Opportunity

I was blessed with an awesome privilege this past Sunday night. Previously I have written about how much I enjoy sharing the Word of God in the form of a message that I believe God has placed on my heart. Sunday night found me in the pulpit of the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Magnolia, Kentucky. The presence of God was very evident as believers from several denominations gathered to seek the face of God. It is an encouragement to witness spiritual hunger among the family of God. I strongly believe that the modern day church must once again become hungry for more of God in our lives. We will not be able to finish our race in the power of the flesh but it will take the power and unction of the Spirit to lead us through the challenges of life. Pastor Shannon McCubbins is doing an awesome job in pointing the local congregation to the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. I told the congregation that Satan was confused on Sunday night. He was confused by the fact that believers from various churches had gathered in unity to worship and magnify the King of Kings. The old song still rings true, "I'm so glad to be a part of the family of God..." People were blessed as we prayed with each other for needs to be met. God is at work in the heart of honest hearted believers who are seeking after the correct path to follow.

Preaching the Word

Those of you who personally know me understand that I enjoy sharing the Word of God (preaching).  It is always a pleasure as well as privilege to stand before a group of people and share the message of the Gospel.  I do not claim to the greatest Gospel communicator that has ever shared a message but I do believe that there is a message to share and that I truly enjoy those opportunities to share the Word.  I do not want to sound arrogant in making that previous statement but I do believe that people need to recognize the fact that it is possible to truly enjoy following after the heart of God in obedience to the "call" that is upon our lives.  Does that mean that every time of preaching is always easy and fulfilling?  No, not by the means of human measurements but by the measure of the Spirit it is fulfilling and rewarding to see the Word of God have an effect upon the listening audience. 

 

I sense that some preacher, teacher, or other Christian leader needs encouragement today.  I sense the urgency of this encouragement as the Spirit forms my thoughts and as I write these words for the people who needs to read them.  "Do not become weary in well doing, you shall reap if you do not faint (give up)."  Don't allow the enemy to discourage you in your walk with God.  Do not allow the enemy to confuse you with the measurements of humanity versus the measurements of the Spirit.  Jesus made an effort to go through Samaria to share the Gospel with one woman.  Jesus made an effort to share the Gospel with the lepers (outcasts) in the community in which He ministered.  Jesus shared the plan of God with His disciples yet they did not fully capture the fullness of the message until His Resurrection from the grave.  You and I may never receive the recognition of humanity but we can walk pleasing to God and hear Him share these words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."  After all, isn't He the One that we seek to please and honor in all that we say and do?  O man and woman of God, lift your head today and be encouraged.  O man and woman of God, lift your heart to God today and be strengthened in your soul.  In my opinion Christian leaders are being called to finish well and I desire to be able to accomplish that goal in my life and I am sure that you feel the same way.

Surrender

I do my best to share what I sense the Spirit has placed in my heart.  I share these thoughts to not only allow you to see the activity of God in my personal life but also I want them to serve as a challenge or confirmation to you in your personal walk with Christ.  Periodically the Spirit will remind me of the need to continue to surrender my life to Christ.  I remember the initial time of surrender at my conversion and I can remember those "God moments" in which God has taken me into a deeper sense of surrender and service to Him.  I sensed one of those moments yesterday afternoon during a time of prayer.  I never want to lose the desire to recognize the leadership of Christ in my life; I sincerely desire Him to be Lord as well as Savior.  Is it possible that we can receive Him as Savior yet not fully surrender to Him and recognize Him as Lord over our life?  I do not want to make that mistake.  Recently I read this article from a Pastor in SC that spoke to my heart and I want to share it with you today.  Please remember that it spoke to me before I desired for it to speak to you!

 

A friend said, "My problem is that I have surrendered my time to work, to other people, and to bad habits." We should first surrender our time to God. God owns it anyway. Our task is to manage properly what has been entrusted to us until he returns or wants it back, including our time.

 

Think about a compass and a clock Two very important tools, but two very different instruments. One would be wise not to confuse the two. To surrender our time to God is to be governed by a compass rather than to be controlled by a clock. A compass provides a sense of direction, purpose, vision, perspective, and balance. A clock measures duration, the expenditure of time. A compass determines effectiveness-doing the right tasks. A clock determines efficiency-how long it takes to accomplish a task. Both have their place. But, the compass must come before the clock, therefore, effectiveness before efficiency. The "mega priorities" of the compass subordinate the "mini priorities" of the clock.

 

A compass, therefore, becomes a symbol of an internal guidance system that provides us with our values and convictions based on God's Word. This non-negotiable governs our lives. In the same manner that the gravitational force pulls the compass needle; it is God that governs the drive of our lives. We surrender to his force.

 

Our time should be surrendered to God daily. I asked a friend who is engaged in many pursuits successfully, how he managed it all. He said, "I give my first minutes to God, then I commit the remainder of the day to his Lordship. And amazingly I work more effectively and efficiently."

 

Have you surrendered your time to God?  Is your time in his hands?

 



Challenged to Think

I read these quotes that a Pastor friend of mine had posted on his FB page and they immediately grabbed my attention.  How often do I identify what I perceive to be the need for change in the life of another person  yet fail to take the time to identify the need for change in my life?  Is it possible that we can become so consumed with our examination of others that we fail to examine our own walk with Christ?  2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine (scrutinize, discipline) yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." (NKJV)  I fully understand that there is the possibility that we can become overly critical of ourselves but we can also develop an attitude that allows ourselves to skirt around the issues that are having a detrimental effect on our walk with Christ.  We need to develop the proper balance as we take a step toward personal examination and I believe the combination of the Word and the Spirit will provide the proper balance each of us need.  Let these following words challenge each of us to think about "us" and the progress of our spiritual growth and maturity.

