On the Counter Culturalism of the Kingdom of God

Lord, your greatness never seizes to amaze me.  The wisdom You have bestowed upon me is immense.

I asked of You, and You provide; time and time again.


You have given me eyes to see and hears to hear.  I now understand the recent trials and how I am to proceed.  It is humility over exaltation.

James 4
¹ Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? ² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

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Shall I speak up?  What is my motive to speak up?  Is is pure, or is it pride.

As I've heard it said:

Humility + Servant hood = Greatness

True greatness is taking the lowest place.  Lord I will follow the example You have laid out before me. 

Luke 14:11
Proverbs 29:23

Knowing a new Knowledge

This past week has brought many peaks and many valleys.  But through it all, Your faithfulness shown through ever brighter my dear Saviour.

I fell on my face daily, hourly even, and sometimes to the point of wallowing. 

With every valley, there was a new mountain summit reached. 

You have elevated me to a new plateau through the trials that compounded within the last number of days, both at work and otherwise.

You have revealed to me a deeper depth.



I now know a new knowing.
 

Praise be to the Lord in all things, forever and ever!



Your Words:

Phil 2:12-13
Phil 4:13

Psalm 15:1-5

The Charactor of Those Who May Dwell with the LORD

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

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My almighty Creator, may I walk a the straight path of a true follower.  May I not speak evil against my friend, as well as my foe.  Let all my ways honor You my Father.  Let my mind keep you ever present.  My spirit is willing, but my flesh... feeble, and utterly incapable; draw me closer to You. 

Mold me my Lord.  Mold me. 

Psalm 14:1-7
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?
There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.
You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

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Daily Reading - Psalm 13:1-6

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him"; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 
But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

All my relience is in the Lord.  When my personal resources are exhausted, the divine supernatural power of my all mightly God will intervine and save me from the wiles of this world.

My loving Father, my delight is in you!  Your blessings are aboundant in my life.  May I glorify You in all my weakness, and in all appearance of strength.

Daily Reading - Psalm 12:1-8

Man's Treachery and God's Consistancy

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?"
"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."
The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

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My Lord, You have given us prayer and petition to combat the lies of the evil. 

For You, Lord are our protection, our refuge from the vile, wicked heart.  I meditate on Your pure promises day and night.

2 Timothy 2:4

"No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."

What soldier enters a battle with a television show on the forefront of his mind? Or a football game? Vanity? What about gossip? Why then do I? Why do we?

When a soldier enters the battlefield, I would believe his concern lies with being victorious.

How are we, as true believers in Jesus Christ any diffferent than that of a soldier?
Scripture implores us, as Christians to engage in the battle, and tells us to be watchful, with all perseverance and supplication.
How then can we be victorious? How can we stand against the wiles of the devil?
By taking up the whole armor of God.

You have made it crystal clear my Lord. But with every verse, it becomes clearer.

I kneel in utter submission before You.

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Through the indwelling holy spirit, we find our resources. His divine power has equipped us with effective, productive spiritual energy.

Let us not fall prey to the disctractions on this world. 

2 Timothy 4:3

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers."

Itching ears may be soothed by flattering tongues.  Just how prevalent in evangelical America is this?

Lord, you give your people eyes to see and ears to hear.  May we be set apart from the rest.

Sanctify us completely, may our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.