Tag: jesus

Our Blind Ambition is both a blessing and a curse, a Double Edged Swords’ Cleaving of Our Souls. Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21 Amplified Bible

Covetousness Denounced

13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the  family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over [the two of] you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

Parable of the Wealthy Fool

16 Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; now who will own all the things you have prepared?’ 21  So it is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions for himself, and is not rich [in his relationship] toward God.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“You Fool!” Ambition is both a blessing and a curse

Luke 12:18-21 Amplified Bible

18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest  and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’ 21 So it is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions for himself, and is not rich [in his relationship] toward God.”

Ambition is both a blessing and a curse. When it is God-directed and also Holy Spirit-managed, it can bear tremendous fruit. When it is restrained by humility, ambition can be a powerful motivator and also a Kingdom Builder. But when it is hijacked by self and ego, it can leave a wide wake of destruction in its path.

I have wrestled with this issue for most of my life. If you have leadership gifts, you know what it is to be captivated and held captive by vision. You know what it is to have dreams of what is possible and what “possible” could truthfully be. You know what it is to pray, to want to do something significant with your life.

Here’s where it gets too sticky. Is whether of not this drive and desire and this motivation about me or about God? If we’re honest, we would have to admit our hearts are entangled with true God-directed motives and self-directed motives.

Sorting them out is complex. A debate, discussion, of motives and ambition takes us to an inner place hidden from everyone except God. Part of what makes ambition so dangerous is that it resides in the deep, unseen, world of our souls.

God hot wired into every one of us a creative tension. On the one hand, we have what the ancients referred to as a “fire in the belly.” This is our inner source of vision, our longing to make a difference, our will to achieve. In recent years in the ministry world we have been pouring not enough gasoline on these fires.

At the same time, God also has hardwired into us the need for quiet, solitude, rest, and reflection (a healthy soul). This is one reason God established the Sabbath: to teach us there is covenanted a healthy rhythm of life. I like to refer to this part of us as a “spiritual recliner.” It’s a place of rest and peace. It’s more about being a soul intentionally refreshing itself than grasping, catching, wind.

God covenanted this when He took a Sabbath day (Genesis 2:3). You and I need both a fire in the belly and a spiritual recliner to be healthy. In fact, you must have both.  The problem is that these two realities create strain in our lives.

2 And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.

Think of it like this.

Imagine that the fire in your belly (ambition) is as raw unharnessed electricity.

It’s alive, energetic, powerful, exciting and full of potential, but it can also be dangerous and potentially fatal. Then think of a healthy soul as a transformer.

A transformer serves to regulate, channel, and direct, and control electricity.

A transformer takes what’s potentially harmful and deadly and turns it into something safe useful and helpful when handled with the respect it deserves.

It seems to me we are reaping the results of a generation in the church where it has been all about raw and unchanneled electricity. We need to be just as serious about building and installing transformers, as about generating raw electricity.

My first pastorate was in a suburban church in Baltimore. We were a small hospice, legacy church of less than ten in a bustling town that had been the steadily growing and developing in size and prestige for a generation or more.

I came out of my home church with lots of ambition and drive. Why couldn’t we be a church that could grow again by ministering to the many nearby colleges?

But all my ambition and hard work didn’t translate into any growth. I fully remember going to denominational meetings or occasionally running into a few clergy more experienced friends. I dreaded those conversations because I knew the drill. Sooner or later (usually sooner) we would get to the “How are things going at your church?” question. I would try to change the subject as soon as possible. I always walked away feeling inadequate and discouraged.

God’s Kingdom is supposed to be about growth, with God all we have to do is pray for growth and believe in that growth and all the possibilities of growth.

The emotion and the pressure were mostly self-imposed. The emotions I felt had to do with my own ambition. In my mind the only successful pastor was the pastor of a kingdom building-kingdom growing church. My own obsession with size and church growth had set up unmatched strongholds of sheer frustration.

Now, let me reveal the other side of my struggle with ambition. Fast forward a few years to a time when I was a member of a new church plant that was planted in a rural area community. All indicators were up and to the right. By everyone’s measuring stick, we were working, praying hard, were moving toward success.

Unlike before, I found myself anxious to talk to other friends and neighbors. I could not wait to get to the “How are things going at your church?” question.

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I would find myself in a conversation looking for any way to turn, manipulate the dialogue so that I could talk about our church.

This was a whole different set of emotions than what I experienced in my small, hospice church in Baltimore, but, truly, it was nonetheless related to ambition.

Ultimately, God’s purpose for that hospice church far exceeded all my ambition.

Thanks be to God for His good and wondrous, wonderful gifts from His throne!

God’s vision of Kingdom building, Kingdom growth was far and away greater and more ambitious than my own – we deeded the property to a Korean Church which now ministers and serves the needs of their growing Asian Community.

As Scripture says “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.” Proverbs 27:21

21 
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal],
And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud].

Success with and without accolades can be just as challenging a test as failure.

I’m not quite sure when, but somewhere along the way, the measuring stick for what it means to be an effective pastor got switched. The target was no longer personal faithfulness, it became external fruitfulness.  My concern is that the measuring stick of size alone can fuel a kind of ambition that is destructive.

If there is one thing I’ve learned in recent years, it’s this: numerical growth alone is no useful indicator of God’s grace and favor or from godly leadership.

In the introduction to Purpose-Driven Church, Rick Warren talks about catching spiritual waves. It is God who creates waves and movements of his Spirit. We don’t get to decide when the wave comes, where it comes, or how big it will be.

But it’s our privilege to ride a great wave and participate in what God is doing.

My fear is that Christian leaders will no longer quietly, boldly stand on the shore looking for and pray for, a wave of God’s Spirit. When ambition does not have a healthy soul attached to it, we can start trying to create waves ourselves.

Humble Ambitions, Humble Patterns, Humble Service

Philippians 2:1-4 Amplified Bible

Be Like Christ

2 Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ [as there certainly is in abundance], if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship [that we share] in the Spirit, if [there is] any [great depth of] affection and compassion, 2  make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same [a]love [toward one another], knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose [and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ]. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. 4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians is one of the warmest and friendliest of Paul’s letters in the Bible.

The church in Philippi seems to have been quite healthy, source of joy for Paul.

But it was not perfect. No church is.

As we read along in Philippians, we see hints and whispers that Paul knows a few unhappy and unhealthy things about people in this congregation. There are some cracks in their unity, some struggles with “whose right” ambition, pride.

In Philippians 2, Paul begins to address this. And he lays it on pretty thick.

“If you are even remotely Christian,” Paul says, in effect, “then make me even more joyful by being about “of one mind – Jesus’ and embracing his ­humility.”

Many theologians teach that ambitious humility is the core Christian virtue, the characteristic that makes us most like Jesus.

Ambitious Humility helps us realize that even though we all have gifts and talents to do many things, that does not make us any better than anyone else.

Instead, we try to see life as a level playing field on which each person does her or his part. At the end of the day, pay more attention to others than to ourselves.

Let someone else compliment us for our work while we are too busy focusing on building up others. We all need each other. Each of us needs to be thankful for the next person. This is, as Paul explains next (in verses 5-8), the true pattern of life established by a humbly ambitious Jesus—so this is the pattern to follow.

5 Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility], 6 who, although He existed in the form  and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]; 7  but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. 8 After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Are we, as committed, covenanted Christians, more about Kingdom building for our building our self esteem through our own accolades or giving God the glory?

Pray, take a few moments to reflect on this serious issue of ambition. Are there any “signs” of unhealthy ambition.  Ask God to purify your heart and motives!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 15 Amplified Bible

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?
2 
He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.
3 
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 
In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];
5 
He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Be Planning for our Future with God; Just How do We Live and Move with Our Eternity in Mind? Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21 Amplified Bible

Covetousness Denounced

13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the  family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over [the two of] you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

Parable of the Wealthy Fool

16 Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; now who will own all the things you have prepared?’ 21  So it is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions for himself, and is not rich [in his relationship] toward God.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Planning the Future Without God

The rich man had it all figured out. He would make one more major investment by building a bigger barn, after that he was going glory in self, to take life easy.

This prosperous farmer had worked hard all his life, he had sacrificed a lot of things to get where he was, and he now felt entitled to enjoy a life of leisure.

Of course! That is okay. We need to give ourselves some good rest, when you have worked hard all of your life, you should be allowed to reap the benefits.

But suddenly God stepped into the man’s life and called him a fool.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g878/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/

  1. without reason
  2. senseless, foolish, stupid
  3. without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly

Why did God do that?

Not because the rich man had planned for the future, but because he had stored up things for covetousness, glorifying himself, without being rich toward God.

The man had lived his life with a false sense of security, and in the process he had missed the purpose of his life.

God does not begrudge us riches or retirement.

God is the one who gives us all the good things we have (see James 1:17-18). But God gives us these things for a purpose: to put himself at the center of our lives.

We need to ask ourselves, “Am I living up to the purpose God has in mind for me? And am I rich toward God?” In Matthew 6:33 Jesus urges us to seek out the kingdom of God and his righteousness. When we do that, we will be rich toward God and we will be excessively involved in the purposes for which God made us.

How to Live with Eternity in Mind …

Ecclesiastes 3:11 Amplified Bible

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11 He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

Luke 12:13-21 The Message

The Story of the Greedy Farmer

13 Someone out of the crowd said, “Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.”

14 He replied, “Mister, what makes you think it’s any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?”

15 Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

16-19 Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’

20 “Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’

21 “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”

Suppose, if Jesus told it to us today, this parable might go something like this…

Recently there was a certain businessman, a real wheeler dealer. Everything he set his mind to do, he accomplished with great success. If he purchased stock, he bought low and within a short time, sold high. If he built a high-rise, there’d be a huge boom in new businesses needing office space. If he dug an oil well, there would be a revolution somewhere in the Middle East and the price of oil would skyrocket. In fact, the man was so wealthy, he made Elon Musk look like the very lowest of paupers.

In the midst of his success, he had an epiphany. “I’ve worked hard and become the richest guy in the world. Why am still I killing myself? OMG I can buy anything, go anywhere and do anything I want. Nothing and no one no where can ever stop me. What the hey – I’m going to live it up because I can now afford to! And he went to bed laughing and dreaming about the good life he was going to enjoy from then on.

And later that night, with no evidence of severe issues, he died in his sleep. The End.

Jesus was telling his disciples a viable parable that actually sounds a lot like the stereotypical American dream (add in the gorgeous spouse, 2.3 kids, family dog, weekends playing golf, owning the beach, and bam, you got it – the American dream). Well, except for the unexpected death part. Nobody ever dreams of that.

But Jesus knew it was also the Israelites’ dream.

All the Old Testament heroes and Bible greats were rich!

These included Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, King David, and of course, King Solomon – the richest man ever.

Wealthy individuals were very influential, powerful and cultural heroes of the Israelites. They loved overmuch rich guys and wanted to be like the rich guys.

As far as His listeners were concerned, this parable began about an honest farmer climbing the ladder of success right to the top, just like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David and Solomon. He was a hero, a role model, a trend setter. yet God dared called him a fool, and not because he was rich, proud or even selfish.

The man was a fool because he lived his life as if this temporary existence was all about him. Jesus indicated that the man never considered or prepared for eternity. It’s not a lecture on being rich, but rather it’s a reminder to be ready!

In the same manner, however “rich” we really are, we could all still be fools.

  1. without reason
  2. senseless, foolish, stupid
  3. without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly

Regardless of our economic class, our race our gender or our political opinions, theology, unless we get ready, we’ll be ill-prepared to meet the God of eternity.

Have an Eternal Perspective

As the saying goes – there are never going to be any U-hauls behind hearses.

We will all face eternity someday and leave behind all the material possessions we invested our life energy into.

The only things that go with us are our good works done for the Kingdom, and the spiritual fruit of our Christlike character. These are the kinds of acts, deeds of service we receive eternal rewards for (they aren’t the means to salvation).

That means we should all live our lives with an eternal perspective in all we do.

What does that [Ecclesiastes 3:11] eternal perspective look like on a daily basis?

Realize Life Is Short

Psalm 37:1-2 The Message

37 1-2 Don’t bother your head with braggarts
    or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they’ll shrivel like grass clippings
    and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.

James 4:13-15 The Message

Nothing but a Wisp of Fog

13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

We humans are funny when it comes to our ages. Kids can’t wait to grow up.

They proudly count months in addition to years on their fingers.

Teenagers cannot wait to hit the big benchmarks that allow them greater freedoms: college, driving, working, living independently, voting, married.

Middle-age folks look to slowing it down and we begin to fudge on our ages, remaining 29 years old several years in a row, if not the rest of our lives hiding the telltale signs of aging with hair dye, young fashions and gym memberships.

Eventually, it becomes bad form to even ask how old someone is, so we avoid the subject in polite company. But eventually, a person may get to be so old we can ask again, becomes a cause of surprise, celebration they are still with us!

But no matter how many years we each experience here on this fallen earth, it’s simply a wisp of vapor compared to timeless eternity. In that light, as Jesus was saying, it’s foolish to place greater emphasis on our well-being today than our well-being in eternity. When we truly understand how short our days are, we will live our lives with a greater view to how our actions affect and influence others, and how it furthers or hinders God’s plan and purpose here on earth.

Prioritize What Matters Most

Remember Jesus called the guy a fool not because he was financially well off, but because God was not visible in the equation. The man was simply playing Monopoly with his life; he thought he was winning when he was actually losing.

So what does it mean to live our lives in such a way that we are “rich” toward God? One meaning would be to live in a way that pleases Him, by loving Him our neighbors, ourselves, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

Another meaning would be that we live with purpose – following the will of God for your individual life. When we fully commit to doing God’s will in our lives, we move from playing Monopoly money to actively preparing for our eternity.

But being rich toward God also means prioritizing people.

If we truly want to be ready for eternity, we should do everything in our power to make other people the central focus of our lives. After all, people are the most important thing to God! People are the reason for both creation and the Cross.

If you love God, with all you are, you will love His people, from every nation, tribe and tongue (Revelation 7:9-10)! So if we are going to be rich toward God and be ready for eternity, our lives need to be not self but other people focused.

Love Openly, Reconcile Quickly, Forgive Freely

Tell people that you care, tell them how valuable they are, tell them you love and appreciate them. Tell them you miss them. Slow down and make time for them in your schedule. Playing Monopoly and acquiring stuff is not nearly as important as making sure people know how valuable they are, to you, to God.

Luke 14:7-9 The Message

Invite the Misfits

7-9 He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

John 21:15-23 Amplified Bible

The Love Motivation

15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [a] love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16  Again He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me  [with a deep, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you [really] [b]love Me [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him,  “Feed My sheep.”

Our Times Are in His Hand

18 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and arms, and someone else will dress you, and carry you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now He said this to indicate the [c] kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, “Follow Me [walk the same path of life that I have walked]!”

20 Peter turned and saw the [d]disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His chest at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray You?” 21 So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, and what about this [e]man [what is in his future]?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you? You follow Me!” 23 So this word went out among the brothers that this disciple (John) was not going to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but only, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you?”

“Follow me [walk the very same path of life that I have walked!]” “Feed my Lambs, Shepherd my sheep, Feed my sheep!” Jesus quietly commissions Peter.

All who have met the living Lord are commanded, covenanted, to follow him.

In following Jesus, Peter ended up in Rome, where he died for his faith.

