The Lord Is My Refuge
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5
"IF we receive these whispers from God in simple faith, again and again, we are comforted, but IF we REFUSE to LISTEN to the voice of the Comforter, through His Word or to our conscience, and choose instead to listen to the voice of discouragement or despair, no comfort will enter our souls.
If Divine Comfort is to be ours, we must BELIEVE-TRUST and then REST in His abiding Presence. We need to repeat this until it becomes a habitual act and our habitual acts form our new character.
Unbelief is at the bottom of all our lack of comfort, and absolutely nothing else! The remedy for this unbelief is simple. We must make up our minds to believe every single solitary word of comfort that God has ever spoken, and we must utterly refuse to listen to any words of discomfort spoken by our own hearts, by our circumstances, or by the devil and his agents. We must set our faces like flint to BELIEVE-TRUST-and REST, because when everything around us goes haywire, it is not always easy to believe God's words of comfort. We must put our wills into this matter of being Divinely Comforted. We must choose to be comforted!
Whoever will adopt this life of faith on a continuous basis will come, sooner or later, into a blessed state of Divine Comfort" by Jim Hohnberger - Empowered Living Ministries: I Will Comfort You, http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs064/1101559359570/archive/1108999708701.html
This is something that helps keep my heart in the right place when I have been wounded or attacked. I hope it helps you guys!
"Would You Rather Be Right Or Have Relationship?
(Or Where Would You Be Without Judas?)
Jack and Trisha Frost
Not long ago Trisha and I were asked, "What three people have helped most to mature you and to release you in ministry?" At first thought, it was those people in our lives who have stood beside us and loved us through every trial and storm. But then we thought of several people who had not appeared to be loyal to us, those who sowed evil reports against us, those who tried to make themselves look good by exposing our faults and weaknesses to others. As we thought about those who had helped us most in ministry, we began to realize it is also some of the hurtful, difficult relationships that have had dramatic impact for good in our lives. Without them, we may never have discovered what was in us. They helped us discover how deeply our lives were rooted in pride. We began to see how opinionated we were and how we had a need to be right. They were the blessing of God to us, helping to expose how much we lived with a need to be needed. They, unknowingly, helped to motivate us to the Cross!
It’s funny how, in God’s Word, He often turns what seems right and fair upside down.
That is because it is Satan who demands what is right and fair. He demands payment
for our sins and is constantly pronouncing us "guilty, guilty, guilty." But it is God who
does not want to give us what we deserve. He wants to give us an undeserved,
unmerited gift. Satan traffics in law and in what is right and fair, what we deserve. God
traffics in grace and mercy, what we do not deserve. Grace is a higher place than what
is right and fair and Satan can never operate in grace, only in accusations.
Satan is known as the "accuser of the brethren". His thoughts are always negative,
accusatory, pointing out others’ faults, blaming others, devaluing, and demanding of
rights and justice. Resentment, bitterness, and a heavy heart follow Satan’s thoughts.
"God is love" and He is the opposite of Satan. His thoughts are always positive,
comforting, edifying, encouraging, accepting, valuing, and loving. Grace, forgiveness,
and innocence follow after God’s thoughts. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward
you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil…" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Before Trisha and I had this revelation, not knowing these truths brought much harm to
our own lives and ministries. We would receive hurt from people and our response
would be for justice and what was right and fair. We acted more like God’s policemen
and would begin to develop accusatory thoughts or words about those who hurt us.
Then we would become negative, critical, and devaluing towards them in our thought
life. We did not realize it, but we were coming into agreement with Satan’s thoughts
with our own thoughts, and it brought us under judgment and hindered us from
receiving healing and the blessings of God in our lives, families, and ministries. "But I
tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…"
(Matthew 5:22)
After all, when people mistreat and disappoint us, it is only natural to feel hurt and
wounded. But do we respond with grace, "Father forgive them, for they know not what
they are doing! They are only acting out of their own hidden core pain and rejection!
Help me to cover them and restore relationship!" Or do we demand vindication, trying to
justify and clear ourselves from blame? Do we try to make ourselves look good and
innocent by exposing and talking about others’ faults and thus making them look bad or
in error?
Vindication can be one of the hungriest, most destructive appetites we possess.
VINDICATION IS ROOTED IN DEMANDING OUR RIGHTS AND JUSTICE FOR THE
WRONGS DONE TO US! But God says, "Vengeance is Mine." It is His right and it will cost
us dearly to try helping Him out. When we do, God backs away from the situation and
lets us handle things in our own fleshly, accusatory ways. Unknowingly, we are actually
coming into agreement with Satan and separating ourselves from intimacy with God and
from our inheritance in His blessings. When we decide we had better do something to
help God, God help us!
It helps Trisha and I to look at it this way: it is not a matter of what we want to give to
someone who hurts us. It is a matter of what we want to receive. Do we want to receive
a hardened wounded heart that separates us from an intimate relationship with God and
leads us into resentments, pride, and anxieties? Or do we want to enter into God’s rest
and walk in the joy of a lifestyle of forgiveness that produces a meek and gentle spirit?
When we choose our response to wounding situations, we also choose our future
rewards. "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it
will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:38) The context of this verse is not about
money but about how we respond to those who hurt and disappoint us.
