Unfolding Patterns Of God's Plans

Good thought I heard from Wayne Grudem the other day...he was talking about the way that God unfolds His purposes and reveals His Glory gradually over time, for instance:

Creation Of The World - Whether you hold a "Day-Age" view or a "Literal" view, etc, God gradually created and sculpted the world over time.

The Calling Of The Jews - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Twelve tribes...

The Sending Of The Messiah - centuries passed before Jesus was incarnated.

Spreading Of The Gospel - gradually over centuries, we are seeing God's Purposes unfolding.

The more I think about it, the more all of life is like this. There is a development process to all things that have life, meaning, value, and purpose. The only things that are really made in an instance are material and expendable.

So this gradual revealing of God's purpose certainly has personal application to us as well. He wants our lives to have meaning, value, and purpose, and the only way to do that is through a gradual development via a daily relationship with Christ.

In fact, Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon delivered on the Sabbath Morning, January 7th, 1855, stated the following: "Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity."

I think that God unfolds His purposes gradually, so that we can "continually investigate" His greatness...Allow me to draw a parallel from the outstanding Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century, Saint Anselm, who coined the phrase, fides quaerens intellectum...translated to mean, “faith seeking understanding”...Perhaps God has so arranged life that our faith seeks an understanding, and then our understanding leads to a revealing...then purpose...

Faith --> Understanding --> Revealing --> Purpose

For Anselm, "faith seeking understanding" was “an active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God.” He believed that true faith is a love for God and a drive to act as God wills...Ultimately, our purpose is to become Christ-like...Jesus was everything God is, and He was everything that we were meant to be...so what happened was that sin entered the world, we became separated from God, and our image became distorted...man has been on a search for purpose ever since...a search for God through Christ...a desire beyond all desires in which C.S. Lewis beautifully summarized in the following quote:

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy,
the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

...God, through His gradual unfolding of meaning, value, and purpose, wants us to first have a "deeper knowledge" of Him...and a deeper understanding of Him...a desire to become Sanctified and Christ-like...so that when God unfolds our meaning, value, and purpose in life, we see Him as the architect, the composer, and the designer of it all.

Love Wins? No, Jesus Saves!

I just watched the promo video for Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, a title he chose because he states that the Good News is that "Love Wins." It's a hidden message that takes Scripture out of context and leads certain people down a road to destruction...

...The Good News of The Bible is not that "Love Wins," but rather, "Jesus Saves." What does Jesus save us from? He saves us from the "disease" of humanity known as sin. Bell has it all wrong...another blasphemous statement he makes in the video is that Jesus is saving us from a wrathful God, as though it is God versus Jesus instead of God versus satan.

Jesus is not saving us from God...Jesus is bringing us to God...Jesus is the path to God, and the only path at that! Jesus brings us to God by saving us from sin and death and a life of eternal torment. We are on a sailboat to hell and Jesus thankfully was sent on a rescue mission by God The Father to reverse our direction and redeem humanity back to Himself, restoring the image that sin tarnished...this is the core message of Christianity...one look at John 3.16 shows this to be true, and you don't have to have a Ph.D. in Theology to understand it!

Bell's message is basically saying to do whatever the hell you want because everyone ends up in Heaven...

That would be like a doctor who knows his patient is sick, yet tells them to go ahead and live on without worry, because in the end everything works out...

Let me conclude with one final thought. If a diabetic needs insulin to live yet chooses not to take it, they would not die just because they refused insulin. They would die because they refused to receive what insulin and only insulin can do. To an even stronger extent, people do not go to hell simply because of a refusal to believe in Jesus, as though He was some pride and joy trophy that satisfies God's ego...no, they end up in hell because Jesus not only sustains life, He restores the life God desires for us to live...Jesus is Salvation...He is THE cure to the disease...Jesus gives us victory over sin and death...

Love wins because Jesus Saves. Jesus diagnoses the problem and offers the solution. I pray for Rob Bell and his followers to come to this understanding...

Pray Like Jesus

"Preaching a pagan-style gospel teaches that as long as we
have enough faith in Jesus, then we don't have to be like Jesus."
...a paraphrase from Mark Driscoll,
~ Pray Like Jesus:The Gethsemane Prayer ~

Tired of hearing the pagan practice of the prosperity gospel?...the prosperity gospel is when we use Prayer, Scripture, and experience to try and align God to our will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is when God utilizes Prayer, Scripture, and experience to align us to His Will.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect,
the prosperity gospel is pagan...

...Mark Driscoll, in his sermon called, Pray Like Jesus: The Gethsemane Prayer, explains (and I paraphrase) that "so much of what we hear today is a brand of theology that will not be strong enough for us when we need it the most."

Christianity is a belief in a person (Jesus Christ)...it is not a coping mechanism or some magic trick for material wealth and prosperous gain...it is a relationship based on a theology that will be everything for us when we need it the most...Driscoll goes on to say, "being a follower of Jesus Christ may not get us around the obstacles of life, but it will get us through the obstacles of life."

At the end of the sermon, Driscoll outlines and speaks briefly on eleven questions about prayer... questions that challenge us to see if our prayer life is in line with God's plan...Below, I have included the eleven questions...but along with those questions, I highly encourage you to either watch Driscoll's sermon or listen to it on the Mars Hill App or via podcast.

01. Do you pray to get from God or to get God?
02. Do you pray to move God or for God to move you?
03. Do you pray to get around pain or through pain?
04. Do you courageously punctuate your prayers with "Your - Will - Be - Done...?"
• We do present our requests to God, but we should always end with, "Your Will Be Done..."
05. Do you pray out of Holy or unholy depression?
• Holy despair/depression = due to sin and its effects
• unholy despair/depression = not getting our way
06. Do you pray in faith knowing that God is not the author of sin, but is the author over sin?
07. Do you ask your friends to pray for you even if you know they will fail to do so?
08. Do you pray to both hear and accept God's will for your life?
09. Do you accept that God will answer your prayers with a "yes, no, or later?"
10. Do you know that knowing God's Will is far easier than walking in it? (Hebrews 5.7-8)
11. Do you know a godly wife who lived like Jesus Prayed? (1 Corinthians 11.3)
• You have to listen to his explanation to understand this question...

"God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become."
~ John Ortberg ~

The Fourth Dimension

In mathematics the fourth dimension, or a four-dimensional space, is an abstract concept, obtained by taking the rules of our three-dimensional space and generalizing them to a space with one more dimension. It has been studied by mathematicians and philosophers for almost two hundred years, both for its own interest and for the insights it offered into mathematics and related fields.*

But for me, 1 Corinthians 2.9-10 gives a better definition of the fourth dimension, a more applicable definition:

But, as it is written,"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God (emphasis added).

You see, there are believers and there are skeptics in almost all areas of life, specifically when it comes to belief in God and belief in Jesus Christ. The problem most skeptics and at times, even immature Christians (myself included) have, is that they are only using "three dimensions," that is, only using the aforementioned "eye," "ear," or "heart." In other words, we try to reason everything out or want some sort of physical proof of seeing, hearing, or feeling. But God takes us to the next level, He gives us the "X" factor...the Fourth Dimension. God gives all believers of Jesus Christ The Gift of The Holy Spirit, and it is when we have The Spirit living with in us, this amazing gift of "the fourth dimension," that we can know "even the depths of God"

...I am all for questioning, all for seeking and research, all for a lifetime of studying, because this is what brings us closer to truth...closer to God...

...and in all reality, the mere fact that we have questions, that we need to seek, actually proves the point that God does exist and that He cares...our inability to know everything from a human perspective proves that we are not God and that we desperately need God...that we desperately need The Holy Spirit teaching us...and the fact that we are finite points to God being infinite...(what is created has a cause, we are created with a cause and need a creator = God...God is infinite and therefore does not need a creator, He is The Creator...but this is for another topic for another day!)

So how do we tap into this fourth dimension and take our life to the next level? It's all about having "The Mind Of Christ." It's what will take us from milk to solid food, (see 1 Cor 3) or as I like to say, from "milk to meat"...can't wait to cover this next topic!

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it (1 Cor 3.1-2)....

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.(1 Cor 3.9)

*Sources
wikipedia.org (The Fourth Dimension)
http://acm.pku.edu.cn/JudgeOnline/problem?id=1022 (Graphic)

God's Revelation, Our Perseverance

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Ephesians 6:18 (New King James Version) (emphasis added).

