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"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

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Not Even the Best of Things. John 16:7.

November 16, 2019 /
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”

It is beyond most of us, oftentimes, to fully understand why God would ask them to give something up. Especially when they can’t understand the reason why. When they don’t see the benefit or purpose in letting go. Of taking their hands off of that—intimate relationship, beloved friend, that job or home, city, or state they’ve loved living in. Deeper still, in giving up some part of themselves; a child or spouse, a beloved mentor, some long-standing belief. Things they’ve come to love, rely upon, trust in, or appreciate about ourselves. Now, if you have any knowledge of who God is, His character, you may have already picked up on what is amiss with some of what I’ve just said. Go ahead, go back, and reread it. Did you catch it? The “Things we have come to love, rely upon, trust in, appreciate about ourselves” part.

Allow me to clarify. In no way, am I saying that we should not love people—that would be a deliberate contradiction to the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” –Matthew 22:37-40. Neither am I saying that we should not enjoy our profession or home or those relationships we’ve been blessed to have invested our love and time and care into.

Rather, what I am saying is this: Nothing. No thing, no one, must ever take primacy over God. Ever. Not even the best of things—the greatest of His gifts. Not our spouses, not our children or parents or job or ministry, not where we live nor any-thing we have been allowed to use. Truth be told, most of us are still learning how to apply this Truth to our lives, daily.  I know I am. I’m much better at holding on to than in letting go of. I am thankful that God is patient and merciful. He knows the weakness of my frame yet loves me still. I am thankful that He lends me His strength for the heavy lifting! Not even Jesus made an allowance for such things. Nothing and no one superseded God in His life. Everything He does points towards and glorifies God. Everything. So must we then, in His strength, train ourselves, minute by minute, to follow after this example He models for us…

As I read and studied in preparation for this teaching, it became clear to me that we must be willing to posture ourselves, our hearts, before God. To make room for, ready ourselves for, more intense refining to begin; to take place within us. To have all—any of those things that sully us, still, removed from us—put away; that we might look more like the image of Him that has called us to Himself. After all, isn’t that a great part of, “the why” God takes things from our lives? Allows them to be taken? To refine us? I believe we are being asked to say yes to God, now, more than ever. Before we even know or understand just what it is we are saying yes to. Out of our love for Him—our deep-seated, abiding need for Him—in trust, we say yes. Out of a profound desire to rid ourselves, our lives, of anything and anyone that we know God is putting His finger on and saying, “Trust me on this, this person, this ministry, this home, job, relationship, this thought process, heart posture, way of living, this expression, belief or ideal has outgrown its season—it must go.” Left unattended, it will become a distraction that will blind you to whom, and to where God is leading you to.

On our journey with the Lord, we must come to understand those things given to us by God must remain fluid in our hands. Seldom, outside of Christ Himself and the sure promises found in Him are His greatest gifts ever unchanging.

 It was this lesson, in part, that Jesus was imparting to His disciples—to us, in today’s scripture…

They had eaten with Him, walked, and talked, laughed, and cried with Him—slept by the fire beside Him. They were fed by His every Word, refreshed in His love and compassion and mercy. They were emboldened by His justice! They had witnessed miracles in His presence. The dead had come back to life, the blind were given their sight, thousands were fed with 5 loaves and 2 small fish. Treacherous storms had been stilled, and the deepest of Truths were revealed in Words spoken so plainly, so frankly, even the least within their earshot was able to understand them—and marvel. This band of brothers, these disciples, had each felt Jesus calling them with such clarity and certainty, that, at this His behest, they left everyone and everything behind, and followed after Him. Yet now, these years later, after having done that, after having experienced all that they had by His side, after having become entwined with this Jesus in this most precious of relationships—this most indescribable bond of oneness, this deepest mystery of love and loyalty this true, “until death us do part” commitment; Jesus says He’s leaving them. Stop and feel that for a minute before you read on.

What! Why? Why would you do this to us!! What have we done to deserve this betrayal? No way… No, you simply can’t leave us, not now! NO! NO! You simply can’t go. Not now!

If you listen, you can almost hear their dazed, gutted cries. I can only imagine that all of these thoughts, and more, had been swirling around in their minds—perhaps even spilling out of their mouths. Scripture doesn’t make that clear to us. Yet, for anyone who has ever suffered such a soul-crushing loss, who has ever stood, in frozen disbelief, in utter powerlessness as you watched the center of your world go away; you qualify, surely, as having some small idea, some slight glimpse into what these men felt hearing this news fall from the very lips of God Himself. The same lips that had smiled at them and called them His friends—His beloved.

They had no idea, at that moment, of His unfathomable reason for having to go. The profound love behind His needing to leave—of removing Himself from their physical presence; all they felt was their deep grief. They didn’t know Golgatha’s Cross lay just around the bend. All they understood was that He was leaving them. He was taking something they loved away from them. And it’s no different from us, is it? When we’re told we must let go—give up something or someone—someplace or station in life, our health or husband or wife or child—our parents or home. They had no idea of who it was they had been doing life with these past three-plus years—not really. This unfathomable enormity of God. And neither do we. God is so much more, so much bigger and finer and far more Holy and Righteous and far-seeing than a mere man can ever take in.

His friends weren’t thinking about the fact that He stood over the dark void—seeing their beginning from their end. Seeing His plan unfolding from its end to its beginning. Knowing what is needed—and what isn’t, each step of the way. In each season and individual life—all at once. For as much as we believe we have come to know of Him, there are whole worlds, universes chuck full of these deep mysteries pointing us towards just how much we don’t yet know, can’t know, —at least not now, about this God we love so. How does a spirit encased in its limited flesh fully take in the unplumed love of God? One who offered Himself in our place all that we might be afforded a way back to Him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” –John 3:16.

