Are you sleeping?

I'm calling on Christian men to rise up and be heard, stand up for what God says is right. It's time to get out of the lazy boy recliners and get on your face before God in prayer, time to get into His Word and study what He has given us to lead, live, and serve. As men, we need to be leading our families, our businesses, our towns, this country, under the leadership of God. As we put ourselves under the guidance and authority of God and seek His will, then we will be able to lead others. We need to be looking at His ways and not the ways of men.

I believe satan, the enemy, (yes he is a real being not just a fairy tale story as he wants you to believe). That he has pulled this veil over us and with that comes a complacent mentality, a defeated outlook and has made men into push overs that would rather play video games, watch TV, drink, or whatever else to distract us from doing what is important to God's heart. The enemy is putting us to sleep with all our comforts and entertainment and dragging us down with lies about sins we can't seem to shake. This is bondage and this IS NOT what God wants for His redeemed children, Amen?!

The Bible says in Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,

We need to break free from the bondage and the slavery of sin, when (or if) you accepted Christ as Lord over your life and as Savior you were made free by Him, through His sacrifice for YOU, not by anything you did, you didn't have anything to bring or offer to God accept your will.
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
(Galatians 5:1 ESV)

Again, the lie of the enemy is. So you are free, now you can do whatever you want, you are forgiven.... sorry, lie. The attractions of this world are a yoke of slavery and most put themselves under this yoke because it is "freedom". Well, the Word speaks of this type of thinking also. Don't you just love God's Word?

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

Did you catch that phrase at the end, Newness of life, that is good news brothers! We don't want to return to what we did before we accepted Christ, we are to go on and grow from faith to faith.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
(Galatians 5:16-17 ESV)

We are called to be holy, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, [15] but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, [16] since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14; 1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV)

Holy.., now that's not a word you hear very often. That's what God calls us to though. I believe we struggle in sin because most of the time we don't want to deny self. How serious are we about overcoming that sin that clings so closely? Did you know about the Gospel of Gary? What about the Gospel of Susy? or Jack, Steve, Mike, Lisa and so on. Do you get it? Most unbelievers won't read about Jesus in the Bible, they won't read the Gospel accounts in the NT, but they do See the Gospel according to us. Faith without works is dead according to James 2:17-18. We are what they see, the example by which they judge if this Christianity is for real, is there any power in it, any healing, any grace? and so on. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, His body, the church.

We are losing this young generation to video games and other stimulating entertainment because they don't see anything they want in Christianity.
Meanwhile.............. millions are starving to death, dying of preventable diseases, are without shelter and basic care. We turn our eyes, we hold onto our finances, we don't shed any tears, we don't fast or pray for them.

Do YOU even care???????

All this to say, God has a purpose for YOUR life and it is not to make yourself more comfortable, relaxed, plan your retirement, and see how good your life can be here. Brothers and Sisters, this is not our home, don't act like this is all there is.

I could give you lots of verses in the Bible that tell us to care for the poor and needy, to look after orphans and widows, but the verses won't change you if you don't want to be changed.....

I beg you, I challenge you, to ask God to give you His heart, His compassion, His eyes. Do this in sincere, tearful, honest, gut wrenching prayer and see what He will do. Please awaken from the stupor of this age and the lies of the enemy. Please, get a vision for something, God is multifaceted, there are many ways you can be used, many ways to be a voice, to be an example.

Get up... do something.

WATCH THIS!!!!!


In Him, R.B.

God is good

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
[23] they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
[24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

[25] The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
[26] It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
(Lamentations 3:22-26 ESV)

That's all, He is GOOD to those who WAIT for HIM, to the soul who SEEKS HIM.

Haha, ooohhh He is good, thank you Lord!

Wait for Him, R.B.

Blessed in the waiting

Remember, the journey, not the destination, is the key to relationship, with cultivating intimacy with your Savior. Eye hath not seen beside Thee, O God, what He hath prepared for them that wait for Him.

Here are a few more excerpts from "waiting on God" that blessed me. I pray it does the same for you.

p.81 Yes, blessed even now in the waiting. The promised blessings, for ourselves, or for others, may tarry; the unutterable blessedness of knowing and having Him who hath promised, the Divine Blesser, the Living Fountain of the coming blessings, is even now ours. DO LET this truth get full possession of your souls, that waiting on God is itself the highest privilege of the creature, the highest blessedness of His redeemed child.

p. 84 "Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence." We must desire and believe, we must ask and expect, that God will do unlooked-for things. We must set our Faith on a God of whom men do not know what He hath prepared for them that wait for Him. The wonder-doing God, who can surpass all our expectations, must be the God of our confidence. Yes, let God's people enlarge their hearts to wait on a God able to do exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or think, ( Eph 3:20) (emphasis added)

This verse is speaking to me lately in what I am experiencing and God is showing me how Wonderful His is. I wonder if this verse is speaking to anyone else out there??

More to come.....

R.B.

God's vantage point

I had a thought the other day driving to one of my jobs. It was early in the morning and I saw a hot air balloon in the southern sky. My mind starts to gather the many thoughts and I start to have a picture that reminds me how I want to live my life. I want to live my life to make a difference, zooming out from each small thing, to see how I can... me personally... affect the lives of orphans, to care for the least of these, to practice James 1:27. Let us pull back and view things from the vantage point of God.

