Tag Archives: Lord

April 15, 2013 · 7:53 AM

Moving Day

Today is the first day in a new office. There’s first day jitters like I experienced as a kid on the first day of school. All the familiar faces will be here, but it will be in a new environment. Boxes will need to be unpacked. Desks will need to be arranged. You’ll have to find out where everyone sits so you can find them when you need them. There’s a sense of excitement and nervousness at the same time. I can’t wait to go see the new place.

I wonder if that’s what Heaven will be like. It’s the familiar faces we’ve known just in an unfamiliar setting. We’ll get acquainted with how the streets of gold are layer out. Find our bearings around the sea of glass. Walk in awe through the pearly gates as we wonder in amazement at a place that was designed just for us. There’s a home there built with us in mind. Designed specifically to our standards. I can’t wait to go see it.

Jesus said in John 14 that He is preparing a place for us. In verse three, He says, “When everything’s ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me.” Just like at work where we’ve been anticipating this move, we need to be anticipating His return. We don’t know when He’ll come for us or when our life will be over and we go there. The important thing is to be ready at any given moment.

You don’t realize how much stuff you’re holding on to until it’s time to move. I threw away so much stuff last week because I realized I really didn’t need it. I started thinking about how much stuff in my own life that I’ve been holding onto that I need to release. Things like forgiveness for those who’ve wronged me, grudges against others who’ve made me angry, resentment for not being dealt a hand as good as others in life and so many other things we pack into our lives and hold onto.

When we hold onto those things, our hands aren’t free to receive all that God has for us. God has great things in store for each of us, but so many times we haven’t freed ourselves of the things that so easily weigh us down. We haven’t given them over to God and we end up putting ourselves into a yoke of bondage. God’s desire is that we live free of any yokes, especially those that are self imposed.

If you were moving to Heaven today, what would you need to pack and what would you need to throw away in your own life? What have you been holding onto that you don’t need? Why hold onto it any more? Free yourself today from those things that weigh you down. You will find freedom when you release them. God has already offered us freedom. He’s just waiting for us to take off the unnecessary weights and things that hold us down. Walk in freedom today!

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October 30, 2012 · 1:08 PM

God’s Questions

In my job, I not only get to teach people how to ask questions, I get to ask them. There are different ways to ask the same question in order to get a more complete response. After I have given information to a group of people, I use questions to check their knowledge of the content that I presented. I often ask open questions and pose them to the entire group. I see who is paying attention and who gets it by doing that. I also ask direct questions to individuals in order to engage them in the conversation.

I’ve noticed that God does that too. He often asks questions that are open to all of us and other times He asks us directly. In Isaiah 6:8, God asks the questions, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah was standing right there. I can see him raising his hand, bouncing on his tippy toes and wiggled his fingers saying, “Ooooh. Ooooh. Pick me! Pick me!” I wonder if he knew what he was getting into. I wonder if any of us really know what we’re getting into when we volunteer for God.

There are other times when God asks very direct questions of us. Jesus did this to Peter. He asked him, “Peter, do you love me?” I can see Peter a little stunned by the question. His eyebrows furrowed, head tilted to the side and saying, “Uh, Lord, you know I do.” Then Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep.” I’m sure you know Jesus asked him two more times if he loved him. Peter got a little upset at Jesus for His persistence in asking a question He knew the answer to over and over. When God does that, it’s for our benefit, not His.

He often asks things of us to see what our response will be. It’s not that He doesn’t know what our response will be. It’s that He wants us to be sure in our purpose. What I’ve found is that when God asks us a question, action on our part is required beyond our answer. When Isaiah answered, he had to go deliver God’s message Israel. When Peter answered that he loved Jesus, he was then given the command to feed God’s sheep.

Whenever God asks a question of you, know that He is looking for a commitment beyond your answer. Answering is the easy part. Following through becomes something more difficult. You’ll have to make changes to your life, sacrifices to your schedule and give of yourself to someone else. God is looking for us to serve others for Him. We are to be His hands, His feet and His voice to show and to speak His love to those who need it.

