WARNING: IF GOD OFFENDS YOU, THIS PROBABLY WILL

(This actually should have been posted in my musings blog series, but ... that's life.)
In reading about the horrible sins that were hidden, or/and denied, by Josh Duggars and Jim Staley (before them, it was people like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker), I have been greatly saddened. They feed the fuel of hatred for people who believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, pointing out we are hypocrites hiding behind Jesus. The mantra is, "They are no different than anyone else, and worse yet, they are hypocrites that promote bigotry and hatred. They should let everyone live the way they want to. They are homo-phobes. They are misogynists. They are bigots, hypocritical bigots, at that! They should just shut up, because they stir up hate crimes, and they are no better than anyone, so why do they pretend to be!!! ... And what about all the other religions???

My own flaws, my own blemishes, my own unique and ugly inadequacies are the reasons that I did not become a pastor in the first place; I have feet of clay.During the course of my life, these things have happened to me. I am divorced, I inhaled, I snorted, I've lied, I've harbored impure thoughts, I've drunk too much, I've cheated, I've stolen, I've voted democrat, I've voted republican, I've voted independent ... I've been homeless (not much better now, living in a week to week fleabag motel), I've been car-less (I am right now), I have an ego, I've been proud ... I can go on, but I think you get the drift. Worse yet, I've sinned since I've believed that Jesus is my Savior! I haven't always practiced what I've believed, because I've been either lazy, selfish, prideful, arrogant, or entitled. I haven't always been an appropriate example of what a believer is supposed to be or should be. I'm still human, with all the flaws that entails. But, I have put all these things behind me now. Why, what is the difference? The difference is ... I'll get to that in a bit (it will start with the small bold type below).

The point is, life has pleasures and seductions that snare us all. There is only one person who has been perfect, and He was crucified because of our sins; this is according to my faith. He is the sum of restoration for our creation, because the adversary, Satan, perverts the beauty of creation; he wants us to be prisoners to perversion. He wants us all to be trapped, he want us to continue to be slaves to our ignorance, our lack of knowledge, our resentments, our guilt, our angers. He wants is to be trapped into ways of thinking that deny the integrity and truths of the gift - the free gift, lovingly given to us by a loving God, to anyone who believes in it. What is the gift?


Grace. Grace is this wonderful gift, freely given by God (YHWH). There are also ... Salvation. Redemption. Forgiveness. Mercy. Who receives it? Both Jew and Gentile, Male and Female, free or slave, regardless of ethnicity or nationality ...

Now, to get back to the difference is ... it is transparency. Honesty. Repentance. Integrity. Our sins will be shouted from the rooftops (Luke 12:2-3, Matthew 7:5), they will be known by everyone. There will come a time where there are no secrets, that everything we do will be known by everyone. This is one reason why I have my "dirty laundry list" italicized above. I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not ... a person without sin (hamartia in Greek, meaning missing the mark ... the definition of sin) that is better than anyone. I am not better than anyone else ... I'm just forgiven, because I believe Jesus paid the price of my hubris against God ... my sin. I am working at putting my faith into practice, instead of pretending to follow Him and letting my ego dictate my actions. Not politics, not economics, not gender, not success/failure by worldly standards, not anger, not resentment, not envy, not guilt, not stupidity, not ignorance, not lack of knowledge. This is where the actions of Josh, Jim, Jimmy and Jim are easy targets for people who desire to diminish God ... looking at His representatives that portray one thing, until their hamartia - their sin - is found out or discovered.

So, I now seek God (YHWH, Yeshua, Ruah Ha-Kodech) to be first in my life ... something I have claimed to do all my believing life, but I have grown in my awareness of what this means. I have matured in my desire to be serious and to be committed in accomplishing this most basic, precious of actions. I am still saddened by all the pretense that goes on in life and I am understanding more the why, from the experiences that I have had. I thought I was doing this, but I realize the idols I still had in my life colored my desire to follow God. This is what others who have fallen have also fallen prey to. My desire and standards for success, comfort, pleasure ... what I was taught to was success ... were getting in the way of following Jesus as I desired to. I want my words to be powerful, to be able to do the things that Jesus said I was able to do. I want to be able to seek His face ... but, that's for another devotional.

