Shocking Experience

“ … if they do speak not according to this word …”  (Isa 8:20  KJV)

I am sure that like me, you have had some life changing moments with the Lord. I mean a time where He stopped you in your tracks, and put you on a different track. One morning this happened to me while having some quiet time with the Lord. I was reading out of Isaiah chapter 8 and got to verse 20 which says: 

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

I got kind of stirred up over this verse and got to talking to the Lord. I was saying things sort of like “Yeah, that’s right Lord, there are a whole lot of people out there not speaking in accordance with your word. They are saying a lot of things that don’t agree with Your word.”

Now about this time I’m expecting a “Yeah, you got it, you understand!  You know what I am talking about!”  What I got was something like “You say a lot of things that are not in accordance with My word.”

Well, to say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was kind of devastated. I had been confronted by God and I was guilty, I knew it and I knew it all in an instant. I was filled with remorse and repented right then and there.  I was so convicted and so sorrowful that a lot of what I said was not in accordance with, not in agreement with, did not line up with, and was not guided by the Word of God.

That was a life changing moment for me. It began a change in me that affected the words I spoke, the advice I gave, and is hopefully still causing me to do more thinking and listening then speaking.

It is good for me to return to this verse now and then and let God continue to speak to me with it. Our mouths speak out of what is in our hearts. Our hearts need to be filled with the Word of God, so that what we speak is in accordance with, in agreement with, and in like purpose with His word.

Thinking About Faith

“Do not anxiously look about you …”  (Isaiah 41:10, NASB)

 
Let’s take a few minutes to think about faith. The Bible says that without faith we can’t please God, that it has accompanying action, and that it is what gives substance to and evidence of what we believe. For instance in James 2:17, we find scripture saying:

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

From this verse we can see that true faith has accompanying action that proves its existence. Also, Hebrews 11:1, KJV says:

“ …  faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

True faith gives substance to what we believe causing a resulting action or attitude that is a manifestation of our faith. For instance sitting down in a chair gives evidence that I believe the chair will hold me up, and not collapse when I sit down.

I know I am making faith very simplistic in this, but it really isn’t that complicated of a thing. We use it in the natural realm all the time. It works the same way in the spiritual realm. Faith evidences itself by responding to what we believe, because it gives substance to what we believe, substance that can be trusted and acted upon.

I know of a young lady who moved into a new apartment. Her first evening there she was feeling a bit scared and kept looking out the window to see if she could see anything. Then she prayed and asked God to protect her and her baby in their new home. 

She continued looking out the window and feeling a bit afraid. Then it finally hit her that if she prayed and asked for God for His protection then she needed to   believe that He would do it, and that she needed to quit anxiously looking out her window.

She settled back, quit looking out the window and enjoyed the rest of her evening as God’s peace settled over her and her new apartment

Do The Good

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:17, ESV)

Remember when we thought that all we had to do was to not do wrong things?  It seemed so much simpler then, after all, we like to know what is “out” so we can stay away from it and be thought of as good. I mean there is nothing like a good “do not list” that we can adhere to and then feel good about ourselves, if we can manage it. But at some point we find out that it is not enough to not do bad stuff, we must also do good stuff. 

Take for example Ephesians 4:28, NIV:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Not only is the thief to deal with his sin (stealing), he is to become gainfully employed (thereby dealing with the reason), and he is then to then help others in need so they won’t resort to stealing. This is getting a bit more complicated than a “do list” and “do not list”.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I can see stopping the stealing and getting a job, but then having to give to others so they won’t steal? My old nature does not like that!  But, of course, we are not called to live out of our old nature but out of our new nature.

Ephesians 4:28 tells us we are to deal with our sins, be gainfully employed, helping others and helping them get on the right path. But it is not a list we follow, for we may as well be under the Law if we are going to do “lists”. It is a matter of the heart sensitized to God, the mind renewed by the Word, and living a transformed life that is offered as a living sacrifice to God - lived for Him and His purposes.

We know it is a sin to do wrong things, but the Word also tells us that it is a sin to not do the right things we know to do. It is always in season to be obedient to the Word and the Holy Spirit, and to not do so is wrong.

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”Eph 4:28, NLT

Ox In The Stall

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crop come by the strength of the ox.  (Proverbs 14:4, ESV)

I really like this verse. Not only can it be applied to many different situations, It fits really well with marriage. I like to break the verse down like this:

no oxen / no dung

have oxen / have benefit - along with dung

What is necessary is to realize that while a relationship brings problems we wouldn’t have to deal with as singles, there is much benefit that comes from being in relationship with someone.

Without an ox, the stall stays clean. It does not get dirty. The dung does not have to be cleaned out because there is no ox in it making a mess.  But there are some things that the strength of the ox can bring that would be of great benefit. It does make plowing a lot easier, and a much larger area can be worked. The harvest is more plentiful.

In our analogy here, the husband is the ox. And most husbands do make messes.  They are not much help around the house, and even make the house more messy than it would be if they were not in it. Hopefully though, they do bring benefit to the marriage and household that outweighs the disadvantage of the messes they also make.

What the wife needs to focus on, is the benefit of the husband (ox), the strength he brings to the relationship and household.The harvest should be more plentiful because of what the husband supplies. 

What the husband needs to remember is that he does make the wife’s life a bit more difficult, and he better make sure he is using his strength and abilities to bring benefit and abundance to the home.

