By Name

By Name...

by David Brenneman 

Some have this notion that while they have come to Christ for salvation, that He's up in Heaven somewhere and they aren't on His radar. 

My Dear Reader...our Savior knows us by name. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. That He is the Good Shepherd.

The more that I consider the awesomeness of just some of the capabilities of my Savior it's mind boggling. Mind blowing even.

The Bible says that when one of His sheep cries out...He comes running.  

We may not sense His presence, but nonetheless, He is there.

We may not understand the why's of our lives, but He is intimately away of every thought and detail of them.

In Revelation Jesus will separate what's been referred to as the sheep from the goats. Those who are saved are the sheep. Those who aren't are the goats. Take note that He need not ask anything of anyone to determine who is who. Why? The Bible says that to each who has come to Christ for salvation, they are sealed in the Spirit. A special identifying mark is on each and every single Believer.   

In a matter of moments He will separate millions, possibly billions of people. 

Consider that there's no way that things are linear in Heaven. God is infinite. He takes care of billions and billions of creatures in His creation every single day...and the people of the world as well. All at once and not a single individual anyone or anything escapes His notice. 

Consider further, and build upon that idea...at the Rapture of the Church...potentially billions will be resurrected. Jesus will not be going one person at a time. He will address everyone at once...because of His infinite power. His omniscience, His omnipresence.

This leads me back around to a new thought that surrounded the passage in John 10 about Jesus saying His sheep hear His voice. I now believe that at the Rapture of the Church, Jesus will call you and I by name. Jesus went to prepare a place for each of us. His words regarding those who have placed their faith and trust in Him for salvation are wholly personal. 

Our Savior is a Personal Savior. 

Our God is a Personal God.

He tells us not to worry about tomorrow because He's already there. He knows every possible outcome of every single situation we find ourselves in. All the billions of combinations of directions of our thoughts. 

When life tries to squeeze you, to beat you down, take comfort in the truth that He knows you by name. 

Throughout Eternity we will forever be with Jesus. All the billions of Believers will have unhindered access to Him. He will personally dry our tears. He said so.  

Our personal relationship with Jesus is only just beginning. In truth personal isn't even scratching the surface of how it will yet be.

Comfort one another with these words.  

Jesus loves me this I know 

For the Bible tells me so 

Little ones to Him belong 

They are weak but He is strong 

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me 

Yes! Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so. 

Names mean a great deal to my Savior. New names were given by God under special circumstances only.

Our identity is tied by the cross to our Savior in ways yet to be discovered. It's part of our sanctification. 

Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. If I go away, I will come again and will receive you to myself.  

I love you - Jesus. 

The Future is Quickly Approaching

The Future is Quickly Approaching 

by David Brenneman 

‭"Then the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’" Zechariah 8:1-8.

We have this blessed hope that while our days on this Earth aren't as we had possibly hoped for or planned, the Word of God stands forever. 

This passage points to days yet future. It points to a promise yet to be kept and will be kept. 

This promise is not unlike the others that Jesus has made towards each and every single person who has come to Christ for salvation. He is, after all, the promise keeper. 

It's on us as Believers to trust and obey. It's on us to do our best to lay aside self so that the works of God are displayed in us. 

Was reading a C.S. Lewis quote yesterday that spoke most pointedly at the truth of the depth of the sin of pride. That all other sins are rooted in it. It's what was found in Satan and caused him to be cast like lightning out of the presence of God. 

Are you at all thinking about the return of Jesus? Does that wondrous thought cross your mind?

Jesus taught a parable on the prudent who looked forward with anticipation at the return of someone very important and special. It wasn't just to add pages to the Bible. It's written for our instruction.  

Are you really ready to be all you were meant to be in Christ? It's mostly on you. Either your life is in pursuit of self or its in pursuit of what the Spirit is showing you is important to Jesus concerning you. 

Our lives in Christ are not our own. 

We are admonished to have ears that hear and to have eyes that see. 

Unless we're actively listening to the Spirit we're really living on our own. 

Was reading in my Journal last night. It takes you back to posts in summary for each year going back as far as you have been writing. 7 years ago, I wrote something that took another 4 to happen. I was convinced at least that long ago that there would be a day that we would be living in this city. In retrospect, the Spirit was saying it was coming, but we had things yet to finish before we would be moving. If only I had been listening better, many of my griefs and sorrows wouldn't have been the same. 

6 years ago yesterday I had written something at length about a better understanding of my life in light of the life of Joseph. What I had written was because of an understanding given from listening to the Spirit. 

My Dear Reader, actively listening, not just hearing what you want to hear, is where it's at with growing in Christ. 

The Spirit, as Jesus said in ‭John 16:13, tells us what is to come. It's on us to open our ears. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

Are you listening with your whole heart? David was known as a man after God's own heart. David, outside of his fall with Bathsheba, wanted to hear from the Lord as much as he could in everything. 

The Lord, as often as He could, got away from people to be with His Father. They talked. He listened and obeyed. 

What are you doing to hone your skills at actively listening to the Spirit? Back up what you are thinking you're hearing with seeking out confirmation through prayer and Godly men who are good at discerning the Word of God. This is a huge part of not forsaking the assembly of God. You cannot learn from others in Christ if you aren't around them...and clearly...the Spirit has said we must learn from others in Christ. 

Look at your priorities. If God's growing you isn't in them, throw them out. 

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. 

You're never going to know what He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think about if we aren't walking with Jesus. It's never, ever, going to enter your heart and mind. 

Maybe it's time for you to get your spiritual ears cleaned.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

The End of the Tunnel

The End of the Tunnel 

by David Brenneman 

‭"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near." James 5:7-8

Often life does feel like we're in a tunnel. We got in it. We can really only go forward. We are looking for a something.

We came to the Light, the Light of Jesus Christ, and now that apparent tunnel is illuminated. 

We are on a path set before us for sure. It's honestly not really a tunnel. We also aren't alone by any stretch of the imagination. Regardless of what we feel, Jesus has and always will keep that promise to never leave us or forsake us.  

It's critical to note that our world is playing on our emotions. Sadly, it can even be as bad in the professing church as it is outside of it. Largely it's a campaign. Have seen these campaigns push push push to get people to join this or that, sign up for this subscription or that. Microsoft even incorporated a campaign manager software to literally irritate people into upgrading out of Windows 10.

The coming of the Lord Jesus is on the horizon. The horizon line hasn't moved. It's not our imagination that indeed just as the Bible says, people ARE proceeding from bad to worse. The battlefield is growing across the world against Christians as well as Jews. People really are behaving just as it was in the days of Noah. Everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. Canceling people who don't agree with them and who aren't publicly endorsing their lifestyle. 

Was reading John 10 yesterday and it left me wondering about Jesus's return. Sure there is the Biblical statement of there being a shout proceeding the calling of the Church to leave this world. With what Jesus has said of how personal our life is with Him, and this in John 10...I wonder...will Jesus call me by name as well?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” John 10:1-18.

