Get in the Game

On April 6, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 29: 11

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Writing yesterday’s Word of the Day caused me to think of this verse. To know God’s plans for us is to know goodness and hope. No matter where you are in your life, regardless of past failures or even accomplishments, there is a new horizon out there for you. God has a good plan for you right now. No matter how young or old you are, our Father has a future for you. He has not put you on the bench.

This can be the revelation for which you have been waiting. Perhaps you think you messed up too badly in your last outing. Maybe you think your opportunities have passed you by. Let me assure you, that is not what Yahweh, our God and Father, is thinking about you. He has a plan for you right now. He wants to get you back in the game. He has hope to give you. He has a plan for you and He has your future. So, drink your Gatorade, lace up your shoes and get in the game.

Step one is to go talk with your coach and find out the game plan. You cannot execute until you know the plan. Second, do not be afraid of a little training. Come on, every great athlete or anyone who has succeeded at anything has had to put in some practice. Make it fun. You’ve got the best coach in the world, in the universe for that matter. Enjoy the time of preparation. When it’s go time, you will be bolstered by the time spent in practice. Now, go have some fun.

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Your Good Paths

On April 5, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 143: 10          The Passion Translation

I just want to obey all you ask of me. So teach me, Lord, for you are my God. Your gracious Spirit is all I need, so lead me on good paths that are pleasing to you, my one and only God!

Sometimes life makes you weary and not only can it be difficult to figure out which way to turn, the deliberation itself can be exhausting. That is what I hear from David in this passage. He reduced the expanse of his life, troubles and decisions to a single idea, “Just lead me in your paths.”

We have many goals and aspirations but what we need is the peace of knowing we are on the paths He has chosen for us. When God gives you a dream or a vision, you are filled with the energy and enthusiasm to accomplish it. I believe knowing you are in God’s plan for you is the most freeing of feelings. He is willing to guide us daily as well as on life’s journey and that is a comfort too.

I think this prayer is one of the most mentally and emotionally satisfying requests we can make. Life can be very complicated. It is simplified, though, when we are able to follow Him. If our desire is to obey Him, then we find we release a great deal of the angst that non-believers carry daily.

Have some time with Father and pray this prayer to Him. Let all the stress and anxiety flow upline to Him and just be free. Breathe deeply, letting Him release toxins from your body and reoxygenate your cells. I’m telling you, when you throw all that you concern yourself with onto His broad shoulders, you may feel like you have taken your first full breath in months, maybe even years. There is so much life in putting ourselves in His hands and seeking His ways. Receive rest for your soul today.

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He’s Alive

On April 2, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 1: 3

To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God.

I have been thinking about Easter, as, I am sure, many of you have as well. What new can be said about the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of our Lord? Nothing perhaps, but what I have been thinking is that he is alive. Now, we all know that, but I wonder if I act like it is true. We sometimes know things in our minds which aren’t quite realities in our hearts.

So, what is the message of Easter? There are so many important concepts which flow from the cross but the one I am wrapped up in is that Jesus is alive, and more to the point, his life is now in me. We are each renewed, not just from a theoretical or theological point of view but instead, renewed and reborn as new creations in his blood. Our hearts and spirits are washed and new. In the surrender to Jesus’ saving grace, is our forgiveness of ourselves and our remaking. We’ve seen how David failed, how Moses stumbled. Peter, one of the great apostles, denied Jesus three times and worse yet, he did so at Jesus’ hour of greatest torment.

I have been listening to the song, “He’s Alive.” It is an account of Peter’s reconciliation with Christ after his denial of Jesus. The songwriter, Don Francisco expressed this much better than I can. Peter is speaking:

When at last it came to choices
I denied I knew His name
Even if He was alive
It wouldn’t be the same

Suddenly the air was filled
With strange and sweet perfume
Light that came from everywhere
Drove shadows from the room

Jesus stood before me
With His arms held open wide
And I fell down on my knees
And just clung to Him and cried

He raised me to my feet
And as I looked into His eyes
Love was shining out from Him
Like sunlight from the skies

Guilt in my confusion
Disappeared in sweet release
And every fear I’d ever had
Just melted into peace.

Peter’s story is our story. Each of us has doubted, feared and denied Jesus. We have all fallen short of our own aims, much less the worthiness of Christ’s sacrifice. None the less, Jesus reaches out and takes us into his arms. As we look in his eyes, we see none of the judgment or recrimination we deserve. He doesn’t even have to say a word; his eyes and his gentle smile tell us that he loves us and that we are accepted. “Enter into my grace,” he might say to us, “Enter and find peace.”

Jesus is alive and what that means to me this Easter is that we can all throw ourselves at his feet with our burdens of guilt and shame. Easter means that like Jesus, we arise. As he lifts us up, our burdens fall from us and we become holy because he is holy. He is alive and we are okay because he buried our sin and guilt.

Praise the Father of our Lord Jesus and bless Jesus’ name forever. Glory to Father, Son and Spirit! Cause your Spirit to rest upon us, dear Father, refreshing us in your glory and grace. And let us dwell in your presence and abide in your love today and evermore!

Click below to watch a video of David Phelps singing “He’s Alive!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gGa1w_bnvM

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Comfort and Assurance

On April 1, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 29: 12 -14

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes.

Comfort and assurance, those are the two feelings I want to transmit to you today. It is my hope that these verses reassure you about the God who wanted to be a Father. He longs to be found by you. He wants to hear what you have to say. He is listening.

How many people simply long for someone who will listen to them? We have a Father who desires conversation with us. I think of how we pray and I wonder if it is what He has in mind. Further, I don’t think it is even what we want. Is it fulfilling to recite our laundry list of needs and wants or do we really crave talking with Him and having Him really hear us?

I think of Yahweh Father sitting in the middle of a large room. We, like small children, have been arranged in a big circle around Him. We have our eyes closed. Then He says, “Okay, come find me!” My word! We open our eyes and He is right there in front of us. It is so easy. But then, we become adults and we can’t find Him. Are our eyes wide open and yet we cannot see Him? I can see our adult selves roaming all over the room looking and asking each other, “Do you know where He is? Have you seen Him?” It must be frustrating to be God. He keeps saying, “I am right here; right in front of you.” And I say to my neighbor, “Did you hear something?”

When we were children, in our hearts and chronologically perhaps, we opened our eyes and, with great glee, ran to the Father and jumped all over Him. Let’s do that again. Let’s be five years old and not care, or even think to care, what others think. Let’s go talk with Dad and tell Him all the things which are on our minds and hearts.

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Lovingkindness

On March 31, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 25: 10

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

God wants to constantly lead you onto paths of goodness. He wants to give you a life of joy, peace and prosperity. He is a good God. But we have a part too. First, we have to yield to Him enough to let Him guide us. That means that you can’t be headstrong and independent.

Secondly, we need to learn to keep His Word. The covenant is our bargain with the Lord. It represents our promises to God and His to us. We are supposed to heed His commands and honor Him, and He is to meet all of our needs. That means our every need, every need you can even imagine. We choose to participate in this love fest, or we opt out. You participate by doing those things that you see in the word. But even that, we do not have to do on our own. We can pray and ask the father to help us to grow and to change. We can use His strength to forgive someone we would rather not forgive or whatever it is that we need to do. We move through our love for the Father and then His love for us sustains us in all things. Then all our paths will be lovingkindness and truth.

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Shepherding the Flock

On March 30, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 13: 17

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

It is hard to be a pastor. Even harder to be blessed with divine sight. I want to help people and sometimes I can see so clearly exactly where they are. I know I could help them. Sometimes I even offer, but I can’t invade. They must ask for my help. I can even give people a prophetic word but if they don’t move on it or ask for more, the moment and the opportunity may pass. I feel the resolution so close but for that person, it may be to them as looking through fog. If they only knew how close they were to their breakthrough. Just take my hand. Let me help you!

I have been asking the Lord a lot about ministry over the last year. What is our role? What good are any of us actually doing? I watched the church as a whole fail miserably when the Covid Pandemic struck. We lost our Billy Graham and there was no voice to fill the void. What is it that any of us can do? What should we be doing for our congregations?  What do people need and/or want?

There are many more questions, as the issue is quite complicated. You are part of the situation too. You aren’t sure where to turn or whether or not a pastor can actually help you. The role of the minister has gotten lost. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just a difficult time. Even before the pandemic, parishioners were changing, and the church was struggling to change to meet those changing needs.

Here is the good news. All bets are off. We are free to rewrite the book on ministry. God has given us lots of guidance in His book and He is showing us new ways we can help the people for which He will hold us accountable.  We can remake the church, saving parts and adding new things too.

I believe the ministry to which God has called me is being remade to meet new challenges. A great deal of what any minister does, though, depends on you. We, as ministers, must give you invitation to take advantage of the anointing which is upon us. That will only happen if you believe God has anointed us with ministry gifts. Second, if we make it taboo for people to ask their ministers for help then it will become a sign of weakness instead of a sign of wisdom for people to ask their ministers for their leadership. Here is the thing, I know there is a place and time for us to stand in the pulpit but there is also a time when we need to minister in small groups and individually. You need to call us. You need to pull on us so that we hear the need. And, you need to let us help you. We do have skills and gifts we would give to you. Though, truth be told, we are learning new ways every day with which to meet the needs of God’s people.

The challenges are very real because the landscape is changing. We do not always know how to offer the help you need nor do you know where the new boundaries lie. Neither do we but it is a brave new world with new potential. Let your ministers help you, nay, demand that we do. We will find our way in this new world, together. You will lead us by your requests, and we will lead with the gifts of God’s Spirit. Life, the church and the needs of the congregation have changed forever. Together, we will rebuild in ways that we couldn’t have foreseen years ago. We will rebuild stronger than ever and with more of the life and light of Christ than before. We needn’t mourn what we’ve lost but rather look ahead to the new thing God has in store for us. He hasn’t lost His way.

The anointing, which is upon pastors and ministers, has been given, by God, to bless His people. Do not let those gifts die on the vine. Call on the ministers of God to minister His grace and wisdom. Call upon us to fulfill our calling.

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Heart’s Cry

On March 29, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 142: 1 – 2

I cry out with my voice to the Lord; with my voice I implore the Lord for compassion. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him.

I shared with you Friday that God called David, “a man after My heart,” (Acts 13: 22). That declaration further resonated with me when I read this passage. I was moved at how David poured out his heart to God. You can hear the emotion and passion in David’s cry. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I admire David so highly. He was able to express himself with fervor and meaning. Perhaps I like him because he expresses for me what I am unable to say for myself. I can read this psalm and agree, effectively taking David’s prayer to the Lord with my name on it.

I am moved and impressed by the honesty of emotion with which David addresses the Lord. The situation was that Saul and his army scoured the land in search of David to kill him even though David had been a loyal servant to Saul.  So, David and his followers fled and hid in a cave.  They were desperate and frightened. While hiding in that cave, surrounded by his enemies, David literally cried out to the Lord.

There is another element of David’s relationship with the Lord that beckons. It shows in verse 5 where he wrote, “I cried out to You, Lord; I said, “You are my refuge.” David had an ability to cast his care upon the Lord and put his entire trust in God’s ability and willingness to rescue him. In verse 6 he wrote, “Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.” His full faith and his confidence were in God. That is not to say he was not frightened. He cried out in desperate fear. None the less, he believed that God would not forsake him.

I believe this trust and confidence in God, along with the intimate familiarity he expressed in communion with Yahweh are some of the key factors which caused God to call David a man after His own heart. David didn’t stand afar and shout at God. He cried out to his Father. He poured his emotions out to the only one who could help him, and even if he cried out in desperation, it was with a desperate faith. He believed God would rescue him. David believed God.

Still, there is more. David shared his heart with God. He bared his soul to God. Many people would find that hard to do, but I believe it was a key element in their relationship. David’s belief and confidence were so strong, his faith so resolute that it drove him into an intimacy that most of us can only dream of. He cried out to his Father, divulging all his deepest emotions and fears because he trusted his Lord. He trusted God from the depth of his soul, and he gave God the care of that soul believing the Lord would never let him down. And he was right. God didn’t let him down. That heart that cried out like a little child is what moved the Father. The love and trust of a child for his father is what ministered to the heart of God such that they became knitted together in an unbreakable bond.

I want that and I hope you long for such a relationship too. We can have it, you know. We just need to break free of the fetters which restrain us. What are those manacles? Pride, perhaps; self-reliance, ego, coolness, guilt, unworthiness, sin. The list goes on. Anything which we allow to restrict our movement towards God or blocks His path to us creates the chains of bondage.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, loose us and set us free. Draw us closer to you today and answer our cry of desperation. Reach out to us, Father, and help us to relinquish any tie which has bound us; any barrier which has prevented pure and uninterrupted communication between us. Help us to give you our hearts. Give us a faith strong enough that we may surrender all of who we are in complete confidence that you will bear us up and protect our emotional as well as our spiritual wellbeing. Father, as many as who will pray this with me today, give them the strength to be weak and the courage to show vulnerability. For this, Father, I humbly pray and offer you thanks. May you be blessed in your children. Amen.

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