Heart, Soul, and Strength

  Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel  - [1 Kings 18: 45-46] When the burro is braying at me i consider the source.  It's a burro!  i get up and walk out of this cave.  It's dark in here.  i'm going to go out and stand in the light!  i will stand on the mountain before Him and be encouraged.  i'm going to forget the burro and keep my eyes on Him.  So after the hard-blowing winds and the earthquakes and the fires, there is that gentle breeze blowing.  This is God in all His mercy. With all the dystopia going on around me i will be transformed to Utopia only by faith in my Lord.  i live long enough under the influence of immoral, unethical, and idolatrous leadership and i'm no longer outraged about anything.  Left to myself, my wicked ways only intensify.  One day God's promises and patience will stop, will run out.  There will be no chance for repentance. ...

No divided allegiances.  No state of noncommitment.  It's all in or all out.  There is a glorious way of escape for me if i munt up on wings and fly away from it all to God.  To escape from every snare that is set for me should i fly high enough, like the one who flew over Nurse Ratched and her cuckoo's nest.  From all that troubles my soul.  i surrender every situation into His hands and that renews my strength.  i surrender the "if onlys."  i am in the comfort of His will.  My times are in God's hands.  The best is yet to come.  i'm His co-pilot and co-writer now.   "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  --[Revelation 3: 15, 16] Not all promises in the Bible are for me to claim nor were they meant to be.  Bless my writing skills.  Bless my ability to...

 i want a calm and gentle spirit.  Not just give lip service about being a Christian.  Knowing that i am a genuine servant of God which only God has to know.  i do give in many times to the moods of the moment.  i want to be His man.  His gentle, quiet, child-like man. i am in Your keeping and in Your training according to Your training.  What lifeless areas do i still have that need to be brought back to life? Please help me control my anger, violence, lust, greed, discontentment, selfishness.  My ugliness of pride.  At times i feel i'm entitled to stir up trouble.  My mouth the cause of noise pollution.  The cause of air pollution.  i know i can take part in a showdown between idolatry and You, the Living God. i want to be sure that i'm in the will of God so i can be invincible as He sees fit.  So i will be able to stand fast under the will of God while unemployed.  What i believe should be based on what God has sa...

 The crossroads is no place to decide on my destination.  The choice must be certain before the moment of choosing.  At times, i feel stuck at a perpetual crossroads.  God wants to use me to make a difference.  He wants me to run and win.  To build on what He's doing in my life.  To walk according to His Word.  To wait on Him.  To watch for Him.  To look.  He will work through me when He feels i'm up to the task.  In His time.  i cannot light another candle of hope if my own torch of faith isn't burning.  He has made me aware that there are counterfeit Christians who gives Him lip service, speaking out of both sides of their mouths.  He has kept them away from me because He knows my tendencies.  To rebel and repel the Jezebel back to hell. Teach me, O Lord, to respond in a godly and righteous when confronted by these motormouths again.  Lead me to go and do according to Your will. ...The bowl of fl...

 Though it may appear that i don't have a care in the world--that i may look like some "hippie" walking into and out of the library--no child of my own to connect with, no pressing bills other than rent, phone, and life insurance--i still need The Helper, The Comforter to guide me in my next move or change in address to help others, even His four-legged creatures.  My responsibilities lie in being a good steward of His resources and to depart from the flesh of idols though heavily tempted i may become.  i am to be renewed in the spirit of my mind and put on the new man that was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. - [Ephesians 4: 23-24] i'd like to have increased relationships with godly people, and most importantly with God.  To have faith in the All-Knowing and All-Loving.  He may have a promise for me for which i'm not ready yet.  He is perfect and He has planned every one of my steps.  Like Elijah, perhaps He is shaping me ...

 To settle for a while in a country not my own.  To simply share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  i sing of God's love and mercy and yet i need His holiness, justice, and wrath.  Unrestricted evil must be dealt with--unjust suffering must be answered.  Evil will not last forever but the Lord and His redeemed will!  i work quietly, maybe not in the conventional sense, but i'm able to eat my own bread, have joy in the Lord and gladly send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared.  i am learning to live for Christ, able to abandon the idols i've worshipped so heavily in the past.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.   i am not without humility.  i believe i'm willing and able to live in a house not made of hands, ternal in the heavens. - [ 2 Corinthians 5:1] O Lord, that i may be clothed in Your habitation from heaven so that i shall not be found naked.  May my mortality be swallowed up by life. [vv. 2,4]  i am ...

