Tag: Prayer and Praying

Encountering the Resurrection – The Presence of Jesus – “Breathe on Me!” The Gospel of John 20:19-23.

“And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” John 20:22.

Our personal journey of faith travels past many milestones where God “simply shows up,” sometimes in surprising ways and sometimes in rather subtle ones.

There’s no rhyme or reason for us to be sitting around waiting for God to do something supernatural in our lives.

If we have responded to God’s call on our lives, we need to be moving forward in those areas we already know God would have us travel.

God will equip us further as we progress on our very personal spiritual journey.

Today’s verse reminds us we need to be open to what God might do when God in Christ Jesus enters into what we believe, even prefer to be, our “locked away” lives, living like our ideas are set in concrete, thinking now we are Christians.

“God hasn’t anything further for us.”

“God may want to equip us for something we don’t feel ready to do it.”

I’m reasonably sure the disciples didn’t feel like being “sent” anywhere there might be an “arrest warrant,” a Roman spear or sword to greet them (verse 22).

At this point, these disciples were still “meeting alone” behind locked doors.

Then without any notice whatsoever, catching each and every one of them,

inside their own uniquely personal “I’m too busy getting my story straight in their own heads in case the door should be splintered” moment,

Jesus enters.

His sudden presence – “ALIVE?” materializes – Can they be any more shaken?

What can the presence of Jesus bring into our lives behind our locked doors?

What happens when we allow Jesus’ presence to come through our locked doors and straight into our hearts, our minds and our souls?

Let’s look at what Jesus did for these disciples and discover what He can do for all of us this morning.

John 20:19-23 Amplified Bible

Jesus among His Disciples

19 So when it was evening on that same day, the first day of the week, though the disciples were [meeting] behind barred doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “[a]Peace to you.” 20 After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with great joy. 21 Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you [as My representatives].” 22 And when He said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven [because of their faith]; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained [and remain unforgiven because of their unbelief].”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Have you ever been in a room when suddenly (or subtly) someone walks into your seclusion and suddenly there is this air of electricity; this certain spark of energy that accompanies them?

Is it you or is it I as we are bristling at our privacy suddenly ending?

It seems that certain people just possess an added bit of charisma or charm that can change the very atmosphere of a room or a meeting. They possess a certain “uniqueness,” a “specialness” which causes people to stop and pay attention.

Some would see this as an intentional, malicious act of major annoyance and maximum rudeness and almost immediately be “turned off” and “ticked off.”

In spite of how we feel in that exact moment when our privacy ended without our permission, have you ever noticed that certain people defuse our annoyance with their ability to possess an extra amount of charisma, charm, and allure?

Their presence makes a room come alive. There is a magnetic pull towards them as they begin to talk and walk around.

They have that something “special” that causes people to stop and listen. They have that something “special” that speaks to the very heart of people’s lives.

When they walked into a room, the whole atmosphere of the room changed.

You knew immediately someone important was present. You rushed forward, people rushed through you to be near them and hushed to hear them speak.

People like Elvis Presley. Elvis was able to electrify audiences with his voice and presence even before his band played a note or before he sang his first words.

However, there is one that possessed more charisma, more of that something “special” than any of those that I have mentioned.

As charismatic, as charming, electrifying as all of the most charismatic men throughout history, there were none who had more power to change the atmosphere of a room than our Savior and LORD Jesus Christ. No one.

Jesus was able to immediately command the attention of thousands of men, women and children for hours, for days at a time. He possessed charisma plus.

Our reading (John 20:19-23) this morning deals with one of those electric moments in the life of Jesus and his followers.

It deals with one of those singularly unique times when Jesus’ mere presence in a room immediately transformed everything.

Instantly, with Jesus’ presence things went from negative to positive.

With Jesus in the room there came courage and faith where there once was fear and doubt.

With Jesus in the room there was laughter and joy where once there had been sorrow and despair.

And what Jesus was able to do in that room so long ago, I believe this morning He wants to do in our lives and in our Church Services each and every worship session, every bible study session, every prayer and fellowship session.

I believe when encounter Christ, we invite Jesus into our sinful humanity, to be with us and within us, to be present among us, we will experience seasons of newness, joy, peace, transformation, salvation, courage, faith in amazing ways.

Ways that will certainly unsettle us in unanticipated ways, change not only the atmosphere of our worship settings, but ways that will change all of us as well.

In our passage this morning, we see Jesus doing the same thing.

The Disciples locked away in that Upper Room were all wondering in their own way if their Messiah Jesus had really died, was actually dead or actually alive.

Then suddenly Jesus comes into the disciples’ room and the whole atmosphere inside that locked Upper Room is transformed.

Things go from being downcast and negative to becoming electrifying and positive.

The disciples go from being anxiety ridden and fearful to possessing courage.

They go from experiencing feelings of severe uncertainty, anger, fear, anxiety, confusion and sorrow to experiencing blessed assurance, joy, peace, happiness.

I. Jesus’ Presence Brought Peace and Stability

In verse 19 we read where Jesus’ disciples were hiding behind a locked door because they were afraid.

Even though they had heard the message of the Risen Lord from the women and had then listened intently to what Mary had said, listened intently to Peter and John to the “apparent emptiness” they had witnessed at the “empty tomb” they were still very much afraid of “My God! My God! What could possibly be next?”

They were afraid for their lives and for the lives of their families.

Down deep, the disciples knew it would not be long before the Sadducees and the Pharisees would want them silenced.

They knew that both Pilate and the Temple would be doing all they could to destroy any teachings or influence of the Jesus Movement.

After all, the Temple had been successful in finding Jesus guilty of both treason and blasphemy.

That meant that Jesus’ disciples could also be arrested for the same things, treason and blasphemy.

They could find themselves arrested, beaten and at the very least thrown into prison and at the very worst hanging on a cross taking their last breaths of life.

I am sure the people huddled down in that room were wondering how long they would have to hide out in Jerusalem until things died down.

How long would it take before they could safely go back to Galilee and disappear back into the woodwork of their old lives?

What would they do now?

+Could Andrew, Peter, James and John go back to fishing?

+Could Matthew go back to being a tax collector?

+Could Simon the Zealot get back into politics?

+Could Bartholomew go back to his royal family?

Would they or their families ever be safe?

What would the new normal look like?

Just as they were perhaps wondering about all of those things it happened.

Suddenly, in the middle of all their anxiety and angst Jesus appears.

Right there standing in front of them was Jesus, alive and well.

I am sure it had to startle them.

After all, the doors were shut. But right here in front of them was Jesus.

There was no denying that it was Jesus.

He showed them His hands and feet.

They saw the nail prints and they heard His voice speaking peace

– “Peace be with you.”

“Peace – Be – With – You”

There is no fussing about why they were not at the tomb.

There is no fussing about locking the door in fear.

There is no fussing about how they had abandoned him.

There is no judgment or condemnation.

There was just the voice of peace.

There was just the voice able to bring harmony, stability, courage and calmness.

That is what happens when Jesus enters our rooms when they are filled with fear, with doubt and despair.

That is what happens when Jesus enters our rooms when they are filled with uncertainty, confusion and chaos.

Jesus brings peace.

Our Risen Lord brings tranquility.

He replaces doubt and despair with peace and salvation.

He removes the negative and replaces it with positivity.

Remember Psalm 107?

It is a song about peace.

A song of praise and worship and prayerful contemplation centered on how the LORD brought peace to four diverse and uniquely different groups of people:

+Verses 1-9 – Wanderers who have nowhere to go

+Verses 10-16 – People who find themselves imprisoned

+Verses 17-22 – People injured by their own sinfulness

+Verses 23 – 32 – Sailors who are overcome by a storm

All four groups are beleaguered and overwhelmed.

In each case their only hope is in God.

Only God can rescue them.

Only God can bring them peace.

Only God can bring them harmony, stability and joy and in all four cases God does bring them peace, harmony and stability.

It’s why we love some of the old hymns that speak of peace in the midst of trials and tribulations:

+I Need Thee, Every Hour

+It is Well with My Soul

+Peace Like a River

+Blessed Assurance

+Amazing Grace

+To God be the Glory

+Great is Thy Faithfulness

and our own singularly unique lists which are far too long to be placed here.

They all remind us that in Christ there is peace.

They all remind us that when we feel like shutting and locking the doors, we need to invite the Presence of Jesus.

They all remind us that when fear, doubt and worry overtake us we need to understand that in the midst of it all is our Lord and Savior Jesus wanting to bring to us an amazing measure of peace, salvation, stability and tranquility.

Today, no matter what we are going through the truth is right beside us is the Risen One. Right beside us is the Alpha and the Omega. Right beside us is the pre-existing one who can bring peace to our troubled hearts, minds and souls.

Jesus can bring us a peace and a stability that is tangible. Jesus can bring a peace that passes all understanding (John 14:25-27, Philippians 4:4-9)

II. Secondly, Jesus’ Presence brought Great Joy and Forgiveness

Not only did Jesus bring peace into the room but He brought a great deal of joy and forgiveness.

When those disciples saw Jesus’ hands and His side it revealed to them that what the women had said was true.

Jesus had in fact risen from the dead.

The proof was right there in front of them.

He was there to see, to feel and to experience.

Can you imagine how much joy suddenly rushed into that room?

The one they thought was dead was not dead; He was right there with them.

Jesus had risen from the dead. He was alive. Their friend, their teacher and Lord was alive. There was no doubt now that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.

Today, there are a great many people trying their best to manufacture their own joy.

Often, they take a similar route taken by the Prodigal Son we read about in Luke 15:11-32 (Parable of the Prodigal Son.)

+If you remember that young man thought that he could find ultimate joy in possessing certain material goods or belonging to the right crowd.

+If he could just enjoy certain physical pleasures then he would have joy.

+If he could just have enough money then he could have joy.

He did everything he could to manufacture true joy.

He spent everything to experience joy but, in the end, he discovered that true joy had escaped him.

Instead of finding true joy he found himself sitting in a hog lot wishing that he had it as well as the hogs.

We know deep down that true joy cannot be bought.

It can’t come from immoral pleasures.

It can’t come from just having a bank account full of riches.

The young man found joy when he went back to His Father.

He found true joy when he found himself surrounded again with people that truly loved and cared for him.

He found lasting joy when he found himself surrounded with people that understood how to forgive him, accept him and that wanted him.

This is the joy that Jesus gives. It is the joy that Jesus’ church is able to give.

III. Jesus’ Presence Brought the Holy Spirit

In verse 21 we read where Jesus simply breathed on them His Holy Spirit. He filled the air with His Spirit for them to receive, enjoy and experience.

This is the same Holy Spirit that we read about in Genesis chapter one that helped creation take form.

It is the same Holy Spirit that God breathes into a lump of clay called Adam and he comes alive.

It is the same Holy Spirit that we read about in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven where a valley of dry, dead bones comes to life.

And now Jesus breathes on those gathered there and gives them

+Peace +Stability +Joy +Forgiveness +New Purpose

They no longer have to live under their own power.

They are now able to live with the breath of God inside of them,

the Holy Spirit in their lives, revealing to them how to live and leading them into what Jesus earlier called the Abundant Life.

It is astonishing, utterly amazing what the Holy Spirit can do in a person’s life.

John 20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

The disciples were overcome with joy when Jesus arrived in their midst.

