Eph 1:5 In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will...
One of the hardest things for me to grasp in this Christian walk is the fact that it pleases God to love me. It actually gives God pleasure to lavish his love, grace and blessings upon my life. In the first chapter of Ephesians Paul writes that we are adopted as sons through Christ to God according to the pleasure of His will. That statement is so powerful for me specifically because of the word "adoption". This word sticks out because I know that I sometimes don't live my life as though I have been lovingly adopted by God the Father, but instead I find myself living life as if I am an unwanted step child. Oh how life would change if we lived as though we were wanted and not pitied. Let me further explain myself.
The word adopted here literally means "to place one as a son". Meaning this person has been placed in a position and given rights as ones own child! The adopted then inherits everything a blood child would inherit. It is to formally and legally declare that someone who is not ones own child is from this point forward to be treated and cared for as ones own child!
Now of course this is referring to tangible possessions as well but I what I really want to focus in on is the fact that this is more importantly focusing on the intangible benefits of adoption. I am speaking about the love that comes with this type of adoption. It is so hard for most to imagine and understand the love of God, let alone receive it, but yet it has been given to us and even lavished on us freely, simply because it gives Him pleasure to do so. It pleases God to love me without restraint. It pleases God to give me all of His affection, time, attention, and favor just as He would give His own Son.
It is through Christ that I now can stand next to Jesus and also cry out "Father". It is through Jesus that I can be totally and completely adored by God Himself, just as a Father adores his newborn daughter. This is what it means to be adopted as sons, and yet I don't live as though I have all these benefits with God. At times I act as though I am a burden to God. I act as though God wouldn't dare want to hear about my problems, or want to hold me when I am crying. I think of God as too big, and too Holy, and too busy to even begin to know the things going on with me, let alone have time to tend to them. Why? Why do I place all these presuppositions on God? Why do I make God out to be this distant God who is incapable of possessing feelings toward me and my situations. This is the same God who told me to "cast all my cares on Him". The same God who told me to "boldly come to the throne of grace". The same God who told me that if I seek Him first then all my needs will be met. And this is the same God who lovingly adopted me through Christ unto Himself. He calls me His own and we must begin to see ourselves as just that. We are not pitied but we are loved. We are not forsaken but we are desired. He lovingly adopted me and it pleased Him to do so. I AM LOVED!
Dear God,
Would you help me to realize the position you have put me in. Would help me to live in your love for me. You have pleasure in your father-daughter relationship with me. That is what makes you happy, and so God I will honor it. Help me to allow you to love me. Help me to receive the affection that you desire to give. I am a daughter if the King and will act as such! Thank you. Amen.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
No Excuse!
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...
The Lord spoke very simply to me this morning by reiterating the fact that I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Listen to that: I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What does that mean? What kind of impact is this supposed to have on my life? If I have every blessing that I could possibly have then that means I never lack in my possession of these blessings but rather in the manifestation of their purpose.
In thinking about this verse I am reminded of the time when my husband and I purchased our oldest daughter her first toddler bed. When we opened the box we saw that the bed came in a million different little pieces and that it was up to us to put the bed together. So here my husband is surrounded by piles and piles of individual pieces and one simple instruction manual. In this instance the purpose of these pieces was to make a bed and he had been given everything he needed in order to make him successful in completing his purpose. So the only thing that could keep him from not reaching his goal or his purpose was not acting. That bed was never gonna get built by my husbands inactivity. And if the bed didn't get built it wouldn't have been anyone else's fault but my husbands for choosing not to act, seeing as how everything was already provided for him.
In the same way God has blessed us or given to us everything we could possibly ever need to be successful in this Christian walk. He has given us everything we could ever need to be able to walk holy and blamelessly before Him. We have it all right in front of us as well as the Ultimate Instruction Manual to guide us in how to do it, and yet we don't act. Why is it that I use every excuse in the book as to why I have not grown spiritually in the past year. Why do I think it is OK to not spend time in the word and then wonder why I continue to struggle with the same sin and strongholds over and over again. I am beginning to realize that God's ultimate purpose for us is intimacy with Him which produces holiness and righteousness in our lives. He has given us everything we could ever need to fulfill that purpose, all we have to do is act. So no more excuses, no more reasoning, no more procrastinating. If I am not achieving holiness and intimacy with God it is no ones fault but my own for not stepping out and using all of the blessings God has given me to be able to attain to that. I can do this! We can do this!
God I thank you for your grace and for your provision in my life. I thank you that you did not leave me alone to figure this thing out and also that you did not make the Christian life unattainable. I thank you that your death gave me everything I needed to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. God help me to seek you for wisdom and guidance everyday. For it is only in You that I have everything and it is aside from you that I have nothing! Amen.
The Lord spoke very simply to me this morning by reiterating the fact that I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Listen to that: I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What does that mean? What kind of impact is this supposed to have on my life? If I have every blessing that I could possibly have then that means I never lack in my possession of these blessings but rather in the manifestation of their purpose.
In thinking about this verse I am reminded of the time when my husband and I purchased our oldest daughter her first toddler bed. When we opened the box we saw that the bed came in a million different little pieces and that it was up to us to put the bed together. So here my husband is surrounded by piles and piles of individual pieces and one simple instruction manual. In this instance the purpose of these pieces was to make a bed and he had been given everything he needed in order to make him successful in completing his purpose. So the only thing that could keep him from not reaching his goal or his purpose was not acting. That bed was never gonna get built by my husbands inactivity. And if the bed didn't get built it wouldn't have been anyone else's fault but my husbands for choosing not to act, seeing as how everything was already provided for him.
In the same way God has blessed us or given to us everything we could possibly ever need to be successful in this Christian walk. He has given us everything we could ever need to be able to walk holy and blamelessly before Him. We have it all right in front of us as well as the Ultimate Instruction Manual to guide us in how to do it, and yet we don't act. Why is it that I use every excuse in the book as to why I have not grown spiritually in the past year. Why do I think it is OK to not spend time in the word and then wonder why I continue to struggle with the same sin and strongholds over and over again. I am beginning to realize that God's ultimate purpose for us is intimacy with Him which produces holiness and righteousness in our lives. He has given us everything we could ever need to fulfill that purpose, all we have to do is act. So no more excuses, no more reasoning, no more procrastinating. If I am not achieving holiness and intimacy with God it is no ones fault but my own for not stepping out and using all of the blessings God has given me to be able to attain to that. I can do this! We can do this!
God I thank you for your grace and for your provision in my life. I thank you that you did not leave me alone to figure this thing out and also that you did not make the Christian life unattainable. I thank you that your death gave me everything I needed to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. God help me to seek you for wisdom and guidance everyday. For it is only in You that I have everything and it is aside from you that I have nothing! Amen.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Because He Has....We Can!
This morning I read Heb 4:14-16
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Temptation is something that every Christian encounters throughout their life. Whether it be the temptation to steal, fornicate, intoxicate yourself, gossip, cheat, or lie. We have all, at some point in our lives, came to a crossroads of either giving into temptation or standing firm. What is even more amazing about temptation is that it even occurred in the life of Christ Himself. When the God of heaven chose to clothe Himself in flesh, he too put himself in the environment of temptation. He too surrounded himself by choices that could either make or break Him and yet He remained without sin. What does this mean for us? This means that He knows what we deal with on a regular basis. He understands what it is like to be faced with a decision to either do the will of God or do the will of the flesh. How amazing is it that God can sympathize with our weaknesses. I mean think about that for a second... the God of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God that holds all power in His hand chose to put Himself in a position where He could understand and relate to WEAKNESS! God being weak? God being vulnerable? All so that we wouldn't have to feel alone. He did all that so that we wouldn't have to feel helpless, hopeless, and lost. God loved us enough to come dwell in a weak and frail human body that would be tempted with the same temptations that we face on a regular basis, and yet remained sinless. He had the chance to choose self; to choose sinful flesh every time and yet in every situation He chose God instead. Because of His actions we now can say during every moment of temptation, My God felt this same tug-o-war. My God felt this same weakness. My God felt this same overwhelming desire to do the will of the flesh and yet He chose to go God's way. And because He went God's way, I too can go God's way! Isn't that amazing? Through God becoming sinful man He gives us possibility. He gives us hope. And not only that but He also gives us compassion.
We see in verse 16 that God tells us that because He can sympathize with our weakness we need to draw near to the throne of grace with boldness. He tells us that when we draw near this throne He will give us grace and He will give us mercy when we need it. So God not only gave us the ability to overcome temptation but also gave us help in doing so. He tells us to come without fear and without hesitation to a throne completely made of grace and we will receive it. The word grace here means "a gift, benefit, favor" and the word mercy here means, "active compassion". So the Creator of the heavens and earth, who has experienced everything we experience, looks down on us having these internal battles with our flesh and tells us to come to Him without fear but with confidence. He tells us to come knowing without a shadow of a doubt that He sits on a throne of compassion and will give us favor to help in our time of need. We have absolutely nothing to worry about! He is on our side! The problem comes when most of us don't take the time to come to Him. Think about it! How many times do we actually take the time, in our moment of temptation, to confidently go to God and expect favor, compassion and help to overcome it. If He promises it, then why don't we take advantage of it? If we are really honest with ourselves then we know the reason we don't take advantage of it is because we don't want to. We want to do what our flesh wants to do. I believe that is the difference between us and Jesus. Jesus wanted to do the will of the Father and would sacrifice anything and everything to do so. His flesh was not of foremost concern to him. He wanted to please God and that was it.
So what about us? What is more important to us...a small amount of pleasure for the flesh or an immeasurable amount of pleasure for God? He knows our weakness and provided us with everything we need to still act in a way that is pleasing to Him in spite of it. The question is, "Will we take advantage of it?" Will we come to him? Will we take the help that has already been provided? Will we realize that because he has...we can. Because he has overcame, we can overcome and because He has been weak, we can be strong.
God,
Help me to realize that in my time of temptation, I am not alone. Lord, thank you for your willingness to comfort me, to identify with me and to help me. I receive your grace and mercy. I desire to be pleasing to you and you only. Thank you Lord for making a way for me. I love you. Amen.
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Temptation is something that every Christian encounters throughout their life. Whether it be the temptation to steal, fornicate, intoxicate yourself, gossip, cheat, or lie. We have all, at some point in our lives, came to a crossroads of either giving into temptation or standing firm. What is even more amazing about temptation is that it even occurred in the life of Christ Himself. When the God of heaven chose to clothe Himself in flesh, he too put himself in the environment of temptation. He too surrounded himself by choices that could either make or break Him and yet He remained without sin. What does this mean for us? This means that He knows what we deal with on a regular basis. He understands what it is like to be faced with a decision to either do the will of God or do the will of the flesh. How amazing is it that God can sympathize with our weaknesses. I mean think about that for a second... the God of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God that holds all power in His hand chose to put Himself in a position where He could understand and relate to WEAKNESS! God being weak? God being vulnerable? All so that we wouldn't have to feel alone. He did all that so that we wouldn't have to feel helpless, hopeless, and lost. God loved us enough to come dwell in a weak and frail human body that would be tempted with the same temptations that we face on a regular basis, and yet remained sinless. He had the chance to choose self; to choose sinful flesh every time and yet in every situation He chose God instead. Because of His actions we now can say during every moment of temptation, My God felt this same tug-o-war. My God felt this same weakness. My God felt this same overwhelming desire to do the will of the flesh and yet He chose to go God's way. And because He went God's way, I too can go God's way! Isn't that amazing? Through God becoming sinful man He gives us possibility. He gives us hope. And not only that but He also gives us compassion.
We see in verse 16 that God tells us that because He can sympathize with our weakness we need to draw near to the throne of grace with boldness. He tells us that when we draw near this throne He will give us grace and He will give us mercy when we need it. So God not only gave us the ability to overcome temptation but also gave us help in doing so. He tells us to come without fear and without hesitation to a throne completely made of grace and we will receive it. The word grace here means "a gift, benefit, favor" and the word mercy here means, "active compassion". So the Creator of the heavens and earth, who has experienced everything we experience, looks down on us having these internal battles with our flesh and tells us to come to Him without fear but with confidence. He tells us to come knowing without a shadow of a doubt that He sits on a throne of compassion and will give us favor to help in our time of need. We have absolutely nothing to worry about! He is on our side! The problem comes when most of us don't take the time to come to Him. Think about it! How many times do we actually take the time, in our moment of temptation, to confidently go to God and expect favor, compassion and help to overcome it. If He promises it, then why don't we take advantage of it? If we are really honest with ourselves then we know the reason we don't take advantage of it is because we don't want to. We want to do what our flesh wants to do. I believe that is the difference between us and Jesus. Jesus wanted to do the will of the Father and would sacrifice anything and everything to do so. His flesh was not of foremost concern to him. He wanted to please God and that was it.
So what about us? What is more important to us...a small amount of pleasure for the flesh or an immeasurable amount of pleasure for God? He knows our weakness and provided us with everything we need to still act in a way that is pleasing to Him in spite of it. The question is, "Will we take advantage of it?" Will we come to him? Will we take the help that has already been provided? Will we realize that because he has...we can. Because he has overcame, we can overcome and because He has been weak, we can be strong.
God,
Help me to realize that in my time of temptation, I am not alone. Lord, thank you for your willingness to comfort me, to identify with me and to help me. I receive your grace and mercy. I desire to be pleasing to you and you only. Thank you Lord for making a way for me. I love you. Amen.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Capablities of the Word
This morning I read Heb 4:11-13 and focused in on verse 12:
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divisions of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
After reading these verses I heard the Lord tell me one simple thing, "My Word is capable!"
There is so much that can be studied about this verse and so much depth to be pulled out of it but this morning the Lord simplified it to one simple message of capability.
So as I looked at the verses repeatedly, those four attributes stuck out to me: living, powerful, sharp and discerning.
In life we encounter various things and as we go through those things it can weigh heavily on our emotions, and our spirit. We have probably all experienced times of depression, weakness, and loneliness. But how often do we really run to the Word of God during those times. I can think of times in my life when I have really been dealing with a hardship and the first I place I ran to was another Christian, or my husband, or my Pastor. Why is it that we run to anybody and everybody first before we run to the Lord. We ask every ones advice before we find out what the Word of God says. Why is everyone elses opinion more important than Gods? Even though we won't say it is, we often act as though it is. Do I really believe that the Word of God is capable enough to handle my problems? Do I actually believe God's word is what He says it is? Do you? Well before we can answer that question we must know what exactly it is that God promises us concerning His word. So let's examine the verse a little closer.
There are four descriptions of the Word in this passage: Living, powerful, sharp and discerning.
The first description of the Word is living. The definition of this word means,"to be in active function or use". This means that God's word is actively doing what He said it would do. There is no inactivity or dormancy of God's word but it is in physical motion at all times. Isn't it great to know that God's word is always doing God's will at all times even when we are not . That it is always in an active state ready to transform, heal and restore us to where God wants us to be. All we have to do is receive it and allow it to become active in our lives.
The next description of the Word is powerful. This word is defined as "the ability or capacity to perform or act effectively." It also mean laborious work. How amazing is it that God's word not only is constantly active but it is constantly and effectively doing hard labor in the lives of those who will receive it. The Word of God is constantly and effectively working on our behalf. It is working to heal us, it is working to comfort us, it is working to save us, it is working to reveal things to us. It is awesome that God loves us so much that he left a Word that sees our need and stays hard at work to meet it.
Not only is the Word powerful and active but it is also sharp. Sharp things usually have the advantage over others because they have to ability to hurt. They have the ability to sever. They have the ability to completely alter the state of something. God's word is sharp enough to divide between spirit and soul, bone and muscle. So it is not only sharp but specifically sharp. It can know exactly what needs to be cut and how. It knows what needs to be divided and why. There is no guessing game with God's word but only precision. What does that mean in our lives? I am so glad that we have access to the very Word of God who knows how to do surgery on our lives. I am thankful that the word of God is even sharp enough to get to the deepest parts of us with exact precision. We are not forgotten. We are not just one of the crowd but are specifically known and the Word of God can precisely do the will of God in our lives.
Lastly the Word of God is described as a discerner. It is able to see and judge both the thoughts and purposes of the heart. That is huge! Because it is where our heart is that determines what our actions will be. God knows that actions don't occur without there being thought or heart behind it. By discerning the thoughts and purposes of the heart one discerns the eventual path that person will take. When I think about this I realize that the Word of God is powerful enough, strong enough, wise enough to stop things before they manifest in the life of a believer. It gets to the root of the problem instead of dealing with just the surface of the problem. God's word can go deep into the recesses of our hearts and minds and bring to the forefront the real issue, allowing us to deal with it in a successful manner.
God's Word is living, powerful, sharp and discerning. But it can only be to us as much as we allow it to be to us. We must allow the Word to be active in our lives. We must allow the Word to effectively work hard in our lives and on our behalfs. We must allow the Word of God to perform the specific surgery on our lives that God has deemed needed, and we must allow His Word to bring to the surface any issues of the heart so that our actions may always be glorifying to the Lord.
I am so thankful that we have been given a Word powerful enough to literally transform mankind. The question is, are we going to allow it to do what God has designed for it to do in our lives? Or are we going to keep seeking other venues to fulfill our needs? Are we going to let God's Word have it's rightful place of seniority or are we going to continue to push it aside? My prayer is that we would all begin to see God's Word as being capable and ready to do anything and everything in the lives of those who will surrender to it.
God,
I am praying for more revelation of the power of your Word. You created it to contain everything we need and yet most of us hardly use it for anything. Your Word is capable of healing, loving, judging, restoring, and many other things. I thank you for the work you are doing in my life through the power of Your Word. I love you. Amen.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divisions of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
After reading these verses I heard the Lord tell me one simple thing, "My Word is capable!"
There is so much that can be studied about this verse and so much depth to be pulled out of it but this morning the Lord simplified it to one simple message of capability.
So as I looked at the verses repeatedly, those four attributes stuck out to me: living, powerful, sharp and discerning.
In life we encounter various things and as we go through those things it can weigh heavily on our emotions, and our spirit. We have probably all experienced times of depression, weakness, and loneliness. But how often do we really run to the Word of God during those times. I can think of times in my life when I have really been dealing with a hardship and the first I place I ran to was another Christian, or my husband, or my Pastor. Why is it that we run to anybody and everybody first before we run to the Lord. We ask every ones advice before we find out what the Word of God says. Why is everyone elses opinion more important than Gods? Even though we won't say it is, we often act as though it is. Do I really believe that the Word of God is capable enough to handle my problems? Do I actually believe God's word is what He says it is? Do you? Well before we can answer that question we must know what exactly it is that God promises us concerning His word. So let's examine the verse a little closer.
There are four descriptions of the Word in this passage: Living, powerful, sharp and discerning.
The first description of the Word is living. The definition of this word means,"to be in active function or use". This means that God's word is actively doing what He said it would do. There is no inactivity or dormancy of God's word but it is in physical motion at all times. Isn't it great to know that God's word is always doing God's will at all times even when we are not . That it is always in an active state ready to transform, heal and restore us to where God wants us to be. All we have to do is receive it and allow it to become active in our lives.
The next description of the Word is powerful. This word is defined as "the ability or capacity to perform or act effectively." It also mean laborious work. How amazing is it that God's word not only is constantly active but it is constantly and effectively doing hard labor in the lives of those who will receive it. The Word of God is constantly and effectively working on our behalf. It is working to heal us, it is working to comfort us, it is working to save us, it is working to reveal things to us. It is awesome that God loves us so much that he left a Word that sees our need and stays hard at work to meet it.
Not only is the Word powerful and active but it is also sharp. Sharp things usually have the advantage over others because they have to ability to hurt. They have the ability to sever. They have the ability to completely alter the state of something. God's word is sharp enough to divide between spirit and soul, bone and muscle. So it is not only sharp but specifically sharp. It can know exactly what needs to be cut and how. It knows what needs to be divided and why. There is no guessing game with God's word but only precision. What does that mean in our lives? I am so glad that we have access to the very Word of God who knows how to do surgery on our lives. I am thankful that the word of God is even sharp enough to get to the deepest parts of us with exact precision. We are not forgotten. We are not just one of the crowd but are specifically known and the Word of God can precisely do the will of God in our lives.
Lastly the Word of God is described as a discerner. It is able to see and judge both the thoughts and purposes of the heart. That is huge! Because it is where our heart is that determines what our actions will be. God knows that actions don't occur without there being thought or heart behind it. By discerning the thoughts and purposes of the heart one discerns the eventual path that person will take. When I think about this I realize that the Word of God is powerful enough, strong enough, wise enough to stop things before they manifest in the life of a believer. It gets to the root of the problem instead of dealing with just the surface of the problem. God's word can go deep into the recesses of our hearts and minds and bring to the forefront the real issue, allowing us to deal with it in a successful manner.
God's Word is living, powerful, sharp and discerning. But it can only be to us as much as we allow it to be to us. We must allow the Word to be active in our lives. We must allow the Word to effectively work hard in our lives and on our behalfs. We must allow the Word of God to perform the specific surgery on our lives that God has deemed needed, and we must allow His Word to bring to the surface any issues of the heart so that our actions may always be glorifying to the Lord.
I am so thankful that we have been given a Word powerful enough to literally transform mankind. The question is, are we going to allow it to do what God has designed for it to do in our lives? Or are we going to keep seeking other venues to fulfill our needs? Are we going to let God's Word have it's rightful place of seniority or are we going to continue to push it aside? My prayer is that we would all begin to see God's Word as being capable and ready to do anything and everything in the lives of those who will surrender to it.
God,
I am praying for more revelation of the power of your Word. You created it to contain everything we need and yet most of us hardly use it for anything. Your Word is capable of healing, loving, judging, restoring, and many other things. I thank you for the work you are doing in my life through the power of Your Word. I love you. Amen.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Am I Profiting?
Heb 4:2
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
As I was reading the Word this morning this verse really stuck out to me for some reason. I began to think and meditate on it to see what the Lord would have me get out of this verse. From all my meditation I just feel like I got a really simple word of " Am I profiting?"
I believe this is a question that everyone must ask themselves from time to time. Am I profiting from the Word that I am hearing?
This passage is obviously showing two different possible outcomes of the same situation. One being a people who have profited from the Word and the other being a people who haven't. Both groups have received the same Word and had the same opportunity to accurately handle it and yet one handles it correctly and the other doesn't. Now before we examine these two groups of people we must first settle on what it actually means to "profit".
To profit means "an advantageous gain or return; benefit". From this definition we see that the Word of God can gain me an advantage and can benefit me. After seeing this I wanted to find out what the word benefit meant and learned that it means, "something that promotes or enhances well-being". So how does the Word benefit me; by promoting and enhancing my well being. To enhance means "to make greater, as in value, beauty or effectiveness." So this means that when the Word of God profits me, it
benefits me by promoting and making my well being greater, more valuable, more beautiful,and more effective!
Wow! I know I just gave you a lot but we needed to see How awesome God is. He has given us a Word that can literally increase or profit us in every way. Who doesn't want their well being (a state of health, happiness and prosperity) to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective? I wonder if this were the state of the majority of people, what would happen to depression? Where would the suicide rate be? How many marriages would still be together? You see God desires for our well being to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective! He desires us to profit from His Word, obtaining salvation and health for our well-being, but sadly this is not the case for some or maybe even most. Let's go back to the passage.
The passage says both groups of people heard the Word but it only profited one group. The group that mixed it with faith. So both people had the opportunity for the Word to make their well being greater through Christ , but only one group exercised that opportunity. They both had the opportunity to increase in value but only one group took it. How did the second group make the Word profit them? By mixing it with their faith. Meaning their faith and the Word of God assimilated into one. They unified, there was no doubt, no reasoning, they received the Word and they believed...period!
So when you hear the Word of God, what are you mixing it with? Are you mixing it with doubt? Are you mixing it with reasonings and justifications? Fear? Passiveness? Indifference? Think about it! None of these things will profit you! If you mix the Word with anything other than faith you will gain absolutely no value from it!
So the question remains; would you rather your welfare be effective or ineffective? Would you rather it be beautiful or ugly? Would you rather it be valuable of worthless? And would you rather it be great or insignificant?
We must be like the second group of people mentioned in this passage. We must refuse to hear the Word of God and not allow it to completely transform and better our inner person every time. We must unite God's Word with faith and rebuke doubt and reasoning! And most importantly we must grasp the effective power of the Word and begin to share it with others. You see we have the only thing in this world that can truly change the well being of another person. Through the Word of God we have the power to give value, beauty and greatness and effectiveness to the human soul. The Word of God is power and the world needs it!!!! AMEN.
My prayer:
Dear God, would you help me to grasp the power that lies in Your Word. God, first I pray for me. That I would would approach your Word with faith on a daily basis. I know doubt hinders everything, so my prayer is that I would cast it aside and trust and believe in Your word and it only. I thank you that you care for my well being. That you desire to enhance it and make it valuable, beautiful, great and effective. You see me and You care. Now God, help me to share your Word in faith , knowing and believing the power it has to heal the inner man. Give me boldness and confidence that it will do what you said it will do. I love You God...Thank You Jesus and AMEN.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
As I was reading the Word this morning this verse really stuck out to me for some reason. I began to think and meditate on it to see what the Lord would have me get out of this verse. From all my meditation I just feel like I got a really simple word of " Am I profiting?"
I believe this is a question that everyone must ask themselves from time to time. Am I profiting from the Word that I am hearing?
This passage is obviously showing two different possible outcomes of the same situation. One being a people who have profited from the Word and the other being a people who haven't. Both groups have received the same Word and had the same opportunity to accurately handle it and yet one handles it correctly and the other doesn't. Now before we examine these two groups of people we must first settle on what it actually means to "profit".
To profit means "an advantageous gain or return; benefit". From this definition we see that the Word of God can gain me an advantage and can benefit me. After seeing this I wanted to find out what the word benefit meant and learned that it means, "something that promotes or enhances well-being". So how does the Word benefit me; by promoting and enhancing my well being. To enhance means "to make greater, as in value, beauty or effectiveness." So this means that when the Word of God profits me, it
benefits me by promoting and making my well being greater, more valuable, more beautiful,and more effective!
Wow! I know I just gave you a lot but we needed to see How awesome God is. He has given us a Word that can literally increase or profit us in every way. Who doesn't want their well being (a state of health, happiness and prosperity) to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective? I wonder if this were the state of the majority of people, what would happen to depression? Where would the suicide rate be? How many marriages would still be together? You see God desires for our well being to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective! He desires us to profit from His Word, obtaining salvation and health for our well-being, but sadly this is not the case for some or maybe even most. Let's go back to the passage.
The passage says both groups of people heard the Word but it only profited one group. The group that mixed it with faith. So both people had the opportunity for the Word to make their well being greater through Christ , but only one group exercised that opportunity. They both had the opportunity to increase in value but only one group took it. How did the second group make the Word profit them? By mixing it with their faith. Meaning their faith and the Word of God assimilated into one. They unified, there was no doubt, no reasoning, they received the Word and they believed...period!
So when you hear the Word of God, what are you mixing it with? Are you mixing it with doubt? Are you mixing it with reasonings and justifications? Fear? Passiveness? Indifference? Think about it! None of these things will profit you! If you mix the Word with anything other than faith you will gain absolutely no value from it!
So the question remains; would you rather your welfare be effective or ineffective? Would you rather it be beautiful or ugly? Would you rather it be valuable of worthless? And would you rather it be great or insignificant?
We must be like the second group of people mentioned in this passage. We must refuse to hear the Word of God and not allow it to completely transform and better our inner person every time. We must unite God's Word with faith and rebuke doubt and reasoning! And most importantly we must grasp the effective power of the Word and begin to share it with others. You see we have the only thing in this world that can truly change the well being of another person. Through the Word of God we have the power to give value, beauty and greatness and effectiveness to the human soul. The Word of God is power and the world needs it!!!! AMEN.
My prayer:
Dear God, would you help me to grasp the power that lies in Your Word. God, first I pray for me. That I would would approach your Word with faith on a daily basis. I know doubt hinders everything, so my prayer is that I would cast it aside and trust and believe in Your word and it only. I thank you that you care for my well being. That you desire to enhance it and make it valuable, beautiful, great and effective. You see me and You care. Now God, help me to share your Word in faith , knowing and believing the power it has to heal the inner man. Give me boldness and confidence that it will do what you said it will do. I love You God...Thank You Jesus and AMEN.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
All He Wants.....
Yesterday I read Heb 3:7-15
"Therefore as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me and tried me, and saw my works for 40 yrs. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said "They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways." So I swore in my wrath , they shall not enter my rest."
I read and re read this scripture then spent a lot of time meditating and worshipping, trying to hear from the Lord. God what was your heart behind this passage? What do you want me to take away from this? After a couple of hours the Lord spoke to me and said, "All I want is your heart!"
All I want is your heart?
As I began to pray about that the Lord showed me that that is all He has ever asked for. Let shed some light on the passage above so we can fully understand what it is the Lord is saying.
When the writer of Hebrews mentions "rebellion" and "the day of trial in the wilderness" He is referring to specifically to when Moses had led the Israelites into Meribah in Exodus 17:1-7. Once Moses had brought them there the poeple began to complain and grumble against Moses and God saying God brought them there to die of thirst and was He not able enough to provide water for them. So in this passage here in Hebrews we see the Holy Spirit reminding the reader to not do what the Israelites did to God, meaning test Him, try Him, see His works for 40 years and still harden their hearts against Him.
One commentator said that to harden your heart means "to reach such a state that God's voice makes no impression!"
After reading this far I was forced to ask myself the question..Have I ever acted as if the voice of God meant nothing? How many times have I heard the voice of the Lord, or felt the Lord leading me into something and yet completely hardened my heart towards it?
The passage says that not only did they test, and try Him but saw His works for 40 years..meaning they saw all the marvelous acts of God. They experienced His faithfulness to them over and over again. They knew that He was a good God and yet still found it in their hearts to test Him, doubt Him, make Him prove Himself to them?.....What nerve did they have? Who did they think they were? They had experienced God's ultimate favor and love and had the audacity, and disrepect to still question Him and His motives!....Sound familiar? What will it take for us to trust Him? How much do we need God to prove to us in order for us to fully believe that He has our best interest in mind? How long do we expect Him to deal with our disrespect?
If we go back to the passage we see that because of the attitudes of the Israelites God was "angry" with that generation and said, "They always go astray in their hearts". The greek meaning of the word "angry" means "displeased, offended and even disgusted". The actions of the Israelites displeased, offended and disgusted God. That is a huge statement! Can you imagine making the person who loves you more than anyone else in the world displeased, offended and disgusted by the way YOU are acting.
After reading this, the question then became for me, "What made God that offended?" Was it just the fact that they tested Him or was it more because they should have trusted Him by now, was it that they complained against Him? Then I realized those things were just a byproduct of the real problem. The real problem was that their heart was always going astray. That is it! That is what everything boils down to, the heart of God's people constantly going astray! That is what offeneded God. That is what disgusted and dipleased God. It was the fact that the one thing He wanted, kept turning away from Him. You see God knew that the way the Israelites were grumbling, complaining, being disrepectful and testing Him could only happen if their hearts were far from Him. That is the only way that a person could witness the hand of God, see Him be faithful in their life and still harden their heart toward Him.
In this passage I see the heart of God and the fact that all He has ever wanted was our heart. In fact even after all the unfaithfulness of man He still wanted it enough to send His son to die for us, just so He could have it. I honestly believe God is not as concerned with every action of sin that we are commiting as much as He is concerned with the reason we are commiting that sin, and that is because our heart is far from Him.
When our heart is lined up with God's then we care about the things He cares about. We want the things He wants, and we despise the things He despises. You see if God has our heart then all those other things will come because we are just so consumed with being pleasing to Him that thirst won't cause us to grumble, compain and doubt. We will be so consumed with him that finances won't cause us to grumble, complain and doubt. Marriage problems won't shake us nor anything else that might happen in this life. Our heart is with God's heart and we trust Him and Him only.
So then I ask myself the questions,"What in my life is causing my heart to stray from God? What is making me lose my focus? What grumbling or complaining do I have going on in my heart even though I know God is faithful and have seen Him be so before?
I make a decision today to watch my actions and make sure they do not displease, disgust or depise the heart of God. All He wants is my heart and God I give it to you!
My prayer:
God, I know that sometimes my actions don't line up with my words! I say I trust you and but then sometimes secretly expect you to prove yourself to me even though I already know you are faithful. I just want to keep my heart as close to yours as possible. I want to smile at the things you smile at and frown at the things you frown at. I realize that this is all you want from me. Help me to keep surrendering to you. God I also know that in order to line up with your heart I must first know what is in your heart through reading Your word and through prayer. God would you give me strength to keep getting in your Word everyday to find out more of your heart. I don't want to go astray, I belong with YOU. I love you! Amen.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
I wanna be found faithful!
This morning I read Heb 3:1-6...
And while there was a lot in there I felt the Lord having me focus on the first 2 verses.
'Therefore Holy Brethren, partaker of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house."
As I began to meditate on these two verses The Lord drew my attention to the fact that Jesus was faithful to God. What does that mean that Jesus was faithful to God . I began to ask the question "Am I faithful to God?" and "what does it look like to be faithful to God"? Think about it for a second!
Websters Dictionary defines faithful as "Adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea; loyal."
Adhering firmly and devotedly? That makes sense because that is exactly what Jesus did. When I think about Christ and his behavior and actions throughout the Bible there si nothing that characterizes Him more than being completely adhered and devoted to God. He was always found praying. He was always found doing the will of God. He had a devotion like none other. He was found adhered to God at all times. So after thinking about that I began to wonder, "what about me?" Am I adhered and devoted to God and God only? When I think of something adhering I think of tape and not just any tape but that tape that they put on your arm after getting blood drawn...that tape that refuses to come off without ripping every known hair that is attached to it off as well. You know...that tape that should be sold as an alternative to traditional wax strips....you can probably tell I absolutely depise that tape. Anyway back to my point, that tape adheres to skin like none other and to take it off causes extreme pain and guts LOL. Do I stick to God like that tape sticks to my arm? Am I so adhered to God, His will and His purpose that if I were ripped from Him/them it would leave me with nothing? Wow what a challenge!
You know in contrast to that wonderful tape spoken of above..there comes those flimsy bandaids that start to peel off after only a couple of hours of use. You know those bandaids that are supposed to adhere but for some reason find every reason to slowly peel off until my wound is completely exposed. Sadly I think this is a more accurate picture of how we adhere to God! We stick for a little while that slowly peel back off again. We try to restick ourselves over and over again but yet still find ourselves not sticking completely. Why is that? Why do I stay close to God for a little while then peel back off to do my own thing. This is not the definition of faithful, and yet at times is such a resemblance of my life. God I wanna be found faithful just like Jesus was found faithful. God I wanna be found faithful just like Moses was faithful. I want to adhere firmly to God and completly devote myself Him. I will be the tape to God's Arm and not the flimsy band aid.
My prayer:
God I wanna be found faithful. God would you help me to adhere to you firmly. I need to be found devoted to you, your principles, your standards and more importantly your presence. I am so thankful that you adhere to Me and cannot be moved. Your love is faithful to me even when mine is not. My hearts desire is to line up with your just like Jesus' heart lined up with yours. I know faithfulness (adhereing to you) comes through prayer and intimacy with you. These things must be staples in my life and I commit to putting them more heavily into practice. I need you, I want you, I love you. I will be found faithful! Amen.
And while there was a lot in there I felt the Lord having me focus on the first 2 verses.
'Therefore Holy Brethren, partaker of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house."
As I began to meditate on these two verses The Lord drew my attention to the fact that Jesus was faithful to God. What does that mean that Jesus was faithful to God . I began to ask the question "Am I faithful to God?" and "what does it look like to be faithful to God"? Think about it for a second!
Websters Dictionary defines faithful as "Adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea; loyal."
Adhering firmly and devotedly? That makes sense because that is exactly what Jesus did. When I think about Christ and his behavior and actions throughout the Bible there si nothing that characterizes Him more than being completely adhered and devoted to God. He was always found praying. He was always found doing the will of God. He had a devotion like none other. He was found adhered to God at all times. So after thinking about that I began to wonder, "what about me?" Am I adhered and devoted to God and God only? When I think of something adhering I think of tape and not just any tape but that tape that they put on your arm after getting blood drawn...that tape that refuses to come off without ripping every known hair that is attached to it off as well. You know...that tape that should be sold as an alternative to traditional wax strips....you can probably tell I absolutely depise that tape. Anyway back to my point, that tape adheres to skin like none other and to take it off causes extreme pain and guts LOL. Do I stick to God like that tape sticks to my arm? Am I so adhered to God, His will and His purpose that if I were ripped from Him/them it would leave me with nothing? Wow what a challenge!
You know in contrast to that wonderful tape spoken of above..there comes those flimsy bandaids that start to peel off after only a couple of hours of use. You know those bandaids that are supposed to adhere but for some reason find every reason to slowly peel off until my wound is completely exposed. Sadly I think this is a more accurate picture of how we adhere to God! We stick for a little while that slowly peel back off again. We try to restick ourselves over and over again but yet still find ourselves not sticking completely. Why is that? Why do I stay close to God for a little while then peel back off to do my own thing. This is not the definition of faithful, and yet at times is such a resemblance of my life. God I wanna be found faithful just like Jesus was found faithful. God I wanna be found faithful just like Moses was faithful. I want to adhere firmly to God and completly devote myself Him. I will be the tape to God's Arm and not the flimsy band aid.
My prayer:
God I wanna be found faithful. God would you help me to adhere to you firmly. I need to be found devoted to you, your principles, your standards and more importantly your presence. I am so thankful that you adhere to Me and cannot be moved. Your love is faithful to me even when mine is not. My hearts desire is to line up with your just like Jesus' heart lined up with yours. I know faithfulness (adhereing to you) comes through prayer and intimacy with you. These things must be staples in my life and I commit to putting them more heavily into practice. I need you, I want you, I love you. I will be found faithful! Amen.
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