Life

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE? (Part II)


Spiritual Blog - Who

Ps 8:1-9 – “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen — Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

 9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”  NKJV

 

In finding the answer to the question we continue digging into what makes us who we are.  One thing that is impossible to overlook is ATTITUDE.  Victor Frankl, the Austrian neurologist, and psychologist also a Holocaust survivor said, “Everything can be taken from man, except the last of the human freedoms, his ability to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose his own way.”

For example, you can have a person who is honest and dependable but filled with the negative.  He/she focuses on what they do not have rather that what they do.  They focus on what is wrong rather than what is right.  They look for defects and notice corruption rather than the incorruptible.  That is a chosen attitude.  I read about a person with this type attitude whose teenage son had worked unsolicited in the yard for hours unsupervised. This individual came home from work, changed clothes and went into the yard and immediately criticized everything the teenager had done.  How likely is it that the teenager will work around the house unsolicited in the future?

Attitudes are a part of our character.  Every large achievement comes from a progression of small achievements.  We eat a meal one bite at a time.  We make a journey one step or one mile at a time.  We read a book one page at a time.  Life is moving from one small accomplishment to another in our journey toward the objective.  How well we do and how dedicated we are to the effort depends on our MOTIVATION.  Some do out of FEAR.  Fear of failure, fear of the opinions of others and some do out of LOVE.  One brings damage and destruction the other health.

Imagination is the ability of the soul to put your mind (reasoning component) in places and situations where you are not physically present.  I suggest that every designer and artist sees then does.  Noah saw and then built the Ark.  The Bible tells us that young men will see visions. Where does it happen?  In the soul of man.  Of course, we dare not omit consideration of the importance of THE WILL which is our ability to choose.  It is like the transmission in a car or the rudder on a ship

WHO ARE YOU?  You are the sum total of your Value System, World View, Attitude, Motivation, Imagination, and Will.  However, we dare not omit the key ingredient of Faith to determine who we really are.  What we are is expressed and demonstrated in our CHARACTER, the “hidden part of the heart.”  That which connects to God.  Who are you?  If you are a Christian you are GOD’S CHILD, more than a conqueror, and an Eternal Being housed, at the present, in a human body or temporary house.

            God bless you as you continue your journey in Him!

 

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DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?


Spiritual Blog - Who ARe You

Ps 8:1-9 – “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen — Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

 9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”  NKJV

 

I do not mean the title question to be rhetorical but real.  The Psalmist identifies the attitude of God toward His creature, made in His image and likeness.  The position afforded to man and the potential in man are lofty but often overlooked through a misconception and misunderstanding of WHO HE REALLY IS.  Kirk Douglas, in the Ragman’s Son, the hitchhiker asked: “Hey, do you know who you are?”  A great question for each of us.

If you are shopping for a used car it is important to keep in mind that it is INTERNALS, not EXTERNALS that make the car.  The engine, transmission, etc. not the shine or charm.  Tragically “first impressions” are grossly overrated in our society.  It is impossible to truly know what a person is really like by looking at the outside.  Shakespeare wrote, “Nature with beauteous wrath doth oft clothe in pollution.”  Thus, the engine is to the auto what the inner self is to the person.  What really makes you, you are the eternal parts which is the internal part.  I Peter 3:4a, “…hidden person of the heart…

CHARACTER – “The combination of qualities or traits that distinguish an individual; personality. The aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing; moral or ethical quality; qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity; reputation.”

  • Personality – The projection of a person’s soul (Inner Self).
  • Character – – The actual state of the soul (Inner Self).

            Basic attitudes, feeling and emotions such as anger, fear, love, and lust all reside in the soul of man.  They are a part of us whether they are right or wrong, good or bad.  We receive information from innumerable sources such as experience, observation, education, television, newspapers, church, movies, etc.  We store that data, even though some of it may be wrong or harmful.  Then, we operate on the data in our daily lives, acting according to what we believe to be true or beneficial, even if it is not.

            THE SOUL – Is made up of our value systems, attitudes, motivations, reasoning, imagination, conscience, and will.  Our value system determines what we do and who we are.  For example, a teenager might work to part-time jobs resulting in their grades declining. Why?  They have their eyes on a car which is the highest priority and they are willing to allow everything else to suffer to achieve that most prized objective.  We do that in life as adults as well.  Much of our activities and conversation evolves around our Value System.  The relative worth or significance we assign to different activities or possessions determines how much of our time, money, energy and lives we will invest in it.  WHAT IS YOUR VALUE SYSTEM?

WORLD VIEWS – Different world views help to create our Value System. 

  • One Worldview – Holds that all reality is physical and material. Life is limited to the body and everything ends with death.  Therefore, the focus is the physical and material pleasure because it is all they have or can look forward to.
  • Another – Holds the Present as being the only thing that is important and gratification becomes the objective and goal.
  • Another – Is willing to forego physical and material gratification for a richer more meaningful life later. This is identified as delayed gratification where they seek to enhance pleasure by meeting and experiencing pain fist and getting it over with.
  • Another – Perceives not only the Physical, Material, and Temporal but the Spiritual or Eternal. They view eternity as the most important.  In that view, there are two views.  The futuristic where it is some day we will receive.  The other is Eternal Life now in body, soul and spirit.

We have not scratched the surface in addressing who we are but hopefully, you have been sufficiently challenged to begin to think and evaluate your views in life.  If you have then in the next devotional we can make a run at answering the question.

             God bless you as you embark on today’s journey!

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I’M TIRED OF LOSING, THEREFORE…


Spiritual Blog - Enough

Romans 8:37 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  NKJV

             I heard of a high school football team that had not won a game in years and one senior on the team stood at the pep-rally and said, “I’m tired of losing, therefore…”  He did not finish and the administrators began to fidget, the coaching staff squirmed uneasily in their seats, the team looked at each other somewhat bewildered and the student body was totally silent.  Then something began to happen and started sweeping through the gymnasium until the entire student body erupted with, “THEREFORE… THEREFORE… THEREFORE…”  They understood what the, therefore, was there for and the attitude of losing began to shift from losing to winning and on that Friday night they won the game in a dominating fashion.  Why?  Because they changed their mindset and attitude.  They became fed up with losing and as they changed their mind, they found their commitment shifted and their ability to execute on the field also changed.  It took one person to remind them they were in a rut and if they were going to be free of the spirit of losing they had to CHANGE THEIR MINDS and TRANSFORM THEIR THINKING.

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  It could be rendered, “Be transformed by your new attitude” or “continue to transform yourselves by the new ideas that mold your mind.”  You do not have to wait for success to knock on your door it is waiting for you in the Word of God.

Please do not misinterpret what I’m saying as “mind over matter” or anything of the sort but I am 100% convinced from my study of the Bible that it is possible for us to TRAIN OUR MINDS to think better.  We can break free of the ruts of defeat by allowing God to expose us to possibilities.  I heard of a young man, who, while reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 became inspired with an idea of overcoming the “self-sabotaging habits” of anger and selfishness in his life.  He decided that he would memorize this passage and for 30 days meditate on the verses almost continually.  The result was amazing, as he repeated the Word of God daily and allowed it to become so much a part of his thinking, he became relaxed and his thoughts turned to how he could demonstrate those words in his life.  He was radically transformed in thirty days by the Word of God.

In the Bible, one of the great WINNERS we read about has to be King David.  He, in my view, embodied at least four characteristics and/or attitudes of winners.

  • WINNERS Respond to the Challenge, not the Problem.

1 Samuel 17:23-27 we find David facing Goliath.  The enemy was incredibly large and the Bible tells us that the breastplate he wore weight approximately 200 pounds. He carried a spear that was 8′ long and the head weight 25 pounds.  That’s a pretty formidable opponent, right?  David could have only looked at the problem standing before him and failed but he looked beyond or through Goliath into the Promises of God, the Power of God, and the Person of God.  He saw the solution not simply the problem.  We need to learn to look through not at the problem.

  • WINNERS Do Not Allow Themselves to be Shaped or Defined by Circumstances, Criticisms or the Opinions of Others.

1 Samuel 17:28-33 we find Eliab, David’s older brother trying to deflate David’s Champion Attitude and press him into a defeatist mode.  He belittled David and attempted to shame and embarrass him.  He even questioned David’s integrity and King Saul also tried to dissuade him but David would have none of it.  He saw what he saw and believed what he believed.   If you judge after the flesh you will fail but if you judge after the Spirit you will succeed.

Paul instructed in 2 Corinthians 5:16, “From now on we recognize no man according to the flesh.”  1 Corinthians 1:27, “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:10, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”  Then in 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, “The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”   That’s the key!

  • WINNERS Live by what God’s Word Says, not by what They See, Hear or Imagine in the Natural.

