More than two thousand years ago, Jesus' disciples knew what it was
like to experience fear and worry as they faced an uncertain future.
Jesus said something they really hadn't heard Him say before. He told
them He would be leaving, and it turned their world — as they knew it —
upside down. But then He went on to share some words to calm their
troubled hearts. These words ring true in light of world events today
and can calm our troubled hearts as well.
Let's consider what Jesus said to His disciples:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in
Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3 NKJV)
Jesus starts by saying, "Let not your heart be troubled." Another way
to translate this phrase is, "Don't be agitated or disturbed or thrown
into confusion." He didn't say, "Mull over your problems." Rather, He
said, "Don't be troubled."
Life is filled with trouble. It seems that once you have one problem resolved, three more take its place. Job 5:7
says, "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (NKJV). It is
so true. From the moment we come into this life, there are all kinds
of troubles awaiting us.
While there are reasons to be troubled in life, there are greater reasons to not be
troubled. In Jesus' words, we find three reasons why we don't have to
be gripped by fear, and why we can find hope in hopeless times.
Reason one: We know Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, "You
believe in God, believe also in Me" (verse 1). What is He saying by
implication? "I am God. You believe in God the Father. I am God the
Son. Believe in Me. Trust Me." In the original language, this is a
command. Jesus was not just asking the disciples to believe. He was
commanding them.
There are times in our lives when we don't understand why God did or
God did not do a certain thing. When I don't understand something
about God, I always try to fall back on what I do understand. I do
understand that God loves me. I do understand that He is looking out
for me and has my best interests in mind. I do understand that no
matter what happens, He will see me through.
Reason two: If you are a Christian, you are going to heaven. Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many mansions" (verse 2). God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
This simply means that we sense there is more to life, and that keeps
us moving forward. No matter what experiences we have had, no matter
how wonderful they were, they were just a glimpse of what is still
ahead. No matter what happens to us on this earth, it pales in
comparison to this great hope. There is a better world ahead, something
far greater than what we are experiencing now.
Reason three: Jesus is coming again. Some day, in the
not-too-distant future, Jesus Christ will set foot again on Earth. It
might be sooner than we think. When the Lord returns, He will not
merely send for us, but will come in person to escort us to the Father's
house. He said, "I will come again and receive you to Myself" (verse
3). He will take us with Him to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Yes, there are some things we are afraid of, and rightly so, because
it causes us to be discerning and careful. But we need to keep our
fears in perspective. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28,
"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"
(NKJV).
With this in mind, let's think about what we should really be afraid of. The worst-case scenario is not dying. The worst-case scenario is dying without Jesus.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Messages From Heaven: Do You Want to Change? For Real!
Messages From Heaven: Do You Want to Change? For Real!: It’s interesting to look through the pages of Scripture and note how God came to various people in the way they needed Him to come. To A...
Do You Want to Change? For Real!
It’s interesting to look through the pages of Scripture and note how
God came to various people in the way they needed Him to come.
To Abraham the pilgrim, God came as a traveler. Remember those three visitors who came to his tent before the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah? One of them was the Lord himself.
To Joshua the general, Jesus came as the Commander of the Lord’s army, telling him to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.
Jacob, in turn, was a wrestler. Figuratively speaking, he was always wrestling with people: he wrestled with his father Isaac...he wrestled with his brother Esau...he wrestled with his father-in-law Laban.
So the Lord came to Jacob as a wrestler. Psalm 18:26 says of God, “With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd” (nkjv).
Therefore, the Lord shrewdly came to Jacob. Genesis 32:24 tells us, “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day” (nkjv).
Jacob had been left alone with God. He was always conniving, always scheming, always plotting, and always had an idea. So the Lord stripped everything away and said, “OK, I want you alone with Me.”
As the commentator C. H. McIntosh said, “To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways.”
The conniving, plotting, scheming Jacob was all alone with God, and they began to wrestle.
What God wanted from Jacob was his surrender. But that wasn’t going to happen until Jacob came to the end of his strength. So on it went throughout the night.
Then a life-changing moment transpired for the scheming Jacob. Instead of fighting with God, He was clinging to Him. The Lord said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks” (Genesis 32:26 nkjv).
Jacob responded, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (verse 26 nkjv). It was a valid response on Jacob’s part in asking for this blessing, because in surrender to God’s plan, he would find what he always wanted.
