This morning I felt led to reflect on Psalm 92, a bit of a diversion from my regular fare of scripture. For several years, I read a psalm a day, and I love the expressions of the pslamist's hearts found there.
Today my focus in on praise and fruitfulness, both covered in this Psalm to some extent. Here are the verses - Psalm 92:1-5,12-15 NIV:
[1] "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High,
[2] proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
[3] to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
[4] For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
[5] How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!"
[12] "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
[13] planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
[14] They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
[15] proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
What a great verse to start the day! It is good to praise the Lord! The Hebrew word is towb and it means all sorts of things, all related to 'good'. It could be translated good, agreeable (to the senses), pleasant (to the higher nature), excellent (of its kind), rich, valuable in estimation, appropriate, glad, happy, prosperous, good understanding (of man's intellectual nature), kind, right (ethical). Wow, that word has much richness to it, and all of it is positive.
Praising the Lord, helps us take our eyes off ourselves, and look to him. I believe this is essential to our mental and spiritual well-being. When we remind ourselves of the praise-worthy characteristics of God, of all the things He has done for us, they become a lense through which we view our coming day.
Secondly we are called to proclaim His love in the morning, and what better thing to do while praising Him then to remind ourselves of our relationship to Him. We are His sons and daughters, beloved and favored! We are the apple of His eye, and His heart and thoughts are turned towards us! Because of our relationship with Him, His goodness flows down to us!
Thirdly, reminding ourselves of His faithfulness in the evening is a wonderful way to settle the day. Even on the most difficult of days, we can look and see God's faithfulness to us! We can remind ourselves of His past faithfulness, and see His present faithfulness reflected in our continued lives of intimacy with Him.
I am not sure about you, but I am no 10 stringed lyre player, but I can play guitar. There have been days where that is exactly what I do, I get up, grab my guitar and worship the Lord. If no instrument is available or one is unmusical, just listening to worship music and allowing our heart to join in can lift our eyes and hearts to Him. Allowing our hearts to sing of His Praises reminds us of all that He has accomplished. I find that I might start with one particular thing the Lord has done for me, and end up with a long list, as each reminds me of another.
Going back to the scriptures quoted above, I wanted to take a few moments and reflect on verses 12-15. I once heard a pastor say that anytime we read about the righteous in the Old Testament, we can apply that directly to ourselves, as we are now righteous in Christ. Paul wrote about this application of Christ's righteousness to us in several scriptures, and here is one example - Romans 4:23-24 NIV: "The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, [24] but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness---for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." We are righteous because of Jesus.
Going back to the verses, the Psalmist says the righteous (us) will flourish like a Palm tree, or like the cedar in Lebanon. Being from Missouri and Minnesota its hard to relate to this image. I will say that I know palm trees grow well in the heat, in sand, in arid places, near water. They were indications in the desert of water, and were used to provide shelter, food and even roofs, for homes. I believe the Cedars of Lebanon were often found on the mountain tops, and are clearly an evergreen. I understand that there were of immense size, and sent our long branches and were used to build the temple. Now days a good cedar chest or closet is know to protect clothing from moths and other vermin, due to its aromatic wood. So we have here a picture of two types of trees, one that lives in the heights and one that lives in arid places, both provide shelter, and are visible from a long way off, and are signs of life!
Moving on, the righteous (us) are planted in the very house, even the very courts of God, and flourish there! Again, we know from our New Testament, that we are actually seated in heavenly places in our unity with Jesus. Oh, what a glorious spiritual reality this is. We don't have to wait for an open heaven, or for a specific day or event, we live there, we are planted in God's house, in His Courts, seated with Him! Paul writes - Ephesians 2:6 NIV: "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."
Thirdly, we will continue to bear fruit, even into our old age. I guess we could say, there is no retirement in the Kingdom. The key building blocks of the Kingdom are relationships, and we don't just stop being in relationships at some age. We are always called to represent Christ, to bear fruit in our lives! Our lives are meant to proclaim the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord, not that there won't be hard times, dry times, times of difficulty, but that in all of these that God is faithful and good, always loving and merciful. Again, as our age increases, our witness to His faithfulness becomes stronger and stronger.
Thank You Lord for Your amazing love, the blessed assurance we have in You! Lets us praise You and worship Your Name all our days!
Amen!
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Carriers of His Presence
This morning I am reflecting on some verses from Acts 19:1-12 NIV:
[1] "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples [2] and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
[3] So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John's baptism,” they replied.
[4] Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” [5] On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. [7] There were about twelve men in all.
[8] Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. [9] But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. [10] This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
[11] God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, [12] so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."
