garymerkel

Day 2 Meditation (Psalm 121). In what ways is God your Help? How does he help you? In what ways is he your Keeper? How do you perceive that he guards and protects you? How is he your Shade? How do you see that he shields you? As a believer, God has given me the mind of Christ as His child, protecting my mind from needing to fall to temptation. Unfortunately, there are times when my fleshly mind comes in to play. I used to pray for strength and peace. Many years ago I learned to pray, "God, YOU are my Strength and Peace." It changed the dynamic totally. Even through a godless forced resignation years ago to last week's nose bleed, God keeps me safe spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. I know I belong to Him and that He will never let me go. He has now taken me, physically, through Afib, carotid artery surgery in my neck, kidney stones, 3 hernias, and a recent nose bleed from new use of a cpap machine while on plavix. God guards and shields my way. I can't know how many times God has prevented me from being in an accident...whether from a moment's lapse of attention or a moment's sleepiness. He shields me from the arrows of the evil one with the shield of faith. He is my Shade in that he enables me to stay calm when counseling troubled souls...He gives me a "cool" head for the situation. I cannot live the Christian life without God being my Helper, Keeper, Guard, Protector, Shield, and Shade. I know He has protected me when I've been in jail cells with felons teaching them God's Word. He's all that and sooooo much MORE!!! Praise to HIM!!!

Sorry for being late...horrible nose bleed procedure last Sunday, Aug. 30...yes, much STRESS! The stress of a serious nose bleed, as a pastor, could mean the end of 33 years of pastoring...so those thoughts, though brief came. Being very blessed though, it drove me to God's heart of love, knowing that He always knows and does what is best, and especially in difficult situations. I couldn't breathe except though my mouth, pain was throbbing in my head, left eye, teeth as a rhino rocket was inserted...3 days of constant pain in my face...I couldn't read, focus, BUT hundreds of people were praying for me and GOD demonstrated His name strong, thus I'm typing this today with no residual nose bleed or pain. Rhino rocket was removed last Wed and nose repacked with disolving medication. The combo of plavix and a cpap machine had blown out a capillary. I needed the help of my fellow believers' faith and prayers since my focus was on the pain, discomfort, and inability to sleep for 5 straight days. GOD also provided the right doctor (ENT). GOD relieved the stress and He used HIS Word, the Psalms, and my fellow believers. All praise to HIM!!!

Agreeing with comments...When something or things or situations come between you and your personal, intimate, love relationship with Christ...and it can happen quickly or it can "slide" in, but few, if any Christian, can stay in a 100%, pure and righteous relationship with Christ 100% of the time, BUT, a "lapse" does NOT have to be long. You don't have to "wallow" in sin. The key is asking God to keep you highly sensitive to His voice, His Word, His prompting and then taking time to seek Him and be consciously aware of His presence. Brother Lawrence "practiced the presence of Christ". I believe it is helpful to take various times and concentrate on and focus on how incredible it is to have a love relationship with God through our matchless Savior and Lord. Intimacy with Christ comes from living in a spirit of humility, spirit of repentance, spirit of receptiveness, spirit of quick response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Repent from pride #1. Repent from lukewarmness which comes from pride. Stay in God's Word...Psalm 1 - meditate in it day and night...allowing God's Word to saturate your mind. Psalm 103 - place no unclean thing before your eyes...obviously, as much as possible - usually = little TV. Can it happen to me? To you? YES! And it can happen from time to time...not on purpose, like getting up one day and saying, "I'm going to focus on selfish desires." No, our busyness can sidetrack us. The tyranny of the urgent can distract us. But we should never excuse it. At the same time, don't live under the cloud of legalism. Christ came to set us FREE. FREE to be and become all God desires... which means living surrendered to Him... which takes all the pressure off of us. Just go through the 12 step process from time to time....obviously, CHRIST is the "higher power". Simply admitting and agreeing with God over number 1 is gigantic..."I admit I am powerless to change and to change my situation..." "I need YOU, LORD." This is very liberating and totally refocuses your life.

If a person is not "in" Christ and Christ "in" that person, there is no salvation. As Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one as He and the Father were one means that we have been regenerated by God's Spirit and He sealed us unto the day of our final completed redemption. There is NO condemnation to those who are IN Christ Jesus. It means we have received Him and He has transformed us from children of darkness to children of light, from a child of hell to a child of heaven, from being lost to being saved. We are IN God's hands, never to be released. We are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Pride in our own "righteousness" is no righteousness at all. Pride in "our righteousness" is an abomination to God. Our righteousness, acceptable to God is imputed righteousness, coming from Him into us. It is also the Holy Spirit working the righteousness of Christ IN our lives, NOT us trying to "work righteousness". Ours is to surrender and yield even as Romans 12 exhorts. From time to time pride raises its ugly head when I think I don't deserve to be treated in a certain way. I deserve nothing but eternal hell and so when I think I "deserve" better, the Holy Spirit puts me in check so I repent of pride immediately. It is so very sly. It takes seconds. O that God keeps me sensitive to His whispers so live in a spirit of repentance.

"Being in Christ" means God has initiated our relationship through the new birth, and we have surrendered all to Him so that Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit, has regenerated us, redeemed us, and now fills us so that Christ will be seen and heard through our lives, bringing glory to God alone.

In His humanity, Jesus "emptied" Himself of His rightful deity by depending 100% on the Holy Spirit to do what He did. He was led by the Spirit. He did NOT use His deity to do anything. It was a matter of surrendering totally to the Father's will and to the control of the Holy Spirit. Jesus demonstrated humility when He washed the disciples feet. The ultimate humility is when He took into Himself the eternal punishment we deserve for our sin, offering us cleansing, forgiveness, and holiness, acceptable to God. Glory belongs to no one else except God. No one else deserves exaltation except Jesus. If we try to exalt ourselves we are doing what Satan did, trying to make ourselves God, thus committing spiritual idolatry. The goal of life is that Christ be exalted through our lives so that others see HIM and are drawn to Him, NOT us. PRIDE trips up many Christians, pastors, and other evangelicals who start out with good intentions, but that's the problem. "Good intentions" points to us, not God. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

The questions are always: What is God's will? What will glorify Him most? What will He use for the maximum benefit of His kingdom? I have wanted to go to heaven since receiving Christ at age 11. Who wouldn't want to go to heaven? But God has seen fit to use me for His purposes on this earth and I will soon hit 70. Glory to Him alone! He always knows what is best and right for us, for our families, and for others.

The reverential, respectful, biblical fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. God's Word is filled with the call to fear God in the right way, never wanting to disobey Him or dishonor Him. The judgment seat of Christ is NOT regarding our getting into heaven but to determine reward for what HE has done through our lives and empowered us to do. It is all of grace, nothing we have "earned" or "deserve", but because of Who He is and what He has done IN us and THROUGH us. Luke 17:10 and John 3:30 are key....

As wonderful as my home was growing up and as wonderful as our home was raising our daughter and as wonderful as our home is now as empty nesters, there is NO comparison with heaven as my home. We have lived in 9 states and Germany. Nothing compares to our eternal home in heaven with Christ where there is no more dying, no more death, no more pain, no more suffering. But until that time comes...and since the age of 11 when I received Christ, I have longed for heaven. With Paul I proclaim, "For me to live is Christ, to die is GAIN!" As long as God can use me on this earth, I am totally HIS. The moment He is done with me on this earth, heaven is the next stop. Hallelujah!! I hold NO earthly possession as "mine". Everything belongs to my incredibly wonderful Lord. Every breath, every heartbeat, everything, even my wife, daughter, and 5 grandsons...all gifts from God. My status is: child of God, servant of the King. He is my life, my all!!! It is by HIS grace, HIS love, HIS power. HE won the victory over sin, death, satan, and hell. Hallelujah to the Lamb of Glory!!! I'll turn 70 in Dec. Lord willing and as He tarries.

Paul was part of God's kingdom and thus a spokesman for His king, empowered by his King, and obedient to his King. He represented God's kingdom to the world. We, as believers are no less ambassadors of the Most High King of Heaven doing His bidding as we are empowered by His Spirit. In the power of the Spirit Paul testified of his King and his King's right to rule in every heart and every nation and why it was eternally best for all. His testimony was about Jesus, his King, and Jesus' work on his behalf, Jesus call on his life, and his honor to represent the King of kings. It is the same with us. It is an honor to represent our Coming King to the world and proclaim His life transforming message. If Christ had done nothing IN me, I would have no interest in telling others about Him, but since He lives IN me, has saved me, and empowers me to preach His deliverance, I cannot help, like the disciples, but to speak of the things I have seen, heard, and experienced and I want every person possible to know this Jesus, my Savior, Lord, Friend, and King. God can use me and He does and He uses the witness HE put deep within my soul, for His glory and the saving of many.

From personal experience: I received Christ when I was 11. I went from being a shy little baseball player in St. Louis and then in Ft. Myers, FL where I received Christ to a boy who went door to door telling people about Jesus and inviting them to church. God turned the switch on and it has never dimmed. I have learned a lot more of course. At age 12 I knew God has called me into vocational ministry and at age 18 started preaching in Stephens Country Jail while attending Bible College. Why people are shy about sharing Jesus floors me. I'm convinced they really don't know Who He is and what He has done for them...what He has saved them from, to, and for. There is so much false teaching out there, AND the enemy is a master at deception having people believe they are shy or don't know what to say, or 1000 other lies. The good fight is the greatest fight because Jesus has already won. I've been to the former USSR and helped lead a Bible study on one of the largest former military bases with hardline red communists and lived to share this. I've been to Mexico 5 times, Guatemala 2 times and my wife and I were in Germany 3 years as missionaries. The worst thing anyone can do is kill you or your family. All my family are strong believers, we fear no man. We take precautions but when it comes to witnessing, there is no need to fear. I know many do, but I pray for believers to see Who Jesus really IS, as the mighty God and only Savior of mankind, and the One who conquered the power of sin, death, satan, and hell. As has been stated, His perfect love casts out all fear of man. This is why Paul and thousands of others since, could and can share the gospel with no fear but with great confidence in Christ, our Coming King.

Wonderful comments, insights...thoughtful. I'll just address the last question. Prophesy deals with future telling and with forth telling. When someone prophesies about the future it must line up with the character of God and the Word of God. There are some that have this gift and we should not minimize it, nor should we accept every prophesy about the future. The spiritual character of the person must line up with Scripture. Obviously, forth telling is a no brainer as we are all called to proclaim Jesus. Some, with the gifts of preaching and teaching, must also be in line with the teaching of Scripture and proclaim in context, coupled again with the character of God and His mission. Skepticism, has been noted because of the misuse of prophesy and the self-promotion of many. Getting "rich" on the back of prophesy does not fit the Scriptural pattern. God does not call us to be poor, at least not most of us, but He also does not want us to use this gift or any of His gifts simply to become rich. Gifts are for the purpose of glorifying God and leading people to Christ.

Ditto to these wonderful comments. Everyone has faith. The question is, "In what or whom do you place faith?" And, depending upon the subject of faith, you will live in a positive love relationship with God or you will live in a negative relationship with self, others, and God. If for any reason I could not place absolute faith in God, what would be the meaning of life? If someone irritated me why not hurt them? The object of faith has huge consequences. Paul addresses this in Romans 13 under a repressive government. When my future is secure IN Christ, what can man do to me? At most, torture and kill me, but this life is a VAPOR...but eternity in heaven...WOW!! But, also, walking with God in THIS live causes me to praise and give thanks for the privilege and honor of being HIS child. Our praise and thanksgiving are based in faith in the LIGHT of the world, Jesus. In HIM, there is NO darkness. Jesus created light and is the LIGHT. How can I but praise and thank Him for His gift....HIMSELF!!

Unresolved anger and unforgiveness damage us spiritually, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and relationally. It messes with the chemicals in our bodies and brains. There is place for righteous anger...being angry about what God is angry, like the deception of Satan, being angry about sin, whether in our own lives or others, but the resolve is in Christ, turning it over to Him. Carrying the weight of anger and unforgiveness is a weigh only Jesus can actually handle. In Rom. 12 it says, "Vengenence is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. It is not easy to turn injustice over to God but the best place, even as Joseph did and Daniel and his friends did. I don't carry unforgiveness about anyone or anything. My perception is that I would have difficulty with forgiving someone who killed or injuried my wife, daughter, or grandsons or someone in my family. Yet, forgiveness is for the purpose of seeing them come to Christ, while justice is depending upon God to do what is right according to His law and will. I as pardoned from my sin which contributed to the murder of Jesus. I know this biblically, but I don't know how I might react if someone deliberately killed or severely injured someone in my family. I would want justice. People that hurt others often don't believe they did or they forget about it, so pondering it in our own minds only hurts us and keeps us focused on the hurt rather than the healer, Jesus. The enemy of our souls can take unforgiveness to the level of seeking revenge ourselves and only God has the right to take the revenge sin all sin is against Him.

All of Satan's tools start with deception, lying, very smooth, slick lying, convincing lying, truth mixed in but a lie none the less. This hasn't changed since the garden of Eden, it just comes in different masks. Trace how Adam and Eve were deceived and the process hasn't changed. Somehow God is holding out, wants to remove the fun of life, doesn't really care or He would change your situation, your spouse, your job, whatever. The Gospel is the power of God because the Gospel is Jesus. Preaching Jesus is preaching the Truth that sets people free when they believe/trust/place faith in Jesus. Personally, I have had no problem sharing my faith since I received Christ at age 11. Some blame shyness, inabilities...all are fabricated lies of the enemy. We have NO excuses in sharing the gospel. "I don't know what to say" - "I'll say the wrong thing", etc are all cons of the devil. And here's the best, "I don't want to drive them away from God". They are already going to hell, how much farther away from God can they be? If Jesus is truly in your life, all fear is gone. All doubt is gone. The blind man said, "Before I was blind, now I see." My testimony is no different. I don't have to explain everything and I don't have to answer every question. I simply tell Who Jesus is in my life as Savior and Lord and how He cleansed my soul and made me acceptable to God by faith. There's no need to complicate it. And yes, it is that simple. Be honest, open, transparent, while depending on the Holy Spirit. It will knock the socks of the enemy.

Authority: This is where the sovereignty of God, His omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, and His creation of free will, couple with His love, are intertwined. God created us to demonstrate and show His love and the only way was to create us in His image and likeness, yet with free will. All rightful authority is vested in Him. The angels had free will and Lucifer decided to rebel. God knew before creation that this would happen, yet how else could He have created mankind if He did so with no free will. We would be mechanical robots and life would have no meaning. Pride arose in Lucifer and the sequence of events of usurping authority would lead to his downfall. The spiritual warfare began. Only God has the right to "call the shots" because of Who He is. Satan's authority is a pseudo-authority and we see this played out in nation after nation, even our own. Since he is the father of lies and a master at lying, he convinces most of mankind that they have the right, the authority to call their own shots and make their own decisions without contemplating their Creator, thus falling for the deceptive trap of the devil's lie. They are conned into thinking they are "god", though they wouldn't say so, but in action, this is what happens. Satan's authority is limited, and he manipulates it as no other can. God sees from eternity past into eternity future and Satan's pseudo-authority will come to an end one day. In the meantime, as believers, we are to fight the good fight of faith by surrendering to the Holy Spirit and His power. It is the only way to appropriate the power of God against evil and Satan. At the cross Jesus took into Himself the consequences of sin, eternity in hell, for us. He broke the power of sin, death, hell, and Satan. We do NOT have to give in to the flesh, to temptation, to the devil, yet, when that happens, we have THE Advocate, Jesus Christ, the Righteous to appropriate His victory on the cross and in His resurrection so as we confess our sin, He is able and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We remind Satan of his future in the lake of fire when we live by the power and love of God as we worship, pray, study His Word, witness, and serve...all the while being fully engaged with Christ through the indwelling Spirit. Fear not, our finalized redemption is secure but will be totally realized and experienced one day. Hallelujah to the Lamb of Glory!!!

Spiritual warfare takes many forms and comes in various intensities. Depending on the person's spiritual maturity it is handled differently. Even the most mature can face severe persecution. Obviously, the devil and his minions wanted to stop the gospel and God was using Paul to spread the gospel and its power, consequently, the heat was on. The combination of everyday life coupled with persecution from within the Jewish community and from outside would have made many buckle but Paul KNEW his Redeemer and he was strengthened by the Holy Spirit. The call of God upon a person's life will elicit great attack because the devil and his demons know the power of the gospel proclaimed through a person who is totally committed to Christ and surrendered to the Holy Spirit. The armor of God is necessary for all, but there is great need to pray the armor over godly leaders. If the devil can cause one of them to fall it affects scores of others. Prayer, especially united prayer, is an incredible weapon of the faith so the enemy has to back up. Ours is a spiritual warfare and we fight against the powers of darkness and wickedness and principalities of this world. We are not just a family of God, we are an army of God, enlisted to fight the good fight of faith. Linking hearts together under the power of God puts the devil on notice of his future in the lake of fire and we need to remind him often through prayer, united prayed, and ministering the gospel together.

1. I believe in signs and wonders. I still preach healing and I have witnessed outright healing - NOT showmanship. It appears God uses more signs and wonders in other countries and America, as a whole, is not seeing signs and wonders due to unbelief. Jesus said that the sign of Jonah was enough. Also, we have creation, all of Scripture, Christian history, the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, the New Testament church and the apostles. If people will not believe because of all this, what would signs and wonders do? Regardless, I believe God still works miracles today...every time someone receives Christ. I have witnessed radical transformation of life through saved murderers, rapists, drug dealers, but these are not often. I am open to God doing whatever He desires because He is Sovereign. 2. I fear no gifts. I fear only God. I look forward to God doing miraculous things. I pray for the miraculous, not the specktacular but the miraculous. 3. God makes clear who has which gifts. It is genuine and not self-serving or drawing attention to self. Many today, especially on TV, appear to be in the "healing business" for the money and too often are proven as false teachers. 4. Persecution may draw more signs and wonders out. We must teach ALL of Scripture and then practice all of Scripture depending upon the Holy Spirit. 5. For our church: We are open to God's movement, to God's miracles and we have seen some miracles of healing. It is never for "show' but people testify of God touching them in a miraculous way and give Him credit and glory and we rejoice with them.

1. People love to come see a fire and Paul was on fire with the gospel. 2. The process of evangelism included discipleship as part of evangelism not separate from it. 3. Persecution helps spread the gospel. We, as a whole, are complacent and apathetic in America. 4. The fear of God was real. Paul says in II Cor that because of the terror of the Lord he persuaded men and then a couple verses later, "the love of Christ compels me". 5. The greatest news of all the world had come, Jesus, the prophesied Messiah. The proximity to Jesus' death helped, but the passion imputed by the Holy Spirit should cause the same zeal as Paul and the early disciples. 6. The early church movement had missionary zeal and people realized the privilege of hearing the gospel. 7. It was also a very difficult time since people would be ostracized from their family for receiving Christ. 8. We have the same mandate, but as a whole, the American church is asleep and there are multitudes of fake Christians. Narrow is the way and FEW there be that find it. 9. We are obligated and responsible for sharing the gospel. None of us can save anyone, only God can, but we MUST share the gospel, send the gospel, go with the gospel, and live the gospel wherever we are. It must be a driving passion and we must pray for that passion to be infused to other believers.

Uncle Dave, Thanks brother for your comments. The rest of the story, or part of it, is that the lady wanted to give her non-practicing Catholic family a clear testimony of her identification with the death and resurrection of Christ and that she was totally surrendered to Him and wanted His will alone whether being raised up to health or being swept into heaven by God's grace. It was very moving and significant for the family. Like the thief on the cross, the most important thing was her receiving Jesus Christ into her life as Lord. God bless you!!!

Different approaches in sharing the gospel reach different people. I will share the same message in different ways depending on whether I am speaking with highly educated politicians or with non-educated in my neighborhood. This is where Paul says, "I am become all things to all men to save some." It is never about competition with someone else over style or personality, but whether we are preaching Christ alone. People will naturally gravitate toward a preacher that seems to connect better with them than someone else, even when they preach the same gospel. God used Billy Sunday who butched the language and Jonathan Edwards who was highly educated. Addressing any seeming comparisons head on is best, but doing it where the focus heads immediately to Jesus and Who He is rather then who you are or the other person. When someone tells me they really like David Jeremiah or John Hagee, I say, "I do too", and we head toward talking about Jesus and how God can use each of us with differing gifts to reach people with the gospel. Differences: I don't focus on the different styles of preaching or the different preachers, I focus on what the Bible says in context and try to help people see Jesus in every line. I will illustrate and call out some false teaching, but the focus is on the truth, learning the truth, and living the truth...all wrapped up in Jesus.

Paraphrase: If Christ is not risen from the grave then our preaching is in vain and we are of all men most miserable. If Jesus, God in the flesh, did not come to this earth and die and rise again according to the Scriptures, then our faith is based on a lie. REGARDLESS, there is no better way to live than faith in Christ and His bodily death and resurrection. The good news is that it's all TRUE!! To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We will receive glorified bodies, even as Jesus' resurrected body...visible, yet able to walk through a wall. What a glorious forever lies ahead!!

"House" churches will always be vital to the work of the church. Starting out, there were no church buildings except synagogues, so where would they meet? In many countries today, because of persecution, house churches are vital. House churches develope a high level of relationship as long as eyes are fixed on Jesus. Most churches that are growing today have some type of small group ministry. We need close connections for accountability. Today, large churches can be major influencers in a community as long as they are following Jesus. When the "flesh" gets involved, regardless of house church or mega, it has a negative effect. There is a place for house churches, all size churches, but a key is staying with Scripture, the character of God, and the exaltation of Jesus, and dependence upon the work of the Holy Spirit. Advantages: House churches are much harder to shut down by a government, usually stronger in personal relationships. Disadvantage: Can become an ingrown click. As long as God and His mission are the focus and God's Word is taught in context with God's love, - the gates of hell will NOT prevail against God's church.

In Paul's day the church was just getting off the ground and being "bi-vocational" didn't mean what it means today. People fed him from time to time, but he also worked as a tent maker in supplying his own needs. The early churches were usually poor and could not afford to pay anyone. Sometimes you do what you need to do when you are answering God's call. At one time I was bi-vocational, taking a church in NY. I taught special education middle school at $5.38 an hour (because I wasn't certified in NY, even though I had a masters degree). We took a church of 15 and $200 a week. My wife worked for an orthopedic surgeon and made a fair salary. We believed God had called us to the work and so we did what needed to be done without being a "burden" on the church. GOD grew the church. Our Baptist Association now helps support several church plants in another state and in Guatemala. We believe God has led us to do this. Now that I'm right at 70 and in good health, I pastor full time, but our church helps other ministries, foreign and local. Physically, I cannot do what I did when I was 50, but can still do quite a bit. Each situation is different and ALL ministry positions are needed. Believing one is better than another is a misunderstanding. It depends on what GOD has called you to do. Some "retired" pastors, drawing social security, can pastor a smaller church that cannot pay a full time wage, but need a pastor. Regardless of being "full time" or "bi-vocational" (which is actually double time), the point is that ministry takes surrendering all for God's use. I worked at the school 35 hours a week and I served the church 35 hours a week, but I understood the situation before going and we knew God had called us to the work. God supplied energy to work. The bottom line issue is: Has God called you? Are you willing to obey? (included husband and wife if married and children if children) Stepping out in faith is just that, but NOT blindly and NOT when a spouse is in disagreement. My wife and I have been unified in 48 years of biblical ministry; 15 years as volunteer youth and music while in business, 3 years as bi-vocational, and 30 years as "full time". Regardless of the label, we have believed God's call has always been "full time", meaning, giving our all to Him.