20 Days With God / Day 3

Day 3 with God

1 timothy 1:16, “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

<April 6, 2011 / 10:23pm>

 1 Timothy 1:16, “Yet for this reason I found mercy… ” It’s interesting how the Lord is speaking and revealing things to me in His light through His words.  I’m really loving my time in the word with God, those are such precious times I cherish.  Here’s some hard facts…I know I am sinner and there is no getting around that, I have no ground to defend myself that I am not a sinner.  And if I did that would make Christ a fraud; that would make everything He did for all mankind a fluke and just a bed time story, a fairy tale at the least.  But He is no fraud, and so that makes His life His words true and sound.  So what does that make me?  A sinner.  Paul says, “Yet for this reason I found mercy”, I couldn’t help but think of the greatest quality that qualifies me for the kingdom of heaven.  Am I qualified because I have believed in Jesus Christ or maybe because of my baptism?  Is it because I have been in church my whole life, or maybe served in ministry?  Or is it because I have led hundreds or maybe thousands of people to Christ?  Answer, none of the above.  Take notice of the bold letterings ‘I have’, now in Psalm 16:2 which says, “I said to the LORD, You are my LORD; I have no good besides You.”  The Hebrew word ‘good’ is towb (tove) which means ‘valuable in estimation, excellent of its kind, or rich’.  I have nothing valuable, I have nothing excellent, I am not rich, why?  Because (Jeremiah 17:9) my heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  What God values and finds precious is not what we value, the things that we put value on can skew our perspective of who we really are.   God loves the sinner, not what the sinner can do.  When we find the reason for finding mercy we find what qualifies us for heaven.  Reading the previous verse 15 in 1 Timothy 1 it says, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”  I’m a sinner…that is what qualifies me for heaven!  Now isn’t that something, now doesn’t that put a whole different perspective on the world if you keep in mind Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”?  All are qualified but not all have received their citizenship in Christ.  “Yet for this reason I found mercy” because I am a sinner. 

O Lord how great is your mercy on my life, that I am justified in You.  Your word says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.  Thank you Lord for dying on the cross for a sinner like me.  Thank you for working your perfect patience on me.  Again Lord I pray for my wife, have mercy and pour grace over her head, overflow her cup Father.  Give wisdom to me Lord, bless me with the understanding of your scripture.  Excel, grow, strengthen my brother in Okinawa.

20 Days With God / Day 2

Day 2 with God

Isaiah 55:1-2, “Ho!  Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come; buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.”

<April 5, 2011 / 3:00pm>

Second day with God in one word, “trying”.  I’ve fasted before and I kind of was prepared for what was going to happen on the second day.  I knew my stomach would be growling and tossing and turning to and fro.  But I know within the next day or two, it will go away.  Just got to hang in until then.  And I’ve been really tired as of late, maybe because my body is not running on a lot of energy, so I’ve been going to bed a lot earlier as well.  Can’t wait though to see what God will do through me and reveal in me.  Come Lord Jesus come!

Just reading this verse kind of makes me think of those guys selling their products at swap meet or product shows calling out into the busy crowd, selling their product, giving all the pros and hiding the cons.  They almost demand you to listen to them by whistling, singing, and yelling at you.  Whether it annoys you or captivates you, your attention is diverted to the one speaking.  And so it is when God speaks, He catches our attention!  His calling out to you is either annoying or it is captivating.  I find it funny how God says, ‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters”, why?  Because everyone has a thirst to fill.  Jesus said in John 4:13a, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst.”  I thirst for a filling right now, to be filled with the word of God and have it sustain me for the next 19 days.  But I look at the invitation given, that those who have no money come and buy and eat.  Many times over have I spent the value of money for something that I thought would satisfy me, and at the end I find myself still empty even broke.  His invitation screams compassion, “Hey are you broke?  Hey have you tried everything else but this?  Come and try this out, nothing is needed just bring yourself and see.”  Famous words of the Apostle Philip, “Come and see.”  No strings attached just come.  When we come and see, what do we find?  A feast!!!  And at this feast we find the Lord at the head of the table speaking to us.  I’ve been calling out to you for so long, why do you spend on emptiness?  Why do you search for light in darkness?  I am the one that satisfies you completely, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)  Only in God will I ever find satisfaction.  In Him I have an abundant supply of everything I will ever need, because He is my abundance.  I bless the name above all names, Jesus Christ!

Lord be my abundance, strengthen my feeble and weak knees.  Satisfy me with the fatness of Your word and may it cling to my bones.  Fill my stomach and with the goodness that flows from your mouth, may it be as sweet as honey to my lips.  Keep my wife pure Lord, whoever she may be.  Bless my brother today, speak words of life in him.

