During my time off in December the Lord really ministered to me and reminded me of some things that’s produced a lot of fruit in my life, so I wanted to share  

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Pro 3:10  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

When I was a young man the book of proverbs was my go to book in the Bible.  I would read the proverbs every night until I fell asleep.  Well anyway back then when I read these verses I thought it was saying I’m supposed to ask God what to do and where to go, and He will tell me what to do and where to go.  I’m not saying you cant ask God about things like that, and I’m not saying we can’t hear from God about things like that.  God told me it was time to move back to Slidell and I wasn’t even asking.  But this verse isnt saying in everything you do ask God what to do, and He will tell you what to do.  

Acknowledging someone here means to commune with them.  It means to have an intimate relationship with them.  We have intimacy with the Lord by seeing He loves us, and partaking with Him in His life.  1st John says they grabbed ahold of the word of life that is Jesus, and through that they had fellowship with the Father and His love.  The way you acknowledge God is you see Him with you to serve you with His life, and you partake with Him in His life.  When the psalmist says the Lord is my Shepherd I do not lack.  He prepares a table for me in the midst of my enemies, he was acknowledging the Lord.  

What does it mean that He shall direct your paths?  The word direct here means for something to be made right, it means to fit or fashion something in a particular way.  When the proverbs says God shall direct your path it means God will make your steps straight and the way He makes your steps straight is He fills your steps with His life.  

Your path is your walk.  Solomon is saying wherever you are at.  Whatever it is you are doing.  Acknowledge the Lord.  Remember He is with you.  Let your intimacy be with Him and His life.  Fear the Lord, meaning set your eyes on God and His life, and He shall direct your paths.  Acknowledge God and His life and the strength of His life as your provision, and it will be health for your navel, and marrow for your bones.  It will be as a barn filled with plenty and wine presses bursting forth with new wine.  Meaning your path will be filled with Gods life and His grace and His strength and the fruit of His life. You’ll be blessed going in and blessed going out as it says in Deuteronomy 28.  Meaning wherever you go; whatever you do, the grace of God will be the power behind your life.  

The ancient Hebrew pictograph shows the word direct used in proverbs as an infant receiving nutrients through the umbilical chord of the Mother.  When solomon says the Lord will direct your paths its about the Lord filling you with His grace and His strength and His life everywhere you are and everywhere you go.  Solomon is saying acknowledge the Lord is with you, to be your strength and your provision for life, and your steps will be made straight, your heart will be purified from fear and you will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.  It can just as easily say walk in the Spirit.  

Example of direct thy paths …. yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou are with me Lord.  The psalmist path was directed by God.  His heart was purified from fear because his walked in the life of God.  

As many of you know I’ve taken the last 3 December’s off so I can recharge and be refreshed by the presence of God.  Well this year as December was approaching I felt like I was limping to the finish line.  Some of you may have noticed me saying how run down I felt.  It can be difficult being in ministry preaching what we preach here.  It’s not exactly well received.  Sometimes you can feel like Elijah where you think you are the only one, and you can feel overwhelmed. 

Well this December as I was hanging out with God, walking with Him in the cool of the day.  Meeting Him in the garden of my heart.  God began tending to the garden of my heart; He began to pull some weeds that had gotten in my heart.  And He asked me “Who told you, you were alone Greg”.  “He said even should no one be with you.  Even should everyone in the world abandon you, how can you ever be alone?  Arent I with you always.  You keep saying how run down you are Greg?  Who is doing the work?  Is it you who is laboring or is it my life in you?  

You see I was in the place where I wasn’t acknowledging God, I was acknowledging myself.  I was acknowledging my own ability, or rather my own inability, my own strength, instead of God and the strength in His life.  My fear was before myself, kind of like the ten spies sent out to spy out the promised land who came back with a bad report because their own strength was lifted up in their sight.  I was filling my belly with the strength of the flesh, and that filled my path with weakness and frustration and stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed.  

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Paul says we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  The treasure Paul is talking about is eternal life; the treasure is the incorruptible seed of God’s life.  Paul says we have the treasure of eternal life in an earthen vessel.  An earthen vessel is a mortal body.  It’s called earthen because our bodies were fashioned from the dust of the ground.  

Now listen a mortal body can feel weakness.  These mortal bodies can feel overwhelmed.  The weakness we can feel in these mortal bodies when we are stressed and pressed by the tribulation in the earth is meant to be a reminder to us that the excellency is of God, and not of ourselves, so we acknowledge Gods ability is present with us, and we bear about in our bodies the death of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might also be made manifest in our body.  

The way it works is you see the excellency is of God and the strength of His indestructible life.  What that does is it causes you to bear about in your body the dying of the Lord Jesus; meaning you don’t look to human ability and human strength when you are in need, just like Jesus didnt look to human ability on the cross. 

When Jesus felt the weakness of his dying flesh on the cross, it reminded him that the excellency, the power to overcome the world and the death in the world, is not of himself its of the Father.  The weakness we feel in our mortal bodies is meant to be a sign to us that the power behind our lives is God and not ourselves, so our thoughts are filled with His ability and the strength of His hand when we are in need, instead of our thoughts being filled with our own strength and our own ability and our own expertise.  And that’s the foundation from where the life of Jesus is made manifest in us.  

Holiday Inn express commercials …. Are you a doctor?  No, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night.  Not looking to their own ability or expertise but drawing on the power contained in the holiday inn express.  

2 years ago when I was feeling particularly pressed and stressed because I didnt think I had the ability to perform everything that was needed for the ministry.  I told God I can either be the tech guy or I can be the preacher.  I’m happy with either one but I cant do both of them.  I told God you choose.  Nevermind that the scripture says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  

Now whose ability do you think I was acknowledging when I told God I can be the tech guy or I can be the preacher not both?  Listen if its Christ who lives in me.  If its the life of God and His grace that is the power behind my life; thats performing the work in me.  How can I tell God what I can do and what I cant do?  It’s like I’m telling God He cant do all the media and tech things and preach.  He’s too weak for that.  He doesnt have the strength to be able to do both He can only do one or the other.  

You see I felt weakness and inability and that became my daily bread, instead of the weakness and inability I saw in my mortal body reminding me the excellency was of God and not myself.  The apostle Paul learned that when he felt pressed and stressed on every front, it was a sign that the power for him to do what he was doing was of God and not Himself.  When Paul felt weakness he looked to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, so his intimacy would be with the power of the resurrection when he was in need instead of his intimacy being with the weakness of mortal flesh.  When we feel weakness its not meant to be a sign that strength and ability or absent from us,  its not a sign we are being overcome, rather its a sign reminding us of where the strength we need is found, so we look to God and not ourselves.  

Phm 1:4  I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
Phm 1:5  Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
Phm 1:6  That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

The apostle Paul wrote this letter to Philemon to encourage him to receive a servant who had gone awol, back into his house without punishing him.  Paul is desiring here for the faith that was in Philemon to show itself active in his life, and the way he says that would happen is by Philemon acknowledging the treasure of eternal life that dwells in him on account of the hand of God.  

Faith shows itself active in our lives by putting our flesh to rest.  It shows itself active in our lives by animating us with the grace of God and the fruit of His Spirit.  Its the faith that was revealed in Jesus thats full of grace for us.  It’s the faith that was revealed in Jesus that is full of power to produce the fruit of the Spirit in us.  It’s through the faith we have eternal life, and as we acknowledge the incorruptible seed of God’s life dwelling in our mortal bodies, faith manifests itself in us by strengthening us with grace, and filling us with the love of God.  

Since I’ve been back from my break I’ve found myself acknowledging God and His eternal life, and how His presence abides in me.  I’m juggling more things now than I ever was before, but my mind just keeps thinking of God’s ability to do all the juggling, and I havent felt overwhelmed or weak or unable to do what is in my heart to do.  

Prayer ….