Dan's Blog

Scripture:

Psalm 88:9b-12 

Scripture:

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man
 Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
 And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
 But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
 Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
 But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Observation:

Where there is life, there is hope.  This passage talks about life like a tree.  However this tree will always have growth on it, it will always look alive, this tree will bear fruit in it's right season, and at all times will be covered in leaves!  That's pretty awesome if we apply that image to our own lives, especially when we are in or approaching a season of distress and drought!

How can this be appropriated in my life?  By meditating on God's Word constantly.  Finding out what He says in every aspect of your life through the words of the Bible.  God does not leave us in the dark - He always shows us the Way. 

And for me meditating means really looking, striving for the answers however long it may take.  The best things in life are often the things we went after the hardest and longest.

God has a pattern for life and for Joy and for Hope - follow it today and become like a tree along the riverside - beautifully refreshed!

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:17-20

"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to oneanother in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Observation:

First observation, if I would have written a sentence aslong as that in high school I would have been reprimanded!

No seriously, what comes out of our mouth is a powerful key.  What that key unlocks can be either life giving or life draining. 

Interestingly this passage exhorts us to give thanks always, for all things, which seems like a big call considering not all things in life seem all that great.  In the last couple of weeks there seems to have been most of the people in our lives who are struggling in a big way with some significant issues, us included.  How can we give thanks in all things?  Issues people have been facing have included death of family members, financial crisis, underpaid, relationship stress, uncertainty, ... but being filled with the Spirit of God, we can speak from Truth in these situations. 

There is something amazingly liberating about finding things to be thankful for despite our circumstances!  I find it liberating in that very quickly (potentially) the negativity no longer has a hold on my life and sloutions sometimes begin to flow, or at least begin outworking.  But this can only really happen from a position of being full.  Being filled with the Spirit of God.  It seems impossible to be thankful in the darkest of times, but nothing is impossible for God.

If being filled with God's Spirit is something that you want to know more about, post a comment or send me a meassage and we can talk more.

Application:

What comes from my mouth?

Is it positive, does it honour God?

Is it words of faith, or words of hopelessness?

Are these words truth?

I need to be filled with the Spirit of God, submitting everything to Him, being mouldable in His hands.  I need to be filled everyday, and ongoing so that I always respond to life around me from a position of being full.

So I will submit my ways to Him, spend time in the Bible (Truth), and bringing all my thoughts to Him in prayer.  If that means getting up earlier and earlier in a busy schedule, then let it be.  I can't do this without You Lord.

Scripture:

Mark 5:19
However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him,  “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”

Mark 5:33-34
But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her,  “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Observation:

The first, a demon pssessed man.

The second, a woman with a mentral flow problem.

Both were healed, both were isolated and disconected with their community.

The man living alone and alienated was well known but an outcast.

The woman, also well known, and outcast is healed, but healed in secret.  There was no public spectacle util.... Jesu turns, acknowledges her and brings into light the Glory of God and all that was done and achieved in the healing and restoration of her body.

Go and tell your friends, your family, your community!  Jesus doesn't want them to leave all and walk with Him, He wants them to proclaim the story of transformation, be the story!  Jesus restores the isolated to community!

Application:

The stories of transformation in lives are not only for the person but for the whole community to behold the glory and majesty of our God who saves, heals, delivers, restores.

God is into restoration of lives, but also is about spreading hte word and building faith in people (plural).  It's about being in community and transforming peoples lives.  It's about being salt and light, adding value to people and being a part of  the restorative and transformation process of God.  This can only happen as a community in community.  It is about being the God person, the person with a story, the Good News, ... in our streets, in our work place, everywhere... and also as we meet in the church.  But not oonly with the people who have the same faith.

Prayer:

Lord help me to really get this, and put it into practice in my own life!  Amen

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:36-38
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:46
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

Observation:

You reap what you sow.... but you also reap because you sow!  You cannot reap without sowing.  There is no harvest without first sowing the seed.

There is no breakthrough unless we sow the natural seed and let it die.  Letting it die, letting it go, so that God can bring about the change and the life that He desires in the form that He ordains.

