We Just Do Not Know or Understand

Verse of the day: Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

There are many things we do not understand about God and His ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways. What we think is fair and just, God may see differently as He sees the whole picture while we only see a small fragment. When we see someone who does wrong and suffers severe consequences, while someone else who also does wrong suffers none; we do not understand, but in both instances God is in control. We look at the forecast and plan to plant our seeds in the garden based on what the weather is indicating, and then there is a sudden change, a frost, that renders our garden barren. We make plans to gather with family or take a vacation, but it never happens because tragedy strikes and either a family member dies, or we meet the day of our death. The bottom line is that regardless of the signs, whether the wind is blowing in a certain direction or the clouds seem to promise rain, we just never know what will happen next (v. 4). One thing we can be certain of is that God is in control, and He does know. For this reason, when we make our plans, we must always be ready to accept any changes God might make in those plans. We must never count Him out in our daily life, knowing that regardless of what takes place, whether we view it as positive and fair or negative and unjust, God is in control, and we may never understand why He allows what He allows or disallows what we think should be different. James 4:13-17 tells us that life is like a vapor and we do not know what will happen tomorrow, and for this reason we must make our plans saying, “If the Lord wills”. The writer of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, reminds us that there are many things about God’s creation that we do not comprehend. Where does the wind originate or how do bones grow in the womb? There is so much about God’s creation that we will never understand, although we make our attempts through science. When the weather person cannot seem to predict the weather accurately, it is because they fail to include God into the equation. I laugh when I hear, even Christians, attribute the changes and unpredictability of the weather to “mother nature”. God questioned Job about His creation, and it brought Job to silence and the confession that he knew nothing, as God brought him face to face with his lack of understanding of God’s ways (Job 38-42). All we may know about our God is written in the words of His Scriptures. However, regardless of how much we learn about Him and how much we get to know Him, the bottom line is that His ways are far beyond our understanding (Job 5:8-10; Ps 145:3; Is 40:28; Rm 11:33). The Christian life does not exempt us from experiencing the hardships of life. When we serve the Lord, on any given day, the unexpected can happen. The comfort we have in being born again believers is that we know that our Heavenly Father is always in control, and in Christ we have many promises that help us to endure and move forward, trusting God to work all situations and circumstances for our good, and ultimately His glory (Rm 8:28-29; Heb 13:5-6; Phil 4:6-7; 1 Pt 5:7). A life lived by faith is a life that can be both challenging and exciting, as we will see and experience things that will challenge our faith and what we believe about God. Let us allow God out of the little boxes we have created for Him in our lives; and let us allow Him be God in our lives. I guarantee that it will be life-changing, and life as a follower of Jesus Christ will never be the same.

How is it that a good and righteous God could ever forgive sinful people like us? Only God truly understands why. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

A Mother’s Response to Answered Prayer

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 1:27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.

How often, in greatly desiring something, have we prayed and asked God for that very thing and in the process of asking promised that we would do something in return? How often has God granted it, but then we try to bargain with God because what we promised we would do now proved to be too difficult to carry out? Hannah, the Prophet Samuel’s mother was barren. Her desire was to have a child, and prayed as such, promising God that if He gave her a male child she would give him back to the Lord to serve Him all the days of his life. What a great promise to make in return for receiving an answer to her prayers! I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for Hannah to carry Samuel in her womb for the duration of her pregnancy; then be able to bring the child to be left with Eli the priest to serve the Lord all his life. First, we see that God answered her prayer and did what was humanly impossible; for it is God who chooses to open or close the womb. Sarah, Abraham’s wife was barren; yet, God opened her womb in fulfilling His promise to Abraham (Gen 11:30; 21:1ff). Our God is able to do the impossible (Mt 19:26). Secondly, we see that Hannah is given a son, who she names Samuel, and is instrumental in anointing both King Saul and King David, later in his service to the Lord (1 Sam 9-10; 16:1-13). Thirdly, we see a godly mother who not only keeps her promise to the Lord, but makes a decision that is the best decision she could make for her child. There is great value in a woman who is a God fearing woman, and a woman who leads her children on the path to serving the God she loves, fears, and serves. Today, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, I want to encourage those Christian mothers out there to follow Hannah’s example and dedicate their children to the Lord, giving them back to Him to use for His purposes. Pray that they will grow close to Him, rely on Him, and serve Him faithfully. Lead them by example, and be willing to let them go and find the path God has chosen for them. Too many try to hold on to their children and dictate what they should do in life, when the best thing a mother (or father) could do is pray that God shows them (their children) what He desires for them to do. Our children are a gift from God; and they are with us for only a short while. We are to be good stewards of all the God has given us, including our children, and when the time comes, after we have trained them up in the things of God, trust that they will not depart from it when they are old, and that God will use them for His glory, as He leads them down the path He has chosen for them (Pro 22:6). Samuel was a great prophet, but it all began with an answered prayer, and a mother who loved God; kept her word when He answered her prayer, and knew that the best thing she could do for her child, no matter how painful, was to give him back to God.

