Desperate Faith

The faith for desperate days.", is the first sentence from the March 25 devotion in the beloved classic "Streams In The Desert". My parents gave me my first copy of this book after becoming a Christian many years ago.The readings have encouraged and refreshed me through many days and seasons of desperate faith, and during times of battle with the world and her enemy.


The message in this reading simply says that desperate days been recorded in the annals of time as pathways to light. If we study the Bible and the lives of all great patriarch's we see victory over these trying times; often the deliverance came "at wits end".


When we submit in desperate faith, and quit trying to figure it out, God moves in his mysterious ways and delivers. How true.The devotion continues to remind the reader that faith does not make our desperate days; it's work is to sustain and solve. My response is to continue to moment by moment increase my faith.

As we approach our Easter season- remember Gethsemane and the desperate faith of Christ as he cried out to God the Father. Ponder this deeply. We must remember our pilgrimage journey will always require divine eternal faith that is sustained only by God, because of the desperate submission of Christ to the cross. His blood, his faith covers all who believe - have faith.


Jesus said in this world we will have trials and tribulations, but he came to overcome these for us. He is the pathway to life and lights the way in the darkness.


Lyrics from an old hymn describes the necessity of desperate faith to teach us to trust God.


"When obstacles and trials seem
 Like prison walls to be,
 I do the little I can do
And leave the rest to Thee.


And when there seems no chance,
   no change, from grief
   can set me free,
Hope finds it's strength in helplessness,
   And calmly waits for Thee.

For Julia

Alone, Yet Not

I walk alone into this dark of night,

Along these city streets-
A friend not found in staring down-
The walls of my grieving heart.

A heart that aches,
A heart that's bound-
As if captive to
This dark, this night.

My heavy heart yearning to know-
What measures one must go,
To find the light,
To find some peace,
To find this soul's release.

The pavement cracked and worn,
Like my aching, fragile soul-
Such a state of disrepair.

So many questions inside of me.
What do I say to this empty soul?
Again, now at the end,
Of another lonely day.

Who am I?
What plan have I?
To wander all these days and nights,
Caught up in city lights.

I stop by the church along the way,
A sweet melody from within,
Beckons me to stay-

A welcome reprieve-
From the haunting sound
of my solitary steps,
and so I stop and rest.

The stained glass glowing
brightly into this night-
A reflection of a shepherd man,
He holds a young lamb tight.

I look into the shepherds face-
a picture of long ago-
I see the lamb resting against his chest-
A story much deeper than
stained glass does hold.

My night of sorrow softens slightly.
I sigh... my buried heart of grief
Feels lighter as I recall-
A memory from days gone by.

"The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want,
He makes me lie down
In green pastures,
And leads me by still waters."

Yes, I remember I cry...

"He restore my soul,
He walks with me
Through this valley,
In this shadow of death. "


I know it's true,
No need to fear.
The church bell rings,
The children sing.
The shepherd of my soul is here.


My recent grief,
This heavy heart
Overwhelming at the start-
Now at the end removed.


I know now.. my father recently departed,
Taken from our sight,
One sad, dark night-
Does not rest alone in the unknown.

He is in the shepherd's care,
Held close, against his chest.
Right by His heart.

I stand to go, but pause to listen-
The children sing their last refrain...

"Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so."

And so I know-

Walking home I find this dark of night
Now has a light- it glows, within my soul.
My answer given-
Keep on living,
Do not let go-

For Jesus loves me so.

I walk alone, yet not.

Whatever

Philippians 4:8

 whatever is true,

 whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

 whatever is pure,

 whatever is lovely,

 whatever is admirable-

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Love So Amazing

Fasting and praying, laying hands on, and then sending them out. This is the way of the missionary.

All Christians have a God inspired message to share along the way. We are all missionaries.

How wonderful it is to belong to a church that  loves the way of God. To fast, to pray, to lay hands on, and then to separate and go the way of God"s plans.

This is what I experience every January on the 21 day fast with my church Free Chapel.

Every year a new and fresh perspective emerges from my sacrifice.

A deeper appreciation of Christian community overwhelmed me this year as I stood in 

the anointing line with thousands of believer's.

There was no complaining, no one leaving, only patient and expectant praise.

The sanctuary seemed joyfully quiet, contemplative, even though the praise sang on.

For me, this was a deep spiritual experience, a privilege, and a rich full feeling of God moving in the hearts of the faithful.

Tears of joy welled up in my eyes as amazing love spilled out, overflowing in my heart.

The moment of surrendering to the line of dear pastors touching the head of every one passing became my tunnel of cathartic release and belief.

It was finished and it has begun, all at the same time. The fast, the miracle of God calling his own ,merged into power and belief. My blessing, our blessing for 2012.

Acts 13:2-3

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Be Still

Somethings Have To Die

Today at my church, Free Chapel, Pastor Franklin spoke on the urgency of letting go of harmful habits and sins that will hinder our Christian life; he said "it's better to respond to the mercy of God than face His judgement".
He used scripture's from the Old Testament to illustrate( Psalm 51:17 & 116:15). I also like the New Testament verse in the book of Galatians 2:20- "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Pastor Franklin said we must allow the Holy Spirit to draw a line separating what lives and what dies. The Spirit will kill the things in your soul that were a part of your old nature before you accepted Christ. God's word is the sword of the Spirit and it says- "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12" "

As a Christian you will feel convicted when your soul (flesh, old nature) starts pulling you back in the direction of sin, self centered living. This is your spirit telling you to let the Holy Spirit give you the power to mortify these unclean things of your old nature.

They must die or they will kill everything good in your life- eventually. My Pastor emphatically stressed that you can not compromise and keep some hidden addictions or fleshly desires. God's word is the life line. Harboring and coexisting with compromises is like playing with fire, you will get burned, and the smoke will choke the life out of you. The death will start in your spirit life and begin to spread like a cancer into your marriage, in your family, in your relationships with others. It will kill everything. He emphasized the danger of alcohol, drugs, anger, pride, lust, adultery, pornography, lying, gossip, slander, judging, hatred, and any behaviors you allow that compromise the word of God. Pastor said we can not excuse our behavior by saying, it hasn't hurt me yet. He says, refuse to accept this excuse. It's a lie, whispered to you by the master deceiver. He wants you spiritually dead. Just as he did Adam and Eve.We must not compromise and squelch the The Holy Spirit, and fall victim to the numbing effect of sin- the trap will snare and you will have a harder time getting free. If your under conviction now for something in your life it is no accident you are reading this. God wants you to live the abundant life, not captive to misery and pain. He is telling you to kill these sins right now. God's message today for all those attending, or streaming live, or who hear this word from any other source is this. You can not wait to deal with these convictions on your own time. If God is telling you to do something now, to refuse is very dangerous. We must take this seriously. Sin will need to be feed constantly, that's it's nature- like a cancer, sin will grow bigger and eventually take over and destroy all good things in your life. If you are not a believer and need this new life to save you from loosing everything, then you have to let go and let God inside your heart.

Pray right now for God to save you from this life. You must believe that God's words are true when He said in the book of Romans - that everyone has sin and needs a savior; and through Jesus death, your sins are taken away. Confess your sins and believe in Jesus and you will be a joint heir with Christ in God's kingdom. He said the truth is inside you, and you must believe in this resurrection power to be free. God's grace (favor) and love requires faith and trust. Acceptance of grace will allow your spirit to speak the truth, that you do not need, or want this old sinful lifestyle. This is not a one time thing however; you must daily take up the sword of God's dividing Spirit.for these old habits to die.- Pray, read God's word, connect with other believer's, and most importantly- Believe that you are set free. Free, indeed!

To Worship You

A prayer from my Journal written a few years ago.

Dear Lord,

I have been standing firm in the truth that you are God and you have loved me from the beginning. You desire only good things for me- like I do for my daughter Rose. At times I have disappointed you- but your love for me never changed. 

This disappointment is only of a loving nature- because you desire only good for me- it hurts you to see your children miss the opportunity.

I pray for you to reveal to me my purpose within the purpose "to glorify you". Today you told me my purpose is to worship You- in worship I receive your love.

And that's what I love to do at my church Free Chapel ! Watch and be blessed as I was that Wednesday night this was recorded. We so often will spend the whole service singing and praising  our Lord Jesus.