Praise the Lord!

What causes us to praise the Lord?  For what reason do we praise him?

There can be many reasons; we can praise him for being creator, savior, life-giver, or even the fact that he is Lord.

Reading Psalm 71 today,  

"O Lord, you alone are my hope.
    I've trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
Yes, you have been with me from birth;
    from my mother's womb you have cared for me.
    No wonder I am always praising you!

My life is an example to many,
    because you have been my strength and protection.
That is why I can never stop praising you;
    I declare your glory all day long. Psalm 71:5-8 (NLT)

Sometimes offering praise to God can feel a bit superficial at best.  But when we stop and think about what the Lord has done in our lives, we cannot help but praise him for it.

That's what the psalmist does here, he sees God's hand in his life from before he was born.  He sees that his life is an example to others, only because of the Lord.

Take a moment today to ask the Holy Spirit to show you times when he has been there for you, and then, like the psalmist, praise him for it!

Knowing Jesus

How well do you know Jesus?

I've been challenged by this thought lately.  I know Jesus as my Savior, as my Lord.  I have been walking with him for over 30 years now.

But there are times when I feel a longing to know him better.  I have noticed that  often it is during difficult or trying times that we get a chance to see more of who Jesus is.  Trials seem to bring about these opportunities.

Didn't many of us come to him when our lives fell apart while on our own?

The disciples had been following Jesus for some time.  They had seen miracles and heard his teaching.  Then one day their very lives were in danger.

"Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Matthew 8:23-25 (NIV)

Notice they knew Jesus well enough to call on him for help.  I'm not sure what they thought he would do, but it is clear by what happens next they did not expect what he did do.

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (26-27)

Think about that for a moment.  Before their very eyes, Jesus took command over the elements.  He rebuked the storm, and it obeyed and became calm.

How?  Simply because he said so.

This caused the disciples to question even deeper who Jesus could be.

Storms can come into our lives in  many different ways.  Life is not always easy, but Jesus can use those times to reveal even more of himself to us.

Are you going through a tough time?  Try asking, "Lord, what are you trying to teach me about yourself through this?" 

There is so much of him left to learn about, so much more to know.

Unity

Last night at ReFuel we were talking about the importance of unity in the Body of Christ.

A scripture that came to mind was, 

"Though one may be overpowered,

    two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)

Ever since the birth of the church of Jesus Christ some 2,000 plus years ago, we have been under assault by an enemy that will always try to destroy us.

To do this, first he will try to divide us.  This works more times than it should.  Why does he do that?  Because he knows just how powerful we are when we are united in one purpose.  And that purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.   If he can isolate us he can defeat us.

I know of many Christians who try to walk this earth alone.  I know of a lot of Christians who have been picked off, one by one, by the enemy.

But a united body of Christ, standing together, locking shields against the enemy, is a force to be reckoned with.

That is my prayer today, to see the church stand united, to see us as one.

There is so much work to do, there is so much at stake here.

Let us join together in fulfilling the prayer of Jesus.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—  I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23 (NIV)

Who we are

Mufasa:  "Simba, you have forgotten me."

Simba: "No.  How could I?"

Mufasa: "You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me.  Look inside yourself Simba.  You are more than what you have become..."

In the  animated movie "The Lion King," Simba grows up taking life easy away from where he belongs.  As long as Simba can forget he is the son of a king, he can do whatever he likes, ""Hakuna matata!"and all that "no worries" stuff.  He has nothing to live up to, because he has chosen to be nothing.

But then he has an encounter with his father, Mufasa the King, who reminds him that by forgetting who he really is, he has forgotten his father as well. 

We can do the same.  I hear many people say,"I'm nothing, I'm just a sinner saved by grace, I'm a worm..." or other phrases like it. 

While it is true that we were nothing apart from Christ, that is not at all what the Bible says we are now, in Christ.  As long as we believe we are nothing, we can act like we are nothing.  We have no obligation to do otherwise.  After all, who counts on a "nothing" to do anything of value?

However what does God's word say we are?

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  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.And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:14-17 (NIV)

And Jesus also said, 

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

It's time we accept who we truly are in Christ and rise up to our calling, and live our lives as sons and daughters of the Living God.

As Paul said, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Eph 4:1 (NIV)

Blind obedience

The other day while riding, my wife and I came up on some construction.  You know the kind, a man stands with a sign that says "Stop" on one side and "Slow" on the other.

As we stood there, waiting for the oncoming traffic that was using our lane, I watched a large truck come around a corner.  I thought, how interesting it was that he was using our lane, coming right at us, but there was no danger to us at all.

Why was there no danger from getting hit by that truck?

Because we had made the simple choice to obey the man with the sign.  We waited because he said so.  Even before we could see the oncoming traffic around the bend,, we sat and we waited.

What would have happened if we decided not to obey?  What would it have been like as that truck turned the corner?

Reading Luke 17:11-16 (NIV)

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.  As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance  and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?"  Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

They had asked Jesus for healing, and he gave them instruction.  It is clear the healing came after the obedience, and not before. 

Faith sometimes requires obedience without an answer. 

We can't always see why we need to obey, but in the end it is always for our best.

The Beauty of God

You can tell something about a person's personality by what they create. 

For example, the type of person who engineered a watch has an interest in time, and in precision, making things that always behave exactly the same way, faithfully. 

I was out riding with my wife this past weekend.  As we rode through the curvy country roads, I couldn't help but notice the color of the leaves changing with the season, and the sky with its different shape clouds.  As I entered into a turn, it was as if time slowed down.  The sunlight had an dazzling effect on the scenery, it was like an amazing painting that changed slightly with every passing second!

And I thought, what kind of God would create the world like this?  Why would he make the sky in such a way that it has endless varieties of cloud shapes, or stars?

Or with the coming of a new season, why would he make it so that the leaves all around us would suddenly burst out in brilliant colors, long enough to enjoy, but not long enough to be so common that we ignore them? 

Or take the way light and shadow work together so that the landscape changes as the sun passes over it?

David looked up to the heavens once and he could not help but write a song about what he saw and what it said to him,

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race."  Psalm 19:1-5 (NLT)

I think far too often we look to God as a provider.  We call on him for guidance, healing , or to fix problems in our lives.

But how about just marveling at how beautiful he must be to create what he does?  We look at paintings and are in awe at the talent of those who create them, how much more should we be in awe of the amazing God of the universe?  What must he be like to want to make something as beautiful as a sunset, or as playful and charming as some of our household pets?

This is a God worth getting to know.

Nourishment For The Soul

I find it interesting when I hear about a celebrity that suffers from depression.  How could that possibly happen?  Some are attractive, rich, talented, and working in the top of their field. 

How could they possibly be depressed?  They appear to have all the things the world values.

Reading Matthew this morning, 

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV)

I used to read this only as, salvation.  You live here, party like a rock star but you don't know Christ.  So even though you have this amazing life, you die and go to hell.

Although that is true, without Christ there is no salvation and eternity will suck, I think Jesus is also talking about missing out on life here and now.

Each of us are created for a purpose, and we find that purpose when our lives are completely surrendered to Jesus Christ.  The "food for our souls" is found here, in our calling.  Satan would like nothing better than to keep us occupied with any other activities than finding this. 

But when you find it, you come alive.  Even when we are tired we can be refreshed in a way that nothing else accomplishes.

When Jesus was tired and sat down by the well and had his conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4), the disciples returned with some food and urged him to eat. 

He told them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."

Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. " John 4:33-35 (NIV)

Jesus nourished himself by doing the will of God, then he pointed to the harvest and invited us to do the same.