The Stickman's Understanding...

  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? -Matthew 6:31 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  The scripture above is an inspiration to me and certainly one that shapes my approach to life.  The Lord Jesus spoke these words in His first revival (tic). He was encouraging His listeners to not allow things not in their control to change their focus.  The word take jumps out as it infers possession and perhaps even by force. We “take” thought over things which are not our assignment. The Lord literally told Peter to mind his own business when he questioned someone else’s mortality.  Instead of taking thought, give over to the Lord what He has promised to “take” and carry only the assigned weight.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cas...

  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. -Romans 1:17 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! As I write this a song comes to my heart. In it the singer says “Breathe, just breathe”. Many Christians have been holding their breath as we see prophecy unfold.  The wrath of God is revealed in pestilence, revealed in famines, odd diseases and unpredictable weather. And because we see the truth it is not hard to become a little uptight and or apprehensive.  Reading this morning the thought came to me to say “just breathe”. The scripture above empowers my thought because in it we are told our faith which justifies us shall as well provide for us. Our faith places a requirement on the mercy and grace of God.  So keep breathing and keep living.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Inte...

  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. -Lamentations 3:22 Good morning and happy Monday to you! Simply put God’s grace is amazing. Consider the place the scripture above originates.  The prophet begins this chapter…well in a lamenterory tone. It is not as much a complaint as it is speaking of the justice of God.  And then in the middle of his despair of this chapter, he begins to speak of how merciful God he is.   Honestly and by all rights we should have been consumed. If we deserved anything it is the justice spoken of in this chapter, but instead of what we expected, He gives us unexpected mercy and unmatched grace.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cash app $intercedingcc 

  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. -Matthew 22:9 Good morning and TGIF! The great invite    begins in the scripture above. The Lord is depicted as having been rejected by the house of Israel because they were too busy with the trivial things that dogmatic religiosity brings.   He had sent the invitation but it wasn’t valued. We all have some measure of guilt as we place the things of God on the back burner of life. Tomorrow, later, some other time. When I get things together and many other excuses take precedence.  Having brought in outsiders as spoken to as the “good and the bad” in verse 10 affords opportunity to all.  But the further you go into this story you find those who came didn’t all change. The Lord wants us to come seeking and adhere to more than the invitation, He wants us to comes as we are but not stay as we were.  Wrapping up the week with this thought. He wants us to grow in His...

  The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. -Proverbs 14:15 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you! It would do people well to search out matters and not align themselves too fast with anything. We are in a polarizing world where “talking heads” work to convince us to ally with their cause or personal belief.  Many times personal beliefs are misunderstandings from our impressionable age, and those serve as filters which information passes through.  If a faulty belief isn’t corrected then it solidifies and is taught to the next generation. A great example is the negative connotation assigned to the name “Uncle Tom”.  The evil character in that story, Sambo was able to throw a rock without hands because of misunderstanding. The truth was hidden in the book but with eyes stuck on the title… Beloved please search out in prayer and diligent study to know if truth resides there.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comme...

  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 happy hump day to you!  The Lord in essence eulogized Moses and    his eulogy of Moses He set forth to accomplish two things, to remember Moses (His servant) and to comfort and encourage Joshua.  That is the purpose of eulogies to remember someone who has passed on, but more importantly to comfort and to encourage those who remain. The Lord didn’t mince words as He told Joshua Moses has departed and now is a part of your past.    As Joshua had to let go and trust God, so must we.  YOUR NAME; be strong and of good courage. How appropriate is the scripture given that today is hump day, more ever that the world is in the situation that is in. How easy it would be to throw in the towel.   Beloved, as we barrel down the road towards that great day, don’t lose s...

  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. -3 John 1:9 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! The scripture above introduces us to a man who had the spirit of Jezebel, and yes men can be filled by the attributes of the Jezebelic spirit.  Although not much else was given to help us identify DIO-TRY-FEES and he may be a leader or a layman. The point is he had influence and he was using it to impede the gospel message.  How do you use your influence? Are you easily “rubbed” the wrong way and then begin using your influence to destroy or to lift up?  Beloved use that gift as it was intended to edify and not devastate those in the body.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cash app $intercedingcc 

  So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. -2 Samuel 24:24 Good morning and happy Monday to you!  The scripture above displays David commitment and understanding what it means to sacrifice.  One of his subject was willing to give David the land and things needed to build an altar and the animals to sacrifice at no cost. But the value you give to something that cost you nothing isn’t the same value as that same thing you worked for.  Never offer to God anything that cost you nothing. What costs you nothing isn’t worth anything to Him.  An anointing that cost you nothing is    worth what you paid for it.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com  You can give to Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cash app $intercedingcc 

  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. -Ephesians 4:8 Good morning and TGIF! While reading early this morning I became fixated on the phrase “he led captivity captive” found in the scripture above.  As I put thought to this I realized the correlation between it and other scriptures that assert the sovereign power of our Christ. Romans 6:8 says He made a mockery of death. Colossians 2:15 says He took the power from death and many more that declares the ultimate authority and power of God.  Beloved as we put thought into this it melts yet another layer of fear and places Christ squarely at the right hand of the Father.  Embrace who Christ was then? Who He is now and Who He will be as our returning champion.  Go fellowship this weekend, we all need it.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Inter...

