SPOKEN WORDS

Spoken words with the intent of guile, will only cause someone to withdraw, pull back or shut down. So, be sure to taste your words before you share them with someone else. There are times that it would be better to sew our mouths shut than to allow the temptation to speak ugly and hurtful words to someone, only to wish that we could take them back. Gracious words however, help people to open up, blossom and motivates them to reach for higher ground. Every word that we speak to others will either lift them up or bring them down. Those words can encourage them or get a hostile reaction if spoken in bitterness, hate, anger or jealousy. There are plenty of toxic people who care nothing about what comes out of their mouth. If there is a wrongful thing to say, they will say it with ease and give no thought to the consequences of how and who all it will effect. We each, must decide which kind of person we will choose to be, toxic or graceful. Col. 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace.” The words we speak have enormous power to build up someone or destroy them. Scripture is very clear in its teaching on how the tongue is like fire and can be used to destroy if it is not brought under control. Paul told us to “Watch the way we talk, to say only what helps, according to Ephesians 4:29. Solomon told us that there is healing in the words of the wise in Proverbs 12:18. A wise man listens to instructions and obeys it. You will find that most people will reproduce the seeds that you sew in their lives, be it bad or good seed. If we are telling someone that they are worthless or incapable, they will probably strive to fail and prove us correct in most cases. However, if we are encouraging them in grace and praising the good in them, they will make every effort to strive to justify our confidence in them. One of the simplest ways to avoid doing harm with our words is to keep our mouths shut! Period. Do not make comments or offer advice in situations that you know you should not. Because if it is done with the wrong heart and attitude, those that you are making your comments to will not listen, but take offense and you will not only have done them a horrible spiritual service, but you will wreak havoc on yourself and often times your own family, especially if they hear you, or aware of what you have said. Simply put, we reap what we sow. Some good advice that we should hearken to is found in, 1 Peter 3:10-11 "If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies”. “Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” If we are in Christ, we have no choice but to do what He says, if we do not, we will suffer the consequences of our actions.

 

Loving on you today sweet friend,

Bren

Making God Bigger, Makes Your Problems Smaller

Thank God that most of us do not encounter as many bad days as David did throughout his life. Once when he returned to his home in Ziklag and discovered that his enemies, the Amalekites, had destroyed and stolen everything that was important to him, including his family it was just about as much as he could stand. Along with everything else that had taken place, his own men blamed him and turned against him for all of their misfortune as well, according to 1 Sam. 30. There is a lot that we can learn and even imitate from David’s response when we face difficulties ourselves. But we must first confront our trouble with the strength and the right weapons in order to relinquish them. You see satan does not want a confrontation with strength; he seeks to exploit weakness and because he fights against our weakness, we must learn how to govern them along with our emotions that are tied to our troubles in order to retain steady peace in which God gives us and satan wants to take from us. Understanding that the joy of the Lord is the strength of the believer, the devil seeks to steal your joy, thereby reducing you to weakness. The believer who can retain their joy, is destined to overcome their situation. As David sat among the ruins of Ziklag with his angry men talking about stoning him, he had a choice. He could allow his grief and bitterness over his loss to overtake him and let his circumstances over shadow the Word of God that he had known in his past circumstances or, he could use his faith in God to fight back with the spiritual weapons that had given him aid in past times. As David looked all around him, he saw nothing but discouragement and downcast men. David had no one to encourage him, so he had to ,"encouraged himself in the Lord his God" 1 Samuel 30:6. From what we know about David in the Psalms, it is very easy to guess how David went about encouraging himself, because he sang about it. He took his harp, retreated to a solitary place, and began to sing songs of praise to God. No doubt David didn't feel like singing, but he did it anyway. It wasn’t the Blues he sang either! No, instead, he sang of the majesty and power of God. He sang of the Creator who had spoken the earth and universe into existence. He sang of the deliverer who had already given him past victories and showed favor to him as he conquered giants in the name of the Lord. Through praise and worship, David changed his focus. Upon every song he sang his spirit was lifted above his present circumstances into the presence of the One who is high and lifted up. "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God”. 

In times of uncertainty and upheaval, God was David's constant. Why? Because God doesn't change. No matter what the circumstance, God is above it, below it, around it and all over it and is seated upon the throne of sovereignty and holding the scepter of dominion. Through praise and worship, David changed his focus and by faith he beheld “El Shaddai”, the almighty God. Even on the worst days of his life, God was worthy of David’s praise. Just imagine David sitting in the ashes of what was once his home with his harp in his hand, singing these words: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" Ps. 34:1-4.Then, David sang another line: "Oh, magnify the Lord with me." The word Magnify means "to enlarge or make bigger in perspective”. While it is impossible to make God any bigger than He already is, because you cannot increase the omnipotence of God, but, you can magnify your perspective of Him. And that is exactly what David did. Perspective has everything to do with whether you are encouraged or discouraged. A thousand years before David's problems, a young but wise Elihu, reminded Job who was facing his own worst day of his life at the time, that “God gives songs in the night”, Job 35:10. When times are the darkest, God will shed His light upon them. That is some pretty encouraging words. Paul and Silas in the New Testament did the same thing a thousand years later. They had been arrested for casting a spirit of divination out of a young slave girl. After a faulty trial, they were beaten with rods and imprisoned in the innermost part of a dungeon with their feet in stocks. They responded in a most remarkable way. At midnight, instead of despairing and blaming God, they sang hymns of praise to Him. Paul and Silas made the exceptional choice to encourage themselves by praising God. They were simply following in the footsteps of David. Luke tells us that while Paul and Silas sang, the other prisoners were listening to them. No doubt the prisoners were amazed at such surprising behavior from a couple of dudes in shackles. Today sweet friend, if you find yourself sinking into despair, simply exalt God in your life by making Him bigger than your situation and you will see that they are getting smaller by each whisper of Praise, as you sing praises over them. 'Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength' " Neh.8:10.

