Is God Your Problem?
Posted on October 1, 2013 1 Comment
A father brought his sick child to the disciples and asked them to help him. So they prayed. They prayed again. And then again. Nothing happened. Something was wrong. Where was God when they needed Him? Why was He not answering?
Had you been there that day to see the disciples praying for the child, you would have thought they were Read More
Does Life Have You All Locked Up?
Posted on September 17, 2013 2 Comments
Thank God for principles and propositions. They have their place. But when you are really locked up in trouble, it’s not what you know, but whom you know that really matters.
Paul understood this well. Old, cold, and locked up in a Roman dungeon for the sake of Christ, he encourages his spiritual son, Timothy, with these words:
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have Read More
How Do You See What You See?
Posted on September 10, 2013 6 Comments
Here is an important fact to know. Any attempt at success, to do something great, to do God’s will, is going to be opposed. But that’s alright. Even giants can be defeated! Let me explain.
When it comes to success, ultimately, it’s not your size, but your sight that matters. It’s not what you see, but how you see what you see that will determine your outcome. Faith can Read More
Jesus Is God’s Yes
Posted on September 3, 2013 9 Comments
Do you often wonder whether you have done enough to qualify for blessings? How many commandments do you have to keep before God will hear your prayers? How many days do you have to fast before God is convinced that He should help you? How many conditions do you have to meet before God will fulfill His promises to you?
Under the Old Covenant, we find that the standard for being blessed was to Read More
Does God Have Amnesia?
Posted on August 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
I am reblogging this one. Someone needs to hear this. Blessings!
Amnesia is defined as the loss of memory, either completely or partially, due to some underlying cause, such as brain injury or shock.
I’ve recently been studying the life of Samson in the book of Judges. I am not impressed. I see very few signs that he took his call from God seriously. He is self-pleasing. He disrespects his parents. He lies. He sleeps with a harlot. He falls in love with Delilah. He breaks his vows. The Lord departs from him, and he does not even know it.
He suffers for his ungodly choices. Captured and enslaved, he loses his vision, his vigor and his victory. The Philistines mock him. In the end, a beaten, broken, and bruised man, he cries out to God to strengthen him one last time that he might avenge the loss of his eyesight. God graciously grants his request. He kills thousands of his…
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Your Untapped Potential
Posted on August 20, 2013 6 Comments
You’ve got more going for you than you realize. There’s more in you than meets the eye. You are a living treasure-house.
There’s a very interesting story recorded in 2 Kings 4:1-7, which illustrates this truth. A widow of a prophet approached Elisha in need of a miracle. Her husband died and left her with a huge debt she could not pay. Now, the creditors were at her door to collect and threatening to Read More
How to Work Out Your Salvation
Posted on August 6, 2013 3 Comments
Now that you have received the gift of salvation, what’s next? Work it out! That does not mean “work for it.” Nor does it mean “work on it.” Jesus has already done all the work needed to save you and keep you saved. To “work out your salvation” simply means that God wants you to cultivate, express, and put to good use all you received from Him when you got saved. By so doing, you will experience the benefits of your salvation daily and be a shining light in a dark world.
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12, 13 NASB)
Now, how are you supposed to work it out? Read More
Rest and Receive God’s Best!
Posted on July 30, 2013 5 Comments
Are you “standing on the promises” of God as you await a breakthrough? That’s what I used to do. But as it is with standing physically, I discovered the manner in which I was “standing” on the promises could be exhausting. Standing for long periods of time wears you out! But I’ve found a better way.
Instead of standing on the promises, I have learned it’s much easier and far more effective to rest in them. And in fact that is what God wants us to do. I found that “standing” on the promises tend to keep the focus on me, but “resting” in them keeps the focus on the One who matters, Jesus!
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11 NKJV)
In the passage above, God invites us to be diligent to enter His rest. That is, hasten to do so. Why? Because that’s what it takes to enjoy Him fully. When we rest, we receive God’s best!
“I can’t afford to rest,” you say. “There’s just too much to do. Too many devils to fight. Too many temptations to resist. Too much to accomplish for Jesus.” You’re right, there’s too much to do. That’s why you need to rest. You see, when you rest, God works. And He actually works through you!
