What is Your Vision?

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth" ~Isaiah 6:3

Vision matters! If you’re sitting on a plane and your pilot came out of the cockpit and he was being led by a stewardess wearing dark sunglasses you would become greatly concerned and you would want to exit the plane immediately!  The same would go if you were going to have heart surgery and the surgeon was blind or if you are a passenger in a car on a crowed freeway and the driver was blind.  In these cases the ‘lack’ of vision could be fatal.  But what about ‘life’ vision, the idea of knowing where you are going and knowing how to get there.  People who have that kind of knowledge are extraordinary and are often times called ‘visionaries’.  These visionaries have helped shape the world we live in, the light bulb, antibiotics, computers, all are products of such people.  

But what about God, can a vision of God change your life?  Isaiah was a prophet of God, but when he ‘saw’ a vision of God his life took on a different meaning and direction.  God revealed himself to Isaiah and Isaiah was changed forever.  Seeing God high and lifted up, Isaiah saw his own sin.  He realized how unholy he was in the light of a Holy God.  Isaiah confessed his sin and God restored him.  The restored Isaiah then heard the voice of the Lord and Isaiah surrendered to God’s direction for his life.  Isaiah had seen the Lord and prophesied with a new boldness and courage.  He knew where he was going and he knew nothing could stop him, because he had a vision of a glorious God.  

In life I think we have too small of a vision of God.  We have reduced Him to something small and convenient.  We don’t want Him intruding on our everyday life, or our fun.  But if we find ourselves in a bind we beg for His help, like He is some kind of magic Jeannie.  The sad part is when our prayers are left unanswered we will turn and blame God for the whole mess.  But if we were able to see God for whom He really is, the all-powerful, all-knowing God.  A God who knows the details of every hair on your head, a God who has planned out every event to the smallest of details from eternity to eternity to reveal His glory. If you could see this God in His entire splendor and majesty and you could realized this glorious God had a plan and a purpose for your life that was unshakeable.  How would that change your life, how would you live out the rest of your days?  Would you surrender all to His vision for you, would you follow Him to the ends of the earth and for eternity?  Your vision of God is life changing.  If you’re tired of the ordinary, if you’re fed up with just getting by.  Or perhaps you are a Christian and you haven’t heard from the Lord, you’re unsure of what God wants you to do.  Pray for a bigger vision of God, pray for God to reveal Himself to you.  

Lord please reveal Yourself to us—let us see You for who You are! Lord forgive us of our sins and where we fall so short of Your glory. Lord give us a heart to surrender our lives to You. Lord let us see You!  

Word of God-Wait

“I long for Your salvation; I put my hope in Your word.  82  My eyes grow weary looking for what You have promised; I ask, "When will You comfort me?"  83  Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.  84  How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?  85  The arrogant have dug pits for me; they violate Your instruction.  86  All Your commands are true; people persecute me with lies--help me!  87  They almost ended my life on earth, but I did not abandon Your precepts.  88  Give me life in accordance with Your faithful love, and I will obey the decree You have spoken.” ~Psalms 119:81-88 HCSB  

I hate waiting.  I mean it! I hate waiting in line at the grocery store. I hate waiting at stop lights.  I hate waiting and this list could get long in a hurry.  But over the course of waiting in my life I have learned how to wait and to be patient.  I don’t always succeed, but I pass more times than I fail.  My wife might have a different opinion, but we will save that for another time.  I know learning to wait is important, because God’s timing and our timing are two different things.  

There are times in life where waiting is painful.  Waiting for lab results for a life threatening test or when sitting at the bed side of someone you love.  Waiting for a phone call from a child to know they’re alright.  The psalmist knows this feeling well when he cries out ‘When will You comfort me?”.  Waiting can ware us thin and ware us out.  It is in these moments we have to stop and look where we are standing.  Are we standing in our own strength, are we taking on the burden upon ourselves?  Or do we trust God and His timing?  The psalmist turns to the Word of God for comfort and to remind himself of who is in control.  In the end he asks God to give him life according to God’s faithful love and then the psalmist will obey the Lord’s word and trust in Him.  We have to recognize even our faith, even our ability to obey the Lord’s Word, to take comfort in it words we have to rely on God to help us and comfort us.  What are you waiting for and who will you trust today?  

