Declaring Your Expectations

“He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

John 20:15

Sometimes Jesus would ask a question which seemed to have an obvious answer.

Like asking the blind man, “What would you have me do?”

You almost half expect the blind man to answer –

“What do you think I want, can’t you see I’m blind?”

But Jesus was not one to waste words.

His question was not incidental nor was it an ice-breaker.

He had purpose in asking as He did.

He was drawing out that person’s expectation.

He did it with the blind man and He did it with the woman with the issue of blood.

“Who touched me?” He asked.

But He was seeking something form each of them and so many others.

He was seeking their expectation, their faith.

He was giving them the opportunity to declare their need and their faith in the one who alone could meet those needs.  

Are your expectations expressed?

Do they find a way into your conversation with God?

Indeed, He knows your heart and your desires even before you express them but He waits for that declaration of faith, that declaration from you to Him of your expectations.

Sometimes, silence isn’t golden!

Be GLEEful

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Webster’s dictionary defines gleeful as “exuberantly or triumphantly joyful.”

How gleeful are you on a day-to-day basis?

Many Christ followers struggle to have a joyful mindset.  Instead, we walk around with a woe-is-me mentality filled with gloom and discouragement.

I get it.  Life can throw a lot of curve balls that knock us off our game, but we always have a choice to look at life through God’s lense and not the lense of our circumstances.

This past Sunday, my pastor laid out some biblical truths to help us repent of our negative mentality and begin to think like the children of God we are.

I took the liberty of turning those truths into a GLEEful acronym.

G – Get rid of the old belief system!  Romans 12:2 says “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

L – Let go of the past!  Philippians 3:13-14 says “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

E – Enjoy the present!  Psalm 118:24 says “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

E – Expect the best in everything!  Romans 8:28 says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, or those who are called according to his purpose.”

Will you commit to applying the above truths to your life so you can enjoy a GLEEful mentality?

Expecting Your Expectations

“Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them.

Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.

Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites.”

Numbers 14: 6-10

When you read the account of Joshua and Caleb and compare it to the report brought by the other ten spies you might be inclined to think they had spied out an entirely different land.

They hadn’t.

Why the big difference in their reports?

So much of it had to do with their expectations.

Joshua and Caleb spied out the land with great expectation.

They knew it was the land God had promised them and so their confidence was not shaken by the size of the enemy or of its army.

Instead they spied it out knowing that God was well able to give them the land.

They were not shaking in their boots because their expectation was in God keeping His promise to them.

They spoke boldly...

“...we will devour them...the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Needless to say their confidence was not well received nor was it contagious.

Nonetheless it was true and God would eventually honor their expectations while also honoring the expectations of the ten spies too!

It is a good thing to examine your expectations.

You can expect to receive them!

Can God Handle My Cliff Hanger?

“All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Numbers 14:2-24

Talk about a negative mindset!

Keep in mind this grumbling of the Israelites took place after God had delivered them from the Egyptian Pharaoh and his army.

He had parted the Red Sea so that they could pass through.

Yet now, they expected nothing good.

All they could attribute to God was a troublesome future planned out for them.

They refused to believe God could deliver them again.

Their expectation was of calamity and not of deliverance.

Perhaps God was only capable of one mighty act?

We may shake our heads in disbelief at their lack of faith but how often are we guilty of doing likewise?

God provides, protects or performs supernaturally for us but we soon forget.

Our next cliff-hanger is just too big for God – or so we think.

After all, what He did before cannot be repeated!

Instead of expecting the best we anticipate the worse.

We even confess as the Israelites did –

“Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?”

God is well able to deliver you, not just once or twice; He is well able to deliver you as many times as needed and in as many ways.

Do you believe that?

Is that your expectation today?

I don’t know what giant you are facing but I know the God we serve.

His arm is not suddenly shortened that He cannot deliver you.

Expect Him to bring you through!

I Expect...

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

    in the morning I lay my requests before you

    and wait expectantly.”

Psalm 5:3

There used to be a popular expression among Christian circles many years ago that went something like this –

I expect a miracle!

It does beg the question – what are you expecting today?

Are you looking for and expecting good things in your life?

If you are a follower of Christ our expectations should be anchored in His Word and what He speaks concerning us.

Miracles, healing, provision, protection and blessing are our portion.

To expect less is to expect is to live below His plans for you.

Some days come and try to suck the life out of you.

You don’t have to live in a way that accepts that.

Remember your Father loves you and has good plans for you.

It is the enemy of your soul who comes to rob, steal and destroy.

I think we sometimes confuse the two.

Oh, no we would never admit to those kinds of thoughts but still they invade our minds and we are sometimes guilty of entertaining them.

So let me encourage you today to expect good things from God.

 Live every minute with an anticipation of His blessings.

Look and live expectantly throughout the day.

On the Increase

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)

What qualities you ask?  Well, the preceding verses (2 Peter 1:5-7) lay them out for us…

Virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

What I find interesting in v8 is the statement that in order to keep from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the above list of qualities must be increasing in our lives.

Interesting.  So, does that mean that if they are not increasing, then my relationship with the Lord will be unproductive and barren?

Sounds like it to me.

Any healthy, living thing must be continually growing.  When it stops growing, it withers and dies.  Our relationship with the Lord is no different.  Our spiritual journey must be continually moving us forward.

Having virtue, godly knowledge, self-control, love, etc. are all good qualities and are the outward evidence of a heart surrendered to God, but when those qualities stop increasing in our lives, we become like the Dead Sea.  We become spiritually sterile.  We stop reproducing kingdom life.

Now, in order for some things to increase in our life, other things must decrease.

The qualities listed above come from a healthy heart that is wholly devoted to Jesus.  If there are areas in your life stealing your devotion to Jesus (and we all know what ours are), work to remove them so that your love for Jesus will increase and so will the qualities He cherishes.

Endure Because You Abide

““But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

In the natural realm I am waiting anxiously for the warmer temperatures that come with Spring and Summer.

It has been a cold Winter this year around these parts.

In the spiritual realm I can do without the heat that comes with troubles and trials.

But when the heat does come – and it surely will to every one of us – how deep do your roots in the Lord go?

Will they sustain you when the going gets tough?

Do they go down deep enough to not wither with the slightest of rising temps?

The fires of affliction can burn hot.

But the one who trusts in the Lord has his roots in the River of Life.

Even when tough times come they continue to flourish.

They bear fruit when others are barren.

Come what may, they endure because they abide.

Every Human Authority

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

I Peter 2:3-14

Every human authority includes policemen, teachers and bosses.

Those might easily be the ‘big three’ for many of us.

Of course children submit within their families to mom and dad but the context here is primarily dealing with civil authorities.

Of course we all struggle with those big three.

Of the policemen, we complain, “But officer I was only going 15 miles over!”

To the teachers, we lament, “My brother doesn’t get this much homework.”

Finally, our bosses, what can I say?

Who isn’t guilty of trying to find a way around the bosses’ requirements?

We even label them ‘demands’ to make our rebellion seem more justifiable.

But the author writes clearly and without equivocation –

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority...”

This is one of those scriptures where we look for the loop hole, the wiggle room, the fine print.

But we can’t find it because it says what it means!

I would challenge you today to consider how you might fulfill this command in your life.

What areas and to what authority do I struggle to submit too?

Where can I humble myself and obediently do as God commands?

Are you ready for some revelation?

Honestly ask the Holy Spirt those questions and He will be faithful to show you.

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit of the Spirit is always in season!

We never go through a time in our lives where it is o.k. not to love others.

Joy is not derived from our circumstances and we have the peace of Christ in our lives.

Maybe we are guilty of drawing too many parallels to natural fruit.

We think to ourselves that here in Western, NY apple harvest is only 2-3 months long.

Sooooo, it must be ok for my love to wax and wane.

After all, I can’t be expected to be fruitful year round can I?

Well, yes you can!

Hers’ the ‘secret’ -

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

Remain (abide) in the Vine and you will bear much fruit!

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

Sitting in the Overflow Room

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”

Romans 15:13

Have you ever had to sit in an overflow room?

It happens from time to time when the main venue is not able to accommodate the crowd that turned out.

Kinda like the ‘public’ version of the ‘Kids table’.

You remember that right?

It was the satellite card table set-up within sight of the adult table at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It was meant to handle the ‘overflow’ of relatives who were usually 12 or under.

Pity the 14 year old that was relegated to the kids table!

Overflowing relatives at holidays...but the truth is we all ‘overflow’ from our lives.

We leak out what is inside.

Some leak bitterness.

Some leak anger.

Some leak the residue of an all-consuming hobby.

Pauls’ prayer for every believer is that we all overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But in order to overflow hope we must be filled to overflowing with hope.

A vessel filled with anxiety cannot overflow hope.

So today I would challenge you with this –

Look at the overflow of your life.

Will it draw or repel others?

Will your overflow reflect Christ?

Some things worthy of consideration as you start your day.

Just Keep Pushing

Todays blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:2)

My daughter gave birth to my granddaughter last night.  What a joyous time for my daughter and son in-law.

However, the process to bring Zoe into this world didn’t start out joyful.  There were some long grueling hours involved, along with some pushing and a whole lot of pain.  As a matter of fact, the joyful part didn’t come until the very end.

All I know is when I walked into the room after it was all over, my daughter looked different.  There were no changes to her physical appearance, but her countenance was different.  At that moment, I knew my daughter was forever changed.  Maybe because she had just partnered with God to accomplish something wonderful - bringing life into this world.

After sitting with my daughter in the birthing room, I couldn’t help think about trials and tribulations we go through as Christ followers and how the process can be very difficult, but the end result brings great joy.

Some of greatest times of spiritual growth in my life occurred after some of the greatest times of pain.

It’s not always fun when God is birthing something in us.  It may require great sacrifice.  We may have to let go of our dignity.  We may have to walk away from something dear to our heart.

But regardless of the difficulty, know this!  The end result will far, far outweigh the road it took to get there.

If you know you are on God’s path, but you feel like you’re going to through a war, don’t give up hope.  Keep on pushing through and God will birth something amazing in your life and for His kingdom.

Through your perseverance He will bring new life into your world.

Unfolding Revelation

“Every word you give me is a miracle word—

    how could I help but obey?

Break open your words, let the light shine out,

    let ordinary people see the meaning.”

Psalm 119:130 (Message Translation)

 

If you were to read Psalm 119:130 in the KJV you would find that it says:

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

But listen to how so many other versions translate that word ‘entrance’.

Let me read it to you from the NIV first –

“The unfolding of your words gives light;

 it gives understanding to the simple.”  

Did you catch that? 

The word entrance is translated as ‘unfolding’. 

 Now let me read it in the Amplified version:

“The unfolding of Your [glorious] words give light; Their unfolding gives understanding to the simple (childlike). “

In these verses we find it implied that there is more than just a ‘reading’ of the word, there is an unfolding of it to reveal its’ full intention and purpose.

Just as you unfold a tablecloth, we may not be sure of what it is until it is unfolded. So often Gods’ word comes to us as if folded and carries with that folded word the invitation to enter into it for the unfolding (the understanding) of all of it.

Hindsight is 20-20

““But when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his Son, born of woman,

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,

so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Galatians 4:4-6

Who likes a good mystery like Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie?

 Who enjoys a treasure hunt?

Who has fun playing charades?

Who remembers a TV Show from the 1950’s where you were required to name a tune after hearing just a few notes?

These all have something in common – the further along you go, whether with a mystery novel, a treasure hunt or a game of charades, the closer you are to arriving at a solution.

What mystery writer supplies the answer on page one?

More often it is at the end of the book isn’t it?

They take you all the way through – building suspicion and suspense perhaps on a particular character and then surprise you at the end by revealing that the ‘butler did it’!

What good is a partially unfolded treasure map?

Buried treasure is discovered at the very end of the hunt and not at step 1. First you have to sail to a remote island, walk 1000 paces from the beach, turn left at the coconut tree and follow the map down a dense jungle path before you are even close!

The solution to a game of Charades is more evident with the more clues that are offered and we can all probably name that tune when 650 notes are played!

In many ways Gods’ actions in our lives may seem like a mystery.

He speaks to us and we catch a glimpse of what He is doing in our life but the rest just isn’t as clear as we would like it to be.

We certainly have been on a journey with God at His Place and while we know that He is faithful we don’t always understand why we are where we are at any given moment.

And yet God knows!

But He doesn’t reveal all of the details ahead of time does He?

We are truly to walk by faith and not by sight!

Gods’ Arm Can’t Be Twisted

““But when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his Son, born of woman,

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,

so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Galatians 4:4-6

I have to admit that sometimes it irks me that I have to wait on God.

I want an answer and I want it now!

How about you, or am I the only one?

Not only is God not in a hurry, He also won’t be rushed by any amount of our tears, our prayers, our whining, our threats or any other actions we may take.

The Bible has a phrase – maybe you’ve heard it – it goes like this –

“but when the fullness of time had come...” 

Things happen exactly when God intends them to happen.

Jesus was born in the fullness of time!

Not early, not late – but right on time!

In the fullness of time!

Gods’ plans unfold just as and just when He has purposed them too. 

There is never a last minute panic in heaven where all of Gods’ plans must change because I am pouting about how slow I perceive God to be taking to answer me or change my circumstances.

C’mon, admit it – we’ve all been there thinking we can twist Gods’ arm.

He won’t be manipulated though!

He is God and we are not!

No Time Like Gods’ Time!

““But when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his Son, born of woman,

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,

so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Galatians 4:4-6

Have you ever felt like you wanted to yell something like this at God –

Give me all the answers and I want them now! 

Come on – be honest with me!

We used to have a wall plaque here at home with a similar sentiment that said –

“Lord, Give me patience and I need it now!”

We want everything now!

We have Instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant potatoes, instant this or instant that.  Drive-thru banks, pharmacies, fast-food, everything to satisfy our need to have it quicker!

I have even heard of a drive-thru church!

Sounds like a Vegas thing doesn’t it?

We don’t want to wait for answers either do we?

We’ll google it or go to Wikipedia or surf the web for an answer –

even if it’s’ not accurate.

