Make Up Test

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:1-3

Yesterday at the Colony Chapel, Pastor John Hibbard shared a powerful word on the life of Abraham with us. The story is a familiar one when Abraham was asked by God to take his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice.

Pastor Hibbard reminded is that Abraham had failed several tests earlier in his life:

1. The test of obedience = obey
2. The test of faith = trust
3. The test fearing God = fearing God

Now in this part of Abraham’s life he faces his greatest test yet. It’s as if God is giving him a make-up test and will be in the same three areas: obedience, trust and the fear of God.

You know the end of the story. Abraham was faithful to obey immediately (Genesis 22:3); he had the faith that God would keep his promise that Isaac would carry on his name (Genesis 21:12) and his act of doing exactly as God instructed demonstrated that he feared the Lord (Genesis 23:12).

The application of the message was very timely for me personally because of something that I have been going through the past few weeks. It didn’t hit me as I was writing down the four points. But then it hit me – how timely God is in speaking through His servants. He knew exactly what I needed to hear:

1. When God tests us he usually does so in the area of something that is precious in our lives. Isaac was first born son to Abraham and Sarah when they were almost 100! This was his ONLY son at this point.

2. The test is often lonely. Abraham instructed the servants to stay behind while he and Isaac finished walking the rest of the way. I had to be a very lonely time in Abraham’s life.

3. The test demands total faith in God’s Word. Abraham had screwed up enough to have learned the lesson that God is ALWAYS faithful to HIS word.

4. Deliverance from the test may not come until the last minute. God is never usually early – but He is always right on time! Isaac was already tied to the altar. Abraham had raised the knife – but in God’s time, the angel of the Lord stayed Abraham’s hand and God provided a lamb.

Of course there are so many prophetic implications to the Messiah, but for me, this story was a reminder that in the midst of the tests of life, I can trust in His promises, experience His power and wait expectantly for His provisions.

What test are you facing right now in your life? Will you OBEY, TRUST and FEAR the Lord? – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 28-30

Think About This:I have loved Him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for Him. From now on I will do whatever he leads me to do. Count Von Zinzendorf

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night. Psalm 92:1-2

Walking With God

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

This is a remarkable and refreshing thought that our Creator, the Creator of all, gazes over us and mentions it is good. However, by Genesis Chapter 3, we have the fall, the curse, and then sin enters, corrupting the perfect peace and unity between humanity and the Creator. If that is not enough, by Genesis Chapter 6, God declares, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:6) The Lord entrusted humanity to maintain all his creation, and we failed. With all the sin, selfishness, consumerism, and the issues mankind encompasses, is there an answer?

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. (Genesis 6:9)

Noah was righteous, not just because he did the right things, but the fact that he walked with God. Walking with God produces a character that stands out in the eyes of the Lord, respecting what the Lord respects, honoring what the Lord honors, and regarding what the Lord regards. As Christians, is it healthy to ask ourselves: when individuals come in contact with me, would they attest that I was blameless or righteous, or would they even know that I walk with God?

Here’s a challenge. Ask three close associates that will give you an honest assessment about how they perceive you. Then follow David’s example, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (139:23) – Juan Mendez is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy, the Raws Kitchen Manager and a student at Lancaster Bible College

Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 13-17

Think About This: Anyone who tries self-sufficiency in the spiritual life soon falls prey to illusion. John the Evangelist

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Obedience Of Faith

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” Romans 6:16 (NKJV)

Isn’t a comforting thought to have that once we have accepted Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior we are freed from the dominion of sin? There is a great difference in the liberty of our minds and our spirit which is so opposite to the mindset of slavery. We are also reconciled with the Creator of the universe, our rightful Father, by which we received through the adoption of grace. The effect of being under that grace is bearing fruit, not like the fruit of sin which brings us death but the fruit of obedience. AND do not consider life as that fruit; on the contrary, consider righteousness as the fruit of obedience.

In the 14th chapter of John’s Gospel we find Jesus giving comfort to the apostles. It’s when Judas (not Iscariot) asks “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” that Jesus introduces us to the “obedience of faith” that Paul would later write about in Romans 1:5. Though He doesn’t call it that verbatim just listen to how He narrates it, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John14:23-24)

So this is pretty much how it goes and in a very real Deuteronomical way the promise of YHVH comes through when Jesus says He was not going to leave His apostles orphaned. “And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) Now with that said it will be with a comforting assurance that Jesus tells the apostles, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:25-26) This will come to all of us who say YES to Jesus Christ and maintain an obedience of faith.

It will be when those “foolish Galatians” (maybe you should take Galatians and insert your name there…like I have done on occasion) get to take this out for a test run that we get to see what other fruit will come from faithful obedience. Galatians 5:16-26 is probably the best set of Biblical scales we can use to see just what comes from walking with that “Helper” and what comes from walking with that self-help guru we’ll just call Dr. Oprah from (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain) the land of Oz. Once we see how this balances out it will reaffirm what Paul wrote to those foolish Galatians…”Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

I am not sure how you would feel about it but for me bondage ain’t no way to live. However there are those times when I do what I don’t want to do and what I want to do I don’t do (see Romans 7:14-25) but by maintain an obedience to faith I can understand the wretched man that I am and understand who it will be to save me from this body of death…I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. YHVH’s promise remains true in this case…not to leave me or forsake me as long I ABIDE in the ONE who went to The Cross, despised the shame and is seated on the right hand of The Father!! Any other way of thinking is just me skipping down the yellow brick road, off to see the wizard, singing outta tune. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 9-12

Think About This: “Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Jesus did not say, “If you love Me you will obey me when you feel called or good about doing so…” If we love, we obey. Period. This sort of matter-of-fact obedience is part of what it means to live a life of faith.”—Francis Chan

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Your Mission, If You Choose To accept It

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1^st Peter 2:9

I used to love the old Mission Impossible series when it would open with the challenge “Your Mission if You Choose to Accept it…” The question is, when does the mission start?

They say that “advise is cheap” and opinions are a “dime a dozen”. One of the most difficult things for us to do is to refrain from giving our opinions. Now of coarse if someone is recommending a good restaurant or a great place to vacation we are all ears. I’ve learned to limit my opinions and advise to an, “only when asked” status, because I see that most people are annoyed by unsolicited advice.

However I do believe we should be ready to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season”. Let’s be ready when the opportunity (or mission) to share with others presents itself, being careful not to push or shove what we think people need. If you’re a child of God for a day or many decades you are a preacher. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you”. Each time the word of God is shared with you, it is a message to you form God that the Holy Spirit will interpret and now we will be able to share with others as the opportunity presents itself.

I love the account of the blind man Jesus healed in John chapter nine. When the man was asked, his response was “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” Sometimes that’s all we know and we proclaim what we know.

I remember listening to a sermon with the Pastor asking “what have you done with the sermons you’ve already heard?” He opened with a confusing and borderline offensive statement “the last thing you people need is another sermon, you haven’t done anything with the ones you’ve already heard.” Ouch!

So, your mission if you choose to accept it is to allow God to use His word thru you, to be ready as Peter tells us in the third chapter of his first book,” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”.  Rob Russomano is a graduate of the Colony Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 5-8

Think About This: There is not one blade of grass, there is no colour in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. John Calvin

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Reckless Grace!

(on Pastor Bob Coy)  http://thelasthiker.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/pastor-bob-coy-the-church-adultery-consequences-and-grace/

I have been on the church website reading the official statement, and many of the comments. The sheep at that church are so precious. They are loving their pastor. They don’t seem to know what to say, and they are just sharing their hearts and sharing supportive comments. Bless their hearts for their faithfulness and compassion. They have been sinned against too. But I think for some reason, many of them do not feel okay to mourn over this and instead feel the need to minimize it and dismiss it with reckless grace.

Living in gross sin one day, then putting on a godly face and entering the pulpit on Sunday. Where is the fear of God? Where is the deep deep dread to get in the pulpit (to live  our lives) and teach the word, knowing that you have sin that you didn’t deal with? How do you expect the Holy Spirit to bless that teaching (life)?

Another thing that bothers me is that instead of the church calling it adultery in their official announcement, they call it a “moral failure.” I think in the spirit of love they are trying to spin it in a less damaging light. But that diminishes it. The Bible doesn’t call it a moral failure. It is one of the Ten Commandments! Let us call it what it is- SIN!

