Room for Merging

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

One of my pet peeves when driving is when other drivers will not let you merge into traffic on the expressway from the onramp.  You are at their mercy.  If they don’t let you in, you’re faced with having to quickly speed up or slow down to squeeze into traffic before you run out of road.

On the other hand, what I love is when the person alongside you moves over into the left hand lane giving you plenty of room to merge.

God will sometimes bring others into our path because He wants our lives to merge.  The other person may be going through a very difficult time and needs some words of encouragement or they may need to hear the good news about what Jesus did for them.

But often we are too busy speeding down the highway of life preventing us from making room for others. We don’t want to bother pulling over or slowing down to let them into our world, so we just blow right past them.

The other day, when coming around the corner at work, I met up with a coworker.  I could tell by the expression on his face that he was extremely troubled.  I immediately asked if he was ok and he began to share about a struggle at home.  We weren’t able to talk long, but I believe a door was opened that will allow me to reach out to him again.

If I didn’t pause to allow God to merge our lives, even if briefly, then I would have missed an opportunity for God to use me.

In Acts 13:47, God said “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”

We need to be sensitive to those merging opportunities that God puts in our life. As Christ followers, we are not where we are in life by mistake.  God has put us there for a purpose, to show His love to others.

Keep your heart open and allow room for merging.

In Times of Trouble

“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.

 He cares for those who trust in him,”

Nahum 1:7

Because God is perfect, the plans for your life will be perfect.

Nope.

Just ask Job about the perfect plan for his life!

Because God is a God of order, His plans for your life will always make sense.

Nope.

Joseph could not have guessed his way to the palace would take him from a pit to a prison first.

Because your life is favored by God; life is going to be fantastic.

Nope.

Somehow, I think Mary would have thought differently.

(and she was HIGHLY favored by God!)

We have this mindset as believers that once we have surrendered our life to God, everything we touch turns to gold and (as the saying goes) everything will come up roses.

You know better.

Yes, the New Covenant is a covenant of grace but that does not mean all is going to only be perfect, in order and fantastic with your life.

Consider the 12 apostles – all with the exception of John – were martyred for their faith.

To be sure, it is a faith worth dying for but most of us would rather skip the hard parts of life.

Don’t ask God to give you only and always an easy path.

That makes for a soft life with little impact on those around us.

Rather ask Him that no matter where life takes us we always can rest assured in the knowledge that He is with us.

God is at Work in Your Life

“The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!

The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:28-35

Just because life is dysfunctional does not mean God is not at work in your life.

We think to ourselves that because God is perfect and because God is at work in my life, then my life must be perfect.

But when reality sinks in is when the most damaging thoughts run through our mind – “If my life is dysfunctional then surely God is not in it.”

But as the overwhelming evidence of scripture shows, this just is not true.

God is with us in the midst of it all.

There was probably not a worse time to have to travel then when Mary was about to give birth.

She wasn’t traveling so her new child would be with family or to see the best doctor’s money could buy.

She and Joseph had set out for Bethlehem because the government ordered all men back to the ancestral homes in order to calculate a tax that was coming.

Not the best timing – yet God was in it.

The Son of God wasn’t born in a manger because two centuries later it would make for a much cuter Hallmark card than one taken in an Inn.

Not the best maternity ward – yet God was in it too.

Maybe your circumstances aren’t too ‘pretty’ today.

Maybe all you see is dysfunction and confusion and chaos.

If that is true, let me encourage you that God has not abandoned you any more than He Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

He is working His work in your life.  

Don’t despair, don’t give up  - hand it back to Him and hold on to His hand as He brings you through!

The Land of Misfit Saints!

“As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;”

Romans 3:10

There is a children’s Christmas cartoon that includes a place called

“The Land of Misfit Toys”

This is the place where every discarded, broken and unwanted toy ends up.

I thought of this story after hearing the Christmas Eve message.

It was a message on:

“The Dysfunctional Christmas Story”

Yep, you heard it right!

We are all broken, misfit and dysfunctional in some way.

But take heart – so were most of the great men and woman of the Bible.

David the Shepherd King was also an adulterer and murderer.

Jacob was a schemer, Paul a 1^st Century terrorist and the list can go on and on.

Even in the Christmas story we find a doubting dad named Zacharias and divorce-ready Joseph.

Yet God can, and does, use the misfit and dysfunctional.

We can all say “Amen!” to that.

Consider your own past.

Were you perfect when He saved you?

I didn’t think so.

Sometimes God even takes the person who considers themselves just fine (thank you very much) and throws some ‘dysfunction’ into their lives.

Just ask the virgin who suddenly found herself pregnant.

Maybe you feel like an imposter in the church.

Maybe you think all the other ‘saints’ are perfect.

Just between you and me – I have a looong, long way to go too.

So take heart when you read the Christmas story – God is full of surprises – especially when it comes to who He will use.

Are you ready?

Merry Christmas

To Each and Every One!

Not an Afterthought

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Afterthought - an item or thing that is thought of or added later.

Have you ever received a late invite to a party?  It stings a little.  No one likes to be an afterthought.

But when it comes to God’s salvation party, you were not an afterthought.

Listen to what the bible says in 1 Peter 1: 19-21 – “God paid (for our sin) with Christ’s sacred blood. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God.”

In God’s eyes, you were just the opposite of an afterthought.  You were a forethought because God gave careful consideration of what would happen in the future and you were His focal point.  He had planned from the beginning of time to send His son Jesus to be your messiah.

You were on His mind when He prophesied about the coming of Jesus in Isaiah chapter 9.  You were on His mind when He sent an angel to visit Mary.  You were on His mind when baby Jesus came into the world and you were on His mind when Jesus died on the cross.

He did it all for you!

This Christmas season rejoice in the King who had you on His invitation list from the beginning of time.

Promise and Provision

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:29-32

Oh, no - we are not going to simply pass by these words of Simeon:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised.”

Those first two words – sovereign Lord –speak not only of a title but also to the possible actions of the person holding that title.

Sovereign means – one who exercises supreme authority while Lord is defined as – one having power and authority over others.

You would think the person described by those words would not need to make promises, let alone keep them!

Yet, they were made, not by a person, but by the Almighty God.

Christmas is a promise kept from God to you and me!

Way back on the mountain words were spoken to Abraham after he was stopped from sacrificing his son Isaac on an altar.

Those words were that God would provide the Lamb.

Christmas represents both the promise kept and the provision given.

Jesus was, and is, the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

We can rejoice in the promise and the provision no less than Simeon did way back on that day when Jesus was brought into the Temple by Mary and Joseph.

Unexpected Ways

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:29-32

These words were spoken by a man named Simeon.

What was it that he saw that caused him to make the statement that he did?

Was he an eyewitness to David slaying Goliath?

No!

Was he one of those who crossed over onto dry land as Moses held up his rod?

No!

Did he see the walls of Jericho crumble before his very eyes?

No again!

What he saw and what he declared as Gods’ salvation and a light to the Gentiles was a little baby he had taken into his arms to hold.

That’s right, it was the baby Jesus as his parents brought him to the temple to be presented to the Lord.

A little baby – Gods salvation to the Nations.

A little baby – not a battle hardened warrior prepared to overthrow Gods’ enemies.

A little baby – who grew up to become Gods’ sacrificial lamb.

A little baby – because God will not always come to us in expected ways.

Are you looking for Him this season?

He may speak or minister to you in those unexpected ways.

Listen for His voice.

When the Divine Invades the Routine

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”  

Luke 2:8-9

Life can become very routine.

It probably was for those shepherds that night.

Same flock, different night.

One moment they are caring for their sheep just like any other night.

The next moment?

Well, it says they were terrified.

It wasn’t routine any longer.

Their night was interrupted by the divine.

God sent an angel with a message for them.  

Their sudden terror was turned to wonder and joy at that message.

Are you living a day-to-day routine life?

Don’t rule out the sudden visit of God into your circumstances.

As a matter of fact, the wonder and joy of that first Christmas can still be with you and me.

After all, Emanuel still means – “God with us.”

He is with us just as He was with those who crowded around that manger so many years ago.

Let the divine interrupt your routine this Christmas!  

