I was listening to the song “City On Our Knees” by Toby Mac and I was thinking how awesome that would be to see my city, your city and the whole country on its knees. Instead of trying to ban everything Christian, what would happen if a revival broke out in this country? I saw a poll on the news one morning that asked the question "have we just been lucky that the last 3 terrorist attempts failed. Or is the government doing a really good job of protecting us?" I think the respondents were 62% that we were just plain lucky.
Since there is no such thing as luck, I believe that God has not given up on this country, just yet. I think that He is still looking out for us and protecting us. But, how long is that going to last? If we keep asking Him to leave, one of these days He just might.
That brings me back to Toby Mac and his song. If we truly want a revival, if we truly want to put God back in His place of honor, we have to start on our knees. You and you and you and me! I think though, before we can get our cities on its knees, that we have to start with our churches. I’ve also been thinking about you, each of you and how we believe that you joined this group for a reason. As of today, there are 194 members in this group and that is a lot of people. I’m wondering what would happen if 194 people, together, got on their knees and prayed specifically for a revival to sweep this nation?
What if each of us got down on our knees right now as you read this and pray for our country? What if each of us prays that our churches catch on fire and that a revival will begin with you, moving to everyone in your church? What if we pray that the churches in your city wake up? And finally what if we raise our voices as one throughout this country and ask God to forgive us of our sins and rain his blessings down on us again!
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is speaking to the church at Ephesus. He tells them “yet, I hold this against you; you have forsaken your first love. Repent and do the things that you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Rev. 2:4-5b). He’s telling them to go back to the love that they had in the beginning for each other and Jesus Christ or He would pass judgment on them. “But, you have this in your favor; You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Rev. 2:6). The only thing saving that church was that the individual members hated what was happening in their church. The Nicolaitans were a heretical sect that had been allowed to infiltrate the church which, over time, caused individuals and the church to make allowances for things that are not from God. Many churches today have followed the same path; they’ve allowed ideas into their churches that have caused them to be “politically correct” and they’ve caved under peer pressure. Some churches today would rather preach love and prosperity. And some preach that spiritual liberty has given them freedom to practice immorality instead of accountability.
Maybe, it’s time for individuals and churches to repent and get back to the basics; to consider the teachings of the entire Bible. Not just pick and choose the verses that fit the world’s way of thinking. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Tim 3:16.
Father God,
Thank you so much for the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ! Father, I pray that You light the fire of revival within all of us and that this fire will burn with an intensity that will consume all those around us. Let a revival start with us on our knees together, moving from us to our churches, to our cities, throughout this wonderful country and on into the world! Lord I ask You to place a hedge of protection around each person reading this. A revival is the last thing that Satan wants to happen within the Christian community, because he knows with You all things are possible! In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
All verses from the New International Version
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Radical Obedience
If you know the story of Moses, you know that he had a very important role in the life of the Israelite people. He was the chosen one to lead the Israelite’s out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. He spoke to God on the people’s behalf, and he spoke to the people on God’s behalf. (Ex. 33:11) But if you know the story, then you would also know that he made it just to the edge of the Promised Land, but he didn’t make it into the promised land. And he didn’t make it into the Promised Land because he was disobedient to God.
What happened is that the Israelite’s were complaining once again. They were blaming Moses for leading them into the desert where there was no food or water. So the people quarreled with Moses. Moses and Aaron went before the Lord and God told Moses to take his staff and speak to a particular rock, and water would pour out from it. So Moses and Aaron gathered the people together. There still must have been complaining going on because Moses seems to lose it with the people, and instead of speaking to the rock, he struck the rock, and not just once but twice! God told Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Num 20:12)
Wow! That might seem like harsh discipline, but God had entrusted Moses with great responsibility and He expected Moses to be obedient. I think the more responsibility God gives us, the more obedient He expects us to be. Or perhaps it’s the more obedient we are, the more responsibility God gives to us. Either way, do you want to be like Moses, getting to the edge of your promised land but not being allowed to enter in? God wants radical obedience from us. That is the sure-fire way to enter into the promised land God has for you. Radical obedience means trusting God and doing what He says no matter what. God doesn’t want to withhold things from us, He wants to give to us all that He has for us. As a parent, I know I won’t give nearly as much to a child who’s been disobedient, and I expect that God is the same way.