  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: -Ephesians 4:15 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  If one issue is at the core of the rejection of the truth in Christ that would be in the presentation.  The gospel can be presented in many ways and from the initial introduction an individual whose heart is seeking can grow in grace. Presentation is influenced by the individuals perspective yet it is still the truth.   Given their experience it could be presented as what saved their lives, as what saved their marriage, their health or very sanity. Which is their testimony that doesn’t change the testimony of Christ.  It just states how Christ worked in their lives, but it is still based on what He did for us all.  Yet if the message is not presented in love, it is lost on many.  There can not be a disconnect in presentation of the message and living the message. Therefore along with pres...

  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? -Psalms 8:4 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  Up this morning while giving homage to our God, a song by Richard Smallwood plays over and over in my mind. In the song he declares Lord you are my everything.  And I can see easily as I look back over my life, the rough spots, the very rough spots, life, death, joy, peace, health, and in everything I can see the hand of God at work.  As the scripture above says, He is mindful of us. Meaning while we were in sin and even as we live for Him now, He loves us and we are on His mind.  I can see His hands of peace at work when I was unsettled, I can see His healing hands at work when I had health issues I can see His sustaining hands, His uplifting hands and even His comforting hands at work over the timeline of my life.  Beloved if you would also glance in that proverbial rear view mirror you would find the same. In it yo...

  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: -Deuteronomy 32:2 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! There are several scriptures in the Bible that describes the soothing nature of the word of God.  The scripture above is one that has so captivated so many over the centuries that    it is immortalized in song, inscription on statues and more.  The writer encourages us to take refuge in word, which soothes not just in sound but in power.  This world is full of harsh things and certainly harsh words. And as powerful as a negative word is, one word from the Lord changes it all.  The word not only rest upon your heart but the word gives you rest in the blessed of insurance of salvation, The strong tower of protection and the swaddling of his unmatchable love for us.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome....

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. -Psalms 27:13 Good morning and happy Monday to you! The scripture above is a staple for Mondays as the grind begins anew. On Sunday evening many hearts faint as the reality sets in that “tomorrow is Monday”.    The rest of the weekend is…ending.  The scripture is a reminder that if you keep going, not give up, trust in the Lord you will see His goodness not just in glory but also in this flesh suit.  Get up face it all and in the strength of the Lord you have already conquered Monday!  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cash app $intercedingcc 

  Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. -Proverbs 14:13 Good morning and TGIF! While listening to this scripture today in my mind an old song played “Smiling Faces…sometimes they don’t tell the truth” is the catchy hook.  If we are being real often people are not sure what they are doing is right, will help them achieve their goals and or dreams, but filled with self reliance and denying the possibility of their own self righteousness they continue onward.   Verse 12 is a profoundly accurate lead on to 13.  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. -Proverbs 14:12 There is such a contrast between “seems” and assured. “Seems” is based in the limited knowledge of man while assured rest in the infinite wisdom of God.  So seems is normally way off the base of truth. If we would open our spiritual eyes and ears we would see the tears that come after the stage performance. ...

  “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.”                                       -Neh 8:10 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  What does God’s joy look like? What value is His joy? Those questions come often especially when the waves of life crash up against our boats.  We are often given the prescription of the scripture above, but not nearly often enough are we told the background of this scripture. Simply it comes from when the wall builder Nehemiah was trying to protect the city but the neighbors didn’t want the wall built.  That said Nehemiah encouraged the people not to have a negative or fearful attitude. He wanted them to know that God was pleased with their efforts, even joyous.  As we go through life building projects, surely challenges will come and the enemy will attempt to remove your focus by attacking your strength. You are encouraged to keep the ...

  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. -Psalms 27:5 Good morning and happy hump day to you! The scripture above comes from what could be described as a continuation of the 23rd Psalms.    In it the writer adds validity to the truth that trouble comes into every life.  But no matter how big the trouble our ever lasting God is bigger. He will literally step between you and the problem, allowing grace and mercy while holding justices hand.  And while trouble is rising and after the preservation of His hiding protects you,    He then puts you in a place higher than the floods. There you are hidden from and above the floods yet you are able to see what He has protected you from pass by.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian...

