Psalms 118:22-25 KJV  The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.  (23)  This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.  (24)  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  (25)  Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

I recently visited a relative of ours in the Dallas area and the home where they were staying was in the process of renovation. The owner, who was actually performing the renovation spent more than an hour taking me through the house pointing out all the details of the remodel. Everything was being crafted, not just built, with every room containing custom cabinetry, flooring, and trim. The home was thoroughly sealed to be efficient and there was no detail that wasn’t taken care of with incredible creativity and detail. Especially compared to many of the homes I’ve seen in this area, this was another construction altogether. This was a work of art.

There is an opportunity today to experience the workings of the Master Builder. He is able to take elements that may have been rejected by the world and use them to form a construction that is far superior to anything ever before seen. Much better than anything formed by the designs and performances of man, we are privileged to have the One who makes days and has specifically made this day for our enjoyment and rejoicing. Where there may have been brokenness and lack, where there may have been less than enough provision, the King is here to bring prosperity to every area of life. Beyond the range of vision that would only reveal the workings of man, there is a lifted heart and a raised focus to the sight of His doing which is marvelous to behold.

Revelation 12:10-11 KJV  (10)  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.  (11)  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

He was really feeling rather good about himself, and there was a whole lot to go on. He was riding a new bike he had wanted for so long and had finally received on his recent birthday. He had been worried about a math test he hadn’t studied enough for, but today the tests were returned and somehow there was an “A” on his. Then, that wonderful person that had captured his heart from the first day of school had marked the “yes” box on the note he had sent her indicating that she indeed liked him, too. The sky was bright and things were just looking great.

Until… that kid from right across the ally, the one who was always getting in trouble and finding a way of stirring up trouble, began doing his thing. All the good stuff that had been encouraging in the day became inspiration for his little comments that put a shade on the sun and took the spring out of steps. He gave a very unfavorable association to the bike’s color. He suggested that there must have been cheating going on for a test grade like that. And, that girl was just trying to be nice and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He had seen her with one of the football players- you know, someone more her style. The thing was, he knew at least two of the comments were untrue- that color was his favorite and way cool, he had not cheated in the least (luck?- maybe, cheating?- no way), and the last one he was pretty sure about. So really the only way the loud mouth could bring him down was to influence his perspective. If the negative view could also become the subject of conversation, he was beaten, not by reality, but just by accusations that created enough doubt for discussion. The battle wasn’t as much over facts as identity, and if his identity and self esteem could be brought down, the facts didn’t matter, he was overcome.

So, as he walked through the door and his mother asked him how the day went, he had a choice of how he would tell it and therefore how it would be for him. There was a lot of really good stuff to tell, but then there was also the other take.

There is some really good stuff going on today. Our Father, on the day of our new birth in Christ has provided for all we need according to His riches in glory. Where we may have uncertainties about our own abilities and aptitude, before the One who really matters our test scores have come back with the perfection of Christ. We can do all things through Him and the strength He provides. The question of our worth and whether or not we are accepted and loved has been settled once and for all by the One who is love. He will never leave us or forsake us, and He has made an eternal mark in the “Yes” box, indicating that He doesn’t just like us, but He is forever committed in His love for us.

So, everything is bright and beautiful, right? Yes, until that old bully starts doing his thing. He’ll use the very things that are true and established in Christ as fuel for his accusing and discouraging comments. He’ll make suggestions that those very provisions that have come from the Father are less than a blessing. His thoughts would turn the cool colors into embarrassment and shame. He will continue to claim that there must be some cheating going on, that all those failures are way too impacting on any possibility of getting a passing score. For the idea of acceptance and love, he will bring doubt that this kind of love is for someone else – someone more attractive and worthy.

No matter the accusations, though, overcoming is the order for the day. By the blood of Jesus our full salvation has been established, for everything we might need, for our righteousness, and for complete acceptance. All that remains is the declaration. Where the words of life are spoken, and where those words describe full redemption in Christ, there will be an experience of that victorious life. However, the purpose of the accusations will only be accomplished if they can find their way into the thoughts and the words of their intended victims. The blood has established a new reality that is only limited by its testimony. As the door closes behind us and we’re asked the condition of our day, it will be as we declare it to be.

