The Stickman's Understanding...

  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:9 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  Let’s look a little deeper at the scripture above.  The Lord compares His attributes to man’s. The thoughts of God are long range and strategic. His strategy often encompasses multiple generations, whereas we (man) may have a five year, ten, twenty or even thirty year plan. God sees the entirety of time being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.  And His ways are beyond our ways. Growing up in the faith I often thought why did God reserve revenge for Himself (don’t act like you haven’t thought the same). Sometimes He doesn’t take vengeance soon enough for our pleasure. But think on this God’s mercy, grace, patience and long suffering is to offer every chance for repentance of the guilty.  Those are His ways and ultimately since He doesn’t desire for any man to perish, He always seeks to...

  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:9 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! The more I think that I know how the Lord is going to do something, the more I find out that I don’t know.  How many have encountered things as I have. It is a danger in being presumptuous as the Lord will change the script and pull the carpet from under your feet.  Why? Simply because knowing how and knowing He will are not mutually inclusive.  Knowing He will takes faith, knowing how little if any. Knowing He will heightens your expectancy, knowing how removes challenges and stunts the growth of faith.  Beloved just know it is not as important knowing how as it is knowing He will.  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 $inte...

  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, -Acts 8:18 Good morning and happy Monday to you! I once observed an older craftsman mechanic as he rapidly tightened nuts on bolts that were in a precarious location. Following suit I attempted to match his speed and precision only to find myself fraught with frustration and scraped knuckles.  When asked what was the secret, how did he learn to do so well, he reached over grabbing my bleeding knuckles, and said “I learned through my own bleeding knuckles.”  A thought then began brewing in my spirit which originated in my concern about so many (young) people who suffer. They often fail to see the origin of their suffering is a lack of respecting the process. As Simon they seek a short cut to arrive at their desired goals.  They see others who have, and due to short sightedness they see the glory but ignore the story. A litany of examples could be given h...

  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. -Isaiah 55:11 Good morning and TGIF! The simplicity of the scripture above is often argued among well meaning Christians. For certain we know the Lord is speaking of His faithfulness and in agreement with Phil 1:6.  But even more the promise is attached to our obedience or disobedience and to the purpose of God.  The phrase “not return void” aligns the majesty of His grace with the power of His word. Lastly whatever God wants to prosper will testify by prospering. Beloved trust God in the process.  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 Interceding Christian Center (ICC) using our cash app $intercedingcc 

Rejoice evermore. -1 Thessalonians 5:16 Good morning and happy hump day to you! One more day until the Turkey emerges and many express their thankfulness.  Interesting enough is that many who express their thankfulness on that day will fail to do so the remaining days of a year. As a young boy I learned a song that resonates with me even now.  🎶  Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice 🎶 . The song was one of repetitiveness in tempo as well as meaning.  As I studied the word rejoice, I found it served almost as an adverb to the verb joyful and bolsters the root word joy. The scripture above is a very simple statement found in Paul’s first letter to the church of Thessolinica.  There were issues that if allowed to reign would destroy the many babes in Christ that were being drawn. So after first admonishing them to be patient, kind, helpful and loving and towards the middle he said Rejoice!!! What a lesson for us all. We may be thankful for the day, ...

  24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. -Romans 7 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! Oh the many times I’ve had painful conversations with folks who treat me in a sanctimonious manner.  Therein they treat me as I’ve never sinned. And my naïvety could be cut with a dull knife. I am sure I have an amen corner here who found themselves so isolated once a serious walk with Christ is taken.  The Apostle Paul brings us back to the reality that a war between the spirit and the flesh is ongoing and the spirit must slay the flesh daily.  As sure as God’s mercies are new every morning so are the battles our flesh initiates to take over.  Yet in this verse 25 assures us that victory is not our to cease alone, it is a victory wrought by Christ on our behalf.  God bless you and command...

  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. -Matthew 4:22 Good morning and happy Monday to you!  During my morning devotion, I thought of the impact Christ had on the disciples.  Here we find Christ drawing the first of the disciples. What I found intriguing was how swiftly they left it all to follow Him.  Let’s be real could we drop everything and do so without hesitation to follow the Lord and His plan for our lives?  The disciples were so inclined. Just one word was enough to change the direction and inclination from building self to building Kingdom.  Immediately they left family, jobs, property, inheritance. Not knowing that the path would go through the cross but just simply trusting.  Beloved we are called to follow trustingly, not blindly as some antagonist would suggest and our trust has to be more profound than those who walked physically with Christ.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and q...

  Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: -Mark 4:3 Good morning and TGIF! The parable of the sower is intricately linked to the great commission.    In that parable the Lord puts forth how a Christian goes and spreads seeds of the gospel.  We can go spreading seed using either what is called the nature of the stream, flowing, sharing, etc, or the nature of pond, still, stagnant and though compounding its growth stunted.  We are charged as sowers by the great commission and how can seed be sown using the nature of the pond effort? The answer is…it can’t.  So keeping the glory inside the house will result in the light dimming and ultimately like a fire lacking oxygen it will go out.  Beloved sow seed in a way that is like a stream continuous, abundant and overflowing.  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.co...

  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. -Mark 4:39 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  I recently was speaking to someone about the grace of God even when a storm is blowing.  In the scripture above Jesus wasn’t concerned about the storm that rose suddenly. The disciples scurried about trying to secure their boat but being unable they sought Jesus. A side note: Your first option should be Jesus.  Eventually they went to the Lord and with trembling voices asked if He cared whether they perished? The short answer is of course He cares. Some storms are natural whilst others are spiritual, but no matter the type of storm, its origin or power, the Lord calms every storm.  Several lessons here too long for this forum. Just trust that no storm is strong enough, no valley wide or low, nor mountain high that can’t be brought down, raised up or quieted.  God bless you and c...

  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. -Isaiah 26:3 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  Another promise of God is stability of our mind. As we are also told by the Apostle Paul God has given us a sound mind (2Tim1:7).  Our soundness of mind is guaranteed if we keep our mind on Him. So many things challenge our peace and the gate those things enter is located in our mind.  We must focus on what should be and not what shouldn’t. Focus becomes confession and confession manifests itself from the natural to the spiritual.    So if we focus on the things of God, we will find the serenity beyond comprehension.  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 

  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 6:1 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! Humility is a word often taken for granted and certainly out of context. To be perfectly frank many who call themselves humble aren’t,    and go about seeking attention for themselves. The Lord addressed this in the scripture above and in other scriptures that spoke against the sanctimonious Temple Leaders.  They would often do all they could to bring attention to their giving. Simply because they wanted to be seen.  Many charitable things are done that ultimately are great blessings but the heart is revealed in the giver, organizer or perpetuator presenting    their alms via social media.  Beloved it simply a matter of the heart, did you do it to be seen by God or man or did it come from a charitable place in your heart?    And yes God knows. ...

  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. -Matthew 7:24-25 Good morning and happy Monday to you!  Yes it is Monday and it’s the day after a holiday that extended some of our weekends. In years past I recall the Mondays so constructed as days of great anguish.  Mondays have proven themselves challenging. And as bad as Mondays were as a man of faith, I can recall them when I wasn’t saved and found that they were even more unbearable, full of uncertainty and excessively longer than 24 hours.  During those times my peace, my joy, my hope was built on sand. My very life was predicated upon what my day held and not who held all of our todays and tomorrows in His hand.  But…when I handed the reins of my life to the Lord, building on firm...

  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. -Mark 6:51 “Lessons from the storm.” Good morning and TGIF!    As I examined this story I find some correlation between it and the story of Jesus calming another storm.  In that storm the disciples were in the boat with Jesus when the storm began. As the disciples worked to steady up the boat Jesus was in the interior of the boat sleeping.  The disciples panicked and called out asking if Jesus cared about them. The Lord got up, hushed the storm by first saying peace and then said be still. Therein is the differences in how he handled this storm in Mark 6.  Jesus didn’t calm this storm by speaking to it. He instead got into the boat and the storm calmed. When Jesus comes merely His presence is enough to calm storms in your life.  Beloved if your hearts cry invokes His presence, His Shekinah doesn’t have to speak loud or ev...

  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. -Matthew 14:29-30 “Lessons from the storm.” Good morning and terrific Thursday to you! In the story that the scripture above is found, we have the disciple Peter coming out of fear and boldly walking on water while his focus was on the Lord.  The moment he looked at the storm going on around him, Peter began sinking. He re-entered fear and fear took him back to a place of defeat. As his eyes went to the trouble, the trouble drew him in and attempted to drown him.  Needless to say the things going on around us are unstable. And if we forget to keep our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith, the enemy will try to plagiarize and change the story.  Finally beloved remember when Jesus calls to you, He expects you to keep your eyes on Him and not to even ...

