What Faith!

Here we are faced with a seemingly impossible situation, living the life of a Christian. We prepare ourselves  heavily with our weapons. We surround ourselves with rules and regulations(Don't do this, don't do that), words of affirmation("I will not sin, I will not sin, I will not sin"), and in example, censoring our own usage of the internet with apps to block the more terrible websites. Things that we think will keep us from sinning. David even had another person heap a weight of armor onto his being thinking surely this unproven young man couldn't go into battle without it. They are the ones in our lives that try to make us doubt that the power and the Name of Jesus Christ can save such a weak one.  We know the battle is already won because he proclaimed it so. In Ephesians 6:10-18 it talks about our armor, the  armor of God. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, prayer and the word of God(Greek for "word" is rhema, that which is uttered or poured forth). We can hold the truth but not speak it, believe in what is right but not do it, desire peace but not accept it, keep our faith to ourselves, and our salvation for a future date, and only ask for temporal things. But we won't be able to stand when the enemy throws his javelin. If we stand there trusting in the heavy armor OR our shield of unbelief we will not stand.  David poured forth the name of the Lord fully assured of the salvation of his people by their God. Not in arrogance, but knowing his God. Believing his God. And throwing that stone in a victory already declared.

I Am Clay

I am clay
Perfectly molded for Thee
I am flint
Thou makest me strong to face the foe
I am light
Reflecting Thy glory
I am an instrument
Fitted for Thy hand
I am a stone
Perfectly placed to support Thine own
I am clay

The Beauty of the Assembly

The assembly of saints is not solely for us individually to receive, for the Lord said it is better to give than receive. And the sole purpose of assembling is not to worship God also. But the beauty of the assembly is the intertwining of the edification of all TO the Glory of God. When we are gathered together the members of the body are edified AND God is worshipped. For in the laying down of each self for the others, He is lifted up. Our human body parts are not for themselves but are for the benefit of the whole. When they all gloriously work together then it is the whole that is seen. We don't look at a person and say "there's John's ear, John's eyes, John's hands, John's feet, John's mouth etc. We would say "there is John". When we as a body are seen, the one seeing should be able to say "there is Christ".

 

Psalm 22:22, 25  35:18  40:9, 10  107:32  149:1,  Romans  chap 12, 1Corinthians chap 12 - chap 14,   Ephesians 5:18-21, Colossians 3:12-17

A Prayer

O Lord, if only the Jews would grasp for YOU and not just for an earthly piece of land! For "he that puts his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain" . O Lord, it is your Son Jesus Christ who is our promised reward along with a new heaven and new earth, one in which righteousness reigns. Your people struggle and war for something that is passing away. They are no different than the other men of this world grasping for control in Iraq, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, and the Palestinians whom they fight! Glorify your name in them and turn their eyes to You in whom they will find an end of all struggling.

Isaiah 49:9-11

On high He sets a table before me

A uniting to a life set free

 

A lamp sits there to give sight

An everlasting glorious light

 

An abundant ever flowing buffet

Will satisfy from day to day

 

Forever strolling by that mercy water

Step by step without a falter

 

A journey up a mountain side

That higher way is where He guides

 

Psalm 5:3

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning

will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up."

The root word of  "morning" in Hebrew means to seek, enquire or look for. As the earth seeks or turns toward the sun which creates the morning, so should we turn our faces upward toward the Son who is seated in Heaven and put our trust in Him.

Psalm 19

There is no where hidden from Your sight. You may speak Your word, sometimes more, sometimes less, but there is never a time without You speaking O Lord....

...Thinking on  Alaska which in some parts of the state sometimes gets only one hour or less a day of sunlight. But the opposite part of the year it gets 23 plus hours of sun! There is never complete darkness, but various degrees of light.

Some Christians live in that one hour of light and some live in that 23 hour light.  But all experience that light.