Articles for June 2017

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” 

What a great promise! Our part is to desire and want to know God’s truths, and God’s part is to satisfy and fill us.  Since the Scriptures are the only way we can learn about what God teaches about righteousness, we need to have a desire to know the Word.

Hungering and thirsting are pretty strong emotions.  God wants us to have the same intensity of desire to know His Word and His ways.  It should be on the top of our list for activities of the day, before anything else.  BUT, unfortunately it often takes a back seat to other things.

This hungering and thirsting after righteousness is satisfied when we are actually in the Word of God studying. It seems that nowadays everyone is so busy.  This seems to be the most common excuse people use for not reading the Scriptures and mediating on what they read.  (These two things go hand in hand.  You must take the time to think about what you are reading if God’s Word is to become the guiding light in your life that it should be.”)  The second most common excuse I hear is that, “I’m too tired.”

These two areas may seem like legitimate reasons to neglect our devotional time with God. But, are they really?  I think not.  Life can be busy and we can be tired by the end of the day but the truth is we find time for many of the things that we desire to do:  watch T.V., read a newspaper, talk on the phone, check out face book, work on the computer, etc.    If we are truly hungering and thirsting to fellowship with God and grow in the knowledge of His Word, we will find time to do so.

My challenge for you today is to evaluate the way you spend your time and decide if your priorities are what they should be – God first – before everything else!

Proverbs 3:27,28, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”   “Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.” 

This particular verse is concerned with helping others. God wants us to jump in and help – now, not at some future date when it is more convenient.  (Wow!  I never realized it before but God is the originator of the principle – Do it Now.  This is a clear directive to stop procrastinating.)

“Do it Now!”

This principle can apply to many areas of our lives, not just helping others. So, what is it that I should be doing?  Anything that needs to be done – no matter what it is.  Stop putting off the things that you have the power to do now.  We all have areas in our lives both physical and spiritual that we may need to address.  Organizing, cleaning, losing weight,  (yuk!), being more disciplined in our Bible reading, prayer, and witnessing, to name a few.

Ask God to show you areas in which you need to become more disciplined. Ask Him to help you make the choices that are necessary to accomplish the things that you should.  Let’s start making these changes TODAY  –  No….. not tomorrow –  remember ‘Do it Now!’

Let’s become ‘doers‘ and not just ‘I’ll do it later‘ people!

Have a Good Day –  and get working!

Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” 

God expects something from man, but man wants something for nothing. These are two opposites of the spectrum.

This verse is basically saying that if we want our prayers answered, we must be willing to follow God’s ways and laws. There are many instructions for life in the Scriptures;  there are many directives in the Bible concerning how a Christian should walk and live.  When God says do this, we need to do it.  When God says don’t do something, we need to not do it.  Sounds simple enough, but our minds seem to be able to justify (or ignore) the things that we do not wish to obey.

The ‘I want’ part of man sometimes seems to be stronger than the ‘I want to obey’ part.  It can be hard to put self down, but we need to have respect for the laws of God and we need to follow them.  Salvation is a free gift from God, Romans 6:23, but after that God expects us to live differently.  John 14:15 seems to say it all,  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  If we desire to fellowship and communicate with God in prayer then we must be in the Bible and we must obey the Bible.

There is no way we can live contrary to God’s Word and receive blessings in our lives!

Proverbs 10:9a, “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.” 

Webster’s 1828 dictionary definitions:

Upright – Honest, just, not deviating from correct moral principles.
Surely – firmly, without danger of falling.

Do right, do right, do right. In other words, walk in an honest and just manner and don’t deviate from God’s ways.  This will ensure that you will not be in danger of falling down in your Christian life.

To do right is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. It’s God’s way.  It’s God’s commandment.  There should never be a quandary over which way to go when confronted with a choice between right and wrong.  (Be careful, our mind likes to play games when we want to do something.  We can justify our choice by moving it into the ‘right’ category, when it really belongs in the ‘wrong’ column.)

Man is an interesting creature when it comes to manipulating. BUT, God’s ways are clearly presented in His Word and He never wavers or changes.  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  Make sure your choice/choices  line up with the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

You need to know the Word and you need to live the Word if you want to walk ‘surely’ before the Lord.

Colossians 1:10, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

We are to be fruitful in every good work. 

Good works are an important part of the Christian life. How do I know – because God refers to them often in the Scriptures.  We all know that God judges man, looking on his heart.  He looks at  the motivation of why he does the things that he does.  But, God knows that man judges men by their outward actions.  What you DO speaks volumes about who you are.  What you DO speaks volumes concerning God’s influence in your life.

Matthew 5:16 seems to sum up the importance of good works in the Christian life.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” When others see your good works, they will see God working in your life, and that will ultimately bring glory to Him.

Never forget that what you do reflects on God – for good or for bad. Colossians 1:10,  “Being fruitful in every good work,”  is saying, that our lives should be productive and filled with good deeds so that we can bring glory to God.

Our motivation each day should be to let others see God in us through doing good!

Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:  when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

 In this verse God is promising His presence in the life of His people.

“I will be with thee..”

After making this statement, God goes on to list some pretty harrowing circumstances – deep water – and fire.

Basically. God is saying that–no matter what hardships or circumstances you are facing in your life, you do not need to be afraid because He is going through them with you.

I quote Isaiah 41:13 frequently in my mind, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

These two verses fit nicely together. God not only promises to be with us in all the problems of life but He promises to hold our right hand as we go through them.

Notice that there is no promise here of our not having problems or hardships – only that we need not fear them or be overwhelmed by them. God will be with us to help us through all of them — no matter how serious they are.

Claim these promises of God and there will be peace in the chaos of this life!

I John 1:4, “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” 

God wants us to have joy in our lives. Wow – what a great thing!  God loves us and desires for us to be happy even while we are living in an unsettled and sinful world.  This is an amazingly comforting truth.

The dictionary defines ‘JOY’ as an intense or elated happiness, a source of great pleasure. Now we often misinterpret this truth and put a completely different spin on it.   We can read into this verse that God does not want us to have any hardships or problems in our lives.  Everything  in life will be smooth and easy.  WRONG!  Freedom from conflict isn’t what God is promising.  What He does promise is that if we keep our eyes on Him and believe that He is in control of all that happens in our lives, we can be happy and have joy in spite of all the problems.

It seems that the disappointments and hardships of life can so often cause us to be down in the dumps emotionally. The ‘whys’ of life can seem to be overwhelming at times.  Why does everything seem to be going wrong, why am I sick, why can’t I pay my bills, why ____________you fill in the blank.  We all have our own questions that we are tempted to ask God when things are not going well.

Now, I have a challenge for you – instead of the whys, start with the thanksgivings. Not for the problems but for the fact that God is with you and He is in control.  He knows all about what you are facing.  He has promised in Romans 8:28 to work everything out for your good.  He has a plan and a purpose.  Remember, I Thessalonians 5:8 , “In everything give thanks”.

It is God’s desire for us to be thankful. Look through the problems and see God.  Believe He is working even when you cannot see it. THIS IS TRUST IN ACTION.  This is the faith that will bring joy to your life – even in the most trying of circumstances!

1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Beware of victories. (Huh!)  I love a victory.  It means that things have gone right and are good.  We have seen God work and we are on the mountain top.  Life is great.  So…why in the world am I putting a damper on this wonderful experience?

The truth is that during the time of victory we are the most vulnerable. When we are in a valley, we know who we have to depend on.  We seek God’s face and direction.  We are in constant communication with Him because we need and want His help and direction.  But, in the time of victory we can become over confident.  Self can run ahead of God.

Victories are wonderful. Rejoice in them and thank God for them, but remember it is only ONE battle won.  There are more coming.

I know you think I am pouring water on your parade but I’m not. I’m not being negative and down in the mouth.  I am being honest.   It’s important to recall the victories in your life – they will give you the strength and encouragement to keep on keeping on;  just don’t park on them.

1 Corinthians 15:58 goes on to say, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”   Life is full of battles and will continue to be so until the Lord takes us home.  A good soldier rejoices in the battle won but then continues to be steadfast, unmoveble, and abounding in the work of the Lord as he moves on to the next one.

This blog first published on March 17, 2017.

Mark 9:23, “Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” 

This theme runs throughout the entire Bible: have faith, believe God, trust Him. Jesus sums it all up in this verse, “all things are possible to him that believe.”

Think about it! What “all things” are possible in your life if you only believe?  It opens a door of incredible possibilities – if you BELIEVE.  Our unbelief, our not trusting God, and our lack of faith keeps us in a little box of accomplishing very little.  Living within the realm of your own abilities is certainly limiting.  BUT, living in the world of FAITH and TRUST and BELIEF;  this opens up a whole new world of freedom and accomplishment.  It makes me wonder what God could accomplish through us if we just believed Him and let Him work.  Wow!  What wonderful possibilities could happen then!

Think about the areas in your life that you may be hindering God from working because of lack of belief. Ask Him to help you to trust Him and to give you the strength to move out for Him.  Ask Him to increase your faith.

(This blog is an excerpt from my book, “I Want to be a Better Me for God”, chapter 18.)

Proverbs 23:12, “Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.”

The word ‘apply’ is an action word. God is telling us here that we are to actively pursue instruction and knowledge.  It’s not to be a casual, hit or miss happening in our lives, but a solid determination on our part to know God better and to seek His direction.

How can we do this? I’m going to share how God has taught me over the last several years to grow closer to Him and increase in the knowledge of His Word.  This truly has changed my life.  I have shared this in more detail in my book,  “I Want to Be a Better Me for God,”  but, here I will only give an abbreviated version.

To start with – you need to read the Bible every day. DUH – Tell me something I don’t already know.  Okay – since you asked.  It is not just reading , it is thinking about and meditating on, what you read.  This is how I do it.  In my book I have a list of verses that go along with the theme of the chapter, but you can pick out any subject that you would like to study- such as trust, love, forgiveness, etc.  Look up a verse and write it out in its entirety along with the reference.  I suggest you get a notebook to use for this purpose.

After you write out the verse, you read it again, and again, and maybe again – asking God to reveal to you the truths in the verse. You may want to look up certain words in the dictionary.  Write out on paper what you are learning.  This is an important part of the assignment.  You must write it out, not just think about it.  This translates into true mediation!  It is amazing how God’s Word will open up for you as it never has before.

The second part of the assignment is to pick out a book of the Bible (any book, you choose) and read at least one chapter a day until you have finished the entire book. I also have a notebook I use just for chapter reading.  Write a quick synopsis of the chapter or pick out one verse that really speaks to you and write it out.  When you have finished a book, move on to another one.

Learn, learn, learn – never stop learning because when you stop learning you stop growing. Not only do you stop growing, but you start sliding backwards.  Seek and embrace God truths because this is how He wants you to live!  I can honestly say that the best part of every day is when I am doing my Bible reading.  I hope that is true for you also.  I challenge you to try this method of Bible study for a month and see if it helps you as much as it helped me!

Don’t forget to ask God to help you in this endeavor.