Rejoicing While Waiting on the Lord

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint' Isaiah 40:29, 31

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!' Philippians 4:4.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!' Psalm 27:14.

'When you pass through the waters I will be with you. When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior' Isaiah 43:2-3.


Notice the pattern yet?

When we wait on the the Lord, when we rejoice in Him, He gives us strength and protection. Trusting Him and waiting on His timing is our proper position before God. Scripture is full of these promises of His great grace. Take time to be holy. Take time o worship Him. Take time to pray. Practice His presence and He will increase your strength. Wait on Him and He will lift you up and restore you and answer your prayers.

But all these things and this relationship are dependent on putting God first in your life. 'Set your mind on things above, and not on things of this earth' Colossians 3:2.

This verse does not mean you should neglect your earthly duties. It means that our focus in all earthly endeavors should be on God, on glorifying His name. This way we rejoice, knowing that we are in the proper position before our Creator, and that He who created us and sees our devotion will bless us. The devotion is not so that we might receive these blessings, however--but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This should be our highest desire. 'And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him' Colossians 3:17.

When your heart is right before God (waiting, rejoicing, glorifying Him) you create a place for the Spirit to dwell, and open the door for Him to come in. Once you have the Spirit, you will no longer worry, doubt, fear. You will instead glorify Him in all you do, until even your rejoicing is a prayer before Him.

I leave you with this: 'My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth' Psalm 121:2.

Since it is He who created everything, you can never ask too much of Him. Dare to go before the throne of God, go boldly, showing that you trust fully in His mercy and power.

Abiding in God

John 15:7-8 says: 'If you abide in Me, and if My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.'

Here we have the Christian faith explained in a simple and clear manner.

A propositional blessing is offered: ‘If you abide in God, and if His words abide in you, then when you ask something of Him (according to His will, as outlined in 1 John 5:14-15) He shall do it for you.

The purpose, however as explained in verse 8, is not to give you everything you want, but to glorify God, and to teach us to bear fruit. This is also how we know if what we ask is according to His will. If what you ask for will glorify Him, then it is most likely according to His will. The answer is given also to make disciples out of us. When we are in line with God’s will, we are at peace with Him. In this place of peace and rest (Psalm 37:7) we know that what we seek is according to His will, and that He will provide.

The question then becomes: ‘How do we reach the place where we are patient in the Lord?’ Like many things in the believers’ journey, the answer is simple but hard. We must endure trials. Many passages address this uncomfortable but vital feature of the life of faith. We will address them in the next post.

For now, meditate on the wonderful truth of God’s living Word, that if you abide in Him, and if His words abide in you, then He will do for you what you ask. Do not doubt, only believe. He is able. He is mighty. We serve a mighty God! Who is with you in the darkest valleys? He is with you.'

May God bless you and keep you.

The Resurrected Jesus Provides Breakfast for His Disciples

In John chapter 21 we are given a beautiful passage about Jesus showing himself to His disciples on the shore. They'd been fishing all night and had caught nothing. (An entire message could be preached on this alone, about how our self-efforts are fruitless apart from God's grace.)

In the morning Jesus, standing on the shore, asks 'Children, have you any food?'

The disciples reply in the negative. So Jesus tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat (the right side--I'm sure there's another message in there.) They obey, and are not able to pull the net up for the abundance of fish. So John realizes this is Jesus. Peter, ever the impulsive one, leaps overboard and swims to Jesus.

Read the rest of the chapter. It is such a moving scene between Master and disciples. Jesus prepare a meal of fish for them, as the Good Shepherd who always provides. His simple words, 'Come and have breakfast,' are arresting. Think about it; you have the Savior who was brutally crucified, and who had just risen from the grave! You might expect some noble and lofty words, but instead we get 'Come and have breakfast' and the Savior of the world cooks morning fish for His followers.

Imagine their inner rejoicing, seeing their Lord again!

The chapter goes on to describe how Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Three times Jesus asks this, finishing with the command to 'Feed My sheep.'

It is a simple command--simple, but profound, and it is the great mission He has given each of us. Feed the sheep. Love your neighbor. You are Christian first and foremost. This fact should guide your every decision and relationship. Meditate, if you will, on John 21. There is much to learn of our Lord therein. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:30, 'For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.'

Feeding the sheep, sharing the gospel of love and peace, is not burdensome; it is a privilege and it is the purpose of all our lives. Whatever may be happening in you life, don't forget the message of John 21. Peace be with you!

