Rest or Stressed?

Hebrews 4:3-11

For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God

 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

               Have you ever seen or experienced one of those events where a person will stand upon a platform of some type and allow themselves to free fall backward into a crowd of people they are trusting will catch them?  It is a great example of the principle of trust.  You have to overcome your fears and anxieties of being hurt.  You have to put your confidence in someone else to catch you and prevent you from being harmed.  That is a hard thing for us to do.  It is essentially what God wants us to do in regards to trusting Him.  Often we start too and then we chicken out because we are afraid He will drop us.   It is a hard thing for us to relinquish being in control of our life and circumstances.  Even though we know that we are a mess, make mistakes, and are full of faults and weaknesses we would still rather rely upon our abilities, our strength and our wisdom.  As a result, we have a society full of stressed out people and many of them are Christians. 

               If you are like me, it is hard to lay down our work and activities even for one day.  It is like it has this hold on us that draws us to it.  Somehow if we don’t work on it, it won’t get done and the world will end.  It is easy to look back on it and say, “yeah, that is stress, that is not rest.”  God gave a Sabbath to teach us a principle of rest.  God says, “There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.”  This passage teaches that there is only one way into this rest and that is through the avenue of faith.  Faith, no longer in our abilities, and ourselves but in Him.  In a way, God has taught me some of this principle as I write these Trickles of Truth.   I couldn’t begin to produce all that God has given me.  Each morning as I fall back into His arms and say, “Father, what do you want to share with us today?” That little act of faith results in the words you read from these writings and often I’m probably more amazed at what comes out than you are.  Certainly, it is often not what I would expect.    As God leads in our daily lives we need to learn the principle in every area of our lives of what it means to rest in Him. 

               You know Jesus didn’t get up each morning, look at His day planner and think, “will I’ve got fourteen healings today, three sermons, ten deliverances and I have to feed a multitude. I had better have my cup of coffee and get hoppin’.”  He entered into the presence of the Father.  As He communed with Him there, the mind of the Father was revealed to Him and He just did what the Father showed Him and spoke what the Father gave Him.  As He rested in the Father, He became the expression of the Father.  As we learn to rest in Christ, we will become the expression of Christ.  It is not in all of the do’s and don’ts that we are made righteous, it is as we fall back into the arms of Jesus in every aspect of our lives and just let Him be Lord and have His way in and through us.  As we knock a hole in the bottom of our self-reliance then instead of being a self-contained vessel we become a conduit and pipeline through which the Spirit of God can flow through, touching not only our lives, but the lives of others as well.  The results we see are not our righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ revealed and not our will, but His will being done.  It is all a matter of faith and reliance on Him, not just mentally, but experientially as we are willing to let go of our grip on this life. 

               The Word almost speaks a paradox in Hebrews 4:11 when it says, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”  Isn’t that contradictory to say we labor to enter into rest?  No, because it is not in our natural man to relinquish control of our life. 

Romans 12:1 says, ” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.” This presentation of our lives as a living sacrifice is an act of continual obedience and faith on the part of the believer.  He is laboring against all that his natural man and instincts are telling him.  Like the old joke goes, “the problem with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off of the altar.”  We laugh, but we know it is all too true.  It is a labor to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him, but at the same time it is a rest when we do, because then He becomes our life and strength.                Where are we at today, in a place of rest or stress?  Perhaps it is a good day to crawl up on the lap of Daddy God and just rest in His arms of Love, knowing that He has your life and the whole world in His hands.  Just REST.

Blessings,

#kent

You Can Have What You Can See!

Mark 11:23-24

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].

You Can Have What You Can See!

               In this passage Jesus speaks to the quality and the intensity of our faith.  The quality of faith that Jesus speaks of here is one that is not believing one day and doubting the next.  The faith that Jesus speaks of here is a finished work faith.  When faith is exercised and spoken it is regarded as done.  It doesn’t look at the circumstances or the natural to confirm its beliefs.  It is simply spoken into the heavens and it is reckoned as done in Christ.  Rarely do we possess and exercise that kind of faith. 

               One of the areas that the Lord has been dealing with in my heart about is the attitude and the capacity of my mind.  I tend to always see why I can’t do, or have something, rather than seeing how I can.  That mindset limits my vision and my limited vision limits my faith, which in turn, limits my capacity to receive all that I could have.  What I see in myself, I see prevalent in much of the body of Christ, we have a very limited vision.  If we pray for the blessing, outpouring and anointing of God upon our lives, but if we have not increased our capacity to receive it, then we are going to have a mess if we receive it.  Many people that win the lottery and suddenly find themselves with millions of dollars, later find their lives in ruins, because they didn’t have the capacity in the mindset and vision to receive what they did.  They were putting new wine in old wineskins and they couldn’t contain it.

               The Lord is speaking to me that I can’t keep thinking and doing things the same old way I always have and expect different results.  If I want my circumstances to change then first my thinking has to change.  I have to stretch my vision and stretch my thinking to believe that I have and can do things that I never have before.  You see, our greatest limitation is between our two ears.  We tend to think that if that is not the way we have always done it or the way it’s been done before we can’t change that.  We can! 

                I believe that God wants to explode upon our lives.  He doesn’t want just another revival where the Spirit comes upon a people.  He wants a revival where His life is manifested through a people.  If God’s people are still locked into their limitation and shortcomings then they will never be able to see that ‘greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.’  God is wanting to speak to us what He spoke to the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3: 17-22, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him,and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  We, in this country think we have so much, that we are so rich and in need of nothing when, in reality, we are exactly what the Spirit said of the Laodicean Chruch.  We need a renewing of our minds and our thinking if we are going to move into the realm of the overcomer that the Spirit of the Lord has called us to be.  God is stirring up His people in this hour.  It is no longer a time to sit back in the pew, sing songs and be spoon-fed.  It is time to find out who you are in Christ and to come forth in the ministry of that calling.  The first thing that has to happen is that you have to have the faith to believe who you are. Then you have to have the faith to begin to become who you are in Christ and that isn’t going to look anything like what you have been in the natural, so quit going there. 

People of God, we must lay hold of a vision in this hour.  It is a vision that is greater than what what our forefather’s knew.  They laid a foundation, now our generation is called to build the house.  We have entered into the day of the Lord.  David stored up for the temple, but it was Solomon that built it.  We have to begin to see what Christ wants to bring forth through His body of believers in the earth and then respond in fullness of faith to that vision and calling.  People around you and everything in your natural man may say, “you can’t to do that, who do you think you are?” 

You are a son and daughter of the Most High God and there is nothing that is impossible to those who believe and operate out of His life and nature.  God is bringing forth His kingdom that is no longer subject to nature but rules in power and dominion over nature. 

               Rather it is in our daily living or our spiritual living, we must come into an increase in the capacity of our thinking and our faith.  It is a time to cast off the limitations and restraints we have placed upon ourselves because of where we come from, education, race, sex, status or mental capacity.  What God is bringing you into is not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit, thus saith the Lord!

               We need to get a greater vision and we need to know from God that if we can see it, if we can believe for it, we can have it.  Cast off the restraints of natural thinking.  Come into the mind of Christ and see yourself in Him.  I have seen my dreams come true and my vision fulfilled when I kept this scripture before me in Numbers 11:23, “And the Lord said to Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?  Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” 

               Dare to change your thinking.  Dare to believe that you can do whatever the Lord is directing and opening up before you.  Quit looking to you and your limitations and get your eyes on the Most High God who knows no limitation.  Come into the identity and promise of who you are in Christ and begin to fulfill and step out into your ministry in Him.  You will see the waters part before you as you, by faith, wade out into them.

Blessings,

#kent

Whether We Live or Whether We Die

Romans 14:7-8

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Whether We Live or Whether We Die

               We speak to purpose this day.  All that we are in Christ is centered in the purpose of His Being in us.  We are no longer our own, we are His.  Yes, we still have will and choice, but when we chose to follow Jesus, didn’t we make that choice?  It is often hard for us to function and think outside the paradigm of our earthly world, because we have grown up centered in that mentality and thinking, but this scripture moves our thinking out of the realm of time and into the realm of eternity.  Most of us have become rather attached to this natural life and for others they might be ready to do an early checkout.  Time is relevant to the natural man, but in God there is eternity, which supersedes the dimension of time.  We often look at life in terms of now, and then, when I die and go to heaven.  For us in Christ, life and death are really just life in different dimensions.  Eternity, God-Life, has already come into us.  In Him we now live in the dimension of His timelessness.  “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  Yet for the order of things God has given the dimension of time like the periods at the end of a sentence.  Your earthly life is but a sentence in the volumes of God’s library, but it is a sentence of purpose and relevance to what God has created you for.  If you only get one sentence, then wouldn’t you want to be very careful as to how you structure it?  You would want to make it as clear, concise and as meaningful as you possibly could.  That is what we want to do with our lives.  We want to be remembered and pondered for what that statement, that sentence of our life and what it said to those that read it and saw it. 

               Often, we get so concerned about how others live their life, what they believe and that they are just like us.  God says we each have our own sentence to write and He will be the final critique on what was written.  Before Him we give account and before Him we stand or fall.  While we encourage each other to righteousness, we are not each other’s judges.  Write your sentence faithfully in the light of the truth and knowledge that you have.  Often, we find ourselves restructuring our sentence as we mature and grow in the knowledge and light of Christ Jesus.  The most important thing you want to remember is that whether you live or die, you belong to the Lord.  Allow Him to accurately structure the sentence of your life.

Blesings,

#kent

The Gift

The Gift

1 John 3:16

Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.

               Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. “  The greatest gift we can give one another is ourselves, our life, our time and our love.  Often, we equate love with what monetary gifts we can give.  Those gifts are good and loving expressions, but they should be in addition too and not in place of the others.  Many of us don’t realize that we are a gift to someone else that loves and needs what we have to give.  Far too often we end up withholding our gift or using it on the demands that life puts on us, rather than on those who really need and would appreciate it.  Our quality time can be of more value than we can realize.  Our personal love and attention are often the only things that can meet the needs in others.  Especially in our society, we tend to try and use a lot of substitutes, but there are hurting and lonely people for whom the greatest gift is our personal time, attention and love.                

               I know I have often been guilty of being so involved in my work or interested in other things, that I have neglected the greater needs in my family.  Many of us realize that we have done this.  When we come to the end of our lives it will be the relationships that we have built through the investment of our time and our lives that will matter most.  We all seem to think there will always be tomorrow, but tomorrows will run out and we will have never lived and loved for today. 

               The greatest reward we have in life is the satisfaction we have in giving, in making another’s life a little better, a little richer and ministering to those little personal needs that we all have.   Jesus gave us the most precious and priceless gift that anyone has ever given, His life.  That gift has perpetuated life now through millenniums of time.  It is the gift that keeps on giving.   God has placed a gift in us that we must be faithful in giving.  The more that we give it, the greater the increase.  Someone needs the love and personal attention that only you can give.  Let us not deny those needs wherein we rob not only them, but ourselves as well.  Give out the love that Christ has placed in your heart.  It is not for keeping, but for giving.

This is an attachment with this writing that a friend had sent and I thought it so illustrated this point:

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying

groceries. I wasn’t hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 57 years

was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

He often came with me and almost every time he’d pretend to go off and

look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I’d always spot

him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.

He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only

wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was

different since he had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and

remembered how he had loved his steak.

Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a

soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of

T-bones, dropped them in her basket.. hesitated, and then put them back.

She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she smiled. “My husband loves T-bones, but

honestly, at these prices, I don’t know.”

