Afflicted but Accepted

Psalm 22: 24

For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.

God never abandons His people but when one is going through a difficult time, it is easy to feel alone and isolated. No matter your situation right now, God is not offended by those problems that hinder you. He is offended by sin. But even if sin is the problem that afflicts you, there is none better to save you. Yahweh does not hide His face from you, but you may hide yours from Him.

Every society has groups of people who are less favored than others. God doesn’t see us that way. You don’t have to be popular to be popular with Him. You don’t have to be pretty for Him to think you dazzle. And, no matter how ugly your problems are, He sees them as the plight of humanity. He created forgiveness for every sin just as He created deliverance for every human problem.

No matter your challenges, no matter your disappointments, turn to Him today and ask for His help. He will always answer your cry for help. You are never alone. He is awaiting you so that He can be a very real and present help.

Bad Samaritans

2 Kings 17: 15           NLT

They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.

Reading the history of Israel is both inspirational and tragic. This excerpt from the book of Kings brings sorrow. In the New Testament we find Samaria estranged from the rest of the Jews. Jews wouldn’t even speak to a Samaritan. It wasn’t always that way, though. Samaria was a jewel of Israel, nestled in a lush valley, the Bible says it was “glorious” in its beauty. How did glorious Samaria fall so far?

It is easy to look back into the old books of the Bible and see the errors God’s people committed. It is not nearly as easy to look at our environment and evaluate it, and us, fairly, objectively. Samaria’s problem, and indeed the greater part of Israel’s as well, was familiarity with the world. Then again, that sounds a bit like us. When Israel arrived at a new land, the Lord would give them a military victory, but Got warned them to rid themselves of the former residents and thus, expunge their pagan beliefs. Samaria was arrogant and made treaties with her enemies thinking that was the way to ensure success and security. God contrasted them with farmers. God said farmers know what to do and how to harvest each different crop because “The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom,” (Isaiah 28: 29). Tongue in cheek, He is saying we don’t listen to the Father and receive His wisdom. We have our own brilliant ideas.

I don’t know about you, but my “brilliant” ideas tend to backfire. Mostly, I start trying to help God and inevitably it messes things up. The Samaritans had some bright ideas too. They didn’t inquire of the Lord, didn’t listen to Him, and went about in their own wisdom. Their brilliance ended in slavery. Their treaties destroyed them. The old saying goes, “When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Boy was that true in this case. They made friends with the world and it ruined them. They have never recovered.

It is best to listen to the Lord, but we get too busy to make inquiry of Him. There is so much noise and chaos surrounding our lives that hearing Him is practically impossible. Our Father is trying to lead us onto productive paths. Like He taught Farmers, He is trying to teach us. What is the Father saying to you? Where is He leading you? If you don’t know, the world may be too much with you too. Take a break from the world and have a day with Him. It is a reasonable thing to do.

Battle Strategy

Psalm 59: 16 – 17

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

You may need to read the beginning of this psalm to get the full thrust of these last two verses. The backstory is familiar. Saul was in relentless pursuit of David. Saul’s men surrounded, besieged and attacked David and his men. Day and night, there were spies, sneak attacks and ambushes. David tells of the trials and persecutions through the first fifteen verses. At the end he says, “but as for me . . ..” In these last two verses, David reveals his battle plan.

No matter what the enemy’s tactics were; regardless of being outnumbered, trapped or under siege, the battle plan David employed was praise and complete confidence in our Lord. David’s confidence wasn’t just something he held in his breast, though. His faith in the Father was boldly declared from his lips. That is one thing which distinguished him from every other. Perhaps other people thought God was a stronghold and deliverer, but David made a career of proclaiming it.

How about you? Are your words like David’s? Perhaps we too can turn the tide with our words. You know the end of the story. God removed Saul from the throne and installed David in his place. As I have studied David’s life, I noted his continual boasting in the Lord. I think his success was tied to his proclamation. While others count their soldiers and array their weaponry, David installed his stronghold. His plan involved the power of the Almighty, his strategy relying on the promises of his Lord.

It seems, then, that David didn’t have anything we don’t have. That is what makes his story so attractive. We can do what he did. We can love the Lord and trust in His prowess as David did and enjoy the same success. The strategy that prevailed for David will work for us too. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and soul. Lean on Him and His understanding. Make joyful praise to the Lord and let His power arise in your battles.

Promises, Promises

1 Chronicles 1: 9

Now, O Lord God, Thy promise to my father David is fulfilled; for Thou has made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

When God made that promise to David it probably seemed as impossible as any of the promises you have read in the Bible. Yet God was able to fulfill all He promised to David. David’s son Solomon bears witness to us that all has been fulfilled in his sight. In other words, we have an eye witness account that God did exactly what He said He would do.

The word “promise” in the above passage is even more accurately translated as “word.” That would make the sentence read, “Thy word to my father David is fulfilled.” I do not find it any coincidence that we call the Bible God’s “word.” To bring this verse forward to each of us, that would mean that God fulfills his word to you. That would include everything that He has said to you in His Word, the Bible. This is a very significant revelation. Just as God fulfilled His word to David, He is obligated to fulfill His word to you. You have an entire book of transcriptions of what God has said to you. Every word in God’s word is His obligation to you.

You should be encouraged, therefore. If God fulfilled His word to David, then He will fulfill His word to you because the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10: 34). In other words, He does not favor one child over another. As a matter of fact, the NIV version of Acts 10: 34 says that “God does not show favoritism.” What He was willing to do for one, He is willing to do for all.

Now you put a demand on the promise given you. That is what faith does. Expect God to be good to his word. Expect Him to meet your every need; emotional, physical, financial and spiritual. After all, He is the one that promised. We are just holding Him to His “word.”

Independence Day

Galatians 5: 1

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

I hope you have a wonderful Independence Day but even more, I pray you will never be subject again to a yoke of slavery.  There are all sorts of bondage, but Jesus set you free so that you would never have to be restrained by any of them.  Celebrate freedom but remember it was Jesus who set us free.

 

Free from Pain

2 Corinthians 5: 17 – 18            TPT

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new.

Most of the time when we think of this verse or talk about it, we refer to the sin nature of the old self. We think of when our habits were different, indeed our way of life was different. We’ve put away the drinking and partying. We’ve cleaned up our mouths. We have become kinder and gentler, thinking of others instead of just ourselves. Indeed, much about us and our lives has changed. Our “old man” is dead with its wicked ways and behold, we are made anew. I would like to think of this “new person” in a slightly different way today.

I was speaking with a friend today when she revealed that she had crashed on her bicycle when she was a child and so, to this day, doesn’t ride a bike. Before the day was out, someone else told me the same thing. There are incidents from the past that continue to dictate our present and determine our futures. However, we are new creatures. Can we bury the scars of the past with the “old self?” God said we are an entirely new creation so why should we bring that old person’s trauma with us?

These two individuals may have scars on their knees but many of us are similarly carrying around scars. Perhaps our aren’t visible but they continue to predict our present and future like those bicycle crashes did. When we died with Christ and were raised up in him, we were supposed to leave the scars and blemishes in the grave. We were supposed to bury the past with all its tragedy and restriction. The new creature in Christ is full of life.

This kind of freedom comes to those who can receive it. The key language seems to be in the first sentence of today’s passage, “If anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation.” So let’s ask ourselves, “Are we enfolded into Christ?” What does that look like? What is the difference between someone who is and one who isn’t? If we can answer that question, or truly, even just ponder it purposefully, I think we may open new doors to life.

The moral to today’s story is, don’t let the scars of the past, whether emotional, spiritual or physical hold you back today. Don’t allow yesterday’s crash and burn to keep you off the bike. There is new life in Christ Jesus, but you’ve got to do the work to put that junk in the grave and cover it up with six feet of dirt. Then, and here is the really hard part, don’t go dig it back up. There is true freedom awaiting you and a life worth living. It is right there within reach. Put fear in the grave with worry and bad memories. Receive healing and refreshing. Let the new you arise!

Upholder

Isaiah 41: 13

“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

Fear is pervasive. There is no one who has not been stung by its tentacles. Still, Father says we do not have to live with fear, nor should we. Because He is our Lord and God, much less Father, we have a means to overcome fear. He has promised He will never leave us forsaken. He will not leave us to our own abilities. He is bigger than that which frightens us.

Imagine having the genie of Aladdin’s lamp as your friend and helper. If the genie said to you, “Do not fear, I will help you” would it give you confidence? I think it would. We have lived with these fantasy stories until we have an understanding of the genie’s power. It is an amazing phenomenon. There is no such thing as a unicorn but each of you just pictured one when you read the word.

Unfortunately, we do not know Yahweh Father as well as we do these fictional characters. Still, you can use your understanding of a genie to interpolate God’s power. Just picture, for a moment, what it would look like to have God following you around all day upholding your right hand. Every time you encounter an obstacle or fearful situation, He says to you, “Don’t worry. I am right here. I will help you.” Can you actually see that in your mind’s eye? It is a comforting image, is it not? Now, what if you held that image in your mind all day? What about every day? Would it grow your confidence?

Our Father is trying to move into our lives and become our best friend. He wants to be a constant help in our lives but it can be difficult for us to connect with Him. That is where we need to spend our energy, connecting with Him. Then He scares away the monsters in our lives and energizes us for the journey. The time we spend reading our Bible, praying and even just contemplating God, helps us to draw nearer to Him. Then, because we are in Him, there is no fear. There is faith and comfort.

Let your Dad scare away whatever is fearful. Let Him guide you through the valley of the shadow of death so that you arrive on the other side unharmed and unafraid.