Every Good Shepherd Wants The Best For His Sheep

                                     When The Door Slams

The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He let me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet water. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name's sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live.                                   Psalm 23:1-6 HCSB 

            Has there ever been a more turbulent era in American history? The two political parties seem hopelessly divided, our role in the flammable Middle East seems indefinable, the value of the unborn and marriage drift further from God's ideal, and our fiscal indebtedness grows by the hour. Yet God remains uninvited into our situation. A nation that proclaims "In God We Trust" seems to put trust in everything but Him. 

            The Old Testament prophets warned about trusting in man and man's methods instead of in God. When Israel was tempted to appeal to Egypt for help against her enemies, the prophet Isaiah warned the leaders, "Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit" (Isaiah 31:1-3). Could there be any plainer distinction? When man finds himself in desperate situations, why would he call on others who are no greater than himself? Should we not call on the One who is God rather than relying on the abilities of man? 

            Think about this: When we consider how to stay calm and peaceful in our chaotic world, we might think of David, the psalmist and king of Israel. He didn't write Psalm 23 as a peaceful picture of his life. After all, this was a man who had faced a giant, done battle with the Philistines, dodged the spear and sword of Saul, been betrayed by his own son, and brought serious trouble upon his own head by his own sinful actions. David led anything but a peaceful life.

            The key to reconciling Psalm 23 with David's tumultuous life-and ours-is in the words he chose. To be led into green pastures suggests that some pastures aren't always so green. To reference still waters is to say that sometimes the waters of life are not so still. To describe his soul as being restored implies that his soul needed restoring, that it had been in turmoil and needed quieting. Every shepherd wants the best for his sheep, but the best isn't always available. When life is challenging, our good Shepherd can be counted on to lead us into a place and time of restoration and healing. When you find yourself in a spiritual jam, don't rely on your own devices. Remember the name of the Lord our God-and trust in Him!

            Renewal: Now I know that the LORD gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand. Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God (Psalm 2o:6-7 ).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                Never Rest Ministries

                            

We Are At War With God Until We Are Justified

                                    When The Door Slams

Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.                   Romans 14:16-19 NIV  

            The struggle we have with a holy God is rooted in the conflict between God's righteousness and our unrighteousness. He is just and we are unjust. This tension creates fear, hostility, and anger within us toward God. The unjust person does not desire the company of a just judge. We become fugitives fleeing from the presence of The One whose glory can blind us and whose justice can condemn us. We are at war with Him unless or until we are justified. And only than a person can be comfortable in the presence of a holy God. 

            The Apostle Paul sets forth immediate benefits-fruits of justification. In...Romans he explains what happens to us when we are justified, when we are covered by the righteousness of Christ, that is by faith: "Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we are sharing in God's glory" (read Romans 5:1-2 NIV)

            Peace can be experienced only when we have received divine pardon-when we have been reconciled to God and when we have harmony within, with our fellow man and especially with God....Christ has made peace with God for us and is Himself our peace. If by faith we accept Him, we are justified by God and can realize the inner serenity that can come to man through no other means.

            Think about this: I know men who are searching for peace. Every time they get close to finding peace, found only in Christ, Satan leads them away. Blinds them. He throws up a smoke screen. He bluffs them. Lies to them. "They don't know how to live in peace," (read Romans 3:10-18 NIV). As we look around, we find that there is little personal peace, domestic, social, economic and no political peace anywhere. Why? Because we all have the seeds of suspicion and violence, hatred and destruction within us. But true believers of Christ have found peace forever! True Christians have found the secret of life.  

            Renewal: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:15-17 NIV). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness 

                                            Never Rest Ministries                                

               

We Need A Single-Minded Desire To Know God

                                             When The Door Slams

So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.                     Matthew 6:31-34 HCSB         

            We are to press into the Kingdom of God, to storm it if we must, to seize the opportunity to know God. This quest is not casual. The pursuit is not cavalier. We are to be driven by a holy passion. A passion is a strong feeling, an emotion that is packed with intensity. At times it carries a sense of urgency.

            Not all passions are holy. As fallen human beings we are often trapped in unholy passions. Our feelings are mixed. Then the Holy Spirit quickens us to a new life with new passions. But many of the old passions remain. We struggle with our feelings. Our affection for the things of God is locked in mortal combat with earthy concerns.

            If we are to progress in godliness we need to fan the flames of a holy passion. We need a single-minded desire to know God. We follow Jesus who went before us. He was moved by a single passion to do the will of His Father. His meat and drink were to do His Father's will. Zeal for His Father's house consumed Him. He was a man of holy destiny with a face set as a flint. 

            Think about this: Jesus knew the Father. His knowledge of God was so deep, so profound that His entire earthly life reflected a single holy passion. Jesus revealed the Father to us and called us--to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.  

            Affirmation: "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again. But as I told you, you've seen Me, and yet you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:35-40 HCSB).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.       

                                              Never Rest Ministries 

There Is No Believing Without Some Doubting

                                             When The Door Slams

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."                                                                    Mark 11:22-25 NIV  

            In the Scriptures....we find a realistic yet healthy view of doubt as definitely serious but not terminal. Understood properly, this biblical view sees the role of doubt as constructive to belief. "I believe in doubt" is, therefore, far more than a roundabout way of saying that there is not believing without doubting so that "even in doubting, I believe." 

            A bold Christian affirmation is that, because faith in Christ is true and fears no question or challenge, doubt can be a stepping stone to a tougher, deeper faith. In this sense, as George MacDonald asserted, doubts are ""messengers of the Living One to the honest."

            Followers of Christ are not simply fair-weather believers. They are realistically committed to truth, people who "think in believing and believe in thinking" as Augustine expressed it. They are, therefore, like experienced pilots who can fly in bad weather as easily as in good, by night as well as by day, and upside down as well as right side up. 

            Faith's rainy days will come and go and dark nights of the soul may threaten to overwhelm, but safe flying is possible for those who have a solid grasp of the instruments (God's truth and promises) and a canny realism about the storm and stress of doubt.

            Think about this: It has been my privilege to talk to hundreds of individuals who have experienced different kinds of doubt and differing levels of pain and confusion. No one who understands the pain and perils of doubt can be thoughtless about it. Loss of trust in God is truly life's ultimate loss. But such is the nature of faith in God through Christ, affirmed by countless Christians throughout history, that there can be a constructive side of doubt. 

            True, there is no believing without some doubting. But since belief strengthens as the Christian understands and resolves doubt, we can say that, if we doubt in believing, we nevertheless also believe in doubting. 

Affirmation: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understand; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV).  

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

                                                    Never Rest Ministries 

                       

                   

The Gospel Is Not Theology. It Is A Person.

                                              When The Door Slams

But to each one us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.        Ephesians 4:7-13 NIV  

            For the New Testament Christians, witness was not a sales pitch. They simply shared, each in his own way, what they had received. Theirs was not a formally prepared, carefully worked-out presentation with a gimmick to manipulate conversation, and a "closer" for an on the-spot decision...but the spontaneous, effervescent enthusiasm of those who had met the most fascinating Person who ever lived.

            The gospel is not theology. It's a Person. Theology doesn't save. Jesus Christ saves. The first-century disciples were totally involved with a Person. They were followers of Jesus. They were learners of Jesus. They were committed to Jesus. They were filled with Jesus. 

            They had encountered Jesus Christ and simply could not be concealed. They witnessed not because they had to, but because they could not help it. The simplest Christian does it effortlessly when he tells a friend what Christ means to him. "When the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will be my witnesses...." (Acts 1:8 NIV).  

            Think about this: But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Sprit. Stay always within the boundaries where God's love can reach and bless you. 

            Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, Help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren't pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners (Jude 20-23 TLB). 

            Affirmation: And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey Christ's commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave lives in us (1 John 3:23-24 NLT).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search you heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                Never Rest Ministries

     

              

                       

Happy Is The One Who Finds Wisdom

                                     When The Door Slams

This is what the LORD says: "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I the LORD, have spoken!                 Jeremiah 23-24 NLT  

              Here's what you must do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role- play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace.

            The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are ignorant. They are full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Heavenly Father you are dealing with, and He knows better than you what you need. 

            For when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will not resent it. 

            But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and that way. If you don't ask with faith, don't expect the LORD to give you any solid answer. 

            Think about this: What adjustments do you need to make in your thinking in order to truly believe God will give you a solid answer?   

Petition: So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understand our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same tastings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. there we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                            Never Rest Ministries

                    

Lifestyle The Ways Of God And The Ways Of Satan

                                     When The Door Slams 

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT). 

            In times like ours, it is more than ever so necessary for the individual to train himself, or be trained, according to objective norms of good, and learn to distinguish these from the purely pragmatic norms current in his society. He will come to know the difference between the "ways of the Lord God and the ways of Satan." We cannot trust our society to tell us this difference.        

            Everything is confused, and the men of our time blindly follow now the Lord God and now Satan, blown this way and that way by every changing wind of urgency and opportunity, judging only by what seem to them to be the immediate consequences. We must recover our inner faith not only in God but in the good, in reality, and in the power of the good to take care of itself and us as well, if only we attend to it, observe, listen, choose, and obey.  

            The Lord God wills that we act humanly, therefore intelligently. The Lord God wills that we act for His sake, for of the truth, not out of concern for immediate material interest: therefore He wills that we act in a "detached manner." Detachment is not pure indifference, but ...a concentration of attention on the subject of the act itself, not on the results or the consequences. We are not responsible for more than our own action, but for this we should take complete responsibility ...

            Think about this: We have only to judge whether the act is right, just, and accords with truth and love here and now, because we "believe in the good" and are therefore convinced that, whatever consequences may follow, they will certainly be good ones, beneficial to ourselves and to society. 

Petition: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever        (1 John 2"15-17 NLT).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.              

                                                    Never Rest Ministries