What are we to rest from? Rest from depending on our own works and self-efforts to be righteous in God’s sight and accepted by Him. Rest from trying to be good enough to earn His favor. Rest from trying to impress Him with our religious activities. We are to cease from our own works!
Now, do not misunderstand. The rest God is speaking about is not to stay in bed all day, refusing to have a job, being irresponsible. The rest spoken of is the rest that occurs when you take your eyes off of yourself altogether and stop trying to merit God’s blessings. It is the rest you experience when you believe He Himself is doing His work in you and through you. It is a rest given to you, even while you are doing all that is required of you. It is the rest of faith.
You see, there’s only one thing God requires of us. And that is for us to hasten to enter His rest. It is for us to be quick to take our eyes off ourselves. Be quick to cast our burdens upon Him. Be quick to come to the throne of grace and mercy and cast the responsibility of all our cares upon Him and refuse to pick them up again. All He requires is for us to rest confidently in His finished work and then boldly confess our faith in who He is, what He’s already done, and what He’s doing now.
Child of God, instead of trying to earn salvation and blessings, learn to rest in the promises of God, already finished and completed by Christ. Learn to rest in His gift of righteousness and stop trying to establish your own. Learn to rest in His gift of love and power, not only to save you, but to keep you. Instead of trying to live victoriously in your own strength, realize your victory does not depend on how strong you are, but how strong Jesus is. Instead of trying to be good enough, realize God blesses you not because you are good, but because He is.
Try resting for a change.
Take It Easy
Posted on July 22, 2013 2 Comments
Are you trying too hard to succeed as a Christian, as a spouse, or in your career? Are you letting yourself be stressed out and frustrated by your efforts to do God’s will? If you are, you are going about it the wrong way.
Jesus wants to relieve you of stress, not add more of it to your life. He wants you to rest. His desire is for you to be free to enjoy His gift of life.
Listen to His words:
“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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV)
The soul refers to your mind, will, and emotions. What Jesus actually wants is for you to experience restful thoughts and emotions. He wants you to live, work, play and pray, and go about all your daily activities without any worries, fears and stress.
Emotional rest eludes us because we think we need to be in charge of our own destinies. We depend on ourselves and all our self-efforts. And then we exert ourselves to the point of spiritual and emotional exhaustion.
What is the solution? Union with Christ! His Life joined to ours! That’s what Jesus means when He invites us to take His yoke upon us. He wants us to become one with Him by faith and then trust Him to control our destinies and look to His presence in us, not our self-efforts, for the desired outcomes.
That’s what it means for you to take it easy. Recognize your union with Jesus. Do more trusting and less trying. And amazingly, you will discover your life will become more enjoyable, and much, much more successful as He lives in you!
What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
Posted on July 16, 2013 9 Comments
When you are surrounded by trouble, when your problems are many and overwhelming, when you do not know what to do, what do you do? Worrying will not help. Becoming paralyzed by fear is worse. Putting your eyes on people will leave you disappointed. What should you do?
That was the situation King Jehoshaphat found himself in when three different armies joined together to attack him in 2 Chronicles 20. When news reached him of this impending danger, he feared for his life and for the fate of Israel. What chance did they have? The king knew he did not have the ability to defend himself and his people against such powerful forces. And he did not know what to do.
And so he did what we should do when we don’t know what to do:
1. He paused. Not knowing what to do, he stopped what he was doing to seek the face of God. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalms 46:10)
2. He prayed. “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (II Chronicles 20:12)
3. He praised. “When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” (II Chronicles 20:21)
Did this strategy work? Let’s see.
“At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.”
Jehoshaphat’s strange strategy worked! By pausing, praying, and praising, he had released faith, instead of fear, and faith opened the the door for God to work. And what a work God did!
“King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today. (2 Chronicles 20:22-26 NLT)
Child of God, if you are in a valley of difficulties today, do not let it overcome you. If you do not know what to do, then do what Jehoshaphat did. Pause, pray, and praise! Then watch and see as God turns your valley of difficulties into the Valley of Blessing!
A Moment of Grace 