Friends' Favorites - Lifetime Guarantee

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
Joshua 1:5

You probably know the story - Twelve men go to spy out the land - one from each of the tribes of Israel. Did I mention that it was to the Promised Land they were going? Promised...by God.

God Himself said, "I will give it to you." So, twelve men go to check it out. Ten come back and say, "No way, no how, not ever, not now."

Joshua and Caleb stand and say, "We are well able to take the land."

Who did the people believe? They believed the report of the ten. The ten who reported the facts, not the two who reported the Truth. Facts may be true, but God's Word - His Truth - ALWAYS overrides facts when we choose to believe Him. What the ten reported about the land was all true. But Joshua and Caleb reported God's Truth - reported through the eyes of faith in Him. "We are well able to take the land." 

God said He would give them the land. For Joshua and Caleb, strong and courageous, that was enough. As a result, from the original group of Jews (over the age of twenty) who left Egypt, Joshua and Caleb were the only two to enter the Promised Land.

Right before Moses died, God summoned Moses and Joshua to the mountain and laid out the plan. He told them how the people would rebel, but Joshua was to lead them anyway. God told him, (Deuteronomy 31:23), "I will be with you."  Joshua believed His Truth.

Moses delivered the Word of the Lord to the people and instructed them to, Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions. These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life... 

If you read the story in Deuteronomy and in Joshua, you'll find very interesting details. The bottom line - God said it. It's enough. Yes, there will be battles. Yes, there will be trials. Yes, you will have to be brave and courageous. But He said it. He promised. Do what He says and He'll always be with you. Old Testament - New Testament. The Promise is there. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age... A Lifetime Guarantee.

Prayer:

Father,
         Open our hearts to receive Your Word. Open our ears to hear Your Truth no matter what else we see or hear.  In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

Friends' Favorites - An Eye-Opener

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Romans 12:1 NLT

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37:7a GWT

I'm just going to be gut-level honest. The idea of surrender is foreign to me. I don't like the sound of it. I don't like the idea of it. There is nothing in me that wants to lose... and that's how I have viewed surrender all my life. Until today.

I am still in the process of accepting that I really can't control life. I have the head knowledge of it, but let's just say it hasn't completely transformed my life, as yet... and it all comes down to surrendering. God is so infinitely patient - I don't know how He puts up with me most days. For quite a while now, I have been confronted with the idea of surrender. Just hearing that word in relation to anything in my life makes me want to fight. 

However, this morning, I read two passages of Scripture that I've read so many times before and even journaled on them before, but I saw them in a whole new light today. The first in Luke 5:5, when Peter worked all night fishing and caught nothing. He'd been washing out his nets when Jesus got in and asked him to row out a little so He could speak to the multitudes. Even though Peter was not yet a disciple, he did so. Then when Jesus was done speaking, He told Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets. Peter (who we learn later usually speaks and acts without thinking first) states that he'd already fished all night without catching anything, but surrenders and says, "Nevertheless at Your word..." And you know how that story ends.

The second passage which was the most eye-opening for me was Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I never saw that story as an actual act or choice to surrender. I always saw it as total adherence to following God's will and purpose, but never connected it as a surrender. I don't know why, maybe because I always think of Christ as perfectly aligned with the Father. And yet, there it is, bigger than life, the greatest act of surrender ever recorded! 

Present your bodies a living sacrifice... I don't remember who it was that said, "The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, so you may have to re-surrender your life fifty times a day." That's a real eye-opener.

Prayer:

Father,
          Open our eyes to see Your Truth. Open our minds to understand it and open our hearts to embrace it. We want to be holy and acceptable to You, fully surrendered to Your will and Your purpose for our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Overlooking God's Best

His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.
1st Samuel 9:2:

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

1st Samuel 16:6:

And of course, we know Eliab was NOT the Lord’s anointed.

When the people demanded a king - God gave them what they wanted. When the king was chosen for the people, it seems God chose according to man’s standards – most handsome – head and shoulders taller than anyone else. God knew it wouldn't matter what else Saul was or wasn't because he looked good to them. And humans can be flaky when it comes to loyalty - whatever looks good to them. Several chapters later, the people made up songs - "Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten-thousands".

Going back on the timeline, when God chose a king for His people – David was the least likely from Jesse’s house, so much so that his own father didn’t deem him significant enough to call in from the field – until Samuel asked if there were any more. God chose from the tribe of Judah – the praisers, the rulers - because God looks on the heart.

When Samuel went to Jesse’s to find God's choice for king, he took one look at Eliab. Did a once-over and thought that was him… till God said no. However, Samuel did continue looking at all the other brothers using the same criteria - their appearance. Thankfully, Samuel knew the voice of God and spent time in His presence, so he didn’t voice his own opinion. He waited for the Lord to confirm or deny. 

So, how do we come into the presence of God? How do we get close enough to hear Him so we know which way is right? The Word says we come into the Holy of Holies by the Blood of the Lamb, into His presence with singing and worship. All actions that David did in his daily life while working his day job which is why God chose David. All actions that WE need to do in our daily life so that we don’t make assumptions and overlook God’s best for us to choose what looks good to us.

Prayer:

Father,

Open our eyes to see as You see. Open our ears to hear Your voice. Open our minds to receive Your Word with gladness. Open our hearts to hasten to perform Your Word. Let us not overlook what You have chosen for us, for Your way is best. Help us, Lord, to walk in Your way. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen

Friends' Favorite - Just to Be Clear

 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT

I am writing this out with the hope of helping. I'm no great theologian. I just try to discover the Truth of things based on God's Word. So, this is for those I love who are following Christ, but who have lost or are losing someone they love. 

The Bible does NOT say you won't grieve or that you shouldn't grieve (as some will try to tell you); the Word simply states that we will not grieve like people who have no hope. There IS a difference. Christians aren't superhuman. We aren't perfect. We're forgiven. We're redeemed. We grieve when we lose someone we love, but because of what Christ did, we have hope in this life and for after. 

Prayer:

Father,
          Free us from the deceptive subtleties of the enemy to kill, steal and destroy our lives. Give us a fresh vision of eternity with You. Remind us of the hope we have in You. And please comfort as only You can, the hearts and minds of those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Comforting Thought

He [God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 
2nd Corinthians 1:4 NLT

Short and to the point. This is not a ministry of apologetics. I am a firm believer that God does not need nor does He want anyone to apologize for anything He does or anything He allows to touch our lives. 

I most definitely believe that God can and will use everything that happens to us - good or bad - to create and/or strengthen Christ-like character in us... IF we allow Him to work in us. IF we choose to forgive. IF we choose the counsel of His Word over what we want to do in the flesh. 

You've been through a bad time? Did God get you through? Share it! You've been an addict and God delivered you? Share it! You've been abused? Molested? Held captive - literally or spiritually? Lost it all? God healed you and set you free?!? Share it! Or maybe you didn't get healed, but God has given you the grace to walk through it. I can't list everything here - but you get the picture.

God has comforted you and now you are to comfort others with the comfort He gave you!

And if you are NOW going through these things - I can put you in touch with people who have a testimony - those who know the way God will get you through because He did it for them! And I guarantee He will do it for you. That should be a comforting thought!

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for always sending someone to light our way with the oil of Your grace and to lighten our load with the comfort of Your Word for us and to us. Thank You, Father, for loving us beyond our expectation and even our ability to comprehend the depth of it. Thank You for every hard place we've ever been in that worked a measure of compassion and grace in us to be able to comfort others. Open our eyes to the opportunities around us to share those comforts to hurting hearts and souls in our sphere of influence and beyond. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Trustworthy Anchor

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Hebrews 16:18-19 NLT

One of our safety moments at work had to do with a man who worked for one of our clients. He had used the required fall protection while climbing on a scaffold structure. He was wearing it properly and he had tied off the anchor as he'd been taught. However, the scaffolding collapsed when he was over water. And although the anchor of his fall protection was securely tied off... it was tied off on the scaffolding that crashed into the water, dragging the worker into the 40-foot depths. He was not rescued in time. 

What went wrong? Two things. One - the structure was not a firm foundation. Two - The man anchored to the wrong structure. They were working under a dock, on scaffolding over the water. He should have been anchored to the dock.

And as I was thinking about it again today, I was reminded how often we do that in our Christian walk. We think we have fall protection, but we're trying to stand on our own, do things our own way, standing on what we've built. We think we're invincible and doing everything right, but the Truth is - unless we are anchoring our souls to what God has established, His firm foundation, we face the same fate... 

Prayer:

Father,
            First, we ask that You comfort the family and friends of the man who lost his life. Provide for them as You have promised in Isaiah 54. Teach us, O God! You alone are our firm foundation. You alone are the Rock on which we can stand and not fall.  Open our eyes to see the Truth of Your ways and the error of our own. Open our hearts to obey You in ALL things. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Body Building

They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Acts 14:21-22 NIV

If you were going to join a gym with the purpose of building your muscles and strengthening your body, who would you listen to - Woody Allen or Dwayne Johnson? My obvious point being that you'd be more likely to listen to someone who actually has muscles and strength, yes? 

Paul was just such a man. He had been stoned and dragged out of the city of Lystra, left for dead just a few verses before today's chosen passage, but he had gotten up and gone right back into the city!

It was Jews from Iconium and Antioch who had incited the crowd in Lystra to attack Paul, and yet, here we find him traveling back through those same cities to strengthen the ones who had been converted to Christ on his previous visit. What a powerful testimony and witness to the new disciples! 

The Message Bible reads, "putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy..."  Jesus Himself had said it wouldn't be easy (John 16:33).

If you were in the gym to build muscle and sinew, you would probably hear more than once, No pain - No gain. It's part of Body Building 101. The same is true with Paul. He warns them it's going to be hard. However, Paul takes it to a much higher level - the body he has chosen to strengthen is the Body of Christ. 

That is serious body-building.

Prayer:

Father,
          We want to build the Body and strengthen them with Your Good News. Just like Isaiah said, to strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. We will be able to say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear" because You, O God, are coming to deliver us and save us. Give us divine appointments, in Jesus' Name we pray. Amen