Category: ThinkAbout

The best defense is a good offense. There are days when you wake up and learn something that makes you think it’s your first day as a Christian. This is one of those days. We heard Watchman Née this morning on the Ageless Truth YouTube channel in a message entitled Understanding Warfare -Spiritual Warfare. He goes on and on about the Christian with a passive mind and how we wait for some revelation from on high to go to our next step. He points out that we are often subject to great deception when we are in that state. He exports us to have an ACTIVE MIND. A fighting mind. Then comes the punch in the nose that turns the light on. “Life in the spirit is a suffering way filled with watching and laboring, burdened by weariness and trial, punctuated by heartbreak and conflict”. WHAT? Does that mean it’s not “all about us”. Does it mean we are not always happy, healthy, wealthy and wise”. According to the Chinese early 1900s evangelist – it appears so. We are here to decree. To fight the devil. To get bloodied in the spirit and to get up and fight again. We are not here to wait passively to act on every thought injected into our minds keeping us awake at night and causing us to not be present in the moment. We are here to fight in the spirit for the kingdom of God to prevail. The passive mind invites deception and confusion and failure. The active mind engages with truth and acts on the word.

The Danger of Doubting. I will summarize a message from Charles Spurgeon I heard today. In 1 Sam 27:1 David says “one of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul”. To doubt God – is a grievous sin. Yet David – the man after God’s own heart committed it. David is the one who said “by my God I will run over a troop” and “God will destroy all my enemies”. The man who wrote countless love songs of praise to the God who always saved him, seems to say God will let him be destroyed. Why? It was because he was under pressure for many months and years. His troubles never seemed to end. He finally lost hope it seemed. So then what did this loss of hope cause him to do? It caused him to seek help from the Philistines – the mortal enemies of Davids people. He ended up doing raids for the Philistine king and killing the enemies of the Philistines and other people in the land, and then reporting to the king that he had been killing Israelites. What then happened? Well the Lord allowed that the place where David’s and his men and their families were staying (Ziklag) would be captured. David and his men thought all their families were dead. His men wanted to kill him. But David “encouraged himself in the Lord”, and God graciously allowed that the families were preserved alive and returned. If things get tough – even for a long time – don’t give up. Don’t doubt God or it may cause you to seek help elsewhere and make bad decisions. Keep a warm heart towards God – he will make all things right in the end. By the way – Charles Spurgeon – the Prince of Preachers – old sermons can be found on youtube. Nobody’s says it quite like him in my book. Love Mel

I have been reading through the Bible. I leave it open on the dining room table so it’s easy to get to and i dont have to find a way to get comfortable in my recliner. Kind of like sitting up straight while doing homework. Anyway – it helps me. Today I am reading Job. What a story. Job is a righteous and honorable man. But Terrible things happen to Job. He loses his kids, his possessions, and his health. His wife tells him to curse God and die (thanks honey!). And his three friends visit to give long and drawn out “comforts” to him telling him basically “you must have done something wrong”. They tell him that God will only bless the good person and that his great misfortune must be because he has been a sinner. Sound familiar? This of course was not true. He was a righteous and good man. But Satan had challenged God to let him test Job to see if he would remain faithful. Job complains bitterly but does not sin against God. When God finally answers Job – here is some of what he says. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” God goes on in chapters 38-41 and assures Job that he is a good man and that there are many things he does not know. God rebukes Job’s friends who wrongfully accused him of his guilt and that it was all his fault and He blesses Job in the end twice as much as he lost. The story tells us it acceptable to complain to our great God about our pain and suffering, that it is most likely not your fault, and that God really cares and knows all about it. As someone once said “I will not curse my God over a mystery”. Be encouraged. God is good even when life isn’t.

We just had a massive hurricane. There is much uncertainty in the world. There is loss and pain and the threat of war. Just for a moment let us assume that life is not all about happiness. Many reading this understand exactly what i mean. Let us assume that a quiet and comfortable world is not always the best environment for the plan of God to be fulfilled. Let us assume that REVIVAL comes when people seek God, and that people seek God far more diligently in times of uncertainty and tribulation. Let us assume that political turmoil, war and the persecution of the believer in history were the times when the church grew the most. Q: Do the times in which we live make more sense now – since we are praying so hard for revival in our country and the world? For some reason peace and prosperity lull most people into a spirit of complacency. Make no mistake, we all need to stay humble and thankful for every good day. We must pray and work for the good and the right and the just to be accomplished in our world. But remember – Jn 4:35 says “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” Be ready in these difficult times to help bring in the harvest of souls. May God protect us – as He uses these man made and Satan made times of personal and national peril to bring in the final harvest of those that will be His. May God bless and comfort us in our pain when it comes – and may He give us many more good days of refreshing and joy. Love Mel

“No Curse in Your Cross” – I heard this from a Charles Spurgeon sermon this morning. Let’s unpack it. 2 Sam 14:28 tells us a story from the time of King David and his banished son Absalom. “28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab (David’s general) in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab DID go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” While this is a story relating to two unique individuals who are not great examples, the point is that sometimes God let’s our fields be set on fire to get our attention. Actually such things are a gift to His children that we may not wander too far off the path. I know some of our dear friends have had pain so searing that I am never saying this came from God. But in life we often see events in our lives which shake us to the core and bring us to our knees. The message is different for the believer and those who will not believe however. The crosses He gives to us – my dear beloved friends – will bring us redemption and sanctification if we let Him mold us. There is no wrath of God upon us – Christ has taken that. These are from a God of love to His children. There is no curse in our cross. God bless you and thank you for praying. Love Mel