Wait Lifting

On September 16, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Hebrews 4: 11

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

No, I didn’t misspell the word “wait” in the title. There is a concept imbedded in those two words. It is the precept that in our quiet contemplation with the Lord there is power to lift great weight and succeed in every calling of the Lord.

I was speaking with some friends last week when this idea, this principle came to the foreground of my thoughts and I have been unable to shake it. The awareness that we are meant to glean from this passage is that our labor, our effort is in entering into the rest of the Father whereby we cease from our striving. In Him, we are able to do all things (Philippians 4: 13). Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15: 5). Therefore, the purpose of our effort is to become integrated with Him and thus be “in Him.” The King James Bible says it this way, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

We have become such externalists that our faith and the expression of our faith has become largely external rather than internal. Contrast this ideology with some of the great historical icons of our faith. People like Thomas á Kempis, Martin Luther or Julian of Norwich. These and others, noticeably the Apostles John and Paul, believed and argued that the labor of our faith was to come to know God in the quietness of our spirits. Our faith is not in the things we do but in our connection internally with the Father, Son and Spirit. This is our works, extending our faith, believing with our hearts. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6: 29).

We should not “do” works at the cost of sacrificing the quiet contemplation of our souls. Instead, external work should be at the direction of our Father and as an extension of the quiet, meditative connection with the Father. As in all things, balance is key. I know people who are so spiritual that they are no earthly good. What do I mean? They spend all of their time feeding themselves but it never has any expression beyond their own gorging. The true unity with God ought to show. It ought to spill over on to others but not by mere works but rather from the overflowing grace of the Lord.

When we rest in the presence of the Lord we gain substantively. This is not all subjective. It has real world consequences that can be objectively observed. We are empowered in the presence of the Lord and through communion with His Spirit we are guided; directed. He imbues us with power and then directs that power to His good intentions. “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40: 31). He fills us up to overflowing, speaks to us in our spirits and directs our paths. He gives us the power to do all things. All of this comes from spending time and investing our effort in “knowing Him” and the power which flows from just such a knowing (Philippians 3: 10). 

When Moses died and Joshua was appointed by God to take over the leadership of the nation of Israel God’s advice to Joshua was, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success (Joshua 1: 8). I think that same advice will serve us well today. We should wait upon the Lord in the meditation of the Word, prayer and in the contemplation of the Lord. In that waiting, that quiet communion spent with the Lord, is great power; great strength. As we rest in Him, as we wait in His presence and in prayer He performs the works; His power goes into action rather than our limited power. He assigns angels and directs ministering spirits. His is the power which does all of the heavy lifting while we meditate in Him and the authority of His grace. In Him, in our rest, we become powerful ministers of the gospel of grace. In Him we become mighty “wait lifters”.

Please share your thoughts with me. How did this Word of the Day impact you? We always appreciate your comments. Thank you.

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Power Line

On September 15, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Zechariah 4: 6

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts.

God tells us to rely on the power of His Spirit instead of trying to accomplish matters in our own strength. It is so easy to get caught up in your own skills, talents and even education and not turn matters over to the Father. I should know because I have been around this mountain more than once. This goes to the theme of doing things the easy way or the hard way. We can struggle in our own strength but it is a much more difficult way to live and a life less successful. God’s way is for us to walk in love and prayer and leave the heavy lifting to him. He will make your ways straight if you will only release your work and problems to him. Give him the situation in prayer and then let go of it. He will work it out and lead you to solutions while you spend your time in prayer and thanksgiving. Pray for the situation. Pray for the people involved and then thank the Lord of the Harvest for your solution.

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Perfect Reliability

On September 14, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 40: 8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

There is one thing you can count on all of the time. No matter what comes and goes, no matter what changes we go through in the world, our God is never changing and his Word is unshakeable. If you feel that sometimes you are walking in quick sand know that our God has given you a firm foundation in his Word. Regardless of what you are going through or where you are in your life, the Word is solid and reliable. It means exactly what it says and you can depend on it and on our Father. If you find a promise in his Word, it is just as applicable to you now as it was when it was first written or spoken. He is the God who is more than enough and he has given you a book of inspiration and promises so that you will have everything that you need at all times.

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We Shall Not Fear

On September 11, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 91: 5

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day.

 On this anniversary of 9/11 I wish to remind you and encourage you that with God we do not have to be afraid. No terror, no terrorist, no terrorist act can steal the faith, confidence and trust we have in the Lord Jesus nor in our loving Father. God has provided for our protection and safe keeping. We can run around in fear, which is horrible for your health by the way, or we can press into God and clothe ourselves with His goodness and His protection. He is a strong refuge, He is our strong refuge. “I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge” (Psalm 71: 7). 

There were many lives lost in the 9/11 tragedy, too many. There were also numerous people who survived because they listened to an inner voice and stopped for a coffee or felt a nudge on the inside and changed their schedule. Their stories are rarely heard but they are out there and they are a witness and encouragement. King David was saved by God time and time again. He relied on God’s ability to shelter him. He trusted that God was going to save him from every kind of peril. We need to stand in this same kind of trust and confidence and in so doing thwart every threat and scheme of evil.

As we honor and remember those heroes, friends and countrymen and their families, those who paid the highest price one can pay for freedom, rededicate yourself to living in the protective custody of our Lord and savior. Pray for all free people to live free from fear and terror. Pray for the peace of Jesus for those who lost someone dear. Also, be determined to live in the victory and glory of Jesus. Let us not bow to fear and to terror but instead raise the banner of Jesus who has crushed the enemy. Speak safety, security and strength over our nation and over the God loving countries of the world. We must stand stronger than ever before in our faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus and our beloved Father. Declare with boldness that you will not bow to terror. Embrace the Father as your fortress and do not be afraid.

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The Surprising Arsenal

On September 10, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Last week my mom called and told me that she had employed my spiritual warfare tactic of sowing into a ministry when the devil is putting up road blocks. She put today’s scripture into effect. Overcome evil with good.

The devil really, really hates it when he is trying to bother you and you write a check to God’s work. It is one of my favorite tactics and I will say that I enjoy doing it. We have learned by now that trying to get back at someone or trading blows with them is not going to yield the fruit we want. In fact, there is no spiritual weapon or spiritual warfare tactic for striking back at our enemies. Jesus said to pray for them (Matthew 5: 44).  

The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (2 Corinthians 10: 4). Besides prayer, the weapons of our warfare are love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22). Now, if you choke on that a bit, I don’t blame you but ultimately we need to figure out what works and abandon that which doesn’t. The Apostle Paul knew more about fighting these battles than most of us ever will so when he says overcome evil with good he must have known what he was talking about. I believe an extension of what he was saying is that we will never overcome evil with evil. In order to overcome at all we must fight with the weapons of our warfare, namely that which is good.

I also believe Paul is telling us that we never have to be overcome by evil. The reason is that we have a savior. Besides just having the loving grace of Jesus, we also have his victory which has crushed ultimate evil. Jesus is good. He dwells in goodness and kindness. Therefore, the weapons of our warfare are good. Jesus defeated the devil by doing a good thing, really a great thing. He gave in order to conquer. Certainly that is not how most people strategize for battle. That is why giving is such a powerful weapon. It imitates Christ. That is also why it bothers Satan so much. It is a reminder of how he was defeated.  

Let this revelation sink into you. Our God is a good God and His overcoming is in His goodness. Overcome evil every time. It has no hold over you. Let goodness and righteousness be your banner.

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Preferred Placement

On September 9, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 10

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

Can you imagine a pastor standing up in front of the congregation and delivering this message today? It just doesn’t sound like a modern message to me. I wonder how well it would go over. Brotherly love isn’t something we discuss frequently and I don’t think I have heard many, if any, sermons on showing preference to one another. I am not being critical. I am just saying that this might not be the way we think and dialogue these days.

You know, this really is a tough scripture when you think about it. We live in the “Me” generation and are working on getting our own needs met. Then we move into getting all of our desires met above and beyond all that we can think or ask. That’s Bible, it’s scriptural so how do we reconcile this passage with all the teaching on God wanting to bless us supernaturally?

I think the reconciliation is in our “getting”. When our eyes are on others and we are putting their needs ahead of ours then we are in the will of God. We don’t strive in order to get. That is the key. We allow God to be the giver rather that for us to labor in the getting. But this goes way, way beyond money and things. This is about humility in human relationships. 

When you are in a body of believers who all subscribe to this philosophy it really can be heaven on earth. The difficulty comes when you are constantly forced to interact with those who are not only carnally minded but self-minded. They are always seeking to fill their own desires so the human inside of us feels compelled to push back some. These self-oriented people may make you feel like they will swallow you whole. Therefore, your internal man attempts to defend itself. Don’t we wish we just didn’t have to be around them. Their dialogue is always about what they want and they really don’t care what anyone else wants. I can appreciate that if you have some of those people in your life it can be very taxing. It may be too obvious if you send them today’s Word of the Day.

Here is what we have to do. We must begin to pray for them. Notice I didn’t say about them. Praying “about” people means we are praying our agenda. Praying for them allows God to apply His will. Clearly the love of God is not perfected in any of us yet. Their self-centeredness is the revelation of their heart that they have not received the love of God. They do not yet have a inward revelation of God’s love for them personally. They may intellectually know that God loves them but the tape in their head of their unworthiness is probably playing louder. It is our unworthiness, though, that makes the love of God so profound. Once we accept our unworthiness and reconcile ourselves to that truth then we are finally free to receive the unmerited love and favor of God. Then we humbly give to others and make preference for them with honor because we know at such a personal level how Yahweh and Jesus have done the same for us. This is called “loving the unlovely” and it is really hard because your natural person resurrects its ugly self. However, the more we can receive the truth about the love the Father has for us, the more we will be able to make others needs and wants a higher priority than ours. I don’t say it is easy but if we can all make a little shift in that direction, then all will be better and easier.

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God is Good

On September 8, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is a well-known verse; we spend a great deal of time and explanation on the concepts of transformation and renewal, as well we should. I wonder, however, if we ever pause and consider the last part of the verse, “that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Pondering this latter section brings to me two ideas.

First, believers often want to know what the will of God is. Well, here is a very good clue. When considering options we can always be assured that God’s will is in that which is good and acceptable and perfect. If any of those three characteristics are present then we may well be able to recognize God’s will in a situation. Always look for that which is good if you want to find God’s will.

Secondly, so often believers and others blame God when bad events happen in the world or in their lives but you see, bad things are not God’s will. We understand that now, don’t we? His will is that which is good, acceptable and perfect. Therefore, typhoons are not His will. Cancer is not His will. Everything which is bad is outside of the will of God. 

He made a perfect garden called Eden. That we would live in a perfect garden which had spread across the entire surface of the earth was His will. Unfortunately, we let sin and corruption into the world. Now we are faced with the ravages that corruption and decay have wrought on our planet. Sin was not God’s will. Humans had and have a will of their own. And there have been consequences to our acts as there ever will be. Whatever we sow into the earth is what the earth will produce. However, you can know what God’s will is and that will always be the thing which is perfect and whole. He wants for you perfect health and wholeness in your relationships. He wants good situations and blessing in your life. He is the God of good, acceptable and perfect. Anything less just isn’t God!

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