Don't Be A Sitting Duck!
"He took them with Him and they withdrew
by themselves." Luke 9:10
Time alone daily with the Lord is vital to our
spiritual growth. It's been said that one quiet hour of prayer will
often yield greater results than many days spent in the company of
others. So, why do we skip our alone time? Why to we get busy or become
distracted with our duties and skimp on our devotions? Well… simply
because it yields so much fruit that the enemy will stop at nothing
to detour us.
Spending time alone daily with the Lord is also
a discipline. It should be a habit that we form and don't ever veer
from. It should be like brushing our teeth…we
never leave home without doing it! If Jesus felt it necessary
to teach His disciples to withdraw for time then we should find it
necessary. Even Jesus spent time alone with the Father. Spending time
alone with the Lord each day brings much needed strength. It also
brings clarity and perspective throughout our day. As we seek the Lord in the
Word and prayer we are filled afresh with His Spirit that we may go about our
day in the Spirit and not in our flesh. We also are not as easily overwhelmed through our day if we first spend time with the Lord. We are more patient with
our children, our husbands, and others. We are more loving, kind and
sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. We also have some new manna to give out
to someone we may need to encourage during the day at
the grocery store, on the phone or at work. The benefits are unending.
It's in our times of devotions that we are built up and ready for the battle that we may unexpectedly have to face during the day. It's were we suit up for battle…put on our running shoes… get our boxing gloves on…and sharpen our sword! Without this sort of daily preparation we are left unprotected, untrained and uneducated. We are sitting ducks! All the enemy needs is a little foot hold and he's in. He doesn't need a lot of room…just a little, and he can move freely without our knowledge seeking to zero in on his target and take us down.
One pastor said; “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodied energy, power and strength.” David describes this sort of emotion in Psalm 73 saying in verse 2; "My foot nearly slipped, I was envious and arrogant." And in verse 16; "When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task..." But everything changed for David in the next verse..."until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." David was beside himself with how to deal with his enemy. He was tired and weary and frustrated...and yet, when he went in to the Lord...everything changed. His focus switched from himself to His God. He gained discernment into his situation and was given immediate perspective. He saw their end and recognized God's hand of protection upon him. David went from agony to glory in seconds. This is what time alone with God can do. We must guard it...protect it...and fight for it! We must run to our sanctuary and allow God to speak to us, strengthen us and comfort us. He is a very present help in time of need. Go into your sanctuary today and let the Lord strengthen your weary soul. Let Him lift your burden and make it light. Let Him hold your hand and lead you the way you should go. Let Him comfort your hurting heart. He is waiting for you today...beckoning you...Come!
It's in our times of devotions that we are built up and ready for the battle that we may unexpectedly have to face during the day. It's were we suit up for battle…put on our running shoes… get our boxing gloves on…and sharpen our sword! Without this sort of daily preparation we are left unprotected, untrained and uneducated. We are sitting ducks! All the enemy needs is a little foot hold and he's in. He doesn't need a lot of room…just a little, and he can move freely without our knowledge seeking to zero in on his target and take us down.
One pastor said; “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodied energy, power and strength.” David describes this sort of emotion in Psalm 73 saying in verse 2; "My foot nearly slipped, I was envious and arrogant." And in verse 16; "When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task..." But everything changed for David in the next verse..."until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." David was beside himself with how to deal with his enemy. He was tired and weary and frustrated...and yet, when he went in to the Lord...everything changed. His focus switched from himself to His God. He gained discernment into his situation and was given immediate perspective. He saw their end and recognized God's hand of protection upon him. David went from agony to glory in seconds. This is what time alone with God can do. We must guard it...protect it...and fight for it! We must run to our sanctuary and allow God to speak to us, strengthen us and comfort us. He is a very present help in time of need. Go into your sanctuary today and let the Lord strengthen your weary soul. Let Him lift your burden and make it light. Let Him hold your hand and lead you the way you should go. Let Him comfort your hurting heart. He is waiting for you today...beckoning you...Come!
What's Required Of Me?
Micah 6:8
Charles Spurgeon calls this verse “the essence
of the law…the spiritual side of the law” in which the 10 Commandments are
enlarged. He said; ”For the law is
spiritual, and touches the thoughts, the intents, the emotions, the words, the
actions... but God demands the heart!”
It’s not
enough for us just to say that we are a Christian, nor is it enough just to be
kind or to be extremely loving, or tremendously generous. God requires your
heart! And because He knew that there is no way we could meet even one of the
10 commandments let alone 10 of them! He provided a way for us to meet all the
requirements…not by meeting the law…but by meeting the ONE who took the place of the law. Spurgeon said; “What the law requires…the gospel gives! Wow!
