STRETCHED

Exodus 4:11 “Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say.”

Have you ever noticed that God often calls us to do things we're not comfortable doing? It is a simple principle–God often wants to stretch us. He will be sure to place us in situations that test our self-conceived limits. Why? God often calls us to do something to see if we trust Him enough to obey Him, even when it doesn't make sense to us.

Bottom line, God doesn't need our abilities, but He does demand our availability. In Exodus, God asked Moses a question. "What is that in your hand?" For Moses, it was his walking staff. God told him to throw it down and when Moses did, it turned into a snake. Showing good judgment, Moses turned and ran. I hate snakes, don't you? Then God told Moses to pick the snake up by the tail. Everybody knows you don't pick a snake up by the tail, instead, you grab them…..who am I kidding? You should never grab a snake. Nevertheless, Moses followed the command of the Lord. When he did, it turned back into a staff.

If you continue reading in Exodus chapter four, you will see that Moses spent a lot of time telling God why he was unable to follow God’s commands. What I find interesting, even a little comical in this story is that at no time did God say to Moses, “Do you think you can deliver my people from bondage?” God was completely secure though, in his ability to turn the heart of Pharaoh and to bring freedom to the captive Hebrews. Probably all the more reason that he chose someone who was insecure in his own abilities, was a terrible public speaker, and was a past failure (see Exodus chapter 2). There would be no question that God was solely responsible for these miracles. So, Moses was placed in a situation that would try his limits and he would do it in a place where he had personally fallen from grace. I’m sure that there were several times that Moses thought, “if I had just stayed in the wilderness…”

I can think of so many times that I have felt stretched by God. And, just like Moses, I have grumbled and whined. I have declared to God that the things he was asking were way beyond my abilities and even farther away from my comfort zone. But what I see now is that that was exactly the point. The situations that God puts us in are often as much about the work he is doing within us as they are the actual task at hand. The lessons that Moses learned at the burning bush and in Pharaoh’s palace would serve him well at the Red Sea, at Sinai, and especially in the moments that he faced an angry mob of Israelites.

God will accomplish his intended task, with or without us. But, because he loves you and me, he chooses to teach us valuable lessons and deeply enrich our lives along the way. It requires stretching. It requires discomfort. You may find yourself doing something you never thought you would. Remember, you are there for a purpose. God is stretching you. God is expanding you for even greater things. Now go and do as he tells you. He will help you. And you will accomplish great things.

AMAZING GRACE

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”

The story is told of a young girl who left work early so she could have some uninterrupted study time right before a final exam in religion class. She studied all night. When she arrived at class in the morning everybody was cramming as much last minute info as their minds could handle. The teacher walked in and said, "Let’s do a quick review before the test."

They followed him through the review that was laid out on the study guide. As he covered item by item he finally jumped to issues the young girl had never heard covered in class. Several hands went up, "We never had that information before." The teacher picked up the text book and held it in his left hand and said, "Everything is in the book and you are clearly responsible for everything in the book." Who could argue with that?

Finally it was time to take the test. --- The assistants passed out the test and the professor said, "Leave your test face down on the desk until everyone has one --- I’ll tell you when to turn your paper over and start." Two minutes later the class heard, "OK, you may start."

When the young girl turned her test over, every answer was filled in. A note at the bottom of the last page said: "Your Final Exam is now over. All your answers are correct. You are blessed with an ’A’ on the final exam."

Every student read the same thing and looked up at the professor in utter astonishment. When the professor was sure all eyes were on him he said, "You passed the test for one reason only --- because the creator of the test took the test for you. All your study time, class time and hard work in preparation for this exam did not help you get the "A". You have just experienced --- GRACE."

Grace is unmerited favor, getting something we don’t deserve. What we deserve is a punishment that is fit for the crime – that is a punishment that is equal with our sin. Our sin is rebellion against an all-wise, all-seeing, all-powerful God. His omnipresence places Him at the scene of our misbehaviors. His omniscience makes Him aware of our every thought, word and deed. His omnipotence can overwhelm all opposition. Instead of pouring out His wrath upon us however, God extends His grace towards us. He doesn’t turn a blind eye to our sin because that would violate His holiness; He offers complete justification – forgive and forget – clean sheet. He declares us to be righteous. The plan of salvation is one of substitution. God executed His divine judgment – not on us – but upon Himself. At Calvary, the Son of God died in our place – such is God’s grace.

Each day should begin with our deliberate remembrance of what God has done for you and me. His love and grace sets the pace for our entire life. He has established us in his perfect path. This knowledge ought to wipe out guilt and obliterate despair. He loves us. What more could we ask for?

AN ALTERNATIVE TO GIVING UP

Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be on the vines…I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

In today’s world, we see an overwhelming number of people who will move from one position to another at the drop of a hat. When the circumstances get a little tough everybody abandons ship. There are few who will stay the course to get through the bad times. Fear grips the heart of the faithless with the release of every bad news article. Things like, “Oh the stock market is crashing because of one bad day of business.”

The question is this; will we, as God’s people, stand for Christ when things around us fail? When jobs fail, when the economy goes south, when sickness strikes, when shortages occur or when storms threaten, will we stand up and be counted as faithful to Christ.

We can be sure that not everything in life is going to be perfect. Each of us is sure to suffer, to hurt, to lose, and to be wronged. This only means that we are no different than anyone else on the planet. We are taught in scripture that it rains on both the just and unjust. It is, however, how we respond to these adversities that differentiates us from everyone else. When trouble comes, we have options. We can join the crowd by complaining, murmuring, abandoning hope, running away, or quitting altogether. Or, we can take that moment to grasp onto our faith even stronger than ever. We can take a step back, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves that we serve a God that is in complete control.

You see, by quitting and running away from our problems we miss an opportunity to see God at work. In addition, it should be said that it is likely that problems will find you in your new “place” as well. Sometimes trouble follows us. On September 14, 1992 Paul Harvey told this story: “After Hurricane Andrew, Patricia Christy, waiting in line for food in south Florida, vowed that she was going to get out that state. She was going to leave on the first plane out. She was determined to get as far away from the horror of hurricane damage as she possibly could and have a restful vacation. I have just heard from Patricia Christy. She was standing in line for fresh water on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, having just gone through Hurricane Iniki.”

Running, complaining, and quitting are not the answers for our victory. The prophet Habakkuk gives us a sure fire way to overcome difficulty. “I will joy in the God of my salvation”, he said. We ought to acknowledge that no matter what is happening around us, no matter how bleak the situation may seem, God is still the God of our salvation.

He will bring meaning to our suffering if our hearts remain fixed upon him. He only has the ability to turns your tests and trials into greater victories. The next time you feel twisted and torn by the difficulties that you face or the next time you feel that these problems have left you void of purpose and worth, think upon this: A $5 bar of steel that is cut into ordinary horseshoes is worth $10. A $5 bar of steel that is cut into needles in worth $350. That same bar of steel cut into delicate springs for watches becomes worth $250,000.

You may feel twisted, torn, and broken into pieces. But for those who joy in the God of their salvation, hope is near and their life is of greater value than ever before.

MAKING IT PERSONAL

Matthew 10:31 “So don’t be afraid, you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”

One of the more troubling aspects of the modern age is the creeping de-personalization of our lives. More and more, as we go through the day, whenever we’re dealing with a branch of government, or a corporation, or an educational institution, or some part of the medical establishment, we feel like a number instead of a person. A statistic instead of a human being. Let me give you some examples:

When you fill your tank up with gas, you no longer have to walk into the gas station and pay an attendant. Instead, you just swipe your credit card and pay at the pump. Convenient, yes. But also impersonal. In fact, these days you can buy virtually anything by mail or over the internet, so you don’t have to interact with people at all. Now, you do still have to go to the grocery store to buy food. But even there, you no longer have to interact with a clerk when you check out. Instead, there are lanes where you can check yourself out; scan the bar codes yourself and bag the groceries yourself.

How about movies? In the old days, you had to go to a theater to watch a movie, and you experienced it with a room full of other people. Then, the VCR came along, so you could watch at home; but you still had to go to the video store. But now, you can order movies on demand through satellite, digital cable, or the internet. You can also rent DVD’s through the mail. No human contact is required. Automation and technology have given us the kind of affluence that previous generations could only imagine. But it comes at the cost of personal interaction.

However, we can still attest to this fact: that no matter how severely technology may assault our humanity and our individuality, we still live in a universe which is governed by a loving, personal God; a God who knows and cares for each one of us by name. In fact, the more impersonal our world becomes, the more it needs to hear the message of the Christian faith; the message of a personal God who loves each one of us as individuals.

None of us is ever out of God’s sight. Nothing ever happens to us of which God is unaware. In fact, not only does he know what is happening to us, and what is going to happen to us, as well; but the truly amazing thing is that he cares what happens to us. The incredible, astounding fact is that we matter to God, more than we can possibly imagine. He is intensely interested in who we are and in what we’re going through, even down to the seemingly mundane details of our lives. And what should our response be to this fact? "Don’t be afraid," Jesus says. Don’t worry. Don’t be anxious. Because God is watching over you, at all times and in every situation. You can never do anything to remove yourself from God’s care; nor can anyone or anything else ever separate you from God’s care.

The fact that God knows and loves us by name, personally and intimately should motivate us to seek after Him, so that we might know and love Him in the same way. Just as we shouldn’t be satisfied with a superficial relationship to one another, we shouldn’t be satisfied to have a superficial relationship with our God. Christ, through his death, has removed every barrier, has removed every obstacle, and has made it possible for us to truly know God. Not only that, but he invites us to do so, and desires that we do so. So let’s make it personal.

LISTEN UP

I Samuel 3:10 “And Samuel replied, speak your servant is listening.”

Here’s a little brain teaser -- You are driving a bus. You go east 12 miles, and turn south and go 2 miles and take on 9 passengers, and then you turn west and go 3 miles and let off 4 passengers. How old is the bus driver?

The main problem that many people have when trying to answer this brain teaser is listening. A lot of the times, we latch onto certain information that we think is important in a question and then somehow, miss the most important part. When I first read this question, like many of you, I latched onto the directions (east, south, west), the distance and the number of passengers on the bus. Those are things that that are important right?

When I got to the end and it asked how old the bus driver is, I was dumb founded. “Wait a minute,” I thought, “how are we going to find the age of the bus driver from the information given?” I took a minute and looked at the numbers and wondered if there was some secret message in the numbers and maybe, if you added them together or something, it would work. It wasn’t for a few moments that I finally realized that the clue to this teaser was a simple, three letter word that starts the whole question off. “YOU are the bus driver.”

How often is it though that we have this same problem with listening in real life? Listening is so important in life and crucial to make relationships work. We all have built into us the need and want to be listened to. Being listened to communicates things like worth, value, love, and respect. How do you feel when you are pouring your heart to a friend and then find out that they weren’t listening to you? You feel hurt, upset, and like they don’t care about you. Listening is so important and yet we live in a day and age where there are so many distractions to listening that it makes it more and more difficult to do.

Again, listening is so important to any relationship, and that includes our relationship with Jesus. And in some ways, I would argue that it is even more important because I think the God of the Universe and the Creator of all things is someone to pay attention to when he speaks. So many people will say, “I just want to hear from God.” Well, are you listening? We are given a powerful example from young Samuel. Be prepared to hear and then respond.

God is speaking today whether you believe it or not. My challenge to all of us is to start listening. It is so important to make sure that we are taking time to “be still” and take the time to separate ourselves from the world and everything going on around us. This will help us to hear God’s still, small voice and refresh our souls with what and how God sounds like. On top of all that, we must respond as God calls our name. He will not force Himself on us but instead wait for us to be ready and purposefully listen to His leading. The question is, are you ready?

ENCOURAGEMENT

Hebrews 10:25 “…let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

On June 18, 1956, a freak accident happened on a lake in New York. A speeding motorboat bounced on a wave and shot into the water two of its passengers, a 50-year old man and a little girl. To keep her from drowning, the man held her head above water while the boat circled back. They rescued the girl. But the man sank and drowned. That’s how Dawson Trotman died, the founder of the Navigators, an international discipleship ministry. According to a quote in Time Magazine, “He lived to save others. His death was just the way he would have planned it.” I read somewhere that his obituary reads like this: “Dawson Trotman, always lifting someone up.”

Now that’s a legacy. Would that be yours, too? That you live to save others? That you always lift someone up? In a word, encouragement. In the Greek, the word “encourage” means “to call to one’s side, to comfort, to console, to strengthen.” Basically, to put courage in. At the time of the writing of Hebrews, there was a great persecution. Our tendency during such trying times would be to save our skin or to each his own. But, the book of Hebrews encourages us to encourage one another. Someone wrote, “Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough… To encourage is to inspire another with courage.”

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “encourage” is the one used for the name “Comforter” of the Holy Spirit. People usually equate the works of the Spirit with signs and wonders. But, when we encourage one another, we show that the Spirit really dwells among us. Encouragement is a great indicator that the Spirit is working in our lives.

The word “encourage” is in the present tense. It means a habit or a way of life. In fact, Hebrews commands us to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today”. It is also in the active voice. It means we don’t wait for others to encourage us. But we take the initiative. We must encourage even if others could not, even if others would not. Note that we are to “encourage one another”. That means that it is for every one of us.

As much as you and I could use an encouraging word from time to time, there are others who desperately need to be lifted up. Encouragement is a ministry and you and I have opportunity after opportunity to impact a life that is otherwise down trodden. And by offering yourself to help another, you will find yourself more upbeat, more positive, and more encouraged. Encouragement spreads just as quickly (if not more so) than discouragement. Be a catalyst of a positive trend. Be on the lookout for those who just need a smile and a kind word and when you find them, don’t hold back.

Charles Swindoll wrote, “I know of no one more needed, more valuable, more Christ-like than the individual who is committed to the ministry of encouragement.” Be encouraged to encourage others.

JUSTICE, LOVE, AND HUMILITY

Micah 6:8 “The Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires; to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.”

It really sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” Almost like the scouting oath. Be fair. Be nice. Be humble. But when you read Micah in the context of which he spoke these words, you will soon realize that it is more than a smooth motto. It is much deeper than a memorized verse of scripture.

God established a covenant with the Hebrew people: “I will be your God and you will be my people.” (Leviticus 26) God’s loving actions of freeing the Hebrew people from slavery and giving them the promised land were only the first ways God held up God’s end of the deal. God promised to continue to provide for them. But a covenant relationship is a two way street. Both parties to a covenant have responsibilities, required behaviors that sustain and maintain the relationship. It is just like a marriage covenant, where two people promise to love each other and to care for each other.

But during Micah’s time, things were going well for the nation of Israel. And they had forgotten their covenant with the one who delivered them from slavery. For Micah, it was not enough that they said “Hey, we are good people! We go to the temple everyday. We offer sacrifices and give generously.” The question was, “What does God require?”
“To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

Justice means fairness, fair play and equity within the human family. In the thought of the Old Testament to do justice involved the basic needs, requirements, or even rights of people living together in community. Justice, then, is decidedly social in nature. God’s covenant requires the people whom God delivered from slavery never to treat others as they had been treated in Egypt. To do so would be to violate the very promise that God made to the Hebrew people. God requires a commitment to the poor, oppressed, and powerless in a society, people who have no voice of their own by which to redress the injustices that marginalize them as human beings.

The Hebrew word “hesed” is translated as “kindness” and “mercy”. It is a relationship term. It is not a warm-fuzzy-feeling kind of love, but the commitment and steadfast dependability that arises from mutual relationship. To love "hesed" was to be committed not only to God who had demonstrated "hesed" to the people. It was also to live in community in such a way that "hesed" marked life together as God’s people. To love "hesed" was to be committed to a quality of life that was governed by the principles of mutual respect, helpfulness, and loving concern.

Walking humbly with God is a call to do more than to come to God with offerings thinking to buy God’s favor. It is a call to live our lives with God in ways that would work out in every aspect of life. It implies sensitivity to the things of God. To allow our hearts to be broken by the things that break the heart of God. It is a deep desire to see the world through the eyes of God, to act in the world as God would act.

Much like the Hebrew people, we have been delivered from the bondage of sin and death. We, therefore, have an opportunity, if not a mandate to love others, to defend the helpless, and to walk in humility. By doing so, we live a life that makes a difference.

LIFE ASSURANCE

1 John 5:12 “So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.”

I heard about a boy named Billy. Little Billy, caught in mischief, was asked by his mother, "How do you expect to get into heaven?" He thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I’ll just run in and out and keep slamming the door until they say, ’For heaven’s sake, either come in or stay out.’ Then I’ll go in."

We cannot do anything to earn our way to heaven. We cannot gain righteousness in and of ourselves. However, there is a way for us to know that we have the gift of God’s forgiveness and the promise of an abundant life. So the question for us today is…Do you have “assurance” or “insurance”? Both words sound very similar and have similar meanings. One of the definitions of both is a guarantee. Assurance is a guarantee of your word and insurance is a guarantee of payment. The same, yet different.

I have assurance that if certain people tell me that they will do something that I don’t have to worry about it. Their word is all I need. And I have insurance; lot’s of insurance. I have life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, and health insurance. They guarantee me compensation if anything were to happen to my possessions or my family or me. But the one huge difference is that assurance is not based on anything I do. Insurance has everything to do with what I do.

So back to the question. Do you have “assurance” or “insurance”? Do you have assurance of the blessings of God and a life filled with goodness? Do you know that God has given you life through his Son? Or do you have insurance, thinking that as long as you do the right things, as long as you work hard and make the correct choices that you can achieve the best things in life?

The answer to that question signifies a dramatically different choice of life styles. I have lived a great portion of my life trying to do well enough and be good enough. I have worked and worked and worked, all in hope of providing a sense of justification and meaning to my existence. All of that, I now know, is exhausting and utterly fruitless. The only way to really have life is to search for it on a path that leads to Christ. When you have Christ and subsequently he has you, life looks so much different. It is directed by joy and hope. The tasks of our daily lives will seem less burdensome with Christ than without him.

We must resist the urge to take over and try to accomplish things on our own. That choice will always lead to disappointment and isolation. But for those who have him, they are never alone. They have the key to fulfillment that so many are looking for and have failed to realize. David McCasland once said, “To know lasting happiness, we must get to know Jesus.” There has never been a statement that is truer.

A LIGHT IN THE SHADOWS

Job 12:22 “He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.”

When I was a little boy, in grade school I remember taking a field trip to the Olentangy Indian Caverns. They are a set of caves in Central Ohio. It was a fun trip, but also a little frightening for a nine year old boy. The one thing that seems to be held in common by all cave tour guides is that at some point during the tour they turn the lights out and allow the group to experience absolute darkness for a few seconds.

Darkness is something that is almost foreign in today’s world. We live in a world where street lamps light up the night sky, even in a small town. Even when we lived in the country we had a light that would illuminate our yard. And when the power goes out, almost every household has its extra flashlights lying around somewhere… in the junk drawer, or whatever you might call it. So it’s hard for us to imagine what it might have been like even 2 or 3 hundred years ago, let alone 2000 years ago.

But the Bible talks a lot about light, and how it drives away darkness. In the very first book of the Bible we read that creation began with darkness covering the face of the deep, and it was God’s creative word that brought light into the darkness. In John’s Gospel he wrote that through the word all things were made and “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shone in the darkness, but the darkness did not understand it.” Of course John was using that metaphor to describe sin and salvation, but our scripture today also talks about the contrast to darkness that is brought by God himself.

You see, we all have an opportunity to move from darkness to light. Moving from darkness to light is not about trying our best. We are light because we are in Christ, or we are darkness because we are still in our sins. It’s pretty cut and dried. The light of Christ in our lives transforms us, it drives the darkness away, and it’s not only obvious in the way we live our lives, it also transforms our minds so that we have sort of an inherent knowledge of what it means to please God. Paul wrote in Romans 12 that we ought to renew our mind in order to know what the will of God is. So this light that transforms us is the light which proves us or tests us… it exposes the flaws and weak points, and lets us know what we need to work on, and what we’ve accomplished.

