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“Because I said so” (Epic Fail)

22 Dec

“Because I said so” (Epic Fail)

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I have two great young boys. Great kiddo’s, full of life, full of questions, full of testing me as a parent. Sometimes I feel as though I am too hard on them; but I see so many that have no discipline. I go into a lot of homes and see a lot of families, and I see a lot of children that run wild. It does not take long to get a feel of the level of structure in a home to be honest. I have had the talk with my oldest son of how I am learning to be a parent too; of how so many things I tell him are for his protection; or I have reasons behind them. It is so crucial to take the time to explain to them once we set the bar. We are hopefully looking out for their best interest and not from emotion; we should have Jeremiah 29:11 written on our hearts in the upbringing of our children.

King Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captives from Judah into Babylon. Jeremiah had spoken the words that God gave him during these turbulent years; he told them of the punishment for their idolatry; for they had gone against God. Even in their exile in Babylon, the were false prophets were leading them astray; promising a quick return to Jerusalem. God spoke through Jeremiah and told them His plan for them; 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord. 10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. God had reason for their exile and the 70 years they were to spend there. Their hearts will change in these 70 years.

God speaks of how He will renew and restore them who seek Him during this time. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. All of these things that were happening to them, were happening as a father corrects his children. God had seen their sin, and punished them for it. Our children may often wonder and question the why of our response; but if there is reason behind it and not emotion, the true learning comes with that explanation of it. The more time you spend in God’s Word the better a parent you will become. You will be taught by example by the best parent of all.

 
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Posted by on December 22, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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JD SOLD (because I am sold out

21 Dec

JD SOLD (because I am sold out)

Psalm 62:5 My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.

I wish I could articulate my mornings to you. I wish I could explain to you my heart, my desire for you to know God, for you to seek God with all your might. For you to arise early, open His Word, pray, and humbly seek Him. My heart lies in Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye First the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. If there is one thing I can share with you outside of the Salvation of Christ, it is the daily pursuit of God. For if you will do this one thing every day, He will take care of all the rest. Satan will give you every reason and every detour to keep this from happening, but you must realize that, and press on. If the focus of your life becomes God and the things of God, there will be little else in your life that matters. When He begins His work in you as a result of that pursuit, true life change happens.

I am selling one of what I would call my top three possessions today. Something that I love, something I hold dear, but something I can do without. Those that know me well know I love to escape on a JD Mower and cut grass; today I let go of that cherished possession. This may seem trivial to some, but it is God at work in my life. There is a point in your whole heart pursuit that God will begin to show you that stuff really doesn’t matter, and many times the stuff is placed before Him. These realities only come to you when you come to God. You do not want to stand before God and try to explain your stuff that got in the way of your heart. Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me. (The first of the Ten Commandments). The proof of our nation that is so far from God is the evidence of all the material possessions that we live our lives in tireless pursuit of.

There seems to be an urgency in the air for our nation to humble itself before God. We are seeing horrific acts of violence that have torn our hearts apart. We are seeing poorly run governments and businesses that are crippling our nations economies and healthcare systems. We are seeing evidences every day of a nation turning it’s back on God. We are promised by God that He will hear us and heal us, if as a nation we will seek Him first. 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. This begins with you; begins with you arising earlier than your household, finding a quiet place, and opening God’s Word and your heart by seeking Him. Change begins with you, and real change is only found in God.

 
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Posted by on December 21, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Are ya’ ready? 3 -2 – 1….

20 Dec

Are ya’ ready? 3 -2 – 1…..

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18    For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

This being the last day with earth as we know it, well as the Mayans knew it; naturally there should be the question of the afterlife rumbling inside of you. God can even use this almost comical prophecy to draw you to Him. I mean if we all really put any weight in any of this, today would be a day of anarchy. Evil would prevail by trying to grab all it could before there was nothing left to grab. But that question that is stirring inside of you; the what if; the what is next; that could be Christ knocking at the door of your soul. Those questions and your responses to them have eternal consequence. They come with great reward, or they come with great damnation in the pride of denial.

