November 23, 2015 · 5:39 AM

Times of Transitions

I’m taking a sabbatical from writing this week from writing. To help keep you on track with your daily devotions, I’ll send out a previously written devotion.

Transitions in life are hard. They mean that one part of your life’s story is over and a new one is about to begin. They are the space between where faith is tested and fear fights to creep in. They are a temporary no man’s land that we have to walk through in order to grow. As we walk through them, it’s hard to see what’s coming next. The territory is so unknown to us that we put our attention and focus on the transition rather than on where we’re being transitioned to. We question God’s providence in our situation during these times.

I remember one if the first lessons I learned working in a child care center was with transitions. Kids hated transitions as much as adults. I learned that if I told them we were going to be making a change in direction in a few minutes, it would give them time to finish what they were doing and to prepare mentally for what was coming next. Now, when I talk to sales reps, I talk to them about transitions in the sale. It’s important for the buyer to know where they are in the sale and what’s coming next. I even encourage them to share with the buyer the why behind the transition.

As I’ve thought about all of that, I started wishing God would give us the warnings about transitions approaching in our lives and the why’s behind them. As I prayed about it, God reminded me how many times Jesus told the disciples what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem and why. They never heard a word of it and were shocked in the Garden of Gethsemane. They entered a time of transition between having Jesus walk with them daily and having the Holy Spirit coming as their guide. Like us, they were confused, frightened and wondered where God was in the transition.

God speaks to each of us daily. He says things we ignore or don’t want to hear so we block Him. We use our selective hearing when He speaks of things that scare us. The disciples heard Jesus tell them about the transition, but they weren’t listening. Even when we know a transition is coming, it’s still natural to be scared. We’re afraid of change. The last few years have taught me that change is necessary for growth. When we fight it, we fight growing, we fight the future God had for us and we fight God’s will. Our times of transition help prepare us for the change. They grow our faith and trust in God’s plan for our life. It’s something we can only see when we take the time to look back.

Imagine if Peter and the others had stayed locked up in their house and never went to the upper room. Out of 500 people whom Jesus told to go and wait, only 120 made it through the transition. They were tough enough to stick it out and trusted that God had something more on the other side of the transition. As He did for them, so He does for you. God has something greater for you on the other side of this time of transition. It may take longer than you expected, but hang on. The reward will be worth it. The growth you will experience will be like no other time in your life. Don’t give up in the time of transition. Hold strong to your faith and trust God to see you through. 

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November 20, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Blueprints (Video)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

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November 19, 2015 · 6:12 AM

Refined Faith

  

We don’t have a choice of whether or not we will go through hard times. What we do have a choice in, however, is how we choose to respond. We can choose to look at hard times as if God is against us or that He’s making us stronger for something down the road. Some times they are a consequence of a past mistake. God rarely takes away consequences when we’ve chosen to disobey. No matter what though, He always offers us grace to endure.

God purifies our faith through hard times. I once watched an episode of “Gold Rush Alaska” on Discovery channel. Parker, who runs his grandfather’s mine, had been working all summer for gold. He took what looked like a lot of gold to the gold refinery. They heated it up and kept removing the dross from the top. In the end, he had a small bar no bigger than his hand. Though it was a small amount, it was worth more because it was pure.

God does that with our faith. He send us through the fire to remove the dross so our faith is pure. It may seem small afterwards, but it is more precious than gold. When I’m going through hard times, I like to read these verses. I hope they help you too.

1. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Psalms 23:4 NLT

2. My brothers and sisters, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

James 1:2-3 GNB

3. Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

1 Peter 4:12-13 MSG

4. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

Psalms 34:19 NLT

5. But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].

Job 23:10 AMP

6. For You, O God, have proved us; You have tried us as silver is tried, refined, and purified.

Psalm 66:10 AMP

7. The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.

Proverbs 27:21 MSG

8. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:7 GNB

9. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

Isaiah 48:10 NLT

10. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5 NLT

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November 18, 2015 · 5:30 AM

The Necessity Of Generosity 

  
One of the things I look forward to each November 1st is Jimmy Kimmel showing videos of parents who told their children they ate all their Halloween candy. When the kids find out that all the candy that they got for free is gone, they freak out. Some cry, some scream in anger, and some destroy the house in anger. There are some though, who smile and say, “It’s ok.” They are generous with what was given to them.

While I laugh at the angry kids response, it’s scary to think that their reactions are mirrors of so many adults. We are rarely generous with things that have been placed in our hands. When others ask for those things, we get angry and tell them to go get their own. The truth is that everything we have has been given to us by God and He asks us to be generous with what He gives us.

If you have been given something, why wouldn’t you want to share it? Usually we don’t because of the law of scarcity. We hold tight and value something we are afraid to lose and never get back. But God works differently. If we are willing to be generous with the little He gives us, He will multiply it. That’s a hard concept for us to understand when we’ve learned to treasure things that are scarce. God’s ways are not like ours though.

In his first book, Peter reiterates the necessity of generosity. In I Peter 4:10 he wrote, “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it” (MSG). God has been so generous with us and He expects us to be like Him. As Corrie Ten Boom warned, we shouldn’t hold tightly to the things God places in our hands because it will hurt if He has to pry our fingers open. Keep an open hand that gives and God will keep putting things in it.

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November 17, 2015 · 5:41 AM

Quit Being Self-Confident

  
In life, we tell people the way to be successful is to believe in yourself. We say. “Don’t doubt. Have confidence in yourself.” We’ve learned that when Henry Ford was right when he said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” A lot of success in life comes from being self confident. If you believe in yourself, others will too. Self- confidence is contagious and people want to be around others who are confident.

I looked up the definition of self- confident, and bing.com says, “Trusting in one’s ability, qualities, and judgement.” In many areas of life, that’s a good thing. In our Christian life, being self-confident is a bad thing. Salvation isn’t earned by what you do, it’s only through what Jesus has already done. Your abilities have no say on whether you get it or not. It’s only through humbly asking the One who paid the price for your sin to apply His grace to your life.

When it comes to living like a Christian, so many of us think it’s just a matter of will power. We think we can force ourselves to live right. Ben Franklin tried that. He kept a daily journal of his sins so he could focus on them and thereby not do them anymore. What he found was when he corrected one, he ended up doing another. He ended up getting frustrated trying to live a good life on his own.

In Romans 7, Paul wrote about trying to live the Christian life in your own ability. In verses 21 and 24, he summed it up this way, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (NLT) He couldn’t do it and neither can we. The life we are called to live can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In I Corinthians 10:12, Paul wrote, “Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (MSG). We can’t live the life we are called to live in our own abilities, qualities, and judgement. It’s only through God’s, that we can be successful. If we continue to try to live it in our own, we will be miserable like Paul was until we learn to live this life like he did through the Holy Spirit’s ability. Cultivate your God-confidence when it comes to living righteously and you will be successful.

I encourage you to read Romans 8 where Paul goes into more depth about living a Spirit-led life.

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November 16, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Victory In The Valley

  
When reading the story of David and Goliath recently, I noticed something I had read over. I Samuel 17:3 says, “So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them” (NLT). I had never picked up that there was a valley between the two sides. Then verse 40 says, “He (David) picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.” David had to go into the valley to win the victory.

You won’t win victory standing where you are. You are going to have to make the first move. For 40 days, the Israelites were paralyzed by fear. Each day Goliath invited them to fight him, but they stayed put. When David heard Goliath’s taunts, he didn’t get fearful, he got a righteous anger. He knew that this was a spiritual battle that had to be handled in the physical as well. To win the spiritual battle, he’d have to enter the valley and trust God.

Fast forward 14 generations, Jesus was fighting a spiritual battle that required Him to enter a valley as well. John 18:1 says, “After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.” The battle He was fighting was to have the courage to do what God wanted while facing the fear of dying a torturous death on a cross. He could have stayed where He was, but He entered the valley to pray that God’s will be done.

Both David and Jesus recognized that the battle was the Lord’s. They both knew who was fighting on their behalf. That gave them the courage to walk into what seemed like certain death in order to obtain the victory. You and I have to have the same tenacity in prayer and desire to go into the valley if we are going to win our spiritual battles. We are going to have to let go of fear and embrace what God wants to do, enter the valley in front of us, and fight on our knees for victory.

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November 13, 2015 · 6:17 AM

Fan The Embers (Video)

That is why I remind you to [a]fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire—the special endowment] which is in you through the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination].