This is an excerpt from a larger article but it really makes a powerful point. Not only do we too often extend grace when consequences are needed—but we EXPECT it! GRACE JUNKIES!   If you do the crime—do the time! If you choose to sin—face the consequences! We live in a world where we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings—F students get passed so they don’t feel bad—the last guy in a race still gets a trophy so he doesn’t feel bad.–we raise the minimum wage to give people a better standard of living so they don’t feel bad….and on and on.

What about Jesus? Is anyone concerned that He feels bad? That we are breaking His heart? Where do we get off renaming sins that He died for so we can feel better about ourselves? How do we justify not confronting sin that cost Jesus EVERYTHING!

Reckless grace or a biblical Faith?  — Steve Schmidt is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 1-4

Think About This: Flatter not thyself in thy faith in God if thou hast not charity for thy neighbor.Francis Quarles

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

There’s A Bigger Picture

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more, exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Welcome to this new week of Freedom Fighter blogs. I am very thankful that you have joined me and the other men who have committed to encourage you on a daily basis from the Word. This week, we welcome a new blogger, Juan Mendez, who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and the manager of the Raws Kitchen.

Juan is a on-line student at Lancaster Bible College and is on the Dean’s List. We are so proud of Juan and I know that his blog entries will bless your heart.

Speaking of your heart, I love the memory verse for this week. The 4^th chapter of 2 Corinthians is a great chapter for you to look out. It opens with the phrase, “we do not lose heart” and the chapter closes reminding us not to lose heart.

For the child of God, we need to remind ourselves that the stuff of life, while it can be overwhelming, hard and difficult, has a plan and purpose. Paul call’s our trials “light” and “momentary” in light of the bigger picture.

Those words may not necessarily be music to your soul if you are in the midst of a hard, difficult or intense trial. But it is a truth for us to remember in order to not lose heart.

On this side of heaven, the trials of life may not come close to even making a bit of sense. I know when we face our trial with our granddaughter’s heart issues nothing made logical sense. Day after day we watched as her body when through the devastating effects of her surgeries and then her ultimate healing – when she received a new heart in heaven.

Pastor John and Carolyn Hibbard experienced the same when their adult daughter, so healthy and vibrant, had a serious of medical issues that resulted in her going to heaven.

And I could go on and one with illustrations of hurting people in our lives right now – none of which make sense UNLESS …

We remind ourselves that these trials and tribulations have a bigger picture – one we can’t yet realize. God’s purposes are being fulfilled even when life doesn’t make sense.

These are those moments where by faith we declare, “when we don’t understand, when we can’t trace His hand, when we can’t see His plan – TRUST HIS HEART. The bigger picture will be glory – “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” We can’t see it now – but someday it will make sense.

Are you in the midst of an intense battle? Trial? Physical suffering? Don’t lose heart. God has a bigger picture that He will someday reveal to you. For now – trust His heart.

Going the distance with Jesus,

Bill Welte
President/CEO America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 23-25

Think About This: Do not let anyone convince you that if it were really God it would not be so scary and it certainly would not hurt. Hang on with everything that is in you, even if it hurts. Insist on a blessing to go with your wound and do not let go until you have got one. Then thank God for your life, limp and all, and tilt your way home.Barbara Brown Taylor

Verses to Memorize: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I’m Telling My Dad

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. ~ from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ

Oh beloved, it is true. We are to fear G_d.  For in this pure focus on the only One awesome and powerful enough to both save us from hell, and cast us into it – we come (finally) into the beginning of real knowledge.  And wisdom finally comes when our fear is focused in the right direction.  The world and this life can be a terrifying journey, but when we begin to fear the only One we should, all the other fears simply begin to fade away.

At first, the fear is real and abject.  We are undone in His Presence.  We are sure that if we see Him, we will die.  Then we do indeed die.  We die to our own sense of righteousness. We die to our own desires.  We die to anything but Him and His Love.  And then we, like the apostle John in the opening of the book of revelation, feel the most amazing Hand laid upon us.

And all fear falls away as the perfect Love of the Perfect Lover of our souls casts fear into the outer darkness where it belongs.  We look up into His eyes… and we gasp at what we see. He is smiling.  He is smiling broadly and with astounding joy!

He says, “Oh beloved.  I have been waiting for this day! I knew it would come.  And I AM so glad it has arrived.”

We stand there just kind of quiet, with our mouth open…  Not quite knowing what to say. But then it hits us.  Its all true.

Jesus is our Brother.
Jesus is our Friend.
Jesus is our Lover.
Jesus is our King.
Jesus is our Husband.
Jesus is The Best Thing That Has EVER Happened to us.

And He already knows what is going on in our heart and mind, and says the most amazing thing. “We have the best Papa.  He is absolutely amazing!  I talk to Him all the time about you.  And one Day, I AM going to introduce you to Him personally.  I AM so excited about this!  It is going to be a great Day!!!”

Have you – as a believer in Christ – feared judgment day?  Oh, i am not speaking of those who should fear that Day.  Those of us who have purposely disobeyed or purposefully disbelieved will have some serious problems on the Day of reckoning we have before Him. No, i am talking to those believers who have yielded the control of their lives to Him, but always had this nagging feeling that the Judgment Seat of Christ was going to be like some sort of trial by fire.

Can we see it? Read the passage above again.  Did you see it?  The event is going to be a Day of great joy. Surely, the joy is going to be ours!  But, have we ever considered the great and overwhelming joy of the One who has mightily saved us, welcoming us into His near presence at the consummation of the age?

Beloved, your life makes G_d happy, if you let it.  What is stopping you?

Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ~ Nehemiah 8:10 – Makala Doulos is a regular Freedom Fighter blogger and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 15-17

Verses to Memorize: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,compassionate hearts,  kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

Is That You? No, But That’s…

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.   1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)

It was the morning after a Kari Jobe concert that I had attended in Reading, PA when I found a pew to sit in at one of the local churches in Terre Hill, PA. Nothing like being dead smack in Clippity-Clopland (Lancaster County PA.) for church on a Sunday morning. I got myself a church bulletin, complete with liner notes from the previous Sunday and the present Sunday, and as I was looking at them I noticed that the liner notes were on passages of Scripture that deal with spiritual gifts. Under each gift there was a question…”Is That You?” with a blank by it and under that was the word “That’s” with a blank by it. So I am wondering about the blank.

Basically this church was looking at the gifts of grace we see in Romans 12:6-8 and the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10. As they minister to their community the question was if you feel you have that gift share it with the community and if you know someone with that gift you can volunteer them in the blank that was provided after the word “That’s”. So this solves my question about the blank but there was something that was left out and it is something that always creates a stir in our Christian community. It was speaking in tongues (was that I grunt I just heard or the deafening silence groaning) and the only time it was recognized as being missing was when my wife and I were talking about the sermon on our way back to New Jersey.

Then I got to thinking about what my friend, Pastor Dan McAnney, recently posted about the issue.

Pastor Dan and I got to know each other while serving a community during a tent revival that went on in a town named Egg Harbor City. And although there were many other brothers-in-Christ from other denominations and backgrounds there, we collectively chose to put all that “doctrinal nonsense” aside and got to keepin’ the main thing the main thing and that was…people need Jesus Christ and we need to reach out to this community for that cause. So as the Holy Spirit moved among God’s people who were we to inspect each other to see if each person’s gift fit our mold? If they truly have a spiritual gift it would flow out from the person freely and it would align with Scripture.

So with that in mind, here is a short quote from Pastor Dan’s recent posting…

“Speaking in tongues is a normal response to the baptism in the Holy Spirit and it should be an integral part of the daily life of a believer in Jesus who is filled with the Holy Spirit. However, I don’t conclude that anyone who has never spoken in tongues is definitely not filled with the Holy Spirit. I believe that perhaps there are some exceptions. There are other strong evidences of the power with which we are endued when we receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit; including prophetic gifts, miracles, signs and wonders.”