But what natural things are we to sow, to reap spirtual harvests?

What about:

• time in the Bible (seeking, asking, meditating, applying,...)
• time in prayer
• giving our tithes and offerings
• being generous with time and resource
• laying character flaws and frustrations at the feet of God

There are too many to name here, but these are but a few of the issues I need to consider and struggle to give on a consistent basis.

And what about what we reap as a result?  Well see that's the issue here.  We don't know what it will reap but it will reap something that is in the form of fruitfullness (fruit of the SPirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control).  It will be something that is life giving for us and others, it will be something uniquely spiritual and not as much natural (taking on a whole new form), it will probably be a breakthrough, transformation, ....well anyway it will tak e a form that God desires to reap in my life!  It's a God harvest!

Application:

It will  cost me something, this life transformation harvest.  It's not about my hard work though, it's about God's faithfullness and love.  It's about Him and it will be for Him.  The byproduct is my character formation and blessing and lofe though which is awesome!  Something in me needs to die, I need to give up the seed, I need to make that natural step that in reality seems like an impossibility!  My flesh desires must die, my self seeking and selfishness must die, so that the spiritual and the Holy Spirit can make possible that which was previously impossible!  If God is going to do the increase, I need to be about the act of sowing.

Prayer:

Help me Lord to comprehend more fully what this means in my everyday life.  I am not satisfied with the possible, I long to see Your outworking in and through my life.  Show me the things I need to do, show me what needs to die, show me where I am trusting in my own natural talents and resources, that I may give them back to You, and I pray that You would transform the things of the natural into the supernatural.  That the things in my life will be ever increasing in fruitfullness that brings Glory to You and draws people unto Yourself.  More of You and less about me.  In Jesus Name, Your awesome Name.  Amen

Scripture:

Acts 13:42
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:47-48
For so the Lord has commanded us:
 ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
 That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Observation:
"The forgiveness of sins, by Jesus everyone who believes is justified from all the things which you could not be justified by the law of Moses" v39

Forgiveness of sins, being made right with God in a way that works!  Not by my effort, by which I continually fail no matter how hard I try - theres a way for Me!?  Now that's good news!  That's great news! (for all who are looking for it).

Good news to those who sought it the most, good news that included the precept that there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, Slave or Free, Single Parent or Couple, ..... God sees us as the same in Christ!  God has a plan for me, whatever I may look like in my own eyes or the eyes of the World!  I say give me that good news, show me that good news, be that good news to me.

Application:
There's a world of Gentiles out there, in our own community.   People who think there is a them and us situation, a divide that is near impossible to cross.  There's the church people, and theres me (I don't have a stable family, God couldn't love me, I'm not good enough, it's all too hard!).  These people think it's about what you do, when that's got nothing to do with the grace of God, ... it's no different to the times reflect4ed in these bible passages in Acts with the times of Paul, Peter, and any of the other followers of Jesus.

The question is, How can we break that perception?  How can we cross over and break the 'club' mentality that fosters the us and tem mindset that is in the community and often within the church also.  How can both sides come together and see that God has a bigger more inclusive picture!?

How can we show compassion, love generosity?  How can we be more of the Good News without the strings attached, to the marginalised, hopeless, desperate, rejected, despised, ... and all of htese attitudes that are often more from within themselves and ourselves than is actually the truth!?

Prayer:Lord, open the doors of my heart, open my eyes and open my hands, so that I can be a greater expression of the Good News in everything I do as well as what I say.  So I also ask that when Iopen my mouth that the declaration of You will be Truth and Life to the listener and Good News, Great News, Life Transforming News would be spread like wild fire in Jesus Name.  All Glory and Honour to You our God who reigns.  Amen.

Scripture:  Malachi 1:6-8

“A son honors his father,
 And a servant his master.
 If then I am the Father,
 Where is My honor?
 And if I am a Master,
 Where is My reverence?
 Says the Lord of hosts
 To you priests who despise My name.
 Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
“You offer defiled food on My altar,
 But say,
 ‘In what way have we defiled You?’
 By saying,
 ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
 Is it not evil?
 And when you offer the lame and sick,
 Is it not evil?
 Offer it then to your governor!
 Would he be pleased with you?
 Would he accept you favorably?”
 Says the Lord of hosts.

Observation:

Why is creativity and a newness of expression often frowned on by people within the church family, when it is just the expectation to do so in the world around us?

Why is late attendance to a Worship service, just what happens, when habitual lateness to work would result in losing your job?

Why is anything short of excellence a failure in the world, but in teh church mediocrity is expected (or at least anticipated)?

Why do we not honour our God significantly higher than our Boss, our spouse, our family, our coach, our....?

Nothing much seems to have changed since the time of Malachi, but our God still calls us, He is unchanging, all powerful, majestic, He is God, He wants to become 'Lord'.

Application:

Any time my standards in serving Christ become a shadow or weak copy of my commitments anywhere else - I want to be reminded that it is to God that I want to give my BEST.  mY best creativity, boldness, time, resources, ...... My best and my first.

Prayer:

Lord help us to have a healthy perspective on life through an understanding of how awesome and mighty You are!  Help us all as Your children to honour You with every part of our lives and show our world how much we love You by every part of our lives.

Amen

The end of another chapter comes to a close with a great deal of sadness and trepidation.  I wll not be attending and helping serve with Schoolies on Magnetic Island this year after serving every year for the last 6 or 7 years!  It must be a God thing though because I have been praying and asking people to pray for me all year with a feeling that this was what I needed to do.  I am at peace, but yet.... it feels like a loss for me.

I am excited by the new leadership that will be there for this year and the great potential to again serve the community, but I will really miss the relationship forming that has been such a highlight over previous years with other support agencies and witht he schoolies and Magnetis Island community.

I'm sad, but I'm happy - but God is good and knows why I need to take this step.  Thankyou to all who have joined me in praying for God's heart in this decision, and please pray for the team that is developing that it will be fully equipped to do the task and resourced fantastically.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 14:28-30

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’"

OBSERVATION:

Discipleship (following and learning from Jesus) has a high cost for a high gain.  It is not a short term investment - it is eternal. 

They say that investing in the stockmarket in shares is a long term investment.  Shares fluctuate, they rise, they fall, they fall, they fall, they fall,....... (in 2008 anyway), but they will rise again (eventually).  Investing in shares however is about a net long term gain.  If you get out with the first hit, the first slump in prices, the first negative report - you lose.  If however you have given yourself enough time to ride out the cycle, the idea is that ultimately there should be a net gain even if it means 20 years down the track!

Life is a little like that, ... but Discipleship even more so!  However the difference between shares and Discipleship is that we have an iron clad promise that investing in Discipleship will reap rewards of an exponential nature for eternity (not financial necessarily) but life rewards. WHen you become a disciple of Jesus the cycle can be very much like this - gains feel like they come when we are encouraged through the Word of God, we get revelation of the awesome Power and Presence of Jesus, but maybe it seems like a downward cycle when we are corrected, disciplined, ....

With Christ there will always be a net gain - stay in this relationship long term - it is the only guaranteed investment!  Follow Jesus.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 16:14-15

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, ?e?the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Observation:

It is very easy to become caught up in putting God in a box which says - He si the God who did ..... for them.  He is the God who did amazing things in the Bible stories, He is the God who healed peoples sickness and disease, He is the God who rescued people from the most dire circmstances, He is the God who fed the hungry and provided income to the poor. 

All this is true, but it is a picture of Who God was to others.  In John 17 we see Jesus desire that we would know God, that we would ruly know Him.  Eternal life is to know God, not know of Him.  Not celebrate what we hear of Him, not rejoice over the amazing stories of freedom and life that others have.  It is to know Him personally.

That is why I love the passage in Jeremiah where although God is going to punish the people, it is because of His love for them.  They are not experiencing a personal God.  That is His desire - relationship.  And His desire becomes obvious when He says that one day that teh people will know Him not as the God who rescued people in the past - but the God who rescued me!

