God Cares

1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (NKJV)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (NIV)

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (NLT)

The Adult Discipleship class took a different approach to studying the Bible last night. We discussed the message that I shared this past Sunday. The message served as a reminder to each of us that we are important to God and that He has  great care and concern for His children. I firmly believe that each of us have those moments in which the enemy seeks to make us doubt the fact that God has promised to care for us. It is during those moments that our faith comes alive and we find strength in the promise that is declared in 1 Peter 5:7.

The Word of God teaches that God cares immensely for us. So how do you cast your cares on Him? By faith, you let Him care (This is the same technique that we use with our spouse or best friend. We trust them to listen and we trust in the fact that they genuinely care about us). He cares and can be trusted.  Therefore, allow Him to do what He does best. You allow Him to care for you. This takes humility on your part. You are acknowledging a desperate need for God. Your declaration of dependence is two-fold. You admit you are anxious, and can’t handle your worry alone. Secondly, you submit to the fact that only God can handle this level of concern. Our submission to God allows His care to assist us in overcoming our fears, anxieties, concerns, doubts, etc.  The development of our relationship with God helps bring our feeble faith and fatigued mind into focus on Him. We experience true freedom as we release our burdens and cares to God. Our faith continues to grow stronger as see God work to encourage us in our areas of concern.  

Life Lesson

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)

I was reminded of a valuable principle today as I took care of some responsibilities around our house. I took a portion of the day away from my daily schedule and our son and I re-painted the kitchen. Now, doesn't that sound like an awesome way to spend a Tuesday? Seriously, I did enjoy the opportunity of working along side of our son to accomplish this project. One of the side issues that I remembered is the importance of teamwork. We use that word at New River but it is a privilege to see it take place in the work of the church but also in our daily lives. Good things can be accomplished when people commit to a common cause and they establish a common goal to attain. We were able to see that accomplished today.

But there is another principle that came to my attention as I was cleaning up and re-arranging the kitchen after the project was completed. As I observed the room the passage in 2 Corinthians dropped into my heart. I began to rehearse the principle of a "new creature" in relation to "old things are passed away." The color of our kitchen changed before our eyes as a new color was added to replace the old color. The transformation was very evident and the transformation was made possible through the process of painting. 

Our spiritual transformation was and is made possible through the process of salvation. Our salvation was purchased through the death of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus covers the sin(s) of the old man (you and I) and out of that transition we observe the birth of a new creature in Christ. We celebrate that process as we serve God in a manner of surrendered obedience to His will and way. The season of Lent allows us to remind ourselves of our new life and remember that we were purchased with a price and that price was the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!

Lent, Part 2

I have been challenged by the Spirit regarding our need to be concerned about the responsibility to share the Gospel with those people that we contact on a personal basis as well as during a corporate worship setting. Am I truly concerned about those things that concern God? Am I truly concerned about the purpose/mission of Christ. I believe that the New Testament is full of examples of where Jesus explained and declared His "mission statement" for His time on earth. His mission statement should be the driving force behind the mission statement of each church that declares itself to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I do not write these words as a form of criticism but they are being written as I sense the Holy Spirit drawing us back to the purpose of Christ coming to this world. 

Lent reminds us of the need to remember the purpose of Christ and His coming to this world not as a King but as a Suffering Servant. He came to pay the price for the message that He shared with us to declare. Let this season of Lent be one in which each of us reconnect our heart with the heart of God. God truly cares about each individual person who lives on the face of this Earth. We are called to share that message with everyone and not just a select few.

I want to share a passage of scripture that was included in a recent devotional that I read. I believe this passage reveals the "mission statement" of Christ. Would you take the time to read it with an open heart so that you receive what God desires to say to you?

Luke 5:27-32, “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.   29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”   31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (NIV) (Emphasis added)

Will you commit to pray for those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior? 

Lent

You probably have heard the word “Lent” used in the past few days in someone’s conversation or in a story on the local news broadcast.   Lent is the 40 day period of time that precedes the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.   The time of Lent actually began one week ago today on March 5th. Lent is normally associated with fasting or at least giving up some pleasure as a gift to God in remembrance of Christ.   A few years ago I began to look at Lent in a different manner.   I sensed that the Spirit wanted me to use the days prior to the Crucifixion and Resurrection as a time to focus on the suffering of Christ and the benefits for Christians that was a product of that suffering.   The old “workout” slogan comes to mind, “No pain, no gain.”   The pain and suffering that Christ endured during the last hours of His life on earth brought great gain and benefit to His followers.   We don’t celebrate the suffering of Christ; we celebrate His willing sacrifice birthed in a heart that was full of love, care, and concern for fallen humanity.

 

I wanted to encourage you this morning to focus on those things that Christ endured for the purchase of our salvation. It would be very profitable to each of us to reconnect with the atrocities that Christ endured over the last hours of His life on planet Earth. You can find that evidence as you read through the Gospels.  We enjoy reading about all of the miracles that Jesus performed and all of the miracles that have been performed since He returned to Heaven to serve as an Intercessor on our behalf. But those miracles came with a price. Jesus did not pay a partial price; He paid the full price for our redemption. Today we can celebrate the fact that Jesus paid the ransom for our freedom.

 

Take some time to reflect on the great love that God has shared with us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Take some time to reflect on what He endured so that we might overcome. Take some time to reflect on His defeat of satan so that we can walk in victory over the powers of sin. 

Friends

Proverbs 18:24, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (NKJV)

 

This passage of scripture came into my spirit this morning as I was praying. At first, I was somewhat startled as I was praying about people who I know are facing different needs in their lives.  I could categorize these people as those that I don't personally know, people who are acquaintances, people who are friends and those who are close friends. I am sure that you have some of those same relationships in your life. But it was during those moments that the Holy Spirit reminded me of the "importance" of friends and the impact that they have made and continue to make in my life. I will confess that my heart is tender toward friends and their friendship as I have received birthday wishes from people who would fit into the categories that I previously mentioned. I was reminded of the need to cherish, appreciate and the understanding of the importance of maintaining those friendships. God has placed certain individuals in my life for an eternal purpose and not just for a time of temporary interaction.

 

Today I will use a word or thought from contemporary culture to express my appreciation. I want to give a "shout out" to all those wonderful, special, and unique individuals whom God has placed in my life. Each of them have played a major role in my development emotionally as well as spiritually. Many of these individuals have been a part of local churches that Ann and I have served through the years of our ministry. Many of these individuals I met when I was traveling as a Missionary/Evangelist in America for five years. Many of these individuals are fellow Pastors/Ministers that I have met through my journey as a Minister for over 42 years. These men, women, youth and children have brought smiles to my face; they have brought laughter to my heart; they have brought strength when I felt weak; they have brought courage when I was facing doubt and fear; and many of them have listened when I just needed someone to hear what was on my heart. I can honestly say that I could not have walked this road alone.

 

I read these words this morning in an email that was sent to me and I would like to share them with you. "Let old friends know you haven't forgotten them, and tell new friends you never will. Remember, everyone needs a friend..." We have been blessed through the friendships of others and we should always remember the need to be a friend to someone.

 

REMEMBER, EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND!!!

Encouragement

Hebrews 3:13, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (NIV)

 

I am sure that many of us who read this blog have fought a battle or two with the spirit of discouragement. We have known what it is to face the attempts of the enemy as he sought to dismantle and destroy our heart for God and His plan for our life through the means of discouragement. I do not seek to give any free advertisement to our adversary but I sincerely want this post to emphasize the opportunity for the family of God to encourage  one another. I truly believe that the modern day church must reestablish the "ministry of encouragement" so that we can fulfill our call and responsibility to one another. I want to live with an attitude that exudes a spirit of encouragement. I am not talking about walking around with a hypocritical smile on my face and with fake words that are spoken out of rote and routine rather than from a heart of genuine care and concern. All of us have seen those people and all of us have left those type of people feeling worse than we felt before we encountered them. We certainly are seeing the effects of the second part of Hebrews 3:13. That in and of itself lets me know that we as a body of believers need to be putting into practice the first part of Hebrews 3:13.

 

Praise Report: I have been blessed to have been on the receiving end of encouragement as well as the one who desires to provide encouragement. The past few days have seen me receive encouragement and kind words from different individuals. Aren't you blessed when someone tells you that they love and appreciate you? Aren't you encouraged when someone says that they are praying for you? Doesn't a smile come to your face and a warm feeling arise in your heart when someone says you are a blessing to me? Have you ever enjoyed a pat on the back, a friendly handshake and an embrace of kindness from a brother or sister in Christ? Each of us can answer yes to these questions as well as share many other moments from our lives in which we received strength, hope and encouragement from the Body of Christ. Oh the joy of being encouraged by someone and OH THE JOY OF SERVING AS AN ENCOURAGER TO SOMEONE!!!! Hopefully at some point in this day you will be able to enjoy both of these emotions.

 

I want to personally thank everyone for the birthday wishes, birthday calls, birthday texts and birthday messages. I have smiled many times today as well as yesterday. I am thankful for my family, my friends and my extended Christian family. I have received messages from various locations both within the nation as well as outside of America. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT WITH ME TODAY!!! 

Thankfulness

1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (NLT)

It was during prayer this morning that the Spirit reminded me about being thankful. Normally the words thankfulness and thanksgiving are associated with the holiday that we refer to as Thanksgiving. But the Holy Spirit challenged me to examine my attitude this morning. Do I truly and consistently live with and live in an attitude of thankfulness? Am I thankful in all circumstances? Is my attitude one in which I can exclaim and declare to God my sincere praise and thanksgiving on a daily basis? Or do I pick and choose the moments in which I express my gratitude to God? 

I understand that there are those "special" moments in our lives in which we see the goodness of God revealed in a moment of a miraculous demonstration. These events and moments in our lives remind us that God is still all powerful and all mighty regardless of the circumstances. But is it not also true that God provides moments of divine intervention on a daily basis? Many of these moments may go unrecognized or unnoticed because we are so busy living our life that we fail to identify what God is doing in us and for us at that very moment. Could that be the reason that Paul reminds us of the need to be thankful in everything on every day? I will be honest with you and say that I do not know if I meet that challenge every day. I want to meet that challenge and I believe the Lord used this passage to remind me that I need to focus on being thankful every day and not just on certain days that I choose. 

Personal note of Praise: Over the past few months I have been praying for at least five (5) individuals that have been dealing with specific treatments for cancer that had been discovered in their bodies. I have tried to be faithful in praying for each of them by name on just about every day of their journey. I am certain that I am not alone in offering my prayer support to these individuals. One of these individuals is our niece whom I consider my "adopted granddaughter." Four out the five individuals have made excellent progress in their battle with cancer and have received wonderful progress reports. One of the five is still facing an uphill battle as the Doctors seek to find the right regime of medicine to fight the particular cancer that she is facing. Our niece crossed over another hurdle yesterday as she received a wonderful report from her Doctor. I celebrated that yesterday and I celebrated again this morning in prayer. 

I felt that I must write about living in an attitude of thankfulness. It is so easy to live a life in which we fail to recognize the goodness of God on a daily basis. It is so easy to live a life that takes for "granted" those wonderful blessings that God "daily" places in our lives. I have learned my need to make sure that I look around and "count the blessings and name them one by one" (old hymn). I know that I can not name them all but there are many of those blessings in which I need to be more vocal with God and vocal with those around me. Let the Spirit speak to your heart today and enjoy living with an "attitude of gratitude!!!"