The Thankful Heart

How do we develop a thankful heart?  We think that we can do this be reviewing things to be thankful for, or by comparing our lot with circumstances that are worse.  But these two tactics become mental exercises that do not change our hearts into thankful ones.

Itemizing our pluses and weighing them against our minuses is what the world does.  The Christian is actually supposed to give thanks for all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18). Reviewing hurtful and wrong circumstances will hardly produce a thankful heart. Facts may convince our mind of right and wrong, but they do not convert the heart to right attitudes.

There is something much stronger, and it unifies the heart and the mind.  It is the will of a man.  When our will is laid down in submission to God, we can praise Him despite the circumstances.  The mind of man that has studied facts and projected outcomes needs to consider that the Man most full of His Father’s praise was the Man most submissive of all; Jesus.  It was Jesus who taught His disciples to thank God for the food, raising it for blessing before His own betrayal (Lk 22:17 & 19).

If we follow Jesus’ example of submission and give God thanks for even the most bitter of circumstances, then we, like Him, acknowledge that God’s will is good.  Our submission is the beginning of the right attitude of our heart.  Therefore, laying our will down will always precede true thankfulness.  Amen.

Weapons and Victories

What does God ask of us?  We offer Him our prayers, worship, offerings, and much more. Today I want to talk about our battles, and our victories.

In the Old Testament we see that God championed His people. They were to give Him credit for their victories so that the surrounding nations would see God’s power and splendor.  God made Himself known to the unbelieving through the trials and battles of the believing.

There is a story about an Israelite called “Gideon” who led a small army of 300 men to defeat the Midianites (Judges 7).  We not only see that God gave them victory, but He also led Gideon to choose an unusual set of weapons for the men who fought.  They routed their enemy by blowing trumpets, breaking earthen vessels, and carrying torches.  For us, the trumpets represent God’s message spoken through us.  Concerning the earthen vessels, Paul writes that we are earthen vessels, full of God’s treasure . . . and that even the contrast between our nature and His shows that the “all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:7). And of course the torches represent the light of God’s Spirit shining in the darkness.  Though the story of Gideon is real, its concepts can be symbolically interpreted through the symbolic weapons they used.  God uses these examples as truthes wherein He continues to speak to us today.

The world may display guns on their walls and cannons in museums, but God never meant for us to glorify weapons of men.  The weapons of our warfare are not of this world (2 Cor 10:4).  Though we personally experience the pain and perplexity of every battle, the war is not solely about us.  God still wants to show Himself mighty to the unbelievers.  Our victories, and the weapons we use to gain them are of God. He is the treasure inside our earthen vessels, and we are the earth, made from dust.

Some of our enemy’s weapons are intimidation and false accusation.  Being a teacher, I often have thoughts about my inability to teach well.  I have accepted these thoughts for a while because I value humility.  When I eventually came to the place of thinking about resigning my position, God did something incredible.  Over one month’s time, three students told me that they liked the way I taught.  A forth student said that, when she came to my questions on a test, she heard my voice in her head.  Wow!  Then, after I gave a brief speech at a function, a trained and gifted professor from a neighboring university told me that I was a very good speaker.  A participant in one of my in-services told me she like my class and that it was very interesting.  And finally, the president of the college I work in was given a compliment about my work training nurses by the director of a clinical facility.  Double wow!  Never have I had so much affirmation. 

The Lord reviewed these affirmations with me, saying “These are the weapons of your warfare.” After I acknowledged that I could teach, He stated that both the weapons and the victory glorified Him.  Do you remember how this lesson began?  I wrote “What does God ask of us?” This brings me to His final statement; “Give your weapons back to Me so that I will be glorified.” The Lord is asking that we acknowledge that the victories come from His works in and through us, and that we should give Him credit so that He will be glorified.  I don’t need to hang my affirmations around so that others would think well of me. I shouldn’t get a letter of reference from the professional speaker so that I too can enter that field.  What I can do is dismiss my enemy’s lies, which is the battle I was losing.  I can let the Lord be glorified in the gift of teaching He gave me by thanking Him and by acknowledging His guidance, for my battle is bigger than me; my light should shine to those around me.  Amen.

For the Prophets

This morning the Lord spoke to me about prophets.  Here are His words:

“Man has been prophesying for his own sake, and not portraying what is on My heart. His thoughts gravitate towards his own interests and that is what he speaks of.

Man does not see that men need guidance, correction and support.  My heart sees that men need these things and My love of Man causes Me to speak of these things through prophets.  Yet scarcely will a prophet seek My heart or grasp that his interests are not that which is the topic of prophecies.

Well do I know that the mind has a spirit of its own . . . one that desires rulership.  And yet the mind not ruled by the Spirit of God is anathema, for it cannot grasp the things of My heart. Let the word of God clothe the prophets.  Let their minds bow to the Holy Spirit’s Lordship.  Then men will see and hear what is on My heart to speak, and the faithful will speak them.

Prophets have tried to fit in with their brethren . . . to not be odd or different.  And so they have developed topics that seem generally acceptable.  They have lessened My hand in the church, so much so that prophecy is ineffective.  This is a great trial for Man: to be set apart and different.  Yet those that represent Me are.

Until the prophets are willing to prophesy from outside the church into it, they will be found to have their own words, speaking for their own sake.  A man must stand in my council to hear Me (see Jer 23:22).  Come aside to Me and I will fill your mouths with Life for the churches.” Amen.

Supporting others

Do you pray for your project to get done?  Or there is a large work you have faith for, and you pray for it to be accomplished?  I am one of those who is praying for a large work which I have faith is in God’s mind to do.  Last night He said “instead of seeing the project as most important, be supportive of the person whose calling it is to work on the project.”  My mind immediately went to the person whom the project could not be accomplished without.  My perspective changed, for I had thought that my faith needed to “hang in there” for this large work to begin.  It was not that way at all.  The Person responsible for the work was God, and His most talented person for the work was someone I was supposed to pray for and work alongside.  God was telling me that the talented person needed the prayers, and my support.

We can see the support-principle in Jesus’ life on earth.  One of the largest projects imaginable is the harvest of souls.  Jesus told His disciples that the fields were ripe, and to pray for harvesters (Mt 9:37).  He directed their prayers towards adding men and women to the project, and not the harvest alone. Jesus wants to support us in His work, and asks us to bring others in to share in that same work.  When Jesus was nearing the time of His death, instead of praying for the new Church that was to be formed, He prayed for the men who were gifted by God to form it (Jn 17:6-19).  We also need to support each other’s gifts and talents so that together we can accomplish what God asks us to do.

Praying for projects seems to bring them into the realm of possibility because prayer employs our faith.  Praying for laborers, people who will do God’s work, makes it personal.  We grow in love towards our fellow-man, and that love becomes a vehicle for our faith to move in (Gal 5:6).  If we take all responsibility for the work onto our own shoulders, we prevent our own love of fellow-man, and our faith rests in the ideas of our mind.  Yet the truth remains that we ourselves cannot carry all the gifts God has to employ.  This is why Jesus said to call no man “Raca”, or an empty person.  No man is empty, and each carries gifts inside needed for God’s work on earth. 

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10).

Our projects and larger works are seldom one-man-jobs.  When we take them on by ourselves, it could be that we do not have the faith for others to do them.  And perhaps we are afraid that another person may do the work differently than what we envision in our own minds.  However, if we support those whom God brings to our projects and works, we will find that the richness of God’s mind is expressed in the varied talents of many people.  Today when we pray, let us bring to mind people to pray for.  And in our lives, let us support God’s work in them. Amen.

 

Intimacy: shared moments with God

Our Heavenly Father puts “shared moments” in our lives.  Beautiful days are His creation, to share with His created beings.  His role as Creator has much more to do with our intimacy with God than we think.

When we garden, we may find a newt.  When we walk our dog, we see His created garden all around us.  God scatters the shared moments throughout our days and not just during our quite times with Him.  He loves to delight Man, the object of His great affection.

Intimacy with God is through what we see as well as what we hear.  Sometimes we spend our quiet times listening because we believe that what we hear is of most importance.  But seeing is just as valid, and what God wants to share with us can be visual as well as auditory.   God often takes time during our daily routines to enjoy our company, as well as teaching us spiritual lessons through the physical things we experience.  It is from our shared moments of intimacy that our most fruitful lessons come.

Jesus spoke about lack of intimacy to the people of His time, quoting that “they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Mt 15:8)  Lacking intimacy with God caused distance from Him, and therefore the leaders did not know what to teach the people (Mt 15:9).  The fruit of missing God’s shared moments in our personal life will be that we bear no fruit in the lives of others, and our teachings will not further the kingdom of God. 

If we do not practice hearing and seeing our Creator in our everyday walk, we may miss His divine visitations in our lives. Because the people of Jesus’ time did not see, or recognize Him as their Savior, they did not understand what He shared with them. “They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding . . .” (Mk 4:12).  God the Creator had sent His Son to Mankind, but they were spiritually blind and deaf.  God sent His Son to a people He wanted to be intimate with, but they did not see that His love of them was what Jesus offered. 

Shared moments can be still small whispers, or glorious sky-filling sunsets.  God speaks to us in what we see and what we hear.  It can be a moment of personal intimacy, but may also result in a fruitful message to shares with others.  Today, let us see with eyes that perceive, and hear with ears that understand.  Our Creator has put moments to share with Him into our lives . . . and who could ask for more?

Devotion

Sometimes we read about Christians whose lives display the favor of God.  We pray for that to come into our lives as well so that we can enjoy God’s blessings and provisions for ourselves and our ministries.  A few weeks ago I was reading about the great work done by Ezra.  He was the leader in rebuilding God’s temple during a time of dispersement and severe trial for the Israelites.  What made Ezra so successful during every step of this project was that the hand of the Lord, and His favor, was upon Ezra (Ez 7:6; 9 28; 8:18 and 8:31).  We read that there was a reason God’s hand of favor was on Ezra; he had devoted himself to the study and observation of the law, and it was his practice to teach it (Ez 7:10).  Today’s lesson is about devotion, and the interpretation of various meanings which are found in the Hebrew and Greek translations.

The word “devotion” is used to depict many aspects of behavior and thinking.  King David was a man who knew the value of devoting himself to God.  In Ps 86:2 we read that he sought God for protection on the basis of his devotion to Him.  This use of the word refers to David’s holiness; godliness, piety, goodness, and being a saint.  The descriptions that fit David’s use of “devotion” indicate a style of life and not a quick attitude of his mind and heart.

Ezra’s use of the word “devotion” is described as a preparation of his heart which would enable him to stand upright, or to establish.  It indicates attention to the individual steps necessary to accomplish godliness in his life.  We find a similar encouragement in the New Testament where Paul exhorts us to put on the armor of God.  The word “preparation” is used as the method by which to add protection to our feet, symbolizing the out-working of living and teaching the Gospel.  This use of the word “preparation” indicates that we should “make ready, provide for, or prepare” and is the same process by which a person becomes devoted to God and the life and works He calls us to.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy he asks that Timothy devote himself to the reading of scriptures, exhortation and doctrine.  This use of devotion represents giving attendance to by holding something in one’s mind, adhering to it, and applying oneself to it.  In the letter to Titus Paul encourages that Christians be devoted to good works.  Here he is referring to an authoritative stance of practicing their works as people who are presiding over them.  Just as we are servants who stand before God and are accountable to Him for our works (see parable of the Minas), so we are delegated authority by Him to do our works for His glory through our attention to and maintenance of our actions.

There are many more references to devotion in the scriptures that could add to this lesson.  For we who are seeking God’s favor and blessing in our lives it is a worthy study, for it teaches us what kind of people we should be, and this will please God.  The attitudes of the mind and heart are very important and become the basis of our character and the works we do.   We see that we need to pay attention to what God says, and make plans with Him to accomplish it (the preparations of a man’s heart belong to God; Proverbs 16:1).  Our plans will come from a place of familiarizing ourselves with God’s words (study), obedience (personal application), and teaching others (ministry).  Our desire for a successfully finished project or work will cause us to take careful steps, in our preparation personally, and to preside over those works with the authority delegated to us by God.  Being a person devoted to God will infiltrate our whole life . . . yet isn’t that what we want?  I believe that is what God wants for us, and is the recipe for favor and blessing in our lives.  Amen

Relationships

The relationships we have with one another, and the relationship we have with God all have a common element; love.  The description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 may seem to portray love as a way to control our behavior (such as having patience).  But more than a “way”, love is the “why” of what we do.

Whether speaking of brotherly love, or intimate love, a common thread that we find in love that it fosters a genuine interest in the other person.  We are patient with them because we want to spend time getting to know them.  That is why people who are in love spend time together.  They are getting to know one another in a way that is full of the excitement of discovery.

You could say that discovering a person we love is like discovering a new land and making it our home. If we were an explorer and fell in love with a new land we would take time to learn things about it.  Does the climate support growth, where is the water source, and is the soil good from growing our food? It is similar with relationships.  A relationship also needs a good climate, not moodiness, anger or violence. People need the satisfaction of drinking from each other’s conversation, for our words come from our hearts.  Growth will come from the good soil in our hearts if we are not self-interested or fearful.  These are a few of the things that make relationships solid and thriving . . . a good place to live.

