Promise for Today Favorite - Single Track with Garbage

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 NLT

Long-distance trail horses do much better on a trail that is termed a "single track with garbage" than they do on an established wide trail or open field. (Obviously, single track is one horse passes at a time; garbage means lots of brush, rock, etc.) I thought that sounded illogical until it was explained that an established wide trail or open field can be a total distraction for the horse. Lots of things to look at, and the horse gets competitive with the other animals. In addition, there is very little concern on the horse's part for how he steps because there doesn't appear to be any danger.

On a single track with garbage, the horse is very focused and carefully picks its steps. There are usually no distractions - or at least, very few. The horse is highly unlikely to break and run and is extremely responsive to the rider's slightest touch of instruction... and it was right there that God tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention.

Now, I don't know about you, but there are times, (even though I know I'm NOT) it feels as though I'm walking alone. I reiterate - I know I'm not alone, but sometimes, I can't see a clear path in front of me. I don't see the water source ahead. At times, the way is so close that it's hard to see at all. And I have to watch every step I take. There's the underbrush of life's debris and distractions to stub my toes or twist my ankle or cause me to fall and come up lame.

However, I know it is in the tough spots that I am most focused on following His lead and the most responsive to His slightest instruction. God hasn't taken me on this single track with garbage so that I will be confined and alone. No, I may not be able to look around to see where I am or where I am going, but I am not lost. I am found. The Great I AM, the Omnipotent Way Maker has chosen this single track with garbage. He's brought me this way so I can know Him better and trust Him more.

Prayer:

Father,
           Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and by Your grace, I will follow only You. Completely close my eyes, my ears and my spirit to anything that is not of You. Guide my every step, O God. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Promise for Today Favorite - Help Me to Remember

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Luke 23:34 KJV

He was ostracized before He was born (born in a barn to a mother who was pregnant by Someone other than her husband). Those who knew Him best didn't respect Him (Mark 6:3-5). The high priest and leaders of the temple hated Him and conspired to kill Him.

What did Jesus do? He prayed. How many times do we read in Scripture that Jesus prayed? He sought God in all things. I would submit for your consideration that one of the things Jesus prayed about while living on earth was the constant rejection. How do you continue to love people who constantly reject you or hurt you? And if you can't love them, how can you forgive them? Matthew 6:12 tells us, If you can't forgive them, you can't be forgiven by your Father in heaven.

How many of us walk through life with the Marine attitude of "Kill 'em all - let God sort 'em out"? Now, I don't know about you, but for a long time in my journey, I wanted to forgive, but there just seemed to be something so wrong about the one who committed the offense being let off the hook. It was like letting them get away with it. How can you let someone get away with that kind of thing? That's just not right...is it? You can't let them think they got away with it scot-free, can you?

I'm reminded of the accessory line that was released quite a few years back. WWJD - Do you remember those teeshirts and bracelets and earrings and necklaces, Bible covers, etc. "What Would Jesus Do?" Reminding us to be like Jesus. Well, what did He do? Did one of His own disciples betray Him? Yes. Did Jesus know about it? Yes. Did the leaders of the temple conspire to kill Him? Yes. Did Jesus try to stop any of them?

Did they taunt Him with lies and shove it in His face? Read Luke 23:35-39 NLT, [The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you're at it!"]

Was He - is He God's Messiah, the Chosen One? Yes! Could they have killed Him if He hadn't laid down His life in OBEDIENCE to the Father in sacrifice for our lives? No, they could not! Did they kill Him? Yes. Did they think they got away with it? Yes...

What did Jesus do? "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..." When the circumstances demanded justice at such wrongdoing, He gave mercy. Aren't we to be like Jesus?

Prayer:

Father,
          Help us to realize that forgiveness is not a feeling. It's a choice of will. Help us to understand Matthew 18 and forgiving others seventy times seventy... Remind us to choose to forgive every time it comes up. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today Favorite - Still Not Done

Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”

But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”
“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them.
Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!
Mark 6:35-41 NLT

Has God ever done the impossible in your life? Has He done the proverbial Made a Way Where There was No Way? Has He ever used you to do or say something that you know - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that it was all God because it was beyond your ability or even your comprehension? It defies all logic. Well, He's not done yet.

Mark 6 is an amazing chapter. At the beginning of it, Jesus heads to His hometown, begins teaching in the synagogue in such a way that the people exclaim, Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? And only moments later, they reject Him because they can't see or believe through eyes of faith... but He wasn't done. He took it to village after village, teaching, healing.

He launched His disciples, sending them out on purpose without provision, and yet their needs were met and they accomplished what He sent them to do. When they returned, they were stoked! But He wasn't done.

Also in this chapter, we learn of John the Baptist's beheading - a tragic, horrible murder. It had already happened; Jesus knew about it, but it didn't stop Him because He wasn't done. Jesus wanted to take the boys and get away for a little while, but the crowds wouldn't stop, and because He had/has such great compassion, He stopped for them.

Then we come to our Promise text for today. The disciples - those He hand-picked - presume to tell Christ how to best care for the people. They present their most logical, well thought-out plan, but obviously, Jesus wasn't done yet.

You feed them, but the best they could come up with was logic.
We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!

Jesus doesn't fly by the seat of His pants. He doesn't get by by the skin of His teeth. He's not a fly-by-night operation. When will we realize that God has the plan? He's had it from the beginning. Even when there doesn't seem to be any way at all - the odds are too much against us. We can't feed them! What do you think the disciples were thinking? "There's over 5,000 men here, plus their families..." "Sure, I'll see if anyone brought anything..." "Here, 5 loaves and a couple of fish. What are You gonna do with that?" "There's no way to feed all these people - that's not enough for just us, let alone all of them." "I don't know what You're thinking..."

He took it, blessed it and broke it. And with those little bits of broken pieces, He fed the multitudes until everyone had as much as they wanted. It was the first All-You-Can-Eat buffet... But He wasn't done. Scripture tells us, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish.

Recap: He told them to feed the people. They replied logically, 'We can't'. He showed them how it's done. And when He was done, they picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish. 

Hmmm... how many disciples were there?

You get the picture...

I was gonna end there, but I hear the ones making the statement about Judas Iscariot... He didn't hang around too much longer after this, so, I guess that leaves one basket. Any takers? We're not done...

Prayer:

Father,            

           Thank You for the ability to think and reason. Forgive us when we use it to try to explain away Your sovereignty and majesty. Help us to realize and KNOW that whatever You've called us to do, wherever You've called us to be, You've made the provision. Let the measure of faith You have given us always override what we can see so that we can DO what You've told us to do. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

Promise for Today Favorite - You Did This?

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 

 Psalm 139:13 NIV

A little of this, a LOT of that, and some of this, a little more of the other, throw in a breath and voila! There you are. God made you. He designed who you would look like. He laid the groundwork for your personality. He formed you - gave you all the parts you would need - lined up your days and set it all in motion. Verse 16 says all my days were ordained before one of them even came to be. There are days that thought is a cause for tremendous celebration. There are other days when it's not exactly a warm fuzzy.

Keeping in mind that God's ways are NOT our ways and His thoughts are NOT our thoughts, perhaps we should try to shed a little light on some things. Let's see if it will give us a new way of thinking and an opportunity to give God praise in everything.
For instance -

"That child is so strong-willed!" Very trying for the one trying to raise the child - but if properly trained, a great leader!

"You have the audacity to speak like that?" Properly trained, raised in Christ - able to speak before kings and leaders.

"Why are you crying over that...?" A tender heart, full of compassion.

"You are SO bull-headed!!" Properly trained - it's the ability to focus on a goal and get it done!

Does that make sense? Look for the good in how God has made you. Look for the strength and ability in it instead of what could be conceived as the downside to your attributes.

Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us, "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."

It is beyond our finite minds to intelligently question an infinite God. You did this? Oh, yes! I see You did! Thank you so much!

Prayer:

Father,
           Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Help us to see it and to give You praise because You did this. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today Favorite - Pleasing

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV

It's in our nature to want to be recognized for doing well. That being said, there are all sorts of awards and recognitions and raises that go along with doing well as adults. We just need to be very careful about whom we're trying to please. And I think we have to be more careful about what motivates us to do well or to be pleasing. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:1 to not grandstand with our good deeds.

I remember well the days of,

Mom, look!
Mom, watch me!
Mom, did you see me?
Mom, how's this?

Children love to impress their parents. So, what is our motivation? Is it,

Father, look!
Father, watch me!
Father, did You see me?
Father, how's this?

I'm waiting for The Day - I just want to hear my Father say, Well done!

Prayer:

Father,
           Oftentimes, we work so hard to do life well. Day after day, trying to go the extra mile, many times for those who don't even understand or appreciate the extra time or effort. Father, give us a heart check-up. Shine Your Light of Truth on any area that is motivated by anything other than wanting to please You. Lord, when the time comes, we want to hear You say, Well done! Come on in! In Jesus' Name we pray.

Promise for Today Favorite - Doing It the Hard Way

This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 

You can be saved by returning to me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me. But you don’t want that.

Isaiah 30:15 GWT

I hear people all the time saying, "I'm tired of fighting for everything. I just want to rest a while." Why is it that we cannot believe we are able to obtain that rest by returning to God? Why is it we struggle so with being quiet and trusting Him? Why is it we choose to do things the hard way? Why do we insist on making life harder than what it is or needs to be? 

We don't want to give up our "rights."  We want to do what we want to do - when, where, how, and with whom we want to do it. We yell loud and long that we want to be free, but the only way to be truly free is through Christ. 

We must realize that none of this Good News - God's salvation plan with its grace and mercy - none of it is because of anything we have done or ever could do! True confidence and hope are only in Christ and what He did for us at Calvary, not in or because of anything we've done ...even though we so desperately WANT to do something to earn it.

A little further in the same chapter, verse 18 reads, The Lord is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you.  The Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.

Can we believe that He is waiting to be kind to us or will we continue in our own way - you know, the hard way?

Prayer:

Father, 

            Please forgive us for always trying to do things in our own strength. Give us wisdom and understanding to be able to grasp the Truth of grace, mercy, and Your forgiveness. We want to rest - in You. We want to be strong by being quiet and trusting You. Teach us how, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today Favorite - Whole Lotta Shaking

[Jesus speaking] There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

Luke 21:25-26 NIV

There's unshakeable, there's shaken together and there's shaking with fear - all with different consequences. A vast majority is shaken with fear by the frenetic pace of changes taking place - in the world views and values, the political scene, and in the way history is being rewritten.

However, there is One who can never be shaken. Hebrews 12:26-28 tells us, "When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: 'Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.' This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakeable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe."

The Word of God tells us over and over, it's going to happen. The earth and heavens will be shaken. Only unshakeable things will remain. Jesus said it, too. The writer of Hebrews warns in 12:25, "Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!"

Jesus continued speaking, in Luke 12:27-28, "At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

So what will you choose to be - unshakeable or shaking in your boots? "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1st Corinthians 15:58).

Prayer:

Father,
Thank You for Your Word that clearly shows us how to become and how to remain unshakeable in our faith and trust in You. Give us Your strength and Your grace to be unswerving in our daily choices to follow in Your footsteps. You tell us in Mark 13:31, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." Help us to live by Your unshakeable Word. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen