Thursday, January 27, 2011

Times Of Refreshing Are Coming Your Way

Acts 3:19 (AMP) So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;
As a young boy I lived near a creek that flowed almost year round. During the winter it would swell and during the summer it would slow down to a trickle. I spent hours upon hours along its banks hiking and playing and building forts, etc. It was a great place for a young boy to play and a great place for the imagination to have no limits. One time, my friends and myself decided to dam up the creek so we could have enough water to swim in. It was a lot of work. Kids from all over the neighborhood pitched in to help with the dream of having our own swimming hole. We even built a channel with a gate to keep the water flowing through until we were ready to block it up completely. The big day finally came and we completely blocked up the stream and waited for it to get full enough so that we could swim in. Little did we know that two problems we’re about to take place. First, we did not know that the waters were filled with some sort of bacteria. We all broke out in hives from one end to the other. Second, we didn’t take into consideration that the stream also helped water livestock and farms downstream. Standing on the banks, covered with welts and hives a farmer came around the bend and busted us all and made us tear the dam apart. As we started dismantling the dam – water began to break through with a huge rush and begin to pour downstream again. All our hard work went, well… down the drain (you might say). It is interesting – the book of Acts gives us this very same analogy by saying that sometimes our own lives become like that dam and need to be broken up. We become stagnant and filled with bacteria. The only way to get clean is to break up the dam. The only way to be free is to let go of that which is causing the difficulty and pain in your life from the first place. The promise is given: repent and seasons of refreshing will come your way – a “refreshing from the Lord.” May I encourage you today to press in for your deliverance and press in for what God wants to come into your life? Breakthrough is within your reach. It is right around the corner. Don’t be afraid and take the first step. When you do – watch out, great peace will be just around the corner.

Monday, January 17, 2011

What Has God Done To Us?

Genesis 42:28 (NLT) “Look!” he exclaimed to his brothers. “My money has been returned; it’s here in my sack!” Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, “What has God done to us?”

Have you prayed this prayer – “What has God done to us?” For certain, I have – many times. When things happen in our lives we point the finger so quickly at God without a full understanding of what we are saying. Usually, if we are making this statement – it is in the negative sense- “God, I can’t believe you’ve allowed this to happen in my life. Aren’t you supposed to be on my team? Aren’t you supposed to be helping me? Why have you done this to us?” I guess age has its advantages - The older I get the more I see the bigger picture. I have come to realize that God often has to do something to us in order to do something for us. On my own – I stay in my comfort zones. I look and see only the little picture and I think only about what concerns me. I have, with years of mistakes under my belt, come to realize how jealous God is of my love and will do just about anything to keep my eyes and life focused on Him – even if it means breaking me that I might then totally rely on God. I haven’t arrived yet – my life is still evolving and growing. I still make mistakes and I still point my finger at God and ask why. Sometimes, He gives me full explanations and sometimes He just looks at me and say, “Just because I love you.” Ultimately, whether I accept it or not – God is always doing things to me so that He can do things for me. I must trust and submit to Him that He knows what is best and that He will lead me in the right paths that He has laid out for me.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

How Are You Spending Your Life?

Luke 12:48 (NLT) …When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

I’ve been given the privilege to meet with and see many people of various gifting and backgrounds and i t never ceases to amaze me of the many ways that people spend their life and talents. On one hand you will have a person with God-given gifts and talents who uses them for the glory of the Lord. On the other hand, there will be a person equally talented who does nothing with their gift or talents for anyone other than themselves. They tend to be self centered and do only things of interest to them. Jesus is very clear here that someday we will be judged by how we use our lives and the gifts that God has given us. We will stand before Him and give account of the way we lived our life and the way we spent our time and resources for Him or not. It’s a very simple statement – “when someone has been given much, much will be required in return.” It’s succinct and to the point. There is no wiggle room in regards to this matter. Some might say, “Well, It’s too hard,” or “It’s too late in life for me,” etc. The thing that I love about Christ is that He always tells us to come with what we have and He’ll use and multiply it for His glory. I also like the fact that in Christ – there is always room to start over and to start fresh. Perhaps God is dealing with you right now and perhaps God is speaking to your heart about the gifts and talents that He has given you. It’s never too late to start. It’s never too late to get back on track. If God is speaking to your heart today – don’t wait for tomorrow to start. Instead, start today and watch what God can do with your life and watch how satisfied your soul will become.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Living A Life Of Total Forgiveness

Psalms 4:4-5 (NLT) Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.. Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.

