WALKING WITH GOD

Deuteronomy 8:6, "Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him"

2 John verse 6, "And this is love, that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His commandd is that you walk in love."

So much violence is happening in our world. Beheadings, mass executionss, crucifixions, mass shootings, parents killing children, children killing parents; how are we to live in a world such as this? Its not easy. But, we forget, life wasn't easy when these words were written. God's people, His chosen people were being persecuted, killed, beheaded, crucified. 

It's easy for us to say, "If there is a God, why would He allow this to happen? He could have stopped this horror?"and go on our way content we have proof once again that there is no God.  We forget it is man who chooses the path of violence, the path of evil. God did provide us with a way to stop this wickedness, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ withstood the evilness of this world as men placed the crown of thorns on his head, as his skin was torn from his body as it was being scourged by the whip of wickedness, as he walked the path created by this world to the crucifixion man (His creation) screamed for carrying the cross bearing our sins of disobedience, he too questioned God, he too thought God His Father was forsaking him.

Yes, God could have stopped the horror and come to  His Son's rescue but if He had, where would we be today? Where would be our hope? Could we bear the sting of death? Who would be there to help us on our path as we traverse the difficulties of this life? All the power of creation was in Jesus when He overcame death and gave US eternal life, eternal hope, eternal assurance we are loved no matter the circumstances .  

My prayer for ALL who have had loved ones killed or injured in any of the horrific ways previously mentioned feel the arms of Jesus comforting them, supporting them, healing the wounds caused by these atrocities either physcially, spiritually, or emotionally. You are not alone!! Followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth are upholding you in prayer.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Genesis 3:8-9, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of The Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from The Lord God among the trees of the garden. But The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 

Satan wants us to believe God was bellowing angrily as He stormed through the garden looking for “the man and his wife” so He could harshly reprimand them. The fact of the matter is He was probably walking leisurely through the garden, enjoying His creation, when He quizzically called out, “Where are you?” After all, it had been their daily routine since Creation. He knew where they were and He knew what they had done. Yet He still wanted to walk with them.  He still wanted to enjoy their companionship. Was He angry? Most likely, He was saddened; He knew the relationship between them had changed forever and He knew it was necessary to lovingly discipline “the man and his wife”.  There is a great lesson to be learned here. “The man and his wife” had committed the ultimate sin. God had told them they could enjoy the garden, do anything they desired, but you must not “eat fruit from the tree in middle of the garden and you must not touch it…” 

At this point in time there was no greater sin.  Many of us feel if God knew how we had lived, knew the many sins we had committed, knew the deep dark secret we’ve kept locked up deep down inside; He could not love us.  He would not desire to walk with us ever again. However, these verses show The Lord God does forgive us, He already had a plan in place to redeem us. The Creator of the Universe does still love us. Even knowing “the man and his wife” had committed the ultimate sin, He still wanted to walk with them. Come on, He returned to walk with them. He knows how you have lived, He knows the sins you have committed, and He knows that deep dark secret you have locked up in the caverns of your soul, AND THE CREATOR STILL LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO WALK WITH YOU!!  Do you hear Him calling, “Where are you?” Are you going to answer?

PERSONAL ZYGOLOGY

A sermon I once heard was titled “Church Zygology”. If nothing else, the title alone catches your attention. The word may not be remembered by many; however, I’m sure the definition will be remembered. What is zygology (pronounced zig-ol-o-gy)? It’s the science of binding, of holding objects together. In the extra-cellular matrix of our body is found proteins called laminin. Laminin are what holds us together. They are cell adhesion molecules that hold one cell of our body to the next cell. Laminin is a vital for the maintenance and survival of tissues. Defective laminins can cause muscles to form improperly, leading to a form of muscular dystrophy, a lethal skin-blistering disease, and defects of the kidney.

The wonder of laminin is the shape of it. Laminin is formed in the shape of a cross. The cells that hold our bodies together are in the shape of a cross.The psalmist David recognized God’s hand in his creation when he states in Psalm 139, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.“ God bound our bodies together by a cross and He bound us to Him by a cross. The very cross Jesus sacrificed himself on for the forgiveness of our sins. Laminin is zygology of our bodies but Jesus is the zygology of our very soul.

The time we spend reading Scriptures, in prayer, worshipping, helping others are only a few ways we can strengthen the ties that bind us to our Savior and our Heavenly Father.

PRAYER

Matthew 26:41: "Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
John 10:3-5:"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize the stranger's voice."
Conversing with God, some have no problem at all spending time with Him. They feel it is like talking with an old friend. Ones have described it as: sitting and having a cup of coffee with an Old Friend, going into the "war room" to speak with the Commander-in-Chief, spending time with Jesus.... For others of us though, it is difficult. It's hard for us to hear His voice....how can a conversation occur with Someone we can't even hear? What do I say to Him? Me, who am I to speak to the Creator of the universe?
Sometimes, it is easy to relate to one or a part of each of these questions. By becoming a sheep in the Good Shepherd's sheepfold His voice becomes audible. By totally and completely surrendered ourselves to The Good Shepherd, His voice became recognizeable. A few sentences later, Jesus tells us how it is possible:  "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.They will come in and go out, and find pasture." God made us to have a relationship with Him. Now understand, there have been times I wished I could NOT hear His voice. However, it has been worth obeying every command He has given me. The Amplified Bible says my sentiments well in Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ (the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him) be the controlling factor, in your hearts (deciding and settling questions that arise). To this peace indeed you were called as members of one body (of believers). And be thankful (to God always)." The answer to any situation is to surrender all to the only One who can overcome any problem.

SORRY

I'm terribly sorry I haven't posted here in the last few days. Please bear with me. I'm leading two studies and they are in their final weeks. This week is the last week and there is extra work in summarizing and preparing reports for church office.  I will returrn to writing next week. Please be praying for me as God and I finalize this week and prepare for our next study. Thank you very much!!

LOVING YOURSELF

Isaiah 43;18-19,  "Do not remember the former things, or pongder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put roads in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Amplified Bible

"Loving yourself isn't hard when you understand who and what yourself is. It has nothing to do with the shape of your face, the size of your eyes, the length of your hair or the quality of your clothes. It's so beyond all those things and it's what gives life to everything about you. Your own self is a treasure." Phylicia Rashad

Many of us have done things in our past that brings us shame. It doesn't matter how many years have passed, what we have accomplished, the act or acts still haunt us. For us, it brings nothing but condemnation and guilt. We are fearful that even God can't forgive us. Worst yet, we can't forgive ourselves. It's always there.

Yesterday, I read a post by a journalist I had met in my travels. Her name is Pat Bean. She made the comment, "The truth is, I didn't even like myself when I was 21. But I do love the plump, sagging, old broad I am at 76. The years haven't always been good to me, but they've certainly been good for me." These statments made me stop and ask myself, "Do I love me?" I definitely agreed with her statement about not loving myself at 21, but did I love myself now? I could also agree with her next statement but could I say I loved myself. 

Later in the day, I was studying, Priscilla Shirer's, Discerning the Voice of God, and was released from the feelings of guilt and shame when she wrote of this very problem. She states she suffered from guilt and shame over things she had done in her past and was released when in her Scripture studying she ran across the verses in Isaiah 43 and they spoke to her heart. Furthermore, she states, "The Lord reminded me that He seeks to deliver me from the guilt of the past and move toward the promise of the future." That is our God. He is love. He loves us so much He sacrificed His Son so we could lay these very sins at the feet of Jesus Christ so we no longer live in condemnation but love. Love of God and yes, we can love ourselves; without guilt, without shame.

THE ROCK

Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." NIV
                   "Trust (confidently) in the Lord forever (He is your fortress, your shield, your
                     banner), for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock (the Rock of Ages) AMP

There is so much happening in the world. We have mass shootings, beheadings, crucifixions, floodings, hurricanes, and the list goes on. In the last year, I personally have had two friends who have had members of their family murdered in horrible and cruel methods; one close friend die of cancer, several are fighting or have fought cancer this year, one suffered a heart attack. In the last week alone my next door neighbor had her two neices killed in a horrific car accident and a friend who had very close friend whose daughter died in another horrific car accident. Some are asking, "Where is God?" Others are saying, "If there is a God, why did He allow this to happen? Why didn't He stop it?"
When I was young, we had dogs. My father kept insisting he hated dogs. However, when our first dog died, my mother was able to shoot a picture of my father sitting on a log crying. When these horrific, sad events happen I picture God sitting on the log, His arms arounds us, crying.