Loving the Unlovely

On June 3, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 14

Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not.

This is grown-up Christianity. We have gone into the deep water. We know that if we love Christ we will keep his commands. Paul is preaching Christ here. Besides, we know that Jesus is the word, the entire word. But if that is not good enough let us see what Jesus said when he was still in the earth. Matthew 5: 44 reads, “But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” One translation says, “… bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (KJV).

If you do not like these two verses, I don’t blame you. It is just not natural to heap blessing on those who persecute and hate us. But then, we weren’t called to be natural, were we? We are called to be supernatural through the power of Christ at work within us. These circumstances are when we most need the miracle working might of Christ Jesus ministering in us and through us. Jesus said that all things are possible with God (Mark 10: 27) so the key here is that we must be with God. We are not going to succeed in praying for and blessing our persecutors without God’s strength. The Apostle Paul received this revelation as well. In Philippians 4: 13 he wrote, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” With God all things are possible which is a really important thing to know when you believe that He has called you to the impossible like saving a country or forgiving your obnoxious brother-in-law. I wonder which is more difficult. Regardless, you are going to need God’s power and strength in order to do what you are supposed to do. We know that we are to follow all of Jesus’ teachings and obey his commands. If you have made a quality decision to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and be obedient to the calling within you including obeying all of Jesus’ ordinances then you need the power of God at work in your life. But, fear not. Father God has created a foolproof way for each of us to operate in that awesome power that can only be obtained through Him. He just comes and lives inside of us. We take off the grave clothes of our former lives and don the glory of the living God. He, God, becomes again our covering just as in the Garden of Eden when humanity was surrounded by the glory of God.  

There is nothing God cannot due and by extension there is nothing you cannot do when you are joined with the Holy One. You can even pray for your enemies and bless those who persecute you. Your glory is the Lord himself and He will lift you up and He will enable you to do all things. You are half of an unbeatable team. Now, what will you do?

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Bless the Lord

On May 16, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 103: 1

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Let us stop and consider what this really means. What does it mean to you? Is this praise? I don’t think we ever can go wrong in offering praise and I believe that praise always blesses the Lord. However, I hear more in this entreaty than praise alone. The psalmist, David, sounds like he is pulling these lyrics and prayer up from his toes. He commands his own soul to bless the Lord and then He seems to rethink that statement. “Not only,” he might say, “do I demand that my soul bless the Lord but I want to bless Him with everything that is within me.”

This is one of those passages of scripture that is better felt than thought about. I say this because this is an emotional outcry from David and I do not believe we can connect with his sentiments or the words without tapping into something deeper in ourselves. This seems David’s course as well. He wanted His celebration of God to include every fiber of his being. He was reaching into his innermost being to express his great love for God. Have you ever felt that way?

I think when we desire to bless God we will tend to offer him praise and songs but I would wish that we would not overlook the full scope of opportunities to bless God. I wonder if there is any better way to bless Him than to simply say, “I love you Father. Thank you for being my Dad.” We can also bless Him by intentionally choosing courses of action that will please Him. I am thinking of the scenario wherein someone has caused hurt or offense in your life and you say to God, “You know what Father, I am going to choose to forgive that person because you want me to.” Surely He is blessed when His children behave in the ways He has directed us. I believe He is blessed when he watches us write our check to a ministry not because of anything we will get out of it but just because we want to be a blessing.

There are a number of ways we can bless our Lord and what David seems to express in this Psalm is a deep desire to avail himself of every single way he could think of to bless the Lord. His desire to bless the Lord may have even morphed into a deep need to be a blessing. Open that tender part of your heart today and try to connect with David’s heartfelt expression. Let everything within you reach towards the Lord and bless His holy name.

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Poverty like a Thief

On April 11, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 6: 9 – 11

How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man.

God has promised to bless the work of your hands. In fact, in Deuteronomy 30: 9 He promised to “prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand.” The point is, though, that you must set your hand to the plow, as it were. In Colossians 3: 23 Paul teaches that in “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” 

We were never meant to be idle beings. God created the sloth for that purpose. Even in the Garden of Eden humanity was expected to work and produce. The Garden of Eden was nothing more than a seed garden. Adam and Eve were supposed to take those seeds and create a planet of Eden but they failed miserably. Fortunately, despite our failures God always has an alternate blessing plan. If you read the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy you see that He filled the environment with blessing. About the only blessing you will not find is the couch potato blessing.

Have you heard the expression “work hard, play hard”? Is there a reason that work comes before play in that expression? We must first work and then we play with glee.

Your work is meant to be a source of blessing not just a source of income. As a matter of fact, you may be retired. That does not mean that your work has ended. God may have called you into something new. And work doesn’t have to be a bad word. It is meant to be part of our fulfillment. Meaningful work is a delight. Truth be known, when we dedicate it all to the Lord it is He who does the heavy lifting anyway and we get to walk around in the blessing.

No matter what you are called to do it with all your energy as if your boss is Jesus because in truth he is. Do your work with joy. Your joy comes through the Holy Spirit and the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8: 10). You see work doesn’t have to be drudgery. If the Lord has given you something to do, do it with all your might and with joy blessing the Lord that you have something to which to set your hand. There are thousands and millions of people who do not have the opportunities that we have. God is blessing us.

If we do not arise and do what He has called us to do, He will take away what He has given us and give it to someone else to do. Then we will understand that our work was a gift and a blessing. Just a little folding of the hands, just a little laziness and all of a sudden you have moved yourself out of the blessing and into the curse. We have to understand that God has always, since the beginning of time, been trying to bless people. You see it all through the Old Testament. Then Jesus came to bring us abundant life (John 10: 10). You can see the parallel of God’s will in Deuteronomy 30: 9. It has always been about abundant blessing. But there is a thief among us so God began warning us early that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). If we fold our hands and slumber the devil will take free rein with our blessing. Guard diligently what the Lord has given you. He has put all things in your hands for joy and blessing. Don’t let the devil steal your blessing. Instead work diligently with a joyful heart giving the Lord thanks for the multitude of blessings He has given you. Make your work a praise offering to the Lord. Go to work with Him, take Him with you. When you take Jesus with you, then all things are a joy.

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