How can we be radically obedient? First, we need to ask God where we are being disobedient, if we don’t know already, but most of the time we already know. Then, we need to ask God to help us to be obedient. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s easier to be obedient than at other times. And God will start asking us to do things that go against our fleshly desires. He’ll ask us to give up things that we don’t want to. And He’ll ask us to do things we just can’t do on our own. We can only do what we can do, and then we’ve got to rely on God to do the rest. When we are weak, God’s strength shows through. His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9) And displaying His strength through our weakness is a wonderful way to glorify God. And then finally, we need to carry through with what God has asked us to do with the help of the Holy Spirit. And if you fail, because we all do—come back to God in repentance, turning from your sin, because disobedience is sin. And turn quickly because you don’t want to create any more distance between you and God. And He will forgive you as He always does to those who turn from their sin. (2 Ch. 7:14) So, let’s determine to be radically obedient, with God’s help, for then we shall surely see our promised land and receive all that God has for us!
What happened is that the Israelite’s were complaining once again. They were blaming Moses for leading them into the desert where there was no food or water. So the people quarreled with Moses. Moses and Aaron went before the Lord and God told Moses to take his staff and speak to a particular rock, and water would pour out from it. So Moses and Aaron gathered the people together. There still must have been complaining going on because Moses seems to lose it with the people, and instead of speaking to the rock, he struck the rock, and not just once but twice! God told Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Num 20:12)
Wow! That might seem like harsh discipline, but God had entrusted Moses with great responsibility and He expected Moses to be obedient. I think the more responsibility God gives us, the more obedient He expects us to be. Or perhaps it’s the more obedient we are, the more responsibility God gives to us. Either way, do you want to be like Moses, getting to the edge of your promised land but not being allowed to enter in? God wants radical obedience from us. That is the sure-fire way to enter into the promised land God has for you. Radical obedience means trusting God and doing what He says no matter what. God doesn’t want to withhold things from us, He wants to give to us all that He has for us. As a parent, I know I won’t give nearly as much to a child who’s been disobedient, and I expect that God is the same way.
How can we be radically obedient? First, we need to ask God where we are being disobedient, if we don’t know already, but most of the time we already know. Then, we need to ask God to help us to be obedient. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s easier to be obedient than at other times. And God will start asking us to do things that go against our fleshly desires. He’ll ask us to give up things that we don’t want to. And He’ll ask us to do things we just can’t do on our own. We can only do what we can do, and then we’ve got to rely on God to do the rest. When we are weak, God’s strength shows through. His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9) And displaying His strength through our weakness is a wonderful way to glorify God. And then finally, we need to carry through with what God has asked us to do with the help of the Holy Spirit. And if you fail, because we all do—come back to God in repentance, turning from your sin, because disobedience is sin. And turn quickly because you don’t want to create any more distance between you and God. And He will forgive you as He always does to those who turn from their sin. (2 Ch. 7:14) So, let’s determine to be radically obedient, with God’s help, for then we shall surely see our promised land and receive all that God has for us!
Monday, June 21, 2010
HOLY FIRE IGNITE!
Years ago, I was in a Bible Study and the discussion of revivals came up. We talked about what people had to do to start a revival and how we needed to “catch on fire” for the Lord. One of the ladies made the comment “You realize, God don’t need no match to light a fire.” At the time we thought that was pretty clever and we adopted that quote as our motto. I was reminded of that quote the other day while I was reading my journal.
For a while now, I have been thinking about how God moves among His people and how awesome it would be if He lit a fire in each of us and started a revival. When I was a kid growing up, we used to have revivals in our churches. I remember that a guest preacher would come to our church and preach every night for a week. My parents always invited our pastor and the other pastor to our house at least one of those nights for dinner. As a child growing up, I didn’t really realize what a revival meant. I just knew that we had to go to church every night for the whole week, well, usually at least from Monday through Friday.
