Month: July 2018

The Greater Outside Work

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“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” Proverbs 24:27

Building lives.  Building empires and organizations.  Building legacies and building personal ministries have all seem to take precedence over the greater work; the outside work.  So much is the focus on building for self, that building for Him has begun to fade in the background.

The prophets and disciples/apostles of old were outside builders.  Their homes were not their focus and their personal lives and desires were not what they strained for day in and day out.  To reach peoples, to add multitudes to God’s kingdom, to share God’s message to the world was the greater outside work they allowed themselves to be spent for.

Even Jesus, at the young age of 12 declared to His earthly parents, “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).  He was found where the work of the heavenly Father was going on, and not where the earthly work was.

How much of our focus on the earthly has taken over the heavenly?  Proverbs 24:27 says, “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.”

We must put our work in proper order and the greater must demand more of our care.  The farmer prepares the ground rightly and plans accordingly the fields before he focuses on his house.  And, while he is building his own house he will gain the benefits of the harvest the fields are producing.   Likewise, how much more will we be built on a firm foundation if we prioritize God’s work over our own “building projects;” making productive the things for the kingdom of God and working His fields?

Jesus taught, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” (Matthew 6:33).  Be about the Father’s business and your house will be built.

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“Don’t Touch That!”

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“. . . Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 3:13, KJV

When God created babies He created some of the most fascinating little creatures. They keep us entranced as we watch them toddle about. We are amused when they let go of the coffee table to take those first “Frankenstein” like steps. When you do the airplane to go them to eat, their little giggle and the banging on the highchair melts your heart. When they don’t feel well and the bottom lip begins to pout we race to bring them comfort. Or, when they sleep at night you can almost see an angelic glow of innocence radiating about them.

Yes, sir. They are quite fascinating, especially when it comes to dealing with their propensity for touching everything. This is the part that gets the parents hearts racing. We find ourselves continually saying, what seems to be fifty million times, “Don’t Touch That!”

Our hearts become frantic because often the thing they want to touch is very harmful to them. “Don’t touch that stove!” We know it’s hot and that they could get burned. “Don’t touch the cat the wrong way!” We know they could get scratched. “Don’t touch the plug!” They could get shocked. And, my favorite comes when we find them chewing on something that we didn’t give them and we yell, “What did you touch now!”

We do all that we can as parents to protect our children to see them grow up to be happy, healthy and successful. It’s a lot of our guidance through life that will see that they get there. But, it usually starts early on with a good, healthy dose of, “Don’t Touch That!”

Do you ever feel that God sometimes wants to yell down at us, “Don’t touch that?” I do. Especially when it comes to dealing with our past hurt, pains and regrets.

Our lives can go on peachy-keen and fine as rainbows when all of a sudden something triggers a twinge of regret. Then, we begin to ponder that regret until we are reliving the painful past. We let the guilt resurface when the Bible says, “He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sin into the depths of the sea, “ (Micah 7:19, KJV). Yet, we sometimes try to resuscitate it and bringing it back to life.

God said, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins,” (Isaiah 43:25, KJV). God puts them in a place where He doesn’t remember them; where He doesn’t acknowledge them anymore. But, when we feel that little niggle of doubt we start rehashing the past, touching it and not leaving it alone.

Go figure?

The apostle Paul knew a thing or two about past regrets. (After all, he did seek to imprison and kill those who claimed Christ until Jesus knocked him off his beast). He also knew that it was behind him now. He doesn’t live back there anymore and to continually go back to it would stunt his future growth.

With a resolve to teach others this important truth he penned the words, “Forgetting those things which are behind.”

It’s time to leave it alone. Stop touching it! Put it down and don’t pick it up again! Stop pondering it! Stop reliving it! It’s in the past!

Now is the time to start, “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” It’s time to start looking forward to where God is taking you, not where you have been! Who doesn’t want something better to look forward to?

Babies are still learning not to touch everything they see. I think it’s time to take our cue from them. Things in the past are harmful to us if we continually fiddle with it. Leave it alone and stop touching it!

Make it a great day today. Start looking ahead instead of behind and see where God can take you!

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“The Lord is in His Holy Temple!”

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“But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him,” Habakkuk 2:20

Through the many tragedies that unfold in this life and the unrest of wars and what appears to be the advancement of evil, we are left with this assurance, God is still in control. Not only is He still in control, but He remains in His proper seat of authority, ruling in His holy temple.

Sometimes it can be hard to wrap one’s mind around this concept when we see terrible things happening in the land. When our eyes witness children hurting and mothers left without any hope, it becomes hard to view the world through another possibility. When we see fathers in despair, feeling helpless to lead and feed their families. When we see evil trying to claw its way to the top, we are reminded in the Word that through it all, God is still there, never to be moved or usurped, never to be replaced or shaken from His seat of power and supremacy.

Oh, we watch the world as men set the idols of their hearts up. We watch as we see them deepen their dependency on the things that will never satisfy the hungering soul. But through it all, we look to His Majesty. The King is on the throne. O earth, be still before Him and honor His presence.

This is a comfort to the soul who cannot find comfort anywhere else. Is this not a blessed place to be? For if one found comfort among the false and depraved, would they not also think as other men? Take comfort, O soul, in your God who is always present. The head of all principality and power still bears the crown obtained for the salvation and deliverance of mankind. He that holds that holy scepter, and Himself is the Scepter that rises out of Israel (Num. 24:17), remains in control, and is worthy of your trust and honor.

O earth, “Be silence before Him.” O false ways, your arrogance will one day bow before Him, and you will not be able to utter a word against His rule. “The LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment” (Ps. 9:7).

Therefore, be at peace, he that trusts in the rule of his sovereign King. Allow your soul this holy rest for, “The LORD is King forever and ever…” (Ps. 10:16a). And for all the rest, hush and quiet your ways before Him before it is too late, for “the heathen are perished out of his land,” (Ps. 10:16b). But, “the LORD is in His holy temple” forever to reign.

“The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all,” Psalm 103:19

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“Prosperity Belongs to God”

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“The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build,”
Nehemiah 2:20

You have felt that burden in your heart or that niggling of the mind.  The pull or the call to step out in faith to take on a new project, yet the enemy has thrown disturbing thoughts your way thinking to frustrate what God is pulling you to do.

Nehemiah felt such a burden from God.  He received word that the people in Jerusalem were in distress and the walls were broken and the gates burned, (Neh. 1:3).  What could he possibly do all the way in Shushan?  The Bible tells us he fasted and prayed and confessed the wrongs of his people before God, (Neh. 1:4).  Then, God gave an opportunity for King Artaxerxes to take notice of his plight and support the project that had burdened his heart.

Arriving in the area of Jerusalem with letters from the king should have made things easy for Nehemiah.  But, the plain and simple truth is there are those who don’t want to see God’s people blessed.  There are those who don’t want to see God’s people prosper and favored.  This is what Nehemiah faced.  Nehemiah 2:10 tells us this of his enemies, “They were deeply disturbed that a man came to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.”

As soon as the work began and they took steps toward the goal of their heart, their enemies laughed at them and despised them and put accusations against them, (Neh. 2:19).  But, Nehemiah’s response was one of total faith and reliance upon God.  He said, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build,” (Neh. 2:20).

Know this, anytime God lays a burden on your heart to do something for Him, there will always be enemies that try to stop the plan of God in you.  Sometimes it could even be just our own doubts and insecurities about our own ability to get the job done.  But, if God called you to it, He will see you through it.  Prosperity belongs to God!  All He has ever asked us to do is to step out in faith and do the work and depend on Him to increase it and cause it to grow.  No human on this earth has any say so about what God is doing in your life!

Be blessed, my friends, as you move where God is leading you!

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“What will our story tell?”

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I have often wondered about the Bible and the characters whose lives are portrayed within its pages.  More often than not, I believe most of those lives didn’t know that their choices and actions and their everyday occurrences would be forever etched in that holy book.  They didn’t know their story would be referenced for thousands of years sharing with generations the do’s and don’t’s of life, dealing with others, and our relationship with God.  If they had known, would some have made better choices?  Would the outcome of certain lives look different than what those holy pages tell?

Our future is written already at the end of that holy book, the Bible.  Whether one chooses to follow God’s ways or not, the story is already shown how it will end.  But, can we let our imaginations roam a bit.  What if God was writing a story right now and the characters written in it are you and me?  How would our chapters read?  What will our story tell?  Will we be conquerors of faith or sitters on the sidelines?  Will our lives tell the story of being victorious for Him or did we follow the masses down the path of wrong choices?

What if we choose to live our lives like a story is being written as we speak?

There is not a new Bible being written, but everything we say and do is.  One day, there will be a book opened and in its pages, our lives come to life (see Revelation 20:12).  Our story will be read.  The chronicles of our being and time here on earth will be studied and judged for where we will spend eternity.

What will our story tell?

We all have the power to determine how our story will end through the life we choose to live today.  Make your story a good one.  Let the pages thereof ring true of the epic adventures you and God went through together, coming out on the other side in victory!  C.S. Lewis said, “History is a story written by the finger of God,” and I want my story to be a good one.

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“Every day is a gift from God!”

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Father God, I didn’t have to wake up and see this day, but it ‘s a day You granted to me. If You do nothing else for me, I am blessed already because You gave me the gift of today. Thank You, and I pray that with this day I will bring glory to Your name, and not take it for granted. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

A Prayer for our Nation:

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As we celebrate this Independence Day, say a prayer for our nation as a whole. That we would, as a people, recognize that God is the Lord of all. That without Him, we would be nothing. And, that it is Him we need in our lives and in our country the most. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!