The Raging Bull

The Holy Spirit has been revealing how much believers can live out of fear, instead of love and faith. After people have been hurt, often the result is to withdraw and to say, "I'm never going to let myself get into a situation like that again."  They become motivated by fear, and become unable to open up their heart to God in certain areas, because of the unhealed hurts of the past.  This fear of becoming vulnerable to God and to people cripples them in their obedience to the Spirit.  Fear is a part of life that we all have to face.  The disciples faced fear when they were out on the water, believing they were going to die.  Timothy faced fear in his ministry, and leaned on the words from Paul, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  Worry and anxiety are available to you everyday, should you choose to have them in your life.  But we are told there are 365 "Fear Nots" in the Bible, one for every day, one for every situation we face in life.  I had a dream where I was in an open field, and Judy was calling for me to come help her.  Suddenly as I looked up I saw a bull, a very large ferocious animal looking at me.  All at once, he started to charge at me.  I had picked up a handful of rocks and dirt, and as he came, fear gripped my heart.  I couldn't turn and run from him, so I threw my rock at him, and to my surprise, he stopped, distracted by the rock, and he was unable to come any closer to me.  I stood my ground, and used what I had in my hand, and the raging bull stopped and turned around and walked away.  Ps. 22:12 says, "Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me."  Bashan was east of the Jordan, under Og, king of Bashan.  In Num. 21:33-35, the Lord said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand..."  The raging bull is the spirit of fear, and God says not to fear him!  Israel defeated Og, his sons, and all his people and took possession of his land.  Today God wants us to defeat fear, and worry and anxiety, and all their relatives,and take possession of all our inheritance that Christ purchased for us on the cross.  When fear attacks, stand your ground, use what is in your hand, and watch the bull stop and turn around in the name of Jesus.  Refuse fear, and walk in faith and love, and fulfill all that God has called you to do.          

Orthotomounta

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15.  The words "rightly dividing" come from the Greek word, orthotomounta.  This word literally means to cut straight.  We use the word ortho in such words as orthodontics, and orthopedics.  It means to straighten, as in straightening teeth.  When you go to the dentist, and he needs to cut your gum, you want him to make a straight cut in the right place the first time!  When a road is constructed, or a furrow is plowed, it needs to be straight, exactly where it is supposed to be.  So when we come to the Word of God, it needs to be rightly divided.  A Scripture taken out of context and misunderstood can be used to say anything the speaker wants it to say.  We so often hear Scripture being used incorrectly by those who have not rightly divided it.  Even satan used Scripture for his own purpose.  Perhaps this is the highest level of deception, to take God's own words, and misuse them to deceive and tempt.  Often the Old Testament is quoted by those who don't understand the New Covenant.  We are 2000 years removed from the Old Testament!  We do not stone witches or adulterers.  We do not live under the Law.  We are in the age of God's grace and the shed blood of Jesus.  We have a relationship with God in the spirit, from the heart.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher.  We have the 5 fold ministry gifts from Christ to help us grow.  We have the New Testament and the letters to the churches.  We are a part of the body of Christ, with many different members.  We can grow in our knowledge of the love of God, which takes away all fear.  The Holy Spirit is our guide, who leads us into all truth.  We can go to God in prayer, and study the Scriptures, and rightly divide the Word of truth.  In any matter, we can come to God and ask for wisdom, and understanding.  God will give answers, peace, and understanding to us.  He can unravel the most complicated situations, and give us knowledge of what to do.  He will shine His light of illumination on the Word, so we can rightly divide it and live by it in love and truth.  Let us be diligent to present ourselves unto God, workers who do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

