Faith – Page 163 – A Verse A Day

Switched On

Following Jesus will change things. It will change everything actually. Your life will transform from night to day. Jesus will disrupt your thinking, your views and your attitude. If there is no change, if there is no illumination – you have not let Him in. You have not fully committed.

I described to Brittany how it’s like a light switch being turned on that cannot be turned off again. And really, why would you want to? Why would anyone go back to the shadows? No! What you do is, you get closer to the light. You try to make the light as big as possible. You want to tell everyone about the light! You want everyone that’s bumping around in the dark to flip that switch too!

I envision people with their eyes vehemently shut… almost spitefully so. There’s nothing covering their eyes. They are not blind. They are not even blindfolded. They cannot see because they are purposely shutting their own eyes!

“I got it, I got it. I can see just fine like this. Leave me alone!”

“Ah! OPEN YOUR EYES, MAN! You’re about to walk straight over a cliff! Let me help you!”

“Listen crazy-pants, I don’t need your help! Who are YOU to help ME? There is no such thing as light! There is no such thing as cliffs either!”

By the way, I’m aware of the double meaning of “switched on” as meaning “alert” and also “in love” because both apply. Following Jesus is being alert and it is being in love.

Commit to following Jesus today. Allow him to change your life. Walk in the light, man. Darkness is for chumps.

God Bless!

#switchedon #lamptomyfeet #lightformypath #understanding

Compromise

Compromise is a good thing, right? Compromise solves problems. Compromise allows both sides to have a little victory. In marriage, compromise is must. Brittany and I have learned how to resolve many issues using compromise. In politics, compromise is a vital tool to obtain diplomacy.

This may seem like common sense but, when it comes to our faith, compromise is not an option. The Bible is the authority, not my thoughts on it or your thoughts on it or anybody’s thoughts on it for that matter.

2 Tim. 3:16 says All Scripture is God-breathed. God-breathed beats man-breathed. Every single time. Period. End of story. Want to argue that point? You’re argument is already invalid. You want to argue the God-breathed part? Good luck, son. You on your own. Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Second-guessing God-breathed Scripture doesn’t sound like fearing the LORD to me.

Secularists want us to compromise. The world wants us to bend a little here and tweak a little there. You know, no big deal. “God didn’t mean stuff literally. You know that, right? It’s the 21st century, you seriously believe in Creation? The Flood? The Virgin birth?”

Yes. If it’s in the Scripture, then yes. No compromise. No apologies. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God! Romans 1:16

Compromising to the world says man has some better ideas than God. Compromising to the world says man is smarter than God on certain things. (Wow, that was actually difficult just to type).

If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? I Cor. 14:8. Compromising takes a certain note and tweaks it. But the truth is, now that note is a different note. Make sure you know the right note so you can be ready with when you hear it!

One last thought: “Compromise” is “promise” with the prefix “com-” (which means “with,” or “together.”) Therefore, compromising takes God’s promise and joins it together with man’s changes. Yeah, no thanks.

God Bless!

#Compromise #NotAshamed #Truth

Rooted

Oswald Chambers* really moved me today in my daily devotional. He was speaking to Christians about their witness.

What do I mean by “witness?”

The way you present Jesus and his resurrection to others is your witness to them (Acts 1:22). But it’s also the way you present yourself! You can either be a good witness for Christ and help the Holy Spirit’s work or you can be a bad witness for Christ and hinder the Holy Spirit’s work.

Saint Francis of Assisi is attributed with saying: “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” We represent Christ here on earth. We are the Lord’s first line of defense and many times we fail Him. We mis-represent Him. We cause more harm than good. And more often than not, we do it without uttering a single word!

For example, when missionary Stanley Jones met with Gandhi, he asked him though he quoted the words of Christ often, why he rejected becoming a follower. The Mahatma said, “Oh, I don’t reject Christ. I love Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ.”**

How unfortunate that the Christians Gandhi met were poor witnesses. What if they were good witnesses? Imagine the impact just a few would have had on a whole nation!

Oswald Chambers suggests this verse: “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” – I Cor. 2:4

To help strengthen your witness you must surrender to this fact: It is the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the miracle. It is not mine, or your’s, or anyone else’s words. Remove yourself from the equation and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. “He will create His own life in people.*” Once you are rooted in that reality, you cannot be shaken. Base your faith on that!

If anything, you and I just mess things up by getting in the way. Get out of the way and let God work!

Emotions change. Human experiences change. God does not change. Root yourself in our unmovable God and your faith will be secure. This will help you be more like Christ. Once you are more Christ-like, the Holy Spirit can use you. Only then will your witness do any good. Only then will your witness have any power.

