The Full Surrender

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity into the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

My mother made me do it. No, really, she did! I didn’t want to, but she forced me to-she forced me to memorize scripture.

One of the verses I remember most is, Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). Another one is very similar: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

Listen, let me just say it plainly, if you’re not in God’s Word, you’re thinking too highly of yourself.

I can figure this out. I know where I’m going. I know what I’m doing. I’m going to pull myself up by own boot straps.

Nonsense. Dead end. Cul de sac. Leads to nowhere. In fact, the Bible tells us exactly where it leads; the very same proverb is given to us twice, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25).

So He’s bringing us back to His Word. The greatest thing you can do is be in God’s Word and learn to identify and recognize His voice. Because, listen, the devil is out there trying to hijack your life, and the only thing that’s going to keep you straight is being hijacked already by something that’s greater than the devil.

And who would that be? That would be God. And how are you going to honor Him in your life? You’ll honor Him by remembering His Word, which has the power to keep you in His way in those moments when the devil comes knocking at your door, tempting you, trying to draw you away from Christ.

Listen, don’t do this life on your own; you won’t make it. Let the Holy Spirit help you. Get in His Word. Know it! Memorize it! Learn it and live it! Then you’ll know His voice and have the power to overcome in the day of temptation.

I didn’t like it in the beginning either, but you know what? I’d never be where I am now if I hadn’t done it. Where could you go in life if you just let God help you?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving us Your Word! Thank You for the power that is in Your Word, that if I will hide it in my heart, it will help me live my life for You. Please teach me and help me as I begin to hide Your Word in my heart!

Amen

The End

Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Revelation 22:7

I’ll be right back.

That’s what Jesus said to us in some of His last words recorded in Scripture. He’ll be right back. He’s coming soon. We can expect Him to return at any moment.

This is like when we say to our children, Daddy needs to go into the store for a second, but I’ll be right back. I have to go get something for you, but in just a little while, you’ll see me again.

The incredible thing about these words Jesus left us with is that He is talking to us. He’s speaking directly to you! Hey, Jesus passed a note to you and it says He’s coming quickly!

Do you believe it? You’ve got the note, right there in any Bible, written in plain red letters. You can read it for yourself, but do you believe it? Do you believe Him?

That is step number one-believe in Jesus Christ. Get that base covered so that when He comes, He is coming for you. We do not simply believe in any random higher power. No, there is no other higher power, no other name by which we can be saved. It is Jesus Christ alone. He is my only hope, and He needs to be your only hope, too.

I hope, too, that when I say these things, it isn’t like I have to coerce you into believing. The truth is there-Jesus is coming, and whether or not we have accepted His death on our behalf does determine our eternal fate-but I do not want to give you a repent or else message.

Jesus paid for all our mistakes because of His love, and then He left to prepare a place for us. When He returns for us, He is coming as a bridegroom to receive His bride unto Himself. I do not think He wants to return for a bride who only chose Him because they feared His wrath (no matter how real that is!). I think He is returning for a bride that genuinely loves Him and delights to think about His return.

Turn your heart toward this love. Go beyond believing in Jesus. Love Him! Long for His return! And then rejoice, for He is coming quickly.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You are coming soon! I believe in You and in Your return, but I want more than this. Please help me as I turn my heart to love You.

Amen

Moses and the Bush Administration

So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses!’ And he said, Here I am.’ Then He said…I am the God of your fatherthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3:4-6

Anyone who’s ever failed can appreciate redemption, right? I mean, if you’ve ever messed up and felt that shameful feeling of failure inside, I hope you also know what it’s like to be given a second chance.

It is amazing what redemption can do in a person’s life, and I would love to see redemption do a work in your life and mine. For this to happen, there are a few things we should understand.

First, know that redemption starts in the heart of the man or woman whom God has called. Take Moses for example. He had murdered a man and then forty years later he finds himself standing before God in the burning bush. God is about to call him to lead Israel out of Egypt, but he can’t lead Israel any farther than he has gone himself. If redemption didn’t first nail him between the eyes and radically transform him, then he wouldn’t have gone anywhere with Israel.

But as Moses sets aside his sandals and submits to God’s presence, he is filleted wide open with his sins laid bare for God to deal with, to cover in powerful grace and forgiveness. Then, having experienced God’s redemption, he can now be used as an instrument to redeem others.

You can see God’s work of redemption as His rescue mission, and really that was true for Moses. He had fallen from the greatest palace the world knew at that time, driven by his sin into a wilderness where he shepherded sheep in obscurity for forty years, all the while carrying the weight of what his sin had cost him.

So many of us are the same way today. We feel driven by our sin, enslaved to it, cut off from the life or the futures we desire. But God is our redeemer, our rescuer, today.

Just as God heard the cries of Israel in their slavery and saw their affliction, He sees you today and His heart and desire is to rescue you. In fact, this is His promise to you today. Will you let Him rescue you today?

Prayer Lord God,

You are the only one who can redeem me and rescue me out of the mess I am in. Please come and save me from the shame and slavery of my sin! Fill me with Your redemption and lead me into the good plans that You have for me!

Amen

When Life Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.’ Exodus 4:18

Do you remember back in school when you went on a field trip? What was it that you always had to get from your parents before you could go? You always had to get a permission slip. You see, even the mighty public school could not take you somewhere if your parents didn’t sign off on it first.

We see the same thing with Moses, that before he would go lead Israel out of Egypt, he asked his father-in-law’s permission.

But let’s go back-who was it that told Moses to go free Israel? Oh yeah, it was God. We might think that would excuse Moses from needing anyone else’s permission, kind of like if the commanding general gave you an order then you wouldn’t ask your sergeant if it was okay. But Moses knew the right thing to do.

It was all part of Moses being completely surrendered to God, honoring the authorities He had established in his life. This is the kind of honor that we need to see more of in our churches and families.

People church hop, looking for someplace that’s comfortable. Kids shake their fist at their parents, insisting that I just gotta be me! At work, every problem is our boss’ fault. Everywhere we go, we’re underappreciated, with our untapped potential being held down by the man.

But God knew that Moses could never be a leader if he couldn’t submit to one. He knew the first step in a mission of freedom couldn’t be taken with rebellion. And He knew that one day soon, Moses would need his father-in-law’s advice. This advice saved both himself and the people of Israel from a lot of trouble, stress, and strife, and it’s advice he probably would have never received if he had alienated his father-in-law by hauling the man’s daughter and grandsons away without permission.

There is a reward that comes from honoring authorities, even when God tells us things we don’t think they’ll like. Let’s learn from Moses today and honor those whom God places in authority over us.

Prayer Lord God,

I know that all authority comes from You, and I know that I have a lot to learn about what it means to honor the authorities over me. Please teach me what it means and help me to see the reward that comes from it!

Amen

Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Exodus 17:1

Stop. You can’t go this way; you’ll have to go around. You hear your GPS say, Recalculating, but it’s not coming up with answers.

Life’s full of obstacles. In fact, maybe you’re facing one right now. But how do we respond to obstacles? Well, the Bible has a lot to say about this that will help us, starting with a story about Israel in which we will see four ways to respond to obstacles.

As our verse for today tells us, the children of Israel were just coming out of Egypt and they camped at a place called Rephidim, which means, Resting place. The problem was, they had no water and they started to complain. In fact, they complained so much that Moses said to the Lord, They are ready to stone me!

Now, rocks are mentioned a lot in this story, and this is the first time. This stone means, a rock thrown with the intent to kill. You can see that might be an obstacle to Moses. I’m trying to lead these people, but they want to kill me. God responded, telling Moses to walk by faith, Go, take your staff, hit a rock, and I will make water come out of it.

In God’s answer, we find another rock. This rock means a cliff, a wall of rock, and we know from First Corinthians that this rock was Christ. So God is saying, When you face rocks that are obstacles aimed at your head, head for the Rock and He will be your fortress.

In fact, it’s really interesting, there is another time when God instructs Moses to get water from a rock, but this time He tells Moses to speak to it. And because we know this rock was a picture of Christ, we know why. It’s because Christ Jesus was struck once on our behalf and does not need struck again. Now we need to simply trust what He’s done for us.

It really comes down to that when we face obstacles. Walk by faith. Trust the Rock. Let Him be our Deliverer and Protector. Follow Him wherever He leads us and believe that He will lead us from this place of testing, where we prove our faithfulness, into our Promised Land.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being my Rock! I choose to run to You for help against all the obstacles that I face.

Amen

It’s Always Too Soon to Quit

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Are you having a bad day? Or maybe you cynically laugh at that question and say, Man, I’ve had a bad year, even a bad past five years!

Well, I hear you. And today, I actually want to bring you encouragement. You might be used to me being pretty hard on you, but today I want to encourage you. You’d better soak it in, because I don’t know how long it’s going to last.

There’s all kinds of advice out there for people when times are good. What we need more is encouragement in the middle of difficult times. God knows this about us and gave us some wonderful encouragement in His Word, and from this I want to share with you three things.

First, while it is true that trouble is guaranteed, misery is an option. Jesus said, In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. See, Jesus promised that there would be trouble in this life, but He gave us encouragement. The trouble may be inevitable, but Jesus wouldn’t have told us to take heart if misery was also inevitable. We can choose whether to be miserable or cheerful.

Second, when we listen to the right voices, we’ll make the right choices. What are the voices in your head saying to you? Do you need a set of spiritual cotton balls to plug in your ears while you run to scripture to hear God’s voice clearly? God’s voice is not the only one speaking to us, but He does speak to us, and when we listen to His voice then He helps us to stand firm in troubled times.

Third, attitude affects altitude. When Paul wrote our verses for today, life was hard for him. Everywhere he went, he was persecuted, unwelcome, beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked, left for dead, and more. Yet he refused to let anything that happened to him in this life take his eyes off of his reward in Heaven. Instead, he turned his focus inward and upward-inward to where God was daily renewing him, and upward to where his sufferings for Christ’s sake were continually increasing his eternal reward.

Are you facing trouble today? You’ve got good company. I have trouble. Paul had trouble. Even Jesus had trouble. The only question we have to answer now is, will we choose cheerfulness, will we listen to the right voices, and will we choose the right attitude.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for encouraging me to take heart! Thank You that no matter what I face in this life, it’s temporary, You are with me, and I have greater things in store in the future. Please help me to change my heart and choose to be encouraged in these things today!

Amen

Faithfulness

But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Luke 12:31

I want you to think right now of the top five characteristics you want in your close friends. I’ll give you a second to think.

Alright, got them? I can almost guarantee that somewhere on that list is faithfulness.

Maybe you said it differently-loyalty, dependability, steadfastness, trustworthiness, or integrity-but we all want to surround ourselves with people who are faithful.

So faithfulness is a big deal, right? And if we want to be around faithful people, how much more does our God, who is perfect in faithfulness, desire for us to be faithful? Let me spell out for us today five things that often get in the way of us being faithful. Ready?

First, being superficial gets in the way of being faithful. Here’s the deal, the root of faithfulness is faith, but how deep do the roots of your faith go? Is your faith in Jesus superficial, only skin deep? Or has it gone deeper than that, changing who you are deep inside so there is no longer a question of who is your God and for whom you live your life?

Second, fearing the wrong thing can damage our faithfulness. A lot of people are afraid about things in this world. Will I make enough money? Can I afford the house I want? What if I lose my job? What if I’m rejected when I stand up for Christ? Jesus says not to fear for those things because God will meet those needs. Instead, fear God, because He has authority to cast you into Hell if you aren’t right with Him.

Third, being stubborn kills faithfulness. Listen-sinning isn’t what sends you to Hell. We’ve all sinned. You say, What sends people to Hell then? Being stubborn and not accepting the salvation and forgiveness that Christ has provided for our sins is what will land us there.

Fourth, covetousness robs us of faithfulness. Here’s why: Because when all you can think about is the stuff others have that you don’t have, then your heart belongs to the stuff and not to God.

Fifth, greediness crowds out faithfulness by turning our commitment into something that’s for sale. Suddenly our faithfulness can be bought by whatever opportunity comes up for the next promotion, raise, or increase. Yeah, I know church and family are important, but I’ve got to work Sundays if I’m going to get that raise. Maybe you need to ask what you need more-that raise or Jesus.

Everyone wants faithful people around them, especially God. Commit to Him today and become someone He can count on.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for never changing! I always know what I’m going to get when I come to You. Please help me to be faithful, so that You always know what You’re going to get when You come to me.

Amen