We were not created to hang onto anything given us by God, save Jesus and His Holy Spirit. We are expanded by His giving of these most precious gifts—stretched that we might receive more from one so Holy. Yet, in order for this to happen, room must be made. A surrendering of ourselves in exchange for Him, a hollowing out must occur; a new and clean replicable must be created, made ready deep within to catch, and store, His life-giving gifts. God takes away what we perceive to be good that we may grow in our dependence in Him, and in the realization that He alone is good. —Barnes.

Beloved, nothing. No—thing, no one, must ever take primacy over God. Ever. Not even the best of things—the greatest of His gifts. Won’t you posture your heart today—your very life, that He might refine you? Purify you as precious gold. Trusting Him when He asks you to return—let go of, your understanding of what’s best in exchange for His. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete” –Luke 6: 46-49.

Friend, if you do not know this Jesus who died to ensure that you might gain God, then know this. He has led you here today that you might know His love for you and accept the absolute best He has to offer me and you; His Only Son, Jesus. Won’t you accept His best and by asking Him into your heart right now, as your Lord and Savior? You’re not here by chance…

Waves of Affliction And Trouble. Matthew 14:22-25.

November 9, 2019 /
“As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people.”

It wasn’t Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand, nor was it Peter’s walking on water that jumped out at me as I read Chapter 14 of Matthew’s Gospel. It wasn’t even Jesus’ walking on water. Rather, it was the fact that He ‘insisted’ that His disciples get in their boat and cross the Sea of Tiberias, and head towards Gennesaret without Him—all the while knowing a storm was headed their way. But why? Why did Jesus insist that they go ahead without them? Why send Twelve of His dearest friends—His beloved disciples, into a perilous storm He knew was coming? Why would He send them off on their own to face a storm He knew was far beyond their capacity to traverse?

Would you be surprised if I said His love for them was the motivating force behind Jesus’ command that they cross the sea without Him? Be sent into a storm He knew they were ill-prepared for? Difficult as it may be to take in, God’s love will, oftentimes places us in situations or allow us to face seasons of difficulties that we simply do not understand, are in no way prepared to handle. Included within these often-stormy moments, are precious gifts given us—if we’ll but receive them. Those sweet moments of clarity that lead us into the sure knowing that He alone is God. And, in those moments, a heart-cry goes out, Abba! Father! Save me as only can! We hand ourselves over to the One who allowed the storm so that we might witness Him walking on the water right there beside us; already there with us, ready and willing to save. Just as it was with the disciples, so it is with us, too. Though skilled in their craft as fishermen, and dedicated followers of Jesus, what they were about to face is an example of one of the occasions the Lord would use adversity to build their faith in Him. To redirect their natural tendency to handle things on our own—back towards Himself.

When we become aware that life will give us more than we can handle and come to grips with this, we find a promise: God is faithful to meet us in the mess and in the pain. And when He does, we learn to recognize our constant need to depend on Him. This is why Peter instructs the Church to cast our fears, worries, suffering, and pain on God. He reasons we can do this because God cares for us. When life deals us more than we can handle, we can rest in the reality that God can handle it –MICHAEL HIDALGO.

They were following after Him, mind you, serving Him, they were not out of the will of God, had not disobeyed Him. This was no rebuke. No punishment for deliberate sin. These were not men who had decided to run off and go their own way. On the contrary, in getting into that boat, they were following Jesus’ command, just as they always had. From the time Jesus called His disciples, He began stretching their faith, preparing them for that day when He knew He would have to leave them behind and return to the Father. This command to cross over before Him was no exception. He was ever instructing them, refine them and building them up. Taking from them what did not benefit them, their calling and purpose, and depositing into them instead new-life and purpose, a new vision and wisdom; readying them for the task of spreading His Message to a world who would all-too-often reject that message—reject Him. Sound familiar?

Jesus knew His friends end from their very beginnings. Hence, He knew exactly what they’d need, both individually, and collectively to do the will of the One that had sent Him, and chosen them. As evidence of this stretching of their faith, we first witness Jesus’ disciples facing a similar storm back in Matthew Eight. Immediately following Jesus’ informing those within earshot of the cost of following after Him, He instructs His disciples to get into their boat and head off to the opposite side of the lake –Matthew 7:18-22; 8:23-27.

God is always working. Always preparing us for what is just ahead—just on the other side of any given storm or struggle.  

It is here then, in verse 24 of Matthew 8, that we first see the disciples facing a storm at sea. It is here also, where we come to understand that the disciples have yet to come into the full knowledge of just who this Jesus truly is. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” –verse 27. It is here too, that we witness an eternal Truth that can and will carry us through any storm. Jesus has promised to never leave His chosen alone.

He was as present in the disciple’s boat in Matthew 14 as He was in Matthew 8. The difference between the two being the lesson He was teaching in each instance—the degree of stretching that was taking place. Their learning to see beyond the limits of the natural world that they may see more clearly into the realm of the spirit. Contained within Matthew 14 is, in part, a vital nugget: to always remember the Truth of who God is, has shown Himself to be in our lives; contrary to the intensity of the storm we may be facing. For as long as we are on this earth, waves of affliction and troubles will come our way. How we perceive them, allow them to affect us, determines the shape we’ll come out in on the other side of our storm. Shipwrecked or strengthened?

Know this beloved: it is to the other side of the storm that we as His disciples, His servants, are being called; to serve, witness to, to bind up and undergird another. Why, in part, we have been chosen in Him at all. The other side of the storm is what we, as our brothers before us, are being prepared for, stretched, that we might reach the one God is sending us to; all the while becoming more like the One who sent us…

Another of the reasons the disciples were sent into the thick of a situation that was too great for them to manage on their own, was to teach them reliance—to trust in God alone. Only God can safely get us through the perilous storms that would otherwise destroy us. Contrary to our strengths and gifts, to our God-given abilities and our divine potential, we were not created to live apart from God—we are not our own. Love teaches us to rely solely on God, while the world around us screams at us to be self-reliant. To be our own god, to save ourselves. Let us each, instead, follow the lead of our brothers before us.