Recently we had a Baptism Sunday, and the Holy Spirit was definitely manifesting His presence on some of the individuals. I am moved by the impact that we saw, and is echoed here is scripture. I love how in one passage the Holy Spirit lays out an encouragement towards baptism here, through a simple experience, without going into great details. Baptism isn't just about public acknowledgment of one's need for salvation, it is about entering into new life, and the Holy Spirit is supposed to be involved, clearly of His volition.
I am reminded of some of the stories from early in the Vineyard movement, where the Holy Spirit would fall during services, with the simplest of hand gestures of those involved. There were times that whole sections of people in the services would come under the power of the Holy Spirit when someone inadvertantly waved their hand in that sections direction. I love stories where the Holy Spirit just jumps in and starts moving. Oh, that we would unfetter Him in our minds and hearts, that He might do the same or more again!
As I reflect on these verses this morning, I am once again reminded of the radically supernatural stuff the Lord has done, and will do again. I am reminded of times His manifest presence did amazing life-changing miracles, spontaneous healings, even demonstrations of real power! Imagine if we, the church, were so filled up with the Holy Spirit that our spare clothing was literally a carrier of healing and deliverance.
I am reminded of how the Holy Spirit's presence can be spread from one body to another, by those that have visited someplace where He is moving! We had a time, many years ago, where certain non-leaders in our congregation went to a John Wimber (He was the leader of the Vineyard Movement) conference. While there they experienced an amazing outpouring of power and blessing over the weekend. The next weekend at our normal worship gathering the Holy Spirit showed up in our gathering in ways we had never experienced before. It was almost like they were carriers of His Presence.
We see here in Acts, how handkerchiefs and aprons were brought to Paul, and "infected" with the presence of the Holy Spirit! This is the same principle we experienced back in the late 80s. More recently, we have had outpourings of the Holy Spirit in places like Brownsville FL, the Toronto Vineyard, even Smithton, Missouri that greatly impacted other bodies of believers. The outpouring that occurred n Toronto has become known as the Toronto Blessing. People, upon hearing about the ongoing outpouring, came from around the world, and visited, and often on returning to their home congregations would see similar manifestations of the Holy Spirit breakout their, among people who had not visited Toronto. For more on this please refer to the following link: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2018/june/toronto-blessing-the-greatest-thing-thats-happened-in-the-church-in-the-last-100-years
What I see in this reflection this morning is the very evident will of the Holy Spirit to impact our lives. He wants to break out and move in our lives, in the lives of those in our congregations, in the lives of those around us! He wants us to be carriers of His presence, so that even people who bush against us are impacted by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Oh that we would be known as a body that bears the Holy Presence! We want to radiate Your love Lord, to those around us! We want to be bearers of Your Presence, that You might be glorified and Your name be lifted up!
As I look back to the scripture reference this morning, it was was when they were baptized in the name of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit manifested in them! Let us lift high the name of Jesus, let us embrace salvation in Him, and let us pursue Him in our lives, that we might know Him more, that we might effectively represent Him and be carriers of His Presence, for He lives within us!
Finally, I am reminded of the outbreak of the Coronavirus, that seems to be spreading to all the world. While this virus seems to have captured the attention of all the world, we have within us, something greater, the Very Spirit of God! I pray for the day that the Name of Jesus would be more greatly exalted and known than this virus in the day to day headlines. That the world would embrace salvation and rejoice, rather than hiding in fear.
Amen and Amen!
[1] "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples [2] and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
[3] So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John's baptism,” they replied.
[4] Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” [5] On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. [7] There were about twelve men in all.
[8] Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. [9] But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. [10] This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
[11] God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, [12] so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."
Recently we had a Baptism Sunday, and the Holy Spirit was definitely manifesting His presence on some of the individuals. I am moved by the impact that we saw, and is echoed here is scripture. I love how in one passage the Holy Spirit lays out an encouragement towards baptism here, through a simple experience, without going into great details. Baptism isn't just about public acknowledgment of one's need for salvation, it is about entering into new life, and the Holy Spirit is supposed to be involved, clearly of His volition.
I am reminded of some of the stories from early in the Vineyard movement, where the Holy Spirit would fall during services, with the simplest of hand gestures of those involved. There were times that whole sections of people in the services would come under the power of the Holy Spirit when someone inadvertantly waved their hand in that sections direction. I love stories where the Holy Spirit just jumps in and starts moving. Oh, that we would unfetter Him in our minds and hearts, that He might do the same or more again!
As I reflect on these verses this morning, I am once again reminded of the radically supernatural stuff the Lord has done, and will do again. I am reminded of times His manifest presence did amazing life-changing miracles, spontaneous healings, even demonstrations of real power! Imagine if we, the church, were so filled up with the Holy Spirit that our spare clothing was literally a carrier of healing and deliverance.
I am reminded of how the Holy Spirit's presence can be spread from one body to another, by those that have visited someplace where He is moving! We had a time, many years ago, where certain non-leaders in our congregation went to a John Wimber (He was the leader of the Vineyard Movement) conference. While there they experienced an amazing outpouring of power and blessing over the weekend. The next weekend at our normal worship gathering the Holy Spirit showed up in our gathering in ways we had never experienced before. It was almost like they were carriers of His Presence.
We see here in Acts, how handkerchiefs and aprons were brought to Paul, and "infected" with the presence of the Holy Spirit! This is the same principle we experienced back in the late 80s. More recently, we have had outpourings of the Holy Spirit in places like Brownsville FL, the Toronto Vineyard, even Smithton, Missouri that greatly impacted other bodies of believers. The outpouring that occurred n Toronto has become known as the Toronto Blessing. People, upon hearing about the ongoing outpouring, came from around the world, and visited, and often on returning to their home congregations would see similar manifestations of the Holy Spirit breakout their, among people who had not visited Toronto. For more on this please refer to the following link: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2018/june/toronto-blessing-the-greatest-thing-thats-happened-in-the-church-in-the-last-100-years
What I see in this reflection this morning is the very evident will of the Holy Spirit to impact our lives. He wants to break out and move in our lives, in the lives of those in our congregations, in the lives of those around us! He wants us to be carriers of His presence, so that even people who bush against us are impacted by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Oh that we would be known as a body that bears the Holy Presence! We want to radiate Your love Lord, to those around us! We want to be bearers of Your Presence, that You might be glorified and Your name be lifted up!
As I look back to the scripture reference this morning, it was was when they were baptized in the name of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit manifested in them! Let us lift high the name of Jesus, let us embrace salvation in Him, and let us pursue Him in our lives, that we might know Him more, that we might effectively represent Him and be carriers of His Presence, for He lives within us!
Finally, I am reminded of the outbreak of the Coronavirus, that seems to be spreading to all the world. While this virus seems to have captured the attention of all the world, we have within us, something greater, the Very Spirit of God! I pray for the day that the Name of Jesus would be more greatly exalted and known than this virus in the day to day headlines. That the world would embrace salvation and rejoice, rather than hiding in fear.
Amen and Amen!
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Consider Trials with Joy
This morning I am continuing a reflection I had last evening as I gathered with some men from our church to pray. I felt led to read from James, the following:
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
James 1:2-3 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.1.2-3.NASB
How different of an approach than my normal response to trials and difficulty. I don't welcome them with joy, I complain, I feel sorry for myself. I don't think of it as testing my faith, seeing how my faith stands up, whether it is strong, whether it is enduring... I just grumble and complain.
Oh Lord, forgive me for all the times I have complained, all the times I have agreed with the accuser, believing lies about Your goodness, Your mercy, Your compassion.
"And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1:4 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.1.4.NASB
Lord, I am absolutely desirous of Your work accomplishing its goal, making me complete, making me perfect, lacking nothing, in You! Give me strength to endure!
Reading a commentary on these verses was helpful. Here is Matthew Henry's commentary on verse 2 above:
"One Christian grace to be exercised is joy: Count it all joy, James 1:2. We must not sink into a sad and disconsolate frame of mind, which would make us faint under our trials; but must endeavour to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it. Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption. By suffering in the ways of righteousness, we are serving the interests of our Lord's kingdom among men, and edifying the body of Christ; and our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at last. Therefore there is reason to count it all joy when trials and difficulties become our lot in the way of our duty. And this is not purely a New Testament paradox, but even in Job's time it was said, Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth. There is the more reason for joy in afflictions if we consider the other graces that are promoted by them."
Lord, I know that I certainly suck at embracing trials joyfully. I am not asking for more trials, but an attitude and understanding as I encounter them, that I should consider the trial with joy, knowing that my faith is being tested and proven. Lord, help me to have a right heart attitude! I want to approach life, as You approached life.
Amen!
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
James 1:2-3 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.1.2-3.NASB
How different of an approach than my normal response to trials and difficulty. I don't welcome them with joy, I complain, I feel sorry for myself. I don't think of it as testing my faith, seeing how my faith stands up, whether it is strong, whether it is enduring... I just grumble and complain.
Oh Lord, forgive me for all the times I have complained, all the times I have agreed with the accuser, believing lies about Your goodness, Your mercy, Your compassion.
"And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1:4 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.1.4.NASB
Lord, I am absolutely desirous of Your work accomplishing its goal, making me complete, making me perfect, lacking nothing, in You! Give me strength to endure!
Reading a commentary on these verses was helpful. Here is Matthew Henry's commentary on verse 2 above:
"One Christian grace to be exercised is joy: Count it all joy, James 1:2. We must not sink into a sad and disconsolate frame of mind, which would make us faint under our trials; but must endeavour to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it. Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption. By suffering in the ways of righteousness, we are serving the interests of our Lord's kingdom among men, and edifying the body of Christ; and our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at last. Therefore there is reason to count it all joy when trials and difficulties become our lot in the way of our duty. And this is not purely a New Testament paradox, but even in Job's time it was said, Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth. There is the more reason for joy in afflictions if we consider the other graces that are promoted by them."
Lord, I know that I certainly suck at embracing trials joyfully. I am not asking for more trials, but an attitude and understanding as I encounter them, that I should consider the trial with joy, knowing that my faith is being tested and proven. Lord, help me to have a right heart attitude! I want to approach life, as You approached life.
Amen!
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Prophetic Words of Destiny and Journey
I woke up this morning and the theme of one of our Pastor's word last night immediately popped into my mind. He was talking about God's releasing of prophetic words into our lives, and it was very good. One of the examples he used spoke of a prophetic word being like a GPS destination, for where you end up in your future, given by God, who can see your future. He was talking about how when the word is released into our lives that it carries with it the grace required to accomplish that destiny.
I found that example very helpful as most of us have used a GPS solution like Google Maps, or Apples mapping solution to get from where we are (our present reality) to where we want to go (our destiny). The cool thing is that these navigation guides can recalculate when you take a wrong turn, and they can also divert you around bad traffic jams, and such.
In much the same way, God can speak into our lives, and direct us and guide us both in our day-to-day life, and for our future destiny and purpose. We need to learn to listen and cooperate with His words into our lives, for they are for our benefit! As I was waking up the Lord reminded me of two different situations in scripture, besides the one our pastor used, where we can see God releasing a word and then providing the means to see that word accomplished.
The two examples that came to mind were Phillip and Jonah. I will start with Jonah, as it is quite a well known story. In the book of Jonah, God released His word to Jonah twice, one time Jonah tried to flee from the word, and the second time he obeyed. Here are a couple of verses from Jonah 1:1-3 NIV:
[1] "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: [2] “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” [3] But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish . He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
This is a very clear word that the Lord releases into Jonah's life, and rather than obey, he heads in the opposite direction. What ensues is God working in Jonah's life to recalculate his direction and decision to rebel against God's word. In short, God makes use of a storm, and a giant fish to convince Jonah to change his mind.
God once again releases the word to Jonah and this time he responds differently - Jonah 3:1-3 NIV:
[1] "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: [2] “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” [3] Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it."
I have a couple of comments regarding Jonah. First, this happened in the Old Testament, and at the time it was written, the full revelation of the Father, as seen in Jesus, had not yet been received, so things are ascribed to God which may or may not be an accurate representation of His heart and mind. Second, Jonah's destiny word wasn't lost through his rebellion. Often, the enemy will try to convince us that we have disqualified ourselves from God's plans and purposes for our lives through our bad decisions, sins and rebellion, and Jonah is a great example of how that just isn't true. God, when He released the word the first time, had already taken into account Jonah's future, and the word was not nullified by Jonah's rebellion. In fact, God just re-released the word, giving Jonah another opportunity to obey and fulfill it. That is amazing grace and mercy from God.
Going back to the GPS example, God is totally able to get us to our destiny, no matter how many times the route has to be recalculated! God is much better at all this than any application we use.
The second example that popped into my mind was the story of Phillip, found in Acts. Phillip has some interesting experiences with the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to look at them in light of one's destiny, and God's ability to fulfill what He says. Here are the verses - Acts 8:26-31,34-36,38-40 NIV:
[26 "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road---the desert road---that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” [27] So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, [28] and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. [29] The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
[30] Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
[31] “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
[34] The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” [35] Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. [36] As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [38] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
[39] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
[40] Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."
What an interesting story of God's intervention in Phillips life, which effectively caused the Gospel to be proclaimed to Ethiopia. In fact the Coptic Church in Ethiopia trace their roots all the way back to this occurrence, highlighted in scripture. Now we don't know if Phillip had received a word about spreading the Gospel to Ethiopia, but we do know that the Holy Spirit gave him very clear direction about where to go.
Sometimes, God's words to us are more directive, without an actual destiny understanding. We really don't need to know everything, and for us, our ability to obey the small words will often result in mind-blowing experiences, that we would have poo-poohed had we ever been told the whole thing to start with. Imagine if God had told Phillip that he was going to affect the destiny of Ethiopia, Phillip would have likely been planning to go to Ethiopia rather than heading down to the desert road.
Anyway, Holy Spirit tells Phillip where to go, and he goes there and encounters the Ethiopian, and it is clearly a God set-up. What a great confirmation to Phillip that he was where he was supposed to be. Secondly, Philip receives a second directive word to go near the chariot, which if he hadn't obeyed, he wouldn't have heard the official reading from Isaiah, and proceeds to share the Gospel of Jesus with him.
Again, it is so important to obey everything the Lord says, for often we don't get the whole understanding in the first word. Imagine if Phillip hadn't obeyed the second word, he would have been standing by the desert road and would likely not have been invited into the chariot. Now, before we let our imagination run wild, and think that Phillip would have totally missed his one opportunity, we can read the last two verses again. In God, there is even supernatural ability to fulfill destiny! Here we see the Holy Spirit, "spirit" away Phillip to some other location and purpose. Could not the Holy Spirit had done the same thing for Phillip to cause him to meet the Ethiopian further down the road, if he had missed his first chance? Of course He could! Its not like there was specific "spiritual" worn-hole that just went from where Phillip was to Azotus. In case you are wondering, the distance appears to have been over 40 miles that Phillip was transported by the Holy Spirit. I like to think of this as a true Holy Spirit recalculate and reroute!
One other thing the Lord reminded me of concerning His words, especially destiny prophetic words, is that they are not just a destination word (where we will go), but they also include our character and development in them, so they are as much about where we go, as who we become! In fact, they are more focused on the latter then the former. If God calls someone to evangelize India, for example, He doesn't just arrange for them to go to India, but He prepares them, their character and heart, for the task as well. God is so good He doesn't call us to do things we hate, He calls us to things and then reveals that we have the heart for those very things! He knows what we have in us, what we were made to do!
Finally, if I may share a word of caution, God's word is perfect and our understanding of these words are not. We can receive a clear word from the Lord, and think we know exactly what it means, and try to make it happen. However, because the words also have to do with our character, and heart, the words are often meant to help form us, to help us become who God says we are. In other words, we have work to do on ourselves (with God's help) before they can come to pass. We should consider God's Prophetic words journey words, not just destination words, for the formation of our character and heart occurs during the journey!
I have a sad example of someone misunderstanding the application of prophetic words in their life. A long time ago, we had a friend who was a young man who was passionately pursuing God, but had a very immature, or incomplete understanding of how God worked. He had someone prophesy over him that he was going to be a pastor. Within a week he had packed up his family and drove several states away to a bible school that He felt was where he was called to go. When He showed up, he was surprised to find out that he had to pay, had to apply, had to be accepted to the school, and several other things. He returned a few weeks later, back to our church, completely defeated and doubting whether he had ever even heard correctly. He had heard the word, but tried to make it happen on his own and found his own efforts completely lacking, and completely mis-timed.
I don't share this to discourage anyone from pursuing fulfillment of God's word over one's life, but rather as a final point. God's words over our lives are perfect, they are not just journey words, but also are future-state words. In other words He is looking into our future, and sees not only when and where, but who we become! Since His words are perfect, they also include our personal development, our character and heart! On top of that, His words over our lives are intersecting the lives of countless others, and those intersections also require the perfect set of circumstances for all involved. It is like God is the chess master over a 7 billion piece, multi-dimensional chess game, and His timing of every move is perfect. We can trust Him to have us at the right place at the right time, with the right understanding,heart, and word in this journey of our life!
He wants us to understand that He does see our future, and when He speaks a word over our life, He knows we need to understand His perspective about who we are what He has purposed for us to do! He wants us to believe that we are more than just random people doing our best to live out our existence. We are His sons and daughters and our lives have eternal significance! Let us learn to listen, believe and obey His words spoken into and over our lives!
Lord, we desire that You would speak, for we are listening!
Amen!
I found that example very helpful as most of us have used a GPS solution like Google Maps, or Apples mapping solution to get from where we are (our present reality) to where we want to go (our destiny). The cool thing is that these navigation guides can recalculate when you take a wrong turn, and they can also divert you around bad traffic jams, and such.
In much the same way, God can speak into our lives, and direct us and guide us both in our day-to-day life, and for our future destiny and purpose. We need to learn to listen and cooperate with His words into our lives, for they are for our benefit! As I was waking up the Lord reminded me of two different situations in scripture, besides the one our pastor used, where we can see God releasing a word and then providing the means to see that word accomplished.
The two examples that came to mind were Phillip and Jonah. I will start with Jonah, as it is quite a well known story. In the book of Jonah, God released His word to Jonah twice, one time Jonah tried to flee from the word, and the second time he obeyed. Here are a couple of verses from Jonah 1:1-3 NIV:
[1] "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: [2] “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” [3] But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish . He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
This is a very clear word that the Lord releases into Jonah's life, and rather than obey, he heads in the opposite direction. What ensues is God working in Jonah's life to recalculate his direction and decision to rebel against God's word. In short, God makes use of a storm, and a giant fish to convince Jonah to change his mind.
God once again releases the word to Jonah and this time he responds differently - Jonah 3:1-3 NIV:
[1] "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: [2] “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” [3] Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it."
I have a couple of comments regarding Jonah. First, this happened in the Old Testament, and at the time it was written, the full revelation of the Father, as seen in Jesus, had not yet been received, so things are ascribed to God which may or may not be an accurate representation of His heart and mind. Second, Jonah's destiny word wasn't lost through his rebellion. Often, the enemy will try to convince us that we have disqualified ourselves from God's plans and purposes for our lives through our bad decisions, sins and rebellion, and Jonah is a great example of how that just isn't true. God, when He released the word the first time, had already taken into account Jonah's future, and the word was not nullified by Jonah's rebellion. In fact, God just re-released the word, giving Jonah another opportunity to obey and fulfill it. That is amazing grace and mercy from God.
Going back to the GPS example, God is totally able to get us to our destiny, no matter how many times the route has to be recalculated! God is much better at all this than any application we use.
The second example that popped into my mind was the story of Phillip, found in Acts. Phillip has some interesting experiences with the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to look at them in light of one's destiny, and God's ability to fulfill what He says. Here are the verses - Acts 8:26-31,34-36,38-40 NIV:
[26 "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road---the desert road---that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” [27] So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, [28] and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. [29] The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
[30] Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
[31] “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
[34] The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” [35] Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. [36] As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [38] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
[39] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
[40] Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."
What an interesting story of God's intervention in Phillips life, which effectively caused the Gospel to be proclaimed to Ethiopia. In fact the Coptic Church in Ethiopia trace their roots all the way back to this occurrence, highlighted in scripture. Now we don't know if Phillip had received a word about spreading the Gospel to Ethiopia, but we do know that the Holy Spirit gave him very clear direction about where to go.
Sometimes, God's words to us are more directive, without an actual destiny understanding. We really don't need to know everything, and for us, our ability to obey the small words will often result in mind-blowing experiences, that we would have poo-poohed had we ever been told the whole thing to start with. Imagine if God had told Phillip that he was going to affect the destiny of Ethiopia, Phillip would have likely been planning to go to Ethiopia rather than heading down to the desert road.
Anyway, Holy Spirit tells Phillip where to go, and he goes there and encounters the Ethiopian, and it is clearly a God set-up. What a great confirmation to Phillip that he was where he was supposed to be. Secondly, Philip receives a second directive word to go near the chariot, which if he hadn't obeyed, he wouldn't have heard the official reading from Isaiah, and proceeds to share the Gospel of Jesus with him.
Again, it is so important to obey everything the Lord says, for often we don't get the whole understanding in the first word. Imagine if Phillip hadn't obeyed the second word, he would have been standing by the desert road and would likely not have been invited into the chariot. Now, before we let our imagination run wild, and think that Phillip would have totally missed his one opportunity, we can read the last two verses again. In God, there is even supernatural ability to fulfill destiny! Here we see the Holy Spirit, "spirit" away Phillip to some other location and purpose. Could not the Holy Spirit had done the same thing for Phillip to cause him to meet the Ethiopian further down the road, if he had missed his first chance? Of course He could! Its not like there was specific "spiritual" worn-hole that just went from where Phillip was to Azotus. In case you are wondering, the distance appears to have been over 40 miles that Phillip was transported by the Holy Spirit. I like to think of this as a true Holy Spirit recalculate and reroute!
One other thing the Lord reminded me of concerning His words, especially destiny prophetic words, is that they are not just a destination word (where we will go), but they also include our character and development in them, so they are as much about where we go, as who we become! In fact, they are more focused on the latter then the former. If God calls someone to evangelize India, for example, He doesn't just arrange for them to go to India, but He prepares them, their character and heart, for the task as well. God is so good He doesn't call us to do things we hate, He calls us to things and then reveals that we have the heart for those very things! He knows what we have in us, what we were made to do!
Finally, if I may share a word of caution, God's word is perfect and our understanding of these words are not. We can receive a clear word from the Lord, and think we know exactly what it means, and try to make it happen. However, because the words also have to do with our character, and heart, the words are often meant to help form us, to help us become who God says we are. In other words, we have work to do on ourselves (with God's help) before they can come to pass. We should consider God's Prophetic words journey words, not just destination words, for the formation of our character and heart occurs during the journey!
