I think when I have kids I’m going to make them wait until they are at least 9 or 10-years-old until we celebrate Christmas with gifts and food. I’ll make them watch the neighbors put up lights, and go to school and hear about their friends’ gifts and what they got to play with. I’ll make them sing “Silent Night” when other kids are singing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” And on Christmas morning we will wake up early, run down the stairs, I’ll read them the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, then go outside and paint the house, mow the lawn, and do some cleaning. But all through the day and the holiday season I’ll simply say to my kids, “Your Christmas is coming!”
Some people will call me the meanest dad in the world (probably my kids will say that), others will call me Ebenezer Scrooge, some will try desperately to bring me Christmas cheer and sneak my kids candy and gifts, but with a big smile on my face I’ll say “Thank-you” and give it all back to the kind people while I tell them, “Their Christmas is coming!” Then, they will look at me like I’ve lost my mind, my children will cry, and Santa will send out assassin elves with my name and address. But if they would just stick around until my children’s 9th or 10th Christmas they would be amazed.
They will stand and watch in jealousy as a semi-truck filled with all sorts of presents and candy pulls up in my driveway and dumps it all on my front yard. And then some will cry in awe and amazement as Mickey and Minnie Mouse themselves land on our yard in a private helicopter and take my children, my wife, and I to Disney World for the rest of December, with special tokens to ride first on every ride. And as I walk onto the helicopter, Mickey will hand me a microphone turned up loud enough for all who listen to hear me say, “I told you their Christmas was coming.” And off we will fly, and my children won’t be thinking about the past decade of present-less Christmas mornings or how they didn’t believe Daddy’s promise. They will only be thinking about how great things are and laugh in excitement about what else is in store for them and their long awaited celebration of our Savior’s birth.
So you’re asking yourself now, “Why are you going to do that?!” And my answer is basically, “I want my children to learn how to wait when they are young.”
Think about it. In the future, when they are grown, while others are freaking out over a couple of months or days and how they haven’t heard back from a job or college or some other situation, my kids will stand like statues in patience and say, “What? This? This is nothing! I once had to wait 10 years for Christmas! I can handle this short amount of time.” Then they will call me and say, “Ah Dad, you’re the smartest man alive! I’m so glad we learned how to wait.”
Man, think about if it actually happened like that. I’m kind of mad that my folks didn’t do that with me. Because here I am, 24-years-old and it’s the same thing over and over again with me. Ol’ Jonnyboy has to learn to wait. And he has to learn how to over and over again, possibly because it never can sink in or stick with him in his head, heart, and soul.
Maybe God is not so far off from this “No Christmas” method as we think. So many times I’m watching people achieve what I’m trying to achieve, get in a short amount of time what I’ve been waiting or saving for, or find so easily what I have been searching so desperately for. And when I look at Father, completely in shock or heartache as to why I don’t have it yet, He just smiles back at me and says, “Your Christmas is coming.”
Why aren’t the promises of God good enough for me? Why do I have to question every word or prompting of the Holy Spirit with responses like, “But how long…” or “I know, but…” or “Well how do I know that’s really even you saying these things?”
Why aren’t the promises of God good enough for us?
God does not speak random words or waste His breath. In Genesis 1, every word He spoke created something. And I think it’s still that same way with the words of the Lord today. Every word of God is a promise.
1 Thessalonians 2:13
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH IS AT WORK IN YOU WHO BELIEVE.”
See, that’s the thing I’m coming to see about the word of God. It’s not always God tells you something or promises you something and then BANG! it happens. The word of God is something that “is at work in you who believe.”
Maybe one of the reasons we have so much trouble with waiting on the promises of God is because we don’t realize it is a process. It is “at work” in us, and we are not complete.
God speaks. He speaks life and good things. God desires to bless us. It’s not wishful thinking to believe in something better coming, it is faithful thinking. Yes, sometimes we suffer, sometimes God takes away, and sometimes we lose. But that is also because the word of God is at work in us.
We all know the expression “time flies…” And soon enough we’re looking back on our lives and wanting to go back to certain points, all the while wishing this future with a better life would hurry up and get here. We are never satisfied with now. I want to live a life where I am thankful for my past, excited about my future, and content with my present. That doesn’t mean that I don’t make strides towards bettering myself or wait for more to happen, but it’s very important to not get caught up in the “then” when God is using you in the “now.”
I don’t want to live a life where I’m always saying, “When ‘this’ happens, then I’ll…” or “When I get ‘that’, then I’ll…”
God is continually at work, even if we don’t see it. It may just be a feeling or unction, but He is at work.
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
The word of God says it—the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise! I believe that He doesn’t want our souls to perish as well as our hope. God is not out to destroy our faith and our hopes, even though sometimes I’ve felt like He was. He’s a good Father, and a Good Shepherd. He knows what we need, as well as what we don’t need.
Let the word of God be at work in you. Your Christmas is coming.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
He Knew...
The older and wiser I am getting, I am becoming wise enough to know that I know pretty much nothing about life. Some scholars would call it “diddly squat.” Although I learn from all of my experiences, one of the greatest things I’ve learned is that no two experiences are the same. Yes, it can be quite frustrating. And then throw women into all of this, and it’s enough to make your brain cry.
Now the funny thing about all of this is that my God is omniscient. All knowing. He knows all the details of the past, everything to come in the future, and the answers to the ever illusive question—“Why?” So my God knows all of this, and here I am, ever standing with my hands in my back pockets and my shoulders shrugged. If I am a child of the Living God, it seems we’re not really living up to the “like father, like son” phrase.
But the good news for us pea-brains is that if we lack wisdom, we can ask, and God will give it generously (James 1:5). And I’ve had a lot of moments where I have prayed for wisdom and seen things happen or said that I know for sure I did not have much to do with.
So case closed—you are smarter off with the wisdom of the Lord.
Ah yes, that’s a great thing, but what about those tunnels where the light has just turned off at the end of them? The future. What we can’t see.
I wish there was another verse in James that said, “If anyone of you are curious about the events of your future, he should ask God, who gives generous amounts of info and spills the beans like a little sister who just found out her brother has a girlfriend.”
But apparently that verse was removed by the scribes of old.
What is our obsession with the future? Is it our insecurities that want so desperately to know that we be alright and taken care of? Is it because we are scared of wasting our time on things that won’t last? Or is it just straight up curiosity? I don’t know; I for one don’t want to flip to the last page of my life-book. I’m pretty sure it ends with the main character dying… soooo predictable!
It’s funny how I can get jealous of Jesus and His all-knowing power. “Man, Jesus, you didn’t have to worry about the future, cause you knew it all…”
What a punk I am. Seriously.
Could you imagine knowing everything Jesus did? In Mark 8:31-32 and 10:32-34, He predicted His death. He knew it was coming. He knew, and still He died. He knew, and still He came to earth. That humbles me to no end. He knew…
He knew that I would sin and deny and reject Him, and still He died. He knew that the Gospel would be perverted and churches would divide over insignificant matters, and still He died. He knew that His words would be manipulated and misused to justify wars, slavery, and domestic abuse, and still He died. He knew the sin of the world would fall upon His body, and still He let it be broken.
What a Savior. What a glorious King. I could never have known that and went through with it, so Jesus took my place.
He knows the extent and the disgracefulness of our sins, and He washes them away so we don’t have to see ourselves for the wretched creatures we are. He sees us as forgiven, through the blood of Jesus and His propitiation.
Maybe God is smart enough to know that we shouldn’t be that smart. Think about Adam and Eve and when they “got smarter.” Or even Abraham when he knew he was going to get a son, he tried to take a short cut there with Hagar. That kind of wrecked a lot of stuff. I’m pretty much convinced that if I knew the end result of many things, I would find some way to screw it up by trying to speed up the process.
In M. Blaine Smith’s book, KNOWING GOD'S WILL, he says, “God leads us as much by information He withholds as by information He gives!”
We’ve got to trust that the Giver of all truth and wisdom is the smartest and wisest one when it comes to our lives.
Seek and fear the Lord and make decisions. And be wise enough to know that we don’t need to know everything. The moment you understand that you won’t understand everything, you might begin to understand some things.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’—but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”
Now the funny thing about all of this is that my God is omniscient. All knowing. He knows all the details of the past, everything to come in the future, and the answers to the ever illusive question—“Why?” So my God knows all of this, and here I am, ever standing with my hands in my back pockets and my shoulders shrugged. If I am a child of the Living God, it seems we’re not really living up to the “like father, like son” phrase.
But the good news for us pea-brains is that if we lack wisdom, we can ask, and God will give it generously (James 1:5). And I’ve had a lot of moments where I have prayed for wisdom and seen things happen or said that I know for sure I did not have much to do with.
So case closed—you are smarter off with the wisdom of the Lord.
Ah yes, that’s a great thing, but what about those tunnels where the light has just turned off at the end of them? The future. What we can’t see.
I wish there was another verse in James that said, “If anyone of you are curious about the events of your future, he should ask God, who gives generous amounts of info and spills the beans like a little sister who just found out her brother has a girlfriend.”
But apparently that verse was removed by the scribes of old.
What is our obsession with the future? Is it our insecurities that want so desperately to know that we be alright and taken care of? Is it because we are scared of wasting our time on things that won’t last? Or is it just straight up curiosity? I don’t know; I for one don’t want to flip to the last page of my life-book. I’m pretty sure it ends with the main character dying… soooo predictable!
It’s funny how I can get jealous of Jesus and His all-knowing power. “Man, Jesus, you didn’t have to worry about the future, cause you knew it all…”
What a punk I am. Seriously.
Could you imagine knowing everything Jesus did? In Mark 8:31-32 and 10:32-34, He predicted His death. He knew it was coming. He knew, and still He died. He knew, and still He came to earth. That humbles me to no end. He knew…
He knew that I would sin and deny and reject Him, and still He died. He knew that the Gospel would be perverted and churches would divide over insignificant matters, and still He died. He knew that His words would be manipulated and misused to justify wars, slavery, and domestic abuse, and still He died. He knew the sin of the world would fall upon His body, and still He let it be broken.
