September 18
THE LIGHT AND ORDER IN OUR LIFE.
Psalms 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
A young woman told me that she believed in God, that He was close to Him and that He was leading her life. She also proclaimed to me that she did not believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that God can only be approached or addressed to through Him. Curious to know more about the effects of this belief system on her life, I continued the conversation with this woman.
She proceeded to tell me about her life; how she was so confused and did not understand the things that were happening to her. She also didn’t seem to have a clue of where she was at and even less of where she was going. After this discussion, I concluded that no matter how much she liked to believe that she was close to God and that He was leading her life, her own testimony proved otherwise.
God is not a spirit of confusion; a life led by the Spirit of the Lord is not confused. One who is truly led by God knows and understands by sight or faith where he is at and even where he is going. It is the ungodly and the one without God who is like the chaff driven away by every wind of doctrine, new thought, idea, with no order beginning nor end. The ungodly is the anti-thesis of one who is led by the spirit of the “wind” of the God (John 3:8)’ of the one who flies ‘upon the wings of the wind’ (Psalms 18:10).
For those of us who boast that our life is ordered and lead by the Lord of the universe, if it is truly so, the light, the spiritual harmony and order will emanate the silent, but screaming testimony and witness of the beauty of God.
John 1:4 In Him (Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men.
'Be strong, be strong and be strengthened!'
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
STAY BY THE RIVER
September, 17
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Oh what a picture! What a picture of the child of God’s perfect harmony of with His creator, the roots of his soul fully nurtured in the Spirit of his maker. Near his God he finds divine serenity, love of purpose, lush abundance, perpetual fruitfulness, true happiness, Eden’s life returned in his heart. This is the reward of “not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful”; here is the perfect harmony created in the heart of the child of God having “his delight is in the law of the LORD.”
People of the world run to and fro the distance of the planet in order to find peace. Like the woman that had the issue of blood, they spend all their substance on physicians, doctors and psychologist, hoping for the peace of mind and spirit that can be obtained simply by touching the hem of His garment; do they only know that this treasure they are looking for is within the pages of their Bible? Do they know that if they daily, grab a hold of Jesus’ garment, peace will encompass and even pursue them?
When someone comes to us sharing their hearts and their problems, let us be faithful to bring them to the ‘river’. There is no other therapy, no other solution, and no other medicine. All the wisdom in the world will fail them, if we don’t bring them to the ‘river’.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Oh what a picture! What a picture of the child of God’s perfect harmony of with His creator, the roots of his soul fully nurtured in the Spirit of his maker. Near his God he finds divine serenity, love of purpose, lush abundance, perpetual fruitfulness, true happiness, Eden’s life returned in his heart. This is the reward of “not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful”; here is the perfect harmony created in the heart of the child of God having “his delight is in the law of the LORD.”
People of the world run to and fro the distance of the planet in order to find peace. Like the woman that had the issue of blood, they spend all their substance on physicians, doctors and psychologist, hoping for the peace of mind and spirit that can be obtained simply by touching the hem of His garment; do they only know that this treasure they are looking for is within the pages of their Bible? Do they know that if they daily, grab a hold of Jesus’ garment, peace will encompass and even pursue them?
When someone comes to us sharing their hearts and their problems, let us be faithful to bring them to the ‘river’. There is no other therapy, no other solution, and no other medicine. All the wisdom in the world will fail them, if we don’t bring them to the ‘river’.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Saturday, September 16, 2006
SACRIFICE OR PRIVILEDGE?
September 16
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
It is no sacrifice for the child of God to not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful as was stated in the preceding verse (Psalms 1:1). The child of God does it willingly because his delight is of a higher calling. The Child of God doesn’t feel that he ‘has’ to dedicate himself to the study of the Word; he rather feels that he’gets ’ to, as a blessing and a reward from the Almighty.
Today the world offers us many distractions that compete for our attention. Most are bad; some are good, and some are less good. Whatever comes in conflict with our interest in the treasures of the Lord should be considered a negative influence in our lives, even if it is something ’good’; the ‘good’ that we settle for is often the worst enemy of the ‘best’!
It takes a total change of mind and spirit--a regeneration of the soul to be able to be sincere in saying, “Yes, my delight is in the law of the Lord, and I love to meditate on His words day and night, and I consider it my highest privilege!”
“Dear Jesus, let our appetites and desires be rewired so that we can truly say with David that our delight is in your Word; that we find meditating on your Word an incomparable treasure, an immeasurable reward, and the greatest of all honors.”
Psa 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
It is no sacrifice for the child of God to not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful as was stated in the preceding verse (Psalms 1:1). The child of God does it willingly because his delight is of a higher calling. The Child of God doesn’t feel that he ‘has’ to dedicate himself to the study of the Word; he rather feels that he’gets ’ to, as a blessing and a reward from the Almighty.
Today the world offers us many distractions that compete for our attention. Most are bad; some are good, and some are less good. Whatever comes in conflict with our interest in the treasures of the Lord should be considered a negative influence in our lives, even if it is something ’good’; the ‘good’ that we settle for is often the worst enemy of the ‘best’!
It takes a total change of mind and spirit--a regeneration of the soul to be able to be sincere in saying, “Yes, my delight is in the law of the Lord, and I love to meditate on His words day and night, and I consider it my highest privilege!”
“Dear Jesus, let our appetites and desires be rewired so that we can truly say with David that our delight is in your Word; that we find meditating on your Word an incomparable treasure, an immeasurable reward, and the greatest of all honors.”
Psa 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Friday, September 15, 2006
THE FREEDOM OF THE WIND
September 15
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
In today's world, so much is about conformity; it may not be bad, but does this conformity to accepted attitudes lead us to become the creatures God has ordained us to be? Even the concept of individuality has become an alibi that we use when we claim the freedom to choose whom or what we will conform to.
The enemy of our soul uses the grip, the vice of conformity to the world and its ways to keep our soul. The accuser of the saints terrorizes us with stories of gloom that cause us to fear lest we try to escape; lest we become free again and live under the sole dependence of God. What lies does this devil not concoct in his fear of loosing his grip on us.
Like the wind, the freedom of our soul lies in its ability to yield to God in all His ways, without controls, without the obstructions of those who would wish it to conform it their ungodly ways. Our soul only finds fullness of freedom when we give it permission to follow God, the Spirit of its Creator. One word of consent on our part towards Jesus, and we can free ourselves from the terrorizing grip of the devil.
May we never be fooled by this enemy’s lies into conforming to the ways of the world. May we never listen to him to the detriment and freedom of our soul. We can call on Jesus the Christ, the Savior, and today be blessed with the freedom of the wind.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
In today's world, so much is about conformity; it may not be bad, but does this conformity to accepted attitudes lead us to become the creatures God has ordained us to be? Even the concept of individuality has become an alibi that we use when we claim the freedom to choose whom or what we will conform to.
The enemy of our soul uses the grip, the vice of conformity to the world and its ways to keep our soul. The accuser of the saints terrorizes us with stories of gloom that cause us to fear lest we try to escape; lest we become free again and live under the sole dependence of God. What lies does this devil not concoct in his fear of loosing his grip on us.
Like the wind, the freedom of our soul lies in its ability to yield to God in all His ways, without controls, without the obstructions of those who would wish it to conform it their ungodly ways. Our soul only finds fullness of freedom when we give it permission to follow God, the Spirit of its Creator. One word of consent on our part towards Jesus, and we can free ourselves from the terrorizing grip of the devil.
May we never be fooled by this enemy’s lies into conforming to the ways of the world. May we never listen to him to the detriment and freedom of our soul. We can call on Jesus the Christ, the Savior, and today be blessed with the freedom of the wind.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 14, 2006
Psalms 134:3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
At the end of their visit to Jerusalem for one of the thrice-yearly pilgrimage, the priests pronounced this blessing on the pilgrims returning home to the four corners of the orient.
The pilgrimage was motivated by much more than the desire to see the holy sights and the tombs of the patriarchs. It was not a touristy visit to the Holy Land. Like the longing of the homing pigeon to return to its place, this pilgrimage was motivated by the longing of the human soul to return to the presence of its Creator. As the pilgrims left, the priests sent with them the blessing of the promises of Zion.
The blessing of the promise of Zion is the presence of Jesus the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We spend time in the temple of God in the privacy of our prayer closet; we enjoy the blessings and edification of fellowship with the saints; so wherever we go, let us take this blessing with us and spill it over to everyone that we meet along our way.
1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 134:3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
At the end of their visit to Jerusalem for one of the thrice-yearly pilgrimage, the priests pronounced this blessing on the pilgrims returning home to the four corners of the orient.
The pilgrimage was motivated by much more than the desire to see the holy sights and the tombs of the patriarchs. It was not a touristy visit to the Holy Land. Like the longing of the homing pigeon to return to its place, this pilgrimage was motivated by the longing of the human soul to return to the presence of its Creator. As the pilgrims left, the priests sent with them the blessing of the promises of Zion.
The blessing of the promise of Zion is the presence of Jesus the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We spend time in the temple of God in the privacy of our prayer closet; we enjoy the blessings and edification of fellowship with the saints; so wherever we go, let us take this blessing with us and spill it over to everyone that we meet along our way.
1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 13, 2006
Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
The fourth chapter of the book of Revelations tells us of the throne of God. In front of the throne was an altar ablaze with a perpetual fire (Revelations 8:3). The throne is surrounded by four winged beasts full of eyes before and behind that rest not day or night from praising the God of heaven (Revelations 4:6-9).
To convey this notion to His people, God gave them a symbolic wooden Ark representing His throne, with a flaming altar in front of it. God also established the levitical service of the fire and of the altar which must be tended to day and night. The Ark, the altar, and later on the temple were only symbols of greater spiritual truths, and to be discarded in the day when the Messiah established His throne in our hearts.
We in whom Christ reigns; we in whose heart is the throne of God through the mediation of His Christ; let us serve Him in the day light when all is clear and bright; and let us serve Him also in the night watches when we cannot sleep, with praise and dedicated hands. Let us bless and thank Him for all His benefits to us. That may even by the reason we cannot sleep sometimes: we are called to do the service of praising and blessing Him.
1Ch 9:33 And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
The fourth chapter of the book of Revelations tells us of the throne of God. In front of the throne was an altar ablaze with a perpetual fire (Revelations 8:3). The throne is surrounded by four winged beasts full of eyes before and behind that rest not day or night from praising the God of heaven (Revelations 4:6-9).
To convey this notion to His people, God gave them a symbolic wooden Ark representing His throne, with a flaming altar in front of it. God also established the levitical service of the fire and of the altar which must be tended to day and night. The Ark, the altar, and later on the temple were only symbols of greater spiritual truths, and to be discarded in the day when the Messiah established His throne in our hearts.
We in whom Christ reigns; we in whose heart is the throne of God through the mediation of His Christ; let us serve Him in the day light when all is clear and bright; and let us serve Him also in the night watches when we cannot sleep, with praise and dedicated hands. Let us bless and thank Him for all His benefits to us. That may even by the reason we cannot sleep sometimes: we are called to do the service of praising and blessing Him.
1Ch 9:33 And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 12, 2006
NOTE: From 120 to 134 the psalms are called ‘songs of degree”. These songs were sung by the pilgrims as they traveled on their thrice yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The 134th Psalm is the last one of the songs of degree. When pilgrims left Jerusalem at the break of dawn, they were moved by the sight of the light emanating from the chambers of the priests who tended to the temple during the night watches.
Psalms 134:1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
There are those who pray, the prayer warriors; and there are those prayed for. We also need those who pray for the prayer warriors. Moses, as good as a prayer warrior and intercessor as he was, needed to be supported in that way.
When the children of Israel were fighting Amalek in the desert (Exodus 17:11-12), Moses, Aaron and Hur were watching and praying on a nearby hill. They realized that when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel was winning, but when Moses had his hands down, Israel was losing the battle. Aaron and Hur then decided to help prop up Moses’ tired arms until the battle was won.
Let us bless the pastors, the shepherds, the teachers, and the prayer warriors who spend their time by day or in the night watches praying for us. Let us not forget that their prayers are the winds that direct the fiery Word arrows to the heart of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8), and generates the noise of heavenly chariots that drives him away in fear (2 Kings 6:24; 7:5b-7).
Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
NOTE: From 120 to 134 the psalms are called ‘songs of degree”. These songs were sung by the pilgrims as they traveled on their thrice yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The 134th Psalm is the last one of the songs of degree. When pilgrims left Jerusalem at the break of dawn, they were moved by the sight of the light emanating from the chambers of the priests who tended to the temple during the night watches.
Psalms 134:1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
There are those who pray, the prayer warriors; and there are those prayed for. We also need those who pray for the prayer warriors. Moses, as good as a prayer warrior and intercessor as he was, needed to be supported in that way.
When the children of Israel were fighting Amalek in the desert (Exodus 17:11-12), Moses, Aaron and Hur were watching and praying on a nearby hill. They realized that when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel was winning, but when Moses had his hands down, Israel was losing the battle. Aaron and Hur then decided to help prop up Moses’ tired arms until the battle was won.
Let us bless the pastors, the shepherds, the teachers, and the prayer warriors who spend their time by day or in the night watches praying for us. Let us not forget that their prayers are the winds that direct the fiery Word arrows to the heart of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8), and generates the noise of heavenly chariots that drives him away in fear (2 Kings 6:24; 7:5b-7).
Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 11, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 11, 2006
Psalms 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
How do we measure a man’s life? Is it by its length, depth or content?
Some of us have the philosophy that life is short and to be enjoyed. Others, with a sense of responsibility fill it with feverish activities. But really, how does God look at it? How does God measure the fullness of a life?
We are actors on the great stage of existence. We yearn to play in the greatest play of all, under the greatest Playwright of all times. The fullness of our existence is only fulfilled by playing for Him. But there are many others who desire our participation in their drama. These other producers tempt us with carnal incentives that we at times waste our talent on; we sometimes fall for their illusionary empty promises.
Each of our lives has a purpose and God is the great Playwright who has written the script of our existence. Each part of our script is synchronized with the script of other players and produces a domino effect on the rest of the plot. Our presence in the play, or lack of it, is never passive, but reactionary; it has an effect.
The fullness of a man’s life is in how much he absorbed the script of God, regardless of how boring, glamorous, short, long, simple or intricate.
Knowing that we play for the Master-producer, conducting the only movies that have the right outcome in the theater of life, let us dedicate ourselves to only play His script, to not just play the role, but be the role He assigns for us daily.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
How do we measure a man’s life? Is it by its length, depth or content?
Some of us have the philosophy that life is short and to be enjoyed. Others, with a sense of responsibility fill it with feverish activities. But really, how does God look at it? How does God measure the fullness of a life?
We are actors on the great stage of existence. We yearn to play in the greatest play of all, under the greatest Playwright of all times. The fullness of our existence is only fulfilled by playing for Him. But there are many others who desire our participation in their drama. These other producers tempt us with carnal incentives that we at times waste our talent on; we sometimes fall for their illusionary empty promises.
Each of our lives has a purpose and God is the great Playwright who has written the script of our existence. Each part of our script is synchronized with the script of other players and produces a domino effect on the rest of the plot. Our presence in the play, or lack of it, is never passive, but reactionary; it has an effect.
The fullness of a man’s life is in how much he absorbed the script of God, regardless of how boring, glamorous, short, long, simple or intricate.
Knowing that we play for the Master-producer, conducting the only movies that have the right outcome in the theater of life, let us dedicate ourselves to only play His script, to not just play the role, but be the role He assigns for us daily.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
September 10, 2006
Psalms 91:15b I will deliver him, and honour him.
Faithless people often think that faith in God is a sign of weak dependency. They think this because, in the world of carnal man, there is a certain element of humiliation in needing help. It is not so in the spiritual world; when God helps us, we are not humiliated; we are honored.
Let us put it this way. Let’s say I am drowning. Let’s say that the President of the country is nearby and sees my desperate plight. Let’s now imagine that as the President sees me struggling in the waters, he orders his motorcade to stop; that he rushes out of the car, throws his jacket off and runs to jump in the waters to rescue me. He does not want to entrust this important job to anyone else, not even to any of the very able bodyguards that surround him. He wants to make sure this job is done right and he has an unmselfish feeling of personal responsibility in saving me. Wouldn’t I feel honored that the President of the country was so concerned about little ol’ me that he stopped everything on his busy agenda and risked his life to save me?
And yet, there is here much more that the president of the country who daily faces heaven and hell to rescue us. We are honored that the Majesty of Heaven considers us so important and worthy so as to stop the whole universe if needed to succor us, so as to invest even the highest price in order to save us: His Son.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:15b I will deliver him, and honour him.
Faithless people often think that faith in God is a sign of weak dependency. They think this because, in the world of carnal man, there is a certain element of humiliation in needing help. It is not so in the spiritual world; when God helps us, we are not humiliated; we are honored.
Let us put it this way. Let’s say I am drowning. Let’s say that the President of the country is nearby and sees my desperate plight. Let’s now imagine that as the President sees me struggling in the waters, he orders his motorcade to stop; that he rushes out of the car, throws his jacket off and runs to jump in the waters to rescue me. He does not want to entrust this important job to anyone else, not even to any of the very able bodyguards that surround him. He wants to make sure this job is done right and he has an unmselfish feeling of personal responsibility in saving me. Wouldn’t I feel honored that the President of the country was so concerned about little ol’ me that he stopped everything on his busy agenda and risked his life to save me?
And yet, there is here much more that the president of the country who daily faces heaven and hell to rescue us. We are honored that the Majesty of Heaven considers us so important and worthy so as to stop the whole universe if needed to succor us, so as to invest even the highest price in order to save us: His Son.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
September 9, 2006
Psalms 91:15a He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble;
God first calls us, and then we call upon Him; and when we call upon Him, He surely always answers.
In the words of the Bible, we find that God requires total surrender, unadulterated dependence, and absolute trust from us. God is like the husband who demands that we forsake all others and look solely to Him for our every need. In our economically competitive world, secular societies such as business companies also demand a certain level of commitment for their workers to be able to enjoy greater benefits and pay. The army as well requires a do or die type of commitment from its soldiers who are ready to die for their cause.
The difference is that God can and will compensate and deliver the goods; He is the only one who can compensate us; when we call upon him in our time of need, He answers us; therefore He is not ashamed to demand such a spirit of loyalty from us. Here is the testimony of Rose Price, a holocaust survivor, in her own words. The Nazis murdered One hundred of her relatives. They took her to a concentration camp when she was twelve. They worked her day and night making ammunitions while they severely beat her. . All this was done to her in the name of Jesus Christ. At the end of the war she said, “there is no God for me.”Here is, in her own words now that she knows Jesus, how she believes her Lord compensated her, answered her unspoken prayers “Imagine, He (Jesus) was on top of my back when I was so beaten; he was holding me the nights I was so scared; He was comforting me the nights when I was crying; I don’t deserve that, none of us do, especially me.”
Only our Lord and Savior can provide such comfort; may we never despise it.
Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:15a He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble;
God first calls us, and then we call upon Him; and when we call upon Him, He surely always answers.
In the words of the Bible, we find that God requires total surrender, unadulterated dependence, and absolute trust from us. God is like the husband who demands that we forsake all others and look solely to Him for our every need. In our economically competitive world, secular societies such as business companies also demand a certain level of commitment for their workers to be able to enjoy greater benefits and pay. The army as well requires a do or die type of commitment from its soldiers who are ready to die for their cause.
The difference is that God can and will compensate and deliver the goods; He is the only one who can compensate us; when we call upon him in our time of need, He answers us; therefore He is not ashamed to demand such a spirit of loyalty from us. Here is the testimony of Rose Price, a holocaust survivor, in her own words. The Nazis murdered One hundred of her relatives. They took her to a concentration camp when she was twelve. They worked her day and night making ammunitions while they severely beat her. . All this was done to her in the name of Jesus Christ. At the end of the war she said, “there is no God for me.”Here is, in her own words now that she knows Jesus, how she believes her Lord compensated her, answered her unspoken prayers “Imagine, He (Jesus) was on top of my back when I was so beaten; he was holding me the nights I was so scared; He was comforting me the nights when I was crying; I don’t deserve that, none of us do, especially me.”
Only our Lord and Savior can provide such comfort; may we never despise it.
Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 8, 2006
Psalms 91:14b . . . I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Each and every day, we encounter problematic situations. We take these situations to the Lord in desperate prayer, and He sees us through them. This in turn develops into a deeper trust from us towards Him and His ability to be there for us. Consequently, we feel more secure in nestling closer to Him and relying on Him.
As humans, we are of a testing nature. No matter how much we try not to, we only come to fully trust and belief as the result of positive experience. No matter how much we want in our hearts to trust and believe God by faith, our confidence in Him only grows when we experience Him coming through for us. That is why David encouraged His faith by counting His blessings (Psalms 103:2).
As we learn to live closer to the Master, as our relationship with Him grows more intimate, we get to know Him better. As we get to know Him better, as we learn rely more and more on the power of His name to help us in our daily toil and labor, our spirit is lifted up to the level of new spiritual heights. Let us today see whatever difficult situation in our way as a formidable opportunity to climb to a higher level of trust in Him.
Romans 5:3-4 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:14b . . . I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Each and every day, we encounter problematic situations. We take these situations to the Lord in desperate prayer, and He sees us through them. This in turn develops into a deeper trust from us towards Him and His ability to be there for us. Consequently, we feel more secure in nestling closer to Him and relying on Him.
As humans, we are of a testing nature. No matter how much we try not to, we only come to fully trust and belief as the result of positive experience. No matter how much we want in our hearts to trust and believe God by faith, our confidence in Him only grows when we experience Him coming through for us. That is why David encouraged His faith by counting His blessings (Psalms 103:2).
As we learn to live closer to the Master, as our relationship with Him grows more intimate, we get to know Him better. As we get to know Him better, as we learn rely more and more on the power of His name to help us in our daily toil and labor, our spirit is lifted up to the level of new spiritual heights. Let us today see whatever difficult situation in our way as a formidable opportunity to climb to a higher level of trust in Him.
Romans 5:3-4 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 7, 2006
Psalms 91:14a Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
Let us read the book of ancient stories. Let us read the book of the acts of God. When God’s children made a choice to face ‘hell and high water’ to go and worship their God, when they put the only life they had known for centuries to the sideline of their focus and agreed to a ‘rendezvous’ with the God that courted their attention, He matched the flame of their fervor with incomparable power. All the pharaoh’s men and all the pharaoh’s horses could not stand in their way. The power of their passion for God became the catalyst attracting the protective and nurturing nature of the Almighty.
When we love God with all our heart, with the very fiber of our soul; when our passion for Him is so strong that we do not care to leave the household of our childhood and go to Him wherever He lives, even if it means to dwell in tents in the midst of the wilderness; His fury against our enemies will be worse than that of the she-bear deprived of her cubs; He will surround us with a wall of fire to protect us from our enemies (Exodus 14:19-20).
Even so, our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the catalyst by which we enjoy spiritual, and at times even physical, protection from God. Let us never doubt for a moment that our spiritual husband whom we love is careless about the welfare His beloved wife.
Gal 5:6 . . . but faith which worketh by love.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:14a Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
Let us read the book of ancient stories. Let us read the book of the acts of God. When God’s children made a choice to face ‘hell and high water’ to go and worship their God, when they put the only life they had known for centuries to the sideline of their focus and agreed to a ‘rendezvous’ with the God that courted their attention, He matched the flame of their fervor with incomparable power. All the pharaoh’s men and all the pharaoh’s horses could not stand in their way. The power of their passion for God became the catalyst attracting the protective and nurturing nature of the Almighty.
When we love God with all our heart, with the very fiber of our soul; when our passion for Him is so strong that we do not care to leave the household of our childhood and go to Him wherever He lives, even if it means to dwell in tents in the midst of the wilderness; His fury against our enemies will be worse than that of the she-bear deprived of her cubs; He will surround us with a wall of fire to protect us from our enemies (Exodus 14:19-20).
Even so, our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the catalyst by which we enjoy spiritual, and at times even physical, protection from God. Let us never doubt for a moment that our spiritual husband whom we love is careless about the welfare His beloved wife.
Gal 5:6 . . . but faith which worketh by love.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Daily Surrender
September 6, 2006
Psalms 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Traveling throughout India you will often find charmers seating on the ground playing a flute to a venomous serpent coming out of a basket. The serpent appears to be dancing to the music under the spell of the charmer. This makes for a very impressive scene of interaction between man and a deadly kind of animal, but what we are not told is that for the most part, the snake’s venom glands have been removed, and it is therefore inoffensive.
We in turn, fight against a deadly serpent/dragon whose venom is present and very real. This dragon has God’s children intimidated and in fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). Like Herod of old, only the shedding of the innocent blood of God’s children appeases him.
There is an English legend of a knight called George. When he returned from the crusades George found a village in fear of a local dragon. The dragon had required the life of the village princess as a token of peace. In a fight to the finish, George killed the dragon and rescued the princess. How like our Jesus rescuing his bride from the clutches of the devil.
Our fight is not for ourselves but for the deliverance of God’s entire bride. Our Lord and king has promised us that in our combat to deliver his bride, he would give us power against the deadly venom of the prince of the powers of the air (Revelations 20:2). Let us therefore, like George, fearlessly fight against the dragon and deliver the ‘princess’, knowing that no power can withstand that of the Son of God.
Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Traveling throughout India you will often find charmers seating on the ground playing a flute to a venomous serpent coming out of a basket. The serpent appears to be dancing to the music under the spell of the charmer. This makes for a very impressive scene of interaction between man and a deadly kind of animal, but what we are not told is that for the most part, the snake’s venom glands have been removed, and it is therefore inoffensive.
We in turn, fight against a deadly serpent/dragon whose venom is present and very real. This dragon has God’s children intimidated and in fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). Like Herod of old, only the shedding of the innocent blood of God’s children appeases him.
There is an English legend of a knight called George. When he returned from the crusades George found a village in fear of a local dragon. The dragon had required the life of the village princess as a token of peace. In a fight to the finish, George killed the dragon and rescued the princess. How like our Jesus rescuing his bride from the clutches of the devil.
Our fight is not for ourselves but for the deliverance of God’s entire bride. Our Lord and king has promised us that in our combat to deliver his bride, he would give us power against the deadly venom of the prince of the powers of the air (Revelations 20:2). Let us therefore, like George, fearlessly fight against the dragon and deliver the ‘princess’, knowing that no power can withstand that of the Son of God.
Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Surrender
September 5, 2006
Psalms 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Yesterday I needed to clean the gutters of my house. I am not too much of a practical person, and I do not feel very secure on a ladder either, but it had to get done. My wife and I have the habit of praying before starting any activity, but we (probably more ‘she’) felt much more compelled to pray before I start that one. My wife first prayed asking the Lord to keep me from falling, and then she proceeded by praying that even if I should fall that I would not hurt myself.
When my wife prayed that I felt, “Wow, not only is she putting a mattress at the bottom of the ladder to soften my fall, but she is dressing me up in a padded armor”. Well, I really needed that prayer because it so happened that the ladder slipped on the slippery floor of my deck and I did fall. As I was falling I had flashes of a bad accident, hurting my head on the side of the railing, dislocating my back (I have slipped disk) or something of the sort, but I just landed on my feet as the ladder only fell a short distance and got caught on a table that we had put nearby to serve guests the day before. My legs also went through the steps, and I was not hurt at all.
I don’t know if angels actually stood there to bear me on their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone, But I do believe that my wife’s prayer was just as good.
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Yesterday I needed to clean the gutters of my house. I am not too much of a practical person, and I do not feel very secure on a ladder either, but it had to get done. My wife and I have the habit of praying before starting any activity, but we (probably more ‘she’) felt much more compelled to pray before I start that one. My wife first prayed asking the Lord to keep me from falling, and then she proceeded by praying that even if I should fall that I would not hurt myself.
When my wife prayed that I felt, “Wow, not only is she putting a mattress at the bottom of the ladder to soften my fall, but she is dressing me up in a padded armor”. Well, I really needed that prayer because it so happened that the ladder slipped on the slippery floor of my deck and I did fall. As I was falling I had flashes of a bad accident, hurting my head on the side of the railing, dislocating my back (I have slipped disk) or something of the sort, but I just landed on my feet as the ladder only fell a short distance and got caught on a table that we had put nearby to serve guests the day before. My legs also went through the steps, and I was not hurt at all.
I don’t know if angels actually stood there to bear me on their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone, But I do believe that my wife’s prayer was just as good.
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 04, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 4, 2006
Psalms 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Let us hear if we can’t see; let us see if we can’t hear. If we can neither hear nor see, let us believe in the Word that assures our protection. If we’ve become one with the Son of Man, we own the same privileges as He does; and the security that is at Jesus’ disposal, protects us also.
It is not one angel that has been assigned to our spiritual protection, but his angels. The question is not “How many angels fit on the head of a pin”, but rather “How many angels does it take to protect one of us?”. Nevertheless, God did not count and He charged his heavenly angelic armies with our care.
What do we have to fear, and why would we fret? Like the young servant of Elijah in the story, let us ask God to open the dull eyes of our spirit so we can see His marvelous angels and understand all the ways in which he protects us daily (2 Kings 6:17).
Daniel 6:23 . . . So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Let us hear if we can’t see; let us see if we can’t hear. If we can neither hear nor see, let us believe in the Word that assures our protection. If we’ve become one with the Son of Man, we own the same privileges as He does; and the security that is at Jesus’ disposal, protects us also.
It is not one angel that has been assigned to our spiritual protection, but his angels. The question is not “How many angels fit on the head of a pin”, but rather “How many angels does it take to protect one of us?”. Nevertheless, God did not count and He charged his heavenly angelic armies with our care.
What do we have to fear, and why would we fret? Like the young servant of Elijah in the story, let us ask God to open the dull eyes of our spirit so we can see His marvelous angels and understand all the ways in which he protects us daily (2 Kings 6:17).
Daniel 6:23 . . . So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
September 3, 2006
Psalms 91:9-10 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Let evil ills come; they will not touch the righteous. For the righteous, for the one whose soul is securely anchored in God through Jesus Christ his beloved Lord, there are no such things as bad news. For him, sickness is medicine to the shallow elements of his soul; death is the ending of earth’s futile vanity; burial is resurrection in the Promised Land of God’s Spirit. He doesn’t turn the ‘lemon’ into ‘lemonade’, but the ‘lemon’ becomes for him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14), water that quenches so, he doesn’t have to come and draw again (John 4:15). The rock that could quench him becomes a fountain for his weary doubtful soul (Exodus 17:6).
Come ye devils with your cohorts; throw your stones at my heart and my faith; you’ve always done so to the pure children of God (Acts 7:59). Your rocks will only serve to build the grave of my martyrdom as a testimony against you until such a day when the books are opened and I sit at my father’s side (Revelations 20:4,12).
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:9-10 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Let evil ills come; they will not touch the righteous. For the righteous, for the one whose soul is securely anchored in God through Jesus Christ his beloved Lord, there are no such things as bad news. For him, sickness is medicine to the shallow elements of his soul; death is the ending of earth’s futile vanity; burial is resurrection in the Promised Land of God’s Spirit. He doesn’t turn the ‘lemon’ into ‘lemonade’, but the ‘lemon’ becomes for him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14), water that quenches so, he doesn’t have to come and draw again (John 4:15). The rock that could quench him becomes a fountain for his weary doubtful soul (Exodus 17:6).
Come ye devils with your cohorts; throw your stones at my heart and my faith; you’ve always done so to the pure children of God (Acts 7:59). Your rocks will only serve to build the grave of my martyrdom as a testimony against you until such a day when the books are opened and I sit at my father’s side (Revelations 20:4,12).
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Daily Devotion
September 2, 2006
Psalms 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
The socio-political world of today seems to be caught in an endless cycle of vendetta type wars. Every conflict on the planet points to the victim mentality in which it is deeply engulfed. It seems that we are not learning from history, no not even from our contemporary history. Revenge only promotes more violence, and even winning a war only brings forth hatred and animosity in those who were vanquished, which will eventually retaliate in the future generations. Such are the ways of the world.
But we can recognize who are the children of the Most High. They do not have to involve themselves in the dirty business of retaliation; their history is that of a God who has taken charge to avenge them (Romans 12:19). Their Lord and Savior, by his own words and sample, even told them to love and bless the enemy that hates and curses them (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 5:44).
We do not need to worry about the wicked that wrongs us. The day is coming when the books will be opened and the truth will be known; in that day, God himself will reward the wicked and we will see it with our own eyes. What a surprise it will be then to see how God really looks at things.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
The socio-political world of today seems to be caught in an endless cycle of vendetta type wars. Every conflict on the planet points to the victim mentality in which it is deeply engulfed. It seems that we are not learning from history, no not even from our contemporary history. Revenge only promotes more violence, and even winning a war only brings forth hatred and animosity in those who were vanquished, which will eventually retaliate in the future generations. Such are the ways of the world.
But we can recognize who are the children of the Most High. They do not have to involve themselves in the dirty business of retaliation; their history is that of a God who has taken charge to avenge them (Romans 12:19). Their Lord and Savior, by his own words and sample, even told them to love and bless the enemy that hates and curses them (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 5:44).
We do not need to worry about the wicked that wrongs us. The day is coming when the books will be opened and the truth will be known; in that day, God himself will reward the wicked and we will see it with our own eyes. What a surprise it will be then to see how God really looks at things.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 01, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 30, 2006
Psalms 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
When we walk with God, we walk by night as if it were by day; woes do not embitter the sweetness of His way. When we walk with God, sickness may bring our weakened body down, but only serves as a platform to raise our spirits up. Why is it so? Is it due to some magic spell brewed in a dark corner of the forest? Does this immunity come from some elixir made with exotic Eastern herbs?
Leave now your search for uncertain holy grails and let’s go together through the pages of the Holy book. Watch the miracles of the Shekina standing between the children of Israel and their Egyptian slave-masters (Exodus 14;19-20). See how the Spirit of the Most High strengthened men of low degree to supernatural strengths and faith.
Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the word walking on the earth has promised power is at our disposal for the asking (John 14:14). So when we feel like the world succeeds in overcoming us with its futile race, let’s claim ‘sanctuary’ and take refuge within our hearts where the Son of God lives. There, His strength becomes ours (Philippians 4:13), His light shines our way (2 Samuel 22:29), and His spirit is the health of our bones (Proverbs 16:24).
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
When we walk with God, we walk by night as if it were by day; woes do not embitter the sweetness of His way. When we walk with God, sickness may bring our weakened body down, but only serves as a platform to raise our spirits up. Why is it so? Is it due to some magic spell brewed in a dark corner of the forest? Does this immunity come from some elixir made with exotic Eastern herbs?
Leave now your search for uncertain holy grails and let’s go together through the pages of the Holy book. Watch the miracles of the Shekina standing between the children of Israel and their Egyptian slave-masters (Exodus 14;19-20). See how the Spirit of the Most High strengthened men of low degree to supernatural strengths and faith.
Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the word walking on the earth has promised power is at our disposal for the asking (John 14:14). So when we feel like the world succeeds in overcoming us with its futile race, let’s claim ‘sanctuary’ and take refuge within our hearts where the Son of God lives. There, His strength becomes ours (Philippians 4:13), His light shines our way (2 Samuel 22:29), and His spirit is the health of our bones (Proverbs 16:24).
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
September 01, 2006
Psalms 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Believer, we live in a world where the nocturnal pestilence of immorality runs rampant, where unashamed compromise in broad daylight is the norm. Even as medical science celebrates victory over certain sicknesses and viruses, our spiritual condition is that of blindness and numbness to the sin that so easily besets us (Hebrews 12:1).
When Nostradamus was fighting the plague in Europe, he simply observed basic rules of health and cleanliness such as cleaning, washing hands and disinfecting through incineration, all of which were new at the time. He was instrumental in the lives of many, and even though he was in contact with the sickness he did not catch it. The Old Testament contains many ritual types of washing, which unbeknownst to the children of Israel, kept them from diseases that were prevalent in the lands of their enemies (Exodus 15:26).