More than anything they needed and wanted to be with Jesus.

Joy is such a wonderful thing and yet for all to many people it is evasive.

These disciples learned that true joy is relational in nature.

That is to say, true, lasting joy happens between people.

Our society promotes that true joy can be found in things and in the possession of things.

All you have to do is watch a car or phone commercial.

The idea is that if you own this item or that item you will surely, suddenly be overwhelmed with great lasting joy and happiness.

And yet, history is littered with stories that belie that premise.

Joy lasts about as long as the shine does on our new toy. In a matter of days people are again overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness and despair. Often because after the shine wears off the payments continue on and on.

The disciple rejoiced that day – peace and joy filled that little house – because the resurrected Jesus was in their midst.

Joy replaced fear and sorrow because of Jesus being there.

Joy, laughter and celebration filled the air.

If we could only experience this as we gather together as His people today.

If only Jesus’ disciples today could only experience His presence of joy, laughter and celebration in the same way those first disciples did amongst themselves.

How different would be the air in our sanctuaries. Our services, our study times, our prayers, must be saturated by His Peace and His Joy.

And what a big difference that would make in how we learn to respond to the presence of God, what we do here, what we experience here each Lord’s Day.

Pope Francis is right when he stated;

— “An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral.” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” Nov. 24, 2013).

In other words – in our churches there should be a spirit of joy, of laughter and celebration. For in the Church there is life – in the world there is death. In the Church there is peace and joy – in the world there is sorrow, pain and despair.

But without Jesus – the Church will look and feel forlorn.

Without Jesus these disciples were full of gloom, heartache and despair.

Without Jesus they could only hide and lock their doors.

But with Jesus – there is JOY.

Breathe on Me, Breath of God by Edwin Hatch, 1835-1889

1. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.

2. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.

3. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
till all this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.

4. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.

There is a spirit of enjoyment, there is an atmosphere of praise.

Is it not time we allow Jesus to bring joy back into our fellowships?

It is not time to cast out doom and gloom from our faces?

Paul tells us to rejoice, to rejoice evermore (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Because this is the power of the resurrection living and breathing within us,

This is the covenant call of Christ Jesus on our lives!

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

Let us Pray,

Lord God, my Way-maker, I know you have a destiny for me to achieve in this life. I want to follow the plan that you have laid out. Help me to understand and follow your call. Show me your will for my life and what I need to do right now to get started. Enable me to know who I am in Christ, and the special gifts and abilities you have given me. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I seek to know you more intimately. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

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Is my cup half full or half empty? Is my doubt a half a doubt or a whole doubt? The Doubting Thomas that lives and breathes within Us all. John 20:24-25

“Are ye able,” said the Master,
“to be crucified with me?”
“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered,
“to the death we follow thee.”

“Doubt sees the obstacles;

Faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night;

Faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step;

Faith soars on high.

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”

Faith answers, “I!”

Faith always has its doubts.

I once had the impression that if you doubted, you could not have faith — that faith and doubt were contrary to one another.

But I gradually began to understand that this is not true.

Doubt is the very proof of faith. Doubt is actually an attack upon the very faith we have. You cannot have doubts unless you have faith.

Faith is the way God works, and so the enemy is bound to attack your faith immediately as he sees you beginning to act and live and walk by faith.

Therefore, doubts will always begin to arise and seek to live— as a result of Satan’s attempt to overthrow your faith. There is no faith without doubts.

Jesus himself, though he always lived by faith, and everything he did was by faith, nevertheless was subjected to times of severe doubt.

Otherwise, he was not one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning, (Hebrews 4:15 RSV).

Doubt is part of the life of faith.

If you and I are trying to walk by faith in a promise God has given you, and you and I are troubled by doubts, this is the proof you and I are really living by faith.

We are all supposed to have doubts and we are supposed to have questions.

God gave us our free will.

When we were being formed in our mother’s womb, God gave us our emotions though yet unformed and undefined, totally unknown and unexpressed by us.

From the time we were born – without our realizing it or knowing it, we took our very first crying session and blessed every last pair of ears within hearing distance. God created us and authored our whole lives, and we went and lived.

We went forth from our mother’s womb and God being God, knowing the full length and breadth of humanities sinful ways, then God gave us the Psalms.

Hang in there!

God knows who we are.

We are not always too sure who God is.

So, we have our doubts, and we have our questions.

Still, Jesus comes to our doubts and answers.

Jesus gives us an opportunity to see him.

Jesus gives us an opportunity to know him.

When our doubts are severe, and questions are many and deep.

Jesus notices us, He looks at us and He acknowledges us fully.

Jesus lets us come to him.

Jesus lets us touch him.

Jesus lets us question him.

Are we learning to see our doubts as corollary to our faith?

Do we process our doubts through what we have proven to be true?

Have we experienced the holy fear of living into an audacious faith?

“Lord, we are able. Our spirits are thine.
Remold them, make us, like thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.”

John 20:24-29Amplified Bible

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.” 28 Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Each of the four synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – include in their Passion/Resurrection narratives a series of startling episodes related to the appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples locked behind a heavy door.

In these episodes the remaining disciples (minus Judas who betrayed Jesus), after having passed through a phase of doubt, unbelief, trouble, confusion and astonishment, come to the point of believing that Jesus has been risen indeed.

There is, however, a special episode preserved by the Gospel of John that stands out from among the post-resurrection scenes.

This is the incident of the appearance of the risen Lord to Thomas, brilliantly narrated by John (Jn. 20:24-29).

The specialty and the importance of this event lie in the fact that it presents the relation between doubting, seeing and believing in God, in the resurrection of our Savior Jesus the Christ, in a truly splendid, superbly formulated manner.

More specifically, it reveals the significance of believing after, or because of, having seen the risen Christ, and believing without having seen him.

Therefore, the Thomas incident as it is reported in John 20:24-29, is worthy our investigation and discussion. 

The Appearance of the Risen Christ to his Disciples

John is the only Evangelist who has preserved the story in which Thomas is depicted as moving from unbelief to belief after his encounter with the risen Lord (John. 20:24-29). 

The episode took place one week after Jesus had appeared to the disciples in the absence of Thomas (John 20:19-23).

In the above-mentioned appearance of Jesus to his disciples, he showed them his hands and his side (edeixen autois tas cheiras kai ten pleuran autou), and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (idontes ton Kyrion) (John. 20:20).

What we have here, despite the brevity of the description, is the emphasis on the visible aspect of the appearance, even to the very specific mentioning of the “placing our fingers and our thoughts and doubts” in his hands and of his side.

The two main verbs at the center of the narrative are verbs of optical impression, of seeing: Jesus showed … The disciples saw (edeixen … idontes).

In the scene that immediately follows, namely John 20:24-26, the disciples tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” (eorakamen ton Kyrion) (John 20:25). 

Here, a basic verb of seeing (eorakamen) is employed by John the Evangelist as a startling expression of the experience of these disciples’ encounter with Savior Jesus Christ the resurrected, and of their questions, their doubts, faith in him.

Thomas’ response to the information/witness offered by the other disciples, includes in an emphatic way the very same verb of sight:

“Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails … I will not believe” (ean me idon … ou me pisteuso) (John. 20:25).

Disciple Thomas without “explicitly dismissing out of hand the other disciples’ confession,” refuses, nonetheless, to confess his personal believe that Jesus is risen from the dead, is alive and there, unless he sees him with his own eyes. 

The condition imposed by Thomas is clear and absolute: personal verification by sight, direct access by eye contact and nothing less.

Thomas even intensifies his terms by adding the need not only to see but also to touch Jesus at the very marks of his crucifixion:

“Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John. 20:25)

Thus, Thomas makes his own individual test, his personal direct seeing of the visible marks of the crucifixion and even the touching of these marks, the absolute condition and the strictest, non-negotiable term for our believing.

Any other evidence is inadmissible. The disciples’ affirmation that they have seen the Lord is treated with utter skepticism that borders on rejection.

An unyielding attitude of greatest doubt is being described here, a situation where our believing seems to be unthinkable without seeing, without direct “hands on, eyes on, ears upon” physical evidence and strictest verification.

Have you ever had that degree and measure of doubt in God and resurrection?

I believe there isn’t a person alive who hasn’t lived that doubt in his or her life.

In his book The Thomas Factor, Winkie Pratney says that

“One of the major reasons that God will allow doubt in our lives is because we have not grown.” (Winkie Pratney. The Thomas Factor. Old Tappan. Chosen Books, 1989, p. 103).

He says that “Doubt comes when we take our eyes off God” (page 94).

In the whole passage of this scripture (John 20:19-31) we see that Thomas is struggling with his “growing pains”. He is struggling mightily with his lack of faith. It is as if he is on the exacting border between believing and doubting.

Considering Thomas’ struggles as we read today in John’s narrative,

As we consider what we know to be our own deeply personal struggles …

We must ask ourselves, “Who is the object of our faith God or ourselves?”

This is a question all of us must confront at times when our faith is being tested.

As much as it was devastatingly true for Thomas as he himself lived in those days, directly effected, and affected by the depth of his emotions and course of events as they actually played out, took place, is it also as mightily true for us?

Today, as we move towards the celebration of the Pentecost, I want you to think about the ways that you see that Thomas’s doubt is mirrored in your own lives.

I want you to think about how the Gospel of John mentions Thomas in three different ways,

Thomas the courageous believer,

Thomas the inquisitive and

Thomas the doubter.

THOMAS THE COURAGEOUS

How would you define courage?

1) An athlete’s definition:

Would it be as the late Tennis Star Arthur Ashe described it?

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost”.

2) An actor’s definition: Or would it be as the late actor John Wayne said,

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up and riding ahead anyway”. 

3) A disciple’s definition: Or would it be one of Jesus’s own disciples Thomas defined it,

“a faithfulness unto death” (John 11:16).

Can you imagine a modern-day press conference where journalists might try to question Thomas with a gotcha question?

Imagine their piercing questions.

The interview is going fine, and Thomas is calm until they ask this question:

“You once said that you would follow Jesus. Your exact words were, “Let us go that we might die with Him” (John 11:16). What happened?”

All of a sudden, the interviewee, Thomas, begins to appear intimidated and angry that they put him on the spot.

Take it a step further,

imagine that you are Thomas in this interview.

How would you have responded to all of the cameras and microphones?

How would you have responded to the sudden barrage of repeated questions from every corner of the room, reporter and journalist, at the same time?

THOMAS THE INQUISITIVE

Recall Thomas’s question to Jesus about where it is He is going in John 14:6?

1) A hope graph: If you could graphically picture Thomas’s hope on a scale, then what would it look like between when Thomas had confidently expressed his “faithfulness unto death” up to the moment where he wanted to know the way?

2) A silent minority? Already, you can see the character of Thomas shifting toward doubt in this very question as compared to the courageous statement that he made in John 11:16.

Notice how Thomas says “we” when he really seems to be speaking for himself, at least for the time being.

3) Is seeing always believing? But then we get to Philip’s request to see the Father (John 14:8) and it becomes apparent that maybe there is a “we” after all.

It seems that he might have a little bit in common with Thomas’s need to see in order to believe.

Jesus clarified not only His direction, but also His identity.

1) Jesus’s answer: In answering Thomas’s question, Jesus said,

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

2) Our future: Not only was Jesus telling them that He was soon going to die (John 13:33), but He was also telling them about where He was going.

He also spoke of hearts having no fear, of the rooms He was preparing in the Father’s house when He would come and receive each of them (John 14:1-4).

That promise is true for all of His believers.

THOMAS THE DOUBTER

The other disciples had already seen Jesus, but Thomas was not there when they saw Him.

We have to remember that by this time, that there were only 11 other disciples because Judas had hung himself as the result of his severe doubts and anguish.

Ten of those 11 had seen the resurrected Jesus.

1) Jesus’ appearance behind locked doors:

Those 10 disciples were present in the room with the doors locked in fear of the Jewish authorities when the resurrected Jesus appeared among them, saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).

2) Needing proof: It was not until eight days later that Thomas saw Jesus Christ resurrected (John 20:26).

It was not until Thomas saw Jesus just over a week later that he believed.

He said that he would not believe unless he put his hand in Jesus’s hands where the nails were and the wound in His side.

Jesus told him to do just that.

John’s narrative does not specifically mention it. We do not know if Thomas actually physically touched both the nail scared hands and wounded side.

Thomas had to live in doubt for over a week. I know a lot of people who say that they do not like to miss church because they do not feel right all week long.

3) Feeling awkward because of absence:

There have been those rare times in history when we have had to practice social distancing for a great length of time.

Going to church is not something that we do for somebody else.

Going to church is something that we do for ourselves!

We go to church to nurture our faith as well as to encourage one another in the faith.

From John’s narrative, we are not told why Thomas was absent. We are told that his absence made him insecure and doubtful where the others were secure.

4) Needing peace:

We all need that blessing of peace that Jesus gives to us (John 20:19).

Thomas still seemed to be afraid.

Maybe he was still afraid of death. The others were liberated from the prison of that fear whereas Thomas was still one of its prisoners.

Until Thomas saw Jesus resurrected himself, he said that he would not believe.

Faith in Jesus is not something that we just talk about.

Faith gives a bridge over troubled waters!

It is something that we all have to walk on and cross over whenever we find ourselves facing our own barrage of ever greater questions and our doubts.

Satan would love nothing more than to use our doubt to his advantage.

He is betting against us. Satan will try to cheat in order to win.

He tries to use our doubt for leverage.

St. Augustine of Hippo ever so eloquently stated it this way:

“Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward of faith is to see what you believe.” 

“For what we see now we see dimly as a poor reflection in a mirror, then we shall see face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Until we are able to have the reward of faith—to see what we believe,

we will have to walk by faith until we receive our sight.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this devotional,

Doubt sees the obstacles;

Faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night;

Faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step;

Faith soars on high.

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”

Faith answers, “I!”

If we are honest with ourselves, then we will admit that there are lots of times when we possess doubt as Thomas did.

When Jesus came to Thomas and told him put his finger in the holes of his hands and side from His crucifixion scars, Thomas began to believe.

In much the same way, God uses our faith to help others to develop the eyes of faith so that they, too, may begin to believe without having to rely on sight.

They see us having peace that passes all understanding in spite of the trials of everyday life.

It is then our faith becomes a living testimony of trusting and believing in the resurrected Christ so unbelievers may want to have the faith that gives us hope in knowing Christ holds our future just as much as He helps us in the present.

It’s the place where we can confidently connect the question with our response:

1. “Are ye able,” said the Master,
“to be crucified with me?”
“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered,
“to the death we follow thee.”
Refrain:
Lord, we are able. Our spirits are thine.
Remold them, make us, like thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty.

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

Let us pray,

Father, stir my heart to continue to seek after you. I want to know more about you, and I also want to be more aware of your presence in my life. I want my character to be conformed to your will. So please know that my doubts and questions are my seeking you and not my seeking some random tidbit of knowledge. Give me the Spirit of revelation to know you more completely so that I might be transformed by your will rather than being conformed to the culture around me. In Jesus my Savior’s name, I pray. Gloria! Alleluia! Amen.

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Memorial Day: Remembering God is Remembering You. Deuteronomy 8:11

Well, today Memorial Day. Itis the close of the Memorial Day weekend.

And it’s an important holiday.

Not just because people get off work. And not because we get to see so many families, and friends, inaugurate summer Barbecue season in our own back yards or at beaches or in some other traditional way and place.

Even though those things are nice. It is important because of what it’s all about.

Memorial Day in America began after the Civil War, as a day to recognize the fallen soldiers who died fighting for what they believed in.

It was originally called Decoration Day as families would decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers with flowers, flags, and ribbons.

It didn’t become an official holiday until 1967. And it’s vitally important that we do never forget those who have given their lives in the service to their country.

Americans will break out the flags, hot dogs and red, white and blue apparel to celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday of the month of May.

But while they aren’t all on the same date, countries around the world have their own celebration days and traditions to commemorate fallen soldiers.

Australia and New Zealand—Anzac Day

Anzac Day, April 25, is the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the World War I.

The day begins with commemorative services at dawn, followed by marches of former military men and women.

People also play two-up on Anzac Day, a gambling game that involves betting on which way pennies will land on the table that was often played by Australian soldiers in World War I.

The Netherlands—Dodenherdenking

Dodenherdenking, which means “remembrance of the dead” in Dutch, is held every year on May 4, and celebrates and remembers all civilians and military members from the Netherlands who have died in conflicts since World War II.

The main ceremony of the day is observed in Amsterdam at the National Monument on Dam Square, attended by the royal family.

At 8 p.m., two minutes of silence are observed throughout the country; even public transportation is halted.

England—Remembrance Day

Celebrated on Nov. 11, Remembrance Day marks the end of fighting in World War I.

It is celebrated throughout the British Commonwealth, but in England, the British Royal Family assembles outside for two minutes of silence beginning at 11 a.m. Poppies have become the symbol of the day in England; wreaths of them are laid at war memorials and small artificial ones are worn on clothing.

On November 11 at 11 a.m.—the time of the signing of the armistice—the UK holds a two-minute silence.

“Remembrance poppies” are worn and displayed as per a tradition inspired by the Canadian poet John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields:”

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Canadian Poet John McCrae

Belgium—Armistice Day

Belgium also celebrates the end of World War I on Nov. 11.

The nation holds a Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres.

The Last Post was a bugle call played by armies to mark the end of the day, and it is now used by the country to celebrate, remember fallen soldiers.

At the end of the ceremony, people lay wreaths of poppies and the flowers are released from the top of the gate.

South Korea

South Koreans observe Memorial Day on June 6, the same month that the Korean War began, to honor servicemen and civilians who have died for their country. The nation holds a one-minute silence at 10 a.m.

France

Armistice Day in France is solemnly observed on Nov. 11 with ceremonies, special church services and poppy adornments. In recent years, the holiday has come to recognize all of the country’s war dead in addition to the 1.4 million people killed in the First World War.

The point of this is this, country’s all over the globe remember their people as they remember, seek to celebrate their service men and women and population following the close of some great conflict their countries fought and died in.

Memorial Day, in whatever form or under whatever title a country chooses to call it, is celebrated quite literally in all corners of our Globe – as it should be!

We celebrate sacrifice. We celebrate struggle. We celebrate hard fought victory!

To help us to always remember the high cost of freedom.

The unquantifiable high cost to our own humanity of fighting for that freedom. 

But unfortunately; a lot of folks don’t remember… even though we have this national holiday.

To many, it’s not about the lost lives, it’s about getting a day off of work and back yard bar-b-ques, going out for that great celebration – summer vacation.

The purpose of the holiday seems to be forgotten.

But I guess that shouldn’t be all that surprising… because I believe a whole lot of people just as easily forget about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well.

I want you to take your Bibles, open them up to Deuteronomy 8:11-19 (AMP)

I ask you to read the passage that talks about what happens when we forget. 

11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His commandments and His judgments (precepts) and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have Increases, 14 then your heart will become lifted up [by self-conceit and arrogance] and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15 He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; it was He who brought water for you out of the flinty rock. 16 He fed you manna in the wilderness, [a substance] which your fathers did not know, so that He might humble you [by dependence on Him] and that He might test you, to do good [things] for you at the end. 17 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember [with profound respect] the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will most certainly perish.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

This is one of those devotions I have prayed about writing for quite some time.

What is on my heart and deep within my soul is a reality I pray is not too real.

What I believe I need to say is going to be reasonably controversial and too some degree represents some misinterpretation of belief verses unbelief.

Where you might believe, based on your own experience and remembrances, to be different from what I do say and have held to be “true”, please enlighten me, please educate me, please correct my perceptions and my misrepresentations.

With those caveats in mind, here we go ….

There are days when I really truly believe that one of the biggest problems the modern-day Church faces is not what or who we remember but that we forget.

We forget that God is God – and we are not.

We forget that He is sovereign, Almighty, and in control – and we are not.

We forget that Jesus is Lord, and that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

We forget that God’s Word is authoritative and that it’s through His Word that God saves us, changes us, sanctifies us, matures us, and transforms us.

I want to share a quote with you from the late pastor, theologian R.C. Sproul.

“The majority of American’s claim to be Christian, and only a small percentage claim to be actual atheists. But the truth is – many within the Church are functional atheists. In other words, they would never say that they do not believe in God, but they live their lives like there is no God. Truly, they profess Christ with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.”

Now, I have to think about this for a second: Atheists do not pray, and neither do functional atheists… even though they say there’s a God, they don’t pray.

Their behavior doesn’t line up with their profession.

Atheists don’t believe in the authority of God’s Word, and neither do functional atheists…

They might say they believe it’s God’s Word, but it doesn’t rule their lives.

Atheists do not believe in laying up treasures in heaven, and neither really do functional atheists – they’re too busy seeking all their treasures here on earth.

Atheists only live for themselves and live for today.

Functional atheists are no different.

Now here’s the difference: Atheists believe that there is no God… functional atheists say they believe in God, but their lives show that they really don’t.

Basically, the functional atheist is trying to hedge his bets, just in case.

He’s become aware of the possibility that there is a God, and he’s aware of the possibility that God is real, and so he’s trying to play the odds and cover all his bases.

But the problem is – it doesn’t work that way. Jesus doesn’t give us the option of riding or straddling the fence.

He says, “Those who are not with Me, are against Me.”

He says, “If you’re lukewarm, I’ll spit you out of My mouth.”

He says, “You can’t love two masters.”

All through the New Testament He makes this distinction.

He separates the sheep and the goats.

He separates the wheat and the chaff.

He says, “This is My Church, My Body… and this over here isn’t.”

So basically; the functional atheist is someone who has forgotten God.

Now what does it mean to forget something, or someone?

Well basically it means that thing, or that person; are not in your thoughts, or in your mind.

And that happens when other things are in your thoughts or in your mind.

Those other things or people have taken the forefront.

You’ve set your minds, and your thoughts, and your desires on them. And you dismiss or disregard the thoughts of that other thing… or another person.

And that’s what the functional atheist does.

Monday through Saturday, the thoughts of God don’t cross their mind.

The thoughts of living for Christ, learning about Christ, loving Christ, worshiping Christ… it’s there only one day a week.

But the rest of the week, their hearts are far from Him.

And church – here’s the thing… this is something WE ALL have to be watchful of. You, me, and every other Christian out there.