This picture of the hot air balloon reminds me how I want to live with the big picture in view. I picture myself up in that balloon looking down, everything would look smaller, you wouldn't focus in on one certain car or a person walking down the street. You would take in the beauty of what God has created, seeing the forest and not just the trees. Should the Lord allow me to be married, this is a picture also of how we should look at the big reasons of why and what's the purpose? Now I believe we should enjoy the small things, but the reason for everything is to glorify God. Look at how you can do that in whatever you do.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Let us take time to consider our reasons for doing what we do. Are they mainly for selfish reasons? Are we considering what is best for the others? Are we seeking to glorify God and show His love, forgiveness, and redemption?

Let us have a single passion to love God, to make much of Him, for He is most worthy to be praised. Let us set our gaze upon the one who gave it all, Jesus, the sacrifice that brought reconciliation, adoption, and forgiveness to all! (many more big words could be used, but this works)


Another excerpt from, Waiting on God.
"He stirs up your nest. He disappoints your hopes. He brings down your confidence. He makes you fear and tremble, as all your strength fails, and you feel utterly weary and helpless, and all the while He is spreading His strong wings for you to rest your weakness on, and offering His everlasting Creator-strength to work in you. And all He asks is that you should sink down in your weariness and wait on Him; and allow Him in His Jehovah-strength to carry as you ride upon the wings of His Omnipotence.
Dear child of God! I pray you, lift up your eyes, and behold your God! Listen to Him who saith that He fainteth not, neither is weary, who asketh nought but this one thing, that you should wait on Him."

This chapter is based on the promise of Isa 40:31, one of my favorite verses and one I have been looking to for 3 years. I literally wear it on my hand. This is how it goes,

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31 ESV)

also as of lately I feel He has given this promise to me,

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
(Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV)

Which is pretty awesome because I also like this one with the same chapter and verse.

Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
[9] Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV)

Let us rest in the Lord and wait upon Him only, for He is our Provider, our Redeemer, our Strength, our Healer, our Friend, our Father, and our God.
My Soul, wait thou only upon God!

R.B.

great book, Scared

Tonight, I am wandering outside alone with my thoughts, walking toward the kraal, and thinking about Momma, who is at home trying to get some rest. Precious and Abu are asleep, dreaming of candy, I am sure. It is better for them to sleep when there is no dinner. I can't help but think of the burnt corn we ate two nights ago. My mouth waters for more. When the food is cooked, some always burns. We scrape the kettle to save the char for days when there is nothing else to eat- but now that is gone too. I try not to think of the ache in my stomach, but it's almost impossible. I think the reason Momma rests all the time now is because of the ache in her stomach. Whenever there is food, she gives it to Abu first, then Precious, then me.

I can see every star in the universe. The sky is a deep blue bowl filled with magical, milky fairy dust. My mother told me that fairies live in the stars. The brightest ones are the most powerful. I dream one of those fairies will find me and give me three wishes.

I first would wish to see my real daddy again, the way he used to be, and have him home with us. The second would be lots of food so nobody in our village would ever get hungry. And the third would be wings, so I could fly away...... No, not wings. I don't need to fly. The third wish would be that no one in our village would ever get sick again.......

........I am more tired than I have ever been. I fall back into a dark sleep with no dreams.

I wake to a great pain in my stomach. I try to stand, but I double over, my outstretched hands narrowly stopping me from falling on my face. My mouth starts to water, and I feel like I'm going to throw up. But still there's nothing in my stomach, so it is another gagging fit, I hate these fits.
Auntie comes rushing over and helps me back onto the bed. "There, child. Let me get you some water." She puts little drops on my lips. "You have slept for two whole days."
I try to sit up. Auntie sits behind me, lending me her big shoulder to lean against.

Life and hunger must be brother and sister..........................

to see a video of the real pastor Walter in this book visit http://vimeo.com/3285879

This is a fictional book which I don't normally read, but the author has a heart for orphans and this is based on real events and real life in Africa. It is by Tom Davis and is called Scared. Check out his others, Fields of the Fatherless, Red Letters, and his newest is Priceless. His website is http://www.hopechest.org/

B Blessed, R.B.

My soul waits

I am still reading this small book, Waiting on God by Andrew Murray. I may have stated before it is a small book but I am taking it slow and rereading the chapters to soak in the truths. I wanted to share another excerpt from it.

And if you ask, How is it, if He waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the help I seek, but waits on longer and longer?
There is a double answer. The one is this: God is a wise husbandman, "who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it," He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessing, is as needful. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son: our times are in His hands: He will avenge His elect speedily: He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long.
The other answer points to what has been said before. The giver is more than the gift; God is more than the blessing; and our being kept waiting on Him is the only way for our learning to find our life and joy in Himself. Oh, if God's children only knew what a glorious God they have, and what a privilege it is to be linked in fellowship with Himself, then they would rejoice in Him; even when He keeps them waiting they would learn to understand better than ever.
" Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you." pg. 74

I hope this blesses whoever may read this. Part of that verse really jumped out at me, ( that He may be). Our God loves us so much that He waits for us, so He can be gracious to His children.

May the Lord bless you and challenge you in your pursuit of Him. May He draw Himself closer and closer to you.

R.B.