Quitters never Win

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.

James 4:7 

We know every day we are tempted in some fashion, spirit, soul, or body.  Our eyes see, our ears hear, our head reasons, our hearts get discouraged and these temptations must all be challenged and resisted.  The other day, I woke up hearing the Holy Spirit telling me to fight. I had been dealing with some lingering symptoms off and on since September, and with all the flying we do, the symptoms were constantly flaring up.  I was dealing naturally with them, but not enough spiritually.  The Lord was calling for me to offer more spiritual resistance.   

Satan watches for the vulnerable moments in our lives, the times of weakness, whether they are in our unfed spirit man, a tired body, or an undisciplined mind. He is always watching to devour.   This is why the Apostle Peter wrote in chapter five of his first epistle, “Be sober, be watchful because we have an adversary”.  He must be resisted and not just resisted, but steadfastly resisted in faith.   In a case like this, you get a word from the Lord, you adjust, and somewhere in the back of your mind you think ok that’s done, all good, now things will change.  BUT then you get up and the next day  the STEDFAST word comes into play.  I’ve never seen a battle won in one day.  There is the day the battle is over, but until that day there is a continual fight. 

Paul said, because of the prize he was looking to receive, he was purposeful in the fight, not as one that beats the air.  He told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith so he could lay hold of eternal life and in 2 Timothy Paul declares towards the end of his life, “I have fought the fight.”  

The writer of Hebrews encouraged the people to remember how they endured a great fight of afflictions.  Hebrews 11 shows us that those who have gone before us were valiant in the fight.  

Ephesians reminds us our battle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Ephesians chapter six is probably the clearest instruction on how to fight.  We fight from a place of strength in the Lord.  We gird ourselves and we take active actions to withstand with all areas covered and the word coming out of our mouth.

Jesus said my Kingdom is not of this world and his kingdom suffers violence.  In other words, the things we want operating and working in our life must be fought for. 

When we are fully dressed and ready for action, we are able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  When we have dropped our guard, we have usually laid down some equipment and are vulnerable.  

Satan seeks everyday in some way to devour.  He is diligent. We have to remind ourselves we are not trying to get God to do something for us.  Jesus has done it all. We are either reclaiming what the enemy has stolen or we are guarding our stuff.    

I don’t know what circumstances you may be facing in your life these days, but I want to encourage us all to continue to fight and to do it steadfastly, to not be weary in well doing but to prepare ourselves daily, spirit, soul and body for whatever comes our way.

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.

Fullness

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  

John 1:16

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace”. John 1:14-16

I can’t escape this concept of “fulness”: that God would choose to dwell in man, to manifest Himself, and to do it fully!   This word ~ fullness from Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words ~  has two meanings, (a)  “that which fills up” (b) “that which has been completed, the fullness”. 

That’s a huge word with a multitude of expressions, and I do a dis-service to simplify, but suffice it to say that we are all ordained to carry His fulness, here and now.  How would life look if we were really doing that?  I’m always keenly aware of how much more growth there is in Him.  

Here are just a few scriptures that express this concept of fullness:

• Eph 1: 23 And he (the Father God) put all things under his (Jesus) feet and gave him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

• Ephesians 3:19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

• Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

• Col 1:19  For in him  (Jesus ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

• Col. 2: 9-10 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

• Psalm 16:11 In His presence is fulness of joy at his right hand are pleasures forever more.

• Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost 

• Acts 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke…

• Romans 15:13 May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We know this; the just shall by His faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him. He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  He is good to all.  I could go on, but these are foundational truths that we are to hold and have so deeply engrained in our hearts that they shape everything that we have to process.  Unshakeable truths that are to be unshakeable realities.  

When we talk about fullness, our finite minds simply cannot conceive the totality of this truth. This New Testament reveals the Fathers heart and mind: His will.  His fullness is something that we individually are able to partake of and live out on a daily basis.  I don’t know about you but I am striving to live from this place of fulness.  From His fulness we have all received, grace upon grace. I want to do more than just mentally assent to this, I want to vitally possess it and express it. 

Wait

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.  Psalm 27:14

The ‘wait' always involves a time of testing. The place where our faith, our hope, our love is being challenged.  Does the wait change us or do we impact the season of the waiting?  Are we able to stay in a place of “counting it all joy” or do we vacillate dependent on what we see?  Are we driven and tossed?  Do we murmur and complain?  Do we start well, but never finish? 

I don’t know about you but when I find myself waiting on the Lord to move and I begin to waiver in my patience, I begin to look for things I can do in the natural to make things happen.  A most dangerous trap to fall into because there is a God and it’s not me.  He’s the performer.  I’m the believer.  

Are we capable of being like Abraham who had a promise and was able to look at the impossibility of the situation and still trust God to fulfill it?  He did not waiver but grew strong in faith giving glory.  The Psalmist wrote that in the wait God strengthens our heart so he encourages us to wait, and wait well.  Waiting demands us to keep our eyes on Him. 

The Psalmist wrote that in the wait we were to be of good courage.  Courage speaks to condition of heart.  It’s interesting to note that when the Lord spoke to Joshua he said, Be strong AND of good courage.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t be dismayed for I am with you. 

Moses met the Lord on the mountain top and has a moment about leading and says to the Lord, If you don’t go with me, don’t make me do this.  The Lord’s response was, I’ll go with you.  My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. 

In other words, the very presence of the Lord works to instill strength of heart. Strength of heart always brings us into rest.  Rest is simply abiding in the quiet confidence that God is at work.  The very word wait from the Hebrew carries the idea of waiting confidently.  Have you noticed that anxiety drives the need to do something besides wait? 

