I enjoy the Message translation.  It expresses the scriptures in a very relate-able way.  Consider the following from 2 Corinthians 12:6-8:

⁶ If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I’d still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I’ll spare you. I don’t want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you’d encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.
^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Initially I had in mind to be upset, saddened or maybe even angered over something that happened today.  However, I thought of this passage of scripture and all the upset melted away.  One of the things I learned is that you simply cannot say you trust God and then think opportunities won't be presented for that trust to be proven.  Trust isn't trust until it is exercised!  Otherwise it is just a nice notion or a warm thought.

I like to be kind.  I go out of my way to be kind on purpose and to show people kindness that probably makes no sense.  I think of all of the kindness God has allowed to me in my life and all of the people that I admire most are kindhearted and they are givers.  Sometimes; however, we must accept that not everyone that we extend kindness to is in the place to receive it or appreciate it.  It doesn't mean we stop being kind.  I'm not kind because people appreciate it in me.  Nor was my kindness born out of folks being ready for it.  I trust that if I am kind that God will extend mercy toward me because I am doing what He called me to do.  I believe that as I show kindness God will extend favor toward me when I need it the most, but can't articulate it or when I myself don't seem to appreciate it.  One of my weaknesses is my kindness.

I will give anyone anything that I have.  My thought is that it's just a thing and if God gave me that thing He can and will give me another and if He doesn't I know that He can and perhaps it wasn't something that would enhance my life or it was for the person I gave it to and that's the end of that.

I believe that God operates in my weakness, submission and humility and to me sometimes showing kindness is purposefully suppressing my own will so that God's will can be seen, known and celebrated.  The enemy wants to upset you to the point that you focus on the upset, the harm, the pain, the flesh or anything other than God.  He wants us to react and mess up.  But I get what Paul is saying here.  I could have gotten upset when people took my kindness for weakness.  I could have responded poorly when my kindness wasn't returned.  Instead I choose to trust God, accept that my kindness is one of my weaknesses and let go and let God operate in it all.

My actions, reactions and responses are based upon God's Word

When I was younger I was so naive.  I believed that if I treated people well, that if I were a decent and honest person of integrity that others would give that back to me innately.  As I grew older and matured I began to see that some individuals simply lack the moral compass, trust in God's Word and even just the simple desire to do the right thing.  There are people who always want to scheme in an attempt to get ahead.  They want to try to con you, con God and con their way through life and even though you see the futility of their actions they simply do not.  They want to throw the stone and hide their hands.  Look up in they sky whistling like they aren't doing anything.  It must be very depressing not to trust God.  Frankly, I don't see how people make it without trusting in the Lord.

My choice to live for God as best I can isn't because I'm so good.  On the contrary, it is because He is so good.  The choice reflects my meager attempt to please God and to live like I believe He wants me to live.  Do I always get it right? NO!  Do I mess up and sometimes mess up knowingly!  YES!  Have I hurt others?  Have I talked about others?  Have I let myself and other people down?  Yes, yes and yes, but God forgives freely when we seek Him and when He finds us forgiving others.  He specifically intercedes for me with the Father and because I know that, I do want so much to do all I can to please Him.  We live in such an era of grace and favor; basking in the forgiveness of God through His son Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness is integral to our lifestyle.  It really is the only way that we have a right standing with God.

We cannot overlook the importance of forgiveness as a part of our Christian walk. 2 Corinthians 2:10 & 11 says: If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive [that one]; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of [and with the approval of] Christ, to keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. AMP

When I was younger and naive when someone would purposefully hurt me it was difficult to process.  I thought it had something to do with me personally so then I tried to be an even better person thinking that maybe if I can show them how good I can be they will not mistreat me again.  They will know not to hurt me again.  But the fact is that hurt people often hurt people.  It isn't personal and they will continue hurting you because they are simply toxic and need Jesus' healing touch.  Not only will they hurt you, but they hurt everyone they come into contact with because it is what they learned to do to deal with their personal issues. 

There are people who simply refuse to put their trust in the Lord for their blessings and to take care of them so they spend their short lives away trying to scam others.  They ignore the favor and the blessings of God.  They refuse to acknowledge that God is the source and the author of what they have.  Instead they would rather do dishonest things and live in dishonest ways relying on self to get gain.  The interesting thing is that they think no one knows that they are being underhanded.  Especially if you choose not to respond.

But the above referenced scripture entreats us to forgive in obedience to God's Word because our forgiveness removes Satan's ability to be successful.  When we forgive the hurt and the harm done we deflate the enemy and take away his power.  There are some people who live to "get over" on others.  They want to scam the government, they want to con the bill collector, they want to avoid paying their debts and in trying to "hook or crook" innocent bystanders may get hurt.  What I will tell you is that if this blog is feeling true for you it is because God sees all and He knows everything.  He does not slumber nor sleep.  Please do not take what someone else is doing personally and please do not allow your response to be based upon that person's actions or deeds.  Instead respond with love and show Jesus.  Let the Lord fight on your behalf because He is Jehovah Gibbor.  He will handle it.  He already has.  Forgive so that in God's grand plan you can be forgiven where you miss the mark and do not concern yourself about the scams and schemes that you can see clearly.  See it, forgive it, pray over it and give it to the Lord!

Today be on purpose with forgiving even the person who is trying to con you, scam you or hurt you. Pray for God to heal their hurt.  Pray for God to protect you and to provide for you.  Remember that God allowed you to see it so that you can pray and forgive.

Put Respect on the Gift(s) that God has Graced you with

Romans 11:29 tells us that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.  To put this scripture into perspective we must understand what the Apostle Paul wanted to communicate.  Chapter 11 talks about the opportunity provided to the Gentiles to receive the hope of salvation after Israel rejected the gospel.  As Paul stresses the example of wild branches being grafted into the tree and having the opportunity to bloom, he also strongly emphasizes that the original branches are still available to be grafted back in as well and one day they will indeed!  Paul believed that the returning of the children of Israel will lead the homecoming of all to God!

As Paul describes this great day and this great time, He makes that comment that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.  What does that mean in this context of telling all that Israel will again fully return to God?  He means that when God says something, when He makes a decree, when He issues a gift and a calling, He does not take it back.  God called the Children of Israel and He has not rescinded that calling.  God has gifted and called us and He has not taken any of those gifts or any of that calling back.

Far to many of us are walking around with the precious gifts and calling of God all on and over our lives yet we are acting bewildered about what we should be doing with them.  Frankly some of us act like we never even received God's gifts and/or calling or maybe we just don't want other people to know.  God's gifts and calling are not a secret.  If you've been called you know you've been set aside, set apart, consecrated and called.  You can deny it all you want, but at the end of the day you know that you know that you know and others know it to because the anointing cannot be denied.  Most of the time people feel the anointing of your gifts and your calling and they are simply waiting for you to acknowledge it.  That's the trigger, key and linchpin that releases the activation of the gift and the calling.

We have to get in gear and respect the gifts and calling of God on our lives.  God has graced us with what we need to enjoy an abundant life.  God has told us that above all things He wants us to prosper and be in good health even as our very soul prospers.  To aid us in that prosperous living He has made us all after His likeness and in His image by giving us creativity and gifting.  These gifts and the calling having nothing to do with our intellect so our intellect cannot comprehend it.  We cannot unlock our gifts with our brain power.  We cannot make the gift and the calling work by sitting around thinking about it for days, months weeks and years.  In order for the gifts to begin to work we must first acknowledge the gifts and the calling and that their origin is God.  In order to allow the gifts to work for us, we must give God glory for the gifts and calling and be determined that God get all the glory from the use of the gifts and the calling.  We must acknowledge God in all our ways and admit that He knows what's best for us and that in order for us to experience that best He gave us the gift that would work on our behalf.  Then we must work the gift and accept the calling. 

God makes no mistakes and everyone single life has a gift.  It may take many years before we discover our gifts.  That passing of time doesn't make your gift void or unusable.  As soon as we acknowledge the gifts and that God is the giver we put ourselves into the position for the gifts to open up abundant living opportunities for us.  Those opportunities may not come easily and they may seem like trials, hardships and tough times, but remember that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and who are the called according to His purpose.  Work your gifts and accept your calling and see what God will do for you!  There's no escaping His manifold blessings when you obey!

