Our Redeemer

Today, I found encouragement in Psalm 49:5;7;15; that says, “Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me?”….“But as for me, God will redeem my life.“ I find it encouraging when I am overwhelmed with more questions than answers and more weakness than strength, that God alone has the power to redeem me when all my resources have been frustrated. It’s like the Lord is saying to me; “stop thinking about what you need to do and start thinking about who you need to trust.”  There is a promise here to those who trust God. It is a promise that reminds us, we do not have enough resources to ransom ourselves, but He is our Redeemer.  Renew yourselves with this thought, that you can do nothing of yourselves, but you can, by Faith, do all things through His redemption power..
Phil 4:13; “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

The Open Door

Jesus plainly tells us in Matthew 11:28 to come to His rest!  In John 10:7 He says, ‘I’m the door you must enter through.’ All too often we fail to see the open door Jesus has made for our entry into His House of Rest! This past spring a red bird appeared in the window at our house of worship.  At first, everyone was pleasantly distracted by his coming to the window.  However, over the course of the next few weeks he would make it his mission to attack every window on our building repeatedly becoming a nuisance to everyone.  I found myself thinking, ‘that stupid little bird…’, then God said to me, “you’ve been like that little bird”.  The truth is, we have all been just like that little red bird.  He might have found the door of entry, but he was too busy fighting his enemies, or so it would seem!  In reality, he wasn’t even looking for the door.  What are you seeking?  Is it the open door of Jesus that brings you into a place of rest, or are you like the little bird?  Just what does he see in the glass that keeps him coming back to the place of futility?  He sees himself, but he is most deceived thinking it’s his enemy.  In his zeal to fight, he is bound by a deception that allows the real enemy to steal what God says is rightfully his. There is a ‘little red bird’ syndrome bound in the nature of all our flesh. The little bird is fighting against his own image though he doesn’t see it.  Your image will always make you angry, frustrated, and captivated by Your-SELF and the image IT produces.  There is a blindness only Jesus can remove.  He says to you, ‘I’ve an anointing that can heal blind eyes so you can see the door of rest.’ It is a place of recovery, it is a place of release and abundance.  Any attempt to use something other than the door will leave you beaten and bruised.  There is hope and healing at the Open Door of Jesus!  His lessons are the cure of our Red Bird syndrome!  He is saying to you, ‘Son/Daughter, use the door! It represents the only legitimate way to my service and pleasure and by it you will produce My glory and not your own!  Use the door, and you will be able to move freely in my presence where there is fulness and joy.  It will be a fulness that will keep you from robbing Me and being robbed of what I alone have given you to possess!

The Ruined Stones

The stone wall behind our barn brought a great revelation to my heart. These stones no one wanted. They were in fact dumped on the property and have spent the last 7 years or so without purpose. These stones were not purchased they were the waste product of some failed project in some other man’s field. But as I looked at the worthless stones now fit into the wall, God reminded me they have been redeemed, and as such they are part of a priceless plan to gather in souls for His kingdom. They now are part of a great purpose–a heavenly plan to retrieve what was lost. The Spirit of God says, come hear ‘the gospel of the ruined stones.‘ 1 Peter 2 says, Jesus, who although rejected by men was the chief cornerstone of God’s building. The word further states, that in Him, we are living stones being redeemed into His building becoming fit only for His divine purposes. What are the ruined stones and what is the gospel that they preach? The stones say: “what is rejected by men will become alive and useful to God.” They no longer declare an earthly cause, but live for a heavenly purpose. The stones reveal to your life that Jesus does not build by conventional means, but with supernatural power to take your ruined places and make them a thing of His beauty. Will you hear the gospel of the stones and what they can say about your worth to God? Understand your waste places can be redeemed. Understand your reading these words right now say to you God’s heart is to take the wasted space and fill it up and redeem it with the priceless purpose of Christ. Say yes to God, say ‘Lord I want you to redeem and change me’. Do it now!

A Father’s Prayer

“My prayer for you this morning is that above all else you will be given strength to be a man/woman who loves what is good and right and abhors being intoxicated with evil, so you might be such a man/woman who is able and fit–divinely empowered to make His glory known like a light shining in a dark place. I pray your faith increases in might and power and you receive the extra-ordinary Spirit of Christ to accomplish God’s will above your own and you live your life standing in the stream of victory knowing; “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you”.  I pray for a fresh approach to what you know by the power of the Holy Spirit which causes you to rise above yesterday and find His glory today…. praying this knowledge inspires a love that endures all things for His sake and for the sake of His call.