The Decision (Hebrews12:1-2)

The testimony of the victories of others should move us to make a decision for Christ. We need to cast aside the weights that burden us down. In order to do that, you should ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in identifying those weights. He can also lead you to recognize the sin that besets you. Besetting sins are those that crowd around you or maybe better stated as it is the sin that is at every point around you and everywhere you turn. Not only is the sin present, it goes well for it or it has its way. It is the temptation that is at all points around you and it consistently causes you to fall.

Once you have cast off the weight and sin, you can run the race. Races are never easy and neither is this one. Opposition will face you, but you will need to face it with patience or as some may define it as cheerful endurance. How can you run such a race? Shouldn’t races be tiring and taxing to the body? They should, but God‘s plan is different. The response of many may be that they cannot run this race or they do not have the strength to succeed and they will be correct. The secret for victory in running the race will not be found in you. It can only be found in the Lord and in order to get it, we must look to him.  Looking to Jesus is not just assenting to him, but instead it is attentively fixing your eyes upon him. Make the decision of looking and focusing on Jesus to gain his strength for your race.

Faith Needs Prayer (Matthew 26:35-41)

Have you ever made a decision of faith, but then never follow through with the action of it? Maybe you sat in church, listened to a sermon and made a prayerful decision that never came to fulfillment. Possibly in devotions, the Lord impressed upon your heart as you read the scriptures and spent quiet time with him and you never moved beyond that. Why? Was your decision insincere? Was it simply an emotional decision and not a truly faith one? If it was real, why didn’t it happen?

After eating the Passover meal, the Lord revealed to his disciples that he would be smitten and they would be scattered. Peter responded that he would not be offended in him and that he would rather die than deny Christ. You probably know the outcome that he denied Christ three times and then wept bitterly. He had faith and failed terribly.

Why did it happen? We know the type of relationship that Peter had with the Lord and we also know the greatness of his faith by walking on water with Jesus and also bring the first to proclaim that he believed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. But with all that faith, why did he fail?

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus being full of heaviness in heart and mind, petitioned Peter, James and John to pray with him. When he returned to them sometime later, he found them asleep. He questioned them as to why they could not pray with him and then admonished them by saying, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Peter, whether he knew it or not, was in a battle. Events were going to transpire that would keep him from standing strong in his faith. Jesus provided to him exactly what he needed in order to be victorious and that was prayer. Peter, great in faith, had a spirit which was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but in order to carry out the actions of his faith, he would need his body and its faculties to cooperate with him at standing strong and speaking out loud his faith to Jesus’ captors and those he would meet over the next 18 hours and beyond. For that to occur, he would need to pray. It wouldn’t be some short mumbling of words, but instead a battling place where he would petition God for his grace, strength and courage. Had he done that, the outcome would have been different and Jesus would have never made the statement about his denial.

Our lives are no different than Peter’s. We have faith and in our hearts we make determinations and proclamations concerning that faith. However, decisions are not enough. As we face the constant battle with the world, the flesh and the Devil with his aids, we need to spend time in prayer with God. The flesh never wants what is spiritual. As we pray, we are strengthened in the inner man. Our spirit and soul are in harmony with the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. The stronger the inner man becomes, the weaker the flesh is. Prayer or spending time communicating with God and fasting, which is a denial of the body and flesh of what it wants, will strengthen the inner man and weaken the flesh. Remember, it is prayer that enables you to fulfill your decisions of faith.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

When you make a decision of faith, don’t just stop there. Create check points throughout the day for you to stop, seek God’s face and ask him to provide his strength to you. The greater the faith decision, the more prayer will be needed. You may need to petition others to pray with you just as Jesus petitioned Peter, James and John. The battle you face is important and you can be victorious because the Lord would not have impressed upon you to make that faith decision if you could not do it.

It is not terrible people who make faith decisions and then fail to follow through with them. It is people, who lack strength, who fail to live up to their faith. Prayer is what you need so that you can actualize your faith. Have faith and remember, you must pray.

Waiting on the Lord (Psalm 40:1)

It is important to wait patiently before the Lord. When you do, you are performing three important acts.