In today’s paper there is an article about how important it is for your own mental health to forgive someone who has hurt you. It has no Biblical or religious reference –but just common sense wisdom of the importance of living a life of forgiveness. It stresses the obvious that you won’t obtain optimum health and well being in your life unless you let go and release those who have wounded and hurt you. Of course, as Christians we know that this is the message that Jesus taught us over and over again –that we can’t receive forgiveness unless we have forgiven others. We also know that this isn’t something we can do on our own. It takes a strength greater then what we possess because some people’s offences are greater than we can describe. This is something that all of us must deal with in our lifetime over and over again. It is what allows you to come to God in the right spirit. It is what allows you to pray with a clean heart. I can never truly worship God with a heart of abandonment if I hold on to things here on earth. I am thankful that God has helped me in this regard. I am thankful that He has guided me through and helped me to forgive people in my life. The choice to do so has caused me to grow closer and deeper in my relationship with God and with others. I know that I still have a long ways to go but I thank God for how far I have come. I come to God daily and ask for His strength and for His help in this regard. I trust Him totally and thank Him for the help He has given me. I know that His arms are undergirding me and helping me to walk without bitterness and un-forgiveness today.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Did I Pass The Test?

Genesis 22:1 (NLT) Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

After completing Bible school I felt I was prepared to enter into ministry. I was excited and ready to take on the world – to preach, love and care for those that God would put into my life. I had sat under and had been trained by many godly men and women of faith who imparted their years of knowledge into my life. I had also grown up in a home that was dedicated to ministry and to helping the needs of others. I saw firsthand what ministry was all about. I saw the ups and the downs – the joys and the sadness that ministry sometimes encompasses. Now it was my turn. I remember succinctly one day that my dad called me into his office and closed the door. I had, by that time, accepted my first church in the state of Washington and was packing up my office and my family to become a senior pastor of a small church in a community that I had never even been to before. As the door closed, he sat down and looked me straight in the eye and told me that he wanted to tell me some things that would help me in ministry. I thought perhaps that he was going to lay his hand on my head and speak a prophetic word about how I would go out and reach thousands for Christ and how I would be the next Billy Graham and the world was waiting with abated breath just to hear me preach. How wrong I was. He simply sat down and told me that God spoke to him and told him to tell me that there was going to be no shortcuts in ministry for my life and went on to say that I would have to take every corner hard.( It’s kind of the picture of someone coming up to a red light and cutting through a gas station to beat the light). I was gracious and thanked him but inwardly I thought that he didn’t get it. “I was the anointed one. I was the called one. My parents we’re successful pastors. I would follow right into their footsteps; I would have great ministry success, etc.” It was true that God had great plans for me and that God would use me mightily in His kingdom but it was also true that I would have to take every corner square and that there would be no shortcuts. In fact, I look back now and think that God made a few of the corners even sharper and longer because He had invaluable lessons for me to learn. He tested me from the time I began in ministry and the test continued to get harder and harder the longer I was in ministry. When God chose to take me into ministry and to make me go deeper in Him, I never knew the path that I would ultimately take. I never knew the sadness and loneliness that would have to endure. I never knew of the hardships and grief that I would have to bear. On the other hand – I never knew the joy that I would come to have – the depth of growth and maturity that God would bring into my life. I would get to see people’s lives changed and see God do so many miracles that it would be hard to count. When God chose to test Abraham – Abraham simply stated, “Here I am.” I think that is my prayer also today, “Lord, Here I am. Use me in any way that you so desire. Whatever you need to do to prepare me for the task ahead – then, by all means, do it. I’m willing and ready to be used by you.” I hope that as I come to the latter end of my life (I will be 57 tomorrow) that I will continue to past this test and that my heavenly Father will always say about me, “Well done, good and faithful servant. May you enter into the joy of the Lord.”

