I am earnestly looking for a copy of the out of print book, “Script Scriptorum”. This book is listed on Amazon, but has been out of print for some time. This book was written by the gentlemen who wrote the scripts for “Isaac Air Freight”. If you have a copy, or know someone who does, tell that person I am willing to barter or negotiate for it. I will gladly do without it if you try to gouge me. THANKS!!!
Category Archives: Faith
“I AM the bread of life” – Jesus
Please click the links below. They will lead you to an amazing blog, and you’ll meet an amazing person.
This particular blog is timely and needed, right now, for all of us. You will be blessed if you do this. I promise.
When You Feel Like You Don’t Belong Anywhere. This is written by Ann Voskamp. Her gift is writing, and she is very gifted by the Lord.
I love you, always.
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Share this:
Another Amazing Blog – Amy Voskamp – “When You Feel Like You Don’t Belong Anywhere”
The Truth WILL Set You Free! – Introduction
Leave This at the Feet of God, He cares FOR you!
Here is a lesson I have had to repeat, recently.
My prayer is that, this time, I actually learn it and walk in it.
My hope is that, in sharing this with you, you will be helped in your walk.
The goal is not to shine a light on me, but to reveal the love of God in you.
A Lesson on Personal Behavior.
All our outcomes in this life are the result of our behavior. People always reveal themselves in the way they react to your behavior. Depending on how others react to your behavior, you have the opportunity to remain humble, the opportunity to forgive, or the opportunity to learn from it. How others react to you reveals who they are, more than anything, and is, for the most part, none of your business.
How you behave is every bit of your business.
All behavior is an expression of your beliefs.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” – Luke 6:45, NIV, and “ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7 KJV
If you have noticed that your outcomes are not, say, exactly pleasing to, you, your family, the Lord, or anyone else, for that matter, it might be time to go to what it is you believe. If you want to change your outcomes, change what you believe is true about you.
Stupid is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
STOP BEING STUPID!
I can say this because, I am learning this lesson as we speak.
I am learning that, if what I believe about myself contradicts what the Bible says about me, as a Child of God, then I am either a hypocrite, or ignorant, or just plain stupid.
The good news is, ignorance can be fixed. The bad news is, stupid is forever.
Start Here: You are the redeemed of Christ, so stop being stupid, and learn from this event.
We can start learning by asking ourselves the following questions:
1. What do you believe about you as a person?
2. What do you believe you are worthy or unworthy to experience?
3. What do you believe about love and happiness in your life?
4. What do you believe about your success and prosperity?
5. This is the crucial question: How do you believe God sees you, right now?
When you honestly answer these questions, you will see that your life is a physical manifestation of what you believe is true about you.
This series will show you what I have recently learned about these questions, and how I have learned to see through a new lens.
There is a reason Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32 NIV
Walk with me and let me share with you what I have learned about the difference between knowing a truth, and understanding THE truth.
I love you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior and Big Brother.
Let’s Be About it!
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Share this:
Thou Art The Potter
“Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” – Samuel Johnson quotes (English Poet, Critic and Writer. 1709-1784)
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’
In my “less than Christian” days, one of my part-time jobs was as an artist’s model. One of my contracts was to pose as the statue of David for a sculpting class. Dividing the Sculpture studio from the Pottery studio was a set of double doors. I noticed that, although there weren’t any students in there, there was music playing and a few lights on.
In between Sculpting sessions, I took a 30 minute break, and went into the Pottery room and saw one of the Art Professors working with some clay. Ken, the Master Potter, was building the most beautiful object I have seen in that studio. There were several of them, in various stages of progress. I saw one that had been out of the kiln for about a day, and in cooling off, had developed a sizable crack.
I asked Ken what he will do with that piece. He pointed to a grinder, and said, that grinder will pulverize the pottery back down to a fine powder. I can re-use that powder to make something else. Then he pointed to a very beautiful vase he had made, and said that is how he made that vase. It was exquisite. He had shaped that pulverized powder to a very thin layer, and had made something more beautiful than it was before. When I thumped the edge of the vase with my fingernail, it actually gave a sweet ring, as if it were crystal instead of reformed clay.
I know that had I made the same effort, the globular mass that would have been produced would not ring like fine china. The difference is what the hands of a master can produce.
That clay did not mean to crack. And the potter could have thrown the cracked clay away and dismissed it as flawed. But it was like Ken explained, he was invested in that clay. Part of himself went into making the original shape. His love for beauty and patience with the creative process made it nearly impossible for him to dismiss any broken piece as being useless.
God treats us like this, too. Sometimes we crack. When we take our eyes off what matters, we mess up. When we take matters into our own hands, we forget why God sent us in the first place. The beauty of God is that He is ever forgiving, ever-loving, and will never allow anything to take you out of His hands. That is a promise.
Another promise is, as long as we keep our eyes on Him, and follow Him, and listen to Him, HE will direct our paths. The Grace of God comes in when we take our eyes off Him. We crack under the pressure of doing things our way. In His mercy, He keeps us close to His heart. He sees your flaw as an opportunity to continue to work with you. He will refine us over and over again and again until we resemble His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
The Father disciplines the one that He loves.
When you crack, and break, have no fear of the wrath of God. God has already expended His wrath on Jesus, while Jesus was on the cross. Jesus became all our sins, all our disease, all our failings, all our disappointment, all that can possibly go wrong. When He did that, He gave all that He was before God to us. We received the right to be called the children of God. We belong to Him. We do not have to fear God’s wrath because we messed up.
God doesn’t ever set you up for failure. All His gifts are good. If you have been sent by God, but you mess up what He told you to do, rest in Him, and be assured that, whatever it is that He will make of your curses, will, in the end, be a blessing. Not just for you, but for anyone that sees what God did with you. This is so that all souls can be drawn to Him.
Let’s be about it!
I love you in the Name of Jesus.
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Share this:
Romans 8:28
Jesus, the Healer of Our Souls
He was flat on his back, groaning. It wasn’t the pain that brought him back to consciousness. It was the choking dust. The pain came a few seconds later. The fear of never breathing again was overwhelming. This was the second time he had been thrown off a cliff. The wind had been knocked out of him, but, as he began to draw in that first, blessed, breath of air, the dust floating around him from the impact of his fall was choking him. The pain came when he tried to roll over and stand up. It felt like every bone in his body had been broken. He gasped for breath while he ran his hands over his body to check if his bones were not broken. Nothing broken, but it sure felt that way. It was a good drop from the edge of the cliff. It was a miracle he wasn’t broken to pieces and killed.
When his ears stopped ringing, he heard shouting from a distance above him. He staggered around in a circle until he could focus his eyes and look up. Steadying his stance, he looked up and saw the people who had thrown him off the cliff. They were shaking their fists at him, screaming curses at him, wishing death on him, and telling him he should never come back.
Less than a year ago, this had happened to him at another place. He was dismayed that it had happened again. Greater than the physical pain was the hurt that he had been rejected again.
He could just make out the towering spire of the temple, behind the screaming crowd. Leading that crowd was the Chief Priests of that community. They had contacted him and asked him to come. They had heard about him, and thought that he could bring about the changes needed in their community. Others had tried and failed, including the Chief Priests. One of the High Priests even told him that the Creator had given him a vision of how he was the person to lead that community into the future.
HE had accomplished much of what he knew the Creator had sent him to accomplish. The people had caught the vision he laid out. The changes came, not because of him, but because he shared the vision with the people. All He had to do was deliver the message the Creator had told him to deliver, and to do specific things the creator had told him to do. As long as he did this, things went very well.
There were a certain group of people he had to work the hardest with and for. They fought him every inch of the way. Still, change happened, and things slowly improved. One of the people in this particular group had the ability to hide his falsehoods in a web of half-truths, and cause people to believe his words. This was a slowly dripping poison that had the potential to destroy all he had accomplished. Still, he pressed on.
There was a monument in the center of the village that enumerated all the creeds of their forefathers. It was the forefathers that had founded this town, and the creeds that had held it together through good and bad times. These creeds stirred his heart every time he read them. He knew he was new to the walk, but he was determined to embody these creeds, and lead by example, just as the forefathers had done. He could tell that very few people in the village took the creeds seriously, and acted on them only when the High Priest happened to be looking. This frustrated him a great deal that such duplicity could live in the hearts of the villagers. Did they not understand that it was by the Godly leadership of the forefathers that this village even existed. Yet, here they were, willing to use them as a superficial tool. They spoke bravely of these creeds, but were too afraid to walk in them.
