hard, even if it seems we are in a constant uphill battle, we will overcome if we do not lose heart. We destroy the mountains of lies that the enemy whispers in our ears one by one, like tearing down a brick wall. And then, as that wall of untruth tumbles down, we fill our mind with good things, the things God has for us, and promises for the life to come.

9 But as it is written:
​
​​“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
​​Nor have entered into the heart of man
​​The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9

If we do not faint today but let God's Word pour into us, we will have strength and courage to cast down the lies the enemy sends to defeat us.

Andrew Murray, quoted in the devotional, None but the Hungry Heart for the day 12-30 says: "The Father works to will, and He is ready to work to do, but, alas! many Christians misunderstand this. They think because they have the will it is enough, and that now they are able to do. This is not so. The new will is a permanent gift, an attribute of the new life in Christ. The power to carry out this will is not a permanent gift, but must be each moment received from the Holy Spirit. It is the one who is conscious of his own utter powerlessness, as a believer, who will learn by the Spirit alone he can live the Christian life."
(emphasis mine)

We receive hope and help moment by moment as we cast down vain imaginations which lie against God and His Truth.

I hope these thoughts have encouraged you today as you face the many thoughts that come your way. And speaking of hope, I would like to announce the publication of my book Sure Mercies: Hope for the Suffering is now available through 4RV Publishing.(It will also soon be on Amazon.) It tells the story of believers throughout the Church Age who overcame huge obstacles by their overcoming faith. http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/megan-vance.php

The Hammer Fell...on Christ!

By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

Isaiah 53:8



Do you ever live in fear that the hammer could drop on you at any moment? Or that God is just waiting to catch you in some sin so He can pummel you into submission?

I lived that way for many years. Mostly battling fear that somehow my sins would catch up with me. But lately, I have been meditating on the fact that Christ died for me when I was ungodly. I think many Christians are confused about what constitutes saving faith. Is it a promise to be better, to do better somehow? Or is it looking totally away from yourself in the realization that you can't be good enough, no matter how hard you try?

The gospel really is good news. Why do I say that? It is because I know that the only One who can make something good out of my life is God. It is knowing that Christ willingly stood in the gap for me. Today I was driving on the Pennsylvania turnpike and I came past a bridge under construction. I wished I could have gotten a picture, because it represented man in his spiritual state without the gracious gift of Christ's death for us and as us.It went so far and then abruptly stopped. Kind of like if someone was driving along and there was a huge earthquake and and one of the bridge's spans got completely knocked away. One minute you are driving along and the next minute you are descending downward to your death. I remember the 4 Spiritual Laws booklet we used when I was in Campus Crusade many years ago. One of the laws said that there was a gap between us and God and no matter how hard we try on our own, that gap just cannot be spanned by human effort. But Christ willingly, by His sacrificial death made that span, made that bridge, so we would not have to descend downward at the hour of our death.

That verse from Isaiah 53:8 came into my head and the phrase "to whom the stroke was due" entered into my thoughts. Just what did Isaiah mean by the stroke? The Hebrew word for "stroke" is #5060 in the Hebrew Lexicon, and is the word "nega." Here is the outline of Biblical usage for that word:

stroke, plague, disease, mark, plague spot
stroke, wound
stroke (metaphorical of disease)
mark (of leprosy)

and the definition reads: נֶגַע negaʻ, neh'-gah; from H5060; a blow (figuratively, infliction); also (by implication) a spot (concretely, a leprous person or dress):—plague, sore, stricken, stripe, stroke, wound.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5061&t=NASB

Christ was actually afflicted in that way for us to the point where God had to turn His face away from Him. But He willingly did it and God was forever satisfied with it. Because of that, I come to God in the standing that Christ alone gave me, never in any work that I have or have not done.

I am reading a wonderful book called Romans Verse by Verse by William R. Newell and though it is a meaty book, I am taking my time and underlining a lot. I just got to chapter 4 (one of my favorite parts) and Newell said something that hit me so profoundly, I underlined nearly all of it. It said:

"If God announces the gift of righteousness apart from works, why do you keep mourning over your bad works, your failures? Do you not see that it is because you still have hopes in these works of yours that you are depressed and discouraged by their failure? If you truly saw and believed that God is reckoning righteous the ungodly who believe on Him, you would fairly hate your struggles to be "better"; for you would see that your dreams of good works have not at all commmended you to God, and that your bad works do not at all hinder you from believing on Him,--that justifieth the ungodly.

