Simple Obedience
Sometimes it is the simple things that allude us but are meant to bless us the most
I had a dream last night that I hired a young man to pull a water hose down to the edge of a lake and stand there putting water in the lake. In my dream I paid him $9.00 an hour to just stand there with that hose and the water on. It was my water he was putting in the lake and he was being paid for the time he was giving.
I later found him, after all was said and done, feeling insecure about it with his friends. I explained to his friends that all I asked him to do was stand there with the hose and he would be paid $9.00 an hour for it. Then they looked at him and said, “dude it can’t get any easier than that, what’s your problem?”
Now remember, this was a dream I had.
There’s a friend of mine whom I had advised it was okay to say no to some things, especially when the Holy Spirit is saying no.
In Hebrews in the Bible it speaks of a rest in Chapter 4. A rest supplied by God in which we cease from our own works and rely on what He has done through His Son.
It is a continual Sabbath, not just one day but a way of life for us.
But there is also a New Covenant principle I believe is largely missed as I know I have missed it before. It is called life by the Spirit.
You see it is not only obedience to the Holy Spirit when I do the amazing thing He wants to do through me. It is obedience to the Holy Spirit even when He wants me to stop and take a break.
Paul was obedient to the Holy Spirit when he did not go on into Asia even though Paul wanted very badly to do so. Instead Paul ended up going into Macedonia. Paul was not disobedient by not going where he wanted to go. He would have been disobedient if he had gone ahead and gone where the Holy Spirit was not leading him to go. Even if Paul had done wonderful things he would still have been guilty of disregarding, and disobeying the Holy Spirit.
You see New Covenant living is no longer a, “by the rules kind of life.” It s a, “by the Spirit way of life.”
We are to live as Jesus did, “by the life and power of the Spirit going where He says go and doing whatever He says is ours to do.”
Sometimes that is nothing more than relax and enjoy a moment in time with someone He has given us in relationship in this life, or in a place of solitude. It can be so easy to complicate things when we aren’t listening and understanding that even the simple things fit into the scope of His will for us at times.
I encourage you today to grow in what it means to simply live surrendered to the Holy Spirit with the understanding that sometimes that means stop and rest.
Seeing The Father
You are not an orphan
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
The disciples had journeyed a good while with Jesus and heard Jesus speak often about His Father. Their curiosity was getting the better of them. They were ready to see Jesus’ Father. At least here we discover Philip was.
But here in Scripture we find it revealed that Jesus was a perfect image of the Father here on earth. Jesus did what he saw His Father doing, and He spoke what He heard His Father speaking.
John 12:49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Whenever Jesus showed compassion and healed a person that was because He witness the Father at work healing that person. When Jesus spoke forgiveness it was because He heard the Father speaking forgiveness.
There’s something really comforting to knowing you are not an orphan, you have a Father, not only do you have a Father you have the best Father ever. I trust that you know very well that if you are in Christ, God has become your Father too.
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jesus prayed for you to be one with the Father just as He was one with the Father. The original glory of fellowship with the Father that Jesus had He prayed you would have with the Father so you could know how precious it is to know God in such closeness.
I hope you were able to also note how Jesus said, “that the world may know that You have sent me, and that You loved them as You have loved Me.”
Jesus was praying that about you! You are loved like Jesus was loved by the Father! The same Father who did such mighty and wonderful things through Jesus is for you, with you, and loves you just as He loved Jesus.
Can you see that Father being your Father today? He is! I hope you’ll take some time and think about this so that it can sink in and bless you.
He Sets A Table
You’ve been invited to come and dine
Years ago when learning to grill my son in law picked out some ground meat from the store for hamburgers and very lovingly cooked for the family. Several who ate that day got food poisoning due to some of the meat being bad. My son in law was well intentioned but he lacked experience. He felt bad when that happened too.
It took a while for some to desire a hamburger off the grill after that. It was a nice table that had been set for everyone but the memory that lives on is not one of having had a great meal. Hahahaha. We have had great meals off his grill since then, but it took time for that to happen.
Now unlike the table my son in law set that day, the table Jesus sets for us is always set with good things, you will never get food poisoning at the table Jesus sets. There are no bad or evil things at His table. Jesus really knows what he is doing.
Jesus does however set a table for us in the presence of our enemies. He wants our enemies to watch as He faithfully cares for us and provides us with good things. It is like rubbing salt in the their wounds reminding them of Christ victory over them. This was prophecy spoken about Jesus in the Psalms.
Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Because we are in Christ this is also true of us. Jesus is still doing this through us so that it is never forgotten that He is favored by the Father and has passed that favor on to us. When we get this by revelation of the Holy Spirit we begin to walk in an awareness of His willingness to give us good things. Things like healing and provision. When our faith in Him and His willingness is awakened it peels back the veil that was trying to hide the fact that heaven is opened to us and the goodness of God is ours for the receiving.
His righteousness in us is the key to everything in the kingdom! It is the reason we have favor with Him it has nothing to do with what we did to earn such favor from God. Jesus already earned it and has given that favor to us that is why it is by grace.
So come boldly to the table that has been set for you and let His enemies be tormented as they watch you dine in His favor while they fruitlessly claim you are unworthy. Sit, eat, smile and enjoy the abundance of favor Jesus has provided you. Let it be put to good use by learning to rejoice in the truth of His abundant love and grace.
Loving Instruction
Instruction even when painful is a good thing
When I was around five years old my three older brothers decided to teach me how to ride a bike. At the time we lived way out in the country and had a really steep gravel driveway. I had just learned to stay balanced around the house when I saw my dad a good way down the hill with a man he had been helping to survey some land. My dad was standing in front of the mans open driver side door with some tools in his arms when I yelled out, “look dad I can ride” and started down the hill. I began gaining speed fast and my dad was yelling, “hit the bakes, hit the brakes!” I yelled back, “How?!” Just then I ran straight into my dad, the tools went flying my dad went backwards into the car door, but I was safe. You see if my dad had not stopped me there was a long way to go down that hill and it would have been really bad.
But, my dad stopped me. He used his body to do so, and it wasn’t pretty but I was safe. Oh the love of a dad in the clutch moments of life.
When you come to Jesus the Father commits to you. He will look out for you in an effort to see you grow and to see you succeed and He knows there will be lessons along the way.
My dad sat me down and instructed me after that incident, not because he stopped loving me and wanted to disown me, but because he wanted me to know how to stop a bike. It was because He loved me and wanted me to be able to ride with confidence knowing how to handle my bike in any situation. His concern was for my well being, and that is how it is when Jesus comes to our rescue and we are corrected by His instruction.
Correction is not unloving, it is a sure sign of belonging, being loved, and being cared for at a much deeper level than unwarranted praise could ever offer. It says this very thing in Hebrews in the Bible.
You might be going through a time where the Father is sitting you down to instruct you in some area, but do not be discouraged by it, be encouraged. It means you belong to Him and you are greatly loved. Listen carefully and get up knowing you are now empowered to do differently. Let His joy and peace rule in your heart even those times and you will experience great success.
Your Father wants you to succeed! He delights in seeing you rise up and take on what before was a challenge to you, but is now being seen as an opportunity because you took advantage of His instruction. His love will not let you remain ignorant and unprepared. He has given you His Spirit to lead you into all truth and equip you for the journey ahead.
Rejoice in knowing you are so greatly loved today and always especially when you need some instruction along the way!
Catch The Wake
If we learn to live by the Spirit we get to rest as we go along
I remember as a boy riding in the car with my dad down the highway. He would get right up behind a large tractor trailer and ride real close to it. When asked what he was doing he would say I am drafting, another better word would be slipstreaming.
You see he understood that by getting into the right spot behind the truck he could save gas by being in the pocket and he explained that in that pocket the winds collapsing behind the car would push it forward while there would be no resistance on the font of the car. Another term for this would be slipstreaming.
Slipstreaming pulls another object along with it in its wake. Thus it decreases the effort of whatever is being pulled behind it. I think it could be likened to rest. Like when riding a bike downhill as opposed to uphill. Geese by nature know this rule and fly in formation for very long distances as they each in turn switch out positions along their journey while they draft off one another’s wake.
This is a way of describing what has taken place in the New Covenant. Whereas fellowship with God was a very complex and difficult thing under the Old Covenant and very labor intensive. Under the New Covenant things have been greatly simplified. In Ephesians 4 it speaks of how when Jesus ascended He led captivity captive in His train. In other words, He slipstreamed them into heaven with Himself. We get to experience fellowship on the basis of what Jesus went before us and did. He made the way clear for us to have the Spirit.
We are to live in the slipstream of the Spirit of God. In the New Covenant this is most reasonable and possible. Since our confidence is based on the obedience of Christ and we trust we are hidden in God with Him, we are enabled to live aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit at all times. We are not peddling uphill to keep up with Him, we are carried on the wind of His Spirit caught up in His wake as it were. We can rest if we will only believe. I encourage you today to enjoy the rest He offers and let yourself be carried along in His wake.
Attention To Detail
If we only were always aware of just how affectionately aware He is towards us
Have you ever picked up on how that sometimes when you read things certain phrases jump out at you? Such is the case when I read,
Luke 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
To really benefit from something powerfully spoken you sometimes need to pause and chew on it just a bit to get all the nourishment it’s trying to give to your soul.
Such is this passage. I marvel that there has never been even one sparrow at any given time that was forgotten by God. He has cared for each and every one of them and knows when they fall. That is attention to detail on a whole other level.
But it doesn’t stop there. You see something even more important to capture is stated. God watches me so carefully that even the hairs on my head are numbered by Him. I must confess I am keeping His subtraction skills well tuned. But the beauty of this statement is that it ascribes an amazing value to me, and to you.
You see you and I are of more value than the sparrows. So if God gives incredible attention to detail with sparrows and has never forgotten even one, I find it difficult to believe He would ever forget me or you.
There is a love and compassion that runs really deep with God and it was put on display at the cross of Jesus. Be encouraged today in knowing that you are very well known by God and take time to get to know Him better by the grace that yours in Christ Jesus. I promise it will never be a waste of your time and you will not be disappointed.
I encourage and challenge you to enjoy His love and attention in your life today and always despite anything occurring around you in the natural trying to say otherwise.
Powerful Backup
There’s someone who’s for you that cannot be beaten
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
When I was younger my older brother Mark was considered a really big guy and he could be intimidating to people. He is four and a half years older than I am and when you are in middle or junior high school, that is a really big deal. I remember we lived in an apartment complex and there were older boys who liked to bully the younger ones. Some of the older boys were much bigger than the rest of us especially my younger brother Scott. One day an older boy was treating Scott really bad and Scott told him he was going to tell his older brother about it and the boy laughed and said go tell him. Scott did and the rest is history. Mark showed up on the scene and put that older boy in his place really quick, I won’t go into the details on it. After that the bullying stopped and Scott became bolder than he had ever been. He knew he had backup that could not be disputed. Backup that could do what it claimed it could do.
I shared that story to show how that when we know someone powerful is for us we are not as fearful in troubled situations. The good news is, you do have powerful backup!
You have an elder brother, His name is Jesus and He dismantled the powers and principalities at the cross. He’s for you, not against you. Paul said it this way in the Bible in his letter to the Corinthians. Since we have this hope, we are very bold! You too can be very bold.
Be encouraged today to step out in faith in whatever He has put into your heart knowing that any attempt to intimidate you will have to go through Him. He’s got you! He’s with you! He’s for you! Be strong and very courageous, God is on your side!
Never Alone
Did you know you have a friend with you that will never leave you?
Earlier this week my lovely wife Sheila and I got took some time to ourselves to go up into the mountains and enjoy some fresh sunshine and mountain air.
There’s a point where you cross over into the National Park and your phone can no longer get service. There are no towers available to use, so no one can reach you. It is nice to unplug and just enjoy the sights and sounds of nature together without interruption.
You know while there is a possibility of disconnecting from technology and other sources of disruption and distraction, there is no way I am ever disconnected from the Holy Spirit. It is possible to be less aware of His presence and availability, but He is definitely with me regardless of how I feel, or think, in a given moment.
If you belong to Christ and have received the Holy Spirit He is with you always. He will never leave you nor will He ever forsake you. You will never be abandoned. You will never be without His help should you want it and need it. He is ever with you because His presence is with you is based on the obedience of Jesus, not your obedience. You didn’t do anything to earn His fellowship and faithfulness. Jesus paid for it already. That is comforting to know because even the well behaved blow it from time to time, and you need to know that when you do you haven’t scared, or run off the Holy Spirit. It’s possible to grieve Him but you can never run Him away. He is with you according to the promise of the Father made long ago based on the obedience of Jesus.
This is why the grace you received in Jesus is so amazing. His favor given to you has equipped you well beyond your wildest imagination.
Oh the wonder of His grace and the steadfastness of His love!
Be encouraged, the Holy Spirit is just as available to you today as He has ever been.
Paul told the Galatians the Holy Spirit is received and active based on faith, not works. So rest in Jesus and let your faith bring you to the place of sensing Him afresh today! He wants to work through you to bless others. To sense Him at work in you, you need only believe and ask Him for His help today.
Distracted By Jesus
When things go wrong you need a good distraction to keep them from taking over.
Have you ever noticed that the more you dwell on a particular thing the more intense your awareness of it becomes?
I remember as a kid that if I hurt myself and I was bleeding that the more I focused on the bleeding and played the incident back through my mind the worse the situation became. My shock and initial yelp would evolve into a torrent of tears, sobbing, and moans as though I might be dying.
Naturally I was in no danger of losing my life, just a thimble of blood and some play time were all that were at stake. But my dwelling on it often resulted in a loss of much more time than it should have. Amazingly, we can choose how we will frame any particular incident in life. The more dramatic we make it, the more time and energy it will claim by making it more difficult to overcome.
I had a coach who greatly helped me with accidents and pain. He taught me how to focus on something else so I could take my mind off what was happening, and get through it much quicker. I am forever grateful to that man. He didn’t ask me to pretend it never happened, he just wanted me to not allow it to become more than it really was.
Now this correlates to our spiritual well being and progress. You see when we experience problems, painful disappointments or grievous set backs we can choose to play it back over and over again allowing it to grow larger, or we can focus our attention on the One who can help us. Looking unto Jesus! I love that phrase in the letter to the Hebrews in the Bible.
A group of Jewish believers were experiencing strong temptations, persecutions, and threats for following Christ and leaving behind the former things they once put their trust and hope in. But they were encouraged to let themselves get distracted by looking at Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of their faith. There is something powerful about setting our gaze and thoughts on Jesus. It makes everything happening seem small by comparison. It’s God’s prescription for not being taken over by the moment.
Isn’t that what we all need in chaotic, painful and confusing times? I encourage you today to take a good long look at Jesus and see if it doesn’t have the power to ease the pain, clear the confusion, and release some joy in your soul. Such is the Benefit of Distraction when you are distracted by Him.
Your Best Best Friend
Are you aware of the high privilege that is yours now?
Growing up it seemed having the cool guy be your best friend was a really big deal. I remember in the 7th grade for me I thought it would be a really big deal to have one certain guy be my friend, after all everyone thought he was the coolest and toughest guy in school so to be able to say he was my friend would be awesome.
So after winning a fight with another boy one day after school I got my wish. The guy I wanted to recognize me and like me, did! We became friends. For that school year I felt so important! Others seeing him come up to me and say hey Tim and walk down a hallway together made them treat me differently as well. In a way, I guess one could say I was using that friendship totally to my advantage because I am not sure what, if anything, I brought to the table to his advantage.
I mean think about it, I wanted him to be my friend for what advantage it would bring to me. Kinda selfish when you really think about it. But he didn’t seem to mind it.
For much of modern Christianity, this is the kind of attitude that dominates the culture. Many, including myself at times, just want Jesus for what He can do to their advantage. Jesus is desired as a ticket to heaven, but not as much for being a close companion and someone to seek out just for the fellowship value it offers. Jesus is sought after for healing, or help in other areas, but not so much for the warmth of fellowship He could offer and bring.
You see it’s one thing to want Jesus for what He can do for me, but it’s a whole other thing to want Him for who He is, and the privilege it is to get to know Him. The older I get the more I realize that the goal of my salvation isn’t so much to attain heaven and all the things Jesus offers me by belonging to Him. The real goal of my salvation is the privilege of having Him as my best best friend ever! My older brother! My High Priest! My greatest confidant! Heaven will be great, but only because my best best friend will be there for all eternity. All the benefits He gives me in this life are wonderful but they are meant to point to the reality of His fellowship in my life.
It’s so true that Jesus has already healed me by His stripes, He has already provided me with everything promised in the word by God because all the promises are yes and amen in Christ!
But the most special thing of all is the fact that, Jesus truly wants to be my closest friend, my most reliable confidant, and He wants to include me in His fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit equally with the same access He has! It was His prayer in John 17!
I do not know of a greater privilege and purpose than being allowed to fellowship intimately with such greatness and perfection. To be invited into the inner circle of the Godhead! Can it get any better than that? That is what my salvation is about! It is what your salvation is about! I encourage you today to take advantage of your invitation, I know you received one too when you came to Jesus. Grow in the fellowship privilege your best best friend has provided you with. I promise you will not be disappointed.
You Are Greatly Loved
Do you know how much God loves you?
I remember every time my wife became pregnant. Every day I would speak to her belly to tell the child inside her womb how much I loved them. For the first pregnancy I didn’t know I was speaking to two of them until two weeks before they came forth. But as a dad, even without being able to see them, or to know whether they would be well behaved or not, I loved them and wanted them to know so simply because they were mine, and they were wanted.
God as a Father loved us before we were ever born again. I’m not making this up, it says so in the Bible.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit all Three in One loved us in eternity past. You and I were loved in Christ before the world began.
We were targeted for God's love before coming to know Jesus. How much more loved by Him are we now that we are His?
Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
If that were not enough Jesus prayed this,
John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jesus’ desire is that the world know that God the Father loves you with the same love He has for Jesus!!
Jesus did not die for you because you were morally good, or because you were trying hard to be good. I know I wasn't morally good, and neither was I trying to be. I was a rebel without a cause. Yet the Bible tells me I was loved even then.
Jesus died for you because you were greatly loved by the Father and deemed worth rescuing before the foundation of the world. His love is an everlasting love, so it hasn’t diminished over time!
Just as Paul stated the life I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God who gave Himself for me. The same holds true for every believer. So go live that beautiful abundant eternal life you have received and rejoice in Jesus! It’s your privilege to do so. You are a son now, a joint heir with Jesus, and as Jesus is so are you now in this earth! You my friend are greatly loved! Go manifest that amazing love that is yours today!
Bountifully Blessed
In Christ you are blessed beyond your wildest imagination.
Psalms 103:1 My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your iniquity; (Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.) He heals all your diseases. (Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD,) 4 He redeems your life from the Pit; (Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me.) He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. (Psalms 5:12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.) 5 He satisfies you with good things; (Psalms 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.) your youth is renewed like the eagle.
There is no doubt in my mind that God as a Father wishes to do good to His children. He wishes to bless His children. He desires to do things that enable you and I to live in the new identity we have received in His Son Jesus. It is in His heart to show us compassion and mercy. It is in His heart to be faithful towards us. It is in His heart to bless us with good things!
The challenge to this that we often face is that we can think our failures and unfaithfulness at times is greater than His desire and ability to do us good. We feel very strongly that we do not deserve such kindness because we have failed to measure up to being able to merit it. But that is the beauty of it all. It is not something to be merited by us, it is given to us as a gift from Him so that His grace is immeasurably manifested and given glory.
You have been made righteous by Jesus so that you can receive all that God has in mind for you. By being in relationship with Him you can now know His desires for you. This ability to hear His voice and know His heart empowers you to be bold and courageous about receiving whatever you need to follow Him. This comes with great benefits that are unearned. They just are because He is.
Remember, you are loved today and always by your faithful gracious Heavenly Father. By coming to His Son Jesus in faith to be forgiven and made alive you became His child supernaturally, and He is for you not against you. He can heal you just as easily as He forgave you and made you righteous. It is by the same means, it is a gift and it works on the basis of faith. He wants you ask Him for His help in everything because He loves you and desires to see you succeed. He has given you His favor! I encourage you to believe it, and walk with Him as one who has all that He has promised.
Joy No Matter What
You can have joy even in the midst of your trials in life if you know who to look to.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Our need for Jesus extends well beyond just initially getting saved. We need Jesus every day of our existence here on earth. We need His life, His love, His help and His wisdom. But receiving it will require us to take captive our thoughts about what we are going through and bring them into submission to the obedience of Christ. Jesus completed the work so we can live by faith. The Just shall live by faith!
I am not the source of my help, God is. That is why it is good to get to know God! I am wisest when I am seeking wisdom from the wisest Being of all.
Please allow me to encourage you today to look to Jesus who is the author and the finisher of your faith and be encouraged by His unfailing love for you. He will never leave you nor will He ever forsake you.
You may be having a difficult time right now but He is with you in whatever storm or situation you are in and He will lead you through it to the other side.
Victory is already prophetically yours my friend. You are in Him and He lives in you. This test of your faith is going to produce a heaven born patience after His own likeness in you. That is why growing in knowing Jesus is actually good news for you!
If a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without Him knowing it, and you are worth more than all the sparrows, then I am convinced you are not alone and He is very aware and very much with you today!
The Transformation Of A Supernatural Encounter With God
Have you ever had an encounter with God that changed you?
In the Bible a prophet named Isaiah had a genuine supernatural heavenly encounter with God?
For the first portions of the book of Isaiah we are shown a prophet who is rebuking those who are in rebellion and not living right with God. It is as though rebuking is all that Isaiah knows. His words are accurate and truthful regarding the actions of the people and how out of step with the law of God they are, but something happens when Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up.
Isaiah for the first time in his writing in chapter six says, “Woe is me.” All of a sudden Isaiah sees himself and everything else in a new light. A real God encounter has a way of shifting perspective like nothing else can. It turned Isaiah into one of the most prolific prophets of the coming Messiah in all the Old Testament. He became a prophet of real hope based on His encounter with God and a vision of the coming Messiah who would reconcile Israel to God in a way so complete and final there would never be a comparison to it. Isaiah never lost his wonder for God’s holiness but he gained a fresh perspective of His love and His intention to redeem.
I have discovered that true encounters with Jesus do not produce in me a woe is you mentality towards others, but rather it produces an attitude of, if someone like me can be loved by Him I know you can be too. It changes the way I see others.
True supernatural God encounters make me keenly aware of the amazing favor of God in accepting me and inviting me to be with Him. It lovingly exposes my own great need for Jesus and it strips away any sense of spiritual superiority I thought I might have possessed before the encounter occured. It equals the playing field so to speak. A supernatural encounter with God has the power to lovingly set me straight to such a degree I identify with others, as opposed to judging them. In other words, truly having a supernatural encounter with God humbles me and produces the fruit of the love of Christ for others in me.
So, I enjoy and expect to have many supernatural God encounters and I encourage you to have as many God encounters you can. I would only advise that you be discerning and know that authentic encounters do not produce spiritual critics.
True supernatural God encounters produce Christ like disciples of Jesus who know they are sons of God and are empowered to share His love with others freely.
So I encourage you to share His love with someone today! Tell them the good news of the love of Christ that took Him to a cross to fulfill the law, pay for their sin, and make available to them the ability to have Jesus come live within them by giving them a new life in Himself. Tell them of the offer of His abiding in them by being made the very righteousness of God in Jesus when they simply believe He came, He lived, He died, He rose again, He ascended and He is coming again soon to claim His own. Let them see your own confidence that is born of His love for you. Have a blessed day!
No Way To Lose
You are loved with an everlasting love!
There’s something powerful in knowing there’s no possible way you can lose or ever be completely defeated. Here is an undeniable truth full of promise and hope.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, He called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are loved by God no matter what might be happening right now in the world around you, or in your own personal life! You are loved with an everlasting love because Christ is in you, and you are in Christ, by grace through faith! It was supernaturally done by God!
Nothing, can separate you from His love! There’s absolutely nothing more powerful, permanent or present than His love for you! Even while you were still a sinner He loved you and Jesus gave Himself for you. So this amazing love of God is not yours based on anything you did to obtain it. It was there before you even put your faith in Christ. It is there now and it will always be there. He is for you, not against you! Take heart today in His love for you and be encouraged.
What if You Succeed?
What if instead of fearing failure you could boast in your weaknesses?
When I was a boy, despite having many physical abilities, there were many things I never even tried due to the fear of failure. Quietly in my mind I would have a conversation about how others may view me if I were to try and fail. I missed out on some great opportunities as a result of that way of thinking. There were a many things I might have enjoyed greatly had I not struggled with that issue.
What I wish I had been able to ask myself was, “what if I succeed?” Asking myself, “what if I fail” is a set up that is nothing short of a stealth soul robber of potential wonderful experiences.
What if I succeed sows something positive in the way of opportunity in my soul whereas the other sows negativity and reluctance, if not total hindrance.
I think one of the more beautiful aspects of the work of grace in the New Covenant is the idea of now getting to boast in weaknesses instead of being made powerless by them.
The great apostle Paul once said, I would rather boast in my weaknesses for in them Christ is made strong. It becomes most clear that Jesus is working on your behalf when you no longer stumble or are hindered by your inability to perform at the highest level according to the flesh.
God has set things up in a such a way that only Jesus can truly take the credit. Amazingly, Jesus is happy to share His credit with us! We are now joint heirs with Him in righteousness and relationship with the Father. I find it amazing that this glorious privilege of relationship was not because of anything we did to deserve or to even keep it, it is all based on what Jesus did and how through faith it is accredited to us even though we are weak.
This is why we are complete in Him and only in Him. We will never be complete in or of ourselves by giving our best effort to be good enough.
So today I hope you will find it possible to rejoice and to boast in your weaknesses so that Jesus may be clearly seen at work in you. My friend you cannot fail when you put your trust in Jesus!
Have a blessed day!
Complete in Him
You are complete in Christ
When I was young I had fast cars with chrome wheels and thought that was something special. During those years I would put a lot of time and energy into making sure my car was clean, polished and making a good presentation going down the road. Rust was never welcomed on a chrome wheel. I never once hoped rust would come along and improve on the appearance and performance of my car. I put all the work in already to make it what I wanted it to be, and it was pleasing to me and I did not want anyone or anything to come along and spoil what I had done.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
That is an amazing bit of factual and true information. The part of it that stands out to me is where it says, “you are complete in Him.”
By being placed in Christ His obedience becomes my obedience. It is the guarantee of my unhindered fellowship with God the Father. Jesus did everything that was needed for me to be able to have an unbroken relationship with God.
That thought makes the old song make much better sense, “Jesus paid it all.” He paid it all and I cannot do anything to improve on that. If I try to it is like putting rust on a beautifully polished chrome wheel. I am already what I am meant to be in Christ. I need to just identify with that more and more so it can come forth in the expression of my life. Jesus really did everything needed to complete you and me. We get to rest in Him. So today rejoice in the rest His completed work in you brings. Enjoy Him and the freedom that is yours in Him. This is your beautiful day to live in His joy.
A Loving Father
Do you know how loved you really are?
I’ve come to realize just how amazing my late mother really was. I respect her for surviving being a single mom to five boys. At times a memory of her will pop into my mind and it’s a like a little kiss of affection to my heart. Loving parents are a real gift.
When we were young my mom would make us take a dose of “Geritol.” It was wheat germ oil that was awful but supposed to be healthy for you. I thought she was mean for making us take it, but now I know that, she just wanted us to be healthy and hated the idea of us becoming sick.
I have never met a loving parent who wished their child would get sick, or prayed that their child would be stricken ill so they might learn a lesson. Loving parents are characterized as always desiring good health for their children. I personally believe that God is no exception as our Father. The Bible appears to agree.
Psalm 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
So that we understand that this proclamation of rejoicing isn’t just a sentimental moment of emotional overflow, God put a plan in place for our health and well being involving Jesus long before He ever arrived on the scene in history. God prophesied His desire for us to be healthy and this desire is revealed in,
Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Even the Apostle Peter acknowledged this prophetic unveiling of the character of God and the work of Jesus in 1Peter 2:23 where it says, “By His stripes you were healed.”
Before going to the cross Jesus was tied to a whipping post and given 39 lashes with a whip and many years long before that moment God spoke through the prophet and declared that the reason for it was our healing. So our Jesus was first tied to a whipping post and then nailed to a cross. The whipping post was for our healing and the cross was for us to be made righteous. To me that describes a loving Father who looks out for His children.
This to me reveals more than enough reason to stand in faith on the basis of His character as a loving Father. My encouragement is to remind you that you have a very loving Father who cares about you and loves you very much. He has made you righteous with His own righteousness and provided physical healing along with that righteousness. He has given Himself to you and now you have His life in you.
Safely Covered & Hidden
Do you know how secure you are in Christ?
When I was a small boy, like most boys, I had a vivid imagination. I would watch monster movies with my older brothers and then go to bed and get scared in the dark. I imagined that if I covered myself with my blanket pulled over my head that whatever was in my room couldn’t see me. Being hidden beneath my trusty blanket gave me the peace I needed to go to sleep. I would almost bet you’d be able to relate to that experience in your own childhood story.
Believe it or not in the Bible there is call for us as God’s children to use our faith and imagination to realize we have been safely covered and hidden. If we get hold of this revelation is can really help us in our times of anxiousness and fear. It can also help us in our times of temptation.
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
The reality of being hidden with Christ in God is everything! What can see us in that place and what could possibly get past God to get to us?
Even better is the idea of what we can discover about our God as our Father from being hidden with Christ in Him. There’s a lot of love to discover in that place.
It is from our position of being hidden with Christ in God that we discover who He is, what He has done and who we truly are and what we are to be.
You know, without the security of my trusty blanket as a kid I would have had many a restless nights and it would have taken a toll on me physically and mentally.
When it comes to spirit and soul true rest belongs to those who have the revelation of what it means to be in Christ. Our heavenly identity is inalterably tied to your position in Christ.
Today we are victorious not because circumstances will end the way we want but because despite circumstances and fearful challenges our life is hid with God in Christ!
Our security is in Jesus and we are citizens of His kingdom which is righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Having a tough time? Try to remember that you are under a powerful covering today.
The Privilege and Opportunity of Asking
Do you know why asking matters?
Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
I have heard this passage preached on so many times before and every time it seemed as though the take away the preacher wanted me to have was how I needed to bear fruit, or else I might be cursed to wither and die.
But that is not the objective Jesus sought to teach His disciples with.
Jesus was using this occurrence to teach His disciples about the power of asking in faith. He is revealing a caring, loving and willing Father.
This did not happen so we could spend countless hours speculating on what it means to speak to move mountains or command trees to wither. It is simply a lesson on how powerful asking in faith can be.
God is a very great God who loves us according to His greatness and according to the love He is. He is not insulted by our asking for His help and intervention into our many life situations.
In my belief, He can be insulted when I act as though I must look out for His well being. He is insulted when I treat Him as though He were aging, moody and becoming incapable and therefore should not be asked for certain things.
We have been invited to ask often, ask boldly and ask without shame or hesitation because we are asking in faith. Jesus said very clearly that whatever things we ask in prayer, believing, we will receive.
This believing is not rooted in a faith for the receiving alone, it is rooted in what we have come to know about our Father who hears us. It is why it is so important to know Him correctly as Jesus presented Him. Jesus is revealing the Father’s interest, His desire and His willingness in this moment.
The real question is, will we believe what Jesus is revealing is actually true concerning the Father, or will we look for ways to talk ourselves out of it?
Today I want to ask my Father for something bold and daring knowing that He loves me and cares for me and wants to bless me. He was already willing to give up His Son to save me and bring me into relationship with Him. So why should I imagine He would all of a sudden be taken back if I were to believe He was interested in some of the smaller matters of life I face?
I want to be bold in asking about everything, especially the matters pertaining to His kingdom. This is my take away from this teaching my Lord and Savior Jesus gave. I have some things I need Him to get involved with that is happening right now in my life.
May I encourage you to believe in His goodness and willingness, and to ask the Father for His help today? May I encourage you to ask boldly and specifically so it will be clear to you that He heard your prayer and answered it?