It was Paul who encouraged us to give thanks in everything ~ so let our hearts and voices explode into a great hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever, for His faithfulness extends throughout time and into the far reaches of eternity.

The Blessed Hope for which we look, and for which we long, is not the fatalistic, fanciful, fingers~crossed hope of the world, that leaves in its wake hollow emptiness and unfulfilled desires. Our Blessed Hope is knowledge of the truth intertwined with the 'stuff' of faith, which trusts God's Word as fact, and treats the heavenly things, (in the spiritual realm), that are invisible to our physical sight, as indisputable reality.

As we see the day of His glorious appearance advancing quickly, in both the physical world and our own walk of faith, may we be those that stand fast and watch intently for His soon return, as we look for that Blessed Hope and the any~day appearing of the glory of our great and gracious God ~ Who is Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

When we are in Christ, God sees us as perfect through His Son, but we have a choice to LIVE the life that Christ lived on earth. He lived in spirit and truth, in utter dependence on the Father, and in total obedience to Him. In order for us to follow His example, we need to submit to the Spirit and allow Christ to live in us so that we are not simply positioned in Him, but functioning through Him; allowing the very life of Christ to be lived in and through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The conference this past weekend in Guthrie, OK. Had a great time with Pastor Greg, Mondo, Pete, and LA Marzulli.

God knows that we are weak and frail and He knows that the testing of our faith can cause us to complain or murmur or to become unsteady in our Christian walk.. but God provides all the wisdom we need to maintain a steady heart, patient endurance, and an unwavering, uncompromised faith in Him. God delights to give generously to all who ask ~ but we must be prepared to ask Him, to listen to His voice, and to obey His Word.

I'm speaking at a one-day conference in Orangevale, CA on Saturday, April 20.
https://subsplash.com/calvarysolidground/lb/ev/+t8jfv9n

It is only as we grow in grace, become mature in the faith, and keep a short rein of sin in our lives, that we will produce the spiritual fruit that exemplifies the spirit~filled believer.

Only as we live and walk and pray in spirit and in truth, will our lives produce this singular fruit of God's Holy Spirit, and we will be equipped to say with Paul, "It is not I who live ~ but Christ, Who lives in me."

It seems to be a certainty that Israel will respond to Iran's attack in the near future. How severe will her response be? She needs to decapitate the snake. But the stronger her response, the stronger will be the opposition from her allies. Worse, the stronger Israel's response, the stronger Iran's response in turn. This could expand into regional conflict.

A strong response from Israel could also lead to Russia using a similar show of force in Ukraine, bringing that conflict to a sudden end and freeing Russia to allocate more military resources on behalf of her Middle East allies.

God Himself is the source of all spiritual illumination and He is the subject of all spiritual revelation, but the indwelling Spirit of Christ is the channel through Whom the Holy Scriptures are unveiled to us. The Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our heart, when we willingly submit to His leading and guidance, and when we depend upon Him in all things. May we have ears to hear and eyes to see.

Although this is certainly a serious warning against treating this issue carelessly, or without understanding the tremendous responsibility incurred in teaching God's Word... this verse is also a great encouragement for us all to study the Scriptures daily, to show ourselves approved unto God, be in a position to tell others the good news of the gospel of grace ~ and to be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ.

And just as love begets love, so too provoking others to good works by our own demonstration, will promote good works in them as well. Good works can only by carried out in our Christian life through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And so we promote love and good works in others, in spirit and in truth. How blessed we are if we can reflect on our own lives and identify those that by God's grace, patiently and lovingly provoked us to love and good works, by grace through faith in Christ.

When fallen man can look beyond his rebellious, prideful myopia, and recognise that by God's eternal power the worlds were made, he can start to glimpse into the very character and heart of God Who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the enormous price for your sins and mine. And His name is Jesus.

God will certainly perfect the good work He started in each of us ~ but may we live our lives in full cooperation with Him, as we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him... so that we achieve spiritual maturity in this life, and in the ages to come, will receive our glorified bodies and rich rewards. Hallelujah!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD: This is a remarkably fitting conclusion to this psalm and to the entire Book of Psalms. Everything that breathes should give its praise to the One who gave it breath. Every breath is the gift of God and praise is the worthy response we should make for that gift. Praise ye the Lord.

We are to be covered in His truth, covered in His righteousness, and rest in His peace and His salvation which is ours by grace alone through faith alone in His finished work alone. It is only as we dress ourselves in Christ and cover ourselves spiritually in the Lord, day by day and moment by moment, that we will we be enabled to make no provision for the evil cravings of our physical nature ~ for only as we are clothed in Christ can the power of sin and death be defeated in the life of a Christian.

The reaction of unsaved men or the carnal Christians to unjust treatment in this fallen world, is to demand immediate vindication here and now ~ but God works from an eternal perspective in the lives of His children so that when we truly entrust our lives into His hands, we know that the judge of all the earth will do right. But it will only happen at His appointed time and in His appointed way.