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| "NOT YOURS" |
This morning I got up...thanked the Lord for the day....thanked HIM for the life in me to get up and then to rise for His purpose through me and mine! I did a number things, and went to the quiet place to pray and again give thanks for His goodness to us, the sacrifice of His son and the great opportunity to have a relationship with Him.
It was coming on the hour that I take out some bird feed and fill that which brings in the song birds and yes, some birds with attitude. As I walked the yard and was praying and relaxing in the warmth of the day, I saw a golf ball lying under
this large pine tree not far from the corner of the house. As I got closer I saw black writing on it! I picked it up and it said
" not yours"! And I thought your ball should be on the fairway of the golf course and not on the fairway of our backyard!
My thought was: "did this guy know he would lose it no matter how he played" which reflects badly on his hand and eye coordination. And he could not blame the loss of that ball due to an easterly wind this morning, for it is most certainly quiet....which the day revealed not an inkling of a breeze of any kind was around. It was so quiet out, that you could hear the creaking of material objects expanding under the rays of the hot sun.
As I finished my duties outside I returned to the kitchen to wash my hands, & I kept looking at the found ball
that I had laid next to the sink. I turned it around to see the
words written " NOT YOURS" on it. I was still wondering why someone would get so angry about a ball in his possession, to mark it up enough that
the person finding it in
their yard...would no doubt see their attitude and hear them yelling out their complaints in advance for losing their ball!
My other thought was, "why would anyone play a sport that he has so much anger in".
Maybe he rids his heart of anger by hitting the ball instead of his 'boss'. Maybe he expresses his restless heart within him to say " I am moaning noisily and if this gets into your hands, you will know it too! I am going to aggravate you today! And you know the 'enemy' tries to do that especially when you are getting close to that 'thing' God has for you to do for His glory!
The enemy is that way you know! He will try to stop you by reminding you where you came from and
that you cannot expect to walk out of that place because "it is not yours". Then when he tries to terrorize with throwing things at you like golf balls with written intents, sends email with no hope in it, sends a card for your birthday but no signature on it nor any kind of greeting other
than what the card was imprinted
with at the factory, or when he the enemy yells to you that you are not exiting this place, because that out there, "it is not yours".
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. But we really
must read this verse in context of Scripture given. Jesus the Good Shepherd spoke in John10: 7 "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves' and robbers' , but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. AND then verse 10: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
In Jesus, we that is you and me (we) go in and out and we find pasture! That pasture is food to eat, it is a place where the Shepherd keeps His watch over us. We find clear running water for thirst and can lie down in green pastures and enjoy the harvest of food the Lord gives to us.
Psalm 23 reminds of that!
Let’s begin by remembering Psalm 22 has to do with
Christ on the Cross, Psalm 23 deals with Him as the Father’s Shepherd in WHOSE
care Jesus would live for God, die for
man-kind but still reside in the Father’s hands and Psalm 24 revealing His
ascension. And from Hebrews we find that prayer is requested for this and so
too, we as His follower’s would do well to pray: Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us; for
we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live
honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you
the sooner. 20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our lord Jesus from the
dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in
you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Seek to cooperate with leaders. That means any
leaders you have over you including the President of the United States. We may
not like ‘everything’ he does, but he was elected and if God is in it with him,
it is best not touch God’s anointed. We should pray for all leadership whether
in Washington D. C., Washington state, from the mayor of the city to the police
chiefs, to fire chiefs, to the people who lead in the schools and universities.
It is God that we desire to please. You and I are to love our
neighbor and love God, but also please Him our Father, who is in heaven. (Hebrews
13:21….make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what
is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ)
So the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not be in
want of any good thing. Those who have repented and turned have Jesus as Lord! That pasture of His goodness supplies what we need
bodily, soul and spirit in HIM! He leads
us by still waters not agitating waters! Those violent torrents of water coming
from ragged rocks on high would terrify the sheep. YOU can hear those violent
waters creating much commotion as it washes down as through the heights to the valley below.
David who wrote those words inspired by the Spirit
of God had seen those waters of refreshment in the areas of the sandy and rocky
country of where he grew up. He saw extended times where the hot sun dried up
those streams and how ‘special’ the coolness and sweetness of that water was to
a famished soul and when that refreshing was needed!
It is God who restores the believer into the
spiritual history that was of the Jew and now Gentile. Those who are restored
to the purposes God intended from the beginning. We are restored in
righteousness for His name’s sake. His name is great and worthy to be
praised. His name is love, peace and
forgiveness.
Ezekiel 34:14-24 NKJV “I will feed them in good
pastures, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of
Israel. 15 “I will feed My flock
and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was
lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen
what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, & feed them in
judgment.” 17 “And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God, “Behold I
shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 “Is it too
little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with
your feet the residue of your pasture----& to have drunk of the clear
waters that you must foul the residue with your feet?”19 “And as for My flock,
they eat what you have trampled with your feet & they drink what you have
fouled with your feet.” 20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold,
I myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 “Because you have
pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, &
scattered them abroad. 22 “Therefore I will save my flock, & they shall no
longer be a prey; & I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will
establish one shepherd over them, & he shall feed them---MY servant David.
