Depression is Temporary

Depression is difficult, but it's not sin, only human. Lean into Jesus. He cares. He cries when you cry.

Just Trust The Good Shepherd to lead you through the valley of the shadow of death.

We're not home yet. Depression is temporary.
Grateful

The Completion Process

While God is making us into what He desires us to ultimately become, let's not continually argue with Him during the Divine, completion process.

"I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus."
-- Philippians1:6 (GWT)

Grateful (for God's Guarantees)

Our Interference Hinders God

It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous. 

We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. it is not that He will not, but He cannot. Our interference hinders His working.

-- Streams in the Desert

 

Grateful

What Jesus Means?

"Once we receive His (Holy) Spirit we know implicitly what Jesus means."
-- Oswald Chambers

Grateful

Great Conflicts with the Tempter

Mrs. Charles Cowman writes these words in her classic devotional book, Streams in the Desert: If a man has much of the Spirit of God, he will have great conflicts with the tempter.

 

I once heard another saintly lady say, if you run into the enemy, you must be going in the right direction.

So, let us be encouraged in the spiritual battles we must endure, remembering always that "The battle belongs to the Lord."

Holiness Unto the LORD!
Grateful

Our Former Love Affair With Darkness

A saint is someone who belongs exclusively to God. Yes, a saint is still capable of sinning but not really interested in sinning. The more passionately we love Jesus, the more we realize that our former love affair with darkness indeed loses its hold on us.

Grateful

Our Great Need

Our great need is to receive the Holy Spirit that He may do in us all that Jesus Christ did for us on the  Cross.
-- Oswald Chambers

For the Cross of Christ and for the Gift of The Holy Spirit... I am...
...forever...
Grateful

I Choose to Be Holy

When I attended the 2013 Passion Conference in Atlanta, this song ministered to my soul and still does. Christy Nockels sang it then and I pray it still from my own life.

Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Refiner's fire

My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within

 

Click here: Christy Nockels - Refiner's Fire (Passion 2013) [HD & LYRICS] - YouTube

 

Holiness Unto The LORD!

Grateful 

"The Devil Aims High"

Temptation often comes upon a man with its strongest power when he is nearest to God. As someone has said, "The devil aims high." He got one apostle to say he did not even know Christ (Peter).
-- Mrs. Charles Cowman, Author of Streams in the Desert

The Devil only goes after those he doesn't already have.
-- Angela Williams

Our God is Greatest!
Grateful

Still Anticipating

Ever since I composed my blog post yesterday, I have had the throne image and the words from our Coming King (written down in Revelation 21:5) strong on my mind:

The one sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new."

In case you missed yesterday's post, I simply wrote the words of an old Southern Gospel song:

This is not our home.
We're just passing through.
This is not our home.
Ours is brand new.

Still anticipating... and..
Grateful 

Anticipation

This is not our home.
We're just passing through.
This is not our home.
Ours is brand new.

Grateful with anticipation

Extraordinary Afflictions?

Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces.

-- Archbishop Leighton

Grateful for Grace

True Life

True life is experienced when we die to sin and self (self-centeredness).
-- Andrew Murray

Galatians 2:20 -- "I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me!"

Click here: Crucified With Christ - Phillips Craig and Dean - YouTube

Live in Me and I will live in you. -- Jesus, John 15:4
Grateful

And Happy Birthday to our son, yes our first born. 26 years ago today our hearts were wonderfully warmed. Love you too much, Grayson.

No Great Joy

3 John 1:4 -- I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Please Love Jesus Passionately.
Grateful

Do You Believe in The Abiding Presence?

Let us believe in the abiding presence of Christ (in us) as the sure gift to each one who trusts Him fully. --Andrew Murray

Abide in me and I will abide in you.
(Live in Me and I will live in you.)
-- Jesus, John 15:4

Grateful

P.S. Find me in the Twitter ocean. @PastorKerryW

Every Sin-Stained, Hell-Deserving Sinner...

The cry of Jesus on the Cross ,"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" reveals God's Holy Heart coming face-to-face with our deepest sin. Indeed, the cry of Jesus from the Cross goes deeper than our sin can ever go. Because Jesus cried out to His Father in desperation, "My God? Why?", we can really know that His piercing cry goes to the deepest depths of unimaginable, human heartbreak, meaning that every sin-stained, hell-deserving sinner can be absolutely redeemed, rescued.

Click here: Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin [with lyrics] - YouTube

Love So Amazing! Indeed!

Grateful

Unbelief -- Lord Forbid.

