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Get on the plane(of discipleship)

16 May

Get on the plane(of discipleship)

Matthew 28:18-20    And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

My wife leaves this morning on her first mission trip to Romania for almost two weeks. She knew very early she was called to go on this trip; she felt that call on her heart and responded to that tug in obedience. She heard and felt that tug because she had been seeking God with all her heart after the life changing experience of loosing her job. She felt as though she had hit bottom, but God had ordained it to pick her up. Her life has incredibly changed, and I have seen incredible spiritual growth since her world was rocked. She is now about to experience God as never before, way out of her comfort zone, where He lives. A mission trip is a life changing experience, for you see God do what you cannot; you see God orchestrate situations that only He can; your eyes are opened through your heart with the removal of the distractions of this world, and a life dedicated to God during that trip. Many times it breeds a life changed to that focus for much more than just the trip.

There are those going on this flight halfway around the world that are terrified of flying! Do you love your God enough to face your fears? Do you trust your God enough to place your life in His hands; to do what you are terrified of doing? That is where He lives, in accomplishing what you cannot. Look at the promise found in verse 18, that proceeds the Great Commission to go and become disciples in verses 19 & 20. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. The power and the promise that God is in control of all circumstances should bring peace. The enemy is the author of fear and doubt. The enemy does not want you to rest on the promise of verse 18. When God tells you to GO, he is with you for the journey. He may allow tribulation before and during that journey, but it is all under his control, and it is all designed to draw you near, and to draw glory to Him.

How do you exemplify a disciple, one who follows the Great Commission? One who spreads the Good News that Jesus Christ has come to save a dying world. That there is an eternal hope for a heart placed in Him that the world cannot steal away. That all the troubles that you face in this life are but temporary, and paradise promised with Him is eternal. You cannot become a disciple until you truly possess that hope; you must have such a heart for Christ that you seek him every day. Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. The heart of a disciple is an image created by God. The heart of disciple is one that seeks, finds, and simply cannot contain their joy of finding Him. Once you begin to experience God in prayer, his Word, and your life daily, keeping him to yourself is simply not a possibility any longer. You will talk to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, or maybe, just maybe, face your fears and get on a plane to go halfway around the world.

 
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Posted by on May 16, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Heart Measurement

11 May

Heart Measurement

1 John 3:7-9    Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Sometimes I wish I could really open up about my struggles, but then it would become personal and all about me, and not about encouraging you in what you battle also. We all have them; we live in the snare of sin, trapped there for this time, but we have the ability in Christ to be rescued eternally. God in his grace, sent his Son to rescue us eternally from Satan. 8b For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Satan wanted to be God to the point of being cast out of heaven, and God foreknew he would cause trouble for the paradise God had created for us on earth. God knew that He must provide us a way out of the snare of the devil, a way to become right with God for eternity. It was accomplished by the sacrifice in Christ at Calvary.

When I am struggling, or when I fail, I feel terrible for the sins I have committed. A friend of mine had a great quote recently of how Satan plants that feeling that we are alone in our sin. He even goes as far as to plant doubt in our Salvation. He is the author of lies and his greatest tool can be doubt. You are gonna fail, but how hard are you trying not to? Your heart is measured by the pursuit of righteousness found in it. It is that heart for God, that only God sees and knows the truths found in our heart. Psalm 44:21 Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. In my times of struggles and failures I look back on King David. Of how God blessed him, and how miserably he failed God. Of how there were consequences for his actions, but in all of it he had a heart for God. He pled for forgiveness, and God gave; God knew that David truly loved him, and regretted all his failures.

In my study Bible there is a reference to James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. I believe this is the evidence of our lives in sin, we cannot control that unruly beast of our speech. We have the ability to tear down what we try to build up in one comment. We with the same mouth curse and bless. It is the habitual sins that are those which are not evident of a righteous life. You can’t claim the promise of Christ, and continue to live for the world and its temporal pleasures of sin. Where is your heart? That question and answer lie before the only One who hears your response.

 
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Posted by on May 11, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Pray for our nation

02 May

Pray for our nation

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God has told Solomon, and even his father David, that Solomon is to build the great temple for the Lord. Solomon has spent seven years building the Great Temple, following the detailed blueprints given to him by God. They had held a great dedication ceremony, and the Glory of the Lord had filled the temple. Fire had come down from heaven and consumed all the offerings they had prepared. They were so moved by this that the dedication continued and they offered 22,000 bulls, and 120,000 sheep. Try to imagine that. When Solomon dismissed them all to their homes, God came to him that night and spoke to him, just as He had at the beginning of his reign as king. God told Solomon that He would remain there, but He also warned him and his people that their were conditions; they must remain humble, pray and repent, and turn from their wicked ways. If they would continue to do so, God would hear, forgive, and heal them.

Today is our National Day of Prayer. A day when we are called to pray for our nation; a nation that has turned their backs on God and the Absolute Truths found in His Word. We have become a spineless nation that lives in fear of offending; lives in fear of standing up to the wrongs of the world. Our greatest leaders have become puppets with the strings that are pulled by those who promise the greatest power. We are turning our backs upon God, and just as Israel, God will cast judgement upon us. When Israel turned their backs upon God, he destroyed the Great Temple just as He had warned, as a sign to all that would see of the cost of sin and non-repentant hearts. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.'”

When you look at the state of our nation, and the chaos in it, how can you not be driven to humble yourself and pray for it? We live in a super fragile economy, still bent on materialism at the highest degrees; we have not learned to forsake our idols. We live in a nation that condones same sex marriage to the point of legalization. We live in a nation that is opening the doors to all religions, yet closing the door on Christianity. We are in the midst of a nation turning our backs upon the Lord, and then in our pride asking the question, “Why is this happening?” Today with a humble heart, get on your knees and pray for your leaders and your nation. Today is not a “National Day of Reflection” as our spineless leaders say, but a day to repent as a nation of our sin, and a plea for forgiveness and healing from the only One who can.

 
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Posted by on May 2, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Sticks & stones

01 May

Sticks & stones

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11 is a great encouragement to me. We do not know who the writer of Hebrews was, many think it was Paul, but they give us a beautiful summary in chapter eleven of the patriarchs of great faith in the Old Testament. It summarizes the lives of those who followed God at all costs, followed him with hearts abandoned to him, hearts seeking the rewards of the life thereafter with Him. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. They got it; they got the idea that life here is temporary, but the life after this one is eternal. They got that the measurements of one’s eternal life’s rewards, are measured by the temporal life’s examples of faith.

Well, I love you God, but I _______________. Yea, we all have likely said it, thought it, reasoned our way through it.  There has been some circumstance, some instance that we can recall where we denied our faith and stood on our fear or even pride. We told God our excuse or even denied God in the process of it. We will at the judgement day answer for it. Delayed obedience is disobedience; I have felt that in the past year of what God has laid before me about our house. I ran from it in fear twice for over a year; I did not want three strikes when God brought it to me again. I feel that there is a door that lies before me, and only through this great act of faith, is the key to open the door to draw closer to God. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. All of those patriarchs acted on the eternal promises, not the temporal pleasures; many died in that great faith without ever seeing their promise fulfilled here, but that was never where their eyes and hearts were focused on anyhow.

Hebrews 11: 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. Moses lived an early life rich in earthly standards; an adopted Egyptian son into a rich earthly kingdom. He had it all, yet his heart was not in the riches of this world. God has really been working on me the last five years in opening my eyes to what I placed value in; the riches of this world. I thank Him for continually readjusting my focus on the stuff that really doesn’t matter. This is just a big ol’ house, made of sticks and stones, with a family heritage. It is of no compare to the mansion that I will have in heaven; John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Elected should obey

26 Apr

Elected should obey

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Paul in the scriptures prior to this had touched on the topic of predestination; in its simplest form the idea that God knows who is, and is not, going to be a child of His. Those that the Spirit tugs upon their hearts, and they respond to His calling, are all known by God outside the sphere of time. It is impossible for us to understand the idea of foreknowledge, for our entire lives are centered around time. But if you can grasp with a  humble heart in the recognition of being a chosen child of His, you can grasp the understanding of the security of a hope that grows in that knowledge. You are one of the elected by God, and you hold His promises of eternity.

I am in the final days of the biggest act of obedience in my life; putting our home up for sale. God laid it on my heart three times, the first two I denied, the last I could not. The only thing that even came close was downsizing my business in the midst of a booming economy. It is a very scary thing to lead my family out into the unknown, but I know God is telling me to. I know God laid it on my heart, yet in these closing days my enemy is hammering me in doubt and fear. Satan is the king of deception, and the father of lies, and he comes to try and get you to take your eyes off God; to stop these acts that draw you closer to Him. But in these trying days with a heart that seeks Him continually, my faith grows. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It is in my daily growing relationship that I know He has a plan for me; I know Whom is the still small voice I am listening to. It is through daily time in prayer and His Word that these things are found.

Paul continues in Romans 8 with a beautiful summary of Gods love in 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Are you living your life in the understanding that you are one of the “elect”? Are you living your life with the understanding that no-matter how hard it may get here, that you will live in paradise for eternity with the One whom elected you? Or are you letting that evil one plant fears and doubts keeping you from obeying what God has laid on your heart? That is most likely keeping your eyes from being opened to another realm of what God has in store for you. Being an elected child of God, is being an obedient disciple to what He lays on your heart. He will use your heart of obedience to draw you closer to Him, and to draw others through those acts also.

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Do not delay

25 Apr

Do not delay

Matthew 24:15-17   “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

Christ was speaking to his disciples in what was known as the “Olivet Discourse”, prophetically telling them of the coming days, and the coming future events when He will return to judge the world. The prophet Daniel spoke of these things, and the urgency that will fill the air when His wrath is poured out upon all the world in judgement. The Jews are told to flee immediately; to drop whatever they are doing and run. Delays could carry death as a consequence; there is no time to look back. When the warning is sounded to flee, just as when the angels came to Lot when God judged Sodom, we are told to not look back. Genesis 19:17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

When God begins to stir in your heart, you either respond or simply deny. There are no other roads; you are obedient in the confession and repentance of sin, or you deny that conviction before God. How many times have you known you were in sin, yet continued to live in that sin, or simply denied or excused it and moved on? When I look back at the level of great sin in my life before Christ, I don’t even understand why He would want me. When I look at all my continued struggles today, it humbles me to this day, of the grace I rest under. Has He been showing you that great sin you are hiding in? Has He been tugging at your heart to come to Him with it? He calls you to admit it, give it over to Him and he will forgive you for it. You are not to try and work our your repentance in order to earn it; you can NEVER do that.

You, like I for many years, may have the attitude of “one day” you will get right with God. You may have the attitude that you want to have your life now as you want it, and then “one day” you will give it up to God. What if those tugs on your heart is God telling you to flee from that sin immediately? Matthew Henry puts it, “Those that are convinced of the misery of a sinful state, and the ruin that attends them in that state, and, consequently, of the necessity of their fleeing to Christ, must take heed, lest, after all these convictions, they perish eternally by delays.” Your days are numbered and you do not know the total; the end of this day might be too late. When you continue to live in sin, or hold that sin in such regard you are in fear you will miss its joy, there can be eternal implications. Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. There are grave consequences in delayed obedience to the Lord. Follow that call to repent and believe on the One who died to provide you eternal life and rescue from certain death.

 
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Posted by on April 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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My solid rock

23 Apr

My solid rock

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

It seems as though I have had this conversation a lot recently. Of how when we put our eyes on anyone, or anything, ultimately we will be disappointed. The evidences are clear of a society born into sin, that eventually that sin will surface and disappoint. Christ is perfect in every essence of that word; He will not, no He cannot disappoint a child of His. Our minds struggle with that understanding, but our hope lies in that knowledge. When all else seems to let us down, seems to change before our eyes, He will not waiver. He is the rock upon which we stand. Today I began to reflect more on that eternal promise in that scripture. I heard an incredible sermon recently of when God spoke to Christ, and in fact the Spirit too, and said, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Together in eternity past, never changing as far as into eternity future.

In the passages prior to this statement, the writer of Hebrews is pointing to the history of the Jews and the promises that God had given and sustained them with. From the beginning when He spoke to Abram to leave all that he had; to the deliverance from slavery into the Promised Land; to the promise of a coming Savior. God spoke these words to the leaders of His people, For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b.) That promise is for all of us; He is always there, never changing, never disappointing in the plans he has laid before us. When He places the hard things on our heart, He is there to guide us through them. These are tests of faith, to see if we are faithful in a little so that He may trust us with much.

I see the fear in my family and myself for the journey we are embarking on selling our home. I hear the prayers of my oldest son that humble me in his faith; “We know that we could live in a box and be happy.” I have shared with him openly that I feel God laying it upon my heart to sell our families home. As the leader of my home it is a scary place to be, to make these huge steps of faith in acts of obedience to the One who called me to do them. But I know that He did, and I know that He never will leave me nor forsake me when I am seeking to follow His Will for my life. Hebrews 1:6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” All that you are facing today in your life can be faced with Christ. The burdens you bear you do not have to bear alone. He will guide you, carry you, and sustain you when all else seems to be wavering. Place your hope in the One formed eternal future, while in eternal past.

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Evil Hearts

16 Apr

Evil Hearts

Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 8:21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

These two scriptures are from before and after the great flood. Yet in these scriptures it also shows the bad news; that the heart of man has not changed. We are all descendants of Adam, and we all are born into sin as a result of his fall at the Garden of Eden. This is an inescapable fact; at your core you are a sinner. You sin because you are a sinner, you are not a sinner because you sin. The evidences of how great our society is lost in sin are before us every day; senseless tragedies from men who pursued that evil in their hearts. They do not seek to forgiveness for their sins, but become so lost in it they become truly consumed with evil. We live in a fallen world as a result of sin, and we are living in a nation turning their backs on God.

Our nation is teaching equality for all, and no absolute truth. We have become spineless for the fear of offending. The backbone that made us great as “One nation under God”, has become broken. Absolute truth is lost in equality and no accountability to God. We must understand as a nation, and even more personal as man, that we are bad at the core, and lost without Christ to redeem us from our sin. “The total depravity of man is seen throughout the Bible. Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9), and the thoughts of his heart are “continually evil” (Genesis 6:5). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19; John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” (Romans 8:7).” (gotquestions.org)

Our nation is mourning again for another senseless tragedy by someone who’s evil heart thrives on the terror they create. They kill senselessly and mercilessly in acts of pure evil. They are pursuing their evil heart. We as a nation have turned our backs on God and are feeling the effects of it. Just as when Solomon had built the Great Temple to honor the Lord, the Lord came to him and warned him of Israel’s sin. He warned Solomon personally as their leader, even telling him that He would destroy the Great Temple he had built. But He also delivered a promise to him that would come to a humble repentant heart before God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Let these days of mourning draw you closer to God. One by one, prayer and repentant hearts can heal our nation.

 
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Posted by on April 16, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hold that thought

15 Apr

Hold that thought

James 3:1-2    Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

The heading in my study Bible for this passage is, “The Untamable Tongue”.  James gives examples of how evil our speech can be throughout this chapter. Of how no matter how hard we try to guard our speech, we will ultimately fail and say words that will sting, judge, curse, condemn; the list of could be endless of the harm our words can be. James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. What we seek to build up can be torn down in one wrong statement from that evil tongue. All we can do is to seek God, and spend daily time with God, in preparation to guard our speech. What we put in our mind comes out our mouth.

Early in this ministry the scripture above haunted me. I looked at my life, and the horror of great sins in it, and Satan creeped in. My list of sins is great, my failures endless, but Satan cannot take away what my Salvation through Christ has given me. That was my life before Christ, this is my life after Him. I take that accountability very seriously of reflecting what I see in the scriptures, for I am an uneducated man teaching the scriptures. I only claim to have a heart for God and the things of God, and try to share with you what you can have in the same daily pursuit. I will be held to a stricter judgement, therefore I must be wholesome in my pursuit. James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

I actually ended up in James 3 as I was studying Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. The references pointed to those passages in James. The relation is easy to see, for what we judge in our minds we are likely to speak with our tongues. We are to guard our minds, therefore God will guard our tongues. God grants us discernment as disciples of His, but with that discernment comes wisdom and responsibility. We are not to become fault finding critics of those that do not appear to be holy; we are to use this wisdom to protect ourselves, not become self-righteous. The more time you spend with God, the more not only the sin that surrounds you is revealed, but the depth of your own depravity before He redeemed you. “Sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Merciful Life

14 Apr

Merciful Life

Proverbs 11:24-26    There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.

These wise words of Solomon could be taken in many contexts, and the commentaries seem to lead to them speaking to wealth and how we handle it. God’s monetary system operates outside of our understanding. We are called to give when we have nothing to give. We are called to have faith in the knowledge that He will provide for our needs. In this giving we see His hand at work when our wells never run dry. I have lived that experience over recent years in both my business and personal life. It is truly amazing to see the monetary blessings that seemingly come out of nowhere as God provides over and over again; just in time, right on time.

In the study notes we are pointed to how this scripture may apply to God’s mercy. Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. God will place us in situations in our lives where we must forgive many things; we must not repay with what is due. We are to extend the mercy in a similar, but much smaller form that what He has given us. Mercy has been described as not getting what you deserved. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. (Adrian Rogers). Can you look at those situations in life as God looks at yours? Can you forgive over and over again just as He has done and will continue to do for you? This test of our ability to show mercy is a measure of our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We have all heard of the Golden Rule that states, “Do unto others as you wish they would do unto you.” That scripture is Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Can you see how this Golden Rule is woven into those other scriptures? Can you see how that our lives can reflect the God that redeemed us and He is whom we serve? Can you see how a selfish, bitter heart that claims His promises, yet denies those in need is a hypocrisy? How you live your life may be the only Bible that those around you may ever read. A life that extends mercy on those in their time of need, or even those who do not deserve it shows the love you have for Him in your heart. In these selfless acts God is using you to draw others to Himself. Live your life today merciful; for you have life today because of it.

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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