Ba'sini'on

For some reason I cannot paste the study today and I couldn't yesterday :/. The studies are all on utmost.org

Individuality 12/11/2014December 11, 2014Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…" —Matthew 16:24 Individuality is the hard outer layer surrounding the inner spiritual life. Individuality shoves others aside, separating and isolating people. We see it as the primary characteristic of a child, and rightly so. When we confuse individuality with the spiritual life, we remain isolated. This shell of individuality is God’s created natural covering designed to protect the spiritual life. But our individuality must be yielded to God so that our spiritual life may be brought forth into fellowship with Him. Individuality counterfeits spirituality, just as lust counterfeits love. God designed human nature for Himself, but individuality corrupts that human nature for its own purposes. The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-will. We hinder our spiritual growth more than any other way by continually asserting our individuality. If you say, “I can’t believe,†it is because your individuality is blocking the way; individuality can never believe. But our spirit cannot help believing. Watch yourself closely when the Spirit of God is at work in you. He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either to say, “I will not surrender,†or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing (see Matthew 5:23-24). It is your individuality that refuses to “be reconciled to your brother†(Matthew 5:24). God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. “…let him deny himself…â€â€” deny his independent right to himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is allowed the opportunity to grow.

The Offering of the Natural 12/10/2014December 10, 2014It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. —Galatians 4:22 Paul was not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural can be turned into the spiritual only through sacrifice. Without this a person will lead a divided life. Why did God demand that the natural must be sacrificed? God did not demand it. It is not God’s perfect will, but His permissive will. God’s perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience. Sin is what made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed. Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac (see Genesis 21:8-14). Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice…†(Romans 12:1). Sanctification means more than being freed from sin. It means the deliberate commitment of myself to the God of my salvation, and being willing to pay whatever it may cost. If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will resist and defy the life of the Son of God in us and will produce continual turmoil. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves physically, morally, or mentally. We excuse ourselves by saying, “Well, I wasn’t taught to be disciplined when I was a child.†Then discipline yourself now! If you don’t, you will ruin your entire personal life for God. God is not actively involved with our natural life as long as we continue to pamper and gratify it. But once we are willing to put it out in the desert and are determined to keep it under control, God will be with it. He will then provide wells and oases and fulfill all His promises for the natural (see Genesis 21:15-19).

The Opposition of the Natural 12/09/2014December 9, 2014Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. —Galatians 5:24 The natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….†The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…†(Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence. The natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.

The Impartial Power of God 12/08/2014December 8, 2014By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. —Hebrews 10:14 We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “…Christ Jesus…became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…†(1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect. No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.†God’s response, through Peter, is, “… there is no other name…by which we must be saved†(Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood…†(Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him. God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.

Fraidenfer (fiancée) and I are thinking about respawning. Does that mean we restart the challenge? Goal 1: A: This got really easy to remember, especially with some drama going on. I've had to basically clean up my life to totally repent for my sins. Goal 2: B: Not to bad but I wish I could lift more weights. But the gym is blocked and I only have dumbbells and sandbags. Goal 3: C: This was a bit harder, my mom didn't get that me sitting and reading wasn't nothing. So I have to re-do my schedule to get everything else done first, then study. Goal 4: A: Definitely! Most of my workouts, and studying were almost hindered by Ranch work. Place looks better Today was really hard for me. I've been trying to be more open to Fraidenfer because I'm naturally closed off from others. And you can't build a good relationship by not talking to your significant other. I felt it was time that I tell him more about a very traumatic event in my life. I didn't get far because I want to wait till I see him again for the harder parts, so he can hold me when I do. But it felt pretty good to tell him, tell someone.

Repentance 12/07/2014December 7, 2014Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10 Conviction of sin is best described in the words: My sins, my sins, my Savior, How sad on Thee they fall. Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight…†(Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.†The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust. The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.†Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.†If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant

“My Rainbow in the Cloud†12/06/2014December 6, 2014I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. —Genesis 9:13 It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant. Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God— a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.†There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved…†(Isaiah 45:22). When I have really transacted business with God on the basis of His covenant, letting everything else go, there is no sense of personal achievement— no human ingredient in it at all. Instead, there is a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and my life is transformed and radiates peace and joy. Thanks to this devotional I want to work harder. Prayers please, I'm really depressed today.

