HOW TO LITERALLY HOLD ONTO GOD!

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

—2 Peter 1:3-4

When the apostle Peter mentions how God “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” he can’t help but look forward to the way God will follow through on His “precious and *very* great promises.” The word great means more than size. It’s also a measure of quality, and this dual understanding applies to what God promises to do for us.

Why are God’s promises great? 

First, because they come from a great God. His promises are huge because of who said them. Would you believe your four-year-old if he said in his best grown-up voice, “I promise I’ll make enough money to put food on the table next month”? A promise’s reliability is tied to the one who is making the commitment—and to their ability to fulfill it. (Selah)

Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord . . . and his greatness is unsearchable.” 

We might as well admit we don’t have a clue how great God is because no one can discover the limits of His greatness. There are none. BUT His promises allow us to explore and experience a measure of how great He really is.

A second note of greatness in God’s promises comes from the way they address great issues.Don’t search the Bible for divine assertions about superficial things. God doesn’t do that. The promises He makes are about big things: fear, unknowns that would paralyze us regarding our future, our family, and our finances. If your god can’t promise you anything bigger than an occasional good parking place or a husband or wife and a decent job your god is way too small!

God’s promises are also great because they respond to our deepest doubts: Am I going to make it? What’s going to happen up ahead? Who will care for those I love when I’m gone? God makes promises about this kind of uncertainty so we won’t have to wonder and worry.

As David declared, “I would have despaired if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13 NASB). His encouragement can be yours: I’m not going to have to wait until heaven—I’m going to see God’s goodness right here on this earth while I’m still alive.

God told Jeremiah “I am the Lord . . . Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). Sometimes we look at our needs or our overwhelming circumstances and we feel beaten before we start. But God asks, What exactly is it that you think I can’t handle? To which we would have to reply, Nothing is too hard for You, Lord.

Does that give you courage and hope? 

It should. Holding on to God’s promises is the closest we get to actually holding on to God. His promises come from a great God, they’re about great issues, they respond to our greatest concerns, and God always delivers on them in the greatest ways.

Based on what you just read, what reasons do you have right now for being able to say, “I’m doing great”? How have you seen the greatness and goodness of the Lord in the last few days? Pray Lord, You are great and Your promises are great. I realize I haven’t begun to experience all You have to show me of Your greatness, but I long to have You make me alert to the evidence. I want to look for Your goodness in the land of the living and point it out to others as I let it renew my hope. Thank You for Your great promises, Lord. Because they come from You, they make today worth living. In Jesus’ great name I pray, amen.

GET SOME "UGLY SLEEP!"

This post is inspired by Camille LeNoir. This parable that we call  "Ugly Sleep" is found only in Mark 4:26-29:

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Jesus said "Go To Bed!" 

Jesus had already spoken parables of the Kingdom being like sowing a seed, but in this parable, he gives us the secret knowledge of how it works. 

We love to understand how things work so we feel like we are more in control; we love the how to messages that fill in the blanks with the knowledge we need to be happy and a bit more holy.

But in this parable Jesus explains how the Kingdom works when the seed is sown by telling us “the seed sprouts, and grows though the sower does NOT know how.” You may say that is not an explanation, but a mystery--and you’d be right!! How the Kingdom works is beyond our understanding, BUT!.... it does work! 

Can you live with that? 

(Seriously, think on that!) 

I am very cautious about anyone who is an expert about how God works. The longer I walk with Jesus the less certain I am about ALOT of things.  The more I learn about the Kingdom the less I really understand. This is ugly theology, but trust transforms it into beautiful childlike faith.

In essence, Jesus tells us that after we have done our part by sowing in faith, (bible reading that we didn't understand,  praying for family and friends to know God, charity work, other types of petitions, and the like) ALL we can do is ...... go to bed! 

GET SOME UGLY SLEEP! 

The alternative, which I used to select often, is to stay up striving, worrying, fearing, and doing some faithless praying. 

One of the best examples in my life would be Evonne's teenage years.  I sowed the seed over and over in my kids heart, by example, singing over it, praying for it, crying about it, shouting at it to grow, but rarely did I just go to bed in perfect peace knowing that in the hiddenness and silence God was powerfully at work. 

It is a battle to believe that God’s seed is more powerful than a persons rebellion.

Jesus goes on to describe the growth of the seed as producing “all by itself.” 

The word Mark uses, automato, is only found one other place: in Acts 12:10 where a huge iron gate that is locked “opens for them by itself,” so Peter is able to escape from prison. 

This word is of course where we get our word automatically. Jesus says that the seed needs no help from us, leaving us in a place of humbleness and helplessness. 

Once we have done our part, we must believe that God is faithful to do His. The miracle of resurrection is the basis of our faith for which we wait on Holy Saturday while the “seed is planted.” We will not know how, but we will know who is working. 

Is it enough for you to see no evidence, hear no noise of work going on, to stand helplessly by knowing there is nothing God needs from you, but to go to bed -in trustful peace?

The sower went about his daily life being faithful to his responsibilities, knowing that in the unseen, the underground Kingdom was at work ready to break forth at any moment. 

This hope floods the ordinary moments of life with Kingdom expectations. Free from the need to understand in order to believe and be delivered from the false responsibilities of trying to make His seed grow, we rest in Him.

In many ways going to sleep is like dying, in fact, the New Testament refers to dead believers as “sleeping.” I am not sure teaching little children the traumatic prayer “now I lay me down to sleep, and pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray my soul the Lord to take” is the best way to get this truth across. Jesus teaches us in this parable, that one of our greatest acts of faith is going to bed with a complete trust that while we sleep He is working, and His kingdom is advancing.

In sleep, we are completely helpless, and totally inactive depending on Him who never slumbers or sleeps. (Ps.121:4) 

The seed will sprout all by itself in the miracle of resurrection, and we will not know how it happened, but we will certainly know Who made it happen. 

Yes, God is working while we sleep, and while we live our ordinary lives, but it is usually unseen and without noise.

To be Kingdom people we must embrace our helplessness, knowing He does not need our help. We should celebrate our ignorance of how His Kingdom works, while we in faith expect the blade to sprout up. TONIGHT, why not try laying your head on the pillow in faith, and practice dying?

Get some “Ugly Sleep,” knowing God is at work.

A tall DECAF, so you can SLEEP! 

Now..... GO TO BED! 

Robbs 

WORSHIP THAT ISN'T WORSHIP

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 

—John 4:23 

The passage we have been studying includes the most influential verses regarding worshipping God. 

How better to understand whether or not our worship is authentic than through the words of God through His Son. When Jesus says, “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” He provokes us to wonder if we are among the congregation “the Father is seeking.”

By mentioning “the true worshipers,” Jesus is also indicating there are false ones. There are those who *practice*worship and  those who pretend to worship- a distinction that leads to the question: which are you? A true worshiper (whom the Father seeks) or a false one? To put it in simpler terms; do you reeeeaally value God? Is your worship authentic? 

Before you answer, you may want to submit to Jesus’ test. In verse 22, He pointed out to the woman at the well that she was an ignorant worshiper: 

“You worship what you do not know.” 

We face the same dilemma and choice that she did -between worshiping a god out of cultural traditions or worshiping the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, through the study of scripture. 

The choice is ours.

But ignorant worship is only one kind of false worship. 

Another is hypocritical worship—when you show up for church to get an “A” for attendance, but your heart is far from God. You may go through the motions, but you're really not "feeling-it!" 

Yours might be the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. You know your life is a mess and that God offers something far better, but you’re still not ready to give up the charade of independent living. You’re idolizing a false freedom that is actually bondage. Many of us can identify with that part of the story.

Or maybe you're not the prodigal son, but his older brother. You're the one who always did the right thing, always said the expected things. You carry your Bible, but your heart is also far from God—that’s hypocrisy too. You get an “A” for performance; you look the part, sound convincing, but when it comes to knowing and being surrendered to Christ you get an “F” for reality. Friends may be fooled by appearances, but God looks at the heart. You can’t fool Him with hypocritical (acting like) worship (you value Him above ALL things.)

True worship also rejects apathetic participation. Nominal Christians have an apathy that is apparent—they look like they can’t wait to get out of a Christ-centered gathering.  When songs of exultation are being sung to the Most High, they're hearts are not stirred, they're looking around, minds are wandering, and the whole assembly seems to be a moot point. 

It's a tragic condition if you can see God touching other people and moving in their lives, but feel nothing yourself—and it doesn't even bother you. 

Apathy has no part in true worship. 

Has ignorance, hypocrisy, or apathy crept into your worship? Are your “lights on but no one’s home” when you're with other believers who are exalting the Savior? If any kind of false worship has "become" your "current" practice, thank God for making you aware of it!!!  Ask Him to help you surrender in serious adoration. 

Carve out some time, right now, to meet with Him by yourself. Read the Gospels and reflect on who He is (His attributes! "Lord You are...") and what He's done for you ("Lord You are my...") - and what He is still working in you! (His promises! "Lord I know You ... ). 

Prepare your heart now, stir up your affections so you can state His worth, and value in spirit and truth.

• Which aspect of false worship do you struggle with most: ignorance, hypocrisy, or apathy?

• For each of these, what is one positive step you could take to address this issue in your life?

I post these blogs because I have been all of them and can be again..... the past 3 years have found me taking valiant strides to practice staying in the Presence of God, and seeing Him at work around me in everything, thus growing in experiencing Him personally hour by hour. And worshiping Him in Spirit and Truth! 

I wanted to share. 

Pray with me: 

Lord, I can’t think of a more self-destructive pattern than calling something true worship when it is ignorant, hypocritical, or apathetic. And yet I confess that these problems infect my worship. I am prone to wander into these attitudes or practices that take me away from You rather than toward You. O God, burn away in me the chaff and stubble of these false things and kindle a flame of longing for true worship of You in spirit and truth. Teach me as You draw me to Yourself. In Jesus’ Life-Giving, and Sin-Mortifying name, amen.

A "To-Go" cup! 

Robbs

WORSHIP DEFINED

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. 
—Exodus 20:4-5

When we allow anything to accumulate on the table of our heart and mind, occupying our time and attention in a worshipful (treating it as valuable) way—that’s a problem. But sweeping all of those things off the table so only God remains as the object of our worship aligns with our ultimate reality. We are for Him, breathing for Him, living for Him, and spending our lives for Him. God as the center of our attention is the essence of "WORTHship."

The second commandment reminds us we have a capacity for creating idols and false gods: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” Creating an idol isn’t just making an image. More often it’s placing godlike values on something -that can’t possibly accomplish what only God can do. 

Whenever we worship what is created instead of our Creator, we end up with nothing but the wrath to come.  The warning in this commandment is one of the reasons we come are taught live in community: to sweep our idols off the table.

Do you know what most often distracts our valuing, cherishing, and treasuring God above all things are? I asked 50 people and here are the top five answers:

5. Our families. We let our children or our spouse get in the place of God. This puts the salvation of the entire family in jeopardy. 

4. Money and posessions. We easily worship things instead of God. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). When we worship God, we treasure Him and recognize His worth.... all else looks like trash and fodder!! Especially a paper dollar.-- But more often than many admit... we set our hearts on & trust in—our money & our stuff—it displaces God and we’re in danger of His wrath. .

3. Sports figures and celebrities. We worship people when we think “Oh, if only I could be like him.” "He is 'The Man!" "I'm imitating that swag! I need them Jordans!" That’s worship!!  Do we recognize the convicting accuracy of a television program named American Idol? People are worshiping other people!! 

No BUENO! 

2. Our careers and accomplishments. We trust these fragile, temporal achievements to give our lives meaning and significance—the very qualities only God can supply. Don't believe me? Look at how many Christians react when they lose their "jobs." 

We are not to grieve like one who has no hope. 

Now for #1!! 

1. Ourselves. We turn our needs and wants into our highest pursuit. When we won't allow anyone, not even God, to get in the way of what we desire, we’re worshiping the idol in the mirror.

The discipline of worship is a deliberate act where we sweep clean the table of our hearts & minds and remove all the false gods who would claim our worship. 

We gather with others god fearing believers in God’s presence and ask Him to burn away every worthless thing that would crowd out His rightful place. 

That’s worship at its best and it's where God shows up in GLORY!! 

Whatever we find worthy thinking about, our emotions, our time and our energy, is essentially what we find WORTH and Value in. It's what we worship. 

God is to be ..... THAT. 

It's the greatest commandment and every single thing in the bible "hangs" on THAT! 

Pray with me: 

Lord, I know tangibles (people, things, jobs) can seem more real because I can touch them or see them, but they are absolutely unable to substitute for You. They lead me in false directions and always let me down. What I create can’t possibly be the God who created me. Lord, You alone are worthy of my humble and trusting surrender. Father grant me Your grace to depend on no one or nothing as I depend on You. Thank You for Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ Most Precious and Promise Keeping name, amen

IGNORANT WORSHIP

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” 

—John 4:19-22

Here's an interesting transition into talking openly about spiritual matters: “You worship what you do not know.” 

This is how Jesus extended His conversation with the woman at the well, and it's an important statement for us to consider.

The woman had just made what she probably thought was a very tolerant comment about the equal validity of Jewish and Samaritan religious practices. 

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 

Fast forward to our culture today and think about the responses people give when Christ comes into a conversation. People may say spirituality is very important, but asking what they mean by that usually provokes a focus on their church traditions and learned practices: “Well, I think you should believe in Jesus, get baptized, go to church,and basically-   spirituality should be part of life in whatever way is meaningful to you.”

But "whatever way is meaningful" is not biblical worship or even *serious* thinking about God. Jesus would rightly say to many today what He said to the woman, 

“You worship what you do not know.”

No one just enters into a "random worship" relationship with God—thus Christ's gentle rebuke is universal. 

He is telling us this out of great love, to get us to a heart and place of truth. 

You can’t pick and choose the parts of the Bible you like. You can’t embrace parts of God that feel desirable to you and say, “Well, this is the God that I want: all love, no wrath; all grace, no justice, all pleasure, no pain; all convenience, no conviction.” 

If you try, you’ll end up with something else. True worship requires understanding. 

There is a real God. He wrote a real book and He has a real Son. And you can worship Him, if you do the second thing Jesus told this woman. 

“We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” Think about that. 

Understanding leads to relationship. Personal knowledge is where worship (worth-ship: extoling His value) has to begin—it flows out of a real knowing, a real experience with the Spirit through a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

In saying “salvation is from the Jews,” Jesus was referring to the Old Testament record of God’s redemptive plan for all mankind; forming the nation of Israel. (Unity of the Bible: Daniel Fuller). 

All the promises given to Abraham, the first five books of the Bible given to Moses, and Christ Himself, the long-promised Messiah, are all Jewish in heritage. So He could rightly make this salvation claim.

And true salvation leads to true worship—it is knowing wrath resides on you, then seeing a savoring the beauty of Christ who is the image of God, embracing Gods grace by putting your faith in Him, the forgiveness of sins, rescue from the road to wrath & hell, and the gift of living to enjoy him forever. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Have you really considered your sinfulness? Have you considered what wrath is? (-it's not taught in most churches-) Have you considered the gift of being made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ? Have you turned away from your sin (by His grace) and asked for His forgiveness? 

If you think you might have, you haven’t. But you could move from haven't, to knowing with certainty—

Trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation is the most important decision you will ever make. And there is no authentic worship (valuing, delighting in, cherishing, or treasuring Christ) apart from that decision—it has to start with a relationship with God in Christ. That’s the beginning of worshiping Someone you know. He is made known through His word. Read it and look for Him. How He thinks, what He does, why He does it, why He says what He says.......

Don’t roll the dice on this one. 

Salvation is a really big deal. 

Pray with me:

Lord, thank You for the priceless gift of knowing Your Son, whom to know is eternal life. Thank You for revealing Yourself as the God who wants to be known, enjoyed, trusted, and worshiped with all I have. Thank You for showing me that knowing You is open-ended and ongoing—I will spend all of life and every moment of eternity and never get to the end of knowing You. The more i know You, the more i will want to worship and love You with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. For You alone are worthy. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Don't let this cup of coffee go to waste! This cup is on the house! 

Robbs

SUFFERING THAT STRENGTHENS FAITH

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (James 1:2–3)

Strange as it may seem, one of the primary purposes of being shaken by suffering is to make our faith more unshakable.

Faith is like muscle tissue: if you stress it to the limit, it gets stronger, not weaker. That’s what James means here. When your faith is threatened and tested and stretched to the breaking point, the result is greater capacity to endure.

God loves faith so much that he will test it to the breaking point so as to keep it pure and strong. For example, he did this to Paul according to 2 Corinthians 1:8–9,

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not in ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

The words “but that was to” show that there was a purpose in this extreme suffering: it was in order that Paul would not rely on himself and his resources, but on God — specifically the future grace of God in raising the dead.

God so values our wholehearted faith that he will, graciously, take away everything else in the world that we might be tempted to rely on — even LIFE itself. His aim is that we grow deeper and stronger in our confidence that HE himself will be all we need.

He wants us to be able to say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26).

Brief and Powerful. 

Like a shot of espresso. 

You'll need this cup for the days ahead. 

Robbs

SUFFERING THAT CRUSHES FAITH!

“They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:16–17)

The faith of some is broken instead of built by suffering. Jesus knew this and described it here in the parable of the four soils. Some people who hear the Word receive it at first with gladness, but then "suffering" makes them fall away.

So affliction [joblessness, poverty, being hurt in relationships, singleness, unfulfilled material dreams, etc] does not always make faith stronger. Sometimes it crushes faith. And then come true the paradoxical words of Jesus, “The one who has not, even what he has will be taken” (Mark 4:25).

This is a call for us to endure suffering with firm faith in future grace, so that our faith might grow stronger and not be proved vain [unsuccessful, false] (1 Corinthians 15:2). “The one who has, more will be given” (Mark 4:25). 

Knowing God’s design in suffering is one of the main means of growing through suffering.

If you think your suffering is pointless, or that God is not in control, or that he is whimsical or cruel, then your suffering will drive you from God, instead of driving you from everything but God — as it should. 

So it is crucial that faith in God’s grace includes the faith that he gives grace through suffering.

Embrace suffering, because God is sovereign over our pain. Ask Job, David, Paul, Peter, and Robbie! They'll show you! 

This is a 5 Shot Americano, and a hard truth for many to swallow. I hope you swallow it. Your place in eternity depends on it. 

Robbs

I WANT TO BELIEVE!!!

"HELP MY UNBELIEF!" -Thomas

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 

—John 20:24-25

The resurrection of Yeshua was the BEST possible news the disciples could have received, yet not everyone was immediately on board with the story. Thomas was absent when the Lord made His group appearance on that Sunday evening, and gave a skeptic's response to the announcement that the other disciples had been with the risen Lord: “But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’”

Some have been very cruel about Thomas’ reaction. He seems kind of demanding and disrespectful. Who does he think he is? But I beg to differ, they were not prideful. I can totally relate to him.  You see, Thomas simply *wanted to believe,* and he wanted his faith to be authentic.

John 20:20 holds an important detail in Yeshua's  original appearance:

 “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.” 

Thomas was only asking for what he had missed. He was expressing a willingness to believe based upon the *same evidence* given to the other disciples around him. His request was not unreasonable. He didn’t want to doubt; he wanted to believe!

Thomas sincerely longed for what the other disciples had experienced. He was gathering the wood and getting a match—he wanted a faith ON FIRE!  He wanted to be as excited as the others.  

Thomas named the obstacle and was looking for the reasons he too could stand on authentic faith in Christ. This is the lesson: faith is set ON FIRE when you name the obstacle.

Identify the obstacle to faith in your life. I got hurt. I have a question I don’t have an answer for. I’m discouraged. I don’t honestly understand how Christianity can be true. Now bring it before the Lord: 

“God, this is the barrier between You and me.” 

Produce your strong reservations and give God an opportunity to put faith where there’s unbelief. Once you have honestly prayed this way, give God time to answer. Wait on Him.

This is not a casual challenge. 

If you have unbelief in your heart,  get on your knees every night before you go to bed and bring your barrier before God. You are expecting Him to provide an answer. Pray every day for thirty days. Fast. Hunger for God. God did not disappoint Thomas and He will not disappoint your genuine approach.  Name the obstacle before God and He will set your faith ON FIRE!   

Lord, keep me from ignoring little and big questions. I don’t want to accept any obstacles that come up between You and me. Don’t let me pretend they are not a challenge to me. 

Instead of letting unbelief undermine my faith in You, show me how they can strengthen my faith. I want to trust You with the obstacles in my life so I can see how willing You are to remove them and draw me to Yourself. 

Teach me to consistently be a Hebrews 11:6 person: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” 

In the Faith giving name of Yeshua, I pray-amen. 