 Andrew Murray wrote in His book ‘Waiting on God’,

“Once a believer begins to see it [the absolute and unceasing dependence of continually waiting on God] and consents to it — that he must, by the Holy Spirit, each moment receive what God each moment works — waiting on God becomes his brightest hope and joy. As he begins to understand how God, as God, as infinite Love, delights to impart His own nature to his child as fully as He can — how God is not wary of keeping charge of His life and strength —  he wonders why he ever thought that God could not be waited on all day.  God unceasingly giving and working and His child unceasingly waiting and receiving this is the blessed life.”  

The promise to those who wait upon the Lord from Isaiah was renewed strength, rising up, running without growing weary and walking without fainting.  

Waiting is a good thing.  The Lord is good to those that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 

The Spirit is Willing

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Matthew 26:41

There is no temptation but that which is common to man. We all deal with the fragility of our flesh and are all tempted according to our own unique weaknesses. 

Jesus has made a way for us to overcome every temptation through our own intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.  It was better that Jesus left us so the Holy Spirit could come.  Now He lives within us forever.  We have been given supernatural power that meets and enables us in every situation, by and through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  

Because we are so focused on behavior and doings, most of the time we think right doing makes us righteous.  Doing, in our own strength and self efforts, simply feeds self righteousness and pride.  Colossians tells us the promoting of self made religion, asceticism, and severity to the body has an appearance of wisdom but has no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.  Self discipline apart from the Holy Spirit simply strengthens the flesh.  Where there is no dependency on the work of grace by the Holy Spirit, we are just magnifying our human strength.  It is only by the Holy Spirit that we are able to mortify, kill, deaden, the desires and deeds of the body, Romans 8:13. The flesh works against the Spirit but the Spirit works against the flesh.  

The best way to have abundant life is through the Spirit of Life.  A successful marriage, home, family or career is by the Spirit.  The best way to govern our body is by the Spirit.  The best way to control our thought life is by the Spirit.  The best way to handle any appetite of the flesh is by the Spirit.  The biblical admonition is “be being filled”.  That is, to live in a place of continual communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is willing.  Paul wrote where sin abounds grace does much more abound.  Regardless of circumstances, there is an abounding grace which gives all sufficiency, enabling one to abound to every good work.  Whatever is needed in the moment to overcome, the Holy Spirit is willing to provide.  He leads and guides into all truth, filling us with wisdom and strength to know, and then to do.  A successful spiritual life is about living life from the fulness of the Holy Spirit. 

A fruit the Holy Spirit works within us is self control. The Spirit is willing.  It’s not by my might, it's not by my power, but it’s by the Spirit that we are able to overcome our flesh and its weaknesses.  My dependence on myself only strengthens my pride. I get the glory for what I’ve accomplished.  Humility depends entirely on the working of the Spirit, for when I am weak then am I strong. I don’t overcome in my sufficiency, but in His. 

The Spirit is willing.  The Holy Spirit lives to serve the purposes of the Father.  We aren’t talking about more self discipline but rather Spirit led and Spirit enabled obedience. A life consumed by the presence and fellowship of Holy Spirit. 

The Hour has come.....

This morning I was reading from the gospel of John, chapters fifteen and sixteen.  Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure.  They don’t know what is getting ready to happen and they won’t understand the why. In the midst of these words, Jesus uses an illustration of a woman in labour who has sorrow because the hour has come but afterwards she has joy over the birth, John 16: 21-22.

As I was meditating on these things, David forwarded a video clip to me from Lou Engle.  He is telling about the instruction he has received from the Lord to end “The Call”.  I felt like I was watching this very scripture lived out before me as a perfect example of what Jesus was saying. 

What I saw watching this video was his absolute joy at what God was birthing through the next generation; his celebration over the new.  There was no sorrow coming from him at all.  His heart was engaged in this new role of Fathering ~ supporting and releasing the next generation so they could actually move into a “double portion” of all that had been labored for and sown. 

Our generation has primarily been a generation of plowers in this nation.  We’ve dug hard ground and made rough places smooth through our efforts, faith and prayers.  Now, do we come to this place of divine birthing by the Spirit of God and not have strength for the push?  Every woman who has every given birth understands the added pain and work of resisting the birth process. 

This year, I’ve watched some things unfold naturally, that I saw in 1980 by the Spirit of God as we sensed a call to this nation.  I was reminded of that time in my life in these last few weeks while in Ontario.  The Spirit of God is saying, “This, is that, Jeanne. The hour has come.”

Most of us are aware of the huge transition that is taking place in the Body of Christ, with one generation working to release the next.  We are seeing so many dynamics occurring in and through this.  We are seeing power struggles, push and pull over new methods replacing old.  Identity crisis over loss of titles and positions.  Fear and uncertainty of the future for those stepping aside and fear and uncertainty of those now leading being challenged at every decision. It is the birthing process and can only be done by and through the grace of God as those involved determine to birth a healthy baby. 

Jesus’ life was spent preparing a people to carry on His work.  How can we do less?

We talk often about being prepared for such a time as this, but this is the time.  We are now standing in, the moment God has birthed The New into our midst.  Shall we contend with what God has birthed through our own personal sorrow at some perceived personal loss?  NO!  Let us hold the heart and mind of the Father with the wisdom and the understanding that comes with the times.  To see and know clearly that this is the work of God and “to see Him again with our hearts rejoicing, knowing the joy no man can take from us.” 