I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.

“My husband passed away eight days ago,” I told her. Glancing at the

package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. “Buy

him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together.”

She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the

package in her basket and wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy

products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy.

A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing

else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.

I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the

front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady

coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was

the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled

her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine.

As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my

eyes. “These are for you,” she said and placed three beautiful long

stemmed yellow roses in my arms. “When you go through the line, they

will know these are paid for.” She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss

on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she’d done,

what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked

away as tears clouded my vision.

I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue

wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the

answer seemed so clear. I wasn’t alone.

Oh, you haven’t forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my

eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.

(Please read all of this, it is really nice)

This is a simple request. If you appreciate life, send this to your

friends, including the person that sent it to you.

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings. Thank

you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as

possible. Thank you, Lord , that I can see. Many are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising. Thank you, Lord, that

I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost,

toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud.

Thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in

magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced.

Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous. Thank you, Lord,

for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my

circumstances were not so modest.

Thank you, Lord, for life.

Pass this on to the friends you know. It might help a bit to make this

world a better place to live, right? A friend is someone we turn to when

our spirits need a lift. A friend is someone to treasure.

For friendship is a gift. A friend is someone who fills our lives with

Beauty, Joy and Grace and makes the world we live in a better and

happier place.

YOU ARE MY FRIEND!

God bless you and yours.

#kentstuck

The Stone Cut out of the Mountain

The Stone Cut out of the Mountain

Daniel 2:45

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

In Daniel 2, the Lord reveals to Daniel a dream of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.  Basically, the dream dealt with a mighty statue whose head was of gold representing his kingdom and then decreasing in the quality and value of material substance.  The outstanding thing that the Lord revealed through this dream was that from a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it would brake in pieces the kingdoms of the earth.  It becomes quite evident through the scriptures that this stone is Christ and the Kingdom of God. 

Matthew 21:22-24 Jesus reveals Himself as the cornerstone, “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”  This scripture really affirms what Daniel wrote.  Man can build his kingdoms and go his own way, but he will never prevail against the “Stone cut out of the mountain”.   It may appear that way for a season and a time, but there will come a time when “For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:11-12)” In that day nothing of the flesh, the goodness or the greatness of man will stand.  Everything and everyone must give account to God.  Whoever the stone falls upon in judgement will be ground to powder, there will no justification be found of the flesh.  Those who have fallen upon Christ will be broken.  When we came and put our faith and confidence in Christ, He began a process of breaking in our lives at that point in time that brought us to the realization that He is everything and we are nothing.  Our lives are only complete in Him.   Our reliance is no more on the flesh, our abilities, strengths or goodness.  Our self-life was broken at the cross when we fell upon Jesus and He began the process of purging the old that He might reveal the new life. 

               This stone cut out of the mountain didn’t just represent Christ, although He is the head and the cornerstone of its foundation.  It is comprised of many living stones that comprise the Kingdom of God and His Temple.  1 Peter 2:4-10 describes this Stone and our part in it, “To whom coming, [as unto] a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, [and] precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”  You and I are a part of that kingdom which shall know no end and its glory no bounds, but it shall preside eternal, over the affairs and hearts of men.  God is forming you to be His administrators of righteousness, justice and authority in the earth and throughout His Kingdom.  We are a part and substance of that Stone cut out of the Mountain of God.   Let us not fear what is coming upon the earth.       

Blessings,

#kent

On Guard

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love.

On Guard

               As part of the final exhortations and comments to the Corinthians in this first epistle Paul writes, he gives  them this exhortation.  Verse 13 is everything a military commander might speak to his men who are in the midst of a war zone and faced with the intimidation of the enemy. 

               This is not unlike the exhortation that he gives to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6:10-18. There he exhorts them, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind,, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” 

Here our enemy is identified.  He is not flesh and blood although he may manifest himself in and through the lives of others, but our real adversary is the ruler, authorities and powers of darkness, it is not even in the smaller demonic opposition you face in daily life.  These are nothing before men who know who they are in Christ and His authority.  The stronger adversaries you can face in confidence as well, but you must know that you must be equipped for them. 

               First of all, you must always be on your guard, for they look for your moments of weakness and vulnerability.  The weaknesses of our flesh are often the doors of opportunity that the devil uses to gain access as he attempts to kill, steal and destroy our faith and standing in Christ.  Paul exhorts us here to put on the full armor, because you are only as strong as your weakest link.

               When the day of evil or spiritual assault comes to us, it is imperative that we know who we are in Christ, because He essentially is our armor and weaponry in different aspects.  Our authority in His Word is what we stand upon and it is the belt and buckle of our integrity.  If we are holding fast to the truth we will not be found with our pants down, vulnerable and exposed.  The breastplate of the righteousness of Christ is what protects our heart.  With arrows of condemnation the enemy attempts to pierce our hearts with our shortcomings, failures, former sins and unworthiness.  The breastplate of His righteousness is in knowing that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not because we are anything, but because we have chosen to make Him everything.  Through His blood He has imparted His righteousness to us and His blood is the breastplate of righteousness that covers and protects our heart and vital organs. 

Our feet have been fitted with the readiness to carry out the gospel of the kingdom of God.  The gospel of Christ’s kingdom is not only in our talk, but it is in our walk and we carry it wherever we go. 

The shield of faith is what quenches these fiery darts of condemnation, death, discouragement, fearfulness and unbelief.  That shield keeps fear and doubt out that would endeavor to undermine our faith and confidence in Christ.

The helmet of salvation is putting on the mind of Christ, being not conformed to the world, but transformed through the renewing of our minds in Christ Jesus and His Word. 

The sword of the Spirit is the power of enacting the mighty Word of God against the assaults of the enemy.  The Word of God, anointed and empowered by the Spirit of God is a formidable weapon against which there is no match.  It strikes down the ignorance and foolishness of men and cuts through the lies and darkness of the enemy.   It cuts to the quick and lays bear the true motives of the heart. 

Last, and perhaps most powerful is our prayers unto God through the Spirit.  Our prayers are the lifeline, connection and relationship with God’s strength and power.  It is through prayer that He empowers us with victory and is able battle on our behalf.  It is prayer that not only enables us to stand, but reinforces and upholds our brothers who fight with us in the battle. 

               So, we are reminded as men and women to be on our guard, always in a state of readiness for battle. Stand firm in the faith, do not compromise or be moved in your convictions.  Be men of courage who are strong and not intimidated by mockery, provocation and the varied assaults the enemy wages against you.  Don’t back down, but don’t respond out of the flesh, with hatred or retaliation of anger, but out of the Spirit of Love.  It is God’s love through us that will set us apart from the rest of the world.  This is what God has called us too as men and women of God.

Blessings,

#kent

On a Positive Note

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

On a Positive Note

               Where our mind and thoughts abide is so pivotal to the outlook and way that we live our lives.  It is often so easy for us to identify the faults and shortcomings of others while overlooking their good qualities and attributes.  In this scripture we have a strong exhortation to focus on the good, the noble, the true, the admirable, the excellent and praiseworthy things of life. 

               Do we always see and bring out the best in others?  How many of us have been in an atmosphere of gossip, backbiting, backstabbing where someone was getting roasted and criticized?  Perhaps after a while we found ourselves adding comments to those of others as we became caught up in this spirit of criticism and faultfinding.  Sometimes we were even afraid to speak the good things about a person in that atmosphere for fear that this spirit would turn on us. 