Consider 1 Samuel 17 and verses 8, 10, 11, and 23.   Verse 8 we find Goliath standing and shouting his threats… In verse 10 we read, “The Philistine [Goliath] said…”  Verse 11 tells us that Israel heard his words and verse 23, that Goliath spoke the same words to David and David heard them… There was a battle for David’s mind taking place before he ever picked up one stone.  The Battle of Words we all face in life when faced with problems or negative circumstances.  It was the battle of Goliath’s words versus God’s words.  David had a choice and he made the right one!  In another post, I will list the twelve (12) lies the enemy will commonly use against us but are all lies we can disregard and reject.

  • WINNERS Respond with Courage to Seemingly Impossible Challenges.

You and I have a choice.  We can live in fear of faith.  We can trust what we see in the natural or what we know in the spiritual.  We can be a wimp or a winner and the choice is ours.  God has already cast His ballot for winning and only waits for us to agree with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to “renew our minds” and thereby “transform” our lives.

            God bless you as you move into the Winner’s Circle in Jesus!

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The Saga Continues, Faith through OBSTACLES and OPPORTUNITIES…


Spiritual Blog - Faith 1

Psalm 46:1-3 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  NKJV

  

Something I want to convey and hope you see is that Hezekiah refused to rush into prayer frantic and panicked.  God is God and he was renewing his understanding of who God is.  Nothing about this makes sense to his senses.  Thoughts were flooding his mind and his entire world is buzzing with fear and paralysis. What is he to do?  What if he gets this wrong?

In his inner being, he is hearing STOP!  BE STILL and realize who you are talking to!  You are talking to the ALMIGHTY CREATOR OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, JEHOVAH GOD!  As you realize that, now go to prayer!  Do you see it?  If you understand that you are talking to GOD and realize that the fact you are talking to God is an evidence of faith, NOW  you can stop trying to find a solution, HE IS THE SOLUTION.  You do not have to manufacture an answer, HE IS THE ANSWER!

The Holy Spirit was the one prompting Hezekiah to pray.  He will urge us but he will not make us pray.  He leads us to the water but we have to drink. This was new ground for Hezekiah.  Hezekiah had grown up reading the early parts of the Bible (Genesis to Judges).  In that record, there were accounts back to when God did exploits and even destroyed entire armies.  It was a long time ago in history for Hezekiah that God parted the red sea and the walls of Jericho fell flat.  He had read it and heard it but he had never “seen it”.  Now, he stands paralyzed in fear facing an impossible situation and the Holy Spirit nudges him to ASK, ASK, and ASK!  Hezekiah does!  That is the miracle and that is the demonstration of faith.  That is the “new ground” upon with Hezekiah is standing.  He has opened himself up to experience what he has only read about and now in his helplessness he bathes in the sunlight of WHO GOD IS!

The problem with us is that we try too hard to produce something that only God can give.  I want you to see that this man, Hezekiah, a man standing in very little faith opened the door for God to enter human history and accomplish an incredible miracle.  Remember, there were two men, Hezekiah, and Isaiah.  Isaiah was a man of great faith and he already understood HOW to hear the voice of God.  I find it interesting that Isaiah did the same thing Hezekiah did.  He became STILL and in becoming STILL he sees God.  It is the same process only on a deeper level.  Then after this was over, Isaiah wrote down what had happened to them and we call that Psalm 46.  It is Isaiah describing what happened in an emergency or crisis and details what happens when he BECAME STILL before the Lord.

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  That is powerful, especially in light of the account we have discussed.  That could be translated, “God is abundantly available for help in tight places.”  He does not plead for God to be his refuge he declares GOD IS MY REFUGE.  One of our problems is we feel that we have to somehow get got into action.  NO!  He is God!  HE IS THAT HE IS!  He is the Eternal God of All Creation!  We don’t have to get Him to be HE IS.  We don’t manipulate, coerce, or convince Him, HE IS!

HE IS could be two of the most important words in our Christian vocabulary.  If we can grasp those two words we will soar into the realm of faith and never again beg God for anything, but rather receive WHO HE IS.  That is how he could say in Psalm 46:2, “Therefore we will not fear…”  In the midst of the storm, WE DO NOT FEAR because HE IS…  “…even though the earth be moved, and the mountains be carried into the sea…”  NO FEAR because HE IS!  Then verse three, “Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  NO FEAR!  Sennacherib is threatening but GOD IS GOD!  If you read, Psalm 46:1-5 you will read that he has not yet prayed.  He is still basking in WHO GOD IS.   When he does pray he is praying in full view of WHO GOD IS.  Talk about giving new impetus to our prayers.  We are not begging in desperation but coming boldly before the throne in full view of WHO HE IS!

That is new ground for many believers today.  We spend a lot of time asking and too little time sunbathing in His presence and as we soak up the rays of His presence we ask with faith and pray the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous and see God move powerfully!  Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still (cease striving) and know that I AM GOD!” 

Be still means in the Hebrew, “to slacken, idle, hang out, sink down, or relax.”  That is Incredible!  God says, “When all hell is breaking around you and coming against you, RELAX, hang out, mellow out, and be still for I AM GOD!”  When you are in a panic and feel you have to do something you have already lost the battle. The first step of faith is to HANG OUT WITH GOD, relax and be still and know that He is God!  As you still yourself in His presence you get tuned into His person and power and then when you pray you are praying in a power and faith you have never known!

So when trouble comes to our door what do we speak?  JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!  We speak, THE BLOOD OF JESUS HAS BEEN SHED and is now the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.  We speak, WE ARE SEATED WITH CHRIST IN HEAVENLY PLACES.  Because, when Jesus died on the Cross He cried IT IS FINISHED.  I cannot emphasize emphatically enough the first thing we are to do is BE STILL AND KNOW HE IS GOD!  We want a formula but God is not a formula HE IS GOD!

            God bless you as you continue your journey through this thing called life.  Abundant Blessings is the prayer and desire of my heart for each one today.

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Amazing Story of Faith through OBSTACLES and OPPORTUNITIES…


Spiritual Blog - FAith

Psalm 46:1-3 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  NKJV

 

You have to go beyond head knowledge and words on a page when you consider this account of Hezekiah as a result of Sennacherib’s ultimatum.  You have to FEEL IT.  Let it get in your spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to take you in the Temple with him.  He is the leader of the nation and all eyes are on him.  If he fails they suffer incredible harm.  His heart is torn because he loves his people and his nation.  The buck stops with him and he has to make a command decision, a decision no committee can make.  It is now between Hezekiah and his God.  This is PRESSURE! 

When under this kind of pressure there is a compulsion to manufacture an answer or think up a solution.  But, in this situation try as he might there is the gnawing and paralyzing fear inside saying, “What if you are wrong?”  But, you have to have an answer and that is when fear floods in like a tidal wave.  The nagging question in the back of the mind is, “Where is God?”  With all that raging in his heart and mind Hezekiah goes to the Temple and in the Temple his faith begins to spring forth.  He goes to the Temple the place where God’s ‘glory’ and ‘radiant presence’ lived or was manifest.  There was the ‘manifest presence of God’ there or it had been demonstrated from time to time.

In a very real sense, Hezekiah went into the Temple and his entering there was saying, “God this is your city and a madman wants to take it. He wants to take YOUR HOUSE!”  The prayer he prayed is nothing short of incredible and I believe we should examine it line by line and as we do we will hear something very important and powerful.

“Our LORD…”  Yahweh, the personal name of God!  “Oh Yahweh, God of Israel…”  God of Israel is a covenant statement.  Simply, he is saying God, you are, in a very special way, committed to us and we, to you.  You came to us and said that we would be YOUR PEOPLE and you would be OUR GOD.  So, you are not just a god, you are OUR GOD!”  Hear his heart.  “Oh Yahweh, the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the Cheribum…”  In the Holy of Holies the only piece of furniture is a box and on top of that box is a slab of gold, the Mercy Seat.  At the end, two Cheribums were fashioned and between them, on top of this box was this uncreated light shining forth.  They called it the Throne of God.  They envisioned God sitting there as King, Protector, and Shepherd of Israel.   What a mental image.

Hezekiah begins rehearsing all this in his mind. He is clearly thinking, “God, You sit on the Throne of Israel. Oh, they may call me king, but we all know YOU ARE KING! This little problem has come across my desk, but it is really your desk.  You are God and therefore, it is your problem!  Oh Yahweh, the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the Cheribum, THOU ART THE GOD, THOU ALONE…”

See it?  God You and You alone are God and King of all the kingdoms of the Earth.  No matter where men are found or who they are, YOU ARE GOD.  “Thou hast made the heaven and the earth…”  You are not only God now, but you are God past, present, and future.  You are the CREATOR.   Do you understand what is happening?  He is not bringing some new revelation to God, God knows this.  In a very real sense, Hezekiah is talking to himself, and as he gives verbal recognition of the person, purpose, and power of God his faith begins to rise!  This is BEING STILL and realizing Who God is.  It is in this that Hezekiah can come out and say, “This is actual fact, it is not coming out of my understanding or imagination, YOU ARE GOD!  This is Who You Really ARE!”

As Hezekiah SEES THIS in his spirit he can see Sennacherib standing and declaring that he is the Great King of the Earth, but GOD made the earth.  This mad man can declare, “I conquered the kingdoms,” but God is God over all the kingdoms. Therefore, as he sees and realizes WHO GOD IS, Sennacherib becomes very small in his sight.  The more he rehearses WHO GOD IS, the smaller the Assyrian becomes.  What a beautiful pattern!

You have to catch it in your spirit!  After Hezekiah says all this he musters the highest prayer he can.  I find it incredibly interesting.  He prays:  “Incline thine ear O Lord, and hear…”  God, you are the Living God. I know that you have ears to hear, but sometimes I’m not sure you are listening so “Open thine eyes O Lord and see…”  God, you might be asleep or distracted right now so please WAKE UP and “Listen to the words Sennacherib has used to reproach and blaspheme the MOST HIGH GOD!” 

             God, you are the LIVING GOD.  You have EARS TO HEAR and EYES TO SEE and I am calling upon you, as your representative in the Earth to BE GOD in this situation.  DO IT LORD!  DO IT!   

Let’s pause there and I want to say a little more next time.  God bless you as you embark on this wonderful day He has made!

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OBSTACLES and OPPORTUNITIES…


Spiritual Blog - Obstacles

Psalm 46:1-3 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  NKJV

 

I would encourage you to read the entirety of Psalm 46.  Psalms 46, 47, and 48 were written at the same time by the same person.  After you read this Psalm I suggest you go to 2 Kings 18-19.  In these two chapters, we have one of the great records of faith in the Bible.  It is in those passages we discover the “Ways of Faith” and I believe so vital that we should examine the account with some detail.  It is quite possible we will discover some things about FAITH we have never before seen.

In this account, we see one of the “Mad Dictators” of the Middle East of that era.  This type of ruler has always been a problem in that region and amazingly they always seem to originate by the River Euphrates and most move against Israel at some time or other.  That Despot is named Sennacherib, King of Assyria and he self-identified himself as, “The Great King, King of all the Earth.”  What a display of humility, right?  His goal was to take over and rule the entire Earth as he knows it.  He has already subdued the ten (10) Northern Tribes [Israel] which leaves only Judah to conquer.  Here, twenty years later he has returned and is on his way to Egypt and travels through Jerusalem where he encounters the King of Judah, Hezekiah.

Hezekiah is a “man of faith.”  He hears the terrible news that Sennacherib is coming with plans to obliterate everything and everyone in his path that resists.  Finally, Hezekiah says, ENOUGH!  In a seeming olive branch, Sennacherib demands that Hezekiah must pay an exorbitant tax to him.  Sennacherib passes by and continues toward Egypt with Judah’s gold in his treasury.  However, as he passes by he realizes that passing by is a mistake for Hezekiah is not the kind of man to quietly go into hiding and submission, so he turns back.  He sends his choice generals to Jerusalem and they gather outside the city walls.  Their presence draws a very large crowd of people.  Everyone is watching and waiting!  The Generals tell Hezekiah that Sennacherib has changed his mind and Judah must submit to an unconditional surrender.

This is an incredible conversation.  The generals say, “Hezekiah don’t give us this foolishness that you are going to trust in the Lord your God.  We know your history and you’re subject to saying something like that.  Well, let us give you a little history lesson about where the Great King of Assyria has been and then you will see the futility of your decision and actions.  Every city we came to said, ‘We will trust in our gods, but where are they today?  Their gods have been burned with fire and they are in captivity.  What good were their gods?  Hezekiah, Hezekiah, if your God says He will look after you, believe us, there is no God anywhere that can match the Great King of Assyria.  He is the GREAT KING OF ALL THE EARTH!”  The people of Judah hear this and then the generals begin to speak in the common language that all could understand and said, “Don’t listen to Hezekiah.  Don’t listen to his plan that your God is going to work on your behalf.  Face reality!  Save your own hides!  Come out in surrender and we promise that you’ll have live in abundance with us!”  

The generals then wait for the expected answer.  Hezekiah goes back into the Temple of the Lord. He is distressed and distraught. There is a massive storm brewing just outside the gates and turmoil inside his own heart.  He is in a major crisis and he begins to survey his situation.  He talks to himself and God saying, “It is obvious if we do not surrender, Sennacherib who is just down the road in the Sinai will return after he has defeated Egypt and will be furious.  At that point, it will be over for us.  This is the Apocalypse!”   This is an incredibly serious situation.  The beautiful dream of the world that Hezekiah seeking for the Israelites is over. This is pressure with a capital “P”. What is he to do?

