Tag Archives: Scripture

Directions From Morning Scripture2-24-16

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God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Psalm 46

 

What helps you to come to stillness before God?

Directions From Morning Scripture 2-19-16

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But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.
Ezekiel 18:21-22 NLT
http://bible.com/116/ezk.18.21-22.NLT

It is not to late to change.

Directions From Morning Scripture 2-18-16

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And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord , who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree new life. I, the Lord , have spoken, and I will do what I said!”
Ezekiel 17:24 NLT
http://bible.com/116/ezk.17.24.NLT

What is God doing with the tree of your life? What should your response be to His work?

Directions From Morning Scripture

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My personal Scripture reading was in Ezekiel 12-14 today. These are powerful and convicting chapters that speak to our future. But the Scripture I feel led to share with you, my readers, this morning is the devotional Scripture I am preaching in our morning prayer group it is from Luke 11:13

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

May I simply ask, have you received the Holy Spirit by asking for Him? What are you allowing Him to do through you today?

Directions From Morning Scripture 2-11-16

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“In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.” Galatians 2:9

I KNOW THIS IS AN ASIDE FROM THE MAIN MESSAGE OF GALATIANS, BUT WHO WOULD GOD HAVE YOU TO ENCOURAGE TO KEEP GOING TODAY? MAYBE YOU SHOULD GIVE’EM A CALL OR DROP ‘EM A LINE!

Directions From Morning Scripture: 2-9-16

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Today my morning devotional Scripture came through one of the devotions I am reading, David Nasser’s, A Call To Die.

The Scripture that I got stuck on and meditated on for some time was  Romans 6:16

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

What are the differences between being a slave to sin and being a slave to righteousness? Make a list for yourself.

Diverted But Not Subverted

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100_1010In my recent fasting and prayer journey God spent some time speaking to me about love. In one prayer session He showed me a rushing river. The water was cold and clear and powerful.

As I watched the river flow in its course uninterrupted someone began to roll large boulders into the river trying to dam up the flow. The waters rose and turned and flowed even more violently around  the rocks. More and more boulders were added but the river was not stopped. It began to break its banks and flow around the boulders amongst the trees of the forest until eventually turning back toward its original destination spilling back into the river basin from which it had come.

I heard the voice of the Lord say, “The river is the power of love. The boulders are the power of sin. Some would say that sin is stronger than love because in this world it seems that sin is winning and love is seldom found.  But I would say to you that is not because sin is stronger than love but because sin like the boulders in the river has temporarily diverted love from its intended course.

Sin has not been able to subvert or undo love. Sin has only diverted love from its original banks. It can be found but now it must be sought or the boulders must be removed so that love can meet its intended mark.

The problem is not with the quality of love. Nothing can change love. It is beyond change and will always be the same. Love is “patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.” I Cor. 13:4-8

As I have promised sin will be destroyed but love will continue to flow. the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3: 7-13

But that is future. In the now the power of love flows strong but sin has attempted to divert it from its intended course. To find My love you must seek it out. To do that you must leave behind your sin. You must let me remove it out of your way so that the waters of life, the waters of love may course over you again. To the degree you continue to let sin remain in your life to that degree you will never know My love. To the degree you allow me to pull the boulders of sin out of your life and you out of the boulders of sin to that degree you will know my love. What will you choose?”

 

 

Heaven Pt. 163: Soul Secure

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If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
    the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
    and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth Psalm 124: 2-8

I once met a man who believed that because he had accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior that  he would never experience death. He actually thought he would live in his fleshly body forever. Of course that was not truth; It was reaaaaallllly  bad theology.

We laugh at such extremism but I have experienced this same  mindset to varying degrees in many Christian brothers and sisters, devout men and women who take the Scriptures and make them say what they want rather than what they mean. Psalm 124 is a case in point. Some would take this Scripture and have it say “Because I know the God who made Heaven and Earth my enemies can never touch me.”

The problem of course is that sometimes the enemy can touch us. Sometimes the enemy can do far more than touch us. Just ask the man who wrote Psalm 24. On another day, in another place he said.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from my cries of anguish?

2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, but I find no rest.b

3Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the one Israel praises.c

4In you our ancestors put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

5To you they cried out and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

7All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

8“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

“let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him.”

9Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

10From birth I was cast on you;

from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

12Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13Roaring lions that tear their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

14I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted within me.

15My mouthd is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16Dogs surround me,

a pack of villains encircles me;

they piercee my hands and my feet. Psalm 22: 1-16 NIV

I know this is a prophetic Scripture about Jesus but it was also written out of the very real experiences of David’s life on the lam (no pun intended). So what happened to escaping from the fowler’s snare? What happened to God’s help? Well it was there all the time. Help just didn’t look like David wanted it to look at that particular moment.

God doesn’t promise to always spare us from trouble. In fact, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” John 16. Heaven isn’t Earth and Earth isn’t Heaven, so let’s stop pretending they are the same.

Even in Psalm 124 God doesn’t promise that we would always escape from bodily harm, although in the NIV that looks to be what He is saying. The truth that is actually being taught though is,” our souls escape from the fowler’s snare” 124:7. (nephesh malat- souls escape)

Even when the enemy has the power to touch our physical realities, he has no power to touch our souls, because our lives are hid with God in Christ according to the Apostle Paul. Child of God, there is a place in the anointing which brings us blessing beyond the curse so that we can say with Paul, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ” 2 Cor. 4:8,9

If it feels like you are under attack today and that you are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea with no good way out, take heart. The devil may have a hold on you for now but his grip is slipping and he has no power whatever to capture your soul. The real you inside is safe in God’s hands and shall be so as God’s plans for your life are fulfilled. Your life cannot be touched by anything in this reality. The battle of the moment may go to Satan but the victory of forever belongs to you!

