God of Comfort

2nd Corinthians 1: 3 – 4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Do you wish to be a disciple of Christ? Do you want to be a person that God can use? If so, then you have to make yourself ready. You have to receive the comfort which you will need for others.

Most of us want to be soldiers for the Lord but we fail to understand that God’s soldiers don’t carry swords, they come with healing. They come bearing good news of the Kingdom. Jesus said he came to set free those who are downtrodden (Luke 4: 18). This statement he quoted from a passage in Isaiah, which reads, “to bind up the brokenhearted.” This is such a big part of the ministry of the gospel. People are hurting. In many ways most of us have broken hearts. Jesus came to heal those hearts. As Disciples of Christ, we are to continue his work. Here is the thing though, most of us are so injured and scarred that all we bring is judgment and criticism. If we are going to be useful to Jesus, we must first get healed ourselves.

Why does this frighten people so? We walk around badly injured but do very little to receive healing. Do we delude ourselves that if we just let time pass, we will heal. Observation suggests that just the opposite is true. Our wounds fester rather than heal. Then the hurts of our hearts make it not only impossible to carry out the works of the good news but instead we go about hurting others. You cannot give what you have not first received. We cannot comfort others with the good news of the gospel if we will not first receive the comfort and healing that we promise to others. Our words will not ring true and our testimony of our fruit will scream, “Hypocrite!” I realize we are all trying our best but success isn’t in trying alone. We must be equipped with the right tools, the first of which is our own healed heart.

There are plenty of methods, modalities, tools and mechanisms for healing. Our big brother is THE great healer and he got all of his skill and anointing from our Father. Healing is in our house. Is it even rational to think that God has not provided the means by which we are to be emotionally and mentally healed? Did we think healing was only for our bodies? We are three-dimensional beings. Do you think God did not know that and provide for wholeness for every aspect of our lives? That seems an unreasonable speculation.

It is high time the body of Christ stopped going around as the walking wounded. It is time we cooperate with the Holy Spirit for the healing of our hearts. It is time to let Dad repair the damage of our past and of just living in the world. Won’t you trust Him with your heart, with your wounds? Will you reach out to receive, not only the comfort of God, but also the myriad of tools and methodologies He has provided for our healing. Bless the Lord and trust Him with your heart.

Beautiful

Psalm 27: 2 – 3

When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident.

This is one of those passages where we really need to slow down and savor every word. How amazing these statements are! David wrote this about the actual challenges he faced. His enemy tripped and fell when they arranged themselves against him. Where would your heart be; how strong your confidence if a host quite literally surrounded you? Why David’s immense confidence?

David had experience with God’s power; specifically His power to protect and rescue him. In verse two David tells us very clearly that his enemies, who were evildoers, pursued him meaning to devour him. These were angry, violent men who meant to destroy David physically and even to wipe the memory of him off of the face of the earth. David stood and beheld the glory of the Lord though. He watched as his adversaries “stumbled”. Do you know who the stumbling block is? Jesus is the stumbling block. David was saved many times by the mighty hand of the Lord.

Why were David’s enemies unable to defeat him? I believe the answer is in verse 4 of this same chapter. David writes, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” There is David’s secret weapon. He adored God. He thought the Lord beautiful, so beautiful, in fact, that all he wanted to do was to be in the Lord’s presence and admire Him. Wow! No wonder his enemies stumbled. How could they even get to David? Well, they couldn’t and I imagine part of the reason is because an angelic host camped around him. I believe they were drawn to David’s adoration of the Lord. God inhabits the praise of His people. That makes a pretty amazing shield but I just think that all sorts of heavenly beings are attracted to an atmosphere of adulation. I can believe they want to soak in those genuine and sincere feelings. They must have flocked to David’s side to join in the worship David offered our God. In a very real sense, though this is a spiritual reality, David’s enemies couldn’t get to him through the heavenly host. They stumbled over angels.

The spiritual things of the world are quite real. Angels are real. We do not interact with them very well because we are very anchored in the three dimensions of the physical world. There is a fourth dimension, though and believe me, spiritual beings can interact with the physical world. Angels actually are ministering spirits that our Father has provided to us. So, just because you do not see them easily, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. You usually cannot see air either but I bet you depend on its presence. I believe that David’s praise, worship, admiration and adoration of the Lord, brought heaven to earth in a very real sense and he gained very real, tangible and substantive help because of it. His desire was to spend his days admiring the one true love of his life, the Father, and it brought the power of God to bear in the earth.

Invigorated

1 Samuel 30: 6

But David strengthened himself in the Lord.

Well, the work week is half-way through and some of us may be finding our energy lagging a bit. Perhaps there have been a few battles in the early part of the week. Certainly David fought battles and found himself weary. He knew how to restore himself though. He found his strength in the Lord.

I love this from Habakkuk, “The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds feet, and makes me walk on my high places” (Habakkuk 3: 19). A hind is a female deer, especially the red deer. They are known for being able to scale the high places, i.e. mountains. There is no rugged, jagged terrain they cannot surmount. If you have ever seen them scampering along a cliff you know how amazingly surefooted they are. Our Father has made us able to navigate the high places too. He also gives us the strength to attain the highest peaks.

The Lord God is our strength Habakkuk reminds us, but once we are fully convinced by Habakkuk, the key for us is found in David’s example. It is not sufficient knowing that the Lord, our God is our strength if we never avail ourselves of His gift. David turned “strength” into a verb. He “strengthened” himself in the Lord. That means David did something proactive in order to receive God’s strength. Receiving is an active process. I think about a wide receiver in football. He has a big job to do in order to receive a pass. Well, God has provided for us but unlike the manna, all these things are not going to rain down on us. We have to turn our attention to Yahweh and receive what He has made available. It does no good to have provision delivered to your front stoop if you never go out and get the boxes.

I pray you, receive God’s strength today. Receive His refreshing. Let Him fill you with all sustenance.

Tired, Weary and Aching

Isaiah 40:29

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.

I am ministering to myself today, tonight actually. It is late in the evening and I owe you a Word of the Day in the morning. I am tired, weary even, my back hurts and I just do not have the strength in myself to produce a Word of the Day. What shall I do? Fortunately, as we all know, our Father gives strength to the weary. What may distinguish me from some people is that I know from experience that I can call upon Him in this time of need. I have had to rely on His strength before.

I hope you have the means to find strength, encouragement and the wisdom for every need. I use www.biblegateway.com to help me find verses to fit my need. I also have a link to Bible Gateway on my website so that you will always be able to find the help you need. Our Word of the Day is archived on our website. It is also searchable. You can find every time in the last ten or so years when I have written about a specific topic. We also have an “Ask Ivey” section on the website where you can write your question and I will answer you. To access any of these resources go to www.iveyministries.org.

Our Father will lead you to passages from His book, which will strengthen and encourage you. I sat down tonight with my computer and searched Bible Gateway for the two words which were most prominent in my mind: strength and weary. You see that Father gave me a perfect verse. He met me at my point of need and filled me. He will do this for you too.

If you are tired and do not feel up to the task ahead, keep re-reading today’s verse and let it minister strength to you.

 Why the Golden Rule?

Matthew 7: 12

Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

God spent the entire Old Testament pointing out the way we should go. He gave us rules which were meant to guide us and keep us from harm. I think of these statements from God as very similar to when we tell a child not to touch the burner on the stove. That instruction is not meant to rob the child of any liberty but rather to protect him. This is what the Law and the Prophets did for us. Those words point out the safe and also lucrative paths.

So, with that background, we reach the question of why we should adhere to the Golden Rule. Another way we have heard the Golden Rule stated is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In other words, treat people the way you want to be treated. Well, why? The answer is because it is in your best interest. When we truly understand that the Kingdom of God operates according to the principle of sowing and reaping then so many of the Bible’s admonitions make sense. Father God gives us specific directions because He knows what the outcome will be for us. As you have undoubtedly heard many pastors teach, forgiveness of someone is not for their sake but for your own.

God has marked out the path. He has advised us of actions specifically to do, as above and acts to intentionally avoid, such as judging others. His motivation in giving these guidelines is the same for each. He is attempting to bring us into a good place. He has demarcation lines which, if followed, will lead us to the land flowing with milk and honey. We fail to follow the correct path sometimes because it looks like a path of rules and restrictions. Nothing could be further from divine reality. In absolute truth, these pathways lead us to greater freedom, victory and success. All the ways of God are filled with His glory and goodness. His aim is to lead you in the way you should go so that you avoid pain and experience success. So, when you read the Bible and see what looks to you like a rule, refocus your eyes and see advice from the wisest of all, advice which will always lead you into abundance and joy. Such is the Golden Rule. Be kind to others. Treat them as you wish they would treat you because God wants to nurture and fertilize your good seed.

No More Famine

Ezekiel 34: 29

And I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.

Do you want to understand how God and His kingdom work? This verse shows us when we stop to pause and consider. Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a seed (Mark 4: 30 – 31). When God restored the nation of Israel He didn’t promise to feed them. He prepared for them good ground where they could sow seed and it would produce such a crop that they should never hunger again nor be at the mercy of other nations.

God is always working through seed. That is why He tries to get us to sow our money seed. It is not that He needs the money. For goodness sake, His driveway is paved with gold. God does not need our money. He is, instead, trying to get a harvest for us. He has provided good ground so that we will never hunger. We should never be at the mercy of the Philistines either because our seed ought to produce a crop.

This is God’s remedy for us, to provide the means by which we will always have everything we need. He prepares the ground and then protects our seed. Our two obligations are sowing and harvesting. This is how the kingdom of God operates. God does not intend that His kids should experience famine. This is the method through which God intends to meet your need. Talk with Him about what seed you should plant and where that fertile soil is which He has prepared for you. Then do not be bashful. Sow generously and harvest bountifully.

Reborn

John 1: 12 – 13

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

As pastors we often talk about believers being adopted into the family of God. The Jews were the family of God but through Jesus those of us who were former Gentiles are now part of the family. Though this is good thought and resonates well, it is a bit of an overstatement as well. In truth, we have been reborn and this second birth was as a child of God. We are born again by the will and design of God as His own children. We have a heritage in Christ and an inheritance.

God ordained and predestined us to be His own children. We have our lineage, then, through Christ to the Father of all. Ruminate on that for a moment. It isn’t just theology to say that we are children of God. It is family history. It is the line of who beget whom. Our lineage is through Jesus to the Father. He, Yahweh, is your real Dad. You were a glimmer in His eye long before your biological father was even a thought. At the dawn of time, God had you in mind. He had a plan for your welfare and your inheritance. His plan was that you would be born into His family and share in all that is His. What do you think of that?

The second time we were born, we were born as royalty. We were born again so that we could get all of the lines of lineage sorted by house. You are a child of the King because when you were reborn you were born of the King. Amen. If you can grasp how ultimately true this concept is, then you will have a new lease on life. You will never see things the same again. You are Yahweh’s kid. He provided the second birth so that you would be born into His family. That’s pretty big.