In his book, When The Enemy Strikes, Charles F. Stanley gives a different spin on what it means to persevere in Prayer. He does mention the typical things we think of with perseverance, but later he talks about how perseverance equates to availability...being available for God to speak to us. We all want God to speak to us, but Stanley gives a good explanation, that sometimes, God will wait for us to have three things before He will reveal to us His desires and His plans:

1. Quiet Heart
2. Calm Spirit
3. An Expectant Attitude

Quiet Heart
These three things may sound familiar, but if we really hold ourselves accountable, I imagine the majority of us don't really have a quiet heart when we pray. We probably are thinking about our to-do lists, the game on tonight, or perhaps how good the organic wheat grass cake is going to taste this weekend. When was the last time you really went to your "Whispering Chamber," prayed and said, "God what do you want to tell me?"

Calm Spirit
In the martial arts circles, the Japanese have a saying that reads, "Miso No Koro." It translates as "A mind like still water." The meaning is that in battle or combat, you can not be frantic and worried. We see this in sports all the time, Joe Montana was the king of 4th quarter comebacks in his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Joe's adrenal glands were pumping at full force, but his mind was always still, his spirit was always calm. We must have a calm spirit in our Prayer with The Holy God and realize He will reveal and that He is in control.

An Expectant Attitude
Human Optimism + Biblical Realism = An Expectant Attitude. God responds and rewards faith (Hebrews 11.6), but faith is different from optimism. For example, there are enough self-help books on the market to line along The Great Wall of China, and each one tells us how to think positively, but if our positive thinking is not lined up with God's Biblical Realism, then we are headed in the wrong direction. So what does an expectant attitude mean? It means being ready for God anywhere at anytime. Do we really believe that God exist, that He cares, and that He is Sovereign? If so, we must approach Him with an expectant attitude.

Quiet The Heart, Calm The Spirit, Expect The Unexpected, and you will Persevere in Prayer. I look forward to what God has to say to us all as we listen to Him like never before!

Stop It!

In response to Justin's amazing last blog Create Your Future,
and in response to Jesus not condemning the woman caught in adultery (see my blog, point 4), we NEED TO STOP CONDEMNING OURSELVES based off of our PAST sins!

"Therefore, there is NOW NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life SET ME FREE from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1, NIV).

"Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to LIFE---is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34b)

Did you see it? Jesus is at the right hand of God PRAYING FOR US...NOT CONDEMNING US! STOP IT! Stop condemning yourself for past sins! Stop letting others condemn you! Jesus does not condemn you! HE PRAYS FOR YOU!

God's Encore Through Your Persistence!

Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.
Psalm 96.7 MSG

Persevering Persistence
According to dictionary.com, the word Persistent is defined as, "persisting, esp. in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.; persevering." What is so important about persistence? Well being persistent and persevering through trials leads to blessings. The Bible tells us the following:

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”- James 1:12

In Scripture, (see the parable of the persistent widow), in sports, and in all of life, we see that persevering and persistence can be the determining factor that brings victory.

For example, Thomas Alva Edison put it into perspective when he said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

God's Encore
As Christ Follower's, I believe Persistent Prayer, Persistent believing, and persevering under trial are testimony's of our faith in God's Power. As long as we are living, breathing, and meditating through the filter of scripture, as long as we are in the sweet spot of God's Will, as long as we are delighting ourselves in The Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37.4)

Why or how do we believe with such persistent faith? Because we have seen how God has worked in our life in the past. Psalm 77.11-12 says,

"Once again I'll go over what God has done,

lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished,
and give a long, loving look at your acts."

You see, we believe in God's Encore, that He will do it again! We shout Bravo, God, Bravo!

God's power in the past gives us faith for our future.

Listen, you may be in a situation right now where you feel there is no way out. Maybe God has taken you on a detour, or perhaps you have run from God...maybe circumstances of life have left you feeling out of control. There is no better time than right now to believe in God's Mighty Power and shout Bravo God! ...Plead for God's Encore... Be persistent in your Prayer and persevering in your trials, because God is The One who makes things happen! ...He is The One who pulls us out of the worst kind of trouble! (Psalm 77.13-15 MSG)

I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God.
Psalm 27.13-14

God's Quarterback Academy, Part I

Split Right 787 check swing, check V...Right Slot 93...Left Slot 82 and Go...

The above "code" is known as football nomenclature. This code represents information for a play or plays in football that a quarterback tells to his fellow warriors in the huddle as they prepare for glory.

Along with the nomenclature, there are many things a quarterback must learn in order to become a champion. Over the next three post, I will highlight three aspects of what all great QB's understand and see how we can apply them in order to be Champions For Christ!

