When our minds are racing with a thousand different thoughts, the idea of quietly beholding God for Who He is, is probably one of the most difficult things we can do. Our mind and body wants to “do something”, but here the Lord tells us to do just the opposite. It’s been called Practicing the Pause, but why is it so important? When we are quiet before God we can train our ears to the voice of the Holy Spirit…we can exercise restraint in taking control of overwhelming fear, anxiety, and whirling thoughts…we can break the cycle of acting rather than reacting and repaying evil for evil…finally, we can draw a deep breath and speak the Name of Jesus to steady our emotions. For when we consciously stop, motionlessly focused on God, our body will relax, our spirit will calm and faith will take the place of fear. But more importantly, perseverance will replace raw endurance. Rather than just hanging on, we can now patiently persist with absolute assurance that God is in control.
Month: February 2022
Ephesians 5:14 ” Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
I’ve found in my forty years of being a Christian, and especially as I’ve gotten much older, that many of the dreams and aspirations I once had, have yet to come to pass. Now I could take one of two approaches to this. I could bemoan the fact that I have no power to physically accomplish them and that they are gone forever…effectively dying to God’s plan and purpose in my life. Or I could heed this Scripture when God comes and says to me, “Arise!” My responsibly and initiative is to get up and get going, not wallowing in self-pity, apathy, and hopelessness. For when I obey, the miraculous power of God enables the impossible to become possible. For in the end, it’s not by my power, but God’s, that anything will happen in my life! Oswald Chambers once wrote, “God doesn’t give us overcoming life – He gives us life as we overcome.” Or as Paul said in Romans 8:37, “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. “
Romans 14:7 ” For none of us lives to himself alone…”
This Scripture reminded me of a very popular song in the late 60’s called “No Man is an Island.” We sang it in High School for a Concert and I remember the lyrics that talked about no man standing alone and that we all needed one another other. And 50 years later this still rings true…and probably even more today. The world’s influence tells us to live according to our own selfish inclinations…filled with mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, and spiritual weakness. But as a Believer in Christ, we have responsibilities to fellow Believers…for if one member suffers, all members suffer. (I Corinthians 12:26) We are to live honorably for Christ Jesus, and that’s because, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again.” (II Corinthians 5:15) None of us lives to ourselves…we are all part of the Body of Believers…first loved by Christ that we may in turn love one another. (I John 4:7-11)
Acts 28: 3,5 “Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.”
Paul and the rest of the crew had survived a shipwreck, safely swimming to shore on the island of Malta. Since it was cold and raining, the people of the island built a fire to welcome these strangers, and Paul was helping to collect wood. You can imagine his startled surprise when a poisonous snake latched on to him! His Sympathetic Nervous System kicked in with rapid involuntary responses to pain and stress…also called the “Fight or Flight” response we all experience at one time or another. In his alarm, Paul quickly flung the snake into the fire. Was he in pain and suffering post snake bite? Probably, but it caught the attention of the islanders who then watched him closely…waiting for him to suddenly drop over dead. But when this did not happen, their minds were changed about him and it opened the way for Paul to minister healing to the sick and debilitated on the island. God never promised us a lifetime of comfort…for witnessing during our pain and suffering can bring others to Him.
God gave me thee.
It tells us in Proverbs 18:22 that he who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. And we don’t have to look much farther than Proverbs 31:10-31 to discover an excellent example of this precious gift given of God…your wife. If you’ve never read this Proverb it sings the praises of a good wife, and extols the honor and dignity of all womanhood. It demonstrates the virtues of a wise woman, beautified by both her practical wisdom and charity towards others. But it also shows how powerful and noble a woman can be as she fears the Lord, putting Him above all else…resulting in trust and honor from her husband and family.
