inspiration

Less and More

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evaluation3-copyWe are living in the digital age, and we are being aged by the frenzied pace of the world.  Technology promises to make life easier; however, these promises are often just empty and hollow distractions.

Most everyone is looking for peace and fulfillment, and they try to find it in the promises broadcast through their radios or the marketing slogans plastered on billboards.  These messages promise you fresher breathe, whiter teeth, or a newer car as the answer to all of your problems.

Money may provide momentary happiness, but nothing this world has to offer can iron out the wrinkles of a stressed-filled life.  The solution is not found in consuming a larger piece of the world, but in possessing a larger than life peace that’s found in Jesus.

The answer is less of the world and more of Jesus:  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

The best way to keep your life from falling apart is to keep it together through the peace of God:

Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.  ~Romans 5:1-5 ~J.B. Phillips

Blessings: Have You Counted Yours?

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countWhen was the last time you paused and counted the many blessing that you have?  Have you taken the time to heed the old hymn and “name them one by one?” These are the questions I asked myself after reading Psalm 68:19: “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!”

A survey of the Psalms will reveal several verses that remind us of God’s many blessings:

  • Psalm 1 speaks of relationship: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
  • Psalm 2 speaks of faith: Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him
  • Psalm 28 speaks of prayer: Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
  • Psalm 31 speaks of God’s kindness: Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
  • Psalm 32 speaks of forgiveness: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
  • Psalm 33 is a promise: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

I’ll close with this link to Count Your Blessings. I hope the song will become a symphony as you reflect on the times God has blessed you.

Beating the Blues

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HopeDid you awaken this morning feeling more down-and-out and less up-and-at-it? If so, you might identify with the “woe-is-me” mentality of Jeremiah who said:

“I’m the man who has seen trouble, trouble coming from the lash of God’s anger. He took me by the hand and walked me into pitch-black darkness. Yes, he’s given me the back of his hand over and over and over again. He turned me into a scarecrow of skin and bones, then broke the bones. He hemmed me in, ganged up on me, and poured on the trouble and hard times. He locked me up in deep darkness, like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.” ~ The Message

The sure cure for a case of the Monday Morning Blues is a long sip from this energizing Cup of Hope:  Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

When Jeremiah began to focus less on his problems and more on God, his perspective changed.  He began to realize that the high tide of God’s hope has a rhythmic presence that’s just as certain as the appearance of the moon in the night sky.  He also concluded that the faithfulness of God is as cool and refreshing as an artesian well that never runs dry—it’s new every morning.

In the Psalms, David learned that the riddles of life are never solved through the emptiness of the world, but through the fullness of God’s blessing. He said: I did not understand until I went into the sanctuary of God; and, He offered this conclusion: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever . . . it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.

As you work your way through today, remember that God is full of compassion, generous in grace, slow to anger, and boundless in loyal love and truth.  ~Psalm 86:15

Refocus

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blueeyerefocus-e1402765750552One of the great men of the Bible was David, and he reigned as King for over thirty years. His path to the throne wasn’t an easy journey, and his years as a monarch were often times of great difficulty.

One of the more trying moments of his life is recorded in 1 Samuel 30:6: David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters.  But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

Even though David was greatly distressed, he didn’t allow the trial, the heartache, and the grief to define the rest of his life.  Instead, David strengthened himself in the Lord.

David refocused his emotions, turned his thoughts towards God, and remembered: My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121).

It’s also likely, that David rehearsed the many times that God had intervened in his life:

  • God once delivered him from a lion and a bear.
  • God gave him a victory when he faced Goliath in battle.
  • When jealous Saul tried to kill him, God always protected David.

Today may be one of those days that you’re feeling distressed.  Whatever your Goliath may be, God can bring your giant to his knees.  Find strength in knowing that what God did for David, He can also do for you.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~Philippians 4:13

There’s Something About Those Eyes

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Smiling_Eyes

In one of my recent excursions through the pages of the Psalms, I noticed three verses that had a least one word in common. You can read them below, and see the word for yourself:

  • Psalm 119:37: Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way
  • Psalm 119:18: Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law
  • Psalm 19:8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

When I read these verses, I see the first two as prayers to help us reshape our focus and to gain a fresh perspective on life—to turn away from what’s wrong and to open up to what’s right.  The third verse is a recognition of what’s right, rejoicing, and radiating or enlightening.

There’s a fourth verse that also has the word eyes in it, and it’s one that’s reassuring:

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry (Ps.34:5).

This verse reminds us that God watches over us and that His ears are open to our prayers.  This verse gives confidence that:

  • In times of fear, we can still trust God: The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25).
  • When our world is crashing down on us, we can be confident that He is still present: Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:8).
  • When we can’t seem to shake our worries and anxieties, we can find peace in God: You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you. “Trust in the Lord forever for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.(Isaiah 26:3-4).
  • When we seem too weak to persevere, God is our refuge and strength: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore, we will not fear (Psalm 46).
  • When life seems full of roadblocks and detours, we can look to God for guidance: Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Let me know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You (Psalm 143:8).

Even though he and his fellow believers were suffering extreme persecution during the reign of the sadistic Nero, Peter said: God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you (I Peter 5:6-7).

Whenever you are tempted to give up, you have two choices: You can either throw-in the towel and quit, or you can toss your cares to God and let Him help carry your load.

A Fact A Day

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facts-hands-holding-letters-1500_largeMy post today is a simple list for the complex world in which we live.  Instead of hurriedly glancing at the list and moving on with your agenda for the day, I hope you will keep it in mind and take the time to consider each one again on its assigned day for the week ahead.

Fact 1 for Monday: Life is full of obstacles.

You will encounter many detours in your life’s pursuit—be resolute. Don’t allow detours and distractions to become attractions; remain focused on your goals

  • Philippians 3:13-14: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Fact 2 for Tuesday: Small sparks can start big fires, so mind your manners and tame your tongue.

  • James 1:26; 3:5: If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile . . . though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites

Fact 3 for Wednesday: Whatever grips your attention, grabs you.

  • James 1:1:14-15: Each one is tempted when he is lured, enticed, and trapped by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.

Fact 4 for Thursday: You may not be what you think you are, but what you think you are.

  • Colossians 3: 1-2: Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth

Fact 5 for Friday: The world may think you’re a zero, but God knows you’re a hero.

  • Judges 6:12: The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!

Fact 6 for Saturday: God has a plan and a purpose for you.

  • Genesis 50:15, 19-20: When Joseph’s brothers saw their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” But Joseph said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”

Fact 7 for Sunday: It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

  • There are 86,400 seconds in a day and you can use them or abuse them.

I’ve only just a minute; 0nly sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, can’t refuse it; didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,

But it’s up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it; give an account if I abuse it,

Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.

~Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

I think this quote is a good conclusion to my list, so I’ll end with it: “Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them.” ~John Henry Cardinal Newman

Impossibly Possible

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possibleLet me pose a question to you; it’s a question that is tucked away in the prophetic works of the prophet Jeremiah: Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me (32:27)? Is there anything that God can’t do?

To most people who believe that God is omnipotent and that He is all-powerful, the quick and easy answer is a resounding, “No!”

As you think about your answer, I offer the following:

  • God can’t get tired and His wisdom is never diminished: The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. ~Isaiah 40:28
  • God can’t break a promise: My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips. ~Psalm 89:34
  • God can’t remember the sins He chooses to forget: I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake. ~Isaiah 43:25
  • God can’t lie to you: God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? ~Number 23:19
  • God can forsake you: Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. ~Deuteronomy 31:6
  • God can’t forget you: Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. ~Luke 12:6-7
  • God can’t stop loving you: I love you with an everlasting love, so I will continue to show you my kindness. ~Jeremiah 31:3

The next time you get down in the dumps and feel as though God has abandoned you, I hope you’ll review this list and remember this final thought: Before you were ever aware of God or thought about loving Him, you were already the object of His love.

Space: A New Discovery

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early-manned-spaceflight_939_600x450Mesmerized is the best word to describe my state of mind on May 5, 1961, and I was not alone.  There were another 44,999,999 other people glued to a black and white TV—all 45 million of us were fixated on NASA’s herculean effort to launch Mercury-Redstone 3 into space, and the heroic exploits of Alan Shepard, Jr.

Today, nearly 56 years, NASA will be holding a press conference to release information on a new discovery.   The space agency will share information concerning their “new findings on planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets.” nasa-kepler-452b

The word I find interesting in the paragraph above is “discovery.”  NASA has not created these exoplanets, they have discovered them; and this is true of all truth and scientific findings—they are discovered and not created.

The nature of truth is a frequent topic of discussion in the writings of Norman Geisler and Frank Turek:

  • Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge of it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)
  • Truth is transcultural; if something is true, it is true for all people, in all places, at all times. (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time.)
  • Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (When we began to believe the earth was round instead of flat, the truth about the earth didn’t change, only our belief about the earth changed.)
  • Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe the world is flat, but that only makes the person sincerely mistaken.)
  • Truth is not affected by the attitude on the one professing it. (An arrogant person does not make the truth he professes false. A humble person does not make the error he professes true.)

It was Jesus who said: “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Truth, according to Jesus, can be known; however, the fly in truth’s ointment is that people give little effort to knowing the truth, but they are fully engaged in the pursuit of happiness.

This cart before the horse perspective will only lead to the mire and the muck of Pilgrim’s slough of despond—the more one struggles to find happiness apart from God the more he is stuck in the mud.

I’ll close with this comment by Timothy Keller: “While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.”

Think about this truth; it just might set you free.

God is Listening

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prayer-faith-god-stonesIntrovert or extrovert, I’m not sure which category best describes you.  Even though I am an extrovert, there are moments when I take pause as an introvert.  If I walk into a room full of people I don’t know I may be less likely to speak, and I may wonder:  Do any of these people care about what I have to say?

While you may wonder if people care about what you have to say, that should never be a concern with God: Jesus was always interested in His disciples, and He intently listened to them—He wanted to hear them speak and to tell Him what was on their hearts.

With God, eloquent speech is not a prerequisite to being heard.  He is attentive to our prayers, and they have the fragrance of incense to Him (Revelation 5:8).

The Gospels are a record of God hearing prayers and responding to the needs of people.  Jesus listened and responded to the cry of a man who was born blind, and he intervened in the lives of the cripple, the deaf, the prostitute, and the leper.

Society had turned its back on each of them, but Jesus listened and welcomed them.  While others rejected them, Jesus listened and loved them.

The Psalms have a lot to say about the care of God for His people and His response to their prayers:

  • Psalm 8 remind us that God is mindful” of us: We are on His mind of God and in His heart.
  • Psalm 5 encourage us to begin each day with God: My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up
  • Psalm 55:17 indicates that we should speak to God throughout the day: Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.

God listens, and He extends this invitation to you: Call unto me, and I will answer you (Jeremiah 33:3).

Life: Its Measure and Message

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Life, what is it?  In one form or another, most people have asked this question at some measure-subpagetime in their life.  It’s one of the many themes of Psalms, Proverbs, and the book of James.

  • James asked: For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ~James 4:14
  • A similar question is asked in Psalm 8:4: What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
  • David inquired about the measure of his days or the length of life in Psalm 39:

“O Lord,  make me know my end  and what is the  measure of my days;  let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

While we might be concerned about the measure of life, we should also be concerned about the message of our lives. Solomon addressed the message of within the context of character and its influence. In Proverbs, he calls attention to the person who is:

  • Ungodly man who digs up evil ~16:27
  • Perverse man sows strife ~Proverbs 16:28
  • Violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good ~Proverbs 16:29
  • Proud: Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him ~Proverbs 26:12
  • Righteous man who may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. ~Proverbs 24:16
  • A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished ~Proverbs 22:3
  • Undisciplined: Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him ~ Proverbs 29:20
  • Unjust man who is an abomination to the righteous ~ Proverbs 29:27

I encourage you take some time to reflect on the measure and message of your life, and remember that it can be:

  • Brief in comparison to eternity: Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:4)
  • Full of opportunity to make a difference in the life of another: Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices (Hebrews 13:16).

As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person.         ~Proverbs 27:19