Stevemidkiff's Blog

In the first day of spring our neighbor
across the street took this picture

You look close you see our front yard friends.

The strange thing is if you look even closer
in the window my white haired fat head
is bobbing around.

Im sitting there
I never saw the critters

We miss so many things

Faith, is not merely
something we think

Faith is not a conjured
up feeling or emotion;

Faith is something we do,

Our action is something
that can be seen.

Faith is acting on the
revealed will of God,
obeying what He tells us.

As we read the roll call
of the faithful in Hebrews 11,

we see that none of these
individuals were commended
for how they felt or for what they thought.

They were honored
for their actions.

They acted on
God’s will as it was
revealed to them

from A Passion For Prayer

Ever been deeply hurt?

Ever find it kinda it hard to trust?

Ever felt — well… kinda betrayed?

I am sorry.

I am sorry for the pain that’s been burning a searing hole out the side of your heart, that’s scorched your days and profaned your moments with the lingering stench of betrayal.

“Everyone has been betrayed.

But betrayal doesn’t get to destroy your trust in everyone.

Just because every betrayal begins with trust,
doesn’t mean every betrayal has to end with cynicism.

I am sorry your trust wasn’t prized —
and a hard won bit of you was painfully lost.

I am sorry for what now is….
that should never have been.

You didn’t sign up for this.

You didn’t sign up to have your trust torched,
your kindness kindled into flame,
your security to go up in smoke.

You didn’t sign up to be duped and deluded,
used and abused, and you didn’t for one moment
expect anyone to play Judas and play false
with the story of your life.

They got what they wanted,
and you got shafted in ways
you never planned.

They got the upper hand and
you got taken advantage of.

They got what wasn’t theirs,
and you got what you never wanted.

Sometimes? The gravest wrong isn’t
how they betrayed you —
but how you ever trusted them.

Sometimes? Betrayal feels like holding
hands with what twisted into a trap that
chewed up and spit out part of your heart.

Sometimes? An enemy’s frontal assault hurts
less than the backstabbing of a friend.

And now, you’re desperate for a sign
that points the way out of this mess.

Ann Voskamp

A house may be weak, but a tent is still weaker.

Death is a dissolving of our tent,

Death is a loosing of the tent frame, and then it falls down.

Our bodies are not castles & towers that you have to blow up to take down

Our bodies don’t have to be battered down by heavy force

Our bodies aren’t even ordinary houses that have to be pulled down with a strong hand.

Our bodies are tents, all that has to happen is for the inner cords to be loosed

The pins that hold the ropes are pulled up & immediately the tent of our physical life lies down

Thomas Boston

Three hundreds year ago. Thomas Boston’s tent was loosed

Our bodies are so weak. Without the air we draw in with are mouths our bodies collapse

Everyones tent stakes will be pulled-up. This is a fact: our tent will be loosed.

A tornado rips through a town
A opportunistic virus breaches a cell wall and collapses a life

Every second the curse on Adam is proved true.

Our tent is daily in danger.
Our house is very weak,
We’re in danger daily & hourly.
It’s valuable to be constantly reminded of our frailties

The slightest storm can blow it down,
The smallest breeze can do it.
We walk among swords, daggers & bullets,
We can stumble into a highway and find our end
Even walking under a tree & small apple landing on our head

We’re in danger from within.
There are numerous disorders to undermine our tent.
There are small seeds carrying millions of deaths to our mortal bodies;
sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly but the tent is being undermined,
with any number of things that will make it fall down in a heap.

The seeds of diseases, are digging like moles under the skin walls of our tent,

Destruction is working as the bones weaken & joints inflame

The great weight in measuring of life as this tent

will be pulled down & our tent will collapse

Then Jehoshaphat took a position before the assembled people

He stood at The Temple of God in front of the new courtyard & said,

O God , God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven above

And Lord God

aren’t You the ruler of all kingdoms all around us here below?

You hold all power & You have all the might in your fist—

2 Chronicles 20:5-9

We see politicians making these decisions

We see city officers making these decisions

We see courts making these decisions

We know the Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord

Each leader big or small

Each leader just or drastically raunchy

Are ultimately under Your controlling grasp

no one stands a chance against you!

You drove the occupants of the promised lands out

Then You brought Your people Israel in

You turned all this beautiful territory over permanently to Your people Israel

But You led them to fight by faith against impossible odds for every inch of this promised inheritance

We win the victory as we trust in Your weapons of warfare

We will build our places of worship to honor you in these battles of faith

We will remind ourselves in the confidence of grateful praise

That!!!

When the worst happens—

whether war or flood or disease or famine—

we take our place before You!

(we know you are personally present in this place!)

And this place where we meet with You is our inner being

It’s in us You’ve set up residence as we are Your temple Lord Jesus

And we pray out our pain & trouble,

we know that You are listening & You’ll give Your victory as we lean on You!

Enough Light ~

“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe
In doubt there are enough shadows to blind those who reject belief.” –

Blaise Pascal

Doubting, involves believing what we think we see, or feel

Faith is relaxing in what we know God has said.

If we avoid God’s voice in His Word
If we argue against His ways in our lives
We will agitate our distrust

God understands our struggle
He wants us to come to Him with our pain & confusion.

Sometimes He has to sift our thinking by reminding us of His truth
He reminds us of His past faithfulness to us
in past distressing turns of events

The testing of our faith produces endurance & spiritual experiences

It’s our choice

We can have an adventure in faith & do great exploits

Or we can succumb to skepticism & wallow in hesitating vacillations

We’ve prayed & prayed & things appear revoltingly abstract

But don’t be slathered in dramatic defeat

Don’t bye the satanic hype of the trouncing mockers

We haven’t read the last chapter yet.

Let each aggravating appearance that suggests to be our collapse

Draw us deeper into God’s throne of grace

He will give enabling solutions to our ridiculing opposers

Pray on! Pray on! Pray on!

Keep Trusting in His intimate involvements that are proven through these difficulties

Let the wild emotional roller coaster lift us closer into Him

We were harassed at every turn

2 Corinthians 7:5

Why is it that God leads us in this way, allowing such strong & constant pressure on us?

One of His purposes is to show us His all-sufficient strength & grace

Oddly we’re more dependent in pressure than if we were free from difficulties & trials.

We have this treasure in jars of clay (let’s face it)

We don’t like admitting our weak dependence

Being pushed by desperate conditions

Is to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us

2 Cor 4:7

We just need to be pushed into His strong arms

Each awkward harassment is to bring us a greater awareness of our trust upon Him.

God is constantly teaching us how to rely on Him—
Our Lord is faithfully revealing that we are held completely by His hand
God’s Spirit is relaxing us on His care alone.

We’re being taught exactly how Jesus Himself reacted when He walked this earth
We’re learning each step not theoretically by reading His bio narrative
But we’re experiencing each step practically in on the job training

Jesus desires us to walk as He walked & stand as He stood under oppression
And He lives in & through us as the heat of harassments fires burn around us

And as the 3 men of faith in the fiery furnace in Daniel
we will find that the oppressive fires free us of our bondages

It’s not our self-made strength but our leaning on Him.

It’s not our human responses of irate agitation

But our stand in Jesus, that exhibits a trust in which we learn the difficult lesson
to never dare to take even one step alone without calling out to a Jesus.

The icky harassers will teach us to trust in our Lord more & more.

Their absurd, external & oppressive squeeze of us, will drive us to pray more & more

The irrational extremes in our emotions that well up within us cause a desperation
that arouses our hunger to feed on God’s Word as our daily bread more & more

There is no way to learn of faith except through trials.
These are God’s school of faith lesson plans
These preposterous aggravations are much better for us
as we learn to trust Jesus guiding hand to walk in us through each odyssey

And with each lesson of faith learned, it is a possession of eternal fortune gained.

When we chaff at God’s ways,
the possibilities of great riches
the experiencing of formed gold in our characters
will become impoverishment & losses to bitter acrimony

So we relax in His hands on us & presence in us
through the pummeling outside & pressures inside

Adapted from Days of Heaven upon Earth

Why must we weep when others sing?
“To test the deeps of suffering.”

Why must we work while others rest?
“To spend our strength at God’s request.”

Why must we lose while others gain?
“To understand defeat’s sharpest pain.”

Why must this lot of life be ours
When that which fairer seems is yours?"

Because God knows what plans for us

Will blossom in eternity."

“This thing is from me”

1 Kings 12:24

“Life’s disappointments are
veiled love’s appointments.”

I have a message for you today; let me whisper
it in your ear,

Let it gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise,

Let it smooth the rough places on
which you may have to tread.

It is short, only five words, but let them sink
into your inmost soul;

use them as a pillow upon which to rest your
weary head.

This thing is from Me.

Have you ever thought of it, that all that
concerns you concerns Me too?

For, “he that touches you,
touches the apple of mine eye”

Zech. 2:8

You are very precious in My sight.

Isa. 43:4

Therefore, it is My special delight to educate you.

I would have you learn when trials assail you,

When the “enemy comes in like a flood,”

that this thing is from Me,

Our weakness needs His might,

Our safety lies in letting God fight for us.

Are us in difficult circumstances,
surrounded by people who do not understand us,
who never consult our taste,
who put us under condemnation

This thing is from Me.

I am the God of circumstances.

We didn’t come to this place by accident,
it is the very place God meant for us.

Have we not asked to be made humble?

See then, we’ve been placed in the
very school where this lesson is taught;

Our surroundings & companions are only
working out God’s will.

Are we in money difficulties?

Is it hard to make both ends meet?

This thing is from Me,

for I am your purse-bearer
I want you to draw from & depend on Me.

My supplies are limitless

Phil.4:19

I would have you prove my promises.

Let it not be said of you,

In this thing we did not believe
the Lord our God

Deut. 1:32

Are you passing through a night of sorrow?

This thing is from Me.

I am the Man of Sorrows
I
Am acquainted with grief.

I have let earthly comforters fail you,
that by turning to Me you may have
everlasting consolation

2 Thess. 2:16, 17

Have you longed to do some great work for Me?

But instead have been laid aside
on a bed of pain and weakness?

This thing is from Me.

I could not get your attention in
your busy days & I want to teach
you some of my deepest lessons.

They also serve who only stand and wait.

Some of My greatest workers are those
shut out from active service, that they
may learn to wield the weapon of all–prayer.

This day I place in your hand this pot of holy oil.

Make use of it free,

Let every circumstance that arises,
every word that pains you,

every interruption that would make
you impatient,

every revelation of your weakness
be anointed with my oil.

The sting will go as you learn to see Me in all things.

“‘This is from Me,’ the Saviour said,

As bending low He kissed my brow,

‘For One who loves you thus has led.

Just rest in Me, be patient now,

Your Father knows you have need of this,

Tho’, why perchance you cannot see.

Grieve not for things you’ve seemed to miss.

The thing I send is best for thee.’

“Then, looking through my tears, I plead,

‘Dear Lord, forgive, I did not know,

‘Twill not be hard since Thou dost tread,

Each path before me here below.

And for my good this thing must be,

His grace sufficient for each test.

So still I’ll sing, “Whatever be

God’s way for me is always best.”‘”

Unknown

Since we are in CHRIST,

Since we have CHRIST

Since CHRIST is in us

We have all that is in CHRIST.

JESUS gives peace to our heart

He shows us that through our faith in Him our sins are no more ours, but CHRIST’S

God has laid all our sins on JESUS

God has put all CHRIST’s righteousness as ours,

The SPIRIT of CHRIST lays His hand on us, and we are now whole.

He casts His mantle upon us & we are clothed;

He is the glorious SAVIOR & we’re eternally blessed in Him

Faith unites our soul with CHRIST in an intimate bond as a wife with her husband.

Everything which CHRIST has becomes is now ours

CHRIST is the riches of our inheritance

Everything which we have becomes the property of CHRIST.

He takes all our sins, we take all His blessings & eternal life.

The interchange is accomplished.

He puts His life in us, we our the bridegroom of JESUS CHRIST.

He’s Delivered us from the rags of our sins & clothed us in His righteousness

Amy Carmichael, wrote

“Let nothing be said about anyone unless it passes through the three sieves:

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?”

Do We speak the truth about others?

But do we speak the whole truth & do we speak in kindness & out of necessity?

No, not all the time. And we rarely ask others to stop when they are spekaing ill of others.

What is true,

what is kind,

what is necessary:

Is This our standard

We do best by filling our minds & meditating on

things that are true,

things that are noble,

things that are reputable,

things that are authentic,

things that are lovely & compelling,

things that are gracious & a good report of others—

Saying the best of others, not the worst;

Saying the beautiful about others, not the ugly;

Saying the things to praise others, not things to curse.

God, who makes everything work together, will work into us the most excellent harmonies.

Phil 4:8

There is a potent medicine in the great pharmacopia of Scripture,

our overall medication should be meditation.

We will meditate on your precepts and fix our eyes on your ways.

Ps. 119:15

Show us how distractions are tools of Satan to pull our eyes off Christ

Reveal how weird things prevent us from hearing, meditating on & rejoicing in God in his Word.

Psalm 119 exhorts us to fix our eyes on God’s ways.

Meditation frees us to fix our eyes on Jesus & tune out distractions,

Focusing on Scripture provides clarity when we pray.

We Meditate to focus on how God is speaking to us through his Word.

Make us Lord, understand The way of Your Word & we will meditate on Your wondrous works.

Ps. 119:27

In meditation we understand how the God of the universe is speaking about Himself,

In meditating we learn about our world & how His voice is working in our hearts.

Deepen us in understanding Your ways!”

We remember the days of old;
we meditate on all that you have done;
We ponder the work of Your hands.

Ps. 143:5

Our his delight is in Your Word Lord
on Your Word we meditate constantly

Ps. 1:2

Discipline us in meditated focus on Your voice in Your Word,
Please lift our understanding, to remember & please train our hearts to incline in worship.

Let us pause to lift our gaze to the excellencies of Christ,

Allow us to bend our eyes off this world & to express thanksgiving & adoration in prayer.

Lead us in a Meditation to delight in Your Holy Spirit as He illuminates our hearts

Allow us to see & savor how glorious You are God

Make us to treasure every aspect of Your presence

We know sin & its effects, take the focus of our hearts away from delighting in Your Word.

We know sin tempts us to stop reading, to lose focus, to move on to other things.

Train us in Your Meditation & completely “arrests” our hearts to delight in Your Words,

Your voice is vital for our spiritual strength & joy.

Make Your Word our greatest treasure

We Meditate to worship You God as You deserves all thanks & praise for who You are
and for what You’ve done in Christ & for all You’re continuously doing in us

O God, by Your Spirit helps us in our weakness, fix our eyes on Christ,
give us understanding, bring to our mind Your wonderful works,
fill us with joy in Your voice & lead us to walk in Your truth.

Make the phrases of Your Word jump out to us as You lift up Your voice to speak in our hearts