Tag Archives: Scripture

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

Heaven Pt. 161: Unmoving

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For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

I admit it I am blinded by my culture to the things of God. There are pieces of the Scripture that I don’t get, I struggle with or I just plain don’t like. But that’s not because there is anything wrong with the Word of God. There is something wrong with me. There are pieces of me that are still tied to this old world and its systems.

The Bible says in Psalm 119:89 that the Word of God is “settled in Heaven.” The meaning of the word settled is -to be stationed or appointed to a particular place.  What the verse teaches us is that the Bible is fixed in a heavenly viewpoint. It explains Heavenly precepts. Since the foundation of our race and culture, our world system, its operation and its values have been diametrically opposed to that Heavenly viewpoint.

None of us come to the Kingdom of God out of a purely heavenly viewpoint. We come to the Kingdom out of the world system. That is why the only way to come to God is through repentance. Repentance is not just about giving up bad habits. It is about changing our minds. We have to change our minds about the way things work. We have to accept that much of what we have been taught is just straight up drivel no matter how much sense it might seem to make.

When my world-view comes into conflict with the Bible it is a signal that I need to repent that I need to change my mind. It is not a signal that the Scripture needs to be redefined to keep up with culture. The Word is settled in Heaven and in case you didn’t know that is the culture that will one day rule the Earth in totality. Its systems  never change. They are set by God and we don’t get a vote.

The Heaven posts are a word study through the Bible about the word “Heaven”. To read other Heaven posts go to the Pastor Wrinkles page listed in the search bar at the top of the page.

Dare To Be A Daniel Pt. 2: Pt. 1

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Here is the Scripture passage for my next sermon, Dare To Be A Daniel Pt. 2. This is a continuation of Pastor Risto’s message from last week.

DANIEL 2

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers[a] to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.[b]”

4 Then the astrologers answered the king,[c] “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”

10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
    You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
    you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”

26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:

29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

Pastor Wrinkle’s Favorite Scriptures 4

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Jer. 29: 11-14

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Pastor Wrinkle’s Favorite Scriptures 3

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He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isa. 40:28-30

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Today I am waiting on the Lord in Killarney