He Gives us Himself

I read this today from a Max Lucado daily devotional. It was something I wanted to share with you because I feel it applies to all of us no matter where we are in life. Enjoy!

"I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

- Matthew 28:20 NIV

The story is told of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide before him had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush. The traveler, wearied and hoe, asked in frustration, "Where are we? Do you know where you are taking me? Where is the path?!" The seasoned guide stopped and replied, "I am the path."

We ask the same questions, don't we? We ask God, "Where are you taking me? Where is the path?" And he, like the guide, doesn't tell us. Oh, he may give us a hint or two, but that's all. If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend our location? No, like, the traveler, we are unacquainted with this jungle. So rather than give us an answer, Jesus gives us a far greater gift. He gives us Himself.

-Traveling Light

Like I said, it doesn't matter where you are in life because God knows. Revelation 22:13 says, that God is the beginning and the end. It's great to know that when he formed us, he had our end in mind. The current place you are in, is not enough to be worried or upset about. God doesn't see what you are, rather He sees what He has made you to be. Can we surrender our worry, fear, past-regrets, and anxiety to see what He sees? God gave you a beginning so trust Him to also give you an end. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

Everything is meaningless

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

I have always been a person who loves to read a, “good book.” When it comes to reading there is a personal truth I have found which is, that books are season specific for me. What I mean is that I have noticed that I can start reading a book that may in fact be inspirational, encouraging, challenging or honestly one that will later land on my “top 10 list” but if I am not in a place in my life where I can relate then my interest fades away. Well, months ago I bought a book entitled, “Crazy Love” written by Francis Chan. Initially I had a great interest in this book because I had already devoured “The Forgotten God” also by author Francis Chan (Which by the way is on my top 10), but I didn’t get maybe two chapters in before I laid it down only to pick up something else. This is by no way saying the first chapters of the book are bad or uninteresting, but I know me and if I am not hooked early on I might as well not continue because I know from experience the Lord will lead me back to it when it’s the right season. Needless to say, two days ago was that day.

Well, today I am in chapter two and the question has been, “What matters in life?” It wasn’t long into the reading that Chan brought in a familiar passage from James:

4:13-14 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

This chapter really hit a nerve; it talked about how we get so weighed down with things that don’t matter (the things that hold no eternal significance). While we are wrapped up in focusing on the things of tomorrow we don’t even think that there isn’t a guarantee for tomorrow. Like James said, life is like a vapor, here only briefly and then it vanishes.

After reading this chapter I went on to read through the book of Ecclesiastes and honestly I have never saw it the way I did this morning. The words of King Solomon are still ringing in my head, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” How true! Everything outside of knowing and showing Christ is meaningless. Solomon who had everything mind you, looked at it all and said, “You know none of this matters. None of this has any eternal significance because when I’m dead what I have done with my life will be tried by fire.”

Maybe it’s just me but I find it so easy to get wrapped up in things that do not matter. When I realize that my focus is on stuff that doesn’t matter, God then helps me to become more sensitive to Him. So, today I will live with the attitude that this truly could be my last and if I have a tomorrow I will do the same. It’s not being morbid but rather being aware. The purpose of my life is not about me, but it is about Jesus. Today is not about me, but about it is about Jesus.

"Trust"

What other one word in the english dictionary can stir such a mixture of emotions?

Whether the question is, "Can I trust you?", "Should I trust you?", or "Do you trust me?" the fact remains is that, trust is one of the most precious things we could ever have.

Dictionary.com defines trust as the - reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of aperson or thing; confidence.

I remember as a kid watching my Father make an agreement with someone and confirming it with a hand-shake. At one time a hand-shake meant something. It meant trust. It is obvious that the days of the "hand-shake" are over. Is that to say that trust is obsolete...I surely hope not! And honestly deep down I know not. But it is to say that entering an agreement without a secure sense trust has certainly become the norm. Notice I say the word secure. Back in the day when people would shake hands in agreement, it was something you could count on, without a shadow of a doubt you knew that person would deliver what was said promised. But nowadays we cross our fingers, toes, and eyes in hopes that thus said agreement will work out. We waste so much energy on this subject. What are we thinking?

