Push Buttons

“For thou hast possessed [set up] my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.” (Psalm 139:13)

Our least favorite events are encounters with passive aggressive loved ones who delight in pressing all the right buttons necessary to create and sustain emotional conflicts. They have known us since we came into the world, hence, they know just how best to provoke us to wrath. While smirking nonchalantly and shrugging their shoulders, pretending to wonder why in the world we might possibly have cause to be annoyed or frustrated with them, they project blame and shut down any productive dialogue by absolutely denying even the remotest fraction of responsibility for the incident. Words at such times only lead us further down a path of unrighteousness, no matter how hushed or polite the tones. Given the sin sick condition of our hearts, it is quite easy for us to murder the esteem, the psyche, and the basic human dignity of our brother, sister, son, daughter, mother, or father with a polished Hollywood smile on our faces. Such is the depravity in this flesh…

Lord, please perfect that love and patience of which I am incapable without You, God the Holy Spirit. Please hold my hand and guide me out of darkness and into Your truth and life. I so desperately desire to live, and move, and have my being in Christ my Savior. Help me, Lord. You alone are my peace and I desperately need Thee every hour. Try my reigns, Lord! Be Thou my vision in this fiery furnace of family dysfunction and confusion. I ask it all in Jesus’ holy and mighty name. Amen.


“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm 26:2)


“I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.” (Psalm 16:7)


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Devotional For Daughters Entry 5

“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” (Proverbs 31:10)

A woman never needs to flaunt her physical attributes to get a man's attention if her ultimate goal is to own his heart forever. But let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus and, if the man is walking uprightly before God Almighty, romance, among other virtues, will spring forth like the morning dew rests upon parched earth in the sweet morning air and choice honey shall continually drip willingly from the relational honeycomb.

The virtuous woman possesses qualities of high moral character which are the trademark of leadership and great indicators of spiritual maturity. She keeps the attention upon Christ in her presence and points man ever in the direction of life's Royal Diadem, the eternal jewel whose light her eyes reflect in the darkness of this world.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Devotional For Daughters Entry 4

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

You expect too much, my friend. You desire, quite cerebrally, the love of some who are wholly yet incapable of the reality, for they know not God. Forget the romantic notion that assumes even all who are related to you naturally by blood will love you by default, though we all dream of such a utopia. No, the truth is that there are some, in even your own family, who delight in the idea of misfortune in your life. They can only see lack in your life because it’s all about what they have and what you have not attained. They are spiritual parasites and differ not from other pimps and opportunists in this world. However, having quite foolishly said in their hearts that there is no God, such self-sufficient thinkers are powerless to love anyone outside of themselves with anything but mere affection or the kind of love brought to mind by the great city of Philadelphia. No, agape, the very concept of the God kind of love, does not register upon the scale of knowledge such worldly geniuses, their friends, or their neighbors could possibly comprehend in their present unregenerate state. But, regardless of what is directed at you, you are called to a higher level of virtuosity and commanded to love even as you are loved of God. Neither sticks nor stones nor hateful attitudes nor outright betrayal, shall give us justification to cease bearing all such people, faithfully believing in all such people, hoping in all such people, and enduring all such people. Love never faileth. (1Corinthians 13:4-8) Hath Christ not loved us enough to lay down His life for us when we could not have been more unlovable than we were? “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) Considering the fullness of grace we have all received in Christ, shouldn’t we be more longsuffering with those whose hearts are yet darkened by the natural tendencies which once plagued us also? Love, after all, is neither a type of song nor something to be manufactured in a bedroom. Love serves (Galatians 5:13), covers (1Peter 4:8), and is born only of God (1 John 4:7-8). Although the counterfeit thereof feels good and satisfies the flesh, its only purpose is deceit. Lord, as you are love, shape us and mold us into a more perfect image of you. In Jesus’ name, “who being the brightness of your glory, and the express image of your person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:3, 4) Be love, beloved daughters, and you shall know the love of your Father who art in Heaven. Amen and amen.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Devotional For Daughters Entry 3

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a virtuous woman, having been fearfully and wonderfully made in the very image of the ultimate desirableness (Psalm 139:14), making the most of her God given glamour and physical grace, adorned with the refinement of a gentle and quiet spirit as well as the fervent fires of faith and prayer. Such stewardship is to be commended and applauded by all who love righteousness. If the daughter of the Most High God maintains an awareness of who she represents and who has made her as she is, she will in no way act uncomely and shall seek always to glorify her Father which art in Heaven. It is at the center, the mind of Christ within her, that Boaz shall find and cover her virtuosity with his robe. It is her character and not her looks that induce such devotion and welcomes sanctity home. It is the righteous man who is blessed in his search and the righteous woman who is thereby found waiting upon the Lord. My brethren, the Lord saith, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” (Psalm 32:8) To both brother and sister I therefore admonish you to “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14) God is the master builder, the composer that shall join together the intended themes into a symphony most pleasing to His ear.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Devotional For Daughters Entry 2

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22)

On the original Mickey Mouse Club, Annette Funicello sang a song entitled “How Will I Know My Love?” The question is an important one; how does a woman know “when” she has been found? If she waits for the man with the money, the house, and the big paycheck, she could be wrong. If she requires a certain look, body type, or je ne sais quoi – her own self determined ideal which must be met by any suitor, then she has defied Scripture and done the finding herself rather than trusting God to deliver Boaz to her doorstep. Don't rush into an Ishmael; wait on the promised Isaac!

So, how can a woman recognize Boaz “when” he shows up in her life? Well, we can learn a lesson from the Book of 1 Samuel. The older, stronger, more handsome sons of Jesse would have appeared to be more suitable choices to be anointed as king. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Now, let’s make the connection to Proverbs 18:22. God makes it clear that men are to do the finding (find= acquire, attain, earn, gain, get, obtain, procure). When women do the searching, are they not in error? Now, on to the question of how she can know Boaz and thus know when she has been found. This will require some prayer. Ps. 43:4 says “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.” The story of how Nehemiah rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem indicates that the joy of the Lord is to be our strength (Neh. 8:10)

When a man indicates a godly interest in a woman and meets certain spiritual requirements (i.e. single, growing in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ {2 Peter 3:18}, faithful and accountable to church leadership, able to support a household {1 Tim 5:8}, willing to love like Christ and sacrifice himself for his bride {Ephesians 5:25} -- ), then there is an indication that this man may just be Boaz. However, instead of relying on the opinions of her friends and family, any discerning woman would do well to bring the issue to the altar first, and then seek the prayerful council of a senior leader such as her pastor or a seasoned mother in the church. “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)

Most importantly, the prospective bride would want confirmation that the Holy Spirit is leading this man in his choice. The best way to know a man’s heart is not by what he says to you, but rather by what he says to God. Therefore, pray together often with the man and ask God to reveal the truth to you. Then, if he asks for your hand and wants to put a diamond on it, your spirit should bear witness with the Holy Spirit, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Brothers and sisters, when you enter into marriage you enter into an agreement with God. Do not take it lightly and trample the blood of Christ under foot just to satisfy the lust of the flesh for a season. Do your due diligence and not only check the man out yourself, but have him thoroughly checked out. A background check is not very expensive. What has he not told you? You need to “know” this man before you allow him to know you.

Be more concerned about living, and moving, and having your being in Christ your Savior than you are concerned with the man’s smooth words, constant smile, and dreamy eyes. FOCUS, sister. Do you see the fruit of the Spirit in this man? If not, then he is not Boaz. “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22) Do yourself a big favor and please God at the same time by making it a point to not only read, but study (2 Timothy 2:15) the entire Book of Proverbs before you even get serious about dating Mr. Right. Let God show you the difference between Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now. Too many women are finding themselves being taken for granted, abused, misused, used up and left for dead, etc. because they mistook Bobo for Boaz. Who you are in Christ and who you marry need to converge and take each of you higher in the Lord. Don’t get clowned, wait upon the Lord and be found with renewed strength. Hallelujah! The joy of the Lord, not a big bank account and a smile, is your strength, Woman of God! You are a precious daughter of The Most High God and He has prepared the way before you. Let your steps be ordered in His Word in regards to all things and you shall be prosperous and have good success (Joshua 1:8).


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Devotional For Daughters Entry 1

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:12-14)

Fallen man is particularly susceptible to the power of influence and this weakness is greatly exacerbated by the bestowing of titles and authority over others. Authority gives license to the deepest prejudices and hidden agendas, wings to the haughtiest indifference, and increased avenues of operation to the total depravity inherent in the human heart. Odd is the politician who is not corrupt and so-called good men have been an anomaly historically. Perhaps the most abused position of leadership in our society is marital husbandry. Women are often subjected to the most horrific atrocities of violence and abuse at the hands of those in this world that were designed and designated to love, serve, cover, and protect them. This ought not to be so in the Body of Christ.
It is no secret that we condition children to accept gender roles at an early age by giving dolls to our daughters so that they can learn to be docile caretakers and submissive playmates. Simultaneously, in our kindergartens, nursery schools, and living rooms, militaristic action figures and toy guns encourage our sons to compete, dominate, and assert their most violent tendencies upon a universe viewed as hostile. These messages are then reinforced by the media advertising of gender specific products and the subtle enculturation that seeps into the psyche through sitcoms, movies, and reality programming on television that perpetrates the message that it is a man’s world and women had better be as sexy as a supermodel if she wants to win the prize of man’s attention. Whether the attention won thereby is positive or negative, lustful or loving, godly or demonic seems irrelevant.

Demand honor and respect from the opposite sex, my daughters and sisters. Demand it and do not ever settle for anything less than the level of dignity and reverence reserved for daughters of The Most High God for whom Jesus Christ died. You may have been a prostitute like Gomer (Book of Hosea). Yet, since you are now in Christ, old things are passed away and all things regarding you have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). With the blood of God’s Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, you, Woman of God, have been redeemed. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Therefore, there should be no disparaging comments on your Facebook page about how sexy your pictures are, Women of God. You should not allow men to be slack or flip in the way they address you, approach you, or “holler at” you. The Word of God admonishes us to overcome our sinful nature and to “Mortify therefore our members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience” (Colossians 3:5, 6) Modest dress for women, as instructed in 1 Timothy 2:9, aids in keeping the pornographic subconscious bull’s-eye from being subtly painted upon the body of every woman by the salacious minds of unregenerate men. If the pornography industry does not prove this point, then we may as well also believe that the earth is flat and that man evolved from apes contrary to the Word of God. If you desire to be a boy toy or a sex object, then I continue to pray for God to anoint your eyes and draw you ever closer to spiritual consciousness by His loving kindness and longsuffering. No sermon can open your eyes to your own self-worth, sister. Only God can change your heart and impress upon you the love and glory and peace you deserve and shall possess in Him.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Turn My Eyes

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Hosea 6:3)

Help me, oh Lord, to number my days aright and to bring my heart to wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Whether the report points to cancer, betrayal, or bankruptcy, help me to keep my mind stayed on Thee that I not turn not aside to the right or left (Deuteronomy 5:32). Help me to focus rather on the author and finisher of my faith as the joy set before me so that I, like my Savior, may endure this cross (Hebrews 12:2) looking unto the Father in whose presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

Do not let me waste my trials by refusing to trust you wholly and give you glory for what you have already done. Make me a better witness, Precious Savior, of your glorious perfection and sovereignty in all things. Hallelujah! Oh yes, because in death I cannot give you praise, let every breath that I take therefore glorify thy most excellent name among the nations. How majestic is thy name in all the earth (Psalm 8:9)! Help me to trust you all the more no matter what evil seems to befall me at any given moment. Help me to fear no evil, for thou, oh Lord, are with me. You are bringing me to an expected end, and, no calamity, disease, or disaster shall cause me to stop seeking your face. Hallelujah!

In your presence, cancer or no cancer, is where I want to be, oh God. No affliction shall rob me of it and no unholy mess shall deter me from being more and more desirous of your countenance. Hallelujah! I shall worship you desperately whether it be in the temple or the fiery furnace, my Lord. Yet will I trust you! To live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21-23). Help me to abide in you and to have your Word abide in me, oh Lord. Help me to be a witness to your glory and grace no matter what comes or goes in my life. Giving honor to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit always - since these three agree in Heaven as one, in Jesus’ holy and precious name I pray. Amen.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

God, The Only Frontier

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33)

Some say that space is the final frontier. And yet, space is merely a box of sorts that God created out of necessity in order that our experience of His infinite continuum of possibility, what we call reality, could be fleshed out in our finite minds. Reality is merely the individual mind’s recognition of the boundaries of space and time. Our reaction to the multifarious potentialities afforded by such a framework provides us with rich imaginations despite man’s inherent depravity (Ecclesiastes 7:29, Romans 5:12, 19, Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:6, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, et al). The existence of an actual infinitude cannot, of course, be proven or disproven. Science, therefore, being ultimately concerned with measureable absolutes and the derivatives thereof, will never adequately explain even the existence of God. It is not completely unlike a computer trying to exhaustively reason every intricacy of human emotion. The insurmountable problem with realist, absolutist, rationalist, relativistic, and conventionalist theories is, first and foremost, the fact that God exists outside the circumference of man’s possible experience, beyond the borders of time and space, having created all things.

In conclusion, considerations of time’s direction, thermodynamics, presentism, eternalism, quantum mechanics, and string theory are beyond my complete comprehension personally. However, this one thing I know without any incertitude – The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the everlasting God (El Olam) without beginning and without end. Hallelujah! You alone have framed the worlds by the Word of your power (Hebrews 11:3, 1:3)

Heavenly Father, just overwhelm me continually with your steadfast love and indisputable omnipresence. “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest loving-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is His name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 32:17-19). I know, of a surety that God is great far beyond even the way Tony the Tiger once declared that Frosted Flakes were great, God is good beyond the benevolence of any earthly father, and God is wonderful, exceeding the wonder of even the proof of Fermat's last mathematical theorem or the fascinating musings of Stephen Hawking. Lord, continue to overwhelm me with the wondrous works you have left me to ponder. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, you, oh Lord, are worthy to be praised. Hallelujah!

In prayer, I cover my eyes like the seraphim and contemplate the infinite expanse of your glory. Draw me ever closer in relationship to you, Lord. Help me not to look neither to the right nor the left as I keep my mind stayed on Thee in perfect peace. Be Thou my vision, oh God of my heart. Let me forever be foolish enough and peculiar enough to worship the invisible Holy One of Israel who was and is and is to come, God the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth who is God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – for these three agree in Heaven as one, The only living God who alone is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Thank you, Lord, for your mercies which are new every morning, no matter how undeserving I may be. Thank you for causing the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust alike. Thank you for being no respecter of persons, oh God. You alone are faithful and just beyond reproach or measure. I worship and adore you, Almighty God! Thou hast not dealt with me according to my sins, but has justified me and given me life eternal through the substitutionary death of Christ, The Passover Lamb who was bruised for my iniquities, wounded for my transgressions, and raised from the dead as a first fruit of resurrection. Hallelujah! I thank you for allowing me the wonderful blessing of hearing and hearkening to your splendiferous voice. As you provided a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night in the wilderness, Thou art leading me by your Spirit, having first ordered my steps in your Word. Hallelujah! “Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” (Psalm 63:3) Glory to your Holy name, El Elyon! Glory! Holy and Righteous are Thee alone.


