What a Mighty God We Serve!

“O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 107.1

    Giving thanks is probably not something that most of us do easily. It must be a conscious thought to do so. So, when the psalmist says to us, “O give thanks unto the Lord … ” we must deliberately and consciously take the time and make the effort to do so. What does giving thanks to the Lord look like to you? It is a simple “Thank you God for everything you do”, or do you take the time to be specific with God for the things about which you are thankful? It is so easy to just be generic in our approach to thanksgiving. But I believe to do so is a reflection of our heart focus and we may want to re-focus HOW we give thanks. That’s just me speaking.

    These next two statements bear careful consideration: “for he is good”. I don’t believe any Christ follower has a problem with saying that God is good. I’m sure there are times when God allows things and we think to ourselves, “How is that good?” But in such times, we don’t see the picture as God sees it. This next phrase is one for which I am extremely thankful: “his mercy endureth for ever.” I believe mercy is a much misunderstand word. It simply means, “getting what I don’t deserve.” As simple as that sounds, I still have a difficult time embracing the fact that God chooses to be merciful to me. My question is often, “why?” And the only answer is because He loves me – unconditionally. Let that sink in for a moment – God loves you unconditionally. That means, “no matter what you do, God will seek nothing but your highest good.” THAT is absolutely overwhelming. Just my thoughts …

My Good Shepherd!

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10.11

    Jesus is speaking here. His words are very significant. He describes Himself as “the good shepherd.” Once we realize the importance of a shepherd, the responsibilities of a shepherd, the commitment of a shepherd, and the liabilities involved in being a shepherd, then His words become much more meaningful to us, or they should.

    The fact that we as Christ followers are called sheep ought to bring a great sense of joy when we realize that our shepherd is The Chief Shepherd. (1 Peter 5.4) WHATEVER we may ever need, He is capable, willing, and able to supply for us. Realizing that we as His sheep are always under attack by the enemy Satan, He is always on guard to see that we are not overcome by our chief enemy.

    I believe the most encouraging element in this verse is the second phrase: “the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” He isn’t just the good shepherd. He is the good shepherd who has already given His life for us. Who else do you know who is willing to die for you? There may be family members who would die for you, but their death could never accomplish what Jesus’ death accomplished for us. Acts 17.28 reminds us: “for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Thank God for this Good Shepherd Who gave His life for us! Just my thoughts …

Power and Might Can Be Ours!

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Isaiah 40.29

    We have all felt faint at one time or another, whether physically or emotionally. It is encouraging to know that not only does God KNOW when we are faint, He is always ready, willing, and available to give power to the faint. We have all heard people say something like,
“Well, when I feel faint, I just reach down deep inside and pull out that extra something that I need to get through whatever it is.” My question is this. What if there isn’t that “something extra” available? What if we are completely depleted and we have nothing and no one to rely on? It is THEN that this verse makes the most sense: “He giveth power to the faint … ”

    “to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” I believe it is up to us to realize when we have no might (strength) and know that we need to turn to God. God is a gentleman and does not force Himself on His children, but He is always available to help us when we need Him. It may be difficult for some to admit that they have no strength, but that in itself is NOT a sign of weakness. It is a realization that we cannot do everything and we need to turn to our God to supply what we do not have. I believe the weakness does not lie in the fact that we are weak, but in our unwillingness not to admit that we are weak. When we say to others that God is “enough,” let’s let Him always “be enough.” Just my thoughts …

What Are You Wearing?

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” Colossians 3.12

    If I asked, “What are you wearing?” some of you might think that a strange question. But in light of Paul’s words above, it is totally appropriate. He tells us here that we are to “put on” certain attributes that will glorify God and minister to this lost world, as well as to other fellow believers. Let’s take a close look at these items we are to “put on.”

    (1) bowels of mercies … I don’t believe we think a lot about mercy until we are in need of it. We don’t honestly know how many people whose paths we cross every day are in need of mercy – from us or anyone. But one thing we do know is that “as the elect of God” we are to display mercy that comes, not from a shallow heart, but from deep within us. That’s where our bowels are. (2) kindness … kindness is something we can offer to anyone and everyone and it doesn’t cost us anything but a conscious thought … respond with kindness. We all know what it feels like when someone responds to US with kindness. Let’s make the same effort for those who interact with us. (3) humbleness of mind …sometimes it is very easy to look at others and think to ourselves, “Why don’t they get it together?” and we have no idea what they have been through or are going through. Any sense of arrogance on our part as a Christ follower is totally out of place. When I realize who I am in God’s sight, humility is the ONLY thing that can follow. (4) meekness … I think sometimes we equate meekness with weakness or unimportance. Neither of those is a proper definition of meekness. Patience, gentleness, or submissiveness are words in the same family as meekness. I would much rather be known as a person of patience, of gentleness, or submissiveness than one of arrogance, brashness, or overbearing. I think if we are willing to ask, “How would Jesus respond in this situation?” we will manifest a spirit of meekness. (5) longsuffering … I probably fail here more quickly than any place else. I want what I want and I want it right now. That is an act of selfishness and generally, having to wait for someone else or something else is not always a bad thing. It may give me time to think through some issue adequately. These are just my thoughts …

Not Condemnation But Salvation!

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3.17

    Through the years I have heard many descriptions of Jesus and why He came to earth. But regardless of what anyone says, this verse gives us the ONLY reason Jesus came. You know how sometimes you get so focused on one thing that everything else takes a backseat? When Jesus came, His one and only focus was the salvation of the lost. Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Luke 19.10 tells us, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” While Jesus was a great teacher, that is the purpose for which He came. Even though Jesus was a healer, that is not why He came.

    Here it is in the simplest possible terms: “that the world through him might be saved.” Now comes the hard part. How can they be saved if they do not even know who Jesus is or why Jesus came to this earth? I believe the New Testament church has an astronomical task before them and that is the global evangelism of the world. That can not and will not occur without literally thousands of God’s servants saying, “Here am I. Send me.” (Isaiah 6.8)

   When you pray, will you pray for God to call those whom He wants to go into all the world? Then would you be willing to give through your local church’s mission giving program to send those whom God calls to go? And finally, if God calls you, will YOU go? Just my thoughts …

Pretty Simple Process!

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” Matthew 6.14

    I think many people do not understand the concept of forgiveness. They somehow believe that forgiveness is letting someone “off the hook” and they want them to pay for what they did. But forgiveness is NOT for the other person, but for the one who is doing the forgiving. Forgiveness allows me to release the pain of my experience to God and then be able to see the person I have forgiven as a person again, not just a constant reminder of the pain they have caused me. Forgiveness frees me to get on with my life, rather than be stuck in an uncomfortable situation for which there seems to be no remedy.

    If you will remember the conversation between Peter and Jesus, Peter asked how many times he should forgive someone. “Is seven times enough?” I’m sure Jesus’ response was a shocker to Peter. Jesus said, “Seventy times seven.” The concept here is not the number of times, but the fact that we need to forgive until the offense is no longer an offense. When we allow Satan to continue “beating us up” emotionally over some past experience, he controls us. Forgiveness frees us from that control.

Jesus’ words here are: “your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” Don’t confuse payment for sin and forgiving you. Jesus paid for our sins, all of them, on the cross. But, when I refuse to forgive another, God is going to hold me accountable for that when I stand before Him. I don’t know about you, but I want my slate to be “as clean as possible” when I stand before God. For that reason, I am going to willingly forgive those who wrong me. How about you? Just my thoughts …

Living and Walking!

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5.25

    This is such a powerful statement. What does it mean to “live” in the Spirit? I believe we are all aware of the Spirit’s presence at work in our lives daily. So, what’s the difference between KNOWING that He is always there and LIVING like we know He is always there? Living like we know He is always there means that we do not consciously do anything that is going to grieve the Spirit of God. 1 Thessalonians 5.19 tells us not to “Quench” the Spirit. While it may be easy to sin and not realize what we are doing, we need to pay attention to not sinning intentionally and thereby grieve the Spirit of God.

    The last phrase of the verse is a call to us to live in a way that reflects to this lost world that there is something different about our lives. Paul tells us: “let us also walk in the Spirit.” Once we have come to grips with living in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit ought to be the next supernatural step. So, what is involved here? I believe walking in the Spirit is more than a consciousness that He is always present. I believe it means that we are constantly seeking His guidance, leadership, and direction for our lives – step by step – daily. That requires a focus that is not on US but on HIM. It is not NATURAL to walk in the Spirit, but it is SUPERNATURAL to walk in the Spirit and that is what God wants from us. Just my thoughts …

So Send I YOU!

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” John 20.21

    Jesus is talking. Pay attention! Let’s look at the preceding verses: “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ²⁰ And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” This is the first time they have seen Him since His resurrection. I can’t imagine what is going through their hearts and minds as they see Him. The first thing Jesus says to them is, “Peace be unto you.” WOW! Did He know what they needed? You bet He did. He speaks those same words again in v. 21: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you … ”

    Here is an interesting thought. God always know when we need peace. And He is the only One who can REALLY give us peace. His purpose here was to commission them for service but He knew they could do nothing with troubled hearts. so, they hear these words: “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Jesus was prepping them for when He would be gone. Now that He is gone, you and I can apply these words to our own lives. We CAN have His peace, and we MUST go. Can I say, this is not a suggestion, but an imperative. Let’s go! Just my thoughts …

Let’s Tell Everyone!

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2.38

    How many times have we heard or read this verse and thought to ourselves, “I hope everybody knows this”? I wonder how many of us realize that over 3 billion people in our world have never heard that God has a Son named Jesus who died to save them from their sins. Our church had a special Mission Emphasis Sunday today and we had three missionaries who challenged us. One of those missionaries spoke from Matthew 28.18-20: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” This passage is called The Great Commission.

    Since “The Great Commission” is given to every believer, it is given to us. We all know people who are not believers, people who desperately need to hear the message of Christ. We can’t make anyone receive Christ, but we can expose them to the Gospel with the prayer that the Holy Spirit will drive that message home to their hearts and they will be saved. It is our job to TELL them. It is their responsibility to RESPOND to the message. Let’s be certain we do OUR job and let God attend to the rest. Just my thoughts …

Let’s Bless the Lord!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: ³ who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; ⁴ who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; ⁵ who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103.1-5

    It seems like David is giving us the innermost thoughts of his heart in this Psalm. Twice in the opening phrase he reminds us to bless the Lord. Then he tells us to “forget not all his benefits:” Have you ever taken time to try to count the Lord’s benefits He brings to your life? Most of us probably haven’t. David then proceeds to list some of these benefits for us: (1) who forgives all your iniquities, (2) who heals all your diseases, (3) who redeems your life from destruction, (4) who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, (5) who satisfies your mouth with good things and the result of all these things is that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

    We are grateful for sins forgiven. We may struggle with the statement about healing all our diseases. There are two kinds of healing. One is healing from disease in this life and the other is ultimate healing when He takes us to heaven. Either way we are healed. To be redeemed from destruction is to realize that hell is not a possibility for us – ever. God crowns us with His loving kindness every day. We are literally overwhelmed with His loving kindness. Finally, He satisfies our mouth with good things – think about the way God has supplied our need for nourishment. What a blessing. These are just my thoughts …