I’m Not a Mind Reader, You Know!

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

Mark 10:51

What a stupid question Jesus asked, some might say.

But not at all.

One of the ways to silence the noisemakers in our lives, especially that pesky one inside your head is to simply request of Jesus what you expect.

Did Jesus know what Bartimaeus wanted?

Does he know what you want?

Of course he does.

We often might sarcastically respond to someone who is upset that we didn’t understand their need by saying “I’m not a mind reader, you know!”

While Jesus may have known the deepest desire of Bartimaeus’ heart even as He knows yours, he inquires of us in order that we might express that desire.

He is drawing it out of us.

Paul admonished us, in the Letter to the Philippians, in this way:

“...in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.”  

So today, request of Jesus what you expect.

You have not because you ask not.

Bartimaeus asked loudly and clearly!

You can do the same.

Maybe it’s Time to Shout

“When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Mark 10:47

Previously we asked:

So how do we silence the noisemakers in our lives?

We said that the story of blind Bartimeaus in Mark 10 offered insights and that step 1 was to know who Jesus is.

Bartimaeus released what was in his heart –

He cried out....

This was no whisper or polite invitation.

He was yelling to get Jesus ‘attention.

He was desperate and was not about to let this moment pass him by.

Have you ever been so desperate that you literally cried out or shouted to God?

I am not talking about being persistent in prayer – as good as that might be.

I suspect Bartimaeus was shouting at the top of his lungs, determined that as loud as the crowd around Jesus might have been, he would be louder.

That’s’ the desperation I am speaking of.

You think maybe sometimes we can be too polite for God?

Forgive me, but I think we can be.

I am not saying we need to be rude or crude but desperation often throws decorum out the window, don’t you think?

Do you find yourself in a hard place?

It may be time to release what is in your heart to God.

Don’t hold back.

He has big shoulders and can handle it!

The Noisemakers Rattling Around in Your Head

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging.”

Mark 10:46

We’ve been talking about the noisemakers in our lives.

Some are obvious as we have seen, others less so.

Did you know that the quietness of your time with the Lord can be disturbed by a surprising noisemaker?

Say hello to your thought life.

It can be noisy, unpleasant and distracting.

And you thought you only had to contend with outside forces!

Sometimes the loudest noisemakers are right in our own head.  

We fail to take wayward thoughts captive but instead give free reign to every kind of fear, doubt and unbelief.

Talk about N-O-I-S-E!

So how do we silence the noisemakers in our lives?

The story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark Chapter 10 offers some insights.

Here is what verse 47 tells us –

“When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,

 “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

He knew who Jesus was!

He would not be silenced.

The ‘noise’ he made in calling out to Jesus was heard by the Lord.

Ironically, you might say, his noise drowned out the noisemakers.

Do you want to silence the noisemakers in your life?

Take a lesson from Bartimaeus and cry out to Jesus!

RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God...”

Romans 4:20

RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG.

The Bible, as well as your life, is full of noisemakers.

And to think, you were hoping it was just a New Year’s Eve phenomenon.

But just try to step out in faithful obedience like Noah did and here come the naysaying, noisemaking, no-no Nanette’s!

How about the time David determined that no uncircumcised Philistine (namely Goliath) could insult the Lord whom he served.

Some of the loudest noisemakers were not in the enemy’s camp.

They were those fighting men in Saul’s army.

Even his own brothers became noisemakers, accusing David of everything but faithfulness to God.

You will most certainly face noisemakers when you step out of the norm to do what God has called you to do.

They will be loud, they will be persistent and they may even be from your own household.

You must decide – will I persevere in spite of them or surrender to the clamor, doubt and fear of their noise. 

Choose perseverance – choose God above the noise.

Be as Abraham was, not wavering in your faith in the face of all kinds of unbelief and noise!

Let’s make Some Noise!

“They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise;

 he hath passed the time appointed.”

Jeremiah 46:17

 

Let’s make some noise!

You’ve probably heard that refrain at sports events.

The home team fans are as loud as possible in order to make it difficult for the opposing team down on the field.

All that noise generated causes confusion and distractions making communications almost impossible.

Do you have noise makers in your life?

Do you have people and circumstances that seem to be working to distract and draw your focus away from God and His plans for your life?

Most of us do.

Some are well intentioned, others are not.

But both are dangerous to our walk with God.

Noise is defined as: “a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes a disturbance.

Unpleasant disturbances should be unwelcome when it comes to anything that comes between me and the Lord.

That relationship should be protected from the noise makers no matter how loud or how persistent.

Let’s make some noise?

I think not!

Happy Thanksgiving

May the blessing of this Thanksgiving Day overtake you.

May you be blessed beyond measure in the love and care of the Lord.

Midnight Finds Me....

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”

Psalm 95:1-2

Singing, shouting, music and song; that kind of sounds like a party!

Do you celebrate the Lord with a joyful heart!

Are your times of fellowship filled with singing and thanksgiving?

Even in circumstances that may be less than desirable, there is reason to praise the Lord.

Some would look at life and where they are and lament: “Why me?”

Paul and Silas found themselves in prison but at midnight they lifted up their voices and praised the Lord.

They easily could have been forgiven had they cried:

 “O me, O my, we’re gonna die!”

But instead this is recorded as their reaction –

“When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Acts 16:24-25

Do you want to know what happened next?

Open your Bible to Acts 16 and read the rest of the account.

It is a wonderful story of thankful hearts rewarded.

A great reminder for all of us in this season.

Big and Little

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17

 

Can you give thanks for the big and little blessings?

Sometimes the smaller blessings, though they may be greater in number, are missed or ignored.

We all recognize the need to thank God for a miraculous healing he brings or the fruit of pregnancy given to a barren womb.

But have you said thank-you for the safe drive home?

How about the child who has learned to tie his shoes?

But those aren’t really blessings!

Really?

All good gifts come from heaven so let’s cultivate that attitude of gratefulness for all good things, whether they come from the hand of your boss at work, the mailman on his route or the mechanic whose bill is far less than you anticipated.

Look, and be thankful for the little, numerous blessings that are too often overlooked.

Let thankfulness flow out of you a hundred times a day!

A Good Thing

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,

and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.”

Psalm 92:1 (KJV)

I am thankful for a God whose mercies are new every day.

Every day I need that mercy applied in my life.

I am thankful for the family God has given me, a wonderful wife, son and daughter.

They serve Him well.

I am thankful for health and strength and His breath of life breathed into me.

I am thankful that I am living in a country where I am free to express that thanksgiving to Him.

I am thankful for a church family that loves, encourages and challenges me.

I am thankful that each and every sunrise I am able to receive His blessings.

Yes, while it is true that we must not save thankfulness for one day a year, it is still and always a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.

What are you thankful for?

That’s not a rhetorical question.

Share it with all of us and in so doing, give Him all the glory!!

Mundane or Spiritual?

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Matthew 25:35-36

You might think – it’s a pretty mundane task to serve a meal, hand out food or clothing or maybe even give some kids candy? 

Look at the things Jesus endorsed doing in His name.

Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, invite in the stranger, when you do this to the least of my brothers you do it to me.

When God moves through you, He can move for you!

Pretty mundane task?

There is nothing more spiritual than obedience!

Consider praying as you give out food or clothing.

Ask God what they need that He can give through you.

Maybe it will be nothing ‘greater’ than a listening ear. 

It is interesting to note the evidence Jesus points to, to indicate who His true followers are.

Listen to these verses from Matthew 7:22-23

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Compare that with the verses above from Matthew 7.

As important as the ‘signs and wonders’ are they are not the fruit of the Spirit Jesus looks for, and expects, in us.

A Second Look

“Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:38

The verse above may be familiar to many of you.

But I am going to ask you to read it again but this time as you read it I want you to think about how we most often apply this verse –

Now honestly, how is this verse most often applied?

It is at offering time isn’t it?

It is preached in relation to our finances nine times out of ten.

I am not saying that is not a legitimate application.

I believe it can be.

But taken in context what do you suppose would be a more appropriate application?

Let’s answer that by looking at the verse that immediately precedes it – that leads us to this verse. Verse 37 says:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

So, while we often speak of verse 38 as it relates to money or finances, it can be argued that it is more relevant in context to judgment, condemnation and forgiveness.

You would be more accurate in saying it has much to do with relationships and how we deal with other people.

Don’t judge, don’t condemn, do forgive, give these things and they will be given to you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Have you ever been ‘run over’ by the love, forgiveness and mercy of another person?

Guess how that happens.

Give and it shall be given to you!

He’ll give it to you if He can get it through you!

Flow, Flow, Flow

Do we find that same principal we looked at previously also at work in the New Testament, i.e. as we minister to others we are ministered too?

Absolutely!

Let’s look at John Chapter 4 – beginning at verse 4:

4 Now he had to go through Samaria.

5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Here we see a similar story.

This time it is Jesus who is thirsty instead of Elijah.

This time it is not a widow but a Samaritan woman with a less than honorable reputation.

This time it was a promise of Living water.

She was asked to give to Jesus and He, in return would give back to her.

She would have been trading up – that’s for sure!

Over and over and over we find this principle in scripture.

As it flows through you, it also flows to you!

Here a Cake, There a Cake, Everywhere a Cake

Perhaps no story in the Old Testament demonstrates better the idea of giving in  faith and receiving back abundantly the one we find in 1 Kings Chapter 17.  

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him:

9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 

10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”

11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Her resources were good for one more meal but as she gave what little she had to Elijah God opened up the windows of heaven to her and multiplied the resource she had to sustain her in her time of need.

She gave little but received much. She had only enough grain and oil to make one last meal for her and her son but she did as the prophet said and made him a meal. She allowed what she had to flow out to others – in this case to Elijah – and she was blessed beyond measure. Anybody reading this need provision today?

Let that river of life flow out of you to others. Let what God has given you be given to others. Maybe it seems so small. Maybe it seems so insignificant to you but give it to others in His name and watch what God does with it for them and for you!

Flow or No?

“...If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said:

‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.”

John 7:37-39 selected

I want to put before you a choice today.

 I’m going to ask you to vote on something.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are thirsty.

Your throat is dry and parched.

You haven’t had anything to drink in days.

All you can think about is a glass of cool, crisp, clear water.

I offer you a vote as to what water you will drink.

You can vote to drink a glass of pond water or you can vote for a glass of water from a mountain brook.

I have to believe most would vote for the brook.

Why is that do you suppose?

Why the brook over the pond?

Let me read some facts that may have been in the back of your mind and influenced your vote:

Stagnant water, often the kind of water found in a pond, can be dangerous for drinking because it provides a better incubator than running water for many kinds of bacteria and parasites. Stagnant water is often contaminated with human and animal feces, particularly in deserts or other areas of low rain.

The difference it that standing or stagnent water has no flow or current. Flowing water has a direct source, ie; a stream or a river. Standing water is more like a puddle or a bucket of water. Also, mosquitoes don't breed in flowing water.

That means diseases like typhoid and dengue fever are among the main dangers of stagnant water because of the breeding ground it becomes for the mosquitoes that transmit these diseases.

You wisely chose the brook.

That’s the same reason you would choose a fountain over a cistern.

One flows and the other doesn’t.

Speaking of things that flow, did you know that we can have living water flowing out o A fountain flows, a brook flows, a river flows.

A pond, a cistern or a body of stagnant water does not.

So here is what will probably be the easiest question you will have to answer today - Do you want to be pond scum or a fountain?

Maybe the more important question is this –

What do you think others would choose to receive from someone?

What do you think others would choose to receive from you?

When we minister, and we are A-L-L ministers, it is as if we are that fountain, that brook or that river.

Out of us should flow Gods love, His healing, His purpose, His compassion, the resources of heaven should flow through us to those we are ministering too.

But can you keep a secret?

There is an added bonus - as it flows through us, it flows to us!

Will you let the river of His Spirit flow through you to others today?

Undesirable?

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

Joshua 24:15

We often find the second half of this verse on wall plaques or calendars.

But it is valuable to consider the whole verse.

It is quite predictable to want to write off the entire verse as less than relevant because it is, after all, Old Testament and is speaking of the gods of nations that no longer exist.

But it is precisely why it is relevant.

Nations come and go, gods come and go but the Eternal God had no beginning nor does He have an end.

