August

#30 The Ultimate Relationship 8/3/2025

Please consider this:

It is awesome and wonderful as a Christian to recognize and cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. However, I believe that even more awesome than that is the opportunity to cultivate an intimate relationship with God the Father, our Father which art in heaven. (Matthew 6:9)

In a prior article, I expounded on the biblical promises of knowing God's Still Small Voice. It has been the most awesome and life-transforming experience in my life.

Jesus himself said, "I do nothing but what I see the Father do it." (John 8:28)

He also said, "It is not I but the Father within who does the good works." (John 14:10)

He also said, "Why call me good? Only God is good." (Luke 18:19)

He also said, "My sheep shall know my voice." (John 10:27)

He also said, "The things that I do also shall you do and even greater things." (John 14:12)

He also said, "Those who do the will of my Father are my brother my sister…" (Matthew 12:50)

I merely encourage us and all Christians to cultivate this profound, intimate relationship. For further clarification, please refer to my prior article entitled Unending Awe and Wonder.

I believe that it is the Spirit of Christ within that is the Good Shepherd and our hope of glory! (Colossians1:27) We in him and He in us, truly the ultimate intimate relationship. (John 17:21)

#31 A Favorite Reminder to me for several decades has been this poem 8/10/2025

God sends His best to those who leave the choices up to Him.

I said, "God, I must know where you are leading me. I ask to view thy plans. I have a need to see."

He said, "If you must see, and My plans you must know, then you can't walk by Faith and follow where I go.

I said, "Dear God, forgive! I ask no more to see. Teach me to walk by faith that I might walk with Thee."

Perry Tanksley (1985)

#31A The Lord is My Shepherd 8/17/25

Choosing the Tree of Life in a World of Chaos

"The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing." – Psalm 23:

There is a quiet power in learning to wait on the Lord. In a world where movement is often mistaken for progress, and knowledge for wisdom, Scripture calls us back to a different rhythm—a slower, quieter, Spirit-led life. At the center of this life is the Shepherd's voice, the Living Word, and the invitation to eat from the Tree of Life rather than the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Hearing the Voice Before We Move

There is great danger in acting without hearing the Lord's still small voice. While many may speak in God's name, and many thoughts may parade as wisdom, we are reminded that even in spiritual matters, there is a trap when we operate independently of God.

"Just what I have been telling you from the beginning," Jesus replied. "I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world." – John 8:25–26

"So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.'" – John 8:28

Jesus modeled perfect dependence. He didn't speak from himself but only what the Father revealed. Likewise, we are invited not just to "do Christian things," but to do only what pleases Him—what He initiates.

The Tree of Life vs. The Tree of Knowledge

In Genesis, humanity was given a clear choice: trust God's life-giving presence, or seek knowledge apart from Him. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was not just a temptation toward sin—it was a lure into self-reliance, independence, and ultimately, spiritual death.

That choice still confronts us daily.

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." – 1 Corinthians 15:56–57

The sequence is clear: knowledge apart from God → sin → law → death. When we eat from the wrong tree, we find ourselves trapped in a cycle of judgment, shame(nakedness), and dysfunction. We fall into the wisdom of men, which promotes comparison, performance, and legalism.

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise."– 2 Corinthians 10:12

But Christ breaks that cycle, offering us access once again to the Tree of Life—the Spirit, the living voice of God, and a new way of being.

From Religion to Relationship

Jesus did not come to give us a new law. He came to restore relationship.

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." – John 14:10

Here lies the foundation of Christian living: a daily, dynamic communion with the Father, through Christ, by the Spirit. Not simply following rules or reciting verses, but discerning and responding to the Living Word.

This kind of discernment requires prayer, humility, and testing:

"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." – 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."– 1 John 4:1

Cultivating Awareness and Dependence

The Lord does not want to be a distant doctrine or a last-minute check-in. He desires to shepherd us daily. This means:

Seeking His voice before making decisions

Letting go of the need to compare or justify ourselves

Remaining still enough to hear the "still small voice"

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." – Matthew 6:33–34

When we seek His kingdom first—His rule, His timing, His voice—we are no longer driven by anxiety or the need to perform. Instead, we are led by peace, resting in the assurance that we are not alone:

"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." –John 8:29

Conclusion: Returning to the Tree of Life

In these uncertain times, it is more crucial than ever that we return to the Shepherd's voice—not the latest opinions, not religious traditions divorced from Spirit, not mere Bible knowledge, but the Living Word, which is Spirit and Life.

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." – 1 Corinthians 15:58

Our labor is not in vain when it flows from listening, not just doing.

So today, let us humble ourselves, reject the false wisdom of the Tree of Knowledge, and return to the Tree of Life—the Living Christ, who speaks still.

Let us know with assurance:

James3:17 Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Let us say with confidence:
The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.

#32 By Faith Alone - August 24, 2025

Certainly, it is important to have faith; however, faith in what? There is a massive spectrum of faith, inclusive of but not limited to:

Faith in power

Faith in money

Faith in control

Faith in a multitude of ways of the flesh

Faith in God

Faith Of God, which is the manifestation and revelation of the Fruit and Gifts of God's Spirit

The ultimate Faith Of God allows us to fulfill the great commandment which is:

Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."

This is not possible by the strength of our flesh. It is only possible by Freedom In and Of the Spirit of God.

#33 Captivity of Emotions - August 31,2025

Please consider:

Our culture encourages many ways of anger management. Whereas this is better than nothing, it is certainly far from God's Highest and Best. Anger is merely one of countless emotions. What is true of the emotion of anger is also true of other emotions.

Eph 4:26 In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Anger in its genesis is merely a feeling. If it is ignored and subsequently suppressed, it becomes an emotion. Likewise, any feeling, if ignored and subsequently suppressed, becomes an emotion. Consequently, emotions are merely a storehouse of feelings that have been ignored or suppressed. The more that is suppressed, the greater the magnitude of the outbursts.

There is such a thing as righteous anger. Jesus Christ demonstrated righteous anger in the cleansing of the temple.

John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

Although many might not agree, I perceive His expression of righteous anger as demonstrative and not venomous. Consequently, I perceive it as an act of a loving demeanor and not a hateful demeanor. Whichever it was, it was not ignored or suppressed.

If we have a storehouse of emotions, whatever they may be, we are captive to them.

There are Godly provisions for dissipating those emotions and setting us free. The provisions are inclusive of, but not limited to, a process that begins with discernment. Discernment, not judgment, is our opportunity to recognize what God would have us recognize. Once we recognize the entanglement of these emotions, we have the opportunity to pray "in the name of Jesus Christ" so that they may be eliminated.

This is merely one of God's provisions to set the captives free.