Let’s go back to our text in Deuteronomy and look at verse 11 again.

God says this to His people…

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God…”

In other words, “Be careful that this doesn’t happen to you.”

“Take precautions that you’re not forgetting God.”

That’s what this says.

But look at the last part of that verse…

God says, “Take care so you don’t forget… and here’s how you do that – keep His commandments and His rules, and His statutes.”

How do you forget God?

By not keeping His commandments, and His rules, and His statutes.

He goes on and says, “Take care that you don’t forget God… because when life is good, and things are going well, and you’re comfortable and content with your place in life… you’ll be tempted to forget about God.”

You’ll not be going to Him every morning asking for your daily bread.

You’ll believe the lie that pastor down at such and such church tells that this is your best life now.

Well, it’s not!

What happens is that a person becomes content with the poor substitutes this world offers, and their focus shifts.

What does it mean to genuinely remember God?

Remembering God’s goodness moves us to respond to our world in hope rather than fear.

Remembering God’s love for us fuels our love for others.

The discipline of remembering inspires us to act.

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are exhorted to place their trust in him and join him as he restores and redeems our world.

Instead of their goal being going out and making disciples their goal is maintaining mankind’s standards of comfort, safety and sustainability.

Instead of their goal being to see more disciples made, their goal is maintaining and sustaining what they have already got.

Instead of their goal being to strive towards living for Christ, they live for themselves.

You see; I believe here’s the thing: All of us, as fallen human beings are born with atheistic hearts.

We are born with a tendency to forget God.

But if you go back to our text and look at what the Lord has Moses write in verses 14 – 16 we’ll notice He reminds them of what He has done for them.

This is the second way God helps us TO NOT forget…

first – He told us to keep His commands…

Second, we need to remind ourselves of what He’s done in our lives.

You know, one of the best ways you can talk to someone about God, and even share the Gospel with them is by sharing your testimony and by telling them what God has done in your life.

It doesn’t have to have a whole lot of theological jargon…

it’s as simple as saying,

“This is what God has done for me!” “I was blind, but now I see.” “I was an alcoholic, but now I’m free.” “I was an angry, violent person, but now I have love and peace in my heart.” “I was promiscuous, but now I’m faithful.” “I was an idolater, but now I love Jesus.” “I once was lost, but now I’m found.”

WHAT HAS GOD DONE FOR YOU?

Has He forgiven you?

Has He delivered you?

Has He changed you?

Has He set you free from sin?

We need to remind ourselves of those things.

And we need to share those things with others.

So, The Lord is telling us… the way we don’t forget about God is –

We keep His commands, and we continually remind ourselves of what He’s done in our lives, and what He’s done in history.

But then you go on to verse 17 and He gives us another warning.

He says, “Beware, lest you say in your heart…”

So, it doesn’t even have to be with words… you can say this in your heart…

“Beware, lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’”

Now that’s the sin of pride…

that’s the sin of saying, “I don’t need God. I can and will do it on my own. I can and will make it on my own because that is what I have always done.”

And again; most people would probably never verbalize that.

But they can say it in their heart… and our lives display what’s in our heart.

Did you know; that in the New Testament, when it talks about Jesus, it refers to Him 24 times as Savior. But it refers to Him over 600 times as Lord. Functional atheism comes from putting yourself on the throne. You are not lord… JESUS IS LORD!

That means He’s our master. He’s the one who is to have control of us. He is our ruler. He’s our boss. He owns us. He bought us with a price. And here’s what Jesus says to us… Matthew 16:24

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

The Cross serves one purpose – death. Jesus is saying that we have to die to sin, and die to self, take ourselves off the throne and acknowledge that He is Lord.

Church – the purpose of Memorial Day is so that we don’t forget what it costs to be free.

It’s different than the 4th of July… on Independence Day we celebrate our freedom, but on Memorial Day we remember what our freedom cost.

But please do not think that taking just one day out of the year is enough to adequately remember.

It’s not enough… one day out of the year is not enough for anything.

If you eat one day out of the year – you’ll die.

If you work at a job, one day out of the year, you’ll be homeless and have nothing.

If you mow your yard one day out of the year, it’s going to be an overgrown mess.

If you bathe one day out of the year – you’ll be one nasty, stinky dude.

We know, one day is not enough.

We have to continually remember; we have to remind ourselves.

We have to diligently maintain what we have.

This nation is the greatest nation on earth, but it’s not what it used to be.

And what’s really interesting is that if our nation is going to get back to what it once was…

it’s not about taking up arms, and it’s not about voting the right kind of people in, and it’s not about legislation or politics… it’s about what our text says…

it’s about remembering God.

It’s about remembering Jesus Christ.

It’s about remembering Holy Spirit.

It’s about following Him, and obeying Him, and living for Him.

God tells us – in the very last verse of our text,

“If you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them… YOU WILL SURELY PERISH.”

So, today, let’s ask ourselves –

do we live our lives as if there is no God?

Are we serving the Lord Jesus Christ, or ourselves?

Who is seated on the throne of our hearts?

Are we functional atheists or are we following Jesus Christ the Lord?

When we sing that hymn – “I Surrender All” Do you really mean it?

Maybe you are here reading this morning

and you’re saying to yourself,

“if I’m being honest, I’d have to say that there are things in my life that I haven’t surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, and if I’m being honest, I’m scared to do that… what if Jesus calls me to do something that’s hard? What if He tells me to give up something that I really like? What if He calls me to something that takes me out of my comfort zone?”

Those are all legitimate and honest questions, and if you’re asking them you might want to look again at verses 12 – 13 of our text there in Deuteronomy.

And then I would encourage you that our God is good. He is a loving Father.

And it’s so much better to know Him, and walk with Him, and be in fellowship with Him, than it is to be comfortable in this world.

It’s so much better to be in His presence, and in His will than to have anything this world offers.

Because this world is temporary and it’s passing away, but eternity is forever.

What is the perfect way to remember God?

5 Creative ways to remember God’s goodness in 2022 and beyond:

  1. Start a Gratitude Journal. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” …
  2. Make a Miracle Jar. …
  3. Keep a Prayer journal. …
  4. Keep God’s Word as your best reference – as a visual reminder. …
  5. Be a Living Breathing Reminder, source of remembrance for Others.

Here are some things to do throughout the day to spend your time more intentionally with God.

  1. Remember this is the day that the Lord hath made for you.
  2. Remember to rejoice, be glad in the day which the Lord hath given you.
  3. Grab a devotional,
  4. Open your bible,
  5. Start Your Day … “I Love You God because You …”
  6. Pray Intentionally. …
  7. Write Down Things You Are Thankful For. …
  8. Write down … “This is where I saw the Goodness of God today …”
  9. Notice Your Complaints and Turn Them into Praise. …
  10. Celebrate God exactly as much as God Celebrates You!
  11. Go outside and Enjoy God’s Creation. …
  12. Love Others. …
  13. Love Yourself.
  14. Remember God as God remembers you! (John 3:16-17)
  15. Remember Jesus as Jesus remembers you! (Matthew 28:18-20)
  16. Remember Holy Spirit as Holy Spirit remembers you. (Romans 8:26-28)

Let’s open our eyes to look for evidence of God with us in our daily life and in our trials. What has He already done for us? What blessings have we already received? Let’s thank Him and ask Him to open our eyes to His presence.

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

Let us Pray,

Lord, help me to recognize you are with me today. Forgive me for so easily forgetting your presence when I get busy or feel stressed by the worries of this life. Lord, remind me I am walking on holy ground, right where I am in the middle of my challenges, because you are, now and forever, exactly there. 

I choose to remember. I choose to recall. I choose to believe that you see me, you hear me, and you care for me. Give me grace to draw near to you. I want to know you better; Lord, reveal yourself to me. I long to see you more fully and know your great love, power, and faithfulness. Gloria! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Is Your Glass Half Empty or Half Full? Think Again! Attitude of your Hearts.

“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

So, here again is the perennial question: 

Is your glass half empty or is your glass half full?

You know the standard answers that supposedly determine whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist. 

But pessimism and optimism are both over-rated and unrealistic because they don’t see the whole picture. 

In fact, they ignore the part where if I say, “I am god” versus when God says “I AM GOD!” part of the picture, one of us is a liar and it is not GOD, but it is me.

To the wise and perceptive, the glass is actually FULL.

There is some water (which is obvious).  The rest of the glass is filled with air. 

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

We need the air just as much as we need the water. Both are vital.

How many times in your life have you judged yourself, another person or a situation based only on what you see?

It happens every day, moment by moment, when we only use the five physical senses.

How often do you “see” or understand the whole picture?  This happens only when we use our spiritual senses, our spiritual eyes, ears, etc.

What a different view when we look at things from a spiritual perspective – GOD’S HEART ALONE!

Proverbs 15:13-17Amplified Bible

13 
A heart full of joy and goodness makes a cheerful face,
But when a heart is full of sadness the spirit is crushed.
14 
The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it,
But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.
15 
All the days of the afflicted are bad,
But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].
16 
Better is a little with the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and trouble with it.
17 
Better is a dinner of vegetables and herbs where love is present
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“It’s Not ever enough…”

Have you ever had an experience where it seemed like your glass was half full/half empty? 

There wasn’t enough time, money, energy, love, cooperation, etc., to do what needed to be done?  Sure, you’re grateful for whatever you do have, but it really doesn’t seem to be enough to meet the demands of the situation.

Well, today is as good a time as any to open your spiritual eyes, to spiritualize your view, to see the unseen because: 

“There’s more FULLNESS in the half empty glass than you thought.”

God’s Heart!

God’s love and care!

God’s guidance and protection!

God’s glory and grace are always there filling the glass (our lives) to the fullest. 

It’s easy to see this when things are going well. 

But do we see it when our glass seems not only empty but as dry as the driest Sahara Desert? 

The good news is that our glass is full whether we see it or not.

The Book of Proverbs is packed full of wisdom about the heart.

There are nearly fifty occurrences of the word “heart” in the Book of Proverbs.

I want to call your attention to some of them today.

1st in Proverbs 15:13 where we learn that joyful hope in the heart puts a smile on the face.

“A joyful heart makes a cheerful [good] face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken” (NASB).

[“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken (NIV).]

Inner feelings whether from joy or sadness will come to exterior expression.

To be joyful is to be glad, merry or cheerful.

Inner joy shows on a person’s face. When we’re happy on the inside, our faces can’t help but show it on the outside.

Happiness and Sadness are issues of the heart.

What a person is inwardly has more lasting impact on his emotional state than do his circumstances.

Some people hold up under difficult circumstances better than others because of inner strength. Christians though can have inner joy.

Body language communicates without words.

The shrug of a shoulder, a raised eyebrow, a false smile, a down-turned mouth, a knowing nod-all of these can speak volumes even when no sound is heard.

Sit on a shopping mall bench and study the faces of those who pass by.

Listen to snatches of conversations, and catch the emotions expressed. Soon the evidence of a broken spirit will become obvious in someone by both words and body language. A pretended cheerfulness is difficult to maintain for long.

So, we wonder are only a few fortunate people born with a bright outlook on life or is optimism an attitude we can learn?

Dr. Susan C. Vaughan, author of Half Empty, Half Full, Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism, (May 2001) https://smile.amazon.com/Half-Empty-Full-Understanding-Psychological/dp/015601100X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3D4IBR41G6H5N&keywords=Susan+Vaughan+%22Half+Full%22&qid=1653819092&sprefix=susan+vaughan+half+full+%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-1

says that

seeing life’s potentials and possibilities instead of its pitfalls is the result of an internal process anyone can follow.

One of her stated conclusions is that “there is a powerful link between facial expression and emotions.

She believes that people who begin to act happier actually feel happier.”

There is merit in thinking and acting positively, but the Bible declares that true spiritual joy begins deep inside us, then spreads to our faces.

But, what about us, how do we develop a merry or joyful heart?

Practice the Presence of God every day!

We can begin by thanking the Lord for being with us and working for our good in every situation (Romans 8:28).

A daily walk with God can produce a merry heart if we focus on His blessings.

It’s not a matter of pretending but of practicing an outlook on life that reflects our faith in Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul wrote from prison. “Again, I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4).

Turn Your eyes upon Jesus ….

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Helen H. Lemmel

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

His word shall not fail you he promised
Believe him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

Paul writes, “For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)

Jesus was the embodiment of God’s full glory.

Paul saw that we too have access to this fulness of God. 

He prays for the Ephesians (and us) that we also may be able

“to know the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge [knowledge gained from the five material senses.  There’s that outward appearance of things again.], that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”  (Ephesians 3:19 KJV)

Think of that, to be filled with ALL the FULNESS of GOD.

But it’s crucial here to see the context of these verses from Ephesians 3:14-21:

Ephesians 3:14-21Amplified Bible

14 For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth [a]derives its name [God—the first and ultimate Father]. 16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

We must bow our knees to the Father.  We must worship God. 

God gives us the riches of His glory which strengthen us inwardly, thereby allowing Christ to dwell in our hearts. 

When Christ lives in our hearts, then we are filled with the fulness of God.

So open your eyes, your spiritual eyes.

See the unseen.

Give Christ full access to all the broad avenues of your heart as well as all the nooks and crannies.  (Don’t try to hide anything. It never works.)

No matter what the outward material picture is,

your glass, your heart, your life in God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit is 100% full.

Completely FULL.

“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn’t live boldly enough, that they didn’t invest enough heart, didn’t love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.”
― Ted Hughes, Letters of Ted Hughes

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1892251.Letters_of_Ted_Hughes

That kind of optimism begins with a merry heart and spreads to the face.

In turn, a truly cheerful countenance spreads a contagion of hope and joy to others.

We don’t know who will cross our paths today or what burdens those persons may carry.

You might want to check, then double and dare to triple check your mirror.

When the storms of life are raging – am I All full of me or all full of God?

How’s that self portrait of “My smile versus GOD’s Smile?”

Hmm … YEP! that’s much more like it.

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

Let us Pray,

Lord God, my Way-maker, I know you have a destiny for me to achieve in this life. I want to follow the plan that you have laid out. Help me to understand and follow your call. Show me your will for my life and what I need to do right now to get started. Enable me to know who I am in Christ, and the special gifts and abilities you have given me. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I seek to know you more intimately. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

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O’ My Soul, Never Give Up! ALWAYS BELIEVE! There is always hope! God is always there to uphold Us! Psalm 22:1-2

 I wonder how many times you and I have been let down by someone we know.

People understand well the term and implications behind the word: betrayal.

There are many people who promise us that they will stand by us, no matter what comes our way.

They say, ‘we have your back so do not worry, we will be right behind you’.

However, when trouble strikes, armed with that promise of support, many of them end up so far behind us that we cannot see them, even with a telescope!

We are constantly being left behind and hurt by those we believe we should be able to trust with quite literally everything which we hold dearest to our souls.

But when we are shocked, hurt and feeling betrayed by those we are closest to, sometimes even from within our own families – parents, children, and siblings, and spouses, the shock value, the hurt soar to completely indescribable levels.

When it reaches such an intimate and deeply personal level, there is that inner most feeling of.

“My trust is completely shattered.”

“I absolutely believe that in this exact moment I have no one to turn to!”

“What do I do now?”

“This is way too intimate, way too personal to tell anyone!”

“Who would ever understand what is going on within me?”

Is there any greater sense of loneliness that anyone can feel than this?

18-year-old stranger drives three hours to a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In a state of greatest rage against a class of people with different colored skin, they park their car, get out and start shooting, then they enter the store —

18-year-old teenager gets mad at his mother over Wi-Fi, leaves the house, then drives away, crashes their car into an Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — A classroom filled with fourth graders, their teachers, is suddenly shot to pieces.

Yes humanity!

As only God knows and all of humanity surely and certainly dreads,

There is always a worse kind of inconceivable pain and anguish, of a souls’ indescribable betrayal, of utterly shattered trust and undefinable loneliness.

Who dares now to enter into this indescribable, inconceivable whirlwind?

Who has answers to all of the questions, both ponderable and imponderable?

Where to turn in the search for truth and trust?

Who to wise enough for us to ultimately turn to for truth and trust?

Psalm 22:1-2 Amplified Bible

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar (The Doe of the Dawn). A Psalm of David.

22 [a]My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
2 
O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

King David was incredibly sad when he wrote this psalm, wasn’t he?

He was telling God that he felt completely alone. He felt like he couldn’t find God anywhere. He cried out in desperation, but God didn’t seem to answer.

Have you and I or literally everybody else we know ever felt like that? 

Sometimes we are sad beyond our own capability to sufficiently express, maybe we do not trust those around us with our very deepest, most intimate thoughts.

When we are in that place where we are sure no one else can understand exactly what is going on in our hearts and in our souls, but also know we cannot keep it to ourselves because it is too powerful, overwhelming to sufficiently contain.

When we even in that place, question whether or not to dare to tell God about it.

Psalm 22 gives us words to unleash on our own when we feel God is not nearby.

We uncontrollably unleash upon any unsuspecting soul, Psalm 22:1-2 with a measure of trust and certainty that “we do not care who hears it, but we know from deep within the deepest places of our souls, there is someone who cares deeply enough to actually respond because our words have not scared them off.

When a person expresses their saddest feelings to God, that’s called a “lament.”

Psalm 22 is a lament.

Psalm 22 teaches us something else, though, about talking to God.

Read a few more verses—Psalm 22:3-5:

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame

In these verses David switches from telling God about his great sadness to remembering that God is great. God helped his ancestors.

David reminds God how others were saved when they trusted in God.

Perhaps David is remembering when Israel trusted God to save them from their enemies. Perhaps he is thinking of stories that you and I know too—stories about Ruth and Boaz, stories about Gideon and Joshua or Abraham and Isaac. Maybe David is remembering how God helped him defeat the giant Goliath.

Whatever he is thinking of, David quickly moves from sadness to praise. As we will see when we read more of this psalm, David isn’t done being sad, but he comes to God with two things on his mind: how sad he is and how good God is.

We can tell our sorrows to God too, but, like David, we should also remember how great God is. We can talk to God about our sorrows because we know that he listens to us. Isn’t it beyond great that we can talk to God about anything?

We can affirm our faith in the faithfulness of our God.

We can affirm our faith in the steadfast presence of His Son Jesus.

We can affirm our faith in the constancy of Holy Spirits intercession,

My own personal affirmation of faith in such times is from John 1:1-5

John 1:1-5Amplified Bible

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

In spite of all questions, answerable and imponderable, YES! I Believe…!

I believe in the living God, the Creator and complete truth of the universe,

  who is the pulse and purpose of all things seen and unseen,

  who from the dust of earth calls up living beings to be children of eternity,

  who through countless ages has provided for us many liberators

  and tirelessly seeks to bring victory out of defeat and life out of decay.

I believe in Jesus the Christ, the Resurrected, God’s ONLY true Son,

  who is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,

  who took upon himself the healing of the human race,

  who bearing the burden of our sins went to Golgotha carrying his cross,

  who was betrayed, crucified, dead and buried in a borrowed tomb,

  who on the third day was found to be gloriously alive,

  meeting with those who trust him and serve him to the end of the world.

I believe in the Holy Spirit of God,

  within and among all who cherish Christ and his way,

  who brings hope out of despair, love out of apathy, and joy out of sorrow,

  who unceasingly regenerates and reforms the church

  that it may always be the contemporary body of the risen Christ,

  loving the world through prayer, word and deed.

I believe that even I am caught up in the resurgent life of Christ Jesus,

  and that nothing in life or death can separate me from his love and joy.

In spite of unanswered, imponderable questions, YES! I believe.

YES! I BELIEVE!

I believe in truth as a living Reality,

not captured in theory or a creed,

but revealed to those who love;

the truth of Jesus,

the Spirit of truth,

the truth of God.

YES! Because I believe I trust,

not blindly but open eyed and bold

as a child climbing into a mother’s lap;

the truth of Jesus,

the Spirit of truth,

the truth of God.

YES! Because I believe I serve,

not as a slave that serves a tyrant

but like farmers reaping a harvest;

the truth of Jesus,

the Spirit of truth,

the truth of God.

YES! I BELIEVE

God is big enough to hear about our biggest hurts and our deepest sorrows.

He wants us to tell him everything

YES! I BELIEVE God is faithful!

God is trustworthy!

God is true!

YES! I BELIEVE

We can trust his promises to be kept and his purposes to be good.

How do we know?

Because from the very beginning of all things, God spoke and God Created;

The sunrise each morning is a reminder that the Father of heaven and earth is at forever and ever at work diligently keeping His universe in working order.

If it is true in nature, (Psalm 19:1-2) it is true in the spiritual realm as well.

Greet each new beginning, each sunrise as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

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

Let us Pray,

God, Builder and Creator of all things, I know that when I acknowledge your authority and your power that you will make my paths straight in front of me.

Please empower me to live a greater life in Christ. May your Holy Spirit who lives in me draw me closer to you. Give me a mind of understanding. Let me see as you see, and not as the world sees. I trust your judgment fully and know that my own judgment is limited. I believe you have everything in control, and you will guide me exactly where you want me to go. Gloria! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Walking into the crying faces of Uvalde, Texas, of Buffalo, New York. Can I have Confidence in God’s Presence? What Assurances that God has not, will not, leave us behind? Deuteronomy 31:1-8

When Susanna Wesley was on her deathbed, she gathered her children around her. As she was about to be called home to heaven, she admonished them not to weep but rather to “sing a hymn of praise.” Then with her last breath, she then reminded them the greatest comfort we have in any, all, circumstances are, that the unchangeable truth of life is “God always goes before us,” “God is with us.”

When we consider and ponder the scope of the tragedies of Uvalde, Texas, the magnitude of what has happened to the black community in Buffalo, New York, it is a good thing to be reminded that our “God always goes before us.”

God is always with us and lives within us.” How easy is it to “back away from God,” from within such experiences as this, how easy is it to believe God has left humanity behind by allowing these events to gain entry into our psyche?

Like Job, we are on the threshold of questioning God, questioning our faith.

If like Job, we are going to come to faith or reaffirm our faith in our God in all circumstances, to set aside the very worst which could happen or has already made its presence felt – causing us to suddenly reconsider, retreat a few steps, we need to have that sacred place of assurance that our trust in God will not be violently thrown back into our faces, will not be abused, but always 100% there.

Deuteronomy 31:1-8New International Version

Joshua to Succeed Moses

31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; and do not be discouraged.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God has given Christians a difficult assignment. One that seems impossible and for which we feel unbelievably inadequate and unqualified. We bring people to a living, abiding faith in God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

John 10:14 – 18 NIV

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

When the first inclination upon receiving the news of Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo is to stay “a safe distance in the background” start a truly wondrous crusade against something or something else, sound like you are all about achieving maximum results with inactions, it is a sad testimony against you that you prefer “full boots in maximum retreat” against what is the most essential.

“The Knowledge and Maximum Demonstration of the full Presence of God!”

It is a sad testimony against the ones who cry out: “enough, no more prayers!” Against the ones who so quickly refuse to invoke the absolute presence of God in all situations and all circumstances, with all people, absolutely all the time.

Such stances are 1000% contrary to the long-standing promises of our God. As others prefer to retreat kicking, screaming into the world of “I am powerless!” we must recall there will always be those whose first response is to “rush in!”

As Christians, As First Responders, As Christian First Responders, and being the Body of Christ, Being God’s Church, the Steadfast Presence of Lord Jesus Christ,

We are also covenanted to somehow keep our faith when we are summoned into times, seasons which require us to walk alongside of all of humanity when it is or might become painfully apparent when our presence will not be welcomed.

In such times we must recognize the stunning flaws within our own humanity,

“We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.”

― Konstantin Josef Jireček

In my Standing before my Holy God,

In defending my “Courageous Christianity,”

To the beginning of that quote, I would add to these –

“We, the inadequate …”

“We, the unqualified …”

“We, the uncertain …”

“We, the ‘courageous’ of this world …”

Moses questioned God mightily of his qualifications to go back to Egypt.

The enormity of that personal struggle, questioning himself before God’s fire?

Moses certainly did not do any cartwheels or somersaults when God called him to lead the millions of Israelites out of Egypt. He was not the least bit excited in the prospect of going “before God” because he felt poorly equipped to succeed.

That is when spoke to Moses these courage infusing words …

Exodus 3:12 Amplified Bible

12 And God said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve and worship God at this mountain.”

These few precious words remind us that with God’s presence and help, we can courageously come to God in confidence. We can accomplish any assignment.

His “I am always with you” presence before us instills confidence into shattered hearts, into questioning hearts, into unwilling hearts, into unqualified hearts, into inadequate hearts, into unequipped hearts, into faithless, hopeless hearts.

From Deuteronomy 31:1-8, we read where Moses announced his coming death.

Joshua was now declared to be God’s designated “First Responder.”

A not so confident, courageous Joshua was going to need a whole lot of God’s words of assurances in the coming days, weeks, months and years ahead to be able to “GO! succeed from where Moses, the “great Law Giver” just left off.

As a Christian community, we too are going to need a whole lot of God’s Word, God’s Truth, if we are going to “GO!” continue to faithfully fulfill our covenant requirements, and faith-filled covenant commitments to the Kingdom of God.

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

Let us Pray,

Thank You, Father, for the truth that is contained in the Scriptures. Sometimes I wish I could see the Shekinah glory or be led by a pillar of fire, but I understand that today we live by faith in Your Word and not by sight. Thank You for Your promises to be with us, to lead and to guide us, to protect us, and supply all our needs, according to Your riches in glory. We praise Your holy name that Your whole Word is true, both toward Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo New York and those places where our faith, our hopes, our love are most mightily tested. Glory be to Your holy name, in Jesus’ name I pray, In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

Faith of Our Fathers Text: Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863

1. Faith of our fathers, living still,
in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Refrain:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

2. Faith of our fathers, we will strive
to win all nations unto thee;
and through the truth that comes from God,
we all shall then be truly free.
(Refrain)

3. Faith of our fathers, we will love
both friend and foe in all our strife;
and preach thee, too, as love knows how
by kindly words and virtuous life.
(Refrain)

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Examining My Perception of Myself. What about Changing my Thinking, Revolutionizing my Life? Job 9:20-21

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”

“I am unsure. I think I am who I say I am, or I believe I am who I say I am.”

“My thoughts of myself are exactly that: MY own thoughts of MY own self!”

“Debate me, PLEASE! We are who we think we are.”

“I am the best judge of my own thoughts. Ergo, LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“I am the best judge of exactly who I am!”

“Judge me not! No one can ever know me better than I know myself!”

Does anyone out there reading this see a definite pattern developing?

One of the most important steps we can take toward achieving our greatest potential in life is to learn to monitor our thoughts and its impact on our attitudes towards ourselves and all those who just happen to be around us.

Everything we perceive in the physical world has its origin in the invisible, inner world of our thoughts and beliefs.

To become the master of our earthly destiny, we must learn to control the nature of our dominant, habitual thoughts. The conscious human mind is capable of great good and equally extraordinary evil.

“Our mind is the master builder and that which we think upon may become misery or miracles.”

Our thoughts determine our destiny. Minds are really an amazing creation. 

Our minds, thoughts and words are horrible things to waste upon ourselves.

Imagine yourself just for a few breaths and heartbeats thinking like Job.

Imagine yourself having this “mindset of Job” right in this very moment.

How long could you stand yourself living day to day with this mindset?

Job 9:13-35 Amplified Bible

13 
“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
14 
“How can I answer Him [and plead my case],
Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?
15 
For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.
16 
“If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 
“For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 
“He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills and saturates me with bitterness.
19 
“If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty!
And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?
20 
“Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;
Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
21 
“[Though] I am blameless,
I do not care about myself;
I despise my life.
22 
“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’
23 
“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks at the despair of the innocent.
24 
“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

25 
“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.
26 
“They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds,
Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
27 
“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’
28 
I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.
29 
“I am accounted wicked and held guilty;
Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
30 
“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31 
You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].
32 
“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.
33 
“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].
34 
“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.
35 
“Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

It is estimated that our brain contains over 100 billion nerve cells. Each individual nerve cell is then connected with 10 thousand other neurons.

Ask yourself – Think about – Exactly how complex is this brain of mine?

Research indicates that most people will speak at a rate of 150 to 200 words per minute, but the internal dialogue that you carry on with yourself (self-talk) you do at a rate over six times that of approximately 1300 words per minute.

Think about that for a moment.

We may not be that person. We may not be like “most of those people” but our innate ability to become like “most of those people” is actually quite stunning

The problem is, in all that self-talk, a lot of people are Negative.

Take the time one day to write down your words and your thoughts.

Repeat the process on another day and for as many days as you think about it –

Count the positive words and thoughts.

Count the negative words and thoughts.

What is the ratio of “positive thoughts” to “negative thoughts?”

What do you think about the results of your own self-examination?

What do you think about yourself based upon your own self-examination?

Whatever your circumstance today – rich or poor, success or a failure, happy or sad – is nothing but the product of your thoughts.

In a very simple manner, you are a product of your thoughts.

You become what you think about, 

Where is your mindset right now?

What is your perception of your life right in this exact moment?

Is your glass of water always half full or always half empty?

Like Job says in verses 20 and 21,

Job 9:20-21 Amplified Bible

20 
“Though I am innocent, and, in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;
Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
21 
“[Though] I am blameless,
I do not care about myself;
I despise my life.

If someone feeds his mind with negative thoughts of worries, fear, anxiety and confusion, his life becomes one of frustration, fear anxiety and worry.

On the other hand, if another person feeds his mind with positive thoughts of a better tomorrow, good and worthwhile goals and work towards them, it will become a reality, because that is what he thinks about.

If you keep feeding your mind with negative thoughts, you achieve negative results. If you keep feeding your mind with positive thoughts, you’ll achieve positive results. This effort is basically referred to as; “self-affirmation.”

Self-Affirmation is not a skill. It is an attitude. It is a mindset we must learn.

Neither mindset of self-affirmation nor self-deprecation is ever final.

The way your mind is programmed determines your mindset. Your mindset determines your character which has overwhelming impact on your attitudes.

American Educator, Philosopher, Historian, Psychologist William James (1842-1910) said, “the greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.”

To get what you want,

change who you are by simply changing the way you think. 

Proverbs 23:7, says “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

People do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.

To attract good people, you must be good.

To attract godly people, you must be godly.

Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself.

Your circumstances may be out of your control, but recall God is in control of everything.

Your thoughts shape who you are, but you can change the way you think.

Therefore, if you are not satisfied with your present circumstance in life and you want to change it, you need to change your thoughts.

Think and act like the person you want to become.

Before you can do something, you first must be something.

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

Think about this: You become valuable when you value what God values.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Amplified Bible

5 
Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart
And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
6 
[a]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him,
And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].
7 
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil.
8 
It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts]
And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.

Transformation comes when we allow God’s Word to change our thinking.

How do you eliminate negative thoughts so you can become a refine person?

It’s the principle of replacement:

Colossians 3:1-4 Amplified Bible

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. 3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Philippians 4:6-8Amplified Bible

6 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].

8 Finally, [a]believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

As your thinking changes, your feelings, decisions, actions and attitude will change and conform to the mind of Christ.

We have the power to transform our lives. 

Romans 12:1-5New Living Translation

A Living Sacrifice to God

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters, [a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. [b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me; I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. [d] 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

There is an intensity and urgency in Scripture’s earnest pleading to guard your heart and your thoughts about all else, and in scripture the heart is understood to be the seat of our thoughts, our self- will, the conscience and the emotions.

Our heart is the storehouse for wisdom and all that influences the life and character of an individual.

Jesus reminds us that from our whole heart, we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, with every part of our inner being.

We have been endowed by our Creator with reason and choices, with emotions and a will, which is bound up in the “wholeness,” “hole-ness and holiness” of our hearts – and we have been given them all by God to glorify not one blessed inch or neuron or brain cell of ourselves, but only Him and to enrich our lives.

But they should never be given free rein to rule our lives, dictate our decisions for unguarded feeling can fluctuate; unguarded emotions can twist and turn on a whim; unguarded thoughts can toss to and for like the wave of the sea and an unguarded will can lead you away from the path of peace.

The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and unless checked, double-checked and guarded above all things, it will surely and certainly influence our lives for evil and not for good.

– yes, we are to guard our hearts as the highest priority –guarded above all else.

We are never forsaken by God nor never left alone. We are never left to guess at the reason for the intensity and urgency in this earnest plea to guard our hearts above all else – for the heart is the source and well-spring of life, our hearts are the repositories for God’s life, treasury for His truth, warehouse of His wisdom.

Christ is our whole life and our whole truth, and our whole wisdom and the Lord searches the heart and tests the mind, and we are to guard the gospel truth that has been shed into our hearts – the knowledge of Him Who has brought us out of darkness into His glorious light, who has taken us from the doorways of our death and breathed into us the breath of the new-life in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Psalm 16:5 Amplified Bible

5 
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, my cup [He is all I need];
You support my lot.

So, is your cup half full or half empty?

HMMMM …..

I wonder ….

I think it is ….

I believe it is ….

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

Let us pray,

Lord, my teacher, I’m often confused when I need to make important decisions about my family, my work, my relationships, my health, or finances. Show me the way I should go when I don’t know which way to turn. Help me remember to leave me, come to you, rather than trying to figure everything out on my own.

Guide me along the best pathway for my life. Let Your Holy Spirit advise me and watch over me. Help me to listen to your guidance and not resist it. I thank you that your unfailing love surrounds those who trust you. Gloria! Alleluia! Amen.