Daniel 6:10 ” Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
Daniel did not allow anything to stop him from praying…not Darius’s edict, not the fear that people were watching him, not even the knowledge that he was openly choosing to obey God and not the king. Prayer had become a habit, a pattern and practice that was deeply ingrained in his behavior. For this ritual of daily prayer brought Daniel comfort and way to commune with God…experiencing Him in a personal and powerful way, and he wasn’t going to abandon it. When you’ve formed the habit of daily prayer – even when bad things come into your life – it’s there like an anchor, grounding you in what really matters. Daily prayer is that important…it’s an intimate conversation with God…a way to express adoration, bare our soul in confession, pour out thanksgiving with a grateful heart, and offer up petitions to our Heavenly Father. I encourage you today to practice the habit of daily prayer.
Revelation 1:16 ” His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”
Around me is the landscape of a harsh Midwestern Winter. The temperatures are freezing, the snow is deep, the skies are gray. So imagine my surprise the other day when I glanced out the window and saw a big rabbit warming itself in the sun near our backyard shed. Now admittingly, I have a love/hate relationship with the rabbits in our yard. I love to see the tiny baby bunnies frolicking in the grass early in the morning come Spring…but I hate them when they eat my garden and flowers down to nothing. But slowly over the years we have forged a peaceful co-existence…I now only plant rabbit-resistive flowers and place barriers around my raised garden beds. And as I watched the rabbit enjoying the warm sunshine my mind went to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, where Peter, James, and John witnessed for themselves Jesus supernaturally changing from a earthly form into a heavenly one. Matthew 17:2 tells us that Jesus’ face shone like the sun…illuminated by overwhelming strength and glory. I can only imagine how these three disciples tried to wrap their heads around what they were seeing…but I do know one thing…they were forever changed by it!
John 14:16 ” And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”
The promised Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and as Paul tells us in Romans 8:9 & II Timothy 1:14 He now lives in us. So when I hear someone pray, “Please be with so and so in their time of need…” I’m confused. Granted, asking the Lord to be with someone is a lovely sentiment, especially if that person lives a long distance from us. We can imagine in our minds Jesus lovingly wrapping His arms around that person and drawing them close to Him in a comforting hug…it makes us feel better. But if the Holy Spirit is living within that person…He’s already there…comforting, guiding, and encouraging as only the Counselor and the third part of the Trinity can.
Isaiah 40:26 “Lift your eyes and look…”
The last few years have been difficult for all of us with the Pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe. It has touched us all in some way…from contracting COVID ourselves, to losing a friend or loved one to it, to just the isolation and loneliness we’ve been forced to endure. And as the months have passed, our Spiritual focus can become very inward centered. But Isaiah wants us to raise our eyes and look above the overwhelming nature of our present state filled with problems, trials, and tribulations and see the greater nature of God’s sovereign power and control. Correct Spiritual focus is conforming our mind and thoughts to that of Christ’s…and of taking control over our thought patterns, or as II Corinthians 10:5 tells us, “…to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” So I urge you, lift up you eyes and look straight into the face of Jesus today…experience His peace, discover His loving- kindness, and take control of your thoughts in obedience to Him.
Psalm 87:7 ” All my fountains are in You. “
“Come, all you who are thirsty…” (Isaiah 55:1) Are you thirsty today? Is your life dry, your mind parched, and your soul in an arid place right now? Spiritual thirst is unlike anything else we can go through. When we’re physically dry and dehydrated it creates within us the sensation of thirst…our body telling us we need fluids…and we immediately know to drink some water! But Spiritual thirst can be confusing and perplexing at times…and instead of satisfying it with God, we frantically fill it with all kinds of wacky things. God is the source and fountain of Living Water for us to draw from. From His Wellspring and His alone, comes life everlasting and the light of His Word. For in God’s great light lies salvation, wisdom, and prosperity. One reason you may be dry is that you’ve not been in the Word…drinking in God’s promises…another, could be that you are no longer part of a Body of Believers. Ask God to show you WHY you’re Spiritually thirsty today…and I am certain He WILL show you!
Safetypinlove 