Fog

In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.  Nicholas Herman

The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it.  D.A. Carson

This week it has been rather humid around the Dallas area so on my drive to work there is a lot of open slightly hilly land where the fog will form and hover just above the ground.  I find fog interesting because you can see it obscure trees, cars, buildings and anything it covers.  The thing is if you were to walk across the field where it hovers even though you can’t see past it you can walk through it. 

The fog made me think of God’s wisdom.  Anyone can have knowledge.  It is not so easy to gain wisdom.  Wisdom is like the fog that hovers over the ground obscuring whatever it surrounds.  When you open the Bible there is treasure beyond our comprehension.  Notice I said “beyond our comprehension” not beyond God’s.  God tells us he will give us wisdom if we search for it. 

The problem with our search for wisdom is that we give up too soon and we don’t take the proper tools for our search.  Here is an analogy to put it in perspective.  If you are mining for gold, what tools would you take with you?  You might take a chisel, hammer and a pan to put the pieces of rock in.  But if instead you decided to take duct tape, a string and a lawn chair, you won’t find much gold.  You’ll be able to fix anything, tie it up and have a place to sit while you do it, but you won’t come away with much treasure.

 

God’s Word is as great as He is.  It is a treasure beyond compare to what we have on earth. The smartest scientist, theologian or person with the highest IQ cannot match what is in God’s Word.  When we realize that nothing we do or create will even come close to what God’s Word can do; we are on the path to finding an amazing treasure.  Knowledge is great, money is green, but the treasure in God’s Word: PRICELESS.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, as I drove by the fog near the freeway, I thought of You. You give me the book that contains amazing treasure.  If I don’t get past the fog that obscures my vision of You, I will never find the hidden treasure in Your Word.  If I search Your Word diligently, You will reveal great things.  Thank You for giving me the opportunity to have wisdom.  What I do with it can change the world. 

Scripture: The Value of Wisdom

My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly; he guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead; none who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life—so you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness. For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.  Proverbs 2:1-22

My Grace Is Sufficient

Growth in grace is growth downward. It is the forming of a lower estimate of ourselves. It is a deepening realization of our nothingness. It is a heartfelt recognition that we are not worthy of the least of God's mercies.  A.W. Pink

Have you ever looked back over your life and realized how many times God’s grace was sufficient?  Most of us if we are honest don’t want to go through hardship and trial because it makes us feel weak and vulnerable.  The reality of the situation is that God wants us to feel exactly those things.  Why?  Because when our heart and body is broken and bruised, that is when God’s power is strongest. 

When I read about Paul in 2 Corinthians I often wonder what his weakness was that caused him to ask God three times to remove it.  It doesn’t explain what the thorn in his side was.  Often I think it means that he had an illness or injury because that is when I was at my weakest.

Then I started thinking.  What if Paul’s weakness wasn’t a physical injury but maybe his weakness was because he couldn’t get away from those who reproached and persecuted him.  God knew what was best for Paul.  How easy it would have been for Paul to brag about the accomplishments that God was doing through him.  God wanted Paul to remain grounded, meek and humble in spirit.  You can’t do that if you are going around telling everyone how great you are and how much you have accomplished if you think it was all your own strength that made it happen.

When we start thinking that everything we do for God is through our own power, we have lost God’s strength and power.  If our estimate of our abilities and strengths takes precedence over God’s strength we have lost the true power of what God can do in our weakness. 

As we learned with the story of David and Goliath, David’s strength wasn’t in a slingshot and a stone.  His strength was in the power of God through a slingshot and a stone.  Whose power will you choose?  

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for my weakness.  It helps me to focus on You.  I would rather be meek and humble in spirit and have Your strength than to be mighty and strong by the world’s standards.  Your grace is sufficient for me.

Scripture: Paul’s Vision and His Thorn

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Fireflies

Men come and go; leaders, teachers, thinkers speak and work for a season, and then fall silent and impotent. He abides. They die, but He lives. They are lights kindled, and, therefore, sooner or later quenched; but He is the true light from which they draw all their brightness, and He shines for evermore. Alexander MacLaren

I worked in my yard yesterday and cleaned our patio so that we could sit outside and enjoy the cool evening.  As we were watching various birds fly around our back yard I thought about my childhood.

