The Stickman's Understanding...

  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. -1 Peter 5:7 Good morning and TGIF! There’s the story told about the farmer, who out in his field baling hay, somehow managed to have a one ton bale to land on him.  After what seemed like hours, one of his two farmhands, Billy came upon the scene on a small 4x4 that was unable to safely remove the bale. He noticed the bale had simply rendered his boss unconscious.  Billy then began to try to lift it but was unable to budge it. Nick hearing the commotion from where he had been mending a fence rushed over carrying what was in his hands some pliers, a hammer, nails and a pair of wire cutters.  They then stood around, pondering how to get him from underneath the bale; Billy heard a whisper and quickly kneeled to listen closely. Barely able to make out the hushed tone, Nick then kneeled and distinctly heard “cut the band.”  Nick quickly did so and the bale fell apart and the life of the farmer was saved. Belov...

  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. -Exodus 4:21 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  Some think that the plagues were sent to change the heart of Pharaoh especially since the Lord spoke of His heavy hand; but if the purpose of God was to change the heart of Pharaoh he could have done that in a single act.  This is demonstrated in the scripture above. The grace and purpose of the Lord was to demonstrate His power over the idol worshipping Egyptians and this could only be done by suffering them while protecting His own.  Sometimes the Lord will suffer your enemies and the purpose isn’t based on exacting revenge for you but the greater good.   God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and questions are welcome. Contact me at drschaefferinterceding@yahoo.com You c...

  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. -Proverbs 23:7 Good morning and happy hump day to you! The scripture above highlights two key aspects of perception: how a person thinks about themselves and how they think about others.  It allows that understanding someone's inner workings and motivations is a common desire, especially for those in one's inner circle. However, it also emphasizes the importance of recognizing your place in their thoughts and, ultimately, their heart.  Consider, the part that suggest how they may seem hospitable, offering food and drink, “but their heart is not with thee”. This underscores the significance of building genuine and meaningful relationships. That is, knowing those whom you let in.  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 ...

  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. -Proverbs 23:7 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you!    The scripture above speaks to two vital systems that are absolutely necessary for the body to function, both physically and spiritually.  “As he thinks” refers to the mind; that is the head of the central nervous system.    The mind control all bodily functions, guards every gate allowing or denying access to things both physically and spiritually.  Included in the scripture is a description of the triune part of man called the heart. The heart is the head of the cardiovascular    system. So as he thinks tells us thoughts are not automatically captured or recorded in our hearts…Thoughts do not originate in our hearts, but in our heads.  Though Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts, the primary security for the heart is the head.    You do this by the adv...

  Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. -2 Corinthians 11:22 Good morning and happy Monday to you!    In the scripture above we see the Apostle facing a challenge to his identity. His critics had taken to questioning if he was Israelite, even if he was Hebrew of the linage of Abraham.  This is one of the tricks the enemy uses on us, calling into question our God given identity.    God assigns and it takes our parents to affirm the same otherwise confusion ensues.  The enemy will also use it in a way by saying that you've done too much, you have committed too many sins, what you have done is so horrific that God could never forgive you of that. And he will use anyone to attack you, anyone who will give him an ear to include… you.  This is where your faith has to be so strong that you believe the Lord when he said that if you are faithful enough to ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart, th...

  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: -Ephesians 2:8 Good morning and TGIF!    What is this thing called grace? I don’t think that any theologian no matter their level of education, knowledge, understanding or discernment can fully describe it and its unmerited dispersement to us all.  In a song by Maverick city, called Jireh, the second line of the song says “Wasn't holding You up, So there's nothing I can do to let You down”. Expresses the seemingly mysterious nature of grace.  Many times and in the climate the body of Christ exist in,    works is given a vantage that it doesn’t deserve. There is no works anyone can do to deserve the grace of the Father. Our works as implied by the song “Jireh” is not holding up God’s grace… And because His grace is not based on works He doesn’t allow our failures to limit His grace.  Bottom line grace is a gift and gifts are not earned, wages are deserved ...

  And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. -1 Samuel 3:8 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  What really jumps out at me in the scripture above is not how Samuel didn’t know the voice of the Lord, it is how long it took Eli to recognize that the Lord was speaking to Samuel.  The 1st and 3rd verses here are such a telling sign of just how far the people had gotten away from the Lord. It is understood that Samuel being a child who obviously had not been taught discerning the voice of the Lord, but Eli was the High Priest, the Judge of Israel and certainly should have realize sooner that the Lord was calling the boy.  My question today is how many times must the Lord speak before we know it is Him? As His sheep we must discern His voice. Beloved never allow yourself to become detached and spiritually out of earshot of His voice...