Tradition has it Peter was crucified like Jesus, except that Peter requested to be crucified upside down, to show that he was not worthy to die as Jesus had died.

Following Jesus brought Peter to a cross.

We often forget that following Jesus brings sacrifice. Jesus says to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Matthew 16:24-26 The Message

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Some Christians seem to think that when you are a Christian you are on easy street. But living the Christian life is not always easy. If you stand up for Jesus, you will be in conflict with the powers of this world. In many places around the world, many Christians suffer mightily and sometimes even die for their faith.

In our reading for today, Peter wonders what will happen to the apostle John (John 13:25), but Jesus tells Peter that he must focus instead on following Jesus.

Matthew 7:13-14 The Message

Being and Doing

13-14 “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

We must always remember that we cannot ever follow both Jesus and the world.

And we must definitely not get sidetracked in wondering about the Lord’s plans for other believers. We each need to be true, be faithful in the calling he gives us.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
    I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
    Without you, nothing makes sense.

3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
    what splendid friends they make!

4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
    Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
    like brand-names.

5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
    And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
    And then you made me your heir!

7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
    is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
    I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Dance the Happy Dance of Salvation! Day and Night, God Always Sustains! Psalm 3:1-8

Psalm 3 Amplified Bible

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 
Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” [a]Selah.

3 
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
4 
With my voice I was crying to the Lord,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5 
I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.
6 
I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

7 
Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

If your relationship with Jesus doesn’t put a spring in your step and cause you to dance a happy dance once in awhile, maybe you’ve hit a spiritual funk?

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your realization of how much Jesus loves you and exactly what you should be expecting from your relationship with God?

Sometimes we, and I say we as the church collectively, forget our salvation belongs to the Lord.

Far too often we want to defeat ourselves, beat ourselves up, work out our own situations and bring our own answers to the table. By doing so, our efforts fit our own agenda, personal narrative better, to the dilemma we may be facing.

The human will is powerful and our genuine willingness to try to work out our own truer answers without God’s help, only ends in the self deprecating, self defeating spiritual exhaustion, a frustration of our own inability and failure!

Re-read what David writes:

“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! verse 1

Many are they who rise up against me. verse 1

Many are they who say of me, verse 2

“There is no help for him in God.” verse 2

Psalm 3:1-2 The Message

3 1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting!
Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
“Hah! No help for him from God!”

Not unlike David in his problem, we who are Christians today face similar situations. Our liberties, our morals, our values and our way of life as we know it are substantially threatened by those who mock, say, act as if there is no God!

The atmosphere created by what some want to call a new normal, a progressive normal, a socialist normal, is repeatedly trying to be established! Without God being any substantial part of it! Some say, get used to what we’re witnessing.

God would have me tell you, “things are not always as they appear to be!”

Matthew 6:4-13 The Message

2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for fifteen minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

As in David’s time and in the moment as we watch history in the making, fear is still the primary propellant and pusher of the enemies agenda and plans today.

After all the different diversions of attack throughout history, the devil is still stuck with the same playbook of lies, being manipulate, steal, kill and destroy!

Only God has the ability to create new, only God knows what the future holds and only God wants you to have an abundant life! Only Jesus came to give life.

2 Timothy 1:4-7 The Message

To Be Bold with God’s Gifts

3-4 Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.

5-7 That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

Sometimes it’s far too easy for us to get caught up in the moment like David by the rise of circumstances and lose our focus of how big God is. When we focus exclusively on all our circumstances, the opportunity for fear not only raises its ugly head, but gains the confidence to become our primary center of attention!

Isaiah 55:11-13 The Message

8-11 “I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

12-13 “So you’ll go out in joy,
    you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
    bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
    exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
    no more thorn bushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
    living and lasting evidence of God.”

Right there my friend proclaims the promise of our standing on Gods word!

Giving every believer the right to go through life doing the happy dance!

Gods word assures us He is willing to pull out all the stops in the removal of the burdens of life, if we let Him search our hearts, test us, to be a part of our lives!

If your relationship with Jesus doesn’t put a spring in your step and cause you to dance a happy dance once in awhile, just maybe you’ve hit a spiritual funk?

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your realization of how much Jesus loves you and exactly what you should be expecting from your relationship with God?

God’s word is still the full truth and will always be looking for ways to prosper God’s people, establish joy for their lives and accomplishing the impossible!

Constantly searching for those who want to become aware of His Promises and are willing to believe, and 100% trust that “nothing is impossible for God!”

Fear is the opposite of faith!

Fear’s main driving force is self efforts lack of ability!

Faiths driving force is resting in the strength of Gods ability and the peace of mind stemming from it!

David had faced a similar situation of faith and fear we read of in

1 Samuel 30:1-7 The Message

David’s Strength Was in His God

30 1-3 Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.

4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.

6-7 David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God.” Abiathar brought it to David.

There was definite fear that all was lost, by all of David’s men including David.

There was also a glimmer of hope, stemming from the God given faith they all possessed!

Remember these men were warriors of many battles and triumphs following David and his pursuit of becoming King of Israel! They had no doubt many miraculous displays of David’s walk, connection and relationship with God!

Many a lesser man would have contemplated a different strategy resulting in failure and possibly great loss of life, as faced with the same circumstances.

But David, didn’t look to his own ability.

David looked only to Gods amazing ability!

I’m sure there was talk among his men, saying something to the effect of look what doing the Lords work has gotten us!

The voices of those grew against David to the point of the talk of Stoning him!

TBS.

David strengthened himself in the Lord and God answered him with a victory over his adversary’s and the returning of everything that had been taken from him and his men!

David’s realization of his own humility, allowed God to fully work out an amazing end to what seemed a hopeless situation!

David chose to do same again, with complete reliance on God, as we read from verse three again of our text.

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,

My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

4  I cried to the Lord with my voice,

And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

5  I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.

Selah, means to pause. David paused, or rested and strengthened himself in the amazing ability of God.

David could’ve been mad, he could have been thinking of retribution against Absalom. David could’ve been thinking a lot of things, but what he chose to be calm, do was rest and strengthen himself in what he knew to be his salvation.

David realized looking to God for his salvation, was what had sustained him every time he had ever faced any circumstance!

God had never let David down before!

His adversaries were too powerful and too numerous to count, but David remembered what God had helped him to be victorious over in the past!

David knew God had never let him down before and God would be willing to accomplish the impossible for him again, in the moment of his great needs!

Lions, bears, giants, adversaries, warriors, enemies, yes God had sustained David through each and every one!

Gods calling and anointing is without repentance!

Romans 11:29 The Message

A Complete Israel

25-29 I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what’s going on and arrogantly assume that you’re royalty and they’re just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that’s not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it’s all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written,

A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion;
    he’ll clean house in Jacob.
And this is my commitment to my people:
    removal of their sins.

From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God’s enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God’s overall purpose, they remain God’s oldest friends. God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.

Today because of God’s loving act of grace to the world, We look to Jesus and our connectional relationship with Savior Jesus for our sustaining salvation and promise of deliverance!

We have David’s example, to not look at our circumstance, but to the one who controls and determines the outcome of our circumstances!

Knowing when we humble ourselves and ask for God’s help, God hears and responds to our needs!

Reading on from verse seven

7 Arise, O Lord;

Save me, O my God!

For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;

You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

David calls on God to rescue him and bring salvation to the situation!

And then reflects on the times that God has rescued him and rescued Israel, and to seemingly have done the impossible time after time.

Asking for Gods blessing once again, and then pauses or rest in the assurance God will deliver!

Is it really that easy?

Under who’s ability?

Under mans ability, what David ask was impossible!

Under God’s ability, our requests really are that easy!

We repeatedly have the tendency to try making things for God harder than what they are!