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See! I am raising my un-holy hands. I have Made my decision to Speak, my demands to be Heard. But tell me who is there to hear me, to come between me, my friends and my God? Job 9.

(Job’s) Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of (Job first?) then David.

28 To you I call, O Lord,
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit (grave).
2 
Hear the voice of my supplication (specific requests, humble entreaties) as I cry to You for help,
As I lift up my hands and heart toward Your innermost sanctuary (Holy of Holies).

Job was a righteous man before God. Job was a prosperous man, a family man. It was a good life for Job, he was confident in how he was living that life. It seemed that nothing could go wrong that could not be effectively, efficiently, handled. I can see Job, even be jealous of Job for living such an endlessly successful life.

We want to move into Job’s home. We want to live and prosper like Job lived and prospered. It is everybody’s lifelong dream to model their whole lives as Job did. We have control over what happens around us. God is Good and it shows daily.

Until that goodness of God suddenly disappears faster than we can blink an eye.

It does not just disappear at warp speed; it disappears in the most traumatic of ways. The whirlwind of trauma grows ever stronger and its more unstoppable than we could ever have allowed ourselves to imagine possible. Levels of trauma from which there’s no apparent avenue of recovery, can things get even worse?

Suddenly, there seems to be no words which are sufficient to respond with. It suddenly becomes a giant vacuum for which words seem to get stuck within us. Suddenly this “growing zone of silence” is introducing itself, surrounding us.

The inevitable question is “Why Me? Why Now, come on explain yourself God “

What does Job hope to hear?

Job is sure of God’s response because Job is “faith on steroids” and he knows God is always responsive to the max with those who are faithful to God. But all Job hears is complete silence from God and the bleating voices of his friends.

Not exactly what Job desires, wants or needs to hear in this ultra-critical “Faith shaping” time and season. Job’s problem is that he has no way to examine God, to “Call God Out” and that is what he goes on to state in very eloquent terms.

Exasperated, He says that God’s wisdom is beyond man: How can you get hold of a God like that to debate with Him the issues that are causing the pain of life?

What can I do?

How can I get at this whole “God is Silent” problem? 

Exasperated, Job makes his case before his friends and before his God.

AND BEFORE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US RIGHT THIS EXACT MOMENT!

Job 9:1-12 Amplified Bible

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

9 Then Job answered and said,

2 
“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?
3 
“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 
“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?
5 
“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 
Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7 
Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];
8 
Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the [a]waves of the sea;
9 
Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10 
Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,
Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.
11 
“Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.
12 
“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Job has decisions to he has make in assessing and evaluating and living out his relationship with God and with mankind. Job deeply needs to hear from God.

He asserts his desire to hear from the Lord who has ever been 100% faithful to him, he asserts his desire to let God know he intends to be ever the more faithful in spite of all the absolute mess that is whirling, swirling, going on around him

Out of the deep darkness that surrounds this “patient” suffering saint, comes a ray of light breaking through. It is the first significant break in Job’s gloom. 

Job’s realization, acknowledgement, what is needed is a mediator, an arbitrator who can come between man, who understands us both and brings us together, 

Job says. For the first time in this book, we begin to see what God is producing in this man, why he is putting him through this protracted trial.

For now, Job begins to feel, deep in his bones, the nature of reality: the terrible gulf between the pleas of man and God that must be bridged by another party.

We who live in the full light of the New Testament know that he is crying out and feeling deep within the need for just such a mediator as Jesus himself.

Job is laying the foundation here in his own understanding for the tremendous revelation that comes in the New Testament when God hears, becomes a man.

When we in our sin believe with all of our heart God has suddenly gone silent,

God Absolutely Listens!

God Absolutely Hears!

God Absolutely Acts!

God Absolutely Intercedes in the affairs of Mankind

God Absolutely Sent His Son at the appropriate time.

God takes our place, God lives as we live, feels as we feel, solves the great problem between us and God, and brings the two—God and man—together.

For the first time in the long suffering words and pleas of Job and his friends, we begin to sense something mighty is taking shape, what God is driving at.  

Psalm 119:65-72 Authorized (King James) Version

ט  Teth

65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord,
according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge:
for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray:
but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good;
teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me:
but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease;
but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me
than thousands of gold and silver.

You and I can learn theology from a book, and we can study it and get it clear in your mind, but until you go through the hurts and difficulties and trials of life.

We never really understand what God’s truth is. It takes suffering to get a clear vision of what God is saying to us, and that is what the book of Job is all about.

Because we live in a fallen world, there will be times in our life when we will all have to endure trials and difficulty. Job went through such a time; however, he realized that had Someone to stand in his defense. Job called Him his Redeemer.

Job’s suffering helped inform and shape and transform his understanding of the Whole truth of God. The New Testament reveals far more of who God is.

How might Job’s experience, his friends’ experiences, inform, shape and transform our own personal understanding of the “silence” of our God???

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

Let us Pray,

God of truth, sometimes I am not sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own sinful thoughts, my friends’ thoughts or even another spirit.

Please God, sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me.

Author of my Life, Shaper of my heart and my soul, help me know it’s really you, with no long shadow of doubt or reason for any of my second-guessing.

When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, by your mercy, give me your place of peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Give me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. Alleluia! Amen.

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About our Addressing the Silence of God in our life. Turning our Silence and our Souls over to God. “Unto God I Will Turn and Lift Up My Hands.” Psalm 28

“God our Father, We Your Children Challenge You to be Silent No More in our Lives.”

Only in the sacredness of inward silence does the soul truly meet the secret, hiding God. The strength of resolve, which afterward shapes life, and mixes itself with action, is the fruit of those sacred, solitary moments. There is a divine depth in silence. We meet God alone. – Author: Frederick William Robertson

To address what we perceive to be the “silent treatment” from God, we must, by all necessity recognize that there is a silence in the first place. It means we must first make that initial recognition somewhere within our souls that there is a place we do not recognize within us that is starkly different from what we are used to experiencing, vastly contrasting with our “encoded status quo.”

We must not just acknowledge that our “encoded status quo” is being “tickled” by something or someone we do not recognize, but there is also, likewise, that inner sensation that we are being “tickled,” we are not so inclined to ignore it.

The noise we are all too familiar with is somehow now becoming an irritant. It is not just a small irritation otherwise we would continue to so easily dismiss it.

No! it becomes more and more noticeable – it is ever so slowly interjecting itself further and further into those places which were previously declared numb or even dead spaces in our souls and our lives, and they are now becoming alive.

These numbed or dead spaces within our souls suddenly becoming alive within us lack a specific name. We are complete strangers to such places awakening in us. These are places which possess no boundaries, sadly, lacks true definition.

All our conscious and unconscious efforts to suppress them completely fail us.

Now, out of nowhere, without any degree or measure of advanced warning there is that irrepressible urge to put “words” to our souls being “tickled.”

“Yo! Anybody who is listening to me right now –

Pray! Tell Me PLEASE, what is Up with my Soul!”

Psalm 28 Complete Jewish Bible

28 (0) By David:

(1) Adonai, I am calling to you;
my Rock, don’t be deaf to my cry.
For if you answer me with silence,
I will be like those who fall in a pit.
2 Hear the sound of my prayers
when I cry to you,
when I lift my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.

3 Don’t drag me off with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil;
they speak words of peace to their fellowmen,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for their deeds,
as befits their evil acts;
repay them for what they have done,
give them what they deserve.
5 For they don’t understand the deeds of Adonai
or what he has done.
He will break them down;
he will not build them up.

6 Blessed be Adonai,
for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.
7 Adonai is my strength and shield;
in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped.
Therefore my heart is filled with joy,
and I will sing praises to him.

8 Adonai is strength for [his people],
a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save your people! Bless your heritage!
Shepherd them and carry them forever!

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Psalm 28:1-2 Amplified Bible

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

28 To you I call, O Lord,
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit (grave).
2 
Hear the voice of my supplication (specific requests, humble entreaties) as I cry to You for help,
As I lift up my hands and heart toward Your innermost sanctuary (Holy of Holies).

David’s soul is and has been trying to get David’s attention.

How long David’s soul has been “tickling him” we cannot say?

We cannot put a specific period of time to this – moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or an indeterminate number of years, even decades.

We can say that finally David’s soul has been reached and David recognizes it.

David and his soul are clearly in a space neither of them likes nor appreciates.

David, “a man after God’s own heart,” puts his words and his soul in the same room at the same time and gives them both free reign to say what must be said.

We, ourselves, in this 21st century whirlwind, must now lend our souls to this ancient “heart to soul to God” silent or raucous conversation, its implications.

David tells us in verse one that if the Lord will not hear his prayer that he would be like one of those who go down to the pit.

I take this to mean that this was not only a life and death situation but that it also very likely had some deeply significant eternal implications as well.

I say this because of verses 3-5 where the wicked men who show no regard for the Lord will be torn down and the Lord will not build them back up again.

David, a “man after God’s own heart” now confessing himself as “wicked” and having “no regard for the Lord” with no foreseeable measure or degree of hope?

I suppose that we could all agree that life has its ups and down’s.

Those who identify themselves as “struggling” today may not be in the future and those that identify themselves as “carefree” today may have a whole lot of concerns next week.

These are the “regular” ebbs and tides of life, liberty, pursuit of joy we accept, acknowledge and readily recognize and “live” as being a “normal part of life.”

Yet, here in verse one David is praying from a place of urgency and great need.

Life might be so good for you right now that you cannot identify with David here.

However, I bet you personally know someone who could be praying like David is right here.

There are friends of mine who are facing some really tough situations, and some are even wondering if they will recover from these things.

When David starts this Psalm, he both inwardly, outwardly prays to the LORD.

In other words, David prays by using the personal name of God.

He knows who he is praying to, he knows the nature and character of the Lord.

I try to keep this in mind when I pray too. If I am facing an overwhelming trial.

From that undefinable place of silence, which is now alive and well within me, I cry out to the LORD who delivered His people from their not so silent cries.

I pray to the LORD whose steadfast love is enduring and whose mercy is new every morning.

When I seek the LORD with these things in mind I am encouraged, and my faith is made strong.

I really like verse two. It is this verse that sheds some light on to the specific things David mentioned in verse one.

For example, not only does David pray in verse two but we discover that he prays over and over again for mercy.

David says, “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

I am glad that David models for us the consistency that he had both in prayer and the theology behind his words.

David needs help and so he prays, raises hands, and pleas to the Lord for mercy.

Then David says, “…when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.”

I love this part.

Notice that David lifts not only his souls undefinable place of silence but also his hands and turns away from himself and toward the most holy sanctuary.

Let me share with you what I like about this. Each week I face things that overwhelm me as the writer of this blog. If nothing else does this to me, I know turning to the Word of God through my devotional define my “soul’s silence.”

My silence will be given a defining voice. As the week goes on, I find myself more and more research and study and prayer busying myself with that task.

So much so that I freely admit God is busy not being silent, and I find myself and my soul both figuratively and quite literally, losing much sleep over it.

The Holy Spirit living within me intercedes and “tickles” my soul to find God.

Here David speaks of men and workers of evil. He speaks of those who speak well to their neighbor, but they have evil in their hearts.

Perhaps his soul is referring David back to himself and his whole host of actions contrary to the will of God – David and Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite, Failures as king and as a father, Ceaseless Palace Intrigue, Absalom’s death, His Census.

Yet, even when David and his soul are facing such people, David takes time to “enter the holy of holies” God’s sanctuary, to raise up his hands to the Lord. David’s inward silence becomes David’s soul’s outward expression of prayer.

He ceases from the everyday pressing business of “royal intrigue” and the concerns and lifts his hands. You may think that this is a small thing, but I really do not think that this is a minor deal. I bet many souls struggle to still their hands and stop their work to lift their hands and souls up to the Lord.

I want “my soul’s silence” to be more like David’s – expressed through prayer.

Did you notice what the Holy Spirit and David’s soul compel David to do next?

He turns toward the most holy sanctuary.

You see, when my good friend asked me how we can help ‘souls’ in “our spheres of influence (which means quite literally everyone) and our church turn to God in the midst of their troubles I immediately recognized the voice of God speaking, acknowledging these verses.

That is exactly what David does here.

Picture David in your mind praying while looking at these wicked men in front of him in his mirror. Then all of a sudden David turns from them and sets his gaze to the most holy sanctuary. What an image. Even if he had enemies in that direction it seems to me that David is now looking beyond them to the LORD.

Imagine how transforming it would be for us if we would do this in some way.

Say I am struggling with some teaching in scripture. If I would look in the direction of our Holy Lord in that moment things would get clearer.

Say that I am struggling with my soul to forgive myself or someone else. If I would look at the Holy Lord and what does for me, I would quickly forgive.

When I find the cares of this world and see the wickedness all around me and it is all staring back at me, my soul’s and my greatest comfort would come when I would set my gaze upon the Holy Lord. This perspective would change it all.

“Bless the Lord, O, My Soul! And all that is within me, BLESS His Holy Name!”

“Bless the Lord, O, My Soul, and forget NONE of His Benefits!”

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

Let us Pray,

Holy God, make me a partaker of your Holy Spirit. Enlighten me, oh, God. May I taste this heavenly gift that you reserve for your righteous people. Cleanse me of any barriers in my heart and mind and soul that may stop me from feeling your presence in me. Flood any dark spots in my heart with your light. Help me to walk in your light and shine your beauty and grace on everyone I meet. Amen.

Hymn:When, In Our Music, God Is Glorified
Tune:Engelberg
Words:F Pratt Green (1903-2000)
Music:C V Stanford (1852-1924)

Verse 1

When in our music God is glorified, 

And adoration leaves no room for pride, 

It is as though the whole creation cried 

Alleluia! 

Verse 2

How often, making music, we have found 

A new dimension in the world of sound, 

As worship moved us to a more profound 

Alleluia! 

Verse 3

So has the Church, in liturgy and song, 

In faith and love, through centuries of wrong, 

Borne witness to the truth in ev’ry tongue, 

Alleluia! 

Verse 4

And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night 

When utmost evil strove against the Light? 

Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight, 

Alleluia! 

Verse 5

Let ev’ry instrument be tuned for praise! 

Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! 

And may God give us faith to sing always 

Alleluia! 

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When Heaven Seems Too Silent. The “silent treatment”? How might we respond when God seems so distant?

To be strong, to steer straight onward, to dare to praise God, to sit alone and keep silence because He has laid it upon us, to put our mouths into the dust, if so, be there may be hope here is fortitude indeed. – Reverend Dr. F.B. Meyer

https://bibleportal.com/sermons/author/f.b.+meyer?page=2

Someone posed a question to me yesterday. They asked me how we could help people in our sphere of influence (nearly everyone we see) and church look to the Lord, grow faith, experience joy, peace and hope in the midst of the difficult situations that they are currently facing?

I could really appreciate the question.

I am absolutely certain God appreciates the depth of the question also.

Psalm 28:1-2The Message

28 Don’t turn a deaf ear
    when I call you, God.
If all I get from you is
    deafening silence,
I’d be better off
    in the Black Hole.

2 I’m letting you know what I need,
    calling out for help
And lifting my arms
    toward your inner sanctuary.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

I am going begin this devotion by asking everyone who comes to read these words of devotion very deep and very intimate, wildly personal questions.

Have you ever felt that God was giving you the “silent treatment”?

Have you given any serious or hyper-quality time and thought about how might, or indeed, you should respond when God in Heaven seems distant?

Every one of us has dreams and goals in our heart.

There are very definite and very personal promises that we are all standing on.

Maybe you are believing on God for a breakthrough in your job, your career, your ministry, your children, breakthrough in your family, retirement etc.

Deep down you know and believe that God has spoken that to you. But so often because it is taking a long time and you are not seeing any signs from God; you are getting discouraged.

You ask, seek, and knock all the live long day and dream about it throughout the night, except the only response is “the silent treatment.” You are making all the noise, but God is remaining painfully quiet. On the other side, the devil is telling you that you are going to lose, and you are trying your level best to hold on.

The reason many people do not see God’s promises come to pass is because they get discouraged and give up too soon. Just because you do not see anything does not mean that God is not working for you. Just because you cannot see what God is doing, that does not mean that God will not fulfil your promises.

God is faithful to his word. All of his promises are yes and amen.

1. Human response to God’s silence.

Many times, when we do not see anything in the natural, we cry out in despair.

We get too soon disappointed and discouraged. People get confused which will eventually lead to doubt, guilt (Some people feel they have sinned and are being punished), anger and fear. These are all evidentiary signs of giving up in life.

Psalm 28:1-2 1To you, LORD, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. 2Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?

Men and women throughout the Bible have consistently, decisively voiced their measure of disappointment when they have felt heaven was silent.

Here they are crying out to God because God is silent towards them.

They could not see anything happening in their lives, they were getting fearful and losing hope.

I understand some of you are in your silent years in certain areas of your life.

You are yelling at God,

“WHY Lord, I do not understand why I am going through this trouble. I do not know why my life has TO become like this. Lord, I JUST cannot take this any longer.”

You feel God is far away and are ready to give up your faith.

In the natural David and Habakkuk were losing faith but if you really read their books further, they waited by faith and God lifted them.

When you come to the end of Psalm 28 David said:

Psalm 28:6-7 6Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 17Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

When God’s fulfillment of your promises is taking unbelievably too long, pray, don’t ever give up, never lose hope, neither your faith. God is right with you.

God smiles at you seeing your faith, but devil smiles at you seeing your fear.

Do you know God created you in your mother’s womb with his very own hands?

There is absolutely nothing about you that is an accident.

There is absolutely nothing about you that God is not proud of.

There is absolutely nothing about you God does not think is misplaced in life.

Just because you are going through a trouble, just because you are not hearing from God in what you believe is the “appropriate amount of YOUR time,” just because things are not working out does not mean there is something wrong.

God is absolutely at work in your life. He loves you. You are precious to him.

In the Bible we find many examples of God’s silence and whenever man felt God was quiet there were lessons to be learnt.

Lessons we might learn from God’s silence – if we want to and are patient enough.

a. God is always at work. God always works in the background.

The Israelites were in bondage in Egypt.

They cried, they prayed to God, but God was silent for a long time.

They lived in Egypt for 430 years but the time between Joseph’s death and Exodus out of Egypt was the darkest period, almost 150 years.

God was silent, they could not see God doing anything but in the background.

God was actually preparing a deliverer for them in Moses.

God was always working in the background.

Today, maybe you are not able to see anything you want to see or believe you are entitled, but God is absolutely working in your behalf unbeknownst to you.

Colossians 3:1-4 The Message

He Is Your Life

3 1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

If you can set your mind on the things of God, open your spiritual eyes, Christ will “show up” and you will see God absolutely moving things in your favour.

“Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.”

In the book of 2 Kings 6, the prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by King Aram’s army for doing the work of God. When the servant of Elisha got up and went out early in the morning an army had surrounded the city.

The servant was terrified and thought they were surely doomed. 

2 Kings 6:15-17 The servant asked, “Oh, my Lord, what shall we do?” “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When you go through those dark periods, you need to ask God to open your spiritual eyes; you will be able to see God’s work in the background.

You are absolutely never alone.

God and his mighty army are with you.

The “horses and chariots of fire” have your negativity absolutely surrounded.

They are waiting for you to pray to God, so God can then command the horses and chariots of fire to strike blind all your prevailing thoughts of negativity.

God is always and absolutely at work in your life. He will never abandon you.

God’s Silence reveals God’s glory.

We know the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus had been with them many times.

He spent considerable time with them, he ate with them but when they needed Jesus the most, they felt he was away. 

John 11:5-6 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Lazarus was sick, he died, they buried him, dark days came across their family.

Jesus was nowhere around but he knew what was happening back home because he is God. Meditate on those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany!

We know the story, Jesus came after 4 days, he wept with the sisters, walked to the grave and brought back Lazarus to life.

The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed after the silent hour. Silence reveals God’s glory.

It did not happen as they expected.

The miracle did not happen when they wanted it, but it surely did happen.

God does not abandon anyone who puts their trusts in him.

Our breakthrough may not happen on our timetable, but God is a faithful God. It will happen; he will not let you down.

That is exactly what God said in Hebrews 13:5-6 Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So, we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can mere mortals do to me?”

You need spend some quality time with God to let that sink down on the inside.

Within the immeasurable depths of the silence, you are receiving God is saying,

“I will not fail you. Everything is going to work out. I am in complete control. I know what the medical report says. I know your financial situation. I see the people that are against you. I know how big your dreams are but hear me clearly. I will not fail you. I will not let you down. I will not let that problem overtake you. I will cause you to be the over comer.”

If you keep your trust in God in days of your silence, he will always make a way even though there is no way.

I can see some of your wilderness blooming in my spiritual eyes by faith – so I write this devotion in the sure and certain expectation of the Holy Spirit of God already being in the depths of your desires, dreams for more noise from God.

Romans 8:26-28 Authorized (King James) Version

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Silence follows human rebellion

Sometimes God chooses to be silent to reveal us our sins. Saul was selected the first king of Israel. He was good initially, but he sinned in the battle against the Amalekites. Instead of destroying the enemy he took their best cattle.

God confronted him through Prophet Samuel. Saul instead of repenting of his sins lied to the prophet and God rejected him as king. Later when the Philistines came to battle Israel, Saul started praying to God. 

1 Samuel 28:6 He enquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

Saul was so desperate to hear from God that he consulted a spirit medium which eventually lead to Saul’s and his children’s death.

Sometimes sin and rebellion is followed by silence from God.

Maybe God is silent to make us aware of our unconfessed sins.

For some of us it is time to introspect and give careful thought to our ways.

For some it may be a time of deep introspection – to enter into God’s silence.

Approaching the Throne of Grace……

Approaching the Throne of Grace – How to respond when God is silent?

That is a devotion for tomorrow ….

I pray you will join with the Word of God for His Children then.

In the meantime, …. SHALOM! SHALOM! SHALOM!

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

Let us pray,

Savior Jesus, Giver of peace, I so easily get distracted when I’m trying to focus and hear your Holy Spirit. Help me quiet my mind in the middle of my busy life. Help me to pause and to make space to listen to the most important voice of all. Empower me to be a good listener to the gentle whispers of your Spirit. Help me follow the example of Jesus, who would slip away in the evening or the early morning to be alone with you. Teach me to abide in you. Gloria! Alleluia! Amen.

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