Waiting Here for You

So, I fall again.  How is it, "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want."  Romans 7:19

I read on, "But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me."  This fallen, sinful nature stays just under the surface, rearing its ugly head.All.The.Time...and back up to verse 15 Paul states, "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate."

How easy it is to fall off God's path He has for us.  We have been in Romans; this is what our family is reading this month, well, the month of February, but I do believe we could stay there an entire year.  We will stay there for March too...can't get enough of a good thing, right?  I need it imprinted on me, in me, around me.  Just as the Jewish people wore their phalactaries on their foreheads, yes, I need it.Right.There...pressing in to remind me I am His; His Spirit is in me, and I must die, die to self, die to me.  He will guide me.

"For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."  Romans 8:13-14

There are times when I simply do not know what to ask of God.  I do not have the words, I do not know how to pray...that is when, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  Romans 8:26-27

What a glorious promise.  God, Himself, as The Triune God, uses His Spirit to intercede on my behalf!  He will pray for me when I have no words, when only tears come, when sorrow is too deep to express, when sorrow over my sins is to deep to bear.  He hears, He knows, and He prays for me, interceding for me.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God,

You will not despise."

Psalm 51:17

So, in Romans 12 and verses 1 and 2, Paul tells us, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

David and Paul, men of two different times, knew what God desired, what God wanted of them, and though fallen men, they trusted in the God who knew them better than they knew themselves.  As we read, learn, study, and draw from their wisdom, we too, lean on the same God who knew them and us before we were even conceived.  

As David states, 

"You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."
Psalm 16:11

"I have set the Lord continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, 

I will not be shaken."

Psalm 16:8

"Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day."

Psalm 25:5

Let your prayer for this day be, "Lord, I am waiting here for You."  And give Him all praise and glory for all things!  For He alone is worthy of any praise we offer.

Always Experiencing Him,
Jody

What is Real Repentance?

I am reading a devotional from Ann, a friend and I are doing a study together from the book, Idols of the Heart, our church is participating in a book study calling for revival, Refresh, and I am reading devotions from the Mosaic Bible through this time of Lent.  All are filled with scriptures from God's Word.

What somehow still amazes me is how God makes all things work together.  Everything I am reading is more of how to fully surrender to Him.  How to recognize idols, which is anything we put before Him, anything, and how we are called to repent before a Holy God.  Because any time there is something more important than God...any time our hearts are not centered on Him and we search for what we think we need, we are ignoring the One True God and settling for idols.  This is the reason we disobey Him.  

Elyse Fitzpatrick says, "Only God the Heart Knower is also the Heart Changer."  

The Westminster Larger Catechism asks, "What are the duties required in the first commandment?"

"The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify Him accordingly, by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honoring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, fearing of Him; believing Him, trusting, hoping, delighting, rejoicing in Him; being zealous for Him; calling upon Him, giving all praise and thanks, and yielding all obedience and submission to Him with the whole man; being careful in all things to please Him, and sorrowful when in anything He is offended; and walking humbly with Him."

Wow!  Do I love Him that way?  Do I really love the God of heaven and earth that way?  How often I have offended Him.  How often have I disobeyed Him?  My disobedience comes from worshiping other gods, maybe not stone statues, but pride, selfishness, false humility...the list goes on.  

Read the requirements above again, slowly pondering each characteristic.  Not out of legalism, not out of an unhealthy fear, but out of an unadulterated love for God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for me, and who died for you.  Is He not worth all we are?  Is He not worth our total surrender?  Focusing my all on Him is what He desires, and He deserves nothing less.

"I wear the lens of the Word and all the world transfigures into the Beauty of Christ." -Ann.  


Do you see everything through His lens?  As I continue to focus on my one word for 2015, focus, I try to bring everything into a clear view from God's Word.  My perspective must change, and, when I fail, I seek repentance.  I need a Repentance Tower, but I would have to live there.  Michael Catt says, "The lack of repentance weakens the believer and the church."  The church is made of sinners; when have I been so broken in repentance to my God as to shed tears for my disobedient, idolatrous heart?  Thomas Manton said, "Holy tears are the sponge of sin."  What an image!  

When have we seen or heard real confession?  When have I sobbed over confessing my sins before my God?  Our world is in dire need of Truth, and where will they see it?  How will they know it?  They will not see it through our agendas, our programs, our schedules, our buildings, or anything else WE can think up.  I believe they will see it when, as Michael says, 
               "Real repentance produces confession, and forsaking of sin, reconciliation and restitution, separation from the world, submission to the lordship of Christ, and the filling of the Holy Spirit."

