May 28, 2018 Monday

“So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”” (Isaiah 6:5-8 NKJV)

            What an amazing journey for Isaiah!  Isaiah goes from confession his sinfulness and unworthiness to answering God’s call with “Here am I! Send me.”  In truth each of us must make this journey for ourselves if we are to hear God’s call and to say SEND ME!

            Why do I call this a journey?  Because a journey takes you from one place to another and God definitely takes us from a sinful person to a redeemed person who can hear God and God’s call!  

            I believe (I try to say this when there is no clear scriptural basis but I think it fits in with scripture.) God does not cause us to intentionally sin and so if we say no to God we will not hear a call until we confess our sin by not obeying.  Perhaps that is why some Christians say God does not speak to them.

            After Isaiah’s confession a seraphim touches a live (burning) coal to Isaiah’s mouth and purifies him with fire.  Fire is seen as a way of cleansing and ashes from a fire are some of the cleanest things on earth.

            There is no way we can prepare ourselves for ministering to others on our own.  We must confess our need for God and then be humble enough to seek God’s call rather than our will.  If we are obedient this way then we can receive the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  Through the Holy Spirit we go from bandaging temporary pains and needs to being used by God to bring eternal healing!

            Do you dare to confess you sin and need for God and face the fire that will purge your sin and prepare you for ministry?  Are you willing to put aside your dreams and plans and God to send you on a journey of faith? Will you be a Peter, what about this man, or an Isaiah, send me?  

            I keep waking up early and cannot get back to sleep.  I am so weary and struggle to stay awake but if I try to sleep I cannot.  Do not know if it is the CPAP machine, the mask or the pain.  Rebecca is going through a time when she cannot sleep.  I pray God will bring healing to her.  Jonathan and Bonnie’s Mom came for supper and we watched the last of Cranford together.  We had a great time.  Today is Memorial Day and I do lift up in prayer the families of those who gave their lives.  I especially remember those I saw die and those who were so seriously injured.           

God’s Great Fabric

God thought of me, and fit me into the fabric of life.  I could see where I was attached to the fabric that made up my parents and their parents too.  Many others were attached to me here and there at points in the fabric.  Some I couldn’t even remember who they were, but the connections remained strong and true.  As I looked farther along I saw a great rumpled area that was pulled away from all and some other rumpled areas of fabric.  I asked God why He had messed up the fabric and He told me, “That is where you pulled away from Me!”  Farther along I saw where the fabric settled back down, leaving only little pulled places here and there. 

I saw the deepest connection with Bonnie as our fabric combined to become a new fabric made brighter and more vibrant by the combination.  Then came the tiny stitches of my children.  I wept as I saw the rumpled areas of their fabric, and then celebrated as I saw it settle out farther along to combine with other fabric to become vibrant.  Then there were other tiny stitches, but God wouldn’t let me see beyond that point.

Looking back I saw other connections I had missed before.  Friends who had attached their fabric to mine, some for just a few stitches.  Others carried a deep stitch that lasted for long pieces of the fabric.  Some were deeply tied in and at times the colors blended some.  I realized that where someone gives, something is received.

The fabric stretched forward and backward farther than I could see.  There were well known stitches, but many more unknown that carried as bright a color and were also attached to many other stitches.  Unknown to me, but so well known by God.  So often God would smooth down a piece of the fabric, often with tears in His eyes.

What kept the fabric from unraveling, I asked?  God showed me a special weave that surrounded the fabric and extended into the very heart of it.  It was Jesus!  For Jesus holds us all together, as well as the One who makes the stitches of the fabric.  I saw that the fabric stretched both ways from me, but that I helped hold the whole fabric together also.  I was not just a part of God, but of the whole fabric of life.

May God show you the fabric of your life!       

                                                          Ronald Ramsey March 23, 2001

George Conder wrote this hymn and Henry Smart wrote its tune.  Use this hymn as a beginning for your Worship.