There is a wrong kind of wrestling with God in which we try to run from His work for our lives and refuse to go in the direction He wants us to go. But there is a right kind of wrestling with God when we are trying to get His blessing.
Jacob won, in one sense, because he called out to God and asked for His will.
Then God asked Jacob an unusual question: “What is your name?” (verse 27 nkjv). Did God ask this of Jacob because He didn’t know his name? Hardly.
For Jacob to state his name was an admission — an admission he did not necessarily want to make. The name Jacob means, “heel-catcher, supplanter, grabber.”
In essence, the Lord was saying, “Jacob, do you want to keep living up to your present name and deceiving others, or will you admit what you are and let Me change you?” This is a question only Jacob could answer.
Jacob finally gave in. He surrendered. He had gone from cunning to clinging, from resisting to resting. He had been brought to the end of his resources. And God gave him a new name: Israel.
The name Israel is not an easy word to translate. Scholars differ as to its meaning. Some translate it as, “One who God commands,” or “Let God rule.” Others translate it, “One who fights victoriously with God,” or “A prince with God,” or “God’s fighter.”
Whatever the meaning, it is clear that a complete surrender to God and His will took place for Jacob. His loss was his victory. He won by losing, because now he was able to go in new strength as he walked in God’s power, will, and timing.
This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 nkjv).
We might look at that statement and think it doesn’t make any sense. But it makes perfect sense. To lose your life simply means that you come to the understanding at some point in your life that God’s plan is better than the plan you have for yourself.
I want to ask you today, are you ready to walk in God’s ways? Are you really ready to change?
If you are, then just watch what God will do.
To Abraham the pilgrim, God came as a traveler. Remember those three visitors who came to his tent before the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah? One of them was the Lord himself.
To Joshua the general, Jesus came as the Commander of the Lord’s army, telling him to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.
Jacob, in turn, was a wrestler. Figuratively speaking, he was always wrestling with people: he wrestled with his father Isaac...he wrestled with his brother Esau...he wrestled with his father-in-law Laban.
So the Lord came to Jacob as a wrestler. Psalm 18:26 says of God, “With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd” (nkjv).
Therefore, the Lord shrewdly came to Jacob. Genesis 32:24 tells us, “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day” (nkjv).
Jacob had been left alone with God. He was always conniving, always scheming, always plotting, and always had an idea. So the Lord stripped everything away and said, “OK, I want you alone with Me.”
As the commentator C. H. McIntosh said, “To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways.”
The conniving, plotting, scheming Jacob was all alone with God, and they began to wrestle.
What God wanted from Jacob was his surrender. But that wasn’t going to happen until Jacob came to the end of his strength. So on it went throughout the night.
Then a life-changing moment transpired for the scheming Jacob. Instead of fighting with God, He was clinging to Him. The Lord said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks” (Genesis 32:26 nkjv).
Jacob responded, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (verse 26 nkjv). It was a valid response on Jacob’s part in asking for this blessing, because in surrender to God’s plan, he would find what he always wanted.
There is a wrong kind of wrestling with God in which we try to run from His work for our lives and refuse to go in the direction He wants us to go. But there is a right kind of wrestling with God when we are trying to get His blessing.
Jacob won, in one sense, because he called out to God and asked for His will.
Then God asked Jacob an unusual question: “What is your name?” (verse 27 nkjv). Did God ask this of Jacob because He didn’t know his name? Hardly.
For Jacob to state his name was an admission — an admission he did not necessarily want to make. The name Jacob means, “heel-catcher, supplanter, grabber.”
In essence, the Lord was saying, “Jacob, do you want to keep living up to your present name and deceiving others, or will you admit what you are and let Me change you?” This is a question only Jacob could answer.
Jacob finally gave in. He surrendered. He had gone from cunning to clinging, from resisting to resting. He had been brought to the end of his resources. And God gave him a new name: Israel.
The name Israel is not an easy word to translate. Scholars differ as to its meaning. Some translate it as, “One who God commands,” or “Let God rule.” Others translate it, “One who fights victoriously with God,” or “A prince with God,” or “God’s fighter.”
Whatever the meaning, it is clear that a complete surrender to God and His will took place for Jacob. His loss was his victory. He won by losing, because now he was able to go in new strength as he walked in God’s power, will, and timing.
This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 nkjv).