  Heavenly Father, protect Your child, Karen Niecestro and make her cancer -free for by Your stripes she is already healed and no longer needs radiation or chemo for her brain is healed, healthy, and normal in Jesus' name.  Amen i have been ungodly and have sinned and fall way short of the glory of God, no matter my achievements, if any, for any achievement now must be according to Your will, Heavenly Father.  My faith in the atonement of Jesus grants me any righteousness.  Any works on my part are not to be blessed but are done because i am blessed by Jesus's finished mission on the cross and by His resurrection.  He has destroyed the works of a fleeing devil.  May His seed remain in me for i am but a child of God who guides me into loving my brethren. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works."  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith b...

 What do i do when heaven grows silent?  Stay in His Word and cling tightly to the Father.  Saturate my heart with His promises.  First of all, find out exactly what His promises are.  i'm here and i don't understand why i'm here.  Yet, i trust God's sovereignty.  i'm not that simple, so i won't turn in there anytime Jezebel thinks i should.  - [Proverbs 9:16] i am encouraged be He has left nothing out of His control.  God is always near!  May i continue to give earnest heed to the things i have heard these past two years so i don't drift away again. -- [Hebrews 2:1]  May i become a responsible steward of all Your belongings.  Although i can't possibly know and see all Your creation, i must have a sense of awe about You and never take You or Your creation for granted. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste d...

 There is so much distilling of anger and distrust these days.  A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back -  [Proverbs 29:11]  Help me, Lord to adapt to the humility of Christ and not to retaliate against any demonic influences.   "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me,  You are My Son Today I have begotte You Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.  - [Psalm 2: 7-8] There is nothing too hard for You.  My salvation is a gift from You that i don't need to earn.  i have in faith received it.  i know it's not about what i do; for You have done it all already and through the Holy Spirit i have access to You.  Faith is my ticket into Your grace.  You are my great God and Savior Jesus Christ.  i am Your child and i know there are conflicts with my siblings.  i've known about sibling rivalry.  i still am re...

  "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.  Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God and  that You have turned their hearts back to You again." -[1 Kings 18: 36-37]  The Lord hears and enables me to carry out vow and promises i make, so i must keep myself humbled before Him and turn from any form of idolatry which could draw any of my attention away from Him.  He will provide the way to keep myself separate from the world.  Let me not take even the smallest steps across this line because the slightest deviation from what i know as truth may become huge transgression.  i trust in the Lord to bring me promotion and advancement as He sees fit. He who exalts himself will be humbled.  -[Matthew 23:12] even the greatest achievements i perform will  manifest only a small facet of God...

 He transfers me from darkness to light.  His eyes saw my substance being yet unformed -- [Psalm 139: 16] Not even my mother's womb could be hidden from God...to Him, light and dark are the same.  He took hold of every detail of me, stitch by stitch, He fashioned my days while i lay in the womb. [v. 16] The plans of God for my life, layer by layer, nuance by nuance, i see more clearly as i go on this Christlike journey that He has led me every step of the way, teaching me by the mistakes and miscalculations my simple humanity has made and will continue to make. All the spiritual discipline i've received just over these past two years reminding me of the Billy Graham Crusade i watched on television when i was in the 10th or 11th grade in high school back in the early 70s.  Recently the jobs i've taken that didn't last.  He must have something else in mind for me; or, as a friend suggested, He wants me to rest and He will take charge now. From when bad people in...

 Satan's accusing me all the time.  i even cringe in bed in the middle of the night.  And Christ is there at the right hand of God making intercession for me.  He's my Advocate who paid for all my sins.  i accept His payment.  The growing and the learning won't stop, even when i get to heaven.  i don't have the right to expect anything of others when it comes to honoring Christ.  i am enough for such a project.  For now.  If others reject faith and good conscience, then let that be on their conscience.  i am my own project of faith and conscience.  It is my flesh that is weak, so i must ask for God's help to be stronger when it comes to my spirit.  i cannot reject faith and become shipwrecked again.  - [1 Timothy 1:19] i've got the Trinity by my side for the rest of my days; and for that reason only can i have confidence to live in peace and serenity.  It isn't a matter of depending on anyone or any circumstance ...

  i have dreamed of being executed.  It happened last night, and it took me a moment this morning when i woke up to determine that it wasn't true, that i had only been dreaming.  Freaky!  Creepy!  Like the way i felt walking down the dark hallway of Catholic Services.  Paul enjoyed a closer friendship with the Philippians then with any other church.  We need unity and steadfastness among Christians today.  Or should i say I  need it. Is it here today or is it gone tomorrow?  Tender, warm, and affectionate is he who is writing to the Philippians. i, too, have written a journal or diary of my spiritual journey with Christ. Triumphant joy is different from a state of happiness which is dependent on my circumstances which are very unlikely to make anyone consistently happy these days.  Joy can only come through Christ.  He is unchanging and unconditional.  i, too, can feel like i'm writing in my journal from a prison of my own...

