God of the Present Tense

Psalms 46:1-3

… God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; [Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled, [though] the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

God of the Present Tense

It is often easy for us to relate God with Bible stories and the great works He has done in the past, but the most important thing to our living in Christ is that we know Him in the present tense, in the here and now, today.  God has given His word so that we could see His faithfulness and throughout the history of mankind, but He gives us past examples so that we might make them relevant to our daily life and circumstances.  Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  He is with us now as He was with His disciples.  The earth may move and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, but our God is not moved.  He remains our refuge, our strength and a very present help in time of trouble.  

We can’t see the One who is our confidence, but it is our faith that reaches out to embrace God at His word and cling to it.  The world operates in what they can see.  That is where they place their confidence.  Our confidence is in what we can not see, but what we know in our hearts to be real and true.  

Perhaps you, like me, find that when you are going through the midst of a trial or problem, it is difficult for us to not want to look upon it and judge it by the natural eye and with natural judgements.  It is our faith that reminds us to boldly confront our circumstance in faith and trust knowing that God is our very present help in our time of trouble.  He is working in ways we do not know and by means we can not see.

Our relationship in Christ, our hope and our confidence must be present tense.  It must be what we are living and believing each day as we walk and put our confidence in Him.  We ask Him to order our steps and we seek to acknowledge Him in all of our ways.  We must trust Him when we can not see.  Our life is in His hands.  

There was a time in David’s life that he faced death daily.  The odds were against him.  He was a fugitive and a marked man.  What kept David through all his adversity was that he lived in the present tense of God.  His confidence daily resided in Him who was able to deliver his soul from death.  We must each live in the reality that David found, the present tense of God. 

Blessings,

#kent

Walk the Talk

Jeremiah 3:4-14

Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, 5 will you always be angry?  Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.” 

6 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD. 

11 The LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ” ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ ” declares the LORD. 

14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

Walk the Talk

An oriental pastor once told his people, “You people are all talky-talky and no walky-walky.”  I fear this is where many of us may truly find ourselves today.  We call out and pray to God.  We go to church and even read and study the Word, but are our lives producing the fruit of His righteousness and life?  This is where Israel and Judah were when this word came to Jeremiah the prophet.  We maintain our appearance of spirituality and due diligence, but at the same time we are playing the harlot with the things of the world.  Our affections and desires are still toward the earthly things and so we really have a duality of heart.  Yes we believe in God and have embraced Christ, but are there still “His time” and “my time”?  We talk the talk of the spiritual man around our brothers and sisters in Christ, but our imaginations and affections are often somewhere else on this world.  We have to ask ourselves, where is our heart and what is the purpose of our lives?  Have we compartmentalized God into our religious box, but then we have another compartment for us to still live in and partake of worldliness that caters to the affections and desires of our flesh?  This is what the Lord views as our spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness.  Sin always has its judgements and consequences if we continue it, but if we have ears to hear and a heart to receive God comes to us beforehand and speaks the message of mercy that He spoke to Israel and Judah, “” ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ ” declares the LORD. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

God is calling His people out of the world in this hour.  He is calling us to repent and turn back to Him with all of our hearts, minds, soul and strength.  He desires a people of uncompromising commitment to His purpose and His will.  He has and is raising up shepherds in this hour after His heart and that are attuned to His purpose who will lead us into knowledge and understanding.  It begins with our repentance and our return unto Him with our whole heart.  What is the true basis of our spiritual life?  Is it in our talk or in our walk? 

Blessings,

#kent

The Despised and the Afflicted

Psalms 22:24

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

The Despised and the Afflicted

Have you ever looked down on someone who was weaker than you, not as talented, not as good looking or not as good or righteous?  Have you ever despised another because they offended you in some way?  Have you ever regarded yourself above others in your station or position in life?  If we are really truthful and search our hearts I would imagine that we all have had these prejudices.  I am sure for all of us there are people we prefer to not be around or associate with for various reasons.  Maybe there are good reasons that we shouldn’t associate or be around them. 

What the Lord is speaking today is concerning the despised and the afflicted.  Many times we can’t really appreciate or identify with where others are at, because we have never been there or had to really walk in their place or we have forgotten where we have come from.  We judge and make assumption from afar and think that we judge rightly and fairly.  What is God’s heart concerning the afflicted and those whom others may despise?  He certainly doesn’t condone any of us in our sin or favor the unrighteous, but He feels and knows the heart of the afflicted.  He knows their pain and their torment.  He knows their rejection and their low esteem.  Without realizing it we can become like the Pharisees that dwelt in their sterile environment where they didn’t have to dirty their hand or touch the unclean things.  It is safe there and we don’t have to deal with all of the unpleasantness of the humanity that is sick and dying all around us.  We often despise the afflicted because they cause us to deal with unpleasant things; things we would rather ignore and not be concerned with.  Our religious, righteous and sanctimonious heart is not the heart of the Father, because he doesn’t despise or abhor the afflicted.  He doesn’t hide His face from them, but He loves them and cares about them.  Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘it is not the well who need the physician, it is the sick.’  Jesus has a heart for the despised and the afflicted, because He walked in their place.  Isaiah 53:3 speaks concerning Jesus, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”  Many of us have become quite comfortable with our religious trappings and comfortable surroundings.  We dress nice, we talk nice and we rub shoulder with like-minded people, but how do we view those who don’t fit within our circle and our standards?  Do we thank God that we are not like them?  Jesus addresses this in a parable that He gives in Luke 18:9-14, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10″Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 

13″But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 

14″I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Some of us have forgotten who we were when the Lord called us unto Himself.  1 Corinthians 1:26-32 says, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

James 1:5-7 puts this question to us, “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?”  Let us be careful whom we despise, reject and judge.   Our ministry and our outreach are to such a people.  Let us honestly search our hearts and our attitudes.  Many of us need to get over ourselves and get the heart of the Father for the despised and the afflicted.  If we are missing that, then we are missing Him. 

Blessings,

#kent

The Stumbling Block of Pride

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 

The Stumbling Block of Pride

Pride has been the foundation stone and building block of every rebellion against the Almighty.  From the rebellion of satan forward it has been the seed that has exalted itself against God and boasted in its own self.  The fear of the Lord is to hate evil and much of evil derives its strength, power and presence from the pride and arrogance of self.  One of the dangers of being gifted and blessed with special attributes and abilities is how easy it is to get caught in this ugly snare of pride.  

I wonder how many men have approached God, but have heard nothing and received nothing because of the unrepented pride that was in their hearts.  If we think that we can approach God on our terms and expect Him to respond to us then we are not only prideful, but foolish as well.  How many of us have had children or seen children who approached their parents in this manner?  Instead of humbling themselves in obedience and respect to their parents they came with the attitude of usurping their authority and leadership in the home.  A wise parent wouldn’t give place to this kind of arrogance and manipulation on the part of child and certainly God won’t meet with us on those terms.  We are to come to God on His terms, not our own.  His terms are humility, a broken, contrite and repentant heart.  This is the attitude of heart that God will respond too.  When we are willing to take off this garment of selfishness and lay it down at the altar, then we are in a place where He can meet with us and clothe us with Himself and His vesture of righteousness.   Pride is a major stumbling block to those who would desire to know God.  Pride focuses our attention away from the Lord and onto us.  Thus it robs us of His resources while making us dependent upon the weakness of our own strength and ability.  Many feel they are sufficient within themselves and indeed, in this world, may do well for themselves, but their faith and hope are built upon sand.  Sand is a shifting and unstable foundation that will eventually give way to failure.  We see Jesus as the rock of our foundation, steadfast and unmovable.  He is what anchors us to the Almighty and brings us through every adversity and trial.  

Sometimes we are tempted to envy the wicked, because it may seem they are enjoying the entire blessing of this life while we have inherited all of the struggles.  Psalms 73 addresses these very feelings and perceptions.  “1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure.2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone .3 For I envied the proud

when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.  5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.  6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.  7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!  8 They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.  9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.  10 And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.  11 “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” 12 Look at these wicked people—enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. 13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?  Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?  14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. 15 If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people. 16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.  But what a difficult task it is! 17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. 18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.  19 In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. 20 When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. 21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.22 I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. 23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.  24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.  25 Whom have I in heaven but you?  I desire you more than anything on earth.  26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. 27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.  28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”

Even when God blesses us and gives good success, we must be very mindful of this crafty evil called pride.  It can as easily wear a spiritual face, as it can a natural one.  Pride builds us up in a false sense of security.  It makes us believe we are something rather than giving the glory and the honor to the Lord who has blessed us.  God is the author of every good and perfect gift, be sure that the honor and praise always returns to Him.  Pride is the balloon that lifts you to ruin.  Humility is branch that hangs low, laden with the fruit of God’s Spirit and life.  The mountains will be brought low, but the valleys will be lifted up and the meek shall inherit the earth.   If you want to find Him, lose yourself and lay down your pride.  

Blessings,

#kent

The Switch from Darkness to Light

John 3:18

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The Switch from Darkness to Light

The world stands in a state of condemnation.  The only difference between the believer and the world is faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  No matter how guilty we were, if we have repented and embraced Christ in faith, the blood of Jesus has acquitted us of our just punishment.  He paid the penalty in our stead.  God has not only liberated those who put their faith in Jesus, but He has given us the right to be His children and joint-heirs with Christ.  The ever-amazing thing is that we could never do anything to deserve or earn what the Lord has freely given us.  All we can ever do is give our lives back to Him who gave us life and even that is with the enablement of His grace and mercy working in us.  

Faith was the light switch, which turned on the light of our souls.  The Light dispelled our darkness and brought us into the hope of resurrection life.  As a result, we are the lights of the world.  We are the light bulbs of God’s manifest power and life.  The question we have is, have we pulled back the shade of our lamps that we might so shine among men?  If we shine, then how does the world perceive our light?  

There are those in whom the light is like throwing on the floodlights and everything is about Jesus.  A lot of the world is taken back at this and tend to withdraw from the overzealous Christian.

Then there are those that hide their light and you would never know that they even acknowledged themselves as believers in Christ.  

When we look at Jesus we see that He didn’t deny whom He was, nor did He flaunt and boast of Himself among men.  He presented Himself with wisdom.  He discerned the hearts of those that were listening to Him and spoke to the issues of the heart rather than to the surface issues.  If we just scatter seed indiscriminately at will does that make us good planters?  The farmer prepares the soil and he plants in season.  Then he doesn’t just forget his planting, but waters, cultivates and tends it.  He does this because the success of his crop is much greater than if he just went about indiscriminately throwing out seed, or if he never got around to planting any seed at all.  

We live in a world that needs to see the reality of God’s light and truth manifesting in a people that aren’t just all talk, but have a walk that demonstrates their belief through the operation of love, mercy and righteousness.  The communication of the kingdom of God is not just about verbal communication, it about the communication through a lifestyle that reinforces what we profess to believe and adhere too.  People aren’t just listening to your words; they are watching your life.  Are we wisely planting our seed of Life today?  Are we the light that shows forth the character and nature of the Son?  We live in a world of darkness that desperately needs what we possess.  We can not arrogantly say, “I believed and if they don’t that is too bad.”  God has redeemed us into the ministry of sharing our life with others.  If our attitude is only for self, then we might question if we truly possess the love of God.  God’s love and salvation needs expression through us.  In order for us to communicate and express Christ properly we need His wisdom and relationship.  We each have unique abilities and giftings that God has given us to communicate His life and salvation.  Let’s endeavor to grow into that place where God would be able to use our lives to so shine before men in reality and in truth.  