               A part of us being the light of God to others is in how we look upon others and speak about them.  I have been around people that were very critical and demeaning.  They would always make others feel stupid or inferior by their catty and condescending tone and comments.  These are not the people we like to be around, because they are the anti-thesis of this scripture.  On the hand we may have been around others who were always building us up and speaking positive and encouraging things to us.  We don’t want to be patronized or falsely praised, but sincere compliments and praise help us to be encouraged and feel self-worth.  It encourages us to press on in the face of adversity and opposition.  Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken [is like] apples of gold in pictures of silver.”  We are God’s life givers.  Our minds and hearts should always be optimistic and positive, even the midst of a pessimistic and cynical world.  We have the hope of all of creation already within us.  We have the answer that others are still seeking.  We demonstrate the spirit of what we have within us by where we have our minds, our thoughts and our outlook on life.  Our words should always be positive and life giving.  They should instill hope, inspiration and faith in others.  People don’t need condemnation.  They have enough of that already.  They need something to believe in that is greater than them.  They need to know that there is a God who truly loves them, even the way that they are, and that He wants to offer them His salvation and a relationship with Him.

               Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.”  Our vision gives us hope, direction and purpose for our lives.  When we lose that vision, we err in our ways and we cause others to err also.  People want to follow someone who knows where they are going and how they are going to get there.  They are looking to those who have true faith, integrity, conviction and hope before them.  This scripture encourages us to have our thoughts and mind in a place where we are seeing the best in things and in people.  It is a mind that is fixed upon the things of God and His Word.  It is a mind of Christ that is fixed upon Life and brings that Life into the atmosphere where they are.  There are so many negative things to look upon and dwell upon, but this is not the will of God concerning you.  Look at your world through His eyes and know that His Love and His Life are the only things that can change it.  We are His candlesticks.  We can bring that light into our world that others may see and have vision.  Think upon the things of God.  See the good in others.  Flavor your words with blessing and encouragement.  Remember, that what God sees in us is His Son. 

Blessings,

#kent

Peacemakers

James 3:18

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Peacemakers

               The Amplified version says it this way, “And the harvest of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed) is [the fruit of the seed] sown in peace by those who work for and make peace [in themselves and in others, that peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].” 

               This scripture that God just dropped into my heart makes me meditate upon the correlation of peace and righteousness.  Righteousness is the fruit of what is sown in peace.  Peace speaks to rest, confidence, assurance, freedom from fear, agitation, worry or discord.  Peace is not the result of contention, warring, factions, control or being right.  It is the result of right being in relationship with the Lord and His purpose in our lives.  Our circumstances aren’t the condition of our peace.  Jesus had complete peace even in the midst of a great storm that threatened to take His life and the life of His disciples.  Peace comes in the assurance of what your identity is in Christ, your position “in Him” and the divine purpose and destiny He has planned for you.  If we truly be walking “in Christ” and living out of His life, then our lives are no longer in our control, but His.  It is usually when we take back control that we lose our peace.   If we are walking in faith, obedience and in the Spirit then the fruit is going to be righteousness. 

               Paul says some interesting things in Romans 14 when he is dealing with the Christian disputes over diet and days of worship.  He conveys that our faith is so much more than everyone fitting in your box or believing and thinking just like you.  He says this in Romans 14:7-9, “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”  Life is not about our dogma and doctrine, it is about living and dying for the Lord.  If we are focused on getting everyone to believe just like us, we are never going to have peace.  The Holy Spirit deals with the seasons and the changes of our lives.  The important thing is being in right relationship with Him and communicating that gospel of peace to all who will receive. 

               Paul also makes mention a little latter in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  Isn’t it interesting that two of the attributes we are talking about are attributes of the kingdom of God and where they are found, joy is close by. 

               When we have a revelation of walking “in Christ” then our identity is no longer with ourselves.  Our purpose is simply to become the expression of the Lord in each situation.  That means we don’t have to get caught up in the flesh and in other people’s drama.  Obviously they aren’t enjoying peace in the state that they are in.  God’s love in and through us is the peacemaker.  If we see life from God’s perspective and allow the Holy Spirit to have control of each situation, then our response is to the Lord, not to opposing circumstances before us.  When it is not about us, then it can be all about Him.  Walk in the freedom of God’s peace for your life.  Allow Him to have every concern and worry.  Walking in the peace of God, brings forth the righteousness of God.

