The greatest follower of God in scripture (besides all the others) had a theory.
He reasoned: “How can I stop?”
And so he didn’t.
The ruling class surrounding Daniel could not stand him. Why? Because God got a hold of Daniel—and Daniel had found his only answer — and that was the Answer.
And so when they tried to bully Daniel out of his high position, he was not phased. He was unwavering.
When His life was threatened if he dared pray to God … He went ahead and prayed. After all, how could he stop?
Daniel 610 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
To read the rest of the story, go read Daniel 6.
But that is not the point here.
The point here is that Daniel knew who he was.
And Daniel knew what, and more importantly Who, he stood for.
Our God is irresistible. He is amazing. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is no respecter of men.
He won’t condemn you for failing, but he also isn’t going to look at your resume and say: “Wow! You have truly impressed me!”
No.
Our God has made a decision.
He has decided to join us. To partner with us. To walk with us.
And when Daniel found out that God would truly be his friend, for eternity, he pursued Him.
After all …
How Could He Stop?
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
I have no intention to be an expert on Job, or any scripture for that matter. I just want to make reference to our need to question God and what His response might be.
In a moment of sadness, I wrote the words:
“Why don’t you come down here and feel what it feels like to live in this world?”
And as I pondered my question, His answer was clear: He Did. He Did come down to feel what it feels like. He did come live in this world to experience the pains and frustrations and pain that we might face. He did come down to face off with SATAN, and SIN, and DEATH. And He markedly defeated ALL THREE in the face of disloyalty and discrimination and pain.
And so I ask you … who will you run to?
As I listened to this beautiful song by: 7eventh Time Down I thought of all the things that you and I face. Life is not always easy. Sometimes it feels like we are in a battle with Hope, a battle with Faith, a battle with Love.
I want to encourage you today, to seek WHO God is and NOT WHAT God is.
If we seek WHAT HE IS, we might not find ourselves in a place where we can leave our low situation.
But if we were to seek WHO HE IS, we just might get to see the beauty of WHO HE REALLY IS.
HE … is the One who stood in YOUR place and stood trial for sin.
HE … is the One who was taken to the desert and harrassed by the devil that He might defeat him for YOU.
HE … is the One who died that you might have victory over death.
And HE … is the One who told Paul: “Why are you persecuting me?”
When Paul changed His mindset to WHO He would run to instead of WHAT He would run to, His life changed. And it changed radically.
Because WHO He is … is so much more that WHAT He is.
When David cried out to God, it was an invitation:
Psalm 139 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
I have often wondered if God does not come know us unless we invite Him. Revelation 3 says that He stands at the door and knocks and only comes in if we invite Him.
So today … Invite Him. Invite Him to know you, to search you, to find offensive ways in you. To lead you in the way everlasting.
And as you do, you are setting the stage for WHO you will run to.
I’ll race you there.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Abraham had everything. And yet, his faith had his perspective right where it needed to be. He knew that without God—he had nothing.
And so he left a life of comfort in pursuit of a life that was utterly unknown.
He showed incredible faith.
We can learn a lot from this attitude.
You see … when we have God with us — it changes everything. It fills us with hope, and love, and toughness. He makes our lives truly rich—beyond our own desires.
And Abraham knew this.
He knew that God was going to give him the greatest thing he could ever want.
God was going to give him friendship.
We spend much of our lives toiling. Accomplishing. Conquering. Acquiring. But with all of those things we get their partners in crime:
Fearing.
Coveting.
Doubting.
And much more.
God has more for us.
He has life.
Not just for now.
But an even better one later.
I think sometimes we need to just stop. And worship. And bask in His glory.
So look forward. And look up. And find your place in eternity.
In the hands of the Mighty God.
Hebrews 1110 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Do what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it, and for WHO you are supposed to do it.
David had obeyed his parents.
He had faithfully defended sheep from the most dangerous predators.
He had honored his dad and brought food to his brothers.
David had defeated a giant.
But in the aftermath of his heroism, he had forgotten Who had brought him to the place of honor.
2 Samuel 112 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her …
This was not one moment of weakness.
David should have been with his army, but he remained in Jerusalem.
He should have been looking to the heavens for all of his successes; but he took the credit.
And after adultery, murder, and dishonor … David paid an incredible price. And so did those who were involved.
Stay away from trying to look perfect.
And ask God to do a good work in you.
Because He is faithful to do just that.
David writes a wonderful prayer to God after much pain.
As I was reading this verse today, I couldn’t help but look at it from “both sides of the story”.
Acts 1616 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Written by Luke, the book of Acts shows us the actions of a few Spirit-led saints.
They SPENT their lives doing everything they could to get this Word, this beautiful and vital work of art, in our hands today.
Their obedience to the Lord, their conviction from the Holy Spirit, and their devotion to Jesus Christ should inspire us to walk in the same call.
Today — The Lord has convicted me to talk about cost.
To Paul and Silas, and everyone in their circle, the cost was worth paying. Fully devoted, they SPENT their days, their money, and their effort to give the gospel to the world. In this case, it caused them great agony. They were stripped and beaten and imprisoned for their actions.
But what about the owners of the slave girl? What about their actions? To them, the end-all was to make money. And at what cost? They were willing to enslave, to deceive, to seek a master who was destined for the pits of hell … and for what? Money. Money had become their god. And that god was driving every decision that they made.
I am a fan of America.
I believe that we have something to fight for.
Freedom.
Capitalism.
One Nation Under God.
I am proud of the men who set up what we have today—for all Americans.
But, that being said, we need to make a couple things clear.
Capitalism, without God, can turn into something hideous. Men and women, filled with greed, can turn to things that are hideous—JUST LIKE THE MEN IN THE STORY. The love of money can lead people to the wrong end. And, as Jesus said:
Matthew 1626 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
Indeed.
What good is it?
When we say the words: One Nation, Under God
We need to take heed.
Because without the Under God part of that statement, there is no One Nation.
We have work to do my friends.
It is to Go And Make Disciples, To Love Others, and To Love Our God With All Of Our Hearts. All of these things are IMPOSSIBLE without the power of God working in us.
Some of us walk directly into what God has called us to do.
NOT.
God has called us to greater things. To things that we can not fathom. To things that will ultimately fill us beyond measure.
But there is a problem with this plan.
Us.
I have contemplated this verse for a week.
Exodus 2 11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
…
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
It seems to me that God had the perfect plan for Moses, and the Hebrew people.
He infiltrates the palace of Pharaoh.
He raises up a prince.
He sets his people free.
But angry servants make lousy followers. And before you know it an Egyptian soldier is dead and Moses is running for his life.
The rest of the story is awesome.
But today, I want to talk about the walk from the palace to Midian. I have to think that Moses questioned his heart, his choices, his destiny. I have to think that he concluded that he had ruined God’s plan over his life. Had his choices and sin and anger ruined God’s plan over his life?
It had not.
The testimony of Moses is incredible. He walked in unity with God for much of his life.
And yet, he was full of sin and had to learn many things the hard way.
And so it is with us.
Sometimes the thing in front of us is the long walk to Midian, fleeing for our lives, and pondering our purpose.
But God.
But God overcomes and redeems.
He forgives and restores.
He empowers and allows.
In the freedom He gives us there is error. Our error.
2000 years ago, God made an incredible power play to cover up for that error. In the person of Jesus Christ.
So walk to Midian.
And don’t be afraid to hang your head for a bit.
But don’t leave it there long.
God has a plan.
A plan that works with sin and bad choices and mistakes.
A plan that will be the best thing that has ever happened to you.
BE BLESSED.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As I stood and worshipped at a men’s conference last weekend, I was deeply convicted as we sang the words to a song:
“Faithful You are
Faithful forever You will be
Faithful You are
All Your promises are yes and amen
All Your promises are yes and amen…”
I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with gratitude and adoration for the Living God.
In reflection, I think that one of the reasons that I was so convicted was that so often I am rooted in a mindset …
A mindset that lacks faith.
I am sometimes guilty of doubting His promises.
Perhaps many of us are.
God made a promise in Genesis 49.
Genesis 4910 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes,
The Jews (Judah) were assured, by God, that they held the keys to capital punishment (the scepter). But in 6 AD, a Roman Procurator named Caponius removed the legal power of the Sanhedrin. In their eyes, the scepter had been removed, and the word of God had been broken. They were DEVASTATED. They covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, and they marched around the city. The word of God, the Torah, had been BROKEN. It had FAILED! (Reference: Chuck Missler and Koinonia House https://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/187/)
Keep in mind that this was 6 AD.
And indeed the scepter had been removed.
What slipped the minds of the Sanhedrin was that perhaps God’s word had not been broken.
And indeed it had not. In Nazareth, the young son of a carpenter was growing into a man. The scepter had departed because Shiloh had come!
God doesn’t break promises.
Not in His word. And not in our lives.
His promises are not conditional, they aren’t bendable, and they aren’t revoked.
His promises are, in fact, one of the only things that we have that lasts forever.
As we go into this week let’s remember this very truth.
The world can crumble, but the Word can not.
Man can betray and let us down, but God can not.
The enemy can work against each step that we take, but Jesus died so that he would never gain a foothold on our lives.
God’s word will not return void.
Isaiah 55 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
My wife used to listen to an incredible teacher named Beth Moore. I couldn’t help but pull up a chair and listen when she spoke. One awesome thing that she would open up her talks with was this:
God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God’s Word is alive and active in me.
We have work to do.
Not to join the world as it burns, and fights, and politicizes, and hates, and fears.
But to show it something different.
When Jesus shows up in Nazareth and religious leaders miss it because they are marching around a city in utter despair, then we can miss it too.
And indeed we do miss it. But not today. Hit the reset button. Fill up your faith. Believe. Follow.
“Faithful You are
Faithful forever You will be
Faithful You are
All Your promises are yes and amen
All Your promises are yes and amen…”
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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I always thought that this verse was a threat to the believer. And maybe it is.
Matthew 71 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
But either way I want to leave a couple of thoughts:
The homeless man who sleeps on the ground because he has spent his life savings on alcohol and will do anything for the next drink is not living the HIGH LIFE.
The man who gets caught up in lust finds that it is a never satisfied desire. One man caught in a prostitution ring later confessed: “I paid to make myself disgusting.” He wasn’t living the HIGH LIFE.
The woman in the casino who has gambled for hours and hours and hours mindlessly hits buttons and, even when she wins, has no celebration. Even a small jackpot doesn’t bring her joy. She is not living the HIGH LIFE.
The thief soon finds that he is rich and has no needs, but his trust of people is gone. He wonders if he truly has enough and constantly wonders if “everyone” else is trying to do what he did. He is not living the HIGH LIFE.
There is no joy in sin. It is a PRISON. And it is a prison that cannot be broken out of …
But God.
But God knew this and God operates in the IMPOSSIBLE.
People caught in sin are often in a situation that they simply cannot remove themselves from—and my proof of that lives in my own existence. God has freed me from bad habits, but I have never been successful in breaking one on my own accord. Never.
My wife and I often talk about being able to say: “I am not above that”. And when we say that, we mean ANY sin. We do not want to give a foothold for the enemy to reign in our lives. In Jesus, we are free of sin … but without Him? We are sitting ducks for hell and all the misery that it has to offer.
As you go through your day today, understand this:
Jesus died for us to defeat three things: Satan, Sin, and Death
I often believe that two of those are true, but sometimes act like one is not. I KNOW that He will crush the head of the serpent in due time. I KNOW that He has prepared place for me. But I often act like I am not sure that He has truly defeated sin.
I am asking God today to give me the faith to KNOW that He defeated sin as well.
I have to think that will give me more compassion for those who fall short … including myself.
The God of Wonders sits on the hill and waits.
He waits for us to turn, fully, to Him.
He waits for His time to be released into a new era.
And He waits for the day that He can crush the head of the serpent, the sting of death, and the wrath of sin … FOREVER.
There is no reason to wait for those three things in our own individual lives; it is the very reason that we say:
‘Thy Kingdom Come’
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I know that I have played this song before. But for today, I found it wholly appropriate. Enjoy. And watch those men worship. They belong to Jesus as much as you or I.