THEN, he remembers the speech of the generals wasn’t about Hezekiah at all.  Virtually everything they said was about GOD.  They said, “Who do you think your God is?  He is no match for the Great King of Assyria.”  They have insulted and blasphemed God Himself.  But, why doesn’t God do something?  Where is He?  Is He listening?  They have openly challenged God, His power, integrity, and authority.  They have cursed His name, so why doesn’t He do something?   This is serious and his faith is terribly shaken.

Hezekiah’s response was to send a message to Isaiah the prophet, who was also a man of the court, possibly a Royal Prince himself.  He is the man of God of the court so Hezekiah says, “Man of God, what do you say?”  Isaiah did not hesitate and spoke definitively, “This is what God says:  I will put a spirit in Sennacherib so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land.  Relax, he’s not coming here!”  Really?  I can imagine the confliction in Hezekiah’s heart and mind but Hezekiah is ready to grasp at any straw he can find and he speaks to the generals advising them HE WILL NOT SURRENDER!  They are totally caught off guard and shocked and when they inform Sennacherib HE IS FURIOUS.  He writes a letter to Hezekiah relating what the generals have said in 2 Kings 19:10-12.  It is a simple letter in which he says, “Hezekiah, I’ve had enough of you!  I’m fed up with your stupid religious talk.  Your God cannot help you now.  You’ve had it, chum!”   The letter arrives and Hezekiah read it and then took it into the Temple and spread it out on the table.  He assumes God can read the letter and then he prays…   In this prayer that we find the incredible power of faith.

Hopefully, I have whetted your appetite but time and space prohibit me continuing in this devotional so next time we will pick up and move into the prayer of faith of Hezekiah and the beautiful truth found there for us.

God bless you as you enjoy this day the Lord has made and be glad in it!

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THE NEW TESTAMENT REVEALS THAT WE ARE OF “One Another”…


Spiritual Blog - One Another

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  NKJV

1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  NKJV

 

            Even a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals the emphasis Jesus placed on LOVE.  John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”   I would suggest that, in truth, all of the actions that we are enjoined to take toward “one another” are simply LOVE IN ACTION.  Philippians 1:9, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”

I am 100% convinced when there is a sufficient flow of AGAPE LOVE in a life and a church, divisiveness will shrink into nothingness because LOVE drives out darkness and disarms the devil like nothing else.  Love brings a light that darkness cannot endure.  Love covers differences in nonessentials and enables “oneness” to become reality.  I, therefore, believe that one of if not the greatest need of the church and the individual is AGAPE LOVE!

When it comes to relationships in churches or believers we would do well to remember and determine that WE ARE FAMILY.  We are “members of one another.”  That is a foreign concept to some but interesting nonetheless.  I wonder how many would deliberately do damage or hurt another part of their own human body?  Would you deliberately cut off a toe because it bumped into the bed post during the night?  Yet, we do that very thing in the Body of Christ.  AMAZING isn’t it?

One of the clear messages of the New Testament is that we are “members of one another.”  Every New Testament writer confirmed and echoed that truth, but the apostle Paul made it crystal clear by using the analogy of the Human Body in 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.  There is no way that even the most carnal and immature believer could miss Paul’s message.  He wraps up powerfully in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the Body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.”  I wonder if many or possibly most believers missed Paul’s emphasis here.  We have been told to search for and attempt to discover our spiritual gifts in order to function in the Body of Christ.  We have been told that because in these passages the apostle makes extensive reference to spiritual gifts.  However, if you examine the passage more closely you will find that idea nowhere in any exhortation that the individual Christian is to look for or try to discover their spiritual gift.  I suggest you cannot find that in the Bible.  BUT, before I lose you, if I have not already, let me address what I believe Paul is emphasizing.

  • No Individual Christian can function effectively alone.

Question:  Have you ever gotten a speck of dust or something in your eye?  When you do the natural instinct is to take your finger and rub it, right?  It took more than the eye to resolve the problem.  That is the natural response but in the spiritual we seem to think we can be islands needing no other member of the Body of Christ.  WRONG!

  • No Member of the Body of Christ should ever feel he is more or less important than any other member.

No individual believer has exclusive rights to God’s grace.  We are all equal at the foot of the Cross.  Romans 12:3, 5, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt with each one a measure of faith… 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”   Ephesians 4:2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” 

  • Christians should work hard at creating UNITY in the Body of Christ.

We cannot function effectively alone, we need each other as the natural body needs all its members for the most efficient functionality.  None of us is more important or less important than anyone else in the Body of Christ even though some have a more prominent role or position.  We are to be clothed with humility, remembering that even the one who has the greatest responsibility is also to be the greatest servant.  Therefore, all of us should strive for UNITY and PEACE because WE LOVE THE LORD and WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 

Did you follow the emphasis?  The emphasis was not on the gifts but preserving the BOND OF PEACE and creating UNITY in the Body of Christ.  The gifts will become visible as the need presents itself and we utilize them, but PEACE and UNITY are things we must work toward and seek diligently.  I truly believe that AGAPE LOVE is one of, if not the most powerful weapon, the Body of Christ and individual has in combating the forces of hell.  AGAPE LOVE is our ultimate weapon against darkness.  There is no difficulty that enough Agape Love will not conquer.  There is no wound that Agape Love will not heal.  There is no door that Agape Love will not open.  There is no division that Agape Love will not bridge.  There is no wall that Agape Love will not scale or pull down.  There is no sin that Agape Love will not cover and redeem.

So, make it your goal to WALK IN LOVE at all times and in all things!  God bless you as you go through this wonderful day in Him.

 

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FOUR GREEK WORDS FOR LOVE…


Spiritual Blog - Love

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  NKJV

1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  NKJV

 

The most prolific word used for love in the New Testament is Agape which describes “love at its ultimate.”  However, there are three other Greek words for love and of the four only three are used in the New Testament.

  • ERAN (Eros) – A word that describes the passion and the impulses that go along with it.  It focuses on the physical and sensual and it might be surprising to note that this word is not used in the New Testament.  This can be sinful as in lust but is also the natural type of love that occurs between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage.
  • STERGEIN – I would venture to say that many have never heard of this type of love but it refers to “natural affection” and is used to describe the love of parents for children or children for parents. It is found in the New Testament twice with the prefix “a”, denoting the lack of natural affection.  [Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:3]. 
  • PHILEIN (Phileo) – The word means ‘fondness, affection, or liking.’ It is used to describe the love between friends and is NEVER used to describe the love we are to have for God.  It is used 45 times in the New Testament.  It is not a passionate love like that between a husband and wife.  When Jesus asked whether Peter loved Him was “agapao” but Peter, possibly being caught off guard said, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” [John 21:15].  The word Peter used was “phileo” or brother love.  At that point, Peter apparently didn’t get it. 
  • AGAPAN (Agape) – This is ultimate love or love. It is not based on emotion but a conscious decision to act for the welfare of the object of that love.  It is used 320 times in one form or another in the New Testament.  It is not human in origin and is received then given back and is always associated with the love of God. 

Love, the song says, “Is a many a splendored thing” and without it, there is always DISUNITY in lives, homes, and churches.  I believe that the “love problem” or problem from the lack of love we identify as DISUNITY is one of the greatest threats to churches in today’s world.  Conversely, UNITY is one of the most needed qualities any person, family, or church can have and I am convinced that UNITY can only be achieved through LOVE, but I am not talking about EROS.

Paul tells his listeners in Ephesians 4:15-16, we are to “Speak the truth in love.”  He makes it clear that as that transpires, “they will, in all things, grow up into Him who is the head, Jesus.”  He identifies that in that relationship and condition, “the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”  If you dissect and digest that you will find enough meat to feast on for years and it will change your life.

Over and over the New Testament writers exhorted believers to engage in specific activities that would enable the Body of Christ to function effectively and grow spiritually.  Often, we find a unique word to describe this mutual and reciprocal process – ALLELON, “one another”.  It is used 58 times in the New Testament including the Gospels and the apostle Paul uses it 40 times.  Although some of the concepts are repeated from letter to letter, but when all of the ONE ANOTHER exhortations are studied and grouped according to their specific meanings they can be reduced to approximately twelve significant actions that Christians are to take toward “one another” to help build the Body of Christ.

I do not have time to detail them in this devotional but will say that the greatest is LOVE!  Paul described this as a more excellent way in 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 13:13.  The exhortation to “love one another” is found in his writings more than all the rest.  Of the 48 references what we are to do to “one another” as fellow believers 11times we are told to “love one another”.  If you incorporate Christ’s direct commands to “love one another” from John’s gospel the number climbs to sixteen.  It is without question, LOVE is the most important issue for the believer in the New Testament.  To love fellow believers is a basic injunction and is an evidence of spiritual life and salvation.  Yet, amazingly believers are often deficient in exhibiting “love to one another” for one reason or another.

We will pause here and pick up next time in considering this matter.  God bless you richly as you walk in His light and love. 

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THE HYPOCRISY OF LEGALISM…


Spiritual Blog - Legalism 2

Matthew 15:1-11 – “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

 3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’  5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God” —   6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

 8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

 10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand:  11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”  NKJV

 

I have met and been around Christians who rigidly adhere to external restrictions as an evidence of their faith and piousness.  They have their “do’s” and “don’ts” and religiously keep their list and demand that everyone else complies or be branded a heretic and apostate.  They compare themselves with others and so long as their ledger sheet has them keeping more of their religious requirements they feel good about themselves and beat their chests saying, “Thank God I am not like them.”  The stench of that attitude surely ascends to heaven and most assuredly does in the minds and hearts of those who have not yet come to Christ in their communities.

David, in Psalm 39:1 declared, “I said, I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.”  I was a legalist and a very devoted one at one time in my Christian walk.  I became that because of my misunderstanding of the message being taught by ministers and older Christians.  As the LORD opened my eyes and taught me in a fuller understanding of His truth I rejected that mindset and embraced Grace in a way I had never truly known it.  I do not mean I began to wink at sin but I understood the reality of our LORD’s word in verse eleven above.  It is tragic to have a list of rules, regulations, restrictions, prohibitions and outward demonstrations and fail to “guard the tongue”.

James 3 addresses the power and danger of an unbridled tongue.  If we keep all the rules but allow our mouths to issue forth words that destroy, are filled with anger, and profane we fail spiritually.  We are allowing the hypocrisy of legalism to defile and that is truly a tragedy.  It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs would declare in Chapter 18:21 that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”  No wonder much is said about the tongue in Scripture both in the Old and New Testaments.  It is said that the “eyes are the window to the soul.”  I would like to add that the “tongue is the window to the heart.”

Blessing and cursing cannot proceed out of the same fountain and when we fully grasp that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks we will seek the help of the Holy Spirit to guard our words and mend our minds so that we have the mind of Christ and every thought, word and deed are brought into the obedience of the LORD.

God bless you as you embark on today’s journey.

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TOUCHING JESUS and JESUS TOUCHING US…


Spiritual Blog - Jesus

Matthew 14:34-36 – “When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.”  NKJV

 

I recall an elderly saint in a congregation I was serving as pastor calling for me to come and pray for her.  She was quite ill and as I arrived she reminded me of James 5 that the instruction for those who were sick in the church to call for the elders who were to pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord and that the prayer of faith would make the sick well.  So, as I began to pray I asked the Lord to “touch her” and she stopped me saying, “I don’t want just a touch I want healing.”  I understood her concern that my prayer might be less than a prayer of faith and I could be going through the motions doing my religious duty to come, visit and pray.  She had an expectation that if we followed the biblical directive she would receive the biblical promise.

That and other incidents have caused me to consider what it means to TOUCH JESUS and then have JESUS TOUCH US.  Here in Matthew, we find an event immediately after Jesus had “walked on the water” and allowed Peter to do the same.  As the arrived at Gennesaret people recognized Him and from all over the countryside they began to bring the sick to Him.  They did not just ask that He touch them but that they are allowed to TOUCH HIM and all who TOUCHED HIM were made perfectly well.

On that eventful night at my sister’s house in Palestine, Texas on a Saturday night when after reading Proverbs 3:5-6 I cried out in repentance.  It was then that JESUS TOUCHED ME and as the weight of sin was lifted from my being and the new birth became a reality I TOUCHED HIM.  I have learned that I TOUCH HIM with my commitment.  I TOUCH HIM with my faithfulness.  I TOUCH HIM as I reach out to others.  I TOUCH HIM as I allow the Holy Spirit to guide my footsteps.  Every time I reach out to TOUCH HIM, He TOUCHES ME and as His touch comes my burdens roll away.  No, they are not necessarily gone and no longer exist but as I TOUCH HIM and He TOUCHES ME they are rolled onto Him and I am able to take His yoke upon me and He enables me to carry them without being weighed down by them but knowing that I am not alone!        Many times, in my life, I have realized that I do not need to figure it out I need to TOUCH HIM. 

May the Lord be with you and enable you to have both the desire and determination to TOUCH HIM as you proceed through this day and as you REACH OUT TO TOUCH HIM, He will REACH OUT AND TOUCH YOU.  It is in His touch as is detailed in the gospel song, “Touching Jesus.”   The chorus:  “Touching Jesus is all that really matters, then your life will never be the same.  There is only one way to touch Him, just believe when you call on His name.”  

            God bless you!

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