Defeated Christians-

I am linking to Phillip Johnsons post which has a comment I would like to address-

In fact, if you are passive or careless at all in your own personal spiritual walk, you will suffer agonizing defeat at the hands of the enemy.

Link-Now, let's get personal

I feel a need to pray for that. A Christian walk is never careless but predestined to bring about the image of Christ in ones life.

Romans 8:29 �¶For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.


In this we have to consider that even the illusion of defeat in a Christian walk has a purpose. I also must say any defeat in a true Christian is only illusion. Much like the illusion of Christ's defeat on the cross..all things work toward that predetermined victory in Christ, even times much needed defeat of the enemy in hearts.

Favorite Read

Douglas Wilson of Blog and Mablog is fast becoming my favorite read on the web.

His thoughts and communication always seem to fall in line with my own preceptions.

Here is yet another article I have to link to-

A Real Mess On The Beach

In His Favour

Psalms 30:5 �For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Where is life?
In His favour.

The weeping won't last forever. Keep that promise in your heart and look forward in faith.

Thank you Lord!

Thy Free Spirit

Psalms 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Free from the bondages of this life. Free from the slavery of sin. Free to worship the one True Living God reconciled through the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

John 8:36 �If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.

Worthy of Escape

Luke 21:34 �And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 �For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 �Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.


Watch, pray and know your worthiness through Christ.

The Beginning of Sorrows

Mark 13:7 �And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 �For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

These things needs be, our Lord tells us. He comforts us to not be troubled when we see these things. The end is not yet.

Mark 13:9 �But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10 �And the gospel must first be published among all nations.


We will have a testimony against the ungodly.

Mark 13:11 �But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.


You need not think in advance.

DID NOAH FISH?

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did
a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?" "No," replied Johnny. "How
could he,he only had two worms."

Just random thoughts here-

I got to thinking about John the Baptist being filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb and I remembered what the Lord said about him.

Matthew 11:11 �Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Of course it was only God's work within John and John was to come walking in the spirit of..

Matthew 17:10 �And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
11 �And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
12 �But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.


Like I said just random thoughts that for some reason I am not able to reconcile. We know Jesus was the "only" sinless human.

Not sure if I am suppose to understand this just yet. I guess I'll file it for later thought.

I do however know that God is not limited to a point of human birth in santification.

I love this post at Blog and Mablog.

Check it out-

Cooks Who Feed Only Themselves

You are Ephesians.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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God's Ultimate Will

What can we assume is God's ultimate will?

Matthew 6:10 �Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Now we know that this earth is nothing like heaven as it entails way too much destruction....however when we see destruction we can not assume just because it isn't like heaven it isn't God's will.

The key is the end product and not the process in the making.

When the Lord prayed Father your will be done. we see in scripture that on the surface His allowing will seemed very destructive in our Lord's dying.

The ultimate thing that came from that however was the key. Ressurection of Christ and salvation for sinners.

So when we see destruction around us at every turn we need to look forward to the end product in faith.

Corinthians 13:12 �For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Trying to debunk that allowing destruction as not being God's will is not biblical within things...however we do know that with faith and patience that destruction is toward prosperity.

Isaiah 55:11 �So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

What ever you do..

Colossians 3:23 �And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

All Things Work

Romans 8:28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

In consideration of all things working toward God's plan, it is not a mandate to keep the saints from discerning good from evil.

Some things God allows and some things God causes. While He allows satan to work evil, there are restrictions on evil.

While the saints can judge evil from good, they can not determine certain immediate reasons for evil.

I can look at war and judge that it is not good, yet being a part of God's allowing war I can not determine immediate reasons for war.

I can however determine that eventually war will work toward God's plan (good).

In knowing this it does teach the saints patience with faith.

Revelation 13:10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.


Revelation 15:3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Pricks

Acts 9:5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

It is right funny to think humans try to prevail in kicking against the pricks. Only in going with the pricks can one find true rest.

The Holy Spirit will even stop you from heading in wrong directions.

Acts 16:7After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.


Here they were trying to go (unknowingly I would think) in wrong directions but the Spirit suffered them not.

Trusting in that direction one can truly come to a place like Paul and say that where ever they find themself they are satisfied.

Philippians 4:11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

God knows His plans and those that are His. He has promised not to lead us astray, for His names sake.

Psalms 23:3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.


We can completely trust the pricks. We can completely trust the Lord.

Time

Have you ever really thought about time? I sometimes mull on it.

Time came about for humans from being denied access to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24 �So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Man then went out into a world of aging and keeping time.

Hubby and I were blessed with a trip to Cancun a few years back and we had the pleasure of visiting some of the Mayan ruins. The Mayans seemed to idolize time. They had calendars and watched for the equinoxes and were deep into astrology. They also perform human sacrifice and some of the most horrendous games of death. One of the most extraordinary things I saw was the Chichén Itzá ruins. The main structure on the ruins is a pyramid that appears linked to the Mayan interests of astronomy. At the spring and autumn equinox the shadow of the sun on the stairs causes the illusion of a snake crawling down the pyramid.

Sort of strange that the image the shadow makes is also the instigator of man's downfall in the garden. It seemed to me, the Mayan culture, was one ingrained in death. When you think about it the druids, witches, and modern day pagans also seemed drawn toward time.

The Galatians also seemed to emanate that spirit.

Galatians 4:10 �Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

I suppose we as humans do want to make the most of time, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, but God is eternal.

God does use time, He sets times and seasons. He made time even before man.

Genesis 1:14 �¶And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

God while making time, is not subject to time but eternal. In Christ Jesus is eternity.

John 3:15 �That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 10:28 �And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Natural Prophecy

John 12:16 �These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.


Are there things in your life you look back on and remember you fulfilled scripture?

This is the natural state of fulfilled prophecy. The Lord speaks it, you fulfill it and then remember.

Too often we find a working fulfillment. The word says you must...and then working to fulfill it.

Natural prophecy will never work that way. We don't have to work to fulfill prophecy. It occurs in lives without understanding. Prophecy works within us to fulfill itself.

That is natural prophecy.