HELP! IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

God's names reflect His character and attributes. 1) God is "love" so He
desires to help us.
2) God is "El Shaddai" - Almighty - He is not only able to help but to prevail. 3) God is "Elohim" - faithful to His promises to help.
4) God is "El Roi" - He sees and knows our need for help.
5) God is "Adonai" - He is sovereign and in control of our circumstances
which calls for help.
6) God is "Jehovah" (Jesus) (the redemptive name of God) - He is our
redeemer and Savior - When: a) lost=Savior; b) sick=Ropha (healer); c) in
turmoil=Shalom (peace); d) lonely=Shammah (God is there); e) want=Jireh
(provider); f) defeated=Nissi (banner of victory); g) in sin=Tsidkenu (our
righteousness), M'Kaddish (He sanctifies us); h) doubtful=Rohi (guide), in
bondage= (deliverer).

For our God nothing is too difficult (Gen.18:14;), nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37)! All believers should sleep like babies every night knowing we are children of our Father, the Lord! If our God is perfect in all His attributes (and He is), surely He will help and can and will meet our needs!

Charles Stanley has put it this way, "Though the future of a nation appears to be in the hands of its rulers and lawmakers, an omnipotent hand is orchestrating a good and glorious plan: the Lord is the one who 'removes kings and establishes kings' (Dan.2:21). Ultimately, every governmental leader is put into office, not by voters, political campaigns, or personal abilities, but by the hand of God."

God uses even pagan rulers to bring about His purposes - remember Nebuchadnezzar & Cyrus (Jer.25:9 & Isa.44:28). And remember Hitler, who God used to fulfill His promises to bring His chosen people, who were dispersed throughout the world, back to Israel. Today I have been watching the news coverage of the ousting of Mubarak in Egypt. There are still many questions and fears about what will happen to the Egyptians and to the entire world. But the ALMIGHTY, OMNIPOTENT, SOVEREIGN GOD is orchestrating the outcome - it will all be in His glorious plan! Help is on the way!!

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth - (Ps. 124:8).

(See the blog,"Will the Real Jesus Stand Up?" - Aug.28, 2008.)

The Way-Maker

Are you in a wilderness or just got out of a wilderness? If you have lived very many years in this world your answer would have to be, "yes." Even Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil before He went into His active ministry. The Father has purpose for us in every situation. He knows that we learn, grow and our faith is strengthened in our spiritual wildernesses. He has told us that while we are in this world we will have wilderness experiences (tribulation), but He tells us also that He has overcome this world. So to be an over-comer we have to focus on Him, walk in His Light, holding His hand. He will lead us into "paths of righteousness for His namesake."

It is barren, dry and dark in the wilderness. The enemy is waiting in the wilderness to tempt us. Satan is the tempter, father of lies. prince of the power of the air, murderer, destroyer, accuser, a roaring lion, old serpent and the devil. But if we are believers we don't have to fear, because the Lord knows the way through the wilderness. He is the Way! He is the Light to illumine our path with Truth, He is Truth. He delivers us from all the power of the enemy. He causes us to triumph in all things (II cor.2:14; Col.2:15). You may pass through many wildernesses in your lifetime but you don't have to live there. All Jesus wants is our full trust. Full and complete trust brings Him great pleasure. Fears and doubts bring Him great sorrow.

MY LORD KNOWS THE WAY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS

Sidney Cox

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

All I have to do is follow,

Light for the way is mine always,

And all I need for tomorrow.

The knows the way through the wilderness,

All I have to do is follow.

We must remember in all of our wildernesses that Jesus is Jehovah Jireh - the Provider. He is the Way-Maker! Since the buck stops with God, we have to know God has planned some wildernesses in our life to refine and perfect our faith in Him to take us through and show the way. But in the end He has planned good and not evil, a hope and a future for us (Jer.29:11). The challenge is to trust the One Who in love is planning a way through all our wildernesses.

GOD HAS NOT PROMISED

Annie Johnson Flint

God has not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God has not promised we shall not know

Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;

He has not told us we shall not bear

Many a burden, many a care.

God has not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain, rocky and steep,

Never a river, turbid and deep.

But God has promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

Ask yourself some hard questions: 1) Do I really trust Jesus to know the way through my wilderness?; 2) Do I really want to follow in the way He leads?; 3) Am I willing to completely commit to Him, to count the cost and relinquish my will completely? If your answer is, "no" to any of these questions your stay in the wilderness may be very long. Remember, He is the Way-Maker, all you have to do is follow.