Today make it up in your mind to respect God's gifts and calling on your life.  Make it up in your mind to lean not to your own understanding, but to acknowledge God in all your ways.  Trust Him and trust that life's circumstances and this journey will provide opportunity for your gifts to be used.  Relinquish your resistance and realize that your gifts and your calling will make room for you and bring you into the presence of great men because God said so.  He has graced us with creativity.  He has made us after His image and likeness.  You have purpose.  You have divine destiny and it is within our grasp.  Today is the day that we respect what God has put in us and give it back to Him in order to guide others to Him and to give Him all the glory.

A Substance Abuse Problem

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Breaking down the scripture further let's define a few words.  Faith means complete trust or confidence and a strong belief in God based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.  Substance means the real physical matter of which a person or a thing consists.  Evidence is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief is true; proof, confirmation, verification.

I offer that many of us have a substance abuse problem.  We think we understand the meaning of the word substance when we read the scripture.  But in fact what we have been taught and what we understand substance to be is something tactile.  It's something we can touch or experience with our natural senses and so as a result we are looking for something tangible to anchor our faith in.  So oftentimes what happens to us is we pray and we wait for a sign.  We tell God what we want and then we go wait by the chimney for Santa to deliver our gifts or we give God our laundry list of desires and then we see answers in superstion and whatever will satisfy our own mind that we've heard from the Lord.  But in fact the definition of the word substance that we have known our entire lives is not what faith is.  Faith is not physical nor is it a thing that can be exprerienced by our touch, hearing, sight, taste or smell.  The Greek word used in the verse above is "hupostasis."  The meaning of it is a firm foundation.  So in fact our faith is not based in the power wishful or positive thinking.  It isn't in our thinking at all.  Our faith is connected to our heart and it is a knowing that God did it before; therefore, He WILL do it again.  It is a knowing that we experience in our spirit.  We can encourage our mind by reading the Word and hiding the Word in our hearts, but what we cannot do is substitute the firm foundation of what our heart knows about our God for a flimsy, phoney, or flighty physical manifestation.  The faith is the revelation that God's Word is yea and amen.  Faith is the firm foundation of our hopes and it is the confirmation, verification and the proof of our beliefs.

Today let us renouce our substance abuse problem and let us elect to open our hearts and let faith find it's true resting place in the peace of trusting that God is real, He is not a man that He should lie.  What He says He will complete and perform.  His Word will not return unto Him void.  As the older generation used to say, God said, I believe it and that settles it!

Home Improvement

I awoke this morning with some concern.  As I took my concern to the Lord, He lead me to Matthew 19:16 to 22, which reads:

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?” 17 Jesus answered, “Why are you asking Me about what is [essentially] good? There is only One who is [essentially] good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Jesus, “Which commandments?” And Jesus answered, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony;19 Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself”[that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others]. 20 The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect[that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” 22 But when the young man heard this, he left grieving and distressed, for he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

The basis of my concern is that complacency seems to be the norm.  I find myself  
becoming complacent at times as though I've done what I need to do and there's no need to labor further.  I was also reading in Haggai and Zephaniah this morning regarding God's desire that people stop being complacent and get some gumption about themselves so that they may rebuild the House of the Lord.  Lastly I read Psalm 127:1 which stated that except the Lord build a house, they that build it labor in vain.

All of this led me to the conclusion that oftentimes we believe we have done enough; after all I have my job, I have my house, I have my car, I tell people about Jesus at my convenience.  I mean what else could I possibly be doing?  And yet we sing songs like "I Need More."  Signifying that we want Jesus to do more for us; to give us more of Himself; to pour out more to us.  In fact hasn't He already done it all?  What is truly needed is for us to do more; more to draw closer to Him; more to be less self-righteous; more to show that Jesus saves; more to minister; more to live a holy life; more to build the kingdom of God and on and on.

The significance of the story of the young rich man is that for so many of us we see ourselves as right on target.  The young man came to Jesus not really seeking an answer although he asked a question.  Jesus knew this, but allowed the situation to play out.  The young man really wanted to inform Jesus about what he had already done and in his mind surely there couldn't be any more to do that he had done, I mean he was the ultimate servant, he kept all the commandments since he was a child.  This young man really couldn't imagine what else there was to do.  What he failed to realize the entire time was who he was talking to.  He didn't see that he wasn in need of repair and that Jesus was the handyman.  He didn't know who Jesus really was because he was so enthralled and entangled in his own ego and so entrenched in his own self-agrandisement.  I mean after all he had it going on right?