We might look at that statement and think it doesn’t make any sense. But it makes perfect sense. To lose your life simply means that you come to the understanding at some point in your life that God’s plan is better than the plan you have for yourself.
I want to ask you today, are you ready to walk in God’s ways? Are you really ready to change?
If you are, then just watch what God will do.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Messages From Heaven: Hope Beyond Failure!
Messages From Heaven: Hope Beyond Failure!: Rarely will one of God’s heroes show up in the Scriptures having lived a life free of failure. Take Peter, for example. As soon as you ...
Hope Beyond Failure!
Rarely will one of God’s heroes show up in the Scriptures having
lived a life free of failure. Take Peter, for example. As soon as you
read the name, you remember his story. Peter experienced the extreme
highs and lows of life — from days spent in blessed fellowship with
Christ...to the heart-wrenching erosion of loyalty when he denied the
Lord. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Once he realized his failure, the Bible says, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62).
Can you remember a failure that was so dramatic and so tearful for you that you hardly need to be reminded of the feelings? I remember Betsie ten Boom’s words, “There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still.” As dark and as deep and as tragic as your failure may be, He is willing to go to the depths of it with you.
This was true of Peter too. Look back at Luke 22. After the surprising warning of Satan’s attack, Jesus gave Peter a statement of fact: “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” Then there was a veiled reassurance: “And you, when once you have turned again...”. Then a final command: “Strengthen your brothers” (22:32).
What does that suggest? It suggests that Peter was going to fall. “Once you have turned again.” “Retraced your steps” is another way someone else has put it. “Once you have turned again,” Jesus said, “then use it to strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew Peter to the core. He knew Peter would fall, but He prayed for him that he would not remain fallen. Jesus loved Peter — even at his point of deepest weakness.
How did He prove that love? Mark 16:6-7 answers that question. After the Resurrection, while the women were standing at the tomb, an angel told them:
Somewhere between the time Peter fell and this angelic announcement there was a process during which Peter wallowed in remorse, wishing he could, if possible, correct his error...but he couldn’t. And somewhere in the midst of it he heard the Lord say to him, “Peter, I forgive you. I understand. Use it to strengthen your brothers.”
That’s why Peter later was able to write the following words to early Christians:
First Peter is a letter of great hope written by a man who experienced it! By the time he wrote this letter, Peter had come to the place where he was not only back on the scene, he was aggressively engaged in the formation of the early church.
It can happen to you too. Just like fallen and forgiven Peter, you can find new hope despite your failures. If you are a believer, you are born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
What tender mercy! What triumphant grace! Failure is not forever. God specializes in forgiveness and hope. He can use even your worst failures in a mighty way.
Can you remember a failure that was so dramatic and so tearful for you that you hardly need to be reminded of the feelings? I remember Betsie ten Boom’s words, “There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still.” As dark and as deep and as tragic as your failure may be, He is willing to go to the depths of it with you.
This was true of Peter too. Look back at Luke 22. After the surprising warning of Satan’s attack, Jesus gave Peter a statement of fact: “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” Then there was a veiled reassurance: “And you, when once you have turned again...”. Then a final command: “Strengthen your brothers” (22:32).
What does that suggest? It suggests that Peter was going to fall. “Once you have turned again.” “Retraced your steps” is another way someone else has put it. “Once you have turned again,” Jesus said, “then use it to strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew Peter to the core. He knew Peter would fall, but He prayed for him that he would not remain fallen. Jesus loved Peter — even at his point of deepest weakness.
How did He prove that love? Mark 16:6-7 answers that question. After the Resurrection, while the women were standing at the tomb, an angel told them:
Isn’t that great? “Don’t forget Peter. He’s the last one who thinks that I’ll ever want to talk to him again. Tell Peter!” What grace!“Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter.” (emphasis added)
Somewhere between the time Peter fell and this angelic announcement there was a process during which Peter wallowed in remorse, wishing he could, if possible, correct his error...but he couldn’t. And somewhere in the midst of it he heard the Lord say to him, “Peter, I forgive you. I understand. Use it to strengthen your brothers.”
That’s why Peter later was able to write the following words to early Christians:
Why did this mean so much to Peter? Because it was at the Resurrection Peter’s name was called, and the Lord in tender mercy said, “Tell him I’ve come back.”May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection. (1 Peter 1:2-3, emphasis added)
First Peter is a letter of great hope written by a man who experienced it! By the time he wrote this letter, Peter had come to the place where he was not only back on the scene, he was aggressively engaged in the formation of the early church.
It can happen to you too. Just like fallen and forgiven Peter, you can find new hope despite your failures. If you are a believer, you are born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
What tender mercy! What triumphant grace! Failure is not forever. God specializes in forgiveness and hope. He can use even your worst failures in a mighty way.
Messages From Heaven: Faith in the Workplace!
Messages From Heaven: Faith in the Workplace!: You invest more than one-third of your life at work. Punch the clock, turn on the computer, start your engines at 8 a.m., rest a few m...
Faith in the Workplace!
You invest more than one-third of your life at work. Punch the
clock, turn on the computer, start your engines at 8 a.m., rest a few
minutes at noon, but keep your mind and body in gear till the sun has
set. Then tomorrow — repeat. Sound familiar?
So how can your relationship with God grow in all this? The easy temptation is to separate your life into two parts: career — public; faith — private.
But considering how much of your life you spend engaged in your career, perhaps that is the ideal place to grow in your relationship with Christ. Can you identify with these common arenas where your faith meets life?
Giving Faith a Face
Your friends at work know you are “religious” because...
You have mentioned occasionally that you are involved at church.
You’ve promised to pray for them as they go through a crisis.
There’s just that “something” about you: different yet attractive.
They’ve seen you go through a crisis and still maintain that “something.”
Whatever your style, ask the Lord to make your life a sweet “fragrance of the knowledge of him” (2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV). Look for ways to model God’s grace and “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).
Heated Comments and Cold Shoulders
Throughout the workday, have you ever found yourself thinking?
In over Your Head
Sometimes, in the middle of the workday, do you catch yourself thinking...
How in the world did I end up here?
I may look “all together,” but I hope no one realizes how fast my heart is racing.
What do people really expect of me? Am I measuring up?
How could I ever live for God in this place?
Centuries ago, a woman named Esther shared any one of these responses. The lesson for her life — and yours — can be summed up in Esther 4:14: “Who knows [if God hasn’t placed you here] for such a time as this?” God has planned each event of your job so that you have opportunity to trust Him. (Meditate on Proverbs 3:5-6.) What do you need to entrust to Him today?
As you head off to work tomorrow, believe that God is also at work — in the conflicts, in the opportunities, and in the heart of your day.
So how can your relationship with God grow in all this? The easy temptation is to separate your life into two parts: career — public; faith — private.
But considering how much of your life you spend engaged in your career, perhaps that is the ideal place to grow in your relationship with Christ. Can you identify with these common arenas where your faith meets life?
Giving Faith a Face
Your friends at work know you are “religious” because...
You have mentioned occasionally that you are involved at church.
You’ve promised to pray for them as they go through a crisis.
There’s just that “something” about you: different yet attractive.
They’ve seen you go through a crisis and still maintain that “something.”
Whatever your style, ask the Lord to make your life a sweet “fragrance of the knowledge of him” (2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV). Look for ways to model God’s grace and “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).
Heated Comments and Cold Shoulders
Throughout the workday, have you ever found yourself thinking?
I wish we could have one conversation that didn’t end in aggravation.Often on the stage of conflict, your faith grows even stronger. Behind the power plays or misunderstandings, you can trust that God is in control. Ask Him to help you to model Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV): “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger.... Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
His memo floored me. How could he assume that of me? Why should I be the one to say anything? I’ll just get stuck shouldering the blame. This place feels like a television series. Sometimes it’s a drama. Sometimes a soap opera. But it’s never Happy Days.
In over Your Head
Sometimes, in the middle of the workday, do you catch yourself thinking...
How in the world did I end up here?
I may look “all together,” but I hope no one realizes how fast my heart is racing.
What do people really expect of me? Am I measuring up?
How could I ever live for God in this place?
Centuries ago, a woman named Esther shared any one of these responses. The lesson for her life — and yours — can be summed up in Esther 4:14: “Who knows [if God hasn’t placed you here] for such a time as this?” God has planned each event of your job so that you have opportunity to trust Him. (Meditate on Proverbs 3:5-6.) What do you need to entrust to Him today?
As you head off to work tomorrow, believe that God is also at work — in the conflicts, in the opportunities, and in the heart of your day.
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