Common Word, Uncommon Meaning

We use words every day until they become common to us, not valuing their meaning. One of those words is, faith. Faith is an enigma and its meaning elusive. It is hard to define and harder still to practice, but is an essential essence of life. We have faith in common things every day - driving our car, believing the brakes and all the vital parts will operate safely; drinking water out of the faucet, believing it is not poisonous; etc.

We cannot live without faith nor can we please God without faith. Our walk with our Father has to be by faith, not by sight. In Hebrews 11, the Word tells us that faith is "perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses." Faith is not a "feeling" but a "knowing." Because God said it, I believe it and that settles it. Faith is a choice - with our will we choose to believe what God has said. When we make that choice, there comes a certainty, a confidence, a knowing and a peace that God is faithful to His Word and our answer is on the way. We must just wait with patience, hope with endurance and rejoice in the forthcoming answer.

Faith and trust are the heart and feet of the Christian life. Trust is putting our faith to work. Faith is believing in the One Who is faithful. Trust is leaning (committing), with all our being on the One in Whom we have believed. Like the story of the tight-rope walker who walked across Niagara Falls several times on a tight rope. After several trips across and back, he asked the spectators if anyone believed he could push a wheel barrel across the falls. After many gasps from the onlookers one brash young man stepped up and said he believed he could push a wheel barrel across Niagara Falls on a tight- rope. With astonished looks from the audience and a smile from the tight-rope walker, he brandished the wheel barrel, stepped to the end of the tight-rope, turned to the young man and said, "If you really have faith in me to push this wheel barrel across this rope, then get in the wheel barrel and show your trust." Of course the young man didn't have faith in the tight-rope walker's ability enough to trust his life to him in such a dangerous situation to keep him safe.

Unlike this young man, we can completely trust our life, with all of its difficult and tangled situations, to a God "Who is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless before His presence with exultant joy." He is El Ohim, the faithful, covenant keeping God! He is El Elyon, the Creator and King of Kings! He is El Shaddai, the Almighty, all sufficient God! He is Adonai, the Master, Sovereign Lord! He is Jehovah (YHWH), the self-existent One Who reveals Himself! Drink Him in, savor His character, taste and see that the Lord is good! Ps. 100!

To have real life is to have faith (believe) and trust in this One and Only, JESUS!

Real Love

If I had to describe 'love' in one word I would have to say "giving." "For God so loved the world that He gave -" I will have to weigh my love for anyone by how much I am willing to "give" - my energies; my money; my time (to help, to have fun, developing friendships, encouraging, giving hope, quickly forgiving, inclusion; sharing my hospitality; etc.) This kind of love only comes when I empty my heart of self and have the Holy Spirit completely fill it so it has no room for ME. Without Him I cannot truly love! (I Cor. 13)

Elizabeth Elliot put it this way, "God's love is not a sentimental thing, for it was strong enough to hurt His own Son." David lived a good example of love, not only toward Jonathan, but toward his enemy, Saul who repeated tried to kill him, the same one who had a bounty on his head. Despite all, David wsas gracious to him in life and death. May we be as loving toward our enemies - those who have harmed us in any way, spirit, soul or body.

I read a story about an American soldier who was stationed in England after World War II. Driving to his barracks, he saw a young boy staring at some delicious pastries in a bakery window. He stopped and asked, "Son, would you like one of those?" "Yes, I sure would!" the said. The soldier bought some sweets and gave them to the boy. As he walked away, he felt a tug at his coat and heard the youngster ask, "Mister, are you God?" We look most like Jesus when we are "giving."

Janet Fleming told a personal account of a small chick that had gotten away from its mother. It appeared dead apart from one eye which was slightly open. She held it in her hands and watched again. It opened its beak. As she went about her tasks she held that chick in her pocket. One hour later it stood and the next day she couldn't pick it from the rest. Her analogy was: How many brothers and sisters might be still following the Lord if a fellow Christian had shown them warmth and encouragement? This is love.

The Father is the ultimate "Giver" - He needs nothing but wants all (of our hearts). He knows that we cannot fulfill the greatest command (or the second greatest) until our hearts are completely emptied of self and filled with Himself. Only then can we truly give love to God and man.

Father, help us to love as you love - being sensitive to the needs of others; loving the unlovely; lifting up the fallen; encouraging the discouraged; including the lonely; reaching out to the down-and-out as well as the up-and-out; showing kindness to those who hurt us. Father, we know we can only love through Christ Who gives us strength and in His name! Amen!!

