A handful of dust

'And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.'  (Genesis 2:7)

So, lets just take that and put it another way.

The Almighty God took some dust from the ground and created a man out of it. The man was indeed a fully healthy and amazing piece of his handiwork, but without a soul. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and that man became more than the animals: he became a living soul.

It was at the point of God breathing into him that he came alive and was more than just flesh and blood. Man had a spirit within him. There was an element of eternity breathed into him from Him who is eternal. 

Scientists have been searching for what they call the 'God Particle', but fail to see that within every human being it already exists. It is that spark of Light at conception that makes a person a living soul.

Sadly, the light quickly fades, and each one of us is born a sinner and into spiritual blindness. The awareness of babies and children to spiritual things is much greater than that of adults, but their 'innocence' is soon lost as they grow, and the nature of sin begins to reveal itself.

We all exist and live by whatever survival instinct keeps us going, but we are dead to God and lost eternally, unless something transforming happens in our lives

When our mortal bodies die, they return as a handful of dust from where they came; but our souls live on and are eternal. The soul of the believer in Jesus Christ is received at death into a wonderful paradise with him.

The soul of the unbeliever descends into a dark place of hopelessness and waiting for the day of judgment. It is a type of hell, where regret and the knowledge that death was not the end, becomes a dreadful reality.

'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.  (Acts 16:31)

Pilgrim Warrior

How to pray

 How to pray

What is prayer anyway?

Prayer is coming before the Creator of the world who has revealed himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, and having a conversation with him. He knows all about us and everything we are, so we come just as we are, transparent in his sight, with an honest and open heart before him. 

Being honest with God is the surest way to know that he is going to hear us and answer our prayers.

In Isaiah chapter 1, God says, “Come, and let us reason together, [let’s have a real talk about things]: even though your sins are red like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; even though they are deep red crimson, they shall be washed clean as white as the brightest wool of a lamb.”

I put that in easier-English, but what God is saying to us is, that if we would but come to him, he knows how to sort us out no matter how bad our life may be, nor how troubled and confusing things might seem at times

In the case of the above quote, the big problem between the people and God was their sin and rebellion toward him; yet God who is gracious and merciful is calling the people back to himself, - the only One who can cure them and mend their lives. 

He is still the same today.

Now as Believers, you and I have the exclusive and full right to come to him at any time and talk things through. When no one understands us, and we have nowhere to turn to, then we find the greatest of all friends is just waiting for us to come to him and bring our needs and concerns in front of him for his help and intervention. There is no special language required, but we come in deepest reverence and humble heart to present our petitions before the Lord.

Like the old hymn says,

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bare;

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer.

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pains we bare,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness,

So take it to the Lord in prayer.

Read the Gospel of John, chapters 15 and 16, and see what the Lord says about prayer (jon316.com - Easier English Gospel of John).

We come to our Father and God in the name above every name - the name of Jesus. Billy Graham (the world-famous preacher) always began his prayer with "Our Father and our God.....", and concluded it with, "....in the name of Jesus."

But prayer is more than just asking God for help in times of trouble. Prayer is a continual walk with God that expresses everything in our hearts, including our thankfulness for all that he has done for us, every answered prayer, the food we eat, the health we have, the friends and relatives that are dear to us. Thankfulness is a so-special part of beginning our prayer. Psalm 100 tells us to, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving; enter His courts with praise!” (Psalm 11:4)

We should come boldly into the presence of God (through the gateway of the name of Jesus, and enter into his heavenly and amazing courtyards with thankfulness and joy for how great our God truly is).

Hebrews 4:16 says, ‘Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain (receive, get hold of) mercy, and find grace (all the goodness and benefits of Christ) in times of need.’

We come to God in the name of Jesus. Our Father in heaven made a way for us through Jesus to know him and approach him in confidence and absolute assurance, knowing that we are accepted by him, loved by him, right with him, and always welcomed into his heavenly courtyards for a talk, or just to sit down quietly with him and enjoy his company.

That is why I have spent many an hour walking across the fields or up the streets even, just to be alone with him, to hear what he wants to impart to me, and to talk to him as the very best Father one could ever dream of: to share the deepest feelings, emotions, and secrets of my heart that nobody in this world has any right to know.

Such a time was always spoken of as having a 'quiet time' with God, where our mobiles are put to silence or even left at home, and nobody has any right to interfere is this most special and important time of being with God every day. This is the source of power, peace, and assurance that few ‘Christian’ people know anything about.

Every Believer should set aside a time every day (especially in the morning) for their ‘quiet time’ with God. It is the spiritual breath of your life that gives you life and knowledge, and lifts you above all the noise of this world. It is a walk, or sit, or kneel and talk with God. Such close relationship with God is the place of power and peace.  It is also the very thing that the devil hates the most and the reason he works hard to hinder us from maintaining such intimacy with our Creator.

