For Your Ears Only?

“So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah

 and to all those living in Jerusalem... ”

Jeremiah 25:2

  

Often the Word of the Lord was delivered by a Prophet to a King or the leaders of the people.

In Jeremiah 25 and the first two verses we are twice told that the word was for all the people of Judah.

So many times we may hear a word for someone else and think that because it is specific to them we are ‘free and clear’ of anything spoken.

But often there can be great value in hearing and applying what may be spoken to another person.

Sure, this is not always the case.

God often will speak specific things to specific individuals meant for them alone.

The word the angel Gabriel brought to Mary comes to mind.

But don’t always be so quick to disregard the word God is speaking to so-and-so.

Because there is still great value in all God speaks.

Besides, if there are no coincidences with God then perhaps He has a purpose in you hearing that word.

Jeremiah’s words to Judah and all its’ people still carries wisdom. Lessons and value to us today!

Faithfully Working in Us

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6

Did you ever stop and think about how the Old Testament is written for our benefit?

Sometimes we read through it as if it is nothing more than fairy tales.

There are people who would tell you that that is all it is.

Don’t you believe it!

Every part of scripture is God breathed and that includes the Old Testament.

There is truth contained in every verse, every chapter and every book of the Bible.

It is there to teach us.

Paul declares in I Corinthians 10:6

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”

Is it working?

Look around in many churches.

Do you find any modern day Moses’, Joshua’s and Caleb’s?

Maybe not always but the good news is God is at work in His children.

He is faithful and He is purifying His bride.

We are not perfect, we all have a ways to go but He is faithful to complete the work in us that He has begun.

He will work in those yielded to Him.

Are you surrendered to His work today?

Pleasing God

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,”

I Timothy 2:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

Moses, did you bring us out here to die?

I am paraphrasing the question the Children of Israel were asking as they were in the wilderness.

They genuinely rejoiced at the deliverance God had given them in parting the Red Sea in order to escape from their Egyptian pursuers but when things weren’t going the way the people thought they should go their leader, Moses, got all the blame.

That can still happen today.

We say, with confidence, we are walking by faith but let a speed bump slow us down and we are ready to turn on those God has placed as leaders among us.    

“I think...”

“If I were in charge...”

“How come he doesn’t...”

A hundred and one suggestions can be made from well behind the front lines.

Maybe a better approach is to pray for those in authority?

Maybe, just maybe we are commanded to do that.

It might bring a little less grumbling and a little more revelation.

Have you prayed for your leaders today?

Beware of the Familiar

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

During a past trip to the Epcot theme park in Disney, I was watching the much anticipated fireworks display at the end of a long, but fun-filled day.  The fireworks did not disappoint.  They were spectacular, just as I had heard, but I noticed something odd as I was watching them.  People were walking by in front of me, but they were paying no mind to the grand fireworks display right above their heads.

As I observed them passing by, I surmised they must have worked at the theme park or were regular visitors.  Whatever the reason, they probably saw the fireworks display enough times that it had become common place to them.  They were no longer awed by the display.  Something spectacular had become familiar to them.

Sometimes we can slip into that mindset with God.  After we walk with Him for a length of time, we allow Him to become familiar to us and we forget about how truly wonderful He is.

We forget that He is all powerful, all sufficient, and all loving.  We forget that He keeps the universe humming along and yet knows the number of hairs on our head.

When we allow Him to become familiar, we enter that very dangerous place of becoming lukewarm in our passion for Him, and we all know how God feels about lukewarm followers.  Revelation 3:16 says “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

I think a fitting definition for lukewarm in this context could very well be described as experiencing something great and unique (God!) and letting it become familiar or common place to us.

Let’s determine in our hearts to fight against familiarity when it comes to the things of God. When He is speaking, whether it’s through His word or one of His vessels in the pulpit, let’s be sure to incline our ear and listen with intent, putting aside all distractions.

Let’s constantly remind ourselves of how privileged we are to be children of God.  Let’s not take any of His provision for granted.  In other words, let’s always take time to stop and stand in awe at His constant display of greatness around us.

True Security

“I warned you when you felt secure,

    but you said, ‘I will not listen!’

This has been your way from your youth;

    you have not obeyed me.”

Jeremiah 22:21

  

Security can sometimes be harmful!

How?

When we ‘feel’ we are secure it is easy to think that we do not need God.

We become complacent and self-assured in our security.

We are confident, even though it is a misplaced confidence, that our security was created and will be sustained by our own hands.

God says, through His prophet Jeremiah, that He had warned Judah and its’ leaders when they ‘felt’ secure.

True and lasting security can only come from God.