  O Lord, our Lord How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens.  - [Psalm 8:1] Guide and bless me throughout the rest of this year, not by punishment but by love; when i move, let it be the wisest, most blessed move i make having been guided by Your Holy Spirit.   For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly from the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  - [Hebrews 4: 15-16] Jesus knows my thoughts from afar off, is acquainted with all my ways and my emotions and hang-ups.  He knows my temptations--in the name of Jesus, send me, Holy Spirit, on the clean and narrow way.  i want to make that commitment to stay on the clean and narrow way, though You know exactly when i'm going to slip off, yet You will not keep me apart and separate f...

He is the Author and Finisher of my faith why wouldn't i look to Him?  Who could possibly be as trustworthy?  Who could give unconditional love?  Who else could tell a criminal on the cross to His right that He promises to see him in paradise by the end of the day?  Bless the Lord, O my soul.  And forget not all His benefits.  Who forgives all your iniquities.  Who heals all your diseases. --[Psalm 103: 1-3]   i am being gifted with the knowledge of God.  Why would i honor anything else that goes against the knowledge of God? -- [2 Corinthians 10:5] You ask me why i'm such a Jesus freak?  Because i study His word.  Because He's in every book of the Bible; there have been books i've read that show me that He's in every book of the Bible.  That's a good reason to me to becoming a Jesus freak.  i could've spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars to entertain myself with foolish things that only distract me from Jesus Christ and...

 You've been nudging at me for quite some time to get ready to go somewhere, but i just am not sure where.  But wherever it is, i'll go.   And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  --[2 Corinthians 12:9] Even when this vessel has been battered all night i wake up to the Son in the morning, He's shining brightly through the sliding glass door!  Making it easier for me to step out onto the turbulent water of my day.  Take hold of me, Lord, and keep me safe.  i know Your grace is all i need.  Let my tongue be filled with singing and my mouth with laughter when i am filled with the joy of Your grace.  You have done great things for me.  i've weeped long enough.  Now it's time to disregard distractions and eye candy and keep my eye of You. My life ambition now is that e...

 Don't forget about the Spirit of God because then we could never be alone.  If i ever feel out of touch with God or Jesus, the Spirit reminds me that they're still around.  What Joy!  Being worldly and of the flesh blinds me to the way i must go.  That's when the devil and his demons win.  They think they're in charge but it is only temporary.  Unfortunately, i've heard self-righteous lip service in the name of the Lord from the ones walking in pride who think walking the Christian life is a competition when it isn't. Nobody can be governed to believe anything or in anybody.  If Christ stood before some people's bed at night not many would believe He was the One standing right there.  Remember the ones who prayed for Peter's release from prison didn't believe he was actually standing there knocking on their door.  "No, it must be a ghost!"  They had rather believed that Peter met his demise in prison and stood outside their door in...

 To be justified -- by people --or by God through Jesus Christ -- i choose the latter and it's tough to disregard the people sometimes if i let it be tough.  There are phony, manipulative souls and i want to be the first to tell them where to get off but i know that wouldn't please my Lord.  Now being considered a "saint" is not on the top of my list of accomplishments here and now.  It might be a good item to put on my bucket list at a later time, but only Jesus can determine my sainthood which is in store for me.  Yet i'm sure that what others think about me being a saint or not doesn't matter anymore.  i aint't here for no popularity contest.  The more darts and stares thrown at me the more i feel that God and i are doing something right together. i've been baptized and i'm again going down beneath the depths of hell so i can ascend to my home just as He did.  For the time being i have the good wine set before me and i'll maintain that full...

"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  --[Luke 24:44] It's time i begin really focusing on the joy of God; there are a lot of human circumstances these past few years that could drag me down like a crab being dragged down to the bottom of a crab-bucket.  i am getting so tired of thinking negative thoughts.  i need positive energy flowing through my veins and that comes from the joy of God.  i could never give up on God and i feel His joy and i praise Him regardless of the human frailty displayed by myself and others. It's all about "even though."  Even though there are no visions appearing in the night, like they did for Paul, i shall have joy because i shall not give up on God, even though it seems like there are no answers to my prayers.  i will continue to pray, understanding that it isn't abou...