Eventually, he grew weary of the Chief Priests and the people swearing their dying loyalty to the creeds that they boasted of, and he grew weary of fighting the prophet of falsehoods. Instead of responding in the manner that the Creator had told him to do, he took matters in his own hands. He grew angry and impatient with the utter hypocrisy that seems to surround all religious people. He betrayed the trust of those who had asked him to come there. All his good efforts were undone in that single moment. It seemed that, once again, the Enemy of our souls had won another round.
He faced his accusers, and was charged, and was thrown over the cliff, and told never to return. All the work he had accomplished was in jeopardy of being destroyed because of him.
His heart was broken. He wept. He didn’t feel self-pity, just a deep disappointment. God had sent him here, and had worked a few miracles to bring him here. He had not done as the Father had told him to do.
As he wondered why God had arranged him to be here, the crowd suddenly grew silent. They covered their mouths and pointed at something behind him. The cliff formed a U-shaped wall around a valley. He was standing in the very back of the cliff walls, where he had been thrown off.
He turned around to see what all the silence was about.
Standing about 50 feet in front of him, in a semi-circle, blocking his escape, were the most hideous beings he had ever seen. These wraith leered at him and slathered their delight at his downfall. He heard the High Priest shouting to the people to turn away and go home. That he was getting the punishment he deserved, and they need to run away if they don’t want th wraith to chase them. Such was the beliefs of the village.
He recognized who these wraith were. He dared not speak their names, or listen to their taunting curses and laughter. But he knew them well. Their names were Fear, Doubt, Curses, Blame, Anger, Despair, and Destruction. He knew them very well, as they used to be the only friends he ever had before Jesus, the Son of God, had touched him, and healed his heart, about 8 months ago.
He knew that if he listened to them, he would consider their accusations and succumb to the temptations they offered. Their presence was strong, and their words very enticing. He shook with the effort of trying to ignore them. As they inched closer, he began to panic. He wondered if this was why God had sent him here. To be destroyed by his own demons, that he thought he had been delivered of.
He remembered what Jesus had told him at his healing: “God is not judging you. While life has natural consequences, you are forgiven, because I bore all your sin and disease and failings on the Cross, and have given you all that I am and have in exchange for your sin. Never let doubt and fear distract you. There is nothing in all of Heaven or in Earth that can ever separate you from His love, ever again. You are his child, now. Call on Me when you are in need, and I will answer.”
Despite his misgivings, in spite of his fear and doubt, he raised his hands and said:
“My Father, I come before you in the name of Jesus. I thank you that I am acceptable to you, because I am in Christ, and He is in me. I come before you with all confidence and boldness because of the sacrifice of Jesus. (Eph. 1:6, Heb. 4:16)”
“You are my Father, and I am your Child.”
“I thank you that nothing can ever take me out of your hand again.”
“Because of the Lord Jesus I am adopted into the Family of God.”, “Because I am in Jesus, I am an heir to the everlasting Kingdom, that, because of His sacrifice, he exchanged all He has and Is for all my sin; He had given me all He has.”
“God, my Father, I am seeking, first, YOUR Kingdom and Your righteousness, and you meet ALL my needs” (Matt.6:33)
“Because You are my Father, you reveal your perfect will for my life.” (Matt. 11:25)
“Because I love and trust You, I seek to do Your will.” (Matt. 12:50)
“Because You are my Father, I love Jesus, who You sent to be my Savior.” (John 8:82)
“Because I am in the Lord Jesus, and He is in You, I am in you, too. I will always abide in your presence.” (John 10:10, 17:21)
“Father God, I abide in Your glory, which was given to Jesus, who, because I am now in Him, He has given to me. You crown me with dignity and worth. I am the redeemed of Christ. I am all You say I am. Father, I glorify You in the Earth.” (John 17:22)
As he was saying these things, joy flooded his broken heart. He felt the presence of the Spirit of GOd arrive and fill his every fiber. He danced and sang praises to God, because of Jesus Christ.
While he was praising, a presence appeared right in front of him. He stopped moving. He didn’t make a sound. He just stood staring in awe at who was standing right there in front of him.
Jesus stood looking him in the eye.
The prophet fainted.
Jesus said, “Please, get up.” And he held out His hand to pick up this soiled little prophet.
Jesus dusted him off, and smiled at him, and gave him water from the jug He had been carrying.
The prophet was utterly speechless. Jesus grinned and gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder, and said, “Well, for once, you are speechless!”. Then Jesus laughed at his own joke. This made the prophet relax, and eventually, he was laughing along with Jesus.
Christ walked the prophet over to an outcropping of rock, under a shade tree. He asked the prophet, “Where are your little wraith?”, That is when the prophet looked around, as if he was finally taking in his surroundings. “Gone, Lord. GONE!!”, said the prophet. And he grinned. Jesus chuckled and said, “Of course, nothing can stand in the praise of the Father, and no attack from them can befall one who has faith in the promises.”
The prophet said, “But Lord, I know you sent me to that village. I have ample evidence it was you that sent me there. But I have been kicked out. I have failed you again, and now I don’t know why I am here. I just know you sent me.”
“So, what will you do now?”, asked Jesus.
“I don’t know, just wait for you to tell me what to do, I guess.”, said the prophet.
Jesus said, “You guessed right. Wait for my instructions. I have sent you to be where you are. Never doubt that.”
“But I really blew it, Lord!”, pled the Prophet, “How can I possibly carry on after such a colossal failure?” “What will I do?” “My behavior turned my confession in to a lie!”
Jesus answered, “Friend, you will learn from me, and of me. You will be made in to my image. One way or another, when this is done, you will resemble Me.”, “For now, know you are loved of the Father, and by Me.”, “I promised I will send the Spirit of God to you, and I have. Listen to the leading of the Spirit. Get used to hearing and obeying when the Spirit speaks. Stay your ground, and do not look to the left or right. Have faith.”
The prophet asked, “What about the Village?”
“You have no idea,” replied Jesus, “what your influence has done there. Let me worry about the Village, and let the Village decide how it will believe. I will turn your curses into blessings, and I will see that the seed you planted, where it was planted, will be watered and will grow at the hands of another. What you may see as a failure, I will turn into a blessing in the end. You just have to decide what you believe is true about me.”
The prophet knelt before Jesus and said, “My Lord, Jesus, I thank you for dying on the cross for me. You paid for my sins. You made it possible for me to come before the Father. You carried the punishment for my sin, so I would not have to carry it. You rose from the dead, so I could have a new life. You shed your blood for me and removed all my sins. Jesus, I worship you and call you my Lord. (I Cor. 15:3-4, Gal. 3:13. 2 Cor. 5:17, Heb. 10:19, Rom. 5:9)
“I thank you, Jesus, for bringing me in to the family of God. You are my Elder Brother, and God is my Father, and I worship you this day. You have made me to be an heir of Your Kingdom.” (Heb. 2:11-13, Rom. 8:17, Col, 1:12, Rev. 5:10)
Then the prophet stood kissed Jesus on both cheeks.
Jesus stood up and said, “My little brother, rest assured this is not the end of your walk with me. Remember when I told you that things would get really dark?”
“Yes, I do, Lord.” said the Prophet.
“What did I say to you when I told you this was coming?”, asked Jesus.
“You told me that, no matter what happened, I am to cling to you, and have faith that you will turn this darkness into bright daylight, and this curse into a blessing. That, in the end, I will serve you successfully.” The prophet answered.
“Then do not fear. Know I am with you. It is like your elder brother, Paul said, ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purposes.’ (Rom. 8:28). So know this, my brother, I have called you. I have prepared a way for you. Even when you fail, I love you and forgive, before you even ask. I will turn all your curses into blessings. Just stand your ground and keep believing.”
Then Jesus vanished.
The prophet stood there mouth gaping. He didn’t know what to do first, laugh, or cry. He was too blown away to begin walking again, so he sat on the rocks he and Jesus had sat on earlier. While he was thinking of all that had happened, he had a feeling that someone else was watching him. He looked up the cliff to see who it could be. Sure enough, there was a lone figure leaning against the rail at the edge of the cliff.
It was the High Priest.
Share this:
“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.”
Adversity Happens.
What you do with adversity will greatly affect how your life will turn out.
Adversity can be brought on by ignorance, evil, selfishness, bad judgement, or simply by circumstance. If the same adversity happens repeatedly in your life, the chances are great that you are the cause of your pain.
Psalm 119:67 ESV
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
Chances are that the problems that plague you are because you keep repeating the same old habits, hoping for a different result. It may be that you are repeating them without even understanding that that is what you are doing. However it happened, here is hope:
You recognize that you are afflicted.
You know that you brought this on yourself.
You understand that something must change in order to get out of this destructive cycle. One of the earliest mistakes I make when I really reap what I sow is, over analyzing the past. The more you study your past, the more you will defeat yourself on the memories of all your failures. Look at your past if you can learn from it. But you have to come to terms with the fact that:
“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” – Einstein.
There is an old saying that goes something like this: “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you have always got.” (Apologies to my English teacher.)
So, you may be asking yourself, “How do I change this mess?”
Here you go:
1. Let go of your past. You are a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17). The OLD you is DEAD. Let go of your old evil self. That person is dead. He or She dies the second you confessed with your mouth that Jesus Christ died of your sin and rose from the dead.. You cannot solve your problems by doing the same thing over and over again.
2. Do away with your old patterns of thinking. Change what you believe about yourself, and understand how God views you now that you are in Christ, and you have HIS MIND. (Bible Verses About Our Identity in Christ: God’s View of Us)
3. Take Responsibility for your every thought. God did not invent a bunch of brain dead, mind washed robots. He gave you the ability to think for yourself. But choose your thoughts wisely. Whatever you believe is true about yourself WILL be the life you create for yourself. We gained this autonomy from God Himself, BEFORE THE FALL, and His Gifts are without repentance. It IS written, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he… Proverbs 23:7 KJV
4. Watch your mouth. This follows from #3 – The things you say are born in your heart. “A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. “ – Jesus – Luke 6:45 HCSB The best way to learn to do this is by thinking about what is good, right and pleasing to the Lord. It is written: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8 NASB
5. Speak new truths about yourself. Your mind is your greatest enemy or your best asset. Speak what you believe. Speak it. When you do, you will discover if you believe it or not. If you don’t believe it, stop lying. Gain an understanding about how God sees you, and understand that He has not destined you for failure,. but success . When you speak it, feel it all the way into your bones, deep in your heart, see it in your mind’s eye. Know that it is true. Changing the pattern of what you believe about life, the world, others and yourself will dramatically change your life. We have the power of life and death in our tongues. Just be aware that the life you bless or curse is you own. You will affect the rest of the world according to what you believe is true about yourself. HERE is what the Bible says about SUCCESS.
When you change your view of yourself, by learning and believing what God says about you (Bible Verses About Our Identity in Christ: God’s View of Us), you will develop the mind of Christ, and THEN IF you do these things, you will know success.
Taking these steps takes discipline, and does not necessarily happen overnight. A great many successful people have built their successes on their heaping pile of failures.
God made you for a purpose. If you want to find that real, authentic you, that he purposefully created for this time, this life, this moment in history, step away from your old self, and see how God views you.
Then act on it.
“Let’s Be About It!”
I love you.
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Share this:
Change Your Life
COME HOME: Do You Like Apples?
Sandy
I love you with all my heart.
I know a woman named Sandy.
She buried her first husband, and raised two kids all on her own.
While that was going on, she buried her sister, her father, and one of her brothers.
The remarkable thing about Sandy is that, while this was going on, she continued as a worship leader at a few small churches. The darkness in her life never made her love of Christ falter.
One day, Sandy and I met on a blind date.
Remarkably, or sadly, depending on your point of view (I have heard them all), she made the incredible decision to marry me.
What this woman has brought to my world, the gift of love she gave me, the wonders seen through her eyes, are barely able to be described, and, frankly, I fear I will cheapen them by trying to explain them to you.
Still, I ask you to hear me out.
The first thing that drew me to you, Sandy, was your incredible smile, and impish sense of humor.
It is rare to find a woman who loves God as you do, but still be able to, without being crude, make a Senior Master Chief blush like a school girl.
You amazed me from the start.
I was afraid of you.
I have never been afraid of a woman before.
When I had my very first glimpse of you, I saw our future together. It was so different, and so blazingly overwhelming that I ran from you.
Prescience can be a terrible thing, and can lead to a lot of bad decisions. My bad decision was that I avoided you for the following 6 weeks.
But I could never put you out of my mind.
Now, after 17 years of marriage, I can truthfully with all honesty, say, given the choice, I would do this all over again.
Through the grace of God, we have grown together, We have laughed, we have cried, we have agonized and we have celebrated, all of life’s ups and downs.
You have given me my child. And you have raised her to be a beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful and gifted woman.
The touch of your hand is evident in her. All the hours you spent reading to her, all the love and kisses you gave her, all that is beautiful in Hannah, you have placed in her through your remarkable love.
And what has your love done to me?