Loving on you today,

-Bren

  

THE PURPOSE OF THE STAR

There has been an ongoing debate that has been taking place for decades concerning a star that was in the night’s sky, a real cosmic event that got the attention of some very wise men, which caused them to go on a very long journey looking for a newborn baby, whom they believed was to be a great King. Yet, not just any King, but according to their limited information, a King, of the Jews? These Wise Men, or Kings are believed to have been based on the Magi, which were Persian sages, who believed that the stars effected and had influences on the earth. The kings were religious scholars of sorts and were revered Babylonian astronomers of their day. They studied the stars and planets interpreting the meaning behind the universe’s cosmic events. Anything that appeared unusual in their limited wisdom, was considered a sign that had some kind of meaning. In the case of the Bethlehem star, it’s appearance caused them to travel to Jerusalem, where they spoke with King Herod asking him, if he knew where the new King had been born.

Well, we know from scripture that King Herod was a terrible King himself and sought to kill the baby, out of jealousy and fear. Once his chief priest and scribes told him that according to Hebrew prophecy that the baby was to be born in Bethlehem, he passed on that information to the Wise Men in hopes that they would find the baby and lead Herod to him, as they returned to him with the information. However, the Lord was always a step ahead of Herod’s evil plan and warned the Wise Men in a dream what Herod's plan was towards the baby, and they returned to their own country instead.

Just think, God used one cosmic event to draw the world’s attention to what he was planning to do. While I have no idea as to how planets crossing in front of each other can cause other planets and orbits to do odd things or of what the birth of a new star or nova looks like when it is happening, I am, totally convinced, that the Creator of our entire universe and beyond can do, or change whatever needs to be done in order to accomplish His will; whether it was, or is with a very bright light, a big blast, a bang or simply turning a planet into a reddish color that appears to us on earth to be blood. I don’t struggle with these types of issues because my faith renders me peace in spite of all that I do not know or understand, and I simply trust!

As for the children of God, one of the great wonders of Christmas is the star that appeared around the time of the birth of Jesus. This star is known as the star of Bethlehem and it led the Wise Men from the East, to the site of the birth of Jesus according to scripture, in Matthew Chapter 2. Some folks like to debate if this event was an astronomical object or a supernatural object, such as a star or an angel.

It amazes me that people cannot grasp the fact that a Power that is great enough to create every nova, comet, pulsar, double eclipse, supernova, star, sky, cloud, rain drop and atom that exist, along with every cell, and every creature great and small, cannot create a simple bright star and place it in the sky to symbolize an event that He is bringing to pass and had already predicted would happen.

For me and mine, we will continue to place the star atop of our Christmas tree each year, to symbolize and celebrate the day that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ who was both fully God and fully human according to Hebrews 2, who knew no sin, to take the punishment of sin and death, so that we would not have to, according to John 1:29. He came to take away the sins of the world. “For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. This is the true purpose of Christmas.

Merry Christmas,

Bren

THE TASK OF OUR HOLIDAY WORK

The holidays can sometimes be so overwhelming that when they are over and we can get our breath, it quickly becomes obvious to us that we, ourselves somehow missed the fun and pleasures that they bring. We missed out because we were so busy making them happy for everyone else, covering all the details needed to insure our families and friends get as much out of their holidays as we can possible provide for them to. If only we could learn the balance that is needed to enjoy the work, as we are doing it. I believe that we can! It is only a matter of getting into an atmosphere of worship as we go about the task of doing. Mary the sister of Martha did. Because her priorities were in the right place, Jesus said to Martha of Mary, in Luke 10:41-42, that she chose the right thing; while Martha was running around stressed and panic stricken over her work. In contrast to Martha, if we will get into the same atmosphere as Mary did, we too will do what is needed before and in the middle of our work and still be able to enjoy them for ourselves. You see as we take the time to go before the Lord, to learn from Him and see Him as He is, and what He is doing, He comes along side of us as we are working. It is as though we have one who comes from outside our situation to bring us the help that is needed to accomplish our task. When we are in the middle of a stressful moment, the problems are often times all that we can see. God will empower us with the solutions that we need, but we must make the conscience effort to create the atmosphere for His presence in our lives. Just like putting up the tree at Christmas, wrapping the presents and placing them under the tree, and filling our homes with Christmas music, that creates the atmosphere of the Holidays, so must we make the effort to create for ourselves an atmosphere of thanksgiving, praise and worship to One that we adore. For He is the reason for our celebrating, no matter what they holiday may be. When we do this, He never fails us. He comes and joins in to save the day! The task of our Holiday work does not have to overwhelm us, if we will only choose that which is needed, as Jesus told Martha. “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.” Psalm 31:19 Wishing you and yours a most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hold Fast,

Bren

THE PURPOSE OF WHERE YOU ARE

 

No one in their right mind ever chooses to suffer, be it through health, wealth or relationship. But choosing God’s will in our life, even if it means that we have to learn through the means of suffering in one way or another is something altogether different. We are also encouraged to be very careful in how we interfere with a lesson that is being taught in other Christian’s life as we see them suffer as well. 1 Peter 4:19 says, “Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good…”. Jesus understood suffering better than anyone, and it is only through a relationship with Him that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us or others. It is never beneficial for us to seek to carry out God’s request or will through shortcuts of our own, as we often try to do. God’s way is always the way of suffering at some point in life. Some of the suffering that we must bear, is not always meant for us personally. Yet, their design is to make everyone involved useful in God’s hands in some way or another. It can also enable us to understand what takes place in the lives of others, once we understand how God works through suffering.

Because God works on this level, we are to never be surprised by what comes our way. Dealing with a difficult person for instance might very well cause you to think, that you cannot deal with nor tolerate them. However, God tells us that we can and gives us sufficient opportunities to learn from Him concerning that situation. But, if we are not careful, we will turn away from what He is saying, and not heed the lesson that we are being taught, because it is too much trouble for us to do so. Then again, if we are going to be used by God, He will take us through a number of experiences that will stretch us to the point of being broken over it, and that is a good thing. Our sufferings should produce in us the same thing that it did in Jesus as He so earnestly prayed in the Garden before His arrest. He said, “…what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour"? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." John 12:27-28. The human side of Jesus knew what He was spiritually up against and dreaded what He would have to face. But as He prayed and surrendered His will to His Father's will, peace, comfort and a new will to carry on flooded His being.

Brokenness may be the very thing we are needing to bring us to the point of humility and accepting the will of God no matter what it may cost us. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life. Wallowing over the fact that we wish it were not, is spinning our wheels and wasting our time. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are real in everyone’s life, and it is not for us to say that God made a mistake by allowing them. If you will accept yourself in the fiery pain, of sorrow and suffering in your life with humility, God will elevate you to a higher spiritual ground and make you nourishment for those around you as well as those that He will bring into your path. May I encourage you today sweet friend, do not waste any suffering that God may allow to come your way, not even the smallest amounts of it. Are you partakers of Christ’s sufferings today? Are you ready for God to stamp out that personal ambition that is in you and destroy your individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? If so, it may very well mean, not knowing why God is taking you the way that you are going until He is ready to reveal it to you. Will you wait for that? We often times never realize at the time what God is putting us through and then suddenly, we come to the place where He reveals the purpose of that suffering and we “get it”. Until His answers come to us, we must be like Christ, who knew that no one on earth could understood what He was going through or the purpose of it just as Peter did not understand in Matthew 16:23, yet Jesus settled with only the sympathy of His Father and the ministering angels. Never measure your life by how or where you may be at the moment, nor think that you are of no use to God there. For God places His children where they will bring Him the most glory and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. No matter where you are right now in your life, it is not a waste. Take the role of the postage stamp and stick with it until it gets you where you are intended to go!

Hold Fast,

Bren

WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF

“Worry about yourself”, said my little 2 ½ year old granddaughter to me the other day, as I was asking her if she was “supposed to be getting into her mother’s purse”. No sooner did she get those words out of her mouth, did her mother respond back to her in the spirit of a 911 emergency operator, loving, but stern rebuke, by telling her not speak to her Granna like that. She bowed her little head and said, “I sorry Granna”! How precious that was! Not her harsh rebuke to me for questioning her business, but the humility she showed, when her higher authority spoke. My daughter apologized and told me that our little princess was copy-catting her Mom because that is the response that she gets from her mother when she tries to tell her brother what to do. Her mother tells her to, “worry about yourself” and leave your brother to me. My little granddaughter is having to learn one of the toughest character builders in life, and that is to mind her own affairs. God’s word even tells us to do that! It says, “And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you…”  in 1 Thessalonians 4:11. In Proverbs 26:17 Solomon provide us with a little bit of imagery or practical mental picture to help us understand the importance of minding our own business by saying, “Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.”, Proverbs 26:17.

 

Fooling with someone else's problems, butting into other's arguments, meddling in other people’s affairs is just not smart. In fact, it is just about as smart as grabbing a dog by his ears. When I see people in big quarrels and animosity towards each other that causes division and conflict, I am sometimes so tempted to step in and get everyone straightened out by giving them some great advice, but then, I quickly remind myself about what would happen, if I picked up a dog by the ears. As I hold my own tongue, and not get involved, I do as Jesus told Peter to do in John 21:20-22,  Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” I do this because I believe in Romans 14:12, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God”. Some people will go through life and never learn to keep their tongue under control. You can tell that by looking at the long trail of damage they have brought about that leads straight to their own mouths. In the end they too will give an account of what they have said, and friend it will not be a good thing! I think my daughter hit the nail on the head when she said, “worry about yourself”!

Hold Fast,

Bren

 

SUCCOTH, A TEMPORARY PLACE

 

A city, east of the Jordan River in the territory of Gad, about 30 miles north of the Dead Sea, is a very important little piece of land. It is important because, it is a part of Bible history. On the way back to Canaan, after Jacob had ended his exile from his family, in fear of his brother Esau’s anger against him from Jacob having stolen his birthright; Jacob built himself a temporary place to live and made booths for his cattle, and he called the place Succoth. Succoth was not a place that Jacob intended to stay forever. But to only dwell for a short time, until he could make amends with his brother Esau, for having wronged him. Succoth appears in a number of places in the Bible, as a physical location, and even as one of the Feasts that the Children of Israel were commanded to keep and celebrate throughout their generations.

 

Today, the place that used to be known as Succoth is part of the country of Jordan. There is a two-fold meaning for this little name; Succoth. It has both a spiritual and a practical meaning to God’s people. Because of its importance, it was a  Biblical Mandate to remember it and celebrate it as such. The exodus from Egypt by the Children of Israel is probably the most significant event in the history of the Israelite people. In fact, many Judaic festivals owe their origins to this event. After the Children of Israel departed from Egypt in route to the Promised Land, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. During their nomadic wanderings, they too dwelt in these small temporary booths and shelters like the ones in Succoth.

 

 For the child of God today, Succoth should represent to us, and be a physical reminder that this world is not our home. We are only here for a very short time.  It should also remind us that Succoth  has a spiritual aspect as well, and remind us that we should consider the places that we often end up at in our lives, as little plots of Succoth. Temporary places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. Just temporary places, until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Because of the hardness of their hearts where they ended up in the dessert, many Jews died there, never seeing the promised land that was intended for them, while others eventually moved out, and into the land that God had promised.

 

You see Succoth represents to the believer that our time frame is not always Gods, and it is always best to stay at the place we may be at, until God instructs us to move on to the next phase of our lives. Like the patriarch Abraham, Gideon also was a great example of waiting on God. Gideon stepped out of his comfort zone where he was, as Abraham did, not having all the answers he may have wanted and obeyed God, even though he may have been a little skeptical about what he was ask to do. When we step out of our comfort zones at the leading of the Lord, He doesn’t expect us to remain comfortable; that’s the whole point. If it wasn’t uncomfortable then we’ve merely stepped from one comfort zone into another. The idea is that we do uncomfortable things in faith. That is what faith is. So never think, that you aren’t demonstrating sufficient faith when facing a grueling challenge, and you have fears and worries along the way.

 

If you ask any soldier who has ever been in combat if they were afraid, they will tell you “absolutely, they were!” What they had to learn was to control that fear in order to function, not dismiss it. Even so, Gideon would have to appear sure and confident among his men because, nothing frightens soldiers more, than to have a wavering leader. We can trust God’s leading, for He never wavers and our faith in Him will move us from our temporary places to the places of better dwellings.

 

As I said, we should always consider the places that we oftentimes end up at as little plots of Succoth. Simple places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. But temporary places until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Into a better place, a place of promise!

Hold Fast,

Bren

HOPE IS HOW YOU COPE

Man cannot measure its effects nor can they tell exactly how it’s power is released in the human body when someone chooses “Hope”. Hope is mostly intangible, until you have reached out for it. It may be impossible to see or touch it, until you have crossed over to where hope waits. It plays a most important role in our lives when we are at wits end and in need of a deeper help other than ourselves. Hope brings us healing and promise and it powers us to move ahead in our life. Hope can be contagious as we see other’s being gratified by its power. Hope in one person, can very well activate and raise hope in another and before you know it, it becomes contagious. The Bible teaches that hope fills us with joy and peace as we lay aside our gloom and doom and reach out for something better. The truth is that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He promises to help those who cry out to Him. Jesus says to you, “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I’ll give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

There are a lot of dark places in life and while they appear to be like long dark train tunnels, keep in mind that a lot of engineering went into designing those tunnels, and are actually true marvels of engineering, as they help trains navigate through harsh and unwelcoming territories. You may be yearning today sweet friend for that light at the end of your tunnel. But while you are waiting, through faith, the flame of your hope can provide some much needed glimmers of God’s light. It's there, shimmering and dancing waiting for you to see it. You simply need to break out of your tunnel vision and gaze a little wider and when you do, hope steps in and helps you cope, with whatever it may be that is causing your darkness. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
 

Loving on you today,

Bren

Finding God's Place For Your Life

God has a plan for every life that He creates. His plan is sure, wise and designed to fit our personality and position in this world. His design involves where we go and what we do, and the people that He places in our lives. How do we know this? Because His Words tells us so. Before God created the first man and the first woman, He created a place for them to be, and He placed them there. When He established His relationship with Israel as a people set apart for Him, He had already established a place for them to live in the Promise Land. Even the Son of God, as He left the throne of God, to come to earth and live amongst a lost world, had a plan and a place already picked out for His arrival as well as His leaving.

 

You too, sweet friend have a promised future if you will diligently seek Him and follow where He will lead you. You see, when we seek after God, we run into His goodness, we find the wisdom we need in every area of our lives and we open the door for His Kingdom to be done in our personal lives as it was for-planned in heaven for us to live. However, if we choose to not seek God on the level that He ask of us to seek Him on, we will miss out on the plans that He has prepared for us. Like Adam and Eve’s failure in the garden as they chose to disobey God, because they chose to do things their way, it ended up costing them the very plan that God had designed and intended for them to have, the Garden Paradise. While life is no longer perfect since sin came into the world, God though His own plans has a place of blessing for each of us, but we must continue in His ways and not fall short.

 

Staying connected to God means you must make the effort it takes. An occasional trip to the church house to drop a few dollars in the plate, posting sweet pics with Bible verse on it about Jesus on your Facebook, is not how the true child of God, stays connected. I, am talking about a real, live connection to the Son of God, and to the God Who created you. To connect with God, Webster describes it this way, to bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established. To join together so as to provide access and communication. To link to a power source. Are you really connect to God? Are you in a place that God has for you or do you wish you were? If not, seek Him for that place in faith, and stay expectant. For God knows the plans that he has for you, to prosper and not to harm you. But you must seek Him, on His terms. Are you doing things God’s way, or yours? Remember, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

JUDGING GOD

God is not a man who has somehow acquired great power, wisdom and authority. Instead He is Deity, the supreme supernatural being who is far superior to man and who has a perfect mind and heart. He wills only from His perfect being. Unlike other life forms such as plants and animals, man was created in God’s, own image according to Gen. 1:27.  

Scripture also tells us that, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” according to Psalm 24:1. So all that exists is God’s personal property. We are not our own! Everything exists for God’s purposes. Humans have this illusion concerning their independence from God. Most believe that as they make their own choices, those choices shape their environment and control their own destinies, and that through their own efforts they provide for themselves, will and do as they please apart from any outside help or intervention. This is an illusion though, because in general we have no control whatsoever over the most basic factors of our life. The scriptures teach us in Proverbs 16, that man makes his plans but in the end it is God who directs his steps and wills the results. Our human tendency often times puts us at odds with God, who is judge over all the earth according to Genesis 18.

 

Some might ask, what right does God have, to decide whether our behavior is worthy of reward or punishment? Primarily it is, because He created us. Some Scientist tell us that humans evolved through a process of mutation and natural selection. If this were the case, there would be no standards of behavior that were more right than any other. Life would simply be a what evolves, with the outcome determining who was most fit to survive.  But God has revealed in the Bible that He is the great intelligence that created the universe and everything in it. Whether we believe it or not is our choice.

 

The apostle Paul expresses this principle in his letter to the Romans: “Indeed, o man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay?” Romans 9:20-21. satan would have us believe that God is a selfish liar who wants to maintain His power and exclusive privileges, keeping mankind from the truth. Satan wants us to believe that God desire to Lord over us as satan himself would love to do. He would like nothing more than that we disobey God as Eve did the day the he deceived her with his lies.

 

The Bible however presents a totally different picture. It reveals that God is love, who longs to offer His grace and mercy to us, even if we reject it. His judgments are an expression of His love to His creation, not a desire for control or revenge or an expression of malevolence. “He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth” Psalms 96:13. God promises in this verse that He will not pervert justice, and falsehood will not be able to prevail in His judgment. Some of the resentment that people have towards God and His judgments’ stems from the misconception that God is judging every little thing that we do and that the trials, pain and tragedies that we experience are God’s punishment for our transgressions. In actual fact, God is continuously shielding us from the worst consequences of our own actions. He nailed our judgment to the cross by sending His Son to take our judgment on Himself and pay for all mankind’s sin. If man does not accept that payment, then in the end he will in deed die a sinner’s death and be separated for eternity from his creator who loved him enough to make a way of escape.

 

God is holding back His wrath on us.  This is represented in the Book of Revelation as it speaks about the “four angels… holding back the four winds of the earth” Revelation 7:1. This world has suffered enough from sin, and the judgment is simply God’s way of bringing it to an end.  We usually think that judgment is all about our deeds and behavior, but actually when you think about it, God is being judged as much as anyone. At the very beginning, soon after creation in the Garden of Eden, the accusations were against God. satan cast them himself. Eve believed those accusations and disobeyed what God had told her not to do.

 

So maybe man’s issue is not so much about, “what right does God have to judge him”, but rather, “what right does man have to judge God”? Because that’s what people do when they consider God’s laws and the gospel message, and rejects them.

 

Loving on you today!

Bren

 

Lukewarm Complacency

Part 1

Sometimes God’s children fall into spiritual ruts. They seem to be going through the motions of being a child of God, but without passion or a genuine feeling of the closeness that they have had in the past, to the Lord. I admit, that I have found myself in that situation myself. It is in those times that we lose our excitement about the things of God and even damage our relationship with Him. While we do not reject Him altogether, we find ourselves in a very uncomfortable situation, for a while any ways. It is that in-between, not wholly with the world, but not totally in love with God either place. This place the scripture refers to as spiritual complacency, being lukewarm and straddling the spiritual fence. This may not be your  problem right now, but sometime in your Christian life, you will be, if you are not very careful to guard yourself by being filled daily and walking in the Holy Spirit. All of us have the tendency to slip into a lukewarm spiritual state. Instead of being the thermostat, we become a thermometer. When everything is going well and we don’t need anything, it’s very tempting to let our guards down assuming that it will always be grand. In Revelations 3:14-22, Jesus wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea, a church located in Turkey. He told them that they were spiritually complacent: "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus is telling us to not be content in that condition. Get up, move out! He stand ready and waiting to help us out of that retched state, but we must desire Him more than anything else. You see it’s always “things’ trip us up and get us sidetracked. Don’t become so lukewarm that you like that common place you may be in. Be ready to pick up and move on to a higher spiritual calling. (continued)

Part 2

Last week I encouraged you not to visit the land of the lukewarm. The place where you become spiritually content. That place where you feel neither hot nor cold for the Lord, just lukewarm. To be lukewarm means, to be indifferent and undecided. You haven’t resolved to do something. You are not passionately invested in a cause. Nothing you do seems to motivate you to exert yourself. When we are lukewarm spiritually, the progress of God’s work is not as important to us as much as it may have been in the past. Outwardly, we may seem to be doing quite well. We may seem to be happy and satisfied, and are committed to our routine of Christian life. However, we dislike anything that “rocks our boat.” We just like the way things are. We are comfortable and feel like we are in our control. But really, we are just pitiful! If this is where you are sweet friend, you don’t realize your true situation. You have no spiritual strength. You think you are doing well, but in fact you are in tremendous danger of being far away from God. I know this because of my own spiritual failures and past waywardness at times. However, the good news is that God loves us dearly and will always be ready to embrace us when we wake up from our spiritual slumber. In verses 15 and 16 of Revelations chapter 3, Jesus tells the Laodiceans their actions indicate their spiritual complacency. When people are truly moved by something, they take action. If you love your family, you will work hard to support them and meet their needs. If  you have ambition for power, if not careful, you will be ruthless in pursuing it. If a child is trapped in a burning building, a mother will do everything she can to save her child. A true believer, will not be able to stay in a place of complacency very long. The Lord wills it that way. He knows that His children can only rebel for so long and at some point they will return to Him. Why? Because upon salvation, God places His Spirit inside them. He promises that His Holy Spirit will lead them into all truth, guiding them as they walk through life and seals them until the day of redemption. No one can remove that seal, no one! A true believer will sense that complacency in their lives and will be convicted by the Spirit of God to repent and turn back. If that does not happen in a person’s life, they will need to rethink and work out their salvation according to God’s Word. However, to the child of God, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” If we could save ourselves by our good works and deeds, or our great motives or any other means, we would not need a Savior. But since we can’t save ourselves, we must surrender to the One who does save, and when we do, we will have the desire that only He gives to want to serve Him and live for Him. The book of James tells us that Faith without works is dead. No good! Ephesians tells us that, it is by God’s grace that we can be saved, through our faith and nothing from ourselves, for it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Today sweet friend, take a moment and gage your spiritual walk. How is your relationship with God? Draw neigh to Him and He will draw neigh to you! Jesus is the way to God. No man comes to the Father but by Him.