My mom may disagree, but it's awesome to have a guy who knows makeup and gets high end stuff for his girl (aka me ). So I got to play with some high end makeup today and wow! I now understand why it's worth the extra cash for makeup. Lasted all day! The only thing I wasn't happy with was the Mac lipstick. It stayed on I won't deny it. But it made my lips feel dry. I highly recommend Besame lipsticks, I have a really dark Merlot color that's historically accurate 20's color. And it lasts longer to me than the Mac, and it's made from all natural ingredients so it moisturizes the lips. And no lip liner needed!! So no Mac lipstick for me, rather have Besame. *review over* Did Yoga today and 4 Pilates videos for my abs. Also prayed which I am getting more and more into the habit. Just by a good diet I've lost some weight Hooray! Tried to explain to my mom that I know God wants me to marry my guy, hence why I think it's fine to consider him my fiancée already. He doesn't mine. But she doesn't believe it's him. Hopefully God and time will soften her heart and unwillingness to let her baby girl go. Because once God gives his OK that it's time for us to be together, I am not going to argue with Him! Anywho, till tomorrow fellow Nerds.

“The Temple of the Holy Spirit†12/05/2014December 5, 2014…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40 I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of Godâ€â€” make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation†(Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .†(1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,†including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them. Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…†(Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.†Something for all the Nerds out there. Usually I fall into a deep depression, eat a lot, and be totally numb. But I'm changing that, I pray and talk to God and then keep going in the fight. It doesn't always happen like this unfortunately, but I have BlamedCat and my guy Fraidenfer to remind me who has the real control in this world.

That sounds good! I'll check it out. Did some Yoga today, but was fighting some depression today so it was really hard to get out of bed. I'm trying to follow a Pilates routine and I messed it up already. Tomorrow I'll be shopping with mom. I'm going to get up early so I can do Yoga, Pilates, and run before having to head out. Also I'll be taking some books so I can study while we're driving. Ugh, I hope mom doesn't want me to drive. I want to do the test and should practice but, we'll most likely be taking the big truck. And I am not ready to drive that. Also my mom is a big backseat driver and likes to yell which makes me nervous. Plus she's bad at directions so not a good combo. My guy and I, thank the Lord, got through a obstacle in our relationship. It's mainly me . I have a big issue with opening up completely and he doesn't. In fact it hurts him if I am closed off. I'm working on being more open, and it hurts at first because it's not in my nature but it's getting a bit easier.

The Law of Opposition 12/04/2014December 4, 2014To him who overcomes… —Revelation 2:7 Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life. Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought. Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired. And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation…†(John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.†I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition. Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.

Thanks! I'm doing better now that I'm out of my rut. Sorry, I'll put up the photos when I have time to email them to myself. I know I haven't updated in quite awhile. Laziness on my part for sure. I go back and forth with my goals, just a few days ago I wasn't even sure if I should be a Marine. I've been trying to lose weight and get a life for to long. So time to grow up and make schedules and get going. God says Marines are still a go! My workout equipment are all blocked up right now due to decorations for Christmas (which still haven't been put up!! Rant was needed ). So all I have is a dumbbell, my body, and a sandbag. It's also raining so as far as getting back into running... Like that will stop me MUAHAHAHA! I am going to keep the house cleaned up still. Ranch will have to wait though till the rain passes. YouTube has a lot of bodyweight workouts at my disposal so I'm not complaining. Yoga in the morning has been really good, I'm following the Blogilates Decmember calendar, HIIT, and my dumbbells are there. Eating is cleaner. And prayers have been more frequent And for some reason I've been really reconsidering my style. I used to want tattoos but now, not so much. But anyways, back on the studying and back on track. I'm going to pray every morning to get my motivation up.

“Not by Might nor by Power†12/03/2014December 3, 2014My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power… —1 Corinthians 2:4 If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people. Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.

Christian Perfection 12/02/2014December 2, 2014Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect… —Philippians 3:12 It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick� If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick. Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the pointlessness of the things you have to do. The next thought that strikes you is that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives may leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary— that through your own human effort and devotion you can attain God’s standard for your life. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.

God doesn't give us more than we can handle. We're stronger than we'd like to believe ya know. Never quit something you start you have to trudge on and in the end you find yourself at the finish line and grinning like an idiot cause you did it.

Will do!

The Law and the Gospel 12/01/2014December 1, 2014Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10 The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our shortcomings. It remains absolute for all time and eternity. If we are not aware of this, it is because we are less than alive. Once we do realize it, our life immediately becomes a fatal tragedy. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died†(Romans 7:9). The moment we realize this, the Spirit of God convicts us of sin. Until a person gets there and sees that there is no hope, the Cross of Christ remains absurd to him. Conviction of sin always brings a fearful, confining sense of the law. It makes a person hopeless— “…sold under sin†(Romans 7:14). I, a guilty sinner, can never work to get right with God— it is impossible. There is only one way by which I can get right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. I must get rid of the underlying idea that I can ever be right with God because of my obedience. Who of us could ever obey God to absolute perfection! We only begin to realize the power of the moral law once we see that it comes with a condition and a promise. But God never coerces us. Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure. And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His almighty power. I agree Randa, that's why I love the movie God's Not Dead.

“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am†11/30/2014November 30, 2014By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10 The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.†But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.†That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance. Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,†is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all. There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ 11/29/2014November 29, 2014He will glorify Me… —John 16:14 The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb†(Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!†Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else. The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God! Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,…He will glorify Me…†(John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally Sorry for the hiatus. Yes the holidays made me really busy, cooking, cleaning, and then spending all my time with my guy. Who I'm gonna marry when God says it's time . I met his parents, and he met mine the first day. And his mom loves me, and my parents really loved him. He is an amazing, awesome, Godly man and I'm thankful God made him for me. My goals are ok, but I'm making Feb my time limit for the Marines. That means weight, doctor's note, etc. I'm also going to be looking for a job to get some money and fly to my guy to spend time with him. How's everyone?

Sorry again for the delay The Distraction of Contempt11/23/2014November 23, 2014Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. —Psalm 123:3 What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously†(Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives. Beware of “the cares of this world…†(Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.†Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.†Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,†or, “I must get people to understand.†Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves. When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. Direction of Focus11/24/2014November 24, 2014Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters…, so our eyes look to the Lord our God… —Psalm 123:2 This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a servant are riveted on his master, our eyes should be directed to and focused on God. This is how knowledge of His countenance is gained and how God reveals Himself to us (see Isaiah 53:1). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles surrounding us but through problems in our thinking. We wrongfully think, “I suppose I’ve been stretching myself a little too much, standing too tall and trying to look like God instead of being an ordinary humble person.†We have to realize that no effort can be too high. For example, you came to a crisis in your life, took a stand for God, and even had the witness of the Spirit as a confirmation that what you did was right. But now, maybe weeks or years have gone by, and you are slowly coming to the conclusion— “Well, maybe what I did showed too much pride or was superficial. Was I taking a stand a bit too high for me?†Your “rational†friends come and say, “Don’t be silly. We knew when you first talked about this spiritual awakening that it was a passing impulse, that you couldn’t hold up under the strain. And anyway, God doesn’t expect you to endure.†You respond by saying, “Well, I suppose I was expecting too much.†That sounds humble to say, but it means that your reliance on God is gone, and you are now relying on worldly opinion. The danger comes when, no longer relying on God, you neglect to focus your eyes on Him. Only when God brings you to a sudden stop will you realize that you have been the loser. Whenever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming between you and God, and change or remove it at once. And to answer your questions, not everything is alright. And these two devotionals really helped me though to not be pulled off the straight and narrow. Yesterday was another bad day. You see my intended is coming over today to meet me for the first time. And not only will I meet his parents but I'll meet his parents to, so I'm really nervous! Also my mother is a concern. She wasn't ok with this from the beginning, and then she changed her mind, and now she's been flip flopping between it. My mom has always had a good head for the Bible and it's history. But she doesn't follow it's teachings all the way. She cusses, get's angry very quickly, is verbally abusive, sometimes physically, doesn't go to church, doesn't read the Bible, etc. She's even tried to kick me out of the house and told me she didn't care if I was raped, killed, or on the streets. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Please pray for me, that this all goes well. I have a foreboding that something bad is going to happen

Welcome TheMormonRebel! Glad to have you with us “It is Finished!â€11/21/2014November 21, 2014I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4 The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came. Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.†God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus…for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor…†(Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!†(John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind. Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred. Shallow and Profound 11/22/2014 November 22, 2014 Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31 Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby. To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher…†(Matthew 10:24). We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life. Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself. Sorry for not putting up devotionals for yesterday, I had a really bad day and didn't get back till later.

The Forgiveness of God 11/20/2014November 20, 2014In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7 Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm. Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God. Heavy stuff.