1. Take What The Defense Gives You
2. The West Coast Offense
3. Road Tested and Battle Ready

Take What The Defense Gives You (Acts 28)
Now I am firm believer in setting the pace and being on the attack. I believe that the best defense is a great offense, but I also know that sometimes we must, as a good football team does, "establish the run in order to utilize the pass."...In essence, sometimes we must take what the defense gives us and use that to our advantage.

In a big defensive battle, a team will pound and pound the defense with a running game, and then when the time is right, they will STRIKE with a HUGE pass play. And even on pass plays, the QB has anywhere between 3 and 5 receivers to throw to. He reads the coverage and takes what the defense gives him.

Where are you in life right now? Do you feel like you are having to establish the run in order to utilize the pass? Perhaps you feel like Paul and it appears that God has possibly led you on a divine detour. God used a shipwreck and a snakebite in Paul's life, took him off his original planned course in order to use him for a specific purpose (Acts 28).

If this is the case in your quarter of life right now, what you need to do is simply "take what the defense is giving you." Read your options...if option is A is covered, throw to option B, etc...But don't stop the path God has led you to...keep picking away at the defense and soon you will score...

...it does not matter how you get to the end zone for the big touchdown...What does matter is that you are following and trusting God to lead you there. What also matters is the person, the "QB" he is making you to be on your path for the "winning touchdown."

If God can use a shipwreck and a snakebite as a Divine detour to fulfill his purposes through Paul, perhaps he is having you "establish the run in order to utilize the pass." Keep gutting it out, persevere, and sooner than later, God is going to show you the path, He will give you the game plan for your success, which will bring Him all The Glory.

God's Direction

God is fair and just;

He corrects the misdirected,

Sends them in the right direction.
Psalm 25.8

Jonah ran away from God...God put Jonah in the belly of a fish and brought him back! What I have learned through Scripture study and life experience is this:

God will re-direct our misdirection

How? We must follow His "mile-markers." We must count the cost, we must be wise, we must be strategic, but the freedom in knowing that God will re-direct our misdirection gives us an ability to have a 'nothing-to-lose' attitude if we are following God...If we are following God, the path takes care of itself...If we are following God, then we can be fearless...we can take sanctified risks and we can have a reckless abandon for God! No matter what road we travel, all we have to do is watch for God's "mile-markers" and road signs to either keep us moving forward or to re-direct our path...look how Psalm 25.10 says it:

From now on every road you travel

Will take you to God.

Follow the Covenant signs;

Read the charted directions.

Bottom line is this...We must "hit the road." We can not be frozen in fear and stuck in over analyzing what direction to take...If we are truly following God, seeking Him in Prayer, reading His Word, and trusting Him with all of our heart instead of leaning on our own understanding, then whatever road we take, His signs will be there to direct our way...this gives us the freedom to attack life head on!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.
Proverbs 3.5

He Is Patient With You

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,

as some understand slowness.

He is patient with you,

not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3.9

I love a good brisket...juicy, tender, mouth watering...in fact, we just had some for Father's Day last weekend! Do you know how The Executive Chef (My Amazing Mother) cooked the brisket? She cooked it with patience. She did not throw it in the microwave. She wanted it to turn out for the best, so she was wise and displayed patience.

God wants us to turn out for the best...He has plans for us...He wants to unleash us for His service. But to do that, we must develop...So when we think God is taking His time to get us to be the people He wants us to be and to take us to the places where we can Serve Him most, we must not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day...

What we think is slow, God views as patience.

In Summary:

Better to be patient than powerful. ~Proverbs 16.32~

This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. ~ Habakkuk 2.3 ~

God Resides In Faith

"God resides in Faith... He "hides" in Faith."

Jentezen Franklin

In his sermon, "Destiny," which I mentioned in the last post, Jentezen Franklin talks about the fact that if we want to see God in our lives, then we must find Him where He resides. So many times we have probably thought, "God, where are you hiding?"

God is "hiding" in faith...God does not do comfortable. God does not do the "easy" life. If we want to know where God is, if we want to receive His power, then we must be stretched...we must take a step of courage and do something that requires faith...

...now I'm talking about stupidity, I'm not talking about doing something crazy, even The Bible says to count the cost (Luke 14.28), but the Lord tells us in Hebrews 11.6 the following:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

A few points to wrap up:

1. God wants us to be content (Philippians 4.11-13), but God does not want us to be comfortable (Hebrews 11.1)

2. To please God we must have faith and be Holy

3. Discerning God's Will:

• Are we living a chair-rocking, lazy-boy-lemonade-sipping-all is cozy life? Then we are probably not on an assignment from God.

• Are we being stretched in our faith to the point where we let loose and take a leap of faith, so much to the point that if God does not come through than we are through? Then I can almost guarantee we are on an assignment from God...

4. If Jesus was stretched out on a cross, then I want to stretch my faith. Through Christ, we have the power to face anything! (Phil 4.13)

God wants us where we trust Him most. He wants us to hold on to Him for dear life. If we want to see God then we must live a life of adventure and find Him residing in Faith! By finding God in Faith, we discover who He calls us to be!

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,

"I'll get you out of any trouble.

I'll give you the best of care

if you'll only get to know and trust me.

~ From Psalm 91.14-16 ~

Five Stones

Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:40

In his "One Prayer" message, Jentezen Franklin spoke on the title "God Is Able." Cool thought about the David vs Goliath story. From the above Scripture, you can see how God provided David with FIVE smooth stones.

David only needed one.

God gave David Five Stones. Jesus gave 5000 people enough food to eat and even had 12 baskets of left overs from only FIVE loaves of barley and Two pieces of fish.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4.19

"Go, and the LORD be with you."

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear

will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

1 Samuel 17:37

Remember God's past blessings to give you hope in His future Power!

Seize The Day

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
~ Hebrews 11:6 ~

1. Without Faith
2. Impossible To Please God

So do we believe in God? Do we believe He exists?

Hebrews 11.6 says He rewards those who believe in Him, those who believe that He exists...but perhaps the biggest question of all comes from the tail end of the verse...are we earnestly seeking Him?

Now if we believe He exists, do we believe He cares? Well, He must care if He rewards...but again, are we earnestly seeking Him?

We can have faith in Him, we can believe He exists, but if all we are concerned about is our own agenda instead of earnestly seeking Christ, then our faith really does not amount to much.

So where does our faith lead? Does it lead to a cozy all-about-me life that believes in God but will not follow Him, or does it lead to the full life in Christ where we can "Seize the day" for His Glory?

When it comes to seeking Christ and following Him, here is what Jesus tells us:

Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks.
You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."
Luke 9.62

To please God is to have faith in Him, to be rewarded is to earnestly seek Him...No procrastination...Seize The Day!

Embrace This God-life

Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life.
Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you.
Mark 11:22-25

If you ever had a question about if we should pray or what should we pray about, then question no more! We have the answer from Jesus Himself through Mark's version of The Gospel!!! Continuing from the verse noted above, Jesus says the following:

"...This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. (emphasis added)

Look, many of us say, "Why won't God speak to me?" The answer might be because we are not praying. Jesus is URGING us to Pray for ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!

• Embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything •

But...I like what Jesus says, next...

And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." (emphasis added)

We must approach God Almighty with a spirit of forgiveness. According to Mark 11.22-25, If we have a bitter and unforgiving heart, then God will not wipe our slate clean...

Pray + Forgive = God's Best

That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything.

There Are No Ifs

Cool passage in Mark 9.14-32 ...

A man brings his demon-afflicted son to Jesus for Healing. The man says, "If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"

I love the response of Jesus...Jesus says, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

The man goes on to say, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"

Jesus goes on to heal the boy...the disciples (who initially tried to heal the boy) asked Jesus, "Why couldn't we throw the demon out?" Jesus answers, "There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer."

Like the the child in this story, we all have our "demons," whether it be the economy, temptations, etc...and like the boys father, we all have our doubts. But as Christ Followers, we all have Jesus who can heal us all...

The word "If" has just been eliminated from my Prayer life!


"...There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

Pass the Ketchup

We are nothing
I think one of the greatest “blessings” of all time is to recognize we are NOTHING/ have NOTHING without Jesus.

He even said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

In other words, “You are blessed when you are EMPTY of yourself, and FULL OF ME (JESUS)!”

God is our everything
I like Psalm 40:17 in the Message and NIV respectively:

“And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me. YOU can do it; You’ve got what it takes—but God, don’t put it off.” (MSG)

“Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer O my God, do not delay.” (NIV)

God can do it!
It is the first of all blessings in the Beatitudes. It was the beginning of our salvation…to realize we are a mess without Jesus. He can make something of our lives, our marriages, our families; Jesus can make something of our work/income; our present and our future. HE CAN DO IT…HE’S GOT THE GOODS. Jesus, may you make something of our lives…

Ketchup Christians
Maybe at times, Jesus takes so long to “help” us and “deliver” us because He’s got to “shake” the “us” out of “us”…Sometimes, we are like ketchup…we take a long time to get to the “end of ourselves”.

When He finally “squirts” us out of ourselves, we are empty, ready to be filled with His life…His Kingdom!

May the Lord think of each of you. May the Lord make something of each of you, our families; our ministries, our work. I know He does. I know He will. He can do it.

Undeniable vs Unexplainable

Undeniable = adjective
unable to be denied or disputed

Unexplainable = adjective
unable to be explained or accounted for

I was listening to Andy Stanley's series on Defining Moments, and he mentioned how we don't have to understand everything in order to believe in something...I like that, I even go on to say that we don't have to understand everything to believe in The ONE Thing: Jesus Christ.

There are always going to be 'unexplainable's' about creation, salvation, etc...but you have to admit, there are more 'undeniable's' about Creation, Salvation, etc...

If ever in a conversation with a non-believer or anyone who is doubting their faith, I want to make sure I point to the 'undeniable's." These are 'hooks' that they can hang their belief or potential to believe on...

I like how Mark Batterson puts it from his transcript titled, The Evolutionary Elephant, "Sure, it takes faith to believe that the heavens and the earth were the magnum opus of an intelligent Designer but it also takes faith to believe that everything is a result of random chance; in fact, I think it takes more faith... " He goes on to say, "Our sun is 93 million miles away and astronomers estimate that if the earth was just one percent closer or farther away, that we would either burn or freeze because of the change in distance from the sun."

The facts go on and on and on and all point to a God who has designed on purpose. A God who is The Carpenter of Creation...

...can we explain everything? No. Can we deny that there is a God and that He cares about us. Certainly not...there are way too many undeniables.

The Blessings Of God

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline. ~ Proverbs 1:7 ~

• Do we really want to receive The Blessings of God? The end of Psalm 111 says:

"He's so personal and holy, worthy of our respect. The good life begins in the fear of God— Do that and you'll know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever! "

• All throughout The Bible, we are told that God fulfills our desires...but are we fearing/respecting God?

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them. ~ Psalm 145.19 ~

• It's funny how this world wants the Blessings of God, but the majority of the world does not fear God...we don't have a Holy Respect for Him. To Fear God is to Respect God. It is not to be afraid of God...it is to revere Him. Revere & Respect mean to have a deep admiration for God.

• When economic downturns and other problems occur in America and elsewhere, we are always quick to blame God. But when things are going great, are we quick to Praise God? We should give thanks in all circumstances...don't take my word for it, Look at 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18...by the way, this verse also tells us what God's Will is...

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

• Instead of blaming God for everything, let's take a look individually and collectively and ask ourselves where are we falling short of His Glory, then let's do our part to be involved in the solution instead of making matters worse. In the words of Michelangelo, "Let's criticize by creating." (See Batterson's evotional for a great read!)

*note: The above Scripture references have emphasis added.

Revealed

You're blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
~ Psalm 119.1 ~

Wandering
Before I started seeking God, I wandered all over the place...I felt like the "blueprint" for Psalm 119.67 which says:

"Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place,
but now I'm in step with your Word.

What I needed was to be in "step with His Word..." What I needed was a Revelation from God. I like how Third Day puts it in their hit song: "Revelation"

"Give me a revelation, Show me what to do, Cause I've been trying to find my way, I haven't got a clue... Tell me should I stay here, Or do I need to move, Give me a revelation I've got nothing without You...I've got nothing without You."

That was my problem...I did not know what to do or where to go because I got caught up following culture and the urgency of life. But once I started seeking God, everything started to flow. In fact, it was the "broken road" of seeking and searching for meaning and purpose that led me to dig into God's Word...another song to illustrate my point, from Jeremy Camp's, "Walk By Faith..."

"Because This Broken Road Prepares Your Will For Me..."

Bottom Line: Are you wandering? Are you traveling a broken road? It does not have to be that way. God wants you living in the Sweet Spot for your life. The reasons are not for selfish motives...you need to be in God's Sweet Spot for you life so that you can be a benefit to others...remember, from John 10.10, Jesus came to give you the abundant life, so if you are wandering, you must seek God...as you do, His Revelation becomes crystal clear...

You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.

~ From Psalm 119.1-8 ~