PAYDAY

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him.”

How many times have you done something kind for someone else, but they never thanked you? I suspect that most families rarely even notice much of what mothers do for them, much less thank them. At work managers are encouraged to praise and thank their staff when they have done well. Taking people for granted or not noticing their accomplishments doesn’t encourage them to give of their best. On the other hand trite compliments that lack sincerity don’t motivate people either. If we are honest we tend to remember the bad and forget the good. Shakespeare wrote “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.”

In wonderful contrast God forgives and forgets the Christian’s sin but remembers our good works. He shows His appreciation when we serve Him faithfully and never overlooks or forgets to reward us when we seek to honor and serve Him or to do good for others. He does this because He is trustworthy and reliable. It may seem odd to describe God using these terms. That seems to be the way one would describe a close friend or family member. Remember Proverbs 18:24 “…there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”

The story was told of an old missionary couple that had been working in Africa for years and was returning home to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken. On the same ship was President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from a hunting expedition. As the passengers disembarked there was a crowd of admirers waiting to greet the President. A band was playing, and the cheers of the crowd were deafening. But when it was time for the missionary couple to step ashore, there was not a single soul to meet them. So eventually they found a cheap flat, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living. Discouraged, he buried his head in his hands and moaned, “God, I didn’t expect a band or a parade, but you could have seen to it that somebody came to welcome us home.” "Dear, we’re not home yet!" said his wife.

When I was child, I would hear some of the old saints say “God is keeping a record…” That statement used to terrify me because I feared that God was just sitting in Heaven waiting for me to mess up so that He could record it for all eternity. Now, I realize that God is keeping track. He is trustworthy and reliable. He notices every good deed, kind act, and sacrificial moment of service in the Kingdom. It is so easy sometimes to “grow weary in well doing”. It is easy to fall into discouragement when circumstances aren’t lining up in the manner in which we would like. But we must remember that a reliable God will not forget or overlook our faithfulness. God will always bless those who work with the right heart. Payday is coming for the faithful. Let us never fail to give our all to him. It will be well worth all that God will do for us in this life and beyond.

LIVING BY PROMISES

Genesis 12:1 “Then the Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you.”

Abraham was obviously a great example when it comes to faith. How did he ever develop such towering trust in God? What can we do to develop the same type of faith? He lived by promises, not commands. God directed Abram to do only one thing-"leave"-and in return; God would do wonderful things for him. But it did require Abram to leave his country, his people, and his relatives-in other words, his comfort zone. He had to give up the land he knew best, the culture he had grown up in, the familiar sights and sounds. People who walk by faith often hear God’s voice telling them, "You need to leave now. It’s time to move on to something new."

Sometimes that word has to do with geography, as in Abram’s case. At other times, God directs his people to leave certain work situations, sever pleasant relationships, or make other difficult changes. When you walk by faith, God never lets you settle into some area of stability. Just when you reach a certain place spiritually and decide to pitch your tent and relax for the rest of your life, God says, "leave.” This was the story of Abram. In fact, he was never allowed to settle down permanently as long as he lived.

So, Abram’s family caravan left town in a mode of living off the promises of God. That was their source, and it must be ours as well. We cannot live off the commands of God, but rather the promises. The commands of God reveal his holy character to us, but they hold no accompanying power. Instead, the grace of God flows through the channel of his promises. God will first do for us what he promised, and only then will we be able to walk in obedience to his commands. Remember, he is our source-everything must start from him.

It is true that God’s moral commands teach us where we fall short, but it doesn’t bring a solution to our human dilemma. Only the promises bring us hope, if we respond in faith, as Abram did. That is what sustained him throughout his life. By the time Abram arrived in Canaan, God was already adding more promises to the original group. He said, "To your offspring I will give this land". His abundance kept flowing.

But the great majority of us are command-oriented. Every day we wake up conscious of God’s moral law and try to do right so he will approve of us at the end of the day. This is a great struggle. We would do far better to wake up thinking about God’s wonderful promises what he has said he will do for us today. Then his power working in us will tenderly direct us in the way of obedience and right living.

The tender love of God toward us, as revealed in his gracious promises, is the only thing that draws us to a closer walk with the Lord. Abram felt so close to God that "he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD" there between the towns of Bethel and Ai. Abram’s heart reached out to God in worship. God had been so good to him, so generous, so affirming. Abram had not earned any promise or blessing by previous conduct; it was all because of grace. He could not help lifting up his heart and hands to God in adoration. Let us follow after God’s promises with the same attitude of faith.

DELIGHTFUL MERCY

Micah 7:18 “You cannot stay angry with your people forever because you delight in showing mercy.”

A monk announced to a village that he would be preaching on the love of God, without saying a word. The people filled the little chapel that evening and the monk waited till it was dark to start the service. The sanctuary was pitch dark, only one torch was lit at the front of the chapel. The monk took the torch and walked to the crucifix on the wall. He held the torch illuminating Jesus crown of thorns with the blood flowing down. Then he illuminated the bleeding nail pierced hands, then the bleeding side, then the bleeding nail pierced feet. Then he blew out the torch and left a silent crowd.

The greatest demonstration of God's love to man is in remission, or forgiveness, pardon. Why does man need pardon? Because all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We have been people of iniquity, yet he loves us. The Apostle Paul shared his testimony with Timothy. He spoke of his days as a persecutor of the church. He said, "who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, but I received mercy because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief."

We have been people of transgression. This is open rebellion against God. Yet he loves us. We have been people of sin. Straying from God's way, living without regard to God, doing our own thing. Isaiah described us as sheep that have gone astray each one going his own way. Yet God loves us.

But God, rich in mercy, has pardoned us. He passed by our sin and saw only the blood of Christ that has been applied. He cast our sin into the depths of the sea. The Father chose to forget our sin, to bury it, and never hold it against us again, for Jesus’ sake. It is finished.

God does not delight in wrath or judgment. He takes no pleasure in that. He delights in mercy. The word "mercy" is the Hebrew word "Hesed". It literally means "loving kindness". It is a covenant word that describes how God relates to those that are His. Loving kindness, goodness, tenderness. Everything God does in relationship with His children He does in love.

Even his discipline is love motivated. He chastens those he loves. In fact, He delights in you and me. In Zephaniah 3:17 the prophet says, "He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." His love for us is undying. He said in Jeremiah, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." He has always loved us, before we could do anything bad or good he loved you and I and he will never cease to love us. His love is eternal. And we can never be separated from his love.

How should we respond to such love? Let it fill you, control you, draw you closer to him, commune with him, walk with Him, love Him, know Him, talk to Him, obey Him, experience him, praise Him, and serve Him. The result of His mercy should be our salvation and His glory everyday

LIKE A CHILD

Matthew 18:3 “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

A young seminarian was excited about preaching his first sermon in his home church. After three years in seminary, he felt adequately prepared, and when he was introduced to the congregation, he walked boldly to the pulpit, his head high radiating self-confidence. But he stumbled reading the Scriptures and then lost his train of thought halfway through the message. He began to panic, so he did the safest thing: He quickly ended the message, prayed, and walked dejectedly from the pulpit, his head down, his self-assurance gone. Later, one of the godly elders whispered to the embarrassed young man, “If you had gone up to the pulpit the way you came down, you might have come down the way you went up.”

Exactly what did Christ mean that with a view to entering the kingdom of heaven the disciples must become like little children? Jesus was saying that in a child we see the characteristics that should mark the men and women of the Kingdom. There are many lovely characteristics in a child – the power to wonder, the power to forgive and forget, innocence, simplicity, frankness, obedience, etc. All these things may have been in the mind of Jesus, but there are three great qualities that make the child the symbol of those who are citizens of the kingdom.

There is the child’s humility. This is the main emphasis of the whole passage. A child does not wish to push himself forward neither does he wish for prominence. It is only as the child grows up and gets involved in a competitive world that his instinctive humility is left behind. The follower of Christ must learn to humble himself before the Lord so that God can lift him up. Much like the seminarian in the opening story, we will often stumble if we are lack child-like humility.

There is the child’s dependence. Dependence is natural to a child; he never thinks that he can face life by himself. He is perfectly content to depend on those who love him and care for him. If men and women would turn to God and place their dependence on Him, they will enter a world of peace and strength, a world of joy.

There is the child’s trust. Just as the child is dependent on his parents or guardians, so he trusts them to meet his needs. Children cannot provide their own food, clothing and shelter, yet they never doubt that they will be clothed and fed, and that there will be comfort, warmth and shelter when they come home.

Jesus demanded that the disciples turn, that is, that they change from their worldly ambition and selfishness. Of course they could not do it in their own strength – they had to pray the kind of prayer that Jeremiah did when he said, “turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God” (Jeremiah 31:18). Through the Spirit, ongoing change takes place in Christians as we progress in the experience of freedom from sin and become more and more like Jesus. Let us strive to be free from pride, to have the heart of a child, and to trust and depend upon God.

MADLY IN LOVE

Song of Solomon 4:10 “…your love delights me, my treasure, my love.”

Human words cannot express the love God has for every person on this planet. Love is a realm that transcends all human mental comprehension and understanding. Attempts at explaining this with expressions such as lovesick, desperate, hopeless, romantic, passionate, ravished, etc, are inadequate to describe His magnificent love. God’s very essence is love. He has always been love, even before He created mankind. He has always sought to have a close relationship with mankind. Human beings were made for this love. The entire story of humanity is wrapped up within it. Love is why humans were created, and in love is their eternal destiny. This truth is taught throughout Scripture beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden.

When God created Adam, He said to him, "I will make a partner suitable to you." (Genesis 2:18) God was declaring the hidden purpose of His heart from eternity past, the mystery of the ages. The Holy Spirit reveals that this promise ultimately speaks of Jesus and the Church. God proved He is love by sending Jesus to walk among mankind and die in their place. He now reaches out in tender affection with nail pierced hands in the most pure and intimate way.

Sadly, there are many who are not yet able to experience the fundamental reality that God loves and enjoys them. There are those who would argue that God could not possibly be in love with them. What a person believes about God is the most important thing contained in their mind. It affects everything about them. For too many people, God seems remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, many suffer from an inability to feel forgiven, nagged by doubt and mistrust of Him. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of praying. Jesus revealed this truth; "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?" asked Jesus. "Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him"?

The Bible speaks of "agape" and "phileo" love. "Agape" has been defined as a self-sacrificial love committed to the highest good. It is a love not dependent on the emotions. Without it no one could be saved. With "Agape" love God set aside His wrath against mankind and poured it out on the Beloved Son. "Phileo" love is best defined as tender affection; love from the emotions in a person’s soul. It is that kind of love which responds to love from another. It is the love of true friends; love of a child for his parents or for another child; love between a husband and wife. This kind of love can be casual or intense. “Phileo” love can’t be relegated to just human emotion. Jesus used this word in describing the Father’s love for Him. "Phileo" is used in describing the Father’s feelings toward the Son’s disciples.

The revelation of His affection and enjoyment for every individual on this planet is vitally important for emotional and spiritual health. The Great Commandment is the foundation of the Christian walk. The reason God wants Christians to love Him with all their heart, soul, and mind is because that is how He loves them. When a person comes to see the Lord for who He really is - LOVE incarnate - they can truly understand and "rely on the love God has for us," because, "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

KEEP THE FIRE BURNING

Leviticus 6:13 “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.”

A story has been told about how Dwight L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in Chicago to persuade him to accept Christ. They were seated in the man’s home. It was winter and coal was burning in the fireplace. The man objected that he could be just as good a Christian outside the church as in it. Moody said nothing, but stepped to the fireplace, took the tongs, picked a blazing coal from the fire and set it off by itself. In silence the two watched it smolder and go out. “I see,” said the man.

This passage in Leviticus offers a similar lesson. It tells us that the fire that is in our heart must never go out. This statement, in its original Hebrew writing, means “continuing something without interruption.” It’s true that the scripture applied to priestly duties within the temple, but we are not off the hook. It applies to us as well because the Hebrew phrase was also used for personal acts of devotion. This means that our dependence upon God must never stop.

We must wait and hope continually on God. We must praise him continually. We must keep his word continually. In the Old Testament, the priests were responsible for keeping the fire burning on the altar so that the people would be in continual connection with God. Today, you and I must allow the fire of the Holy Spirit to continually burn with life on the altars of our hearts. The fire of the spirit is made continuous by always connecting to God through a close, personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

The point is that it is our responsibility to stay connected and to keep this “fire” burning. The demand requires that we make an effort of daily preparation to fellowship with God. There are so many things that can create a disconnect in our hearts and lives. They pull at us and distract us. Work, finances, relationships, and so on are all such powerful influences in the way we act and think. If they are given credibility above God in our lives, we will soon see that fire begin to smolder and die. Success, money, possessions, and people cannot fill the void created by an absence of God’s fire in our hearts. There is no substitute to connection to God and the fire of His spirit burning within us. It gives us the power and confidence necessary to live for Him, to overcome adversity, and to live in victory.