Heaven Pt. 162: Bigger Than

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Thunderheads over the Lower Lake, Killarney

Thunderheads over the Lower Lake, Killarney

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2

Have you ever climbed a mountain? I have. What I can’t believe about mountain climbing is that there are people who actually do it for fun. I remember climbing this one mountain ( I remember it because it was the only mountain I ever climbed). I remember looking up to see the peak. I remember making my way up the steep thigh-killing trail, my breath tearing out of my lungs in great gasps.

I kept saying to myself “just a little further and you will have made it. The top is right around the corner!”

I remember coming out of the trees on that summit only to discover that what I thought was the top was just an outcrop masking the view of the real peak which was some half mile up in the distance. I think I wept.

Mountains are like that: tricky, turn-coat, hiding their bigness in the clouds and aiming to steal your joy at every turn of the path (sorry mountain climbing lovers I just calls ’em likes I sees ’em). The truth is if we keep our eyes on the mountains we will lose hope pretty quickly. Honestly, if you’re looking at the mountain and it seems to big for you to climb you’re only seeing the half of it. The real mountain is worse than you know.

But there is HOPE. You won’t find it looking at the mountain though. Hope is found in the Lord. He’s the maker of Heaven and Earth and He is bigger even than your mountain. Never forget to factor God in on your mountain climbs. He’s the greatest asset you have and He is the only reason you are going to make it up and over whatever mountain stands in your way. As Scripture says, “It is God who arms me with strength
    and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
    he causes me to stand on the heights Psalm 18:32,33

If God should think the mountain is to big for you to climb He will help you move it straight out of the way. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” Mark 11:23,24

Let me encourage you, stop looking at the mountain. Start looking at the God who is bigger than…

The Heaven posts are a devotional study through the Bible using the word “Heaven”. To find other Heaven posts go to my Pastor Wrinkles page above and click on the “Heaven posts” drop down.

1% Requires 100%

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1I love you, Lord, my strength.

2The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shieldb and the hornc of my salvation, my stronghold.

3I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I have been saved from my enemies.

4The cords of death entangled me;

the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

7The earth trembled and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

8Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it.

9He parted the heavens and came down;

dark clouds were under his feet.

10He mounted the cherubim and flew;

he soared on the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,

with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13The Lord thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.d

14He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,

with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

15The valleys of the sea were exposed

and the foundations of the earth laid bare

at your rebuke, Lord,

at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

17He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the Lord was my support.

19He brought me out into a spacious place;

he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21For I have kept the ways of the Lord;

I am not guilty of turning from my God.

22All his laws are before me;

I have not turned away from his decrees.

23I have been blameless before him

and have kept myself from sin.

24The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26to the pure you show yourself pure,

but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27You save the humble

but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;

my God turns my darkness into light.

29With your help I can advance against a troope ;

with my God I can scale a wall.

30As for God, his way is perfect:

The Lord’s word is flawless;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

31For who is God besides the Lord?

And who is the Rock except our God?

32It is God who arms me with strength

and keeps my way secure.

33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

he causes me to stand on the heights.

34He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You make your saving help my shield,

and your right hand sustains me;

your help has made me great.

36You provide a broad path for my feet,

so that my ankles do not give way.

37I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38I crushed them so that they could not rise;

they fell beneath my feet.

39You armed me with strength for battle;

you humbled my adversaries before me.

40You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

and I destroyed my foes.

41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—

to the Lord, but he did not answer.

42I beat them as fine as windblown dust;

I trampled themf like mud in the streets.

43You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;

you have made me the head of nations.

People I did not know now serve me,

44foreigners cower before me;

as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

45They all lose heart;

they come trembling from their strongholds.

46The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!

Exalted be God my Savior!

47He is the God who avenges me,

who subdues nations under me,

48who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes;

from a violent man you rescued me.

49Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing the praises of your name.

50He gives his king great victories;

he shows unfailing love to his anointed,

to David and to his descendants forever. Psalm 18

I suppose this chapter could yield a hundred devotional thoughts but the one thought that came to me as I read it today was that, in this spiritual battle we call life God does most of the work and we do a tiny bit of the work. In fact I would say that God probably does 99% of the work and we do 1%.

Here’s the thing, that 1% isn’t 1% of our capability. Accomplishing 1% of the spiritual battles of life takes 100% of our effort.

Spiritual battle is not God calling us into His throne room and saying, “Hey I just want you to rest a while. Take a load off. I’ve got this. Have a tall glass of lemonade while I do the work.”

This is God requiring all we have and it still only accomplishing 1% of the work.

Folks it is possible for you to give it all you’ve got and still lose the battle, because by yourself you are not enough. It is also possible for God to give His 99% and you still lose the battle. Because God requires 1% from you.

This is where so many people miss the victory. We miss it when we think God does the whole work while we do nothing. We also miss it when we think God does 99% and our 1% of the labor is really only 1% of what we have to give.

So many of us are standing around saying “I did my little part why didn’t that work?”

It didn’t work because your little part isn’t little! 1% may be a little part of the whole work but it’s still going to take 100% of what you have just to do that much. SO…

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Gal. 6:9