The Imperfect You and the Imperfect Me

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

Ephesians 3:20

“...His power that is at work within us...”

“...His power....”

Stop and think about that for a minute.

It does not say – your power.

That is power that has no limit.

It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead that is working in you.

If any limit is found in it, it is only because we fail to surrender to His power.

To think that we could stifle the work of God in our life; why would we do such a thing?

In many cases it is because we just don’t believe that His power is even at work in us.

We think we know ourselves all too well.

How could God work in me?

You don’t know how imperfect I am.

Why just a little while ago I...

Hold it!

Does the scripture declare God will only work in those who are perfect?

Of course it doesn’t.

Yet that is how we live our lives.

Someday when I am a better person God can use me.

Oh really.

I didn’t know the work of the cross and the resurrection of Christ was dependent on your behavior.

When I’m good it applies and when I’m not, it just is unable to overcome my mistakes.

If that were true then none of us could ever be used by God.

His power is at work in us, sometimes in spite of us.

Don’t reduce the work of Christ to only being effective when you are on your best behavior!

God’s power is at work in the imperfect you and the imperfect me.

Don’t Feed the Monster!

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”

Genesis 45:5

So how do you guard your heart from rejection?

Some people believe the best way is to never trust anyone again.

That would prove to be a very lonely response and not one characteristic of a believer.

Certainly, a more effective response, and one of the first ones we must make, is to choose to move on in life; not allowing our walk with God to be paralyzed over what has happened.

It’s essential to move on if we’re to be of any use to God.

And, it’s not a choice God will make for us.

It’s up to you and me.

Joseph recognized this.

That is why he could counsel his brothers as he did in our verse today.

Sometimes we may think God waves a magic wand over us and the pain and hurt of rejection is no longer with us.

Instead, it is a deliberate choice we must make.

Not just once but every time the resentment or desire for retaliation and revenge begins to well up in us.

The more we are committed to making that good choice and the more often we do it, then the strength of the temptation to seek our own vengeance dissipates and the desire to see God’s purposes fulfilled grows in us.

In other words, don’t feed the monster!

Far Away No More

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

been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Ephesians 2:13

  

As far as the East is from the West?

Nope, we were infinitely farther away from the Father than that.

When scientists talk of open space, they speak of vast distances measured in light years and trillions of miles.

But even that does not do justice to how far away our sin removed us from a perfect God.

But that perfect God is also a loving Father.

He brought us back together through the atoning death of His Son Jesus.

The work of the cross was magnificent in its’ accomplishment but it did not end there.

Three days later the grave could no longer hold the sinless Lamb of God.

His resurrection was more than just a personal victory over death.

We are raised with Him to new life.

Yes, we were once far off through our sin.

But thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.

We now have intimate fellowship with the Lord.

That is something to shout about!

Dealing with Quadruplets

“But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.  Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.  This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.”

I Samuel 1:5-7

 

Why is it stated twice?

It clearly says that it was the Lord who closed Hannah’s womb!

Not the devil.

Not some disease or infirmity.

 Not some other reason – it was the Lord who closed it.

Certainly that's not 'feel good' theology and maybe God knew some might look for a way to soften the blow of that truth hitting us so it was repeated - as if to say - YES! I meant what I said!

But you still have to ask the question.

Why?

Why did the Lord close Hannah's womb?

I mean, after all, it’s not like it went unnoticed by others.

Because of it, she suffered humiliation and scorn from others to the point of tears.

Didn’t God understand that she was hurt?

Didn’t He care about her feelings?

Yes and yes.

But sometimes Gods’ plans are more important than our ‘feelings’.

That is not to minimize the pain that Hannah surely felt but to recognize that some of Gods’ greatest works, in and through us, are born out of pain, suffering, hardships and trials.

These are ‘quadruplets’ we’d rather not dote over: pain, suffering, hardships and trials.

You know as well as I do that they come into every person’s life.

How we respond to them, what we do with them makes all the difference as to whether God gets the glory through it or whether we throw in the towel, failing to see His purpose fulfilled.

We will look at Hannah’s response as well as the outcome of that response.

This will guide us in better understanding how we need to sometimes deal with

 the quadruplets of pain, suffering, hardships and trials.

Resurrection – What Does it Mean?

What does the resurrection of Christ mean?

No, I don’t mean – Can you simply define the word resurrection?

But if you had to put it into your own words,

what would you say the resurrection accomplished?

Asked another way – as it was posed to us this week –

Jesus was raised from the dead so that_____________________________.

How would you fill in the blank?

Let’s let scripture help us answer it.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:

 The old has gone, the new is here!”

II Corinthians 5:17

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has given us a new identity.

The old has passed away and the new has come.

That’s right, the term passed away means just what you think; dead to the old and alive to the new.

You and me are raised up with Christ into that new life.

The cross accomplished so much more than we can imagine – but so too did Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  

There was a now famous sermon preached many years ago along these lines –

It’s Friday but Sundays coming!

Thank God for the cross and the God for the empty tomb too!

He is Not Here, He Has Risen

Luke 24:1-8

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground,

but the men said to them,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?

 He is not here; he has risen!

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners,

be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

Then they remembered his words. 

May the truth of the Resurrection be magnified 

in your heart and 

Spirit as you celebrate the Living Lord this Resurrection Day.

The Power of the Cross

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I Corinthians 1:18

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

They often look with scorn on those who believe its message.

They may not be vocal in their resistance but will look down their noses just the same to anything they deem ‘religious’.

A cross is fine for a necklace but let’s not get carried away and hang your hopes on it!

But God chose foolish things to confound the wise.

At least those who are wise in their own eyes.

As we approach Easter Sunday may we remind ourselves of the work accomplished and the power resident in the cross of Calvary.

Jesus rose from the dead three days after His death.

The grave held no power over Him.

That same power is at work in you too.

Take a few moments to read through the last couple of chapters of the Gospels.

Immerse yourself in the wisdom of God presented their.

Foolish to some, yes, but let its power work in you.

We have much to celebrate as we put our trust in Him.

Endurance and Joy!

“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Mark 11:15-19

What on earth could be so joyful that Jesus would endure the cross?

Maybe it wasn’t an earthly reward at all.

Could it be that Jesus endured the cross knowing that what awaited Him after that terrible ordeal was a reunion with the Father!

To make it even sweeter was the truth that it opened back up the door of fellowship for each of us with the Father as well.

Few things in life are sweeter than sharing special moments with loved ones.

We are loved by the Lord and He is delighted to be able to make the reunion between us and the Father possible.

It is so easy to fall into the trap at Easter of making the holiday nothing more than a celebration of traditions.

But look again at the start of today’s verse.

It says – “fixing our eyes on Jesus...”

That is not only the right focus for Easter but for every day of the year.

Oh How Wonderful

            Oh How Marvelous

And my song shall ever be

Oh How Wonderful

           Oh How Marvelous

Is My Savior’s Love for me!

Is a Trip to the Gym in Order?

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.”

Mark 11:15-19

Jesus was not a wimp.

Sometimes, He is pictured as an effeminate, touchy-feely type person who only spoke softly and was never confrontational.

If that is the only way you see Him it is time to crack open your Bible again.

Scripture paints a much different picture.

He was zealous for the House of God.

So zealous in fact that He took a whip and drove out those who had made it a marketplace.

This He did with full awareness that the religious leaders sought to kill Him.

He certainly was not hiding; fearful of what men could do to Him.  

His life was His to surrender and was not taken from Him.

It was also done on the Father’s timetable and not on the whims of the Roman Governor or an angry mob.

Imagine that kind of strength in your own life.

Spiritual muscles of the kind Jesus had?

Now that’s a workout worth completing!

Is a trip to a spiritual gym in order for you?

Resolutely

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,

Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

Luke 9:51

Resolute is defined as being:

marked by firm determination : resolved : bold, steady

In other words Jesus was determined and resolved to go to Jerusalem.

Others were going to celebrate the Passover.

He was going to be the Passover Lamb

Others were going to celebrate.

He was going to die a death by crucifixion.

He went boldly and with determination to do the Father’s will.

He knew what Jerusalem held for Him:

A triumphant Entry followed by an agonizing death.

But He did not seek to run from it.

He went resolutely to it.

This He did for me.

This He did for you.

This He did with confidence in the resurrection and return to His Father.

How great His love for us!

Are We There Yet?

“Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

I Samuel 1: 17-20

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Maybe you are a parent and reading this.

If so, the familiar refrain is apparent!

You are on a long car trip, the children in the back seat anxious to arrive at the destination.

Their anxiousness and eagerness is trying your patience but you simply say:

“No, not much longer though!”

Their anxiousness and eagerness translated into the refrain above doesn’t make the trip any shorter though does it?

I know what you’re thinking – “No, it makes it seem longer!”

Like Hannah, our persistence in prayer causes us to await God’s perfect timing.

I know how we view it though –

Immediate need = Immediate answer

Our immaturity sometimes makes us think all our requests are answered immediately.

Like the children we expect that as soon as we are in the back seat

(God is in the drivers’ seat of course) we should be where we want to be.

We perceive the need (our destination in prayer) as immediate but God is refining our lives through persistent prayer.

Persistence in prayer allows Gods’ purposes to be fulfilled on His calendar and not ours.

So the next time you go into your prayer closet and are tempted to ask about your petition:

Is it answered yet?

Is it answered yet?

Is it answered yet?

Consider all that God wants to accomplish in you and perhaps in others

through the process of answering your prayer.

Your prayer closet conversation may change from a question to a statement –

Thy will be done!

Death and Life

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

Romans 6:8

Death and life.

Both are found in Christ.

What do I mean to say that death is found in Christ?

We are to die to ourselves and live for Him.

Even the act of dying to self cannot be done apart from Christ.

I need Him in order to die to self.

You see, I usually don’t want to die.

My flesh wants to be satisfied.

I suspect yours does to.

That is where the power of God must step in to enable me.

His strength for my weakness.

My death to self in order that I might have life in Him – and live for Him!

So He helps me die in order that I can truly live.

The man who truly dies to self is the one who discovers the abundant life Jesus promised.

Death and life.

Both are needful.

Have you died to self today and are you living for Him?

A Valuable Friendship

“The righteous choose their friends carefully,

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

Proverbs 12:26

What kind of persons are you attracted too?

I am speaking in terms of friendships or those you would admire.

Would it be someone with great charisma, good looks or intelligence?

Maybe you would be attracted by their personality or just that ‘click’ that can happen between two people.

Let me suggest someone to you that is very hard to resist –

That person who says they will show you that God is alive and then does!

No faking it, no bait and switch, no hype, just genuine in their statement and true to their word.

Now that is a person hard to resist!

The man or woman who just seems to carry the presence of the Lord wherever they go is someone I want to be around.

They have spent time with Him and it is evident to all.

The boastful, arrogant and proud man also attracts people but not those who want to be like Christ.

Choose your friends wisely and choose them with the intent that both of you will sharpen one another.

That is a valuable friendship.

Many Convincing Proofs

“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave

many convincing proofs that he was alive.”

Acts 1:3

This past Sunday we were challenged with a question.

Do our lives give convincing proof to others that Jesus is alive?

It is a question the church can ask of itself.

By and large we probably fail.

When others observe the ‘day-to-day’ of your and my life what are they seeing?

Is there a distinctive difference that causes them to want to draw near to God because of you?

Or do they simply see another person doing what everyone else is doing with no reflection of Christ.

It was, and is, a most challenging question.

May the proof of your relationship to Jesus convince others that He is so much more than a story told from long ago.

May it further convince them that without Him they are missing out on so much.

May your life provoke others to jealousy enough that it draws them to the Lord.

“...many convincing proofs...”

Standing in the Gap

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it,

but I found no one.”

Ezekiel 22:30

Gap is defined as:

a break in a barrier such as a wall, hedge, or line of military defense.

Suppose, for the purpose of today’s post, I defined the word gap as the inability to see or know a living Jesus.

The gap is the inability by many to bridge the historical man with the eternal God who is alive and active in the earth today.

Would you be one to stand in the gap?

Could you be one, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, reveals a living Christ to those who do not see?

Peter did on the day of Pentecost.

Maybe you’re waiting to be perfect?

Think of those who will miss seeing Jesus while you wait.

None of us are perfect, nor did Jesus tell the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they were.

He did tell them to wait for the Holy Spirit.

If you are filled with His Spirit you are as equipped as Peter was.

Some may be troubled by those words.

You protest, “I am not Peter.”

The excellency of the power was not of Peter and it is not of you.

It is the Holy Spirit in you.

So I say again:

If you are filled with His Spirit you are as equipped as Peter was.

So commit to being a person who stands in the gap and reveals a living God to those who heretofore are unable to see Him.

Will you stand in that gap?

 

Opinion or Truth?

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10

If you don’t learn how to deal with rejection you will place too much value on the opinions of people and not enough on the purposes of God.

They say there are two guarantees in life: death and taxes.

Let me suggest another one that I think you will agree with: people are fickle.

Those who love you today may be the same ones to turn on you tomorrow.

Did you ever wonder how many of the same people dropping palm branches before Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem were in the same crowd just a few days later shouting “Crucify him!”?

That’s the risk you take when you place all of your trust in the opinions of man.

Those opinions change.

God doesn’t have ‘opinions’ in the way we would define them.

He is truth and He speaks truth.

The depth of our trust in man’s opinion is a good measure of the depth of pain we will feel at mans’ rejection.

All of us face the pressure to conform.

In part, Jesus was rejected by the Jewish leaders because He did not conform to their rules and traditions.

But Jesus came to do the will of the Father, not the will of man.

He valued the Father more than He valued the opinions of anyone on earth.

That is why He could forgive those who rejected Him and, while on the cross, asked His Father to do the same.

Will you hold on to your rejection or will you surrender it?

Will you esteem Gods purposes as greater than the opinions of man?

It comes down to choices again.

God advises us to choose Him and choose life.

So, sow!

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Hebrews 3:12-13

 

As the scripture above points out, sin is indeed deceitful.

It promises much but delivers only heartache and death.

There may be pleasure in it for a season but that season will pass.

Many are drawn into it and their hearts hardened by it.

This turns them away from the living God.

It happens little-by-little and that process makes it seem harmless.

But make no mistake, moving away from God, whether in small steps or giant leaps, is to no ones’ benefit.

So how do we remedy this?

A big first step is to faithfully encourage one another daily.

Instead of the incessant drip, drip, drip of negativity look for opportunities

(and then seize them!) to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ.

This can be accomplished by the newest saint or the oldest.

Set your heart today to do just that.

Be the encourager who turns someone’s life around by simply speaking those things that build up and not tear down.

Remember that you reap what you sow.

So, sow words of life!

God’s Sacrifice was Made for Your Sake

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem.

On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.

On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Matthew 20:17-19

 

Jesus went to Jerusalem well aware of what would happen.

He went there resolutely.

There was no dragging of feet or unnecessary delays.

The cross awaited Him.

But still He went.

He went for you and He went for me.

That is the love of God demonstrated to each of us.

Some are made aware of what Jesus did and choose to not believe it.

Some are made aware of what Jesus did and choose to walk away.

Others, when made aware, choose to receive all that was purchased at the cross.

This choice delights the Father.

He did not send He Son to die for a few.

Jesus paid the price so that anyone can come back to the Father.

What was lost in the Garden of Eden was regained on a hill called Calvary.  

Thank you Lord!

God’s Promises to You

How easy it is to believe a lie but how hard it is to believe the truth at times.

When this is the struggle that you face it is helpful to continually reinforce the truth of Gods’ Word in your life and for your life.

Take His promises and meditate on them.

Memorize them, rehearse them over and over and let them speak to your spirit.

God is for you, He loves you and wants you to walk in Kingdom success.

Take these verses and hold fast to them...

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

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night,

so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,

for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:8-9