I have a sad example of someone misunderstanding the application of prophetic words in their life. A long time ago, we had a friend who was a young man who was passionately pursuing God, but had a very immature, or incomplete understanding of how God worked. He had someone prophesy over him that he was going to be a pastor. Within a week he had packed up his family and drove several states away to a bible school that He felt was where he was called to go. When He showed up, he was surprised to find out that he had to pay, had to apply, had to be accepted to the school, and several other things. He returned a few weeks later, back to our church, completely defeated and doubting whether he had ever even heard correctly. He had heard the word, but tried to make it happen on his own and found his own efforts completely lacking, and completely mis-timed.
I don't share this to discourage anyone from pursuing fulfillment of God's word over one's life, but rather as a final point. God's words over our lives are perfect, they are not just journey words, but also are future-state words. In other words He is looking into our future, and sees not only when and where, but who we become! Since His words are perfect, they also include our personal development, our character and heart! On top of that, His words over our lives are intersecting the lives of countless others, and those intersections also require the perfect set of circumstances for all involved. It is like God is the chess master over a 7 billion piece, multi-dimensional chess game, and His timing of every move is perfect. We can trust Him to have us at the right place at the right time, with the right understanding,heart, and word in this journey of our life!
He wants us to understand that He does see our future, and when He speaks a word over our life, He knows we need to understand His perspective about who we are what He has purposed for us to do! He wants us to believe that we are more than just random people doing our best to live out our existence. We are His sons and daughters and our lives have eternal significance! Let us learn to listen, believe and obey His words spoken into and over our lives!
Lord, we desire that You would speak, for we are listening!
Amen!
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Hope for the Unacceptable
I am reflecting on a story that has been the source of many meditations for many people throughout the years. I was reading it the other day and something caught my eye that I want to explore. Here are the verses - Luke 7:36-48 NIV:
[36] "When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. [37] A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. [38] As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
[39] When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is---that she is a sinner.”
[40] Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
[41] “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. [42] Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
[43] Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
[44] Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. [46] You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. [47] Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven---as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
[48] Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
What caught my eye was the progression of Jesus' statements in verses 47 and 48. He is talking to the Pharisee in verse 47, and Jesus says of the woman, "her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown." This is before He actually turns to the woman and tells her that her sins are forgiven! I find that very intriguing, as Jesus has already forgiven her sins, and she apparently knows that, before He ever speaks the words directly to the woman.
As I was reading these verses the thought popped into my head that she was effectively forgiven, as soon as she encountered Him and He allowed her into His presence. Jesus was expressing the Father's will in His actions, and allowing her to embrace Him, was effectively the same as the Father saying He loved her, accepted her, and forgave her. It was in that moment, apparently, that the woman understood all this well. She experienced the love of God by the acceptance of Jesus.
I imagine the woman must have been full of trepidation as she approached Jesus. She must have had a laser-like focus on Him though, so she could ignore the stares and comments of those who knew her reputation. Something had caused her to find hope in Jesus, hope for forgiveness, hope for acceptance, hope that someone would love her in spite of her sin and weakness! Her heart was stirred and she was willing to risk rejection due to the hope that had arisen in her. I believe that this is due to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, stirring hope and belief in her...leading her to Jesus, where she could experience peace for her soul!
Oh, that we would learn the lesson she learned, judgment and punishment is not what is waiting for us when we come to the Lord, but rather mercy, compassion, forgiveness and love! He draws the broken hearted, leads the hopeless, loves those who think they are unlovable, and embraces and accepts all that come to Him. Let us not fear, but rather let us hope in His great love, and in the sacrifice He made to set us free. Let us come humbly to the savior of our souls, Jesus. He accepts the unacceptable, because He became one Himself, to set us all free!
Amen!
[36] "When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. [37] A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. [38] As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
[39] When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is---that she is a sinner.”
[40] Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
[41] “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. [42] Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
[43] Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
[44] Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. [46] You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. [47] Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven---as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
[48] Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
What caught my eye was the progression of Jesus' statements in verses 47 and 48. He is talking to the Pharisee in verse 47, and Jesus says of the woman, "her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown." This is before He actually turns to the woman and tells her that her sins are forgiven! I find that very intriguing, as Jesus has already forgiven her sins, and she apparently knows that, before He ever speaks the words directly to the woman.
As I was reading these verses the thought popped into my head that she was effectively forgiven, as soon as she encountered Him and He allowed her into His presence. Jesus was expressing the Father's will in His actions, and allowing her to embrace Him, was effectively the same as the Father saying He loved her, accepted her, and forgave her. It was in that moment, apparently, that the woman understood all this well. She experienced the love of God by the acceptance of Jesus.
I imagine the woman must have been full of trepidation as she approached Jesus. She must have had a laser-like focus on Him though, so she could ignore the stares and comments of those who knew her reputation. Something had caused her to find hope in Jesus, hope for forgiveness, hope for acceptance, hope that someone would love her in spite of her sin and weakness! Her heart was stirred and she was willing to risk rejection due to the hope that had arisen in her. I believe that this is due to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, stirring hope and belief in her...leading her to Jesus, where she could experience peace for her soul!
