BUT WHILE MEN SLEPT, HIS ENEMY CAME
May 6, 2021
As I look at the history of America, I am convinced that the “falling away” or “rebellion” spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, began to occur before many of us were even born. Just in looking back at the movies and television in America, from the time of the “Dick Van Dyke Show” 1961 (where they would not even allow people portraying a husband and wife to be filmed in bed together.) to now where there is all kinds of sex and perversion on even prime time shows for all the kids to see. When you are born into something - it is easy to think it is “normal” until a light is shined on it and a revelation of God’s Holy Word is brought before you. Even then - it often takes repeated exposure to God’s standard of truth written in His word before you can even begin to comprehend how far off this world has traversed. It takes humility to be able to see and receive the truth. That pretty much all of society, in all nations, has fallen away from the standards God - Our Creator, set up for us in this creation of His. But once you get past the acknowledgement of that truth, it is absolutely shocking how far society has fallen away. Matthew 13:24,25 “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” I’m not sure when it began, but television certainly put it on the fast track. Even looking at “The Wizard of Oz” filmed in 1939, you can see a complete departure from the reality of God’s Word and standards. Instead the subtle introduction of a wizard having the answers and that goodness and answers come from man - without the need of God, and entertainment became the pursuit of much of humanity. (a modern idol - even the Oscar is a golden statue of a man) This departure was subtle and cunning. I think television and media was (and is) the most powerful tool in Satan’s hand to reshape mankind into a non believing and self centered, entertainment seeking, moral less group of people - and it has taken decades to slowly move it to this point. It is heartbreaking, but mostly for those that are under it’s spell of brain washing, where man is his own god and his own standard maker. Again, it happened before most of us were born. A departure from the Word and ways of God. There is no condemnation towards us - we can’t help that we were born into a time of great deception. But truth is also readily available to anyone seeking to find it. For that we are accountable. It takes a great commitment to follow God’s word. As I spoke in the beginning 2 Thessalonians 2 talks about the rebellion and falling away of those that claim to believe in Christ. John 1 says that Jesus is the living Word of God and came to dwell among us. If you are a believer you must “fight the good fight of faith”. To stick out in a generation that is going down stream and choose to fight the current to go upstream towards Gods ways and standards. Doing that now may mean the difference between life or death. Eternity in heaven or hell. This is no light matter, and to stand up and walk in God’s ways will require a sacrifice (taking up your cross daily) but that sacrifice is small compared to what Jesus did for us. He is a good God and always has our best interest at heart. He is for us and not against us. (Romans 8:31) One day this will all come to an end. One day we will stand before God and receive a reward for following Him, or suffer loss for not. Heartbreaking loss. Your story is dependent on your heart choices. God alone can empower you to walk the walk in this degenerate society, but the rewards for choosing to follow Jesus and His word, will last into eternity. My heart goes out to us all. May God shed His light within us by His Holy spirit and may we have the grace to keep looking to Him who is the author and finisher of our faith and run this race with patience, enduring until the end. God bless each and every one of you. We are a chosen generation. May God help us fight the good fight of faith. Amen Your sister in Christ, Jean 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
FINDING TREASURE IN STRANGE PLACES
January 24, 2021
So, I found this wonderful quote by Martin Luther’s wife (whom I never knew had written anything). “I had never known,” said Martin Luther’s wife, “what such and such things meant, in such and such psalms, such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties, had not God brought me under some affliction.”
It is not often spoken of. The goodness of affliction. Our culture today runs away from it and looks down on those who are underneath some kind of hardship or illness. But King David understood it all too well. Here are his words: Psalm 119:71
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
I have personally found that some of the greatest “gifts” from God, have been the afflictions He has allowed in my life. It is then that I have pressed so deeply into His word, searching for a truth to comfort my soul. It is then, in the pain of illness that the sweetest songs have been born. The most fragrant words of poetry reaching deep into uncharted depths of my soul and driving me into the Presence of Almighty God. Reaching way beyond casual devotions. From this place have come the most comforting words that I have to give to others.
Some may scoff at this notion. Indeed at times I have even felt “persecuted” by those who should have offered comfort. It used to hurt me, as I have had chronic pain for many years. But now I feel sorry for those that have never experienced the pain of God’s “rod and staff”. Though the world will soon be placed under this wisdom from above.
God is a good Father. Yes, He is! You may think this funny, but as one that is most likely a bit ADHD – it helps me to slow down and come away. Like Joni Erickson Tada (a quadriplegic) has said, the sweetest time of day is when I am alone tucked in bed, abandoned into God’s presence and totally dependent on Him. She has learned a secret.
Everything we need is in Him. All that the World tells us is necessary for a good life is passing away. But His Word – His Presence – His fellowship, these endure forever. And not even death can take this away from us.
Even the great Apostle Paul said, “…..2 Corinthians 12:7
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was GIVEN to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
Notice the word “given”. A gift. If you look it up , Paul asked the Lord to remove it three times and God’s reply was “My grace is sufficient for thee”. It kept him dependent on God and saved him from the destruction of self sufficiency.
