Do You Stand Or Bow In Worship?

I can be a very stubborn man and something I have learned over the years is that being stubborn is a stupid thing. Stubborn is not the same thing as determined. When you are determined you have the drive and energy to go to the end of what you are doing. Determination still leaves you open to instruction and correction that will help you achieve your goal. A stubborn nature closes you off from everything, even those things that would make it better or even easier for you to reach your goal. Being stubborn can ruin a person. In case I didn't make my point: Being stubborn is not good.

Being stubborn means that you harden your heart, even to Yahweh. Think of king Asa for a moment. He was a good king, honoured by Yahweh, but when he made a mistake and was corrected for it, Asa hardened his heart and would no longer seek Yahweh's help for anything. Scriptures say that he got a foot disease and even then would not seek Yahweh's healing but instead turned to physicians. Five years later he died. That's compared to king Hezekiah who, when Yahweh announced it was time for his death, humbled himself before Yahweh. Yahweh looked at this, was blessed by it and extended his life by 15 years.

The biggest example of stubbornness or hardened hearts are the generation of Israelites who were rescued from Egypt. These people could not take instruction to save their life. With every turn they were questioning Moses and doubting Yahweh. They were like a mule that refused to be dragged to the watering hole. When presented with the Promised Land they refused to trust Yahweh to enter to possess it. Then, when they were told the resulting correction, they refused to submit to the correction and tried to enter the Land, resulting in death. Of them Yahweh said:

“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’” (Psalm 95:8-11)

We have no ground to stand on to judge these people. We have been no less rebellious and stubborn at times when we have been instructed to do something we don't understand or we don't want to do. Forgiveness is often a hard thing for us to obey, or to love those who persecute us. I would say those are harder things for us to obey than if Jesus asked us to move to China to start a church. It is usually the daily things that we struggle to submit ourselves to than the big stuff. But consider the call to worship found in this same psalm:

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand. (vv. 6-7)

It is here that the psalmist writes, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Notice the posture in worship: bow down, kneel. These are positions of submission, humbleness, recognizing the authority of Yahweh over us. How can we worship if our stubbornness keeps us on our feet, refusing to bow and submit to Father's instructions? So many scriptures reveal to us that Yahweh is not interested in lip worship; he desires the whole heart, mind, and soul.

The attitudes of stubbornness, pride, know-it-all, destroy the relationship our Father desires with us. The last thing he wants to say to us is "They shall not enter my rest". But he will. The last thing he wants to see happen is us die with "foot disease". But he will. There is no way we can be in the presence of our God without an attitude of humbleness, and stubbornness is not the route to humbleness. As you move throughout your day today and you are desiring to hear the voice of Jesus for direction and instruction, ask yourself if you are trying to stand in his presence or if you are bowing before him.

In The Face Of Failure I Need To Be Reminded Of My True Strength

I was proud of the fact that I had developed a very strong immune system. It hadn't always been that way. For a long time I would catch every bug that was around. It seemed that I just had to walk past a sick person and I would catch it. I knew exactly which times of the year I would catch a cold, and I would have at least two per year. But I worked hard to improve my immune system.

I ate the sort of foods that would strengthen my system and I exercised. I had realized that by not looking after myself I was being selfish, robbing my Lord and my family from a healthy version of me. As a result, in the last five years I haven't been sick once. There have been times when I could feel the cold virus coming on but my immune system fought it off. Imagine then how shocked I was yesterday to find myself immobilized by a flu virus.

Besides feeling like I was hit by a dozen trucks, I felt defeated. I was violently sick. I could barely breathe let alone move or think. I am not a person who vomits easily but I had lots of practice yesterday. I felt like a failure. I missed important meetings and I was no support to my wife and children at all.

Today, the illness is gone and I am simply trying to regain my strength. So what scripture should I read as I open my Bible this morning?

No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. ((Psalm 33:16-17)

A mighty man is not delivered by his great immune system. Of course it is not just about my immune system but is a foundational reminder that my strength is found in the Lord, not in myself. All strength in this world is going to fail at some point. We can do everything right and we will still fail. Our intellect will fail us, as will our health, so to our wealth. Relationships will fail as will our jobs and anything else we consider something to build our life foundation on. There is only one strength that will never fail us and that is Jesus.

A recurring lesson from Scripture is that Yahweh is searching the earth for those who are loyal to him so that he can glorify himself through them:

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,On those who hope in His mercy, 
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine. (vv. 18-19)

We need to guard our attitude towards Jesus, that he remains the only one we lean on. He told us that if we build our life on him, our house will stand because all other foundations are as weak as sand. It doesn't matter how strong those relationships, finances, jobs, or immune systems look right now, they will fail you, but Jesus never will. That is our strength, our confidence, our joy.

I had no right to feel defeated yesterday. An imperfect thing failed yesterday even though I had done all the right things. However, Jesus didn't fail me. He didn't walk away in disgust. He sustained me yesterday so that he was my first thought upon waking this morning. And he was right here with me now to teach me something of which I needed reminding. It is in Jesus I trust, nothing else. He is my strength, hope, and song:

Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name. (vv. 20-21)

All else will fail, but Jesus never will. I trust in his holy name.

What To Do When You Are Discouraged

It doesn't matter who you are, we all face discouraging times. Be as holy as you want to be, put on whatever face you want to put on, create a facade if you want but the truth is discouragement is real for all of us. So then the true question is not how to pretend you are not discouraged but what do you do when you are. Let's consider a man who faced a boat load of discouragement in his live; king David.

David was a man of faith and trust but the psalms he wrote give us the privilege of seeing into the reality of his heart. That reality shows that David faced all kinds of emotions but he did one thing with them all; he made the decision to trust. Now when I say he made the decision, I mean he forced his spirit to worship by making declarations that he bent his will to believe:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

I am sure that as David declared this he brought back to his remembrance all the good things, all the victories, all the incredible interventions Yahweh had done for him in the past. It times of discouragement, doubts and fears we need to force ourselves to remember the personal goodness of the Lord. What has he done for us in the past? We need to remind ourselves who he is, what he does, what he has promised and that, because of who he is, we have nothing to be discouraged about. What is more important, the values of this world or those of the Kingdom?

Misplaced priorities may be the cause of some of our discouragement. Maybe we got knocked off the path of holiness because our flesh had a desire that replaced the spirit. Renew your first love and you will remember what is important to you, as David did:

One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple. (v. 4)

The Temple represented the presence of the Lord. We are that temple now as the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The presence of the Lord is what we value and we want to be aware, sensitive, to his presence. In David's great psalm of repentance his greatest concern expressed was that the Lord would cast him out of his presence. Our great desire should be to "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life". When that is our desire and we live to permit that to be our reality, discouragement soon flees from us because it cannot take root.