How do we renew our minds? How do we find out what is acceptable to the Lord? What does God use as His proving grounds? His word. It was God’s word that brought light in the beginning, it was God’s word made flesh, His only son Jesus Christ that brought light to us, and we are light only in the Lord. It is God’s word which continues to transform us by the renewing of our minds. We are to test and prove what is right and acceptable to God by the word, not some heart felt emotion, not by some warm fuzzies, its God’s word. It’s this light that drives the darkness away. We ought to apply this word to our life so that the light of God brings everything to light.

We are light, but only in the Lord. If we are light, we should act as light, bringing goodness, righteousness, and truth and driving out the darkness.

WHOLEHEARTED

Matthew 22:37 “You must love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

One of the key ingredients in a Christian’s life is passion. Not passion for worldly things, but a true heartfelt passion for Jesus. A passion that burns on the inside and consumes our thought processes, consumes our decision making, consumes our worship, consumes our emotions and will.

We have passion for our friends, passion for our animals, passion for our computers and other realities of life. We must have passion for God. Passion is an abandoned display of emotion such as love, joy, etc. It denotes strong feeling, fervor, enthusiasm and zeal.

Passion does not operate out of obligation. Passion operates as a result of agape love. Passion loves and serves because it wants to, not because it has to. Passion is serving God because there is nothing else that we would rather be doing. There is no passion without relationship. Passion always has a direct object. Passion is focused on a person or thing. Passion is energized by a person or thing. You can’t love a person that you don’t know. Knowing Jesus is essential to a passionate relationship with Him. Any hindrances to that relationship must be dealt with. Sins must be confessed. Passion for Jesus cannot be earned, but comes to us instead as a gift.

Passion for Jesus is all about relationship. The Lord is calling out to you today. He desires to have a relationship with you forever. Not a one night stand, but a lifelong relationship of commitment, love and passion. If you will respond to His call, he will satisfy your every need. He will be your Father, your lover and your friend.

Passion is something that has to be cultivated and guarded. The enemy will do everything he can to discourage us from falling totally in love with Jesus. He will tell us we are too vocal about our faith. The Devil is a deceiver and a liar. He doesn’t want any of us to enjoy our Christianity. He will do everything in his power to distract us from achieving and performing our eternal purpose on this earth. Have you ever wondered what happened to your passion?

It is true that the reality of our daily lives can dull our passions. We can get so caught up with just getting by that the necessary cultivation of our passions gets pushed to the back burner. It is up to us to stir these things up within us. Let us never get tired of pursuing God. The key for each of us is to be sure that we make a conscious effort to obey the most important commandment, which is found in our scripture. Our heart, our soul, and our mind must be guarded and checked. We must ask, “Am I giving him my all?” The answer to the question can often be found in an assessment of our priorities and our daily activities. As we place “our all” into living for God, we will grow in a deeper relationship with him. Then our lives will be more rich and full than we could ever imagine.

THE WORTHINESS OF WAITING

Galatians 5:5 “But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith.”

Waiting. It seems sometimes that all we do in life is wait. We wait in line at the market; We wait at the traffic light; We wait for the Advil to take effect; We wait for the commercial to be over; We wait for the shower to get warm; We wait for financing to come through; We wait to be heard; We wait for life to turn around; We wait for our son or daughter to get serious about life; We wait for the change...the change we just know is coming. We wait, we wait, and we wait.

There are times when our waiting can be absolutely excruciating and we can hardly stand to wait another minute. I was in traffic the other day, and I was stuck in the middle lane behind this green Subaru wagon, you know, the ones with all the bumper stickers stacked up on the back window - and this guy is going about 20 miles an hour. Every now and then he speeds up to about 30 and then quickly drops back to 20. At one point the guy just stops his car in the middle lane. I look in my rearview mirror and I have cars stacked up in my lane behind me and the lanes on each side of me are full of vehicles. I try to merge left. I try to merge right. I’m stuck. I just had to wait, and as it turns out, the guy in front of me was just talking on the phone.

But, there are also times when we wait, and time just seems to slip away, it escapes us, and we wonder, “How did things end so fast?” It seems like yesterday that I graduated college, that I was married, that my oldest child was born. I wonder where the time has gone.

Sometimes, waiting isn’t such a bad thing. Sometimes, waiting is a gift from God. We wait on God. God makes us wait. We see the world racing by us. God sees this as essential to our spiritual life. What is it with God and all this waiting? Doesn’t it seem that God is always making people wait? Why wait? God is fully in control, why can’t God make things happen now? Why can’t Jesus snap his fingers and “ta da” - the answer comes? Why wait? Because waiting is more about Jesus than it is about us. In fact, when I give my life over to Jesus Christ, my life is no longer about me; it is now about Jesus Christ - every single aspect. These events, these things that happen in my life, are they about me, or are they really about the one who I have promised my life to, Jesus Christ. Let us embrace the reality that we all have lives that are to have every aspect committed to Jesus Christ.

When we wait with eager anticipation and reliance upon God, he is sure to bless us with the fulfillment of every promise and teach us something along the way.

THE ECHO EFFECT

Obadiah 1:15 “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done on you.”

Scientists captured a group of bats to conduct some experiments with them. The scientists stretched wire across a long room and sent the bats through it. They never struck a wire. The scientists blindfolded the bats, thinking that maybe they were able to see in the dark. When the blindfolded bats were sent through the room, they again flew with perfect precision, never touching the sides of the room or the wires stretched across them. When the mouths and ears of the bats were taped shut, different results were seen. With their eyes wide open, the bats crashed into both wires and wall.

Further investigation revealed that the bats sounded a high, shrill note when they started to fly. The sound created vibrations which echoed back from any object in their path. The highly sensitive ears of the bat were receivers for the echoed sound. What they sent out came back to them. The echo principle became the tool for the flight of the bats.

The Bible repeatedly declares that the echo principle is a basic principle of life. The echo principle is passionately proclaimed by one of the most unusual of the Old Testament prophets, Obadiah. A central theme in Obadiah’s prophecy is what someone has called “poetic justice.”

The echo principle applies to our relationship with God. The echo principle also applies to our relationship with others. The echo principle is also true of our relationship to life in general. The question for all of us should be -- What are you trying to get out of life? What is the most important thing to you? Where are your priorities?

Each day we are building our lives. We can cut corners and build with cheap material. Or we can build with only the finest, most permanent kind of material. In the end, we must live in the house we have built. As we live our lives, as we make our choices, in that manner will life be fulfilled for us.

This biblical truth should encourage us as well as set the pace for our future days. The things we do, the attitude we do them in, and our motivation for doing them serve as seed in our life. We can only reap fruit born of the seed we plant. Thus the words of the prophet, “as you have done, it will be done on you”.
We ought to be sure to avoid thoughtless words and acts towards others. Our motivation must be to honor God with clean hands and a pure heart. We can only receive the best out of life, if we put our best into a life for God. In other words “garbage in – garbage out”.

However, joy should fill the hearts of those who have been faithful. For them that have loved God will their whole heart, who have loved others without prejudice, and have lived life for God and with purpose; spiritual blessings are prepared. And at the word of the Lord – we will be rewarded in the same manner.

RINGING OUT

1 Thessalonians 1:8 “The Lord’s message rang out from you – your faith in God has become known everywhere.”

A country preacher visited the mountains and went to see the famous "echo canyon". It had the reputation of being the one place on earth where you got the clearest and truest echo of any words hollered out. The preacher found he was alone, so he hollered "Hello". The canyon echoed back in clarity, "Hello". Again the preacher bellowed, "Goodbye"; the answer resounded in absolute clarity and true pitch, "Goodbye". Looking around to make certain he was alone, the preacher let it all out, "You are the greatest preacher that ever lived!" Then came the answer - "Baloney!"

The message which rang out from Thessalonica was the gospel - the word of the Lord. It rang so clearly, was so evident in their lives, and constantly on their lips, that it was spread throughout the region. There is a good reason why this happened. These people had accepted Christ, and his Holy Spirit impacted them like the key of a typewriter; it so molded them into his image that Paul called them the "prototype" for what a believing church ought to be. When the love of Jesus is first priority, ministry and love will be the reputation of the church.

You see, these people were prepared to speak up. Thessalonica was a port city. That means that all sorts of people came into the area, stayed a short time, and left for another port. The church there never ceased to “be counted” for the gospels sake. And many that left them were on fire for God and on their way to another city. This is how the fire spread, it’s how the message rang out. Their joy in telling what Jesus had done for them thundered out across Europe and Asia too. It is what Jesus told us we would be like when truly indwelt by his Spirit. In Paul’s travels he didn’t need to inform the Philippians or the Colossian church about what was happening in Thessalonica; their reputation beat Paul to every city. These folks had really spoken-out for Jesus.

Their lives had been changed. They had turned from idols and were now serving the true and living God. They were connected to God in a supernatural way. It was this reality that allowed them to touch and change lives. What an opportunity! You and I have that same chance everyday. We can choose to let the message of the Lord ring out from our lips and our lives. We ought to never grow dull in our faith towards God; instead we should be turned towards and dialed in to God.

The news of our faith and the life that we now live should reach out to everyone that knows us and then to everyone that knows them. The next time you find yourself asking, “What can I do?” Remember this – you have something inside of you that others lack and of which some are unaware. Let it ring out, don’t ever hold back. Be a voice of hope and a hand of help. You may never know the extent of the blessing in which you play a part.

WHERE HE LEADS

Exodus 13:22 “Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”

When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and were delivered from the tyranny and oppression of Pharoah, they rejoiced. For the children of Israel, the land of promise was a land in which they had never been, and they could have easily lost their way. They needed direction. God knew this so he gave them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The great part about this pillar of cloud was that it was big enough that everyone could see it, and no one would ever get lost.

It was a simple thing for Moses to explain. The people had to begin a new experience of not having to rely on the things they used to rely on. The former things were left behind in Egypt. Those things were gone and they would never see them again. Everything now had become new to them. There was a whole new way of living for God’s people.

We are much like the children of Israel. We may be delivered from all of the bondage of where you and I used to be, but without the leading of the Lord we are vulnerable. We don’t need to go anywhere except where he leads us. It is true that our culture as a whole has adopted a “do it yourself” approach. We are taught that you are never going anywhere in life unless you do it yourself. I have fallen into extended periods of this flawed thinking in my life. My pride coupled with insensitivity to God’s leading left me wandering from thing to thing looking for answers, yet finding none. It is an easy trap to fallen in to. We must always look at those times as the effect of our failing to keep our focus on his leading.

Much like for the Israelites in the wilderness, God makes his path visible and available to us continually. It is found within his word and in the leading of his spirit. Failing to recognize them and follow them will always lead us to poor choices and great disappointment. The lesson for us today is clear - God is telling us that in and of ourselves, we don’t know where we are going. We cannot trust our instincts on this. Without the Lord, we lack wisdom to know where to turn, and how to live for God.

The people of Israel would soon find that there was nothing more reliable than that pillar of cloud by day and that pillar of fire by night. It would cause them to always look forward, and to never look back. Does this sound like something you might need for your life? I need guidance in my life. Even though my life may seem routine sometimes, I face a new wilderness almost every day. With each new day, we need to know God’s direction for us. We cannot allow ourselves to become distracted from his guidance. We need to look straight ahead and simply walk behind him and trust where he is taking us.

We must begin to allow the Lord to go before us in everything we say and do. Every decision we make and every thought we have should be focused on following that “pillar of cloud” he has set before us. We must follow where he leads.

SEEING GOD WITH YOUR OWN EYES

Job 42:5 “I have heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”

I remember a story about a six-year-old little girl and her mother. They say that the two of them were driving in the mountains of California. When all of a sudden the mother lost control of the car and drove off of a small cliff. The mother felt that her vitals were diminishing, so before she died she told that six year old little girl to wait right here until somebody comes. Three days later when the rescue team found her the little girl was waiting right there in the car beside her deceased mother. A few years later they interviewed this little girl and asked how did she last so long? She said I just kept waiting for “the somebody” to show up. The reporter asked did she know who that person was. She said I only knew mommy said they were coming. So I waited for them.

Many times when we struggle and our lives are starting to turn upside down we tend to think that God has forgotten about us. We began to wonder if God is real. We wonder if God cares. And we even start to wonder if he knows what he is doing. Just because you have heard of God does not mean that you have experienced God. Job makes it clear when he begins the 5th verse by saying my ears had heard of you. The past tense word “had” lets us know that before his encounter with God he did not know God like he thought he did. He admits that he had only heard of God.

So Job admits that maybe he did not know God but had only heard of God. But after he admits only hearing about God, he then acknowledges that he now has seen God. It was difficult to see God while things were going well. When the family was tight and the money was right it was easy to believe that you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps. Mankind has a tendency to become conceited over our own wisdom and power. We can concentrate so much on what we have accomplished that we easily forget how impotent we really are. We forget that at best we are copyists who borrow wisdom from God. We can make an airplane but we can’t make a bird. We can make a submarine, but we can’t prepare a belly of a great fish to swallow somebody down and prevent all enzymes from dissolving everything within the stomach. We can build a skyscraper but we cannot form a mountain.

But it is easy to see God when your back is against the wall and you find the strength to come out swinging. When you are sick in your body but somehow you keep right on going. That is when you see God. When you don’t have any money but you just keep right on eating and eating well. That is when you see God. You know that you did not have it. You know that you did not have the power to get it done. So that is when it is easy to see the power of God in your life. Dr. C. T. Walker had it right when he said, “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” Job was finally able to see God when he could no longer depend on what he had. So don’t get discouraged because you can’t see your way out just start looking for God. And I promise that you will find him in the empty places fill the voids in your life. That is why the old saints said God is food when you’re hungry, water when you’re thirsty, and a shelter in the time of the storm.

UNFAILING LOVE

Psalms 13:5 “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.”

Most everyone at one time or another has placed their trust in someone’s love only to have that love fail them. Maybe it was a spouse, a parent, a child, family or a friend. There are many examples of love that has failed a person and is quite devastating. Broken marriages, dissolved friendships, and estranged families are just some of those examples. Still, we can find hope that turns pain and hurt into joy. It comes by focusing on God’s unfailing love for you and me. He has rescued us with his salvation through Jesus Christ.

God’s love for us is unfailing. It has not failed because of anything we have done in the past. It will not fail because of anything we do in the future. There is nothing that we can ever do to cause him to stop loving us. Love is not just a feeling, but a set of behaviors. In the Bible, this fact is clearly pointed out in what is referred to as the love chapter. (1 Corinthians 13 NIV) "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” The Apostle Paul concludes this passage with these words “Love never fails.”

Love is a behavior. Loving feelings are the consequence of loving acts. If I have loving behavior toward my wife, she will have loving feelings toward me and I will have loving feelings toward her. There are some married couples that say “we no longer have loving feelings toward each other.” If this is the case, try treating each other with respect. Do kind acts for one another. Instead of being self seeking, live to serve your spouse. Give it a try and see if the loving feelings don’t come. Loving behavior brings loving feelings.

God has showed us loving behavior. His behavior shows us patience and kindness and it is not rude or self-seeking. (See John 3:16) There is no more powerful love that the love of God. Too often, we qualify our mistakes and failures as beyond hope. In our minds, we deem ourselves “unlovable”. Then, as a result of a flawed thinking, we move further and further from God, thus pulling away from his love.

