Hocus-pocus...

Hocus-pocus… Nonsense words or phrases used as a formula


Ever been abandoned? Abandon means to thrust off. Leave alone. To be unused.

I never thought about God abandoning anyone. But…. “You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob…” (Isa. 2:6)

I think of abandonment as an unjust thing. But is it ? Is there a time to just back off, leave someone alone to do as they choose, or even do as they insist….even in rebellion?

“God, You have walked out on Your family Jacob because their world is full of hokey religion, Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus.” (Isa. 2:6 The Message)

Again this morning I am convicted. God allows me choice. Even when I choose hokey religion and hocus-pocus.

“The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled. The Lord alone will be exalted in that day….” (Isa. 2:17)

So I ask myself this morning….where is the hocus-pocus in my life?

Is my religion hokey? Do I use phrases and formulas?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps. 139:24)

Idols...

Idols… ‘eliyl’ in Hebrew. It means good for nothing.


What do you highly regard that truthfully is worthless ?

In the culture of ages past, they had images of stone or wood. They put a lot of value in them, thought they had some amount of power.

In the culture of our day, we also have ‘things’ that we have made with our own hands, that we put a lot of value in, thinking they have some measure of might.

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That dollar sign offers no real security. Let us not believe the lie that it does. The houses and cars that it buys can’t offer us anything of real lasting value.

Let us not put our confidence in our ability to accumulate money. Let us not think for one second that our own efforts will make us secure.

And certainly, let us not compromise God’s standards in order to accumulate wealth.

“A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.” Pro. 21:6

Reason...

Reason… To justify. Convince. To argue….and be right…

I confess. It is important for me to be right. I know…..I’m the only one. Right?

I can justify my need to be right.

I can argue until I convince you.

Or until you convince me that I’m really NOT right, but in fact, YOU are right.

But whichever it is, the key and the value in it, is the reasoning together. We are so much better off when we can do this reasoning/arguing with an honest heart searching for truth instead of just for the sake of being the winner.

Winning is empty, if the truth has been lost in the battle. We have a false victory.

And when anger comes in, the devil is usually the victor.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord.” (Isa. 1:18)

God invites us to come to Him with issues, argue the thing out, reason together with Him…and find solutions. And when we come to Him with an honest attitude, not hiding, not masquerading or pretending…He will reveal truth. Even though it’s often not pretty and hard to accept, the truth is indeed the truth….whether we accept it and embrace it or not.

Job reasoned together with God. When all the disaster fell, Job went to God with all his questions, “I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God.” (Job 13:3)

His friends had all the answers, or so they thought. But Job went to God.

Job was right about a lot of things. But he also found out he wasn’t nearly as good nor nearly as smart as he thought he was.

“…surely I have spoken of things that I did not understand….my ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you….and I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42: 3-6)

I want to always be willing and eager to reason together with God.

Not to have my status verified. But to seek truth…..from an honest seeking heart, never just so I can be right.

HE is always, always right.

Bittersweet....

Bittersweet… I use a bittersweet chocolate in baking. It looks yummy, but by itself, it’s really pretty yucky. Bitter.

A square of that chocolate mixed with appropriate amounts of other ingredients will produce a perfectly delightful dessert. Sweet.

The dessert can’t taste as it does without that bitter ingredient.

Life is certainly like that.

The delightful is often gained by having some bitter experiences in the mix. But no matter how bitter, God is able to sweeten. “Though I …see trouble…many and bitter, You will restore…You will bring me up…You will increase..and comfort..” (Ps. 71:20)

It takes all the ingredients for my recipe. It takes that bitter chocolate…else the whole thing is a failure.

Life is certainly like that.

“Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered….” (Isaiah 38:17)

In every struggle, I want to expect the benefit.

I want to recognize every sweet thing that comes from the bitter.

I want to praise Him….before, during, and after.

Do it.....

Do it… Nike says just ‘do it’. Ever had someone ask you how you ‘do it’? ….

Ever wonder how someone can get thru what they get thru? Ever wonder if they will?

Is it a matter of putting your ears back, your head down, and just pushing thru?

Perhaps sometimes it is. More often than not, it is a matter of calling on a Power greater than self.

As I was thinking and praying about the coming days and the obligations I have, I began wondering how I was going to ‘do it’. Then as I was interceding for someone who has a burden of sorrow I’ve never experienced, I wondered how she would ‘do it’.

I asked God to ‘show out’ thru her circumstances, to be so actively evident in her life, helping her to cope, enabling her to go on….it is an opportunity to show Your stuff Lord. Just ‘do it’ for her. And everyone will see that she has extra-ordinary, super-natural ways of dealing with this burden.

That’s when He whispered to me….I will ‘do it’ for you Connie. But only if you allow me. You can insist on ‘doing it’ yourself. But you can’t sit down and quit when you run out of your own resources….you have to stay on the field even then, and allow me to ‘do it’ even and especially when you can not.

I have been hearing the accuser. (Rev. 12:10) And I’m so relieved to identify that fact. Satan can no longer accuse me before God. I am washed in the Blood of The Lamb. But he still accuses me. He still lies. He still twists truth. He is a devil. His purposes will NOT be accomplished thru me….Lord, please make my eyes and heart to see his lies and activities.

What may be accomplished thru ‘me’ and ‘my’ obligations, will be accomplished thru the extra-ordinary, super-natural Power of the Holy Spirit of God.

It is not for my glory. No longer will I retreat because of that accusation from the enemy.

What is it that God wants to accomplish thru you that you draw back from? Are you retreating because of fear of failure, or fear of fame? Either one is a tactic of the enemy to hide the glory of God.

And to keep us in bondage.

God forbid.

Discovery...

Discovery… Webster says it’s making known, bringing to light, to find something, first sight…

Columbus is said to have ‘discovered’ America. This continent was already here, Columbus didn’t create it. This continent had people on it, it wasn’t a ‘discovery’ to them. Just to Columbus.

Have you ever discovered anything?

Earlier this week I heard the word used to describe what happens when we study scripture for ourselves. We discover.

We can learn by listening to preachers. But that’s hearing what they have ‘discovered’.
We can learn by reading books and commentaries. Again, that is hearing what someone else has ‘discovered’.

The best preacher is the Holy Spirit of God.

“..The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said….”(John 14:26)

“The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you…remain in Him… Continue in Him….”(1John 2:27)

Coupled with an open Bible and open heart, He turns us into a walking, talking, living, breathing commentary.

Teachers are great. Research material is great. But without the power of the Holy Spirit of God, it will be lifeless, powerless information.

There is absolutely nothing like discovering Him for yourself. And when you do, you can’t help but tell it.

What have you discovered about Him, for yourself, that you can relate to someone else? Open your bible, open your heart, and go to the throne of God in prayer…ask Him to teach you. He will.

“When the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is..” (John 16:13 The Message)

“I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out….” (Ecc. 7:25)

“..the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you…”(1Ch. 28:9)

Goal....

Goal… It is that time of year again, time for the competition to begin over goals. Who will make more trips across the goal line….

I’m not a football fan. But I do understand goal lines. I have battled against opposition trying to reach goals. It is often a struggle to gain any ground.

This morning I am beginning preparations for a Bible study that will continue until spring. And I ask myself what my goal is.

Is it to gain information? Learn facts? Figure out end-times? (..this year the study is Isaiah)

I want my goal to be a more vibrant relationship with my Lord. I want to be filled and re-filled with HIS joy, even when it gets difficult. I want the facts and information to come to life, to apply to my situations and my circumstances, to jump off the pages and into my face and heart.

There has already been opposition. There has been interference when I turned my eyes and thoughts to the matter. There is a very real enemy who will try to steal away my purposes. He has a different goal, in the opposite direction.

So, what is your goal? Do you have one? Is there a definite purpose for your being alive this day? Will you accomplish any purpose, any eternal value in that purpose?

I’ll do a lot of hair today. But God willing, that will be the least of it. May today be a day that He uses me to gain ground on some spiritual field…perhaps even reaching a goal.

May my desire be to play my position and play it well…whether it’s blocking the opposition, or stepping across the goal line….my part is important.