Loving on you today,

Bren

 

How's Your Spiritual Walking Going?

 

When I became a Christian, at first I did not know what “walking in the Spirit” meant. As a matter of fact, there were many things about my new spiritual life and future that I had no idea about. However, there was one thing that I knew for sure. I knew that whatever I now had, I did not have before, and that was the desire to know God better. As I began to study God’s word, the Bible became more clear to me, as I took my spiritual knife and began to cut into the Bread of life and break it off piece by piece, mentally ingesting it into my daily life.  Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. That verse is telling us not, to walk as our flesh dictates for us to, but rather to be controlled by God’s Spirit that dwells within the child of God. Once a person receives Christ into their hearts, their old ways of living ceases to exist and God gives them a new life to start over in. Yes, a person can begin again, start over. While they may have to deal with the consequences of their past sins form that point on, they can live in peace knowing that they have been forgiven. Once a person gets born again, they actually become a new person, a new creation. The old person that they were disappears and the new person is free to live, to love and obey God requires them to. That person now sees and knows that something has truly happened to them that they cannot explain, yet they know, that they know, they have been forgiven and made new; and because they know there is a difference from the old life to their new life, it simply urges them to live differently, having new desires that compel them to obedience to God.

 

If, a person does not experience a new change and they continue to live in the same state that they were in prior to asking Christ to forgive them and save them, the scripture describes them as being deceived. If there is no change, there must have been no real repentance. For true repentance brings change. Living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are two different things. You cannot have Christ come into your life and have no heart change concerning sin. Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit”. If one is in (lives) the Spirit, let him walk in therein. Like a new born baby learns to crawl and then walk, drink milk before they take on solid foods, so the child of God must follow that same process. Walking does not come automatically, it takes time and effort. But nevertheless, the true child of God craves the things of God and to do His will. As they seek God by learning about Him and obeying Him, they began to grow and walk in Him. Being saved allows a person the right to become the children of God. As they walk in the truth that is shown to them by and through the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God, their new spiritual inclination is to walk deeper and talk to him on a deeper level, and when that happens God is honored and walks with them. I John 2:6 says, “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” The Christian life is a life of progression, but once a believe understands that the new life they now live, is actually, a life that they no longer live, but a life the Christ lives in and through them, then they will understand what it really means to walk in the Spirit! How is your walking today sweet friend?

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

Is God Invisible To You?

I watched my granddaughter the other day as she took markers with invisible ink and colored a page of flowers in her coloring book. I smiled as the color appeared on the flowers out of thin air, or so it seemed. Of course the color was already on the page, but without the special liquid inside the markers, the colors on the flowers would not have shown up. That got me to thinking. Sometimes God is just like that. If we were honest with each other, we would all have to admit that there are times that God seems far away or invisible to us. Yet, He is really not.

More times than not, it is us, not God that moves away. In the scriptures, we are told that our sin is what separates us from God. When we are separated, we are not at peace with Him, nor do we feel His presence, and often times it is our pride in some form that keeps us from the sweet fellowship that He freely gives us. Psalm 138:6 tells us that “… the haughty he knows from afar.” Often times one of the primary reasons for God’s apparent “disappearance” to us, is our human pride. Pride repels and repulses God to be near us. For the lost, it will inevitably keep them separated from God eternally. For the saved, it breaks fellowship with Him. No matter how desperate we want Him in our lives, like the young man in Mark 10, “Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth”. What kept that young man from coming to Jesus? His pride. He was unwilling to surrender all that was his to have all that God would offer him.

 

The Lord will remain invisible to us as long as He sees within our hearts an elevated opinion of ourselves. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” God will allow us to bang our heads against the wall, experience the pain of life and do whatever it takes until we figure out that we really do need Him more than anything else in this life. I Peter 5:6 tells us to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” When we do this, then just watch Him show up like never before. He is there, but to see Him, we must obey Him!

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

LET THE FIRE FALL

 

The purpose of desiring the fire of God in our lives allows God the freedom to refine and purify us from our old ways of thinking and being, into His likeness and image. In the purification of metals, fire is applied to separate the impurities from a substance. In the book of Malachi, God reveals that under the New Testament coming, people who would draw near him would be refined by fire Malachi 3:1-3. The difference from being changed by the power of God in our lives, than trying to change ourselves by our own power, is that God’s fire and power in us changes our very nature from self-consciousness to God-consciousness, whereby we are transformed into the very nature of God. God’s refining fire, removes whatever elements that affects our fleshly strength, durability, flexibility, consistency and our very integrity as well as the substance of who we are. The fire of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to remove anything that is not consistent with the nature of Christ in us. That is conveyed by his word in our lives.

