"Know Your Calling" (Part #1)

20, June 2017

"Know Your Calling" (Part #1)

‘What is that in your hand?’ Exodus 4:2 NIV

When God called Moses, one of the first questions He asked him was: ‘What is that in your hand’?  Moses was holding his shepherd’s staff—the one he used each day to lead and protect his sheep.  But God had a different plan for it—a greater one!  He used it to part the Red Sea and lead Israel into the Promised Land. When God asks you, ‘What is that in your hand’?  He wants you to think about your talents, experiences, relationships, education, resources, your mind and your temperament.

‘Signature strengths’ fall into six categories:

(1) Wisdom and knowledge. These include things like curiosity, love of learning, sound judgment and social intelligence.

(2) Courage. This includes perseverance and integrity.

(3) Humanity. The capacity for kindness, and the ability to express mercy.

(4) Justice. The ability to bring about fairness and leadership.

(5) Temperance. Qualities like self-control, prudence and humility.

(6) Transcendence. An appreciation for beauty, the expression of gratitude, the ability to hope and the capacity for joy. We all have the capacity for each of these strengths, but the ones that resonate most deeply within you are your ‘signature strengths’.

Once you identify these you begin to understand your calling. But be careful; the enemy wants to convince you that God can’t use you because of your weaknesses, when in fact the opposite is true. Who can speak to those who are grieving better than those who’ve suffered loss?  Chuck Colson was the chief White House lawyer until Watergate.  But only when he became a convict was he equipped to begin his ministry, Prison Fellowship.  So, know your calling.

"Trust In God’s Goodness"

15, June 2017

"Trust In God’s Goodness"

‘The Lord is good.’  (Nahum 1:7 NIV)

The Bible says, ‘When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come … down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us … gods who can lead us”’ (Exodus 32:1 NLT).  Why did Israel make a golden calf?  Because they wanted a god you can see.  It’s harder to relate to an invisible God, and Moses, His representative, stayed on Mount Sinai so long they felt helpless and abandoned.  So they did what we do when we’re scared—resort to the comfort of the familiar.

Mark D. Roberts writes:  ‘How often do we find ourselves in a situation like the Israelites?  We hear God’s call to something new, and boldly step out in faith.  But when we don’t sense His presence and our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, we feel abandoned, scared, and helpless.  We grasp for the familiar’.  The Bible says, ‘The Lord is good … He cares for those who trust in Him’.

Nancy Ortberg says:  ‘The difficult parts of change are most often where God lives … All the things I glibly say, in change I have to live out … Most of us go kicking and screaming instead of moving into it with an assuredness that not only is God on the other side, but new facets of Him that we haven’t before understood are also there. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a job loss, broken promises by others, a wayward child, a broken marriage, a move across the country, becoming an empty nester — if we allow ourselves to push through the difficult parts, we’ll discover God is there … and He’s entirely, wonderfully, amazingly, good.’

When God closes one door, He opens another — but you must be willing to walk through it.

"Today God Is With You"

13 June 2017

"Today God Is With You"

‘Although they saw Him, they didn’t recognize Him.’ Luke 24:16 GWT

When you face a crisis it’s easy to lose perspective.  It happened to two of Christ’s disciples on the Emmaus Road. Discouraged about Jesus' death, they were ‘talking with each other about everything that had happened … Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him’ (Luke 24:14–16 NIV).  When you take your eyes off Jesus, you start to feel helpless about your situation.

Dr Michael Youssef says: ‘Facing a major crisis, I tend to be the kind of person whose vision becomes blurred.  My perceptions are shot.  My contemplations are one-sided. I often shut out the very people who can deliver me, just like those two disciples … Their vision was blurred about the person who was walking with them and talking to them. The one whose death they were mourning was alive … but they didn’t realize it because their focus was on the wrong thing’.

But everything changed the minute they recognized Jesus.  ‘Within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There … the two … told … how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along … and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread' (Luke 24:33–35 NLT). Note the words ‘within the hour’.   In an instant they went from fear to courage, pain to joy, and despair to hope.  Paul wrote, ‘I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened’ (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).  When you stop focusing on the problem and fix your eyes on Jesus, you get 20/20 vision and you’re filled with hope.

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #2)

10, June 2017

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #2)

‘We have a great High Priest … Jesus the Son of God.’ Hebrews 4:14 NLT

Notice two more things about the breastplate worn by Israel’s high priest:

(1) It was close to his heart. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, he went into the ‘Holiest of Holies’ where God’s presence was, in order to obtain forgiveness for the people’s sins ... And he wore different things, each signifying different truths.  But of all the garments he donned, the breastplate was the closest to his heart. This speaks of how much God loves and values you, and His desire to be close to you. Today He’s saying to you:  ‘I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]’ (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC).  What a wonderful promise!

(2) The name of each tribe was not merely written on the breastplate, but engraved on it (see Exodus 39:14). When something is written, it can be erased or accidentally blotted out, but not when it’s ‘engraved’. There are two ways you can sin.  First by deliberately choosing to, and second by stumbling through weakness ... And God will chastise and correct you in order to get you back onto the right path, but He will never turn His back on you or throw you away.  No, you’re too precious to Him.

He remembers the price He paid for you and He says, ‘I will not blot out [your] name from the Book of Life’ (Revelation 3:5 NKJV).  As long as you are trusting in Christ, you can be sure of God’s love and acceptance.

