- araratchurch
- Oct 27, 2023
- 3 min read
“O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself; It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life]. O Lord, correct me [along with Your people], but with mercy and in just measure— Not in Your anger, or You will crush me and bring me to nothing.”
Jeremiah 10:23-24 AMP
When thinking about my father, one thing that always comes to my mind is that he never lost the joy of his salvation. Now, what I mean is, he never failed to react with deep, cheerful gratitude, when referencing what the Lord had done for him in terms of his own salvation.
I remember my father singing the song, “When My Savior Reached Down for Me”:
“I was near to despair when He came to me there
And He showed me that I could be free
Then He lifted me up out of Satan’s dark snare
When He reached down His hand for me
Chorus
When my Savior reached down for me
When He reached way down for me
I was lost and undone, without God or His Son
When He reached down His hand for me”
I still remember how he would illustrate the Lord’s reaching down for him, by putting his own large, wonderful hand down toward the ground, all the while crying tears of joy because of the depths from which the Lord had pulled him.
Yes, my father knew that he was headed to Hell, but had been redirected toward Glory through the mighty miracle of salvation.
I fully believe that the aspect of recognizing from what depths we were saved by the work of Jesus Christ, is lost in many modern churches.
You see, in an attempt to present a more “positive” message, what people need (in terms of salvation) is often represented as just a “sprucing up,” or a “bringing out of their best self.”
The reality is, we who are now saved, were all on our way to destruction; and, but for the grace of God through Jesus Christ, that would still be our destination.
As we remarked yesterday, it is tragic that many Christians—even spirit-filled Christians—tend to walk in their old ways of being and doing, never recognizing that the new life, the better way, comes by walking in consistent obedience to the Lord. We weren’t redeemed to continue walking in our old ways.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV
Upon hearing the words of the proverbial writer that we should acknowledge the Lord in all of our ways, we may too quickly suppose that we’ve got that covered.
However, the sad reality may be that our idea of acknowledging the Lord in all our ways, is simply that we acknowledge that He exists, or that we express gratitude for the good things that come by His hand. But, that is not truly acknowledging the Lord in all of our ways.
The proverbial writer also instructed that we should be always reverent.
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14 NKJV
What being always reverent means is that everything we do is done within the context of the fear of God. That is, we eschew sin, while pursuing righteousness (God’s way of being and doing).
In our opening scripture we see the prophet Jeremiah acknowledging the reality that man—in isolation from God—is incapable of rightly ordering his own steps. Indeed, Jeremiah asks for the Lord’s correction to keep him from falling into the same judgment the disobedient children of God were experiencing.
Tomorrow we will look into how the Holy Spirit of God provides the ability to consistently pursue the path of righteousness.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on these passages of scripture:
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14 NKJV
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””
John 10:25-30 NKJV
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:16-18 NKJV
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
John 15:15-16 NKJV
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:7, 12-13 NKJV
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV
We may look at how people experienced God, how He spoke to them, in the days of the Old Testament, with envy. Yes, it seems that the Lord spoke to them in more “dramatic” ways.
But, the fact is, any of the patriarchs would have been in awe of us being able to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God!
Indeed, by way of the Holy Spirit, we have the Lord inside of us, working with us, to fulfill His purposes. We only have need to listen and follow His leading.
Sadly, even some spirit-filled Christians still fail to walk in consistent obedience to the voice of the Lord.
Over the next several days, we will be discussing what it means to live a life characterized by always being mindful of God’s way of being and doing, always being mindful of His heart and His will.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.””
Acts 9:3-6 NKJV
The Lord spoke to me just before we entered into the year 2020 that it would be a “year of astonishment.”
Now, I initially thought that this “astonishment” would be something wonderful. However, the Lord quickly corrected that that was not necessarily the case. I came to understand that what we were about to see was a terrible judgment coming upon the United States of America; and, yes, the whole world.
As well, the Lord would later show me that the United States would see three areas of judgment in 2020.
Now, 2020 began much as any other year. But, as I’m sure you know, it became the year of Covid, the year of racial unrest, and yes, the year of an enigmatic election.
Now, for our purposes here, I will not comment further on any of the three areas of judgment.
What I will share with you is a prophetic word the Lord gave me on 1-4-2020:
“There are points in time—in the life of a man—that nothing past that point is the same. This is such a time for you. You have often floundered while wondering what is the secret—the window—the door—into all that I have prepared for you. What you did not know is that even that seemingly futile process was preparing the vessel I could fill, the vessel I could use. The time is drawing near that all things will be destroyed as they are, so that there can be complete renewal. Now is the time for the unseen to become seen and the miraculous to become the common place. I am breaking down every barrier that has flaunted itself against the demonstration of My power. You have asked why you do not see the things of which you have heard. I tell you it was not time. The time is now. If you desire to be the vehicle through which these wonders are performed, then you must accept—without reservation—that what I have said is true. Your self-doubts are strangling the flow of the power. I am not asking you to trust yourself more—I am telling you that you must trust in Me more. Am I not more than your weakness? Do I require your strength? All that is required is a willing vessel—the one I have foreordained to use for this purpose.”
I am sharing this with you to make the point that God—even in the midst of certain judgment—uses those who are willing, those who will answer His call, to do great things.
Now, am I saying that I am doing great things? Well, that’s for God to judge and determine. What I can tell you is that—to the best of my ability at this point in time—I am available to hear His call and to answer it.
In our opening scripture, we see the point at which Saul (Paul) was confronted by the Lord. His response to the Lord’s challenge, was this question: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Dear friend, as we have been discussing, the challenges we face in these Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ, are daunting. It may even seem as though you are trying to fight the good fight all alone. But I urge you, in spite of what you may feel, in spite of what you may see as being your inadequacies, when the Lord calls you to do an exploit, just do it. His power, working through your willingness, will accomplish great things!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!