[Some Personal obstacles for me are: Loving my enemies, praying for those who persecute me and blessing them, loving people by sharing with them the inevitability of their death, God's wrath and the state of their unrepentant soul...among others. This lesson is for me. Just thought I'd share it with you!] 

VENTI SOY ZEN MISTO no water. 

Robbs

MAKING GOOD OUT OF BAD

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 
—2 Corinthians 12:7

God allows bad things to happen to good people. He doesn’t "cause" them, but He doesn’t always prevent them either. God let the apostle Paul suffer a “thorn . . . in the flesh.” He explained that God allowed “a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul understood that God consented to this pain in his life for a reason. He permitted a demon “to harass,” or “buffet” (NKJV) Paul. The word “buffet” means to strike with a fist or beat. But God had a purpose: to keep the apostle from becoming proud.  Pride KILLS! 

Looking back over an extended season of harassment, Paul mentioned twice his understanding of the *specific danger* God was preventing by allowing him to experience hardship: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” 

There were privileges Paul had been given (a personal interview with Jesus on the road to Damascus, a call to take the gospel to the Gentiles, numerous miraculous events in his life, etc.) that could have fostered a prideful and arrogant attitude in him. The “thorn” made it almost impossible for Paul to feel self-important. His example contains significant lessons for us.

The world is on its course, and God doesn’t often step in and alter the ways the effects of sin visit themselves randomly upon creation. God lets trials happen to Christians just like He lets them happen to pagans, so the superiority of the life lived in God can be demonstrated. The majority of the world is choosing NOT to worship God, but a few of us, by His grace, can draw upon His promised resources to get us through.

God did not cause the horrible events in your life, but you need to embrace the fact that He allowed them. He could not make a world in which we are free and at the same time guarantee everyone would choose Him. So the world is broken and bad things happen. But God promises He will be with those who love Him. He will bring us through the fire, and we will come forth as gold.  Hold onto that. 

God is always sovereign. He is so much in control that even when Satan tries to ruin our lives, God takes the weapon Satan wants to use to destroy us and turns it into a good thing. He says, If you will lean hard on Me in the midst of this difficult time, I’ll take that thorn and make it for your good.

We all have a thorn—something the Lord has allowed into our lives that Satan meant for our destruction, but God has turned around or wants to turn around to help us grow and change.

Ask God today for the confidence to choose to trust Him with whatever tool He has chosen to use in your life. You can make that choice with His help, and reap the benefits as He brings good out of the bad.

I seriously hope this helps somebody overcome.  If it doesn't help you now, put it in your back pocket...it WILL help you soon! 

Pumpkin Spice Latte with Whip! 

Robbs

LACKING IN NOTHING?

Everything You Need

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

—James 1:2-4

One of the great pains of life is that things are not always the way we desire or want. But get this: God makes sure we have EVERYTHING we need. James 1:2-4 tells us God even gives us trials [definition: the act of testing something; trying something to find out about it; annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event]—because He knows they are (in ways we don’t always understand) exactly what we need.

That’s why James writes, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds . . . And let "steadfastness" have its "full effect," that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Now, the “count it all joy” part is the "Killa from Manilla" for many of us, because we immediately think God is telling us to smile in our difficulties or be happy when the hammer of hardship falls on our heads. 

Joy is much deeper than any superficial emotional response.  Joy is the "settled awareness" that God still has everything under control.  [Look for my next blog post Suffering & Sovereignty]. Joy can be just as real whether we have tears rolling down our cheeks or a smile on our face.

When the Scripture says God is working everything out for the (ultimate) good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), that doesn’t mean we’re going to have everything we desire.  But James 1:4 tells us our joyful steadfastness (our endurance) leads to us being “perfect,” “complete,” and “lacking in nothing.” Consider these great terms that describe what God wants to give us.

Perfect—we will have all the CHARACTER we need to HONOR God. The original term means “mature.” The process of joyful endurance produces followers of Yeshua who are spiritually grown up.  

Complete—we will have all the relationships we need to nourish and sustain us. This doesn’t mean “arrival,” but having all the pieces in place for continued growth.

Lacking in nothing—we will miss out on nothing that would give us 100 percent satisfaction in  God. 

This is about God! This is about His Glory! 

If you are perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, then you have everything you need to do everything God wants you to do. 

You can show the world the superiority of the life lived in God. You become God’s exhibit—once more it’s not about you, it’s about what God is doing in and through you to His glory. 

Those who know you best will still recognize that you are fully human and capable of various shortcomings and sins, but they will also witness the real work God is doing in your life. And they will note your joy. 

Every problem you face is allowed by God for your ultimate good. In part, that good includes your ability to discern the difference between needs and wants. 

Today if you endure, God promises to give you what you need. Ask God for joy no matter what you are facing. In a little while, in heaven, He promises to give you everything you could ever need, want and more.

Lord, I know I don’t thank You enough for the difficulties You allow in my life. And I admit it would be difficult for me to ask You for more! But I know the hardest moments of life have led to my deepest longings for You, my clearest understanding of Your ways, and my most significant steps forward in growth. 

Thank You for Your amazing patience in waiting for my thanks to flow after the fact more often than during the trial. Please continue to teach me that what I need for tomorrow and the rest of life is what You are providing through hardship today. In the life giving name of Yeshua, I pray, amen.

Happy Friday! This cuppa joe is on me! 

Robbs

GOD PONDERS

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths. 

—Proverbs 5:21

Wherever I am and whatever is happening to me right now, I am not alone. 

God sees me on the road I am walking today. He sees the steps I may need to take in the next few hours to get through a hard place. 

This proverb tells us, "a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths." 

This means God not only watches the winding of my road every day, He is also *thinking about every step and everything I must step over. WOW!  

God is *considering my next fork in the road, too—the good choices that lie ahead and the dismal, kick myself, misery-inducing ones.  (Like missing my court date and getting my privilege to drive taken away for a month!) 

When He “ponders,” my Father in heaven is reflecting on what I am going to decide. Even though He has known every detail of my life from eternity past, He is still meditating upon it as it plays out. What I say, as true for me, is true for you and THAT ought to blow our minds!!! 

"He [God] knows the way that I [you] take" (Job 23:10).

He wants me to succeed in the testing I am experiencing. [this includes character testing too people-responsibility, anger & frustration, self control, discipline, etc] 

Considering His great love for me, do I honestly think He would let me go through more than His grace can help me handle? No! 

He won’t let a hard season [of ignorance] knock me off the path of my  highest usefulness to His kingdom.  And He wants to help me make sure I don’t drive myself off that high road. He can do this because He sees it all. [Glory!]

God is near to you when your heart is broken, and saves you when your spirit is crushed (Psalm 34:18). 

God draws close to me during a hardship unlike any other time in my life. Maybe that is why the desperate times of need come. They might be the very moments God is seeking to engineer—times of turning to Him as never before. Are you drawing near to Him?

When I'm in moments of desperation and despair and I don’t know how to pray, God even knows that. 

Romans 8 tells me God’s Spirit prays for me when I don’t have words.  Like me, just start praying and sharing your heart. Thank God for knowing the way you take and thinking about every step in your life long before you take it. 

He is pondering—about you!

Lord, I admit I often move through distances in my days without giving serious thought to Your awareness of me and Your presence. Thank You for remaining engaged even when I’m not paying attention! Remind me not to take steps without acknowledging You. Teach me to trust You in all my ways and know that Your  will is the best direction, the best path.

In Yeshua's All Knowing Life Saving Name, Amen. 

*Pumpkin Spice Latte to Go! 

Robbs

WYD? JESUS.

What Are You Doing Lord?

23The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. —Hebrews 7:23-25

Scripture assures us that Yeshua Himself is praying for you and me—this minute. 

Hebrews 7:25 makes the following amazing statement: “Consequently, [Yeshua] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” 

Yeshua lives to intercede for you. He can and will completely save those who trust in Him for salvation. 

What He accomplished on the cross He continues to apply to your life as He talks to His Father about you. 

Amazing!!! 

The word "intercede" includes the sense of pleading—Yeshua is continuously and persuasively presenting you before His Father! 

Before you ever kneel down to pour out your heart to God, Yeshua has already called out to His Father on your behalf. Even before you ask, He knows from firsthand contact what you need—because He’s with you.

Much of Hebrews focuses on the uniqueness of Christ. Among His special roles is the mantle of priest that He carries out as no one else can. Throughout the history of Israel, priests were part of daily life and a crucial aspect of anyone’s relationship with God. But priests were always as human as those they served. Only Christ became the priest who could do perfectly what every other priest could only do in part.