Of course we can't fool ourselves into a mindset if we don't believe what we are trying to convince ourselves. If we do not believe the promises; if we forget what has been done in the past; if we don't believe that Jesus cares for us in our circumstances then we will not be able to de-root the discouragement that has laid siege upon our heart and mind:

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living. (v.13)

Read that first line over a few times until the reality of it sinks in. David's reality was shaped by the fact that he did believe. Sometimes this world tried to overcome his belief, his trust, his knowledge and experience of the Lord but David forced himself to remember. He forced his spirit to rise up over his flesh and praise Yahweh. He forced it by making these declarations. I only gave you a small taste of those declarations here; go back and read the whole psalm. And consider how he ended it:

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord! (V. 14)

You can decide who David is speaking to, us or himself, but consider those words. You can try to dispel discouragement with lies you tell yourself about this world. You can try to avoid the discouragement by hiding behind alcohol and drugs. You can try to distract yourself by entertainment but you are still going to be left alone with your thoughts in the middle of the night or when you wake in the morning. There is only one way to vanquish discouragement and that is by encouraging yourself in the Lord.

Wait on the Lord, says David, and be of good courage. Praise him. Declare his goodness. Declare your trust. Speak it out loud and feel the strength return to you because when you declare trust in the Lord he shall strengthen your heart. Go ahead, says David, wait on the Lord!

Are You Willing And Desiring To Be Taught?

One of the greatest hindrances to our relationship with Jesus is not sin; it is independence from Jesus which allows us to sin. We like being our own boss, doing things the way we want to do them and we don't want to be told anything. Perhaps it is not exactly how we think but it is certainly how we act. Maybe we want to be dependent, to be directed and instructed but that somehow does not get translated into our actual thinking and acting. Remember, our first nature before coming to Jesus was rebellion and sometimes it is an easy thing in which to continue.

Sometimes we also get this notion that the Spirit is somehow just going to force our heart into obedience. We hear time and again that we fall short of the glory of God and that it is impossible for us to live the Law. We also hear that the Spirit empowers us to live in the righteousness of Jesus. This is all true but we keep forgetting about the heart matter. We have to desire to want to walk in the righteousness of Jesus. We have to desire to obey. We have to desire to pursue living like Jesus. He has told us he will give us the desire of our heart but that desire has to be correct; it has to be for him.

If we really want to grow in Jesus we need to have teachability. We have to be willing to admit we don't know as we ought to know, we don't do as we ought to do, and we don't think as we ought to think. We have so much to learn and the best place to start when we first come to Jesus is to set aside everything we thought we knew. We need humility in the Church so those of maturity can come alongside and help us to learn to be taught in prayer, in the Word, and by the Spirit. We can't grow if we refuse to learn.

King David was one who was always learning. He made many mistakes but he remained humble before the Lord so he could receive correction where needed. His attitude is summed up in Psalm 25:

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. (vv. 4-5)

Show me, teach me, lead me, should all be commonly repeated phrases in our prayers and in our hearts. But it is no good to say them unless they become part of the motivation of our heart and part of our determination to live. It should not surprise us when the Lord corrects us. It is a normal part of the "growing up" process of our relationship. We should desire correction and welcome it when it happens. We should expect to learn every time we open the Word or kneel in prayer. When we submit ourselves to the Lord we are doing so to grow.

The Lord has also called out trainers in the Body; teachers who are to train us in "good works", which is the beginning process of growing into the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus. We are told about it in Ephesians 4 where we find the process we are going through and how it requires a teachable spirit to participate. But many in the Church refuse instruction and isolate themselves from the Body which is a sin because it is contrary to the will of the Father. Our walk with Christ was never intended to be done in isolation but in community. However, such people demonstrate a lack of teachability and will never mature as the Lord intends.

I am almost 50 years old and have been a pastor for over twenty years and I am still being taught every day. I still go through times of breaking and reforming. I have daily moments of insight and inspiration that nullify incorrect thinking and brings me back in line with the Word. Every time I enter my prayer closest I expect to grow and indeed the Spirit teaches me. I still require the trainers to come alongside and provide guidance. It is not that I am spiritually immature, only that my journey is not yet complete. There is always more to learn. Learning is a good thing, a wonderful thing, a desirable thing. Let us remain humble and obedient so we may reach the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, together.

What Does It Take To See Jesus?

Sometimes I believe we Christians are in a downward spiral when it comes to maturity in Jesus. We should be so much further along because of the giants on whose shoulders we stand. But it seems that instead of picking up where they have left off and going forward, we lose what they have learned and have gone backwards. We seem more attracted to understanding Jesus intellectually than spiritually and in so doing we present a tame god instead of our wildly unpredictable living God. It was not a tame and polite love that took Jesus to be sacrificed on the cross but a reckless, love with abandon, that held nothing back. Just consider some of the crazy things he did.

Last night I took a random book off the bookshelf to read to my 19 month old daughter as I prepared her for bed. It happened to be the account of Jesus walking on the water and Peter's attempt to go to him in faith. It struck me just how odd this scene was.

After feeding a large multitude of people, Jesus narrowly avoided being forced into becoming the focus point of rebellion against Rome. After sending his disciples by boat to the other side of the sea, Jesus dismissed the crowd and then disappeared up into the mountains for prayer. However, the disciples did not make it to the other side. They were stopped by a wild storm that threatened to destroy them. That's when it happened.

As the disciples struggled to maintain control of the boat, Jesus came to them walking on the water. Now I know we have grown up with this scripture in Sunday School class and many, many preachers have spoken on it, but just use your imagination to consider the scene. Come on  now, Jesus is walking on the water. Jesus is walking on the water in a storm. Not exactly something his disciples have seen everyday. Yes, they have seen a lot; the lame were healed to walk away, the blind had been given sight, thousands were fed from a small lunch, they had even seen water turned to wine. Regardless of all that, in the midst of this adrenaline pumped moment, being smashed by this storm, Jesus showed up on the water, without a boat.

We should not be surprised that they were surprised. They were surprised to the point of being frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost. I think most of us can relate to this. There are times when we are facing storms that threaten to destroy us, that even though we are crying out to Jesus, we are too busy trying to survive to actually expect him to show up. We are lost in that storm, no help in sight, no light, only darkness and fear. Then suddenly, Jesus is there, the problem is resolved but we are so surprised that we try to explain it away. We may not claim it was a ghost but we come up with a hundred other logical reasons why the storm was resolved. We use our intellect to rationalize what happened instead of accepting that the love of Jesus is a love with abandon that holds nothing back. It requires us to have this the same kind of reckless love to see it is Jesus who saves us.

Isn't it amazing that only one disciple was willing to risk it all to prove it was Jesus standing on the water. Only Peter called out to him. Only Peter thought it would be safer out of the boat and on the water with Jesus than in the boat with the others. Only Peter climbed over the side and stood on the water. Only Peter walked in the midst of the storm to stand with Jesus. He may have failed. He may have allowed his fear to overcome his faith, but most of us don't even get out of the boat. Peter matched the reckless love of Jesus and got out of the boat, convinced it was Jesus.

The only way that we will recognize the love of Jesus in our lives is if we love him with that same intensity of love; a love that allows us to get out of the insecure safety of the boat and stand in the storms of life with Jesus. We have to abandon every false premise of safety, abandon everything that makes sense to our intellect, and throw ourselves into the arms of our Saviour. If we try it any other way we will miss what Jesus is doing. If we try it any other way, we will rationalize him away. If we try it any other way, we will abandon faith for reason and be lost in the storms. Don't do it. Be as courageous as Peter and believe against all reason; believe Jesus loves you that much and decide to love him back in the same manner. Get out of the boat.

Cry Out To Those Who Are Perishing

Terrible things happen to those who forget Yahweh. Not so long ago there were entire nations that had embraced Christianity, who called on the name of the Lord in good times and in bad. I would not call them Christian nations because there are no such thing but they were nations where the majority of their people had professed Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Some of these people were not true to their word but only spoke because the majority believed. Yet, now these nations have forgotten.

They have forgotten and terrible things are happening within them. The psalmist knew of that which I speak:

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. (Psalm 9:15-16)

Sometimes people call out in times of catastrophe, "Where is your God now", and it is often pointed out to them, "You have replaced him by that which is not God". The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made. They made the problems. They turned their back on the Lord and set their heart on evil things and those evil things open the door to disaster. Their foot gets caught in the net which they hid. They are snared in the work of their own doing.

Consider how many of those countries that once stood with Jesus, who based their laws on righteousness, are now slaughtering innocent children in the name of their own laws and their own justice? Not just the unborn children but those children deemed of lesser worth. And they do it in the name of compassion. Without the light of Yahweh's holiness evil looks good and the common begins to look holy. There is a reason why economies are failing. There is a reason why there are wars and rumours of wars. 

Even in our individual lives, there is a huge difference between a life of righteousness and one bent on its own destruction. If you are lacking joy, look to where you stand with Jesus. What are you allowing to happen within your own city gates? If you are lacking peace, look to where you stand with Jesus. Who or what is your council, guiding your steps, making your decisions? Where is your heart? It goes beyond words of worship? Do you consider the poor? The Widow? The orphan? Are we fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves?

There is not much you and I can do about entire nations, they are the dominion of our Lord, but we can do something about ourselves. We can also be a great influence on our family and friends. Do not be tempted by the evil of our day. Do not make your own god and your own rules. Stick to Jesus all the way. Walk in obedience and allow him to provoke righteousness in you. Love as he loved, not the soft kind but the fierce kind; the kind that takes risks to save those who are heading to their death. Yes, even in the face of the sanctions of nations we can stand, because we do not stand alone.

Remember:

The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God. (v. 17)

Father does not want this to happen. He is more interested in forgiveness and reconciliation, but he is also just and will carry out his judgement. However, we should work within his will that everyone would be saved. We should pray with the psalmist:

Arise, O Lord,
Do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged in Your sight.

Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the nations may know themselves to be but men. (v. 19-20)

... and Jesus to be King over them. May they all come to know you Lord, turning from their evil ways and be saved from the fiery pit of hell. That is why we are still here my friends, to call out the Word of Truth, the Word of Life, to the doomed peoples of this earth. Cry out!

Having Trouble Sleeping?

One of the blessings I have always enjoyed from the Lord is sleep. Within seconds of laying my head on my pillow I am gone and I don't wake up until it is time. Usually I wasn't even disturbed by dreams, although I am currently going through a season of prophetic dreams. Sleep is a blessing I have always trusted in and given thanks for because it tells me all is right with my relationship with the Lord. It tells me that my confidence is found in him and that I am trusting him in a life filled with so many disturbances.

King David understood this same blessing. Even when his son Absalom had taken the kingdom from him, forcing David to flee for his life, he wrote:

I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around. (Psalm 3:5-6)

The reason David had this blessing of sleep even in the midst of the worst period of his life is because he understood and accepted one simple truth:

Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. (v. 8)

In the following psalm David expressed the same blessing for the same reason:

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

Sleep has always been my measuring rod for my relationship with Jesus. One of the fundamental elements of our relationship with him is confidence and trust, no matter the circumstances of our life. If my sleep is disturbed I know that something is not quite right about my relationship. I go to prayer first about the relationship and then after to lift up the circumstances to him. The relationship is the priority over everything else.

Let's face it, the biggest hurdle to get over in our life was our sin. If Jesus loved us enough to take care of our sin then how can we not trust him with everything else? Sometimes our biggest problem is being afraid that he will not want for us what we want for us, and in this you may be assured that we are wrong. Our relationship and love for Jesus is such that we no longer care about what we want, making our only desire to be the Father's will. We trust the Scriptures that tell us he uses everything for our benefit, so we place our confidence in him.

Worry, fear, anxiety, stress, depression are all robbers of our sleep. They are all negative things, none of which are from the Lord. He showers down on us the blessings of love, peace and joy. In fact, these are the first of the fruits of the Spirit produced in us when we walk with the Lord. If these are not being produced we know for certain that all is not right with the relationship. If we want a right relationship we need to give everything up to Jesus, stop longing for what we want, and make it the purpose of our heart to seek out what he wants. Simply put: Trust Jesus. It is the Christian way. In this you will be blessed with incredible sleep every single night.

Sleep well my friends.

Why Should I Fear Yahweh?

Having grown up near the Atlantic ocean I learned to respect water. There are certain rules you learn to obey, not because they are forced on you but simply for survival. There are things you can do to enjoy the water but there are definitely other things you shouldn't do if you want to live. One thing you learn is that you always keep your wits about you when you are around water. You learn to respect the character of the Atlantic ocean.

In our age of hyper-grace I think we are forgetting the respect that is due our Creator. It is kind of like the line we get from Mr. Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. When Lucy asks if the lion, Aslan, is safe Mr. Beaver replies, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good." A wonderful description of Yahweh, one to which we should pay attention. If we understood his character we would understand why David writes of respecting him in the same way I learned to respect the powerful Atlantic ocean:

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling. (Psalm 2:10-11)

Even king Solomon understood respecting the character of Yahweh, or at least he did before his hundreds of foreign wives interfered with his relationship:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

The character of Yahweh is nothing to be trifled with; he is not tame. The Atlantic ocean is not tame and never will be tamed. It is beyond the capability of man. Yahweh is beyond the concept of man and we can never reduce his character so that we can make him dance to our tune. To try to do so is to play in the water without respect. It will end in our demise.

We cannot play with Yahweh's words to make it say what we want. We cannot change the words or actions of Jesus to suit our thinking. We cannot dismiss the Spirit into non-existence. We cannot create our own god and then attach Yahweh's name, claiming that we are Christian. Our God cannot be mocked and those who try will discover the true nature of his character.

Our God, his testimony concerning himself, his instructions, his Spirit are to be respected and obeyed. This Hebrew word has been translated to "fear" and most people miss the point because we no longer live in an age where respect has much value. I hear ignorant people stating, "I will never obey God if he requires me to fear him". The ocean doesn't demand me to fear it, but it is a wise thing for me to develop a healthy fear of it if I wish to live. Fear is not as we use it today but it does imply a great respect of something so powerful it is out of your control to tame and get it to behave as we want.

Yahweh is love, but his character demands respect. We can't do whatever we want because his character has defined right from wrong, good from bad. We are a fallen creation because of our disobedience and he has done everything he can, paying the highest price, so that we might escape the consequences of our behaviour. Even this should never be trivialized but should provoke in us a response of love, so that we would desire to walk in his righteousness and respect him. I pray that Yahweh's people can re-discover this before it is too late.

Increasing The Power Of The Spirit In You

We all have this great desire to know Jesus. Our longing is to be close with him, to sense his presence all the time, to be filled by his power and to represent him to those around us. We want to express our love to him over and over again. We want to make him our everything. These are great desires but if they only stay as desires they will have no eternal purpose. Our desires need to take on flesh.

Every person in our Holy Scriptures who was blessed and used by Yahweh were those who had a great relationship with him. This relationship came from time spent in prayer and the Scriptures. There are no short cuts. I have just finished spending time with Daniel and I am once again impressed by this man of faith and loyalty. The angels told him that he was "treasured by Yahweh". He had a great relationship that came by huge amounts of time in prayer and fasting. Out of these times came great visions and understanding. He had what we want yet he did not have the Holy Spirit in him and we do.

David also understood this great fellowship and it caused his heart to yearn for Yahweh. He was a man full of faults but the motivation and desire of his heart pleased Yahweh. He was blessed, favoured, protected, corrected, broken, built up, encouraged as he constantly fellowshipped with Yahweh. David gave us this treasure of understanding in Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (Psalm 1:1)

That's what he doesn't do, which is also important. He doesn't allow himself to be tempted by the shortcuts of life, listening to Satan's invitation to bow down to him for perceived success. This is not our measure of success. But now consider what the blessed man does do:

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night. (v. 2)

He gives priority to Yahweh. He is consumed by him. Daniel was consumed by prayer. Three specific times of the day were set aside exclusively for prayer. He fasted, which is suppose to be an intense period of prayer. Daniel stood loyal to Yahweh no matter the cost. He petitioned for his people, in prayer. Look at the result David speaks of when we become consumed by our relationship with Yahweh:

He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. (v. 3)

This is seen in Daniel, the most favoured man in the captivity of Israel. Every king of his day turned to Daniel for help and everyone of them heaped great blessings and favours on him. This favour did not come because of Daniel's intelligence but because of his relationship with Yahweh.

Those who have rich fellowship with Jesus Christ, who are consumed by prayer, worship and the Word, have a river of life flowing through them. Everyone who accepts Jesus' invitation, is spiritually born a second time, and is baptized by the Holy Spirit, has this river of life flowing through them, but those who make themselves sensitive to Jesus are made aware of it. Because of this fellowship, the desire of their heart, their submission to Father's will, their obedience and loyalty; because they talk with Yahweh all the time, fruit will be produced through them, they will always contain life and whatever they put their hand to will succeed. We are possessed by the power of the Spirit.

Too many of us are in love with the idea of this kind of relationship but most of us are not willing to put in the time. We have lots of excuses but if Jesus was honestly our "everything" we would find a way to spend time with him. I am not talking about the fifteen minutes we set aside for our quick list of requests. I am not taking about a conversation throughout the day - although this is important too. I mean the same attitude that Daniel and so many others of the greats had. The same attitude as Jesus. Time set aside for complete concentration on Jesus will bring us to the place where we want to be in our relationship. There are no short cuts.

Examine your life and make a list of the things that contribute to your walk with Jesus and the things that do not. Then start reducing the "do not" list and you will be amazed how quickly you find time for Worship, prayer and the Word every day. When you do this you will find your relationship with Jesus and the desire of your heart rapidly changing. May you discover the warrior he has called you to be. Pray!

Draw Near To Jesus So He Can Know You

There is a difference between knowing of someone and actually knowing them. Maybe you have a relative that your parents have often talked about. Through them you know about this relative but you don't actually know them. Then one day you get the opportunity to meet with them, talk with them, live with them for a bit. Now you know them.

Those of you from large churches may know of your pastor. You hear him preach, you read his books, you may even follow him on twitter, but you don't actually know him. You haven't visited his home or sat down to share in a meal. You don't know his personal struggles, victories, fears and hopes. You know of him but you don't know him.

For many people who attend our churches this describes their relationship with Jesus. They know of him but they have yet to meet him. For some, they are comfortable with that. They are content right where they are because it means the lack of relationship doesn't put too much demand on them. They aren't prepared for the commitment of "marriage", the sacrifices they have heard it will require. So they are content just to hear stories and worship from a distance. This is not the relationship Jesus is looking for.

Our relationship with Jesus is an "all or nothing". For those who try to approach him from a distance Jesus brings them face to face. There was a woman who wanted healing for her daughter and stood at a distance shouting. Jesus ignored her until she came and knelt at his feet. Even then he resisted saying he had only come for the children of Israel which provoked her to demonstrate her faith in Jesus. Then Jesus moved in her situation.

Consider Job. He had suffered much and his religious talk was tremendous. He was sticking with Yahweh no matter what, but Job worshiped a God he knew from a distance. As much as he did everything to honour Yahweh he did not know Yahweh. But after being chastised by him and after having lived through this experience, Job responded:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)

Job was confronted by the holiness of Yahweh and his self-righteousness melted like wax before him. He realized his condition and his immediate reaction was repentance.

Those who stand at a distance do so because they do not want to be intimate with our God. But in order to love with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength we must draw close. Those at a distance say they are happy with themselves and they want to worship without changing. They want to hold on to their opinions and their actions. Those who come close are confronted by their own wretchedness in the light of Yahweh`s holiness. We fall to our face in repentance but through Jesus Christ he lifts us up as a changed person, a new creation.

We cannot stand at a distance and claim to have a relationship when we only have a "knowing". It is when we draw near to Jesus that he draws near to us and he knows us in the biblical sense of knowing. Jesus knows us but it is intimacy that he demands. It is the reason that he said there will be those who try to enter into his glory and he will turn them back saying, "I do not know you". It is the biblical sense of knowing, the intimacy as we draw close to him and he to us so that he lives in us and we in him. The Christian relationship with Jesus is not a religious methodology but an extremely intimate knowing of each other.

