Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
Here we find the 2nd Beatitude in Jesus' introduction to His Sermon on the Mount. The beatitudes are somewhat of a presentation of contrasts. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus wants us to understand that things are not at all what they seem. What seems right in our eyes is not reality when it comes to the blessings that God has for us.
Why is it important for us to know that, "Blessed or happy are those that mourn for they shall be comforted?" God wants us to know that when difficulty comes and trials face us, He will be there for us. Jesus' words, "Let not your heart be troubled" needs to ring over and over again in our hearts and in our minds for this is God sole desire for us all. He does not want us to worry and fret over the storms that we will have to face in our lives. In fact, when the storms begin to brew, we can actually find comfort in the Lord because of His promise that He will be there with us and He will be there for us.
You and I as God's children can rest on His promise to us, "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." It does not matter what we face, God's comfort is available to us and available for us. You and I can rest on the promise of His abiding presence in our lives and His comforting presence in our hearts. Jesus is the anointed and appointed Comforter. He is the anointed comforter because He Himself bore our sins and He endured temptation and He understands our needs and our sorrows and our difficulties.
Because Jesus ever lives to make intercession on our behalf He is the appointed comforter for us. He comforts us by pardoning our sin. He comforts us by giving us a new heart and a new life, changing our old nature to the new nature that is ours in Christ Jesus. He comforts us by reminding us of His precious promises that are many. He reminds us of His love for us and His abiding presence and power and provisions. He wants us to remember every moment of every day that He is there for us to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly.
Because we can know that God is always there with us and always there for us, there is comfort in times of sorrow. Because we know that God has everything in and under His control, we can be comforted in the fact that He loves us and He cares for us and He will provide for us in every situation that we will ever face. Nothing is impossible with God and there is nothing that He will not do for us.
A Pastor's thoughts about the Scripture and it's influence in our lives.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Lord Help Me Matthew 16 25
25Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
22A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her." 23But Jesus gave her no reply-not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to leave," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging." 24Then he said to the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel-God's lost sheep-not the Gentiles."
25But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, "Lord, help me!" 26"It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said. 27"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table." 28"Woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus' response is a little confusing. At first He appears to ignore this woman's request. The disciples take this opportunity to chide her, saying, "send her away for her begging is bothering us." One of the reasons that Jesus appeared to ignore this woman was to see how the disciples would respond to her. They failed that test. We would do well to pay particular attention to their response and not make the same mistake.
Jesus told the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel-God's lost sheep-not the Gentiles." Listen to her response; "Lord, help me; even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table." Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted."
Christ knew exactly what He was doing and He knew what He was going to do. Jesus failed to respond to her request so that she would ask Him again. Every accepted prayer is not immediately an answered prayer. Sometimes, God waits a moment to see if we will rely on Him or jump up and go our own way and do our own thing. I am personally convinced that there are a lot of unanswered prayers in our own lives because we did not get the answer we wanted and we turned to take care of things on our own instead of waiting on the Lord to do what we have asked Him to do.
This woman knew in her heart that Jesus could heal her daughter and she stood firm in her faith and the promises of God to the world and Jesus acknowledged her faith and extended His mercy to her and her daughter! He will do the same for you and me if we will just wait on Him to do so!
22A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her." 23But Jesus gave her no reply-not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to leave," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging." 24Then he said to the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel-God's lost sheep-not the Gentiles."
25But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, "Lord, help me!" 26"It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said. 27"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table." 28"Woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus' response is a little confusing. At first He appears to ignore this woman's request. The disciples take this opportunity to chide her, saying, "send her away for her begging is bothering us." One of the reasons that Jesus appeared to ignore this woman was to see how the disciples would respond to her. They failed that test. We would do well to pay particular attention to their response and not make the same mistake.
Jesus told the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel-God's lost sheep-not the Gentiles." Listen to her response; "Lord, help me; even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table." Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted."
Christ knew exactly what He was doing and He knew what He was going to do. Jesus failed to respond to her request so that she would ask Him again. Every accepted prayer is not immediately an answered prayer. Sometimes, God waits a moment to see if we will rely on Him or jump up and go our own way and do our own thing. I am personally convinced that there are a lot of unanswered prayers in our own lives because we did not get the answer we wanted and we turned to take care of things on our own instead of waiting on the Lord to do what we have asked Him to do.
This woman knew in her heart that Jesus could heal her daughter and she stood firm in her faith and the promises of God to the world and Jesus acknowledged her faith and extended His mercy to her and her daughter! He will do the same for you and me if we will just wait on Him to do so!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Go Or Stay Acts 16:26
25But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.
Here is a great demonstration of the power of prayer. Paul and Silas are in shackles in prison. They have been beaten with rods and there is blood on their backs and every muscle in their bodies was no doubt pummeled with pain. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone chains loosened.
We do not know what Paul and Silas prayed but we do know what happened when they prayed! Their chains were loosed and then were able to get out of that place. However, no one left! It is apparent that Paul and Silas' prayers were not for personal freedom but rather spiritual freedom for those who needed Jesus in their hearts!
When God opened the doors to the prison and loosed the chains around the feet of all those who were in the prison, He did not set them free to go; He gave them the ability to stay! Because of the faithfulness of Paul and Silas, there were people in that jail on that night that gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus and then were was the Philippian jailer who instead of taking his life found life as gave his heart to Jesus as well.
Has God given you the freedom to go, to test your resolve to stay? Maybe you have been looking for a new church and the opportunity to go has you thinking in that direction but the need to stay is still heavy on your heart! We must look to the Lord and ask Him for His direction and His guidance so that we can be like Paul and Silas and know when we need to go and when we need to stay! God will tell us what we need to do! Ask Him for the strength to do what He wants us to do!
Here is a great demonstration of the power of prayer. Paul and Silas are in shackles in prison. They have been beaten with rods and there is blood on their backs and every muscle in their bodies was no doubt pummeled with pain. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone chains loosened.
We do not know what Paul and Silas prayed but we do know what happened when they prayed! Their chains were loosed and then were able to get out of that place. However, no one left! It is apparent that Paul and Silas' prayers were not for personal freedom but rather spiritual freedom for those who needed Jesus in their hearts!
When God opened the doors to the prison and loosed the chains around the feet of all those who were in the prison, He did not set them free to go; He gave them the ability to stay! Because of the faithfulness of Paul and Silas, there were people in that jail on that night that gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus and then were was the Philippian jailer who instead of taking his life found life as gave his heart to Jesus as well.
Has God given you the freedom to go, to test your resolve to stay? Maybe you have been looking for a new church and the opportunity to go has you thinking in that direction but the need to stay is still heavy on your heart! We must look to the Lord and ask Him for His direction and His guidance so that we can be like Paul and Silas and know when we need to go and when we need to stay! God will tell us what we need to do! Ask Him for the strength to do what He wants us to do!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Acceptable in Your Sight Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Here is one of David's great prayers. David was a man who is described as a "man after God's own heart." He wanted God to be pleased with his life. He wanted to make decisions that brought honor and glory to God. David knew that the secret to God's blessings was in his own thoughts. Many of God's promises to us are dependent on our response to Him. David knew that and he wanted the best that God had for him and he knew that what he did and what he said had so much to do with God's ability to meet his need and bless him as only God could do.
Jesus told His disciples what went into ones mouth did not defile them but rather the things that came out of the mouth because what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart and if the heart is wicked or looks to the world for its comfort, that is what defiles a man's life. (Matthew 15:18-20)
David wanted God's thoughts to be his thoughts. He knew that his actions and the things that he said were a great indicator of where his heart was. The things that we say and the things that we do work a lot like the temperature gauge on our car. As the temperature goes up, it can be an indication that there is a problem. The problem that most of us have with our lives is the same we have with our cars; we have a warning light on the dash but when the light comes on, most of the time it is too late; our lives are already overheated!
David wanted to keep a check on his life. He wanted the words that he spoke and the thing that he thought to be pleasing to God because that meant that God's presence and His power and His promises would dictate and direct his life. More than anything else, David wanted his life to be all that God wanted it to be. He wanted his life to be pleasing to God.
You and I can have that same attitude. We can develop a heart after God. All we have to do is repeat this prayer over and over again during the coarse of the day. We can begin to ask God for wisdom to know what to do and then ask Him for the power to do what He directs us to do. God's blessings are worth the effort in our lives. There is nothing that can begin to compare with the provisions that He has in store for your life and mine. Ask God to examine your heart and your thoughts and the things that you say and the decisions that you make. Pay attention to your thoughts and the things that you say as if they were a temperature gauge into your heart to make sure that you do not overheat! God will bless you as you seek to please Him in all that you do!
Here is one of David's great prayers. David was a man who is described as a "man after God's own heart." He wanted God to be pleased with his life. He wanted to make decisions that brought honor and glory to God. David knew that the secret to God's blessings was in his own thoughts. Many of God's promises to us are dependent on our response to Him. David knew that and he wanted the best that God had for him and he knew that what he did and what he said had so much to do with God's ability to meet his need and bless him as only God could do.
Jesus told His disciples what went into ones mouth did not defile them but rather the things that came out of the mouth because what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart and if the heart is wicked or looks to the world for its comfort, that is what defiles a man's life. (Matthew 15:18-20)
David wanted God's thoughts to be his thoughts. He knew that his actions and the things that he said were a great indicator of where his heart was. The things that we say and the things that we do work a lot like the temperature gauge on our car. As the temperature goes up, it can be an indication that there is a problem. The problem that most of us have with our lives is the same we have with our cars; we have a warning light on the dash but when the light comes on, most of the time it is too late; our lives are already overheated!
David wanted to keep a check on his life. He wanted the words that he spoke and the thing that he thought to be pleasing to God because that meant that God's presence and His power and His promises would dictate and direct his life. More than anything else, David wanted his life to be all that God wanted it to be. He wanted his life to be pleasing to God.
You and I can have that same attitude. We can develop a heart after God. All we have to do is repeat this prayer over and over again during the coarse of the day. We can begin to ask God for wisdom to know what to do and then ask Him for the power to do what He directs us to do. God's blessings are worth the effort in our lives. There is nothing that can begin to compare with the provisions that He has in store for your life and mine. Ask God to examine your heart and your thoughts and the things that you say and the decisions that you make. Pay attention to your thoughts and the things that you say as if they were a temperature gauge into your heart to make sure that you do not overheat! God will bless you as you seek to please Him in all that you do!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Crown of Life James 1:12
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.
Every good gift comes from God. Temptation seeks to keep God from giving us those good gifts. Temptation comes when a man is drawn away by his own lust and is enticed to satisfy those selfish desires in carnal and worldly ways. However, when lust takes it own coarse, it brings forth sin and sin when it is finished, brings forth death. (James 1:15-16)
In verse 3 we read, "the trying of your faith works patience." What tries our faith? In verse 2 we find the answer; "My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different temptations." Temptations test our faith. As we are tempted to take matters into our own hands and do what seems right in our own eye, we head down a dead end road for temptation leads to sin and sin causes death. Sin never pays permanent dividends.
Someone has written, sin will take you farther than you want to go; sin will cost you more than you want to pay and sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin destroys life. God gives life. His Words are life. Blessed is the man who endures temptation for it tests our faith and gives us patience, which makes our lives perfect, wanting for nothing!
When our faith is put to the test by temptation, how does that benefit us? Well temptation whispers in one ear and the Holy Spirit whispers in our other ear and reminds us of God's perfect way for our lives. The Holy Spirit lets us know what God's thoughts are so that we can make His thoughts our thoughts. As we come to a decision, we are forced to choose between God's way and the way of the world. God wants us to think back to His faithfulness. He wants us to remember that He is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do and that is what motivates us to stand on His Word because He is the giver of life and all good things.
He wants us to remember that temptation is nothing more than a distraction and a diversion that gets us off the path where His benefits and His blessings can be found and that leads to death, which is the absence of life. There are a lot of people who are alive physically but are dead in every other aspect of their lives. There is no peace or any joy in their lives. They are miserable because of the decisions that they have made and the direction that their lives have taken them and they cannot understand why their lives are in the shape that they are in.
The only thing that can satisfy the longings that are deep in our souls is the Lord and the blessings that only He can give. When we face temptation and we stand with God and on His Word, we shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised those that love Him. How do we know that we love Him? We keep His commandments! Isn't it amazing how consistent the Bible is from cover to cover?
Every good gift comes from God. Temptation seeks to keep God from giving us those good gifts. Temptation comes when a man is drawn away by his own lust and is enticed to satisfy those selfish desires in carnal and worldly ways. However, when lust takes it own coarse, it brings forth sin and sin when it is finished, brings forth death. (James 1:15-16)
In verse 3 we read, "the trying of your faith works patience." What tries our faith? In verse 2 we find the answer; "My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different temptations." Temptations test our faith. As we are tempted to take matters into our own hands and do what seems right in our own eye, we head down a dead end road for temptation leads to sin and sin causes death. Sin never pays permanent dividends.
Someone has written, sin will take you farther than you want to go; sin will cost you more than you want to pay and sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin destroys life. God gives life. His Words are life. Blessed is the man who endures temptation for it tests our faith and gives us patience, which makes our lives perfect, wanting for nothing!
When our faith is put to the test by temptation, how does that benefit us? Well temptation whispers in one ear and the Holy Spirit whispers in our other ear and reminds us of God's perfect way for our lives. The Holy Spirit lets us know what God's thoughts are so that we can make His thoughts our thoughts. As we come to a decision, we are forced to choose between God's way and the way of the world. God wants us to think back to His faithfulness. He wants us to remember that He is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do and that is what motivates us to stand on His Word because He is the giver of life and all good things.
He wants us to remember that temptation is nothing more than a distraction and a diversion that gets us off the path where His benefits and His blessings can be found and that leads to death, which is the absence of life. There are a lot of people who are alive physically but are dead in every other aspect of their lives. There is no peace or any joy in their lives. They are miserable because of the decisions that they have made and the direction that their lives have taken them and they cannot understand why their lives are in the shape that they are in.
The only thing that can satisfy the longings that are deep in our souls is the Lord and the blessings that only He can give. When we face temptation and we stand with God and on His Word, we shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised those that love Him. How do we know that we love Him? We keep His commandments! Isn't it amazing how consistent the Bible is from cover to cover?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Elijah's Prayer I Kings 18:36
"Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37"Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
God told Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that He is going to send rain to Israel. It has not rained in 3 years. Elijah tells Ahab the news and he also tells Ahab to gather all the prophets of Baal at Mt Carmel and there they will have a showdown before all the people of Israel as to who is the God in Israel.
The prophets of Baal pray and sing and dance to get their god to consume the altar that they had set up. There was no response. Elijah finally says, "My turn." He has the altar set up and then soaked with water. The Elijah prays before all of Israel the following prayer, ""Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37"Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
Listen to what Elijah said to the people before he prayed this prayer, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him."
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God who keeps His promises. He is everything He says He is and He will do everything He says He will do. He always has done so and He always will do so.
"Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." God wants us to know that He still loves us. He wants us to know that He still cares for us. He wants us to know that He stands ready to bless us and to protect us and He is ready to turn our hearts back to Him. All we have to do is listen to His Word and see what He has done and what He is doing and simply turn to Him and follow Him!
How long shall we continue to falter between two opinions; how long shall we look to the gods of the world instead of the God of our fathers and the God of the Bible? What is it going to take for God to get our attention and gain our trust for Him for good?
God told Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that He is going to send rain to Israel. It has not rained in 3 years. Elijah tells Ahab the news and he also tells Ahab to gather all the prophets of Baal at Mt Carmel and there they will have a showdown before all the people of Israel as to who is the God in Israel.
The prophets of Baal pray and sing and dance to get their god to consume the altar that they had set up. There was no response. Elijah finally says, "My turn." He has the altar set up and then soaked with water. The Elijah prays before all of Israel the following prayer, ""Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37"Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."
Listen to what Elijah said to the people before he prayed this prayer, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him."
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God who keeps His promises. He is everything He says He is and He will do everything He says He will do. He always has done so and He always will do so.
"Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." God wants us to know that He still loves us. He wants us to know that He still cares for us. He wants us to know that He stands ready to bless us and to protect us and He is ready to turn our hearts back to Him. All we have to do is listen to His Word and see what He has done and what He is doing and simply turn to Him and follow Him!
How long shall we continue to falter between two opinions; how long shall we look to the gods of the world instead of the God of our fathers and the God of the Bible? What is it going to take for God to get our attention and gain our trust for Him for good?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Stand With God I Kings 17:1
1And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."
God instructed Elijah to go to Ahab, who was king of Israel. He was married to a wicked woman named Jezebel who influenced her husband to give the gods of Baal equal status with God. He had temples built in various parts of the country for the worship of Baal. At Jezebel's urging, Ahab opposed the worship of the Lord, destroyed His altars, and killed His prophets.
God sent Elijah to tell Ahab that there would be no rain in the land until God told Elijah to say so. And so we see the power of the spoken word demonstrated to Elijah. Elijah said, there shall not be any dew or any rain in the years to come until I say it will rain." Things can get pretty dry when we go without rain for a month or two. However, there is still some dew. Elijah said there would be neither, not for months but for years. This was indeed a powerful word.
The statement I want us to focus on today is, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand." The power in the spoken word comes when it is the Word of God. Elijah spoke the words that God gave him to speak. He did not decide on his own to go to Ahab. He spoke as God gave Him authority to speak.
God spoke to Elijah because Elijah walked with God. Elijah had a personal relationship with God. Listen to what he said, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand." Elijah stood before the Lord. He walked with God. He was obedient to God's Word. As Elijah stood beside the Lord, God stood beside him and He spoke to Elijah and He spoke through Elijah.
God will do the same with you and me today if we will just do as Elijah did and "stand beside the Lord" in all that we do. It is not that difficult to do; all we have to do is determine in our heads and in our hearts to do it! Standing beside God is the easiest thing in the world to do. All we have to do is just do it! When we do, we will be amazed at what God will do in us and with us and through us!
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