They will see it when they see Jesus living through us; when they see we are not like this world.  When we stop pulling the world into the church, and start living a life of difference.  A life where Jesus is at the forefront.  

Vance Havner once said, "When I see a bird that looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has webbed feet like a duck, paddles in the water like a duck, and prefers the company of ducks, it is hard for me to resist the conclusion that it must be a duck!...When I see a Christian who looks like the world, talks like the world, walks like the world, goes places where the world goes, and prefers the company of the world, it is hard for me to resist the conclusion that they are of the world."

"Our churches are filled with people who do not have a biblical worldview.  They are gray in areas where the Word is black and white."  God says He will vomit the lukewarm out of His mouth.  We cannot afford to be gray, or lukewarm.  We must be strong, stand for what is good and right and true and pure.  Our nation is in a spiritual, ethical and moral state we have not seen before in our time, and if we do not stand and fight, we will go down in history as a generation that has forsaken God.  

Through this first week of Lent, which for some is a part of their spiritual life and practice, and for others it can prepare our hearts for Easter with a time of reflection, repentance, and prayer.

"The tradition of Lent--a forty-day sacrifice--is one way of mourning the death that sin has caused in our lives.  As we see Jesus perfectly withstand Satan's temptation in the wilderness, we admit our own shortcomings, our own inadequate sacrifices.  This period of  "giving up" has a profound way of recalling our desperate need for Jesus Christ."

So, if you choose to give up something to devote yourself wholeheartedly to God and His Word, I will pray for you.  Whether it be a food, a habit, social media, TV, a place, whatever you choose, only do so with the desire to give yourself totally and unabashedly to Him.  If for any other reason, you will only be setting up another idol.

"All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them."  --E.M. Bounds 

How can I pray for you?

Always Experiencing Him,
Jody

1st Fire of the Season

Jamin built us a fire last evening for us, because the temperature was going to be around 36 degrees!  Oosh!  That's just cold!  The rising flames were so warm and beautiful.  Thanks, Son!  

I sit, I watch, I bask in the wonderful glow pouring from the fireplace.  Such warmth bathes my body and my soul as I ponder the fire, the burning, the coals and ashes.  

(The pictures are from last year's season)

Comforting, warming, relaxing, it smells so good, the sounds of the wood crackling under the heat, the mesmerizing flames make you want to curl up with a good book and sit, or with a big quilt and nap.  Four of the five senses have been touched.

But, if you get too close, it burns, hurts, singes, but it also refines, purifies, and seals.
Staying close to God, our Father, so He can continually purge us of our impurities, our sins, purify us, refine us as silver and gold, listening to hear His voice and being obedient to His will is where we will find the warmth and comfort from Him.  We hear Him best when we are close, where we feel the comfort, the warmth, but also the heat, and the burning.

             Purification
"Lord Jesus,
     I sin - Grant that I may
never cease grieving because of it,
never be content with myself,
never think I can reach a point of perfection.
     Kill my envy, command my tongue,
trample down self.
     Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable,
to live for thee and not for self,
to copy thy words, acts, spirit,
to be transformed into thy likeness,
to be consecrated wholly to thee,
to live entirely to thy glory.
     Deliver me from attachment to things unclean,
from wrong associations,
from the predominance of evil passions,
from the sugar of sin as well as its gall,
that with self-loathing, deep contrition,
earnest heart searching
  I may come to thee, cast myself on thee,
trust in thee, cry to thee,
be delivered by thee.
     O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that 
all things are shadows, but thou art substance,
all things are quicksands, but thou art mountain,
all things are shifting, but thou art anchor,
all things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom.
     If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat,
so be it,
but do thou sit at the furnace mouth
to watch the ore that nothing be lost.
     If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly,
in grace take away my mourning
  and give me music.
remove my sackcloth 
  and clothe me with beauty;
still my sighs
  and fill my mouth with song,
then give me summer weather as a Christian.
                  (The Valley of Vision)

"The words of the Lord are pure words;

As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

You, O Lord, will keep them;

You will preserve him from this generation forever."

Psalm 12:6-7

"Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, 

purge and make them pure until the end time; 

because it is still to come at the appointed time."

Daniel 11:35

"And I will bring the third part through the fire,

Refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them;

I will say, 'They are My people,'

And they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'"

Zechariah 13:9

Are you listening to the One who refines?

How are you being tested this day?

Are you staying in His warmth, His comfort?

Always Experiencing Him,
Jody

The Deeps

Lord Jesus,

Give me a deeper repentance,

a horror of sin,

a dread of its approach;

Help me chastely to flee it,

and jealously to resolve that my heart

shall be thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust,

that I may lose myself to find myself in thee,

the ground of my rest,

the spring of my being.

Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself

as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.

Give me deeper power in private prayer,

more sweetness in thy Word,

more steadfast grip on its truth.

Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,

and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord,

heavenly Husbandman,

that my being may be a tilled field,

the roots of grace spreading far and wide,

until thou alone art seen in me,

thy beauty golden like summer harvest,

thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no Master but thee,

no law but thy will,

no delight but thyself,

no wealth but that thou givest,

no good but that thou blessest,

no peace but that thou bestowest.

I am nothing but that thou makest me,

I have nothing but that I receive from thee,

I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.

Quarry me deep, dear Lord,

and then fill me to overflowing

with living water.

(The Valley of Vision)

What is your favorite devotional or prayer book?

The Valley of Vision is one of many I love to read through, let me know what you are reading...

Always Experiencing Him,
Jody

Is Anything Sacred Anymore?

In a world of trouble and turmoil, there is peace, a peace that comes from God Himself.  

Where it seems like nothing is sacred anymore, in the midst, there is peace.  

From the abortionists to the bombers, from sending a family back to their homeland to be persecuted, in reality, because they are Christian, to the many rights of Christians being stripped from our honorable military forces, from the renaming of what marriage is, 

                            and how do you rename something God put a name to? 

                   Can you call an orange an apple or a cat a dog?  

How dare we claim to have enough power in ourselves to say something should now be something else just to suit our selfish and power hungry selves?                        How does that happen?  

                           

                    Then, I remember the thoughts I had, the temptations that lay before me, how my mind, my "old nature," just hangs around the corner waiting for any opportunity to rear its ugly head, and how so often, too often, I allow my mind to stay there, to wander. I am disgusted by how I cannot stay in complete control of all things going on in and around me, 

                                           and I seek Him.  

                         Yes, the One who gave me a "new nature," and still I am troubled.

As I sit and listen and read, I am appalled and torn, I want to cover my head, hide because of what I hear, I want to jump through the screen and say, "listen to what God says, listen to the many accounts of obedient hearts when following the paths He has chosen for us," oh, to be able to make them see, and then, I read Romans...      

                         "He gave them over..."  

I see this beauty around me, everywhere I go, new eggs in a little nest hidden away in a tree, which we just happened upon, oh, the small joys of our Creator. The colors, blue, green, brown and gray, so amazing is our God that He would care for this, for me, for even me.

A precious rabbit hanging around our house, under the trampoline, God brought the animals to Adam "to see what he would call them, and whatever the man, (Adam) called a living creature, that was its name." Gen. 2:19

God's promises, as shown in the afternoon sky, a covenant between He and us, between the Living God, the Creator of all things, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and us, of me,
                                 who fail Him daily.
                   Thank You for Your great promises, and a reminder of Your love for us.

"Then they will see The Son Of Man Coming In Clouds with 
great power and glory." 

 Mark 13:26  Luke 21:27

Gathering fresh eggs is such a delight, even more so when my father-in-law passed on to us his mother's egg basket.  How can one get pleasure from going out to gather eggs, to be content with what God gives, to be satisfied, bowing down on bended knee and be grateful, simply grateful for all things, in all things, to have a eucharisteo heart.
                             To have a repentant heart, a truly, fall-down prostrate, on your face before the High King of Kings, and worship, and ask for forgiveness we so desperately need, so need.every.single.day.

And I read Romans...

Romans 1:16-32

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 

¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 

Do you see the Truth trying to be suppressed every day?  The media? 

Government leaders?

¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 

"God has sovereignly planted evidence of His existence in the very nature of man by reason and moral law. (1:20, 21, 28, 32; 2:15) (John MacArthur)

²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

"God holds all men responsible for their refusal to acknowledge what He has shown them of Himself in His creation." (John MacArthur) 

Through God's nature and creation, people have a deep sense of right and wrong, they are without excuse, they "have suppressed it," as MacArthur says. 

²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Oh, what a heart of eucharisteo can do to a soul, giving thanks in ALL things, or we can choose to allow our souls to be darkened by not honoring the One who gives ALL things.

²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, 

²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Man will find something to worship, this is "the inward cause of their idolatry. They are therefore without excuse, in that they did know God, and from what they knew might easily infer that it was their duty to worship Him, and Him only.  Though some have greater light and means of knowledge than others, yet all have enough to leave them inexcusable." (Matthew Henry)

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 

"Those who dishonored God were given over to dishonor themselves.  A man cannot be delivered up to a greater slavery than to be given up to his own lusts." (Matthew Henry)

²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

We see people wanting to worship everything and anything except the One true God, Jesus Christ.  They do not want to admit that He truly is the One who has the answers to the questions we seek.  
Everywhere we look, we see people exchanging the Truth to anything except Christianity, and the ONLY exception is Christianity.  And once again, God gave them over...consequences for disobedience.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 

"Paul mentions women first to show the extent of debauchery under the wrath of abandonment, because in most cultures women are the last to be affected by moral collapse." (John MacArthur)

²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Homosexuality abounds.  The 12th state in our once great country of America has just legalized gay marriage; we are now calling apples oranges, and much more is the LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, (it hurts me to even type that out) culture who God has given over to their degrading passions, and they do not look at the ensuing consequences and the penalties of their errors as they have abandoned the natural functions God has given them.

AIDS is only one evidence of the penalty and consequence of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 

They do NOT "acknowledge God any longer," just read the news...they are attempting to take Him from courthouses, have already succeeded with the public schools, are in the process of taking Him out of our military; can you imagine how unprotected our men will be if God is not there to protect, cover, and shield them?  This is our great country, America.  As we see with Israel, countries, even great countries do not last when the people rebel; God will show His mighty hand. 

²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 

Greed?  Envy?  Deceit?  Gossips???  It is easy to see the evil, the murder and malice around us, but how guilty am I of greed, envying others, being deceitful or a gossip.  How guilty I am...

³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 

Listen to the news; we are sending a family back to Germany to be persecuted because they love their God, by those in power, haters of God; they slander, are insolent, arrogant and boastful to the things of God.                        

                              Oh.Forgive.Us.Lord.  

These have been given over to do those things which are not proper...read the list...again...arrogant, boastful, yes, even, disobedient to parents.  "When duty fails on one side, it commonly fails on the other." (Matthew Henry)  Parents, so much responsibility relies on us, will we step up, will we take up the charge and lead?

³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 

They are without...

³² and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

They "know," therefore, it is "not ignorance, but blatant rebellion." (John MacArthur)
Other religions give approval for the sins committed and celebrate those who have committed some atrocities, as martyrs.  As such is the rebellion against the God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved and died and rose again for ALL.  We should be in much prayer and petition for the way our country is heading.  God will not linger with such outward and blatant defiance.

Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. (John Bradshaw)

(biblegateway.com)

"See what wickedness there is in the nature of man.  How abominable and filthy is man!
                                                Lord, what is man?  says David;
                    what a vile creature is he when left to himself!
How much are we beholden to the restraining grace of God for the preserving any thing of the honor and decency of the human nature!
                          For, were it not for this, man, who was made but little lower than the angels, would make himself a great deal lower than the devils."  (Matthew Henry)

In this world of trouble and turmoil, with sin so blatant and exposed and celebrated, are you willing to stay true to the Truth, the real Truth?  Can you find peace?  A peace that passes all understanding?  Are you willing to stand for Truth, to stand for Jesus, to stand for all He reveals in His Holy Word, and teach your children so they will teach their children, until He comes again?

                             "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

                                                                                               Rev. 1:20

He is our hope!

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

In His Grace,

Jody

Wash Over Me

At times our thoughts go in a direction where they do not need to be. Where do they come from?

For out of the heart come evil thoughts...

Matthew 15:19

My heart? No. Not mine. I just read Your Word a little while earlier. But, there they are. As large and loud as a loudspeaker at a football game.

The Lord knows the thoughts of man,

that they are a mere breath.

Psalm 94:11

He knows MY thoughts! No! I don't want You Lord to know that. Or, do I? Yes. I do. Know my thoughts. Take them. Wash me.

We are destroying speculations and every thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

2 Cor. 10:5

Captive, yes, every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Thank you, Lord. Take them and wash me.

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 

Isaiah 55:8

I so desire Your thoughts. I long for Your ways. Lead me. Wash me. Pour over me. Time and time again, I repent. I am drenched with Your forgiveness.

I ask.

You pour.

Until I ask again,

Amazingly His,

Jody