mushrooms

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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SCRIPTURE DID IT

9/18/13

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 9.59.53 AMToday my FATHER has encouraged me greatly. Let me record the scenario here.

The enemy of my soul gave me a thought of listing my present failures. I quickly named four. And the rest of the morning was spent confirming them in my head.

Influenced by such thinking I made the decision to give up writing the daily devotional book I was working on. It wasn’t going well anyway.

I was at a pivotal point in writing. With the first draft finally completed, I really looked forward to using it in my devotions while working on the next draft.

But, after the first week’s use, I did not experience the great awesome joy of the LORD I was expecting. Confidence shaken, I continued with the second week’s pages only to, after working and re-working, throw out two of them.

How many others would I have to throw out? How could I, at the end of the year, have enough written to complete a devotional book?

Little did I know as I went off to prayer meeting that GOD had already determined to change my thinking. The following Scripture was read:

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,” (2 Thess 1:11 ESV).

FATHER, You have turned my heart with Your life-giving Word! I know You have called me to write. Today—right now, I gladly resolve to write.

Have You called me to write a complete book so You can draw Yourself to others with my words? I don’t know. But, today, with a great amount of happiness, I’ll continue to pursue writing.

And, by the way, I DO have faith in Your power. So, I will think no more about not having enough pages to complete the book.

Desk chair here I come!

SABBATH

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THE SABBATH, OUR JOY AND DELIGHT

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 11.00.53 AM“The LORD’s Day is supposed to be holy and honorable…need to protect the LORD’s Day from improper activities. Calls us to careful, thoughtful use of our time…not a day for idleness or simply doing as we please but neither is it to be a burden…because it is an exquisite delight…a day for reverential thoughtful use…coupled with genuine joy and the determining factor of our conduct…does this or that activity defile or honor the sanctity of the Day” Alistair Begg (ref#164, Series: The Sabbath, Sermon# 2098, “The Gift of the Sabbath” July 18, 1999).

“What is the chief end of man? It is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever” John Piper (ref#164, Series: The Sabbath, Sermon# 2098, “The Gift of the Sabbath” July 18, 1999).

Consider yourself, what are your feelings about observing the Sabbath? Does it make you happy that GOD commands your attention on His Day?

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16 ESV).

If you are willing to obey the command but not happy about it, you need to consider if you are only acting like a Christian instead of being a real Christian. If you suspect that might be a little true or a lot true, GOD provides a way for you to find joy in Him. In the Scripture below He gives the means. Repentance is always accepted.

“…If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me….” (Jeremiah 15:19 ESV).

And, if you think lightly of the Sabbath command, you will want to read Jeremiah 17:19-27.

SUPPLICATION

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TO BE PURPOSEFUL

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 10.48.05 AMFATHER, prompt ____ to strip off and throw aside every encumbrance and let (him/her) run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before (him/her), looking away from all that will distract, to JESUS (Heb 12:1-2).

ATTENTIVE FATHER, allow ____ to discover the unnecessary things that are just occupying (his/her) time. Show (him/her) the things to do that are most worthwhile (ref# 81, July 29). In all (his/her) affairs may (he/she) distinguish between the important and the urgent.   May (his/her) character and not (his/her) circumstances chiefly engage (him/her) (ref# 76, p78). May (his/her) desires for a good self-image be replaced with glory-making for You alone. Soli Deo Gloria—To GOD alone the glory.

Embolden ____’s cowardly hesitation (Rev 21:8). You say the one who conquers will possess Your heritage (Rev 21:7).   Remind (him/her) repeatedly to be actively persistent—to be purposeful in (his/her) daily activities (Heb 12:1).

The one fact CHRIST mentions to all seven churches He addresses in the book of Revelation is if they overcome He will grant them fellowship (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26: 3:5, 12, 21). I pray for ____, FATHER, to prevail over the tangents on the race set before (him/her) whether they come in moments of urgency or during the mundane tasks of life.

 

THANKSGIVING

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O MOST HIGH

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 10.39.38 AMO MOST HIGH, I will give thanks,

With my whole heart; I will thank You.

I will recount all Your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in You (Ps 9:1-2).

 

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,

Or declare all His praise (Ps 106:2)?

Full of splendor and majesty is all His work (Ps 111:3).

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so (Ps 107:2).

 

He remembers His covenant forever (Ps 105:8).

All His precepts are trustworthy (Ps 111:7).

He satisfies the longing soul,

And the hungry soul He fills with good things (Ps 107:9).