Paul is seeking to answer many of the questions the young church in Thessolinica was asking. Timothy had been sent by Paul and reported back that they were struggling. This is believed to be one of Paul’s earliest epistles, and has some great detail of Christ’s return. The scripture above is speaking of what we understand as the Rapture; or the gathering of His believers from the earth upon His return. There will be those of us that believe that do not experience death, but are swept away with Him. This will be to remove us from the pain of His coming judgement of sin upon the earth. There is security, comfort, and hope in this understanding. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Paul continues in chapter five encouraging the Thessalonians in their security of their faith. He encourages them to live like Christians, to be prepared for Christ’s return at any time. Only God the Father knows when Christ will return. Christ was speaking to His disciples about His return in Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. There is one thing you must do to prepare; accept Christ as your Savior. After this you must begin to seek Him, to watch and pray as He told His disciples. You must seek God and the things of God; your heart is forever changed when you do these things. You will not be afraid of these end of times prophecies, for you understand the paradise that awaits you in heaven with your King.

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Daily Failures

17 Dec

Daily Failures

Romans 7:15-17   For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

I seem to be spending a lot of time in Romans lately. God is just speaking to me there. I came upon Romans 7 today where the great Apostle Paul speaks of his continued struggles with sin. He spends much time explaining how the Law (God’s commandments), reveals sin to us. Paul was a great sinner before he came to know Christ. He persecuted Christian’s as a zealous Pharisee, even to the point of death. Christ appeared to him in a blinding light and changed his heart forever. He also told Paul of how he must suffer as a disciple for Christ. Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Christ used Paul’s zeal to reach generations, change the world, and write much of the New Testament.

Paul was far from perfect. He still battled with sin; he still failed every day in some way. In his zeal he most likely agonized in that failure, for he desired with every fiber within himself to honor Christ and not fail in sin. But he also came to realize that he could not even live a day without the failure; for he will never achieve perfection as Christ. That conviction of your daily sin; conviction of the sin just committed; is an evidence of the Spirit living inside of you. Paul continues to agonize with this struggle. Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

We have the need to live every single day in God’s mercy and grace. We live in His mercy to not give us what we deserve. We live in His grace to give us what we do not deserve. These mercies and graces should be approached and spoken to before God in prayer. Especially when we feel those convictions of sin. We should desire to keep a humble, clear conscious in our relationship with God. This is key to hearing from God. Those unconfessed sins lie in the way of our relationship. Paul knows there is no hope for him but in Christ, and says so in his closing statement. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! When you fail today, and you will fail today, approach God in prayer. Plea for His forgiveness, and thanksgiving for His daily mercy and grace.

 
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Posted by on December 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The time is now

16 Dec

The time is now

Romans 6:20-21    For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

I awoke this morning and just laid there thinking for awhile. I did not want to turn on the news and hear of the horror in Connecticut Friday; I am avoiding the news to avoid the pain the media will sensationalize. My mind went all over the place for awhile, even to a place not so long ago before Christ. Remembering how I pursued everything but God, many things I hold my head in shame over. I came out and prayed and just began to read in Romans again. It was not long before I came to this scripture above. I bow my head in shame of my life before Christ; I knew better but still rebelled against God. For the end of those things is death. An eternal death in hell without the realization of my sin and the provision of Christ as an escape from it.

I remember for years telling my parents how I would become a Christian “one day”, but I wanted to have my fun for now. The events of the past two days should set a stone in your heart; a weight that only Christ can remove; the weight you carry in your sin. There is no planning for your life; you fall into God’s plan. The Free Will He designed us with moves in four directions. You may either drift to the right or left on life’s highway, but you are also either climbing towards, or headed down the mountain from God. There is not a timetable on which you can plan your days, and plan when you want to become a Christian. The time is now. James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

If you reflect on your life, honestly, it should bring about a conviction of sin. If you feel that you are overall a good person and have no sin, you will die in your pride and pay eternally for it. 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Even after you accept Christ and are forgiven of your sins; past, present, and future; you still have sin in your life. The removal of that sin is called Sanctification, where God points those sins out to you in prayer and His Word. The tug for repentance, and the plea for forgiveness, bring you one step closer to God. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. All it takes is a humble repentant heart before God. A plea of forgiveness; and acceptance of Christ as the only way to God. Are you ready? The time is now.

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Inconsolable w/o God

15 Dec

Inconsolable w/o 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.