Application:

I need a personal revelation of who God is.  I need a relationship with Him my God and my Saviour.  I neeed to know Him.  I need to know Jesus, because He is the image of the Father.  I need to hear what the Spirit is saying to me, that I may know the Truth and the Truth would set me free.

So, what do I need to do, how do I see this fulfilled in my life?

It's easy to just say that reading the Bible and Prayer is the answer but I think it is more about doing that with a desire for a personal revelation of God - not just a revelation from God.

So I will desire to spend more significant times in The Word and in His presence in Prayer, and my desire is that I will see HIm more clearly and more personally.

Prayer:

Oh Lord my God, you are awesome, mighty, powerful and majestic.  You are God, there can be no other.  You are mighty to save, my God of wonders beyond what I can see or touch.  Thankyou that you are a poersonal God, that You live in me by Your Holy Spirit.  Thankyou that You call me Your temple of Your Holy Spirit.  Thankyou that You have rescued me, that You have plans and purposes for me that are good and perfect.  Thankyou that You care for me as much as for any other.

Lord, help me to see You more clearly, Help me to hear You more clearly, Help me to follow You obediently, I need You help to overcome my own selfishmness.  Help me to get a fresh and personal revelation of You constantly, that I may follow You and fulfill Your purposes for my life all the days of my Life.

Amen 

Wow, it's been a while since I sat and entered my thoughts.  Last week was an amazingly huge week which started with a combined church service with 6 different churches attending together, then an awesome 3 days away with some church leaders (17) from Townsville to pray.  Then we had our GetaWay4kids launch on Friday which was an amazing success.  And then a great Sunday again to share particularly with the Brake extended family the dedication of their new/first grandson Aiden.

In amongst all of that some thoughts have been stirring regarding what God is doing in this City and in my life.  Some of these ponderings and conclusions I would like to share below.

The main track I have been following lately has been the challenge to take a new step, a different step, and a step that was contrary to what God had said in a previous season.  I have noticed it is a lot more difficult to discern God's voice, when He is saying to do something that was not right to do last season.

7 to 8 years ago it was fairly obvious that God had told us to not join the church with a denomination, but to work on building relationships with His church around the city.  It has been difficult, it has been tough, but iut has been the most rewarding experience to find the people and the church ministries that we fit well with despite their / our denominational tag.  As a result of working on relationships, we have developed some close ties particulary with The Salvos, Hope Community Church and Citilife COC.  We have had many joinmt venture with all of these, and joined with them to worship, and had their leadership speak into our church family.

Many years ago we joined with Citilife COC and blessed the community with random acts of kindness and generosity and joined together to tell the stories of How we were able to bless.

Years later we joined with hte Salvos to run the Alpha program and we had a regular group of 60 - 70 atttending for an amazing feed and a great message during the week.  We ran alpha for kids and alpha for youth at the same time.

And throughout the years we have joined with our church family abroad in combined services around Easter and CHristmas and blessed oneanother.

Currently we are working with the Salvos with a joint welfare distribution initiative and we are also using their facilities for the Getaway concept for fdamilies on Friday nights.

Throughout these years, and we have been a church in this community for almost 9 years, the tag we have been given is 'independent'.  There was no box that we could be putin apart from that in many people's opinion.  I have seen those who are outside of my strong relationships struggle to understand the relationship we have with the church in this city from outside of a recognised grouping.  But those who we have built a relationship with have noticed that God is indeed doing something special in Riverside Christian Family and that we are an integral part of the Townsville wide Church.  I am glad to have been taken down this path, and it has helped me to put my trust more in Jesus than any other structure or system, and I am glad to look back and see how we have been obedient and grown in strength and stature over this time.

So what's different now?  I feel now that God is saying that the past was our period of preparation and now it is time to cross over and take the land.  When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan they did so together, every tribe together, even the tribes that already had their inheritance.  God has got us in an amazing place with the relationships we have in this city, I think the challenge now and opportunity is to join wider with the national church.

