Are You a ‘Convincing Proof’?

“After his suffering, he presented himself to them

and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

Acts 1:3

 

There are lots of different names for followers of Christ.

There are disciples, believers, and Christians to name just a few.

But here is one you probably haven’t heard: Convincing proofs!

You see, after Jesus rose from the dead we are told that He appeared to His Apostles and disciples for a period of forty days.

He wasn’t merely walking around for the sake of getting exercise either.

He presented Himself and offered irrefutable, convincing proof that the grave was no match for the power of God and that He was indeed alive.

Then what did He do after those forty days?

Before He ascended to heaven He told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit.

With the Holy Spirit they would also receive the power to be those

 ‘convincing proof’ witnesses of Him in the earth.

Yes, He left you and me behind as His ‘convincing proof’.

You see, we are supposed to be more than just ‘proclaimers’.

We are called to be ‘displays’ of His power.

I have to be honest with you, some days I’m not very convincing.

My life isn’t always the proof that it should be.

With that understanding, I need to go again to God and ask for that fresh anointing and fresh power to be His witness and His convincing proof.

I need, like Mary, to settle at His feet and linger in His presence worshipping Him and receiving from Him.

How about you?

What was yesterday like for you?

Were you a convincing proof to others that Jesus is alive?

No, it’s not a life filled with ‘works’ that will do it.

It is a life filled with Him!

Don’t Ask For Just a Few

“The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha,

“Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord.

 But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars.

Don’t ask for just a few.  

Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.

Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons.

They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.  

When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts.

You and your sons can live on what is left.”

II Kings 4:1-7

 

Don’t ask for just a few.

Sounds like pretty simple, even trivial, advice the Man of God gave the widow woman.

At the point that he made that comment she had no way of knowing what was in store for her.

She only had his command – and it made little or no sense to her.

She had to believe that the God for whom the Prophet spoke was indeed

Jehovah Jireh, the “God who provides”.

Reinhard Bonnke tells of asking God for a nation.

God responded to him that his vision was not big enough.

From that conversation with God, he cried out for the entire continent of Africa.

Don’t ask for just a few.

That was the Prophet Elisha’s words to the widow.

It was God’s word to Reinhard Bonnke.

It is His word to each of us.

God is infinitely bigger and more powerful than our prayers often recognize Him to be!

I am not saying we shouldn’t believe God for little things.

I am saying we should believe God for greater than what we often reduce our petitions to.

In this season we find ourselves in, stretch your faith as you pray.

 I understand we all are at different places in our walk with God.

But that is a function of where we are and not who He is!

Pray for the Nations for your inheritance.

It is not too big a prayer for God to answer!

“Oh, but I’m not ready for that!”

In your own strength, ability and power you never will be.

After all, the widow (from her own resources) did not possess

enough to receive God’s blessings either.

Don’t ask for just a few!

And a Season…

“There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens…”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

  

 

Winter, Spring Summer and Fall; there are four seasons in each year.

Sometimes people around here joke that in Western New York there is only one season.

They will tell you that it is nine months of Winter and three months of poor sledding.

All kidding aside, the Bible speaks of seasons as well.

Like the avid snow skier who hits the slopes to swoosh through

every ounce of fluffy white powdered snow as long as possible,

we too must take advantage of the seasons God has for us.

In the Old Testament it speaks of the Spring season, “…when Kings go off to war…”

Jesus spoke of a season “…while it is day…” in which He must work the works of the Father.

We should be aware of the season we are in to do the works that season calls for.

A farmer would look pretty foolish trying to harvest during planting season.

Not only foolish, but more importantly, it would be very unfruitful.

A wise person knows the season they are in and is productive because of that understanding.

 The Bible tells us to “…pray without ceasing…” and so we understand that prayer is more than just a scheduled activity, it is a lifestyle and a mark of a disciple of Christ.

But God may also call His church to a season of prayer that is appointed to a specific purpose.

We find an example of this prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.  

Acts 1:14 tells us:

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

God had them in a season of prayer, preparing them for the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.

God has called His Place to a season of prayer.

Not a program.

Not a ritual.

Not a man-made structured meeting.

A season of prayer orchestrated by God to fulfill His purposes.

Don’t miss the season God has for you!

Off The Elevator and Into the Harvest Fields

““My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”

John 4:34-36

 

                           

 

 

What if your profession was in sales but you spent your days

traveling up and down in an elevator all by yourself.

How effective would you be?

Not very!

God has good plans and purposes for your life but those purposes will never be fulfilled in isolation.

Yes, yes, I know – Jesus did indeed spend time alone with the Father.

A great deal of time as a matter of fact.

But His time with the Father was not meant as an alternative to ministering to others.

Certainly, part of that time was a preparation for His day.

What was poured into Him in those moments of fellowship with His Father (often very early in the day) was poured out on those to whom He ministered during the day.  

So it should be with us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave…”

Yes, He gave His Son who paid the price for our sin that we might be reconciled to the Father.

Today, you and I are Christ’s body in the earth.

In a sense you might say that, through you and I, God continues to give His Son.

Have you been His Ambassador today?

Have you been His hands and feet to the world?

Have you been salt and light?

I hope this doesn’t offend you but to fully appreciate that we are to be His image in the earth why don’t you try this –

For God so loved the world that He gave (insert your name) today

to a hurting and confused person.

Let His love be lavished on someone today because you took the time to be in the Lord’s presence for the express purpose of being filled in order to be poured out.  

Step off the elevator into the fields ripe for harvest.

Turning Disappointment into Divine Appointments

“You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;

    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,”

Psalm 10:17

 

Last week I had an appointment that became a disappointment which I could then choose to turn into a divine appointment.

Did you follow all that?

I didn’t think so, so let me explain.

As some of you who follow this blog already know, I have been out of work for some time and actively searching for a new job.

Last Friday I had yet another interview scheduled.

That is the appointment part.

After prayer, both my wife and I felt this might be a very good opportunity so I went to the appointment with great anticipation.

While the interview went quite well (at least I thought so),

the position was given to someone else.

That is the disappointment part.

Now I was faced with the choice I spoke about.

I could lick my wounds and go find a nice corner to pout in

Or

I could, by abiding in d’vine, (sorry – but it’s just how God speaks to me sometimes!)

turn my disappointment into a d’vine appointment.

I could meet God at a place of disappointment.

By doing that I am refusing to allow it to become a place of discouragement.

Instead it becomes a place of trust, growth and relationship building with the Lord!

I hope you can get past my corny use of the language to see that we can choose to live in

depression, discouragement and disappointment,

Or

the encouragement that comes through d’vine appointments!

 

 

 

I Surrender All (my own power and might)!

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Zechariah 4:6

 

Might and power are pretty formidable.

But make no mistake – they are no match for Gods’ spirit.  

Just review the history of the world.

Kingdoms of great power and might have come and gone.

The Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and the Soviet Union are just a few examples.

But today’s verse can also be taken to heart on a personal level.

Do we sometimes try to force events or overpower

 circumstances in our lives with our own strength?

As a popular question in today’s culture asks: “How’s that working out for you?”

If we are followers of Jesus Christ who have surrendered our lives to His Lordship we must resist the temptation to ‘muscle’ our way through life.

One of the words for ‘power’ in the New Testament is the same root word from which we get our word ‘dynamite’.

How interesting that we sometimes try to use our own

power and might only to have it ‘blow up’ in our face.

Instead, the power of God’s Spirit at work in our life can accurately demolish strongholds and do what no amount of force on our part could ever accomplish.

Maybe you’ve been trying hard to ‘make something happen’ in your life.

Maybe it’s time to drop your feeble weapons of human might and power

and invite the Spirit of God to have His way.

“…by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”

 

A Support System Without Equal

“…until Christ is formed in you,”

Galatians 4:19

 

Is Christ being formed in you?

You might look at your circumstances;

where your life is right now and hesitate to answer that question positively.

We understand cerebrally anyway – that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.

That is sound biblical teaching.

But as the cares of this world press in on us we can forget the very words that are meant to sustain us and encourage us through the process.

Christ is being formed in me.

That is no small matter.

My flesh is contrary to that work being accomplished.

So at least on one level there is a sort of tug-of-war going on.

Paul recognized this when he said that he did those things he shouldn’t do and failed to do the things he knew he should do.

Despite those times of failure, Christ was being formed in Paul,

just as Christ is being formed in you and me.

Go ahead and remind yourself of that today.

Should you stumble or fall, repent, ask His forgiveness and as you get back up declare:

Christ is being formed in me!

Are you being pressed on every side?

Christ is being formed in you!

Are you facing difficult circumstances?

Christ is being formed in you!

As you remember that – remember one more thing too – Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for you that His image might be formed in you!

What a powerful support system we have.

It’s unmatched anywhere!

 

Contestant or Christian?

“Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Matthew 23:10-12

 

 

 

“The testimony they shared was soooo great wasn’t it?

I can’t wait to see God ‘do one better’ in my life.

After all, they are mere babes in Christ but I have walked with Him

years and years longer than they have!”

I know better than to ask if you’ve ever said anything like that; but have you thought it?

Yes, even in Christian circles we play the ‘one-upmanship’ game.

It’s a common flesh trait.

We have to outshine the other person.

We might want to call it Competitive Christian Drive.

 

“They lead one to the Lord?

Well, bless God, I’ll lead two.

I’ll see your three day fast and raise you five days!”

 

We act more like contestants than Christians.

Jesus saw this at work in His disciples and cautioned them concerning it.

Competition is all around us in our world.

We find it in sports, in business, even in our ‘game night’ at home.

But it has no place in the Body of Christ.

Just check out the Book of Revelation to see what the Elders in Heaven

do with their crowns in the presence of the King of Kings!

Here’s a novel idea – the next time you hear a wonderful testimony, resist the urge to imagine yourself sharing a greater one just to leave that person in your dust.  

Instead – rejoice with them in what God has done.

Honor Him by surrendering more of yourself to do His will, no matter what that means.

You see – the greatest testimony is the one that recognizes it is all about Him working in us and not how fortunate He is to have ME in His army!

Work or Wait?

“it is good to wait quietly

    for the salvation of the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:26

 

I remember this verse being quoted by someone who seemed opposed to any evidence of exuberance in worship.

 I guess they must have missed all the Psalms which speak of shouting, loud cymbals and joyful noise.

I can wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord while in the midst of celebratory praise!

It is that inward quietness of spirit and soul that waits quietly and patiently that is rewarded with the salvation of the Lord.

So often we think our rescue depends on our work.

Heaven awaits those who have ‘earned’ it.

My way out of a dilemma is to labor to change my circumstances.

Now no one is excusing laziness but the person who trusts any forward advancement in the Kingdom of God based on their own efforts is a frustrated person indeed.

The world will tell you – “No pain, no gain.”

God’s Word will tell you “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…”

It just seems so counter-intuitive to us and to our culture that simple ‘waiting’ would strengthen us.

After all, who likes ‘waiting’ in line?

But of course the key is who we wait for!

Waiting on God has rewards unlike any other wait you may endure.

Salvation; strength; supernatural empowerment are just a few of the benefits of waiting on Him who makes that wait worthwhile!

You see more often than not in the Kingdom of God -

We don’t ‘work’ to advance – we ‘wait’ to advance!

Only then do we ‘advance’ in the power and the anointing of God!

Ask Him. I Dare You!

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,”

Romans 15:5

 

 

 

 

 

Has anybody ever said to you “You are your own worst enemy!”?

I know I have heard it at different points in my life and probably you have to.

Some people are so good at pointing at their

own faults that they have no need for other ‘finger-pointers’.

Rather than being a finger-pointer to this person, try being a back patter!

No, I’m not talking about flattery or lying.   

Instead; ask God to show you ways to honestly and genuinely encourage that person.

Most everyone has wonderful attributes and commendable behaviors.

Imagine how nice it would be if, instead of allowing them to constantly beat themselves up, we took the time to encourage them and speak life into them.

What if your words were the first ones they heard that day that did not tear them down?

What an opportunity to bless someone!

“How can one conversation spark a change in someone’s life?” you ask.

Look back at the Gospel’s.

Take note of the encounters Jesus had with some.

Some left all to follow Him.

That doesn’t happen on a whim.

Words of encouragement bring hope.

Words of encouragement can offer a view that the ‘constantly self-condemning’

person may not have considered.

Words of encouragement can bring life to an individual and turn their life around.

Be deliberate about it and go out of your way today to speak words of encouragement to someone.

I know if you ask God, He will show you who and He will give you the opportunity.

Ask Him.

I dare you!

 

 

 

 

Surprise God

“pray continually,”

I Thessalonians 5:17

 

 

Imagine how silly it would sound if I was headed into a head-on collision with another vehicle and later testified to others that I could not pray in that moment

 before impact because it was not my regular ‘prayer time’!

That would be pretty ridiculous wouldn’t it?

We are told to “…pray without ceasing.”

That can only be accomplished as we allow ourselves to be engaged in a lifestyle of prayer.

I would define that as always in communion and fellowship with the Spirit of God.

Good times or bad our spiritual ears are tuned to hear His voice.

Through the ‘highs’ of a mountaintop or the ‘lows’ of the valley experiences we respond to the whisper of His voice.  

Think about it for a moment; would you call that person “Friend” who only ever speaks with you when they are in the midst of some tragic circumstance?

They only seem to have time for you when they are in need of some help.

Here’s a challenge:

Step out of the routine when it comes to your prayer life this week.

Surprise God (I know that’s a theological impossibility) with an unexpected prayer of praise.

Tell Him how much you love Him – not because He just rescued you out of some great calamity but simply because of who He is!

It is always prayer time; no matter what your schedule shows!

 

“…Will Become…”

“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.”

John 4:14

 

If you read through the Bible there are a couple of phrases

you will run across from time to time.

These phrases are: “…in due season…” and “…in the fullness of time…”

Like it or not God has a timetable for His purposes.

Most often we are anxious about that because His timing never seems to match ours.

Today’s scripture includes the words “…will become…”

Those two words imply a process; something that will happen over time!

That spring of water starts out as a drop but as we grow in relationship with Him and remain in Him, it becomes that spring of water welling up to eternal life.

We often agree with the promise that God’s plans for us are good.

But then the struggle to rest in Him as He works those plans in us begins.

Forget about due season or the fullness of time – we want it N-O-W!

Resting and trusting in God can be one of the hardest things we do.

Everybody has advice about what we should be doing.

We hear God calling us to sit as His feet for a while like Mary,

but we see Martha toiling away and just can’t sit still and let her do all the work!

Instead of resting in the season God has brought us into, we step into another person’s season and find ourselves laboring when He has called us to rest.

I don’t want to miss the ‘dues seasons’, the ‘fullness of times’ and the ‘will becomes’ God has for me.  

I don’t want you to miss them either.

Learn to rest and trust God, waiting for Him to bring to pass His perfect plans for you!

The Condemnation Antidote

“Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh,

but after the dictates of the Spirit.”

Romans 8:1 (Amplified Version)

 

 

One of the greatest tools or weapons in the enemy’s arsenal against believers is condemnation.

Sometimes, he even has a co-conspirator.

You know the one – he appears in the mirror when you look into it!

We can be so quick, too quick really, to condemn ourselves.

We see others being blessed, we see others being used of God, we listen to their great testimonies but it seems as if our own walk is

stuck in neutral(or worse yet-careening out of control in reverse).

What do we do?

We start beating ourselves up!

God won’t use me.

God can’t use me.

God has so many other great vessels, surely I’m the lone tare sown among all the wheat in my church.

Before you know it we’ve convinced ourselves that we are the vilest creature since the serpent slithered into the Garden of Eden.

God loves us.

He convicts us of our sin.

But He doesn’t kick us when we are down, He kisses us!

What do I mean?

He tells us – right after the most quoted verse in all of the Book as a matter of fact – that:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

 but to save the world through him”.

Why?

The previous verse answered that.

It was because of His marvelously wonderful love for us.

Don’t believe the enemy’s lies.

Certainly don’t repeat them to yourself!

The antidote for condemnation is Romans 8:1

Chew (meditate) on that one for a while!