Armageddun Loc: The show me state

[quote=Armageddun]Stunned By Grace Max Lucado

I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by His grace.

God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. In fact, it always seemed right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job, God! Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming.

Discipline is easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate.

But God’s grace? Anything but. Do you need examples? How much time do you have? Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. Zacchaeus, the crook… the cleanest part of his life was the money he’d laundered. But Jesus still had time for him. The thief on the cross, hung-out to die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Surprise after surprise! Search the pages. Read the stories! Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. Search. You won’t find it.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast [a]about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with [b]insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.[/quote]



"All things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

"God is the God of promise. He keeps His Word, even when that seems impossible." Colin Urquhart....

Have you reached a dead end? Is it more dire than anything God has dealt with before? Is He confounded by your hopeless situation? We can take comfort in His many promises. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear" (Isaiah 59:1). "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind; is anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27). "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me" (Psalm 50:15).

God does not promise to grant us everything on our agenda, but He does promise to meet real needs and to support real ministry in response to real faith. His track record is impressive. Never have His purposes been thwarted by circumstances too demanding. Never has His strength fallen short of the need. This is the promise we have in our Savior: All things are possible with God.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
(Proverbs 4:23, NIV)

Guard Your Heart

Your eyes, ears and mouth are all gateways to your heart. What you watch and listen to goes into your heart whether you realize it or not. Similar to a computer, what you allow into your heart programs your thinking and words, which ultimately determines the direction of your life. Indeed, your thoughts determine actions, attitude and self-image. You can guard your heart by being extremely careful about what you watch and listen to. But beyond that, you have to guard your heart against bitterness and bad attitudes. The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. That means your words show where your heart is. Take inventory today of what you are saying, watching and listening to. As you guard your heart and mind, the springs of life within you will flow freely, and you will live in the abundance the Lord has in store for you.

A Prayer for Today
"Heavenly Father, today I submit my mind and heart to You. I choose to guard my heart and ask that You guide and direct my everyday choices. Purify me by Your spirit so that life will flow from me in every area. In Jesus’ Name. Amen."

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27

"Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world."
---John Wesley.....

Human nature, especially in our age, is to avoid carrying crosses at all costs. Through many people historically have made great sacrifices for a greater good, and some undoubtedly still do, we are more likely to act as if avoiding sacrifice is the greater good. We seek safety, comfort, security, and pleasure, often at the expense of doing God's will. "Let the true zealots---the missionaries and the ministers---live consecrated lives on our behalf," many might say. "Their sacrifices are the exception, not the rule." We risk compromising God's mission for the path of least resistance." We're not willing to pay the price of impacting the world.

We read a New Testament full of crosses and chains, stoning's and scars, beatings and bond servants, and we thank God that these days are gone. But they are only gone because we have learned to tiptoe around the "excesses" of New Testament zeal.

Jesus offers us no such option. We are not allowed to fit God's mission in around our higher priorities. We may choose safety or Christ, but not both. We may pursue the American dream or the kingdom of God, but not both. Christ compels us to choose.

Lets break out of our comfort zone. The life of discipleship is not about comfortable pews and golden crosses; it is about a clash of kingdoms. It is not about protecting ourselves; it is about signing up for the war. Imagine standing before the throne of our Protector one day and telling Him, "Sorry, Lord, I would have done Your will, but it wasn't safe." Self-preservation at the expense of obedience always has grave consequences in the Bible. Let's recognize where eternal safety lies and abandon ourselves to the Christ who calls us to carry our crosses and sacrifice all we have.

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

Proverbs 4:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Amen

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

"This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:28

"As you sit and gaze, it will be born in you that only a crucified Savior could meet your need."
William Sangster...

The Cross is God's wrath made plain. It is also God's love made plain. No man-made religion can claim such a God. All other deities are either so angry that they can't be appeased, or so innocuous that they are meaningless. Nowhere else in the universe--- even in fertile imaginations---have justice and grace been reconciled so completely.

No human being could have come up with this plan. No human religion could have laid down a centuries-old sacrificial system to so perfectly foreshadow what would be fulfilled in one individual---the same individual who also happened to deliver the most profound teachings that the world has ever heard. No, the blood of the covenant poured out at the Cross comes from the hand of God---in judgement and in love.

Meditate on the judgement of God. It was harsh and heavy. It is a true assessment of our offense. Meditate also on the grace of God. It is a love far above our understanding that pays so high a price for so unworthy a purchase. Meditate and marvel at the staggering plan of God.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

MADE FOR WORSHIP
"A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and t***h, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."
John 4:23
"If you will not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him one day a week."
---A.W. Tozer.....
When we consider God's will for our lives, we usually are thinking in terms of a career direction or a major family or financial decision. God wants to direct us in these, but He has a higher priority. What is God's will for us? Worship.
Jesus calls for obedient followers. He asks us to pray that laborers be sent into the harvest. But above all of these callings of service is a prior calling: to worship Him in spirit and in t***h. This is our ultimate purpose when all is said and done, when The Lord has returned, when the multitudes are gathered before His throne, we will know we exist only for worship. It is the last picture given in Scripture of the saints in heaven (Revelation 19).
It stands to reason, then, that this is what God's creation is all about. When we focus on accomplishments and service, we are missing the point if these are not acts of worship themselves. When we seek His guidance, we may not get it if we've neglected His first purpose for us. We must major on worship and let everything else support that vision.
Every workman knows you need the right tool for the right job. Human resources managers know how to assign people the appropriate tasks. But in our relationship with God, we some times miss the point that we are created for His glory. We find ourselves as misapplied tools or employment misfits in the kingdom of God because we don't see our proper role.
Above all else, Christians' lives must be characterized by worship. There is a reason Jesus pointed to our love for God as the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37). It fulfills our purpose. We were designed for worship, and the Father is seeking those who know that.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Wait

Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work.



Most of us don’t have to wait very long for anything anymore. Just think about how antsy you feel when the dentist is running behind schedule. Drives you crazy, doesn’t it?

Apparently, Habakkuk wasn’t crazy about waiting either. Nonetheless, he knew that was the next thing he had to do if he was going to make it out of the valley of despondency. God told him, “The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3 NIV).

The Hebrew word here for “appointed time” is mow’ed, which means the right time, the affixed time, the divinely chosen time that God permits something to happen. There’s an old saying that God is rarely early, never late, and always right on time. That’s summed up by mow’ed.

Maybe you’ve been praying for what seems like forever for someone you love to come to Christ. So you wait. You might be asking God for another kind of miracle. For someone to be healed. For someone to be freed from an addiction. For a promotion. Or a spouse. So you pray. You wait.

Then you wait some more.

When you look through Scripture, you’ll see example after example after example of people who are chosen by God, close to him, who still find themselves waiting.

God told Moses, “I’m going to use you to deliver my people and rebuild the nation of Israel.” Then Moses went on a forty-year road trip. Forty years!

Now, here’s one of my favorites. The apostle Paul has a vision and met Christ. He’s t***sformed and says, “I’m called to preach. That’s what I’m here to do. This is all. I am compelled to preach the gospel. This is my God-given, singular purpose in life.” And then he waits. Thirteen years pass before that purpose begins. Thirteen years before he gets to preach his very first message!

Some seasons in life, you just wait.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5:7-8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.”
‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2:2-3‬ ‭CSB

‬‬ “Look up and see! Who created these? He brings out the stars by number; he calls all of them by name. Because of his great power and strength, not one of them is missing. Jacob, why do you say, and Israel, why do you assert, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my claim is ignored by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:26-28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

Amen and Amen!

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

"Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Luke 5:20
"Christ comes with a blessing in each hand; forgiveness in one, holiness in the other."
---A.W. Pink.....
One of the greatest things a Christian can do for encouragement is to meditate on this verse. Many of us tend to beat ourselves up for our sins. We are right to take sin so seriously. When we are convicted by the Holy Spirit that we are not right in our relationship with God, we should immediately confess, repent, and accept forgiveness. But this last step is difficult for many. The thought of grieving and offending the eternal, sovereign Lord is hard to swallow.
To those who mourn over their sinfulness, Jesus speaks these words: "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Friend of sinners always has words of comfort for those who know the gravity of sin. He did not come into the world to condemn, but to save (John 3:17). Why would we think He might be unwilling to forgive us? These words address our greatest need.
The paralytic in this passage came for another reason. Likewise, many Christians also think they have a more urgent need than their sinfulness. To these, Jesus' words also address the greatest need. They remind us of God's priority for us---rescuing us from our subtle but serious danger.
Wherever we are, this verse redirects us. Whether we come to Jesus under deep conviction for our sin or for something we think is a greater need, this is the best thing He could say to us. If we have a hard time forgiving ourselves for repeated offenses toward God---even though we confessed and heard His forgiveness---we are at odds with Jesus. We need to see ourselves as He does---clean. If we come to Him with a casual attitude toward sin and what we perceive as a greater request, we are also at odds with Jesus. Then we, too, must see ourselves as He does---needy.
Did Jesus' words convict you? If so, let them; that was what He wanted you to hear. Do they comfort you? If so, let them; that, too, was what He wanted you to hear.

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

Do you feel like something is amiss in your own life? Though you may have all the comforts afforded you, a nice little family, spouse and the dog, yet, there's just that little something that is lacking? Consider this, your heart strings may be getting tugged at because you realize that outside of your material and physical happiness there is a void that nothing else nor anyone can fill but Jesus Christ. Stop running. Stop shutting that door. THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER!! You have nothing to lose, but gain peace, comfort and happiness that can ONLY be had by including CHRIST into your own life.