Evil for Good

On December 7, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 35: 12 – 15

They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together.

Let’s get real for a minute, especially with the holidays upon us. Life is not always fair though I believe it should be. David suffered what many of you have. People don’t treat you as you treat them. When they were sick or troubled, you humbled yourself and prayed for them as you would your own mother. However, without provocation they turn on you. They backbite and scoff saying all sorts of untrue and hateful things about you. The worst part of it for most of us is that these “friends” are usually Christians. That really hurts. Then when they have trouble again, Dad taps you on the shoulder and asks you to pray for them. Well, I don’t always want to pray for those people either, so I know how it pains you. I have argued with God about praying for people who aren’t nice to me. Now at the holidays, these issues seem to take on even greater proportions. So, what are we to say to this and how are we to deal with it.

Our praying for those obnoxious and hurtful people has way more to do with our relationship with Dad than those people. He asks us to pray because He is working with us. He binds Himself to us through these requests. When we do His work, i.e. blessing the unlovely, we move closer to Him. My survival technique, therefore, is to make it about God and not about them. It is something Father and I do together and it becomes a bonding experience, kind of like surviving a disaster. It still isn’t easy at times but the more I require Him to pray with me and through me, the easier it becomes. Face it, it is a lot harder praying for the people who don’t deserve it but that is where maturity enters in. David prayed for the hateful, spiteful people in his life because he knew it was the spiritually mature thing to do. He knew his father wanted him to. That does not make their behavior just or right. It’s just that God has to turn to the mature among us for these things. We don’t have to like it but when you find yourself growing together with God through the shared experience, it becomes tolerable.

So as you attend the company Christmas party and family get togethers this year, make sure to take Jesus with you. Pray before you go. Actually, begin praying now. Let the Lord speak and move through you. Let his voice and love soothe you and bless all God’s children in his name.

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Hope Alive

On December 6, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 5: 5

[A]nd hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I feel real sorrow for the unsaved because they have no hope. I think it a horrible thing to live life without hope. When something bad happens in the life of a believer, we can always turn to our father for help in a time of need, and He is always there to render assistance or even a rescue if necessary. To whom do the unsaved turn? What hope have they?

No matter your problem or difficulty; no matter the challenge, you have a constant helper in the Holy Spirit, who was sent into this earth specifically for that reason. No matter how steep the mountain, the Holy Spirit is here to not only help you scale it, if need be, but also to move that mountain completely out of your way. Whatever you are facing today, let hope well up in your heart because God’s love has been poured out into your heart and His love brings hope. Grasp the fact that you have a way out of your most trying problems. You have a way to win. Then also take a moment to pray for all the lost. Even as you thank God that He has given you hope, ask that He send hope and salvation to the needy. Let the world receive hope through the love that was given to us through the Holy Spirit of God.

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Who May Abide?

On December 5, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 15

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

David asks a good question here, does he not? Who may abide with God, abide in His tent? The answer David provided is simple but certainly not easy. Can we stand up to this list? I have good news. This is not our test for abiding with the Father. Our test is only one question and it is a simple yes/no question. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior? If you answer yes to this question then the Father has provided suitable habitation for you to live together with Him now and forever.

Our righteousness is in Jesus and him alone. All of the things David aspired to and listed for God’s people are values we should ascribe to, of course. Being accepted by Christ compels us to acts of morality, decency and ethical behavior. It should call us into the highest levels of character. However, nothing we can do on our own will win favor with God nor secure us a place in eternity. Christ is our way, the only way. His blood washes us clean and secures our place in God’s tent.

On the one hand, that takes a tremendous amount of weight and worry off of us. On the other hand, realizing the truth of this construct creates, hopefully, a desire to make Jesus’ sacrifice meaningful. It may stir up a sincere desire to do something for him, not out of duty but out of love. It makes us better people than we were on our own. There is no thank you large enough to cover what God and Jesus have done for us. I don’t think for one minute we should take for granted the gift they have given us. Equally insulting, though, is for us to try to earn it. Actually, I think it is far more egregious. Trying to earn it, is as if to say their sacrifice was not good enough, like our labor and good works could ever add anything to the blessing they have bestowed on us.

So, we revel in the grace that was poured out for us and we glorify Father and Son for making us family. We can be happy and rejoice in having a home with a loving Father. We do good because they are good and our hearts draw us to be more like them because we admire them. There is nothing left for us to earn. They have done it all. Celebrate with Father and Son in the miracle of your salvation and in your adoption as a child of the Most High and be blessed.

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Compelled by Love

On December 4, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 5: 14 – 15      (CSB)

For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

There are two pieces of this scripture, as I see it. Dying with Christ and living for him. Jesus died for us all, we know that, and our sinful selves were crucified with him. Thank God! Then, there is life after death, this life we now live in our mortal bodies is a life after our crucifixion and burial with Christ. Paul believed that the love of Christ compels this conclusion and compels us. Do you agree? Paul writes that because Jesus died for us, we no longer live for ourselves, but for him. Are we compelled by our conclusions and beliefs to live our lives for Christ?

Frankly, it is a privilege to live for Christ. I praise God that we can live our lives in and through Christ, but I believe this verse raises some large and rather personal questions. Do I actually feel compelled by his sacrifice to live for him rather than for myself? And if this compulsion is present in my thoughts and heart, have I followed through on it? What does it even mean to live no longer for myself but for the one who died for me and who was raised?

It is only in Christ that we have life at all. We were raised with him, sanctified and redeemed. Life without Christ is no life at all but as I ponder my life and the lives of other Christians, I find myself wondering if we do much justice to his sacrifice. Do I honor his sacrifice by truly living my life in and through him? Or is he an afterthought at the end of my day? What does life look like between morning devotions and evening prayers? Is the life I give him what he bargained for at the cross?

As I pose these questions, the answers are all too obvious and I fear I fall far short of the goal. I give him and those he died for so little when he gave me his all. I also find myself lamenting the lack of zeal in my generation. We seem to have fallen asleep at the wheel. I wonder what legacy we will have to give to the next generation of believers. Will they be even more apathetic than we? What can we do, no what can I do, to awaken an entire generation to the glorious life we could have in Christ? How can we stir up the gift inside of us, as Paul counseled Timothy, so that our passion is ignited?

I pray, in the name of the anointed one, that as we bask in the Christmas Spirit, something will happen within each of us so that every soul will be touched and renewed. I pray that we will share in Jesus this season and that his Spirit will kindle something within us so that we burn for him as never before. May your heart and spirit be blessed with the grace and love of the Lord Jesus, and may his life and light burn within you as an unquenchable fire. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Bless the Lord, all you saints. Amen.

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Camels and Gnats

On December 1, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 23: 24

You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

The camel of which Jesus warns, is judgment. I know I am guilty in this. As we judge what is wrong in others or with other’s behaviors we commit an even bigger crime, that of judgment. There is grace from God for all mistakes, error and sin. However, you will find that judgment is one of the hardest attributes to be forgiven of. Why? It is because a judgmental heart does not know grace and mercy. Therefore, the person who is critical and judgmental does not have that well of God’s grace within themselves to draw upon, even for themselves. They are choking on a camel while criticizing another for their gnat sized fault. It turns out, therefore, that we are best able to experience forgiveness for all of our imperfections when we first extend the grace and forgiveness of God to others. Another way of understanding this is that we create an environment of grace when we extend forgiveness to others, which we then become the foremost benefactors of.

It seems the church is often the last one to the party in the sense that we, who purportedly love the God of love, are often the most critical and judgmental of all people. For once, I would like the Christian Church to be the leader in embracing all people with the profound love of God. Maybe then, we could also receive forgiveness for ourselves and abandon the embittered personalities that so many of us tend to show to the public. There is enough love in our God for the whole world, but it must come through us.