1 Peter 2:7 …but it is said for those without faith, The very stone which the builders put on one side, was made the chief stone of the building; 8 And, A stone of falling, a rock of trouble; the word is the cause of their fall, because they go against it, and this was the purpose of God. 9 But you are a special people, a holy nation, priests and kings, a people given up completely to God, so that you may make clear the virtues of him who took you out of the dark into the light of heaven. (BBE)

Referring to the Spanish church from yesterday’s posting, the church that has been under construction since 1882, every single stone has a specific purpose, and any one left out will compromise the integrity of the completed work. I mentioned that there were still many stones yet set aside on the ground waiting to be placed in their designed spot. It would seem that they are really not all that special until they are functioning in the purpose for which they were designed as part of an incredibly amazing architectural and artistic structure.

While each stone is indeed important and essential, if long ago, at the time the first stones were being placed, a certain stone, the cornerstone, was somehow not appreciated and just set aside, all the rest of the stones may get placed, but the structure’s foundation would always be compromised. It could have been that everything else looked beautiful, with every room, every spiral, and the completed roof in place, but no matter how impressive in appearance and visually representative of a church, it would not have been able to stand. Without that essential foundational element, however, the construction would most likely have not come even close to completion, as very little stability is possible without an even and established foundation.

It would seem that there are many structures that are attempting to look like the temple of the Holy Spirit, but have somehow become less than appreciative of the Word of God, setting to the side the very part that makes it possible. Rather than allowing what might not seem right in their initial view to be securely placed and begin to change how everything else is seen, they attempt to leave what the architect had to say completely out of their building’s construction. Like the dad attempting to put the toy together without the instructions, everything will at some point have to be taken apart to include that most important part that didn’t look like anything at first. Attempting to look the part is not enough and just being passionately impressed by the Designer will be of little worth if what He has said is ignored.

I’m sure this has always been an issue for some who have wanted to have salvation and live in the promises but have disallowed the significance of the Word’s placement in the foundation of their lifestyle. In our present day, though, there seems to be a great many who let the very answer to their life become an offense and reason for dissension and separation. Wanting to just take the love, forgiveness, understanding and goodness of God, they set aside what He has said about purity and holiness with regard to their choice of consumption, entertainment, social, and sexual practices. It may be possible to set up a façade and conduct some services, but wherever the cornerstone has been set aside, there can be no hope of a long standing structure. Just attempting to use a chip off the block will also never provide the integrity that only comes with the whole Word, where everything else gets placed around it and on top of it rather than somewhere else.

There is a securing of structures today that will require the whole stone in foundations. Rather than getting put off by its form and trying to chip it off to look like we might want it to look like, there will be such freedom, beauty, functionality, and stability when it is embraced in its entirety and made to be the honored and preserved center of every other portion of our structure. Great relief, confidence and peace will be found in allowing the Word to be what only He can be, and just rising up strong and secure upon Him.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Psalms 30:6-9 (ASV) As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. 7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication: 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

There is only one strength that is immoveable through all the quakes and shakes of life, and it has nothing to do with muscle mass or bank account volume. This is a strength formed by exercise, but not by the exercise of body movements or investment principles. This strength is only maintained in the exercise of praise, the expression of a heart humbled and overwhelmingly impressed, not by the magnitude of the mountain, but by the One who made the mountain.

Hunter and I have been watching the NBA finals lately, and actually went up to the Buffalo Wings place last night to watch a couple of them at the same time. There is such a great demonstration of incredible physical ability in all of the teams that have made it so far. Massive giants are clearly shown in close range as the cameras make their size and superbly developed bodies fill the screen. Tattoo bodies with bulging muscles display athleticism that is nothing less than amazing.

As great as the physical demonstration going on in these highly competitive games, there is another force being shown throughout all of them. While the mountain-like bodies of the participants may appear unstoppable and unshakable, the display of wealth also rises up to claim dominance, both in the players, but also in those who are just using the physical talents for their own mountain-of-wealth building. Stadiums are filled with roaring fans that have paid exorbitant ticket prices, while every visual moment includes exposure to advertising, the cost of which is lining the pockets of owners and promoters. For them it would appear that their strength will just continue unabated as the aging of one group of athletes just makes way for the next aspiring group drawn by the allure of glory and wealth.

