Satisfied – I Love It!

“For I have satiated (satisfied) the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah 31.25

Satisfied – we all know the feeling of being satisfied. You’re working outside in the heat and your wife brings you a glass of iced coffee and you take a break to enjoy the refreshing drink. Ah! Satisfied! Right? How about your weary soul being satisfied? First of all, God knows when our soul is weary – even if we don’t. Secondly, God knows what it will take to satisfy our weary soul, again even if we don’t know what we need. If your life is anything like mine, there are some days that seem to really want to put a damper on my spiritual attitude and my walk with God. There are times when I long for the cloud that is overshadowing me to be lifted so I can see the refreshing light of God’s presence. And then God shows up! Just like He promised!

And then Jeremiah gives us these words from the lips of God: “I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” When you replenish something, you put back something that was taken away. Again, it is to begin the day with a sense of God’s presence and everything seems to be going well. Then, suddenly, something happens that puts you in a spiritual funk. You feel like every ounce of joy you ever had is gone. And God says, “Come here. Let me replenish what you just lost.” Remember the words of Psalm 16.11: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” It’s like God is saying to us, “I never left you. It just seemed to you like I did. I’m still here. You can still have joy!” THAT encourages me. Just my thoughts …

Try It! You’ll Like It!

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Corinthians 3.16

Do you ever think about why you do some of the things you do? I believe this verse gives us some insight into how we can live a life that will always glorify God. It is VITALLY important to remember the truth contained in this verse.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God … ” Wow – that’s a game changer. My body – your body – as a child of God, is THE temple of God. It is where God CHOOSES to live. What am I doing to make the place where He lives bring glory to Him? Is He just an occupant, or does He have total control of the place where He lives? Amazingly, that is up to me. I determine who is in control of my life. Since I am in control, how often do I think about WHO controls my life?

Now, the controlling element of life is given in this next phrase: “ … the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” THINK about that phrase. Meditate on that phrase. Ask God to help you appropriate the genuine significance of that phrase. God has placed inside you a part of Himself that will never leave you. That is both frightening and comforting. It is frightening because there is nothing that I will ever do that He does not witness. Comforting because there will never be a time when He is not with me and WILLING to be in control when I choose to allow it. So, it makes perfectly good sense to me to give the Holy Spirit permission to be in control of my life all day every day. That is not a once-for-all decision. I may need to do it many times a day. But the outcome is worth it. Try it! You’ll like it! Just my thoughts …

He’s Real!

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. ² Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” Psalm 19.1-2

I am always amazed when people say, “I don’t believe in God.” My mind always goes to these verses. When you look at a sunset, and marvel at its beauty, you know it is an act of God. I often say to my wife, “God’s just showing off again.” Common sense is not nearly as common as we think it ought to be. I wear a Fitbit for my watch. Suppose I had all the pieces that make up its internal parts and held them in my hand.  Then I threw them all up into the air and when they came down, they were in the form of the Fitbit I am now wearing. You would say to me, “That’s impossible” and you would be exactly right. Somebody had to CREATE that Fitbit.

If you glance out your window right now whether it is day or night, what you see could not be the result of accidental or incidental happening. Someone had to CREATE what you see right now. And that creation had to occur before mankind inhabited the earth. God’s process of creation brought about all that we see in the heavens. The phrase “the firmament sheweth his handywork … ” reminds us that it is the work of God, not some accidental occurrence over thousands of years. I believe the phrase is, “Let there be light; and there was light.” (Genesis 1.3) One translation reads: “Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” It is like every day cries out, “Look, there is a God” and every night says, “See, I told you there is a God.” Let’s let these acts of God’s creation simply reaffirm for us what we already know, “The heavens declare the glory of God … ” Just my thoughts …

Waiting and Hoping!

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.” Psalm 130.5

This is a psalm of ascent. This is often a psalm they would sing or pray as they drew near to the Lord in approaching Him for prayer. V. 1 begins with: “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.” The psalmist links two words together here – the words “wait” and “hope”. How do those words fit together? If we have hope, we are willing to wait. If we do not have hope, then rather than wait, we usually want to proceed on our own and handle things ourselves.

Notice the basis for the psalmist’s words: “ … in his word do I hope.” I don’t know that I want to put that much confidence in the words of men, but I certainly am willing to place my confidence in the words of God. I think most of us would agree that the most difficult thing about waiting is not knowing the outcome. But with God, we already know that He always has our best interests at heart, so trusting Him should not be difficult. Notice these two phrases: “I wait for the LORD … ” and “my soul doth wait … ” What is the difference here? The psalmist is saying, “I am willing to wait emotionally on the Lord” and then he is saying, “I am willing to wait spiritually on the Lord.” Sometimes those two elements of our being are at odds with one another. It is important that they are in agreement. I will never be healthy emotionally until I am healthy spiritually. That is an important principle for us to remember. May the Lord guide us today in our waiting and our hoping. Just my thoughts …

Victim or Overcomer?

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16.33

Notice these important truths in this verse: (1) Jesus is speaking to us. (2) He wants us to have peace. (3) We will have tribulation as long as we are in this world. (4) We have reason to be cheerful, He has overcome the world.

In light of the fact of Who is speaking, we need to listen carefully: “These things I have spoken unto you … ” He said these words two other times in this chapter. He is telling them things they need to hear, but are struggling to understand. He has promised them the Holy Spirit as their comforter. But He closes the chapter with these words: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.” IN THE MIDST of all their trials and tribulations, He wants them to have peace. IN THE MIDST of all OUR trials and tribulations, He want US to have peace. Peace is NOT the absence of trouble. Peace is the assurance of His presence with us in the midst of our trouble. That should evoke a shout from even the mildest of us. Praise His Holy Name!

Then He reminds them of something they may not want to hear, but need to know: “In the world ye shall have tribulation … ” No one WANTS to have tribulation. But all of us know that if we live long enough, we WILL have tribulation. Just living in this sinful world, and having a longing for heaven, Satan is going to see to it what we have tribulation. But Jesus has a word for that too: “ … but be of good cheer … ” He says, “I know what you are going through, but be of good cheer. I’ve got this!” and then He caps it off with this: “I have overcome the world.” You and I cannot do that by ourselves. The world system is greater than we are. But it is not greater than our God. He has “overcome the world” for me. I can and must rejoice in that truth. Just my thoughts …

Be Whaat?

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46.10

God is speaking to us in this verse. Notice the different things He tells us: (1) Be still, (2) know that I am God, (3) I will be exalted among the heathen, and (4) I will be exalted in the earth. It isn’t that we don’t know any of these things. But we do need to be reminded of these things. So, let’s examine them.

“Be still … ” Do you know how hard that is in today’s world? Everything around is moving at breakneck speed. And we are expected to do the same. But God says, “Be still … ” It is difficult for us to take time to really contemplate on anything or anyone, let alone God. But when we are able to take some time to be still, what do we discover about God? Are we moved by His immensity? Are we overwhelmed by His omnipotence? Are we awed by His omnipotence? Are we completely astonished over His justice and righteousness? We should be.

But then He says, “know that I am God … ” I don’t believe He is saying for us to simply acknowledge that He is God. I believe He is asking us to acknowledge that He IS God – really God … not some mystical power in the heavens or some unknown deity that may or may not care about us. “ … know that I am God … ” I care about you. I love you. I want the best for you. I AM your God.

I believe these last two phrases go together: “ … I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Once the heathen know WHO God is, they will exalt Him. But, as I have stated before, we have the responsibility to evangelize this world. Then, God “will be exalted in the earth.” I’d say we have a big job before us. Let’s be about our global task. Just my thoughts …

Whosoever Shall Call …

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2.21

There is a degree of certainty here worth noting: “ … it shall come to pass … ” IT is not a matter of whether or not something will happen … it shall come to pass. But here is the catch. People cannot act on information they do not possess. If one does not KNOW to call upon the name of the Lord, he/she will never do it. I think that we as Christ followers sometimes think that the whole world knows that God has a son named Jesus and that He died to save them from their sins. But that is a false assumption. There are some people who were born and raised in America who do not know this. Have you ever thought about how many people do not go to church … have never gone to church? Don’t assume that because the gospel is preached on radio and tv that everyone has heard it.