Before I close I need to make this clear, I do not speak in tongues! If there is a language being spoken in a church that I am in and I don’t understand it, I need an interpretation. And even then it has to align with The Word of God. One thing that Pastor Dan has stated and that I agree with is that under current denominational systems, true fellowship can be difficult but I don’t see denominational guidelines in Scripture. On the contrary, I see life guidelines given to men to write down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That was the gift given to them to share with us. Had that not happened all would be chaos and that ain’t something I’d call a gift, Amen? – Chris Hughes is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 12-14

Think About This:“Neither the gates of Hell, nor well-meaning Christians will stop what God has begun. We do not see ourselves in competition with any other group of believers, but just one of the many necessary to cooperate with Jesus in building His church. As I understand it, we have a common enemy, the devil, the spirit of anti-Christ, the kingdom of darkness.”—Dan McAnney

Verses to Memorize: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,compassionate hearts,  kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

Patience or Pride?

I’ve seen this way too often and I cringe when a new believer tells me, “Gods called me to preach the Gospel.”  Oh, boy.

^{1 Timothy 5} (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

Gentlemen, every man who comes through the Colony of Mercy is a “new” believer by virtue of falling away from their faith or having none to start with. And, if you have been bound by life dominating sin to the point of needing time at the Colony, YOUR HOUSE IS NOT IN ORDER! If this is starting to upset you a bit, you really need to keep reading.

Galatians 1: ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas^[a] and stayed with him fifteen days.

Paul, scholar of the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament), had a face-to-face with Jesus on the Road to Damascus and yet he went away for 3 years of training before he was ready for his mission. Guys, if you think you are called to serve the Lord, that’s between you and Him. But scripture is CLEAR that new believers are NOT qualified, NOT mature enough, NOT experienced enough and NOT educated in The Word enough to be engaged in full time ministry—yet. If you find this offensive, check your pride at the door and read the scriptures—the Word of God is what you are chaffing at—not me.

Paul also had a bad reputation to overcome, just like most of us do/did. That doesn’t happen in a day or a week—it takes time. Paul understood this and was PATIENT enough to go through the process and NOT let his PRIDE push him into a ministry he was not ready for.

If you are feeling called into ministry, your Pastor, Deacons, Elders—all mature believers who you should have a close and consistent relationship with—they should be able to see Gods work and calling in your life.

So, what is moving you in your life today—Patience—or Pride?

Father, speak clearly into my life so I know where You want me. Then, give me the Grace to make the journey with You patiently and with joy.  Amen – Steve Schmidt is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger, a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a full-time member of the Keswick team

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 9-11

Think About This: The Lord Jesus has as great an interest in the weakest saints as the strongest. —Thomas Brooks

Verses to Memorize: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,compassionate hearts,  kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

Peace, Man

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 14:27

I can still here my Mom as she would plead with me, “can I just have a little peace please”? When it comes down to it isn’t that what we all want? Having gone thru the “Passion” week and Resurrection Day I can’t help but think about the turmoil that Jesus subjected Himself to. “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men” Philippians 2:6,7.

Jesus is explaining to His disciples in John 14 that He must leave so the Holy Spirit can come. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to be overcomers. As if salvation isn’t enough God gives us His Holy Spirit to “Comfort” and give us what we can’t do on our own.

One of the things that the Holy Spirit is teaching me is there is a formula to having peace and He is able to bring it with my cooperation. I know that there is nothing we can do apart from God but I do believe we can hinder the work that God desires to do in and thru us, we must cooperate.

I’ve been reading a book called The Peace Maker. The author Ken Sande does a good job pointing out the importance of what is said in Romans 12 verse 18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”. Ken goes on to say “There are three dimensions to the peace that God offers to us through Christ; peace with God, peace with others and peace within ourselves.

There are over 100 “one another’s” in the New Testament. Jesus spent a lot of time teaching the importance of unity. The enemy spends a lot of time creating division.  “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me” John 17:20,21.

Peace with God, accepting the atoning sacrifice unto salvation, peace with each other, loving one another as Jesus loves us and peace with ourselves, putting our trust in the finished work of the Cross cannot be separated in order to have true peace. “If it is possible” is what we have to make sure we seek out and pursue with each other.

Will you join me as I pray that God will give us the strength to “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” Hebrews 12:14. I have to believe true peace will come when we “see the Lord” and others see Jesus in us. Amen!

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 5-8

Think About This: Lord Jesus, you embraced your cross to redeem the world. Help me to embrace the crosses in my life — the hardships, struggles, disappointments, pain. Only by recognizing my own weakness, can I discover your strength.Author Unknown

Verses to Memorize: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,compassionate hearts,  kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13