Gary Gleans

We need God!  It is very important for us to recognize and live in light of this simple truth.  We have a tendency to be independent and think that we are self-sufficient.  Often, we are so proud that we begin to think and live as if God somehow needs us.  We must never fall into this trap of spiritual arrogance.  We are the ones who lack the understanding and the will power to be able to know and obey God’s Word.  We are the ones who suffer under the weight of our own sinfulness and desperately need to be set free from the snares of sin.  God is the only One who can save us and we need Him. WE NEED FOR GOD TO HEAR US: One of the best ways that we can demonstrate our need of the Lord is through prayer.  When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, we are essentially declaring our dependence upon Him.  We need help from God to be able to understand the world in which we live and our circumstances according to His Word.  God views things fa...

When we love God’s Word it is basically inevitable that we will face affliction in our lives.  We live in a fallen world that does not want to submit to the Word of God and is not pleased when others do.  Affliction should not come as a surprise to us but it should be a great comfort to know that we do not need to face affliction alone.  God is with us and He stands ready to extend His mercy and grace to us and will deliver us from that affliction in the time that He considers best.  When we fear that we may be facing death because of our persecutors we can call out to the Lord who is faithful to give us life. GOD GIVES LIFE ACCORDING TO HIS LAW: The psalmist calls out for the Lord to deliver Him from his many afflictions because of his remembrance of the law of the Lord.  When we are faithful to obey God’s law, God is faithful to grant us life, redeem us and represent us.  Those who are wicked and hate God’s Law do not experience this mercy and grace ...

Love for God’s Word is beneficial to every area of our lives.  When we love God’s Word we will spend time with it and we will be obedient to it.  We cannot obey that which we do not know and we will not obey that which we do not love.  It is very easy to say that we love God’s Word, but the true proof of love is not in our declarations but through our demonstrations of Love.  If we love the Word of God we will look forward to our times of study, we will find ourselves thinking about that which we have learned throughout the day and we will be obedient to that which the Scriptures command.  This attitude towards God’s Word will bring about great blessings in our lives. THE LOVE OF GOD’S WORD BRINGS US JOY: The kind of joy that God’s Word brings to our lives is the kind that transcends any circumstances that we might face.  Even when we are being persecuted without cause; the love of God’s Word will fill our hearts with joy.  God’s Word is a treasur...

Desperation is one of the strongest emotions that we have.  Our desperation is linked to our desires.  The more we desire something, the more we will experience desperation when we do not get that which we desire.  Unfortunately, we become far too desperate over that which is trivial and frivolous and not nearly desperate enough over that which God would have us feel a sense of urgency and desperation.  The reason that this is true is because far too often, our desires are all “out of whack.”   We must begin to align the desires of our hearts with those of God’s heart or we will find ourselves living lives of desperation for all of the wrong reasons.  Desperation over that which is not vital to God will always lead us to despair. WE MUST BE DESPERATE TO KNOW THE PROMISES OF GOD: Knowing God’s Word should be a deep desire in the heart of every believer.  The psalmist repeatedly cries out to know the Word of God and understand what God demands ...

There are three influences in all of our lives: the influence of God, the influence of others and the influence of our own heart.  In a perfect world the people around us and our own hearts would all be seeking the exact same thing as God.  Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world – yet.  God is bringing the history of this world to a place where we will enjoy the absolutely perfect presence of God forever in the company of the redeemed and righteous from all the nations of the world; but until that time we face a far different reality.  God never changes His righteousness is a constant from history to eternity.  However our hearts are constantly in flux and in one minute we can be seeking God’s face and in the next minute turning away from Him.  The people around us also suffer from this same inconsistent way of living.  Some of them will encourage us some of the time but very often they will hinder us in our walk with the Lord. GOD’S RIGH...

I am on vacation this week so will not be posting until Monday of next week August 25th.  Have a great week!

God’s Word is a blessed treasure in our lives.  It provides the things that we do need and protects us from that which would harm us.  We must learn to spend time in God’s Word and dedicate ourselves to obeying God’s Word if we want to make use of the treasure that God’s Word represents.  That which we value we will make room for in our schedules and will dedicate ourselves to follow.  God’s Word should be that treasure in our lives and must occupy a significant and privileged place in each of our agendas. GOD’S WORD GIVES PROVISION OF DIRECTION: God’s Word tells us exactly what we should do and what we should not do.  It is written in a way that is clear for all of us to understand the standard to which the Lord holds us.  The truth is that God’s ways may go against the natural bent of our sinful hearts, but they are very good and pleasurable for us because God’s instructions will always bring great joy to all how follow them.  For example: most ...