KNOWING The Will of The LORD...

Time with CHRIST JESUS.

In Thy+ Light shall we see LIGHT.

 This is The WAY+ ; walk ye in it.

 

These are all Words of Life from Scripture, Words we know so well.

 So, why is it that we walk through our time here on earth in a confused muddle, not knowing whether we should go to the left hand or to the right ? 

Why is it, then… 

that The LORD’S Will is a mystery to us especially when we have a crucial decision facing us ?

 

If any of you lack Wisdom,

let him ask from the Giving GOD,

giving to all men freely,

and not reproaching

( chiding, upbraiding);

and it will be given to him.

James 1:5 literal Greek

We have the HOLY SPIRIT at our re-birth; it is a promise given to us in Acts 2:38 to repent and be baptized to receive the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT.  Marvelous Gift from GOD !

With all this help promised to us from The Word of GOD and from the HOLY SPIRIT dwelling within us… 

why are we confused,

stumbling, and up-set, 

not knowing whether to go to the left hand

or to the right ? 

 

We have all been in this state, and it is DISTRESSING.

 

We say …

” Oh, if only The Scriptures would tell me what to do ! If I could only open my Bible and see whether I should take this job…  move to that city … marry that one … embark on this out-reach. 

Then I would know what to do !” 

 

We say …

“Oh WHY doesn’t The LORD answer me when I NEED to know what to do ? “

 

But HE+ says:

 

“Oh, WHY

have you LIMITED your time with ME+ ?

 

Why have you been SO busy…

and then, too, too tired …

to spend QUALITY time with ME+ ?

 

Have I+ asked you to do

any great thing in your life ?

No.

 I+ have only asked one thing of you:

Come and sit with ME+

a-while

every day.

 

No studying,

not even reading at this time,

not fellow-shipping,

not singing,

not public worship.

 

Just come and SIT WITH ME+.

Alone. Every day.

 

But no, you will not do that

for even 30 minutes of earthly time.

 

You begrudge coming to SIT WITH ME+

beside My+ Still Waters.

 

You refuse to STILL yourself.

Everyday you are too busy

with “good” projects and necessary duties

to find time to sit with ME+. 

But, I+ am your Life-Source! 

I+ am your Wisdom!  

How then can you expect to hear My+ Direction

when the changes of Life occur

or when trouble raises its head ?

 

I+ will not join you in your busy-ness.

 

I+ cannot refresh your soul there.

 

You cannot hear My+ Voice there.

 

I+ will not reveal My+ Will

in the midst of other voices

competing for your attention.

 

If you want My+ Direction

you must come to ME+

in My+ Stillness. “

Everyday.

Before the crises of life happen.

+  +  +

 

LET US PRAY:

 

LORD JESUS, I have neglected YOU+, the Most Important ONE+ in my life. Life is meaningless without YOU+, yet I have gone on my way expecting YOU+ to accompany me… instead of me accompanying YOU+.

 

I repent of my mis-guided busy-ness. I place every one of my activities on the altar; burn them with the fire of Thy+ Holiness, O LORD.

 

Settle me down. Place upon me, now, O LORD, Thy+ Will, Thy+ Way and I will walk in it. Let me not go to the left hand nor to the right, to the Glory of GOD my FATHER.

 

Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me, O LORD.

 

I am still now, LORD,

… and listening.

 

+  +  +

Our FIRST LOVE of JESUS CHRIST !

REVELATION 2 

Courtesy of BIBLE GATEWAY

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith HE+ that holdeth the seven stars in His+ right hand, Who+ walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

 

 I+ know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

 

And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My+ Name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I+ have somewhat

against thee,

because thou

hast left thy first love.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I+ will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I+ also hate.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the SPIRIT saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I+ give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

+   +   + 

Our FIRST love of JESUS CHRIST overwhelms our hearts !  

When we realize all HE+  has  done for us,  all  HE+  has cleansed us  from,  all the pain and sorrow HE+ has borne for us… we melt with LOVE towards Our SAVIOR+.

We  CRY  for JOY ! 

All  stony coldness vanishes.  All  lies and other defenses are washed away.  Our insurmountable burdens  actually roll away.

 

We are so LIGHT that we feel we could FLY !  Our hearts pour out gratitude and love for HIM+.  We cannot keep silent. We cannot keep from telling JESUS how MUCH we love HIM+ … over and over again. 

This first LOVE OF JESUS 

is important . 

Without it,

Our LORD says

HE+ will remove our candlestick ! 

But, how do we KEEP this FIRST LOVE of JESUS active and living in our hearts ?

We  must JOIN HIM+.

When we are close to JESUS, His+ Presence overwhelms our hearts, just like at the time of our FIRST LOVE of CHRIST. 

