|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

Being a part of what God is doing is very different from responding to what God is doing in a way that pleases Him: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 NLT — I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, God is looking for faith that opens the heart to be led in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self control. Being in the middle of what God is doing...

Your presence changes the dynamic of the atmosphere you inhabit. How does your presence change the atmosphere?  It's up to you!  Your presence can accentuate darkness or light.  You pick. Our flesh reacts to darkness with more darkness.  But the Lord knows a better way. We can humble ourselves, decide we need to change, and bring light to dark places. John 1:1-4 NLT — In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. -Light doesn't covet -Light doesn't strive -Light doesn't try to own anything because it owns all things -Light doesn't argue or quarrel, gossip, slander, accuse, or complain -Light doesn't demand its own way -Light is unafraid and not threatened. It isn't provoked to react. -Light is confident of its s...

A Willing and Believing Heart Salvation is worked out.  That means the leadership of God must be worked in. Philippians 2:1-12 NKJV — Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him ...

God uses the weak things to call people out of the strength of man.  He uses the foolish things to call mankind out of false wisdom. If we don't separate from the world, we cannot be saved. The serpent lied to Adam and Eve and said the fruit of knowledge of good and evil would make them wise, but the wisdom of man is foolishness to God. God likes humility more than strength: Psalm 68:16-20 NLT — Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, where the LORD himself will live forever? Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots, the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary. When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the LORD God will live among us there. Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude Our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death. The mountain of the ...

Our eschatology cannot be separated from our theology.  I disregard any end times teacher who wants to tell me more about who the antichrist is or what the mark of the beast is than what God requires of my heart  in the last days. The last days described in the Bible aren't about what happens on the earth.  They are truly about what happens in the heart of the believers:   *those who fall away *Those who bear no fruit of the leadership of the Holy Spirit *and those who mature into the pure and spotless remnant of Spirit-led believers. The last days are about the harvest of the righteousness the gospel produces. If my focus is on what other people do, be it the devil, governmental leaders, the antichrist himself, the false leaders in the church, etc., I will be pulled into that very same darkness.  We go where we are looking. But, if I see that the spiritual realities in human hearts  manifest in earthly realities (not the other way around) and focus on...

The Spirit of Elijah is a Spirit of waiting on God. From Kerith Ravine to Mt. Carmel, what marked Elijah was not anointing, it was humility: 1 Kings 17:2-9 NLT — Then the LORD said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the LORD told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. Then the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 1 Kings 18:28-39 NLT — So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice...

To have a relationship with God is to truly know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The only way to truly know someone is to talk with them and listen to them.   I have to let down my guardedness and fear of getting it wrong for God to really show me what is right. I need a prayer life with every person of the Trinity, according to the Trinity: ***Father Matthew 6:6 NLT — But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. John 16:23-27 NLT — At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. “I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. Then you will ask ...

The true Christian life is a life of discipline. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 NLT — All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. My flesh wants discipline in the wrong way... It wants to work on being good for God.  What Paul is describing here isn't that at all! Paul is describing a discipline of humility... Yielding my thoughts, emotions, and will to God so He can totally possess me for HIS purposes. **Lazy with thoughts = thinking like a man.  Looking for the way that seems best to me to do what God wants done.  This is the original sin!  On its own, my flesh avoids a cross, looks for natural strength, and uses the most efficient means to get things done.  These are al...

Putting "the Lord at my right hand" means I stand at His left. Psalm 16:5-9 NKJV — O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. David made God his strength.  Just like Yeshua.   Our flesh wants tangible help.  My natural instinct is to go find any help in a crisis and call it "God's hand." It is only God's hand when I have put myself at His left... Not telling Him what needs to be done, not telling anyone else what I need unless He instructs me to, but letting Him lead me.  I take the low place next to God and He saves me. This is how God is glorified in my life.  God's peopl...

It is important to not just know what God wants, but to actually do it.   James 1:22 NKJV — But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. It is pure delusion to preach to others what we are unwilling to recognize our own need for: 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 NKJV — And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Being annoyed that others aren't pursuing God like I think they should be is unlike God! When I fall into this mindset, I'M no longer pursuing Him!   The kingdom of Yeshua is an inside-out one.  God arranged all the growth of the body of Messiah from inside out. Satan's main strategy is to get us into delusion where we fault ...

God does not condemn, He convicts. We condemn ourselves.  We rebelled against God. He was always good, is always good, and will always be good.  He found us going away from Him. He speaks to turn us back without making us come to Him. God refuses to make us accept His leadership. So He speaks with an open heart, "come unto me."   He does this by truth. Always.  Jesus is the manifestation of God's word. He is the truth, the way, and the life. Jesus IS the truth.  There is no lesser version... A more palatable version... A less demanding version... of truth. There is just Jesus' life staring at us in all its humility, courage, peace, resilience, vibrancy, and power. Most don't want to live an undefeatable life.  They would rather be victims, blaming, jealous, gossiping, hurting, wounded, hoping to some day win the world and bitter that it isn't happening sooner... Though this power-filled life of patience, faith, joy, peace, and the like is right there f...

All around us a war is unfolding... The war isn't a carnal war, it is a spiritual war.  The spiritual war results in carnal wars, though!  This is where it gets confusing. Spiritual enemies, if not correctly dealt with, result in human enemies. Not recognizing the war has devastating consequences on communities of people. A partial list of the enemies of your life: 1. Impatience 2. Jealousy 3. Unbelief 4. Complaining, bitterness, victimization 5. Greed/fear of lack 6. Apathy 7. Pride/shame 8. Self-seeking/selfish ambition 9. Lust for the things seen Not dealing with these rightly will result in human enemies, division, hatred, betrayal, and even war and murder. The last days are very confusing because God is letting a human war unfold to give the willing... The faithful...the meek... The perfect context to win an eternal Spiritual victory. This is what Jesus did, and He invites us to follow Him into the same victory.  Jesus already picked to lose a human w...