Tuesday, November 11, 2014

God's discipline

Job 5:17 MKJV
(17) Behold, blessed is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

Hebrews 12:5-7 MKJV
(5) And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him;
(6) for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives."
(7) If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father does not chasten?

Having God correct us is not a bad thing, the Bible tells us if He corrects us it is because we are His sons and daughters but somehow we have learned to avoid all types of discomfort. We have got to ask ourselves these questions:
1. Do I trust God?
2. Why is God correcting me?
3. What is it He wants me to learn?
4. Am I going to grow or avoid discomfort?
You see God has purpose in everything He does and if He wants you to go through something there is a specific reason for it. If you have a more mature Christian who has gained relational currency in your life then ask them why they think you are going through a particular trial. If they know God and they know you and are honest they most likely can tell you what may be going on. In a healthy marriage this should be happening between husband and wife. It is possible because each one loves God first and then loves each other as much or more than themselves. They can see the trial the other one is going through and they also know the character flaw God is working out so that he or she may be more mature than before and though they see the difficulty the other one is going through they, like God, want to see their spouse grow so they let God do this work.

James 1:2-4 MKJV
(2) My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations,
(3) knowing that the trying of your faith works patience.
(4) But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Simple living

We have become so preoccupied with technology under the pretense that it makes our lives easier that we’ve become numb to the things that are most important. If it doesn’t flash, buzz, or ring we don’t pay attention. All these devices have allowed us to do is become programmed to a society that no longer knows God. Honestly, besides Sunday, how many times during the week do we open the Bible to see what God’s perspective is? We allow schedules to bog us down until we are no longer able to hear the still small voice of God speak to our hearts and then we wonder why He seems so distant only to prove our suspicions that He is unobtainable; therefore we like Abraham come up with our own solutions.

Many “Christians” today have confused relationships with other church people and good deeds with knowing God but never stop long enough to allow God to speak to them; it simply isn’t convenient in this present world of instant gratification. With the idea that if I live according to what the preacher says, go to Bible study, volunteer, and give to those in need or put money in the offering surely then that is knowing God and if there is a God in heaven He must know how busy we are and understands the demands of our schedules. Thinking to ourselves, “To stop and wait for an invisible God to speak to my heart so that I may be led in the things I say and do, who has time for that?”

Matthew 7:22-24 KJV
(22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
(23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
(24) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

We are all guilty of not only going over budget with our finances but also our time, for many different reasons. For some its for the sake of approval, for others its is to advance their careers, and the list goes on but all these things are temporary and there will come a time when we will have to answer for how we used the time that had been given to us. And on that day what will our response be? Will we point to all the wonderful things we’ve done for God? What if those things were not the things He was asking of us? You are right in those things there is nothing wrong with them individually but when you accumulate them like trophies and use them to guard your heart from the risk of having to step out in faith in order to follow the unseen you miss out on all that God had planned for your life and our electronic pocket calendars aided us in ignoring God’s call.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Not us but by God's Holy Spirit

Matthew 16:13-17 KJV
(13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
(14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
(15) He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
(16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
(17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 KJV
(10) But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
(11) For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
(12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
(13) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
(14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
(16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

If we know right from wrong it is not anything with in us but rather God’s Holy Spirit that has revealed it to us. For none is righteous, no not one for who can understand the things of God unless it be explained by the One who spoke it? We are as babes still in need of our mother’s milk who are we to explain things of the spirit, do we not walk by faith because we cannot see with our own eyes? Do not forget our dependence upon the One who walks before us. No matter how good our life looks, when we venture away from our guide and the lamp unto our path we will inevitably stumble and lose our way. If we were not in need of a Savior Jesus surely wouldn’t have gone through everything He did. He would have simply allowed the strong to triumph over the weak but He said that He did not come for the healthy but instead for the sick and those who know they need help. As for the healthy, they are sick too but haven’t realized it yet.

Romans 3:9-10 KJV
(9) What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
(10) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Because I know Him

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
(Psalms 91:14-16 KJV)

Because you have known God He will deliver and honor you. With long life He will satisfy you and prove His salvation over and over. Not because you knew about Him or you knew of Him but because you had a close personal relationship with Him! Look at verse 14… Because he has set his love or determined to love Me God says, “I will deliver him.” How many need life insurance? God has so much more and the price for it has already been paid! All we have to do is seek Him first, above all else put Him first, so much so that any other love appears as hate when compared to our love for Christ Jesus.

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luke 14:26 KJV)

Be determined to love God in the good times so that when bad times come you have a life-line to hold onto; because life will bring about many opportunities to be angry at God but do not be fooled into pushing away from God when you need Him most, for that is exactly what the enemy wants. If you have set your love upon God by choosing to love Him in all situations, knowing Him and realizing He is good at all times, then you will be delivered and you will hear God’s answer when you call out to Him. When difficulties, pain, and loss come your way, because you have known God, He will be with you but to those who only call on Him when they have need of Him, they do not know Him and are unsure of their future. They stumble around in the darkness pretending to see, only when they stub their toe or smash their nose does the name of the Lord come across their lips. For their hearts and minds are full of doubt and even though they ask God to deliver them they should not expect to receive anything from the Lord because of the condition of their hearts.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
(James 1:6-7 KJV)

Their doubt leads to confirmation that nothing of God is known and that He is distant and hard of hearing, for surely God has hid Himself from this person! God is big enough to take it but are you willing to dive to the depths of the soul before you finally look up? The heart that is full of doubt leads the individual to a crossroad and at this point one can completely buy into the lie of the enemy and turn from God or come home as the prodigal son did in Luke 15:11-32. How much better it is to spend time getting to know God because you want to and not wait until you have exhausted every other possible avenue. By the time you see the light your life will have been spent living for yourself and searching for answers that do not exist outside of God’s love for you! You want to make the most of what you have, then live for Christ, loving God above all else and He will deliver you.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Ice breakers with God

With many Christians an ice breaker is needed to get to know God, much like the games played when meeting a new group of people. It seems every time we turn around there is a book that has a new way to experience God which can be good and bad. Good if you are new to reading God’s Word or you’ve tried before and can’t seem to get anything out of it but to those who experience God’s presence fresh and new every morning these steps and labels can be very restricting. Not that we should be unteachable but don’t be so easily bent into the box where we are told God is waiting for us. This concept is difficult to describe, so let’s look at it a different way.

If I don’t know anything about deep sea fishing and therefore read a book on how to do it I would find many helpful things in it that would get me started. However, you give that same book to a boat captain who does it for a living what response do you think you’ll get? I’m not saying he wouldn’t read it, I’m not saying he wouldn’t see a different perspective but what I would expect is that very little would change in his daily activity even though when I read it I depended upon it completely to be successful. Yet when we are going through a Christian book that is intended to help us experience God I sometimes feel like I’m in a room of contortionist!

I wonder what God thinks of us bending and stretching when all along He simply waits for us to invite Him in? You know simply spending time with someone is the best way to get to know them and while books and videos can help they can never take you to the deep places because that is one man/woman’s idea about what worked best for them. Because we are all different the secret garden or the quiet meadow of experiencing God ‘s heart for us can only be shown to us by following His lead, not the path of someone else – understand God alone takes us there!

They who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; these see the works of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and all their wisdom is swallowed up. And they cry to Jehovah in their trouble, and He brings them out of their troubles. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. And they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven.
(Psalms 107:23-30 MKJV)

It is through life’s journey, good times and bad, walking hand in hand with God, not doubting His goodness or insight for our lives that we are able to experience God’s presence. For only by His presence do we come to recognize the character of God and once we recognize the character of God we see Him in everything we do. It is at this point that we pray without ceasing, that we enquire what God’s will is, and we are quick to follow His leading. The old saying WWJD “what would Jesus do” was so over used and misunderstood to the point that no one says it any more but much like that deep sea captain, those who follow Jesus on a regular basis neither were moved by it when it was over used or ignored it when everyone stopped using it but continued following Jesus as they always had because they knew only Jesus could lead them to their desired haven.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Knowing the Shepherd's voice

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice."
(John 10:3-5 NLT)

What keeps us from having a personal relationship with Jesus? Is it too difficult to have the faith that is required? Are we afraid of what others might say? Are our lives too busy with other things to stop and pray? Why is it when we are in need of God’s help whether it be because of a sick family member or a loss of a dream we seem to get real spiritual but as soon as we get out of the woods we’re back to a life without Him? Don’t you know God is not mocked!

Don't be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
(Galatians 6:7 NLT)

God does not sit in Heaven with a big stick, waiting to beat us over the head whenever we step out of line but when we are stiff-necked and try to use God like a sugar daddy neither is He fooled. For you have been lovingly created so that you may have relationship with the Father of Lights so that in Him you might discover who you are and who’s you are. For the Good Shepherd has a purpose that was designed specifically for you but you will only know that purpose through knowing who you are and who you belong to, so that you may know better the One who created you. Do you want to do big things with your life, then seek God whole heartedly!

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
(1 Corinthians 13:11-12 NLT)

Monday, November 3, 2014

Simple obedience

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
(Matthew 1:24 NLT)

The pain of Joseph’s soon to be wife already with child and the betrayal of his trust caused Joseph to decide to quietly divorce Mary instead of publicly shaming her but God had other plans and out of this pain and loss something wonderful was about to happen.

What do you think would have happened if Joseph decided to allow his pain to rule his actions? It is so important that we trust God in all situations, even when we do not understand. Joseph continued to be faithful to God as they were led into and out of Bethlehem; never once did Joseph argue with God or question the messenger of God but instead simply obeyed.

Sometimes the problem is we want proof to back up our faith before we are moved to action… But God if you would just do this, then I will do that. We see this when people were asking who Jesus was even though He had already told them.

The people surrounded Him and asked, "How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe Me. The proof is the work I do in My Father's name. But you don't believe Me because you are not My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."
(John 10:24-30 NLT)

But instead of believing or submitting they wanted to stone Him! What does the constant questioning and lack of faith say about a people; what does it say about God’s will being done among them?

Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." And because of their unbelief, He couldn't do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.
(Mark 6:4-6 NLT)

We are to be minutemen, ready at a moment’s notice because we are practiced in obedience. As a matter of fact God said without faith it is impossible to please Him!

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
(Hebrews 11:6 NLT)