God Bless!

* “My Utmost For His Highest” Dec. 3rd. •www.utmost.org

** “The Christ of the Indian Road.” E. Stanley Jones
#witness #ministry #surrender

Pierced

After Peter’s first powerhouse of a sermon*, it says the people “were pierced to the heart.” Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like someone has stabbed you right in the chest by their words? Sometimes you read a scripture or you hear someone preach and it hurts your very heart! It’s as if the words cut into you and expose you. That is the Holy Spirit at work in you! God sees the heart. He pierces it to revive it. He pierces it to wake it up! It’s like a spiritual defibrillator!

To build muscle, you have to break it. Only God can create a new heart. Only God can grow your heart. Your heart has to break for what breaks His and then it will grow. Pray for Him to sing a new song over your heart. Psa 28:7

They were pierced and then asked, “What shall we do?”

Simple: Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a GIFT and Peter also calls him a PROMISE. God would never offer a gift and not give it. God would never speak a promise and not fulfill it. All you have to do is ask.

If God pierces you today, please allow him full access your heart. Repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. It’s a win-win!

God Bless!

*Acts 2:14-47

Red Herrings

You’ve probably heard the expression, “red herring.” Fans of mystery know what I’m talking about. It’s used to describe something that misleads or distracts you from the actual thing. Red herrings want to send you to the wrong conclusion.

The origin of “red herring” is debatable. People say it came from the training of hunting dogs. Once the dogs were familiar with the right scent, their trainers would drag a fish across their path. Initially, the dogs would be diverted by the new scent. They had to be trained to ignore that scent and stay focused on the original scent.

There are so many spiritual red herrings in our lives. Countless things mislead us or distract us. There are far too many things that can get us off the right scent and following the wrong trail. Next thing we know, we are lost.

Note that the dogs had to be trained. It wasn’t something that came naturally. Obviously, the scent of a tasty fish would throw them off! It was enticing! Things that get us off the trail are things that are attractive. Only with training could the dogs recognize the wrong scent and ignore it. It takes discipline and instruction.

We are pursuing Jesus. Our goal is Christ. Anything that is dragged across our trail to distract us, entice us, or mislead us MUST be ignored! We must recognize or (church word alert!) discern that it is not the right scent and discard it! Only through constant prayer, study, and communion with the Holy Spirit is any of this possible. Praise God for the Holy Spirit, am I right? Without which, we would be like lost hunting dogs chasing after the wrong prey.

Good hunting and God bless!

Spoiler Alert!

We love a good twist, don’t we? Don’t you hate it when someone tells you the ending first? “Ahhhh! Don’t tell me! I want to find out for myself!”

I’m big on keeping the lid on spoilers. So, I cannot with a clear conscience allow you to read on without the following disclaimer: The next sentences are classic twist endings… of REALLY OLD MOVIES.

There, I feel better. Proceed…

It’s a cookbook. Rosebud’s a sled. Ape City is actually Earth. Bruce Willis was dead. Verbal Kint is… ah, I can’t do that one.

I’m going to go ahead and give you the SPOILER OF ALL SPOILERS. I’m going to give you THE END. The for real END. The end of it all. The end of the end. Ready? Here goes: God wins. The enemy is defeated.

There are no surprises. The devil doesn’t pull a fast-one on God at the last second. Jesus reigns supreme. This old world bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. Sorry to ruin it for you, if you didn’t already know.

We are so lucky. And by lucky, I mean fortunate. We are so fortunate to have, as Paul Harvey would say: “the rest of the story.” When all the prophets were around, they didn’t know what we know today. They’ll be like: “What was it like to live knowing all the answers? You had all the mysteries right there at your fingertips? I mean, they were collected, printed neatly, and pocket-sized?! You knew the beginning, middle, and end: how cool was that? You had the Holy Spirit? Wow, man. You were so lucky!”

With this knowledge, fear should melt away. With this knowledge worry should disappear. We know the ending. There are only two sides: God’s and Not God’s. There can be only one winner. We know which side wins! Are you on the winning side or the losing side?

It couldn’t be more simple.

God Bless!

Be The Moon

Sometimes I think I should’ve become an Astronomer. I love to look at the sky. I love the clouds in the day. I love the stars at night. God’s vast creation never ceases to move me.

I also love to look at the moon. Sometimes the moon can be so bright that it lights up the whole night. Especially a full moon… which (fun fact) in November is called the Beaver Moon.* You might even think, “Wow! The moon is bright tonight!”

But the moon is not creating that light by itself. It is reflecting the light of the sun. On it’s own, the moon could never produce any light… ever. On it’s own, the moon is just a cold rock floating aimlessly in space. In fact, the only way we can even SEE the moon is because of the sun.

In 2 Cor 3:18, Paul addresses the modern Christian. “We all who contemplate the Lord’s glory are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory…” We are to reflect Christ “as in a mirror.”

Close your eyes and think about that for a minute: We are to reflect Christ. (Seriously. Stop. Close your eyes. Think about that for a minute.)

Just as the moon reflects the sun, we are to reflect the Son! When people look at you, they are supposed to see Christ. We transform and radiant God’s warmth, love and compassion. When Moses saw God, he glowed. His face shone so much that he was forced to shroud himself so he wouldn’t scare people. And Moses only saw a glimpse of God’s back! (Exd. 34:29-35).

That is why it is said: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Eph. 5:14)

Not to sound too corny, but: Wake up and Shine! BE THE MOON!

God Bless!

*Farmers’ Almanac

Where You Belong

When Peter announced to the first believers that they needed to fill Judas’s empty position*, he used a phrase that always glares at me. I feel it piercing my heart every time I read it. It’s almost as if those words growl and claw. He prays “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go WHERE HE BELONGS” [emp. added].

To go where he belongs. Ouch. I think we all know where that is.

“To go where he belongs” is the NIV translation. The KJ and NAS say, “to go to his own place” and the MSG says, “to go his own way.”

We all belong somewhere. There is a place where we are going to go. You and I cannot be in two places at once. It is either going to be here or it is going to be there. Only God can be in multiple places. Not even the enemy can do that.

There is no spiritual fence-riding. If you think you are straddling that fence, think again. As Peter prayed, God knows EVERYONE’S heart. He knows which side your heart is really on. We fool others and we may even fool ourselves, but there is no fooling God.

Going where you belong can be a comforting thought or a frightening one.

For a Child of the King, where you belong is in the house of your Father. Where you belong is a place you have longingly envisioned a million times and it will be a million times more magnificent that you ever could dream.

For a child of the world, where you belong is in the house of your father. Where you belong is a place you never ever thought of and it will be a million times more horrifying than you could have ever envisioned.

Where will you belong?

God bless!

*Acts 1:15-26

Fighting Against God

If God is in it, there can be no stopping it. If He is not, it will fail.

This was Gamaliel’s advice to the Sanhedrin when the apostles were arrested in Acts 5:17-42. “Leave these men alone! Let them go! If their activity is of human origin, it will fail. But, if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

Who was this Gamaliel anyways?

Gamaliel was a Pharisee which means He was a teacher of the law. He was honored by all the people. He was smart enough to learn from past mistakes. I can’t say if he was for the apostles or not, but it seems like he was only giving this advice to save his own hide, doesn’t it? He wasn’t saying, “These ARE men of God! Let them go!” He was saying, “IF they are from God.”

Regardless of Gamaliel’s motives, what he said is absolutely true: If God is in it, you will not be able to stop it. You will only find yourself fighting against God.

Fighting against God. Even as I type that line I think just how ridiculous a concept it is. Ha! Good luck with that, pal. You have about as much of a chance as… (what’s the most silly thing I can think of?)… about as much of a chance as the Taco Bell chihuahua would have in a boxing match against Mike Tyson.

The opposite is also true: If it’s just humans, it will fail. I am reminded daily just how frail and flawed we humans are. It is only if we are in step with God’s will that we can ever hope to accomplish anything.

So, I have to thank Gamaliel for putting it so succinctly. He was right on the money.

God Bless!

God Is Like That

Britt and I had to go to Lowe’s to get some things to work on the house. While we were out, I stopped at the pet store to get Annie (our troublesome labrador retriever) a new Kong (a tough red rubber toy that you can put peanut butter into) because she had all but eaten her old one. At this particular pet store, they have these gourmet dog treats that actually look like donuts. I can never pass them up.

I get back to the car and Britt looks through the bag.

“Couldn’t resist, could you?”

“Of course not. She loves these!”

Britt laughs and says, “God is like that. Even though Annie doesn’t deserve that treat, you still think to get her something. In fact, she’s been pretty extra bad lately and you still want to give her a gift. God is like that with us.”

Even though man disappoints God more than he pleases Him, God blesses. Man drops the ball time and time again and God continues to bless.

I can just see God saying with a big grin, “Pat’s doesn’t really deserve this, but I can’t resist. I love him too much. I’m going to bless him anyways. He’ll love this.”

Thank God I have such a brilliant wife. Her servant’s heart is contagious. God knew what He was doing when He planned us. There’s another blessing I didn’t deserve. But God blessed me with it anyways.

Psa. 36:5-8

God Bless!

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