Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Listening to God

Psalm 27:7-8, "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!  Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.  When You said, "Seek my face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek." (NKJV)

It is very easy to expect God to listen to us when we cry out in prayer to Him.  As a matter of fact we have the potential to feel disappointed if we believe that God is not listening to our prayers.  I am of the belief that God always listen to our prayers but there are times that His answers are different than the ones that we desire.  It is during those times that we must accept the sovereignty of God and understand that God is in charge of all of the decisions regarding life.  I have written earlier this week concerning the confidence that we can place in God as we present ourselves in worship and intercession to Him.  I am thankful for all of those times that God has responded to the cries of my heart and ministered to me in my time of need.

But there is another principle found in this passage of scripture that is often overlooked or even ignored.  It is the call from God to mankind.  God calls us to "seek His face."  The way we respond to that call from God can be the difference between success and failure.  As I stated yesterday there are many ways that our culture defines success.  But how God defines success is an important spiritual principle that we can no longer afford to ignore.  We must learn to view success from the perspective of God.  We must rededicate ourselves to pleasing God.  We understand the principle of pleasing ourselves.  Many of the decisions that we make in life revolve around our desire to please ourselves.  We desire for life to satisfy our wishes and wants but the plan of God includes the need for our lives to please God.  Pleasing God (the Heavenly Father) was one of the characteristics that we can identify in the life of Christ.  Even in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed for the will of God to be accomplished in His life. 

What are we doing with the voice of God when He speaks to us?  How do we respond to His call to "seek His face?"  How often do we ignore the call to prayer because it is inconvenient at that moment or we are too embarrassed to make the appropriate response?  How does God feel when we desire for Him to hear our voice but we develop selective hearing when we hear His voice?  Communicating with God must once again become a high priority among believers.  I believe that it is pleasing to God when we have a strong desire to communicate with God and respond in obedience to His call to each of us individually.  Let us add hearing the voice to God to our measurements of success!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Successful Living

Psalm 63:1, "O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water." (NKJV)

Many books are being written and have been written that assist each of us in setting our goals for success. We are a success driven generation of people that allow our success to be determined and measured by different standards.  We define success with various status symbols that often change such as larger houses, more expensive vehicles, and advancement in our field of employment.  None of these accomplishments in and of themselves are sinful but we can become so enamored by these attractions that we fail to take hold of important spiritual principles that will make an eternal difference in our lives. 

Is it possible that we fail to remember the most important book that was ever written when we begin to set the goals of our lives?  The Bible, the written record of the Word of God, was revealed that we might receive understanding and knowledge that would direct the path of our life.  This Psalm is one of the passages that allow us to set a pattern of behavior that will return dividends across the full spectrum of life.  The word "early" caught my attention this morning.  We may think of "early" in terms of the time frame of our day.  We seek God early in the morning rather than later in the day.  I am not here to say that understanding would be wrong but let we challenge your thinking for a moment.  What if we looked at this passage in Psalms through these lenses of understanding?  What if "early" in my walk with Christ I set the pattern of seeking after Him with passion and fervency?  What if we allowed the Spirit to develop our thirst and hunger for God from the very beginning of our walk with Christ?  You may remember when you felt that way regarding your relationship with Christ but the daily routine of life has a way of cutting into the time that was dedicated to God.  How do we overcome that reality of life?  We overcome that reality through the development of the pattern of spiritual hunger and thirst.  I have eaten many meals in my life on this earth but I still have trouble refusing a good meal when it is offered.  What if we allowed that same pattern to be revealed in our walk with Christ?  Do not refuse those opportunities to "come and dine" with Christ and in this process allow your soul to grow and mature.  Christ is still the answer for your life!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Weekend Reflection

It is always an encouragement to reflect on the blessings of God that He provides us on a daily basis.  Some of these blessings come in the form of opportunities to offer our service to other people who are facing a time of need in their life.  This past weekend I was able to witness four separate situations in which individuals from the church plant in Radcliff, Kentucky offered their service to people who were in need of assistance.  One man offered his abilities to a local church in our community that needed some major repair to the front porch of their church building.  Three young men offered their physical strength and stamina to a couple that needed assistance in moving their household items into a different residence.  Another man from the local body offered monetary assistance in the purchase of gasoline for a family that has been facing economic challenges.  This family used a portion of that fuel to drive to the building of New River Worship Center (the church plant of which I have made reference) and receive two large boxes of food that the Youth Group was able to share with them.  The youth group had begun a food bank to assist those in our community which are in need through the leadership of the Youth Pastor.