Therefore, on seeing your failures, you should say, I am nothing but a failure; but God is dealing with me on another principle altogether than my works, good or bad, --a principle not involving my works, but based only on the work of Christ for me..."

p. 129 Romans Verse by Verse, William R. Newell

To me, this is huge! God is pleased with me today and I look to Him confidently knowing that He is pleased because I am in His Son, totally covered with His very own righteousness. I was a Christian for a very long time before I came to this realization. It is the one thing that makes me happy, because every day I have a fresh slate before Him.

I have been encouraged by my pastor to get the foundation of Romans within my soul. I encourage you to do it too, and rejoice in the great standing we have before God as a totally free and unmerited gift.

Let Jesus be my all in all...

“For this reason I say t1o you,

her sins, which are many,

have been forgiven, for she loved much;

but he who is forgiven little,

loves little.” Luke 7:47


Christ lives inside of us! Have you contemplated what that really means lately? I know that I for one, need to meditate on that thought until the Lord takes me home.
When we accept Him as our Savior, it is only the beginning of our lifetime of faith, and much, much more than "fire insurance."

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Colossians 2: 6-7 It is all "in Him!"

How did we receive Christ? By doing something or receiving something from Him, a gracious gift, totally free? It was Christ who did all that was necessary to achieve my eternal life and home with Him in heaven forever. Somehow, after walking with the Lord for many years, I became too familiar with what it means to have Christ living inside of me and often just overlooked it, trying to do something good for God on my own.

Have you discovered yet that we can't, in and of ourselves, do anything good for God?

Recently, a dear friend of mine, Mrs. Judy Seligman, gave an amazing ladies message about Mary Magdalene and how Jesus was her everything, her all in all. Judy said she represented someone who loved the Lord with all her heart, soul and strength. (I am having trouble linking it here but if you go to sermonaudio.com and type in Judy Seligman as the speaker it will pull it up.It is her latest one.) Mary Magdalene had the privilege of being the first person to behold the risen, ascended Lord.

John 20:11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him,fn “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”


Before His resurrection, Mary Magdalene had no one else to go to, had nowhere else to turn, so she weeped at His grave. But now Jesus was her all in all. In my modern life in Laodecia, I have a choice daily. I can be distracted by the million and one things I see all around me, or I can be like Mary, and let Jesus be my all in all too.

Before I came to know and understand His essence and character, I had only a small amount of motivation to do that. But the more I learn of Him in His precious Word, the more valuable I see that it is to have Him be my all in all. For He is "altogether lovely." I only have a short time left on this earth and I still need to know Him more and more. If I became the most successful business woman or became famous before all men that would mean nothing, nothing, in the light of knowing my Lord and Savior.

Philippians 3:10-14 12 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Ahhh, but the world is always there to tempt. The enemy whispers something like this: "You don't need to get into the Bible so much! You are really kind of an odd duck if you do." And like a fool, I will often receive that accusation and back off a bit from my Bible study. But press on I must, when I remember how much He loves someone like me, who could not deserve it in a million years. To think that the King of the Universe lives inside of me to do all that He wants me to do, that is my hope, today and forever.

Turn Back to the Good Shepherd

Psalm 23: 1-4 (NET) "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.

He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.

Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me."


Verse 4 in this translation stands out to me: "Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger..." For I am sensing that there is danger coming to us and the life we have known so long. But if the Lord is my shepherd, I don't need to fear. In spite of what I see all around me, I repeat, I do need not to fear. Rather, I must draw close to Him as never before. For Jesus only is the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

In the mornings, I am fresh and ready to start my day with God, my coffee, and my Bible. But as the day wears on, I grow more irritable and seem like I have wandered from God's fold by grumbling, or falling for so called "human interest" stories that drag me away from my first love. So tonight, I want to try something different. I want to try to turn off my computer early and draw near to God once again.

Today is the last day of what I consider summer, and the month of September is slated to be unforgettable, by all I am seeing and hearing. As a nation, we have turned our back on God and on Israel, and judgment must come.This does not seem like the country I grew up in anymore. The television is full of sex and violence, and so much blatant occultism in the movies and music. Thank God we can't afford cable. The internet grabs my attention and I have a hard time disconnecting from the world wide web in the evenings. I waste time when I could be doing something much more beneficial for my own soul's sake. Lethargy creeps in as the humid last hurrahs of the season drive me away from the blinding sun outside.

And then somehow He persuades me of His love once again.

I have nothing to offer Him but only to come to Him. I am so glad to know that! He knows I am weak and utterly unable to do anything for Him that He Himself does not work in me. And so, here I come, running back to my Shepherd, who is waiting to fellowship with me. Think of it, why should the God of this universe want to have communion with any one of us down here corrupted by the Fall? And yet that is why Christ put on human flesh in the first place.

The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and thinking you'll will get different results. But I have a tender Shepherd waiting for me. He wants to meet with me, to talk with me. Oh, what an unspeakable privilege.

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed.
For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." I Peter 2:24-25 NET

"I have wandered off like a lost sheep. Come looking for your servant, for I do not forget your commands." Psalm 119:176 NET

A Cry for H.E.L.P.

23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because
​
​​“All flesh is as grass,
​​And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
​​The grass withers,
​​And its flower falls away,
25 ​​But the word of the LORD endures forever.”
​
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

I Peter 1:23-25


As I went to pray this morning, an acronym for the word "Help" popped into my head. Actually I wrote "Help!" to God in my journal this morning as well, for His aid in an ongoing trial. In the unprecedented days we are living in, I know that all of God's people can use a little "H.E.L.P."

Here is what I thought for this acronym, a prayer and wish toward our Father as we live in the last days.

H

stands for "Hunger" as in hunger for the Word of God, a famine for the Word of God in our times. I think to myself about this, and at least in America, I would say this famine is from our own choice to neglect the Word that is so readily available to us. We are without excuse for not knowing the Word.

But take heart, even today, we can still remedy that situation! Jesus talked about soul hunger in the Beatitudes when He said in Matthew 5:6, ​​"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled."

The writer in the book of Proverbs also speaks of a hunger for wisdom, so to speak, as Solomon implores his son to get God's wisdom in Proverbs 4: 5-9

5 "​​Get wisdom! Get understanding!
​​Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 ​​Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
​​Love her, and she will keep you.
7 ​​Wisdom is the principal thing;
​​Therefore get wisdom.*
​​And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 ​​Exalt her, and she will promote you;
​​She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 ​​She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
​​A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

Oh, how we need to embrace wisdom for the confusing times we live in. And if for some reason, we find that our hearts have grown cold, and really do not want this wisdom, we can even ask God, who knows our hearts anyways, to give us a mind to want this. The Psalm writer for Psalm 119 wrote:

36 "​​Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
​​And not to covetousness.
37 ​​Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
​​And revive me in Your way."

We can pray that prayer too!

E

stands for Education in the mind of Christ. Coming and learning in the school of Christ, as He told us to do in Matthew 11. If we do, He promises to give us rest for our souls and a light, not unbearable, burden.

28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn* from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to ask Him about His teachings, because he was afraid of the Pharisees finding out about it. The Pharisees, of all people, should have known about the Messiah's coming, but Jesus had to rebuke Nicodemus due to his lack of understanding. In John 3:7-10, we read:

7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know* these things?"

Philippians 2:5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus"

L

stands on Leaning on God for everything, all the time, instead of leaning on our own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6
​
5 ​​"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
​​And lean not* on your own understanding;
6 ​​In all your ways acknowledge Him,
​​And He shall direct your paths."

Instead of worrying about trials and difficulties that we face, we can cast them upon the Lord and let Him handle them for us. He does a much better job than we ever could!

In the Darby translation, Philippians 4:6-7 tells us:
"Be careful about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses every understanding*, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus."

After many years of trying to carry my own burdens and use my own human logic to reason to myself why I should or should not worry in any given situation, I find it refreshing that I can cast my burden on the Lord and trust that in His perfect wisdom He will handle it for me. Not that I always understand what He is doing, because I don't. Because I know the Word says He is reliable and trustworthy, and the proof of His love was demonstrated by dying for me on the cross,so I make a faith choice to accept His promises as true. In that, I find rest for my soul.

Isaiah 40: 29-31 29 "​​He gives power to the weak,
​​And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 ​​Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
​​And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 ​​But those who wait on the LORD
​​Shall renew their strength;
​​They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
​​They shall run and not be weary,
​​They shall walk and not faint."