  And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. -1 Samuel 3:1 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  The scripture above speaks to the state of the body of Christ, the word is precious but still coming forth. And to receive from the Lord we must be childlike in our faith.  Samuel was a precious pre-teen obedient and respectful in his duties. He was sleeping near the Ark dutifully keeping watch and perhaps keeping the fire burning. In the midst of his duties the Lord began calling him. Right there is a lesson that the Lord speaks to the obedient, dutiful, respectful who listen.  The precious word of the Lord…was rare in terms of it flowing through the priesthood. The corruption going on during the administration of Eli created a boundary between the Lord and the children of Israel.  Take this and compare to the words in Joel which says “in the last days, I will pour out m...

  And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; -1 Samuel 3:3 Good morning and tremendous Tuesday to you! My question this morning is Who turned the lights out? The verse above drives home the significance of this question saying the lamp of God had went out in the temple.  The implications of this is the light of God has went out in many places. In society today many have turned their light out. Think of the maidens who failed to keep oil in their lamps… We have preachers preaching as a job and not as a passion, compromising and accepting what is not godly as godly. The church in the book of Acts asked what must I do to be saved while the church today is asking what can I do and still be saved? We are no longer convicted when we see or do ungodly things. We place our own ambitions and goals above living a godly life.  The words found in verse one of this set of scriptures that says “the word of Go...

  10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.-1 Samuel 3 Good morning and happy Monday to you!  Ever notice that a mother can distinguish the voice of her child out of any large group of children. It could literally be hundreds of children present and all could be talking but if she can tune into to just a word or two she knows the voice of her child.  And reciprocally a child knows the voice of their mother. As children of God, His sheep we must strive to know His voice.  The Lord often speaks to us but our own inner self will literally ignore Him and when we do listen we react to instruction slowly.  In this case Samuel hadn’t ignored the Lord or acted slowly to instruction actually doing the opposite of both. Once he became aware of the voice of the Lord he acted accordingly.  You may not initially know the voice of the Lord but the more time you spend engrossed in H...

  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. -Daniel 3:16 Good morning and TGIF! Dare I say it? Some things are not worth the argument. And some of those things are perfectly fine to compromise. But some things beloved, can not be compromised. Some things you cannot go to the table to negotiate. In the story the scripture above comes from,    the last 10 words jump out from the page.  Do they face death Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to compromise, and give undeserved worship to king Nebuchadnezzar   Their fear of the king could not trump their reference and fear of God Almighty. This is what I see us facing today; many go along, to get along; many do not know that love means correction. We cannot allow our desire to be liked, to be supported, to be patronize to allow us to compromise the truth.   Go fellowship this weekend, we all need it.  God b...

  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. -Job 1:21 Good morning and terrific Thursday to you!  Adversity doesn’t change you as much as how you react to adversity.   Your reaction to adversity is what dictates the impact and the outcome. There is the story of the potato, the egg, and the coffee bean. Observe how each faces the adversity called hot water. The potato enters the hot water hard and rigid, but in time it becomes soft, pliable, suitable to be mashed.  The egg enters the hot water with a very fragile shell, and one could easily crack the egg. But in time, and is adversity, it becomes hard and durable, and can only be peeled after some work.  Then there’s the coffee bean it enters the water, and it is sort of rigid but instead of allowing the water to change it, it changes the water and the water resembles it more than it resemble...

  The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. -Proverbs 28:1 Good morning and happy hump day to you!  Stability in the kingdom is a must! In order for a lion to fully embrace, the joy of a meal it is said, a certain amount of conquest must be felt.  That is to say, the hunt must be satisfying. It is not a hunt, if the prey comes to you to be consumed. Some would say that fear flavors the meal. It is said that a toothless lion compensates with a ferocious roar and the dog that barks the most bites the least.  In the same token our enemy who seeks to devour us wants the taste that only fear gives. This is why being bold and fearless is emphasized throughout the Bible.  Boldness as fear has a flavor; almost palatable, boldness as fear has a smell, boldness as fear has an overall impact influencing success or failure… beloved boldly embrace the lion of righteousness within.  God bless you and command your day!!! Your comments and...