Acquaintance with Grief

(My Upmost for His Highest)

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isaiah 53:3.

"We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, viz., sin, and it upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life."

It has always amazed me how people blame God for all the ill in life. I have always wondered why people do not get angry with the enemy of their souls, the devil; instead, they wrongfully accuse and blame God. Sin is the "explanation of the grief and sorrow in life." May our prayer be, "Father, may your life rule in me, so that 'sin in me will be killed!'"

This is today,

Pastor Gary

The Goodness of God (Repost)

Not to overdo the phrase that people have been saying for years now but it is so true, "God is good all the time and all the time God is good." To be surrounded by great family and wonderful friends makes life good. God's faithfulness is evident in everyday life. Sure, there are challenges; and yes, there are still crises but to stop and to take a deep breath gives a wonderful perspective.

Be sure to stop to smell the roses and give God thanks.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Determine to Sail the Seas

(an exert from My Upmost for His Hoghest)

Determine to know more than others. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17.

If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the smooth waters just inside the harbour bar, full of delight, but always moored; you have to get out through the harbour bar into the great deeps of God and begin to know for yourself, begin to have spiritual discernment.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you work up occasions to sacrifice yourself; ardour is mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfil your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1–2 . It is a great deal better to fulfil the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Beware of harking back to what you were once when God wants you to be something you have never been. “If any man will do …, he shall know.…”

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Catching the Eye of the Kinsman Redeemer

Ruth 2:5 "Then Boaz asked his foreman, "Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?" Ruth was in the field gleaning behind the servants of Boaz when she suddenly caught the eye of Boaz. Little did she or Boaz realize that Providence was at work. It was not a meeting of chance, but of a divinely appointed nature. What was it in Ruth that caught the eye of Boaz? After all, she was a foreigner; she was a widow in need; and, she was stricken with what appeared to be a bad lot in life. However, it was her faith in the law of Moses that caused her to seek a field to glean in.

In this story of Boaz and Ruth we see a picture of Christ and the sinner. In this story we see grace at work. Boaz was kind and gracious to Ruth out of the pure goodness and love in his heart. She caught the eye of the "lord of the field." The good news is, you have caught the eye of the "Lord of the field." And just like Boaz instructed his servants and workers to be kind to Ruth and drop some extra blessings in her path, so the "Lord of the field" has left instructions to drop some blessing in your path.

Little did Ruth realize that this encounter with Boaz was going to change her life and fulfill God's plan and purpose. God is about to change your life, your circumstances and He is about to fulfill His purpose and plan to bless you and not harm you. Fear not, for you have caught the eye of the "Lord (Master) of the field."

This is today

Pastor Gary

Keep the Fire Burning

Leviticus 6:13 nlt says: "Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out." It was the priests duty to make sure the fire on the altar was burning at all times. The continual burning of fire was imperative to proper worship. This fire was not just any fire. It was not common fire; it was holy fire! Leviticus 9:24 tells us that this fire emanated from the presence of God Himself. No wonder such an admonition as, "the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times" was given. The reason is, this was not ordinary fire!

How is the fire burning on the altar of your heart? The priests were to remove the ashes every morning and take them to a place outside the camp. Are there some ashes that need to be removed in your life? Ashes, if not removed, over time will actually hinder the fire from burning properly. Ashes hinder the fire and keep it from burning brightly. The ashes can represent anything in our life that we allow to negatively affect the fire, the presence of God, in us.

The charge is: Keep the Fire Burning! Be intentional about it. Cultivate the presence of God in your life. Give yourself to His purposes and His cause.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

His Blood

The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin
1 John 1:7

Learn a lesson from the eye of the miner, who all day long is working amid the flying coal dust. When he emerges in the light of day his face may be grimy enough; but his eyes are clear and lustrous, because the fountain of tears in the lachrymal gland is ever pouring its gentle tides over the eye, cleansing away each speck of dust as soon as it alights.

Is not this the miracle of cleansing which our spirits need in such a world as this? And this is what our blessed Lord is prepared to do for us by His cleansing blood, if only we will trust Him.

F. B. Meyer

His Name

Psalm 9:10 declares, "Those who know your name trust in you,  for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." A name means so much. When you hear the name of friend you immediately get a picture of them in your mind. You think about them; who they are as a person; you think about their character.

In scriptures, often a persons name described their nature and their character. Jesus, when praying, states ( John 17:6) "I have manifested thy name unto the men." In essence, He was saying, "I have declared to them your nature, who you are." No wonder David said, "those who know your name trust in you" because he was speaking about knowing the character and nature of God. To know God, to truly understand who He is and what His nature is all about, is to trust Him.

He is faithful. He is merciful. He is full of grace. He is all-powerful. He is understanding. He is unchanging, constant and true. The list goes on and on because He Himself is infinite. May our prayer be, "help me to know your name."

This is today,

Pastor Gary