* Self-Inflicted Conflict

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other...

Galatians 5:16-17b NIV

When we haven't made up our minds about certain issues, we are often in conflict within ourselves. When we don't make a conscious choice, we have - in effect - chosen to walk without direction. Indecision sets us up as targets for the enemy of our souls.

Consider this. Depending on how well a human being is hydrated, one can live anywhere from 3-12 days without water, and 3-6 weeks without food...although obviously neither scenario is suggested. And yet, wars have been won or lost based on food supplies that were or were not readily available.

Battle-weary soldiers who have not eaten in days and who have no water supply will voluntarily surrender to the enemy for the promise of food and water. Why? Because we don't want to die. And as desperate as some may be, not all things wet or chewable are good for consumption. Many will cause death if we ingest them.

For instance, if we're dehydrated, we need something wet, a liquid of some kind, but obviously, we're not going to drink gasoline or coal oil or bleach. Yes, they are all liquids, but they are deadly contaminants. It would definitely put your body in severe conflict and it would be self-inflicted. Anyone in their right mind would not drink these liquids. We want to live and - hear me now - what we feed and water will live.

The same is true in our walk with the Lord. We are in a battle. The war between our flesh and spirit wages every day. And quite simply, what we feed and water will live. If we feed our sinful nature the things it craves, our sinful nature will thrive and survive... but we CAN starve it to death. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the Word - the Living Water. Our text for today tells us the Spirit and the sinful nature are in conflict with each other...the question is, how much of it is self-inflicted?

WE can choose which one will thrive and survive. Victorious overcomer...or self-inflicted conflict?

Prayer:

Father,

         You are the Master Nutritionist. Sustain us on Your Word, O Bread of Life and Living Water. Help us to hide it in our hearts so we will flourish in Your will for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

* I Believe I'll Testify...

I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

Psalm 18:1-2 NLT

I was sitting here tonight, thinking of my beloved father-in-law who went to be with the Lord in February of 2012. I can't believe it's been that long. I miss him. As I reminisced, I was reminded of the miraculous protection of God on one of the many visits I made to San Antonio to see Lee.  

It was always good to see him. We would talk and talk, and then go out for lunch. In the latter years of his life, Lee always wanted to eat Chinese food. Although he was in a nursing home, he wanted to go OUT to eat… Others tried to convince him that we could just get take-out and bring it back to eat with him at the nursing home.

But you see, when it came to going to the restaurant of choice, Lee and I had been cohorts since the beginning of our relationship, and this particular time, he looked me right in the eye and said, “I want to go to Panda.”  I looked him right back in the eye and said, “I’ll pick you up at 11.” And so the next morning, by the grace of God, I got my little father-in-law into the car and we took in all the beautiful scenery - crepe myrtles and lovely oaks - on the way to the restaurant. Once there, I watched him eat Chinese food to his heart’s content. It was a precious time. He was tired when we got him back to his room, but he trusted me to get him back into his bed and settled, and he was one happy camper.

About an hour later, I was on the road heading back home… Now, you know those white signs on the side of the road with numbers on them? In Texas, they’re considered to be more of a suggestion, so we try it and if we don’t like it, we do it faster. And we were all doing it faster… I was about 150 miles outside of San Antonio, and had been traveling with the same 6 or 8 vehicles for the last 50 miles or so. One was a large pickup, hauling an RV trailer, and he and I seemed to do cat-and-mouse the whole time at the back of the pack, when all of a sudden, all the tire warning lights came on in my car! My left rear tire showed no pressure at all and my dashboard was lit up like a bookie’s scoreboard!  

I was right at an exit when it happened, so I was able to get off the road immediately (that’s SO God…). I got down to the intersection and pulled into the gas station, and then all the warning lights reset themselves. All the tires were fine – exactly at the pressure they were supposed to be. Go figure… the gauges all reset by themselves. Nothing wrong. I was tempted to be a little frustrated, but I thought, “No, whatever that was about, Father, thank You. I’m sure You have a reason for it.” 

I headed back onto the freeway…only to discover that in the time it took for me to get off the road, the RV that I had been cat-and-mousing had come off the hitch of the pickup and rolled completely over across the highway. Had I not pulled off at the exit because of the flashing warning signs, I would have either been smashed by the RV or I would have hit it…going at a high rate of speed. I had to pull over again, but this time, it was because I was crying tears of gratitude for God’s protection over my life. Had it not been for His grace and mercy, I would have been killed or severely maimed.

Can I get a witness to the loving protection of God, our Father? I had to testify…

Prayer:

Father,

            I love you, Lord; You are my strength. You, Lord, are my rock, my fortress, and my savior; in whom I find protection. You are my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. On behalf of my children and grandchildren, and the rest of my family, I thank You, Father, for sparing my life. You never cease to amaze me. Help us to walk worthy of the life You give us every day. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen 

Nevertheless, Thy Will Be Done +

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23 NLT

I can personally confirm the news reports that MANY people are travelling during this Thanksgiving holiday. Even with the purchase of a guaranteed "early bird check-in," I was still the 42nd person in line to board. Logically, I was pretty sure there weren't going to be any front row, leg room or aisle seats available. Nevertheless, I prayed and asked God for a front row seat. I went one step further and also asked for someone kind enough to assist me in getting my bag into the overhead bin.

In verse 4 of the text chapter we're using today, the Word reads,Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. As I rounded the corner of the forward galley, I stood for a quick moment, checking the availability of aisle seats. Then I looked to my right, straight into the faces of one woman about my age and a young man about 30, both seated on the front row, who both smiled and asked, "Would you like to sit here?"

"Yes, thank you," I replied, as I stepped into the front row area, mentioning that I would wait until the human traffic flow died down before attempting to put up my carry on. A few moments passed, and the young man stood and asked if he could put up my case for me.(Thank you, Jesus!!!!)

MY plan was to read the book I'd brought with me. My seat guests on either side of me had other plans. Rob, the young man, was on the way to say good-bye to his mother. She was being kept on life-support until Rob could arrive.

On my other side, Ms. Sandy had an extremely rare form of cancer, and was returning home after her trip to Houston's MD Anderson Center for a target drug treatment. Halfway through the flight, Ms. Sandy remarked, "I don't know why I'm telling you all these things about me, I'm normally a very private person." She and I encouraged one another in the Lord, and God gave me the opportunity to pray with Rob during our descent. 

My plan was to read the book I brought. HIS plan was to read the hearts of the ones He brought. Thank You, Father, for trusting me and for ordering my steps aright.

Prayer:

Father, 
         Thank You for Sandy and for Rob. I pray continued comfort and blessings for them. Thank you for getting us all safely to our destinations. Please be with Rob and his extended family during this time. Heal Sandy, Lord, she believes in Your healing touch. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Waiting for the Day +

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

Have you seen the ad for recordable greeting cards? A young mother tries to teach her toddler to say a certain phrase. It flits from one scene to the next of situations throughout the day with the mother prompting the child and trying to get the child to say it, and the child trying his best to say it. Why? Because children love to impress their parents. I remember well the days of Mom, look! Mom, watch me! Mom, did you see me? Mom, did I do good?

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

So, what is our motivation? Is it, Father, look! Father, watch me! Father, did You see me? Father, did I do good? I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for The Day - I just wanna hear my Father say, Well done!

Prayer:

Father,

        Often times, 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. Amen

* The Majority Rules

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!"

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” 

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Numbers 13:3, 27-28, 30-33 NLT

If you've been a Christian for very long, you are more than likely very familiar with this story about the exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea and the trek toward the Promised Land. Twelve men went and upon their return, ten basically said, "No way. No how." And only two - Caleb and Joshua - stood before the assembly and did the B.C. version of Bob the Builder - "Yes, we can!" Well, actually the KJV reads, "We are well able..." But the report was 10 - 2. Ten against, two for. Majority rule...And the report of the 10 swayed the crowd and all assembled there wanted to turn back.

Of the projected 2.5 MILLION people Moses led out of Egypt, only two - Moses and Aaron - fell on their faces before the congregation. When a relative or important leader died, or if there was a great calamity, it was customary for the Hebrews to tear their garments. Rending their clothes is the term used to describe this Hebrew custom which indicated DEEP sorrow. And two - Caleb and Joshua - rent their clothes and pleaded with the people to not rebel. How did they respond to Joshua and Caleb? Of the projected 2.5 million people, approximately 2,499,995 wanted to stone the two of them to death...(and get rid of Moses and Aaron). Would you take those odds? 2,499,995 to four (five, if you count Miriam). Sounds like a majority, doesn't it? That is until God showed up. And then there was a new majority...

You can read the rest of the story beginning in Numbers 14.

The point I want to make is this, if God has told you to do it, it doesn't matter what you see - how big the obstacles are between you and the goal - how many people tell you you can't do it. If God is in it - and it's just you and God - He IS the majority... and the Majority rules.

Prayer:

Father,

         In You, we are WELL able. Deliver us from the Grasshopper complex. BLIND us to the can't and shan't and find us in Your will fulfilled. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Faithful Love *

Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

Hebrews 13:4-6 NLT

So many stories of love gone awry. There are WAY too many stories of unfaithful love in the headlines, and none of them sadder than when it involves someone who is supposed to be a Christian. Let’s just be very clear about this. It was NEVER – and has never – and WILL NEVER be in God’s plan for us to be unfaithful because HE is not unfaithful, nor can He be… and we are to be like Him.

Oh, we hear all the excuses…”There are too many temptations out there.” “I couldn’t help myself.” “It’s not my fault…”  If the temptations are “out there,” then don’t GO “out there.” You can go to work and NOT have to be the most popular person. You CAN help yourself when you CHOOSE to follow God. One of the fruits of His Holy Spirit is self-control… I don’t need Webster’s, Oxford’s or Funk & Wagnall’s to tell me that means to control myself. I’m not even going to address “It’s not my fault…” Puh-lease!

What does it mean to be faithful? What does it take to be faithful? If we don’t know the answer to either of those, how can we be faithful? Either way - by whatever means we take - it’s only through God and striving to be like Him.

1^st Corinthians 1:9 NKJV, God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

1^st Thessalonians 5: 23-24 NKJV, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

2nd Thessalonians 3:2-3 NKJV, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

And while learning the process and in all things, Psalm 107:1 NLT, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Prayer:

Father,

          Establish our hearts in You so that our whole spirit, soul, and body may be preserved blameless at the coming of Jesus Christ. You are faithful, Father, who also will do it. Cause us to be faithful to You and to the ones You have placed in our lives. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen