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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.

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Thicker than water

24 Feb

Thicker than water

Obadiah 1:10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

The book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament; it is a direct prophetic book to the nation of Edom, a single theme of the coming judgement and destruction by the Lord. The nation was a descendant of Easu, (Jacob’s brother), and they constantly were scheming against their brothers nation Israel. Repeatedly throughout history they turned their backs on their brothers in their time of need. At the time of Obadiah’s prophecy, Israel was under siege and they were fleeing for their lives. Their own family was turning their backs on them, blocking their escapes, killing them, or selling them into slavery. They were turning their backs on them at the time of their greatest need.

I have been seeing and learning of these examples recently; of families at such odds they cast one another out onto the street. We all may differ, we all may quarrel, but we as a family must hold together that bond. I know no matter how bad things in life might get, I could go to my family for the necessities in life. This should have happened in the time of Edom and Israel; put aside their differences and helped out in the time of need. The pride and arrogance of the Edomites caused this proclaimed judgement of the Lord that Obadiah proclaimed. 11 On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 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. 13 Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. 14 Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. (ESV)

Step back and take a look at your family. Are there any of them that you know are in a time of need? Are you ignoring the knowledge of that need for any or multiple reasons? Are you pretending that you don’t know or can’t help? What if God treated you with the same disregard that you are treating them? Verse 15 shows the nation of Edom that they will reap what they have sown. The day that we must stand before the Lord and account for all our lives is certain. I personally believe that how we handle our family affairs will be held in high regard at that day. The Lord placed us in that circle for a reason, and we should seek to fulfill His Will for our lives by pouring our lives into those closest to us; not turning our backs upon them.

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Does your faith have feet?

23 Feb

Does your faith have feet?

Matthew 10:7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

In the commentary on Matthew 10, Matthew Henry calls this an “ordination sermon”. Jesus is ordaining the apostles to the work they are called to do; to spread the Good News that our Savior brings to this dying world. They are to go out into the world, to put feet on their faith. My church  is doing that today; going out into the community to knock on doors and invite people to church; to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ brings into the world. The community like any other may not receive it, may reject it, may downright deny it and be angry towards it. We can never argue a person to Salvation, we can only present the Gospel in the hope that God has prepared their hearts to receive it. We are told by Christ how to handle those that deny. Matthew 10:14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

The Apostles were told of what their futures held; to be persecuted before men as preachers of Christianity. They were to expect imprisonment, torture, even unto death. They were to always stand for Christ to the end; to not worry for their suffering would be rewarded eternally. To not worry what to say when they were brought into the courts; the Holy Spirit would be with them to provide the words He wanted them to hear. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. That same Spirit lives inside you and will give you the words to speak when you step out in faith to share, or to defend your faith in Christ. It is He who provides when we know not how to answer. If you stand before someone who’s heart God has prepared, He will deliver just the right words for them through you.

Have you ever went out and put feet on your faith to evangelize? Going into environments or situations that make you uncomfortable in your own abilities? How can you see God work in your life if you only go where you are comfortable? The power of God rests in the abilities that you have not; the answers you have not; the situations in life where you fully rest on Him is where you see the greatest work by Him in your life. Getting out of your comfort zone and into the power of God. There is no fear that should lie in these situations. There is heavenly power and strength that lies in the feet of an evangelist; for they know that nothing is to fear here, for they know they are in the center of God’s Will spreading the Good News to those who will receive it. Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Step out, and step into, the power of God to spread hope into a dying world.

 
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Posted by on February 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Tell them

22 Feb

Tell them

Ezekiel 3:17-18    “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Ezekiel was experiencing becoming a great prophet called by God. His vision captured in chapter two of Ezekiel are extraordinary; he fell on his face in the presence of God. The Holy Spirit lifted him up and he stood before God, about to become anointed as a prophet. God told him it would be a difficult ministry to a stubborn people; he commanded Ezekiel to eat the scroll of the commands of which God spoke. Ezekiel was filling himself with God’s words, literally, and he described it sweet as honey. God placed a great responsibility on Ezekiel, 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: God told him that he must speak the words and warnings, no matter what they may be, for he is called to held accountable to God for following these commands.

We may find it easy to share the Good News of Christ. We may find it easy to tell the world of the hope of heaven that lies within us as a child of God. Are we also delivering the bad news; that a sinner who does not know, or does not accept Christ, will spend eternity in hell? There is no good news if you do not accept the bad first. “The present world is the only hell the Christian will ever know, and it is the only heaven the unsaved will experience.” (Dr. Wilmington). We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. As a child of God you are called to point out that sin; not to judge the sinner, but to tell them in a loving manner of the sin in their lives.

We live in a society that has no spine. We live in a society that has lost the understanding of the Absolute Truth of the word of God. We have become so worried to not offend, truth has become pliable to fit into all circumstance. We may see sin, we may feel the conviction of sin, but yet we do not point to the sin for fear of loss of friendship or pleasure of self. James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. This is a sin of disobedience; the sin of “not doing” whatever God may be convicting you of, or showing you in others. How will they know if we do not tell them? 2 Timothy 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Heartfelt Faith

21 Feb

Heartfelt Faith

Hebrews 11:5-6    By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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.

This morning in prayer I seemed to go down a road of reflection on my life the past six or seven years. I remembered God stirring my heart, and that led to a desire to start reading my Bible every day. I remember God really convicting me of sin. I remember God really asking me for steps of faith. I remember my life changing so much in so many ways from just answering that tug on my heart to start reading my Bible every day. That is the root of my evangelism, my ministry, my calling from God. To share a life changed with you; to share Salvation through Christ with you; to share the need for time with Him every day with you. All of the troubles and questions you face are found in Christ, and a heart that truly desires to serve Him. You do not have to go to seminary to become a disciple for Christ.

Hebrews 11 is packed with the stories of the people who had great faith in the Bible. The stories many of us know; of those that stepped out into the unknown on the hope they would find God there. Every story, every time, never failing, God was there to provide for them. Enoch had such a heart for God that he did not even taste death’s sting; God took him alive into heaven. Enoch left a powerful testimony of a life dedicated to God. For 365 years he pursued God and the things of God with so much heart that God whisked him away into heaven, leaving Enoch an eternal testimony of a heart for God; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Enoch could not see that eternal testimony that God had for him. He only had a heart for God and desired to please God for all his life. God had bigger plans for him.

Are you comfortable in your faith? Are you feeling good about your relationship with Christ? If you are not feeling challenged by Christ in acts of faith, you may need to examine your heart for Him. He detests the lukewarm Christian, the comfortable, the content. Revelation 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. We have so watered down the Gospel in today’s church that many who believe they are saved, are not. You cannot say a prayer, sign a card, and live your life for this world for the remainder of it and expect an eternal paradise. The conviction of sin that sets in upon true salvation brings a desire to serve the One who delivered it. That heart is moved into service; that heart is moved into acts of obedience; that heart is a heart that pleases God.

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fathers Arms

20 Feb

Fathers Arms

Mark 10:13-16      Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.

As I sat down this morning, I wrapped a warm blanket around my shoulders to get warm. It made me think of how great it is to feel as though at times in your life, you just know you are in Christ’s arms. You know you can’t bear the load you are under, you know that the strength you seemingly have is not your own; you know that He is caring for you just as a good father would. The strength and peace that comes with the understanding of the eternal security you possess is not understandable to those outside the faith. To be in the arms of Christ is to know that your heavenly Father will never let you go, never fail you, always protect and provide for you, and never leave you, you are eternally secure.

My study Bible says of this scripture, “Children exhibit sincerity, eagerness, a trusting attitude, and total dependence on their parents. Thus childlikeness is a fitting comparison for the qualities a disciple should have.” In our faith in Christ we must come to the humbleness and dependance such as a child. We must place all our faith and trust in what our Father takes us to, and delivers us through. In teaching my boys I continually tell them I will not tell them to do anything that I know will get them intentionally hurt. They may be uncomfortable in the challenge, but the grow in their trust. When we are uncomfortable where God has us for the day, we must understand that he is growing us in our trust of Him through it.

A disciple for Christ should depend on him totally for their every need. Their relationship should be abiding so close that their is no doubt of where their feet are for today. John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. Abiding is a state of being; so entwined in your faith and God’s Word that you are at one with Him. He is indwelling in your heart, and your are carrying His Word there. When you need it most, He provides it for you, pulling it from the memory you did not know you had. He has provided for you just as a father would a child; for as a child you should be just as dependent upon your Savior for everything.

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Yes I can! No, you can’t……

19 Feb

Yes I can! No, you can’t……

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I am a man who’s testimony is built in pride. I am just like you, I think I can do anything I put my mind to. It starts early in life, with parents breeding that self confidence that helps us to focus and persevere. It grows from youth into adulthood, the idea of the American Dream; you can succeed in this world if you try hard enough. If you don’t it is your own fault; if you do it is of your own self. Only you get the glory for your own success. The disappointments in people and life only bring about more independence and focus; the strive to succeed. This drive may produce success by worldly measure, but that measure is not eternal; and that eternal measure has no tolerance for pride. God showed me this in many ways of my life; He brought me to my knees so that I only could look up; He showed me I had no part in my supposed success; it all was a gift from God.

Pride is at the root of so many religions and false teachings today on how to reach God. Pride is at the root of believing you can do ANYTHING to earn God’s favor on your life; to earn your way into heaven; to do enough good deeds to outnumber the bad. Good deeds are a product of your Salvation, not a means to earn it! If by any means we could earn our salvation, then God sent his Son to die on a cross for nothing. James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” What would that act of grace represent in the ideal that we can do it without that provision? Pride is the root of why Satan was cast out from heaven; he thought he could be God. Pride is at the root of our sin in the Garden of Eden; we thought we could be like God. So our pride steers us to believe we can earn our way to God?

There must come a point in your life that you are humbled before God. There must come a point in your life that you realize your lost without God; without the sacrifice that Christ made for you on the Cross at Calvary. You must realize that the pride of yourself, the religious rituals you practice, the prayers you pray, the feel good feelings of going to church on Sunday; these you will die in and possibly pay for that mistake in eternal punishment for that pride. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Pride is the ticket to hell on which Satan smiles with you as his passenger. Pride will keep you from ever receiving the free gift of grace that is available to the humble heart. Swallow your pride, repent of your sins and plea for forgiveness; and let Christ into your heart as the only way to obtain hope of heaven for eternity. Ask God to daily remove the stumbling block of arrogance that Satan has placed in you from the beginning of time.

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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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.

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Field 4 Sale

16 Feb

Field 4 Sale

Jeremiah 33:2-3   “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Jeremiah was a great prophet of God. He was under house arrest at the king Zedekiah’s palace for speaking against the king. He had prophesied to the king of the coming fall of the kingdom, and it was taking place outside at that time. God’s wrath was bearing down on Israel for turning their backs on God; they had lived in idol worship and sin for generations in the land God had promised them. It was time to pay the price for their sin; yet in the middle of this siege God had delivered a promise of restoration to Jeremiah. He had told Jeremiah to purchase a field, and God would use that in the future for the coming restoration of Israel. It made no sense to Jeremiah, but he also know God had told him to do this, and he was obedient to that calling of God.

When God places something on your heart, sin tries to insert logic into the pathway of faith. Logic tries to wrap our minds around what God is telling us. “Buying a field that is about to be captured in war? Throwing money away for something surely to be lost?” Satan takes that little thing called pride, and inserts it into the idea of we may understand what God is showing us. That hinders our step of faith, which in reality the hindrance is disobedience.  Delayed obedience is still disobedience. Jeremiah went to God in prayer; poured out his heart to God, and God gave him a glimpse of His plan. How will we know if we try to reason on our own? How will we know if we don’t step out in faith to see what is the result of that obedience?

When Jeremiah was praying for understanding, God’s first response was simply encompassing: Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?” Logic is halted in the understanding of God’s power in that statement. Our minds simply cannot understand the plans of God; we are not called to understand, we are called to obey. Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” My God is placing a call on my life similar to Jeremiah’s. I feel God is telling me to sell my field in a time that the world says not to. My God is telling me to be faithful in what He is showing me; to not try to reason with Him, but to be obedient to Him. In these acts of obedience we will see God at work; God’s plans revealed; God’s loving arms woven throughout our lives in the acts of obedience to what he places on our hearts.

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hold on. Wait a minute!

15 Feb

Hold on. Wait a minute!

Luke 9:57-62   Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. I just gotta ___________” Let me FIRST get a few things done, a few items in order, a few questions answered, a plan assembled; and then I will follow you. “Oh yes Lord, I want to follow you, but first tho…….” When you are a planner by nature, breaking that mold on the seemingly big things is hard to do. When you want everything to be in order, the freedom of it not being in order, is seemingly not a freedom at all. Letting go, and letting God, is a hard thing to do. We speak of our faith, but when our faith is taken outside of our comfort zone, the level of our faith is at question; these things I personally understand.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and this text takes place on a seemingly dirt road through towns where you know Christ attracted attention as he passed through. People were drawn to Him and wanted to be a part of the group. They had no idea of the cost of discipleship. There are many great books out there that speak about this; Christ plainly states the cost of it here; that it demands total commitment and His authority in one’s life. There is nothing that must come before Christ in the heart of a disciple. You say you want to be His disciple, but you cannot command the terms of an agreement to it. It requires great test of the heart and faith. It requires an eternal focus. It requires the denial of self, not the exception; ““Lord, I will follow You, but…” (61)

Living for Christ demands a focus on the future. It demands a heart that is in the now, living in the present for Christ, and not stuck in the past. God has you where he wants you today; for today to live your life for him in that moment. It is not to worry about the things that He has delivered you from in the past; it is for today and the present tense with him. Our past should be looked at as only our testimony; of our life before Christ, and the means of it to share what He can do for others in those same struggles. If you are grabbing ahold of his plow and looking back, the furrow you are digging will be out of the center of His Will for your life. 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Only by keeping your eyes on Him will you remain in the center of His Will.

 
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Posted by on February 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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