The one we serve always was and always will be.

There was never a time He was not God and there never will be a time when we call on Him that He won’t answer!

He is God, not a god.

How can you find serving the Lord undesirable?

Yet many do still today.

Their names may have changed but many still serve.

Can you proclaim with Joshua –

...as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!

Are You Serving Well?

“Those who have served well gain an excellent standing

and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”

I Timothy 3:13

What a difference a word makes.

I want you to notice the third word in the verse above.

It is ‘have’ and not ‘are’.

Those who have served, not those who are served.

Part of the purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to reveal the Father.

What He constantly did was to serve others.

Mark 10:45 reveals this truth:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many."

We are called to be servants.

We are not called to lord it over others.

We should seek to serve in humility and with grace, not seeking anything in return.

That is often hard to accept, let alone do, yet that is the challenge Jesus posed to those who would be His disciples, saying:

“...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-

Matthew 20:26-27

That certainly doesn’t play well in our culture!

But of course we are called to a Kingdom quite different from the culture of the world.

Whom will you serve today and how?

Are Your Expectations Killing You?

“What I feared has come upon me;

    what I dreaded has happened to me.”

Job 3:25

Talk about our expectations coming to pass!

Job declared that what he feared and what he dreaded actually were realized.

So a question we can ask ourselves is this:

Do your expectations lead to death or to life?

We really have a part to play in our destiny.

God posed the option this way –

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”

God not only gave the option – He also made a recommendation.

Are you expecting life and blessings or death and curses?

I know I am going with Gods’ recommendation.

I know which one I am choosing!

How about you?

What Do You See in the Clouds?

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Numbers 14:30

Have you ever been driving along with a passenger and you look up at the clouds and see something in them and say:

“Doesn’t that cloud look like a cow?”

Then the passenger looks up and says:

“I don’t see a cow, I see a soldier!”

You both looked up at the same cloud but each of you saw something entirely different.

The same was true a couple of thousand years ago when Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land God had promised to the Israelites.

You probably know the rest of the story.

Ten of the twelve men saw defeat and danger.

Only two, Joshua and Caleb, saw the victory through God that was theirs to be had.

Why the difference?

It was in their expectations each had of the power of God to deliver them.

Joshua and Caleb well remembered the hand of God delivering them from the Egyptians and had no doubt that God could do it again.

The other twelve had this report –

“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it.”

Their expectation was of a God impotent against the inhabitants of the land.

In their mind, what God had done before He could not or would not do again.

The next time you look at a seemingly impossible situation in your life, examine your expectations of the outcome.

Are you expecting God to keep His promises to you?

I Expect a....?

“For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.”

Psalm 71:5

 

Many years ago there was a televangelist and one of his common taglines was:

“I expect a miracle!”

He was ridiculed at times for this statement but honestly what would be wrong with that expectation?

Wouldn’t that be a great frame of mind to live in?

Expecting God to supernaturally intervene in the affairs of man and in so doing bring honor and glory to His name.

What’s the alternative?

I expect a humdrum existence

Or

I expect nothing but ordinary

Or

Even worse - I expect gloom, despair and agony on me!

So what are your expectations?

They will drive your actions, reactions and behaviors.

Abraham, for instance, did not waver at the promises of God through unbelief but was persuaded that what He had promised He was able also to perform!

Is that your expectation too?

Do you believe that God is willing and able to keep His promises to you?

Do you live with that expectation?

Let me challenge you today to examine and course correct those expectations that fall short of all God has for you.

You won’t be disappointed.

Brought Near

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been

brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Ephesians 2:13

You and I were once far away from God.

We were alienated from Him by our sin.

But God...

He brought us near through the blood of His sinless Son Jesus.

He made the way that we could not.

We were dead in our trespasses and sin.

Through the work of the cross we were brought out of darkness, sin and death.  

We were not only made alive through Jesus Christ we are now seated with Him in heavenly places.

But, you say, I know these simple truths!

Good – it is a good thing to remind ourselves of the price that was paid.

We must not over complicate the simple yet profound and wonderful message of the Gospel.

May we never tire of it and may we ever express our gratitude that you and I who were once far away have been brought near.