He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 “And I, the LORD will be their God
& My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD have spoken. This was for the ‘church’. It is for the
spiritual to bought back into the natural of man!
Living by faith, is living with a trust in the Lord
that restores. He takes care of the sick sheep and brings them out of
addictions and out of those ever-changing passions man seems to desire live by but have nothing to do with a passion for God. We
are to be reconciled back to God. The kingdom has come and those who enter do
so by repentance into that open door of the kingdom. God must live in our
hearts.
As from that of Ezekiel, the church must not be the ‘virtue-less
cesspool’. If that which stinks and gets on you, it is still going to stink because it is on you....yes it is with you! Ever been close to a cesspool and noticed the stink it gives off and especially
on a hot day? We sometimes have to drive by this small community heading west toward the interstate and there are times especially in the summer when this communities sewer system must be malfunctioning, for it is exposed, and running over the rims of that which is to hold it inside the vat! What a stink!
For His Name’s sake, He leads us in paths of
righteousness and the church pastor, apostle or teacher should do the same. We
are to lead others in paths of righteousness for is His Name’s sake. He is the
ONE who died for us all! But not all of us will go and repent and follow Him.
It is by grace that we have been saved. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9
not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.
The architectural design is by God and in God and
through God. The Redeemed believer is His new creation. And in HIM we have
balance in our lives: we have His peace, His love and His power. And by His
love we can love others . But His love brings conviction. Remember His love
always tells truth. Anything outside of that is disloyal to God, is disloyal to His love and brings conviction. 1John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
I am not going to talk about
false prophets today but I do want to talk about love. John continues in verse
16: “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God
is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
WHEN Jesus came from the Father we saw a love that
is a manifestation of connection with God His father. It was by "relationship"! So we should not make
love “a god” to give it as it is a thing. NO, we instead give the love by knowing the God of
love. That is, we are giving a God who is alive and knows their heartbreak and failures! Many people today try to initiate love to others by “a god of love”
without standing by their convictions that caused them to repent in the first place.
Missing the very AUTHOR OF LOVE IS not
loving others but only applying that which only man can give and has no help
from the Holy Spirit. Yes, we must love others more than our convictions but we
cannot and should not ever love others instead of our convictions. If you remember
the woman caught in adultery. Jesus forgave the woman but he also exhorted her
to “Go and sin no more”.
LOVE recognizes sin........forgives but exhorts as well! Don't sin again.
That which lies on the other side should no longer
bring fear to us. We certainly walk through valleys, those low places but those
dangers should not cause us to fear when we have the God-saving care with us
through every season and every dark night. In the dark, the stalker stalks
their prey in looking for their food. You and I have been given the Holy
Spirit, and in that comfort we experience the seasons to come and to go, and we still see trials
and tribulations, but the Shepherd is watching, and by His Spirit He counts His
own, He watches over His word to perform it in their lives. His word brings that support and we should be speaking that God is with us and
He is for us as this too is His word!
The table was set and what a rich spiritual feast it
is that God has provided. What great taste and benefit to us all who are
willing to humble ourselves and receive Jesus as Lord. Yes we are secure at the
table of the Lord. For though enemies will be present there, we are not to
fear. OUR head is anointed with oil. We are refreshed with the wonderful oils
and smells of the Lord. We receive His oil of gladness (Psalm 45:7) the joy
which the holy Spirit imparts to us (1 John 2:20) and that which is the odor of
brotherly love…that fragrant oil of spiritual relationship found in Psalm 133.
The spiritual find the scents of being united to the purpose to worship, to
praise, to sing, and pray together when one heart with God.
Yes, all our days are to be forever the pilgrim
following Jesus. For when God dwells in our heart by faith, we dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. You and I can go out and we find we are shepherd by the Shepherd of the sheep. We find satisfaction and peace. We find His love that is viable. It was a love that is manifested knowing the Father of LOVE. If we do anything for another, it is that we operate out of that which is love we know of the Father for ourselves.
When we do anything for the Lord, may we know HIM, go and in out finding pasture, finding that knowledge of Him, and that is seen as "the passion" for Him. For in that our actions will rebuke the devil when he speaks, 'not yours', BUT we speak I and my Father are one and my passion reveals the love that is of the Father and is given to others in the same way it was given for me, for you and for all ……...but all will not receive it, indeed!
New teaching at: Voice of Prayer
Authority Is a Gift NOT Personal Rivalry
Also visit my You Tube channel Voice of Prayer for more teaching
New teaching at: Life Giving Wells
Also visit Life Giving Wells You Tube Channel for more teaching
