God knows our struggles!

God knows our struggles!

For to be sure, He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him . . . . (2 Corinthians 13:4)

Be assured, God knows our struggles. Whether it is circumstances getting us down or just the feelings of rejection, dejection, and isolation, God knows. Jesus went through it all while living on this earth . . . much more than we could ever imagine! We must learn how to rely only upon Him at times in this life! 

Just before dying, Jesus was at His lowest point . . . alone, abandoned and left naked in front of all to see upon the cross.

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46)

Yet on SONday morning, God the Father raised Him up! Oh, God knows . . . He cares!

Trust God when no one else will!

 Anyone can accomplish the easy tasks. It is the challenging task that takes courage. 

Doing the right thing when everyone seems to be doing wrong. 

Saying "yes" when most are saying "no". 

Go left when the world turns right. Have faith when everything is hopeless. 

Trust when it feels like you are abandoned.

Be bold when everyone else is in hiding.

Trust God when no one else will!

This is when the blessings come . . . when it seems like they cannot come! Go the extra mile. Take the extra step. Stay the extra hour. Put in the extra work. Get up extra early. Stay up a bit later. Finish the task!

It is what Jesus did . . . and look where we are today! He finished the work that was set out for Him. He trusted . . . He stayed the course . . . even when abandoned . . . 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

He finished!

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

https://youtu.be/eEiFSrBwIjk

Looking toward the end . . .

 

The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. (Ecclesiastes 7:8-10)

So many of us are looking toward the end . . .the end of the school year . . . the end of high school . . . the end of this pandemic and the masks, the limits, the restrictions. Sadly though, many people want to go back. 

There is a reason why the windshield of a car is much larger than the side and rear view mirrors. Life in the past is HIStory. We lived it, good or bad. It is the past however!  We cannot change it nor can we relive it. We should look forward. Forward has so many more options!

There was a reason why God allowed what He did in 2020. We may not understand it all right now, but in time we will. Yes, there were a lot of terrible things happening from pandemics to protests to political embarrassments. Yet God has us here . . .in the present and looking forward . . . to the end! Where will you and I end up?

As we glance in the rear view mirror, we see good times and bad. We see success and failure. We see sorrows and joy. But they are in the past! God has a full array of hope ahead. He is painting a canvas of hope. We must move forward and join Him at work!

The end is ahead . . . as we look forward, if we know Christ we know for sure the end is glorious so we move forward with excitement and anticipation of what is to come. 

Where will you and I end up?

What Can God NOT Do?

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height . . . to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

What Can God NOT Do?

Finally . . . the President has informed the Nation that we can begin to relax some health warnings and regulations due to vaccines and a drop in Covid-19 cases. Praise God indeed! But why we did we doubt God? Back in March of 2020, we panicked, we pleaded, we prayed . . . and over time we began to rely upon the scientists, the doctors and the politicians to help us. We withdrew from society and each other, doubting if we wold ever return to a normal life! We have forgotten how shop, eat out, and even go to church. Now what?

We owe God an apology! He got us through . . . not completely yet, but God is still working around us and within us! In fact, He never stopped!

For my students especially, I like Paul, desire for you to know the fullness of God! He is higher than the highest high, deeper than the deepest deep, and wiser than the wise. He sees what we can never see and loves beyond anyone could ever love. Many doubted we would ever see today . . . the opening of society without masks, airline travel, schools opening and yes, even going to worship services in person!

God has been faithful. We have not. Now, what is stopping us from openly praising an indescribable God and living a life out loud in honor to Him? 

Will we now trust Him to lead us forward? Will we lead others to Him? Let's really walk by faith in the coming months and years . . . into stores, restaurants, jobs, schools and churches! Led by His Spirit, what Can God NOT Do?

Rejecting the Holy Spirit? A call to holiness . . .

 

Spirit Week IV: A Call to Holiness 

Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%204&version=NKJV)

There is one thing that will keep us from God . . . forever. That is simply rejecting Him. By Him, we mean all of Him . . . Father, Son and Holy Spirit! God is not divided, but One, since Genesis 1! We cannot pick and choose Whom we believe God is. As true believers, His Spirit resides within us, convicts us, consoles us, directs us and disciplines us . One cannot reject the basic doctrines of God and believe they are a child of God.

We all must work at listening to the Holy Spirit and not the world . . . having a relationship with Him and abiding in Him, even as He disciplines us, molds us and prunes us away from unclean living to a life of God-honoring holiness. 

We cannot do it, but He can! He is working everything out for our good! (Romans 8:28) Even as we have been secluded and kept away from people, we can still draw near to His Spirit! (James 4:8)

 

 

Be the Barnabas

 Be the Barnabas! 

Have you ever had a friend stand up for you? What about someone who helped and supported you even before you became friends? Barnabas was that kind of person. His life provides some great lessons for us today.

Barnabas' given name was Joses (or Joseph) but the apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement" or "Son of Exhortation" (Acts 4:36) 

And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. (Acts 15: 36-41)

It is well known that there became a rift between Paul and Barnabas concerning a young John Mark, since the latter abandoned their first missionary journey earlier in the mountainous area of Turkey. When deciding to go back and check on folks from previous journeys, Paul thought it unwise to include Mark. Paul and Barnabas decided to split and go different ways. Paul travelled with Silas. Barnabas chose to encourage Mark, a young man who didn’t have many friends. Barnabas must have said to himself, “John Mark needs me; if I don’t help him now, he may never amount to anything.” And so Barnabas took Mark with him, and they went back to re-visit churches that had been established on the earlier missionary journey. Tradition says that Barnabas stayed on the island of Cyprus until his death.

It is important to note that there were no nasty fights or bitter feelings between Paul and Barnabas. Paul later spoke very kindly about Barnabas (1 Corinthians 9:6). Paul also was convinced that Mark became a mature disciple of Jesus, and wrote to Timothy, encouraging him to come visit him in prison — and then he said (in essence), “Bring Mark with you because he is useful for ministry” (see 2 Timothy 4:11).

I am so glad Jesus never turned His back on me but kept pursuing me. We all can learn from Barnabas! We never know . . .

Am I approachable?

 Am I approachable . . . .hummm . . . . What a question in this world of isolation, separation and lack of genuine relations. We wear masks, we keep our distance, we do not touch, we text and email, we even are careful to disinfect. We wear sunglasses into the night and have tinted car windows. We keep our shades down and curtains drawn at home. "No touch delivery please!"

Sadly, many of us have become very comfortable with this isolation and distance. I wonder how Jesus would handle the distance? 

Take a close look at the life of Jesus and how he dealt with the unapproachable.

Blind people and those who were disabled came to Jesus at the temple. There he healed them. (Matthew 21:14)                                                                                                                                            

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.” (Matthew 19:14)

A man who had a skin disease came and got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, if you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” he said. “Be ‘clean’!” Right away the man was healed of his skin disease. (Matthew 8:2-3)

Give, and it will be given to you. A good amount will be poured into your lap. It will be pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The same amount you give will be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Even in this pandemic, we can look at ways to be personable, friendly, approachable. There are ways to meet the needs of those around us. . . . conversation, prayer, picking up and delivering groceries or medicines, water for the sanitation workers, a generous tip, smile, and friendly note for the delivery person, even prayer! Invite folks to church as we socially distance worship . . . in the House of God! Yes, there are churches walking by faith today!

Maybe it once again time to ask: "What would Jesus do?"