Philippians 4:6-7 The Message

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Paul tells us, to let God know what we need and have faith God will meet the need and to rest in the peace that passes all understanding God supplies through Christ Jesus until the need is no longer a need!

There is no harder or easier for God!

God can do anything He wants, anytime He wants, for anyone who has the faith the size of the tiniest mustard seed, which God has also already miraculously has provided and is willing to believe God can meet the need!

We find our true identity in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord, when we finally kick fear to the curb and take our rightful place of resting in Jesus willingness, to show us unmerited favor!

Have we earned it? No!

Are we worthy of such reward?

If Jesus is our Savior then yes we are worthy!

Because of the cross, Jesus has made us worthy and able to receive the Favor God freely offers to all!

The only thing there is no room for in a Christians life today and what we face in the never ending onslaught of condemnation and attack by the accuser, is fear!

Because fear triggers and is fuel for doubt and unbelief!

Whatever you’re facing today doesn’t matter, because nothing is out of the realm of the possibilities of the One True Living God!

Whether it’s an addiction, or a financial need, or a physical condition makes absolutely no difference! If you’re trusting the results and outcome of what you’re facing to God!

Don’t let the fear caused by the failure of self effort, keep you from receiving the miracle your seeking.

Put your mustard sized God given seed of faith in the God of all things possible and rest in God’s willingness to split your mountain in half while making those same mountains of adversity sing for joy, while the trees clap with thunderous applause, in the glorious midst of clearing the pathway to your victory!

Do you know how much God loves you today?

Jesus established on the cross amount of Gods love for you is immeasurable.

God willingly gave His very best, so you could live in, walk in and experience His very best, all along your way to eternity!

Aren’t you glad you know Him?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Dare to Envision the Unimaginable: ‘Our “Trying” to Live for Ourselves, Without a trace of God in our World.’ Psalm 49:13-20

Psalm 49:15-20 The Message

13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
    who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
    they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
    nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
    he reaches down and grabs me.

16-19 So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
    and pile up fame and fortune.
They can’t take it with them;
    fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they’ve arrived
    and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
They enter the family burial plot
    where they’ll never see sunshine again.

20     We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
    Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

For centuries, Western society has benefited from the widespread influence of the Christian faith.

While the history of the West is filled with examples of human depravity, where there has been a consistent Christian presence it has, in many ways and at many times, stayed the hand of evil.

Most of us have not had to grieve and groan through the experience of what a society looks like when it completely abandons and rejects and forgets God.

The Scriptures, however, do give us a grim picture of what happens when people have convinced themselves that there is no God.

It is a picture of a rejection of humility, where “the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul” and rejects God in his pride (Psalm 10:3-4). Humility is where the knowledge of God begins; therefore, those who reject God reject humility too.

Not only do such proud people reject God; they also revile Him, cursing and renouncing Him (Psalm 10:3). Too often prosperity leads people to curse God.

Their lives are going so well that they believe nothing can touch them and they will give no account to their Maker. Their prosperity gives them a false sense of security. They think they can live as they like, that “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it” (v 11), that there will be no repercussions for their behavior.

With no accountability for how people live, there is no need for the powerful to serve or the strong to be gentle: we can treat others however we please, and so the godless man “sits in ambush … he murders the innocent … he lurks that he may seize the poor” (v 8-9).

It is with good reason, then, that the psalmist says, “Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” Psalm 49:20

When we abandon, reject and revile God, we foolishly think we are secure, which inevitably convinces us that it’s acceptable for us to mistreat others.

It is tempting to think that passages like this one only describe other people.

But we should not be too quick to look away from ourselves. Are there ways we have rejected humility, believing ourselves to be sufficient without God?

Have we let our prosperity numb us to our neediness and accountability before God? Has our treatment of those around us been marked by self-interest and arrogance instead of love and service? We may confess to have faith in God, but perhaps there are just a few hidden areas of our lives that require repentance.

The picture of man “in his pomp yet without understanding” is indeed a bleak one—both in this life and at its end. So praise God that this is not the whole picture.

Psalm 16:9-11 The Message

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way.

Psalm 16:9-11 Amplified Bible

9 
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my innermost self] rejoices;
My body too will dwell [confidently] in safety,
10 
For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
11 
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

If you and I ever dare ourselves to come to understand that we have a Creator to whom we are utterly invaluable and accountable, and that that this Creator has ransomed mine, your, soul and will receive you into eternal life (Psalm 49:15), then the pomp of this world will soon assume its rightful place, and in Jesus Christ you, I, will enjoy purpose, hope, forgiveness, and pleasures forevermore.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 15 Amplified Bible

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?
2 
He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.
3 
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 
In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];
5 
He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Proving Yourself? Come Humbly and Seeking Honestly when Approaching God, Testing God, Questioning God, Before Knowing and Trusting in God. Mark 8:11 – 13

Mark 8:11-13 Amplified Bible

11 The Pharisees came out and began to argue [contentiously and debate] with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him [because of their unbelief]. 12 He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [a]no sign will be given to this generation!” 13 Leaving them, He again boarded the boat and left for the other side.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Prove Yourself Proving Yourself Right and Smarter

Who is this man?

Why does he believe he is better and smarter than me?

Why does he believe he has any authority over me?

Why does he believe he is closer to God, seeks after God, knows God, trusts God better and much more smarter than I do? Who does he believe he is, God’s Son?

Seeking hearts in Jesus’ day could see proof of his divinity with an honest and humble observation. Even some who weren’t seeking saw Jesus as God’s Son as well. However, those who “came… to argue with him” and who were “seeking after him, testing him” and demanding a “sign… to prove his authority” could not see.

One more miracle, another sign, and yet another display of power would never be enough for them to believe. So much of our faith is knotted to our own heart.

Are we seeking for truth? Are we seeking God? Are we seeking after God, not to believe, not to trust, but only test God to see how well we match up with God?

So we yearn only to prove, approve, affirm our own personal belief in our own self righteousness? Do we yearn for what is really life? These are some crucial questions for us as each we seek not only to know, but also to believe in, Jesus.

Helping Your Unbelief – Come Humbly, Seek Honestly

Generally, School teachers and college professors often experience two types of questioners: those who ask humbly with genuine interest and those who aim to challenge the teachers depth of education intelligence in an adversarial manner.

The former clearly seek to understand. The latter are more interested in their advancing their agendas, reinforcing their opinions, or simply looking smart.

Unlike the crowds of people who witnessed, marveled over Christ’s miracles, the Pharisees often challenged Jesus’ teaching and public ministry in order to test Him and to validate themselves, their authority and to undermine Him.

They weren’t there to see His wonderful works and consider whether He was actually the person He claimed to be. They were there to trip Him up, trap Him.

Jesus responded to the crowds that followed Him with compassion instead. He had displayed divine kindness for those who came to Him in humility of heart, honestly, sincerely recognizing their selfless versus all of their selfish needs.

He turned away no one who came genuinely seeking truth. But He met the antagonistic religious leaders with righteous frustration—divine impatience for those who came seeking only and exclusively, to prove their own position, demonstrate their own faulty self righteousness and to challenge His claims.

There are two ways to ask a question: humbly or arrogantly.

And the Teacher always knows the difference.

Some people who say they are religious still get nothing out of the Bible’s teaching. They listen to sermons Sunday after Sunday, looking for reasons not to rest wholly on Christ’s completed work. They ask questions aimed at holding the Lord at arm’s length, then wonder why they don’t find satisfactory answers.

That is not the way of the child of God. With humble meekness and an honest curiosity, we should seek to learn from our Teacher and, when our hearts are troubled, come to Him humbly, asking for help to be open to the answer and without demanding Jesus “give us a sign,” follow our agenda or expectations.

If you have a big brain, the Bible is able to satisfy your intellect. If you have a big head, you’ll find pride distorts our ability to see the clarity, truth of God’s word.

