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Monthly Archives: February 2012

Going through the motions

09 Feb

Wow. I have never seen so much in commentaries of Matthew 13. I am buried here. It is speaking to me so heavily, and so much towards our society today, that mirrors society over 2000 years ago. We haven’t gotten it right in over 2000 years. That really speaks to how lost we are as a people. Along with the realization of that depravity comes a security and understanding of our true need for God. Dr. Ed Gravely has been speaking of much of this on Wednesday nights in the book of Luke too. “We must come to an end to ourselves” as one of my favorites Oswald Chambers said. We simply cannot rest on religion, for religion is not The Way. Our hearts will become hard in its rituals and practices, and not soft to the humble reception of the Word of God, the Seed of God, as the only Way. Rituals bring death, Christ brings life. Rest in Him as the only way to truly understand the word being delivered to you, and consecrate yourself to that word, spending time in prayer and meditation, and you too will begin to see the change in your life that you have no explanation for. except Christ.

Going through the motions

Matthew 13:3-4 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

Are you going through the motions? Are you professing Christ and maybe going to church just to see and or be seen? Do you spend your time on Sunday’s just looking at your watch, or thinking of the after church plans? Christ is speaking of you here. Many of us today claim religion, and Christianity, but yet do not understand the Word being delivered to us. Matthew Henry said, “If we break not up the fallow ground by preparing our hearts for the Word, and humbling them to it, and not engaging our own attention; and if we cover not the seed (Word) afterwards by meditation and prayer”..we are this ground. We have become so dull to the Word of God by our lack of attention to it. “ For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed..” vs15.

Now the scary part in verse 19 “ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart..” Satan is like a bird who swoops in and steals the seed that was planted on the hard grounds of your soul. If you have a wayward heart, not keen to the things of Christ, you are an easy target for Satan when you are just going through the motions. But in the second part of verse 15 we are promised “Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” He is the only Way to truly understand the Word being delivered to you, by humbly accepting the free gift, and removing yourself from the snares of religious acts of going through the motions.

via Going through the motions.

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Going through the motions

09 Feb

Wow. I have never seen so much in commentaries of Matthew 13. I am buried here. It is speaking to me so heavily, and so much towards our society today, that mirrors society over 2000 years ago. We haven’t gotten it right in over 2000 years. That really speaks to how lost we are as a people. Along with the realization of that depravity comes a security and understanding of our true need for God. Dr. Ed Gravely has been speaking of much of this on Wednesday nights in the book of Luke too. “We must come to an end to ourselves” as one of my favorites Oswald Chambers said. We simply cannot rest on religion, for religion is not The Way. Our hearts will become hard in its rituals and practices, and not soft to the humble reception of the Word of God, the Seed of God, as the only Way. Rituals bring death, Christ brings life. Rest in Him as the only way to truly understand the word being delivered to you, and consecrate yourself to that word, spending time in prayer and meditation, and you too will begin to see the change in your life that you have no explanation for. except Christ.

Going through the motions

Matthew 13:3-4    Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

Are you going through the motions? Are you professing Christ and maybe going to church just to see and or be seen? Do you spend your time on Sunday’s just looking at your watch, or thinking of the after church plans? Christ is speaking of you here. Many of us today claim religion, and Christianity, but yet do not understand the Word being delivered to us. Matthew Henry said, “If we break not up the fallow ground by preparing our hearts for the Word, and humbling them to it, and not engaging our own attention; and if we cover not the seed (Word) afterwards by meditation and prayer”..we are this ground. We have become so dull to the Word of God by our lack of attention to it. “ For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed..” vs15.

Now the scary part in verse 19 “ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart..” Satan is like a bird who swoops in and steals the seed that was planted on the hard grounds of your soul. If you have a wayward heart, not keen to the things of Christ, you are an easy target for Satan when you are just going through the motions. But in the second part of verse 15 we are promised “Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” He is the only Way to truly understand the Word being delivered to you, by humbly accepting the free gift, and removing yourself from the snares of religious acts of going through the motions.

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Seeds & Fruit

08 Feb

Seeds & Fruit.

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Seeds & Fruit

08 Feb

I ended up last night just parked in Matthew 13 and the parable of the Soils. I spend much time there and just digging into Gods Word. This morning I was back there, and I was headed in so many directions with it. There is so much in this parable that applies to our lives today, just as it did thousands of years ago. I do believe that I may try to expand on these Scriptures over the next couple of days. I pray that you will have God speak to you through them so that you may produce through Him fruit, for we live in a day that people are starving, or being given poison to feed on. The Word is the only Bread of Life.

 

 

 

Seeds & Fruit

Matthew 13: 3-8   Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded…

This is the parable Christ spoke of the seed and the soil. It is a representation of how the seed (the Word of God) is received by those whom hear it. It also represents what they do with what they have heard. It shows how some have hard hearts, and the Word never enters in. It shows how some receive the Word with joy, but soon forget or deny what they have heard when the trials of life come. It also shows that some hear the Word, and plant it deep in their hearts, and it grows producing fruit that multiplies.

The fruits that are produced are the evidence of Christ in your lives. Do you believe that you produce fruit? Do you possess something inside you that others are drawn to, wanting to understand what makes you different? How do you handle the stresses of life? Do you “loose your religion” and reflect the same thing the lost reflect? A fruit of the Spirit is peace under fire. A peace that cannot be taken away, a peace that will produce fruit for others to dwell in. Only Christ can give you this gift, and allow you through Him to produce fruit that multiplies. You can be a great tree that yields much fruit if you feed yourself in prayer and the Word of God. Ask Him into your heart, to open the door, to obtain the seed.

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Can you hear?

07 Feb

Can you hear?.

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Can you hear?

07 Feb

I am reading through the book of Acts with my boys at night. We read this scripture last night and talked about how awesome it must have been. This morning as I was waking up to my prayer was for God to give me a scripture this morning. I put on my glasses to watch the TV where we have Reflections on for awaking to every morning. It is a program that spools pictures of God’s beauty with scriptures inset. It was only a couple seconds later this verse was posted on the screen. I knew that was a word directly from God.

I found Reflections as a result of my New Years resolution to stop watching the news. We sleep with the TV on, and usually go to sleep and awake with the news. There could not be anything worse to put in your head last and first things of the day. I swear I am sleeping better. Go to sleep, and awake with God. I hope it will make a difference in your days too.

 

 

Can you hear?

Acts 2:17     And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

I am not brave enough to touch on the relation here to the “last days”, nor to touch on prophesy and visions. What I do wish to convey is our alertness to these things. Peter was preaching at the day of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was given, and 3000 were saved that day. He was quoting from the prophet Joel (2:28-32) in the Old Testament. There are many views on this prophesy being fulfilled completely at the day of Pentecost, and also only partially fulfilled with the remaining upon the second coming of Christ. This is a fascinating scripture to study. Where my question lies, is our awareness to these “signs and wonders” from God.

How much time do you devote to seeking out Him in prayer and His Word? More directly, how much time have you left over for Him? Your devotion to Him, is directly related to hearing from Him. When we dull our senses with all the static this world provides, we simply cannot get through the distractions to hear the still small voice of God. Elijah desperately wanted to hear Gods voice, and after an angel appeared, these were his instructions to him. “ He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;  and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it…” (1Kings 11-13). God is not in, nor can be heard in the chaos. He is in the silence of your time alone with Him.

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Pursuits

06 Feb

We ain’t perfect, we all sin, and we all wanna be a better person. We all try to do our best, but sometimes the world grabs a hold of us, and drags us back down. But even when all of that is going on, where is our focus? How do we conduct ourselves on a daily basis? Do you realize that your actions every day reflect how others may view Christ? If you profess yourself a Christian, and can make a sailor blush, or compromise your integrity whenever it benefits you, how does that make others view Christ? How do you think it makes Christ feel? He is living inside you, and wrenching at your gut when those things happen. The immediate satisfactions passes, and you realize what you have done…….that is called desires of the flesh.

 

 

Pursuits

Romans 8:13     For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Life here on earth is not eternal. Our flesh here was condemned by sin, and therefore will return to the dust from which it was created. But deep inside us lives our soul, where true life exists. Our soul was designed for eternity, and that is how we must invest our time here, in preparation for eternity. If we continue to live in pursuits of the things that only satisfy our fleshly lusts, we are not feeding the Spirit that dwell inside us. Verse 13 is speaking of death and life for eternity.

In the book of Colossians 3:5-10, it speaks of the these types of deeds that drag us away from Christ. The earthly desires that may deceivingly promise satisfaction. But when the Spirit resides in you, these earthly pursuits grieve the Spirit, and that is the conviction of sin that you feel. Romans 8:8,9 says So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Only God can change you from the inside out by His Spirit, that you receive when you accept Christ. You will begin to see things from a different perspective, and that perspective is now living inside you.

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Rest in today

05 Feb

I have been out here this morning trying to have my quality time with God, with no distractions. This morning our puppy has decided to make the distraction highlight reel. Every time it would get quiet, he did the best he could to change that. Somewhere through this devo I was like “why?”. The rest of it seemed to come easy once I realized I was going against what I was trying to convey here. Even in the simple circumstances like a puppy, I was taking my eyes off Christ, and focusing on the problem. I earnestly prayed, and “mysteriously” he has been quiet and probably asleep. God can even speak to you in the little things, it you use the power of prayer and truly seek Him with all your heart.

 

 

Rest in today

Jeremiah 29:11-13    For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

We do not understand the ways of our Lord. Jeremiah was a prophet at this time sent by God. His people had were being held in captivity, and many false prophets had arisen leading them astray. Jeremiah was telling them to accept and not question their circumstances, and to make the best of a bad situation, but understanding it was God’s will for them to be there for 70yrs. He even told them specifically of these plans as a direct word from God.

Today we are led not by prophets, but by faith. Our faith is “ is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). We are saved “ by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).  Where you are at, at this present time, has all passed through God’s hands. He either designed, or allowed it, but He knew you would be where you are today before He created you. We cannot fathom it, but we can accept it, and rest in it if we have the faith to believe it. There comes a peace in understanding verse 11 above. Rest in that assurance, praising and seeking Him every day in every circumstance. Who are we to ask God why? Keep Christ as the center of your focus, not your circumstances.

 
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Posted by on February 5, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fatherly Rebuke

04 Feb

Fatherly Rebuke

Hebrews 12:6    6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

Chapter 11 in Hebrews is the chapter of the heros of faith such as Moses and Abraham. It speaks of all those in the Old Testament that both suffered, and or persevered through their faith. Then as we go into Chapter 12, it speaks of the sufferings we may also face as a child of God.  “For consider Him (Christ) who endured such hostility….lest you become weary and discouraged” (vs.3). God is the perfect Father whom both will reward and discipline. He is truly our role model as fathers ourselves, but we simply cannot hold to His standards. We are more concerned with being our children’s friends, than our children’s parents.

Some come to faith, as a means of escaping the woes of this world. They have been told that once they become Christians, life will be easy. But if we accept that God is our Father, we must accept the rebuke of Him. Because He is just, He only could not rebuke perfection, and the only perfection that has walked this earth, was His Son, that was sent here to die for our sins. “But if you are without chastening, of which you all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not sons.” (vs. 8). That is a scary verse if you come to faith on those grounds, and continue to sin, living a life of ease without rebuke. Matthew Henry said “to go on in sin without a rebuke is a sad sing of alienation from God.” Proverbs 3:11-12  “ My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;  For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights”. Be thankful when God convicts you, and punishes you for a sin, for you have the security that you are a child of His.

 
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Posted by on February 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Chambers devotional w/ my comments on “The Call”

04 Feb

The Constraint Of The Call

“Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
1 Corinthians 9:16

 

Beware of stopping your ears to the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact; but that is not the call to preach, it is merely an illustration in preaching. Paul is referring to the pangs produced in him by the constraint to preach the Gospel. Never apply what Paul says in this connection to souls coming in contact with God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved because it is God’s sovereign work – Come unto Me and I will save you. Our Lord never lays down the conditions of discipleship as the conditions of salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Discipleship has an option with it – “IF any man. . . ‘

Paul’s words have to do with being made a servant of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated unto the gospel” means to hear the call of God; and when a man begins to overhear that call, then begins agony that is worthy of the name. Every ambition is nipped in the bud, every desire of life quenched, every outlook completely extinguished and blotted out, saving one thing only – “separated unto the gospel.” Woe be to the soul who tries to put his foot in any other direction when once that call has come to him. This College exists for you, and you – to see whether God has a man or woman here who cares about proclaiming His Gospel; to see whether God grips you. And be ware of competitors when God does grip you.

 

Oswald Chambers    My Utmost for His Higest

Commentary:

I missed yesterday’s writing, and just returned to it. As soon as I saw the title, I remembered this one, for it struck deeply. Ever since feeling ‘the call’ just over a year ago, I have learned many things. I have sought and received counsel from many peers and elders, and those that have felt the call. There is something that is hard to describe about it, unless you have experienced it. I have even been told that I didn’t get it, and that wasn’t ‘the call.’ Therefore I questioned it for a long while. But through consistent seeking of only God’s Will for my life, it has been confirmed from within.

My pastor’s advise has rang as the most solid. He simply said the best conformation it to just try and do anything else. In other words try to deny it, or even pursue it by what I felt was goods motives. God has the power to allow or deny your paths in life. He has the power to control what you futilely think you have in your grasp all along. What you may have placed in high regards, will no longer seem to matter. The intricate details of those pursuits that were before readily available, now seemingly disappear entirely.

The only thing that consumes you is to spread the Good News, and the glory of God. It is a fire that burns from deep within, and is all consuming. It is a fire that is the only place that you feel joy. It is how God molds you into what He wants you to be. “Broken bread and poured out wine.” Use me Lord…..use me.


 
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Posted by on February 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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