faith, Ministry, Mission Trip

Wondering and Wandering

A. Knight

While I have been doing the “reading plan” with a large portion of our church, I have downloaded a few Bible Apps on my phone…searching for the one I loved the best.

In my reading and listening along, I accidentally clicked a bookmark on a particular verse–and every time I try to adjust it–or make a new bookmark, it continually goes back to that same one.

It is a unique verse.

Deuteronomy 2:3  ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.


Do you find yourself there?  In a place of wandering?  

Wondering what God is going to say next…

Wondering what He is going to DO next?…

Wondering if you will HEAR Him?…

While I’ve been getting ready for this mission trip to Bolivia–I’ve found myself at times seeming to be in a daze at what God is doing.

Sometimes we get a bit comfy in our surroundings…not willing for change.

Friend–can I just tell you with love in my heart–GET UP!  It’s time to head NORTH.  Life is changing ALL around you.   
Every.Single.Message our pastor preaches–seems to be pointing to “something yet invisible”…but very PRESENT…

A change among us that is so reverent that it carries with it a holy hush to even call it to our minds…

Something powerful…and passion filled…

All Christ.  Flesh gone.

Something expected…yet unexpected.  Does that make sense?

The coming of CHANGE.  

Change in our world begins with the change in our lives.  One will NOT happen without the other.  We are the fuel to feed the fire of passion of Christ….we MUST be consumed with HIM.  We must burn until there is NOTHING left of US–and only our LOVE for HIM remains.


This calls for self-examination.  This is something NO ONE else can help you with.

TIME alone with God is critical for this exam.  Open and honest hearts–and a penetrable and moldable spirit….

I have a friend who stops by for coffee sometimes and we get into this conversation almost every time...the unexpectedness of God–it is with MUCH excitement that we talk and share visions and dreams–hopes and realities….

what is HE DOING in our lives?…

we both FEEL something coming up…yet really don’t know what…(exactly).  We have both heard His voice in our lives.  

And His voice brought CHANGE.  

And our wandering turned to wondering…

It is a bit like little boy Samuel felt when God was calling his name in the night–yet Samuel didn’t know it was God–for he had never heard God speak before–but after that unforgettable night–God’s voice was recognizable–and Samuel sought God’s voice.

This picture was taken at the beginning of our week in Cambodia this year…and it was the beginning of a time where I felt I was wondering and wandering…not in a wilderness…but something else…

This was a “Monday”…after Vanessa and I had sang for the teens of the Dream Center during the Sunday service–

As these girls and I picked the stitches to widen the space for the curtain “pole” (not your average curtain rod), in broken English one of the girls asked me to sing–so, as I stood there with curtain in hand, picking stitches, I sang.  They stopped and listened…and I felt the glory of the LORD all around in that room.

I heard the reverence of the winds of change blowing softly through the open-barred window.

Change is coming…

Wander and wonder no more.  

Be pliable to the move of God…and SEE where HE LEADS YOU.…

_________________________________________________________________
As we are leaving for Bolivia this coming weekend, I humbly ask for your prayers.  We have over 500 Bibles to give–kitchen towel sets for the women in the village, supplies for the school, and tracks to give on the streets of Santa Cruz.

Pray for the internet connectivity to remain strong and that I am able to post the blogs and keep all the family and friends of my fellow missionaries updated!  You can sign up on the side bar to be immediately notified of all posts for this trip by”subscribing”.  You can quietly unsubscribe at any time–

I pray you will be blessed as you get to travel and experience life along with us in Bolivia.  As you read and pray–you become a participator in the mission!  Praise God for YOU!  We appreciate all the prayers!

(Bottom photo taken by Lois Solet of Louisiana–stay safe in the storm Lois!)


© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

Adversity, Devotion, faith

The AWESOMENESS OF GOD

A. Knight

At the beginning of August, we embarked on a journey that I knew would change me…(Operation 180º–Bible Consuming–prayer and fasting.)

I sort of had that “feeling”…something BIG was about to take place…

Almost from the onset, the enemy had another change in mind.

His plan–to steal…your dreams…your vision…God’s plan for YOUR life…

Kill…the joy, the hope, the abundance of LIFE that is yours in Christ…

Destroy…all the good that is in our hearts.

WHY?  He wants us to remain passive…

Complacent…

Non-compliant…

If you were here…we just might SHOUT this morning!( or maybe I would–you would be in sort of shock…)

Guess what?

I was a sinner…and now I’m FREE FROM SIN that held my soul captive and had had me hurling fast for hell!!

I WAS heartbroken…and now I’m JOY FILLED!!

I WAS sick (just last night!) BUT sometime during the night…after I whispered...JUST WHISPERED the name of Jesus…“JESUS”…I fell asleep–and WOKE UP HEALED!

