Tag Archives: alphabet to live by

Put on and press on

Leave a reply

 

 

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11

 

I Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

 

Many images are conveyed concerning our life journey. One is the image of standing firm, protected by God’s equipping armor. Another is one of throwing off everything that hinders us and running a race with perseverance, of pressing on to win the prize. Yet another is being still, laying down in green pastures.  Which is it? Stand firm, run the race, or lie down in peace?

 

The answer is all of the above. God always has our very best interest at heart, protecting us from evil and providing us with His grace. Because we so easily come to think of this life as our only life, He reminds us that we are strangers in a foreign land, and that we are in a daily battle against evil which wars against us in the spiritual realms and sometimes in the physical realm too.

 

And so we are commanded to put on His protective armor that equips us for the battle. His belt of truth secures us. His breastplate of righteousness guards our heart.  His gospel of peace fits our feet with readiness and help us to stand firm. Our faith in Him shields us from fiery arrows that seek to wound and kill us. His helmet of salvation protect us from being taken by the evil one. The Sword of His Spirit is double-edged. It is the Word of God that protects us and attacks falsehood with the truth of God. With our spiritual armor on, our job is to stand firm, unwavering in faith, fully persuaded that God is able to fight the battle and win the war.

 

The thing about spiritual armor is that is not like traditional battle armor that we’ve come to know. It is light and agile. It doesn’t entangle us when we need to move. And so pressing on while running the race is another image of our journey with God. Running requires effort and perseverance. If you are running to win a race and the prize it offers, you can’t be encumbered by things that entangle you. You need to be free to run and keep on running. A successful runner doesn’t look behind. The spiritual runner keeps her eyes focused ahead, fixed on Jesus, unwavering in her faith that she will attain the prize and that it will indeed be worth the effort and pain endured in the race.

 

As a sheep depends on the good shepherd for green pastures, press on in your dependence on God and in your humility. You can’t fight and run in your own power. Press on by resting in the strength of God, not your own. Press on while resting in the green pastures, listening to and obeying the shepherd’s voice.

 

 

Oh Give thanks!

Leave a reply

 

 

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. Psalm 118:1

 

What causes you to give thanks? When is it easy to give thanks and when is it hard?

 

Multiple times throughout the bible, the faithful are found giving thanks to the Lord, for WHO He is and WHAT He’s done. “Give thanks, for:

  • He is good
  • His love endures forever
  • His wonderful deeds
  • His unfailing love
  • Granted favor
  • Answered prayers
  • The reigning power of Jesus”

 

It’s fun to give thanks when things go well, when prayers are answered and blessings are overflowing. The truth is, those in Christ always have cause to be thankful for His undeserved mercy, His overwhelming compassion and forgiveness, and the hope of His eternal promises.

 

But we aren’t always thankful, are we? We grumble and mutter. We grimace in disdain disappointment when things don’t go our way. We suffer under great oppression. And our ungrateful attitude only serves to make us feel even worse. It separates us from God’s grace. Sometimes I wonder if God might be more offended by our ingratitude than our disobedience.

 

Giving thanks doesn’t always make sense. Job’s so-called ‘friends’ who saw him lose wealth and property, family, and then his health, told him to ‘curse God’ and die. Instead, Job blessed God.  I remember my friend, who before he died of cancer, told us that he had fallen asleep spiritually. He had become apathetic toward God. He said that the cancer woke him up, and that if getting healed from cancer meant that he would return to his ungrateful ways, he would rather have cancer and stay spiritually awake. I grasped his strong message then, but it became real when I was diagnosed with cancer years later.

 

“ In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

IN everything, give thanks. We aren’t called to give thanks for evil or a fallen world. But we are called to give thanks in all circumstances, for it is God’s will to draw us closer to Him. Giving thanks changes things. It takes us from despair to hope.  It is the sigh that breaks the tension in our bodies.  Giving thanks doesn’t always allow us the grace to escape the pain and sorrow but it gives us the grace and strength to endure it while we must. It acknowledges that God is true to His Word – He never abandons us. A thankful heart brings peace to the soul even when the body is tormented. Giving thanks is one of the keys to our healing.

