Motto

On June 25, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Colossians 3: 12 – 14

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

As you may have noticed, I am reading Colossians, the third chapter, and if you look at the digital Bible I am reading from, you will see that almost every verse is highlighted and the only reason it isn’t all highlighted is because I restrained myself. This chapter is a primer for the what the Christian life is to be. Today’s passage really spoke to me and I want to suggest that it is the seminal passage for this time in our history. However, we are so far from this paradigm right now, that I hesitate to speak what alit on my heart as I read it. Then again, many writers of truth have been shouted down throughout history and berated for speaking the truth. Just look at Paul, John and Peter for starters.

In trying times, and these certainly are, the kindness of God and His love are needed above all things. The language of love is what will resonate and it will resound above all else. Love is a hard thing, though, because it does not, under any circumstances, lie. Sometimes the truth is the hardest thing you will ever have to tell someone.

In trying to navigate the stress and to come to grips with a changing world, this advice from Paul resonates loudly. We must approach the changing dynamics from God’s perspective of compassion and love. Life is a challenged right now, I know, and that is why I want to offer this passage. I know some people feel trapped by the rhetoric. The political left has its message but on a different subject we are assailed by the right. Most people in the country can identify with some “ism”. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and every other identifiable race, excluding whites, has felt the sting of racism. Women have been abused, neglected, marginalized and discriminated against the world over. Even white males get old and are no longer viewed as valuable. It seems most are either the wrong race, gender or age. Then there is the gay and transgendered community. Many people would not think twice about making derogatory comments about this group. Not long ago people were saying that God created AIDS to eliminate them. Wow!

The only real answer for any of this is the love and compassion of God. If we don’t take our stressors to God in prayer and wield the love and patience of God, I fear we will never make any meaningful change. God changes hearts. I want to bring this discussion to a broad market. In response to the corona virus challenge, we all need to apply the love, patience, compassion and gentleness of God. I am not advocating passivity or a lack in your conviction. In fact, I advocate just the opposite. I want people of passion. I just wonder if we are taking our troubles to the Lord or just ranting on Facebook. We are the answer to the problem. If the Christians will adopt today’s passage and marry it with a strong dose, and a continuing practice of prayer, we can effect real change. God can soften hearts and change the course of human history. Whether right or left, the answer is the same – God! Faith only works by love which is why today’s passage is so important.

Paul had to deal with a changing environment too. He lived in very tumultuous times. For goodness sake, the Messiah had just been crucified. Followers of Jesus were facing the same fate. Those are dire circumstances. Yet, he understood that the real power in the community was love, compassion and prayer. Love moves mountains.

There are lots of stressors in our lives right now. Some of you are on furlough and worried about feeding your families. The number of cases of Covid 19 is still rising in some areas. The economy is fragile. People want the economy open; others see that as a risk. We have racial tension, police brutality and in some cases, lawlessness. It is a fine balancing act at this time. And in the wings is a Presidential election with all the turmoil that interjects. We need help.

Please hear me clearly, I am not criticizing anyone’s reactions to the situations or stress in their lives. I am recognizing that people are under enormous stress. The purpose of this writing is to suggest that God is the way and that we need Him like never before. Regardless of our beliefs, there is one constant and one ultimate truth: our God. This, then, is an appeal to adopt this language from Paul as our refrain and further, to passionately and resolutely take our problems to God. As we meditate upon these ideals, what will God speak to our hearts?

There is no one on the planet who has not been affected by the circumstances of 2020. God cares what is going on in your heart. He cares about your pains and worries. He cares that you feel stressed to the point of breaking or that you have been isolated from friends and family for months. He knows of your anxiety and is compassionate. He wants to aid you.

Let’s just look at this one more time – “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Though I have not written, specifically, on them, let us not overlook the words kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and unity.

No matter where we stand politically or on any given issue, we are all those “who have been chosen of God.” We are the people God has in the earth. We have an awesome ability to take everything to Him in compassioned prayer. Let us not miss our calling oh chosen ones of God. Let us recommit ourselves to prayer and remember, that person across the aisle may not think like you, but they are, none the less, a child of God and valued in His sight.

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Decree

On June 10, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Job 22:28

You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.

What do you think of when you hear the word “decree?” You probably do not think of the Bible. This verse from Job goes along with yesterday’s Word of the Day. Click Here to go to yesterday’s devotional.

This is still about prayer. We are learning that prayer is much more than a laundry list of requests. It also does not equate to begging God to do something for us. Prayer is much more about finding what God has already said and then bringing that promise forward to the physical realm. This is right in line with Romans 4: 17 which teaches us to, “call[s] into being that which does not exist.”

The other word I like is “declare.” It means the same thing but drums up a slightly different impression. This teaching is not meant to make us arrogant. We are not trying to put forward that we demand and therefore receive, but to tell you the truth, one of the definitions of prayer is to make a demand off of a promise due. The essential piece is that Father has already made the promise. We make a demand off of the promise, not the Father. None of us would presume we can order God around. However, He is trying to get us to use His Word to phrase a demand. This idea is more comparable to a checking account than an army sergeant’s command.

Checking accounts are called demand accounts. It means that you can make a demand on the sum equal to the balance. Checks are demand instruments. The holder of the check can show up to your bank and demand funds equal to the instrument’s written draw. That is what God is teaching us. He might say, “Here is the promise, child. Now make a demand off of that promise. Declare, decree what you desire which is in accordance to the promise and you shall receive it.” Does that make sense? We are not authorized to to beg for something not promised and you won’t receive that which is in contradiction to that which is promised but, you are authorized to withdraw from the Father’s account that which He has authorized. He says, make a demand on what I have already promised you and it will be established for you. Moreover, His light will then shine on your way. Sounds like pretty good stuff to me.

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Prayer Model (revisited)

On June 9, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Psalm 103: 20

Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

We have talked about prayer a good bit this year and I have tried to introduce you to a prayer model that may be a little different from what we learned as kids. I have also tried to show you the important role that angels and God’s Word play in prayer. This verse fairly shouts. God’s kingdom operates according to His Word and both God and His angels are listening, attentive to the utterance of His Word.

Most of us think of prayer as asking God for something or to do something. That is part of the conversation, of course. However, the church could benefit from a shift in thinking, a re-framing, if you will, about what prayer is. This is a bit of a tall task, but we can begin with us.

In truth, prayer can encompass a number of activities. I think the highest iteration of prayer is contemplative time with the Father. In this space there can be an exchange of questions, thoughts and ideas. It is not unreasonable to think that when the Father speaks, we might have questions. One of the craziest things I say when Yahweh shows me something is “You’re right.” Well of course He is right. He is always right but I have finally stopped correcting myself when I say that because it means more than validating His correctness.” And actually, it was the Father who said to stop going back and saying, “Of course you’re right.” What it really means is, “I see the value and truth in what you just said.” So this is really a dialogue between the two of us. He might say something which I immediately question. It does no good for Him to reveal something if I don’t understand it. The point I want to make here is that I consider all of this prayer.

Going one step further, I would include meditation in my prayer model. Why? First, I find that I cannot meditate without eventually opening my mouth in a question or comment. Meditation is a tool for bringing us into communion with God. Once there, though, I believe it becomes a conversation. Sometimes the conversation jars me out of the meditative state, other times it does not. Sometimes it jolts me into action. Other times I find myself sinking deeper into relaxed musings.

From there, what we vocalize can go far beyond simply asking God to do something. I think of that more as a request than a prayer. In the practice of law we would pray the court for a specific outcome. In other words, there would be a specific request for the court’s action. It, however, was preceded by the facts and a recitation of the law. In Christian prayer this would be the same as reciting God’s Word and then asking it to be done according to that Word. In other words, here is what the Word says and thus the result the spiritual laws must confer. This is the result I am asking for, Father, because your Word says this is how it is supposed to be. In this example we hold the Word up to God as our evidence that a certain result is “as it should be” and we speak that Word over ourselves.

The angels hear God’s Word and they always hearken to it. God responds to His Word. He has no choice, actually, because His Word, He cannot break. When the angels hear God’s Word, they hear His voice. His Word has His voice embedded in it. Do you want prayers answered? Speak God’s Word and the angels will most certainly respond because they are, in actuality, receiving direction from God.