Jesus said as well that He goes to prepare a place for you and I. This too is a deeply personal statement. Just as what He says here by Him knowing His sheep by name. 

My Dear Reader, our lives are more than just not our own. It's more than our lives being bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. We who are in Christ are in a deeply personal relationship with our Savior and Lord. He knows you by name!  

Someone once, ok many have, joked that had Jesus not specifically said "Lazarus come forth!" everyone would have been resurrected.

When He returns...I somehow can't see how it's not going to be a deeply personal experience. Our coming to Christ was a deeply personal experience. Our standing before Jesus to give an account of our lives will be a deeply personal experience. Our time in eternity with Jesus will be a deeply personal experience. Why wouldn't our exit from death to life at the resurrection? The dead in Christ rise first. This too points to the notion of this being deeply personal.  

His sheep hear His voice. Think about that. He is the protector of His sheep.  

That life before you and I has an end in sight. We are exhorted to run the race to finish well. Keeping our eyes on the prize. 

Set your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. 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. 

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me". "My sheep hear my voice".

We are also exhorted to be sure of our salvation in Christ Jesus.  

As you go out into the world...today could be that day...or it might not be. We are to be ready at all times for we do not know the day nor the hour. Jesus said He is coming back.  

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Making Plans and Doing

Making Plans and Doing 

by David Brenneman 

‭"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:13-17.

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." Romans 12:17-18.

Perhaps these two passages go together, perhaps not, but I didn't choose them.  

We indeed are a people who love to be spontaneous in doing life. Often not considering that there's something more that Jesus is seeking to accomplish in us and others. Often neglecting to do what's right in the sight of all men. What's right may not include what's popular. What's right may not be what everyone else is doing or saying. There indeed is a connection between these two passages...you.

You and I, when we came to Christ for salvation, were immediately included in His plans for you and mankind. As we see in the day-to-day lives of the Disciples, His plans for them superceded their own. On many occasions we see the other passage play out as well. 

The passage from Job is one that constantly comes to mind when people ask me about meeting up. There's this thought in the back of my mind to not be so sure of being secure in my decision to say yes or no. I will most likely answer with what I hope to be able to do or to be able to be at. As I have been shown in my life rather clearly, life can change in a moments notice. 

Millions of people last night had their lives changed in a moments notice. Some didn't make it to work because someone crossed their path in a wrong way. Some didn't wake up last night and either went home to Heaven or didn't go to Heaven. Some got news that altered their life in ways as yet unimagined for good. Still others in ways never imagined for not so good things or ways. Some spent the night wrestling with demons. Some spent the night wrestling with Jesus in prayer. 

Some had a peaceful night and simply are awaiting the fruits of today.  

We are an arrogant lot. Don't take my word for that, read it in your Bible. Arrogant and more. We are tempted to do and think of what is right in our own eyes. The unsaved man or woman of this world are all doing whatever is right in their own eyes. 

The Believer is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.  

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." Respecting what is right involves only what the Word of God says is right. Which, by consequence, might not allow you to be at peace with all men.  

We must choose to stand firm in Christ in order for the works of God to be made known to all men.  

So be prepared, you're not likely to be popular in a good way.  

Our walk with Jesus should be one where the light of Jesus Christ is seen in this present darkness. Read the first chapter of the book of John. The darkness hated the Light for it deeds were evil. Doing what is right in the sight of God will not keep you in the good graces of the world.

Daniel, and later his 3 friends, stood firmly in their lives in Christ. The things that Satan tried to throw at them! Joseph often felt lost in a foreign country. We read that he was strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 

Satan's schemes include getting us to "blow" opportunities. To justify ourselves in our own eyes before men and women rather than to walk as we are being trained to by the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus. His schemes include our own pride that we will not be fully rid of until we are called home to Heaven or the Rapture of the Church happens.  

When you face people today or are maybe alone and by yourself in your own thoughts...keep your eyes open for such schemes.  

It's ok to plan for this or that, but, always be ready for that which might be God saying otherwise. 

That last part of where we read in James.

"Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." It's on us, daily, hourly, minute-by-minute, to consider our ways. We read that phrase often in the Bible. We're not off the hook because we have at our disposal a lifeline by way of prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ.  

It's on us to be in the Word of God daily. If you're not...then you aren't doing the right thing as mentioned here.

It's on us to be in prayer daily if not more so during the day. If you're not...then you aren't doing the right thing. 

If you're not including Jesus in your plans...yes...that means you aren't doing the right thing. 

If you're not...well you can see where this is going. It's all part of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness.   

If your career or pursuit of wealth towards retirement is more important than God's plan for you...then you too aren't doing the right thing. 

If your mind is set on pleasing yourself more than it is in pleasing Jesus then you're not doing the right thing.

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. Proverbs 3:5-6.

As a line from a hymn goes "Where He leads me I will follow...where He leads me I will follow..." Is this true of your life?  

The Disciple's plans were whatever was on the mind of Jesus to be doing, wherever He was going. 

Doing all this might not make you popular or immediately bring you joy or peace. It may bring you into the cross hairs of many people for ill towards you. The Bible says clearly to stand firm. Suit up in the full armor of God and stand firm. The Lord will fight your fight. 

Take a good hard look at your life.

First, as Paul wrote, be sure of your salvation. Second, walk with Jesus in everything. Give of your best to your Master and Lord Jesus Christ. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

You Have a Race to Finish

You Have a Race to Finish 

by David Brenneman 

‭"And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:22-24

Today I wrapped up a devotional based on a book by Dr. David Jeremiah's "World of the End". 

Taking on the challenges involved with a race requires a lot of commitment. Receiving Christ Jesus as your Savior and Lord requires a commitment on your part. He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. His commitment to you is that right there. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. Get the gist yet?

You, my Dear Reader, are in the race already. Question is are you taking your commitment in this race seriously enough?  

Does learning from the Spirit mean something to you?

Does growing in Christ mean anything to you?

Are the things of God that important to you?

Are you considering the weight of the things of this world as too much and you've stopped running?

Jesus said that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus are going to be persecuted. Persecutions are the hills, mountains, valleys, creeks, rivers, lakes, to go through on our race towards the prize only presented in Heaven by Jesus. 

We are exhorted to run this race as one who wants to win the prize in 1 Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."

Are you giving your best, your absolute best towards your portion of this race that you are in?  

Paul goes on to talk about how the runner of the race only runs with the bare minimum as far as clothing. Not letting anyone or anything slow him down. 

We made a promise when we came to Christ for salvation to give our best, our very best, to God. Putting off the old self and it's practices, putting on the new self in Christ Jesus.

Take a good look at where you are in your life. Are you truly giving your best, your very best, no excuses best to your Master, Savior and Lord? 

Would you receive a "Well done!" from Jesus?  