Blessings,

#kent

The Right to be Taken Advantage of

Matthew 5:38-42

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The Right to be taken Advantage of

               The message Jesus gives to us here doesn’t follow the natural law and thinking.  We, as Americans, are very aware of our rights and often we will go to great lengths to fight and defend them.  We have seen many cases where a person’s rights went beyond the boundaries of common sense and others were made accountable for their mistakes or mishaps.  Even the Law of Moses allowed for justice to be served in like manner, as an offence was committed against another.  What Jesus is compelling us into here is a higher law that is contrary to conventional wisdom. 

We are a very possession-oriented people.  We have our lands, houses, properties, cars, bank accounts and so on.  We are very possessive of what we own, because our possessions, position and properties have come to define who we are.  What Jesus is proposing here is that we not only give up our rights, but that we give up beyond our rights and give beyond what is asked of us, required of us and taken from us.  Now everything within our natural man cries foul and unfair, but it reveals to us whose mind and values we are operating out of.  Jesus says, if you want to find your life, you must lose it.  Very few of us are in a place where we can operate in these principles that Christ gave to us.  We have worked very hard for what we have and we don’t want to give it up.  “It’s ours, we earned it.”  Yet in that thinking we can begin to see how our possessions and our rights begin to possess us, rather than us possessing them.  When we are truly living out of a kingdom economy and mind set then what we possess only serves for us to give and bless.  We acknowledge with our heads that all that we have and are is because of God’s goodness and blessing to us, but then we aren’t willing to give it back to Him when it is required of us.

               As we read through the Beatitudes of Christ and try to fit who we are into what Christ teaches, most of us will find we are not Cinderella trying on the glass slipper.  It doesn’t fit.  We want what it represents, but we aren’t willing to pay the price to possess it.  If we fully allow His light to shine within our hearts then we realize that we need much more of a heart change and value adjustment.  Walking no longer after the flesh, but after the Spirit requires a death in us and many of us don’t want to die to a lot of things in our lives.  God never takes something from us that He doesn’t give something greater in return.  These are days that He is bringing us and encouraging us into the higher principles of His Life and Word.  Every day we must be stretched as we are crucified a little more.  What that death seems to be taking away from our natural man is really bringing us into the freedom we have in Christ.  Just because we are imprisoned in a candy house, doesn’t make it any less of a prison.  2 Corinthians 3:17-18 tells us, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  The paradox of Christianity is that you must lose your life to find it and you must give up your rights to find the rights and the authority that you have in Christ.  Jesus gave and lost all and yet owned and possessed all things.  Christ is the one possession we don’t want to lose or give up on. 

               What are your rights today?  Are you willing to give those rights up to love and serve even the unlovely and those who would take advantage of you?  Are we willing to give even beyond what they would ask, take or even desire? 

Blessings,

#kent

Hearing the Voice of God

1 Samuel 3:1-7

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6 Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

Hearing the Voice of God

               One thing that we all long for, as God’s people is to hear, recognize and discern the voice of God in our lives.   Often it is hard for us to discern His voice from thoughts of our own.  Yet often with His voice comes a knowing that it is He that is speaking into our hearts. 

               Sometimes God is quiet or we are hindered in our spirit from hearing His voice.  When that happens it is best to seek His face as to why and not speak what He is not speaking to you.  Right now I am not sensing the Holy Spirits’ anointing and direction in what I am writing.  So it is best that I be quiet until I do.   If we only speak our own mind then it just the flesh and the flesh can not produce Spirit life.  One of the lessons we learn is to speak when He speaks and don’t fake it when He doesn’t.   Maybe that is the lesson that God has for us today.  Speak in the name of the Lord, only when spoken too.

Blessings,

#kent