May 9 Thought for the day...agreement with God

There are some people I completely trust. Unless someone has taught me otherwise, I tend to trust people first and not be suspicious of them until they prove otherwise. Trusting God completely is something that most people work on for a lifetime. The author of Hebrews is encouraging us to do just that in Hebrews 10:23

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

We have all known people that talk a good talk. They speak all of the right words, it would appear that their "confession" is true but as you get to know them something is off. Their walk with the Lord is not as it should be their walk is not matching their talk. They have anger issues, lying issues, lust issues, bitterness or any faction of the flesh fully alive in them.

I am not talking about people who are trying to follow the Lord. We all have issues that we are working to overcome but ones who are playing the church game to impress others rather than to love both God and people. The difference is found in their "confession."

The word "confession" is what I want us to focus on today. This word is a bit tricky. The idea is you take God's word; you memorize it, practice it in your life, then choose to make it yours. It is making God's word alive in you in such a way as you have so completely come into agreement with His words. It is not just something you know, but it is part of who you are, your agreement is as if your heart and God's heart are completely in sync with one another.

The evidence of this synchronicity is that your confession is no longer empty chatter but is life-giving and powerful to change the world around you. You are no longer speaking mere words but words that are in complete agreement with a relationship with God. You know His heart, His words, and you are living them powerfully. This "confession" makes it easy for God to keep His promises to us!

Each week as I prepare to preach, part of my early morning prayer is "Lord, I know your words in my mouth are just as powerful as your words in your mouth, let my confession be true. Let me only speak your words that I show I am in complete agreement with you!"

May 8 Thought for the day....helping the immature

We have all seen it the parent who acts worse than the child at the sporting event. The bully, though they are now an adult stills acts like a child. We have them in our lives, at work, in our neighborhood in our families and Paul helps young Timothy with them in the church.

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient," 2 Timothy 2:24

Paul is writing Timothy in response to a letter Timothy sent to Paul about unruly, immature people in the church and some even in leadership. As I am writing this, I am reminded that I need you to understand, if you see the immaturity in your own life be grateful because the Lord is showing you what you need to work on to be ready to fulfill your destiny otherwise you never will.

To be honest, there have been many times in my life where I have tried to help Christians reach their potential. However, when it came time to respond to correction rather than understanding I was trying to help them get to their destiny, they made excuses, accused others, placed blame.  I watched time and time again as they continue to walk around the same mountain. Graciously, only a few never made it, most eventually became frustrated enough that they accepted the correction or discipline needed. This is where real leadership skills come in.

Must not "quarrel" this word means to argue, fight with verbally, strive or contend with. As a true servant, we are never to lower ourselves to the level of immaturity where we are verbally jousting with others. We are to speak the truth in love, explain it the best we can, respond to the questions but do not lower yourself to get in a battle of words, just stay on track, stay focused.

"Be gentle," Paul is indicating here that when dealing with someone who is immature realize what you are doing. The word gentle in this case references to treat them as if they are at the maturity level of a child, caringly guide and direct as you would a child. The problem with many immature parents is rather than being the adult, the parent, in disciplining their children, they lower themselves to act like children. In my eyes, this is a very big problem in parents today. We must not become children in disciplining and correcting the immature but act like mature adults never "flying off the handle" but maintain calm with patience.

Once again, if you see this immaturity in your life, don't worry, be thankful the Lord has exposed it. He is probably preparing to promote you but will not do it until you are ready. He will expose the immaturity so you will be ready to fulfill the destiny He has for you!

May 5 Thought for the day...overcoming weariness

I enjoy technology. My world is wrapped up in my iPhone. If I lose it I would be in big trouble because every appointment, contact, and having all the information in the world at my fingertips is something I use every day. It has also added to the weariness of life 700+ e-mails/day, 150+ text messages/day, appointment reminders, and phone calls, all can be overwhelming. The Lord has taught me a key to overcoming the weariness.

