Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:45-47
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."
Objective:
Everyone has a Goliath or several, seemingly unsurmountable challenges, in their lives. Goliath was a Philistine giant who intimidated and humiliated all of Israel and insulted their God. No one wanted to take him on and their fear of him rendered them ineffective to either defend God's name and honor or to live a normal existence. A man of great faith, a very young man, who had found favor with the God of Israel was the exception. He was empowered by God to deal with Goliath and willingly accepted the role God would have him play. Because David knew God, he had the confidence to speak boldly to Goliath and predict that his God would prevail against him and that all the earth would know about his demise.
Application:
Using the example in this passage of Scripture as our example, wouldn't our Goliaths be cut down to size and be more manageable if we measured them by how big our God is? How differently would we approach our seemingly unsurmountable challenges if our perspective was similar to David's as he confronted his Goliath. Goliath's weapons were nothing compared to what David had - he was prepared to do battle in the name of the Lord of hosts. There are very serious struggles to be faced in this life - to be sure - are any of them too big for God to handle? And when He does handle those struggles for us - do we allow His handiwork to be seen so that all the earth knows that there is a God on the throne? David boldly stepped into the valley of Elah and we should do the same in our own valleys. Goliath was dead before he crashed to the ground from a small smooth stone thrown from the righteous hand of a shepherd boy. How different would our outcomes be if we looked at our own Goliaths and declared they were powerless against our all-powerful God?
Prayer:
Lord I pray that You will give us a fresh perspective on how much bigger You are than any problems we might face. I pray that You will give us a bolder spirit in approaching our challenges so that Your power and glory outshine all fears and that we make You and assured victory the focus. Lord, help us to slay the giants in our lives and live a life of triumphant faith. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who will defeat all enemies. Amen.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
Do you want to be made well?
Scripture: John 5:5-9
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked. NKJV
Objective:
Know that there is a God who heals. We all experience physical illnesses that are temporary and some of us may be stricken with life-long bodily challenges. Emotional health may be an issue for some. We are born with a Spiritual birth defect which separates us from fellowship with God due to a sin nature. However, God is willing and has the power to heal us of all our maladies. Exodus 15:26b says "... for I am the LORD who heals you." NIV
Application:
The conversation recorded in John 5:5-9 between Jesus and the man at the pool of Bethesda is rich with truth. Jesus knew the man before he laid eyes on him sitting in his infirmities beside the waters. Jesus went directly to him in the middle of a crowd of people. Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time and knew exactly what his ailment was. He asked the man a simple but obvious question. "Do you want to be made well?" Simple enough! What is interesting is the man's answer. What should have been a resounding "Yes!" answer was anything but. The man begins to explain to Jesus his challenges and presents excuses as to why he hasn't been healed up to this point.
Jesus knows each of us. He has known us from our beginning. He knows the extent of our trials. He can spot us in any crowd and He knows our illnesses, our hurts and our challenges. Just as He came to that man at the pool of Bethesda - He comes to us and asks us if we want to be made well!
Jesus didn't address the man's statements. Instead He told him to get up, pack up and walk away. Regardless of what we have gone through, Jesus continues to tell us to trust Him, to roll up the comfortable place we have made for ourselves in our afflictions and to live in the truth of His healing.
He is Jehovah Rapha - The God who heals. When He asks us if we want to be made well, how do we respond? Do we sit in our afflictions and drone on about why we aren't healed yet or do we zero in on the fact that the God who heals is waiting to make us well? How often do we continue to sit where we are and miss the healing Jesus offers? We may not all experience physical healing this side of eternity but we can live in the truth that He will make us well and we can live in that truth as if it has already taken place.
Prayer:
Lord we praise you for being the God who heals. You are Jehovah Rapha and the God who knows us by name and loves each of us individually. Lord I pray that we will accept Your provision of healing for all of our illnesses whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual and walk away from our own pools of Bethesda with the confidence that our healing is guaranteed by You. In the name of Jesus, our healer I pray, Amen
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked. NKJV
Objective:
Know that there is a God who heals. We all experience physical illnesses that are temporary and some of us may be stricken with life-long bodily challenges. Emotional health may be an issue for some. We are born with a Spiritual birth defect which separates us from fellowship with God due to a sin nature. However, God is willing and has the power to heal us of all our maladies. Exodus 15:26b says "... for I am the LORD who heals you." NIV
Application:
The conversation recorded in John 5:5-9 between Jesus and the man at the pool of Bethesda is rich with truth. Jesus knew the man before he laid eyes on him sitting in his infirmities beside the waters. Jesus went directly to him in the middle of a crowd of people. Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time and knew exactly what his ailment was. He asked the man a simple but obvious question. "Do you want to be made well?" Simple enough! What is interesting is the man's answer. What should have been a resounding "Yes!" answer was anything but. The man begins to explain to Jesus his challenges and presents excuses as to why he hasn't been healed up to this point.
