Lost Archives – Brewing Ground

A Change In Course!

March 13, 2017

Life Happens!

Our plans don’t always work out the way we think they should. In fact, life doesn’t always work out the way we plan either. Despite the plans and preparations we make, something happens along the way to change our course. These plans could be anything – from the route we take to get to work, to something much larger that changes the course of our lives. This change in course could be caused by any number of different factors and maybe even a combination of factors. The change can also be either a good one, a challenging one, or maybe both. Regardless of the situation and the cause, the course has been changed. Now what? Let’s see what David did.

David’s Change In Course

So, David is now king. He gets word that people are coming to kill him. Well, this changes his plans and the course of his day in an instant. He quickly makes new plans, gathers men, and flees on a new course to hide in the wilderness far away. While hiding, he wrote a prayer that God made Psalm 61 in the Bible.

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. ²From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ³For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. ⁴I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. ⁵For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. ⁶Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations. ⁷He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. ⁸So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” Psalm 61 KJV

There are some things we can learn from this prayer. While hiding, David knew that God was still with him even though he was far away. David was also clear that he could trust in God and His protection – he knew that God was in control! With this prayer, and throughout the Bible, we see that David continually thanked God during the good and difficult times in his life.

Now What?

Let’s face it, life happens! Your plans will not always work out how you want. You will get thrown an unexpected change in course. Maybe it’s just a detour in the road or it may be big and life altering. Just pray! Know that God is with you and you are under His protection. This change in course did not surprise Him. He is in control! Trust Him and allow Him to lay out your new course for you.

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.” 2 Samuel 22:31

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2 KJV

“The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.” Psalm 34:22 KJV

If you feel lost, God will meet you in the wilderness of your Brewing Ground and show you His path.

Let’s Brew in Trust!

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Renew Your Dry Bones!

February 27, 2017

Sometimes life can be so depleting. Have you ever felt that way? This can happen in a couple of different ways. First, life sometimes throws so much your way AND all at once. So much so, that you feel it requires more than what you have mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically to deal with it all. Second, life sometimes has you in a particular battle that seems as if it will never end. You feel as if you can’t replenish your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical resources quickly enough; you are using them up faster than you can replenish them. Either way, you feel depleted, used up, reduced to nothing but a pile of dry bones. Well, there is hope! God can restore any pile of dry bones.

A Valley Of Dry Bones

So, it began around 597 B.C. Babylon attacks Judah. The Babylonians captured and exiled about 10,000 Jews. Ezekiel happened to be one of the Jews that was captured. While exiled, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet and preach to all the captured Jews. God used visions to speak to Ezekiel and give him the messages to preach to the Jews. Some of these messages focused on why the Jews were captured; it was God’s punishment for their sins. God was using this as a “wake up” call for Judah to help them turn from their sin and return to God. Ezekiel walked the streets of Babylon for 22 years as a prophet preaching and trying to convince the people to repent and return to God.

God brought me to a particular vision that Ezekiel had during his time as a prophet. Ezekiel 37 tells of a vision that begins with Ezekiel in the midst of a valley where he was surrounded by dry bones.

“⁴Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: ⁶And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:4-6 KJV

These dry bones represented the Jewish exiles and the state of their spiritually dead condition. Fast forward to the end. The vision continues with the people being restored and the two kingdoms being reunited. This is not a one of the Bible stories that is typically talked about often. But, God had a message for me.

A New Word

God whispered a couple of messages to my heart with the dry bones vision. First, He will do whatever it takes in order to get you to repent of your sin and restore your relationship with Him. Even if it means you are taken captive and are a prisoner of war for years like the Jewish people were.

Second, life is hard and can be filled with so many different challenges. Sometimes we get taken over by these challenges and that’s when we can become depleted. When depleted it is easy to miss the bigger picture and what God is doing, like the Jews did. When depleted mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically we sometimes feel all used up like a pile of dry bones. Now, some would say that once you are a pile of dry bones – well, there is no coming back from that. Luckily, we serve a powerful God. He can restore and bring life back to an army of dry bones. Thank You Jesus! There is hope!

Next Question

The next question is: How do we keep from becoming a pile of dry bones in the first place? Well, is it even possible? Anything is possible with God! God never meant for us to carry the weight of all of life’s challenges on our own. Give them to Him, let Him guide you, and be restored!

“¹¹And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Isaiah 58:11 KJV

So, can you envision this verse for yourself? God will guide you and satisfy your soul in it’s time of drought. He will make you like a spring of water whose waters never fail. Since your spring will not run dry, you will be like a watered garden full of new life and growth. Claim God’s promises for your life! Let God help carry your load and renew your dry bones.

Let’s Brew and be Renewed!

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Get Your Guiding Light! Holy Spirit Series – Part 4

December 5, 2016

The Drive

Do you remember that terrible storm you got caught driving in? Maybe it was rain, snow, or dirt here in West Texas. Whatever it was, all you remember was that you could not see. Maybe you remember taking a road trip. It was a great day for driving, not a cloud in the sky. You could see for miles until you got to the middle of nowhere and it was pitch black. While driving, you realized that the GPS was leading you the wrong way. “Now what?” Well, since society now relies on technology for everything, you, of course, do not have a map! And, remember you are stuck in the middle of nowhere. All you can remember is

being lost and that you could NOT see.

Often times, you find yourself in different situations where you are lost and cannot see. You just need some kind of guiding light to appear and lead the way. Wouldn’t that be GREAT! Have you ever found yourself lost in life; when you can’t see and you just need to know which way to go? Have you ever needed a guiding light to light your path?

Biblical Truths

Let’s be honest, everyone needs direction from a guiding light. I have FANTASTIC news for you! You either already have or can get a guiding light of your very own. This brings us to Part 4 in the series on jobs of the Holy Spirit, Guiding Light. So far, this series has focused on how the Holy Spirit ministers to your heart when you are already saved. We have learned about the Holy Spirit being a Comforter, Teacher, and Intercessor. I feel that I cannot do a series on the Holy Spirit and neglect the jobs that I have grouped together under guiding light. You will not find this specific job title of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible. This is my own creation, which combines several critical jobs of the Holy Spirit in one. So, without further ado…let’s begin.

Invites Us to Salvation

^“17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17 KJV

Our journey to eternal life with God all begins with the Holy Spirit. Revelation 22:17 talks about the Holy Spirit being our guiding light by inviting and leading us to salvation and an eternal life with God. He gives us an invitation, lights our path, and shows us the way to salvation for all that can hear and are thirsty for life everlasting.

Renews Us

^“4But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, ⁵Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; ⁶Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; ⁷That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 KJV

This verse talks about the next step in the process of salvation. It states that our works are not what save us. Salvation is a result of the kindness and love of God. Since Jesus died for OUR sins it’s His grace that saves us. This allows the Holy Spirit to be able to “wash” and renew us in order to complete the salvation process putting us on a path to life with God.

Dwells in Us

^“11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11 KJV

What better way to provide guiding light than for the Holy Spirit to actually live in us? This is what automatically takes place with salvation. This is how the Holy Spirit is able to be our guiding light and minister to our hearts.

Convicts of Sin

^“13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ¹⁴For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. ¹⁵For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. ¹⁶The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: ¹⁷And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:13-17 KJV

^“16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 KJV

Once the Holy Spirit lives in us, He is able to provide His guiding light by convicting us of sin. These verses make it clear that living by the whims of the flesh will lead to death. The Holy Spirit offers life; so, He provides guiding light and convicts of sin in order to guide us down the path to life.

Guiding Light

So, the Holy Spirit invites us to salvation, renews us, dwells in us, and convicts of sin, all while providing a guiding light that leads to a path of life. In addition, all of this is combined with ministering to our hearts by comforting, teaching, interceding on our behalf, and much more. Wow – there is help and hope! The guiding light of the Holy Spirit is a critical component to not only surviving but also thriving on our Brewing Ground. Therefore, if you have not found your guiding light, seize the moment! The Holy Spirit’s guiding light is available to everyone – you need only to accept it. Choose eternal life with God and live with and for Him, saved by Jesus, and guided by the Holy Spirit. There is no better team to be on!

How has the Holy Spirit been a guiding light for you? Comment below!

Let’s Brew!