The problem is that we are looking within ourselves, hoping to find some value that makes us lovable. That is a hopeless endeavor that leads to grave disappointment. We will never find it. We are lovable because God chooses to love us. We cannot cause him to love us more or less. We should, however, trust in his unfailing love that has rescued us. By doing so, we can rejoice. We are free from guilt and shame. We are free from death. Because his love gives us life.

Never let a day pass without celebrating his love for us. Don’t get mired in the regret of your shortcomings and failures. Live free in the strength of his love for you. It never fails.

LIVING LIKE YOU'RE LOVED

Jude 21 “Live in such a way that God’s love can bless you.”

Perhaps you have heard about the ad placed in the “Lost and Found” section of the classifieds. It said, “LOST DOG— mutt, has only one eye, limps due to an accident with the car, hard of hearing, patches of fur missing from mange, answers to the name ‘Lucky.’”

You might wonder, “Why is a dog like that called Lucky?” This poor mutt is lucky because someone cares enough to look for him. Despite all its misfortune someone loves that little dog just the way it is.

You and I are lucky too. We were all deformed by sin. Sin blinded us to the truth; sin hardened our hearts so we could not hear God’s voice. Sin had us limping down the wrong path; we were dirty and sickly. But God loved us enough to look for us anyway. The Holy Spirit tracked us down, and Jesus paid the ultimate price to free us from the trap of sin.

Those who believe that Jesus died for their sins have been forgiven and set free from sin. But that is only the beginning! Jesus did not instruct his followers to go make converts; He didn’t tell them to just go out and find as many people who will believe. Jesus said, “Make disciples”. Becoming a Christian happens in a moment; becoming a disciple takes a lifetime.

Becoming a disciple involves growing in our faith. It means being actively involved in a lifetime process of becoming more like Christ. It means doing more than going through the motions. Jude reminds us all that growth is not attained simply from knowing that God loves us and that Christ died for our sins. We must live like we know God loves us and that Christ’s sacrifice is life changing.

The challenge for each of us is to press in to a life designed by God. Living like you know you’re loved means growing in faith. It means we must address the divisions of our heart. It means that we will address a wavering between flesh and spirit. Scripture tells us that there is indeed a war between flesh and spirit. It must be faced if we are to live. It is won, it is finished, but the responsibility for us to live like it belongs to you and me. Without this consciousness, the results of our lives will be fractured relationships, broken dreams, and intense failure and disappointment.

But hope is found in our scripture. By living in a way that God’s love can bless us, we place ourselves in the center of his love. If we renew our love daily, then we find that his divine power has given us everything we need. By staying in his love, by abiding in his word, and by worshipping him with everything we have we will receive him. Let our hearts remain outstretched to receive his all powerful and never ending love for us. Then we will never miss a moment of the blessing he has promised and our lives will produce everything that we’ve always dreamed of.

SHOW ME YOUR GLORY

Exodus 33:18 “Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

Imagine with me, if you would this scene. You have arrived at church and you know that something wonderful is going to happen. You have entered into the church with the full expectation of encountering God. As you enter through the doors you are captivated by the sight, which you see. Seat, elevated front and center, in the auditorium is God seated on high throne. The radiance of God’s glory has you captivated as it fills the entire worship center. And you are nudged back to awareness by the most beautifully sounding choir, a choir for the ages, the voices of angels. As the choir sings, it declares in its song how God is unlike any other. In the midst of the majesty of God, how would you respond? If you stood face to face with the Lord of glory, what would you do?

In Exodus, Moses found himself in that type of situation. Moses stood in the presence of God. In fact, scripture teaches us that in that moment, God spoke with Moses as a friend would speak to another. He had been there before. He had seen some amazing things. The burning bush, the Red Sea, and miracles on Mount Sinai all surely left an amazing impression upon Moses. Still, Moses was not satisfied. Moses says I want more. Show me your glory. He in essence is saying, “I’ll never have too much of your presence, I’ll never stop wanting you…Because there is always more, there is always another level of intimacy, another level of relationship, a deeper level of glory.

We are taught from this example that those with the deepest and most intimate relationship with God almighty are those with the deepest and most powerful longing for Him. He establishes a key difference from demanding things from God and simply crying out for God himself. More than wanting what God could do for him, he wanted to know God.

The fact is, you and I were created with an innate desire to be as close to God as possible. Things like fear, doubt, sin, shame, and pride cause many to lose focus and thus lose sight of our life’s purpose which is to be in relationship with God the creator. However, there is a constant call from heaven for us that seek and consequently find God’s presence.

Our souls are to be stirred not merely by a sense of obligation but desperation, not merely by a sense of duty but desire. Being in God’s presence, seeing His glory will change our lives forever. Moses came away from his time with God radiant from the glory of God. It was God’s glory that overtook Moses. If you and I are determined to see and know God, we will never be the same. It will burn away the things that hinder our growth and development in Him.

Let us, like Moses, never be satisfied apart from God. Let our worship of Him wet our appetite for even greater experiences of His power and majesty. If we do, things will be brighter, starting with us.