Finding Your Vision

Proverbs 29:18

Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.

                              Finding Your Vision

An elderly woman stood before the elevator door,

Trying to remember where was she going and to what floor.

As she stood there thinking with an empty gaze,

All her mind would offer her was a formless haze.

Suddenly the elevator door opened and someone cried, “Mom”.

She looked up with hope where before she had been numb.

A couple came and gently guided her through the door.

She felt a peace that they would know the right floor.

Our spiritual deficit can become like this woman’s mental one.

We are always going, but we don’t know where it is we run.

We’ve misplaced our vision, our compass and our life’s goal.

Aimlessly we are living, but with no real purpose or role.

Christ is the One who comes and takes our hand,

He is the one leading and guiding us to our promise land.

The understanding of His Word is what renews our vision and sight.

He renews our hearts and minds in the things that are right.

Christ is the One who puts the meaning into our life.

Before Him, there was only hopelessness, sin and strife.

It is His vision that causes us to see and think clearly again.

Though the outward things fail, in Christ, we always have a friend.

Blessings,

#kent

What Concerns God

Jonah 4:5-11

Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”

“I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”

10But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

What Concerns God

               When I read the book of Jonah, I always see him as the prophet with an attitude.  These verses of the book reveal that Jonah’s concern was not God’s concern.  He was only concerned with himself.  God tried to loving and patiently teach Jonah a lesson that if He could bless and take care of Jonah’s need, even though he didn’t deserve it, shouldn’t he even be concerned about a greater multitude of people who were facing judgement because of their sin and ignorance? 

               How often do, we, like Jonah, get introspective where it really is all about us, or us four and no more.  We lose sight of the bigger picture and think that we alone are worthy of God’s grace.  God tries to loving show us that even as He has given His grace when we didn’t deserve and could not earn it, He wants to use our lives to extend His grace to others. 

               Some of us have this Jonah complex or ‘holier than thou’ attitude, that those outside our little belief system deserve the wrath and judgement of God and we don’t really want to have any part in keeping them from it.  We don’t even see the depths of our prejudice and how far we are from the heart of God for His creation. 

               This creation concerns God.  Romans 8:22-23 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”  God has a plan for creation’s redemption, and it is to be executed through the fullness of His sons.  There is something different about His sons than what we see in the heart of Jonah.  Sons have the Father’s heart and what concerns the Father concerns them.  Just as Jesus said, ‘I do nothing of Myself.  I only do what I see the Father do and say what I hear the Father say.’ Jesus was a Son after the Father’s heart.  He cared about what the Father cared about.  John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  If the Son of God was willing to lay down His life for what concerned the Father, what then should be our greatest concern?  Should it only be about what concerns us or what concerns the Father?  Are we orphans or sons?  Are we hirelings or shepherds?  If we are son’s, then we have Father’s business to take care of  and that should be our priority. 

               Jonah was so angry with God about saving Nineveh that he wanted to die.  Jonah was only concerned about what affected his life and met his needs.  Probably most of us have a lot of Jonah in us, because us and ours are what we are most focused on, but what about what concerns God?  You could well be God’s instrument in affecting a much greater salvation than just your own.  Are we willing to listen to God’s concern and with a son’s heart go where He says go, do what He says to do and say what He says to say?  That opportunity is around us every day in the world we encounter.  Are we unselfishly willing to release God’s power and love through our lives to touch those we might rather just pass by?  We want, what concerns God, to concern us, because that is who we are as His sons.

Blessings,

#kent

Presumptuous Ways

Presumptuous Ways

James 4;13-17

Go to now, ye that say, Today or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.

               Most of us become pretty independent with our lives, our routines and our activities.  We may even pray about our day, but then continue on with little thought of what we asked the Lord to guide and bless.  We are often quite presumptuous with what the Lord’s will is in a matter.  How many opportunities do I miss to live for Christ, to be a witness or even to minister the love of God to someone because I’ve zoned out what God’s purpose is for me each moment of my life and I’m off on my agenda.  I see how often I do that with my wife with ignoring or being insensitive to her needs because I become so engrossed in what I’m doing.  How much more do I do it with the Lord?

               Perhaps the Lord wants us to step back and just take a look at our lives to see how much we lend ourselves to be sensitive to the way the Holy Spirit wants to lead us.  The truth is, most of us live more in our will than in His.  As a result, our focus is about us and what we have accomplished or what we want to accomplish.  If I really want to be what Acts 17:28 says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” then where I am living in each moment of time is all relevant and purposed by our Lord.  Each moment, each accomplishment, or act should for His glory, and submitted to His will and purpose. 

               Obviously we have lives, jobs, demands and responsibilities.  We are not making every little action and decision a matter of intense prayer.  James says in the last sentence of this passage,  “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.”  There is the instruction to live our lives in the light of what we know to be good and right.  When we live contrary to that we are in sin.  The closer and more mindful we walk our daily lives in the light of His Word and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, the more we are going to be aware of when we are out of the will and purpose of God.

There is an attitude conveyed here that I am to presume nothing, but continually be mindful that if my faith is truly in Christ, then I am trusting Him to guide my steps and order my ways.  I should be willing to have my day and plans interrupted if the will of God so orders it.  After all, I am His agent, living in His service not the other way around.  Usually we want God’s blessing on what we decide to do rather than becoming the blessing of His will and purpose in everyday life.  All that we are, all that we have and even the few short years we have on this earth are a gift from Him.  We must be careful about arrogantly boasting about our lives or accomplishments.  We are the products of God’s grace and workings, not our great ability. We are most effective for the Lord when we are least full of ourselves and most full of His Spirit and life working through us.  That happens as we let God be God in every moment of our lives, having our mind, affections and purpose continually set upon Him.

Blessings,

#kent

What Manner of Spirit am I

What Manner of Spirit am I

Luke 9:52-56

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [them]. And they went to another village.

                When I examine my heart in the recesses of my mind, when I sound its depths and seek out its true motives what will I find?  Will I find just a religious spirit that talks the talk, that goes through the motions of Christianity, but doesn’t have the heart and nature of the Son?  Will I find that I am like James and John who wanted to call down destruction, who had the desire for power and authority, but not the heart of the Son to use it in love?   Will I find that I am like Peter, who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, but wants to hold back the Spirit of Christ in me from fulfilling the destiny and the calling before me?  Jesus rebukes Peter and tells him to “get thee behind me satan” when he seeks to prevent Jesus from his destiny with Jerusalem and Calvary.  He meant well, but it was not the Spirit of God speaking.

                The disciples were religious men, chosen men, men of God, walking and sitting under the teaching of the Master.  While our heart is for God, so many times out motives are not.  There is another spirit at work in us, seeking to turn us away from our Calvary and the destiny that God has called us too.  It is not a destiny to fulfill selfish ambitions and goals.  It is a destiny that is calling us to give all that we are for all that He is and wants to be in and through us. 

The apostle Paul says in Romans 7: 21-23 (Amplified), “So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands.  22For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature].

23But I discern in my bodily members [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh].”  There is ever the conflict between the mortal body of sin and the Spirit of God that dwells in my heart, we all struggle with these areas in our life.  There is this other spirit working through my flesh, ever seeking to thwart the plan and the will of God for my life.  What recourse do I have since there is no goodness in my flesh, my only righteousness is in Christ?  I must discern the Holy Spirit and the life of Christ in me.  I must continually set my mind and heart to who I am in Christ.  I am no longer a man of the flesh to live after the flesh, even though those appetites may still entice me.  I must now acknowledge and practice the presence of Christ in my life.  He must come to be in every breath and in every intent of my being.  “We are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)” 

                What manner of spirit are we today?  Are we walking in the Spirit, in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus or, is there another spirit wanting to operate in a different way than the love of the righteousness of God.  Is there another spirit that is seeking to turn us away from our Calvary, our identification with the death and resurrection of Christ, another spirit that is seeking to preserve the flesh from the death God has for it?  It is a spirit that will reason with the natural mind and make sense, but it is contrary to the calling and purpose of God in our lives.  It may be coming through the mouths of those that love and are looking out for our best interest, but they don’t have the mind of the Spirit of God in their counsel. 

                What manner of spirit is directing and leading your life today?  Where is it taking you?

Blessings,

#kent

Having Our Own Stubborn Way

Having Our Own Stubborn Way

1 Samuel 15:20-23

 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.

                Many of us are familiar with story of how Saul was given instruction from the Lord to totally annihilate the Amalekite nation and leave nothing alive because of their gross wickedness before the Lord.  Saul had a little better plan; he kept the best of the livestock and the king of the Amalekites alive to sacrifice before the Lord. 

                Has God ever given us a direction or task and somewhere along the way it got altered from His way to our way?  Oh, we probably had the best of intentions and it seemed right and good in our eyes, but it wasn’t exactly what He said to do.  Don’t we do this in everyday living when we know what the Word of God says and what the will of the Lord is in particular circumstance in life, but it doesn’t quite fit with what works best for us or where our heart is?  I’m probably a classic example; I get so task oriented and get it in my mind how it should be done that, right or wrong that’s the way I’m determined to do it.  It is stubbornness and when it is in opposition with the will of God, God says that stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  He says rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.  It doesn’t matter that I have put my blinders on and that I have justified it in my own mind and thinking.  God says I’m off course.  I may have the best of intentions and may think this is even a better way than what God revealed.  Even Saul said to Samuel, “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way the Lord sent me…” Many of us are far more like Saul than what we would like to admit.  We start out in the general premise of obedience but then we alter it as it suits us and then we think, “well, I’ll just put a little more in the offering to make up for it, or I’ll do this for God to make it okay.”  This is a pretty clear example that such reasoning and justification doesn’t fly with God.  Samuel speaks the Word of the Lord to Him, “Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.”  Are we carrying out the whole counsel of God in our lives or are we compromising it to appease our flesh and our own desires?  Think about all of the areas that we as the church, the bride of Christ have become like the world we live in and contrary to what God has called us to be; “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 marvellous light:” (1 Peter 2:9). 

                This situation and incident with Saul was like the final straw that brought the judgement of God.  Samuel tells Saul, “Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.”  This is certainly not the Word we would like to hear at the judgement seat of Christ.  When we surrender to Christ, it is not an 80/20 split where God gets 80% and I can keep 20% for me.  He gave all for me and He requires that I give no less of myself to Him.  Today, you and I need to examine our lives and see in what ways we have become like Saul, justifying living much of our lives our way instead of His.  We will never know His highest and His best for us in this place of self-will, stubbornness and rebellion.  As we can see with Saul this is a place of offense to God and the Holy Spirit.  Let us ask Him today to speak the truth to us and really show us our hearts and where we are compromising and disobeying the His Word and the particular Word that He has spoken into our lives for our life’s direction.  “Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Blessings,

#kent

Motives of Prayer

James 4:3
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Motives of Prayer

It is said of Jesus in Hebrews 7:23-25, “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” When Jesus intercedes for us what do you suppose His motive to be?
When we pray, what is the focus of our prayers? Of course when we pray and seek the Lord we all want to be favored and blessed and receive our petitions from the Lord, but to what end.? What are our motives in the things we pray and cry out to God for? If we think of God as a celestial Santa Claus to whom we come with all our needs and request to be met for our personal gain, we’ve missed the heart of God. Prayer is about seeking the heart and will of God.
If prayer is like a checkbook with an unlimited supply of resources and wealth, and it has been given to us, how will we write the checks? Will most of them have our name on them or are they written to benefit others we see in need? When God sees that our motives in prayer, intercession and petition aren’t centered around us, but others, do you think He might feel compelled to meet your needs as well? Selfish is never the heart of God and selfishness in us will always pervert the ways and means of God. God exemplifies Himself selfless in His giving. He doesn’t even give to us because we deserve it, He gives because that is His nature which flows out of love. He delights in His people that have this same heart to give and bless. His desire is to bless us so that we can in turn bless others. If we pray and seek with wrong motives then how can we truly pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus says in John 15 and a few other places, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Jesus says He will give us what we ask in His name, but what is the prerequisite? “Go and bear fruit–fruit that will last.” The name of Jesus speaks to the character and nature of God. If we pray outside or contrary to His nature then should we be surprised if our prayers are not answered. Jesus wants to empower us through power in His name to establish and perpetuate His will and His kingdom in the earth. It is one of the next principles He teaches us in the Lord’s prayer right after He establishes the position and the holiness of the Father. Jesus said in John 8:28, “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” Prayer is our avenue to carry out the Father’s will, not our own. We want our prayers to never stem from selfish motive, but to be one with the Spirit of God that prays through us. It is when we have the heart of God, the intercession as priests of Jesus and the motivation to pray in the character and nature of His name that we will see our prayers be fruitful, because we seek the fruit that will last; His kingdom come and His will being done in earth as it is in heaven.

Blessings,
#kent

God Works Best in Broken Vessels

Isaiah 66:2
For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those [things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

God Works Best in Broken Vessels

Has life, experiences and people brought you to a place of brokenness? Has all that you sought to build and do came to nothing? Have you fully come to the end of yourself and your efforts? If you have that is a good place to be. It doesn’t always feel good or appear good, but it is at the end of ourselves that we finally find God’s will and purpose. It is there that we come to the full revelation that we are nothing outside of Him who is everything. It is there that we can confront God in naked honesty and abandonment of self. It is there that we fully realize that He alone is God; He establishes and He tears down, but what ever remains has to be of Him. It is the poor, humble and contrite man that comes in total honesty and brokenness before His God. There are no pretenses, no self-righteousness and no illusions that He is anything outside of God’s will and purpose for His life.
Often the inroads to this state and place are very hard and painful. Often we come there through the loss of all that we held dear in this world. Yet, in that place there is such honesty in our brokenness. We have finally come to a place where now God can fill the emptiness with Himself. We have come through our Gethsemane place of temptation and we have experienced a Calvary through the work of the cross in our lives. We have died to self, but in that death we are now about to experience our resurrection in the greater place of His life. It is on the other side of the cross that we touch God’s glory and we find a restoration beyond that which we have experienced in the world or through any efforts of our own.
No wonder God is looking for this person of a broken, poor and contrite spirit. One who now trembles at God’s Word and lives in the awesome fear of Him. This man is now ready for God’s use and His power to be demonstrated through Him, because in this place none will receive the glory other than God who gives the increase. This person is an emptied vessel that God can fill with the richness of Himself and His Spirit.
“God, as painful as it may be, bring us to this place. This is the place of true godly men and women that are ripe for Your increase and Your outpouring. Bring us to that state of spirit because you work best in broken vessels.”

Blessings,
#kent

Our Guide

Psalms 48:14
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

Our Guide

Running the course of this life encounters many obstacles and challenges. Each one of our lives are different, with different circumstances and different challenges. How do we navigate life successfully and gain from it the results that are everlasting? Psalms 48:14 reveals that to us. There is One that we can lean upon, trust in and rely upon to guide us through the maze of our lives.
Isn’t it a peace and reassurance to know that our God holds our destiny and purpose in His hand. If we are willing to fully trust and obey Him, He will lead and guide us into it. God’s Word lays the foundation and principles that order our steps and imparts His wisdom to us that we might know the way of life and walk therein. Even when we have departed from His ways He does not cast us off or judge us as unfit. His grace is not to be abused, but isn’t it wonderful to know that even in our mistakes and disobedience we can be forgiven and restored. We may change and be moved, but He isn’t. His Word never fails or changes and He stands true to all that He has promised to be to us.
If we want true success in our lives, If we want true fulfillment. If we want righteousness, peace and joy to pervade our lives then we must hold fast to God as our guide. There are many gods in this world. People worship and serve many different objects and deities in their lives, but there is and always will be the one and only true God, creator and redeemer, who can impart to us spiritual life that supercedes all that is passing away. He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Shield and our Defender. He will guide us through the darkness. His Word is a light unto our path and lamp unto our feet. He will direct us and keep us where others fail. He is our steadfast hope, the anchor of our souls; “for this God is our God for ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

Blessings,
#kent

Agenda for Today

Colosians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Agenda for Today

Lord, what is on Your agenda today?
Other thoughts invade my mind as I take time to pray.
I try to focus in on what Your will is for me,
But my mind is cluttered by all the mental imagery.

I find my thoughts on these rabbit trails,
Then I catch myself only to feel like I have failed.
Help me Lord, get my soul quiet before Your throne.
Help me give myself, that I may be all Your own.

Lord, what is Your agenda today?
Give me spiritual ears to hear what You have to say.
Order my steps and help me with the choices I make.
Help me loose myself in You and do all for Jesus sake.

Fill my thoughts and be in all I do,
Let my former distracting thoughts, now be thoughts of You.
Focus me in Your will and plan for me.
In all I do, let it be done as unto Thee.

You are the ark and the safety for my heart,
Help me find in You my every portion and needed part.
Be my everything, as You are meeting every need,
Let me live in Christ and humbly follow as You lead.

Kent Stuck

Blessings,
#kent

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

What does this tree of knowledge of good and evil mean today? I would suppose the same thing it meant when God told Adam not to eat of the tree of good and evil, but to partake of the tree of Life. The Word tells us, “The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord.” The Word of God defines what the fear of the Lord is, by telling us it means to hate evil.
When we live in this world, we live around good and evil each day of our lives. We are to live a life trying to find out what pleases the Lord and to avoid evil or the mixture of good and evil at all cost.

The Word also tells us we are to “Put on the Mind of Christ.” We are to “Renew our minds in Christ Jesus.” In fact, we are to be so identified with Christ, Paul tells us, “It is no longer I that lives, but Christ Jesus who lives within me.” How about, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”
The Word also exhorts us to “Not walk after the flesh but after the Sprit.” It also tells us “What so ever things are pure, what so ever things are lovely and of good report, think on these things.” I believe when the Word tells us to put on the Mind of Christ, it is so important to understand that it is an act of our will…and act of our choice. Adam and Eve both had the same choice and because of their wrong choice, look what it has cost all of mankind.

We have but one life time to live for God so we in turn will live out eternity in His presence…with all Adam and Eve had before they chose to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and lose His presence in their lives. When Jesus came, He led the way back to the Father, showing us He came only to do His Father’s will and we have the same choice. We should strive to live as Christ out of the Spirit of Christ in us. Because man could not earn for himself God’s approval, Jesus came to not only live His life doing God’s will…but yielded up His life of His own choice to pay the price so we wouldn’t have to try and earn God’s approval.

In the book of Exodus, just as the death angel passed over all the houses in Egypt who bore the blood of a lamb over the door posts, so also eternal death will pass by all who are covered by the Blood of Jesus. When we have chosen to be identified with Christ and what Jesus did for us on the cross, this is finding God’s approval; this is the mindset we are to live for. If man could have saved himself, Jesus wouldn’t have had to come and pay the high price He paid for our sin.

Blessings,
Sharon