Posts Tagged ‘faith’

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Compassion

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

How many times do we find ourselves in a situation, and think, “I deserve this. I brought it on myself,” and find ourselves ashamed to ask for help and strength from God?

I know I have felt this way.  Because of failure, sin, or downright ignorance I get myself into a tight spot, and feel like I should not receive help from God because I knew better, or at least should have.

It is easier to accept that God is merciful and will forgive us, but it is sometimes hard to believe that He wants to aid us after our own mistakes.

That is when we need to realize and remember the compassion of God.  Psalm 145:8 (NKJV) states, “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,     Slow to anger and great in mercy.”  Also we find in Lamentations 3:22 (NKJV), “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.”

Just like God’s mercy, His compassion is greater than our sin, greater than our errors, greater than our flaws.  In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) the father not only receives his wayward son, and forgives him, but also begins to take care of every need.  Even though this son had failed miserably, his father not only forgave him, looking at his repentant son through eyes of mercy, he began to provide for his son’s needs, looking at him through eyes of compassion.  The wrongs had been forgiven.  The only thing the father saw now was the need.

There is a very old song which comes to my mind, entitled “He Looked Bey0nd My Fault and Saw My Need.”  This is the compassion of God.  He forgives the fault, then deals with the need.

If you believe in God’s mercy, and have faith in His ability, then trust in His compassion in your time of need, even if it was caused by your own doing.  He has not changed, and wants to meet you at that point of need.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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A Clean Heart

Friday, August 14th, 2009

There is a scripture on my mind, and I have been quoting it lately.  It is from th fifty-first Psalm, a prayer of repentance made by David after sinning with Bathsheba.  It states, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Verse 10, KJV)

This has not been on my mind because I have been involved in some unspeakable sin (doesn’t that make you feel relieved?) but because I have been examining my own heart, trying to see what is really there, wanting to surrender it fully to God.

To be truthful, I didn’t like everything I found there.  I had to look at my own feelings and motives honestly, and was ashamed at the level of selfishness.  Yes, I said selfishness.

Admittedly, like anyone else, I carry the emotional scars and baggage of past disappointments.  Recently when something from the past was recalled and stirred up, the twinge of that disappointment’s pain was felt again.  As I was thinking about the reasons why I could still feel this, I realized it was because I had from the very first been more focused on myself than anything else.  I was primarily concerned with what I wanted, and when that did not materialize I was disappointed.

The reason it still hurt when I thought about it was because rather than surrender my desires to God, I let a sliver of bitterness get into me.  I was like a pouting child in that sense because I was holding on to a hurt because I didn’t get my way.  And it involved a great deal of selfishness in me that I did not want to face or admit to having.

That is not to say that we will not face disappointments even when we are pure of heart, or are not motivated by selfishness.  Sometimes things do not work out, but Jesus said he would heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18).

However, sometimes we don’t always have the purest motives.  We hope to gain something (other than the promises of God) so we go forth with a bad motive trying to do a good thing.

For example, we love, but only because we expect that love to be reciprocated in like manner.  Most of us are guilty of this from time to time.  We exhibit kindness to others, but do it with the motive of gaining their loyalty to us, not because we see a need and are moved by compassion.

Then we face disappointment when those expectations are not met.  We become undone by our own impure motives.

So now I find myself praying daily that God will create a clean heart in me.  I want to do the right thing for one reason - simply because it is right.  I want my relationships to be based on exhibiting the love of Christ, not to fulfill a selfish need or desire for approval or affection.  I want my good works and actions toward others to stem not from a selfish motive, but from allowing God to work through me, to show Himself through those actions, so that He can be glorified.

I hope you understand what I am feebly trying to express here. Thanks.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Hope

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Hope is an important part of who we are.  Without a feeling of hope, we wither away.  Without hope, we give up. And, hope is the groundwork of our faith (Hebrews 11:1).

Where we place that hope is important.  We all know the feeling of having hope destroyed, that feeling of being let down.  Sometimes our hope is misplaced, and we are pinning our hopes to something that will fail.

Individuals, institutions, and situations ultimately will fail us.  Everyone experiences loss when hope is placed in these things.

The one place that we can place our hope, the one in whom our hope truly rests, is God. In Psalm 38:15, it says,  “For in You, O LORD, I hope;  You will hear, O Lord my God.” (NKJV)  When our hopes are placed elsewhere, we run the risk of great disappointment.  When our hope is in God, we are hoping in someone who has been proven over and over, many times before.  Nobody else, nothing else, has that track record.

