The Strong Road to Egypt

"Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horseman, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord" Isaiah 31:1

Today, and every day we have this choice set before us. The choice of who to trust.

Many have extraordinary gifts, talents, and minds. Many know how to
manipulate, how to influence others all for the purpose of getting what they want. We live, work, and play in a world of intimidation, of underlying anxiety, and fear of perception. And when we submit to those forces we may find a smooth road.

 

Yet, if grace be for us and introspection call us then we will learn the realization that our smooth road leads to Egypt. And that realization will drive us to the ditch of awareness, of caution,and the Fear of the Lord. That ditch of dishonor is of the highest blessing and calling for we are off the road to Egypt and on the lonely path, our Lord trod down.

 

While there, we watch as the army of self-righteousness marches by. They are strong, they are valiant, and they are proud. They do not fear missing the mark, their hearts torment not when their sin separates them from the Lamb for even for a moment. We caution our hearts from judgment for except by the grace of God, we too will resume the road of strength and not of faith.

These instruments of strength in our own minds are the deceits of the flesh that so long for the flesh-pots of Egypt. This is, praise, acceptance, prominence, and self-confidence. This, thinks highly of self, struts in secret self-righteousness, and disdains the way of the cross for the way of religious mediocrity.

Stay in the ditch if we must. Walk in heaviness and trudge the path of dependence, trust, and humility. Praise the Great One for this high calling in Christ that caused our hearts to turn, stop, and consider.... So, Turn! Escape the strongholds of fleshy Egypt and run in desperate fear to the Holy One, the Righteous One, the Anointed One and never... never look back!

Ask, Seek, Knock

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" Matthew 7:7-8

If you are like me then sometimes you don't ask because you feel unworthy or the Lord's too busy or you've made up your mind of a bad outcome anyway... so, what's the use?

Yet, if we search our hearts for a moment, we see how we have half-lied to ourselves; half-lies are the most deceptive. For truly, none of us are worthy, are we? Yet, because love was crucified on our behalf, we are justified and yes, encouraged to ask. Therefore, cast-off the half-lies and ask and keep asking. You and I both know that most-of-the-time the squeaky-wheel gets the grease... the Lord, is asking us to squeak often in our requests to him.

 

But why? Why would Jesus ask us to ask, seek, knock? Why would you have your children come to you with their requests? Because of love; you love them and want the best for them. You want to teach them persistence, determination, and also humility. The Lord wants to teach us the same things.

Is the Lord too busy? Really? To think such a thought undermines who God is, doesn't it? Is He not all-powerful and all knowledgeable? To think in such a way equates God to the frailty of a weak and limited human being and God is far from being weak or limited. So that lie won't work, will it?

And last, we don't pray because we've made up our minds that a bad outcome will occur no matter what. Think about that for a moment... that's pretty pathetic but that thought crosses my mind from time to time... It's a wonder, isn't it, how we forecast or prophesy negative outcomes instead of simply trusting. It just goes to show how very much I or we need the Lord each moment of every single day.

'Lord, our needs are continual, our dependency consuming, and our faith is so lacking. Help us to look up and ask of you, to seek your Word and your will, and to be so close to heaven in our walk to knock on the door of your heart.'

'Lord, help me'

"Lord, help me" (Matthew 15:25)

Have you ever cried out to the Lord for help? Ever allow your heart to be smitten, broken, crushed, and bruised enough that your heart cries out, "Lord, help me"?

Many hearts are hard. Many close off their hearts for they fear as the painful past is too great, the cut too deep, and the bruise too fresh to live with gentle hearts. Other hearts are hard because they believe a lie that influences them away from the Good News of Christ. Often, we live in a mixture of both worlds. Some have taught that God is an angry God, an unmerciful God, a tyrant, and woodshed sending God. God disciplines but cruelty is not in his nature.

Jesus, the image of the Father is forever merciful, gentle, and kind. His heart is gentle for it knows the way of suffering, of heartbreak, and of brokenness. The example of Jesus and His call for us is to live with hearts gentle, kind, loving, and giving, to live with hearts that love so much that they are exposed. To have hearts that love enough that they take injury for the sake of the offender, a heart that understands that we are all offenders and that we all need healing. This is the heart of Jesus.

This is this heart that the lost long for and the heart the disciple of Christ adores. It is a heart that is shaped by the crucible of heartbreak, rejection, and suffering for righteousness sake. It is the death to our will, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, and our rights and surrendering. This is the cross we are to bare; but a cross we do not bare alone.

In Christ, you are never a lone for He is ever with you. And when you cry out for the darkness of circumstances or of the heart will at times guide you there then cry to Jesus and with Him find comfort and peace to persevere through the darkness and into His marvelous light.

Being a bother

"Tell her to go away," they said, "she is bothering us with all her begging"[The disciples to Jesus] (Matthew 15:23)

Have you ever been a bother. Ever been a pain in the neck? Ever wanted something so much that you refused to take, 'no' for an answer? There is in this Gentile woman who met Jesus a heart of desperation. A heart of passion, of humility, and of profound determination. A heart so intent on helping our daughter, her loved one, that causes her to beg, to be a nuisance, and to be a bother. This is a persistent woman, a crying woman, a broken woman who's pride she forsakes, who's fear she dashes and then from her heart and then her mouth cries out, "Lord, help me!" (Matthew 15:25).

What do you need? What do you really want? I wonder, can I, can we, will I, will we cast off the mantle of self righteousness, crush our pride, sum up our courage and run to the throne of grace? Or are we hungry enough to plead, to cry out, to weep, in private or before our friends and family? Will we allow the stiffness of pride and heart keep us from the way of the cross? A way that whispers, "deny [yourself], and take up [your] cross and follow me" (Matt. 8:34). Are we so far removed from the light of His Word that we can no longer discern the darkness of sin that so wants to crush us?


For once in your life pray and cry out to be free from the chains that holds you! Scream if you must but thrust your heart before the throne of glory and cry out, "Lord, help me!" Go there, run there and in His presence don't give in, don't give up, don't listen to the lying whispers that flow across your mind of 'how foolish you've become.' No!

What is it that you want? Do you want hatred, misery, hopelessness,
bitterness, and sadness then continue to feed your fleshy mind and you will reap the harvest that you and only you allowed!

But, if you want to change. If you want to turn. If you want "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Gal. 5:22). Then run to Jesus! Run to Jesus and run over every obstacle your mind or the naysay of others put before you. Run to Jesus and bother Him! Before the throne plead your case, shed your guilt, your shame, and your sin and free yourself to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). To walk with Him!

Our Hope

"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39)

Today, and most every day people all over this world are in distress, in pain, in sorrow, and in great heart break. Today, all around us and far off are people who know no hope. They live under oppressive governments or their belief system has captured them into cycles of misery and poverty.

They all wear the same coat of flesh that we do. They all want the same basic tenants of life that we do such as family, a filled belly, and a secure and peaceful house to call home. Yet, their greatest desire is hope.

Some of these know the joy of the Lord while many do not. Some live with wealth and have great abundance and show a façade of happiness while behind doors they must consume some stimulate of choice to numb the misery called selfishness. Others have wealth and give freely for they received freely from their Lord.

We, people of earth come in all sizes, shapes, colors, cultures, and
temperaments. All these we categorize and label and we separate those who are like us from those considered different. We are united as sinners and all become equal and title-less when in the grave.

The great hope of our generation as was true of previous generations is Jesus Christ. For without Christ there is no hope only the simmering unspoken realization on the back-burner of the mind of impending judgment and looming darkness and eternal flame.

For those who walk in the light of His grace, mercy, and goodness there is a shout of joy and triumph in the acknowledging that we cannot be separated from Him who loved us first. Through Christ the distress may yet be present but the sting is not consuming; His grace gives us strength to endure.

The pain of loss or in giving birth is swept away; some in a short time and for others the loss is permanent; even so, there is 'joy unspeakable and full of glory.' Sorrow and heart break may be our bread today but tomorrow - when our eternal tomorrow comes, then the tears will fade, His joy will persist, and the calming balm of His love will heal.

For we have hope! Not in what we see, or hear, or experience but in Him who formed us in His mind before the stars burst forth their first light until they glimmer into darkness. We plod down the path of eternity because when we were vile and hopelessly lost in the debauchery of our carnality our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ loved us, saved us, and now heals us.

'Father, may the hope that you've planted in our hearts demonstrate itself in goodness, kindness, giving, and mercy to those with no hope'

Sharing the Good News

"They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand" (Isaiah 44:18)

It is an unfortunate truth that spiritual blindness prevails in our world today. We live and speak heavenly truth and we do so by faith in Jesus Christ. For in our words and actions we do not fully know their affect on those held captive. For in reality we are simply a conduit through which the mercy, message, and grace of God flows. Yet, we are not the only method used of God.

Our own words, actions, labor, and good intentions cannot bring salvation and cannot open blinded eyes. The work of salvation, justification, and sanctification is the work of God.

Our work is to present His message with truth and love. The truth is the truth found in the Bible and the love is through the love of Christ. Often, the more simple the presentation the more powerful the effect for it is then not glossed over with manmade schemes or skill.

Some might ask then, "why witness at all if only God can save?" We are His instruments and we are also gifted as seed carriers and spreaders of seed - the seed is the truths of God. Our words and lives spread God's seed and if we stop then we sin by not shining our light for Jesus. Jesus wants us to share His Good News for the benefit of others, for the judgment of others, and for the work that He is doing in our lives. For in sharing with no response received builds in us endurance, persistence, and an even more broken heart
for those held captive.

'Lord, make us people worthy to carry your name and your truth. Create in us a hunger for righteousness and a deep care for those held captive. We prayer, Father that you draw those blind and hurt and down cast to you.'

The Wonder of Jesus

"So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." John 4:48

I wonder myself at the way the heart is swayed, turned, and too often perplexed instead of trusting. Why is it so difficult to release my heart and trust completely in the Lord? Why must I or we or you hold onto and trust our own thinking and not fully trust in the Lord? Has blindness occurred to such a degree that we know better than Jesus?

I wonder... where is the wonder of Christ? I peer back into my life and heart and cry out for the wonder of Jesus, my Lord. This is not the wonder tied to signs but the wonder of who He is... instead of what He does.

The question is, can I, will I surrender all of the areas of my life to Him? Oh, the heart longs to do just that... but then it pulls back and holds back.

Like you then I live with the enlightened joy of His peace and the grieving heart that longs to delight fully in His wonder.

For it's not a sign that I seek after, nor a gift, nor an overflowing pouring of blessing but the wonder of His heart and the quivering of my soul in the close relationship of Him called, Wonderful!