II Timothy 1:6 (AMP)

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November 12, 2015 · 6:46 AM

Humble Yourself

The Bible talks a lot about being humble. Most of us don’t like to be humble because we associate it with being insignificant, and our pride can’t have that. Pride tries to keep God out of the equation of our life. It tries to take credit for the things that God does. I think that’s why God detests it so much. He works hard to put the right solutions in our lives at the right time. Somehow, our pride helps us to look past God to help us believe we did it all on our own.

The more we believe we were the causes of the great things in our lives, the less we feel we need God. We relegate Him to nothing more than our emergency call when there’s something we can’t do. God doesn’t want to be just your 9-1-1 call. He wants to be involved in area aspect of your life, but it takes us being humble to let Him have control when there’s no emergency. Humility keeps us in constant relationship with Him. That’s why it so important.

Here are some of my favorite verses on being humble.

1. Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.

1 Peter 5:6 GNB

2. He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way.

Psalm 25:9 AMP

3. He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

Proverbs 3:34 NIV

4. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

Ephesians 4:2 NLT

5. Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!

Matthew 5:5 GNB

6. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 NIV

7. Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility].

Philippians 2:5 AMP

8. Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the Lord, the holy God of Israel, gives.

Isaiah 29:19 GNB

9. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV

10. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

James 4:10 NLT

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November 11, 2015 · 6:02 AM

Veteran’s Day

  
When I was a kid, there were Time-Life video commercials about the Vietnam War with the Byrds singing “To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)”. It was the first war I heard about because our involvement had ended just before I was born. TV shows and other commercials often referenced it. I’ve read and watched documentaries on how poorly we treated our vets who returned from that war, and it’s shameful. Many of these vets didn’t choose to go because they were drafted, and yet those who opposed the war took their frustration out on them.

We’ve come a long way since then. While there are still people who oppose military action of any kind, veterans and military are honored and revered throughout the country by most people. While I believe veterans should be honored every day for their service and sacrifice for our country, it’s good to have a day like today set aside just for them. It puts the spotlight on people who don’t seek it, and gives honor to whom honor is due.

Many of us will never know the brotherhood that is developed by standing side by side in battle, trusting your life to a person beside you. We won’t hear most of the heroic and sacrificial acts of so many who gave their life to save others. I’ve been to see the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. I’ve watched as people put papers on it to lift a name from it. I was humbled and silent as I walked beside it reading the names of men and women who gave their all. I’ve been to Arlington National Cemetery and wept as I saw row upon row of white crosses.

In those moments, Jesus’ words in John 15:13 come to mind. He said, “The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them” (GNB). It’s a humbling thing to think there are men and women who count me as a friend and are willing to give their all to protect this nation. To all of them and to all the other veterans, I say, “Thank you.” I am grateful for your service and sacrifice. 

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November 10, 2015 · 5:30 AM

The Law Of God’s Grace

  
One of the things I like to tell people is that the greater the grief, the deeper the sorrow, or the harder the trial, the greater amount of God’s grace you will experience. God gives us grace sufficient for our trials. When Paul was faced with a trial that God wouldn’t remove after much prayer, God spoke to him in II Corinthians 12:9. He said, “My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]” (AMP).

God gives grace, favor, strength, and mercy according to our need. He knows what we are facing and what we need in order to bear the weight of our situation. You’ve heard of Newton’s Third Law, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” To me, it is the Law of God’s Grace. For every force or trial that comes against you, there is an equal amount of Grace to support you. God gives you enough grace to enable you to stand in times of sorrow and tests.

Paul wrote about this Law of God’s Grace in Ephesians 4:7. He said, “Yet grace (God’s unmerited favor) was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and bounteous] gift.” Each of us receive a different portion and type of God’s grace according to our need. It is proportionate to our circumstance and is given as a free gift to us. That grace that God gives is tailor made for us because He knows what we are facing and cares for us.

The greater the trial, the greater the grace. I’ve hit rock bottom in my life, but I’ve never found the bottom of God’s grace. It is deeper than anything you or I will ever face. It will always be sufficient to your need. When you go through deep struggles, you get a glimpse of God’s grace that few people ever do. The longer you endure hardship, the longer you can remain in the crucible, the deeper your knowledge of God will be and the firmer your trust in Him will be. The Law of God’s Grace proves He will not fail you when you need Him most.

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