Itching Ears and Honest Lips

May 30 2016
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 18:13 (ESV)

Itching Ears and Honest Lips

"But Micaiah said, 'As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.'"

Nearly all the prophets were prophesying that the wicked Ahab, king of Israel, should go up to fight his enemies, for God would surely bless his conquest. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, must have had an uneasy feeling, for he asked if there were any other prophets left. Ahab crossed his arms and replied, "There is one, but I hate him, because he always prophesies bad things for me, never good."

Nonetheless, a messenger was sent to Micaiah, who told him to just cave in and agree with the other prophets, whether it was true or not. Micaiah boldly said that he would only speak what God says, nothing else. Yet as he approached the king of Israel, in a moment of weakness, he muttered what the king wanted to hear. But God gave Micaiah a second chance, as Ahab did not believe him and urged him to tell the truth. He did and the king did not like it and had him thrown into prison until he supposedly would return from his conquest. 

In this world today, people are not as interested in hearing the truth, as they are listening to what they want to hear. I am, along with all the other Christians, Christ's ambassador. But just like Micaiah, sooner or later, I am going to have to make a choice: Do I stand speaking God's word, even when it's not popular, or am I going to say whatever this generation is itching to hear (2 Tim 4:3)? 

When that day comes, I pray that my response will be like Micaiah's; "What my God says, that I will speak." It may cost me, it did for Micaiah, who was struck in the face and thrown into prison for relaying God's message to Ahab. But I can cling to the truth that Jesus spoke, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt 10:32).

"Lord Jesus, I thank You for the bold example I see in Your servant Micaiah. As the world drifts from You, let me speak Your words, even when it costs me. Amen."

Gear-works

April 21 2016
Scripture: Isaiah 12:3-4 (ESV)

Gear-works

"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day, 'Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted."

Amazingly, Isaiah had many prophecies of Jesus hundreds of years before He ever walked the earth. Here in chapter 12 is a clear picture of the Gospel at work. In verses one and two we see God's anger against sin is turned to comfort, and God Himself has become salvation, which means we need not fear, but trust in Him. In our joy, we can drink freely the Living Water of salvation metaphorically, much like Jesus said to the woman at the well in the gospel of John (4:14). Being thankful to God, we can call out His name at any time. We must tell others the things that God has done for us and proclaim His name exalted. We are then able to join the angels in singing the forever song, making God known throughout the earth.

For me, I can easily become numb to the impact of the Gospel. Sometimes my gears get jammed and the whole process within me becomes stuck because one of the parts are not active in my life. I've attached the rest of Isaiah chapter 12 and I would seriously recommend to read it and answer these questions to check each gear to see if it is an active part of your life. 

Isaiah 12

1 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
    for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
    that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
    proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
    let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Questions to Answer for Yourself

1. Do I need to experience the comfort of the Lord, believing fully that he has turned away his anger completely?
2. Am I afraid to trust God with everything?
3. Am I depending on my strength instead of letting God be my strength?
4. Do I need to drink again from the well of salvation to quench my thirst for joy?
5. Am I giving thanks constantly to God?
6. Do I feel alone and need to call out His name?
7. Am I sharing what God has done for me with others?
8. Do I exalt Jesus name as holy?
9. Am I singing praise to God in all the earth?

I hope this was refreshing to you as it was to me.

Hated in Jesus Name

April 6th 2016
Scripture: Luke 21:17-19 (ESV)

Hated in Jesus Name

"You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."

This is a hard teaching. Jesus here is talking about the events leading up to the Last Days. Not only will there be earthly devastation like earthquakes, famines, and war, but all will hate you for the sake of being a Christian. This is a warning, but also a comfort from Jesus. These events will serve as an opportunity to witness. Jesus gave the promise that when we stand before judges and rulers, that He will give us a mouth of wisdom that no one could contradict (Luke 21:15). As for our hair not perishing, this means that our eternal dwelling in Heaven will not die. The key to this passage is that our endurance will gain our lives, our true lives. 

As Jesus has said before, we will not know the hour of His return, but He encourages us that when we endure the trials, we will be able to witness the power and love of Christ. The Holy Spirit will guide our words, and our Father has prepared our eternal home. So what can man do to me that would shake my hope? It should be considered great joy if I suffer for Jesus' sake, despite the feelings that I have been abandoned to endure more than I can bear. I must endure the storm. It's worth it every time. 

Lord Jesus, thank You that You will never leave me. I have not suffered much, but I know the storm is coming. Prepare me even now so that I may have a strong endurance, gaining my true life through my faith in You. You are worth losing my earthly life so I can sit at Your table in the life to come. Amen"

The Empowered Witness

March 31 2016
Scripture: Luke 24:48-49 (ESV)

The Empowered Witness

"You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

After Jesus' death on the cross, He rose again and appeared to many of His disciples. This encounter He appeared to the twelve apostles and He gave them a mission: that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to the whole world. He wanted the disciples to grasp two co-existing truths. 

The first, that we are witnesses, to testify to the truth. We get to share a part in the great mission of Jesus' Gospel. God loves to and wants to use us to fulfill His mission.

The second, that He will help us. The promise of the power from on high is the promise of the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit who clothes Jesus' followers.

The Greatness Flip

March 21 2016
Scripture: Luke 9:48 (ESV)

The Greatness Flip

"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives Him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

One day along the road Jesus' disciples were arguing among themselves who was "the greatest disciple". Jesus had no time or patience for comparisons. Pulling a nameless boy (Jesus knew his name) in front of them all, He made a profound point: "Receive him, you receive me." Now that's a game-changer for the disciples. The master just made a "random kid" as important as Himself, and more important than any of them. The truth Jesus was portraying is that greatness is not in acts of divine power, but divine love.

I must learn to receive those who God gifted to me in my life as if I were receiving Jesus Himself. I do not need to be "received" by anyone to feel important, because I have already been received by grace of my Father in Heaven. This is true greatness: to love the least.

"Lord Jesus, help me to not be self-absorbed and care about the wrong kind of greatness. Let me receive those who are least as a holy gift, so that I may truly receive the blessing of loving the 'least of these'. Amen."

Feast On This

March 14 2016
Scripture: Luke 14:13-14 (ESV)

Feast On This!

"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the Just."

Jesus was invited to a party where we find him 'changing the rules of the game' once again. He states that when you give a feast don't invite your friends, relatives, or rich neighbors, for they may pay you back by inviting you in return. This no longer is a generous giving, but borrowing, because the expectation is "if I do something nice to you, you should do something nice to me to return the favor". 

But true giving is not expecting even a penny back in this life; for the eternal repayment is found in the Father's pleasure at the End of the Age. So Jesus is saying to be generous in this way, it would be easier to invite those who couldn't repay you even if they wanted to. Then you will be blessed because you followed the heart of Jesus' instruction when He said, "as you did to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did to Me" (Mat 25:40). 

If I want to know the true joys of giving, I must decide for myself to give, expecting nothing, not even a "thank you". It will not be for my gain, but for theirs. If Jesus was willing to give everything, even His life, what would I be willing to give to those He died for? My resources? My time? My "youth pastor shuddle services"? I must give to those that cannot give back, for Jesus did the exact same thing on the cross by giving Himself when there was no other way for us to repay our debts. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You for throwing Your "heavenly party" and inviting me to join in, when there was no way I could repay You for what You paid to make it happen. Help me to model my giving after You and to find the joy and blessing of serving the least, the poor, the blind, the lame, and crippled. Let me not seek any earthly reward but cling to the eternal reward that You will give during the Resurrection of the Just. Take me and use all I have for Your glory. Amen."

Who Is My Neighbor

March 12 2016
Scripture: Luke 10:28-29 (ESV)

Who Is My Neighbor?

"And He (Jesus) said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.' But he desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'

This lawyer intended to test Jesus, but in reality it was Jesus testing him. He knew the heart of the Old Testament law was to love God and your neighbor as yourself. But he must have not been living it out, for he felt the need for a clarifying question: " Who is my neighbor?" He wanted to know what little he could get by with and still make it to Heaven. How many times do we know what we ought to do and choose to ignore it. I believe the Holy Spirit will teach us and bring to remembrance the things we heard Jesus say (John 14:26). The struggle is between knowing and doing. Jesus knew that to truly love you need to let what you know and believe determine what you do. 

Does this mean I should be like the Good Samaritan and pick up every person I see and pay for their hotel rooms? Maybe if the Holy Spirit leads you to in that certain situation. But what I see is that I must have compassion for all people, even those I do not know yet. I must ask myself, "Is there an obvious need in that person's life I could possibly fill? If it were me, what would bless my heart?" Ask the Spirit. Take what you know, do it, and you will surely live. Now look and see, "who is your neighbor?"

" Lord Jesus, I know sometimes I try to squeeze by with the smallest amount possible, and I am sorry. Help me to see that to truly live, I must go and do likewise. Thank you for your word, which shows me what I need to know, so I can go and do it in my world. Amen"