In an Old Testament story from 1 Kings, we are told about how God’s people had been led astray to entertain and fill their lives with everything evil and false. God used His prophet Elijah to reprove them, His purpose was to break up their fallow hearts and open their eyes. He challenged the false prophets to build an altar and sacrifice. They were to call on their god’s to come down and accept their sacrifice. They built their altar and all the people watched, but nothing happen. Then Elijah built his altar to God in front of all the people and cried out to God “…let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, He is the God; the LORD, He is the God.” I Kings 18. When the fire came they instantly knew the truth of who the true God was. The fire of God turned their hearts and set them back on the right path toward Him. If will begin to consistently worship the Lord and meditate on all that He is,  then  we are overtaken by a power and strength not of our own; and we find that we are able to overcome those things that we have tried in the past to overcome but could not.  The fire of God in us will burn the desire for the ungodly out of us. This is how true purification and refining happens. It is not a mind over matter kind of thing. For mind over matter, somehow implies that our mind is strong enough to take control and master everything we put our mind to do. That is a lie! If we could overcome sin ourselves by using our minds, we would not need a Savior. Sure we can overcome a few bad habits on our own, if we discipline ourselves enough. But the nature of sin in us is very different, it has control over us and we need an intervention that empowers us to say no. That breaks that power over us and that means comes to us through the cross of Christ. (Continued next week)

 God’s word tells us that all have sinned and come short of God’s Glory. That is why is it so impossible in our own strength to quit doing or thinking about something that our flesh loves; but we know is not pleasing to God. You see our flesh loves sin and that is all that it knows to do, is sin, no matter how big or how small, sin is sin and our sinful nature craves and wills us to want to commit it in one way or another. Unless the flesh in us changes or dies, we will not be able to do that which God is calling us to do. We must inherit a repulsion or hate towards sin in order to overcome it. Psalms 97:10 says, You that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserves the souls of his saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.” Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth, do I hate.” Too many people try to mentally override their flesh to win their battles. It doesn’t take long to figure out the success rate of this way of thinking is very poor, to none. This is one reason people fall back into sin so quickly. The fire of God means divine empowerment to change that which we cannot on our own do. What is the answer to overcoming power? Having fire! Having a passion burn in your heart.

There are few things that put a real fire in our heart but when something does, it can consume us. This is true whether it’s a good passion or a bad passion. You often see this when two people fall in love. It’s like their passion changes many of their behaviors and they begin to think and live differently. Supernatural passion or fire comes only from and directed by God. It helps to burn out the evil and ungodly in the child of God. It comes when we realize we need God and His power in our life and want it more than the breath in our lungs. It comes when we make it the desire of our seeking and as we do, at just the right time we encounter a fresh renewal, a fresh reverence and awe of God that will soon create an intolerance for wrong doing renouncing every sin, reviving the spiritual slumber that we can often find ourselves in, if we are not daily waling in the Spirit of the Living God. Revival invigorates and sometimes deepens a believer's faith, opening his or her eyes to the truth in a fresh, new way. It always involves a fresh start with a clean slate, marking a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to God. Revival breaks the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of God’s people, and generates both the will and power to live in the world, but not of the world. Unlike a person’s original conversion experience that brings about a new relationship to God, revival represents a restoration of fellowship with God, the relationship having been retained even though the believer had pulled away for a time. God’s fire on and in our lives revives us, because it is an extraordinary movement of God's Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results. May the God of revival deliver us from contentment with the ordinary sweet friend, while He stands ready to do the extraordinary for us!

Loving on you today,
Bren

WHO IS YOUR FATHER

In the early part of Jesus’ ministry, He often times got into debates with the religious leaders of His day. On one occasion He was talking with a group of militant devotees of the Rabbinic priesthood who maintained that because they were born of the seed of Abraham, they were automatically God’s children and God was their Father.  Yet, Jesus told them that they were not true children of God but of the devil. John 8:39-47 details His conversation with them. When you think of someone as a father, you usually picture an image of a kind, concerned and caring person who has the best interest of his children in mind. Satan however, is not that kind of father at all. He masquerades as an angel of light and will do whatever it may take to win someone’s favor or trust. But look out! His heart is black and evil, full of hate and bitter revenge against God and all mankind, especially those in the household of God. He is no normal father. He is an evil sadistic creature who imprisons his children in a slave camp with invisible chains, caring nothing for them because of his all-consuming hate for mankind and the God that created them. He only uses them for his purposes and then throws them to the junk pile to suffer the consequences for their actions when he is finished with them. His greatest worry is that mankind find out who he really is and that they come to the realization that they have been ransomed and their freedom paid by the one and only Son of God. Jesus’ comments to those religious leaders drove their holier than thou attitudes into a murderous fury. They sought every evil opportunity that they could to kill Jesus, in hopes that truth would not come to the world in the form that God had chosen; His only Son. There is ample evidence today, that the world has an evil system of thinking and acting which is subtly controlled by satan, to exclude the need for God in people’s lives. I John 5:19b says that, ”The whole world lies in the power of the evil one”. Most people will never know what control and influence the devil had over them. But, they will have, at some point and time in their life, when they are confronted by the truth of God’s Word to decide for themselves, whom they will serve. Joshua 24:15, “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

THAT PAIN YOU ARE IN

 

 

My son in law had total spinal reconstructive surgery recently. He started off with a spinal curvature of 73 degrees and his doctors were able to correct it to less than 15 degrees. That is pretty amazing we are told. His surgery went great and in the words of our daughter, “God allowed that surgeon to do some amazing reconstructive things on Shannon's back, but man, did they do a lot to him”. They both knew going into the surgery that he would have to endure severe pain through the healing process and for the most part, they were prepared for it. His determination was and has been amazing. He was up walking 2 hours after his surgery and even the doctors were very pleased. Everything had been going pretty well, until several nights after his surgery when his pain became unbearable.  Earlier that day he had been given a blood transfusion that lasted 6 very long hours. His Hematocrit had gotten so low, he could hardly move at all. It was at that point that the doctor told Shannon that he had every right to be frustrated with his pain and that he could not imagine how he had managed it as long as he did and with such a great attitude. He also informed them that during surgery Shannon’s good shoulder was accidentally fractured when they had to use a chain to force his bad shoulder to match his good one. His doctor also told them that he reconstructed his chest cavity wall because all of his ribs were too close or touching in the front area of his chest. They removed four ribs and spaced them all out, by drilling holes and stutchuring them back. Brandy shared that they now see how God is using this whole season in their lives as opportunities to share Christ with people and what God has done for them!

