Tag: Walk With God

Figuring out the Things of Life

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Essay by Dan

It was my observation while reading Matthew chapter 5, Jesus shares a series of life guidelines with us. When he saw the huge crowds, he climbed up on a hillside to gain respite. Once he found a suitable place for a rest, he sat down and instructed his friends. He provided them with a roadmap, a path forward on how to live life to its fullest — honoring the things of God, walking with God, worshiping God. This is what I gleaned from the quiet affirmations of Jesus.

When you find yourself at the end of your rope, be content, God is in control. With less of you forcing solutions into play, there is more space for God and his influence over your daily actions. If you feel you have lost something, remember you are giving space for God’s influence. Spend time thinking about who you are, reach the point where you are at peace rather than striving for position. Life is easier when you are content with yourself — no more, no less — just acceptance. (Implied in Matthew 5:3-5)

Look hard in scripture for the truth, lean into the word, develop a strong appetite for the things of God. Accept the bread of Life, reach out to others, allow God to develop a caring attitude within you, give yourself to others. But start this journey by getting your inside world—your mind and heart—in the right place. To figure out life, look for God. Avoid being part of the problem, you become part of the solution when you can show people how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. That is when you discover God’s purpose, you find your place in God’s family. Find God’s peace. It is close by. Find your place of rest. It is close by… (implied in Matthew 5:6-8)

In the life of every peacemaker who is committed to God comes trouble and persecution. Let this adversity drive you deep into rather than away from God’s kingdom — the truth is too close for their comfort, and they are uncomfortable. Love the truth. Your friends will always encounter speed bumps (persecution), do not despair, step over the speed bump, help others do the same, these things will pass. At this juncture in your life, it should be clear why we are here on earth. We are alive in this moment to be the salt that points to God’s message. Stay the course. (implied in Matthew 5:9-12)

Most young children have heard the lyric – This little light of mine, I’m gonna to let it shine. Jesus tells us You are here to be light; this light will bring out God’s brilliant Kodachrome message for all the world to hear. This is not a private conversation or message to hide on our bookshelves. The message is to be delivered in every nook and cranny – your life should be the city on a hill, the City of God. This message is Truth. If we hide the message in a building, the oxygen quickly disappears and the message fades. Get the message out of the building, give the message oxygen. Give the message a chance to grow. Be generous with your life, be accessible, be approachable, take the first step. When we open up to others, we show people how to open up with God. God’s Word is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Word will be alive helping people to figure out life. (implied in Matthew 5: 13-16)

The deeper truth – If you trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Word, you will only have trivialized yourself. Take the message seriously, walk with God, love the people around you, then you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do better than the Pharisees when yielding to God, you will not know the first thing about living life to the fullest (implied in Matthew 5:17-20).

I choose Jesus.

Our Best Friend

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Essay by Dan

It has been my observation that 1 Thessalonians provides us with an interesting call to unconditional love and prayer for the people who surround us and the people we meet every day. Read this slowly and note the message from Paul — Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:15-18).

Rejoice always, not sometimes, not just when it feels good, but rejoice always. This is not the normal emotional response we usually postulate and execute when being mistreated. You might be wronged; you might be spurned; you might be in jail for a false charge. Yet, Paul says Rejoice!

And then comes the direction to ‘Pray continually’. About what? We are told to give thanks in all circumstances. for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Our directive is clear. We should do the right thing for everyone; even when you are not treated fairly. Huh? Find the joy you are looking for in your walk with Jesus, overlook the way you are being treated. Let God do his thing in you. Pray without ceasing. Diligently keep a continual disposition of thankfulness to God. We will have no time to be grumpy if we are continually praising and rejoicing with the Boss of all Bosses.

To ‘pray continually’ brings a sense of dependence upon God. Even when we are not articulating words (the Spirit is busy praying our thoughts) we know we are connected, he is listening, we are spilling out our heart, he is listening, even when we are not speaking consciously to God, there is a deep, abiding dependence on him in our message that represents the essence of our faith. I think – this gets at one of the core elements of a vibrant Walk with God. We are connected to Jesus by constantly communicating our feelings and observations. Any observation, we see it, we talk, we listen, we talk, unfiltered, clear, honest. Listen, talk. For me – this is an essential approach to stay out of harm’s way.