All too often we all, myself included, are way too distracted by the world. We get caught up in things because we have a very very crafty adversary in the Devil and his minions. We are among generations of people who have no idea how much of their lives are being influenced by the god of this world. They are in denial of the effects of sin and sinful practices in their lives and the lives of those around them.  

Giving up is what is the god of this world wants Believers to do. Stay out of the race. Start walking rather than running. Be absorbed by distractions. Redefining identities and redefining what the Bible says is sin so that Believers are actually participating in the deeds of darkness. Getting Believers to worship idols by simply redefining what constitutes idolatry. Getting Believers to embrace sinful practices willingly simply by getting them to embrace the idea that God will forgive them anyway.  

Sin is what put Jesus Christ on the cross. Keep God's definition of sin, not redefining it to make your conscience feel better. 

You have a race to run. 

You are in it until either Jesus returns or He calls you home. 

Shed the things of this world that are slowing you down. Regardless of whatever they are.  

Get back in the race. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

Your Place in All of This

Your Place in All of This 

by David Brenneman 

‭"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. " Matthew 24:14.

"You are a key part of God’s plan to save the world.

When we read Jesus’s prophecies about the world of the end, it may feel like suffering, heartache, and tribulation are unstoppable. Yes, times are tough and getting tougher. And yes, the coming judgment is bad news for those who do not belong to Christ. But the good news is that we can belong to Christ—and that good news is unstoppable too.

Jesus predicted His followers would be unstoppable in taking His gospel to the world. He said, “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35). He said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Not only will war, famine, pestilence, natural disasters, persecution, betrayal, and lawlessness reach every corner of the earth—the gospel will as well. God is opening wide the gate to salvation for every people of every tribe and nation on earth. The Lord has told us that He is not willing that any should perish but that all should have everlasting life. And the really incredible thing? We are His means of getting the message out. We are His plan.

We carry out God’s plan when we share our testimony, tell the story of Christ’s ministry, death, and resurrection, share the Scriptures with others, and bring people into the church and the family of God. All of us, whether highly educated in theological matters or newly converted, are called to take part.

People need the Lord. Our world has never needed Him more. Let’s be the good news!" - Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah. 

We who are Christians in this world aren't here to just get by. We aren't here to go and create our own versions of paradise. We aren't here for any degree of selfishness. Christians are here in this now of history to participate in the plan and purpose of God for mankind. 

You, if indeed you claim the name of Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, are here for a purpose.  

Seek out what it is! Pray and ask the Spirit of God to show you. It is the Spirit of God that set you in the body of Christ as He saw fit. We don't put ourselves in the body of Christ as we desire to be.

History...it's a culmination of centuries of Jesus trying to save people. He stepped into it in order to make a way where there was no way to enter into His marvelous Heaven to be with Him. 

Sin had to be dealt with, with a perfect sacrifice. He took our place on the cross and we owe Him our everything. 

While personal desires can have merit, they are not what we are here for if they aren't aligned with the plan and purpose of God. 

At my heart, I like to design and invent things. There's several that I know that, although they would work, the Spirit has said not to build. My plans must not interfere with God's plans for myself or for humanity. Your plans should not interfere with God's plans for you or humanity. 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He transferred that responsibility to the Apostles. Paul commissioned Timothy as one of the first Pastor's. 

Satan's been trying for just as long to silence, distract, or stop Christians from speaking about or living out the new life in Christ Jesus that we have been given. 

Look at your priorities. 

Look at what you surround yourself with in possessions. 

Look at what drives you.

Look who you seek to be central to your life. 

Look and be bold enough to ask the Spirit to give you eyes that see the truth about yourself. Pray with all boldness that He would make you see that which you might be deluding yourself about. 

We are just as susceptible to lying to ourselves as we are to others. 

You who are claiming the name of Jesus Christ have a purpose under Heaven that will glory Him.

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. 

‭"Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 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." James 1:21-24.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Your Cross on Your Shoulder?

Your Cross on Your Shoulder?

by David Brenneman 

"The darker the darkness, the brighter the light shines.

Institutions once considered stable and reliable have faltered. Trusted leaders have fallen from grace. The rule of law is being replaced by the rule of the loudest and most aggressive mob. What was once considered harmful or shameful is now celebrated as a source of pride. In short, there are days when it feels like the whole world is upside down." - devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah. 

This has been a really good devotional.  It's not mentioned in it yet but it's the crux of what it means to stand firm. 

We as Believers are told to do this. 

When the winds of change in the weather try to force people away from what's right in their lives by force they try their level best to push back. 

In our Spiritual life, standing firm, is what we're to do when the world tries to push us back.

It requires training in righteousness. 

It requires setting our feet to be an anchor point. 

It requires mental preparation for what's happening and what is to come. 

The whole armor of God isn't a suggestion. 

The Disciples asking Jesus how to pray wasn't just for them.

All that the Apostles taught and we read in the New Testament, at a minimum, wasn't for others, but was for all who are in Christ Jesus. 

We cannot only want the blessings of our God without going through what He says is necessary to achieve them. 

The risk is worth the reward in living life to please Jesus.

Paul considered all things as loss in light of the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus.  

How do you rate knowing Jesus?

How important is it to know about your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Proof is in the pudding used to be a catchphrase.  

In the last week, how much of your days, how much time in each day, was set aside for learning more about Jesus and your relationship with Him?

The days you have before you are a gift.  Any truly wonderful gift we are physically given we try our level best to not waste. But what about our Spiritual gifts?  What about those breaths that you are breathing?  What about that food you are eating? What about that time you have on your hands...are you using any of it in reading your Bible?  Are you having any deeply personal conversations with Jesus?

Perhaps...and it may be a leap to contemplate it...but what if Jesus walked up to you and wanted to talk to you.  Would you know enough about Jesus to recognize Jesus before having the first conversation?  

Having eyes to see and ears that hear...these are at the heart of a transformed life.  To Jesus: your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Would your encounter with Jesus be as one standing before a stranger?  

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

for thee all the follies of sin I resign;

my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me

and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I'll love thee in life, I will love thee in death,

and praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath,

and say when the deathdew lies cold on my brow:

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

Re-evaluate and see if your cross is on your shoulder.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Do Not Be Conformed

Do Not Be Conformed 

by David Brenneman 

"In our divisive and vindictive age, we have the opportunity to shine the light of love, grace, and forgiveness, showing to those who betray us that the love of Jesus is real and it makes a real difference. Let it always be said that followers of Jesus are faithful and true—even in a world of betrayal such as the World of the End. Don’t let such a world trip you up or drag you down. Instead, be faithful." - Dr. David Jeremiah. 

‭"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." Romans 12:17-18.

Romans 12 has in its opening words about being transformed. To transform is to go from one state to another. One form into another.  

This doesn't mean to cover over to appear as something else. A transformed life in Christ is one that is new, different and good. 

Without any doubt we are truly living in the days of Noah. Go shopping, go to work, try to live peaceably in some places and you find yourself face-to-face with in-your-face people. Forcing their point of view at you.  