Yesterday was filled with the same shadow that had followed me around for days…depression was creeping up behind me…trying to take me on the sly.

Guess what happens when we consume THE Word everyday…it begins to stick…

It begins to sharpen the edge of the blade…

And when the enemy starts in on YOU–then You will have a weapon that can take OUT the enemy of your life!

Are the troubles of your life going to disappear?

Not at all…

but you have a DELIVERER…and He will either walk with you THROUGH the fire…Take you AROUND the fire…or deliver you FROM the fires of life…

Yesterday…the enemy was creeping.  Affecting both the hearts of Jeff and myself…we sat down in the living room and just had a confession party –not a pity party…but confession…Not giving the enemy any stars…but just letting each other know where we were battling…

The battle had been severe…HOT even at times.  It turns out–WE WERE FIGHTING THE SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES.

Well–when it was spoken out–the covers yanked BACK–I began to see what the scheme of the enemy was!  His stinking,corrupt words?  I’m coming to that…

The enemy whispers the same thing to each and every believer…perhaps at different times…but I guarantee that everyone who names the Name of Jesus Christ has encountered the hot–stinky–nauseating breath of the enemy in their nostrils–and the distorted, raspy voice in their ears…OH–I need to let you in on a secret…MANY times the enemy will use YOUR OWN VOICE in your head!!!

Quit.

Leave.

It’s too hard.

Go back to a time in life when things were less stressful.

Take the easy road…everyone else is... (Bro. Shane Martin preached about that easy road last week…it is FILLED with people who ALL BOUGHT THE SAME LINE OF BULL.)

I have to REMIND myself from time to time–especially when it all starts crashing down…about the awesomeness of God…

THE AWESOMENESS OF GOD…

I’ve shared this video on facebook–but I want to share it here…if you’ve heard it before–you can probably sing it with them…it will do you GOOD! SING IT LOUD!  THE ENEMY NEEDS TO HEAR IT FROM YOUR MOUTH!!! FROM YOUR HEART!!!  SING IT AND MEAN IT!!!  (I’m not done yet)….don’t click on it yet….


News flash for all those who are “non-compliant” from the church pew…Oh, wait…”who”?  Are  you seriously talking to ME? Uhm…YES!

When things aren’t going your way… you sit down.

You sit down spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and PHYSICALLY.  (REAL physical issues are different…the heart continues to worship and praise–with ABUNDANCE of JOY.)

I thought this morning–as I was waking up–around 4ish…“I’m BETTER.  I’m not SICK!”…I began to marvel at the peaceful rest my Savior gave me…and I began to praise Him!

Every day you are given a CHANCE to celebrate a MIRACLE…and you sit with arms neatly folded (yes sir, I’m talking to YOU)…and you pass up that chance!

What miracle?

Did YOU WAKE?  Could you HEAR?  COULD YOU SEE?…I don’t need go on with this, Jeff already did this one years ago–the point is YOU MISSED A CHANCE TO PRAISE HIM!!!

I’m telling you a truth–there will come a day–perhaps today…maybe even during our Sunday Morning Worship Service…The CALL will sound…

Not for the first of several loads…but THE LOAD…We will be LIFE FLIGHTED out of here!  And no amount of JUMPING…or CLIMBING…or even begging and pleading at that point will cause your feet to leave the ground….

You better (I’m being bossy) start praising HIM NOW.  HE IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!

Look around YOU!  Don’t look at what you don’t have…PRAISE HIM for what you DO HAVE!!!

Now…you can listen to the song…NOTHING compares to the awesomeness of God.

As Jeff and I drove to a gathering the other night–after our “mulling” around in our pity place–we began to SEE and FEEL the awesomeness of God in our lives…our hearts…and we were HELPED!

Psalm 121:1-8;

I found this one as I was typing this morning…I had left my Bible laying open on the bar here in the kitchen…ready for my  eyes and heart to be revived….

Psalm 3:3-6  “But YOU, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the ONE who HOLDS MY HEAD HIGH.  I cried out to the LORD, and HE answered me from HIS holy mountain.  I lay down and slept, yet woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.  I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side”.  (NLT–emphasis mine)

RECOGNIZE WHO God is in your life…SHOUT IT!  Glorify GOD!  HE IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

Life, Ministry

If You Say Go…

A. Knight

If You say go, we will go 100_2723
If You say wait, we will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can’t be done
We’ll fix our eyes on You and we will come.

 
Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
We’ll gaze into the flames and look for You.

(By Rita Springer)

My niece sent me this song last year—before she left for an incredible journey…

He called…

She went.

A few weeks ago, I received a note in the mail…someone not understanding our burden for the lost… “why do you go so far?”