 

While at first, they couldn't understand what God was allowing to happen to them, but they do now and it is very clear to them. “We have a story”, Brandy said, that must be shared! As I watched Shannon agonizing over his pain, pain that I could do nothing about, I was reminded that most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity, while the misplaced sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God refuses to do that. He comes to us with the strong grip of the precious nail pierced hand of His Son and says, “Come here and enter into fellowship with Me, arise and shine”. That is what I see Brandy and Shannon doing right now and pray that they continue to rise up and shine through their current painful situation. If God can accomplish His purposes through a broken back, then there is nothing else to do but be thankful?

 

While God does not always spare His children of pain, but so often uses it for a better cause in our lives as well as in the lives of others, we can be assured of this; that He never leaves nor forsakes His own and His seed never begs for bread! We are daily being called into a more intimate fellowship with Him. Why shouldn’t we experience the pain that we may be in at this time to drive us to Him. Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. You may have but one question to ask yourself today sweet friend. Is God’s purpose worth your pain? For if not, you will count it all loss as you ask, “where is God in the bitterness of broken romances, the anguish of jobs lost, the struggles of all the refugees in the world, the hunger of millions people all over the world?  Or, you may think that free will isn’t worth what it costs. But God wants you to understand this; that you have a choice to walk with Him or to walk away from Him. Our pain on any level is excruciating for God, yet many times He must restrain Himself to intervene in the way that we think He ought to, for He has a greater plan for that pain that we can even imagine. “In all their (Israel’s) distress he (God) too was distressed.” - Isaiah 63:9 Remember this, God is not absent in His silence in your life. Eventually if you continue to seek Him, you will find your answer or you will become content in His purpose for your pain, knowing that His ways are far greater than our own!

 

Loving on you sweet Friend,

Bren

WHEN THE TRUTH HURTS

Most people have a certain view of themselves that they like to maintain. So when someone points out a negative trait that does not accommodate their preconceived views of themselves, it makes them very uncomfortable. It’s kind of like the lady who was walking down the street to work and she saw a parrot on a perch in front of a pet store. The parrot said to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly." As you can imagine, the lady was furious and she stormed past the store, to her work. On the way home that afternoon, she saw the same parrot and it said to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly." Well, as you can imagine, she was incredibly angry and offended. The next day the same parrot again said to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly. "The lady was so angry that she refused to be confronted by the rude parrot every time she would pass by it and went into the store and confronted the owner. She told the him that she would sue him and his store and kill the bird if the bird continued with his snide remarks. The store manager replied, "That's not good," and promised the parrot wouldn't say that again. When the lady walked past the store that afternoon after work, the parrot called out to her, "Hey lady!", she paused and looked straight at the parrot just daring him to repeat his rude remarks, and responded to him, "Yes? and the bird replied, "Yoooou know!”.

 

Sometimes truth confronts us with that which we do not want to know or think about. For example, it is true that someday we will all die. Yet most people accept that fact on a superficial level, but they may never really embraced the truth of that fact. Truth also hurts when it requires us to stop doing what we want to do, or requires us to start doing what we don't want to do. It cuts through excuses and requires us to do what is right or sacrifice our opinions for the sake of truth itself. Some avoid the choice altogether by blurring the line between what is true and what isn't. Our world has become so full of blurry lines that many people don't realize the reality  between truth and lies any longer. John 8:32 tells us that we can no truth, by knowing the author of all truth. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. Unlike the lady that was being confronted by the parrot, God’s Word is all Truth and can be trusted to tell us what we need to know about ourselves. Not to offend but to sanctify us through His truth. For His word is truth according to John 17:17. But remember, once it confronts us, we are never the same again.

Like the lady in the parrot joke, truth can be very painful, when it focuses on our own shortcomings and responsibilities instead of allowing us to focus on everyone else's. It emphasizes our own need to change and grow. In the midst of conflict, we like to believe that we are right, that we are innocent and that our suffering is the result of someone else's insensitivity or guilt. But truth causes us to see ourselves as naked and as helpless as we are. At times we are all sometimes wrong and sometimes guilt. Like the parrot, sometimes we use our emotions, words, and even our actions to hurt others. It is painful to see ourselves as we are; so much so that some people never do. Out of sight out of mind. It doesn't hurt, if you don't believe it. Jesus came, and still many were not prepared to receive his light. The darkness seemed to offer protection from the painful truth of their spiritual condition. But that "protection" was a prison of sorts. Like a straight jacket that couldn't be removed, it encased people in their own self-righteousness. That jacket of sorts, was like an armor that prevented them from being washed and clothed in God's righteousness. In a movie theater, lights come on softly and slowly when the film is over. But have you ever sat in a darkened room watching a movie or videos and when they're over, someone suddenly switches on the light? The natural impulse is to be irritated with the person who turned the switch on. It helps when we get some kind of warning before the lights come on to be prepared for when it happens. In that way, those that are sensitive to light can have time to partially cover their eyes for a moment to prepare for the light.

 

The same is true with our spiritual eyes. God, the source of all spiritual illumination, has called out to us again and again to prepare for the moment when He would switch on the spiritual light for us. John the Baptist urged people to turn from darkness and allow God to switch on their spiritual lights, to "repent for the kingdom of God was at hand. He gave warning as God always gives warning before He sends judgment. Many listened and responded. Those who heeded his announcement admitted they were in darkness, and turned from their wrong attitudes and actions in preparation to receive God’s light. When God shines truth in your heart and you reject it, be very careful, for He will not tarry with men always! Bend today under the mighty hand of God in your life and He will exalt you in due time! I Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”.

 

Loving on you today sweet Friend,

Bren