No Joke, No It's Not

No Joke, No It's Not
by David Brenneman

"But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:17-25.

When we come to Christ for salvation this isn't simply a means of safety from the wrath to come upon mankind.  It isn't a golden ticket to allow us to go back to doing whatever is right in our own eyes.  It isn't following rules and regulations that are burdensome.  It isn't. 

A life in Christ is exactly what Jesus said it would be.  It does require our obedience to God's Word whether it makes sense or not.  It isn't about dispelling any fun we might think we're missing.  There's fun to be had in the Christian life if we but understand what that means in a life with Jesus.

Our primary responsibility is to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  We may not understand why things happen in our lives but we are to trust the Word of God that says to trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.  We must trust regardless of what our eyes see and our ears perceive.  We also must be extremely wary of man made rules and regulations within a supposed church claiming to be part of the body of Christ.  There is nothing in the Word of God dictating clothing to wear while serving.  Best examples are around the instructions to the Disciples when they were sent out in pairs to serve.  Read the Gospels closely.  The only people telling people how to dress, wash, speak or any other such religious activity were the Pharisees and Sadducees. Nothing at all from the Savior Jesus Christ.

There's absolutely nothing in the Word of God as to what version of the Bible one ought to be reading. Again, the Pharisees and Sadducees dictated how and what people heard with regards to the Word of God and their regulations.   Interestingly enough the King James version of the Bible was written by pagans under the Kings direction.  What people read today isn't even what the original King James version looked like.  Whatever version that the Spirit of God teaches you with that speaks to your heart and mind, that is a complete work of God, use it. I read the NASB version primarily since it's the closest to the original language in its translation.  I also read the NKJV, and CSV for comparison.  Sometimes the NIV.  There are versions out there where sections of the Word of God have been removed to support the narrative that those groups endorse.

We are to take up our own cross and follow Jesus.  This means self-discipline.  This means saying no to sin and sinful actions that the Word of God speaks against.  It does not mean we get as close to the line of sinning that we can without crossing over.  We are to flee these things. 

Our walk with Jesus is to be personal. It's not just us as a part of a whole body of Christ whereas we blend in and don't stand out.  We are to be with fellow Believers in order to ensure our growing in Christ.  Comparing what we see, hear, and are taught with the Word of God.  If any of these lead us astray, flee. 

We are to indeed run this race of life with Jesus, being patient, pacing ourselves with His pace.  Paying attention to what He's pointing out as to what's important according to His Spirit. 

Our lives in Christ are meant to be seen by the world and to either draw people to Jesus or to help others return to Jesus.  Jesus saves, we don't.  Jesus is to be the center of our lives not one person among many.  We represent Jesus everyday, everywhere. 

What is in your life that's not helping you grow in Christ?  Where is there in your life things that you have compromised on?  What have you done, said, or permitted that has watered-down your faith?  What comes out of your mouth?  Jesus said that what comes out of your mouth is what can defile a person.  We can perceive within ourselves that everything is great.  We can think that our examination of ourselves shows nothing amiss. 

Don't trust you.  Perhaps that's not proper English grammatically but it's true.  You shouldn't fully trust you in knowing if you're compromised with regards to sin's influence and impact on your life.

We are to take our walk with Jesus seriously because He took going to the cross seriously.  He wouldn't allow anyone or anything keep Him fulfilling His reason for coming.  He ran the race, finished the course, before Paul ever said such a thing.

When was the last time you had a heart-to-heart talk with your Savior?  When was it last that you seriously took up your Bible and read it for yourself and not just because someone else was reading it and wanted you to follow along?

Jesus bled and died after being scourged. Whipped with a torture device.  Shards were attached to the ends of the tassels.

Does any of that sound at all like the situation wasn't serious?  Does nails going through His hands and being suspended high above people as the blood drained from His body sound like anything but seriousness of His determination to save humanity who would come to Christ for salvation?  Anything so far sound like He wasn't taking His mission from His Father seriously?

We will give an account of our lives before Jesus.  Everything, our careless words will be known again. Our thoughts said and unsaid. Our actions taken and those we refused to take.  Everything. This too is for us to understand and receive with all seriousness.  This is our mission from the Father...to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit. To love your neighbor as yourself. To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. To take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. 

That's what life not being a joke looks like.  Examine yourself.  Ask the Spirit to search your heart and to see if there be any wicked way in your life that shouldn't be there.

Take your training in righteousness seriously and don't run from it.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

Knowing isn't Enough

Knowing...isn't Enough
by David Brenneman

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.  Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." Colossians 4:2-6.

Knowing what we ought to do and actually doing it aren't the same thing.

Realizing the importance that's to be an evident part of a life in Christ is on us to embrace.

We read in Romans of the transformation of us by the Spirit...is that happening in you?  Do you see evidences of that or evidences that the world is transforming you towards being more like it? 

One way or the other you ARE being transformed. 

You are the one to choose.  You see that's what came with the victory at the cross for Jesus Christ.  Choice. 

You choose to come to Christ for salvation or you don't.  Should you choose to come to Christ to be saved then it's on you to choose to obey the Word of God. 

Reading in Revelation to the letters to the Churches...realize the really really bad idea of being lukewarm.  Jesus pulls no punches...He absolutely does not like lukewarm people being that way. 

There's many things you can look at in your life to see where your allegiances lay.  Look at your wardrobe.  Look at your calendar.  Look at even just one day.  How much of it turned your attention to Jesus?  How much of it was spent in prayer?   How much of it was spent being in God's Word?   Look at what you accumulate in your home.  Mancave's and Shecave's are evident and mostly everywhere.  It's very easy to be swayed towards idolatry by only referring to it as something else and justifying that choice.

There's that word again.  Choice.

Long ago I had chosen many things to be in my life that I would say at that time that I loved.  I consumed what came out in books for it.  Even tried writing my own books about it.  Found various support groups online for it of like-minded people.  At the time it was enjoyable to say the least.  Yet it wasn't filling what my soul was needing.  In due time the Spirit brought conviction and I listened to that conviction.  There's that choosing again.  We CHOOSE to listen to the Spirit or we choose not to.  Word of advice...in reading your Bible...pay special attention to how well it went with those whom chose to listen to the Spirit rather than to dismiss the promptings of the Spirit.

In a recent sermon we were asked to consider what ticks us off.  To me there's a few more righteous things that can tick me off when I see them abused and there's many things of this world that also tick me off. 

For me...competitive sports is one of those things I had to choose to stay away from with regards to being a fan of any particular team.  Even today I might like a few teams but I will not follow them nor keep up with them.  Nor will I participate in anything to do with rivalries.   Why?  Because in choosing to do so it brings out not the fruits of the Spirit but rather the other bad fruits of sin in my life.  It also, to me, amounts to idolatry.   When we take anything that belongs to God and give it to anything or anyone else...the Bible says it's idolatry.  So in this too I choose to stay away from it. 

So there's a few examples from my own life of choices and choosing to do what's right in God's eyes vs doing what's right in my own eyes.

There's still others that I face each day.  So do you.  My Dear Reader...choose wisely. 

Scripture says that every careless word we utter we will give an account for before Jesus.  Do you think I WANT to have to explain why I was so irrationally negative towards another human being over something such as a team or a game?  Do you?  Think about it. 

Scripture says that our hearts are sifted through by Jesus all the time. 

What does He see in there?   Does He see a heart that is whole-heartedly following Him or does He see one that chooses to do what's right in your own eyes?

We do not come to Christ ONLY to get out of going to Hell.   It's not some get-out-of-jail free card.   We get to represent Jesus to those still trapped in this present darkness.  We get to be seen by the Father as having the righteousness of Jesus Christ rather than being seen in our own righteousness which is as filthy rags.  With what Jesus went through to save you...is holding on to anything in this world more important than to live out our lives in appreciation for all He's done for us really not that important to us?

Paul exhorts us to examine ourselves.  Peter did too I believe.

Atypically every year I go through whatever I've accumulated in the prior year and choose to sell or donate whatever I've not really used. 

We really should get in the habit of going through our thoughts and intentions as well as our possessions and get rid of whatever isn't going to glorify, uplift, shine a light on...the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

We have a life to live IN Christ for those who have indeed come to Him to be saved. 

We must still CHOOSE to do more than just know about it or know we ought to be doing it. 

We must do more than just know.

If you're not seeing or others can't see the character of Christ beginning to form in you...you really ought to consider whether or not you are saved or have but aren't living it out. 

Is He honored and glorified by what you do?  Is He honored or glorified by what you say?  Is He honored or glorified by what you're thinking?

Knowing isn't enough.  Jesus said we ought to be more than hearer's of the Word but doer's of the Word.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

Having Done What You Know to Do

Having Done What You Know to Do 

by David Brenneman 

"For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Colossians 2:1-8.

How often do you think of doing those things you know you should have done?

We probably won't admit it to too many people, let alone not at all to some people, but we put off what we know we should be doing. Including what we know in our hearts that the Spirit is urging us to be doing. We have well rehearsed excuses. We go on about everything and anything to not follow through like a young child's attempts at not going to bed. About a young child's attempts to explain why they should be treated differently or be given something they don't necessarily need. 

We are those children no matter what age we look like from the outside. Enduring sound discipline that is for our benefit even though by no means does it feel like it.  

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11.

The great, fantastic, wonderful, news is everyone feels the same exact way about enduring discipline as we read in Hebrews 12:11. Yet afterwards we reap the peaceful fruit of righteousness.  

Liken this to how compliments come to parents because of well behaved children or towards young adults who are well mannered and respectful towards others.  

We ought to be looking forward to learning more about Jesus and becoming like Jesus rather than these offerings that the world might try to entice us with. These things we run after are doomed to be thrown away and be lost to time. Yet we also speak like we need these things rather than our need for greater knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can even purport to love these things that we run after.  

So what have you not been doing in your lessons on growing in Christ? My Dear Reader everyone has lessons to be learning to grow in Christ. We read that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. So if you aren't embracing your walk with Jesus who or what are you embracing? Ideologies? Rituals? Enduring legalism in whatever church you go to?  

Take your training in righteousness further.  

"Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17.

When a Believer knowingly is turning towards a life that isn't accepting of the discipline of the Lord he or she is sinning. When we choose to attach the word love to anyone other than our Lord Jesus Christ we are sinning. It is a lame excuse to use the word love in attachment to a person, place or thing and then to excuse it by saying we don't mean it 'that way'.

You either serve the god you created or the God who created you.

You either consciously embrace the path of learning to be more like Christ or you choose your own path in your own eyes.  

Yes it's going to be painful for a time. Yes it's going to mean removing things from our lives that are those things that we may truly enjoy. In light of eternity its not a loss at all.  

Jesus chose to live His entire earthly life in obedience to His Father's will for Him in order to bring about the present salvation you enjoy today. Can we really be comfortable with not trying our best to follow in His footsteps and really be ok with that?  

There's things of this world that I can truly say that I love but I must say no to. Not because of any other reason than they get in the way of my learning to become more like my Savior Jesus Christ. That's the core of discipline. A person planning to run a marathon must discipline themselves to say no to a host of foods that will not help them condition their bodies for the race. They must plan on a special exercise plan to prepare the body for the needed nutrients and when the body will accept water even. Mentally they must prepare for the race course. When their body will rebel at what places, what to do when that happens. These things are the disciplines they go through because running that race well is their goal. Winning the prize is their aim. They deny much in order to achieve the success.  

Welcome to the Christian life experience. We run in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. We run in such a way that we glorify our Father in Heaven for ourselves as well. We run in such a way that we become more like Christ every single day. By the renewing of your mind by the Word of God. By your time alone with Jesus in prayer.  

It's not going to be enjoyable in the moment but we will enjoy the results. Love not the world nor the things of the world...not a suggestion but a command. 

What are you doing today that is what you're supposed to be doing in the Lord?  

Check your heart. Are you dismissive of what you say you 'love' as not being true love but the evidence of your feelings about it says otherwise? Do you get upset when people say negative things about it? Do you get mad when people insult these things or people that you claim to 'love' that have nothing to do with growing in Christ?

If you're prone to defend your 'love' for this or that that's a red flag. 

Our Savior said to take up our own cross and follow Him. As the line from the hymn says "the world behind me the cross before me, no turning back, no turning back".

Check your heart. Are you taking the time to be in your Bible consistently everyday? Or only when these things that you 'love' don't conflict with that time?  

Are you doing what you know the Spirit is wanting of you to be doing or are you disobeying by not doing it? The only thing that satisfies the obedience that God desires is the obedience that God desires.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org

Why Is This Person Before Me?

Why Is This Person Before Me?

by David Brenneman 

People and God's Purposes

"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen."  