Christ is more than ready, willing and able to cater to intellectual integrity, but He is entirely unwilling to pander to arrogance.

We all have questions for Jesus about this world, about our life, about the way we should go. Jesus will never turn away those who come to Him, and He will welcome His brothers’ and sisters’ requests if they are in God’s plan, purpose.

But in addition to considering your questions, consider your heart. Ask your questions, but first pray, think through how you are asking: are you motivated by humble honest faith seeking understanding or by pride seeking to be right?

Those who have ears, let them humbly, honestly, meekly, sincerely, hear!

Those who have eyes, let them humbly, honestly, meekly, sincerely, see!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, I believe, but I want to believe more strongly and more completely. I don’t want my faith to be narrow or shallow — just a mere emotional cloud that is here today and gone tomorrow. Guide my heart and my mind as I seek to know truth, your truth, about who you are and what you want of me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Psalm 15 Amplified Bible

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?
2 
He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.
3 
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 
In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];
5 
He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Our Thoughts and God’s Thoughts; Why Are We Second-Guessing God? Isaiah 55:6-13

Isaiah 55:6-13 Amplified Bible

6 
Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.
7 
Let the wicked leave (behind) his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 
“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth,
Making it bear and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 
So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me void (useless, without result),
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
12 
“For you will go out [from exile] with joy
And be led forth [by the Lord Himself] with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 
“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Our Thoughts and God’s Thoughts

Some years ago, pastor at a church in New Orleans Louisiana I visited on a volunteer in mission trip once told this story to the children in his church.

He showed the group of children a pumpkin and an acorn, and he said he could never figure out why God had created such a small seed for a large tree and why he had created such a large gourd for such a small plant, asked for their ideas.

Nearly all of the children just shrugged their shoulders, others just sat there.

The Pastor continued, saying it seemed that in a creation that was proportional an oak tree should have a large seed, about the size of a pumpkin, and a small plant like a pumpkin vine should have a small seed, about the size of an acorn.

But then he went on to explain that one day while he was walking through the woods, an bunch of acorns fell from a tree and they hit him on the head–and suddenly he realized that God, not him, must know exactly what he is doing.

Often in life we see and experience things that don’t seem to make sense to us, and just as often we are called to trust that God knows more about what he is doing, what he is going to do at any given time he chose, than the Pastor did.

God reminds us of this when he says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways … As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Even in the confusion of life, we can be assured that when things do not make sense to us, God knows what he is doing and we can trust him to care for us.

Why Are You and I Second-Guessing God at All?

Have we ever second-guessed God, by wondering if He really knew what He was doing, if He really knew what He was talking about, He is communicating to us?

I remember when I applied for what seemed like the perfect job. At the perfect time. With a perfect salary. But when I didn’t get the job, I thought, believed was so perfect in every way, I became discouraged and began to question God.

I prayed, “Why not, God? This was so perfect for me. I prayed about it.

And I shouted to heaven, “I trusted You. Why did you not bless me with this?”

Yet God apparently knew what He was doing. Even though I didn’t. And now when I look back at what I thought was the perfect job at the perfect time, I can see that it wasn’t perfect for him, in His time after all, and it wasn’t the perfect time either. God knew what was coming…and He had something better in mind.

In Isaiah 55, verses 6-9, God told His people to seek Him, set aside their wicked ways and He would surely have mercy and compassion, that His thoughts were not like their thoughts, and neither were their ways like His. Seek God Out!

That’s because He knows all things and we don’t. But that passage also says His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, meaning better, more encompassing with far greater eternal purposes, while we tend to look at just the temporary.

In the next two verses, 10 and 11;

God told His people as sure as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it produce and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will His word will be which goes out of His mouth; it will not return to Him empty, without accomplishing what exactly He alone desires, and without succeeding in the very exact and exacting purpose for which He alone sent it.

That passage assures us that God not only knows what’s best for us, but He has His eternal purposes at work in what He allows, as well as what He prevents. 

How often do you and I ask God,

“Why now, in this moment of moments? Couldn’t have come at a worse time!”

How often do we wonder, Why this? We were faithful and we were hoping for the best! How many times do we say, “Why me? As if I haven’t been through enough already!” We even sometimes offer God our “rational list” of the reasons why we believe His timing was way off and His choice were not in our best interest.

And yet, God continues to know what He is doing. We cannot just second-guess Him. Sometimes He’s protecting us from something we can’t yet—or might not ever—see. Other times He is preparing for something even better for us that we have yet to discover. And I believe at all times, as long as we stay surrendered to Him, He is shaping our character and refining us through our circumstances.

Intersecting Life & Faith: 

God has His own exclusive reasons, far above our own, because He is God and thanks be to God, we are not nor have to be. We are asked to simply trust that…

  • There is an occasion for everything and a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 11) that means He didn’t get the timing wrong in the slightest.
  • “His work is perfect; all his ways are just” (Deuteronomy 32:4), and He is a God who never makes mistakes.  
  • He is a God who “does not slumber or sleep” (Psalm 121:3-4), meaning nothing takes Him by surprise.

Can you and I implicitly trust God today instead of second-guessing Him?

Can you and I live with the assurance that He loves us beyond comprehension and that nothing takes Him by surprise and He won’t let anything touch you that hasn’t already first passed through His loving hands? Can we make that your goal today and everyday, in every last circumstance that comes our way?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God of all creation, we acknowledge that our thoughts are not your thoughts and our ways are not your ways. Help us to trust in you and your ways. For Jesus’ sake, Amen. Lord, please help us to trust You with our disappointments and missed opportunities, and even when it seems like our world is turning all upside down. You are in control and, because You are loving and good, You wouldn’t have things any other way. In Your great, greater and greatest time and season. I pray only in Jesus’ name  Amen

Psalm 121 The Message

121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
    your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
    Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God’s your Guardian,
    right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
    sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
    he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
    he guards you now, he guards you always.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Jesus is My Lord; Jesus is My True Refuge, My True Yoke of Freedom. Matthew 11:25-30

Matthew 11:25-30 Amplified Bible

Come to Me

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth [I openly and joyfully acknowledge Your great wisdom], that You have hidden these things [these spiritual truths] from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants [to new believers, to those seeking God’s will and purpose]. 26  Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him.

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Jesus, the True Refuge

Life is never going to be a summer camp but a battlefield full of struggles.

In this long and hard journey, we will inevitably be distressed and tired.

Maybe we are groaning under the weight of a virtual steamroller of anguish, and we feel surrounded, hemmed in everywhere, just do not know what to do.

Jesus says, “Do not despair; come to me.”

He is our refuge, he invites us into a refreshing time of trust and fellowship.

He can relieve us of that heavy burden, remove grief from our hearts, and heal our wounds.

He invites us to share with him a deeply personal, deeply intimate experience: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus’ command is for each of us: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

To do this requires a commitment to stop being surrounded, to submit, learn.

Pick up His Holy Scriptures, surround yourself with His resurrected presence.

Jesus even repeats his promise to you and me, and the church: not only does he say, “I will give you rest,” but he also says, “You will find rest” for your soul.

Do not walk hunched over under the weight of despair.

Turn to Jesus, because he has the resurrected power to relieve you, relieve me and relieve the church of their burdens and carry us in his omnipotent arms.

“Come to Me!” Always remember that the Son of God is our only true refuge.

Jesus is My True Yoke of Freedom

Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

A yoke is a stout wooden frame placed across the back of oxen or other strong animals, joining them together in order to slowly, carefully haul a heavy load.

The yoke’s purpose is to evenly distribute the weight on both sides, making it possible for the animals to walk together, in unison, while bearing its weight.

Jesus uses this illustration to offer those who might follow Him the chance to find unparalleled freedom under His yoke. With His personal invitation to take His “easy” and “light” yoke, Jesus announces an easier way, he distinguishes Himself from mere religion, with its heavy burden of rules and regulations.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were consumed with doing what was right—not only seeking to abide by God’s law but adding a great number of their own rules as well. Such man-made obligations and expectations create crushing burdens.

Repeatedly saying, with the millstone of rules on your back; “Come on now, try harder; come on, you can do this,” will figuratively wear down anyone’s neck.

But Jesus’ yoke is different.

To be under the yoke—the authority—of Jesus is not a burden; it is a delight.

How can this be?

There is a definitely different freedom found in Christ—not a freedom to do what we want but a freedom to do what we ought. Since by nature we cannot do what we ought, we’re yoked to our own desires, promising much, delivers little.

We need somebody—Jesus—to set us free from our bondage to sin so that we might live in freedom and obedience to God’s will: to become the people we were designed to be.

So it is that Christ’s commands are “the perfect law that gives freedom,” and so it is those who obey them “will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25, NIV).

James 1:25 The Message

25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

Jesus is My Lord

This is why we declare with joy, “Jesus is my Lord.”

This is His identity—and because of His lordship, when we respond to His invitation and receive His yoke upon our shoulders, we accept a newfound obligation to live freely under His perfect will.

The issues of ethics, morality, sexuality, business, family—all these things and more are gathered under the yoke, the true authority, of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For those who still feel yoked to a burdensome weight, be it impossible rules or sinful desires, Jesus extends the invitation to come, let Him lift these burdens.

You absolutely need to hear this today.

Where are you struggling with sin?

How are you seeing the commands of the Lord as burdensome?

In what ways might you be struggling against His ways?

Hear Him again: 

Hear Him again: 

Come to Me. I’m humble. I’m gentle. Your burden is so severe that I had to die on the cross for you, and I did so willingly. Come, be yoked to Me. My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30 Amplified Bible

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord of the Sabbath, In times of weakness and hour of need, yours is the strength by which we carry on, the shoulder we rest our head upon. When our load is heavy and too much to bear, yours are the arms stretched out to help us the true grace that we depend on. In times of weakness and hour of need, your truest voice is heard over the turmoil, ‘Come… find rest.’ This is grace divine, the path we tread to wholeness of body and spirit, the path that leads to you, for which we offer our offering of praise.

Psalm 119:9-16 Amplified Bible

Beth.

9 
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to Your precepts].
10 
With all my heart I have sought You, [inquiring of You and longing for You];
Do not let me wander from Your commandments [neither through ignorance nor by willful disobedience].
11 
Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 
Blessed and reverently praised are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.
13 
With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 
I will meditate on Your precepts
And [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts].
16 
I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A Prayer to Prepare All Our Hearts to Give Glory to God and Celebrate Our Nation’s Freedom on this, its 248th 4th of July Birthday. John 8:31-32, 36

John 8:31-38 Amplified Bible

The Truth Will Make You Free

31 So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone. [a]What do You mean by saying, ‘You will be set free’?”

34 Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, everyone who practices sin habitually is a slave of sin. 35 Now the slave does not remain in a household forever; the son [of the master] does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you plan to kill Me, because My word has no place  [to grow] in you [and it makes no change in your heart]. 38 I tell the things that I have seen at My Father’s side [in His very presence]; so you also do the things that you heard from your father.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The Bible – Our Free Pathway to God’s Personal Truth

The Truth Will Make You Free

31 So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].”

Sometimes the Bible is described as a telescope.

A tele­scope is not something to look at but an instrument to look through.

When we do, we are free to see that what we see and believe is far away or hard to see is actually closer than we thought, when focused it becomes clearer to us.

When we look at life and history through the narrowed lens of the Bible, what once seemed distant and hard to understand will inevitably come into focus.

Through the Words of Scripture we are brought close to God and His truth.

Through the Words of Scripture we are brought near to events that happened thousands of years ago. We zoom in, for example, on the life and ministry of our Savior Jesus Christ, who be­came human and came to live among us (John 1:14).

Jesus wanted the people of his day to believe in him as the One who reveals the truth about God, what God is doing in this world, His freedom, through Christ.

But instead they wanted to hang on to old legalisms that enslaved them to a broken system, refusing to admit that they were slaves to sin, could not keep the law perfectly. Jesus urged them to accept him as the eternal truth and life who could bring them out of this slavery, give them new life forever with God.

Are we any different? As we daily encounter the Word of God, we must accept and meet God on his terms, not ours. By relying on the Spirit’s help, God speaks to us and breathes into us his life and truth. And that truth sets us free-free to serve him in our all daily work, play, relationships, and every other facet of life.

A Prayer of Gratefulness for our Nation’s Freedom

Galatians 5:1The Message

The Life of Freedom

5 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

Even though some American citizens may not feel too much gratitude for our nation in its present condition, we should want to view it with thankful hearts, treasuring how God worked in 1776, divinely established this nation in freedom.

As 2 Corinthians 3:17 explains, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Regardless of how some feel about our nation’s present state, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 urges us to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Especially as Christians to recognize that God is the author of freedom.

As John 8:36 explains, Jesus is the One that sets us free. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Cultivating Ongoing Gratefulness for Our Nation’s Freedom

Long-lasting freedom requires citizens to practice ongoing gratitude.

Without continual appreciation and recognition of the efforts that fostered and shed blood, sacrificed for freedom, a nation starts to lose widespread support for it, leading to coming generations being uninformed and misconstruing events that led to the establishment of a free nation. Proverbs 11:14 explains, “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.”

Silence Equals Consent: The Sin of Omission author William J. Federer writes  how on March 30, 1961, America’s future 40th President, Ronald Reagan, spoke to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce on the importance of passing on gratitude for the history, lessons, and sacrifices of freedom to our future generations: 

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-taught lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same. And if you and I don’t do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” 

For America’s freedom to endure, it’s vital for us to pass on genuine, heartfelt gratitude for it by first giving glory, thanking God and, secondly, by recognizing exactly what it takes to maintain it. As Proverbs 15:22 explains, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.”

Passing Gratefulness for Our Freedom On to the Next Generation

Proverbs 13:22 urges parents to leave an inheritance to their children.

Teaching our children and their children to be thankful for America’s costly freedom is vital and a priceless gift.

Taking the time to pass on gratitude for it to our families is well worth our time.

A key to parents passing on gratitude for America to future generations is by example, expressing it ourselves, and researching, studying, and knowing and then sharing and celebrating its rich history – both its victories and its defeats.

Providence Forum Executive Director Dr. Jerry Newcombe encourages parents to “Learn the true history ourselves and teach it to our children. “

There are plenty of sound resources out there trying to get Americans to learn about what made our nation so special.” One such resource is the Providence Forum “Foundation of American Liberty” film series, written and produced by Newcombe. This series explores the foundation of American liberty, which is our Judeo-Christian heritage.

A Prayer to Prepare Our Hearts to Celebrate God and Our 248th Nation’s 4th of July Birthday.

John 8:36 Amplified Bible

36 So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free.

America’s 4th of July holiday is all about celebrating freedom. Although many citizens may be viewing it as a reason for an extended holiday, family gatherings, and setting off fireworks, there is much more behind this national holiday. Many Americans may not realize where the desire for freedom, the kind that stirs the hearts of men and women, originates. 2 Corinthians 3:17 explains its source, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Many believe God’s way is to restrain people, but His way is freedom; as John 8:32 explains, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Humankind’s longing for freedom comes from God, who provides the way for us to be free. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Freedom Came to America

Sadly, some Americans have no idea how America came to be the free nation it is today. They haven’t heard or learned how God divinely led Christians from across the ocean who longed to openly serve Him to leave everything behind and risk their lives to set sail for a world where they could freely worship God.

