What happens when God shows up and He is totally other than we expected? What happens when we encounter God? Face-to-face with God, we are always aware of His total "other-ness." He is infinitely beyond anything we can imagine, and he is especially beyond being manageable. How does life change when it runs head-on into an extraordinary God? We get some clues when we study what happened when biblical characters encountered God, worshiped Him, and responded to His strong presence.
When we encounter God, He will disclose a heart not right with Him.
When God comes walking in the garden of our hearts, we may try to hide behind the fig leaves of our own righteousness if our hearts are harboring sin or unbelief (Gen 3:7-10). Remember that before our sin, Jesus already went to the cross to enable us to receive the mercy and grace of God.
When we encounter God in worship, we will surrender completely to God to put our "Isaacs" on the altar. Worship precedes surrender.
Abraham told his servants, "[The boy and I] will worship and then we will come back to you" (Gen 22:5,9-10). When they reached the place where God directed, Abraham built an altar and prepared the wood on it. He bound Isaac and laid him on the wood as the sacrifice, and he took the knife to slay his own son. At that moment, Abraham revealed his fear of the Lord. Then God revealed Himself in a new dimension, Jehovah-Jireh, the One who provides the Lamb.
When we encounter God in worship, we will have his courage to go against overwhelming odds and see Him do what only He can do in delivering those in rebellion.
God said to Gideon, "Have I not sent you? Surely I will be with you" (Judges 6:14,16). In the strength of that promise and at God's instruction, Gideon pared down his initial muster of 32,000 men to 300. Fresh from worshiping God, he confidently told the men, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands" (Judges 7:15). With the unconventional weapons of pitchers, torches, and trumpets, God provided His deliverance which only He could give.
When we encounter Him in our sorrow and broken dreams, He will come to us to open the Scriptures to our hearts.
Walking away from their disappointment, two dejected disciples met Jesus unawares (Luke 24:13-32). As they talked with Him, He explained Scriptures they had never understood. Likewise, God will come to us with comfort and understanding in His Word when we think all hope is lost. There are truths in His Word that we will understand only when we bring our great hopelessness to Him.
When we encounter Him in worship, we will be assured of His presence, go in His authority, and make disciples who in turn will repeat the process.
When the disciples saw Jesus after the resurrection, they worshiped Him. Jesus said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... And surely I am with you always" (Matt 28:17-20).
Did you notice how many of these real people encountered God face-to-face in their desperation? Think of Abraham at the altar with Isaac, Moses at the burning bush and at the Red Sea, Jacob before meeting Esau, Joshua before a walled city, Gideon before a hostile army, Jehoshaphat before three hostile armies, and David in great trials of every kind. Listen to God tell you how He wants to meet you and show you more of Himself, His will, and His ways in your present circumstances. In all your life, look for Him. He is there.
Excerpted from Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence, Vol 2, page 35-38. © Sylvia Gunter 2000. Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
A Little Bite of Bread “We Need a Coach”
1 Corinthians 9: 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
As I think about this passage I think about a person running a race in a track meet. To me, what he is saying is that he becomes to the people what they are in order to help them, to be their coach as they learn to live the life of faith and trust in Jesus. For me, this was a wow moment! As I think about the many people that God has put in my path and how they have coached me in my growth and maturity in Christ.
The reality is, if I decide to run in a marathon or I decide to join a soccer league, or football team or any other sport, In order to learn to play the game and learn the rules and learn to recognize the things that will cause me to trip, fall and get hurt, I need a coach. The coach will tell me, you can not run with your toes pointing in, you will fall. You can not run without keeping your eyes straight ahead, there may be something on the ground that would catch your feet and cause you to fall. The coach will encourage me in times when I get tired and start thinking, I can’t do this. I will never learn! The coach will push me when I think I have trained enough and I am going to be okay to lay off, my coach will say no, come on push a little harder, there is more in you than what you are giving.
The truth is, our spiritual walk with the Lord is the same way. The devil has many devises set in place to trip us up. When I first came to Jesus, I had no idea how to live a life of victory of him. The longer I am saved and the more I read the scripture the more I find out, I still know nothing and I need help. If I do not allow the coaches that God has put into my life speak the truth and tell me the things I need to know in order to help me learn how to run my race, I will spend all of my time, falling, getting up off of the ground and starting over. That is not what God has in mind for my life.
