In Your Distress EARNESTLY seek Him!

Hosea 5:15  "I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me."  Here we see that the Lord, at least in the OT, did bring distress into a persons life in order that they might seek Him "earnestly".  Important to note is that Israel was already in a place of great sin.  It seems that the LORD simply added to their misery in certain areas in order to bring them to deeper places of distress that they might call on Him.  But even then, He seeks those who would go after Him with a sincere heart acknowledging their guilt before him.  Those who would come in humility.  Lord, I say, that in all things the work of your hands bring Justice, Love, Mercy and Discipline in their right proportions to work for your purposes.  I say that those purposes are for our good.  Even when it seems that your hand is heavy or that you are afar off, I choose to believe that in all situations you are Just and Good.  I thank you Father that I can lean on these truths even when I look at a world that is languishing in deep sorrow and sin.  All things will work together to the good for those who love you and are called according to your purposes!!  Amen!

Truth and Deception

  Have you ever noticed that when Paul describes the armor of God that the very first thing mentioned as our defense is the "belt of truth" (Eph. 6:14)?  Why is this so important as a1st defense?  In every counseling type situation I have ever found myself in, either when I was counseling another or I myself was being counseled, the root issue was a lie that had been picked up somewhere along the way and believed giving birth to deception.  Deception is the enemies one and only weapon.

  We all know how Eve was "tempted" in the garden and we often speak of "temptation" as being the weapon of the enemy.  But actually the first thing the enemy did was lie to Eve.  He gave forth a deception from his mouth that spoke of God withholding something from Eve that was desirable to have.  Once Eve gave this deception entry into her heart and mind, then there was temptation.  What if she had said "No" to Satan's lie that day and believed Truth over Deception?  Could it be then that temptation would never have awakened in her desires.

  So, if then the very nature of deception is that the one being deceived does not know it, how can we fight such a thing?  By being rooted in Truth, the source of Truth, we stand a better chance of recognizing the deception from the first moment of conception in our thoughts.  And then, because Jesus has lent us His authority here on earth, we can then take every thought captive and make it obedient to Him. (II Cor. 10:5)

  When we let our minds roam freely from thought to thought without care, we become easy and willing prey for the deceptions the enemy would plant in us.  Once planted, those deceptions easily take the form of temptation which unchecked, leads to unbridled sin.  When those deceptions are planted deep and are allowed a more permanent place in our thinking, strongholds are created that become part of everything we do; every decision we make; every thought that comes after.  These deep rooted deceptions then become well camouflaged and hard to discover.

  Thanks to the Lord His light shines upon even the darkest corners of our minds revealing such deceptions long ago welcomed into our thoughts.  Thanks to the Lord, the adoption afforded to us as His very own children, thus there is authority given to us to root out strongholds of wrong thinking setting us free to live as He destined before time began!

  I encourage you my friends, live freely in body, mind and spirit!  Let the light of the Father reign in you.  Even in your thoughts, that the strongholds of the enemy maybe brought down and the Truth built up within you!  For the Truth will set you free and those who are free in Christ are free INDEED!


FREEDOM!!!!