Wait, Wait

On June 21, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Lamentations 3: 25

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

I did an interview in the spring about my book Journey Through the Bible. Since the book is a day by day sojourn through every book of the Bible the interviewer asked me if there were any particular books that I did not look forward to as much as others. I will have to say that the book of Lamentations is not up there with Isaiah on the list of Bible books I migrate towards. None the less, one of the insights that I believe is gleaned from the Journey Through the Bible is that every single book of the Bible has great wisdom and inspiration for today. Just look at this golden nugget hidden away in Lamentations. For the full interview please visit, http://www.christianbookshow.com/interviews/journey-through-the-bible.

Yesterday we read Psalm 40, verses 1- 4. The passage begins with, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me.” Couple that with “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,” and you have a powerful insight. Those who have been reading the Word of the Day for a while have come to know that there is substantial benefit to those who seek God. Certainly that is a part of today’s message, but we are also learning that waiting for God has benefits.

So many times I have gotten out in front of God. That never works. There has been an entire category of transformation in my life which is about letting God do the heavy lifting. In other words, we can work with God in our daily lives so that He is actually making things happen while we do the praying and whatever else He directs. At the root of getting in front of God is a profound lack of trust. In my case, I didn’t really believe down in my heart that God was a proactive, everyday, involved kind of Father. Therefore, my response to situations, even after praying, was to throw the full force of my personality and effort into accomplishing everything in my own strength. Now I recognize that as spiritual immaturity but that is where I was. Reading a passage like today’s verse encourages me, as I hope it does you, to have more patience and to trust God.

Remember the old saying, “Good things come to those who wait”? Who knew that was biblical? So take a deep breath; brew yourself a cup of coffee, sit down and relax. Talk to your father and allow Him to speak to your situation. Wait on Him and good things will come to you.

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No Problem

On June 20, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Psalm 40: 1 – 4

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

I found this today while I was searching out another topic and thought it was the sort of good news you may be happy to hear. It is all good and reassuring but what struck me was that the writer, David, waited patiently for the Lord. Maybe that is where I miss it sometimes.

His patient waiting is an indication of his trust in the Lord. Despite the circumstances, regardless of the fear and worry raging in his heart, David learned how to stay at peace and trust that God was going to make an appearance. It worked too. David waited and God showed up and took care of all of the problems. The next thing we hear from David is that he is singing praises to the King.

David’s example can be an example to us all and that is what David expected. Many will read his words and, through him, experience the grace of God. Through this vicarious encounter with God, we can all learn to trust in the Lord.

I know you have struggles. If you are breathing, there are still challenges to be worked out. No problem! We have a God who specializes in problems. We just need to learn to roll the care of all of those situations over onto Him and then in fullness of trust, wait patiently for our savior to work it all out. Our part is to believe, trust and sing. I think I can do this. How about you?

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Trust and Blessing

On May 25, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 17: 7

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.

In a conversation last week, the theme about trusting God kept coming up. Time and time again the circle seemed to close on our learning to trust the Lord. I believe with the people in the conversation last week that this is a critical lesson for us.

Today’s verse says plainly that blessing is in trusting the Lord. Why is that? How can God lead us in the paths of blessing if we do not trust Him enough to follow Him? He can’t. He can point out the way to go but if we do not believe that He is always leading us to the land of plenty then we will hesitate.

Abraham is known for his faith but it was really obedience that made him the Father of the nation of Israel. His father, Terah, received instruction to take his family and go to the land of Canaan but he got comfortable and stopped before accomplishing what God told Him to do. He saw a good land and did not trust God to take him to a better place. Eventually God spoke to Abram telling him to leave his family and go to the place where God would show him. Abram complied and now we know Abraham as the Father of the faith and you didn’t even know Terah’s name. It was through simple obedience that Abram learned that God was on his side. Through obedience, he learned he could always trust God. Through trust and obedience, he became the Father of faith.

Sometimes the big revelations are in the little messages. There is no great message in obedience other than just do it. However, obeying God gives us the evidence and belief that we really can trust Him. As we move over into trust, we find blessing. The blessing has already been provided by our Father. We have to learn to trust Him so that He can lead us to the blessing. Otherwise, we end up wandering around in the tall weeds like the Israelites wandered around in the desert.

How do you learn to be blessed? You learn to trust God daily for the small things. You must learn to hear God for yourself . If you cannot hear God speak to you, how can you trust Him? How can you do what He says if you can’t hear Him. This is ground zero. Practice hearing His voice. Contact this ministry if you need help hearing Him because this is where you must start. Then you can live the life of the blessed person, blessed coming in and blessed going out.

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No Worries!

On April 6, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 1

Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

Is your heart troubled about something? Maybe it is something personal or maybe it is something more universal like the economy or crime levels. In any event, Jesus encourages us to give our concerns to him rather than let ourselves be tormented. He invites us to exercise our trust in Him and God to assuage our concerns and worries. When you have that unsettled feeling in the pit of your stomach because something is troubling you, stop and lean on Jesus. There is such a plea in Jesus’ voice in this passage. It sounds like a longing to take away our suffering; to take it on Himself so that we may be at peace. He is saying to us that if we will believe in God, really believe in God and also believe in Him, that we might be spared the anguish that otherwise affects people. Stop and take an inventory of your emotions. Are you worrying? Are you troubled? Use a few moments to roll the care of that issue or issues over to God and let He and Jesus carry the load for you today.

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Freedom

On March 22, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Galatians 5: 1

It was for freedom that Christ set us free.

I recently read How to Stop the Pain by Dr. Jim Richards. Though my copy of this book is highlighted throughout and hand-written notes garnish every chapter, there was one page, one paragraph that was so loud to my Pastor’s heart that I determined I must share it with you.

It is from this premise that Jesus came to set us free that Dr. Richards writes, “Following Him (Jesus) wholeheartedly is the safest life in the world. It has the greatest peace; it has the emotional freedom we all desire. To follow Him wholeheartedly, though, requires that we trust Him enough to apply His truth to our lives” (P. 94). Therein lies the rub. The freedom Jesus bought for us on Calvary is wrapped in the cloak of trust. If we put on this cloak and enfold ourselves in it we will absolutely be protected from the storms but how do we trust Jesus to the extent that we are willing to take those first tentative steps? For some people it comes from desperation. When we get ourselves in a deep enough mess, sometimes that is enough to allow us to make that leap of faith. Dr. Richards continues, “We must walk in love. We must discard our former way of finding safety and happiness and follow His teachings.” This requires us to do things differently and that can be a challenge.

Truthfully, most of us are not making cognitive choices about our interaction with the world. We just do what we have always done or what we were taught to do. This freedom in Jesus requires us to abandon our ways and live according to his ways. Even if we know the difference rarely do we make contemplative choices. We live according to reactionary patterns. It is possible, though, for his ways to become so ingrained in us that they surface without cognitive thought. In order for that to become our reality, though, we must spend quiet, meditative time with Jesus and with his word. It is not enough for us to merely read a chapter a day. That is good and fine but what we are talking about here is that word getting down in your heart. Whatever is in your heart will come out when faced with a situation. Many times we do not even have the luxury of thinking about our choices. Sometimes we just react and those reactions come from whatever we have sown in our hearts.

Truly the freedom that Dr. Richards encourages is from following Jesus wholeheartedly. As we spend time with Jesus, talking with him and listening to him, and as we observe him through the scriptures we gain a new reality in him. His ways become our ways and the chains that he came to set us free from fall away. There is freedom in Jesus. It is in trusting him and following him. It is in putting our feet in his footsteps instead of following the ways we have learned in the world. Knowing Jesus, not just knowing about him but knowing him is to know freedom. Trust him and be free.

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Perfect Peace

On March 20, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 26: 3               (NIV)

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

There are three elements to this verse. First perfect peace, second steadfastness and third trust. Perfect peace is the conclusion – that is where we want to arrive. We find that the way to that perfect peace is through steadfastness and trust.

So, what is steadfastness? The Tree of Life version reads, “You keep in perfect peace one whose mind is stayed on You.” People who keep their mind on God are kept in perfect peace. For some of us it would be enough to taste perfect peace every now and again but these people, those who keep their thoughts with God, abide in perfect peace. Honestly, though, it is no big surprise that perfect peace is in God. Jesus said that one of the things he left for us was his peace (John 14: 27). How can we not be in peace when we keep our thought lives enveloped in God? Jesus is the Prince of Peace. So, when we keep ourselves, our minds and our thoughts on God; when we are steadfast about what we let our minds meditate on then we will abide in that perfect peace.

Isaiah also revealed that keeping our mind stayed on God produces trust in Him and that trust leads to perfect peace. We might also speculate that the more we trust God, the more we do think about Him and about His way of perceiving things. Of course we experience more peace as our trust in Him increases. The more we keep our minds on Him and learn of Him, the more we trust Him. Then our peace increases.

So, it might be fair to say that in Him is perfect peace so that our only task, really is just to remain in Him. When we think about Him instead of thinking about the latest junk we heard on the news, then it is much easier to abide in peace. He is confidence and assurance. Think on Him instead of thinking on the things of the world and have joy and peace, perfect peace.

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Christmas Faith

On December 27, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 1: 38

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”

Put yourself, for a moment, in Mary’s shoes. She was a young, unwed, though engaged woman when the angel Gabriel appeared to her announcing that she would conceive and bear a son. She questioned Gabriel about how such a thing could come to be since she was still a virgin. He responded, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Now, stop right here. What would your next statement be, your thoughts? “Can this be? Have I lost my mind? What will my mother say? What about my friends? Gracious, what will Joseph, my intended say and do?” Think about it. If she consents, then she is about to show up pregnant in her community. What will the village elders think? Fornication is a sin and how else does one get pregnant. Can’t you imagine she would have a lot of questions for Gabriel? I would want to see his angel credentials. Thankfully, Mary was much more faithful and trusting. She said, “Okay, let it be done to me exactly as you have said.”

Do you believe for a moment that she did not understand the implications and ramifications of her decision? Somehow she trusted God above the social repercussions. She must have trusted God to keep her safe. She must have trusted Gabriel’s words when he said that nothing would be impossible with God. She took an enormous risk with her engagement and even with her life.

The point of this story is not that we should worship Mary for her faith. The point is that we ought to learn that trust in God is not misplaced. Through Mary’s act of trust and faith, we may learn how to trust God ourselves. What if we truly believed that with God nothing is impossible.

What is God asking you to do? Are you to preach on the other side of the globe? Or perhaps God just wants you to speak to your neighbor. Honestly, it takes as much trust and faith for one as for the other. This Christmas season I ask you to ponder what you might do if you really believed that nothing is impossible with God. Maybe you would be healed, start a new project, write a book, sing a song . . .. Maybe you can finally take that step that God has been speaking to you for years. Perhaps we can all trust Him just a bit more. Mary’s faith changed the world. Maybe ours can do the same.

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