Category: wisdom

Weight Lifted; Chains Loosed

He made the lifting of the burden and the breaking of the chains possible – not easy, not quick, but His example of the method is there for all who seek it.

Meditation Thought: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)

I feel the weight of sin, but my own power is insufficient to move it. I know that if only this weight could be removed, I could move places where I cannot go now. I am bound in guilt, in inadequacies, in the past. I cannot raise the energy to fulfil my dreams, but am frustrated by weight, by chains.

Only one man succeeded in avoiding the crushing weight and binding chains: by total obedience to the Father’s will; by willingly foregoing the pleasures anyway – He made the lifting of the burden and the breaking of the chains possible – not easy, not quick, but His example of the method is there for all who seek it.

My prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being willing to forgo the using of Your power for Yourself, that Your power might be used for my benefit. Enable me to, in my gratitude, in my desire to give you joy that your sacrifice was not in vain, but released me from much pain, to accomplish the very purpose for which You came. (See Matthew 18:18)

Enable me to become an expression of Your joy, and not an extension of Your pain. In Your Precious Name I pray. Amen.

Deserts Bloom

Not every life will be recorded in history as world-changing, but every life is recorded in My heart.

Meditation Thought: “ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20)

“Take courage – and step out in faith. Though you do not see where your step will take you, I have prepared the path: it leads where the desires of your heart are fulfilled. But you cannot see this is so – you can only trust in Me. Do I not merit your trust? I created the universe. I did not remove Myself from My creations, but I nurture My creations, My beloved, and delight in an awakened response.

Not every life will be recorded in history as world-changing, but every life is recorded in My heart; I rejoice and commiserate with My loved ones, each is precious to Me. How I long for each spirit to respond to Me, to be an Abraham in faith and obedience, that I may rejoice in the blessing passed on from generation to generation, from parent to child by example that through faith in My grace, My love and My power, the enemy is overcome, and My responsive children shall inherit My Kingdom.

My Kingdom is the land of milk and honey – not the wilderness;
My Kingdom is beauty – not gloom and ugliness;
My Kingdom is love – not hate;
My Kingdom is nurturing – not repressing;
My Kingdom is light – not darkness;
My Kingdom is the sound of a great symphony – not the sound of discord nor the lack of any sound;
My Kingdom is the vast vista from a mountaintop – not the smallness of a cave.

Seek ye the Kingdom – it is within you – within the yielding of your will to My will;
the yielding of your tongue to words of love;
the yielding of your heart to compassion;
the yielding of your body to sacrifice for others;
the yielding of pain to trust in My purpose of the new life it will produce.

My Spirit shall bring the desert to bloom;
the storm to give way to the sun;
the winter to yield to spring;
and the world to be transformed into the Kingdom – wherever it is allowed to flow.”

Transform an Enemy to a Friend

In the battle where love is the weapon used to overcome the enemy, there are only victors, no losers.

Meditation Thought:  “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Romans 12:20)

“Love transforms, love redeems, love renews, love changes, love is My force moving in the world, rearranging it to become My Kingdom. Only love heaped upon an enemy will destroy him: for as the enemy is destroyed, a friend is born in his place. Judgment and hate and retribution do not destroy an enemy – they strengthen an enemy as he rises to meet these attacks. But love – love thrown at an enemy with the force of an attack, with the directness of an attack, with the single-mindedness of a plan of attack – that destroys the enemy. For what defense does he have against love? It confuses him, it disarms him, it melts his determination to destroy; it leaves him open, vulnerable, ready to lay down his arms and seek peace and understanding.

The battle may take time – as it would with any battle – but the results are sure victory for the warrior using love as a destroyer of enemies – for love is of God and God is power, total power that cannot be overcome. In the battle where love is the weapon used to overcome the enemy, there are only victors, no losers – the enemy has become a friend and gained a friend. Where the world once contained 2 enemies, the Kingdom has gained 2 friends and the world has exchanged 2 enemies for 2 friends: energy re-directed, changed from a force of destruction to a force of construction: the building of the Kingdom within and the remodeling of the world without.”

Purposeful Transformation

You can do nothing with your own will hugged close to your heart compared to the releasing of it for Me to change it as it becomes part of My will.

Meditation Thought: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

“Give me your will – and I will transform it into My will. This turns your will from the world and its ego-selfishness to a new will of goodness and acceptance and perfection. This giving of your will must be an ongoing gift – a constant giving and receiving (of My will) – and then, for the next situation, a new giving and a new receiving. You can do nothing with your own will hugged close to your heart compared to the releasing of it for Me to change it as it becomes part of My will. It is no longer recognizable as the same will you gave Me – for it is transformed into a will of loving power. Instead of your will conformed to the world, it is our will transforming the world. This is my desire for you: our becoming one in will, one in purpose, one in action, one in the task of redeeming the world from sin and turning the world to Love.

My heart longs for My loved ones to come to Me, to rejoice with Me, to be with Me in a full, complete, mutually delightful relationship. When My longing becomes your longing, then your will becomes My will and the transformation begins.”

Choose Your Controller

They are drawn because this God-controlled life exudes Love – and everyone want to receive Love.