 

You have turned for me…

My mourning into dancing;

You have clothed me with gladness (Ps 30:11).

I will sing Your praise and not be silent (Ps 30:12).

 

I give thanks to You, for You are good,

Your steadfast love endures forever (Ps 136:1).

I will sing praise to Your name,

O MOST HIGH (Ps 9:2).

 

CONFESSION

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I SIN KNOWINGLY BUT NOT WILLFULLY

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 10.25.35 AMFATHER, I grieve especially over the sins I commit knowing full well I’m disobeying You. Can You forgive me for such in-Your-face, blatant, rebellion?

 The book of Leviticus describes sacrifices for sins. But the sacrifices are only for unintentional sins (Lev 4:2). The writer of Hebrews says:

“…if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” (Heb 10:26 NKJV).

Yet, I, as well as other Christians, knowingly sin—even King David prayed that You keep him back from “…presumptuous sins…” (Ps 19:13 NASB). FATHER, help me understand that I may sin knowingly, as King David did but that does not mean I sin willfully. Sinning willfully means sinning willingly. Sinning willingly means I sin out of my own glad choice with no intention of repenting. Adam Clarke’s Commentary brings meaning to Hebrews 10:26:

“A man may be overtaken in a fault, or he may deliberately go into sin, and yet neither renounce the Gospel, nor deny the Lord that bought him.” Adam Clarke (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]).

But, “if we sin willfully] If we deliberately…renounce the profession of the Gospel and the Author of that Gospel,…the…case must be utterly without remedy.” (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]).

When I do sin deliberately, my “case is dreary and dangerous but it is not hopeless; no case is hopeless but that of the deliberate apostate who rejects the whole Gospel system,…” (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]). And, all thanks to You, FATHER, that You have cemented in my heart never to reject the Gospel.

How I thank You, FATHER, that You give me the grace of confession. Yes, You have put in my heart the desire to repent. You have closed the gate behind me. Because You have made me Yours, I will never again sin willfully.

Though FATHER, drive me to fear sinning against You deliberately. Such actions remove me from Your presence. My iniquities always make a separation between You and me. My sins hide Your face so that You do not hear me (Isa 59:2).

LORD, I take hold of Your grace of repentance and use it to bring myself back into Your presence. And, FATHER, during this activity of repentance, sober me into remembering that even though I will never sin willfully, sinning knowingly is dreary and dangerous.

ADORATION

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INCONTESTABLE

Screen Shot 2015-09-26 at 10.13.38 AMYou are GOD of gods and LORD of lords (Ps 8:1).

Incontestable—not to be contested,

unquestionable—not to be questioned,

You are sovereign (ref#110, p676).

 

You are in the heavens (Isa 29:14)—above others,

excelling and surpassing, having authority and power (ref#110, p1062).

You are effective in action (ref#110, p1056)—

potent and preeminent (ref#110, p1056, 1062).

 

You do as You please (Isa 29:14),

subsisting by and of Yourself,

without external agency.

You are self-existent (ref#110, p1218).

 

You are great and mighty—the awesome GOD (Ps 8:1).

You are imperial—

having supreme authority (ref#110, p676).

You cannot be compelled and are unconstrained (ref#110, p1453).

 

GOD of gods—

LORD of lords—

the great, the mighty—

the awesome GOD (Ps 8:1)!

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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EATING AND BLOWING MY NOSE

…9/2/2015

Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 12.51.16 PM…Another lunch where I cry between my bites of food. Oh, this struggle hurts; it has gone on so long. Today it is more a cry of sadness than anger.

What brought me to tears was pinching my finger in the desk drawer, but the real cause was the computer again. Hum, it’s just like life—three steps forward, two back.

But my mind is on the steps back. I accomplish something on the computer and then turn around and can’t do it again.

I cry even though I know these circumstances are GOD’s choice for me. But, that doesn’t stop the hurt. I read Scripture over lunch and the words, although true, are so pious, so all-together sounding reminding me that I am not.

I was so discouraged I stopped reading and just ate and blew my nose. Then my mind caught on a thought: “Read prayers about GOD you have written.”

The thought came from my blog prep. I had just written a page about “Moods.” When discouraged, I suggested reading only the prayers that tell of GOD’s greatness.

Just that thought itself stopped my crying for I remember how well throwing my thoughts on GOD keeps me from drowning in my thoughts about being miserable.

Now I’m back at this computer—humble and possessing much more patience. How amazing it is that just thoughts of GOD puts things back in the right perspective.

 

SABBATH

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APPLYING THE LORD’S DAY

…As with all GOD’s commands there is great benefit in keeping them (Psalm 19:11). But we, (I’m pretty sure that will include all of us) have strayed so far from keeping the Sabbath that we have not experienced most of the benefits.

GOD’s objective in commanding this day of rest is for the development of our spiritual nature. Therefore, it is a day set apart from even our words and thoughts about our worldly employments and recreations [Westminster Confession of Faith] (ref#164, Series: Pathway to Freedom, Sermon#: 1693, “Holy Day or Holiday?” Part Two, October 31, 1993). Can you imagine speaking only about spiritual things before or after the church service?

“This Sabbath is kept holy…when men…are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy” [Westminster Confession of Faith] Alistair Begg (ref#164, Series: Pathway to Freedom, Sermon#: 1693, “Holy Day or Holiday?” Part Two, October 31, 1993).

 

SUPPLICATION

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NON-SAVING FAITH

“All people are naturally inclined to some form of religion, yet they fail to worship their Creator…” R.C. Sproul (ref#56, p1613, “Mankind’s Guilty Knowledge of God”).

Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 1.38.05 PMFATHER, I fear ____ has decided on (his/her) own to follow You because (he/she) finds it convenient. It’s quite possible (he/she) has a belief like the crowd described in John 2:23 NASU: “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name…” 

 The crowd’s belief in JESUS was not a life-changing belief. They were quick only to acknowledge Him as a teacher, or a great prophet, or someone who could make their life better. The Amplified version sums it up, they …[identified themselves with His party]…. Surely they figured being close in proximity met He would save them from…whatever they wanted saved from.

FATHER, I fear ____ has found comfort in a faith that does not save. (He/She) may be content to know about JESUS, like Him, and conclude (he/she) identifies enough with Him that (he’ll/she’ll) go to heaven when (he/she) dies.

“To believe, for Paul, involves knowledge of the gospel’s content, mental assent to its testimony about Christ (Rom 10:14), and obedient trust and reliance on Him as Savior and Lord (Rom 1:5)” R.C. Sproul (ref#56, p1617, [Rom 3:22]).

I pray You give ____ ears to hear the Gospel. Convince (him/her) that (he/she) has no righteousness of (his/her) own and needs CHRIST’s righteousness. Be graphic about revealing (his/her) danger of perishing. LORD, give (him/her) a need to look for someone to save (him/her) from Your wrath. And then motivate (him/her) to make the effort to understand that CHRIST cannot save unless He becomes LORD of (his/her) life.

FATHER, give ____ opportunity to understand and grab hold of the faith that saves. By exercising (his/her) faith and by obeying, You will cause (him/her) to joyfully worship You. (He/She) does not need to be punished with everlasting destruction being forever away from Your presence and from the glory of Your power either in the rest of this life or in the life to come (2 Thes 1:9).

THANKSGIVING

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THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE

“…the word of the Lord remains forever…’” (1 Pet 1:25 ESV).

Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 1.25.56 PMFATHER, Your Bible does not and cannot have errors: the sinless CHRIST cannot error. He says the Bible is Your Word, therefore the Bible cannot error (ref#95).

CHRIST, GOD INCARNATE, in Your earthly ministry You advocated what had been written of the FATHER previous to Your coming. Time after time You preface Your subject with the words, “it is written” (Matt 4:4,7,10). You did not come to abolish what had been written, but to fulfill what had been written (Matt 5:17-18).

You say Yourself that the Scriptures cannot be set aside or annulled (John 10:35). Even the hard-to-believe Scriptures You confessed as true. Jonah was indeed three days in the belly of a great fish (Matt 12:40). Your FATHER’s word is truth and without error (John 17:17).

“My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right” (Ps 119:172 ESV).

The Bible does not and cannot have errors: OMNIPOTENT, HOLY, PERFECT FATHER, You cannot error. You say the Bible is Your Word, therefore the Bible cannot error (ref#95).

The sum of Your Word is truth and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever (Ps 119:160). You never lie (Titus 1:2); it is impossible for You to lie (Heb 6:18).

You are true even if we are all liars (Rom 3:4)—even if we are faithless, You remain faithful for You cannot deny Yourself (2 Tim 2:13). Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). The audacity of Your creatures to accuse You of allowing an errant book to represent You!!

You revealed Yourself in words and resided over them as they were written in an earthly Book for all generations to read. The Bible is the prime testimony of Your compassion and caring.