1 John 4:20.

    Perhaps you've discovered that one of the greatest enemies of

joy in your life is conflict with others. Relationship problems

in your work, family, church, or community can contribute signifi-

cantly to your sense of discontentment and despondency. Dealing with difficult people is challenging enough, and managing your negative thoughts about them can be even harder.

    Maybe you're stuck being around them, you've had as much as you can take, and you really don't know what to do. But God promises to give you the wisdom and strength you need to deal with them with grace. And the most important step is realizing He allowed those people to be in your life for His purposes. So instead of allowing their actions to become the focus of your think-

ing, ask the Lord what He is teaching you or providing for you

through them

    When the inappropriate, ugly words and deeds of others drive

you to turn toward the Lord, they can actually be the unwitting

agents of your spiritual growth. So make the choice to turn toward

God because that's the way you lay the groundwork for triumph

Jesus, help me to forgive others and to honor You. Amen.

Trusting God with Today. Dr. Charles Stanley. 

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." Colossians 1:9-12.

"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister." Colossians 1:21-23.

At various times in the group that I'm a part of, as an example of a situation in life, the leader of the group said out loud what the subject of today's post is about was what he thought when he was a car salesman. The person or people were there, or at least thought they were there, to buy a car. But what they were presenting themselves as and how they were...sometimes was quite different.

In the devotional from Dr. Stanley, we read basically the same thought only expounded upon. Our greatest frictions in life are not with inaimate objects but rather in our relationships with people. The dynamic gets more complicated the more it's understood that it's rooted in how we relate with Jesus Christ. Whether or not He is a person's Savior is where everyone's relationships really begin their impact in the world.

Those who are in Christ are to be more than just on their best behavior. We are to be Ambassador's for Christ. His representatives in this fallen world. It doesn't matter if it's out in public or in the privacy of our own home.  

i was taken to Colossians this morning in my daily reading plan and what Paul talked about seemed to fit. The first portion being of what he was praying for concerning those in that church. It's a prayer we ought to pray for one another.  

We can forget our place and position in this world all to easily. Unexpected pain or an unexpected situation can cause the worst to come out in a person. A testimony that took years to build can take a serious hit but a single instance of a lack of control or lack of judgement. Yet another reason why forgiving others as Christ forgave us was a paramount teaching of Jesus. When asked how many times should someone forgive their brother who sinned the answer is essentially...as many times as they come to us. Whatever it takes.

We're not going to get most of this life right but we can be assured that we cannot foil the plans of God. We simply are not that powerful. Satan thought he could be that powerful until his complete and full defeat at the cross of Jesus Christ.

All he is today is an enraged, twisted, entirely deceptive, prisoner of war. We're called to stand firm in the Lord IN the whole armor of God. Not stand there with no armor on at all. Not to only have certain parts on us. We're to pray for one another. Bear one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. Even when we have no idea why the situation with whomever is in front of us is happening...put on Christ.

Our responsibility is to always put on Christ. Put off the old self with it's practices and put on Christ. Do away with who we used to be and be living in the image of the character of our Savior.  

And a news flash for everyone. People everywhere are going to disappoint people everywhere. That's a result of the original sin of Adam and Eve. It will be that way until the call from on high and the Church is taken after those who have fallen asleep in Christ join Him in Heaven.  

If you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you're going to always have a rough go of it because you have nothing to put on that's different than you already are. The things of God...you're never going to really get until you come in faith to Jesus to be saved.

You're on your own. The good news is that as long as you're breathing there's hope for you.  

That's what Believers ought to always be cognizant of...realizing that they could be dealing with people in this world who are not saved. God isn't willing that any should perish but that all might come to Jesus to be saved. Yes there's going to be those who won't but it's on us to always represent Christ no matter if it's family or a stranger. That's what we're still here for. We don't know who will be that last person that's saved in this Church Age. We have our Savior to represent no matter where we are no matter what we're doing.

Pray for one another.

Stand firm in the Lord.

Bear one another's burdens.

Always be ready to forgive no matter how many times a person asks us to forgive them.  

Always be ready to forgive even if it's only you needing to forgive someone else and you're the only one who knows. Truth is Jesus will know.

These are only some of the reasons why people are in front of us.  

They might only be there just for you to know to pray for them.

They might be right there at the door of their heart and are about to open it up to Jesus...all because of how you will be with them.

They may turn an go away and you may never see them again.  

Point is...Jesus said what we're to do and it's upon each of us to do it.

Obey God and leave the consequenses to Him.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

Standing Firm in Our World

Standing Firm in Our World 

by David Brenneman 

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness," Ephesians 6:11-14.

A Defeated Enemy

"When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." Colossians 2:15.

    Christians are not called to defeat Satan. God has already done that in Christ! Nor is it our mandate to "bind" Satan. Jesus has already set limits on the extent and duration of Satan's freedom. Satan, "our ancient foe," was decisively and completely defeated by Christ's sacrifice on the cross and in His resurrection. With regard to Satan, our assignment is to trust in the

victory that Christ already achieved and daily resist him with the truth of his defeat, as Jesus did.

    Satan is the father of lies and a master deceiver (John 8:44).

If he can convince you that God has not defeated him, then you will not experience Jesus' victory. You will find yourself fighting battles that Christ has already won! You will fear Satan though he has already been utterly and humiliatingly defeated Your responsibility is to resist Satan, and he will flee from you (James 4.7). When you resist him, you are acknowledging that Jesus has defeated him and given you victory over his influence. God

has provided you with spiritual armor that is more than sufficient to withstand any assault by Satan (Eph. 6:10-20).

    Christians can become preoccupied with battling Satan.

This deceives them to invest their time and energy attempting to do something that Christ has already done for them. If Satan can divert you to wage a warfare that has already ended in surrender, he will have eliminated your effectiveness where God wants you. Fearing Satan is fearing Prisoner of war. You have no need or calling to defeat Satan; a you need only to apply Christ's victory in every area of your life and to live the victorious Christian life. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day-by-Day.

Did you notice the repeated command? 3 times in 3 verses. Stand firm. It was a very interesting reading last night to read what you just now read from Blackaby. 

I have heard and seen in social media of people trying to do the very things that they spoke of in that devotional (Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby wrote that devotional book and the study materials that go with it.).

People can think they are doing "the Lord's will" by getting caught up in such unnecessary battles. It really falls in line with what we read of Jesus saying of many people saying they did this in His Name and that in His Name.  