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:11

You have demands on your life. Goals to reach at work, pressure to make that deadline or simply to keep your job. After work, there are things to do at home. Bills need paying, grass needs mowing, meals need prepared. Sometimes the pressure even sneaks into our sleep, creating a cycle of sleeplessness adding to the stress.

Add to these things the family responsibilities. Caring for aging parents, being with grandchildren, school activities, sporting events, birthday celebrations. All of which require time and energy, you want to enjoy, but it is one more thing.

Then church responsibilities. You love your church and the people you want to do more and feel guilty for not doing more but simply don't have the physical or mental energy to make it happen.

The pressure continues with friendship responsibilities. Being a good friend requires you to be friendly, to reach out, encourage, spend time, and be with your friends

So now that you are thinking about this and getting more weary than refreshed, here is how this scripture applies. One of the enemies greatest tools is discouragement and when we are exhausted it is easy for that tool to be implemented.

The Holy Spirit will "give life" to our bodies. Our bodies have limitations but God does not. The word used here means to, rejuvenate, revitalize, renew, and make fresh. God knows all the demands, He knows the time constraints and He reminds us, and I see Him do it in my life nearly every day, that His Spirit living in us will completely rejuvenate us as we learn to rely on Him. Let Him overcome your weariness not by your strength or resolve but by His Spirit and He will do it!

May 4 Thought for the day....is there evidence Jesus alive in your life?

(Warning! a little longer than usual) When my children were very little they believed the TV character McGuyver was real. Week after week we saw episodes of his brain figuring out the most dangerous situations. Why was McGuyver real for them? Their Dad was on TV every day and he was real so if Dad is on TV and real McGuyver must be also. This was solid logic for a 2 and 5-year-old. The problem: McGuyver is fictional. Dad could be touched seen, known, talked with and there is evidence of his presence. But not McGuyver. If that is the test of what is real, how do we know Jesus is real?

"that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you," 1 Corinthians 1:5,6

So what does that scripture have to do with knowing Jesus is real or not. I shared yesterday about William Wallace much of what we know about him is legend versus fact. We can't talk to him interact with him to find out what is truth versus a story. Jesus is different!

Paul is writing to the Corinthians church recognizing that they are in contact with Jesus through the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. He says they are "enriched" in other words, abundantly wealthy, wealth beyond measure with what "utterance and knowledge".

As you read the Corinthian letters you see that this church while they had not known Jesus personally as He walked the face of the earth, were the blessed beyond measure with the witness of Jesus, the Holy Spirit. The "utterance" gifts, according to scripture are tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy. The "knowledge" gifts according to the Bible are words of knowledge, wisdom, discerning of spirits, and can also be prophecy. These things were active in their lives and church life.

The entire community knew these things were alive in their lives and church and because of that, they proved that Jesus was with them. The word "confirmed" means to make concrete, authenticate as to be proven in a court of law. Because they used these gifts Jesus was seen in their midst!

They didn't know Jesus by the time the Corinthians church was founded He had gone to the Father at least a decade earlier. What they knew from their history was Jesus the Prophet, Healer, and Miracle-worker. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and the church they saw the testimony of Christ in their lives through the miracles, prophecies, words of knowledge and wisdom, and all the gifts of the Spirit. Every week in our church someone is touched by the prophetic, a healing, word of knowledge or wisdom. Jesus is not simply a historical or worse fictional character to us, He is alive as prophet, healer, miracle worker and so much more. His testimony is alive in our church and my life. That same testimony can be alive in your life as well if you allow Him!

May 3 Thought for the day...how well have you fought today?

In one of my favorite movies, "Braveheart", the lead character William Wallace makes this statement, "all men die but few men truly live". I am not sure if William Wallace actually said that, but it is the intent behind what Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 

Paul is winding down his life. He knows his end is near. By saying he fought the good fight he is telling us much of his life was a struggle, battle but he stayed the course, he did not give up, he fought! Paul had been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, rejected, illegally charged, tried and convicted, mistrusted, lied about and to, yet in all of this he stood firm. This could be translated, "I stayed in there and I fought and won!"