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Prayer For Light

Lord, crucify the pride in me. Permeate my soul, I pray, with light and let not one crevice in me continue in darkness. Renew, I beseech thee, your covenant in me today so that the only remaining desire that burns in me is the hope of your all satisfying glory and the never-ending bliss your grace affords.

© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Incredible Lightness

The world says to give the offender the silent treatment, shun their Facebook page, and conspire with any sympathizers against him or her. God says to bless and to pray. The reactionary path I take defines whose servant I am and in whom I place all of my hope. Am I a new creation? Or, will I act just like I did way back when it was all about me, my vindication, and my feelings? Lord, wash me with the truth of your Word today and do surgery on my heart with your two-edged sword. Let no root of bitterness spring up and defile me today. Let me be so completely satisfied in you and in your goodness that I scarcely notice when evil is directed my way. I trust in the angels encamped round about me, in your faithfulness, and in your benevolence. You take delight in the prosperity of your servants, oh God, and I thank you. Let it be done in me and unto me according to your perfect will and according to the Word which you have spoken. Amen.


© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Got Hurt?

If you have hurt my feelings or insulted me, my reaction proves my spiritual character and the maturity of my relationship with God. Vengeance is not mine and perhaps it is by your insult that God will make me holier than I was before the affront. "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." (Luke 6:28)


© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Blessed To Be

I am indebted, in covenant with The Most High God, united to and in Christ alone, and forsaking all others... Cleaving to Jesus, my only hope, I joyfully contemplate the mystery of being baptized into His death and, having been planted together in the likeness of His death, I shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Glory!


© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Utility

“And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?” (Mark 3:33)

As the prodigal son soon learned, people love you so long as you never require anything of them. When you make it known that you have a need, whether it be emotional, spiritual, financial, or otherwise, your so-called friends will prove to be false. Oh, they partied often to the break of dawn, most often at your expense. Greed loves a fool almost as much as misery loves company. Oh, when they needed you, you were there for them. Yet, they will never remember how you sacrificed to comfort and console them in the middle of the night when it seemed that no one else cared. They will not remember how welcome they were in your family’s home when you were young though, when you went to their parent’s house, you were never offered so much as a glass of water. They won’t remember how they called your mother to bail them out of jail instead of calling their own mother.

As soon as your utility has been exhausted in their lives, those folks who were once always at your side will scarcely give you a second thought. Such is the way of the world. However, I am called to be that friend which sticketh closer than a brother, who loves you unconditionally, who rejoices with you and mourns with you. When I have nothing to profit and yet I still keep in touch, then, my friend, you can come to certain educated conclusions about my character and my motives. I come to do the will of my Lord Jesus Christ even as He came to do the will of the Father. Jesus, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21)

Am I believe that you love me when, clearly, faith without works is dead? The carnal mind cannot be expected to understand these things, and so, with loving hearts we pray for blind eyes to be opened until we all come into the fullness of understanding that is available in Christ our Lord. Does the sun not shine yet on the just and the unjust alike? Likewise is the blood of the Son of God available to all who will call upon His name in hope. Cain and Abel were, despite the atrocities of jealousy and murder, brothers by birth. We cannot erase the reality of our relationships as siblings, believers, countrymen, or human beings. Let those who have an ear hear what the Spirit is saying. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35) Let’s get it together, after all. We are all a part of God’s family, a family for which He gave His only begotten Son’s life to save and redeem.

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesian 4:16)

As they say in Jamaica, one love… Lord, make us one (John 17:21) even as you intend for husband and wife to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Let us be the body, the church, the love. In Jesus’ precious and matchless name, amen. Contact somebody now, and, if you really mean it, tell them that you love and appreciate them.



© 2011 Brian L Hunter