Consider That!

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  

Matthew 1:20-21

“But after he had considered this...”

Considered what?

What was it that Joseph was mulling over in his mind?

Looking back at the earlier part of the chapter we find that after careful consideration Joseph, the man Mary was to marry, was preparing to quietly divorce Mary.

But God would not let this man’s fear or doubt cause the Christmas story to be rewritten.

An angel visited Joseph in a dream and his will became aligned with Gods.

I wonder what we would do.

After all, Mary’s story was quite remarkable and Joseph was a devout man, presumably knew the Law and the Prophets and yet certainly could not have found it happening before anywhere in Gods’ law.

What was he to make of it?

I wonder how many times our ‘considerations’ have caused us to miss the unfolding plans of God in our own lives.

We think to ourselves, perhaps just as Joseph did, this can’t possibly be God.

And yet, we know by the rest of the story that it was indeed God moving in a way most any ‘rational’ and ‘considerable’ person would find hard to believe or accept.

God intervened for Joseph but He may not always intervene when our faith is overcome by our ‘consideration’.

As we are in this remarkable season of Christmas perhaps it is a good time to reflect on any decisions we may have made or are ‘considering’ that would allow our faith to be squashed while our reason wins out.

Consider that!

Arming the Enemy

Today’s blog posting is from David Trotta:

Note: I am always encouraged and challenged by David’s postings and so look forward to how God will speak through him each Friday as he contributes. Please take advantage of what God has for us through what He shares through David! God Bless each one of you – Stephen B

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)

My son in-laws can be big kids at heart.  Around the holidays they will sometimes come to the house armed with their nerf guns and run around the house shooting each other.  During some of the more intense battles, I’ve even seen them move furniture and tip over tables to provide cover as they launch their attacks.

One thing I love is how they share their weaponry and ammo to ensure anyone who wants to partake in the battle can do so.  The more the merrier they say, but once the shooting starts, every man for himself.

Arming the enemy during a nerf war is fun, but arming the enemy in real life can have tragic consequences.

The other day, during a time of reflection on the Lord, a random thought paraded across my mind, totally interrupting my time with the Lord.  At first I became angry at the evil one for shooting his fiery darts, but then I realized the thought was just a repeat of something I had recently seen while watching a movie.

At that moment, the Lord impressed upon me that I was “arming the enemy.”  By not being diligent with what I allowed my eyes to see, I was giving the evil one ammo to use against me at the opportune time.

We need to stop arming the enemy.  In Philippians 4:8, the bible says to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and worthy of praise.  When we do, we greatly limit the ammo our enemy can use against us.

We are in a spiritual war with a very real foe and the last thing we should be doing is arming the enemy.

The ‘Big Three’!

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you, whom you have received from God?

You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.”  

Matthew 5:43-44

If I asked you how you could honor God with your body how would you answer that?

It’s the easy way out to say (like the old quote we’ve probably all heard):

“Don’t smoke, don’t chew, and don’t run with the boys who do.”

We run to the obvious – Don’t use drugs, don’t use alcohol, don’t use cigarettes.

While that may be admirable I think it misses the point of these verses.

There often are a thousand acceptable things we can do with our bodies that may not be good for us spiritually.

How about feeding it?

Not overeating, not gorging but just having good nutritious food?

Surely that can’t be wrong can it?

Well, yes – if God is drawing you to fast and you are resisting because its’ too hard on your body then maybe you are missing an opportunity to honor God with your body.

 It doesn’t mean you need to broadcast your fast to the world in order to bring Him glory either.  

Quiet, private obedience can be powerful to honoring God.

How about getting up in the middle of the night and praying when the Spirit of the Lord wakes you?

“But its’ soooo hard, especially now when its’ cold at night in the house.”

Simple ways to honor God or to not!

Maybe they are a bit less obvious than the ‘big three’ but you can be sure God is honored through your acts of obedience!

Red Letter Growth

“You have heard that it was said,

‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”  

Matthew 5:43-44

Go the red letters.

They will challenge you.

They will surprise you.

They will reprogram your soul.

That is necessary if you want to continue to grow your spirit and bring your soul and body into submission to it.

When He spoke, Jesus words often amazed and shocked people.

He said things that people were not expecting to hear.

Words like: “...love your enemies...”

Who would want to do that?

Why would they want to?

Yet Paul would later write:

“While we were yet sinners Christ died for us...”

Jesus spoke a hard word but He demonstrated how it could be fulfilled.

Jesus gave us ‘Kingdom thoughts’ to ponder and not worldly ones.

Consider them, meditate on them, live them out in obedience.

Growth in What Matters Most

“Therefore we do not lose heart.

Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  

II Corinthians 4:16

Imagine the man whose body, soul and spirit flow together in perfect synergy so that God gets all the glory from that Life!

Do you want that for you own life?

Then what we need to understand is the role (or the order, if you will ) of spirit, soul and body and that the spiritually mature man feeds the spirit and brings the soul and body into submission to his own spirit which in turn is in submission to the Holy Spirit.

Though your natural body may be ‘wasting away’, not so the spirit of a man.

It can be renewed (made new) day by day.

Intimate communion, obedience and fellowship with the Spirit of God renews our spirit every day.

There is story after story of men and woman who have lost significant use of parts of their body and yet their relationship with God is soaring.

How come?

Because that relationship is built through our spirit and God’s spirit!

Our attention, our focus then should be on continually developing my spirit to its fullest potential.

How do we do that?

By walking with, listening to and obeying the Spirit of God.

A Life Fully Surrendered

“...Father, into your hands I commit my spirit...”   

Luke 23:46

My spirit is my connection to God.

My soul is my mind, my will and my emotions.

My body is my entire physical structure that is comprised of 5 senses that are designed to enable me to live with great pleasure and joy.

Now that we have established that let me ask a question.

Body, soul or spirit, which one is dominant in your life?

Trouble answering that question?

Let me rephrase it a bit -

Which one calls the shots?

Is your body brought into subjection to you spirit or does it rule the roost?

Maybe it’s’ your reasoning or emotions that gets top billing.

The mature believer has allowed his spirit to grow.

He has learned what it means to use his soul and his body for the glory of God.

Jesus demonstrated that perfectly in His surrender at the cross.

It was His body hanging on the tree, His will surrendered to the Father and His spirit committed into the Fathers’ hands.

That is a life fully surrendered.

Health Check

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

My laptop computer came equipped with health check software.  Every few weeks the software automatically performs a scan of the hardware components in my computer and suggests recommended actions to improve performance.  It even performs a checkup if my system is running slowly and searches for corrupted files and attempts to repair them.

The Holy Spirit has a similar role in our spiritual life.  He will often search our hearts for things that keep us from drawing closer to God and then He works to remove those hindrances.

He will show us things in our life we need to walk away from because they are corrupting our hearts and causing us to operate at a spiritual level far below what God intended.

As important as my health check software is, it often slows down my computer while it’s scanning my system.  That can be very annoying, especially when I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to wait for the scan to finish (which is often).

  In those situations, I will often stop the scanning process with the good intention to turn it back on later when I’m not busy.  Well, as you can imagine, that time never comes.

Do you feel the Lord’s spotlight shining on an area of your life?  Is He trying to slow you down so He can gently begin to work on an area of your life?

Don’t abort the process by ignoring Him.  Instead, stop, listen, and yield to the Potter’s hand.  He has one goal in mind – to fashion you into the beautiful image of His son.

When a computer system is left unchecked, the small problems will grow into big problems and eventually lead to hardware failure.  When we resist the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, we cripple our spiritual growth and set us on a path of destruction and unfulfilled expectations.

God Your Rescuer

“Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.”  

Psalm 25:20

Training wheels, a learner’s permit, a job coach – all of these examples and more are ways we are given to learn new skills.

We are “broken in” and introduced to these new skills with the assistance of some ‘parameters’ that are later removed when we master the skill.

As we read the first chapter of Jeremiah, it seems that he is given no ‘breaking in’ period.

His very first word to the Nation of Judah is recorded and would be received by most anyone as a harsh word of judgment.

Yet God told Jeremiah that he knew him in his mother’s womb.

All of Jeremiah’s life had prepared him for the call of God on him.

This, by no means, implies it was easy.

As a matter of fact God reassures Jeremiah that He will rescue him.

Most people don’t need to be rescued from easy situations.

People in a ‘pinch’ or in dangerous situations need to be rescued.

Do you find yourself in need of rescue today?

Do you feel like the training wheel season skipped past you?

God will rescue you.

Step into the calling He has for you and move forward with the

Understanding that God will be your rescuer!

Carnivore Christians

“I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.”  

I Corinthians 3:2a

Jealousy, quarrels, divisions and worldliness are all signs of an immature church.

Paul elaborates on this in I Corinthians 3:1-4.

When many in the church at Corinth should have been “...eating meat...” they were still on milk.

The Apostle was both direct and honest with the church when they could not or would not be honest with themselves.

All local church bodies need oversight that will be direct and honest with them.

Self-examination is a good thing but we can often overlook our own weaknesses and blind spots.

We need those who will, as necessary, point out where we are missing the mark.

Is your shepherd lovingly caring for you and sometimes dealing with those things you would rather ignore?

Don’t let the words he is speaking or the counsel he is bringing create offense or bitterness in you.

Rather let them cause you to recognize and grow in the way that you need to.

Maybe it’s time to be fed some meat!

Cliché

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is the Messiah, the Lord.”  

Luke 2:10-11

Yep, I know you’ve heard it!

But I’m gonna say it anyway –

“He’s the Reason for the Season.”

But let me turn that clichés meaning around just a bit.

How about we make sure to make His reasons impact our season.

Take Him out of the manger and bring Him to work with you.

He’s with you already so why not acknowledge it.

I know, I know, it’s not politically correct to mention Him at work.

But the Holy Spirit can be very creative in His ways to direct our conversations when we let Him.

Ask the Holy Spirit today to help you introduce Jesus to others.

You might just be surprised how He opens those doors of opportunity.

I once had a co-worker tell me his son wanted to dress up as the ‘Holy Ghost’ for Halloween.

That started a conversation with him about spiritual things, causing him to think about more than just what his son was wearing on October 21^st.

So, here’s the challenge:

Will you let His reasons impact your season?   

Painting a Picture For Us

“these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?

In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

I Corinthians 2:10-13

The artist paints a picture.

It is very abstract.

It is more like a Picasso than a DaVinci.

We stare at it trying to understand what the artist was conveying.

But full understanding is with the artist that painted it because it was his imagination that put pant to canvas and he alone is best able to interpret what he saw.

Only as he reveals do we begin to understand.

Only as he reveals do we begin to gain insight into the artist’s full meaning.

So it is with us and the Spirit of God.

Only as He reveals to our spirit do we gain understanding into the things of God, or for that matter, into our purpose in life.

The abstract becomes clear because He has put His Spirit in us and brings our spirit understanding, revelation, light and life.

Paul spoke of this in I Corinthians 2:10-13.

God we thank you for revelation!

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:12)

Over the last year or so, I have been visiting a dear friend who suffers from a debilitating disease that has crippled his body.  It is very difficult for him to perform even the most basic bodily functions, like walking, talking, and feeding himself.  Things that we take for granted every day.

I visit to encourage him, but I’m the one that always leaves encouraged.  Encouraged because he shows me that it’s possible to love God passionately even when the world around you is upside down and you are going through incredible hardship.

Even in the midst of great hardship, my friend has not lost his love for God.  He expresses the same love and passion for his King that he had when I knew him years ago before the sickness ravished his body.

There is a fragrance about him, the fragrance of someone who is no longer held prisoner by the physical attachments to the things of this world.  Like a bird released from its cage, his spirit has been released to worship God in a way many of us will never experience.

He still prays for physical healing, along with so many people that love him, but in reality, he is already healed.  Healed from the emotional attachments to this world.

Some day he is going to leave his body.  It will no longer hold him back.  The shackles will be taken off.  But as I write this, I realize he isn’t shackled at all.  He is freer than most people who don’t have any physical limitations.

As A. W. Tozer wrote about in the Pursuit of God, my friend has learned the “blessedness of possessing nothing.”