When People Care

This morning as I sat down with that first cup of coffee, looking into my back yard from the kitchen, I reflected on this weekend. Friday evening we went to Culver, Indiana, to join the cast and crew of the film, “Little Savages”, for a night of fun and karaoke. It was great! But this post is really about something more than a great film in the making, or a great film company like Bearfruit Films.

This post is about encouragement, and how one act of kindness can do that. My family and I all attended the event Friday night. My daughter, who is a special needs 9 year old, immediately recognized a number of the kids from Disney. The one person that she first recognized was Kenton Duty who plays one of the kids in the movie. He spoke with her a couple times in passing and she was elated! Then we asked him to take a picture with her, which he was glad to do, and he also gave her an encouraging autograph, telling her to “Dream big!” I know this may sound trivial, but it changed her life tremendously that day, and maybe forever. My hat is off to Kenton, the cast and crew of “Little Savages”, and Bear Fruit Films.

One small act of kindness can provide a world of encouragement. Encourage someone today.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for being the Most High King of the universe. Thank You for giving us those words of encouragement when we need them. Thank You for reaching out into our lives and letting us know that You care. Please watch over and bless Your people today, especially those that are in need of encouragement. And bless the work of the people working on the movie today, especially Kenton. In Jesus name. Amen.

New Beginnings

Sometimes I like to think about how Sunday, the first day of the week, is like a new beginning. It is true that it is the first day of the week. And new beginnings are great because they give us a fresh start. A chance once again to do good, to get things right, new opportunities, and new chances to reach out to those that need to feel God’s love. The scriptures actually support the idea of new beginnings many times in both the New and Old Testament.

In Lamentations we read of the writer going through a bad season. Why? Because the nation of Israel turned their back on God. The story says that God brings judgement that results in the enemies of the people having victory over them till they are very cast down and suffering. The good news is that God does not forget and refuse to hear forever. When the people lament their ways, turn from their sin, and call upon the Lord, He hears and delivers them We must remember the good times in those days, and remember to turn to our God. Always. In Lamentations 3:22 it says we are not consumed and destroyed in these times because God’s mercies do not fail. They are renewed every morning. Every day we get a new chance to turn from false ways and return to our God. Every single day is a new beginning. That is a great comfort to those who name the name of Jesus as their Messiah.

Prayer
Father, please forgive us for those things we do that we should not do, and for not doing those things that we should do. Please bring Your kingdom to earth. Please judge the earth in righteousness, and help us to follow in Your ways. Let Your Spirit comfort us. In Jesus name. Amen.

How Others Know

As I read 1 John this morning, something very different happened for me. In verse five John talks about the the need for us as believers to love those that love God, our fellow believers. It says that this is the love from God. Towards the end of this verse John talks about there being an inner witness that we as believers have when we love God (which also means we love our brother). We KNOW we have eternal life. This also gives us confidence that when we sin, we still have access to God for forgiveness. It is this inner witness that overcomes the condemnation of our hearts, and allows us to have confidence in God. This confidence allows us to ask God for the things we and others need in life, and receive them from God in His time.

The first verse sets the stage for how this all happens. John says he is not giving us a new commandment, that the old commandments still stand. Then he says he does give us a new commandment to love one another, which is the commandment from old. The point is that we are to focus on God and His commandments, which are now written in our hearts. If we see a believer in need and we have the ability to fill that need, we are to love them and reach out to them to fill that need. For me, all of this tied to that inner witness, that God is on our side. It gave new meaning to these ideas for me on this sabbath day.

Prayer
Father, help us to love one another. Help us to understand what you want from us and to understand how to live our lives toward our fellow believers. Thank You for not giving up on us. Thank You for life itself. In Jesus name. Amen.