All things praise Thee

All things praise Thee, Lord most high, 

Heav’n and earth and sea and sky, 

All were for Thy glory made, 

That Thy greatness thus displayed 

Should all worship bring to Thee; 

All things praise Thee – Lord, may we!

 All things praise Thee – night to night 

Sings in silent hymns of light; 

All things praise Thee – day to day 

Chants Thy power in burning ray; 

Time and space are praising Thee, 

All things praise Thee – Lord, may we!

 All things praise Thee – high and low, 

Rain and dew and sparkling snow, 

Crimson sunset, fleecy cloud,

Rippling stream, and tempest loud; 

Summer, winter, all to Thee 

Glory render – Lord, may we!

            So many children in the Philippines are considered garbage dump children.  Their families live in or near garbage dumps because of poverty and the children become prey for pedophiles.  Children are picked up for sex and at times sold by their families in their desperation.

            Rescue Ministries started when a group from First United Methodist Church in Jefferson City Tennessee went to the Philippines to help people.  They realized the children needed more than they could do in a short trip. 

            They set up a place where the children live and go to school. Currently they have someone graduating from High School and someone graduating from college.  Because of their education they can support their families and help their siblings go to school!

www.therescueministries.org

            There are so many who every day is not only a struggle to survive but another day they are defiled and their soul stolen away through addiction.

            Renovatus Ministries brings those enslaved to their addictions to a new life in Jesus Christ.  Through the live in ministry and training the program those involved develop a work ethic.  The program is long term as they disciple for a year and some continue to be part of the program for two years. 

            Where many programs are little more than places to dry out in 30 days Renovatus seeks to give time for God to make major changes in peoples life.

            Renovatus also goes to jails and offer Celebrate Recovery classes and as they are released connect them to congregations to continue their studies and receive support.

            My wife and I were members of the board until I was disabled and we continue to support them.  Please see if God would have you support this ministry.

www.renovatusrc.org/

May 27, 2018 Sunday

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-4 NKJV)

            How do you picture God?  Do you believe God is limited to heaven?  How will you react if you saw God?

            Isn’t it interesting the comparison in Isaiah that the king dies and we are shown a view of the Living God?  Isaiah presents us with a view of God we see again in the book of Revelation.  The glory of God flows through the throne room and out into creation!  God is not limited to heaven and Isaiah hears from the seraphim,

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”  The glory of God is all around us and through Jesus we can experience it!

            The voice of the seraphim shakes the door post and the “House” is filled with “smoke”!  This amazing picture of heaven is beyond belief to all but those who through the Holy Spirit see a glimpse of what they will receive through faith!

            The power of the seraphim is incredible because just the voice of the worship of God shakes the post of the door in Heaven.  If the power of worship shakes the door posts of heaven can you imagine what it does to hell?

            Worship of God by the Church is a thorn in the side of evil and shakes the very foundation of hell!  The celebration of the glory of God by the Church connects us with the worship of God in heaven and weakens the power of evil.

            It is amazing to think that all around the world God’s children are praising and worshipping God and united with heaven!  Even a small service of a couple of people joins with heaven to worship and celebrate God.  We are changed, renewed and strengthened against evil as we worship God and grow in our appreciation of God.  For whenever we come into the presence of God we are never the same!

             

“1 ¶  « A Praise of David. » I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2  Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. 4  One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:1-4 NKJV)

May 26, 2018 Saturday

“Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.” (Psalm 51:11-13 NKJV)

            God is holy and we are not and cannot be holy by anything we do.  Our sin is a constant wall between us and God and must be dealt with.

            In the Old Testament sin was forgiven by the sacrificial system which covered the sin of the priests, individuals and the nation.  A prescribed sacrifice of various animals was set by God to pay for their sins and enable them to be God’s people.  These sacrifices were only a temporary relief from sins and had to be repeated.

            In the New Testament the sacrificial system involving animals was fulfilled eternally by the Lamb of God Jesus Christ.  Temporary animal sacrifices were no longer necessary and are even against God’s plan.  Could that be why just a few years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Temple would be destroyed?