Let our hearts be filled with prayer, repentance, and thankfulness so that the light of God’s influence burns brighter than anything else. With the beginning of each new day there ought to arise a new resolve to dedicate ourselves to God. And before we retire each night, the eagerness of our devotion should be stirred up, not extinguished

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Ecclesiastes 7:10 “Don’t long for the “good old days”, for you don’t know whether they were any better than today.”

Solomon’s admonition here is: It is not wise to always wish for the “good old days.” Ezra records that when the Jews returned to the Promised Land after the Babylonian Captivity that the temple had to be rebuilt. He says that when the foundation was laid for the second temple, the old men cried “for the good old days” and the young men sang songs of rejoicing because the work had begun.

It’s been said that “the good old days” are the combination of a bad memory and a good imagination. Were the “good old days” really the “good old days”? Our memories tend to leave out the bad parts of the “good old days.”

In the 1930’s, there was major crime and the Depression. In the 1940’s, we were embroiled in World War II. In the 1950’s, there was the Korean War, the Red Scare, and fear of nuclear war. Remember all the people who built bomb shelters? In the 1960’s, there was the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King, Jr. There was also the Vietnam conflict, the hippie movement, and civil unrest along with the fear of nuclear war. In the 1970’s, there was still the Vietnam conflict and civil unrest along with a major recession. We tend to forget all those little things, don’t we?

Paul tells us in Ephesians that he thought the days he lived in were evil. But, on the flip side of that verse, he tells us to make the most of every opportunity. Ephesians 5:16 says “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”.

I learned this truth on my last visit to the place I grew up. No question, I have a lot of very fond memories of the life I lived there. It is fun to sit around and reminisce about some of the great times we had. But that is where it ends for me. If I were to choose to “go home” and recapture those moments, I would be bitterly disappointed. Why? Because I’ve changed, my friends have changed, and many of the circumstances surrounding us have changed. God has brought me to a new place. He has brought me to next phase of his purpose in me.

Sure, sometimes it seems easy to long for the “good old days”. But only because we already know how they end. Living in the past requires zero faith from us. God has set a path before you and me that asks us to move forward and look ahead to what He has for us. He will use the circumstances of yesterday to strengthen us in the future. We should strive to let our “past days” serve the purpose God intends – to teach us and edify us. Today is today. It’s never going to be yesterday again. God is always up-to-date. No matter what is happening in the “here-and-now”, God is able to handle it. We shouldn’t sit around wishing for the yesterdays. We need to live useful todays so we can make better tomorrows.

GETTING PAST THE PAIN

Genesis 50:20 “God turned into good, what you meant for evil.”

Joseph was a man who had a bright future as a youngster. He was so intelligent and capable, so much the apple of his parents’ eye. This young man, part of a large family, was a standout. Something about him just caught your attention, and you knew he had tremendous potential. He was so brilliant, and his parents just couldn’t do enough for him. They gave him all sorts of advantages. They showered gifts on their standout son. This young man was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, and everything was set to go for a very successful life.

But he never counted on something sinister that was brewing, right in his own family. Something that would take a terrible turn and change his life forever. He had not counted on an element of pain that could have turned this young man into bitterness. His brothers betrayed him and we are given a great story in the book of Genesis.

The culmination of the story occurs when Joseph’s father, Jacob, dies. Joseph’s brothers were so afraid that Joseph would now retaliate. But instead of lashing out in anger, Joseph replies, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Joseph found a way to live past the pain of his family experience and redirect his life. If you and I are going to learn to live large, I believe there are lessons for us in the life of Joseph. How do we get past old defeats? How do we get past the pain inflicted on us others?

We can do it, by taking Joseph’s approach. You meant it for evil, but God … But God intended it for good. You did your worst, but God did His best. You were bent on destruction, but God was set for construction. You were focused on death, but God was focused on life. You put down, but God lifts up. You thought you had everything under control, but it is God who is truly in control. You meant it for evil, but God took all your messing around and turned it into good according to His purposes.

Our souls look back and wonder how we can get over defeat. We get over because God intends us to get over. We get over because God is at work in all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We get over because God, in the most dismal of days and in the darkest of shadows, is still on His throne and is still pursuing His purposes.

No matter what we’ve been through, we have a God who spared not His own Son but freely gave Him up for us all. We have a God that takes our toughest moments and can translate them into our greatest victories. He intends them for our good; for our redemption. That’s how we get past it and move on.

GIVE THANKS

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Out West, a cowboy was driving down a dirt road, his dog riding in back of the pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer behind. He failed to negotiate a curve and had a terrible accident. Sometime later, a highway patrol officer came on the scene. An animal lover, he saw the horse first. Realizing the serious nature of its injuries, he drew his service revolver and put the animal out of his misery. He walked around the accident and found the dog, also hurt critically. He couldn’t bear to hear it whine in pain, so he ended the dog’s suffering as well. Finally he located the cowboy --who suffered multiple fractures--off in the weeds. "Hey, are you okay?" the cop asked. The cowboy took one look at the smoking revolver in the trooper’s hand and quickly replied, "Never felt better!"

Many people lose out on the glory and power of God in their lives because they have an attitude problem. They do not know how to handle adversity without complaining. A negative attitude can steal your joy and rob you of your blessings.

One of the greatest privileges of being a Christian is to have the capacity to give thanks regardless of what happens. It is easy to be thankful when things are going our way, but a Christian can rise above any situation to thank God for causing all things work together for good. Paul, the apostle, was a man who suffered a great deal of pain and yet he wrote that we ought to give thanks in everything.

How did Paul do it? He put his emotional, mental and spiritual focus on the good things He had in Christ. It would have been easy for Paul to feel sorry for himself. The Jews sought to put Paul to death. The Romans hunted him like a dog and imprisoned him with chains. Even his best friends deserted him, yet he gave thanks for every situation because He knew God is in control of whatever might happen to him. Paul wrote, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21) He died to his own selfish interests. The great apostle wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20) He knew that many of his former pleasures were actually self-destructive vices. Paul saw every problem as an opportunity to advance God’s kingdom and righteousness. Paul wrote, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.""(Phil. 3:10).

God does not want more grumps but grateful people to give Him greater glory, honor and delight. God multiplies thankful people. Jeremiah wrote, "From them shall proceed the voice of thanksgiving and the sound of those who make merry and I will multiply them and they not will be diminished." (Jer 30:19) Let it be our mission every day to show the thankfulness that Paul encouraged.

FAITH THAT MAKES US GREAT

Genesis 15:6 “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith.”

The story of Abraham offers us the example of how life really is. It is the example of how real faith works. We hear God's call. We set out to follow. We have real victory. We leave behind old ways. We find that the guilt and bondage of sin are gone. But we also find that we aren't "saints" overnight. There are things that come up which we could never have imagined. We find that we don't arrive in heaven by non-stop express. And the "promise" that challenged us at first hasn't seemed to take the shape that we thought it should. Other people seem to have the answers down pat. But somehow we aren't sure we even know all the questions yet.

When we were first saved we somehow believed that God wanted us to be special to him; to fulfill some noble and holy mission or purpose. Somehow we thought God wanted us to be "great." But we realize that there aren't many truly "great" people around. We certainly don't feel "great." And so we are tempted to "just settle." We're tempted to say, "Oh well, all right--this isn't exactly how I had envisioned it . . . but I'm far better off than I was before." And it is true we are.

Abraham had been greatly blessed by God, because he was obedient. But the time for the relationship to grow was at hand. God was challenging Abraham to center his faith in relationship, and not in experience, or experiences, or blessings, or anything else. It was time for Abraham to expect beyond the good start, beyond the blessing, beyond the things. It was time for Abraham to trust God to be God. Abraham’s faith increased to a place that he now would settle for nothing short of God himself.

From that day on Abraham took God Himself as the object of his highest aspiration. Abraham was righteous before God because he dared to take Him at His word, and not just 'settle' for the good things along the way. God wants to covenant with us all. With each one of us. We all start out this walk of faith thinking about what God does. We want His peace and His joy and His gifts. And rightly so, because God wants us to have them all. But God wants us to take Him at His word and never settle short of seeing His best promise fulfilled in each one of us. He has a noble purpose for you and me.

Abraham was the friend of God and was declared righteous because of his faith. But God loves you as much as He loved Abraham. I'm not sure what "greatness" consists of, but . . . God wants you to become His friend, and He wants you to be like him, like His son, Jesus Christ. What we do is important. What we accomplish in life really matters. But nothing compares with knowing God, and with simply walking with him. That’s a faith that makes us great.

MOVE ON

Exodus 14:15 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”

A college student wrote the following letter to her parents:

Dear Mom and Dad:

"I am writing this letter on school paper because my stationary got burned in the fire. I got out of the hospital, and have moved in with my new boyfriend, Bill. He got me a job where he works--I’m a waitress at the Red Dog Saloon. Your new grand baby is due next fall." The next page continued...

"Mom, Dad, none of the above really happened. However, I made a "C" in French and I’m failing History.

Love,
Your Daughter."

Have you ever been asked, “What do you want first, the bad news or the worse news?” Sometimes even some bad news is better than some other news. I wonder how many times in my life I have said “Things could be worse” or “Now what!” Can you image the scene described in Exodus 14? After a tremendous ordeal of just getting out of Egypt, the sea lies before the people and Pharaoh’s army rapidly approaching from behind. Everyone could see the cloud of dust coming. There are no boats to ferry the people across. There is no arsenal to distribute to the people so they could fight. No one had to tell the Hebrew people that the situation was basically “impossible.” It did not take the Hebrew people long to start complaining.

Basically Moses tells them to stand there, do nothing and let God take care of it. It is evident that God wanted them to do more than just wait for Him to do something. There is a powerful message in the following passage. There is a spiritual principle to be understood here. Moses told the people just to stand still and let God take care of it. But God countered, “Get the people moving forward.” The Christian life is not a static or passive life. It is a dynamic or active life. This principle doesn’t change when an obstacle is placed in our path. This principle doesn’t change because road gets a little bumpy. This principle doesn’t change because there is a sea in front of us and no boats can be found. This principle doesn’t change because the enemy is on the attack and its look much bigger than our abilities. God requires us to keep moving forward regardless.

Moving forward would not be easy. Many of them had already lost hope. They proclaimed that it would be easier to return to Egypt and bondage. They were missing the point. God had brought them out of Egypt knowing that the Red Sea was awaiting them. It seemed to them like a perilous situation. They would, however, need to move forward if they were going to overcome in this circumstance. Moving forward would require a supreme confidence in God, obedience to God’s direction, and a comprehension of the fact that all their experiences had a godly purpose.

For you and me, the same is true. We will face seemingly insurmountable circumstances. We will be challenged to press on. Panic and complaining will only paralyze us and prevent our growth. Let us take courage and exhibit confidence, obedience, and purpose in God’s salvation for us. Then, we can truly live in the promises of God for us.

MANAGING TEMPTATION

Mark 14:38 “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation”

A story was once told about the Union Pacific Railroad Line as it was being constructed. At one location along the route an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the west. Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, "Are you trying to break this bridge?" "No," the builder replied, "I’m trying to prove that the bridge won’t break".

In the same way, then, we ought to look at the temptations we face as an opportunity to overcome in the spirit. An opportunity to show that we will not sin. You see, it is up to us to allow God to take control of these areas of our lives.

JAMES 1:14-15, tells us, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

The challenge for us then is to handle temptation in a godly way. It will come to all of us, but what will we do with it? Benjamin Franklin offered great advice when he said, “It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it." It sounds to me like Mr. Franklin had a clear understanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says, “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”

Yielding to temptation can have devastating effects upon on spiritual being. We have all been tempted. We all know that temptation comes in various shapes and sizes and to varying degrees. This is the reason Jesus used the word temptation in our scripture. Jesus didn’t want his disciples to fall prey to temptation. He encouraged them to continue in prayer so that they would have the necessary strength to overcome the temptations that would surely come. Jesus also knew that they were human, which is why he encouraged them to “watch and pray”. It implies that they should remain on alert to the spiritual dangers that were out there.

By praying we signify our dependence on God. We acknowledge our need for him to seal our hearts, to give us clear direction, and to deliver us from evil. Jesus concluded this discourse by saying, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus is literally telling us all that God’s spirit is willing to supply the much needed strength and support in every area of our human weakness and inadequacies. Despite our good intentions, we will get overwhelmed and defeated if we try to fight and resist in our own power. Let us manage our temptations by remaining connected to the Father and submitted to his will.

THE RULE ABOUT RULES

Leviticus 18:5 "If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them."

Do you know many people that are into rules? You know laws, decrees, regulations, whatever it is that you want to call them. If you do, here’s the good news for them. The book of Leviticus is full of rules. As a matter of fact rules is just about all Leviticus is about. There is really no story to it, no characters, no plot; just rules, page after page of rules. There are rules about what you can do and what you can’t do, when you can do it and when you can’t do it. What you can wear and what you can’t wear, what you can eat and what you can’t eat. They just seem to go on and on and on.

Many people struggle with rules. Maybe they’re like Katherine Hepburn who said “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun”. Or maybe it’s just natural when someone says “don’t” that they say “Oh yes I will.”

The truth is that rules aren’t just implemented to annoy us or to make life less fun, they are often put into place to protect. Either to protect us or to protect others. There are rules in all aspects of our life. There are rules that apply in our families. Curfews. Don’t smack your sister. Don’t smack your brother. There are rules in school: Do your homework, no smoking in the halls. There are rules at work. Don’t steal the paper clips, no personal phone calls. How about social rules? We are all familiar with “No Shirt. No Shoes. No Service.”

So, why so many rules again? If you go to Philadelphia and see the Liberty Bell you would read an inscription from the Book of Leviticus. It says “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”. I find it interesting that that statement is included in a list of rules such as Leviticus. God’s word is designed to instruct for our benefit. It is given for our physical good, our social good, and our spiritual good.

My son is a sweet boy, but he is at the age that whenever I give him a rule or instruction, he struggles to accept and follow it, especially if it causes him to change his plans. He gets so upset and sometimes he demonstrates it by acting out. He is five. I will continue teaching and guiding him as he matures. I, however, should not still be acting that way towards rules and instructions, especially by those that come from God’s word. If I am still rejecting truth and living by my own rules, then I demonstrate independence from God and dangerous immaturity. I choose to live under the life-giving promises that are found within his instructions.

His word is designed to bless and protect us. Just as a parent that offers instruction to his child for their benefit. If we are true to God’s word then blessing, prosperity and protection are promised to us. That’s a rule that we all can live with.

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Matthew 15:11 “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.”


Commissioned in 1936, the RMS Queen Mary was the most awe-inspiring ocean-going vessel in the world. She was over 1,000 feet long, and weighted over 81,000 tons, which was twice the weight of the Titanic. The ship carried about 2,000 passengers and housed a crew of about 1,200. Transformed from a luxury liner to a troop transport in World War II she carried almost 800,000 members of the military to and from the European war zones. The Queen Mary was retired from regular passenger service in 1967 after making 1,001 Atlantic Ocean crossings, and is presently harbored in the port of Long Beach, California. Even today the ship’s magnificence is like none other. But when the Queen Mary was retired from active passenger service, it was discovered that part of her gleaming exterior was hiding something far less attractive.

The Queen Mary’s three oval shaped smoke stacks, which were 36 feel long, 23 feet wide, and ranging from 70 down to 62 feet in height, were made of sheets of steel over an inch thick. During her decades of service, at least 30 coats of paint had been applied to the massive smokestacks, forming a shell around the steel interior. But when the smokestacks were removed for maintenance after her decommissioning, it was discovered that they were nothing but shells. When lifted off the liner and placed on the docks, they crumbled! Over the years, the thick steel of which they had been made had turned to rust from long exposure to heat and moisture. The beautiful exteriors of the smokestacks revealed a rusty, crumbly interior that spoke not of beauty and elegance but of deterioration and decay. The ships beautiful external appearance was hiding the internal reality that it had deteriorated to nothing.

In Bible times, the Pharisees (in the spiritual sense) had a lot in common with the RMS Queen Mary. They appeared one way, but were, in reality, something very different from what people perceived them to be. Jesus called them hypocrites. You see, they had built a fence around God’s word. It was a fence that placed their outward appearance above their inner purity. Jesus came to raise the bar for the question, “what makes a man clean?” He turned the tables on their philosophy of ceremonial cleanness. The truth is that moral purity is not experienced from the outside in.

The Pharisees offer us the greatest example of how to miss our moment. They missed the Messiah because they were so caught up in what they were, or were not doing. Let us be sure to guard our hearts today. Everything that we observe and take part in is filtered through the heart. Keep the condition of your heart towards God your first priority. Purity begins with the intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ, it grows by allowing Him to live and dwell within us, and it increases with the ever-working power of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us. Not from the outside in – but from the inside out.

THE REWARD FACTOR

Matthew 6:4 "your Father, who knows all secrets will reward you."

What is the place of the reward motive in the Christian’s life? Are we good for goodness sake or are we good in order to get the carrot at the end of the stick or are we good in order to avoid getting the end of the stick. Three times in the portion of scripture Christ speaks of rewarding those who give him the service he expects. In Matthew 6:4, 6 and 18 Christ speaks about "The Reward Factor"

Now I realize that there are some who would hold that the reward factor should have no place in the Christian’s life and should have no bearing on the Christian’s behavior. They would tell us that yes we should be good simply for goodness sakes. They tell us that virtue is its own reward, and that this whole concept of the reward factor should be banished from the Christian’s life. They are like one old saint who said "I wish I could quench with water the fires of hell and burn with fire the joys of heaven so I could serve Christ out of pure motives."

Now on the surface that is all very good and noble, but it is not the view that Christ held. Instead he told us that if we had the right kind of charitable giving, the right kind of prayer habits and the right kind of fasting that there would be a reward for us. A mansion just over the hilltop so to speak. And these are not isolated instances, In Matthew 5:12 Christ tells us that is we bear persecution in His name, we will be rewarded, in Mark 9:41 He says if we give a cup of cold water in His name there’ll be a reward for us and in Luke 6:35 He says if we love our enemies, you guessed it we will be rewarded.

Paul talks about rewards, Peter talks about rewards, John talks about rewards. The reward factor in the Christian experience is a fact of life, and it was recognized and promoted by the Lord himself. It is abundantly clear that Jesus did not hesitate to speak in terms of rewards and punishment, so let’s not become more spiritual on the subject then Jesus was.

The first thing that we need to know is that it is an obvious rule of life that any action which achieves nothing is futile and meaningless. The second thing is that to remove the concept of sin and punishment from the idea of religion is to say that injustice has the last word. It cannot be reasonably said that the life of both the good man and the bad man will have the same outcome. Because that would simply mean that God didn’t care. That He didn’t care if you were good or if you were evil. And there would be no point in being good, and no special reason why a man should live one kind of life or another. To eliminate rewards and punishment is to say that in God there is neither justice nor love. We need the reward factor just to make sense out of life.

But here’s what is tricky about this reward factor. The rewards that Christ promised are neither material nor physical. Christian service is not a system of brownie points designed to earn us health and wealth. If it were, then we would surely spend our time keeping a checklist off all that we had done. A Christian may lose his money, his health and his friends. He may end up in a cancer ward or an asylum or a prison but the rewards of God are beyond a price tag. The things he offers can’t always be felt or seen or measured. Yet it is always there. Rewards such as satisfaction, fulfillment, and hope are plentiful for the faithful.

DO THE RIGHT THING

Job 8:20 “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.”

I am a big baseball fan. I have been troubled over the past ten years with all the talk of performance enhancing drugs. Some of the biggest names of the past twenty years are now being exposed as “cheaters”. They won games, broke records, and made millions of dollars. And now, it is revealed that much of their accomplishments were aided by banned (if not illegal) substances. This week, one of the greatest home run hitters of the current era admitted his personal use of performance enhancing drugs. It is so disturbing to me that he broke a 37 year old record while using the drugs.

But, at the time, it must have seemed acceptable conduct to him and many other superstars. The potential costs, both physical and emotional, must have seemed as nothing in comparison to the immediate gains. Think about at…million dollar contracts, superstardom, and a place in the record books is a pretty sweet payout. The appeal of immediate reward blinded these individuals to the future costs.

My heart really goes out to those players that never used these drugs. The one’s who, perhaps, hit fewer homeruns, stole fewer bases, and recorded fewer strikeouts, but played clean. I’m sure that they must have been frustrated by the obvious distortion of statistics. I can imagine that it was aggravating to watch the “cheaters” get all the hype, get voted to the all-star game, and get the big pay days. I wonder how often they were tempted to take the same short cuts. For them, though, their integrity and the integrity of the game they played was invaluable.

As Christians, we also are faced with choices. The choice is to live our lives and base our decisions upon a biblical blueprint or to take short cuts so to attain some instant gratification. Perhaps, you are struggling financially. The bible gives clear instructions for the Christian concerning their money. Thus, the choice…Do the right thing or the easy thing? Perhaps, you are facing a choice in a relationship. The bible offers plain guidance on choosing and conducting our relationships. Thus, the choice….Do the right thing or the easy thing? Life is full of these choices for you and me.

This is where it gets real tough. You make the right choice and you still struggle. Right choices and acts of integrity are not easy all the time. It is, however, a moment that calls upon our faith. Do the right thing and God takes notice. Our scripture says, “He does not reject people of integrity”. That means he accepts us. He brings us in to reside with him. If you are striving to make the right choice, take heart today. God sees you. Your moment is coming. Don’t abandon what you know to be right. He will bless you.

I watched the other day as this star player who has used these drugs sat on television and wept about his mistakes. It seems that everything he gained in those moments means little to him now. I also watched as one of the hardest working players of his generation, a guy who played injured, never cheated and thus never hit seventy homeruns was still elected into baseballs hall of fame. I wonder today, who feels honored and blessed.

RELENTLESS PURSUIT

Matthew 9:21 “for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”

I am not an outdoorsman, at all. I don’t fish. I don’t hunt. I don’t watch people fish or hunt. It’s just not my thing. I did, however, stumble across information about a show that can be seen on WILD TV. The show is called Relentless Pursuit. Catching title, huh? It was so catching that it intrigued me to look a little deeper online about this show. Here’s what I discovered – These guys are crazy!! They will hunt anywhere, at anytime, and in any conditions. No joke. They hunt 500 pound elk in Canada, in the winter. These guys hunt deer, elk, coyote, and bears – just to name some. They will do whatever necessary to achieve the “big kill”. It seems to me that nothing keeps these guys from hunting. Although, I doubt I will ever faithfully view Relentless Pursuit, I must admit, the tenacity of these gentlemen is, although misguided if you ask me, impressive.

In Matthew chapter 9, we find an account of a woman with a great level of determination. She was sick and had been sick for twelve years. She hears of Jesus’ appearance in the area. No doubt she had heard of this man and the many miracles that he had already performed. I imagine that upon hearing the news of his coming, some measure of hope rose up within her.

Hope rose up within her because when she heard of Christ’s good work, she believed. The process of this woman’s miracle began the moment that she believed. Then her faith prompted the next series of events that are so emotional and powerful for even us today. In this moment, having faith that was just strong enough to get her in the crowd would not be enough. Her faith had brought her into the presence of the almighty. Now, her faith would have to push her so much more.

She encountered a seemingly impassable crowd. Everyone wanted to see this miracle worker. So, there it is. Would she allow an obstacle to weaken her faith? Would she disappointedly return home still sick? Or, would her pursuit of healing be relentless? Her faith was the kind of faith that wouldn’t quit, therefore it couldn’t fail. It is quite possible that this sick woman had to scratch and claw her way to Jesus. Maybe she was knocked down, but she got up. Finally, she touched him and she was healed.

You and I should believe with that determination. Our pursuit of God’s presence and his subsequent blessings should be relentless because it is driven by an insurmountable faith. We must ask ourselves. What will we do when we meet an obstacle? Will we be overcome with skepticism? Will disappointment determine our course of action? Will we lose faith? Or, will we press on as we are emboldened by faith?

The Pursuit of God does not come without impediment. It won’t be easy. I wonder if the woman deemed her struggle to reach him to be worth the reward of touching him. Surely, she didn’t regret the sacrifice or the bumps and bruises she may have received. When you want to touch God for an answer, a blessing, or a miracle pursue it relentlessly. You will never regret the outcome.

ALWAYS THE SAME

Lamentations 5:19 “But Lord, you remain the same forever. Your throne continues from generation to generation.”

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the place that I had spent my childhood. I have great memories of that part of my life. It was rural area with lots of fun places for kids to roam. I had great friends. We hung out all summer playing baseball and basketball. It was a great place to be a kid. However, I returned some 15 years after leaving as a teenager. I wanted to go by and see some of the places that were significant to me as a child. First, I went by my old middle school. But, to my surprise, it wasn’t there. The land was now used for a parking lot. Then, I went to see my old high school. Again, I was shocked to see the sign out front to no longer say Cambridge High School, but instead, Cambridge YMCA. I couldn’t believe it. Finally, I thought I’d go check out the five acres that we used to live on. I especially wanted to see the old pond that I used to fish in all summer long. But, the land had been sold. New buildings had been erected and the pond had been filled-in to create more space. The realization of time passing and the inevitable change that it brings stung a little bit.

Have any of the following changed on you lately - your family, your bank account, your address, your last name, your money, or your job? If they haven’t, be certain, that something will change. Change is one of the most powerful forces out there and probably one of the most resisted. Most people would prefer things to stay the same.

Everything and everyone else that you know is subject to change. Change is a constant in life. However; God is not subject to change. God has a characteristic that no one else has. It is his immutability. No matter what, God doesn’t change.

In Lamentations, Jeremiah cries out to an unchanging God. He expresses great concern about the ruins of the temple. It was a great calamity. He is praying for mercy and grace. The people ask, “Are not the Lord's judgments in the earth the same as in Jeremiah's days?” Surely, he was tempted by the events around them to turn his heart from God, but he remembers the mighty works of God in past days.

I have, too, been tempted like the people of Judah. I have looked at current circumstance and seemingly forgotten God’s proven work and mercy. But, if I look back upon the countless blessings of God that have so powerfully changed my life, then I must believe the old saying, “If he has done it before, He will do it again!” Why? Because God doesn’t change.

In the moments that try us the most, let us refrain from despondency. Despair prompts our focus to shift, which, in turn, delineates our view point from the only one who can make a difference. Commit to put your whole trust in a God that, unlike everything and everyone else, never changes.

HE IS OUR GOD - WE ARE HIS PEOPLE

Leviticus 26:12 “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.”

I had the opportunity to take my youngest son to school recently. I cherish the moments that are just between the two of us. Now, there is no question that his mother is his shining star, but he demonstrates adorable behavior when he is alone with me. I got him ready and put his back pack on. I handed him his lunch and then out the door we went. He seemed so proud that it was just the “men” heading to school. As we drove to school, I talked to him. At a stop light, I would glance back at him, all buckled up in the back seat. With every glance, his smile would grow brighter, until it seemed as though his little dimples were like little caverns in his face. Then, the cutest thing of all happened. We pulled up to the drop-off point. His teacher came to the car to get him. My son gave me the “bye Daddy” wave. Although, he couldn’t find the words to express himself, he made sure his teacher could tell that I was in the car and that he had been with me. As I pulled away, he never took his eyes off of me. I looked back several times and each time he was waving and looking intently in my direction.

The connection is simple. He is my son. I am his father. He knows it without question. I am there to meet his every need. The connection is more than just that; it is a promise and a covenant. Every day, through not just my words, but my actions as well, I am saying “I am your father, you are my son”. I doubt that he ever wonders if I will be there for him. It is just a given that “Daddy” is a presence in his life. I realize that not every family is fortunate enough to have that balance and structure. I am so thankful for my family, though. You see, I am made in God’s image. Like God, I desire covenantal relationships to be a part of my life. It is that type of love and commitment that hold everything in place.

God looks upon each of us in the same manner. It is his desire to “walk among us”, to “be our God”, and for us to “be his people”. This passage in Leviticus contains a general enforcement of all the laws given by Moses; by promises of reward in case of obedience. God is saying if you follow my words, I will remain among you. This is a great and precious promise. It is a covenant that is typical of the spiritual blessings made real by the covenant of grace to all believers, through Christ. His promise to always be there means so much. It means abundance, peace and divine protection, victory and success in battle, and the favor of God which is a fountain of good. All covenant blessings are summed up in the covenant relation, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and they are all grounded upon their redemption. Having purchased them, God would own them, and never cast them off till they cast him off.

God never forgets his promises. Their faithfulness to the covenant would solidify their position with God. No matter what would come their way, He would be there. He had identified them as His people. We have the same powerful promise today. God is never far from us. If our hearts remain fixed upon him and our faith in Christ persists, He is our Father and we are his children. And nothing can take that assurance away.

LOVE IN ACTION

1 John 3:18 “Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.”

Here’s a question. What is a legitimate measuring stick for true love? Can love be measured by gifts lavished upon someone? How about kind words? Some people feel most loved when their significant other spends lots of time with them. In fact, there is a well known theory that states that everyone has a “love language”. It is the way in which they are made to feel most loved. The truth is that no matter how often someone is told that they are loved, if their “love language” is not addressed, they will soon feel unloved. For all of us, love is more than a word.

A particular episode of the sitcom Friends offers a comical example of how far someone will go to express their love. Ross said some hurtful things to Rachel. Rachel was now punishing Ross by refusing to accompany him to a very special event in which he was the guest of honor. Ross begged and pleaded with Rachel to forgive him. He proclaimed that he loved her and that the event would just not be the same if she was not there. He asks the question, “What can I do to prove to you that I want you to be there?” For whatever reason, a glass filled with bacon grease was setting on the kitchen counter. Joey then suggests that Ross “drink the fat” in order to prove himself. Surprisingly Rachel agrees with that idea. Ross, determined to prove himself, reaches for the glass (not without some funny hesitation), and prepares to take a huge, disgusting gulp. Rachel stops him and says that she forgives him and will go to the banquet. She says, fighting back tears, “You were going to drink the fat.”

So, what’s the point? Words are just words when it comes to love. Love requires something from us. Christ offered mankind the supreme example of love. John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. It isn’t always easy to do, but as Christians we ought to strive for our love to be real and impactful. Another version of our scripture says that we should love others in deed and truth. The ability to genuinely love others, and to show it, is gained in our knowledge of the truth of God’s love for us.

Let us make the commitment to allow our love for others to motivate us to great deeds. We have opportunity day after day to love our brothers, to give of ourselves, and to make a difference in the life of someone we know. True love moves us to compassion. True love moves us to meet the need of a disadvantaged person. Love does not allow us to sit by idle while someone else suffers.

I want to be driven by the love of Christ. I want to follow his example as he travelled the land feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and speaking kindness to the down trodden. I want to know the difference between religious “love” and Christ-like compassion. Take the opportunity to assess the impact that your love has had on others. Be sure that our love is not just heard but that it is powerfully felt by those we touch.

TAKING A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”

I admit it. I am an Indiana Jones fan. I own the movies and still watch them on television whenever they are on. One of my favorite scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the scene in which Indy is fighting off attacks right and left in the marketplace. After fending off countless attackers, he looks up to see a gigantic man wielding a large sword. Exhausted and exacerbated, Indiana Jones pulls his pistol from its holder and, with one shot, drops the sword carrying foe. This movie moment reinforced the principle, “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”.

Maybe you can, in some sense, relate to that situation. Maybe you’ve been fighting off attacks from the enemy. Perhaps, it has seemed that no matter what you try, you are being beaten up. Failure and discouragement can quickly set in when we feel outnumbered or over matched. I, too, have felt that way in the past. I was working hard. I was trying to stand for what was right. I was… I was… I was… Still things were tough. I felt as though ground was being lost. I had moments of despair as I wanted to give up.

As I look back on some of those times, I can now see the root of the problem. It was all the “I was” moments. Every time I moved forward and tried to fix something, things got worse. I was trying to fight a spiritual battle using natural means. It’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight. The Apostle Paul offers clear explanation of the battle in which we are all now engaged. We are not fighting natural things. We are fighting spiritual things. Yet, it seems so easy to drift back into physical tactics and worldly devices to deal with a spiritual issue. Why? Well, we are fleshly by nature. We are naturally drawn to carnal thoughts, thus drawn to carnal actions.

So, how do we win the spiritual contests of our lives? First, believe Paul. Acknowledge the spirituality that surrounds us. Know that even the physical struggles of life have a spiritual root. By grasping hold of that truth, we will no longer look for our adversary with physical eyes, but we will view all that comes against us through the eyes of our spirit man. Second, be spiritual. Paul exhorts all believers in Galatians to “Walk in the Spirit, so to not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. Live lives that are directed by the spirit.

Spiritual battles cannot be won with physical strength. Spirituality requires the release of physical attributes and the dependence upon spiritual authority. Be courageous in the spirit, be bold in the spirit, and be victorious in the spirit. By doing so, life will look a whole lot different.

The next time a battle arises in your life, be sure you are carrying the appropriate weapons. Don’t run out there with your will, your knowledge, and your ability. Put on God’s armor. Let the spirit dwell within you and every ruler, every authority, every power, and every force that is in opposition will fall.

MAKE OR BREAK MOMENT

Esther 4:14 “…you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this.”

Have you ever heard a moment or decision called a “make or break moment”? Have you ever been confronted with a choice that you believed was a “make or break” decision? If so, you surely can remember the intense feelings and emotions that were stirring within you during that time period. Perhaps were you nervous, maybe even afraid to choose. Yet, the choice was inevitable. It would determine a certain course to your life. I don’t know how many of those moments actually occur in a person’s life. I am thankful, though, that they do not come up too often.

Many decisions are just casual thoughts. Do I want the blue car or the red car? Do I want the early shift or the late shift? What do I want for dinner – chicken or steak? Those simple choices only impact a short period of life. But how about these - How many children should we have? Should I go back to school? Should I choose more money or more flexibility at work? Those decisions are very impactful to our futures and the results of the decisions do not quickly go away.

When it comes to our spiritual walk and the lives we live for God, we will face some of those big decisions as well. We will have a make or break moment. I recently felt that I was facing that type of decision. I had reached a fork in the road, so to speak, in my career. I had achieved as much as I possibly could in the position I was in and it was seemingly my turn for the big promotion, the big raise, and the big sense of accomplishment. This was a no brainer, right? Well…there was a flip side (isn’t there always a flip side). With the promotion, would be more headaches, less family time, and little personal flexibility. If I choose the increased salary and higher position, I would be letting go of many of my personal goals in ministry. If I tried to do both (as I had before) I feared I would crash and burn.

I felt an intense sense of gravity with this decision. I felt as if this was a definitive moment. I felt as though I was faced with a make or break decision that would set the course for many things to come. After much deliberation and prayer, I choose to stay put. My family, my church, and my ministry had to come first. It was like God was saying, “Now is the time to choose. Who are you, really?”

Esther was faced with a decision that would impact an entire nation of people. Without retelling the whole story, Esther has become queen to the king of Persia. No one knows that she is a Jew. The king is manipulated into making a decree that would exterminate all the Jews living in Persia. She now must decide whether to identify herself as a Jew by approaching the king without permission. By the way, approaching the king without permission could get her killed.

What does Esther do at this decisive moment? She stops denying, stops ignoring, stops making excuses, stops running away. She realizes this needs more than her own strength, so she falls back on the devotional habits of her people and calls on the Jews to fast with her. She resolves that she will face up to her responsibility and go in to the king. She recognizes that what she must do must include disclosing her true identity as a Jew. She takes stock of the realities of her situation and says simply, “If I perish, I perish.” She goes to the heart of the empire to save the Jewish people. Esther does save her people. She does so because she is stirred to an act of extraordinary fortitude.

The plans that God has for each of us are extraordinary. He orders the steps of our lives. When you find yourself facing a make or break moment, what will you do? Will you run from God’s plan, choose the easy route? Or will you step up, knowing that God has your moment prepared.

The heart of the story lies in these echoing words, words which I hope make your stomach tighten and your breath falter just as much as if Mordecai were saying them to you today. “Perhaps you have come to this place, to this moment, to these people, to this challenge, for just such a time as this.”
Will you listen? Will you do what Esther did, realize the reality of your situation, seek all the help you need, plan carefully, fast, and put yourself in the hands of God? Has God put you right here, right now, for just such a time as this?

A FINISHED PROJECT

Philippians 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.”

I was reading recently about the construction of the Panama Canal. History enthusiasts probably know that the Panama Canal was officially opened in October 1913. Then in January 1914 the first ship, a French crane boat, completed passage through the canal. What some may not know is that the first notion of such a canal came 400 years earlier in 1514. The Spanish, the Scottish, and the French all conjured up ideas of such a canal until finally the United States played the greatest role in its completion.

This project did not run smoothly. Official construction of the existing canal began in 1882. Granted, they did not possess the same technological advances that we have today, but nevertheless, its construction took 32 years and encompassed the terms of eight U.S. Presidents. Poor living and working conditions, disease, and awful behavior from the workers contributed to the many delays in the project. Still, when the United States took controlling interest in the project in 1904, they were determined to complete the canal. Today, the canal plays a vital role in commercial interests worldwide as a vital link to world shipping.

In our lives, God is working to build greatness. Often times, it seems like a circuitous process. Our choices, attitudes, and responses to life’s reality can sometimes delay the process. Have you ever wondered, “When am I going to see the culmination of God’s purpose for me?” You see, God began a work in you and me the day we accepted Christ into our hearts. By our own choosing, though, the development of our spiritual man is not an overnight process. There are “things” that need to be addressed, some things that need to be refined, and some things that need to be removed.

I fully believe that God’s patience deals with many of those obstacles one at a time, so not to hurt us. This is where our cooperation is required. The choice is ours. Do we want the complete work of God to impact our life? Do we really desire His perfect will in our daily walk? If we do, then we will allow Him to shape us, to guide us, and even to bring course correction in us. It may, from time to time, lead us somewhere that we never thought we would go and, maybe, never wanted to be. God is infinitely wise. He knows the best blueprint for the completed work. It won’t happen instantaneously. It’s a means to an end.

Rest assured, though, that God will continue working and continue cultivating our heart. He has a completed work planned for you and me. The work will change our lives. It will change the lives of others. It will last eternally.

Theodore Roosevelt, the American president most passionate about the canal, once said, “It is true of the Nation as well as the individual, that the greatest doer must also be the great dreamer.” The dreams in our hearts today are placed there by the creator. They are the impetus behind us becoming the person that God designed us to be. No matter how the construction of your life appears to be going, take heart. Keep dreaming. God began the work and He alone will finish it.