Jesus knows each of us. He has known us from our beginning. He knows the extent of our trials. He can spot us in any crowd and He knows our illnesses, our hurts and our challenges. Just as He came to that man at the pool of Bethesda - He comes to us and asks us if we want to be made well!
Jesus didn't address the man's statements. Instead He told him to get up, pack up and walk away. Regardless of what we have gone through, Jesus continues to tell us to trust Him, to roll up the comfortable place we have made for ourselves in our afflictions and to live in the truth of His healing.
Prayer:
Lord we praise you for being the God who heals. You are Jehovah Rapha and the God who knows us by name and loves each of us individually. Lord I pray that we will accept Your provision of healing for all of our illnesses whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual and walk away from our own pools of Bethesda with the confidence that our healing is guaranteed by You. In the name of Jesus, our healer I pray, Amen
Sunday, May 17, 2015
What are we really hungry and thirsty for?
Scripture: Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Objective:
We have genuine needs that must be met.
Physiologically speaking; We are created to hunger and thirst, otherwise our bodies would perish.
Emotionally speaking; We are created to desire relationships, to crave companionship and cultivate community otherwise we would become despondent, disillusioned, lonely and unbalanced.
Spiritually speaking; God created a unique emptiness in us that cannot be filled with anything other than Himself. We are incomplete by perfect design and we keenly feel something is missing even when we attempt to fill it with the wrong things.
In all three categories of genuine need, we would serve ourselves much better by identifying what we are longing for. Yes, we all hunger and thirst. We have desires, yearnings and cravings. But for what?
Application:
When our perceived needs go unmet, we search for ways to meet them. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum. The same is true for Spiritual emptiness. We are aware of a void and often try to fill it with the wrong things.
Do you ever get cravings? I do. Many of those times I am busy and distracted. I can be focused on a task but become increasingly aware of a yearning. I 'want' something! Before long, I find myself snacking - trying to appease my appetite and yet I'm still not satisfied. When I take the time to analyze those desires, I often realize I have misinterpreted what I was truly longing for. I discover I was not hungry at all but was thirsty. My body needed water but I misread the signal and thought food was what I wanted. Even though I may have enjoyed the food, my thirst was not quenched.
We do the same thing spiritually - we fill our lives with relationships, food, drugs, alcohol, careers and a myriad of other things when what our souls ache for is the Lord.
The Lord is the only suppressant for our most pressing appetite - our soul hungers for Him. "But my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19. All of my needs? YES, All of them!
Prayer:
Lord may we come to a sustaining knowledge that our deepest needs will only be met in a relationship with You. May we be ever aware of the longings we feel, recognizing that we hunger and thirst for You. I pray we strive to remember that You are Jehovah Jireh, the God Who provides. Lord bless us in our hungers and our thirsts and satisfy us with Your righteousness. In the name of Jesus, our provision, we pray. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Objective:
We have genuine needs that must be met.
Physiologically speaking; We are created to hunger and thirst, otherwise our bodies would perish.
Emotionally speaking; We are created to desire relationships, to crave companionship and cultivate community otherwise we would become despondent, disillusioned, lonely and unbalanced.
Spiritually speaking; God created a unique emptiness in us that cannot be filled with anything other than Himself. We are incomplete by perfect design and we keenly feel something is missing even when we attempt to fill it with the wrong things.
In all three categories of genuine need, we would serve ourselves much better by identifying what we are longing for. Yes, we all hunger and thirst. We have desires, yearnings and cravings. But for what?
Application:
When our perceived needs go unmet, we search for ways to meet them. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum. The same is true for Spiritual emptiness. We are aware of a void and often try to fill it with the wrong things.