In The Pilgrim Chronicles, historian Rod Gragg traces the Pilgrims’ beginnings in 1606 England as Christian separatists who had faced severe persecution by the Church of England. But fleeing to Holland in 1609 brought them face-to-face with worldly Dutch ways, causing them to look beyond the Netherlands for the religious freedom they longed to find.

Journeying to the New World offered them the opportunity to find the freedom to worship their Savior Jesus in peace. Because they did, the Pilgrims laid the biblical foundation and influence, leading our Founding Fathers to base our Declaration of Independence on godly principles. These truths are exactly why we each have been given the right to worship God freely and without reserve.

Freedom Brings Unity

But as the New World grew, England’s King George ruled with a heavy hand, oppressing the citizens and cultivating a widespread desire for them to be free from his control. His oppression led to the Revolutionary War that led to the Declaration of Independence and the creation of the United States of America.

Behind this movement was the Church, consisting of Congregationalists, Anglicans, Catholics, Deists, Quakers, Dutch Reformed, Baptists, Lutherans, Puritans, and Presbyterians who came together to pray, overlooking their own denominational differences to unite 13 colonies together for a common goal.

Dennis Prager, an American conservative radio talk-show host and writer, explains, “Ultimately, they wanted people to be free to practice their religion and relate to God in their own way. They all knew God is the source of liberty.” 

Freedom’s Ultimate Sacrifice

As Christians, we know freedom comes through Jesus’ sacrifice.

As 1 John 2:2 explains, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Likewise, sacrifice led the way for our nation’s freedom, too. Retired Judge Darrell White describes, “In a nutshell, our founders sacrificed their prosperity for their posterity, us. They pledged to give their entire lives, their fortunes, their reputations and their sacred honor to secure our blessings of liberty.”

Because Jesus loved us, freely laid down His life, we have been set free from sin.

John 3:16-17 Amplified Bible

16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.

This foundational freedom, this foundational truth, strengthened and led the way for men and women before us to sacrifice of themselves, lay down their lives so that we might live in a nation founded on liberty for all. As Dr. Jerry Newcombe, Executive Director of Providence Forum, explains, “We are free in large part because many others sacrificed on our behalf that we might be free.”

Thank You, God! Happy 248th Birthday – The United States of America!

In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 22:27-28 Amplified Bible

27 
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You,
28 
For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.

Dear Father, King of Eternity, thank You for the freedom You give to us through Jesus Christ, Your Son. Help us, as United States citizens, publicly and privately give thanks to You for the freedom we have as a nation. Lead Americans across our nation to be grateful for what You have given us and to recognize that true freedom is a gift from You. Let our hearts overflow with thankfulness to You for the true freedom our nation offers us because its foundation is based on the freedom we receive from You. Lead us in teaching our children, and our children’s children, to have hearts full of gratitude to You for providing the way to freedom through Jesus. Inspire future generations to treasure freedom and treasure You and to see that it comes from You and You alone.

Today and every day, we are freely able to celebrate the freedom You give us and how it laid the foundation for our nation to be free. Thank You for the freedom You give to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Because of You, true freedom is possible and stirs the hearts of Americans and people around the world. Let Your name be glorified in our celebrations. Help us celebrate in ways that bring You praise and honor. Remind Americans how You divinely led Christians to set sail and settle this land for Your glory. Show us, too, O Lord, how to be grateful and respectful to the men and women who came before us, sacrificing their lives and futures, braving and suffering hardship, to establish this land for Your glory so future generations could live free. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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The Homeless Sinner: “What has God EVER Done For Me?” Romans 5:8-10

Romans 5:8-10 Amplified Bible

8 But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the [a]wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The lonely—widows, orphans, prisoners, homeless

Psalm 68:5-6 Amplified Bible

5 
A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The lonely—widows, orphans, prisoners, the homeless—the sinner without Christ as their Savior, what can be done to ease their sense that no one cares?

Ultimately, God in his love is our dwelling place. As “a father to the fatherless,” he adopts us as his children. He defends the widow, cares for the orphans, sets the lonely in families, frees the prisoners, and puts a new song in their mouths.

When God led Israel through the desert wasteland of the Sinai Peninsula after freeing them from Egypt, he scattered their enemies and refreshed his weary people with manna from heaven and quail. And in his law he made special provisions for widows and orphans, for foreigners, visitors, all who were poor.

To be a part of the people of God, the church of Christ, heirs of the promise, recipients of salvation—this is a great, great blessing. There are people who think and believe of Christ’s church as boring, divided and a waste of time.

They go to worship once or twice and soon give up – they are not refreshed.

But they miss the fellowship that they could enjoy—the fellowship of all who share in God’s deep love and grace, made possible through Christ’s sufferings for all who believe. God’s caring people have a heart for those who are suffering.

Are we following God’s example, caring with His compassion for others today?

“Exactly, what in the hell has God ever done for me?”

“Exactly, what in the hell has God ever done for me?”

That question was the response I heard from the homeless veteran sitting in my office, who curtly delivered it as I offered him a place to recover from alcohol. I tried to strike up a conversation about our veterans programs, spiritual things.

“Let me tell you this,” the man went on. Getting emotional, the man said to me, “I laid on a battlefield in Vietnam, bleeding. If anything could atone for my sins, it was my own blood as I lay there in a country I did not care enough it existed, nearly dying in a jungle swamp for a country that obviously didn’t care for me!”

It was hard to decide which was more shocking: The pain this fellow carried for some many decades, or his apparent indifference to God. We ended up having a fairly cordial conversation, he seemed genuinely touched as I thanked him for serving as he did. I asked him to grasp God has proven His love; The Father demonstrated His love by sending the Son, Jesus, to set us free (Romans 5:8).

I do not know if he believed me or ever got around to believing in God as he left the program after only a month, long enough to get another temporary job. I heard several years later that he had been shot, killed on the streets in robbery.

Homelessness, loneliness, abandonment, betrayal are hardened prisons for the souls to survive – they are hardcore, ruthless, merciless environments to live in.

There’s no sense of safety, or freedom, no sense of confidence or independence, no reason for anyone to have any measure of faith in anyone but your own self, limited to no reason to believe in God in a place where you know that if God was about being God, loving and having compassion on everyone, why am I a wreck?

Why is everything and everyone and everywhere around me a prison, a wreck, an uncaring, dispassionate, soulless, mocking, scornful mass of humanity, is there any reason for anyone to believe in God and the freedoms He promises?

As Independence Day approaches and we thank God for the hard-won freedoms this country enjoys, because so many were willing to give their everything, up to their very lives, to lay the foundation of a radical dream, of founding a nation under the providence, protection and care of God, with liberty, justice for all.

A Declaration of Independence, a one of a kind Constitution To set a standard of true liberty and independence and freedom for everyone for the last 248 years.

It is also important to point out the freedoms we have through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ’s life giving sacrifice, on the Cross gives each of us these five liberties:

1. Freedom from the guilt that all inherit.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “In Adam all die.” Physical death — and the risk of spiritual death — are universal realities because of the sin we inherit from Adam and Eve. In Christ, we are forgiven, not condemned, promised a home in heaven, and set free from guilt. (Romans 8:1 – 4)

Escape from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son], 4 so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

2. Freedom from sinful deeds we personally commit.  

We have all known the right things but done the wrong things. Sinful actions not only put a big wedge between us and God, but they also result in numerous negative repercussions. Confessing Christ as Savior, He forgives our sins, and the indwelling Holy Spirit can give us the strength to overcome temptations.

Romans 7:14-20 Amplified Bible

The Conflict of Two Natures

14 We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control]. 15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. 16 Now if I  habitually do what I do not want to do, [that means] I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good (morally excellent). 17 So now [if that is the case, then] it is no longer I who do it [the disobedient thing which I despise], but the sin [nature] which lives in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not. 19 For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, I am no longer the one doing it [that is, it is not me that acts], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.

