"In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all."
1 Chronicles 29:12 NIV The Sovereign God that rules over our hearts and lives is the same one who designed and created the heavens and earth. He has also willed you and I to rule over the earth and to do great exploits or accomplishments for Him. You probably think, "What can I do? It's too much for me." Remember the power is His! He is the publisher who is looking for willing writers. He is looking for people who will trust the power of His Holy Spirit to work in and through the common, ordinary affairs of their daily lives. God is offering you a blank book of possibilities and asks what we are going to do for Him so that your legacy can be written for posterity.
0 Comments
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 2:14 Are you about ready to "peace" together your life again? Have the many demands of the holidays running into years end just laid you flat? Then, take heart! You are in the perfect position! On the night of Christ's birth, shepherds watched over their flocks around Bethlehem. Likely, only a portion of these shepherds kept active eyes against encroaching enemies. The others, though ready to wake at a moment's notice, were catching their rest. They were laid out flat. But they were about to receive history's most overwhelming awakening! In the middle of the shepherds' night, an angelic announcement woke them with frightful start. They watched and listened in awe, until the host sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" Oh, that we should be those favored people! That we would know this peace which passes all understanding, calms your spirit in the midst of the busy holiday season, everyday turmoil and chaos during that unexpected disaster. My prayer for you is not the peace of the world but the peace of Jesus throughout this coming year. "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed"
Daniel 7:14 There is a difference between liking something and loving something, whether it's a food, a sport or clothes. It's kind of similar to commitment. When you love a certain food you tend to eat it as often as possible, or wear a certain piece of clothing more often than usual. For most people they approach God the same way. They "kind of" need Him. When big trouble comes, they recognize that no human solution will do. But in their hearts, they know that One who came as a human can help. Maybe Jesus is very different from that wishy-washy God that pop culture says is the same no matter what you call Him. "All paths lead to heaven". In no other faith is Jesus Christ granted the deity that the Bible ascribes Him. He was not just a special man to whom great talent or wonder were uniquely awarded. Jesus Christ alone came as Emmanuel- God with us. Alone He came to save us from sin, and alone He has been given dominion over every people and nation whether He is liked, disliked or loved. Half commitment to God is similar to liking Him and half-hearted Christianity. Full commitment is loving Him and it causes Him to be your Savior AND Lord of ALL your life. "Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight."
2 Samuel 10:12 In some sports people do different things to get charged up before they even play. When David sent men to show the King of the Ammonites kindness, the king thought they wanted to spy on the city and he "shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away." The Bible says they were humiliated. In the Old Testament warriors fought fiercely for God and stood up to challenges that threatened God's place in their lives. Still, Joab was careful in his confidence and told his brother Abishai, "the Lord will do what is good in His sight." That is a confident leader committed to his calling. Joab knew he was called to obedience, not success. We may do what God has for us to do, and in the end it looks like failure, or even humiliation like David's envoy when they met the Ammonites. But if we know God and His calling on our life, we can proceed with confidence and assurance and leave the outcome up to Him. Think about it: sometimes the work He needs to do is IN us, and not THROUGH us. "Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Psalm 96:9
God's calling to heavenly purity is to examine our hearts and lives, bare our souls, confess and repent of sins, and to receive His cleansing. It's not a call that we wear like a badge of honor or to receive some plaque we put on the wall. It's a calling of biblical wise actions, sensitive speech and pure thoughts in our everyday life. Walking holy before Him and the world starts inwardly with the Holy Spirit in our walk. You can't be partially holy just like you can't be partially pregnant. The evidence that holiness and humanity can be blended successfully and beautifully comes by looking at Jesus. When lusts, anger, unforgiveness, and habits erode our integrity, create bitterness which hinder your spiritual growth to walk before Him with clean hands and pure heart, remember that we can't become Holy by ourselves, or by matching up our strength to God's. We match up our weakness to His strength and our failure to His holiness, so that our lives reflect who He is to you and those around you. "And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD."
2 Kings 19:14 KJV We make decisions every day of our lives. Some have more meaning than others and some have greater consequences than others. These are especially true when challenges require making a life changing decision. Hezekiah had a magnitude of a decision to make when he faced the arrogant Sennacherib: He said "I'm coming to kill you and all your people too!". Hezekiah went immediately to the Lord. Simply and literally, he laid the threatening letter before God. Hezekiah told God, "this one is yours Lord" and God made it His. Sennacherib lost 185,000 soldiers in the middle of the night; then he lost his own life. We don't have a guarantee that God's response to our situation will be as definitive like it was for Hezekiah. But we do know how Hezekiah got such a response. He went to God first. When your greatest challenge of addiction, anger, physical/mental healing, financial, family/marriage problems, pride have overtaken you. Try going to Him instead of a book, friend, counselor, psychiatrist or bank. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you
1 Peter 5:10 As everyone grows older we get more experienced in life's matters. Whether it be job related, in ministry or in our families. Whether it's a situation, or we learn how to raise one child a little different than the other. As we face difficult situations daily, we exercise ourselves. Tough problems prepare us for life's tough questions like; if God is loving, why does He allow suffering in the world? The answer biblically is clear: God did not introduce suffering to the world. Man's disobedience established suffer, the natural result of sin. But some of you may be thinking; If we have committed our lives to God, why would he require us to endure suffering? There are at least 3 reasons: 1. In our own suffering we identify with Jesus' suffering, and we don't even come close to the suffering He went through. 2. Through suffering God trains us. Whether through patience or that it causes us to learn a valuable life lesson. 3. Our suffering causes us to help and minister to others who have gone through the same problem or trial. Suffering still hurts. But I think if we look at it as something we gain, something we get stronger with and know that God understands us, then it turns into a blessing, in that God loves you so much He chose to establish and grow you more like Him....through suffering "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9 Have you ever heard someone make an excuse as to why they can't, won't, or didn't do something. Things like go to a doctor, work, or even church. It's easy to make an excuse for something we don't want to do. The Greek word for "confess" above is homologeo. It means, "to speak to the same thing" that is, to say about sin what God is saying to you about it. Confession involves being truthful, honest, forthright and not excusing yourself either to God or to your own conscience. If the Father says, "I don't want you to do that or I want you to do this" then respond, "Yes Lord". When Jesus was asked how do we pray He responded with pray like this "thy kingdom come thy will be done" When you pray like this you align your thoughts and actions to the will of heaven. You now don't have to ask the question is this what God wants or am I in His will? This also prevents us from making excuses as to why we don't, can't or want to do something. True confession leads to His heavenly will on earth. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!"
Romans 11:33 Have you ever hesitated to obey or surrender to God's will on this unspoken but heart-felt thought, "If I let God take full control of my life, He will deny my dreams and block my goals?" God is totally committed to your success. He wants the best for us, better than what we would like or prefer. He also has the sufficient power and wisdom to see you through to your fullest potential. He is El Shaddai, the Lord God sufficient and almighty, our loving, protector. He is the God of impossible, the dream-maker and giver, the true God of opportunities, not lost ones. Remember you are greater than your past failures and can do more than past accomplishments. Don't look at what you don't have focus on what dreams, goals and desires He has put into your heart. Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness. I say to seek it ONLY. That is when all the above things happen. "Receive him (Epaphroditus) then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me."
Philippians 2:29-30 As the Olympics play out in Rio De Janiero there is a lot of talk about how these great athletes are heroes to kids. It's how all their hard work, dedication and focus got them to this pinnacle in their life. Now, I would think there are no men or women that God "Looks up to" But there may be some that God would want us to look up to, if not as heroes, then as great examples. This is what Paul hints at when he writes to the Philippians about Epaphroditus. He gives them a background of who he is and what he has done for Paul. And he tells them how to receive them: "hold him in high regard". Followers of Jesus need to remember that our heroes look quite different than the ones the world would choose. God's heroes are identified by actions are identified by actions produced in faith, not by earthly accomplishments. Think about it: if we dedicated our spiritual life with the same intensity, dedication, and desperation as these Olympic athletes, where would you be? Who are your heroes? Are they the physical, intellectual or spiritual type? Would God want to designate you as an example for others to imitate? |
Details
Pastor Michael GarciaOverseer and Pastor at First Assembly HOEN Archives
October 2020
Categories |