“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16
She picked up the phone and began speaking as soon as she heard the familiar voice. “I need to talk to you about something. I think you’ve been manipulative lately.”
There, she had said it. The thing she had been dying to say for years. Breathing, she waited for the reply, hoping for a heartfelt apology. Instead she heard only a blaring dial tone.
Most of us can attest to a time when we made a similar call or when someone abruptly confronted us. Most of the time confrontation doesn’t go well. We often forget to share both truth and love when we’re trying to influence someone. Does that mean we should give up altogether? No. It can be messy relating with the difficult people in our lives, but God promises that we will all grow through this very act.
When we share Jesus with someone we care about, we are offering him or her a chance to have eternal life. If she is already His disciple, we are trying to help her in their own influence on a world that needs Christ desperately. Don’t give up on these most important conversations. The next time you need to speak to someone about something important, ask the Holy Spirit to help you speak the truth in love. Luke 12:12 promises that at that very moment, God will give you the words.
Dear Lord, thank You for giving me a circle of influence in which I can grow as well as help others to grow up in their giftedness. Help me to know who You want me to talk to, when to talk to them, and most of all, what to say. I am sorry for the times I have ill-used another person in the name of truth. Please help me to speak from a place of love before I try to help. Thank You for loving me, and for always speaking both love and truth into my life, so I may do my part in this world more perfectly. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“The seeds that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature. But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the Word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.” Luke 8:14-15
I had expected a bountiful garden — but it wasn’t looking too healthy. The rain had come, that wasn’t the problem. It was the soil. The sandy earth needed enriching, and I hadn’t put anything into it. The spruce trees surrounding the garden had pulled much of the moisture to their roots, and their acidic needles created an environment that stunted growth. The seeds I planted had been good, but the soil was lacking nutrients.
As I looked on my garden, I couldn’t help but see a spiritual parallel. God’s Word is the seed that comes into our lives. We know that He says He loves us unconditionally, that He will be our strength when we are weak. We know His grace and wisdom will be there to draw on when we need it.
The seed is good, but we still can find ourselves reacting throughout our day in ways that don’t reflect its goodness.
That’s why God tells us to tend the soil of our hearts. If we aren’t careful, the cares and worries of this world can create an acidic environment that stunts the seeds of God’s Word.
A closed mind allows the enemy of our souls to steal the seeds that bounce off the hard ground we allow in our hearts.
Then there are seeds that sprout but don’t take root and wither away. The appeal of God’s help and activity in our lives is attractive, but when trusting becomes hard, the seed withers.
Some seeds are simply choked out by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures; we don’t let God’s truths become part of who we are. It’s easy to read God’s Word or listen to a sermon and think, “That’s really good,” but forget to apply it as soon as we walk away.
Let’s allow God’s Word to take root in our lives and change us so that we produce a bountiful crop of love and peace and joy — that feeds others, too.
Dear God, sometimes I don’t pay attention to the soil of my heart. I let the seeds of Your Word bounce away. Today I ask that You would help me to keep my heart soft and not let it get hardened by events and people in my life. Keep me from a shallowness that lets go of what You say when the moment is tough. Help me to be careful not to let the worries of the world choke out Your Word and Your work in my life. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, help me think on Your Word, apply it to my life, and keep my heart soft. I know it is only Your crop in my life that truly brings peace and satisfaction. Thank You Jesus. I pray in Your name, amen.
Consider the soil of your heart for a moment right now.
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
Today, instead of looking at what’s going wrong in your life, find the good. Having a grateful attitude can turn your lives around. What are you grateful for?
Lord, teach us to focus more on the great things you are doing in our lives and not just the things that are going wrong. There is so much that You are doing in our lives that are good. Help us to see the good and be grateful. In Jesus name, Amen
“...go and make disciples …teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-29The Great Commission
A preacher, long forgotten, left a mark on my life that has helped shape me. I wrote his quote in my Bible.
“If our lives, as Christians, are not lived out on the wavelength of the Great Commission, then our lives are irrelevant to God’s plan for change in our world.”
It stopped me short. God has a plan for change in this world; changed lives that will effect changes at every layer in our society, not only today but also for eternity. It’s a good question: Is my life relevant to God’s plan for change in our world? On a practical basis this simply means to be ready to share, heart to heart, the things you have learned from following Jesus. To simply teach, through your own life, the difference it makes to know Him. He promises to be with you as you do and to help you.
Does it even matter? Yes. This is why you and I exist…to share God’s love with others who long for change only He can truly bring. It is the very thing that will bring true relevance to your life. He has packaged you to do this in your own unique way, who you are, where you are.
What wavelength are you living your life on? Possessions, power, position, pastime, pressure? Whatever fills your mind front and center is the wavelength you are living on.