Paul goes on to say, "I have finished the race". This is personal. It could read to help us understand better, "my race". Paul didn't do anything anyone else was called to do, he completed "his" race, what he was called to do. It could be translated, "this was my race and I kept going until I did everything I needed to do to win!"

I have "kept the faith". The word "kept" here means to "guard" as in a soldier guarding or protecting a post. Paul is saying regardless of the battles, the attacks, the struggles I kept guard of my faith and I did not let go. I never left my post, I never surrendered, I kept strong watch over the mission and call God had given me.

Paul's perspective was eternal. His fighting, finishing, and keeping was something where he held an eternal perspective. Some of the arguments we get into, some of the things we worry about, some of the things we work so hard to achieve may be things that people remember for the moment but are quickly gone after that moment. Some of the negative things in our lives become who we are and all of the positives disappear because of a moment of surrendering our eternal perspective. Think about the way you are going to engage people today. Think about how you will live your life today. There are many things that seek to rob us of who we are and our reputation. Choose to fight the good fight and keep the faith so you will win!

May 2 Thought for the day....you don't realize the power in your hands

There are things in our lives that we take for granted. They become so familiar that rather than seeing their value we dismiss them as normal or basic. We do it with stuff, gifts, talents, relationships and so many other things. Paul reminds us to not allow that to happen with one of the greatest powers we possess.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16

You know I stress reading the Bible. I tease about it on a regular basis but I need you to understand something about it. Picture for me a deflated balloon. What does it take to inflate this balloon? Lots of breath. So you blow up the balloon and when you do this it is then that you can actually see what the balloon looks like. At the same time, what is in the balloon? Air but not just any air your air with your unique DNA, molecules, basically part of who you are.

No, I didn't go down a rabbit trail. This is one of the best ways for me to describe this scripture to you. The word "inspiration" means God-breathed or the breath of God. Like the balloon, the very Bible you keep on your shelf, by your bed, in the back seat of your car, is God-breathed. Basically, the DNA of God is in the Bible it is not just a story about God but it is part of who He is, it is represented by His breath. That same word that spoke and caused everything to come into being is in your hands. The power that spoke and creation happened is on your nightstand. In other words, when we read God's Word and make it part of us, we are moving in one of the greatest power we can imagine and like the balloon we become what we are meant to be. Does it make sense now as to why I stress reading  it so much?

Knowing this do you also understand how it is profitable? The word, profitable can be translated simply as something that is for your main advantage. If we do not read, live, and believe God's word we are missing out on the power that brought everything into being. We are limiting ourselves to our power. God's own breath and Spirit are contained within the Word just like the air in the balloon. That’s a very good reason why you should spend time studying and meditating on God’s Word. By studying and meditating on the Word, you will learn to unlock the power contained within it. And when you have unlocked that door, the power of God will come pouring into your life and into the situations you are facing.

May 1 Thought for the day....its all about love

Sometimes life can be very complicated. God doesn't intend it to be that way, one of the key elements to uncomplicating our lives is stated by the Holy Spirit through John.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

Today's thought is very simple and very to the point. John uses three times the word "love" which is defined as to love dearly, to be pleased with someone in a blessed and giving way. In other words, under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, we are being told a very simple yet profound command.

Reread the verse. What do you think? God is saying dearly love, be pleased with and be willing to give of yourself to all of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Can you imagine if we always gave our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt, the encouragement they need, choosing to believe in them, stand for them, helping them to stand and become their best!

Isn't it amazing that God calls us to this? He is saying to us those who are true followers of mine, those who are really my children live this way, all of the time. Can you imagine how church would be changed? How our lives would be changed? How all of our relationships would be changed? How quickly the church would grow if we all chose to believe and live this way!

Your challenge today is to live this way just today. If you can do today then you can do tomorrow and every day after that!