The Stickman's Understanding...

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Psalms 8:1 Good morning and God bless you. One of my favorite scriptures is the declaration of praise found in Psalms 8:1. I love the bravado and sense of pride found in worshipping the one true God!How excellent is the name of the Lord!  This is when a skeptic would ask, why is His name excellent? Though the questioning of God given how nature screams His glory would seem disrespectfully inappropriate, let that question have validity.  Because faith begins with a question answered and cast away when it is not.  Take the names of God what is called the Jehovah names. Those names are given by people He has blessed at a particulate difficult, seemingly insurmountable situation.  For instance after the Lord told Abraham not to sacrifice his son Isaac but rather there in the thicket is a ram, the name Jireh was given.  King Jehoshaph...

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and His mercies never come to an end. -Lam 3:22 Good morning and God bless you! I woke up this morning in a particularly thankful state of mind. This sense of gratitude consumed my every thought. I know it is not because I have dotted every “I”...truth be told as Paul my flesh dies daily. In this sense does not mean there is one battle that has to be worn daily, but the flesh consistently wrestles against the spirit. So minute by minute, this is why our mind must be stayed on Him and we must meditate on His word which is the consuming, repetitiveness of His word in and over and around our lives! Truly our joy is found in Him and this can only be explained because of His undying love and unceasing mercy. Beloved though the world around you seems to be spinning out of control rest assured that the Lord is in control, His love for you is never-ending and His merciful arms are open wide. Comments are welcome. Contact me at drschaeff...

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. -Galatians 6:7 Good morning and God bless you. Let’s talk about the sowing principle. Simply any seed produces after its own kind. If you sow it, you will grow it. The good seed produces good fruit and bad seed... The Lord has ensured that spiritual law is backed by natural occurrences.  So the principle in this scripture comes from God who is a spirit and therefore a spiritual law is in place. A post on FB really captures the essence of this scripture found in Galatians 6:7. That quote was “God cannot be the source of your strength if the world is the source of your standards.” Many mock God unknowingly. Their language, their morals, and their action. I often see this principle violated on social media. One post glorifying Him and not many posts hence...the most degrading, demeaning, demoralizing, damning thing is created and or shared on their page.  The bad seeds we sow more...

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. -Psalms 27:4 Good morning and God bless you. Doesn’t it seem like Tuesday after a Monday holiday is harder than a regular Monday? Or maybe that is just me? I thank God for keeping me even when Tuesday becomes Monday lol. And I so look forward to the day when we have no more days of the week and every day will be the sabbath. This is what David was alluding too in the scripture above. His desire to permanently position himself before the throne. Oh, what a joy that will be...but until that day come we have got to live here and do the work of the Lord until He calls us home. David wrote this on the heels of the verses that informed us he was under duress. In verse 1 he reassured himself that in darkness God was his light and salvation and verse 2-3 caught the refrain saying his enemies co...

And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. -Deuteronomy 27:5 God bless, good morning, and happy Memorial Day. In the Bible, it is well known that the patriarchs would set up altars and burn sacrifices after a notable move of God. Battle victories, births, and other blessings were commemorated. In my studying of altars when one was built another Jehovah name would be pronounced and God's attributable blessings exclaimed. Names such as Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Ropha, Jehovah-Gabbor, and Jehovah-Jirah came when God proved Himself. These names are still available to you. Calling on His great name and adding the adjective of His might can be used to put His word before Him. Take a particularly rough patch in your life, when you lose a loved one, a health crisis, a relationship turns sour, a job was lost, uncertainty or other trails of life occurs and calling on our great God using one of His att...

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. -Psalms 34:19 Good morning and God bless you. It is truly an awesome day and in it, I will rejoice. Ever felt as if everything is going wrong and for some reason, you are the target? Two more packages of tissue “wrong” and the one person in front of you took both...I feel your pain as I see much younger people race me to the closest spot near the door of the grocery store, taking no regard that I just might need the close spot today. As my knees have a few choice words and my feet join in the voices of protest, I recall the scripture above. Many are the afflictions, not few. Taking into account that we are the target in an invisible universal war that ultimately we will win, I find great joy to suffer for Christ. Because nothing brings attention like suffering, who are we more inclined to look at and think about, a smiling happy soul or one in pain who wails in their agony? Suffering d...

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1Peter 5 Good morning and God bless you. The scriptures above have been of great comfort to me as a Christian. In particular verse 7 which speaks to the Lord as our burden bearer. Never has the Lord said following Him will be easy; He spoke more often about the challenges we will face professing Him. In the secular no one is surprised that hard work, the sacrifices, and suffering eventually pay the worker and they sing the virtues of working hard. So suffering for the sake of Christ and being rewarded should not be as much a mystery as it seems to be.  More of a mystery is Him saying I’ll take the load. Verse 6 gives us insight into it all. When we didn’t walk with Christ but with carnality, we carried loads with great pride. Pridefully carrying a load oneself is an attribute of the old creature; but to cast our ...

The Lord is my shepherd...Psalms 23 The Prayer of the 23rd Psalms is a prayer of worship rendered by David at what could only be stated as the most stressful time of his life. King David sat on the side of a mountain and looked down at the palace seeing the betrayal of his beloved son Absalom. Knowing the heart of his son wanted to kill him. Facing this tragic turn of events David reflected on the deliverance that God alone can give. God deliverance portrayed the Lord in the persona of the most understood caretaker of that time, a shepherd. The shepherd was kind, gentle, and caring. Despite the meticulous aroma of sheep, even though they often found trouble or brought trouble to the shepherd, the shepherd still protected, guided, and provided for the sheep. David had as we often do, brought this trouble to his kingdom and his household. Two incidents play into his trouble, one was a sin of omission, the other a sin of commission. But the reason he is still described as a man ...

Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, -Isaiah 64:1 Good morning and God bless you. Every saved person has a moment that they want a rapid end to the current state of the world. A few years ago a popular saying was “Stop this world, I want to get off.” This reflected the desolate state of this world and how those without the hope provided from the Lord felt. Isaiah longed for the coming of the Lord as he had seen so much suffering in his day. The same as he longs, here we are 3000 years later, but our blessing is we have beheld God's plan and literally have as a testimony God has rend (torn) the heavens. The presentation first of His son and the removal of the veil of separation. The rending of Heaven for the sake of the presentation of Christ as the lamb will be overshadowed by His return as the Lion of Judah!!! As the lamb He cried and suffered with us, but as the Lion tears will be dried and...

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; -Isaiah 61:1 Good morning and God bless. The word of the Lord above is reiterated by Christ in His declaration that this prophecy had been fulfilled. What a story of one who received no mercy but came to give mercy. This speaks of the role of Christians. We must provide what we may not have received of others. We must be wounded healers. In order to do such a contradiction of our nature we must submit ourselves to the Lord. Jesus said that in order to provide mercy and healing then the Father must be upon us. When the Lord is upon you, you are able preach through the pain that this world most certainly will bring. God Bless and Command Your Day! Your thoughts are welcome, please contact me at Drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com ...

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. -Revelation 21:4 God bless you and good morning. “Life is tough pray harder.” was a popular bumper sticker a few years back and I believe that the popularity was fueled by the events of Sept 11, 2001. The country was gripped in the uncertainty of those events and Pastors dashed to find not just answers but comfort because the two apart disallows peace. I can have answers that instead of providing the hoped for comfort, answers can disturb you beyond the uncertainty of your initial understanding.  Comfort goes beyond expressing the improbability of a similar event reoccurring but also the firm security and closeness which only one's father gives. In the passage above this comfort is given in the blessed assurance of our God who is actively comforting us. Yet this scripture prophesies th...

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: -Ephesians 4:12 Good morning and God bless you! The grace of God is so astounding. Contained within it is peace beyond understanding. God spreads the knowledge His love through the efforts of His people. Hence the work of the church. The social network of Christianity is based in the church and its work is to help cultivate saints' relationship with each other and most important with the Most-High God. During this time of earthly crisis please remember that there is still peace in heaven. Be careful but do not be fearful and let the church’s purpose not to be tainted by all this. God Bless and Command Your Day! Your thoughts are welcome, please contact me at Drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com Donations can be made to Interceding Christian Center at $Intercedingcc

Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. -Joshua 1:6 Good morning and God bless you!! Ever wonder why the Lord would repeat Himself? It certainly isn’t because He forgot what He just said or is capable of forgetting. The Lord had began this first chapter by informing Joshua that Moses, His servant was now dead. He then told Joshua the task of leading into the Promiseland now fell to him. Could you imagine? Being assigned to the shoes of Moses in terms of “Say again, over?” is astounding. But God in His mercy and grace must have known that by the look on Joshuas face, this was a daunting task. God never leaves us without comfort after difficult instructions. His level of comfort always exceeds the intensity of His teaching. Hence the verily, verily and the Be strong...The Lord wants us to trust Him even more so than to accomplish His given assignment. Because without trust th...

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. -1 Thessalonians 5:18 Oh, give thanks...Good morning and God bless you. I was meditating on the Lord and heard in the spirit give thanks. In the natural what an odd thing to desire of us? Given the current state of the space we occupy. Yet the Lord then gave me the illustration of not being thankful for the ingredients means not to appreciate the completed dish. Paul exhorts us to the meaning of Romans 8:28...knowing that it is all working towards our good opens up a wellspring of hope. God Bless and Command Your Day! Your thoughts are welcome, please contact me at Drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com Donations can be made to Interceding Christian Center at $Intercedingcc

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -2 Corinthians 12:9 Good morning and God bless you. The Apostle Paul was inspired to impart a lesson in perseverance and patience as components of overall purpose. The Bible does not identify the issue which God’s grace sufficiently covered, but it clearly implies that whatever the thorn was, it really bothered Paul. We all have thorns.  Not many have the same exact kind, shape, size, color, and many other things that may vary, but my thorn level of importance resides mostly in its purpose and my perception of that purpose. What matters more than the thorn is the encompassing grace of God. God knew that a thorn was needed to remind Paul of his purpose. In the same vein of thought, there are times we need thorns to keep us focused on the importance of what we are called to ...

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. -Habakkuk 2:20 Good morning and to God be all glory! Ever just had an overwhelming hankering for solitude? A noiseless existence where you can reevaluate life? Me too! Sometimes the gray noise gets to be loud and a void that we need is too crowded. Given the world situation in light of the latest pandemic, we all could use less noise. God's sovereignty is expressed as the entire earth is instructed to just simply listen and not talk, that is...listen quietly. Oh, what a joy just to lay at the feet of the Lord and listen. Mary knew this joy, Martha didn’t and like most of us who will not accept that God has it, we hear lots of useless gray noise. Try this today. Say “Lord, let nothing speak to me except your word.” You will be amazed by what you hear when your listening is restricted to Him. God Bless and Command Your Day! Your thoughts are welcome, please contact me at Drschaefferintercedin...

22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. -Lamentations 3 God bless you!!! Up this morning thanking God for new mercies. As I thought of how I got up in good health, driving instead of walking, eating if I so choose, not homeless and the list goes on...the scripture above came to me. It is not because I have never stumbled before or even now or maybe in the future; because His mercies are not dependent upon my goodness. In truth, His mercies help me be a better person. It is something how this scripture is found in the book of Lamentations given the word means sorrows. Jeremiah wrote of the turmoil of being the prophet to a profane and corrupt nation in this book and cried out against them to God. So his sorrows are poured out in complaint. Every day while his complaining went perhaps he hoped God would judge them, instead he saw new mercies every morning. So though...