Just as in a sport there are different coaches for different purposes, so are there different coaches for different purposes in my spiritual life. The head coach, the Holy Spirit is my main authority in all things. I do not always get to talk to him because I am so wrapped up in me and my own stuff that I forget that he is there to help me and I forget that He already knows the best path to take. When I first got saved, I did not even know how to recognize him and the work he was doing in my life. I needed a coach to help me to learn to listen and learn to recognize when He was working and moving in my situations. God had to use the pastors and teachers and other leaders to speak truths, to tell me this is not the way, that is the world’s way and it is a trap set for you. I have to not only listen to them, but I have to decide that I want to take the advice they give and use to help me grow and learn and get past the obstacles that get in my way. I have to choose not to get mad when they say things that I may not like to hear. In most cases, when I struggle, the biggest problem is me. To have somebody come right and say, Linda, your looking at you again is not always easy for them or for me but if I want to grow, and want to learn how to win, I have to step back and say thank you for loving enough to tell me to truth about me so that I can learn a better way.
Life and winning are not easy. There is no room for lazy when playing a sport. Everybody has to play together for one goal, one purpose and that is to win the game. I can not run my race wanting to be the superstar in the show and I can not run my race expecting to win if I do not listen and apply what my coaches are telling me. I can not run my race alone because there are many devises already in place to trip me up and if I do not have coaches to help me recognize the traps and help pick me up when I fall, I will be stuck in the middle of a trap with no one to help me get out.
I love Gods word. I love how He has spoken his divine words in such a way that we can see how to apply it to our lives. For me, learning that I need a coach was a very powerful lesson. It is a totally different approach to life for me. I have always been one who thought I did not need anybody and I really did not want anybody in my life. In my mind, people who want to get involved in my life were only out to use me for a time the leave me broken and angry in the end. Why would I want to allow one more person in my life like that? Learning that there are people in this world that do not want to hurt but to help and that their motive, their goal really had nothing to do with me but everything to do with their love for Jesus was one of the major breakthrough points in my life.
It is my prayer tonight, that we all have our head coach, the Holy Spirit and that we have learned to recognize His voice and obey his direction in our lives. I pray that our hearts are open to listen and learn from our Pastor and our Group leaders and others God has put in our lives to help us as we grow and develop in our wonderful Lord Jesus. I pray that God will give us ears willing to hear the truth and hearts willing to apply what we hear and without taking offence to what has been said. I pray that as we learn the truth about ourselves compared to the truth in Gods word, we will be willing to apply that learning and make the corrections and adjustments necessary to win our race.
Linda
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Submission (submit, submitted, submitting)
Hebrew word used in Hebrews 13:17 -- to be straightforward with.
Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) “17Obey(AD) your leaders and submit to them,(AE) for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to(AF) give an account.(AG) Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Greek word used in James 4:7, I Peter 2:13 and 5:5 -- hupotusso -- to subordinate; to obey – be under obedience, put under, subdue unto; be subjected to, submit self unto.
James 4:7 (ESV) “7Submit yourselves therefore to God.(A) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
I Peter 2:13-15 (NIV) “13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”
I Peter 5:1-10 “1 To the elders among you, I appeal (exhort) as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[a] 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. “
Submission is an action, a choice. It is an action that we take whether consciously or unconsciously. We choose what or whom we are going to submit to (give authority or control to) with our emotions, with our time, with our money, with our possessions. We choose who we are going to give authority over our emotions. We choose who we are going to give authority over our time. We choose who we are giving authority over our money. We choose who we are going to give authority over our possessions. Absolutely everything in our life is based on a choice. We choose who we are going to serve or be a slave too. It is an action that in not making a choice you are still making a choice. For example, in not choosing God you are choosing Satan. Another example, When you are not walking a lifestyle that focuses on bringing glory and praise to God then you are choosing to walk in a lifestyle that focuses on self and what makes you feel good or allows you to take up your time and numb your mind and heart to its secret yearnings of being loved by the God of love. Yet another example, when you shut the door to your home you choose when to open it and who or what you allow in. When you don’t shut the door, leaving it cracked or wide open, then you are allowing whomever and whatever to enter into your home whether it be an edifying person, an evil person, a sweet loving pet or an evil poisonous snake. In every aspect of your life you choose to take authority over what you allow or you choose to give up the choice and allow whomever or whatever wants, to come in and take authority.
As for me personally, I have unfortunately in my past allowed myself to be robbed by the enemy when I have chosen not to taken authority and make choices in my life. During those times that I didn’t take authority and make a decision, I now understand that I was not focused, feeling worthless and/or walking in fear and allowed the enemy to chose for me. All of which is not operating in the Lord. He does not give us a spirit of fear but He gives us love, power and a sound mind. In Isaiah 11:2 it is written, “2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—“. God did not create us to be worthless, He empowers us. In Romans 8:14-16 (NIV) it is written, “ 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Footnotes: Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.) Thus He created us in His own image giving us through the blood of Jesus Christ authority and dominion over all things if we choose (submit) to be adopted by Him. God created us all with an intense desire to love Him and worship Him which is why we only find and feel emptiness when we submit to the worldly pleasures of lust and self-fulfillment.
I thank God that He loves me unconditionally and doesn’t ever revoke(unadopt) my being a Child of God just because I make a mistake or a poor choice. I know I am loved unconditionally and am reassured that as I travel the road of living fully in Christ, He looks on me with pride and love every time I take a step. Even when I stumble and fall down, because with His help I am always able to get back up, repent and keep moving forward in my sole life purpose of loving and worshiping Him. But wait! There’s more! I get the added BONUS because all the love He showers on me is manifested through me to any and all who cross my path. God’s bonus of loving one another. And all at one great price … FREE! I absolutely must make sure that all I know (and even those I don't know yet!) get this great lifetime deal!! I am gratefully and willingly submitted to His authority, power and love.
Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) “17Obey(AD) your leaders and submit to them,(AE) for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to(AF) give an account.(AG) Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Greek word used in James 4:7, I Peter 2:13 and 5:5 -- hupotusso -- to subordinate; to obey – be under obedience, put under, subdue unto; be subjected to, submit self unto.
James 4:7 (ESV) “7Submit yourselves therefore to God.(A) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
I Peter 2:13-15 (NIV) “13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”
I Peter 5:1-10 “1 To the elders among you, I appeal (exhort) as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[a] 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. “
Submission is an action, a choice. It is an action that we take whether consciously or unconsciously. We choose what or whom we are going to submit to (give authority or control to) with our emotions, with our time, with our money, with our possessions. We choose who we are going to give authority over our emotions. We choose who we are going to give authority over our time. We choose who we are giving authority over our money. We choose who we are going to give authority over our possessions. Absolutely everything in our life is based on a choice. We choose who we are going to serve or be a slave too. It is an action that in not making a choice you are still making a choice. For example, in not choosing God you are choosing Satan. Another example, When you are not walking a lifestyle that focuses on bringing glory and praise to God then you are choosing to walk in a lifestyle that focuses on self and what makes you feel good or allows you to take up your time and numb your mind and heart to its secret yearnings of being loved by the God of love. Yet another example, when you shut the door to your home you choose when to open it and who or what you allow in. When you don’t shut the door, leaving it cracked or wide open, then you are allowing whomever and whatever to enter into your home whether it be an edifying person, an evil person, a sweet loving pet or an evil poisonous snake. In every aspect of your life you choose to take authority over what you allow or you choose to give up the choice and allow whomever or whatever wants, to come in and take authority.
As for me personally, I have unfortunately in my past allowed myself to be robbed by the enemy when I have chosen not to taken authority and make choices in my life. During those times that I didn’t take authority and make a decision, I now understand that I was not focused, feeling worthless and/or walking in fear and allowed the enemy to chose for me. All of which is not operating in the Lord. He does not give us a spirit of fear but He gives us love, power and a sound mind. In Isaiah 11:2 it is written, “2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—“. God did not create us to be worthless, He empowers us. In Romans 8:14-16 (NIV) it is written, “ 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Footnotes: Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.) Thus He created us in His own image giving us through the blood of Jesus Christ authority and dominion over all things if we choose (submit) to be adopted by Him. God created us all with an intense desire to love Him and worship Him which is why we only find and feel emptiness when we submit to the worldly pleasures of lust and self-fulfillment.
I thank God that He loves me unconditionally and doesn’t ever revoke(unadopt) my being a Child of God just because I make a mistake or a poor choice. I know I am loved unconditionally and am reassured that as I travel the road of living fully in Christ, He looks on me with pride and love every time I take a step. Even when I stumble and fall down, because with His help I am always able to get back up, repent and keep moving forward in my sole life purpose of loving and worshiping Him. But wait! There’s more! I get the added BONUS because all the love He showers on me is manifested through me to any and all who cross my path. God’s bonus of loving one another. And all at one great price … FREE! I absolutely must make sure that all I know (and even those I don't know yet!) get this great lifetime deal!! I am gratefully and willingly submitted to His authority, power and love.
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