Living without Care

“He satisfies my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles.
  Psalm 103:4

Every time I meditate on these verses I’m struck by the thought of youth being renewed.  Probably not so important to those at twenty, thirty, maybe forty, but you hit middle age and you become aware of the proverbial slippery slope.  You understand the pull of gravity and all things you may not have appreciated in your parents take on new meaning and insight for you.  Youth being renewed becomes an extremely appealing concept. 

While we won’t ever discover the mythical “fountain of youth” we are able to find the one who is the source of all life and from him alone be so continually satisfied in Him that we are eternally strengthened and joyful.  What if that is the key to youthfulness - eternally optimistic and carefree?  

I’ve said before that the process of aging well has as much to do with our mind and spirit as it does our body.  Proverbs reminds us of several principals ~

• As a man thinks in his heart so is he. 

• Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when desire comes it’s a trees of life. 

• A merry heart does good like a medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones.

As well, Paul’s writing to the Corinthians says bodily exercise profits a little but godliness is profitable for all things. We can steward our bodies but the neglect of spirit and soul still gives entrance to ills. 

This blessing from the Lord that is ours to freely and fully enjoy is forgiveness, redemption, healing, a crown of mercy and being fully satisfied with good things SO THAT youth is renewed. 
 

I believe living in the place of fully satisfied in all the goodness of God is the key to aging well. Seeing and believing His goodness in all things shows up in our praise and thanksgiving. A merry heart, a thankful heart, are reflections of  being satisfied.  

King David wrote,
Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord o my soul and forget not ALL his benefits. 

My Soul is Troubled

Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?  But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.”

John 12:28

We all have those moments where our “souls are troubled” and our default setting would be to escape all hardships.  I dare say most of us view pain and suffering as something to avoid at all costs, yet there are places we will never conform to the character of the Jesus without some pressure on us forcing us to make right  choices.

Paul wrote (and we looked at this last week) God would not allow us to be tempted beyond what we were able to bear.  In other words, no matter what situation I am facing there is ALWAYS a way of escape. It always boils down to the things we choose to do in the midst of trouble.   Here, in the midst of trouble is our crucible. 

I’ve noticed in my own life, that when I arrive at places and am internally in a state of flux, that I’ve missed something the Holy Spirit would’ve shown me about things to come.  The gospels record three other events where Jesus was troubled; 

• Mary’s (and others) grief over Lazarus’ death, 

• Judas’ betrayal,

• and Himself in the garden 

None of these events moved him from the divine purposes of God.  In every situation, Jesus held the mind of God and knew the ways of His Father.  He knew exactly what to do and what to say.  I find this so encouraging and absolutely frustrating when I’m in these moments and seemingly don’t know what to do!   These examples remind me I can know.  These aren’t God issues - they are my issues.  I remind myself that while Isaiah tells us that Gods thoughts and ways are higher than ours - it does not say we can’t know them.  It just takes searching out and time with Him to know. 

So Jesus, in this particular moment, in John twelve, is in Jerusalem for the passover.  He has just entered the city upon much fanfare, Lazarus has been raised from the dead, the Pharisees are trying to kill Jesus and he tells his disciples the cost of following him. 

His soul is troubled, his flesh wants to be saved from this hour, and yet he knows it was for this cause he came to this very moment in time and what does he do?  

“Father, glorify you name”.  Jesus yields.  Jesus submits. He just moves forward into the assignment given Him in order to redeem our lives. How could we do less?

Tests and Trials

1 Corinthians 10:13 ~ there is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. 

I think one of my earliest revelations as a believer was learning temptation itself was not sin.  It was an opportunity to disobey God but I still had the chance to stay out of the trap.  

God told Cain, sin lies at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must master it.  

I’m thankful, as an NT believer, grace does much more abound where sin lies.  In other words, we can overcome any and every temptation by leaning into and receiving the grace of God.  Thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. 

Oswald Chambers has written “Temptation is a suggested short cut to the realization of the highest at which I aim — not towards what I understand as evil.”  Simply stated, Satan works to keep us from pursuing our God given destinies.  If he can convince us we have no value to God, or our part is not significant, we are basically dead in the water until we rise up and believe what He has said to us, about us. 

When we read about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, we find it centering on his identity. IF you be the son of God was a challenge to everything Jesus has learned about himself up to that point.  The only thing we hold that defeats all lies and temptations is the written word that we personally own strongly enough, that we declare: It is written! 

Once the challenge to His identity was met and defeated, Jesus was offered a shortcut to achieve ruling and reigning over the universe that didn’t require the Cross.  How many times have we fallen prey to the easier way so we could avoid the pain and suffering of hardship? 

The epistle of James shows us the process of a temptation. 

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted of God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is  fully grown brings forth death.  James 1:12-15

Please note, God does test but Satan tempts, and Satans’ temptation is always for our disobedience. To him that knows to do good and does it not to him it is sin.  This epistle tells us that this temptation towards unbelief is never the nature of God, and that God himself tempts no one. 

Oswald Chambers wrote,” A man's disposition on the inside, i.e., what he possesses in his personality, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the nature of the one tempted, and reveals the possibilities of the nature. Every man has the setting of his own temptation.”

If we view all temptation as the opportunity to follow a path that will lead us away from our God given destiny, we might then be quicker to access that grace that much more abounds when sin lies at the door of our heart to master us. 

Temptation yielded to is lust deified, BUT GOD is faithful, who with the temptation makes a way of escape.  

If you be......

If you be the son of God…..Matthew 4:3

What do you do when the word of the Lord is being tried in your life?  Joseph had a vision and until that vision came to pass Joseph had many opportunities to question this word from God.  Psalm 105:19 tells us “until the time his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tried him.”

The more conservative interpretations of this verse talk about Josephs natural prison experience. Others present this phrase as a metaphor to his soul becoming strong (like iron) as the word was tested.  

Our souls becoming like iron is just another way of saying we are stedfast with our believing. It’s the place we come to when we are simply not moved by natural circumstances but strengthened in our confidence that God is not a liar.  His word is true and it shall come to pass.   We aren’t consumed with a time factor.  We aren’t anxious.  We aren’t fearful.  We are simply committed to God with an unshakeable trust in Him and His promise.  We are at rest while His word comes to pass. 

We become dull to the spiritual reality of trials and temptations through our wrong understanding of them.  We misunderstand their purpose.  Every trial, every temptation reveals our hearts condition.  It reveals, faith or unbelief, rest or anxiety, fear or love.  

Until the word comes to pass, that word tries us. 

From Matthew’s gospel, Jesus comes up from His baptism to the affirmation of the Father; “my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”.  He is then driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. All Jesus knows and believes, at this point, will be sifted and examined.  

Our lives will not be any different. Once the word comes, there is the examination of our hearts to discover whether we really believe that word is true to us.  We are proven in our trust of Him, not the validity of the word. 

Every word of God has been tried and has been found true; Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6 Psalm 18:30.  The circumstances simply reveal our hearts condition. The epistle of James calls this the trying or testing of our faith. This is about us, not God.  Again, this is about our hearts, not whether the word is true or not.  

The book of Hebrews reminds us, They were not able to enter into the promised land because of their evil hearts of unbelief which caused them to depart from God. The temptation will either remove us from God or we will remain stedfast in our believing.  Our believing equates to obedience of activity assigned to us.  

Temptations always carry a back door, give us a short cut and present the wide path of escape. 

Life’s temptations never change.  The IFs and BUTs will lead us astray.   The devil is a liar. The Father of all lies and there is NO truth in Him.  Jesus said I am come that you would know the truth, and in knowing the truth we are set free. 

The word trust is defined as the assured reliance on the character, strength, ability and truth of someone or something.  On this earth we shall have temptations, but Jesus said, “I’ve told you these things that IN ME you might have peace.”  We err in trying to create an environment that is free of trial and temptations.  What we must learn is how to be right in the midst of them. Jesus overcame the world.  Jesus passed His test and the “devil left him and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

Man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When temptation comes the right response is to endure with a resounding Yes and Amen in our hearts and minds to Gods promises. 

Take the Mountain!

I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. Joshua 14:11

I love Caleb’s declaration, as he stands before the generation that has crossed over into the promised land, and now are all dividing the land before them.   “Give me the mountain” is the Spirit I want to hold at 80 years of age.  

How do you maintain a strength of Spirit when you know that you are destined to  wander for forty years in the wilderness?  How do you keep from being offended with people who have created the circumstances your must now endure?  How do you keep from being mad at God for making you suffer with everyone else?  

I am still as strong today (at 80 years of age) as I was the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then.  I’m sure Caleb was talking about his physical ability but I want to talk to you about maintaining a spiritual strength, and not just maintaining but allowing the Lord to increase our strength; going from a place of strength to greater strength.  A spiritual place where we are truly strong in the Lord, doing exploits in His name, taking mountains in our young age, middle age and our old age.  Spiritual strength isn’t about natural age. It’s about condition of heart.  

We know that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and the knowledge that every word He speaks must be believed before it can be received is seen over and over again through the examples in the bible.  Being strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man, from Paul’s prayer in Colossians chapter one, is about endurance. It’s about patience with joy.  It’s about standing and waiting and not caving in, not quitting, not changing minds about what God has promised.  

Joshua and Caleb, spying out the land, saw the giants, saw the abundant provision and made a choice to believe God. The children of Israel saw the giants, saw the provision and saw themselves as grasshoppers and chose to not believe God.  The letter to the Hebrews tells us Israel could not  enter in because of their evil heart of unbelief.  

After 40 years in the wilderness, Joshua was still able to lead a generation into the promised land and Caleb was still willing and able to take the mountain. 

We ask how, and the answer would be by guarding our heart.  Making sure that our heart is firmly attached to the Lord and our trust is in Him and His word.  Our eyes are on Him and not man.  This is a daily determination.  Think about it.  40 years wandering with a bunch of whiners, doubters, disobeyers who had seen the works of God and choose to dis.believe. 

Where we stop resisting the lies of the devil, we begin to adapt to the circumstances.  Physically, when you age, you begin to lose muscle tone and strength.  Spiritually when you break fellowship with the Father and His word you lose strength.  We need strength to perform and endure.  We aren’t always going to be in the pristine circumstances that encourage faith and confidence while living on this earth with other people.  We can’t live in isolation just so nobody messes with us.  In the midst of life, we must learn to stay engaged with the Father on a daily basis. 

I’m encouraging you this morning, as we watch the day approach, to keep yourself strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

Boundaries

Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it proceed the issues of life.  Proverbs 4:23

The Hebrew on the word ‘Issues’ shows its various meanings as 1. limit, end, extremity, i.e., the furthest-most point of space (Nu 34:5); 2. starting point, source, wellspring, i.e., the source of an event or activity from the figurative extension of the beginning limit of a space (Pr 4:23); 3. exit, i.e., the way or path out from a city (Eze 48:30); 4. an escape, i.e., the act. of deliverance from a dangerous situation (Ps 68:21) Swanson Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The heart holds the beginning of a thing, the limitations of it and an escape. Amazing and true;

life flows from the content of the heart. Because of sin and its effects, our hearts also contain our own limitations. It’s a paradox: we seemingly sabotage the very thing we know to pursue.  All of us are a composite of experiences and words that have shaped our inner man; even our born again inner man.  Left to ourselves we would be constantly starting, hindering and stopping the dreams of our hearts from being achieved. That’s why it’s so wonderful to remember that our kept hearts also contain and show us the wisdom for our next steps forward.

The phrase issue of life is translated by both the ESV and NASB as flow the springs of life, which paints a picture of something moving forward.  

NIV ~ for everything you do flows from it.

NLT ~ for it determines the course of your life.

NET ~ for from it are the sources of life. 

All painting this picture which shows us how important what we carry in our heart is to the well being of our lives.  Solomon wrote, Guard your heart.  Again, in the following definition, we have a series of meanings to the word guard that give us a vivid picture of what guarding looks like. 

preserve, keep, maintain, protect, i.e., cause to be safe from danger, implying a relationship with the protector (Ps 40:12), spared, kept safe, i.e., pertaining to being free from danger, as an extension of keeping a valuable hidden (Isa 49:6; Eze 6:12+); keep, observe, comply, i.e., obey a command (Ps 78:7); 4. secret, be hidden, i.e., pertaining to things not readily known (Isa 48:6; 65:4+); 5. be crafty, i.e., pertaining to being evil and damaging, with a focus that the actions are secretive or underhanded (Pr 7:10+) Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Adam was placed in the garden to guard it and keep it.  We are told from the New Testament to keep watch, stay awake, guard our hearts.  There are things we must be attentive to and when we drop our guards, just like Eve engaged with the serpent, we begin to entertain the subtle conversations that will lead us astray from what God has really said.  

As David and I face the next season of our lives, I find that I am challenged with certain heart issues ~ most of which come down to two simple thoughts;

Those things where I say, ‘I won’t do’ and those that I say, ‘I can’t do’.  I see where “I won’t” is simply pride because it involves my will.  I can’t is my own place of unbelief that prevents me from trying.  Both are equally wicked in the sight of God and require repentance.  We know its the evil heart of unbelief that prevented the children of Israel from entering into the promise of God and kept them in the wilderness, wandering around for 40 years.  For me to guard my heart requires me to make sure my boundaries are secure and nothing is breaking through; which is always, ultimately about my thought life and where the unbelief is lurking. 

If Joshua was told to meditate on God’s word day and night, Joshua 1:8, so he was able to do all that was written in it, don’t you know that if we meditate on a lie day and night we will ultimately “do” the lie.  Solomon wrote, over and over again in the book of Proverbs the need to attend to the word.  

There are some things in life that you feel powerless to change, yet in all circumstances we do have sovereign right and control over us.  I can lean into God and be strong in His grace.  I can encourage myself in the word.  I can establish my heart and quiet my soul.  We might not be able to naturally change what is happening but we are not powerless.  To say we are denies the very existence of God working in our life and our need to believe.   

The greater the press, the greater the stuff pressed out.  Peter wrote in his first epistle,  don’t think it’s strange that these fiery trials are here to try you.   Jesus has a baptism of fire and the purging of all dross (unbelief) must take place to be shaped and fitted for His use.  We might not have all the answers today, it’s a stretch and challenge for the soul, but we must be committed to the process and be determined to endure to the end.  Wherever that leads, whatever the process, we must guard our hearts so the issues flowing from us are found rooted in the fullness of God.

His Fullness

I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.  

Romans 15:29

KJV ~  the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

NIV ~ full measure of the blessing of Christ.

Fullness, full measure = sum total

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon identifies the word fullness as that which is (or has been) filled; In the N.T. Ephesians 4:13, the body of believers, as that which is ‘filled’ with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ: and from Ephesians 3:19 that ye may become a body “wholly filled and flooded” by God.

Colossians tells us 'in Christ' the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and now, we have been filled in Him. Christ in us is the hope of the glory of God being seen and manifested on this earth.  That’s a lot of power to commit to mere men and a tremendous responsibility to become vessels of honor fit for the masters use.  

In the OT we learned that there was a right way to carry the presence of God. From 2 Samuel chapter six starting with verse five, we read;

David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” 10So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

It seems like a harsh thing to happen to Uzzah, simply instinctive on his part, yet, Uzzah, a Levite, erred in what He did. There was a right way to carry the Ark, the presence God, and they weren’t.  You would think with all the worshipping and joy and the presence being with them that something like this could not happen, but this shows us the need for doing His things, His way.   

I believe Presence and power works best through purity.  As NT believers we are the carriers of His Presence, believers ‘filled’ with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ: a body “wholly filled and flooded” by God through His Holy Spirit. 

We are not to come filled with ourselves.  We are not to be filled with our own agenda or our own words and ways, but we are to be filled with His fullness that always carries His blessing.

Uzzah had access to instructions on how to carry the ark.  After His death they got it right.   Hosea 4:6 reminds us that we perish for a lack of knowledge, forgetting what we know, or simply rejecting it.  Apparently ignorance is no excuse when we have a book we can read. And rejecting God’s commands is, well, just plain willful and deadly. 

The ark resting at Obed-Edom’s house brought a blessing to his entire household.  The Lord told Moses ~ My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.  The fullness of His presence operating through our lives is His place of blessing and rest.

I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 

The Acceptable Sacrifice

Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?  Amos 5:25. 

The answer to the question is ‘yes’, however, Acts 7 holds Stephens account before the Jewish council, with verse 42 repeating Amos 5:25. Was it to me you were sacrificing during those 40 years in the desert?  Verse 43 is a qualifier - No, your real interest was in your heathen gods.

Yesterday, our 7 year old grandson Micah was having a conversation with us regarding a theft that had occurred.  He wanted to know why God couldn’t just make the person ‘give it back’. We talked about the goodness of God in giving every person the very special gift of choice.  We took the conversation from the thieves choice to steal around to our own choices we make to obey. 

As we grow, we find sophisticated ways to offer up our sacrifices (do the right things while others are looking) while we continue to serve our hearts desires.  BUT GOD looks at the heart and so so so desires the heart of man TO WANT TO want Him!  Oh that I would truly love him, not only in words, but in deed and truth, with all my heart and all my soul, all my mind and strength.  Jesus quoted from Isaiah when he said These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far removed from me.   

When we engage our hearts in pure worship of God, we find ourselves loving Him for who He is.  Gratefulness and thanksgiving pour from our lips as we acknowledge all He Has done for us.  Faith and confidence rise as we join ourselves to Him, feed on Him and receive all of His goodness and mercy.  

God allowed Israel to go after their other Gods.  God allowed Israel to play the harlot. God allowed the adultery.  God allowed the excesses of life. God allowed the misuse of provision.  I find it interesting that some of the provision God sent them out of Egypt with was used to build the golden calf.  In all of this, all the people had a promise from God that came with conditions that when met, guaranteed fulfillment but He left the choice up to then. 

Behold I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days…” Deuteronomy 30:19.

It is recorded in Deuteronomy 31:27 that Moses said, “ For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death?”

We can stay assured of being able to resist temptation when it comes by “hiding his word in our heart so that we might not sin against him”. .  We are a Kingdom of Priests showing forth the praises of Him who has redeemed our lives.  We put on a garment of praise and the fruit of our lips give thanks to Him.  This is an acceptable sacrifice.  Obedience is an acceptable sacrifice. Our sacrifices and offerings are a life that is humbled before Him with worship, in Spirit and in truth.  

This is His acceptable sacrifice, one that he receives. 

There's a Battle going on...

“..All too quickly the attractions of this world and the delights of wealth, and the search for success and lure of nice things come in and crowd out God’s message from their hearts, so that no crop is produced.”   Mark 4:19 Living Bible

The level of wholeness operating in my life is directly related to the level of word working in and through me.  The word that I have received, believed and allowed to become a part of me is the word that is at work in me.

The very first temptation was over the word. “Has God really said?”

The ability to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground lay in obedience to the word.

Naaman’s healing lay in His obedience to the word.

The miracle at Cana lay in the servants obedience to the word.

Peters ability to pay his taxes lay in obedience to the word.

All through the Bible we read of man’s well being resting on His choice to believe and obey the word.  

Jesus is called a firm foundation.  One; when built on, we are promised not to be blown away by the storms of this life.  Isaiah calls Jesus the stability of our times, the abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge, which tells me everything we need is found in Jesus and his word.

Our prosperity is something that the Lord delights in, but since He is not a man He does not equate prosperity with the dollar figure attached to our lives.  Prosperity is seen as our minds are renewed to Him and His word. Beloved I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.  As our souls prosper we are in health.  We become whole.  We are saved, nothing broken, nothing missing; at peace and this is true prosperity.  No wonder proverbs tells us wisdom is the principal thing.  Get wisdom! 

There’s a battle going on for the priority of the word in our lives. Satan, from Mark 4, comes immediately to steal the word being sown. How does Satan steal the word? All too quickly the attractions of this world and the delights of wealth, and the search for success and lure of nice things come in and crowd out God’s message from their hearts, so that no crop is produced.”  It’s not the “bad” that robs us, it is simply the busy of life, just the absence of the one thing which has the power to heal and deliver us.  Jesus is the author and giver of life. 

He sends His word.  His word is filled with grace and gives us life, abundant life, when we abide in Him and His words abide in us. Our greatest need is to know what the word says about our situation? We just have to take the time to search it out.  

What do you want?

Then Jesus turned around and saw them following him and asked, “What do you

want?  John 1: 38 NLT

ESV: what are you seeking?

Amplified: What are you looking for?

I find this an amazing question and one that goes straight to the heart of man.  

All come to Jesus by way of need, that moment we realize we truly are poor in Spirit, and it’s only then that we are capable of answering His question, ‘what do you want?’

Jesus announced the Spirit of the Lord was upon him to preach the gospel to the poor.  He taught his disciple it was the poor in Spirit who were blessed.  It is the individual who has needs, with a heart and ear ready to receive, that finds their broken heart healed; captivity released and eyes seeing.  

 It is the self sufficiency of man that holds him aloof from God. 

Thus, the question ‘what do you want’ must be answered by all. Mark chapter 10 records Jesus’ encounter with Blind Bartimaeus, asking him the same question.  While the answer seems obvious, Bartimaeus immediately responds, “that I might receive my sight”.

Why do I want to prosper and be in health? As real as our situation may be, it is the immature, the babe in Christ, that simply wants the need fixed. It is as we grow in our relationship that we begin to discover the blessing of knowing how much we need God.  It is through our dependency on him that we are enriched and empowered to live as He is in this world.  Knowing what we want and who should help is the key to receiving from HIm.

There have been many times in my life I have looked to others to be God for me, only to be disappointed in my expectations.  How dangerous this is, both for us and the one we’ve set up.  The lesson to learn is while God uses man, our eyes must be fixed on Him.  While we acknowledge others help and are grateful for it, the glory and true thanksgiving are His.

  It seems odd for the disciples to respond with, where are you staying.  Perhaps it was the cultural way of asking for a place to spend the night and Jesus response, “Come and discover for yourselves” is ambiguous.  Yet, it holds so much potential for their opportunity. The scripture goes on to tell us, they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus.

‘Come’ is the invitation for us to learn and participate in what God is doing.  Each man must discover for himself what it is he wants from Jesus.  Our level of hunger and desire determines the discovery through the pursuit. 

The question remains, What do you want? 

The Wait.

For God alone my soul waits in silence…. Psalm 62.1

We know these times.  ‘The wait’ is the space where “our times are in His hands” and there is nothing we can do but wait on God to move.   

We are aware that it is an “ONLY GOD” moment for us.  We wait to see, wait and hope, wait and resist fear, wait and rejoice but in it all we are waiting.  King David declared throughout the Psalms no matter what was taking place and how he felt about it, his focus was on God. 

It is you, O Lord my God who will answer and on you I wait.   Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him ~

Notice Psalm 62, David holds his peace; “My soul waits in silence”.  Mute before our enemies is a righteous thing when our mouth wants to declare God is somehow unfaithful or uncaring.  

We are told setting goals helps us to stay focused and gets them accomplished. We just can’t do that without establishing time tables we want to operate within.  There are many plans in the mind of a man but the Lord directs His steps.  Our timetables are not His issue, they’re ours.  I don’t know that we ever consider time frames as boundaries or limitations and yet they do define our expectations of what and how we expect God to work on our behalf.  

God has already written every day of our life in His journal.  If we stop and think about reality of Psalm 139:16 and that He knows the future and hope He has planned for you, it gives us pause to ask the question when I’m setting goals, whose plan is this? And if it is the Fathers plan, it will be fulfilled in His timing.  In the fulness of time it shall come to pass and in the wait I am secure and at rest.  

I’m fascinated by Jesus at the wedding, knowing it was not yet His time.  Another time, his brothers wanting him to show himself knowing it was not His time,  Then when he knew it was time to leave the disciples and yield His life. He could not be pressed by man’s agenda or their time table.  Consider Lazarus, the rebuke he received, “If you had been here our brother would not have died.”  Jesus didn’t have a Day-timer or an App to accomplish his purposes.   

Natural goals are common to man but what happens in our heart and soul when they are not achieved?

Can we wait content, at peace, in rest, knowing, trusting, committing all things into His hands and simply hold our fuss and yield our praise?  He would prefer it. 

A Body Prepared

Sacrifice and offering you have not desired but a body you have prepared for me ~ 

Heb. 10:5

While we understand this speaks to the physical body God had prepared for Jesus, there is a body that is still being prepared.  

Jesus is coming back for a body; the church, His bride, that has made herself ready,  His body is without spot.  No blemishes.  Dressed in righteousness.

John the Baptist was a prophet who was ordained to go in the power of Elijah, to turn hearts and prepare a people made ready for the Lord.  His message demanded change then and the message of the kingdom still requires it.

Jesus preached if any would come after him they must deny self, take up their cross and follow him.  The reality here is, if we do not engage in this process we will not follow.

Jesus, in John 21, finds Peter and friends have returned to their old occupation.  In a moment of divine intervention, Jesus sets him back on the right track.  I believe this is exactly what the Spirit of God is doing in these days, getting us back on the right track by asking, Do you love me more than these?  

We say we love God with all our hearts, soul and strength, but what are we spending our time and money on?  What are the priorities of our daily lives?  God demands we have no other Gods before Him.  He is a jealous God who will not compete with anything.  We are responsible for eliminating the completion.  He woos, leads, calls, and beckons.  We must yield.  

Paul preached we are not our own.  We were bought with a price and commanded to glorify God in body and spirit because they belong to God. Jesus literally paid the price for these natural physical bodies to become the property of His Father, enabling the Father to use them for His purposes.  

We are in the last hour (1 John 2:18)  of the last days. (Acts 2) and His church, His bride is making herself ready.  She has no appetite for the things of this world.  She is not distracted with the pull and allure of what she sees in it, but her focus is on that day when she will meet her beloved. She is working to be the very best version of herself, radiant in fine linen, clean and white, clothed in righteousness.  Rev. 19:8.

How important is Unity?

Now I beseech you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.  1 Corinthians 1:10

How important is unity? It is Vital.

Unity is defined as the state of being united or joined as a whole.  It comes from the Latin word ‘unus’ meaning “one”. 

One of Jesus’ last prayers recorded for us was for Oneness, cp. John 17: 20-23. “I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one:. 

We know from Psalm 133 it is in the place of unity that God commands His blessing. From the book of Acts, chapter two, we find the Holy Spirit filling men and women in the place of oneness.  They were assembled and in one accord.

Interesting to note, assembled doesn’t imply finding yourself in the same spot with another, rather, in the kingdom of God, assembled speaks to right order.  It speaks to our proper placement when joined to the other parts.  We have been assigned a place in the body of Christ and it is when we are in the right place, doing the right thing (exercising our grace) that the body grows. The King James reads from Ephesians chapter four, “the whole body fitly joined together and compacted (thats assembly) by that which every joint (you and me) supplies according to the measure of every part, makes increase of the body.…”

Again, from Acts 2 we learn the apostles were in right order AND they were unified in purpose.

When we gather together it is for the purpose of being assembled in order to function properly.  It is this place of right order, assembled AND the oneness that we value that creates the blessing of the Lord resting upon us.  

What kind of grief do we bring the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with the very love of God, when we hold any place of faction or division towards another. His admonition is to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of God.   

Division only occurs through pride.  Pride is simply the “I will ascend” of my desire above Gods. How much humility is required to live in this place of oneness? It can only be found in a preference for others above our selves.  Galatians 5 reminds us the works of the flesh are strife, seditions, and envying.   James 3:16 records where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 

So, how important is unity?  Again, it is vital. We are desirous of the presence and the power of God being manifested in our midst.  I know God isn’t demanding our perfection for His work to be manifested but I do know things work so much better when we live from valuing unity amongst ourselves.  

Can we excel at being one?  Can we value unity at the cost of personal denial and sacrifice?  We can only find out in and through our next relational opportunity.  My prayer is that we may find ourselves so vitally connected to Him and overflowing with His love that unity is simply our nature. 

If faith is the evidence, what does the trying of our faith prove?

1 Peter 1:6-9 

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

We know that when our faith is tried or tested we are to be found praising the Lord.  Praise is an expression of faith.  Rest is an expression of faith.  The praise proves that our faith is genuine.  If we are found murmuring and complaining or worrying, then odds are we will take the test again while God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.  

Proverbs 17:3 For you, O God, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried. 

It is said of Joseph until the word of the Lord can to pass ~ the word tried him.  Psalm 105:19.

What moves us?  We know when Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink.  Is it what we see that moves us?  Are we moved by evil reports?  Are we shaken by others choices.  Every test reveals the heart. 

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. Ps.66:10

We are looking for the immediate answer most of the time, but God is looking for eternal realities to be established in our hearts. He builds character and that takes time filled with ups and downs of life while our heart is being proven. 

Do the narrow and confined spots in my life produce murmuring and complaining or am I, at all times and in all things, found with praise and thanksgiving flowing from me? 

James 1:2; reminds us, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

. 

My worship is a life offered to him daily in acknowledgement that He is not only the one I look to for deliverance and help but as my Lord.  Our worship is seen in our continual submission to Him.  It’s not the sacrifice and offerings that He delights in but the heart that is continually turned to Him in a place of humble obedience.

Oswald Chambers wrote ~ “ Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life, you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.

“”The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything that must be faced without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.”  Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

“ ‘For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord”.  Malach 3:2-3

If faith is the evidence, what does the trying of our faith prove?

1 Peter 1:6-9 

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

We know that when our faith is tried or tested we are to be found praising the Lord.  Praise is an expression of faith.  Rest is an expression of faith.  The praise proves that our faith is genuine.  If we are found murmuring and complaining or worrying, then odds are we will take the test again while God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.  

Proverbs 17:3 For you, O God, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried. 

It is said of Joseph until the word of the Lord can to pass ~ the word tried him.  Psalm 105:19.

What moves us?  We know when Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink.  Is it what we see that moves us?  Are we moved by evil reports?  Are we shaken by others choices.  Every test reveals the heart. 

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. Ps.66:10

We are looking for the immediate answer most of the time, but God is looking for eternal realities to be established in our hearts. He builds character and that takes time filled with ups and downs of life while our heart is being proven. 

Do the narrow and confined spots in my life produce murmuring and complaining or am I, at all times and in all things, found with praise and thanksgiving flowing from me? 

James 1:2; reminds us, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

. 

My worship is a life offered to him daily in acknowledgement that He is not only the one I look to for deliverance and help but as my Lord.  Our worship is seen in our continual submission to Him.  It’s not the sacrifice and offerings that He delights in but the heart that is continually turned to Him in a place of humble obedience.

Oswald Chambers wrote ~ “ Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life, you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.

“”The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything that must be faced without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.”  Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

“ ‘For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord”.  Malach 3:2-3

Where's Your Evidence?

Faith…… is the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 not only tells us that faith is the substance of the things hoped for, it also tells us it is the evidence of what we do not see.

Evidence is described as the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.  From the Greek, evidence is  [elegchos /el·eng·khos/]; There are two occurrences; AV translates as “reproof” once, in 2 Timothy 3:16 and “evidence” here in Hebrews 11:1. The word means a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested. 2 conviction.

It is the word, and the word only, that is to be the proof of our faith.  What we are able to see with the eye of the Spirit is to be sufficient for us. The question becomes, what do I see?  Vision deals with our future, never our past.  God has a future preferred state for each of us and we have to see what He sees. 

Paul wrote in Romans chapter eight that we don’t hope for the things we already see.  We will fail when we continually look in the natural for the proving of our faith. Our Faith IS the evidence we need.

Faith calls those things which be not as though they were.  Faith doesn’t need to see naturally because it has already seen spiritually and what it sees spiritually, faith knows will come to pass.  The seed sown in good soil always brings forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the corn in the ear.

Waiting is a difficult process for those given to reason and frustrated with time.   God exists outside the realm of time. He is not a God limited to time, as a man would be.  He is a God of eternity.   He is simply, always, now.  That’s why He sees the beginning and the end of a thing.  Time controls us here and now because of the limitation of our natural body.  We live in time and space.  It takes time to walk across the space of a room.  Yet the spirit of man, in his mind, can travel without the restriction of his physical body.  The mind can hold unlimited imagination and see the potential of all things. We can see all things possible.  When we try to bring that into the natural elements of this world and it’s limitations we become frustrated by the time it takes to produce.  We reason, we waiver, we doubt, we believe, we quit, we try again, and on it goes until we come to the place of accepting and understanding that the word is working and the word is OUR evidence of things not seen. 

The Psalmist declared; I would have fainted and lost heart had I not believed I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living, and this is true for us all.  We do faint and lose heart when we lose our vision.   Let’s not allow our perceptions to be altered by the realities we “see” in the here and now, but let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the word, and not be moved.