One of the indelible pictures of Yeshua in the Gospels occurs at the end of the Last Supper. In John 17, when Yeshua offered what we call His High Priestly Prayer, we're given a good idea of how Yeshua intercedes for us. 

Not only did He pray for the disciples who were with Him, but He also prayed for us today when He called us “those who will believe in me through their word” (v.20). 

Before He returned to His Father and long before we were ever born, Yeshua was already interceding for us. Once He accomplished His mission to provide us with salvation, He took on the task of preservation, --keeping us in prayer continuously.

Here’s a challenge: If you could hear the Lord praying for you in the next room, you would not fear a thousand enemies. So right now, think of the Lord Yeshua in the next room, on His knees in front of a couch or chair. His nail-pierced hands are held out and He’s lifting you and your need to His Father. [Now immerse yourself into John 17 and read it as a personal prayer about you]. 

He knows your exact situation. He’s asking His Father to give you strength, wisdom, and patience. He knows you will crash and burn on your own, so He is praying for your faith to overcome your sins and your fears. 

Remember Yeshua's words to Peter before Peter’s biggest failure: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32). 

Yeshua doesn’t let your inevitable stumbles and falls keep Him from praying for you. So don't let your failures keep you from Him.

Because it’s an incredible assertion in Scripture that Yeshua is not only with you, but "he always lives to make intercession for [you]." 

Mondays require 2 cups of coffee. 

YOU WILL ALL FALL AWAY!

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 

Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. 

—Matthew 26:30–35

It’s never easy to hear someone predict your failure. Right after the Last Supper, Jesus said to His disciples, “You will all fall away because of me this night.” 

That’s a stunningly clear prediction. 

Who? "You will all . . ." 

What? "Fall away." 

When? It’s going to happen tonight. 

Jesus knew their proneness to wander, grow comfy or grow fearful and He knows mine and yours. 

What would have been a good response from Peter and the others? (stop and think about it seriously). 

Any one of them could have said, “Lord, I don’t want to do that! You know everything, so I have to take this very seriously. But I don’t want to fall away. How can we keep this from happening?”

You would think at least one of the disciples would have humbled himself, but none of them did!! 

In fact, “Peter answered him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’” 

Notice the blinding nature of overconfidence. When you are brashly optimistic about something, you are in danger of "significant" failure.   Peter couldn’t see his own instability because he was so impulsively sure of himself. 

I can easily exhibit the same problem. Scripture says, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall”

(1 Corinthians 10:12). 

The person who thinks, "I will never deny Christ, wander or struggle. I won’t fall. I can handle this."  Is the person who really is in a  precariously DANGEROUS position. 

Jesus gave Peter another chance, and He was so tender. Peter was trying so hard: "I don't care what you say. I’ll never fall away.” 

Jesus didn’t rebuke him. He wasn’t harsh or angry with him; He was firm and clear. “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, YOU (Peter) will deny me three times.” 

The Lord was saying, Not once. Not twice, Peter, but THREE TIMES! 

You say, not you? I say, you in particular. You say, never! I say, TODAY!

Now, does Peter understand it? 

Does he recognize the warning? 

Does he slap his own forehead and say, “Okay, Lord. Help me! I don’t want to fall”?

No, he ups the ante: “Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same.” They were just following Peter’s lead—right over the cliff. 

That exchange ought to concern us regarding how we respond to God. Here’s Peter, talking bold. 

How wrong is he? 

Dead wrong. 

But how right does he think he is? Totally right. 

He thinks he’s standing for Christ, but he’s only bold in a paper bag.  [picture of the church]

He’s completely blind to his own situation. He wants to hold his ground and doesn’t see the freight train coming!

We know what happened with Peter because we can read the gospel record. But Jesus knew beforehand, just like He knows your life and mine. 

He loves us before, during, and after our failures. And as He continues to do with Peter’s denial, He can use even your lowest, weakest moments to display His glory.

Because Jesus knows everything about you; there’s no need for pretense or excuses. You can ask Him for help at any point in the trials. The earlier you turn to Him, the more often you will avoid falling. 

Every opportunity for self-reliance is also an opportunity to depend on Him. And when you do fall, remember this—He didn’t give up on Peter and He won’t give up on YOU!