If you are a Christian and feeling empty and frustrated, look again at the call of Jesus. It will truly bring relevance to your life. It’s the one thing that will effect true change in your little corner of the world.
Father God, I want to be relevant to Your plan for change in our world. Use me today to share Your love in some small way. Help me to be aware of sharing what You have shown me in my life. Help me as I go today to share compassionately and passionately, heart to heart, with someone in my path. I love you Lord. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
“For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:21
Have you ever tried to define trust? Or tried to trust when it seems like you can’t?
My natural tendencies are often the opposite of trust. In my prayers I try to persuade God to do something I desperately want, or to give me something I think I can’t do without. I have a specific result in mind, thinking it will make my life better.
Yet the times I have most anxiously tried to goad God are the very times when I needed to trust Him the most. When the result I want does not happen, I have at times wandered in a land of mistrust, remaining anxious and engulfed in discontent.
What if we changed our expectation of what we think “should” happen? What if we began to define trust in God as letting go of the outcome and releasing our grip?
At first our waiting may feel more frightening. However, for myself, I’ve noticed a freedom in not holding on so tightly. Peace and gladness in God Himself enter my heart and mind after the release. I can be glad because of who God is. In Psalm 33:20 the writer states God’s characteristics: “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”
Dear Lord, please help me to let go of my demands for a preconceived outcome. Help me to let go of my efforts to control. I turn my attention to Who You are. I want to trust You. I can’t do that without Your help, but I believe You will help me because You long for me to rest in Your wisdom and protection. Amen.
While reading through the book of Joshua, I read a verse that I have been reflecting on many times since then. The Israelites had entered the land of milk and honey and had destroyed several cities with all their inhabitants. The kings surrounding them were very frightened and met to plan a strategy against the Israelites.
One group of people, called the Gibeonites, decided to deceive the Israelites by pretending to be from a distant land. They asked Joshua to make a treaty with them – offering to be Israel’s servants rather than be killed. It sounded like a very good offer. The Israelites fell for it and signed the treaty.
The key verse that impressed me was, “They did not inquire of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14). If they had asked the Lord for direction before they made the decision, they would not have been deceived. But they choose to rely on their own wisdom instead.
Because they did not “inquire of the Lord,” they unwittingly broke a very important command that God had given them: to kill all the ungodly people in the land they had conquered so their people would not be infiltrated by the ungodly thinking and living of people who worshiped idols.
With the passing of time, as they married and inter-married, the Israelites began worshiping the gods of the Gibeonites. They drifted from their love and obedience to their God (the only true God). The grandchildren of this generation no longer followed the true God all because their fore fathers did not “inquire of the Lord.” One bad decision can greatly affect many generations thereafter.
Father, please remind us to check with You before making decisions. Our decisions affect so many people. Thank You! Amen.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, 18
A friend of mine, recovering from a deep depression, said his turn-around came when he realized, “I have a choice. I can continue to blame my upbringing, past traumatic experiences, and life’s injustices for the emotional mess I’m in, or I can focus on today and begin to take small steps of recovery.”
Like him, I got myself out of a pit of self-pity and despair by focusing on the fact that if Jesus Christ lives in me, I am a new creation. I can leave the old thought patterns behind and claim my new position in Christ. But it was a choice I had to make many times a day.
When a negative thought or temptation would come, I would say, “That doesn’t belong to me anymore. I’ve died to that way of thinking and acting. In Christ I have received a new nature, the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). I am a new person.” Then I’d replace the thought with a truth from Scripture or a song. I’d write it out and carry it in my pocket so I could say it often.
God has given to each of us the privilege of making choices and the responsibility of living with the consequences of those choices. “Every choice we make takes us down a certain path. Either to a person that is in harmony with God and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself,” writes C.S.Lewis.
You are not born a winner. You are not born a looser. You are born a chooser.
Dear God, today I want to see myself as a new creation in Christ and make choices that honor You.
It is inevitable in a fallen world that offenses will come. Each time we face a choice to nurse unforgiveness and bitterness or receive the offense as an opportunity to grow in God. Too many of our prayers are about fixing some person or situation to our satisfaction, instead of getting more of God. He says, “You don’t need to fix the person or circumstances. You need Me! Put your hand in Mine! Stay committed to seeing Me in this. Come with me into a deeper place in My heart.”
David gave us a model of how to pray in time of great distress. Read Psalm 63:1-8, written by David while he was in the desert, fleeing for his life either from Saul (1 Samuel 23:14) or from his rebellious son (2 Samuel 15:23,28). We can put ourselves in David’s place, remembering a time when we were in difficulty, and it felt like someone or something was pursuing us to destroy us. Perhaps we are there now, with all the mixed emotions that David must have felt of fear, doubt, anger, and pain at being alienated from someone significant to us.
In his desperate situation, what David prayed for might surprise us. His focus was God, not his dire and desperate circumstances or his broken heart. David did not ask for protection, vindication, a quick resolution, a happy ending, or countless other good ideas and fixes that we would have instructed God to provide. God alone and His covenant-keeping relationship was the centerpiece of Psalm 63:1-8. David’s heart was fixed (Psalm 57:7). God’s loving kindness was better than life itself, and David’s deep satisfaction was in God and his presence, nothing else and nothing more. The nearness of God was his good (Psalm 73:28), and he testified that he was tasting the goodness of God. He could sing in the middle of the dark night of his troubles.
In Acts 4:23-31Peter and John had been arrested, jailed, and threatened for speaking and preaching in the name of Jesus. Upon their release, Peter and John went back to God’s people and reported what the authorities had said. Study the response of the believers gathered there. They prayed a model prayer. “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Their prayer was focused on their Sovereign Lord and His sure purposes. Of the seven verses, six are taken up with the praises of God, His sovereignty and power. With one sentence, they delivered their adversaries and all offenses into His hands. In one sentence, they requested that God take note of the threats and give them boldness and confidence to speak of Jesus, while God does what He does best, that is show Himself strong through the name of Jesus. They did not ask for vindication, stage a political action, hold a rally, or even pray for the authorities to act better. They knew that more than getting wrongs righted, they needed more of God on the scene.
In Acts 4:31, God affirmed their prayer and their purity of heart by shaking the place where they were praying, giving them a fresh touch of His Holy Spirit and empowering them with great boldness to speak His Word. When they gave up the offense to God, He gave back more.
You may be saying, “But they really did me wrong!” Yes, but when we give up the offense, God gives back more. Offenses carry weight, and an apology never balances the scales. God wants to put His weight on the scale and restore more than what was lost in the offense. God turns the plans of the enemy into good (Genesis 50:20).
With David and the early church tremendous offenses had taken place: rejection, rebellion, lies, abuse, accusation, injustice, and shame. Yet neither David nor the early church nursed and rehearsed the offense. It was not made the centerpiece of their hearts and prayers.
When we are thinking, “They owe me,” or “How can I get back at them?” or “When will they get their just recompense?” or “When will they be known for who they are?” the offender still has control over us. We are allowing the enemy to plunder and ravage our lives still further. We must pray God-based prayers, not offense-based prayers. We may think we need our offenders to say, “I am sorry. Please forgive me.” We do not need the injustice avenged or an apology as much as we need God and what He will give us, far more than they could give us with “I’m sorry.” God would say to us, “You don’t need an apology. You need Me. You are blessed when men persecute you. Put yourself in My bosom, the place of healing and freedom. I am your very great Reward.”
Trust God and live in these truths by the power of the Holy Spirit. Get into freedom by the Spirit of truth, because when you know the Truth and live the Truth, He will set you free.
“ For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. Ephesians 2:10 (AMPC)
There are many struggling in the area of knowing your true worth and value right now. You have been fighting to prove yourself to the point of exhaustion. This was never God’s plan for you.
It’s now time to lay aside the superficial things and realize that YOU MATTER. No longer look to people and things to prove your worth. The number of houses you own, the degrees you hold, the money you have in your bank account, nor the people you are connected to will prove you have arrived.
God assigned value to you the day He created you. You are His masterpiece. You have been formed in His image and likeness. The society we live in today should not dictate who you are. You are a child of the Most High God. Remember that!
Father forgive us for losing sight of who You have created us to be. Help us to recognize our worth and value lies in You and You alone. You have fashioned and shaped us fearfully and wonderfully and mighty are the works of Your hands.
We sounded the words to the rhythmic clapping of our hands. Faster, faster, faster. Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! This morning drill formed part of our early morning leaders meeting at Winners Camp, a residential camp for teenagers on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”. As we went off to our daily tasks of shaping the lives and hearts of a troupe of teenagers’ some more privileged than others it wasn’t difficult to be enthusiastic about the day. I remember those seven days with such fondness. And I still remember many of the faces.
I learned a few years ago that the word ‘enthusiasm’ comes from the Greek term entheos, meaning “God within”.
When we can be enthusiastic about something, perhaps it is also an indicator that we are doing what we were meant to; that we are about the things that were set out for us on this earth to do. I find God in the places where I am most enthusiastic.
As another day dawns, am I alert, awake and enthusiastic about the possibilities that lie ahead? And if not, why not?
Dear God, today I invite you into every activity I put my hand and heart to. Thank you for filling me with enthusiasm as I go about the work you set out for me to do. Amen.
“Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all of you who are upright in heart!” Psalm 32:11
Have you ever had a secret? As children we likely all kept secrets from our parents about the things we did that we knew were against the rules. It’s part of growing up.
As adults, many of us have secrets. We may have done things that have severe consequences if someone found out. We conceal our past actions because they could bring embarrassment or humiliation on us. Maybe we fear the way someone we love will see us if they knew.
The problem with keeping secrets is that they bring consequences of their own. Living in fear of discovery affects our happiness and our relationships. It stands in the way of true intimacy with other people.
King David learned that keeping secrets from God was detrimental to his mind and body. In Psalm 32, David describes how keeping quiet before God about his sin haunted him day and night. He writes, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away…. my strength was sapped.” But when he admitted his mistakes to God, his guilt was gone.
Based on what I read in Scripture, I believe that because of God’s nature and His relationship with David, God had forgiven David’s sin long before David asked for forgiveness. But the guilt David felt lingered. The moment David confessed his sin to God, his guilt was gone, his spirit was lifted, and his relationship with God was restored.
God, because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, I am forgiven of my sins. But, Lord, I want to be free from any guilt that I feel. Help me be honest with myself and with You about the truth of my pride and rebellion. Amen.
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
Janice ran from God! She left home to get away from Him. At her new college, she chose to ignore Him. She was invited to a campus Bible study, but refused to go.
Her roommates were foreign exchange students. They spoke little English and soon, she became lonely.
One day, as she was cleaning her dorm room, Janice discovered the Bible study invitation. With nothing to lose, she decided to attend.
Janice was tremendously overwhelmed by what she saw and hear of God’s love. She invited Jesus into her life through prayer. God changed her! When she returned to her home, He used her to begin a ministry on her college campus.
Dear one, God’s love is never far away. Make yourself available to Him. He will use you in ministry to others.
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I was sitting on my Dad’s hospital bed laughing and talking with him the evening before his surgery. I found great satisfaction in being able to talk to him about anything. There were no uncomfortable silences, wondering what to say next. I could have felt that I should have spent more time with him, but I didn’t because I had been obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit the year before.
My Dad and I always had a satisfactory relationship. But because we had four children to raise, a house and garden to tend to, a large poultry farm and involvements with school and church, it seemed that the only time we saw each other was on holidays or birthdays. And then, I was usually in the kitchen cooking. Dad and I never had the chance to really talk – just the two of us.
Then one day, the Holy Spirit placed within my heart a desire to get to know my Dad. I called him and asked if he would like to start having lunch with me once a month. He liked the suggestion and so began our monthly visits. At first there were some uncomfortable silences–we didn’t seem to have much in common anymore. But as the months flew by, we began looking forward to our visits and had lots to talk about.
The evening when I left the hospital, I didn’t know that God would take my Dad home two days later. He never recovered from his surgery. Having lunch with him once a month was a very good memory. I was so thankful I had been obedient to God’s prompting and that I hadn’t put it off.
What about you? Have you taken the time to get to know your dad? Let me encourage you not to procrastinate. Make a call today or set up a time for coffee. You will be glad you did.
Father, help us to listen to and be quick to obey your Holy Spirit’s prompting. Amen.
Have you ever noticed a couple who have been married for many years? They have truly become one. They finish each others sentences. At a restaurant they look down the menu and can tell you what the other person will order. They start smiling when their spouse begins to tell a story, because they know the punchline is going to be good. They even start looking more and more like one another. It is hard to know where one of them starts and the other stops.
James Houston once said “Prayer is keeping company with God, and we become like the One with whom we keep company.” That is the invitation: to spend time in the presence of the One who beckons us to the life-changing friendship called prayer. Jesus kept company with His Father while here on earth. Seven times Lukerecords Jesus praying: at His baptism (3:21), often (5:16), all night before choosing the twelve to be with Him (6:12), privately (9:18), before His transfiguration (9:28), in an accustomed place (11:1), in the garden (22:41-44), and from the cross (23:34).
That is my passion for me and for you. I want us to get up close to Him in His Word long enough that we see it not as a theological treatise or an object of study, but as opportunity to deepen our relationship as a friend of God. I want us to break out in praise to our holy, holy, holy, yet-oh-so-personal God, search our souls by the light of the Holy Spirit, share our hurts and fears and run for refuge to our Keeper, and draw closer to Jesus in pure devotion.
God desires an intimate relationship with us. God beckons us deeper into His heart, and we must not hold back. We need the personal resolve of Joshua who said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We ask for God-given vision birthed in prayer, God-given ministry based on prayer, and God-permeated mission completely depending on Him. Then our lives will bear the imprint of His character in light, peace, joy, power, and truth.
As we continue on this journey with God through the years, people will begin to notice that level of oneness in us. As we soak in His Word and allow it to become a part of us, we can finish His “sentences.” We will smile in the middle of the story God is unfolding, because we know the punchline is going to be good. And people will begin to say, “You know, they even look like each other.”
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We sounded the words to the rhythmic clapping of our hands. Faster, faster, faster. Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! This morning drill formed part of our early morning leaders meeting at Winners Camp, a residential camp for teenagers on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii.
