SPRING AND FALL

Wow! It is good to be back again. Many things have transpired in the past couple of months that you might be interested in, but maybe I will get around to some of those stories at a later date.

Well, winter is a cold time making leaves to fall helping trees to get renewed for another season. I may not like the cold and the wind, but it is needful for growth and fruit. Some fruit trees have to be shaken artificially by a machine because it is necessary in order to be fruitful. Hmmm! Well, we won't talk about that one.

Many trees even have to have a required number of hours in temperatures below 38 degrees for them to bear fruit. Oh how the winter causes everything to look dead. But remember, when you look at a tree that appears dead in the cold grip of winter…you are looking at life under wraps. All living things must have a time of rest. I'm not concerned about the tree living again in the spring…are you?

Well, as a country we may be feeling like we are in a winter season, but God planted this nation and it will bear good fruit in this next season. Don't worry! Pray! I was young and now I am old, yet I have not seen God's people forsaken nor their descendants out begging for bread. Our children will be blessed in this land. Righteousness will win out.

Even if you are in a personal winter season remember, season will follow season until the Lord Jesus returns. In the same way season will follow season in our personal lives. Just remember your circumstance don't have to change for spring and summer to come in awesomeness. Listen for the rain and for the sound of the turtledoves.

Well, I'm firing up the out door heater on my back porch the middle of this month cold or not. I know that spring is just around the corner. I'm getting my binoculars out and focused…the Red tail hawks are due any day after mid-Feb. They're going to build a nest, have babies, feed the babies, train them to fly, and leave in the fall. With my sap rising and the call for fruitfulness ringing in my heart what things will I be able to feel good about this next fall after springtime and summer? Don't say four months and then fruitfulness. The fruit is ripe and the fields are white. Have faith…awesome days are ahead!!! Jump in the river!

 

 

DEVIL PLACES FAITH IN TIMIDITY

The other day Syble was mopping the kitchen floor when I came flying in from the garage. “Be careful where you step…I’m just now getting this thing clean,” she said. I threw on my “brakes” skidding to a stop. She looked and sounded like she was serious. So, I backed out…took off my shoes…then tiptoed through the kitchen.
This made me think of all the places I had tiptoed in my span of life. Let’s see…I have tiptoed across the floor not to awaken someone. I’ve tiptoed in order not to disturb someone in deep thought. I’ve tiptoed past someone when I knew they were out of sorts. I’ve tiptoed in order to avoid stepping on something. I’ve tiptoed so I could make a secret entrance or exit when I would try to slip in or out without anyone knowing it.
I also think I have “tiptoed” around people when I should have been bold as a lion. At some point in my life I may have even tiptoed around the devil. I think I have tiptoed around when I had an “idea” from the Spirit of God and thought others might not agree with it. I can tell you for certain that I’ve had words of knowledge or prophetic insight for others, but “tiptoed” around it. So often I have “tiptoed” because I didn’t want to risk being wrong.
I have a prophetic knowing that the time for “tiptoeing” is over. The Lord did not say, “Everywhere my feet would tiptoe He would give it to me,” but that “Every place on which the sole of my foot TREADS shall be mine.” The Bible goes on to say that “No man shall be able to stand against me; the Lord your God will put the dread of me and the fear of me upon all the land where I shall tread, just as He has said to me.” (I took the liberty to personalize Duet 11:24-25.)
The winds of change are blowing. We are being thrust into a new day. Let’s neither fear man nor what people may think. God is giving us a new way for a new day. We may not have passed this way before, but let’s be bold to take the land anyway. Let’s quit tiptoeing. Let’s begin treading on the enemy and the spiritual land He has given us. We are about to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven in dimensions we have never seen before. This is the only answer for our nation and the nations of the world.

THIS IS THE LIFE

Well, I’ve said very little about the recent surgery on my carotid artery. It’s not because I don’t like to talk about it…I do. I’ve not said much publicly because there are better things to talk about. Other people go through a whole lot worse things, but hardly say anything about it. You know what? Things happen!

I am not sure I even know whether some things are good or bad. I’ve experienced some “bad” things and looked back on it to discover that it really was good for me. Other times I outright rejoiced over “good” things that happened, to later realize they were bad for me.

I’ve decided to rejoice concerning whatever, knowing that God will harmonize everything that happens to me so it will work for my good. I’m not saying that a person is to develop a fatalistic view of life nor is one to let the enemy treat them like a doormat. There are some things we wouldn’t have to go through if we had developed a habit of talking to the Lord with a listening heart. The Father wants to lead us in such a way that we might be able to avoid a lot of hurt. However, I need to have regular attitude checks in order to keep an attitude of gratitude.