When you wait on the Lord, you knowledge him as your sovereign Lord. By that, you recognize that he is in complete control of all events that take place and regardless of how they appear, you believe he will use them for good and his glory.

When you wait on the Lord, you are exercising your faith and when I say exercise, I mean exercise. Each time that you place your faith in the Lord, you are strengthening it and also developing the closeness of your relationship with him. Your relationship with God is what gives your faith strength. This comes from his word (Romans 10:17) and also his joy (Nehemiah 8:10).

When you wait on the Lord, you are relying on his love. God is love and everything that he does for you or allows to happen is motivated by that love. When we cannot understand or see the workings of his love in his actions, it is then that our faith must moves us to wait on the Lord.

Waiting on the Lord will always bring his results. When we fail to wait on him, we act on our own independently of God. These actions are works of the flesh motivated by the emotions that we experienced in the trial.

So instead of allowing your emotions to drive you to disobedience, instead allow God’s working through your faith to lead you to rely on him who on countless times has guided, comforted, carried and loved you. He did not fail you then and he will not fail you now.

Upholding Others (Psalm 54:4)

Have you ever been so tired that you just couldn’t stand? If there wasn’t a chair available, you did the next best thing: you leaned against something to give you the support you needed. If by some chance you saw somebody in this type of a condition, you probably would have helped them along by holding them up.

Did you ever think of all the people who struggle so much with life that they just can’t stand any longer? All of life‘s hurts, struggles, disappointments—and for some trauma—continue to bear down upon a person‘s heart. Some choose to end their lives as a way of escape. Others successfully find the help and support they need.

Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. (Psalm 54:4)

The support and help these people need are other people. They need the strength that others have to be shared with them and when this happens, their inner being or soul gains strength. Your actions of love—whether they are words spoken or written—bring strength to those who cannot stand alone. Any act of kindness can help those who are crumbling under their life‘s condition. You may not be able to do a thing about their circumstances, but you can be an encourager.

As you go to work, social events and church, look for the people that God brings to you for encouragement and share your strength with them.

Brace Yourself!

Brace yourself! This is the phrase that we use to prepare ourselves for some impending negative event. It may be physically holding on to something in preparation for jolting or even a collision. It could even relate to preparing yourself for news that may move you emotionally.

As bracing yourself may seem to work in the physical world, it does not work in the spiritual. However, what will work is if the Lord braces you.

1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;  (Psalm 20:1-2)

In this time of distress for David, he is looking for the Lord to send him help and strength. The strength he is seeking is comfort and to be held up. Another meaning for the word strength would be to brace. David is not bracing himself for the trial that he faces, but he is asking the Lord to brace him.

When I think of the Lord bracing us for trials, I picture a parent with a child. Imagine a small child in the arms of a father as they face a frightening experience like a thunderstorm. With each flash and bang of the storm, the child buries their head in the father’s chest as the father tightly braces the child. The father’s embrace may not be able to stop the storm, but it does bring security and strength to the child.

As we face the storms of life, God wants to brace us for them. He may not choose to remove the storm, but with his tender embrace, he will provide us the comfort and strength that we need.

Thankfully his loving embrace in these times is based on his mercy and grace. Because of this, we can always count on the father to be there for us. As you face storms in life, bury your head into the chest of your heavenly father and experience his strong loving embrace.

Did God Forget Me? (Psalm 9:12)

When people forget about you and your needs, it is a hurtful experience. It conveys the absence of love and concern. There are times in our lives when we face trials and difficulties and it appears as if God has forgotten us. We pray and ask for deliverance, but nothing happens. Has God forgotten us?

...he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. (Psalm 9:12)

God has not forgotten you. His love and concern has not been set aside and your life and its concerns have not been mislaid or lost. God has heard your cry, he knows the problems that you face and the heaviness in your heart that you carry because of it.

So, why doesn’t he answer? Why doesn’t he deliver? But he has and he will. God has heard your prayers and is providing the grace that you need. Many of learn the grace and truth go hand-in-hand. It seems that you cannot have the one without the other. God I want you exposed to truth concerning him and buy the truth he will be able to exercise grace in your life. Paul experienced this and wrote about it. God’s grace was sufficient for him because of his reliance on the truth of the power of Christ.

Until your actual deliverance comes, expose yourself to the word of God: read it, listen to the testimony of others, attend church services and listen to the preaching of God‘s word and God will begin working his grace in your life.

How long must you rely on this grace until the deliverance comes cannot be known. Remember as God works in the details of your life, he is also working in the lives of others. He wants to use grace in your life to shine as a light to the lost. He also may be working in the lives of others to bring them to repentance before he moves his hand in judgment or chastening. Until then, you must wait on him. Thankfully because of his grace, you will be able to endure.

...he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

Not Good to Wrestle

It was a number of years ago when my beautiful and fruitful garden was being destroyed by an intruding groundhog. In an effort to rid myself of the varmint, I bought a muskrat trap and set it in the garden. It was not long until I received a distressful phone call from my wife informing me that a “kitty cat”was caught in the trap. I quickly drove home from the office to attempt springing the cat from the trap and setting it free. However as I tried to get close enough to open the trap, the cat fought vigorously and kept me from setting it free. I eventually removed its strength by covering it with a blanket and then released the trap. He eventually ran free. As I pondered what happened, I ask myself, “I wonder how many times I am like this cat: fighting God because I think he is trying to do some unwanted thing in my life when he is really only trying to help me?

Jacob, who later became Israel, was like that. (Gen. 32:25) He schemed and plotted all of his life-that was until he was all alone and ready to face Esau. God was not going to allow Jacob to continue in his way. He confronted him and physically wrestled him from progressing forward until he recognized his weakness and inability. Man’s pride never allows him to yield so God had to break Jacob. He did this by touching him in the thigh which was his greatest place of strength. He did not break him to make him a failure, he broke him in order to make him a victor.

Jacob went from wrestling against God to clinging to him and asking him for a blessing. By asking for a blessing, he revealed his dependence on God and no longer in himself. He gain the strength of a prince with God by being broken as a man.

We too can be like Jacob. Situations in life that we find ourselves fighting against may be the instruments God is using to break us of our own strength and self-reliance. It would be best that we go to God with these situations and then yield ourselves to him for the work that he wants to accomplish. Whether the problems go away or remain, we—like Jacob—will receive God‘s blessing.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  (James 4:6)

The Shepherd Leads to Restore

Did you ever get in your car to go somewhere only to recognize that you had taken the wrong route and out of habit started driving to work? The route back on track is quite simple for a trip like this. However, if you were taking an extended trip and missed a turn some 25 miles back, the way to get back on track would be more difficult and time consuming.

Sometimes, we find ourselves turned away from God. Depending on how long we are in that state before recognizing or desiring to return will affect the route back to God and how long it will take. Regardless of whatever the situation, if you are turned away from God, the shepherd will provide leadership to restore you.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  (Psalm 23:3)

The way back to the lord will vary slightly from person to person, but the shepherd will guide you back in the same basic manner.

First, the shepherd will lead you to recognize that you are away from him. This may seem basic, but it is not. It is the Lord who gives repentance and when he reveals to you that you have drifted or turned from him, he is doing a mighty work in your life that only he can do. (2 Timothy 2:25)

It is at this point that you must yield to him and if you do, he will continue to lead you on and his leading will bring you to see the stumbling blocks that you have allowed into your life. He will point out things such as people, places, entertainment or indulgences that are keeping you from victory and experiencing the joy that he has for you. By the power and leading of the shepherd, he will lead you to remove those obstacles.

The path, that the shepherd lead you back to himself, will bring you to resources for victory. Because truth brings victory and freedom, he will lead you to the truth that you need. You will find it in the Scriptures which may be revealed by friends and spiritual leaders. Evidence that you are following the shepherd towards truth will be when you are seeking truth from the Scriptures and attending services in the church. Truths from the word of God will usually encourage your faith and may instruct you as to what you may need to put off or put on in your spiritual life. (Ephesians 4:22-32; Romans 13:12; Colossians 3:8-14)

Another source of truth may come from spiritual music, which can minister to you and equip you with your worship and walk with the Lord. Your times of rejoicing in the Lord will be greater steps of progress on your way back. As your heart is lifted up in song, it is actually the shepherd interacting with you and lifting you up as he lead you along the path back to himself and to victory.

While you were fallen away from God, you hurt yourself and others. The Lord will lead you to repair the damaged relationships that your sin has caused. The shepherd is not only interested in delivering you from actions of sin: he also wants to restore you to himself and to others because he is concerned about relationship. It was his desire to have a relationship with you the caused him to seek you out and to lead you to trust his son. His desire and concern for relationships did not stop there. Relationships are vital to the Lord. The church, your family, your life as a child of God and your interactions with the world are all relationships that concerned him. The only way for those relationships to be right is for your relationship with him to be right and as a shepherd, he will restore you to that relationship by leading you to himself.

Remember, the steps back to him may be many or few, but they will involve recognizing your condition of being astray, removing stumbling blocks from your life, obtaining resources of truth for victory and repairing relationships.

Fruits of Righteousness (Philippians 1:11)

At one time, I was traveling each week to some point in the country for a speaking engagement. At first, my trips were ill prepared leaving me many times at a hotel without all of essentials that I needed.  Eventually, I created a packing list.  It was a listed all the items that I needed for traveling and the list remained in the suitcase.  In the event that I traveled and discovered that I had a new need, I would add that item to the list.  Eventually, I had the perfect list.  All I needed to do was check and make sure that everything on the list was packed and if it was, I was set.

Some people try to use the same process in their spiritual lives.  They have a list and it contains the "do's" and "don'ts" for righteous living.  In their minds, if they do the things on the "do" list and refrain from items on the "don't" list, then they are spiritual.  I really wish it were that easy, but it is not.

Being spiritual is when a person lives as God expects them to live.  In other words, the actions of the person's life will be righteous.  The problem is that any action that may appear to be righteous can also be sinful.  For example, is giving to the poor a spiritual or righteous action?  It could be, but it also could be sinful.  If a person gave because God led them to give, then the action would be spiritual or righteous.  However, if the person gave so that they would be recognized, then the same action would be sinful.

Being spiritual cannot be reduced to a list of "do's" and "don'ts".   Instead, the spiritual life of living as God expects and desires is accomplished by abiding or dwelling in Jesus.  When we do this, Jesus lives his righteous life through us.  This is know as grace living.  Grace living is when God empowers us by living his life through us and the righteous actions of our lives then are really though Jesus Christ.

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:11)

Instead of trying to manufacture a righteous life, why not instead focus on abiding with Christ.  As you do, he will enable you to live beyond your ability.  If you don't, you will experience so much frustration and failure, because without his empowerment, you can do nothing.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Propped Up (Psalm 37:23-24)

A number of years ago, my son came to me for help.  It seemed that through a series of wrong decisions, he had found himself in a very poor state spiritually: sin seems to do that.  Although I was greatly disappointed, I willfully stepped in to help.  My support was not based on the severity of his situation, but instead on my love for him.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Psalms 37:23-24

From this passage, we can see that good men, walking in the direction of the Lord, will fall and it is not of their own volition that they get back up and continue on for the Lord.  They don't get up: in fact it is the Lord who lifts them up and supports them to stand again.

You have seen card board cut outs of people, which contain a prop in the back to keep it standing.  This item  illustrates what the Lord does for us.  When we can't get up, he picks us up.  When we cannot stand, he props us up.  Whatever victory we get, it will not be based on our self will or determination.  It will be based on the goodness of God and his support and strength in our lives.

When you fall, instead of trying harder, look to God for the support and strength you need.  He will be there for you and do the work that only he can do.

As for my son, he too found strength that only God could bring to him.  He stood him up, established his feet and has been guiding him to victory ever since.

Gird Up (1 Peter 1:13)

We tie up the turkey so that its appearance on the plate is more desirable.  I tie up my tomato plants so that they have support in growing and I tie up the dog when I put him out to do his business so the that little bandit won't run away. Why do we tie things up?  We tie things up for their benefit or safety.

Spiritually speaking, we should do the same. The Scriptures admonished us to gird up our minds.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1 Peter 1:13)

The reason we are told to do so is because it is at that point that we get and maintain the victory. If you control how you think, you will control your actions. The apostle Paul stated it another way.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Both passages involved reeling in the thoughts of your mind. Those which don't belong we need to recognize and cast down and those which are right should remain and we should continually think on them. (Phil. 4:8)

With our mind girded, we should be on guard and watch. Sober and watch are used interchangeably and it is this task that guards our hearts and minds. Jesus admonished his disciples with the same message: keep my commandments.

Spiritually speaking, God wants us to closely watch and guard the commandments in our hearts.  Keep sake, keep hold, the keep (the strongest part of a castle), she's a keeper are all terms describing the act of watching or guarding a possession.  Since the term keep means to watch or guard, then God wants us to guard our hearts and minds and keeping the commandments is to keep the thoughts that should remain in it.

If you wait to govern yourself at the action level, you experience much failure and frustration.  What you should do is gird up the loins of our minds with the commandments of God.  Remember, how you think determines how you act.

Truth Inside (Psalm 51:6)

Have you ever faced a decision that you needed to make and you found yourself undecided?  Of course you have.  As you begin to figure out a solution to your problem, you convey it by saying, " I am leaning towards ..."

When it comes to pleasing God, he wants our hearts to lean towards truth.  The only way our hearts can do this is for truth to be present in our hearts.  Consider Psalm 119:11, where the psalmist states that he hides truth in his heart and the believer is encouraged to meditate upon truth as stated in Psalm 1.

Without truth in your heart, it will become more difficult for your heart to lean towards it.  It seems that when we sin, the effect of truth in our hearts is either erased or at least its effect is diminished.

It is like the old game, King of the Mountain where each person playing attempts to pull the one person down from on top of the mountain and once this is achieved, they take his place and the game continues.

Truth in the heart sits supreme, but our sin pulls it down and then has its time of power.  Only by cleansing away sin can truth again influence the heart.  That is why the psalmist asks the Lord purge and clean him (Psalm 51:7).

In order to live as God desires, get truth into your heart and when you fall, seek him to cleanse away your sin.  This is a daily process and should never be neglected or ignored.  With truth in your heart, your ability to lean toward and respond to truth will become more consistent and successful.

God Gives and Calls (2 Peter 1:3)

God gives and calls.  He gives us salvation's promise and calls us to believe.  He gives us commandments and calls us to obey.  However, he also gives us ability and a calling.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (2 Peter 1:3)

God has given us the whole of what we need for life along with its problems and loyally living for God.  He has called us to have a God glorifying testimony (glory) and an ability to face life and it's challenges (virtue).

The divine power that we need comes from knowing God: not knowing facts about him, but a knowledge that comes from interacting with him.  Your knowledge, which will be your enabling, comes form your experiences with God.  The more you experience him, the more strength you have and the less you experience, the less strength you have.

Start each day looking for God's hand and handiwork in your life. Make sure that you praise him for what you recognize and experience. Having this interaction is both pleasing to him and empowering for you.

Mercy and Truth (Proverbs 3:3)

Our attitude towards the law will determine whether or not we forget the law and commandments.  If we desire them and their benefits, our hearts will be inclined to guard God's laws and commandments, but if we seek the world and its vanity, we will forget or mislay them.

Mercy and truth may come to us, but they will not stay with us unless we hold onto them.  If we do not bind them about our necks and write them upon our hearts, they will depart.  When mercy and truth depart, their blessings leave with them.

Victory Begins in the Heart (Psalm 17:4-5)

Doing the right thing is usually not easy.  You find yourself confronted with a situation and are torn between at least two options: what God wants you to do and what you want to do.  David experienced the same conflict as us and recorded it in the Psalms.

Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. (Psalms 17:4-5)

What is vitally important for us to recognize is that we alone are unable to live the spiritual or righteous life.  We need God to provide the strength and support that we need.  David petitioned God to hold up his goings in the Lord's paths and we must do the same.  What the Christian life boils down to are decisions that we make in our hearts.  We may not have the strength to live the life, but we certainly do have the ability to make the right choices.  God's plan is for us to make the right decisions in our hearts and then he will provide the support and strength needed to complete the actions that go with the decisions.  The battleground is not with the world, people or flesh and blood, but in the heart.  God's desire is that man, by faith, chooses him and his way.  If we allow him, God will take it from there.  Remember, victory begins at the heart and not the actions.