Runaway

Runaway

Matthew 5:25

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

              Perhaps one of our greatest downfalls is not dealing with something while it is a small matter.  Given time and left to itself, what started out as something that could have been controlled or averted gets out of control and results in a destination for catastrophe. 

              When I was in my teens I was working one summer at a grain elevator during harvest.  Railroad cars would sometimes be dropped off and we would block the wheels with a 2×4 so that they would not take off.  I remember one day for some reason one of cars started rolling.  I saw it and first tried to stop it by putting a 2×4 behind the moving wheel.   It wasn’t moving fast yet, but there was enough weight and momentum that it ran over that 2×4 like a toothpick.  After a couple of attempts and seeing that this was not going to work I instinctively climbed aboard the moving car and turned the brake wheel to bring it to a stop.  Because we were able to catch the moving car and deal with the potential problem quickly there were no adverse consequences, but what if that car had kept moving and picking up speed as it went?  What if it had become a runaway train car speeding out of control?  This is much how temptations and problems that arise in our life go.  Dealt with and averted early they can usually be resolved before they become out of control and are on a crash course with disaster. 

              When we let those little sins into our life, that are small and seem quite harmless at the time, and don’t deal with them, but perhaps hide them in darkness, they have time to germinate, grow and before we know it they are out of our control.  Sometimes we don’t know how to deal with them, but we won’t get help.  We keep thinking we can handle it while in reality it continues to pick up momentum taking us down the track to judgement and growing consequences.  Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He gave this parable in Matthew 5.  Our adversary is anything, that left unchecked and dealt with, will bring us to consequences and judgements that we don’t want to face. 

Perhaps there are areas that are moving out of control in our lives today.  Take a look down the tracks and see the potential disaster this runaway train can take you too.  Deal with it quickly, before it is too late and the consequences are too great.

Blessings,

#kent

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Forgiveness, Overcoming and Knowing

Forgiveness, Overcoming and Knowing

1 John 2:12-14

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

13I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.

14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

              The Word of the Lord meets each one of us wherever we are in our spiritual development and walk.  Initially when we came to know Christ, we came to know Him in salvation and the forgiveness of our sins.  Fathers have a depth of experience and knowledge that they bring.  With Fathers it is not just what they know, but what they have walked in and experienced.  The Word from Genesis to Revelation is continually unfolding and making itself known and real to them.  They carry in them the seed of life.  The depth of the Word that is able to inspire, stir up faith and bring life to those they are with.  Father’s are the seasoned ones that have known God from the beginning of their Christian childhood.  They have known both victory and defeat and they bare the scars of battle.  They have not only known, as the young men do, the place of overcoming, but they have also found the place of God’s rest.  They can rest because they do know Him and His sovereignty is fixed in their hearts. 

The young men are walking through the experience stages of their walk.  They are exercising their faith.  They are not complacent or lethargic in regards to their relationship and walk with Christ, but are engaging and fighting the good fight.  They are becoming experienced in the Word and in the exercise of its authority and power as they discern the temptations and the deceitfulness of the enemy and overcome Him with the light of truth and walk of purity.  The young men are gaining a revelation of who they are in Christ and are learning to live out of that life and power within them rather than relying upon their own strength and goodness.  The young men are a joy to be around because of their zest for life. Their continual quest for a deeper faith and walk are contagious and an inspiration to all that are around them. 

              As children we come into the faith and knowledge of Christ.  We experience God’s goodness and faithfulness to us.  We begin to know Him in the sense that we are getting a revelation of who Christ is in us and what our purpose in God is.  The children are growing in the sincere milk of the Word.  They are becoming grounded in its doctrinal and eternal truths.  They are beginning to experience and walk in the principles of faith for their lives and they are comng to know God through a daily relationship.

