Month: June 2021

I’ve never been comfortable around Christians who weren’t dying to self. Too much flesh and not enough Jesus makes me uncomfortable.

If God sees even a glimmer of a chance that someone wants Him, wants the new Life He can give anyone, He will move mountains in that person to make sure they take on His Life.

There is grace on/in God’s Word. God’s Word is all powerful and so is His grace. So if I’m not doing His Word, will I have His all-powerful grace operating in my life?

What keeps me from doing His Word? Why would I not want all of God’s grace operating in my life?

I’m finding that the more I line up with God’s Word – the more I “do” it, and not just hear it – the more of His wonderful grace, favor, covering, peace, rest, security and joy is operating in me. I can sense and feel it doing so. The old “Mark” is dying and giving way to God’s ways. It’s the most incredible Life I’ve known.

And it makes sense. The more I become like Jesus, the more of His Life I’ll have working in my life. It’s a miraculous exchange – I die to self, to Mark, and I get more of Him, more of Jesus. As a result, I get more free indeed. I love His freedom. What a blessing it is to put off the old man (the old Mark) and to put on Christ. Wow. Amazing.

And God knows the more I die to self, the more I want of Him and since He’s infinite, He keeps giving me more of Him. I like more of Him. ☺

Oh, Hallelujah!

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Ephesians 4:22-24

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

So much could be said about sudden fear and how we must not let it impact our lives. I love how God teaches us to stand against sudden fear and how He leads us onto victory through and right in the midst of it. What a God we have.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me (Oh, thank You, God): and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

God can even use fear to motivate us to overcome fear and to live by faith in the Son of God.

Back in the 80s, one of our Oregon pastors, Gordon, told Annie and me to not make major decisions when we were getting hit with fear and enemy attacks. He told us that most of these kinds of attacks lasted for a day or two and to wait until the attack or fear subsided before making decisions. Gordon’s wisdom has always helped us and kept us from making many unwise and hasty decisions the devil’s sudden fear tried to scare us into making.

Sudden fear is everywhere today. The media is full of it. Left unchecked, fear will attempt to control your life. Fear can make you forget God’s Word and think and do things you would never do as a Christian and child of the Most High Who has set you free.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25-26

We never need to give in to lying sudden fear. Never. Let God’s liberating faith (Truth) lead you, not suffocating and confusing fear.

Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus, for Your Word that sets and keeps us free.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

On earth, there are two kingdoms operating. There is man’s kingdom or domain and there is God’s Kingdom. As Christians, we move in and out of both and then more and more into God’s domain abiding under the shadow of the Most High. We can see how beautiful Life is when we spend more and more of it in Him.

I don’t know many people who like to wait, who like patience. I hated those two words for so many years. They seemed to stand in the way of everything in my life. I’m only beginning to see how valuable they are to true Life.

Let the Lord bless you and keep you
Let the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
Let Jesus lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (His peace is so important and valuable today. Really, it always has been.)
Let Jesus put His Name on you and bless you in His mighty Name, the Name that is ABOVE (it can heal my weak, impatient flesh) every other name.

Thank You, Jesus, for being so consistent and faithful to bring me Your True Life.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

When I think of beautiful things, I don’t often include patience in the list.

How beautiful and full of glory is patience?  I don’t know yet.  But, when I listen to God regarding patience, patience begins to come into focus and it’s more lovely the longer I look at it from all the angles God presents it to me.

There is a tendency to think not much is being accomplished when we wait and exercise patience.  But, in the Spirit world, so much is happening when we choose God’s lead to be patient.  So much is working on our behalf behind the scenes.

It is so important to learn how to wait. There is so much fruit in that little word. It can change our lives if we’ll let it.

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
Hebrews 10:36

“For ye have need of patience.” Wow, what beautiful words of Life. I was thinking about writing something else this morning when the Holy Spirit began telling me about patience and how absolutely wonderful this precious gift from the Holy Spirit is.

He’s still speaking to me about it…☺

We love you all.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Caleb didn’t side with the 10 spies who brought back an evil, fear-inducing report about the land God wanted to give the Israelites when He led them out of Egypt. Caleb and Joshua were the minority, but that didn’t stop them from believing God. They didn’t let the fear of man in. Caleb didn’t go along to get along. I love that.

Most of us don’t go looking for giants to overcome. We feel like we’ve got enough to deal with. But not Caleb. He was full of faith. He believed God. Believing God – taking Him at His Word – is what gave Caleb the courage and strength he still had at 80 years of age. Caleb wanted the hill country and giants. That’s right! He knew they were nothing in God’s sight.

Let the Lord bless you and keep you
Let the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
Let the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Live by faith in God. Believe God. Even if you die believing, you’ll be much better off.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly (when we seek Him with all our heart) followed the Lord my God.

9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims (giants) were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.

15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14:8-15

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:13-19

*******

Like I’ve written about so many times before, I had learned to believe so many lies and they were killing me. I didn’t really know how to believe God.

What we believe makes all the difference in our world, in our lives.

When the land is at rest, the lies have been silenced. They’ve been replaced by God’s Word and promises. You learn the Word so that you’ll be ready the next time lies test God’s Word in you (the land He’s given you), the next time your faith in Him is tested and provides you with the victory.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He resisted the devil with the Word and Satan departed until a more opportune time. We have to keep our shield up and sword drawn which is the Word and faith to take off the heads of the lies whenever they come back – and they will come back.

Don’t continue in a thought life or lifestyle that keeps you vulnerable to Satan’s tactics and lies. Repent. Stay away from anything that would make you compromise including fearful thoughts and the works of the flesh like anger, impatience, etc. Get in the Word and learn how to resist the enemy – how to use The Word as the weapon it is – so he’ll flee from you.

Any attack the Lord permits is to strengthen, prove and improve you.

God gave us specific verses (His promises) in Oregon in the mid 80s. He is what we asked for in our La Crescenta apartment in 1979. He moved us to Oregon to give us Him. He was going to put His Word, His promises, in our lives so that we could enter His rest. We had to learn to believe Him so we could enter His rest (His love – perfect love casts out fear) – His rest is the eradication of enemy lies that produce fear (torment), doubt, confusion and unbelief. And the journey continues to this very day.

When you are in His rest, you’re the strongest.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark 

Note: While we may not agree with everything a particular church or Christian group teaches or believes, there are times when we can be blessed by something outside the realm of our current understanding of God.

It’s funny how “I have to be in Jesus” turns into “I get to be in Jesus.”

There is a tranquility that is beyond and better than having all of our earthly desires and needs met.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
Acts 1:6

I got my 38 Botox shots again the other day. I have pin holes on my face, and I still have the symptoms from the last migraine attack rummaging through my head, body and emotions. After 58 years, I still wonder when Jesus will heal my migraines, when the physical and emotional pain will stop, and when He’ll work out so many other things in my life.

In the natural, what do you keep asking Jesus for? What do you think He’s promised you that hasn’t come to pass? What do you want Him to do for you? Is it family, money, a job, health, the past, the future? What is it?

When I read Acts 1:6 this morning (6-3-21) as part of my daily Bible reading, the Lord stopped me right there. All of a sudden, I felt I could totally relate to the apostles’ question regarding Israel. I could tell it was a Holy Spirit time. My eyes filled up with tears. I could feel their pain from years of Roman rule. After all, the apostles and Israel were God’s people and land.

When I think God should do something, He often seems to ignore my request. It used to really frustrate, and anger me.

This morning, when I read that scripture, the Holy Spirit said, “I, alone, know all your heart. I’m teaching you to trust me with all your heart. This will heal and change your life in the most super-natural, complete and freeing way. When all that matters in your life is being able to let go of everything and to trust Me with all your heart, you will be Mine. All that is Mine will be yours. You will be free from care in a way you never knew and you will have new eyes and a new mind that see Me and know Me and all that I have for you in a whole other way and light. You will know the total joy that comes from knowing that My ways are not your ways. Trust Me.”

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Another migraine attack this morning that has me pretty knocked down. But God. ☺

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.”
Galatians 2:20

“To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Colossians 1:27

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4

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

And you will know the truth (Jesus), and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
1 Chronicles 16:11

I know the spiritual battles can be very difficult and intense. But, you will grow by them and become stronger than you ever could have become without them. Jesus promises us that in His Word. Keep your focus on the end result of any test that tempts you to fear or to take on care. God is working to set us free indeed. Hallelujah!

It matters how you live your life. When you die, you can no longer live for Jesus on earth. Live in faith by doing God’s Word. Let it live in your life. Let Jesus live in and through your life. You will never regret it.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Ann and I were talking during our coffee time this morning (6-2-21) about God’s faithfulness to keep us moving forward in Him. One thought we had was, “Wow, God actually has the power to take all of our cares from us. He has that much power. That’s crazy amazing. We used to live in so much fear, care and unbelief.” We just smiled at each other and thought about how far He’s brought us. And, we’re just getting started. We’re so grateful.

At times, it can look like things aren’t working out when I try to believe God for some desired outcome. But, I’ve always found that, in His providence, God’s outcome brings me closer to Him. I’m learning that this is His intention, and He gives me more of His joy as I look forward to His intentions, to His providence.

There is nothing I desire that has ever been as wonderful as where He ends up taking me. Truly, He knows my heart better than I do. He knows that what will really make me happiest and most satisfied is more and more of the wonder that He is.

The Word is always working when we learn to choose to believe it, act on it and stay with it. It may take a while to see what God is up to in life, but He’s always watching over His Word and our will to believe it no matter the outcome in our daily lives. We stay the course believing.

Believing Jesus is the miracle gift of all time. It’s what separates us from our old ways and delivers us from all the ramifications doubt used to bring to our lives. Believing God’s Word starts us on an adventurous path that can only be joyfully experienced and appreciated by those who follow Jesus into all that He has for them holding back nothing from His healing touch.

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
John 20:26-27

Today, Jesus is not with us physically. In essence, we have The Word (Jesus, and the precious Holy Spirit) with us. Jesus says, that doing His Word is “put your finger here and look at my hands.” Doing His Word is “put your hand into the wound in My side.” While like Thomas, we may not recognize Jesus at first. Like Thomas putting his finger in Jesus’ wounds, doing The Word proves it’s Jesus and when we see Him back up our efforts to do His Word, we believe and say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”

Then we invite others to come and see that Jesus is real and alive.

Wonderful Jesus…

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:1-6 (and the rest of this wonderful chapter)

For Annie and me, faith equals Jesus. Jesus is literally Life to Annie and me. Whenever I hear someone making a funny comment about faith – about my Jesus – I can’t help it, it just wells up inside me and I think, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?”

Annie and I don’t kid about, trivialize and make slight comments about faith. That’s because we’ve seen what doing so does to us and others. It undermines believing and leads to questioning faith in God’s Word – and often when faith is needed most.

Annie and I must have strong faith in order to win the battles we face as Christians in this life. Faith in Jesus is what has sustained us, helped us to overcome, and given us more and more of Jesus in every area of our lives. We’re so thankful for His faithfulness and work in our lives.

There’s no need for faith if there’s no fear.

Fear > Faith

Believing The Word is how we stand. Believing The Word when fears come is faith. God will lead you through the fear to faith – every time. Keep believing. Charge fear with God’s promises found in His Word, and watch what God does in your midst. Hallelujah!

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark