ENCIRCLED PAGE 33

While at church the other day….a particular song inspired me to envision myself surrounded by the light of God.  I felt His protection from every angle.  Actually, there were no angles… and that in itself was a personal “revelation”.  I felt that I was “encircled” by God’s love –safe and protected.  I imagined a light radiating out from all around me.  In that light was God’s power and merciful grace!   Within the midst of this I was redeemed by forgiveness.  Mentally I was in a Holy place!  With my heart full of faith and my imagination wide-open I was able to share my heart with God.  I was in essence saying:   “Lord, This is how I envision your presence.”  That is exactly what it was….my vision of His presence.  This, perhaps,  is the best we can do on this side of heaven.

Later, I remembered a scripture that teaches about God’s protection.  This particular scripture says:

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly  appear,
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 58: 8

 I always found that scripture to be empowering.    It says that goodness will flow before me like the racing rays of the rising sun…and the glory of the Lord will be my rear guard…protecting me from “behind”.  Study about the glory of the Lord and you will find that this is truly saying something.  With this scripture as a reference, I always counted on God’s protection-behind and before me….but what about those other angles?  Was I unprotected on my left and right???   Being the typical human that I am, I often felt that I had to glance over my shoulder….just to stay “on alert” and do my part.  I’m fallible…so I allowed for these daily concerns!    However, with my newfound revelation….I was encircled; there were no blind spots in my faithful stance.  I knew that I had come upon something important; a spiritual revelation.   I became acutely aware of God’s complete power….of His dominion and authority in my life!  

 God will open our eyes to His powerful range of ability if we’re spiritually open to see it.  Faith is required…and it is that very faith that allows us to pull back that earthly veil that impedes our vision of heavenly things.  To see beyond the barriers of this world and into the spiritual.....we must open our minds to it - for a spiritual revelation is very much like an epiphany.  An epiphany is “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.” 1  That Sunday service was typical…. representative of most Sundays…but in that moment something striking occurred….a sudden intuitive thought leapt into my mind….and with that  I was encircled with God’s radiant presence.

At this point in history seeing God is spiritual encounter because our relationship with Him is set in the spiritual realm.  With this understood, we realize that in order to have a relationship with the Living God we must let go of any doubt about spiritual things.  There is no doubt in my mind that God drew close to me in that moment for, you see, I was emotionally and spiritually drawing close to Him.  The crucial point here is that removing doubt is the mode by which we find God.  Being sure about our faith …even though we cannot see God is the very thing that allows us to perceive Him.  It’s a mental, discerning mechanism that is similar to intuition!  A crisp descriptive of what I am trying to explain would be termed Spiritual Discernment and that is exactly what scripture calls it.

Here is what the Bible says about Spiritual discernment:

“…The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? 
In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God,
 that we may understand what God has freely given us. 
That is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom
 but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned.”
1^st Corinthians 2: 10-14

This scripture tells us that we have been given “the Spirit who is from God.”  This is referencing the Holy Spirit. This scripture continues to build on the fact that we are taught by the Spirit who expresses spiritual truths in spiritual words.  This is not an audible lesson but an internal one with collaboration between the Spirit of God and oneself.  It is a mentorship above all others.  As the above scripture says our “spirit can search all things, even the deep things of God.”   That is beyond amazing!  The question is- do we search all things...particularly the deep things of God?  It appears that that is simply and profoundly up to us. 

“For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom his whole family
 in heaven and on earth derives its name.
 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit
in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
  And I pray that you, being rooting and established in love,
 may have power, together with all the saints,
 to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ
 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
 according to His power that is at work within us,
 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
 for ever and ever! Amen” 
Ephesians 3: 14-20

Song Recommendation
God With Us
BY:  MercyMe

Study tip: - The scripture preceding Isaiah 58: 8 is talking about fasting in comparison to extending ourselves with “acts of kindness, charity, justice and generosity for the good of others”. 2 Please read Isaiah 58: 6-7 to study this further.

1-Online Encarta Dictionary
2-Footnotes in reference to Isaiah 58: 6-12 in the NIV Bible

The Kingdom of Heaven Page 32

The Sermon on the Mount

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5: 3-10

Do you want to know God?  Then read it yet again with the understanding that this was spoken by Jesus Christ, Son of God….and then look at it like this:  “like father-like son!”    After reading this profound lesson taught by Jesus in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount, lets look for a deeper spiritual application.

 For the sake of making my point today let’s imagine that we each have a boat that is our home.  Let’s use this visual to create an analogy of being tossed around.  How intimidating it is move through the powerful tides of uncertainty and be tossed by the waves of deep waters.  How frightening it is to know that no matter how much we try to steer our lives in the right direction….the consequence of circumstance can knock us off course and try to take us down-even to our death!  

 We don’t want to admit it, but we have limited control as we sail through this world hoping that we’ll receive life’s blessings.  The truth of it is that over and over we’ve seen our fellow sea-goers battling something that looks quite the opposite of blessings.  We wonder if and when it may be our turn to deal with the harshness this natural world forces upon us—for our weary eyes and hearts have seen the turbulence of rough waters all around us. 

Our earth is full of the tempestuous; volcanoes, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods, and fires.  These are the forces that bring us physical calamity.  Then there are accidents and sickness, bad investments and money problems.   These are circumstantial situations that strive to take us down.  Calamity of another kind!   Let’s face it, the happenstance of circumstance is inevitable…and at times we can’t get our footing.  It is then that we realize that we need a harbor, a port of some kind, where we and find solid ground and anchor ourselves in order to stabilize our life. 