Romans 12:17 speaks to respecting what is right in the sight of all men. All men are NOT going to accept your doing this because they want what's right to be subjective. 

What's right can only be defined by one who's perfect. Perfection is only found in Jesus Christ. It's not found in my definition of it or your definition of it. 

Christians are exhorted to be holy as He is holy. That is the definition of the level of perfection. God's holiness is the standard. Our world wants what it wants when it wants it with no regard to the consequences.  

Look at the two passages where one place was obliterated because of sins so heinous that the Lord Jesus couldn't permit them to continue, the other almost erased a tribe from Israel. The city where Lot lived. Obliterated, incinerated. Wiped from existence. Jerusalem almost suffered the same way. Judges 19-20.

Proverbs says that evil will not win the day. Jesus says that He is going to return to deal with the sins of this world once and for all.  

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2. 

The renewing of your mind ought only be in the teaching of the Spirit of God. Not worldly supposition or through psychoanalysis. 

The truth of God is what stands the test of time. Not ideologies or anything like that derived from the mind of man. 

We are at war, regardless of your point of view, on that matter. 

You face daily challenges that vie for your heart and mind. 

You are facing coercion. You are facing deceptions. You are facing the weaponry of the god of this world.  

Only in Christ are we suited up in the whole armor of God. A suit that protects all vital organs. The mind, the heart.  

Our world is trying to silence Christians. Christianity is the greatest threat that the Satanic forces in our world faces when those Christians are living in obedience to God's Word. 

How do you prepare for battle?  

This is the right perspective of looking at the day facing you. 

No you're not just visiting this person or that place. 

No you're not just shopping for this or that.

No you're not just reading. 

No you're not just going to work to do a job.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that people see your good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. 

We are taking the light of Jesus Christ out into the darkness of the world. The world hates the Light according to the book of John. In the 21st century this hasn't changed. 

If you're conformed to this world then you're exhibiting the traits of darkness...not the light.  

Chameleons are the closest to absolute conformists.  

Are you living for Jesus or for what's right in your own eyes? In the days of Noah person after person lived for what was right in their own eyes. When the rains came and the deeps burst forth with the waters, only then did humanity realize that Noah had spoken the truth. 

Is any of your day today devoted to Christ? Are you going to spend any of it in giving your undivided attention to Him? That account you will give Jesus is what you did in your life for Jesus. Those times you spent in the Word of God. Those moments spent on your knees in prayer. Those times you were the hands and feet of Jesus. Doing for others as He’s done for you. 

Maybe it's your time to rethink how you approach your day.  

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

No, You Don't and No, You Won't

No, You Don't and No, You Won't 

by David Brenneman 

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit." Galatians 6:7-8.

So many people actually get through the day by unwittingly deceiving themselves or others. Probably nearly as many if not more, try to convince themselves of what's ok with God and what is not. 

My Dear Reader, the Bible isn't something we can pick and choose in what we're accepting of or rejecting of.  

We certainly should have eyes that see and ears that hear all that the Spirit is trying to teach us. Not just about us, but about the world around us.  

Our feelings will deceive us. 

Our thoughts will betray us. 

We are to be lead by Jesus through this life. A disciple of Christ follows wherever He leads. Engaging in, participating in, whatever He sees fit for us. Upon coming to Christ for salvation, we are choosing His ways, not ours, in living life. 

Read the four Gospels. The written accounts of the life of Jesus Christ were of Him directing, leading, teaching the Disciples what to do and how to live life. They, on their part, relinquished their authority in living life to Jesus.  

So many people are fist shakers too. They're as stubborn as the day is long towards the plan and purpose of God for them and they aren't realizing they are doing that towards Him.  

We cannot conceive in our mortal flesh how distraught and how bitterly angry people in Hell are and have been for the centuries of being there. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is our only description. We live in a society that mocks the very thought of following Christ with a whole heart. We live in a society that wants a god on their terms. Just as in the days of Noah. People marrying and being given in marriage. People buying and selling. People disregarding the warning signs. People persecuting those who are trying to show them the truth, just as Noah did for a hundred years. 

Oh we can try to deceive ourselves, but God's own truth will be revealed in time.

No doubt people think that what comes next after dying is irrelevant. It's a guaranteed perspective as shown by Jesus that it's far from irrelevant to those experiencing Hell. Whether they are the ones who are weeping or those bitterly angry at God for placing them there against their will, none there want to be there. The painful torment is never ending. It's the cost for choosing to reject Jesus's free gift of salvation. It's what's to come for all who choose to reject the authority of Jesus Christ in their lives. 

There is no magical powers to use to escape Hell. There's no incantation to speak to bring anyone back from the dead. There's no ultra high tech path to immorality that's yet to be discovered. Likewise, there's no quantum realm path to entering Heaven. There's no method of meditation to lifting oneself to enter Heaven's Throne room.

Jesus is the only way to Heaven. 

Rejecting Jesus is the absolutely truthful way to Hell. All who have ever lived, by their own choice, are choosing one destination or the other.  

We also cannot fathom the distress that will be at the Final Judgment when Jesus separates people. Those who are His by faith from those who are not because they rejected Him. 

You can fool yourself but the price is higher than you want to pay. 

A song that I heard a long time ago has the person crying out to God to open the eyes of their heart.  

My prayer for all who find this blog or post, is to have their eyes opened. To really realize the truth of God's word concerning them and their choices. Rewriting legal documents, canceling people, redefining identities, choosing genders, will do absolutely nothing to the effective powers of the truth of God's word. 

Our world will never know what a completely different life can be for them until they acknowledge the truth of the Gospel message and how it relates to them personally. 

You cannot figure out what a life in Christ is like without coming to Christ first. 

Prime example. You cannot know what it's like to perform in a philharmonic orchestra without becoming a professional musician. You cannot understand the true ins and outs of repairing a vehicle properly without becoming a mechanic. You cannot know the full extent of a position of Leadership without learning how to be a leader. 

The nuances of what makes a person a Christian cannot be known, felt, understood, lived, apart from a right relationship with Jesus Christ.  

If all who observe from the outside were to admit it...Christianity is foolishness. It makes no sense and it's not going to. It's written in the Bible that the unsaved cannot understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned...it's foreign to them. 

My Dear Reader please read this again. Look at your life and desires. Are you deceiving yourself in what you call living life? Are you seeking a relationship with Jesus or are you doing your level best to avoid that?

There are eternal consequences to which you choose. All who are in Hell do not want you to make the same choice they did. 

God will not be mocked...God will indeed have a day where the whole of humanity will stand before Jesus. Those who have chosen the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone will be the only ones spending eternity with Jesus. All others will spend eternity suffering a worse fate than even the horrors of Hell in a place referred to as the Lake of Fire. 

Ask God to open your eyes to His truth about you and living life. Time is not endless. The offer of salvation in Christ Jesus is for a limited time. That limited time is the number of days you have to live.

My prayer for you is that you would indeed experience the full life that God desires for you that you will only find in a right relationship with Jesus. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Turning Point...Such Small Faith Such Big Results

Turning Point...Such Small Faith Such Big Results

by David Brenneman 

Turning point...What was it for the thief on the cross beside Jesus?

Pastor Alistair Begg has a sermon that he explored this. "All I know is the man on the middle cross said I can come."   

"No one comes to the Father but through Me" is what Jesus said. 

Jesus promised this man that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day.  

Scripture records that at first, when the 3 were being crucified, that both criminals weren't respectful or mindful of Jesus and who He was.  

What changed for the one? What was the turning point? Was it when the sign was put up? Was it in seeing how He was on His own cross?

For our part we may never know. Alistair made up his own dialog of the conversations but the final thing said was probably the most important. "All I know is that the man on the middle cross said that I can come."

So many people trip over what isn't there. They trip over what they see as a complicated path to Heaven. 

The way isn't complex at all. Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...no one comes to the Father but through Him. 

Jesus had told His Disciples about having faith as small as a mustard seed. Could this be what the thief had? I think so.  

This thief had not been baptized. 

This thief hadn't been versed in the Bible as it was known. 

This thief hadn't been to the Synagogue or a Temple for teaching in the doctrines of Scripture. 

This thief was a thief. He admitted they were on crosses to pay for what they did. 

This thief hadn't any spiritual education at all save knowing who it was being crucified with them. 

It's quite possible that the turning point was when Pilate had the sign put up and he saw how people were weeping for Jesus. It's possible that before getting caught he had heard Jesus speak. 

What will it take to find your turning point?  

What are you stumbling over that's keeping you from coming to Christ for salvation? 

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

Jesus said that those who come should come as a child. How do children's beliefs work? Do they overthink anything? Not for long nor very often. 

‭"And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:35-43

What went through the mind of the other thief? We don't see anything written in the Bible. We don't know the impact of the rebuke from the other thief. Did it change him as well?

My Dear Reader, time is growing short. It's running out. Jesus said that if He left that there would be a day He would return and take all who have called upon His Name for salvation. Those who do not will be left behind to deal with all the coming judgments of God as written in the Bible. Death and destruction on a scale never seen before by mankind. Forced obedience to a new world Leader. Forced worship of that same man. 

Evil on a scale never before experienced since the Great Flood written about in the book of Genesis.  

Jesus is coming back just as He said, says the Angel to the Apostles. 

Are you stumbling over what you've done in life and are letting that keep you from a new life in Christ?

Are you consumed by your past and are letting that keep you from a new life in Christ?

Are you one who's given up hope because life just hasn't been the way you had hoped?  

Jesus is at the door of your heart, gently knocking, waiting for you to open it up and beg Him to enter. 

It...is...as...simple...as...that. No hooks, no strings. 

Jesus said that any who comes to Him to be saved that by no means He would cast away. 

Consider what you've read today. 

Today could be your turning point. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Truth is: The World has Lied

Truth is: The World has Lied

by David Brenneman 

From a Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah "Do you trust that the news stories you see on television or shared on social media are accurate reflections of objective reality? Do you trust that the people in elected office will fulfill their promises? Do you trust your boss, your employees, your friends, and your family to tell you the truth at all times?

Why is it that we feel we can’t trust anyone anymore? Because our culture has decided that truth doesn’t matter. That it is subjective, even arbitrary. That as long as you’re not hurting anyone, it’s okay to tell a white lie here, stretch the truth there, and outright deceive others when deemed necessary."

‭"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes." Proverbs 26:4-5.

‭"Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool." Proverbs 26:8.

‭"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." Proverbs 26:12.

‭"Though his hatred covers itself with guile, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him." Proverbs 26:26-27.

Our culture has created and is creating laws to protect the fool more than they do to protect those who aren't.

Scripture also states that the fool says in their heart that there is no God.

In going shopping, driving here and there, in the workplace, it's in your face. The foolish of the world telling you that you must join them in their self deception. That legally you have to. 

Personally, I have to deal with this daily, way more than I ever expected to. Indeed it's increasingly exactly as Jesus said. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  

Satan, as Jesus said very clearly, is a liar and the father of lies. He's also referred to as the god of this world. 

You can indeed go through life with your head in the sand, but sooner or later, you will come face to face with the lies of this world.

Lies to entice you towards sensual desires that will not honor you or God. 

Lies to entice you towards furthering your career by stepping on someone else to get to what you only think will be better. 

Lies to entice you in any way possible to lead you away from the righteous life that God desires for you. 

Our lives in Christ are meant to be different. Not camouflaged to the point that people don't see us. Not hidden in plain sight to the point we blend in. The Lord Jesus Christ wrote much, said much, about the foolish of this world.  

Satan does indeed, as does his minions, go around seeking someone to devour. Seeking to convince or coerce Christians to be silent and submit to his ways. 

Jesus said that those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus are going to be persecuted. Simply put when and where His light shines, the darkness will have great hatred for it.

Legally, I get ordered to lie to the face of some people. Legally my rights end where theirs begin because they are on the side of the god of this world.  

Truth is a person. Truth is Jesus. 

Truth is coming again and there's nothing that the god of this world will do about it.  

Truth is Jesus left this world as written in the book of Acts and it was stated by the angel that in the way they saw Him leave will be in how He will return.

Truth is we are to expect His return. We are supposed to be prepared for His return. In the moment in the twinkling of an eye He is coming back to receive to Himself all who have called upon His Name. 

Truth is the foolish of this world will be called out. Regardless of what worldly legality its God's Word that stands.  

Let your light shine before men in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. Consider how great the deceptions are that Satan uses! 

"in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:4.

Pray for spiritual eyes that see. 

Pray for those who persecute you. 

Pray for those in your life that are among those blinded.

Pray for those in authority over you. 

Pray for your enemies. 

Prepare to meet Jesus. To meet your King. To meet your Savior. 

We do nobody any favors by being ignorant or by doing nothing. 

Outside of others in Christ, be prepared to not be understood. The world will not accept your stance in standing in Christ. 

Jesus said to stand firm. Set your mind on the things that are of above and not on the things that are of this world. What's above? The Throne of Jesus Christ. Who's above? Our Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The One who's promised to never leave us or forsake us. The One who promised to receive us to Himself.

Seek God's truth today. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Our Own Eyes or Our Own Cross

Our Own Eyes or Our Own Cross 

by David Brenneman 

We choose who we worship. I heard someone say this yesterday and it's entirely accurate. Human beings were indeed created to worship the One True God, and Jesus Christ His Son. Yet, through Adam, sin entered the world and with it came spiritual death. With it also came spiritual blindness because of the deep darkness of evil.  

"In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:4-5.

What came out of Adam and Eve's selfish decision has cursed all mankind since, save our Savior who is Christ the Lord. No sin was ever found in Him. 

He was and is the Light that came into the world. As written the people enjoyed His light while they had it. The Jewish leaders hated it. So stuck on what was right in their own eyes they couldn't see the work of God that was right before their eyes.