What a Savior. What a glorious King. I could never have known that and went through with it, so Jesus took my place.
He knows the extent and the disgracefulness of our sins, and He washes them away so we don’t have to see ourselves for the wretched creatures we are. He sees us as forgiven, through the blood of Jesus and His propitiation.
Maybe God is smart enough to know that we shouldn’t be that smart. Think about Adam and Eve and when they “got smarter.” Or even Abraham when he knew he was going to get a son, he tried to take a short cut there with Hagar. That kind of wrecked a lot of stuff. I’m pretty much convinced that if I knew the end result of many things, I would find some way to screw it up by trying to speed up the process.
In M. Blaine Smith’s book, KNOWING GOD'S WILL, he says, “God leads us as much by information He withholds as by information He gives!”
We’ve got to trust that the Giver of all truth and wisdom is the smartest and wisest one when it comes to our lives.
Seek and fear the Lord and make decisions. And be wise enough to know that we don’t need to know everything. The moment you understand that you won’t understand everything, you might begin to understand some things.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’—but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Knock Knock. Who's There?
They say that opportunity only knocks once, but I think that saying was made up by someone who only had one door in his life. I’ve come to find my life is full of many doors. Many choices. Many directions. And many door-to-door salesmen. And in the midst of all the ringing doorbells and junk mail, Jesus stands at the door and knocks. (Revelation 3:20)
Currently, I am in a battle of who I could be and who I should be.
Have you ever questioned decisions you make in life and analyze every last detail about them? When dealing with a calling of God on your life, you will most likely ask many times, “What is foolishness and what is faith?” Will I look back and say, “Look what the Good Lord has done,” or “Good Lord, what have I done!?”
It’s a tricky journey this life, full of deceptions, ladders that take you to the top only to find out that the top is just the bottom of another level, and greener grass that you may discover burns just as easily as the grass on the other side. And let’s not forget about fear. Fear of failure. Fear of becoming our parents. Fear of having to say, “I was wrong.”
Is there such a thing as a safe bet or a sure shot? And if we choose to stand for what we feel God is calling us to do, that doesn’t mean He won’t let us break. Matthew 21:44 says, “He who falls on this stone (Jesus) will be broken to pieces.” Is that what answering the call of Jesus means? A life full of brokenness? Is the way of Jesus really the wisest way to go? The man was a poor, homeless vagabond. One time He even had to make a miraculous catch of a fish with a coin in his mouth just to pay his taxes. (Matthew 17:24-26) So does a life with Jesus mean we have to depend on miraculous catches and just pray to God the fish are biting today?
Is that really what life is? Saying, “God, I am wholly dependant on you for everything because I have nothing else to rest upon but your words.” That is abundant life?
That is abundant life. And I want to live.
Here’s the deal, at least for me, and I don’t mean to sound conceited, but I really feel I could play “the game” and be “successful.” From what I’ve seen in most of the business world, it’s a matter of meager talent and who you can schmooze over to be successful. Anyone could play the game. People love hearing what they want to hear, and if you tell it to them they’ll love you for it. It’s not hard to find success in you chase after it. But is that success in the eyes of the Lord? I’ve got a hunch that anything the world views as good, God views it as just the opposite. And really, anything I’ve ever done that’s amounted to any form of success is only from God and through God.
Now this is not to say that anyone who brings home a paycheck is not honoring the Lord. By no means am I saying that. Trust me. But when it comes to the calling of God on each one of our lives, we had better make sure we are chasing after His view of success and what He wants for our lives. Many people may give you advice contradictory to what you have heard from the Lord. And I’m not saying don’t listen to advice or wisdom, but be careful what kind of wisdom you are listening to. I’ve come to find fear can sound a lot like concern.
So many decisions. So many knocking doors. A relentless, jealous God who chooses to knock on your door instead of knocking it down.
So many choices. One God.
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
What is God calling you to do? A decision for what God’s calling you to do may seem crazy, and in the viewpoint of worldly success it may be ridiculous, but God is a Good Shepherd. He knows how to lead His sheep to the right pastures.
Remember Psalm 23. God is such a Good Shepherd. We will not want. A life without God will leave you wanting God. A life with God will leave you wanting nothing else.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Currently, I am in a battle of who I could be and who I should be.
Have you ever questioned decisions you make in life and analyze every last detail about them? When dealing with a calling of God on your life, you will most likely ask many times, “What is foolishness and what is faith?” Will I look back and say, “Look what the Good Lord has done,” or “Good Lord, what have I done!?”
It’s a tricky journey this life, full of deceptions, ladders that take you to the top only to find out that the top is just the bottom of another level, and greener grass that you may discover burns just as easily as the grass on the other side. And let’s not forget about fear. Fear of failure. Fear of becoming our parents. Fear of having to say, “I was wrong.”
Is there such a thing as a safe bet or a sure shot? And if we choose to stand for what we feel God is calling us to do, that doesn’t mean He won’t let us break. Matthew 21:44 says, “He who falls on this stone (Jesus) will be broken to pieces.” Is that what answering the call of Jesus means? A life full of brokenness? Is the way of Jesus really the wisest way to go? The man was a poor, homeless vagabond. One time He even had to make a miraculous catch of a fish with a coin in his mouth just to pay his taxes. (Matthew 17:24-26) So does a life with Jesus mean we have to depend on miraculous catches and just pray to God the fish are biting today?
Is that really what life is? Saying, “God, I am wholly dependant on you for everything because I have nothing else to rest upon but your words.” That is abundant life?
That is abundant life. And I want to live.
Here’s the deal, at least for me, and I don’t mean to sound conceited, but I really feel I could play “the game” and be “successful.” From what I’ve seen in most of the business world, it’s a matter of meager talent and who you can schmooze over to be successful. Anyone could play the game. People love hearing what they want to hear, and if you tell it to them they’ll love you for it. It’s not hard to find success in you chase after it. But is that success in the eyes of the Lord? I’ve got a hunch that anything the world views as good, God views it as just the opposite. And really, anything I’ve ever done that’s amounted to any form of success is only from God and through God.
Now this is not to say that anyone who brings home a paycheck is not honoring the Lord. By no means am I saying that. Trust me. But when it comes to the calling of God on each one of our lives, we had better make sure we are chasing after His view of success and what He wants for our lives. Many people may give you advice contradictory to what you have heard from the Lord. And I’m not saying don’t listen to advice or wisdom, but be careful what kind of wisdom you are listening to. I’ve come to find fear can sound a lot like concern.
So many decisions. So many knocking doors. A relentless, jealous God who chooses to knock on your door instead of knocking it down.
So many choices. One God.
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
What is God calling you to do? A decision for what God’s calling you to do may seem crazy, and in the viewpoint of worldly success it may be ridiculous, but God is a Good Shepherd. He knows how to lead His sheep to the right pastures.
Remember Psalm 23. God is such a Good Shepherd. We will not want. A life without God will leave you wanting God. A life with God will leave you wanting nothing else.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Believe Now
John 2:19-22
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.
God is huge. Massive. Indescribably big. Sometimes when He would bring His presence to earth He would come with fire or lightning and thunder, or some powerful, visible force.
Exodus 20:18
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
Sometimes it’s really easy to look at the signs and say, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely God.” But sometimes God does not come like you think He will, or even wish He would. In 1 Kings 19, God appeared to Elijah, and there was a great and powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but God was not in them. Then, came a gentle whisper, which was the Lord.
Why does the Lord come in ways that are so hard to be sure of sometimes? Why doesn’t He just write it on the wall or send us angels in dreams? I could give you the answer that most would say (and is correct)—faith. But my honest answer right now is this: I don’t know.
I really have no clue why God doesn’t always speak up loud when we are desperate and broken. Why does it have to be a still small voice?
I really can’t figure it out, but I do know this, God actually speaks to us. He really does.
Luke 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”
Don’t even question it. Jesus still speaks.
What sticks out to me from the passage of John 2 is that it wasn’t until after Jesus had risen from the dead that “then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”
Here’s a phrase we are all familiar with: “Uh huh? Prove it.” “Really? You’re better at this than me? Prove it.” “Yeah? You are friends with Justin Timberlake? Prove it.” Let’s face it, when we get down to it, we are not very trusting or believing people by nature. And those of us that are quick to believe to believe are referred to as “naïve.” Maybe the fact that we are so slow to believe can be attributed to years of disappointing moments, being fooled too many times, or maybe we just don’t watch enough Disney movies anymore. Whatever the reasons are, it’s true that we are not quick to believe in most things. The same was with the disciples of Jesus.
When it comes to the words of the Lord, many times all we will have is His words. No other signs. And if your life is like mine, sometimes it seems that things are happening just the opposite of what the Lord’s words are. But those are the times we must look back on our lives and the old stories in the Scriptures, and how the words of the Lord have always been true and done just what they said they would do.
In Isaiah 55, the Lord compares His words to the rain that falls and waters the earth.
Isaiah 55:11
So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
So it’s a fact: God’s word will never fail.
What if we were a people who didn’t have to wait for the proof before we believed the words of the Lord? The disciples had to wait until Jesus actually resurrected until they believed His words; what if we were a people who took Him at His word?
Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have no seen and yet have believed,” (John 20:24). It is possible to believe without “the proof.” The proof is the unfailing voice of Jesus.
But the age old question is, “Well, how do I know that it’s God?” We all ask it. I ask it everyday. And really, it’s a good question to ask. But let’s be real, most of the times we ask that, we are using it as a defense to what God is telling us to do. “How do I know that’s God? It might not be so I just won’t do anything about it.” Sound familiar? If it doesn’t, you’re probably lying. Now go repent…
Alright, welcome back. I hope the confession was good for your soul.
I feel that we sell God so short on how and how often He speaks. God is speaking all the time. The question is: are we listening all the time? I’m not saying we never need to pray about anything or seek advice and counsel, but I think most of the reason we are not seeing bigger things of God in our lives is not because we keep mishearing God, but because we aren’t doing anything about what we do hear.
“Prove it. Prove that’s God’s voice.” You prove it! Prove it by doing something with it. And honestly, so what if we get things wrong once in a while? Really, it’s not that big of a deal. Would you rather be a person who never acts on anything because “what if I’m wrong sometimes,” or a person that believes the words of Jesus before He has physical proof?
God is not setting us up to fail. And the devil isn’t speaking words like, “Hey, go witness to that person,” or “What if you just did something radical and crazy for Jesus?” I’m 100% positive you don’t have to worry about the devil prompting you to move forward in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus is speaking. I believe He’s calling so many of us to do great things everyday. It might be a little uncomfortable, it might not make much sense, you might not see a dime in it, but it just might be Jesus. I’d say take some chances, but I don’t feel it’s a matter of chance; it’s a matter of faith.
What could be done for the Kingdom if we learned to believe and act on the word of the Lord? Don’t wait for the proof, prove it yourself.
Luke 10:28
[Jesus] replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.
God is huge. Massive. Indescribably big. Sometimes when He would bring His presence to earth He would come with fire or lightning and thunder, or some powerful, visible force.
Exodus 20:18
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
Sometimes it’s really easy to look at the signs and say, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely God.” But sometimes God does not come like you think He will, or even wish He would. In 1 Kings 19, God appeared to Elijah, and there was a great and powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but God was not in them. Then, came a gentle whisper, which was the Lord.
Why does the Lord come in ways that are so hard to be sure of sometimes? Why doesn’t He just write it on the wall or send us angels in dreams? I could give you the answer that most would say (and is correct)—faith. But my honest answer right now is this: I don’t know.
I really have no clue why God doesn’t always speak up loud when we are desperate and broken. Why does it have to be a still small voice?
I really can’t figure it out, but I do know this, God actually speaks to us. He really does.
Luke 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”
Don’t even question it. Jesus still speaks.
What sticks out to me from the passage of John 2 is that it wasn’t until after Jesus had risen from the dead that “then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”
Here’s a phrase we are all familiar with: “Uh huh? Prove it.” “Really? You’re better at this than me? Prove it.” “Yeah? You are friends with Justin Timberlake? Prove it.” Let’s face it, when we get down to it, we are not very trusting or believing people by nature. And those of us that are quick to believe to believe are referred to as “naïve.” Maybe the fact that we are so slow to believe can be attributed to years of disappointing moments, being fooled too many times, or maybe we just don’t watch enough Disney movies anymore. Whatever the reasons are, it’s true that we are not quick to believe in most things. The same was with the disciples of Jesus.
When it comes to the words of the Lord, many times all we will have is His words. No other signs. And if your life is like mine, sometimes it seems that things are happening just the opposite of what the Lord’s words are. But those are the times we must look back on our lives and the old stories in the Scriptures, and how the words of the Lord have always been true and done just what they said they would do.
In Isaiah 55, the Lord compares His words to the rain that falls and waters the earth.
Isaiah 55:11
So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
So it’s a fact: God’s word will never fail.
What if we were a people who didn’t have to wait for the proof before we believed the words of the Lord? The disciples had to wait until Jesus actually resurrected until they believed His words; what if we were a people who took Him at His word?
Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have no seen and yet have believed,” (John 20:24). It is possible to believe without “the proof.” The proof is the unfailing voice of Jesus.
But the age old question is, “Well, how do I know that it’s God?” We all ask it. I ask it everyday. And really, it’s a good question to ask. But let’s be real, most of the times we ask that, we are using it as a defense to what God is telling us to do. “How do I know that’s God? It might not be so I just won’t do anything about it.” Sound familiar? If it doesn’t, you’re probably lying. Now go repent…
Alright, welcome back. I hope the confession was good for your soul.
I feel that we sell God so short on how and how often He speaks. God is speaking all the time. The question is: are we listening all the time? I’m not saying we never need to pray about anything or seek advice and counsel, but I think most of the reason we are not seeing bigger things of God in our lives is not because we keep mishearing God, but because we aren’t doing anything about what we do hear.
“Prove it. Prove that’s God’s voice.” You prove it! Prove it by doing something with it. And honestly, so what if we get things wrong once in a while? Really, it’s not that big of a deal. Would you rather be a person who never acts on anything because “what if I’m wrong sometimes,” or a person that believes the words of Jesus before He has physical proof?
God is not setting us up to fail. And the devil isn’t speaking words like, “Hey, go witness to that person,” or “What if you just did something radical and crazy for Jesus?” I’m 100% positive you don’t have to worry about the devil prompting you to move forward in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus is speaking. I believe He’s calling so many of us to do great things everyday. It might be a little uncomfortable, it might not make much sense, you might not see a dime in it, but it just might be Jesus. I’d say take some chances, but I don’t feel it’s a matter of chance; it’s a matter of faith.
What could be done for the Kingdom if we learned to believe and act on the word of the Lord? Don’t wait for the proof, prove it yourself.
Luke 10:28
[Jesus] replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Friday, July 31, 2009
You Gotta Know He Knows
Luke 12:22-34
I’m kind of up against the wall here lately. Waiting to see what happens with where I’m going to live in less than 15 days, how I’m going to pay for it if I do get a place, and just other things like my ministry that I feel I’m supposed to be doing. I feel God has spoken to me and given me words and scriptures and al that, but nothing has happened. I’m standing very much empty handed and putting all my hope in something I think I’ve heard from God.
Now this can be quite nerve racking if I let it be. You can very easily start to freak out and think things like, “Well, what if that wasn’t God?” “How do you even know God is speaking to you?” “Are you being lazy and just calling it ‘Waiting on the Lord’?” It’s really easy in these times for the enemy to creep in and blow all of that up even more, too. Literally, I am living on a prayer… ooooohhhh I’m half way there…
So it’s in these times that our faith is put to the test and we realize if we really mean the songs we’ve been singing. Is God really mighty to save? Is nothing impossible for Him? Even the old kid’s song, “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do! (For you!)” You have to pretty much look at yourself and say, “Do I believe these words or not?”
We must believe. We must believe that God ACTUALLY SPEAKS to His children , and that Jesus IS the Good Shepherd and knows how to lead His flock. We must believe that if God’s put it in you, then it will be so.
See, the problem is that so many people give up on the promise and their faith because nothing’s happened. We live in a society where success is measured by time. If you haven’t graduated by [now] it means you’ve been screwing around too long. If you don’t own your own business by [now] you’re not trying hard enough. If you ain’t married by [now] it means something’s wrong with you. In the Kingdom of God, though, it’s not about time. It’s about faith and the voice of the Lord. Don’t be afraid to wait. Patience and laziness are two entirely different things.
Hebrews 6:12
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Faith and patience always get the promise.
If you’re in the middle of July in Florida, how could you ever believe that it will get cold and Christmas will come if we haven’t seen it happen before? It’s like 900 degrees in summertime. You can’t even walk outside without shoes on because your feet will melt into the pavement and you’ll be stuck there to the ground like a statue, waving at people walking by. You can’t feel winter coming. You can’t see it coming. But it always comes. And we know it will because we’ve seen it happen before. In the same way, remember the things the Lord has done in your life and know that He will do it again. He is more faithful than the seasons.
So don’t lose heart because it seems like things are taking forever and will never come about, it’s a testing of your faith.
Jude 3
“I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once entrusted to the saints.”
Sometimes you have to fight for your faith and persevere for your peace. I know there’s been times been times where I’ve been going through something and I’ve prayed and then God has given me peace about it, and then in no time I’ve lost that peace. Does that mean that God never gave it to me? No. it just means that you have to fight to hold onto what God gives you sometimes. We have an enemy that wants to take what God gives you.
John 10:10
“The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
You know sometimes I forget that God is stronger than the world He created. It’s all His. He knows what He has made and how it works. And I think these verses sum everything up:
Luke 12:29-31
“29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
It’s comforting to know that God knows. He knows what we need even before we ask. So ask. Don’t lose hope just because you can’t see what’s happening or how it all plays out. The only we need to see is Jesus.
-------------------
The day after I wrote this, I got a call from two of my close friends, Alex and Mike, about them needing a place to live, so we’re getting a place together now. I didn’t know where I was going to be living in a matter of days, but God provided!
I’m kind of up against the wall here lately. Waiting to see what happens with where I’m going to live in less than 15 days, how I’m going to pay for it if I do get a place, and just other things like my ministry that I feel I’m supposed to be doing. I feel God has spoken to me and given me words and scriptures and al that, but nothing has happened. I’m standing very much empty handed and putting all my hope in something I think I’ve heard from God.
Now this can be quite nerve racking if I let it be. You can very easily start to freak out and think things like, “Well, what if that wasn’t God?” “How do you even know God is speaking to you?” “Are you being lazy and just calling it ‘Waiting on the Lord’?” It’s really easy in these times for the enemy to creep in and blow all of that up even more, too. Literally, I am living on a prayer… ooooohhhh I’m half way there…
So it’s in these times that our faith is put to the test and we realize if we really mean the songs we’ve been singing. Is God really mighty to save? Is nothing impossible for Him? Even the old kid’s song, “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do! (For you!)” You have to pretty much look at yourself and say, “Do I believe these words or not?”
We must believe. We must believe that God ACTUALLY SPEAKS to His children , and that Jesus IS the Good Shepherd and knows how to lead His flock. We must believe that if God’s put it in you, then it will be so.
See, the problem is that so many people give up on the promise and their faith because nothing’s happened. We live in a society where success is measured by time. If you haven’t graduated by [now] it means you’ve been screwing around too long. If you don’t own your own business by [now] you’re not trying hard enough. If you ain’t married by [now] it means something’s wrong with you. In the Kingdom of God, though, it’s not about time. It’s about faith and the voice of the Lord. Don’t be afraid to wait. Patience and laziness are two entirely different things.
Hebrews 6:12
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Faith and patience always get the promise.
If you’re in the middle of July in Florida, how could you ever believe that it will get cold and Christmas will come if we haven’t seen it happen before? It’s like 900 degrees in summertime. You can’t even walk outside without shoes on because your feet will melt into the pavement and you’ll be stuck there to the ground like a statue, waving at people walking by. You can’t feel winter coming. You can’t see it coming. But it always comes. And we know it will because we’ve seen it happen before. In the same way, remember the things the Lord has done in your life and know that He will do it again. He is more faithful than the seasons.
So don’t lose heart because it seems like things are taking forever and will never come about, it’s a testing of your faith.
Jude 3
“I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once entrusted to the saints.”
Sometimes you have to fight for your faith and persevere for your peace. I know there’s been times been times where I’ve been going through something and I’ve prayed and then God has given me peace about it, and then in no time I’ve lost that peace. Does that mean that God never gave it to me? No. it just means that you have to fight to hold onto what God gives you sometimes. We have an enemy that wants to take what God gives you.
John 10:10
“The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
You know sometimes I forget that God is stronger than the world He created. It’s all His. He knows what He has made and how it works. And I think these verses sum everything up:
Luke 12:29-31
“29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
It’s comforting to know that God knows. He knows what we need even before we ask. So ask. Don’t lose hope just because you can’t see what’s happening or how it all plays out. The only we need to see is Jesus.
-------------------
The day after I wrote this, I got a call from two of my close friends, Alex and Mike, about them needing a place to live, so we’re getting a place together now. I didn’t know where I was going to be living in a matter of days, but God provided!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Leggo My Ego
I’ve recently been dealing with a lot of new theologies and theories that have been presented to me. I guess it’s a sign of maturity in your faith when you start to see that life is not one big Sunday School class.
I consider myself open, but also very closed off when it comes to my faith. Certain things I will never be shaken on, they are the foundations of my faith, but some things I am open to at least thinking more about and researching and asking questions about.
But lately I’ve been frustrated because, quite frankly, it is annoying at how many differences we have over the Bible. I wonder if God is annoyed, too. But if He is, you’d think He would have written things out more clearly, where there are no grey areas. But come to think of it, I guess He did that with the Law and all those very exact rules written down, AND STILL people couldn’t get it. And now at least we have the Holy Spirit, the one who helps us understand in our faith.
The more I search for knowledge and the more I look outside of just the scriptures to things like commentaries, preachers, and books, the more I see that things aren’t as clear as I wish they were.
The problem I see in much of it, though, and even in Godly men and women, is there is a three letter word America is quite familiar with… “Ego.” I mean it’s amazing the extent of claims people will make just to say, “Look, I’m right!” There’s an old John Reuben lyric that’s always stuck with me, “We could agree to disagree and move on, but humans love proving each other wrong.”
What is man’s obsession with being right? It’s contradictory to itself because the more they want to be right, the farther they move away from Truth. The need to put someone in their place or be the first to figure something out becomes the obsession, taking away the obsession and desire they should have for the Lord.
Some men have such a desire to break away from the tradition and the acts of being conservative. But I think some people want to be so edgy that they end up falling off the edge. They end up in territory that is completely false, but they’re there so they stick with it and take the “The church can’t hang with me” cross and act like they’re a martyr for their faith, when in reality, they are the ones who have killed it themselves.
Now I’m not saying the pursuit of knowledge of the Scriptures is wrong and that we should all be satisfied with what we learned 10 years ago and leave it at that. But we have to keep ourselves in spiritual check. Keep an attitude of humility. Because the Bible makes it clear-
1 Corinthians 8:1-3,
“Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.”
I think a good way to tell people’s motives behind their pursuit of a deeper knowledge of God is to see how quickly they are willing to get into a debate, and how quickly they are willing to help someone. True wisdom is preceded and followed up by humility.
The thing about God is that He hates pride. So in your pursuit of knowledge, get ready to be put in your place by the Living God. Check your motives for what you do. But yes, seek seek seek after the Lord! Go deeper! There is so much of God that we know nothing about! He wants us to find Him in new ways. But we cannot let our desire to know take the place of our desire to know God. And to be honest, our minds will never fully comprehend God. If you work Him down to rationality, you’ve missed Him. He is not a God of facts, He is a God of faith.
2 Timothy 2:23
“Have nothing to do with foolish arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”
So lets stop trying to prove each other wrong and start trying to prove that we love each other.
John 13:35
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Well, I can’t think of a better point to prove than that.
I consider myself open, but also very closed off when it comes to my faith. Certain things I will never be shaken on, they are the foundations of my faith, but some things I am open to at least thinking more about and researching and asking questions about.
But lately I’ve been frustrated because, quite frankly, it is annoying at how many differences we have over the Bible. I wonder if God is annoyed, too. But if He is, you’d think He would have written things out more clearly, where there are no grey areas. But come to think of it, I guess He did that with the Law and all those very exact rules written down, AND STILL people couldn’t get it. And now at least we have the Holy Spirit, the one who helps us understand in our faith.
The more I search for knowledge and the more I look outside of just the scriptures to things like commentaries, preachers, and books, the more I see that things aren’t as clear as I wish they were.
The problem I see in much of it, though, and even in Godly men and women, is there is a three letter word America is quite familiar with… “Ego.” I mean it’s amazing the extent of claims people will make just to say, “Look, I’m right!” There’s an old John Reuben lyric that’s always stuck with me, “We could agree to disagree and move on, but humans love proving each other wrong.”
What is man’s obsession with being right? It’s contradictory to itself because the more they want to be right, the farther they move away from Truth. The need to put someone in their place or be the first to figure something out becomes the obsession, taking away the obsession and desire they should have for the Lord.
Some men have such a desire to break away from the tradition and the acts of being conservative. But I think some people want to be so edgy that they end up falling off the edge. They end up in territory that is completely false, but they’re there so they stick with it and take the “The church can’t hang with me” cross and act like they’re a martyr for their faith, when in reality, they are the ones who have killed it themselves.
Now I’m not saying the pursuit of knowledge of the Scriptures is wrong and that we should all be satisfied with what we learned 10 years ago and leave it at that. But we have to keep ourselves in spiritual check. Keep an attitude of humility. Because the Bible makes it clear-
1 Corinthians 8:1-3,
“Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.”
I think a good way to tell people’s motives behind their pursuit of a deeper knowledge of God is to see how quickly they are willing to get into a debate, and how quickly they are willing to help someone. True wisdom is preceded and followed up by humility.
The thing about God is that He hates pride. So in your pursuit of knowledge, get ready to be put in your place by the Living God. Check your motives for what you do. But yes, seek seek seek after the Lord! Go deeper! There is so much of God that we know nothing about! He wants us to find Him in new ways. But we cannot let our desire to know take the place of our desire to know God. And to be honest, our minds will never fully comprehend God. If you work Him down to rationality, you’ve missed Him. He is not a God of facts, He is a God of faith.
2 Timothy 2:23
“Have nothing to do with foolish arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”
So lets stop trying to prove each other wrong and start trying to prove that we love each other.
John 13:35
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Well, I can’t think of a better point to prove than that.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Help of Man = Dumb
Psalm 108:12-13
“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, He will trample down our enemies.”
Nehemiah 5 (specifically verses 5 and 9-12)
5:5 “…But we are powerless, because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
Nehemiah was trying to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem and some of his workers who were poor were dealing with problems put on them from their own people. (Neh 5:5 – Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen…) They had their sons and daughters in slavery because their fields and vineyards belonged to others, even though it was theirs.
What in your life has God promised you or given you that seems like the enemy has taken? Love? Peace? Family? Even possessions? I can think of things in my own life.
This is not a prosperity message, but I do believe that God wants to restore and rebuild in our lives. In John 11:25 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life;” He is life from death. He is the transformation and the restoration. If God has promised you something, then it is yours because His word is good. But someone is always going to want what the Father gives you, because every gift He gives is good. (James 1:16-17, 1 Corinthians 4:7)
John 10:10
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
So Nehemiah goes to the ones who were causing the trouble to his people in verses 9-12 and calls them out and demands that they give it al back and fear the Lord. And verse 12 says that they did!
We must not let ourselves get taken advantage of by the enemy! He is always looking to destroy our faith, love, joy, peace, and our families by using lies and fears of this world. We must not let him, because God has given us His fields and vineyards to produce good things.
See that’s the thing about God. He doesn’t just bless you so that you can sit on it and say, “Look how much God loves me.” He blesses you so you can bless others, and you can say, “Look how much God loves them and me.”
In times like these, we must put our faith in God, not in the wisdom of man, because “the wisdom of man is foolishness to God,” (1 Corinthians 3:19). And Psalm 108 says, “the help of man is worthless, with God we will gain the victory.” Key words there – “With God,” not “with man.”
Go with God and get some victory in your life. It’s coming. It really is coming.
“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, He will trample down our enemies.”
Nehemiah 5 (specifically verses 5 and 9-12)
5:5 “…But we are powerless, because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
Nehemiah was trying to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem and some of his workers who were poor were dealing with problems put on them from their own people. (Neh 5:5 – Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen…) They had their sons and daughters in slavery because their fields and vineyards belonged to others, even though it was theirs.
What in your life has God promised you or given you that seems like the enemy has taken? Love? Peace? Family? Even possessions? I can think of things in my own life.
This is not a prosperity message, but I do believe that God wants to restore and rebuild in our lives. In John 11:25 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life;” He is life from death. He is the transformation and the restoration. If God has promised you something, then it is yours because His word is good. But someone is always going to want what the Father gives you, because every gift He gives is good. (James 1:16-17, 1 Corinthians 4:7)
John 10:10
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
So Nehemiah goes to the ones who were causing the trouble to his people in verses 9-12 and calls them out and demands that they give it al back and fear the Lord. And verse 12 says that they did!
We must not let ourselves get taken advantage of by the enemy! He is always looking to destroy our faith, love, joy, peace, and our families by using lies and fears of this world. We must not let him, because God has given us His fields and vineyards to produce good things.
See that’s the thing about God. He doesn’t just bless you so that you can sit on it and say, “Look how much God loves me.” He blesses you so you can bless others, and you can say, “Look how much God loves them and me.”
In times like these, we must put our faith in God, not in the wisdom of man, because “the wisdom of man is foolishness to God,” (1 Corinthians 3:19). And Psalm 108 says, “the help of man is worthless, with God we will gain the victory.” Key words there – “With God,” not “with man.”
Go with God and get some victory in your life. It’s coming. It really is coming.
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