BLESSED - inward happiness. A perfect blessedness is intended. The biggest factor in being blessed is realizing that you are blessed. Without recognition and awareness, you won’t even realize that you area blessed. When we were in language school in Costa Rica with others preparing to go to the mission field, I was in a class with one couple who were genuinely Godly people but neither of physically attractive. In making a statement in Spanish he was referring to his wife and said, “Para me ella es muy guapa”. That means, “To me she is very beautiful”. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, blessedness is in the eye of the beholder. When we can accept the fact that God bestows His mercy on us rather then His justice then we can experience his mercy and grace and have hearts that are overflowing with gratitude. Being blessed is based more on our inner condition than it is on outward circumstances.
1. BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT.
The poor of this world are usually the rich in spirit and faith. The wealthy often feel that they don’t need God. Of course there are exceptions to that because there are Christians with a lot of money who are rich in spirit but generally speaking, the poor have a better spirit and attitude than wealthy people. Being poor in spirit does not mean that one is spiritually poor. Being poor in spirit is having a consciousness that one’s deepest needs are being met. It is a self-emptying conviction that before God we are void of everything. Without this conviction, we are unable to access the deepest riches of Christ. You cannot know the greatest blessings if you constantly complain. It’s because you are never satisfied. You always want more.
Man’s acknowledgement of his own impoverishment opens the way for the reception of God’s blessings. It is precisely when man sees his own nothingness that God can give out of His fullness. Matthew stresses the blessedness of freedom from the tyranny of outward things, living under the rule of heaven rather than the rule of earthly goods.
FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
It is they shall have and do now have the kingdom. It is both present and future. How much have you already inherited? That’s entirely up to you. The more grateful you are, the more blessed you are. I shared about the Haitian pastors who walked two days to attend the National Assembly. I’m sure they didn’t complain. They are just grateful to have the opportunity to serve God. They own a pretty big chunk of the Kingdom now and the best is yet to come.
So the poor in spirit are enriched with the fullness of Christ which is the Kingdom in substance. Your humble attitude and desire to know Him allow the Kingdom to be ushered in to your life now. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
2. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED.
Not all mourning is blessed and much sorrow finds no comfort.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev 21.4. In Rev 21.7 we find these words, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things”. No matter how much we suffer for God during this life, we will be richly repaid. The Psalmist said, “Weeping lasts for the night but joy comes in the morning” Psalms 30.4.
3. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. (Matthew Henry).
Story of porter at airport by Zig Ziglar.
This beatitude is a repeat of Ps 37.11, “But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity”. Does this mean that if we are humble that we will have material prosperity?
Ps 37.4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your hearts desires”. This doesn’t mean that if we want a new Mercedes that all we have to do is act like we delight in the Lord. When we do indeed truly take delight in the Lord and our hearts are one with His, our desires will be different. We won’t focus on material things but we will be forever seeking to please Him and when we do, we will inherit it all.
Read Rev 21.1-8
The New Heaven and Earth
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them2,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Story of man who died and had an incredible art collection—Whoever gets the son gets it all.
This paradox belongs to the larger teaching which sees that one lives by dying, receives by giving, and is first precisely when willing to be last.
4. BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH DO HUNGER AND THRIST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS: FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED.
Rev. 21.6 that we just read addresses this, “I will give to the thirsty from the spring of living water as a gift”.
In John 7.38 our Lord said, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him”.
Have you ever been a little bit hungry and didn’t know what you wanted to eat? You ate something and it didn’t satisfy you so you ate something else and that still didn’t satisfy you so you continued to eat and finally you realize that nothing is satisfying you. You are bloated because you overate yet you are hungrier now than when you first started. That’s how it is when you devour the world’s goods. You can never find satisfaction.
Contrast that to being hungry for a good meal. You are hungry and eat that which is good. You find satisfaction and you don’t feel the need to continue to eat. This is how it is with hungering and thirsting after the things of God. You will be filled and satisfied completely when your desire is to know and serve Him and Him alone. Be aware that this only works when we do it on a full time basis. When our hunger only exists for a couple of hours on Sundays, we will never be filled or satisfied. Just as your body can’t eat one meal a week, our spiritual lives need continual multi-daily nourishing.
5. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL: FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY.
In Ps 18.25 the writer said, “With the merciful You will show yourself merciful”. In the parable of the talents, one man was forgiven of his debt of ten thousand talents. His lack of gratitude was shown by his unwillingness to forgive one who owed him only one hundred pence. When he imprisoned this man, the master’s anger was stirred up. God does not look lovingly on us when we won’t forgive others of debts or actions when He has forgiven us so much. It shows that we have little, if any, gratitude for the mercy He has shown to us.
If God decided to grant us the same amount of mercy that we show others, I, for one, would be in deep yogurt. I am grateful that His mercy is so incredible and that I am a recipient of it. What are some ways we show mercy toward others?
Being kind to a clerk even though the store doesn’t have what we want. Holding the door for someone else. Letting other drivers in front of us. Saying thank you, even to your spouse for doing something that they were expected to
do.
Thanking someone for teaching your Sunday School class even if they blew it. Not saying anything to your wife even though she was twenty minutes late. Performing random acts of kindness.
Being kind to someone who has been rude to you.
If Jesus were here today in bodily form and you thought He had a need, would you go to Him and ask if He needed a meal or a place to stay tonight? If He needed some water to drink, would you get Him some? If He needed something to wear, would you share your wardrobe with Him? Really, now wouldn’t you give Him your very best clothing and lament that it wasn’t better? Would you go out of your way to meet any need that He had?
In Matt 25.35, our Lord said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for me”. Further down He said, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.”
6. BLESED ARE THE PURE IN HEART BECAUSE THEY WILL SEE GOD.
If our life is governed by a rigid set of external regulations and our moral lives are without blemish, we can still be impure in heart. External behavior is normally a reflection of our inner spirit but there are times when we can behave properly on the outside and our hearts are far from Him. On the other side, if our hearts are pure, there will be an outward manifestation of our purity in righteous behavior. Many a Christian including ministers, have fallen because their hearts and mouths were out of synchronization. They talked the talk and tried to walk the walk but inwardly, their walk was an act.
There are all too many of us (and we are all guilty of this from time to time) whose lives are an act. We act like we are good Christians. We put on a good show. We talk the talk. We even walk the walk but our motivation is not to know God. It is to create an appearance. Eventually, that act will crumble and we will fall.
Build a strong foundation. That foundation will not be built at church. It will come in your devotion to Him and the time you spend alone with Him. If your quiet time is weak and short, you are treading on thin ice. You cannot build a strong foundation by service and attendance alone. Those things should be an outgrowth of your inner commitment. It is very important to be at church and to be involved in service but they are nearly as important as your motivation. Why do you suppose it is that we attend church and serve when our inner spiritual development is weak?
7. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
I Cor. 5.19-20 In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.” Peace is far more than the ending of war and strife. It is, for the Christian, the reconciliation of men to God. It is missions, it is evangelism, it is caring, it is witnessing, it is counseling, it is physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. If we are not going about reconciling men to God, how will we be able to stand before God on Judgment Day and claim that we served Him?
8. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS THEIRS.
Read verses 10-12
There is such a thing as suffering because of what we have done wrong. This kind of suffering merits no eternal reward. I heard the story of a woman who said to someone, “They persecuted my Lord and now they’re persecuting me.” The person replied, “Yes, but you must remember that on the day they persecuted Him that they persecuted three people and two of them deserved it”. Sometimes we suffer because we deserve it but sometimes we suffer because we have done good.
There are even times when we haven’t done anything, good or bad, that people will attack us as Christians. Some people will persecute us simply because we are Christians. Perhaps some people hate God but are afraid to admit that if they openly oppose God that He will retaliate it so they attack His people instead of Him. That won’t make God’s vindication any less. He will take care of them when the time comes. Our concern should not be whether God will punish them but how we react in the face of a malicious, unwarranted attack. We can fight back but we are unlikely to win an argument or battle with them. Or we can quietly and meekly let them vent their wrath. Pray that God will give you wisdom to know when to speak and when to just be silent. Let the life you live always be a testimony to God’s power and glory. If you have not lived a righteous life around the person attacking you, you have already lost the battle.
The peacemaker cannot be easily endured by a contentious, quarrelsome world. They attack us because our faith is counter to the way they want to live their lives. By making us look bad, they feel they can discredit God and everything He teaches. Don’t be suckered into letting them make you look bad by either your lifestyle or your response to their vicious attacks.
CONCLUSION
Jesus tried to teach men how to live. All of His ministry He did this by example and His teachings. The Sermon On The Mount, I believe, is the apex of His teaching. These beatitudes will help us to build a solid foundation for our Christian character and without a solid foundation, much of the other lessons we could learn will be mere head knowledge. Christian character counts. In fact, it counts more than what we do.
I hope you understand the spirit in what I’m about to say because I am not trying to brag. I have been a pastor, a Minister of Education, a missionary, a Chairman of Deacons in two churches, served on the pastor search committee, and a host of other things. I have known men who have served in all of these capacities who were scoundrels. Having done anything for God doesn’t make me special. None of these things means anything. They do not elevate me to any elevated status in God’s eyes and should not in man’s eyes. The only thing that matters is my character. I will not be blessed because of any task I have completed or any service rendered because I wanted to be a leader. What will bring me blessings will be what we have talked about this morning. It is my spirit and desire to be obedient to Him that counts.
Please don’t think that I am saying that service isn’t important. It is an outcome of a loving and grateful heart. But if I am serving to be seen by men, then that is a sin an will merit not rewards but punishment.
The story is told of two angels who were dispatched to earth to serve. One was assigned to be the pastor of a great congregation and the other to clean toilets in filthy tenement house in a major city. They accepted their assignments with equal joy because they considered it privilege to serve God. It doesn’t matter if you serve in a recognized position in the church or behind the doors doing something no one else would like taking care of our precious little ones. God will bless you for who you are and the attitude with which you serve because your attitude is more important than your position.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Forgiving Others
MATTHEW 18:21-35
Peter raised the question of how many times we should forgive others. The Old Testament concept was to forgive someone only three times. Peter thought that by forgiving someone seven times that was going way beyond the old standards. He really believed Jesus would be impressed with his generosity in forgiving someone seven times. Peter must have been taken back when Jesus said seventy times seven. And even that did not mean only 490 times (70 x 7). It meant that there was no limit to forgiveness. Imagine if God only forgave us three or seven times. Even if He forgave us 490 times, we would have run out of forgiveness long ago.
If a person’s heart is contaminated by an unforgiving spirit, that heart has erected a barrier that will not allow God in. Even a seemingly small act of unforgiveness on our part will create enough of a barrier to prevent our being forgiven. There is still bitterness in the heart that has not forgiven and that bitterness will keep that person from receiving God’s forgiveness. In Matthew 6:15 Jesus said, “If you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions”. Could it have been stated more clearly? There are no loopholes and no exceptions yet we want to say, “But he……” and then proceed to make excuses why we shouldn’t forgive someone.
Often a person will say, “I’ll forgive him, but I won’t forget”. That isn’t forgiveness if the record is still kept intact. When God forgives, He forgets! The slate is wiped clean and the sin is completely erased. It ceases to exist. If we truly forgive someone, we forget. It is as if the act never happened.
Then Jesus told a parable of a man who was forgiven an enormous debt that may have been in the millions of dollars yet he would not forgive a debt that was probably less than ten dollars. The man who owed the small amount was handed over to his torturers until he repaid the debt. Jesus said the same thing will happen to us if we do not forgive someone for what they have done to us.
When we do not forgive someone, we often do more harm to ourselves than we do to them. We can destroy relationships that we otherwise might have found fulfilling. We harbor resentment within ourselves that is like a cancer. It does not go away but just eats away at our inner selves keeping us from becoming what God intends for us to become. Forgiving someone, no matter what they did, enables us to maturely rise above the situation and know within our hearts that we have done what is right.
There are times when we refuse to forgive someone when we are really the ones who need to be forgiven. We have done wrong and blame the other person. An unforgiving spirit blinds us to reality. Sometimes we refuse to forgive others in order to shield our own wrongs. Even if we believe that we have not done anything wrong but someone believes we have, we can take a mature step forward and ask to be forgiven. The person may respond graciously and also ask for forgiveness but even if they don’t we will have done the right thing and opened the door to allow God to forgive us of our sins.
Pray today that God will reveal to you anything for which you need to forgive others. Tell God that you forgive the person and ask for His forgiveness that you have harbored the unforgiveness in your heart. Then ask Him to open the door and allow you an opportunity to go to the person and tell them that you forgive him or her. Ask God to allow you an opportunity to pray with that person. Pray now for that person and your relationship with him or her.
Father, as I come to you today, I confess that I have a difficult time forgiving someone when they have done wrong to me. There are times when I have been in the wrong and because of my pride, I refuse to admit that I was in the wrong rather than the other person. Please forgive me of my pride and break my unforgiving spirit so that I can receive Your forgiveness. Help me to forgive anyone of anything anytime and as often as is required just as you will forgive me of anything as often as in needed. Please help me not to take advantage of your forgiveness and use it as an excuse to sin. I know that I can never be as gracious and forgiving as you are but please help me as I try to do so.
Thank you so much for the sacrifice You made by allowing your Son to die on the cross for my sins. Help me to show my gratitude by forgiving others. Amen.
Peter raised the question of how many times we should forgive others. The Old Testament concept was to forgive someone only three times. Peter thought that by forgiving someone seven times that was going way beyond the old standards. He really believed Jesus would be impressed with his generosity in forgiving someone seven times. Peter must have been taken back when Jesus said seventy times seven. And even that did not mean only 490 times (70 x 7). It meant that there was no limit to forgiveness. Imagine if God only forgave us three or seven times. Even if He forgave us 490 times, we would have run out of forgiveness long ago.
If a person’s heart is contaminated by an unforgiving spirit, that heart has erected a barrier that will not allow God in. Even a seemingly small act of unforgiveness on our part will create enough of a barrier to prevent our being forgiven. There is still bitterness in the heart that has not forgiven and that bitterness will keep that person from receiving God’s forgiveness. In Matthew 6:15 Jesus said, “If you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions”. Could it have been stated more clearly? There are no loopholes and no exceptions yet we want to say, “But he……” and then proceed to make excuses why we shouldn’t forgive someone.
Often a person will say, “I’ll forgive him, but I won’t forget”. That isn’t forgiveness if the record is still kept intact. When God forgives, He forgets! The slate is wiped clean and the sin is completely erased. It ceases to exist. If we truly forgive someone, we forget. It is as if the act never happened.
Then Jesus told a parable of a man who was forgiven an enormous debt that may have been in the millions of dollars yet he would not forgive a debt that was probably less than ten dollars. The man who owed the small amount was handed over to his torturers until he repaid the debt. Jesus said the same thing will happen to us if we do not forgive someone for what they have done to us.
When we do not forgive someone, we often do more harm to ourselves than we do to them. We can destroy relationships that we otherwise might have found fulfilling. We harbor resentment within ourselves that is like a cancer. It does not go away but just eats away at our inner selves keeping us from becoming what God intends for us to become. Forgiving someone, no matter what they did, enables us to maturely rise above the situation and know within our hearts that we have done what is right.
There are times when we refuse to forgive someone when we are really the ones who need to be forgiven. We have done wrong and blame the other person. An unforgiving spirit blinds us to reality. Sometimes we refuse to forgive others in order to shield our own wrongs. Even if we believe that we have not done anything wrong but someone believes we have, we can take a mature step forward and ask to be forgiven. The person may respond graciously and also ask for forgiveness but even if they don’t we will have done the right thing and opened the door to allow God to forgive us of our sins.
Pray today that God will reveal to you anything for which you need to forgive others. Tell God that you forgive the person and ask for His forgiveness that you have harbored the unforgiveness in your heart. Then ask Him to open the door and allow you an opportunity to go to the person and tell them that you forgive him or her. Ask God to allow you an opportunity to pray with that person. Pray now for that person and your relationship with him or her.
Father, as I come to you today, I confess that I have a difficult time forgiving someone when they have done wrong to me. There are times when I have been in the wrong and because of my pride, I refuse to admit that I was in the wrong rather than the other person. Please forgive me of my pride and break my unforgiving spirit so that I can receive Your forgiveness. Help me to forgive anyone of anything anytime and as often as is required just as you will forgive me of anything as often as in needed. Please help me not to take advantage of your forgiveness and use it as an excuse to sin. I know that I can never be as gracious and forgiving as you are but please help me as I try to do so.
Thank you so much for the sacrifice You made by allowing your Son to die on the cross for my sins. Help me to show my gratitude by forgiving others. Amen.
Faith As the Grain Of Mustard Seed
MATTHEW 17:20-21
Jesus had been talking to His disciples about their lack of faith in their ability to cure a young boy. He rebuked the father because of his lack of faith and now He was rebuking His disciples. When He spoke of the grain of mustard seed, he was talking about the smallest seed known and how it produced a large tree. He was saying that even a tiny faith is sufficient for small miracles such as this one.
It doesn’t take a spiritual giant to have faith enough to move mountains. This kind of faith is available to everyone. Jesus had to do this task Himself only because of the lack of faith of the people involved. The disciples could have accomplished the task if their faith had been sufficient. Our faith should be strong enough to accomplish whatever task lies before us. Yet, we must admit there are times when our faith is weak and we need help.
When you feel that your faith is weak and you need help, ask for it. Ask God to strengthen your faith and don’t forget that He can use other Christians to accomplish this task. Even if it’s someone whose faith isn’t any stronger than yours, when you pray with someone else, something special happens because the power of prayer is multiplied when God’s people pray together. It’s perfectly ok to ask others to pray with you, especially when your faith needs to be stronger. My faith is strengthened when I pray with others and I am blessed by their prayers.
If twelve people pray individually for someone, that’s twelve prayers. Sounds great, doesn’t it. But what if these same twelve people gather together and pray for this person. You can now multiply these prayers so that you now have twelve times twelve or one hundred and fourty four prayers. Each person in the group prays in his or her heart as someone else prays strengtheing every prayer. That’s the power of multiplication in prayer. As each prayer is verbalized, eleven other persons are praying this prayer in their hearts and may even affirm the prayer verbally as the person continues to pray. Prayers prayed in small group gatherings such as this or in larger groups such as an assembly or worship service may or may not have this powerful effect depending on whether the persons listening are praying in their hearts or merely listening.
Ordinary faith is enough to defeat Satan’s ordinary attacks. We need to exercise this kind of faith 24/7. But when Satan mounts an extraordinary attack on us, we may need back up. This may come in the form of extraordinary prayer and faith on our parts, it may mean fasting, or it may mean we may need to gather a small group of prayer warriors together and “gang up” on Satan. It may mean that we need to call on the entire church to pray for us. When you gather together with others to pray, you might even let them lay hands on you and call on the power of God to be unleashed.
Rather than letting the extraordinary power of Satan discourage and defeat you, call on the extraordinary power of God to defeat Satan and if you can’t do it alone, you have many brothers and sisters in Christ who will be willing to help you. It’s fulfilling and actually fun praying with others. Don’t just sit by idly and watch your spiritual life erode. Call on the promises of God to engage and overpower Satan. Times of challenge can be opportunities to reinforce our faith and make it stronger than ever. Tough times call for tough faith. The more of Satan’s power he unleashes, the more of God’s power you can requisition to defeat Satan. God’s power is absolutely unlimited with resources we cannot imagine.
Father how I thank you for your awesome power and how you permit me to access that miraculous power in my prayer life. Forgive me for the times when I fail to pray because I don’t really believe you will answer a certain prayer. Help me to learn how to pray with such confidence that there is no miracle too large. Give me the faith of the grain of mustard seed that will grow to maturity as it ought. Make me a prayer warrior with unwaveing faith who strongly believes in the power of prayer in the face of any obstacle. Banish the influence of Satan in my prayer life because he causes me to doubt how powerful prayer really is. Thank you for Chrisitan brothers and sisters who will pray with me.
Jesus had been talking to His disciples about their lack of faith in their ability to cure a young boy. He rebuked the father because of his lack of faith and now He was rebuking His disciples. When He spoke of the grain of mustard seed, he was talking about the smallest seed known and how it produced a large tree. He was saying that even a tiny faith is sufficient for small miracles such as this one.
It doesn’t take a spiritual giant to have faith enough to move mountains. This kind of faith is available to everyone. Jesus had to do this task Himself only because of the lack of faith of the people involved. The disciples could have accomplished the task if their faith had been sufficient. Our faith should be strong enough to accomplish whatever task lies before us. Yet, we must admit there are times when our faith is weak and we need help.