“Why not stay here?”…

I imagine Jesus leaning  over the table of Matthew, the tax collector and saying, just for him, “Come, follow Me”…

Without hesitation, Matthew rises and follows.  No questions.  No straightening of quill or parchment.  No gathering of list of debtors…just obedience.  (Matthew 9:9)

Matthew never looked back at his table.

His position.

His income.

His purpose was no long “his”….but it was now “HIS”.

Are we in that place of full on obedience? No matter what it looks like to the world? 

He will not call you to a work –a mission—or a purpose that is not already written in the record of time…and that HE will equip and enable you to do—bringing Him glory and honor as you put your full faith and trust in Him…

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

Will you go?

We have embarked on a journey of such…of seeking more of God.  Through His Word…through prayer…through the very self denial of certain things…each one is different…but for each one that chooses this Way…Joy is found.

Joy in knowing Him in a way that is beyond words….it must be experienced. 

Operation 180º may not be understood by all…but if you are willing for some changes in your life…by turning your focus fully on Christ—your life will turn completely away from the world…and target straight for the “Narrow Gate”…and take you all the way Home.

(Bro. Shane Martin preached a great message Sunday, I would like to encourage you to click on the website and listen in—video archive on the sidebar.)

Are you ready?  Willing?  Focused?

Let’s go.  Listen to this song:  If You Say Go, by Rita Springer 

 

 

 

 

© Angie Knight– The Knightly News. All Rights Reserved.

Devotion, faith, Life, Ministry

When God Calls Your Name

A. Knight

Walking with my sister, mother, aunt and cousins, along a dirt road last year, I was about to take a step over what appeared to be a letter.

I stopped.  Bent over and low and behold, it was an “A”.  Not placed by human hands…but by the Wind.

How it happened I didn’t have a clue, but I knew it was significant –at least for me.

Sometimes we look for a “word” from a friend…to encourage us…or uplift us.  But that’s all it can do, and sometimes that’s enough…for the time.

But there is a WORD that you and I can have on a daily basis…straight from the heart of God.

I am very excited about what our church has begun this past Sunday.  

Operation 180º.  It’s a call to prayer, Bible reading, and fasting for 90 days.

Did you just gulp?  90 days will take us to the first week of November–a time when we are thinking, “Thanksgiving”…family gatherings–hearts and lives blessed.  For many though, it doesn’t mean anything out of the ordinary.  It means just another day.  Just another 90 days.

God has called our name-–He is intent on giving us a message–letting us KNOW that He is present–and wants–desires for us to “see Him” and experience HIM as never before.

Life as usual won’t get us there.  It takes determined steps.

I know I’ve talked a lot about this…but I have found that I have to dig myself in mentally, spiritually and even physically to make time with HIM all it should be.

This morning it was raining–I woke at 3:13.
Odd time…the odder thing was this:  I began thinking of all the times I had heard God speak to me.

Over the past 4 years, I heard from Him… (not from any individual), 7 times.  Actually, as I was on my way to work, I thought of the 8th. Oh, and sitting here right now, He just reminded me of the 9th.  Significant words.  Words from the Word.

When reading the Bible, we read down the page (hopefully not passively, but fully involved), and a passage jumps out at us..perhaps we heard it recently, maybe even said something similar in days or weeks prior.  But the significance is when we FEEL Him say, “this Word is for You…for your –today–“.
Most times, tears fill my eyes as I realize His love afresh for me.

The 7 to 9 times of His voice I’m speaking of this morning was His voice–to me.  In my ear…to my heart…and no one else heard anything.  It wasn’t audible…but it was heart focused and heart felt.  So much so that the very words permeated my soul and changed the way I looked at that day!

7 to 9 times I heard Him call my name with a specific message for me.  Not to be ever forgotten (as was recently discussed with a mentor).  I can still feel the heat…I can still smell the smells around me–I can even still look around and see what I saw then.  It made an impact.  (I just thought of another!)

In every single instance–my mind and heart was fully focused, fully engaged in following HIM.  Not my agenda.  I want that every day!  

It is a fight.  The enemy does NOT want you to have that…why, if you have that, you JUST might start to BELIEVE HIM FOR IMPOSSIBLE THINGS!

I’m laughing right now, because that is what I am doing.  Believing HIM for impossible things.

If you DARE…step out on the water.  Believe for the IMPOSSIBLE….REACH higher than you’ve ever dared before.  It starts with determination.

When we first began discussing this plan of action, I remembered the compass on my phone.  If you have a compass on your phone, get it out.

I’ll wait.  Click the icon.  Bring up the compass.

Notice what happens if you fidget in your seat.

Fidgets brings movement.

Steps in either direction brings movement.

Changes.

The needle will go wild if you spin in your chair!

Did you know (perhaps at this point you do), every move you make alters your course?…Every. Single. Move.