P

stands for Pursuit. The Apostle Paul boiled down his life to just one thing: knowing Him! Our days on earth are few and numbered, we see the things of this earth vanishing away before our very eyes. Why not make our last years count in this life for His glory? In the end, we will find that nothing else did satisfy, because our hearts were made to first and foremost have a relationship with the One who created us:

Philippians 3:7-11

7 "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him* and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."


In this hour, let us run to Him every day for H.E.L.P. He is graciously waiting for us to do so:

"Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
​​And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
​​For the LORD is a God of justice;
​​Blessed are all those who wait for Him."
* Isaiah 30:18

Do you have a way that God "H.E.L.P.s you? I would love to hear it!
* denotes my own emphasis

God Our Only Hope

​
18 ​​“Come now, and let us reason together,”
​​Says the LORD,
​​“Though your sins are like scarlet,
​​They shall be as white as snow;
​​Though they are red like crimson,
​​They shall be as wool.
19 ​​If you are willing and obedient,
​​You shall eat the good of the land;
20 ​​But if you refuse and rebel,
​​You shall be devo.ured by the sword”;
​​For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 1:18-20

I have reached a point in my life where I find I must run to the Word in times of disappointment, frustration, or brokenness. And it is miraculous how God is so faithful to bring me to just the right Scriptures to carry on and not quit.

This morning was one of those times. I need quiet when I read, and so I went to the front porch. Although the day is slated to be a hot one, there were still cool breezes blowing and the mourning dove said hello by her constant cooing. I felt like I wanted to cry, but I asked the Lord, "Please, encourage me once again through Your Scriptures of truth."

Sometimes it seems that the enemy whispers to me that I am reading the Word out of a sense of obligation, and that I will get no blessing from it, or that I am just being a goody-goody. But he is such a liar. For the past year or so, I have been doing my Bible readings in a different way. One day, I searched on the net for a Bible reading schedule that was different than just reading it through in one or two years. I wanted something different, and this is what I found:

http://www.challies.com/sites/all/files/attachments/professor-grant-horners-bible-reading-system.pdf

It appears that there are online programs now to go along with this system, but I don't use them. I just read 1 chapter from ten different sections of the Bible each day. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. The point of this blog today is not so much to talk about the system, which I heartily encourage anyone to try, but about how God is so faithful to bring me just what I need when I need it.

I knew I could not get myself out of the sense of despair, but specific Scriptures did just that. I took out my journal along with my Bible and even wrote how upset I felt inside it. I wrote, "Oh God, You must rescue me again from this crushing disappointment, from feeling sorry for myself, from my own self-induced misery."

One of my readings today was in I John, chapter 2. Suddenly this verse popped out at me:

25 "And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life."

I thought to myself, "I have eternal life, right now." I am not waiting for it as some pie in the sky in the future, but right as I sit here on my front porch with my Bible and my morning coffee. That thought in itself started to lift my head. I read on:

28 "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."

I thought to myself, "I do not want to be ashamed on that Day when He comes." All I need do is to continue to abide in Him. And how do I abide in Him? By meditating on His Word.

I continued on with my readings and found this gem in Proverbs 13:7

7 "​​There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
​​And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches."

I immediately thought of what Jesus said in the first Beatitude: 3 ​​“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
​​For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

I felt even more encouragement. If I realize that in and of myself I am poor and needy, and cannot even lift my own head, then the Lord is faithful to come in with His great empathy in my situation. He is not against me. He is for me, right here, right now!

I also read in Psalms, and in II Samuel, David weeping over the death of his son Absalom. In Jeremiah 17, I could not believe how the Spirit reminded me that it is impossible for me to pull myself out of my condition in my own strength. Jeremiah wrote:

​
5 "Thus says the LORD:
​
​​“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
​​And makes flesh his strength,
​​Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 ​​For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
​​And shall not see when good comes,
​​But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
​​In a salt land which is not inhabited.

7 ​​“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
​​And whose hope is the LORD.
8 ​​For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
​​Which spreads out its roots by the river,
​​And will not fear when heat comes;
​​But its leaf will be green,
​​And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
​​Nor will cease from yielding fruit."

I cannot trust myself but I can trust Him, that He is good, and that He lives inside me as I abide in His Word.

Finally, I came upon what I thought was the clincher for the day. Jeremiah struggled, just as we all do, and he wept as he saw his beloved nation going into captivity. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that our own country is in terrible trouble, and sometimes I want to weep just like Jeremiah did, for we are certain to face God's judgment soon. But Jeremiah said:

17 ​​"Do not be a terror to me;
​​You are my hope in the day of doom."

How is it I have not seen that before? If I am living near to the day of doom, I still have God, err, He has me. In His Word, today, I will hope.

Run Away Home

Joel 2:11


"And the LORD shall
utter His voice
before his army:
for his camp is
very great: for He
is strong that executeth
His word: for the
day of the LORD is great
and very terrible; and
who can abide it?"



Driving home from babysitting the other day, I felt weary and fatigued. I spotted from the side of the road a precious black dog that looked like he had wandered from his home. He meandered happily, yet dangerously close to the highway. “Oh dear baby,” I thought, “Please run away home to your master. You will only be hurt out here.”

For some reason, my eyes began to tear up as I thought of all the innocent animals. They did not know that their time was near as they attempted to cross the busy street. The graceful deer lying lifeless, her strength and surefooted ways forever gone. The robins smashed, run over in the street, and the trillions of lifeless birds that never quite hatched from their nest, as their surrounding casement lies crushed on the ground. Their lifeless beaks, still forming, will not sing to their Creator, at least on this side of eternity. But one day, I believe they will, for in Romans 8:21 we are told, “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Emphasis mine.)

Creation is groaning for the Creator to come and set things right upon this little planet spinning as a speck of dust in an infinite universe. From somewhere, light years beyond this place, there was One who saw each creature, and cared for them for it was impossible for Him to do otherwise, for He is love in His essence. To believe otherwise is to be without hope.

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (I John 4:8)

Yet, something has gone horribly wrong with the world the Creator made, and even the creatures know it is true. It seems all of them are sitting with baited breath just waiting for their Creator to break through the boundary that has kept us from Him for two thousand years. One might want to blame Him for all the things that have gone wrong, and even shake their fist at God. But without these tragedies, man would not have a free choice to place his or her faith in a benevolent God, and not exist as an automated robot. The one thing that is required is faith.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

If I, a fallen human, could feel sadness over this loss of life, how much more their Creator, the One who endowed them with their beauty, the one who planned the delicate coloring that covered them: whether fur, or feathers, or scales? No matter what we see, we must trust that God is good!

And now, the shades of night fall deeper and deeper upon the unsuspecting, as we humans are lulled into careless ease. The lies of the enemy suggest that all is well, but deep down, we know (many with despair in empty hearts) that it is not. A society overtaken by technology has replaced that feeling of humanity which bound us together for centuries. Man is being taken over by machine, they are blending together until it will be hard to distinguish one from the other. Yet God will not allow that to come to total fruition. The Son will break through those clouds over Planet Earth and dissipate all the darkness, all the arrogance of man, in the twinkling of an eye.

"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7

As I wanted to protect the innocent creature that ran at the side of the road, with his breath and covering graciously lent to Him by God, the Savior is coming to redeem our fallen planet. Oh, so quickly will He come, to take His children on out of this world of danger and destruction, death and despair. He longs for His table to be filled for the coming celebration. No creature would want to miss this celebration once they behold Him in His glory.

He beckons, He pleads, He cajoles. Jesus says,"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) He knows we His creatures are like the dog who dithered at death’s door. There is safety only with Him.

Soon a storm like never before will blow upon this planet, a torrent of destruction, a tempest of judgment for every innocent drop of blood that was shed upon our sod. But now we may come inside His ark of salvation which he has perfectly prepared. Once He shuts the door, it will be too late.

I have a portion of this blessed One who lives inside of me, not because of anything I have done except to run like hell from the darkness to His light by believing in Him, grasping and clinging to Him. Now, He pleads through me, a weak and fragile voice. Come, precious fellow humans, still outside in the gloom, come join the bright light of salvation’s Day and safety of Jesus’s ark. He wants you to be with Him forever, for it is not His will that even one would perish.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9

Will you listen to the Spirit’s call? I urge you with all that is in me. In the final chapter of His book, in Revelation, He implores: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely… He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:17,20 (emphasis mine)