Getting to know one another is the foundation of a relationship.  We cannot know another’s heart, however, if our motive is to correct them.  This is how many marriages fail.  If we are focused on behavior and problems that offend us we will eventually distance ourselves from wanting to know the other person, or loving them.

Focusing on problems will also affect our relationship with God.  The church at Ephesus had not tolerated wicked men, and though they found false apostles amongst them, they tested them and found them to be false.  The Ephesians endured hardships that would have made many of us weary. (Rev 2:2-3).  But they also distanced themselves from love.

“You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!” (Rev 2:4-5).

What happens to our relationships during trials and hardships? Suffering and disappointment either causes us to become knit together by the strength of our mutual love, or we become weary and distant.  If we take the time to “remember” how high love’s way is, we will choose to keep our relationship.  Love will become the reason why we discover with genuine interest the other person’s heart all over again.

In like manner, our relationship with our heavenly Father is affected by our trials and hardships.  We can focus on what offends us, hurts us, and causes hardships in our lives.  If this is our focus, love of discovery will fail us during these times, snuffing out all interest in learning about God.  Though we persevere through the rough times, endurance is not enough if love is gone.  When our prayers focus on changing circumstances and fixing problems, we become a nagging wife to God.  If our offense endures, it will turn to hate.  Then we will lose God’s grace and turn to bitterness (Heb 12:15).

In good times and bad, God extends His hand to us, asking us to return to loving Him.  He delights in sharing genuine and mutual interest with us.  He wants time in which to converse, and wants to see us grow and bear fruit (Jn 15:8).  He knows that love is the reason “why” we succeed and are happy despite the trials that come our way.  Today, let us have a genuine interest in those whom we have a relationship with and spend time getting to know them better.  And above all, let us love. Amen.

Visions, Trances and Dreams

God’s purpose for giving us visions, trances, and dreams is to take our minds off of what we’re thinking and to give us something fresh . . . something not origination from within ourselves.  Visions, trances and dreams do not depend on our life’s experiences, therefore they are not lessons.  The do not depend on our searchings, therefore they are not prayers.  The visions, trances and dreams have their origins in the heart of God.  They are more than inspiration; they are His breath upon that which He is creating.

God has things to tell us that we have not thought of.  May we be ready when He approaches us with those things that are His alone. God give us grace to not run ahead of Him (2 Jn 1:9), neither to add to or take away from His words (Dt 12:32; Pr 30:5-6; Rev 22:18-19).  He is about to thrill nations by revealing His heart. Amen.

God thinks life is important

God thinks life is important.  Our lives have always been important to our Lord, as well the world we live in is important to Him. 

Jesus told us about the things that God deems of value in this life.  For one thing, it is that we have enough food, clothing, and shelter.  Also He wants us to care for those who are sick, and to visit those in prison (Mt 25:34-36).  Jesus expected His people to have more than enough so that they could give some away. 

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” (Mt 5:40)

If we see the heart of God in the Bible we will notice that He has always been involved in the affairs of men.  Yet some think that God only cares about the unseen things in life.  If something in our lives seems important to us, perhaps we do not think God would see it that way.  And, often our brothers and sisters in the Lord tell us not to worry.  Things would be different if we all carried those things important to our lives, taking things to prayer, and comforting one another.   We should rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep, for our victories and sorrows have significance.

Many look at this life as a life not to take thought about.  In order to do this, we would have to think nothing is significant.  When Jesus was telling men not to take thought about their lives He was admonishing them not to worry (Lk 12:22-26).  He did not tell them that what they ate and wore were unimportant.  If food and raiment were inconsequential, God would not judge men for their reluctance to give these things to the needy.

“Don’t worry. Have faith” has been offered in place of prayer and action by many Christians.  I would like to suggest that this philosophy comes from false religion, and not from Christianity.  Jesus’ brother James offers us a measuring rod for our faith; “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (Jm 1:27).  Here again we see that the Lord has His people care for the matters of this life, and yet not letting themselves get wrapped up in the lusts of this life. 

God does think life on this earth is important, and His scriptures bear this out.  Today, let us put away any false religious philosophies that cause us to think otherwise, and let us embrace the lives we were given here to live.  Only then will we display God’s kingdom here on earth, for only then will we pray in true faith and minister to each other out of sincerity.  Amen