Stevemidkiff's Blog

Your Words Lord

are a bright beacon

blazing a brilliant path

through our dark

and difficult world.

Psalm 119:105 personalized

The Word of God is alive

and active.

The Word of God is Sharper

than any double-edged sword,

The Word of God penetrates

even to dividing of

soul and spirit,

The Word of God gets into

even the joints and marrow;

The Word of God judges

all the thoughts

and attitudes of our heart

God’s living Word is the

ultimate test of our claims

of faith.

That Word explores all our

Inner motivations,

When we ignore God’s voice

In His Word we know we’ve

turned Our back on the Lord

and His supernatural

determinations and We’re

avoiding Our Lord’s specific

miraculous designs for us

God’s voice through His Word

is “quick” (alive as a living force)

God’s voice through His Word

is powerful

God’s voice through His Word

sharper than any twoedged

sword,

God’s voice through His Word

Is piercing and His Spirit

penetrates deep even to

the dividing assunder of

soul and spirit,

and of the joints and marrow,

and is a discerner of our

thoughts and our intentions

in the inner being

of our heart”

God’s Word cuts right through

all claims and profession

of faith,

God’s voice through His Word

strips away that which is

merely natural from that

which is truly spiritual.

A person may weep

A person may shout their

hallelujahs

But all our emotions may be

carnal just as easily as spiritual.

God’s Word divides between the

soul (our carnal expressions)

and the spirit.

(Christ’s Spirit living through us)

John Phillips notes:

We can have a thorough grasp

of Bible truth

We can be a walking

encyclopedia of scriptural

knowledge and yet not be

spiritual.

A person may have a strong

will and determine that they

are never going to indulge

again in a questionable

habit and carry out their resolve,

but that does not prove them

spiritual.

It is only the Word of God,

brought to bear on the issues

of our life, through bowing our

heart in meditation and prayer

over God’s Word.

And gather with others around

Scripture as each fellow

member of Christ’s body

supplies transforming

insights from God’s Word

that this exposure to Christ’s

voice in His Word impacts

us with life change.

This reveals what is carnal

and what is spiritual.

It is a “discerner”

a critic of the thoughts

and intents of our heart.

As we read, listen and

prayerfully meditate over

the Word of God,

it probes into the inner

recesses of our beings

and explores all our motives.

The Word exposes all humanity.

“Neither is there any creature

that is not manifest in

God’s sight:

but all things are naked and

all things are opened before

the eyes of God with whom

we have to do”

The word opens and is

literally the means

“to have our throat exposed”

This is a pictures of a throat

exposed to the slash of a

sword.

This is the exposure of laying

naked on a surgical table

for corrective surgery

We need to have total exposure

and vulnerability to God and

His Word!

God is preeminent,

Christ by His Spirit through

His Word is able to do what

neither Moses nor Joshua

could do:

Jesus is able to bring His

people into genuine rest

because He is a superior

Savior and because the

provisions of salvation

available through God’s Word

are superior to anything

found in all other education

and instruction.

It is imperative that we make

sure of our salvation and

that our true and only

Lord and Savior is revealed

through exposure to God’s

Word

What a tragedy to be found

to be a phony professors

and not a saved follower

of Christ.

We must take to heart

the example of the Israelites

who, although saved and

separated from Egypt,

they never entered into the

promised land and missed

God’s rest.

God expects us to live out

all He has for us in Christ.

This is lived into us by

exposing our heart to the

piercing sword of God’s Word,

We need God’s surgical sword

to find us out

are we mere pretender?

are we deceived?

are we walking in the flesh?

are we turning our back on God?

have we jumped off the surgical

table.

Have we run out of the room

of exposure and change?

Are we hiding in the dark?

Or are we coming to the

transforming light of truths

penetration?

Are we walking in the Spirit to

be filled abundantly with God’s

Word and Spirit for Christ’s

Glory

Can we understand the voices we hear from within.

God is a Spirit and the Spirit of Christ indwells us if Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

But, He is not the only one using our voice.

We contend with demonic influences.

Satan is called the “god of this world”

2 Cor. 4:4

God is trying to draw us near to Himself,

Satan is trying to lure, seduce, and deceive us

He hijacks our inner voice to sound like God and confuse us into

thoughts, feelings and actions more desirable to our flesh.

We have God’s voice speaking to us from within.

We have Satan attacking us from without.

It’s a spirit beings warfare of voices speaking to us—

We can yield to God’s voice

We can yield to Satans usurping voice that confuses us to set us on a

false course of sin and decisions contrary to God.

Know you not, that to whom we yield ourselves servants to obey,

his servants we are to whom we obey;

whether of sin unto death,

or of obedience unto righteousness

Rom. 6:16

We’re out from under the old tyranny,

does that mean we can live any old way we want?

Since we’re free in the freedom of God,

can we do anything that comes to mind?

Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience

that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom.

If we Offer ourselves to sin, for instance, that’s our last free act.

If we offer ourselves to the ways of God the freedom never quits.

All our lives we’ve let sin tell us what to do.

But thank God we’ve started listening to a new master,

one whose commands set us free to live openly in his freedom!

Rom. 6:15-18 personalized

We have no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do.

For if we keep on following it, we will perish.

But if through the power of God’s Spirit we turn from it and its evil deeds,

We will live.

Romans 8:12-13 NLT

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify us completely;

and may our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV)

We hear voices in three areas.

First, we hear our own voice in the reasoning process of thinking

and human conscience which is our soul.

Our soul is our mind and emotions.

Its our thought-life, emotions, and imagination.

There‘s the voice of God’s. He speaks to us in a variety of ways—

through His Word

He asks us to meditate on His voice

constantly in His Word

He abides (lives) in us.

There’s the voice of temptation, lies, deception and accusation from the devil.

That happens in our imagination. This is the devil’s playground to torment us!

Satan tempts us to go a path that is most satisfying to our flesh

for personal gratification or selfish wants.

His goal is to lead us away from God and toward an ever-increasing

carnal life that would eventually result in personal destruction.

His other strategy is to lead us into religious confusion—

These are religious beliefs, practices, and behaviors

that sound spiritual

but are contrary to scripture.

Satan speaks in seducing voices to lead us away from God’s will

revealed through scripture.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.“

says

Is there anything which lies outside the zone of God’s control?

Is He behind both painful and joyful occurrences?

I form the light and create darkness:

I make peace and create evil:

I the LORD do all these things

Isa. 45:7

I bring prosperity & create disaster’

Isa. 45:7 NIV

You don’t even know Me,

But So that everyone, from east to west,

will know that I have no god-rivals.

(Let me make it clear)

I am God, the only God there is.

I form light and create darkness,

I make harmonies and create discords.

I, God, do all these things.

Isa. 45:6-7 the message

MacDonald observes

“Evil as an act is not the direct working of God,

but the spontaneous work of a creature endowed with freedom

In the present context the contrasts are between light and its opposite, darkness;

between peace and its opposite, calamity.

What God permits, He is often said to create

God is precisely intentional about the course of our life.”

The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord…

God turns it wherever He will

Prov. 21:1

Job knew terrorism.

What does God ask him?

‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions?

Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?

Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

Have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?

Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Do you give the horse its strength?

Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom?

Does the eagle soar at your command?’

What is our God like? How do we describe Him?

Is He capable of intervening in our lives and affairs

or is it only occasionally that He does something,

but most of the time He lets things take their course?

Is God just randomly getting us out of scrapes,

or only engineering a few things,

or only occasionally orchestrating some kind of resolution?

How big is He?

Does He actually have our hairs numbered?

The tests of faith are varied and at times awkward

We’re to be transformed by the renewing of your mind’

Rom. 12:1-2

The natural bent is to be ticked off and torched by stuff that is icky

When God guided Israel from Egypt to their promised land

why didn’t He provide a fleet of stretch limousines?

When he promised Abraham he’d have enumerable offspring why

did he have to wait for 60 plus years to have a son?

Why was he allowed to watch his self effort produce the worst enemies

to his promised nation?

Why was Moses put through harsh failures?

Why was Jacob cut off from his son until he was old?

Why was Joseph put through slavery and imprisonments?

Why was Daniel after decades of faithfulness put in a den of hungry

lions in his 80s?

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill

He treasures up His bright designs,

And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

God is His own interpreter,

And He will make it plain.

William Cowper

God can resurrect a dead life

God can resurrect a dead dream

God can resurrect a dead anything that is dead

if we have faith and trust Him

“God … gives life to the dead and calls those things

which do not exist as though they did”

Rom. 4:17

O taste and see that the LORD is good:

blessed is the person that trusts in Him.

O fear the LORD, for there is no want to them that fear Him.

Psalm 34:8-9

We are always savoring the various flavors and tastes of life.

Some items of life are bitter and some are sweet.

But God is behind each flavor.

Do our taste buds savor His goodness?

Do we feel His loving reasons in each taste of life.

It is as we do that we’ll see His tender favor in each moment

that flavors our life. Then we will grow in trust.

But if we give up to doubt and worry about the tastes and flavors

our faith will be cluttered with anxiety and fear.

Life fills with dreadful flavors

The tastes of our circumstances will destroy us.

We will feel crushed by inadequacy

We feel locked in a prison of impossibilities and hopelessness.

We can’t taste the Lord.

We don’t feel His goodness.

We aren’t blessed with confidence in Him.

The way to see all our needs met forever is through the fear of the Lord.

Having awe, adoration and respect for all the Lord’s challenging ways

Enjoying His flavoring of our lives is our key.

It is in worshipping God that we experience His best;

Worship opens doors to all His goodness.

”Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?”

S. of Sol. 8:5

Lord, please we need Your support for us! Help us,

support us on every leaning side! We have so many leaning sides?

You are our only support! You are our only Support

in every circumstance! You are always walking by us,

Your mighty arms reach out and Your steady hands lift up

We are weak on

“every leaning side.”

We lean hard on You, We put all the pressure of our needs on You

You know our burden.

You shaped our burden

You Designed it in Your hand;

It’s made for our growing

It’s weight exposes our weakness,

When You laid it on, You said, I will be near,

You ask us to lean on You, You’ll make the burden Yours

Let us feel Your arms of love

We impose ourselves on Your shoulders

We give You all our sorrows, We draw closer to You

Please be nearer

Please embrace our worries

Please embrace our stresses

Let us feel relaxed in Your arms.

Let us feel Your love for us

Keep us from Doubts!

We lean harder into You!

Adapted

“Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast;

There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark! ’tis the voice of angels, Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory, Over the jasper sea.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast;

There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world’s temptations; Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow, Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials, Only a few more tears!

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge, Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the Rock of Ages, Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience, Wait till the night is o’er;

Wait till I see the morning. Break on the golden shore.

DROWNING V.1-2

WE OFFER UP A FLAIR PRAYER

Save us, O God;

We feel terrible when we embrace how others mocked You

We feel under rejection and scorn too

“He saved others, Himself He can’t save.”

We know You feel what we’re experiencing in our feelings

EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN

for the waters are come in unto our soul.

O God, their are rising floodwaters.

We’re living in turbulent times.

There’s division, there’s deception, there’s destruction, there’s disease

We can’t watch the news without feeling despair.

EMINENT BOG

We sink in deep mire where there is no standing:

Save us from sinking hopelessly in the mud beneath our feet.

ENGULFING BONDAGE

We’re into deep waters, where the floods overflow us.

We’re certainly in over our head

DESPAIRING V.3

A FRUSTRATED PLEA

EMOTIONALLY DRAINED

I am weary of my crying:

We will call out to You until we are worn out

ESOPHAGEAL DEHYDRATION

Our throat is dried:

until our tongue cracks and our throat parches

We’ll keep praying

EXHAUSTED DISCRIMINATION

Our eyes fail while I wait for our God.

We will keep looking to You until our eyes fail.

What else can we do, Lord?

We have no other hope besides You.

DESPISED V.4

UNREASONABLE HATRED

They that hate us with no cause

are more than the hairs of our head

Our enemies are so numerous;

and their mockery and ridicule is incessant

UNJUSTIFIED HOSTILITY

they that would destroy me,

their attacks seem to keep coming at us

being my enemies wrongfully are mighty

UNIMAGINABLE HELPFULNESS

then I restored that which I took not away

We try to pray for those who oppose our every breath

We want to be faithful to You

We long to bring glory to Your name

We want to be filled with Your positive energy

Jesus is the author of our faith

Jesus is the provider of our faith,

Jesus is the object of our faith.

Heb. 12:2

An author is an originator or creator

The Greek word translated “author” can also mean “captain,” “chief leader”

or “prince.”

Acts 3:15 uses the same word:

“And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead;

whereof we are witnesses” (KJV)

while the NIV and ESV use the word “author” instead of “prince.”

Christ is the originator of our faith

He begins our faith,

He is the captain and prince or our faith.

Jesus controls our faith, steers it as a captain steers a ship,

and presides over it and cares for it as a monarch presides

over and cares for his people.

The Greek word translated “perfecter” in Hebrews 12:2

appears only this one time in the New Testament.

It means literally “completer” or “finisher” and speaks of bringing something

to its conclusion. Putting the two words together, we see that Jesus, as God,

both creating and sustaining our faith.

We know that saving faith is a gift from God, not something we come up with

on our own (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that gift comes from Christ, its creator.

He is also the sustainer of our faith, meaning that true saving faith cannot be lost,

taken away or given away. This is a source of great comfort in times of doubt

and spiritual struggles.

Christ has created our faith and He will watch over it, care for it, and sustain it.

God in Christ is not only the creator and sustainer of our saving faith,

but He is also the sustainer of our daily walk and the finisher of our spiritual journey.

For if God in Christ is not the author of our new life, and if Christ is not the finisher

and perfecter of our faith through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power,

then we are neither born again nor are we a true follower of Christ.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to

completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” “In him you also, when you heard

the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our

inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory”

(Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Lord, speak to me that I may speak

In living echoes of Thy tone;

As Thou hast sought, so let me seek

Thy erring children lost and lone.

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach

The precious things Thou dost impart;

And wing my words, that they may reach

The hidden depths of many a heart.

O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,

Until my very heart overflow

In kindling thought and glowing word

Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

O use me, Lord, use even me,

Just as Thou wilt and when and where;

Until Thy blessed face I see,

Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.