Me and My Motivator
Bob Noebel
Motivation: To provide an incentive, to induce to act.
Motivational research is the study of what influences or causes people to choose or reject a course of action. In the business world, these procedures help companies sell products. In Genesis chapter 3, we find that Satan already knew the three basics for selling his product to man: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.
The sale was made. The rest is history.
What about God? Since He created us, it is only logical that He would know how to motivate us for good works rather than evil. After all, the Word says that it is not His desire that any should perish, but that everyone would come to the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ.
God must love a challenge. Why else would we be born with two strikes against us -- free will and a sin nature? How in the world is He going to motivate us? Thank God that He is not the mighty “Casey at the bat” who strikes out. God hits a home run when it comes to motivating us.
First of all, God did the hard part. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. The weight of our sins would have been enough to crush us, but that has been dealt with, thanks to Jesus.
If that alone isn’t enough to motivate you, there’s more. When Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, He sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to enable us to live a godly life:
You however are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit ... (Romans 8:9).
Our motivation to live a life worthy of His calling is because He first loved us. When we didn’t give God the time of day, He was still there waiting patiently for us. When we came to Him with all our problems and hang-ups, He received us with open arms. When we continue to mess up, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
God loves me so much that He saved me, cleansed me, and filled me with His Spirit. I don’t need any more motivation than that!
How about you? Are you ready to stand up to the plate and hit a home run for Him? You can do it. I know you can.
cbn
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Stuck in the Church
Cathy Irvin
In a lot of churches today, we get so focused on our community within that we forget the community outside the walls of the church building we attend.
Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all men. He gives us the command to be ambassadors for Him. If what I read in the Bible about the Great Commission is right, then I know I cannot settle in for a long winter’s nap in my favorite pew.
I know that a large percentage of people think they are not called to be evangelists, but we all can do the work of evangelism. We are called to be witnesses in the earth. That means we are to testify to the goodness of God and to tell that He came to give eternal life. We want to win the lost so that none will perish. When we find this good news for ourselves and live for Him, we are to share what we have learned.
Perhaps you like to pray. Then you can be a part of “prayer evangelism.” You simply share with someone about your life as a Christian and ask if you could pray for them about anything.
Sometimes people are more receptive to having prayers said for them than talking with them about the gospel.
This is not a new thing, but I had not heard of it termed this way until recently, so I just pray for people. I remember doing this in a doctor’s office. A waiting patient shared with me what was wrong. I asked, “Would you mind if I prayed for your healing for this situation?” The response was a definite yes.
If your church has a neighborhood picnic, an outdoor concert, or a beach entertainment event, you can minister God’s love. You might even capture the attention of teenagers and young people using bike stunts or skateboarding. There are ways to reach out.
Two local churches in my area are doing these very things because they know we have been stuck inside the church for too long. It is time to go outside and get involved in bringing others into the kingdom first and then hopefully inside the church, where they can have fellowship with the Lord and their new friends In Christ.
In the story of the wedding feast we read:
Then the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and urge and constrain [them] to yield and come in, so that my house may be filled.
— Luke 14:23, Amplified Bible
cbn
Cathy Irvin
In a lot of churches today, we get so focused on our community within that we forget the community outside the walls of the church building we attend.
Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all men. He gives us the command to be ambassadors for Him. If what I read in the Bible about the Great Commission is right, then I know I cannot settle in for a long winter’s nap in my favorite pew.
I know that a large percentage of people think they are not called to be evangelists, but we all can do the work of evangelism. We are called to be witnesses in the earth. That means we are to testify to the goodness of God and to tell that He came to give eternal life. We want to win the lost so that none will perish. When we find this good news for ourselves and live for Him, we are to share what we have learned.
Perhaps you like to pray. Then you can be a part of “prayer evangelism.” You simply share with someone about your life as a Christian and ask if you could pray for them about anything.
Sometimes people are more receptive to having prayers said for them than talking with them about the gospel.
This is not a new thing, but I had not heard of it termed this way until recently, so I just pray for people. I remember doing this in a doctor’s office. A waiting patient shared with me what was wrong. I asked, “Would you mind if I prayed for your healing for this situation?” The response was a definite yes.
If your church has a neighborhood picnic, an outdoor concert, or a beach entertainment event, you can minister God’s love. You might even capture the attention of teenagers and young people using bike stunts or skateboarding. There are ways to reach out.
Two local churches in my area are doing these very things because they know we have been stuck inside the church for too long. It is time to go outside and get involved in bringing others into the kingdom first and then hopefully inside the church, where they can have fellowship with the Lord and their new friends In Christ.
In the story of the wedding feast we read:
Then the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and urge and constrain [them] to yield and come in, so that my house may be filled.
— Luke 14:23, Amplified Bible
cbn
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Love is a Verb
Kim DeHoog
I’m not sure we often view love as a choice. We are raised with a fanciful imagination sweeping us off to places where we will fall helplessly in love with someone else. Based on movies today, one might think that even if the beautiful dame resisted, it would do no good. Clearly, love has seized her and she is powerless in its grip. It is almost as if we expect love to happen to us. We are passive and waiting for the almighty force of love to smack us upside the head. But sometimes it doesn’t.
In the fall of 2003, I moved to the Dominican Republic and entered into a small community of missionaries. Having grown up in a town that barely made the map, I was used to small town ethics. Everybody knows everybody and nobody can do anything without everybody knowing. But in the Dominican Republic, I initially resisted this. I put up a wall and kept a safe distance from everyone. It looked like I loved them, but really, I just co-existed with them. Meanwhile, I waited for love to strike.
But after awhile, I noticed love wasn’t flowing naturally out of me. I knew it wasn’t the fault of the incredible people around me. They were so dear to me and still are. It was my fault. I felt that God had plunked me down in a random village in the Dominican Republic with no choice but to make the best of it. And though it took time, eventually, that’s exactly what I did.
With infrequent electricity, often there was nothing to do except sit around candlelight and talk for hours at a time. It was a simple life, stripped down to the basics, and that left very little pretense. It was through these kinds of bare encounters that I learned that love does not choose us, we choose it.
Similarly, when we look at the first chapter of Ruth, we see that Ruth chose to love Naomi, even when the consequences looked bleak. If Ruth turned back and left Naomi, she would have had an easier time remarrying, which was crucial to a woman’s worth in those times. She was still young. She could have really done something with her life if she had just stayed with her own people … and that is what Naomi urges her to do. But Ruth responded:
Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me (Ruth 1:16,17).
In verse 18, we read that Naomi finally realized that Ruth was “determined”. Any lesser love would not have been enough. It took a deliberate, almost stubborn love to prove to Naomi that Ruth was serious about her commitment. Naomi was almost all the family that Ruth had left. Maybe she was not the family member that Ruth would have chosen to love, but Ruth chose to love her anyway.
We have all been put on earth together for a reason, and the difficulty of love is exactly what enables it to be so powerful. When we have no choice about who to love, love becomes harder. Perhaps we need to stop waiting for a feeling of love. The fact is, when we can’t choose the people we love, we choose to love the people we have, and that is a far richer experience. And in doing so, we reflect the love of God, who chose to love us before any of us loved Him.
1 Peter 1:22 says, “… love one another deeply.” This kind of love is not a noun, not an adjective, it’s a verb. It’s a very deliberate action. That is the love of our Father and the love He calls us to have for one another.
cbn
Kim DeHoog
I’m not sure we often view love as a choice. We are raised with a fanciful imagination sweeping us off to places where we will fall helplessly in love with someone else. Based on movies today, one might think that even if the beautiful dame resisted, it would do no good. Clearly, love has seized her and she is powerless in its grip. It is almost as if we expect love to happen to us. We are passive and waiting for the almighty force of love to smack us upside the head. But sometimes it doesn’t.
In the fall of 2003, I moved to the Dominican Republic and entered into a small community of missionaries. Having grown up in a town that barely made the map, I was used to small town ethics. Everybody knows everybody and nobody can do anything without everybody knowing. But in the Dominican Republic, I initially resisted this. I put up a wall and kept a safe distance from everyone. It looked like I loved them, but really, I just co-existed with them. Meanwhile, I waited for love to strike.
But after awhile, I noticed love wasn’t flowing naturally out of me. I knew it wasn’t the fault of the incredible people around me. They were so dear to me and still are. It was my fault. I felt that God had plunked me down in a random village in the Dominican Republic with no choice but to make the best of it. And though it took time, eventually, that’s exactly what I did.
With infrequent electricity, often there was nothing to do except sit around candlelight and talk for hours at a time. It was a simple life, stripped down to the basics, and that left very little pretense. It was through these kinds of bare encounters that I learned that love does not choose us, we choose it.
Similarly, when we look at the first chapter of Ruth, we see that Ruth chose to love Naomi, even when the consequences looked bleak. If Ruth turned back and left Naomi, she would have had an easier time remarrying, which was crucial to a woman’s worth in those times. She was still young. She could have really done something with her life if she had just stayed with her own people … and that is what Naomi urges her to do. But Ruth responded:
Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me (Ruth 1:16,17).
In verse 18, we read that Naomi finally realized that Ruth was “determined”. Any lesser love would not have been enough. It took a deliberate, almost stubborn love to prove to Naomi that Ruth was serious about her commitment. Naomi was almost all the family that Ruth had left. Maybe she was not the family member that Ruth would have chosen to love, but Ruth chose to love her anyway.
We have all been put on earth together for a reason, and the difficulty of love is exactly what enables it to be so powerful. When we have no choice about who to love, love becomes harder. Perhaps we need to stop waiting for a feeling of love. The fact is, when we can’t choose the people we love, we choose to love the people we have, and that is a far richer experience. And in doing so, we reflect the love of God, who chose to love us before any of us loved Him.
1 Peter 1:22 says, “… love one another deeply.” This kind of love is not a noun, not an adjective, it’s a verb. It’s a very deliberate action. That is the love of our Father and the love He calls us to have for one another.
cbn
Monday, June 27, 2005
Perfecting Holiness
Read: Galatians 5:16-26
Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. —2 Corinthians 7:1
Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 14:21-25, Jonah 1-4
I had not worked in my yard for several weeks, and I was amazed at how quickly weeds had sprung up and taken over. Weeds don't need tending; they seem to love to sprout up for anyone who just lets things go. A bed of beautiful flowers, however, takes watering, feeding, and of course, weeding. Flowers thrive under the care of one who is not afraid to get dirt under his fingernails.
The Christian life takes work too. It requires the commitment of one's whole being to Jesus—body, mind, emotions, and will—to have a life that is wholesome, attractive, uplifting to others, and fulfilling to oneself. Even then, weeds of selfishness and sinful attitudes can quickly spring up and overrun the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
That was the problem with many believers at Corinth. They had become overgrown with envy and divisiveness (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). So Paul told them to cleanse themselves from all "filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). By "holiness" he didn't mean they could be sinless, but blameless.
Lord, help us uproot any weeds of the flesh and the spirit before they become ugly habits. May the beauty of Jesus' character be what others see in us. —Dennis De Haan
The Weeding Process
1. Identify sins of the flesh or the spirit (Gal. 5:17-21).
2. Call them sin and confess them (1 John 1:9).
3. Stand firm in your position in Christ (Gal. 2:20).
If you yield to God, you won't give in to sin.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Why Would Anyone Want To Be Holy?
daily bread
Read: Galatians 5:16-26
Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. —2 Corinthians 7:1
Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 14:21-25, Jonah 1-4
I had not worked in my yard for several weeks, and I was amazed at how quickly weeds had sprung up and taken over. Weeds don't need tending; they seem to love to sprout up for anyone who just lets things go. A bed of beautiful flowers, however, takes watering, feeding, and of course, weeding. Flowers thrive under the care of one who is not afraid to get dirt under his fingernails.
The Christian life takes work too. It requires the commitment of one's whole being to Jesus—body, mind, emotions, and will—to have a life that is wholesome, attractive, uplifting to others, and fulfilling to oneself. Even then, weeds of selfishness and sinful attitudes can quickly spring up and overrun the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
That was the problem with many believers at Corinth. They had become overgrown with envy and divisiveness (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). So Paul told them to cleanse themselves from all "filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). By "holiness" he didn't mean they could be sinless, but blameless.
Lord, help us uproot any weeds of the flesh and the spirit before they become ugly habits. May the beauty of Jesus' character be what others see in us. —Dennis De Haan
The Weeding Process
1. Identify sins of the flesh or the spirit (Gal. 5:17-21).
2. Call them sin and confess them (1 John 1:9).
3. Stand firm in your position in Christ (Gal. 2:20).
If you yield to God, you won't give in to sin.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Why Would Anyone Want To Be Holy?
daily bread
Sunday, June 26, 2005
I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU
John 14:1-18
1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. . . . 15 If you love Me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
In 1914, Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to sail to Antarctica and cross it on foot. His team had acquired The Endurance, a ship made up of exceptionally hard wood designed to break through ice. At first the expedition went well and according to plan. But the ice-pressures on the hull proved too great and soon the wooden frame of the ship was crushed to pieces.
Shackleton chose a small rescue party to go for help. Promising that they would return, the captain and his crew set out on an 800-mile journey in a small boat over perilous seas to the whaling port of South Georgia Island. Amazingly, with only a sextant to guide them and only infrequently visible skies, the crew reached the island.
Shackleton then led his men on a mountain climbing expedition to reach the port on the other side of the island. He ordered his men not to rest, for fear they would freeze to death in the snow. Once they reached their destination, Shackleton got another ship and headed back to those who were waiting. To the joy of the marooned expedition, their leader had kept his word and not one man was left behind.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was preparing to leave His disciples and they were in desperate need of reassurance. He said, "I am going [to heaven] to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3).
Jesus would endure the horrors of the cross and death. But through His ultimate sacrifice and resurrection, He provided the way for those who believe in Him to be saved and receive eternal life.
Are you feeling lonely and forsaken? Take heart. Jesus, the captain of our salvation, is true to His word (Hebrews 2:10). He has promised, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18). --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* When have I felt lonely and isolated?
* What hope does Jesus' promise give me? (John 14:1-3,18).
* How should I thank Him for the spiritual rescue He has provided for me?
LINKS:
Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/
Lonely But Never Alone
http://www.discoveryseries.org/hp911
bottom line: Jesus promised to come back for us!
soul journey
John 14:1-18
1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. . . . 15 If you love Me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
In 1914, Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to sail to Antarctica and cross it on foot. His team had acquired The Endurance, a ship made up of exceptionally hard wood designed to break through ice. At first the expedition went well and according to plan. But the ice-pressures on the hull proved too great and soon the wooden frame of the ship was crushed to pieces.
Shackleton chose a small rescue party to go for help. Promising that they would return, the captain and his crew set out on an 800-mile journey in a small boat over perilous seas to the whaling port of South Georgia Island. Amazingly, with only a sextant to guide them and only infrequently visible skies, the crew reached the island.
Shackleton then led his men on a mountain climbing expedition to reach the port on the other side of the island. He ordered his men not to rest, for fear they would freeze to death in the snow. Once they reached their destination, Shackleton got another ship and headed back to those who were waiting. To the joy of the marooned expedition, their leader had kept his word and not one man was left behind.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was preparing to leave His disciples and they were in desperate need of reassurance. He said, "I am going [to heaven] to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3).
Jesus would endure the horrors of the cross and death. But through His ultimate sacrifice and resurrection, He provided the way for those who believe in Him to be saved and receive eternal life.
Are you feeling lonely and forsaken? Take heart. Jesus, the captain of our salvation, is true to His word (Hebrews 2:10). He has promised, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18). --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* When have I felt lonely and isolated?
* What hope does Jesus' promise give me? (John 14:1-3,18).
* How should I thank Him for the spiritual rescue He has provided for me?
LINKS:
Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/
Lonely But Never Alone
http://www.discoveryseries.org/hp911
bottom line: Jesus promised to come back for us!
soul journey
Saturday, June 25, 2005
A Bad Dream Turns Good
John Fischer
Most of my life I have had a recurring dream where I am trying to get to a ball game in which I am supposed to play, but for one reason or another, I never get there. I forget my mitt and have to go back for it; the roads that normally take me to the ballpark take me somewhere else; or I’m walking but my legs don’t move fast enough.
Well my dream busted in on my reality last weekend when I was in route to a Los Angeles Angels game in Anaheim with my son snoozing in his car seat, and my car broke down on the freeway within sight of the big “A” (a stadium landmark). It felt just like a dream, too, because a bushing gave out on my accelerator, meaning the harder I pushed down on it, the less response I got, until the accelerator was on the floor and we were slowing down to a standstill. Game time came and went before the tow truck even arrived.
At that point I had to make a decision whether to go on late to the game and take a taxi home or accompany the tow truck driver to a garage near my house and let the Angels play the game without us. I chose the latter based on the fact that, for a five-year-old, watching a car being loaded on and off of a flatbed truck, and riding in the cab were two activities that undoubtedly trumped the ball game. (The Angels did fine without us, by the way, and won the game.)
Once we were back near my house, I decided to stay out with my son since my wife had been looking forward to a rare evening with the house to herself. Chandler chose gourmet chicken dinner at Kentucky Fried, and then we spent the rest of the evening walking around our town on a lovely June evening listening to street musicians and checking out any art galleries that were still open. I was amazed at how interested he was in paintings and sculpture. (He’s only five.) It turned out to be a delightful time together. Surprise!
And then there was the tow truck driver that we accompanied for the 40-minute drive to our favorite garage. I can’t say we talked about Jesus, but we brightened his day and I fully believe that the fragrance of Christ was evidenced in ways I could never explain anyway.
If we are not an accident, then we could also say that accidents don’t happen to us — only changes in plans that we are not informed about. God is always working on His purposes in and through us. Plans are okay to a point, just as long as our plans don’t get in the way of His purposes. And when He changes them, instead of getting upset, we need to ask what He has in mind now.
PDL
John Fischer
Most of my life I have had a recurring dream where I am trying to get to a ball game in which I am supposed to play, but for one reason or another, I never get there. I forget my mitt and have to go back for it; the roads that normally take me to the ballpark take me somewhere else; or I’m walking but my legs don’t move fast enough.
Well my dream busted in on my reality last weekend when I was in route to a Los Angeles Angels game in Anaheim with my son snoozing in his car seat, and my car broke down on the freeway within sight of the big “A” (a stadium landmark). It felt just like a dream, too, because a bushing gave out on my accelerator, meaning the harder I pushed down on it, the less response I got, until the accelerator was on the floor and we were slowing down to a standstill. Game time came and went before the tow truck even arrived.
At that point I had to make a decision whether to go on late to the game and take a taxi home or accompany the tow truck driver to a garage near my house and let the Angels play the game without us. I chose the latter based on the fact that, for a five-year-old, watching a car being loaded on and off of a flatbed truck, and riding in the cab were two activities that undoubtedly trumped the ball game. (The Angels did fine without us, by the way, and won the game.)
Once we were back near my house, I decided to stay out with my son since my wife had been looking forward to a rare evening with the house to herself. Chandler chose gourmet chicken dinner at Kentucky Fried, and then we spent the rest of the evening walking around our town on a lovely June evening listening to street musicians and checking out any art galleries that were still open. I was amazed at how interested he was in paintings and sculpture. (He’s only five.) It turned out to be a delightful time together. Surprise!
And then there was the tow truck driver that we accompanied for the 40-minute drive to our favorite garage. I can’t say we talked about Jesus, but we brightened his day and I fully believe that the fragrance of Christ was evidenced in ways I could never explain anyway.
If we are not an accident, then we could also say that accidents don’t happen to us — only changes in plans that we are not informed about. God is always working on His purposes in and through us. Plans are okay to a point, just as long as our plans don’t get in the way of His purposes. And when He changes them, instead of getting upset, we need to ask what He has in mind now.
PDL
Thursday, June 23, 2005
TRUST FALL
John 12:44-50
44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. 45 When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent Me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness. 47 As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a Judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say."
Have you ever done a trust fall with a friend? You clamp your arms to your side, stiffen up, and fall blindly backwards into their arms. The goal of the game is to have your friend catch you, thereby proving that you trust him. You hope, really hope, that you don't simply fall to the ground!
I've never been real good at trust falls. First, I can't catch falling people very well. Whether they land in my arms or not, we both end up on the ground. Second, I don't trust people enough to catch me when I fall backwards. I usually end up just standing there while my friend waits impatiently behind me.
A similar thing happens to me in my walk with Jesus. Instead of trusting Him, I sometimes refuse to let God handle an issue I'm facing. "No!" I'll tell Him, "I can do this on my own!" and I'll stand there while He waits patiently--ready to catch me.
Often I will come to my senses and surrender to God. In His capable hands the problem is soon solved--though not always the way I would have done it. I'm learning, slowly, that just giving my all to Him leads to the best result.
When Jesus was shouting to the crowds in John 12, He was making it clear that believers must trust in Him, obey Him, and not attempt to go their own way (vv.44-47). If we could do everything by ourselves, why would we need Jesus?
We can't make it on our own, and that's why it's so important that we surrender to Him. He came to save us, to love us, and to help us. As we learn to trust Him completely, we learn obedience and our faith deepens.
Let's say this to Jesus: "Ready, here I go. I'm falling into Your arms." --Stephanie Widner, Colorado
Written by a fellow Soul Journey reader
DESTINATION POINTS
* What "trust issues" do I have?
* How can I learn to trust God more?
LINKS:
How Can I Find Peace?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2002/001/12.10.html
bottom line: To trust in God is to surrender to His will.
soul journey
John 12:44-50
44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. 45 When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent Me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness. 47 As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a Judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say."
Have you ever done a trust fall with a friend? You clamp your arms to your side, stiffen up, and fall blindly backwards into their arms. The goal of the game is to have your friend catch you, thereby proving that you trust him. You hope, really hope, that you don't simply fall to the ground!
I've never been real good at trust falls. First, I can't catch falling people very well. Whether they land in my arms or not, we both end up on the ground. Second, I don't trust people enough to catch me when I fall backwards. I usually end up just standing there while my friend waits impatiently behind me.
A similar thing happens to me in my walk with Jesus. Instead of trusting Him, I sometimes refuse to let God handle an issue I'm facing. "No!" I'll tell Him, "I can do this on my own!" and I'll stand there while He waits patiently--ready to catch me.
Often I will come to my senses and surrender to God. In His capable hands the problem is soon solved--though not always the way I would have done it. I'm learning, slowly, that just giving my all to Him leads to the best result.
When Jesus was shouting to the crowds in John 12, He was making it clear that believers must trust in Him, obey Him, and not attempt to go their own way (vv.44-47). If we could do everything by ourselves, why would we need Jesus?
We can't make it on our own, and that's why it's so important that we surrender to Him. He came to save us, to love us, and to help us. As we learn to trust Him completely, we learn obedience and our faith deepens.
Let's say this to Jesus: "Ready, here I go. I'm falling into Your arms." --Stephanie Widner, Colorado
Written by a fellow Soul Journey reader
DESTINATION POINTS
* What "trust issues" do I have?
* How can I learn to trust God more?
LINKS:
How Can I Find Peace?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2002/001/12.10.html
bottom line: To trust in God is to surrender to His will.
soul journey
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
GOD'S FAVOR
Genesis 39:19-23
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Can you imagine being put in jail for a crime you didn't commit? That's exactly what happened to Joseph. The handsome young man refused the relentless sexual advances made by Mrs. Potiphar, because he was a man of integrity, and he chose to be faithful to God (Genesis 39:6-18).
What did he get in return for his faithfulness? Prison time! God's favor, however, was at work all the time. To be accused of rape or adultery was punishable by death or some other harsh penalty. Obviously, God's favor would not let Mr. Potiphar believe Joseph was guilty or that his wife was completely innocent. God was with him right there in jail. He allowed the jailer to see Joseph's integrity and managerial skills. Before long, Joseph had been promoted to inmate supervisor, and the Lord caused all he did to prosper.
Genesis 39 fits into the larger scheme of God's covenant plans for His people. It portrays how God, in His sovereignty, brings His mission to completion through what appear to be the most devastating of circumstances. God's favor can't be bound by chains. His favor will go down to the deepest and darkest places in our lives and cause us to prosper there--accomplishing His purposes and giving Him glory. God has a plan for His people, and no prison is too dark or too secure, and no charge is too unjust to thwart it.
Even though we're sometimes bound by the shackles of disappointment, discomfort, and difficulty, God's favor will not be restricted. It will not be chained. It will not be imprisoned. He will work on your behalf and even use obstacles--people, things, and circumstances--to bring His plans for your life to completion. --Marvin Williams
DESTINATION POINTS
* How does it make me feel to know that God's plan for my life may include years of disappointment, discomfort, and difficulty?
* When have I experienced the favor of God in a seemingly hopeless situation?
* What keeps me from believing that God will bring His plans for my life to completion?
LINKS:
Joseph: Overcoming Life's Challenges
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0715
bottom line: God will always bring His mission to fruition.
soul journey
Genesis 39:19-23
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Can you imagine being put in jail for a crime you didn't commit? That's exactly what happened to Joseph. The handsome young man refused the relentless sexual advances made by Mrs. Potiphar, because he was a man of integrity, and he chose to be faithful to God (Genesis 39:6-18).
What did he get in return for his faithfulness? Prison time! God's favor, however, was at work all the time. To be accused of rape or adultery was punishable by death or some other harsh penalty. Obviously, God's favor would not let Mr. Potiphar believe Joseph was guilty or that his wife was completely innocent. God was with him right there in jail. He allowed the jailer to see Joseph's integrity and managerial skills. Before long, Joseph had been promoted to inmate supervisor, and the Lord caused all he did to prosper.
Genesis 39 fits into the larger scheme of God's covenant plans for His people. It portrays how God, in His sovereignty, brings His mission to completion through what appear to be the most devastating of circumstances. God's favor can't be bound by chains. His favor will go down to the deepest and darkest places in our lives and cause us to prosper there--accomplishing His purposes and giving Him glory. God has a plan for His people, and no prison is too dark or too secure, and no charge is too unjust to thwart it.
Even though we're sometimes bound by the shackles of disappointment, discomfort, and difficulty, God's favor will not be restricted. It will not be chained. It will not be imprisoned. He will work on your behalf and even use obstacles--people, things, and circumstances--to bring His plans for your life to completion. --Marvin Williams
DESTINATION POINTS
* How does it make me feel to know that God's plan for my life may include years of disappointment, discomfort, and difficulty?
* When have I experienced the favor of God in a seemingly hopeless situation?
* What keeps me from believing that God will bring His plans for my life to completion?
LINKS:
Joseph: Overcoming Life's Challenges
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0715
bottom line: God will always bring His mission to fruition.
soul journey
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
THE TRAP OF SINCERITY
2 Timothy 2:16-19
16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
Sincere religious belief was a major factor in the worst terrorist attack ever on US soil. According to reports that have been written since September 11, 2001, it's clear that the men who took the lives of more than 3,000 people sincerely believed they were doing the right thing. They thought they would be rewarded in the afterlife for their unspeakable acts of cruelty. As inhumane as their actions were, one cannot question the terrorists' sincerity.
To many people, sincerity of thought and action is all that is required for something to be true. In other words, if I believe something is true--if I sincerely believe it--then it is. This philosophy has led to the casting of doubt on so much of what once was acknowledged as unshakably true.
Here's an example: A person who advocates abortion said recently, "I think the soul or personage comes in when the fetus is accepted by the mother." In this person's sincere way of thinking, the developing fetus becomes a human being only when the mother thinks he or she is human.
To people who think like this, reality is not based on empirical evidence or on proven truth, but on sincerity of thought. Another result of this kind of thinking is that marriage--an institution that was for thousands of years unquestioned as the social basis of society--has been redefined.
For many, God's Word--the Word of the Creator of mankind and its institutions--is no longer the source of truth on these and other subjects. To them the ultimate source appears to be individual feelings, held sincerely.
Sadly, a growing number of people trust in their sincerely held ideas instead of God's solid foundation of truth as presented through the church and God's Word.
We need to avoid the trap of sincere error. Let's refine our thinking with something outside of ourselves--something reliable, something dependable, something verifiable (Acts 2:19). And that something is the Bible, God's Word of truth to mankind. --Dave Branon
DESTINATION POINTS
* In the most important matter of all--the matter of faith in Jesus--am I depending on the truth of the gospel?
* Have I fallen victim to the quest for sincerity at the expense of truth? What might be one area in which I have done this?
LINKS:
Is Jesus the Only Way?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/7c1/7c1053.html
Right & Wrong: A Case For Moral Absolutes
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q1107
bottom line: Sincere beliefs should be tied to solid truth.
soul journey
2 Timothy 2:16-19
16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
Sincere religious belief was a major factor in the worst terrorist attack ever on US soil. According to reports that have been written since September 11, 2001, it's clear that the men who took the lives of more than 3,000 people sincerely believed they were doing the right thing. They thought they would be rewarded in the afterlife for their unspeakable acts of cruelty. As inhumane as their actions were, one cannot question the terrorists' sincerity.
To many people, sincerity of thought and action is all that is required for something to be true. In other words, if I believe something is true--if I sincerely believe it--then it is. This philosophy has led to the casting of doubt on so much of what once was acknowledged as unshakably true.
Here's an example: A person who advocates abortion said recently, "I think the soul or personage comes in when the fetus is accepted by the mother." In this person's sincere way of thinking, the developing fetus becomes a human being only when the mother thinks he or she is human.
To people who think like this, reality is not based on empirical evidence or on proven truth, but on sincerity of thought. Another result of this kind of thinking is that marriage--an institution that was for thousands of years unquestioned as the social basis of society--has been redefined.
For many, God's Word--the Word of the Creator of mankind and its institutions--is no longer the source of truth on these and other subjects. To them the ultimate source appears to be individual feelings, held sincerely.
Sadly, a growing number of people trust in their sincerely held ideas instead of God's solid foundation of truth as presented through the church and God's Word.
We need to avoid the trap of sincere error. Let's refine our thinking with something outside of ourselves--something reliable, something dependable, something verifiable (Acts 2:19). And that something is the Bible, God's Word of truth to mankind. --Dave Branon
DESTINATION POINTS
* In the most important matter of all--the matter of faith in Jesus--am I depending on the truth of the gospel?
* Have I fallen victim to the quest for sincerity at the expense of truth? What might be one area in which I have done this?
LINKS:
Is Jesus the Only Way?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/7c1/7c1053.html
Right & Wrong: A Case For Moral Absolutes
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q1107
bottom line: Sincere beliefs should be tied to solid truth.
soul journey
Monday, June 20, 2005
THE WRIGHT STUFF
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.
On September 29, 1909, at 10:18 a.m., a young man took flight in an odd-looking machine that looked like a bird made out of boxes. As he gained altitude, the pilot manipulated the levers to fly over the New York Harbor.
Immigrants on Ellis Island looked up in the sky and spoke excitedly about what they saw. The boats in the harbor celebrated the moment by sounding their steam whistles. Hundreds of people came out of buildings and into the street straining their necks to get their first glance at a heavier-than-air flying machine.
Then with a graceful curve, the plane began to circle around the Statue of Liberty. The crowds exploded with cheers at the sight. The impossible had become possible. With imagination and tireless experimentation, Wilbur and Orville Wright had conquered the air.
While most of us are more familiar with the story of the Wright Brothers' first flight near Kitty Hawk in 1903, few people are aware of the committed Christian home that the brothers grew up in. Their father, Milton Wright, was a Protestant minister, and one of the boys helped their father edit the denominational newsletter. And despite Rev. Milton Wright's major commitment to his own work, he encouraged his boys to pursue their dream--to invent an airplane.
We can learn a lesson from Pastor Wright. In the process of discipling others, we need to resist the tendency to remake them in our own image. Disciple-making is designed to help others follow Jesus in obedience. But each person's giftedness and calling is different (1 Corinthians 12:4-5). Because of this, we should be in prayer for others to find their creative niche within Jesus' divine plan.
Paul wrote, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:6). Let's not expect others to become a copy of ourselves. Instead, we can give them encouragement to take flight with their own God-given gifts. --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* Am I discipling someone who has different gifts than I have? What are they?
* How can I help my friends develop their gifts?
LINKS:
Developing People
http://www.christianitytoday.com/smallgroups/articles/developingpeople.html
bottom line: Encourage others to let their gifts take wing.
soul journey
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.
On September 29, 1909, at 10:18 a.m., a young man took flight in an odd-looking machine that looked like a bird made out of boxes. As he gained altitude, the pilot manipulated the levers to fly over the New York Harbor.
Immigrants on Ellis Island looked up in the sky and spoke excitedly about what they saw. The boats in the harbor celebrated the moment by sounding their steam whistles. Hundreds of people came out of buildings and into the street straining their necks to get their first glance at a heavier-than-air flying machine.
Then with a graceful curve, the plane began to circle around the Statue of Liberty. The crowds exploded with cheers at the sight. The impossible had become possible. With imagination and tireless experimentation, Wilbur and Orville Wright had conquered the air.
While most of us are more familiar with the story of the Wright Brothers' first flight near Kitty Hawk in 1903, few people are aware of the committed Christian home that the brothers grew up in. Their father, Milton Wright, was a Protestant minister, and one of the boys helped their father edit the denominational newsletter. And despite Rev. Milton Wright's major commitment to his own work, he encouraged his boys to pursue their dream--to invent an airplane.
We can learn a lesson from Pastor Wright. In the process of discipling others, we need to resist the tendency to remake them in our own image. Disciple-making is designed to help others follow Jesus in obedience. But each person's giftedness and calling is different (1 Corinthians 12:4-5). Because of this, we should be in prayer for others to find their creative niche within Jesus' divine plan.
Paul wrote, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:6). Let's not expect others to become a copy of ourselves. Instead, we can give them encouragement to take flight with their own God-given gifts. --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* Am I discipling someone who has different gifts than I have? What are they?
* How can I help my friends develop their gifts?
LINKS:
Developing People
http://www.christianitytoday.com/smallgroups/articles/developingpeople.html
bottom line: Encourage others to let their gifts take wing.
soul journey
Sunday, June 19, 2005
JESUS: FIRST IN EVERYTHING
Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
You will never experience the fullness of joy that you were created to know until Jesus has first place in every area of your life.
Hang on to that for a minute. First place . . .
* In my home.
* In my choices for entertainment.
* In the way I use my money.
* In my career.
* In my thoughts.
* In my decisions.
* In my marriage.
* In my singleness.
* In my relationships.
* In my dreams for the future.
I will never experience the fullness of joy that I was created to know until I put Jesus first in every area of my life. A lot of people would subscribe to that in their minds, at least. But I wonder how many of us would truly embrace that principle in our behavior. That doesn't come easily.
We live in a world that is governed by the rule of being first. We say, "How come you get to be first in line?" Kids say, "How come she gets to change the channel?" Husbands, wives, co-workers, friends, neighbors all say, "Me before you. I can't serve you until my needs are met." We put a big emphasis on "I deserve to be first because I was here first."
But if you want to talk about super-seniority, consider Jesus the Lord. Colossians 1 says He existed before time, before creation, before us. "He is before all things . . . . So that in everything He might have the supremacy" (vv.17-18).
While deserving to be first in everything, Jesus has chosen to come after us. In His persistent love, He pursues us in spite of ourselves. The next time you sin, or reject or ignore Him, think how amazing it is that He doesn't simply walk away and say, "Forget you!" He is supreme, yet He remains faithful and pours out His love and grace on us, asking only that we display His glory and make Him known.
Jesus--first in the universe, first in your thoughts, first in your priorities, first in everything. --James MacDonald
DESTINATION POINTS
* What burden am I carrying that the Lord Jesus could carry better?
* What problem am I facing that I can afford to face without complete, continuous dependence on Him?
* What sin have I been struggling with that I haven't turned away from for His glory?
bottom line: Our life's purpose is putting Jesus first.
soul journey
Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
You will never experience the fullness of joy that you were created to know until Jesus has first place in every area of your life.
Hang on to that for a minute. First place . . .
* In my home.
* In my choices for entertainment.
* In the way I use my money.
* In my career.
* In my thoughts.
* In my decisions.
* In my marriage.
* In my singleness.
* In my relationships.
* In my dreams for the future.
I will never experience the fullness of joy that I was created to know until I put Jesus first in every area of my life. A lot of people would subscribe to that in their minds, at least. But I wonder how many of us would truly embrace that principle in our behavior. That doesn't come easily.
We live in a world that is governed by the rule of being first. We say, "How come you get to be first in line?" Kids say, "How come she gets to change the channel?" Husbands, wives, co-workers, friends, neighbors all say, "Me before you. I can't serve you until my needs are met." We put a big emphasis on "I deserve to be first because I was here first."
But if you want to talk about super-seniority, consider Jesus the Lord. Colossians 1 says He existed before time, before creation, before us. "He is before all things . . . . So that in everything He might have the supremacy" (vv.17-18).
While deserving to be first in everything, Jesus has chosen to come after us. In His persistent love, He pursues us in spite of ourselves. The next time you sin, or reject or ignore Him, think how amazing it is that He doesn't simply walk away and say, "Forget you!" He is supreme, yet He remains faithful and pours out His love and grace on us, asking only that we display His glory and make Him known.
Jesus--first in the universe, first in your thoughts, first in your priorities, first in everything. --James MacDonald
DESTINATION POINTS
* What burden am I carrying that the Lord Jesus could carry better?
* What problem am I facing that I can afford to face without complete, continuous dependence on Him?
* What sin have I been struggling with that I haven't turned away from for His glory?
bottom line: Our life's purpose is putting Jesus first.
soul journey
Saturday, June 18, 2005
God Goes Where You Go
Martha Noebel
Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9, NIV
How comforting it is to know that wherever we go God is there with us. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations and we wonder if God is paying attention. We may feel so alone and even depressed. We can't feel God's presence, and we need His guidance and help.
Sometimes friends, spouses, and parents don't really understand what we are going through. But God does and He cares. God told Joshua to be strong and to have courage. Then He told him a wonderful truth: "The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Yes, that's right… wherever! We don't have to feel all alone. God is with us. He is working out the problems, and we don't even realize it.
But now...the Lord who created you says: "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.
—Isaiah 43:1-3, 13, New Living Translation
God is with us, leading us, guiding us, loving us, providing for us -- all with His unlimited resources. What do we need? Do we need strength, peace, love, joy, or hope? He has it all. He is longing to pour out His favor and blessing upon us. We need to be open to Him and to trust Him. We need, by faith, to receive what He has for us. It is essential that we realize how much He loves us and that He has a good purpose and plan for us.
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
—Ephesians 3:14-16, New Living Translation
This Scripture is awesome. There is nothing that God doesn't know and can't do for us. He walks with us every moment of every day. We need to speak these Scriptures to our hearts. The devil can't stand it when we, in confidence, speak God's Word. It builds faith in us and gives us the strength to stand.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand-up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
—Psalms 139:1-6, New Living Translation
Like David let us declare:
Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
—Psalms 25:4, 5, New Living Translation
You can trust God. No matter what is going on in your life, He is there! God goes where you go.
Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
—Hebrews 10:35, 36, New Living Translation
cbn
Martha Noebel
Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9, NIV
How comforting it is to know that wherever we go God is there with us. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations and we wonder if God is paying attention. We may feel so alone and even depressed. We can't feel God's presence, and we need His guidance and help.
Sometimes friends, spouses, and parents don't really understand what we are going through. But God does and He cares. God told Joshua to be strong and to have courage. Then He told him a wonderful truth: "The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Yes, that's right… wherever! We don't have to feel all alone. God is with us. He is working out the problems, and we don't even realize it.
But now...the Lord who created you says: "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.
—Isaiah 43:1-3, 13, New Living Translation
God is with us, leading us, guiding us, loving us, providing for us -- all with His unlimited resources. What do we need? Do we need strength, peace, love, joy, or hope? He has it all. He is longing to pour out His favor and blessing upon us. We need to be open to Him and to trust Him. We need, by faith, to receive what He has for us. It is essential that we realize how much He loves us and that He has a good purpose and plan for us.
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
—Ephesians 3:14-16, New Living Translation
This Scripture is awesome. There is nothing that God doesn't know and can't do for us. He walks with us every moment of every day. We need to speak these Scriptures to our hearts. The devil can't stand it when we, in confidence, speak God's Word. It builds faith in us and gives us the strength to stand.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand-up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
—Psalms 139:1-6, New Living Translation
Like David let us declare:
Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
—Psalms 25:4, 5, New Living Translation
You can trust God. No matter what is going on in your life, He is there! God goes where you go.
Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
—Hebrews 10:35, 36, New Living Translation
cbn
Thursday, June 16, 2005
BOMB SCARE
2 Thessalonians 2:1-15
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report, or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. . . . 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
A 31-year-old man was charged with disorderly conduct following a bomb scare on a Qantas flight to Perth, Australia. While a flight attendant was stowing his carry-on in the luggage rack, the man remarked that his bag contained a bomb.
After the flight attendant told the captain, the plane immediately returned to the terminal and passengers were told to disembark. The police came and searched the man and his luggage, but no bomb was found.
We live in a time when terrorism is a real concern, and we never know what danger may lurk just ahead. As a result, we'd better not take any chances.
A list on the Internet, making light of our plight, states that an actuary (the person who calculates insurance risk) is "someone who brings a fake bomb on a plane, because that decreases the chances that there will be another bomb on the plane." Ha!
Just as the passengers on the Qantas flight felt threatened by an "actuary," the church in Paul's day was "unsettled and alarmed" by the reports of false prophets (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The apostle, however, challenged them not to panic or to be deceived by what was happening. Rather, they were to stand firm in their faith and hold on to the Word of God (v.15).
When we read in the news about terrorist threats, political instability, economic recession, natural disasters, and epidemics, we may wonder if Jesus is coming soon. According to Revelation 3:3, Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and we need to keep watch because we don't know the time of His return.
Let's not panic over what may be signs of the endtimes and get swayed by false prophecies. Instead, we can "stand firm" on the Word of God. That's the best way to be prepared for the day when Jesus comes back. --Joanna Lim
DESTINATION POINTS
* How can I stand firm in my faith and hold on to the Word of God?
* What can I learn from the five wise virgins in Matthew 25:1-13?
* If Jesus comes today, how prepared am I to face Him?
bottom line: Be prepared for Jesus' return.
soul journey
2 Thessalonians 2:1-15
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report, or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. . . . 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
A 31-year-old man was charged with disorderly conduct following a bomb scare on a Qantas flight to Perth, Australia. While a flight attendant was stowing his carry-on in the luggage rack, the man remarked that his bag contained a bomb.
After the flight attendant told the captain, the plane immediately returned to the terminal and passengers were told to disembark. The police came and searched the man and his luggage, but no bomb was found.
We live in a time when terrorism is a real concern, and we never know what danger may lurk just ahead. As a result, we'd better not take any chances.
A list on the Internet, making light of our plight, states that an actuary (the person who calculates insurance risk) is "someone who brings a fake bomb on a plane, because that decreases the chances that there will be another bomb on the plane." Ha!
Just as the passengers on the Qantas flight felt threatened by an "actuary," the church in Paul's day was "unsettled and alarmed" by the reports of false prophets (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The apostle, however, challenged them not to panic or to be deceived by what was happening. Rather, they were to stand firm in their faith and hold on to the Word of God (v.15).
When we read in the news about terrorist threats, political instability, economic recession, natural disasters, and epidemics, we may wonder if Jesus is coming soon. According to Revelation 3:3, Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and we need to keep watch because we don't know the time of His return.
Let's not panic over what may be signs of the endtimes and get swayed by false prophecies. Instead, we can "stand firm" on the Word of God. That's the best way to be prepared for the day when Jesus comes back. --Joanna Lim
DESTINATION POINTS
* How can I stand firm in my faith and hold on to the Word of God?
* What can I learn from the five wise virgins in Matthew 25:1-13?
* If Jesus comes today, how prepared am I to face Him?
bottom line: Be prepared for Jesus' return.
soul journey
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
WITH THIS IN MIND
2 Thessalonians 1:3-12
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. . . . 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. . . . 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most of us base our actions on what we know. We decide to grab an umbrella based on a weather forecast or a glance out the window. News of a big sale sends us to the mall. We make a special effort to speak kind words to a friend we know is struggling. Everything we do, including prayer, is based on observation and information.
So how does what we know affect what we say in prayer? What should we have in mind about God and the people we pray for? Second Thessalonians 1:1-12 is a great guide for what to think about when we intercede for others.
When the apostle Paul thought about his Christian friends in the city of Thessalonica, he had two things in mind: their circumstances and God's power.
Those faithful believers were going through the fire of persecution, but Paul knew that God would bring them justice and relief when Jesus returned--which he believed could be soon.
What he knew gave structure and power to his prayer: "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (vv.11-12).
One problem with our praying is that we spend more time discussing it than doing it. So the rest of today's devo is up to you. Before going on to something else, fill in the blanks and pray for a friend:
Friend's Name: ____________________________
What I know is going on with this person today:
_________________________________________
What I know about God as it relates to my friend's need:
_________________________________________
Lord, with this in mind, I pray that You would . . .
_________________________________________
so that Jesus Christ may be glorified. Amen. --Dave McCasland
DESTINATION POINTS
* How could writing specific prayers for others help me to be more effective in my praying?
* What's the most important thing for me to keep in mind about God today?
LINKS:
Unlocking the Power of Prayer
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2002/006/1.32.html
bottom line: Pray with the right thing in mind.
soul journey
2 Thessalonians 1:3-12
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. . . . 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. . . . 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most of us base our actions on what we know. We decide to grab an umbrella based on a weather forecast or a glance out the window. News of a big sale sends us to the mall. We make a special effort to speak kind words to a friend we know is struggling. Everything we do, including prayer, is based on observation and information.
So how does what we know affect what we say in prayer? What should we have in mind about God and the people we pray for? Second Thessalonians 1:1-12 is a great guide for what to think about when we intercede for others.
When the apostle Paul thought about his Christian friends in the city of Thessalonica, he had two things in mind: their circumstances and God's power.
Those faithful believers were going through the fire of persecution, but Paul knew that God would bring them justice and relief when Jesus returned--which he believed could be soon.
What he knew gave structure and power to his prayer: "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (vv.11-12).
One problem with our praying is that we spend more time discussing it than doing it. So the rest of today's devo is up to you. Before going on to something else, fill in the blanks and pray for a friend:
Friend's Name: ____________________________
What I know is going on with this person today:
_________________________________________
What I know about God as it relates to my friend's need:
_________________________________________
Lord, with this in mind, I pray that You would . . .
_________________________________________
so that Jesus Christ may be glorified. Amen. --Dave McCasland
DESTINATION POINTS
* How could writing specific prayers for others help me to be more effective in my praying?
* What's the most important thing for me to keep in mind about God today?
LINKS:
Unlocking the Power of Prayer
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2002/006/1.32.html
bottom line: Pray with the right thing in mind.
soul journey
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
SICK OF BREATHING?
Genesis 2:4-8
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens-- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- 7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed.
Life. A word for the day-to-day activities we choose to do; a cereal we grew up eating because Mikey liked it. Then there's this common use of the word: "So, how's life treating you these days?"
Looking at these random reflections on l-i-f-e, I wonder, have we cheapened the value of the word itself? I remember wrestling with that very question. My friends and I had been discussing the music selections from a recent church service when someone said he was "sick of that 'Breathe' song." Whoa! Was he saying that he was tired of praising God for the very breath of life that allowed him to exist?
Not only did his comment shock me, but I wondered if I was the only person that questioned his statement. As I thought about it, I realized my friend was only expressing distaste for the repetitive way the song had been sung--not for the profound truth in the lyrics.
Genesis 2:7 details when God created the first human--breathing into him the gift of life. "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." God has given us this same amazing gift. Every breath we take comes from the One who made us.
Many people deny the Source of their existence. We receive powerful, relentless messages from the world to think only of ourselves and to be our own god. You have the power to determine what life is about. You choose which path to take. If we buy into this thinking, we'll dismiss the reality of the true Life-giver.
Let's hold strong to what the Bible tells us life is all about--and where it comes from. Instead of creating our own definitions, we can reflect on the beauty of God giving us the breath of life. By that divine act we became "a living being" (v.7). This is the air I breathe. --Sonya Williams, Michigan
Written by a fellow Soul Journey reader
DESTINATION POINTS
* How do I reveal my awe at being given the gift of life by God?
* Why is life such a sacred thing?
bottom line: God breathed life into me.
soul journey
Genesis 2:4-8
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens-- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- 7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed.
Life. A word for the day-to-day activities we choose to do; a cereal we grew up eating because Mikey liked it. Then there's this common use of the word: "So, how's life treating you these days?"
Looking at these random reflections on l-i-f-e, I wonder, have we cheapened the value of the word itself? I remember wrestling with that very question. My friends and I had been discussing the music selections from a recent church service when someone said he was "sick of that 'Breathe' song." Whoa! Was he saying that he was tired of praising God for the very breath of life that allowed him to exist?
Not only did his comment shock me, but I wondered if I was the only person that questioned his statement. As I thought about it, I realized my friend was only expressing distaste for the repetitive way the song had been sung--not for the profound truth in the lyrics.
Genesis 2:7 details when God created the first human--breathing into him the gift of life. "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." God has given us this same amazing gift. Every breath we take comes from the One who made us.
Many people deny the Source of their existence. We receive powerful, relentless messages from the world to think only of ourselves and to be our own god. You have the power to determine what life is about. You choose which path to take. If we buy into this thinking, we'll dismiss the reality of the true Life-giver.
Let's hold strong to what the Bible tells us life is all about--and where it comes from. Instead of creating our own definitions, we can reflect on the beauty of God giving us the breath of life. By that divine act we became "a living being" (v.7). This is the air I breathe. --Sonya Williams, Michigan
Written by a fellow Soul Journey reader
DESTINATION POINTS
* How do I reveal my awe at being given the gift of life by God?
* Why is life such a sacred thing?
bottom line: God breathed life into me.
soul journey
Monday, June 13, 2005
Only One You
John Fischer
Mister Rogers was right after all: There is only one you. But this information is much more important than to just be boosting your self-esteem. It is to help you better serve others by being more confident about your God-given role in life.
No one else fits your shape. No one else has your blend of gifts, talents and natural abilities—making you very important in the whole scheme of things. “God made our bodies with many parts,” wrote Paul, “and He has put each part just where He wants it” (1 Corinthians 12:18). And as it is with the human body, so it is with the Body of Christ — the corporate collection of all who believe.
But this uniqueness goes beyond giftedness; it reaches as well into the depth of each of our experiences in life. No one else has your life. No one else has your pain, your hardship, your joys and sorrows. Everything in life shapes us and we are shaped by everything for a reason: so that we can touch others in a unique way based upon who we are and what we’ve been through. God doesn’t waste anything in our lives.
Every piece of our lives and experiences can be used of Christ to touch someone else. We were made for each other; we live for each other; we even die for each other. We die with hope so that others who live might see the reality of Christ in even the darkest of hours. God uses everything.
Are you just getting by, or are you living for a reason? Think about your unique gifts and ask yourself how those gifts are benefiting others. What specific way is God using you to touch others in the Body of Christ? Do you seem to have an extra measure of wisdom, or mercy, or discernment, or knowledge, or administration, or desire to serve? These will help determine how you can look for opportunities to help others.
And then think about the things you have gone through so far in your life—especially the difficult or challenging things where God has met you with His presence and power. That information is not just for you, it’s for you to empathize with and encourage others who have encountered similar struggles.
God isn’t messing around here. There are no accidents with our lives. Whatever we have received and experienced has shaped who we are, and because of that, we are qualified servants. There is truly no one else like you… for a reason.
PDL
John Fischer
Mister Rogers was right after all: There is only one you. But this information is much more important than to just be boosting your self-esteem. It is to help you better serve others by being more confident about your God-given role in life.
No one else fits your shape. No one else has your blend of gifts, talents and natural abilities—making you very important in the whole scheme of things. “God made our bodies with many parts,” wrote Paul, “and He has put each part just where He wants it” (1 Corinthians 12:18). And as it is with the human body, so it is with the Body of Christ — the corporate collection of all who believe.
But this uniqueness goes beyond giftedness; it reaches as well into the depth of each of our experiences in life. No one else has your life. No one else has your pain, your hardship, your joys and sorrows. Everything in life shapes us and we are shaped by everything for a reason: so that we can touch others in a unique way based upon who we are and what we’ve been through. God doesn’t waste anything in our lives.
Every piece of our lives and experiences can be used of Christ to touch someone else. We were made for each other; we live for each other; we even die for each other. We die with hope so that others who live might see the reality of Christ in even the darkest of hours. God uses everything.
Are you just getting by, or are you living for a reason? Think about your unique gifts and ask yourself how those gifts are benefiting others. What specific way is God using you to touch others in the Body of Christ? Do you seem to have an extra measure of wisdom, or mercy, or discernment, or knowledge, or administration, or desire to serve? These will help determine how you can look for opportunities to help others.
And then think about the things you have gone through so far in your life—especially the difficult or challenging things where God has met you with His presence and power. That information is not just for you, it’s for you to empathize with and encourage others who have encountered similar struggles.
God isn’t messing around here. There are no accidents with our lives. Whatever we have received and experienced has shaped who we are, and because of that, we are qualified servants. There is truly no one else like you… for a reason.
PDL
Sunday, June 12, 2005
DEEPER THAN THE SEA
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The deepest hole in the deep blue sea is the Mariana Trench--nearly 7 miles down and several hundred miles off the cost of Guam. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh climbed into a bathyscaphe and were lowered into the trench. The submarine-like vessel was designed to withstand extreme pressures and it required nearly 2 tons of cable to place it on the ocean floor. This manned descent into the depths set a world record that has never been equaled.
Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain, stands at an altitude where many commercial jets fly--29,000 feet, or over 5 miles high. At its peak the air is so thin that mountain climbers need to bring oxygen in order to survive.
But the depth of the ocean is even more mind-boggling. The Mariana Trench is 2 miles deeper than Everest is high! Instead of being characterized by thin air, it has the crushing weight of millions of tons of water. The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is an intense 15,931 pounds per square inch.
Knowing these facts sheds a different light on a Bible passage about the love of God. Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, challenged all believers "to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Trying to quantify the love of God, Paul was hard-pressed to describe it. One word Paul used is bathos--the Greek word for "depth." It described "the inscrutability or hiddenness as well as the vastness or greatness of something." In these verses, bathos refers to the sphere of God's love for us in Jesus.
God's love surpasses knowledge! The reason we can never reach the depths of God's love is that it is infinite. When you feel lonely and unloved, open a Bible and meditate on Ephesians 3:18-19. God's love for you is deeper than the Mariana Trench! --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* When have I felt unloved?
* How does God's infinite love for me affect how lovable I feel?
* With whom can I share Ephesians 3:18-19 as encouragement?
LINKS:
Bathyscape
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathyscaphe
How Has God Loved Us?
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0102
bottom line: God's love for me is deeper than the sea.
soul journey
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The deepest hole in the deep blue sea is the Mariana Trench--nearly 7 miles down and several hundred miles off the cost of Guam. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh climbed into a bathyscaphe and were lowered into the trench. The submarine-like vessel was designed to withstand extreme pressures and it required nearly 2 tons of cable to place it on the ocean floor. This manned descent into the depths set a world record that has never been equaled.
Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain, stands at an altitude where many commercial jets fly--29,000 feet, or over 5 miles high. At its peak the air is so thin that mountain climbers need to bring oxygen in order to survive.
But the depth of the ocean is even more mind-boggling. The Mariana Trench is 2 miles deeper than Everest is high! Instead of being characterized by thin air, it has the crushing weight of millions of tons of water. The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is an intense 15,931 pounds per square inch.
Knowing these facts sheds a different light on a Bible passage about the love of God. Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, challenged all believers "to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Trying to quantify the love of God, Paul was hard-pressed to describe it. One word Paul used is bathos--the Greek word for "depth." It described "the inscrutability or hiddenness as well as the vastness or greatness of something." In these verses, bathos refers to the sphere of God's love for us in Jesus.
God's love surpasses knowledge! The reason we can never reach the depths of God's love is that it is infinite. When you feel lonely and unloved, open a Bible and meditate on Ephesians 3:18-19. God's love for you is deeper than the Mariana Trench! --Dennis Fisher
DESTINATION POINTS
* When have I felt unloved?
* How does God's infinite love for me affect how lovable I feel?
* With whom can I share Ephesians 3:18-19 as encouragement?
LINKS:
Bathyscape
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathyscaphe
How Has God Loved Us?
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0102
bottom line: God's love for me is deeper than the sea.
soul journey
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Jesus Wept
Dan Betzer
I recently watched a television preacher gleefully condemning a crowd of gays to hell. He laughed as he did it. While the Scriptures certainly teach against homosexuality, I could not understand the preacher’s apparent pleasure in his condemnations.
Jesus took no delight in such pursuit. He wept as He saw the disintegration of society. He agonized over what He knew was soon to happen in Jerusalem.
Two weeks ago, I visited once again the famed “tear drop” chapel on the slopes of the Mount of Olives facing the Temple Mount. The building commemorates the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
He moaned, “How often would I have gathered thy children under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Jesus knew it was a matter of only four decades before Vespasian and Titus would arrive with the Roman armies, congregating on Mount Scopus on the north for the death thrust into the city.
The death tolls would be staggering. Not one stone of the entire city would be left standing. It broke our Lord’s heart.
The Bible states simply, “Jesus wept.” There was no gloating in His knowledge nor His firm proclamation. I truly believe the non-Christian world is turned off by the all-too-common gloating of Christ’s followers.
Jesus always exhibited passion, not pride. Again and again, Scriptures tell us that Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion.
Maybe that television preacher should weep more and laugh less. Perhaps the people he’s trying to reach would be more accessible to the Gospel. Perhaps they would be moved more by his melancholy than they are by his mockery.
cbn
Dan Betzer
I recently watched a television preacher gleefully condemning a crowd of gays to hell. He laughed as he did it. While the Scriptures certainly teach against homosexuality, I could not understand the preacher’s apparent pleasure in his condemnations.
Jesus took no delight in such pursuit. He wept as He saw the disintegration of society. He agonized over what He knew was soon to happen in Jerusalem.
Two weeks ago, I visited once again the famed “tear drop” chapel on the slopes of the Mount of Olives facing the Temple Mount. The building commemorates the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
He moaned, “How often would I have gathered thy children under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Jesus knew it was a matter of only four decades before Vespasian and Titus would arrive with the Roman armies, congregating on Mount Scopus on the north for the death thrust into the city.
The death tolls would be staggering. Not one stone of the entire city would be left standing. It broke our Lord’s heart.
The Bible states simply, “Jesus wept.” There was no gloating in His knowledge nor His firm proclamation. I truly believe the non-Christian world is turned off by the all-too-common gloating of Christ’s followers.
Jesus always exhibited passion, not pride. Again and again, Scriptures tell us that Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion.
Maybe that television preacher should weep more and laugh less. Perhaps the people he’s trying to reach would be more accessible to the Gospel. Perhaps they would be moved more by his melancholy than they are by his mockery.
cbn
Thursday, June 09, 2005
PASSWORDS
Psalm 100:1-5
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
After several unsuccessful attempts to access my airline account online, a message appeared informing me that I had been denied entry for security reasons. I would not be able to try again until I had requested a new password and received it by mail. This made me feel really dumb and I could almost hear my computer singing an ancient Top 40 hit, "I hear you knocking, but you can't come in."
How many passwords do you have? 5? 10? More? In a day of accelerating technology, many people are juggling a dozen different passwords and PINs for everything from ATM cards to student grades. Security advisors tell us to have a different password for every account and to change them often to thwart hackers and prevent identity theft. It's not unusual anymore to visit a favorite Web site and forget how to get in.
Perhaps because of that, I was struck by this contemporary translation of Psalm 89:15, "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God" (The Message).
A common theme found throughout the Bible is beautifully summarized in Psalm 100:4, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."
These passwords are not a secret code giving us access to God, but an appropriate way to enter His presence. So often when we bow our heads to pray, our first words are "I need." How much better it would be to begin by saying, "Lord, You are."
In a sense, it's by acknowledging who God is that we remember who we are--"His people, the sheep of His pasture" (v.3). Because He made us and gave us life through His Son Jesus, we are privileged to approach Him.
Lord, You are good and faithful; You have made us; Your love endures forever. "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise." --Dave McCasland
DESTINATION POINTS
* How can I best remember to begin each prayer by praising God?
* Which quality of God am I most thankful for today?
LINKS:
Praise and Thanksgiving
http://www.christianitytoday.com/spiritualhelp/features/praise thanks.html thanks.html thanks.html
Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer
http://www.discoveryseries.org/hj891
bottom line: Praise lights the pathway into God's presence.
soul journey
Psalm 100:1-5
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
After several unsuccessful attempts to access my airline account online, a message appeared informing me that I had been denied entry for security reasons. I would not be able to try again until I had requested a new password and received it by mail. This made me feel really dumb and I could almost hear my computer singing an ancient Top 40 hit, "I hear you knocking, but you can't come in."
How many passwords do you have? 5? 10? More? In a day of accelerating technology, many people are juggling a dozen different passwords and PINs for everything from ATM cards to student grades. Security advisors tell us to have a different password for every account and to change them often to thwart hackers and prevent identity theft. It's not unusual anymore to visit a favorite Web site and forget how to get in.
Perhaps because of that, I was struck by this contemporary translation of Psalm 89:15, "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God" (The Message).
A common theme found throughout the Bible is beautifully summarized in Psalm 100:4, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."
These passwords are not a secret code giving us access to God, but an appropriate way to enter His presence. So often when we bow our heads to pray, our first words are "I need." How much better it would be to begin by saying, "Lord, You are."
In a sense, it's by acknowledging who God is that we remember who we are--"His people, the sheep of His pasture" (v.3). Because He made us and gave us life through His Son Jesus, we are privileged to approach Him.
Lord, You are good and faithful; You have made us; Your love endures forever. "Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise." --Dave McCasland
DESTINATION POINTS
* How can I best remember to begin each prayer by praising God?
* Which quality of God am I most thankful for today?
LINKS:
Praise and Thanksgiving
http://www.christianitytoday.com/spiritualhelp/features/praise thanks.html thanks.html thanks.html
Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer
http://www.discoveryseries.org/hj891
bottom line: Praise lights the pathway into God's presence.
soul journey
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Can't Swallow That
Dan Betzer
My wife and I walked into a restaurant recently in the town where we formerly lived. How I have enjoyed that restaurant through the years: good service, good food, good atmosphere.
We were looking forward to the experience again. The service was still fairly good, but the food was something not to be believed. I ordered a slab of ribs, ribs that I remembered could just set your feet to tapping. What I got was something totally unexpected.
I think it was somebody’s old boot, cooked to a fare-thee-well and covered with some unknown sauce you wouldn’t give a goat. In the entire slab of ribs, there was not even a fork full of meat.
When I asked the waiter about it, he blushed and said, “Our restaurant has been sold to a big corporation somewhere and we just follow their orders.” When we had walked into the place earlier, we noted that it was nearly empty, whereas it had always been “wait in line” before.
If that corporation thinks customers will continue to frequent their restaurant simply because it used to be good, they have a real revelation coming! People will go to the place where they’re fed and cared for.
Same thing goes for church. How many ecclesiastical buildings now stand virtually empty that were once revival centers! The leaders opted for form over substance.
When the pews became empty, they moaned about post-modernism. Truth of the matter is that they just started serving old cooked boots, that’s all.
People are incredibly hungry for God today. The problem is that too many of God’s restaurants serve only jive music and PowerPoint hash. The good folks just won’t eat it.
cbn
Dan Betzer
My wife and I walked into a restaurant recently in the town where we formerly lived. How I have enjoyed that restaurant through the years: good service, good food, good atmosphere.
We were looking forward to the experience again. The service was still fairly good, but the food was something not to be believed. I ordered a slab of ribs, ribs that I remembered could just set your feet to tapping. What I got was something totally unexpected.
I think it was somebody’s old boot, cooked to a fare-thee-well and covered with some unknown sauce you wouldn’t give a goat. In the entire slab of ribs, there was not even a fork full of meat.
When I asked the waiter about it, he blushed and said, “Our restaurant has been sold to a big corporation somewhere and we just follow their orders.” When we had walked into the place earlier, we noted that it was nearly empty, whereas it had always been “wait in line” before.
If that corporation thinks customers will continue to frequent their restaurant simply because it used to be good, they have a real revelation coming! People will go to the place where they’re fed and cared for.
Same thing goes for church. How many ecclesiastical buildings now stand virtually empty that were once revival centers! The leaders opted for form over substance.
When the pews became empty, they moaned about post-modernism. Truth of the matter is that they just started serving old cooked boots, that’s all.
People are incredibly hungry for God today. The problem is that too many of God’s restaurants serve only jive music and PowerPoint hash. The good folks just won’t eat it.
cbn
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Limitless!
Gail Casteen
What if we lived life without limits? I don't mean without boundaries, but without LIMITS!
If we are living a life of confinement and limitation, we should ask ourselves, "how did it happen?" The Bible talks about what we CAN do, not what we CANNOT do! But haven't we (Christians) made it that way? We have misunderstood or misused His Word to create limits on our lives. It's as if we have restricted the very life Jesus lived, died, and lives again to provide!
I used to watch my tiny son run and play. He knew his boundaries (stay in the yard) but he knew no limits. He was too young to understand why he had scars running from his throat down past his manmade 'belly button.' He was not even aware they existed … the scars were normal for him. He was not aware that he was born with an open heart and an open abdomen.
He knew he loved to run, and run he did! The fact that he had three abdominal surgeries, open-heart surgery, and four emergency hospitalizations in his first year of life did not stop him. In his mind, there were no limits.
How like God to create us that way. We ALL have scars of some sort. It is sad to say, but physical scars and emotional scars are part of life. On the up side of that, scars are stronger than the wounded area was originally.
That is why, for Christ's sake, we should delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
We do not have to be limited by our scars, nor do we have to be limited by what we THINK God is telling us that we cannot or should not do.
When I was a kid, I made up a game called 'What if?' It went something like this … What if I could fly? Then I could see the WHOLE world! What if I could run forever? Then I could visit every state in the contiguous 48! What if I didn't have to take the time to sleep or eat? Then I could get so many more things accomplished. When you take a good look at it, I was saying, "What if I did not have any limits?" My "then" side of the equation would be, I can life to the max!"
My question is this, "in what way has God limited us?"
He gave us His love. He gave us His Son to pay the way for us. And He gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to live out our lives doing His will. Where are the limits? We have the permission, the ticket, and the power to take the trip. So let's GO!
Let's live motivated purely by His Love. Let's walk the paths of our lives directed by His eye. Let's overrule fear, guilt, and doubt by heeding His voice. Let's allow Him to teach us how to conduct our lives on His terms. He has empowered us to accomplish what is good and right and lovely. Let's get His perspective and run with it.
It makes sense to live within the boundaries He sets for our safety and well being. But what if we took the limits off our love? What if we weren't so guarded in our relationships? What if we weren't afraid of failure or of success? What if we tapped into His wisdom? What if we were instantly obedient to His prompting? What if we shared an encouraging word with a hurting person? What if we dared pray for someone's healing even though we didn't feel like we had the faith? The list is endless isn't it?
With complete abandon, God has given us life beyond measure. Jesus said it. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36) He was anointed to "preach good news to the poor." He was sent to "proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19) If we live unlimited lives, wouldn't it stand to reason that others would be impacted and changed?
I clearly remember those days when my son ran to his heart's content. He is sixteen now, and he is my constant reminder that we serve a God who has given us limitless access to Him. He has empowered us with His Spirit to live life beyond limits.
cbn
Gail Casteen
What if we lived life without limits? I don't mean without boundaries, but without LIMITS!
If we are living a life of confinement and limitation, we should ask ourselves, "how did it happen?" The Bible talks about what we CAN do, not what we CANNOT do! But haven't we (Christians) made it that way? We have misunderstood or misused His Word to create limits on our lives. It's as if we have restricted the very life Jesus lived, died, and lives again to provide!
I used to watch my tiny son run and play. He knew his boundaries (stay in the yard) but he knew no limits. He was too young to understand why he had scars running from his throat down past his manmade 'belly button.' He was not even aware they existed … the scars were normal for him. He was not aware that he was born with an open heart and an open abdomen.
He knew he loved to run, and run he did! The fact that he had three abdominal surgeries, open-heart surgery, and four emergency hospitalizations in his first year of life did not stop him. In his mind, there were no limits.
How like God to create us that way. We ALL have scars of some sort. It is sad to say, but physical scars and emotional scars are part of life. On the up side of that, scars are stronger than the wounded area was originally.
That is why, for Christ's sake, we should delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
We do not have to be limited by our scars, nor do we have to be limited by what we THINK God is telling us that we cannot or should not do.
When I was a kid, I made up a game called 'What if?' It went something like this … What if I could fly? Then I could see the WHOLE world! What if I could run forever? Then I could visit every state in the contiguous 48! What if I didn't have to take the time to sleep or eat? Then I could get so many more things accomplished. When you take a good look at it, I was saying, "What if I did not have any limits?" My "then" side of the equation would be, I can life to the max!"
My question is this, "in what way has God limited us?"
He gave us His love. He gave us His Son to pay the way for us. And He gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to live out our lives doing His will. Where are the limits? We have the permission, the ticket, and the power to take the trip. So let's GO!
Let's live motivated purely by His Love. Let's walk the paths of our lives directed by His eye. Let's overrule fear, guilt, and doubt by heeding His voice. Let's allow Him to teach us how to conduct our lives on His terms. He has empowered us to accomplish what is good and right and lovely. Let's get His perspective and run with it.
It makes sense to live within the boundaries He sets for our safety and well being. But what if we took the limits off our love? What if we weren't so guarded in our relationships? What if we weren't afraid of failure or of success? What if we tapped into His wisdom? What if we were instantly obedient to His prompting? What if we shared an encouraging word with a hurting person? What if we dared pray for someone's healing even though we didn't feel like we had the faith? The list is endless isn't it?
With complete abandon, God has given us life beyond measure. Jesus said it. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36) He was anointed to "preach good news to the poor." He was sent to "proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19) If we live unlimited lives, wouldn't it stand to reason that others would be impacted and changed?
I clearly remember those days when my son ran to his heart's content. He is sixteen now, and he is my constant reminder that we serve a God who has given us limitless access to Him. He has empowered us with His Spirit to live life beyond limits.
cbn
Monday, June 06, 2005
On Being Served
John Fischer
We’ve reflected a lot in these devotions about serving as one of the five great purposes that embrace why God made us. We’ve looked at parking attendants and shoeshine men (and there are women, too) as modern day equivalents to Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet. But there is another side of serving that sometimes gets overlooked and yet is just as important, and often harder to do. I’m speaking about what happens when one is being served.
When Jesus got down on his hands and knees in front of his disciples with a washbasin and a towel, the loudest objection came from Simon Peter (appropriately, the loudest disciple). “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet” (John 13:8)! (Here’s an important aside: Don’t ever say “never ever” to Jesus!)
Why do you suppose he was so opposed to this?
It may be humiliating to take on a servant’s role, but it can be even more humiliating to be served. This rubbed against the grain of everything Peter stood for. He was a simple fisherman aware of his own shortcomings and this was the Son of God on His knees coming into direct contact with his dirty, smelly feet. If anything, Peter should have been washing Jesus’ feet. He might have even been kicking himself for not having thought of it first. It was a custom usually performed by the host’s servants, to wash the dirt of the road from the feet of the dinner guests. In this instance, however, they were in a borrowed room and there was no host present. Either no one thought to do it, or no one was humble enough to do it, so they all sat there in their prideful dirty feet, until Jesus took it upon Himself to be the servant.
In many ways it’s harder to be on the receiving end of serving than on the serving end. You can be more obscure as a servant. You can mask your own weaknesses and failures behind a flurry of activity. You can get the focus off you and onto someone else. Not that this isn’t the right thing to do in most cases — it’s just that it can also be a place to hide. In being served by Jesus, Peter couldn’t duck the attention, and the attention was on how dirty his feet were and how prideful he was, along with the others, to resist being the servant himself. That’s why he protested so.
To which Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Hearing this, Peter completely reversed his direction. “Then wash my hands and my head as well, Lord, not just my feet” (John 13:8,9)!
Don’t you love Peter? He’s either entirely wrong or entirely right, and sometimes in the same sentence!
Let’s give some thought today to why it’s so hard to let others serve us. Is there someone you may be resisting who wants to serve you? Peter had to become vulnerable to let Jesus serve Him. Are we willing to do the same?
PDL
John Fischer
We’ve reflected a lot in these devotions about serving as one of the five great purposes that embrace why God made us. We’ve looked at parking attendants and shoeshine men (and there are women, too) as modern day equivalents to Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet. But there is another side of serving that sometimes gets overlooked and yet is just as important, and often harder to do. I’m speaking about what happens when one is being served.
When Jesus got down on his hands and knees in front of his disciples with a washbasin and a towel, the loudest objection came from Simon Peter (appropriately, the loudest disciple). “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet” (John 13:8)! (Here’s an important aside: Don’t ever say “never ever” to Jesus!)
Why do you suppose he was so opposed to this?
It may be humiliating to take on a servant’s role, but it can be even more humiliating to be served. This rubbed against the grain of everything Peter stood for. He was a simple fisherman aware of his own shortcomings and this was the Son of God on His knees coming into direct contact with his dirty, smelly feet. If anything, Peter should have been washing Jesus’ feet. He might have even been kicking himself for not having thought of it first. It was a custom usually performed by the host’s servants, to wash the dirt of the road from the feet of the dinner guests. In this instance, however, they were in a borrowed room and there was no host present. Either no one thought to do it, or no one was humble enough to do it, so they all sat there in their prideful dirty feet, until Jesus took it upon Himself to be the servant.
In many ways it’s harder to be on the receiving end of serving than on the serving end. You can be more obscure as a servant. You can mask your own weaknesses and failures behind a flurry of activity. You can get the focus off you and onto someone else. Not that this isn’t the right thing to do in most cases — it’s just that it can also be a place to hide. In being served by Jesus, Peter couldn’t duck the attention, and the attention was on how dirty his feet were and how prideful he was, along with the others, to resist being the servant himself. That’s why he protested so.
To which Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Hearing this, Peter completely reversed his direction. “Then wash my hands and my head as well, Lord, not just my feet” (John 13:8,9)!
Don’t you love Peter? He’s either entirely wrong or entirely right, and sometimes in the same sentence!
Let’s give some thought today to why it’s so hard to let others serve us. Is there someone you may be resisting who wants to serve you? Peter had to become vulnerable to let Jesus serve Him. Are we willing to do the same?
PDL
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Battleground of the Mind
Missey Butler
After my initial conversion to Christianity, it didn’t take long for me to realize that an inner war had been declared and that my mind was where the heaviest skirmishes were taking place.
The ground force troops had been released when I began to recognize that if I was ever going to see victory over my flesh, it would have to first be won in the battlefront of my thinking. The word tells us, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
I immediately jumped into the foxhole of truth that I found in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me, and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
That hand grenade of a verse had become my John 3: 16, if you will, as far as grounding me in the reality that until I die spirituality, no real life was ever going to come forth.
“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone. But, if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).
I once heard a well-known man of God describe to an audience his early morning ritual. He stated that the very first thing he does after shutting off the alarm is he stands up, stretches, thanks God for a new day, and then… HE DROPS DEAD!
Of course, the audience roared with laughter. Then he quipped, “No, really, I am dead serious!” More laughter ensued. After the hilarity had finally subsided and all eyes were “ten hup” to the wisdom of his next statements, like a good soldier of the Lord, he began to strategically take us through the process of daily mortification of the flesh. The first rules of engagement include the following:
1. Announce that your carnal mind has been declared DOA (dead on arrival).
2. You’ll now be reporting to a new commander in chief from this point on.
3. Never forget, the battles are won and lost in the arena of your mind.
I now faithfully report to my commanding officer every morning. And I’m proud to say I am gaining more and more ground over the lies of the enemy. Some days I find myself dying a thousand deaths within a 24-hour day. This carnal mind does not die easily, but it has to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ.
So now, every morning, I hear the reveille of God’s bugle as He wakes me up to the reality that, yes, the battle is on, but THE WAR HAS ALREADY BEEN WON. I simply stand in an unwavering faith, believing that it is no longer I who lives, but Christ living in me. As Romans 8:37 says, I am more than a conqueror!
cbn
Missey Butler
After my initial conversion to Christianity, it didn’t take long for me to realize that an inner war had been declared and that my mind was where the heaviest skirmishes were taking place.
The ground force troops had been released when I began to recognize that if I was ever going to see victory over my flesh, it would have to first be won in the battlefront of my thinking. The word tells us, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
I immediately jumped into the foxhole of truth that I found in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me, and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
That hand grenade of a verse had become my John 3: 16, if you will, as far as grounding me in the reality that until I die spirituality, no real life was ever going to come forth.
“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone. But, if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).
I once heard a well-known man of God describe to an audience his early morning ritual. He stated that the very first thing he does after shutting off the alarm is he stands up, stretches, thanks God for a new day, and then… HE DROPS DEAD!
Of course, the audience roared with laughter. Then he quipped, “No, really, I am dead serious!” More laughter ensued. After the hilarity had finally subsided and all eyes were “ten hup” to the wisdom of his next statements, like a good soldier of the Lord, he began to strategically take us through the process of daily mortification of the flesh. The first rules of engagement include the following:
1. Announce that your carnal mind has been declared DOA (dead on arrival).
2. You’ll now be reporting to a new commander in chief from this point on.
3. Never forget, the battles are won and lost in the arena of your mind.
I now faithfully report to my commanding officer every morning. And I’m proud to say I am gaining more and more ground over the lies of the enemy. Some days I find myself dying a thousand deaths within a 24-hour day. This carnal mind does not die easily, but it has to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ.
So now, every morning, I hear the reveille of God’s bugle as He wakes me up to the reality that, yes, the battle is on, but THE WAR HAS ALREADY BEEN WON. I simply stand in an unwavering faith, believing that it is no longer I who lives, but Christ living in me. As Romans 8:37 says, I am more than a conqueror!
cbn
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Today's scripture is Ephesians 2:6-7
"God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
All my life people told me the reason God saved us was so that when we got to Glory, we could spend the rest of eternity loving Him and worshiping Him. But, you know, that's just not so. It sounds pretty good, but it's just something somebody made up. God isn't selfish. He's just the opposite. He's the ultimate giver. The ultimate lover. He doesn't do anything just so He can get something in return.
Why then did He save us? The Word of God tells us He did it so that in the ages to come, He could show us the exceeding riches of His grace. Think about that! God is going to spend eternity showing the riches of His grace to you and me.
As a believer, you have the most glorious future ahead of you that anyone could ever ask. But don't wait until you get to Glory to enjoy it. You can start right now. You've already been seated in heavenly places!
bibleshack
"God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
All my life people told me the reason God saved us was so that when we got to Glory, we could spend the rest of eternity loving Him and worshiping Him. But, you know, that's just not so. It sounds pretty good, but it's just something somebody made up. God isn't selfish. He's just the opposite. He's the ultimate giver. The ultimate lover. He doesn't do anything just so He can get something in return.
Why then did He save us? The Word of God tells us He did it so that in the ages to come, He could show us the exceeding riches of His grace. Think about that! God is going to spend eternity showing the riches of His grace to you and me.
As a believer, you have the most glorious future ahead of you that anyone could ever ask. But don't wait until you get to Glory to enjoy it. You can start right now. You've already been seated in heavenly places!
bibleshack
Thursday, June 02, 2005
WHEN GOD SHOWS UP
Psalm 51:10-17
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
We are taught as kids to hate broken things--broken toys, broken bones, broken promises. But that's not the way God looks at it. God delights in brokenness, because it is in our brokenness that He can begin to do in our lives all the things He longs to do.
Have you ever been broken? Brokenness says not only "God, I need You," but also "God, You are all I need." Brokenness is having desperation for Him. It's empty-handedness before God. It has no demands, and makes no requests. Brokenness is falling into the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough. Brokenness is saying no to the clamoring voice of your flesh, no to the pride and self-confidence that has made you so restless and unhappy for so long, and saying yes to the longing for God that is deep within every person's soul.
If I want God to work in me, what exactly must be broken?
My independence. "I can make it without You, God."
My willfulness. "You can't make me. You can't tell me."
My stubbornness. "I'm going to do this my way."
My pride. "I will protect my interests, my reputation, my position."
All of these attitudes keep God from showing up in our lives, so they're the things He will seek to remove. He uses tools like broken health, broken careers, broken dreams, broken relationships, broken promises, and broken hearts.
The purpose of brokenness is to bring us to the point where we can say to God, "Not only do I need You, but You are all I need." --James MacDonald
DESTINATION POINTS
* What area of pride is the Lord highlighting in my heart right now? I'll get a piece of paper and pen and get alone with God, and ask Him to identify areas of my will that need to be broken.
* I'll write these down and use them as my personal prayer requests.
bottom line: Brokenness is a route to wholeness.
soul journey
Psalm 51:10-17
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
We are taught as kids to hate broken things--broken toys, broken bones, broken promises. But that's not the way God looks at it. God delights in brokenness, because it is in our brokenness that He can begin to do in our lives all the things He longs to do.
Have you ever been broken? Brokenness says not only "God, I need You," but also "God, You are all I need." Brokenness is having desperation for Him. It's empty-handedness before God. It has no demands, and makes no requests. Brokenness is falling into the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough. Brokenness is saying no to the clamoring voice of your flesh, no to the pride and self-confidence that has made you so restless and unhappy for so long, and saying yes to the longing for God that is deep within every person's soul.
If I want God to work in me, what exactly must be broken?
My independence. "I can make it without You, God."
My willfulness. "You can't make me. You can't tell me."
My stubbornness. "I'm going to do this my way."
My pride. "I will protect my interests, my reputation, my position."
All of these attitudes keep God from showing up in our lives, so they're the things He will seek to remove. He uses tools like broken health, broken careers, broken dreams, broken relationships, broken promises, and broken hearts.
The purpose of brokenness is to bring us to the point where we can say to God, "Not only do I need You, but You are all I need." --James MacDonald
DESTINATION POINTS
* What area of pride is the Lord highlighting in my heart right now? I'll get a piece of paper and pen and get alone with God, and ask Him to identify areas of my will that need to be broken.
* I'll write these down and use them as my personal prayer requests.
bottom line: Brokenness is a route to wholeness.
soul journey
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
THE REAL GEORGE
Isaiah 64:3-8
3 You came down, and the mountains trembled before You. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. 5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, You were angry. How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on Your name or strives to lay hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. 8 Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
George Washington is coming home--sort of. Three new "Georges" will be gracing Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, by 2006. Researchers are busy creating a trio of life-size replicas of the first president of the United States for a new $85-million education center and museum.
The challenge is to find images and descriptions that will help specialists fashion what President Washington looked like. They're targeting three ages: 19, George as a surveyor and young frontiersman; 45, as General of the Continental Army; 57, as the first Prez.
You'll find a somber-looking George Washington on every US dollar bill. He started losing his teeth in his twenties and kept his mouth closed to hide his unattractive dentures.
Museum designers armed with lasers, computers, and other modern tools hope to create authentic-looking versions of George--false teeth and all. His head will be the most difficult task. It will initially be made of clay, then wax will be added, and painting will perfect the piece.
Putting together three versions of a former president takes a great deal of painstaking analysis and technological expertise. But even when the experts are done, they'll have only a facsimile of what the real Washington looked like.
God made us out of "clay" (the stuff of earth) with the care only a loving Father could possess. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (64:8).
Now, sometimes we may feel less like God's handiwork and more like a piece of work, but Scripture makes it plain that God carefully crafted us. The awesome God (v.3) who is over all creation made us!
What's more, He calls His own "the work of My hands for the display of My splendor" (60:21). You've been created and saved by a loving Father in heaven. --Tom Felten
destination
points
* How does it make me feel to know that I have been crafted by a God who loves me?
* How do I display God's splendor in my life?
LINKS:
George Washington: Technology Forges Into The Past
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/george28e_20040928.htm
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate And Gardens
http://www.mountvernon.org
bottom line: A caring God made me with great care.
soul journey
Isaiah 64:3-8
3 You came down, and the mountains trembled before You. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. 5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, You were angry. How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on Your name or strives to lay hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. 8 Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
George Washington is coming home--sort of. Three new "Georges" will be gracing Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, by 2006. Researchers are busy creating a trio of life-size replicas of the first president of the United States for a new $85-million education center and museum.
The challenge is to find images and descriptions that will help specialists fashion what President Washington looked like. They're targeting three ages: 19, George as a surveyor and young frontiersman; 45, as General of the Continental Army; 57, as the first Prez.
You'll find a somber-looking George Washington on every US dollar bill. He started losing his teeth in his twenties and kept his mouth closed to hide his unattractive dentures.
Museum designers armed with lasers, computers, and other modern tools hope to create authentic-looking versions of George--false teeth and all. His head will be the most difficult task. It will initially be made of clay, then wax will be added, and painting will perfect the piece.
Putting together three versions of a former president takes a great deal of painstaking analysis and technological expertise. But even when the experts are done, they'll have only a facsimile of what the real Washington looked like.
God made us out of "clay" (the stuff of earth) with the care only a loving Father could possess. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (64:8).
Now, sometimes we may feel less like God's handiwork and more like a piece of work, but Scripture makes it plain that God carefully crafted us. The awesome God (v.3) who is over all creation made us!
What's more, He calls His own "the work of My hands for the display of My splendor" (60:21). You've been created and saved by a loving Father in heaven. --Tom Felten
destination
points
* How does it make me feel to know that I have been crafted by a God who loves me?
* How do I display God's splendor in my life?
LINKS:
George Washington: Technology Forges Into The Past
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/george28e_20040928.htm
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate And Gardens
http://www.mountvernon.org
bottom line: A caring God made me with great care.
soul journey