We have the promises that even though all those around us fall in the pit of ungodly living, we do not have to. If we keep strong in the Spirit, if we wash daily in the waters of His words, if we constantly purify ourselves in the stream of His Spirit, the whole world can fall into iniquity (and the Bible tells us that it will --Revelations 13:3), we do not have to.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Believer, we live in a world where the nocturnal pestilence of immorality runs rampant, where unashamed compromise in broad daylight is the norm. Even as medical science celebrates victory over certain sicknesses and viruses, our spiritual condition is that of blindness and numbness to the sin that so easily besets us (Hebrews 12:1).
When Nostradamus was fighting the plague in Europe, he simply observed basic rules of health and cleanliness such as cleaning, washing hands and disinfecting through incineration, all of which were new at the time. He was instrumental in the lives of many, and even though he was in contact with the sickness he did not catch it. The Old Testament contains many ritual types of washing, which unbeknownst to the children of Israel, kept them from diseases that were prevalent in the lands of their enemies (Exodus 15:26).
We have the promises that even though all those around us fall in the pit of ungodly living, we do not have to. If we keep strong in the Spirit, if we wash daily in the waters of His words, if we constantly purify ourselves in the stream of His Spirit, the whole world can fall into iniquity (and the Bible tells us that it will --Revelations 13:3), we do not have to.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 31, 2006
Psalms 91:6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Fear may be the single, most dangerous weapon the enemy possesses against us. During World War 2, in a radio broadcast to the British people Winston Churchill said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.
When the children of Israel were in Egypt, God taught a lesson to the whole world. While the angel of death roamed the night streets of Egypt, God’s people were in their homes eating the Passover, protected by the blood of the Lamb of God on the doorpost of their houses. David, the young shepherd boy, could have feared the giant Goliath, but his eyes were fixed on a God that made Goliath look more like a grasshopper.
If we keep our eyes on God, with the blood of His Lamb on the doorposts of our hearts, we also will not fear; and whatever woe the world may use to intimidate us will not work. How dismayed must the heart of the Almighty God be when His children fear the puniness of Satan.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Fear may be the single, most dangerous weapon the enemy possesses against us. During World War 2, in a radio broadcast to the British people Winston Churchill said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.
When the children of Israel were in Egypt, God taught a lesson to the whole world. While the angel of death roamed the night streets of Egypt, God’s people were in their homes eating the Passover, protected by the blood of the Lamb of God on the doorpost of their houses. David, the young shepherd boy, could have feared the giant Goliath, but his eyes were fixed on a God that made Goliath look more like a grasshopper.
If we keep our eyes on God, with the blood of His Lamb on the doorposts of our hearts, we also will not fear; and whatever woe the world may use to intimidate us will not work. How dismayed must the heart of the Almighty God be when His children fear the puniness of Satan.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 29, 2006
Psalms 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
The wings and the feathers that serve as a shield and buckler to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy are his truth. His Words of truth contain the marvelous promises of his love and care for us. When we use God’s Words as weapons against the enemy who so often tries to discourage our soul with his words of doubt, they not only protect us from the devil’s attacks, but they also neutralize him.
An old man told this story to young children: the story of The Little Red Hen. A brush fire had burst out in the usually quiet farm. The farmer was busy fighting the flames, and all the animals were in a state of panic. The little red hen tried her best to gather her chicks but by the time she had them all corralled, the flames surrounded her. She then gathered all her chicks under her wings and body, and sat on her little ones to protect them, her own self exposed to the fire. When the farmer assessed the disaster the fire did to his farm, he kicked something with his foot wondering what it was, only to uncover the chicks alive under what was the body of the burnt sacrificial red hen.
This story may be childlike and simplistic but it illustrates the protective truth that Jesus affords to us at his own cost. Let us therefore not fear the enemy, but always avail ourselves of the shield and buckler truth of the Lord.
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
The wings and the feathers that serve as a shield and buckler to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy are his truth. His Words of truth contain the marvelous promises of his love and care for us. When we use God’s Words as weapons against the enemy who so often tries to discourage our soul with his words of doubt, they not only protect us from the devil’s attacks, but they also neutralize him.
An old man told this story to young children: the story of The Little Red Hen. A brush fire had burst out in the usually quiet farm. The farmer was busy fighting the flames, and all the animals were in a state of panic. The little red hen tried her best to gather her chicks but by the time she had them all corralled, the flames surrounded her. She then gathered all her chicks under her wings and body, and sat on her little ones to protect them, her own self exposed to the fire. When the farmer assessed the disaster the fire did to his farm, he kicked something with his foot wondering what it was, only to uncover the chicks alive under what was the body of the burnt sacrificial red hen.
This story may be childlike and simplistic but it illustrates the protective truth that Jesus affords to us at his own cost. Let us therefore not fear the enemy, but always avail ourselves of the shield and buckler truth of the Lord.
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 28, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 28, 2006
Psalms 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
If we make our abode in the secret place of El Shadai, God the Almighty, if we make Him our refuge, fortress and trust, no plot and no evil device can succeed against us.
The enemy of our soul is cunningly smart. Like the drug pusher of the city streets gives free samples to get his clientele hopelessly addicted to his witchery, so the devil snares people in his traps by getting them used to the material blessings of the world. He offers them for free, knowing that they will eventually pay for it with their souls. Resistance is futile; he uses his knowledge of the very elements of our wicked, carnal, and selfish human fiber to trap us.
The only hope left to us is to place our dependence for our happiness and supply on God. God gives His blessings and they are without sorrow (Proverbs 10:22), unlike the enemy’s blessings, which come with a curse on the soul.
Come, ye evil trickeries; wicked mechanisms invented in darkness. I rest in the shadow of the Almighty God; He is my refuge and fortress; I bathe in the brightness of His light. Come if you will; like the moth that cannot resist a light in the midst of darkness, your deviltry will burn as it approaches even near me.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
If we make our abode in the secret place of El Shadai, God the Almighty, if we make Him our refuge, fortress and trust, no plot and no evil device can succeed against us.
The enemy of our soul is cunningly smart. Like the drug pusher of the city streets gives free samples to get his clientele hopelessly addicted to his witchery, so the devil snares people in his traps by getting them used to the material blessings of the world. He offers them for free, knowing that they will eventually pay for it with their souls. Resistance is futile; he uses his knowledge of the very elements of our wicked, carnal, and selfish human fiber to trap us.
The only hope left to us is to place our dependence for our happiness and supply on God. God gives His blessings and they are without sorrow (Proverbs 10:22), unlike the enemy’s blessings, which come with a curse on the soul.
Come, ye evil trickeries; wicked mechanisms invented in darkness. I rest in the shadow of the Almighty God; He is my refuge and fortress; I bathe in the brightness of His light. Come if you will; like the moth that cannot resist a light in the midst of darkness, your deviltry will burn as it approaches even near me.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 27, 2006
Psalms 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
There is today a most audacious conspiracy against true faith. Media gives it negative sounding attributes like radical, fundamentalist, ultra conservative, and proclaim that followers of such faith are unbalanced, one-sided, brainwashed, controlled, in-denial. Men boldly proclaim a culture of doubt and suspicion against all who live in submission, adoration and dedication to God Yehovah who created our universe.