I hope you will think on this some because I believe these ideas have the ability to transform your prayer life. Prayer is much more dynamic than we have modeled it to be. It is an exchange. It is us receiving the wisdom of God and then speaking it out. Prayer means communicating with God rather than reading Him a laundry list. It is as much about asking for His wisdom regarding a situation as it is about asking for a specific outcome. And, I think it is not about reciting every need we have to Him. He knows our needs already. He wants to know what we have to say about those needs and how we are going to frame them in the context of His Word.
After you have pondered this, send me an email with your thoughts.

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Godly Performance

On May 29, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 1:12

You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.

I’ve been thinking about prayer a lot lately. I bet I am not alone in that. I stumbled over this scripture today and it got me to thinking again. The best kind of prayer is when we pray God’s words and this verse makes it evident why that is true. Can you even picture that for a moment? Imagine God watching the earth for someone to speak His Word so He can rush in to perform it. Amazing. However, it brings up for me as many questions as it answers. Now I find myself asking what words I should be praying over each situation I am facing. In fact, I have not been standing on a particular scripture for the Covid situation, but I have found one I think will be my touchstone. It is Exodus 23: 25, “But you shall serve the Lord your God and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.” That is a promise from God. He told the Israelites if they would serve Him, they would be blessed and that He would remove sickness. Well, that is exactly what I want. Since He promised the Israelites to bless them and heal their land, then He promised me too because He is not one to show partiality (Deuteronomy 10: 17).

Whatever situation we are facing, instead of begging God to do something, we need to pick up our Bibles and find out what He has already promised. We, then, hold up that Word to Him and He performs it. He is watching for people to show up with His Word. This is not exactly the model of prayer most of us have been taught but it is what God’s Word says and that should carry some weight.

Find out what the Word says and then speak those Divine Words. That is how to pray.

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Got Wisdom?

On May 27, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 2: 6 – 7

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.

Do you need wisdom, knowledge or understanding? Well, the Lord, our God, has stored these things for us so that they would be available in our time of need. Now, the real question is, “How do we avail ourselves of these things?” The answer is that you spend time in prayer. God is going to lead you in wisdom and knowledge. That is why he has stored them up; so that He can give them to you. You receive knowledge, wisdom and understanding from Him by spending time with Him. He will give you all that you require of Him.

I am a big proponent of “praying at all times.” By that I mean that I do not want you to await the perfect opportunity for prayer but rather talk with Him all day, every day. Talk with Him while you are pumping gas, grocery shopping and exercising. Talk with Him all of the time. Every time you think of something you need to pray about do it right then. But, there is also a need for quiet, private time with the Lord.

This is time when you move everything else out of your mind and focus solely on him. You want to live your life in a state of divine revelation. To do that you need focused time with Him. I am not saying that you cannot receive a deep and meaningful revelation while you are on the treadmill. You can. But you cannot live your life on snacks. Eventually you need to sit down and have a full meal. That is what that alone time with God is analogous to. Take time out of your schedule to just be with Him alone. Seek the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that you need for your life. And have your Bible handy because many times He gives you the word you need by pointing you to a scriptural passage.

Take time to be alone with your Dad. Listen to Him. Allow Him to lead you. He will lead you into the wisdom, knowledge and the understanding you need.

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National Day of Prayer

On May 7, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 33: 18

“I pray You, show me Your glory!”

This is my prayer today. The theme for the National Day of Prayer is “Pray God’s glory across the earth.” Whomever chose the theme for this year must have had divine inspiration because it is the perfect prayer. It is curious that the National theme has a world-wide scope. This isn’t just about praying for our national leaders. It is about praying for God to show up across the whole world.

So, what is the glory of the Lord? You may have seen the term “Shekinah Glory” before. The Shekinah glory is the radiant presence of God. We have never needed His light and His presence more than today. His presence is His goodness. When Moses asked God to reveal His glory, God responded, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” God’s goodness and compassion are always in His presence and His presence is His glory. Isaiah wrote, “They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.” In other words, the glory of the Lord reveals His majesty. One cannot be in the presence of the Lord, witness His glory and not be awed by His majesty.

God’s glory called to Moses from a burning bush which was not consumed by fire. His glory led the Israelites on their great exodus in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Ezekiel wrote, “The temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord,” (Ezekiel 10: 4). On the Mount of Transfiguration, the radiance of God’s glory was described as splendor (Luke 9: 29 – 35). On the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 2 – 3) God’s glory appeared as tongues of fire. More recently, in 1906 at a little church on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, the building appeared to be on fire, but it turned out to be God’s glory. People actually called the fire department but one cannot quench this fire.

The idea I want to sow into you today is that God’s glory has dwelt on earth. People have, on many occasions, seen the Glory of God. In modern times, we may have lost touch with the exact nature of God’s glory, but it is nothing less than God’s manifesting presence in the earth. We need God, we need to see God. When Moses asked to see Yahweh’s glory, God answered, “Yes!” Never in our lifetimes have we needed God’s radiant presence more than we do today.

In my studies, I have discovered that God’s presence hearkens to a praying people. Do you want God to show up on planet earth? Prayer and praise are the forerunners of God. My heart cries out, “Father, I need you. Father! I need more of you.” Our world needs hungry hearts who will cry out to the Father with passion and determination, people who will meet at the foot of the cross and call upon the blood of Christ to redeem and rescue us. We need pray-ers desperately! We need leaders to turn their faces to God and ask for God’s wisdom even as each and every one of us does the same. We need a nation of people who will make prayer a priority. I pray, and I know that you do too, but this is a time for us all to increase. We need increase in our compassion, conviction and maybe the third word should be contrition. We need more than our morning prayers before we rush out the door or to our “work at home” computers. We need time of praying from the depth or our hearts and listening to the voice of the Lord. What is He saying to us? How is He leading us?

I hope that today you will put aside some of what you have planned and will make quiet time to call out to the Lord. Put your heart on your sleeve and let the Lord lead you by the heart. Let us all be united today and “Let us Pray.”

I have included links to all the scriptures I quoted today so that you can easily go and see them for yourself. Just click on the scripture cite and you will be teleported to that glory filled moment in time. Enjoy.

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God Forsaken

On May 6, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Deuteronomy 31:8

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.

Right now, many places in the world appear God forsaken. How do you feel about that statement? What do you think non-believers are thinking now? Do they, or we, see God’s hand? Is He asleep? How do we answer anyone’s doubts, even our own?

Stubborn faith is one answer. We choose to believe in love regardless of the current situation. How can this viral disaster occur, and hundreds of thousands lose their lives if God is love? Are we forsaken? Has God removed His grace or His protection?  We believe we are not forsaken because we choose to believe.  But can we know beyond our stubborn belief?

It is in times like these that we need to know God in our hearts, not just in our minds. We can say, “The Bible says . . .,” but in our hearts we need to know that Yahweh loves us and cares about us. I know God is present and listening because of the nudge upon me to pray. I’ve begun to develop prayer spots on my bike riding circuit where I stop, rest and pray. It’s turning into a thing where I am looking for good places to stop and pray for a few minutes. I am very aware this is not my thought or idea but something the Father is leading me into. He wants me to pray more because He wants more intercessors on the planet. Though I have never considered myself an intercessor, it is clear that Father wants me praying more than normal. This is one of the ways I know we are not forsaken. Our God is here and speaking.  He is leading us individually and collectively.

I have also seen blessing during this time. How can that be? How can there be any blessing in the midst of a world-wide viral outbreak? There is always blessing when God is near. His nature attracts blessing; it overflows from His presence. I am sure you have seen kindnesses that would have been uncommon previously. In those things, I see the goodness of God welling up in people and know that He is near.

When you look at the bad things that are happening around the world, it is hard to see the hand of God but when you look around your world, you may see indications of God’s love and grace. I hope you do. As you activate your faith, those things become more obvious and those are the things you may want to share with others. They are also the things which grow your faith. As we believe that God is present, we not only see Him better, but it becomes easier and more imperative for us to join with Him.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. Prayer is the natural outcome of belief that our Father is on the scene and paying attention. We are not forsaken and we know it. We need not fear nor be dismayed. God is going before us as our forward guard and preparing our way. He will tell us, “This is the way walk in it,” and then our faith activates. We are all in this together, not just as human beings, but with our Father too. He will never leave nor forsake us and knowing that gives us confidence.

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