The greatest prayer God can answer is the one in which we call to Him for eternal life. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

He May Not Answer The Way We Expect

Verse of the day: 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

How often have we prayed, and prayed some more, for a particular thing we desired, whether it is that we are experiencing a hardship, trial, or some other troubling circumstance? How often have we received an answer to prayer that was not exactly what we were looking for or expecting? I praise God that in all the times that I have prayed for a certain outcome, He has chosen to give the outcome He desired. I have not always understood or particularly liked the way He answered, but in the long run I have always been thankful for His answer because in most instances He has later revealed that what He chose for an outcome was far better than what I desired, even if it His answer came with some pain. The truth of the matter is that God always know what is best for us and knows how to answer our prayers in such a way that it will be for our greatest good, greatest growth, and His greatest glory (Rm 8:28-29). The Apostle Paul received an answer to his prayers that God would remove the thorn in his flesh that was given to him, a messenger of Satan to buffet him (v. 8). The reason: to keep the Apostle humble. There exists a danger for all of us when we think more highly of ourselves than we should, in an aspect life, to include our service to the Lord. When we do, we put ourselves in a position for God to allow something into our lives that will humble us. It may even be something that God chooses to not take from us so that we are continually reminded that we are to be humble in our service and that all that we do, and are capable of doing, in His service is not because we are special above anyone else, but because Jesus is special above all. There are many of God’s servants that suffer from some kind of infirmity that is a lifelong burden. God has chosen to allow this to show the world His strength and His power through our weaknesses. Because we do not know how God will answer each prayer, there is nothing wrong with asking God to remove an illness, sickness, or troubling circumstance; however, we must be careful that we are ready to accept whatever answer God chooses to give. In response to our supplications the Lord may choose to allow whatever is troubling us to remain because He desires that we learn that His grace is of far more value than what we would ever gain from having the trial removed. We must trust that God is answering and giving us what would be far better for us in the long run, rather than give us temporary relief. How else will we learn to endure through trials and trust in God’s protection and deliverance if He does not allow us to experience those times when He has the opportunity to show His strength and power the most? When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He wanted them to see and experience His power as God at work by leading them to the Red Sea with no way to escape on their own (Ex 13:18; 14:1-31). The truth was that God also chose to bring them that way because they were not ready to face the Philistine had God led them through the shorter route (Ex 13:17-19). It is no different today. When we pray, God already knows what our reaction will be and how we will handle or mishandle the results of an answered prayer, because He knows us best. For this reason, He does not always gives us what we are asking for, as opposed to what He knows is best for us. In the case of the Apostle Paul, God chose that which would bring Christ the most glory. Too often we pray selfishly, asking God to give us that which will bring us the greatest relief rather than seeking that which will glorify Him most. In the end, even though the answer the Apostle received was not what He has pleaded for, he realized that God’s answer was what was the best answer; and therefore, he preferred to suffer under the infirmity so that the power of God would rest upon, or “tabernacle over him” as a shelter, as a protective and preserving refuge. The bottom line is that regardless of how God answers our prayers or what He allows, it is always best to be in the center of His will and plan for our lives. It is the place of our greatest protection, and the place where we will learn to truly serve Him in humility and complete reliance on Him, His strength, and His power.

The greatest prayer that any of us can pray is that prayer in which we call upon Jesus to forgive us and give us eternal life. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

What Will Our Testimony Be?

