To give without fear, to serve without expectation, to see another’s need without regard for self; it is in doing these things we find true purpose. Our lives are opportunities to be part of a story that is much larger than we are but most miss it instead spending the time given to them not with purpose but with selfishness and fear. What if we could see beyond what our physical eyes allow, what if we could see with spiritual eyes – knowing things of value like relationships, serving one another, and encouraging others along this journey would we not grow deeper in understanding with each step? There is only one way to start this journey. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Him. (John 14:6) but too many are satisfied just accepting what Jesus has done for them, then thinking they have their salvation become busy living a life, once again, of selfishness and fear while all along they are being deceived by the very enemy of God. How do you live a life that pleases God? Do we please Him by our talents and abilities? Do we please Him because of our good deeds? No we please Him by knowing Him and obeying His Word. He has given us His Word (the Bible) as a road map or compass to the unseen path He lays before us. (1 John 3:6 MKJV) “Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him.” Does that mean we are perfect? No, but we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we see Him as our source and with each new step we depend upon Him more than before. He has forgiven us at the cross and all we must do is accept Him then abide in Him. However, if we knowingly sin and continue to do so God says we never knew Him!
As we abide in Him we begin to understand just how much He has forgiven us, He reveals this to us. This gift of understanding causes us to do the same as He has done for us, it compels us to lay down our life for others and in doing so our hearts swell up with purpose like never before and God increases our territory. Look at this lesson as Jesus explains it to his disciples.
(Mark 9:33-35 MKJV) And He came to Capernaum. And being in the house, He asked them, What was it that you disputed among yourselves in the way? But they were silent. For in the way they had disputed among themselves who was the greatest. And He sat down and called the Twelve and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.
Jesus explains that purpose does not come by might or power, it is not taken by the greedy but given to those whom God see fit and a humble heart is His requirement. It feels backwards from everything we know but only because we are not looking through our spiritual eyes. The moment we have our eyes on anything other than Jesus we derail the progress we have made. If I serve only to obtain position I’ve missed the mark. (1 Corinthians 13:1 MKJV) “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.”
God knows us inside and out and only He can judge the condition of our hearts. (Matthew 6:33 MKJV) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Do you want to do something big for God? Then serve with a humble heart knowing that God is your only source and trust that whatever He has in store for you the journey there will prepare you for His purpose and when you reach the Promise Land your life will be God’s trophy of love. For He first loved the world, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
God, help us to know you better
(Psalms 99:1 MKJV) “Jehovah reigns; let the peoples tremble. He sits between the cherubs; let the earth quake.”
Have we lost sight of God’s holy righteousness and exchanged it for that which is convenient? We say God is love and His grace is sufficient. He is this and more, more than we have the right to ask but do we stop there? Do we concern ourselves with the full character of God or do we just take the parts we want? If we want God to show up in our lives we have to take all of Him or none of Him otherwise we have a pretend god, a golden calf, there to ease our conscious but this is not the One who created you and me, the One who desires the best for us, the One who offered His Son so that we may know Him.
(Psalms 99:2-9 MKJV) “Jehovah is great in Zion; and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and fearful name; it is holy. The king's strength also loved judgment; You established uprightness; You worked judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Praise Jehovah our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel among those who called on His name; they called on Jehovah, and He answered them. He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; they kept His testimonies and the ordinance that He gave them. You answered them, O Jehovah our God; You were a God who forgave them, though You take vengeance for their deeds. Praise Jehovah our God, and worship at His holy hill; for Jehovah our God is holy.”
Lord, I stand in awe of You! Who is like you in all the earth or heavens above? For you know me from the inside out and yet You have rescued me from myself and you protect me from those who set themselves against You, for You are my source and shield. You have paid a high price so that I can be with you, help me to understand Your love and help me not to forget your righteousness for You are holy and just! Lord, there are so many things that keep me from seeing you clearly. Help me to love your Word so that I may know You better. Cause the world to fade away so that I may come before you in purity and simplicity. Lord, I want all of you and you deserve all of me, help me to hold nothing back. May I find you in the secret place and Lord when I call on your name answer me so that I may know You are there, for I am desperate for You. Therefore I will seek You and find You - because of your goodness You make yourself known! You raise me up in times of trouble and You humble me when my eyes wonder so that I may learn of You. I know not why but You chose me and called me by name so I give myself to You, all that I am and all that I am not. You know my faults and that which is lacking still You move me forward so I join your song! May all of creation worship You, for only You are worthy!
Have we lost sight of God’s holy righteousness and exchanged it for that which is convenient? We say God is love and His grace is sufficient. He is this and more, more than we have the right to ask but do we stop there? Do we concern ourselves with the full character of God or do we just take the parts we want? If we want God to show up in our lives we have to take all of Him or none of Him otherwise we have a pretend god, a golden calf, there to ease our conscious but this is not the One who created you and me, the One who desires the best for us, the One who offered His Son so that we may know Him.
(Psalms 99:2-9 MKJV) “Jehovah is great in Zion; and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and fearful name; it is holy. The king's strength also loved judgment; You established uprightness; You worked judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Praise Jehovah our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel among those who called on His name; they called on Jehovah, and He answered them. He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; they kept His testimonies and the ordinance that He gave them. You answered them, O Jehovah our God; You were a God who forgave them, though You take vengeance for their deeds. Praise Jehovah our God, and worship at His holy hill; for Jehovah our God is holy.”
Lord, I stand in awe of You! Who is like you in all the earth or heavens above? For you know me from the inside out and yet You have rescued me from myself and you protect me from those who set themselves against You, for You are my source and shield. You have paid a high price so that I can be with you, help me to understand Your love and help me not to forget your righteousness for You are holy and just! Lord, there are so many things that keep me from seeing you clearly. Help me to love your Word so that I may know You better. Cause the world to fade away so that I may come before you in purity and simplicity. Lord, I want all of you and you deserve all of me, help me to hold nothing back. May I find you in the secret place and Lord when I call on your name answer me so that I may know You are there, for I am desperate for You. Therefore I will seek You and find You - because of your goodness You make yourself known! You raise me up in times of trouble and You humble me when my eyes wonder so that I may learn of You. I know not why but You chose me and called me by name so I give myself to You, all that I am and all that I am not. You know my faults and that which is lacking still You move me forward so I join your song! May all of creation worship You, for only You are worthy!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Who do you look to in times of trouble?
(1 Chronicles 21:1-4 MSG) “Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census of Israel. David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, "Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number." Joab resisted: "May GOD multiply his people by hundreds! Don't they all belong to my master the king? But why on earth would you do a thing like this--why risk getting Israel into trouble with God?" But David wouldn't take no for an answer, so Joab went off and did it--canvassed the country and then came back to Jerusalem”
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! But God has a purpose and plan for those whom He loves and God loved David even though he took the census in spite of being warned by God through the captain of his army not to do this thing. Pride was at the center of David’s actions, having won previous battles he began to no longer see God as the source but himself. The same is true today when church leaders create guidelines and rules and regulations about how and when people in the church get involved instead of pointing the way and teaching people how to recognize God’s calling then encouraging them to experience God for themselves. Some leaders are so sure their way is the only way that they end up suffocating God’s true calling on one’s life and God says that is wrong! The Pharisees did the same thing, I imagine when things got started their intentions were good - they always are but like king David Satan seduced them into believing God was not the source of their success but the way they conducted themselves somehow brought about the riches they now enjoy and therefore everyone should do as they do and not only that but pay homage to them for leading the way. Eventually they got so far away from God they no longer knew Him. That is the reason Jesus opposed everything they did and vice versa. Jesus came to show the people the Father’s love and righteousness, His holiness and compassion because man and man’s laws had gotten so far out of line. (John 3:16 MSG) "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”
No matter what how great the success we experience we must always remember God is the source. When we start adding rules and regulations to how people serve God then we better wakeup and hope we hear God’s conviction. Things did not end well for David in 1 Chronicles 21. (1 Chronicles 21:7-8 MSG) “And God, offended by the whole thing, punished Israel. Then David prayed, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin--I've been really stupid."”
David was punished because God loved him and David was quick to let go of the pride that brought him to that point, where as with the Pharisees they continued to hold on to their pride because admitting they were wrong before God and the people was more than they could comprehend but “looking good” by means of self-righteousness and holding onto their pride cost them eternal life and removed the blessings of God in this life.