  5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. -Proverbs 3 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! Man has always being on an infinite quest to acquire and apply knowledge.  The more those things make mankind feel sovereign, the more he promotes it. But when all evidence points back to the one true power of God, the more apt man is to question and or reject.  The Lord is in no way opposed to “getting understanding” it is actually called a delight to Him when man discovers, invents or produces.  Our issues begin when we try to distance ourselves from The sovereignty of God. We get our dominion or stewardship confused with His sovereignty.  Simply…If we acknowledge Him, He will direct us on how to achieve even more. There are cures, mysteries to be solved and hope restored in acknowledging Him.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and qu...

  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? -Romans 8:31 Good morning and happy Monday to you!  If God be for us...the declaration above is found in Romans 8. In one of the most encouraging of thoughts found in this chapter is the thought that our God, the creator, most powerful yet the most loving God is concerned about us.  So much so that He spared no expense in reconciling us to Him. The cost of our Christ on the cross defines and displays perfect love.  Yes I get it, both figuratively and physically. We all have our moments when it seems the weight of the world is on our shoulders. Our moments swamped with feeling unappreciated.  And from our perspective the world is against us, which yes the prince of this fallen age is against us...but when you do the math and add the weight factor of God!!! Thoughts hit different when you embrace the truth that God is on your side! Live your life like it is golden and declare your v...

  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. -Proverbs 16:3 Good morning and TGIF! During prayer I thought of the scripture above. Though, I couldn’t recall the exact words what I did remember was that it was about trusting God.   Often we all have projects that we have put our heart and soul into that do not seem to flourish. That project could be something work related or personally related and our every effort seems to be in vain.  The scripture above answers many questions. Because many times the individual may not see the results of their work, yet on a daily basis they are making impacts that they fail to see.  When you commit your work to the Lord, that is you are doing it for his glory, many obstacles try to prevent you from seeing that your work has purpose.  The Lord fully understands that our challenges are in our mind and our thought processes. This is why he tells us to acknowledge him in all ways and to meditate on ...

  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. -Philippians 4:8 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  The apostle Paul admonishes us to think on these things. It was not so that you would have a false sense of security, or live in a delusional world but based on the truth that our mind is a powerful thing. We can think our way into and out of blessings with our mind.   Paul is not saying to not acknowledge that those unlovely things exist but instead not to allow those things “airtime” that far exceeds the reality of their ability to harm you. Isaiah 54:17 says no weapon...  Those unlovely things are weapons, your thoughts are the place your defensive weapons are formed and your mouth is evidence of that weapon.  God bless y...

  When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.-Proverbs 19:3 Good morning and happy hump day to you! The easiest way to express the scripture above is simply “A fool blames the light switch when they turned it on.”  In this perverted world it is easy to try and blame the Lord for our choices. Disgruntled family, friends and even society tells us too.  Interesting how we blame God for rain but not for a sunny day. We blame Him for horrible tragic things at our schools but we expelled Him from them. We blame Him for hunger but not the greed of man where the earth produces an abundance.  This doesn’t take into account simply our sovereignty over our lives. Yes God is the Supreme but God doesn’t make choices for us. Ultimately    we loose and bind by our choices.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You can give to Interceding Christian...

  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. -Psalms 23:3 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! The grace of God never ceases to be well… Amazing.  I can recall the story of two army friends. They were quite close and often times they would ride to work together. Working long hours meant that sleep was often a luxury.  On more than one occasion while riding together one friend would fall asleep at the wheel. Not a deep sleep mind you, but just dozing off. I once asked the friend who’s often the passenger how did he deal with it?  He said he would reach over and slightly grab the wheel and just guide until his friend would snap out of it and take control once again. What he told me reminded me of how God deals with us when we get a little off course. When we get off course he does not grasp tightly onto our lives and drag us back into a place of correction. But instead He slightly nudges us,    guiding us bac...

  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. -1 Kings 22:8 Good morning and happy Monday to you! The scripture above comes from the story of two Kings. One good and one bad.  In this story over 400 Prophets told the two Kings to go to war and that “God said” they would be victorious.  In case you don’t know the rest of the story Ahab met his demise even though he hid and tried to put Jehoshaphat in his shoes/robe.  A random arrow shot with no ill intent caused his death, sometimes what you are punished with you doesn’t look like what you did.  The real lesson here is two fold. The first is to be cautious of group think, the 400 prophets before Miciach all said the same thing obviously influenced by each other.  The second and most important lesson is be as...