While I completely believe that God is able to heal people and still does (I have seen many miracles and experienced Divine healing too), we must determine if it is an attack from Satan to stop us, or if it is something God is allowing for a time as a tool to take us where we need to be with Him.
I hope you will all remember to “take it to the Lord in prayer” when you are called apart by some calamity or hardship. Allow God to be at work. Lean into it until you have reached a place in Christ that you have not been before. Dig deep into His Word. His saving grace is there. If you do choose to meet these calamities of life with this insight, you can walk away from every one of them with a treasure given by God.
“All things work together for good, to those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Again it is true that “Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” John 10:10 But you can always beat his attacks by leaning into God and getting the treasure that is waiting there. This is a beautiful secret that Martin Luther’s wife discovered. I hope you will too.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
THOUGHTS….
June 17, 2020
So I was settling into my reading time in the morning and as I began with Psalm 68 – a song of David. It begins…. “May His enemies be scattered.”
It jumped off the page at me and I let my thoughts wonder. Why does God have enemies? What has He done to deserve that? God is a good God and anything He has ever done has been for our good and betterment. And He gave us His best and most costliest gift – His Son.
My mind went to the scripture in Matthew 13:27,28 “ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’
Sometimes we forget – AN ENEMY HAS DONE THIS. Satan is the “father of all lies” and he has spent millennia sowing lies about our Father God and His Son and Kingdom. Our world is clouded by lies and this is what we must fight.
It is easy to look around at this upside down culture and throw our hands up and cry – “but what can I do about it?” Well my friend – that is a GREAT thing we can do!!! Share the TRUTH. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”(John 8:32) We can help to free people by speaking and living God’s Truth and undoing the lies Satan and his followers have sown. In any way you can!!
There is something we can do – speak, share, live the truth contained in God’s Word and it will do the rest. “It shall not return void”.
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
God bless your day!
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
June 16, 2020
It is important to see things through the eyes of God, which can totally be found in the scripture if we read it for ourselves and ask His help to understand it. Everything happening today was foretold by God. Thousands of years in advance. Because “ He knows the end from the beginning.” He dwells outside of time. That’s why it is so foolish for man to seek “mediums” and horoscopes and such to find “wisdom” when God is Wisdom Himself. He made everything and knows what it’s purpose is, and when it will come to an end.
The beauty is – that He has offered us through accepting what Jesus Christ did on the cross and accepting Him as our Lord – we are offered the promise of living in His kingdom – forever – where there are no more tears, pain, sorrow…..heaven. And in the here and now – we will never be alone. He will never leave us or forsake us. Good promises to stand on. Having faith is believing what He said – no matter what you see.
God will protect us in this crazy time or take us home to His house at our appointed time.
As for where we are now…..it’s all in the Book. Don’t be afraid to look.
God will arise to judge the earth – but if we are in Him, in Christ – it will all be okay for us.
Here is an interesting scripture about God “shaking” the earth. For us – it is so our reliance will be on Him. But for the world and the enemy of humanity, the devil, Satan. He gets his way for only a moment in time – and people decide who their allegiance will be to. Then for Satan and all those that have chosen to follow his ways……it will end…..and not well. Choose life. God rules heaven and earth and yes, we will have to live by His ways…..because a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. And heaven is undivided.
Isaiah 2:17-22
The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
and the idols will totally disappear.
People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?
SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY
December 22, 2019
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – Minimizing Frustration
October 11, 2019
So this morning I got up and life started very peacefully. I finished listening to a teaching on youtube I had started the day before and planned to move into a quiet devotional time with the Lord.
Then the hurricane (or Ed as I like to call him) came in the room. He had lost his wallet and was supposed to go fishing with a friend. He had to cancel the trip which actually I was relishing the thought of a nice quiet house to get some things done and study , so I was bummed. As we looked and looked with no luck finding the wallet – I began to worry. I guess a better word is “fret”. Thinking of all the things, like working tomorrow, that he would not be able to do. Then remembering how my wallet got stolen last year my “fret” level rose again. Canceling credit cards, getting a new license, waiting for a new debit card…. What a pain in the derrier! So I started getting his stuff together he would need to get a new driver’s license today. His birth certificate was not where it should be and my frustration was…..well ….let’s just say I’m sure my blood pressure went up. Haha
So as my husband went out the door to attend to all this stuff, I felt a little bad and frustrated at myself for letting my emotions escalate like I did over something I should have trusted the Lord on and kept calm. I returned to my “devotion” spot and picked up Streams in the Desert, looking for todays date for the reading. I opened it and laughed out loud when I saw it and said, “Okay Lord, I get it!!” The scripture for the day was simply: “FRET NOT” Psalm 37:1 In case I missed the gentle dealings of the Holy Spirit – here was the command.
Most of us do this if indeed you are human. Some of us were raised around it and it has become the fabric of the background noise in our mind. That’s hard to break, but recognizing it is half the battle.
What do we do? You say? The right question is “What does God tell us to do and how to handle it?” First off – don’t feel condemned! Jesus often told his disciples “fear not”. So we are in good company. God also tells us in John 8:31-32: “ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Hold to His teaching and know the truth. Those are both statements that require something. The action of getting into His word and knowing it. But the reward? FREEDOM Especially from the lies the devil implants in us to keep us from the goodness of God.
So what do I do instead of “fret”? Here are a few scriptures that are good to commit to memory.
1 Peter 5:6-8
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Humbly acknowledge that God is big enough to help you and cast your care on Him by praying and asking for that help. Remember that one of the Holy Spirit’s name is “HELPER” so I don’t think He minds and in light of the fact He is called that – I think He really wants to help us if we will just ask.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
So next time you (and I) catch ourselves spinning around a problem – Remember that God doesn’t want us getting ulcers. Give the problem to Him. Invite Him in. Let Him lift the load so you at least don’t feel alone!!! Sure you may have to do some things to work through the issues. But it doesn’t have to be with anxiety, fear and frustration. Hey – I have not arrived – but God has put me on the right path – His ways. Which I think are helpful to all of us. Have a great day. Shalom (peace)
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
November 8, 2018
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sometimes it’s easy to be going through life and forget that we, as Christ followers, have an enemy. And a crafty one at that. Look how he deceived Eve to commit the very first act of disobedience. But how beautiful that so quickly the Father came with a plan to “undo” what was done. He would send His only begotten Son (Jesus is the only human whose biological father (seed) was God) It was at a great cost that He fulfilled the legal price to purchase our freedom and entrance into the kingdom of God.
Anyway my point for the day is that Lucifer – who rebelled against God and desired to become God himself . Since he can’t overthrow God, he longs to cause God’s beloved creation (you and me) harm and pain. He goes before God and accuses us day and night. Check out this scripture….
Revelation 12:10
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the ACCUSER OF OUR BRETHREN, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Yay! That day is coming and was foretold to the apostle John so we would know it is coming.
How does he accuse us? Many times in our thoughts and sometimes through others that won’t let go of our past, or hunt for any faults and failures in us.
You see when we mess up and ask God for forgiveness and do our best to change….. the Bible says that He throws our sins as far as the east is to the west. He remembers them no more.
Psalm 103: 12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
He is not ever the one “beating us up” in our thoughts about our past. That is coming from Satan …..our “accuser”. So if you are being tormented by accusations by people or from thoughts. Cast them down (thoughts/words) and resist accepting them if you have dealt with it before God. Satan and sometimes people want to hold you in prison to your past mistakes. Don’t let them.
For you are a new creation in Christ Jesus when you accept Him as Lord. Don’t let yourself be beaten up for something in your past. Remember God is for us and not against us! (Romans 8:31)
It is for Freedom that Christ has set us free. Have a great day – Shalom
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
April 24, 2018
Hebrews 1:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
It is a strange thing that people think that Jesus changes with our culture. He is the Word. What a culture condones or does not condone has no bearing or effect on His truth and His kingdom. His Word is our guide. His word is His way. His word is how He feels. His word is who He is. We need look no further. To look to the opinions of a culture or a mere man that is different from His word is to be deceived. Which He highly warns us of in these last days. (See Matthew 24)
HE THOUGHT YOU WERE WORTH IT
March 31, 2018
Slowly, with purpose
He walked through the streets
Each step He was taking
Your life He could see
Breathing in pain
Sores on His back
He suffered the shame
But His heart was intact
He knew that His mission
It must be fulfilled
There was no other way
Except Calvary’s hill
Looking at faces
His mind must have swirled
He kept the joy before Him
Of saving the world
Strong and determined
As His life blood poured out
He knew it was worth it
He ignored hell’s loud shout
As He hung on the cross
He gave out a cry
As He paid for our sins
Tears streamed from His eyes
Love kept Him there
We’ll never know
How bad was His suffering
The three days He was gone
Paying our penalty
As He hung on the cross
He knew what it took
To redeem all the lost
So now it’s our choice
To believe and receive
The beautiful gift
For which He did bleed
copyright 2013 Jean Chamblee
Streams In The Desert
March 21, 2018
On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” — Mark 4:35
Even when we go forth at Christ’s command, we need not expect to escape storms; for these disciples were going forth at Christ’s command, yet they encountered the fiercest storm and were in great danger of being overwhelmed, so that they cried out in their distress for Christ’s assistance.
Though Christ may delay His coming in our time of distress, it is only that our faith may be tried and strengthened, and that our prayers may be more intense, and that our desires for deliverance may be increased, so that when the deliverance does come we will appreciate it more fully.
Christ gave them a gentle rebuke, saying, “Where is your faith?” Why did you not shout victory in the very face of the storm, and say to the raging winds and rolling waves, “You can do no harm, for Christ, the mighty Savior is on board”?
It is much easier to trust when the sun is shining than when the storm is raging.
We never know how much real faith we have until it is put to the test in some fierce storm; and that is the reason why the Savior is on board.
If you are ever to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, your strength will be born in some storm.
–Selected
“With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.”
Christ said, “Let us go to the other side”—not to the middle of the lake to be drowned.
–Dan Crawford
From: Streams In The Desert (Cowman) June 3 (devotional)
Jean Chamblee's Weblog 