Ultimately, this is a message of healing and it is a selfish message. If we would heal ourselves, it must be through the outpouring of grace, mercy and fellowship that our Father has poured out on us. When we finally, embrace who we are in Christ, then we will finally forgive ourselves and at long last we will receive the warmth of God’s forgiveness into our very spirits. We will be healed. We will be whole and God will be able to move into our hearts and make His home there. We will be fulfilled and will overflow with joy. Our freedom, our healing and our ultimate joy are found in accepting others without judgment or criticism. So do yourself a favor, let grace and acceptance be your calling cards. Let love have her perfect way in your heart.

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Home for the Holidays

On November 30, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 68: 6

God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The holidays are a time of friends and family and yet for many people, it is the loneliest time of the year. A friend of mind mentioned recently that loneliness is a pronounced contributor to mental illness. Most of us have dealt with loneliness at some point in our lives but God is present to say, today, that we need not be lonely. We have a God who cares for us. Moreover, He is a caring, loving father and He has made a place for us in His heart.

I want you to know that God is actively thinking about you right now. He has plans for your well-being. Despite your current situation, you do not have to live apart from love. The transformation, however, often takes place inside of you first. Some of us are alone because some of our decisions led us into the place of aloneness. Whatever is in our hearts, though, that keeps us isolated, can be renewed so that we find a world of people who are willing and even desirous of spending time with us.

Have you ever felt you were living in a desert? I sure have and I never want to go back to those times. This verse says that our isolation in the desert came out of our rebellious nature. Those are not easy words to hear but for me it was true. When I relaxed into my relationship with God and ceased striving and toiling for everything, including hearing His voice, then I began to find a new relationship with Him. My effort and self-reliance separated me from Him. I tried so hard but finding is easy when you stop trying and simply open your eyes. He is right there, I promise, but we build such walls around ourselves that our perceptions become numb and His voice muted.

God created this entire planet, everything on it and even the solar system in which it revolves just so He could have a family. He didn’t create deserts for His children. Deserts exist in our lives when we do not allow Him to pour His living water into us. They are of our own making. He gave us Eden and we turned it into a desert. Here is the good news, though. We have the same power to renew Eden into the glorious garden of our heart where we can, and do, walk with God in the cool of the evening.

I pray that this Christmas season, you find new connections with your Divine Father and that those bonds lead you to increased relations with others so that you will never experience loneliness again. I pray that the joy of God’s heart will be reverberate in yours this season. When we connect with Yahweh in the way He intended, we never will feel alone again. Happy Holidays!

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Practice Presence

On November 29, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 5: 16

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

This passage is speaking of Jesus. Most of the scripture reveals His public ministry but this is a glimpse into Jesus’ personal habits. Ministry isn’t that different from sports. The success is in the preparation. For athletes we like to say it is what you do away from the cameras that really matters. We know from Acts 10: 38 that Jesus was anointed with Power and the Holy Spirit. That should be enough, one would think, to be anointed by God, but Jesus developed the gift in Him by spending time alone with his father and the Holy Spirit. It is that alone time that built Him up and prepared Him for the work of the Lord. It was necessary, vital time.

Not much has changed. We can have the same anointing as Jesus, many do. But we, like Jesus, need time to develop the gifts inside of us. We need time alone with God, quiet time that He can use to build us up and develop us. You and I are never going to develop spiritually by spending an hour in church once or twice a week. For that matter, no amount of time at church is going to replace the time that you need to spend alone with your father. Church serves a different function and was never meant to replace quiet time with the Lord. I wish for you all to have fulfilling intimacy with the Lord. I want you to be as close to Him personally as you want to be. That only comes by time with Him though. You have to sneak away from the bustle of life and find quiet time with him. For those of you with a lot of time on your hands, praise God. You have the time others have a hard time finding. Don’t let yourself be lonely. Use that time to get into God’s presence. The rewards are awesome.

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