Monthly Archives: November 2014

Happy is the one who follows the right path

 

 

 

Happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers. Psalm 1:1

 

Being on the right path matters. Consistently choosing the right path requires a compass. What compass are you using these days? Not just for big decisions, but for the ones that define your character in daily choices?

 

I heard so many say at the end of the political campaign season that they were tired of all the negative ads, the bitterness and mockery. And yet, after the election there are many who continue to want to mock the victors and those who lost.

 

Do you ever recall a time when Jesus made fun of or ridiculed people? Oh yes, he called out the pretentious religious leaders who weren’t following God, but he didn’t mock them. Neither should we mock others. There’s nothing good to be gained by our sarcastic and biting wit.  There might be a wicked sense of self-righteous satisfaction in giving someone a piece of our mind. But be warned, we all only have so many pieces left! Consider whether you want to give someone a piece of your mind or have peace of mind and be happy.

 

We each will come across many other path choices today:

  • The path of being focused on our own schedule or the one that pays attention to the needs of those around us
  • The path of putting others down or the path of lifting them up
  • The path of letting little things frustrate us or the path of finding peace in God
  • The path of anxiety or the path of faith
  • The path of making a living or the path of making a worthwhile life

 

Let Jesus be your compass in choosing the right path today.

 

 

How happy do you want to be?

 

 

But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Psalm 68:3

 

How happy do you want to be? Even though unpleasant things come into our lives, we can choose the happiness of a peaceful and content heart each day.

 

A good gardener doesn’t purposefully keep a place for her weeds. But so many of us gardeners get busy with other things and let the weeds overtake our good produce.  The good news is that it’s not that hard to eradicate the ‘weeds’ that crowd out our happiness. Just answer the question, “How happy do I want to be?” Consider what you can do with these “weeds”:

 

Complaining – Make a vow to not complain at all for one week. (Maybe you need to start with one day.) Ask someone to hold you accountable. When you are tempted to complain, take a breath and give thanks for something. Really!

 

Pursuit of things – It’s fun to have new stuff, but sometimes more is less. Implement a moratorium on buying things. Pay what you need but decide that for one month you’re not going to buy something new just because you can or because it’s on sale. We did this for a month, then for three months, then for a year. We fell off the wagon once or twice, but I can say the absence of those things we might have bought hasn’t made us any less happy. And the savings helped pay the medical bills!

 

Grudges – Say no to holding grudges. They rob us of joy more than they hurt the other person. To quote Princess Elsa, just “Let it go!” Grudges grow into bitterness, then anger, then hate, and hate corrodes the heart. Learn to forgive; move on.

 

Negative thinking – Maybe life has nudged you to thinking the glass is always half-empty. But guess what? God gave us a switch in our brain that allows us to consider another perspective. We become what we think about, so turn the negativity switch to OFF. Turn ON the goodness switch. You can do it!

 

Worrying about the future – Who can change one thing by worrying? Most of the things we worry about never occur! Actually, worry does accomplish one thing: it kills your happiness. Pray. Plan. Practice being content.

 

Worrying what others think – We ought to not go out of our way to offend others. But people will think what they think. You can control only you.  The question we need to ask is, “Will this please God?”

 

The list goes on to include so much more and yes, there are truly big burdens that weigh heavily on us and rob us of our joy. But if you’ve found one or more ‘weeds’ in this list, focus on eradicating them before trying to tackle the whole patch. Want to be even happier yet? Find a way to make others happy.

 

So just how happy do you want to be?

 

 

All things

 

 

 

“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to jump tall buildings in a single bound, this is a call for SUPER-CHRISTIAN! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

 

If this is your interpretation of Philippians 4:13, read on for another view.

 

The power of Jesus in the hearts of His believers is indeed an awesome thing, but is leaping over tall buildings or tall problems what this verse really is about? Let’s look at the context of this famous verse find the heart of the message.

 

Paul writes from his prison cell to the church at Philippi. He is telling them what we all need to practice: Rejoice in the Lord always. Be gentle to everyone. Don’t be anxious. Pray. Be thankful. Talk to God. Let God’s peace guard your heart. Think about noble and pure things. Live the way you have been taught.  (Philippians 4:4-9) And then he shares: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” And because of this he concludes: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (v 11-13)

 

Rather than being a ‘superhero’, Paul is sharing a much deeper and resilient truth about enduring struggles. It is the truth of the contented heart, the heart that chooses peace over anxiety, joy in the face of sorrow, purity when surrounded by corruption, gentleness in a harsh world, thanksgiving instead of bitterness, prayer before action.  Paul’s not rejoicing because his circumstances suddenly improved. He rejoices in learning the secret of being content in trusting God in all things. It is the spring of that refreshes us and protects us from the sorrow of discontent.