I can share a lot of scripture on this subject but I leave you with the holy words recorded by James, inspired by the Holy Spirit:

"Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. and he will lift you up." (James 4:8-10)

It is frightening to stand in the holiness of Yahweh and to have the ugliness of our heart revealed to us. There is lamentation, mourning and weeping that is provoked. But the greatest moment is when Jesus reaches down and lifts us up. There is no greater moment in all of eternity then to have all that ugliness washed away and stand before our Lord as a new creation, brought about because the Father willed it and Jesus did it.

Seeing Mondays Differently

It's Monday morning and the whole week lies before you. What makes this day, this week, any different than any other? Or are you stuck in a cycle of repeating dull and useless Mondays? That is what it feels like without direction, dreams, vision and hope. Without these things from the Lord we are only existing, scraping through, maintaining. It makes for a very dull life. We eat. We sleep. We die. But we have been made for so much more.

Peace and joy cannot be bought. It doesn't matter how many toys you have, what kind of vacations you take, how many friends are listed on your FaceBook. Such things are ever changing and can never be depended upon for happiness. We can have three cars in the driveway, a healthy portfolio, the best job in the world and Mondays can still feel dull, boring, empty. These things are all temporary and have no eternal impact on us at all, unless they are part of the visions, dreams, and direction the Lord has given to us.

Think of the worse possible thing that could happen to you. Could you praise the Lord in that situation? If you were left with nothing, reduced to great poverty and even your health was taken from you, could you still praise him? Would he be your only desire? The purpose of our life is not work. The purpose of our life is not play. It is not accomplishment. It is not about feeling good. It isn't even about knowledge. The purpose of our life is relationship and relationship happens regardless of situations and circumstances.

You aren't only married if you are well off. You have promised to love in all situations in life because you are companions from beginning to end. However, you have a relationship that is far greater than marriage, although there are similarities. It is a covenant relationship where you have promised to love with all your heart, soul, mind, body and strength. Our relationship with Jesus is higher, deeper and wider than any marriage and this relationship exists in all situations and circumstances of our life. He is our one desire as Job expressed after everything was stripped from him:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

This is our reality on this Monday morning. He is our living hope who adds colour to everything we do. My "doing" does not bring me joy but my being in him causes joy to overflow in me to everyone around me. The type of job I have, if even I have one, does not sustain me but my relationship with Jesus provides me with everything I need to have an abundant life.

I don't expect people without the Spirit to understand our shared hope but I expect you to know and to treat this day with great respect because it is the day the Lord has given to us. It is a day with him. It is a day of celebration. It is a day of expressed hope. It is a day of joy, trust, love because he is with us in it. He is the giver of all things, including dreams, visions and direction. All these things are focused on him, for his purpose and walking in it gives us tremendous joy. On this Monday morning we know that our Redeemer lives and we know it with an assurance that surpasses Job's.

So sing, dance, shout and praise him with all you have within you. Let the world know that we see Mondays differently, that we see every day differently. He has given us the air to breathe but more than that, he has given us himself that we would know the greatest joy, of seeing him and knowing him today.

You Are Not Insignificant To Our Enemy

Do you sometimes feel insignificant, as if whatever you do will go unnoticed by everyone? If you are a child of Yahweh don't you believe it. There are more eyes on you than you can possibly understand. You see, the enemy knows what kind of influence you have and he looks for every opportunity to diminish that influence. Meanwhile, the world is looking for someone who actually believes and lives by the words of Jesus. The world wants to see if there is any sincerity left. You have more eyes on you than you can possibly know.

The enemy hates sincere believers; those that trust and live by the words of Jesus. He hates those who desire above all else to know Jesus and to walk in his footsteps. He hates and wants to destroy a powerful testimony. So he will push and prod and lay down traps to try to destroy you. His biggest tool is fear. He may not cause situations but he will try to use the good things Jesus is doing in your life, twisting them to produce fear. A glaring example of this is found in Nehemiah.

Nehemiah had come back from captivity to give oversight and encouragement to the rebuilding of Jerusalem but there were many enemies who wanted to stop him. However, Nehemiah was there under the authority of the king of Babylon. He had full authority to do what he was doing so the enemy had to be crafty in their discouragement. Sound familiar? We have full authority under our King to do what we do but the enemy does all he can to bring in discouragement.

In this case, the enemy tried to use an informer, a traitor in their midst, to produce fear in Nehemiah. He told him that his enemies were going to do a sneak attack and kill him. He advised him to go into the temple and lock the door to stay safe. He wanted to produce fear in Nehemiah so Nehemiah would take a cowardly act to preserve himself. This would have brought a halt to the work, discouraged the people and showed a lack of faith. But the enemy forgets that we are well equipped in our relationship with Yahweh to see through such traps:

And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. (Nehemiah 6:11-13)

Jesus has given you a testimony so he may be glorified through you. Your life is no longer about you but about everyone Jesus can influence through you. Often the difficulties we go through are not about us but about Jesus using us to show sincere faith to the world. He is shining through our weaknesses, our circumstances, as we hold to our faith and trust, not complaining but praising. When people see us in our trials giving praise to Jesus it confuses them. But when they see Jesus answer our needs they begin to see the quality of his love for us. This is the thing the enemy wants to destroy.

There is a reason we are told to put on the full armour of God; we need it. The reason we need it is because on our own we cannot stand up against the fierceness, boldness and trickery of the enemy. The armour and the position we are told to take is all about defense. We are told that after we have done everything we can to stand, we are to stand. We have been given a testimony; stand in it. We have been given territory to defend; defend it. We have been given instructions from Jesus; follow them. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Don't listen to the little whispers. Pay no attention to the rumours that produce fear. You are a fierce warrior in the Lord's army so act like it as you place all your trust in the King.

No matter how insignificant you feel at times, you aren't. So many eyes are watching you, trying to decide whether you are the real thing, a real believer, a real child of Yahweh. Do not allow the enemy to steal that from you. Don't give your testimony away. Even if you have to lay down your life to preserve it, understand, Jesus is able to keep what you have committed to him. I leave you with our brother Paul's words:

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Fight on!

What Are Your Actions Saying About Jesus?

We talk big. We really do. We have a lot to say about our God and about our relationship with him. It is all good stuff and it should be very encouraging to people. The only problem is that we are often hypocritical in our actions. We say that we love Jesus but then we don't always do what he says. We say we trust Jesus but we seem to have a break down as soon as we face any difficulty. We say that we walk with him but don't spend any time in the Word or in prayer. We say that we want what he wants, we want to live his will, but then we never take time to understand that will and just do what we think is best. People stop listening because of our inconsistency.