If you are going to trust, then trust God!

I assure you that you can rely on HIS integrity, strength, ability, and surety with full confidence that HE will deliver. Where people fail, God doesn't!

Psalm 31:1 "In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness."

Where are the Pray-ers?

I was browsing through an old book of Leonard Ravenhill's today and came across this statement:

"We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere."

Oh how our hearts should be gripped by prayer. I have heard prayer described as the invitation into the realm of impossibility. It is altogether sad that many Christians never come to understand the importance of prayer. Prayer to the Christian is like fuel to the car. Without fuel, a car cannot go anywhere. Without prayer, the Christian can never grow. Prayer is life to the Christian, it is our very vitality. If there is ever a time that Christians need to return to prayer, it is now.

Jesus did not spill His blood so that converts can be part of a weak, pacifistic, anemic, social club known as "church." Jesus died so that converts can become disciples and embody the very meaning of church in order to redeem the earth.

When will we learn that going to a building twice a week is not enough? Instead of trying to ease our conscience about the sin in our life why not get the sin out! Ravenhill is known also to have said, "A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning." We will never rise to our full potential as Christians if we never pray! In Genesis when Jacob desired a change in his life he had to wrestle with God. If Jacob had quit and given up when the angel of God first touched his hip, then he would have never experienced the change that made him Israel. Are you in need of change? Then pray. Are you sick? Then pray. Are you depressed? Then pray. Are you fearful? Then pray. Are you worried? Then pray. Do you have need? Then pray. Do you have lack? Then pray. Are you hopeless? Then pray. Pray, pray, pray! And when you are done, PRAY!

We all need a "Quiet Place."

When was the last time you had to stop what you were doing in order to take some time alone to regain your focus? Or how often do you hear someone say, "I just need some peace and quiet?"

I am often amazed at how many things there are in life to steal our focus. We live in a time where almost everything that is created is designed to get our attention on some level or another. In fact, just recently I read an article about a State Highway Department that was trying to get a law passed making it illegal to have billboards beside roadways. The Highway Dept. had come to the conclusion that modern-day billboards positioned beside roadways had become too distracting to drivers because of their appeal. They argued that the billboards, with all of their graphics and glamour, were apt to draw the attention of the driver away from the road and to the advertisement of the billboard.

When I read this, I couldn't help but to compare it the Christian's life. Jesus is clear in Matthew's Gospel that straight is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to everlasting life. The enemy would love nothing more than to detour a Christian in their walk with Christ. As believers we must not be so absurd as to think that just because we are on the "straight and narrow" that we are immune to Satan's "billboards." I believe this is why it is vital to ensure that we have a "quiet place" where we can meet with the Lord.

Let me help you --- a quiet place is not your living room with the TV on, nor is it your vehicle with the stereo cranking full blast and it definitely isn't the bedroom with a cell phone ringing and beeping non-stop. A quiet place is simply that---quiet. When you study the life of Jesus often times you will find that He withdraws Himself from crowds and clutter to find a place where He can meet with God without distraction.

Now imagine living in the time of Jesus - where compared to our time, distractions are at a minimum, but still yet Jesus deems it important to have time alone with His Heavenly Father. How much more in this day and age should we assure that we are taking time to meet with Him in a quiet place?

I urge you to evaluate your day and ask yourself, "When did I meet with God...where was my quiet place?" Friend, if you realize that you have not been having a personal time with the Lord where there are no distractions then I challenge you to find time. Some people may find that by getting up an extra hour early in the mornings or staying up late an extra hour at night will give you that personal time. Whatever you decide, I know that you will not regret it. Be Blessed!