Help in the Battles

Lord, help us in the battles we face today. Grant us strength and courage get over the things that block and confront us. Praise be to you, our ever present help!

Find Your Strength

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:6

One of the things I like about David was his realness. You know, he was distressed because his men, his followers, were thinking of stoning him. I would be too. But what made David a man after God's own heart, different than Saul, was that in that moment of stress he found his strength in God. He still had to seek the Lord about what to do. There was still a battle to be fought. He would have to make some discussions that would not please everyone, but he found his strength in the Lord his God.

The lesson for us is that we can find strength in the Lord our God in the circumstances we are facing today. What is the battle you find yourself in the middle of? Maybe you just went through a trial and you've been hit with another crisis with no time to rest. Time to find your strength in the Lord your God. Like David you might find yourself the focal point of blame. Time to find your strength in the Lord your God. No matter why or how you find yourself in a trial, remember: find your strength in the Lord your God. Seek him and fight on in Jesus' Name.

Friday's Strength

Lord, for those of us who feel a bit beat up by the world, strengthen our hearts. For those us who feel good and things are going well, protect our hearts from letting up and forgetting that the battle still rages on. Grant us the strength to stand in Christ Jesus our Lord and to love as he has loved us. Open our eyes to see the battle around us and that greater is he that is within us than he that is in the world. Praise be to you in us today!

Increase Your Love

Jesus has loved us with an everlasting love. He loved us when we didn't even care. He loves us when we act like we don't care. Not with a love that is all emotion and no action, rather he loves us with a love that from the cross said, "Father forgive them..." From pain, from the rejection, he chose to love us. 

This is the love that overflows from us. We choose to love, to forgive, to wait, to try again, to repeat... in the power of his grace, to love. Because he first loved us.

Always Faithful

One of the great truths about the God we serve is that he is faithful. From before the creation of the world, before we were a twinkle in our mother's eye, before the fall, he has faithfully loved us. 

In our struggle with sin Paul reminds us that, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it" (I Corinthians 10:13).

And when we didn't exactly get the victory John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

The Lord promised at the fall that the seed of the woman would one day crush the serpents' head. Yesterday was Good Friday and we remembered that Jesus died on the cross, in our place. The enemy thought he had the victory, but tomorrow we remember that Christ rose from the grave, conquering sin and death. Christ fulfilled the promise of the Father, destroying the power of sin and death. That is the foundation of our faith. That is love, that is faithfulness.  

Service & Experience

Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

Joshua 24:31

There is something almost mystical, almost magical about serving Christ. Somehow when we seek to serve the Lord he allows us to see his power, his faithfulness, his mercy, grace and forgiveness in ways we might not normally experience them. 

It's that place where God works in our lives in such a way that by faith we know that it is God. There is a difference from when you hear about God providing for someone else and when he provides for you. Your testimony is yours. Remember how God revealed his love for you to you, how he forgave your sins and you gave you life to him? That is where God became real. 

Lord, I pray that we would experience all that you do and that we would serve you throughout our lives. I pray that our children and their children, until you come again, will experience everything you do and serve you throughout their lifetimes too. Praise be to you in us today!

The Two Sides of Imitation

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Imitation can have two sides. One one side you imitate someone you admire and on the other side someone imitates you. The Thessalonians first imitated Paul and his team and then naturally became examples to other Christians. 

When I was in elementary school I loved recess because we would play whatever sport was in season. I remember playing football and everyone would imitate whoever they thought was a good player. At the time, and I am dating myself here, there were a few people I liked to try to run like. One was Larry Csonka and the other was O.J. Simpson. Csonka had the power and O.J. the moves and speed. I would get the ball, call out the person's name I thought I was running like and then go at it! 

As a Christian there has been a few people I have found to be worthy of imitation. Humility and a servants heart are the two qualities I admire. Godly humility is knowing who you are in Christ, and that you are who you are by the grace of God. Christlike serving is serving others, even those who don't appreciate it. 

One last thought is that Paul said that the Thessalonians "welcomed the message in the midst of suffering". The implication is that following Christ is not always easy, rather, to the contrary, it is often difficult. There will be trials. There will be tests. Christ leads us to victory, but, there will be warfare. Paul, endured everything from shipwrecks to imprisonment, dealing with false teachers (seeking to undermine his work) to be stoned and left for dead. Yet, he pressed on and fought the good fight, spreading the gospel wherever he could. Who did he imitate? Christ. 

Vindication

     Thank you, Father, that in Jesus you have compassion on us and vindicate us in Your righteousness. Open our eyes to see you working in us today. 

Have Mercy

Lord, you hear our cries for mercy and you know why each one of us needs it. Reveal your mercy to us today. Open our eyes to see your mercy in our lives. 

Rise and Hope

See To It

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

Colossians 2:8

I can remember when I first gave my life to Christ and the pastor would emphasis the need to look to the Bible to decide the validity and truth of any teaching. They would exhort us to compare what they or any other teacher said with Scripture and if it didn't match up we should first of all forget it and then call them out about it. 

A few years past and one of my pastors (who I love and still respect) was teaching about the end times and made a statement that I had a little trouble with. He said, "You don't want to be at a Stone's concert when, pa-da-ta-da (the sound of a trumpet?), then you are". The context of his teaching that sermon led you to understand that as you would be left behind because you were "sinning", according to him. Well, there's a lot of things I've done and I don't want to be doing when the Lord comes to take us home, but, the idea that if you just happen to be sinning at that precise moment when Jesus comes again because then you'll be left behind, is not a teaching I find in the Bible. 

My issue with that is not so much that it is not what the Bible teaches because it's not in Scripture but that it depends on human effort rather than God's grace. It's really just a form of sinless perfectionism, which is legalism. Sometimes what we have to  concern ourselves with is not full on heresy but things that depend upon "human traditions" or "the basic principles of this world". If it depends upon me rather than on the righteousness of Christ and his death upon the cross, then it's wrong. For example, my issue with the whole name-it-and-claim-it teaching is that it depends upon the individuals faith rather than on Christ. 

Here's the deal: we should all press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us (Philippians 3:12), but that is not to earn your salvation, it's to ensure salvations purpose in our lives. We depend upon Christ, abiding in him as he so powerfully works in us. If you have walked with the Lord for any length of time you realize your own frailty and Christ's faithfulness. That encourages us to continue in Christ. So, guard yourselves. Watch that you don't start looking to your own righteousness rather than to Christ's. Christ is the Cornerstone. 

How did you?

Just one question? How did you receive Jesus?

Suffering for...

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 

Colossians 1:24 NIV

I participate in a Precepts Bible Study class at my church on Sunday mornings and we are studying the book of Colossians. I made a comment about these verses and the person who was leading asked me to review these verses next week when I lead the study. The guy next to me looked at me and said, "Good luck with that."

I'm not going to get into the "Why do good people suffer?" topic. I'm just going to point out that like Paul, we sometimes suffer and God uses that suffering to strengthen his body, the church. Paul taught the Corinthians that "just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ" (II Corinthians 1:5). Now, we usually just hear the previous verses about God comforting us so we can comfort others, but we tend to overlook the suffering that needs comfort component. The point is that God uses our suffering for the sake of his body, the church. 

Remember we are the body of Christ, the living, visible, and active extension of Christ hear on earth. I don't know if someone needs to necessarily see us suffering so much as God uses our suffering. Not everyone saw Paul get forty lashes minus one, beaten with rods, pelted with rocks or shipwrecked ( see II Corinthians 11:23ff). He was beaten and pelted because he was preaching Christ crucified and shipwrecked and imprisoned because the enemy did not want the truth of Christ to be heard. So, if you suffer, look to Christ for comfort and press on to serve the Lord with all you heart, mind and soul.    

Reminder: Christ is Supreme

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

Colossians 1:18 NIV

This is just a reminder as we head into the weekend, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season: In everything Christ has the supremacy. This is not Christ should be supreme, Christ is supreme. 

Paul was teaching the truth about who Jesus Christ is; the head of the body, the church; the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy. He was not telling them to put Jesus first, he was reminding them that Jesus is first. Christ is supreme. 

Christ did not die on the cross just to die, he died to rise again and conquer sin and death and to rescue us from the dominion of darkness and bring us into his kingdom, redeeming us and forgiving us of our sins. Christ is supreme. 

So, I encourage you to remember, rest and rejoice in the truth that in everything Christ has the supremacy. 

No Treaty, No Snare

Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 

Exodus 34:12 NIV

When you have an enemy, you have to remember that they are your enemy. The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margret Sanger, had a belief and a goal. She thought there were too many African Americans (not the term she used), to devised a way to have African Americans kill there babies; it's called abortion. I don't think she invented abortion, she just believed that she could offer it to people of color as a choice and the end result would be the death of millions of African Americans by their own choice. Even though she is long dead and gone her idea still has the effect she desired, less African Americans. Thirteen million African American babies have been aborted since 1973 alone. Thirteen MILLION. 

My point is that if we make a "treaty" with our enemy, sin, it will continue to be our enemy and find a way to inflict damage, destroy and bring death to us. Later in Exodus 34 the Lord tells Moses not to choose wives for their sons from the daughters of those living in the land because, "they will lead your sons to do the same"(prostitute themselves to their gods. That meant doing things like sacrificing their children. The treaty, the compromise would lead to sin, which leads to death. You can not worship the Lord and any other god. Worshiping the Lord brings life, abundant life, life to the full. 

Remember, God wants you to enjoy your salvation. Jesus didn't die so we would still be bound by sin. He died so that we might have life and have it to the full. 

It's Time to Rally Together

   Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

Exodus 32:25-26 NIV

The situation was out of control. There was no time for a committee, the time for instruction was long past. Moses assessed things and saw that it was time to draw a line and call out to see who was for the Lord. 

It's time to assess our lives. It's time to listen to the Spirit's call. The world is out of control, calling evil good and good evil. If you are for the Lord, come to Him. We're not coming to a leader, unless the leader is calling us to follow Christ. Like the Levites we must cross that line and decide to be for the Lord. 

Now, I have no desire to start an in house church witch hunt or stir up dissension by saying that "some Christians" or "some churches" or "some pastors" water down the gospel. The truth is some do. The truth is, sometimes I do. Sometimes my actions speak louder than my words and I and standing on the wrong side of that line.  There are times when we must assess our lives, assess our churches, assess our beliefs and actions. What side of the line are we on? 

This is not a call to point out what everyone else is doing wrong. This is an admonition to check yourself and see if you are loving like Christ loved you. Are we worshipping the god of "I got to have it now" (debt, credit cards), the god of "self" or the god of "desire"? Christ is about giving not spending, serving others not your own needs, and seeking to protect and help someone else not use them for your own pleasure or benefit. And this is not about being alone, it's about rallying together as the time draws closer for our Savior to come again. Together we worship the Lord. Together we serve and reach out into the darkness of this dying world with the light of the truth in Christ. 

Who Makes You Holy

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

Exodus 31:12-13 NIV

Sometimes when we read a verse like this we forget that the point is that God makes us holy. We get caught up in legalism about if wether the lack of attendance is a sin or not. But that's not the real point. The point is that it is the Lord who makes us holy. We don't go to church to try to be holy, we go to church to be reminded that God makes us holy. 

This calls to mind one of my favorite verses: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV Christ is our holiness and in him we are made holy. Think about communion. We don't take communion to remember what we did, we remember what Christ did, that his body was broken and his blood was shed. In Christ we are made holy.

Quite frankly, I think most of the time when we go to church we are really just going out of habit or to seek a warm fuzzy. We forget that we are there to worship the Lord of all creation, the Lord God Almighty, our Savior and Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who make us holy. 

Remember Where You Came From

And God spoke all these words:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Exodus 20:1-2 NIV

It's funny, in a sad way, how easy it is for us to forget where we came from. Just the the Israelites who just came out of Egypt and God was reminded them not to forget that they were just recently in slavery in Egypt, we sometimes need to remember that we were slaves to sin. 

I am not saying you should dwell or revel in your past. But, sin is a cruel and deceptive master. It desires to have you. In a bad way. Sin may seem good for a season but in the end it only separates you from God and those you love. We need to remember that Jesus is God, who brought us out of sin. Sin is not good. Sin is destructive. 

The Ten Commandment begin with God reminding the Israelites that he, the LORD, is their God and that he is the one who brought them out of Egypt, the land of slavery. We need to remember that he is the LORD our God who brings us out of the slavery of sin. I don't know what that looks like to you, but I do know it is good to remember that you are no longer a slave to sin, but have been set free in Christ. 

Good Leaders Listen and Empower

   "But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." 

   Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 

Exodus 18:21-24 NIV

Moses did a couple of things here that anyone in leadership should pay attention to. First, he listened and second he empowered. Two characteristics you will find in good leaders and notice they are lacking in poor leaders.

First of all, Moses listened to his father-in-law. He could of ignored him or resisted the advice on grounds that Jethro wasn't a "prophet" or didn't say something like "thus saith the Lord". Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice and discerned that it was from God, so he listened and did everything Jethro said. 

Secondly, by taking Jethro's advice he empowered others. Notice that he didn't just delegate responsibility, he delegated authority. This is really where great leaders set themselves apart from simple dumping delegators. Many leaders delegate, then try to micro-manage those they delegate. Then they get frustrated because things don't work out or that they have to manage what they "delegated" so much. I call that dumping, not delegating. Think about Jesus, he didn't just delegated jobs to the disciples, he empowered them with authority to drive out demons, heal in His Name, and proclaim the Kingdom of God (Matthew10:1, Luke 9:1-2). Moses learned to not just delegate but to empower capable men to make decisions. That's empowering leadership.

Final thoughts: Listen and empower. Who do you need to listen to? Who can you empower? Also, how is Christ empowering you?

It's Friday, Please God

May my meditation be pleasing to him,

   as I rejoice in the Lord.

Psalms 104:34 NIV

It's Friday and most people are looking forward to the weekend. There is a lot of things to enjoy, perhaps some chores to be done, maybe a honey-do list. If you have children, you probably have little league, football, soccer or Scouting. Some people just look forward to hanging out with friends or watching football. 

Reading these verses this morning made me think of what sort of is in the background of my mind as I go through this day. I thought about what pleases God. I don't think I have to be constantly quoting a verse to myself, although that is a good thing. But, it is a good thing to just think about filtering my thoughts with the idea of pleasing God. 

You see, if we decide to do our jobs, as unto the Lord, then it just keeps things in perspective. Again, if we seek to be a servant of all, even at work, because we are seeking to abide in Christ, we meditate on his Sovereignty to be at work in our jobs. May that be our prayer, that our thoughts and actions may be in Christ, and please God by trying to love and serve at home and at work.