The rain shall fall

 It was the day after Christmas and we were out of cheese. I thought that there is time to go to the outlet market and buy some cheese for my daughter and I. I bought two kinds of cheese; colby Jack and sliced mild chedder  I continued to shop until the market basket was full. I pushed the cart to go outside and "oh no", it was pouring down rain! I had parked my car a block away, I needed the excercise?  What I did not need was a downpour, the kind of rain that instantly soaks like walking into a lake and me a spong. Well, it is not going to quit, :so here goes, I pushed the cart in the direction of my parked car. Just as I came to the car, it began hailing bean sized hail, stinging rocks, "ouch", I fumbled the car door open and poked my head into the car to quit the pounding of the hail. "Get in the car", I thought as I abandoned the groceries and started the car to get some heat. The hail stopped, it was still raining as I unloaded the contents of the market basket cart. I managed to get home with my load and the cheese.

I changed into somethng dry and turned the space heater towards my chair by the computer. I heard the sound of my daughter closing her car door;sspirithe was home from work. We greeted each other and she was carrying a brown paper grocery bag. she said with a smile"I bought cheese". We have cheese.

 Is there a spiritual lesson in this? What does the Bible say about rain?

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The important thing is to be on solid ground.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 

Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

On Jesus, the Solid Rock our foundation is sure. He is the Corner Stone of our faith.

The Spiritual Dimension

We must know that God created the heavens and the earth and all living things. We must realize that Adam and Eve sinned, cutting them off from everlasting life, and that their sin was passed down to all people.

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Sin brought spiritual death, and physical death. This physical life is not all there is. There is another dimension to life, there is a spiritual world. The plan from before creation was to send the son of man who is also Jesus the Son of God, to bring spiritual life, eternal life in heaven with Christ Jesus.  

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 

 Throughout history satan has tried to block the coming of this Savior. Satan is a fallen angel, a spirit. He wants to destroy mankind that was made in the image of God. He leads people through false religions and by subtle means. He lost the battle when Jesus went to the cross and was raised from death. Now  the way of salvation is through the Grace of God through faith in Jesus. However the spirit world is still active to destroy mankind.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The physical world may get more and more evil, but Jesus has overcome the world. We who believe in Jesus overcome by faith. Our spirit is with his Spirit, we are in heavenly places with our Lord.

Isa 54:14  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Isa 54:15  Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

Eaglewings Ministries

Meat

Meat in the Bible refers to food and often it refers to spiritual food. The meat of the word.

John 4:33  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 

John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 

Jesus understood the will of his father and he was led by the Holy Spirit to witness to the Samaritan woman at the well. His disciples were concerned about food to fill their bellies, but Jesus said  "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." This was his meat. Not all who seek Jesus are seeking a deeper spiritual walk with him. To be a disciple we must follow Jesus to go deeper in spiritual understanding. If he is not our master, we are not of him.

John 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 

John 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

Jesus has the meat, the word of God that is everlasting and that gives everlasting life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) Like Jesus we may suffer for our faith, because the world is hostile to the things of God. As he was sealed with the Holy Spirit, so must we be be sealed with the Spirit and with power.

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 

Heb 5:10  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 

Heb 5:11  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

We must learn to eat the strong meat of God's word; we must learn to discern right from wrong. For there are false ones who seek to divide you with words, even quoting scriptures to divide with twisted truth and iniquity and who seek to destroy your faith. Some even believe they are speaking from God, but they have another spirit. We must learn to discern the spirits. The Holy Spirit in us is the Spirit of truth.

2Ti 2:14  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 
2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 
2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 

Shun profane and vain babblings: turn oneself away for the purpose of avoiding wrong words. To repent is to turn to God and his truth. To change one's behavior. We must shun the dividing and learn to discern right from wrong. Too many are led astray by false words. We are to know the truth and to warn those seeking to divide, but not to allow them to speak to lead us astray; shun them, send them away from our gatherings. We must learn to eat the meat of God; His guidance and direction, knowing and doing the will of God through his word and prayer. Be disciples of Jesus Christ.

Eaglewings Ministries

Randy alone

I took a nice walk in the park at sunset time and I saw Randy, the Canadian goose with a broken wing. He was alone at the foot of the pond. The pond was a lovely shade of pink. Other fowl were swimming in the far side of the pond, but I saw no other geese. God has kept him going. I felt like I was Randy as I looked over the quiet pond soaking up the sunset sky; alone with God, thankful, scarred from life in the flesh, but so blessed and fortunate to discover the LORD and the beauty of his creation. Yes, I made pictures, but the computer could not load them up, saying the card needed formatting. Well if I format the card full of memories, all are lost. In the same way we are to format our own minds and hearts to be usable to God, losing the old thinking. God speaks through circumstances, so look for the message in your setbacks. If I have a problem, a concern or a need to hear from God about something, I usually sleep on it, in the morning I see things in the spirit better than in the night when the mind and body are tired.

How to format your thinking

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

Faith requires faithfulness, faith in action.

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 
Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Faith comes by hearing the word of God and faithfulness is doing what God requires us to do. As we are faithful he gives to us more responsibility and more blessings, both here and hereafter. It starts with submission. Are we willing to submit all to God in this new year and forever? We are not all the same and that is why we need each other. Each are gifted by God to bless the body of Christ. We together are his body, placed together in love, to be like Jesus. Our fellowship with God will result in a spiritual relationship; we shall be the bride of Christ. We are complete in Him.

Commander and Chief Cornerstone

Some denominations disagree about who the foundation of the church is. Peter in his own words sets this straight.

 

1Pe 2:3  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1Pe 2:4  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

 

Christ is a living stone, rejected by many but received by his followers. We take on his character and likeness.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

 

We also are lively stones, the spiritual house of God offering up spiritual sacrifices.

 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
1Pe 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

 

The head stone, the corner stone is Jesus. He is to be built upon, first by the apostles, Peter was an apostle who was commanded to feed the sheep.

1Pe 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

 

Peter in this teaching was aware that people stumble over who Jesus is and they stumble over the truth of God's word. Some call this "higher thinking...?"

 

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

 

We are the Lord's Holy people, the kings people, some are more peculiar than others...but we were brought out of darkness into his marvelous light. We have received mercy and his grace to serve him and to show Jesus and to praise him. We are not ashamed of our Lord Jesus Christ.