So I am making some steps toward building some relationships abroad to strengthen me and strengthen us.  Equipping the saints for the work of ministry is a big and important undertaking, and the skills and giftings of others will need to be drawn on in the coming days to help us all make the steps necessary to fulfill God's purposes in our lives and in the world around us.  Though we are very differnt to many other churches in the city, in leadership style, in people, we are going in the same dirrection and is important to work alongside those who have the most in common and encourage oneanother.  For this reason I will be making maves toward formalising my relationship with some key ministries that we have already built relationship with and will be joining with a national network of church ministries called 'Crosslink Network'.  This is not about giving up control or going a different way, but it is about growing and taking a step of strength.  Nothing significantly differnt should be expected in how we function as a body, but with time I believe this step will help strengthen and equip us in a better way to be all that God has called us to be.

Check out www.crosslinknetwork.com.au for more about the dna and vision/muission of this group to understand why I am persuing this.

It's been a tough struggle to get my head around this, because in a way it is contrary to the direction God lead us previously, but i am now seeing so many advantages and no disadvantages.

We are not a cult, we are not independent, we are not loopy.  We are interdependent - we depend on the relationships we have across the church - but that relationship is hard to see from outside.  I believe that building some structured accountabilty by being involved with crosslink will help us express clearer to our community, but also to the prodigals who have left churches over the years, that we are not goiung in a different dirrection to God, we are taking the journey together. This may well help take a stumbling block out for many who may come to Riverside Christian Family, but are wary that things may not be 'as they seem' and that they may be very cautious about coming back to the church with a group that seems to be independent.  We have the same heart and same dna of what God is doing with the Crosslink network and it makes for a good fit, a win-win, a place that we can be blessed but also a blessing.  Our current relationships and accountability would continue, we are just looking at linking in with the wider national network.

Scripture:

2 Peter 3:8-9

"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

Psalm 103:1

"Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me bless His Holy Name"

Observation:

He heals me, He delivers me, He sustains me, He is my provider, He is my Source, He is my strength, He saves me, He forgives me, He satisfies me!  King David wrote some amazing things as an act of praise and worship to his God and King.  And yet King David lived an extraordinary life, He was said to be a man after god's own heart, but his life was also filled with turbulence and trial.  If a man after god's own heart is not immune from the temptations and strife of life, no one is!  David says over and over, "Bless the Lord oh my soul".  He continues to remind himself of who God is and what God has and will do.

When will God fulfill His Word?  Well according to The passage in 2 Peter, whenever God's time is right.  And when that will be may seem like an inapropriate time frame for us, but He is Lord.  And even more so, we are reminded that everything is about the salvation and redemption of His people.  God is actively seeking to offer salvation to the World!  Is there a people who will rise up and be a part of the solution and wait patiently on the Lord?  Am I a person who will wait expectantly on the Lord, doing whatever I can now to see His Kingdom come and His will be done in my World and in my relationships?

Those who wait on the Lord shall rise up..... will not faint.....will soar.

So Lord God, I want to see answers now, but I am willing to wait for your perfect timeing.  Help me to patiently endure, and wait expectantly, clearing the way for people to find You, and actively seeking the coming of Your Kingdom authority in every realm of my life, family and community.  Amen

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-7 (5-7)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,"

Observation:

Times are tough sometimes, and often it seems in the eleventh hour that the breakthrough comes.  But the desire of our God, is that we will turn our eyes to Him despite what we are seeing with our natural perspective and place our unconditional trust in Him.  Fath for Salvation, is knowing the breakthrough will come, and standing firm on that promise until it arrives - that in the end God can be Glorified (because that's what it is all about).  But it is not waiting idle, it is waiting expectantly, doing what we can, knocking on the door, until the time arises 'for such a time as this'.

Application:

Turn everything over to Jesus, never give up, wait expectantly, have faith that He is more than able to meet our needs, provide the breakthrough, and nothing is impossible in the hands of God.  Where does this faith come from - abiding in God's Word.  I need His Word every day to be building faith in me.

Prayer:

God help us take encouragement from this piece of Your Word and fix our attention upon You.  You are our Source.  Amen.