Doesn’t that excite you? What the law required of us, which is perfection…Jesus
gave for us on the cross so that we would NO LONGER HAVE THOSE REQUIREMENTS! He paid for the requirements on the
cross! This means that Jesus is the end of the law…and the beginning of
GRACE! No more striving…no more straining…no more trying to be good enough or
holy enough or do enough! Jesus is the end of the law to all who believe. Therefore in Him…in His death and
resurrection…we now meet the requirements of the law. Jesus has meet all the
requirements needed to be holy, and righteous and now gives us an opportunity
to live it out by working in us…conforming us and transforming us into His very
image! Marvelous…isn’t it? As we spend time with Jesus in His Word we are
slowing taking on His very image! Being conformed in to His likeness! Only then, do we learn how to act rightly, do rightly and walk rightly. Do you
want to be more like Jesus? Then spend time getting to know Him…fall in love
with Him and obey His Word and you will be well on your way in the
transformation process! Be encouraged
today the “He who has begun a good work
in you will be faithful to complete it!” Philippians 1:6
A Day With Kay
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."It's been a long time desire of mine to sit and visit with Kay Smith. I have gleaned for years from her writings and teaching and yet have never had the privilege of sitting down with her. As a pastors wife now for the last 18 years I have many questions and appreciate gleaning from others that have traveled this path longer then I have. I have admired Kay's exhortive teaching and sweet spirit for years and on occasion have even ask myself; "What would Kay do?" I consider Kay to be a mentor...in fact, there is no one on this earth that I would rather spend a day sitting under then her! The Lord is so sweet to answer our hearts desires as we delight in Him. He answered one of mine today by giving me the opportunity to sit and receive from Kay. What a gift! Kay is kind and funny...and boy does she know the Word of God inside and out! I love that about her! When she talks about the Word and about Pastor Chuck she lights up and smiles. I read her the inscription that I wrote inside her copy of my book. This was a special moment for me as I was able to share with her how much I've learned, and gleaned from her all these years. I left our sweet time with a nugget to add to my collection from Kay..."Love your husband, and cherish him!" Will do Mama Kay!
SELF- Expenditure
Have you ever asked; "What's my purpose in life?" It's a deep question and one that's asked by every human being at some point in life. As Believers we too ask this same question from time to time. Oswald Chambers said about the purpose of man; "His purpose is not the development of man, His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self expenditure." It's like being squeezed like a grape Chambers says. To expend means to lay out, use up, or consume. Self expenditure would then mean to lay myself out, use myself up and be so consumed in someone or something else that there was no ME left! John the Baptist said a similar thing in John 3:30 " Lord, less of me and more of You." Mary of Bethany broke a box of precious and expensive ointment on Jesus' head and the disciples ridiculed her saying it was a waste. But Jesus commended Mary, saying that whenever the gospel was preached this act would be spoken of as a memorial to her." I wonder what extravagant acts of devotion we have shown to Jesus that others have observed and will speak about as a memorial to us? Believers are watching and waiting for someone to be wholly devoted to Jesus and follow their example. I wonder what can be said of our life? Am I expending myself for Jesus...as others look on what do they see? What do they say? Mary was willing to do something that no one else was. She expended herself and her resources to show her great love and devotion to her Lord and Savior. Mary held back nothing to show her great love for Jesus. She was willing to lay her future on the line, to set it all aside to worship Jesus. This great act of devotion was not only a great example to Jesus's closest followers, but also an example of what it costs to follow Jesus closely. He wants a completely surrendered heart. He wants utter abandonment of me in exchange for all of Him... and He wants self expenditure. This is why Mary of Bethany is spoken of still today. She serves as an example of what true worship looks like. She was wholly devoted to Jesus and because of it she had an intimacy with Him that is still spoken of today. She knew what others didn't . This tells me that the closer our walk with Jesus is, the more we are willing to sacrifice for Him! May we expend ourselves for Jesus. May we see that the closer we walk with Him the more we are like Him. It's not our development that we are working toward, but His envelopment! May we be so enveloped with the love of Jesus that He is all we see!
Passing The Test!
"My Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." James 1:2-3
Testing is done to find out how well something works. It tells what level of knowledge or skill has been acquired. We are tested as well as Believers. Our faith goes through a test on occasion to see what we have learned…and to push us yet further in our faith. Faith must work, it must produce, it must be visible. Verbal faith isn't enough…mental faith is insufficient. Faith must inspire action…it must endure trials, produce action, and be tested. Oswald Chambers said; "Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict." I like that! Your faith has to be tested to become personal! What are you facing today? How are you being tested? How well is your faith working? The test you are taking today with either prove that your faith is right or it will try and take you down. The test that you take today will either reveal your trust in God as your guide or it will reveal your disbelief and end in destruction. Anytime we enter a trial to test our faith and refine us as Believers the enemy is right there with his arsenal of lies. Don't believe them…rather let them encourage you that you are making progress in the Kingdom of God, and that's why the enemy is in relentless pursuit after you. The Lord wants to develop our faith, therefore it must be tested. Just as with any test we take in school or on the job is used to see how well we know our material, subject or trade…the Lord too will test our faith to see how well we are progressing…and what is needed to push us further along in our faith. Is it a trial that will do it? Is it a loss, financial hardship, marital troubles, a wayward child. The Lord will use anything to increase our faith, refine it and allow it to come out looking more like Him. Be encouraged today that He has begun a good work in you and will see it to its completion. Remember that the Lord is for you. He is your teacher and just like a teacher has to test the students knowledge…Jesus has to test ours to see what we've really learned. May the Lord strengthen us today to endure the testings knowing that they produce patience and perseverance and character and hope! Hope is the expectation of coming good. May we make it to the end of the test and have hope today! Lord, I pray for all who read this that You would touch them today with Your hand of hope…give them a glimmer into your plan and purpose. Encourage their hearts today in Jesus name, Amen!