CHAPTER 1: PARTNERING WITH GOD 2024.
Chapter 1 Partnering with God 2024, It Begins Here, hopefully you and I never forget that. The first time I wrote this chapter, I could’ve never known the path I was about to engage, or the knowledge the Lord would pour out into my skull. Is there a key here? Yes, there is a key, and it requires a lot of prayer to engage it correctly? What is it?
Faith.
Hebrews 11:1 King James Version
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
You have faith in a seat-belt don’t you, in your truck, in your glasses, in your morning coffee.., right? Faith is real, depending on what you have Faith in. Faith in yourself? Sketchy, that got me in a lot of trouble. Faith in a hammer, pretty good, it always works. Faith in Jesus Christ? Solid, that always works as well, actually better than anything listed. What is the “evidence of things not seen? The Earth. I didn’t see Him create it, but scripture says He did. How else did it get here? Science? Okay, let’s look at that. Do you know that if the entire universe, et all, was aligned to the left or the right, up or down, an infinitesimal amount, so small it is immeasurable, the Earth could not exist, nor could the galaxy or the universe itself. Science? I think not. Science gets on the back of the creator it would appear, created by Him as well. “On the third day He rose from the dead.” What is the evidence? He rose from the dead. It’s documented. I didn’t see it, but I know it happened. So, when He says “a new creation in Christ”, what is the evidence? You. The you before Christ and the you after. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, that’s you here and now, the evidence of things not seen, that’s the you coming soon and what He has done in you to achieve same.
As the world changes for the worst, less and less people care about church, and less and less care about the Word. Even so, those who still do are unfortunately in varying degrees of understanding God because True Teachers of God are few and far between, but there are a lot of posers, again unfortunately.
2 Peter 2 New International Version
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Chapter 1 is the quintessential beginning, a journey of learning, training, testing, retesting, committing and re-committing to Jesus Christ. There are very few corporate leaders, CEO’s, Owners, or political leaders Partnering with God. Let’s hope you and I are among the remnant.
Jeremiah 6:16 New International Version
16 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Joel 2:25-32 New King James Version.
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming [a]locust has eaten,
If you are a person reading these notes for the first time, your life, company and family are at risk, now and all the time. If you have heard this lesson more than once, you are a Traveler, and the Lord is in you, and He has given you many gifts to be used for Kingdom work, your example bringing hope to the hopeless. At this point, Chapter 1, my first set of notes, a million years ago, in my original hand, a prayer, we are all familiar with.
“Lord, get me outta this or through this and I promise to do whatever you put in front of me, and to do it my better than my very best for the rest of my life..”
I asked for His guidance in return for my obedience. He agreed. On some days I do better than others. In Jesus, I always get another shot, another day, in His mercy.
Galatians 1:11-13 New International Version (NIV)11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
The ones who fall away, not so good, I’ve seen it with my own eyes and those things wake me at night in terror, remembering my own poor choices. If the devil can interrupt your destiny, God is sad, you’ll never know what you missed and your children will not see the Glory of what God could’ve done with you. Stay the course, wake up and deal with God, all the time, anytime, right now time. You have three Tools, Prayer, the Word and Fellowship. Use them, promptly and with discernment for the direction of the Holy Spirit in all these matters. Find God in everything. Find God and the Original Blueprint He designed in you, for you to achieve and benefit all things in your life. The Original Blueprint of you designed by God for you before time itself was created.
Deuteronomy 6:6-8 New King James Version
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
He restores everything in my life from nothing. How can I manage the gifts the Lord has given? I cannot, not without Him. I ride the train the Lord provided and did what He asked along the way, sometimes, as I’ve said, better than others, sometimes I failed, whatever the case, in His Grace He picked me up and put me back on track.
Jeremiah 29:11
New International Version
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jesus Christ, the very first turnaround Jedi Master handed me the first of two lessons and perhaps the toughest of all to remember.
Matthew 6:33-34 New International Version
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Luke 16:10 ESV
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Money, property and prestige could not be obtained honorably or kept by any noble means. Remember that. Money, property and prestige comes under the heading of a false god. On the other hand, the gifts from God are people, places and things to be tended, respected, cultivated — purposed for God’s work in you. Our homes, money, corporations, all of it is our ministry — money, property and prestige is a false god, and not only is it temporary, but in the long run it is forever without God.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
New International Version
Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
You want to know what God’s will is? Everybody asks. Let me tell you. It’s what you don’t want to do, it’s what you stubbornly won’t change, it’s what you keep praying about because you don’t like the answer. If you’re not careful, you will do the wrong thing, and the wrong thing wastes a lot of time and is quite dangerous.
Genesis 4:6-8
New King James Version
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is [a]for you, but you should rule over it.”
What is the difference between a believer who goes sideways and a believer who does not? There is no such thing. A Believer that goes sideways just does, same as a non-believer. Faith is the difference. Fear is the problem, always, fear of looking bad, fear of failing, fear of running out, fear is without Faith we are all susceptible to falling, slipping, sinning, corruption, all of it, beware, remember the solution.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
“Be aware, be advised, you did not do this good thing that has happened to you, “stay the course He has given.”
Unfortunately, there are those who return to their old ways and the result is heartbreaking.
Proverbs 26:11
New International Version
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so fools repeat their folly.
What happens if you stay the course? If you realize what you have? If you read the Bible everyday? If you listen in church every week? If you tithe and be grateful for it? If you fall and get up in prayer? If you sin and repent in earnest? If you hurt others and say you’re sorry? If you pray always, every morning and through the day, asking for direction and realization in the gifts of the Holy Spirit? What happens if you continue this kind of behavior day after day, month after month? What happens if you realize how much time you’ve wasted, and how many times God saved you from yourself and you didn’t even know it?
Philippians 4:7
New King James Version
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
That is a promise, and God never lies. He will give you what you need. Perhaps not what you want, but what you need.
Isaiah 35:8
New King James Version
A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
We are all foolish, and petty. There are mistakes, and consequences for our actions. Yet, still He loves us teacher, Father, Savior, our God keeps us on the road, He knows your heart.
Proverbs 3:11-12 New International Version
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.[a]
Revelation 21:8 New International Version
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Thomas Payne, a leading atheistic author wrote a book called “the Age of Reason.” Payne rejected the Bible and Christ, promoting his own assumptions and myths. He said on his deathbed, “I would give worlds if I had them, that the The Age of Reason had never been published. O Lord help me! Christ, help me! For I am on the edge of Hell here alone. If ever the devil had an agent, I have been that one.”
Dave Hume, also a famous atheist/philosopher. He cried loud on his death bed “I am in flames!” His friends, who stood by were quoted to say “it was a horrible thing to watch his desperation and anguish as he slipped away.”
Sir Francis Newport, the leader of an English Atheist club on his deathbed he said: “You need not tell me there is no God for I know there is one, and that I am in His presence! You need not tell me there is no hell. I feel myself ready slipping there. Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever! Oh, that fire! Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell!
I’ve saved the most disturbing for last. Anton LeVey, the famous author of the “satanic bible”, “high priest” in the church of satan. He took great joy in leading people away from Christ. On his deathbed, these were his final words, “oh no, oh my, what have I done, there is something very wrong, there is something very wrong..”
I have been sharing this testimony for many, many years. Those who listen and stay in the moment do better. Those who don’t live in the future, dimension jumping into what could be, should be, might be, want to be, used to be, all of it testing theories and entertaining different paths looking for something else. Wasting time is an equal opportunity employer, for believers and non-believers alike. If you have found Jesus, do what is right in His eyes, not yours.
Make sure you know the difference. “Once the ship is set right by the hand of God, stay the course, do not deviate, do not let yourself or others tempt away what is now surely yours to be offered up in the Lord from now on..”
Zechariah 9:12 New American Standard Bible
Return to the [a]stronghold, you prisoners [b]who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
Psalm 18:6 New International Version
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
Psalm 18:16-19 New International Version
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
If you get what I’m saying, praise God, if you don’t, I get that, too, you’re not alone, the world is with you and the world is not God. In that headspace you could be me before the fall, and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.
Hebrews 10:22 New King James Version
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
2 Corinthians 4:18 New International Version
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Chapter 1, Partnering with God.., I hope you get it, your children hope you get it, God hopes you get it, you hope you get it.
Amen