He will give His angels charge over you

"For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Psalm 91:11

The security that God promises is awesome! The promises that God the Father made to His Son are the same promises our Savior shares with you and me ... as we learn to follow His Word, we learn to exercise this authority Christ shares with us! The power of His love can not be defeated by anything! This is not our salvation I'm talking about. This is growing, as mature believers, into useful servants, soldiers and ambassadors of Christ, and trusting our heavenly Father in all situations we deal with, knowing that He is faithful and will not let us down.

"You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place." Psalm 91:8-9

The promises leading up to the security God promised to Jesus are based upon our making the LORD our refuge. Our work at making this a real part of our life is something that is a lifelong effort. It takes work at walking away from the knowledge we grow up with. Maturity demands we grow past the biases we live with ... as the future we are promised becomes a reality for us, they are real instead of just words that we recite or mouth, or are just part of a show!

Satan quoted Psalm verse 91:11 to Jesus when the Adversary was trying to tempt the Messiah to show off God's power. People will always ask us to show off (or prove) the miraculous because we believe God's promises. As Jesus demonstrated on the cross, God's plan for us is to serve all His children and not just ourselves. The world does not understand what true love is; the world focuses on "me" or "I" instead of God and we.

Jesus' final response should sum it up for all of us! "Begone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and worship Him only," Matthew 4:10. Jesus used the Word of God to respond to Satan's temptations. Remember ... He will give His angels charge over you!

Read Psalm 91:1-4 and Matthew 4:1-11 for more illumination.

Fruit of the Spirit

"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

I attended a company retreat where we were all instructed to right a mission statement. Many people chose to seek fortune, a good life, success in their achievements ... worldly ambition with good intentions. In one of the most fortunate moves in my life, I chose to seek the fruit of the Spirit as my mission statement, my goal. I haven't always achieved this goal ... hamartia in Greek (missing the mark, or sin)... but it is the goal that brings me back to my faith and the truth life has to offer to those that believe Christ is our Savior. The Holy Spirit leads us into bearing this fruit into not only our lives, but the lives of people we touch. We all have the capacity to let the Holy Spirit dwell in us to bear this fruit!

I encourage each of you to write a mission statement and put it on your wall. Every day, look at it. Be inspired by it ... be sure to make it a statement that will help you focus on Christ, the Anointed One, as your advocate and deliverer! As David mentions in the Psalms, we have a loving and faithful God who loves us; He is our Good Sheperd, our Rock and our Provider!

Read Psalms 23 and 2 Corinthians 6:6, Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:12-17 for more illumination.

A shield about me

"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head." Psalm 3:3

A history lesson from David, a king in whom God delighted, that benefits us all!

It is easy to forget it is our Father that always protects us against the evil one instead of by our own efforts. Our ego and pride can easily get in the way of trusting Him in all we do. It's easy to trust in our own strength when we have victories, as did David; we trust in our own insights into Him. There is temptation to stop being truly humble, pull our heads down and follow our own instincts. Yet, David says we must continue to let our Father lift our heads to Him to see what He would have us do! David demonstrates it in his own life and records it in his writings.

In Psalms 3, 4 and 5 David talks about relying on the LORD. He says his foes believed he would not be saved by his reliance upon God. It becomes easy to rely upon ourselves when we are attacked and God gives us victory over our enemies ... we are children of God who has promised us great strength and abundance and victory over our adversaries! This is a great truth we all should trust. David was a king that Scripture says had a heart for God, one in whom our Father delighted in. David was a very victorious king, having victory after victory because of his trust in God.

Psalm 6 (and 13) describe anguish. David let his society and passions dictate his actions; he had one of his trusted followers killed because he forgot to lift his head to God. He became weak in his victories; he gloried in his success, he "looked" at Bathsheba and had Uriah killed so he could have his own way. He trusted in the successes God had given him and became prideful, feeling he deserved what he wanted, or could get.

Let us humbly keep our heads lifted to our Father; the LORD forgave David when David again listened to God (when Nathan rebuked him, he acknowledged his sin and repented). What a humbling lesson we all can learn from! Let us let God lift our heads today, and praise Him for His everlasting love for us! This is where our shield continues to come into action, our Father protecting us against pride and our adversary/adversaries.

Read Psalms 3,4, 5 and Psalms 6 and 13; also 2 Samuel 11 and 12 for more illumination.

Protected by the Power of God

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5

What a powerful message Peter shares with us! Our Father's great mercy gave us new life with hope! We have an inheritance (the Holy Spirit being the deposit, living and dwelling in us) and we have reseverations in Heaven!!! The Adversary wants to attack the confidence and trust we have in God. We all fall short of perfection ... we sin (hamartia in Greek), so it is easy to buy into the lie that we aren't good enough to have such a love given to us!

The power (dunamis in Greek) we have, the authority (exousia in Greek) we have ... these are to help us mature in Christ to be powerful soldiers for Christ! God is doing the work in our lives ... no matter what the circumstances. We can't allow circumstances (seeking riches, being poor, society's influences, institutions, entertainment, pleasure) dictate how we feel aout loving and seeking our God; we must know He is making all things work together for our good, to those who love Him!

The Messiah has risen! If you have doubts about His role in your life, ask Him for understanding. He promises to fill us and help us to become one with Him, just as He is one with our Father!

Read Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:3 and 4:7-8, Romans 11:29, 2 Corinthians 5:5 for more illumination.

The compassion of the LORD

"Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old." Psalm 25:6

Psalm 25:6 is David speaking about the tender love of a covenantal God being merciful. One powerful message David gives us ... God's promises don't change! The LORD says He loves us; that is why He sent the Messiah. He doesn't change that love, regardless of the "sins of our youth and our rebellious ways."

God will guide us in our ways. That is what His Word is for, and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter that continues to help us understand what God is telling us! He guides the humble in what is right and teaches us His ways. Who is the humble? One who recognizes God's way is the path to love and truth; He knows what is best for us. This is the way for us to have a powerful, abundant life!

Our ways are full of incomplete knowledge. We will make mistakes because we don't have enough information to do what's best for us! The market changes, politics change, science changes; look at all the recalls pharmaceutical companies are issuing because their products turn out to be faulty, or the collapse of our banking institutions that need to be bailed out by our tax dollars, or the change in political policies depending on which party is in control. Humans are doing the best we can ... but mistakes (snares) occur, errors impact us as well as affecting our children and our grandchildren. What is the difference?

God doesn't make mistakes. Hallelujah! Remember, O LORD, your compassion and lovingkindness!!!

Read Psalm 5:7-8, Isaiah 63:7-14, Jeremiah 31:20, 35 and Hosea 11:8-9 for more illumination.

Every good and perfect gift ...

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or no shifting shadow." James 1:17

Our Father gives only good things and perfect gifts. It's a truth we rely upon. What is James saying, though, about being deceived? Knowing dokimē and dokimazo in Greek helps answer that question. Examine, test, experience and prove/approve are the English words used to explain the term. The meaning depicts removing impurities from valuable metal we are to examine and inspect for purity. The reference is self-examination (we are that precious metal!), an honest inspection of how we are progressing in our walk with the LORD. Examples of this examination are in 1 Corinthians 11:28, "... but let a man (person) examine himself ...," Philemon 1:10, "approve the things that are excellent" and Romans 5:3b-4, " ... knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

The next verse is a perfect example of God's good things ... "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5. How incredibly awesome!!!

Satan, society, worldly ambition, social ambition, personal ambition ... anything that gets in the way of our pure worship can deceive us! Tribulations help us to understand how we are to rely upon God. In this way, we're able to fully understand and utilize every good thing that our loving Father bestows upon us. That is His promise; He will never change! He always give us every good thing and perfect gift. Our daily job is not to be deceived by the attempts to pull us away from God's good gifts! Believe me ... God's gifts are everywhere, if we but seek, knock and ask!