One glance to the left, your whole body makes the adjustment…the needle moves…maybe just a bit, but enough to alter it….keep glancing to the left…or to the right…and the needle will move so much that you might not remember the direction you were headed in the first place….

Friend, we better know.

We better keep our eyes open and straight ahead to the straight and narrow.

It is hard?  You betcha!  (GrandBuddy lingo)

But the Bible says, few will enter into the straight and narrow path…because they can’t find it…their focus is so off course, they lost sight.

Hey, we are so close to the end, you must KNOW the enemy will try EVERY tactic known–every weakness you have, he will pull out to tempt you with…stay focused.  Stay alert.  

Watch your steps…better yet, watch the One you are to be following.

I have to tell you this before you go:  yesterday while driving home from work, I passed a truck and smiled when I read the sign (yes, I have this thing for trucks and billboards).  It was a “moving truck”…(pay attention), the side of the truck read:  “Dedication at every turn”….

It will take dedication; determination; eyes wide open and focused.  Prayer–fasting–not just food–THINGS that have interrupted your life and stolen time from God.  He won’t stand for it…He’s not going to “take it from you”…YOU have to decide to lay it down.

Operation 180º.  90 days of purposed steps in His direction will change the course of your life.

Go for it!

(2 Chronicles 7:14-16)  Read it today.

© Angie Knight–The Knightly News 2012

faith

How To Have a Big GOD Sized Dream

A. Knight

Ephesians 2:10  For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.


The Message translation ends the verse with, “work we had better be doing”.

Have you ever had a day in your life that you felt really—exceptionally good about?  

The kind of day where you could count off all the things on your to-do list?  

A day where you found yourself laughing—feeling energetic—maybe even in that day you caught a glimpse of yourself doing something you dreamed of doing?

That—is an exceptional day.  Even thinking about it today made me smile.  I’ve had some of those days—they were each experienced as a result of a “God Dream”…I had allowed myself to dream.

It’s our responsibility to discover what God has for us…it didn’t come on a slip of paper when we were born…nor as a result of a test taken…(remember those tests taken in school?)

You are just burning oxygen until you discover the “God Dream” inside you…the neat thing about dreams is—they are apt to change—or grow.

Small dreams watered—fed—cultivated—lived and experienced– will become a BIG—GOD sized dream.  Believe it.

You may be saying right now…but Angie, How do I have a  BIG—GOD—SIZED—DREAM?

I’m so glad you asked!  This is exactly what we covered in our Young Adult class a few weeks ago…so if you didn’t get to sit in…here you go!

  1. Believe it’s possible.  
    • Matthew 19:26   But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 
    • Mark 9:23   Jesus said unto him,  “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
    • Luke 1:37   “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
    • Philippians 4:13   “ I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

There are no limits when God is in charge.


Not your past…

  • Isaiah 43:18-19, Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.   Verse 25:  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
  • Philippians 3:13-14   Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Not your finances…

  • Philippians 4:19 (keeping in mind—our greatest need is GOD) But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
  • Psalm 32:8-9  I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel.  Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle or else it will not come near you.

    2.   Avoid comparisons.

You are an original.  Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Comparison leads to pride—or discouragement.  Ugh.  That even looks bad on the page.  Pride:  “So-and-so can do __________ better than I can…why do I even need to…..”  Being down about yourself is pride just as haughtiness….  EVERY PERSON’S DREAM MATTERS.
    3.    Listen to the right people.

People who will speak the Truth of the Word to you… That’s the ones you need around you….However, there are those who will lead you astray—andfollowing their voice will destroy you and whatever God is desiring to do in your life and ministry: 

2 Chronicles 24:2  “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest.”

BUT then we find Joash listening to the wrong people….

2 Chronicles 24:17-19    After he died, the officials of Judah bowed in front of the king with their faces touching the ground. Then the king listened to their advice.  They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors and worshiped idols and the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. This offense of theirs brought God’s anger upon Judah and Jerusalem.  The Lord sent them prophets to bring them back to himself. The prophets warned them, but they wouldn’t listen.

Psalm 1:1-3   How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers!  Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.  He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

When the going gets tough…keep going (growing) 

Life happens.  No getting around it.  Look at the trials as His training grounds for the “dream” or –on the next step to the dream!


Isaiah 43:1-3    But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
   4.   Remember YOU are not alone. 

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isaiah 40:28-31   Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wingsas eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

    5.   Examine your dream….

Who will be glorified?

Colossians 3:2   Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

It is not us who are to shine…ONLY JESUS.  If your dream or my dream will anyway point to us as being “it”…then we’ve got it all wrong.

You have been created with giftings and talents…that are yours and yours alone.  I may can do something “similar”….but I don’t have your exact gift.  

Just as there are no identical twins exactly alike…there are no dreams–or dreamers exactly alike.  

But our goal is alike.  “GO YE”…into the closet and tell the clothes…come out and be a holy nation?  (or individuals??)

Go YE…into the market place and tell every one they need to look like you, dress like you, and talk like you to make it to heaven??  Uhmm….

No…our goal is to win the lost…win them TO Jesus…show them His love…by living the lives HE gave us…dreaming the dreams we were each given to dream…working and living right beside each of them.   

See, perhaps they have a dream….and maybe they need you and I to help them realize there is One who KNOWS all about their dream…

It’s exciting to have a dream…it’s more exciting to live it.  To see it being played out each and every day….

Do you have a dream?  Be courageous...write it down…look at it.  Pray about it…. Say it out loud…see who the dream is for…who is going to shine…Jesus?

We may be talking more about this….

OH, almost forgot…the picture above is all about 10 dreams.  Count them.  One dream was realized and lived that day.






(Some thoughts from reading “Dreaming in 3D”, by Doug Clay–a VERY good book–I highly recommend it to ALL in pursuit of a BIG–GOD–SIZED–Dream!)




© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

faith, Life Issues

Teaching from the class room

A. Knight

God wants—desires for us to see Him everything—“Calling nothing small if it bears us His message”.  (Streams in the Desert, July 24)
·        Sometimes we overlook the obvious…looking for some grand display or show—something out of the ordinary.
·        And there are times God does that—but if we refuse to find Him in the ordinary—We will miss the grandest blessing of all.  (You may be tempted to quit reading, just because you glanced down and saw–gee-whiz–she typed a DOOZY of a blog here–please keep reading…it might be the one for you today)
Psalms 106:7-15  Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.  Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.  And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.  And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
·        Sometimes we read verses like Psalms 106:1  “Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” 
…and think God is just all “mercy”…that He will wink at and overlook our lusting flesh—our sinful desires—our carnal nature…
Let me share with you for just a few minutes the facts from my perspective: 
1)   We don’t have the mind capacity to think anywhere near what God might be thinking;    Isaiah 41:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 
·        We read in verses 12-13 how the Israelites believed only “after they saw”…
§  Don’t you know that after all God had already done in Egypt—with the plagues … you would have thought—they would believe God for anything!
§  But no—at the first mud puddle, they are in a complete state of pandemonium!  (I’m not tossing stones at them…)
“Oh, he’s brought us here to kill us!  We’ll drown!”  All they could see was what was in front of them!
§  Yes, I know it was the Red Sea…but to God—it was a mere mud puddle!  They were so occupied with the outward—they couldn’t even fathom God blowing the waters aside! 
Sometimes we can’t imagine how or what God might do when we come face to face with our own Red Sea—but don’t start overlooking the obvious…and being occupied with the outward—Just be honest with God:  “God, I don’t know what this looks like from your position—but from mine—it appears to be an impasse.” 
·        Unreachable. 
·        Insurmountable. 
·        Unachievable –but follow that up with a statement of FAITH…
“BUT GOD—Your Word states: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!  BE GLORIFIED IN THIS!”
o   Don’t shrink back…but praise and step out! 
o   God still wants people willing to cross the sea…
§  Sometimes He’ll provide a boat
§  Sometimes He may build a bridge
§  Sometimes He may say “walk out in faith…Because HE IS ABOUT TO PART THE WATERS!!
Oswald Chambers wrote:  “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading…It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us “go”…The root of faith is the knowledge of a person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success”….(read that again)
Lest we think God’s planning on making us the “next great” whatever–remember, it may not be the corner office with all the perks that He is leading you to…it may not be the pulpit with the congregation of 2,000…it may be the janitorial closet…or the congregation of 25…
Success in God’s eyes is not the same is ours…HE is looking out for the welfare of the heart…not our pocketbook–(and yes, I know HE will provide all our needs–according to His riches in glory–but your heart –MY HEART is a big concern to Him–and it is OUR GREATEST NEED.)
o   Your faith will grow as your prayer life increases…and your prayer life will increase when you encounter obstacles that test your faith…The Israelites faces obstacles—they made choices…
you and I have the same choices today to make: 
A.  Praise; or
B.  Complain
o   Faith is an easy word to say…but what happens when something comes to our lives that requires us to “use” our faith?
o   Prayer is something warm and fuzzy to “think about”…doing it, however, we find that the matters of life always tend to usurp their authority and place in our minds and lives…
o   Bottom line…prayer and faith has to be a determination of the heart and life of the individual.  It is many times a battle. 
2)  The tolerance of the LORD is running out…we are too occupied with our outward! 
§  The faith of the Israelites was contingent on what they saw, not on their trust in the INVISIBLE…
§  They had unreasonable desires for food…in the wilderness—they craved meat—they craved flesh…NOT GOD.
Romans 8:5-8 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
  • They tested God—God gave them what they asked for:

The amplified version of verse 15 says: And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death.
Other translations state:  plague; terrible disease; wasting disease.  
The Message stated, “empty heart”.  
(Read also Numbers 11:33–we find that as they were still chewing the “lusted for meat”–they became stricken with the disease–they got more than they bargained for–because they were not satisfied with what God was supplying for them.  They could have killed their own livestock and supplied meat for themselves, but they had begun to like the idea of being waited on hand and foot as God was supplying “manna” from heaven…they wanted Him to supply “MEAT”…eating meat was not the sin…having a cavernous appetite for something other than God was the sin…their sin lay in their belly.)
  • They didn’t believe until they “saw”…

God is looking for a people who will believe when things look the opposite…
Jesus said to Thomas after needing “proof” that it was indeed the Lord… “Thomas, because thou has seen me, thou has believed:  blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”… (John 20:29)
·        God wants us to be so in love with Him—so desirous of Him—time with Him—to hear Him—to know Him—that we are occupied with Him continually…that the outward fades—and the inner grows.
For inner growth—that can have peace in a storm, vision in the blinding rain, it will come only from seeking Him—if we want changes in our life—and growth—we MUST cease being overly occupied with the things of the outward—and seek Him with all of our hearts.

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

Adversity, faith, Hope

Foggy Faith

A. Knight

A few years ago, I wrote a devotion for Internet Cafe` called “Faith in the Fog”…it may be worth a re-visit if you have time (click on the link)…here are some new thoughts on that–which came to me after a drive to Tallahassee…and reading a post by my dear friend Marsha Harwood on Facebook…and like Marsha, I will borrow from a writing of Corrie Ten Boom.

“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off.  You sit still and trust the engineer.”

I’ve been in the dark before…when you don’t know where you are–it can be pretty scary. 

And sometimes, even when you are very familiar with your surroundings…it can still be a bit discomforting.  However, there are those “real life” instances when the snuffing out of the lights happens so suddenly, we are taken completely by surprise.

This past Saturday I was driving on the interstate with a favorite passenger of mine.  We were talking about what God is doing in our lives and in the churches in our area–and all of a sudden–from out of nowhere, we were engulfed in a fog so thick everyone hit their brakes.

This particular fog looked like a dense cloud of smoke that had settled on the highway.  It completely covered the two lanes we were on–but not the opposite side of the road.  Afraid that perhaps someone had a wreck and the smoke was the result–my guts clinched in a knot. 

We both stopped talking. 

Time for concentration…and we prayed.

As we entered the great expanse of darkness–I was amazed at the fact there was no smell of smoke…I decided then–it was “fog”.  The thickest–[way past the pea-soup stage]–fog I had ever encountered.  It caused me to suck in air–as if that alone would help me get through the murky road.

As we went along, the semi-truck in front of me seemed to lurch to one side suddenly as I noticed he avoided a car that was trying to pull back onto the highway.  (That one was a NUT.)

Let me tell you what I discovered just by watching the actions of other drivers on the road that day….

  1. Fog happens.  It can happen to anyone–at anytime.  A good day or a bad day.  It can happen early–or late;
  2. Do not leave the roadway.  You will cause much confusion to those coming along behind you if they see you pull off the road.  They may even think YOU are the cause of the fog;
  3. You will have to slow down…but don’t stop.  Once inside the fog, it’s a bit easier to navigate if you don’t stop suddenly.  Stopping suddenly will definitely cause a wreck.  If not a wreck…a severe tongue lashing that you won’t be able to actually hear–but will FEEL;
  4. When inside the fog–keep your lights on.  It’s just one of those things I like to do even on a sunny day–I drive with my lights on.  Let the LIGHT shine is what I say;
  5. Remain steady–and focused.  Talking to anyone other than God–is completely out of the question;
  6. Remember, it won’t last forever–and there are things to learn while in the fog.  No, you didn’t make the fog…but remember Who did…and the fact that as long as you keep HIM as your Navigator and Guide–you will come out on the other side…just keep going on.

You may be thinking…this is not a “devotional” post here, Angie.  But–I beg to differ. 

Re-read.   Turn that interstate highway into your walk with God.   Perhaps you have just stepped out in faith–or maybe, you stepped out awhile back…and there have been more foggy days than sunshiny ones…and maybe you have grown a bit discouraged by what you’ve not seen–even though you are seeking…and expecting…and yes, even believing!  (Been there.)
 
Can I tell you that just because we don’t see the “results” we may have expected…and just because things have become dark at times…that is no reason to stop.  No reason to pull off the road until things clear up a bit. 

Friend, there have been some “doozy days” in my own life in the past 4 years…but I wouldn’t trade a second foggy second–for the clearest-brightest day. 

