Thoughts on Tuesday

It seems as though our world is full of chaos and evil actions. But at the same time we see the goodness and kindness of mankind on display in our lives as well as the lives of others in our nation on a daily basis. These positive actions serve as a "counter attack" to the attempts of satan to defeat, defy and override the faith of the family of God. But through our faith and with our faith we can resist those attempts of satan. God will provide what we need as we continue to trust in Him and remind ourselves that His promises are true and steadfast. That is one of the reasons that I am so determined to point people to Jesus Christ and to remind everyone that He is our ANSWER!!!!

I would like to leave a passage of scripture with you today.

Psalm 46:1-5

  ​God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

Encouragement

We can read the headlines in the paper or even on our electronic devices and realize that there is a "spirit of anxiety" in our land. The political pundits continue to remind us that people no longer have confidence or trust in our elected officials. There is even a great divide among our politicians on which direction our nation needs to proceed. Division and separation continues to raise its ugly head in various situations throughout our culture. There are divisions in families, marriages, and even church organizations, etc. 

BUT there is  one statement of truth that each of us can embrace. That fact is that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY IS OUR PRESENT HELP IN TIME OF TROUBLE!! We do know where to turn and we do know in whom we can place our trust. I was reminded of that principle this morning during prayer. The Lord had placed Psalm 40 in my heart last night as I was praying for and thinking about various individuals and the struggles that they are facing. I am going to encourage you to allow a few verses of that Psalm speak to your heart (seat of your emotions) today. Would you take a moment and remind yourselves of the "hope and confidence" that is revealed in the Spirit's words through the writing of David?

Praise God for His Word!!!

Psalm 40:1-5 (NLT)

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.

4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
    who have no confidence in the proud
    or in those who worship idols.
5 O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
    Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
    You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
    I would never come to the end of them.

Thankfulness< Part 3

Psalm 100:4, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (NKJV) (Emphasis added)

I realize that each of us are facing our own set of challenges/situations/concerns/problems. These vary from individual to individual but each of us have the opportunity to face them looking through the eyes of praise and thanksgiving. I know that there are some moments in which praise or thanksgiving may be the action that we DO NOT WANT TO TAKE AT THAT TIME in our lives. But we must remember that it is always appropriate and Biblically correct to participate in those actions.  The Word of God is full of different situations in which the people of God were called on to offer God praise, worship or thanksgiving prior to the victory being won in their lives. 

I understand that is not always easy. I have been at those moments in which God directed my heart to offer praise even though the answer that I needed had not arrived as of yet. I find myself taking that action in many situations that I face as a Minister of the Gospel. I can sense that God is at work and I choose to offer God praise and thanksgiving prior to the answer arriving or the need being fully met. Those are the moments that we choose to act on the faith that is rising in our heart. Do not be discouraged today. You are not alone in making those decisions to offer praise prior to the prayer being answered.

That is one of the reasons that I am focusing on remembering and reflecting on the blessings that God has already provided for each of us. We will take a look at a few more of the blessings that this individual in our church has witnessed God provide for her.  Take time to prepare your list today!!

Thurs.:

He blesses me with a good church that lets you talk and ask questions.

He blessed me with a God fearing and praying church family.

He blesses me by speaking to me.

He has blessed me by increasing my faith.

He has blessed and does bless me by providing for my family.

He blesses me by letting me praise and worship Him.

He blesses me with His mercies every morning.

He blessed me with a thinking mind and the ability to understand.

He has blessed me with unknown blessings and mercy that I don't know about.

He has blessed me with His love so that I can love others.

Friday:

He blessed me by taking away the hardness of my heart.

He blessed me by opening my eyes to Him.

He blesses me by not leaving me.

He blesses me by changing me.

He blesses me because He didn't give up on me when I was going to walk out the church      doors again. He came after me after the church service was completed.

He has blessed me with His Healing Power.

He has blessed me by forgiving me when I couldn't forgive myself.

He has blessed me by by seeing me through stuff when I didn't see a way.

He has blessed me by helping me to figure things out and not leaving me to do it by myself.

He blesses me by taking the "world" out of me more and more every day.

Thankfulness, Part 2

I Chronicles 16:25, "For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods." (NKJV) (Emphasis added)

Have you ever noticed that the enemy seeks to hinder our memories when it comes to remembering the victories that God has won in our lives? Some of us call these lapses of memory "Senior Moments" when we are trying to remember names. dates, phone numbers, etc. I don't know if there is a name for the attempts of satan to hinder our spiritual memories but I do have a remedy for the attack.

The antidote for this "disease" is a heart that is full of praise and thanksgiving. God warned the people of Israel not to forget God when they entered the Promised Land. Paul reminded Timothy that people have the tendency to become unthankful. Forgetfulness and Unthanfulness  could be "spiritual first cousins." Neither of these attributes need to exist very long in the life of a child of God. We can quickly remember that God has been good to us when we view the larger album of life rather than just a few selected snapshots. Let us keep the words of praise and thankfulness in our hearts and on our lips.

Here is a continuation of the testimonies that a sister in Christ shared with me. I pray that these words will cause each of us to recognize the goodness of God in our daily lives.

Tuesday:

I'm blessed by His healing.

I was blessed and still am that He saved my soul.

I'm blessed that He lives within me each and every day.

I'm blessed that saved me from a near fatal heart attack.

I'm blessed cause He's still healing my heart.

I'm blessed cause He was in the hospital each day and helped me get through the loneliness.

I'm blessed that He healed me from the lung cancer.

I'm blessed that He healed it in 5 treatments instead of 5 weeks of them.

I'm blessed by the time that He gives me.

I'm blessed when He touches me and restores my soul.

Wed.:

He blesses me with a good friend of 18 1/2 years.

He blesses me by waking me this morning.

He has blessed me with a loving and hard working husband.

He has blessed me with a daughter that I waited for, for 13 years.

He has blessed me with knowledge and understanding of His Word.

He has blessed me with hearing, sight, walking, etc.

He has blessed me with His forgiveness.

He has blessed me with God fearing mentors and friends from New River.

He blesses me with His goodness.

He blesses me when He puts a certain verse from the Bible in my heart.

Thankfulness on Tuesday

I began to sense the need to write on thankfulness a few days ago. I have been encouraging people to pray for the challenges that our nation is facing. But I also felt that I needed to turn our attention toward the need to offer praise and thanks to God. That was confirmed to me a few minutes ago as I received a early morning call from a dear fiend. Our friendship was established many years ago and so it was easy to quickly move backwards into time and remember some funny moments of interaction between our families. The Spirit reminded me of my appreciation for friendship as my conversation with this individual produced laughter and I even found myself talking with a wide smile on my face. Have those feelings ever arisen in your heart? We need to cherish those moments and value these people both family as well as friends as VIP's (VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE). Our nation is in trouble because we no longer value people and value their role and purpose in our life.

A couple of weeks ago I gave the church an "assignment" during the sharing of the message. I encouraged them to take some time and write down blessings that God has provided for them on that particular day. I have heard from various individuals who took the time to accept the challenge to put their thoughts into words that they could read out loud. I do expect to hear from others as we continue to remind ourselves of the role that the "Good, Good Father" has in our lives. Did I just hear someone shout out these words of thanksgiving? "THANK YOU JESUS FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME!!!

I want to share to some "praises" that one of the ladies of the church emailed a few days ago. This lady has been a believer for a few years and already the Lord has brought her through several major trials of her faith. God is not only good but He is also faithful to His Word. I plan on sharing other testimonies from time to time. I encourage you to take the opportunity to actually put into words your feelings of appreciation to God for all that He has done in your life. Feel free to share them with me if you feel led to do so. 

Sunday: 

He refreshed me at church this morning.

He encouraged me.

He woke me up.

He has blessed me a good loving husband.

He has blessed me a loving daughter.

He has blessed us with a home.

He has blessed me with His Word.

He has blessed me through His Son's precious Blood.

He has blessed me with a wonderful, loving and caring church.

He has blessed me with a God fearing, caring and loving pastor.

Monday:

I'm blessed by His Protection.

I'm blessed by His love for me.

I'm blessed by His forgiveness of my sins.