 

Thought for the week: “You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person.” – Unknown

 “Success is always temporary. When all is said and done, the only thing you’ll have left is your character.” – Vince Gill

 “The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example.” – Thomas Morell
 

 

 

Loving God, Part 2

"But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand." Matthew 7:26



 

It is easier to tell God that I love Him than it is to show Him that I love Him.  The proverbial statement, "Words are cheap", may be very appropriate for the thought today.  I believe that obedience to God can be one of the spiritual measuring sticks that we can use to either prove or disprove our love for God.  I do not want this post to sound harsh but I do think that each of us need to answer the challenge that Christ extends in this portion of scripture in Matthew 6.  My obedience or lack thereof will reveal either that I am a foolish man or it will reveal that I am a wise man.  The choice is mine and the final decision rests with me.  God provides the options and even reveals the benefits of making the right choice.  It does sound simple but life has a way of presenting to us those complicated matters which require a true searching of our hearts to ensure that each of us are prepared to walk in full obedience.  In all honesty each of us can attest to the fact that some areas of obedience are easier to navigate than others. 

 

There are those times in life in which we are eager to jump in and take matters into our own hands.  There are also times in which we don't take time to think and talk with God about the circumstances that we are facing.  Each of us know that we should consult with God regarding our life but we get into a hurry and do what we think is correct and pleasing to God.  There are times that we may stumble into disobedience because we failed to seek after God's direction for our lives.  We must learn to seek God in every area of our life and let Him know that we want to please Him and glorify Him in all that we do and say.  A heart that is filled with a desire to live in obedience to God will bring the blessings of God upon us even as we walk down the difficult road of daily struggles and challenges.  The old hymn declares; "Trust and obey for there is no other way..."  God is looking for people who will trust and obey His commands and directions.

Loving God

The weekend services at New River Worship Center were refreshing, encouraging, and challenging.  I truly believe that the Spirit is issuing a wake-up call and challenge to this generation of believers.  I also believe that each previous generation has received this call and God has found men and women who will answer that call.  I also believe that it will be said that there are believers in the 21st Century who will choose to respond to the call from the Spirit in spite of the fact that the enemy is doing all in his power to hinder the correct response.  I for one desire to be one of those individuals who will not only hear the call but I am preparing my heart to respond to the call from the heart of God.

I was led to speak from this passage in Matthew 24:12 on Sunday night.  Christ offered this insight to His people as He spoke about some of the challenges of the final (last) days that would precede His return.  Take a moment and reflect on these words, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (NKJV).  Jesus reminds us that the presence of evil, sin, iniquity, and rebellion against God would seek to interfere in our love relationship with Him.  The pressure from the culture would seek to drive us away from God all the while the Spirit is calling us to draw closer to God.  Don't you believe that are facing that paradox today?  On one hand, we feel the forces of evil and sin attacking our minds; yet, the Spirit of God continues to reveal the love of God to us and His love will provide the strength to resist these attacks of satan.  I must not allow the enemy to "cool off" my love for Christ. 

A few years ago Pastor Tim McCaleb shared this illustration in a devotional in which he was leading on a particular night of a Revival meeting.  Pastor Tim told us that we will pour hot coffee, hot soup, or hot chocolate in a bowl or cup.  We will hold that bowl up to our mouths and blow on the contents so as to "cool off" those contents in the bowl.  He shared that satan uses the challenges, trials, difficulties, setbacks, etc. to "blow over" our lives in such a manner to cool off our passionate love for Christ.  I echo those same words today.  Each of us face our own set of these circumstances that blow across our life on a daily basis and satan will use them to hinder and in some cases even stop our love relationship with Christ.  This prophetic time is demanding that we refuse and refute this tactic of the enemy and allow our love with God to remain passionate regardless of and in spite of the circumstances that each of us are facing.  Will you take a moment and ask yourself this question?  "Is my love for God hot, cold, or lukewarm?"  

Looking to God

The Hebrews 12 passage has been in my heart over the past several weeks.  It is in verse in 2 of that passage that the Spirit reminds us to "look unto Jesus"; one translation uses the words "keeping our eyes on Jesus."  Each one of us have gone through those moments in which "life" challenges us to focus our attention on Christ and not the events or circumstances that were taking place in our lives.  That is not always easy for us to do but it is always profitable to make the decision to do this and to take this action in our lives.  Christ is the strength that we need as we face the different trials, struggles, difficulties, or challenges that we confront.  The following passage from the book of Psalms can confirm our need to trust in God at all times.

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps." Psalm 40:1-2

"King David knew something about suffering, particularly suffering caused by his own actions. But he also knew to whom he could turn during those times of trouble.  What great comfort and joy come to us when we understand that God is rich in grace and mercy, that He not only forgives, but restores and redeems!  The Lord lifts us up from our personal pits of despair and puts us in right standing with Him.  When times of trouble arrive - even trouble we bring on ourselves - we must turn to God and wait patiently for His help. He'll never fail us. Remember these truths about God and then proclaim them to everyone who will hear." (John Maxwell)

There are times that our "spiritual concentration" will be tested and the Spirit will call on us to refocus our attention on Christ and wait on Him to direct our steps.  A testimony of provision was shared with me on Wednesday night at the conclusion of service.  There was a need in this family's life but it had been met through faithful perseverance in prayer and a focusing on the promises of God.  God's resources are not limited by your circumstances or by my circumstances.  We can LOOK in confidence toward God and know that His wonderful love, mercy, and grace is being released in our lives.