 

Let your heart become a garden of thanks. Even when you don’t feel thankful, you can choose to plant the seeds of thankfulness and then watch them grow into mature thanksgiving. For those in Christ, sorrows will not last forever. The goodness of the Lord is sure to be revealed.

 

“Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” 1 Peter 4:16

 

 

No eye has seen

Leave a reply

 

 

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.  1 Corinthians 2:9-10

 

We were created with powerful imaginations. Some see a barren field and imagine a bountiful garden or a vast building project. Some see a blank canvas and imagine a beautiful painting. Some hear tones and rhythm and imagine a musical masterpiece. God will allow us even to imagine He doesn’t exist if we insist on such a notion. But what mind can imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him? The answer: no wisdom of man can unveil the mysteries of God. However, God’s Spirit reveals these things.

 

God’s Spirit searches even our hidden thoughts. Helpful therapies can scratch below the surface of our understanding of things. But whatever dark mental fortresses these therapies cannot penetrate, the Spirit of God is able to enter in and shine a revealing light. Beyond our thoughts God’s Spirit perceives the fiery desires that furnace our ambitions and motives, even when they are hidden from our own heart. And what the Spirit reveals, He can heal.

 

The gifts of God are revealed by this same Spirit, if He lives in us. While our eyes and ears can only perceive our physical world, the Spirit can reveal our spiritual reality.

 

Without the Spirit of God, such things are regardless as foolish and worthless. They cannot be understood. The Bible is the best seller of all time, yet it is not understood by mere human minds. To them it is foolishness. (V 14) Only the Spirit of God can reveal its meaning and application. We can call ourselves Christians, but if we don’t have or obey the Spirit of God, these things will remain hidden. They are discerned and related only by God’s Spirit. Philosophy, literature, education, the lessons of the humanities, the arts and sciences – all these speak of knowledge. But God’s wisdom is spoken by the Spirit to those who have the Spirit. That is, God speaks to those who have the mind of Christ. (V 16)

 

The mind of Christ is not molded after the ways of the world, nor does it pursue them. They are foolishness. And we cannot have the mind of Christ without being transformed by God’s power through the renewal of our minds by His Spirit. This daily cleansing is our path to understanding God’s good and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

 

We begin to imagine the mysteries of God and His will for our life when we ask Him to help us see ourselves and the world around us through the eyes of Jesus.

 

 

My soul, wait in silence for God only

Leave a reply

 

 

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. Psalm 62:5

 

We are created with spirit, soul, and body and these three entities are constantly communicating with or ignoring the other.

 

Our spirit is created to align with God’s spirit in us. When we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior He gives us a new and pure spirit. Think of your noisy and often rebellious soul (our mind, will, emotions, and memory) as how we relate to others and our circumstances. The soul isn’t changed right away. It requires (often years of) training to listen to and obey the spirit. Our body, the temple of God, is commanded by our soul. It is the order of things as they were created.

 

With this framework, we understand Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7 where he says that he does the things he doesn’t want to do and doesn’t do the things he does want to do. Our spirit, our soul and our body battle with one another and nearly every day, one of them loses the battle. The soul becomes ‘prisoner’ to the body or the other way around. Only when God’s spirit breaks into that prison, do we find real freedom to live in peace.

 

Our soul often bemoans the past, whines about the present, and worries over the future. It complains incessantly even about its own struggles to surrender to God, seeking its own way instead.

 

The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us there is a season for all things, including “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7) The victorious life requires us to tell our noisy soul to be quiet and wait in silence only for God, for HE is our hope.

 

Is our soul ever controlled? I think we are better to think in terms of surrendering every part of our soul to God: our will, our thoughts, our emotions, our attitudes, our very heart. When we surrender all the soul to the spirit of God our soul is quieted and silenced before Him and then we can hear Him speak peace and joy and hope to us. It is then that all is well with our soul.

 

Too often I forget to keep attending to the spiritual nature of the battle around and within me. I wonder how many of our bodily woes are actually battle wounds from these struggles? This process of sanctification is a life-long series of struggles, bearing numerous scars. But the battle decreases when we live according to the proper role of submission: the Holy Spirit commands our spirit. Our spirit commands our soul. Our soul commands our body, bringing us into proper alignment with God’s good and perfect will.