Lord help us to trust you when we are waiting.  Give us the faith and understanding, help us to be patient and most of all Lord comfort us and strengthen us in those moments when we are the weakest.

     

The Word of God-Compassion

“Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding so that I can learn Your commands. Those who fear You will see me and rejoice, for I put my hope in Your word. I know, LORD, that Your judgments are just and that You have afflicted me fairly. May Your faithful love comfort me as You promised Your servant. May Your compassion come to me so that I may live, for Your instruction is my delight. Let the arrogant be put to shame for slandering me with lies; I will meditate on Your precepts. Let those who fear You, those who know Your decrees, turn to me. May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes so that I will not be put to shame.” ~Psalms 119:73-80 HCSB

Have you ever been close to someone who knew how to say the right words to pick you up or comfort you?  People like that are rare in our lives and we treasure the words they say to us in those ‘moments’ of life.  They have a special ability to make everything better.  But unfortunately for the majority of the time there isn’t anyone.  I think about the homeless person who is alone on the street.  I think about the soldier who is sitting on some far away post in the middle of nowhere.  Or the elderly widow sitting at home alone for days on end and no one thinks of her.  Today I talked to a friend who lost her husband a year ago and was going to visit her late husband’s grave.  Where can she turn and find comfort, how do you say anything that can bring her peace? You can’t but God can. 

The psalmist knows where to turn for true comfort and peace, “Your hands made me and formed me”, and it is the Lord who knows us.  He created us and knows us in ways we cannot possibly understand.  He alone can comfort and show us compassion that we may live.  By knowing and treasuring God’s word in our hearts He can comfort us with His words, “He is my Rock and my Stronghold”, “He is my shield and refuge”.  Talking on the phone this morning I thought about Jesus approaching the tomb of Lazarus.  He saw the chaos, He heard the weeping, He felt the pain of death and “Jesus wept”.  We have a living God who knows us and loves us.  His compassion is limitless.  He strengthens us when we are weak.  He walks alongside us and at times carries us.  By doing so he puts a song of praise on my lips and many will see and know the Lord.  His word is a delight and my heart is blessed by it.       

        

Lord give me a desire for Your word.  Lord let your word harbor itself in my mind and heart.  Lord speak to me through the Holy Spirit using Your instructions.  Amen. 

The Word of God-Affliction

“LORD, You have treated Your servant well, just as You promised. Teach me good judgment and discernment, for I rely on Your commands. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes. The arrogant have smeared me with lies, but I obey Your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are hard and insensitive, but I delight in Your instruction. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn Your statutes. Instruction from Your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” ~Psalms 119:65-72 HCSB

Affliction is not something you give thanks about, that is not normal!  But here the psalmist says it was good that he was afflicted and he has a reason for it.  He says he went astray and then he talks about his enemies.  Their hearts are hard and insensitive, they are also arrogant and lairs.  Going astray from God is to be arrogantly hard hearted and your life is not built on truth but on lies.  Isaiah 53:6 tells us, “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way.”  Because of this it becomes impossible to hear the Lord, impossible to believe, impossible to understand.  God has to intervene.  

God has to soften our hearts, God has to teach you judgment and discernment. He does that in three ways.  Firstly He uses people.  Your parents, brothers and sisters, teachers, co-workers, everyone you come in contact are used to shape you. Secondly, He uses circumstances.  Circumstances could be weather, money, health conditions, death and anything else that affects you.  Both of these are external, they come from the outside and you have very little control over them.  But the other way is by spiritual disciplines, reading your Bible, praying, and fasting are ways God works from the inside out.  Through Christ we have the Holy Spirit who fills us and He becomes God in us. He uses the Word of God to shape and mold us.  He opens our eyes to our sin and humbles us, he replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh and we walk in truth because He is truth.  Most of all we can love others because He first loved us.  

Affliction makes us dependent on God, it strips us of our pride and opens us to God in ways that could not happen without it.  When God instructs you and He opens your heart to His Word, you will trust Him in a new way.  His instruction will become, “better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

Lord thank you for Your Word.  Thank you for my affliction and how it makes me dependent on You.  I love You Lord, to think You are even mindful of me is too much for me to grasp.  Amen         

The Word of God-Possessions

“The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. I have sought Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to Your decrees. I hurried, not hesitating to keep Your commands. Though the ropes of the wicked were wrapped around me, I did not forget Your instruction. I rise at midnight to thank You for Your righteous judgments. I am a friend to all who fear You, to those who keep Your precepts. LORD, the earth is filled with Your faithful love; teach me Your statutes.”  ~Psalms 119:57-64 HCSB

Have it your way, the world is yours for the taking, you can be anything you want to be, you can fulfill all of your dreams.  You can have a big house, your dream car, a beautiful spouse on your arm and it’s all up to you and whoever dies with the most toys wins.  Our culture tells us we have to have things to be happy.  We buy and buy stuff and we never have enough stuff.  In fact when others don’t have the same stuff we scream it’s unfair.  Everyone must have stuff!  When it comes to desires for possessions it is like the stomach, it can never be truly satisfied. We can eat the most incredible meal and in a few hours later we want to eat again.  We are the most prosperous nation on earth and we are spiritually and morally bankrupt.  We continue to support and defend sin in our nation and we surround ourselves with idols and we worship them and ourselves uninhibitedly.

The psalmist recognizes that everything he has is from God.  God fills the earth, gives us life.  There not a single thing you possess that God didn’t give you or allow you to have.  Down to the very breath you are taking right now, to the beat of your heart it is His to give and take away. Our mighty God extends common grace to us all even when we turn our backs on Him and worship worthless stuff.  We deny He exist and blame Him when things go terribly wrong. But when the psalmist words penetrates your heart and takes root something starts to take place.  When you can say, “The Lord is my portion, He is my everything, His word sustains me and the earth is filled with His glory.”  When Jesus and the reality of the cross becomes our focus, the slavery of having to have stuff doesn’t seem to matter anymore.  Life takes on a new meaning and purpose.  When Jesus becomes the desire of our hearts nothing can replace Him, not money, things, sex, and power.

Jesus change my desire today.  Change the way I feel about all the stuff I have.  Replace my desires for the world with the desire of the eternal and heavenly.  Lord fill my heart and let it flow over onto everyone around me!  Amen

The Word of God-Hope

“Remember Your word to Your servant; You have given me hope through it.  50  This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life.  51  The arrogant constantly ridicule me, but I do not turn away from Your instruction.  52  LORD, I remember Your judgments from long ago and find comfort.  53  Rage seizes me because of the wicked who reject Your instruction.  54  Your statutes are the theme of my song during my earthly life.  55  Yahweh, I remember Your name in the night, and I obey Your instruction.  56  This is my practice: I obey Your precepts.” ~Psalms 119:49-56 HCSB  

Have you ever been hopeless?  You’re at the end of your rope and you don’t want to take another step.  How can we find peace in the midst of the storm?  Through the years I have suffered and I have been with those who are suffering.  I have prayed for God to ‘take away’ what was causing so much pain and yet a majority of times He does not.  When He doesn’t remove the source of pain we usually take one of two paths. We can say ‘there isn’t a God and even if there is a God, He doesn’t care.’  Thus bitterness seizes my heart.  Or I can turn to God for comfort and trust in Him.  

How can I get to the place where I trust God in all situations?  I don’t think it happens overnight, but over time.  It starts with reading the Word of God.  The psalmist reminds us we receive hope through the Word.  I can turn to God’s Word and believe it.  Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?” Knowing this about God I can take comfort in the Psalm 23:1”The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.”  God has a plan and purpose for your life. You are one of His children and He watches over you.  He tells us all things work to the good of those who love the Lord.  We can rest and find comfort in His Word, and we find guidance and trust.  God uses His Word to create in us a clean heart, useful for His glory.  As we learn more of His Word the closer we grow to God and the more we know of Him the greater his presence in our lives. He builds our trust for those times we need Him the most.  

Lord help us to read Your Word.  Burn in us a desire to know You deeper.  To grow in the knowledge of You, fill us with Your presence through the Holy Spirit.  Amen     

The Word of God-Proclaiming

"Let Your faithful love come to me, LORD, Your salvation, as You promised.  42  Then I can answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in Your word.  43  Never take the word of truth from my mouth, for I hope in Your judgments.  44  I will always obey Your instruction, forever and ever.  45  I will walk freely in an open place because I seek Your precepts.  46  I will speak of Your decrees before kings and not be ashamed.  47  I delight in Your commands, which I love.  48  I will lift up my hands to Your commands, which I love, and will meditate on Your statutes.” ~Psalms 119:41-48 HCSB  

I have heard through the years people tell me why they cannot witness to others about Christ. But the very same person would tell everyone about a doctor who saved her life.  Or the guys who is loud and knows everything becomes a mouse if Christ name is mentioned.  It’s understandable in many respects.  We fear others reactions, we fear what they might think of us if we talk about Jesus.  We don’t want to become ‘oh, one of those’ guys.  I think when we think along those lines our focus is off.  We are focused on ourselves and not our salvation.  We are not thinking about Christ and what he did for us.  

In Mark chapter 5, Jesus heals a demon possessed man.  The man was chained and lived in the tombs.  He had broken the chains that once held him and was running around crying out and cutting himself, this went on day and night.  Jesus saw the man and confronted him. He asked the demon what was his name and they answered back, “Legion, for we are many.”  Jesus sent the demons from the man into herd of pigs who quickly ran into a lake and drowned.  The town’s people came out to see what had happened and were astonished when they saw the man.  He was sitting there in his ‘right’ mind and the people were afraid and asked Jesus to leave!  Getting in the boat the man whom Jesus had saved wanted to go with him.  “But He would not let him; instead, He told him, "Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you." So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.” (Mark 5:19-20)

How many people do you think he went and told about Jesus?  He would have told everyone and all were amazed!  The man was saved from torment and utter ruin.  We too were on a path of destruction, living our lives apart from God.  We were heading towards judgment, drowning in guilt, lost in our sin.  Like a person stuck in a burning building without hope, Jesus recused us from the flame.  When we see our lives as being speared by an incredible act of grace we can give thanks to our Lord.  But most of all we will proclaim Him to the world without fear.  We will see others in need of the same recuse and beg God to spare their lives.  We will delight in the Lord of salvation and his love for us and His love for others. 

Lord help us to see our salvation.  Help us to see others around us who need to be recused from the flame.  Lord use us to share your salvation with others, give us boldness and strength to proclaim you to the world!! Amen    

The Word of God-Teach Me

“Teach me, LORD, the meaning of Your statutes, and I will always keep them. Help me understand Your instruction, and I will obey it and follow it with all my heart. Help me stay on the path of Your commands, for I take pleasure in it. Turn my heart to Your decrees and not to material gain. Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in Your ways. Confirm what You said to Your servant, for it produces reverence for You. Turn away the disgrace I dread; indeed, Your judgments are good. How I long for Your precepts! Give me life through Your righteousness.” ~Psalms 119:33-40 HCSB

How can I understand the Bible?  It is a question I hear all the time and you can find the answer here.  Here the psalmist is asking for understanding.  Because you cannot follow something if you cannot understand what it is you’re supposed to follow, follow me?  The Bible is a collection of books and letters of faith. It is not a history book, but we do find historical facts.  It is not a scientific book either. It is a book of faith.  There are things contained in the Bible that are mysteries and you and I will not fully understand.  Bible is God’s word to mankind and it reveals His nature and purpose to us.  To understand it we need help.  When we accept Christ as our Lord we are filled and sealed by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22).  The Holy Spirit acts as a guide for us or to better understand a ‘flash light’.  It brings to ‘light’ passages and guides us in our understanding of God and our relationship with Him.  

The psalmist is asking God to teach Him the meaning of the word so that he might obey.  We too should pray before reading our Bibles or engage in group study for the Holy Spirit to teach us, to guide our thoughts so that we learn what God wants us to know and understand.  Each one of us is at different levels of understanding and God meets us where we are.  When we realize it is God who gives us the ability to understand, it is God who gives us the ability to follow Him, we take the first step of growing and experiencing living in victory.  As we grow in the word the things that we use to think were so important slowly fade away.  Ungodly desires that once dominated us are replaced with desires for God and His will. 