In the fog, Jesus taught me how to trust.  How to lean on HIM and not my own understanding.

In the fog, Jesus taught me how to “see”k Him first–and continually.

In the fog–He showed me His power–HIS strength would become mine–because in the fog–at times I was weak.

Can I encourage you today?  If you were here–or I were there–I’d hug you and tell you very clear–our God is bigger than the fog is thick.  Don’t hang back.  Keep doing the things He has placed in your heart to do…you already know what they are–and you are sitting there right now thinking, “but I can’t”.

But HE CAN.  (And He will–through YOU!)

And hey, as long as I’m handing out advice here–I learned it’s okay for the tense knots to build in your belly…it reminds us that we are NOT in control of a single second of our day…God is.  And as long as He is…then you can relax in HIS arms.  Sometimes though, He sends the foggy reminders just to let us know “He’s got this”…

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

Missions

Tattle Tale-Tattle Tale–Hang Your Britches on a Nail

A. Knight

Do you remember that silly little childhood rhyme?  I remember hearing it when I was young…and I remember repeating the chant along with the other little kids in the school yard….

I can hear the “tattling” report from this one pictured now… “Nana, Jake pushed me down in the water”...whiny voice.

Nana:  “Uhm, no, I think you guys were playing “baptizer”….”

The truth…was both.  Jake pushed him into the water…because they were PLAYING.  Jason (with a whine) twisted the truth so that I’d scold Jake….and hoping I would take his side and pet and pamper him a bit….(I didn’t—I did what you would do… “get on back outside and play and hush that tattlin'”)

I read something last night that I wanted to share with you about the “real” tattler of tales–

“Satan is a murderer and a deceiver; he entices and he attacks.  But today he specializes in accusing.  Heaven recognizes this, and so  must every Christian.  Night and day he accuses us, and his charges, which are not unfounded, are directed at our conscience–the very point where we most lack the strength to fight him.”  (Watchman Nee, Daily Devotions from a Table in the Wilderness 1957)

Did you catch that?  We have a non-stop tattle-tale in our  midst.

Did you have a sibling who constantly was a tattler?

I have heard my grand-kids do the tattle-tale bit.  It is aggravating…because they are quick to point a finger at someone else, but –don’t go looking at them.

Then the whining starts.  Ugh.  That is as bad as tattling.

Revelation 12:10 says,  “The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accuseth them before our God day and night.”

Keep in mind…his day is coming.  And while “he” knows this very fact, he wants to see just how many of us he can disarm, dissuade, and cast into a pit of total despair with his constant barrage of tale bearing.

Something else we need to look at– “and his charges, which are not unfounded, are directed at our conscience”... Hmmm.  This is definitely a cause to pause.

“Not unfounded”….you mean he is telling the “truth” on us?

The enemy has a way of twisting things in such a way we soon don’t know which end is up.  He convinces us that we have reason to believe we’re a hopeless failure…he brings up our past…slams it down in front of us like yesterday’s headlines.  We begin to wallow in that–we begin to concentrate on what “he” has just “reminded” us of…not what the “Truth” reveals.

The “TRUTH” is –if we’ve asked Christ Jesus into our lives, the Bible says, HE IS FAITHFUL and JUST to forgive us….(1 John 1:8-10)

The “TRUTH” is “no weapon formed against you shall prosper”…(Isaiah 43:17)

The “TRUTH” is that we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the WORD of our testimony…(Revelation 12:10-12)

Remind the enemy what happened to your sins when you gave your life to Christ…remind him that HE is not ruling your life…remind him that YOU gave Christ your ALL and that you will allow only JESUS to speak LIFE and TRUTH into your life–and you are getting the LIFE and TRUTH every second you spend in the Word of God…

But every time you listen to the enemy?….You are being fed a bunch of tattlin’ tales.  And you are feeling more defeated with every syllable he utters….STOP.

I’ve seen some kneel at the altar–give it all up to Christ–feel totally NEW and whole–and then in just a few weeks…they are right back–almost where they started!

Why?  Because they didn’t get rooted and grounded in the Word…instead–they thought they could just “avoid” a few things and carry on life as usual…without the Word.

Friend….you and I cannot do ANYTHING without the Word.  (Jesus IS THE WORD) (John 1:1-5)

So!  What are we going to do?….

Stop your ears to the enemy by taking in the WORD…fill your mouth with PRAISE to the Father—be the “OVER COMER” that the Word of God already says you ARE!  By the way…speak the Word “out loud”…and do the PRAISING…OUT LOUD.  That will shut the enemy up.  He can’t stand either one of those!

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

faith, Trust

Rise and SHINE

A. Knight

There is work to be done…
sitting idly by is not an option…
if you are a child of God.

You are going to encounter the enemy…why not be working for HIM when it happens?

Doing what HE has laid on your heart…

afraid?  I’ve been there…still visit–but I determine not to stay.

He won’t ask of us anything that HE can’t or won’t equip us to do.

Isaiah 59:19(b)-21; 60:2 “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.  As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:  but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.”

When you think…something is beyond you….remember WHO is going to shine….not you…but HIM!  It’s not beyond HIM.  The GLORY OF THE LORD will shine upon YOU!  Don’t fear….

Settle it.  Once and for all.  Take His hand.  Shake off the feelings of “I can’t”…and set your jaw…gather up your courage….and follow after Him.

THROUGH His power and strength—(remember the previous blog?) WE CAN DO ALL THINGS that HE has called us to do!

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News

Life Issues, Trials, Trust, Wanda

Where Is Your Focus?

A. Knight

I read something that brought back a bittersweet reminder of my sister, Wanda, this morning….and because you are dear to my heart–and perhaps have a struggle or two of your own, I wanted to take just a minute and share it with you.

II Chronicles 20:12(b) …”neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”

I have to tell you, in the instant I read that–after reading all of chapter 20, I “heard” her voice….”I don’t understand….(long pause for struggled breath)....we trusted God.....(another pause–suck in air and strength), “but I still trust Him.”

You know, there have been so many times I didn’t understand what God was doing (okay, clear confession, I RARELY understand)–but I know enough of His amazing power and love–to trust Him. That doesn’t mean that I don’t pause along the journey and ask a question or two…but I join with Ezra (as it is believed he wrote), we may not know what to do in the hardest of circumstances, “but our eyes are upon THEE.”

If the battle is hot before you–and you feel the pressure from the enemy surrounding your life…maybe you even see the dust they’ve kicked up from riding into your life–

lock your eyes on Him.  Our Savior.

The Lord came in to bring deliverance–to fight the battle for them–but read back at the beginning of the chapter to see what got God’s attention.  It surely wasn’t the fact that they continued doing their every day deal—“walking in oblivion to God”––

Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD–proclaiming a fast (II Chronicles 20:3).

Through the voice of Jahaziel, the LORD spoke to the people and told them “the battle is not yours, but God’s”.  

I’ve heard many people quote that verse–“just stand still–the battle is not yours”….but let me remind US all…

their preparation before the battle was what got GOD’S attention.

SEEKING God.

I’m afraid too often we want to carry on just like we have done– day after day–and expect God to just come in on our grounds, on our terms, and cooperate with us. Ha!

I can just imagine the expression of incredulity that passes the angel’s faces as they look at our pitiful selves trying to “go it alone” and get it all accomplished…(oh, all for His name sake of course)…leaving out the very One who gives us the breath we breathe every.single.day.  Let’s not forget that.

My heart cries out to Him today for the places in our lives where we have shut Him out…

for those of us who think–“the battle is too hot…we may as will throw in the towel”…

Friend, don’t do that.

A year or so ago, I had learned that someone I knew very well had decided to walk away from ministry…from the very voice of God.  It broke my heart–I wept–not understanding how they could possibly do that.

Since that day–I’ve learned–there are battles we face as believers in Christ that can become so incredibly intense and overwhelming that the enemy of our soul– leans in and whispers—“it’s too much.  Why don’t you go back to the simple way of living.  Why bother with all of this–you are only wearing  yourself out!  Go back to just worrying about yourself–stop fretting over all these other people”….

Well, you know exactly that is what he wants you to do…”stop”.  Recognize that raspy voice for who and what it is.  The enemy.  The pure stinkin’ devil.  He is set out to destroy you and me–he wants to stop you cold in your tracks–and keep you from doing what God has CREATED YOU FOR.

Do you want to shut the enemy up?  Write this down, or copy paste this and print it and STICK it to your mirror—READ IT OUT LOUD.

“I can do all things through CHRIST which stengtheneth me.  (Philippians 4:13) and BECAUSE HE GIVES ME STRENGTH, I forget those things which are behind me–I reach toward what is before me–and I PRESS TOWARD the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ JESUS.” (Phil. 3:13-14 paraphrased)

Don’t stop.  Don’t sit down.  We are getting close to the finish line.  Be steadfast in your journey.

When the enemy starts his talk…YOU START YOURS.

But do it OUT LOUD.  He does NOT have the ability to read your mind…all he can do is plant things there–and he knows he has succeeded when he sees your reactions…and when he hears your negativity–and when he sees you SIT DOWN.

There is no sitting down in the battle.  As I would tell my girls if they stayed too long in the bed on a Saturday when there was work to be done…. “Get your butt up and get busy!”

(Wow.  I cannot believe I just said that to you!…but really.  Get up.  We can’t win this sitting down.  WE MUST FIGHT.)

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News