Verse of the day: Act 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

What drives us, motivates us, and keeps us going each day? What are our goals in life as born again believers? How many of our goals have anything to do with serving the Lord and doing something that is of any worth in the kingdom? Sadly, I hear a lot of complaining about the direction our country and our world is going in, and though we know that things will get worse as the time draws near for our Lord’s return (Mt 24:12; 2 Tim 3:1-5), the same people who are complaining are doing nothing to further the Gospel or win others to Christ. Too many of our goals are earthly goals that do nothing to make us more godly, bring glory to God, or even spread the Gospel message. What will be our testimony at the end of our life? We will all reach a time when we will be faced with the fact that life is truly fragile and will come to an end; a time when we will face our Lord and Savior. What will our life look like when we think back and reflect on what we have accomplished for Christ? Will we look back and see a life of sacrifice; a life that was lived with no fear of what we might lose or what might happen to us because we were fully trusting God to take care of us as He promised (Mt 6:32-34; 1 Pt 5:7; Phil 4:6-7)? Will we see a life that was lived in such a way that it reflected great value for the things of God and little value for earthly gain? Was it a life lived with joy and service to the Lord? Will we be looking forward to the rewards that are reserved for us for all the souls that were saved because we were faithful in sharing Christ with others, in whatever way possible? The Apostle Paul could, without hesitation, say that he was fearless in his service to our God. Although he was had already suffered much and was now being led by the Spirit to Jerusalem, where he was uncertain of what was to come, but was already aware that troubles and tribulations awaited him, refused to change course and was not alarmed or deterred from the mission ahead. He did not value his life in such a way as to preserve it for himself, but looked to willingly give it for the sake of the Gospel. Even though he had suffered much and knew that there was more suffering ahead, he counted it all joy to give his life for his service to the Lord Jesus. His goal or greatest purpose in life was to faithfully discharge his duty to Christ, even if it meant physical pain, imprisonment or even death. For this reason he could write to Timothy and say that he fought a good fight and had finished his course; he had kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Based on how we are living for the Lord, what will be our testimony? What will our earthly record look like from Heaven’s perspective? Will we continue to put more weight on what man thinks of our life, and continue to seek and set goals that will impress people, or will we re-prioritize our life goals so that our greatest rewards will be waiting for us once we have finished the race assigned to us by the One who purchased us with His blood (1 Cor 6:20)?

Jesus gave His life for us (Jn 3:16). Will we give our lives back to Him? He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

God’s Approach to Conflict Resolution (Part 2)

Verse of the day: Matthew 18:16-17 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ ¹⁷ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

So our brother/sister sins and offends us and we lovingly confront them after stopping to prayerfully examine ourselves and approach them with humility (Gal 6:1-5). How do we respond if they are not receptive to our willingness to forgive and reconcile the relationship? They continue to sin with no remorse and refuse to acknowledge the injury they have caused by their words or actions. The Lord instructs us to then bring one or two others into the situation; not for the purpose of proving that we were right in the quarrel; and not just to get someone to be on our side so the we can feel better about our misguided sense of piety; as the case may be that the other person did not actually sin, but offended us because they are not living by our convictions. Remember, this is the approach taken when someone sins against us, not when someone violates our preferences. In finding the one or two people to bring with us, we must use wisdom. We should be sharing the situation with no one but those that we are bringing with us, and in that case keep to the facts and not to what our opinion is of the situation. We must be careful that in wanting to bring someone to the table that is “on our side” we do not end up turning this into a gossip session about what the brother/sister did in sinning against us (for in that case we would be the ones sinning). The whole idea is not about being vindicated for what was done to us; instead, it should really be about the testimony of Christ, the church’s reputation before the unsaved, and the well-being of our brother/sister. What I am saying is that our goal should be to win them back so that they are walking with the Lord and not shaming the Name of Jesus. For this reason we must find someone to come with us who will be impartial, wise, and will have a desire to truly seek reconciliation for our fellow brother/sister, and not make matters worse by their wrong attitude or mean-spirited approach. If possible, find someone who also knows the brother/sister and wants the best for that person; someone who has some kind of influence over them (that they respect) or influence within the church. Regardless of how the person reacts to us or the person/people we bring to the table, we are to represent Jesus, in our approach, with humility and honor. If the person responds with anger because their pride has been hurt (even though they may have caused the initial conflict by sinning against us), we are not in any way justified in responding in the same manner. We are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get angry (Jm 1:19). We are not to respond in like manner, but continue to be kind and refuse to return evil for evil (Rm 12:16-18). If the person is yet resistant, then we are told to bring it before the church. The church can either be the body of believers or the leadership of the church, pastors, elders and deacons. Once that has been done, and the person still refuses to make things right or turn from their sinful ways, then we are to treat them as if they are non-believers. What does that mean? Well, how are we called to treat those that are outside of the church, the unbelievers? We are to treat them with kindness, love, and with a desire to bring them into a relationship with Jesus. In this case, we are not to participate in worship with this person, but regard them as someone who is not a fellow believer, but still be ready to treat them in the same manner Christ would treat them. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, the Apostle Paul is clear that we are to put away from us those that claim to be Christians but behave like the world, which have no regard for Christ or the defilement of the church. We must balance those instructions with these given by Jesus Himself. In other words, we may excommunicate a brother/sister from fellowship with the local church, but we must always be ready to love them, be kind to them, and treat them with gentleness as we would treat an unsaved person. It is by this demonstration of godly behavior and Christ’s love that we may win them back into fellowship. The Word of God is very clear that the wrath of man does nothing to promote the righteousness of God and it is God’s goodness that turns us to repentance (Jm 1:20; Rm 2:4). If we take this approach, we make room for the Lord to deal with the erring brother/sister. Finally, we then must always be ready to receive those who have sinned against us, Christ, and the church, the moment they have repented and turned from their sinful ways, back into fellowship. Let us always be careful to treat them with love and kindness, regardless of their actions, and not simply discard them; so that when they do repent and turn back to Christ we do not leave them outside of fellowship where Satan will use it as an advantage over us (2 Cor 2:3-11).

Jesus died for us, even though we committed great offenses against Him and is always ready to forgive us. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

God’s Approach to Conflict Resolution (Part 1)

Verse of the day: Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Conflict resolution, in my opinion and observation, is one of the most under-developed skills within the church. Sadly, as God’s children, we should be the living example for others on how to resolve differences amongst ourselves. Too often I see born again believers who do not talk to each other and act like they are enemies. I see Christians who gossip about what they allege another brother/sister in Christ has done to them. There have even been Christians who have gone to the world to help them resolve their differences by suing one another, which the Apostle Paul says is to our shame (1 Cor 6:1-7). All of this is done with absolutely no thought for how that will reflect on Christ, the church, and Christianity. Here in the Book of Matthew, Jesus gives clear instruction on what steps are to be taken when we are offended by another Christian. Note that the first couple of steps can be taken to resolve an issue with an unsaved person, as far as approaching privately and maybe bringing a third party into the situation to find resolution, but know that with the unsaved we may have to, for Christ’s sake and the sake of our testimony, just let the offense go, forgive, and move on. Nonetheless, the instructions given by Jesus are to be practiced amongst God’s people, first and foremost, because God does not want to see division within the Body of Christ (Eph 4; Phil 2). With that said, should we be offended by the words or deeds of a fellow brother/sister in Christ, our first responsibility is to seek unity in the body, and therefore, regardless of the fact that we are not the offender, we are to seek peace between us and the person that offended us. Too often, we refuse, because of our own pride, to go to the offender and justify our refusal by putting the responsibility to reconcile and apologize on the person who offended on the basis that they caused the offense. The devils will certainly use this approach to bring division amongst God’s people; and although that Word of God also admonishes the offender to make things right with those they offend (Mt 5:23-24), we are all called to be at peace, as much as lies within us, with others, both saved and unsaved (Rm 12:18). One of the first things, however, that we are to ask ourselves is, “Was the offense against me a sinful action?” In other words, did that person offend us by sinning against us or am I just one of those people who picks on everything that other Christians do? This is what I mean; there is a big difference between someone doing something that is sinful vs. someone doing something that conflicts with my own convictions or preference as a Christian. We must be careful that we not allow our convictions and preferences to bring division within the body of Christ. Once we have determined that the other person’s words or actions were truly sinful, we must then stop and examine ourselves before making our approach. In doing this we give the Lord the opportunity to deal with our hearts and bring us to the place where we realize, and admit, that we too are not perfect, have our own faults, and have offended others at some point with our own sinful behavior. This is all done so that when we approach our brother/sister, we do so with humility, truly seeking resolution and reconciliation, rather than seeking to make ourselves feel better because we have appeased our own pride and ego (Gal 6:1-5). In taking this approach we may find that what we thought was an intentional action or word against us was in reality a simple misunderstanding. We may also find that the person who offended us or sinned against us was not aware of the offense. In taking this peaceful approach it also gives us the opportunity to help our brother/sister turn from a sinful behavior and be reconciled not just to us, but to Christ as well. Too often, in the name of love, we refuse to correct a sinning brother/sister. However, to truly love as Christ loves does not mean that we overlook or downplay another’s sins. In love we are to seek to correct them and help them turn from their sinful ways; failing to do so, when appropriate, and when given the opportunity by the Lord, is to show a lack of love toward our fellow Christian. The bottom line is that God has given us a process to follow that will bring the greatest peace within the body, as long as we do not allow our own pride and ego to get in the way of what we should do in humility. Tomorrow we will look at what steps to take if we are met with resistance by the brother/sister who has sinned against us.

Jesus died for us, even though we committed great offenses against Him. Yet, He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Free From Sin; Not Free to Sin

Verse of the day: Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

In a day and age when more and more Christians are trying to walk along the “Christian fence” or that line where one foot is in the world and the other in Christianity, this verse is often used to excuse worldly living, and justify sinful behavior. This ought not to be so with the child of God. Sadly, too many Christians only learn a portion of verses or learn a verse, then quote it out of context so that it fits their theology, not God’s. The fact that there is no condemnation for us who have called upon and trusted Jesus for eternal life has nothing to do with us going out and continuing to live in sin without consequences. As a matter of fact, if we, as people who profess to have a relationship with Jesus, do not feel any conviction about sinning or have no desire to live godly, I would say that we have to stop and reexamine our profession of faith. Our relationship with Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us is never to be taken lightly. In Romans 6:1-3 the Apostle Paul makes it clear that as Christians we are not to take God’s grace for granted, and he questions how we can continue in sin when we are dead to it in Christ. The truth is that this verse in chapter eight is speaking of the fact that there is no condemnation for those of us who are born again because Jesus, by His sacrifice on Calvary and His resurrection, has made us free from the law of sin and death. In other words, the Law could not save us, but condemned us because it made us aware of just how sinful we are, and how impossible it is for us to attain eternal life of our own accord and works. Only the Blood of Christ could cleanse us and make us clean from sin and unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9). In cleansing us He did not then give us permission to turn back to rolling around in the muck of sin and wickedness, but as this verse clearly points out we are no longer to walk in the flesh, but walk according to the Spirit. The fact that we are free from condemnation means that we are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit who cannot sin (1 Jn 3:5-9; 1 Jn 5:18), and because of the righteousness of Jesus, we are declared not guilty (of justified) by our Heavenly Father. This does not mean that we will never stumble in our pursuit of righteousness; if that were so there would be no need for the Apostle to write the Words that were inspired by the Holy Spirit in Galatians 6:1-3 in teaching us how to deal with those of us who do occasionally stumble. Our propensity to stumble should be the exception and not the rule in our lives. The Apostle was led to point out, as he was writing this portion of Scripture, that we are not, as born again believers, to live according to the flesh, as directed in Galatians 5:19-21; committing adultery, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft, and drunkenness, just to name a few. Instead, we are to allow the Spirit to produce His fruit of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, as written in Galatians 5:22-23, in our lives. In verse 7 of this chapter the Apostle makes it clear that to be carnally minded is to be as an enemy to God. James 4:4 tells us that to be a friend to the world is to be an enemy of God. The bottom line is that as followers of Jesus we can no longer operate in the flesh, as we cannot please God when we do (v. 8). We are to instead follow the example of Jesus who did everything that pleased His Father (Jn 8:29). If we are going to claim that we are not condemned, it can only be possible if Christ is in us; and if Christ be in us, then we are dead to sin and no longer have a desire to live a life of unrighteousness (v. 10). Let us thank and praise God today for such a wonderful salvation that has sealed us and secured eternal life for us. Whatever it is that we are struggling with today, let us not make excuses for it; let us bring it to the Lord knowing that in Him we have forgiveness and another opportunity to get it right. Although we have an enemy and world system that will persecute us and try to make us stumble because we have a desire to live godly (2 Tim 3:12); we also have the Holy Spirit indwelling us who is greater than our enemy (1 Jn 4:4). So, rather than use this verse as an excuse and justification for sinful behavior, let us use it as an encouragement and motivation to continue to tread forward in our walk with the Lord knowing that the victory is already ours because Jesus is victorious, and in Him we too have overcome and are heaven-bound, with nothing and no one who can stop us (Jn 16:33).

Jesus paid the sin debt we owed and wants us to receive eternal life in Him. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).