hballingerLeave a comment

Slow to anger and judgement, yes. But slow doesn’t mean never. Are you ready?

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.
Nahum 1:3, 7-8 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/nam.1.3-8.NKJV

We serve a righteous, holy, perfect God. He calls us to “be perfect as I am perfect”. He offers us forgiveness and healing and tells us to “go and sin no more”. He tells us that if we “sin willfully after having received knowledge of the truth that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a certain fearful expectation of judgement”. He tells us that “the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God”.

Over and over, He tells us that we are to pick up our cross and bear it,  to follow in His footsteps, to turn away from evil and darkness, to love Him with every fiber of our being. And as if the price that He paid on the cross is not enough,  as if the free gift of grace and freedom from sin is not sufficient, as if He “owes us” more – so many are not interested in a holy,  righteous,  upright,  repentant life because we would rather have our sin and pleasure and things of this world.

Foolish, foolish men and women –  lost and stumbing in the darkness – drunk on the temptations and idols of this world – speaking a name in prayer with their tongues to deceive themselves while proving their true loyalty,  their true master, in the lives they live. Are you just playing religion?  Are you just playing church?  Are you just lying to yourself and others about who it is you serve? Do you not know the deep darkness of your soul? Do you not know that you are far from God? Do you not know that you are still dead and condemned in your sinful service and slavery to that other master?

Turn back to the Lord while there is still time. Do not be lukewarm or complacent or comfortable in the salvation that you are running this race to one day receive. Do not think that because you cannot be plucked from the hand of the Lord that you are allowed to remain in your wickedness. The enemy has no power over you – you are free indeed to make your own choices and decisions – you are no longer controlled by demons that overpower you – your struggle is against your own flesh nature – your trials are opportunities for His Holy Spirit to be manifest into this world through you as His will being done on earth as it is in Heaven – so you no longer have an excuse for your deciding to turn away from the Lord and run back into the darkness.

That sin of your past, bring it to your one and only advocate in Christ Jesus,  and accept forgiveness and freedom – true freedom, to no longer be a slave to sin.  Walk in a new life with Christ as your Lord and Savior. He is not your Savior if He is not your Lord. You cannot serve two masters. Choose today who you will serve, because if Christ has freed you,  you are free indeed,  Christian. Awake. Arise. Surrender your life as a living sacrifice – the inevitable result of true belief, of grattitude, of discipleship to Christ. Walk as a new creation, filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ who lives in you.

Trust in Him. Seek Him diligently in scripture, in prayer, in fellowship with other believers, in a dedication to learn His ways and followin His footsteps. Find Him manifest in your abundant life of love and service to others.

If He is not manifest in your life. If you are still living and serving darkness. Open your eyes to the truth of your blindness. Recognize your need for Him. He is waiting for you,  friend. Leave the slip of the pigs and the vomit of the dogs and return to your Father’s house today.

hballingerLeave a comment

The call is going out, the trumpet is sounding

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there  were very many in the open valley; and indeed they  were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God , You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord .” ’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there  was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord , when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord , have spoken it and performed it, ” says the Lord .’ ”
Ezekiel 37:1-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/ezk.37.1-14.NKJV

You are called to wake up, sleeping Christian. You are called to rise and walk upright in the strength of His Holy Spirit, of Christ who lives in you. Prepare yourself,  for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to  the  poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to  the  captives And recovery of sight to  the  blind, To  set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord .”
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.4.18-19.NKJV

You have been called, not to sit stationary and unchanged, not hidden amongst the shadows of this world – but to bring the light of Hope, Faith, and Love into a lost, diseased,  sinful, dying world.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.28.18-20.NKJV

You are called both to be a disciple and to make disciples. You are called to be a student of the Word of God,  seeking His face,  His way,  His truth,  His life come alive in you,  today and forevermore.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Revelation 12:10-12 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rev.12.10-12.NKJV

it is the Blood of the Lamb that frees you, the power of His Holy Spirit that empowers you, so that your living testimony can shine the light of His grace and glory into this dark world,  and so that your picking up your cross and bearing the burdens of others will be an undeniable manifestation of Christ alive and at work,  still today feeding His Sheep and leading them through the trials of this world into the peace of eternal life in Christ.

Let our lives be a living testament that Christ lives and moves and serves His faithful today, the same as it ever was.

hballingerLeave a comment

What we seek, we will find

Seek the Lord , all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord ’s anger.
Zephaniah 2:3 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/zep.2.3.NKJV

“Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord , “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.
“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord , To serve Him with one accord. In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord . The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid.”
Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord , is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:8-9, 11-17 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/zep.3.8-17.NKJV

Are your eyes open to see the path?