I'm blessed by His grace.

I'm blessed by His mercy.

I'm blessed by His adoption of me.

I'm blessed because I can call out to Him.

I'm blessed that He listens to me.

I'm blessed because He is my helper.

I'm blessed because He has never left me. He is always with me.

Heart Issues, Part 2

I am completely convinced that God desires to do a great work within us. We look for what He can do "through us and with us" but I believe that God is more concerned about what He desires to "do in us." We learn more about God and we learn more about ourselves when we submit to His work in our lives. Those moments can be enlightening as well as challenging as God examines our lives and reveals our areas of weakness as well as sins. But let us never forget the end product that results from that spiritual process taking place in our lives. Our lives are never the same and our lives more fully reflect the glory of God on our daily journey through life. 

I read some statements that former President George W. Bush and President Obama made at the Memorial service for the slain Police Officers in Dallas, Texas. I read these words after I had finished my blog post on Wednesday. I was both challenged, encouraged and reminded of those attitudes as well as attributes that has guided America and Americans for many years. I would like to share a portion of them with you.

President Bush: "Americans, I think, have a great advantage. To renew our unity, we only need to remember our values. We have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit, by shared commitments to common ideals...At our best, we honor the image of God we see in one another. We recognize that we are brothers and sisters, sharing the same brief moment on Earth and owing each other the loyalty of our shared humanity."

President Obama, speaking at the memorial service, quoted Ezekiel 36:26: "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Let me also share the insights of Jim Denison to this post. "The key to this "new heart" is found in the next verse: "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (v. 27). Human words cannot change human hearts. The One who made us is the only One who can change us."

I truly believe the change that America needs will begin in our hearts. But we face the challenge of thinking that it is everyone else but me who needs to change. What would happen if each of us made the commitment to surrender our lives to Christ? I truly desire to make that commitment to my Lord and Savior today!!!

Heart Issues

Psalm 46:1-7, "God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah   (NKJV)

Psalm 46 was read by our Worship Leader in this past Sunday's service. It continues to speak to my heart today. I join with many of you expressing my concern about the condition of the "heart" of our nation. Is it possible that the problems in our nation are evident to us because of our "heart" problems? My wife works with a group of Cardiologists. Many of their patients exhibit certain "symptoms" in their bodies that reveal to the naked eye that they are experiencing issues with their heart. Needless to say there are also other patients who can only be diagnosed when their heart is listened to with a stethoscope or other diagnostic tools. BUT EACH OF THESE PATIENTS ARE SUFFERING ISSUES WITH THEIR HEART!! Some symptoms are visible while other symptoms are hidden beneath the surface of the skin.

I realize that there will be those people who will say that my analogy is very basic and simplistic. They will also say that the issues that we are facing personally as well as collectively are far more serious and far deeper than I can even imagine. You are welcome to your opinion to say the least and I will respectfully accept your differing view. I also understand that our problems will not be solved with one blog post from me. But I also understand that the problems in our individual lives as well as our nation continue to escalate. Political leaders plan more meetings to deal with the issues. Even spiritual leaders call for more meetings to address the issues. People who are dealing with issues in their lives also call for more meetings. 

I am not against dialogue; as matter of fact I believe dialogue can be a benefit if it is handled correctly. I need to interject a question concerning these meetings. It appears that we are leaving out the only Person with Power that can change the heart. Where is the Lord God Almighty included in these meetings? Have you ever heard the expression, "Come to Jesus Meeting." I believe that our nation needs to have a nationwide time of Prayer in which we call on the True and Living God. He has promised to be our "refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Don't you believe that we need a refuge, we need His strength and we need His help in the troubles that we are facing?

I truly believe that God can transform the "hearts" of America. But each of us have to be willing to surrender our lives to Him. And that is where the battle of self desire, selfishness and self denial begins to take over. I refuse to give up on the belief that God desires to touch each of us with His presence and His power. Our problem as a nation is a "heart" problem. Far too many of us have left God out of our lives!! We have chosen to follow our on way rather than God's way of love, grace, mercy, care, concern for each other, kindness, respect, appreciation, thankfulness, etc.