PRAYERS

Welcome to this site. My prayer is that you take a look at the site and as you do, let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and reveal what God wants you to discover. (in Jesus' name)

God tells us that if we see a brother (or sister) in need we should do that which is within our means to help. Prayer is always within our means but we never know what doors Father may open through them. Should you desire prayer for anything (healing, direction, etc.) or if you want supportive prayer along with your own please feel free to e-mail that request to sharbu3@gmail.com and be assured that there are others who will be praying with or for you.


In this blog, I share what the Lord shares with me. I reference scripture a lot in support of what is being said. I realize that what is in each entry is NOT a complete 'word' on what is being said, but is rather enough information to stimulate our spirits to dig deeper (remember the Bereans Acts 17:10-11) thereby gaining a fuller understanding for ourselves.

At the end of each post are the options to share, forward or make a comment. Click 'comment' to respond. Let us know if you like, don't like or are helped by what you read. Comments can be made or read by anyone. All you have to do is select the "comment" at he end of the entry.

Saturday, November 24, 2018


11/24/2018            Who’s fighting Whom?

Ephesians 6:14-18


Laying in bed, early one recent morn, Father had me thinking about the woman my childhood friend, Ron, and I met at the Golden Corral as we celebrated Veterans Day (free meal, you know).  She was in our same age bracket and though she was never “in” in the military her deceased husband had been a career man. 

We got to talking as we were in line to get into the Golden Corral so we sat together and continued talking.  Eventually ‘religion’ was mentioned which Ron brought up that I was into more than he.  Part of my prayer is that Father keep me sensitive as to where other people are at in their relationship with God so I didn’t jump into a religion vs relationship situation (and shake some booties) but Father did lead me to mention what He has been showing me very recently – the significance concerning how the ‘natural man’, the ‘spiritual man’ and the ‘heart of man’ are impacted by the natural and spiritual realms (as if that may not shake some booties!). 

Because some of what I was sharing that night was as fresh as the morning dew (some just that morning), I only had (and still only have, as of this writing) the basic concept.  Father is still working out the details.  In fact, even as I jot this (and previous adjustments leading up to this publication) down, revelation continues to come.

In studying the Armor of God, Father has shown me the three areas that are addressed, the natural man, the spiritual man and man’s heart. 

He showed me how the first three pieces of the armor, the girdle of truth, breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace all reflect protection for the natural man.  The shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit all protect the spiritual man.  I said, Father, that’s only six pieces of armor covering only two areas.  Then Father asked me “What about verse eighteen?”  Always praying in the Spirit, watching and praying for the saints.  All about where our heart is!  I said “Wow! That’s pretty cool.”  Father showed me that the first three pieces don’t require salvation to be true.  People who don’t know the Lord can (and some still do) refrain from lying.  They can live (what they think) is a righteous life and they can read the bible.  May not understand it, but they can read it.  Without the leading of the Holy Ghost, they can only get a 
‘surface’ understanding of what the Word says (John 16:13). 

This is where faith comes in.  We have to have faith to receive Jesus into our hearts (1 John 5:10).  If we don’t believe who He is, we’ll never accept Him.  If we don’t have Jesus in our hearts, the bible will never truly open for us.  Faith is the beginning of our spiritual experience (Heb. 11:6) and it carries through protecting us from the fiery darts of the enemy.  If we don’t believe in our hearts that Jesus is for us, how can the shield of faith protect us? 

The helmet of salvation is self-explanatory (I think).  I mean, through Jesus, our eternity is secured (1 John 5:13) but without some sort of faith, we would never have accepted Jesus to begin with. 
 Also, without Jesus, how can we effectively use the Sword of the Spirit how can we rightly divide (understand) what is before us without His guidance through the Holy Ghost dwelling in us (Heb. 4:12)?  All this deals with our spiritual man.  After all, the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and the Word of God IS Jesus Christ and Jesus IS God (Eph. 6:17, John 1:1)!  The sword shows us how to deal with what is before us and without Jesus we would have no effective sword and Father had to give us a touch of faith to receive Jesus to begin with.  Ergo, our spiritual man is being dealt with.

Father gives us the Holy Ghost when we accept Jesus into our hearts (John 14:16-17), but Jesus promised His disciples a greater impact on their lives once they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is evidenced by speaking in the Spiritual language (tongues) God gives us at that time.  Jesus says that when the Holy Ghost is come upon us we shall receive power (Acts 1:8).  Power (strength) to do what?  For one, live this life in this world.  To have the authority to do what Jesus did (just as He said we could John 14:12-14) while He walked with us and helps us to witness to His love in this world.  Paul says we should always be “…praying … in the Spirit …”.  Communicating with Father with our heavenly language because the Spirit speaks mysteries (1 Corinth. 14:2).  We should always be watchful for we don’t know when or how the enemy will strike.  And because we all need support, we should pray for the saints and they should be praying for us.  These things reflect where our heart is as well as strengthening our hearts in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Father knows our hearts (Jer. 17:10) and He wants our hearts to always be right with Him (Acts 8:18-21).

Father also showed me how the spheres and choirs of angels (according to Origen, 184 AD – 254 AD) also reflected angelic interaction in these three areas.  The third sphere deals with the natural man.  It contains Principalities (rulers), archangels and angels, all who are responsible for what goes on in this natural world. 

The second sphere consists of dominions (lordships), virtues (strongholds) and powers (authorities) which deals with matter (creation) and ruling spirits.  If you will – the heavenlies.

The first sphere includes Seraphims who continually glorify and praise God, the Cherubims who protect God’s throne and then the Thrones who serve God’s justice and authority.  Think about it.  When we enter God’s presence (spiritually we enter His throne room) and can’t help but praise Him. We enter His presence and we are under His protection.  And when we enter His presence we willingly subject ourselves to His justice and authority which are administered (to us) only for our benefit. These are things that deal with our heart, our relationship with our heavenly Father.     

More recently, Father had me up at four AM, one morning, showing me how the law (the Ten Commandments, Exod. 20:3-17) also dealt with these three areas.  The last five commandments (killing, adultery, stealing, lying and covetousness) deal with the natural man, Four and five (honoring the Sabbath and mom and dad) deal with the ‘spiritual man’ (how we view things around us) and the first three (no gods before Jaweh, no idols and not taking His name in vain) deal with our relationship with the Father, our heart. 

He wasn’t finished.  He reminded me of the three temptations of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11) (originally He  had shown me this one a while back).  Jesus fasted for forty days so Satan knew (in the natural) He had to be hungry.  So he tempted Jesus with the stones, then the pinnacle of the temple and then the mountain which overlooked nations.  The stones into bread – the natural man; jump off the pinnacle – the spiritual man and all these nations, putting Satan first – our heart. 

 There’s more.  He showed me how Jesus’ ministry follows suit.  For thirty years Jesus lived as we do.  He walked a mile (or three) in our shoes and didn’t sin.  Then He spent three and a half years teaching us how to deal with our spiritual man.  THEN He ascended back into heaven, sending the Holy Ghost back to dwell within us so He could continually help us to grow within our heart.  That is, impacting our attitudes and our relationship with the Father. After all, didn’t He tells us I am in you and I would that you would be in me as the Father is Me and I in the Father (John 14:11-21).
He also showed how the Godhead influences these three areas.  Jesus came to this earth to redeem the natural man (because we are born into sin – thank you Adam & Eve).  The Holy Ghost helps us to get our spiritual man ‘together’, while Father (working through Jesus & the Holy Ghost) works on our relationship with Him, getting our heart right.

I said “Lord, that’s only six areas (the armor, the angels, the Law,  temptations of Jesus, life of Jesus and the godhead).  Six is the number of man, our weakness.  I’m not comfortable with that.  What about seven?”  I searched my mind and heart but for the love of me I couldn’t come up with a seventh area.  Finally, Father said to me “Buck, are you (humans) a three part being?”  I said “Yes.”  “What are they?”  I responded “Body, soul and Spirit.”  Then the light came on 

and I humbly received the ‘duh’ award as Father helped point out that our body is the natural man.  Here, our soul equates to the spiritual man and our spirit relates to our relationship with Father, our heart.  SEVEN! (God’s number representing spiritual completeness!)

So Father has shown me six areas that are broken down and interfacing with our three part being – natural, spiritual and our heart.  He’s shown me areas (in scripture) where He has pointed this out to us so we can be aware of the need to address all three areas of our being so we can live fully in Christ Jesus.  So we can successfully stand against the enemy (Satan). Father doesn’t leave us hanging on our own (Heb. 13:5) as He shows us the protection we have and the help we have at our disposal.
PTL!!!

All of this to ask the question “Who is fighting whom?” 

Father gave me the example of two women contending over one man’s affection (hey, I’m a guy – my perspective).  The woman coming up on the short end of the stick will submit to trickery, deceit and anything else to promote her cause to ‘win her man’.  So, even though at times, she may hurt the man, who is her real opponent?  The other woman, of course.  But she knows she can’t defeat the other woman in a fight (fair or otherwise), so she turns and works on the subject of the other woman’s affection.  In the end, the sad thing is, the woman may not even really want the man.  She’s simply fighting to keep the other woman from having him. 

Does this sound familiar?  The spiritual battle for our souls!  Satan trying to keep us from our rightful place with our Father in heaven????  It’s not that he wants us all that bad.  He just doesn’t want God to have us.

We have a three-pronged battle to fight.  The natural man, the spiritual man and where our heart abides.

We are a three part being: with our body reflecting the natural man, soul reflecting our spiritual man and our spirit reflecting our heart.  The law in the last five commandments reflecting the natural man, the forth and fifth reflect our spirit man then the first three expresses that this battle is a real and a fight for our hearts.  It is emphasized in Jesus’ life, ministry and resurrection.  And even in the three recorded temptations which Jesus faced in the wilderness.  The stones, the pinnacle and the mountain all point to the reality of the need to address all three areas.  Oh, and don’t forget God, Himself, in the Godhead, He shows us the three areas that need our attention as Jesus (the Son) has redeemed our bodies, the Holy Ghost helps our spiritual man to stay in proper alignment and the Father deals with our hearts.  Then the armor of God, which He gives us for our protection: the belt, the breastplate and the shoes for the natural man, then the shield, the helmet and the sword for the spiritual man and finally praying in the Spirit, watching and praying for the saints to get our hearts right.  

You say “You said there were seven areas!”  Right, God also gives us the angels to help us in our fight.  The three spheres (mentioned above) provide help for our natural man (sphere #3), our spiritual man (sphere #2) and our heart (sphere #1).

As I said, we have to be aware of all three areas of contention (body, soul & spirit) if we are to give 
ourselves to the One who truly loves us (Father through Jesus) and become aware of  all He has provided to  help us to victory over the forces of darkness.  After all, we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood.  We do contend with powers, principalities, rulers of darkness and spiritual 0wickedness.  Don’t we?

Praise the Lord!  We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.  All we have to do is realize what we are fighting, the protection Father provides us then take up the weapons He has afforded us.

Amen?

Saturday, November 10, 2018


11-10-2018         The fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The first fruit of the Spirit is “love’.  Why?  Because the rest of the fruit are a product of love.
I have three songs for you.  The first is “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers, the other two are children’s songs.  They are simple but to the point and I think they get the message across.  I thought you might enjoy them, too.

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield formed the group “the Righteous Brothers” and Bobby took the lead in Unchained Melody.  Father put “Unchained Melody” on my heart because it is a powerfully done song.  Bobby is singing, of course, about a lost love, a girl, but if we just turn the direction of the song and focus on Jesus, how would we feel if our relationship with our Lord were severed?  Just how close is our relationship with Him?




 Unchained Melody,   Fruit of the Spirit Worship Song,    Fruit of the Spirit for Kids

What does ”Unchained Melody” have to do with the fruit?  It reflects how we need to approach Father so the fruit of His Spirit may abound within us. 

I’d like to present a brief overview of each of the fruit of the Spirit so we may have a general idea of what we should be seeing in operation in our lives.

So, if our relationship with Jesus were severed, what would we be missing?  The fruit would diminish and disappear until that relationship is repaired.

LOVE

When we talk about love, we have to mention at least four things or areas o of our expression of love.
Love God the Father above all else:  1& 4) We love God above everything else and our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:26-28); 2) Men, we love our wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25); and 3) Raise our children by nourishing them and admonishing them in the Lord (Eph. 5:4).  In these, we cover God, family and those around us.  Express Christ’s love in us towards all.

My wife and I went to something called “Marriage Encounter”, the Episcopal (the denomination) version – twice (I was a little dense).  Here, husbands and wives were supposed to learn how to love, respect and communicate with each other.  What Father showed me that behind God, my wife was the most important thing in my life.  I was to treat her as the most precious thing in my life, in this world.  We did exercises on how to be honest with our feelings by writing them down then discussing them with our spouse.  We (OK, I) discovered how to listen to each other without getting hurt or angry so we could effectively work towards resolution of problem areas.  It took me a little longer, but we eventually got there.

We should seek the Father as the woman who stopped everything to find her lost coin (Luke 15:8-9).  Then we become like the four beasts and the twenty-four elders (Rev. 4:6-11) giving God thanksgiving and praise for all that He has done. 

How do we love our wives?  Read Song of Solomon.  Why?  Read Proverbs chapter thirty-one.
When we raise our children in the Lord they won’t depart (Prov. 22:6) or, at least, they will come back.

We should treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated (Luke 6:27-31).   
Read 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen.  Love is the foundation of everything.  When we express true love from our heart, the rest of the fruit will follow suit.  People will see it.

JOY

The book of the Acts of the Apostles gives us a pretty good idea that we can receive joy with our salvation experience (2:25-28, 8:5-8, 13:48-52, 15:3, 20:22-24).  Now, other things can bring us joy (you can do the study), but true joy, as with love, starts with God.  We can’t have true joy unless we love.

So what is joy?  Checking out Strong’s Concordance (2167 and 5479) joy is cheerfulness, a calm delight, gladness or a fullness.  Webster’s, in part, adds possessing one’s desires, happiness, delight and we could probably include contentment.  All products of love.

PEACE

As we are in Christ Jesus, we know that God gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7), but what does that mean to us?

The Greek word used in Phil. 4:7 (1515) means peace, quietness, prosperity, rest and set a one again.  It comes from a root word meaning to join.   Webster’s adds the state of tranquility.
 We may conclude that we find peace when we rest in the Lord, that is cast all our cares upon the Lord.  Jesus says “Take my yoke, it is easy.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

Again, peace is a result of love operating in our lives.

LONGSUFFERING

What is longsuffering?  Putting up with people and being a good martyr because we’re Christian?  How many of us have heard of being assertive?  Jesus was/is the epitome of assertiveness.  Being assertive is being confident in what you are doing or saying.  Assertive is standing your ground knowing that we are correct.  Assertive is being firm.  It is all this but lacking one thing – being aggressive.  Though Jesus blasted the scribes and Pharisees for not being whom they should he didn’t jump up and down or becoming intimidating to get His point across.  Yes He got angry with the money changers in the temple but that wasn’t just sticking it to them.   By their actions, they were desecrating the house of God. 

I speak for myself.  Though I have done a lot of stupid things over the years, even after salvation, Jesus never gave up on me.  He waited me out until I was ready to go where He was leading me.  When I was wrong, He let me know.  When it didn’t matter, He let me go.  some things just didn’t impact my relationship with Him.

Longsuffering is being patient with someone or something until the point is reached where they can deal with the issue, but being there all along to help.  Look at how patient Jesus was with sinners, for while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Rom. 5:8) leading those of His time on earth  and biding with us until we can see the light.  With some, He is so longsuffering, He is still drawing them in at natural death.  Consider how patient He was with the disciples as they learned His ways (read Matt., Mark, Luke & John).

Longsuffering is not yielding our principles as we wait for others to get where they need to be.  We don’t get angry (now matter how dense they are), frustrated or give up, but our love enables us to be longsuffering with them. 

KINDNESS
Kindness can also be considered gentleness which is akin to longsuffering.  Kindness is doing something good for another.  Kindness is treating another with respect and gentleness.  It is being pleasant towards another.  In other words, when we encounter someone, we don’t yell and scream at them or try to bully or intimidate them.  We do treat them as equals, not being a respecter of persons.  God doesn’t consider a person because of his station in life, He treats all alike (Acts 10:34).  Should we do any less?  God’s love operating in us helps us to be so.

GOODNESS

Strong’s defines goodness as benefit, or virtue.  In short, we do things because it is the right thing to do and it’s for another’s benefit.  What does Paul tell us?  All things are done for the edification of the body (Eph. 4:11-13 & 1 Corinth. 14:26).  When we don’t have love in our hearts, we become self-centered, egotistical SOBs thinking only of ourselves.
  
FAITHFULNESS

The three Greek words used to define faith or faithful carry the connotation of trusting, believing, having fidelity (allegiance) towards. 

When we are married, we are faithful to our spouse.  That is that person has now become our one and only.  We don’t date or pursue other people, especially for romantic interludes.  Spouses who practice ‘open marriages’ are not faithful people for they are seeking that romantic interlude with another person.  The same would be true if we confess Jesus Christ as Lord then we go to a church which does not serves the God the Father, Creator of the heavens and the earth.  No matter what religion or even denomination (all that claims to be Christian isn’t necessarily).

Faithfulness means our allegiance is towards only one, the God of the bible, Jehova, the Great I AM.  When we are faithful, God can trust us.  God is always faithful (2 Tim.2:11-13) so we can always trust Him.  God searches the earth to show His strength to those who have given their hearts to Him (faithful) (2 Chron. 16:9).  Whether in the natural or in the spiritual, love is expressed through faithfulness.

GENTLENESS

You’ve heard the expression “gentle as a lamb”?  When someone is as gentle as a lamb they are pleasant, caring calm, gentle, kind and non-aggressive (peaceful).  The word used in Galatians for gentleness means good or kind but its root word carries the connotation of ‘useful’ meaning were are usually pretty easy to work with or perhaps ‘ready’ to work with.  As we exercise that last fruit (temperance) we find that gentleness is an automatic by-product.  Paul tells the Thessalonians that he could have been really rough in handling them but instead he was gentle, like a nurse handling children (1 Thess. 2:7).  Consider how Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned.  He reminded her accuser that if they had no sin in their lives, go ahead and stone her.  After a few minutes (or so), Jesus asked the woman where were those who condemned her and she said ‘gone’.  Then he told he that he wouldn’t condemn her either but she should go her way and quit sinning (John 8:1-11).  Gentleness is also compassionate recognizing who may be truly against you and those who just may not know any better.  When we truly love, gentleness should be ‘second nature’.

SELF-CONTROL          

Temperance, or self-control is probably one of the hardest things for people to master.  The word used in King James version of Galatians uses the word temperance which means temperance.  But root word indicates a hindering, or to impede.  We limit whatever it is that we’re dealing with.  WE take charge and don’t let ‘it’ get the best of us (blow our stack or loose control).  If we have an anger problem, we put great effort into not getting angry.  If we eat too much, we learn to cut back on the amount of food we take in.  Temperance helps us to bring anything we do into moderation, or perhaps even elimination.  In the scriptures, we only see Jesus popping His cork only once and that was when he overturned tables and threw the money exchangers out of the temple.  If you remember, they had made the house of God a den of thieves.  They were desecrating the temple of Jahweh (Matt. 20:12-13).  Jesus did not sin in His anger rather He was correcting the situation (Eph. 4:26). 

Self-control is remaining even tempered and not letting your emotions run amok.  That is bringing our body under control of our spirit (1Corinth. 9:24-27) because I yield myself to God (Rom. 6:13).  As I live in His love, then I’m have self-control. 

Conclusion

As I live in God’s love, as I yield to His will, He make it so much easier to deal with whatever situation I face.  His love prevails and I discover that I have joy, peace and good-will.  I see that I have become gentle and longsuffering I find my faith increasing making it easier to be meek (humble) and my self control makes it possible for all the fruit to manifest in my life.

Thank God we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  Should we stray, all we have to do is repent our thoughts or actions, truly repent, and We are forgiven through the blood Jesus shed for us on Calvary.  As I say “truly repent” I mean to have a heartfelt sorrow for what we have done to the degree we make a decision not to do it again – and mean it.  with that decision, we determine to stick to abide therein.  God tells us when we truly confess and repent our sin, He puts that sin behind His back – not to look at it or consider it ever again (Isa. 38:17, Isa. 43:25).  Should we do any less?  Father, through Jesus, through the Holy Ghost, will help us get back up on our feet giving us the strength and confidence to once again press forward in life’s race (Pslam 145:14,  2 Corinth. 4:7-15).

So we are able to run this race because as He has forgiven us our sins, we are able to run this race effectively.  As we run, we endeavor to grow in the fruit He has given us through His Spirit.  We grow by yielding ourselves to Father through Jesus and as the fruit expands and matures in our lives we find that it spills over (outward) into the lives of those around us.  Those around us can then witness the love of God in full operation and hopefully will choose to serve the one, true, living God as well.

Amen