Amazing things! Wonderful things. Beautiful things.
Your patient, consistent love and grace broke through my very hard heart so I can see who Christ Jesus really is.
Even when you hated me, you loved me.
Even when you wanted to quit, you persisted in giving me all you are.
God used your gentle grace to break me.
All my anger and all my religion and all my evil subsided because you never gave up.
You took my hand and patiently, sometimes dragging me kicking and screaming, took me to the throne room of God, where I was able to see who the real Jesus is, not the one I learned about in Seminary, or in religious dogma.
Your grace with me showed me that there is an even greater grace and love. You would not have been able to live with me otherwise. When the world was telling you, you had the right and duty to give up on me, you didn’t.
How can I adequately describe your beauty, your love, all that you are to me?
For once in my life, I am at a loss for words.
I love you, Sandy.
I declare my love for you in the face of the whole world.
You are a gift from God, an amazing musician, a beautiful wife, an awesome mom, and a woman of God.
You are God’s beautiful and beloved daughter, whom He loves very much.
We recently went to Missouri to retrieve the rest of our belongings from storage.
That cost a small fortune.
Then our car broke down, and will cost us another fortune.
What that means is, I cannot do the things I had wanted to do for you on this, our 17th anniversary.
But one thing I do give you, I give you the gift of my heart.
I cherish you.
I desire you.
You are my best friend in all the world, and my greatest love.
No matter what life brings our way, I am overjoyed that I get to walk through it with you.
God has shown us our purpose as individuals and as a couple.
I am excited at the thought of walking out the remainder of my life with you and God.
I look forward to what God is about to begin in us.
And I will cherish every living moment I have with you.
I love you,
I love you,
I love you.
Let’s Be About It!
David
Share this:
Two Amazing Pieces
Click on the links below. These two articles, posted by an amazing blogger, will surely give you hope and perspective.
What a blessing!
Love, David
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/01/life-plan-day-planner-sanity-manifesto-printable/
Share this:
His Refining Fire
Even in the solitude of our pain, God is there.
And we know that God causes all things
to work together
for good
to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 NASB
The temptation to despair looms large when things around you have completely gone to hell.
The difficulty lay in seeing the hand of God even in this situation.
I have to remember that God is not mad at me.
God is not judging me.
When I reap the consequences of my behavior, it is not God that is punishing me.
When I am in a storm of my own making, I understand that it is not God that brought the storm.
It IS God that stands with me in the midst of the storm.
It is God that sustains me when I feel faint from the effort of having Hope.
Just like Nebuchadnezzar saw, “One standing like the Son of God“,
I can say with all confidence that, even though I lit this fire,
God stands with me in this pit,
and God protects me from the harshest elements of it.
The experience is still mine,
but the strength to endure and the ability to gain wisdom comes from God Himself.
Because I am crucified with Christ, my old sin nature was put to death.
Because He rose from the dead, I rose anew, a new life form.
I know that after this trial, I will walk out refined and purified.
I cannot make this claim unless Christ is my life.
“I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself up for me. ”
Galatians 2:20 NASB
When this refining fire is over, I will be stronger in the Lord.
I will know God in intimate ways I never would have comprehended had I not been subject to the logical consequences of my behavior.
God has not punished me.
Jesus took on that punishment when He became all my sin on the cross.
Because of this great gift, I am now the adopted child of God.
God will allow consequences to come my way, natural and logical, when I step out of His will for my life.
I praise God that He has given me the freedom to think for myself.
And I praise God that He upholds me when I reap what I sow.
From this lesson, I have learned that doing things God’s way is far better than seeking the praise of men.
God has, and is, and does work even this situation out to His glory,
to my best good,
because I am called according to His purposes.
I may not understand why, sometimes, it seems as if He is a thousand miles away.
It may be that my fear of the flames has distorted my view of Him, and He has been right here all along, holding me.
Through this fire, I have seen my unnecessary beliefs, behaviors and attitudes disappear in smoke.
All I thought was important couldn’t stand in the fire of God’s just mercy.
What remains is a grace that I never imagined could exist.
Now I have joy, love, and peace, and I comprehend the love of God.
I am His beloved.
Now I am useful for His purposes in me.
I thank you God that you allow me to go through these things.
I cannot be Your new creature and cling to My old things.
They are incompatible.
As God’s adopted child, and co-heir to Heaven, my old belongings would only pollute the things and places God intends to give me.