After being saved from a storm, once again—after allowing God to have stretched their faith one more time, it is here, for the first time that we hear these men finally proclaim that they know, (a knowing so deep and pure and true that they were willing to die for it) that this Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God. Long before Jesus ever stood over the dark void this storm—and its outcome, existed in Him; as does every storm—and its outcome, that you and I will ever face. Even that one that appears so perilous that it threatens to take us out! Fear not beloved. God is as present with you now as He was with our brothers then. And, the wind and waves still obey Him today…

But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” –Isaiah 43:1-2.

He has called you to pass through the afflictions, the troubles, this current storm, beloved. Through the waters and rivers. Through the fire—to faith and Life in Him. Trust that you have everything within you you’ll ever need to get there; God in you and with you—always and in all ways. Waves of affliction will come—troubles too, but we, you and me and Peter and John and every believer that has ever or will ever live—are never, not for one nano-second, ever alone. He still walks on the stormy waters we are passing through them on the way to those He has sent us to reach; before He calls us back to Himself. Rely on that Truth. Place your trust in God alone…

If you have read this through this teaching, and do not have a relationship with Jesus, the One who saves all those who cry to Him from their hearts; then please, ask Him to show Himself to you know. Ask Him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” Romans 10:9.

Always On My Mind. Isaiah 43.

November 2, 2019 /
“But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];
I have called you by name; you are Mine!”

The Lord remembers the bonds which unite us to himself even when we forget them; he recollects his eternal love, and all the deeds of mercy that have flowed from it. Though our memory is treacherous, and our faith is feeble, “yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself;” blessed be his holy name! –Charles Spurgeon

Man’s profession of love has been the impetus behind countless love songs and verses of poetry. Odes have been written and country rivers cried as a result of its birth, and death. But its genesis, its heart, its very Lifeblood is found in God’s love for man from eternity past. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life –Psalm 42:8. Long before He stood over the dark void God knew us, called us His beloved. His was the first love song ever written. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing —Zephaniah 3:17. God’s absolute love for us runs so deep, is so profoundly intimate, complete and everlasting, it ensures we, His beloved, will always possess a place in the Father’s heart. He gave His firstborn, our Lord, as a ransom to ensure that fact. Jesus paid the sin debt we owed that our loving Father might have all of His children gathered about  Him—eternally. Mark Lauterbach describes this radiant beauty of God singing over us like this: He sings over those for whom he has removed his judgments (verse 15). He sings over a rebelling people, who have been restored. He sings over a people who have no righteousness in themselves. He sings over those who have every reason to fear the face of God, not desire it. Scripture resounds with God’s singing His songs of love, deliverance, and redemption over us. Wooing us with a pledge of unfaltering, and endless love. The guarantee of that love sealed, for all eternity, in the shed Blood of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus.

 “Think of the great Jehovah singing! Can you imagine it? Is it possible to conceive of the Deity breaking into a song: Father, Son and Holy Ghost together singing over the redeemed? God is so happy in the love which he bears to his people that he breaks the eternal silence, and sun and moon and stars with astonishment hear God chanting a hymn of joy.” (Spurgeon)

Before Father Abraham saw the smoking firepot and the flaming torch pass between the blood path of the slain carcasses, he’d laid side by side in obedience to Lord, God’s love and providential care of His elect had long been established. In the lifeblood of each of these animals, we witness the prophetic; the Blood of Jesus, yet to be shed. The fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Abraham in the death of His only Son, Jesus, our Messiah. –Genesis 15:7-20.  The only One worthy to be offered once, for all—for the sins of the whole world. In Him is found every tribe and nation

Remember though, that the first glimpse of this Blood—His Blood, is witnessed in the garden. Those animals whose blood was shed that their skins might be used to cover the sin-stained bodies of Adam and Eve. Their blood is our first glimpse of that One whose Blood actually sealed this covenant God made with Abraham. Abraham had done nothing to earn Gods saving grace, His mercy, and promises of protection and provision. God alone chose Abraham, just as He chose each of us. He alone established the covenant promise with Abraham, and, God alone is the only One who can fulfill the terms of His covenant. He alone is God. He alone is able…

Before Jesus stood over the dark void and spoke one Word, His elect had already been sealed in Him – Ephesians 1:4-5. Their love songs of love and deliverance already sung. I don’t know about you, but that is mind-blowing to me! Songs of a love so profound existed in the Father’s heart for you and me long before we were even knit together in our mother’s womb! God knew every sin, every evil thought, every selfish bone in our bodies—our great rebellion and turning away and still, He chooses to sing over us.

We are the heirs of the depth of God’s love for His Son—and of the Son’s complete obedience to His Father. For rarely will anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us –Romans 5: 7-8.

As Christians, we believe that in Jesus, God has accepted us. Yet all too often as the result of abuse, harsh judgments, hurtful words, and actions we also have the propensity to be far more sin conscience than we ought—allowing the heavy-weight of feelings of unworthiness to rob us of the Truth of the song of love God is singing over us. Left unchecked, it will cause us to become callous to the Truth that God delights in us—views us as cherished. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me –Psalm 18:19. I am in no way suggesting that we should allow ourselves to become so lofty and mystical that we lose sight of the need to come before the Holy Spirit in prayer, asking Him to search us, revealing anything in us that is not pleasing to Him, and then repent. I am simply here to remind those that are going through a trial—or are about to, perhaps even the one that has just emerged from some faith-fight that God loves you, delights in you, fights for you, will never leave you or forsake you—regardless of how you may think or feel about yourself. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee –Isaiah 43:2

We can’t fathom God’s incredible love for us. In and of ourselves, there would be nothing to attract him, nothing for him to delight in. But he has made us new creations in Christ, created in the likeness of Jesus, in whom is all his delight. Praise God today that he has made you precious and delightful to himself –Mark Altrogge.

Beloved, Praise Him today, that He has written a song of love specifically for you. Be encouraged as you face this new season, this trial, this heartache, this loss—nothing, not one thing you’re facing can nor ever will, separate you from the love that has called you and sustained from eternity past. He gave the Author of the greatest love song ever sung—just for you. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life –Isaiah 43:3-4.

Friend, if you are here today and want to know this Jesus, this One who is Mighty to save you who will sing songs of love and protection and redemption over you, ask Him to come to you and show Himself real in your heart. Call out to Him, from your heart, and He will answer you. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved –Romans 10:9-10.

In Order To Release. Luke 18:18-30.

October 19, 2019 /
When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

We are nowhere near as altruistic as we imagine ourselves. Scripture asserts that the human heart is deceitful beyond our understanding—it is incurable. In it lives the ability to commit every type of sin. “For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness” –Mark 7:21-22. In our own strength, we are powerless to overcome these evil thoughts and longings. Part of the ‘all things’ Jesus strengthens us to do includes giving us His strength in exchange for our weakness so that we can release into His loving care those things that can harm us or no longer benefit us. Contrary to how we may feel about them…

Much like this rich young ruler, we cannot give back to God any-thing He may ask us to give up or over to Him, minus the power of His Holy Spirit at work within us. It simply isn’t in our nature. Self-love will always so powerfully contend against the love of God that, even in the believer, it is often necessary to stir up our minds, by way of remembrance, the will of God that commands us to give and to sow. Having a knowledge of God, being a ‘good’ person, simply knowing about God, about His Word and will and desire for our lives will never give us the grace needed—the will required to release into God’s hands those things He may ask of us—from us. We see evidence of this in the rich young ruler. Likely a leader in the local synagogue. He knew enough about God to recognize in Jesus a man well-versed in the way and words of God—a true Rabbi. Thus he came to Jesus, sincerely some say, seeking to add more, some-thing else to what was already his. He had no idea that the ‘more’ he sought after would actually require him to leave behind what he valued the most.

With all he owned, all he had been given, he was the very poorest of men. Poor in that he was unwilling to exchange these worldly possessions for the eternal treasure being offered him. Christ in Him. Christ’s Life in Him and with Him—always. Of God living and ruling and leading and guiding and adding and taking away. Matthew Henry says it like this: Can a man lose by doing that with which God is pleased? He is able to make all grace abound towards us, and to abound in us; to give a large increase of spiritual and of temporal good things. He can make us to have enough in all things; and to be content with what we have. God gives not only enough for ourselves, but that also wherewith we may supply the wants of others, and this should be as seed to be sown.

Yet outside of a genuine relationship with Jesus, minus the deposit of the internal treasure of great value, the Holy Spirit in us, willing us to want what God wants, we too are inclined to turn and walk away from the future and promise the Lord has for us; choosing also, only those things which we can see and touch and hold on to. Those things we’ve deemed as beneficial to our overall wellbeing. Saying no thank you to God because we are too busy playing God…

This thought of freely releasing into God’s hands whatever it is He asks us to give up or over to Him, struck me as I was reading 2 Corinthians 9. Why did those believers in Corinth that had long since decided to give, need to be reminded of the commitment they had made? Wouldn’t they simply just give over the monies they had set aside when Titus and the witness arrived to collect it?

In Paul’s stirring words, a great spiritual Truth is revealed. Even the greatest of Christian men are simply that—men. And, as such, are susceptible to both falling and falling short. Fortunately, for those men and women whose lives have been surrendered to God, they, by His grace, through His election of them, are lifted up again and again and again, set aright, never to be left alone in the place they stumbled or fell short. As a result, when they fail God, and they will, by His strength in them, they are able to get up and continue on in Him. To keep fighting, keep giving up and over to. Keep standing in the face of what may feel like a great personal loss because their trust and love and heart and mind are fixed on the Gift they were given in exchange for the life they turned over to God when they heard Him say, “Come, follow me…”

Jesus is a master at revealing our hypocrisy, our humanness. Not to shame us but rather out of a deep and abiding love for us. A love He desires to share with all those who will receive it. With the precision of a gifted surgeon, He will expose our inability to keep the perfect Law of God; just as He did with this rich young ruler. By claiming to have kept all the commandments he revealed that he had in fact, failed to keep them. From the young man’s first words, Jesus begins to challenge his thinking by correcting his basic understanding of what is good. Jesus informs him that only God is good. Thus setting the standard we must use when measuring what we’ve falsely come to believe is good in others. In answering His disciples’ question on which is the greatest commandment, Jesus informs us that the core of—the very heart of all of the commandments is summed up in these two: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets”—Matthew 22:36-40.

For some of us here today, Jesus may be asking us, as He did our young ruler, to release material possessions He’s allowed us use of. For others, maybe it’s a job or a relationship that He’s asking you to let go of? Is God calling you to move to another church home? Maybe He’s calling you to a new city or state? Is He asking you to bless a person, a family, or some organization financially, and you just can’t see how you’ll see your way clear to do it? Is He asking that you entrust Him with your opinions of yourself, who you think you are, that you might see yourself as He sees you? Is He asking you to hand over your vision in exchange for His? Those wounds that have had you bound, are keeping you isolated and joyless, that you may have the joy and freedom that is found only in a relationship with Him?

The rich young ruler wouldn’t do it. He chose the here and now—what he believed he needed instead of what God was offering him. Left to ourselves we will always choose what pleases us. The power essential to give over to God any-thing He may require of us is found only in the person of the Holy Spirit. And it is in our relationship with Christ Jesus that the Spirit is given us, comes and lives within us—enabling us to do those things we simply cannot do on our own. He alone empowers us to obey God and to release into His Providential care every-thing God may desire from us—up to and including our very lives. But, we must accept His free gift. The rich young ruler knew of Jesus, but He did not know Jesus. So when asked to give over something he felt he could not live without—he had no choice but to walk away. He was power-less.

Do you have the power to release into God’s hands whatever it is He may be asking you to let go of?

If you are His, I pray that you turn to the only One who can strengthen you, brothers, and sisters. I am here to remind you and me of the commitment we made long ago—or not so long ago, to God. To have ready what we have pledged to Him when He comes for it…

Friend, if you have felt God calling you don’t turn away as the rich young ruler did. Don’t think you know enough about Jesus to get by when He is here offering you all of Himself right here, right now. Don’t turn away, please. Just ask Him, from your heart, to come into your life and do what only He can for you. He’s right here waiting to give you what you need, Himself, so you will release, into His care, what no longer serves you…

All along… Psalm 145:9

October 5, 2019 /
” The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.”

Recently, while listening to Dante Bowe sing, The Goodness of God, the Holy Spirit got hold of me; opening the eyes of my understanding, He stretched me. Drawing me in, I was given a peek, just some small glimpse, of what God’s goodness meant—has looked like, in my life. I was wrecked and repenting by the time He was finished showing me, yet I was left hungry for so much more. I had tasted, and it was good! I knew this was no one-time revelation, no amuse-bouche’. Rather, it is a fine dining experience. A multi-course meal whose unique, rich, layered, subtle textures and flavors will have me revisiting this experience of God’s Goodness, over and over and over again…

The Holy Spirit took me back to specific days and seasons in my life; revisiting very specific sins. I was able to see glimpses of myself in the thick of it—covered in my filth, yet seemingly not carrying. Selfish. Oblivious to anything other than what I wanted or needed to make me happy or feel satisfied, at that moment. I saw the bars and the many men and the lies and the sex. The sneaking around. The adultery. The hurt I’d caused my parents and later, my children, friends, and family. I saw my filth stream before my eyes like some twisted, lust-filled, foul-mouthed, underground movie. I saw myself stealing, hustling, getting high, watching porn. I saw when I was molested as a child. I saw my depression, my wanting to die, my neglect. And then I felt the weight of my wretchedness; instantly.

I understood the Holy Spirit wasn’t condemning me, He’s already forgiven me. Rather, He was allowing me to feel the weight of that disgusting filthiness once again that I might be stretched, opened up in some new way, to drink in this heightened, vivid, understanding of just how good and loving and kind and merciful, how patient and long-suffering this God, my Jesus, is. Not that over-used, over-worked, knee-jerk, ‘God is good’ kind of goodness, rather His pure, life-changing, transformative, loving, goodness. The very goodness that caused Him to hold tight His Cross willingly lay down upon it, then allow those He was offering His very life for, to drive their sin through His Perfect flesh. That kind of Goodness…

A Goodness that is far too big, and deep, and wide, for my puny, finite mind, thoughts, and feelings, to fully take in! God had seen each of my sins. And still, after seeing them all, He came to me, personally. He came in a way like no one in my life had ever come; in the gentlest of ways, as softly as the softest of summer breezes. He was just, there. Suddenly. I can close my eyes and go back to that moment, it’s so alive and vivid still; I can feel His nearness as deeply now, more actually, as I did then. And, from that moment until today, I am His and He is mine.

I’ve experienced the goodness of God that Dante was singing about in my own life, without a doubt. I too have sung of the goodness of God. Read about it in the Scriptures, certainly. I’ve witnessed to folks about His goodness. Posted and shared quotes and pics extolling that goodness on social media sites; sharing it personally with new believers. Yet, I had never stopped long enough to truly dig down into the depth of just how far back His goodness had been active in my life; just how far back it truly reached. In that moment, by the revelation of The Holy Spirit, I saw, more, I felt and understood in a new way, just how far back His goodness reached. It went Ephesians 1:4 back, Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13-18 back, to mention just a few examples. It went standing over the void back…

I’ve taken many cursory glances at this reality over the years, mind you. But in truth, never really sat alone with the thought of His goodness and what it meant in my life—all of my life, giving it the time it so richly deserves. I never knew it in my bones, felt the reality of it churning around in the very depths of me until that moment when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to all of what God had watched me do in my life. All those days and nights and instances I thought I was being so slick. When I thought I was being so careful, so clever. When I felt the darkness of some strange room was all the hiding place I’d ever need; my sins were safe there, hidden.

Friends and brothers and sisters, I’m not here today sharing my dirt with you for any reason other than to be transparent and to encourage that one who may be here now; feeling as filthy dirty as I was then, would be still, had it not been for the Goodness and love and mercy of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am here today to share with you the wonder and the beauty and the Awesomeness of God. Of exactly what He can and will do in the life of the one He grabs hold of. I say He grabs hold of because I had nothing to do with that. I surely didn’t deserve it. I wasn’t praying for it, honestly. God hadn’t even been a thought that had crossed my mind in any real way—until He did. Until that ‘suddenly’ moment when, in hindsight, I now understand was the Holy Spirit giving me the desire to go to a particular church at a specific time. And I went. I followed that ‘feeling’. And right there, in that Catholic Church, in the midst of the priest’s sermon, The Holy Spirit came for me. And, as I said earlier, He came as softly and gently as the softest of summer breezes. There were no beams of light streaming through the stained-glass windows, no choir of angelic voices singing holy songs, just a deep, the very pit of me deep, and oh so subtle, shift inside. And from that moment, sitting in that Church with my then lover at my side, unashamedly languishing in the pit of my adultery, the Goodness of God has kept one such as me. John 10:27-29…

Friends, I am not here today to point you towards something I’ve read or heard tell of. Something that’s been sung about or shared. I’m not here to regurgitate someone else’s story of how they met this God who offers us—all of us, this goodness we must experience for ourselves. I’m here because I know Him, love Him, have been afforded the privilege of serving Him. I’m here to point us each towards the only one that can and has and will always, until the very last, pour this fresh clean water of His goodness and His love, His unfathomable capacity to forgive us—over us. The One who loves us too much to leave us where we are—whether we’ve known Him for years and years or have just met Him today—or will meet Him soon, I pray. I’m here today to share with you that this Good God has so much more for you and me. He is troubling the water, stirring up something inside of you. Step in and be made whole. Be restored, made clean. Be refreshed.

Brother’s and sister’s and friends let us not settle for the common. For swimming in the shallow end because we can manage that nicely on our own. Cry out to God to rid us of our preconceived notions and ideas of who we believe Him to be and ask Him instead to show Himself to us afresh, new. Let us cry out to God right now in repentance, for mercy, and for more of Him. May He draw us each into an ever deeper and wider, a more pure and True understanding of who He is—and of ourselves, in Him, as He intended us to be and live and share and give and love and serve each other —Psalm 145:5-7.

Friend, if your reading this today and can relate. If you’ve not yet asked this Good God that I’ve spoken of today to be your God, come into your life and change it as surely as He has changed mine—and so many countless others like us; ask Him now. Don’t wait another day, please. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11. 

Have You Heard… John 3: 27.

September 28, 2019 /
They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

The all too familiar saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is just plain wrong. Ask anyone who has suffered a tongue lashing from one who is verbally abusive. Words can, and often do hurt. Even those spoken inadvertently. Our words have the potential to turn a friend into a foe and to momentarily break the strongest of Spirits…

While reading verses 22 through 36 of John, Chapter Three, the carelessness of the words spoken in verse 26 struck me. Instantly, the term “friendly fire” came to mind. According to Wikipedia friendly Fire is defined, in part, as; An inadvertent attack by a military force on friendly or neutral troops while attempting to attack the enemy.

Whether it was the group of the religious leaders of the day, led perhaps by Nicodemus, Jesus’ nighttime visitor (vs. 23), or John’s own disciples that were speaking in today’s verse is up for debate. What our Scripture does make clear is, whichever the group, they apparently saw Jesus as competition. The closing words of today’s verse certainly alludes to that fact. “And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” That said, what we may never know for certain is whether their words were intended to spark jealously within John or, were they testing his loyalty? Had underlying insecurities perhaps, driven them to speak in such a self-interested manner? Only God knows the intentions of a man’s heart. And how does any of this in any way connect to friendly fire?

In short, words. The power behind our words. Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say –Proverbs 18:21. Remember brothers and sisters, we as believers are soldiers. And, from the moment the Lord called us to join in the battle until the day He calls us home, we will never leave the battlefield. Let us then be ever vigilant, friends. Not allowing ourselves to be lulled into thinking that simply because we stand behind the pulpit, are active in ministry, lead the team, or are heading up the committee that the enemy of our soul isn’t circling right there next to us. That he isn’t prowling, watching and waiting for any opportunity to discredit us, to use any word spoken in haste as a weapon to wound a fellow brother or sister. Even our anxious words, spoken half unawares.

Never forget our enemy’s sole mission is to take us out, to discredit us, use our every careless or inciteful word to cause wounds in another that may cut so deeply they’ll walk away bruised and bloodied. We’ve each, at some point in our Christian walk, experienced friendly fire, if not, we’re bound to. We’re surrounded with people who, much like ourselves, will fall short and be hurtful. For me personally, knowing our propensity to wound each other lends added weight to our brother Peter’s words to the Church Elders…

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour –1 Peter 5:8.

So with this in mind lets reread the definition of friendly fire: An inadvertent attack by a military force on friendly or neutral troops while attempting to attack the enemy. But what is an inadvertent attach? Inadvertent is defined by Webster as; not resulting from or achieved through deliberate planning. Being unpremeditated, thoughtless or careless. Friendly fire, though not deliberate, has the potential to be as deadly as the bullet aimed intentionally at the heart. And in listening in on the conversation of those who were speaking to John, we hear words that have this potential to maim and destroy as surely as any misdirected bullet or bomb does. In not recognizing Jesus as one of their own, these men failed to understand that any conflict, any fallout that may result from their attempting to stir John up would, in fact, be, friendly fire.

Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly –Proverbs 11:9

John, however, appears to have escaped being wounded in this exchange. The closing verses of this chapter make that clear. John knew who he was. More importantly, he knew who Jesus was. He was not threatened by Him in any way. Rather, he delighted in Jesus. He was humbled to have been chosen to serve Him at all. Perhaps it was, in part, this Divine revelation of just who this Jesus is that had shielded John from the effects of the friendly fire that whizzed all around him?

When we are willing to bow low in the service of our God, to forsake all for Him that we may gain Him, to shed, let go of, our egos and titles and the recognition they may bring our way and simply be used as one delighted to draw the attention of others solely to the Lamb of God that walks among us still—He then, delights in blessing us. Not in some, we earned it way, rather as a Father who delights in loving and blessing His children. What daddy doesn’t want to keep his children safe? Jesus is, after all, our fortress and our shield. His Mighty Hand ever covering us that no weapon formed by the enemy of our souls will either prosper nor thwart His plan.

In John, we see a man not wishing to be anything other than the best, most faithful, diligent, and, submissive version of himself he can be—Scripture makes this plain. But rather than taking my word on this, listen instead to what John has to say concerning himself and His Lord. Go ahead, draw in, I’m certain he won’t mind your listening in: …”You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. –John 3:28-31.

In the perilous times in which we live, in this hour of darkness and deep confusion we must know who we are in Christ, our purpose. Just as John did. Know this friend, no man’s careless words can take from you what God has for you, whether great or small. Stand firm then in your calling, hold down your place on the battlefield. God sees you and He has a purpose and a plan for your being exactly where you are. John understood this. He rested in it. Don’t allow another’s insecurity, doubt, indecisiveness or fear-filled words to cause you to duck, shrieking back! Not even friendly fire can take us out, if, like John, we’ll just hold fast to God knowing, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven” –John 3:27

Friend, if you are with us today and have yet to ask Jesus into your heart, don’t wait another moment. We never know what’s coming just around the corner. My hope is that you’ll take the time now to invite Him into your life. “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” –Romans 10:9-10. But don’t stop there friend. Find a Bible-based church and attend. Read Gods Word daily and grow in your new relationship with Him…

Higher Than Our Own. Isaiah 55:8-9

September 21, 2019 /
“The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
    Your ways are not like mine.
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”

In preparation for this week’s teaching, I went to sit beside the ocean to get alone with the Lord. I parked the car close to a popular local inlet where the small craft anchor. A particular dingy caught my eye…

Staring at it I thought, “that little guy looks as though it could sink at any moment.” Compared that is, to some of the sturdier-looking, larger boats anchored nearby. Looking away, I continued on in prayer. But once again this little boat caught my eye. This time, however, it appeared to be listing. Signaling the beginning of an inescapable watery demise. “I had a feeling that little boat would eventually go down. It didn’t appear at all seaworthy.” As I continued to watch what I saw instead caused me to literally shout, ‘no way!”’ The waves had caused it to shift directions and I saw it was fully righted! Not only had that little boat not gone under, it was effortlessly bobbing along being piloted by the tides that had it safely hemmed in. What I was certain I had seen had been little more than an optical illusion. My eyes playing tricks on me. A complete misread on my part…

And then God spoke. Impressing on my heart that: I wasn’t to always trust what I saw in front of me rather, to steadfastly rely solely upon what I know to be True of Him. Trusting in His Sovereignty, mercy, grace, and, power. He reminded me to always have my faith securely anchored in Him; my mind and thoughts captive to His will alone. There are many illusions in this world…

Satan is a master of illusion and deception. And, He is busier now than ever knowing his time is at hand. God’s elect must be even more vigilant. Leaving no opening in our armor through which he might gain entrance. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” –Mark 13:22.

God had convicted me of the cracks in my own armor; as quickly as I had judged this little boat of being unseaworthy, so too had I judged myself unworthy to serve Him by comparing myself to those I felt were far more gifted—more qualified than myself. I’d allowed temporary feelings of unworthiness to serve God and His people to supersede what I know He alone has called and equip me to do. Serve! Whenever and wherever He leads me. I was instantly humbled by the realization that not only had I been allowing myself to entertain lies, questioning my very election, entertaining my fears, doubts, and insecurities as one entertains friends; allowing them access into places mere acquaintances are not permitted, I had, unawares, projected my feelings of inadequacy onto that little boat! Thus, falsely judging us both as unseaworthy…

That’s when God convicted my heart! Who was I to judge the gifts He’s given me? His grace? Who was I to question His reasoning for choosing me for Himself?

And so, if I don’t make it my business to stay close to Christ daily, standing firm and fixed, minute-by-minute on who He says I am, I will, according to my own estimation, find myself sorely wanting. Unworthy to serve such a Holy God—or His people. Knowing my own sin and shortcomings I will judge myself as a vessel of dishonor, rather than one of gold or silver having been made pure, not by my own works or worth, rather by His. In this Truth, I was allowed a far deeper, more personal revelation of meaning behind Paul’s words: “But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man’s day; but neither do I judge my own self”–1 Corinthians 4:3.

Our self-worth, my self-worth friends, should not be grounded in the esteem or opinion nor in the rejection of others—man’s flesh is far too fickle, untrustworthy, and ever-changing to ever take fully to heart. First, it blows this way and then that. One minute calling out Hosanna and with its next breath, crucify Him! Neither should we fully put our trust in self-assessments, least we think either too highly or too lowly of ourselves. Yet if our conscious pricks us, we must be certain to examine it. But it is to God alone that we must look to for every good thing in our lives. Starting with the foundational Truth of who we are and who He is in our lives, ministry, work, and worth. Only His Truth is irrefutable. Our sure standard.

His Word clearly tells us: “All else is sinking sand…” –Matthew 7:24-27.

Now, before I move on, allow me to clarify a point: By no means do I mean to suggest that we should not examine ourselves, our lives, and hearts, our consciences. Quite the contrary, as Christians, we must keep a close eye on the condition of our hearts and thoughts, our words, and actions. Through prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, through our daily communion with the Holy Spirit, we must ask the Lord, day by day, to search out anything in us that is not of Him. And, should our conscience convict us of sin, we must, by His power, rid our lives of its corrupt root; least our hearts become hardened by its unchecked presence. We must repent, quickly.

Our Scripture verse today harkens back to the days of King David who, at the time of this writing has been dead some 250 years. Thus signifying that our Scripture verses are directed not at unbelievers since they are directed at David and Israel, but rather at believers. And, though applicable in Isaiah’s day surely, they are also prophetic; reaching their hand into the pocket of today’s Church, speaking directly to you and me. God’s Truth is eternal and unchanging. Our verses declare, in part, just who God is and who we are in comparison. There is no room in His declaration for neither question nor doubt. God’s Sovereignty is on clear display in these verses. Therefore, as believers living in times fraught with illusions, lies, and false accusation, we must be convinced, resolute in the fact that we are who God says we are and not fall prey to those feelings that swing us this way one moment and that another, tossing us first here, then there…

Beloved, if this has hit your heart if you’ve been judging yourself as I’ve judged myself of late, may I suggest you steal away and spend some quiet time alone with the Lord. Ask Him to reveal afresh the Truth of who you are in Him and to make clear to you once again, your purpose and calling in Him. The field is white my brothers and sisters, we must be steadfastly about our Father’s business throwing off, as our brother Paul instructs us, every weight that hinders us.

And friend, if you find yourself here today saying, I’ve felt like this too! Know this, God has led you here as surely as He led me to that little dingy. If you’ve yet to ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior, please do it now. He’s led you here and He loves you. But He won’t force Himself on you…

Exodus 14:22. In Spite of The Fear…

September 7, 2019 /
“So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!”





They did this, it’s true. Yet, they didn’t do it alone. God had safely hemmed them in as they walked across this parted sea on a dry seafloor. It was so dry, in fact, that neither carriage wheel nor full-grown man was lost to its once sopping, sandy, sea bottom. We can read the account of their crossing over and the subsequent death of their captors in the Scriptures —Exodus 13:17-22;14.

As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. –Exo. 14:16.

There’s a Word of confirmation for someone in today’s verse: Just take that next step regardless of how things might look to you. Even though your flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” Choose to believe instead, that God’s got your best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or to stay put; so do you. Even when the path He’s chosen for you looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; in spite of your fears.

If I were to stop here, life and hope and confirmation have been tossed out like a life ring to that one soul that was in jeopardy of going under. Yet the Holy Spirit isn’t finished speaking with us…

Their prayers had been answered. God sent them a man to help deliver them from days of brutal oppression and unalleviated struggles. God had sent Moses to free His people from Pharaoh’s tyrannical grip. How apt that this man who had gone from freely strolling the opulent halls of Egypt’s palaces, to spending 40 something years in Midian’s wilderness as a shepherd, be called to return to the very place and people he’d fled from; in fear for his very life. This same man who knew well the deadly ire of Pharaoh was being used to deliver and lead a people he was born kin to, out from under Pharaoh’s despotic grip.

Here’s a lesson to us all: God can send the very one that once hung out in your enemy’s house to save you. Not that Moses was such a one, mind you. Nevertheless, don’t judge who or how God has chosen to save you. – Exodus 14:2-4; Isaiah 45:1–8.

And so they stood, leader and followers; much like a ship that has gone aground. Momentarily hemmed in before this outwardly impossible path which led to their safety. Moses at the fore, the lion’s share of those following him at the aft. Each facing the near mile divide of salty sea that separated them from the safety they so desperately longed for, there on its other side. (To put this in perspective, safety loomed some 17.6 football fields across a seemingly impassable sea!) All the while behind them, a demented Pharaoh with his army of Egyptian fighting men were rapidly closing in. Doggedly eating up the ground that stood between them both. This blood-thirsty band of despots locked onto them, like some weapon of mass annihilation, determined to land a swift and deadly blow.

Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward –Exodus 14:12;15.


As it was with Moses and the Israelites, so it is with us. Our enemy Satan seeks not to simply destroy us rather annihilate us –John 10:10.
Yet when all appeared hopeless, when the scent of defeat rose thick above any other scent in the very air they breathed, God did what only God can do. He made a way where, just a nano-second before, one simply had not existed.

And, He’ll do the same for you and me!

Now God may have used Moses to lead His people to the very edge of their deliverance, but He alone would save them from certain death. This is simply who our God is. He alone is mighty to save! God will use any man He so chooses to take us so far. But He will not share His glory with another…

It is at the end of Chapter 13 that we begin to catch a glimpse of God’s perfect plan of deliverance for His people. In His Sovereignty, God chose to lead these people to freedom via the long way home, when a much shorter route was available. But why? Why would God place these worn and weary people He had sent Moses to free in such a seemingly indefensible position?

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt –Exodus 13:17-18.

Here is where we clearly see that God’s ways are so far beyond us. And, also, why we are instructed to walk by faith, and not by sight. Not allowing ourselves to be led, like one with a ring through their nose, by our fickle feelings. God knew that His people would be weary from wear after leaving Egypt. He also knew a formidable enemy lay in wait for them. Being tried in the wilderness would help to prepare them for the fight that lay ahead— for those events just beyond their knowing. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it –1 Corinthians 10:13.

So, now, seeing the sea parted some mile wide before them, these frail, frightened souls numbering 2-3 million, men, woman, and children, had each to decide whether they would take their chances walking between these walls of towering seawater, or stay put and do battle with a known and deadly enemy.

And so will we…

Friends, there will be times in our walk with the Lord, when, in His leading us towards the fulfillment of His promises for us, in His shaping and reshaping of us, we, like these Israelite’s, must decide if we’ll also take that next step of faith. In spite of how things around us might appear. Even though our flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” We must choose to believe instead, that God has our best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or stay put; so do you and me.

Even when the path He’s chosen for us looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; despite the walls of water that surround you. In spite of all your fears...

But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant –Exodus 14: 29-31.

Friend, if you’re here today and have not yet met the One who will never leave you alone in your wilderness. Never abandoned you to fight one single battle on your own; won’t you ask this Jesus to come into your life and show Himself real to you, now? Ask Him to take up your fight for you. He will if you’ll but sincerely ask…

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