 

Is it well with your soul today? Shut out the noise of the world and also the noise of your inner being. Be still. In silence let God speak hope, joy, and peace to your soul.

 

 

Love is all

Leave a reply

 

Love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul and with all your strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself.              – Mark 12:30-31

Let us love one another for love comes from God. – 1 John 4:7

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

 

Jesus makes sure we make no mistake. Our love for God is to be marked by ALL our heart, ALL our mind, ALL our soul, and ALL our strength. Basically, we are to love with everything that is in us. He doesn’t allow room for ‘SOME’ of anything. Loving God and loving others is our job description. Everything else is what HR people call “nonessential duties”…leftovers.

 

But what if ‘all’ God gets is our leftovers? Leftover after we give service to our other ‘gods.’ Anything that separates us from the one true God becomes a ‘god’ to us. Probably you know those who gave up on God because they lost a loved one, their health took a turn for the worst, they were betrayed by someone close to them, they felt unprotected. Maybe you experienced this at one time too. When this happens God is ignored and set aside, like last night’s leftovers, and lesser ‘gods’ are pursued.

 

Think you are immune to such idolatry? If you could not do without something, that may have become your ‘god.’ Be it sports, the pursuit of beauty and ultimate fitness above all things, that perfect latte, a certain way of negative thinking, or any other compulsive or perfectionist venture. When we obey these things they define and control our life and become as ‘gods.’ We can’t give ALL to the one and only true God, because all that remains is leftovers.

 

The question is: What do I HAVE to have in order to be satisfied with God? Whatever that is, my health, my family, my abilities, more years of life, more money, a pain-free life…that is the name of our other ‘god.’ The point of Job’s story is that God is enough. Like ending Psalm 23 with the first sentence, the Lord is my shepherd; that is enough.

 

God created us with a soul designed to love Him and be loved by Him. Love comes from God because God IS love. God demonstrated His love in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us. It is His love that shines in us. That light shines into the despair of our dark griefs and empty pursuits. It reveals hope that brings transcending joy and peace. It illuminates our path and causes fear to flee. It frees us from the captivity of all our false gods.

 

When the love of Jesus shines in and through you, you find freedom to love without expectation. Jesus says, we shine our light so others may see the real Jesus and praise God. Loving God with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength extends His endless love to others. Let’s give Him our ALL, not just leftovers.

 

 

Know that the Lord is God

Leave a reply

 

 

 

 

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us and not we ourselves.

Psalm 100:3

 

 

My ancestors came to America in 1639. For dozens of generations they made their living making shoes and boots. My great great great-grandfather Ezra was the first man to manufacture leather shoe strings here. In those days you made your boots and you pulled yourself by your own bootstraps, literally as well as figuratively.

 

Here in the western world we take pride in being ‘self-made’ people. Independence and self-sustainability are closely held values. Especially in the last 60 years, we have come to view ourselves more and more as the answer to our own problems. “The answer is within you,” we are told. The self-help section of the bookstore is replete with volumes on how we can fix whatever ails us.

 

It’s true that God has endowed us with miraculous brains capable of far more than we imagine. He was bestowed upon us the gift of willpower to choose a new direction and carve a new path for ourselves and our families. We are not slaves to our heritage. Chains of bondage and abuse can be broken in a single generation that has the will to break them.

 

But given all that ability, do we really have this all-powerful ‘genie’ within us? Well, yes and no.  Yes, we have many abilities. But no, we never have discovered the way to the end of our sorrows in our own power.

 

But ordinary people loved by an extraordinary God find power greater than themselves. History is filled with persons who were unlikely candidates for success. The bible especially emphasizes this. True to His Word, God doesn’t just call those equipped to be successful; He God equips those He calls. He wants us to be victors over trials, overcomers, freed from the bonds that otherwise would enslave us.

 

But we are like sheep with a strong tendency to stray from the fold, each of us to their own way. We easily get lost and put ourselves into dangerous fields by our own wrong thinking and self-seeking behaviors.