When you feel that your faith is weak and you need help, ask for it. Ask God to strengthen your faith and don’t forget that He can use other Christians to accomplish this task. Even if it’s someone whose faith isn’t any stronger than yours, when you pray with someone else, something special happens because the power of prayer is multiplied when God’s people pray together. It’s perfectly ok to ask others to pray with you, especially when your faith needs to be stronger. My faith is strengthened when I pray with others and I am blessed by their prayers.
If twelve people pray individually for someone, that’s twelve prayers. Sounds great, doesn’t it. But what if these same twelve people gather together and pray for this person. You can now multiply these prayers so that you now have twelve times twelve or one hundred and fourty four prayers. Each person in the group prays in his or her heart as someone else prays strengtheing every prayer. That’s the power of multiplication in prayer. As each prayer is verbalized, eleven other persons are praying this prayer in their hearts and may even affirm the prayer verbally as the person continues to pray. Prayers prayed in small group gatherings such as this or in larger groups such as an assembly or worship service may or may not have this powerful effect depending on whether the persons listening are praying in their hearts or merely listening.
Ordinary faith is enough to defeat Satan’s ordinary attacks. We need to exercise this kind of faith 24/7. But when Satan mounts an extraordinary attack on us, we may need back up. This may come in the form of extraordinary prayer and faith on our parts, it may mean fasting, or it may mean we may need to gather a small group of prayer warriors together and “gang up” on Satan. It may mean that we need to call on the entire church to pray for us. When you gather together with others to pray, you might even let them lay hands on you and call on the power of God to be unleashed.
Rather than letting the extraordinary power of Satan discourage and defeat you, call on the extraordinary power of God to defeat Satan and if you can’t do it alone, you have many brothers and sisters in Christ who will be willing to help you. It’s fulfilling and actually fun praying with others. Don’t just sit by idly and watch your spiritual life erode. Call on the promises of God to engage and overpower Satan. Times of challenge can be opportunities to reinforce our faith and make it stronger than ever. Tough times call for tough faith. The more of Satan’s power he unleashes, the more of God’s power you can requisition to defeat Satan. God’s power is absolutely unlimited with resources we cannot imagine.
Father how I thank you for your awesome power and how you permit me to access that miraculous power in my prayer life. Forgive me for the times when I fail to pray because I don’t really believe you will answer a certain prayer. Help me to learn how to pray with such confidence that there is no miracle too large. Give me the faith of the grain of mustard seed that will grow to maturity as it ought. Make me a prayer warrior with unwaveing faith who strongly believes in the power of prayer in the face of any obstacle. Banish the influence of Satan in my prayer life because he causes me to doubt how powerful prayer really is. Thank you for Chrisitan brothers and sisters who will pray with me.
Don't Get Run Over BY The Garbage Truck
Romans 8:28
Life has an interesting way of dumping garbage at our doorstep. It seems that we wake up some mornings and there it is suddenly and without warning. Without a doubt, it’s there. We didn’t want it and we don’t know how to get rid of it. However, the choice of what to do with it is ours to make.
There are three basic choices we can make. We can choose (and don’t forget it is a choice) to let it pull us down, perhaps even destroy us. Or we can choose to ignore it, which is often hard to do when it is so close and smells so strong. Or we can actually choose to use the garbage to make something useful for our lives.
As a young child, Glenn Cunningham was stricken by polio and was told he would never walk again. He refused to accept the garbage that was dumped on him and was so determined to walk that he held on to the plow on the back of his father’s mule and let the mule pull him around while he tried to walk. There were times when his knees bled from being pulled in the dirt but he kept on keeping on until he could walk alone. Then he started to run. In case you didn’t recognize the name, Glenn Cunningham went on to set a new world record for the hundred-yard dash and was known as the fastest man alive. His effort to dump the garbage gave him the determination to move forward in life. Without the garbage, it’s unlikely that he would have achieved his world record. Had he just accepted the doctor’s diagnosis that he would never walk again, he might never have been able to even walk. His tragedy, if you still want to call it that, actually propelled him into a challenge that made him successful and world famous. His polio was actually a blessing in the long run.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”. It’s so easy to quote this verse to someone who is going through tough times but much harder to apply it to our own lives. The promise is for those who love God. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you life but we don’t always recognize God’s plan as wonderful. We can praise Him for the good things but when it comes to the garbage we question God and may wonder why He did this or if what has happened is from Him or Satan. The bottom line is that it doesn’t really matter who it is from. What does matter is what you will do with it. Do you want to sit in the middle of the garbage and smell it all day long or do you want to get away from it, perhaps even make something of it. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!!
It’s easy to say, “But my situation is different.” Yes, all of our situations are different. Some people have had tragic events happen to them and they went on to make something out of their lives. Joni Erickson Tada had a terrible diving accident when she was in her twenties and became a paraglegic. She refused to accept the garbage as the end of her life. She was determined to overcome her difficulties and now has a dynamic ministry. Her accident could have devastated her life and immobilied her completely but like others who have to work harder to overcome their tragedies, she gave it all she had. When we have to work harder to overcome difficulties, it causes us to use abilities we didn’t even know we had and may open up opportunities we otherwise would have never discovered.
Amazing things can happen when we recycle our garbage. When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade. Do not let any event devastate your life and keep you from being all God wants you to be. Use whatever He sends your way to His glory and He will bless you. Make excuses for what has happened and you will miss undiscovered blessings.
Father, teach me how to make the most of everything in my life. Grant me the wisdom to know what I can change to improve my life and make it more like Jesus. Convict me when I start to feel sorry for myself or try to blame others and enable me to take the responsiblity for my choices. I cannot change what has happened but I can change how I will respond to it. Let your power work in me to give me courage to overcome any obstacle that I encounter. The most tragic event that has ever occurred was the death of Your Son on the cross yet the results of that death have brought the promise of eternal life to millions. Thank You. Amen.
Life has an interesting way of dumping garbage at our doorstep. It seems that we wake up some mornings and there it is suddenly and without warning. Without a doubt, it’s there. We didn’t want it and we don’t know how to get rid of it. However, the choice of what to do with it is ours to make.
There are three basic choices we can make. We can choose (and don’t forget it is a choice) to let it pull us down, perhaps even destroy us. Or we can choose to ignore it, which is often hard to do when it is so close and smells so strong. Or we can actually choose to use the garbage to make something useful for our lives.
As a young child, Glenn Cunningham was stricken by polio and was told he would never walk again. He refused to accept the garbage that was dumped on him and was so determined to walk that he held on to the plow on the back of his father’s mule and let the mule pull him around while he tried to walk. There were times when his knees bled from being pulled in the dirt but he kept on keeping on until he could walk alone. Then he started to run. In case you didn’t recognize the name, Glenn Cunningham went on to set a new world record for the hundred-yard dash and was known as the fastest man alive. His effort to dump the garbage gave him the determination to move forward in life. Without the garbage, it’s unlikely that he would have achieved his world record. Had he just accepted the doctor’s diagnosis that he would never walk again, he might never have been able to even walk. His tragedy, if you still want to call it that, actually propelled him into a challenge that made him successful and world famous. His polio was actually a blessing in the long run.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”. It’s so easy to quote this verse to someone who is going through tough times but much harder to apply it to our own lives. The promise is for those who love God. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you life but we don’t always recognize God’s plan as wonderful. We can praise Him for the good things but when it comes to the garbage we question God and may wonder why He did this or if what has happened is from Him or Satan. The bottom line is that it doesn’t really matter who it is from. What does matter is what you will do with it. Do you want to sit in the middle of the garbage and smell it all day long or do you want to get away from it, perhaps even make something of it. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!!
It’s easy to say, “But my situation is different.” Yes, all of our situations are different. Some people have had tragic events happen to them and they went on to make something out of their lives. Joni Erickson Tada had a terrible diving accident when she was in her twenties and became a paraglegic. She refused to accept the garbage as the end of her life. She was determined to overcome her difficulties and now has a dynamic ministry. Her accident could have devastated her life and immobilied her completely but like others who have to work harder to overcome their tragedies, she gave it all she had. When we have to work harder to overcome difficulties, it causes us to use abilities we didn’t even know we had and may open up opportunities we otherwise would have never discovered.
Amazing things can happen when we recycle our garbage. When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade. Do not let any event devastate your life and keep you from being all God wants you to be. Use whatever He sends your way to His glory and He will bless you. Make excuses for what has happened and you will miss undiscovered blessings.
Father, teach me how to make the most of everything in my life. Grant me the wisdom to know what I can change to improve my life and make it more like Jesus. Convict me when I start to feel sorry for myself or try to blame others and enable me to take the responsiblity for my choices. I cannot change what has happened but I can change how I will respond to it. Let your power work in me to give me courage to overcome any obstacle that I encounter. The most tragic event that has ever occurred was the death of Your Son on the cross yet the results of that death have brought the promise of eternal life to millions. Thank You. Amen.
Crossing The Jordan
There are a lot of exciting stories in the Bible but I don’t think any can match the drama or lessons in the pilgrimage of the Israelites from Egypt to Caanan. The journey started with an incredible series of miracles including perhaps the most dramatic of all, the parting of the Red Sea. The day of entry into Caanan was almost as dramatic when the priests stepped into the Jordan which was overflowing and before their feet touched down, the ground below was dry and when they had crossed over, the waters began to flow again.
The land flowing with milk and honey was now theirs. All they had to do was to possess it and God was going to empower them to do it. The manna ceased (Joshua 5:12) when they entered the promised land and an abundant harvest (which they didn’t even have to cultivate) was all theirs.
With the miracles God had performed, one would think they would have 100% confidence in God and his word. This confidence was short lived as we all know. We are no different. We have not possessed the land. The enemy runs rampant among us and it’s almost like we don’t care. We shake our heads in amazement and do little or nothing to change things. Are we a defeated people?
Let’s look at the lessons we can learn from their travels.
1. Their disobedience kept all of the adult men except two from experiencing the best God had to offer. We miss a lot of what God has to offer because we are satisfied with manna.
2. The command to possess the land was not an “If you do this, I will bless you thing. It was a COMMAND and nothing less. Not to possess the land was and is disobedience.
3. However, the command was a command with promise. God did not expect them or us to go it alone. He will be there if we will be faithful.
4. The descendants of the Caananites are the very people that are giving us so much grief today.
5. All too briefly, let me capsule all this. Our country is being overcome and infiltrated by the enemy like never before. We could all tell horror stories of how Christians are mistreated. I do not believe God expects us to do no more than retreat to the church and pray in secret. He expects us, like He did the Israelites to be warriors, to be pro-active. We are not to be door mats to be walked on by others. We must discover how to take a stand even if it is unpopular.
By no means do I advocate radical actions such as bombing abortion clinics. We are to open our doors and hearts, without condemnation, to gays, unwed mothers, drug addicts, and anyone else who is hurting. We must do more than just say we care. We must find some action that involves caring action. We also must understand some of the illegal actions the enemy takes to try to intimidate us.
I realize I have raised more questions than I have answered but perhaps I have provoked enough thought that together we will start looking for some solutions.
We cannot change the entire world. We can only change the small portion to which we have been assigned. That’s all we have to do. Let’s do it!
The land flowing with milk and honey was now theirs. All they had to do was to possess it and God was going to empower them to do it. The manna ceased (Joshua 5:12) when they entered the promised land and an abundant harvest (which they didn’t even have to cultivate) was all theirs.
With the miracles God had performed, one would think they would have 100% confidence in God and his word. This confidence was short lived as we all know. We are no different. We have not possessed the land. The enemy runs rampant among us and it’s almost like we don’t care. We shake our heads in amazement and do little or nothing to change things. Are we a defeated people?
Let’s look at the lessons we can learn from their travels.
1. Their disobedience kept all of the adult men except two from experiencing the best God had to offer. We miss a lot of what God has to offer because we are satisfied with manna.
2. The command to possess the land was not an “If you do this, I will bless you thing. It was a COMMAND and nothing less. Not to possess the land was and is disobedience.
3. However, the command was a command with promise. God did not expect them or us to go it alone. He will be there if we will be faithful.
4. The descendants of the Caananites are the very people that are giving us so much grief today.
5. All too briefly, let me capsule all this. Our country is being overcome and infiltrated by the enemy like never before. We could all tell horror stories of how Christians are mistreated. I do not believe God expects us to do no more than retreat to the church and pray in secret. He expects us, like He did the Israelites to be warriors, to be pro-active. We are not to be door mats to be walked on by others. We must discover how to take a stand even if it is unpopular.
By no means do I advocate radical actions such as bombing abortion clinics. We are to open our doors and hearts, without condemnation, to gays, unwed mothers, drug addicts, and anyone else who is hurting. We must do more than just say we care. We must find some action that involves caring action. We also must understand some of the illegal actions the enemy takes to try to intimidate us.
I realize I have raised more questions than I have answered but perhaps I have provoked enough thought that together we will start looking for some solutions.
We cannot change the entire world. We can only change the small portion to which we have been assigned. That’s all we have to do. Let’s do it!
Being Saved Is Not Enough
JOHN 10:10, MATTHEW 7:21, I JOHN 2:3
Years ago when I was taking a psychology course in college, we were studying mental illnesses. We took a field trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where Bryce Hospital, the state mental institution, was located. It was an interesting and informative tour but the same day we also toured Partlow which was a hospital for severely mentally retarded children. Although it has been many years, I still remember vividly seeing a child in a crib. The child appeared to be only a few months old but the nurse told us he was thirteen years old. That bothered me and still does to this day. The child was born and never grew. This was a classic case of arrested development. How sad! Doesn’t it pull at your hear strings to think of such a thing. Just being born is not enough to have a viable life.
There are so many people who join a church and get baptized and never grow beyond that point. Some have been church members for decades and have grown very little since they were first baptized. This too is a classic case of arrested development. How sad! We have church members who still live in this area and are perfectly healthy yet they haven’t been here in years. We also have active members who still need someone to teach them over and over the fundamentals of the faith. HEBREWS 5:12.
I fully realize that many of you here are genuinely mature Christians yet you realize that we are never perfectly mature in Christ. Being a Christian is not a once and for all act. It is a lifelong growth process.. Christ never intends for the growth to end. In PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14, Paul speaks about continually moving forward. We never arrive in this life.
Paul spoke of salvation as a process. We were saved. We are being saved. We will be saved. If it is only past tense in one’s life, it probably isn’t even that.
Jesus never intended for one to make an initial profession of Him as Lord and then return to the former life. He came that we might have life more abundantly. He Wants us to enjoy life and to live it to it’s fullest. There was a book written years ago entitled, “Being Saved is Fun”. The Christian life is supposed to be one filled with satisfaction and enjoyment.
There are many who hear the message that if they get saved that everything will be wonderful. Whether they actually hear this or they are merely hearing what they want to hear I can’t say. If this is what they expect, they will quickly become disillusioned. Jesus never said that all of our problems will be solved once we decide to follow Him. If anything, He taught the opposite. Satan doesn’t bother us as long as we are walking with him(Satan). It is when we try to walk with Jesus that Satan mounts his attacks on us and makes life a struggle.
What Jesus did promise was strength to endure any kind of trial or tribulation. Our faith can enable us to experience the abundant life in the midst of our struggles. When we know beyond a doubt that we are walking with Christ and are being obedient, there is a reassuring peace that comes. The abundant life is found as a result of our relationship to Him and never in material abundance.
Jesus said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter heaven but only those who are obedient to the will of the Father. Joining a church and getting baptized are both important. In no way do I want to minimize their importance, but they are not enough. If one is saved, obedience is not optional. It is absolutely mandatory.
How then can one know for sure that he is saved? I John 2:3 says, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments”. I am not a judge so I will not question your salvation, but you should. Are you being obedient? Are you walking with the Lord? Does your faith make a difference in your life each day? Are you serving Christ and His church by doing more than just attending? Do you live an abundant life? Never make the mistake of judging yourself by what others may or may not be doing. The life of another is not an acceptable standard.
No, being saved is not enough. God has so much more for us that we will miss if we remain babes. You must take the responsibility for your own growth. No matter how good your pastor preaches or your Bible study teacher teaches, they can never feed you enough to guarantee that you will have the abundant life. It will only come with obedience and obedience will come as you seriously study the Word and apply it to your life.
Years ago when I was taking a psychology course in college, we were studying mental illnesses. We took a field trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where Bryce Hospital, the state mental institution, was located. It was an interesting and informative tour but the same day we also toured Partlow which was a hospital for severely mentally retarded children. Although it has been many years, I still remember vividly seeing a child in a crib. The child appeared to be only a few months old but the nurse told us he was thirteen years old. That bothered me and still does to this day. The child was born and never grew. This was a classic case of arrested development. How sad! Doesn’t it pull at your hear strings to think of such a thing. Just being born is not enough to have a viable life.
There are so many people who join a church and get baptized and never grow beyond that point. Some have been church members for decades and have grown very little since they were first baptized. This too is a classic case of arrested development. How sad! We have church members who still live in this area and are perfectly healthy yet they haven’t been here in years. We also have active members who still need someone to teach them over and over the fundamentals of the faith. HEBREWS 5:12.
I fully realize that many of you here are genuinely mature Christians yet you realize that we are never perfectly mature in Christ. Being a Christian is not a once and for all act. It is a lifelong growth process.. Christ never intends for the growth to end. In PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14, Paul speaks about continually moving forward. We never arrive in this life.
Paul spoke of salvation as a process. We were saved. We are being saved. We will be saved. If it is only past tense in one’s life, it probably isn’t even that.
Jesus never intended for one to make an initial profession of Him as Lord and then return to the former life. He came that we might have life more abundantly. He Wants us to enjoy life and to live it to it’s fullest. There was a book written years ago entitled, “Being Saved is Fun”. The Christian life is supposed to be one filled with satisfaction and enjoyment.
There are many who hear the message that if they get saved that everything will be wonderful. Whether they actually hear this or they are merely hearing what they want to hear I can’t say. If this is what they expect, they will quickly become disillusioned. Jesus never said that all of our problems will be solved once we decide to follow Him. If anything, He taught the opposite. Satan doesn’t bother us as long as we are walking with him(Satan). It is when we try to walk with Jesus that Satan mounts his attacks on us and makes life a struggle.
What Jesus did promise was strength to endure any kind of trial or tribulation. Our faith can enable us to experience the abundant life in the midst of our struggles. When we know beyond a doubt that we are walking with Christ and are being obedient, there is a reassuring peace that comes. The abundant life is found as a result of our relationship to Him and never in material abundance.
Jesus said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter heaven but only those who are obedient to the will of the Father. Joining a church and getting baptized are both important. In no way do I want to minimize their importance, but they are not enough. If one is saved, obedience is not optional. It is absolutely mandatory.
How then can one know for sure that he is saved? I John 2:3 says, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments”. I am not a judge so I will not question your salvation, but you should. Are you being obedient? Are you walking with the Lord? Does your faith make a difference in your life each day? Are you serving Christ and His church by doing more than just attending? Do you live an abundant life? Never make the mistake of judging yourself by what others may or may not be doing. The life of another is not an acceptable standard.
No, being saved is not enough. God has so much more for us that we will miss if we remain babes. You must take the responsibility for your own growth. No matter how good your pastor preaches or your Bible study teacher teaches, they can never feed you enough to guarantee that you will have the abundant life. It will only come with obedience and obedience will come as you seriously study the Word and apply it to your life.
Because He Lives
Revelation 21:4
John 11:25
It’s not only the music but also the words that make “Because He Lives” one of the most beautiful songs ever composed. The last verse carries the Christian’s ultimate message of hope;
And then one day I’ll cross the river; I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then as death gives way to victory, I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living because He lives.
No matter what happens to us here on earth, life is worth the living because of the hope that one day we will see Jesus. God will wipe away every tear. There will no longer be the pain of death or mourning or crying or pain. The first things will have passed away and we will begin a new life free of all things bad. As we struggle here on earth, it’s difficult to imgine such a life. Time and again, the scriptures attest to it.
What I have written is absolutely true or I am an absolute fool for believing it. It is stated so often and so succintly in God’s Word that it takes a fool not to believe it. We often give verbal assent to believing God’s promise of eternal life and yet live our lives as if death were the end rather than the beginning. Praise God we will be given new bodies. This one is beginning to wear out and doesn’t look so good anymore. How I would love to trade it for the one I had when I was twenty years old. God has a better one waiting for me that will be better and I will have a life without pain or suffering. And it’s all because He lives.
Because He lives, no matter what happens to you, life is worth the living. Somehow He will give you strength to keep on keeping on. He will enable you to face calamity and disaster in the eye and say, “I won’t give up”. That’s not to say that the crisis you face is of no consequence to you here on earth. However, it will be of no heavenly consequence.
Life goes on and you must choose how you will adjust to whatever comes your way. It’s not nearly as important that we understand what has happened as it is that we accept it. Nowhere does the Bible promise, at least in this earthly life, that we will understand why God allows so many things to happen to us that are difficult. The fact that we do not understand is a call to faith. God wants us to trust fully in Him and in His wisdom. In I Cor 13.12 Paul speaks of how that at the present we only know in part but one day we will know in full. To accept the present and get on with life is to trust God. To refuse to accept the present and despair over our condition is not trusting God.
How numerous are the passages in God’s Word that admonish us to trust God. Prov 3.5-6 is one of those, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight”. Perhaps Job showed the greatest faith in God’s leadership of anyone, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Job’s faith was one that absolutely nothing could cause to fail. We should long for that kind of faith in our lives and it can be ours.
Father, thank you for being present in my life even when I can’t see you or feel your presence. You are a truly awesome God and I am so grateful that I can turn to you for strength and direction. There are so many times in my life that I want to question what you are doing to me. Most of the time, I just don’t understand but I pray that my faith will grow stronger in times of struggle. Allow me to treasure these times of confusion and make them opportunities to make my faith stronger. Teach me that no matter what happens to me and no matter how little I understand that you are always there. Help me never to forget that because He lives that I can face tomorrow. Amen
John 11:25
It’s not only the music but also the words that make “Because He Lives” one of the most beautiful songs ever composed. The last verse carries the Christian’s ultimate message of hope;
And then one day I’ll cross the river; I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then as death gives way to victory, I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living because He lives.
No matter what happens to us here on earth, life is worth the living because of the hope that one day we will see Jesus. God will wipe away every tear. There will no longer be the pain of death or mourning or crying or pain. The first things will have passed away and we will begin a new life free of all things bad. As we struggle here on earth, it’s difficult to imgine such a life. Time and again, the scriptures attest to it.
What I have written is absolutely true or I am an absolute fool for believing it. It is stated so often and so succintly in God’s Word that it takes a fool not to believe it. We often give verbal assent to believing God’s promise of eternal life and yet live our lives as if death were the end rather than the beginning. Praise God we will be given new bodies. This one is beginning to wear out and doesn’t look so good anymore. How I would love to trade it for the one I had when I was twenty years old. God has a better one waiting for me that will be better and I will have a life without pain or suffering. And it’s all because He lives.
Because He lives, no matter what happens to you, life is worth the living. Somehow He will give you strength to keep on keeping on. He will enable you to face calamity and disaster in the eye and say, “I won’t give up”. That’s not to say that the crisis you face is of no consequence to you here on earth. However, it will be of no heavenly consequence.
Life goes on and you must choose how you will adjust to whatever comes your way. It’s not nearly as important that we understand what has happened as it is that we accept it. Nowhere does the Bible promise, at least in this earthly life, that we will understand why God allows so many things to happen to us that are difficult. The fact that we do not understand is a call to faith. God wants us to trust fully in Him and in His wisdom. In I Cor 13.12 Paul speaks of how that at the present we only know in part but one day we will know in full. To accept the present and get on with life is to trust God. To refuse to accept the present and despair over our condition is not trusting God.
How numerous are the passages in God’s Word that admonish us to trust God. Prov 3.5-6 is one of those, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight”. Perhaps Job showed the greatest faith in God’s leadership of anyone, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Job’s faith was one that absolutely nothing could cause to fail. We should long for that kind of faith in our lives and it can be ours.
Father, thank you for being present in my life even when I can’t see you or feel your presence. You are a truly awesome God and I am so grateful that I can turn to you for strength and direction. There are so many times in my life that I want to question what you are doing to me. Most of the time, I just don’t understand but I pray that my faith will grow stronger in times of struggle. Allow me to treasure these times of confusion and make them opportunities to make my faith stronger. Teach me that no matter what happens to me and no matter how little I understand that you are always there. Help me never to forget that because He lives that I can face tomorrow. Amen
As The Deer
David wrote in Psalms 42.1, “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after You.” We sometimes sing a song entitled, “As the deer” with that verse in it. The song also says, “You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You.” This beautiful song is a prayer that we need to deeply imbed in our hearts. It goes on to say, “You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You are my friend and you are my brother even though you are a King. I love you more than any other, so much more than anything”.
One of the biggest giants we face in seeking after Him is our priorities. I once heard a man in referring to his business say, “We specialize in everything”. Businesses can’t specialize in everything. Often, those that are the most successful have a pretty narrow offering of products. When you try to do everything you may become a jack of all trades and master of none. If you have a complex electrical problem, you don’t want to call a general handyman who is good at a lot of things, even if electricity is one of them. You want someone who is highly skilled in what it takes to solve your problem. You want someone who has a narrow focus. You want a man who has given priority to learning electrical work. You want someone who has a passion for what he is doing because then he is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to do the job. My wife and I were out of town once and the air conditioning in our car went out. The problem was such that we could not drive the car until something was done. I found a man to work on the air conditioning who was probably a good mechanic. After several hours he finally admitted that he was stumped and couldn’t complete the job. So he brought the car to the point that it was drivable and we went home.
By now, you may think I am chasing rabbits but I’m not. What a person needs to be good at something is focus, priority and passion. Nobody can be good at everything. We will never be good at walking with God without focusing on walking with Him. It cannot be a sometime thing that “just happens” occasionally. It must be deliberate and intentional. It cannot just happen when we have extra time on our hands. Giving our walk with God priority means that we will set aside other things to walk with Him. It means that other things will be postponed until our time with Him is complete. No life is ever so busy that it cannot be rearranged to allow time to meet with God. We make choices that have put us the situations that we are in and we make choices whether or not to continue on the same path.
David’s passion was that he longed to be with God. It was his heart’s desire. Until our hearts are overwhelmed with such a passion, finding time to be with God will be a chore rather than something for which our hearts genuinely long. If you really think you want to have such a passion, read this verse over and over. Listen to the song and sing it until your heart really believes it. Ask others to pray with you that you can have the same passion that David had.
What is your passion? Some have a passion for hunting or football. Some have a passion for shopping or decorating their home. There are people who have a passion for a particular hobby or for making money. Others are workaholics. There are many good things for which one can be passionate but there is nothing for which we should be more passionate then spending time with God. Serving God through the church is a passion for some Christians but even that should not be our top passion. Until we spend time with God, our serving Him will not likely be properly motivated. Passion for service can skip over the passion for being with God that we need to give our lives direction. There are some marvelous Christians who are genuinely loving and caring people. They spend time serving and helping. Their hearts are soft and compassionate. They are people whom you and I love. They have a good humanitarian motive for their service and people truly appreciate what they do. When looking at these people from the outside we cannot discern their motives. We neither condemn nor criticize them because they are good people and they love God.
What may be missing in their lives is neither motivation nor passion. It is the source of their passion. They have made decisions to serve based on their own heart’s desire which may or may not be harmonious with God’s will for their lives. Observe this next point carefully so you do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. The proper source of a Christian’s motivation is absolutely crucial and it does come out of a vacuum. It comes only when we have spent quality time with God in studying His Word and in prayer. When our passion for Him is the overwhelming number one passion in our lives, we will long to be with Him with an incredible intensity. Out of that time with Him will come a motivation that will guide us in serving Him as He directs, not as our good but sometimes misguided hearts may dictate.
If you think that I am saying that proper service to God must come first and foremost out of our quiet time with God, then you understand what I am trying to say. When we have a passion for being with God, out of that passion will come another passion to express our love for Him by living righteous lives and serving Him both in and out of the church.
Father, how I long to know you better. I confess that I have priorities in my life that keep me from being with you as I should. Speak to me how I need to respond and enable me to hear with my mind and heart. Please don’t let me ever substitute service or my “good” lifestyle for the time I need to be alone with You. I need You more than anything and I long to have an intimate relationship with You. Please help me to develop an overwhelming passion for knowing and serving you.
One of the biggest giants we face in seeking after Him is our priorities. I once heard a man in referring to his business say, “We specialize in everything”. Businesses can’t specialize in everything. Often, those that are the most successful have a pretty narrow offering of products. When you try to do everything you may become a jack of all trades and master of none. If you have a complex electrical problem, you don’t want to call a general handyman who is good at a lot of things, even if electricity is one of them. You want someone who is highly skilled in what it takes to solve your problem. You want someone who has a narrow focus. You want a man who has given priority to learning electrical work. You want someone who has a passion for what he is doing because then he is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to do the job. My wife and I were out of town once and the air conditioning in our car went out. The problem was such that we could not drive the car until something was done. I found a man to work on the air conditioning who was probably a good mechanic. After several hours he finally admitted that he was stumped and couldn’t complete the job. So he brought the car to the point that it was drivable and we went home.
By now, you may think I am chasing rabbits but I’m not. What a person needs to be good at something is focus, priority and passion. Nobody can be good at everything. We will never be good at walking with God without focusing on walking with Him. It cannot be a sometime thing that “just happens” occasionally. It must be deliberate and intentional. It cannot just happen when we have extra time on our hands. Giving our walk with God priority means that we will set aside other things to walk with Him. It means that other things will be postponed until our time with Him is complete. No life is ever so busy that it cannot be rearranged to allow time to meet with God. We make choices that have put us the situations that we are in and we make choices whether or not to continue on the same path.
David’s passion was that he longed to be with God. It was his heart’s desire. Until our hearts are overwhelmed with such a passion, finding time to be with God will be a chore rather than something for which our hearts genuinely long. If you really think you want to have such a passion, read this verse over and over. Listen to the song and sing it until your heart really believes it. Ask others to pray with you that you can have the same passion that David had.
What is your passion? Some have a passion for hunting or football. Some have a passion for shopping or decorating their home. There are people who have a passion for a particular hobby or for making money. Others are workaholics. There are many good things for which one can be passionate but there is nothing for which we should be more passionate then spending time with God. Serving God through the church is a passion for some Christians but even that should not be our top passion. Until we spend time with God, our serving Him will not likely be properly motivated. Passion for service can skip over the passion for being with God that we need to give our lives direction. There are some marvelous Christians who are genuinely loving and caring people. They spend time serving and helping. Their hearts are soft and compassionate. They are people whom you and I love. They have a good humanitarian motive for their service and people truly appreciate what they do. When looking at these people from the outside we cannot discern their motives. We neither condemn nor criticize them because they are good people and they love God.
What may be missing in their lives is neither motivation nor passion. It is the source of their passion. They have made decisions to serve based on their own heart’s desire which may or may not be harmonious with God’s will for their lives. Observe this next point carefully so you do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. The proper source of a Christian’s motivation is absolutely crucial and it does come out of a vacuum. It comes only when we have spent quality time with God in studying His Word and in prayer. When our passion for Him is the overwhelming number one passion in our lives, we will long to be with Him with an incredible intensity. Out of that time with Him will come a motivation that will guide us in serving Him as He directs, not as our good but sometimes misguided hearts may dictate.
If you think that I am saying that proper service to God must come first and foremost out of our quiet time with God, then you understand what I am trying to say. When we have a passion for being with God, out of that passion will come another passion to express our love for Him by living righteous lives and serving Him both in and out of the church.
Father, how I long to know you better. I confess that I have priorities in my life that keep me from being with you as I should. Speak to me how I need to respond and enable me to hear with my mind and heart. Please don’t let me ever substitute service or my “good” lifestyle for the time I need to be alone with You. I need You more than anything and I long to have an intimate relationship with You. Please help me to develop an overwhelming passion for knowing and serving you.
Appropriating God's Promises
James 4:2-3
R. Lofton Hudson once told a story about a young man getting ready to graduate from high school who asked his dad for a new car. The next day, the father came home and gave his son a book which he asked him to read. Dad told him that the pages in this book had not been cut and he would have to cut them as he read them. The son promised to read the book. The days and weeks went by and the son was anxious for his answer. Finally, a week before he was to leave for college he approached his father. He said, “Dad, I don’t understand. You have always been forthright in everything but you haven’t given me an answer about my car”. Dad said, “Have you finished reading the book?” The son ashamedly admitted that he had not. The father asked him to go get the book which he did. Then the father took out his pocket knife and turned to the last two pages in the book. When he cut them, the keys to a new Ford fell out. The son jumped with joy and started out the door to go to the dealer to get his car but he stopped, turned around and gave the keys back to his father and said, “Dad, I don’t deserve the car. I didn’t do what you asked me to.” The father said, “Go ahead son, you’ve missed enjoying the car all summer and I think you’ve learned your lesson.
The sermon in which Dr. Hudson used this illustration was called, “The Uncut Pages of Life”. We leave so much on the table because we do not do what God asks us to do. Over and over, the Bible commands us to pray and study. God makes many wonderful promises which we claim to believe He will grant. When God doesn’t fulfill His promises, we begin to doubt God even though we won’t admit it to others. It never occurs to us that God is waiting for us to do what He asked so He can bless us. Our failure to ask and obey cause us to miss some incredible blessings.
Prayer is essential to the realization of God’s promises. Without prayer, God will not grant the blessings He has in store for you. Our prayers are too weak and spasmodic for God to take us seriously. Great blessings require great prayer. When we pray selfish prayers that ask God for things that we want for our own desires we are asking for the wrong things. We can rationalize and claim that what we are asking for will be used for serving God but God is a much better judge of how something will impact us than we are. He alone knows what is best.
We miss God’s greatest blessings because we ask amiss. We ask for what we want and sometimes when we get what we want, it turns out to be a curse. Perhaps you have heard the statement that the two happiest days in a boat owners life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. What he longed for turned out to bring more dissatisfaction than satisfaction. The same is true of so many things we ask God for.
We learn how to appropriate God’s promises by continuing in prayer until God responds with his blessings. When we try to get ahead of God, it will backfire every time. Continuing in prayer means three things. First of all it means to keep on praying. Be persistent. If you are seeking something that is Godly, do not give up praying no matter what. Secondly it means seeking God’s will above our own. Do not rationalize your wants and try to make them God’s will. Thirdly, it means to be obedient to what God has revealed to you. God will hear the prayer of a righteous person. If we do not walk with Him, we ought not to bother thinking that He will even listen to us, let alone give us what we want. Even if we are walking with Him, He will not give us what we want unless it is in accord with His will. Never forget that you can change your wants but changing God’s will is a very difficult thing. We will have to be on very solid ground for God to change His will.
Father, as I come to you now, I confess that I have prayed many selfish prayers. You have been gracious by not answering them. Teach me to pray only for things that are in accord with your will. When my desires are not in keeping with your will, change my hearts desires to conform with your will. I want the best you have to offer to me. Help me to trust You so that when you fulfill your promises, even if I don’t understand or even recognize them as your promises, that I can accept them as what will ultimately be best for me…………………..
R. Lofton Hudson once told a story about a young man getting ready to graduate from high school who asked his dad for a new car. The next day, the father came home and gave his son a book which he asked him to read. Dad told him that the pages in this book had not been cut and he would have to cut them as he read them. The son promised to read the book. The days and weeks went by and the son was anxious for his answer. Finally, a week before he was to leave for college he approached his father. He said, “Dad, I don’t understand. You have always been forthright in everything but you haven’t given me an answer about my car”. Dad said, “Have you finished reading the book?” The son ashamedly admitted that he had not. The father asked him to go get the book which he did. Then the father took out his pocket knife and turned to the last two pages in the book. When he cut them, the keys to a new Ford fell out. The son jumped with joy and started out the door to go to the dealer to get his car but he stopped, turned around and gave the keys back to his father and said, “Dad, I don’t deserve the car. I didn’t do what you asked me to.” The father said, “Go ahead son, you’ve missed enjoying the car all summer and I think you’ve learned your lesson.
The sermon in which Dr. Hudson used this illustration was called, “The Uncut Pages of Life”. We leave so much on the table because we do not do what God asks us to do. Over and over, the Bible commands us to pray and study. God makes many wonderful promises which we claim to believe He will grant. When God doesn’t fulfill His promises, we begin to doubt God even though we won’t admit it to others. It never occurs to us that God is waiting for us to do what He asked so He can bless us. Our failure to ask and obey cause us to miss some incredible blessings.
Prayer is essential to the realization of God’s promises. Without prayer, God will not grant the blessings He has in store for you. Our prayers are too weak and spasmodic for God to take us seriously. Great blessings require great prayer. When we pray selfish prayers that ask God for things that we want for our own desires we are asking for the wrong things. We can rationalize and claim that what we are asking for will be used for serving God but God is a much better judge of how something will impact us than we are. He alone knows what is best.
We miss God’s greatest blessings because we ask amiss. We ask for what we want and sometimes when we get what we want, it turns out to be a curse. Perhaps you have heard the statement that the two happiest days in a boat owners life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. What he longed for turned out to bring more dissatisfaction than satisfaction. The same is true of so many things we ask God for.
We learn how to appropriate God’s promises by continuing in prayer until God responds with his blessings. When we try to get ahead of God, it will backfire every time. Continuing in prayer means three things. First of all it means to keep on praying. Be persistent. If you are seeking something that is Godly, do not give up praying no matter what. Secondly it means seeking God’s will above our own. Do not rationalize your wants and try to make them God’s will. Thirdly, it means to be obedient to what God has revealed to you. God will hear the prayer of a righteous person. If we do not walk with Him, we ought not to bother thinking that He will even listen to us, let alone give us what we want. Even if we are walking with Him, He will not give us what we want unless it is in accord with His will. Never forget that you can change your wants but changing God’s will is a very difficult thing. We will have to be on very solid ground for God to change His will.
Father, as I come to you now, I confess that I have prayed many selfish prayers. You have been gracious by not answering them. Teach me to pray only for things that are in accord with your will. When my desires are not in keeping with your will, change my hearts desires to conform with your will. I want the best you have to offer to me. Help me to trust You so that when you fulfill your promises, even if I don’t understand or even recognize them as your promises, that I can accept them as what will ultimately be best for me…………………..
All Things Work Together For Good
Romans 8:28
We know that not all things are good. How can the cancer be good? How can the loss of a loved one be good? This passage doesn’t say all things are good but that they work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose. We may not in this lifetime see answers to why we must suffer. God is always faithful to His promises and when He says all things will work together for good for us, it’s a done deal. It will happen! Even if we do not live to see it, it will happen.
One of the most important principles of prayer that we need to grasp is that prayer is to align our wills with God’s will. We want to reverse God’s plan and try to align His will with ours. Just because God has given us the privilege of praying does not put us in control. God is not there as our personal servant to accomplish our wills. He wants us to pray that His will will be done so we can align our lives with what He has already purposed. Prayer is not to change God as much as it is to change ourselves so God can eventually work all things for good in our lives.
Our constant pleas for God to do something that we want may be a barrier to God working His will for good in our lives. It is resistance on our part because He may have purposed something already and we want something different. If we pray for His will to be done and genuinely mean it, we will submit to His will and stop praying for our own. It’s so easy to say, “Thy will be done”, and go right on praying for our own desires. Just because what we want is not something wrong does not make it in agreement with God’s will. When we have learned to accept the Father’s will it is only then that He can begin working the good that He intends in our lives or at least that we begin to recognize it.
What He considers good in our lives and what we consider good may be exact opposites. We may be blinded to His will by our desires. We want our prayers to be answered our way and anything else is construed as God not answering our prayers. I have even gotten angry with God and felt betrayed. How could He do this to me after all I have done for Him? How arrogant of me. He doesn’t have to do anything for me yet He has done so much and I am so ungrateful that I get angry because He doesn’t do things my way. How childish of me.
I can’t begin to tell you why you have to suffer and I must admit that I cannot fully identify with the suffering many have experienced but I can urge you to rely on the promises of God’s Word. He has said He will not leave us nor cause us to suffer beyond what we are capable of handling. Be sure you grasp this principle well, “We can handle a lot more when we can accept His will”. Giving verbal assent to accepting His will without heartfelt acceptance may serve to confuse us.
Pray that you will be able to accept God’s will even though you may not fully understand it. Pray that you can align your will with His rather than to seek to align His will with yours. Pray that you can learn and grow by yielding to His will even though it is not what you want. Pray for those who may be suffering that they will be comforted by the Spirit’s presence and that they can allow the will of God to operate unobstructed.
Father, I thank you that you have not always answered my prayers as I have prayed them. I have asked amiss so many times out of ignorance of your will and out of misdirected desires that if You had given me what I wanted, my life would be a bigger mess than it is now. Please help me to seek to know Your will and obediently align my life with it regardless of my desires. I know there are some things in my life that I cannot change and some that I can. Grant to me the wisdom to know what I cannot change and the strength to accept those things as Your will and to make them my will. Give me the integrity and fortitude to change the things that I can change in my life as I seek to be obedient.
We know that not all things are good. How can the cancer be good? How can the loss of a loved one be good? This passage doesn’t say all things are good but that they work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose. We may not in this lifetime see answers to why we must suffer. God is always faithful to His promises and when He says all things will work together for good for us, it’s a done deal. It will happen! Even if we do not live to see it, it will happen.
One of the most important principles of prayer that we need to grasp is that prayer is to align our wills with God’s will. We want to reverse God’s plan and try to align His will with ours. Just because God has given us the privilege of praying does not put us in control. God is not there as our personal servant to accomplish our wills. He wants us to pray that His will will be done so we can align our lives with what He has already purposed. Prayer is not to change God as much as it is to change ourselves so God can eventually work all things for good in our lives.
Our constant pleas for God to do something that we want may be a barrier to God working His will for good in our lives. It is resistance on our part because He may have purposed something already and we want something different. If we pray for His will to be done and genuinely mean it, we will submit to His will and stop praying for our own. It’s so easy to say, “Thy will be done”, and go right on praying for our own desires. Just because what we want is not something wrong does not make it in agreement with God’s will. When we have learned to accept the Father’s will it is only then that He can begin working the good that He intends in our lives or at least that we begin to recognize it.
What He considers good in our lives and what we consider good may be exact opposites. We may be blinded to His will by our desires. We want our prayers to be answered our way and anything else is construed as God not answering our prayers. I have even gotten angry with God and felt betrayed. How could He do this to me after all I have done for Him? How arrogant of me. He doesn’t have to do anything for me yet He has done so much and I am so ungrateful that I get angry because He doesn’t do things my way. How childish of me.
I can’t begin to tell you why you have to suffer and I must admit that I cannot fully identify with the suffering many have experienced but I can urge you to rely on the promises of God’s Word. He has said He will not leave us nor cause us to suffer beyond what we are capable of handling. Be sure you grasp this principle well, “We can handle a lot more when we can accept His will”. Giving verbal assent to accepting His will without heartfelt acceptance may serve to confuse us.
Pray that you will be able to accept God’s will even though you may not fully understand it. Pray that you can align your will with His rather than to seek to align His will with yours. Pray that you can learn and grow by yielding to His will even though it is not what you want. Pray for those who may be suffering that they will be comforted by the Spirit’s presence and that they can allow the will of God to operate unobstructed.
Father, I thank you that you have not always answered my prayers as I have prayed them. I have asked amiss so many times out of ignorance of your will and out of misdirected desires that if You had given me what I wanted, my life would be a bigger mess than it is now. Please help me to seek to know Your will and obediently align my life with it regardless of my desires. I know there are some things in my life that I cannot change and some that I can. Grant to me the wisdom to know what I cannot change and the strength to accept those things as Your will and to make them my will. Give me the integrity and fortitude to change the things that I can change in my life as I seek to be obedient.
A Fresh Word
There’s something truly exciting about freshness. There’s a sense of authenticity and newness. You are fully aware that it isn’t the same old same old. It’s no longer business as usual. Something new and special is occurring. The adrenaline starts to flow and a new spirit fills the air. It’s a new beginning that will overwhelm us and put the problems of the past behind us. We all love the land of beginning again where there is a fresh new start.
II Cor 5.17 tells us that, “If anyone is in Christ that old things are passed away and all things have become new. Or God is a God of second chances (and third, and fourth, etc). He doesn’t write us off simply because we have failed. He will keep on allowing us to start over again and again. That’s why we should never give up in our personal lives and in the life of the church. We so often get into patterns of repeating the same mistakes and can’t seem to get on the right track. We’ve read, even seriously studied, the Bible and haven’t found the answers to life’s greatest problems. We have mixed feelings (which we keep to ourselves) about whether the Bible really has the answer to our problems. We verbalize that the Bible has the answer to every problem yet we can’t seem to find the answer to our own.
So, what’s our problem? Why can’t we find the answers we need to deal with our daily grind that often seems to pull us down. We attend church, Sunday School, serve in the church, study the Bible, pray, and nothing seems to happen. It’s like we are on a treadmill going fast but not moving forward. It’s not unusual to see someone who has been very active in the life of the church to drop back and become inactive sometimes even to the point of dropping out altogether. What happened? Did something bad happen in their lives to cause them to be embarrassed to continue serving and attending? Are they hiding some great sin from us? That may happen on occasion, but the most likely culprit is just burnout.
We get so busy doing things that we lose focus of why we do them. It should go without saying that without a motive, there is no motivation. And when we lose the motive we can only go on so long until something has to give. We get tired of going through the motions and receive no satisfaction from either the results of our efforts or knowing that we are doing God’s will. When we have a purpose, we can go on and on and on just like the Energizer bunny but when the purpose has waned, our spirits will eventually give in as well and we may be tempted to throw in the towel.
What we need is a fresh new Word from God. And what’s amazing about a fresh Word from God is that it will come out of the same old Word we have been reading all of our lives. That’s because the Word of God is a living Word. It isn’t limited in interpretation to a single time or situation. Old familiar passages can come alive in a new exciting way and fit a new situation. We sing, “Tell me the old, old story”, and it could just as well be, “Tell me the new, new story”, because the old story is the new story. In one sense, it isn’t the old story or the new story. It’s the story. It is timeless. It never changes yet it has the power to constantly change us.
In order for God’s Word to change us, we must study it with expectancy and seriousness. It will take more than a simple reading of a verse or two. Serious study will also include serious prayer. In order for God’s Word to impact our lives, there must be a dialogue, not just a monologue. God speaks to us through the Bible and prayer and we speak to Him through prayer. If we study His Word and pray about what we read, we allow the Word to take root in our lives. The application of the Word often begins to take place through prayer.
If we continue to do things the same old way, then we can realistically expect the same old results. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. We would like to see some better results than what we are getting but without any additional effort on our part. That’s a little unrealistic, isn’t it? We are going to get what we bargain for. If we plant an apple tree, we should expect it to bear apples. If we put out a tomato plant, it won’t bear anything other than tomatoes. It’s a law of nature that we will reap what we sow. The same is true in the spiritual world. God will bless us according to what we sow.
If we want different results, we must do things differently. But let me hasten to say that just doing something differently will not necessarily produce the results we want. There must be good reason for change or we shouldn’t make any changes at all. Sometimes we don’t make changes because we are: (1) Afraid of change (The Fear Factor), (2) Don’t know what changes to make (The Knowledge Factor), (3) Don’t know how to implement the changes (The Knowledge Factor), (3) Aren’t even aware that changes are needed (The Blindness Factor), (4) Are satisfied with the results we are getting (The Complacency Factor), (5) Do not want the work that will accompany the changes (The Laziness Factor), (6) Don’t want the controversy that might accompany the changes (The Fear Factor), (7) Don’t have a serious commitment to the cause (The Lack of Commitment Factor), or (8) Feel that someone else is responsible to make the changes (The Lack of Responsibility Factor).
Some of us have been involved in the church for many decades and our knowledge and commitment is pretty much at the same level it was when we first accepted Christ. We can become hardened to the way we have been doing things both as individuals and as a church. Apathy has taken its toll and we just don’t seem to really care very much as long as we can continue on the same path. We pretend to care by praying for souls to be saved while we do nothing to see that that happens. We don’t visit, witness, pray passionately, or spend time with God yet we want to see people saved so it will salve our bleeding conscience. We may even fix the blame on the preacher or someone else but we feel we are clean. How sad when we not only become hardened but actually stand in the way of changes that might enable the church to “win the lost and develop the saved”.
What we need is a fresh word from God. Just where do we get this fresh word? Is there a good book out there that will show me this fresh word? Yes, there is! Will it show me an up to date way to improve my spiritual life and the life of my church? It certainly will!! Will it give us guidance as to the changes we need to make in our lives and in the church? You bet it will!!! Would you like to know how to get you hands on a copy of this exciting book? You may have your hands on a copy of it right now. It’s called the Holy Bible.
We sing “Tell me the old, old story” and all we want to do is to listen to the same old story over and over. Let me hasten to say that there is nothing wrong with the old story. It’s the greatest story ever told but it’s not a story that was designed just for listening. It’s a life changing story and if it hasn’t changed your life, then you’ve never heard the story properly. If the story of Christ dying on the cross hasn’t impacted your life to the point that you want to serve Him and tell others about Him, you have become immune to it’s message.
When we have put our methods on a pedestal and refuse to make any changes to them, then we slaves to a method rather than adherents of the Gospel. There are hundreds of thousands of churches in America. Some of them have done a great job of telling the story and are leading people to Christ. The ones that are doing the best job are not the ones that have patterned themselves after another church or following a program handed down to them by their denominational headquarters. It is the churches that regularly receive a fresh word from God.
How do you receive a fresh word from God? Well, I’m glad you asked that question. You can receive tidbits of freshness by listening to someone teach or preach. Nowadays you can go to the internet and listen to hundreds of the best preachers in America. You can take Bible study coursed on line. You can attend a great Sunday School class or other Bible classes. There are thousands of great books available for personal enrichment and devotional study. I heartily endorse all of these methods as secondary sources of spiritual enrichment.
The primary source of food for our spiritual lives should be God’s Word itself. Perhaps something that someone else said or wrote will direct you to God’s Word and help you to understand it better. No Bible teacher can personalize God’s Word for your life like the Holy Spirit can. It’s perfectly to read commentaries and other Biblical expositions written by other men but go to the source for yourself. It’s like sending someone else to the well to drink water for you and then coming back and telling you how cool and refreshing the water was. If you want to satisfy your thirst, you have to go to the well yourself. And while you are there, take the bucket and go to the deepest part of the well. That’s where the coldest and sweetest water is. The water near the top is ok but the best is deeper down. The deeper you go, the better it will be.
Don’t rush through a Bible study. It’s far better to dig deep in one verse than to cover multiple chapters in one sitting. Read the verse or verses multiple times and pray for God to open the Word up to you and enable you to apply it to your life. Use cross references or a concordance to further your study. Hopefully there will be times when you don’t need help from someone else. All you will do is read the Bible and pray. God is a living God and His Word is a living word. You will never exhaust the meaning of any particular passage. Because of its living nature, it will constantly give off new meaning. I never cease to be amazed at how I can read a passage with which I have been familiar for years and see something that wasn’t there before (at least it wasn’t there before for me). As you share with someone else, you each give your input and then together, you discover additional meanings. The more you study, the more God will pour out His blessings and directions for your life.
I am saddened that for the most part, we do not get our marching orders directly from God’s Word but from a “democratic process” in the church. We “vote” on what God’s will is for the church. Nowhere in the Bible does God authorize the church to take a vote to determine what His will is. We vote our preferences. Seldom in our churches are business decisions made after a time of heartfelt, soul searching prayer.
Neither is the right pattern in a church a pastor, no matter how well intentioned and spiritual he is, to tell the church what God has revealed to him and expect the church to follow. Let there be no doubt that the pastor should be the spiritual leader of a church. He should not have to go through the deacons or any other group to get approval for every little thing he does. He should share his vision with the church, ask the church to pray about it, seek a consensus and then move forward. He will not lose power by this approach. He will gain the support of the people. Should he not gain the support of the people, he might just be avoiding a catastrophe. In all likelihood, when he shares his vision, the people will buy into it and it will become the church’s vision, not just the pastor’s. A church may be very agreeable when the pastor wants to do something and they will say, “Fine pastor, go ahead and do it. We will watch what you do”. If the pastor has asked the church to pray about the vision and then after genuine soul searching prayer commit to the vision, they will then say to the pastor, “Fine pastor, let’s do this. We will help you with it”.
II Cor 5.17 tells us that, “If anyone is in Christ that old things are passed away and all things have become new. Or God is a God of second chances (and third, and fourth, etc). He doesn’t write us off simply because we have failed. He will keep on allowing us to start over again and again. That’s why we should never give up in our personal lives and in the life of the church. We so often get into patterns of repeating the same mistakes and can’t seem to get on the right track. We’ve read, even seriously studied, the Bible and haven’t found the answers to life’s greatest problems. We have mixed feelings (which we keep to ourselves) about whether the Bible really has the answer to our problems. We verbalize that the Bible has the answer to every problem yet we can’t seem to find the answer to our own.
So, what’s our problem? Why can’t we find the answers we need to deal with our daily grind that often seems to pull us down. We attend church, Sunday School, serve in the church, study the Bible, pray, and nothing seems to happen. It’s like we are on a treadmill going fast but not moving forward. It’s not unusual to see someone who has been very active in the life of the church to drop back and become inactive sometimes even to the point of dropping out altogether. What happened? Did something bad happen in their lives to cause them to be embarrassed to continue serving and attending? Are they hiding some great sin from us? That may happen on occasion, but the most likely culprit is just burnout.
We get so busy doing things that we lose focus of why we do them. It should go without saying that without a motive, there is no motivation. And when we lose the motive we can only go on so long until something has to give. We get tired of going through the motions and receive no satisfaction from either the results of our efforts or knowing that we are doing God’s will. When we have a purpose, we can go on and on and on just like the Energizer bunny but when the purpose has waned, our spirits will eventually give in as well and we may be tempted to throw in the towel.
What we need is a fresh new Word from God. And what’s amazing about a fresh Word from God is that it will come out of the same old Word we have been reading all of our lives. That’s because the Word of God is a living Word. It isn’t limited in interpretation to a single time or situation. Old familiar passages can come alive in a new exciting way and fit a new situation. We sing, “Tell me the old, old story”, and it could just as well be, “Tell me the new, new story”, because the old story is the new story. In one sense, it isn’t the old story or the new story. It’s the story. It is timeless. It never changes yet it has the power to constantly change us.
In order for God’s Word to change us, we must study it with expectancy and seriousness. It will take more than a simple reading of a verse or two. Serious study will also include serious prayer. In order for God’s Word to impact our lives, there must be a dialogue, not just a monologue. God speaks to us through the Bible and prayer and we speak to Him through prayer. If we study His Word and pray about what we read, we allow the Word to take root in our lives. The application of the Word often begins to take place through prayer.
If we continue to do things the same old way, then we can realistically expect the same old results. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. We would like to see some better results than what we are getting but without any additional effort on our part. That’s a little unrealistic, isn’t it? We are going to get what we bargain for. If we plant an apple tree, we should expect it to bear apples. If we put out a tomato plant, it won’t bear anything other than tomatoes. It’s a law of nature that we will reap what we sow. The same is true in the spiritual world. God will bless us according to what we sow.
If we want different results, we must do things differently. But let me hasten to say that just doing something differently will not necessarily produce the results we want. There must be good reason for change or we shouldn’t make any changes at all. Sometimes we don’t make changes because we are: (1) Afraid of change (The Fear Factor), (2) Don’t know what changes to make (The Knowledge Factor), (3) Don’t know how to implement the changes (The Knowledge Factor), (3) Aren’t even aware that changes are needed (The Blindness Factor), (4) Are satisfied with the results we are getting (The Complacency Factor), (5) Do not want the work that will accompany the changes (The Laziness Factor), (6) Don’t want the controversy that might accompany the changes (The Fear Factor), (7) Don’t have a serious commitment to the cause (The Lack of Commitment Factor), or (8) Feel that someone else is responsible to make the changes (The Lack of Responsibility Factor).
Some of us have been involved in the church for many decades and our knowledge and commitment is pretty much at the same level it was when we first accepted Christ. We can become hardened to the way we have been doing things both as individuals and as a church. Apathy has taken its toll and we just don’t seem to really care very much as long as we can continue on the same path. We pretend to care by praying for souls to be saved while we do nothing to see that that happens. We don’t visit, witness, pray passionately, or spend time with God yet we want to see people saved so it will salve our bleeding conscience. We may even fix the blame on the preacher or someone else but we feel we are clean. How sad when we not only become hardened but actually stand in the way of changes that might enable the church to “win the lost and develop the saved”.
What we need is a fresh word from God. Just where do we get this fresh word? Is there a good book out there that will show me this fresh word? Yes, there is! Will it show me an up to date way to improve my spiritual life and the life of my church? It certainly will!! Will it give us guidance as to the changes we need to make in our lives and in the church? You bet it will!!! Would you like to know how to get you hands on a copy of this exciting book? You may have your hands on a copy of it right now. It’s called the Holy Bible.
We sing “Tell me the old, old story” and all we want to do is to listen to the same old story over and over. Let me hasten to say that there is nothing wrong with the old story. It’s the greatest story ever told but it’s not a story that was designed just for listening. It’s a life changing story and if it hasn’t changed your life, then you’ve never heard the story properly. If the story of Christ dying on the cross hasn’t impacted your life to the point that you want to serve Him and tell others about Him, you have become immune to it’s message.
When we have put our methods on a pedestal and refuse to make any changes to them, then we slaves to a method rather than adherents of the Gospel. There are hundreds of thousands of churches in America. Some of them have done a great job of telling the story and are leading people to Christ. The ones that are doing the best job are not the ones that have patterned themselves after another church or following a program handed down to them by their denominational headquarters. It is the churches that regularly receive a fresh word from God.
How do you receive a fresh word from God? Well, I’m glad you asked that question. You can receive tidbits of freshness by listening to someone teach or preach. Nowadays you can go to the internet and listen to hundreds of the best preachers in America. You can take Bible study coursed on line. You can attend a great Sunday School class or other Bible classes. There are thousands of great books available for personal enrichment and devotional study. I heartily endorse all of these methods as secondary sources of spiritual enrichment.
The primary source of food for our spiritual lives should be God’s Word itself. Perhaps something that someone else said or wrote will direct you to God’s Word and help you to understand it better. No Bible teacher can personalize God’s Word for your life like the Holy Spirit can. It’s perfectly to read commentaries and other Biblical expositions written by other men but go to the source for yourself. It’s like sending someone else to the well to drink water for you and then coming back and telling you how cool and refreshing the water was. If you want to satisfy your thirst, you have to go to the well yourself. And while you are there, take the bucket and go to the deepest part of the well. That’s where the coldest and sweetest water is. The water near the top is ok but the best is deeper down. The deeper you go, the better it will be.
Don’t rush through a Bible study. It’s far better to dig deep in one verse than to cover multiple chapters in one sitting. Read the verse or verses multiple times and pray for God to open the Word up to you and enable you to apply it to your life. Use cross references or a concordance to further your study. Hopefully there will be times when you don’t need help from someone else. All you will do is read the Bible and pray. God is a living God and His Word is a living word. You will never exhaust the meaning of any particular passage. Because of its living nature, it will constantly give off new meaning. I never cease to be amazed at how I can read a passage with which I have been familiar for years and see something that wasn’t there before (at least it wasn’t there before for me). As you share with someone else, you each give your input and then together, you discover additional meanings. The more you study, the more God will pour out His blessings and directions for your life.
I am saddened that for the most part, we do not get our marching orders directly from God’s Word but from a “democratic process” in the church. We “vote” on what God’s will is for the church. Nowhere in the Bible does God authorize the church to take a vote to determine what His will is. We vote our preferences. Seldom in our churches are business decisions made after a time of heartfelt, soul searching prayer.
Neither is the right pattern in a church a pastor, no matter how well intentioned and spiritual he is, to tell the church what God has revealed to him and expect the church to follow. Let there be no doubt that the pastor should be the spiritual leader of a church. He should not have to go through the deacons or any other group to get approval for every little thing he does. He should share his vision with the church, ask the church to pray about it, seek a consensus and then move forward. He will not lose power by this approach. He will gain the support of the people. Should he not gain the support of the people, he might just be avoiding a catastrophe. In all likelihood, when he shares his vision, the people will buy into it and it will become the church’s vision, not just the pastor’s. A church may be very agreeable when the pastor wants to do something and they will say, “Fine pastor, go ahead and do it. We will watch what you do”. If the pastor has asked the church to pray about the vision and then after genuine soul searching prayer commit to the vision, they will then say to the pastor, “Fine pastor, let’s do this. We will help you with it”.
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