As impressive as these mountains of talent and wealth are, there is a truth that seems to be tragically illusive for many of them- that any amassing of size and influence is actually made possible by yet another force. For each of these earthly mountains there is an impending shaking that will upend and topple it, but for the Designer of it all, their passing will have no effect whatsoever. His glory will just remain and progress in its expansion as creation continues to proclaim His praise without interruption. The greatest moment in fulfilling a gift potential is not in claiming its glory for the mountain that it is, but in praising the One who made it and provided the ability to prosper with it. Mountains are so impressive in their beauty and apparent permanence, but to ascend and become them is quite the precarious undertaking. If dependence is placed upon them alone, their crumbling will be their end. If, on the other hand, their every moment of existence is given to the praise of their Maker, this glory will know no end, as it will remain unshaken in Him. Better to glory in the Mountain Maker than in the mountain He has made.

Romans 11:36 (KJV) For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

13 And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe.

1 Thess 2:13 (ASV)

“If only God would speak to me.” “I’m going to get off by myself so I can maybe hear from God about my life.” “It’s been so long since I’ve heard God speak to me.”

There is such a need to hear directly from the source of life, from the one with the prescription for the healing, the direction, and the wisdom for life. When it comes to issues in the body, a doctor’s visit can be arranged, where someone with a degree can spend a few seconds poking on this and shining a light on that to come up with the ‘answer’ for what ails you. What good would it do, however, to go to the doctor’s appointment, get a written prescription with detailed instructions and somehow disregard the doctor’s words as irrelevant to your condition, still longing somehow to ‘get’ the answer from someone who ‘really’ knows? Or what good would it do to hear the solution and yet feel that the remedy is just as readily discoverable on one’s own. Until truth is received as such no solution or direction will make the least difference. Until there is confidence in the source as if it were totally legitimate, it’s truth can never work its work, make a change, and bring an answer to a life situation.

I believe it is possible to hear directly from God every time there is an encounter with one of His servants. Whether or not His words make any difference, however, has everything to do with the degree to which they are received as truth. So often there are those who are yet longing for the answer to their predicament right after the prescription has been given to them directly from God through one of His children. Maybe because it isn’t written on the wall, spoken with a mysterious audible voice, or delivered from someone with an impressive reputation, the ‘answer’ is disregarded and rendered ineffective. Maybe there is an insistence that the ‘real’ answer must come independent from any other member of the body- you know, directly from God.

Paul was unceasingly grateful for the reception that was given to his words by the Thessalonians. The truth he proclaimed wasn’t restricted by disregard and disrespect for the vessel that was speaking it, but his words were rather taken for what they actually were, the heart and the voice of God, providing the exact words of life that they desired and required. They weren’t still wondering if God was ever going to speak to them, and they weren’t hoping to still somehow have a ‘real’ encounter with God. Every time they heard the voice of the servant they received it as the voice and the solution of their God. Whether from an established ministry or from that child of God next door, there is a word being spoken from the heart of God that, if received as from Him, will bring the prescription for life that is just what is needed.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Eph 3:20 (KJV) 20

It’s a bit of a wonder to me why someone would spend an extreme amount of money for a vehicle made to perform at speeds that are way above the legal limit. What good would there be in knowing what it is capable of while you’re just cruising down the road at the posted rate of speed, never really utilizing the car’s incredible power and performance? Though it might look most impressive in power and beauty, until the full range of speed is experienced and the handling is put to the test, it might as well be a low end gutless car that’s just getting you from one place to the next. For its potential to be something more than an imagination or a warm fuzzy source of pride, that machine will need to be taken where there are no restrictions, where it can be driven to its limits and beyond. Until then it is just a waste of technology, craftsmanship and money.

An incredible price has been paid for the Lamborghini (Maserati, Corvette, Lexus, whatever your dream car) that’s parked in our hearts. While it will get us down to the grocery store and across town to the mall, there is power in this gift that far exceeds our greatest imagination. In order really experience this power, though, we’re going to have to get beyond the restrictions, legalism, self-consciousness, and religion that would keep us functioning on the level of a puddle jumper. Once we get out there to the free and open road, there will also be a need for some bravery, a willingness to open it up and discover just how thrilling the ride can be when the power is applied to its full potential.

While our God is able and more than willing to do ‘exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think’, He’s not going to take off without us. The power that’s rumbling on the inside even now is just waiting for our foot on the accelerator. Actually, it will be the Word we are willing and obedient to boldly speak that will get us out of the garage and the side streets and out onto the open Autobahn. May this day be a day of daring departure from the ho-hum to the high performance demonstration of the Holy Spirit as He is designed and purposed to perform. No longer held back by our thoughts or hesitant prayers, He will do incredible things in and through us as He moves with beautiful heavenly precision.

John 4:29 KJV(29)  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

To have an encounter with someone that is truly great can make a significant life-changing impression, but what makes the encounter even more powerful is when that person changes the way you see yourself and the possibilities for your own life. For this woman at the well there was an immediate offer of water that would cause her to never thirst again. She would then discover that this offer came even while Jesus was aware of her present sinful condition, having had several different husbands and presently living with a man out of wedlock. She became convinced by Jesus’ words that He indeed was the Christ, but what would change her life forever wasn’t just her brush with fame; it was the complete change He brought to the way she would see herself from that day onward. No longer was she just someone who had failed at every relationship and become labeled forever as someone quite far from what a worshiper might be. She herself had conversed with the Christ and from Him she had received validation for who she was and of what she was capable. She had been accepted and respected for who she was in spite of her past sins and present depraved state. She could now see herself as a worshiper of Christ and because of that vision her place at His side was made possible.

It is so great to magnify and exalt our awesome God of power and might and to be overwhelmed and impressed by Him above everything else in life. For that impression to really begin to impact and transform, however, it will need to change how we see ourselves. While a life may or may not be in a depraved state like that of the woman at the well, there will need to be a change of identity and self perspective in order to ever assume the role of a worshiper for which each of us has been formed. Earthly patterns of thinking and a self image formed over years of living in a culture and atmosphere of worldly dominance will completely disable the unlimited potential that has been placed inside with the life that is ours in Christ. For every moment that is driven by worship, though, there is an opportunity for Jesus to make us aware that the spring of living water is actually coming from inside of us, welling up to everlasting life. We are able, each one, to worship the Father in spirit and in truth as we see ourselves as the worshiper we are in Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 KJV
(6)  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

One of the greatest challenges in relationships, whether it be in the home or the workplace is when a request is made for something specific to be done and this request is not performed. It was requested that the dishes be rinsed off and put in the dishwasher, but 4 hours later they were still perched in the sink with their debris intact. A particular task was to have been completed and reported on by noon, but nothing was heard from that person at the end of the day. An appointment was made for a business meeting during lunch, but 30 minutes past the scheduled time, the other party still hasn’t shown up.

While there are still some reliable, dependable individuals to be found, there is a natural tendency developed over a life of interaction with people to assume that if something isn’t obviously taking place right away then nothing is being accomplished and there is no performance of what was expected. Disappointment and frustration set in along with a fracture, however small it may be, in the relationship with that person who failed to perform. From that point on, they can no longer be depended upon and expectations for future performance must be diminished.

This developed tendency to assume a failure to perform is something that will be lost in a true relationship with our Father God. Though periods of time may pass when activity appears to have ceased, there can be a continual assurance that He has never discontinued the project He’s begun in us. He will never fail to show up, He’ll never fail to clean things up, and His commitment to completion is as solid and dependable as the sun’s rising. With Him there is an ever-increasing level of confidence and hopefulness rather than disappointment and second guessing. Completing what He’s begun in us will never be lowered in His priorities. It will never grind to a halt due to difficulty or struggle we may have. It is not directly connected to our performance, but it is, however, specifically connected to our choice to give Him access and be in Christ along with all this means for His progressive work in us.

Today, right here and right now, the great God of creation is performing in us all that we will allow. How great our confidence should be in His presence this day.

Romans 8:36-37 MKJV
(36)  As it is written, “For Your sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep of slaughter.”
(37)  But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.

Till there is a ‘thing’ and until there is a trial, there is nothing to conquer, nothing to be victorious over. While for some the attack or the difficulty may bring cause for depression and defeat, for the conqueror and for the winner it is only another foe to be overcome and another reason to be glad. Instead of worry and concern, there is inspiration and excitement about the coming victory celebration. This perception of imminent triumph is actually what enables the stance necessary for the conquest. Until there is an expectation of victory there can be no advance and no domination of the enemy no matter how great the potential and how small the foe.

With each attack and through each conflict there is actually a qualification taking place for the one that chooses to remain on the side of the Victor. Though David could have reacted to the attacks of the bear and the lion as some kind of judgment or bad fortune, He instead responded with the victorious nature that had come on him from long nights spent with his Maker and his God. His choice of trust in God through those smaller attacks caused him to be uniquely qualified to stand before the giant Goliath. There was, for him, an incredible confidence instilled by the attacks he had already experienced that enabled and qualified him to stand before the ‘invincible’ adversary with full confidence and excitement about what was about to talk place by the hand of his God.

It may seem that according to circumstances we’re being put through an inordinate amount of life difficulty. It may seem that things are unfair, that we’ve been wrongly dealt bad experiences. For all those, however, who choose to put their trust and their hope in God, no matter how much they’ve messed up or chosen wrongly, there is an incredible reason to be glad and rejoice. God will take everything that our enemy has used for evil in our lives and turn it to His glory. We’ll indeed more than conquer through Him!

John 9:3-5 KJV
(3) Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
(4) I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
(5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

There are two times in the work day that are most significant for anyone working outside- dawn and dusk. The early morning has an incredible freshness and anticipation as the sun is just getting ready to rise on the Eastern horizon. Like the rebooted computer, there is a fresh start with a new day and renewed energy and vision. Work that has been withheld due to the darkness can begin or resume as the sun’s first rays begin to shine on the work area. As that same sun comes to the end of it’s journey at day’s end, however, there is a certain uncompromised finality to any work that had been enabled by its illumination. While there are lighted areas where labor may continue beyond the sun’s setting, the majority of construction and outdoor maintenance work takes place in the light of day, when it is most safe, efficient and functional to work effectively.

There is ‘God’ work that is just waiting for the light of the Son to shine so that His illumination may enable the work that can only be accomplished in His presence. It’s an incredibly defining moment when a condition that has been endured for some time comes into the light of day and the Redeemer who has committed Himself to our total and complete salvation and wholeness is given access to our workspace. While analysis could go on as to why this work has remained undone up to this point, the work of the day will only be inhibited if the power of the former darkness is allowed to shadow the Son’s present light. To attempt discovery of fault and who might be to blame for the condition in the first place is to only remain in the realm of uncertainty where the true answer and solution is concealed in the night. While there may be some validity to the source, the Solution is so much more powerful and affective if He will only be magnified above the reason(s) for the malady and allowed to administer His brightness.

The greatest victories come from the greatest challenges and without a significant opponent, there is no glory to the conqueror. There is a reason, then, that can be given for the existence of any hardship, trial or sickness – it is merely another opportunity for the undefeated Victor to be glorified. As this is made clear in the radiance of His presence, then He becomes the focus of the conversation and to give Him glory can be the reason for any condition, although other reasons may have also contributed.

Within each of us on a moment by moment basis is an opportunity for the works of God to be manifested and for His glory to rise above any other. Where Jesus is shining and His glory is illuminating all areas of our hearts, it is day time, the time for the work of the Father to continue towards completion. His brightness is for restoration and righteousness rather than for condemnation, and His will be an atmosphere of heavenly production in the building up of the kingdom in us. For every opposition that comes our way in our bodies, relationships, occupations, finances, etc. there is a very specific reason that can be given – that the works of God may be manifest in us. As long as His light is revealed and unconcealed there can be great expectation of His manifested work.

2 Peter 1:19 KJV
(19) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Ephesians 2:10 KJV
(10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.