Meditation Thought: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” (Romans 11:36)

Whatever we filter through God becomes pure, clear, sparkling, useable. That is why we must develop the habit of never making a move without first filtering it through God by testing it with His word, with prayer, with circumstances, with His Spirit within us. This filtering process takes anything, any situation, and changes it into what God wants it to be. And that assures us that therefore, in the end, we will recognize that it has also become what we want it to be.

When this constant filtering becomes our habit, we find a life of peace, of joy, of purpose, of order. We know how to think, what to do, and are confident. What a contrast to muddling along on our own – or storming ahead on our own, and then being brought up short when we are thwarted with the results. This is the difference between a God-controlled life and a self-controlled life. When our lives become God-controlled inside, they become worth noting and emulating as they are observed from the outside by others. It is this God-controlled life that puzzles others – but also that draws them in fascination, for it is different. The reactions are different, the actions are different than those which are prompted by the people who react and act only dealing with the physical part of the world. They begin to perceive that there is a wisdom, a knowledge, a faith and a power of which they were unaware, and it draws them as a moth is drawn to a flame. They are drawn because this God-controlled life exudes Love – and everyone want to receive Love.

Words: in Season

To everything there is a season – including words.

Meditation Thought: “A fool utters all his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards.” (Proverbs 29:11)

To everything there is a season – including words. Only by keeping our minds on and in God and Christ can our words be released in the appropriate season and thus bring the fullness of harvest.

There are tilling words,
There are watering words,
There are fertilizing words,
There are sun-shining words
– and if we use the wrong words where we are trying to harvest God-glorified acts, they do more harm than good. Only God’s wisdom released through our lips can harvest His works. We must pack His wisdom into our mind so that when the contents come out, God’s wisdom is released. If we had God’s wisdom pouring from many, many lips, we would have God’s Kingdom residing in many, many hearts. Think of the difference in God’s Kingdom engulfing the world – or the world engulfing God’s Kingdom. That should give us incentive to let God’s discipline rule our hearts and our minds and our tongues instead of allowing our own feelings and desires to rule them!

This Moment

The moments are linked together in an unbroken chain. When one is moved it tends to pull the other moments in the same direction.

Meditation Thought: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)

“I am the Lord of all and none can escape me. Trust that total care is My will and My way. You do not see anything but what I would have you see: therefore treat what you do see as crucial, as My focusing you upon it for My purposes. This moment is all that exists for you to understand and do; feel confident that it is the most critical moment of your life – and treat it accordingly. The moments – the impact of what the moments contain – are linked together in an unbroken chain. When one is moved – whether toward Me or away from Me – it tends to pull the other moments in the same direction. That is why each moment’s action is more important than you realize. You need to keep the chain building and moving in My direction. I am using that chain in ways you cannot see to fulfill My plans for the world. Do not let Me down, but build Me up – for every loving thought or action, every word of praise, every hope in faith, every prayer expressed, enhances My glory and expands My Kingdom.”

Level Up

Day by day we make exciting discoveries about all of life, and particularly our God and ourselves.

Meditation Thought: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)

Without God we would not exist! With God, not only are we existing, but are dynamic, causing change, excited as we learn more about this Father who created us. Day by day we make exciting discoveries about all of life, and particularly our God and ourselves. All of the discoveries may not come pleasantly – but nevertheless, with each day that passes, we are more complete, more whole, moving toward our goal. There are many levels of living – and when we allow God to live as He wants to in us then we move to a higher level. We are never bored, rarely depressed, always curious about what interesting event will next take place. We have love constantly, unconditionally, often gloriously. We have peace for we know that strength is in us when we free Him in us to do His work. We know that whatever happens, we can turn to Him and He will make everything right for us.

Stranger or Friend

What joy to know that we do not need to struggle and flounder, but only need to heed His voice and follow Him to find our place, our joy, our needs supplied.

Meditation Thought: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

We do not recognize a stranger’s voice: we must come to know Jesus before we can know His voice, and follow it to all the good pastures where He wants to lead us. He knows us, too, and wants us with Him. ‘Come’ – Jesus says this word so often. If He is our Shepherd, then we will come, for we know He cares for us, seeks out whatever is for our good. What joy to know that we do not need to struggle and flounder, but only need to heed His voice and follow Him to find our place, our joy, our needs supplied.

Original Condition

A little selfishness in one area attracts selfishness in another area – a generous thought and action attracts another generous thought and action.

Meditation Thought:  “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10)

Everything has its own nature, its own qualities that make it unique. The total of these qualities is a reflection of the individual parts, which, though different, do fit in with each other in a compatible way – there are qualities that are desirable and qualities that are undesirable. Like attracts like in the makeup of our natures; a little selfishness in one area attracts selfishness in another area – a generous thought and action attracts another generous thought and action so that, no matter whether the incident is minor or crucial, our sum of our parts, whether they be desirable or undesirable, determines our actions.

As we become aware of the nature of our parts, if some parts are not consistent with what God created in us (before our sin), then we can work at yielding and changing those parts back into original condition, so that the total of our parts will add up to God-inspired thoughts and actions in every situation, no matter how major or minor it might be. And therein lies the goal for all creation – to have our nature purified back to original God-creations and the full relationship with Him which was Him intention as He created us.