Are You Willing?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘[…]  But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. […] If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.[…] To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience [are used by God] as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.’ CHAMBERS

 

No one looks forward to going through a painful experience, a difficult time.  But it is those very times that God uses to shape us .. to make us a wonderful wine … I am certain it has to do with our will.  We must surrender our will to God … and so often that requires us to be broken .. crushed .. It is a strange dynamic.  When I was in basic training in the Army, the challenge of the drill instructors was to take away our individual identities and make us soldiers. It was a painful experience .. humiliating often times .. physically challenging … but in the end .. we were transformed.  When James said to count it all joy when you face trials .. it was in light of God’s purpose in your life, not because the experience was enjoyable.  (James 1:2-4)  “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

 

Salvation is not like buying a plane ticket for some future trip that you put in a drawer until the day you take the trip.  Salvation is the beginning of a journey that means that you will be transformed into a vessel that will be used by God for His purpose.  That you will be made into a wine that brings healing and restoration … but for that to happen you must first be crushed … Are you willing?

 

“ It's my will, I'm not moving 'Cause if it's Your will, then nothing can shake me

And it's my will to bow and praise You  I now have the will to praise my God

 

Complexity haunts me for I am two men  Entrenched in a battle that I'll never win

My discipline fails me, my knowledge it fools me But You are my shelter, all the strength that I need

 

I'm learning to give up the rights to myself  The bits and the pieces I've gathered as wealth

Could never compare to the joy that You bring me  The peace that You show me is the strength that I need” DC Talk - My Will

 

DC Talk - My Will on YouTube

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Who's In Charge Around Here?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him . . .” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.’ CHAMBERS

 

God looks at the heart and changes the heart … if you allow him to … … but so often we harden our hearts toward God and His leading … because we insist on being in control … being in control means insisting that things be done your way … even though there are other, maybe even better, ways to do things.  We demand that people comply with our definition of “right”.  Even if it means crushing the spirit of the one we are trying to control.  The person and how they feel toward us or God is not the issue .. it is compliance with our demands .. and when if things are even done our way, then we will feel at peace .. of course that never happens .. finding peace I mean .. because we think it is in controlling the world around us that we can have peace … then there will be no reason to fear …  but the truth of the matter is what we want so badly is only found in Jesus.

 

John 14:27  "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

 

John 16:33  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Living With A Divided Heart

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Luke 9:57-62  ‘As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”’

 

“And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. […] We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost. […] The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.” CHAMBERS

 

Living the Christian life with a divided heart is not acceptable to God.  The Bible, in reference to the love of God and money says you will love (or choose) one and hate (or reject) the other.  Any guesses about which one people  will most often choose but convince themselves they really love the one they rejected?   Compared to our love for God, nothing else matters.  What do you think Matthew 22:37-38 means .. to love God with every everything that is in you?  Is there room for anything else?  But when you do you will love others … Life starts and ends with complete devotion to God. Everything else .. that is good .. springs from our love for God .. Matthew 22:39  … love others.

 

The problem is divided loyalties … What is it that you think you must do before you follow Jesus?  Lay it down at the cross …

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

A New Level Of Love

My Utmost For His Highest

 

“If you . . . remember that your brother has something against you . . .” —Matthew 5:23

 

‘The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.’ CHAMBERS

 

The scripture does not say that what is held against you is substantiated … but more .. it’s the fact of how you are responding to it.  What you are holding in your heart .. bitterness, disappointment, a sense of loss in a relationship.  We must set those things right in our hearts.  How important is it to come before God with a pure heart … It is imperative ..... your heart must be washed by the blood of Jesus when you seek the presence God.

 

You may not change the relationship .. the Word does not say you must convince the other person .. it says that you must be reconciled in the situation … I believe that means to seek forgiveness when you have offended someone and to be at peace with the person in your heart no matter whose fault it might be. (Romans 12:18 ‘If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’)

 

As they nailed Jesus to the cross, He asked the Father to forgive them … they did not know they were crucifying the Son of God …. Can you say the same thing when someone is treating you in an unkind manner?  Forgive them Father … Jesus had already forgiven them … What about you?  This level of love requires the power of God in you .. you can’t do it by yourself … But God expects it of us ….

 

‘I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength.’ Philippians 4:13

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

It is not in the Doing but the Knowing

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.’ CHAMBERS

 

Do not imagine that you can live this new life .. through determination.  You will only be successful if you are willing to lay your life down .. surrender to Jesus.  I am not referring to the day you were saved.  I am talking about the days after when you believe you are walking with Jesus, when you are actually trying to walk like Jesus.  You can be in  mental agreement with the Bible but be floundering in your faith.  The reason is that you believe that you can be righteous  by yourself .. you believe that you can be like Jesus without Jesus … just by your determination to do it.

 

So it is not in the knowing but in the doing .. and there is no doing without knowing (Jesus).  In John 14:6 Jesus said that He is the way, truth and life … that is not just about the point of salvation … but in the new life we live.

 

Galatians 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

We must live by faith in Jesus and not faith in ourselves.  In Jesus the Bible means life as God intended … on our own .. it is nothing more than a burden.

 

“Jesus Your name is power, Jesus, Your name is might. Jesus, Your name will break every stronghold. Jesus, Your name is life.

Jesus, Your name is healing, Jesus, Your name gives sight. Jesus, You name will free every captive. Jesus, Your name is life.

Jesus, Your name is holy, Jesus, Your name brings light. Jesus, Your name above every other. Jesus, Your name is life.” Maranatha Music

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Take My Heart Lord ...

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.’ CHAMBERS

 

Do you know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you?  I think so.  How do you respond?  Like the rebellious child .. who wants what they want and resists correction? Or do you say “Yes Lord!”

 

“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! “ (2 Timothy 3:2-5 NKJV)

 

This is not a new problem.  Paul spent a good deal of his time encouraging the new Christians to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh.  It is in the Bible because it is a problem.  We all struggle with doing what we know is right.  It is a decision for us to obey every day.  Make this your prayer …..

 

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.  Prone to leave the One I love.  Here is my heart, take and seal it.  Seal it for Thy courts above.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Where is the Love?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘The goal of the missionary [any Christian] is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.’ CHAMBERS

 

Jesus is our example .. He was all about doing the Father’s will.  That is why Jesus came .. think about John 3:16 … God, the Father, sent His Son, Jesus to do what .. fulfill the will of the Father.

 

Jesus said … “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:30)

 

Can that be your heart’s cry?  To not seek your own will but the will of the Father who saved you by sending His Son.  How valuable is your salvation?  Valuable enough to lay your life down and walk in step with the Father’s will?

 

Jesus said the test of true faith is obedience…  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

 

In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby said that if you have a problem with obedience .. you have a love problem.  If you love God, you will obey Him .. if you don’t, you won’t.  It is really pretty simple.  The great danger for the Christian is believing that a little sin .. a little disobedience … doesn’t matter …

 

Here is the principle in James 2 … “8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

 

We cannot wink at some sin as if God won’t mind .. we make a mockery of the cross of Christ … God said ‘Be holy because I am holy”  You cannot be holy on your own, by simply trying harder  .. you need the power of God in you … Christian don’t be satisfied with a little sin .. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Under My Own Power or His

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself.’ CHAMBERS

 

When we read the creation account in Genesis, we really have no problem with it.  We believe that God is the creator.  Our literature is filled with words that describe the beauty of that creation.  All of creation is subject to God’s design and purpose.  We don’t blink when we read that man was created in God’s image. But we are stopped dead in our tracks when we are told that we, like the rest of creation, are subject to God’s design and purpose.  When God created man, He created with  a capacity that no other created thing has .. the ability to choose a different purpose.

 

I don’t think our problem is in knowing that God created us for His purpose .. the problem we have is accepting and in walking in that truth .. and rejecting the ‘truth’ that we have created.  Before we were Christians, because of sin, our eyes were blinded to the truth.  But now, we have been given spiritual vision and understanding.  Yet we still struggle with yielding our lives to God.  Fully accepting His purpose as our only purpose.

 

In Haiti, we use inverters and batteries as a source of electricity when the main power is not available.  I know when the inverter comes on because the sound in the ceiling fan motors changes.  You see the electricity produced by the inverters is not exactly like the other electricity. The fans work, but not as well as when the electricity they were designed to use is on.  That is the way it is with our lives as Christians.  Our will is like the inverters .. God’s will is like the main power.  Under our own power, my life works, but not exactly like it was intended to.  Yield your life completely to God and walk in His purpose for your life.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

If You Get Mercy You Must Give Mercy

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.’ CHAMBERS

 

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the servant wanted to be treated with grace and mercy by the king, but was unwilling to treat others in the same way himself. (Matthew 18:21-25)  We love because God first loved us.  We forgive because we are forgiven. That is what God expects of us.  We can do good things and treat others well, when they treat us that way.  But those who don’t .. well that is a horse of a different color.  (Romans 5:8) “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

What is the implication here about how we respond to others .. maybe others who offend us? With harshness or with the same love that God showed us.  We both know what the right answer is.  The problem is not in the knowing, it’s in the doing.  And we cannot “do” that which reflects God unless His Spirit is leading us and His Word is lighting our path.  We need to stop making excuses for our sin, set our hearts right and show the love of Jesus to those around us … especially to those who are in need of grace and mercy .. just like us.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Taking A Stand Against Sin

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘[…] Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view […]” CHAMBERS

 

What is the effect of sin on a Christian?  In the context of Matthew 22:37-39 (love God and love your neighbor) how does sin affect our relationships.  They are broken.  In the garden, Satan broke the relationship between God and Adam through sin.  He attempted to do that with Jesus in the desert … Jesus had to be the unblemished lamb to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice .. one sin was all it would take to unhinge God’s plan  … but Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” —Hebrews 4:15

 

The spiritual stakes are high … Satan continues to throw his fiery darts at us .. We must use the shield of faith  to defend ourselves and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to repel the enemy .. put on the full armor of God.  (Ephesians 6).  Our mission as a soldier in the Lord’s army to stand in the face of the enemy … and have confidence that the victory will be ours. Satan uses psychological warfare in an attempt to convince us that we cannot win .. that we are too weak and he is too strong.  But we know this …. “If God is for us, then who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31)  So stand and fight.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Overcoming In Times Of Temptation

My Utmost For His Highest

 

1 Corinthians 10:13  Temptation

 

‘[…]Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human.[…] Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else–what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations–He sustains us in the midst of them.’ CHAMBERS

 

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Matthew 4 Satan said to Jesus three times .. “If you are [really] the Son of God …. “

 

Man has been faced with temptation since the Garden.  God gave us a free will … but unless that will is tested .. how will you know that you have it?  We can choose life or death.  When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He was tempted as a man.

 

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

 

It was not His divine nature that was being tempted .. but His human nature.  God cannot be tempted to sin … it is impossible .. but man can be and is … Can I hear a witness?

 

James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone”

 

When Jesus was in the desert He gave us a model . . a method for dealing with temptation .. He responded to Satan with the Word of God.  Psalm 119:11 says that we are to “hide the Word in our hearts so we won’t sin against God.” Ephesians 6 calls the Word the sword of the Spirit.  Temptation is a part of life .. you know that already … make reading the Bible a part of your life every day so you will be ready to stand against temptation and bring glory to God in the victory.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Wash Up Before You Pray

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. […] Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray. […] Asking means that our will must be involved. […] remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.’

 

Do you pray?  I assume you do in church … with other Christians perhaps … but when you are alone …. Do you spend time with God in prayer?  If there was one thing that I could pick in my walk that is weakest, it would be prayer … The Bible is clear on the importance of prayer .. talking with the Father … seeking His will … seeking His comfort .. provision .. healing … peace.  We are to go to the Father. But we must do that with a clean heart … We cannot enter God’s presence if we are not spiritually clean – washed.  Otherwise we are merely talking to ourselves.

