(Matthew 5:13-14 NIV) You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Can people tell that I am a Christian when I don’t know they’re watching or do I pose as a Christian when I know they are? I remember how difficult it was to share my faith with someone when I was young. I felt it was expected of me before I was taught how to have a true relationship with God through daily prayer, study of the Word, and worship. I was trying to manufacture something I did not fully understand instead of letting it overflow from a lifestyle with Christ Jesus. Still it is of the utmost importance that others know about the salvation that has been offered to them, what’s the answer? Personal relationship with Jesus, daily walking with Him so that I know Him and become like Him! People know authenticity when they see it; the opposite is true as well. The change in your life will automatically stir those around you. If others are not being stirred then ask yourself, “How have I changed since I believed?” and “What does my relationship with Christ look like?” The result will be not only impacting others for Christ but it will also allow God to reveal things that are still being held onto, things that are keeping you from having a deeper relationship with Him. Selling out to Christ doesn’t mean I lose my individuality and become just another religious figure selling my own brand of salvation; instead my relationship with the Father is the key to breaking through religion and discovering my unique purpose and gifts! It is our job to discover who we are meant to be, like the three servants that were given talents by the master we can either be productive and faithful or lazy and fearful, two were rewarded but one condemned.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Just drive and let God direct you!
(Psalms 5:8 MKJV) Lead me, O Jehovah, in Your righteousness, because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.
God has given each of us a very specific purpose and as we draw closer to Him this purpose, this dream, will begin to move us to action but there are many obstacles that must be overcome. Bruce Wilkinson provides one of the best pictures of this in his book “The Dream Giver”. In it we find a young man named Ordinary living in a place called Familiar. As you can guess everything had its place until one day he realized something big was missing. One thing led to another until this dream moved him to action. The first step was moving out of his “Comfort Zone”, next he faced “Border Bullies” as people told him that his dream was too big. Once he got past them he found himself in the “Wasteland” where he faced despair, thinking his dream had died but he was not alone for he met a stranger called Faith. She caused Ordinary to realize the hand of God as he came through the Wasteland. She reminded him how he found water to drink and food to eat just as he needed them most. After the Wasteland he came to another place called Sanctuary, then the Valley of Giants, and finally the Land of Promise.
I too have traveled this path and found the Promised Land just as Ordinary did but what surprised me most is this – the Land of Promise is not the final destination but merely a mile stone in a life style of following God because once the Land of Promise has been reached the Dream Giver (God) will raise up new leaders to take your place. If you stay too long once again you’ll find yourself in the Land of Familiar. It’s all very interesting how God requires our full attention. It’s when we stop looking to Him that we stop moving on our journey. This is not a journey that requires physical strength but instead a clean heart before God and spiritual ears to hear His voice. He will not ask anything of you that He has not given you the means to do but it does require that you trust Him fully and your obedience will be tried. Each new adventure is more difficult than the previous but isn’t that what the Bible tells us to expect? Finally guard your heart for God’s enemy is aware of who you are meant to be whether you realize it or not. The very spot the enemy attacks will be that which the dream is born of. I was labeled, as a child, as being shy and withdrawn and I could have let it rule my life but out of that I realized being quiet gave me the ability to listen to God’s leading better and now I find myself sharing His Word with others regularly!
God has given each of us a very specific purpose and as we draw closer to Him this purpose, this dream, will begin to move us to action but there are many obstacles that must be overcome. Bruce Wilkinson provides one of the best pictures of this in his book “The Dream Giver”. In it we find a young man named Ordinary living in a place called Familiar. As you can guess everything had its place until one day he realized something big was missing. One thing led to another until this dream moved him to action. The first step was moving out of his “Comfort Zone”, next he faced “Border Bullies” as people told him that his dream was too big. Once he got past them he found himself in the “Wasteland” where he faced despair, thinking his dream had died but he was not alone for he met a stranger called Faith. She caused Ordinary to realize the hand of God as he came through the Wasteland. She reminded him how he found water to drink and food to eat just as he needed them most. After the Wasteland he came to another place called Sanctuary, then the Valley of Giants, and finally the Land of Promise.
I too have traveled this path and found the Promised Land just as Ordinary did but what surprised me most is this – the Land of Promise is not the final destination but merely a mile stone in a life style of following God because once the Land of Promise has been reached the Dream Giver (God) will raise up new leaders to take your place. If you stay too long once again you’ll find yourself in the Land of Familiar. It’s all very interesting how God requires our full attention. It’s when we stop looking to Him that we stop moving on our journey. This is not a journey that requires physical strength but instead a clean heart before God and spiritual ears to hear His voice. He will not ask anything of you that He has not given you the means to do but it does require that you trust Him fully and your obedience will be tried. Each new adventure is more difficult than the previous but isn’t that what the Bible tells us to expect? Finally guard your heart for God’s enemy is aware of who you are meant to be whether you realize it or not. The very spot the enemy attacks will be that which the dream is born of. I was labeled, as a child, as being shy and withdrawn and I could have let it rule my life but out of that I realized being quiet gave me the ability to listen to God’s leading better and now I find myself sharing His Word with others regularly!
Monday, March 29, 2010
When “Helping” is hurting
(Proverbs 24:24 NLT) A judge who says to the wicked, "You are innocent," will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.
I had this conversation with someone I’m very close to me just last night and as we talked I saw the pain that was involved on both sides but by taking the responsibility from the other person my friend only made this current state last longer. There is a very real feeling of being trapped and worry but this too is just one more opportunity to trust God. Who is the source of all life? Is not God the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, the Great I Am? Dear loved one the Father’s heart beats inside of you and He desires for you to rest in Him. You know deep inside your Deliverer awaits, it is time to lay this burden down. Do not fear the lessons of the Father, though they may be painful it is but for a season. There is a place He wants to take you but you must trust Him first. Faith in God is the ground upon which we stand!
(Isaiah 7:7 NLT) “But this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”
I had this conversation with someone I’m very close to me just last night and as we talked I saw the pain that was involved on both sides but by taking the responsibility from the other person my friend only made this current state last longer. There is a very real feeling of being trapped and worry but this too is just one more opportunity to trust God. Who is the source of all life? Is not God the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, the Great I Am? Dear loved one the Father’s heart beats inside of you and He desires for you to rest in Him. You know deep inside your Deliverer awaits, it is time to lay this burden down. Do not fear the lessons of the Father, though they may be painful it is but for a season. There is a place He wants to take you but you must trust Him first. Faith in God is the ground upon which we stand!
(Isaiah 7:7 NLT) “But this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
God will take care of you
(Psalms 55:22 MKJV) Cast your burden on Jehovah, and He will keep you; He will never allow the righteous to waver.
God’s plan is to teach us to trust Him more if He provided for me years ahead of time, for that matter days would be too long, I would not look to Him but instead I would allow lesser things become the center of my attention and soon I would be utterly lost. You see my provisions are important to God but I’m not sure they are the most important things. He will sustain me that I’m sure of but for what purpose? Is it so that I can gather more stuff? No, the Bible is very clear about that. It’s deeper than that remember God sees all eternity. I believe this life is, at least in part, preparation for a time yet to come. The choices we make in this life will determine parameters in the future. More importantly Heaven is not an end but the beginning of something more wonderful than can be imagined! Those who understand that this life is a wild adventure where we follow Christ through deep forests, dry deserts, and majestic mountain tops have had only a glimpse of the adventure yet to come. The common denominator is Christ Jesus! This life prepares us to trust Him more. The Bible says we must first be faithful in the little things… (Luke 16:10 NLT) "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities." As we trust Him more not only does our territory increase here on earth but that which He is preparing for us is increased as well. So remember God will take care of you now but there is an eternal purpose, it’s a purpose that cannot be seen now but by faith.
God’s plan is to teach us to trust Him more if He provided for me years ahead of time, for that matter days would be too long, I would not look to Him but instead I would allow lesser things become the center of my attention and soon I would be utterly lost. You see my provisions are important to God but I’m not sure they are the most important things. He will sustain me that I’m sure of but for what purpose? Is it so that I can gather more stuff? No, the Bible is very clear about that. It’s deeper than that remember God sees all eternity. I believe this life is, at least in part, preparation for a time yet to come. The choices we make in this life will determine parameters in the future. More importantly Heaven is not an end but the beginning of something more wonderful than can be imagined! Those who understand that this life is a wild adventure where we follow Christ through deep forests, dry deserts, and majestic mountain tops have had only a glimpse of the adventure yet to come. The common denominator is Christ Jesus! This life prepares us to trust Him more. The Bible says we must first be faithful in the little things… (Luke 16:10 NLT) "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities." As we trust Him more not only does our territory increase here on earth but that which He is preparing for us is increased as well. So remember God will take care of you now but there is an eternal purpose, it’s a purpose that cannot be seen now but by faith.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Financial planning
(Proverbs 6:6-8 NLT) Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
God doesn’t want us to be lazy nor does He want us to put our trust in money. A life well lived is one of balance. I find that the secret to life is total trust and dependence in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! If I trust Him that means I’m listening, if I’m listening and trusting then I must also be obedient. Jesus said this (Matthew 6:24 NLT) “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Jesus told a parable (Matthew 25) where the master referred to his servant as wicked because he was lazy. You see it is not enough for me to say that I love Him. If my love does not move me to action then I know not God and my love is not of Him. Be diligent giving all that you have, in all that you do may it be done as unto the Lord. However, we must always remember who our source is. This is why Jesus said, (Matthew 19:24 NIV) “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The rich man has paid a high price to gain his earthly status and because of this it is difficult for him to let go of what he has worked so hard for. This man’s eyes are not on Jesus but on temporary riches. Again balance is the key – work diligently while trusting in God therefore, live life to the fullest!
(Luke 12:18-21 MSG) Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!' "Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods--who gets it?' "That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."
Lingering anger
(Psalms 37:8 NLT) Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper--it only leads to harm.
Many things we face in this life are unjust, unfair, or just plain hurtful. When we face such a situation we also, many times unnoticed, come face to face with a choice – to be angry or to forgive. On the surface being angry and placing someone on our black list causes them to miss out on our friendship which seems like it would hurt them but instead it destroys us from the inside out, while all along the enemy of God gains pleasure from the choice we made. By harboring anger we set ourselves opposed to God’s Word. If anger is allowed to continue God’s blessings will fade away, which leads to more anger. This emotion acts like a cancer in that it continues to grow suffocating life as it does. The very light of God inside of us grows dim as anger is gripped tighter and tighter. Look at what anger does… (Exodus 4:21 NLT) And the LORD told Moses, "When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go.”
Pharaoh was understandably angry, after all he was Pharaoh and he didn’t like someone telling him what to do, not only that but all of Israel was enslaved to the Egyptians and made their lives easier but God had a different plan. Pharaoh made the mistake of thinking he had the power to control the situation. How many times do think the same? Why is it so difficult to give up our right to be right? We know God is trustworthy but yet we choose to do things our way.
(Isaiah 35:8 NLT) And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there.
(James 3:13 NLT) If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
(Lamentations 3:40 MKJV) Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.
Take courage traveler God is with you. He takes us by the hand and leads us but it is up to us to step out in faith. We cannot go by feelings for they are based on the carnal but the path before us is of the spirit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)