As the great hymn goes "where He leads me I will follow". In another devotional I read of "having patience in running with the Lord". 

Much of what we can do is give Satan way too much credit for what's really our own sin nature in what we perceive in our world. We still do have a sin nature. We like to compare and attribute our own contrived explanations to what's not gone right in our world and way too often we take credit for what we really had nothing to do with.

We have it written in the Old Testament of how often and how many of the children of Israel, from Kings on down, didn't stand firm in the Lord...and what the consequences were of that.

We also have those such as Nehemiah and Daniel and others who were shining examples of what truly happens when we do.

For all the wisdom he had, Solomon faltered in a great many areas of his life because of his own pride. His sin nature really got in his way.

Stand firm is repeated in the New Testament in many places. Resist the devil and he's to flee. Reminding him that he's a defeated foe. I really like that last part. He's a prisoner of war trying to change things. There's no other battles that will ever mean anything that Satan's going to try in the near future or in the present. We read in the book of Revelation and other places where it just takes the spoken word of Jesus and it's over. "It is finished!" finished everything. No future battles to be decided. The created being Satan is GOING to spend 1,000 years isolated from mankind. He is GOING to try yet again at the end of that time to muster humanity to fight against the Lord Jesus and will be summarily shut down with the spoken word of the Lord God Almighty.

We are in the midst of a battle and must keep a level head about us. We must keep in mind that passage that says we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free. We must keep our minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. We must keep that armor on at all times. We create moments of weakness when we think it's safe to take it off...and are only listening to both our sin nature and Satan's minions when we choose to take it off.  

There's a quote from a movie about getting a person to take off their coat. You don't ask them to do that, you give them a reason to take it off on their own. 

We can't stand firm if we're not ready for the battle. We cannot battle if we don't understand what is going on. What's going on in the lives of every single Believer is that Jesus is keeping His promise to each of us. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. We are to live lives in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.

Look at your life and what all you've allowed to be included in it.  

What are you carrying around that is bogging you down? What have you felt that you can handle that you really cannot? What is taking up your time that you're not as concerned about growing in Christ as you ought to be? What is it of this world that you 'love' that is a barrier to your growing in Christ? It may LOOK like it's not a hinderance but anything that we desire more than our life in Christ is a hinderance.

Stand firm in the Lord. As has been written you can't carry your own cross and follow Jesus if you're carrying something else too.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

A Life Pleasing to God

A Life Pleasing to God

by David Brenneman 

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:1-17.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24.

It dawned on me this morning after reading in Ephesians the connection to what Paul wrote in Galatians. "Fruit of the Light" and "Fruit of the Spirit" being that connection.

As said in prior posts...the aim of this blog is to both point people to Jesus or to get people to return to Jesus.  

The focus is on Jesus in any case.

What we choose to include in our lives as part of our lives has everything to do with what people see of Jesus IN our lives.

If all we ever talk about is our hobby then they aren't hearing or seeing anything to do with Jesus when we do not reference Jesus at all. If all we talk about are statistics and facts about sports and neglect to speak about what we know about our Savior then we aren't showing Jesus to anyone. If all we do is work and talk about work and not about how God used us that day then people still don't see Jesus.

While we're given a great many things that CAN occupy our time and CAN consume what resources we have we must choose the greater thing as Mary was told when Martha complained to Jesus.

Many of my prior likes of certain things in my life I got rid of out of my life because I knew (and sadly still do) know more about such things than I do or did know about my Savior who saved me. As the quote the other day said there is no Christ AND anything. We cannot be fully devoted to Jesus AND to a hobby or anything else. If a man is married to his Wife, then she comes first after Jesus. Then comes the children. Then comes the rest of the family and friends and the rest of the world. 

Jesus should take first place in our lives over everything and everyone else. Those who wanted to follow Jesus as His Disciples had to make that choice when He walked this earth. They gave up everything to follow Jesus. Just look at the comments of Peter on that subject.

How much of your life have you inadvertantly given over to the world that doesn't belong there but does belong to Jesus?

The fruit of the Spirit, fruit of the Light is supposed to be present in the lives of all who are Believers.  

This comes from a right relationship with Jesus. There's those who live in this world and have lived in this world who will lay claim to having done so much for Jesus, mimicing the fruit of the Spirit, who will get told to depart from Him for He never knew them.

So where's your relationship with Jesus? Where has it been, where is it heading? Where is it right now? What are you doing about making that relationship stronger? What have you put in place of Jesus as first in your life? Can you truly say that you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness?  

The good news is you have been granted the grace and mercy to make the changes that you can make in order to get into a right relationship with Jesus right here right now.  

The question is: Will you pray that prayer? Will you start acknowledging whatever the Spirit is showing you isn't helping your relationship with Jesus?  

Being busy is no excuse. Being restless is no excuse. Being anything is no excuse for not cultivating your relationship with the One who gave His life for you.

Think about it. Have you really honored Jesus in your life by living for the One who saved you?

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

Who's Life is It Anyway?

Who's Life is It Anyway?

By David Brenneman 

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:17-24.

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:22-27.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17.

My Dear Reader...while we yet live in this world, yet further still in this sin cursed body, live it to the full in Christ rather than to yourselves. 

That's what we read in these passages. That's what we are to be in Christ. Examples unto the world of a life surrendered to Jesus and showing that we are not our own but were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 

Yet the lines are so so blurred between many of those claiming to be Christian's and those who are not. Where's the distinction between the two that the Light of Jesus Christ is supposed to produce? Why do so many professing Christians push the envelope of sin rather that abhor sin as much as our Father in Heaven does?

Rhetorical questions these are. For seeking your response in writing I am not. You need to determine who is really going to take first place in your heart and mind. You WILL give an account of your life before Jesus with whom everyone has to do. Your choices to put anything before your full devotion to your walk with Jesus will be clearly seen in that day. 

Dr. Charles Stanley's Trusting God with Today was pointing out that these useless things we latch onto will not help us at all in that day before Jesus.

We cannot serve God AND anyone or anything. There is no Jesus AND anything that's going to benefit anyone in human history.  

Take time to sit and look at where your time goes in a day, a week even. Where does your enjoyment of life come from? Is it found in your everything or everyone else but when you're with Jesus? Do you intentionally meet with Jesus on purpose to share your heart and life? Is what's important to Jesus important to you? A disciple of Christ follows what their Master, Christ, is doing. A few people are written in the Gospels of wanting to do other things, before they follow Christ. Look at what Jesus told them.  

What you pour the most of you into is what's getting your heart. Can be anything and everything from family to sports to hobbies. How often are you personally meeting with Jesus Christ your Savior? Not a drive-by meeting. A real time spent with Him. A true follow through with your commitment to follow Jesus after you gave your life to Him.  

Who's really calling the shots in your life? Do you ever look forward to your time alone with Jesus? More than you do with ________?

What you reveal will tell you where your heart really is. You will see your own proof as to where you stand in growing in Christ. My Dear Reader do something about it now while you still have that opportunity!

Cultivate your time wisely. 

Let go of useless arguments and passions about things of this world that are doing nothing to cultivate a Christ-like heart in your life. 

Who's life is it anyway? If you truly are a Christ-follower then it should reflect that without question in your life.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org

Walk Like It's Worthy

Walk Like It's Worthy 

by David Brenneman 

"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:1-24.

This morning's reading might be long, but remember, when those in Ephesus received it, they listened to the whole letter, probably all in one afternoon or evening.  

We don't know, and perhaps there's not many left in this world, who truly knows what it means to "expect" a handwritten letter from someone as your only form of communication. These people in this Church, eagerly gathered to hear from their beloved Apostle Paul. They would hang on every word spoken aloud. We, on the other hand, skim through the letter only stopping here and there for what seems to 'speak' to us.

My Dear Reader absorb what you read in your Bible. No you may not remember everything or anything you just read but that's ok. Take it in. It is no failure to be persistent in reading your Bible in the face of such an obstacle. The promise of God in this is that His Word never returns void. It always accomplishes what it was sent to do. 

We often don't take really good care in watching what we have allowed into our hearts and minds. We perceive no dangers and thus never ask the Spirit if there are any dangers. We consider ourselves able to discern some things on our own and thereby trip into thinks best left alone. 

Paul wrote of guarding our hearts. The breastplate of righteousness covers that whole area below the neck to the groin and from arm to arm. It's noteworthy that any attack of the enemy of God will try in any way to be an interference to you receiving information from God on His Will for you for JUST TODAY.  

Today. Jesus said with regards to asking, seeking and knocking to not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. So focus on today in your walk with Jesus.  

Protect yourself is perhaps a better description than guard your hearts. You can't go to a gun fight with a knife as I think the quote from a movie is talking about.  

We show up to a Spiritual battle with sticks when the enemy is ready to hit us with whatever he has been permitted to use. Let that sink in. 

Let it sink in really really well.

Satan's in Heaven right this very moment seeking permission to go after the likes of you and I. He is also accusing us of the things we did yesterday.  

I saw a movie clip this morning of a law professor speaking to students. They were ill prepared to act like responsible, respected, lawyers. Whining about how his teaching methods weren't how they learn and not how to teach them. A real lawyer was sitting in on the class and ripped those students for not taking their profession seriously. 

We need to take our responsibility and Ambassadorship seriously in Christ Jesus.  

We need to do more to remove things that we know aren't God honoring from our lives and replace them with time alone with Jesus. 

Do we even know what it's like to go to our room and pray in secrecy to our Father in Heaven?

Do we even know what it means to block out the world and actually put forth the effort and energy to study God's Word?

Do we even know how to pray a prayer that isn't mindless repetition? A prayer from the heart to His heart?

Do we even know what it means to be still before Jesus, sitting at His feet to learn from Him?

These are the things that matter in walking in a manner worthy of the calling we have in Christ Jesus. 

How often do we only go for whatever feels good rather than what's going to challenge us because we really needed that challenge to grow in Christ?

Fair weather living ill prepares us for the storms of life that Satan's schemes are designed to throw at us.  

He comes prepared to do everything and anything he's been permitted by God to do to any Believer. Read Job.  

Are you now reconsidering your life's choices? Good. Are you taking stock in what's in your life that probably shouldn't be there? Good. Is your mind now considering new ways to walk worthy of your calling in Christ Jesus? Fantastic. This is what it means to be doers of the word and not just hearers only. This is where you develop your RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. Where you get to know Him and He gets to know you. Where you begin to grow in Christ's character. 

My Dear Reader I am speaking as much to myself as I am to all of you. We live in a culture of things. Accumulated things that are a waste of time, energy and effort in our attempts at growing in Christ. We sabotage our own walk. We lie to ourselves as to what an idol is and whether or not they're in our lives. We lie to ourselves as to not having sufficient time to spend with Jesus. Jesus said to take up our own cross and follow Him. Drop what you're considering more important than what's important to Jesus. 

Start walking in a manner worthy of your calling. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

Aim Higher!

Aim Higher
by David Brenneman

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21.

The distractions of the world are there because of many things but the biggest is that of keeping the eyes of the children of God off their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

These things that we've included into our lives and the things that are knocking at the door of our hearts to be included might not be the best things to have been allowed into our hearts and minds.

We are peer pressured at a young age to include things, to add things, that those in our world say are trustworthy.  Not realizing that they will be just as much of a trap to us as it was to those who suggested them.

Traps are everywhere.  They invade our minds through ever increasingly intense methods.  We get enticed over and over again with the enemies hope that sooner or later we cave in. 

Aim higher in your desires.  Aim for what the Spirit of God aims to produce in your heart and mind.  Stand guard over your heart.  Really look at what is being protected in Ephesians 6. It's not our physical condition.  It's entirely the spiritual.

If indeed we believe all the Scriptures that teach us the great things about our Lord Jesus Christ then we ought to take seriously everything that the Spirit teaches us about the dangers toils and snares.

Take the Bible seriously about who and what you face in life or you're going to have great troubles and be standing there dumbfounded as to what's going on.

Aim higher.

Paul exhorted the churches to do this.  To look beyond what their eyes could see to that which is unseen.  When the light of Jesus Christ illuminates it exposes everything thought to have been hidden. 

"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:20-21.

We also settle for less when the riches of Christ Jesus are far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think are there before us.

How often do you think outside of your life?  How often do you think of things that are above?  How often are you striving with sin rather than just accepting it as a part of your life?

Aim higher than you have before.  Ask, seek, knock.  Pray on, pray over, pray through.  Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.  Ask that your eyes be opened to what Jesus is doing in your life rather than be ignorant of it.

Get dressed properly in the Lord.
Get an attitude of thanksgiving and ask Him to teach you more of what it means to be in Christ.

Aim Higher!

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

Guard Your Hearts in This War

Guard Your Hearts in This War

by David Brenneman 

"And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” Mark 9:17-29.

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." Psalms 46:1.

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalms 51:10-12.

"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints," Ephesians 6:13-18.

"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:5-6.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." 1 Peter 5:8-10.

Guard your hearts my Dear Reader. There indeed was much to preface today's post but then again I only included what I am told to. There's certainly more that applies to guarding the heart. 

We make the gravest of mistakes in not starting early enough in life at guarding our hearts. 

We are indeed influenced by those involved in our upbringing. We are influenced by the peer pressures of others as we are developing in our school years. We are influenced by technology, television, music, entertainment, sports, the internet, political parties, supposed influncers, and even AI - artificial intelligence. 

We are bombarded by small doses of these influences and some make it through. We can easily make the mistake of believing we can take it, we can handle it, we're smart enough and strong enough to persevere. Never seeing that trap we're about to spring.

We live in this rapid-fire world that has no patience to wait for a proper answer. So what is perceived as good is ran with. 

We all do this. Regardless of what psychology says or purported experts say...what the Bible reveals is what is truth. The facts as revealed in Jesus's day are the same as what's in our world today. 

We are in the same spiritual war as Daniel as Jesus as Paul, Peter, James and Timothy. Satan's schemes are well known but all too often disregarded. Called anything but what they really are. Demon possessed people exist in our world today. Cast out demons move on to someone new who's not saved. Demons cannot inhabit the life of a Believer. They can seek to disrupt the lives of Believers. Satan's schemes are his attempts at lobbying for permission for those things.  

We really don't do enough to guard our hearts. The evidence is in the facts of how few Christians are daily in their Bible. It's not that they don't have the time, their choices made that take up their time are what's at fault. Want to really scare yourself about your phone/internet usage? Look at your combined history on your browser. Add in your television and or other social media usage. There's a scary picture. 

We need to guard our hearts. We need the honest report from God that if there be any wicked way in me to cleanse me of it. We need to cultivate our relationship with Jesus more than those things we have made important in our lives. We need to maybe sacrifice some sleep to maintain our time commitment to be reading our Bible or to be in prayer. We maybe need to shut off a few things or drop a few things that have honestly been consuming our hearts.  

We aren't still here after coming to Christ for our own self gratification or self anything. We are here as workers in His fields. We are here to learn to grow in Christ. We are here to be lights in this present darkness. We aren't here to be experts in useless things.  

We aren't here to be consumed by so much stuff that we have no prayer life. That we have no communion time with Jesus.

Our belief needs help. Our prayers ought to include asking for help with our own unbelief. Our prayers ought to be more about what Jesus wants of us than they are about us.

The last 10 months have been an eye opener of learning for me in the dedicated study time that took the place of some other things in my life. 

We can't know or understand how far removed from what God wants of us unless we pray with earnest to need more of Jesus in us than us in us. 

This battlefield of the mind is real. 

This war over the souls of mankind is real.  

This needing to ask for God's help in getting our hearts protected is essential. 

Lord help my unbelief! Lord grow me in you! Lord create in me a clean heart!

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org

Push

Push
by David Brenneman

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. COLOSSIANS 4:2

What does it mean to devote yourself to prayer? The Greek wording indicates that we are to persevere, stay at it, and refuse to give up. In other words, we should not stop too soon, but keep on interceding.

Of course, this is difficult because most of us are quite impatient with God. We make a request and expect an instant reply from Him. If we don't get it, we quit, thinking, 'The Lord must be angry with me or I guess it's just not His will'. However, Jesus teaches we "ought to pray and not to lose heart" (Luke 18:1). This is because we engage in a spiritual battle as we do business with God. We join the Lord in His war with the forces of darkness. So
we can expect to be harassed because the Enemy wants to keep us off our knees.

But I believe many of us would see the Lord do a great deal more in our lives if we would just persevere in prayer. It's not just some words we send up and expect an instant message in return. It's a battle we engage in the heavenly places, where we're able to see the kingdom of God always prevails.

Jesus, thank You for the gift of prayer. Please help me to continue interceding until You provide the victory. Amen.
- Trusting God with Today, Dr. Charles Stanley.

It's probably the most destructive thing towards the life of a Believer is the disruption of praying. 

We either overextend ourselves, over commit, neglect to plan for, or as Dr. Stanley pointed out, we expect something quickly and when we don't see it, we quit.

Many try using prayer for a way to seek a sign from God for the wrong reasons. 

I know the battles that I face with consistent prayer are constant and varied. 

I have a prayer list.  Pretty well organized too.  I even can carry it with me. Then the various things in my life push to overcrowd that time.

If you've read this blog for any length of time you've probably run across a post or two on the battlefield of the mind. 

Paul eludes to the vastness of this in 2 Corinthians 7:5 "For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts on the outside, fears within.".

Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

In Galatians 5:16 we read "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want."

Galatians 5:19 gives a list of things that are the deeds of the flesh.  Those things get in our way of a Spirit filled life.  They are what we wage war against. 

I know I cannot battle against them on my own.  Nobody can without Jesus and His Spirit to do the fighting for us.  Jesus Himself said in Matthew 26:41 "Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."  Note that this isn't the Spirit of God mentioned here but OUR spirit.

We ourselves are not strong enough nor able enough to go toe to toe with sin.  If we were we wouldn't need Jesus to save us from it.

Perservering in prayer is irrevocably linked to standing firm.  Daniel is the eternal epitome of one who did both.  Even in the face of a twisted edict that the King was tricked into signing into law.   Even the King feared for Daniel's life.  Those who did this heinous thing didn't realized they sealed their own fate as well as their families for when the Lord shut the lion's mouths and saved Daniel, they paid the price.  Them, their wifes, and children.

Daniel also sheds light on delays in answered prayer.  My Dear Reader, NOTHING has changed since the time of Daniel with regards to the battles to prevent prayers from being answered.  Satan has to show up in Heaven every single day.  When there, he's both the accuser of the Brethren, meaning all who are saved in Christ, as well as he's there seeking permission to do things to Christians.  Until the Rapture of the Church this is the way of life.  When Jesus returns to bring His Bride, the Church, home...that's when Satan's shut out of Heaven.  The door to Heaven is closed to the demonic world and all the forces of darkness.