We need to jealously guard the testimony Jesus has given us and we need to be consistent in our witness. We should never be afraid of weakness in the face of adversity because he loves to glorify himself through our weaknesses. The Word tells us that he searches the earth looking for those who are loyal to him so he can reveal himself through their weakness. This is not unlike the famous passage where the apostle Paul is shown this truth and declares he wants to be weak always so that Jesus can be revealed in him.

Consider Ezra for a moment. He came from a long line of priests and was a scribe of the law of Moses. Ezra was also in captivity. But this was the time of the great release, when it was put in the hearts of the foreign kings to release the children of Yahweh and to support the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple. I imagine Ezra had spent a long time explaining Yahweh and Israel to the king and even bragged about the power of Yahweh.

The king commissioned Ezra to return to Jerusalem and make offerings on his behalf. He loaded him down with officials and lots of money so it is obvious that Ezra's words must have had an impact. But then those words were put to the test. The empire was huge and hard to police so travel was dangerous. It was only natural that with all that money Ezra should request an armed escort. But Ezra was sensitive to the words, the testimony he had spoken to the king:

For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. (Ezra 8:22-23)

It may seem like a little thing to you but it speaks volumes to me that Ezra was jealous for the reputation of Yahweh. He had told the king that Yahweh's favour rested upon all those who served him. Imagine how that testimony would have been diminished if Ezra had asked for protection. So he did what we all should do, he fasted and prayed until the Lord's will and direction were made clear to him. They were protected by Yahweh and the testimony stood.

Sometimes we are guilty of bragging about things that we are not prepared to live. It is easy to talk of trust until we are put in a desperation situation where we have to exercise that trust. It is easy to talk to others about faith until we are in a situation where we have to lean only on the promises of Jesus. The worse times are when we have a choice to either trust Jesus or to ask the world for help. Too many of us turn to the world and allow our testimony to fall. We should not speak of anything that we are not willing to put into action because we will be held accountable for our words.

I think it would be a good thing if we decided to be more transparent and honest with ourselves and those in our sphere of testimony. Sometimes we have to grow into trust and faith but we need to be aware of it so we can speak our testimony in such a way. We are just beginners in this relationship so we should not claim to be something we are not. We are learning to trust, learning to obey, learning to walk by faith. Our desire should always be to have our walk match our talk. When our words are put to the test, as they were for Ezra, we shouldn't shrink back but instead throw ourselves into the arms of Jesus, seeking his strength and direction. It is good to brag about the Lord but it is even better to allow him to glorify himself in your weakness so the whole world can see him in us. That is our purpose.

We Have Nothing To Fear When We Walk With Jesus

Do you want to walk in faith, be filled with the power of Jesus and be used by him to see hearts changed? Then the Word of our God has to go beyond words, becoming greater than flesh, if we are to walk in faith. We have to allow the Word to have greater substance than the chair we are sitting on, the clothes we are wearing or the food we are eating. We have to be more assured by it than by what we are seeing right now with our eyes. We have to become more confident of what we cannot see than of the things that would cause us to fear.

I am sorry but you will never step into the fullness of Christ as long as you are trying to get there by the thinking process of man. You cannot argue your way into greater inspiration. You cannot think your way into greater faith. You cannot get there by any means of the flesh. Let me show you why.

Hezekiah was another of the great kings of Judah, one for whom I have reserved a great deal of respect. He had a great and growing relationship with Yahweh. Yet, here before him was the great Assyrian army. The Assyrians were ruthless, vicious and destroyed anything they set their eyes on. No nation or city had been able to stand against them and here they were about to come against Jerusalem. What does the flesh say? Fear of course. Perhaps despair, suicide, hopelessness. If you had a greater survival instinct perhaps you would be looking for a back door, a way to escape. But that is the difference between the spirit and the flesh.

Hezekiah was a man who had become so close to Yahweh that he discerned the truth of the matter. He did not see with his eyes but with his spirit as he looked out at this terrible enemy that out-muscled them significantly. Hezekiah, in full confidence of Yahweh, stood before the people and simply stated:

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. (2 Chronicles 32:7)

You and I may have been tempted to count heads and then disagree with the king. Yet, all the great men of faith, the one's who trusted the Lord and were used greatly by him, saw this truth every day. Remember Elijah on the roof with his servant when the enemy surrounded him? More are with us than with them. We remember the statement of faith in the New Testament: greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. Hezekiah continued:

With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” (v. 8)

If we do not see that the flesh takes second place to the Spirit we will never learn to trust, and trust is the great component of our relationship with Jesus. The fact is that the flesh will always look greater. The odds will always be against us. Circumstances will constantly threaten to derail our faith. The enemy will always be looking to scare us away from Jesus so he can devour us. But victory is always ours in Jesus because the Lord fights our battles.

Christians should be the most confident people walking on this planet. Not self-confident to the point of arrogance but confident, as in confident in our Lord Jesus and the promises he has given us. We have to be confident when we are up against Goliath with all his strength and threats. We have to be confident when the numbers are against us and we are about to be swallowed up in a sea of opposition. We have to be confident when the world shows its ugly face of hatred and threatens to destroy us. We have to be confident when the bills are more than the income, and our health is heading in the wrong direction. We have to be confident when we are walking through the valley of failure and we don't understand what went wrong. We have to be confident that Yahweh is sovereign in all things, everywhere, all the time, and he knows what he is doing.

There are more with us than with them. With them is an arm of flesh but with us is the Lord our God. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. If you feel weak in the face of the enemy do us all a favour, strengthen your relationship with Jesus. Cut out the unnecessary distractions in your life and fill it with relationship building moments. Bathe yourself in prayer, worship and the Word. Walk with him, talk with him, sing with him, dance with him and soon you will discover how confident you have become in him. Read Acts 1:8 and realize how you have been equipped. Hezekiah did not honey coat it to calm down the people, using religion to do so. Hezekiah spoke the truth to the people, the truth he had experienced for himself in his relationship with Yahweh. I encourage you, let your relationship take you beyond words and into a life of substantial faith.

I Will Fear No Evil

Have you ever been afraid? Fear is a normal human emotion when faced by things we don't understand or by things that appear to threaten us. But fear can also be provoked by our imagination. We can fear sounds and shadows when there is nothing of substance. We can fear the "maybe's" and possibilities of life. We can fear our tomorrows causing us to be paralyzed in our today. This is what I sense David talking about in Psalm 23:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. (v. 4)

It is a shadow, a thing of no substance, a threat with no teeth. Actually, all fear is like that for a Christian. Fear has no teeth for us and is only the shadow of things that would like to harm us if it could but it can't because Jesus is with us. That is why David continued:

I will fear no evil;
For You are with me. (v. 4)

What can separate us from the love of Jesus? Absolutely nothing. When we turn to him in all situations we find comfort, especially as we turn to his Word. Shadows disappear in the light of his presence and Word:

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (v. 4)

If fear is paralyzing and overwhelming us it is because we are not relying on Jesus for strength and comfort. Fear may be a natural human reaction but we are no longer controlled by our emotions; we are a new creation, filled by the Holy Spirit, walking in the presence of our God.

