WANT IT HOT OR COLD?

Who likes their drink at room temperature? Blah!

Most of us order drinks hot or cold, but not room temperature, right?

Before I started my morning study, I followed the aroma into the kitchen to get my first cup of java, but the kitchen was quite cool. As I took my cup out of the cabinet I realized that my nice hot coffee might not even be warm if I placed it in this very cold cup, so I decided to fill the cup with hot water from the sink first. Within just a minute the outside of the cup felt warm and was ready to be used. Now I knew that my drink would stay warm and enjoyable.


It's kind of funny because this brought me right back to the verse that was waiting for me on my phone this morning on Daily Bible app.

"Do not labor for the food which perishes but for food that endures" in John 6:27

I thought it was quite a coincidence that my coffee could have so quickly been ruined had I not conditioned the cup first. My concern was that the vessel be properly prepared so as not to ruin the  very thing that I so desired at this moment. As a believer I have a desire to do what is right, but even greater than this, God has a desire to flow through me as a conditioned vessel for His use each day. How would that conditioning take place, I wonder? If we asked a child this question, they may have a wide variety of answers, but most adults would say that we have to ask Jesus into our hearts.

That is, as a matter of fact, what we see when I read the rest of John 6:27...

"but for the food that endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

Jesus, the Son of Man gives us food that endures to everlasting life and it is through the reading of His Word that this is made possible. How else would we receive this from Him?

"Labor for the food that endures to everlasting life" is what John was telling me in this passage.

Labor could also mean "Live", right?

Starting my day out by getting up a little earlier and spending time meditating on the Word of God makes all the difference in how my vessel (mind, body, spirit) gets used each day. So I'm always wanting more of that food that lasts forever; food that conditions my body for God's use. Want to be used by God? Looking for His purpose? Get in the Word and He will use you to do just that!

Live for the everlasting food....in the Word. Selah.

THE APPLE OF HIS EYE

First of all, I want to assure you, "You're not alone!" 

Is it possible that you are going through something right now that leaves you feeling helpless, afraid or...maybe even that recurring feeling of being alone. I understand because I have been there and know how it feels to like a sheep stuck in the briers just waiting to be freed or like a one of those horses that we see from time to time on Youtube or TV that had to be rescued from some hole or waterway. Yes, it can be embarrassing and it it's against our pride to ask for help sometimes. The one thing I can assure you of is that the Lord is waiting for our cry for help. It's not that He doesn't know what is going on so we have to tell Him, but instead it is more like a learning process where we are growing more dependent on Him and believe me, that is exactly what He wants. Even the fearless David, who slew the bear, wrote, "Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings" in Psalm 17:8. He knew where his comfort and protection originated. David knew to pray in his time of crisis and he did in the form of song.

My daughter has a horse and she picked this one out of all the horses we looked at because he has a spirit that matched hers and she really got excited when she rode him for the first time. I'll never forget as he tried her by attempting to go where he wanted and swinging his head up and down as he moved in an attempt to make her uncomfortable. Why would he do all of this to such an experienced rider, I thought as I watched. The truth was that he hadn't been ridden much and the people who had him were afraid to ride him. I was quite proud of my daughter as she stayed on and he began to calm down, but she found out that all she had to do was give him a little bump in the ribs and he would fly! That's when I saw that she had met her match.

About a month later, as she was getting into the saddle to ride, he began bucking and threw her about 7 feet through the air and onto the ground. She called me so upset that I couldn't understand a word. All I knew was something really bad had happened and I was almost 30 minutes away. Well, I sped back to the pasture in about 15 minutes and found her limping and bruised. I felt so bad for leaving her their with another girl to ride. It was the first time I had allowed her to ride without my presence and then this happened. I felt so bad for not recognizing in advance the danger that my precious child had encountered. She told me later that she agreed to ride with the other girl because I had told her it would be alright. It was then that I realized just how much she depended on my word and my protection from dangers and potential harm.

Since that day I have always been there with her when she rode. As a matter of fact, I made arrangements to put up a fence around the field beside our house. Thanking God for this each day as we look out the window in the morning to see our spirited horse standing there waiting for some attention.
As my daughter has become more familiar with his ways and comfortable riding him, I have begun to go into the house to make dinner while she rides him around the field in the evenings. There is something that I thought she knew, but she said that she had not noticed. I told her recently, "You know when I go inside that I am constantly looking out the window to see that you are still riding and you are alright, don't you?" and she said, "No". I assumed that she could see me stopping in the window to check on her because I saw her look at the house as she passed the opening between the barns. I believe she was looking for me to come back out, but she couldn't see me standing in the window while getting something ready for us to eat.

As I thought about that, I realized that we often see our needs and our troubles as our own and until we tell God all about them, He is not aware of the things we are experiencing. I can assure you that God will never mistakenly leave you in harms way as I did that awful day that my daughter was thrown. David even says that the horses great strength doesn't compare to that of his God in Psalms 33:17-18.

An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither will he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Let's hold firmly to the assurance that David had when he declares,

"BEHOLD! The EYE of the LORD is upon those that fear (revere) Him!"

We may not be able to see Him now as He watches over us, just as my daughter who couldn't see that I was closely watching out for her through the kitchen window.
But....we are ALL assured that one day He will appear before us ALL and I believe that day is drawing near my friends. Take time now to Pray. Find hope in His mercy today!

Behold, he comes with clouds;

and every eye will see him,

and they also which pierced him:

and all kindred of the earth will wail because of him.

Even so, Amen. 

I am Alpha and Omega,

the beginning and the ending,

saith the Lord, which is, and which was,

and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelations 1:7-8

"WHEN VICTORY IS GRANTED" .......Continued

The King's Attitude Shapes the Nation!

The LORD had spoken to Judah; the inhabitants of Jerusalem and king Jehoshaphat saying, "This saith the LORD to you, Be not afraid, nor dismayed because of their great numbers; for the battle is not yours, but God's."

The first thing that the LORD wanted them all to come to realize was that He has the battle taken care of and they would not need to be afraid. What would it be like in each of our lives if we all could experience this whenever something came up that we couldn't handle?

......Continued

The player that catches my attention the most is the one who drops down on one knee and points his or her hand up to God! That is exactly how Jehoshaphat reacted when he knew his victory was sure and it was his humble attitude that also influenced the attitudes of all of Judah and Jerusalem! Just think about how different it would have been for their entire nation if he had started whooping and hollering and praising himself or his nation? But think about it, isn't that what the United States of America has been doing for a long time?
I remember when our military went over to bomb Iraq or Iran and all these songs began to emerge about the US and how proud we were to be an American and about our victory over there when we demolished their military forces. Songs like "Born In the USA","Proud to be an American" and "Bomb Iran" came out and people chanted the words to these songs publicly with a smile on their faces. I saw the pride of our nation begin to swell up it's proud head and the leaders even boasted publicly about how no one will mess with the USA. Think about how different that is from Jehoshaphat's attitude in this passage?

2Chronicles 20:18-19 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

One of the most influential nations of all time had been influenced by a leader who loved and worshiped God. His attitude of thanks and praise to God showed as the king bowed his head with his face down to the ground worshiping God. The amazing thing is that a nation of people that love God will follow the leadership of a man of God with the right winning attitude!

Whooping and hollering, chest pounding, heads held high or singing songs of pride in the USA doesn't reflect the attitude of a nation that humbled themselves and prayed before offering up songs of praise to the LORD God of Israel. Does it???

 Can you see the difference in the attitudes of the leaders and citizens of our nation today and the attitude of king Jehoshaphat and the nation in this passage? Don't forget the key that makes all the difference between nations as we look back at the end of verse seventeen..."for the LORD will be with you."

In the next post we will look at the outcome of having the right winning attitude and praising the LORD. We'll see what happens with those situations that look so hopeless!

Until then, remember to trust and praise God even when you are surrounded by impossibilities and the people, whose lives you impact, will be watching and following Your example!

"WHEN VICTORY IS GRANTED"

The King's Attitude Shapes the Nation!

The LORD had spoken to Judah; the inhabitants of Jerusalem and king Jehoshaphat saying, "This saith the LORD to you, Be not afraid, nor dismayed because of their great numbers; for the battle is not yours, but God's."

The first thing that the LORD wanted them all to come to realize was that He has the battle taken care of and they would not need to be afraid. What would it be like in each of our lives if we all could experience this whenever something came up that we couldn't handle?

My daughter called me one day about something she was going through and I suggested that she pray and ask God to fight that battle for her. That's when she told me that she had been learning to whisper prayers to God all through the day. What a blessing it was to hear that my daughter had already been doing this at the age of twenty-two.

Oh that we would live like that every day and fear not, nor be dismayed!

The literal Hebrew translation for "dismayed" is to "break down or be confused".  The LORD was saying to those who faced destruction and defeat, "Don't be afraid and don't get confused and break down emotionally (in your thinking) either! Don't give up!"

Let's look at the next thing that the LORD said to Judah through his servant Jahaziel;

2Chronicles 20:16-17 Tomorrow you go down against them: watch for them as they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and you will find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, you stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

The LORD sent them to the enemy. They had been fasting and trusting in God up to this point. They were told that He would fight the battle for them and they really liked that part of His message.

 Now the LORD is telling them to go out to meet the armies that want to defeat them? Have you ever thought about approaching a situation in your life, when you knew you were certain to lose unless something drastically changed? Not me! Not a chance! But think about this for just a minute! 

What if you knew that no matter what it looked like, you were going to WIN? How do you feel about  situations in your life when you knew you would come out on top? You knew you were sure to win and you probably couldn't wait for that moment to arrive, could you?

Were you experiencing that rush; that thrill of victory? When it happened, did you throw a fist up in the air and shout out without a moments hesitation, "YES!"?

Have you ever noticed the difference in how football players react whenever they score the winning point? They all react differently,don't they? Some of them hold the ball over their heads and point at their chest,showing everyone who should get the praise. Some will turn and bang chests with their team mates and then get carried off the field in praise. Some will even kiss the ball as if it had some great power of it's own. But the player that catches my attention the most is the one who drops down on one knee and points his or her hand up to God!

This is exactly how Jehoshaphat reacted when he knew his victory was certain. His humble attitude and reaction influenced the attitude of all those around him; of Judah and Jerusalem! Just imagine  how different the outcome may have been for the entire nation of Judah and Jerusalem, if Jehoshaphat had started whooping and hollering and praising himself, or maybe even praising HIS NATION? 

But think about it, how do Americans act when we are on top? Do we take the glory? When was the last time that our President gave God any glory for a victory granted? Does it make any difference?

You bet it does!

TO BE CONTINUED....

If you face battles you can't win, with an humble spirit, ask for God's help today. It begins with the humbling of the spirit that God grants us a truely victorious life eternally. God will ultimately cause you to lie down in green pastures.(Psalm 23) He will surely bring you out! Remain steadfast by faith!(Hebrews 11:1) Shalom