Well

My temporary hostess has no internet. I am going to have to find a place to connect to the internet early in the mornings. Today my home internet will be disconnected so if I don’t have a post you will understand why.

Here is a new song that will encourage you as you wait. It has been one of my theme songs 

Nothing Is Impossible

You can move the mountains. You can calm the sea. You can split the skies and rescue me. Nothing is impossible, no nothing at all. You created everything before man’s fall. Though it seems impossible to me. I must remember Who You are as my Savior and King.

You rule in my heart through Your word supreme. I just have to believe-trust for You will faithful be. Nothing is too hard for You, no nothing at all. You delight to strengthen me through trials that reveal Yourself to me.

Your character is forged in me. Your anvil strong and true. You bring me through the fiery trials—my faith refined-secured. Your will is accomplished as I yield to Your hand. My thoughts are united with Your purpose and plans. As I walk in the path You choose You establish my heart. I serve You with thanksgiving and praise. You alone are worthy, O my Lord.

Waiting tests our faith in myriad ways. Think of the facets in a diamond. As the light shines on the stone, it radiates myriad colors that can’t be adequately described. When the Lord shines His light on our trial of waiting, only He can describe what He sees in our hearts.

I want to attempt to describe something from my life. The Lord had me sell my mobile that I have lived in since December 2016. It was listed on February 1. A buyer eventually came with my escrow ending May 2. However during that whole waiting time, the Lord never opened a door for a place for me to live. He kept me hemmed into Himself, and totally undergirded with many praying for me.

I live in a senior mobile park. As each neighbor saw my for sale sign, the conversation usually went like this: “Where are you moving to?” I would say, “I don’t know yet, but God will open a place for me in His timing.” Each time one would see me out walking they would ask if I had a place yet. My answer was always the same.

On February 10 He told me to not look with my eyes, but to look with my heart’s belief in Him. Also to look through the eyes of irrefutable truth. Here are a few: He cannot lie, His arm is not short, nothing is impossible, and He cannot deny Himself. (Titus 1:2, Isaiah 59:1, Luke 1:37, 2 Timothy 2:13)

On April 6 I took my original mobile registration documents into the title company. As I walked out I felt like I was heading into a trap. The next morning the Lord told me to memorize Psalm 71:1. Within minutes it was glued in my heart. I sang it, spoke it, and made it my prayer. It became my breath.

He gave me three verses to memorize that literally met the need I was facing at the time. I did one a week so that I had time to meditate on them and savor and unpack the truths in each. Psalm 71:1 says, “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame.”

That afternoon I was clearing out a drawer. On the bottom was a little card with Deuteronomy 20:3-4. It was dated October 31, 2016. It says, “Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint. Do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” What an embracing verse!

On Thursday the 14th I memorized Psalm 71:2. It says, “Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Saturday morning I woke up at 1:30 and knew the Lord had sprung the trap. New songs just kept bubbling up. I was so free!

My next was verse 3. It says, “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” The three verses became my breath. They carried me through each strategic step as the Lord prepared me for His answer.

The Lord kept every door closed until yesterday. My church friend texted me to say that she might have a place. It is a believer couple that I know. I called and Mary only had a window of a half hour before an appointment. I went over to see it. It is a perfect 600 square foot studio. I can stay there until the Lord opens up my permanent place.

As I was driving home, I had no words. I was speechless because I was being flooded with such an outpouring of abundant grace. I hope that this encourages you in your time of waiting. It is the Lord’s invitation to His grace. Isaiah 30:18 says that He waits so He can be gracious to us.

The children of Israel had many things that seemed like obstacles. Perhaps the Red Sea is a great illustration for us. They were hemmed in. The Egyptian army was behind them, and the Red Sea was before them. 

Can you imagine what thoughts would be going through your mind if it were you? Moses instructed them with words we need to heed also. Exodus 14:13 says, “…Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today…”

I’m in a circumstance right now that has me hemmed in. Psalm 139:5 helps me continually realize that I am hemmed in by the Lord. He is my rear guard, and He is my forerunner. It says, “You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.”

