by Mike Ratliff
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalms 138 (NASB)
I remember the day the Lord called me to Himself very well. I grew up going to church. Some of my earliest memories are of being in church or Sunday school. I was one of those church kids that learned how to play the game. You know, I had heard all the Bible stories. I knew what good kids did and what they did not do. I fit in. I did all I could do to not draw attention to myself and my rebellion. What I did not understand back then and what I have become convinced that all unbelievers do not understand is that the unregenerate person cannot know God nor can they obey Him nor do they really want to. Of course these lost people are in various degrees of rebellion. Some are religious like I was. Some hate religion. Some hate God. I was never like that. Going to church was not my favorite thing to do, but I tolerated it. Then one Sunday in January 1986 everything changed. Continue reading
Possessing the Treasure 