If you haven't yet...watch the movie Overcomer but not for what you think.  Watch it at least once but after that, go to only the section of the big race.  When Hannah's father is coaching her through the race.  His advice in this race can apply to our day-to-day lives.  Fighting and striving to get through when painful, hurtful, annoying, times come to us.

Job faced more unknowns about what was going on in his life than any many who ever lived.  He probably only found out after Jesus decended into Paradise as to why he went through those things in his life that we read about.  When we don't know why we're going through things...just don't consider letting go of Jesus.  Rather know that He's got a hold of us.

Perservere in prayer.
Persist in prayer.

Self-examination sometimes is helpful but praying for our eyes to be opened as to what's maybe in our lives hindering us from a right prayer life requires praying that specific prayer. 

We are easily deceived people. All humanity is.  Born in the weakness of sin, we have to learn what standing is, let alone standing firm.

Sin is going to deceive us into believing what we add to our lives is going to be ok, that there's nothing wrong with this or that.  Yet those things will often trip us up.  Cause us to be on a slipperly slope we never saw coming.

Pray for open eyes and for Jesus to lead rather than us. 

Pray on Pray over Pray through.
Go back and read the book of Daniel...looking at his character.

Many wonder why the Church isn't being very effective...it's because of this very subject.

Push: Pray Until Something Happens

Pray until you're certain Jesus is either saying yes, no, not right now or wait, I have something better in mind.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

This is War, Not a Pajama Party

This is War, Not a Pajama Party 

by David Brenneman 

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:11-20.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we." 2 Corinthians 10:3-7.

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved." Philippians 4:1.

When we came to Christ for salvation it wasn't in anything less than the highlight of a hard fought battle over an eternal soul. There was not accidental epiphany or the stars aligned that ever brought anyone to the point of salvation through Jesus Christ. It was through truth about sin, death and the cross. It required and still requires people committed to prayer over the lost of the world. 

There's no getting up on any day of the week without putting on the whole armor of God. There's no going anywhere in your house let alone outside, across the street or anywhere around the world without suiting up. There's no room to let your guard down when it comes to having an enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.  

Yet we do it.

Yet we get lax in our thoughts. 

We don't look for discernment in many situations where we should because the battle isn't taking a break or a holiday just because it's nice out or we think our schedule has an empty slot. 

We don't really look at the four Gospels at the life of Christ our Savior who showed us a pattern for dealing with life. Life is life regardless of the century. Technology comes and goes. People are the constant. Satan's attempts to improvise are a constant. His daily asking permission to go after various Christians is a constant. His accusing Believers before the Father is a constant. So why would we think that we can relax and take it easy? Simple. Because that's one of Satan's schemes. Know your enemy. 

What are you doing as you begin your day? You get up, maybe to an alarm. You physically get ready in cleanliness then get dressed. Then you check to be sure you didn't miss anything then maybe grab a coffee, something to eat then go about your day. At no point would you honestly consider just getting out of bed and grabbing the keys and pay no thought to going to work that way. You wouldn't just go to even Church that way.  

Yet we don't start a day in prayer, as Jesus did. We don't seek out what God has for us to be doing as Jesus did. We don't look for where the Father is working as Jesus did. We don't consider the ramifications of our choices in the here and now as well as the near future as Jesus did. We don't take up our own cross and follow Jesus as Jesus said to do.  

We think that our perception of safe living is our gift from God so we don't seek Him any further than that. 

We even might pursue possibly Godly things in this world but had we asked God if it was for us to be doing? We don't create the plan of God for us in this life. We follow His plan for us in this life. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. We are not our own workmanship.

So my Dear Reader are you a bit more aware about the real world you really do live in?

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4-9.

We have a life to live in Christ that is absolutely supposed to come before our personal satisfaction or desires of this world. We DO still live in this present darkness that's going to be this way until the Rapture of the Church and the judgments of God take place thereafter. We have dangers around every corner. We have temptations galore to satiate any desires of the flesh. We are the most easiest to be tempted because we can think we can take it, we can handle it, we don't need to fear. 

We are to flee from sexual immorality. Flee from the love of money. Resist the devil and he will flee. We are to not practice sins by just saying that's just who I am. We aren't to embrace any sins of any kind. In fact we are to test everything to see if it at all will cause us ill in our walk with Jesus. 

We deserve nothing of what's available in this world that might be good or seem great. We justify what's in our lives and more often than not we get defensive about things in our lives that do nothing to grow us in Christ.  

Examine yourself...then my Dear Reader don't trust yourself. Ask as David did for the Lord to see of there be any wicked or hurtful way in me. Lead me in the way everlasting.  

Keep that armor on from sun up to sundown. Keep mindful of your thoughts. Listen for the Spirit's leading. Listen to what He brings to mind. He put you in the body of Christ Jesus as He saw fit...are you living in obedience to that or not?

It is a trustworthy saying that our enemy is all over us as he has been permitted by Christ to do so. Nobody is exempt. Be ready.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org

Right Before Your Eyes

Right Before Your Eyes 

by David Brenneman

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:16-26.

Something came to me yesterday afteroon that I find ties in with this passage from Galatians that was part of my morning reading plan.  

Quite often there's those who are seekers of the fruits of the Spirit yet miss the fruits of the sinful body that's listed here too.  We seek the will of God for us in Christ Jesus...which is our sanctification according to 1 Thessalonians 4:3a.  While doing so...we can know if we're being tempted down a slippery slope by the things listed here that are deeds of the flesh.  

Yesterday during this time of understanding...it came to me that there's been times when I have these battles of thought...finding myself mad about things my mind is going through that have no basis in fact.  Situations that have never taken place and I now sit and wonder at the revelation that a question got asked in my mind of "Why are you getting upset and are wanting to do something about something that never happened in the first place?".

We can do that.  We can have whole conversations in our minds about people that have never existed in the flow of time.   We can be so involved in these sudo-conversations that we can become embittered.  Angry. Vengeful.   Sometimes in our dreams these things happen and sometimes during our day when our mind wanders we find ourselves seeing things in our minds that aren't real.  So enveloped in the moment we don't realize we're on the cusp of being deceived into sinful thoughts and maybe actions.

These fruits of the sin nature are just as real as those fruits of the Spirit when they come forth in our lives.  I'm not sure who's quote it was but there's one I read recently is that we are fruit bearer's not fruit creators.   We will bear fruit, either good or bad.  We either bear fruit that is that of righteousness or we bear fruit that is not. It completely depends on where our heart is.

