The Nature of True Joy

If you have no joy, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere.  Billy Sunday

When the heart is full of joy, it always allows its joy to escape. It is like the fountain in the marketplace; whenever it is full it runs away in streams, and as soon as it ceases to overflow, you may be quite sure that it has ceased to be full. The only full heart is the overflowing heart.  Charles Spurgeon

Have you ever met someone who knew the true nature of joy?  If you have then you have been blessed, because those who know true joy are not easy to find. When you find someone who has joy in the Lord you will know it, as they will be hard to miss.

What is it about a person who has joy in the Lord that makes them different?  The following are what I think makes this type of person different:

Love unconditionally.  When you meet a person filled with God’s joy, they don’t base their interaction with you on how well they know you.  They simply love others and for them it is not just loving some others, or a few others or a couple of others.  They love all others.

Not hindered by their own heartache.  This person doesn’t understand what it means to not have joy.  No matter what the circumstances they find joy in them. Have you ever met that person you know has been through great trials in their life, but yet they still seem to always be joyful?

They are giving.  This person will do anything for you. They will give you their last dime and anything else they have or own.  They don’t place great value on things; they place more value on people.  

This person is gentle. They see and know what your sin is but they don’t ridicule or judge you for it.  They don’t decide that they are better than you or put you down because you failed.

In Acts 20:23-24 it tells us to finish our race with joy. Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

We are instructed to rejoice in the Lord and our soul will be joyful in Him.  We are to walk in the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit.  Our joy should come from God.  If you are searching for joy, you can find it in Him.  Other things of this life will not matter when we understand the true nature of joy.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to walk through life filled with joy.  I want heavenly joy, not what the world thinks joy is.  I can find my joy in You if I pursue You with all my heart.  The trials and tribulations of this world will eventually fade away and what will remain is my life with You. Help me to be joyful in You.  

     

Scripture: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.  Isaiah 61:10-11

Saying I’m Sorry

A stiff apology is a second insult. The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.  G.K. Chesterton

You're not quite "Army" yet, miss... or you'd know never to apologize... it's a sign of weakness.  John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Do you have a hard time saying you’re sorry to someone you have hurt?  I think this is probably one of the hardest things in life to do and many times it is the last thing some of us will ever do.

Too many times I think we are like the 1949 movie with John Wayne where he was a Captain in the Army and the female character had apologized.  I think there are times just as in this movie, when we think it is a weakness of character to say we’re sorry to someone.  How many hearts have been broken and wounds never healed because of what John Wayne in the movie called a weakness? 

If we learn that saying you are sorry is a weakness, then we will never say it.  One of the things that saying you’re sorry does is that it humbles us.  It takes us down to the level of the other person’s pain.  If we are to show others that we are sorry for something we did and be truly repentant, then we will need to feel their pain too. It means we have to go through the uncomfortable process of humbling ourselves to another person.

 

I found it interesting that in this same movie with John Wayne a young soldier in the Army asked the Captain, “Were you ever scared, “Captain” Tyree? and John Wayne responded with “Yes, sir.  Up to and includin’ now.”

 

I believe that if we aren’t scared to offer an apology to another human being, then our heart is probably not in the right place to offer it with sincerity and true remorse.  If you think about it, when we are scared of the outcome because of something we have done to hurt another person, it means that the other person matters to us and that is the most important time to say we are sorry.

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am sorry.  Sorry for the times I have hurt You with my disobedience.  Sorry for the times I forgot about You and ignored You.  I am sorry for the times I thought I knew what was best for me when only You can know that.  I am sorry for the times I didn’t stand up for You with others and didn’t share my faith and the promise of eternal life with You to lost souls.  I have a lot to be sorry for Father, but I want to be different.  Humbling myself and saying I am sorry shows strength of character not weakness.  Thank You for humbling me.

Scripture: This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?  Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.  Isaiah 66:1-2

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:29-32

Wrestling with God

God is at work in all the circumstances of your life to bring out the good for you. His work is not dependent upon your faith. But the comfort and joy that statement is intended to give you is dependent upon your believing it, upon your trusting in Him who is at work, even though you cannot see the outcome of that work.  Jerry Bridges

How many of us depend on ourselves for everything? Is there a time in your life that you come to the end of yourself and realize that God is all there is?  How many of us only turn to God when we have done everything we can think of to fix the issues in our life?

To many times I think we use God as a last resort.  When everything we do fails, then we turn to Him for guidance.  If we are going to be a force to be reckoned with for God when we step into the ring, we better have God first and foremost in our life.  God wants us to come to the end of ourselves so that we see only Him. We can’t do that if we are trying to solve everything without Him. 

It is interesting that in the story of Jacob wrestling with the Man, that the Man is the one who instigated the wrestling match, not Jacob. God wrestled with Jacob to bring him to a point of physical and spiritual submission.  God went to extremes to get Jacob’s attention.  This is a lesson that can teach us an important thing about God.  If we learn that in our weakness lies our strength, we will understand God’s amazing power.  The only way we will ever get God’s power and strength is to submit wholeheartedly to Him.

I think it would be better to submit first than to wrestle with God in a fight I can’t win.  If there is something you are struggling with, turn it over to God, pray to Him and wait for His response.  He knows what is best for you and it is all meant for our good.  Nothing God does is by chance.  Whatever struggle you have in your life trust God to take care of it and obey Him even if it doesn’t make sense to you.  It makes sense to God and that is all that matters.

 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are times in my life when I wrestle with you over struggles in my life.  All I have to do is go back to the story of Jacob in Genesis 32 to see that if Jacob didn’t win in a battle with You, why do I think I will.  Humble me so that I may see You as a loving God who knows and wants what is best for me.  

      

Scripture: Wrestling with God

And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶ And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Genesis 32:22-30

What Does Your Brand Say About You?

To me, one of the most disturbing features of present-day evangelism is the over-emphasis on what man can do, and I believe this to be the reason why we so often fail to get men and women to make the contact with Christ that is vital.  Duncan Campbell

How easy it is to live more or less in the enjoyment of God's free grace, and yet not realize that we are called to fulfill a divinely appointed purpose.  Duncan Campbell

I was driving down the freeway this morning in the dark and about a mile up ahead I could see a truck.  I couldn’t tell what color the truck was, although I could tell it was a dark color.  On the back panel of this delivery truck was a big bright yellow oval.  I knew immediately what kind of truck it was.  It was an Eckrich sausage truck.  I couldn’t read the name until I got closer, but I could identify what it was just by the shape and color of the yellow oval on the back of the truck.

 

I read a lot of stuff and I found an article called “5 Marks of an Effective Brand” by Orhan McMillan & Rebecca Robert.  My first thought was that we all brand ourselves in the public eye.  Just like a cattle rancher brands his cattle so that people will know they belong to him, so also we are branded when we become a Christian.  God places his brand on us, “Child of God”.  Although, this article was intended as a way to market a product, the same can be applied to us as Christians.  How we brand ourselves to the world can mean the difference in someone going to heaven or not.  Listed below are the “5 Marks of an Effective Brand” and how they apply to our Christian life.

1. Distributes your message clearly.  This one is tough.  Do I show the world God’s message clearly or do I only show the world what I want them to see.  Can other people clearly tell that I am a “Child of God” by my actions?  I think too many times I want to blend in with my surroundings.  If I claim the brand that God has given me, then people may ridicule me or make fun of me.
2. Endorses your credibility. So if we are about the business of saving souls for God, does our brand clearly convey credibility, leading people to trust God.
3. Sparks a connection.  Do we build relationships with people or do we judge them?  If we are about the business of judging someone else then we are not going to make a God connection.  If we project to the world that we are better than them because we are a Christian and they aren’t, then our God message is lost.
4. Motivates the buyer.  In our interactions with other people, do we make others want what we have with our heavenly Father?  Our purpose in this life is to show those who do not know God, that there is an amazing life in eternity with Him.  Does the way we live our life make someone else want it so badly that they can’t help but want what we have?
5. Creates brand loyalty.  The way we live our life can either push people away from God or toward Him. If I am loyal to my Heavenly Father it will attract others.  Do I show other people that I am loyal to Jesus Christ or just the opposite?

An effective brand is the most important marketing decision a company will ever make. Just ask Coca Cola, McDonalds and Starbucks.  An effective brand is also described as a positive combination of logo, words, design, colors, personality, service and price.  Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for us to be branded with His logo.  Service for the Lord should be our first priority so that others will recognize Him in us. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I don’t always make a good impression on others with my brand of Christian.  I fail over and over again and when others see that, they don’t trust my brand.  If I am called a “Child of God”, everything I do and say should reflect it.  Help me when I fail, to get back up and keep pursuing You with everything in me. I want my life to be a reflection of You so that others can be branded a “Child of God.”