Let’s shine light on the path set before us –

Hear the instructions of the Lord,
that He has spoken through Zephaniah, the same voice of God today,
that has always been:

1) Judgement is coming
2) Seek the Lord
3) Be meek and not haughty
4) Seek righteousness not sinfulness
5) Seek humility not worldliness/pride
6) Hope to escape the Lord’s anger and wrath that we deserve for our rebellious and prideful ways
7) Wait faithfully upon the Lord
8) Call upon the name of the Lord
9) Serve the Lord
10) Seek forgiveness and repentance
11) Be a meek and humble people trusting in the Lord, not in self or this world
12) Do no unrighteousness
13) Speak no lies
14) Avoid deceit
15) Feed His Sheep
16) Do not fear evil/temptation
17) Rejoice
18) Know the defeat of the enemy
19) Know that the Lord is in your midst,  He is with you
20) Stand firm and bold in Christ Jesus
21) Know the peace of walking in the Spirit

Thus says the Lord God, Christ Jesus, who is God come in the flesh to live a righteous and blameless life of example and instruction, to die upon the cross not only for our forgiveness,  but so that we might come to repentance and become like Him in our own lives today and each day, as we die to self and live for Christ. He is the living Word of God,  who sits at the right hand of God the Father, to welcome those who have hearts to hear and obey the voice of the Lord because they love Him, because they are grateful for the high price paid for the gift of their redemption.

hballingerLeave a comment

Deep Need, Great Mercy, Amazing Love

I have heard all about you, Lord .
I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger, remember your mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2 NLT
http://bible.com/116/hab.3.2.NLT

We have heard about Him. In fact so many have heard the name of Jesus in today’s world where there are churches on so many corners. But how many of us are in awe of God when science offers us the answers of men in their attempt to understand and explain the wonders of creation and existence? How many of us recognize our deep need for Him and cry out to Him for help?

The Lord  is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The Lord  is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
Psalms 145:17-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/psa.145.17-19.NKJV

God is Holy and righteous. And those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ,  who believe and receive the cleansing and redeeming Blood of the Lamb of God are not only forgiven, but receive His Holy Spirit to guide and teach us His desires, His will, His purpose for our lives. Our old ways of slavery to sin and death are cast away and we are free to live a new life being reconciled to be more like Him. We are to be equipped and prepared for His Holy use. Yes, us who were once wretched and wicked and proud and lost and blind – we who were serving another master – are now offered a place in our living heavenly Father’s family.

I will exalt you, Lord ,
for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
O  Lord my God,
I cried to you for help,
and you restored my health.
You brought me up from the grave, O  Lord .
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
Sing to the Lord , all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Psalms 30:1-5 NLT
http://bible.com/116/psa.30.1-5.NLT

We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us eternal life, life abundant, life filled with His ways, His Truth, His life. What can we offer in return for such an unmerited, undeserved gift?

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rom.12.1-2.NLT

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.22.37-40.NLT

hballingerLeave a comment

Neither do I condemn you

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and  sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 8:10-12 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/jhn.8.10-12.NKJV

As we are wrapping up the season of Lent and with Palm Sunday coming next week – today, I’m looking at what lessons Jesus was teaching in preparation for His departure. From the mount of Olives again (almost like the other set of book ends matching the start of His teaching in his Olivet discourse and the Beattitudes in Matthew 5), Jesus now teaches those who believe they are “religious enough” to judge others what His Kingdom is about.

Yes, it is about repentance and sinning no more. But it isn’t about judging and condemning others. He brings hope,  faith, and love to a world in need. And this is what we are meant to bring if we follow in His footsteps. We are not the accusers of our brethren,  we are the liberators.

hballingerLeave a comment

Where will we make our home?

And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or  to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall  be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything  but death parts you and me.”
Ruth 1:15-17 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rut.1.15-17.NKJV

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:21-23 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/jhn.14.21-23.NKJV

We choose each day who it is we are making our home with. Are we making our home with the world? Or are we a traveler here in this place making preparations for our eternal home? What we do today,  how we live,  is the reflection of what our heart truly desires – indicates what we truly believe. What will your life say today about where you have chosen to make your home?

As we make decisions about selling our home and moving to the farm,  I hope that our decisions are not as much about the house that we will be constructing – as about the home that we will be making for our family and friends.

Lord, don’t allow us to be satisfied living a life where you have not infiltrated every area of our life. Lord,  create in us a hunger to leave the temporary and worthless things of this world and to cling to the abundant life of a day filled with the fruit of your Holy Spirit. Teach us to love and serve and honor you in our actions, in our service,  from the time we wake up until the time that we go to sleep. Teach us to side step empty religious practice and to instead, dive into a life swimming in your presence. Teach us to love. Teach us to live. Amen.

hballingerLeave a comment

Costly? Valuable.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mrk.8.34-38.NKJV

Deny ourselves.
Take up our cross.
Follow Christ.
Die to self.

In a world of nominal and worldly “Christians” – where the capitalist dream of wealth,  comfort,  security,  and pleasure rules people’s hearts and desires – this call seems quite contrary to to the cheap and easy grace of a Roman’s Road Sinner’s Prayer splashed on a television screen as the evangelist asks for money to be sent in to buy his latest merchandise. In fact, it seems quite contrary to the altar calls and spontaneous baptisms of the mega-churches of our day.

Christ is talking to us about a costly type of discipleship that doesn’t just ask for intellectual ascent by thinking that we believe – but He tells us about a sacrificial life lived following Him that proves that we believe.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it —  lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Luke 14:26-35 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.14.26-35.NKJV

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;  and ‘a man’s enemies  will be  those of his  own  household.’  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.10.34-39.NKJV

hballingerLeave a comment

Learning Repentance, Receiving Peace

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
2 Peter 3:9-11 ESV
http://bible.com/59/2pe.3.9-11.ESV

Teach me Your way, O Lord , And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I  would  have  lost  heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord ; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord !
Psalms 27:11-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/psa.27.11-14.NKJV

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the  death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the  life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:8-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rom.6.8-14.NKJV

“The Lord  bless you and keep you; The Lord  make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/num.6.24-26.NKJV

Your ways confound the wise. Men of flesh fear their own deaths, as their instinct is to avoid it at all costs. But you have taught us that death is the way to life. Help us to do what is difficult – to die to ourselves, to kill our old ways and to become new, walking in your will.  Teach us to be genuinely sorry for our sin,  to hate it more and more,  and to run away from it and into the life and purpose you have for us. Teach us to bring glory and honor to your name in the lives that we live. Strengthen us to see our enemies of temptation, rebellion, worldliness, and self fall dead and defeated at the foot of the cross. Amen.

hballingerLeave a comment

Created for Good Works

And you He  made  alive,  who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/eph.2.1-10.NKJV

It is not our good works that earn our salvation, but through good works are a blessing and an opportunity to participate in His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Yes, we are familiar with the wages of sin. We have walked that path before and we have experienced the consequences of that life. But God has offered us a new, abundant life in Christ – one of forgiveness, fellowship and relationship as we learn and grow in a new life,  following His example.

Lord, do not let us forget our past, otherwise we might become proud thinking that we have accomplished something on our own. Do not let us be paralyzed by guilt and shame of our past disobedient ways,  otherwise we might miss out on the glorious opportunity to serve you now. Let us remember the redeeming powerofthe Blood of the Lamb, and the strength and power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to realize the value of this amazing gift of grace and to walk in grattitude today, Lord. We love you. Amen.

hballingerLeave a comment

Come to the Waters

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what  is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what  is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Isaiah 55:1-2 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/isa.55.1-2.NKJV

The things of God satisfy. There is a verse “every good gift comes from God”, but I wonder how many times we’ve looked at the cheap substitutes and thought that they were “blessings” when they ended up being idols and traps for our selfish, prideful, rebellious hearts?

Those things that we find ourself clinging to – things, wealth, comfort, security, pleasure – how many of them truly satisfy without leaving us hungry for even more after a short while? That isn’t satisfaction,  that isn’t abundance, that is slavery and addiction to sin and death.

But the peace that we find in trusting God, that carries us through seasons where our attire does not have to be dictated by our daily circumstances. We can praise God from our prison cell, from our broken home, from our homelessness,  from our battle against addiction,  from our sick bed,  from our loneliness, from our recovering from a broken/betrayed heart,  from wherever we are in life.

And yes, the fruit that comes with a life of belief is valuable – so valuable that it was bought with His blood so that it could be given to us as a free gift. So,  yes,  come and buy this wonderful gift,  not with money,  or works, but with a life of faith – a perspective of grattitude for the unmerited grace and favor of God poured out for you,  Christ follower.