No Good Thing

My wife and I leave each other little words of encouragement on the mirror we use in the morning. When I got up this morning she had left some verses to the song based on Psalm 84. As I read that Psalm this morning it made me think about my family. There are so many things I have wanted to do for my older children, yet I have not been able to do those things. Today I think about the needs of my family, and how I want to meet those needs. I want to be a good father and husband. Thinking about these things, I thought about verse 11 where the psalmist says that God will withhold no good thing from those that walk uprightly. The word “thing” is in italics, and therefore was added. The word “uprightly” means complete in Hebrew. What is being said is that God will not hold back any good from those trying to walk in His ways. As I read these words, and thought about the thoughts on my mind, I realized that I had a choice to make. Did I believe and trust in God or not?

I can only speak to being a father. It seems to me that a mother would have some similar feelings, but likely different being the mother. I have to ask myself if I am willing to believe and trust God for the good things that my family needs. That can be a tough thing to do, or so was the thought in my mind. I tried to meditate on these things from a father’s perspective. That is when it hit me. God IS the Father. He feels what I feel, but He feels it for everyone. There is no way that He would not want things to go well for us. And He has absolute power to make it so. And, He is on our side! I have decided to believe and trust in Him to provide for my family. My hope is in His mercy and truth, that He will watch over us.

Prayer
Father, You know how I feel even before I open my mouth. You have a heart for all of the people, which is really a little amazing to me. Please help us to be that complete You speak about, to walk uprightly. It seems so easy to mess up, please help us to say and do the right things. In Jesus name. Amen.

Thankful For The Weeds

While I was waiting for my daughter to get home on the school bus I saw that the weeds had grown up quite tall around the bushes in the front of my house. I do not use the front door much, so it is easy for things to change out there without my noticing. I decided to pull some weeds while I waited. There were a lot, and I started to think of just how many there were. Then it occured to me that not only were the weeds mine, but so was the house just behind them.

Suddenly the weeds didn’t seem so bad. My God had provided a place more me and my family to live safely. So what if there were a few weeds. I guess life is kind of like that too.

Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us good things in life that we need. Thank You for the food, the clothes, the place to sleep that you provide. Thank You for those we see every day, and for being a part of each others’ lives. In Jesus name. Amen.

A Different Perspective On Spiritual Warfare

In prayer this morning I found myself reading and praying some Psalms aloud that I felt God wanted me to pray aloud. In prayer I was asking for direction about some of the basic things of life for me and my family. As I was pouring my heart out to God, He had me pray out loud Psalm 63. In this Psalm the psalmist praises God because God delivers Him and destroys the enemies, showing Himself to be God. I continued to ask for direction and God had me pray aloud Psalm 66.

In Psalm 66 the writer discusses the power of God that delivered the children of Israel, allowing them to walk across the riverbed and the sea bottom on dry ground. Hear the psalmist said they will praise them there, in that miraculous place. The psalm goes on to speak about how God refined us like silver, and we experience trials in life. The good news is that in the end, God brings us to a wealthy place, which in Hebrew describes this as a place overflowing with the good things we cried out to God about in our trials. The Psalm ends talking about how the psalmist will pay the vows he uttered while in dispair in the trials, that he goes to the congregation and declares God to be the great Deliverer King. Here he says that had he regarded iniquity in his heart, God would not have heard him. But the evidence is God did hear him and had mercy on him. Early the psalmist describes some iniquity or opportunities to fall into iniquity that would certainly apply here.

First, in verse seven we are warned to not let the rebellious exalt themselves. We must stay humble. Next, the afflictions described are given as a net, afflictions on our backs, men to rule over us, and passing through fire and water. This can be a bit more tricky because those that are placed over us are authority that we must submit to, and even pray for their ability to rule. So what can we cry out to God for in the way of deliverance? Judgement. God’s judgements are always right and pure. When God judges, the result is righteousness, deliverance, the good path being established, etc.

What I saw today is a different perspective than I have considered about spiritual warfare. God is eager for us to be able to stand in the midst of the assembly and tell of His deliverance. He wants us to participate in the spiritual warfare so that He can uphold us, and then we can tell others about it.

Prayer
Father, we so want to stand in the congregation and tell of Your delivering power. Help us, Father, to get through the trials in our lives. Deliver us from the wicked deeds of men. Make us to ride in the plentiful places where we can extol You and Your deliverance. In Jesus name. Amen.

Step By Step

Walking through life I wonder how we change. How do we stop doing what we should not do and start doing what we should do. Sometimes that can seem like a very long distance. It can happen where God gives us the grace to change instantly. Many times for me He has me walk it out, winning smaller victories that end up being the larger victory. That is where we find Paul in his second letter to the people at Corinth.

In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul is writing to believers who were in part struggling with who he was. He reminded them that their evidence of who he was was themselves and their hearts. The veil of blindness that covers the heart making it impossible to see Jesus in the law is removed when we turn to Jesus. The veil that covers our ability to see God is also removed, and if we keep our eyes on God, we will become more like Him, from glory to glory, being transformed. We must patiently wait for Him and call on Him daily to be transformed.

Prayer
Father, You are the Most High King of the universe. I ask that You would reach out to Your people today, and let them continue to behold Your glory. Please help us to be transformed through Your Spirit. Help us to become more like Jesus and less like who we were. In Jesus name. Amen.

Leaning To Learn

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking more about the relationship we have with the creator of the universe. If we just stop and think about that for a minute, we can be a little overwhelmed. I know that from my perspective, I am very aware of just how frail I am as a human being, especially as it relates to not getting things right. In the past I lived in a place where I had to struggle to be right, or at least think I was more right than someone else. And when I faced my shortcomings I felt worthless. Perhaps some of you have felt this same thing. I have news for us. That is not true.

You see, Jesus died for me when I was yet in sin, according to Chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans. When we make mistakes, when we sin, God already knows, and Jesus already died for that. God is not out to beat us. He is on our side, there to encourage us and to lift us up, dust us off, and put us back on the correct path. It is by His Judgements that He does this. He comes into a situation and sets everything right. Sometimes we have to lean more on God, to learn more about who He is and how we can become better, everyday.

Prayer
Father, thank You for Your love and mercy. Thank You for helping us go down the right road. Thank You for judgements that set things right. Thank You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Not So Common, Common Sense

Today was a most interesting day. I had it completely planned, trying to move, getting ready to send my daughter to a new school. Then the kitchen sink faucet thought it would be good to put as much water on the counter as in the sink. Yes, this created a change in plans. I was faced with the fact that I needed to have a kitchen faucet installed NOW, and I had never done this before. I was puzzled to understand why this would be happening. This lead me to a very practical comfort.

God is my help. This is not an ethereal, hypothetical, wishful kind of help. He can help me wash dishes, wash the car, clean the kitchen, finish my spreadsheet for work – God can help us in everything we do. I prayed and told God that I had never done this.. I needed help. He helped me find the right faucet, understand how to tighten it down without the right tool, and nothing leaked! Small stuff, right?

I think that is the point. God is there for us in everything we do – big or small. The really important part is that we make the decision to trust Him. That is really all we have to do. the rest is up to the main man – God.

Prayer
Father, wow, You are amazing! We praise and exalt You for just being You – our King. Thank You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Above The Waters And The Waves

It is so good to be where God is. We know that Jesus lives within us, but even Jesus said that He said and did what He saw and heard the Father saying and doing. In Psalm 93, it speaks of the floods and waves rising. It also says that God is higher than those, and mightier. He is above the tempest below. So, if we are where He is, then we will be with Him, above the tempest below.

So, where is God? Well, today being the sabbath, God is resting.

Let us rest in Him and with Him.

Prayer
Father, thank You for the rest You have for us. Thank You for establishing Your testimonies from old, the scriptures. Thank You for holding us up, for holding on to us, and for never letting go. In Jesus name. Amen.