3.  Freedom within ourselves over personal struggles.

If we are willing, God’s Spirit can even help us overcome sinful habits that may have held us in bondage for years. Whether the issue is gnawing remorse over past bad decisions, feelings of worthlessness, emotional pain from abuse, or just fear about tomorrow — Jesus gives us peace within. The Gospel is our way to an abundant peace with God and is also the key to peace with ourselves.

4.  Freedom from judgment that is ultimately coming.

Jesus is in the process of restoring a broken world. “Eschatology” is an 85-cent word that refers to what the Bible says about “last things.” One day, the entire world and universe will be made brand-new (Revelation 21:5). Just as there is a global, universal eschatology — Jesus gives us a joyous personal eschatology. This fallen world is under judgment, but Jesus has made the believer exempt.

5.  Freedom to face eternity—our soul’s final destiny.  

“It is appointed for people to die once — and after this, judgment.” – Hebrews 9:27

We may not want to or like to think about our own pending mortality, but it is unavoidable. There is a date that we will leave this world, and God knows when that date is. It is very freeing, liberating to know that we are ready to face God! 

Several years ago, I was asked to visit the neighbor of a friend who had been arrested and put in jail. As a minister of the Gospel, requests like this come along more than you might imagine.

It is an honor to do such things, and when people find themselves in the deepest of valleys, with prison bars between them and their independence, they are very often quite open to allowing Jesus Christ to become Lord, Savior of their lives.

The facility was very bleak, with rough gray concrete everywhere and seemingly endless hallways of bars and flaking paint. Not surprisingly, an air of gloom and hopelessness permeated the place, and reflected on the faces of all the inmates.

The particular jail where I visited the inmate in question had a very small, dark courtyard in the middle of the building. There were a few concrete squares in an otherwise dirty, rain soaked and muddy courtyard.

Suddenly, I noticed a small flower growing up against the concrete wall in one corner. It was the only bit of vegetation in this otherwise dank, lifeless place.

Invisibly, some minimal breeze had carried a seed over the roof and into this small open area within the prison facility. The bleakness of the surroundings made that one little flower all the more vivid to those who cared to notice.
 
When you think of the prison bars, bondage, sufferings, and entanglements that permeate this world, the freedoms that we have through Savior Christ appear all the more precious. Jesus is the flower of beauty in a muddy place.

Luke 4:16-21 Amplified Bible

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
19 
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”

20 Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. 21 He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.”
 
Jesus absolves the guilty, the homeless sinners, who are imprisoned by sin. The heart and soul cries out in silence, longs for freedom — and finds it in Christ.

Acts 4:8-12 Amplified Bible

8 Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court], 9 if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health, 10 let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health. 11 This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the [a]chief Cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”

For there is salvation in no one else, no other name under heaven … Acts 4:12

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). May I reach out with your love to people who are lonely. In Jesus, Amen.

Psalm 42 Amplified Bible

Book Two

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

To the Chief Musician. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks,
So my [a]soul pants [longingly] for You, O God.
2 
My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God.
When will I come and see the face of God?
3 
My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 
These things I [vividly] remember as I pour out my soul;
How I used to go along before the great crowd of people and lead them in procession to the house of God [like a choirmaster before his singers, timing the steps to the music and the chant of the song],
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a great crowd keeping a festival.

5 
Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become restless and disturbed within me?
Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
6 
O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 
Deep calls to deep at the [thundering] sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 
Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song will be with me,
A prayer to the God of my life.

9 
I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 
As a crushing of my bones [with a sword], my adversaries taunt me,
While they say continually to me, “Where is your God?”
11 
Why are you in despair, O my soul?
Why have you become restless and disquieted within me?
Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [b]help of my countenance and my God.

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For Christlike Living; “Be Alert And Pray in the Spirit on all Occasions.” Ephesians 6:13-20 (Verse 18)

Ephesians 6:13-20 The Message

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Warfare of any kind doesn’t normally involve just individuals; it engages whole communities. This is also true with spiritual warfare. In spiritual battle, we are to be righteously concerned not only for ourselves but for all of God’s people.

Christians need to have a global perspective of who is at the forefront of the spiritual battles with the forces of evil. It is not uncommon to pray for people who are ill, who are facing hardened times, or who live in an environment of persecution. Prayers for people in physical need can be heard in many places.

It is less common to pray for someone’s spiritual well-being. But in this world, as Paul puts it, “our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). And when spiritual warfare is a big part of our daily experience, it is very difficult for any of us to legitimately claim that we have a sense of well-being.

So we all need each other’s prayers always.

Praying in the Spirit for others is itself a faith-building exercise. It involves giving of ourselves for the benefit of others who are part of the body of Christ.

We may not know precisely the nature of the battle, or the piece of armor that is most needed in a situation, but we know of the struggle—and that is sufficient reason to pray. It is an unselfish and blessed thing to do. Praying this way is also an exercise in obedience because we’re each instructed to be intercessors for all.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

Ephesians 6:18-20Amplified Bible

18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people. 19 And  pray  for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.

Prayer reveals three facts:

When we pray we recognize, first, the existence of an invisible kingdom.

We would never pray at all if we did not have some awareness that someone is listening, that there is behind the realm of visibility an invisible kingdom.

It is not far off in space somewhere; it is right here. It surrounds us on every side. We are constantly in touch with it, though we do not always recognize it.

It lies behind the façade of life, and all through the Scriptures are exhortations to take heed of this, reckon with it, deal with it, and acknowledge that it exists.

The second fact prayer reveals is that we Christians have assurance, confidence that the kingdom of God is immeasurably significant, that it affects our lives directly, that the visible things which are happening in our world are a direct result of something happening in the realm of invisibility. Therefore, if you and I want to change the visibilities, you and I must start with the invisibilities.

Third, our prayers play an essential part in bringing God’s invisible power to bear on visible life. God answers prayer. Prayer is purposeful and powerful; it is not pitiful and pathetic pleading with only a rare chance it might be answered.

No, it is powerful. God answers! Prayer is an essential link in the working of God in the world today. Without it he does not often work; with it, he certainly does.

These three facts are all revealed in the matter of prayer.

But we must immediately add God answers prayer according to his promises.

This is so necessary to say today, for there is a very vague but widespread concept that God answers any kind of prayer, that no matter what you want or why and when, where and how you ask for it, he commits himself to give it.

This, of course, results frequently in disappointments and gives rise to the widespread belief that prayer is ineffectual. The truth is, God answers every prayer which is exclusively based upon a promise of God and the Will of God.

1 Kings 3:6-14 Amplified Bible

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.  7 So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [[a]in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king]. 8 Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding mind  and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you. 13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days. 14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David [b]did, then I will lengthen your days.”

This is what Paul means by his reminder we are to pray at all times in the Spirit.

In the Spirit!

Many will take this phrase as though it describes the powerful emotions we should have whenever we pray.

They think it is necessary to be greatly moved before prayer can be effectual.

Now this is possible at times, but it isn’t essential to the effectiveness of prayer.

And it is certainly not what is meant by this phrase, in the Spirit. 

Praying in the Spirit means to pray according to the promises which the Spirit has given, and the character of God which the Holy Spirit has made known.

God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but he does promise to answer prayer in a way that he has already carefully outlined for each of us.

When you learn to pray on this basis, you and I will discover that exciting and unexpected things are constantly happening, and that there is a quiet but an indescribably mighty power busy at work upon which you can steadfastly rely.

As you and I learn to pray in this way, you find there is put at your disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence your own life and the lives of others, especially as it relates to withstanding the hard attacks of the enemy.

Take some time to pick up your Bible and make a list of the promises of God.

How can those promises you identified will surely transform your prayer life?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 138 Amplified Bible

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2 
I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3 
On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.

4 
All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5 
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6 
Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

7 
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 
The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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