Scripture:  Jeremiah 2:13

“For My people have committed two evils:
 They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
 And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water."

John 10:9-10

Jesus said "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Observation:

In the passage in John, Jesus has just healed a blind man who was blind since birth!  The result was a fued of words between those who observed the miracle as to whether it was a good thing or not!  All the evidence pointed to God, but....., they were blind and walking in another's footsteps.  They were disciples of a man and not of God.

God is the source of all things that pertain to Life.   He is the fountain of Living Water, He is our protector, our, ..... SOURCE.  The only way to life is through Him and in Him.  Jesus said that He is the door.  It's all through Him!

And yet, we try to do it ourselves.  We rely on our own strenght, our intellect, our creativity, and we strive for another way that we can control - or at least feel that we have control.  It is the path of least resistance, it is the path that is easy to fall back to.  We compromise and believe the lie that we are doing well wehn in fact we have neglected our God - forsaken Him.

How do we do this - well we just need to stop long enough to examine the fruit and the habits of our lives. 

How much time do we spend:

• stressing about financial matters?
• focussed on our career and promotion?
• loooking for significance in sport or leasure?
• in front of the tv or computer?

versus:

• how much time are we spending in God's Word?
• how much time do we send alone with Him (without distraction)
• how much time do we spend talking to Him? 

It isn't even second best that we settle for when we keep God out, because in teh end God is Life.  Any other way is deception, trickery, lies, destruction (in the end)

Any other way ends in teh pit of destruction and despair.

Seek God and Live

Seek God and experience Life

Seek God and walk in Truth

Seek God and enjoy all His Benefits

Any other way will lead to bitter fruits!

Application & Prayer:

Lord, I do not want to resort to the path of least resistance.  I confess that more often than not, I opt for the easy way rather than You - The Way.  You said that those who seek You with all thier hearts would find You.  Teach me, show me, guide me, please give me wisdom and patience, understanding, courage and perserverence to go after You all the days of my Life and Live richly with You as my Source.

Amen.

Been away for a few days - 2 days dental work, and some great times with my parents-in-law.  Even if Dad-in-law had to strap me in the dental chair for 3 hours of dental work! (He's a dentist by the way)  My Journal highlight for the last week was this one!

Scripture:

John 7:15-17

"And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."

Observation:

Jesus had some hard sayings, and throughout His ministry we see written that intersperced with all the miracles was an increasing boldness and precision of His teaching to reveal the inner thoughts of those who kept His company.

In fact, in John 6, where Jesus speaks of the need for people to eat His flesh and drink His blood, we see a very stark change in the imagry He is painting with His words!  He gos on to stipulate that His words are Spirit and Life (v63)

But... many left Him because it was too hard for them.

The disciples stayed however - they knew Jesus had the words of lIfe - of eternal Life (v68).

Application:

Am I one who will to do the will of the Father, or am I looking for what's in it for me - or am I just hanging around for the spectacle?  It's a tough question for any of ask to ask ourselves, even tougher if it is asked of us!

Can I truly say -

"It does not make sense to me right now but..... You have the words of eternal Life, You are JEsus Chirst the Lord!"

Do I only want words that tickle my ears, or do I want the word of Truth, words of the Spirit and of Life.  Words that lead the Way, and show me the Way!

Increasingly, in my relationship with Jesus Christ, what He reveals in His Word will become increasingly harder and harder sayings - but when it just doesn't seem to make sense right now - I resolve to stay firm in the fact that His Words are Spirit, and sometimes it is I who needs to catch up and comprehend what the Spirit is doing!  I need spiritual eyes and ears to discern the spiritual word and not just look at what is happening in the natural world and my natural circumstances.

Prayer:

Lord, don't just tickle my ears with words I want to hear, but lead me and guide me by Your Spirit in knowledge, in Wisdom and in Truth.  Thankyou that You have the words of eternal life, thankyou that as I saeek the will of you my Father, that all things will begin to make sense and stir up greater faith and healing.

Not my will - but Your will be done.

Help me to understand what this really means and live my life accordingly.

Amen