“Greater love has
no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13
May you take a few
moments today to remember and honor those wo made the ultimate sacrifice so that
you can enjoy your freedom and liberty today.
Whether you are a
citizen of the United States or of another country know that freedom is not
free.
Memorial Day is a
day to call to mind the sacrifice of others made for you and me.
“Give, and it will
be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap.
For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38
Here is a bit of
an ironic statement to consider…
As you pour into
others, you will find yourself being filled up.
Now, on the
surface that statement seems untrue.
After all if I
empty myself in serving others how can I be filled up?
Do you want to
know the secret?
It is by not
taking a willy-nilly, shotgun approach in serving others.
We are to serve by
following the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.
I suppose some
history book somewhere can tell me what the population of the earth was when
Jesus walked on it; but you probably could agree that He personally ministered
to a small percentage of that population.
And we certainly
cannot argue over the impact He had on those He ministered to!
You and I may not
be able to personally minister to the billions on planet Earth today.
But I can and
should minister to those the Holy Spirit causes to cross my path.
As I do, I find
myself almost simultaneously being emptied and being filled.
As you and I
obediently and faithfully pour out to others God abundantly and lavishly pours
back into us.
The comfort you
gave another today is returned to you as joy.
Perhaps the wisdom
you shared with a confused individual so desperate to hear from God comes back
to you in the form of an answer you have been waiting on God for.
Maybe you poured
yourself into someone else today just by offering a listening ear and
discovered patience extended to you from your boss the likes of which you had
never seen before from him.
You simply cannot
out give God.
He overtakes you
with blessings beyond your greatest expectations.
Have you been
feeling a bit empty lately?
Maybe it’s time to
begin pouring into others!
“Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
“For your sake we
face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”
No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced
that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor
the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39
Can I ask a huge
favor of you?
Really, are you
sure?
O.K., here it is –
Please go back and
read the verses above again.
I know we have all
read them perhaps dozens or more times but let it really sink in.
The Bible is rife
with the stories of men and women who faced great challenges and either stayed
close to God through them (Hannah comes to mind) or returned to God after a
season of anger or rebellion (I think of David)
Some of the
struggles recorded were heartbreaking: barrenness, betrayal or the loss of a
child.
God knows are
anguish but He also is with us in every moment, through every tear and even
every raised fist to him.
Many today tell of
leaving the church because of something quite small by comparison.
They were upset
with this or that but in the end it really was not a significant reason.
Sadly, more often
than not they not only leave a church,
they leave the church.
But even in this
please understand that the love of God chases after you,
calling you back
to a place of fellowship with Him and with His family.
If you find
yourself in a place like that please know that God’s love will not forsake you.
Return to Him and
let Him heal the wounds that have been inflicted.
They may be
self-inflicted or caused by others.
Don’t allow those
wounds to make you draw back.
He is waiting....
“But as for me, it
is good to be near God.
I have made the
Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”
Psalm 73:28
Stop and consider
this question:
What is it that
you most value in life?
Is it family?
Is it reputation?
How about financial
security, prestige or power?
There is a story
in the bible of a man named Job.
Job lost all that
he valued – all of those things we just listed – and more.
But wait a minute;
I know what you’re thinking.
“Surely”, you say,
“Job must have done something wrong to have had all of this happen to him.”
Really?
Have you ever had
something wrong happen at a time in your life when you are doing everything
right?
Job was not
reaping what he had sown just as we may sometimes find ourselves in a crisis
not of our own making.
It is exactly in
those seasons when we can choose to run away from or draw near to God.
The easy way is,
of course, to run away.
And it is a path
lined with cheerleaders too.
Why even in Job’s
life the life coach advising him to run was his wife.
Here were her
words to him:
“...Are you still
maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!"
Job 2:9
It seems everyone
who was anyone had counsel to offer Job.
In our moments of
struggle it is not uncommon for well-meaning friends to offer advice.
But their advice
is not always godly.
Be wise about who
you listen too, especially in moments of crisis, trial and temptation.
Remember that the
devil came to tempt Jesus after forty days of fasting in the wilderness.
Don’t allow him to
exploit the moments you are weak to further weaken your resolve.
In those moments
do not choose to run away from God, instead choose to draw near!
““I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you
will have trouble.
But take heart! I
have overcome the world.”
Isaiah 59:19b (KJV)
“I beg your pardon
I never promised
you a rose garden
Along with the
sunshine
There's gotta be a
little rain sometime”
Nope, you won’t
find those words in the Bible.
They were from a
country song sung by Loretta Lynn many years ago.
But I think those
words often capture what we think it means when we surrender our lives to Jesus.
All sunshine and
bright skies for the rest of our lives!
But that is NOT
what the Bible promises as we can see clearly from the words of Jesus in our
introduction.
Most people
approach the words of Jesus in the verse above like an Oreo cookie.
I’ll take the
peace and the overcomers’ heart on each end of the verse but I don’t want any
part of the ‘trouble’ spoken of in the middle.
Guess what?
It doesn’t happen
that way.
The Book of Job reminds
us:
“Yet man is born
to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” Job 5:7
And if you have
spent any time around a campfire you know sparks fly upward!
So reconcile
yourself to two irrefutable facts –
First, that trouble
and crisis come to all – whether believers or not but second and most
importantly that in the midst of those seasons we can claim this promise:
“The Lord himself
goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
When the enemy
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard
against him...”
Isaiah 59:19b
(KJV)
What do you do
when “…all hell breaks loose…” as the proverbial saying goes?
How do you respond
when anything and everything that could go wrong, does?
I once heard a
little poem offering this advice:
“When in danger,
when in doubt,
run in circles,
scream and shout!”
Not exactly a
biblical admonition, is it?
So what would you do?
How about prayer?
How about calling
out to the Name of The Lord?
How about when the
storm tries to blow you over, you lean harder on the LORD.
Too often, we try
harder to stand on our own.
“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.”
This is sound
advice offered in Proverbs 3:5-6.
Don’t try harder,
don’t lean on your own wisdom, education,
purse strings,
family ties, reputation or skill.
None of these
things can deliver you in the day of trouble.
When all hell
comes against you, hide in the secret place of the
Most High and lean
harder on Him!
You will find that
He is that very present help in time of trouble!
“Father, if you
are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An
angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”
Luke 22: 42-43
“Who do you think
you are?”
Have you ever been
asked that question right after you boasted or made a
bold claim to be able to do something?
The other person
was, in essence, questioning your ability to achieve whatever you were claiming
to be able to do.
I wonder how many
times God has, by His Holy Spirit,
asked that
question of you and me?
Probably more
times than we would be willing to admit.
You see, our pride
often gets the best of us and keeps us from humbly asking for the help we need.
In the scriptures
quoted above we find that even Jesus found Himself in a place of weakness.
The Father is not
in the business of sending His angels on (if you’ll excuse the expression) wild
goose chases so I must conclude that if Jesus was strengthened by the angel God
sent to Him then He must have been in need of that strength.
In other words, He
was weak.
That may offend
some who are accustomed to weakness being the equivalent of sin.
Weakness is not
sin.
Weakness can
easily lead to sin when, in our pride,
we fail to admit
our weaknesses and our need for strength.
Jesus was without
sin and Jesus was weak.
He knew that in
His weakness, His Father would give strength and so He did not succumb to that
weakness but was ministered to by the angel sent from His Father.
God wants to
strengthen you when you are weak.
Are you prepared
to confess that weakness and call out to Him who is our strength?
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world.
On the contrary,
they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
II Corinthians
10:4
Going into battle
would you choose a warship or a sailboat?
More specifically,
would you elect to face your enemy with a fully loaded nuclear powered aircraft
carrier or a wind driven sailboat?
Seems like one of
those ‘no-brainers’ doesn’t it?
But hold on one
moment.
Did I mention that
the wind power was the wind of the Holy Spirit?
Oh, so now you
want to pick again?
All the combined
technology and might of the armies of the earth are as nothing,
absolutely
nothing against the Almighty God whom we serve.
You could take an
entire nuclear powered fleet outfitted for battle and they simply cannot stand if
they move in defiance of the Living God.
Don’t shrink back
when God says:
“The wind of the
Spirit is beginning to blow.”
Who can stand
against our God?
King Jehoshaphat
was not a seafaring man but he was a God fearing man.
God brought a most
unconventional victory to him when the worshippers went before the army.
You can read about
it in II Chronicles Chapter 20
Ask any graduate
of the War College if what he did makes sense.
Of course it doesn’t – by natural standards!
But our God will
do exploits through those whose sails are filled with the wind of His Spirit.
No matter how
giant that enemy is.
Are you ready to
set sail with God?
“The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its
sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8
Have you ever
considered that one of those things moved by the wind of the Holy Spirit might
be you?
When I hear or
read this verse I often picture the impact of the wind on the leaves of a tree.
With that picture,
we understand well how we cannot see the wind but can certainly see its impact.
Does the wind of
the Holy Spirit propel you forward in the assignment He has for you?
Could it be that
we are sometimes impacted greatly and at other times the wind blows right
through us?
Pastor shared a
vision of the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing on a large lake.
On that lake were
a variety of sailboats.
Some were more
prepared than others to be propelled forward.
Have you trimmed
your sails?
Are you prepared
to move forward by the wind of the Holy Spirit?
Or have you yet to
raise those sails?
Are you even in
the boat?
There are so many
things to consider as we move forward in the days ahead.
I am reminded of a
passage of scripture we would do well to consider:
“As long as it is
day, we must do the works of him who sent me.
Night is coming,
when no one can work.”
John 9:4
It is well past time to
raise those sails!
Nip it in
the Bud!
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.”
Ephesians 4:29
Suppose we had the
ability to review every word you have ever spoken.
I mean from your
very first “Ma-ma” as a baby until the words you uttered just moments ago.
Now, let’s further
suppose that we could then separate out two distinct groups of words.
We would take
every word expressing gratitude and every word of complaint.
Now place those
words on a scale.
You know the kind
that blind justice holds in her hands –
Yes, you’ve
figured out where I am going with this.
So how would you
fare?
Would the scales
balance out?
It is something to
consider.
We were challenged
recently to consider our complaining and the impact it has on us, on others and
how God responds to it.
If you are like me
you can use some work in that area.
I asked the Holy
Spirit to help me, in the words of Barney Fife,
“nip it in the bud”
when I am tempted
to complain.
Can you guess the
type of week I am experiencing? LOL!
Every opportunity
to complain just keeps presenting itself.
I’d like to tell
you I’m batting a thousand but then I wouldn’t be telling the truth.
What I want to
encourage you with today is to move in the right direction.
Be aware of your
words especially any complaining.
Ask the Holy
Spirit to bring it to your attention so that you can
“Nip it in the
bud!”
“When
the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:
“No one from this
evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,
Deuteronomy 1:34-35
God hears us when
we speak.
Sometimes we may
think the only time He listens to us is when we pray.
But His eyes and
His ears are open to us day and night.
Do you remember
your response when the job offer was not extended?
He heard that.
When your political
‘commentary’ was shared with the family, He heard that too!
Of course we all
have the same twenty-four hours in a day and it is our choice how we use those
seconds, minutes and hours to express ourselves.
Do we spend an
overwhelming amount of that time complaining?
If we do, we must
understand that the fruit of our lips will not be very sweet tasting to us, to
others and especially to our Father in heaven.
Complaining is not
pretty; as a matter of fact it is downright ugly.
Twelve spies went
into the Promised Land.
What they saw set
some, actually the majority, to complaining.
Only two, Joshua
and Caleb expressed gratitude at the Promise the Land held for them.
Rather than
complain, they expressed the faith that God was well able to give the land to
them.
But complaining
won the day – it is highly contagious after all.
Don’t let your day
be ruled and ruined with a mouth full of complaints.
Choose instead to
express gratitude even in the difficult moments.
“May these words
of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord,
my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14
“Now Sarai,
Abram’s wife, had borne him no children...”
Genesis 16:1a
Our past tries to creep
ever so ominously into our present.
And when we dwell
on our past mistakes, missteps and failures,
we can rob ourselves
of a future promise.
Fortunately for
us, God is bigger than our past.
Sarah and Abraham
found that out.
Her empty womb
mocked her and called to her from her past so much so that it was not easy to believe
the promise of God to give them a child.
Maybe your past
has tried to tell you something other than the future blessings God has
promised you.
You must resist
the urge to question the past.
Instead, hold fast to the promise of God, even
when you don’t see how it could possibly be.
God’s promise to
Abraham and Sarah came to pass.
Probably not on a
timeline they would have chosen.
We must not
surrender the fulfillment of a future promise by
trusting in the experiences
of days gone by.
Take a lesson from
Abraham:
“He staggered not
at the promise of God through unbelief;
but was strong in
faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”
Romans 4:20-21
“Now Sarai,
Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.
But she had an
Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram,
“The Lord has kept
me from having children.
Go, sleep with my
slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Genesis 16:1-2
Have you ever
taken a shortcut only to find out it was anything but?
What you thought
would shave a few minutes off your trip ended up adding thirty.
Or how about that
shortcut you took at work?
No one would be
harmed by a little quicker way of fixing the equipment.
But then the bill
comes after a serviceman was called to repair your ‘shortcut’.
It’s probably safe
to say that we’ve all tried shortcuts that didn’t quite work out as we planned.
Abraham and Sarah
tried one once.
The world is still
reaping the consequences of that failed shortcut.
When it comes to
waiting on God for the fulfillment of promises He has made to you, there are no
shortcuts.
We must learn to
resist the desire to give in!
Take a shortcut,
it won’t matter.
But then it does.
Don’t short
circuit the unfolding of God’s purposes for your life.
If He has spoken a
word to you, hold fast to that word.
He is trustworthy
to bring it to pass.
We, on the other
hand, well...just remind yourself of those unsuccessful shortcuts the next time
you are tempted to give in or short circuit the efforts of God!
“Let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23
“Now the Lord was
gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had
promised.
Sarah became
pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
at
the very time God had promised him.
Abraham gave the
name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
When his son Isaac
was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.
Abraham was a
hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.”
Genesis 21:1-5
Short on the
patience but long on the wait.
All too often that
seems to be the case when we receive a promise from God.
We are the short on the patience part and
God, of course, is the long on the wait part!
Why?
Why can’t I just
once experience the suddenly of God?
Your answer is found
in your question.
God promises and
then He brings you through some experiences
of life.
Not just any
experiences but those that mature you, those that grow you, those that prepare
you for His promise to be fulfilled in you.
Abram and Sarai
became Abraham and Sarah.
But so much more than
just a name change happened in the in-between time...
...Including an
effort made in the flesh called Ishmael.
How about you?
Does your
wwwwaaaaaiiiiitttttttt include some moves outside of His will?
Yep, mine too.
So let’s go here together
–
Father
Your work in us is filled with promises to us.
Forgive us for impatience
on our part.
We hear those
promises and like a child eager to open the gift before the birthday
celebration we dig right in forging ahead in our own strength and purpose
instead of waiting on you.
Teach us to wait
patiently on you.
Teach us the
wonder of knowing the promises fulfilled in their appointed time.
Strengthen us in
our moments of weakness to hold fast and continue to hold on for the promise
you have spoken to us.
We ask this in the
matchless name of your Son Jesus.
Amen!