Now, here is the important part: “ … whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That is a powerful promise. It is possible for someone to KNOW that God has a son named Jesus and that He died on the cross for the sins of the world, but they have never made a personal application of that truth to their lives. I have presented the gospel to a number of people over the course of my ministry and I have found that I must conclude the conversation with something like this: “Do you believe that Jesus died to pay for YOUR sins? If so, would you like to receive Him as your Savior now?” Let’s assume no one has heard and everyone needs to know. That way we won’t miss anyone! Just my thoughts …

Wisdom & Understanding!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9.10

If you are like me, you want to have as much wisdom as possible. I define wisdom as the proper application of knowledge. There are many people who have an abundance of knowledge but they don’t seem to know what to do with it. That is knowledge without wisdom. Solomon puts things into perspective for us here with this first phrase: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom … ” The fear of the Lord isn’t everything, but it is the starting point. So, let’s try to get some understanding of what it means to fear the Lord. It DOESN’T mean that I am fearful that if I cross over some unseen line, the Lord will zap me with a bold of lightening. It DOES mean that I have some understanding of the majesty and greatness of God and that knowledge gives me a better understanding of how to live for God each day. If my wisdom is filtered through my knowledge of God, that will certainly affect my choices, decisions, actions, and every element of my life. So, that is the starting place.

Now, to Solomon’s second point: “ … the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” This goes hand-in-hand with the first phrase. My KNOWLEDGE of the Holy One certainly increases my UNDERSTANDING of this Holy One. So, how do I gain this knowledge? I believe it is found primarily in the Word of the Holy One. The more I read about Him, the more I see how He interacts with His children, to more I grasp the significance of prayer, and the more I begin to implement what I know into my life, the greater my understanding will be. So, grasping what this verse means will certainly enhance my wisdom and my understanding and that is a win-win. Just my thoughts …

God Said It! I Believe It!

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25.8

What a great promise: “He will swallow up death in victory … ” Everyone reading this has experienced the loss of someone they know to death. Whether a loved one, a neighbor, a close friend, it doesn’t matter … it never gets any easier. But ONE DAY He will swallow up death in victory! How do we know that He can do that? We have just experienced Easter, a time when we rejoiced in Christ’s resurrection. When Christ came out of that tomb, He conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave. Praise His holy name! In John 11.25-26 Jesus spoke these words: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” He didn’t just EXPERIENCE resurrection, He IS the resurrection!

The next thing we see in this verse is this: “ … the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces … ” Most of us probably shed some tears almost every day of our adult lives … some maybe more than others. One day, God will WIPE WAY all tears from off ALL faces. We will have experiences our last heartache, the last day will have occurred, the great sorrows from our past will ALL be over and GOD will wipe away our tears. I can hardly wait. How do you and I know these things are true? Here it is: “ .. for the Lord hath spoken it.” There is an old song whose words go like this: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me.” Just my thoughts …

Morning Is Coming!

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30.5

How many times have you thought, “If I could just sleep on this, maybe I would see it differently in the morning”? Don’t you wonder what the disciples were feeling on that Saturday before the resurrection. Jesus had told them what was going to happen, but they didn’t understand it all. In John 20.3-10, Peter and John ran to the tomb after Mary told them it was empty. They went in and looked around, but did not understand. In John 21 Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples several times. The morning of that day brought them joy, but it took them a while to realize that the joy was real – Jesus was ALIVE!

Tomorrow, Christians around the globe will celebrate a risen Savior. And celebrate we must. This lost world needs to know not only that Jesus is alive, but that He is the only One who brings joy. So many people trudge through each day with a sense of hopelessness and the absence of pure joy. So, how does Jesus bring us joy? Jesus brings us joy because, if we believe all that He tells us about Himself, He has all power, all knowledge, and He is omnipresent. This simply means that nothing that we encounter will ever surprise Him. Nothing we encounter will ever be out of His control. Nothing we encounter will be able to rob us of our joy, because our joy is found in Him, not in our circumstances. Remember, our big God is bigger than any of our big problems. Whatever you are experiencing right now that seems to be overwhelming you, just remember, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Just my thoughts …