No matter what it takes, if it is a pastor loosing “his” congregation or a businessman loosing his position God wants His children to know that He is the one in control, not them and though that sounds like a selfish God that thought couldn’t be any further from the truth. God knows pride will kill our spirits and separate us from Him. He loves us too much to let that happen. Think about spiritual leaders in your life who have made bad decisions that were made public. Our first reaction is to think God is punishing them for what they’ve done and their getting what they deserved for deceiving us but God is so beyond all of that! It is God’s purpose to cause that leader to let go of his pride and humble himself before his/her Creator. Some do but many don’t, holding onto “their” ministry instead of clinging to God – their only hope of salvation! When God corrects you be quick, like David, to let go of your pride and cling to the source of all that is good, to the One who died to set you free from the life of sin you were living so that your spirit may be raised from spiritual death just as Jesus arose from the grave thereby, taking victory from death and the grave. Be quick to let go of all the efforts and striving you’ve been doing to make things “work”. Are you worn out? Do you feel as if you are giving more than you can sustain? Your spirit has been telling you something is not right but you’ve been too busy to listen. Because of His great love for us He will not allow us to continue in pride, you may be headed for a crisis. The question is how long will it take you and how much must you lose in order to see God’s plan for your life so that He may once again bless you and bring you close to His side?
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! But God has a purpose and plan for those whom He loves and God loved David even though he took the census in spite of being warned by God through the captain of his army not to do this thing. Pride was at the center of David’s actions, having won previous battles he began to no longer see God as the source but himself. The same is true today when church leaders create guidelines and rules and regulations about how and when people in the church get involved instead of pointing the way and teaching people how to recognize God’s calling then encouraging them to experience God for themselves. Some leaders are so sure their way is the only way that they end up suffocating God’s true calling on one’s life and God says that is wrong! The Pharisees did the same thing, I imagine when things got started their intentions were good - they always are but like king David Satan seduced them into believing God was not the source of their success but the way they conducted themselves somehow brought about the riches they now enjoy and therefore everyone should do as they do and not only that but pay homage to them for leading the way. Eventually they got so far away from God they no longer knew Him. That is the reason Jesus opposed everything they did and vice versa. Jesus came to show the people the Father’s love and righteousness, His holiness and compassion because man and man’s laws had gotten so far out of line. (John 3:16 MSG) "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”
No matter what how great the success we experience we must always remember God is the source. When we start adding rules and regulations to how people serve God then we better wakeup and hope we hear God’s conviction. Things did not end well for David in 1 Chronicles 21. (1 Chronicles 21:7-8 MSG) “And God, offended by the whole thing, punished Israel. Then David prayed, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin--I've been really stupid."”
David was punished because God loved him and David was quick to let go of the pride that brought him to that point, where as with the Pharisees they continued to hold on to their pride because admitting they were wrong before God and the people was more than they could comprehend but “looking good” by means of self-righteousness and holding onto their pride cost them eternal life and removed the blessings of God in this life.
No matter what it takes, if it is a pastor loosing “his” congregation or a businessman loosing his position God wants His children to know that He is the one in control, not them and though that sounds like a selfish God that thought couldn’t be any further from the truth. God knows pride will kill our spirits and separate us from Him. He loves us too much to let that happen. Think about spiritual leaders in your life who have made bad decisions that were made public. Our first reaction is to think God is punishing them for what they’ve done and their getting what they deserved for deceiving us but God is so beyond all of that! It is God’s purpose to cause that leader to let go of his pride and humble himself before his/her Creator. Some do but many don’t, holding onto “their” ministry instead of clinging to God – their only hope of salvation! When God corrects you be quick, like David, to let go of your pride and cling to the source of all that is good, to the One who died to set you free from the life of sin you were living so that your spirit may be raised from spiritual death just as Jesus arose from the grave thereby, taking victory from death and the grave. Be quick to let go of all the efforts and striving you’ve been doing to make things “work”. Are you worn out? Do you feel as if you are giving more than you can sustain? Your spirit has been telling you something is not right but you’ve been too busy to listen. Because of His great love for us He will not allow us to continue in pride, you may be headed for a crisis. The question is how long will it take you and how much must you lose in order to see God’s plan for your life so that He may once again bless you and bring you close to His side?
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