Romans 15:13 2/26/2019*

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Hope is important. Without it, people perish. We see this more and more as our society spirals into the depths of despair and anxiety.

In this verse Paul makes an amazing statement. He refers to God as “The God of Hope”. He asserts that you can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that God will fill you with joy and peace “as you trust in Him”.

The last phrase is the key that will change your life…you must trust in Him…you must choose to trust The God that gives Hope.

This Christmas both my kids had just gotten new apartments, so I gave one of them a little wooden sign that said, “choose happy”.  I have been mocked for the gift as it did not meet “fixer upper” standards (and to be honest is was purchased on Christmas eve) but the theme rings true.

Each day I must choose what I am going to focus on…either my long list of problems, or the fact that I can trust my God to handle them.

If I focus on the problems, anxiety and restlessness will result in more stress and create more problems… If I focus on trusting God, it will cause the anxiety to subside and allow me to deal with issues I need to deal with.

There is no way to have peace without Trust. There may be problems that must be solved, and healing that needs to take place, but without trusting God there is no way to acquire hope.… Take care of yourself, address your needs, and choose to trust God, and rest in the hope that only He provides.

Deliberately pick contentment. Not in a shallow way ignoring reality but by focusing on the fact that God loves you and has promised that nothing in all creation can separate you from that love. Make that your foundation and you will have hope.

There will still be storms but anyone can ride out a storm as long as they have hope.

“Choose happy”
 - Boyd’s ugly little sign

Mark 10:21-22 2/19/2019*

^“Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

This verse begins with the fact that Jesus loved the man…he had compassion for him. He wasn’t mocking him or throwing his wealth in his face. He wanted him to follow.

But there was a problem. And it was non-negotiable … The young man claimed he had followed the law since his youth, but the first commandment says: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3) …and his love of wealth made that untrue. 

“That’s no problem” you say, I don’t love money more than Jesus…good, but is there anything you would not give up to follow Him? 

What about your public image?  What about your self-righteousness? What about your comfort or privacy? Is there an idol in your life you need to abandon?

Money isn’t a bad thing…neither is reputation, or comfort. but loving any of these more than you love Jesus is a deal breaker.

It is telling that when the man walked away there was no counter offer…Christ didn’t say “Okay, how about half of what you own?”.  Though Jesus loved him, He did not change the requirement.

The bar cannot be lowered. If you love God and something else equally, your life will be a two headed monster and you will be torn in half.

There is only room for one Ruler in your life and you must choose. If there is anything that is stealing your allegiance to Christ, you must destroy it.  Abandon everything that competes for your commitment to the awesome God who gave His Son to save you.

Enjoy the blessings God has bestowed on you, but worship the Giver, not the gift … and if He ever says leave that behind and follow me…don’t hesitate because there will be no compromise on that demand.

"More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was commitment that thinned the ranks."

- Chuck Swindoll

2 Timothy 3:16-17 2/12/2019*

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

We quote this verse often focusing almost exclusively on the “God-breathed” section.

The fact that scripture comes from the mouth of God and is infallible is incredibly important. But the end of this passage discusses what scripture is to be used for, and that is important as well.

Most of us want scripture to sooth us…help relieve our anxiety… and God’s word does that. But what about rebuking?... what about correcting and training in righteousness?

When is the last time you appreciated a good rebuke? How often do you feel gratitude when you endure some hard training? Scripture wasn’t written to just sooth you, it is intended to train and equip you to do the work of The Kingdom.

A great coach makes you both confident, and unsatisfied at the same time… sometimes by soothing you through difficult circumstances, and at other times is by rebuking you for a lack of effort or improvement.  A coach that doesn’t do both will be ineffective at best, and in reality, will probably hold you back.

Scripture is not just intended for comforting… it is spiritual training equipment.  It is there to make you better…. We sometimes confuse happiness with holiness. God never said he was always going to make you happy…He said He would set you apart…He would make you effective…He would equip you to do good work. This brings joy and fulfillment in doing what you were made to do, but it is often difficult labor.

Start using your bible as workout gear. Take the rebukes and training and apply them to yourself so you will be effective.  

Use scripture to comfort yourself and others… but don’t miss the strength and endurance that can be gained by honest self-evaluation and application of God’s living Word.

“God loves us just the way we are, but too much to leave us that way”
- Leighton Ford

Matthew 6:9-10 2/5/2019*

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus was very specific in this verse about how we should pray and yet we tend to get it backwards.

Seldom do we seek God’s will – instead our prayers focus on communicating our will… It’s okay with us if God runs heaven, but we have some very specific ideas about how things should work on earth.

We assume prayer will work like the drive through at the bank - we put our petition in the tube, shoot it into the building and wait for our directions to be accomplished. 

This is more than just a problem with method. It is a lack of trust.  It is a heart problem…a symptom of an attitude that guts our prayers of their power and weakens our walk.

So how do we fix this?  How can we learn to pray like Christ told us to?

He gives us a clue in the first part of the passage when He says the name of God is “Hallowed”.  Look up that word and you’ll find words like holy, sacred, revered.

That’s the key to your prayer life.  Catching sight of God’s glory…. you need to realize who you’re talking to...  God is all knowing and all-powerful to the point that even His name is awe inspiring.

Meditate on that as you get ready to pray.  Acknowledge that He knows best…Think about the times you were grateful you didn’t get what you asked for…the times He stopped your dream before it became a nightmare.

If you realize how “hallowed’ His name is…how overwhelmingly powerful God is, you will trust Him. And only then can you honestly pray “thy will be done”.

Seek to know God. The better you do, the more you will want His will done on earth as it is in Heaven.

“Life works better when I seek to know God’s plans and my role in them, instead of my plans and His role.”
– Bruce Marlin Hayes