We can find an example of someone who understood this long before Jesus gave us the Spirit. King Jehoshaphat was an awesome king and had developed a strong relationship with the Lord. News had suddenly come to him about a combined army that was coming to destroy Jerusalem. This army was massive and did not appear to be a "shadow" threat but something of real substance. Maybe under any other king Jerusalem would have been destroyed but Jehoshaphat knew Yahweh and he knew the promises. In other words, he knew the Word. He reminded Yahweh of a few things (2 Chronicles 20):

First, that Yahweh was the ruler over all kingdoms and that no one could come against him.

Second, that Yahweh had given them this land.

Third, that Yahweh had made a promise that if at any time they faced trouble they could pray in the temple and he would rescue them.

Then Jehoshaphat prayed this prayer that has always remained with me from the first I read it:

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (v. 12)

We don't know what to do but our eyes are on you. Of course the Lord is going to respond to such a man of the Word, to a man of this kind of faith, a man who leans on the Lord for his hope and strength. Yahweh responded and told them they would not have to fight, that he would fight for them. He told them to get dressed for war, in their armour, swords and bows, and then watch him deliver them from their enemies.

One of the most incredible parts of all of this was the next day, as they marched out to face this overwhelming enemy, they went out singing. They faced their enemy with praise and worship. Praise and worship was not their salvation but was their heart response to the promise of salvation by the grace of Yahweh.

My friends we have nothing to fear but if we do feel fear then we need to run into the presence of our God. We are always in his presence but if you are feeling fear it is because you have forgotten that Jesus is the ruler over every nation, over every circumstance and nothing can come against him. You have forgotten that what you have received has come from his hand, and you have been told to stand your ground. You have forgotten his promise that whatever you need you can ask for in his name and Father will give it to you. Pray that prayer, "Jesus, I don't know what to do but my eyes are on you" and fear will flee from you as he answers you swiftly. Your fear will be replaced with praise and worship.

You cannot save yourself. Whether by many or by few, salvation belongs to the Lord. You belong to him and he has given you a ton of promises to encourage you. Learn the Word, walk in his presence and you will discover that there is no substance to the things that provoke fear in the children of Yahweh. Allow his "rod and staff" to comfort you.

A Cause Of Our Spiritual Weakness

There is a spiritual truth that is almost impossible for us to live in our current age where the almighty dollar reigns supreme. For years we have allowed the seed in our heart grow, the seed that says "money makes the world go round". Everyone wants a comfortable life with enough money to do what they want and what most people want is to be entertained. So we work to spend, and what we don't have, we borrow. We lean heavily on credit cards and enslave ourselves to the financial system of this world; and we think it is good.

How can we discover the greatness of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover the wonderful provision of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover that he is mighty to save, whether by many or few, when we trust another god for our salvation?

You may think I am being a little over dramatic but that's because we have become blind to our own condition. We have become spiritually weak for several reasons but this is one of the big ones. It is not unlike the kings of old who trusted their own resources instead of Yahweh. Over the last couple of days I have been using king Asa as an illustration and today is no exception.

You will recall that Asa was a great king, bringing spiritual renewal to Judah as he encouraged everyone to turn back to Yahweh. He was a king who leaned on his God, who trusted him and as a result the land was blessed. During an invasion of the Ethiopians, when he was outnumbered 3 to 1, Asa cried out to Yahweh and trusted him in the battle. He easily defeated the army and gained great riches. Because Asa and Judah sought the Lord, they found him, and he gave them peace for 35 years, during which time they prospered. It was a golden age, until Asa made the same mistake we make today.

The King of Israel attacked and was building a city to cut off a major trade route. Israel's army was nothing compared to the Ethiopian army Asa had defeated in trusting Yahweh but during the 35 years of peace Asa seemed to have forgotten. He panicked and made a bad decision:

Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” (2 Chronicles 16:2-3)

The fact that Asa trusted his riches and paid a foreign king, who was actually an enemy, to get him out of trouble was distasteful to Yahweh. He sent his prophet to tell Asa what he had done was wrong:

Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ( vv. 7-8)

Now pay attention to the next part and understand how wrong we have been and why we struggle in spiritual weakness:

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (v. 9)

Our Lord looks for opportunities to show his strength through the weaknesses of his children. It brings to mind the Lord`s response to Paul`s prayer for deliverance, when he said that his grace was sufficient for Paul because he reveals his strength through our weakness. But we refuse to be weak in this age. We turn to other sources for salvation. We rely on the wisdom of man. We lean on credit. We run after means to feed and clothe ourselves. We wear ourselves out, ignoring Jesus entirely, as if he were some decorative ornament that adorns our lives; totally useless but pretty to look at.

Now that you are aware of this you have an opportunity to repent of it. Father wants us turning to him in our weakness. He wants us to lean on him so he can glorify himself through us. But please do not react like Asa. He had an opportunity to repent here. He had made a mistake but our Lord is the source of all grace. He only looks to us to repent and be restored. But instead of repenting, Asa allowed his heart to be filled with anger, bitterness and resentment. He threw the prophet into jail. He became a tyrant, oppressing the people because his heart had changed. And even when the Lord used disease to bring correction and to soften his heart, Asa refused to turn to him for help, instead choosing to die in suffering with the disease. We can be stupidly stubborn in our disobedience.

Face it, we are a distracted people who lean on other gods for salvation. We are wrong, we are weak, and we are in much need of repentance. Just for this moment, be honest with yourself. In your weakness, who or what gets glorified? If the answer is not Jesus then fall on your face before him. And don't lie to yourself. This could be a major turning point in your spiritual maturity. Allow Jesus to be glorified in your weakness.

Paralyzed By Guilt And Shame

Too many of us in the Church stand in the shame of our past. It is true that we have much to be ashamed of considering what we have done against our God and the people he loves. But these things that are producing shame in us are things already dealt with, things long forgiven, things that no longer have any claim on us. When we bear shame we are not trusting the promises of Jesus. We have been promised that Jesus has removed our sin from us as far as the east is from the west. We no longer bear the guilt of the things for which we have repented because Jesus bore the blame in our place. It is done. It is finished.

Yet, we remain paralyzed by our shame. We fail to step into Father's plan and will, our destiny, because of our shame.

Along with us not trusting the promise is the enemy's attempted to keep us down. He will use every opportunity to remind us of our past. Although Father has forgiven and forgotten, the enemy will use people with long memories to keep us in our place. Regardless, it is still our fault for not facing the enemy in faith that the promises are true and are applied to us. Regardless of the accusations, name calling and denial of people who have known us, we should know who we are in Jesus and stand in that reality.

I believe some of us need to seek renewal. Actually, I am positive that much of the Church needs to seek renewal so that the authority of Jesus can be renewed in us and in the entire Body. Shame is like the threat of some disease that we do not have but the effects are as if we do. It is causing a dysfunction and the Body looks diseased. We all need to seek the Lord's face with all our heart, throwing off this cloud of shame as the authority and healing of Jesus rushes in. Yes, indeed, we need a massive healing in the Body.

King Asa did that in Judah. He heard from the Lord:

The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2)

He went on to promise Asa great peace if Asa walked with him. The king then performed a great house cleaning in the land and they renewed their covenant that brought in freedom and great joy. But consider their steps:

So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they offered to the Lord at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. (vv. 10-11)

They renewed their worship, their relationship. They came with great sacrifices in honour of their God.

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (vv. 12-13)

They agreed together to seek Yahweh with all their heart and with all their soul. It was a serious covenant between each other. This wasn't some "if I can fit it in" agreement but all consuming, first priority, life or death seeking.

Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. (v. 14)

The oath would have been like a pledge of allegiance, putting themselves under him, under his authority, with a desire to obey him. It wasn't a somber affair but a celebration with loud voices, shouting, trumpets and rams' horns. They wanted everyone, everywhere to hear this oath. They were willing to be accountable to it. I would have liked to hear the words but the words don't matter as much as the motivation of the heart.

And the response of Yahweh?

And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around. (v. 15)

As promised, they found him and he was pleased with them and he gave them ... peace!

We need this same renewal where we renew our worship / relationship. We need to make this great covenant to seek his face together with all our heart and soul. Why together? Because we are the Body. We are in this together. We are dependent on each other. We need each other to be strong in the Lord. Then we need to make that oath of allegiance. Not quietly but loudly, so that everyone can see and hear and we will be accountable for it. And, as we renew our love with Jesus, the promises will be renewed in us and we will walk in the assurance of shamelessness and the peace he has promised us.

This shame thing is not Jesus' problem. He promised us peace that no one can take from us. He promised this because he was taking away the peace destroyers, the guilt and shame of our sins. No one else needs to recognize this in order for us to walk in this peace; people can remind us all they want. All that matters is that the relationship we have with the Peace Giver is strong and growing. Renewal brings healing and right now healing is the greatest need in the Body. Let us do this thing together so we can be the people of Yahweh that he needs us to be, that the world needs us to be, in this darkening age in which we live.

What Does It Take To Beat The Odds?

Life is pretty good when everything is in your favour. It is a time of growth, expansion, prosperity. It is easy to worship Jesus, to sing and pray. Being surrounded by people who love and encourage you allows you to be who you were meant to become. It is easy to maintain a great attitude and to walk in faith. But what about when things go wrong? What happens when people come against you and there are circumstances as big as mountains in front of you? What if you are in a hostile environment where no one believes in you or lends you any encouragement and support? Can you still pray, worship, sing, trust and walk in faith? I hope so, because it is one of the keys to success in Jesus.

You have to have a solid relationship with Jesus if you expect to be able to stand in the storms of life. You can't have a simple relationship of acknowledging his existence, praying over your food, attending church and trying to be good. That isn't a relationship at all; it is a system. A relationship is where you get to know Jesus; everything you can know about him. You trust his promises and act on them. You spend a good amount of time with him and realize he is always with you so you chat all day long. We become dependent on our friends and so we learn how to trust and lean on Jesus. But we also realize that he is more than a friend.

Jesus paid for us. I realize that sounds funny but we belonged to Satan. Jesus went into the enemy's camp and ransomed us with his own life. He paid for us and we now belong to him because in the nature of things "man" never belongs to himself. We may think we can be our own god and be the captains of our own destiny but it is all a lie. We belong to someone and Jesus made it possible for us to belong to him. In belonging to him then we should want the most intimate relationship possible and when we have such a relationship we realize that Jesus will see us through anything. The great kings of Judah knew this.

Asa was one of the good guys. He purged the kingdom of anything that was not related to Yahweh. Like some of the kings before him, he did some house cleaning and he encouraged the people to obey Yahweh. He knew what was good for his people and he set the example. As a result, Yahweh allowed him to enjoy a time of peace. He spent that time building and fortifying cities. Asa knew he lived in hostile times and that peace comes and goes, so he prepared for the worse. And then it happened.

Judah was invaded by an Ethiopian army, over one million three hundred thousand strong. King Asa had an army of over five hundred thousand. Talk about a bad day. They were outnumbered almost 3 to 1. In the flesh things looked hopeless. All of us can relate to having faced hopeless looking situations. But Asa had a fantastic relationship with Yahweh. His faith was not just a "fair weather" faith. Asa trusted Yahweh.

And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chronicles 14:11)

I really appreciate that prayer, "It is nothing for you to help". What appears to be impossible for use to face, deal with or overcome,is nothing for our God. It is Asa's knowledge of Yahweh and the incredible relationship that he had that allowed Asa to trust. Asa knew his history and was able to say with great confidence, "whether with many or with those who have no power". In fact, if you understand the history of Israel you will quickly take note that Yahweh prefers to use the least in order that he will receive the greater glory.

Needless to say Yahweh responded and sent the Ethiopians fleeing. Asa defeated them so soundly that they could not recover. This experience, instead of destroying Asa, prospered him as he came away with a lot more than he went in with. This is how it is with the challenges we face. We think these things are to defeat us but Yahweh always uses the victory in these things to increase us. Don't ever forget this scripture:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I am not going to pretend everything is all butterflies and daffodils in life. Some people are dealt a really hard hand and must make the best of it. Some days are filled with despair as hope seems to be sucked dry from us. Sometimes it seems there is no direction to head in and we see no purpose in going on. But these are the lies of the enemy designed to keep our eyes down, on ourselves, instead lifted up to see Jesus. However we cannot know this, see it, understand it or walk in it if we have a "system" relationship with Jesus.

If you want a relationship that will allow a growing faith, a faith that permits you to know that Jesus will overcome everything for you, then you have to focus on Jesus. In fact, do some house cleaning. Get rid of anything and everything that distracts you from Jesus. If it is not used in the relationship development or in the out reach to others then trash it. When you dedicate yourself fully to the Lord you are able to experience him fully. If you want to be strong and unbeatable in the good and bad days then develop a relationship of trust. As long as you want both the world and Jesus you will never experience the kind of faith you need to prosper spiritually. Seek him with all your heart and get rid of all your other gods. Faith gets you going and trust will sustain you in the relationship.