 

I know two things:

1. There is a God.

2. I’m not him.

 

We start to discover the equipping power that God wants to give us by acknowledging that it is God who made us, not we ourselves. When we acknowledge that we are His sheep and belong in His pasture, we don’t rely on our own distraught ways.  All throughout scripture we are reminded, “Remember I am the Lord your God.” (It is He who has made us and not we ourselves.)  When we remember our true identity, a child of God, one of his beloved sheep, we’ll be glad to stay under His protective watch.

 

In all your daily activities, your plans, your fears, and your ambitions, know that the Lord is God. It is He that made us and not we ourselves.

 

I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made

Leave a reply

 

 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

 

 

If you’ve been trying to ‘walk the talk’ you know how easy it is to become discouraged. We quickly beat ourselves up over the little progress we make toward our goals, and the mistakes we make along the way. We might be tempted to give up and say, “It’s no use. I’ll never become better.” Like Paul, we keep doing the things we shouldn’t and don’t do the things we should. Welcome to living in your own power.

 

But behind this pessimistic view of ourselves is a backdrop of how we are actually wonderfully made. Our bodies are marvels of creation. I mean, which of you tell your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, or your kidneys to clean your blood? Even though you may think you cannot learn, your brain is constantly absorbing and processing new information, teaching you how to adapt to your environment. (Have you ever lived next to a railway or fire station and soon discover that you have tuned out the loud sounds?) Who taught you to handle both heavy and delicate objects with the same hand? Who taught your digestive track to handle all the junk food you put into it and keep your body functioning? Despite what YOU see in the mirror, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

 

Beyond a wonderfully created body, you’ve been given a spirit that knows what it wants and yearns to achieve it. Even though our will chooses sometimes to believe lies, we have inside of us this still small voice that speaks truth. We have a natural yearning to be close to God, even though we try to feed that need with oh so many other things.  You have the ability to learn from mistakes, to choose goodness, to forgive, to perceive and enjoy true beauty. There is no law or military force that can take away from you your decision to be at peace, to pray, to be content, to trust in God, or to praise Him. You are fearfully and wonderfully made!

 

Psalm 100:3 reminds us that it is God who made us so wonderful. No matter what the self-books say, we are not self-made. So it naturally follows that we should:

 

In all your ways acknowledge the Lord and the Lord will direct your path. Proverbs 3-6

 

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

Look in a different mirror today and see the person made by the Creator of the Universe who knows the stars by name and holds the oceans in His hand. It is this same awesome God who wonderfully made you and chooses to love you, even when you mess up. You’re not perfect. But you are wonderfully made by a loving God. Tell Him “I will praise you.”

 

 

Have Faith

Leave a reply

 

 

Have faith in God.  Mark 11:22

 

He alone is my rock and my salvation. Psalm 62:2

 

Faith. It’s what you trust, believe in, put your full confidence in, and your hope. But it’s not enough to say to someone, “Have faith,” as if it were a ‘good luck’ wish.  Faith can be misplaced in a lot of things. We could have faith in cramming for a test, but it is an unlikely strategy for success. We can put our faith in healthy living but it alone does not prevent cancer.  We can put our faith in fetishes, statues, and icons, but with what tongues would they speak to us? We can put faith in karma, that what goes around also comes around. That reminds me of the man and wife and went to heaven. Standing before the Pearly Gates she says to him, “George, whatever you do, don’t insist on getting everything you deserve!”

 

But wait. Jesus said that if we had even a tiny amount of faith we could move mountains. Because of the centurion’s faith a child was healed. By faith a blind man’s sight was restored. By faith we are saved, not by works. There is a difference between putting our faith in people, things, or empty ‘religions’ and putting our faith in God. Jesus said, “Have faith in God.”

 

Doesn’t having faith in God mean you get what you want, like that verse that says He will give you the desires of your heart? Can’t we just gather 2 or 3 people together, add “in the name of Jesus” at the end of our prayer with confidence we will get exactly what we asked for?  Not quite. Even a child learns that saying ‘please and thank you’ are not always the ‘magic’ words.

 

Having faith in God means having confidence in who He is, that He will always be true to His character. It means trusting Him completely. (It’s not saying, “God I trust you, but in case things don’t work out the way I like, I’m keeping my back-up plan.”) It means agreeing with the psalmist who wrote, “(God) alone is my rock and my salvation.” In the movie The Mummy, the weasel-like character Beni tries to placate the resurrected Egyptian Imhotep with all kinds of talismans, hoping one might work. It’s like the actress who described her faith as, “A bit from Christianity, a little from Buddhism, and some New Age thinking,” as if faith works like a buffet line at the local restaurant.   We scoff at such foolishness but I wonder, don’t we often put the ‘gods’ of wealth, work, family, and our natural abilities to succeed above the One and only true God?

 

By faith in God we understand, persevere, overcome, and rejoice. By faith all things are possible, not easy, but possible. Have faith in God. Even a small faith, when nurtured grows to maturity.

 

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23

 

 

God is love

Leave a reply

 

God is love. 1 John 4:8

 

Love is not God’s only attribute. He is also holy, just, righteous, all-powerful, wise, and everlasting. But one attribute of God that speaks clearly to us over the ages of time is that our unchanging and timeless God is love.

 

Love is not just what God does; love is who God IS.

 

The best known verse in the bible begins, “For God so loved the world, He gave…” Love is inherently forgiving and for giving. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13) This is the picture of how God loves you and me.

 

Is God love in the middle of your deepest sorrows? Our darkest moments certainly test our faith. What comes out when life squeezes us reveals what is truly inside us. There is no room for pious religion when you are squeezed. In those moments God wants us to be real about our brokenness, our sorrow, and our disappointment. He also wants us to know this truth: None of this has any authority or power over His presence in us. Though my struggles again and again toss me to the ground like a ragamuffin doll, though I feel crushed under their weight, they are no match for Jesus in me who loves me, no matter how I feel.

 

How big is your God? How we view God does not change who He is, but it does change how we perceive our circumstances. Look at the heroes of God, how they are honest about their struggles with life and with God.

 

Rich Mullins was a short-lived Christian musician who gave us such inspiring songs like, “Sing Your Praise to The Lord,” “(Our God Is An)Awesome God,” and “Hold Me Jesus.” Yet he struggled greatly. I like how one writer described him: “A lover of God and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles and his own darkness tear him away from a God he was determined to love.” (Or from a God determined to love him!) “Rich desired most of all to live a life of honest and reckless faith.”

 

The truth is God loves you, regardless of how you feel or what circumstances beset you. I hope when the darkness surrounds you that you will be able to sing, “Hold me Jesus – be my prince of peace.” Experience the light of His love as you say to God, “And still I will love you.”

 

“I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God.”
– Rich Mullins

 

 

Facing Fear

Leave a reply

 

 

Fear not, for I am with you. Isaiah 41:0 (ESV)

 

Everyone is afraid of something.

 

As a child I was afraid of the dark, convinced there was a monster under my bed and another in my closet. I was afraid of heights then…and even a bit now. I know it is irrational, but the feeling of fear sometimes overtakes my rational thinking processes and I have to fight it to get over it. You too?

 

What are you afraid of? They say the most common fears include public speaking, rejection, failure, pain and death. The list of our fears is probably a very long one if we are honest with ourselves.  You probably know some of your own fears. God knows all your fears, including the ones you haven’t admitted yet. He knows that fear is a creepy crawly thing that invades your daily life, sometimes paralyzing you in its hypnotic trance. He speaks a lot about this in His Word, and gives us reason to face our fears with confidence. Read these truths slowly out loud. Maybe you’ll want to write some of them down and repeat them later. Memorizing God’s Word is a mighty weapon against fear.

 

  • Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
  • For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13)
  • Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
  • For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
  • The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
  • So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can Man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
  • Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)
  • Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:0 (ESV)

 

We can face our fears with the confidence that He who is beside us and in us is greater than all our fears! Fix your eyes on Jesus, the perfecter of your faith. Abide in the Spirit He has given you, the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind.

 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7