Even one who had been healed, who was inevitably kicked out of the Temple because of what he said, hit the nail on the head. "If this man weren't from God He could do nothing".

Before us, each and every day, are two distinct spiritual paths. God's way and the way of the world.

We must choose to follow Jesus each day we've been given.  

In reading in Jeremiah 43-44, the blindness of the spiritual forces of this world is extensive. People who ought to have known better attributed the Lord's judgment as their disobedience to their gods. That because they weren't worshipping their gods that all the persecutions they had endured was why they were scattered as they were, in spite of all that Jeremiah had told them that the Lord Jesus had said to them.

We can be the same way. We can misread the signs of the times in our lives. We can mislead ourselves by believing that which isn't right Biblically. We might go through rough times but this is not Jesus punishing us. It's also not things like karma coming after us. 

We can indeed go through life with great difficulties and it not be anything but our Savior leading us through the dark valley's of life. 

David was running from Saul for years. David easily could have taken the wrong path and given up. Several times it says that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

We choose...the cross of Jesus Christ brought choice. We choose to pick up our own cross and follow Him or we put it down. Satan's going to do whatever he is permitted in order to get us to put it down. To take the world's way through this life. 

Jesus said that this world would increasingly be people full of doing what was right in their own eyes. Just as it was in the days of Noah. 

Talk about loneliness. He was the only one among probably billions of people living life as Jesus intended. Noah probably knew hundreds if not thousands of people. They certainly made themselves known to him by their mocking him and ridicule of his beliefs in the Lord his God. The Bible says that it only was Noah who was found worthy. Not his family, but, his family was necessary for the plan of God to proceed with the global Flood. 

You stepping out into today you have two choices.  

To carry your cross or to leave it behind. As Christians we are to be lights in this world. If your cross is left at home so is your light. Won't mean that the world will leave you alone. Satan's schemes are hoping you feel this or feel that and try to go it alone.  

When you choose to worship Jesus regardless of what is happening in your life it ruins Satan's plans.  

Much has been attributed to Satan's schemes in many people's lives, yet, in truth it's simply people not taking Jesus with them into the world. 

David could not strengthen himself in the Lord with him leaving the Lord back at his camp.  

We choose to live life in our own eyes or we choose to take up our own cross.

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds." Matthew 16:25-27.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:1-5.

Will you head out into life today with Jesus or without Him? Think you got this on your own, that it won't be that bad? If you only call on Jesus when you are in trouble then you're always in trouble.  

"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." Proverbs 3:5-6.

When you look back over your life it's only going to show that either you lived life on your terms or Jesus's.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

Preparedness

Preparedness 

by David Brenneman 

‭"And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray," Luke 22:39-41.

The dictionary defines preparedness: a state of readiness, especially for war.

Jesus was telling them to get ready. The real battle was coming.  

That battle continues to this day.  

We need to pray that same prayer ourselves. We're ill prepared for what awaits us in any given day on out own merits of understanding. 

The whole armor of God isn't casual wear. The purpose for each part isn't designed by guesswork like the armaments of modern warfare.  

The whole armor of God was designed to perfection the first time. 

There's no day that we face that's not fraught with perils as yet unimagined. The possibilities are endless if truth be told.

While here the Disciples had the protections of the Father. While He was preparing to endure the cross, He urged them to get ready, because the battle was about to get real. Even going so far as to tell them to get physical weapons. 

The Scriptures were fulfilled...the Shepherd was struck and the sheep were scattered. In time, after the resurrection, they came back together. They indeed received the Holy Spirit at that time.  

We live in that future time that Jesus said was coming. A world of wars and rumors of wars. A world of earthquakes and famines in various places. We live in that world were increasingly people are doing whatever is right in their own eyes. The days of Noah are upon us. 

While going through this life, my mind is in many places. The here and now, the past and looking for what Jesus said is to come. 

In my opinion the return of Jesus will happen in my lifetime. This isn't date setting, it's something that I believe that God has told me. 

If I don't prepare, then I won't be ready. There's things that I believe are coming that most in the world are not really ready for. Again preparedness is essential.  

Accepting what the Bible says that is coming is preparedness. God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me.

Jesus taught several written parables, and who knows how many unwritten (John the Apostle said that should everything that Jesus taught and did were written that he imagined the whole world couldn't contain the books) on being prepared.

The King who went on a journey...that his servants would be prepared for his return. 

The bridesmaids. Those with enough oil for lamps and those who hadn't enough. 

There are others.

Are you prepared for the return of Jesus? There will be no fanfare. No photos possible of Jesus coming in the skies. Nothing to be observed other than the millions of people vanishing. All children under a certain age...gone. All who have died in Christ, their graves bursting open. Those alive and remain vanishing, only their clothes, implants, etc. left behind. All in an instant.

There will be no time for anything to be said to anyone.  

So...are you THAT ready? Are you THAT prepared?

We have a life to live that's to be lived to the fullest only in Christ because of all He did to save us. 

In 1874 Frances Ridley Havergal wrote "Take My Life and Let it Be"

Take my life and let it be

consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days;

let them flow in endless praise,

let them flow in endless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

swift and beautiful for thee,

swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing

always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

filled with messages from thee,

filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

every power as thou shalt choose,

every power as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine;

it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart it is thine own;

it shall be thy royal throne,

it shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour

at thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be

ever, only, all for thee,

ever, only, all for thee.

How often are your thoughts towards preparing for your day versus just stepping into it?

How often are you considering what Jesus wants of you in your today?

Are you trusting in the Lord with all your heart And are not leaning on your own understanding? Are you acknowledging Him so that He can make your paths straight?

Acknowledging Him isn't just a knod to Him in the morning as you rush out the door. Prepare for the day by meeting with your Savior before anything happens. 

The world, the whole world, is in a state of war. Spiritual war. There are no non-combatants. There are no neutral parties. When Jesus separates people at the Final Judgment, there are only 2 groups. 

Are you prayed up for the battles you could face? It begins with praying that we not fall into temptation. The temptation to do it our way. The temptation to give in to peer pressure. The temptation to give in to sin. 

Putting on the whole armor of God is necessary to step onto the battlefield of life...otherwise you are blind, deaf, and naked in a world that is determined to bring you down. Satan's minions are out for blood...your blood. They would rather remove Christianity from the face of the Earth than leave it be. The Spirit of God stands in their way. 

Try going out in the world prepared this time by being in prayer first and see how different your battles will be.

The King is coming. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Your History is Important

Your History is Important 

by David Brenneman 

Your history is important, more important than you realize.  There's a saying "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat their mistakes in the future". In more ways than we know our past defines our present and will color our future. 

Was looking at my memories on Facebook, which prompted me to look at my Journal.  A year ago we ran into some issues.  A result of which created a new friendship with one of our neighbors.  God provided  and its a positive memory to overshadow a negative memory. 