            But the sacrifice of Jesus has no affect without a confession of our sin and of our need.  The Psalmist makes a confession of sin and a plea God will not cast him away and take away the Holy Spirit.  The Psalmist recognizes not only desire for but the need for God!

            Through confession and God’s grace of providing for deadly sin by the offering of Jesus our dead blood is replaced by the living blood of Jesus.  God does not see our sin and sinful (full of sin) life but the hole life of Jesus.

            We receive the joy of salvation as God removes the chains of sin and the weight of guilt.  We are freed to live a better and more rewarding life using the life and teaching of Jesus as our guide.  Without the Holy Spirit the Bible is impossible to understand and it is impossible for us live a life of eternal impact.

            With the Holy Spirit God’s plan is revealed and we are empowered to live it out.  We live our life by the example Jesus and share the Gospel of hope through Jesus Christ.  We are given the joy and blessing of being part of God’s plan and seeing lives changed forever!

            Have you confessed not only your sin but also your need for God?  Have you received the sacrificial cleansing for life through Jesus?  Are you living out your salvation by sharing with others the Good News?

            Saturday was a day of rest.  I tried to read but my brain was not very clear.  It is amazing to me that even when my brain is not clear I can still do the devotion.

May 25, 2018 Friday

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:22-27 NKJV)

            Groaning!  Creation groans at all the blood which has been shed from the time of Abel until now!  The rampant sin and warfare cause the destruction of the people involved, the world itself but also so many who are desensitized to killing and do not value people.

            Because of Jesus the pain of creation rent by volcano’s, earthquake’s, various storms, nuclear weapons and the blood of so many has been redeemed into birth pains.  The Bible tells us the pain of childbirth is lessened by the birth of the child! 

            Paul is teaching us that the suffering of Creation and humanity can be an investment if it leads us to birth into a new life!  The depth of sin delays the new birth of Creation as God waits so each person has an opportunity to choose redemption and life over meaningless suffering!

            The answer to the groaning begins with hope!  We may want to disagree and say faith is the first and most important thing but without hope faith is impossible.  Hope is the ground which nourishes the seed of faith so it can grow into a plant and produce the fruit of love.  The fruit of love has a seed in it which will plant faith into the ground of the life of others.

            But we groan too!  At times our pain and suffering make it hard for us to pray because we are so upset and groan in pain.  The Holy Spirit steps in and shares our groans in the form of a prayer.  When the Holy Spirit groans for us we don’t just get an answer but we also receive a renewal each time as God reveals more of Himself to us!

            Do you take the groaning of your life to God?  Have you ever experienced a time in prayer when you didn’t know what to pray?  What can you do about the groaning of Creation?

            Friday was a rough day, but Bonnie and I had our devotion and prayer.  There is so much to pray for and about.  I use maps from different continents and countries to pray for not just countries but even cities.  This helps me organize my prayer time but I still will left up anything I believe God is leading me to pray for or about.  Bonnie’s Mom and Jonathan came for supper and we have a great time!

I saw they put a notice on blogs warning about cookies which seems to be in response to a European law.  Please know I do not do anything that will add cookies or in any way interfere with your computer.  I would no more hurt you than I would like to be hurt in such a way!

May 24, 2018 Thursday

““But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27 NKJV)

            As Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will come to them Jesus defines the Holy Spirit as helper and the Spirit of truth.

Helper – summoned or called to be on the side or beside someone and to plead their case before a judge.  To come to someone’s aid or assistance.

Spirit of truth -   Here we need to look at two words.

Spirit  - “the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”.  (This is a quote from Strong’s)

Truth – what is true under God’s authority and in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  This is not The Truth who is Jesus but the truth of who we are and what we are called to do by God.

           

            In this passage we see the fullness of the Trinity working together and united in purpose.  The words Jesus used to define the Holy Spirit teach us we are to be united with the Trinity to live out our salvation and serve the God who saved us.

            The gift of life does not just make us alive but to be alive means we can follow God’s will and plan and be part of something that is eternal.  Even as we work out our existence we can truly live out God’s plan for our lives and for all creation.

            Our lives take on a deeper meaning as we see God working in the lives of the people God calls us to serve reminding us that to serve God is to serve those He loves!

            Indeed, as the passage says we are with God from the beginning.  For we truly begin to live when we come to God through Jesus Christ!  We truly become a new person – a new creation!

            Are you the same person you were before coming to Jesus?  Do you find being a Christian boring?  Have you sought through the Holy Spirit the call of God in your life?

            Bonnie and I went to visit Benny and Dianne McNutt today.  This is my first visit since going on disability.  It was so good to be with them but it was hard.  I have found that the better something is the harder it seems to do it.

May 23, 2018 Wednesday

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Romans 8:12-17 NKJV)

            In some cultures when someone saves your life you are indebted to them and will serve them.  In such a way we are debtors to Jesus who saved our lives and freed us from slavery to sin.

            Under sin we are constantly in bondage to fear but through Jesus the Christ we receive the “Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  What an amazing thought!  Through Jesus we are set free from slavery to sin and fear and are brought to an adoption of hope and life!

            Even more amazing we can be so close to God that like little children we can call God Daddy!  This term of endearment reveals to us the closeness of the relationship we can have with God.

            How can this be true?  How can we know and understand what is beyond our hope and dreams?

            The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are not only the children of God but even heirs.  God makes us heirs and joint heirs with Jesus!  This passage calls us back to the prayer of Jesus in John 17 as Jesus prays we could and would become united with God!

            Then Paul says that as we suffer for Jesus we will be glorified with Jesus!  It is easy to read past the suffering and go on to the glory but we really cannot have one without the other.

            Why do we need to suffer if the suffering of Jesus was enough?  By suffering for Jesus we declare to the world Jesus is worth living for and dying for!

            There is an old story that as Christians were dying in the arena some from the crowd would jump in desiring something worth dying for because they didn’t have anything worth living for!

            Rejoice!  Your life has been saved by the love and sacrifice of Jesus and we can have an amazing relationship with this God who wants us call Him Daddy!  We are called to serve, but we serve as children and heirs of God.

            Do you believe this wondrous news?  Have you sought not only salvation through the suffering of Jesus but a relationship with God as your Daddy?

            I got another letter from my pen pal Addison Hodgson.  Her letters always bless me and make the day brighter!  She has such a sweet spirit to write to me and even to remember me!  This week has been so much better than the last two.  We have had a lot of birds at the feeders and seeing them and hearing their song brings joy to my heart.  Their song leads me to join in praise to God.  It seems God has been leading me to pray for Central and South America, the Middle East, Korea, the Philippines and China.  I went on the internet and got maps of these areas so I can pray for the cities and provinces as well as the nations.

May 22, 2018 Tuesday

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:22-27 NKJV)

            As we look at the beauty we see around us it is easy to forget at times this is a fallen and broken world.  We marvel at the beauty and amazing intricacy of creation that surrounds us and the God who created everything from nothing.

            But for all the beauty this is just a broken creation which awaited the coming of Jesus because finally hope was born!  All the wonderful signs surrounding the birth of Jesus was a sign that once again Heaven and creation were connected and the first fruits of redemption has begun!

            Being fully God and fully human Jesus is a symbol God is reuniting Heaven and creation once again.  Creation understood the great cost for redemption as Jesus died on the cross and responded with darkness, storm and earthquakes!  Creation also understood the wondrous hope by some dead coming out of graves to celebrate the life we have been given and the veil of the temple was torn as God brought hope back!

            Like creation our soul groans under the weight of sin and cries out to God for help, hope and God!  We often do not know what we want or need and out prayers become a muddled mess leaving us despairing of hope.  But the Holy Spirit knows our weakness and intercedes for us and cries out what is beyond our ability to ask!

            God responds to our groaning and intercedes for us giving what we need and when it is good for us what we want.  The word intercession is a combination of two root words which mean in a fixed position in time and space to be by and with someone and another which means to hit the mark by a spear or javelin.  This is wonderful in that sin means to miss the mark!

            If the beauty we see in creation is marred and broken by sin what do you think Heaven will be like? Have you ever come to God in prayer and run out of words or not know what to say? 

           

May 21, 2018 Monday

““Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:11-17 NKJV)

            Nicodemus is a scholar and a leader of Israel but the teachings of Jesus leave him confused and this confusion about earthly things cuts him off from understanding heavenly things.  Some in the Church are either like Nicodemus or even worse.

            Without prayer we cannot keep our relationship with God growing and alive, without studying the Bible we cannot get to know God, and the Bible keeps our prayers and our teaching about God correct and growing.

            Jesus having lived in both the world and heaven can guide us to a true understanding of both and how they interact.  Every teaching of Jesus helps us grow to know who we are and who we can be, how forgiveness bridges the gap between earth and heaven and how we can know about God and also know God!

            The teaching of Jesus does not just connect heaven and earth but also the Old and New Testaments.  As the people of Israel were dying of snake bites because of their sin Moses made a pole with a serpent on it and all who looked at it would be healed.  This symbol is used for the medical profession even today.

            As Jesus was lifted on the cross all who look at Jesus will be healed from their sin and receive eternal life.  Eternal life is more than living forever, it is living NOW!  Eternal life is moving beyond just existing to life which is abundant and free!  Eternal life is wrestling with sin rather than allowing it to destroy us by keeping us from Jesus who is life!

            A person in one of the congregations I served said while most people love John 3:16 he loved John 3:17.  We do celebrate the great love of God who was willing to die so we could have life but we also celebrate the God who came not to condemn us but to save us!

This is a God worth serving and loving!

            When you have a question do you like Nicodemus ask God for an answer?  When you get an answer do you receive it and make it part of your relationship with God?

(This week has been hard and I have fallen behind so much.  My mind has been so fuzzy so putting thoughts together has been so difficult.)

May 20, 2018 Sunday

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)

            The Christian year is an amazing way to see how God works in Israel, the Church and in your life.  Pentecost is older than Christianity and to Jews was the Feast of Weeks and celebrated God providing the harvest.  Later it was called Shavuot and celebrates the gift of the Torah which is the first five books of the Bible.

            The first followers of Jesus gathered to pray and as the Jews celebrated receiving the law they received the gift of the Holy Spirit as they celebrated grace!  The Holy Spirit would guide Christians to live a life of obedience to Jesus who had fulfilled the law!

            Christianity is not the casting aside of our Jewish heritage but of living in Jesus who fulfilled the law and allows us to live by grace!  The Bible is still our guide and a way to know the God who we desire to know and serve.

            Pentecost is a time to remember we were a broken and sin enslaved person who was unable to understand the law as well as live it.  We would either twist the law to hurt others or to allow us to live and believe as we wanted.

            Pentecost is a time to remember that through Jesus we know the Way, the Truth and Life.  Through Jesus we are prepared to receive the Holy Spirit who guides us to a full life guided by God’s truth and able to walk in the way God has for us.

            Pentecost is a celebration of the harvest of souls that would come from us being able to speak to others in their own “tongues” through the Holy Spirit!  While at times this means speaking other languages it can also mean knowing what to say to each person since only God knows their heart.

            Pentecost is a time to get as some preachers would teach “a fire in your belly” and hunger to share with others the Good News which has changed your life eternally!  Happy Pentecost!

            Ask yourself what Pentecost means to you?  As you concerned more with the harvest of crops or the harvest of souls?  Are you still seeking to live out the law or through Christ who fulfilled the law seeking to live it out in obedience and love?

(Thanks to Bonnie who reminded me about the Feast of Weeks which celebrated God's goodness in providing the harvest.  This added so much to this devotion!)

May 19, 2018 Saturday

““Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”” (John 17:24-26 NKJV)

            The plan of redemption is that through Jesus our sins are paid for so we can be with God.  God’s desire for us to be with Him can be seen in the response to our fall. 

“Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”” (Genesis 3:9 NKJV)

God made the greatest of sacrifices by giving Jesus, the only begotten Son, to take on our sin and prepare us to once again be able to walk and talk with God!

            Over and over Jesus would declare His obedience to the Father so the disciples and crowds would learn to live this way.  Much of the teaching of Jesus drew people to the Father and called them to obedience to God rather than to Moses or the prophets.

            When we experience the love of God who is willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son we are changed forever and are able to love with God’s love. 

            Do you realize the Father thought it was not enough of a sacrifice to die Himself but declared our value by offering Jesus to remove our sin and bring us to God?

            Such a love changes us so much we are able to love God and others with the love of God.  By this love we are able to go beyond our often selfish and self-centered ways and discover a new way of living with the joy of seeing God change lives.

            We are able to continue to be obedient and faithful if we maintain our relationship with God realizing “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” 

            Jesus is not just with you but is actually in your life and as you walk with God your life becomes a great adventure as you experience the wonderful, miraculous love of God!

            Do you hear God’s cry to you to know Him?  Do you seek to hear God’s cry and walk with God?  Are you living a great adventure (life) or just making it day by day (existence)?

            Today was one of those tale of two days.  I stayed out of bed most of the day and was able to do some things but I had this general pain all over which did not go away.  Bonnie and I had our devotion and time of prayer.  There is so much to pray about and for.  So many people and places are suffering so much and the congregations and denominations in America are either too busy caring for themselves or fighting about matters which God has already decided for us.  But God’s people are still changing lives which changes the world and even eternity!

May 18, 2018 Friday

““I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:20-23 NKJV)

            As God Jesus is not limited by time even living within time and sees the Church’s growth through time to extend and complete the ministry of Jesus.  Even seeing the brokenness as the Church split into denominations and the excesses of those who claim to be Christians Jesus sees those who are always faithful and continue the lineage of the Church.

            Jesus prays the world will understand God is one by the unity of Christians.  Our lives reveal to the world the difference God can make in a human being and for many Christians are the only way they experience God.

            And then the amazing gets even amazinger! (I know this is not a word but it explains it well.)  Jesus declares “that they also may be one in Us”.   Unity is when God’s people are united with God!

            Jesus teaches our unity is possible because we have been given the glory God has given to Jesus.  But what is glory?  The Hebrew root word for glory means to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honorable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honored.  In Greek glory comes from the root which means offering the praise, honor, dignity and worship God deserves.

            The Old Testament word glory is God centered describing why God deserves our worship and praise.  The New Testament word glory is us centered and we must choose to give God the praise and worship of our hearts.

            Our choice to offer God our worship is a sign to the world of the glory of God and calls them to come to God.  The Glory of God is a description of God and also a statement of why we should give our lives to the God who gave His life for us.

            Do you think worship services are boring?  Do you go to a worship service to offer your worship to God?  What does it say about you if worship is boring?

            Today is a little better even though I still am weary.  Was able to walk and sit outside after we had our devotion and prayer.  Bonnie and Jonathan went to Knoxville Sympathy concert and Rebecca and I had a movie and popcorn time.

May 17, 2018 Thursday

““Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (John 17:17-19 NKJV)

            Jesus pulls together so much in this little part of the prayer.  So much of the Gospel of John speaks about the Word and Truth.   From the very beginning we see this so clearly.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4 NKJV)

            Jesus is the Word of God and is God and also creator!  Jesus does more than just give life but is life itself!

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)

            I am the truth!  Pilate could not see truth standing before him, the Jewish leaders could not see the truth as Jesus taught and renewed the lives of so many through many healings and miracles!  Jesus makes the amazing claim that He is not just the source of the way, truth and life but Jesus IS the way, truth and life.

            Reread this passage and where it says truth and word see them as Jesus!  Jesus would sanctify Himself so we could be sanctified by Jesus!  Once again the theme of unity and connection are prayed for as we depend upon Jesus to not only be justified (to be forgiven and saved) but to also be sanctified (to be empowered to serve God and others in a good way)!

            Sanctification propels us into the world as we live out the way of Jesus who came to us and did not sit and wait for us to come!  We have the example of Jesus to go out into the world seeking to share the truth guided by the word of God to help people discover the Living Word Jesus the Christ!

            Have you been justified (to be forgiven and saved)?  Have you been sanctified (to be empowered to serve God and others in a good way)?  If you have been justified are you moving out into the world sharing Jesus the Word and the Truth?

            Bonnie and I got caught up on our devotion and prayer.  I was able to listen to the Bible some.  I got the rest of the cards done and ready to be mailed tomorrow.  Still very weary and hope the Nuvigil will get into my system soon.

May 16, 2018 Wednesday

““Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:11-16 NKJV)

            Jesus should startle us with the statement that He is no longer in the world or is that something you read over?  Once again we see God is not limited by time, deed or even prayer.  Yes Jesus came into our world and was limited somewhat by being human but the prayers and deeds of Jesus are timeless!

            Look at the Last Supper and see Jesus who would soon be broken on the cross commemorating that act by breaking the bread BEFORE the crucifixion!

            Jesus prays for we who still live in the world and – I must quote this for I have no word to express it!  “Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”

            Jesus then uplifts the written word as the very Word of the Father and that everything Jesus did was to fulfill God’s Word!  The Living Word who took part in the written word fulfilled the written word through His life!

            If we receive the Living Word and seek to grow in the written word we receive the Joy of God and the hate of the world!  Some say they hate Christians because they are judgmental and the truth is Christians will always seem judgmental because we live through the Living Word and seek to live by the written word.  God’s light reveals the darkness and the world hates when their darkness is revealed!

            The world hates us like they did Jesus and seeks to destroy us to extinguish the Light of God because of their darkness.  Jesus prays not that we would be saved from the dark people in the world, but from the evil one – satan who can destroy us!  Those who can harm our body are of no danger but the evil one works to destroy our soul!

            Do you desire to know the written word so you can better know the Living Word?  Does the written word bother you because it reveals the darkness in your life?  Are you willing to give your life for Jesus who gave His life for you?

            This week has been terrible!  In preparation for the sleep test I had to go off the Nuvigil for a week and I cannot express how bad it was.  On Tuesday I went for the test at 9 PM and that night had the sleep test and today had the nap part of the test until 4 PM.  I pray this helps because I truly and weary of tests which cause so much pain with little or no results.  But I was able to listen to chapters from Isaiah and from 2Chronicles as I read through the Bible again.

May 15, 2018 Tuesday

““I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.” (John 17:6-10 NKJV)

            Jesus who is the Living Word of God declares He has manifested God’s name to those Jesus has been given.  Jesus would declare to the disciples if you have seen me you have seen the Father.  We may struggle understanding how the Trinity works, how God can die or how God communicates within the Trinity but we can know in the life of Jesus we see God!

            The writings of Jesus as the Living Word were written by some of those given to Jesus and have become the written word we call the Bible.  Through the words Jesus passed on to us we receive not just the plan but the planner also.

             Then there is a statement which seems so unlike Jesus to us.  When Jesus promised to pray for those who come from God that may make us feel good but when Jesus refuses to pray for the world you may be astounded!

            How does this statement fit in with your view of Jesus?  The more certain we are about our view of God the more likely we are to be wrong!  As human beings we like to be able to understand, to know or even to “guestimate” but with God that is not possible.

            For though we desperately need a God bigger than us and our problems we still try to shrink God down to a manageable size or make God a “large” human being.  Could that be why many are disappointed with God and cannot really look to God for help and sustenance?

            Jesus does not pray for, but proclaims the unity of God and with us!  Those who are BC, or Before Christ, looked to God and those who came during the time of Jesus and after (AD or Anno Domini – year of the Lord) are united into one just as God is one!

            Where are you within this unity?  Do you belong to Jesus or do you belong to the world?  Are you seeking to unify yourself with God and other people who believe in Jesus or are you seeking your own way and cutting yourself off from the unity Jesus came to bring?