Monthly Archives: July 2011

Staying on Track

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 “You will show me the path of life.”    Ps. 16:11

I have learned over the past 50 years that staying on track takes self-control and discipline.  Self-control is actually planted in you by the Holy Spirit and is growing inside of you as a fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22

Self- control and self -discipline develop, as you are obedient to the “Still Small Voice of the Lord” on a daily basis.   Set the boundaries that He says to set.  The little things count!  Obedience to the little things is how we learn to be led by God’s Holy Spirit.  What He says no to, do not touch!   He will guide us and give us His counsel.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me. Psalm 16:7

You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures For with You is the fountain of life.   Psalm    36:9

We drink from the fountain when we are in the presence of God, and this fountain will sustain you in seasons of trouble and drought.  You see now why you must stay close to Him as you are traveling along the Path of Life.  It is not an easy road or a scenic road!  It is narrow and can be very steep and dangerous, so we must not go too close to the edge. That is why we need hind’s feet for the climb.  We need to be living in truth, speaking truth, walking in the way of truth to be safe.

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Mathew 7:14

Since the way is narrow, we must look to God’s Word and gain wisdom on how to set boundaries in our life and safe guards to keep us on the path. We need to listen because sometimes we need guidance, but other times we need warnings, and correction. We actually gain wisdom from mistakes so we will not repeat them. I know where I can’t go.  I have learned where my boundaries are for my safety.

He who keeps instruction is in the way of life.  But he who refuses correction goes astray.  Proverbs 10:17

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.  Proverbs 11:30

In the way of righteousness is life.  Proverbs 12:28

Burdens Will Roll Away

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“Commit your ways to the Lord (roll and repose each care of your load on Him); trust (lean on, rely on and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.”  Psalm 37:5 Amp.

You have probably found, as I have, that every problem has a weight to it, and some are heavier than others.  If you have committed your ways unto the Lord and are trusting in Him to work things out, then you must release the heavy weight and not take it back again.  As you trust the Lord, you can have peace in knowing your burdens will roll away.

Do not worry about it.   Trust Him.  This does not mean you are not involved or concerned about the situation.   It simply means you are not anxious or worried about it anymore.  And most of all, it is not up to you to fix it.

You are now trusting in the Lord and waiting on Him to work everything out for good.  Waiting is hard, but you can trust God to be faithful to His Word.  Grab hold of His promise and then wait.  It is hard to wait at first, but the more you resist taking things back into your own hands and working them out yourself, the easier waiting becomes.

So today, if your problem feels heavy, just pray and release it to the Lord.  Roll it over and reposition the weight on Him, and He will carry it for you.  All you need to do now is stand back and watch as He works everything out according to His plan and purpose.

Be aware that if you have never lived life without a weight on your back, it may feel funny at first.  If so, resist taking the weight back again.  Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in (lean on, rely on and be confident) in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness, and surely be fed.”   This tells me we are not to worry, because He will provide for all our needs.  We are to feed on His faithfulness, and He has a banquet table prepared for us.

Another important teaching on burden bearing.

 

Receiving God’s Love

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“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.” 1 John 4:16-17 

Those who have not experienced unconditional love may have a hard time believing that God loves them.  Conditional love is not God’s kind of love. Conditional love is based on performance and expectations.  You may have experienced conditional love when someone had an expectation of how they thought you should perform.   If you performed to meet their expectations, then you were accepted and affirmed.  If love is measured by how well you meet someone’s expectations, then you will never feel loved.  You can never measure up.  Conditional love is based on measuring.

Unconditional love flows and cannot be contained.  It is like a flowing river that never stops.  It would be silly to go to the Mississippi River and try to measure the amount of water in it at a given moment.

Many people today struggle with feeling unloved, and they do not know why. The reason is because they have not fully experienced unconditional love before, which is God’s kind of love.   When you receive God’s love, perfect love, you do not have to fear measuring up again.

1 John 4:18 says,

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear.”

Why do so many people struggle with feeling like God doesn’t love them?  The heart must be soft, much like the soil of a garden, in order to receive love.  It is easier for a child to believe that God loves them than an adult.  Their heart is soft because they have not had years of heartache.  A garden must be tilled to make the soil soft so a seed can be planted.  The heart that has only experienced conditional love will grow harder as the years go by.  Some people eventually give up and say, “Why do I even try?”

If your heart has grown hard, then like a garden, it will need to be tilled so you can receive love again.  As the heart is tilled, the rocks and roots are removed and the heart gets softer.  The tilling brings about healing.  A healed heart will not be afraid when love comes close. A healed heart begins to open up and receive God’s love, and then give love to others.

Something Needs to Change?

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“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts and see if there is any wicked way within me…” Psalms 139:23-24

When we pray this prayer it is usually when we know something needs to change at the heart level.  No real change occurs outside of trust and relationship, for these are two of the most important functions of the heart.  In a relationship with another, you must be willing to change and trust that God will work in the other person by showing them what needs to change.

The rules that govern the heart are established early in life. Like hinges and locks on a door need to be changed because they get rusty and affect how the door opens and closes, the rules that open and close the doors of the heart need to be looked at and changed so the door of the heart can open freely again.

Is there someone who you have shut out by closing the door of your heart?  Is the Lord pressing upon you to change your attitude by opening the door and fellowshipping with them again?  Or, is there someone in your life who you will crack the door open just enough to say, “What do you want?” It may be the time to open the door and say, “I am sorry I was wrong for locking you out of my life, please come over and let’s talk things out.” Change is possible when your turn to God and ask Him to create within you a pure and clean heart, removing all the rust of resentment so the door of your heart will open to those you love.

“Search me Lord, and know my heart,”

You Can Begin Again

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I’ve been thinking a lot recently about a dear pastor of a Church I visited several times.  He made an impression on me.

His story is filled with up, downs, crashes and triumphs.  He built a small church of a few dozen members into one of the nation’s mega-churches.  He’s always found himself at odds with his Baptist denomination.  He left Austin’s most liberal Baptist church and formed a church that mostly stays out of politics and social issues and focuses on serving singles, divorced people and other people who have often been bruised and battered by churches.

But it’s not really the Pastor that I want to talk about.  I’ve never even met him, although I’ve heard him preach and speak in person and on tape many times.  It’s his core message that’s at the core of today’s devotion: “No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, with God’s help, you can begin again.”

You can begin again.  It’s a really simple statement.  You can’t come through the womb again (at least not physically – although those who teach some brands of psychology and spirituality believe you can come close!), and you can’t quickly undo the financial and legal issues you’ve created or been caught in, but with God’s help, your life—your essence—can begin again.

My Pastor friend spent much of the last few decades explaining the Biblical basis for his message and trying to convince thousands of congregants that it’s really possible to start over.

His life is his example.  When his high-stakes financial deals crashed, he started over.  When his church couldn’t afford to build on the valuable land they’d essentially been given, he sold it for a profit, moved up the hill and built a campus that now includes a sanctuary called the Home for Hope.  When his wife of decades upon decades died, he took a break from church and from life.  Then he found a new love.

Now, Parkinson’s disease has weakened his voice and slowed his body, but his work lives on in his archive of recordings and his books, both new and old.  In a situation where some people would end their ministry, this Pastor has begun again.

Would you like to begin again—again?  Do you need to start over?  You see, when the things of life come tumbling down, you can start over.  And if they crumble and tumble again, you can start over again.

God wants what’s best for you.  If you’re not getting the very best that life has to offer from this day and everyday, begin again.  You can either start from scratch or just scratch today’s plans in favor of something that brings you closer to God. No matter when you start or whether you start over, it’s the destination that matters.

Today, either start over in a new direction or stay on the course you’ve carved out for yourself, but be sure your path is wide enough to include God’s presence, too.