Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thriving In God's Love

Are you able to bloom where you are planted?


Jeremiah 11:15-16 “What right do my beloved people have to come to my Temple, when they have done so many immoral things? Can their vows and sacrifices prevent their destruction? They actually rejoice in doing evil! 16 I, the Lord, once called them a thriving olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit. But now I have sent the fury of their enemies to burn them with fire, leaving them charred and broken.

Jeremiah 17:5-8  This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

It is too easy to make empty promises, we make them to each other, to ourselves and even to God. You might buy your empty promises and you may fool somebody else but God knows what is going on, promises and sacrifices wont do you any good if you are living in sin and you are not willing to repent and change your ways, he will not be fooled.

God's children loved to do what is wrong and they were suffering for it, they once were very prosperous, like a healthy olive tree that is planted on the riverbank, in their culture this was a very clear image for them to understand. That tree next to the river doesn't care about drought or the heat of summer, it is full of fruit and it's leaves are never going to wilt, it has tapped into a resource that the rest of the trees will envy.

The Lord's people placed their trust in "gods" and the military strength of their allies, they had become like a shrub in the desert, just barely surviving, they had departed from the source of nourishment that would sustain them in the trials of life.

God is faithful

Psalm 52:8-9 But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever. 9 I will praise You forever for what You have done. In the presence of Your faithful people, I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.
The fate of the child of God that is living for him is very clear and it should be full of optimism and joy, it won't always be easy, but there isn't any need to worry when my roots are tapped into the river of life. I can live my life trusting in God's faithful love for me, I will praise him because of his faithful love and I will place my hope in him.

Thank you Lord for your love that gives me the strength to face the future with confidence.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Watch Out For The Imposters

A tree is a tree, right? Just checking.


Jeremiah 10:1-6 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.

3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. 4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. 5 Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

6 Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.

Notice where Jeremiah got his message from? He received it from God! The only God that is capable of speaking up for himself. Everybody else is cutting down trees to make a God that can't talk but the God that created that tree can talk and he has a message for you, "save the trees, they can't do anything to help you."

Jeremiah goes on to describe the superiority of his God in Jeremiah 10:10-16:

✔ He is the one true God.
✔ He is alive and always will be.
✔ His power made the earth and it is the only thing that is sustaining it.

We can set ourselves up as gods, we can even make a god out of stuff that the real God gave us such as a tree, we can try anything that we want but there is only one true God that has any power. It reminds me of the story of Elijah and the false prophets of Baal, Elijah oversaw a contest to see who had the power, "god" or "God." The real God showed up that day and made it very clear who he is and how powerful he is. (1 Kings 18:16-40)

We look for replacement gods, people that can decipher signs and wonders to give us a clue about tomorrow, it makes you wonder why we can't give our tomorrow to the real God and depend on him for our safety, security, fears and worries. It doesn't matter if I am dead or alive I know that God has my tomorrow covered.

Let me introduce you to the real God

Deuteronomy 4:32-35 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. 35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other.
It shouldn't be any great leap of faith to believe in the one true God, he introduced himself to his people long ago, they saw his judgement in what happened to the Egyptians, they saw mercy and love in the way that he treated them. They had already seen great miracles to prove that there is one true God and yet they still wanted to find somebody else to worship.

Just be different! The rest of the world is looking for a God that fits their lifestyle and personal taste. A God that they can control, a God that wont ask too much of them, the God that they want isn't going to ask them to change. The real God gave us so much that he wants us to give back by living to please him.

I can depend on my God to come through for me. He has already come through for me in the biggest and most needful way by sending Jesus to earth to die for my sins. I know that he will come through for me in my daily struggles.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

You Are The Treasure That I Seek

The world has a lot of cool treasure to distract you from what is priceless.


Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

Psalm 29:2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Have you ever dreamed of finding a treasure chest full of gold and jewelry? The world is full of stuff that we would like to get our hands on. It is so natural us to value new cars, fancy homes and a fat wallet, we can also see great value in the relationships that we have with our family and friends, but there is another treasure that is far above any of these.

It is good for us to examine our lives, take a look at ourselves and see how we are doing, take a quiz and ask yourself some important questions. While I listened to the Gaither Vocal Band sing the song "You Are My All In All" I thought of theses questions:

"What do I really value the most, is Jesus really the treasure that I am looking for?"

We have been told to love God, we know that he deserves to be loved to the highest level that a person can possibly love, but we let so much get in the way and rob us of our time with him or we take the time but we don't really love him fully.
Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."
We can get lost in the empty pursuit of happiness, trying to get some more stuff, trying to have the perfect relationship, chasing down the stuff that the world says will make us happy. Finally when our day isn't going so well we decide to cry out to God to make it better. Is that true love?

I have to wonder how good of a job that we can do at loving God, since love comes from God and it is pure and without self seeking motives, how can we possibly love God adequately on this side of heaven? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 John 4:7) While researching this blog post, I found this old hymn that I have never seen before, it speaks of the love that we should have for God that goes beyond any selfish motivation.
My God, I love Thee--not because
I hope for heaven thereby;
Nor yet because,if I love not
I must for ever die.

Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the Cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and spear,
And manifold disgrace,

And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony,
Yea, death itself; and all for me
Who was Thine enemy.
Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,
Should I not love Thee well?
Not for the hope of winning heaven,
Of of escaping hell;

Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as Thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord!

So would I love Thee, dearest Lord,
And in Thy praise will sing;
Solely because Thou art my God,
And my eternal King.
I have to continue to work towards loving God as he deserves, making him my most treasured possession, as I live in God's love he will teach me how to do a better job of loving him. (1 John 4:16-17)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Here's Something To Brag About

What makes you such a big deal?


Jeremiah 9:23-24 This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.

24 But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Jeremiah 13:15-16 Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late.

So you feel like a big shot? Maybe you are pretty smart, have a fancy degree on the wall or maybe your degree is from the school of hard knocks, well if you think you can brag about your wisdom, don't.

Maybe you have authority and power, run a big company or maybe a church ministry or maybe you're just the king of your castle. Well if you think you can brag about your power, think again.

Maybe you have a big stash of money in the bank and you are feeling pretty secure in the midst of these economic troubles, its not worrying you but if you think you can brag about your finances, don't bother.

It's okay to boast, it's not a big deal, but there are some ground rules that you need to know. This is what you are allowed to boast about:

✔ That you truly know the Lord.
✔ That you know that the Lord demonstrates unfailing love.
✔ That you know that the Lord brings justice and righteousness to the earth.
✔ That you know that he takes great pleasure in these things.

What! That's not a list of things that we are ever inclined to brag about. We usually want to exaggerate about how much we have or how great we are, it is usually all about ourselves, so that we can impress others. Boasting usually puts the spotlight on ourselves and pushes God out of the picture, we loose our focus and begin concentrating on how self sufficient and capable we are. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Boasting in the cross

Galatians 6:14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
We should be depending on God for our worth and value. Paul told us that he will boast only about the cross, that's a turn around from the man that he used to be, he had a lot of good reasons to brag about himself but after he met Jesus all of that changed. The value of all of that other stuff was equivalent to the appraised value of a pile of garbage. (Philippians 3:7-8)

My value in God's eyes = Priceless. I don't need to build myself up and try to be somebody special because I already am!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

God Is So Great

David Crowder - After All (Holy)



David Crowder - After All (Holy)

I can't comprehend your infinitely beautiful and perfect love
Oh I've dreamed dreams of majesty as brilliant as a billion stars
But they're never bright enough after all

(Chorus)
You are Holy
Oh Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy

I will sing a song for you my God with everything I have in me
But it's never loud enough after all

Heaven and earth are full, full of your glory, glory
My soul it overflows full of your glory, your glory
Oh blessed is he who reigns, full of your glory, your glory
My cup, it can't contain all of your glory, your glory
Hosanna we are found after all you are

I can't comprehend
You're infinitely beautiful

Holy- adjective \ˈhō-lē\ exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.
Psalm 99:3-5 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy! Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!
We see so much brokenness everywhere we look, it is hard to imagine that something or somebody could be completely right, it doesn't seem possible. The effects of sin on our world leaves us longing for a better place where we will be complete in the presence of our holy God.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The War On Wisdom

Do we really want God's wisdom?


Jeremiah 8:8-9 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? 9 These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?

Isaiah 5:21 What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

Proverbs 1:7  Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Ask just about anybody that you want and you will probably never have somebody admit that they are a fool. Usually the fool is a fool because he doesn't know it.

God's children thought that they were wise when they were so unashamedly following after false gods and ignoring the commands that the real God gave them. They even thought that things would be fine when they took God's words and twisted them so that they could make themselves look wise.

God's children couldn't say that they didn't know. They had wisdom available to them, they had God's word, they had the testimony of their forefathers and they had numerous prophets that God sent to them as a wake-up call. All of these sources of wisdom were being completely ignored.

The first truth that we need to realize about wisdom is that it comes from God and it is founded in God. Their is no other absolute authority on the subject, the one that had the wisdom to create the world and keep it's intricate details all running smoothly is the only one who is truly wise. (Job 12:13)

That's why we war against wisdom, it is actually a war against God, we don't want God to be a part of our lives. We want to live a lifestyle that is driven by convenience and pleasure, often the price for that kind of living is morality, God's rules get in the way of the "good life." We don't want to be slowed down by the ten commandments or that love your neighbor stuff. The issues on morality in our society can be traced to the war against God and his wisdom, all of these issues would be settled if we agreed that God is wise, we are not, so we should do it his way.

Be careful if you claim to be wise

Romans 1:21-23 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
It is easy to see that if you reject God then you reject wisdom. True wisdom belongs to God and is offered up freely to everyone that will accept him and his wisdom. There are a lot of clever people with great insight that will try and seem wise but if their wisdom isn't based on the rock solid truth that comes from God then it will come to nothing.

What is the difference between the wise and the foolish? The fools have been fooled into thinking they are wise and refuse to let themselves think otherwise. The wise man knows that the only wisdom that he has is what he copied from God.

I need to remember what James said about the foolish and the wise:
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

James 1:22-23 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
The first step in ceasing to be a fool is to realize that you have been one, the devil tricks us into believing lies about God and about ourselves so that we will walk away from God, we need to look in the mirror of God's word and take a close look at who we see.

Help me Lord to always place a priority on Bible study, I need your wisdom injected into my life everyday so that I won't be fooled by the devil.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Going Through The Fire

God has a way of refining his people.


Jeremiah 6:27-30  "Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of My people.  28  They are the worst kind of rebel, full of slander. They are as hard as bronze and iron, and they lead others into corruption.  29  The bellows fiercely fan the flames to burn out the corruption. But it does not purify them, for the wickedness remains.  30  I will label them 'Rejected Silver,' for I, the LORD, am discarding them."

Jeremiah 9:7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?

Is God turning up the heat on you? There are times when the children of God will have to go through some very hot flames, they keep getting hotter and hotter, you may think that it is hotter than King Nebuchadnezzar's furnace. Did you ever think that maybe God is the one pushing the thermostat higher in your life.

God told Jeremiah that he has given him a job as a metallurgist, God's people were impure and the time had come for him to do something about it, left to their own discretion they were not getting any better than the rest of the world around them. God had given them every opportunity to come back to him but they kept trampling on his grace and now God was prepared to judge them.

As a tester of metals Jeremiah had to determine what kind of quality God's people were, God had given him to judge their quality and if the waste product could not be removed then they would be labeled 'Rejected Silver.'
1 Peter 1:6-7 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
It is difficult to imagine saying "Wow, that was a lot of fun" but Peter says that we should rejoice in our trials. We can rejoice in the knowledge that God is perfecting us, he is moving us closer to the purity that can only be found in his son Jesus. We are valuable because of what Jesus did for us, yet we are trapped in the impurities of this world and in need of being refined to help us get rid of the junk.

God knows that his people are hard as metal, we will resist change as much just like an anvil does, you can beat on the anvil all day but it isn't going to change without some extreme heat.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
God doesn't want us to put value into what the world values, what they think is important, what jokes they think are funny and what choices the world says are the right choices. We are supposed to look different, we are supposed to become more like his son, we should be putting effort into exhibiting the character traits that Jesus has. (James 1:21, Phil 2:12)

Thank you Lord for loving me and wanting me to be the best that I can be, I need to be more like your son and I should be thankful for the heat that you put in my life, thank you for saving me and perfecting me instead of leaving me in my sinful ways.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

It's Not Over

Look to the sky, help is on the way!




It’s Not Over, It’s Not Finished
It’s Not Ending, It’s Only The Beginning
When God Is In It,
All Things Are New All Things Are New

I Know It’s Darkest Just Before Dawn
Might Be The Hardest Season You Experience
I Know It Hurts, Won’t Be Too Long
You’re Closer Than You Think You Are
You’re Closer Than You’ve Been Before

 Look To The Sky, Help Is On The Way
It’s Not Over, It’s Not Finished
It’s Not Ending, It’s Only The Beginning
When God Is In It All Things Are New
All Things Are New

Something Is Moving,
Turning Around Seasons Are Changing,
Everything Is Different Now
Here Comes The Sun, Piercing The Clouds
You’re Closer Than You Think You Are
You’re Closer Than You’ve Been Before

Do you get discouraged? Are you tempted to give up? Becoming bitter or angry? Sometimes life is too hard to handle and we can find ourselves focusing inward on our own abilities and resources to help us get through our troubles.

How do you cope?

Lamentations 3:19-24 The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"
The child of God has a powerful resource that the rest of the world doesn't have! We will suffer, experience grief and loss but these difficult circumstances are not the end for us. God's power is the only power that we need to get us through to a fresh new start each day.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

America At The Cross Roads

This election will prove which path America wants to take, will we take the Godly path?


Jeremiah 2:5-6,11 This is what the Lord says: "What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?'

11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

Jeremiah 8:4-5  “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.

Choices, they are so important, each election that we have is an opportunity for good choices and for bad choices.

God's people have been known to make good choices and then quickly turn away, the earliest leaders of the nation of Israel warned them that their choices had huge consequences, advice that they took for a short while. Moses told the people that they had a"choice between life and death, between blessings and curses" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) and later Joshua told the people to make up their mind (Joshua 24:14-21). It wasn't long before they turned against what they had decided and went their own way.

Just like the people of Israel, America has made bad choices, we have pushed God out of our lives, out of our government and even out of our churches. We have decided that the size of our wallets and the pursuit of our own desires is more important than the timeless truths of God's word. Are we going to live by God's moral standards? That is the issue that will be decided with this election.
"People wonder whether guys like me... would only support a fellow evangelical? Well, friends, I want to tell you something. Of the four people on the two tickets, the only self-professed evangelical is Barack Obama. And he supports changing the definition of marriage. Believes that human life is disposable and expendable at any time in the womb, even beyond the womb. And he tells people of faith that they have to bow their knees to the god of government and violate their faith and conscience in order to comply with what he calls, health care... I care far less as to where Mitt Romney takes his family to church than I do about where he takes this country."
- Mike Huckabee
I wish that Mitt Romney were a Christian and I wish that Barack Obama were a better Christian if he is one. No matter what errors I see in each man's faith and belief system, I need to be sure that I vote for the man that will lead America back toward the Godly path that this nation started down. I am responsible to to be a good influence on the culture that I live in.

We will never have the perfect Godly man to vote for, after-all they are mere humans, I have to look past their flaws and vote for someone that will take us closer to God's standards. I need a man in the White House that can say:
"As President, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion."
Can your candidate say that?

Our choices for this election are just as clear as the choices that the Israelites had during the time of the Old Testament. I pray that we make the right one.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Looking For The Godly Way

It isn't too late to go back to the right path.


Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

Jeremiah 8:4-5  “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.

Here is some advice from God, stop and look around, think about where you are compared to where you should be.

Not in the right place or do you realize that you are on the wrong road and you aren't going to make it to the correct destination? God celebrates when his people make adjustments and look for the Godly way.

Do you need to ask for directions? Maybe the way back to the Godly way is obscure and you need a guide or at least somebody to point you in the right direction. That's no problem, God will give you the direction that you need and he may even send you a guide to give you a hand, a pastor or a friend that will help you make it back to the Godly way.

One thing about getting directions, they are not going to help you if you don't follow them, if you are going to be proud or stubborn then the fact that you have directions doesn't mean a thing. We have a book of directions that came straight from God, you would think that these directions would be revered as very accurate and very useful but too many of us fail to open up the book and read it.

Your carnal nature will tell you that you don't want to travel on the Godly way, just keep on going the same way that you have been, you'll probably reach your destination. You can see that the road that you are on isn't beneficial, you're falling down and getting bruised and scraped up but you just keep on going, the Godly way is the best path, following it is for your own good but sometimes we don't like what is good for us.

Can you see the path?

Proverbs 4:18-19 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
The path that God's people are supposed to be on is a bright path, we have a clear view of our next step, we may not be able to see as far down the road as we would like but we do not have to stumble in the dark like the rest of the world. The source of light that brightens our path is the Bible, it will send you in the right direction to get back to the Godly way and it will keep you from falling in the dark during the trip. (Psalm 119:105)

I need to study God's word everyday so that I can keep from stumbling and to make sure that I stay on the right path. I don't want to end up somewhere that I wasn't planning on going.