Blessings,

#kent

Father’s House

John 14: 1-4

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Father’s House

What is the Father’s house?  

In John 2:13-22 Jesus reveals the true house of the Father, “13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” 

17His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 

19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 

20The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.  

Jesus speaks a mystery here that transitions our thinking from the physical to the spiritual.  Natural man sees the house of God as a physical structure.  In the sense that it is dedicated to the purpose and worship of God it was a house of prayer and a place of worship.  Here we find that men had defiled it with their merchandising and were actually running businesses out of the temple that defrauded the people.  This false representation reflected upon the God they worshipped and as such angered the Son of God.  What Jesus reveals to us, when asked for a sign of His authority, is a revelation of who the true house of God is, the Lord Himself.  Through the destruction and the resurrection of His physical temple the man Jesus, became the many-membered Christ with Jesus being the head of His body.  Thus, when we read this scripture in John 14 most of us have come to apply it to the Second Coming of Christ.  This has a lot to do with the theology and teaching of the church.  When we read it in the King James Version it says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions”.  This word mansions in the Greek is the word “mone”, which literally means dwelling places.  Our natural minds, upon reading, this have only thought about these magnificent mansions we will have in heaven and how the carpenter Jesus is up there building them for us right now.  

People of God, Christ Jesus is your mansion and your dwelling place.  Colossians 3:1-3 tells us, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” While it has not been revealed what we shall be in our fullness, we should have the revelation that we are abiding and dwelling in Christ today.  We know that within His body are many functions, gifts and ministries.  We should know that as we abide in Him we find our place, our dwelling and abode within the body.  There we live and function in our service and gift or gifts that He has bestowed upon us.  

We must come out of this “When we all get to heaven” mentality.  Jesus has told us in Luke 17:21, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  We are a kingdom people inhabited by the Most High and as He inhabits us, He in turn becomes our habitation.  It is as Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17:20-23, ““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” 

Jesus Christ is the house of God and we make up that house as the body of Christ.  We should know Him now as our dwelling and abiding place, our mansion and our home.   1 Peter 2:4-5 tells us, “4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  

Heaven will be glorious, but we must lay hold of our calling and appointment while we are on the earth.  Father didn’t create us just to hang out until we die or Jesus comes to rescue us from the earth.  He has called us as overcomers to occupy the land.  We have a purpose, a calling and an appointment.  Isn’t it time we know who we are as the body of Christ and the house of God.  We are a kingdom people through which His kingdom comes.  Let us follow our example Jesus in being the Father’s house and habitation that He may manifest His glorious love and works through us. 

Blessings,

#kent

Lending

Lending

Exodus 22:25

If thou lend money to [any of] my people [that is] poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 

What is the Lord’s heart toward lending and loans?  Deuteronomy 15:6-8 says, “For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, [in that] which he wanteth.”  God has promised blessing upon His people who are obedient to His ways.   It is His will that we are the lenders and not the borrowers.  It is His will that we are the head and not the tail.  In this position of blessing, He has given us abundance to be a blessing, especially to our brethren and the saints of God.  If we are in this position He gives us warning about how we conduct ourselves with regards to charging interest or otherwise extorting from those to whom we would lend.  It would appear, according to God’s Word that God has blessed those who are the lenders so that they may be a blessing to help and lend to those who are in a place of need.  With regards to the body of Christ the principle would be that we do not lend for personal gain, but to help our brother in need without charging interest upon the loan.  On the other hand it would be wrong of the borrower to take advantage of the lender and not make good on the loan by repaying it as promptly as possible.  Even if that were the case, the Lord would have us to forgive the debt rather than hold ought against our brother.  Jesus gives us this principle in Luke 6:33-36, “And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend [to them] of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”  Our lending is akin to our giving; it is a principle of the nature of who we are in Christ.  This is a different concept than how the world views things.  

Deuteronomy 23:20 says, “Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.” While Old Testament teaches that it is acceptable to charge interest to those in the world, Christ would temper us by saying “let love, compassion and mercy rule your heart rather than greed and covetousness.  While it is not always easy to apply these principle in the world of business and commerce we must be mindful that our first priority above getting wealth and gain is to have the heart of the Father in all that we do.  There will always be those who have more and those who have less.  If we are in the place of having more then our greater reward in heaven is not by exploiting that advantage for personal gain, but by using it to help the poor and less fortunate.  If we groan about this responsibility, the Lord might remind us that He could quite easily let us switch places and we can assume the place of the borrower and the one in need if we think that would more desirable.  If you are in the place of the lender today rejoice that God has given you the privilege of being in the place of being a blessing to your brother.  He has blessed you in a place of stewardship over not what is yours, but what is His.   “He who is faithful over little, He will make faithful over much.”  

Perhaps there are some reading this today that need to bring these issues before the Lord and get His mind on how they are conducting their affairs in this area.  Philippians 2:4 gives us this principle to guide and live our lives by, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”  Simply put, we are all, “our brother’s keeper” and we all have a responsibility to take care of one another even when it doesn’t benefit us in the natural sense.  “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5)”

Blessings,

#kent

Step by Step

Psalms 37:23

The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Step by Step

Each day we take another step through life.  Each day we make another decision about the way and the direction in which we walk.  It is important that when we begin a journey we have a destination.  It is also important that as we travel on our way to our destination that we get our bearings, reevaluate our position and adjust our direction accordingly.  Often times in life we can have days of storms and even disasters that shake our lives.  We are not moved, but sometimes we need to get reoriented so that we might keep to our destination.  

Psalms 44:15-21 says, “We can’t escape the constant humiliation; shame is written across our faces.16 All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.  All we see are our vengeful enemies. 17 All this has happened though we have not forgotten you.  We have not violated your covenant.  18 Our hearts have not deserted you.  We have not strayed from your path.  19 Yet you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home.  You have covered us with darkness and death.  20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,  21 God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.” The path of a godly person is often not an easy way to travel.  It can often be a path of many trials and tribulations as we step each day down the journey of life that leads us to our destination in Christ Jesus.  Each day is producing in us a greater dependence upon His strength and grace to take us to that next step.  Each day should see us walking us less in our strength and more in His.  

In order to maintain our walk and keep to the path of His righteousness we need a vision. 

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.”  What is your vision today?  Write your vision and make it plain.  Know where you are headed in Christ and allow Him to work out the details.  If we fail to see our vision we will wander and we will stray.  The glimmer and the shimmer of the world will catch our eye, or we will become discouraged and disheartened.  We need a vision to give us direction and purpose.  Spell out what your vision is today.  Write it down, see it and write it in faith.  Ask the Lord to give you His vision for you.  It may sound impossible, but that is what makes it a walk of faith and not of works.  Get your bearings and write down where you are going right now and where you see yourself a year from now in your walk and life.  Periodically, get with the Lord, take another reading, renew your vision and goals and then walk toward them in faith.  Be flexable to move as He directs and guides you even when it doesn’t fit within your understanding and reason.  “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. (Psalm119:133)”

Blessings,

#kent

Testimony of a Prisoner

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Testimony of a Prisoner

I found this testimony of a prisoner named Billy Schmidt on Facebook through a man that friended me.  It was compelling as I read it and felt the Lord would have me share it with you for your edification.  

June1,2012

Please take the time to read this letter. Through it I explain something great that has changed my life forever. About four months ago I ended up in prison four a couple of months. While I was there Jesus Our God sent an angel of His to me. Along with the angel, Jesus sent with him the Most Powerful visual message I have ever seen In my life.

When I was placed In jail I asked to be put into solitary confinement by my self because at the time I was mentally crushed and exhausted from the miserable self lead mislead life style that I had been living for over thirteen years of my life at that time.

For years now I have believed in Jesus our God and at times prayed directly to Him. But because of my own path that I chose to lead my life with I could never seem to put my life together for a long period of time.

While I was in solitary confinement by myself I begin praying to Jesus our God asking Him to help me in any way that He would. When I was there about three weeks I had a bail hearing coming up. Around that time I begin to read a Holy Bible that was in my jail cell, I read the book of Matthew and the book of Revelations both that are in the New Testament. Also about that time I asked Jesus to be in control of my life and to guide me and direct me and to have happen for me what ever He as God sees best for me. I explained to Him that if I did not get out of jail when I was to go to my bail hearing I would understand because He is God and God knows what is best for me. When I went to my bail hearing the out come of it was that I had no one to bail me out of prison. I was not upset because I believed that this was part of the plan that Jesus had for me. So at that time I remained in custody and I was returned to the jail.

Again I picked up the Holy Bible and started reading it, This time from the beginning. I wanted to figure out how humanity and creation really did come to be. I became very interested in what the Holy Bible was saying and I believed what it was explaining did happen and that it was infact real. Through out the next couple weeks from that time I read the Holy Bible quite abit. I was just over a couple hundred pages into the Holy Bible some were when Moses was leading the twelve tribes of Israel out of Egypt to the land that God promised Jacob, It was called the promise land.

So one day in around this time I was lying down on the bottom bunk of the bunk beds. I stood up and put my hands along the top steal bunk bed frame in front of me. I looked straight ahead towards the wall in front of me when I noticed someone beside me. He turned and stood right in front of me. In my mind I said a ghost then I said no an angel, I knew it right then and there. I could litterly feel his presence from him it was a very strong alive feeling. He stood in front of me and I was amazed. I could not talk. He knew I noticed how different he was from us. The structure of his skull and jaw line was awesome and nothing at all like ours. Were our temples are on each side of our skull, his skull was wider there and on both sides there on each side of his skull was a round plate about three inches wide and round. The plates were not flush with his skull but slightly deeper in each side of his head. The plates held more color in them than the rest of his skin.

His jaw was a lot wider than ours. His jaw line reminded me of a spaded shovel. From the back of his jaw right around to the other side. This was truly the work of Jesus our God. I must say this angel was Hardcore and I knew because of his appearance that he has a grate life. He appeared to be about thirty years old and he was in his prime condition.

His hair was brown and nothing like ours. His hair came out of his scalp in tight spirals. It appeared that each individual hair on his head was much thicker than each of the hairs on our heads.

His eyes were brown in color and glossy. His eyes were much bigger than ours. I must add his entire eyes were dark brown. There was no white at all in his eyes. Towards the middle of his eyes mixed in the brown were black speckles. Suddenly he appeared right in front of me face to face eye to eye. I do not remember him moving forward towards me suddenly he was just there. I stared right into his eyes and saw something that I had never seen before that day. His entire brown eyes and the black speckles through them. Under his eyes there was no stress misery or pain. This was something that I had really noticed. Suddenly we were no longer face to face but he was standing back were he was standing before we were eye to eye. Again I do not remember him stepping back suddenly he was just there.

Then his eyes changed and in each one of his eyes the black speckles formed together as a black pupil in each brown eye. Then in each black pupil I seen something that I have never seen before. At first I could not even comprehend it. Then I realized that in his pupils was the look of Powerful Strong Peace. Peace with such Strength that at first I could not grasp. Then in each pupil of each of his eyes his pupils literally began to swarm with such a Peaceful Power. Then in each of his pupils along with the swarming Peaceful power came a White swarming mist.

Then the angel came forward and locked his eyes directly into my eyes. Then In each of his eyes I saw a dark brown Powerful Cross. Then suddenly I no longer saw the angel or anything else. What I did see was one dark brown wood grain Cross on a hill. Then the Cross I saw began to form silver capping around each end of it.