I’m wondering, why don’t churches have revivals anymore? Why did we stop doing this? Those types of revivals were good to have, but I really don’t remember anyone catching on fire for God. Exactly, how does one catch on fire for God? Do we have to do something, or does God have to do something? In my journal entry, I was asking God to take control of my life, not to be in my life, but to actually take control of it. I gave my life over to God totally and completely and asked God to make me like Jesus and to light a holy fire within me.
The week long revival was the match that churches used in order to try and ignite a fire within the congregation, but God don’t need no match to light a fire. He can easily light the fire of revival within us, but we have to be willing to give Him our life so that He can have free reign over us to lead us and to mold us and to shape us into what it is that He wants us to be. If every Christian in all of the churches today asked God to light the fire of revival within their hearts (and truly meant it), what do you think would happen? I think the flood gates would be opened and millions of people would be saved! I think that Satan would have to call in emergency backup.
In Luke 23:31-32 Jesus says to Peter "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." I think that we as Christians have been sifted enough don’t you? Satan has pretty much had his way with us and this country. I think it is time that we stand up, that we stand firm and that we look to God for our strength and guidance. I think that it is time that we say NO to Satan and time that we throw off our shackles and make a stand for Jesus Christ. What really strikes me in this passage is that Jesus Himself prayed for Peter and I believe He prays the same for each of us, that our faith will not fail. And He would also tell us, as He told Peter, that when (not if) we turn back to Him that we are to strengthen our brothers and sisters.
Let’s start a revival in our churches, let’s start a fire that can’t be quenched, let’s together, all of us, rise up with one heart and one voice and proclaim to the world that our God lives and that through God we can do anything. God wants us to turn back to Him. God wants us to give our lives over to Him completely and God wants to see the fires of revival burning within our churches. He will give us this if we truly desire it, if we give ourselves over to Him completely, if we ask Him to light the Holy fires within us, He will! God don’t need no match to light a fire!
For a while now, I have been thinking about how God moves among His people and how awesome it would be if He lit a fire in each of us and started a revival. When I was a kid growing up, we used to have revivals in our churches. I remember that a guest preacher would come to our church and preach every night for a week. My parents always invited our pastor and the other pastor to our house at least one of those nights for dinner. As a child growing up, I didn’t really realize what a revival meant. I just knew that we had to go to church every night for the whole week, well, usually at least from Monday through Friday.
I’m wondering, why don’t churches have revivals anymore? Why did we stop doing this? Those types of revivals were good to have, but I really don’t remember anyone catching on fire for God. Exactly, how does one catch on fire for God? Do we have to do something, or does God have to do something? In my journal entry, I was asking God to take control of my life, not to be in my life, but to actually take control of it. I gave my life over to God totally and completely and asked God to make me like Jesus and to light a holy fire within me.
The week long revival was the match that churches used in order to try and ignite a fire within the congregation, but God don’t need no match to light a fire. He can easily light the fire of revival within us, but we have to be willing to give Him our life so that He can have free reign over us to lead us and to mold us and to shape us into what it is that He wants us to be. If every Christian in all of the churches today asked God to light the fire of revival within their hearts (and truly meant it), what do you think would happen? I think the flood gates would be opened and millions of people would be saved! I think that Satan would have to call in emergency backup.
In Luke 23:31-32 Jesus says to Peter "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." I think that we as Christians have been sifted enough don’t you? Satan has pretty much had his way with us and this country. I think it is time that we stand up, that we stand firm and that we look to God for our strength and guidance. I think that it is time that we say NO to Satan and time that we throw off our shackles and make a stand for Jesus Christ. What really strikes me in this passage is that Jesus Himself prayed for Peter and I believe He prays the same for each of us, that our faith will not fail. And He would also tell us, as He told Peter, that when (not if) we turn back to Him that we are to strengthen our brothers and sisters.
Let’s start a revival in our churches, let’s start a fire that can’t be quenched, let’s together, all of us, rise up with one heart and one voice and proclaim to the world that our God lives and that through God we can do anything. God wants us to turn back to Him. God wants us to give our lives over to Him completely and God wants to see the fires of revival burning within our churches. He will give us this if we truly desire it, if we give ourselves over to Him completely, if we ask Him to light the Holy fires within us, He will! God don’t need no match to light a fire!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
God the Father
A father is not only someone who helped to create you, but he’s someone who is always there for you. He loves you and takes care of you. He is strong. He protects you and wants the best for you. He would even die for you—not only physically, but he will die to what he wants or needs in order for his family to have what they need.
