Ezekiel 36:26

 

"HEART OF STONE"

 “‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

"THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

“The Samaritan woman grasped what He said with fervor that came from an awareness of her real need. The transaction was fascinating. She has come with a bucket. He sent her back with a spring of living water. She had come as a reject. He sent her back being accepted by God Himself. She came wounded. He sent her back whole. She came laden with questions. He sent her back as a source for answers. She came living a life of quiet desperation. She ran back overflowing with hope. The disciples missed it all. It was lunchtime for them.”

"BeyondTheVeilDaily"

GRACE: More Than We Deserve...

"I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed" (Ezekiel 36:26 MSG).

Grace is God as heart surgeon, cracking open your chest, removing your heart -- poisoned as it is with pride and pain -- and replacing it with his own. Rather than tell you to change, he creates the change. Do you clean up so he can accept you? No, he accepts you and begins cleaning you up. His dream isn't just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you. What a difference this makes! Can't forgive your enemy? Can't face tomorrow? Can't forgive your past? Christ can, and he is on the move, aggressively budging you from graceless to grace-shaped living. The gift-given giving gifts. Forgiven people forgiving people. Deep sighs of relief. Stumbles aplenty but despair seldom.

Grace is everything Jesus. Grace lives because he does, works because he works, and matters because he matters. He placed a term limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard. To be delivered by grace is to be delievered by him -- not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself, who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives him the nod.

Not in response to a finger snap, religious chant, or a secret handshake. Grace won't be stage-managed. I have no tips on how to get grace. Truth is, we don't get grace. But it sure can get us. Grace hugged the stink out of the prodigal and scared the hate out of Paul and pledges to do the same in us.

If you fear you've written too many checks on God's kindness account, drag regrets around like a broken bumper, huff and puff more than you delight and rest, and, most of all, if you wonder whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need.

Let's make certain it happens to you.

Isaiah 43

"THUS SAYS THE LORD"

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,

Who brings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):

“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 44

 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,

And Israel whom I have chosen.

 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;

I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;

 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’

One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.

BeyondTheVeilDaily;  There are  times, the Voice  of  God  breaks  through  in  the  midst  of overwhelming  trials.  Trials  that  come  like a thief in the night in our walk with Him, the walk of green  pastures.  Jesus saids;  My  sheep  hear my  voice,  and  follow me , the  voice  of the the  stranger they  do  not  follow."

What happens when the voice of the stranger becomes so strong so that, we find ourselves in a place where there seems to be no escape? Every believer,  in their walk with Jesus has certainly found themselves in this place. The voice of the stranger knows who you will become, if you listen too, and obeyed the voice of the Shepherd.

If you this morning  you are in this place, you have followed the strangers voice, and have sinned. BeyondTheVeilDaily, begs that you simply return to Him. The Shepherd of your souls. This morning let the words of Isaiah speak to you, as God the Holy Spirit gave him this Word.

“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

The beauty of this verse is not in that God Himself declares, that he will do a new thing for you, but rather, the beauty is found in the question, "Shall you not know it?" Meaning it is already done in His heart to deliver you! God ask you not to ponder the past, because if you do, you will be unaware what He is doing in the present.

God continues to speak to Isaiah. Perhaps too you as well this early morning. When you see the name Jacob, or Jeshurun in this word spoken to the prophet, place your name. Pay close attention to the "I wills", and the "they will".

 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,

And Israel whom I have chosen.

 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;

I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;

 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’

One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.

Dear precious one; God is your helper!  Through the fire look to Him, fall on your knees and you will see His hand lead you. Ask Him to search your heart, He knows you well, and He will wipe the tears from your eyes. He will help you to hear the Shepherds Voice again! 

 "THE GOOD SHEPARD"


Too many times I’ve been facing an important decision and there were a lot of voices pulling on me. Sometimes they have drowned out the only voice I can trust to give me the direction I never regret. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 ). If I want to discover the life that matters He made me for, I’ve got to make time to be alone with God to hear His voice, which is often a still, small voice unlike all those others.
Jesus described Himself as our Good Shepherd. He said, “The sheep listen to his voice and his sheep follow him” (John 10:3-4 ). Do what Jesus did. Take time to be alone until you’ve heard God’s voice in your heart and trust what you feel most consistently when you’re just with Him no matter what the other voices are saying.

"BeyondTheVeilDaily; He desires to speak to you. Are you listening?

 

 

"A FRIEND OF MINE"

Luke 11

 

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.



¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

"KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD"

PREACHERS OF THE GOSPEL                 1 PETER 1

 

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.


⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.


¹⁰ Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ¹¹ searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 

 ¹² To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

"THE SHEPHERD OF YOUR SOULS"

1 Peter 2

 

 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, ² as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,  ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

 

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

 

 

 

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

 

¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, ¹² having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

 

¹³ Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ¹⁶ as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

 

¹⁸ Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹ For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

²² “Who committed no sin,Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

 

 

 

 

²³ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

"GOD AT A DISTANCE"

“I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Has Christianity Failed You?    

"DESIRING GOD"

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night.”
― John Piper, A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer    

"ABBA,FATHER"

“The spirit of bondage works by fear for the slave fears the rod: but love cries, Abba, Father; it disposes us to go to God, and behave ourselves towards God as children; and it gives us clear evidence of our union to God as His children, and so casts out fear. So that it appears that the witness of the Spirit the apostle speaks of, is far from being any whisper, or immediate suggestion or revelation; but that gracious holy effect of the Spirit of God in the hearts of the saints, the disposition and temper of children, appearing in sweet childlike love to God, which casts out fear or a spirit of a slave.”
― Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections

Already In His Hand

 

“We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. “No man can come to me,” said our Lord, “except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” and it is by this very prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the out working of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: “Thy right hand upholdeth me.”

- A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

"HUMAN KNOWLEDGE"

“Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from divine light shining into the soul. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Savior.”
― Jonathan Edwards

"FEELINGS"

“My feelings are not God. God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes - many times - my feelings are out of sync with the truth. When that happens - and it happens every day in some measure - I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.”
― John Piper, Finally Alive: What Happens When We Are Born Again?

"EMOTIONS"

 

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.”
― Jonathan Edwards

"FIGHT OR FLIGHT"  

        

“The idea that all you have to do is to accept Christ and you are in is a great mistake. It leaves people with the impression that if they accept Christ they have no fight to fight, no warfare, no job to do and no temptations. They are just in. When you accept Christ rightly as your Lord and Savior you are in, but to be honest, you have just started to fight. People get converted and we do not tell them that they must fight all the way through to heaven because of the spirit of degeneration and the tendency to deteriorate. They must fight, pray through, suffer it out and live in praise and worship, because if they do not they will deteriorate. Read the history of the Christian church if you can keep your faith and keep from weeping.”

- A.W. Tozer, Rut, Rot & Revival

 

Isaiah 59

"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD"

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.

 

¹⁶ He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

¹⁷ For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

¹⁸ According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.

¹⁹ So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

 

²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

 

²¹ “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

Psalm 1

 

"BLESSED IS THE MAN"

 

 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
    

Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

 

"BeyondTheVeilDaily";  Some of my brothers this morning are restless, peace like a bird has lifted its wings, and has departed. You are asking questions with no answers. Like Israel in the wilderness, you are going in circles. Arriving again and again in the same place of trouble, a place of great inner conflict of soul. The proclamation of the blessed man is not found in his talk, but rather in where he stands, sits and talks.  He walks not, he sits not, he stands not, in the fellowship of the ungodly, sinners and the scornful. Those who practice these things have their roots in troubled waters, bringing forth the fruit of disappointment.

 

What is the answer to this dilemma?  Is it not found in the word, "but". "But his delight," is in the Word of God, which he mediates on day and night! Where he sits, the Word goes, where he stands, the Word goes, where he walks the Word is with him, and in him.

 

"He is planted!!!" Where? by rivers of living water! His testimony brings forth fruit, his story never withers, and whatever he does shall prosper.  "Hallelujah!"
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Where do you sit ?  Where do you stand?  Where do you walk ?

Father in heaven; we humbly come on behalf of those who are lost in their wilderness of  faith in you. Help them, to find the living waters again, where their hearts come home to the place of "delight" in you. Amen.