Stand in the Lord

Good morning, Friends. I have a confession to make. I have been in the midst of tortuous mental/emotional/spiritual conflict and have all but felt my feet grow wings in hopes of flying away from it all. No, I'm not talking about life and death stuff here, just wanting to get away from the conflict to find a quality quantity of sweet rest for my body and spirit, to leave behind the endless assault on my need for peace and remove myself out from under intense pressure. That kind of fly away. Part of the conflict is that I am not an impulsive person by nature and I have a strong sense of 'standing' where God has me planted unless and until He releases me to move on. Those are difficult principles to overlook when one wants to take off to parts unknown. Thus the conflict. But God......power in those words, Friends. But God in His endless mercy and grace bathes me daily in His love as I read and study each morning. Some days it is more like pulling me up by the bootstraps and other days it is the warmth of His hug. Today was one of the latter. So I am sharing......

Proverbs 21 "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

Today we ask ourselves: What is the point of diligence? Why keep persevering in a task? I'll tell you why. It is because it is in the arena of perseverance that true character is forged out, shaped, tempered and polished. It is in the daily grind that the character of Jesus is given the maximum opportunity to be reproduced in us, replacing what Charles Swindoll calls that "thin, fragile internal theology with a tough reliable set of convictions that enable us to handle life rather than escape from it."

Listen to how the apostle Paul puts it in Romans 5:3-4: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, [why?] because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Because life is a task, we need strength to face it, not speed to escape from it. When the foundations shake beneath our feet, when Christian friends, even leaders, fall into immorality, when the anchor points of civilization disappear, when the bottom drops out and brutal blows push us up against the ropes and pound the very life out of us, we need what diligence and perseverance offer us - willingness to face whatever comes, determination to stand firm, knowing that Christ is not just with us but in us, insight to see the Lord's hand in everything and character enough to continue. Without diligence, we will stumble and fall. With it, we will survive and conquer. The astute of this world are wise enough to recognize that no advances can be made in life without diligence. How much more ought we, who name the Name of Christ and have Him living within us, to recognize this also?

O God, help me see that I am at grips with the raw materials of human living. Out of them I must fashion the important quality of diligence. Help me never to forget that the rewards are much more than the cost. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Trusting in the Lord

Matthew 6:28-30 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Imagine the lilies blowing in the breeze around Jesus, the Master Teacher, as He used the beautiful flowers to drive home this powerful point—God cares enough for the grass of the field to provide it with color and beauty. Don’t worry, He will provide for you.

The promise of God is to provide us with exactly what we need. I get a little peeved with people that think and claim He gives us the desires of our hearts as if it was due them. I have trouble with that because I think they forget that scripture also says in Psalm 37:4-6 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

There are some action verbs in that scripture which require our attention. Delight yourself in the Lord… Commit your way to the Lord… trust in Him…

Delight yourself in Lord doesn’t mean to sit around making a list of the ‘desires of your heart’ that you want God to provide as if He was Santa Claus. It means we fall in love with the Lord and want what He wants for us. Our will starts lining up with His will for us and we want His will in our lives more than anything else.

Commit your way to the Lord means your living and thinking lines up with His precepts and sensibilities and your old ways of living for yourself, doing what you want to do in your earthly ways falls off and no longer entices you away from the Lord. Friends, scripture tells us that temptations and trouble will always be a fact of life as long as we are walking in out ‘earth suits’ but it also tells us that God will always provide a way out of temptations for us…it’s up us to make godly choices.  

Trust in Him is easy enough to say we do but do we really? Trusting in the Lord means waiting on His timing instead of insisting on our own. I’ve learned the hard way that His schedule for my life is far better than me insisting on pushing ahead of God and doing it MY WAY. Trusting in Him means believing He will provide what we need, not necessarily what we want. There is a huge difference. Do you trust Him to know what you need?

Father, thank you for the love and care you have for your children. Help us to worry less and trust more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What are you Hiding Behind?

This morning I am sharing a few words of wisdom I found by Stephen Davey. After so mnay months of being off-line, it is good to be back!

Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way."

There is no doubt that first impressions can last a long time. Whether you are interviewing for a job, showing up for a class, or moving into the neighborhood, first impressions are hard to live down.

Sociologists have studied the subject of first impressions. One study concluded that a first impression is solidified in the first four minutes of a conversation. They say that if those first four minutes are positive, your acquaintances will most likely view everything about you in a positive light—even things unknown to them.  Your professional skills, your morals, and even your intelligence will be held by them in high regard. Why? Simply because you made a good first impression.

Sociologists have even given a name to this phenomenon—the "halo effect." If you can put your best foot forward and come out looking and sounding impressive, you will create a certain air about you that may last a long time, regardless of whether or not it is true.

This happens all the time in our modern culture; a culture where charisma matters more than character—where image is more important than integrity. We live in a world that is consumed with creating halos and keeping them shiny at every opportunity, while hiding the sordidness of our true identity.

This is certainly not a new development. During the days of Christ, the people who wore the brightest halos were the Pharisees. They arrived at the busiest street corners in the marketplace at exactly 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m., where they prayed on public display.  People thought of them as men who loved God more than other people did; men whom God loved most; but Jesus Christ was not deceived by their chicanery. He, being God, looked beyond their smiles and priestly robes and saw what was in their heart. They were hypocrites to the core and Christ was not fooled by their good impressions.

His condemnation of the Pharisees was justified when they crucified Him. How ironic! They were the supposed "God-fearers" of the day, yet at their first chance, they put Christ to death for unmasking their true identity. Though they studied the Scriptures fervently, they did not heed the words of Solomon, who wrote in Proverbs 15:33, "The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility."          

Fear of man induces hypocrisy—fear of God produces humility.

Are you living a double life in order to gain the approval of others, or living a singular life that recognizes the need for God's grace and direction each day? Are you shining your halo or cultivating your humility? Halos make a good first impression on mankind . . . humility makes a lasting impression on God.

Teach Us, Lord

Matthew 11:28–29 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Do you ever think much about the personality of Jesus, what He was like sitting around the fire at night or walking the roads with the disciples and the others? In the scripture above, Jesus tells us what He was really like; humble and gentle. “Finding rest for your soul” is just not possible in someone demanding, sarcastic and self-absorbed. Jesus was none of those things. He was concerned with everyone else…that’s why He came in the first place.

Romans 15:2 "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification."

Be honest. How often do you think about others ahead of yourself? If you are completely honest, your answer is probably, "Not often." Jesus, in His ministry, was completely others centered. Everything He spoke and did was for the edification of others. The world we live in is completely focused on 'self', and Christians have bought into it. Jesus, on the other hand, said: Mark 8:35 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."

Jesus should be our model for living. We should be like Jesus and be 'others centered' and 'others focused'. We should give our lives away. It is the key to life and what Jesus told us to do. Like a lost key, many Christians will look past it without picking it up. Gandhi once said, "I like your Jesus...I don't like your Christians." If the church at large would live out what we say we believe, this world would be a different place and people would be clamoring for Jesus. Is Jesus your model for living? What do you need to change in your life to accurately portray a life sold out for Jesus?

Let's start by asking the Lord to give us a heart and passion for serving others and being more like Him as we go through the work day, interact with other in the grocery store, and spend time with our families at home. With Jesus as our model for our behavior, we will show others about Him. What a great legacy to pass on in our families!

What are You Thinking?

Psalm 73:1 “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling”.

Today I am sharing some thoughts and wisdom from an encouraging and timely devotional I read this morning. It was written by Tony Evans. Pieces and parts are my words intermingled among his.

There will be days when you find that you just don’t feel like worshiping God. Perhaps the temptation to compare yourself to someone else has caused you to feel down and even depressed. Driving home from work on Friday, you tell yourself you are glad the week is over because it has been a rough one. As you lament over how tired you feel, satan blindsides you with the thought that your coworkers do not really appreciate you.

By the time you open the front door of your home, your eyes have narrowed and your forehead has tightened. You decide your family doesn’t know or appreciate all you do for them either. You are frustrated and ready to give up. Still, you do not pray and ask God for His perspective. You just keep repeatedly thinking through the day and rehearsing your negative feelings and look for something, anything to numb you to your reality. Saturday morning you get up feeling haunted by the same emotions. You start to resent all the things you need to at home, too. The demands just keep piling up! By Sunday you force yourself to drive to church, but you certainly don’t feel like singing or praising God.

Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, would understand your plight. He allowed discouragement to grow in his life to the point where he was deeply disturbed. The key word in the last sentence is ‘allowed’.

Whenever we take our eyes off of God and His faithfulness, and begin to compare our lives with those around us, we either end up feeling defeated or prideful. God has created each one of us for a unique purpose, which includes worshiping Him.

Psalm 73 is a rambling account of what Asaph was feeling, but by the end, he realizes the truth and puts an end to his negativity. “As for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all (of) Your works” (v. 28).

Sometimes God seems so far away that you can’t talk to anyone else but Him—because nobody else will understand what in the world you are talking about. The closer you are to God, the less likely the enemy will have a shot at your emotions. Stay focused on what God has for you to do. You are His beloved child, and He has an amazing plan for your life. Will you praise Him for this?

Joshua 24:15  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors (work*) served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods (the flesh*) of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

*Italics - I added

God is Still in Control

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 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. 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."

God is still in control. God is still in control. God is still in control.

That five word phrase, simple and straight to the point, is one of the foundational blocks of my faith and strength. GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. It doesn’t matter what else is going on around us, God is still in control. The evening news spews bad news daily but God is still in control. Our health may become shaky and scary but God is still in control. Our finances may be non-existent but God is still in control. Our family and friends may have turned their backs on us but God is still in control.

I can’t count the hours, days, years of my life that I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to solve my problems, trying to figure out something to make a bad situation better. I believed in God, called myself a Christian and yet, I never felt the peace and security I have since I let that little five word phrase soak into my heart, mind and spirit. God is still in control.

My body has ‘issues’…God is still in control. I figure if He is allowing it to continue in my life, He has a purpose and reason for it and will use it to His greater glory somehow. That’s all I need to know. I do my part to take care of the body He gave me and He does all the rest. It makes no sense to me to sit around whining about it all the time since God is still in control.

I will be the first to admit I have times where some things in this world give me pause and I feel weak against them. My weakness is not the issue, I am not in control. We feel weak against those things that hover over us…we usually feel the weakest over things which we have no control. Shout it aloud with me…God is still in control…we don’t have to be. What a burden lifter that it!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”