It's 2:30 AM. I've been up for an hour being ministered to by the Holy Spirit through the words of John the baptizer as recorded by John the Apostle in his Gospel, 3:27-36. I woke up in a cold sweat hearing the voice of the enemy urging me to quit; to just give up, throw in the towel and move on.

It is so good to turn to the Word of God whenever Satan is attacking and spitting out his filthy lies. I was so blessed as I opened to this passage and read...

"27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28 "You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not OBEY the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 3:27–36). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

It is so so so good to know that the task I've been given as a disciple of Jesus has been given by God. I did not ask for it and I don't desire it. I'm here on orders from heaven. Satan can go to hell! I'll just keep on loving God and people and leaving the rest to God, even if "no one receives His testimony."

David a Man After God's Own Heart

So much of the story of King David up until this point in his life (2 Samuel 9 - David and Mephibosheth), demonstrates how he was a man after God's own heart. But the story of David and Mephibosheth is such an incredible demonstration of grace and love. It would benefit us all to take a close look at it and follow this example.

David had been so wronged by the house of Saul. David was a faithful servant of Saul and for all the right reasons. It wasn't some misguided, carnal, selfish reason David had for being so devoted to King Saul. The Word of God tells us that David refused to take revenge on Saul by killing him because Saul was the LORD's anointed. God had sent Samuel to choose and anoint Saul as King. David trusted God and knew that God would deal with Saul in His perfect timing and God did.

But now in 2 Sam. 9, Saul is gone. His best friend Jonathan is also dead and gone. David is established as King. Everything is going so amazingly well for the Kingdom and for David. Israel's enemies cannot stand against them. God is for them and they cannot be defeated because David is leading them in obedience to God.

The amazing thing to me is that David in the midst of all that God is doing is simply wanting to show kindness to Saul's house. Look what It says...

"Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul,

that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

Who could blame him for just wanting forget the house of Saul and move on. But no! David wants to show kindness to Saul's house for Jonathan's sake. Even though David could be bitter because he should have been serving God along with his best friend Jonathan, he demonstrates his love for God and his relationship with God by being godly in regard to Saul's house. He holds no grudge against the house of the man who hunted him for years in order to cut him down and kill him. He only want to show the kindness of God to Saul's house. Just read the text and see how David made Mephibosheth like one of his own sons. Amazing!

That, my friends, is grace. That is forgiveness.

LORD I pray that You would fill me with your Spirit today to be a man of grace. I know I cannot forgive as David did without Your Presence in my heart and life, without Your Fullness in me. Help me to be a doer of the Word today and not a hearer only.

David strengthened Himself in the LORD His God

1 Samuel 29-31

Talk about having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! David and his band of 600 men definitely had one of them there days. They had been "out of town on business" as we might say and when they got back to their "home town" look at what they found.

1 Samuel 30:3–6 (NASB95)

³ When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. ⁵ Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters."

Can you imagine the agony David was experiencing. He had just discovered his family had all been kidnapped by the wicked Amalekites along with the families of all his men. On top of all that anguish, his own men decided to take out their frustration on him by stoning him to death. Yeah like stoning their leader is gonna get their families back. This is one of those examples in David's life where we truly see "a man after God's own heart," because it says, "...But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."

Are you having a bad day or can you remember one? Is it as bad as the day David was having? Thankfully regardless of just how bad or good a day we are having, David's example is for us all. Today in Christ we can definitely strengthen ourselves in the LORD our God. The very strength that God Almighty exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead is available to us today. And just as David went on that day (I challenge you to read it for yourself) to defeat the enemies of the LORD and experience the victory of God, all who know Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior have available to them the same Almighty God, His Holy Spirit, the Presence of Jesus Christ to give them victory.

Oh LORD forgive me for the days I have lived as though this were not true. Fill me with your Spirit today to Practice the Presence of Jesus and truly live out this truth today and every day. By faith I choose to strengthen myself in the LORD my God. I love you LORD! Amen!

New Testament verse for the day...

Luke 22:19–20 (NASB95)

¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Let us all "Celebrate the Feast" today. (1Cor. 5:8)

Greetings!

I'm a pastor and have been serving Jesus "In The Way" since 1984 when I became a Christian just after entering the United States Marine Corps. USMC boot camp is enough to make any sane person cry out to God Almighty. OOHRAH!

Any way I'm glad I learned how to fight & endure in the Corps because to walk In The Way is to be in a very good fight every day.

One area of weakness for me has been to really be consistent in my journaling what God is doing and saying to me along my journey down The Way. I thought I'd try blogging it and see what God does.

This morning I read in 1 Samuel 26-28 about David's patience in waiting on God to deal with Saul, his enemy, rather than take matters into his own hands. On more than one occasion he could have easily killed Saul and I think it could be argued that he would not have been wrong in doing so. But Samuel had anointed Saul to be King of Israel. David was determined to let God be the One who would execute judgement on Saul. David knew that "'Vengeance is mine,' says the LORD." David chose to trust God rather than deal with the problem himself.

LORD Jesus, help me to trust in You the way David did. Help me to never take matters into my own hands. LORD I pray you would fill me with Your Holy Spirit to enable me to respond as David did. Help me to trust in You in any and every situation.

And LORD what a tragedy to see Saul, who had so much potential for doing so much good for you and Your kingdom, turn away from You LORD. He turned away from You to hunting down David to murder him and even consulting a spiritist - pure paganism.

LORD help me finish well. Help me get home before dark.

I borrow the word of that prayer from Robertson McQuilkin, President Emeritus of Columbia Int'l University

It’s sundown, Lord.

The shadows of my life stretch back

into the dimness of the years long spent.

I fear not death, for that grim foe betrays himself at last,

thrusting me forever into life:

Life with you, unsoiled and free.

But I do fear.

I fear the Dark Spectre may come too soon—

or do I mean, too late?

That I should end before I finish or

finish, but not well.

That I should stain your honor, shame your name,

grieve your loving heart.

Few, they tell me, finish well…

Lord, let me get home before dark.

The darkness of a spirit

grown mean and small, fruit shriveled on the vine,

bitter to the taste of my companions,

burden to be borne by those brave few who love me still.

No, Lord. Let the fruit grow lush and sweet,

a joy to all who taste;

Spirit - sign of God at work,

stronger, fuller, brighter at the end.

Lord, let me get home before dark.

The darkness of tattered gifts,

rust-locked, half-spent or ill-spent,

A life that once was used of God

now set aside.

Grief for glories gone or

Fretting for a task God never gave.

Mourning in the hollow chambers of memory,

Gazing on the faded banners of victories long gone.

Cannot I run well unto the end?

Lord, let me get home before dark.

The outer me decays —

I do not fret or ask reprieve.

The ebbing strength but weans me from mother earth

and grows me up for heaven.

I do not cling to shadows cast by immortality.

I do not patch the scaffold lent to build the real, eternal me.

I do not clutch about me my cocoon,

vainly struggling to hold hostage

a free spirit pressing to be born.

But will I reach the gate

in lingering pain, body distorted, grotesque?

Or will it be a mind

wandering un-tethered among light

fantasies or grim terrors?

Of your grace, Father, I humbly ask…

Let me get home before dark.