Scripture: But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”  Galatians 2:14-21

 

The Rabbit

There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in spite of everything.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones

For two days in a row I parked next to a rabbit.  After the second day I was curious because this rabbit didn’t act like your usual rabbit.  He didn’t run, he just sat and stared. As I walked away from my car I was no more than 10ft away from him and he never moved.  I spoke to him and he didn't even flinch.  I was beginning to think he was stuffed or dead. 

I decided to Google rabbits to see what I don’t know about them. Here is what I found.  Rabbits are prey animals so they are constantly aware of their surroundings.  If confronted by a potential threat, they will freeze and then thump the ground to warn other rabbits of the danger.  They have a wide field of vision and most of the time they use overhead scanning to watch for danger.  Here is another thing I didn’t know.  Since rabbits are prey animals they will often sleep with their eyes open so that sudden movements will wake them and make them aware of danger.  Since it was 6:00am, I guess my rabbit was sleeping with his eyes open because he never moved.

I started thinking about how this could be applied to my life and God.  God created this creature so there is a lot I can learn from the rabbit.  Several years ago at church our pastor and associate pastor did a sermon so our senior pastor dressed up as a tortoise and our associate pastor dressed as a hare.  They filmed them in a neighborhood where the hare was running in his hare costume down the street ears flopping as he passed our senior pastor in the tortoise costume plodding along. The hare eventually got tired and sat down and took a nap.  The tortoise passed the hare and won the race.  The sermon was about speed and endurance.  If we are to run the race of life to eternity, we will need endurance.  Just because we have speed doesn’t mean we will win the race.  The tortoise won the race because he had endurance.

Ecclesiastes 9:11
I have seen something else under the sun: the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Many of us have had experiences that confirm the truth of this verse. All our carefully laid plans have fallen apart; all our dreams that we had what it took to succeed in some particular area of life crumbled, and we could not understand why. We had to learn, as this text says, the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong.  

Ecclesiastes 9:12

Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.

It is not always the strong, the mighty, the able, and the gifted that win. The battle is not always to the strong, and this principle rings true even for the awards and prizes of the world. The Nobel Prize was given to a little woman in India, Mother Teresa, who ministered fully to the needs of the poor around her.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I watched this rabbit I thought of how defenseless he is compared to other animals.  We are just as defenseless without You. I want to run the race with endurance with my focus on You.  You give me strength to overcome the obstacles of life.  There will be battles in this life and I will cling to You.

  

Scripture:  Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

“For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:35-38

An Example

The cross is the greatest example of humility and devotion in the universe. Jesus put your needs ahead of His own. He considered you more valuable than Himself.  Chip Ingram

He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.  Francis Bacon

Have you ever asked yourself what kind of example you show the world?  Many of us, including me, often play charades.  We pretend to be something we aren’t.  We become great actors and imitators.  If we think about it from Satan’s standpoint, he can’t wait for us to play charades.  It happens to all of us and he is cheering us on from the sidelines.  How many of us show the world a totally different picture from the one our family sees?  If our life isn’t an open book where anyone could read it and you wouldn’t be ashamed of what is in it, then we aren’t a good example for God.    

How do we become that person who gives good advice and lives it? The following are a few things to consider:

Give up on self.  Get rid of me in the equation because it isn’t all about me.  It’s about Him. It’s about being what God created us to be. 

Humble yourself.  One of the hardest things for me to learn was to be vulnerable and humble myself to others.  When you do this you can be rejected and who wants that?  When I finally learned to let others see the bad sides of me, I was free.  Finally free from the worry of wondering when someone would find out the mistakes I made.  It also taught me how to lean on God.  The first thing we should ever learn is that God is the One constant in our life.  He loves us, gave His Son for us and will not betray us.  It is freeing to know that God is always there; not just sometimes or when He feels like it. 

Speak God’s truth.  This one is tricky because we often have our own version of the truth don’t we.  Our version of the truth often isn’t the truth at all.  It is so easy to slip away from God’s truth and guess who is standing on the sidelines cheering us on.    

Study His Word.  Did you know that the weekend edition of the New York Times has as many words in it as the New Testament and there are a lot of people who will read that every weekend but have never read the New Testament? I am guilty of spending more time reading a magazine than I do my Bible.  It we are to learn God’s truth, we need to read it, study it, meditate on it and fill our very soul with it.

If we want to be a good example for Christ our lives will need to change and that is going to take work.  It is also a given that some people in your life are not going to like this change in you.  In some cases you will lose friends, family members and even jobs to follow Him.  It is going to mean letting go of pride, humbling ourselves to others, speaking God’s truth and living it.  When you are setting a good example you will be rewarded.  What example will you show the world? 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I confess that I am not always a good example in showing others You.  I fail over and over again.  I need Your help to overcome the many obstacles in my life that hinder my relationship with You.  I pray for the strength to put You first, humble myself, study Your Word and speak Your Truth.  I can do all things through You because You alone give me strength.   

Scripture: The Race of Faith

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:12

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:12-16

Who Influenced You?

If you're alive, there's a purpose for your life.  Rick Warren

Have you ever asked yourself that question?  Each of us has someone or multiple someone’s who have influenced what we do every day.  Is there someone in your life who made a lasting impression on you that made you want to devote your time to God’s purpose? 

In my life the people who influenced me the most as a child were my Mom and Dad and my grandparents.  They pointed me in God’s direction.  I didn’t learn until much later in life what my purpose on this earth is, but I had influencers along the way.  Cancer was a great influencer.  That one circumstance forever changed me.  It was one of the greatest blessings of my life.
 
The pastor of my church, Pastor Steve Stroope, has influenced who I am today.  Pastor Rick Warren is another.  Both of these pastors tell it like it is.  They don’t sugar coat life or beat around the bush when it comes to truth telling. 

I read the story from Rick Warren this morning entitled “Why I Do What I Do”.  He talks about the person who had the greatest influence on his life.  If you are interested you can read it by going to the following link. I pray that one day I will be like Rick Warren’s dad, whose sole purpose in life up until he died of cancer was to “Save one more for Jesus”. 

I don’t know about you, but I have a long way to go, but it is the influencers in my life who pointed me in the right direction and encouraged me along the way to be a better person for God’s purpose.  I thank God for bringing them into my life.

https://www.facebook.com/pastorrickwarren?ref=hl

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, you placed people in my path who have greatly influenced my life.  They have taught me about Your love for me and how to be a better person. I pray for Your strength to step out in faith to save one more for Jesus.  

      

Scripture:  Remember Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”  Luke 9:23-27

The Authentic Christian

Many people think that the mark of an authentic Christian is doctrinal purity; if a person's beliefs are biblical and doctrinally orthodox, then he is a Christian. People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life.  Ray Stedman

I was thinking this morning about what it means to be an authentic Christian.  If we want to be an authentic Christian we must first start with trust in God.  I am guilty of not trusting God enough.  I read a story about a man who pushed a wheelbarrow across a tight wire stretched over Niagara Falls.  People watching this great feat could say they trusted he could do it, but it would be a whole different matter for those watching to volunteer to crawl into the wheelbarrow.  To many times we are not willing to crawl into the wheelbarrow. 

One of my favorite verses describes how we are to trust God.  In Proverbs 3:5-6, Solomon said to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths.” 

The second part of this is that we need to be trustworthy.  If I want to be an authentic Christian I must be trustworthy to others, or in other words, trustworthy to God’s people.

If I want to be an authentic Christian I must be transparent.  How many times have you been deceived by someone who claimed to be a Christian?  When we are evasive or deceptive, we are no longer an authentic Christian.  Then there are those who live in denial; they have issues in their lives and relationships but won’t acknowledge their part in it, so they live in denial and blame others for their issues. 

To be transparent means that we are willing to admit our faults, confess our sins, and admit to others and God when we are wrong.  Transparency means we are willing to humble ourselves to others and in doing so; we show them how to be an authentic Christian.

 

How many of us hide from God?  If I am an authentic Christian, the first thing I will realize is that God knows all my faults, sins and the wrongs I have committed.  When I think I can hide all the bad stuff from God, I am not an authentic Christian.  If we confess our sins we will find forgiveness for them. 

Being an authentic Christian means we can have joy in life again.  When we are authentic we let go of the pride that causes us to stumble over and over again.  God will bless our lives when we become authentic Christians.  

  

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have failed over and over again at being an authentic Christian.  You show me over and over again that I can trust You. If I understand Your ways and follow them, I can become an authentic Christian.  Keep my mind focused on the qualities that reflect what it means to be an authentic Christian.  I praise You for your love and guidance. 