Suddenly I was standing near the edge of a mountain on the mountain flat were Jesus was crucified died and gave His life for the salvation of humanity. I noticed that the mountain flat that I was standing on was very flat. The mountain appeared to be made from some shiny beautiful black gem. I remember looking ahead of me and far back behind the mountain flat were miles of nice yellow fields of hills that went straight back.

I saw the Cross of Jesus coming up the side path that comes to the back of the mountain flat. From behind the Cross I heard the Loudest Thunderous Sounds following the Cross of Jesus. The Cross reached the back of the mountain flat then turned and started coming towards me. The Cross was Tremendous and held the Most Power I had ever seen. Then the Thunderous Sounds followed behind the Cross and up the mountainside path and up over the hill on to the mountain flat. Than I saw that the Thunderous Sounds was Powerful Flames of Burning Fire that stretched out in a long half circular shape row behind the Cross. The Fire went from the far left side of the Cross, behind the Cross and over to the far right side of the Cross. As the Cross Of Jesus came closer towards me the Flames of Burning Fire grew Extremely Tall with such Powerful Strength.

Once the Cross of Jesus moved forward to the spot were I believe was the very spot were Jesus our God was crucified and died for humanities sins, The Most Powerful Cross and its Supreme Flames of Burning Fire then stood still. I remember looking over my left shoulder towards the mountainside cliff ledge. The cliff side of the mountain edge that was on the side of my left shoulder went out a lot more then the other side. I remember that beyond the cliff ledge down below from a distance was a round white city.

Then It was if the Most Powerful Power of the Cross of Jesus and Exceedingly Great Burning Flames of Fire and the Superior Sounds of Thunder all became One. The mixture of this was the Extremist Most Powerful Power I had ever seen and herd in my life. I realized that what I was starring at was the Power of Jesus my Lord my God the Holy Spirit. I knew then, Jesus our God is the One and only Extremist Power in all existence.

Then suddenly I was no longer standing on the mountain flat in front of the Cross of Jesus our God. Then again what I remember seeing was one dark brown wood grain Cross on a hill. Again silver capping began forming around each end of the Cross, But this time in the middle of the Cross shone the brightest ray of LIGHT I have ever seen.

Then I saw two Most Powerful Crosses with Wild Burning Flames of Fire behind the Crosses. Again along with the Flames of Fire was the Loudest Sounds of Thunder from the Flames of Burning Fire. Again the mixture of the two Most Powerful Crosses the Burning Flames of Fire and the Thunder became the Most Powerful Extremist Power I have ever seen and herd.

Then again I realized that I was face to face with the angel and that the Most Powerful two Crosses and Flames of Fire behind the two Crosses and the Thunder was in each eye of the angel. In each eye of the angel was the Most Powerful Cross of Jesus the Extremist Flames of Burning Fire and the Wildest Thunder. Again I was watching the Power of Jesus The One Only True Extremist God Of All, through the eyes of His messenger the angel. Then the Crosses in each eye of the angel and the Burning Fire and the Thunder from the Burning Flames of Fire and the angel suddenly all disappeared.

Then I realized that I was standing in front of the bunk beds in my jail cell. I then realized that the entire time the angel was standing in front of me he was standing exactly were the metal bunk beds were. When the angel was standing in front of me the steal bunk beds were they should have been were not even there. The angel was there. The bunk beds had disappeared. Then when the angel disappeared the bunk beds reappeared.

What happen to me that day was so powerful and much for my mind to comprehend that I was disoriented afterwards for some time. I remembered the angel up until about were he locked his eyes onto my eyes. After that the rest of what had happened took some time to sink in. That swarming Peace that I saw in the angels eyes right before the angel locked his eyes onto my eyes. I’m sure that was the Holy Sprit and I believe Jesus our God sent that with the angel as a gift for me. When the angel locked his eyes onto my eyes the angel put that swarming Peace that was in the pupils of his eyes directly into my soul and it healed me on the spot. Much of my misery and fear for life is gone. I sleep better and now see this life of mine completely different than before that day when all this of what I explained happened. I no longer crave the addiction to misery that I once had.

Jesus our God sent me a visual message with His messenger the angel. The message was Jesus. Jesus our God. The message strait out showed me that Jesus is our One True Only God. Jesus came to this earth and let Himself be crucified on His Cross. Jesus died so that humanity could have forgiveness of sins. Jesus is our Savior from death. If humanity believes in Jesus through Him we can enter eternal life forever.

This Is all real. Jesus our Lord our God is real. The Holy Spirit is real. Prayer towards Jesus our God Is real. The Holy Bible is real. There is no shame at all if you honor our LORD JESUS THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus is our Savior from death. The forgiveness of our sins. He is Jesus our God. He created us and it is thanks towards Him why we are here on this earth. From what I have seen I now Know that Jesus our God is the Extremist Power in all creation. JESUS is our LORD our GOD the HOLY SPIRIT. He is more than any of us will ever be. Jesus our God has literally saved my life and I believe my soul forever. If you honor Jesus our God and ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins and to have Him help you with your soul and your life, your life through Jesus our God can only become better.

Billy Schmidt

Blessings,

#kent

The Root

The Root

Proverbs 12:3

A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 

  As it has come to be the season where the leaves have changed their color and are falling to the ground I take stock of my own life and see that age is coming upon me, the hair is receding and the winter is before me.  As we grow older we begin to see that it is not always the outward that is permanent and beautiful, for that beauty will fade and pass away.  Even in the Christian world we see a lot of outward demonstrations of worship and religious fanfare.  All of these outward manifestations have their day and they catch the eye, but most soon fade and pass away.  Proverbs 30:31 says, “Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”  This outward life is like the beauty of a woman.  It is vain, as is the favor of man, for it is not the outward that is the heart and soul of a substance, it is the root.  When all of the outward beauty falls from a plant and outwardly it looks cold and dead, there is still the life that remains, but it is hidden to the outward eye.  

So many Christians go through life living by the appearance of what looks good or spiritual, but the true life and tenacity of a thing is in the root.  The root is not really concerned for the outward things, the outward beauty that stems from the root comes as a natural manifestation of that which it is by nature and character, but the root is more concerned in the things which are not seen.  It is always seeking to go deeper into the ground and extend itself into new places of moisture and nutrition.  That is the description of the man and woman of God.  They aren’t nearly as concerned for the outward beauty, as they are for going deeper and more intimate in their relationship with Christ, which is their life, their source, supply and water.  Judging a person by the outward appearance is a vain and shallow thing.  In order to truly judge a thing, you must first truly know its heart and its root.  There are those in the kingdom of God today that by their outward appearance and circumstances you might consider them forsaken, barren and cursed of God.  That is because you don’t know their root.  Their roots have wrapped themselves around the very heart, life and fiber of God. They live, move and have their being out of that life.  Outwardly there may not be beauty that one would desire them and others may in fact pity them, but some of these ones have more life and reality of God than all the pretty Christians will ever know.  That is because they have come to experience and lay hold of God in the dark places, in the droughts, in the heat of the summer, the freezing of winter and the fires that have burned away the outward beauty.  There is no comeliness that you should desire them.  They are really quite similar to another root that is spoken about in Isaiah 53:2-7, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”  

This is a day and an hour when we don’t want to be moved by what we see outwardly.  Judge a matter by its root and where its heart is.  Situations and circumstances will not move one who is firmly and deeply planted in God.  Miracles and outward manifestations and lofty words will not move them.  Even the Anti-Christ can manifest these.  Look to the heart and the root of a matter, there you will find the true revelation of what it is or what it is not.  Out of what many will have judged to be nothing will come the true oaks and trees of righteousness; the planting of the Lord.

Blessings,

#kent