Presidential Prayers

I Timothy 2:1-4 - "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

It matters not who we believe should be the president of the United States. It matters not if we believe Mahmoud Abbas should not be president of Palestine or whether Putin should rule over Russia. God still rules supreme over the universe and expects us to align with His choices to rule upon this earth. God uses all things to work together for His purposes.

We must never disallow His sovereignty to work through less than desirable leaders. However, we must continue to pray that these would come to the Lord. Nonetheless, whether they come or not, the ways of leaders are in the hands of the Almighty (Proverbs 21:1). He will have His way with them, beloved of God. However, we must continue to pray so we will be at peace with His conclusions.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Jesus our Anchor

I Timothy 1:19 - "Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith."

It is not hard to shipwreck one's faith. Especially if one choose to sail in darkness rather than light. Mariners saw the foolishness of sailing at night in perilous waters. Most would drop anchor and wait for daytime to have a visual of the reef or rocks below.

The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us Jesus is the anchor of our souls (Hebrews 6:19). When we have ventured beyond the light of God's grace, we should allow Jesus to anchor us until the light dawns once again. This is the marriage between faith and a good conscience -- believing that Christ will protect us in the darkness of our souls and staying honest with the Lord regarding our inability to anchor ourselves. Once His light comes, then we will once again sail free, unencumbered by contrary circumstances. Those who choose to go it alone find themselves another casualty in the bone yard of those whose faith is shipwrecked.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Ashamed of Sin

Ezra 9:6 - "And I said, 'O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.'"

How ashamed and embarrassed are we of our sins? Do we hear an inspiring sermon on revival and then head for the buffet after church and stuff ourselves? Or, do we join the Wednesday night prayer meeting and ask God to move upon our land and then stand outside and talk about "so and so" who has had an affair? (Of course, we say we are discussing it in a "prayerful way!") God mourns over His body as much as He does the world, beloved. We have become so sensualized in the church there is no longer a plumb line to compare ourselves. However, God desires to raise up those who live according to God's word -- who turn from wicked slander and sensual living. Or, those who weep out loud when they find out their brother or sister in the Lord has sinned! Beloved of God, it is time to be ashamed and embarrassed that many of us call ourselves Christians. We blaspheme the fair name of Christ by doing so!

Have we had enough of playing church? Do we blush in shame over our sin? If not, we will continue to get what we have been getting, and remain basically who we are.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Spiritual Breath

Job 32:8 - “But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding."

Before we were born again of God, our spirits were lifeless. Jesus Christ, through His indwelling Spirit has breathed life once again into our mortal bodies, causing us to take on the immortal. Just as Adam drew breath from God, there is life in no other than the Almighty as He chooses to give us understanding through His Spirit. If we say we know God and yet rely purely upon our own intellect or ability, then we are functioning from a soulish place.

The devil through our flesh will always seek to imitate God's Spirit within a man. However, there is a marked difference. The carnal flesh will tend to exalt itself, while the Spirit of God in the spirit of a man or woman will always lift up Jesus. The breath of the soul is foul to the senses, while the breath of the Spirit is always sweet and desirable! May we all manifest His Spirit through humble submission, invoking the breath of God to waft over our spirits to others.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Life and Godliness

II Peter 1:3 - "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

Many of us have heard stories how vagrants die living in poverty, yet a deceased relative had left them a vast inheritance. Their lack of knowledge regarding their wealth was the difference in how they lived. Our knowledge of our inheritance in the Beloved will determine how we live today and each subsequent day thereafter. We must see, as children of the King, that we are wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. However, our treasure is of a heavenly nature and satisfies beyond what earthly treasures promise. He has freely given ... may we freely receive.

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts that we might embrace all You have freely given through Your Son.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Redeemed from Violence

Jeremiah 15:21 - “So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”

Violence takes by force. Hence, the feeling of violation is because someone or something stronger than us has seized upon our vulnerability. When we walked in the ways of this world, we were continually subject to people, places, and things trying to best us. As sons and daughters of God, He has promised freedom from violent oppression. Whether it is addiction or the physical or emotional abuse of another, Jesus commands freedom for us.

Whatever would seek to hold us, these must loose their grasp when we accept His redemption and declare we are free in Christ. Beloved of God, our escape from violent oppression is to simply trust in our gentle Savior. The promise is ours if we accept it, believe it, and stand assured of its reality. ... He is our Great Peace.

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick 

Merciful Judgment

Isaiah 26:9 - "At night my soul longs for You, indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness."

I often marvel when the godless become all inflamed when someone mentions the possibility that God still judges the earth through natural disasters. These do not know my God. For my God is a God of both judgment and mercy. This is the reason He is holy. There is no other way He could be otherwise without the juxtaposition of these two character traits within His Divine Nature. Somehow, those who mock the God of the Bible have instead this sickening, mealy-mouthed god who chooses to wink at sin.

The truth is this, beloved of God. The Lord God Almighty has put every nation on a probationary warning that He will no longer tolerate sin. He refuses to bend His character to adjust to ours. He will not excuse immorality, lasciviousness, licentiousness, or perversion. If the Lord Jesus turned away from these and did not judge them, He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah on that final day.

If we do not surrender to Him and experience His mercy now, we will experience His judgment both now and in the life to come. Choose this day whom you will serve ... As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

Your Barefoot Servant 

Rick