Tag: Enemy

109. The Pursuit of God

1 Samuel 20:1  Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

  Psalms 7:3-5     O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,  if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,  let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.

Psalms 119:112    I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.

1 John 3:21     Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

Psalms 18:21-22       For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.  For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.

2 Corinthians 1:12     For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

Trials and troubles come into our lives.  We can take note of God’s word when He was angered and past judgment on people or nations.  Their guilt was evident and the action taken by God was righteous.  Other times, people were victims of the consequences of others actions.  This is why David is speaking like this.  What have I done?  What is my guilt?  What is my sin?  These are very good questions to ask ourselves when trials and troubles come our way.  Note the heart of David;  “I incline my heart.”  “I have kept your ways.”  “Your word is before me and I kept it close to me.”  “I’m committed to the end.”

Tozer wrote this in his book “The Pursuit of God.”  We pursue God because and only because He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. “No man can come to Me,” said our Lord, “except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” and it is by this drawing that God takes from us every drop of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of the impulse is our pursuit (following hard) after Him.  All is of God.  God is always previous.  In practice, where God’s previous working meets our present response, we must pursue God.  On our part, there must be positive reciprocation if this secret personal drawing of God is to become an identifiable experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life.  David said, As the deer pants after water, so pants my soul after thee.”

It would seem we have watered down and diluted the conversion of becoming a child of God.  Has it become mechanical and spiritless?  Has faith been diluted to the point where there is no shake-up to our moral life and no embarrassment to our self-centered, non-hungering and non-thirsting pursuit of God?  Are we in danger of losing God because of our lack of hunger and thirst for His word?  Have we lost sight of what it means to be a humble servant?  Does the lack of time set aside for His word and subsequent lack of knowledge and understanding give any indication of how non-existent our pursuit of God is?

Now is the time to assess your heart.  Do you hunger and thirst for His word, or are you eating and drinking the way of the world.

3. To obey and listen is better than sacrifice

Exodus 19:1   On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Exodus 23:22    “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 24:7     Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

Deuteronomy 28:1    “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Joshua 24:24    And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

1 Samuel 15:22    And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

How many times do we try to do good as a means to gain or earn God’s favor?  Doing something with the hope or expectation of a reward for good behavior is much different than doing it as an honor to the person without expectation.  Note the words in Samuel; “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

Listening and obeying are signs of a life honoring God.  We can do all the good we want to do but if it is not for the honor and worship of God it is in vain.

How is a person to listen and obey if they are not in His word, or not intentionally choosing to listen and be guided by God.  Performance is different from humble service.  Stay in His word each day with the expectation of knowing more, understanding more, and learning more of Him and His ways, love, promises, and purposes for your life.

Today at His feet I lay my burdens down

“For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.”

Psalms 98:1   Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Psalms 77:14     You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

Exodus 15:6    Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Psalms 105:5    Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

Isaiah 43:18-20     “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,

Psalms 139:14     I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Luke 1:49     for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Revelation 15:3-4     And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!  Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 19:11-21     Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

Sometime we lose sight of what God can do in the present.  We read what He has done in the past.  We also see what He has done in our own life in the past.  We read of what He will do in the future and we trust His promises proclaimed in His word.  Knowing and believing this, why is it so hard in the present to seek Him first, to tell Him how your heart aches, and trust in Him.  Issues come and it seems to erase what we know about God, at least our ability to lay it at His feet and walk in comfort of placing it there. He is our rock, hope, joy, and forever steadfast in His love for us.  He does not change and can do more than we ask and much more than we can think.

Before the rooster crows

“Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

“And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

“Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”

“bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God.”

John 18:15  Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,  but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.  The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”  Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

Matthew 26:69     Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”  But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”

Luke 22:56     Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”  But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”

Joh 18:25  Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

Luke 22:60     But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”  And he went out and wept bitterly.

Zechariah 12:10    “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Psalms 126:5     Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!  He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalms 130:3     If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Psalms 143:1    Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!  Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.  For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.  Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

I wonder how many times a day I deny Christ.  How many opportunities are theres to speak Christ into the lives of others that I pass on?  How many times do I deny by closing my ears to hearing His whispers of guidance?  How many times to I close my eyes to seeing His hand at work?  How many times do I look at my accomplishments and deny they are all at the hand of God?  How many times do I deny the conviction of the Holy Spirit?  How many times do I only think of me first and deny Jesus Christ as Lord putting aside humble service, honor, following and obedience to Him?  It is sad to think about the amount of time wasted on self, self concerns, self interests, and self wants at the cost of knowing and serving Jesus Christ.  Purpose, this side of eternity, is for serving, honoring, living for, following, and obeying Jesus Christ.  Oh that my heart and mind would be desiring and seeking God as David said “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Mind set on the flesh

“I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD.”

John 7:7  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

1 John 4:5     They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

Proverbs 8:36     but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Romans 8:7    For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

1 John 3:12-13     We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.  Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

Malachi 3:5    “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Acts 7:51    “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.  Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,  you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”  Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

Galatians 4:16    Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

There is a difference between those who choose to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God, and of those who openly choose not to.   It is very easy to see from the way they speak and act.  However I think there is a grey area that has a devastating affect on people.  This is where there is no clear distinction because the commitment of those claiming to be followers is complacent and those who do not claim to be followers have chosen a moral code (without God) to live by.  There is no difference between the lives of the two.  Neglect and complacency of God’s word will have an effect on the heart, mind, and soul.  To have a victorious life time has to be spent in His word with a heart and mind deep commitment to seek, know and follow God.  I wonder if we pick out the worst of humans and then look at ourselves in the mirror and say I am better than that – so I must be alright with God.  However we should be reading His word and seeking to understand what we are like in the mirror of what it is showing us.  If we don’t spend time in His word how will we reflect His joy, hope, strength, love, peace, kindness, generosity, power, faith……

Tell the next generation

“He who has ears, let him hear.”

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”

“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

Psalms 78:1   Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!   I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,   things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.   We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.   He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,  that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,   so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;   and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Proverbs 8:4  “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.  O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.  Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right,

Isaiah 51:4    “Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

Isaiah 55:3     Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Deuteronomy 11:19    You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

It is up to us to proclaim the grace, mercy, love, hope, might and power of God.  It is a light to those who like us were in darkness.  When are we to speak of God?  When we are sitting in our homes, when we are walking, when we lie down and when we rise up.  The pace of our lives seems to be able to distract us from this.  We need to be mindful of that which distracts us and hold fast to Him and His word.  Practice putting His word into your mind. Read His word and then meditate on it through out the day.  Speak about it and discuss it.  Praise God through your life being lived out in honor and service to Him.  Set all your hopes in and on Him.

Spirit of counsel to lead us

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;”

“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

“so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Zechariah 4:6  Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

2 Chronicles 14:11   And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

Isaiah 11:2    And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Isaiah 63:14    Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.

Ezekiel 37:14    And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

Haggai 2:4  Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,

Psalms 20:6  Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

“Not by power or might but by His spirit”.  How many times do we try to accomplish on our own?  We use our power, strength, knowledge, and head off on a course of action without seeking God, without knowing if this is in His plans and purpose for us.  We make these plans or take action and after we have set them to motion we ask God to make them work out.  Knowing you are being led by God down His path for you is power, strength, and peace to our heart and soul. Seek God first with all your heart,, mind and soul.  Our pastor has been teaching through the book of Exodus and this past Sunday in chapter 33/34 it spoke of the tent Moses had out side of the camp.  He went there each morning and the rest would stand in the doors of their tents and watch God’s presence come down in the form a cloud.  The people would worship from their door ways knowing God was present while Moses spent the day speaking with God.  A question keep running through my head.  If I/we had a choice each morning to spend the day with God – would we choose it?  Would we step away from all the activity and plans we have made?  Joshua said it this way “choose this day whom you will serve.  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord our God”

Defend Your Cause

“Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!  Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes!”

Psalms 74:18  Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name.

Psalms 74:22  Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

Psalms 89:50  Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,  with which your enemies mock, O LORD, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

Psalms 41:1    Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;

Psalms 94:2     Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!  O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;  and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”  Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?

Isaiah 37:23  “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!  By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest.

It takes courage to acknowledge our own weaknesses.  We may not mock God but do we lead a life that He may be witnessed through our actions and words? Isn’t this, in  simplest terms, a form of mocking?  We claim His salvation but do not claim His power, sovereignty over all, might, and presence.  Do you want to see the power, might, love, grace and mercy of God?  Learn to be in His presence all the time.  Train yourself to be always occupied by thoughts of Him.  Ask God to open your heart, eyes and ears to His presence, love, grace, mercy, power and sovereignty.  He will surely be seen by the heart of those who desire to know and humbly serve Him.

Refuge / Rock / Shelter

“ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

“He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”

“For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.”

Psalms 61:1  Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;  from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,  for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

Psalms 5:1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.  Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.

Psalms 55:1  Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!  Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

Deuteronomy 4:29    But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Psalms 139:9  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Psalms 18:46   The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation

Psalms 62:2   He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

What keeps us from calling on God and seeing Him as a place of refuge and our fortress?  Could it be we don’t see a need for Him in our life?  I wonder if our need for God is a direct correlation to amount of time we spend in His word.   Scripture clearly tells us to seek Him, desire Him, obey Him, believe Him, trust Him, rely on Him, love Him, hope in Him, sing to Him, have peace in Him, praise Him, pray to Him, and listen to Him.   When we spend time in His word the more we hear His quiet voice leading us down paths that bring honor and glory to Him.  How can we call on someone we hardly know?  How can we hold on to His promises if we don’t know what they are?  How will we know sin in our life if we can’t compare our actions with what is expected in His word?  We become passive, complacent, lukewarm, and have an appearance of being close to God but in reality our substance is shallow words without action.  Action from the heart that leads us to repentance, action from the heart the leads us to give, action from the heart that allows us to forgive, action from the heart that leads us to praise, action from the heart that leads us to confess, action from the heart that allows us to be wronged, action from the heart that runs to God.  We would do well to spend time in His word, listen for His whispers of guidance, follow and obey Him.

Fortress of Faith

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

“I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.  Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

Psalms 59:16  But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalms 21:13   Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.

Psalms 106:8   Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.

Psalms 145:11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,

Exodus 15:6    Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Psalms 31:7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,

Psalms 86:13    For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalms 89:1    I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalms 30:5    For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalms 61:2  from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,  for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

2 Corinthians 1:10     He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Psalms 77:2    In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.

Psalms 138:7   Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.

These verses just lift your soul don’t they?  It is very easy to be overcome with the trouble at hand.  Even if we have a relationship with God it seems the only way to know how strong our faith is, is when we have exhausted all of our personal power and strength, and have no where else to turn.  Things outside of our control can and do affect us.  Try as hard as we can we simply do not have power to control much of it.  However God has control of it all.  He has a purpose and plan for each of us.  His plan never fails.  His plan and purpose is perfect.  He can do all things.  And above all of this He loves us and will lead us.  It is easy to say all of this but in the time of trouble our heart and mind find it hard to let go and say “God is in control and I am content”.  These times will show the weakness of the fortress of our faith.  This is life and our walk with God.  Precept upon precept, line upon line, we grow in our faith, understanding, and knowledge of God.  Peter put it this way: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” We all have room to grow – let it start with praise and commitment to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God.