David, was a man who lived in dedicated adoration for God in spite of his own human weakness; a man who, in his own life, saw the excellent thing as well as the utmost wicked; a man of force and a man of faults; a man who saw dazzling victories and most humiliating defeats. King David was anything but a ‘one-sided brainwashed in denial controlled zombie’ but he makes this statement of his dependence on His God prefixing it with the words, I will say.
May the shouts of our praises unto the God, our ‘Proclamation of Dependence’, ring loud and clear in the ears of the Almighty. May our united I will say drown the voices of carnality that shamelessly dare to challenge the foundational principles of dependence and humility towards our God. May the strength of our weakness in our God win against the bloody controlling forces of evil independence.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
There is today a most audacious conspiracy against true faith. Media gives it negative sounding attributes like radical, fundamentalist, ultra conservative, and proclaim that followers of such faith are unbalanced, one-sided, brainwashed, controlled, in-denial. Men boldly proclaim a culture of doubt and suspicion against all who live in submission, adoration and dedication to God Yehovah who created our universe.
David, was a man who lived in dedicated adoration for God in spite of his own human weakness; a man who, in his own life, saw the excellent thing as well as the utmost wicked; a man of force and a man of faults; a man who saw dazzling victories and most humiliating defeats. King David was anything but a ‘one-sided brainwashed in denial controlled zombie’ but he makes this statement of his dependence on His God prefixing it with the words, I will say.
May the shouts of our praises unto the God, our ‘Proclamation of Dependence’, ring loud and clear in the ears of the Almighty. May our united I will say drown the voices of carnality that shamelessly dare to challenge the foundational principles of dependence and humility towards our God. May the strength of our weakness in our God win against the bloody controlling forces of evil independence.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 26, 2006
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The fountain of peace is found under the shadow of the Almighty--rest from the burning heat of the day; a place where the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit refreshes and restores the soul. This promise of heavenly bliss is given with a condition: to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Much of our life is a wrestle; we struggle to stay on top of things, and we yearn for the peace our soul so desperately needs. This lack of drinking at the fountain of peace has caused most of the industrialized world to be under some sort of psychological therapy or medicine. I sometimes wonder how God, the provider of this source of peace, looks at it.
It is sad, but whereas we are told where to find the peace we so desperately crave, we often only pay a token visit to it. Why is that? Is the fee too high?
What are we afraid to lose by coming to God in closer intimacy? Are we apprehending the fact that He may ask us to reconsider elements in our lives that cause it to be confusing? Are we going to have to put something on the altar of His divine will in order to find that peace?
May God help us, today, to come so close to him that we may dwell in the temple of his shadow. May he help us to not trade the bliss of his continual presence for anything this world has to offer, that we may drink abundantly of the fountain of peace to our fill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The fountain of peace is found under the shadow of the Almighty--rest from the burning heat of the day; a place where the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit refreshes and restores the soul. This promise of heavenly bliss is given with a condition: to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Much of our life is a wrestle; we struggle to stay on top of things, and we yearn for the peace our soul so desperately needs. This lack of drinking at the fountain of peace has caused most of the industrialized world to be under some sort of psychological therapy or medicine. I sometimes wonder how God, the provider of this source of peace, looks at it.
It is sad, but whereas we are told where to find the peace we so desperately crave, we often only pay a token visit to it. Why is that? Is the fee too high?
What are we afraid to lose by coming to God in closer intimacy? Are we apprehending the fact that He may ask us to reconsider elements in our lives that cause it to be confusing? Are we going to have to put something on the altar of His divine will in order to find that peace?
May God help us, today, to come so close to him that we may dwell in the temple of his shadow. May he help us to not trade the bliss of his continual presence for anything this world has to offer, that we may drink abundantly of the fountain of peace to our fill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Friday, August 25, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 25, 2006
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home; to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it will finally arrive in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home; to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it will finally arrive in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 25, 2006
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our home town; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home; to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it will finally arrive in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our home town; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home; to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it will finally arrive in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 24, 2006
Psalms 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulation. Sometimes, God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times, He allows it to spiritually purify his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Rev 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time something goes wrong in our relationship with neighbors and government that this is due to tribulations and persecution for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something or blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24).
God owns the heart of his children, and he also owns the heart of the nations. None of us, and none of them, can make a move without God’s permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God will also pour His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Pro 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulation. Sometimes, God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times, He allows it to spiritually purify his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Rev 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time something goes wrong in our relationship with neighbors and government that this is due to tribulations and persecution for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something or blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24).
God owns the heart of his children, and he also owns the heart of the nations. None of us, and none of them, can make a move without God’s permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God will also pour His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Pro 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 23, 2006
Psalms 106:44-45 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from the death incurred by their sin (Genesis 3:15). From that day on, through Noah and the flood, Moses and the Exodus; through many conquests at the hands of neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. The children of Israel would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He always heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yashua Hamashia’h, is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:44-45 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from the death incurred by their sin (Genesis 3:15). From that day on, through Noah and the flood, Moses and the Exodus; through many conquests at the hands of neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. The children of Israel would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He always heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yashua Hamashia’h, is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 22, 2006
Psalms 106:43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we take the blessings of His grace and love for granted. Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, and then we run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out, we go right back to it. It’s distressing to realize that, in his carnal state, man often prefers sin and hell to God’s blessings and heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history bear witness to this fact. We seem never to learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, control of strategic resources, and for ‘freedom’ from God’s wholesome way of life. The tribes of Israel were time and time again brought under the yoke of their enemies because of disobedience to God; they are like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world; an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us bears influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we take the blessings of His grace and love for granted. Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, and then we run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out, we go right back to it. It’s distressing to realize that, in his carnal state, man often prefers sin and hell to God’s blessings and heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history bear witness to this fact. We seem never to learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, control of strategic resources, and for ‘freedom’ from God’s wholesome way of life. The tribes of Israel were time and time again brought under the yoke of their enemies because of disobedience to God; they are like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world; an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us bears influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 20, 2006
Psalms 106:40-41 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride, the one he has redeemed with a great price. When she saw that he tarried to return, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to her husband for help. At that, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a sprit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and give her a bill of divorce; but this is not the way of our Lord. Because He loves His bride dearly, the Lord takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for her to return. When has learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jer 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:40-41 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride, the one he has redeemed with a great price. When she saw that he tarried to return, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to her husband for help. At that, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a sprit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and give her a bill of divorce; but this is not the way of our Lord. Because He loves His bride dearly, the Lord takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for her to return. When has learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jer 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 19, 2006
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsting. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. They went beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained her skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men; he generously paid the ransom for her freedom; and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame, mounted her on his horse, and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him. After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions.
The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this? Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes, indeed how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we-- thechildren of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? Do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsting. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. They went beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained her skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men; he generously paid the ransom for her freedom; and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame, mounted her on his horse, and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him. After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions.
The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this? Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes, indeed how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we-- thechildren of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? Do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Friday, August 18, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 18, 2006
Psalms 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Do we think that our modern civilization is above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were? Do we hear these verses and think of the ancients who didn’t know better, or of these people in primitive distant lands in Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it even tries to deny God as the creator. Our modern civilization, bewitched by a false concept of freedom, has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death, the spiritual genocide of a generation. We have been lured and convinced by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove the godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs, our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we all too willingly give it to them. Thus, we exchange our God-given liberties, sacrificing our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Do we think that our modern civilization is above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were? Do we hear these verses and think of the ancients who didn’t know better, or of these people in primitive distant lands in Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it even tries to deny God as the creator. Our modern civilization, bewitched by a false concept of freedom, has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death, the spiritual genocide of a generation. We have been lured and convinced by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove the godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs, our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we all too willingly give it to them. Thus, we exchange our God-given liberties, sacrificing our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 17, 2006
Psalms 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
In Greek mythology, Homer tells us of Oedipus’ journey. On his way home, Oedipus passes through the realm of the sirens. Sirens lured sailors by singing beautiful songs. Attracted by the songs, mariners would steer their ships toward what they thought were beautiful women; instead, they were led to hidden rocks under the surface of the water, which caused the loss of both vessel and crew. Oedipus wanted to hear the song of the sirens so as his ship neared the dangerous area, he asked to be tied to the mast of the ship. He also told his men to plug their ears so they would hear neither the song of the sirens nor his pleading commands to steer the ship towards them. Oedipus heard the song of the Sirens and his ship went through without changing its course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Oedipus may have foiled the Sirens attempts, but through his ears, his heart was conquered. His body, when tied to the mast couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for evil. If our heart can conceive evil, it can also birth it.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers,? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
In Greek mythology, Homer tells us of Oedipus’ journey. On his way home, Oedipus passes through the realm of the sirens. Sirens lured sailors by singing beautiful songs. Attracted by the songs, mariners would steer their ships toward what they thought were beautiful women; instead, they were led to hidden rocks under the surface of the water, which caused the loss of both vessel and crew. Oedipus wanted to hear the song of the sirens so as his ship neared the dangerous area, he asked to be tied to the mast of the ship. He also told his men to plug their ears so they would hear neither the song of the sirens nor his pleading commands to steer the ship towards them. Oedipus heard the song of the Sirens and his ship went through without changing its course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Oedipus may have foiled the Sirens attempts, but through his ears, his heart was conquered. His body, when tied to the mast couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for evil. If our heart can conceive evil, it can also birth it.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers,? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 16, 2006
Psalms 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors, or by wanting to make gods that could be seen, even though they could not be heard; but could their difficult lifestyle really constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases your friends will also excuse you because in excusing you, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors, or by wanting to make gods that could be seen, even though they could not be heard; but could their difficult lifestyle really constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases your friends will also excuse you because in excusing you, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 15, 2006
Psalms 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants; in order to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. The only place we can fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words; let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices, and most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish; there is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness, no communion between light and darkness, and Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants; in order to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. The only place we can fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words; let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices, and most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish; there is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness, no communion between light and darkness, and Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 14, 2006
Psalms 106:32-33 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:32-33 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 13, 2006
Psalms 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2Co 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2Co 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 12, 2006
Psalms 106:30 Then stood up Phinehas, and *executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. *Executed judgment: The Hebrew verb used in this sentence is “Palal” and means: pray; entreat; judge; intercede; make supplications.
The story is of God’s judgment executed against a man who exhibited the epitome of defiance. The children of Israel were required to remain pure from the idolatrous practices of the idolatrous nations because their religious rituals involved unnatural and unhealthy sexual practices. In spite of having made a promise to obey God on these things, the people of Israel went to the nearby Moabite city, hobnobbed at the temple of Baal-Peor, and indulged in their gross practices (Numbers 25:3).
God, through Moses, showed strong disapproval, and people in the camp were in a spirit of repentance and mourning for their sins. In spite of all this, one of the princely leaders of Israel brought the object of God’s anger to his own tent: a Moabite princess (Numbers 25:4-6; 14,15). Pinehas the priest, in zeal and indignation toward the cause of God, took a javelin and pieced them both during their contemptuous act (Numbers 25:8). Just as God caused a plague to erupt in the whole camp because of the rebellious sin of one, God also caused the plague to cease because of the righteousness of one, Pinehas.
God’s mercy is at the same level as His indignation. The devil-inspired deeds of one man can cause a group, a church, a society, or a country to be the object of God’s wrath. The God-inspired righteous zeal of one man can cause the plague to be removed.
Oh, that God may give us ‘men’ who have the ‘guts’ and righteous zeal to be moved and pray fervently about their part in eradicating the evil that affects us.
Thank God for Jesus Christ--he had the ‘guts’ to stay the plague from us by taking our sin upon his responsible shoulders, and thereby executing judgment.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:30 Then stood up Phinehas, and *executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. *Executed judgment: The Hebrew verb used in this sentence is “Palal” and means: pray; entreat; judge; intercede; make supplications.
The story is of God’s judgment executed against a man who exhibited the epitome of defiance. The children of Israel were required to remain pure from the idolatrous practices of the idolatrous nations because their religious rituals involved unnatural and unhealthy sexual practices. In spite of having made a promise to obey God on these things, the people of Israel went to the nearby Moabite city, hobnobbed at the temple of Baal-Peor, and indulged in their gross practices (Numbers 25:3).
God, through Moses, showed strong disapproval, and people in the camp were in a spirit of repentance and mourning for their sins. In spite of all this, one of the princely leaders of Israel brought the object of God’s anger to his own tent: a Moabite princess (Numbers 25:4-6; 14,15). Pinehas the priest, in zeal and indignation toward the cause of God, took a javelin and pieced them both during their contemptuous act (Numbers 25:8). Just as God caused a plague to erupt in the whole camp because of the rebellious sin of one, God also caused the plague to cease because of the righteousness of one, Pinehas.
God’s mercy is at the same level as His indignation. The devil-inspired deeds of one man can cause a group, a church, a society, or a country to be the object of God’s wrath. The God-inspired righteous zeal of one man can cause the plague to be removed.
Oh, that God may give us ‘men’ who have the ‘guts’ and righteous zeal to be moved and pray fervently about their part in eradicating the evil that affects us.
Thank God for Jesus Christ--he had the ‘guts’ to stay the plague from us by taking our sin upon his responsible shoulders, and thereby executing judgment.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 11, 2006
Psalms 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform of precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons, to teach us the character of the Lord, His likes and dislikes.
This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. King Balak hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat of the angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed idolatry and brought upon themselves the curse (Numbers 25). The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes.
As individuals, when the Lord gives us His Word to lead and guide us, when He foils the enemy’s plans against us, the question to ask ourselves is, how many of our problems, sicknesses, financial difficulties, family breakdowns are self-inflicted? As a corporate group such as a company, a city, a church, a country, when the Lord has so beautifully given us His rules of conduct as a society, how much of our social and political breakdown is due to our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?
It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform of precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons, to teach us the character of the Lord, His likes and dislikes.
This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. King Balak hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat of the angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed idolatry and brought upon themselves the curse (Numbers 25). The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes.
As individuals, when the Lord gives us His Word to lead and guide us, when He foils the enemy’s plans against us, the question to ask ourselves is, how many of our problems, sicknesses, financial difficulties, family breakdowns are self-inflicted? As a corporate group such as a company, a city, a church, a country, when the Lord has so beautifully given us His rules of conduct as a society, how much of our social and political breakdown is due to our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?
It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 10, 2006
Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities; they would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15), to find purpose and life.
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full, only satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities; they would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15), to find purpose and life.
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full, only satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 9, 2006
Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
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