God’s Word is the bread of life to meet us at every level of life and every stage of growth in our walk with God.  It is the Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  The BIBLE is our daily instruction manual to bring us from infancy, to youth and into fatherhood.  Every day it is a source of greater insight and understanding into who we are in Christ and how we fit into the purpose and the plan of the Almighty Father.  Our life is about abiding with Him and in Him always.  It is about knowing HIM from the beginning to the end.

Blessings,

#kent

God Will Take Care of Us

 

God Will Take Care of Us

 

Matthew 6:25-30

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?

 

It was shortly after we were first married and I was called into the supervisor’s office where I worked.  There I was informed that the company was going bankrupt and they would have to let me go.  As I brought that sad news home to my young, then pregnant wife, she was devastated.  Suddenly all of her security was gone and future uncertain.  I remember it was this particular passage that God gave me to share with her that began to renew hope, faith and a confidence that God was there to take care of us even when I couldn’t.  No doubt many of you have experienced similar situations where the future looked bleak and no provisions were on the horizon.  All we could do is say, “God you are a ‘Way Maker’.  You make a way where there is no way.”

As I was reading through the many accounts of Jesus touching, healing and delivering people in need, it was evident that their need was met in response to their faith to believe.  Jesus would sometimes say to them, “be it unto you according to your faith”.  The Lord is continually stretching our faith to believe Him for greater and greater things.  Even in those things that don’t turn out the way we hoped or wanted we can know that, “God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).”

David often found the way of provision was released through the voice of praise and thanksgiving.  This is the voice of faith and it stirs up faith within our souls as well.  Sometimes it is really hard for us to grasp and believe that such an infinitely wonderful and great God could care individually and personally so much for us, and yet He does.  If He can care and provide for all of the small creatures and His creation, then surely He can care for you and I as well.

Let’s say someone shows up at your door today and says, “Here is a check for a million dollars.  Take it and spend it anyway you want.”  Obviously, we are going to be pretty elated and our initial response is quite likely going to abound in praise toward God.  After a few weeks and all the bills are paid and the needs are met.  We are enjoying the good life.  Now, where is God in the light of our prosperity and good fortune?  Is our dependency, trust and reliance still as great then as it was before?  Is God still at the forefront of all our thoughts and activities as we use that money, or has He faded back to a lonely second position, as our new lifestyle compels us to think less of Him and more about us.  This is our human nature at work and as much as we say, “I wouldn’t be like that, we would be amazed at how quickly God can lose His significance in the light of our prosperity.”  Herein lies its danger, we begin to love and trust in the money more than our God.  God warns Israel about this when He promises to prosper them after they come through all of their trials in of the wilderness in Deuteronomy 8.  It is a great chapter to read and reflect on.  “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of [mine] hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for [it is] he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as [it is] this day And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish (Deuteronomy 8:17-19).”  At the forefront of every blessing, of every trial, of every endeavor and circumstance in life, God must continue to reign as the Lord of all of our life.  Our reliance upon Him is not to change whether in much or in little.   The Son is forever to be the center of our universe and the One to bring life and warmth to each day, winter, spring, summer or fall, in good times or bad.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).”

Blessings,

#kent

God’s Intent

 

God’s Intent

 

Romans 8:28-31

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?

 

God says His intentions for His people are to conform them to the image of His Son.  Jesus is the pattern and prototype, the standard and the likeness of what we are becoming.  All things in our lives should be working to this end that in all things we are like minded with Christ.  The Lord Jesus sits in heaven’s throne, not idly, but as the High Priest of our confession, ever living to make intercession on our behalf.  All that Christ has done and is still doing is to bring us into the likeness of who He is.  The Holy Spirit is working out those intercessions to accomplish in us the good and perfect will of the Father.  Thus, it says, “that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and to them that are called according to His purpose.”  Most of us have circumstances and times in our lives when we struggle with the fact that this can actually be working together for our good.  Then, we have to understand that life is not just about good things happening to us, but whatever does happen to us God is working it to do a work of goodness in us.  Often it is the most negative things that work the greatest positive in us.

