James 1:2-4 4/27/2021*

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
 
This is a command not a suggestion.  It does not say “try” to consider it joy…it says to do it.
 
That seems counterintuitive.  Joy is the last thing that naturally comes to mind when things go wrong - and yet there it is in black and white…” consider it pure joy.”  
 
I suppose God knew this would confuse us because He explains in the next verse that the result of struggling is perseverance. It makes you stronger and braver.  Once you have endured something you do not fear it anymore…That is called Spiritual maturity.   
 
We are not supposed to relish trouble. But this passage says that it will come, and when it does, we should view it as spiritual weightlifting.  We should understand that overcoming problems builds spiritual muscle.
 
I have never been one of those guys who enjoyed the weight room…but I appreciated the results. Working out made me more effective on the field and allowed me to avoid injury. And while it was at times exhausting, there was a sort of joy that came from knowing you were improving.
 
Spiritually, that is what trials do. God is instructing us that when we go through rough waters, we are to appreciate the results of the struggle, and avoid self-pity by focusing on the growth. We must realize that the fight is making us better.
 
Our “instant gratification culture” does not produce or appreciate patience and endurance, but they are game changers.  Endurance is most often the difference between failure and success. You never truly fail until you stop trying – so endurance breeds accomplishment.
 
Each time you fall down and then get back up - you are encouraged, and your enemies are disheartened …So get up one more time. Make note of what you have learned - and try again.
 
Like most people, I would love to stay on the mountain top…but nothing grows up there.  Periodically we must travel through the valley to allow things to flourish.
 
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened..."
 - Helen Keller
 

Malachi 2:17 4/20/2021*

"You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
 
If God was tired of hearing this duplicity 2500 years ago, imagine His weariness with us today? 
 
The Israelites were calling good evil, and evil good. Declaring that the Lord delighted in their sin all the while brazenly ignoring His law. Malachi says that God was exasperated by their attitude.
 
Like them, we have set our own standards…we are fine with someone saying God loves us - but resistant if we are told God wants us to change.
 
We have become incapable of saying “I am sorry”, as we have been raised to believe we are infallible. We call sin disease…we blame God, our parents, or the government for what we do…and we have an excuse for every action. Anyone who points out that our actions are evil, is labeled intolerant.
 
This wearies God.
 
It is dangerous that we imagine God as a heavenly Santa Clause and ignore the ominous God described in scripture.  The last question in this verse will one day be answered… “Where is the God of justice?”
 
The requirement of holiness has not been eliminated. It has been paid…but those who do not admit their guilt and accept His grace certainly will meet the God of Justice.
 
To accept forgiveness, we must first agree that we need it…. We must stop wearying God with our twisting of His commands and learn to not only admit sin - but turn away from it.
 
Do the Will of your Father. Your actions reveal your heart…The fruit on a tree doesn’t make the tree good…it just shows that it is.
 
Acknowledge your sin today.  Call it what it is, drop the chains, and turn to Jesus. Sin is tiresome for you – and for God as well.
 
Stop making excuses for evil and start living according to His design. You are an eagle, stop walking down the path of life…. Confess, repent, and then soar into freedom. 
 
You can be different.
 
“If you are truly renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon
 
 

PSALM 34:1-2 4/13/2021*

 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord…”
 
What if we did that?...
 
What if we were continually praising God?... Instead of self-centeredness, or pride, or disrespect toward others…what if our mouths (and our keyboards) only praised God and lifted up His creation?
 
Think about that for a moment. What would your day look like if you spent it intentionally worshiping God?...
 
You can do that…it is your decision. But this is not a self-help verse about positive thinking - it is a statement about a changed world view that recognizes that God is in complete control.
 
The second point rings just as true – What if I only boasted about God?  What if my confidence and anxiety levels were not based on my circumstances - but on God’s power? How would my attitude change if I trusted all things to God’s control and depended on His authority?
 
I challenge you to see how long you can go today fixated on God’s blessings.  See how deep into the day you can get without a word of negativity.  Attempt to live an entire day without saying something derogatory about someone else and see what happens….
 
We all live in the same world - but your perception of it is based on the emissions of your heart.  Your experience is impacted by the attitude you carry around with you.
 
David, in this psalm, does not leave that to chance.
 
He doesn’t wait to see how he is treated at work today - or whether or not someone cuts him off on the freeway. He simply decides to contemplate the many blessings God has given him and intentionally live in a state of praise. Concentrating on God’s omnipotence instead of his own circumstances is what defines his experience.
 
Have you considered the power you wield with just your own thoughts? …Have you contemplated the effectiveness of your praises, or the destructiveness of your criticisms?
 
Your choices will determine how today goes…The psalmist says “I will bless the Lord” …what do you say?
 
“You can't blame things for being dark if the light bulbs aren't working… we're complaining about the darkness when the bulbs aren't working, and the Bible says that we are the light of the world.”
- Tony Evans

Revelation 5:8 4/6/2021*

 “When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

In John’s account of his vision regarding the end of time, he mentions a golden bowl “full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

That phrase caused me to wonder if my prayers and petitions smell like incense to God?
 
As I think about it, I am afraid that instead of a sweet aroma – many of my prayers may have a whiff of selfishness.
 
I fear that at times my prayers are so routine they may be stale and moldy.  Even worse, sometimes in my self-pity they may carry the unpleasant smell of my egotistical heart with them.
 
As a loving Father I know that God hears my prayers as the cries of His child and is moved by them…but this verse challenges me to make them a sweeter offering.
 
But how do we do that?
 
Prayers of gratitude would be a refreshing change to our King.  The habit of seeing His hand on every good thing in our lives would produce prayers that not only please God but strengthen us.
 
Prayers that lift up the needs of others also please God – As a daddy myself, I know that nothing touches my heart more than someone who loves my kids.
 
But the most important element in our prayers is faith…the bible is clear that without faith it is impossible to please God. Prayers that carry the sweet scent of confidence are the most pleasing to our Savior.
 
So, pray like you mean it.  Be grateful. Pray for others. Pray big and expect results.
 
God is not moved by routinely recited prayers that do not impact the heart of the one that is praying. And He is not moved by request that we do not believe will be answered.
 
Spend today creating the sweet scent of honest prayers. Open your heart and allow the faith, gratitude, and dependency you have in God to fill Heaven with the sweet aroma of a child’s loving, confident, appeal to their Father.
 
“Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.” – Charles Spurgeon