Prayer is the breath and sustaining power of the Believer’s life. The Bible is the food, the bread that nourishes and strengthens the Believer to march through this world with knowledge, understanding, and the certainty that God is with them to overcome, and to be an instrument for good and blessing: to shine with the goodness of Jesus to all they come into contact with.

The Holy Spirit is given to us to equip us with everything we need, to be effectual in all that we do, to bring the message of Jesus with power and conviction to our world, to be the source within us of life-giving spiritual rivers that will flow out of us from deep within and bring life and light, healing and hope, divine wisdom and knowledge into a world full of darkness and fear. (John 7:38: Acts 1:8)

Jesus said, ‘You shall receive power (Greek original word: ‘Dunamis’, from where we get our word ‘dynamite’!), after the Holy Ghost has come down upon you, and you shall be witnesses (the living proof) of me wherever you go.’

Things that make the heart sick

 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.'  Proverbs 13:12

Or 'say it different'...

'When hopes and expectations do not come to pass as expected, or even more importantly, when all the promises you set your expectations on, slowly or suddenly vanish, then the heart gets sick; and that can be a physical sickness as well as mental and emotional trauma.

When someone or something blows your dreams out of the water, it deflates all the wheels of your motivation. You sink under disappointment and even despair. This can lead to depression and anxiety, stress and fatigue. 

Yes, fatigue! Suddenly all strength seems to drain from your body. Your energy suddenly vanishes, and it becomes an effort to carry out even the everyday tasks. You wonder why you feel so tired. Body, mind, and spirit, are joined together, and affect each other in ways we might not expect.

It can even go further, with headaches, chest pains, shortness of breath and a multitude of other symptoms. The heart can become physically weakened and create serious problems to your health. Your immune system falls apart in response to the calamity that your mind is registering. 

The writer of this proverb (many thousands of years ago) could have been giving a diagnose for many millions of people suffering from similar symptoms today. When your world comes crashing down around you, when reason and commonsense cannot explain what is happening, the body goes into a 'shock' state through anxiety and astonishment.

That is why the keeping of our word and not breaking promises to one another is so important. Justice and doing what is right can be the health and wealth of another individual, and that will also have a real impact in our own lives to a degree few ever discover.

Of course, the second part of the proverb is what we really need to focus on. 

'But when the desired hope or promise comes; when the expectation turns up, even though it got sidetracked, denied, stolen, or simply delayed, it becomes a tree of healing and a tree of life. The past disappointment flies away and the sun rises on you once again bringing health and restoration. It brings the promise and the assurance of all that you believed and hoped for.

We have to learn to look beyond the disappointments and frustrations, and keep moving forward. It is easy just to sit down and give up, but that must never be our action. Don't let the enemy of souls trample you down. 

The Bible tells us to 'trust in the LORD with all of our hearts, and not to rely on what we think about the situation'. (Proverbs 3:5) 

God knows where we are right now. He sees the injustices and the disappointments that afflict our lives. 

He tells us to commit everything to him, and he will bring things to pass in spite of the evil devices that are sometimes used against us. (Psalm 37:5)

Finally, let me say, God is able to bring back more than the enemy might have stolen from you. 

God is not mocked, neither is he confounded by feeble men in who live on what is but their borrowed breath of life.

Pilgrim Warrior

Run out of energy and even trying

When you feel that you have had enough of everything, and everybody; when all of your body and your mind feels at an end……

‘He gives power to the faint: and to them that have no might he increases strength.’  Isaiah 40:19-31, (but let's read the next two verses) ‘Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall completely fall: But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall fly up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’

Oh, here comes God’s Word to put us back right again, to restore us and make us new!

It says exactly what it means! God can do what no vitamin tablets or energy drinks can do.

When our strength is gone and we feel like the reservoir of our energy has drained from our life altogether, there is this amazing promise from God. 

When we feel that even the small reserves of stubborn resolve to be strong have been exhausted, and we feel like giving in to our body’s determination to just shut down, then just get into this word that God delivers to us in our weakest and most vulnerable moments of life.

Even the athletic and fit young men will come to times of weariness and fatigue and find themselves incapable of doing anything that normally would be ‘a walk in the park’.  They too will fall down absolutely shattered and without strength.

However, those who will take the time to stop what they are trying to do, cease from all the struggling and the anxieties that brought them to such a state, and get alone with God, they shall renew their strength.

They will find discover a secret place of the most high God, a river of refreshing life and vitality, of regeneration and resurrection, which the world’s doctors and consultants can never provide, or indeed know anything about.

Where God is, there is health and healing, mercy and grace, abundance and sufficiency for everything that lies ahead of us. For in his presence ‘there is fulness of joy’ (Psalm 16:11); and again the Bible says, ‘The joy of the LORD is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10).

If we would but take notice of what God offers, and find the door of refreshing which Jesus spoke about in John 10:9, (you shall go in and out and find ‘pasture’ – or all that you need) we would soon forget all the cares and worries of this diseased and troubling age, and find the converting and sustaining power of God that would cause us to fly up above the worries and troubles like eagles that soar above the dark clouds. 

The Bible says we shall rise up with wings as eagles. Think about that!  Not simply like the eagles, but indeed as eagles, with wings that are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, to soar beyond the expectation of those around us who think we are surely cast down for good.

We shall again run, and not get weary or tired out; we shall walk the walk so long as the journey must take us, and not fall down own under the pressures and challenges.  God is our strength. We can say like the prophet of old, ‘The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet (like the nimble feet of a young deer), and he will make me to walk upon my high places’ (the mountains, the battlefields, the spiritual high places).’  Habakuk 3:19

‘The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet - the young skipping goats on the mountains.’  Psalm 27:14

The Word of God, this Holy Bible, has eternity and eternal power running through its pages that can transform our lives, turn back the darkness, overcome the enemy, and bring health and healing, strength and courage, blessing and contentment to our lives.

Read it every day, and see what a difference it will make to your life. If you do not know where to begin, then commit yourself to read two psalms in the morning, and at least one single chapter of John’s Gospel in the evening.

Most of the problems we face in life have a spiritual root. God’s Word has a spiritual and a practical answer. It is life to those who will take the time to open it and wait on God to give the understanding.

Pilgrim Warrior  2022

 

Who is in your boat?

'Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.'  John 6:21

Say it different!

'Then they most happily received Jesus into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the place they were trying so hard to get to.'

The disciples headed out one night in a boat onto a calm sea, but before long a tempest arose and a storm began to batter the ship. As if that was not enough, they see a man walking on the waves towards them, and fear took a hold of them not knowing quite what was going on.

Fishermen and most sea-goers tend to be most superstitious and look for signs in the skies and in all of nature as being omens of evil, or promises of good fortune.

These men had been struggling with all of their strength and determination to keep the boat afloat and heading in the right direction toward their desired destiny. The night wore on slowly, and the wretched weather continued unabated.

They saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. They thought it must be a spectre, but Peter shouted out, "Is that you Jesus?"

Then they welcomed Jesus into the ship, and immediately they were exactly where they had been trying to go. No more struggles; no more fighting a storm; no more feeling sick and tired, batting with the troubling waves and daunting rain.

So it is in life, especially when we know where we want to go, achieve what we have believed to be possible, get to the place where our hopes and dreams become a reality.

Storms arise all of a sudden and threaten to destroy all of our ambitions and expectations. The waves of discouragement drown out any ideas of success and prospering in our plans. The turbulence of disappointments seems to create the illusion of defeat and lost promises.

Jesus walks on top of the waves of our troubles, just waiting to be invited into the ship.

The moment he is given place in the boat by us, we get to where we wanted and needed to be.

When Christ is welcome into your boat, then miracles and grace find place also.

 

Pilgrim Warrior

The poison of the tongue

‘But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.’ James 3:8

So, let’s say it different!

‘The tongue is an uncontrolled and untamed beast: it is a loose-cannon bent on violence, loaded with venom to inflict pain and death.’

A ‘loose cannon’ refers to the days of wooden warships which used cannons as their primary weapon. Because the recoil was so great when firing them, they had to be tied very securely to the deck with ropes, or else they could inflict great damage on the ship as well as the crew.

The apostle James had something to say about the tongue. He said that we can steer a powerful horse with just a bit and bridle, yet we cannot control our tongues. Before we even know it, this little terrier lashes out without any pre-thought and spews out all manner of evil words in response to any given situation.

We drive around in our cars as though we were invincible and untouchable, but when someone cuts us up, or we see somebody on the road acting unusually, the tongue goes into overdrive, cursing and ridiculing, bad-naming and jeering at the other person.

Worse still, when someone disagrees with us or causes us some offense, this little devil in our mouths casts poison into the room and aims its venom in whatever direction suits it best. And before you even know it, that tongue has done more damage in a few seconds than a bully at school might do in five years.

It cares not what the outcome may be, nor the damage it inflicts upon the hearers; and it speaks from the heart, ‘for out of what is really in the heart the mouth speaks.’  (Matthew 12:34)

So, we try to hide from others what we are really like deep down inside, but suddenly our words give us away!

James throws up the questions, “Who can control it? Who can tame it?”

Death and life are in the tongue. Our words can be sharper that the terrorist’s knife, or they can be the healing ointment of a kind physician. They can be the vicious poison that destroys a man’s spirit and renders him despondent, or they can be the very words that lift a soul from despair and hopelessness.

Oh that we might think before we open our mouths and give vent to our anger, or release hurting and unkind words on another creation of God. As we wish people would do to us, let us do to them also.  (Luke 6:31)

We may feel justified and satisfied with the use of this weapon against another person, but mark carefully what (Proverbs 18:21) says: ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit of it.’

The poison of the human tongue (unlike that of the snake) actually inflicts evil upon the person using it. Our words are both life and death to ourselves. If we persist in lashing out (just because we can), then our own lives will become full of the same bitterness and nastiness that will actually affect the way we think, the way we behave, and even the way we look.

The root cause, the control centre, the internal hub from where all this comes is the heart. God says that he will give us a new heart. ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart (that bad attitude and hardness of heart) out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh (a heart of grace, compassion, and love).’  (Ezekiel 36:26)

Oh for a heart to praise my God!

A heart from sin set free;

A heart that always feels the blood

So freely shed for me.

 

A heart resigned, submissive, meek;

My great Redeemer’s throne,

Where only Christ is heard to speak;

Where Jesus reigns alone.

These words are from the eighteenth century hymn-writer Charles Wesley.

 

Pilgrim Warrior

Want to be right?

 

‘Repent and believe the gospel.’  Change your mind, and God will change your heart.

In other words, ‘Turn around; stop what you are doing: and believe the good news.’

The greatest and best feeling in the world is to know that I am right with God.

To wake up in the morning, to be in work doing my job, to sit down in the evening and to go to sleep at night, knowing that I am right with the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth, is to live in a state of perfect peace and contentment.

To understand that all is not right with me before God, is the beginning of repentance. It is acknowledging that I am wrong and not living as I should. If I have no sensitivity about my wrong thoughts, my bad words, my evil and sinful thoughts and attitudes, my wicked practises, then where am I?

A repentant heart first expresses itself by owning up to God that I am not good enough or righteous, but truly wish I was. King David was a dirty sinner, and cried, ‘Oh God! Create in me a clean heart!’  (Psalm 51)

Ah, now there is a soul who God will listen to. He will always hear those who are humble and honest enough to tell him the truth.

To repent means that I am ready to own up to God that He is right, and I am wrong. It is to acknowledge that he alone can forgive my sin and make me right. It involves the willingness and earnest desire to cease from wrong-doing and live a righteous life. 

I may not know if I can trust myself to live right, but I call upon God to help me.

Then I need to believe the good news (the ‘gospel’) that promises me that if I repent and put my faith in the fact that Jesus died for me, I shall most certainly be forgiven and be made right with God.

It is only his blood that can wash away my sin and make me clean inside.

To be a true follower of Jesus Christ is to live a life of repentance that seeks always to do and be what God wants me to be. It means that I keep short accounts with him.

What I mean by that is, when I fail and make mistakes, or end up doing wrong in his sight, I quickly turn around, confess my sin, and ask him for forgiveness and restoration.

‘If we confess our sins (to God), he is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive us our sins, and to wash us from all unrighteousness.’  (1John 1:9) 

You don’t need a priest: only God can forgive sin. 

We cannot be righteous by trying to be righteous. Righteousness is God's gift to us, freely given to anyone who asks.

From Pilgrim Warrior

 

How to understand spiritual things

Let’s take another verse from the Bible……

‘It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’  (John 6:63)

Sounds a bit complicated, so let me ‘say it different’.

‘It is the spirit that gives life and understanding to what I am saying; 'natural' thinking cannot figure it out: the words that I speak to you are of spirit, and they are life to all who hear them.’

And so it is when we read the Bible. The intellect may grasp the story and the moral teachings, but unless the Holy Spirit gives understanding to the truth, all they are is words. Jesus was telling things to those who gathered around him and some were offended by his sayings, and others simply baffled.

You can sit in a church and listen to a preacher, but it does nothing for you whatsoever. Now, that may be because the preacher himself is both boring and has no clue about what he is saying, or it could be because you have no spiritual ability to understand.

No matter how simply we may put things, unless the Holy Spirit gives us the spiritual knowledge, we stay in ignorance; but when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead us into all truth, for he lights up God’s word and spiritually enables us to receive it as from God.  (John 16:13)

Now, if we do not have the Spirit of God, then we do not belong to Jesus Christ, and need to be truly born again.  (Romans 8:9)

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first believed? 

If not, ask God: 

'for if we sinners know how to give good gifts to our children, HOW MUCH MORE will God give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him'.  (Acts 19:2)  (Luke 11:13)

 

Pilgrim Warrior