Chasing God

On January 22, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   2 Comments

1 Chronicles 28: 9           New Living Bible

If you seek him, you will find him.

What do you want from Christianity? Is your main purpose to avoid hell? That’s not hard. Do you perhaps expect and desire more? What is it that draws you to Christ and to Christianity?

I hope your answer is that you want to know Yahweh, Jesus and the Holy Spirit personally; you want to be their friend; to have a personal relationship with the God of Divine Creation. To my way of thinking, those of you who answer in this way are true Christians. There are many people who sit on a pew on Sundays and who even go through many of the forms and rituals of a Christians existence, but who are missing the critical piece, a life with Christ. This is what matters.

What does this look like? Well maybe it is church on Sunday and Wednesday, but it is definitely washing dishes with Jesus, riding a bike with Yahweh, walking with the Holy Spirit. Relationship with the Triple Crown of Divinity is living a life with them. Hopefully Sunday school and Bible study are done together with the Father, Son and Spirit, but there are tons of folks who are not engaged with Jesus even in those “spiritual” things.

One of the reasons bicycle riding became so important to me was because it was time Father and I spent together. It became a large part of my spiritual and emotional health regime. To this day I even get jealous with my time when I have been riding with friends because, although I enjoy riding with friends very much, I sometimes just want to get out there alone with Dad.

The best way to develop a personal friendship with any of the members of the Trinity is to seek them. You know my story how, I wanted a deeper, closer relationship with God, so I chased Him all the way out to California from North Carolina. I like to say, “I chased Him until He caught me!” It is so true, and that is how I can tell you that this verse is absolutely true. If you seek Him, you will find Him.

So, what do you want from Christianity. Do want to go to church and have friends? Do you want to learn Bible Scriptures and be knowledgeable about the Bible? Or, do you want to know God? Please answer the latter and seek Him. I promise, you do not have to chase Him all the way across the country. You can chase Him to your backyard or your spare bedroom. You can chase until you find Him in your kitchen. Start your prayer this way, “Father, Dad, I am seeking you. I am searching for you and a closer relationship with you. Reveal yourself to me. Teach me how to seek you.” Be still, be quiet and feel your heart. Have a Bible near in case He wants to speak through it, but listen in your heart, not your brain. You will learn other ways to seek Him and then it would be great for you to share them with the class, so to speak. Use the comments section in any Word of the Day to share with all of us the things the Lord is teaching you. Let’s start the best possible kind of revolution – one of determined purpose to know Jesus and Yahweh better, as our very best friends.

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Of Friends and Family

On November 4, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 18: 24

God’s Word

Friends can destroy one another, but a loving friend can stick closer than family.

NIV

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I have been thinking about friendship much lately. To capture what I have been thinking I need both translations above. First, a good friend can be a source of tremendous joy and support. There is a type of friend who loves, accepts and supports better than family. They honor their friends and appreciates their achievements without being judgmental of the failures. If you have the great fortune to have this kind of friend, hang on to them. They are a pure joy, a blessing from heaven. David had a friend like this. King Saul’s son, Jonathan, loved David like a brother, or even better. Their hearts were knit together.

There is also the other kind of “friend” mentioned in the verse above. Some people call themselves a friend but are more likely to bring you to ruin than to help you grow. They truly have the power to destroy and they wield it. It is sad when friends injure friends, but it happens. In those times, you realize they were not truly friends at all. True friends should be as Jesus, sacrificial. They should exhibit the Christ like ideal of serving others rather than being so self-absorbed. One of the problems we encounter in the world is that people are damaged commodities.

None of us get through this world unscathed. It is only the love of the Father and the healing touch of Jesus which repairs the injuries we pick up as we travel through the world. So, those who do not allow themselves to be healed, will often hurt others. It’s not that they intend to cause harm, but they are so busy protecting themselves and looking after their self-interests that they will cause injury to others. Of course, they have a way of justifying their behavior. Mostly, they will blame the person to whom they owe fealty but abandon. To put it plainly, they will stab you in the back, yet blame you. In their brokenness, they must find a way to excuse their behavior because in their hearts, they know they are wrong.

Most of you have experienced both kinds of friends. The one who love you better than your family is a treasure more valuable than gold. The other kind of friend will cause you deep pain, hurt and confusion. Here is my advice for both kinds of friends: thank God for the former and pray for the latter. Certainly, do a self-evaluation and prayerfully consider whether there is something within you which needs addressing but don’t carry other people’s damage in your heart. Pray for them and let them go.

Spend time with Jesus and become close with him. Actually, spend enough quality time talking with him that he feels like a good friend to, you. Tell him your thoughts and invite him to your events. You may find there are times you don’t want to be around other humans because it interferes with your time shared with Jesus. Don’t apologize for that. You need it and Jesus wants to hang out with you.

I want you to have close human friends upon whom you can rely. I want you to enjoy what those special friends can bring to your life. However, I also want you to be so close in your relationship with Jesus that you are never alone. He is the ultimate friend, the friend who loves you even more than family, the friend who will never let you down. He is the best friend any of us can have.

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Alone and Afraid

On April 2, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Deuteronomy 31: 6

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”

This is one of those verses we want to be true. It is also a good verse upon which to test your resolve. Are you a believer? Do you believe this verse is an actual promise from God to you? Can you stand on it? Well, that is the question, isn’t it?

Face it, there are times that despite our spirituality, we just feel alone. Intellectually, we know better. At least we know that the Bible says that God will never leave nor forsake us. Sometimes, though, you look into your spirit, you try to quiet yourself and all you hear is silence. It is in those times we must preach to ourselves and that is exactly what Father told me to do recently in my journaling. He said, “Preach to yourself what you would say to someone else.” That advice and the idea that He is with us all the time has stayed with me a lot lately.

The whole truth is that God cannot leave us even if He wanted to. Of course, you know He wants to be with you 24/7. He said to me, “That has been the point of this whole thing. It’s the reason I sent Jesus to earth.” This brings to my remembrance the promise in John 14: 23, “If anyone loves Me . . . My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” God’s purpose in sending Jesus to earth was so that we could again come into communion with Him. He wanted to establish a community of believers for Himself where He could set up His home within our hearts and be with us forever. Jesus, speaking of the Holy Spirit said, “. . . but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you,” (John 14:16). If He abides in us and with us, how can we ever be apart from Him? Those verses account for the abiding presence of the Father, Jesus and the Spirit. That’s pretty good company.

This should give us GREAT comfort and confidence. Today’s verse is from the Old Testament. How much greater is the good news since Jesus graced the earth. Even back then it is said, “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed,” (Deuteronomy 31: 8). Why should we be fearful or forlorn? Why should we be depressed or lonely? Our Father, our beloved, is with us every minute of every day. He and His heavenly host even watch over us while we sleep. God gave up Jesus whom He loves so that He can be with us night and day. He is not about to abandon us now after all the work He did to make His home with us.

Jesus said he left his peace here for us (John 14: 27). This verse is only four verses after Jesus said that he and the Father would make their abode with us. Part of that peace, it seems to me, is in knowing that the Holy Trinity is with you all of the time, day and night, at work at home. Whatever you do, wherever you go, they are there, with you. I write this hoping it will help you create more of a “God with me” identity. We need not be afraid or tremble. We can be strong and courageous of whatever tomorrow brings for our Lord and God is with us and goes before us. He will never, for one minute, leave us nor will He ever forsake us. You have a friend, a permanent friend, who, if you will let Him, will be your best friend for all time.

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Friend or Enemy

On July 5, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

James 4: 4              NIV

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

On a recent trip out of town I visited a YMCA in that city. Of course, many of you know the YMCA is a Christian organization. This particular Y says of its mission: “To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.” A noble mission statement, you would agree. You know, as well, that I am a fan of the YMCA organization and its mission. Ivey Ministries, in fact, has donated to the Y and I have personally too. It is a great organization which is helping many people.

Even the Y, though, is vulnerable to the wiles of the world. Each of us is susceptible to becoming so friendly with the world that we become enemies of God. On this day I rode a bicycle spin class. The instructor gave each song title as it began to play. Imagine my surprise when she announced the song playing as, “Summer of the Occult.” Really? I said, “What?” So, she repeated it. Yep, that’s what she said alright. I just knew I misheard her. After class I approached her and mentioned that, in my humble opinion, songs of the occult are not appropriate for a Christian organization. She immediately looked threatened and began walking away but answered me saying, “Well, it’s just music.” Of course, that is not a sufficient answer. That is called friendship with the enemy which puts us at enmity with God, or hostile to God.

You know, for the first time in my life I had a very clear picture of what it must have been like in the story of the Gadarene demoniacs from Matthew 8. Verse 29 reads, “And they cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’” That woman could not get away from me fast enough. The spirit behind that song selection could sense the Spirit in me and it wanted no part of Jesus’ Spirit.

We need to exercise caution in our lives because that easily could have been you or me. For all I know, that instructor may love Jesus intensely. This is not a criticism of her or the YMCA but if this is happening in a declared Christian organization, don’t you think it can happen other places too? Our homes and our churches are not even immune.

The problem is that we fall in love with the things of the world, such as the world’s music. We may say to ourselves, like the instructor said to me, “It’s only music.” Well, first of all, few things have the power to move our spirits more than music which is exactly why this is problematic. As it is, we use worldly music at the Y for our classes but occult music goes too far. It makes me wonder, though, if we have tolerated or befriended too much of the world’s music.

For some of us it isn’t music but rather television shows and movies. Their very themes fly in the face of holiness and godliness, but we enjoy them. So, bit by bit we sequester our Christianity to give lee way to the things of the world. We court the world and its many enticements, but the price is very high. Look at today’s verse from the Passion translation, “You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!”

This is a big problem which, I think, needs attention brought to it. Our Christianity is often more worldly than holy. Just a little of this or a bit of that and the next thing you know, we are more heathen than Christian. It is a challenge. We live in this world but we are not to be a part of it. We are supposed to be sanctified, which means set apart. We shouldn’t look like, sound like or sing like the world.

I do not want you to react in fear over this, however. This is a call to faith, prayer, and devotion. It is a caution too. We should pay attention to ourselves, our churches and our church programs, especially youth programs. Most of us want to be cool but at what price? I hear pastors saying things that make my skin crawl. It is not that they are bad people. They have just been enticed by the world. Guard yourself. Guard your family and home and guard your church and all its programs. Pray for your workplace and your workout place. Pray for the stores you frequent and every place you go. All these places need the presence of God in them.

The enemy is on the move and we are fools if we don’t understand that. He is infiltrating our Christian sanctuaries. We must awaken and get our heads out of the sand. We have floated around too long in the comfort of worldly pleasures. Now we are about to pay the price and a very high price at that if we don’t awaken and become the vigilant force we were always meant to be. The time for fat, cultural Christianity is at end. Take up your sword, which is the Word of God, and stand for your God. And by all means, push back. Don’t just tolerate this heathen infiltration of your life and organizations. Pray but also do not be afraid to speak up. Even if you are the only person willing to stand, stand just the same. Write to me and I will support you. You are not alone.

Friends of the world are enemies of God. We are forced to choose. Don’t tell me your choice. Show me!

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Big Worship

On June 14, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 95: 6

Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

This is a famous scripture on worship. It is a call to worship. It is also an Old Testament call and we certainly think differently on worship these days, but, do we have a good definition of worship now? Do we really know what worship is? How many of us kneel to worship? Do we consider kneeling or bowing down a form of worship? Search the Old Testament and you will find a lot of bowing down. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it. I am simply suggesting that the reality is that our ideas about worship have changed yet we haven’t fully grasped, especially in a way we can recite, what our current ideas of worship include. Today, I would like to suggest something for you to think about and perhaps include in your definition of worship.

I had the thought last week that the highest form of worship is fellowship with God. Is that a stretch? Imagine yourself as the first person on the earth. What did worship look like then? Worship to God is not what we, as humans, make it to be. When men have sought worship for themselves it usually involved a lot of bowing and kowtowing. God does not have an ego problem. He does not need people groveling on the ground before Him in order to feel good about Himself. I think there must be more to it than submission.

I had a splendid time with the Lord one day last week; you know, one of those days when His presence was just louder and stronger than some others. At the end of the day, I remarked at my journaling especially. His tone was so different from normal. He was almost childlike in His enthusiasm. Over and over I tried to capture the word for His tone. Was it more personal, more intimate? One thing that became clear is that it was less deific, less like the all-powerful God and more like a Father, even like a friend. I heard His enthusiasm, even excitement. This led me into further contemplation until I arrived at the epiphany that worship is fellowship.

There is not greater level of worship than fellowship with God, nothing He would prefer than time with you. You see, to fellowship with God is to express many things you believe and even feel about Him. First of all, if your fellowship is “hanging out with God” what does that say? It says that you believe He is real, that He is more than a far removed deity, that He cares about your thoughts, that He wants to spend time with you and that He is a personal Father, a personal friend. Can you see this? Worship can become so formal or ritualistic that it takes on the form of an idol. Even in our personal worship time, many of us have stagnated so that our worship has lost any true flavor. God is not a God of ritual. That is all us. We turn worship, praise and prayer into religion and that is not what He wants. He wants us to hang out with Him, to talk with Him as if we are conversing with our very best friend. Do you see why, then, I think this is the very highest form of worship. It is an absolute admission that God is my friend and that I want to spend time with Him. I am declaring to Him that spending time with Him is important to me. It is not something I have to do but rather something I want to do. What would you say if your kids just wanted to come hang out with you. Is there a higher compliment, especially when they don’t want anything from you?

Don’t get me wrong. There should be no reconstruction of this devotional to say I do not believe in worship. According to Wikipedia worship is “the expression of reverence or adoration.” Two comments on this definition: first, it is a human definition, second, there is no articulation of groveling in the dirt. As a human definition goes, I think it is appropriate but ask yourself how God would define worship. Secondly, even in this definition, which must fall short of God’s, the essence is being in love with God. Adoration is at the head. So, worship God with your time. Leave the religion on the altar and just hang out with your best friend.

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My Buddy

On January 24, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 16 – 17

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

I started to send you scriptures today which show the Holy Spirit as the promise of God, there are quite a few, but perhaps you have already come to that conclusion. This scripture from Haggai spells it out simply enough, “As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” (Haggai 2: 5). This scripture is great assurance that God fulfilled the promise He made. The bigger question, therefore, may be, why is this so important? What does the fulfillment of this promise mean to me? That is the question I would like to attempt to answer today.

Jesus was the first to teach about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was referred to by many prophets and writers, but Jesus told us about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. We find key language in today’s verse. Jesus called the Holy Spirit our “Helper.” If you check this word in your Strong’s Concordance or even in the footnotes, you find the word here which is translated into English as helper also means comforter, intercessor and most interesting of all, one who is called to go alongside. This is the idea I would like you take away from today’s Word of the Day. The Holy Spirit was sent to us by God as a fulfillment of His promise so that we would have a constant companion, someone who will go along beside us regardless of the circumstance.

It is remarkable that God, at the request of Jesus, would send His Own Spirit to be our companion. Even more remarkable, though, is that this cohort, this third person of the Trinity, is called to walk along beside us. This should give even greater insight to the idea of partnership with the Holy Spirit. God didn’t send us a boss. There is absolutely nothing tyrannical in our relationship with the Spirit. At the deepest level of truth, Father God sent us a friend, a buddy. That is the key revelation of the Holy Spirit. That is the revelation that could, and dare I say, should, change your life forever.

There is so much more that he does for us but it all flows from this relationship, or friendship. He is our teacher, an intercessor, he assists us in prayer. He is the Spirit of Truth and leads us in all truth. He is our guide and our confidante. The big revelation, though, is that he is your friend. He is with you every moment of your life. He is the breath in your lungs. There is a scripture which says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” (Proverb 18: 24). This is the Spirit, the living water which quenches our thirst. This is our friend.

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My Friends

On April 4, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 15: 14

You are My friends if you do what I command you.

Jesus defined very clearly what he expects of his friends. He said that he no longer calls us servants but rather friends (John 15: 15). I do not have all the answers for yesterday’s questions but Jesus has answered one for us. His friends do as he says. What does that mean though?

At a minimum it means that we do everything in red type. If we do that, I believe we are doing well. The reality, though, is that everything in the Bible is him since he is the Word. I think we read the Bible and have good intentions. We embrace with our minds, with our intellect the things we see of Jesus in the Bible. It is quite a different thing, though, to actually live by his words. This is what his friends do however. This is the defining difference between slaves and friends but significantly this “doing” must come from our hearts. If it becomes a “work” i.e. something we must do for Jesus to love us, then we have jumped tracks and are headed on a different course all together.

Loving Jesus manifests in wanting to hear his words, read his words and ultimately do his words. Think about the person you love. Remember when you first met. You hung on every word, you did what they wanted to do just because. Friends seem to just like hanging out together. You like hearing their thoughts and they enjoy hearing yours. You share your lives. Would it really be a friendship if your only contact was reading stories about them?

Jesus wants our lives to become integrated with his. He wants us to keep him commands to us because they will lead us into success and happiness. We are going to need to change some of our thinking though. Our minds can be transformed though and that comes through the Word. If we will meditate on Jesus’ words, we will see the way. We will want to go the way Jesus points because it is a good path. Friends are not at odds with each other, they are headed on the same path in the same direction.

Jesus’ friends draw close to him and follow him in his ways. He is calling to you. “Come to me, come with me” he says. He wants to be with you. Draw closer to him today. Call him “friend.”

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