But maybe you’ve notice – when it comes to our walk with the Lord, God is never in a hurry!

He is also never late or never early!

He is always right on time. His time!

Not for the faint of heart

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8:19-20)

Will we continue to follow Jesus when some of our comforts have been removed from our life?

  Jesus warned us that trials will come and we will go through difficult times, but it’s during those times that we need to be more committed than ever to follow Jesus.

Jesus had a way of quickly dismissing the faint of heart.  His words let it be known that He desires deeply committed followers, followers that will not run for the hills at the first sign of difficulty.

How committed of a follower are you?  Will you keep following Jesus even if your life is turned upside down?

Shallow is our faith if we only follows Jesus during times of comfort and ease.

When difficulties come, we are faced with a choice.  We can throw in the towel and take the path of least resistance even though we know it’s not God’s best for us, or we can choose to dig our heals in and determine to follow Jesus wherever He leads us.

Don’t be faint of heart.  Be strong and courageous.  I’ve heard courage described as not knowing the outcome, but moving forward anyway.

Jesus only promised to show us the next step in our journey, so following Him requires a surrendered heart and a great deal of trust, but as we follow Him, we can be confident of this – He will never leave or forsake.  We have a promise of His presence every step of the way.

No Fear

“Surely the righteous will never be shaken;

    they will be remembered forever.

They will have no fear of bad news;

    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

Psalm 112:6-7

  

What kind of person has no fear of bad news?

As you can read above it is those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

That is a pretty bold statement and not one I have always been able to live up to.

But when our hearts are fixed on the Lord we can hear and endure the news that might otherwise cause our hearts to fail.

That is because we know that He alone can rescue us in the midst of trouble or work those troubles for our good.

Remember that His plans for us are good.

 Be diligent to remind yourself of that in the middle of the struggle.

Associate with those who will encourage and stand alongside you.

It is very easy to come alongside problems and dwell in the land of ‘poor me’.

We can choose to stay in that place or move instead into His presence.

Our choice is sometimes just that simple.

Even though we most often can’t choose the news we hear.

We can choose how we respond to it!

Perfect Faithfulness

“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.”

Isaiah 25:1

“...things planned long ago.”

Imagine that, God planned wonderful things long ago without your help or mine.

He is God alone!

The Lord is worthy of exaltation and praise as the prophet wrote!

We can look back and remember His faithfulness to us but we can also rely on that faithfulness in the future.

God remains faithful from eternity past to eternity future!

Doesn’t that get you excited?

There are so many people and institutions that routinely fail us but God never will.

As the old saying goes – You can take that to the bank!

God deposits in each of our lives wonderful things like grace, mercy, compassion and kindness to name just a few.

Perfect is His faithfulness to us.

Pray for Those Who Lead the Nation

“I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.”

Jeremiah 27:12

Jeremiah 27 is a most unusual chapter in the Bible.

We find God speaking through His prophet to the nation of Judah these words:

“...serve the King of Babylon and you will live.”

Babylon was a conquering nation who had no fear or respect for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Nonetheless God required Judah (and many ‘pagan’ nations for that matter) to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, even going so far as to refer to him as “my servant.”

Could it be that the King, though pagan, better served the purposes of God than the King of Judah or Israel even if he did so unwittingly?

Could God use leaders who unlike David – do not have a heart after Him?

Of course He can and of course He does.

The Kings heart is in His hands.

We must pray for our leaders.

We are not commanded to pray for them only when we agree with their actions or only if they are serving the Lord wholeheartedly.

We must always be praying for them.

It is so very, very easy to criticize or to be angry with a President, a Prime Minister or some other leader of a country.

But we are commanded to pray for them.

We must not fall prey to the enemy’s tactic of divisiveness and protest.  

Pray for you leaders today!

Honoring the Man of God

“Well done thou good and faithful servant...”

Dr. Billy Graham

1918 – 2018

Faithful to the Gospel Message

Hitting the Pause Button

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they... ”

I Corinthians 11:28a

Self-examination is a principal taught by Paul to the Church at Corinth.

It is found in I Corinthians 11:27-34.

There he speaks of it in the context of the Lord’s Supper but it is a principal worthy of consideration at all points in our lives.

However, self-examination alone will do us no good if it is not also accompanied with repentance in those areas where we fall short.

As we examine ourselves and truly repent there is a humbleness worked in us that reduces the temptation to judge others.

Self-examination helps to reveal to us our frequent failings and in so doing takes from us the arrogance of the finger pointing of judgement we are so quick to dump on others.

It gives us pause.

As it should!

This is a good thing.

The world, rightly recognizing the hypocrisy all too evident in the church, is repelled by it.

Determine to make your life one of frequent self-examination along with the repentant heart that must accompany it.

May you walk in true humility with God and others.