You may ask, "Why are you writing about these events?"  I believe that it is time that the family of God put our words into action.  We have been known by our doctrine, we have been known by our organizational structure, we have been known by our style of worship, we have been known by the size of our congregations, and we have been known by the design of our buildings.  But don't you think that it is time that we are known by our actions and not just all of the other things that are associated with "church?"  The family of God or the Body of Christ is more than just "what we are" it is "who we are."  We are the hands of God extended to a lost and hurting world.  We are the hands of God extended to people who are in need.  We are the hands of God extended to people who are facing some very unusual circumstances in their lives and we see opportunities to assist them during those times.  We are the hands of God that offers assistance through prayer, encouragement, and support as they walk their lonely and desolate road of life.  Are you looking for the blessings of God?  Find a place to offer your service and you will find a place to receive blessings.  Are you looking for the blessings of God?  Stop being selfish and self-centered and become aware of the needs of others.  Are you looking for the blessings of God?  Find someone who needs a friend and offer your friendship to them.  I was truly blessed as I witnessed each of these individuals offer their service this past weekend.  My heart was refreshed and encouraged as I witnessed a portion of the family of God put true Christianity into action.

Friday, June 24, 2011

A Successful Life

I recently read this statement from Sarah Young: "A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Christ, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day."  This seems to run contrary to the modern day believer who is always walking around with his/her "To Do List" either in their pocket or on their IPhone or Blackberry.  If we are not careful we find very little time to spend with Christ which is opposite of what the Word of God teaches us.  We need to recognize the importance of building a relationship with Jesus Christ.  We need to recognize the importance of the development of that relationship.  I don't believe that Christ is looking for spiritual "one night stands" in which is there is no commitment to a life long relationship.  I do not mean to imply that Christ will not forgive our failures and offer repentance to us but I do feel that the Word of God teaches that Christ looks at our life as a journey and not just a brief walk through the park.  Christ has promised to be with us even to the end of the world.  I truly believe that the Spirit is awakening us to the need of the on-going development of our love relationship with Jesus Christ.

Let us take a moment and reflect on the Words of Christ found in Matthew 22:37-38, "Jesus replied, Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment." (NIV).  Can this truly happen without us making a deep commitment to the development of our relationship with Christ?  Can this truly happen without us making time in our daily schedule for Christ?  Some of us will have to rearrange our daily schedule so that He will be included.  Do you find yourself trying to "squeeze" Christ into a few of your left over minutes or does He maintain the status of your top priority?  Many of us are familiar with Facebook; one of the focuses of this social network is the opportunity to update your status.  This status update allows you to inform your friends of your location as well as what is taking place at that location.  You can also use the status update to inform your friends concerning thoughts or ideas that may be in your heart.  What if we used the status update to let our friends know that we are in a relationship of commitment with Jesus Christ and the development of that relationship has top priority in our lives?  I don't believe that the relationship with Jesus Christ is at odds with the other important relationships with family or friends.  On the contrary, my strong relationship with Jesus Christ will be the foundation on which to build stronger relationships with my family or friends. 

Let us hear the call from Christ to love Him with all of our heart, mind and soul.  Our lives will take on a better quality and the quality of our human relationship with improve in many ways.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Power of Faith

Last night's Discipleship class at New River Worship Center was a great blessing to me as well as a reminder that faith opens the door for God to work in our lives.  Many of us allow the enemy to overthrow our faith and weaken our faith in such a manner that we are no longer effectively placing our trust in God.  The enemy seeks to bring doubt and fear into our lives in such a manner that we no longer feel capable of trusting God through all of the situations that we are facing.  One of the participants in the class last night reminded us that even Jesus asked those who doubted to excuse themselves from the room where a miracle was about to take place. There may be times in which we need to separate ourselves from those who doubt and surround ourselves with those that still believe "that with God all things are possible."  I am not trying to deny the reality of life; no, I am simply seeking to proclaim that my (our) faith is in the Lord God Almighty who reigns over all of this earth.  Jesus declared that "all power had been given to Him in heaven and in earth."  We can believe that Christ reigns over our lives and the circumstances that we are facing.

The Lord reminded me that I do not have to be afraid or embarrassed as I call the church to prayer for the needs of people.  I looked around the room last night and I realized that I was standing among people who has personally witnessed the miracle power of Christ in their lives as well as the lives of people with which they are acquainted.  Theses individuals had witnessed the work of Christ in an up close and personal manner.  Some of them even shared personal stories/testimonies of divine encounters in which God revealed Himself as the Master of the situation that they were facing at certain moments of life.  You may be thinking, "What is this supposed to be saying to me?" This post says this to you, "God is in charge of your life and you can still approach Him in confidence with the needs that you are facing in your life."  I was encouraged to keep leading the church in prayer.  I was encouraged to keep asking for prayer requests.  I was encouraged to continue extending altar invitations to believers to bring their needs to the Lord for prayer.  I was encouraged to continue challenging the church to TRUST GOD WITH THE SITUATIONS THAT THEY ARE FACING.  Don't give up, keep on praying. 

Luke 18:1, "Then He spoke to a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." (NKJV)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Divine Intervention

The Spirit began to deal with my heart during our prayer time last night.  I was thanking God for His many blessings of provision, protection, grace, mercy, etc. when the Spirit began to remind me of the passage in Ephesians 6;12, "For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but (emphasis added) against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (NKJV). 

The Spirit reminded me of two of the principles revealed in this passage of scripture.  1) We can identify what may appear to be visible enemies (flesh and blood) but there are times that we fail to recognize that our true battle is with the unseen or invisible enemies that plot our destruction.  We must be careful and not allow ourselves to only identify those things that are visible; God has the power and authority over all of the enemies that arise against us.  2) The Spirit reminded me that God fights against those unseen (at least to the naked eye) enemies that strategically place themselves in opposition to our spiritual progress.  God is at work in our favor even when we do not realize what is taking place.  I sincerely believe that God reminded me that He defeats enemies and I may not even understand that there is a battle taking place.  I am referring to those struggles that happens in the heavenly places that may not ever reach the surface of this earth.  I truly believe that God is a God of protection who has our best interest in His thoughts as He prepares to lead us down the road of life.  I immediately began to praise God for the victories that He has won in those "unseen" battles of which I could be unaware.  Do not misunderstand me; God is at work at all times and in all situations but we just need to make sure that we give God the proper praise and honor for the victories that we receive through His power and authority. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Influential People

Special days such as Father's Day allow us to the opportunity to move our attention away from the daily issues of life and reflect on those individuals, both men and women, who have been people of influence in our lives.  Many of these individuals live in the recess of our memories while others are still making a difference at this present moment.  Many of these individuals still make a daily difference in our lives as we reflect on the ability of their knowledge and wisdom to teach us valuable life lessons.  Many of these individuals are a part of our immediate family while others are a part of our extended family that we have connected with during our journey through life.  The category in which we place these individuals is not as important as the type of influence that they have brought to us.  Their influence has assisted us in our development both natural as well as spiritual.  Each of us have been blessed through the love, concern, care, wisdom, knowledge, and guidance that these individuals have brought into our lives.  Much of this influence may have come through the efforts of our earthly father while others of us have been influenced through the efforts of spiritual fathers that God has placed in our lives at various times.  Different seasons of our lives require different types of influence.  Different seasons of our lives require different individuals with various gifts and abilities that will provide the direction and encouragement that we need at that specific moment.  We need to learn to recognize and appreciate these individuals on a daily basis and not just wait on some "holiday" to spark our memories.  Hopefully these special days allow us to recognize the blessings of God that have come our way through the efforts of these wonderful people.  Take a moment and thank God for those influential people that God has placed in your path of life.  

