It's probably a good thing that the last study I gave was on patience, because as some of you know, that was 2 weeks ago. Last week Friday, my family came to visit me here in Florida. In fact, they are still here, and will be until this Sunday. It has been a great blessing to have them, since I'd not seen them in some months, but at the same time, it does change things a little in terms of schedule and lifestyle patterns.

For this reason, I think it's a good week to talk about personal devotions. It's also a reminder for me, you see - since its something I've really needed to be conscious of for the past few days.

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments." (Pro 3:1) "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'" (Ecc 12:1)

I have had to purposely, deliberately etch out some individual "remembering" time; some quiet time for prayer, reflection and reading the Word. I call this study, "An Army All in One," because of the way our Father does things regarding the leadership of His people. He does not seem to often prefer a board of men, a committee, a delegation, a collective. Now don't get the wrong impression of this - Churches should, and NEED to be organized. A huge amount of the book of Acts is dedicated to the topic of organization: "Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, 'It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.'" (Acts 6:2-4)

And Paul's epistles also reflect its great importance: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." (1 Cor 12:28) "" (1 Cor 14:40) But at the same time, He will often choose one person, one specific, humble, obedient - often unlikely - individual to move when He has a special work to carry out. "And Pharaoh said unto his servants, 'Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?'" (Gen 41:38)

We have many other examples of this principle in Scripture than Joseph referred to above. Moses, Elijah, David, Samson, Gideon... of course our friend Abraham, whose name is still deeply respected by Jew and Gentile alike. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all." (Rom 4:16)

From the beginning, God has chosen One, in order to bless the many. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev 13:8)

Just as with Christ, it's generally been one man, one people, one nation - that by their faith, and example, and by the example of His dealings with them, they should cause other people and nations to know Him. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance." (Psa 33:12) "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light." (1 Pet 2:9)

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (John 17:22-23) "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (1 John 5:20) We see from these that it's also true of US, when we are in unity with our Redeemer, and thus with each other.

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen 3:15) A single Seed (He - "It" in the King James Authorized) was promised to win the victory over Satan and sin.

It is said: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Mat 18:20) But, and here is the spirit of this study... even when man is not alone, even where two or three are gathered, EACH ONE must have a personal, individual, active and living connection to the Father and Son. Each individual member of the team must be an army all in one. Of Christ, our Example, it was written: "For in Him [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Col 2:9)

In the list of Bible "heroes," I gave above, it's true that many had helpers and assistants: Elijah had Elisha, Moses had Aaron and later Joshua... but you'll notice that for both of those, their most dramatic moments: Moses on Sinai and Elijah before 450 false prophets - they were alone. The principle of 2 or 3 is good - in fact necessary - but we can never tell when our Father will call us to stand up for Him. We may be the only one He calls to the task; or maybe the only one who heard and responded... but even so: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'" (Heb 13:5)

And if we don't fully know whom we serve, at least in Spirit, we will surely crack under the weight of the responsibility - we won't be able to claim that promise given there. There are many examples of those who have done just that. Saul, Judas, Ananias from Acts 5, very nearly Jonah, to name a few. Personal faith, individual Christianity - this is what makes this true of us: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1Pe 2:5)

Many have said, "Religion is a personal thing," and yes, this is so, but that statement is often used as an excuse not to witness! That is not the true spirit behind that sentence at all. Yes, religion - true religion, not the types and dead forms so commonly attached to the word, but religion in this sense: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)

This kind must truly come from within, and it, like salvation, is individual - BUT, the purpose of every blessing our Father gives us is not for us alone! Every blessing is given also for the building up of His people. "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. " (1 Cor 14:12)

I was recently talking to someone in here, and this individual was a smoker. So he/she asked me: "Do you think it is a sin to smoke?" I replied, "Well, you know it's unhealthy for you, and I believe that when we do things we know will injure us (especially in a body on loan from God - for we are bought with a price)... we do indeed dishonor the temple. So in that sense, yes." But I didn't quite finish there either. I concluded with a couple Scriptures: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." (Mat 12:36) And if the words we spend idly are called into account at the judgment, how much more so with the money? :)

There is also this: "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.'" (Mat 25:24-25) To this the master responded: "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury." (Mat 25:27)

With all the things our Father gives us: be it some special skill, or even - as in this case - money, it is to be used for His glory first and foremost - in all things we should honor Him and our own selves (inasmuch as we are in Him).

The person said, "You know, I never thought of it like that before." I haven't spoken to him/her since then about that habit, but - at least there was some insight gained into the true character and nature of the practice, and it's originator a little more clearly revealed, and that, of course... can only help.

Of course, this study is about personal spiritual life, not smoking - and the point of that story was simply this: Yes, faith is a personal thing, but do not bury your coins! do not hide your candle under a basket. Every time we let our prayer lives slip (not that this need ever happen), we rob ourselves of precious blessings; and not us only, but all those we could have witnessed to. We mentioned Jonah before: "Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.' But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." (Jonah 1:1-3)

Because Jonah did not trust God enough, a whole city - which was just waiting to repent, as the rest of the story indicates - very nearly went unwarned! Let us never be responsible for a disaster like the one so nearly avoided there. We should rather strive to be like Abraham pleading for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah: "And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, 'Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?'" (Gen 18:22-24)

And Moses pleading for the unruly refugees from Egypt: "And the LORD said unto Moses, 'I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.' And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, 'LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?'" (Exo 32:9-11)

But in order to do this, both men needed that daily, continuous, individual knowledge of their Father. I've heard it called "Experimental Religion." Don't take it to mean we don't know what the result will be, however :) An "experiment" is something we do to test a belief or hypothesis.

For so many Christians, however, their knowledge of El Shaddai ends there! A hypothesis, an assumption, a guess. But that doesn't have to be any one of us here tonight. An experiment is a trial, a test to see something - so we can all have "experimental religion," that is to say, a "try-it-and-see" religion. Now: "Jesus said unto him, 'It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'" (Mat 4:7) We all know that verse, of course, that we should not tempt or test our Heavenly Father. However, this is a different kind of testing. On the one hand, if Christ had jumped off the tower in that context, He would have been forcing the Father's hand. He (the Father) would have been compelled to intervene, you see. But what I am speaking of is a different thing.

"And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:15) Our Father invites us to try His goodness, to see that He is all He claims to be: "Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel. 'O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.'" (Micah 6:2-3) "Come and see the works of God: He is terrible in His doing toward the children of men." (Psa 66:5) "And Nathanael said unto him, 'Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?' Philip saith unto him, 'Come and see.'" (John 1:46)

When we have a "Try-it-and-see" religion, we will have a "Come-and-see" witness in our lives and in our words.

In a recent study, we looked at humility, and we saw that true humility is not the same as the way the world knows it. It is not the opposite of boldness - and that is a good thing, for we are commanded to be both. It is the same way with faith. Our spiritual life is between only ourselves and God, but if it's true, and vital and THERE - others will see it. Before men, our lights will shine - and the _only_ way this will ever be accomplished is by having a healthy devotional life.

So how do we do this? How do we get this? How do we keep our connection to Heaven vital? Like everything else, the plan was laid out at Creation, and was perfected in the life of Christ.

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." (Gen 3:8) You'll notice that it was the shame of sin that caused Adam and Eve to hide from the presence of God. Just as the blemish of fear caused Jonah to flee His presence. Before that, the first pair must have delighted in the company of their Creator! In fact, the fall itself took place when God was not around, and with good reason - the majority of times His name is mentioned in that passage regarding the first sin was in the deceptive questions of the Serpent and the uncertain answers of Eve.

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, 'Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' And the woman said unto the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'" (Gen 3:1-3)

The only reason man fell was because Satan was successful in his temptation... and just what was he successful at? One word that comes to mind is "separation." At separating Eve from her husband, and separating them both from God's influence. How could man have sinned if the Father's glorious Presence had been there, revealing the true nature of the tempter and inspiring love, confidence and awe in the unfallen couple?

It's the same thing with us today... The only way Satan can get a person to even consider committing a sin is to separate the mind of the individual from Heaven. How important is that in the last days? "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (1Pe 4:7)

Now, God's presence truly WAS with Adam, even at the fall -and just as with us, we may not always be directly aware of it, but we know He is with us, because of His promise, especially to His children, which I mentioned before: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'" (Heb 13:5) If we look at the life of our Redeemer, we find a long list of healings, teachings, the most powerful ministry the planet has ever seen; and that marked by miracle after miracle, finally to be crowned with the glorious and blessed Resurrection, the hope of all mankind.

But the important thing is truly this: "And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. " (Luke 6:12) He prayed often. And what He did, He taught, for He said also: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:36)

All these visible signs I spoke of above -they were just the in-betweens, the "filler," the sidenote to the true story - that of Christ speaking often to, spending time with and loving His Father. The world is quite unable to grasp this - and only by the mind of Christ and the Spirit of God can we realize the truth, that THIS is the important part of His ministry, these quiet times He spent alone are the most significant and, yes, exciting parts of His life.

"But He answered and said, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'" (Mat 4:4) An individual's prayer life - when no one else is looking, of course :) - is a fairly valid indicator of his level of faith as a Christian. The less excuses we have for avoiding personal prayer and study, the more we can actually DO for our Lord. We'll easily run into errors if we neglect either of these: "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." (Mat 14:38) "And Jesus answering said unto them, 'Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?'" (Mark 12:24)

The closer we truly are to the Kingdom of God (Note: not how close we think we are, or feel we are), the more we will thirst to know still more. "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few." (Acts 17:10-12)

The closer we are, the less the obstacles in our lives will keep us from seeking out the truth fervently. If your job takes up a lot of your time, if your house is not in order (spiritually or physically), if you've just got "other things to do," none of that will matter. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Mat 5:6) These are the only ones who will receive this promise to "be filled," so conversely, and just as truly, if you do not hunger and thirst, you've either been filled already (meaning you ought to be out there sermonizing on mounts), or else you've not yet claimed the promise to come and be filled. To look at it still another way... if you want to be filled, you'd best get to hungering and thirsting!

"But how can we just suddenly desire to be filled?" you may ask. Well, it doesn't just happen, of course. The desire itself must come from God. We have this invitation, if you do not know something... "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5) "And God said unto him, 'Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.'" (1 Kings 3:11-13)

We have an example in Solomon of this promise actually being fulfilled. Now... we know there can be no truly good thing unless God Himself creates it: "And Jesus said unto him, 'Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.'" (Mark 10:18) And therefore if these things we are speaking of: wisdom, faith, love, mercy, a strong connection to God on an individual basis - if these things are to be in our lives, God Himself must put it there! We cannot earn them, for as with grace, they are gifts for our salvation, and for the edification of others. And in order to get them, we need merely ask with a true spirit: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" (Mat 7:11)

A true and sincere desire to communicate with our Heavenly Father, manifesting itself in continuous prayer, searching the Scriptures with interest and discussing it with others for our blessing and theirs - these things are necessary if we are to be assured that we know Him whom we serve. If any lack these things, let him or her ask it... with an honest and burning desire to stand before God and men justified: "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph 5:26-27)

If we do so, it will be said unto us, as it was to Solomon: "And the LORD said unto him, 'I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.'" (1 Kings 9:3)

David.