Power in Praise

On March 2, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 16: 25 – 26

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

I am a participant in a Divine Conference Call on Thursday’s. Besides seeking God and studying His Word, we have also been taking James advice from James 1: 22 which reads, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” Each week we perform a practicum. One week we focused on reading our Bibles every day. Another week we concerned ourselves with praying every day, and so on. This has proved a good experiment. We find our weaknesses and our strengths. We have learned the areas where we need to press in and the areas which come easily to us. The greatest thing I have learned comes from the week we determined to praise and worship God for at least five minutes every day.

First, I found that this was the most challenging of all the practices. We endevoured to lean into the worship side of things by which I mean, specifically, worshiping God for who He is rather than for what He has done. It was not a time of thanksgiving, nor a time of prayer. It wasn’t about what God has done for us but simply glorifying Him in His grandeur and majesty. The second thing I discovered from this practice was from my own experience. I found that nothing opened me to the Spirit mentally, emotionally and spiritually than worship and praise. I heard God better that week than any other week. Although I find worshiping God harder than reading my Bible, I also found that by pressing through, I learned more about glorifying Him with my words. Singing His praises releases something in me. It takes me out of my intellectual self and I connect with simply being a child of God.

God often, I could perhaps even say always, meets me over His Word. That is where we commune daily. However, this worship of God for who He is was the hardest and yet most successful of all the weeks of our practicum. I know that when I sit down with my Bible, the Father will sit right next to me. I guarantee the Holy Spirit will teach me something I did not know before. However, as I praised God, the Spirit was released in an entirely different way. All of a sudden, I was hearing God’s voice speak so much that I could barely continue for having to write things down. I began getting ideas. The flow of the Holy Spirit was exactly like the river of living waters.

You see, in today’s passage, how praise released the power of God into Paul and Silas’ situation. It can, and will, do the same thing for us, but we need to practice. We must learn how to open our hearts and let sincere praise flow forth, honoring the God of our hearts. We need to learn to connect with the intimate love we have for the Father. From that place of intimacy, it becomes a simple matter to let words of adoration and praise flow out. I adjure you to join us in our practice of the Word of God. Practice worshiping our God. Practice lifting worship up to Him. I believe you will find a new and deeper connection with Him when you do. Will you join us? Will you put feet to your faith and let God see and hear your Christian conviction?

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Living Water

On March 1, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 7: 37 – 39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This verse is enlightening, and I believe it brings a certain amount of joy as well. It celebrates both Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What word jumps out at you from the passage? I am intrigued by the word “cried.”

As I read the gospels I perceive Jesus as very cool under fire. When put on the spot, he once simply knelt down and began to doodle in the dirt. This is not the person I think of “crying out.” It is no great leap to conjecture that this message was of keen importance to Jesus. Can you picture this scene? Apparently, everyone was seated because Jesus stood. They were feasting. Who was there? How many people do you reckon were gathered? In the midst of the feast Jesus stood up and cried out with a loud voice. Wow! That must have been a sight. One can certainly suppose that the message was vital for Jesus to interrupt the feast and to make such a spectacle of himself.

Interestingly enough, the message was not about salvation. It wasn’t even about sin. Why didn’t he jump up and say, “Come all you sinners. I will save your soul from eternity in hell.” That is what most of us would expect but only because we don’t know Jesus well enough. Jesus took care of the sin problem. He conquered hell. His real message is displayed in this cry. “Come to me all you who are thirsty. I will satisfy your thirst.”

How did Jesus plan to satisfy the deep and enduring thirsty within us? He already knew about the Father’s plan to send the Holy Spirit into the earth. God made the promise back in Joel 2: 28. Then John the Baptist revealed that Jesus would baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3: 11). Now, here, in the early chapters of John we discover that those who believe in Jesus were to receive the Spirit. Right before Jesus’ exit from planet earth he gathered his followers and advised them. He was passing the torch to all who would follow him. He told them not to leave Jerusalem “but to wait for what the Father had promised . . . for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 1: 4 – 5). Then Jesus was taken up in a cloud of glory. He was glorified in the earth and in heaven as his disciples watched.

So, Jesus’ essential message was come, receive the filling of the Holy Spirit so that you will never again thirst. The living water of the Holy Spirit is a river flowing in the spirit of those who ask and receive. The invitation was simple, “Come,” Jesus said. Anyone who is thirsty is invited to the well. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, he says also to you, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water,” (John 4: 10). Receive the living water. Be filled and satisfied.

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18 = Life

On February 28, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 6

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus is the source of life. Everything which has life has it in Jesus. Whether or not a person chooses Jesus as his lord or not, his life force is only because Jesus lives. What is life though?

I think we tend to have a rather narrow view of what life means. We equate life with having a pulse. However, Jesus said, John 10:10 that he came to earth to give us life and that more abundantly. I don’t think he was just talking about abundant health. I know he was not referring to eternal life only. That wouldn’t even make sense. Eternal life with the Father will necessarily be abundant. That is the only way God knows how to do life. No, this that Jesus is talking about is in the here and now and it is much bigger than just having a heartbeat. Jesus came to give us a life worth living. A life as big as him.

I have a friend who has a Jewish background. He explained to me recently that Hebrew letters, and hence words, have numeric values. For example, the word “life” has a numeric value of 18. But wait, we are living in the year 2018. That went off in me like a gun. This is a year with a numeric value of life. Ponder that a moment.

When Jesus came to give us life, he had in mind something supernatural. The people in the earth already had physical life. He came to give us life in the Spirit, a life where all is rightness. Our health should be right, our finances, relationships and everything else you can think of. He came to restore our spiritual life as well.

We were separated from God. Jesus restored our spirits, made them new and restored the connection between us and the Father so that now we can walk boldly into Father’s office and talk with Him. Jesus restored our spiritual eyes and our spiritual ears. Because we are in Christ, because we dwell in him and pursue the life of Christ within us, we can now hear and see spiritual things. Most importantly, we can hear the Father’s voice using our spiritual ears. We no longer exist on just one plane, if we choose. We have entrance to the spiritual realm. Everything that was stolen from us has been restored by Jesus including our ability to walk in the cool of the evening with the creator.

Some people are concerned about what they will have to give up in order to be a Christian. Man, that is totally the wrong perspective. It’s what you gain that folks should think about. We gain everything, including real life, not this shadow of existence that most people experience. We can walk in true light and life right now, right here. Perfect health is part of our inheritance, abundant friends, adventures, riches; whatever you want but the most amazing life of all is the life in Christ which allows us admittance into the spiritual realm. He bought our ticket. He restored our rights. He is the invitation into a life which is above and beyond mere physical life. He will have us soaring on wings if we will open our eyes and ears to what the Spirit is saying to us right now. There are so many fascinating and wondrous things Jesus wants to experience with us, so broaden your definition of life. Imagine what a Jesus kind of life should look like. There is no brokenness in Jesus, no lack and no weakness. Rise up on your wings and breathe in life. Make this the year you embrace more life and more of what Jesus offers than ever before.

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It’s All About Me

On February 27, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 1 – 3

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Verse one of Romans 12 is reasonably well known. We are instructed to put our bodies on the altar as a holy and acceptable offering to the Lord. Verse two is very well known – be transformed to the Kingdom way of being and doing by renewing your mind. Verse three, well, that one is less well known.

How would you expect Paul to follow verse two? I would expect him to tell us how to renew our minds or build upon the presentation of our bodies and minds to Christ. Verse three isn’t a radical departure in that Paul indicates how one with a renewed mind thinks but there is something subtle here. Paul actually goes on to talk about our hearts, our core beliefs. He addresses the issue of self-orientation.

Paul admonishes that we not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. I would add that we not think as often of ourselves as we might. Many of our problems are colored by this simple orientation. Are we thinking of ourselves; our needs and wants or are we inclined to think of others, the Kingdom and the will of God.

The epic battle of the id, ego and superego vie for supremacy. Are we simple gratification seeking beasts, or do we yield to a higher call, a higher purpose? Can we pry our attention from ourselves long enough to consider the needs, wants or even hurts of others?

Jesus was moved by compassion because he considered the other person’s needs rather than hurt or inconvenience to himself. I was re-reading Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyers today and found this quote, “[T]he proud person thinks so highly of himself that he believes he should never be inconvenienced in any way.” That describes me at the grocery store and in traffic. I believe it also describes our society. I watch as people block an entire lane of traffic because they chose the wrong lane and rather than proceed in the lane and turn or U-turn as appropriate, they hold up everyone else. Of course, my self-absorption immediately kicks in, usually with accompanying language. Jesus was not that way. As you read the gospels you see multiple examples of a person’s intervention completely changing his course of travel and conduct. How is that possible? He flowed with the Holy Spirit doing the will of the Father rather than making and following his own plan.

This is how Jesus is and how he was able to have sound judgment. He essentially removed himself from the equation. The right thinking wouldn’t have me thinking all about me and what I want or what I perceive as my needs. This isn’t about judging people even. You and I need sound judgement in everything we do. We have decisions to make and when we learn to think as we ought, those judgments will use the measure of faith God has given us to arrive at good decisions. So, sound judgment is arrived at by not thinking about ourselves more highly than we ought. The more we get ourselves off our minds, the freer we will be.

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Tender Care

On February 26, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 40: 11

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

This is a beautiful passage. I am sure you agree, but can we receive the depth of it and the tenderness of it? The NIV version is, perhaps, even more tender. The latter part says he, “carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

This verse isn’t actually speaking of sheep, is it? It is an analogy. God cares for us the way a shepherd cares for the sheep. God gathers his children to his bosom and carries them (us) close to His heart. In this we see the nurturing aspect of God. It seems especially evident in the last phrase, “He gently leads those that have young.” Look at how lovingly He cares for mothers. We see the same kind of nurturing care that we associate with mothers, in the person of God the Father. That is as it should be and we need to see Yahweh in this light.

In the world, we allocate certain characteristics and behaviors to one of the genders. Then, because we call “God” Father, we subtract from His nature those things we associate with women. As we come to know Yahweh in truth, we find that we have made “Him” in our image. God is neither male nor female. In heaven there is neither female nor male (Galatians 3: 28). What this means for us is that whatever we need, it is in God. If you need a mother “He” is that. All kindness, gentleness, love and nurture come out of Yahweh. Our language requires a pronoun and those are divided by gender, but God cannot be divided by mere language. He is all in all. He is everything we need. He is tender and caring but He is also a strong fortress. Don’t let culture or language steal any part of Yahweh from you.

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Space of Grace

On February 23, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 4: 29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

If you do not stumble here, then you are a perfect person for this is where we usually trip up ourselves, with our mouths. That is the ultimate insight. We damage ourselves with our mouths.

At first reading, this passage is clear enough. However, as we continue to ponder this scripture, one begins to hear a lifestyle emerging through it. Paul was encouraging Christian unity in this chapter. Clearly, there will be no unity in any group if its members do not police their words. Paul leads us a step further though. His words direct us to edify one another with our words. In this he creates a distinction. He didn’t say, “Just keep your mouth shut,” which, by almost anyone’s standard, is good advice. Paul teaches us, instead, to speak words of grace. Our words can lift the hearer. They can build up the group.

Here is the hard part, Paul would have us avoid making statements that are even true if they are likely to disparage another. We are not talking here about lying, never let it be said, but some things just don’t need to be said. As a former lawyer, I can tell you that I struggle with this. Truth is truth and so often I think the scoundrel should be exposed. This is where the world’s way of thinking diverges from God’s way of doing. That is why we have to pay such close attention to the Word. The world’s teaching is engrained within us. Sometimes we have to root it out by really seeing what the Word teaches.

Everything God ever told us, or ever will tell us is for our own good. He didn’t give us a bunch of rules to steal the life from us. He gave us rules to give us life, and that more abundantly. When we let unwholesome speech out of our mouths, we damage ourselves, those who hear, and we do no great favor to the heart of God. However, since we are growing up in the things of God, let us not stop with bridling our tongues. Let’s learn to direct our language in a way which edifies others. Find the space of grace and share it with others. Words can hurt but they can also heal. Use yours to unite and console.

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Billy Graham

On February 22, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

As a fellow North Carolinian, I am blessed today to honor the Reverend Billy Graham who passed over into glory yesterday. The word “reverend” has, at its base, “revere” which describes people’s feelings about Graham and his ministry. He shared God’s love to millions of people, the list of people in heaven because of his compassion and message is quite long. I, too, made a declaration for Christ at a Billy Graham function.

He was an evangelist amongst evangelists. He preached John 3: 16 in over 400 crusades in 185 countries. He literally took the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. He was a friend and confident to presidents and people of influence around the globe. He, more than any other minister, was considered the pastor of the United States. He was personal friends with Martin Luther King and long before it was popular, conducted integrated services, having personally removed the ropes that segregated blacks from whites at his meeting. He was, and is, a man of renown.

He is also a man of humility. He never forsook his rural North Carolina roots nor was he embarrassed by his humble beginnings. He also never seemed impressed by his popularity or fame. He was impressed by the life of Jesus, his savior and it was that story he told convincingly throughout his life and ministry.

When I decided to write about Reverend Graham the verse John 3: 16 leapt to my mind but what set Reverend Graham apart in my mind is John 3: 17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” He certainly was challenged in this stance, especially as his friend Richard Nixon admitted to misdealings in the Watergate scandal. However, he unleashed the power of John 3: 17 when speaking about Bill Clinton’s white house troubles, Graham revealed that we are not given the job to judge but rather to love.

What will be Graham’s legacy? Time will tell. However, the answer lies, at least in part, in the hearts of you and me. Can we answer the call to love without judgement? Will we live our lives to God? Can we preach John 3: 16 to people not because of what we believe they are doing wrong but because of what Jesus did right?

Each generation must be a flag bearer. The mantle has certainly passed but to whom? I believe in my heart that it has passed to you. From the one, to the many we carry forward the message of Jesus, the one who loves us enough to die for us, and of the Father, He who loves us enough to sacrifice His only begotten child, and of the Spirit who has vacated paradise to live with us. If it is true that the Reverend Billy Graham’s legacy is left to you, what would you have that legacy be?

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