We should Journal if for nothing less than to remember the great things that God has done for us, to us, and through us.

You aren't going it alone in this world if indeed you're saved in Christ Jesus.  He said so.  You looking at the evidence laid out in your history proves it if you would but look. 

History, the remembering of it, is extremely important to the Jewish people.  To remember that they serve the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac, the God of Abraham.  Let's add the God of Samuel, the God of Daniel, the God of David, the God of Joseph. Not the God of the dead but of the living. 

Our worries, are they more than the Creator of the Universe can handle?  Look at your history.  Don't look at them with your physical eyes, look at them with your Spiritual eyes opened. 

The things we get worked up about are they really just a path to deeper trust in your Savior?  Or are you being lead to let go of something that you either knowingly or unknowingly traded your relationship with Jesus for?

If you are embracing something that has taken His place in your heart, it WILL be removed.  Jesus wrote, and the Scriptures cannot be broken, He is a jealous God.  He wants His relationship with you to be vibrant and pure.

Certifications, Degrees, Diplomas, are only of some possibly Earthly good...they are useless in Heaven.  We have the potential to lord our supposed intelligence over others just as much as any unbelieving person can. Our review of our lives can show us if these things have brought us closer to Christ or lead us astray if we're honest with ourselves. 

Our history SHOULD help us to be honest with ourselves.  If we're not living in denial. 

There's so much that the Spirit has in mind for us to learn.  School is only out in the Classroom of God when we die.  Then, as the Bible says, we will know Him and be fully known. Entering into His rest means it is finished. The race is run, it is over.  Until then...keep at it with learning whatever the Spirit wants to teach you.

My mind doesn't remember history very well.  Honestly, without my journal, most of it I wouldn't remember.  I can't tell you most of what I ate this week. I can tell you of some of the distressing things from work but that's about it.  I have to review my Journal to see God's guidance in my life. 

To be a child of God...to know your life is in His hands...should evoke something more than a reminder of Church on Sunday.  

He wrote a loveletter to you called the Bible.

He calls you by name. 

He gave His life that you might live.

Look at Psalms 23.  David wrote what he did because that was the truth of his life.  The Spirit had him write it not because it was true only for David, but to get you to realize it's true of every single person who comes to Christ for salvation.

Life might be complicated. 

A year ago, for us, it seriously was. 

Satan's schemes are all about getting you to forget your past as you remember it, and to get you to believe his narrative of it.

Satan's schemes are to get you to pursue self and not to consider what the Spirit is trying to teach you. 

Your history will show you if you're being selfish or not. 

Your history will show you if you ran away from God's will for you. 

"but just as it is written:

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the human heart,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

1 Corinthians 2:9.

Your history will open your eyes to the possibility that Jesus is taking you over, through or around the supposed mountains in your life. 

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.  If your history isn't showing a life walking with Jesus, then you'll know you need to change your ways. 

Your history will show His great love for you.  

Take the time to sit at the table of your life and have a deep, real, personal talk with Jesus about your past, present and future. 

Indeed you are going places in life...just be sure it's not a place you'll regret.  Be sure that it's the direction that your Savior wishes you to be going. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Not for a Long Time to Come!

Not for a Long Time to Come!

by David Brenneman 

‭"Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees;  as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." Luke 21:29-33.

The early Church had thought enough to consider that Jesus would return in their lifetime.  Some who had infiltrated the Church tried to say that He had but they had missed it.  

Date setting concerning the return of Jesus Christ is never a good thing to do.  The Father set that date and Jesus was made aware of it when He returned to Heaven.  Of course the Spirit already knew.  

The important thing to remember is what Jesus had said. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."  Biblical prophecy is His words coming to pass.  Ignoring them, lowering them on your list of priorities, dismissing them, is NOT going to make a single one go away. 

Scripture says that at the right time, Jesus came, born of a virgin.  At the right time.  That right time included the development of the technology of the world at that time.  The Romans had invented highways that were paved.  They were working on other innovations as well.  His coming was predicted hundreds of years earlier and came about exactly as the Word of God had said.  His words did not pass away.

Living your life as if Bible study and Bible prophecy doesn't matter is blatantly saying the precious Word of God means that little to you. 

Elevating the words of anyone above the Word of God will shipwreck your faith.  God's Word doesn't just stand the test of time, it stands the test of eternity. 

What do you personally do with the Word of God?  Does your Bible sit n gather dust or does your Bible show wear from use?  Reading in Jeremiah today that particular King wanted Jeremiah to tell him the word from the Lord.  He told him. He then instructed Jeremiah to lie n tell the inevitable officials something else.  To keep the word of God from being known.  

As Jesus said...you don't keep the light under a basket in a room.  It's on the basket that it might shed its light for all to see and benefit from. 

Do others benefit from the light of Jesus Christ in you?  Or are you one who hides it?  

Not telling others is not going to keep the Word of God from coming true. 

To the student of the Scriptures...we can clearly see that even in our time...Biblical prophecy is coming true.  Things written centuries ago are coming to bear on mankind.  Don't get me started on Biblically incorrect statements saying that the "powers of Hell" are fighting against these from coming to pass.  There are no powers of Hell according to the Bible.  Hell is a judgment place that had been reserved for Satan and his minions. There's no throne there for Satan.  Satan's never had horns on his head or a red body with a tail that looks like an arrowhead.  Biblically the description of Satan was absolutely not that.  

Are you at all watching for those signs in the heavens?  They are happening at an accelerated rate. Signs on the earth?  Same.  Wars and rumors of wars?  Perhaps you've heard of a few?  Earthquakes and famines in various places? 

You cannot worship God, cannot serve God, with your head in the sand about how the Spirit is in our world. 

The world wants to push Israel into the sea.  Erase the memory of the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac, the God of Abraham.  Coincidence? Absolutely not!  Satan is at war with the Lord and goes after the children of Israel.  Satan's at war with the Church of Jesus Christ...and goes after those who call upon Him. 

These are the facts of life.  

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."

Are you at all one of those who will be royally embarrassed to confess that you've never ever read your Bible even once?  How would you ever be prepared for what's to come upon mankind if you don't know what Jesus wrote about it?

The book of Revelation.  Many fear reading that book.  Yet the Bible itself says that you are blessed if you have read that book. 

Being successful in the eyes of the world is not what you are alive today for.  Having a personal paradise here on Earth is not what you're to spend your time working towards.  

Growing in Christ, with respect to your salvation, is what you are here for.  Sharing that light of Jesus Christ for all the world to see is what you are to be doing.  Being in the Word of God daily to see if what's happening is written there is a privilege to you.  You have the whole word of God to read to see if those things are so!

Besides prophecy, the whole Word of God is the love letter from Jesus written to you.  Would you be one who decided that it's not important enough to read all of?

Realize the seriousness of life. 

Realize that prayer isn't optional. 

Realize that growing in Christ Jesus is your true purpose. 

Realize that success in Christ isn't necessarily success as the world sees it. 

Realize that your light is SUPPOSED to shine before men in such a way that people see your good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. 

I was convicted many years ago about much of what you are reading here today.  Today I cannot tell you how many times I have read through my Bible.  

When, 5 years ago, I certainly heard from Jesus that He would give me things to say and that it was on me to say them...I never could unless I had been in His Word. 

My prayers include praying for those who find this blog.  That someone might come to Christ because of it or that someone might come back to Jesus because of it.  In any and all cases I want God to be glorified because of it. 

In your life you too have something special to be doing in Christ.  The Spirit set you too in the body of Christ as He saw fit.  You too have something to do to let your light shine. 

Is your light under a basket or on top of it?

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

 

Doing Your Calling

Doing Your Calling 

by David Brenneman 

This post might be an odd one or it might not be. In Christ, you're in the body of Christ. Set wherever the Spirit saw fit to place you. We read of that in the New Testament. 

The question begs...are you doing your calling or are you living for Jesus, only fitting in your calling to appease your conscience, and living for self the rest of the week?

For me, now over 5 years ago...this is one of a few passages that set me on the path that I am on. 

‭“Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life." Ezekiel 33:7-9. That I would be given things to say and that it would be upon me to write them. The results are beyond anything that I could have asked for or thought. 225,000 views, over 81 places on this planet and possibly the International Space Station. My own personal efforts of passing out a business card with the address on it and daily posts to that website and Facebook being it. God's not let me down at all in providing at least a message per day. Sometimes more than one.  

   I know not what's coming nor do I remember why I write what I do. The pen knows not what's coming anymore than the paper in the hands of the creator. 

I am in awe of what the Spirit has accomplished and my prayers often are that through this that either someone comes to Christ for salvation or returns to Him. But it takes obedience. It takes sacrifice as well. It means getting up earlier than most to spend time with Jesus. 

Do you sacrifice anything to be with Jesus? If not, why not? Our days aren't about our desires being met. We live in a dying world. We have a mission in life that's bigger than ourselves. To be brutally honest...who cares about worldly recognition. It's futility in itself. Each day our recognition should come from Jesus alone. Our goal should be to hear Him say "Well done!". Is that your goal? Again, if not, why not?

You are to be His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that you might walk in them. What happens when the creation keeps trying to do their own thing rather than be the new creation in Christ? Not a whole lot of growth. Not a whole lot of anything.  

I certainly wouldn't be where I am today if I kept going or I should say kept insisting on my way. 

Contentment will elude you my Dear Reader if you're looking for it in anything other than your walk with Jesus. Oh you'll have episodes of what amounts to fake contentment. It's those short-term things that don't last and yet we keep pursuing them. 

How guilty do you feel about never once having read through your whole Bible? The Bible isn't just historical, nor is it entirely prophetic. It's also the Love Letter from Jesus to you. He wrote you His Letter, essentially written in His blood, have you read it? You can't grow in Christ if you have no idea what growth in Christ looks like. It's found in the pages of this Letter from Jesus. 

Our world wants our attention to be anywhere on anything other than in the Bible and in prayer. The more we avoid those the more we are oblivious to the work of God in the world. The less we do for Jesus and each other.   

You DO have a purpose under the stars that our Creator has set in order just for you to be doing. The only retirement plan in the Bible is leaving this world to step into Heaven. Our work is not done, it's not finished, until God says to come home. We give Jesus 100% while we can. At least we're supposed to. We point people to Jesus and He takes it from there. Doesn't matter how old or how young you are. There's no age that we reach and say that we're done serving Jesus. 

How does your walk with Jesus look these days? Are you a committed Christian or a wishy-washy Christian? Are you one that's read your Bible so often that you have no idea how many times you've read it, or one who's never finished reading it at all?

You are the one who will stand before Jesus someday to give an account of your life before Him. 

Are the excuses you give today in not living wholeheartedly for Him now going to sound as good when that day comes for you?

Nobody retires in Christ Jesus. We only enter into His marvelous rest when we leave this world.   

Is it time for you to get serious? 

Is it time to start reading your whole Bible?  

Is it time to really be serious in your prayer life?

Are what's important to Jesus important to you? Are you doing that which the Spirit has set you in the body of Christ to be doing?

If you're an ear, be the best at it that you can be. Don't try to be an arm, a leg, or any other part. Paul wrote about this. 

Give of your best to the Master. 

Now and always. 

Growing in Christ

Growing in Christ 

by David Brenneman 

‭“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 15:1-11.

It's interesting that this passage came to me when I was considering what I read last night from Dr. Charles Stanley in Life Principle #7 "The Dark Moments of our life will last only as long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us."

"But why?" you might ask. "Why the painful times in life?"  

Ever see a wonderfully kept flower garden? Ever wonder what work goes into such a beautiful place? Pruning. Trimming. Weeding. Fertilizing. Watering. Tending. 

In all...not all of what's necessary and needed in order to bring about such a wonderful sight...is a pleasant experience for the plants in question. 

There's the stress of removing weeds that try to entangle the plants. There's the intentional disturbing of the ground to add nutrients. There's the use of tools to cut out what isn't bearing fruits that are good.  

We who are in Christ are going to have a rough road at times. Really considering the path from childhood to adulthood...it's a painful process. It's fraught with many dangers and snares. Peer pressure. Should you turn left instead of to the right. Should you move on or stay put. Are you listening when you should or did you miss something important. 

We are also placed in the body of Christ as the Spirit directs, as He sees fit. We don't choose the ground in which He's set us to grow in. He knows what we need in order to bring about our sanctification. 

Regardless of world opinion, you're not here to strictly flourish and have a paradise for your own personal enjoyment. Quite the contrary, Jesus said that all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus are going to suffer. It's a part of growing in Christ.  

Dr. Stanley was teaching that there's a purpose for what we are going through when adversity comes. God's not playing games with our lives. The Spirit has but one purpose...to let the light of Jesus Christ shine in our lives in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. This is the will of God for you, your sanctification. 

Our lives are not our own, we were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Our lives in Christ are spiritually discerned. Read that again. Spiritually discerned. Those in this world apart from Christ cannot understand the things of God because of why? They are spiritually discerned. They are foreign to them. They can't "get it".

While adversity is guaranteed, so is the work of the Spirit of God in you. 

In the passage that Dr. Stanley pointed to in LP#7, 1 Samuel 30...it reads that while the people where not looking favorably on David, he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. God, on His part, didn't let David down for doing this. 

The Spirit has His reasons for the unpleasant moments of life for each of us. We may know the reason, we may not. The onus is on us to obey regardless.  

‭"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

‭"but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

So our times of pruning are for our own good. There will be, as it's written in Ecclesiastes, a time to take up, a time to put down. 

Going out into your day, remember that Jesus is always already there. 

He is so prepared for what awaits you...even though your eyes, ears, and heart will say otherwise. 

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. Proverbs 3:5-6.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.