The Need For Fathers

1 Cor. 4:15  "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."  We need our earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father, and spiritual fathers in our lives.  Our earthly father has a role to play in training and raising his children in the admonition of the Lord.  But not all earthly fathers do this, as they may be absent, or disinterested in spiritual things.  Timothy seems to have had a father like this.  All we know about his father was that he was Greek, Acts 16:1.  It was from Timothy's mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, that Timothy came to know Christ and the Scriptures.  Later Paul took him as his own son in the Lord, and instructed him and encouraged him in his gifts.  Spiritual fathers are those people in our lives who have cared for us, prayed for us, and raised us up in our place in the body.  Without them, we would never have made it to the place we are today.  They help us to develop our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  We grow in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and as we grow, we in turn are to pass on to others what we have learned.  2 Tim. 2:2 says that we are to commit to faithful men the things that we have heard.  There will be a succession of disipleship that follows our lives, as we disciple another, and they disciple another, and so on.  Paul was there to help Timothy through many things such as:  fear, perseverance, false doctrines, hardship, rightly dividing the Word, humility, persecution, etc.  Timothy battled a spirit of fear in his life, and so we have the famous words, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  Timothy would not have become the man he was without Paul.  Timothy needed Paul, and Paul needed to have a Timothy.  Paul had many men that he discipled, and in turn, Timothy discipled others also.  If there is anything written on my gravestone, I would like to have the words, "A Spiritual Father" written there.  May my life cause others to come fully into their place in the body of Christ. 

Five Words Of Ruth's Life

There are 5 words that describe the life of Ruth.  The first word is "faithful".   Ruth was a Moabite woman who became the daughter-in-law of Naomi.  Naomi's husband and 2 sons died in Moab, leaving her with her 2 daughter-in-laws, Orpah and Ruth.  Naomi told the girls to go back home to their families, but Ruth would not return.  She said to Naomi, "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God."  Ruth was faithful to the relationships in her life, both to people, and to God.  She let nothing come between her relationship with Naomi, and her relationship with God.  Because she was faithful, she found favor.  She happened to reap in the field of Boaz, who gave her great favor by providing protection, and provision of grain.  Favor follows faithfulness.  Naomi directed Ruth to lay down at Boaz's feet, and ask him to take her under his wing.  Ruth had fear and respect for Boaz as she laid at his feet, waiting for what he would say.  This is a beautiful picture of the body of Christ laying at Jesus' feet, waiting for what He will say to us.   This is a picture of surrender, worship, and total abandonment to Him.  Boaz redeemed the land of Naomi, and with the redemption he took Ruth as his wife.  Their union brought forth a son, Obed, who was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  Ruth was fruitful in bringing forth her son, who was in the lineage of Christ.  She asked only one thing, "Take your maidservant under your wing."  We only need to ask for one thing, that we be brought under Christ's wing.  If we have Him, we have everything.  "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."  Because of Boaz's redemption, his name would be famous.  Ruth 4:14, "...and may his name be famous in Israel."  Christ's name is to be made famous in all the world, through the actions of His people.  The 5 words of Ruth's life: Faithful, Favored, Feared, Fruitful, and Famous.  May Christ be made famous through our lives.  May Jesus be lifted up through our actions, for all to see!

"Ears To Hear"

I believe that having "ears to hear" is the most important element in our spiritual growth.  Many times Jesus said, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Having ears to hear is much different than having ears that hear!  The same things that Jesus said were heard by both the Pharisees, and by the disciples, but the disciples came back to Jesus and asked Him what He meant, because they desired to understand, Luke 8:9.  The parable of the sower and the seed is the parable upon which the other parables are understood.  Mark 4:13 says, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?"  The meaning of this parable was given to the disciples when they came to Him and asked Him for the understanding.  Others had hearts that were closed, ears hard of hearing, and eyes that were shut, Matt. 13:14,15.  But Jesus said the disciples were blessed because their eyes could see and their ears could hear.  They heard the things that the prophets and righteous men of old had longed to hear and see.  The growth of our spiritual lives is not so much dependant on God, as it is dependant on whether we have ears to hear.  The measure of our growth will depend on our hearing.  "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  Mark 4:24,25.  In the parable of the sower and the seed, the fruit produced came from the seed, and the conditions of the soil where the seed was growing.  The fruit in our lives comes from the seed of the Word planted in us, and the condition of our heart where the Word is growing.  Fruit comes from the seed!  Plant more seed for more fruit!  Nurture the seed that has been planted, and guard your heart from thorns, thistles, and hardness.  A harvest of 30, 60, and 100 fold awaits us, as we allow the seed to bring forth fruit in our lives.  Is your heart still open to hearing from God?  Are you hungry and desiring more of God?  With open ears, you will grow and bring forth fruit for the Kingdom of God!      

The Coin In The Fish's Mouth

The story of the coin in the fish's mouth is one of the most intriguing and miraculous stories in the Bible.  In Matt. 17:24-27 we read that those who gathered the temple tax came to Peter and asked him if his Master paid the temple tax?  The temple tax was an annual tax that everyone paid.  Everyone paid the same amount for the upkeep of the temple.  Vs. 27 says, "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."  I saw three things in this story that we can apply to our lives.  First, Jesus knows where the coin is.  It is so encouraging to know that Jesus knows where the coin is.  When we are in need, and we don't know where the money is going to come from, we need to remember that Jesus knows where the money is.  It moves us to seek God in faith, believing that God will supply every need.  We can have confidence because we know that Jesus knows where the money is.  Secondly, Peter had to do something to get the coin.  Jesus could have given Peter a coin, but the coin was revealed in a way that Peter would never forget.  It took an act of faith and obedience for Peter to find the coin.  We too will need to move in faith and obedience in order to find God's provision for us.  We must ask God, "What do You want me to do"?  And we must be obedient to the things in His Word and what He tells us to do.  Jesus wants to reveal Himself to us through the provision of the coin.  Thirdly, the coin had a purpose.  I'm sure that Peter never thought about going to spend the coin for anything else but to pay the taxes.  The coin had a purpose.  The coin that comes into our hands has a purpose.  We need to find the purpose for the coin.  The coin comes from God, and when we spend it, we should ask if we are spending it for the purpose we received it.  God supplies the coin we need for our taxes, food, clothes, payments, etc. but we need to know we have spent our coin for the right purpose.  Have we honored God with our tithe?  Have we given offerings as we should?  The coin is a gift, not to be squandered but to be used for its intended purpose.  The coin is to serve the purposes of God.  We do not serve the coin, the coin serves us.  The coin is not our master.  God is our master, and we cannot serve two masters.  The battle for our hearts is to keep God first, and to have no other gods before Him.  No, the coin is not our master, it is a blessing from God.  It is our servant to fulfill the purposes of God. 

Free Cheese

We are instructed to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The battle takes place in our mind, in our thought life. James 1:12-15 shows us the way that temptation works. It is a 5 step process: 1. We are drawn away by our own desires. 2. We are enticed (baited). 3. Desire conceives - becomes action. 4. The desire becomes sin. 5. Sin leads to death. I saw these as 5 words all beginning with the letter D: Drawn, Desire, Decision, Deed, Death. It is the process by which we trap a mouse. First, we set the trap, and the mouse is drawn to notice the trap. The mouse may have ran that way a hundred times, but that day something draws his attention. Then he notices the cheese. He says to himself, "Free Cheese". Wow, this is too good to be true! He is enticed. He is baited, and maybe he doesn't go nibble on the cheese right away, but he remembers the cheese and keeps thinking about the free cheese. He finally decides that he is going to get some of that cheese. The decision is followed by action, by committing the deed. But unknown to him, this decision leads to his death. This is the process of temptation. When we are drawn away by something, we can avoid the damage by bringing our thoughts into captivity. But if we allow our thoughts to continue, and we become enticed, we have started down a very dangerous path. Like someone has said, "You can't stop the birds from flying around your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair." If thoughts are allowed to turn into action, it is because we have made a decision to act on those thoughts. The decision means we have done the deed, we have acted out on our thoughts. The wages of sin is death, and death is the result of sin. Our tempter was created a wonderful creature in the beginning, and he has a knowledge of temptation. He knows the traps that can ensnare us. We must not lean on our own strength to overcome temptation, but we must put on the whole armour of God. If we pass by the mousetrap, the enemy will go about to make a better mousetrap, so we always need to walk in the truth of God's Word, and in a spirit of prayer and dependence on God. Be carful of "Free Cheese". It may be very costly!