INTENTIONAL LIVING

Of all the programs I listen to on “BOTT” radio I believe my favorite is, “Intentional Living.” This program, hosted by Dr. Randy Carlson, covers every topic imaginable and shows us how to be overcomers in “The Way” – by being intentional. Since everyone’s life, and especially a Christian’s, is not fate or an accident, we can experience that abundant life it speaks of in John 10:10 only by living intentionally. Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us that our Father’s plans for us are for our welfare, our peace, for good and not evil and to give us hope in the end. He tells us to pray to Him and He will hear us (Jer.33:3). We are to seek Him as a vital necessity and then we will find Him when we search for Him with our whole heart. To pray and seek those plans until we find them will necessitate a life of “intentional living.”

Webster’s says that something done by intention is “done by design,” therefore we must live our lives in such a way that we choose our every decision, from our relationships, parenting, our words, our prayer life, our study of God’s Word, how we spend our time, our jobs, being the salt and light God intended us to be in this world, etc.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says our purpose is, "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." We as Christians must live intentionally in thought, word and deed to glorify God and by so doing we will enjoy Him forever, and consequently we will enjoy life also.

The wisest man to ever live said in Proverbs 23:7 "As a man thinks, so is he," - in other words, we become what we think about. An old adage says, "Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character." So what our character has become all started with our thought-life. Have we been intentional in thinking on those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, kind, virtuous and excellent, (Phil.4:8)? Our intentionality in our thoughts determines the way we will act. "Even a child is known by his acts, whether or not they are pure and right" (Prov.10:11). Whether our acts are pure and right will display what kind of thoughts we have been entertaining. Repeated acts in the same direction build a habit that will develop our character. How are you known?

What about being intentional with our words? ; In James 3:8-11 it talks about the words that come out of our mouth - blessings and cursings - "this ought not to be." Our words will show our true self. Verse 8 says the tongue can't be tamed - whatever is in our thoughts will come out our mouth eventually. It is impossible to consistently speak evil and unkind words and have pure and righteous thoughts (vs.11-12).
So we must have a daily check on our intentionality in our thoughts, words and deeds.

Live with a purpose - to be like Jesus. Boaz left "handfuls of purpose" for Ruth. Boaz purposed and lived with intentionality and was a picture of Christ in his kindness, beneficence, hospitality and became a kinsman redeemer to Ruth.

Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's food and drink. God honored his intentionality with knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, also, gave him understanding in all kinds of visions and dreams and favor with the king (Daniel 1:8).

One of Jesus' purposes was to "undo the works of the devil" (I Jn.3:8). Another of His purposes was to give us abundant life (Jn.10:10). The Father has purposes for each of us, "welfare and peace, not for evil, and hope in our final outcome." (Jer.29:11).

Intentional living begins with our first waking thoughts in the morning and continues throughout the day until we go to bed at night. Plan your day with the right priorities, then, work your plan. Plan to start every day with being alone with the Father and studying and meditating on His Word and determining to obey, committing all that your day may hold to Him, both the planned and the unplanned events to Him. Here are a few suggestions on how to be intentional:

1) Ask the Lord to bring opportunities into your day to demonstrate His love to
someone who needs to be loved
2) Be intentional about planning your schedule for the day so that you have time for
family first, others and then yourself.
3) Be intentional in your choice of the words you use to respond to others.
4) Be intentional in being sacrificial in giving yourself to others. Seek out
opportunities to meet someone else’s needs, to encourage and help. Listen, with
our hearts, to others.
5) Be intentional in practicing what you preach.
6) Be intentional in being thankful in and for all things remembering the Father is
in control of every detail of our life, both of what we think is good or bad.
7) Be intentional in keeping your word – be trustworthy.
8) Be intentional in being transparent – be real, speaking the truth in love.
9) Be intentional in being humble, remembering by yourself you are nothing but with
Jesus help you are everything and can do everything.
10)Be intentional about quickly confessing your sins and repenting.
11)Be intentional about forgiving when wronged, and even forgiving yourself when you
fall.
12)Be intentional about praying always, in every situation and about everything,
with thanks.
13)Be intentional about studying the Word to show yourself approved unto God a
workman who doesn’t have to be ashamed

If we truly want to "glorify" God in our lives, the only way is that we must determine to live intentionally for God.

There Is A Wonderful Meeting Place

There is a “meeting place” in God’s great plan where God’s wrath was poured out on sin and where Truth is waiting to redeem, exonerate and justify. The Truth is that:

1) God loves man with an everlasting love. (Jer.31:3)
2) He has mercies and tender compassions for man that are new every morning. (Lam.
3:22-23)
3) His Truth endures to all generations (Ps.100:5);
4) man is full of sin (Rom.3:23)
5) God is holy (pure) and will not defile Himself with the impure (sin). (Ex.15:11)
6) God loves us even while we are sinners (Rom. 5:8)
7) “Life is in the blood” so there must be a blood sacrifice for removal of sins.
(Lev.
17:11; Rom.3:24-26)
8) God gave up, for a time, His most precious relationship, His Son, Jesus (the
innocent, to come to earth and live as a man and shed His blood and die on a
cross,
for sinful man. (Jn.3:16)
9) Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross satisfied the Father’s desire for the
removal of
man’s sins, through the shedding of His own blood. (Rom.3:25)
10) At the cross Jesus (the innocent) took our place (the guilty) to die.
11) Without Christ’s sacrificial death man would still be under the curse and without
hope. (Gal.3:13)
12) The man who believes these truths and fully accepts them, God, in the form of His
Spirit, comes to live within that man and he will live (spiritually) forever.
(Jn.3:16)

This exchange at the cross is where the guilty became acquitted; where the lost to God were found; where the rebellious became forgiven; where the spiritually orphaned became adopted into the family of God and Jesus became his elder Brother and the eternal, almighty God became his Father; and where we will live with Them forever.

The cross is truly the most wonderful meeting place. It is where mercy and truth meet, where righteousness and peace have kissed (Ps.85:10); where provision and love are beyond measure. God’s desires and man’s needs are all complete in Christ death on the cross. God has the justice truth requires and man has His sweet mercy!

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
By I. Watts (1674-1748)

align="center">WHEN I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Lord of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Far be the thought that I should boast,

Save in the cross of Christ, my Lord;

All the vain things that charm me most,

I'd sacrifice them at His word.

There from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flowed mingled down;

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were an off'ring far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

ARE YOU A TRUTH SEEKER?

The Truth of Jesus Christ is a wonderful thing. If you believe it, it will change your life, it will bring you joy and fulfillment. Unbelievers are not "valiant for the truth," as it says in Jer.9:3, but believers should be. To be valiant for something means to be, "strong, brave and courageous. We as believers must carry the banner of Truth high - facing the world's opposition with courage to stand alone, if necessary. With our "belt of Truth" girded securely, we must stand against all and everyone who would dilute, compromise or ridicule what God says is true. His Word is Truth! Genuine truth is not relative. If it is true it will always be true. Choose to believe the Word of God. Jesus believed it, He quoted it and He lived it - He was the Word. God's Word (the Truth) is inexhaustible. After some have dedicated their lives to studying this amazing book they have admitted they have only skimmed the surface. God's Truth is indestructible. People and governments have tried to destroy the Truth but "though heaven and earth may pass away, His Truth will remain."

As it says in John 1:1-5, Jesus and the Word are one, He said to doubting Thomas in John 14:6, that, "He was the Way, the Truth and the Life. I think the order of the nouns in His statement is very significant. First of all, He is the Way. Only if you are in the Way can you know the Truth and experience the Life - all in Him, Christ Jesus. The Truth is the most priceless treasure you can obtain. Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, and will live, said in Proverbs 23:23 that we are to 'buy' the Truth and don't 'sell' it or compromise it for our gain.

In this world of greyness, compromising, rationalization and half truths, it is hard to find a "straight shooter," someone who is searches for the Truth and then lives by it. What is Truth? In John 17:17, when Jesus was praying for us in His 'High Priestly Prayer', He said, "Your Word is Truth." All truth in this world comes from the character of Jesus, no compromising, no greyness, no rationalization nor half-truths. There is not such a thing as 'half-truth'. As they vow in court, "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."


Everything from Christ was straight-forward, honest, pure in motive and complete. The Truth is not up for interpretation and change. If it could be compromised in any way, it would not be Truth. Webster's definition of truth is, "constancy,genuiness." There is no pretense, play acting or facade in truth. It is 'always' the same - from the front to the back, inside and out, up and down.


We must always think, speak and act out the truth. When Satan puts doubtful, fearful and deceitful thoughts in our minds we must practice taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (II Cor.10:5). As a man thinks in his heart so is he (Prov.23:7). You become what you think and meditate on - truth or falsehood.

Are you a Truth Seeker, walking in the Light, or are you willing to compromise the Truth for momentary gratification? By choosing Truth you are choosing Light and Life!