"Use Words Befitting A Christian"

08, June 2017

"Use Words Befitting A Christian"

‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting.’ Proverbs 10:32 NIV

When George HW Bush was running for president of the United States in 1988, he admitted he’d made an inappropriate remark about American journalist Dan Rather and White House correspondent Lesley Stahl after an on-air confrontation.

Bush referred to Rather in an unprintable term, and also took God’s name in vain in speaking about the Columbia Broadcasting System.  When confronted, he said, ‘If I’d known the microphone was on, I wouldn’t have taken the Lord’s name in vain, and I apologize for that".  The fact is, he shouldn’t have said it whether the recorder was on or not.

Remember, God’s recorder is always on! The Bible says, ‘A man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths' (Proverbs 5:21 NIV).  Centuries ago Jesus declared: ‘There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs' (Luke 12:2–3 NIV).

Take a moment and consider these two Scriptures:

‘The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil' (Proverbs 15:28 NIV).

‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse' (Proverbs 10:32 NIV).

The first Scripture tells you that a wise person will think before he or she speaks, because they realize every word has a consequence. The second Scripture tells you that a righteous person automatically knows what’s acceptable, and keeps in mind the fact that God hears every word.

‘To Thine Own Self Be True’

07, June 2017

‘To Thine Own Self Be True’

‘A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor.’ Proverbs 21:6 NIV

It’s easier to maintain your integrity than to regain it.  It may cost you to do the right thing, but it will cost you more to abandon your principles.  ‘Like a bird hatching an egg it did not lay, so are … people who get rich by cheating. When their lives are half finished, they will lose their riches.  At the end … it will be clear they were fools.’ (Jeremiah 17:11 NCV)

In 1994 golfer, Davis Love called a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round of the Western Open. He moved his marker out of the path of another player’s putting line; then later he couldn’t remember if he’d moved his ball back to its original spot. Since he wasn’t certain, he gave himself an extra stroke ... And that one stroke caused him to be eliminated from the tournament.

At year’s end Love was $590 short in winnings to automatically qualify for the Masters, and needed to win a tournament to get into one of golf’s most coveted events. Fortunately, the story ends well. The week before the big event he qualified by winning a tournament in New Orleans, and went on to earn $237,600 by finishing second in the 1995 Masters.

Later, when asked how he’d have felt if he’d missed the Masters because of calling a penalty on himself, Love replied, ‘The question is how I’d have felt if I’d won and spent the rest of my life wondering if I’d cheated'.

In the words of Shakespeare: ‘To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

"God Is Your Unfailing Source"

17, May 2017

"God Is Your Unfailing Source"

‘The brook dried up.’ 1 Kings 17:7 NIV

The psalmist wrote, ‘Joyful are those …whose hope is in the Lord their God.’ (Psalm 146:5 NLT)

One author writes: ‘Sometimes when there’s not enough money to make ends meet, people tell us to budget and we chuckle. We look at the situation and say, “No way.” That’s the time to trust God. Your possibilities aren’t limited by past or present circumstances. If there’s not enough money to pay legitimate expenses, 'do deligent' to pay what you can and then let go and let God. Trust God to supply your need, then look beyond your wallet. Look to your source. Claim a divine, unlimited supply.  Do your part in managing your money. Strive for financial responsibility in thoughts and actions. Ask for wisdom, and listen to God’s leadings. Then let go of your fears and your need to control. We all know money is a necessary part of living—and so does God.’

FB Meyer said: ‘The education of our faith is incomplete till we learn that God’s providence works through loss … There’s a ministry provided to us through the failure and fading of things. The dwindling brook where Elijah sat is a picture of our lives! “Some time later the brook dried up” (1 Kings 17:7 NIV) is the history of our yesterdays and the prophecy of our tomorrows. We must learn the difference between trusting in the gift and trusting in the giver. The gift may last for a season, but the giver is eternal. If the Lord had led Elijah directly to the widow at Zarephath, he’d have missed something that helped make him a better man—living by faith. Whenever our earthly resources dry up, it’s so we may learn that our hope and health are in God'.

"Today Share Your Faith With Someone"

15, May 2017

"Today Share Your Faith With Someone"

‘A woman of Samaria came to draw water.’ John 4:7 NKJV

One day Jesus met a woman who would come to draw water from a well.  After five marriages, her trust in men was zero—and her self-esteem was into the negative!  But after her encounter with Christ, she left the well radically changed.

When it comes to sharing our faith, we learn three important lessons from her story:

(1) Jesus sees the best in everybody.  ‘The Pharisees … complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners”’ (Luke 15:2 NKJV).  And when it came to the woman at the well, they were right. She’d been through five marriages and was the talk of the town because she was living with another man. Yet she was the first person to whom Jesus introduced Himself as the Messiah. Why didn’t He do that when He called His disciples?  Or performed His first miracle? Or interviewed Nicodemus? Because Jesus doesn’t measure you by your past or your pedigree—but by your potential.

(2) Jesus changes you, then He uses you to change others. This woman was the first person to share the gospel in Samaria, and ‘many … Samaritans … believed in Him because of the word of the woman’ (John 4:39 NKJV). Out of your brokenness, God can use you to make others whole.

(3) Jesus doesn’t need you to explain Him, just to introduce Him.  He speaks for Himself. The Bible says: ‘Many more believed because of His own word …They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ”’ (John 4:41–42 NKJV). Today share your faith with someone.