 Scripture infers that Christ is a Solid Rock.  (See Matthew 7: 21-27).  Studying and understanding scripture  provides a solid foundation where we can stand in faith, sure-footed.   With this statement in mind let’s envision our sea-sick selves on our water-logged houseboat looking at a rocky point with land beyond.  There is a blessed lighthouse that beckons (this represents Christianity).  Just around the next corner we find a port of solace where we can dock and find stability again!  (This is the stability based on Truth found in scripture).

 In Matthew 16: 15-19 Jesus asks this:

"But what about you?" he asked "who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  

 So out of the dreariness of circumstance we are called to a port of faith and into a Kingdom, no less.

Scripture says this in Daniel 4:3
"How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation."

 You see, our water-logged disembarkment is metaphorical.  It is a spiritual exodus from a life that was filled with waves of uncertainty into a life with a sure spiritual foundation-an eternal Kingdom to which we have the keys!  We are invited to move into a house not made by human hands, and live in a kingdom that is noted, by its very own descriptive, as heavenly.  What is required to find this kingdom is faith.  As weary travelers a heavenly kingdom sounds enticing but this port must be mapped out; purposely chosen through faith in Christ-otherwise in cannot be found…. for scripture says this:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11: 6

The Life-lesson is this:  We must decide if we believe He exists or not.  We do know this for sure- our very life is temporary.  With this truth we can comprehend that our spiritual life is what we should focus on, for it is eternal.  Physically, everything we have can be tossed by the waves of circumstance and destroyed.  We know this to be true by simply watching the news regarding recent floods and wildfires.  We can confirm this by looking around and seeing our neighbors and friends fighting to keep their home in this housing market that is ‘under water’.  We know through images of past tornadoes and their devastation, that this earth can twist our lives into nothing.  Our world can be hellish…and sometimes literally screams “there is death to pay”.

We can neither outwit the forces of Nature nor the physical restraints of this world-including death-so we must find another way.  When our earthly possessions are lost we must find who we are from within.   When our heart is broken and not even time can repair it- we must search for something other than that physical organ to sustain us.   When our life on earth is done-we must realize that our spiritual life is just beginning.  While we still walk this earth we have an opportunity to become attuned to what we we’re created to be-a spiritual being who serves a magnificent, eternal God.  Do you believe that? Reflecting over my life I am certain that we’ve all asked ourselves this profound question, at least one time or another, regarding our lives in this world; “Is this all there is?”  I am telling you…it is not! 

Finding stability on earth, whether it is an emotional port of solace or figurative solid ground, is a spiritual quest- one that extends beyond this life!  Our lives will pass away and then what good are our earthly possessions?  Surely beyond the devastation of this world there is something else-for why would the mechanisms of this natural world, including astrophysics, indicate there is?  With this to ponder, let me ask you a few questions:  Do you believe that God exists?   In what have you placed your faith?  On what are you building your future?  Where have you laid your treasure? 

About our earthly treasures and possessions, scripture says this:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth
 where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy
 and where thieves do not break in and steal.
 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6: 19

Regarding our physical lives scripture says this:

“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from
God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
II Corinthians 5:1

As an interesting tie-in, scripture says this (about Abraham):

 “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God.” 
Hebrews 11: 10

I’m taking ancient scripture at its word and placing my treasured hope in heaven.  I’m taking cues from this tumultuous world and am willing to admit that my earthly assets-yes-even my life will pass away.  My hope is in God for I believe that He exists.  My dream is His Kingdom.  May my heart be pure and may I one day see Almighty God.

 “Blessed are the pure at heart for they will see God”
Matthew Chapter 5

Song recommendation:
The Creed
By:  Avalon

Bibilical Definition of Love Page 31

Scriptural understanding and definition of love:

Based on
I Corinthians 13: 1-7
The Message Bible


“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love,
I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.”

Point of verse:
Without an outward display of love the sound of my words are meaningless!

“If I speak God’s Word with power,
revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day,
and If I have faith that says to a mountain, “jump”, and it jumps,
but I don’t love, I am nothing.”

Point of verse:

Even if I understand the Bible and have great conviction and powerful faith….without love it means nothing!

“If I give everything I own to the poor
and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr,
but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere.”


Point of verse:

If I give up everything, even my life,
but don’t love- then my principles do not matter.

"So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do,
I’m bankrupt without love.”

Point of verse:

My words, my faith and my actions count for nothing and
absolutely add up to nothing
if I don't understand and show love.

*Scriptural Definition of love from The Message Bible:

“Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head.
Doesn’t force itself on others.
Isn’t always “me first”.
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel.
(Love) Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.
Puts up with anything.
Trusts God always.
Always looks for the best.
Never looks back….but keeps going to the end.”

*With this definition of love....ask yourself the crucial question:

"Do I love?"

Red ink summary:

Without an outward display of love the sound of my words are meaningless. Even if I understand the Bible and have great conviction and powerful faith....without love it means nothing. If I give up everything, even my life, but don't love-then my principles do not matter. My words, my faith and my actions count for nothing and absolutely add up to nothing if I don't understand and show love.

*Song Recommendation:

The Proof of Your Love
By:  For King and Country
*DO NOT miss this song!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-2dKOfbC9c