  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? -Matthew 14:31 “Lessons from the storm.”  Good morning and happy hump day to you!  The scripture above is found in the story of the Lord walking on the Sea of Galilee. Having been spotted Peter asked to walk on the sea to Him. While doing so Peter began to sink and as the Lord saved him, He was rebuked for having little faith. That background given what I want to point out is something I saw in a previous event before the windstorm that may have facilitated the windstorm.  The Lord had just fed over 5k with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. And He had the disciples gather the remnants which filled 12 baskets or one for each disciple.  I surmise that the enemy saw the work and wanted to delay, even destroy the workers. So sitting in their boat with the meal Jesus had given in their belly or in their basket were men whose faith sho...

  22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! On this morning while meditating a thought came to me that I want to develop over the next few days. Let’s just call the thought “Lessons from the storm.”  Anyone noticed that the windstorm came when the disciples had been away from Jesus but a little while?   The Lord had sent them away perhaps to test their faith to shore it up and as He had to have known the enemy would send a storm to destroy the same.  Beloved please know that life is certainly     going to send you contrary waves. But know also that the Lord know...

  In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. -Psalms 31:1 Good morning and happy Monday to you! On yesterday I was in worship at The Worship Center COGIC (N. Little Rock, AR) and the praise team was singing a song titled “I’ve got to know you, in a better way!”    As I enjoyed the lyrics the Lord spoke to me on getting to know Him better.  There are two things I saw in a revelation.    The word “got” speaks of a need having to be met and it also speaks of the need to know Him before going through, as well as getting to know Him to bring you out… Knowing of God and knowing Him aren’t nearly the same thing. Stating I’ve got to… denotes an understanding of everyone’s    desperate need of knowing Him.  The song writer emphasized his desire by saying just knowing God wasn’t enough. He had to know God better. Perhaps an event took place in the writers life that afforded the opportunity for them to ...

  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. -1 Chronicles 16:34 Good morning and TGIF! The scripture above is found in a place that commemorates David bringing the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem.  In the prior chapter David had painstakingly prepared to bring the ark from the house of Obed-Edom where during its tenure it had blessed the house thereof. David selected Levites and as priest they were sanctified to do the work.  Having successfully returned the ark to Jerusalem David then danced with joy as the ark entered the gates of the city. He had no reservation he danced before the Lord and the people.  Then he set out to have a great feast to celebrate. During the celebration he prayed for and blessed the people in the name of The Lord. Lastly he sung instructions for the conduct of worship.  In that tense is the scripture above found. Several lessons are at play here. The first is to reverence the things of God. Tha...

  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. -2 Timothy 1:5 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  A phrase that is often used to describe rebounding poverty, cyclic sicknesses, and other issues that go from parent to child is generational curses. Yes these things do exist but do not discount generational grace and faith.  David wrote of it in Psalms 37:25 saying he never saw the righteous forsaken or his seed (generational) beg for bread. The Apostle Paul gave to us a family’s name.    Identifying grandmother, mother and now son as recipients of faith and beneficiaries of it spoke of generationally.  I don’t know how, why or when but the same applies to everyone as a certain measure of faith is given to us all. Our great grace is God reveals this truth in His word and in His actions. Each of us have something given that when act...

  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 happy hump day to you!  Paul in what seem to be a doxology began a committal statement of great value.  His focus was on the mind. Thought is more impactful than any of the five senses. After all does not Proverbs 23:7 say if you think you are then... That edict agrees with thought being the chief influencer of action.  Therefore if we think we will succeed then we will and if we think we will fail the same is true. The Apostle was then inspired by God to help us to focus in faith on the good things of godly living.  Beloved on today I pray you would do the same allowing the champion in you to think, speak in faith and act as you are thinking.  God bl...

  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. -Matthew 16:24 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! My older relatives would often say upon the realization that any given situation as going to be unpleasant or even dangerous, “Everybody has their cross to bear.”  Anybody like me and just thought those words were a part of a long list of things old folks said? It wasn’t until I kept living that understanding hit me hard.  The Lord Jesus did not mix words and warned us that the cost of following Him would be great… Suffering’s is initiated with self denial and that cross is specific to the individual. Yes beloved some days my cross and I am sure yours seem heavier than others.  Yet we are given strength knowing that it is His cross which draws and not ours, lifting up our own may lure others but it will be short lived popularity at a cost we could never pay.  God bless you and ...