Grace Thoughts....

"It's not about what you do and don't do, its about Christ inside of you! Growing and maturing in Him, till he become your hearts desire, until you become like Him."

"I'm not saying don't repent and do good works, I'm saying what is the motivation at the root. Are you doing something for some kind of reward or are you so overcome by the grace of God that you do because of love. Love for the Lord, who gave his life for you, suffered and died for you!"

"We are so shallow in our thinking, so weak in our faith to think I can buy God, I can suffer more than he did for my sin. O' Church let go of the fleshly thinking and grasp the love of Christ and his immeasurable grace!"

"When I stop and wonder at the cross, my sin he carried, crushed for my iniquity, I can hardly lift my head! I am overwhelmed by the presence of the risen Lord my heart shatters in my chest. I am broken by the weight of thought of such a burden he gladly bore. O' but by the grace of God go I, O' by the grace of God I cry and shout for joy."

Grace Prayer

Lord I pray to truly hear you today.
I want to be changed in every way.

No more two steps forward one step back.
My trust in you is all I lack.

Search my heart for all I fear.
Remind me that my time is drawing near.

There so many people I see every day.
You placed them there so I could show them the way.

Yet I am distracted looking right and left.
How often I forget that they are fighting between life and death!

Oh my God, what can I do?
But fall in total awe prostrate before you.

Lift me up so I can see your face.
I want to be radiant to the world showing your grace.

The world needs so much less of me and more of you.
Help my mind to be filled with what is lovely, noble, right, and true.

-By Bethany Cox

John's Joy

“So they came to John and told him, "Rabbi, the One you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, is baptizing--and everyone is flocking to Him." John responded, "No one can receive a single thing unless it's given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I've been sent ahead of Him.' He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom's friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom's voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:26-30

John the Baptist looked on from a far, watching Jesus as he baptizes people in the Jordon River.  The people were flocking to Jesus as they had once flocked to John.  John task had finished.  His disciples came to him as if to stir him up with jealousy, but he would have no part of it.  John understood completely his role as the ultimate set-up man.  He was there to prepare the way for the Messiah, to ready the hearts for one to come.  In these few words of John we see a level of humility that is breath taking.  

John recognizes we have nothing unless it is given to him from God.  John knew any popularity he might have experienced was because God willed it.  He knew his role in the story of Christ and as a friend to the groom he watched with delight in his heart.  He was expecting this day would come and rejoiced at the arrival of Jesus.  He knew this is the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.  He knew this was the Word and the Word had become flesh and had taken up residence among His people.  John’s joy was complete in watching Jesus.  His part on center stage was over and now in the wings he marveled at the Master in front of him.  

John set an example for us all.  John didn’t allow those around him to get him off track, by playing to his ego.  He didn’t allow pride or envy to distract him from what was most important.  We need to know when it is our time to allow others to shine for Christ, to understand our role in the story.  Most of all we can never forget our role in this grand unfolding story is to allow the Master to have center stage in our lives and in the world around us.  By doing so we will rejoice at the groom as he cares and loves his bride and our joy will be made complete in Him.  Jesus must increase and we are to decrease.      

Broken

Back to being disciplined again….I get off track so easily...very frustrating. You miss a day and whoosh...a week has gone bye and I do mean bye as in gone.  It's so natural to just go with the flow around you. Thinking of 1 Corinthians 9:27 this morning. "Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

Balancing this with grace and understanding underlining reasons for actions is also important. But I truly believe it starts with the simple act of prayer. To not rely on your own strength but on God's. To seek Him first and not 'lean' on my own understanding. Pray God gives me the strength and desire to take care of my body better. To pray that God will give me a desire to pray, to read my Bible. To pray that God will help me hand over the things I cannot control and that are best to put into His hands....because I make a mess of the things I attempt to control.

These are the hard lessons in life and there are absolutely no quick answers, no checklist, no self-help books or teachers. It's simply surrendering to Christ and His lordship. To pray for Him to instill in me a humble heart, and obedient heart, a heart that lives in knowing His love grace and mercy are there always. That the times I do 'fall' short He already knows those times and if....and if I am willing to give Him my failures He will do great things with them....things I cannot do myself.

This morning I am broken.  I have looked at my weakness and acknowledged my inability.  I   give you this veiled glimpse at my heart not to prop myself up as some kind of saint, or for sympathy. I share this so that you know I am a sinner just like you, I struggle every day of my life just like you and if you are reading this know you are not alone, you have not been abandoned you are human. There is hope, eternal hope, hope that will not disappoint you or forsake you, the Hope of Christ is waiting for you. To love you and forgive you and to restore you. Open your heart to Him and don't look back, trust Him with your heart and soul and don't look back. Don't look back at the would of, could of and the should of's, look to Jesus and focus on Him and Him alone and He will do great things. God is good! 

But They Forgot....

“They forgot what He had done, the wonderful works He had shown them” ~Ps. 78:11

The psalmist laments about his people and their short memories.  He cries out about the inability for his people to trust God despite His repeated acts of faithfulness.  In Psalm 78 he sets out to remind them of God’s shepherding with a pure heart and how He had guided them with skillful hands.  He reminded them of being freed from slavery in Egypt.  How God split the sea and led them with a cloud by day and by a fiery light at night.  He fed them and gave them water from the rock in the wilderness.  The people continued in their sin and God rebuked them and yet provided for them.  He gave them meat to eat and manna, the gain from heaven, people ate the bread of angels.  All of needs of the people God met in the desert, the place of nothingness.   Yet the people continued to sin.  God remembered that they were only flesh, a wind that passes and returns no more.  In His compassion for His name sake He drove the nations out before them and settled them in the holy land.  

How easily we still forget.  God leads us through our lives and cares for us in ways we cannot understand and yet we still ignore Him or forget what He has done all together.  When tragedy reaches our shores we cry out and ask, “Where is God!”, yet He has never left us.  In His grace and mercy He sees us through our difficult times with a cloud of friends and family by day and through the fiery light of His love in the darkest parts of night.  He never leaves or forsakes us; He is always with us, always loves us and is always faithful to His word.  He does this despite our short memories.  Today I pray you would take a moment and pause.  Think about all the times God has been with you and give thanks.  Give thanks to God who provides for us and meets our daily needs.  Give thanks to a God who shows you grace when you don’t deserve it and forgives us our many sins against Him.  God who sent His Son Jesus Christ, who loved us and died for us and was buried and rose again.  

Thank you Lord for today and for my many yesterdays you provided. Lord I pray that you would bring to my memory the many blessing you have showered me with and that I would live for the glory of your name!  Amen.            

Temptation Thoughts

Luke Chapter four opens in this way “Then Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil.”  (Luke 4:1-2a HCSB)

Jesus had just been baptized, He had heard the Fathers voice and He was filled with the Holy Spirit.  It from here he entered the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.  Jesus is tired and hungry, He is coming off of a spiritual high and he is tempted.  The Devil first tries to get Jesus to fall into the trap of meeting His physical needs, by turning a rock into bread.  Before setting Jesus up with temptation Satan tried to cast doubt in the heart of Jesus by saying, “if you are the Son of God”, for which Jesus answered back with Scripture.  There would be two more temptations written down before it was over and Jesus would be victorious because the Holy Spirit and the word of God.  

Looking at this story my thoughts are on the nature of temptation itself.  Where it comes from and when it comes and how do we overcome it.  Jesus was coming down from a very high spiritual moment.  He was fulfilling the scriptures, His Father had spoken and He was feeling very confident.  Entering the wilderness, it would not have taken long for Him to have grown tired and hungry.  Perhaps he was starting to feel the loneliness, it was at that moment the enemy made his move and tried to have Jesus use His divine powers to meet a physical need outside of God’s will.  He used pride and doubt, Satan’s weapons of choice.  What can we learn from this?  One thing we learn is Satan is crafty and has years of experience in human nature.  He knows when we are most vulnerable, when we are confident, tired and in need physically.  

In my life when I’m coming off of a spiritual high and feeling good about my walk the enemy is lurking.  He waits for the time when I’m getting hungry and in need of rest. It will be around that time I will get a text, or a message, phone call, a driver who cuts me off, my wife or kids will say something…the perfect words that strike the chords of pride and doubt and I cross over into sin of thoughts or deeds.  Following sin there is a time of guilt and remorse.  I will seek the forgiveness for those whom I wronged and especially from God. But how could I have avoided the entire situation in the first place?  How did Jesus avoid it?

Jesus was aware of His condition and He was keenly aware of the enemy.  He knows the enemies tactics.  So Jesus was ready for Satan’s attack.  We too need to be aware of our weakness and when we are most vulnerable.  Know yourself, know what will trigger sin and avoid it.  Secondly Jesus countered the Devil with the word of God.  Ephesians chapter six reminds us we are in a spiritual battle and tells us how we can win “In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.”  (Ephesians 6:16-18) Jesus countered the Devil with the word of God, He was ready and used the sword of the Spirit to defeat the enemy and defeat temptation.  The Psalmist reminds us “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. (Psalms 119:11)  Treasure the word of the Lord, place in your hearts by reading it and studying it daily.  Pray for God grace to help you through the temptation.  Surround yourself with people who know you, know your weakness and who will also keep you in prayer. Have people you pray for regularly to keep you mindful and diligent of the need for prayer.  

Lastly remember temptation is not sin, giving into that temptation is sin.  Don’t play around with temptation, take it very seriously and stay in God’s word and in prayer and you will know victory.             

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