Hey Kids!

On December 23, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 82: 6

I said, “You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.”

This is a challenging bit of scripture, but the key is that it is scripture. If you value scripture as God’s word to us, then you have to deal with troublesome passages instead of reading over them and discarding them.

In context, God was talking about the lost people in the world. They are lost and without understanding, He said. His next words are, but I have made you Gods and sons of the Most High. In other words, if there are lost souls wandering around in darkness then activate your office as a god and as a child of the Most High to help them.

Father God has given us authority and dominion in the earth and of all the things we seem to misunderstand, this has to be one of the biggest. We keep begging God to do something, yet His response is, “Haven’t I made you a God? And, are you not my child, my lineage, a child of the Almighty? You have the authority to change the situation. I gave you power, might and dominion. I gave you the authority to operate in this realm. Exercise your authority.”

This challenges me and I hope it does you as well. I wrote an email today where I said, “God bless you,” not a bad sentiment, right? But no sooner did it flow out of my fingers, maybe even before I could finish typing it did the thought ring through my mind, “You bless them!” In other words, it is the story of Moses that God turned on me today. In Exodus 14: 15 – 16 is recorded this exchange, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water.” Our God is kind and gentle but I hear Him saying through my filters, “Why are you whining to me when I have given you both the power and the authority to remedy this situation? Do what you have been commissioned to do.”

This is a good passage and a good theme to spend some time pondering. What has God empowered us to do? How is it that we can bless others? How do we use what God has given us to bring about His good in the earth? As always, we are delighted to hear your thoughts.

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Whose Authority?

On October 25, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 12: 49 – 50               NLT

“I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

This is the model of ministry and it applies to clergy as well as lay people. We need only speak what the Father tells us to say.

Pulpit ministry can be challenging and so can ministering to your friends. We, however, make it harder than it was supposed to be. I have come to take this quite literally though. If the Father didn’t speak to me today, you wouldn’t have a Word of the Day. The NASB version reads, “For I did not speak on My own initiative.” Well, if Jesus did not speak unless the Father initiated it then I suppose he would have remained silent. Therefore, unless the Father gives me something to write, I don’t see the point in writing anything.

A lot of what we give people is actually our opinion. Jesus didn’t speak from opinion but from the inspiration of the Father. Jesus didn’t even recognize his own authority to speak. He deferred to God. Now, if Jesus didn’t speak from his knowledge and authority, who are we to offer anything other than what the Father gives us to say?

It is quite humbling. I also think many seminaries miss God right here. Students are taught how to craft a sermon and how to deliver one, but I wonder how often they are taught to follow only the inspiration of God rather than speaking from knowledge or their education. One might think, well, it’s Saturday, I’ve got to have a sermon for tomorrow but, if God doesn’t give it, I wonder if we are best to remain silent. I know that feeling.

There are days I sit down to write and feel as empty as can be. I pick up my Bible and look for the inspiration of the day. There are times when I have read, flipped pages, read again and can’t find a single thing that seems to have an anointing on it. I’ll pray, whine, importune, and read again. Sometimes I think there is nothing to say, nothing to write. However, as of this writing we have produced 3050 Word of the Day, daily devotionals. Never once has the Father let me down. Sure, I panicked a time or two but now I just say, “Dad, if you want a Word of the Day for tomorrow, you are going to have to write it or tell me what you want.” I refuse to worry about it. If our Father cannot provide a Word of the Day, then one will not be sent. You do not need what I have to say. You only benefit from a Word from the Lord.

The same is true when you witness to others or have friends who ask questions. The only valid answer is, “Let’s see what the Word says.” If you think you are going to learn a bunch of stuff and then lead others, you are going to find yourself and your followers out in the tall weeds. If Jesus didn’t teach, lead and preach in his wisdom and through his authority, then we are certainly not qualified. And rather than taking that as a put down, I think it should relieve you. God definitely does not require you to do something Jesus wasn’t even required to do. So, that weight should fall off your shoulders realizing that your Father provides and if He does not give you the words to say, then you are not required to say anything.

There is a really big and important lesson in this, and this lesson applies to preachers as well as laity. If Jesus didn’t speak of his own initiative but only said what Father God told him to say, then that is good enough for me too.

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Save the Wicked

On November 12, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 10: 15

Break the arm of the wicked and evil person. Punish his wickedness until you find no more.

This doesn’t seem a very Christian concept, does it? Yet, I wager most of us have felt the emotions articulated by this psalmist. You may wish to read the entire psalm, it isn’t long, in order to get the full flavor of this psalmist’s sentiments. He sees the poor and down trodden, the innocent, taken advantage of. He witnessed the arrogance of the wicked and their boasts that there is no God. No wonder in the last verses he adjures God to “Rise up.”

Why doesn’t God reach out his hand against these wicked people? Why doesn’t he just wipe them from the earth. I perceive two reasons why God does not simply obliterate them. First, He is love. If you know God and know that He is love, then that is always the first answer. Everything He does is colored by love. He wants these people saved rather than condemned. He wants all people to come to the full knowledge of His saving grace.

Second, He wants to give us room to exercise the authority He has given us. It sometimes appears that He is standing far off, but He actually is acting. He is nudging us, through His Holy Spirit, to defend the oppressed. We have been given the victory in Jesus and God’s plan is that we would enforce that victory. We have the sword of the Spirit and another mighty weapon, prayer. God is attempting to grow up His children so that we can take over the family business, now and through eternity. He has ministering spirits standing by, ready for action whenever we exercise our Kingdom Authority. That authority enables us to save the wicked and redeem the persecuted. We are not administrators of hate but rather of love and love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Pull out your sword and defend the weak. Wield your weapons and save the heart which is turned away from God for that is a brokenness that can be repaired by love.

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Choices

On August 31, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 30

I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do.

Who killed Jesus? Some people say the Jews, other argue the Romans while the best answer may be you and me. However, the right answer is no one. Jesus gave up his spirit. He gave his life on the cross. The Jews tried many times to take him but he would disappear and they were never able to lay their hands on him. Jesus tells us in this verse that because he loves the Father and because the Father commanded him, he, Jesus chose the cross. He gave up his life out of his love for the Father, his devotion to God’s commands, but also so that all the world would see and know this love which changes the world. He sowed his life into this world so that all would see and would have the means to turn to God and be saved. What a choice.

I want you to see one other thing in today’s verse. Jesus was clear on his position with the Father. He also knew, without any doubt, that Yahweh is the benevolent Father. Jesus’ belief in the Father’s love and in His power never faltered. However, he was also cognizant of another authority, the ruler of the world. He was talking about Satan and though Satan had legal authority Jesus says, plainly, “he has nothing in Me.” You’ve got to love that.

This goes along well with yesterday’s Word of the Day. We get to choose whose back yard we play in. Jesus knew Satan had nothing in him because all the days of his life he served his father and his father alone. Jesus had to deal with hardships, he battled temptation but he knew that, although Satan had authority, position and even some power, he could not exercise any of it over Jesus because Jesus was founded in God. Yahweh was (and is) Jesus’ fortress. He is Jesus’ strength and the authority that Jesus has in the Father trumps anything Satan ever threw at Jesus. Sure, Jesus had to fight temptation. He resisted to the point of sweating blood but his Father empowered him for just such a stand of faith. Jesus exercised his partnership with the Father and he was always victorious. And, that is another way we know that Jesus gave his life rather than anyone taking it from him. No one could take his life because he was in the Father and the Father in him and they are an unbeatable pair.

Now the story gets even better. We have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If we work with them and connect with their life within us, we can have the same power partnership that saw Jesus through the toughest of times. Really, we have an even more powerful union because we have Jesus in addition to the Father. All of the power of the trinity resides within us right now. There is nothing we need that we do not already have. The trick is for us to learn to work with the Trinity the way Jesus did with the Father.

Are you rejoicing yet? The power of the Father, the glory of the Son and the creative energy of the Spirit are intertwined with your spirit right now. I want you to practice feeling your spirit. You know how to check your body. You know how to check your emotions. We need to be experts at connecting with our spirits. What is going on in your gut right now, non-biologically? What sensation is right behind your belly button? Do you feel peace, anxiety, rushed? When you have that sense of inner calm, how does that feel? Can you sense your spirit? Get accustomed to checking your spirit routinely and then branch out into the interwoven presence of the Holy Trinity within you. This is your power source. This is the boardroom of the partnership. You will feel the Lord within you and you will hear his voice. The more you hear his voice within you, the easier it will be to navigate all of life’s adventures.

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Couch Potato

On July 20, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 14: 15

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”

I have been having an interesting conversation with a friend of mine this week. The gist of it is that as Christians, we sometimes wait around for God to do things for us when He has already provided everything we need. We live a very passive Christianity when God has in mind a partnership. Perhaps we do not cognitively think that we can be idle and God will do everything for us but our behaviors indicate that we may believe this is the case.

Moses and the Israelites certainly had that mentality. They were backed up to the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army was closing in. Can you imagine the wailing and caterwauling that must have been going on? God said, “Why are you crying out to me?” In other words, “You have and the sons of Israel have all you need for this situation. Stretch out your hand and part the sea.” Wow! Isn’t that something? “You lift up your hand”, God says.

But now, wait a minute. Haven’t we been taught that we are not supposed to be working in the power of our might? Absolutely! But do you really think Moses parted the Red Sea in the power of his might? Of course not. This is called moving in the power of God’s might, using your authority in Christ. This is the secret. We don’t sit on our hands and wait for God to drop things in our lap because He has given us His name and His authority. Likewise, we don’t move in our power or wisdom but rather in His. We are partners with God through Christ Jesus.

I see so many ineffective, powerless Christians and this just ought not be. Our Father is the big guy, the creator, Yahweh but we go around like orphans. Look, if you were the child of Queen Elizabeth would you go around like you had no authority? Of course not but one key is that you would need to understand your authority.

This is a really big deal. We need to learn to walk in the power of God. We must learn to work with the Holy Spirit and live in the blessing of our Lord Jesus. This is a life of balance, neither relying on our strength nor resigning ourselves to the couch awaiting miracles to fall upon us. I encourage you to ponder this subject and send us your thoughts. Perhaps we can have a good dialogue about how this actually works out in real life.

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Lessons from Walt Disney

On July 14, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 12: 3          NIV

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips – who is our master?”

Most people wouldn’t come right out and defy God the way the speaker in today’s verse does but many of us say as much by our actions. Proverb 3: 6 which teaches us to acknowledge God in all our ways. Verse 5 of that same proverb tells us to not lean on our own understanding but rather to trust God. Do you see a picture forming here? We are not to try to excel in our own strength but instead to trust God and lean on Him. This teaching applies to us all but I think it can be hardest to accept by those people who: 1) have big personalities, or 2) have been successful in their earthly walk. Now, in order to really progress, they must deal with their egos and personalities.
I recently saw the movie Saving Mr. Banks which is the story of the making of the movie Mary Poppins. The Disney studios worked with the author of the book series who by all accounts was difficult at best. At one point I was rather impressed by Walt Disney’s approach. He, being Walt Disney, had a certain amount of authority, personality and success which he certainly could employ in order to get his way in matters. In this case, however, he did not try to overcome the difficult author by persuasive speech, his rather impressive record of successes nor did he try to cajole or intimidate her. This surprised me. I thought back in my own life as I tried to influence situations and obstinate, even intractable, people through the mere weight and power of my personality, persuasive arguments, reason and whatever other worldly tools were available to me. Of course, this is not the way the Father is leading us and I find that I end up feeling a little uncomfortable when I apply these techniques. Ms. Travers, the author, rather expected Disney to bully her but he didn’t. Instead of pressuring Ms. Travers, he endeavored to know her better. He sought understanding and wisdom. Once he did that he could meet her need and still make the picture. 
 
Our heavenly father would have us learn this same lesson. We are not called to win or overcome by the power of our personalities or our speaking skills. We are absolutely never to bully people into compliance nor to deceive them with half-truths and pretty speeches. There should be absolute honesty in all of our approaches and dealings with people. These are the children of God. Even if you don’t like them or they are standing in the way of what you want that does not give you the right to move them against their will or bully them. Your task is to find out what their need is and fill it. The person who wins is the one who fills the most needs of other people.

We belong to God. He owns our mouths and our lips and we reflect on Him with everything we do. We have a master. Although our egos may rail at the thought of having a master if we are Christian then it is true. It is by His grace and His blessing that we are supposed to get the things that we desire. If we have to do it through the force of our personalities or by persuasion then we are operating in the flesh and outside of God’s will. This is a hard lesson but one that is so important for us to learn because on the other side is God’s blessing and peace.

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Poised for Promotion

On June 1, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 6: 5

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.

Just in case you thought Friday’s word was a fluke and could ignore it, here is another book in which God commands us to be good employees. God is concerned with the condition of our spirits and our testimony. In everything we do, we are representatives of Him. If we talk about others behind their backs, then we are being bad stewards of the faith God has placed in us. That is especially detrimental when that person is our boss or pastor or some other person God has placed in authority. You are damaging your own spirit and spiritual growth as well as sowing bad seeds and disobeying the directions of the Lord.

Your boss or whomever that person of authority is, will account to God for their actions and that really is none of your concern. Your calling requires you to be the best employee you can and to pray for all of those who are in authority positions. God wants to be able to use you. He wants to be able to send you into situations where you can do His work. You have to take your eyes off of yourself first. Do not be self-concerned but instead pray. God might have put you under that person just because they do need help. How is God supposed to move in the earth if every time he sends a Christian into a situation, they gripe and criticize, worrying only about themselves and their rewards? If the circumstances are not perfect where you work then maybe it is that very brokenness that has attracted God’s attention and the reason why He has sent you there. Be faithful in your current position. Show God you have what it takes to be one of his lieutenants. Then you will be poised for promotion.

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