Thoughts from a Random Mind

1. “A mood disorder characterized by persistent sadness or inability to experience pleasure combined with symptoms including poor concentration, indecisiveness, sleep problems, changes in appetite and feeling guilt, helplessness, and hopelessness ... “.

 

2. “Extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy and inability to concentrate.”

 

                  The devil is working overtime to keep us from being all we can be in Christ. He appears to be a malevolent force that should strike fear in the hearts of all men, but in reality, he is nothing more than a toothless lion. He is a defeated foe who, in desperation, will try anything and everything to drag us down. It certainly doesn’t have to be that way, but when we allow the circumstances around us to disrupt our connection with God chaos ensues.

                  We’ve all dealt with depression at one time or another in our lives. We may not have recognized it as such, but it can cause anyone to get stuck in the mud so to speak. We allow things or people to derail us from the track we are on by taking over the positive nature that the Lord infuses in us and replaces it with negativism. The devil wants us to be frozen with fear or indecision or guilt or hopelessness. I’ve become temporarily stagnant, like a brackish pond with no fresh water source feeding it. I have looked at life and events that are taking place around me and it has occasionally caused me to feel a sense of both helplessness and hopelessness. However, we all know THAT is not from the Lord at all. It’s why we pray. It’s why we read our Bibles. It’s why we attend church service. To snap us out of our malaise and stand us upright again.

                 Depression doesn’t need to be debilitating. It only takes a shift in our focus … off our circumstances and on to the Lord of life. God is aware of our comings and goings and knows when we are down or feeling without hope. He always provides a way out of it, but we must remain attentive to His voice. How can we do that when we are depressed? A simple 3-word prayer can do the trick … “Lord, help me!” and He most certainly will. 

                  Anxiety and depression don’t need to defeat us or even stop us in our tracks. God is far greater than anything the devil can throw at us. Listen to this: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” ^{(Psalm 34:17-18)} “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ^{(Isaiah 41:10)} When depressed or despondent, God is your answer. Don’t give the devil a foothold in your life. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

“This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:

I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6)      

 

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brough us peace was on him, and by his wounds we area healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

 

“So, Jesus asked the Twelve, ‘Do you want to leave too?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.’”  (John 6:67-69)

 

                  So here we are. There is one and only one God and that is the One we are serving. He said He would heal us by virtue of the blood Christ shed on the cross. And there is nowhere else we can go to find truth (and healing). So why are some people not healed when they ask for it? They have the faith to be healed, they trust that God still heals today, yet they simply don’t understand why so many people are healed every day and they are not. 

                  I have no answer for this valid question. Some say it’s because you don’t have enough faith, but I don’t believe that for a second. If scripture says you only need faith the size of the tiniest seed in Bible times (the mustard seed - which is said to be the size of a pin head), to move a mountain, then to not be healed would mean you have no faith at all if you go by the thought that you don’t have enough. Does it mean your healing is resting comfortably in ‘the land of the not yet’? In other words, the answer isn’t yes, but it isn’t no either … it’s not yet. God’s timing is impeccable, yet we are impatient. God does as He pleases. One person I know walked away from his faith in God saying that God was a tyrant who must be stopped because He does what pleases Him. An odd way to look at it, but so be it. I suppose he thought God should do whatever we ask immediately or else. (??) 

                  Since God knows the beginning from the end, He knows when your healing will take place. Is there a sin that is keeping you from being healed? Hmmm, don’t know. Perhaps. Maybe you need to ask God if there is anything that needs to be given up to Him to allow the healing to come to pass? Not too sure about that, but it never hurts to commune with God regarding your spiritual well-being. We literally have nowhere else to go for no one else can do what God can do. My inclination would be to pray like this: Lord, I am seeking a healing from You. I know You still heal and I don’t know why You have yet to heal me, but whether You heal me or not, I will still love you and follow you and trust that there is a perfect reason why my healing hasn’t taken place. If there is anything that is impeding my healing, please reveal to me what it is so that I can do my part to remedy that situation. You are a great and loving God and I will serve You to the best of my ability with the help of the Holy Spirit as long as I have breath. I pray this in the precious and powerful name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior … amen.

                  It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s what I felt that was the direction the Lord was nudging me this evening. Never let your situations dictate your mood or emotions, for that is exactly what the devil wants. Remain at peace and never stop trusting God. He has His reasons for everything He does. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.  

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

More & more each day the conversations I end up in with my co-workers are highly insignificant and truly nothing more than banal banter. Have we really sunk that low as a society that our conversations end up being mindless chatter? It certainly seems that way. Speaking or writing about the Lord in some fashion or another looks to be the only communication that is meaningful & worthwhile anymore.

            I feel somewhat of a kindred spirit with Solomon in that I too see everything aside from my allegiance to God as meaningless. This world holds no attraction to me. I have broken free from its' hold, but I mustn’t become complacent, because the enemy will never give up trying to trip me up. 

            Knowing who I am in the grand scheme of things and knowing whose I am as well goes a long way to bringing on a state of peace and contentment. I have been trying to take Paul’s advice and think on those things that matter most in this life.

            “Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].” ^{(Philippians 4:8 The Amplified Bible)}

                  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

The Great Exchange

2 Corinthians 5:21 ^“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin (or to become sin itself), so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

            This monumental event in history could be titled “The Great Exchange”.  God became man and dwelled among His creation for a time that He might ultimately and quite literally become sin to pay for all our sins. His blood satisfied the sin debt of all humanity. He took our beating and allowed Himself to be nailed to a wooden cross in our place. 

Some don’t like to focus on the bloody gore of that event, but without the blood there is no forgiveness. We certainly don’t need to belabor the point but visiting this scene at the very least once a year at Easter shouldn’t be asking too much. He took the 39 lashes for us so we wouldn’t have to. He trudged down the “Via Dolorosa” (literally the sorrowful way) carrying His own cross so we wouldn’t have to. His wrists and ankles were pierced with square Roman spikes that were on average 7-9 inches long so we wouldn’t have to have that done to us. Jesus Christ, Son of God, endured the pain and the shame of the cross, a cross reserved for criminals, so we wouldn’t have to. In reality, even if there were no spikes holding Him to the cross, His unconditional, undying love for all mankind would have. Our sin was washed away by the blood of someone we didn’t even know. Christ died for all of us because that was God’s plan.  Christ would have done it even if there was only one sinner that needed saving and He would do it again if it were necessary, but it will never be necessary again.

 

1 Peter 3:18a “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.”

Romans 6:10 “When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.”

 

Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

NOTE: The translation used for this post was The New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishing, copyright 1996, 2004 and 2007.

What's in a Name? - 22

EGO EIMI (e-GO ay-MEE) - “I AM”

This final name that I will share with you relates to both God the Father & God the Son or Jesus.

 

When Moses encountered Almighty God thru the burning bush for the first time on Mt. Sinai, he asked God to tell him His name. Moses wanted to know what to tell his people who had sent him to them with the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.  All God would tell him was, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” This did not answer Moses’ question, but perhaps did reveal exactly what God wished to reveal at that time; that He has always existed and that He is always present with His people.

In the gospel of John Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who began to ask him questions, in an effort to trip him up. Jesus spoke of Abraham and the prophets of the Old Testament as if he had seen him and in fact, being the 2^nd person of the Trinity and one with God the Father, he had seen them and we was intimately involved in their lives as part of that Trinity. Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM!” This upset the Pharisees so much so that they wished to stone him for speaking what they considered to be blasphemy, but Jesus quietly slipped away from the temple grounds where they had been. (John 8:59)

This name for God is a powerful name that sums up all he is and ever shall be. I AM. Although I can’t say I understand what I’m about to write but, God was and is and always will be. He has no beginning and no end. I know that boggles the mind, but we are to either accept that as fact or not. It changes nothing if we don’t believe it. What will take place by God’s hand in the present or the future will transpire whether we accept it as fact or not. Don’t think too hard about it. Simply believe in God for who He says He is in scripture and trust that all things will turn out the way He has ordained them to. I hope you’ve enjoyed my series on “The Names of God”. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Names of God, Ann Spangler, Zondervan, 2009.

What's in a Name? - 21

EL CHAY (el HI-EE) - The Living God

“This title sets Israel’s God apart from the false gods of the surrounding nations.” ^[1]

            In Jeremiah 10:14, the prophet reminds Israel that “every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them”.  We know that at times it can be frustrating to serve an unseen God. Sometimes we just want to be able to see him and walk with him and have a conversation with him face to face, but that wouldn’t require faith. This is the way God set it up. So don’t you know that mortal man thought he would remedy this issue by created for himself his own gods made of wood, metal, or stone. They say nothing and can do nothing, but the clincher for these folks was that it could be seen and touched. They would also not oppose anything they deemed important to say or do. They were lifeless. 

What do you think it would be like to pray to a god that was deaf and dumb? Therefore, El Chay was continuously warning the Israelites about worshipping false. Not only was he wanting to be the only god Israel would turn to, pray to and worship, but he also knew worshipping idols would get them nowhere, but into trouble.

            Jeremiah 10:10a says what we all have come to trust and believe clearly and precisely: “… the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King.” Matthew 16:16 says: “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”  Daniel 6:26 says: “I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.” Though a spiritual being, not experienced with any of our senses, God is still very much alive as depicted in scripture. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his Name & for his Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] The Names of God, Ann Spangler, Zondervan, 2009, p.91.

What's in a Name? - 20

JEHOVAH TSEBAOTH (tse-ba-OATH) - The Lord of Hosts.

            “This name emphasizes God’s rule over every other power in both the material & spiritual universe. When you pray to Jehovah Tsebaoth, you are praying to a God so magnificent that all creation serves his purposes.” ^[1]

            This name is one of great power. We see it 240 times in the Old Testament. It reminds us that even in its’ fallen state, all of creation is ruled and reigned over by Almighty God. The Bible speaks of the Lord of Hosts leading a great army which can consist of every part of his glorious creation who are called on at times to fight on his behalf. We are speaking of cherubim and seraphim; the sun and moon; the stars and sky; rivers and mountains; hail and snow; men and women; animals, both wild and tame … literally all of creation worships him and stands at the ready to fight for his kingdom if required. The above statement shows us that he controls the winds and the weather itself.  Mortal man may be able to manipulate the weather, but the master of all is God and he is obviously and without question far superior to anyone or anything in his own creation. 

            It should be added that the New International Version (NIV) translates this title as “Lord Almighty”. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name and for His Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries                                     

[1] The Names of God, Ann Spangler, Zondervan, 2009, p.65.