Saturday, January 19, 2013

Nothing to Laugh About

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14)
 
Genesis 18:14 is the Lord's respnse to Sarah's laughter. Sarah laughs when she overhears the Lord tell Abraham that she will have a baby boy in a year's time. She laughs because never before has she been able to become pregnant. She laughs because she is ninety ears old. She laughs because she is a worn-out woman who long ago gave up the dream of a baby of her own. She laughs because she has lived for years with the indignity and shame of being childless. She laughs because she is all out of tears...
 
What about you? What dream are you laughing at?

Saturday, January 12, 2013

FLOODS

"But God remembered Noah and all the animals in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the waters, and the floods began to disappear." --Genesis 8:1
 
Someone today needs to know that God is remembering you in the midst of your great flood, floating around in your little boat. It's going to be ok! You may not can see it happening, but even now the floods are starting to recede.
 
You may be encouraged by this song today: http://youtu.be/04y_KfO7GzI

Saturday, January 5, 2013

REACTING

"You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it." --Genesis 4:7
 
So how do you respond when life knocks the wind out of you?...when you get less than what you think you deserve?....when friends betray?...when jobs go away?...when kids disobey? Have you ever considered the possibility that when "things going wrong" in your day (week or month) that it's a test of your emergency response system? I've found that crisis is a great revealer of who we really are. Do you get angry when you don't get your way? Then you're an angry person! Do you get depressed when friends leave you out of their plans? Then you're a depressed person. God allows crises to reveal who we are so that we can start down the path of healing. If you choose to run away and hide, then you won't get better...you'll get bitter! Sometimes we remove ourselves from the source of our discomfort only to discover that the pain was there for our gain--for our healing.
 
Sometimes people leave the church because they feel left out or they get their feelings hurt. Rest assured it happens to all of us--me too. The truth is that there is only one good reason to leave the church--That reason would be that God's Holy Spirit is drawing you on to your next assignment. A wise man once told me, "Make sure that you're running to something and not away from something!" If you're being led out--make sure that it's the Holy Spirit doing the leading and not some other spirit!
 
Today, let's choose to respond in the right way to whatever may come our way!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

A WORLD WITH NO SHAME

"Now, although Adam and his wife were both naked, neither of them felt any shame." --Genesis 2:25
 
It takes a great deal of imagination for me to consider a world with no shame. I suppose that we have always known shame in our lives--at least I have. I have early recollections of being told that my actions, my feelings, my wants...were either selfish...or were misguided...or were somehow shamefully out of line. I think shame was used as a tool in my life to attempt to modify behavior and to establish compliance. I experienced shame a lot--to the point that I began to believe that I was, in and of myself, shameful. It's taken a revolution of my heart over the past few years to help me understand that I am, in essence, not shameful, but rather good--created in the image and likeness of God Himself. Transparency (nakedness) has been my road out of the valley of shame. The more I've opened up--the more I've experienced God's healing grace. Like Adam and Eve, we were all created to be naked and unashamed.
 
Perhaps this year will be the year when you gain the courage to share your secrets with a trusted friend. Over the years, I've had the role of hearing people's secrets and I can tell you that not one time have I ever received these burdens with any spirit other than the spirit of grace. No shame...just grace! Got secrets? Then you've got shame!  Isn't it time to come into the light and to discover God's glorious grace?

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

HOW TO HAVE A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

"Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do they prosper." --Psalm 1:2-3
 

I love the fact that the very first Psalm tells us how to have a prosperous new year! It's right there in the text, "Their leaves never wither, and in all they do they prosper." In the words that precede the promise, a formula for success is revealed:
 
Don't follow the advice of the wicked!
Don't stand around with sinners!
Don't join in with scoffers!
 
But rather...Delight in doing everything the Lord wants!
 

Day and night think about his law!
 
The best way to know what the Lord wants is to spend time thinking about his law. If you haven't yet today, then let me encourage you to find a Bible and start a reading a plan for the year. A great resource on your computer or smartphone is https://www.youversion.com/. I use "The Two Year Bible" (NLT) for my daily reading plan. It doesn't matter the translation or the plan or whether you use a book or an electronic device--just get in the word! Think about His words--and do what He says! God promises that you will prosper! As I shared on Sunday, Jesus says, "He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (JN 6:35).