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Overcoming Temptation

Luke 4:1-2 (NLT) Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

Luke 4:4 (NLT) But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
Luke 4:8 (NLT) Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Luke 4:12 (NLT) Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
Probably one of the greatest displays of the humanity of Jesus is found in this passage. We know from scripture that Jesus was hungry, and He became tired. We also know that He had emotions of joy and sadness and as we see here – He experienced temptation. Every person experiences some type of temptation in their life – whether it be a sexual sin or indulgences like eating too much or even being a shop-0-holic. The question is though – “How do we deal with that sin?” Jesus gives us the answer in this passage by showing us how to deal with temptation. He states that we need to counter the temptation by knowing and using the Word Of God. Psalm 119:11 tells that that we should hide His word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. When faced with a temptation Jesus dug deep and used God’s Word as a weapon of against the tactics of the enemy. May I encourage you this year to read God’s Word with a renewed passion? May I encourage you to memorize it? When you are dealing with any temptation in your life – stand on God’s Word. Read it. Quote it. Rely on it. God has given you an arsenal to use. You can be victorious today – trust God to help you. Use His Word today!

Monday, January 3, 2011

How Does God Feel About Me?

Genesis 6:6 (NLT) So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

Unlike a lot of men today I wear my feelings on my sleeve. You can look at me and pretty much know how I feel. If I’m upset or angry – it visually shows. I have tried to hide those emotions but the reality is this – that’s the way God made me. I kind of think God is the same way. You don’t have to guess or wonder about how He feels. In your heart you (because of the Holy Spirit in you) you will know when He is happy and elated over you and you will know when He is sad and grieved. Because of the rebellion and sinfulness of man in this passage – God was grieved and had a broken heart. To me, this is a real revelation about the heart of God. It takes away this mystical aura that God is out there somewhere and is untouchable by mankind. This verse shows that God has emotions like we have (remember – we we’re made in His image). Like a Father, His heart broke over the decisions His kids we’re making. They could have so much more but continued to make the wrong choices and decisions. Look at what the commentator Matthew Henry says about this verse:

⇒ God is pressed by the sins of man - "Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves" (Amos 2:13).
⇒ God is wearied by man's sins - "Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities" (Isaiah 43:24).
⇒ God is broken by man's sins - "I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations" (Ezekiel 6:9).
⇒ God is grieved by man's sins. "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways" (Psalm 95:10).

Meditate on this with me. Consider what is being said. Open your heart in this New Year of 2011 and ask God (you will know the answer immediately in your heart) whether He is happy over you or sad. Make loving and obeying God a priority today and the rest of this year.

By the way, I asked this question over my own life also and here is the verse the Lord gave me:

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT) For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Luke 2:49 (NKJV) And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"

People often ask me about why I do what I do. They want to know about my calling and whether I enjoy being a pastor or not. Unlike many who try many things until they find what they want to do in life – I’ve always known that this was my destiny. Some would say that I chose pastoring just because my parents we’re pastors. Now… I’m not saying that they had no influence over me but it is much deeper than that. At an early age – I was actually called by God personally into ministry. For me, it was a vision – a very real experience, a life-changing moment. It couldn’t have been more than about 6 or 7 years of age when Jesus showed up in my bedroom in the middle of the night. It was a vivid and real experience as I remember waking up to see Jesus surrounded in a very bright light standing at the foot of my bed. In His hands was a ball which I knew to be the world. He simply turned toward me and said these simple five words – “I give you the world.” Then it was over and I went back to sleep. The next morning I got up and shared the experience with my mom and I have walked in that calling my whole life. I strive every day to be “about my Father’s business” and not my own. I live each moment to serve other people and to see God’s kingdom established in my life and family. I look back now, after 56 years (57 next week) and realize that God has more than fulfilled His promises to me. He has allowed me to be in 33 countries and has allowed me to pastor some of the most amazing churches. It’s overwhelming. And, to think that He is not finished with me – my best years are ahead. John 5:19 tells us that Jesus did nothing but what He sees His Father doing. That should be the goal of each and every one of us – to keep our eyes on God the Father and to emulate Him in everything we do. I like the song that says, “I don’t know about tomorrow but I know who holds my hand.” Let’s make that our goal for 2o11 – to walk with Jesus and to keep our eyes on our Heavenly Father. It is only then that we will find God’s richest blessings and rewards in our lives.