Being hemmed in by the Lord can be seen in several ways. One way is in Numbers 22 which was about Balaam. He disobeyed the Lord, and verse 22 says, “…and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him…”

Verse 26 says, “Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.” Have you ever felt like you were in a situation where there was no way to move forward?

Here is another way. I often visit this passage. Acts 16:6-10. Paul and his team sought to go to this one place. Verse 6 says, “…they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit…” What were they going to do? They wanted to preach the gospel.

Verse 7 says that they tried to go into Bithynia, “…but the Spirit did not permit them.” Do you find it odd since they were doing what the Lord has called us all to do? The Lord had a specific ministry that He had purposed. He led them by resistance.

Verse 9 recorded that Paul had a vision. It says, “…A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us.” God’s resistance to what may seem good to us, is Him manifesting Himself to us for clear direction.

What do you do when you feel frustrated? Here is a definition the Holy Spirit gave me years ago: God redirecting my way into His way. Our way may seem right, yet Proverbs 14:12 Amplified says, “There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him…” Our way is always directed by our flesh. 

John 6:63 says that our flesh profits nothing. 1 Samuel 12:21 says, “And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.”

For several years, Psalm 5:8 has been one of my morning prayers for myself. It says, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.” I don’t want to miss anything that the Lord wants to accomplish in my life. I’m sure you feel the same way. We need His clear direction moment by moment.

When we face an impossible obstacle in our pathway, we can use the same instruction God gave to the children of Israel. Consider for a moment what it might have been like. What would you have been thinking if you were the one marching around?

Britannica says that the walls were 13 feet high. There was a 28 feet high watchtower to help against human invasion. Joshua 6:1 says that the city was securely shut up because of the children of Israel.

The men of war were instructed to march around the city one every day for six days. On the seventh day they did it seven times. Numbers 2:32 says that there were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty in the army at that time.

Joshua 6:10 says, “Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day that I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout.”

All words are first thoughts. The Lord knew the thoughts before His army would think them. Therefore His instruction was to not open their mouths so that their words would hinder His work.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Verse 7 says, “…a time  to keep silence, and a time to speak.” Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations.”

Joshua 6:20 says, “…And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then every man went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”

How many times have you said, “I don’t believe it” when God answered your prayer in the most amazing way? I used to say those words all the time, even though I was looking at something right before my eyes. The Lord sent a friend to break me of that habit.

What words of unbelief slip out of your mouth when you face your impossibility? Notice that when the wall fell flat, each man went straight before him. The walled city had been an obstacle in the way of their journey to possess the promised land.

No plan of God’s can be thwarted. That is a truth that we can stand on. We may face wall-obstacles that seem formidable. Yet what God has called us to do, 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says that He will do it. That means that He will empower us through His resurrection power to enable us to accomplish what He has set before us.

Jericho obstacles in our lives are opportunities for the Lord to show Himself strong on our behalf. All that seems impossible for us, is backed entirely on Who the Lord is at all times. John 14:21 says that He will reveal or make Himself known to those who love Him and obey His commandments. He reveals HImself in ways that we have never experienced before through our humanly speaking impossibilities. 

Daily Life Skill Practice

Years ago I read a book that used the term ‘life skills’ regularly. It was my first exposure to the two words used together. One of the life skills that the teacher taught her young students was to pray the moment they got upset.

I participate in online mentoring. I am working with someone in another country whose religious beliefs shun Jesus. It is a huge challenge to me. I have to use the wisdom from verses without making references to them. In my last conversation my mentee had reacted to someone’s negative facial expression.

My answer started out with the words explaining about a life skill. I was a little curious because those two words are not in my regular vocabulary. As I pondered it, the contents of this post came into my thoughts.

How many times have you ‘assumed’ you knew what someone was thinking because of their facial expression? It is so easy for our flesh to jump to conclusion that are erroneous. 

We cannot know what another is thinking unless they tell us. Even satan does not know what we are thinking. Only the Lord is Omniscient, or All Knowing. David discovered really quickly that the Lord knows everything. His sin with Bathsheba started with a thought that he allowed to wander. David’s words in Psalm 139:1-2 clearly expressed the understanding that he gained.

It says, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.” Has your mind ever wandered? He knows that also. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Amplified says, “…For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts…”

For interpersonal relationships to thrive, we will need to apply many different life skills. They are all in God’s word. Proverbs is a great book for data gathering on this subject. Here is one. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Here is another. Proverbs 29:11 Amplified says, “A (self-confident) fool utters all his anger, but a wise man holds it back and stills it.” What an empowerment! When we yield to the Holy Spirit’s control in our life, the fruit of self-control guards our heart.

What about this life skill? Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Couple that with David’s prayer in Psalm 141. Verse 3 says, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Years ago I had a roommate that had the most interesting way of dealing with gossip. It was a life skill for her. The minute someone would start to tell her something about others? She would put her fingers in her ears and start making noise so she couldn’t hear.

Proverbs 30:32 says, “If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand over your mouth.” The next time you are tempted to gossip? Literally, put your hand over your mouth. It works!

I hope this little post has stirred up your memory with some verses that you can apply as life skills when faced with temptations to sin. The temptation is only that. It is the lure to snag you, but you don’t have to take the bait.

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

The moment we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. He is the inner anointing of 1 John 2:27 which I wrote about yesterday. He is the Spirit of Truth that will lead us into truth which will set us free from the influences of our past.

Our mind is not automatically renewed at salvation. Inner transformation is a ‘work’ that is done in our heart as we yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Our flesh fights against that work. Sometimes it will squeal like a stuck hog. It resists radical change.

We have to remember that our hearts were dark. We were alienated from God. We did not retain Him in our thoughts. Therefore the practice of renewing our mind must become a daily discipline.

Ephesians 4:23 Amplified says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).” Have you ever woken up in the morning with a bad attitude? It is because you went to sleep with it.

One of the benefits of renewing our mind is to rehearse those truths just before we fall asleep at night. God’s hidden word in our heart will instruct us in the night. Psalm 16:7 says, “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.”

As we continually renew our mind through memorizing and meditating on God’s word, we will fulfill the next verse. Verse 8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

When the temptation to sin comes swooping in unexpectedly, His word will immediately be our ready sword to whack the temptation to pieces. The fiery dart’s power to entice is squelched instantly. 

We are in a vicious battle. We have an adversary that hates the Lord, and therefore he hates us. God’s hidden word will be like a sentinel to warn us. The Holy Spirit uses what we have hidden in our heart to empower us to defeat every lying temptation. 

We must start with Galatians 5:16 which says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We learn an essential truth in this verse. Our flesh lusts.

James 1:14 helps us understand the ‘how’ of our lust. It says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Verse 16 says, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” Lust is a deceptive ploy that lures us.

We only yield to a temptation if we have hidden fleshly desires. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” When we allow our eyes to stray, or we open our ears to gossip, the enticement increases exponentially. 

James 1:15 says, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Temptation is not a sin. It is when we play with it in our mind, even knowing it is wrong, that we quench the Holy Spirit who was speaking at that moment.

Hebrews 3:13 says, “…hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” The Holy Spirit always leads us into truth. 1 John 2:27 described His work as, “…the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”

It is when we abide in truth, making it our own, that releases His resurrection empowerment. Hebrews 13:21 says, “Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I love the word ‘working’ because it always reminds me of wheel pottery. The potter has to work water into the dry clay before it can ever be formed into a vessel. It is impossible to form hard clay.

That is what happens with hidden sin. Our heart (vessel) is impermeable without the water of God’s word worked into it. Our heart is our belief system. The lies we have believed are satan’s deceptive work.

It is only as we bring God’s word against that lie, that His resurrection power will ‘work’ to defeat the influence that lie’s control has had on our thought processes. As we renew our mind, He is at work to bring a radical inner transformation. Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Once Paul understood that God’s grace would be sufficient for him, he embraced his thorn in the flesh. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “…Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities…” What was his understanding?

Verse 7-8 continues, “…that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Doing things in our own strength, strengthens our flesh and blocks grace. We must recognize that our weakness is God’s way to receive His strength.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. It is most clearly evident in our lives when we absolutely place our dependence on Him. Ephesians 1:19-20 in the Amplified says, “And (so that you can know and understand) what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…”

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Verse 16 in the Amplified says, “May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the (Holy) Spirit (Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality).”

Let me recap some of the above words for our treasure within: excellence of the power, immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness, exerted in, exceedingly abundantly, strengthened, and reinforced. Great words that are activated within us when we are yielded to the Holy Spirit. They are most clearly evident to those around us as we are in our deepest need.

Again I look back to an example that Steve Saint was for me. His precious young daughter had a massive aneurysm and he was saying goodbye. Here are his words that are written in the front of my Bible. “If I had asked God to change things and He gave in to me, how would my change alter the rest of His plan? I don’t want to ask God for what I desperately wanted in the short run, only to find out it had cost us what God wanted for us in the long run.”

When desperation rises up in our trial, we have two choices. Paul’s choice is our example. He had pleaded with the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh. When the Lord reassured Paul that He would be his strength, Paul embraced that thorn wholeheartedly. I marvel at his words ‘most gladly’, and ‘I take pleasure’.

Paul left us another example of how to live in the treasure of God’s resurrection power. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen…” It is so easy to get overwhelmed with what we do see, rather than gazing at the Lord, and looking to Him for the strength we need moment by moment.

An indication of our love for the Lord is our obedience to His word. John 14:21 says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

How can we obey if we don’t know? Psalm 119:4-6 says, “You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.”

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” We cannot ‘know’ the Lord intimately apart from His word.

I love Psalm 119 because the writer used so many different words for God’s word. If you haven’t read this Psalm in a while, I encourage you to fit it into your schedule.

Psalm 119:147 says, “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word.” According to Hebrews 6:19, hope is the anchor of our soul. Without a treasure of God’s word in our heart, what hope would sustain us during the tumultuous storms in our lives? Nothing.

We would be like the double-minded man in James 1:6-8 says, “…he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind…he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” No anchor equals no stability.

Hope in God, through the heart-anchor of His word, squashes ALL doubts that come in through fiery darts. They fall to the ground inoperable. They have nowhere to penetrate because hope is faith’s indestructible living shield.

1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. That same resurrection power resides in every believer. We live out the gospel through that power as we yield to the Holy Spirit.

I am starting out with the last two sentences from yesterday’s post. “Quality of life on this earth is living out the gospel. The gospel is designed to affect every aspect of our lives.”

Quality of life has nothing to do with whether or not our circumstances are negative or positive. It is defined through our relationship with the Lord. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…”

Our relationship with the Lord is as vital as our breath. Therefore we do well to remember that sin separates us from fellowship with Him. Can you hold your breath very long without gasping for air? Can you remain separated from fellowship with the Lord and thrive?

I like to often visit John 15:5 in the Amplified. It says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”

Here is the root to our fleshly reactions. We are living independent of the Lord in that moment. I want to use this illustration from my life to help us think about what independence means.

I had a low hanging branch on a tree in my backyard. It was always in my way. I laboriously sawed it off with a hand saw. It fell to the ground. I went in and laid down for 1/2 hour. When I came back, the first thing that I noticed were the leaves. They were shriveled. What a picture of living in sin!

Romans 11 was written about Israel. The wording in verse 18 is so instructional for us. It says, “Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.”

What is the support in our relationship with the Lord? It is His word. John 15:10 Amplified says, “If you keep My commandments (if you continue to obey My instructions); you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.”

Do you treasure God’s word? Is it laid up in your heart? Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We will continue this tomorrow.