God has called us out of darkness and predestined that we should be the children of light.  We are the vessels through whom His divine light would shine.  As Jesus revealed God to humanity, so we reveal Christ to our world.  Though we were lost in sin, now Christ has justified us, made us just as if we had never sinned.  After that justification is complete then He will glorify us, even to the image and likeness of Himself.

Though the forces of hell and death come against us nothing or no one is able to separate us from the Love of God.  We are not in this battle alone.  It is God that is determining our victory as we pursue His purposes in hope and faith.

Be encouraged today wherever you find yourself in your spiritual walk.  These may be dark days or blessed days, but wherever we are, even in the face of death, our God stands with us.  The Romans that Paul wrote this letter to were standing at death’s door for the sake of their faith and we may one-day stand there with them.  Romans 8:32-39 goes on to encourage us in such a powerful way, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?   Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? [It is] God that justifieth. Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It doesn’t matter who condemns us, belittles us, and tries to intimidate, criticize and ridicule us.  It doesn’t matter who robs our possessions or takes away our livelihood.  God Almighty is for us!!!  God” spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?  We are destined for greatness.  We are destined for the fullness of God.  We are His children that are being made conformable to His likeness.  All the curses of hell and death may come against us and we may lay down our lives for our faith, but nothing is powerful enough to separate us from our God.  “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that has loved us.” Our DADDY is stronger than anybody else’s and our security, love and completeness is sealed in Him.  It doesn’t matter what our circumstances, just as it looked like Jesus was defeated when they nailed Him to the cross.  His death became life and victory and power.  The death that works in this life can only work the power of the resurrection life in us as we fix our eyes on Him “who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).”

Take heart that He is working in you and I so much more than we will ever see come from what this world and what its goods have to offer.   We are a Kingdom People set apart for Kingdom purposes.  Hold fast to your confession of faith and waiver not in your commitment, no matter what obstacles come against you.  He will see you through and bless your latter end even more than your former.  Nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Blessings,

#kent

 

Almost There

 

2 Timothy 4:5-8

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

 

 

The apostle Paul has been a mentor and an inspiration to millions of believers over the years since he penned so many of the books of the New Testament.  As we are traveling our road of faith and as we are running our course in this life sometimes it gets pretty rough and hard. We want to give up.  We get tired, we get discouraged and we get worn down through trials and tribulations to the point where we would entertain the thoughts of forsaking our faith and just go with the flow of the world.

We see an example of one who almost gave up and actually did for a time.  His name was John Mark.  Acts 12:25 tells us, “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled [their] ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.”  We gather from what is previously written that he has grown up in a strong household of faith.  We know that a least his mother, Mary, was a devout Christian; for it was her house that the saints had gathered to pray when Peter was in prison.  It was her house that Peter came too after the angel released him from his shackles and imprisonment and they could scarcely believe it was he.  We can see John Mark as having a lot of fervor and sense of adventure, but not a lot of experience when it came to walking in the ways of the apostles.  When he was allowed to travel with Paul and Barnabus he began to experience hardships he had never known.  Trials and persecutions threatened his very life.  He found the walk of these committed men of God was one unto death.  Their safety and well being was not at the forefront of their ministry and walk with the Lord.  We see this becoming a little too much for John Mark.  In Acts 15 we read of this sharp contention that arose between Barnabas and Paul, because Barnabus wanted to take John Mark again.  We read where John Mark had deserted them at Pamphylia, so to Paul, he had disqualified himself and Paul was no longer willing to take him along.  Paul and Barnabus separated and Paul took Silas and Barnabus took John Mark.

