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A Reminder About Continual Access

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Jared Meredith

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Genesis 28: 14-22

[10] And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.
[11] And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
[12] And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
[13] And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
[14] And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
[15] And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
[16] And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
[17] And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
[18] And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
[19] And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
[20] And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
[21] So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
[22] And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

We might feel like a pilgrim and a stranger, but as we read about the vision of the ladder in the vision that Jacob received it was a clear demonstration of the limitless borders and access that we have with God! The ladder that was in the vision demonstrated that we can always call out on God in our time of trouble; for when we need God, there is no place (north, south, east or west) that we could be that we could not call out (go up)!

I am also encouraged to know that Jacob recognized that He didn’t know that God was there, and then made a vow and dedicated that place to God. When we remind ourselves of whom God is and what He can do, we should dedicate our mind and resources to trusting Him with all of our might and power, for there is nothing that cannot conquer when we have God on our side!

Here are some other verses that are reminders of just how close God is to us and how easy it is for us to always stir this up within us:

Psalm 121:1-8

[1] I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
[2] My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
[3] He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
[4] Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
[5] The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
[6] The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
[7] The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
[8] The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

God is definitely as representative to a sleepless watchman, always ready and available regardless of the time or venue! Sometimes we easily forget this because we roam the earth often in our own trials, but be reminded today! Let’s get out of the way that we feel and begin to step into the presence of God. Let’s put off ourselves and put on more of God!

Deuteronomy 33:26-27

[26] There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
[27] The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

If you are looking for the ultimate support system, look no further than Jesus Christ! When people are looking for others to do it, it will more often than not be a failure for the lack of availability. Fear not friends, for God is there when you begin to speak the first words from your heart that believes!

2 Timothy 4:17-18

[17] Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
[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.

If you ever feel alone, do not be deceived! God is SO there and ready to help you with each and every care and heartache you are dealing with. There is nothing too big for God!

Some other verses for note and encouragement:

Psalm 57:1

[1] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

We can take refuge in a time of trouble!

Isaiah 25:4

[4] For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

We can take refuge in the middle of life’s storms!

Isaiah 51:16

[16] And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

We can take refuge in the shadow of his hand when we need to take cover and hide from the afflictions that try and destroy us!

Exodus 33:22

[22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

We can take refuge in the Rock of Ages, for it is a foundation that has lasted and always will!

Why Worship Counts

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Jared Meredith

With each and every passing day, it seems to be a fading trend to have active praise and worship in the house of God. It seems as though we are getting down to a presentation and reaction sort of venue. I know that wherever that we go as a ministry, that it is becoming less and less of something that is occurring on a regular basis.

I do realize that many have a lot of misconceptions about worship, but let’s talk about some important parts about it to clear it up a bit!

First off, worship should be something you do ALWAYS. If you are waiting for some kind of special moment to move you, you might be waiting for a long time. I do understand we must wait for God’s voice, but the word of God speaks on entering into his courts with praise! It talks about praising him on the stringed instruments and on the loud sounding cymbals! Thanksgiving should be in your heart before you ever come to church! If you are waiting to get it when you get to church, or are waiting for something, then the process is backwards; God has given you more than enough to step out and worship!

Secondly, we are to be ready IN and OUT of Season. Whether we feel like it or not, or think it is required of us or not, God will always move on us when push comes to shove and there are people in the midst of you that need you to show them who God really is. It’s not about worshiping anyone BUT God. It’s not about giving glory to anyone BUT God. It also means we have to step out whether we are on the mountain in victory or in the valley in the midst of trials. We couldn’t have a good enough of an excuse to sit back and say “I don’t have to”!

Lastly, it’s YOUR CHOICE. No one can make you, but only encourage you to. People get upset at me all the time because they feel as though I am trying to tell them how or when to worship the Lord, but I am merely encouraging them to! I’m not going back there and lifting up your hands for you, for that has to be you! God will never put anything on you more than you can bear, but I cannot imagine that he would ever put you in a place that you could not draw from the well of praise. Praise is what builds faith. Praise is what builds your zeal. Praise is what breaks ground for the word of God.

Feeling Hurt

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Jared Meredith

First off, here is some coordinated reading to put the thought together:

Ezra 4:4,5

[4] Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
[5] And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra 5:4

[4] Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?
[5] But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.

Ezra 6:8-15

[8] Moreover I made a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expences be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.
[9] And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:
[10] That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
[11] Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.
[12] And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.

[13] Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.
[14] And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
[15] And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

There are so many times when we try to take matters into our own hands, and try to make situations work according to the way we think that they should. In most cases, however, we end up making things quite worse then what they were when they began.

We don’t want to turn the other cheek, we don’t want to walk away, and we especially don’t want to keep our opinion silent. I’m here to tell you that sometimes it is the BEST thing to do. God will make sure that we are completely vindicated for the trouble that we face in our persecutions. In other words, we’ll get double for our trouble if we have faith, trust in him, and hang on long enough to not act out of our flesh!

Genesis 20:14-18

[14] And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
[15] And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
[16] And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
[17] So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
[18] For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver to cover the offense against you before all who are with you: you are reproved (vindicated).

Vindicated means: show somebody to be blameless; to clear somebody or something of blame, guilt, suspicion, or doubt.

I couldn’t tell you the amount of times that I have wrote my goodbye speech to the churches I have attended in my life because of the things that have happened that have hurt me. I couldn’t also count the number of times that I have been completely shocked by the behavior of people that I looked up to and trusted greatly. I’ve learned as I have grown in God that many people along the way will let you down, whether they be close to you or not, and that God will be those people for you in their absence. In other words, when they hurt you, let God fill the void so you can forgive them and your walk and witness not be hindered.

We don’t have time to be arguing and complaining about doctrine, principles of ideals and order, or “how things should be in the church”. God is the leader, and that’s who we should follow. With the Holy Ghost as our guide, and Jesus as our Savior, we can never be led astray.

We will be vindicated and never have to say the first word, nor lift the first finger. In fact, the love of God will rise in you to love those who have hurt you. Trust me, it’s happened with me. In fact, I love those who persecute me even more, because I know that they are in far greater of a need than us getting along. If people are more worried about popular opinions and clicks, it’s not business for the King. God wants us to be about his business, exclusively.

So in other words, let’s grow up and go on! Thanks to everyone for the contributions!