The Paths of God

For every believer there is a course to follow – and on it should the eye always remain.  It is all that we are called to; It is all that we should desire; it is all that we must come to know.  And so we gaze intently at His holy Word, while our path becomes full of light before us.  Eagerly must we set our feet upon the paths of God, that we may search them out.  In a world only in part yet full of wonder, should we not ever explore them?  And as we travel on He broadens the way; then more splendid grows the Light.

Love and Power and Glory and Beauty envelop the way of the adventurer that treads the paths of God.  I am careful to set my foot in no place wherein my Captain has not first made me a way.  For it is He alone that goes before us and makes ready every byway that must receive us, formed and fashioned by the Almighty’s hand.  Though He goes before me, it is not every path that is pleasant.  Many are they that become darkened for reason of approaching storms.  For we must not only know the joys and delights of the One who leads us, but also the trials and the burdens and the heavy heart which were once known by Him.  These are roads stony and not smooth, slippery and not easy to hold to.  Still, His sure and steady hand is ever stretched out behind Him, and to it we hold in those dark places where the tempest rages and heavy rains sting the face of the one who treads the paths of God.

But it is not long and there appears a silver lining, so that soon every ominous cloud makes haste, obeying the will of their Master on high.  Ahead lies a season of refreshing and fellowship divine with the One who our souls love – the One who we are joined to forever.  Again do we drink from brooks of living waters and eat of the bountiful fruit of the land.  Together under setting sun do we taste of the wine of our desire.  Once more life is good. Our path is full of light again; in this light do we bask all the day.  We catch hold of the wind and on it we ride to wondrous heights – heights not ordinarily encountered by most who tread the paths of God.

Lonely are the heights of heaven, those roads that great souls travel, where the hush of true holiness falls.  Here like pure snow it covers all the land.  This is sanctuary, a world hid away from all others.  Those to be encountered in these places are but a few, but when one’s way does cross with the way of another, most wonderful is that meeting.  So glorious are the heights of heaven for those who tread the paths of God.

But even in heaven’s heights do wars occur, and so one must remain vigilant.  Whether in high or low places; whether in the sunshine or the storm; whether in the morning or in the noontide, war may suddenly be waged.  And so at all times and in all places seven swords will be needed.  With these we are able to lay waste the enemy.  And these are the seven swords that we must never be discovered without.  They are Faith and Hope and Love; they are Knowledge and Wisdom and Understanding.  And the last and seventh sword is the sword of the Person of the Spirit.  It is He that makes sharp the blades of the other six; and that by the working of His own blade, so that they may become of powerful effect.

But one Day every sword shall become a plowshare; and as these become changed so will their purpose become radically different.  Instead of tools to bring down an enemy to the ground, they will serve to bring the elect up from the ground.  Then they will be implemented in such a way so that the good fruits of the Father’s election become grown and harvested; and whoever may taste of them shall be nourished and strengthened.

And in those days the heavy rains will no longer sting the face of the one who treads the paths of God.  Nor will the storms bring anything to ruin anymore.  The tempest will never again blow with relentless fury.  Then, as it is written, “All of the rough places shall become smooth, and every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.  Made straight in the desert will be a highway for our God, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.”  Yes this is the future and surely this is the certain hope for all who tread the paths of God.

“For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”

J. Pecoraro                                      

The Wild Stallion

A wild stallion once was I,
Running the grasslands, spirits high.
And though my life was filled with ease,

A greater one I could not please.

This greater one, a son of man,
Desired to put me on his land.
To break my will, and to break my heart,
And require of me my every part.

So why did I take to such a notion
Of boundless loyalty and devotion?
Had I become witless, or did I merely need change,
For life had grown wearisome on that range?

One brisk autumn morning a rider drew near,
But somehow I knew there was nothing to fear.
Unlike other times when I’d just run away,
I willfully laid down my freedom that day.

There were hard times ahead and stubborn was I
For the ways of the free do not easily die.
But my master was gentle and loving and kind
And when the task was complete there was newness of mind.

I no longer run for my own foolish pleasure.
I’ll reveal you a secret, an invaluable treasure.
A horse of the wild may run freer and faster,
But the horse that’s fulfilled is the horse with a master.

J. Pecoraro

A poem that I wrote for a message I gave back in the nineties.  And I guess I can say it's my testimony.

Separated From The Separated

 As believers in the Triune God, we have no doubt heard how He has called us to be separate from the world.  But remember that this is but a spiritual separation, since daily we find ourselves mingling with the people of the world.  Although, one day, a separation will come to pass both spiritually and physically, as we are caught up to the heavens to be with Him.  Until then, we have only become separated from unbelievers by and through the Spirit.  Yet are all separated unto our God to the same degree?  I would think not.

Do you remember when Joshua, Caleb, and ten other men were chosen to go spy out the land that their God desired for them to conquer?  When they returned ten of the men reported that Israel would be no match for what awaited them beyond the Jordan.  Only Joshua and Caleb believed that the God of Israel would deliver their enemies into their hands.  Were the other ten cowards?  They couldn’t have been, since out of a great number of Israel’s fighting men these ten were picked to go spy out the land.

I’d say that there wasn’t any way that the ten could have been cowards.  But they instead had another problem.  They couldn’t see how victory in Canaan would be humanly possible.  Though I’m sure that Joshua and Caleb also believed this.  Yet the difference between these two and the other ten was that they were not considering the human factor.  In their hearts they had cancelled it out, believing that it would be none but their God who would deliver to them the victory. 

Personally, I can see how all twelve of these fighting men would have been separated unto God over and above all the other soldiers.  However, there were two that stood out from the ten – separated from the separated; walking more near to their God than the others through faith.

It is much the same with the Body of Christ in the world today.  All who make up His Body have been separated unto their God.  But this doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some who have drawn more near to the Godhead than great numbers have done.  But then there will be those who will soar to greater heights still in the Holy One.  And so the ascents will continue on and on.  No doubt, the greater the ascents become, the fewer there will be who will abide in them.

Then there will be the Son.  It is He who is our High Tower, breaking through into the heavens with His own - setting each one in their place.  Glory be to the Son forever.  Even eternity will never reveal the mystery of Him, nor the mystery of His great love.

J. Pecoraro

Trials - Races - New Names Written

Thank God for trials!  What would we ever do without them?  I can tell you what we would do.  We would shrivel up and blow away with the first strong wind; we would become as weak as newborn babes.  Why is this?  Because it is trials that make us strong, trials that make us grow, trials that bring us wisdom, and finally it is trials that will cause us to be a comfort to others when they come face to face with what we have left behind.  Then they eventually  will see how He makes all things beautiful in His time, even as in the lyrics of the song.   Hope can now be embraced as those who have been afflicted vow to rise again.  It will be these who will one day encourage others who will follow in their steps.  And in this way the armies of God move ever onward, retrieving from the enemy what in times past was theirs, though now returning to them with increase. 

When the truth is told, the believer will see that every trial that comes their way comes from above; actually it is a packaged gift from God.  The trouble is that the packaging is so difficult to remove, that doing so may make us feel like we’ve been through a bad train wreck.  But finally when our storm has passed, and the gift uncovered, the pearl of great price is before us; our joy is made full and a new season lies ahead.

Too often does the follower of Christ see the trial they face as though it were an enemy.  True that it will be the enemy who will take a flying leap right into the center of it all – and land hard.  But the testing itself has come to us from the Father of lights.  It is always He who initiates a thing.   And when He does, it is meant for our good – for strength, for growth, for wisdom, so that one day we may comfort another concerning their own affliction.  It is in this way that Joseph comforted his repentant brothers when he told them that what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good.  Always is it Him behind the scenes, working all things according to the good pleasure of His will.

Life is an obstacle course; it is the race that we run.  But to lay hold of the mercies that are new every morning, to embrace the grace that is ours by inheritance.  It will be by these that we will overcome all that is set before us.  And so we must forge ahead and not look back; we must not look to the left or to the right.  For it is the event of our life, with the eyes of many upon us, as we face testings and heartaches, anguish and affliction.  Still, victory is always within reach. 

Sometimes our trials may be due to sin.  But don’t beat yourself up too badly for this.  Nobody ever died sinless but the Son.  What we often fail to realize is that we are infested with this poison; and it goes right down into the bone.  On occasion I’ve heard some mistakenly say that God will never use an unclean vessel.  If they were talking about a vessel of flesh and bone – of body, soul and spirit, which is what we are, then I guess that the only vessel He has ever used is the One who came down from heaven. 

Men are sinners – all men, from the highest pulpit on down.  Sin isn’t just doing a bad thing.  Neither is it missing the target.  Sin is missing the bulls-eye.  And how often do you think that occurs?  But even beyond this, sin is the state of our human nature, which has caused us to become separated from God; it is our position as related to His.  Romans 3:23 reads, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …”.  This type of writing is called parallelism.  Parallelism can be found throughout the bible.  It’s the writer repeating what he has just finished saying, but now with a different choice of words.  And so, in the case of Romans 3:23, Paul would then be telling us that to sin, and to come short of His glory, is really one and the same.  Putting it another way, because we are found to be outside of His glory, we are also found to be in sin; we were conceived in it.  But take heart.  Here is the Good News.  When you read the five verses that surround Romans 3:23, we come to understand that despite our sin, He has lavished upon us Grace, Justification, and His very own Righteousness.  And one day, according to I John 3:2, we will be all that the Son is, while making up His very body, He being the Head.  And it will be on that Day that now even the glory will fall upon us, even as it clothes the Son; and this forever.

What I have just written is all for the sake of saying this.  Don’t put your focus on the conquering of your sins.  Most naturally we should fight off temptations when they come, and with all that we have at our disposal; and hopefully we will be the victors.  But to fix our minds on the winning of battles is not only the wrong way to do warfare in heavenly places, but it is a distraction.  How is that?  Because it takes our eyes off of where we should have them and sets them on the bathroom mirror – when it is not about us.  Our vision must ever be raised to where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God – in power!  He is our victory, and not our own fleshly endeavors.  And that is why the apostle Paul entreats us to have our mind stayed on things above, since we have died to our lives in this world.  If we follow Paul’s advice, we may not come out unscathed from our battles against the dark powers.  Though in the end we will be the conquerors; and that through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is however another place that we can raise our vision to, where the Son of God stands waiting for us.  It is at the finish line of the race we run.  But this also is in the heavenlies, even as is our warfare.  It is all important then that I keep my eyes fixed on the goal where waits my reward.  His name is Jesus.  And on that Day when I cross the finish line, I will receive a new name.  That means that I will no longer be known as Joe Pecoraro.  And why would this be?  It’s because Joe Pecoraro is my slave name.  How is that?  Because when I was born into this world, I was born into the slavery of sin.  I inherited it from the man Adam, the father of us all.  I was given the names of my forefathers before me, who were also born into sin’s slavery.  But on the Day that I finish my course I will no longer have to bear the shame of my slave name.  Because on that Day, I will be given by the Lord a name that says I am free, even as it will be with all who are born from above.  How would it make sense for the names that we have borne in this fallen world to follow us into the kingdom of His dear Son?

Yes; names to say we are free!  And made up of heaven’s alphabet, I believe it only suitable that an eternal weight of glory should be upon the sound of every name given.  God speed the Day!

J. Pecoraro