I think God asks that same question to us that Jesus asked to Peter. “Do you love me? Then feed my sheep.” If we love Him, we will find ways to feed others both physically and spiritually. He also asks, “Who can I send? Who will go?” While many of us love Him, not all of us are ready to say, “Here am I, send me.” Faith requires action on our part. James 2:17 says, “Faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).”

So what is God asking you right now? What will you need to do beyond what He is asking? Are you willing to make the changes and sacrifices required? The men and women in the Bible who followed through after God asked them a question were blessed beyond measure. I believe you and I will be too if we respond in obedience with action.

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July 3, 2012 · 5:40 PM

Denying Your Flesh

If you are like me, there is a constant struggle to do what I know God wants me to do instead of what I want to do. This battle rages on every day. It is a constant struggle that we all fight. Some days my spirit wins and others my flesh. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where my spirit will win every time, but that doesn’t mean I should give up.

Galatians 5:16 gives us a few ways we can stop gratifying the cravings and desires of the flesh.

1. Walk and live in the Holy Spirit

I like how the Amplified version puts it. It says we are to walk and live habitually in the Spirit. That means that I have to do it consistently. It needs to be an every day practice of doing what the Spirit wants instead of what the flesh wants.

One of the ways we can do this is to fast. Fasting is a great way to deny your flesh and to give in to the desires of the Spirit. Use the time that you would normally eat to pray, read scripture or to help someone in need. By doing that, you weaken the strength your flesh has and strengthen your spirit man.

2. Be responsive to the Holy Spirit

All day long the Holy Spirit speaks to us to do something for someone in our path. We often ignore His voice or we choose not to do whatever it is. Either way, that is a lack of responsiveness to His voice and we are not only robbing ourselves of blessings, but also the person we are choosing not to help.

Being responsive means we need to purposefully decide each day to be open to hearing His voice and to doing what He asks. Each morning, I pray and ask God to open my eyes so that I can see others in need and to give me the courage to step out and obey when I hear His voice.

3. Be controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit

Being controlled is against everything in us. We are independent and want to stay that way. God says that if we want true freedom, we should give up our independence to Him. That means we need to give Him control of our lives and allow Him to guide us.

When we are guided by the Spirit, we will do the things the spirit wants us to do. We will be able to overcome the desires of the flesh that keep us from doing what He wants. We will see others like never before and make a difference in other’s lives like never before.

If you are not satisfied with your ability to do what God asks you or to deny your flesh, then there is room for growth. All of us have an opportunity to grow, but not all of us look for those opportunities where we can. If you truly want to beat your flesh then learn to live and walk habitually in the Spirit, be responsive to Him and then be controlled and guided by Him. In doing this, you will no longer give into the desires of the flesh that keep you from doing what God wants.

Here is a prayer provided by Michael Moak that you can pray to help you.

Dear Lord,

Today I face new challenges and move one step closer towards Your will for my future. And because I’m not You, I know that I have the ability to destroy everything that is good in my life and to allow the weights and pressures of this world to control my actions and emotions. So, I need You today more than yesterday. Jesus. I need Your peace and your presence to sustain me as I endeavor to follow and obey your direction for my life. Show me the path in life that you have constructed and designed for my gifts and talents. And when things get tough, and I know they will often, help me to realize that my own strength and abilities are far too small and ineffective to make the difference that Your single hand can work on my behalf in a fraction of the time. I lean on you today, Lord, for the love and power that only You can give to man. Help me to also rest in the assurance that I don’t have to come up with all the right answers or make every decision perfect. I can trust in the undeserved grace of Your favor to carry me through this day with the happiness, joy, and peace that comes from my relationship with You. Today I face new challenges but You have the already gone before me and are turning them into opportunities for Your glory to work wonders through my life. Thank you Lord for loving me enough to trust me with today! I pray all this in the mighty name of Your son, Jesus Christ. Amen

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