(Leviticus 19:4 NLT) "Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.”
God’s Word warns us not to make idols for ourselves many times and instantly my mind says, “Whew, I’m glad I don’t have to be concerned about that, after all there are no golden calves in my house or yard!” But what of those things in my heart or the things that fill my thoughts throughout the day? O, to be single minded and whole hearted in my following after the Lord, my God!
Do you ever wonder why it is so hard to concentrate on things that you know are important? I find most people, one time or another have put so many things on their plate they become distracted from their true purpose. Just as spending money indicates to true condition of our hearts, the way we spend our time tells of the thoughts we have filled our minds with. Here is a revealing question – with an honest heart can I say the way I spend my time (and money) is pleasing to my Heavenly Father? We all have times when the answer would be “no” but that’s not the end of the world it just means we need God to help us change, we’ve tried living life ourselves and it doesn’t go well without Him. Those who realize that and make the life-change to trusting God’s leading are blessed because the Holy Spirit has revealed what is right to them.
(Matthew 6:33 NLT) “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32)
Father God does not cause bad things to happen because of one’s disobedience but rather it is the disobedience that because of the law of sowing and reaping trouble becomes the neighbor of the disobedient. However, Jehovah is a great God and His love is beyond comprehension. It is because of this great love for us that He is able to use that which the enemy has intended for destruction for our own good! Yes it was the prodigal son’s actions and the effects of which that brought him to the brink of destruction but it was also the very thing that allowed him to hear God’s Holy Spirit call him back to the Father because prior to that his heart was filled with pride, thinking he knew better than anyone else what was best for his own life. I hate to say it but we do the same with God. O, it starts out innocent enough you’ve had a hard day so you don’t read your Bible or you watch TV instead of invest time with you wife and children, honestly you’re looking for an easy way out, an escape but that is wrong. What makes it even worse are those who recognize your faults and are more than glad to point them out to you. Even worse than that are those who pretend to care but instead stir up trouble by making it their business to tell others how you don’t measure up, blind to their own shortcomings (Matthew 7:3). I believe this person has paid a great price and will not fully be aware of it until the end though its not because God isn’t speaking to them too. Things like this only push us further away, making us feel isolated and unforgivable but God has a plan and He is bigger than all of that. Ultimately, we too are turned back to the Father because of the desperation we face living in our own strength. In the act of coming home we find that God has been waiting and watching for our return and the first thing we see is Him running towards us with arms open wide!
Why is it wrong to look for an escape from a life that is difficult at times? Because the difficulties are there to point us towards God, so that we might trust Him and see His deliverance but by looking and finding an escape we short-circuit God’s plan for our lives. Yes life can be difficult but if we hold onto Him we have His promise that He is making us into something we cannot be on our own and that something has great purpose in God’s story!
Why is it wrong to look for an escape from a life that is difficult at times? Because the difficulties are there to point us towards God, so that we might trust Him and see His deliverance but by looking and finding an escape we short-circuit God’s plan for our lives. Yes life can be difficult but if we hold onto Him we have His promise that He is making us into something we cannot be on our own and that something has great purpose in God’s story!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Seeking God’s blessing in my life
As a modern day Christian often my mind is filled with thoughts about how I might be blessed by God. I know that often His blessings are impeded because of my attitude but it goes deeper than that. My actions and my will are many times selfish, instead of concerning myself with things that concern God. What would happen if God blessed my selfishness? Would I not become more selfish, turning more and more inward until thoughts of myself consumed me? Would that be good for me or does God have something else in mind? Though I don’t like to admit it struggles and heartache are paths that lead me back to the throne room of God and for me personally they are a reminder that God loves me too much to let me have my own way about things. Too many times I go around in circles because I refuse to make time to align myself with God’s heart. I believe there is a purpose in the things we go through, a purpose that is bigger than any individual – that is shown time and time again in the Bible but when that individual aligns him or herself with God’s will the blessings overflow in that person’s life – every time! Through out the Bible God purposed for His people (Israel) to display His power, glory, and love for mankind. Though as a whole they did not make the best example of what God’s presence in one’s life can do and seeing things from our vantage point, as we read about it in the Bible we can see how their own selfishness caused many hardships but God’s favor was still upon them in spite themselves and it is even upon them today, not because of what they have done but because of God’s Word to them. Through all that happened from the Old Testament to the New we now can share in that favor because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, if you accept Him, whether you are a Jew or not but still God’s purpose for His people (Israel) has not finished – there is more to come and once again we have a chance to be part of God’s plan for days ahead! Genesis 12:3 God told Abram (Abraham) that He would bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Today if I want more of God’s blessings then I should ask Him how I might bless His people, starting with those around me but never forgetting about Israel. Pray for them each morning and support ministries like International Fellowship of Christians and Jews http://www.ifcj.org and then pay attention to how God starts to change your life. Changes will start small - meaningless things become just that and our hearts begins to form after God’s own heart. As we are found faithful and obedient the changes become more profound and easily identified by those around us.
Today if I want more of God’s blessings then I should ask Him how I might bless His people, starting with those around me but never forgetting about Israel. Pray for them each morning and support ministries like International Fellowship of Christians and Jews http://www.ifcj.org and then pay attention to how God starts to change your life. Changes will start small - meaningless things become just that and our hearts begins to form after God’s own heart. As we are found faithful and obedient the changes become more profound and easily identified by those around us.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What a friend is meant to be
(Proverbs 27:17 MKJV) Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the face of his friend.
A few years ago I met a friend from school and many years before that both he and I graduated from high school, sigh. To my surprise the boy whom I once knew had matured and I sensed a hunger for the things of God in him, I guess in my mind he stayed the same all that time. I was delighted to see the change. Though the meeting was unexpected and of all places at the mall we both had other things to do but we talked for the better part of an hour as if that was our reason for being there. He asked me about Proverbs 27:17, I could tell it was something he put a lot of thought into prior to our encounter. It caught me off guard when he said iron doesn’t sharpen iron, as a matter of fact iron will dull iron. His point was well taken as I listened intently. At the time my only offering was that God’s Word was always true and full of purpose, if the purpose is not clear that doesn’t mean the purpose is not there or even incorrect but simply that we need His help understanding what was intended. That question wore on my mind for the next several days, eventually I forgot about it but God reminded me of it again this morning. Iron in the form of a sword was stronger than previous bronze swords. The iron sword could be made longer than before, required less maintenance, and stayed sharper longer but still in battle the sword became dull, especially when it hit another iron sword. Many times that seems to be what happens when two friends cannot agree. This is what confounded my friend that day and I could not deny the legitimacy of his question. What was missing was to follow that analogy through. If a sword becomes dull from battle what happens to it after the battle, before the next? The owner sharpens it! In the same way a wise person will listen to his friend, search his heart, and then go study – allowing the owner (God) to sharpen his understanding. The sharpening does not require being right either. The result is his life becomes better tuned to the Lord’s purpose, sharper and if he is truly wise this becoming sharper is not for the idea of being able to win the next disagreement but for the purpose of understanding God’s intent better so that he might make progress in becoming the person his Creator wants him to be!
A few years ago I met a friend from school and many years before that both he and I graduated from high school, sigh. To my surprise the boy whom I once knew had matured and I sensed a hunger for the things of God in him, I guess in my mind he stayed the same all that time. I was delighted to see the change. Though the meeting was unexpected and of all places at the mall we both had other things to do but we talked for the better part of an hour as if that was our reason for being there. He asked me about Proverbs 27:17, I could tell it was something he put a lot of thought into prior to our encounter. It caught me off guard when he said iron doesn’t sharpen iron, as a matter of fact iron will dull iron. His point was well taken as I listened intently. At the time my only offering was that God’s Word was always true and full of purpose, if the purpose is not clear that doesn’t mean the purpose is not there or even incorrect but simply that we need His help understanding what was intended. That question wore on my mind for the next several days, eventually I forgot about it but God reminded me of it again this morning. Iron in the form of a sword was stronger than previous bronze swords. The iron sword could be made longer than before, required less maintenance, and stayed sharper longer but still in battle the sword became dull, especially when it hit another iron sword. Many times that seems to be what happens when two friends cannot agree. This is what confounded my friend that day and I could not deny the legitimacy of his question. What was missing was to follow that analogy through. If a sword becomes dull from battle what happens to it after the battle, before the next? The owner sharpens it! In the same way a wise person will listen to his friend, search his heart, and then go study – allowing the owner (God) to sharpen his understanding. The sharpening does not require being right either. The result is his life becomes better tuned to the Lord’s purpose, sharper and if he is truly wise this becoming sharper is not for the idea of being able to win the next disagreement but for the purpose of understanding God’s intent better so that he might make progress in becoming the person his Creator wants him to be!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Shedding your armor as you go
I’ve made a discovery this week about myself but only because I believe my spirit heard the Lord speaking in that small still voice (1Kings 19:12). Most of you don’t know this about me but I am a perfectionist and though I was much worse in my youth parts of it remain even today. That doesn’t work out well for me being just a man, as I am broken and often I struggle with my lack but God’s Word tells me that is why He sent His son Jesus to die and that’s a good thing, still I struggle. If I could step back far enough I would see my life do something like this – God places a dream in my heart, I am awakened to it and move passionately towards the fulfillment of it, the enemy attacks, and I miss the mark. It is at that moment I come to a fork in the road and often I become distracted from God’s purpose. I am now forty; soon to be forty-one but I still remember a song from my teen years. It was by a group called Harvest and though I don’t remember the title I do remember the chorus. “Are we walking into the enemy’s camp laying our weapons down, shedding our armor as we go and leaven it on the ground? We’ve got to be strong in the power of His might to prove to the enemy that we are the army of the Lord and we’ve won the victory!”
