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Better than sight

27 Sep

Better than sight

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith shows there is no difference
In your eyes open or not;
Faith is the invisible handle
On what you have got.

Faith does not need to see
God’s writing on the wall;
Faith does not need proof
Faith does not need to see at all.

To seek to see shows lacking
Your faith is not that strong;
If sight is what you rely on
Your missing it all along.

Anyone can see
Only His can feel;
His presence in themselves
Never doubting He is real.

A heart can see the proofs
As the eyes never can attain;
The soul becomes strengthened
Passing the intellect of the brain.

Faith cannot be taught
In books it can never be learned;
Faith is a move of God
With Him it is earned.

Faith is possessed
It cannot be taken away;
The hope that you have
Must be on display.

Your faith encourages others
They want what you proclaim;
Make your when you share it
The glory is in His name

 
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Posted by on September 27, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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A Bottomless Well

26 Sep

A Bottomless Well

John 7:37-39     On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

It was this time of year, early Fall, at the Feast of the Booths, or Tabernacles; a feast to celebrate the Harvest and God’s protection in the Jews delivery from slavery out of Egypt. Those in Christ midst were wanting to go up to the feast, and Christ had told them to go ahead without him. He had left and gone secretly up to the feast; he had heard people talking about him secretly to themselves; he had heart them speaking of who he was, or was not. He boldly entered the Temple and began to teach. In this instance is one of those times they sought to arrest Him, yet they never laid hands on him; 30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. There was becoming division everywhere over Christ; they all marveled at his “uneducated” teaching; they marveled at the signs he performed; they argued whether he was the Christ they were seeking. They did not understand so much of his teaching, for God had not opened their eyes to the mystery that was found in Christ. Only a few truly believed that He was the Son of God.

On the last day of the Feast, Christ proclaimed the scriptures above in John. He spoke of the Holy Spirit which would be given to believers after Christ was glorified on the Cross. Christ’s Spirit would come to dwell inside all of those that believed in Him. The Holy Spirit that dwells inside of you is the river of living water that flows out of you. Christ spoke to the Samaritan women at the well of this living water; John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” This living water is a water that fills you with something that the world cannot; fills you to the point of overflowing into the lives of others; give you something you seemingly don’t want to contain, but want to share with others what you possess.

Christ spoke of this gift in John 14:15-31, he speaks of the Helper that God is giving us when Christ ascends back into heaven. 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. If God is tugging on your heart, answer that desire that is welling up inside you. Repent of your sins, plea for forgiveness, and open your heart to the living water that fills it. Your life will never be the same, and likely those God has placed around you will not be either.

 
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Posted by on September 26, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Daily Planning

24 Sep

Daily Planning

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

My life right now seems as a whirlwind; in fact I jokingly said yesterday it feels as though it has moved to an F2 tornado. There have been so many big things that God has laid in front of me, that I am simply amazed. It can be quite overwhelming to be honest. We all have had those days, those weeks, those seasons in life where it just seems like we wanna hold up our hands and plead  for it to slow down. It can move to where we don’t get sleep, for our minds never seem to rest. I am somewhat of a visionary, seeing out into the big picture, but as part of that you must be able to accomplish the task at hand that leads to accomplishing that vision. The vision can never go before, or without the tasks, if they are working together. Does your today’s “to do list”, work towards that ultimate goal that you wish to attain? In the simplest form of the understanding of planning, if it does not, it should not make the list.

There is deep theology wrapped up in this proverb of Solomon, the wisest person to ever live. God’s Sovereignty is in full view in the understanding of his plans for each of our lives. We can’t argue, for we simply cannot understand how our Free Will, and God’s Will, can work hand in hand. If my God can BREATHE billions of stars into existence, the details of my daily life are simple. He can let me wander around in Free Will, but still keep me on the path he has laid before me. Jeremiah understood how God directed the paths of his people; he understood in all things that God’s power is evident and at work. He understood the coming days of judgement from the Lord, for his people that had strayed from God. Sin was evident, and God was going to allow Judah to be captured. The Message translates it as this; Jeremiah 10:23 I know, God, that mere mortals can’t run their own lives, That men and women don’t have what it takes to take charge of life. 24 So correct us, God, as you see best. Don’t lose your temper. That would be the end of us.

So, if God has a plan for each of our lives, would it not be in our best interest to try and follow that plan? Would that not follow the simple understanding that we discussed about vision casting? Taking today for example; seeking God early in the day, in prayer and His Word. Seeing where He speaks to us and looking for the examples and opportunities that he places before us as we go through the day. Most likely we will see the evidence of Him throughout the day, the evidence we had missed when we tried to do life without him each day. Henry Blackaby teaches in the Experiencing God studies, that we are to see where God is working, and join him, not asking him to join us. Most likely the heart that seeks God daily will see the evidence of of God working around them already. This puts you in the center of His Will for the day, and one step closer to accomplishing that vision he has laid out for your life.

 
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Posted by on September 24, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Open doors

23 Sep

Open doors

Hebrews 10:24-25    And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

What happened? Why don’t you go to church anymore? What hurt did you experience; what hypocrisy steered you away; what victory did Satan have in your life to keep you from being involved in church this long? God has blessed me with the transformation of my Air Conditioning business into a ministry. My truck boldly proclaims my faith, and I am sure it offends as many as it inspires. I never go into peoples home Bible Thumping their heads, but God just seems to open doors to conversations sometimes, and so many times, I hear their stories of why they don’t attend church any longer. It typically involves some painful incident that Satan keeps reminding them of to keep them away. He knows the strength of a believer is much greater in the company of other believers. Sadly now I hear so many times of people trying to do Christianity alone; Christianity is not a solo sport. Many people have come to doing church in front of a TV, listening to smiling preachers that speak of only the good things in life; of a loving God, and if you aren’t blessed, you don’t have enough faith. They only tell people what they want to hear (2Timothy 4:3-4); they don’t preach the coming judgement of God because that will hurt their popularity, ratings, and pocketbooks. They may preach Christ, but they are personally profiting greatly, and I question their hearts in that pursuit.

Church is full of imperfect people; that is why we are in church. We are seeking the “hope that does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5), the support system of those with the same struggles as you are facing. We need the support of each other to do this thing called life. I spoke yesterday of being the “light in the world”(Matthew 5:14) that Christ told us to be. To let our light shine for others; to be His light to help others along their dark paths. Why would you sit at home and keep His light to yourself? Whatever pain you suffered, is a victory for your enemy if you are not moving past it going back to church. You must move past it and claim a victory over Satan when you pass through the doors of church this coming week.

You may not find, the church where God wants you the first time you open the doors. You will know, the church He wants you at the first time you open the doors. God wants you to be encouraged each week in the body of believers. He wants you to come and worship in in song, praise, teaching, prayer, and fellowship. He wants your candle to be so bright that all the world sees it on Monday morning. He wants them to see Christ in you. Don’t let that memory that Satan keeps bringing up, keep you from stomping it under your feet as you pass through the doors this coming week.

 
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Posted by on September 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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How do you get to heaven?

19 Sep

How do you get to heaven?

Galatians 2:15-21   We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (ESV)

True or False: You get to heaven by being a good person and following the rules of Christianity.

How you answer that question determines your eternity. If the “law” is that set of rules that you try so hard to follow, you are relying on your own power to get right, or be justified before God. You may understand that you are a sinner, and you may think you understand Christ, but it has gotten twisted somewhere in your basis of belief on following the rules to get your key to paradise. I grew up thinking that going to church got me into heaven; as a part of that belief was inter-twined that system of following the rules. I mean, there could be no way I did not have to do something to pay my way, right? There had to be some rule about prayer, forgiveness, hard work, changed ways, repentance; at least being better than that bad person I know right? Maybe it is as simple as on God’s scales of justification, that my good deeds outweigh my bad. I think I can pull this off; live my life to the fullest for a few years, and then spend my remaining years righting all the wrongs I had done……..plenty of time…….in that statement is the works based faith that condemns, and you pay eternally for that mistake……that was me for most of my life.

Salvation is not found in a church pew, following all the rules, or even the mis-conception of anything called God’s scales weighing out your life. There is only ONE way to heaven, and it is by the free grace that God gave you through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Grace is defined as unmerited favor; giving us something we do not deserve. The Gospel is this good news; that God gave us this grace in Christ; the forgiveness of sins through His blood on the Cross. All it takes is a humble, repentant heart, seeking that grace upon which he gave. To come to that understanding that we can never achieve it, only humbly accept it. Upon it, your life will never be the same, from here into eternity. #thankyouJesus

 
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Posted by on September 19, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not at the top of your lungs

17 Sep

Not at the top of your lungs

2 Timothy 2:24-26    And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (ESV)

This past week has been a whirlwind. So much has happened, so much has changed in my life, but through all of it, I am at peace with it, in God. God will never take us where he has not prepared the way for us. These roads will most likely be difficult in some way; we have the natural bend to take the easy routes. We may say that we learned our lesson the hard way, but we will not willingly take that hard way to learn a lesson. In our minds their must be an easier route with the same end result, surely we can find and pursue it; even to delay the straighter, quicker, more direct path that will produce the result that God intends, not what is out supposed will. In your growth as a Christian, you must come to that understanding of God’s Will in your life. With that understanding comes the peace inside you the world cannot understand. You have that peace, hope, and love that the situations that tear others down, build you up in Christ. When others see how you deal with these situations, their inquisitive natures want to know the why and how you deal with it differently.

As I read this passage in 2nd Timothy, I thought of the work God has, and is still doing in my life regarding my temper. He has done great things inside me to defeat that demon of anger and rage. I had a short fuse, and my speech was my fists. My words could tear down; it hurts indescribably when I see them still surface every now and then, especially in the discipline of my boys. I have, and continue to pray for God’s hand in the Sanctification of that demon I battle. When you face those situations that stir you up, and you remain calm in the Spirit, others are amazed at your ability to do so. This is the perfect time to share the hope that lies within you, the work that Christ has done inside you, the peace that you possess. 1 Peter 3:15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. God may be opening their hearts through their eyes in witnessing the power of a calm Spirit that is living inside of you. He may be using you, to draw others to himself in the midst of a confrontation. Their lives may never be the same as a result of you not loosing your temper in the first place.

Think of this passage in the context of which it was used to Timothy. Paul was charging Timothy to preach the truth; to correct and convict those in their error. He was not to do this in battle, but in a loving spirit. One of my favorite pastors, Adrian Rogers once said, “Preach not with anger, but anguish.” Your heart should hurt for those lost souls. You can never save someone yourself, but you can show them the way to Salvation, and the err of their ways. This does not have to be at the top of our lungs, but with a gentle Spirit in which the love of Christ is shown. Paul knew the battles that Timothy would face as a preacher of the truth, and he did not want Timothy to become silent as a result of  the opposition he would face.

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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When YOU are ready

15 Sep

When YOU are ready

Hebrews 11:1-2     Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

Helloooo…..is there anybody up there????? God, are you hearing my prayers? I have been praying to you about this, but you don’t answerrrrrr me. Why don’t you answer me? We all have made those statements; those statements show our level of faith in them. Not receiving an answer, or maybe even receiving one we don’t like, so we continue to pray hoping to change God’s mind. Thank you God for so many unanswered prayers. It is in our little minds that we lack that understanding of how God operates out of the confines of time; He created time, rules time, and is not bound by time. When I stress out over the things that don’t happen on my timetable with God, the Holy Spirit always seems to whisper this scripture to me: 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Can you look at the entire Bible in the light of that scripture? In God’s eyes, it has only been a couple of days since Christ payed for our sin debt due. Look at how our world has run from God again; we are just like the stubborn, stiff-necked Israelites of the Old Testament. We see the proof of God, and then turn our backs on him, over and over again.

Hebrews 11 is the place to go for the proof of those patriarchs of faith. Those people that had such great faith in God, they put their lives entirely in his hands. It was by this faith, that verse two shows that God considered them righteous by their faith. Hebrews 11 is the chapter on which one’s faith is proven by the action that is taken. The level of our faith can be found in the understanding of the sunrise we see every day. The simple beauty and incredible complexity of all creation, right down to us as His greatest creation. Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (ESV) If God can breath a star into existence, the details of my life are a breeze. The level of your faith will determine how you live your life. “You are what you believe”, a best friend, and the Godliest man I know once told me. Your faith is found in that statement and self-analysis. It will guide your every decision in the background of your mind. When you are wondering the “whys” of your life, and or your prayer life, consider that God is testing your faith in delayed responses in and to them. Keep drawing near to God and He will answer you, when YOU are ready.

 
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Posted by on September 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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At 300mph

14 Sep

At 300mph

Zephaniah 1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Zephaniah was a prophet; he was bringing the word of judgement that was coming from the Lord on Judah. He was proclaiming that Israel must pay for their grievous sins against God; they had come to worship other Gods, and committed countless sins and forsaken Him. Zephaniah was preaching a call to repentance and return to their Lord. The good news was that some listened; their was a revival of faith, and we are told that under the king Josiah, Israel returned to their faith in the God that had told them they were His people, and had delivered them from slavery and performed countless miracles for them. Sadly God’s judgement was only delayed; Israel returned to their sinful ways and God passed judgement on them when Judah was overthrown.

In this scripture, Zephaniah speaks to those that sit ideally by; they believe in God, but don’t believe He will do anything; they believe He is inactive himself. The Bible commentary compares them to undisturbed wine; they are the sediment that falls to the bottom. Christ spoke directly to those that sit ideally in the book of Revelations, to the church of Laodecia. Rev. 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Christ hates complacency; it is very clear that he either prefers you to not have the faith, or to be zealous in it. You are never to be stagnant in your faith; you are either pursing him or you are backsliding. Think of your faith as a down escalator that you are walking up. It takes a true effort to get to the top, but if your heart is zealous for God, you will keep seeking him. If you stop your pursuit, your travel away from him quickly.

My church small-group is starting the Radical study with David Platt. His teaching is core understanding of actively seeking God. His teaching is living our lives in that pursuit. His calls to discipleship are strong; he teaches that our love for God outweighs all others to the point that it looks as hate. I remember God opening my eyes in reading his book in that regard. If you truly come to know and understand who, and what, God is, and what he has done for you through his Son, your life will never be the same. You will never be able to sit ideally by and claim Christianity; you will be driven by a humble heart that desires to be closer to him every, single, day.

 
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Posted by on September 14, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Rise & Shine

13 Sep

Rise & Shine

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.

I awoke this morning as usual, with no alarm. I laid there thinking my phone battery was dead, for it never went off; almost comical on Friday the 13th. Yet there is this inner tug inside of me that is my alarm, my wake up call. There is a desire in me that outweighs all reasons to stay in bed, a desire to meet God every day at this time. My life truly changed when I changed my mornings to begin reading my Bible and praying daily. That change has grown into this ministry, and that change has bred a heart for encouraging others to do the same. There is nothing special about me, I am only a ol’ country boy with a heart for God.

What drives you; what is that tug inside of you that gets you up every day? Is it the demands of work, the pursuit of success by worldly standards? Is it the pursuit of all that this life will bring? How many times have we seen those who pour themselves into their careers all their lives, only to die shortly after retirement; only to die in the middle of the stress of it all in that pursuit? Their is nothing that you can gain that will carry into eternity, except the kingdom work that you invest in those around you. The evidence of the depth of your relationship with your Savior, is proof of the kingdom work in those you encounter daily. All throughout the apostle Paul’s epistles we find the evidence of his heart for those in, and out of the faith. His heart burned for sharing the hope that lied within him. It drove him to face each day and all that the day brought. As he shared of all the trials that Christ told him he must suffer for His name’s sake, he closed with this. 2 Corinthians 11:28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. His deep concern was was for all those souls that God put before him; his deep concern was sharing the hope that he had found in Christ. He had been extended the Grace offering by the hand of God, as he walked down that Damascus road in a murderous pursuit of Christians.

You may try and rest in the false security of Salvation found in church pews on Sunday, or you make take up your cross daily and become a disciple for Him (Mark 10:21). You can pray a prayer of moving your life to a servant of His and the pursuit of it; your life will never be the same as a result of it. You can rise and shine the Light that lies within you each day to a dark world that needs Him (John 8:12). You will hear from Him like you never had before, as a result of that daily pursuit. Your heart will begin to burn just as Paul’s for those in and out of the faith. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13), and that strength is a measure of that daily time with Him.

 
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Posted by on September 13, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hillclimbs

12 Sep

Hillclimbs

2 Timothy 2:3-7    You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

How many roads can we go down with the scripture of verse 3 alone? How many times have we wondered the “why” of the situations that we find ourselves in? God will take us down the paths we would never travel, he will let us sit with unanswered questions for seeming eternities, he will let us take the hard roads for the lessons learned there. How appropriate are the ways of God that seemingly fit the phrase, “I learned it the hard way”. He does his greatest work in these times, and it is on the other side of the trial that we see his purpose in them, if we continued to seek him through them. If we abandon Him in them, his purposes for our lives are not revealed.

When you look at this passage in it’s context, Paul is trying to encourage Timothy for the hard times that will surely come. The summary of this text could easily be two words: Remain focused. Paul uses the example of soldiers, farmers, and athletes; he shows their focus and their rewards. We are to possess that eternal focus ourselves; we are not to become distracted from the trials or pleasures that this world presents. We are to remain focused on Christ and the Gospel of grace that He has given us. Paul pours out his heart to Timothy; he shows him of the pains he has for those in, and outside of the faith. (The Message) 9 It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now – but God’s Word isn’t in jail! 10 That’s why I stick it out here – so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. 11 This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him; 12 If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; 13 If we give up on him, he does not give up – for there’s no way he can be false to himself. Paul is pressing into Timothy the need of a life focused on Christ, and the promises found in Him.

Do you seek Him every day? Do you seek Him only when the going gets rough, or do you seek Him even when it is a path of ease? Those easy days prepare us for the rough ones. The days that we sit in His presence, with praise of the place he has us for the day, strengthen our hearts for the trials to come. Become awestruck in the revelations found in scripture daily; place them in your heart for strength when you need them most. Cultivate a daily prayer time so that it becomes a natural response to the trials that come. You will find yourself resting on the promises that you have found in the Word; you will find yourself focusing on the eternal, and not so much the temporary.  A focused life sees the top of the mountain and it’s beauty; not the climb to get there.

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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