Thursday, July 17, 2014, 8:56 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “To Be Like Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 1 (NIV).
Appointed by God
God/Jesus knows everything about us because he is the one who created us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by him. All the days ordained for us were written in his book before any of them came into being, i.e. he has a plan and a purpose for our lives. We are not here by accident. He knows us inside and out. He knows when we sit down and when we stand up; when we sleep and when we wake up. He knows our thoughts even before we do. He is completely familiar with all of our ways. I like this part especially: He knows what we are going to say even before we know it, or even before we say it, so I often ask him to let me know if I am getting ready to say something I shouldn’t so that I don’t. There is nowhere we can go that he is not there. Amen! We can’t hide from God (See Ps. 139).
God/Jesus created each and every one of us with a purpose in mind. We are not here arbitrarily or at the will of a man and a woman. We were created by God to worship God and to serve him all our days. God has made himself known to all humankind, yet many choose not to glorify God or to give him thanks. They exchange the glory of God for their own gods which their own hands have made. They exchange the truth about God for a lie, and they worship and serve created things rather than the creator, so they are without excuse (See Romans 1).
Those of us who have received him as Lord and Savior of our lives have had the will of God made known to us through his word. The Lord also makes known to us his specific will and gifts he has for our lives through his word and through the witness of the Spirit within us. The Lord Jesus told his followers that when the Spirit came upon them that they would be his witnesses to the whole world. He told them, too, that they were to go and to make disciples of Christ of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them everything Christ had commanded them. He told his followers that they were to let their lights shine before men.
As followers of Christ, we are his Body, so that means we are his human representatives in this world to carry on the work he began when he walked the face of this earth. To equip us for the work of the ministry, God has given us all different gifts, as he determines. He has placed the parts of the body just as he wanted them to be, not as humans determine they should be. We don’t all have the same function (assignment), though. But, we are all necessary. And, so we need to hear God speak his words to our hearts, show us his will for all of our lives, have him show us what his will is specifically for each of us individually in giftings and in body parts, and then we need to begin doing what he has called us to do.
There are no excuses for whatever God has called us to do to get us out of it, because it is his Spirit within us empowering us to do the work through which we are able to accomplish what we might not be able to do in our natural selves. We all must go wherever God sends us, say what he wants us to say, and be whoever he created us to be, no matter what our specific assignments might be. And, we are not to be afraid of humankind or what they might say to us or do to us, for if we are doing and saying what God desires and wills, he is with us, and he will see us through every situation which presents itself to us.
To some degree we are all called to uproot and destroy, and to build and to plant. It means we speak the truth in love in order to help the body to grow and to develop as God intended, whether that means saying tough stuff sometimes or whether it means saying things that cheer people’s hearts. We have to be willing to do both, for that is how we grow (See Eph. 4).
Entrance of the Gates
There will always be humans who will set themselves up against us, who will hate us, reject us, fight against us, falsely accuse us, and who will try to get us to disobey our Lord and to go the way of the world. Yet, this is part of God’s plan and design for our lives. He told us we would be hated and persecuted if we truly follow him in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives. Not everyone will understand such dedication to the Lord, and they will think us crazy for separating ourselves from the world of sin and for not participating with them in the ways and customs of the world. Even within the church, which has adopted the ways and thinking of the world in order to “grow” their churches (businesses), we may stick out like a sore thumb, and we may even be invited to leave because we don’t fit.
Yet, God also brings people against us sometimes, not because we are doing right, but because we are doing wrong. Many of God’s people (the church) today are behaving wickedly, they have forsaken their Lord, and they have followed after the gods of this world instead. God has sent messengers time and time again to his church to warn them of judgment, to call them to repentance, and to promise them his blessings if they repent of their sins and they return to their Lord. And, yet so many have closed their ears and their hearts to the Spirit’s voice, and they are continuing to go their own way instead. And, so one day God will judge the church for her idolatry and spiritual adultery, and he will bring kings against her in order to get his church to repent and to turn back to him.
Get Ready!
So, we need to be ready for that time. Many believers throughout the world are already facing such severe persecution and even death for their testimonies and their stand for Jesus Christ, and at the hand of the “kings” of the world, i.e. the U.S., their allies, NATO, and the New World Order (Beast). And, this is coming to America, too. God will judge his adulterous church here because she has forsaken him as her “first love” and she has gone off to worship “other gods” of her own making. We need to be ready and know that such a time is coming here in America, too, and we must take a stand for Christ and not be afraid of those who can kill our bodies but who cannot kill our souls. We must be bold and courageous in the power of the Spirit within us and speak the words of the Lord to people, and share the gospel of salvation, because the time of the Lord’s return is not far away.
To Be Like Him / An Original Work
March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture
Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.
Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!
When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.
http://originalworks.info/to-be-like-him/
Appointed by God
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him… when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
God/Jesus knows everything about us because he is the one who created us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by him. All the days ordained for us were written in his book before any of them came into being, i.e. he has a plan and a purpose for our lives. We are not here by accident. He knows us inside and out. He knows when we sit down and when we stand up; when we sleep and when we wake up. He knows our thoughts even before we do. He is completely familiar with all of our ways. I like this part especially: He knows what we are going to say even before we know it, or even before we say it, so I often ask him to let me know if I am getting ready to say something I shouldn’t so that I don’t. There is nowhere we can go that he is not there. Amen! We can’t hide from God (See Ps. 139).
God/Jesus created each and every one of us with a purpose in mind. We are not here arbitrarily or at the will of a man and a woman. We were created by God to worship God and to serve him all our days. God has made himself known to all humankind, yet many choose not to glorify God or to give him thanks. They exchange the glory of God for their own gods which their own hands have made. They exchange the truth about God for a lie, and they worship and serve created things rather than the creator, so they are without excuse (See Romans 1).
Those of us who have received him as Lord and Savior of our lives have had the will of God made known to us through his word. The Lord also makes known to us his specific will and gifts he has for our lives through his word and through the witness of the Spirit within us. The Lord Jesus told his followers that when the Spirit came upon them that they would be his witnesses to the whole world. He told them, too, that they were to go and to make disciples of Christ of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them everything Christ had commanded them. He told his followers that they were to let their lights shine before men.
As followers of Christ, we are his Body, so that means we are his human representatives in this world to carry on the work he began when he walked the face of this earth. To equip us for the work of the ministry, God has given us all different gifts, as he determines. He has placed the parts of the body just as he wanted them to be, not as humans determine they should be. We don’t all have the same function (assignment), though. But, we are all necessary. And, so we need to hear God speak his words to our hearts, show us his will for all of our lives, have him show us what his will is specifically for each of us individually in giftings and in body parts, and then we need to begin doing what he has called us to do.
There are no excuses for whatever God has called us to do to get us out of it, because it is his Spirit within us empowering us to do the work through which we are able to accomplish what we might not be able to do in our natural selves. We all must go wherever God sends us, say what he wants us to say, and be whoever he created us to be, no matter what our specific assignments might be. And, we are not to be afraid of humankind or what they might say to us or do to us, for if we are doing and saying what God desires and wills, he is with us, and he will see us through every situation which presents itself to us.
To some degree we are all called to uproot and destroy, and to build and to plant. It means we speak the truth in love in order to help the body to grow and to develop as God intended, whether that means saying tough stuff sometimes or whether it means saying things that cheer people’s hearts. We have to be willing to do both, for that is how we grow (See Eph. 4).
I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.
(M. Brown; C. Pryor; C. Rounsefell)
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.
(M. Brown; C. Pryor; C. Rounsefell)
Entrance of the Gates
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”
“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”
The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.
“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”
“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”
The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.
“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
There will always be humans who will set themselves up against us, who will hate us, reject us, fight against us, falsely accuse us, and who will try to get us to disobey our Lord and to go the way of the world. Yet, this is part of God’s plan and design for our lives. He told us we would be hated and persecuted if we truly follow him in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives. Not everyone will understand such dedication to the Lord, and they will think us crazy for separating ourselves from the world of sin and for not participating with them in the ways and customs of the world. Even within the church, which has adopted the ways and thinking of the world in order to “grow” their churches (businesses), we may stick out like a sore thumb, and we may even be invited to leave because we don’t fit.
Yet, God also brings people against us sometimes, not because we are doing right, but because we are doing wrong. Many of God’s people (the church) today are behaving wickedly, they have forsaken their Lord, and they have followed after the gods of this world instead. God has sent messengers time and time again to his church to warn them of judgment, to call them to repentance, and to promise them his blessings if they repent of their sins and they return to their Lord. And, yet so many have closed their ears and their hearts to the Spirit’s voice, and they are continuing to go their own way instead. And, so one day God will judge the church for her idolatry and spiritual adultery, and he will bring kings against her in order to get his church to repent and to turn back to him.
Get Ready!
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
So, we need to be ready for that time. Many believers throughout the world are already facing such severe persecution and even death for their testimonies and their stand for Jesus Christ, and at the hand of the “kings” of the world, i.e. the U.S., their allies, NATO, and the New World Order (Beast). And, this is coming to America, too. God will judge his adulterous church here because she has forsaken him as her “first love” and she has gone off to worship “other gods” of her own making. We need to be ready and know that such a time is coming here in America, too, and we must take a stand for Christ and not be afraid of those who can kill our bodies but who cannot kill our souls. We must be bold and courageous in the power of the Spirit within us and speak the words of the Lord to people, and share the gospel of salvation, because the time of the Lord’s return is not far away.
To Be Like Him / An Original Work
March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture
Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.
Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!
When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.
http://originalworks.info/to-be-like-him/