What the wife needs to remember is that dung is not all there is to her husband.  He brings good to the life they have together, supplying things she can’t, and overall, making her life better.

Of course, my wife sometimes gets me confused with the dung!

Thought of As Wise

“Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.“ (Prov 17:28, NLT)

This verse really brings a smile to my face.  When I read it, I feel good!  I wish I could say that I am sure it is a spiritual reaction, but I am pretty well convinced it is my flesh.  My natural inclination seems to be towards shyness, quietness, and saying dumb things.  I am sure you now understand my reaction to this verse.

I haven’t shared it with a lot of friends, but after hearing it one did say, “Something about my flesh really likes that verse!”  Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to be thought of as better than they really are. I can remember a couple times this came to play in my childhood.

The first happened with baseball. It was my turn to toss the ball up in the air and hit it out to the guys in the field.  There were comments like “back up guys.”  I really like those comments! I tossed the ball up in the air quite a few times and never did connect to it with the bat. Sometimes I dream of tossing a baseball up in the air and trying to hit it with a bat. I can’t even do it in my dreams!

Next there was football. I was punting to cries of “Better back way up guys!”  Pride rose and fell very quickly. How it is possible to miss the ball completely when punting, I do not know. Much less when you try it as many time as I did and never got a foot on it.

Of course we are supposed to be talking about spiritual things, so who doesn’t like to be thought of as more spiritual than they really are? Or more holy? Or more connected to God? Or wiser? Or more learned? We could go on, but I am sure we all get the point. I don’t know how it goes in your life, but in mine, when people get those notions about me, they’ve only to hang with me a short time to get over them.

I have been an example of this verse many times in my life, not by playing it out as written, but by being a poster child of the opposite. I have heard it said that it is better to be thought of as a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.

I guess the only way to finish this up is to say that sometimes it is wiser and more intelligent not to say anything at all.

Determined Times & Places

“ … he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live … ”

(Acts 17:26, NIV)

Growing up and in my younger years, I always felt like I had been born out of time, born too late as it were.  I felt that living in an earlier generation would have been much more to my likings and leanings.  One of my passions, in those days, was reading and thereby somehow experiencing the early frontier days. What adventures were had!

Now that I am older and sunset is on a coming horizon, I feel just the opposite. As I look to the future, what is emerging out of the Church, and the mindset of the coming generation, I again feel out of place and out of time. Something inside of me cries out to be part of what is coming and to be among those who will live there. There is a cry in my heart that says, “these are my people and my time is yet to come.”

But reality has always and will continue to play out differently in my life. I am only part of a past generation in how it has influenced me, and I’ll only be part of a future generation in how I have influenced it. My life must be lived out in this generation, in this place, and at this time. God’s Word says:

“ … he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him … “

(Acts 17:26-27, NIV)

Now we can take this to only mean that God determined beforehand where the different nations would live and the types of governments they would have, or we can bring a much more personal application that says God has determined beforehand at which precise time each of us would live and where we would live, based upon the knowledge that this would be the time and place where we would seek and find Him, and accomplish His purpose for our lives.

The personal application brings much more security and certainty to my life. I am not a random egg that happened to get fertilized. God actually put thought and planning into my existence and just as there is a genetic pattern as to who I am, there is also a divine pattern not only as to who I am, but also as to where I am and what my purpose is.

Let’s determine to live in the here and now, knowing this is where God has placed us, and it is He who will blossom us. This is our time, our generation, our place, and our adventure. 

 

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for us!  (Ps 138:8a, NIV)

Love Covers

” … love covers over a multitude of sin”  (1 Pe 4:8, NIV)

 

I was listening to one of my friends the other day and he mentioned that he had hurt his finger some how and there was some skin missing off of it.  He went a few days complaining about it, nursing it, and flinching when he would accidentally hit it against something.  Then he finally put some liquid band-aid on it.  At first he said it really hurt, really burned when he applied the liquid.  He then demonstrated how he could now hit it against something with no pain.  There was a protective coating where the skin was missing, keeping out dirt and bacteria, and cushioning the wound.

 

I was reminded of the above verse.  In reference to it Strong’s Concordance says ‘to hide, veil, to hinder the knowledge of a thing.’  In the Amplified Bible this verse reads: Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others.)  In my bible, beside this verse, in relation to the word ‘covers‘, I have written “to wrap around as bark; skin, plaster, shell, protective coating.”  Love would keep us from rehearsing sin to the guilty party, to others, and to ourselves.  We would neither tell others about it, nor hold it against the guilty party, but would help them to overcome it.  We would protect them and their reputation, while giving them help and hope for the future.

 

I didn’t say this was a natural thing to do because it isn’t.  Only the supernatural love that God puts in us can enable us to walk this out correctly.  The effect of this is the difference between life and death, blessing and cursing.

 

One of Noah’s sons dishonored him,  ridiculed him,  and told others of his nakedness.  The two other sons humbly went in to their father and in honoring him refused to even look upon his nakedness, and put a cover over him so that no one else would be able to look upon his nakedness.  The one son and his offspring were cursed.  The other two sons and their offspring were blessed.

 

The principles taught us in the Word of God, when applied to our lives result in life and blessings for us and others.  Ignoring the same principles brings cursing, lack and death.