RSS

Tag Archives: god

Wake up

26 Feb

Wake up

Jonah 1:4-5    But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

I have openly shared of my struggles with anxiety and depression. The roller coaster of life’s emotions, the highs and lows that take us from one day to the next. You don’t even have to possess the torment of depression to possess the stresses that take you down those roads of seemingly self-pity. Of dropping into the pit of the “why” or the “what next”. So many times the best escape is to shut down; to lay your head down and escape with sleep. Anxieties may inhibit sleep, but once it moves into the depression you can lay your head down anywhere and rest. I cannot help but think Jonah felt this pressure; and escaped into the ships hull to run from it and sleep. If it was rooted in fear of God, of the sea, of his next step in life, he would have been pacing the hull, not sleeping in it.

I am at a place in my life like Jonah; feeling a call on my life to go, and trying to prepare to be obedient. I can see the storms in my life that God is using to get my attention, to steer my ship, to prepare me for what He has planned. Some days the pressure gets so great I too must escape into the hull of the ship. Where do you go when God starts pressing on you? Sleep may be a means of temporary rest, but He will be there to remind you when you awake. The captain of the ship awoke Jonah to remind him. Jonah 1:6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” Is it possible that in your own life, that in your running from God you have them in your boat too? Are those around you suffering because of your disobedience? I have asked myself these questions.

The ships captain and crew were doing all they could do to lighten the load to keep the ship from sinking. They were trying in all their power to thwart the sovereign will of God on what He had planned for Jonah. They did not realize that God was even using their situation to draw them into the knowledge of Him. They came to know Him on the sea that day. Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. God is likely at work in many areas of your life, and those he has placed in your life’s circle. It is impossible for us to understand how He even takes our mistakes and turns them into victories, but if my God can breath a star into existence, the plans and details of my life define simplicity.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 26, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

East or West?

25 Feb

East or West?

Jonah 1:1-3    Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

I feel led to spend some time in Jonah, to write from there possibly too. I awoke this morning earlier than usual, for I have a lot on my mind. The pressures of life, seemingly lots of big things on my plate that preoccupy my mind. The things many times that God places there; callings on your life for obedience; changes in your life that make you uncomfortable; the big things that lurk beneath the surface, for many times they are the messages from God. I too, like Jonah seemingly choose to run from them sometimes. Why do we do that? We cannot run from God! In the start of my study I have come upon the complexity of this book. Yet in the early stages of this prophetic narrative it is simple; we cannot escape the call of God on our lives.

Jonah heard God plainly tell him to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to those who were of the evilest nature. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and the Assyrian army was the evilest of all in their debauchery against those they conquered. The theories for why he fled may differ, but the flight is what may also apply in our lives. When we feel those tugs on our heart from God, do we too turn our backs on Him and go the opposite direction? Jonah went as far in the opposite direction known to him. Tarshish was believed to be a somewhere in Spain, the eastern outermost boundary known at that time. We cannot flee from the omni-presence of God. He is the all knowing, all encompassing, Sovereign Ruler of the universe.

We get scared, we get comfortable, we get lazy. God may be calling you out to do something you cannot imagine doing, or something you simply resist. The power of God is found in the tasks you cannot complete, and the presence of God is found where you resist. Your resistance is the power of sin in your life to even imagine the defiance on the call of obedience. 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? The power of sin is that idleness or denial in the answer of that call. The obedience is the road to righteousness that He has laid out before you and I.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Open eyes & giving heart

18 Feb

Open eyes & giving heart

1 John 3:16-18    By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

I have been spending a lot of my time in a church project; a remodeling project in an old church where my best friend was called to be the pastor. God placed on my heart to step up and take some of the responsibilities off his shoulders as the project manager, so that he could concentrate on his pastoral duties. I have seen an outpouring of servant hearts in this restoration project. I have seen tireless hours cleaning, painting, polishing, and pouring love back into that old church. I have seen clothing and food donations to start those ministries. I have seen people pour themselves into this project; I have seen their hearts for Christ in the service and skills they provide in the giving of themselves.

John uses four different forms of the word love a total of 46 times in the short epistle of 1 John. He speaks of what do we hold dear; do we place our love in our possessions? Do we love the things of this world? I lived by the motto “The one who dies with the most toys wins” for most of my life. I worked hard to achieve what I thought was happiness in all that I could obtain. That false security, happiness, and pursuit only brought debt, and the realization that it all was meaningless in eternity. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. There was a point in my growth as a Christian that Christ showed me the truth; that all of this stuff was idols in my life that I placed above Him; with that understanding came a change of heart.

If you have, and you see a brother that is in need, there should be a conviction to help that person in need. That outpouring of love in a deed is a means to show your love of Christ to all that see. That outpouring of your heart is a means to show that the hope you have is in Him, not in the stuff you once held dear. It may be monetary, it make be a good deed, it may be an encouraging word, but it all shows a heart for Christ and the desire to share the hope that lies within you. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Open your eyes and give with your heart. Christ may use you to make an eternal difference in someones life by filling that need He shows you.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 18, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Love – doubt = Perfect Love

08 Jan

Love – doubt = Perfect Love

1 John 4:17-19    Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

I heard a powerful sermon yesterday on doubt. Doubt is really fear; fear of the unknown, of the unsure, of the uncertain. Doubt is a powerful tool of Satan, for it settles in slowly and takes root. It can gradually grow and effect the outer self. We move in relation to our faith and fears; we act on what we believe. Fear is never a tool of God, fear is always a tool of Satan. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. My mental strain is a great burden these days, the weight of it commands my thoughts during the day, and Satan sneaks into them with doubt and fear. It is a constant warring in my head of the battle of good and evil. It seems so hard some days…….

John is speaking of the power of love; the power of the security of our future wrapped up in that love. The boldness that we should know and feel in the security of our Salvation in Christ. We should have no fear if we rest in that perfect love that is eternally promised. Our lives here will be full of disappointments in people, careers, friends, society, ____________, you can make your own list. When we begin to place our hope in these things we will surely be disappointed. But when we place our hope in our love for Christ; these disappointments should become expected and trivial. They are nothing but distractions to take our eyes off Christ.

The way to fight these fears is found in the Bible. The Word of God is the only offensive weapon that we have against Satan. Christ set that example for us when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4:1-13). The more time you spend in God’s Word, the stronger your faith becomes and the more power He gives you to fight these fears. Your heart is moved to a place of thanksgiving, and love is grown out of that thankful heart. That love completes the circle to enable you the power to fight those fears. You begin to see verse 19 We love Him because He first loved us. Thank you Jesus.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 8, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Ya’ got that second chance today

03 Jan

Ya’ got that second chance today

Isaiah 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

Hezekiah was a king of Judah, and Jerusalem was under siege by Assaria, and the stress of it was getting to him. He had become sick, and God had sent the prophet Isaiah to tell him to get his house in order, for he would not recover. Hezekiah poured out his heart to God; God heard his plea and did the unimaginable; God promised to add 15 years to his life. God even told Hezekiah that He would give him proof of this and seemingly moved time backwards; Isaiah 38:8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. Hezekiah recovered, poured out his heart in prayer, then pride crept in and he failed miserably showing off all his possessions to those who later would steal them.

We all hear of the stories of second chances in life. Miraculous healing’s, near death experiences, times when we know we should have died, yet God gave us added years. “God had something else for me to do; was not done with me yet.” So many testimonies of God’s power in His Sovereign control of life and death. With those experiences should come a gratitude and a mindset of the pursuit of God and the things of God for the rest of your days. Your life should revolve around serving the One who gave you life. There should be a desire to share what God blessed you with for the remainder of every single day. Does it take a near death experience for this revelation? God holds that sovereign decision regarding your life in His hand.

There is so much more to this life; there is the life after. This life is a preparation of things to come, to spend your time preparing for where and how you will spend eternity. Will you take the easy road of earthly pleasure and pay for that decision in eternal pain? Will you see that God has a plan for you with Him in paradise if you will spend your short time here loving and serving Him? All you must do is to believe in His Son, and your need for His Son. Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin, and only through Christ will you spend your eternal days in paradise. John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. It should not take a near death experience for you to be moved by God. He has granted you the breath of life for today didn’t He?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 3, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Two pawns in eternal Chess

30 Dec

Two pawns in eternal Chess

John 4:35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

Christ had just shared Himself with the Samaritan women at the well. She had realized who He was and hurried back to tell the everyone she believed she had met the promised Messiah. The disciples had just returned from town getting supplies. They had found Jesus talking to her, and when she left they urged Him to eat, for they knew He must be weak from the journey. Christ used the analogy of food to them, stressing the understanding of doing the Will of His Father is more important that physical nourishment. John 4:32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” The disciples seemed puzzled with this example and Christ began to explain the need for obedience, and the eternal rewards of it.

God will place those in our circle of influence before us with purpose. Circumstance is not by chance with whom God has placed before you. At some point you most likely will have burdens for the souls of friends, family, and even seemingly random encounters. You may become bold enough to share your faith with them; God smiles on that sowing of hope in Christ that you just shared with them. Many times it may become frustrating when it seems to fall on deaf ears; you may feel like they just don’t want to hear it; they just don’t want to respond. But the key here is that you are sowing the hope of Christ into their lives; you are being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit that lives within you. John 4:37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ You must not become frustrated, but know that God is doing the greater work in their lives; you are just a vessel for Him to do that work.

What about the person outside of your circle that is also sowing hope in Christ into that person’s life? God may be using both of you to deliver the same message to that person. That person knows that the both of you do not know each other; how can the both of you be telling them the same exact thing? At some point their heart may open, and the realization that God is the one at work through the two of you. You could be playing a critical role in God’s work in a lost soul. You may also be the benefactor of seeing that person come to Christ; reaping what another sows. John 4:38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” You can only experience this when you are obedient to God’s calling on your life to share your faith; to become a disciple for Christ. There is no eternal rewards found in passivity; but great rewards in participation. John 4:36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 30, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Families…we all got em’

29 Dec

Families…we all got em’

Obadiah 1:12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. (ESV)

Edom was the land of Esau, and Israel was the land of Jacob; they were family divided. The history of Jacob and Esau was one of trouble, even from the day they were born. This carried into the nations that they fathered, and their histories were one of continued trouble. God had brought down judgement on Jerusalem for their sins and they were fleeing their country. The Edomites took advantage of them, siding with their enemies, and turned their backs on their brothers in their time of need. Differences aside, they even in God’s eyes should have helped their family in their time of need. Obadiah spoke this prophecy of God’s coming judgement on Edom; Obadiah 1:10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.

It has been a season of family during the holidays. It has been the time we spend with those closest to us. We see the lifestyles of them that may bring about troubling thoughts. We may see things we know are wrong; we may see things that bother us deeply. Most likely they see some of the same things in us. We all have dysfunctional families in some degree, but they are the only family that we have. God has placed us together in that gene pool for a reason, and it is not to turn our backs on each other. God takes this so seriously that we are not to come to a place of worship with him without a pure heart. Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Many times this is thought of in relation to the Lord’s Supper; but it also may be in daily context.

We have all heard of Karma; and many may believe that it is an axis on which the world turns. “What goes around comes around.” Their may be some truth to that all wrapped up in God’s Sovereignty, but we all must answer for our thoughts and deeds before Him. Obadiah prophesied of this in Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. Can you see where Karma could be derived from that scripture? The day of the Lord is the day of judgement, and we will answer for our lives at that day. Forgive what you have against your family; in so many ways it is so important to God

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 29, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

HeartLight

11 Dec

HeartLight

Zephaniah 1:12 “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’

I am finishing up a semester in school of studying the prophets of the Old Testament. Time after time they warn Israel and other nations of the coming judgement of God. Some nations heed the warning and repent; in their pride other nations stand, only to crumble in God’s wrath. Many of these prophecies have two fold meanings; the immediate historical intent of the nations receiving the word of God from the prophet, and the future intent of the time to come at The Day of the Lord when God passes judgement on the sin of the earth. That day is coming when we all must stand and account for our lives before Him in a holy court. We must answer what we did with the knowledge of Christ; of what we put before becoming disciples of His. How will you answer?

The more time I spend in these prophecies, the more I became concerned for those God has placed in my life. People close to me; co-workers, friends, even family. Do I be bold and share with them not only the Good News; but the wrath of eternal damnation in their apostate views of it? Zephaniah is speaking of how God will search out all that is hidden in that day of judgement on Judah; of the complacency of those resting in religion. Judah had slipped farther and farther away from God and they believed God would never punish His own people. Zephaniah 1:4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, 5 those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, 6 those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.” God will always punish un-repented sin.

Remember that test we took as a kids when the first line was to read all the directions before beginning? Most of us began the seemingly endless tasks to be completed in the alloted time. Some of us just sat back and smiled while the others worked feverishly; yet they wondered what we knew. The last line on the test was to put your paper down and to disregard all the previous directions. God is showing you what He has planned for the world throughout the Bible. He has shown you why you struggle; why He gave you Christ to free you from that struggle; what will happen if you deny Him, and the eternal blessings in store if you humble yourself before Him. Do not pass through life thinking God will not search your heart with His Light upon judgement day. Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 11, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Only hard for a time

28 Nov

Only hard for a time

Job 1:1 “Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

Are you playing the Powerball Lottery? Do you believe that that any sum of money would be the answers to all your problems, and the key to happiness? Do you know that statistics show that most lottery winners are bankrupt in 10 years? Matthew 19:24 scares me enough to keep me from playing. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” In my sin I believe I could be the person that could do both. 327 Million dollars would cause me to die in that prideful shame. Only through the distribution of that all that wealth to draw glory to Christ, could you be that camel. And pride would still creep in.

I am not feeling well. I should want to stay in bed and get some rest, but God called me to this ministry every morning. I get more than I can ever share from my daily time with God. I strive to persevere; to press on through it all; to draw glory to Christ  every day. I am just a pair of hands on a keyboard pointing you to Christ; nothing special, but everything in Him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Christianity does not mean that life becomes a bed of roses. It means that you have an eternal hope placed in you to endure the temporal life here. In that hope comes strength to cope, to endure, to have joy, to share, to encourage, to persevere. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. All that you face every day that tends to drag you down; Christ gives you the hope to lift you up. As we deal with life and the trials of it; I can only pray you are relying on that hope placed within you through Christ. I cannot imagine doing life without Christ in the world in which we live. You have a better chance of being struck by lightening, than winning the lottery.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 28, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Focus on today

26 Nov

Focus on today

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Most of the time my anxieties center around the pressures of life; the worries of tomorrow. I can seem to handle the stresses of the day, but it may be the worry of the stress of tomorrow that get to me. If it is mostly about tomorrow, then it is fully out of my control. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, so why should I waste today worrying about what I cannot control? This were Satan has his victory in these battles; he robs us of our joy of today. Matthew 6:25-34 speaks directly to these types of anxiety. 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

How many todays are lost in the worry of tomorrows? God places you in a circle of influence; a setting for you to have possible joy for they day. He may place someone before you that needs to hear of Him; that needs that encouraging word that you can give them of your faith in Christ. That person that may be able to relate to your testimony, they may be walking directly in the struggles you have faced with the strength now in Christ; you can now share that with them. 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Everything we face today we now face with Christ. We must continually seek Christ to tap into this strength; we cannot rely upon our own.

I am trying really hard to seek God for help in this area of my life right now. I have come to describe my anxiety/depression as the Apostle Paul did as, “ my thorn in the flesh”.  Paul pled for God to take it from him, but God let it stay to keep Paul humble, and to keep Paul’s eyes on God. 2 Corinthians 10:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. When you are in the middle of worry, get into the center of it with the strength of God.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 26, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →