Get Up

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NIV

I've mentioned before how I like to read quotes and one of my favorites is from American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison. In response to someone's statement that he (Thomas) had failed so many times in trying to invent the light bulb, Edison replied, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

I love his attitude, but it's one of the reasons I could never be a scientist or inventor. They have to keep record of how many unsuccessful attempts they've made so that they don't make the same mistake twice. I'll just tell you - if it had been left up to me to invent the lightbulb, we'd all still be using candles. I wouldn't want to know that I'd been unsuccessful 10,000 times about anything, let alone keep a record for the world to know...

How many times have you tried to do something and not been successful? For me, it's too many times to count. That can be very discouraging. Often we interpret 'unsuccessful' as a nicer way of phrasing 'failure;' however, being unsuccessful is not the same as having failed. Have you ever been so tired of trying that you just quit? The truth is we only fail when we actually give up or quit trying.

Worse than that would be to not even attempt or try to do something because you don't know if you will succeed. That's fear of failure. It can be crippling. You know what I'm talking about. 

How many times have you heard someone say, "I can't be a Christian. I've tried. It's too hard." How many times have you heard the words, "I've tried. I can't. There's no hope for that..." Whatever 'that' is, you can be sure it is a stumbling block put there by the enemy of your soul to discourage you. To make you quit.

Let me give you some hope today. It does NOT matter what the facts are. The TRUTH is found in the Word of God. And God's Truth overwrites the facts.

...for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again... Proverbs 24:16a NIV 

So, get up...

Prayer:

Father,
           Open our hearts to see and know the Truth - and Triumph - of Your Word over every situation in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Failure and Forgiveness

When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
Matthew 26:20-22 NLT

Did you ever pick up on the fact that EACH one asked Jesus if they were the one who would betray Him? Obviously, they each knew they were capable of it... After all, most of us are aware of our character flaws and failures.  In fact, before the night was over, they would all abandon Him at the Garden of Gethsemane to save their own necks.

They failed Him. Miserably! 

However, they did not quit, and while Jesus knew their failures and shortcomings, He knew they would not quit.  In Mark 16:7, the angels told the women to go tell His disciples and Peter that Christ would meet them in Galilee. 

They did not get hung up in their failure. They did not quit. They received the forgiveness He paid for them on the Cross. As a result, they spread the Gospel everywhere they went.

Have you ever failed? I know I have. God knows our failures and shortcomings. However, He had the Master Plan. Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Our failures. So, don't quit coming back to the Cross.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for every time we have failed You and let You down. Restore us, O God, to right-standing with You through the Blood of Jesus. Thank You for choosing us. Overwhelm us with Your grace and mercy. We want to fulfill the plan You have for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Failing to Quit

When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
Matthew 26:20-22 NLT

Have you ever wondered why Jesus picked the particular twelve as His disciples? Several of them seemed questionable at times to me. 

Today, my pastor taught an extraordinary lesson on this Scripture passage. I've been thinking about it most of the day and thought I'd share it with you.

Did you ever pick up on the fact that EACH one asked Jesus if they were the one who would betray Him? They each knew they were capable of it... After all, most of us are aware of our character flaws and failures.  In fact, before the night was over, they would also abandon Him at the Garden of Gethsemane to save their own necks.

They failed Him. Miserably! 

However, they did NOT quit, and Jesus knew they would not.  In Mark 16:7, the angels told the women to go tell His disciples and Peter that Christ would meet them in Galilee. 

They did not get hung up in their failure. They did not quit. They spread the Gospel everywhere they went.

Have you ever failed? I know I have. Thank God, He had a plan. Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Our failures. So, just don't quit coming back to the Cross.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for every time we have failed You and let You down. Restore us, O God, to right-standing with You. Thank You for choosing us. Overwhelm us with Your grace and mercy. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Failure to Communicate

When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jesus responded, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me..."

John 11:32-33, 38 - 41

This is basically going to be a Cliff Notes© section - just one section - of the teaching I heard tonight. I hope I can do it justice.

This is for everyone who has ever been frustrated and angry to the point of tears because of the failure to communicate effectively due to the lack of understanding on the part of the hearer. Jesus knows just how you feel.

Ever had one of those days when you know your mouth is moving because your ears hear the sound of your words, and yet nobody 'gets it,' and you know it will have serious repercussion if no one will listen? Our text for today was just one of those kinds of days for Jesus.

Mary and Martha sent for Jesus. He didn't come right away and Lazarus, their brother, died. In fact, Jesus waited a few days before telling His disciples they were going back to Judea. They argued with Him, reminding Him that just a few days prior, the good people of Judea tried to stone Jesus. Then He tells them Lazarus has fallen asleep and He is going to wake him up. They argue with Him again, until He finally tells them plainly, "Lazarus is dead." Then He bids them, "Come, let's go see him." So Thomas resignedly "said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

He gets to Bethany and Martha can't "hear" what He's saying. (It's all there in John 11.) Mary comes, the one who sat at His feet to gather the wisdom of His teaching, and she can only accuse. "If You'd been here..." 

Think about this for a minute. How many times have we asked God, 

"Where are/were You?" 

"What are You doing?"

"Why didn't You...?"

And always, it is when we take our focus off God and what He has said - and look only at what we see. Only what we can humanly comprehend. How much and how many times have we reasoned away His Truths spoken to our lives?

Prayer:

Father,

         Open our hearts to receive Your Word. Open our ears to hear You. Open our eyes to see only You. You who are high above our circumstances. Keep us focused on You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen