A Pastor's thoughts about the Scripture and it's influence in our lives.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wait on the Lord Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.
David is one of the most blessed men in history. He has experienced so much on his rise to become king of Israel. To put everything in its proper perspective, Israel is God's chosen nation. David is God's chosen leader for His chosen nation and this is God's chosen time to elevate Israel to its highest place in recorded history so far. David is one of the most celebrated figures in recorded history up until the time of Christ. Jesus Himself is of the lineage and house of David.
The reason that David was able to rise to the place of prominence that he had is found in our passage for today. Saul was anointed the first kind of Israel. He could have enjoyed prosperity and peace in his life but he did not and God chose to replace him with David long before David became king and Saul knew that David would eventually replace him. What was the difference in these two men? What made David so special?
David learned to "wait on the Lord." As David waited on the Lord, he found the courage that he needed to withstand the storms of life that came his way. As David learned to wait on the Lord, he found the strength that he needed to live his life to its fullest. Strength and courage do not come from experience as we sometimes think; real strength and courage come from the Lord. All of our efforts outside waiting on the Lord give us a false sense of security. For God is able to do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves.
There is a hidden nugget in this passage of scripture. Courage and strength come when we wait on the Lord both before and after our ordeal! Notice that courage and strength are sandwiched between the admonitions to "wait on the Lord" Here is the real nugget that we need to understand in this scripture.
As we learn to wait on the Lord, we begin to receive courage and strength, which comes from the Lord and what do we do in way too many cases? When we begin to se light a the end of the tunnel, we take off and take charge of things on our own and we think, "Finally, I have things under control" and we end up in a mess that worse than what we started with!
We must learn to wait on the Lord and experience His courage and His strength and then we really need to wait on the Lord to make sure we head in the right direction so that His victory will take care of the rest of the problems that only God is able to see that lie ahead. We need to learn to wait on the Lord in all things and let Him be our guide in every situation that we find ourselves in and that my friend will make life really worth the living!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Abounding in Mercy Psalm 103:8
The Lord is merciful and gracious and slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
God hates sin. He loves the sinner. God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in mercy. God wants to do everything heavenly possible to help us realize that His way is the only way to experience life in its fullest. Sin is the result of selfishness. God's mercy and His grace are the result of love, which is selfless and is giving where sin is right the opposite. Sin focuses on self while God's grace and mercy are focused on us.
How can God hate sin and love the sinner? How can He be so merciful and so slow to anger? God's whole perspective is not what He gains from our relationship with Him, but from what He is able to give in that relationship. Sin is right the opposite. Sin focuses on what we want, when we want it and what we can get out of life. Sin is the result of what we can do for ourselves, which robs God of the opportunity to do what He can do for us, which we cannot do for ourselves. God's joy is made full when He is able to do for us. He is glorified when He is given the opportunity to do great things for us, knowing that our lives are going to be made full and meaningful.
God's own nature prevents Him from being quick to anger. He is patient and long-suffering when it comes to our sin. He knows that our sin will not give us all the things that we think it will. He knows that sin will take us farther than we want to go; keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we want to pay. Even though He hates sin, He loves us and wants to reach out to us so we will reach out to Him. When we reach up to Him, He is merciful to forgive us and gracious to give us life as only He can give it. He will supply our needs and fight our battles and give us more than we could ask or hope for.
All God wants from us is an opportunity to give Himself to us. In spite of the fact that we are so unloving and so unfaithful and so unwilling to make changes in the way we do things, God wants to bless us and show us His love in all that He has done and all that He has planned to do for our lives. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal sin, God waits patiently watching for us to look to Him to give our lives the meaning and purpose that only He can give. He created us so that He could provide for us and protect us. He created us so He could love us. He loves us still today, no matter who we are or what we have done.
The Lord is merciful and gracious and slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. We need to be thankful for His love and His mercy and allow Him to be God in our lives in every decision that we make. He will bless us for that kind of commitment. Pray to that end!
God hates sin. He loves the sinner. God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in mercy. God wants to do everything heavenly possible to help us realize that His way is the only way to experience life in its fullest. Sin is the result of selfishness. God's mercy and His grace are the result of love, which is selfless and is giving where sin is right the opposite. Sin focuses on self while God's grace and mercy are focused on us.
How can God hate sin and love the sinner? How can He be so merciful and so slow to anger? God's whole perspective is not what He gains from our relationship with Him, but from what He is able to give in that relationship. Sin is right the opposite. Sin focuses on what we want, when we want it and what we can get out of life. Sin is the result of what we can do for ourselves, which robs God of the opportunity to do what He can do for us, which we cannot do for ourselves. God's joy is made full when He is able to do for us. He is glorified when He is given the opportunity to do great things for us, knowing that our lives are going to be made full and meaningful.
God's own nature prevents Him from being quick to anger. He is patient and long-suffering when it comes to our sin. He knows that our sin will not give us all the things that we think it will. He knows that sin will take us farther than we want to go; keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we want to pay. Even though He hates sin, He loves us and wants to reach out to us so we will reach out to Him. When we reach up to Him, He is merciful to forgive us and gracious to give us life as only He can give it. He will supply our needs and fight our battles and give us more than we could ask or hope for.
All God wants from us is an opportunity to give Himself to us. In spite of the fact that we are so unloving and so unfaithful and so unwilling to make changes in the way we do things, God wants to bless us and show us His love in all that He has done and all that He has planned to do for our lives. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal sin, God waits patiently watching for us to look to Him to give our lives the meaning and purpose that only He can give. He created us so that He could provide for us and protect us. He created us so He could love us. He loves us still today, no matter who we are or what we have done.
The Lord is merciful and gracious and slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. We need to be thankful for His love and His mercy and allow Him to be God in our lives in every decision that we make. He will bless us for that kind of commitment. Pray to that end!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
God's Word and His Love I Peter 1:23
"22Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."
Perhaps one of the most telling characteristics of the Christian life is the presence of love in our hearts for "the brethren." We are commanded to love everyone but there is a special love that we ought to have for those who are part of God's heavenly, forever family. Jesus talks about the importance of loving one another; Paul taught that the greatest of the gifts of the spirit was love and here Peter says that we are to love one another "fervently with a pure heart."
Love is the outward expression of the inward change that has taken place in our hearts since we have "have purified our souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love for the brethren." Because we have purified our souls in obeying the truth of the scriptures, we have a promise here that is important for us to remember.
Peter goes on to write, "having been born again through the Word of God, which lives and abides forever. " This Word lives and abides in us and that is what gives us life both now and forever! Our life comes in and from the eternal Word of God. It is in our faith in the truth of the Gospel that we find life. Faith moves us to act. Obedience to the Word of God is our right response to our faith in the Word of God. As we are obedient to what our faith in the Word of God tells us to do, our obedience brings us the rewards the Word of God has in store for us.
These rewards are the outward expression of God's love for us and the desire of His heart for our lives. His desire is that we have life that is both abundant and everlasting! God's promise to us is that His Word will both live forever and it will abide forever. God's Word will live forever and because He lives, His Word will abide in us forever as well and we too shall live. God's Word and His love for us are inseparable!
Real life really is simple. Love God and love one another and give as much of ourselves away as we possibly can and we will receive more than we could ever begin to imagine.
Ask God what you can do to show His love to someone today!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Stand Against Sin Romans 6:14
Sin shall not have dominion over you.
Paul tells us to present ourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. As a child of God, we have God's assurance that we can stand against temptation. The question is, will we take this help and stand against the temptation that faces us with every decision that we make.
Paul talks about God's grace as opposed to the Law. The law, which is what the Jews placed their faith in could only point out their fault and failure. It is impossible for us to work out our own salvation or righteousness through the Law. It is God's grace that saves us and it is that same grace that can give us the strength that we need to withstand temptation because sin no longer has dominion over us.
As you and I face temptation, we can hold onto God's grace and find the help that we need to stand against temptation. The Holy Spirit works in us as God's children to lead us and guide us to stand against temptation. When temptation whispers in one ear, the Holy Spirit whispers in the other ear to help us make decisions that will put self aside and let the strength of the Lord lead us and guide us in the direction that the Lord would have us go. Prayer is the means by which the Holy Spirit leads us from temptation and to God's blessing.
You and I need to remind ourselves that we are no longer slaves to sin; sin no longer has dominion over us. When temptation whispers in our ear, we need to remember "greater is He that is in us that He that is in the world." We need to remember that God has our best interests at heart and He has plans to bless us if we will just allow Him to do so. When temptation raises it ugly head, we need to remember that God's best might be right around the next corner and how we handle the temptation may have a lot to do with God's ability to meet our need and fight our battles.
Paul tells us to present ourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. As a child of God, we have God's assurance that we can stand against temptation. The question is, will we take this help and stand against the temptation that faces us with every decision that we make.
Paul talks about God's grace as opposed to the Law. The law, which is what the Jews placed their faith in could only point out their fault and failure. It is impossible for us to work out our own salvation or righteousness through the Law. It is God's grace that saves us and it is that same grace that can give us the strength that we need to withstand temptation because sin no longer has dominion over us.
As you and I face temptation, we can hold onto God's grace and find the help that we need to stand against temptation. The Holy Spirit works in us as God's children to lead us and guide us to stand against temptation. When temptation whispers in one ear, the Holy Spirit whispers in the other ear to help us make decisions that will put self aside and let the strength of the Lord lead us and guide us in the direction that the Lord would have us go. Prayer is the means by which the Holy Spirit leads us from temptation and to God's blessing.
You and I need to remind ourselves that we are no longer slaves to sin; sin no longer has dominion over us. When temptation whispers in our ear, we need to remember "greater is He that is in us that He that is in the world." We need to remember that God has our best interests at heart and He has plans to bless us if we will just allow Him to do so. When temptation raises it ugly head, we need to remember that God's best might be right around the next corner and how we handle the temptation may have a lot to do with God's ability to meet our need and fight our battles.
Monday, May 24, 2010
God Delights in His Mercy Micah 7:18
18Who is a God like unto you, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy.
Micah goes on to write, "He will again have compassion on us, and He will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." God delights in giving His mercy to us. Listen to what God tells His chosen people, in verse 15, "As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders."
God wants to demonstrate His wonderful power in your life and in mine. He does! God wants to show His power to a lost and dying world. God wants to share His love and His mercy with us as we walk with Him on a daily basis. When I give God my decisions, He is able to give me His mercy and forgive my sin.
When I allow God's presence to come into my life, His power comes with that presence. When God's presence is in my life, His provisions and His protection are there for me as well. God delights in being there for me. The desire of His heart is to be with me and to take care of the circumstances and situations in my life. He wants to spread His wings and show the world who He is and what He can do. God wants to bless our lives so that He can have the opportunity to bless the lives of those around us.
God does not want to be angry with us. In fact, God is not as concerned with the mistakes we make and even the sin we commit as He is with the reasons we do what we do. God pardons our sin. His Son paid the penalty for our sin. God wants to give us every possible reason to walk with Him as opposed to falling for temptation and sinning. When you and I learn to look to Him and find His forgiveness and His mercy and begin to see Him working in our lives, we should be more determined to stand with Him on a daily basis.
The great thing about God's glorious plan is this, the closer we walk with Him and the more obedient we become to His Word and His will for our lives, the more He is able to bless us! The more He blesses us, the more determined we ought to be to get even closer and closer to Him and the closer we get the more blessed we become! Now understand one thing; God's blessings are not usually what we think they ought to be. Sometimes, we have to "praise God anyway" when things are not going well for us at all. Remember, our devotion ought to be for all that God has already done for us as opposed to what we want Him to do for us tommorrow.
Micah goes on to write, "He will again have compassion on us, and He will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." God delights in giving His mercy to us. Listen to what God tells His chosen people, in verse 15, "As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders."
God wants to demonstrate His wonderful power in your life and in mine. He does! God wants to show His power to a lost and dying world. God wants to share His love and His mercy with us as we walk with Him on a daily basis. When I give God my decisions, He is able to give me His mercy and forgive my sin.
When I allow God's presence to come into my life, His power comes with that presence. When God's presence is in my life, His provisions and His protection are there for me as well. God delights in being there for me. The desire of His heart is to be with me and to take care of the circumstances and situations in my life. He wants to spread His wings and show the world who He is and what He can do. God wants to bless our lives so that He can have the opportunity to bless the lives of those around us.
God does not want to be angry with us. In fact, God is not as concerned with the mistakes we make and even the sin we commit as He is with the reasons we do what we do. God pardons our sin. His Son paid the penalty for our sin. God wants to give us every possible reason to walk with Him as opposed to falling for temptation and sinning. When you and I learn to look to Him and find His forgiveness and His mercy and begin to see Him working in our lives, we should be more determined to stand with Him on a daily basis.
The great thing about God's glorious plan is this, the closer we walk with Him and the more obedient we become to His Word and His will for our lives, the more He is able to bless us! The more He blesses us, the more determined we ought to be to get even closer and closer to Him and the closer we get the more blessed we become! Now understand one thing; God's blessings are not usually what we think they ought to be. Sometimes, we have to "praise God anyway" when things are not going well for us at all. Remember, our devotion ought to be for all that God has already done for us as opposed to what we want Him to do for us tommorrow.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
That I May Know Him Philippians 3:10
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.
Paul tells the church at Philippi, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord that I may know Him." More than anything else in the whole world, Paul wanted to know Jesus in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. Paul was willing to suffer for one reason; he wanted to be found faithful and to finish the course that had been set before him and nothing was going to keep him from finishing the race for Jesus' sake.
The truth is we cannot know Jesus aside from the power of the resurrection. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives His whole its meaning and its significance. It is the news of the resurrection that brought the disciples back from their homes that they had gone to when Jesus was crucified. When Jesus bowed His head and cried out, "It is finished" that is exactly how the disciples all felt. When Jesus died so did all of the dreams that the disciples had die with Him. However, when the news that Jesus was alive and not dead got to them, they all received new life themselves and they came to see Him.
It was at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came down and moved into their hearts and the world was forever changed by the power of the resurrected Christ. This power that they received was a power that would help them and even cause them to be able to endure various sufferings for the advancement of the gospel. Paul Himself had met the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus and as he surrendered His life to this risen Lord, he came to know the fellowship of the Lord's sufferings. Paul came to know what it meant to "take up his cross and follow Jesus."
If you and I are to know Jesus, we must be willing to come to Him in the power of His resurrection as it is revealed to us in His Word. We cannot know Him as we want Him to be. We must come to know Him as He has revealed Himself to us and as we discover Him as we walk with Him in obedience to what He has written to us in His Word. Paul knew this fellowship and you and I can know it as well if we will just determine in our hearts to "know Him" at all cost!
Paul tells the church at Philippi, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord that I may know Him." More than anything else in the whole world, Paul wanted to know Jesus in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. Paul was willing to suffer for one reason; he wanted to be found faithful and to finish the course that had been set before him and nothing was going to keep him from finishing the race for Jesus' sake.
The truth is we cannot know Jesus aside from the power of the resurrection. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives His whole its meaning and its significance. It is the news of the resurrection that brought the disciples back from their homes that they had gone to when Jesus was crucified. When Jesus bowed His head and cried out, "It is finished" that is exactly how the disciples all felt. When Jesus died so did all of the dreams that the disciples had die with Him. However, when the news that Jesus was alive and not dead got to them, they all received new life themselves and they came to see Him.
It was at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came down and moved into their hearts and the world was forever changed by the power of the resurrected Christ. This power that they received was a power that would help them and even cause them to be able to endure various sufferings for the advancement of the gospel. Paul Himself had met the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus and as he surrendered His life to this risen Lord, he came to know the fellowship of the Lord's sufferings. Paul came to know what it meant to "take up his cross and follow Jesus."
If you and I are to know Jesus, we must be willing to come to Him in the power of His resurrection as it is revealed to us in His Word. We cannot know Him as we want Him to be. We must come to know Him as He has revealed Himself to us and as we discover Him as we walk with Him in obedience to what He has written to us in His Word. Paul knew this fellowship and you and I can know it as well if we will just determine in our hearts to "know Him" at all cost!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Blessings of God I Corinthians 2:9
9That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
God has plans for our lives that we cannot begin to imagine. Paul says that as mature Christians we should understand things that the rest of the world will not understand. We have experienced God's goodness but there is so much more that He has prepared for us. "Prepared for us"; imagine that!
God has these things already prepared for us! The question then is, "Where are these blessings?" God has these blessing located at a place called "There". "There" is where the abundant blessings of God can be found.
There is one place that we all need to be in our lives and that place is in the place that God would have us be. There is only one place that we can be at any given time and we are either in God's Will or we are not. When we are in this place called "there" then we find ourselves in a place that, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
How do we get in this place called "there"? How can we be in the place where the abundant blessings of God can be found? This place called "there" is accessible when we are obedient to Him when it matters and that is when we make decisions. You see there is nothing that we can do about decisions that we made yesterday and really nothing that we can do about decisions that we are going to have to make tomorrow.
The only thing we can do is make decisions that are inline with the Word of God TODAY. When I make decisions that are consistent with God's Word then I am making decisions that allow me to "be in His Will" then I am in this place called "there" which is where the blessings of God can be found in my life.
Remember something; God is always working to move us from where we are to the place where He wants us to be. That process takes a lifetime. God's blessings are worth the effort on our part to walk in the steps that He would have us walk.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." How do we know that we love Him, if we keep His commandments! His commandments are worth keeping!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Give Thanks Psalm 136:26
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.
We ought to wake up every morning giving thanks to the God of heaven because of His Marvelous Mercy and His Amazing Grace. Everything that we have and all that we are and all that we ever will be, is a blessing from God. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He loves us with a love that has no beginning and has no end. He loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done.
Just as God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, and He protected the children of Israel in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, so will He lead us and protect us today. God desires our devotion so he can provide for us and protect us. His mercy endures forever. He is patient with our disobedience. He is longsuffering when it comes to our stubbornness and our determination to do things our way. He knows that we want to experience life and all that it has to offer. He created us with that desire!
However, He wants to be the source of life that we crave. The world seems to offer so much but in reality delivers so little. God on the other hand, is able to deliver life in its fullest sense. His instruction seems so different from that of the lure of the world. The world says, "The more you have the happier you are." God tells us, "The more you give, the more you receive." The world wants us to hold onto our individuality and do what seems right in our own eyes, while God's instruction is to lose ourselves and surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to have control of our decisions. The world wants us to be masters of our own destiny, while God wants us to surrender control of our lives to Him as Lord and Master of our lives.
Indeed, we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for! His mercy endures forever and His love is an ever-present certainty in our lives. We are so blessed and have so much potential because of God's amazing grace and His marvelous mercy! Give thanks to the God of heaven for His mercy endures forever!
We ought to wake up every morning giving thanks to the God of heaven because of His Marvelous Mercy and His Amazing Grace. Everything that we have and all that we are and all that we ever will be, is a blessing from God. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He loves us with a love that has no beginning and has no end. He loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done.
Just as God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, and He protected the children of Israel in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, so will He lead us and protect us today. God desires our devotion so he can provide for us and protect us. His mercy endures forever. He is patient with our disobedience. He is longsuffering when it comes to our stubbornness and our determination to do things our way. He knows that we want to experience life and all that it has to offer. He created us with that desire!
However, He wants to be the source of life that we crave. The world seems to offer so much but in reality delivers so little. God on the other hand, is able to deliver life in its fullest sense. His instruction seems so different from that of the lure of the world. The world says, "The more you have the happier you are." God tells us, "The more you give, the more you receive." The world wants us to hold onto our individuality and do what seems right in our own eyes, while God's instruction is to lose ourselves and surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to have control of our decisions. The world wants us to be masters of our own destiny, while God wants us to surrender control of our lives to Him as Lord and Master of our lives.
Indeed, we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for! His mercy endures forever and His love is an ever-present certainty in our lives. We are so blessed and have so much potential because of God's amazing grace and His marvelous mercy! Give thanks to the God of heaven for His mercy endures forever!
Give Thanks Psalm 136:26
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.
We ought to wake up every morning giving thanks to the God of heaven because of His Marvelous Mercy and His Amazing Grace. Everything that we have and all that we are and all that we ever will be, is a blessing from God. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He loves us with a love that has no beginning and has no end. He loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done.
Just as God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, and He protected the children of Israel in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, so will He lead us and protect us today. God desires our devotion so he can provide for us and protect us. His mercy endures forever. He is patient with our disobedience. He is longsuffering when it comes to our stubbornness and our determination to do things our way. He knows that we want to experience life and all that it has to offer. He created us with that desire!
However, He wants to be the source of life that we crave. The world seems to offer so much but in reality delivers so little. God on the other hand, is able to deliver life in its fullest sense. His instruction seems so different from that of the lure of the world. The world says, "The more you have the happier you are." God tells us, "The more you give, the more you receive." The world wants us to hold onto our individuality and do what seems right in our own eyes, while God's instruction is to lose ourselves and surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to have control of our decisions. The world wants us to be masters of our own destiny, while God wants us to surrender control of our lives to Him as Lord and Master of our lives.
Indeed, we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for! His mercy endures forever and His love is an ever-present certainty in our lives. We are so blessed and have so much potential because of God's amazing grace and His marvelous mercy! Give thanks to the God of heaven for His mercy endures forever!
We ought to wake up every morning giving thanks to the God of heaven because of His Marvelous Mercy and His Amazing Grace. Everything that we have and all that we are and all that we ever will be, is a blessing from God. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He loves us with a love that has no beginning and has no end. He loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done.
Just as God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, and He protected the children of Israel in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, so will He lead us and protect us today. God desires our devotion so he can provide for us and protect us. His mercy endures forever. He is patient with our disobedience. He is longsuffering when it comes to our stubbornness and our determination to do things our way. He knows that we want to experience life and all that it has to offer. He created us with that desire!
However, He wants to be the source of life that we crave. The world seems to offer so much but in reality delivers so little. God on the other hand, is able to deliver life in its fullest sense. His instruction seems so different from that of the lure of the world. The world says, "The more you have the happier you are." God tells us, "The more you give, the more you receive." The world wants us to hold onto our individuality and do what seems right in our own eyes, while God's instruction is to lose ourselves and surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to have control of our decisions. The world wants us to be masters of our own destiny, while God wants us to surrender control of our lives to Him as Lord and Master of our lives.
Indeed, we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for! His mercy endures forever and His love is an ever-present certainty in our lives. We are so blessed and have so much potential because of God's amazing grace and His marvelous mercy! Give thanks to the God of heaven for His mercy endures forever!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thanksgiving and Praise Psalm 100:4
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
Here is the invitation of invitations. The desire of God's heart is to see us enter into His gates with thanksgiving and to come into His courts with praise! What does this mean? This is an invitation for us to come into His presence. This is all that matters to God. The only thing that moves God is our coming into His presence! When we come into His presence, He is then able to lead us in the path of His righteousness and bless us as He so much wants to do.
When we come in to His courts with thanksgiving and praise, what we see is a picture of a joy and jubilation. This is not only a joyous picture of God, but a joyous picture of us as well. Here is a picture of thanksgiving for all of the things that God has done for us as well as a picture of praise for all of the things that God is doing! This is a picture of a time of joy and celebration!
Our lives are for one purpose; to bring glory to God. This picture painted by the Psalmist details the essence of that glory. God first loved us. He created us. He watched us rebel and sin against Him. He loved us still and began to reconcile us unto Himself even willing to give His own Son as a ransom our sin. He loved us that much. All He asks of us is that we love Him in return. However, His desire for us to love Him is not just because He created us and He has already done so much for us. God wants us to come into His presence so He can do even more for us! He is not as concerned about yesterday as He is what He can do for us today.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. He wants to bless us and provide for us and make our lives their absolute best. He wants to see us filled with joy and thanksgiving and praise because our hearts are full with the things that only He can do for us.
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: Let God be God in your heart and in your life today!
Here is the invitation of invitations. The desire of God's heart is to see us enter into His gates with thanksgiving and to come into His courts with praise! What does this mean? This is an invitation for us to come into His presence. This is all that matters to God. The only thing that moves God is our coming into His presence! When we come into His presence, He is then able to lead us in the path of His righteousness and bless us as He so much wants to do.
When we come in to His courts with thanksgiving and praise, what we see is a picture of a joy and jubilation. This is not only a joyous picture of God, but a joyous picture of us as well. Here is a picture of thanksgiving for all of the things that God has done for us as well as a picture of praise for all of the things that God is doing! This is a picture of a time of joy and celebration!
Our lives are for one purpose; to bring glory to God. This picture painted by the Psalmist details the essence of that glory. God first loved us. He created us. He watched us rebel and sin against Him. He loved us still and began to reconcile us unto Himself even willing to give His own Son as a ransom our sin. He loved us that much. All He asks of us is that we love Him in return. However, His desire for us to love Him is not just because He created us and He has already done so much for us. God wants us to come into His presence so He can do even more for us! He is not as concerned about yesterday as He is what He can do for us today.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. He wants to bless us and provide for us and make our lives their absolute best. He wants to see us filled with joy and thanksgiving and praise because our hearts are full with the things that only He can do for us.
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: Let God be God in your heart and in your life today!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Have Faith in God Mark 11:22
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Here is a very popular passage of scripture today. It should be! Prayer is the key to living a victorious Christian life! However, this is not a passage on prayer as much as it is a passage on faith! Lets look at this passage.
"Have faith in God." What is faith? Faith is believing that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do. (Hebrews 11:6b) Nothing is impossible with God. So whoever says to this mountain (the Mount of Olives) be removed into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes those things that he says in his heart will be done he will have whatever he says.
What is Jesus talking about? Is this a discourse on prayer? Is this a discourse on faith in God? Is it a discourse on both? Look at the setting for this passage. Jesus is answering Peter's question in verse 21, "And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
Perhaps the admonition "Have faith in God" has something to do with the withering of the fig tree. The fig tree represented Israel. The fig tree had leaves, which was an indication that fruit would be present but there was no fruit. Judaism looked good. Judaism was well developed. It did not produce fruit! Perhaps that represents many of our churches today as well. To keep from being unfruitful like the fig tree, we are too have faith in God, believing Him and placing our lives in His hands.
The mountain represents an obstacle, a tremendous obstacle. There is only one obstacle that is too big for God to handle in our lives and that is our refusal to let Him do what He wants to do with us. Faith is saying to any obstacle we may be facing, be removed and then trust God to handle it His way, no matter what.
It is that kind of faith that will produce fruit instead of leaves! When my faith is in the Lord Jesus, and my eyes are focused on His Word then I can trust Him to take care of any obstacle that I will face.
Does this mean that God will hear my prayer and grant that prayer if I pray without doubt, believing that He not only can but will do for me what I have asked Him to do?
In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul prays not once but three times for this thorn in the flesh to be taken away from him. God's reply to Him was, 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Did God answer Paul's prayer? "Yes". Did He take the thorn away? "No" Did Paul pray with faith? Did he understand the prayer of faith? "Yes"
Jesus is trying to teach His disciples that God honors our faith in Him. God honored Paul's faith. He did not grant Paul's prayer request. He will honor our faith in Him as well!
Have faith in God. Believe that He is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do!
23"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Here is a very popular passage of scripture today. It should be! Prayer is the key to living a victorious Christian life! However, this is not a passage on prayer as much as it is a passage on faith! Lets look at this passage.
"Have faith in God." What is faith? Faith is believing that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do. (Hebrews 11:6b) Nothing is impossible with God. So whoever says to this mountain (the Mount of Olives) be removed into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes those things that he says in his heart will be done he will have whatever he says.
What is Jesus talking about? Is this a discourse on prayer? Is this a discourse on faith in God? Is it a discourse on both? Look at the setting for this passage. Jesus is answering Peter's question in verse 21, "And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
Perhaps the admonition "Have faith in God" has something to do with the withering of the fig tree. The fig tree represented Israel. The fig tree had leaves, which was an indication that fruit would be present but there was no fruit. Judaism looked good. Judaism was well developed. It did not produce fruit! Perhaps that represents many of our churches today as well. To keep from being unfruitful like the fig tree, we are too have faith in God, believing Him and placing our lives in His hands.
The mountain represents an obstacle, a tremendous obstacle. There is only one obstacle that is too big for God to handle in our lives and that is our refusal to let Him do what He wants to do with us. Faith is saying to any obstacle we may be facing, be removed and then trust God to handle it His way, no matter what.
It is that kind of faith that will produce fruit instead of leaves! When my faith is in the Lord Jesus, and my eyes are focused on His Word then I can trust Him to take care of any obstacle that I will face.
Does this mean that God will hear my prayer and grant that prayer if I pray without doubt, believing that He not only can but will do for me what I have asked Him to do?
In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul prays not once but three times for this thorn in the flesh to be taken away from him. God's reply to Him was, 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Did God answer Paul's prayer? "Yes". Did He take the thorn away? "No" Did Paul pray with faith? Did he understand the prayer of faith? "Yes"
Jesus is trying to teach His disciples that God honors our faith in Him. God honored Paul's faith. He did not grant Paul's prayer request. He will honor our faith in Him as well!
Have faith in God. Believe that He is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Wolves Are Circling Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Jesus has spent some time teaching His disciples and in chapter 10 He tells them to go out and to begin to teach the people, preaching "the Kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus tells them that they are to go to the people of Israel and not to go to the gentile people at this point. One would think that this would be the place to begin their ministries. They would be around people that they knew. They would be talking about the long awaited Messiah; Israel would remember the scriptures and the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and they would respond to their preaching.
Jesus gives the disciples a word of warning. Some cities will not receive your message. Some people will resist your efforts. They may arrest you and take you before religious and civil authorities. Do not worry about what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. Brothers will be set at odds with one another and parents will be at odds with their children and "you shall be hated for My name sake."
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
The wolves are circling today. The world is growing more and more anti-Christian with each passing day. I read now of statements describing our world as the "post-Christian era." America is now in this era. The world is growing more and more tolerant of everything except Christianity. The day is fast approaching when men and women will be taken up before the courts and put into prison for their proclamation of the gospel. Men and women in countries around the world are accepting the claims of Christ in their hearts and their families are disowning them and they are even losing their lives.
We need the wisdom of the Lord and His strength as well to be as "harmless as doves." We need Jesus more than ever and we need to understand that we are going to be hated for His name's sake but we are to endure to the end because of our great salvation that He has given to us. Jesus died in our place so that we could live for Him and live for Him I will do; no matter how popular His message may or may not be. I believe that the Bible needs to be taught just as it is to people just as they are and that is what I will do until Jesus comes to get me and takes me home to be with Him in glory forever!
Prayer is the only way we will ever find the strength to persevere in days to come.
Jesus has spent some time teaching His disciples and in chapter 10 He tells them to go out and to begin to teach the people, preaching "the Kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus tells them that they are to go to the people of Israel and not to go to the gentile people at this point. One would think that this would be the place to begin their ministries. They would be around people that they knew. They would be talking about the long awaited Messiah; Israel would remember the scriptures and the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and they would respond to their preaching.
Jesus gives the disciples a word of warning. Some cities will not receive your message. Some people will resist your efforts. They may arrest you and take you before religious and civil authorities. Do not worry about what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. Brothers will be set at odds with one another and parents will be at odds with their children and "you shall be hated for My name sake."
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
The wolves are circling today. The world is growing more and more anti-Christian with each passing day. I read now of statements describing our world as the "post-Christian era." America is now in this era. The world is growing more and more tolerant of everything except Christianity. The day is fast approaching when men and women will be taken up before the courts and put into prison for their proclamation of the gospel. Men and women in countries around the world are accepting the claims of Christ in their hearts and their families are disowning them and they are even losing their lives.
We need the wisdom of the Lord and His strength as well to be as "harmless as doves." We need Jesus more than ever and we need to understand that we are going to be hated for His name's sake but we are to endure to the end because of our great salvation that He has given to us. Jesus died in our place so that we could live for Him and live for Him I will do; no matter how popular His message may or may not be. I believe that the Bible needs to be taught just as it is to people just as they are and that is what I will do until Jesus comes to get me and takes me home to be with Him in glory forever!
Prayer is the only way we will ever find the strength to persevere in days to come.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
We Win Revelation 11:15
15Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
There is a lot of discussion on the events that will signal the end of life on this earth, as we know it. This is the seventh and final seal that John saw opened and there is a celebration in heaven for "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
Whatever the significance of the other 6 seals, it is clear that the seventh seal is a cry of ultimate and absolute victory in heaven! There are two absolutes that are found in this verse. First of all, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. The second is that the Lord will reign forever and ever.
You and I can find comfort in these words because history is indeed His story. All of history is pointed and headed to finality where Jesus will be victorious. Centuries ago, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey and He would be their God and they would be His people.
Many years later, Moses would lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and then 40 years later Joshua would lead them into the Promised Land. This Promised Land is but a shadow of the Promised Land that God has planned for His children. Listen to Jesus in John 14, "1"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Life may be difficult at times today. It may in fact seem impossible. However, for those who have given their hearts to the Lord Jesus and have placed their faith in the death, burial and resurrection and the associated promises found written in the precious Word of God, victory is ours!
As the song says, I know that victory is mine because I have read the back of the book and we win! You and I can hold onto this great promise as we walk with the Lord in an attitude of prayer!
We Win!!
There is a lot of discussion on the events that will signal the end of life on this earth, as we know it. This is the seventh and final seal that John saw opened and there is a celebration in heaven for "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
Whatever the significance of the other 6 seals, it is clear that the seventh seal is a cry of ultimate and absolute victory in heaven! There are two absolutes that are found in this verse. First of all, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. The second is that the Lord will reign forever and ever.
You and I can find comfort in these words because history is indeed His story. All of history is pointed and headed to finality where Jesus will be victorious. Centuries ago, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey and He would be their God and they would be His people.
Many years later, Moses would lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and then 40 years later Joshua would lead them into the Promised Land. This Promised Land is but a shadow of the Promised Land that God has planned for His children. Listen to Jesus in John 14, "1"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Life may be difficult at times today. It may in fact seem impossible. However, for those who have given their hearts to the Lord Jesus and have placed their faith in the death, burial and resurrection and the associated promises found written in the precious Word of God, victory is ours!
As the song says, I know that victory is mine because I have read the back of the book and we win! You and I can hold onto this great promise as we walk with the Lord in an attitude of prayer!
We Win!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Exalt the Lord Hosea 11:7
7 My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.
God reminds the nation of Israel that He is the One who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. He is the One who established them as a people. 78 people went to Egypt and 400 years later over 1 million people came out! God reminds the people that they refused to acknowledge Him and went out to serve other gods.
He reminded them that He is the One who healed them; He is the One who fed them and provided for them. He says, "My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Me."
Isn't it amazing how contemporary the Bible is! This was written some 2500 years ago and it is as contemporary as the morning newspaper. It seems as if we are indeed "bent on backsliding from the Lord." We acknowledge the Lord but we fail to obey His Word. We include the Lord in our routines but we refuse to let Him be Lord and Master of our lives. We know what we ought to do and we know what we have no business doing but the truth is, we are set on doing what we want to do the way that we want to do it and God's Word is just not much of a consideration most of the time.
It is as if we have forgotten all the things that God has done for us and all the things He has promised to do for us. We want God's goodness and His provisions in our lives but we want them on our terms. We want to go our own way and expect God to bless us anyway!
The Israelites refused to "exalt" God. God wanted them to look to Him and allow Him to be God in their lives. Sometimes we want to read this passage and think, they didn't "worship" God. We tend to think sometime, I go to church; I tithe most of the time; I teach Sunday School and sing in the choir. I love God.
The real question is do you obey His Word? Do you live for Him every moment of every day? Do you exalt Him by walking in the footsteps that He wants you to walk? Do you allow Him to have His way in your life by the decisions that you make? This is the desire of God's heart; this is what He is looking for in you and in me. God wants our obedience because of our faith and our trust in Him. He wants to continue to bless us and provide for us and He wants to meet our needs and He wants to give us the desires of His heart!
Exalt the Lord today in each and every decision that you make and see the difference that the Lord can and will make in your life!
God reminds the nation of Israel that He is the One who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. He is the One who established them as a people. 78 people went to Egypt and 400 years later over 1 million people came out! God reminds the people that they refused to acknowledge Him and went out to serve other gods.
He reminded them that He is the One who healed them; He is the One who fed them and provided for them. He says, "My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Me."
Isn't it amazing how contemporary the Bible is! This was written some 2500 years ago and it is as contemporary as the morning newspaper. It seems as if we are indeed "bent on backsliding from the Lord." We acknowledge the Lord but we fail to obey His Word. We include the Lord in our routines but we refuse to let Him be Lord and Master of our lives. We know what we ought to do and we know what we have no business doing but the truth is, we are set on doing what we want to do the way that we want to do it and God's Word is just not much of a consideration most of the time.
It is as if we have forgotten all the things that God has done for us and all the things He has promised to do for us. We want God's goodness and His provisions in our lives but we want them on our terms. We want to go our own way and expect God to bless us anyway!
The Israelites refused to "exalt" God. God wanted them to look to Him and allow Him to be God in their lives. Sometimes we want to read this passage and think, they didn't "worship" God. We tend to think sometime, I go to church; I tithe most of the time; I teach Sunday School and sing in the choir. I love God.
The real question is do you obey His Word? Do you live for Him every moment of every day? Do you exalt Him by walking in the footsteps that He wants you to walk? Do you allow Him to have His way in your life by the decisions that you make? This is the desire of God's heart; this is what He is looking for in you and in me. God wants our obedience because of our faith and our trust in Him. He wants to continue to bless us and provide for us and He wants to meet our needs and He wants to give us the desires of His heart!
Exalt the Lord today in each and every decision that you make and see the difference that the Lord can and will make in your life!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Walk in the Newness of Life Romans 6:4
4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Paul begins chapter 6 with this question, "1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" Paul uses the illustration of baptism to answer the question that he raised about continuing to live our lives in sin after being saved. In baptism we are buried with Christ into death and just as Jesus was raised us, so are we raised up from that death by the glory of the Father to do what, to walk in the newness of life that begins in this life and carries us into the life that is to come.
It is God's grace that brings this new life into our lives. God gives us this gift of new life when we confess our sin to Him and we receive His forgiveness for our sin and we repent of that sin and turn from our sin and turn to His will and way for our lives as given to us in His Word. Baptism symbolizes the death to sin that has a hold on us as well as the penalty for that sin having been paid on our behalf on the cross. When we are lowered into the waters of baptism, it signifies the fact that the old man has died to sin and as we are raised up out of the waters, we come up as a new creation in Christ Jesus to walk in the newness of life.
This faith walk has to begin somewhere. This beginning takes place in salvation when we turn from our own self-sufficient ways and turn to God's ways for our lives. This new walk is a daily walk that consists of one decision after another. As we begin to walk in the newness of this life, we come to know Christ and His love for us and we will begin to long for this life that He has come to give to us that is exceedingly abundantly better than we could ask or hope for.
Shall we who have died to sin continue to live in that sin? No! Why would we turn from the life that God has planned for us to live again in captivity and oppression? Why would we want to go back to Egypt when we have the Promised Land before us? We really do have a wonderful choice before us. God wants to bless us and He wants to give us life and this life that He wants us to have is indeed flowing with milk and honey. God wants to protect us and provide for us.
The key to His protection and provisions can only be found in His presence in our lives, which begins in our lives when we accept His grace and we die to sin and look to Him for His resurrection power for our lives. This power that raised Jesus up from the grave is the same power that can and will give you and me the power that we need to live victorious over sin in our every day walk as well so that God can give is a life that is new and fresh with His blessings each and every day!
Paul begins chapter 6 with this question, "1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" Paul uses the illustration of baptism to answer the question that he raised about continuing to live our lives in sin after being saved. In baptism we are buried with Christ into death and just as Jesus was raised us, so are we raised up from that death by the glory of the Father to do what, to walk in the newness of life that begins in this life and carries us into the life that is to come.
It is God's grace that brings this new life into our lives. God gives us this gift of new life when we confess our sin to Him and we receive His forgiveness for our sin and we repent of that sin and turn from our sin and turn to His will and way for our lives as given to us in His Word. Baptism symbolizes the death to sin that has a hold on us as well as the penalty for that sin having been paid on our behalf on the cross. When we are lowered into the waters of baptism, it signifies the fact that the old man has died to sin and as we are raised up out of the waters, we come up as a new creation in Christ Jesus to walk in the newness of life.
This faith walk has to begin somewhere. This beginning takes place in salvation when we turn from our own self-sufficient ways and turn to God's ways for our lives. This new walk is a daily walk that consists of one decision after another. As we begin to walk in the newness of this life, we come to know Christ and His love for us and we will begin to long for this life that He has come to give to us that is exceedingly abundantly better than we could ask or hope for.
Shall we who have died to sin continue to live in that sin? No! Why would we turn from the life that God has planned for us to live again in captivity and oppression? Why would we want to go back to Egypt when we have the Promised Land before us? We really do have a wonderful choice before us. God wants to bless us and He wants to give us life and this life that He wants us to have is indeed flowing with milk and honey. God wants to protect us and provide for us.
The key to His protection and provisions can only be found in His presence in our lives, which begins in our lives when we accept His grace and we die to sin and look to Him for His resurrection power for our lives. This power that raised Jesus up from the grave is the same power that can and will give you and me the power that we need to live victorious over sin in our every day walk as well so that God can give is a life that is new and fresh with His blessings each and every day!
Monday, May 10, 2010
My Burdens Are Light Matthew 11:30
My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
The world lays a heavy burden upon us all, saved and unsaved alike. No one is exempt from carrying his burdens. A teenager wrote the following to me in an email, "I know that although I have mountains in my life, it is all in God's will. He would not put me this situation if He wasn't preparing me for something greater. One thing I always like to keep in mind is that faith makes it possible, not easy. Many times as Christians, we expectt things to be less difficult in our lives. God never said it would be easy, but He did say that He would always be there for us. Sure, we go through struggles and persecutions, but we are not alone. We have a faithful God who is much bigger than any of our tribulations!"
We all have personal responsibilities that we have to carry. We can however give those responsibilities over to the Lord and let Him help us resolve those responsibilities. Some of the responsibilities that we have to bear are directly related to our own faults and failures. While God can and will forgive and forget our sin, we still have to deal with the ramifications of our sin. Sometimes God takes our burdens and He removes them and sometimes He gives us the grace and the strength to live with them.
As we live our lives, we learn that life is full of burdens and cares. Paul tells us that we are to "help bear one another's burdens." (Galatians 6:2) As God's children, we all will have crosses to bear and trials to endure. However, Christ promises us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
What does this mean? How can His yoke be so easy and our burden be so heavy? That answer is really easy for us to understand. First of all, Christ could have demanded so much more from us. His demand is simple. We are to love God with all our heart and all our soul and all of our strength and we are to love each other as we love ourselves. The demands that Christ has given to us actually become blessings in and of themselves! As we surrender our hearts and our lives to the Lord and we walk in His Word, the journey itself becomes one of blessing and reward. As we follow the Lord's leadership and submit ourselves to His authority, we put ourselves in a position to receive His abundant blessings as well.
God's yoke is indeed easy and His burden is light. Jesus bore the burden for us all on the cross so that we would not have to. Our burdens come in two forms. First of all, because the world hated Jesus, so will it hate us and oppose our testimony and our commitment to walk with Him before the rest of the world. Then as I mentioned earlier, our own failure to walk by faith causes us all kinds of problems.
Our burdens will make us stronger when we let the Lord be our strength. We can know and trust that He will carry us through the storms that we will face in our lives. God's yoke is easy and His burden is light and so rewarding when we let Him be God in our lives with each and every decision that we make.
The world lays a heavy burden upon us all, saved and unsaved alike. No one is exempt from carrying his burdens. A teenager wrote the following to me in an email, "I know that although I have mountains in my life, it is all in God's will. He would not put me this situation if He wasn't preparing me for something greater. One thing I always like to keep in mind is that faith makes it possible, not easy. Many times as Christians, we expectt things to be less difficult in our lives. God never said it would be easy, but He did say that He would always be there for us. Sure, we go through struggles and persecutions, but we are not alone. We have a faithful God who is much bigger than any of our tribulations!"
We all have personal responsibilities that we have to carry. We can however give those responsibilities over to the Lord and let Him help us resolve those responsibilities. Some of the responsibilities that we have to bear are directly related to our own faults and failures. While God can and will forgive and forget our sin, we still have to deal with the ramifications of our sin. Sometimes God takes our burdens and He removes them and sometimes He gives us the grace and the strength to live with them.
As we live our lives, we learn that life is full of burdens and cares. Paul tells us that we are to "help bear one another's burdens." (Galatians 6:2) As God's children, we all will have crosses to bear and trials to endure. However, Christ promises us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
What does this mean? How can His yoke be so easy and our burden be so heavy? That answer is really easy for us to understand. First of all, Christ could have demanded so much more from us. His demand is simple. We are to love God with all our heart and all our soul and all of our strength and we are to love each other as we love ourselves. The demands that Christ has given to us actually become blessings in and of themselves! As we surrender our hearts and our lives to the Lord and we walk in His Word, the journey itself becomes one of blessing and reward. As we follow the Lord's leadership and submit ourselves to His authority, we put ourselves in a position to receive His abundant blessings as well.
God's yoke is indeed easy and His burden is light. Jesus bore the burden for us all on the cross so that we would not have to. Our burdens come in two forms. First of all, because the world hated Jesus, so will it hate us and oppose our testimony and our commitment to walk with Him before the rest of the world. Then as I mentioned earlier, our own failure to walk by faith causes us all kinds of problems.
Our burdens will make us stronger when we let the Lord be our strength. We can know and trust that He will carry us through the storms that we will face in our lives. God's yoke is easy and His burden is light and so rewarding when we let Him be God in our lives with each and every decision that we make.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Tearing Down Temples II Kings 11:18
18And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
Strange things happen in our world. It seems that Athaliah, the queen-mother, who, when she heard that her son Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, arose and destroyed all the heirs to the throne. Her husband Jehoram had slain all his brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chr. 21:4. The Arabians had slain all Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, 2 Chr. 22:1. Jehu had slain all their sons (2 Chr. 22:8) and Ahaziah himself.
God had promised David that his family would remain on the throne in Israel. Here we read that the royal family had almost been completely eliminated. However, because God always keeps His promises, a son is saved! An infant son of Athaliah was hid by her own sister so that an heir to the throne would be preserved!
6 years later, the son was revealed and Athaliah was killed and the people rejoiced that a son of David was back on the throne and a time of cleansing took place in the land.
18And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
It is so easy to let things get out of control in our lives and in our families and in our country and even in our churches. Little by little we allow compromises and we allow people to do things that we know are wrong but we do very little to put a stop to them.
The people in this time frame took on new leadership and they cleansed the land of the sinful influences that Athaliah set up in the worship of Baal. The people knew that God's hand had been in the preservation of this son of the lineage of David and they rejoiced in his salvation and they destroyed the temple to this foreign god in their land.
You and I need to make sure that we do not have any "foreign gods" in our lives as well. We need to make sure that we tear down anything that exists in our lives that stands between us and the God who loves us so much. We need to make sure that nothing stands between God and us. We need to make sure that we are His and He is ours. We need what God wants to do for us. He wants to be our God every moment of every day and sometimes that requires that we tear down temples through persistent prayer that we have let build up and come before Him in our lives.
Strange things happen in our world. It seems that Athaliah, the queen-mother, who, when she heard that her son Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, arose and destroyed all the heirs to the throne. Her husband Jehoram had slain all his brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chr. 21:4. The Arabians had slain all Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, 2 Chr. 22:1. Jehu had slain all their sons (2 Chr. 22:8) and Ahaziah himself.
God had promised David that his family would remain on the throne in Israel. Here we read that the royal family had almost been completely eliminated. However, because God always keeps His promises, a son is saved! An infant son of Athaliah was hid by her own sister so that an heir to the throne would be preserved!
6 years later, the son was revealed and Athaliah was killed and the people rejoiced that a son of David was back on the throne and a time of cleansing took place in the land.
18And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
It is so easy to let things get out of control in our lives and in our families and in our country and even in our churches. Little by little we allow compromises and we allow people to do things that we know are wrong but we do very little to put a stop to them.
The people in this time frame took on new leadership and they cleansed the land of the sinful influences that Athaliah set up in the worship of Baal. The people knew that God's hand had been in the preservation of this son of the lineage of David and they rejoiced in his salvation and they destroyed the temple to this foreign god in their land.
You and I need to make sure that we do not have any "foreign gods" in our lives as well. We need to make sure that we tear down anything that exists in our lives that stands between us and the God who loves us so much. We need to make sure that nothing stands between God and us. We need to make sure that we are His and He is ours. We need what God wants to do for us. He wants to be our God every moment of every day and sometimes that requires that we tear down temples through persistent prayer that we have let build up and come before Him in our lives.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Lord I Surrender All Ezra 10:5
Ezra arose and He made the chief priests and the Levites and all of Israel sware that they would do what Shechaniah said and they all swore.
Ezra is praying and asking the Lord to forgive the people of Israel for their sin. He acknowledges in the 9th chapter that God had warned the people not to let their daughters marry foreign sons and not to allow Israelite sons to marry foreign daughters because they would corrupt the children of Israel. The people did not listen to the warning from God and they married who they wanted to marry and their families suffered as the foreign customs rubbed off on them and they moved away from God to worship the gods of their foreign spouses.
As Ezra was praying and weeping face down on the ground, a group of people gathered around him on one of the men spoke up and said, "We will put away our foreign wives and the children by them and we will look to the Lord for His guidance and His direction and for His forgiveness." He went on to say that they would then follow the commandments that God had given to them.
So, Ezra calls all of the people together and let them hear Shechaniah's proposal and he asked the people if they would agree to do as he had suggested. So the people made a solemn promise to the Lord to turn from their sin and to turn to God and His will and way for their lives.
I wonder what there is in our lives that is keeping God from doing a mighty work in us and through us as His children? Unconfessed sin has to be dealt with in order for us to experience victory in our lives. We need to be wiling to come to God in honesty and sincerity and be willing to give to Him our sin and to then turn from that sin and turn to God.
Look at your life today. Are there things that you have done that you know God could not be pleased with? Is it possible that this sin is the very reason that God is not able to do for you as He so much wants to do? Is it possible that if you would do as Ezra did and get down on your knees or fall on your face before the Lord and confess your weaknesses and your sin to the Lord and make the decision to get up and walk with God no matter what, that He might then be able to turn your life around and bless you exceedingly abundantly more than you could ask or hope for?
Ezra is praying and asking the Lord to forgive the people of Israel for their sin. He acknowledges in the 9th chapter that God had warned the people not to let their daughters marry foreign sons and not to allow Israelite sons to marry foreign daughters because they would corrupt the children of Israel. The people did not listen to the warning from God and they married who they wanted to marry and their families suffered as the foreign customs rubbed off on them and they moved away from God to worship the gods of their foreign spouses.
As Ezra was praying and weeping face down on the ground, a group of people gathered around him on one of the men spoke up and said, "We will put away our foreign wives and the children by them and we will look to the Lord for His guidance and His direction and for His forgiveness." He went on to say that they would then follow the commandments that God had given to them.
So, Ezra calls all of the people together and let them hear Shechaniah's proposal and he asked the people if they would agree to do as he had suggested. So the people made a solemn promise to the Lord to turn from their sin and to turn to God and His will and way for their lives.
I wonder what there is in our lives that is keeping God from doing a mighty work in us and through us as His children? Unconfessed sin has to be dealt with in order for us to experience victory in our lives. We need to be wiling to come to God in honesty and sincerity and be willing to give to Him our sin and to then turn from that sin and turn to God.
Look at your life today. Are there things that you have done that you know God could not be pleased with? Is it possible that this sin is the very reason that God is not able to do for you as He so much wants to do? Is it possible that if you would do as Ezra did and get down on your knees or fall on your face before the Lord and confess your weaknesses and your sin to the Lord and make the decision to get up and walk with God no matter what, that He might then be able to turn your life around and bless you exceedingly abundantly more than you could ask or hope for?
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
One Thing I Lack Mark 10:21
"One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
Luke identifies this man as a "young ruler" who came to Jesus asking Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus answered him saying, 19"You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " 20And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." 21Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
The question that I want us to think about today is, "What is it that I lack?" We all come to God with a variety of needs and wants and understand this; God hears every request we make to Him. Not only does God hear our prayers and every request we make to Him, He wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed! He wants to meet our need and our needs, but there are circumstances and conditions that must be considered before God will act on our behalf.
This young ruler lived a good life. I believe he did a great job keeping the commandments. He lacked one thing, Jesus said. He loved what he had and who he was more than He loved Jesus and even eternal life. His daily life was more important to him than eternal life was.
What is it that you and I lack in our devotion to the Lord? What priorities do we put in front of the Lord and His perfect will for our lives? What is it that you and I lack in our obedience to the Lord? What habits or secret sins do we harbor in our hearts that no one else knows about?
"One thing you lack: Go your way and get that sin out of your heart; get that desire out of your heart; let go of whatever it is that is keeping you from following Me and THEN come and take up your cross and follow Me."
Luke identifies this man as a "young ruler" who came to Jesus asking Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus answered him saying, 19"You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " 20And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." 21Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
The question that I want us to think about today is, "What is it that I lack?" We all come to God with a variety of needs and wants and understand this; God hears every request we make to Him. Not only does God hear our prayers and every request we make to Him, He wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed! He wants to meet our need and our needs, but there are circumstances and conditions that must be considered before God will act on our behalf.
This young ruler lived a good life. I believe he did a great job keeping the commandments. He lacked one thing, Jesus said. He loved what he had and who he was more than He loved Jesus and even eternal life. His daily life was more important to him than eternal life was.
What is it that you and I lack in our devotion to the Lord? What priorities do we put in front of the Lord and His perfect will for our lives? What is it that you and I lack in our obedience to the Lord? What habits or secret sins do we harbor in our hearts that no one else knows about?
"One thing you lack: Go your way and get that sin out of your heart; get that desire out of your heart; let go of whatever it is that is keeping you from following Me and THEN come and take up your cross and follow Me."
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Prayer and Presence Matthew 26:31
31Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
Jesus is about to go to the cross. He tells the disciples that they will stumble and be scattered when He is arrested and taken to be crucified. This is when Simon Peter stands up and says, "even if everyone else leave You, I will never leave You." Jesus tells Peter, "Before the rooster crows, you will have denied Me three times."
The thing that caught my eye in this prophesy, which came from the Old Testament, Zechariah 13:7, was the scattering of the flock or the disciples. If the disciples would indeed scatter and leave the Lord when He was arrested and then Simon Peter would deny the Lord, we need to make sure that we are not guilty of the same mistake.
The best way to make sure that we are not subject to stumbling is to stand on prayer. Jesus told the disciples when they got to the Garden of Gethsemane, 41"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Jesus knew what the disciples would face. He had even warned them and He gave them instructions on how to avoid the temptation that would cause them to stumble and then scatter. When we come to God in prayer, we draw near to the Lord. When we come near to Him, He comes near to us and His strength becomes our strength.
Peter drew His sword and struck one of the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. He was wiling to defend Jesus with His life. Just hours later, he denied that he even knew Jesus to a little girl of all people. Why?
When Jesus is near, there is strength. When we are not in His presence, we are subject to failing and falling. Prayer brings His presence and His strength and His guidance and His blessing. Prayer keeps us from being scattered.
Jesus is about to go to the cross. He tells the disciples that they will stumble and be scattered when He is arrested and taken to be crucified. This is when Simon Peter stands up and says, "even if everyone else leave You, I will never leave You." Jesus tells Peter, "Before the rooster crows, you will have denied Me three times."
The thing that caught my eye in this prophesy, which came from the Old Testament, Zechariah 13:7, was the scattering of the flock or the disciples. If the disciples would indeed scatter and leave the Lord when He was arrested and then Simon Peter would deny the Lord, we need to make sure that we are not guilty of the same mistake.
The best way to make sure that we are not subject to stumbling is to stand on prayer. Jesus told the disciples when they got to the Garden of Gethsemane, 41"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Jesus knew what the disciples would face. He had even warned them and He gave them instructions on how to avoid the temptation that would cause them to stumble and then scatter. When we come to God in prayer, we draw near to the Lord. When we come near to Him, He comes near to us and His strength becomes our strength.
Peter drew His sword and struck one of the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. He was wiling to defend Jesus with His life. Just hours later, he denied that he even knew Jesus to a little girl of all people. Why?
When Jesus is near, there is strength. When we are not in His presence, we are subject to failing and falling. Prayer brings His presence and His strength and His guidance and His blessing. Prayer keeps us from being scattered.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Bearing Fruit Matthew 21:19
19And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away.
Jesus is on His way into Jerusalem. It is early in the morning and He has not eaten breakfast and so He is hungry. He sees a fig tree that should have had figs but when He got to the tree, there were no figs on it. Jesus made the following statement, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."
The tree was on Jesus' way to Jerusalem. This is a direct reference to Jerusalem and their failure to be bearing fruit as Jesus has come. The tree had leaves and looked like a tree that would have been filled with fruit. It was in season and should have had fruit. The primary purpose of life is to bear fruit. Jesus cursed the fig tree and said, "be no more fruitful." We need to be careful that we do not make the same mistake as Christians and as a church.
The tree was on Jesus' way to Jerusalem. We have churches all along our way today almost everywhere we go. We are fig trees on people's way somewhere. What kind of fruit are you and I bearing for those who pass by us? The Jews failed miserably. Jesus was not pleased at the fig tree's lack of fruit. He was not pleased at Judaism's lack of fruit. He is no more pleased with our lack of fruit either.
We need to make sure that we bear fruit for those around us. The fruit that we need to bear is not for our benefit but for the benefit of those who pass by us. We need to make prayer a priority in our lives because prayer is the key to the fruit bearing process. It is God's will that we bear fruit and prayer is the lifeline that rings that fruit to maturity in our lives.
Jesus is on His way into Jerusalem. It is early in the morning and He has not eaten breakfast and so He is hungry. He sees a fig tree that should have had figs but when He got to the tree, there were no figs on it. Jesus made the following statement, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."
The tree was on Jesus' way to Jerusalem. This is a direct reference to Jerusalem and their failure to be bearing fruit as Jesus has come. The tree had leaves and looked like a tree that would have been filled with fruit. It was in season and should have had fruit. The primary purpose of life is to bear fruit. Jesus cursed the fig tree and said, "be no more fruitful." We need to be careful that we do not make the same mistake as Christians and as a church.
The tree was on Jesus' way to Jerusalem. We have churches all along our way today almost everywhere we go. We are fig trees on people's way somewhere. What kind of fruit are you and I bearing for those who pass by us? The Jews failed miserably. Jesus was not pleased at the fig tree's lack of fruit. He was not pleased at Judaism's lack of fruit. He is no more pleased with our lack of fruit either.
We need to make sure that we bear fruit for those around us. The fruit that we need to bear is not for our benefit but for the benefit of those who pass by us. We need to make prayer a priority in our lives because prayer is the key to the fruit bearing process. It is God's will that we bear fruit and prayer is the lifeline that rings that fruit to maturity in our lives.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
In Your Hand Psalm 31:15
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in Your hand;
We all face difficulties in one form or another. Sometimes we face difficulties because we have made poor decisions in the past. Sometimes we face difficulties because of the bad decisions of those who are close to us. There are times when we face difficulties for which there is no apparent reason.
David understood all of those circumstances. He had experienced them all and then some. David knew the comfort and strength of the Lord. He knew the benefits of walking with the Lord no matter where he found himself. This is what he is saying in our scripture verse for today.
But as for me, I trust in You, Lord. There is a difference in trusting God and trusting "in God." There are a lot of people who "trust God." However, to trust "in God" is to place our faith and our confidence in His Word and then walk according to His Word "no matter what." To "trust in You Lord" is to walk in obedience with no reservations and no compromises.
David knew the power of God's presence. He knew the gentleness of His touch. He knew that he belonged to God and that God belonged to him. David trusted God with all his heart. He wasn't perfect but he was forgiven and he loved God with all of his being.
David said, "My times are in Your hand." There is no better place for us to be than in God's hands. God is indeed the "Best Hands God." We are in great hands when we are in His hands.
Who has complete control of your life today? Where are your priorities? In whom are you trusting today as you read this? You can trust God today. You can walk with Him. You can leave your times in His hands.
We all face difficulties in one form or another. Sometimes we face difficulties because we have made poor decisions in the past. Sometimes we face difficulties because of the bad decisions of those who are close to us. There are times when we face difficulties for which there is no apparent reason.
David understood all of those circumstances. He had experienced them all and then some. David knew the comfort and strength of the Lord. He knew the benefits of walking with the Lord no matter where he found himself. This is what he is saying in our scripture verse for today.
But as for me, I trust in You, Lord. There is a difference in trusting God and trusting "in God." There are a lot of people who "trust God." However, to trust "in God" is to place our faith and our confidence in His Word and then walk according to His Word "no matter what." To "trust in You Lord" is to walk in obedience with no reservations and no compromises.
David knew the power of God's presence. He knew the gentleness of His touch. He knew that he belonged to God and that God belonged to him. David trusted God with all his heart. He wasn't perfect but he was forgiven and he loved God with all of his being.
David said, "My times are in Your hand." There is no better place for us to be than in God's hands. God is indeed the "Best Hands God." We are in great hands when we are in His hands.
Who has complete control of your life today? Where are your priorities? In whom are you trusting today as you read this? You can trust God today. You can walk with Him. You can leave your times in His hands.
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