The Circle of Grace

2 Corinthians 4:15 declares ‘For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to about to the glory of God.’

Sometimes it is beneficial to the believer (and therefore good for everyone the believer encounters) to sit down and study a single passage from Scripture. In this verse we are being taught a method that creates a beautiful circle of grace when put into action. (But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was’ James 1:22-24.)

We need to acknowledge that everything God does (or allows to happen) in our lives is for our benefit. This is a hard thing to accept. When tragedy strikes or things just don’t go our way, we are prone to thinking that God isn’t doing His job, or that He just doesn’t care. That’s the devil at work. But when mature Christians reach the point in their spiritual journey where they can accept that God is always at work, they realize—to their delight—that everything He does is for them.

Armed with this joyous truth, this grace He has given will then spread to others, causing them to also give thanks for all things. All of this brings glory to God. Glorifying His name is, after all, the purpose of His creation.

Those who have received the joyous grace and given thanks after observing the same in us (as doers of the Word), will then share this grace with others. And there is the beautiful circle of grace.

When you accept that God is in control and that what He does and allows is righteous, you will slip into perfect peace with him. That’s the issue today; people, even believers, are at war with God. When you question Him, when you suffer from anxiety and doubts, you are rejecting His grace, thereby rejecting peace.

There is nothing so joyful as the peace of our Messiah, and no place so content as in His everlasting arms.

Throughout this 4^th chapter of 2 Corinthians, we are shown that God’s grace brings light to our lives. Though we are hard-press on every side, yet we are not crushed; though we are perplexed, we are not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed. Throughout it all God is our guiding light, and the power to overcome all circumstances resides in His grace. We do not have the power to save ourselves, but God does, Verse 7. So rest easy, fellow believers, knowing that all your sufferings are working in you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory—a crown in heaven (Verse 17).

Here and now, today, you are called simply to trust and obey. His grace will come and give you peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). He has the power to save. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. It is all in His loving hands, so be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).

God's Promises

Hebrews 11:18 and 24 – 25

Abraham trusted God that He would provide and that He would be faithful to His promise. We show that we trust God by obeying and praising Him. Obedience to scripture by sharing Christ with others—this is how we trust God. We obey Him, trusting that He will be faithful to His word and answer our prayers, in His good time and His own way. While waiting on God, in trust, we are to live as the salt of the earth, humble and giving (Matthew 5:13). Reach out to your fellow humans, bless strangers, study scripture to know how to respond to the questions of unbelievers (Colossians 4:6), and above all, share the joy you have that is freely provided by our God and King.

You may be a sibling, a parent, a hard-working employee or business owner; you may be rich or poor; you may lead a busy life, one filled with distractions and joys and heartaches, but you must be above all, a Christian.

The most important thing in this world is your relationship with God. It determines your eternity. If this relationship is broken or undeveloped, your relationships with the people in your life and with the strangers you meet will also always suffer. Your failure to put God first, to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, will prevent Him from using you and blessing your neighbors through you the way He wills.

On what do you place your daily priorities? Who or what comes first? How do you spend most of your time? Remember, a spirit of thanksgiving and praise to God can be employed even while you are working on earthly things. Keep your focus on Him and it will amaze you just how powerfully God will use you. First we study scripture to learn how to obey Him, and then we can put those principles to use. A life well-lived is one lived in obedience to God's commands. Know His love and joy, and share these things with everyone He puts in your life.

When you do this, you show you trust Him, and He will be faithful to His promises, which are many and wonderful. God Bless you

Seek First the Kingdom, and God will Provide the Rest

Luke chapter 12 shares a beautiful inspiring message about trusting God.

If you read and study verses 27 through 34 you will find that it is not God's will for His people to doubt or worry or fear. God tends to birds, makes the grass grow, and raises up the lilies into a beauty greater than that of King Solomon in all his glory. So why should those who claim to know God--who claim to believe in His power and love and authority--ever worry or doubt?

Verse 28 points out that if God tends to the grass, which is of little value, won't He take much greater care of those who call on Him? He clothes you, puts a roof over your head, provides work or substance, and repeatedly shields you from a multitude of dangers.

Many great disciples over the centuries, like Ruth Graham, kept journals where they recorded the times when God answered their prayers or simply provided. This is a nice method for teaching us to open our eyes to God's providence in our lives. It is very easy--especially with the devil whispering ingratitude and other evil filth into our ears--to forget all the times God has pulled us from the fire. This was the main problem with the Israelite's in the Old Testament; they would constantly forget all the miracles God had performed for them, all the times He protected them from enemies and hunger and thirst and from their own inadequacies.

Some good king or prophet would finally point out their ingratitude and forgetfulness of God's grace, and they would turn their hearts back to Him, and He would receive them with open arms.

It seems contrary for we 'believers' to doubt. We worry about everything and seem sometimes to believe for nothing. Sure we pray, but is there belief, unshakeable belief in God in your prayers? Verse 29 says: 'And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.'  Anxiety is prevalent in modern society. It should not be so in the lives of believers. The apostles suffered as much and more than all who have come after them, and yet they were filled with joy, even when they were persecuted, thrown in prison, and facing death for their belief.

They rejoiced, because they had no anxiety, because their hearts were right with God.

Verse 31 says: 'But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.'
You see, God wants to provide you with the things you need, but of far greater importance to Him is where your heart lies. Is it in Him? Or do you yearn more for the things of this world, and do you seek to satisfy your concerns above honoring your Creator?

The bible makes very clear that the most important concern for believers in this world is their relationship with God. If your relationship with Him is right and proper, if your highest design is to glorify His holy name, then your heart will be right with Him and God will provide.

• Believe and he will provide
• Believe and He will heal
• Believe and He will save

Do not worry about tomorrow. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than them? (Matthew 6:26).

God loves you. His thoughts for you are of peace, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

So stop doubting like the wandering Israelite's. Stop worrying as if you were an unbeliever. You serve a mighty God. Believe He will do as He promises. Read Mark 9:14-23. Spend time in the Word and in prayer. You cannot add anything to your life by worrying. God calls us to believe, not to lead lives filled with anxiety. Joy and peace are 2 of the Fruits of the Spirit. They are yours for the taking. Choose belief, and God will account it to you as righteousness. Praise God! Amen

Celebrity Pastors and Modern Preachers

Celebrity pastors and modern preachers pander to the masses, peddling God's Word for their own benefit (2 Corinthians 2:17).

Titus 1:10 warns us against false teachers: 'For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.'

 The truth is that many (but not all) modern pastors love the world, love being adored, love praise and the attainment of things; they do not love the sheep. They have been given flocks to shepherd. They are failing their flocks.

Love of the sheep is displayed through obedience of Christ's teachings, through the teaching of scripture and the sharing of Christ (Colossians 1:10). Ask yourself at the end of church service: 'Did my pastor's message increase my understanding of God and His Word?'

They teach through platitudes and modern (non-biblical) quotations, pictures and downloaded sermons approved by the World Council of Churches, instead of being led by the Holy Spirit.

You never even hear of the Holy Spirit anymore.

TIP: You can tell if your pastor is not teaching in line with the Spirit's guidance when he teaches a month or months long program, rigorously sticking to his prescribed message and allowing no room for divine inspiration. He has an agenda, not a message. Jeremiah 10:23 tells us that it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. And yet, modern pastors are choosing their own steps, and by extension they are choosing our steps for us, when we listen without to them without allowing God to open our hearts to the truth.

They put too much of themselves into the lesson (performance), and not enough of God. Their cheesy teachings are designed to appeal to the largest possible all-inclusive group, at the expense of biblical integrity.

The truth is that people who are offended at God's Word are in the wrong, and need to be told so, or they will never be led to repentance. If they don't repent, they will not be forgiven; if they are not forgiven, they will not enter into paradise. Pastors do people no favor by sugar-coating or watering down gospel truths. When he does this, the only person your butterfly pastor is serving is himself, by trying to be friends with the world and not offend anyone.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive, to those who are dying without its truths (1 Corinthians 1:18)!

Today we are no longer led by the morally upright, by shepherds who fear and obey God. Today our teachers are morally bankrupt celebrities, popular facebookers, and megachurch gurus who spout 'progressive' 'all-inclusive' and 'New Thought' philosophies in place of sound biblical teachings and godly living, which means obedience to God's commands.

Unfortunately it seems there is no room for God's will in the modern church.
  
Don't take my word for it. Search the scriptures, for in them you have knowledge and wisdom and power:

• Psalm 10:3-4
• Psalm 39
• Psalm 111:10
• Proverbs 16
• 1 Thessalonians 1:3
• 1 Corinthians 4:4
• Acts 18:21  

So what is a Christian to do? Perhaps you should search for a bible-teaching church. (The very fact that this term exists is a sad commentary.) Perhaps you should listen to old time teachers on line.

The only advice I can give you without reservation and with absolute Christian conviction is to search the scriptures. Spend time in the Word and in prayer, seeking God's guidance, for the help of man is useless (Psalm 60:11). Be cheerful, rejoice, for God is on the throne, and His thoughts for you are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).