Do you ever get cravings? I do. Many of those times I am busy and distracted. I can be focused on a task but become increasingly aware of a yearning. I 'want' something! Before long, I find myself snacking - trying to appease my appetite and yet I'm still not satisfied. When I take the time to analyze those desires, I often realize I have misinterpreted what I was truly longing for. I discover I was not hungry at all but was thirsty. My body needed water but I misread the signal and thought food was what I wanted. Even though I may have enjoyed the food, my thirst was not quenched.
We do the same thing spiritually - we fill our lives with relationships, food, drugs, alcohol, careers and a myriad of other things when what our souls ache for is the Lord.
The Lord is the only suppressant for our most pressing appetite - our soul hungers for Him. "But my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19. All of my needs? YES, All of them!
Prayer:
Lord may we come to a sustaining knowledge that our deepest needs will only be met in a relationship with You. May we be ever aware of the longings we feel, recognizing that we hunger and thirst for You. I pray we strive to remember that You are Jehovah Jireh, the God Who provides. Lord bless us in our hungers and our thirsts and satisfy us with Your righteousness. In the name of Jesus, our provision, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Open his eyes that he may see....
Scripture: 2 Kings 6:8-17 NASB
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
Objective:
We have eyes - but what do we see? Better, what we would be able to see if we would look through the prism of the truth that God has revealed? What if we were to change the way we look at circumstances?
The passage of scripture is taken from 2 Kings 6:8-17. The story is told of a king who is an enemy of Israel whose every attempt to cause trouble for the people whom God favored was thwarted. Elisha was divinely informed of each of those attempts and the king who ruled over Aram was enraged and made plans to seize Elisha to put an end to his ability to predict and prevent the harm this king would have visited upon Israel's king, people and nation.
We read in verse 16 where Elisha's servant brought the dreadful news of the impending capture. The servant was in a panic and was befuddled that Elisha took the news in complete peace. The servant went so far as to try to explain of the impending doom Elisha was to be subjected to and yet God's prophet was undisturbed. Elisha could see what the servant could not. Elisha looked at life through the prism of God's faithfulness.
Application:
We are not to live our lives looking at our world and seeing only the circumstances that leave us anxious, filled with trepidations or paralyzed with fear of what could be the worst thing that could happen to us. We are not to live as if defeat or disaster awaits us; as if God is too distant or too uncaring to protect and provide.
We are to live our lives with eyes spiritually wide open; looking through a lens of faith so we will see God's supplying and His assurances.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 reveals that faith in the Lord is the biblical LASIK surgery that gives us the ability to see what would otherwise be invisible.
Prayer:
Lord, I ask that you would give me the faith that would enable me to see You in every trial. Open my eyes the way you opened Elisha's servant's eyes so he could see that you are the God who provides and is faithful. I ask that You create in me a greater faith which enables me to see what would not be visible with my finite eyes so that my fears can be laid to rest. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
Objective:
We have eyes - but what do we see? Better, what we would be able to see if we would look through the prism of the truth that God has revealed? What if we were to change the way we look at circumstances?
The passage of scripture is taken from 2 Kings 6:8-17. The story is told of a king who is an enemy of Israel whose every attempt to cause trouble for the people whom God favored was thwarted. Elisha was divinely informed of each of those attempts and the king who ruled over Aram was enraged and made plans to seize Elisha to put an end to his ability to predict and prevent the harm this king would have visited upon Israel's king, people and nation.
We read in verse 16 where Elisha's servant brought the dreadful news of the impending capture. The servant was in a panic and was befuddled that Elisha took the news in complete peace. The servant went so far as to try to explain of the impending doom Elisha was to be subjected to and yet God's prophet was undisturbed. Elisha could see what the servant could not. Elisha looked at life through the prism of God's faithfulness.
Application:
We are not to live our lives looking at our world and seeing only the circumstances that leave us anxious, filled with trepidations or paralyzed with fear of what could be the worst thing that could happen to us. We are not to live as if defeat or disaster awaits us; as if God is too distant or too uncaring to protect and provide.
We are to live our lives with eyes spiritually wide open; looking through a lens of faith so we will see God's supplying and His assurances.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 reveals that faith in the Lord is the biblical LASIK surgery that gives us the ability to see what would otherwise be invisible.
Prayer:
Lord, I ask that you would give me the faith that would enable me to see You in every trial. Open my eyes the way you opened Elisha's servant's eyes so he could see that you are the God who provides and is faithful. I ask that You create in me a greater faith which enables me to see what would not be visible with my finite eyes so that my fears can be laid to rest. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen
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