Scripture: This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.  1 John 1:5-10

Soul Vacation

Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God's majesty.  A.W. Pink

Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace... If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you know what His will is.  Amy Carmichael

We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.  Charles Stanley

Do you ever take soul vacations?  How many times do you stop in the midst of your busy life and take a rest from the worries, trials and just plain busyness of life? 

We are all busy.  Sometimes we take on so much stuff that we forget about God and the peace and rest we can find in His presence.  If we ever took the time to slow down long enough to realize how many things we do in life that have no bearing on eternity, would we stop and take a soul vacation?

  

Here is my definition of a soul vacation.  To take time off from our overly busy life to dwell with God.   To listen for His voice and to meditate on His Word.  To talk to Him when we are anxious, afraid or just plain tired.  Quiet time spent with the One who created us.

We all need soul vacations.  God stopped to rest on the seventh day and when Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights God sent angels to minister to Him.  Can you imagine being human like we are and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and having the devil tempting you at every turn?  The devil offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world and asked him to turn stone into bread so that Jesus could eat.  I am afraid I would have caved to the devils demands.

If I want to stand strong for God it is necessary for me to take soul vacations.  I will not be able to fight Satan off if I don’t rest in the arms of my Heavenly Father.  Schedule time each week to take a soul vacation.  It doesn’t matter whether it is 10 minutes, 2 days or 1 minute each day.  Make time for a soul vacation and God will be there. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to make soul vacations a part of my life every day.  You promise to give me rest when I seek You and I want that more than anything the world offers.  I pray for your presence and strength in the midst of my soul vacation, so that I may remain strong against Satan and the temptations of this world. 

Scripture: Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.  Genesis 2:1-3

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, 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 23:2-4

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:27-29

The Witness

God desires for you to be involved in drawing people to His Word through a dedicated life to Him and an active witness for Him.  Paul Chappell

What does it mean to witness to others?  Have you had struggles in your life?  If you have ever lost a job, had an illness, lost a loved one, had an addiction, been hurt by someone else then you qualify as a witness.  Too many times I think we start thinking that to be a witness we must have a theological background, be able to quote scripture or we must be able to explain why Jesus died on the cross. 

If in your lifetime you have struggled with anything you are meant to be a witness to fulfill God’s purpose in your life.  Being a witness doesn’t mean we brag about how we survived the struggle.  The only reason any of us survive a hardship is because of God.  It is not our abilities, a surgeon’s hands or medical miracles.  It is by God’s hand that we survive the struggles of life.

When we face the struggles of life we can choose to do several things.  We can blame God, the environment, other people and even those around us who try to help.  We also have another option.  We can praise God.  In James 1:2-4 he tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials, because knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  He tells us to let patience have its perfect work, so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

One of the biggest struggles I have is patience when it comes to God.  We live in an impatient society where patience is not considered a virtue.  God has perfect timing. Did you catch the last part of the verse?  If we let patience have its perfect work the result is so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

If you are struggling with something in your life, turn it over to God.  God can make each of us a perfect witness for His kingdom.  Take your struggle and use it to help others to know God.  You don’t have to be a missionary in another country to witness to others.  There are people in your daily life that need a witness.  It’s not your job to convince people to accept Christ. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job.  If we forget the Holy Spirit’s job, we will not be effective.  Witness and let God take it from there.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be a witness for Your Kingdom.  Too many times I want to be in control and direct the outcome.  That is not my job on earth.  When hardships and trials come my way, I can take them and turn them into blessings.  Remind me to witness for the purpose of showing others You, and then let the Holy Spirit handle the rest.

 

Scripture: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8

Turn Your Hurt Into Hope

The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.  Charles Spurgeon

When life has been well spent; when there is a conscience without reproach; when there is faith in the Saviour; when there is a well-founded hope of heaven, there can be nothing that should disquiet us.  Albert Barnes

Last weekend we were at a show in Houston and a young woman came into our booth.  She walked into our booth and asked several questions.  If you believe that God sent the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say in circumstances, this was one of those instances.

 

As we were talking, the subject of cancer came up.  She looked to be in her late twenties and she was a breast cancer survivor.  As soon as she told me that, I told her “Oh you get a free candle.”  My sister was standing next to me so she immediately went to get a candle and bag it for this young woman.  I explained to her that I was a cancer survivor too and that we always give cancer survivors a free candle.  She immediately started crying.  I reached across the table and hugged her and told her it was ok. 

I am not squeamish when it comes to crying.  I think it is easier for women because we are so emotional, but maybe it is also because I have had a lot of practice.  One thing I have figured out is that every single one of us is or has been hurt.  The problem is most of us don’t identify that in another person.  It is easier to judge someone than it is to look for the hurt and offer hope.

 

If every person on earth has been hurt at one time or another in their lifetime, we each can offer hope to another person.  Hurt starts with pain and if put in the right perspective, it can bring about hope.  To offer hope to another person we have to make ourselves vulnerable.  We don’t like being vulnerable.  It is against our worldly nature to make ourselves less than another person because we are taught from childhood to be proud and not admit to failure or weakness.  So what do we do?  We pretend.  We pretend that we don’t hurt and we cover it up and we don’t talk about it because others might think we are weak. 

There is Hope in Christ Jesus and each one of us has the ability and opportunity to offer that hope to another person.  Take your hurts and turn them into hope.  You will give another person a glimpse of hope for a better life away from this world.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, as I watched this young woman cry it brought You to mind.  You give me many opportunities daily to show others hope through experiences in my life.  Help me to be humble with others and not be afraid to step out in faith.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I am not afraid to be vulnerable to someone else.  The ultimate goal is to show someone else You.  Thank you for the difficulties in my life that have taught me what hope means and for turning my hurt into hope.

Scripture: And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:13-17

Compromise

The chief danger of the Church today is that it is trying to get on the same side as the world, instead of turning the world upside down. Our Master expects us to accomplish results, even if they bring opposition and conflict. Anything is better than compromise, apathy, and paralysis. God, give to us an intense cry for the old-time power of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost!  A.B. Simpson

I was talking to my Mom this weekend and she was telling us about a boss she had many years ago.  This particular boss asked my Mom to write up receipts that were not valid. In other words, he wanted her to help him steal from the company by adding receipts that weren’t actual business expenses.  I listened as my Mom talked about how he wanted her to write them up and she refused.  She was later fired from that job by the same boss and he made my Mom’s life miserable prior to her firing.  It struck me how much I admired my Mom for standing up for what was right.  That is an example of integrity.

How many of us would stand up and do the right thing no matter the consequences?  It reminds me of Peter and his denial in knowing Jesus prior to His death on the cross.  If we were placed in that position how would we handle it?  Would we deny Him three times as Peter did?

 

If you think about it, we deny knowing Jesus every day.  Too often we go to church on Sunday and project a Christian image but during the week no one would know we are a Christian or claim to be one. When we walk out into the marketplace and don’t live our life in that atmosphere as a Christian should, then we are denying knowing Jesus.  Everything He did in His life was for us.  How many times do we have conversations with others and don’t speak of Him or talk about Him?

 

I think one day there will come a time when each of us will be pushed into a corner like Peter was and if we are not prepared we will handle it as badly as Peter did.  Do you have a mediocre commitment to Jesus or an all out, no compromise attitude?  When the day comes for each of us to take a stand for God will we be prepared to take it?  Loving God means totally giving ourselves over to Him.  It means surrendering and relinquishing our life to Him.  It means to set aside what we want, placing our trust in Him that He knows what is best for us and will take care of us.  If we haven’t abandoned our lives to Him and allowed Him to steer us in the right direction, then we aren’t where we need to be.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I fail You so many times.  I allow the world to dictate how I will live when I should be looking to You for direction.  I pray for strength to stand up for You when the time comes.  There will be many times in my life where I will need to stand for You and I want to be prepared to do the right thing.  I praise You for Your strength and guidance in these troubled times. Help me not to compromise my faith because the world thinks differently than I do.

Scripture: And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.  1 John 4:16

Falling

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.  C.S. Lewis

When you become consumed by God's call on your life, everything will take on new meaning and significance. You will begin to see every facet of your life - including your pain - as a means through which God can work to bring others to Himself.  Charles Stanley

I had an eventful day yesterday.  My Mom and I went to speak at an event yesterday for Purple Ranch.  When we speak at an event we will sell our products afterwards so once the event is over, we pack up our car and go to lunch. 

We finished our event around noon and started loading our car.  I will tell you that I have told stories of me falling before, (remember the one about me falling face first off my front porch), and this is a new twist on a way to fall.  So I have a small dolly and I am hauling boxes of product to the car and loading them.  I had my hand on the dolly and I turned to walk back inside and the flat piece of the dolly stepped out in front of me.  I kind of thought I would blame it on the dolly and not my ineptitude. So I take a step forward and at the same time I lifted the dolly and tripped.  This was not a graceful glide to the ground.  It was a flat out sprawl. Thankfully no one was around to see it.  I would have scored a 10. 

I would later tell my Mom that I didn’t know I had that many things that stuck out that could hit the ground at the same time.  When I landed I hit my right shoulder and right cheek, my glasses and my earring on the right side flew off, I caught myself with my right hand and scraped it, I scraped the outside of my left knee and the shin of my left leg and this morning I realized somewhere in this graceful fall I also hit my chin.

There is an upside to this story.  I didn’t break my nose or my glasses, my head is hard so that just bounced and I didn’t break any bones.   I didn’t get a black eye and I was able to walk back into the building several times without anyone noticing I had fallen until my Mom saw my shoulder and my knee.  Once the car was loaded Mom had gotten some ice to put on all of my injuries.  We started laughing because I was holding a paper towel with ice in it on my cheek and then alternating to my shoulder and then my shin.  My Mom turned to me and asked me if she could hold ice on something for me.  I just busted out laughing. 

Sometimes life can be exactly like this.  There are the wounds that we hide inside that make us broken.  These are the injuries that no one can see but God.  We don’t have to be bleeding to be injured.  Too many times we bury the pain and keep going.  The problem with that is when we bury the pain we won’t heal and that pain will come back over and over again.  One of the problems with this kind of pain is that when we bury it we tend to repeat this kind of pain over and over again especially in relationships.  If we don’t identify what the cause of the pain is, we will never heal.  God is waiting with open arms for us to turn to him and heal us but we have to take the first step and depend on Him.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, yesterday’s fall brought You to my mind.  Not because You made me fall, I did that very well all on my own.  I thought of You because of what didn’t happen.  I could have broken a limb, nose, wrist, ankle, any one of which was a viable option since I hit so many parts.  You have saved me more times that I can count and I just want to say thank You.  You have helped me heal the broken parts inside of me that some people never see.  Thank You for being there for me in my brokenness. 

     

Scripture:   I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? Psalm 56:12-13

Connections

Have you ever changed a light bulb or called a television repairman only to find out the appliance simply wasn't plugged in? Don't go through life like that! This is no time to be disconnected. Get plugged in and see God's energy bring good things to light in your life.  David Jeremiah

What kind of connections do you have?  Are you more concerned with your connection with God or your connection with others?  Our relationship with God is like a power outlet.  If I don’t connect to my main power source I am not going to have the strength, knowledge or energy to run at optimal level.

If I am not getting connected with God on a daily basis, my power is going to run low.  When my God power is low, Satan has the best opportunity to steal what power I do have and I become ineffective in my Christian life. 

Have you ever had a power surge and had a breaker switch thrown?  It happens with storms or when you plug in an appliance that is too large for the circuit to handle.  It is a safety device built into outlets that trip the breaker off so that it won’t cause a fire. 

This is exactly what happens in our relationship with God.  If we don’t connect often with our Heavenly Father we lose power.  The second thing is if we don’t connect in the right way the connection is broken or our breaker switch is flipped and we get no God power.

If we are going to keep running at optimal level, we need to spend time with God.  Many years ago before I started writing devotionals I am ashamed to admit I didn’t spend much time with God at all. I went to church on Sunday and if I had some problem in my life that I couldn’t handle, I would randomly go to Him for help.  This is a poor example of what my relationship with God should be. 

When I started writing devotionals, it meant I had to study the Bible.  How could I share God with other people if I didn’t know Him very well myself?  How could I share His Word or help another person come to know Him if my own connection was broken.  God has the power to transform our lives but we need to reach out to him and connect.  He is constantly pursuing us and the only way we will connect is to get to know Him.  Don’t let faulty wiring disconnect You from God.  Connect with Him and you will have an unlimited power source.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there have been times in my life when I was disconnected from You.  You are the power source I need to survive life.  Help me to stay plugged in and connected to You.  If I keep my focus and thoughts on You, I will have an unlimited power source that can see me through any difficulty. 

         

Scripture: Praise for God’s Deliverance

Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.  2 Samuel 22:1-4