I praise you God for a wisdom that in infinitely more than any human wisdom.
Where the world sees a failure and a loser, you see a new creation, fresh from the master’s refining fire.
I am happy to lose everything I thought was meaningful and important, knowing that what God will be giving me is worth more than anything the world has to offer.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;
the old things passed away;
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;
behold,
new things have come.”
II Corinthians 5:17 NASB
Come to Jesus and be refined in the fire of His love.
You will not regret it for all eternity.
I love you.
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Share this:
Evening Prayer
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings.
Jas 3:13 NET
Nature has written a letter of credit upon some men’s faces which is honored wherever presented. You cannot help trusting such men; their very presence gives confidence. There is a “promise to pay” in their faces which gives confidence, and you prefer it to another man’s indorsement. Character is credit.
William M. Thackeray.
In the heart of Africa, among the great Lakes, I have come across black men and women who remembered the only white man they ever saw before—David Livingstone; and as you cross his footsteps in that dark continent, men’s faces light up as they speak of the kind doctor who passed there years ago. They could not understand him; but they felt the love that beat in his heart.
Henry Drummond
View original post 42 more words
Share this:
What Will Matter? ~ by Michael Josephson
Amen!
What Will Matter?
by Michael Josephson
Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end.
It won’t matter whether you where beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
Not what you got, but…
View original post 142 more words
Share this:
A Heavenly Message for You: Let Life Flow
An excellent message, and timely, too.
Let Life Flow!
This is a new day and there is no need to rush; just be and let everything go.
One cannot depend upon man to meet her/his needs.
My Shekinah Spirit is not limited by anything or anyone; it is and I am.
Don’t stay stuck in fear. The outside is a reflection of what is stirring on the inside.
Your personal world is changing.
Connect with the peace of God that resides within you, and hold on.
Close your eyes and when you are ready to begin, take my hand and ask for My Spirit to show you what you need to focus on, for today.
Step through the spiritual door, and I promise you; I will pour out heaven upon you and the abundance will be overwhelming.
Let go of everything and follow my lead.
You are not out of my sight or my care.
I…
View original post 30 more words
Share this:
King of the Hill
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Ephesians 4:1-7
NASB
Have I ever known the truth of the gospels? Have I brought to the word of God my “informed opinions” about religion, Christ, God , Salvation and Lordship only to see that they are broken on the Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ? His word is true. My opinion of His word is formed out of my seeing Him through a Glass Darkly. But the Spirit of God, who dwells in me, gives me sight to see, and ears to Hear. I am able to discern between Heavenly truth, and a…
View original post 770 more words
Share this:
2 Corinthians 11:14 – And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
I know a preacher.
Many people hear his words.
In his heart are snakes.
~ Haiku by David
Share this:
Growing Pains – Lessons From The Kindergarten of God – Part III – Well Intentioned Dragons
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? I Kings 19:11-13
“Jesus asked, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”(Matthew 7:3 NIV). Christians seem to be uncontrollably motivated by some deep need to “take the dog by the ears.” (See Proverbs 26:17.) They are always meddling in other people’s stuff. This is one of the main reasons the world hates the church. We have declared ourselves to be the world’s police force. We are the self-proclaimed militant army that is here to police and judge the world, when we should be a loving family who brings hurting people into the family circle by adoption! Our concept of presenting what we mistakenly call the Gospel is to let people know they are sinners so they will realize their need for Jesus. This erroneous concept leads the Christian to think that the best way to let people know they are sinners is to point out their faults-that is, to find the speck in their eye.
Your Heart Dictates How You See
The way we view something is the product of our heart. If we have a critical eye, it is because we have a critical heart. The Bible says, He that hath a froward heart findeth no good” (Proverbs 17:20). A ‘froward heart”is a crooked heart. It is a heart that has been reshaped through the pressures of sin, legalism, religion, or life circumstances. It is a heart that sees only the bad; it cannot find the good. Some people seem to have mistaken criticism for discernment. Criticism is not a gift of the Holy Spirit; it is the product of a corrupt heart. Religion has forged the church into a critical, reactionary society not much different than that of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.” James B. Richards. How to Stop the Pain. Kindle Edition.
WELL INTENTIONED DRAGONS
As a New Creation, I sometimes look to other, wiser, Christians for sound advice. There are some, I have learned through experience, who see through my questions, and hear what my heart is actually asking. This is a gift of discernment I find most mature Christians have.
There are new Christians, like me, who need to spend much more time in the Bible and Prayer, so we can develop a finely tuned sense of God’s Voice, and God’s Will.
Then there are the well-intentioned dragons. These are the ones who genuinely love God, and are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and even know scripture very well, but something about them sets my teeth on edge. Figuring out what that something is has taken me some time. I took that time to look for patterns, and build a baseline that demonstrates the difference between what I hear them say, and the way they say it, against what and how Jesus spoke to people.
THAT IS WHEN I FOUND IT!
Jesus, being God, and unchangeable (YHWH), speaks, and when He speaks…
He doesn’t change, but loves eternally, speaks gracefully, and uses the truth to heal, not hurt.
He is Lord of Lords, meaning His word is the first one, and the last one, because His judgement is true.
He is the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, as these three are one…when He speaks, all have spoken, they are their own witness, and need no outside verification.
He is the Lord Most High, sitting eternally on the throne…and because we have accepted his free gift of life, we sit next to him, as he is our brother, and GOd is our Father. THere is none beside him, and no one higher in authority than him.
His word and will is our provision. He meets all our needs, to grow, to love, to show mercy, to be graceful, because when he became all sin in our place, he gave us all that he is in exchange.
His word smites sin. No other has this authority. All other judgement is accusation and comes from the father of lies and his children. God’s judgement is true, and he deals mercifully with us, as he destroys sin, in us, and in the world.
He is the one and only one who sanctifies us. His death on the cross paid for your fall, and his resurrection gave us new life…if we will accept this free gift. He alone is what sanctifies us.
He is the one who marks us with his banner and ensign. We are his, paid for with His blood. Our mission in life is to become like Him so that when people see us, they see Him only. We are his banner, and he is ours.
His blood, and his word heals us. All he gives us in His love, grace and mercy. He will do us no harm. He is not mad at us. He heals us by the stripes he bore.
He is my ever-present shepherd. He guides me in the midst of trouble, and leads me to his peace, even in the midst of the storm. Even His rebuke of me brings me hope and life and health. No other has this ability, or authority. He keeps watch over me day and night.
Well intentioned dragons will use the scriptures and their overrated opinion and religion to criticize, destroy, rob you of peace, take your joy. THe well-intentioned dragons are the first to point out what you did wrong. Why you should have done it better/different/ or not at all.
Well intentioned dragons have no faith in the genuine work of the cross because they are too busy being religious. That is why, when GOd sends you to do a thing, they rail against it, they fail to see your vision, they try to improve you so that you will better resemble their opinion of the truth, and fail to comprehend what real truth actually is.
Well intentioned dragons do not feel ok until they have spoken their judgement over you, and “improved” you, and judged you inadequate. They did this to Jesus, and they will do the same to you.
IF YOU LISTEN
If you listen to the dragons, you will end up worse than they are.
If you listen to the still small voice of the Lord, you will know joy, peace, healing, direction, purpose, strength, courage, and you will know HIM.
IT IS ALL A CHOICE OF WHOM YOU CHOOSE TO BELIEVE.
Do as he sends you to do, even if it makes no sense, and seems crazy, and no one else trusts you, believes you, understands what and how you are doing it. You were sent by God, not by well-intentioned dragons.
His presence will calm you and empower you through even the hardest trials and storms.
This is the God I serve. This is the God I choose to obey. No matter what it will cost, I have no desire to give ear to the dragons. I will wait for the still small voice.
I love you,
David Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
Let’s be about it.
Share this:
Transition States: Saving Grace is Sustaining Grace – Revisited
This blog was originally posted on October 31, 2013. I mention that I was homeless in this blog. That has changed. I and my family are no longer homeless. I am now employed. The job I have is probably the very best job I have had in over 25 years. (Truthfully, nothing compares to full time ministry, IF you are actually serving the Lord, and not your own desires).
Since writing this blog, and getting employed, I am met with new challenges as a baby believer. It is easy to take one’s eyes off Jesus when the cares of work and living confront you. As I re-read this blog, I was reminded how strong my faith was when I wrote it. Life was much harder then. The difference between then and now is, then I was keeping my eyes continually focused on Christ and His finished work. Re-reading this…
View original post 2,269 more words
Share this:
Growing Pains – Lessons from the Kindergarten of God – Part 2
You are what you believe you are, and you live out your beliefs.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 KJV
David G. Perkins 