Oh, that we would learn the lesson she learned, judgment and punishment is not what is waiting for us when we come to the Lord, but rather mercy, compassion, forgiveness and love! He draws the broken hearted, leads the hopeless, loves those who think they are unlovable, and embraces and accepts all that come to Him. Let us not fear, but rather let us hope in His great love, and in the sacrifice He made to set us free. Let us come humbly to the savior of our souls, Jesus. He accepts the unacceptable, because He became one Himself, to set us all free!
Amen!
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Faith and Love = Action
This morning I am reflecting on the following verses from James 2:14-18,24 NIV:
[14] "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [15] Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. [16] If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? [17] In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [18] But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."
[24] "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."
As I read through these verses I was reminded of a similar set of verses from 1 John 3:16-18 NIV:
[16] "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
And finally, I am reminded of Jesus' words from Matthew 25:34-40 NIV:
[34] “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, [36] I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
[37] “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
[40] “The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
When I put these three sets of verses together, I am deeply impacted by the importance of our love, our active love, not just for those nearest me, but for all humankind, regardless of race, age, religion, political or moral viewpoint, economic status, or country of origin. We are called to love as Jesus did, to bless as we are blessed, to share what we have been given.
When I see anyone, regardless of how I might judge them for being different than me, they are each loved by the Lord, and each created in His image, each with inestimable value to the Lord. As such, my heart should be stirred by my affection for the Lord, to extend His affection and love to them, not just in words, but in deeds and action.
My life should be an endless poem of active love, of showing people they are loved and cared for by me, and by our Lord. I should be radiating His love for them, His valuation of them. It is not enough to think, or say just words, but must result in real action.
However, the real question for me, is do I actually believe this all? Do I even think this way when I am out and about? Am I radiating God's love, or am I withdrawn into the safety of my personal space? Do I show my love through actions to those closest to me, e.g. my family, my neighbors, people I encounter regularly? Am I willing to share what I have with others, or am I a well-wisher? Am I willing to treat someone I have never met before with the same affection as one of my close friends? Do I even go places where I might meet the hungry, the poor, the needy, the downtrodden? I know what I should think and believe, but do I? The truth is that I want to believe, think and act this way, but often I don't. I find myself saying something similar to the man who answered Jesus' question, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV)
I need help Lord!! It is a good thing You have promised me real help, Holy Spirit! I desire deep down, abiding change in my heart affections, in the way I think, and the way I respond to people. I desire to represent You more effectively, more accurately, and more lovingly. Lord help me to love in real and active ways, help me to step into all that You have for me, all the purposes, plans and people's lives affected.
Amen!
[14] "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [15] Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. [16] If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? [17] In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [18] But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."
[24] "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."
As I read through these verses I was reminded of a similar set of verses from 1 John 3:16-18 NIV:
[16] "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
And finally, I am reminded of Jesus' words from Matthew 25:34-40 NIV:
[34] “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, [36] I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
[37] “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
[40] “The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
When I put these three sets of verses together, I am deeply impacted by the importance of our love, our active love, not just for those nearest me, but for all humankind, regardless of race, age, religion, political or moral viewpoint, economic status, or country of origin. We are called to love as Jesus did, to bless as we are blessed, to share what we have been given.
When I see anyone, regardless of how I might judge them for being different than me, they are each loved by the Lord, and each created in His image, each with inestimable value to the Lord. As such, my heart should be stirred by my affection for the Lord, to extend His affection and love to them, not just in words, but in deeds and action.
My life should be an endless poem of active love, of showing people they are loved and cared for by me, and by our Lord. I should be radiating His love for them, His valuation of them. It is not enough to think, or say just words, but must result in real action.
However, the real question for me, is do I actually believe this all? Do I even think this way when I am out and about? Am I radiating God's love, or am I withdrawn into the safety of my personal space? Do I show my love through actions to those closest to me, e.g. my family, my neighbors, people I encounter regularly? Am I willing to share what I have with others, or am I a well-wisher? Am I willing to treat someone I have never met before with the same affection as one of my close friends? Do I even go places where I might meet the hungry, the poor, the needy, the downtrodden? I know what I should think and believe, but do I? The truth is that I want to believe, think and act this way, but often I don't. I find myself saying something similar to the man who answered Jesus' question, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV)
I need help Lord!! It is a good thing You have promised me real help, Holy Spirit! I desire deep down, abiding change in my heart affections, in the way I think, and the way I respond to people. I desire to represent You more effectively, more accurately, and more lovingly. Lord help me to love in real and active ways, help me to step into all that You have for me, all the purposes, plans and people's lives affected.
Amen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)