20 Days With God / Day 1

     Day 1 with God

Isaiah 52:2-3, “Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive of Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.  For thus says the LORD, You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”

<April 4, 2011 / 8:55pm>

Well I’m on my first day of fasting, I’m shooting for 20 days, which I know will be really rough and challenging, but I know that the Lord is my strength.  It’s already been 16 hours without food and so far no tummy growls.  Sometimes I wonder if I am doing this out of my flesh, to be more spiritual, to be more ahhh look at me I’m fasting kind of thing.  All I know is that there should be a time when a Christian should take time to fast, to totally and completely lean on the Lord for strength.  Anyways, Its been a rather interesting day so far.   

I find this verse interesting in the way God is speaking to Isaiah here, and I couldn’t help but notice the way God chose to word Himself.  “Loose yourself from the chains around your neck”, and I found this so thought provoking.  Does God put me in chains?  Does God put my face to the dust?  If God were to put chains on my neck then He would be the one that would have to take them off because I am unable to on my own strength.  If God were to put my face to the dust, then He would be the one that would have to lift His hand off of my head.  But what I see, is that if that were true that would portray God as a tyrant.  “You didn’t listen to Me!  You idiot!  Now you will pay!”  And I know God is not like that.  So I got to thinking and it was amazing what the Holy Spirit revealed to me.  If a sheep were to wander from the side of His Shepherd and go outside the gates that protect him; What is that sheep susceptible to?  He can be ripped apart by wild animals, fall in holes, get lost, or die of starvation.  And so it is with those who wander from the safety of Gods hand, susceptible to anything but safety.  So does God put me in chains?  Does God put my face to the dust?  No, it is I who does it.  I am the one held responsible, I put myself in chains, chains that have no lock; chains that I can so easily walk away from.  Without a Shepherd I have no guidance, without Jesus I have no guidance, I am too far in to hear his voice, until He comes looking for me. 

God said, “You were sold for nothing”, why?  Because you walked into this willingly, you brought this upon yourself and sold yourself into slavery.  But I have never forgotten you.   I have you inscribed on the palms of My hands.  But I see what is going on, and I find you so valuable that just as you were sold for nothing, so shall “you be redeemed without money”.  For you will be redeemed by blood; the blood of My One and only Son.

Thank you Lord for today, I bless You Father for the promises that you have given to me.  Keep watch my family, friends, loved ones, and my wife whoever she is.  Be my stronghold and my tower my guard and my defense.  I love You Rabonni

His Plans For You

Confronting the lie that I am expired for Christ, I am way past my due date to be used

<Believing>Jeremiah 29:11a, “For I know the plans I have for you” (The biggest lie out there is not the health care plan that Obama is promising, the biggest lie out there is not something we can physically hold in our hands, it is weightless yet it holds the majority of the world under its power, it is invisible to the naked eye yet we see the effects of it all around us, it has no substance yet it can render a man helpless, depressed for years upon years.  The biggest lie out there is, that God has no use for you, that He is done with you) Isaiah 49:14-16  <use Exodus 7:7 Moses (80) Aaron (83).  God didn’t say in Jeremiah 29:11 that I know the plans I have for the young people, no He spoke in timely words that were timeless, He speaks to Jeremiahs heart directly and He does so with us as well>

<Plans I have for you>Jeremiah 29:11b, “…To give you a future and a hope”  (It is so interesting and so comforting to know that in God are the plans of my life, in God are the plans He has for your life.  In God We marvel at His creation at the birds, at the trees, at the skies, and if creation alone makes us stand in awe, how much more wonderful will be the plan that God has for your life.  It is never to late for me for you to seek after the Lord, no matter if I am a drug addict, if I deal with drinking, with lusting, with stealing, with adultery, it’s comforting to know that He still has plans for me.  That doesn’t mean I keep on living in the way I am now, no it means seeking out what God has for you)  There is nothing dull in this Christian life, if there is any dullness in Christianity it’s the person, it’s me.  Here is something that is worth your time, time that will not be wasted, time spent seeking Jesus and the future that He has for you.  The difference between God and Satan can be found in one letter in the word LIFE, the letter “F”.  You see God desires to give you LIFE, while Satan wants you to live life, but what kind of life is lived outside of Christ when you take away the letter “F”, a LIE.  These lies scream disaster! Disaster!  While the promises scream life! Life!  But you see in Christ, there is no lie but life, a prospering exciting life of hope.  Maybe you’ve lost hope in Christ, be reminded that God still has you in the palms of His hands until your last breath here on earth. 

<Trusting in His perfect will> So where do I go from here you may ask?  You say that God has plans for me and a hope for me, what now, what do I do.  You trust in the Lord and you put him in the place that He deserves, which is King of your heart.  Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.”  The world we live in claims to have solutions for everything, from pain, to hurt, to emotions and feelings.  But if the world did have these solutions available to us for those things, then why are we still in a rut, why are we still searching for solutions?  You see the only solution to fix any problem, any pain, depression, addiction, is Jesus Christ.  We trust in the Lord, because we know that His words will never fail. 

<that you might be saved> You see when Jesus becomes the solution of your life, the veil that Satan has placed over your heart is lifted, and you no longer live a life that is a lie but you live a life that is fulfilling in Christ a life that is full of joy and hope, and peace.  God Still has a plan for your life, I’ll say it again, God still has a plan for your life!  Jesus said in Mark 10:27, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God,” and again in Luke 1:37, “For Nothing will be impossible with God.”  We count to many things impossible for the Lord, if that is so then what we lack is not strength or power nor is it ability, but we lack faith.  He’s always been thinking of you, He has always had plans for you.  Go and seek Him out!

Tuning In

Luke 8:18a, "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given..."


I was teaching an AWANA class for my church, and I had a mix class from 3rd to 6th grade.  Huge gap if you ask me, but as they came in the room from game time finding their seats for bible time, you must know if you have worked with kids before that it is really hard to get them to settle down after a half hour of adrenaline pumped games.  So in the gentleness and meekness of Christ I spoke loudly and said, "Settle down boys, settle down.  Its time to hear from the Lord, its time to hear what Jesus wants to speak to us tonight."  And as those words left my lips, slowly the boys attention was diverted to me.  Calmly and simply I whispered enough for them to hear, "Lets Pray."  


I couldn't help but notice and think back when Jesus Christ held His audiences in captivation by every word that left His mouth from 1 man (Nicodemus) to the feeding of the 5,000.  Even before Christ set foot here on earth, the word of His mouth struck reverence in His people; Deuteronomy 4:11-12 says, 


"You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom.  Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form- only a voice".  


His word held a king in anticipation for His answer, King David said in Psalm 5:3, 


"In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch."  


Peter knew no other way and confessed with his lips the power of His words in John 6:68 saying,


"Lord to whom shall we go?  You have words of eternal life."


Yet story after story, parable after parable, application after application we forget that Christ is The Word of Life!  We have heard partially and not fully, we have taken what we wanted to hear, and tried to run on that.  We left the house to go run the marathon, but left our shoes on the porch.  We only took the icing on the cake because that is what seemed best at the moment according to self.  O to be careful how we listen, to know that it is not the words that are popping off the pages when we read, but it is Christ Himself.  And when we see that Christ is the One popping off the pages, His words will be inscribed on the tablet of our hearts written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.


When Jesus speaks He doesn't ask me to listen, He tells me to listen as a parent would His child.  He comes to me in gentleness and meekness and from agape He speaks.  The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. (Psalm 12:6)  His words are as jewels that sparkle in the light of the sun.  Let me say it again, Gods words are as jewels that sparkle in the light of the Son.  When Jesus spoke it was God speaking, and if it is God that is speaking through the image of the invisible God Jesus Christ; if His words are as silver tried seven times then i must heed and pay great attention to every detail of His words, because from His mouth flow words of life.  I need to take care in the way I listen because I am receiving precious jewels as I open my heart to take in all that is said.  


I started off with a story of my kids at AWANA.  And ill tell you one of the greatest words any Christian can say in just a moment...


So we ended off our bible study in the same way we started in prayer.  It was a great night, because we spent it with Jesus, it was a fruitful time because we took time to listen and give Him our ears and our attention that He desires.


and I said to the boys, "...and all Gods people says, AMEN!!!"


Dearest Christian, it is there at the end of every prayer that we confess with our lips to God, that we have heard, that we have taken to heart, and that we agree.  


Nehemiah 8:6, "Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God.  And all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' While lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground."

Wait And Let Wait

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes wait for the Lord.”

I believe there is an important lesson to be learned here in the area of waiting on the Lord.  I look at the contrasts of lifes of King Saul and King David.  Saul was a man that always took matters into his own hands, and royally messed things up which led God to anoint another, one that would wait on Him in the midst of battle, in the midst of pressured situations, to take courage in the time of waiting.  A man after His own heart, a man like David, a simple shepherd.  So did God choose Saul to mess things up royally on purpose?  Absolutely not, but it was the foolishness of Sauls impatience that caused him to lose his inheritance as a King, to have the crown given to him passed to another.  O if only Saul would have learned to wait on the Lord we might have seen and read about a different man. 

But why does the Lord allow time and space in between the questions we ask, to give us an answer?  How am I to avoid the foolishness of Saul and learn to meditate and muse on the Lord waiting patiently for His leading as David did?  I believe we need to first look at the time and space between our questions as a time of filling our minds our hearts and our actions with an attitude of praise, learning to adorn Christ with first the praise and glory and honor He deserves.  How could David speak so confidently about waiting on the Lord?  Before he became a king we read of a boy, a young shepherd that defeated lions and bears, that would spend his nights in pitch black pastures, we read of a boy that defeated a giant without ever wavering in his faith, we read of a servant that defeated his tens of thousands, we read of a king that conquered nations, we read of a king whose heart was steadfast in the promises of the Lord. 

Though far from being perfect was David, we read of a victorious man softened and refined in the times of waiting on the Lord; we see spiritual growth as we read and study his life.  He gave the Lord his full and complete attention in the time of waiting for David knew that Gods favor last for a life time, though weeping may last night for the night a shout of joy comes in the morning.  David knew that the Lord loves His godly ones and preserves the faithful.  Can you confidently speak and say unwaveringly that the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want?  It requires something more than a brief moment to think about, it requires your undivided attention, David saw that God wanted nothing more than his undivided attention in victory and out of victory, for where your heart is set, your life will follow after.  For where your eyes see the finish line your feet will follow after.  Be strong and let your heart take courage. 

This verse can be broken down in to three key parts.  One we need to focus our attention on God, two we need to take the focus and attention off of ourselves, because we are prone to look at the bad, and thirdly we need to constantly remind ourselves of our great God.  If only we could get past ourselves we would find the glory of our Lord, if only we would let our heart take courage we would find ourselves standing on mount Nebo looking over into the promised land of where we would soon follow after.  To know the faithfulness of the Lord, to let him have our heart and our insecurities by casting all our care and anxieties on Him is to have complete peace in any situation.  Wait for the Lord be strong and let your heart take courage; yes wait on the Lord.

His Ocean Of Love

“…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”  (Ephesians 3:18b)

Gods ocean of love…No man can measure or even fathom for that matter the width, the length, the height and depth of Gods love.  Its interesting because as Christians we are called to walk by faith, for it was by faith that we were saved through grace for it is the power of God.  I love the ocean, I love the beach, and it doesn’t do me justice to just stick my toes in the water and be satisfied or refreshed.  I need to dive in, I need to feel the cool water envelop me.  I don’t believe there is anyone alive that will knowingly jump into the water to be refreshed and come out with an angry face.  It’s just impossible to do so.  No matter if the water is a bit warm or cold it is refreshing to know and feel water against your skin.  And its interesting how water can be the best thing that ever happened and in the next second it can quickly do damage. 

I was looking at Ezekiel  47 and God showed me some really neat truths.  I’ll chop it up a bit to get to the points that God showed me.  Starting from verse 3, “…he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles.  Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees.  Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins.  Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded."

Did mom or dad ever throw you into the deep side of the pool when you were just 1?  Hopefully not, but if they were wise parents they would have started you off in the shallow part of the pool.  And the years that pass by would hopefully stir you to go deeper still into the deep side of the pool.  Maybe even go and venture out into the ocean where the waves are.  Waves…certainly something majestic but deadly if you have no idea what you are doing.  I use to find myself being pounded against the reef constantly but I learned quickly from the pounding of the waves just how to conquer them.  I would try and try to get over the top before it would peak but to no avail, the wave would launch me into mid-air and slam me on the surface of the water.  I learned that you must go under the wave to get past the wave, you must dive deep under the wave where there is less power but calmer waters.  What a profound and a powerful, powerful truth.

God starts us off in the shallows, and then draws us into deeper depths of Him.  Whether we like it or not, trials is what God uses to have us grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.  But we forget so easily when the crashing waves are in our life that our God is in control.  As Christians I believe we forget constantly that the waves that are crashing around us, is but a tool that God uses to teach us, to show us that He loves as a Father would his child.  The waves of testing it comes and it goes, but yet even more so we forget the greatest thing.  That the testing of the waves and the wave itself all happens in His ocean of love.  Guilty as charged we try to conquer our trials on our own strength trying to climb the wave to get over the top, instead of going under and deeper in the water, deeper into His love deeper into Christ where there is calmer waters.  When the testing passes we emerge from under taking in a deep breath relieved that it has passed and looking forward to what lies ahead.  If there is anything I want to get lost in, it’s the depths of God’s love.   

Ezekiel had walked 1500 feet before he would reach deeper water, and yet still deeper water and yet still deeper water.  I can’t help but smile at just how beautiful this picture is, to keep walking means to get deeper, to keep walking means to get even deeper, to keep walking means to get even deeper still.  O that we would walk in Christ and find Him in the depths of His love.  O that we would never be satisfied with being ankle deep, but submerged deep in Him deep in His love.  May we be followers of Christ that put feet to faith, may we be lovers of Christ diving into His ocean of love, that we may know and confess and testify that the love of Christ, is indeed more than enough.  How refreshing it is to have a heaven sent love that is supreme; how refreshing it is to know that all my trials all happen in His ocean of love; how refreshing it is to know how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.  Dive Christian dive.