 

The Bible says that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective. (James 5:16)  We are righteous because of the Jesus … we must be right spiritually when we pray … it is much like the little boy coming to the dinner table with dirty hands.  He is sent straight to the sink to first wash his hands. We all need to spend more time in personal prayer with God .. but we need to wash first.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Trust and Obey .. It's the only way

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter.’ CHAMBERS

 

1 Corinthians 10:4-5 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

 

When I have read those verses in the past I thought about those things that come against me .. but what about those things that come from within me?  James 4:1 “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”  Our flesh and our spiritual nature are at odds with one another.  We cannot resist sin by thinking our way through it.  We must use the sword of the Spirit.  In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel said that obedience is better than sacrifice.  If we have a problem with obedience … we have a love problem … Jesus asked why do you say you love Me but don’t obey Me?  Obedience is a natural response to our loving God.

 

So my friend .. the point is simply this … we live by the Spirit and Faith … our response to the desires that well up in us and the situations we find ourselves in must  come from the source of our life …

 

“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus (in your new life) than to trust and obey.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

In Search Of Rest

My Utmost For His Highest

 

“It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest.

 

The surrender here is of myself to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me."

 

True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.” CHAMBERS

 

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  Whatever it is that you might be struggling with .. Jesus can give you “rest” in it.  You know that rest that I am talking about … you have just driven through a horrific storm … you get safely home … kick your shoes off …. And sit down in a very comfortable chair with your feet up … your mind clears … your heart rate slows … there is nothing that is concerning you … Oh there is plenty going on to cause concern .. if Jesus was not on your side … it is like the problems are outside and they can’t get to you .. try as they might …

 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

“Lean on Jesus cause you’re not strong .. He’ll be your Friend .. He will help you carry on … Cause, it won’t be long till you’re gonna need somebody to lean on. You just call on Him Brother when you need a hand … We all need somebody to lean on ….Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend [in Jesus]?"

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Trusting God When I Don't Understand

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.’ CHAMBERS

 

If God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts … should it be surprising when we don’t always understand what God is doing in our lives?  There are times when even searching the scripture does not give you understanding.  I often quote Proverbs 3:5,6 .. I guess because it is so right on with what is our greatest tendency .. to trust ourselves more than God.  We “lean on our own understanding”  rather than believe that God has our best interests in mind.  That if He sent His Son to die for us .. which was the very best thing He could do .. do you think that He will deal with lesser things as well? Jesus said to consider the birds .. the flowers … how much more will God care for us?  Job’s response to what was happening to him is probably the best that anyone could give “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

 

My understanding is not a condition for God’s provision or purpose.  I am to live by faith and not by sight.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Washing Feet

My Utmost For His Highest

 

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” —John 13:14

 

“The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? […] It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.” CHAMBERS

 

Most often the verses in John 13 are associated with Jesus washing feet and humility.  Which is true.  But there was something more .. as if that were not enough for a life time … and that is when Peter protested .. and then Jesus said if he was unwilling to have his feet washed then Peter could have no part of Jesus.  I believe that Jesus was telling the story of our salvation and need to have a spiritual foot washing.  Jesus told Peter that he was already clean [and you are saved], and only needed his feet washed [but you still sin every day].

 

As you travel through the dust of this life on earth … your feet will get dirty .. you will need to wash them .. and only Jesus can do that … 1 John 1:9 says that we should confess our sins … wash our feet … if we don’t, Jesus can have no part of us .. God will not be in the presence of sin .. the temple [our body] is defiled when sin is present … the Spirit is in us. I was reading an old email (2005) from my mom [she is with Jesus] and in the email she wrote …..

 

“After reading the ref[erence]. my mind went to 1 Cor. 6:19,20  ‘What? Don't you know that your body is the Temple ...you are bought with a price.’  We have a responsibility. We need to rebuild the temple. God is rebuking us because we do not act like God's people.”

 

Have you had your foot washing for today?

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Are You Ready For Battle

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you. God’s training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.’ CHAMBERS

 

In the Army we would say that you fight the way you train.  We would train constantly .. under what we thought were difficult conditions .. but they were nothing like the battlefield.  So it is with our spiritual life.  If we don’t train everyday .. strengthen our faith through relationship with the Lord .. reading the Word and prayer … we will be in trouble when the “real” battle comes.  We won’t see the enemy approaching from far off .. but he will spring on us in a surprise attack .. and because we have not trained .. we will falter … maybe even run …

 

Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)