Ooh, The Picture’s Clearer

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 14. Both give us a clearer picture, yet, of evil, and evil doers. We’re also shown how easily we can backslide and get lost. We are reminded that the LORD is our refuge. He has restored our fortunes through Christ Jesus. Jesus redeemed us, and everything that belongs to us, when He died on Calvary for us.

Interestingly, Proverbs 14:9 tells us that fools have no conscience, or shame. Proverbs 14:19 is a three-fold revelation. “The evil bow down before the good; the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” First, this confirms our dominion over them/victory over them in Jesus’ Name. Secondly, they do this in mockery-so be on your guard. Thirdly, they cannot stand in the Presence of God, nor can they prevail against us. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) This makes me think of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man sure changed his tune when faced with the truth, didn’t he?

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

The Power Of Life & Death

Today’s message is part two of Psalm 12. As I was studying this, I found a connection between (Psalm 12:6) “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times“, and (Proverbs 6:16-19) “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.”

When we look at this in terms of the power of life and death being in the tongue, and in terms of what is in the heart determining what comes out, or manifests itself in our lives, we get a powerful revelation. This gives us a checklist to help guide and direct us in our dealings with others. This is especially important when we’re parenting children, and dealing with loved ones. But, Jesus also said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matt. 5:9) This checklist helps us to bring peace and life to a situation, rather than death and destruction. I’ve outlined them below.

Haughty eyes -When we think that we’re better than others, lording over them in arrogance. We’re not better than anyone else; we’re all better off than others at various times, in various situations, and ways because we are children of God and have His love, wisdom, and power and protection. See, that’s not anything that we did, or do, on our own.
A lying tongue -Lying weaves a web that everyone can be destroyed in. I believe this is something based in and brought on by fear. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life; so we can see by this, that truth is the way to bring life, and to empower it.
Shedding innocent blood can also be done by a vengeful spirit, cruel words, and malicious intent. These are all destructive of spirit. “A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) This is why we’re told to guard our hearts; the issues of life flow from the heart. (Proverbs 4:23) “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Jesus told us that the good man out of the good stored up in his heart brings forth good, and the man out of the evil stored up in his heart brings forth evil. Words are seeds; and they take root in the heart.
A heart for wickedness is vengeful, malicious, against God and His law, likes to destroy, make trouble, and instill fear, doubt, dejection/manipulate your emotions.
A false witness is a slanderer, and instigator, troublemaker, and a gossip.
A sower of discord does the same thing through manipulation. Numbers 4-6 are all connected.
Feet that hastily run to evil belong to a scoffer or mocker, to one who has a heart for evil. This person joins in with evil-doers, has a mob mentality (many against one), and vengeance is this person’s first choice in response to an offense. Proverbs 12 gives us the promise that the root of the righteous will never be removed. This means that every generation of a child of God will have a remnant; from the very first-which was Adam and Eve, to the very last generation of this age. Praise God! This proverb is filled with teachings about justice, truth, mercy, and grace, as well as teachings about right attitudes, speech and counsel, and actions. Verse 11 admonishes us that working that field we find the pearls in (the Word of God) and implementing the things we learn from it, will bring us victorious life.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Foundations Are Crucial

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 11. Psalm 11 is King David stirring himself up in the LORD. He says, “In the LORD I take refuge! How can you say to me flee; and if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?!” In other words, “I am not afraid!”

That foundations thing got me. That’s right where the enemy strikes! You see, he loves to bring the house down. When I read that, it’s verse 3, by the way: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”-I see a warning there for us. We need to protect the foundations (standards and boundaries). Jesus is our foundation; He is the Word of God. (Luke 6:47-49)

Proverbs 11 gives us a list of some things to think about. 11:3 tells us that integrity guides the upright. Integrity is that adhering to truth, keeping your word, and knowing when to keep quiet, etc. We’re told that righteousness keeps our paths straight. This makes it harder to get lost or distracted. 11:6 tells us that the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. (pornography, illicit sex, greed, etc.) You can get yourself into some real trouble trying to be a people pleaser, or needing to be “in” the “in” crowd, too. 11:9 -Knowledge delivers us from falling victim to those things. This is where the knowledge of good and evil, and the wisdom to discern between the two are important. But, more important is the knowledge of God, which is wisdom. We have the Holy Spirit as guide and counselor. thankfully. Verse 11:30 tells us that the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life. When I read this, I think of Jesus’ words in (Luke 13:19) “Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Poverty Of The Poor

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 10. Psalm 10 is another list of the devices of wickedness and evil. We are warned about how evil lurks and slinks into our paths.

Proverbs 10 is a list of the blessings of wisdom; with some wise admonitions thrown in. Verse 15 of this proverb catches my eye. “The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.” What?! Didn’t Jesus say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Yes, He did. But, (3John 1:2) tells us: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” You cannot give what you do not have. That’s why everything begins with receiving, and within. ” (Matthew 3:4-23) – Verse 19 “When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the poverty of the poor. Being poor in spirit actually describes humility meekness; or willingness to learn and take guidance. Some things included in the list of poverty of spirit, or lack of and in spirit, include: courage, truth, instruction, discipline, knowledge, wisdom, diligence, perseverance, patience. Yes, lack of the desire to learn, to grow also fits in here. The wealth of that rich man, by the way, is a fortified city that evil cannot prevail against. He gets the knowledge, instruction, and guidance he needs regarding whatever he has his heart set on, so he achieves his goals, etc. He knows his God, and seeks God early; in other words, before the boat’s sinking.

Thank you, Hillsong, for this beautiful song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

You Are Hotly Pursued

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 7. The first part of Psalm 7, 7:1-9 is a prayerful song sung by King David regarding his enemies. Verses 1&2 give a very clear picture of how hotly you are pursued by the hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” (1Peter 5:8) tells us: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” When you watch lions hunting, you’ll see they go into hot pursuit of their prey; they don’t stroll after it. Never take your souls safety for granted. Satan wants to destroy it.

What’s really awesome in this psalm is verse 8: “The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.” You know that saying, “and idle mind is the devil’s playground?” Yeah, ever find yourself battling with the same thoughts over and over? My battle with that when I quit smoking comes to mind. Even long after I’d given cigarettes up, Satan was lurking and waiting to lure me back there. I had an argument with my husband one day, and the first thing that came to my mind was: “I should just start smoking again; that will show them!” The next thing that came to mind was, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” I knew that my smoking would hurt me; not anyone else. (See how the Truth rushed in there?) The Holy Spirit nipped that one in the bud! When I think of this vindication, I think about catching my children doing right. Praise is doubly as important as reproof. Here’s why: Verse 9-“Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and mind.” The more we celebrate our doing right, the stronger the desire to do right becomes, and the less power the lure of evil, the wicked, and sin has over us. *This works on adults who are being renewed in the knowledge of God, as well.

Proverbs 7 Speaks of the adulteress, but when in spiritual context, it is the lure of sin and sinners. This includes false religion, idolatry, peer pressure, etc.) When we make our children strong against these in the LORD/Lord and His Word, they’re better able to resist and walk away. (2Cor. 10:5) tells us: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” The more truth you have within you, the stronger you are to stand against the wiles of the devil; and against deception.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Our Father; Full Of Mercy & Grace

First, let me apologize for this being delayed today. I needed to take some time off yesterday due to a foot problem, and didn’t get to do my posts as I wanted to.

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 6. Psalm 6 gives us a picture of how detrimental to our soul, that sin can be. It also gives us an assurance that God sees, and hears-even when we’re besieged by sin-ours or that of others. When we cry out to the LORD/Lord, be it in fear, in dismay, at the end of our rope, etc., He answers us according to His steadfast love, with mercy and grace. When we fall into sin, or our heart gets a little hardened, and we finally come to the end of ourselves, God does not rebuke us or chastise us, in anger. God hates sin; but He loves the sinner. Verses 8-10 show us that just the knowledge that you are heard and cared for by God, gives hope and strength. That’s a good reason to stir your spirit up in the knowledge of God’s love for you every day!

Proverbs 6 gives us an idea of how much God hates sin and sinfulness. Verses 16-19 outline seven things, specifically, that God hates. Thus, going back to verses 1-11 admonish us to be careful of getting entrapped in sin, especially with our own words. (Words have power) We encouraged to bolster ourselves timely with God’s Word, to ensure a good harvest, or good fruit. We need to turn back immediately when we find ourselves in temptation, or in sin. The earlier we turn back, the more adversity and soul anguish we can avoid.

Proverbs 6: 20-25 let us know that the Commandment (standard and boundaries) is a lamp and the teachings of the LORD/Lord, a light to preserve us. Reproofs are admonitions, or warnings that we need to correct our actions. Correction is a way of life; we are not infallible. Correction empowers life, and life (truth, way, life) empowers self-correction. God’s admonition protects our soul, and empowers us with clarity, and strength to turn away from sin. If you look at verses 27 & 28, and think in terms of things that go against God’s standards and boundaries, you can see the danger of seduction by sin. The longer you dwell on something, the more apt you are to be swayed by it, to take it to heart, and to be ensnared by it, if it’s sin. Wherever you mind wanders, your heart is sure to follow, and then, there you’ll be. Wander into God’s Word, His Love, Peace, and Joy.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Rule Them, Indeed

First, back to Psalm 2:9 -“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter’s vessel.” If you look at all the nations of the world, all the different cultures, beliefs, religions, standards and boundaries (moral, social, familial, etc.), you’ll see why it’s important that you be able to break them and dash them into pieces.

This verse tells us a couple of things. First, the nations and the ends of the earth are our heritage. That means they can be of benefit to us. We can learn from other cultures, beliefs, and religions. We can also be led astray by them, as the nation of Israel was through intermarriage with people of foreign cultures. (The lands they journeyed through and were supposed to dispossess) Some cultures have very different standards and boundaries, social and familial practices, and some religions are idolatrous, and may even involve witchcraft and sorcery. Some of the ancient religions involved human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of children. We know that this is not Godly. We also know that some things considered the norm for others, are not going to work for us. Just because a bunch of folks do it, doesn’t make it right; or even beneficial. This is where the rod of iron (Word of God) and dashing things into pieces comes in. The things that are of no use to us, those that will harm us, those that go against God and Godly wisdom, etc., are the things we need to throw out. This works the same way in generational curses. Those things that are/were harmful need to be thrown out and replaced with God’s ways, according to God’s standards and boundaries.

That brings us to Psalm 3:1-7 “Oh, Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Have you ever been laughed at by peers because of your faith, or because you wouldn’t do something they thought was o.k. to do? Many will try to tell us that God’s ways are old fashioned, outdated, actually even oppressive and hateful. But God is a shield around us, and the lifter of our heads. It almost always turns out in the end, that obedience to His Word, and sticking to His ways, was the right thing to dos. I say, “almost,” only because some of those results we won’t know until we get to Heaven. Verse 7 of Psalm 3 tells us that God will silence and disarm the enemy. It never fails, when the enemy causes you to doubt or fear, God’s Word will show you the truth, and empower you to stand on the truth; dispelling the fear and the doubt.

Finally, Proverbs 3 gives us a lists of all the benefits we gain from allowing God to teach us, and keeping to His teaching, and keeping His commandments in our hearts. Whenever I read about God’s commandments, I think of Jesus’ words: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Thank you, Casting Crowns, for this inspirational song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Heaven On Earth

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Kingdom of Heaven is a spiritual one. We war not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavens. “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36) Literally, to bring the truths of the Gospels, of Jesus’ teachings to the world, is to bring Heaven to earth, then. Again, I have to cite Luke 4:18 -“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed..” This is what Jesus came to establish here; believers who would carry the message of truth and freedom to the lost and hurting. The message is a powerful one, and I hope you’ll read it for yourself at twolisteners.org

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Torn Veils

Today’s (12/06/20) message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the way to conquer temptation is to see it as temptation.

As I read this message, I thought about Jesus, Satan, and three veils. I did a study on the veils recently. One veil is the one Satan wraps sin in, or covers our eyes with, to obscure the truth. He did this with Eve in the garden of Eden, when he told her that God knew she would be like Him when she ate of the fruit. Eve was already like God. She was created in His image; after His likeness. (Genesis 3:5) Jesus unveils our eyes so that we can see, not only the truth about the sin, but the truth about how to overcome it. (Luke 4:18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed..” Through Him we have recovery of sight. When the temple veil was torn, it became possible for us to realize God’s glory, or divine nature, power, and authority, and ours, in Christ Jesus. Before that, God had to veil our faces so that we would not die when we saw His glory. (Exodus 33:17-22) (Luke 24:26) “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Heb. 12:1-2) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:18-29)

Temptation always comes with a veil. It will wrap the sin to make it appealing, and will obscure your vision, so you can’t see the truth clearly. I’m not talking about that 3 cookie break while you’re on your diet. Although, if you’re not careful, that can lead you right down to bondage. But, you’d be surprised how much you can learn about your enemy (Satan) when you look more closely at what’s behind the veil.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu