As Abraham listened, he heard what sounded like the breaking of a promise. God had told him that by Sarah, he would have a son. And through that son would come descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky and sand of the seashore. How could God ask him to offer his son as a sacrifice?
There are times when we have labored, worked, and obeyed. We did the work alone while standing against the mockers and the nay-sayers. We did everything the Lord asked us to do, and then God closes a door. It can feel isolated and cut off. It can seem like a tight, narrow, and limited space. It can even stink! Nothing seems solid. The ground continually moves under your feet. There is no stability for what seems like an eternity.
The power of God is not selfish. The Father did not give the gift of the Holy Spirit to puff up or bring glory to any person or personality. The power of God is holy! It is to empower us to do as Christ did. Jesus himself, after being made manifest at his baptism, the Spirit descended like a dove and remained on Him, with the voice of the Father commending Him, went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and quoted from the book of Isaiah and said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19 John said in 1 John 4:17 that "...as He is, so are we in this world." We live in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring Glory to God by doing the works that He did as unto Him and in His name. If our Christian walk is simply to try and clear our conscience for death, we have missed it. To be born of Him is to live from Him. From the life He has given. From the place we now have in His kingdom and for His purpose and glory. Not our own. It is a place of complete humility, self-denial, and of complete and total surrender. It is a life lived for Him alone. If all we do brings glory only to ourselves or fame and fortune for vain imaginations, we are doomed. Through the Holy Spirit, we have tremendous power to affect our world and all those around us. But we can grieve the Holy Spirit. He can be misrepresented and misused. He is given for the distinct purpose of preaching the gospel, healing the brokenhearted, bringing deliverance to those bound, sight for the blind and liberty for the bruised, and preaching the Lord's favor over your years. That is what we should be busy doing. Jesus instructed us in Matthew 10:8 to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the diseased and drive out demons. He told us He freely gave all of this to us so we could freely give it to others. Let's not waste another day or even another moment. If we say we belong to Jesus, let's get busy looking like we do and bring glory to His wonderful name. Invite the Holy Spirit to baptize you as He did Jesus, and let's turn this world upside down one more time!
King David, a man after God's own heart. What was it about David that garnered such a title? Could it be that he feared no man and only feared God? Could it be that he knew how to worship so entirely that he would dance out of his clothes? Could it be that he wouldn't allow the name of the Lord to be mocked? Though David was deeply flawed, just like we are, and sinned great sins that, to his own admission, were against God, David knew what it was to be desperate for more of God.
Gone are the days of just desiring to live a quiet and peaceful life. A life where you can just freely live, make a living of your choice and raise your family with the values and beliefs you hold dear without interference. Instead, we are daily wakened to the life-draining news and propaganda. Couple that with the onslaught of forced feedings of agenda by social media or any media for that matter.
The dictionary definition of a doppelganger is the double of a living person. John 14:9 (NIV) “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” The life of the Father was seen and emulated in the life of Jesus Christ.
Our current national climate is one of conformity. It literally wants to strip you of your nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, personality, and even your own thought life. We went from the extreme of everyone should say their opinion to everyone needs to be of the same opinion. And if you are not, you need to be silenced.
We have heard "Vengence is mine, says the Lord" preached, as it should be. He is much better at true justice than we could ever be. He also does it with absolute righteousness and with no malice. However, there is an appropriate time to take your revenge.
There is a book available to those who are pregnant, or as we say, expecting. It's called "What to expect when you're expecting." The irony is if you expect something, you already know what you are expecting. We sometimes fail to see we have this same upsidedown idea of prayer. We pray but then act like we have no idea what will happen. Mark 11:24 (NIV) says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Death beds produce weighty final words. You don't waste them [...]