We have the benefit of hindsight as we read this scripture so we can sit in a place of judgment of this young man.  We can clearly see that he was lacking humility.   We know that he went away sad because he treasured his possessions more than his relationship with God.  But in fact oftentimes we are in much the same position  as this young rich man because his real issue is that he lacked perspective.  He didn't really know Jesus and so he  could not comprehend what Jesus was offering him.  His thoughts went immediately to the   idea that something was being taken away from him and that made him sad.  

This young man needed some home improvement.  When you live in a house for a while you begin to notice its wear and tear. Eventually some things need repair.  As we walk this spiritual journey we ought to notice the leaks, the cracks, the broken down items and things in need of  repair in our spiritual home.  Jesus is the ultimate repairman.  He presents to us the tools needed to firm up our foundation and to repair our broken places.  He shows us the places that need repair and sends preachers, pastors, teachers and the like into our lives to assist us with the repairs.  The interesting thing about the repairs that we must make to enhance our own lives is that the work is not just us working on ourselves in a vacuum.  Instead it is us performing kingdom building and kingdom work that in turn serves to  repair our leaks and fill in our cracks.  Once we truly admit that we need repair and we're not just trying to show God how together we already are, because doesn't He know us?; Doesn't he know how raggedy we are?  Of course He does.  He knows that we are weak, this is why He sends us messengers to help us and to steer us into the right direction.  This is why He sent Jesus.  Now we have to let Jesus set the foundation and make sure that it is He in the building.  

When we do this there is a chance that we can be used to help someone else.  Today let's not become complacent and think to ourselves that we are doing what we need to do.  Rather let's ask God for a paradigm shift so that we can do what He has called us to do.  Let's improve our home by building the Kingdom of God, because as we take care of God's house He takes care of ours.

We are victorious

2 Chronicles chapter 20 is the story of King Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel being attacked by a joint union of the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Meunites.  Military intelligence revealed that a large number of soldiers were coming and in fact were already near.  It is certain that the enemies of King Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel planned to take the City by surprise and by shear numbers to overwhelm them.  But as the passage unfolds we see that the first thing that King Jehoshaphat did was to go to God in prayer.  In his prayer to the Lord, he reminded God of how they were obedient when they first occupied the city and they didn't fight with the Moabites, Ammonites or Meunites.  Then he reminded God of the promises that God had made to the Children of Israel to give them the land.  Not only did he pray separately in his very own "war room" but he then evoked corporate prayer by assembling the people together.  In the midst of the people King Jehoshaphat proclaimed God's promises and God's preeminence.  Then the Word was confirmed by Jahaziel who assured the King and the people that the battle was in fact not even theirs to fight or win, but it was the Lord's.  After that the King lead the people in corporate worship and praise.  The next day they arose with praise in the mouths.  The Bible says the King even appointed a choir to sing about the greatness of God and about His everlasting love.  The Bible goes on to say that as soon as the Children of Israel started singing and praising loudly, God set up ambushes for their enemies so that they were confused and instead of fighting the Children of Israel they fought each other and annihilated each other in the melee.  After the fighting King Jehoshaphat and the Children of Israel spent three days collecting the spoils.

This story should serve as encouragement for us that the answer is not in our physical efforts, but in our prayer, praise and worship or our spiritual fight.  We often say that prayer and praise together are a lethal combination, but this testament makes that point clear.  The fact is that once King Jehoshaphat turned his face to pray, putting God first, all of those would be enemies were already defeated.

God has already defeated the enemy in our lives.  We are already victorious!  How do we know?  Because if He did it before, which we know He did by this passage, then He will do it again.  King Jehoshaphat had a lot of choices.  He could have become afraid.  He could have called in advisers.  He could have starting calling in favors.  He could have commanded to assemble the armies.  He would have been within his rights to do any of those things, but the example that he set was that he immediately turned to God in prayer.

When we are facing enemies to our peace, to our success, to our well being, to the promises that God has already set in place for us and to our destiny, our first action should be to turn to God in prayer.  Our second response should be to give God praise for who He is and for what He has already done.  Like David at Ziklag, we have got to remember how God strengthened our hand before.  I call that the rewind praise.  Then we have got to look forward to what God is about to do.  I call that the fast forward praise.

Remember that after the Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites had turned on and destroyed one another, the Children of Israel were able to benefit by collecting the spoils.  The Bible is clear that the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous.  You may feel that an untenable situation has come upon you and that you are surrounded on every side, but God may in fact be setting you up to be the benefactor of someone else's confusion and failed plans to attack you or to bring you down.  I'm certain that when King Jehoshaphat originally set his face to pray to the Lord he wasn't thinking about how the enemy would be defeated or if there would be spoils to collect.  No.  He was clearly focused on the task of communing with God, praising Him and reminding Him of His promises.

So today, know that whatever battle you face naturally our job is to take it to God spiritually for we wrestle not with flesh and blood.  Our real weapons, which will never be defeated, are our prayer, praise and worship.

This is the re-take

Recently, a dear friend said, "I can see that my tests are closer together."  Then she went on to describe how she'd been presented with two different scenarios several times with in the span of only a few days.  James put it this way in chapter 1:

2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

  3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

  4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

  5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Have you felt lately that you are going through the same tests or the same experiences over and over again and that those tests are closer together?  For some of us it may be dealing with people at work, in the community or at church.  For others of us it may be challenging to saving or giving each time we receive our pay check.  When we, in affect, fail our tests or our challenges, the enemy wants to cover up the fact that that test was meant to make you stronger.  He wants to distract from the purpose of the test.  The test isn't to highlight your failings in a way that brings shame or makes you  feel poorly. Not at all.  The test is actually a way to show you that you are making progress.  That's why when my friend said her tests were closer together, I knew that she was nearer to her victory!  The enemy wants you to feel so ashamed and so condemned when you have a failure that you delay re-take and find it difficult to connect the dots between your tests and experience how God is strengthening you.  Let me try to explain it this way.  When I was very young, around 12 or so, it was prophesied to me that I would be a preacher.  That information was scary at that age, but it rang true some place within me.  I knew it was accurate in my spirit.  But there was a major issue.  I was and remain painfully shy.  It sort of reminds me of Moses telling God that he wasn't able to speak to the people.  But here's the thing, God calls and God chooses.  He does so at His will and for His glory.  So now in my hindsight, I can look back over my life and see all I have been through, each test, each trial, all of my tribulations and I can sew them together into a tapestry that reveals the picture of how God has nudged me into His purpose for my life.  It's amazing when you give it some thought.  God actually meant my failings and my rough patches to be for my good?  He meant for all of that to make me stronger, wiser, better and fit for His use and purpose?  He did that just for me?  It makes you look at your re-takes so differently.  Failing isn't failure unless we refuse to learn and grow from it.  Failing is a necessary stepping stone in growing stronger.

I imagine the life of a body builder.  We see the after pictures.  These individuals have bodies that look awesome.  Yet we weren't there during the building process.  We werent there through the pain.  We were just witnesses to the end results.  That body builder had to discipline himself exercise everyday  and had to deny himself when he wanted to eat sweet snacks.  He had to push himself to workout and to lift more weight each time.  The process took time, it didn't happen overnight.  But as he went along he would measure his muscle growth and he could  tell that his endurance was getting better.  Think of yourself as a spirit builder.  Like a body builder, your spirit must be challenged so that you can see your growth and so that you can tell that you now have more endurance.  Consider how Paul viewed this in Romans 5:

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

  2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

  3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

  4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

  5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  

Truly our progress is measured in faith and maturity.  Our standard is Jesus Christ.  We strive to be like Him in how we show love toward each other and how we have compassion for people.  We work to build our endurance to be like Christ in how we show up for our divine appointments and act as conduits to allow His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Truly we strive to be like Christ in facilitating a real relationship between God and His people.  But often people don't see the work of our spiritual building and our maturity.  They don't see the pain and the trials that bring out patience and discipline.  They don't see how we learn to give and how we become aware so that we are not ignorant of Satan's devvices against us.  They see the result, but we know our struggle and that our struggle sometimes comes in waves of tests  that are back to back showing us that we have gained spiritual muscle and endurance.

Today, be purposeful in your spirit building.  Set your eyes on the standard, Jesus Christ.  Strive to be humble like Him.  Strive to serve like Him.  Strive to live like Him.  Before you know it you will be measuring your success in faith through experience which results in hope.