I have sheltered my young boys from the tragedy of yesterday. We had a 24hr vacation planned for my youngest’s birthday yesterday at Great Wolf Lodge. Perfect timing for an escape from the reality of the state of our nation in an act against children both of their ages. The news was just hitting as we were walking out the door to get them from school; I could not stomach it. The more I thought of it, the worse I physically felt. The word of the day seemed to be “inconsolable”. Everyone wants to know the answer to why; but would it make a difference? The fingers will be pointed and the reasons given; but yet will there be change? We have never experienced an attack on the innocence of our children; ages when they only have the joys of life, before life begins to take away that joy and shape them. In just over 10 years removed from Elementary School, he became a demon. We need God now to heal from this tragedy.

We as a nation have turned our backs on God. We have removed Him from our schools; we have removed him from our government; we are steadily removing Him from our lives. The list could go on for pages of the evidence going against the Laws given by God to Moses. The Ten Commandments is lost in the self serving attitudes of today’s society; me, me, me. We have not passed God’s governing laws of conduct into our children, for we did not want to abide by them ourselves. Instead we sit our children behind consoles with that sitter numbing their minds with acts of mayhem; while we pursue our goals or numb ourselves to the pains. God was speaking to Solomon in the dedication of the Great Temple; for God knew that Israel as a nation would turn their backs on Him. But He promises to restore a humble nation that repents before Him; if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. There will be no way to ever understand this tragedy. We will never be able to understand the sovereignty of God in allowing the evil of this horror. The one thing for sure is the ability of God to comfort those of us affected by this senseless act. Seeking God is the only place we will find comfort. Satan meant it as evil; meant to turn our hearts against God; meant to only harm our hearts and soul. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. There are now 20 innocent souls in heaven sitting at the feet of Christ. Life here never had the chance to rob them of their innocence.

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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One thing remains

14 Dec

One thing remains

Hebrews 13:7-8   Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

It is a whole lot easier to follow than to lead. This statement could go into almost any aspect of your life. I always related it to racing bikes; you could pick the lines and the speed of the guy in front of you much easier because you were not making those split second decisions; you were following his lead. As a business owner every decision you make directly affects your employees, and most likely their families. As a leader in your family every decision directly affects the family unit. We all make mistakes, and their is always a consequence to that action. We must learn from these mistakes in preparation for the next time; and their will be a next time.

The writer of Hebrews is speaking of our leaders in the church; those that teach the Word of God to us. Those who lead us are held to a higher standard by God. James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. They must answer to the CEO of the universe when they fail, and they will fail, for they are human too. Their hearts should be a heart for God alone, and to emulate Christ in every aspect of their lives. They should have love as the bond that holds them together. They should pray to keep pride at bay, and we should do all we can to pray for our leaders, and all the struggles they face in that position.

The writer of Hebrews shows us in the following verse who will never change, and will never fail us – Jesus Christ. Those who lead us here may fail; Christ will never, ever, fail us. If we keep our eyes on Him in all of life’s trials; all of life’s trials will simply draw us closer to Him. Whatever you are facing, you are either looking upwards to Christ, or hanging your head looking down into the trouble. We should seek to keep our focus even in the good times on Christ. These times strengthen us for the trouble to come. Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Please watch this encouraging video that brought me to tears of thanksgiving before 6am today.

 
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Posted by on December 14, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The up escalator

12 Dec

The up escalator

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided.”

If I were to give my testimony, there is a clear financial side of it. I lived much of my life grabbing all the wants I could get my hands on. I was running what I then thought was a successful business knocking on the door of becoming a million dollar company. Over the past couple years I have seen that million dollar company go time after time to less than $1000 in multiple bank accounts; being told by everyone to file bankruptcy; selling almost all the assets; working for free to keep the doors open; now working by myself in the field; I could go on and on. I have also seen money appear time after time, right on time, to make payroll or pay an overdue bill. It happened again yesterday in a very humbling way. I continue to live on the daily manna God provides me just as He did the Israelites when they wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Abraham had an only son through his wife Sarah; a cherished son that God had blessed him with very late in his life. God came to Abraham and told him to sacrifice the boy. Genesis 22:2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Abraham was obedient to the highest imaginable call of God; he rose the next morning and prepared to do what God had told him to do. When they arrived at the mountain his son asked where the offering was. Abraham replied “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”(vs 8). Abraham was just about to sacrifice his son when an angel stopped him and showed him a goat caught by its horns in a thicket on the mountain top; just as he had told Issac that the Lord will provide. Abraham is called in the Bible the Patriarch of Great Faith.

When we are obedient to what we feel God pressing on our hearts to do, most likely it is a two-fold blessing in some way. We may be blessing someone in that act of obedience, the testing of our faith, in what God is pressing upon us. We also are blessed by the act in remaining in God’s Will for our lives. I believe each act of obedience draws us that much closer to God, each step of a stairway to heaven. I believe that is shown in Paul’s writing in Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Are you saying yes to the thing He is asking of you? The stairway is an up escalator; you are either moving up, or sliding down.

 
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Posted by on December 12, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Turn down the noise

10 Dec

Turn down the noise

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Ole’ stubborn, stiff-necked Israel; been out chasing idols and salvation through any thing that seemed to tickle their ears; again. The prophet Isaiah had spent over half of this book pointing to the sins of Israel. Israel had went down seemingly every road against God, even knowing they were God’s people and had lived with signs and wonders of that proof. Isaiah speaks of the grace that God gives them, when they humble themselves before Him. Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. Isaiah is speaking of the New Covenant; one of the promise of a Savior; one whom His Spirit will live inside them. (Jeremiah 31:27-40).

Many may say that they believe in God, maybe even Christ, but even Satan’s evil spirits believe. Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” If you say you believe; then you must humble yourself before God. You must repent of your sin and plea for forgiveness. You then will have His Spirit living inside of you. That is a product of Salvation, and a key to living the Christian life. You can seem religious, you may seem to have knowledge and talk the talk, but until you swallow your pride at the foot of the Cross you have gotten nowhere with God. Having Christ’s spirit inside of you will guide you in your daily walk if you consciously seek to abide in Him. A heart that is truly seeking after God is a heart with the ability to hear the words of God; to know whether to turn to the right or the left.

The white noise of the world today has the ability to dull your senses to God. If I were to begin a list of all the distractions that are before us, this would become a 24 hour ministry instead of one minute. There seems to be no ability to slow down; to just find silence and peace any longer. Even the peace of Sunday afternoons at my house is replaced now by seemingly rush hour traffic. Our society is always seeming going somewhere; Satan smiles at our need to be busy. To hear that voice inside of you that you so long to hear, you must go against the grain of the world. You also probably know the scripture that is the key. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! How can you know which way to turn if you don’t turn down the white noise of this world?

 
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Posted by on December 10, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Come on…..Papa needs a 7!

07 Dec

Come on…..Papa needs a 7!

Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.

In the Old Testament times it was a common practice to “cast lots” to make decisions. It was a game of chance, and the game of chance that set the outcome for many huge decisions. It is mentioned 70 times in the Old Testament. The Lot many have been some sort of stone, coins, or even sticks; today we would most likely use dice for our decisions on these games of chance. In the day of Solomon, (the writer of Proverbs), they did not have access to God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit had not been given yet to them. They prayed and relied on God’s sovereignty on the outcome of the way the Lot fell. Now after Christ; after the completion of God’s Word, and after the coming of the Holy Spirit; nowhere in the New Testament are we told to cast Lots to make decisions.

We know we are told to pray for His help in the time of making decisions, and many times we rush into a prayer for help right now. We stumble around and want a word from God, but yet we haven’t spent any time with God up to the point of this critical move. Christ tells a powerful parable in Matthew; the parable of the sower, and then Christ’s explanation of it to His disciples (Matthew 13:1-23). In that parable many may have asked a question before God, and their answer played out as the three soils. The only one who received their answer and knew it was from God; was the one who prepared their heart. Matthew 13:23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (ESV)

How much time you spend with God in prayer and His Word is in direct relation to how clearly you hear God speak to you. The people you surround yourself with either heightens this awareness to God, or they dulls your senses. The media that you put in your mind with either draw you to God, or drag you away from Him. Your every day, your every action, is in relation to how you hear from God. If your decisions are driven for worldly lusts; beware for your heart is not in good soil as in Matthew 13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. For your every decision that you make in life God is waiting on you to ask Him. The closer you are to God, the easier His reply will be to hear.

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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