What might keep us from living moment-by-moment in an unbroken, up-to-date relationship with Jesus (that is guaranteed as our inheritance in God's Word)?

Simply unbelief. Yes, lack of trusting God to keep His Word. Lord forbid. Surely, Almighty God, You are trustworthy and You can keep us in continual fellowship with You.

By faith! In faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

"I Will Advise You..."

Psalm 32:8 (GWT) -- The Lord says,“I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as My eyes watch over you."

Lord, we pray for wisdom, favor, and influence for your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

PEANUTS -- "A Duckie and A Horsey"

I love the newspaper cartoon strip called "PEANUTS". It was created by Charles Schultz who passed away a few years ago. My favorite edition is this one posted below:

 [first lines]
Lucy Van Pelt: Aren't the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud's formations. What do you think you see, Linus?
Linus Van Pelt: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean.
[points up]
Linus Van Pelt: That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there...
[points]
Linus Van Pelt: ...gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen. I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side.
Lucy Van Pelt: Uh huh. That's very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: Well... I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsey, but I changed my mind.

Lord, give us the ability that Charlie Brown possesses -- the ability not to miss what's obvious, as simplistic as it may be. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Grateful

HOPE HAS HAPPENED AND IS STILL HAPPENING

It's one Sunday past The Resurrection Celebration Sunday called Easter and I have Good News, still:

Sin is defeated.
Christ is victorious.
Those of us who believe "in" Him?
Get to share in the holy bounty of His triumph!

HOPE HAS HAPPENED AND IS STILL HAPPENING!
Grateful

The Miracle Medicine from The Great Physician

The mind of Christ, in full dosage, is the miracle medicine I ask The Great Physician for. Lord, give me Your mind so that i will never need to think of living without You. 

Grateful.

Jesus Offended Many...

Jesus offended many; His own home folk were the first to be offended. When He preached in the synagogue they were initially astonished by Him but ultimately offended at Him.
-- Oswald Chambers

So they took offense at Him.
-- Matthew 13:57a (GWT)

The Pharisees were offended at Jesus because His teaching showed up the hollow emptiness of their profession.

"He is despised and rejected of men ..."
-- Isaiah 53:3

Lord forbid that I should even take offence at You.
Grateful

To Pray is...

To pray is to enter into God's presence, to have distinct dealing with Him, to commit our need to Him and to leave it there.
-- Andrew Murray

Lord, remind me that when I pray I can just say aloud my needs and in hearing myself speaking to You my faith will be helped immensely. In Jesus' name. Amen.
By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Do Not Be In A Hurry to Unfold God's Will

The temptation is to find a way forward without trusting and relying on the Lord. Instead of letting Him help us along, we try to help ourselves or get advice from our "friends". We are tempted to try the conclusions of reason, and only run into the danger of accepting a way which would not be of God at all.

All of these temptations can lead us to shallow water, even shipwreck. The end of yielding to such temptations will likely lead us only to sorrow. Accept God's time and God's way. His timing is meant to teach us lessons we desperately need. Just commit the whole situation to Him.

Be willing to simply abide in His presence as long as He desires. After all, He alone should be the Ultimate Goal of our lives anyway. Remember that it is better to stand still in the dark with God than to walk out towards "a light" alone (or with mere humans).

You may move the hands of the clock to suit you, but you can never change the time, or the timing of God plans for your life. Do not be in a hurry to unfold God's will. Leave everything to Him. Keep your hands down.

(My thoughts mingled with some of Mrs. Charles' Cowman's words) 

 

Deo Volente -- As God Wills.

Lord, move me beyond searching for Your perfect will to becoming perfectly One with You!

Grateful

Our Confidence & Inheritance in the Afterglow of Easter

It was late evening on Easter Sunday when Billy, a college-aged, lover of Jesus texted me a Scripture reference from the New Testament. In the afterglow of Passion Week, I want to now share the encouraging passage with you:

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has given us a new birth because of His great mercy. We have been born into a new life that has a confidence which is alive because Jesus Christ has come back to life. We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can’t be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, since you are guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time. -- 1 Peter 1:3-5 (GWT)

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

Good News: Just Trust the Divine Design!

Need Good News for today? Here is what has been on my heart recently:

Rest assured that our Good God engineers the circumstances in our lives.
If we will Just Trust Him totally today, we will one day see the divine design He's had in mind...
...from the very beginning of time...
(actually, even before time began.)

⁵ Trust the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths smooth.
-- Proverbs 3:5-6 (GWT)

Father God, give to us the mind of Christ.
Help us to Believe and to Be...
... Grateful