Get to “Know” God
Sometimes when we are given a gift we feel like we "owe" the person doing the giving. Although we don't "owe" them anything, most close relationships that we have are built on a "give and take" basis. For instance, if you desire to spend time with someone and are always the one calling them to ask them how they are doing or inviting them out and that person NEVER responds enthusiastically or takes the time to call you... the relationship might not last too long... right?
In the book of Hosea, God uses the prophet Hosea to show Israel how they have treated God in return for ALL that He had done for them. In a nutshell, God is trying to show them how they have committed adultery by forgetting the Lord, worshiping idols, and sinning against Him in many ways. God states of Israel in Hosea 2:8 that "She doesn't realize that it was I who gave her everything she has..." and in Hosea 4:6 that "My people are being destroyed because they don't know me..."
This is so sad to consider that a nation (Israel) that had been made by God, rescued by God, and promised so much if they would continue to obey the Lord had forgotten all of this. God said that they were BEING DESTROYED because they didn't know Him anymore. Let us not become like the Israelites and forget who made us, rescued us, and promised us so much by the blood of His Son. Even amongst the hustle and bustle of this season, let us not forget the One who has given us our breath, our church, our family and friends, the ability to go to the store any time we need/want food, and most importantly HIMSELF in the form of Jesus Christ. We pray that all of us can confidently say, "I KNOW my Maker." Remember that to know Him we must willingly give ourselves to Him through prayer and the reading of His Word. If we do this, He tells us in Hosea 6:3 that He WILL SURELY RESPOND! This is AN AWESOME PROMISE for EACH OF US! It states, "Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring."
For those of us that have family and/or friends whom have gone astray... let us also take to heart God's heart for these Israelites who have strayed so far from Him. He states in Hosea 2:14, "But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there..." Notice that God Himself will LEAD HER TO THE DESERT!!! This is a way that He wins back the most stubborn of hearts. Let us KEEP praying for those we love so much. Praise God for His wisdom and knowledge!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! WE LOVE YOU AND THANK GOD FOR EACH OF YOU!
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God Hates Pride
"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."-Proverbs 16:18
This verse comes to life as we read the Lord's message against Edom through the prophet Obadiah. The Edomites were a very arrogant and proud people. Their capital was the invincible "rock city" of Petra. Another of their cities, Teman, was considered the center of knowledge and wisdom in the ancient world. By worldly standards they had it all: knowledge, wealth, power, influence, and security.
But the Lord says: "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, 'Who shall bring me down to the ground?' Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." (Obadiah verse 3 and 4) We see in Proverbs 6:16-17 that the number one thing on the list of the seven things "the Lord hates" is "a proud look."
The Lord cannot tolerate pride in us because pride in our "position" prevents us from seeking His protection. Focus on our "worldly treasure" decreases dependence upon His provision. Confidence in our earthly wisdom could be fatal. Proverbs 14:12 states, "There is a way that seems right to man but its end is death."
Fellow servants, let us strive to always remain humble and enjoy His grace. James 4:6 states, "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"
Praise the Lord for His amazing grace!
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God is My Strength
In chapter 49 of Isaiah, we see a Messianic prophecy as Jesus Christ is being described. The focus today will be verses 4 and 5. We see in these verses that Jesus questioned why He was doing everything He did for us... but it DID NOT stop Him from DOING what God called Him to do by finding strength in God. Take a look...
Isaiah 49:4-5 state, "Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength."
I think it's worth it to look at the translation in the NLT... "I replied, 'But my work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all. Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand; I will trust God for my reward.' And now the Lord speaks- he who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring his people of Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength."
The word "laboured" in the King James Version means "to be exhausted, to tire, to toil, to be weary." Jesus was exhausted in His work that He did for us on this earth. He worked so hard only to be rejected. No wonder He wondered if it was all in vain. Yes... He questioned why, but notice the 2 things Jesus did to be able to do the work of God each and every day despite the lack of reward right then. First, He focused on the truth... "yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God." Jesus clung to the truth that God would bring justice for His work. Second, He found strength in God... "my God shall be my strength."
Sometimes it seems that what God has called us to do is useless. We don't see any fruit or reward from our labor. We work so hard and don't see the purpose. At these times, let us remember our Savior. Remember how little fruit He saw His entire time here on planet earth. Praise God that He did not stop the work God called Him to do even though He was not given His reward while here. Let us cling to the truth as Christ did and remember that God will bring justice for each of us and give us our reward one day. Then remember as Christ did that "my God shall be my strength." May we continue to do what God has commissioned each of us to do every day of our life until we see our precious Savior's face!
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God is Near
Let us be encouraged by God's Word together before we go back to our
weekly routine. Psalm 145: 18-19 state, "The Lord is near to all who call upon
Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who
fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them."
As we call upon God, let us remember He is near. He hears our cries. He knows
our hearts. We may not see the answer right now, but He PROMISES to fulfill our desires if we fear Him. Keep on Christian! God's Word is TRUTH. These verses are no exception.
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God’s Faithfulness
1 Corinthians 4:5 states, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the
Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God."
Let us continue to do our best to love and to serve with pure hearts. It might be difficult when it seems that others don't care, others seem hateful, or circumstances seem unfair. This verse exhorts us not to focus on what others say/think, but to keep our focus on things above. It is a wonderful reminder that God knows our hearts and will give us praise soon and very soon. It amazes me that we will actually be praised when we are so undeserving! God is full of goodness that is beyond our comprehension. Let us keep our minds thinking of the grace He has bestowed on our own lives. It is impossible to stay down if we will be disciplined enough to meditate on His faithfulness to us.
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God’s Perfect Timing
Most of us remember the story... Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha) was sick. They believed in Jesus and Jesus loved each of them. Lazarus was so sick that Mary and Martha sent for Jesus because they knew He could make their brother well. We don't know the thoughts that Mary and Martha had when Jesus did not come to help. I know that I would be wondering why He wouldn't want to come and help my brother. In all honesty, I think I might have begun to doubt His love and question His goodness.
Even now, some of us have asked the Lord to do something that we think should be done and God has not done what we have asked of Him. We try to keep trusting, but we feel frustrated. We don't understand why He has not answered us yet. Doesn't the Bible say that He will give us more than we ask, think, or imagine? We are beginning to doubt His love and goodness as we continue to hear silence.
BUT WAIT.... The story of Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus didn't end with Mary and Martha doubting the love of Jesus. Jesus never forgot those He loved so much. Jesus had more people in mind though. Jesus wanted to bring God as much glory as possible, and that is just what He did. Before He performed this most incredible miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, He prayed aloud to God and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." (John 11:41-42) Jesus' goal all along was to get people saved. He never wanted to hurt Mary, Martha, or Lazarus. He wanted to see more lives grasp onto eternal life.
Let us remember that God's "time table" is VERY different from our own. If He hasn't answered your prayer the way you think it should be answered, don't doubt His love or goodness. He desires to bless you. He desires to give you more than you have ever asked, thought, or imagined just as His Word declares. Rest assured that His goal in and through each of our lives is to bring God as much glory as possible... JUST AS HE DID in and through the lives of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
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God’s Thoughts About You
Psalm 139: 17-18a (NLT) state, "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!" How many times have you received a note, gift, or phone call from someone just because they were thinking of you? It does happen every now and then, but not every day... at least not in my life! I know when that happens in my life it lifts me up and encourages me in a special way. Well, here we have a verse in God's Word telling us that God's thoughts for us outnumber the grains of sand! If we could all take a moment to meditate on this miraculous truth, we will know that we are AMAZINGLY PRECIOUS & VALUABLE to God.
I didn't realize that someone would ever think of me MORE than MYSELF!!!! But I think according to this verse, God actually thinks of me more than I think of me! Of course this means that He thinks of you more than you think of you! Just a short reminder, fellow servants, that the God of the universe is so mindful of each one of us. Since this is the case, let us trust Him to perform His will in our lives as we continually seek Him.
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Growing Faith Through Obedience
One day the apostles said to the Lord, "We need more faith; tell us how to get it." "Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed," the Lord answered, "you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May God uproot you and throw you into the sea,' and it would obey you!" "When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, he doesn't just sit down and eat. He must first prepare his master's meal and serve him his supper before eating his own. And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.'"
In these verses, the disciples ask Jesus how to get more faith. We might expect that Jesus would tell them to pray more, fast more, seek Him more, give more, etc. This is not the response of Jesus though. So what one thing does Jesus focus on that will help these disciples increase their faith? His answer from the story He tells them seems two-fold to me. Obviously, Jesus is the master in the story and we are the servants.
He seems to first make the point that the servant is OBEDIENT in his every day job and his service to his master. We too need to be obedient in our every day lives as well as our service to Him. Whatever He has created us to do, we should be doing it! Whatever area(s) He has called us to serve in, we should be obedient in serving Him! Okay, this seems simple enough...but wait...there is a little more to it....
Not only does Jesus explain that our OBEDIENCE will increase our faith, but also our ATTITUDE behind our obedience to Him. The servant in the story does not expect a "thank you" for doing his job and serving his master. He does it WITHOUT expectation of praise. How about us? As a servant of God, we should strive to obey WITHOUT expectation of thanks or praise. If we are truly working for God and serving Him alone, then we KNOW from other promises that we have a reward GREATER than any person could offer us on this planet. Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples that if they would OBEY with this kind of attitude, then their faith WILL grow.
How about it team? Can we practice this and watch our team grow in faith?? Jesus says it works...so why not?? Let's go for it!
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Growing in Faith
How many of us ever wonder why our faith doesn't seem as strong from one day to the next, one month compared to a previous month, or even one year compared to another year? Does your faith seem to be dwindling? If so, the Bible teaches us a way to build our faith. Yes, we are capable of growing our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year. Look at what Romans 10:17 says... "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So what do we learn? We learn that READING and HEARING the Word of God will give us faith. Let us not miss out on obtaining faith. God promises faith if we'll spend time in the Bible. Make it a priority and your faith will grow.
Why should we Christians want more and more faith? Hebrews 11:6a states, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." So, the benefits of more faith include PLEASING GOD and REWARDS FROM GOD. Surely we all want all of this!
May each of us continue in the Word so that we may build our faith and please the one and only God most high.