When I was young we lived the country and there was always things going on outside.  One of my favorite things was to catch fireflies.  They fascinated me.  You would see them come out at dusk and their lights would blink on and off.  It always amazed me that this tiny beetle could produce light. 

You guessed it.  I looked up how they produce light.  They take in oxygen and a special cell in their body mixes the oxygen with a chemical in their body called luciferin.  This produces the light they give off with almost no heat.   The flashing patterns are unique to each species.  Sometimes they use the light to attract a mate and other times they use it as a defense mechanism to warn off prey.  I am not sure how scientists figured out this part, but fireflies don’t taste good so other prey normally don’t eat them.  Scientists believe that some fireflies never eat.  Maybe that is because they have such a short life span. 

We are called to be a light to a fallen world.  Just as the firefly gives off light, we are to give off continuous light.  We can be just like the firefly too, in that we sometimes give off intermittent light.  When we sin our light goes out.  When we live in truth our light shines. Our life span on this earth is extremely short.  How will you show others God’s light?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are times in my life when my light has been snuffed out.  I didn’t reflect Your light and others suffered for it.  When I live in truth I move into the light and that light is a reflection of You.  I pray that you will make my light burn brightly for You. 

Scripture: For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  John 3:20-21

Instant

The process of biblical change, explained in God's Word, begins when you repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given you everything you need to make the changes in your life that will please Him and will lead to His blessings. As you continue to obey God's Word, biblical change toward maturity will occur in your life until you see Jesus face to face.  John C. Broger

We live in a society and time where we want everything to be instant.  If we have to wait in line for anything we get impatient.  If you live in this day and age most likely on a daily basis there will be times when we want something instantly.

 

We are an impatient people.  This impatience colors everything we do.  So if we practice living in an instant society then we start applying that practice to everything we do.  This includes our spiritual life. 

When we are baptized we start a new life in Christ.  It is like we are on a cross country run without a finish line in sight.  Maturity in Christ is not instant.  Our baptism takes less than a minute but maturing in Christ takes a lifetime.

 

Quite a few years ago my sisters, mom and girlfriends went to climb Enchanted Rock outside of Fredericksburg Texas.  My girlfriend had climbed the rock before so she knew what to expect.  We would climb to a rise and look up and there was still more to climb.  She was ahead of us and would yell back “not much further”.  We would climb some more and then we would look up and she would say “we’re almost there, not much further”.  I never thought I would get to the top.  When we did reach the summit it was breathtaking and worth the climb.  You could see for miles and the sun was setting so the sky was a rainbow of colors.  It was totally silent at the top.  No traffic sounds or street lights. 

Our maturity in Christ is the same.  It is a gradual process that happens over time.  Many years ago when I rededicated my life to Christ it changed me.  I truly understood what it meant to give up my life for the One who gave up His for me.  The problem is it is not instant.  We will go through trials, heartache and pain.  There will be times when we will turn away from the One who saved us and other times when we will cling to Him with everything we have in us.  These are the building blocks of spiritual maturity.

 

One of the things I learned is that we must give up bad habits and replace them with good ones.  I read somewhere that it takes thirty days to create a habit.  If we are unkind we don’t all of a sudden wake up one day and treat everyone around us with kindness.  It has to be practiced day in and day out.  When it becomes a habit we do it without thinking about it.  Spiritual maturity is not instant.  It is necessary to practice the fruits of the spirit every day for our spiritual growth and for us to mature in Christ. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner pursuing maturity in Christ.  I want to be more like Him but I often fail because I want it to be instant.  The one constant is that I know You are always there to catch me, set me back on my feet and nudge me forward.  I pray that you will guide my steps and slow me down long enough to see the value of patience in practicing the fruits of the spirit in my daily life.

Scripture: The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.  1 Timothy 4:1-16

Advice

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."

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 for advice from someone or had someone ask for advice from you?  It is an interesting concept.  Advice is when you give an opinion or recommendation as a guide to action or conduct.

I was reading in Daniel when I thought about how many times Daniel gave King Nebuchadnezzar advice about his dreams and the interpretation of them.  We can often be like the King.There are times when we seek advice from others with no intention of taking the advice.  It is kind of an exercise in futility.  We know that something we plan to do is not going to be good for us, but we ask someone else for advice just in case they might agree with us.

We see an example of this in Daniel.  The King asked Daniel to interpret his dream and Daniel was troubled.  Daniel 4:20-22 “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth,  whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth. 

The thing about the dream is that the first part wasn’t the end.  Daniel warned the King in Daniel 4:26-27 “And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”  

God had great mercy on the King.  He could have taken his kingdom away from him totally, but instead he left the stump and roots of the tree so that the King had another chance to understand God’s greatness. 

We do the same thing.  We get advice from friends, family, pastors and other God fearing people, but we often discount the advice as not applying to us.  We become like King Nebuchadnezzar.  We look around us and survey our kingdom and say “man I did good.”  In reality it is God who did good.  We allow pride to interfere with God’s blessing on our lives.  Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

When King Nebuchadnezzar realized it was not his strength but God’s that was his source of accomplishment, he realized the error of his ways and praised God.

Daniel 4:34-35 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, too many times we allow pride to rule in our lives.  We start thinking that we know everything and don’t need to seek advice from others.  When that happens sometimes we reject the blessing that You want for us.  Help me Father to trust Your ways, follow Your advice and learn from my mistakes.  You are the best teacher in all the universe and You mean it for my good.  

Scripture:Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies!

“The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

“And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

“And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.  At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.  Daniel 4:19-33

Battle Scars

Only good things come from God's hands. He never gives you more than you can bear. Every burden prepares you for eternity.  Basilea Schlink

Have you figured out we are in the biggest battle of our lives and that battle scars will happen in this life?  Jesus came here to save the lost and the scars on his hands and feet will never fade. 

Have you ever had surgery?  I have had one surgery in my life and it left a permanent scar.  It has faded over time but for me it is a constant reminder of what Jesus did for me on the cross.  It is also a constant reminder of what God did for me in healing me from cancer. Any time I see it I am reminded of God grace and mercy.   

Scars are battle wounds.  They are the wounds from conflict.  They can be the wounds from illness, war, and even wounds from verbal abuse.  Because there is conflict in the world we live in, there will be battle scars.  Some people will have more than others.  How we handle the scars of life can draw us closer to God or push us further away.

When Jesus died on the cross he came away from that experience with permanent scars.  He will bear the scars of our sin forever.  Each one of us will face battles in our everyday life.  I have learned to look at my battle scars with thanksgiving.  Each one draws me closer to our Heavenly Father.  They help me to see the profound and amazing gift Jesus gave me; the gift of life through the scars of death.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was thinking about Jesus and His death on the cross.  He fought the most important battle and died for it.  He carries our sin in the scars on his hands and feet.  I praise You Father for loving me enough to send Your Son to die for my sin.

 

Scripture: Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:24-29

Potential

Has life become so filled with efforts to cover every financial contingency, to realize one's full earthly potential, and finally to retire comfortably, that without realizing it we are finding our hope in this world rather than in God?  Dave Hunt

Each of us has the potential to be great.  By that I don’t mean great in the sense of worldly greatness.  Worldly greatness is fleeting.  It doesn't last long.  If you look at every politician you will often see what the world perceives as greatness.  We often associate our potential by how the world perceives it.  If I can be the best athlete or become President or be the first in my graduation class I will be great.  What I really mean is we can be great for God.

In reality what happens is we mess up.  We fail at something and our perception of the greatness we thought we attained is gone and other people look at us and see us as a failure.  If you think about it, what other people think shouldn't really matter.   What matters is what God thinks. 

If we understand that the power lies in God instead of us we are on the right path.  We have a hard time understanding the meaning of “My strength is made perfect in weakness”.   We question how we can be strong in weakness.  Since these are opposites it doesn't make sense in a world where worldly strength is all important. 

When we stop trying to obtain worldly strength and start depending on God’s strength there is nothing we can’t do.  Our potential is fully fulfilled when we depend on God for our strength instead of ourselves.  Every one of us has the potential to be great for God.  All He asks is that we place our trust in Him every day.  His strength is unending and will sustain us even in our weakest moments.  Let go and let Him. 

     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes it is hard for me to understand that when I am at my weakest that is when your strength is manifested in me.  The irony is that when I am at my weakest I will often turn to You.  Unfortunately, sometimes pride takes over and I think I can do it better on my own.  When that happens my potential for greatness for God is lost.  Help me to keep my focus on You so that I am able to reach my full potential through You and for Your glory.    

Scripture: And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10