He can raise up or bring down nations in a day.

Judah’s king and its’ leaders ‘felt’ secure and in that false sense of security they told God, in essence, ‘We will not listen to your words of impending destruction because we ‘feel’ secure!’

Feelings are very unreliable foundations on which to build.

Especially when those feelings are contrary to what God is saying.

You can trust your feelings or you can trust Gods’ Word as revealed through scriptures or as spoken through His prophets.

Who Rules the Roost?

“No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave...”

I Corinthians 9:27a

Paul knew that his body needed to be brought under subjection to his spirit and to the Spirit of God.

Too often, in our own lives, we might rewrite the verse above to read this way:

No, I beat my spirit and make it my slave.

In our weakness we turn Paul’s instruction on its’ head.

We give priority and preeminence to our bodies at the expense of our spirits.

This, when done, magnifies the physical over the spiritual in our lives.

Then we question why we do not hear more clearly or more frequently from the Spirit of God.

We have chosen the body over the spirit time after time and grown accustomed to satisfying its’ demands.

We quickly know how to satiate the cravings of the flesh but are at a loss to the things of God because our hearing has become dull.   

Learn, as Paul did, to daily bring your body into submission to the spirit.

As you do you will recognize an increased sensitivity to the Spirit of God.

Mood Swings

“Sing to the Lord!

    Give praise to the Lord!

He rescues the life of the needy

    from the hands of the wicked.

Cursed be the day I was born!

    May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!

Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,

    who made him very glad, saying,

    “A child is born to you—a son!”

Jeremiah 20:13-15

In Jeremiah Chapter 20 we can almost hear the mixed emotions in the prophet as he prays.

Verses 7-10 speak of discouragement followed by verses 11-13 which voice the greatness of God then back to the last verses of the chapter where Jeremiah regrets ever being born.

And you thought you had mood swings!

The scriptures are faithful of telling the stories of men and women of God warts and all.

They are often heroes one moment and cowards or failures the next.

They do not present only the ‘halo’ side of people.

The stories are real and the people are real.

There are certainly days when you may think your halo was knocked off when you grew the horns!

We can readily identify with people like Jeremiah because he is ‘people like us’.

We recognize in the ‘heroes’ of scripture our own failures and shortcomings.

Have you ever taken the time to express your gratitude to God for not presenting a picture of people who are always and only perfect?

He alone is the perfect one.

We all fall short.

Thank God for His wonderful mercy displayed in their lives and ours!

Living Wisely and Generously

“Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”

I Corinthians 9:7-11

It is not wrong for those who minister full time to be supported through the giving of those they minister to.

Where we have often gone astray in all of this is where human nature takes us – to excess!

When a ministry impact grows and the numbers of those we minister to grows should we take more and more for ourselves and allow the lifestyle to become more and more lavish?

I believe the answer is ‘no’.

God is not opposed to wealth – we need look no further than many of the Patriarchs.

But we must be aware of what our calling is and what our witness to others is.

A wise heart will accumulate much and a generous heart will share.

Surely we can expect to be supported by those to whom we minister but should that support include extravagant homes, boats, jets, lavish and frequent vacations, etc...

We must be careful to remember both our priorities and purpose in life.

When God blesses us greatly we do not abdicate our role as wise stewards of that blessing.

What are your expectations filled with?

Todays’ blog post is contributed by David Trotta

If you know the story in the Old Testament book of Numbers, twelve Israelites went ahead to spy out the Promised Land.  Ten returned with fear-filled expectations because of the fortified cities and giants in the land.  They were so afraid they actually preferred returning to Egypt where they were held in bondage as slaves rather than trying to take the land God had promised.

But two spies – Caleb and Joshua – came back with hope-filled expectations.  They wanted to move forward and take the land regardless of what obstacles were in the way.  They knew that if God was for them, nothing could stand against them.

God recognized the different (hope-filled) spirit within Caleb and Joshua and made this declaration in Numbers 14:24 “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

God was compelled to act on behalf of Caleb and Joshua because of the spirit of hope within them.  The rest of the Israelites, those who grumbled and let fear hold them back, wandered in the wilderness until they died.

God will honor our expectations even when they are not His expectations for us.

How many times has fear kept you from entering God’s promise land for you?  Fear paralyzes us and keeps us in the wilderness to die a slow death of unrealized potential.

The next time you are faced with an opportunity and God is nudging you to move forward, mediate on God’s goodness until your heart is overflowing with hope-filled expectations.

We must be intentional about our expectations, because they will have a big impact on our lives and determine whether we wander in the wilderness or take the promised land.

Are You a Stumbling Block?

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”

I Corinthians 8:9

How considerate are you and I of others?

I mean, even in the church, do we live our lives and exercise our freedom in Christ with only a view to ourselves?

Have we forgotten that we need to consider others and how our behavior impacts their walk?

Does consideration of others cause us to refrain from things we might otherwise have engaged in or do we go headlong forward in the freedom given regardless of what others may conclude from our actions?

This is what Paul is addressing in I Corinthians 8:7-13.

There, he encourages us to act with others in mind and to surrender (as it were) our freedom or liberty in Christ so as not to offend or guide a weaker brother or sister in the wrong direction for them.

Do we respond in the considerate way or do we think to ourselves:

“I’m free to do this and they just need to grow up and understand that!”

I think we know which one is the self-centered response and which one is the Christ-centered response.

Is God Always Good?

“Surely your goodness and love will follow

me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalm 23:6

God is good.

How many times have you heard that expression?

Do you believe it is true?

No, no, I mean really?

It is easy to answer yes but it is a bit tougher to live life like we believe it all the time!

Your spouse just got some terrible medical news – do you still believe it?

The job you thought was custom made for you was just given to someone else – do you still believe it?

Is God still good?

You face bankruptcy or worse.

How can God be good when all these things are happening to you?

How can I trust in His goodness when I am crushed beneath my circumstances?

By knowing that His love and His goodness toward us do not change even when my circumstances are dire.

Yes, we will face some very dire circumstances in life.

During those times God does not cease to be God nor does His goodness end.

Lay your head on your pillow tonight with the confident assurance that whatever the last twenty-four hours of your life has been like – God is still good – all the time!

Whose Word Sways You?

“They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”

Jeremiah 18:18

In Jeremiah 18 we read of a three-way “conversation” between God, His prophet Jeremiah and the rebellious people of Judah.

God calls the people to repent or He will bring disaster and destruction upon them.

Their response to God is basically to say ‘Bring it on!’

Then, secure and comfortable with the ear-tickling good reports given by all of the (and there were many) false prophets, they attack the one prophet who was truly speaking on Gods’ behalf and carrying Gods’ message.

The false prophets were much more palatable with their good and comforting messages. They simply said what everyone wanted to hear – what difference does it make if it carried no truth!

They plot to ‘kill’ Jeremiah with their tongue – a very powerful weapon indeed.

What they failed to understand was that he was just the messenger.

The one they were really resisting was the Lord.

What lesson is there in this?

When you carry Gods’ word – even the hard ones – be faithful and courageous to deliver it just as Jeremiah was.

Deliver it as He desires and not fearing what man can do!

Gods’ favor is infinitely better than mans!

Gods’ Heart

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.”

Acts 12:1-3a

  

What events occurring in the lives of other people do you rejoice in?

When your enemies die or are killed how do you react?

Many may recall with horror those who were rejoicing and literally dancing in the streets when the 911 attack occurred in New York City in 2001.

Is that how you would respond when your own personal enemy is killed?

We must always be vigilant concerning our heart attitude even when it comes to the fate of those who were genuinely hurting us or others.

We can certainly rejoice in the fact that the evil the person has done has ended.

But what of their eternity?

God is not willing that any should perish.

Of course many do die in their sins, never repenting, never finding their way to the foot of the cross.

This is never a cause for rejoicing.

Be careful if you say: “I hope you rot in hell!”

That is never the heart of God toward any of His creation.

In Acts 12:1-4 we find that the Jewish leaders rejoiced when Herod had James, the brother of John, put to death.

How far they had slipped from the heart of God!

May we never find ourselves in that place and think it is OK.

Authentic Love

Today’s bog post is contributed by David Trotta:

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him. (1 John 4:16)

                                                                     

All love emanates from God.  He is the author and source of authentic love.  He IS love.

When we allow God’s love to emanate through us, we become a living expression of that love, which allows us to fully love ourselves and others.

But apart from Him, the best we can muster up is a counterfeit love.

Sure, it may look like love on the outside, but the motive of our heart is a true give away to our love’s authenticity.

Authentic loves says “I want to.”  Counterfeit loves says “I have to.” 

Which is often the motive of your heart when serving God and others?

If the latter, run to God and stay there.  Cause your heart to sit at His feet throughout the day.  Allow your thoughts and affections to remain on Him.

The more you abide (remain) in Him throughout the day, the greater measure of His love will flow from you.

Acts of love will come naturally because it will be His love emanating from you. Authentic love that comes from God will always compel us to “do.”

Counterfeit love is all too common in the world today, but God’s wants to change that by causing His church (you and me) to become an expression of His authentic love on the earth.

Are you ready?

Sin Cleanser

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”

Jeremiah 17:1

Sin leaves a mark!

Despite our most vehement denials it still can leave a lasting imprint in the soul.

We may deny but that will not change the truth.

What, then, is capable of removing the engraving, the inscription?

Only the blood of Jesus Christ!

His blood is effective to not only remove the sting of sin but even the very memory of it.

“What can wash away my sin

nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

“Are you washed in the blood

In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?”

Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow.

Are you washed in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?”

A Wonderful Expectation!

“You have rejected me,” declares the Lord.

    “You keep on backsliding.

So I will reach out and destroy you;

    I am tired of holding back.”

Jeremiah 15:6

  

We often think of perseverance as a positive and admirable attribute.

Most often it is.

But Jeremiah15:6 speaks of it being just the opposite in the rebellious ways of Gods’ people.

It says’ in part: “...you keep on backsliding...”

They rejected Him over and over with their behavior.

We can be guilty of that as well if we continue to stubbornly persevere in our sin.

It certainly is nothing to boast about.

But it is something God can help us change.

Even in this area of our lives, what are you expectations?

Do you believe God is able to deliver you?

Or

Do you believe, and expect, that you will forever be trapped in the behavior that leads to sin?

Lets’ persevere in our expectation of freedom through the power of Christ.

Lets’ not be trapped into the expectation of surrendering to sin each time temptation presents itself.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Ephesians 3:16-17

Now that is a wonderful expectation and worth persevering in!

Breathe in Life!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

There is an old adage I vaguely remember from years ago that went something like this:

“In goes the good air, out goes the bad.”

It was speaking of every breath we inhale and exhale.

We inhale oxygen rich air from the atmosphere and we exhale carbon dioxide.

Our expectations can be a lot like that old adage too.

Your life will expand because of your hope filled expectations or your life will be reduced because of your fear filled expectations.

God gives us a hope and a future.

He is indeed that good, good Father we sing about.

But we choose what we will expect.

Two people can face the exact same circumstances and yet one can be filled with hope and expectation for good while the other is filled with fear and an expectation for the worst possible outcome.

Take God at His Word!

Believe and know that His plans for you are indeed good and allow that expectation and hope to inform your behavior.

Breath in life!

What Are You Expecting?

Feast or famine?

Poor house or provision?

Blessing or blasting?

Our expectations set the groundwork for so much in our lives.

Both good and bad!

Listen to these words from Job 3:25 –

“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”

We find a window into Jobs’ thinking in that verse.

His expectation was for calamity and not calm.

So often our expectations track the same way –

we anticipate trouble, we expect the worst and not the best.

Guess what we get?

Where is God in this process?

He is right there beside us reminding of His word to us to transform our minds.

What are you expecting?

Only One You

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

My son loves to collects coins.  Over the years he has become very knowledgeable on what coins are worth a lot of money and which ones are not.

I recently asked him what the number one factor is in determining the value of a coin.  Without hesitation he said it was the number of coins made.  The fewer the coins in existence, the more valuable they are.

For example, there were about twenty-six million 1912P Liberty Head Nickels made. Today, such a nickel in perfect condition is worth about $20.

The very next year, only five 1913 Liberty Head Nickels were made.  Recently, just one of those nickels sold for 3.2 million dollars.

That’s one of the reasons why you are so valuable to God.  In all the world with its billions of people, there is only one you.

And when God created you, He didn’t just throw you together.  In verse 16, Psalm 139 goes on to say that He planned out all the days of your life before you were even born.

He thought about how He was going to weave together all your complex parts before He even started the process.  That’s how careful and precise He was.  Nothing about you is a mistake.

There is only one you in the whole world, and just like the coin collector who values that rare coin, you are extremely valuable to God.

Looking for the Voice of God

“This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist. Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.

Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor.

But they have not listened.’

Jeremiah 13:1-11

In Jeremiah Chapter 13 God had the prophet Jeremiah use a linen belt as a prophetic demonstration – a sort of ‘show-and-tell’ – to the people of Judah.

Perhaps it was as much to the prophet himself as well.

Sometimes God will instruct us in ways that don’t seem to add up at the time, but we see from these verses how each command had purpose.

With the prophet Jeremiah’s obedience to each step God directed him in the Word of the Lord brought understanding to him as a well as a very visual warning to the people of Judah.

God used something ordinary, in this case a belt, to communicate a divine message.

He still can, and does, do that today.

Look for His lessons to you in the ‘ordinary’ things of the day.

Maybe it’s a sunrise, a near miss at work or something else that He uses to teach you today.

So, don’t only listen for His voice but look for it too!