I think a lot of us can see ourselves in John Mark.  We start out fervent and are going to win the world for Christ, but after we have warred and walked against the enemy of our souls long enough, sometimes we want too and sometimes we do, desert our calling or our confidence in the Lord.  We find ourselves releasing our grip on the anchor of our souls and drifting back into that which we have been delivered out of.  The thing is, if we have been truly born again we will not be content with this back-slidden or separated state.  The good news is that Jesus is a Barnabus as well as a Paul.  He is a God of second chances.  He will still love and receive us back to Himself even if we have strayed or fallen short along the way.  God placed Barnabus there to come along side John Mark, to encourage him and help him to become again the man of God he was called to be.  We find that even Paul, in time, softens to John Mark and finds him useful. In 2 Timothy 4:11 we read from Paul’s hand, “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”  We find that it is this John Mark who penned the gospel of Mark.

Even if we stumble in our walk and commitment to Christ, never underestimate God’s ability to take your failures and turn them for your good.  Sometimes when it is darkest and most difficult, we may well be at that threshold of our breakthrough.  Hold fast and confident in your faith.  Don’t allow your discouragement and trials to overtake you, but even if they should, the Father has not cast you off, but longs for you to return to Him and again run the good race of your faith.  Repentance and reconciliation are the doorways to restoration in our relationship with our Father.  You’re almost there!  Don’t give up and don’t give in, in all your ways acknowledge Him and follow His ways.

Blessings,

#kent

Compromise

 

Compromise

 

Proverbs 7:24-27

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong [men] have been slain by her. Her house [is] the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

 

Compromise

 

There was a boy, who walked a line along the river’s edge,

He was told to stay back away from it because of it slippery ledge.

But time and again he walked the line because he wanted too,

And more than once he came back home with wet and muddy shoes.

 

Many times, he was corrected and told to stay away,

But he was drawn by strong desire and by its edge would play.

He thought I’m too skilled to fall in, it was as if he were driven,

So he scoffed and heeded not all the warnings that were given.

 

As you might guess one day he didn’t show up at the door,

They searched and found him washed up along the river’s shore.

With grief they all talked and cried of this young man’s sad demise,

And how he wouldn’t stay away from that river called Compromise.

Blessings,

#kent

The Will and the Way of God

 

The Will and the Way of God

 

1 Chronicles 15:2

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

 

There is a story in 1 Chronicles that tells us of David’s desire and zeal to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem.  Here in 1 Chronicles 13:7-10 we read about his first attempt and see that not only was it unsuccessful, but it resulted in the Lord’s anger and the death of a man.   “And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. And David and all Israel played before God with all [their] might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.”  Our reaction to this account might not be so unlike David’s, somewhat shocked, stunned and thinking, “God, why were you so severe?”  When God responds to men’s actions and His judgement results in death, one of the first and foremost things it generates is a fear of God, not just in the “be afraid” sense, but in the sense that we can’t take God’s will and His ways for granted.

Think about if for a moment with me about how we handle the things of God.  When I examine my times that are supposed to be set aside and consecrated for Him, I see my own personal agendas and ways leaving smudgy, dirty little finger and handprints all over them.  Think for a moment of God’s will and way being like this huge plate glass window that is sparkling clean and transparent.  Then here come His kids.  They don’t even think, “I need to really be aware and respect the purity and cleanness of this window.  I can look through it, but I don’t want to put my hands on it or I will dirty it.”  If it was a sliding glass door then there would be a proper means by which we would pass through it, open and close it, without placing our hands on the glass.  This is a rough illustration of what David did and why Uzza died when He touched the Ark.  In Leviticus 20:26 God speaks of His desire for His people, “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD [am] holy, and have severed you from [other] people, that ye should be mine.”

The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred of the pieces of the Tabernacle.  Its place was in the Holy of Holies and it represented the very presence and place of God.  Throughout the Word there is an awesome respect and fear that is directed toward it, for what it represented.  It wasn’t that David’s heart was not in the right place because He wanted to bring the Ark up to Jerusalem, it was his methods that were wrong.  There are right ways and wrong ways to handle the things of God.  When we get careless and sloppy in our walk with God, we find ourselves incurring judgements and disciplines for the way we are handling the things of God.  Hopefully it won’t be as severe as Uzza, Nadab and Abihu, or Ananias and Sapphira.  These people gave their lives to be examples to us not to take the things of God lightly and not to do things our own way.  Many of us are far guiltier of this than we realize and I’m feeling the conviction that the Lord wants us to really begin to examine our relationship and our action concerning the things of God.  There was a right way that David should have been transporting that Ark.  That was a priesthood function that was laid out very explicitly by God in Exodus.  Do we fully realize that we are the priesthood of God that carry about the Ark of God in our spirits?  How are we handling the precious entrustment God has placed upon us to carry His name and His testimony in our daily lives.  Have we grown careless in our commitment and our obedience to Him?  Are we doing many of the things in our lives, both spiritually and naturally, our way instead of His?  Are we putting our dirty little hands of selfishness all over the window of His Holiness?  God wants us to transport His life in these bodies with immense joy, rejoicing and gladness, but He wants us to take special care that we do it His way and not ours, no matter how good it may seem.  Let’s ask the Lord to show us the areas of our lives where we may be dishonoring and disobeying Him.  Let’s covet His Holiness and Righteousness, seeking to be well pleasing and compliant with His will and His ways.  God has extended much grace toward us, but that is not our license for sin and dishonor concerning the Holy Life He has placed in our keeping.

“Lord, help us not to be foolish concerning our lives and walk in You.  Help us to always look upon You with the utmost reverence and respect.  Help us to honor and obey you, searching out Your will and Your ways of godly and righteous living.”

Blessings,

#kent

Integrity

Integrity

 

Proverbs 11:3

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.

 

A man or woman of integrity is a principled person of upright character.  Like a building or structure that has integrity, they have soundness and completeness in their lives.  They are whole and undivided in their steadfast commitment to a way of life and living that is simple and innocent.

This is a characteristic we don’t see as much of anymore as we used to.  Society has changed a good deal over the years in the way it does business, because of the lack of integrity in people.  There was time when a man’s word was his bond and on a word and a handshake multi-million dollar deals were made.  Your credit was good on your word and you didn’t have to be I.D.’d and fingerprinted for every transaction you made.  There was an ethical code of conduct generally among people that was honest and forthright…  You still had bad apples, but they were the exception and not the rule.  Today we live in a rationalized society where if people have any integrity they compartmentalize it to just certain aspects of their lives.  We, society as a whole, are not consistent with our character.  We act one way at work, another way at home, another way at church, another way in conducting business and still another way in our private lives.  We are fragmented in our ethical and moral character, without soundness or completeness or consistency in our daily lives.  Therefore we have become a people without integrity.

We would like to think this is not true of the church, but, unfortunately, we are seen as some of the worst offenders, by the world at large and by our fellow believers.  There are a lot of people who would rather do business with a non-believer than a believer.  At least they know that what they see is what they get.  With a believer, they can talk all the right language and wear the religious garb of piety, but then turn and act in total contradiction to the character they outwardly portray.  Do you suppose this has anything to do with why the world in general often sees Christians as a bunch of hypocrites and that is why they don’t want to have anything to do with us.  They judge God by what they see in us and God is getting a bad rap.  Brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Surprisingly, “integrity” is an Old Testament word and is not used in the New Testament, but integrity can be seen in its purist form in Christ Jesus.  Integrity means to be perfect and in Matthew 5:48 after Jesus has conveyed a higher standard for His followers he says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  Live a life of love and integrity built upon the standards and principles of the Word of God.  Jesus raised the bar for us who are His disciples and bear His name.  Our lives must be centered on giving and not getting.  If Christ is in us, then His character and nature must be seen consistently through our words and actions.  We must be people of our word and act honorably toward all men.  There is a need for a standard of righteousness that people can depend upon in the lives of Christians.  By the power of Christ in us we must bear that standard before men and, lift up, not dishonor, the name of Christ.  Let us be consistent in Christian character in all aspects of our lives.  For He is Lord of all, not just part of us

Blessings,

#kent

Surrender

 

 

Surrender

 

Romans 6:16

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

 

Surrender is what we give up or yield ourselves over too.  How many of us try and piecemeal our surrender to Christ.  We’ve heard the truth of the gospel; we’ve embraced its truth, now comes the hard part, surrendering to it.  Oh how hard it is to give up our will and let it become “His will be done.”  I’ve read about a number of great men of God who in their earlier years struggled so hard to find God.  They put themselves through all kinds of separations, disciplines, self-affliction and legalism, only to finally arrive at the simple truth that nothing they did could produce the peace of God until they finally just surrendered themselves to what He had already done.  Once these men finally came to the end of themselves their self-efforts at salvation and pleasing God, they were set free.  Once they threw up their hands said I give up, only you can do it God, they received the peace of God and discovered what grace was all about.

Living a life under the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is living in that place of surrender of our self and our will to His.  Our delight, our joy, our peace comes in finding what delights Him.  Sure, we still have a life with ambitions and dreams, but all of it is filtered through the surrender we have to Christ.  Our delight is in His service no matter in what capacity that is.

The Word says whomever we obey, that is whose servants we are.  Is our obedience and surrender fully to Christ?  The Holy Spirit is so faithful to us when we surrender to Him to reveal the areas of our lives that we are holding out in.  As He does we present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is our expected service. We are not to be conformed to the world, but transformed through the renewing of our minds, so that we can prove what is God’s good, acceptable and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).  In our minds we often think of surrender as giving up our wants and desires and it is, if they are running contrary to the will of God, but when we begin to fully surrender all to Christ, we find a place of heaven on earth.  It is a place of joy, peace and contentment in the Holy Spirit that the world cannot offer.

How many times I remember singing the choruses of “I Surrender All.”  I had never really thought about how they apply to the believer as much or more than the unbeliever.  Let us freely give all to Him that we may experience His rest and His best.

Blessings,

#kent

Suffer the Little Children

 

Suffer the Little Children

 

Mark 10:13-16

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and [his] disciples rebuked those that brought [them.  But when Jesus saw [it], he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  And he took them up in his arms, put [his] hands upon them, and blessed them.

 

Our children are so often ignored and neglected in spiritual things.  We are faithful to feed them, cloth them and provide them with all manner of toys and devices of entertainment, but in a world that is rampant with perversity and sin are we providing what they need most?  I believe Jesus has time for no others like He does for children.  Their simplicity, their trusting innocence, their complete confidence in us as parents to provide and care for them is exactly what the Lord is looking for in all of us that come to Him.  These are basic Kingdom principles.  The wonder years of our children are the fertile ground in which the love and relationship with the heavenly Father needs to be nurtured and grown.  If we are not planting Life in them, then something else is replacing it and the fruit of it will be death.

Sometimes our children grow up and even though we were faithful to plant the Word of God in their hearts and teach them the ways of the Lord they seem to walk away and turn their backs on the Life we labored to give them.  That is when we stand upon the promise of Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.”  I don’t believe God’s Word comes back void, especially when it is combined with prayer and faith.  So if you have children that have walked away from God, take encouragement from God’s Word and never give up praying and believing.

Let’s be vigilant to nurture and feed the most precious treasure you and your child posses, their soul.  I am so thankful for a mother that nurtured that in me, that taught me about Jesus from an early age and prayed with me every night as a small child.  Through the years of my life there have been times I have walked away and been unfaithful, but the roots of God’s Word and Love have grown deep in my soul and His Love continues to draw me back to Him.  Be faithful in this area with your children and grandchildren.  There is not a more precious investment you can make, than in bringing them constantly to Jesus.  He wants to sit them upon His lap and bless them.  Let us not error as the disciples and hinder them from that place of relationship and time in His presence, but let us be diligent to nurture and develop them to really know their Savior.

Blessings,

#kent