Friday, June 17, 2011

Father's Day

I would like to take this time to recognize all of the wonderful fathers who have done an awesome job fulfilling their responsibilities.  I am blessed because my father is alive and still plays a very important role in my life.  My wife's dad passed away in 1995 but his memory is still very much alive in our conversations and in our thoughts.  Each of these men made a great impact on their family through the life that they lived and the love that they possessed for their family.  Their positive influence in still very evident today in the lives of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Each of us need to take the time and make the effort to express our love and thanks for those men who have played a major role in our development through the years of our lives.  Each of these men deserve honor, admiration, respect, and remembrance this weekend.

In my opinion society has given fathers a "bad rap" for their inability to communicate their love through the process of verbal communication.  Let's be honest, not all people are good communicators when it comes to their emotional feelings for their family and friends.  This does not mean that they do not love or appreciate those special people in their lives it just means that they find it difficult to put those feelings into appropriate words.  This lack of ability does not make them "bad" people it simply identifies the fact that they feel unable to fully express their feelings for their spouse or their children.  Many of these men resort to non-verbal forms of communication.  It is easier for them to demonstrate their love than it is to reveal their love through the words that they speak.  Both of these methods are highly effective and in a perfect world it would be nice if both of these methods were practiced by all of us as individuals.  I have known men as well as women who could "talk the talk" but they failed when it came time to "walk the walk."  Another phrase comes to my mind at this time; "Words are cheap."  Before anyone gets too upset with this post understand this point; I am NOT against men learning to articulate their love through the softness and kindness of their words.  But I do advocate the following: Our society desperately men who not only need to know how to communicate with words they need to be committed to demonstrating their love for their spouse and children.  Our society needs more than good communicators we need providers.  Our society needs more than good communicators we need good examples of honesty and integrity.  Our society needs more than good communicators we need men of fidelity and honor when it comes to their marriage commitment to their spouse and children.  Our society needs REAL MEN who will face their duties and responsibilities with courage, passion, and determination to become the best person that they can possibly become.  I truly believe that God has men who are prepared and ready to answer this challenge.  Let us pray for the men of this nation and let them know that they are loved and appreciated.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Servants

I sincerely believe that God is calling us to take a serious look at our attitudes toward serving one another in this great cause of Jesus Christ.  The act of serving God and serving each other must be more than some point of doctrinal reference but it must be practically applied to our daily lives.  We must participate with God in the acts of true servanthood which will bring glory and honor to the One who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  It is so easy to drift into the need of "being served" rather than the development of the attitude of serving others.  Many opportunities to serve (both inside the walls of the church as well as outside) goes uncompleted because we fail to seize the moment and offer ourselves to God as servants.

Luke 22:24  offers some insight to the controversy concerning "greatness" and the attitude that the Apostles were taking toward greatness.  They were concerned with their own greatness and who might receive the recognition of being the greatest among this particular group of followers of Jesus Christ.  It reminds us that the attitude and actions of competition can rear its ugly head among the followers of Jesus Christ.  How do we keep that attitude from gaining a foothold in our lives?  How do we keep our lives from gaining such a dangerous level of a selfish egotistical attitude that focuses more on "me" than it does on serving others?  I believe there are two simple answers to the questions that I previously addressed.  First, we have to look to our example, Jesus Christ.  How did Jesus live His life?  What were the priorities of the life of Jesus?  How did the life of Jesus exemplify the heart of service to humanity?  Those questions lead me to the second answer to the questions that I am proposing.  We must look to the Word of God and see the stories about the life of Christ and we must also allow that same Word of God reveal the principles of servanthood to us.  I believe that the answers can be found in identifying with Christ and allowing His principles to be practiced in our daily living.  Our actions set in motion a lifestyle that will promote Christ to a world that is full of selfish ambition, selfish plans, and selfish actions.  The lesson in Luke reminds us that we are not to live under the attitude and influence of the system of this culture but God has called us to a higher Kingdom of living.  I truly desire to live according to the principles of the Kingdom of God.  Take a moment and ask God to help develop you into a person that has a heart for genuine service to others.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Favor of God

This post is being written as I am waiting for physical therapy on my arm. The Spirit reminded me of an important principle that needs to lived out in our daily lives. The principle can be stated in these simple terms; "We can not accomplish the "true" work of God in the power of the flesh." We must remind ourselves that the people of God need to walk in the favor of God. The favor of God releases the Spirit of God to do His complete work in our lives. How often have we tried to do the work of God in the power of the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit? The power of the flesh can only take us so far and accomplish only so much. But the power of the Spirit can lead us into the fullness of God's purpose and provide the anointing we need to see God's work and will completed in our lives. Which will we choose to follow? Will we choose to follow the flesh and all of its limitations or will we choose to follow the Spirit into the sphere of unlimited possibilities? I encourage you to follow the Spirit and see Him work in your heart.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Greatness of God

I was given the privilege to participate in a wonderful service on Sunday.  It seemed that the service revolved around the "greatness of God" although I don't know if that was the leaders plan at the outset of the service.  But the Word of God does remind us that the ways and thoughts of God are higher than the words and thoughts of man.  The Word of God also reminds us that God knows what we need before we even have the opportunity to ask Him concerning those needs that we are facing.  I was given the great privilege to share the Word of God and one of the themes that kept resonating in my heart concerned the ability of God to know each one of us as individual members of His family.  We are not unknown to God and God does not have us confused with anyone else on this earth (Hasn't that problem happened to all of us?).  The prophet Nahum declares "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him." (KJV, Nahum 1:7).  Jesus told us in John 10:14, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep..."  We can rejoice in the wonderful promises that the Word of God speaks over our individual lives.

These and many other words of encouragement ushered us into the presence of God.  It is during those times in His presence that we are given the opportunity to reflect on the true greatness of God.  I believe that moment happened in the service yesterday; we were given the opportunity to look away from our "smallness" and recognize God's greatness.  Each of must learn to focus on the revelation of God's greatness as we walk through those "storms" in our lives.  Many of us yesterday were asked to release our praise to God in the midst of our difficulties.  The only way that we can do this is through the declaration of our faith.  Our faith is based on the promises and authority of God.  Is it possible that these moments of faith are what the writer in Hebrews referred to as the "sacrifice of praise?"  I believe that there are moments in our lives in which our faith must be willing to offer God praise even in the midst of our storms.  We must be willing to declare the greatness of God even as the enemy is hurling defeat and discouragement against us.  I am not asking us to deny the reality of the troubling events of life but I am asking us to rejoice in the greatness of God.  It is during those moments that we offer God our sincere praise, adoration, and thanksgiving.  Remember that His greatness is truly greater than our weakness.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Pride vs. Humility

I truly believe that the Holy Spirit is calling each one to us to examine the way in which we conduct ourselves as Christians.  What is my attitude toward God?  What is my attitude toward my family?  What is my attitude toward my fellow man?  What is my attitude toward the family of God?  Each of us are being called to examine our heart of service toward Christ as well as toward the people that God places in our lives on a daily basis. 

It can be a short step from humility to pride.  It is easier to make that transition than we realize.  The Apostle Paul shared this warning in Philippians 2:3a, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit..."  We are warned of the perils of walking in the deceit of our own selfish ambition.  We live in a "me" world.  If you don't believe that, just ask me.  But God is calling us to a higher calling; He is calling us to look for opportunities to serve others.  And I truly believe that He will present each one of us those opportunities if we will take the time to notice and respond.  Pride places a lower priority on others and a higher priority on our individual needs.  Pride ranks the issues of others much lower in value to its own needs and wants.  What would be the condition of our lives if Christ had placed a higher value on His life than He did the lives of humanity?  Let us remember that He gave His life a living sacrifice for others and He gave us the example of placing the needs of others a greater priority than His own personal needs.  The heart of humility gives us the ability to value others as Christ values them.  It is through the heart of humility that we can offer service to those around us and not expect anything in return other than the smile of God as He looks upon one of His children serving another one of His children. 

Would you join me today in asking God to remove the cold heart of pride and replace it with the heart of true humility which will cause us to offer our sincere service to others?


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Seeking God

Yesterday I was privileged to spend some time with a believer in an in-depth conversation.  This young man is on a spiritual journey in which I believe is leading him into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  Realistically that should be the focus of each us with regards to our walk with Christ.  What is the true desire of our hearts?  What is the sincere longing that burns in our hearts today?  Whom do we desire to please and what is the true motivating factor of our life as a Christian?  Each of these questions and many more deserve an answer as we continue our walk with Christ.  I have made this statement often as I have ministered the Word of God over the past several years; "I desire my relationship with God to be more than a religious performance or a learned religious activity."  God has called each one of us to a relationship that is far deeper than any of the above mentioned actions that we may put into practice in our daily lives.

Jeremiah 29:12-13, "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (NJKV)  This passage is full of hope and promise to those people who will sincerely approach their walk with God.  God is inviting us to pray and He promises to listen to our prayers.  He invites us to seek Him and He will be found by those seekers.  We will find Him as we search for Him with all of our heart.  Do you notice the responsibility that we have in this matter?  Do you realize that God will respond to those who have a deep rooted passion and purpose in their walk with God?  I noticed this type of hunger in the young man that I spoke with on Tuesday.  He also told me that he was personally aware of other believers who are experiencing the same feelings that he was expressing.  These were the words that he spoke to me; "I know there has to be more of God that I can experience."  My response in an emphatic, YES, God dsires to reveal Himself to believers!  He is not hiding from us but I do believe that He examines our passion when He challenges us to seek after Him.  My heart was enriched as I drove away from our time of interaction and conversation.  Once more God reminded me that He is definitely at work in the lives of individual believers who are looking for the fullness of the presence of God.  I asked God to keep that passion alive in my heart.  I want to be more than a "spiritual performer" when it comes to the things of God.  Christ was against hypocritical living as He walked the face of this earth and He is still against hypocritical living in 2011.  God is giving us the opportunity to follow after Him and I am preparing my heart to fulfill that opportunity to the best of my ability.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Family of God

I felt led to remind the congregation on Sunday regarding their importance to God. Each and everyone of you are important to God! God has the power and ability to give each of us His undivided attention each and every moment of our lives. There is not anything that happens in our lives that goes unnoticed by our Heavenly Father. We can rejoice in the fact that God is aware of all that is taking place and He is never unnerved by any event or any circumstance that comes our way. We can rejoice in the knowledge that God has chosen to adopt us into His family. A line from an old song declares this hope and blessing to us; "I am so glad to be a part of the family of God..." Walk in the strength of this declaration as you begin this new week of the rest of your life.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Valuable Lesson

Yesterday was a day in which my wife and I were able to witness a wonderful accomplishment in the life of our oldest grandchild.  We were able to witness his "graduation" from elementary school.  Many of you are like myself as these moments become moments of personal reflection not only about your personal life but also the life of your children and grandchildren.  We use these moments to take time to examine our life and in some cases we even examine the purpose of our life.  It seems that there are occasions in which God will take the every day experiences of life and reveal spiritual matters to me.  Was that the reason that Jesus used parables to teach the people of His day and time?  He would use the common experiences of life or He would use examples from their present world to lead them into a deeper understanding of spiritual principles that would affect their relationship with God.  I truly believe that God uses those same principles to deposit spiritual truths in our lives or at least He uses "moments of life" to awaken our hearts to thoughts that need our attention.

As I sat in the High School gymnasium I reflected on the passage of scripture that is very familiar to many of us.  It is the passage found in James 4:14, "whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (NJKV).  I could sense that the Lord was not speaking this scripture to me in the sense of fear or impending doom rather I could sense the calming influence of the Holy Spirit as I began to open my heart to God.  I watched a young man walk across that gym floor and be recognized for an accomplishment that was six years in the making.  It seemed that it was only yesterday that I was the chauffeur of a five year old to his kindergarten classes.  We had our own way to count down the last few minutes of our time at home before we stepped out into the real world of a five year old on his way to school.  We would watch the clock on the microwave until 8:33 and then we knew that it was time to leave for school.  There was a certain place on our journey where we began our prayer time; some days I would leave off some of the family member's names from our prayer time just to see if our grandson was paying attention.  He would speak up right on cue and say, "Poppy, you forgot to say" and he would proceed to call that person's name.  Where did those days go and how quick those days have evaporated?  Those days are now memories for an aging grandfather and a maturing grandson to share and we did share some of those memories yesterday.

You are probably thinking, "Where is the lesson that God was teaching?'  It simply sounds and reads like a nostalgic old man simply remembering the good ole days that have come and gone.  But I do feel that it goes deeper than those thoughts.  God desired for me to ponder and reflect on my life.  Those days have evaporated; they are only memories that will become more precious as time moves forward.  I can neither add too or take away from those results no matter how much I try or no matter how much I desire to change them or even relive them.  Those days are forever gone and what impact those days have made are already written in the annals of history.  But here is the principle that God was placing in my heart; my today and my tomorrows have not evaporated as of yet.  I still have an opportunity to make a difference in this world.  I still have an opportunity to influence the lives of people in a very positive manner.  I can not change anything from yesterday but I can make the proper adjustments for today.  How will I chose to spend my today and how will I choose to spend the tomorrows God gives to me?   I am given the ability to remember my yesterdays but I must choose to live in my today.  I must live my life in such a manner that I am being a blessing to others and a servant to the Lord God Almighty.  Do not become captured by your yesterdays; those days have evaporated (James 4:14) but choose to live your live in such a manner that pleases God so that you can look back on your yesterday and feel confident that you have made a difference in the lives of people in your sphere of influence.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Trusting God

Psalm 38:15, "I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God." (NIV)

Many of us are trusting God with certain situations in our lives.  We realize that we either do not have the abilities to meet our need or we do not have sufficient resources to supply the need.  Our need lies beyond our scope of human training but Christ who lives in us is encouraging us to trust God to supply whatever that we need.  It appears that as we travel this road of faith it would be easier to trust God at all times but in many situations that is not always true.  We face those moments in which our faith feels weak and we do not know if our faith is strong enough to see us through that particular moment.  I certainly have faced those moments in which the need seemed larger than my faith but at those moments I made the conscious decision to continue trusting God when everything that was going on around me said not to trust to God. 

The Bible is full of examples where the need appeared larger than the faith of the individual. Do you remember the story of Jairus and his daughter?  She is dying and Jairus makes his way to find Jesus so that he can invite Jesus to his house so that He can heal her of of the disease.  While Jairus was speaking to Jesus people arrived from his home and told him not to "trouble the Teacher, your daughter is dead." (Luke 8:40-41, 49).  The heartbreaking evidence is presented to Jairus in very terse terms;  your daughter is dead.  But listen to Jesus' response, "...Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  (Luke 8:50b)  Some of us are facing some strong evidence today that may say it is too late for God to become involved in our situation.  But Christ says, just keep believing.  Christ says, just keep trusting.  Christ says, I have not forgotten you or forsaken you. 

We demonstrate our trust in God by waiting patiently and confidently.  We accept each moment of our life as a gift from God and realize that God is in charge of our present as well as our future.  We are not alone on this journey regardless of how the enemy seeks to make us feel at various times.  We live in a world that is marked by heartache, pain, sadness, and disappointment.  But we are also able to identify those "God moments" in which God arises with great authority and power and performs His miraculous deliverance in our lives.  It is at those moments that our patient faith has reaped great dividends.  Do not turn loose of your faith rather release your faith and watch God work in your life.