We join HIM+ when we submit to His+ Word.  Submission to His+ Word, you see,  goes against every particle of our flesh.  

 

We join HIM+ when  we  LITERALLY  apply the very words of Scripture in our value system and live them:  owe no man NOTHING! … turn the other cheek … forgive 70 times over …. sell what you have and give to the poor and come, follow ME+.  

 

There are many, many other words in Scripture which we have ignored or excused ourselves from applying.

We say, for instance,  the head-covering ( veiling ) is for “another culture, another time.”  

Yet, many serious Christian sisters have discovered the Anointing Presence when they go against their flesh and this modern culture and don a serious head-covering.   

 

Persecution, albeit minor,  will start immediately … because the satan does NOT LIKE it.  The satan does not like ANYONE who dares to APPLY the words of Scripture literally.  

 

However, along with the minor persecution will come an ANOINTED POWER to witness to CHRIST JESUS.  Strangers will be drawn to you and ask you serious SPIRITUAL questions or ask you for prayer. 

Then, His+ joy will rest upon you and your joy will be full. You will return to your FIRST LOVE of JESUS.

 

Every … yes, EVERY … act  of  obedience will bring a different set of persecution from family, friends, and yes even within the church circles.  Mocking, snide remarks, cold-shoulders and  sometimes removal from positions of  authority accompany certain acts of obedience. This is called “the cross.”

 But, His+ Joy will rest upon you !   You will bask in His+ Presence.   You will return unto your FIRST LOVE of CHRIST JESUS.  HE+  will  not remove your candlestick.

 

If, dear friends, your love for JESUS is dull and dreary, done by rote and is a burden ( ho-hummm ) , THEN BE ON GUARD.  Flee to JESUS and seriously ask HIM+ to show you WHERE your obedience is LACKING. 

 

 HE+ is faithful ... and will show you. 

 

Ask HIM+ to show you in His+ Word  where  your  “next obedience”  should be.  We do NOT STAY at the same levels of obedience day in and day out.  NO… yesterday’s gains will NOT SUFFICE for today’s growth. 

 

Dullness of spirit is a sign that  we are missing the mark; we are NOT WALKING in ALL the obediences HE+ has marked out for us. 

 

Let  us  therefore determine to RETURN unto our FIRST LOVE OF JESUS. 

 

Let us YOKE UP with His+ Will, as revealed in His+ Words.  Disregard NONE of them.  

 

 Do those things,  embrace those obediences, that HE+ shows you in His+ Word,  and YOUR FIRST LOVE of JESUS  will  return to you,  over-whelmingly !

+  +  +

Waiting on HIS+ Timing...

Waiting on The LORD to move... to change a circumstance or a situation... to restore a relationship, renew a marriage, or heal a broken heart. We wait on The LORD , sometimes patiently but more often, chafing to get on with the changes!

Here is a story to help us WAIT upon The LORD:

.

There were 3 little kittens who were the delight of their mistress. She herself was confined by her parents to a stone cottage to tend the fig trees in her father's grove. She was lonely but she loved her work... except for the mice. There was a small army of mice tending the figs also!

They also ate her flour, her clothing, and anything else they could sink their teeth into in her little stone cottage.

So she prayed to The LORD and asked for a cat. Instead, HE+ sent her a hawk, a raptor, who caught mice. That was fine.

But she was still lonely, having been banished to the cottage for about a year.  The LORD looked upon her loneliness and sent her 3 little kittens. Oh, what a joy those dear little kittens were to her heart! They played with her toes and played with each other, tumbling about her cottage freely. 

But there was ONE PLACE she did not want them to go: to her high window ledge, the one with bars across it. 

Why? The hawk, the raptor, sat on a tree limb close to the high window. She knew what the hawk would do to the kittens. 

She talked every day to her beloved kittens as she fed them and played with them, telling them to stay off the window ledge... although she knew, she KNEW that one of the adventurous ones was trying to climb his way to the ledge to see out.

Oh, how those darling kittens hated to be confined to the cottage! Oh, how badly they wanted to scamper outside, to explore. 

They had NO IDEA that the raptor was there in the tree, ready to pounce on them and devour them for sport. 

Suddenly, The LORD spoke into her heart... telling her to REMAIN where she was until HE+ moved her. She couldn't see the ones lurking in the shadows to destroy her life... but HE+ could. 

She understood! Her love for the well-being of her beloved kittens made her understand WHY The LORD confined her... for her own well-being against foes she could not see nor would understand. 

[Adapted from EIGHTH SHEPHERD, Bodie and Brock Thoene, A.D. Chronicles. Some things changed so that I would not reveal the plot of the story!]

  

But they that wait upon The LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 41 

TEACH ME, LORD,

O LORD,

TO WAIT.