Lord this morning we ask you to understand Your word.  Help us to follow Your word with all of our hearts.  Change our desires.  Create in our hearts a desire for You.  To know Your word to know you deeper so that we can make You known to others!  Amen            

The Word of God-In Grief

My life is down in the dust;

give me life through Your word. 

I told You about my life,

and You listened to me;

teach me Your statutes. 

Help me understand

 the meaning of Your precepts

so that I can meditate on Your wonders. 

I am weary from grief;

strengthen me through Your word. 

Keep me from the way of deceit

and graciously give me Your instruction. 

I have chosen the way of truth;

I have set Your ordinances before me. 

I cling to Your decrees;

LORD, do not put me to shame.

~Psalms 119:25-31 HCSB 

Have you ever been weighted down with grief.  Have you ever hit rock bottom and wondered how to get back up?  I have felt that way more times than I want to say.  I think back to this last week.  We lost a dear member of our church.  I was beside her bed when she passed, holding the family who remained.  I had to walk to another room afterwards and tell her husband of 64 years she is gone.  I could feel the depth of their pain, but I couldn’t take it away.  My heart was broken because I too lost someone special and their family was grieving.  I had to prepare for a funeral service I wasn’t ready for.  I had to help the husband and children chose the order of service, when it all seemed so meaningless.  I struggled to find words to say that would comfort the family and at the same time give hope to us all. These are the times when the Word of God becomes strengthening, comforting and hopeful. 

The writer understand what it means to hit bottom, he is but dust.  He recognized that it is God who gives life through His word.  He cares for us and listens to us, He gives us understanding.  We can read the words of God and draw life from them when we are tired and worn out.  His word wraps around us and comforts us.  His word is truth and we can stand on it to put ourselves back onto our feet.  In a hospital room filled with grieving hearts I can read with confidence to give them strength, “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. (Psalms 121:1-3) At a funeral service I can read “The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.” (Psalms 23:1) and know the room will be comforted.  Lastly I can read “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God's dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3-4) and there is hope. 

The word of God is life.  We can cling to it with all of our strength and draw from its depth in times of joy as well as times of grief.  Treasure it in your heart, read it every day, make it a part for every conversation you have. 

Lord Your word is life.  I need it in my life.  Lord help me understand Your word and give me the heart to follow it.  Let Your word be on my tongue and in heart, let others hear it and be made new.  Amen      

The Word of God-Life

“Deal generously with Your servant so that I might live; then I will keep Your word.” 

~Psalms 119:17 HCSB

“I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commands from me.”                                                     ~Psalms 119:19 HCSB

Psalm 119 is broken into sections of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each section has eight verses in them and centers on the word of God as a theme.  It is the longest psalm and is in the middle of the Bible.  This section deals with our dependency on God.  Everything comes from God.  Even our ability to read and keep His commands ultimately comes from Him.  We are dependent upon His grace and love regardless if we acknowledge Him or not.

Having lived in foreign countries, living as a stranger, I can relate to this verse.  As a stranger in a country you are unfamiliar with the culture and the way of life.  You have to sit back and watch how things work and slowly introduce yourself into it and only to the level you feel comfortable.  But you will never fully fit in.  Language is also a way we fit into the culture.  I learned in Germany even attempting to speak Germany went a long way in building relationships.  But as a stranger you will always speak with an accent.  In these verses the writer knows he is a stranger of this world.  He is not of this place and he longs in his heart to be home. 

He is asking God to consider him carefully, to ‘deal generously’ with him.  He knows to survive here he needs God to live.  And if he is allowed to live he would keep God word.  He begs God not to hide His word from him because he knows the word of God is life.  Without it he will perish.  We still need this dependency today!  We live in a very difficult world and we are strangers.  We are at the mercy of nature and even culture.  We have to cling to something much bigger than both and that is God.  It is by God’s infinite grace we can stand a chance and we should be thankful.  So this morning or whenever you read this, know as a Christian you are not of this world.  This is not your home, heaven is your home.  Give thanks to God for what you do have and acknowledge your dependency upon Him and Him alone.  On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.  

Lord help to live for you.  Lord I know I and a stranger here, don’t let me get comfortable.  Lord set my heart on eternity and heaven.  Let me live dependent on You and most of all let others see it for Your glory!! Amen