KEEP ON WALKING

 

 

 

Isaiah 50:10  

Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God

 

The life led by the Spirit of God is marvelous. Sensing His presence, living victoriously, and knowing the truth are characteristics of a free person. But what if you couldn't sense His presence? What if God, for some reason, suspended His blessings? What would you do if you were faithfully following God and suddenly all external circumstances turned sour?

 

My family and I have been through two extremely dark periods in our life. There were days I wasn't sure if we were going to make it. If it wasn't for the message of Isaiah 50:10, I'm not sure we would have survived spiritually. Isaiah is asking if there is a believer, somebody who fears the Lord, walking in darkness. He is not referring to the darkness of sin or even the darkness of this world. He is talking about the darkness of uncertainty--that blanket of heaviness that settles in as though a black cloud has drifted over our very being. God has suspended His conscious blessings.

 

What is a person to do during these times? Isaiah tells us that no matter how dark it gets, we are to keep on walking. In the light we can see the next step. The path ahead is clear. We know a friend from an enemy and we can see where the obstacles are. But when darkness settles in, every natural instinct says to drop out, sit down, stop! We become fearful of the next step.

 

Isaiah says don't stop; keep on walking. Keep walking in the light of previous revelation. If it was true six months ago, it is still true. I try never to make a major decision when I am down. Rather, I wait until the cloud lifts and everything is clear and in focus again.

 

If God's ministry of darkness should envelop you, understand that God has not left you; He has only suspended His conscious presence so that your faith will not rest on feelings or be established by unique experiences or blessings. Listen to Isaiah's advice: Keep on walking. Never doubt in the darkness what God has clearly shown you in the light.

 

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for guiding me through the darkness of my trials with the light of Your truth.

HUMANITY'S BASIC NEEDS

Philippians 4:19 ~ "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus"

Adam and Eve were created spiritually alive. The attributes they experienced before the Fall became glaring needs after the Fall.

 

1. Acceptance was replaced by rejection, therefore we have a need to belong. Ever since Adam and Eve's sin alienated them from God and disrupted human relationships, we have experienced a deep need to belong. Even when people come to Christ and fill their need to belong to God, they still need the acceptance of people. You will never understand the power of peer pressure in our culture until you understand the legitimate need to belong and the fear of rejection we all share.

 

2. Innocence was replaced by guilt and shame, therefore we have a need for a sense of worth. Many psychologists agree that people today generally suffer from a poor sense of worth. The secular psychologist responds by trying to stroke the human ego and psychologist responds by trying to stroke the human ego and encourage us to improve our performance. Your worth as a person is not an issue of giftedness, talent, intelligence or beauty. It's an identity issue. Your sense of personal worth comes from knowing who you are: a child of God.

 

3. Authority to rule over creation was replaced by weakness and helplessness, therefore we have a need for strength and self-control. There is no one more insecure than a controller. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not spouse- or child-control.

 

Only Christ can meet the most basic needs of humanity such as life, identity, acceptance, security and significance. These needs are eternal, unlike our physical needs. If we present Christ as meeting only our physical needs, we will have stiff competition from every humanistic organization.!!

YOU WERE MADE TO FLY

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21).

Can a caterpillar fly? If you said, "No," you would be partially correct. Actually, a caterpillar can fly, but it must have a transformation first.

The butterfly begins life as a caterpillar, a wormlike larva that spins a cocoon for itself. For weeks, the larva remains hidden within the cocoon as it undergoes metamorphosis. When it's time for the butterfly to emerge, it must struggle and fight its way out of the cocoon. We might be tempted to help this process by tearing open the cocoon - but that's the worst thing we could do. The struggle makes it strong and enables it to fly. Butterflies need adversity to become what God intended them to be. So do we.

The Book of Job is the story of a wealthy and successful community leader named Job. He was a successful and righteous businessman with huge holdings of livestock and real estate. One day Satan came before God and asked him, "Where have you come from?" Satan replied, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

God said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." Notice that God pointed Job out to Satan! God gave Satan permission to put Job through a trial of adversity. Job's herds were stolen, his servants were murdered, and all of Job's children were killed by a sudden tornado.

Through his trial of adversity, he grows in strength, wisdom and faith. His entire perspective on God is transformed by his suffering. He was even accused of sin by his closest friends.

We must get beyond the immature notion that God is interested only in making us healthy, wealthy and happy. More than anything, He wants us to be like Christ. And the road to becoming like Christ often leads through the wilderness of adversity.

In order for the butterfly to fly, there must be a transformation process that is often developed through adversity.!!

THE 3 TEMPTATION AREAS

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" ~ (Matt 4:1).

Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan! After 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was at his weakest physically, Satan came to Him. He tempted Him in 3 areas where you and I are most tempted. Why would the Father require this? Jesus needed to affirm to Satan who He was and from whom He gained His authority and provision.



1) Our Identity

“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you, ’and,‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”  Jesus understood His identity and refused to allow Satan to redefine Him. Do not allow Satan to define your identify from anyone or anything other than God.

2)  Our Authority

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God. Jesus’ authority was rooted in doing only what He saw the Father do. He did not use fleshly authority.

3) Our Source of Provision

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Realize your identify resides in being a son or daughter of your Heavenly Father. Your authority resides in being led by the Holy Spirit. Your provision comes from your Heavenly Father.

10 LEADERSHIP LESSONS

This is a list the 10 most powerful Leadership Lessons you must learn as a Christian Leader. Here is the List:

 1) It's lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.

2) It's dangerous to succeed. I'm most concerned for those who aren't even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually He uses leaders who have been crushed.

3) It's hardest at home. No one ever told me this in seminary.

4) It's essential to be real. If there's one realm where phoniness is common, it's among leaders. Stay real.

5) It's painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won't be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.

6) Brokenness and failure are necessary.

7) Attitude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: Some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.

8) Integrity eclipses image. Today we highlight image, but it's what you're doing behind the scenes.

9) God's way is better than my way.

10) Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

SHATTERED DREAMS

Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. (Ruth 1:3-5).

Naomi’s life was going well. A great husband. Two fine sons who had two wonderful wives. Then the unthinkable happened. Her husband died. A little time later both her sons die. Her and her daughter-in-laws find themselves in the midst of shattered dreams. This isn’t how life was supposed to be.

How did Naomi react to her situation? “…for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!" (Ruth 1:13). Ah, we see her true feelings about the situation. “How could a loving God let this happen?!”  "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" (Ruth 1:20-21).

Mara means bitter. She knew where she was. She was bitter toward this so called God of love. “How can I possibly reconcile this?!” No life insurance. No widow’s fund. “What is going to happen to me and my daughters?”

The Bible says the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous. Naomi and Ruth move to a community where some of her relatives lived. Ruth goes out to work in the fields to put food on the table. She just so happens to work in the field of a wealthy farmer named Boaz. When Ruth tells her this the first ray of hope penetrates her bitter heart. Even she can recognize the hand of God.

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz. Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!’" (Ruth 2:19-20).
Hebrew custom was for the next in kin to care for the widow in the family. Boaz was to be this man. He would eventually marry Ruth. She would bare a son, Obed. He would be the father of Jesse, the father of David. Jesus would come firm the same lineage.

Shattered dreams often lead to a world-impacting destiny. But getting there is often a process where we must work through honest feelings before we can see the God who redeems even the most devastating shattered dream.

THE HEART OF EVANGELISM

e•van•ge•lism, noun: the preaching or promulgation (proclaiming) of the gospel a•pol•o•get•ics, noun: the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of Christianity. Even in the dictionary, these two words, "evangelism" and "apologetics," are different, are not the same thing. And yet, I think that as Christians, we tend to melt the two together to be one, thinking that if we are going to “evangelize” then that means we have to have all of the answers about why God allows suffering and what going to hell means and how old the Earth is and whether King David really lived or why God does this or says that or what this or that really means. Having all the answers to those kinds of questions falls into the "apologetics" category.  They're good questions and ones that many of us wrestle with, to be sure. But do we have to have the answers to them? Too often, I think that we assume that if we're going to "proclaim the gospel" (meaning, "evangelize"), then we must. We think that to share the gospel, we have to be able to defend Scripture and pull verses up from memory for every discourse. We think that if we’re going to share the Good News, then we have to be able to do it in 60 seconds or less and start off with the question, “If you died today, where would you go?” and then explain it all in context of Revelation and the bowls and plagues and horsemen and scrolls. It’s enough to make even the boldest and bravest of Christians shrink back from the task. And yet, if we look back at those definitions, we’ll see that evangelism simply asks us to “proclaim the gospel.” It doesn’t say anything about scientific equations or archaeological digs or cosmic evidence. It doesn’t say anything about knowing Hebrew or the ability to open the Bible to the exact page you intended without looking. They're not bad questions and it certainly doesn't hurt if you have studied those kinds of hard questions and know the Hebrew and Greek of the original texts. Of course it is helpful when we're sharing the gospel to know verses and know Jesus' words and able to share those legacies of our faith with the people we're talking to. But must we know it all? Must we have it all figured out before we evangelize? A pastor once told me that if we want to evangelize, we should focus less on all academic and theological and classroom stuff, and focus instead on Jesus, plain and simple. Focus on Jesus and how his good news has affected me. Tell people about how he has changed my life and how he has shown me his love and how he’s saved me time and time again. Proclaiming the gospel can simply be us taking the time to strip down to the bare bones of our faith walk and share what we’ve experienced of Jesus, firsthand. Because then we can’t use any excuses when it comes to being inadequate or untrained. I may not have all the answers, but I can share my own story. And maybe, that’s all that it takes…#BlessingsToYou

THE 3 POINT SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe" (Eph 1:18-19).

 

Paul's letter to the Ephesians exhorts believers to experience three important things in their spiritual lives that he experienced personally. As a good mentor, he desires those he is leading to follow his example.

First, God wants you to have the eyes of your heart enlightened in order to know the hope to which He has called you. God has called each of us to a future and a hope. Some do not ever realize the dreams they envision for their lives. Paul prays they will experience this.

Second, God wants you to know there is an inheritance for each believer in Jesus Christ. There are riches to be had - not financial riches - but spiritual riches that are laid up for every saint. As you are faithful to His calling in your life, there will be a reward for your faithfulness.

Third, God desires you to tap into the power that is available to every believer. Paul often exhorted believers not to look at his persuasive words, but the demonstration of the power of God in his life. He wants you to know this same power is available to you. After all, Jesus said we would do even greater works than He did after He sent the Holy Spirit to us.

Pray that God reveals the hope that exists inside of you, be encouraged that there is an inheritance awaiting you, and know that you have power that resides in you that awaits those who exercise their faith to release it.! #BlessingsToYou

A FASHION CONSCIOUS GOD

"…clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ." ~ Romans 13:14

 

It doesn’t take much time at a magazine rack to realize our society is extremely fashion-conscious. From Fossil to Fendi; flip-flops to fur coats, we love to concentrate on clothing. No matter what the occasion, we want to be appropriately dressed in the latest style. But our fashion frenzy is nothing new.

God himself has a passion for fashion. As the ultimate Designer, he wants us to be dressed to the nines in every area of our lives. And because of that, he has tailor made a perfect garment for all of us to put on. And that garment is Jesus Christ.
The thread that holds the world together isn’t made of silk or cotton. It isn’t found on a sale rack or on the pages of a magazine. Rather, the thread that holds your life together is Jesus Christ.

As you continue to work on the fabric of your life, trust God’s plans for you. Look to Christ for his fashion advice. And discover what it means to become truly fashion conscious.
Prayer

Lord, thank you having such a passion for fashion. And thank you for designing the ultimate garment to cover my life. Help me to take hold of that garment and to wear it in everything I do so that others may see your glory in my fashion conscious life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

THE GOD OF THE NOW AND THE NEXT LEVEL

^"But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." ~ Genesis 19:26

 

This story was set in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah when the people of that town where so evil that God had to resolve to rain down burning sulfur to destroy it. Now the my emphasis is really on Lot's wife and the fact that she looked back after God had explicitly told her not to look bac. What made her look back? why did she feel the need to look back?


Let me go back a moment and just paint the picture of how Lot and family got to be in Sodom & Gomorrah. God told Abraham to leave his country and when he left he took LOT (His name literally means DELAY). God did not say he must bring Lot with but in essence he did and along thew way Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen started arguing so they both went their separate ways. Now Abraham because he was a son of the promise he gave Lot a choice to choose where he would go and Lot chose the greener pastures. (Side Note: Gen 18: 16-33 ~Pause here to understand that in choosing the greener pastures he thought he was outsmarting the son of the promise, only to find that years later the very same man he was trying to outsmart is the same man who interceded for his life when he was in Sodom & Gomorrah...BE CAREFUL WHO YOU MESS WITH, YOU MIGHT NEED THAT SAME PERSON YOU PLAY WITH IN ORDER FOR GOD TO USHER YOU INTO YOUR NEXT LEVEL!)


Fast forward a couple of years Lot and Wife are in Sodom and Gomorrah and God has seen that the city is evil(Gen 18:20-21) and he tell his friend(Abraham) that he is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Now due Abraham's friendship with God , Lot's life was spared and the and the angel gave him time to go to the nearest town so him and his family would be saved.Now the angel gave specific instruction on how they were to leave Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:17). THEY WERE TOLD NOT TO LOOK BACK! (Side Note: The Israelites were caught in the same predicament when they left Egypt, when they were stuck between the red sea and the Egyptian armies the first notion was to look back and even GO BACK...Its because they did not understand that the same God who brought them out of Egypt will be the same one who will bring them into the promised land...THAT SAME GENERATION THAT DID NOT BELIEVE DIED OUT IN THE DESERT!)


Now as they left,  Lot's wife did the mistake of looking BACK. (We serve not a GOD who deals with the past but we serve a GOD who deals with the NOW and the FUTURE!!) When God gets ready to move you to your next level, you have nothing to do anymore with your PAST(Its passed for a reason!). Don't let your past (However tempting it might be to go back to) hinder your NOW and what God is taking you INTO(that is your NEXT LEVEL). Imagine if she had not looked back and she would be living a new life with his husband and daughters but instead she looked back and was turned to salt(Bitterness). Everything about your past is bitter(SALT represents the bitterness in life that looking back brings into your life as you continuously look back on your past). 


Today look forward to the God of YOUR NOW AND YOUR NEXT!! (End Note: The past is gone, all things have been made NEW!) #BlessingsToYou

TREASURING REDEMPTION'S PRICE

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Gal. 3:13, NIV).

 

To be cursed is to be removed from the presence of God, to be set outside the camp, to be cut off from His benefits. On the cross, Jesus was cursed. That is, He represented the Jewish nation of covenant breakers who were exposed to the curse and took the full measure of the curse on Himself. As the Lamb of God, the Sin Bearer, He was cut off from the presence of God.

On the cross, Jesus entered into the experience of forsakenness on our behalf. God turned His back on Jesus and cut Him off from all blessing, from all keeping, from all grace, and from all peace.
God is too holy to even look at iniquity. God the Father turned His back on the Son, cursing Him to the pit of hell while He hung on the cross. Here was the Son's "descent into hell." Here the fury of God raged against Him. His scream was the scream of the damned. For us.

But as he descended into hell it was to redeem (Buy back) your life from the enemy so that you might have an opportunity to reign with him in Heaven forever. His descent is you ascent. He went down so you can go up. Hell could not contain him because he was not of hell, he was of heaven.

Today reflect on what Jesus did for you on Calvary. Give thanks for the Lamb of God who bore your sin.!

 

BAPTISM AT THE RED SEA

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life"  ~ Romans 6:4

When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, he took them to the edge of the Red Sea. The people saw the sea before them and heard the chariots of the Egyptians behind them. They knew they were trapped - and they lost their faith in God. They thought God was no longer at work in their lives. In panic and despair, they turned on Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out into the desert to die? When we were slaves in Egypt, didn't we tell you, 'Just leave us alone and let us continue serving the Egyptians.' Better to live as slaves than to die out here!"

They couldn't imagine that God's path to freedom actually led straight into and through the deep waters! The waters of the Red Sea, like the New Testament sacrament of baptism, are a symbol of death. When Moses parted the Red Sea, the people of Israel walked upon the dry seabed with walls of water on either side. They descended into the depths of the sea. They died to their old selves and rose to a new life that led to the Promised Land.

Like the people of Israel in their journey, we panic and cry out to God, "Did You bring me out into this desert of adversity to die?" We would rather live as slaves than die to self and yield control of our lives to God. But God takes us through the depths so that we can emerge as new people, ready to enter the Promised Land.

In general, I've observed that the greater and higher the calling, the more intense the adversity. I'm not saying one person's call is more important, but I am saying it may have a more far reaching impact on others. This often requires greater preparation.

If you find yourself in deep water, thank God today that He is preparing you for a life that is designed to impact many.

FEAR

In 1991, Michigan's Timid Motorist Program assisted 830 drivers across the Mackinac Bridge that is five miles long and 200 feet high. The drivers were so scared of heights that they couldn't drive their own cars. The same year, more than a thousand motorists received assistance at Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge -- also 200 feet high and four miles long.

David Jeremiah writes: "In spite of their destination being in plain sight and a history of the bridges being safe, the drivers were paralyzed by fear. The same thing happened to the nation of Israel when they were ready to enter the Promised Land. The land was in plain sight, and they had a history of God meeting their needs; but only three people in the entire nation were willing to exercise their faith and enter the land: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. The rest said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we' (Numbers 13:31). That generation of Israelites never reached their destination. Instead, their fear paralyzed them in the wilderness where they died.

"If you can see your destination and have experienced God's faithfulness in the past, don't let fear destroy your freedom." (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 9-2-09)

MAINTAINING YOUR FREEDOM

Galatians 5:1 

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."

 

There is always a price to pay for freedom, and the moment we take our freedom for granted, we run the risk of losing it.

 

Freedom in Christ from our sinful nature and the god of this world is the inheritance of every believer. Christ has set you free through His victory over sin and death on the cross. But if you have lost a measure of your freedom because you have failed to stand firm in the faith or you have disobeyed God, it is your responsibility to do whatever is necessary to maintain a right relationship with God. Your eternal destiny is not at stake; you are secure in Christ. But your daily victory in Him will be tenuous at best if you fail to assume your responsibility to maintain your freedom in Christ.

 

Remember: you are not the helpless victim of a tug-of-war between two nearly equal heavenly superpowers. Compared to Satan's limited attributes, God is immeasurable in His omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience--and you are united with Him! Sometimes the reality of sin and the presence of evil may seem more real than the reality and presence of God, but that's part of Satan's deception. He is a defeated foe, and we are in Christ, the eternal Victor. That's why we worship God: to keep His divine attributes constantly before us in order to counter Satan's lies. A true knowledge of God and our identity in Christ is the greatest determinant of our mental health. A false concept of God and the misplaced deification of Satan are the greatest contributors to mental illness.

Prayer: I praise You, Lord, for the awesome freedom I enjoy in Christ. Strengthen my will so I may choose to walk in freedom daily.Amen

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" ~ Matt 20:26-28

A rider on horseback, many years ago, came upon a squad of soldiers who were trying to move a heavy piece of timber. A corporal stood by, giving lordly orders to "heave." But the piece of timber was a trifle too heavy for the squad.

"Why don't you help them?" asked the quiet man on the horse, addressing the important corporal.

"Me? Why, I'm a corporal sir!" Dismounting, the stranger carefully took his place with the soldiers.

"Now, all together boys - heave!" he said. And the big piece of timber slid into place. The stranger mounted his horse and addressed the corporal.

"The next time you have a piece of timber for your men to handle, corporal, send for the commander-in-chief."

The horseman was George Washington, the first American president.

Whenever someone mentions your name does the word "servant" come to their mind? Jesus modeled servant-hood to twelve young men and changed the world. If you want to see others become servants you must model it yourself. George Washington was a great example of a Christian leader who was a great soldier and servant to those he led. No wonder God used this great servant to establish a new nation.

Moses was also a great leader of men. The Bible says that Moses was the most humble man on earth. That is why God could use him to lead hundreds of thousands out of slavery into the Promised Land.

Pray that God makes you a great humble servant leader of others.!!