When we have hoped elsewhere, and get let down, it is important to remember where our true hope lies.  Psalm 42:5 states, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”  (NKJV)

Our true hope is in the true Source of life, the Giver of what is good and perfect (James 1:17).  When everything and everyone else fails, even that in which we believed strongly, and defended adamantly, fails, we know that we can return to our true hope.  We need not be destroyed and despairing (”Why are you cast down, O my soul? “) but we can hope in believe in someone who wants to see our greatest hopes realized (”Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”)

Be blessed and have a great day.

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My Take On A Little Passage

Monday, August 10th, 2009

I have been debating what to write about today.  I finally settled on this passage:

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”  And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”  So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NKJV)

Here we see Elijah faced with great trouble.  He had gotten a great victory over the prophets of Baal,  but was now running in fear of his life.  He had reached the point of exhaustion, and could not go any longer.  He sat down, just wishing he could die.

We tend to get a little judgmental of Elijah, thinking “How could he act that way when God gave hime such a victory?  Where was his faith?”

Yet when we get to a point when we can go no longer, we feel the same way.  We don’t want to go on either, we would rather die, and the anguish of the heart is more than we can bear.

While the victory we had in the past can encourage us, and the hope of the future can encourage us, we sometimes are faced with a horrendous present.  The immediate situation is dire, and the pain is so deep, so terrible, that we would welcome the end.

After this Elijah has a visitation, an angel that gives him provision. After a time of rest he recieves a second visitation, gaining further provision.  Only then does he have the strength to go on again, and he goes forward in supernatural strength for forty days and nights.

After that, Elijah was able to speak with God concerning his condition (1 Kings 19: 9-14).  Then God gives him instruction, and sends him to Elisha, who would be his protege.   He also tells Elijah that there are others who do not serve Baal. (1 Kings 19: 15-18)

When faced with these situations, we sometimes need the same kind of help.  It can be very hard, heartbreaking, and lonely.  That is when we need God.  We need His visitation, His provision of strength, His promise of help in the future (our “Elisha”).  And most of all, we need to know that we are not alone.  We need to know that God is there, and we need to know that there are others who have not “bowed to Baal” - in other words, there are those who stand with us.

To those who are faced with tremendous difficulty, I say hold on.  God loves you just as much as He did Elijah, why should He not respond in like manner?  And to those who are not faced with great difficulty, there is someone who needs to know that you are willing to stand with them.  Don’t take it lightly when someone is in deep need, in deep anguish, and in need of assurance that they are not standing alone.  That may take commitment, time, and putting one’s self on the back burner for awhile.  Be willing to do whatever it takes.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Edification

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I really want to start this off with some scripture to lay a foundation for what I am going to say.  Romans 14:19 (NIV)  states,  “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) states, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

We all need and desire encouagement.  It blesses us when someone speaks something or does something that lifts our spirit, brings us hope, or simply makes us feel better.  We all like the feeling of a “pat on the back” or any other form of encouragement, especially when we are feeling down or discouraged.

This is the more upbeat side of being edified, or built up, nad we have no problem with it.  But there is also another type of edification.  The words that challenge us, bring us to a point of humility, or point out something to us that we would rather not think about.

I am not saying that we should seek out the criticism of others,  or even heed all of it,  but there are time that the very things we do not want to hear are the exact things we need to hear.  Sometimes that slap in the face is the very thing God wants to use to build us up in the proper way.

I will use this illustration.  My grandfather was not a carpenter by trade, however he could have been.  He was quite good at it and did everything to an incredibly high standard.  I remember one project that I was working on with him when he found something wasn’t up to that standard.  It was something unseen, something he could have covered up, but he chose to tear it out and redo it.  He didn’t wat to settle for “good enough” just because no one else would know.  He wanted it to be right.  And that required tearing down the “good enough” so he could build “the best.”

Likewise, God wants us to be built up in a way that is not just “good enough”, but He wants us built up to be “the best.”  Sometimes this requires tearing something out that is “good enough.”

God uses the gifts of the ministry, and even sometimes our friends, to speak things to us so He can do that in our lives.  Sometimes it humbles us, maybe even hurts our feelings a little bit for a moment,  but if we react properly and submit to God,  He will use it to make us the best we can be.

Proverbs 27:6 (NIV) says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted,  but an enemy multiplies kisses.”  Sometimes the kind words come from people with the wrong motives, looking to gain something for themselves.  Other times they may come from a friend or acquaintance with good intentions, but the words are really not what we need.  Maybe that well intentioned soul is not really a follower of Christ, someone who gives no thought to your spiritual life.  And sometimes the truth that a God-fearing friend tells you hurts a little, but if their motives are right, they want to you be built up to reach your highest and best potential in Christ.

In the end, we need people of God to do both in our lives, to encourage us and to challenge us.  And we need to respond to both by allowing God to work in our lives and submitting to Him.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Thieving Foxes

Monday, July 27th, 2009

There is a verse in the Song of Solomon that I heard quoted a lot when I was a kid.  It was being stated in a context that was very applicable, and the further I go in life the more I begin to see this application of the verse is really helpful.

The verse is found in Song of Solomon 2:15 - ” Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.” (NKJV)

I often hear people discussing their opinions on certain activities and behavior that they “have no problem with” or they “see nothing wrong with.” Without sounding too conservative or preachy, and without getting to the point of condemning specific actions, I would like to point out that some things do need to be examined in light of the effects that they have on our lives.

It is often found that the habits, activities, behavior, and attitudes in our lives can be counterproductive.  Even though it may not be “wrong”, or “evil”, “wicked” or “sinful”, it is still an issue for us.  It may be something small, even seemingly benign.  No matter what it is, the litmus test for it is this: Is it robbing our lives of Godly fruit, and the blessings of God?

Just like the little fox in the aforementioned verse, it is destroying the vineyard.  The fruit that should be there is not.  We show no increase, no bounty, in what our lives produce.  The blessings and the bounty dry up,  and we begin to wonder why.

That is the situation that requires a self-examination, looking at our lives humbly and honestly, to see if some “little foxes” that we all too often choose to ignore are getting into the vineyard, tearing up the vines, and destroying the fruit that should be there.

Just because something is small and seemingly minor and unimportant does not mean that it is not destructive.  The most successful thief is the one who can go about robbing unnoticed.

If we truly want good fruit and the blessings of God in our lives, we need to be on the lookout and catch the little foxes that enter our lives before they begin to do big damage.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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I’m Done Pickin’ Peas

Monday, July 20th, 2009

There is a brief Olt Testament passage about one of David’s “mighty men of valor” that I have always enjoyed.  It is found in 2 Samuel 23:11-12 :

“Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.  But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.” (NIV)

Here was Shammah with some men who were confronted by the Philistines in of all places, a field of lentils (basically, a pea patch.)  The men with Shammah ran away, but he singlehandedly defended himself and the land and was given victory by the Lord.

In my imagination, I have always pictured Shammah as the type of fellow who looked at the enemy and said, “I came here to pick peas and whip Philistines.  And I’m done pickin’ peas.”

Whether or not he was actually working in the field, whether or not he was really “pickin’ peas” is something I do not know.  But I want to use that idea to say something else.

Sometimes life’s challenges come at unexpected moments.  Sometimes the attack comes not on the battlefield, but in the pea patch.  The tempation to run like the men with Shammah when caught unaware is great.

We have to be prepared to rise up at any moment.  We need to have faith that the Lord will grant us victory if we stand our ground, and  meet the challenge when and where it arises, just like Shammah.

When the time comes to rise up, we have to be able to say, “I’m done pickin’ peas.  It’s go time.  I didn’t expect this, but God is with me  and I will obtain victory through Him.”  (Check out Joshua 1:9 for a little encouragement.)

Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (NIV)  This promise lets us know that through Him, we can stand.  We have His word on it (check out Romans 8:37 to drive the point home - “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” [NIV])

When trouble comes, stand your ground.  The peas can wait.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Get Out Of The Way

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Sometimes we make it difficult to get to God.

I was looking at the woman in Mark 5:24-34 who had to press her way through a crowd to get to Jesus when she wanted healed of a bleeding disorder.  There were a lot of people pressing around Jesus.  Some just wanted to be near Him.  But maybe there were those who had their own personal agendas, something they wanted, and their selfishness prevented someone with a genuine need from being able to get to the Lord.

We do this often today.  We become involved with our own agendas and our own desires so much that we refuse to acknowledge the needs of others.  We have our own issues to address, and that takes precedence over everything else.  We (or read that as I, take your pick; it pertains to each of us individually) have to look out for ourselves, develop our own relationship with God to a greater level, or (look out on this one) further our own ideas to the pastor/leader/church board.  Make the phone call, get that meeting, advance that idea.

Don’t get me wrong on this.  There is a time for those things.  Good ideas should be advanced, but not at the expense of more urgent needs.  Sometimes that is what happens, though.  God’s work gets sacrificed by us when it is the very thing we claim to be doing, even aim to be doing.

In Mark 7:7-8 Jesus addressed the advancing of traditions of men as something that was negating the commandments of God.  A personal agenda had been advanced that made it difficult for people to reach God.  It was an inhibitor of faith, and a stumbling block.

We don’t always recognize the urgency of need, as the disciples in Mark 10:46-52, when Bar Timaeus, the blind beggar, was crying out to Jesus, and the entourage that was there tried to get the beggar to be silent. (He then yelled louder, and got what he needed.  Good advice for those being blocked: Keep going after God anyway.  Make more noise, be determined, persevere.  You can make it.)

It isn’t so much a case of not doing good, but a case of not following the proper priorities in doing so.  We need to be very cautious not to diminish the needs of others while trying to follow God and do His will.  We don’t want to be so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget those around us.

We not only make it hard for others (even though it may not be our intention to do so) but we also make it difficult for ourselves. Romans 8:5-8 addresses how our own sinful human nature, our own carnality, sets us at odds with God.   Our own wrong thinking keeps us from Him.  Fortunately, His grace can set us free from that, His mercy is infinite and eternal, and if we are willing to let go of our own desires, He is not out of reach, but near to us when we reach out in faith.

When we set others as a priority, God is faithful to make sure we are taken care of as well.  Trust Him in this.

Be Blessed, and have a great day.

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A Matter Of Death And Life

Friday, June 26th, 2009

As I write this, we are finishing out a week that has seen three celebrity deaths, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and the most shocking of these, Michael Jackson (due to his young age, being only 50).

The public is saddened by these losses, and the hearts and prayers of America and the world at large go out to their grieving loved ones.

It brings to my mind the brevity of a human’s time on earth.  Psalm 144:4 comares the shortness of one’s time to vanity (in the King James Version) or a breath (New International Version), and a shadow (both versions).

The time from cradle to grave is short compared to the measure of all time, and even briefer when compared to eternity.  My friend (phenomenal youth pastor, speaker, and all-around godly man) Tommy Baron (of Trinity Assembly of God, my home church)  recently brought up these things in a message on the subject.  He pointed out that on a tombstone (perhaps I should say “monument”,  or “memorial”, or “headstone”, but I don’t think anyone will be offended) that the date of birth and the date of death are often separated by a “dash”.  He pointed out it is not so important as to the time of birth or death (we have no say in those things) but it is what you do “with the dash.”

The celebrities who have passed have three things in common with all the human race.  They had a date of birth, a date of passing, and of course, a “dash”.  We have things to do with ours as well.  What will it be?

Odds are we will not be selling millions of recordings, make several films and television shows, become a pop culture icon, or go door to door giving out million dollar prizes.  We will, however, live a lifetime, impact our friends, family, and neighbors.  We are given a world of opportunities each day, to not only do good things, but truly follow God.  We have the choice every day to serve God or to serve ourselves in our attitudes and behavior.  We have a choice to follow God or to follow our own whims.

Whether or not we do great things is not the point.  It is that we realize that no matter what we do, it will have an impact on someone.  That impact can ripple throughout society, like the water does when a stone is tossed into a pond.  In the time of our “dashes”,  we should all make good “ripples” in the lives of others and the world around us.

And have an awesome  “dash” when it is over.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Riding the Train

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Last night I was indulging in an activity that I don’t take time to enjoy as often as I used to.  I was listening to some Johnny Cash.

Specifically, an old song called “Life’s Railway to Heaven.”  For those unfamiliar with the song, it compares the journey of life with a train traveling a treacherous mountain route, with Christ as our engineer, guiding us safely to heaven.

I relate to this because I grew up in a small town by a short line railroad, and when I was very small my grandmother lived within sight of the tracks.  I would watch the trains as a small child, with the coal cars, tanker cars, and boxcars, trying to read the writing on the side as they passed (I was just learning to read at the time.)

Just like the engineers who took resposiblitiy for getting that freight where it was going safe and on time, no matter the conditions, we have a guide to our destination doing the same for us.

Psalm 48:14 tells us, “For God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.”

When we turn our  lives over to Jesus Christ, He takes responsibility for guiding us through the mountain passes and the storms of our lives.  Just like in that old song, there are storms, night, and sidetracks that are unforeseen.  Unpleasant and undesirable events sometimes unfold in our lives.  Sometimes we fret and worry about these things, but we must remember that we have a God who wants to guide us through these times as long as we follow him.

And like the engineer, He is familiar with the route and the trouble it can bring. Hebrews 4:14-15 tells us that our great high priest, Jesus Christ, understands our infirmities, as He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  He traveled the route, from the cradle to the cross, and knows how to guide us through any situation.  He knows the pitfalls of the route, every turn in the track, every tunnel, every bridge and trestle, and every change of degree in grade.  Although the route holds surprises for us, it does not for Him.  He knows the route perfectly.

Continue to have faith my friends.  And trust in the Great Engineer.

Have a blessed day.

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