Some of you can relate to this because your father is, or was, this way. And some of you can’t relate because your father either wasn’t around, or never was this way for you. But whether your earthly father was a good father or not, you have a heavenly Father who loves you and is always there for you. He created you and has been providing for you all of your life. He wants what’s best for you. Our heavenly Father is the only example of a perfect father. We know that all earthly fathers make mistakes. Our fathers may be good or bad by our standards, but either way, the Heavenly Father is our example of what a father really should be. And men should strive to be as much like the Heavenly Father as possible.
Your father may be living or deceased. He may have been a big part of your life, or he may have been non-existent. He may have been your natural father, or he may have adopted you. No matter what type of father you’ve had, you can be glad to know that if you are in Christ, you have a Father who loves you so much He has an engraving of you in the palm of His hand. And God will never leave you nor forsake you. And He’ll never forget you.
Isaiah 49:14-16 “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…’”
It’s one thing for your dad to have a picture of you on his desk, but what about having you engraved on his palms? Now that’s love!
Just like a child is chosen for adoption, God has chosen to adopt you! Eph 1:4-5 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— “
If you have a good father, be thankful to God. If your father has not been the example father that you wished you could have, then look to God as your father. Either way, God is your Father. For those of you whose father’s have passed away, God is still your Father. He will take care of you. Look to him as a child would look to his father. Rely on Him because He is reliable. Trust Him because He is trustworthy. Have faith in Him because He is faithful.
So on this Father’s Day, let’s remember our dads, and let’s honor them. But let’s not forget the perfect Heavenly Father who is always there for us and who loves us so much!
1 Jn 3:1 – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!...”
*All scripture references are from the NIV bible unless indicated otherwise.
Some of you can relate to this because your father is, or was, this way. And some of you can’t relate because your father either wasn’t around, or never was this way for you. But whether your earthly father was a good father or not, you have a heavenly Father who loves you and is always there for you. He created you and has been providing for you all of your life. He wants what’s best for you. Our heavenly Father is the only example of a perfect father. We know that all earthly fathers make mistakes. Our fathers may be good or bad by our standards, but either way, the Heavenly Father is our example of what a father really should be. And men should strive to be as much like the Heavenly Father as possible.
Your father may be living or deceased. He may have been a big part of your life, or he may have been non-existent. He may have been your natural father, or he may have adopted you. No matter what type of father you’ve had, you can be glad to know that if you are in Christ, you have a Father who loves you so much He has an engraving of you in the palm of His hand. And God will never leave you nor forsake you. And He’ll never forget you.
Isaiah 49:14-16 “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…’”
It’s one thing for your dad to have a picture of you on his desk, but what about having you engraved on his palms? Now that’s love!
Just like a child is chosen for adoption, God has chosen to adopt you! Eph 1:4-5 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— “
If you have a good father, be thankful to God. If your father has not been the example father that you wished you could have, then look to God as your father. Either way, God is your Father. For those of you whose father’s have passed away, God is still your Father. He will take care of you. Look to him as a child would look to his father. Rely on Him because He is reliable. Trust Him because He is trustworthy. Have faith in Him because He is faithful.
So on this Father’s Day, let’s remember our dads, and let’s honor them. But let’s not forget the perfect Heavenly Father who is always there for us and who loves us so much!
1 Jn 3:1 – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!...”
*All scripture references are from the NIV bible unless indicated otherwise.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Fickle Feelings
Sometimes I get that little voice in my head that says, “This is not going to be a good thing. This isn’t going to work.” Or sometimes, I just get that feeling that things just aren’t going to go right. In either case, right then and there, I have a choice to make. Am I going to listen to those thoughts? Am I going to go by my feelings? Let me make it plain and simple…our feelings are fickle! We just can’t afford to go by our feelings, because our feelings can deceive us. Most of the time, our feelings come from our fleshly side, and we want what we want when we want it!
I had a situation where I felt like someone didn’t like me, and I felt like they didn’t value what I brought to the table. But it all stemmed from a “feeling” that I had when I was around this person. And the feeling stemmed from thoughts that were coming into my head that I believed. If I could have tried this person in court for the way I felt, my case never would have made it because I had no conclusive evidence that this person didn’t like me or value what I offered. It was all in my head! At least until I hear something to the contrary from that person directly, I have no grounds to accuse them. Aren’t we supposed to treat others as innocent until proven guilty? That’s not what I was doing when I acted on my feelings.
Do you find that your feelings get hurt easily? Or perhaps you’re living by how you feel instead of what the facts are. Are negative thoughts coming into your mind? Then maybe, like me, you have listened to the wrong voice.
The last time the opportunity to have my feelings hurt came up again, I made a choice. I decided not to go by my feelings. I also decided not to listen to the voice that said, “This isn’t going to work.” I chose to discard those thoughts and feelings. And I must say that my next experience with that person turned out to be a very good experience, and there were no bad “feelings” after all!
From the bible we can see that King Saul is one of many examples of biblical characters who went by their feelings. He didn’t like the fact that the people were singing that “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Sam 18:7) Saul got so paranoid that David was going to take over the kingdom that he tried several times to kill him. Saul continued to try to kill David even after David refrained from killing Saul when he had the opportunity.
Are you like King Saul, seeing things in others that aren’t there? Stop listening to the voice that makes those bad feelings rise up. Instead, give the person the benefit of the doubt. You don’t have to listen to your fickle feelings any longer!
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You that as a believer, You have given me the Holy Spirit to guide me. I can rightly divide the thoughts that come into my mind and throw out those thoughts and feelings that are not of You and are not pleasing to You. Thank You for helping me to become more and more like Jesus. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
I had a situation where I felt like someone didn’t like me, and I felt like they didn’t value what I brought to the table. But it all stemmed from a “feeling” that I had when I was around this person. And the feeling stemmed from thoughts that were coming into my head that I believed. If I could have tried this person in court for the way I felt, my case never would have made it because I had no conclusive evidence that this person didn’t like me or value what I offered. It was all in my head! At least until I hear something to the contrary from that person directly, I have no grounds to accuse them. Aren’t we supposed to treat others as innocent until proven guilty? That’s not what I was doing when I acted on my feelings.
Do you find that your feelings get hurt easily? Or perhaps you’re living by how you feel instead of what the facts are. Are negative thoughts coming into your mind? Then maybe, like me, you have listened to the wrong voice.
The last time the opportunity to have my feelings hurt came up again, I made a choice. I decided not to go by my feelings. I also decided not to listen to the voice that said, “This isn’t going to work.” I chose to discard those thoughts and feelings. And I must say that my next experience with that person turned out to be a very good experience, and there were no bad “feelings” after all!
From the bible we can see that King Saul is one of many examples of biblical characters who went by their feelings. He didn’t like the fact that the people were singing that “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Sam 18:7) Saul got so paranoid that David was going to take over the kingdom that he tried several times to kill him. Saul continued to try to kill David even after David refrained from killing Saul when he had the opportunity.
Are you like King Saul, seeing things in others that aren’t there? Stop listening to the voice that makes those bad feelings rise up. Instead, give the person the benefit of the doubt. You don’t have to listen to your fickle feelings any longer!
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You that as a believer, You have given me the Holy Spirit to guide me. I can rightly divide the thoughts that come into my mind and throw out those thoughts and feelings that are not of You and are not pleasing to You. Thank You for helping me to become more and more like Jesus. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Monday, June 7, 2010
DON'T FORFEIT GRACE!
We all know the story of Jonah from our childhood Sunday school days. Or at least we know the part about Jonah getting swallowed by a great fish. But do you remember why Jonah was swallowed by the fish?
One day, God told Jonah that He wanted him to go to the gentile city of Ninevah and tell the people there that they needed to repent of their sins or God would destroy that great city. Well, Ninevah and Israel were enemies and besides the Jews believed that God belonged to them only. Jonah was afraid that if he went to Ninevah and told them to repent, that they just might and then where would he be? In an enemy city that now believed in his God....and that just would not work. So Jonah refused to do God’s will.
Jonah figured that he knew better than God and so he turned his back on God’s command and headed in another direction. He got on a boat headed for the city of Tarshish instead and as we all know, running from God does not work. A great storm came up with the wind howling, bolts of lightening streaking through the sky and waves crashing into the ship. The captain and crew were terrified and drew lots to determine which one of them was responsible for the storm and the lot fell on Jonah. Jonah confessed to the captain and crew that he was to blame because God was mad at him. So the captain and crew threw Jonah overboard and he was swallowed by a great fish, which has been interpreted as a whale. Jonah lived in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights where he prayed to God to forgive him. God heard his prayers and caused the whale to vomit Jonah up on dry land. The Lord told Jonah again to go to Ninevah and this time, Jonah went without hesitation.
Realizing that he could not run, Jonah gave in to God’s will and reluctantly told the Ninevites that God was upset with them and if they didn’t repent that the whole city would be destroyed. Well, lo and behold....guess what happened? The Ninevites repented and God spared the city and everyone in it! Jonah was so upset about this that he wanted to die, so like a stubborn child he went out a little way from the city and sat on a wall, just staring at the city and thinking how mad he was that those people had the audacity to repent of their sins! No way was Jonah going to admit he was wrong and rejoice for the salvation of the Ninevites....so there! Well, after a while it got really hot so God caused a plant to grow and shade Jonah and Jonah was grateful, but he still wasn’t going to admit he was wrong and God was right! The next day God caused a worm to eat the plant and it died, proving to Jonah (and us) that He is the provider of all things and that He is in control of all things.
Is God telling you to do something for Him? Do you know what His plan is for you, yet like Jonah you are refusing to do Gods’ will because you have your own agenda? What is holding you back from reaching your full potential? "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8 (NIV)
Jonah was the cause of his problems. How much easier would circumstances have been for him if he had just obeyed God in the first place! If you know that God is telling you to do something, don’t make excuses, do what He is asking you to do, then rejoice and give God the glory and honor for allowing you to be used by Him!
One day, God told Jonah that He wanted him to go to the gentile city of Ninevah and tell the people there that they needed to repent of their sins or God would destroy that great city. Well, Ninevah and Israel were enemies and besides the Jews believed that God belonged to them only. Jonah was afraid that if he went to Ninevah and told them to repent, that they just might and then where would he be? In an enemy city that now believed in his God....and that just would not work. So Jonah refused to do God’s will.
Jonah figured that he knew better than God and so he turned his back on God’s command and headed in another direction. He got on a boat headed for the city of Tarshish instead and as we all know, running from God does not work. A great storm came up with the wind howling, bolts of lightening streaking through the sky and waves crashing into the ship. The captain and crew were terrified and drew lots to determine which one of them was responsible for the storm and the lot fell on Jonah. Jonah confessed to the captain and crew that he was to blame because God was mad at him. So the captain and crew threw Jonah overboard and he was swallowed by a great fish, which has been interpreted as a whale. Jonah lived in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights where he prayed to God to forgive him. God heard his prayers and caused the whale to vomit Jonah up on dry land. The Lord told Jonah again to go to Ninevah and this time, Jonah went without hesitation.
Realizing that he could not run, Jonah gave in to God’s will and reluctantly told the Ninevites that God was upset with them and if they didn’t repent that the whole city would be destroyed. Well, lo and behold....guess what happened? The Ninevites repented and God spared the city and everyone in it! Jonah was so upset about this that he wanted to die, so like a stubborn child he went out a little way from the city and sat on a wall, just staring at the city and thinking how mad he was that those people had the audacity to repent of their sins! No way was Jonah going to admit he was wrong and rejoice for the salvation of the Ninevites....so there! Well, after a while it got really hot so God caused a plant to grow and shade Jonah and Jonah was grateful, but he still wasn’t going to admit he was wrong and God was right! The next day God caused a worm to eat the plant and it died, proving to Jonah (and us) that He is the provider of all things and that He is in control of all things.
