Quote Contemplations

 

“To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust him in the dark. That is faith.” – Charles Spurgeon

 

            We are bound by our ability to see. It’s like a ball and chain around our neck. Because we can see we are shaken when the unknown visits us. Being in a familiar setting is still a bit of a struggle, but it’s even worse when you’re unfamiliar with your surroundings. Not knowing what is coming next can be a debilitating event. 

            The Christian knows or at least SHOULD know that God dwells within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:13 (NIV) reveals to us that the Holy Spirit of God dwells IN us. “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.”  

            Okay, so who is the Holy Spirit to us? “The Holy Spirit is not a force or impersonal influence, but a personal, divine Person who actively works in the lives of believers to reveal Christ, guide, comfort, sanctify, and empower.” ^[1]

            We have all the tools we need to succeed in this sin torn world. The Holy Spirit came to lead and guide us toward the things of God and away from the things of the enemy of our soul. But having faith enough to endure darkness without panicking is tough, especially if you have a propensity to have anxiety issues. Certain events trigger that. It’s all mental. I’ve lived thru it and it’s not fun. 

            We also exercise our faith when things seem impossible or unattainable. Let’s get something straight. In God’s economy NOTHING is ever impossible or unattainable. If it is in line with His will for your life then things will work out the way the Lord knows it needs to. That calls for trust in God. That is why I say faith and trust are attached at the hip. They go hand in hand. To have faith is to trust and to have trust is to have faith. It’s interchangeable.

But the unknown rears it’s ugly head at inconvenient times and throws a monkey wrench in life. That’s when we have to just talk it out with the Lord. Then listen for that still small voice to whisper peace to your spirit. It will happen if you believe it can. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] www.biblebasedliving.com

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

There are folks who look at God and call Him a dictator; a tyrant of the worse degree. They see it as, “If I don’t serve God He will send me to hell”. But it’s not quite like that. 

The very fact that the Lord lets us have our way (if we insist) should be proof enough that He isn’t a dictator. If He were He would be compelled to eradicate all resistance by execution or incarceration. Instead He offers mankind an option. Heaven or hell, you choose.

If you don’t know anything about God; who He is, His attributes, the big cosmic picture then how can you legitimately call Him anything at all? You don’t honestly know what you’re talking about. I don’t mean that in an ugly way. Just saying....

The way I see it some simply can’t be bothered with the entire religious discussion at all, so they blow the whole thing off by making an unfounded accusation and walk away. It’s like being offered a gift, free of charge with no strings attached and you decide you’d rather not accept it thinking there must be a catch, so you turn and walk away. Salvation from yourself and a lifetime of your own moral and ethical iniquities... forgiven forever. Never to be held against you ever again. THAT’S what’s being offered to you. You’re simply asked to allow yourself to be guided by God’s Holy Spirit in the way He has recommended that you begin to live your life. Life according to God’s precepts. He knows all things that can be known and knows you better than you know yourself. He created you. 

Wait, but you think you can make your own decisions without any help from an entity that you CANNOT see. Fair enough, but what’s your track record been? If this whole thing about sins and forgiveness is legit then without God how do you intend to eradicate those sins? YOU can’t do ANYTHING to save yourself. But God leaves the final choice up to you. Why would He do that? Because He wants willing followers, not ones who feel forced to follow and serve. Don’t over think this whole redemption thing. You’re simply going to have to exercise a little faith and trust. Without that you will remain lost. Without Christ man has NO HOPE. Do as you wish, but know that every decision you will ever make will come with consequences. Take the time to investigate the whole topic of God. Read the Bible and when you do ask God to reveal the truth to you. He will if you’re paying attention. 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

                  Did you know that if you believe in the existence of God and His Son Jesus yet don’t follow them in this life you are really no better than Satan. Whoa, sounds harsh? Let’s look at it a little closer. 

            The Bible states that demons (including Satan) believe in God in James 2:19, which reads: "You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe—and shudder!"

Satan interacted with Jesus when he led Him into the wilderness to temp Him. Satan certainly knew of Jesus’ existence otherwise why would he has attempted to break Him down thru temptation? 

            Now we know that Satan is the sworn enemy of Almighty God having at one time been highly thought of in heaven. However, Satan, then known as Lucifer, rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven along with 1/3 of the angels, who then became the demons; the minions that do Satan’s bidding. They all fear Christ / God the Father because of their awesome power and authority. 

            Now being compared to Satan just because you don’t buy into the whole concept of serving and following God technically isn’t harsh at all. Without a divine connection with our creator we would end up being subject to the wiles of the enemy of our soul. Blowing Christ off with all He has done to reconcile you to Himself is both short-sighted and foolish. Life isn’t all about you. 

            Believing in God is not nearly enough. Submission is essential. Complete surrender to the will of the Most High & Holy One. He has only good things in store for all those who turn to Him and stay close. In exchange we can receive complete and total forgiveness for everything that we have ever thought, said, or done to displease the Lord. That’s a good deal. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

Think back on your walk with the Lord. Are there times when you prayed for something; perhaps strength getting thru a trial, or a healing touch... you prayed then pretty much forgot all about it. How did things turn out? Did God provide the remedy for your dilemma, and it took place so seamlessly that you didn’t even notice. Not until you were asked to think back on incidents from your past. If we occasionally took the time to do that we’d end up being pretty amazed at how the Lord had been working in our lives. No trumpets sounding, no big show to point at what God was doing. 

            As followers of Christ we are to imitate God’s ways. When WE do something in the name of Jesus we should follow His advice from Matthew’s gospel chapter 6, verse 3: “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” No fanfare, no acknowledgement needed, no praise necessary. God exhibits a humble spirit when He does what He does because He knows who He is. Who are we?

            It is far more important to be a faithful ambassador for God than to spend your time attempting to establish a legacy for yourself. I’ve learned thru the years that I’ve walked with the Lord to look at my life in the following way... I honestly don’t care if anyone remembers me when I’m gone, just as long as they found Jesus thru something I said or wrote. I understand my place in God’s kingdom. I am a child of the King, period and while that is no small thing, it’s seriously more important to me that I know who I am, God knows who I am, and that I spend the rest of my life striving to be more like Christ each day. THAT is what is important to me. How about you?

            Let me conclude by impressing on you that I’m not praising myself or being arrogant in any way regarding my relationship with the Lord. I think it’s important for each one of us to know who we truly are in Jesus name. Having said all that I understand that in reality I am really nothing more than a single grain of sand on the world’s beaches and I’m okay with that. We must follow John the Baptist’s thought process when he said in John 3:30, “Christ must increase & I must decrease.” John was the forerunner to Jesus. He understood his role; his place in God’s economy. So must we. Christ must increase in importance, and we must become of lesser importance. It MUST be this way. Ponder that truth and implement it in your walk with Christ. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

The other day I realized something that never dawned on me before. When Jesus was asked a direct question He didn’t always answer the question, but rather diverted the subject to something that would reveal the truth of God to that person.

            John 4:9-10 NLT reveals one example. “The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’ Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’” Here we see that though Jews hated the Samaritans, Jesus was not concerned with where the woman came from, but rather that she was a person in need of divine forgiveness. That should speak to us today. We all need redemption, regardless of where we came from or what we grew up believing. Because of Jesus’ indifference to the peoples she came from both she and many other Samaritans were saved that day. 

            John 4:49-50 NLT shows us a different scenario. A royal official’s son was near death. Hearing Jesus was in his area he sought the Lord out and said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” He had wanted Jesus to come to where his son lie and heal him. But Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” On his way home, the official’s servants met him with the news that the fever left his son and was alive. The official realized that the exact time his child’s fever broke was the same time Jesus said the words “he will live”.

            Now we can’t know whether Jesus said anything else at that time, but the point of the event is that Jesus “cut right to the chase” as the saying goes and dealt with the issue at hand as only He can. It was obvious at that moment in time that the Lord didn’t have to BE where the healing was to take place. Because He WAS God He merely spoke the word and the child was healed. That day the healing caused the official and his entire household to believe. 

            It is apparent from the scriptures that Jesus didn’t come to earth to hold multiple press conferences to answer questions regarding who He was or why He was there. He repeatedly stuck to His main mission which was to bring salvation to His sinful creation. God was their only hope and He knew that. The same is true today. Serving the Lord isn’t some sort of game. It’s serious business and one’s eternal destination hangs in the balance. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

            There is no doubt God forgives, but can we forgive ourselves? I think there are times in a Christians life when we find it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness because we simply cannot forgive our own sins. They weigh heavy on us and bind us up. God’s love is completely unconditional … that simply means he places no conditions on his love or forgiveness. If you ask the Lord for forgiveness with a sincere heart, regretting what you have done, regardless of what it is, you shall be forgiven. There is nothing this side of heaven to compare this type of love to. I believe that is why we have difficulty forgiving ourselves. Not to mention the fact that the enemy will continue to throw it back up in our face as long as we don’t reconcile ourself to the fact that we are the only ones keeping peace from ruling over the entire situation. Let the things that encumber you GO! Release it from your grasp in Jesus name. You don’t have to live with regret. Although regret reveals a level of sincerity from the deepest recesses of your heart and mind, you no longer have to carry that with you. Turn it over to God so he can get rid of it. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a cleansing work in you. If you’ve sought it, forgiveness is yours. Live in the freedom that God’s loving forgiveness provides. Amen. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

Temptation is a vile thing. Satan uses it to tear down good people, even righteous people. Walking away from temptation when it is staring you in the face can be a little tough at times, but understanding it is nothing more than bait set to trap you helps you to walk away. The enemy wishes to ensnare you via your thoughts, words and actions, blackmailing you with your own guilt. A person who has a conscience can be pounded senseless with the guilt that comes from a poor decision made. Your strength comes from God. Your strength comes from the Holy Spirit within you. The Spirit which causes you to rise up with full armor and fight off the temptation so that you do not become a pawn of the enemy.

The Lord has given us great power to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Why do we succumb to temptations that lay down in front of us, as if to block our way? There is nothing that says we must give in. Fight back! Rebuke the thing in Jesus’ name. Quote scripture like 1 John 4:4, which says, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Tap into the power that has been afforded you and claim your victory! Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries