Light In Darkness (Psalm 112:4)

Who hasn't been through dark times of trials?  Through the midst of circumstances that try our faith, we feel alone and cannot determine the direction we should go.   I remember one such trial where I described myself as being in a boxing ring with the heavy weight champion.  It seemed as if each phase of the trial was like being pounded with lefts and right from the champ.  As a boxer in troubled cannot determine up from down, left from right or even sometimes where he is, so my trial left me dazed and staggering.

Praise The Lord for his word and the wonderful promises that it contains.  Psalm 112:4-5 says, Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.  God promises that for those, who are upright, he will provide light or direction for them in the midst of their trial.  Most believers feel that they cannot have this or deserve it because they don't feel righteous.  What we must remember is that righteousness is both positional and practical.  Positional in that when God looks at you, he sees the righteousness of Christ.  This happened on the day that you trusted Christ as Savior.  Practical righteousness occurs as we confess sins committed and our relationship gets restored with The Lord.  What I need in order to claim the promise of this Scripture is to have Christ as Savior and to scripturally deal with my sins as they occur.  

If God's promises were to be based on our own righteousness or personal merit, nobody would ever measure up.  That is why he says, he is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous.  In the midst of the trial, God will deal with us by his grace.  God's actions towards us will be motivated by his compassion and we can always count that he will deal with us in a righteous manner.

So while in the midst of the darkest of trials, remember your position, confess your sins and expect light or direction to shine forth.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.  (I Corinthians 10:13)

If You Want It, You Must Tarry (Mark 8:1-3)

The crowd was large.  Jesus had been healing and teaching for days.  What supplies had been brought were gone, but the people stayed.  Why?  Was it because they believed he would provide food with a miracle?  That was not very likely the reason, because the disciples, who were closest to Jesus, were still struggling in that area.  So, why did they stay?

It appears that on the occasions when crowds gathered to Jesus, it was because they were in need of miracles.  Whether they lined the streets with the sick or people for themselves journeyed to where Jesus was, the purpose was for miraculous healing.  As they crowded to Jesus, some were still waiting for their chance to be healed.  This lingering lasted into the third day.  As time passed and supplies ran out, they had a choice to make: leave for food and miss the healing or endure without.  For them, the greater need was the miraculous.  They planned on enduring without food for the opportunity to have their greater need met.

As a child of God, you face the same situation today.  You are not necessarily away in a desert place with Jesus far away from food, but in the midst of life's trials, you are like in a desert place without power and definitely without provision.  As time lingers on, what will you do?  Will your emotional needs or desires blinded you from the hope of the miraculous.  If so, you will remove yourself from sitting at the feet of Jesus and attempt to deliver yourself or you will give up in despair. But if you choose to remain, his power will be displayed.  You will see the miracle that you need.  It may not be the miracle that you want, but it will be what you need.  All you need to do, is tarry.  Tarry a little longer.  Tarry with the hope of his presence and tarry with the promise of his comfort.

Psalm 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Parent - Child Relationship (Psalm 111:7)

Everyday, The Lord is working in your life.  Regardless of whether you recognize it or not, he is.  As your Heavenly Father, his works are governed by his attributes or in other words, his works are forced to stay within the boundaries set forth by his love, mercy, and holiness.  Never are his works able to be unloving, cruel or sinful.

From this scripture, we can see that whatever he does will be in verity (trustworthiness), judgment (right) and sure (as a fostering parent).  Stop and think, is not this how we strive to treat the children we love?  Are not these qualities the same as when be grant or deny them permission, lead them in decision making, or correct wrong behavior?  When they fail to understand and question your motives, how do you feel? What do you think? And what decisions are you forced to make because of it?

God, our Father, is placed in the same position when we question what he has brought or allowed to come into our lives.  We question when sickness comes.  We question when children fail to turn out as expected.  It seems that the greater the trial, the more our hearts lean towards questioning the Father's motives and love.

What we must recognize is that God, as a parent, is fostering or building us up.  Yes, he wants to protect us and provide for all our needs, but sometimes the greater need is something more than tangible objects or a life of ease and pleasure.  How he develops us to be thankful, to appreciate, to minister to grieving people, to be patient and to increase faith usually can only come through situations greater than our strength can bear, which we simply call trials.  A life without trials would be a life that is not growing in the most needy areas of development.

So, as you think of the trial you are experiencing now or as you face new trials, will you respond to God in the same manner as your teenager responds to your decisions that they don't understand or will you, by faith, submit to his loving plan and allow him to do his perfect work in your life (James 1:4).

Humility Diverts Blessings to You (Mark 7:26-29)

A Greek woman from Syria came to Jesus because her daughter was demon possessed.  Because she was Greek, she was not a part of Israel.  During Christ’s ministry, the ministry focus was for the lost house of Israel and her being a gentile placed her in the lowest of categories in the social system: low because the Gentiles did not know God and their lifestyle was idolatrous and a sinful abomination to God.  With all that said, here she was seeking help from God himself.

 

With her being on the out with God, how did she get him to grant the request that she made by faith?    She accomplished it because she was humble.  The Lord pointed out her gentile condition and that it would be wrong to cast the Jew’s bread to dogs or to her and her people.  Her reply was not defensive, but instead in agreement with what he said and that her only possible right would be in the carelessness of the Jews with receiving the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. Her humble answer brought her the blessing she desired.

 

How often have you thought that you didn’t deserve the type of treatment you were getting from God or that you deserve better than what life had brought your way?  How often have you thought you were more in line to receive blessings because of your laundry list of do’s and don’t s that you keep. If I learned anything in my life, I have learned that as I grow in Christ I see myself as more sinful instead of less.  On anybody’s best day, they will never measure up to a position of deserving blessings from God.  However two things are essential for blessings to be obtained: believing faith that God can and wants to bless you and humility in your hearts as evidenced by you seeing yourself more as how God sees you.

 

The gentile woman had both ingredients: she went to Christ and petitioned him to cast out the demon and she humbly accepted statements about her from The Lord as being true.

 

Are you humble?

Lips Versus The Heart (Mark 7:6)

The measure of how much you honor God is not determined by the out pouring of your lips, but by the fruit of your the heart.  I heard somebody say that the tongue is the dip stick of the heart.  What they meant was that as you can check the internal fluids of an engine and determine its level of care by checking the oil dip stick, you could do the same by checking the heart of man by what he says.  The phrase may seem good, but it is an inaccurate statement.

According to God, you should not go by what a persons says to determine the condition of the heart.  Words are easy to say and religious works of the flesh are not battled by the flesh or the enemy, but godly fruit always faces opposition.  If you want to check on your spiritual condition, measure how often you get angry, or what response you have in your heart when you hear the name of a person who wronged you.  Count the times you said words that should have been halted, thought lewd thoughts that should have been shunned, envied a peer or looked down on someone.

How far away is your heart from God?  The true way of measuring is to take inventory of whether the fruit of the Spirit is in your life.  Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance are all manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  Your measure of spirituality is determined by how much these fruit are manifested in your life and not the words that you say.

The Effects Of Your Testimony (Mark 6:56)

Jesus' fame was growing.  As he exited the ship, the people of the region recognized who he was and began to gather from all parts of the city those who are sick.  They placed them along the streets in hopes that he would heal them.  The Scriptures also record that people were seeking him so that they may touch but the hem of his garment and that all who do touched it were healed.  

What an amazing testimony.  Where did the people get the idea that Jesus did not need to perform some healing action, but that by touching his garment they could be healed?  It came from a sickly woman's testimony in that after spending all her wealth on doctors for healing and yet remained sick, she secretly approached Jesus believing that if she but touched his garment, she would be healed (Mark 5:27-29).  Because of her faith, many others were exercising the same faith.

This is the demonstration of what a testimony can do.  All of us have one.  Some people's testimonies are good and others have poor testimonies.  Some have testimonies where their faith enabled them to accomplish great things or overcome huge obstacles.  While others seemed only needing to exercise faith in less critical situations.  But in all truth, each time a person exercises faith, they are accomplishing something great.

The marvelous part of the story is how effectual the testimony was of the woman who touched the garment of Jesus.  Her testimony far out reached the expectations of her decision that day.  She did not act in hopes of influencing others, but her life did.  

Ask yourself, what kind of a testimony do I have?  How far is my testimony reaching?  What does The Lord think of my testimony?  What testimony am I developing as I go through my current trials?  Who is watching my testimony and who will be successful through their trails after seeing my testimony?

After answering these questions, I hope you recognize that your testimony has a greater influence for Christ than you think.

For Their Heart Was Hardened (Mark 6:50-52)

Have you ever had a problem that whenever you thought of it, your heart just quivered inside?   You may have tried to push the thought of it away, but in no time you were thinking about it again and again your heart again trembled.  The disciples experienced that same type of fear in their hearts as they saw The Lord walking on the sea.  The scriptures describe their hearts as if it were boiling water.  From that definition, we can see that trembling fear over took them.

When The Lord said, "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid" and then entered the ship, the disciples were dumbfounded.  The Bible says that the reason for this was because their hearts were hardened.  When did they become hard and how did it happen with just a short time earlier they saw the great miracle of the feeding of the five thousand?  Their hearts must have become hard while in the midst of being alone on the sea and battling the storm.  As the battle raged and fearful thoughts entered their minds, their hearts became hardened: maybe to the point of faulting or accusing God.

Have you ever been there?  Whether you accused God or not, we all have experienced situations that have gripped our hearts with fear.  The way to keep from failing God by developing a hard heart is to remember the miracles that he has already done in your life.  The disciples' hearts were hard because they considered not the miracle of the loaves or they did not put together (consider) the past miracle with the current trial.  

When trouble comes, look back at what God has done in your life.  Remember the answered prayers.  Remember the sweet times of fellowship that you have had.  Remember the strength that he has provided to you as you walked through troubled valleys.  If you don't, you will forget his goodness, you will focus on the trial and your heart will become hard and with each time that the fear returns, your heart will become even more hard.

Father, my heart is afraid.  These circumstances are greater than me and I need your help.  I know that you are good and that as part of your plan to strengthen me and to enable me to see your greatness, you have allowed this trial to occur.  Thank you for being good to me.  I remember the times that you have helped me in the past and I am always amazed by your deliverance.  Thank you, God, for loving and caring for me.

Thy way is in the sanctuary (Psalm 77:13)

The psalmist, in the midst of despair, looks to God for strength.  He strengthens himself by looking back at what The Lord had already done in his life, but he is still confused and wonders if God has forgotten him.  In the midst of the stirring of his soul, he makes the statement that the way of God is in the sanctuary.  Some may think this to mean that if a person enters the sanctuary or a holy place, they will find God or discover what God is doing, but the view is incorrect.

The psalmist's small statement has some great implications.  Whenever we meet with God, it will be where he is and the place where he is is holy.  By meeting with God, we go to where he is.  A final truth is that when we meet with God, we discover him and the way in which he wants us to go.  We still may not understand what he is doing or why he is allowing things or events to occur, but we will know what decisions we need to make, the things we need to do and how we must live and trust.

By meeting  with God in the holy place, you place yourself in the position so that you may be in the way that he is going and enable him to lead you through the trial.  However if you fail to meet with him, you will wander, struggle and be at the greatest risk of becoming a casualty.

Remember, meeting with God is not a duty, but a time of drawing close to him for strength, guidance and fellowship.

What You Do And Teach (Mark 6: 30)

The disciples had been sent out by twos to preach repentance.  After completing this task, the disciples shared with The Lord what they had done and taught.  At this time in history there had been many who promised deliverance for Israel.  The people could have followed any zealot or false prophet of the day.  What made the disciples stand out from the rest was their performance of miracles: demons were cast out, the sick were healed and the blind received sight.  After seeing these miracles, the hearts of the people were turned to receive the message of the gospel.

It is no different today.  We may think that when we share the gospel with someone that their decision was based on our presentation, but I believe that to be wrong.  Before the gospel was shared, there first was somebody's life who exemplified the gospel.  It may have been a co-worker, friend, parent or family member.  There was first somebody living the gospel and then somebody sharing the gospel.

While at work today, live the gospel!  At home, live the gospel!  To your neighbors, live the gospel!  You may later have the opportunity to share the gospel or it may be accomplished by somebody else, but for the sake of Christ and his work of grace, live it.

Stop and think, who lived the gospel for you to see before you came to Christ?  

Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and opportunity to live the message of the gospel.  Please help me today to recognize the opportunities that you have placed before me and to share the wonder that you are doing in my life.

A Divided Heart And Mind (Mark 6:14-28)

Herod believed the accounts of history, Scripture and the power of how God worked through the prophets to the point that he believed John the Baptist was Elijah a fact that the Jews of the day did not recognize.  He also believed in the resurrection of the dead.  However because of his heart, the beliefs of his mind did not affect his actions.  Herod is an excellent example of a double minded man: his mind was telling him to do one thing, but the longing of his heart would not allow it.  He tried to straddle the fence and in the end, his heart won.  In reality, the heart always wins. 

Herod's heart longed for power, lust and wealth and because of that, his actions always worked to bring those things to him in an attempt to satisfy his heart.  As I meditated on this, I asked myself, is my heart divided?  Are my actions working to bring something to myself other than that which would bring glory to God?  If so, how can I change it or better yet, how can I keep it from happening?

The answer is simple, yet difficult.  Simple in that the solution is a small act or condition, but difficult in that it is a battle to perform.  The solution is to guard your heart.  In John 14:15, Jesus said that we are to keep his commandments.  Keep has the idea of "to watch" or "guard" and what God wants us to do is watch or guard our hearts from wandering away from him.  If we are successful at this level, our actions will never be a problem.

When we struggle in our hearts because of a conflict between what we believe and what our hearts long for, repentance is the solution.  When there is a struggle between belief and the heart's longing, the heart will win, but if we immediately respond to the work that God may do in our hearts, we have the power to repent.  The scripture tell us that God gives us repentance (II Timothy 2:25).  The reason that we have devotion time with him is so that he can give us what we need to keep or regain the victory.  Devotions are a time of communion and not a task of duty.

So today, ask The Lord to reveal to you the condition of your heart and to give you what you need to be victorious.  Prayers like that always get answered

And He Called (Mark 6:7-11)

There are two kinds of people: those who by faith have not accepted Jesus as the Son of God and those who have.  The lost or those who have either not heard about Christ or have rejected him, wander through life incomplete and without a purpose.  However those who by faith have received him have a purpose and calling upon their lives.

After being rejected by the people of his own country and kin, The Lord called disciples and with this calling came their purpose, ability, a focus for fellowship, and provision for their needs (vs. 11).  Although this account records the calling of the 12 disciples, it is no different for you or me today.

God has a purpose for your life and with this purpose comes ability provided to you by his Holy Spirit.  He wants to use you in the work of ministry.  Years ago a pastor defined ministry as "God using man in his plan for the ages".  That is exactly what he wants to do with you.  He has a plan that has been in place before time began and this plan involves using you to accomplish things in the lives of others.  God wants to fellowship with you in the work and have you become enthralled in the wonder of his person as you see him perform his work of grace in you and in the lives of others.

Many struggle with this because when they focus on themselves, they fail to see any strength, ability or worthiness for this calling.  I'm glad to say that at no time has God's working in our lives ever been dependent on us or our ability: it has always been based on his grace and mercy.

However, if you don't recognize this or fail to yield yourself to him, then your life becomes more like those who don't know him or have rejected him in that you wander through your Christian life without his purpose and struggle to find purpose outside of God.

How Much Do You Value Jesus (Mark 6:4)

God has chosen to work according to how valuable we perceive his son to be.  When he was in his own country, the people struggled with accepting him as the Son of God.  Their focus on wrong information about Jesus caused them to have little value for him.  Because of that, he was unable to do many works.

Jesus marveled in that the people were in unbelief.  Normally to marvel would be to stand in amazement about something, but in this case it is the opposite or to be amazed by the negative fact of something.  It isn't natural to be in unbelief.  Unbelief occurs because of the heart's condition which hardens itself against truth.  Stop and think: with all the great teaching and miracles that Jesus did up to that time, the people were still in unbelief and because of it they did not honor him.

I have learned that the more I am in the world, the greater opportunity it has to affect my Christian view.  If I become enamored with the world, it will affect my strength to believe, which will affect my heart and in turn cause me to value Jesus less.  Isn't that what Demas did when he forsook the work of The Lord because he loved the present world (II Timothy 4:10).  When I fail to honor The Lord or fail to see him as a great value to me, his work will be hindered in my life.

Did you value him yesterday?  Did you guard your heart so that you would not lose his blessing or did you carelessly plug along through life acting and reacting in the works of your flesh?  With Jesus, there is so much to gain and even more to lose.  Guard your heart, thank the Lord for what you recognize that you have in him and then ask the Lord to help you see even more of your blessing in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 1

This first and very familiar psalm contrasts two types of people: the godly and the wicked.  In the comparison, he shows how the one is blessed and the other will perish.

The word blessed is a word similar to the exclamation “O how happy!”  Its source is different from that of the common word happiness.  Happiness can have its motivation from two sources: internal happenings or external happenings. Happiness that comes from external sources is short lived, but that derived from the internal is long lasting.

Imagine the excitement of going to a large amusement park with food, games and rides.  As you finally arrive and walk through the gate, your insides are tumbling with excitement.  You spend the entire day taking in all that the park has to offer.  You are happy!  However, if you returned the next day and the next and continued to go to the park everyday, you will soon become sick of the park and the fun will be gone.  You were happy, but the source was not sufficient to bring true long lasting happiness.

Now, imagine that you are with the Apostle Paul in prison.  Food, hygiene and sanitation are drastically below health standards.  It is in this setting that the Apostle writes the epistle to the Philippians, which most determine the theme of the book to be joy in Christ.  How can Paul be so happy in a place like this?  It is because the source for his happiness is from within.  Inside of Paul dwells the Holy Spirit.  He has a relationship with him, God the Father and the Son. Because his source for happiness is from within and not the world without, nothing can rob him of his joy.  Try to remember how many times in reference to a party, get together or holiday, you have heard someone say, “Well that just ruins everything!”  Their source for happiness was focused on the outside. During the Christmas season, does your happiness come from the glitter of the holiday or does it stem from your interaction with God as you praise him for loving you so much to come to the Earth and die for your sin.  Does your happiness come from winning the church picnic softball game or that the Lord has been so good to you by leading you to a good church and providing you with close friends.  These are a few of the many examples of how in every situation of life, we can look within or without for our source of happiness.

Many ask, “How can I have this joy?”  It is simple and is stated in this first psalm.  You must direct your focus away from the world, its philosophies and what it has to offer and look to the Word of God.  As the Lord speaks to you and leads you to principles that apply to your life, you must meditate upon them: turn them over in your heart.  It is by this manner that the Word of God becomes a part of your being.  You will not only know the Bible, but you will understand it and it will become a part of what you are.  Once you have this word deeply rooted within you, the many blessings concerning it will come.

However, if you neglect the Word of God, you too shall be tossed about as the wicked.  Although you may have eternal life in Christ and will one day be with him, you can miss out on what the Lord has for you and instead experience life as the lost do.

Happiness (Isaiah 55:1-2)

The things in life that satisfy come from the Lord and are free.  In this day that we live in, it does not take much to realize that everybody is looking for something in their lives to make them happy.  Many have sought happiness by purchasing new or additional homes, motor and recreational vehicles and have come up empty.  Others have sought for happiness in an identity.  Whether it be a sports star, gothic queen or body piercer, none find true happiness.  Countless others have gone into debt in pursuit of finding something to satisfy, but happiness will never be able to be bought (vs. 2).

The source for your true happiness can only come from the Lord.  He is not a depository of happiness that  pours out happiness to those who ask for it, but he produces happiness in the heart of people who interact with him.  Proverbs 16:20 tells us that the person who trusts the Lord will be happy.  Psalm 1:1-2 states that our happiness will come by interacting with God through his word.  As we interact with him, our souls will be  satisfied with happiness just as our bodies are satisfied with food and drink.

Are you truly happy?  Are you interacting with the Lord?  The first step of interaction with God is by trusting his son, Jesus, as your savior.  This means that you trust that Jesus lived a sinless life, but while on the cross, he took your sin and all of the world’s upon himself and hung guilty before God.  As a substitute, he took your place and all the punishment that it deserved and paid the debt that you owe God.  If you trust him to be your savior, your sin debt will be erased and the Lord will come to live within you and begin to interact with you.  This all begins when you call out to Jesus and ask him to save you from your sin.

If you already know Christ as savior, let me implore you again to set your affection on things above and not on the things on the earth (Col. 3:2).  This redirecting of focus will again bring happiness to your heart.

O taste and see that the Lord is good…(Prov. 34:8).  He wants to show you his goodness and the best news is that it is free to everyone.

Trust With All Your Heart (Prov. 3:5)

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

I cannot tell you how many times I have quoted this verse to myself.  I usually did it when I was at the crossroads of some major decision in my life.

As I look at the verse, I ponder what is meant by and why the Lord put the words “with all thine heart” in the passage.  I had always thought that trusting God was a pass-fail matter.  You either are trusting him or you are not.  I thought, “If I am trusting, how can I trust him more?”  It doesn’t say, “Trust him with part of your heart” or even “most of your heart.”  As I read this passage, I paused and pondered for quite some time about “all thine heart”.  I came up empty and decided to continue with my devotions.

As I then read the remainder of the verse, I discovered what it meant.  The key words are “Lean not unto thine own understanding”.  There are two ingredients that affect my faith: knowledge and understanding.  Most people are willing to trust God based on their knowledge of the scriptures, their past experiences with God or based on others’ testimonies or experiences, but this will only be with half of the heart.  What we, as saved sinners, are good at doing is trusting the Lord to work out our trial and then we begin to ponder and plan how it can be done.  We want to figure out a plan and then—because we have faith—believe that he will bless and deliver.  Trusting with all your heart is believing that God can and then leaving it to him to resolve the problem.

The remaining responsibility that we have is to acknowledge him.  If he needs us to do anything, he will direct our paths.  When we cease to look to him for direction and lean on our understanding, we do evil.  Proverbs 6:7 states, “Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil.”  This is why the Lord tells us to wait on him.  Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”  From this verse we see that waiting is a heart issue, because he needs to overcome a weak heart in order to do so. Those who do not wait on the Lord are not trusting with all of their heart.  So, as you face the trials of your life, trust in him, acknowledge his lead and wait for his directive.

Doubting Faith (Mark 4:36-41)

Those who make accusations against God for failing them have first failed in their faith.  (Mark 4:38-40).  The disciples were in the boat with Jesus and water began to come in to where they could not take on any more water without sinking.  At that point, it would only be natural to be fearful.  Fear is not wrong because fear is present when faith is exercised, but fear that accuses God is always wrong.  Jesus asked the disciples, "Why are ye so fearful?".  "So fearful" means why are you fearful in this manner and that manner is that you are at the point in fear to where you accuse God.  The reason they were doubting God's veracity and accusing him of failing them was because they had already failed God in their faith.  What I loved the most about this story is that The Lord did not hold it against them.  Oh they received their much deserved rebuke, but he knew it would only be by him delivering them beyond their limits of faith that could make them be men of faith.

How convicting to think of how many times I have given up on people who have doubted me or even resisted my leadership.  What I needed most then was compassion and understanding so that I could provided to them what they needed to become victorious.  The second greatest commandment is to love neighbors as myself.  When I practice the Lord's method of grace to doubters as he did, I am in such a great way fulfilling this commandment.

They Were Offended At Him (Mark 6:3)

Jesus' words that a prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house is ever so true.  Regardless of his teaching authority and the ability to perform great miracles, the people could not get over true and accusative facts about Jesus.  The people allowed the natural facts or supposed fact in the statement of Joseph being his father to keep them from receiving Christ.  They allowed those details to offend or trip them up in their life of faith.

Today, we judge them for this and believe in our hearts that if we were there, we would not have reacted the same way.  However, we do much the same.  There are people that God has brought into our lives that we have a difficult time accepting their leadership because we too are tripped up by facts of their lives.  Early in ministry, my pastor told that we should not allow people to see our feet of clay: in other words, don't allow them to see you sin.  We don't have the liberty to have a bad day, lose our temper, shout at people, say unkind words or act in any sinful manner.  The reason being is that people focus on following a man when they should really be focused on following God.  When they see the natural man in their leaders, they get tripped up.  They have difficulty following a position, but instead follow the man or in this case resist following the man.  There is no such thing as a perfect pastor, perfect parent or even a perfect boss.  What we must do is recognize the position that they hold and believe that God will lead you through those who hold that position regardless of their flaws.

Stop and think, God used Balaam who from the account of Scripture was lost.  The high priest prophesied correctly about Jesus even though he was lost and the enemy of Christ.  On a personal level, I remember clearly The Lord speaking to me about a major decision in my life.  He clearly and without question provided the leadership that I needed.  He did this through a visiting pastor, who at the time was living a lie which shortly would be manifested.  However, God knew what I needed and he used those in the office of his leadership to provide help to me.  Later, he dealt with the man living a lie, but I learned something very important and that is to allow God to lead me through the authority figures in my life.

Parents don't have to be perfect in order to provide leadership.  Pastors are God's spokesmen.  He will speak through that office and if they become disqualified, he will remove them, but in the mean time he will still provide leadership to his people through that office.

Ask yourself, have I resisted God's leadership because I have a personal problem with those in authority.  If you have, you have fallen into the same trap as those in Jesus' day.  
Follow the position and don't be offended or tripped up by the person.

It Is Not, But ... (Mark 5:39)

God's work in our lives is based on what he knows about the end of a matter.  All we see is the now and the circumstances that declare it.  For Jairus, he had a choice in which of these two views he would place his faith: would he believe that his daughter who had been near death had finally succumbed or would he believe in the guidance of him who had done such great miracles.

The question seems almost ludicrous because the majority of us would give our doctrinally default answer of follow The Lord.  However when we are in the midst of the greatest battle of our lives, the answer is not always so simple.  Questions of doubt and fear begin to enter the mind.  Is God really good, does he really care, has he abandoned me?  In the midst of that moment, faith must arise.  Faith in God and his promises becomes hope or an expectation in that God will do as he promised.  As Jairus arrived at the house with The Lord, he was expecting that his daughter would awake and not be dead.  He was living his life from the same perspective as God was: in the realm of what he will do.

Living this life of faith is not something that just happens.  It is the result of a life of fellowship.  The further away you are from The Lord in fellowship, the more difficult it is to grasp life from his perspective.  However if your fellowship is close and real, the task is much easier.

What situation in your life is The Lord trying to tell you that it is not, but...?

Be Not Afraid (Mark 5:36)

Most miracles resulted from devastating circumstances for people at the personal level such as the blind, crippled, those who lost a loved one, and others who had some form of disease.  These individuals could have become extremely bitter about their circumstances, but instead of the circumstances driving them away from God, they drove them to him.   Their great faith was not only measured by their belief and request for healing, but their ability to overcome the hurt from their circumstances and the accusations presented to them by the enemy.  

Their success was accomplished the same way as Jairus accomplished his: he didn't fear but only believed.  Fear has one enemy and when confronted by it has and always will lose.  Fear's enemy is faith.  Whenever you have exercised faith while in the midst of dire circumstance, you were also experiencing fear: fear that the finances would not come and loss would be experienced; fear that those opposing you would be victorious; fear that you would not be able to make it through tragic circumstances; or fear that your worse fears would come true.  However, when faith was exercised, fear was replaced with God's peace.  

The way from fear to God's peace is by faith.  So the next time you are confronted with fearful circumstances, remember the words of Jesus, "Be not afraid, only believe."

Testimony (Mark 5:19)

What you say and do in the midst of living your life reveals what The Lord is doing in your life.  (Mark 5:19). After being miraculously healed by The Lord, the former maniac of Gadera requests to go and be with The Lord.  Jesus responds to him with the words, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."  And that is exactly what he did.  The results were that the people marveled.  In short, what he shared with the people is what he had personally experienced with The Lord.

Today as you go through your day, your life will reveal what you have experienced with The Lord.  If words come from your mouth that are not seasoned with grace (Col. 4:6), then you are revealing that not much has happened between you and The Lord.  Griping, complaining, exploding, backbiting and gossiping all reveal that nothing is happening.  You may have even had devotions that day, but the time spent was mere duty.  That is why you must meet with The Lord, seek his presence in your life and expose yourself to his word so that he can reveal himself to you.  When he does, your life will testify of it.

Remember, we cannot make ourselves spiritual no more than we are able to make our salvation.  Both are dependent upon The Lord, his work of grace and our exposure to the Word of God.  As we interact with God through his word, then his grace will accomplish in our lives what we will need to share with those around us and they too as those in Decapolis will marvel.

Restoration (Matthew 20:13)

In Matthew 20:1-14, we read a parable about laborers in the vineyard.  Towards the end of the discourse, Jesus reveals that some laborers were upset and murmuring about the master in regards to them receiving the same payment as others who began working late in the day.  Because Jesus only responded to one whom he called friend, it can be seen that it is the bond that you have in relationships that will enable you the greatest degree of influence in restoration and not your position, knowledge or authority.  When people are struggling spiritually, they will also be struggling emotionally.  It is at that point in their lives that they look to others for the strength that they need to get through their issues.  In order to gain their help and strength, they will allow that person to cross their personal security boundary.  When this happens, they will share the private issues of their hearts and they will only do that with individuals that they trust.  The question is, "Whom will they trust?"  We can find the answer by asking ourselves, Who are the people we trust" and the answer is that we trust people with whom we have some type of a relationship.

Throughout my life, there were many people in whom I could trust, but there were very few that I allowed close enough.  Those that I trusted had one thing in common, they demonstrated that they cared for me and had my best interest in mind.  It wasn't their position, degree or knowledge about a particular matter that caused me to trust them: it was that we had a caring relationship.

Many years ago, my son made some terrible mistakes.  On his own, he came to me for help.  It wasn't because of my education, position or physical relationship with him that caused him to do this.  It was because we had a close relationship.  We didn't always have that type of a relationship.  There were a few years that our relationship was strained, but because I recognized the mistakes that I made as his father and asked for his forgiveness, a relationship was redeveloped that later on would be the most important possession I could have.

Are you having trouble helping people or even getting close enough to begin helping?  Forget the counseling books and instead begin focusing on your relationship with them.  When the relationship is right, the ability and opportunity to help just falls into place.