Examining the situation now I’m left asking myself why is the enemy allowed to attack while the dream is still tender within me? God says, “Because child I have called you by name and have prepared you for such a time. This battle is yours and though I am with you, just like I was with David as he faced Goliath, it is your feet that must step onto the field.” My childhood has been catching up with me (read perfectionist), as I walk onto the battlefield I stub my toe then I become so disheartened that I begin to shed my armor but God all along has been calling me to stand and keep moving forward. I have been forgetting something very important. It is not about how prepared I am, though that is important, it’s all about me getting out of the way and letting God have His way through me. David was just a shepherd boy without training for battle yet the God of all splendor had prepared him for a purpose beyond what David understood at the time and though it was David’s hand that delivered the fatal blow to the giant before him it was the God of Israel that was bringing deliverance to His people! Still David didn’t stand a chance had he faced Goliath on his own. How many times do we face giants on our own strength? I don’t know about you but it never works out well for me. In my mind I can see only a few moves ahead, how this victory would bless those around me but God has a purpose beyond my comprehension! The more I allow God to use me the more I become what I could not be on my own.
God, you are glorious, who is like you! I am amazed and humbled that I get to be part of your plan. You know me intimately and see each move I make still you say that I am yours! Could it be that my efforts limit what you want to do through me? Though it seems my plans would work out well I acknowledge that I do not know the way. Holy Father, I ask you now to consume me and lead me unto righteousness, for your glory. For your kingdom illuminates the darkness and has no end! As I am here with you my heart is overwhelmed with joy, the world outside fades away, and your peace surrounds me. Lord, I don’t ever want to leave this place but I know there is a battle raging and my heart is at stake not only that but the hearts of my children and wife and those I don’t even know. Because You have allowed me to hear your voice I ask that You strengthen me now and when I take that step onto the battlefield it would not be mine but Yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Examining the situation now I’m left asking myself why is the enemy allowed to attack while the dream is still tender within me? God says, “Because child I have called you by name and have prepared you for such a time. This battle is yours and though I am with you, just like I was with David as he faced Goliath, it is your feet that must step onto the field.” My childhood has been catching up with me (read perfectionist), as I walk onto the battlefield I stub my toe then I become so disheartened that I begin to shed my armor but God all along has been calling me to stand and keep moving forward. I have been forgetting something very important. It is not about how prepared I am, though that is important, it’s all about me getting out of the way and letting God have His way through me. David was just a shepherd boy without training for battle yet the God of all splendor had prepared him for a purpose beyond what David understood at the time and though it was David’s hand that delivered the fatal blow to the giant before him it was the God of Israel that was bringing deliverance to His people! Still David didn’t stand a chance had he faced Goliath on his own. How many times do we face giants on our own strength? I don’t know about you but it never works out well for me. In my mind I can see only a few moves ahead, how this victory would bless those around me but God has a purpose beyond my comprehension! The more I allow God to use me the more I become what I could not be on my own.
God, you are glorious, who is like you! I am amazed and humbled that I get to be part of your plan. You know me intimately and see each move I make still you say that I am yours! Could it be that my efforts limit what you want to do through me? Though it seems my plans would work out well I acknowledge that I do not know the way. Holy Father, I ask you now to consume me and lead me unto righteousness, for your glory. For your kingdom illuminates the darkness and has no end! As I am here with you my heart is overwhelmed with joy, the world outside fades away, and your peace surrounds me. Lord, I don’t ever want to leave this place but I know there is a battle raging and my heart is at stake not only that but the hearts of my children and wife and those I don’t even know. Because You have allowed me to hear your voice I ask that You strengthen me now and when I take that step onto the battlefield it would not be mine but Yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Strides of purpose
As you get closer to the person God intended you to be the resistance you encounter becomes greater. Whether it is your own flesh warring against the Holy Spirit of God within you or it is circumstances that seem to set themselves in opposition to the path Christ has shown you or it is the enemy himself. Remember what Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:24-25 we, the students of Christ Jesus, should expect the same opposition as he faced the closer we get to him but we have a promise - (Romans 8:35-39 MKJV) “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep of slaughter." But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Do you see it? No matter what we face in this life something better awaits us! Not all will be called to die for Christ’s sake but some will. Not all will face a deadly illness but there are those who will. What about fear, complacency, or pain we all have our battlefields. We cannot choose our giants but God promises to be with us and when the race is run, if we hold tightly to Him He will call to us by the very purpose He has placed in each of us – for God says we are more than conquerors! One day, though it is hard to imagine, we will look back and say it is worth it all! The saints of God will have stories to tell through out eternity still our purpose will not be over even then. So run this race with all that is within, not looking back set your gaze on Him who gives you the strength to do the impossible. We know not what God has in store for those He calls His own but knowing Him I know He is good and I am hopelessly desperate for more of Him in me. (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV) “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
With that in mind we should make every step count, every time we move it should be towards Him. May your strides be filled with His purpose and your heart overflowing with surrender to God’s Holy Spirit within you.
Do you see it? No matter what we face in this life something better awaits us! Not all will be called to die for Christ’s sake but some will. Not all will face a deadly illness but there are those who will. What about fear, complacency, or pain we all have our battlefields. We cannot choose our giants but God promises to be with us and when the race is run, if we hold tightly to Him He will call to us by the very purpose He has placed in each of us – for God says we are more than conquerors! One day, though it is hard to imagine, we will look back and say it is worth it all! The saints of God will have stories to tell through out eternity still our purpose will not be over even then. So run this race with all that is within, not looking back set your gaze on Him who gives you the strength to do the impossible. We know not what God has in store for those He calls His own but knowing Him I know He is good and I am hopelessly desperate for more of Him in me. (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV) “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
With that in mind we should make every step count, every time we move it should be towards Him. May your strides be filled with His purpose and your heart overflowing with surrender to God’s Holy Spirit within you.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Forgiveness
(Matthew 6:14-15 NLT) "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
In the same chapter Jesus teaches us how to pray – in verse twelve He says something that reveals the Father’s heart about forgiveness. “…and forgive our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Think about what that means. Do I want God to forgive me a little or do I want Him to forgive me of all my wrongs? This life is, at times, difficult. Those who say otherwise either are hiding their true feelings or have disconnected themselves from real relationship so long ago that they forgot how to truly love and thus go through life unaware of God’s purpose. If the enemy has his way the attacks come during childhood through a parent, usually the father because he is the instrument God has ordained to lead the family. By attacking through the father the enemy’s attack is two fold. He reinforces the lies the father was told in his childhood and he deals out the same tricks on the next generation behind the mask of the faults of the father. The child then makes a vow to protect their tender heart by building walls around it. As an adult he or she reasons away the pain (as the enemy interjects) by either thinking it was their fault or hating the parent but never coming to terms with the weight of the wrongful pain and thus never seeing it for what it is – a very specific attack on their heart by the enemy of God. Why does the enemy do this? Because he hates God, he knows he cannot win and he wants to turn as many people away from God as possible but there is another reason. The enemy knows that if he can derail God’s plan for your life you will miss out on God’s purpose and it is God’s purpose working through your life that the enemy fears! Jesus promises us much but we can’t hold onto unforgiveness and expect His blessings and His purpose to be fulfilled in our lives. The problem with the “wall around the heart” theory is that it only appears to keep pain out but it ultimately keeps love out and the individual who takes this rout never experiences the depths of God’s love. In the end the choice is ours to make – do we continue to guard our hearts with the wall we’ve built around it or do we trust God to heal our pain by revealing our hearts to Him and trusting that He is big enough to make something beautiful with this broken vessel we lay at His feet?
In the same chapter Jesus teaches us how to pray – in verse twelve He says something that reveals the Father’s heart about forgiveness. “…and forgive our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Think about what that means. Do I want God to forgive me a little or do I want Him to forgive me of all my wrongs? This life is, at times, difficult. Those who say otherwise either are hiding their true feelings or have disconnected themselves from real relationship so long ago that they forgot how to truly love and thus go through life unaware of God’s purpose. If the enemy has his way the attacks come during childhood through a parent, usually the father because he is the instrument God has ordained to lead the family. By attacking through the father the enemy’s attack is two fold. He reinforces the lies the father was told in his childhood and he deals out the same tricks on the next generation behind the mask of the faults of the father. The child then makes a vow to protect their tender heart by building walls around it. As an adult he or she reasons away the pain (as the enemy interjects) by either thinking it was their fault or hating the parent but never coming to terms with the weight of the wrongful pain and thus never seeing it for what it is – a very specific attack on their heart by the enemy of God. Why does the enemy do this? Because he hates God, he knows he cannot win and he wants to turn as many people away from God as possible but there is another reason. The enemy knows that if he can derail God’s plan for your life you will miss out on God’s purpose and it is God’s purpose working through your life that the enemy fears! Jesus promises us much but we can’t hold onto unforgiveness and expect His blessings and His purpose to be fulfilled in our lives. The problem with the “wall around the heart” theory is that it only appears to keep pain out but it ultimately keeps love out and the individual who takes this rout never experiences the depths of God’s love. In the end the choice is ours to make – do we continue to guard our hearts with the wall we’ve built around it or do we trust God to heal our pain by revealing our hearts to Him and trusting that He is big enough to make something beautiful with this broken vessel we lay at His feet?
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