 

Perhaps the power of contentedness is not so much in ‘doing’ but in ‘being able’ to endure all things. Content in trusting His perfect will and His overcoming power, we can endure cancer, lose our job, suffer financial difficulty, be rejected by others…the list goes on to include “all things, in Christ who strengthens me.”

 

The power of “I can do all things in Christ” is not what we can do by flexing our muscles or working harder. It is not about us victoriously achieving our own dreams and ambitions.  It is about humbling ourselves before God, trusting Him to accomplish HIS plan salvation, trusting what Christ already has done and will continue to do in and through me for HIS perfect purpose. It comes from learning the secret of being content, trusting in Jesus.

 

What do you need to be content? Maybe, like Paul, you feel like you’re in a prison. Can you find a contented trust there? Let God speak to your heart and discover His ‘secret’ power for living content and victorious…through all things.

 

 

Forgiveness is enough

 

 

 

 

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

 

Our recent devotional scripture was on forgiveness. After the reading, Marcia said, “If we received nothing else in this life, only forgiveness, that would be enough wouldn’t it?”  I agreed. Do you? If you never got the job or house of your dreams, if your relationships never completely resolved to your satisfaction, if your health failed and your investments went south, when all the game playing is done… would God be enough? It is said that the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least. What do you need to be happy?

 

I wonder if we had only our health, wealth, and prosperous lives, but missed enjoying daily fellowship with God, would we be among the most wretched souls on earth.  C. S. Lewis once observed that the one who has God and everything else has no more than the one who has God only. And yet we long for more and more. Or maybe we long for so much that is actually less … less than what ALL of God’s best for us.

 

As you allow your mind to scan across the entirety of your life to its end, if you found yourself with God’s forgiveness and grace, would that be enough?

 

If you need forgiveness, ask God to forgive you.  He is waiting for you.

 

If you are forgiven, be thankful in all you have already been given!

Let your heart say, “It is enough.”

 

 

Set apart – for a mission

 

What does ‘set apart’ mean to you?

 

Among other things, the word ‘different’ probably comes to mind. We aren’t to be Christian in name only. Rather than striving to “fit in”, we are called to be set apart from the world even while we are in it for a purpose.

 

The question for each us (me too) is “How much does my life look like the world? Does my life look more like the world or the Word?” Do I think about money, getting ahead, being fit, success, time off, sports or other hobbies so much that it really defines who I am more than being a follower of Jesus? We are what we think about, how we respond to life, and what we associate with. (See Proverbs 23:7)

 

Pastor Cory Stout gave a good message recently on being ‘set apart’ for God as being different in order to make a difference for God. More than just something good we should do, it is God’s calling on those who call themselves Christian for real, not just in name only. To be set apart from, not conformed to, the ways of the world is the true identity of followers of Christ. Jesus said we are the light of the world, not the darkness. Cory shared that responding to God’s call upon our lives should make a difference in:

  • What we consume and what consumes us
    • Not just our diet but those thoughts, attitudes, actions, and even ambitions that consume the way we approach life. Where we spend most of our time, thought, money, and action defines who or what we worship.

 

  • Our appearance
    • Not just what we wear, but our character, our countenance, and attitude…the way we respond to frustrations and disappointments.

 

  • Our associations
    • Paul writes that we are ‘new creations’, which means we are dead to that which doesn’t bring life. As such, we shouldn’t associate ourselves with ‘dead’ ways of thinking and responding to our circumstances. A caterpillar no longer crawls along the ground as it used to. It abandons the cocoon and now associates its new life with the freedom of flying. Why should we bind ourselves by those dark things that rob us of love, peace, and joy? What ‘dead’ things do you need to abandon?

 

Probably, we can easily think of ways we think others should change, but the question is really just for us to answer personally. Ask God today, In what way are You calling ME to be different in order to make a difference? What consumes me that I need to let go? What is one thing I need to change about how I appear to others? What associations do I need to sever in order to behave as one who was created to make a difference?

 

Be different in order to make a difference. Set apart from the ways of the world, live ‘on mission.’

 

 

All things possible, not easy

 

 

 

All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23

 

 

This promise verse is set in the context of Jesus being confronted by parents of a boy possessed by a demon since childhood. They plead with Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus replied, “If you can? Everything is possible to the one who believes. The father replied, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:17-24)

 

Can you remember a situation beyond your control when you cried out, “This is impossible! I can’t do it!” Whether the wall you’ve hit is pain, sorrow, despair, shame, or rejection, it’s easy to feel confined by it. Then we cry out, “God IF you are listening and IF you are able to fix this, help me.” I think the plea God often longs to hear is the cry of one who believes that God IS the God He says He is. The way out of impossibility is faith in the one through whom all things are possible.

 

Some people might tell you that with God’s grace you can handle life’s trials “with ease.”  God’s grace is an amazing undeserved gift, freely poured out to all who believe in His Son and put their faith and trust in Him. But an easy faith?   I don’t think Paul found it easy to endure many kinds of torture and suffering.  Steven received a special dispensation of God’s grace when he was stoned, but do you think he found his execution to be easy? I suspect the persecuted and martyred Christians in the middle east today don’t find that faith comes with ease. I wrestled with the experience of God’s grace during my journey with cancer. Faith made enduring pain and fear possible, not easy.

 

Sometimes God calms the storm around us. Sometimes He puts His arm around us in the middle of the storm and helps us steer through the storm to a safe harbor. The inconvenient truth that doesn’t sell a lot of books is that often God’s grace helps us endure what we cannot endure on our own even when there is not an imminent escape from the pain. God’s Word says that suffering and trials continue, with grace to endure and build character that leads to hope in future glory. That is a very great gift, though not always what we seek.

 

The good news is that God knows our fears and He is ready to speak with authority to each of them and to disarm them. Even though the temptation of fear may persist, faith has the power to disarm it, to nullify its effect and to endure with confidence that presses on and endures.   It may seem that the odds are impossible, that you cannot endure them. But you can still choose faith in the God who makes all things possible to endure.

 

Father – I believe. Help my unbelief.

 

 

Hope overflows

 

 

 

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

 

 

This a great verse of personal comfort, isn’t it? It freely offers what we all want: joy, peace, hope. But it is not just about you or me. It is set in the context of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, showing us how to experience a transformed life through faith in the Son of God, how to live victoriously in a troubled world, and how to live in peace and understanding with others.

 

Joy, peace, hope, power – all things we strongly desire. But none of these priceless gifts come from our own efforts. They freely come FROM God and the Holy Spirit WHEN we trust in Him. When we worry and fret they escape us. But when we put our daily trust in God, we are filled with God’s joy and peace, and the Holy Spirit is able to grow our hope so much that it OVERFLOWS.  God doesn’t bring us to trust in Him only so we can take refuge in His shelter. He doesn’t draw us to Him solely for our personal comfort. God’s greater intent is that our hope will overflow.

 

Where does hope go when it overflows in our life? It overflows into the circumstances of our life, and washes our pain and suffering. It spills onto our cancer and our despair over our children. It flows through our work. Hope floods our financial worries, drowns our doubts, and quenches our fiery thirsts. It flushes our disappointments into the deepest sea. Hope is a light that cannot be contained in a lamp but overflows into darkness. It illuminates our path filling us with understanding. The power of the Holy Spirit makes our hope to splash onto those around us and flow around the world in ways we never imagined because real hope is not just for us; real hope expands our world vision and impact.

 

How full is your cup of hope? If it is filled more with despair and fear than the joy, peace, and hope you desire, empty it at the feet of Jesus. Ask His Holy Spirit to fill it up again today with power to trust in The God of Hope.

 

As your trust grows, His hope overflows.

 

You can live an abundant life today and every day, by the power of the Holy Spirit to bring you overflowing hope.

 

 

Praying “The Lord’s Prayer”

 

 

 

Do you ever struggle with prayer? Maybe you find yourself confused about what to pray. Or having heard other people pray, perhaps you think you have to find “better words” to pray. (You don’t.) Some people worry about praying out loud. Some worry that their prayers aren’t heard. I think God is pleased to hear us pray in our own words from our humble heart…to the heart of God. What we call “The Lord’s Prayer” is the model Jesus gave for approaching prayer. If you want to pray this prayer, don’t rush through it. Instead, reflect on the words and what you are really saying.

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Quiet your heart and mind. Close your eyes or keep them open. Stand, kneel, sit or lie down. It is the posture of your humble heart that our Holy God seeks.  Focus on who God is: Almighty, Faithful, Loving, Merciful, Wise, Just, Holy, All-Knowing, Without End, Fortress, Refuge, Rock of Salvation, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Praising Him who is worthy of all your praise. 


Your kingdom come, 

God’s kingdom is the kingdom of love, peace, and joy, of truth and righteousness.   Ask Him to bring these into your life and the world.

 

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Your Heavenly Father wants what is truly best for you. Ask Him for His good, pleasing, and perfect will to be revealed and carried out.

 

Give us this day our daily bread,

What do you most need today? Patience, perseverance, courage, wisdom? Ask God for these things He most desires for you.

 

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Ask God to reveal your wrong thinking and behaving, any persons that you have hurt and those whom you haven’t forgiven for hurts they caused. Not forgiving binds up our heart with cords of bitterness and anger. Give it up to God. Confess and find the freedom of forgiveness.

 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Our greatest need is to be protected from evil and its temptations. Tell God the specific temptations that bother you. Ask Him to protect you from their crippling lies and to give you strength and courage to be faithful to His truth.

 

For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.

Your prayer is an expression of your trust in God’s power and glory. Thank Him for demonstrating His power and glory throughout history and in your own life. Thank Him for inviting you into His kingdom.

 

Amen. 

Saying Amen is an affirmation that you agree with what has been prayed. These are not just words you’ve memorized. They are the expression of your heart’s desires to God.

 

 

Thank you, Heavenly Father

 

 

Have you ever imagined living a totally confused life, one where you have trouble remembering the things and people most important to you? Sure, we all  become forgetful sometimes, especially during seasons of high stress. We might even laugh at ourselves, walking into a room only to forget why we went there. But mental confusion is no laughing matter, especially when it is caused by Alzheimer’s.

 

I sometimes have wondered, if I could remember nothing but one thing, what would I want that to be? How about you? If you could be guaranteed to remember just one thing, with everything else forgotten, what would you have fill your mind? It is a daunting question that cuts straight to the heart of who we are and who we want to become.

 

In a recent article, singer Glenn Campbell’s wife, Kim sheds light on dealing with her husband’s life with Alzheimer’s Disease. Much of his care involves keeping him safe and at peace. While he lives in a mental fog much of the time and has lost much of his communication skills, Kim says he still can make short sentences and say things like “I love you” and “We are so blessed.” The aides and nurses say he must have been a godly man because they always see him walk over to the window and lift up his hands and say, “Thank you, heavenly Father.”

 

Kim shares, “When I see him do that, I know God is with him, and he’s aware of His presence. He’s relying on the Lord and gets his strength from Him. Even in his affliction, he’s ministering to people and trying to be a blessing. In between those moments, he’s lost. He wanders. He can’t communicate. He doesn’t understand what others say to him.”

 

It causes me to ponder how the storms of life sometimes creep upon us like an enveloping fog, causing us to forget the things that are most important, even if our memories are not impaired. Especially in those times, we need to know that God really is there with us and that we can draw close to Him.

 

The truth is, while the storms of life continually buffet our frail bodies, we can choose what we put into our hearts and minds today. What we choose to dominate our thoughts and ambitions now may be the very thing that controls us when all else is gone. The Psalmist writes, “I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)

 

Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble.” It’s guaranteed and seems to be part of our job description. But we can say, “Thank you Heavenly Father,” because He adds, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

 

I hope you let the gracious light of Jesus disperse the fog that comes your way today and find many reasons today to say, “Thank you Heavenly Father.”

 

Zion hears and rejoices

 

 

 

 

Zion hears and rejoices. Psalm 97:8

 

 

The Hebrew word Zion means fortress and is synonymous with Jerusalem. In its deepest sense it represents God’s chosen people, Israel. Genesis 12:3 reminds us God will bless whoever blesses Israel and curse whoever curses Israel. And since we Christians were grafted onto the root of Israel (Romans 11), Zion represents us also.

 

The theme of Psalm 97 is “The Lord reigns.” It speaks about two groups of people, one who reject God and are put to shame, and another group who hear God’s words and rejoice. It is the overarching theme throughout all history of our great choice to trust the eternal God or trust in ourselves. Zion rejoices because they listen to and hear God’s words of protection. They take joy in the fortress of His protection. They rejoice because He delivers them from wickedness and shines light into their hearts. When Zion rejoices we should rejoice because our God reigns!

 

We can rejoice that God reigns because we have been given a vision of eternity. We know that evil is tolerated in this world ‘for a time’ until the gospel reaches all people and all have made their choice. There will come an end to evil when His judgment comes with a consuming fire, the heavens proclaim His righteousness, and the people see His glory (v 2-6).

 

In the presence of terrorists who brazenly kill innocent people, the tragedies of natural disasters, the threat of disease and starvation, you might ask, “Does God really reign?” The deeper question might be does He reign over your personal struggles, your finances, your job, your marriage and other relationships? Does He reign over the frustrations you face on a daily basis?

 

C. H. Spurgeon told the story of a man named Whitelock, who was Oliver Cromwell’s envoy to Sweden in 1653. One night as he was waiting to sail, he was so distracted by the troubles of the nation that he could not sleep. His assistant, in an adjacent bed, finally said to him, “Sir, may I ask you a question?” “Of course,” said Whitelock.

“Sir, do you think God governed the world very well before you came into it?”

“Undoubtedly.”

“And sir, do you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it?”

“Certainly.”

“Then, sir, excuse me, but do you not think you may trust him to govern it quite as well while you are living?”

Whitelock had no answer to this question, but he rolled over and soon went to sleep.

 

Having trusted Him with your eternal hope, can you trust Him also for this present trial you face? Do you believe that the Lord reigns, not only over the world, but also over your life? If so, rejoice in Him with Zion and enjoy His peace!