Essential Warfare

On January 3, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 10: 3 – 4

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Well, by now you know that the weapons of our warfare are the Word of God and prayer. It is interesting to pause and think what our weapons are not. They are not gossip, backbiting, nor argument. Our weapons are not anger, harsh speech nor fisticuffs. You see, the picture that the Lord is painting for us here is one very different from that of which most of us are familiar. He teaches us that our methods for dealing with situations and people have changed because we are changed.

When people are angry with one another, they talk bad about the other person. They attempt to run that person down in the eyes of others. We love to talk about the horrible things they have done to us in an attempt to demonstrate what horrible people they are or at least how vindicated we are. God says that is not the way. It is not His way. We are not supposed to fight our problems, the devil nor the antagonistic and annoying people in our lives the same way that the world does. We are not supposed to use the methods that we have seen all our lives because that is not His way. He teaches us that His way to overcome problems and adversity is to pray and to use the Word of God. He tells us more than once that we are to pray for our enemies. We are supposed to be speaking His Word into and over the situation instead of reacting like we did when we were sinners. Now we are children of the King and we are supposed to act like it. We have the power of the kingdom behind us. All we need do is to speak the Word.

Back to Top

Fresh Start

On January 2, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 5: 17               (NIRV)

The old is gone! The new has come!

Hallelujah! Old things are gone and it is a new day! Our old nature is gone and a new creation is born. Yesterday is firmly in the past and it is a bright new day. Last year is behind us and we have a brand new, clean slate upon which to write. The old things are passed away with all their sorrow and worry. If last year was a bit tough, fear not because it is a new day and we all get a do over. We can have new hopes and new dreams. They are not tarnished by last year’s failures, fears or lack. We get to start with a new, fresh, clean outlook. No matter how difficult your past, no matter what restraints hindered you last year or years previous, today is a new day and you get to write the story anyway you wish. Do not even consider your past as you look into your future. The old is gone! It is dead and passed away. Jesus says in Revelation 21: 5, “Behold, I do a new thing.” He makes all things new.

Were you ever hampered by low self-esteem? Did you have a disadvantage past? Were you subject to crippling fears, health challenges, loneliness? Well, I’ve great news for you today! That is all in the past. It is a new year and this new year has in its breath the hope of great and wonderful things for you. You can soar like you never before even dreamed possible. It has the hope of a future. It is a fresh, faced youth with no past only a bright and glorious future. It is forward looking and has belief in all opportunities and excited anticipation of the numerous and magnificent blessings the Lord has in store for you.

Don’t look behind you anymore. You do not have to carry your past into your future. It is dead and gone. Leave it buried. You are a new creation and you have a brand new start beginning today. Grab a hold of your newness. Embrace your own freshness. Let you be you perhaps for the first time in your life. Do not be what others made you to be, give free expression to the glorious creature God created in you. Don’t let age hinder you. Don’t let anything constrain you. You are God’s most glorious creation and He wants to see you soar on the winds the way he created you to. Past injuries? They are history. You are a new creature; born anew with no hurts or anxieties when you let the Lord, our God be your father; your dad. He is a great and wonderful parent who has re-birthed you. He has never and will never treat you in any way that would cause you injury or trauma. You are brand new today. Throw away all of the past and believe for your bright future. It is calling you. It is beckoning. Answer the call and Happy New Year!

Back to Top
Back to Top
Back to Top
Back to Top

Christmas Faith

On December 27, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 1: 38

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”

Put yourself, for a moment, in Mary’s shoes. She was a young, unwed, though engaged woman when the angel Gabriel appeared to her announcing that she would conceive and bear a son. She questioned Gabriel about how such a thing could come to be since she was still a virgin. He responded, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Now, stop right here. What would your next statement be, your thoughts? “Can this be? Have I lost my mind? What will my mother say? What about my friends? Gracious, what will Joseph, my intended say and do?” Think about it. If she consents, then she is about to show up pregnant in her community. What will the village elders think? Fornication is a sin and how else does one get pregnant. Can’t you imagine she would have a lot of questions for Gabriel? I would want to see his angel credentials. Thankfully, Mary was much more faithful and trusting. She said, “Okay, let it be done to me exactly as you have said.”

Do you believe for a moment that she did not understand the implications and ramifications of her decision? Somehow she trusted God above the social repercussions. She must have trusted God to keep her safe. She must have trusted Gabriel’s words when he said that nothing would be impossible with God. She took an enormous risk with her engagement and even with her life.

The point of this story is not that we should worship Mary for her faith. The point is that we ought to learn that trust in God is not misplaced. Through Mary’s act of trust and faith, we may learn how to trust God ourselves. What if we truly believed that with God nothing is impossible.

What is God asking you to do? Are you to preach on the other side of the globe? Or perhaps God just wants you to speak to your neighbor. Honestly, it takes as much trust and faith for one as for the other. This Christmas season I ask you to ponder what you might do if you really believed that nothing is impossible with God. Maybe you would be healed, start a new project, write a book, sing a song . . .. Maybe you can finally take that step that God has been speaking to you for years. Perhaps we can all trust Him just a bit more. Mary’s faith changed the world. Maybe ours can do the same.

Back to Top

Unwed Shame

On December 26, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 2: 4 – 5

And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

Mary, the mother of Jesus; venerated, adored and even prayed to, alas was an unwed, pregnant woman.

The Christmas story of Jesus’ birth is such a heartwarming tale. I love to read it every year and try to imagine the glory of the Lord shining over the shepherds. What was it like to see the angelic and heavenly host singing praises to God. Wow! Just Wow! It is epic and I want to be translated back to that lonely field and witness the glory of the Lord. As I read, again, the glorious account of the arrival of Messiah, I am struck by the reality Mary, Joseph and others had to live in order to bring this miracle into the earth. I am humbled and whisper softly, “Thank you Father for these obedient servants.” I do not pray to Mary, but I sure am grateful and praise the Father that she hearkened to His voice and His will.

Consider for a moment, people all over this globe have heard the story of the Virgin Mary. She has been depicted in art probably more than any other person in history save Jesus himself. The truth is, though, she was an unwed mother. Now how does that truth play in your neighborhood? What do you think the neighbors said over 2000 years ago? Do you think everyone rushed to her side when her pregnancy was revealed? How celebrated do you think she was then? Think of all of her neighbors. I bet she had one of those judgmental, gossipy old crones living just down the street from her family’s home. Can you for a moment imagine what her parents endured? And bless Joseph, he hung in there with her but at first he wanted to put her quietly away. How familiar does that sound?

There is not going to be another virgin birth but what these matriarchal heroes endured for the glory of the coming king, gives me pause. What would I have said about Mary if I lived down the street from her when her pregnancy was exposed? As much as I do not wish to admit it, I can tell you that I would have judged her. I would probably have thought less kindly towards her and Joseph. I certainly would have assumed I knew how they came to be in that unfortunate circumstance.

I am condemned; not they. They obeyed God at great personal cost. The result of their obedience and shame is my own salvation. I must consider my judgmental attitudes and repent. Who is it today that I judge? Are they not also the beloved of God? Is God’s heart grieved when I judge and criticize His child? “Oh Lord, my God, save me from myself! Help me, help us all to have tender hearts towards all your children, especially, Father, those who appear far from you for we can never know their hearts or circumstances but we do know that you love them as much as you love precious Jesus. No matter how damaged and broken we are, regardless of how far we have wandered from the path, your heart is for us. Help us all to remember the pregnant, unmarried mother of the savior of the world when next we think harsh, judgmental words about one of your own.”

No minister and no ministry is perfect; I least of all. Nonetheless, I wish to echo Jesus’ beckoning statement, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Do you know someone who feels shunned or branded as an outcast? Is there someone in your life who feels they have been let down by the church? Jesus took all judgment onto himself so that the grace of God could come on us. Let those people know that God loves them and so do we. In the famous words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us everyone.” And Scrooge, that means you too.

Back to Top