His Resurrection Destiny

Today I am going to go back to an old favorite of mine for a devotion - "My Utmost For His Highest", by Oswald Chambers. I find this writings very challenging, not just in his choice of words, but in his thoughts as well.

"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" - Luke 24:26

Our Lord's cross is the gateway into His life: His Resurrection means that He has power now to convey His life to me. When I am born again from above, I recieve from the Risen Lord His very life.

Our Lord's resurrection destiny is to bring "many sons unto glory." The fulfilling of His destiny gives Him the right to make us sons and daughters of God. We are never in the relationship to God that the Son of God is in; but we are brought by the Son into the relation of sonship. When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absoutely new life, to a life He did not live before He was incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before; and His resurrection means for us that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we shall have a body like unto His glorious body, but we can know now the efficacy of His resurrecction and walk in newness of life. "I would know Him in the power of His resurrection."

See what I mean about his choice of words. Pretty powerful and really reaches you with is vocabulary. Now what does this mean to you? I welcome your thoughts as we approach Easter.

Unclogging the Pipes

Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer and did not withdraw his unfailing love from me. Psalm 66:16-20

What sobering verses! When we come to God with a burden or request, oh, how we want to hear us and answer us now. In today's verses David gives clear instruction: when we're crying out to God for help, we should first come to him in confession and ask him to cleanse our hearts. Then he will pay attention and will not ignore our prayer.

Think about this in your life. When we ask the Spirit to search our hearts what will he find? Will he show us anything that displeases him, he will reveal what we need to confess. This exercise can be scary and heart wrenching. I encourage you to pause today to do this, and to feel, and hear what the spirit reveals to you. Is your line of communication to God being hampered by your own heart?

Lord, I ask you, search my heart. Shine your light on my sin. Forgive me. I am crying to you for help. Thank you for hearing me. I am crying out to you for help. Thank you for hearing me, answering the cry of my heart, and continuing to show your unfailing love in my life. In Jesus' name. Amen

On a side note, a few days ago I posted that I was trying to sell a home in Grimes and I was so trying to wait patiently for God. Well last night, I was made an offer and I believe that we may have it sold. I guess God thought now was the time. Praise God.

Quietly Waiting

I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. Psalm 62:5-7

In this psalm David pours out his heart to God, describing his difficulties, the enemies that are trying to kill him, and the lies and curses others have spoken against him. But on the battlefield of life, in the midst of every trouble, David has a Godward focus. He is honest about his complaints and problems, but he has purposed to direct his gaze to the God of all faithfulness, putting his trust in the One who alone is his rock, salvation, fortress and refuge. He then can wait quietly before God because he has put his hope, and his very life, in the Lord's hands. He doesn't trust in human nature because it is no more secure than a breath. He doesn't put his hopes in riches because he knows that wealth will not save him. His hope, confidence, and trust are in the Lord Almighty.

If, like David, we are waiting for God to act when we are in the midst of trouble, we can wait frantically or impatiently. But to wait in hope takes a deep confidence in knowing the One we are waiting for. He will never disappoint us.

As you may know I have a home for sale in Grimes, and have for really over a year now. I took a leap of faith and moved to Boone and asked God to use this new house for his glory. I feel that we have been blessed by His work in our home with our Boone Cornerstone connection group meetings and having Stephanie and Jemal in our home as well. Two things that were not going to be ever possible in Grimes. Now I wait and not so patiently for God to sell the home in Grimes. I have an excellent renter that is a man of faith that too is waiting for a job opportunty to come from our Lord. As we all wait on His timing this devotion just causes me to ponder His time vs. mine.

Are you waiting for His time? Is there something in your life that you are waiting for? I challenge you to think about "what" you are waiting for, and if you feel it is truly a God thing, have the patience to wait for His time on this work and I know from experience that is easier said than done!

Lord, I lift my eyes up to you, my rock, my salvation, my fortress, and my refuge. Quiet my heart to wait on you, for my hope is in you. Help me to wait for you in the storms, in the light, and in the darkness. Let my confidence not be shaken by what my heart may feel, circumstances may say, or my mind may think. I thank you that my confidence rests on the One who is my rock and that you will never be shaken. In Jesus' name, Amen

He Will Take Care of You

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Psalm 55:22

There are times when, like the psalmist, we feel pursured by enemies or surrounded by difficulties. Our enemy maybe financial trouble, ill health, that issue at work, or a person who misjudges or opposes us so that our "heart is in anguish". At this point have you been tempted to run away, retreat, or give up. But the Lord offers us something better. In this psalm, trials and problems cause us to cry out to him. Someone once said, "If you were swept off your feet, it's time to get on your knees." God encourages us to turn to him and call on him in our distress so that he can rescue us and keep us safe in the midst of the trouble. He may not immediately take us out of the situation, but he will guide us through the circumstances. He gives us a wonderful promise: If we give our burdens to him, he will take care of us and not allow us to slip and fall.