But please understand — we are better off if we do not always view prayer as a ‘jukebox’. What I mean by ‘jukebox’ is — we form a prayer request — we pray — and God plays exactly the song we asked for. Huh?  I think the reason we pray is to be sure he puts us in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. We pray to be connected, corrected, encouraged, and directed. We pray for others with the same reasons — that they be connected, corrected, encouraged, and directed. We pray to become part of the solution (God’s solution) not part of the problem (our problem or somebody else’s problem).

When you move this way, the outcome becomes less important than a willing contrite heart. Never doubt that he is in control. Prayer is God’s way of bringing us to the right mindset. Never give up looking to him — wanting to be part of His solution. Come to him repeatedly during the day. Make your state of mind a ‘God focused attitude of gratitude.’  Make yourself available, willing to be directed, willing to be a part of God’s plan. Let God fill in the details. Leave the strategic planning to God, he is better at it than we are. People who function this way are in prayer do not need to set times for prayer. They just start talking in the morning when they get out of bed. Observing, thinking, listening, and talking. Reading scripture, more thinking, listening, and talking. This is not formal communication. This is inviting God into our self-talk, our internal thoughts, our inner sanctum. Let him be God!

The deeper truth — I hope you consider praying without ceasing for prolonged periods of time each day. If you find yourself with a little mental dead space – talk to God. Paul suggests we can enjoy continual communion with God (I Thessalonians 5:15-18). I think, after months of steady listening and talking with God, He will become our best friend.

I choose Jesus.

Angelic Protection

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It was my observation while reading 2 Kings that angels are part of our story. Please look at 2 Kings 6:9-17, the angels in this story remind us that God’s servants are invisibly at work among us. Notice that Elisha prays his servant’s eyes be opened to see the rest of the story. “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  What a powerful moment — God is always at work among us, His angels are always close by, even when we do not see it. Continue reading “Angelic Protection” →

Walking Through Trouble

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To Taylor my friend (and the rest of us who have endured trouble) — fear not my young friend. Long before any of us were born, you were chosen, written into the plan that Jesus set into motion. It is no mistake that you reached out tonight with an aching heart. The prayers of your friends are wrapped around you. When you first yielded to Jesus you were marked with the seal – the Spirit of God within you is that seal, a guarantee of your redemption (Ephesians 1:11-15).

God is closer to you than the air that’s around your body, he is the air in your lungs and gives life. Draw strength from the community of believers. Pepper showed me this verse and I smiled. It was helpful to me; I hope it’s helpful to all of us who are wrestling with the legacy of divorce.

God said — Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations (Isaiah 60:15). Let us dissect this verse into three segments and take a deeper look. I think we can find an image of how it feels to be divorced.

Segment 1 — although you have been forsaken and hated. This is a tough beginning point. It speaks to the disenfranchised Israelites, pushed into a foreign land, unable to comprehend the change, unable to express the devastation. Let us be certain, this entire verse speaks about Jerusalem’s fall. But I think we can learn from this message and allow this message to speak about the families that have been disassembled by forces beyond our control.

The key Hebrew term in Segment 1 is (tachath) translated ‘have been forsaken’. Vines and Thayer’s suggest the term forsaking implies enduring an assortment of persecutions and trials that crush our spirit and disable our hope for the future. Yet, at the same time, the Hebrew term also hints we will eventually see prosperity, peace, and security arrive on the scene to replace our dejection and isolation. Tachath talks to us about experiencing life’s trouble but also includes the coming hope; peace will eventually arrive for the downtrodden who are enduring divorce.

Segment 2 — The emptiness and isolation created by divorce is visualized as ‘With no man traveling through’. This segment defines the level of disassembly we endure. Our lives become desolate, we feel abandoned, often our friends feel distant, some of our friends isolate themselves from us out of fear (guilt by association) or as a judgment towards us. Few people travel to our place to talk to us, to break bread with us, to let us know we are not alone. The end-result – we are alone.

Segment 3 — Yet God says to us — I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. Goodness, this is a turn-around from the first part of this verse. This is absolute assurance God has a plan for us. We have not fallen through the cracks, we are not alone, we may be discarded or rejected by our friends as damaged goods, but God will stand by us – yesterday, now, tomorrow, forever. This is not about us or who we are, but because of who Jesus is. We will be restored.

Conclusion. It is dark now, but eventually we shall be lifted-up, we shall no longer be alone, desolate, and dejected. I used the word ‘shall’ with purpose. It is a contractive term, an enduring term, used in the legal culture to clearly define a statement as absolutely binding. We shall be a subject of joy from generation to generation because of our redemption granted by God. We shall be a first-class example of God’s grace and redemptive power when others thought we were lost in the desert forever.  Therefore, my friend, let the grief process go its course; know that the sun will rise in the morning, God’s faithfulness will prevail in your life.

I choose Jesus.

Habits And Rhythms

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There’s a comfort  humans obtain accomplishing recurring tasks. We get up at the same time each morning, we make our bed, we make ourselves a cup of coffee, we get prepared for the day, choosing the clothing we’re going to wear carefully. We go to work; we arrange our desk or arrange our toolbox and our pickup truck. We set out to do the tasks of the day. We come home that evening we plan and prepare an evening meal, check our email, text messages, check WhatsApp, and settle in to rest. We all have recurring tasks that we do to build structure to our day. Continue reading “Habits And Rhythms” →

Purpose of Scripture

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It has been my observation while browsing Hebrews, the word of God is alive and active to all who are looking for order and guidance in their life. Hebrews 4:12-13 (paraphrased) says — To be sure, we have been aggressively shaped by the Word; for it is sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates deep into our soul and spirit, it seeps through our joints digging deep into our marrow; we have no place to hide, nothing can be tucked away in our thoughts or actions. We stand naked, unable to run or hide, we have been judged. The hidden thoughts and subtle attitudes of our heart have been exposed. Nothing in our life can be hidden from God’s sight (as much as we might like to skulk in the shadows for things we have done). Everything in our life is laid bare before Him so we may give account (NIV). Over the years I have developed the utmost respect for scripture. It is difficult to ignore the Word. You may get fiercely angry at God for calling you out, you may repent, but you will never be indifferent to the message.

I believe that Scripture should have a strong role in our life; we should look to the message for insight and influence, we should look for help to discern right from wrong, we should expect the Word to deliver comfort during times of trouble, define our notions of why we are here, and explain the mysteries of ‘walking with God’.  Paul wrote — All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The fundamental purpose of scripture is to reveal God’s mind to us. Therefore, the Bible is very profitable for teaching. In Scripture we find comments on theism (existence of God), theos (nature, attributes, decrees and works of God), angels (the good ones and the evil ones), anthropology (nature, attributes, and works of man), soteriology (nature, attributes, decrees, and works of Jesus, plus the new covenant), Ecclesiology (community of believers), eschatology (the last days), and let us not overlook prophecy, history, poetry, wisdom, etc.  However, I want to be extremely clear – scripture is not exhaustive; it does not comment on every element of knowledge known to man. But, when scripture comments; it is absolutely, forever true.

As God reveals himself, he uses the Word for reproof of the foolish and correction of the misguided. The Greek word for reproof is elegcho, which means to convict, refute, or confute (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). As we read scripture, sometimes we are convicted by the Holy Spirit for a habit or activity that is not in alignment with the manufacture’s Handbook (scripture). If we read scripture with an open heart, the Bible becomes a set of operating principles to focus our thoughts, conduct, and behavior. The Greek word for correction, used in this verse, is epanorthosis. It means restoration to an upright or a right state; correction, and improvement (Thayer’s Greek lexicon). This is the purpose of the new covenant – restoring and adopting us into the bloodline of Abraham (the family of God) through the ransom.

We are changed because of God’s infusion of righteousness directly into our heart. Righteousness, as used by Paul in this verse, comes from the Greek term dikaiosune which can be defined as faith implanted into man producing gradual movement towards conformity with the will of God (Vine’s Greek Dictionary). We are learning to walk with God, implementing his plan. We learn about righteousness from the Word, God changes our heart, we are infused with his plan.

The bottom line – our Bible is the manufacturer’s handbook. Everything we need to know about God, Jesus, man, salvation, how we got here, and where we are going has been documented in the handbook. What do we do with this handbook? Read. Learn. Repent. Yield. Choose. Proceed. Grow. Love.

I choose Jesus.

Walking With God

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It has been my observation while reading Ephesians and Micah, the notion of walking with God is a common theme in scripture. Micah asks the question – What does the Lord need from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 paraphrased). I noted three key points to his definition. I think we should take a deeper look at Justice, Kindness, and Humility.

Continue reading “Walking With God” →