I remember a story about a man who's disposition that he had was always cheerful even in the face of enraged people.  When asked he simply said something to the effect of garbage in garbage out.  What you take in is what comes out.  You take in all kinds of vile things that's what will inevitably come out of you.  

WE choose what comes into our lives more so than we think we do.  Was reading in a devotional last night about something along those lines.  Our choices we make to engage in what the Spirit is wanting us to or not engaging in it will be a huge part of our lives being tried by the fire of truth before Jesus one day.  The opportunities missed because we were too busy, too this or too that.  The times when we had a chance to even have a small part in pointing someone to Jesus that we avoided because of whatever excuse we'll have at the time. 

We can take this list as shown in Galatians and use it as a warning list.  We begin to see these things and we will know that which Paul talks about is about to happen. 

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 

Work is important but what is even more important is that our character reflect Christ while at work.

Family life is important but what is even more important is that our character reflect Christ while with our family.

Jesus sacrified sleep to commune with His Father in the early mornings. 

Jesus often got away from everyone to go talk with His Father.

These, we read, were non-optional for Jesus and if we're taking up our own cross to follow Jesus they ought to be non-optional for us as well.  Even if it means missing a television show, something streaming, or even a football game, baseball game, basketball game or any other hobby we might have.  

While such extras in life might be enjoyable to us they should never take the place of our training in righteousness that we are to be pursuing in Christ.  

Personally I thought it entirely shameful to myself that I knew more, and still often know more, about things of utter uselessness in this world than I did and do about the Bible.  I knew more about fictional characters in books and movies than I did those written about in the Scriptures.  I could quote those things but couldn't really quote a dozen Bible verses.  I could set aside time for those things but wasn't setting aside quality personal time with Jesus or the Spirit in the Word of God.

I was ignorant of these things of the flesh and how they are in opposition to the things of the Spirit.

Are you in that same boat?  Are you excusing your sinfulness in order to not deal with it?

Are you intentional about your time to yourself but not your time with Jesus?

Are you even aware of how much time you spend seeking first your own kingdom here on Earth?

As I've also read recently...tall strong trees do not grow well when there's no challenges in life to cause them to grow that way.  Their roots never have reason to go deep.  Their branches stay content to just be short and look nice as something small.  Big trees have seen the storms, have seen those things and bounce back because they were trained by those battles to dig deep. 

How aware are you of just how much of your life has been you reacting to things in your life that are those things that you should be giving to Jesus to deal with?  

Pray this:  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalms 51:10.

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgresssors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to you." Psalms 51:12-13.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

On the Sidelines or in the Fields?

On the Sidelines or in the Fields?

by David Brenneman 

"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”" Matthew 9:36-38

"And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Luke 10:2.

What are you doing as a Christ-follower? Are you warming the bench or in the game? Are you out in the harvest as the Lord directs or are you watching others while you do your own thing?

The things of the life of a Believer that will count in that day in which we stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives before Him are those things we were called to do and actually did in the fields that Jesus speaks about.

Excuses will be on our lips but the thing is we will be standing before He who is also known as "the Truth".

We either are in the fields as He said to be or we are watching and or ignoring those who are in the fields.  

One of Dr. Charles Stanley's sayings "Obey God and leave the consequences to Him" is actually a repeated theme throughout the Bible.  

We choose to either obey or we choose some other way.   

We choose.  

Something to take to heart is this: even indecision is a decision. Failure to decide is still a choice.

"It's too much for me!" My Dear Reader, of course it is! It's not on what we do in and of ourselves that counts or matters. It's what we are directed to do that we trust God in that we engage in that gives HIM the honor and the glory that points people to HIM and not ourselves.

A thing to remember as well is that there's absolutely nowhere in the Bible where the concept of retirement exists. Yes in the Old Testament we read of when those serving as priests had reached a certain age and they wouldn't serve in that capacity anymore but it did not say they stopped serving. We are 'on the job' 24/7 365 as those called by God through Christ to do whatever He puts before us to be doing.  

A friend often quotes someone else when he says "It's not about me and it's not about now". Our lives in Christ are NOT about us personally. The Spirit's job is to bring about the character of Christ in us so that people see and want what we have.

We are incapable of living a true Christian life without relying on the Spirit of God to do so.  

260 days seems to be a very long time until it's done with. Yet, you can read a chapter a day of the New Testament and read all of it in 260 days. Have you even read that much of your Bible? If you have not...how will you explain not doing so to the One you trusted to save you? "I was busy" will to be a good excuse. "My kids needed me" will not be a good excuse. How will your kids know that your life in Christ is THAT important if they don't see the evidence in your life?

It's a non-optional part of the life of a Believer. Get up early if you have to in order to at least read a chapter a day. Get up a little earlier to at least start your day in real prayer with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Don't keep repeating the same montra day after day. MEAN what you are praying.  

Get out off the side of the road and get into the fields as you are directed by the Spirit of God. It doesn't matter how much experience you have in doing it just get to doing it. I have had dozens of experiences with the Spirit kicking me in the behind to get into a conversation that I had no idea how it was going to go...and true to His Word...He gave me the words to say. A person isn't a worker until they step up to the plate and say "Here I am".

There's a good story about a man who didn't look like much who always walked to a little church every day and prayed a heartfelt prayer. One day the Pastor saw him coming in and had serious second thoughts about him by his looks. After the man explained that he walked there every day on his lunch break to meet with Jesus to talk...and after he had heard what that man had said. It broke the Pastor's heart in a way it needed to be broken. Several months went by and there was always that man coming at his lunch time. Then there was a week when he didn't. The Pastor grew concerned and asked around. Found out he was in the hospital. Gets there an the workers are dumfounded. This man was always happy although no one came to visit him. No cards no flowers. Yet he was always trying to cheer them up. When it was just him and the Pastor he explained that they had it all wrong. He had a visitor every day. Jesus came to hold his hand and to stop by to check in on him. 

That man was still a worker in the harvest with just being himself where he was. Being true to who he was in Christ.  

How about you? Drop any excuses that you have. Let go of any fears you hold to as to your 'why's' of not doing more. We are Ambassador's for Christ while we yet breathe. Which means we DO have a job to do in properly representing Jesus to the world.  

It will be us with the broken heart when we stand before Jesus if we really hadn't done what we were called to do while we yet lived.

It really isn't about us and it's not about now. It's about Jesus and about what He's called us to be doing.  

We either obey and do or disobey and don't. Which would you rather be known for when you meet Him face-to-face?

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org