Let’s Be Faithful One To Another

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 55. The importance of faithfulness to one another is addressed in this psalm. This is important, not only in friendships, but in all our relationships. There’s a heads-up here on just how easily and readily the enemy uses those closest to us to wreak havoc and destroy. How easily we can fall to his devices.

Verses 4-8 give us a picture of the heartache and spiritual distress caused by unfaithfulness. “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me, and horror overwhelms me….” That death doesn’t have to be a physical death; the end of a close relationship is death to a lot of things. Things like trust, joy, peace, and security are destroyed. Verses 12-14 are eye openers. “For it is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. ” (ESV) Do you see the reference made to being within God’s house? That’s so unfortunate! God’s children especially should be on alert against those wiles of the devil. And of course, he knows the ones who know you best can hurt you the most.

Verse 15 is also a powerful one. “Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.” (ESV) That lets me know I need to be aware of what thoughts I’m entertaining-daily, hourly, from minute to minute. This is where Proverbs 11:27 comes to mind: “Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.” (NIV) When we entertain thoughts of envy, malice, judgment, bitterness, etc., our hearts become filled with them. Your mind and heart are your spiritual dwelling places. What goes in comes out. When we determine not to impute or assume the worst (no evil intent) to anyone, but seek the good in one, about that one, in that situation, etc., we will be inclined to do good unto that person, and in that situation. You can’t do good without it coming back to you. We reap what we sow.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Matt. 20:26) That’s so easily accomplished, and means so much more than we allow it to, or acknowledge it does. Romans 13:14 says it best: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Only You Know The Answer

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 13. In this one, King David is asking some questions. Psalms 13:1 asks the question: “How long, O, LORD? Will you forget me forever? (Isaiah 49:16) God tells us: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. *When you think about your soul being a city, this applies; God’s speaking of Zion. The next question is “How long will you hide your face from me? God says, “How long will you keep your eyes closed and your back turned to me?” (Ezekiel 12:22) Now we’re getting into that pity party…”How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” God’s answer: “How long do you want to?” (John 5:6) And, here comes the finger-pointing, blame game, excuses, excuses…”How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” God’s answer: “How long will you bow to him?” He’s been condemned (John 16:11), and He can, and will be driven out (John 12:31) You know the answer to that one, because you have, in Jesus’ Name, authority over him. The above answers are all TRUTH.

Now, King David prays, “Consider and answer me, O LORD, my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘”I have prevailed over him.”‘ We know the answer to that one too, don’t we? Yes! Read (Luke 6:46-49) and (Isaiah 61) This is the WAY.

Oh, wait! What’s the last verse in this Psalm? “But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” That’s right; it’s a done deal! Sing to the LORD a new song. We don’t sing dirges, we sing Praises! And, Hallelujah! This is LIFE!
Proverbs 13:4 tells us that the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. So seek God and delve into His Word. Proverbs 13:9 tells us that the wicked will lose their light and be left in darkness. So, don’t fret yourself over them. Seek God and praise Him because you know who wins in the end. Proverbs 13:17 tells us the faithful messenger brings healing. Is God’s Word a faithful messenger? Finally, Proverbs 13:24 tell us that the rod of reproof is crucial. God’s rod of reproof, corrects us, showing us our error, and how to do it right. We are disciplined, or discipled to seek God and learn from Him, the truth, the way, and the life.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Doubt Fades in the Light of Intimacy

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God longs for us to know Him as intimately as He knows us. While that degree of perfection in intimacy is seemingly impossible for us to achieve, I believe with all my heart that we can come pretty darn close to it. I’ve had days that were near perfect in regard to feeling and experiencing that oneness with the Lord. I wish I could say that I get it right every day, but I am not perfected yet. There’s a statement in the message that reads like this: “It is not sin for one who knows Me only as God, as Creator, to doubt Me, to question my Love and purposes. But for one who knows Me as you do, as Friend and Savior, and who knows the world’s God as Father — for that one to doubt My purpose and saving Power and tender Love is wrong indeed.” I learned two things from this. The first is that God does not hold us at arm’s length. Neither, therefore, should we hold Him at arm’s length. Nope, we need to snuggle right up under those loving arms of His. We can wrap our arms around Him and just rest there, in His embrace, whenever we want to. He loves it! Secondly, when things aren’t going as smoothly-especially within-as they should be, I need to examine how I’m relating to God. Am I out there at arm’s length, or even further, from Him in my heart? And if so, why? What am I trying to hide, avoid, or what am I afraid of, etc.?

Do you know that God makes you so bold, that you can even laugh out loud at your own self?! Yessir, He does! And He loves us so, He’d a whole lot rather see us laugh it off, get back up, dust ourselves off, and keep on going toward home full tilt, rather than watch us taking timid little steps as if we’re walking on egg shells. That stuff will cripple you altogether if you’re not careful. You get into sorry mind sets and pathetic attitudes, all based on fears, because you’ve gotten too far away from your strong tower. Remember who prowls out there, waiting to use that fear against you. There’s only one solution to that problem, and that is to get right back into God’s presence and spend some time with Him. One of the reasons I love my daily visits with the Lord so much, is that every moment in His presence infuses my spirit with His life, His love, His grace, mercy, peace, and joy. Isn’t it awesome that God can pack a day’s worth of “go gettem” into a few minutes of your time?! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your awesome love and mercy!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu