Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. -- Isaiah 58:8 NIV
I know you are out there. Things are not entirely well with your life, or maybe things are just flat awful. Lately life has been nothing more than a series of disasters in varying proportions. Some of you I know and am aware of your plight. Please know I am praying for you! Others, I don't know and may never even have met but that doesn't really change the message at all.
You see, one of the wonderful things about the world we live in...for me anyway...is that your struggles have the ability to reach the hearts of unknown numbers of God's children. Through e-mail, texts, Facebook, YouTube, etc., God's children are capable of coming together like never before in history and lifting one another up. People who don't know you and probably don't even know your first name will pray for you and care about you and be there for you!
Most importantly, as it says in the passage from Isaiah, God has your back! Isaiah is talking about seeking God in this chapter and verse 8 is an uplifting message about the protection of God. With God at our rear guard, we're able to gain and maintain momentum in our lives.
Whatever 'it' is...the thing that has been dogging you, whatever mistakes you've made and trouble you've been through, there is no time to waste. You need to understand that God's love is bigger than your circumstances and that He has your back. Run towards God and seek the protection He offers you!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sharing God
As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” -- Mark 12:38-40 NIV
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. -- Daniel 4:2-3 NIV
Yesterday I wrote about doing all for Christ. It is the philosophy that by focusing our minds on the best characteristics and on the teachings of God, we prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually to carry out God's calling in our lives. It really boils down to sharing God with the world around us.
While that may sound simple, it comes with the most solemn responsibility. If you are a child of God and called to share Him with others, you have to do so in the proper manner. The first passage I quoted today is Jesus specifically warning a crowd of regular people against doing what their religious leaders were doing. Calling attention to themselves, feasting on the admiration and adoration of those they led, sitting in places of honor at gatherings...and then turning around and stepping on the very people they were supposed to teach and offering meaningless, empty prayers to God just for show. Clearly not the way to go about it, and Jesus was clear about the consequences for doing so.
The second passage is from the opening of a speech delivered by the King of Babylon. He had just been shown the power of God and was ready to proclaim His name, but what was really going on is he wanted Daniel to tell him the meaning of a troubling dream...and nobody else in his kingdom was able to do so. If you read the story of Daniel all the way through, the King does a wonderful job of giving God all the glory in one moment and turning his back on God the next.
We cannot share God at times and act like a complete fool at others. That simply won't do! Sure, we're all going to make mistakes and we're all going to commit sin. Make sure you remember those good characteristics we talked about from Philippians 4, and when you share God make sure you do it with a clean, loving heart and a clear conscience.
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. -- Daniel 4:2-3 NIV
Yesterday I wrote about doing all for Christ. It is the philosophy that by focusing our minds on the best characteristics and on the teachings of God, we prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually to carry out God's calling in our lives. It really boils down to sharing God with the world around us.
While that may sound simple, it comes with the most solemn responsibility. If you are a child of God and called to share Him with others, you have to do so in the proper manner. The first passage I quoted today is Jesus specifically warning a crowd of regular people against doing what their religious leaders were doing. Calling attention to themselves, feasting on the admiration and adoration of those they led, sitting in places of honor at gatherings...and then turning around and stepping on the very people they were supposed to teach and offering meaningless, empty prayers to God just for show. Clearly not the way to go about it, and Jesus was clear about the consequences for doing so.
The second passage is from the opening of a speech delivered by the King of Babylon. He had just been shown the power of God and was ready to proclaim His name, but what was really going on is he wanted Daniel to tell him the meaning of a troubling dream...and nobody else in his kingdom was able to do so. If you read the story of Daniel all the way through, the King does a wonderful job of giving God all the glory in one moment and turning his back on God the next.
We cannot share God at times and act like a complete fool at others. That simply won't do! Sure, we're all going to make mistakes and we're all going to commit sin. Make sure you remember those good characteristics we talked about from Philippians 4, and when you share God make sure you do it with a clean, loving heart and a clear conscience.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
The Year Of Doing All
We have a saying at our church that is really more of a mission statement. It goes like this:
"Being all, doing all, loving all, for Christ"
We're making this year all about "doing all", but what does that mean? How does someone, or a group of people, get to that point? The key is found in a couple of verses from Paul's letter written to the Philippians, from chapter 4 verses 8 and 9 (from The Message):
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
By putting our minds in the right place and focusing on the things of God, we're ready to step into action and do the things of God. The truth is, God can't call us to do the work we were built to do if we aren't mentally engaged and ready to accept that calling.
Read God's word often, spend some time thinking about the important things, the best things. Then you are ready to put it all into practice.
"Being all, doing all, loving all, for Christ"
We're making this year all about "doing all", but what does that mean? How does someone, or a group of people, get to that point? The key is found in a couple of verses from Paul's letter written to the Philippians, from chapter 4 verses 8 and 9 (from The Message):
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
By putting our minds in the right place and focusing on the things of God, we're ready to step into action and do the things of God. The truth is, God can't call us to do the work we were built to do if we aren't mentally engaged and ready to accept that calling.
Read God's word often, spend some time thinking about the important things, the best things. Then you are ready to put it all into practice.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Stories: Little Ones
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” -- Matthew 18:1 NIV
What a question to ask! Jesus and the disciples had been busy. He had much to teach and they had much to learn. Can you imagine getting to follow Jesus around just soaking in everything He said and did? But at some point, they got curious. Who would be considered greatest in Heaven? Maybe some of them even thought it might be them! Jesus' answer had to surprise them...or even shock them.
He paused...called one of the neighborhood kids over and sat the child down in the middle of his group. Maybe he even bent down and put an arm around this child, and said (in verse 3):
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
He then tells them that to do something that might cause a child to do evil is bad enough that they would be better off hanging a stone around their necks and jumping into the sea than to deal with eternal damnation. To illustrate the point, he tells the group the story of a wandering sheep (verses 10-14).
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
The thing is, a child is truly precious. They speak honestly and they love unconditionally. But Jesus wasn't really just talking about our children. He was talking about us! When we believe in Jesus, we realize our design as God's children. What Jesus is really saying is that we need to not lead each other to evil, regardless of age. We're ALL equally important to God. He would gladly leave any number of us to go chasing after the one who wandered off.
What a question to ask! Jesus and the disciples had been busy. He had much to teach and they had much to learn. Can you imagine getting to follow Jesus around just soaking in everything He said and did? But at some point, they got curious. Who would be considered greatest in Heaven? Maybe some of them even thought it might be them! Jesus' answer had to surprise them...or even shock them.
He paused...called one of the neighborhood kids over and sat the child down in the middle of his group. Maybe he even bent down and put an arm around this child, and said (in verse 3):
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
He then tells them that to do something that might cause a child to do evil is bad enough that they would be better off hanging a stone around their necks and jumping into the sea than to deal with eternal damnation. To illustrate the point, he tells the group the story of a wandering sheep (verses 10-14).
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
The thing is, a child is truly precious. They speak honestly and they love unconditionally. But Jesus wasn't really just talking about our children. He was talking about us! When we believe in Jesus, we realize our design as God's children. What Jesus is really saying is that we need to not lead each other to evil, regardless of age. We're ALL equally important to God. He would gladly leave any number of us to go chasing after the one who wandered off.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Stories: The Sower
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. -- Matthew 7:7 NIV
One my favorite things about Jesus was the way He taught lessons. He would tell these awesome stories that were designed to make you think. At the end of a bunch of these stories He would say 'Whoever has ears, let them hear.' I always kind of wondered why He did it that way. Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell the people plainly?
In the story of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), Jesus talks about a farmer who scatters a bunch of seed. Some of it hits the path and is quickly eaten by birds, some falls amongst the rocks or thorns and gets burned up or choked out, and some of it landed in good soil where it was supposed to land. Those last seeds produced crops many times greater than amount of seed that was sown. Read Matthew 13:18-23 for the explanation of this story.
Right after telling this story, Jesus was asked the same question I posed above. Why would he teach using these stories? The key to that answer is in the verse from Matthew 7 that I quoted above. Matthew 13:13 says this: This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Jesus was smart enough to know that people aren't going to learn what they aren't interested in learning! You can see and hear but not really comprehend what you are seeing and hearing. But when you really get interested in learning more about what Jesus has to teach and what God wants you to know, then you are mentally and spiritually equipped to read the teaching and seek the answers. Jesus very plainly tells all of us that we'll receive when we ask and we'll find when we seek. If you've never done more than gloss through the Gospels, now is a wonderful time to begin your search!
One my favorite things about Jesus was the way He taught lessons. He would tell these awesome stories that were designed to make you think. At the end of a bunch of these stories He would say 'Whoever has ears, let them hear.' I always kind of wondered why He did it that way. Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell the people plainly?
In the story of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), Jesus talks about a farmer who scatters a bunch of seed. Some of it hits the path and is quickly eaten by birds, some falls amongst the rocks or thorns and gets burned up or choked out, and some of it landed in good soil where it was supposed to land. Those last seeds produced crops many times greater than amount of seed that was sown. Read Matthew 13:18-23 for the explanation of this story.
Right after telling this story, Jesus was asked the same question I posed above. Why would he teach using these stories? The key to that answer is in the verse from Matthew 7 that I quoted above. Matthew 13:13 says this: This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Jesus was smart enough to know that people aren't going to learn what they aren't interested in learning! You can see and hear but not really comprehend what you are seeing and hearing. But when you really get interested in learning more about what Jesus has to teach and what God wants you to know, then you are mentally and spiritually equipped to read the teaching and seek the answers. Jesus very plainly tells all of us that we'll receive when we ask and we'll find when we seek. If you've never done more than gloss through the Gospels, now is a wonderful time to begin your search!
Monday, January 03, 2011
Divine Math
Where do you stand on math? Did you like having to take math classes in school? Do you enjoy doing complicated algebraic equations in your head just to marvel your friends? The first step is admitting you have a problem!
The truth is, most of us aren't big fans of math. We didn't enjoy math class in school (and bonus points if you've ever heard or uttered the phrase "How is this EVER going to be useful in real life?"), and I've seen way too many of you using your fingers (and toes!) to figure out how to make change at the fast food restaurant.
I know God created the rules of nature and gave us math to explain it, but God has another level of math that really throws a wrench in conventional thinking. Divine math flies in the face of rational thought. You see, the common denominator among all divine math equations is God.
Anything rational can be flipped straight onto it's head when you add God to it. God says that a man and woman will be joined together to make a new creation (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6).
God says that 7 trumpets sounding after rounding Jericho 7 times results in the city's walls collapsing (Joshua 5 and 6).
God says that 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish are sufficient to feed 5,000 people, with leftovers (Luke 9:10-17)!!!
God says that no amount of money or pride or selfishness beats love (1 Corinthians 13).
God says that the innocent blood of one man is capable of covering the sins of trillions upon trillions of souls (John 19).
Divine math is to be celebrated! It's God manipulating His creation in the way that only He can. It's the extra-ordinary showing up in ordinary places. How awesome that you and I get to be witness to that and, on top of that, get to share it with others?!!!??!
The truth is, most of us aren't big fans of math. We didn't enjoy math class in school (and bonus points if you've ever heard or uttered the phrase "How is this EVER going to be useful in real life?"), and I've seen way too many of you using your fingers (and toes!) to figure out how to make change at the fast food restaurant.
I know God created the rules of nature and gave us math to explain it, but God has another level of math that really throws a wrench in conventional thinking. Divine math flies in the face of rational thought. You see, the common denominator among all divine math equations is God.
Anything rational can be flipped straight onto it's head when you add God to it. God says that a man and woman will be joined together to make a new creation (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6).
God says that 7 trumpets sounding after rounding Jericho 7 times results in the city's walls collapsing (Joshua 5 and 6).
God says that 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish are sufficient to feed 5,000 people, with leftovers (Luke 9:10-17)!!!
God says that no amount of money or pride or selfishness beats love (1 Corinthians 13).
God says that the innocent blood of one man is capable of covering the sins of trillions upon trillions of souls (John 19).
Divine math is to be celebrated! It's God manipulating His creation in the way that only He can. It's the extra-ordinary showing up in ordinary places. How awesome that you and I get to be witness to that and, on top of that, get to share it with others?!!!??!
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Enemies
There I was...laying back in the recliner on New Year's Day, watching football. I couldn't have felt farther away from God. You see, I'm quite capable of being a crotchety old grump and I had managed to be just that. I realized it as soon as it happened, but that doesn't really help matters much does it? It started me thinking and I realized I just wasn't feeling the closeness to God that I've become accustomed to feeling. It was an uncomfortable period of time for me. I couldn't wait to get to church Sunday morning and receive God's word. I knew it would speak to me, and God doesn't disappoint when you go seeking to hear from Him.
The verse that really hit me was from Luke chapter 6, verse 27: To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
Jesus is speaking about the people in our lives who are our enemies, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to apply it to most everyone's biggest enemy...ourselves!
Sitting there feeling blue, I had a choice. I could either allow the feelings I was feeling to deepen, spiraling my soul down into a hole...and I could have had a big 'ol pity party. On the other hand, I could refuse to be mastered by those feelings and remember that just because I wasn't feeling close to God didn't mean God wasn't right there with me. I know I chose correctly.
Whatever it is you struggle with...whether it's addiction, lying, laziness, guilt, selfishness, etc...whatever it is, the pain is self-inflicted. You have to love yourself through that stuff because you know God loves you. You have an opportunity through that love to let your enemies, your inner demons, bring forth the best in you! Don't allow yourself to be drug down into a deeper and deeper hole. Instead, choose to rise above it. Overcome it. Shine through it. God built you with the power and ability to receive the Holy Spirit and master anything that might try to control you. It's high time you use it!
The verse that really hit me was from Luke chapter 6, verse 27: To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
Jesus is speaking about the people in our lives who are our enemies, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to apply it to most everyone's biggest enemy...ourselves!
Sitting there feeling blue, I had a choice. I could either allow the feelings I was feeling to deepen, spiraling my soul down into a hole...and I could have had a big 'ol pity party. On the other hand, I could refuse to be mastered by those feelings and remember that just because I wasn't feeling close to God didn't mean God wasn't right there with me. I know I chose correctly.
Whatever it is you struggle with...whether it's addiction, lying, laziness, guilt, selfishness, etc...whatever it is, the pain is self-inflicted. You have to love yourself through that stuff because you know God loves you. You have an opportunity through that love to let your enemies, your inner demons, bring forth the best in you! Don't allow yourself to be drug down into a deeper and deeper hole. Instead, choose to rise above it. Overcome it. Shine through it. God built you with the power and ability to receive the Holy Spirit and master anything that might try to control you. It's high time you use it!
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