Lord, I give you every burden and concern I face today. And I thank you for your promise of care, provision and safety. You will not allow me to slip or fall. I will trust you because you are faithful forever to those who love you. I consider it a joy and privilege to be counted amoung the many who love you. Thank you for the freedom to ask for and recieve your help. In Jesus' name. Amen

Giving All to Him

(Jesus) called his disciples to him and said, "I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the others have given. For they have a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has." Mark 12:43-44

When Christ said that she "has given everything she has," he was specifying more than a monetary sacrifice. He was drawing our attention to the woman's life sacrifice, her practices of living in complete surrender and loyal devotion to God. The story of the poor widow teaches more than just how to sacrifice through our money. Her sacrifical giving is a demonstration of a life fully offered into the loving care of the Master's hands.

Why is it so difficult for us to yield all that we have and are to God? Is there fear that we'll be left without? Think about that, what is holding you back from giving yourself fully to Him? It is only as we yield ourselves to him in complete faith and trust that we can experience true oneness with the Father, true freedome in Christ, and true, abundant, joy-filled living. Does that sound like something you want? Do you have that today in your life? If not consider letting go and let God take over. You will be surprised on how your life will change with a new pilot!

Lord, I fully yield myself to you - all that I have, all that I am, and all that I hope to be. I give you everything about me...my strengths as well as my weaknesses. They are yours to do with as you please. I submit my heart, mind, and will to you, Lord Jesus. You alone are Lord on my life. I am thankful that I can trust you with anything that involves me in any way, whether big or small. In Jesus' name. Amen

The Greatest Commandment

(A teacher of religious law asked Jesus,) "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus replied,"...'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor has yourself,' No other commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:28-31

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the relgious leaders were watching and waiting to confront him with their manipulative questioning and to attempt to trap him by challenging his authority. One relgious leader asked him which was the most important commandment. Jesus did not answer with a list of complicated laws and customs, but cut right to the heart of the issue, loving God and loving others, the principle of the Christian life.

How often do you lose the real focus of Christ when you think about rituals and customs over the "love" message? Are there times when the doing the right thing for God, gets in the way of "knowing" God? God sent his Son to save us from anything that could hinder our living the liberated life in Christ. This is salvation - the power of his life within us enabling us to love the Father and to love others with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Spend some extra time today living in Christ's love for you, expressing your love for him, and asking him to fill you to overflowing with his love for his people.

Father, I am often too busy and distracted to remember the most importatnt thing of all: your love. Help me to lay aside all else and order my day around my love for you. Teach me how to love you and how to love people as Christ love them. As you fill me with your love, Father, lead me to those who need to know your love today. Make them visible to me this day Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

From Grudges to Grace

(Jesus said,) "Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."

God's word reveals what is necessary for effective prayer, and these verses point to that key of forgivenesses. Although it is contrary to the world's pattern, it is at the heart of the life, Jesus calls us to. Christ explained that holding grudges proves detrimental to our oneness with the Father, hinders our prayers, and causes God to withhold forgiveness from us.

Our fellowship with God is restored through our own repentance and confession. Jesus provided for this through his finished work on the cross. He died so that we would be pardoned and restored to the Father. When we come to Jesus, he forgives our sins of the past and all the sins we will ever commit. When are forgiven much and loved so dearly by our Savior, how can we ever repay Him? He tells us in his word. Do the same to others. Do you need to forgive someone today? What relationship needs to be restored? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you areas in your life that need this healing touch. Ask him to show you how to practice this total forgiveness. Has your prayer life stalled? Does it seem weak and uneventful? Do you struggle with concentrating even for a few minutes on praying? The answer could be in a broken relationship, think about it and see what God shows you in your life.

God is ready to provide the grace to enable us to forgive and to experience being fully forgiven ourselves. Then and only then will we know the joy God gives as we move from grudges to grace and are now fully ready for prayer.

O' Father, help me to have a forgiving heart. I need to learn how to receive your forgiveness and how to forgive those who have wronged me. I don't want to cause your presence in my life to be quenched because of unforgiveness. Create in my a free and forgiving spirit that sees others as you do. In Jesus' name. Amen