VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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PRIDE, LOVE OF SELF

6/26/2016

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-1-58-45-pmMy Sabbath day was going pretty well until 10:00PM. The afternoon was particularly satisfying as I was pulled into a good book—a commentary on the Song of Solomon. So good the reading was that I continued into the evening.

Instead of the usual commentary depicting CHRIST and His church, the writing is an allegory of CHRIST and a single member of His church. It reads so personal that it brought out my own heart’s desire and I pretended I was the “bride” and it was my interaction with CHIRST.

The “bride” in the book was so in love with CHRIST that she followed Him everywhere, satisfied with every stage of their developing relationship. It reminded me of a quote:

“Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do it to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, March 25th).

The author of the commentary alluded that obeying commands can be done outwardly—without being changed inwardly, but being in love with JESUS changes everything. Obeying commands are not even thought of, they are followed without any thought.

Being in love with JESUS made the “Bride” think of nothing but her “Bridegroom.” She thought no more about caring for herself; she would not take her eyes off her lover. She died to herself, becoming lost in CHRIST.

I fancied I had obtained that goal in my Christian walk and was happily brushing my teeth before bed when GOD dropped in my conscience a small request that made me recoil. Immediately my dreams of succeeding in my relationship with CHRIST vanished.

I was back with my eyes on myself! I did not want to do what He asked. My resistance not only destroyed my imagined delightful relationship with CHRIST but it put me all the way back to willfully resisting obeying.

Well, after a short amount of thinking I did do what He asked. But that did not restore my thoughts about a good relationship with Him. The “bride” in the Song of Songs did a lot of assuming she was ready for marriage only to find out the “bridegroom” had more to teach her.

So, I end this Sabbath day being further behind in my relationship with CHIRST than I thought. However, His mercy has not let me fall off the foundation He is building in our relationship but He has certainly humbled me by pointing out my pride.

I could be discouraged but His unseen assurance keeps me in pursuit of Him. I am glad for this Sabbath even though I’ve been justly convicted of my love to self, more than love of GOD.

SABBATH

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SABBATH BREAKING: WARNINGS FROM NEHEMIAH

The prophet, Nehemiah, was instructed by the LORD to warn the people. “He reasons the case with them… and shows them that Sabbath breaking was one of the sins for which God had brought judgments upon them, and that if they did not take warning, but returned to the same sins again, they had reason to expect further judgments…” Mathew Henry (ref#18, [Neh 13:15-22]).

“At the heart of Sabbath-breaking is idolatry, having other gods before the true God (Exodus 20:3). The basic…spiritual manifestation is…subtle and dangerous. It is putting anything above God: money, a job, a house, or even a spouse! If anything becomes more important than God, idolatry is committed. Thus, if in the weekly observance of the Sabbath we do anything that becomes more important to us than our relationship with God, we have broken the Sabbath and committed idolatry….We must make a very real distinction between the Sabbath and the other days. The Sabbath was ‘made for man,’ as Christ points out (Mark 2:27), but that does not mean mankind has the authority to use it for his own purposes—rather, God made it on man’s behalf, for his benefit. The seventh day still belongs to God, and He shares it with those whom He has called and sanctified. We have a key responsibility in esteeming the Sabbath in our conduct, in our conversations, in our attitudes, and even in our thoughts. By entering into this covenant with God, we have been entrusted with the knowledge and significance of this day, but we have also been warned, as stewards of God’s truth, to be very careful with it” David C. Grabbe (ref#201).

My youth was influenced by “blue laws”—no shopping, no eating out on Sundays. Our family’s church attendance was so regular that I remember with glee the one Sunday there was a miscommunication with the churchmen and the boiler was not stoked so church had to be called off. Dad never farmed on Sunday even if it was a perfect day to combine the wheat. All these Sunday-only events set the day apart making it perfect for remembering GOD.

“Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, are designed to restrict or ban some or all Sunday activities for religious reasons, particularly to promote the observance of a day of worship or rest. Most blue laws have been repealed in the United States, although many states still ban the sale of alcoholic beverages or cars on Sundays” Wikipedia (ref#202).

Is there a modern-day prophet who will cry against the repealing of the blue laws?  “This breach of the Sabbath was that which let in upon them al the waters of God’s wrath” Adam Clarke’s Commentary (ref#15, [Jer 17:21]). Is there still time to save our nation, or will we succumb to GOD’s wrath as the Old Testament Jews?

SUPPLICATION

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GENERAL TRIBULATION

[We all can think of a Christian sister or brother experiencing so much affliction they may not be able to pray for themselves. Here’s an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

REASONS FOR AFFLICTION–TO OVERCOME

 

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-9-33-46-am“But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Mic 7:7-8 NRSV).

 FATHER, our natural inclination is to be spared from trouble. But, in Your wisdom, You give us troubling situations to deliver us in trouble. No evil can harm us when we’re at one with You no matter what situation You have us in (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

FATHER, empower ____ to accept the hard situations; compel (him/her), by faith, to defer to Your strength. Even anticipating hard situations wears ____ out physically, but if (he/she) spends (himself/herself) spiritually (he/she) will get more strength. You give strength minute by minute (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p88).

____ will find You, FATHER, when (he/she) overcomes suffering by suffering. JESUS prayed for the cup to pass from Him (Matt 26:39). It did pass—when He drank it. His suffering passed as he accepted it. “The cross is his triumph over suffering” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p92).

FATHER, how vital for ____ to keep communion with You—to draw near You in hard times for if (he/she) removes (his/her) eye from You even for a moment, (he/she) will succumb to “every dark suggestion of the adversary” Octavius Winslow (ref#61, May 30th). Linked with You, (he/she) overcomes—we overcome—You, LORD, overcome for ____.

THANKSGIVING

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THANKS FOR TRIBULATION

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-9-28-07-am“Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports. Out at sea you saw God in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean. With a word he called up the wind — an ocean storm, towering waves! You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats. You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn’t know which end was up. Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time” (Ps 107:23-28 MSG).

FATHER, I have called to You in my distress and You have answered me. I am not grateful for tragedies themselves, but I would not trade the insight, character, and strength they have procured for me for anything (ref#132, p25). I have to admit that most of what I really need for success in this life and the next come through my most difficult and painful experiences (ref#132, p24).

I thank You for the irreplaceable seasons of personal and spiritual growth through trials. I thank You for Your steadfast love and the wondrous works to me. It’s a joy to extol and praise You to everyone (Ps 107:31-32).

CONFESSION

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“WILL THE REAL HOLY SPIRIT PLEASE STAND UP”

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-9-18-19-amThe ones You have not yet called are slaves to sin and cannot know You intimately. But, You have caused me to “know” You. My prayer is that I recognize Your SPIRIT—to know the difference between His voice and my own fleshly voice.

First – The info the SPIRIT gives I cannot see it, or hear it, nor even imagine it before He gives it (1 Cor 2:9). What the SPIRIT gives surpasses all my understanding. I cannot conceive it with my senses (ref#67, [1 Cor 2:9]). Therefore I cannot know You and Your thoughts, FATHER, unless they are laid out in Scripture and You reveal them through Your SPIRIT directly to me (ref#18, [1 Cor 2:6-16]).

Second – “Man’s ordinary sensing is caused or brought out by people or things or events” (ref#101, p71). My intellect searches out things pertaining to me. I adhere to what I consider “reasonable, beautiful, delightful, or interesting” (ref#101, p88). To my flesh impressions from the SPIRIT are “foolishness because they are unreasonable, against my nature, contrary to worldly wisdom, and in conflict with my common sense” Watchman Nee (ref#101, p92).

Third – Beware of flamboyant visions, heavenly voices, or dreams (ref#101, p78). “Nothing should be done which is propelled by excited feeling or abrupt thought; everything must be carefully and quietly examined before it is executed” Watchman Nee (ref#101, p137).

Fourth – Whatever I do “without trusting, seeking, and waiting upon God is or will be done in the flesh” Watchman Nee (ref#101, p30). “…the voice of the spirit is usually very soft, it cannot be heard unless it is listened to attentively with everything else quieted” Watchman Nee (ref#101, p96).

FATHER, I desire to be strengthened with power through the HOLY SPIRIT (Eph 3:16). Help me to yield to You—to forsake every aspect in my life that causes me to doubt—to be willing to obey You fully, and believe that You will flood my spirit with Your power (ref#101, p27).

ADORATION

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CHRIST MY MEDIATOR

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-8-55-36-am…FATHER, I am a member of the fallen and rebellious human race and, by nature, hostile to You (Rom 8:7). But, CHRIST is the mediator between You and me (1 Tim 2:5). He quenched Your wrath (Rom 3:25) and changed my human heart (2 Cor 5:17).

“Christ achieved reconciliation for His people through penal substitution…. He…carried our identity …bore the curse due to us (Gal 3:13), and by His sacrificial shedding of blood made peace for us (Eph 2:16-18; Col 1:20)” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1753, “Christ the Mediator”).

 “…Jesus Christ, does not just cancel the wrath; he absorbs it and diverts it from us to himself. God’s wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn John Piper (ref#93, p13-14).

I imagine JESUS as my boss taking the punishment from His boss for all my mistakes. CHRIST’s position now is a perpetual High Priest (Heb 7:24). It creates a picture in my mind of CHRIST constantly vouching for me before His FATHER—always making intercession for me (Heb 7:25). How much does He love me to do that! These thoughts give me more understanding of Scriptures describing the joy JESUS has in His work of mediating for me my entire life:

“Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight] —“ (Jude 24 AMP).

What a word picture that verse creates: at my death I’m standing beside JESUS who says to the FATHER, “Here is ____ one out of the world I have joyfully kept to be now forever with Us.”

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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WRITING CONTINUES

4/9/12

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-8-52-09-amI’ve become discouraged again by listening to people. First blow was comparing myself to a Christian missionary involved in evangelism. By carnal thinking, listening to her experiences dulled GOD’s glory in revealing Himself through my writing. My conclusion: “Leave off writing and get out there with people.”

Second blow (all in the same day) was comparing myself to other’s concepts of doctrine. Listening to their articulate reiterations dulled GOD’s glory in revealing Himself through my writing. My conclusion: “I am slow of learning. My naivety smarts. What possibly worthwhile can I put on paper?”

How many times has this kind of discouragement about my writing happened? Because of such repetitions I have maintained an underlying faith to keep at writing but my mind could find no way at all to support continuing it last night.

I went to bed discouraged. Not devastated-ly discouraged because I knew from experience in the morning prayer closet my DADDY would tell me which way to go. I would wait until I knew the thoughts in my head were His—the SPIRIT would attest to His words.

But, this day DADDY surprised me by addressing my concern between my shower and the prayer closet. I was sitting on top of the commode letting my toe nail polish dry and picked up Man, God’s Dwelling Place, by A. W. Tozer. And through his words my DADDY spoke:

“That writer does the most for us who brings to our attention thoughts that lay close to our minds waiting to be acknowledged as our own” A.W. Tozer (ref#103, p92).

Is this not exactly what the LORD is doing through my writing? I’m recording the info that has influenced my mind—those words that so encourage me and make me realize I’m not alone in my thinking.

May You, FATHER, bless the ones I was jealous of and forgive my selfish brooding. I will continue to write.

SABBATH

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SABBATH BREAKING: WARNINGS FROM JEREMIAH

“When we devote ourselves to [God] service and worship, meditating on His excellency, magnifying and praising His mercy, and invoking His holy name, we then hallow this day and give unto God that which is God’s” Ezekiel Hopkins (ref#184).

The prophet Jeremiah was instructed by the LORD to warn the people (Jer 17:19-27).

“Thus says the Lord, “Pay attention for your own good, [and for the sake of your future] do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem” (Jer 17:21 AMP).

“…the ruin of the Jews attributed to the breach of the Sabbath; as this led to a neglect of sacrifice, the ordinances of religion, and all public worship, so it necessarily brought with it all immorality. This breach of the Sabbath was that which let in upon them all the water of God’s wrath” Adam Clarke’s Commentary (ref#15, [Jer 17:21]).

“Apparently the Sabbath day was kept negligently. The country people were in the habit of coming to Jerusalem on the Sabbath to attend the temple service, but mingled traffic with their devotions, bringing the produce of their fields and gardens with them for disposal. The people of Jerusalem for their part took (Jer 17:22) their wares to the gates, and carried on a brisk traffic there with the villagers. Both parties seem to have abstained from manual labor, but did not consider that buying and selling were prohibited by the fourth commandment” Barnes’ Notes (ref#16, [Jer 17:19-27]).

Do we today carry on business on the Sabbath? Do we advocate our wares on Facebook on Sunday? Or do we even advertise in church? For years I have made sure I had a few business cards in my notebook in case someone might ask me about my blog.

O FATHER, forgive us; the desecration of Your holy day starts so unintentionally. Forgive our nation’s sin for which we are partakers ever so innocently. We will most surely suffer Your wrath if You do not help us!

SUPPLICATION

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PROVISIONS

[We all know someone who is dealing with financial problems. Here is an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

GIVE US OUR DAILY BREAD

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-8-39-05-am…FATHER, even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow makes a nest for herself in Your house, O LORD (Ps 84:3). The ravens do not sow or reap yet You feed them (Luke 12:24). The lilies do not toil, but how beautifully they survive (Luke 12:27). You clothe even the grass that is alive one day and the next day burned (Luke 12:28). You feed the birds;…are we not worth much more than these (Matt 6:26)?

O LORD, You are so attentive to ____ that You even know how many hairs are on (his/her) head (Luke 12:7). Let (him/her) find faith enough to know that You’ll also supply everything for (him/her) (Phil 4:19).

Unbelievers are worried about what they shall eat and drink and wear (Luke 12:30). Remind ____ that (he/she) should not be anxious about (his/her) life (Luke 12:22). You know what ____ needs (Luke 12:30). You will supply every need for (him/her)  from Your glorious riches which have been given to (him/her) in CHRIST (Phil 4:19).

FATHER, it is Your good pleasure to give (him/her) Your kingdom–all the resources You possess (Luke 12:32)!   It is through CHRIST’s kingdom You amply supply all (his/her) necessities. CHRIST is (his/her) over-generous provider. You gave Him to (him/her) as head over all things. He is all in all, making everything complete filling everything everywhere with Himself (Eph 1:22-23).

Through Your kingdom, You will supply (his/her) needs day after day (Luke 12:31). There is no evil or lack worth trembling at when (he/she) knows You will not allow anything to separate (him/her) from You (Rom 8:39).

King David prayed for all things as if he had nothing and prayed knowing he would have everything from You he needed.  May (he/she) rest in Your great provisions.

THANKSGIVING

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ELECTION

screen-shot-2016-10-20-at-4-27-07-pm…FATHER, Your Scripture presents a history of man in a state of sin and rebellion and Your plan to bring man back to Yourself (ref#63, p490). Before creation You selected from the human race those whom You would redeem, justify, sanctify, and glorify in CHRIST (Rom 8:29-30) (ref#56, p1630).

“…man is free in that he can and does choose what he desires or is inclined to choose. But man lacks the desire for Christ and the things of God until God creates in his soul a positive inclination for these things” R. C. Sproul (ref#80, p165).

Without Your gift of electing me I would have been unable to choose You for I simply would have not been interested. My nature from birth was to sin constantly.

Therefore I write this page thanking You for loving me and making it possible for me to love You. I also thank You for the opportunity to exercise my faith (ref#152, p136) as I pray You elect all my family, friends, and my enemies.

You forgive me and give me membership into Your family, as well as grant me growth in the Christian life. You keep me faithful to Yourself throughout life as I purpose to respond to You in faith and repentance (ref#63, p669). Thank You, FATHER, for giving me reason to live.

Blessed are You, LORD—

You daily load me with benefits.

You are my GOD of salvation;

and to You belong escapes from death (Ps 68:19-20).

 

The pillars of the earth are Yours,

and on them You have set the world.

You guard my feet

for not by might shall I prevail (1 Sam 2:8-9).