We make the decision whether to receive mistreatment at the hands of others as a
blessing or as a curse. God has promised a blessing if we respond with forgiveness and
grace. But when we respond with accusation, vindication, fault-finding, or blame
shifting, we then give Satan a key to our front door and he can come and go as he
pleases in our house. (Ephesians 4:26, 27)
"Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of
evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad for your reward in
heaven is great… But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute
you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His
sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you…"
(Matthew 5:11, 12, 44-4)
These verses imply that there is no blessing or reward when we do good to good
people. Blessing comes when we do good to the people who hurt us. The blessing is
Sonship! We end up with the feeling of full acceptance and unconditional love with the
Father. We begin walking in a deeper intimacy with God and we start taking on His spirit
of grace. That releases intimacy in most of our relationships. We then start becoming
comfortable with love and forgiveness. This is the place where healing and the blessings
of God begin to overtake you.
A study by Mark Virkler reveals that eighty percent of most Christian’s thoughts are
negative. "They didn’t value me! They didn’t speak to me! They were not concerned
with my need! They! They! They!" You can take most of your thoughts or conversations
about a difficult person in your life, and in one way or another line them up under one
of two categories:
THOUGHTS OF RESTORATION AND RELATIONSHIP
or
THOUGHTS OF VINDICATION AND EXPOSURE
One way leads to blessing and the other way releases a self-imposed curse. Satan wants
us to inherit a curse. If the majority of our thoughts and conversations are in agreement
with him, he has a right to release the curse. "He also loved cursing, so it came to him;
and he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him. But he clothed himself with
cursing as with his garment, and it entered into his body like water, and like oil into his
bones." (Psalm 109:17, 18)
God wants us to inherit a blessing. All we have to do is give the person a gift that they
do not deserve, a gift of forgiveness and grace. "To sum up, let all be harmonious,
sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or
insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose
that you might inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8, 9)
It really comes down to this, WOULD WE RATHER BE RIGHT OR HAVE RELATIONSHIP?
How often our thoughts come into agreement with Satan when we strive to be right in
our relationships, especially at home. The biggest problem is we usually are right about
others’ faults! But you can be right and have the wrong attitude and you are dead
wrong. Jesus didn’t "grasp" for position or authority (Philippians 2:5-8). Satan did. Jesus
sought to humble Himself. Satan sought to exalt himself. Satan lost his position in God’s
presence. Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Father. When you choose the
behavior, you choose the consequences! (See Law & Grace chart)
Jesus revealed the path to blessing and intimacy in Luke 6:27, 28, 35: "But I say to you
who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you… and your reward will be great, and you will be
sons of the Most High…"
"Love your enemies" and you take on the spirit of Christ!
"Do good to those who hate you" and you may make them your friend!
"Bless those who curse you" and you inherit a blessing!
"Pray for those who mistreat you" and you see them through the loving eyes of the
Father!
Jesus walked out these principles with the one who hurt Him most, Judas. He knew
what was in Judas’ heart from the beginning, yet Jesus continued to serve and minister
to him for three years. He allowed Judas to minister beside Him. He washed Judas’ feet
right before the betrayal. He broke bread with him and lived faithful to the covenant of
loyalty with Judas in spite of Judas' actions towards Him. He never stopped receiving
and valuing Judas. Have you received the difficult person whom God has placed in your
life as an instrument of blessing? If you do not value and respect them, then you may
be treating them like a curse, thus inheriting a curse! When we receive them as a
blessing to help us find out what is in us, then God can take every negative relationship
and use it to bring us into spiritual maturity. This releases us to be an instrument of His
love to our family and to the nations!
"And as for you, you (Joseph’s brothers) meant evil against me, but God meant it for
good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."
(Genesis 50:20)
Do you have a pattern of struggling with strife or conflict in relationships? Are your
thoughts or words often accusatory towards those who hurt or disappoint you? Are you
part of a team that lacks unity? Do churches in your city seem to be competitive and
just do not flow well together as the Body of Christ? We have material available that will
help you to mature in this area of life and ministry.
In the Father’s love,
Jack & Trisha Frost
Reprint Permission
Permission is granted to reproduce articles from this website provided:
1) articles are reprinted in their entirety, and
2) acknowledgement of both Shiloh Place Ministries and the article's author(s) are
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(author's name)
Shiloh Place Ministries, PO Box 5, Conway, SC 29528
(843) 365-8990
"Millions of Christians have accepted His substi-
tutionary role but are resisting allowing Him to be
Lord of their entire life, particularly in the now.
Until they do, they are not "in Christ." You see
"in" denotes you are presently in, right now it is
happening, you are cooperating with Him in the
present, in all your known choices. No resistance,
no rebellion, just a conscious, "Yes, Lord." Jim Hohnberger
...........................
"...all that devour him shall offend (Me); evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 2:3b
We don't have to get offended when we are mistreated. God will get offended for us and defend our case. Rest in Him!
"The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he KNOWS them that TRUST in Him."
Nahum 1:7
"Commit the keeping of your soul to Christ, make a pact with Him to remind you
whenever you begin to veer. Then rest in Him. He is able to keep that which you
have committed to Him...." " 'the Replacement Principle' replacing the wrong with
the right... yielding. Replace sadness with happiness ... replace anger with trust in
God (not in the person per say) ... replace resentment with God is in charge ... replace
revenge with God is my revenger ... God is good I can trust in Him."
Jim & Sally Hohnberger.
This is becoming a bit of a habit, us meeting like this. But if you are reading this you really want to try out Wix. Go on then.