Let me end this important reminder with a true story. Syble’s mother and dad lived with us for a few years during the 1990s. Her dad had always been a happy, active, and pleasant man.

During his 90th year we became aware that he had a very serious heart valve problem. It was so serious he was restricted to a wheel chair. He also required an air compressor machine that we placed in an empty bedroom because of the unpleasant noise it produced. It had a long clear plastic air hose that could stretch into almost any room in our home so he could wear it for much needed oxygen.

One cold day in late February I was home studying. Since Syble and her mother had to go grocery shopping I moved into the living room to do my studying so I could be near Aaron, her dad, in case he were to need assistance.

The day was beautiful. It was clear and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was freezing outside so I had a good fire built up in the fireplace. At Aaron’s request I had gotten him a large slice of coconut cream pie from the refrigerator, which he could not have had if the women had been home. He had asked that the drape for the front room bay window be pulled back so he could see out.

Suddenly he said, “Ahhh! This is the life.” There he was…no strength to walk…in a wheelchair…an air compressor hose attached to his nose like a tether, in order to have life-giving air and he said, “Ahhh! This is the life.” I looked at him with an expression of surprise on my face and said, “What do you mean, This is the life?”

I’ll never forget his answer as long as I live. He said, “The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful cold day outside, the fire is roaring in the fireplace, I’m eating my favorite pie and you’re studying the Word of God...This is the life.”

“WAX MYRTLE TREE”

I wonder how many of you have heard of the War of Roses? It was a civil war fought in England between the House of York and the House of Lancaster from 1455 to 1487. You can see from the dates that it was a long, drawn out war, and I’m sure everyone involved wondered if the war would ever end. Well, I feel like I'm in my own war of sorts...the War of the Wax Myrtle Trees. I have trees in our backyard that almost drive me to the brink of total frustration, and so far I have lost every skirmish. What they don’t know, however, is that I hold their destiny in my hands.

They shed leaves constantly! They even fall into our hot tub - and it's covered! All I have to do is barely lift the lid to check the water level and leaves find their way inside. They blow all over the deck and porch. They blow in the back door when we go in and out. Their branches break when their leaves get heavy with rain.

I have managed to keep some level of civility. I have not cursed them, but I have, in fact, been using a powerful weapon. I have been using the “weapon” of blessing. Maybe I have not found the right blessing, as the leaves still fall off, but I discovered that they do have a slightly redeeming quality about them - their branches. They are just the right size to hang two small bird feeders so we can enjoy the birds that flock to the seeds.

Two days ago I started gathering information about this “tree.” I thought, “Maybe I should deal with this situation in an informed way.” What I discovered surprised me! It was not a tree at all; it is a bush. I’ve been “relating” to it as tree when all along it is a bush!! With this tidbit of vital information I now know what to do, but I am not telling a soul.

As I was thinking this over a Bible parable came to mind--Matthew 13:31-32. A mustard seed that was meant to produce a compact mustard plant became a tree with branches so that birds could nest there. In an earlier parable, the parable of the sower, the birds stealing the seed represented Satan, the wicked one.

Do you see this? This mustard seed had an unnatural growth. It was supposed to be a plant not a tree. As a result, Satan nested in its branches. The seed is the word of God. That means when it was planted it had the proper beginning. Then something…some good idea, some philosophy…something interrupted the natural growth.

Could it be that in today’s climate of “instant” everything, instant oatmeal, instant dinners, that we have become an impatient culture? It seems that when someone wants something, they want it right now. Children can hardly wait to be grown.
When it comes to spiritual growth could it be that quick growth becomes our goal rather than just cultivating a deeper relationship with Jesus and leave the rest up to Him? Becoming impatient we often take things into our own hands when what the Lord wants is that we draw near to Him. The children of Israel were told to not take all the land at one time, but piece by piece to insure lasting victory. If we will just “jump into His lap,” He will draw near to us. Then out of that relationship we walk in obedience. Does this kind of growth sound too easy?

In Mark 4:26 Jesus gives a wonderful model for godly growth. A man plants seed then goes to sleep. When he awakens he can hardly believe it…the seed grew, but he didn’t know how. The seed was planted. It sprouted; a small blade came forth, then the head and then the full grain in the head. Finally it was harvested fulfilling its purpose. Here are five grace stages of spiritual growth according to Jesus’ model.

Wow! Do you mean I don’t have to know a lot to mature God’s way? It is not what we know, but Who we know that causes fruitfulness and growth. We are to be faithful to plant the seed in the good soil of our hearts. One day we may look at ourselves and say, “How did I get here?” We may tempted to think that growth comes by what we learn with our intellect only, but that's not so. Please be patient. Draw near to God. Don’t judge yourself by where others appear to be. They may be a "Wax Myrtle Bush" that merely looks LIKE a tree.

EAGER ANTICIPATION

The morning was humid as I sat on the edge of my army bunk. I had been preparing for this day for weeks, if not months. My rifle was clean, my uniform was pressed with military creases, and I had shined my brass. Now, all I lacked were my shoes. Even though I was barely 20 years old, I was required to remove the fuzz on my face in order to look like I had just shaved.

About five thousand other men on our base were doing the same things at the same time. Our regiment was about to march before the review stand filled with “high brass.” We had successfully completed two months of intense training and were considered combat ready. No matter how others may have felt about this occasion, my adrenaline was pumping.

Before I realized it I was standing with five thousand men at one end of the parade field. I felt like what I imagine a horse must feel in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby. Suddenly, we found ourselves moving forward like one body of men to the sound of “Stars and Strips Forever” played by the Army Band. I felt so many emotions all at once...I wanted to cry…to laugh…to explode…to… How could I begin to explain it? Feelings of goose bumps, of hair standing on end, and of honor coursed through my veins as I passed in review before the officers in the stands.

This is very near to how I feel almost every “Resurrection” Sunday--all 52 of them--each year. In the army, I had had my personal equipping and preparation time. And as a follower of Jesus, I also have personal equipping and preparation time. But I’m not talking about outward preparation only, although I don’t want my breath and body odor to cause people to give me a lot of room; I’m talking specifically about the kind of exciting, daily walk with the “Lover of our souls” we have. It’s the kind of walk that causes us to long to be with other believers and exalt His name together. God puts a hunger in us that causes us to want to press in, like horses at a starting gate, eagerly anticipating our time to together before the Creator of the Universe.

On Sundays, or any other day for that matter, when I am worshipping with other believers before the King of Kings as “one new man,” I have almost the same feelings as I did back in the army. All week I have polished up on raising my hands, singing, rehearsing God’s word, and loving as many others as possible. I feel like that Kentucky Derby horse must have felt, eagerly anticipating the race.

Then when the Spirit begins to reveal Christ in our midst in a tangible way, I can hardly contain my feelings. In worship I am not only one with all my family by faith, but I also get to be one with them in action.

Obviously, King David was committed to worshipping privately and publicly…privately on Mount of Olives and publicly with the congregation. In Psalms 111:1, he says, “Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” (NKJ) I believe David could hardly wait to get to the worship service to praise the Lord.

Hebrews 12:23, says that we have come to Mount Zion…to an innumerable company of angels and to the “general assembly.” This term “general assembly” in the Greek text is a single word which being translated means “a public festival.” C’mon!!! Let's have a public festival together and experience the touching of the hem of His garment so His blessings will flow.

THE DEVIL’S TRAP

A couple of weeks ago I decided to surprise Syble by finishing out our living room floor. There were some places in front of the doors that didn’t get the proper coatings of stain and gloss at the time we did the rest of the floor.

I knew she would be very pleased when she got home from shopping. She had been badgering me …well…I should say asking me to finish the floor for a day or two, or maybe a week…would you believe maybe a month…?

I had a feeling I needed to buy a special applicator from the nearby Lowe’s, but that would take precious time. Besides, I had a brand new brush that I had purchased from one of those special sale carts…you know the kind carts you see near the check out counters full of sale or clearance items? “Anyway,” I said to myself, “a brush won’t make that much difference.” Not!

To my amazement it bubbled up and stayed bubbled up! When Syble got home she said, “Wow! How did you do that? Look at all those bubbles! That looks weird! You may have to consider doing the whole the floor over in order to make it all match.” Now I have this huge task facing me. I am not a floor “stainer” or “glosser.” But now, because of a bad thought, I am in work up to my eyebrows.

As much as I would like to place the blame on the devil, I realize I acted on a bad thought. I believed a lie about the brush. I realize it is not going to significantly change my future, but I had much rather be at a movie eating popcorn than redoing the floor,

We have been given the shield of faith to quench the thoughts from the enemy. The devil will show no mercy. He is even interested in little things that will likely cause any kind of confusion. He will put lies in our mind, and those lies will affect our future in an unhealthy and negative way if we act on them. Think about it!!! Consider past lies you have believed that would have made your life totally different had you not believed them.

We have a tendency to believe bad news about ourselves, others, and events without any factual proof. We often accept all bad news as factual. When people hear something bad about someone they lick their lips and salivate even in the absence of facts.…just a report. However, when someone hears something really good that happened, they often say, “That is too good to be true…has anyone checked this out?”

We need to check things out…check out the bad reports we hear about ourselves in our mind. He will try to paralyze us because of our past by the telling us we can never be forgiven and accepted just as if we had not done those things. They are lies if they don’t line up with the promises of the Word of God. We are no longer the children of the bondwoman (Gal. 4:21-31), but we are the children of God to whom His promises belong.

One last thought before I close. Joseph’s brothers told their father, Jacob, a lie concerning their brother’s fate. They even provided him with false evidence. The Bible account says nothing about them telling their father that Joseph was dead. Here is what they did…they dipped Joseph’s tunic in the blood of an animal. Then they showed it to their father. They said, “We have found this (false). Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” Jacob said, “It is my son’s tunic (true). A wild beast has devoured him (false). Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces (false).”

Observe the fiery darts the devil put in Jacob’s mind? Not just words, but graphic images…”torn to pieces.” Remember, the brothers did not tell him that Joseph was dead. Jacob jumped to the conclusion that an animal had killed him. As a result he lived in the bondage of depression for many years (Genesis 37). The devil set a trap and Jacob fell for it.

The devil will communicate lies to us in many ways. In some cases, he may produce false evidence that looks real. He is the father of lies. The devil is shrewd; therefore, we must be wise. Get the truth! Dig it out of the Bible. You are a child of promise not bondage.

Have A Lettuce Day

Let me ask you a question. Has everything in your life turned out just the way you thought it would? Well, neither has mine! Young and old alike form expectations and dreams of how they think life will turn out be. Take a newly married couple for example. They may come to an agreement on how many children they want to have and where they want to live. Everything is planned out perfectly – often times even before the wedding ceremony! Now fast forward 5 or 10 years – from your experience, is it likely to turn out the way they thought it would? Probably not!

Consider what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done.” (Eccl 1:9, NKJV) Another way it could be said is this: “What has been done is just flat out done, period. Nothing can be done to change the past.” The past really is a settled fact. Oh, how we wish we could go back to do some things differently! I bet the majority of us reading this have something in our mind right now that we wish we could change – or we wish we could have a shot at a re-do.
Some of us might even agonize over the past. A friend of mine used to have what they called a “list of regrets” – the top ten things they would re-do and deeply regretted; this list of things would be rehearsed when anything went wrong. But, no matter how many times it was rehearsed, and no matter how badly you might want to change something or do something different, it will not change the event or the consequences.

I am convinced our western culture has been so brainwashed concerning the temporary that the reality of what God has prepared for those who love Him is overshadowed. Many today are so distracted by what is going on around them that they rarely think about eternity. This life is too fleeting to live it in the past focusing on regrets. We must come to grips with the transitory nature of things like pets, possessions, accomplishments and positions. These things come and they go.

We must recognize the moment…fully enjoying and celebrating the good things as they come, and fully releasing the troublesome things that hurt. Only one thing of the past can be changed….the way the we think about it. We must not let the past become our focus or weigh us down if we are ever to walk in the fullness of joy that Jesus has provided for us.

Some people have committed heinous acts against others. Some have made blundering mistakes that have damaged their finances, their families and/or their future. However, those things are final. They cannot be changed. We must quit “squirrel caging” those things in our thoughts. We cannot live in the past and live in today at the same time.

The word of God says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)” God didn’t say tomorrow is the day of salvation or yesterday was the day of salvation, but TODAY is the day of salvation. While we should learn from the mistakes of the past, we should also dream of the future. However, we should live today. A friend of mine says it this way, “Live life like we drive a car, looking through the large front windshield of the future and only glance in the rearview mirror of the past.

As believers in Christ we get a brand new life that can be renewed day by day. We are a new creation in Him. I realize our memories may never be forgotten, but the pain of them can be healed which will set us free. It will never “bug” us again and it will free us from the control of the past.

Please, let’s quit believing lies because of things of the past. The devil will put things in our mind like, “If only I would have…” or “why did it happen,” or “who is responsible?” Instead, we should ask the Holy Spirit, “Now that it has happened WHAT would you have me do?”

God has chosen to forget our past failures. Why don’t we make the same choice!!! I believe having some “lettuce” each day will transform our lives. Come on! Let’s start it today. Have a little “lettuce” right now. Okay, are you ready? Let’s proclaim with the Psalmist;
“THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, “LETTUCE” BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN IT.” (Psalm 118:24)