Is God telling you to do something for Him? Do you know what His plan is for you, yet like Jonah you are refusing to do Gods’ will because you have your own agenda? What is holding you back from reaching your full potential? "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8 (NIV)
Jonah was the cause of his problems. How much easier would circumstances have been for him if he had just obeyed God in the first place! If you know that God is telling you to do something, don’t make excuses, do what He is asking you to do, then rejoice and give God the glory and honor for allowing you to be used by Him!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Covering of Love
Have you ever noticed that it’s so much easier to let a family member or close friend get away with something that you would never let someone you didn’t love get away with? Or what about that new guy at work… Does he do everything wrong and can’t seem to do anything right? Perhaps it’s our attitude that’s causing the problem. I’ve noticed that the people I really care about can’t seem to do anything wrong. When I see something that’s wrong, I can quickly make up an excuse for them because I love them and I don’t want to see them get hurt. It’s easy to see that they didn’t really mean to do whatever they did. We can so easily justify the wrongs they do because we love them. But are we showing love to that new person in our life? When they do wrong, do we quickly point it out and go for the jugular? It really is true that love covers a multitude of sins. We are told in 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” The word, “deeply”, in the verse above means to stretch out, extend; continual, earnestly. How can we show extended love, continual love, earnest love to others?
The first thing we need to realize is that love is a choice. Love is not about how we feel because our feelings can deceive us. We have to choose to love. I wonder if Jesus “felt” like going to the cross? We know that in the garden, He asked God to “take this cup from me”—meaning that if He didn’t have to go to the cross, then please don’t require that of Him. But the cross was God’s plan, and Jesus had to decide what He was going to do. Was He going to choose to take the sin of the world upon Himself and be separated from God for a time? Was He going to choose a horrible death on the cross for people like you and me--people who don’t even deserve to live? His choice to go to the cross was the greatest gift of love anyone could ever give. He exchanged His life for ours. And by His death, He gave us the chance to have eternal life. And it’s not just eternal life, but it is eternal life with Him. But we also must choose. We must choose to receive the gift of love that He paid for us. When we make that choice, then we have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us to help us to choose to live like He lived, which was to love others. It doesn’t always come easily, but when we choose to love we can overlook the sins of others. We can even overlook the things that others do that annoy us. Call upon the Holy Spirit to give you strength, and you’ll find that love for others will come easier. And remember what Jesus did for you on the cross. If Jesus can do what He did on the cross for us, can’t we show someone else a little love? Remember, love covers a multitude of sins, and Jesus is the best example ever!
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are love and Your love endures forever. Thank You for the love, the grace and the mercy that you have given to us. Thank You for the greatest gift that we could ever receive – the gift that Jesus gave to us on the cross—the gift of eternal life with You. And thank You that we are able to choose to love through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
*All Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
The first thing we need to realize is that love is a choice. Love is not about how we feel because our feelings can deceive us. We have to choose to love. I wonder if Jesus “felt” like going to the cross? We know that in the garden, He asked God to “take this cup from me”—meaning that if He didn’t have to go to the cross, then please don’t require that of Him. But the cross was God’s plan, and Jesus had to decide what He was going to do. Was He going to choose to take the sin of the world upon Himself and be separated from God for a time? Was He going to choose a horrible death on the cross for people like you and me--people who don’t even deserve to live? His choice to go to the cross was the greatest gift of love anyone could ever give. He exchanged His life for ours. And by His death, He gave us the chance to have eternal life. And it’s not just eternal life, but it is eternal life with Him. But we also must choose. We must choose to receive the gift of love that He paid for us. When we make that choice, then we have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us to help us to choose to live like He lived, which was to love others. It doesn’t always come easily, but when we choose to love we can overlook the sins of others. We can even overlook the things that others do that annoy us. Call upon the Holy Spirit to give you strength, and you’ll find that love for others will come easier. And remember what Jesus did for you on the cross. If Jesus can do what He did on the cross for us, can’t we show someone else a little love? Remember, love covers a multitude of sins, and Jesus is the best example ever!
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are love and Your love endures forever. Thank You for the love, the grace and the mercy that you have given to us. Thank You for the greatest gift that we could ever receive – the gift that Jesus gave to us on the cross—the gift of eternal life with You. And thank You that we are able to choose to love through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
*All Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
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