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Thankful Heart

“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The church I was raised in was in the city limits, but our worship style was far from the typical city church. I guess you could say that we were a “country church” in the city. I learned a lot about being a Christian in that church.

One of the things that sticks out in my memory are the testimony meetings. At least once a month, the entire church service would be given to “testifying”. As a boy, I have to admit, that I often viewed it as more entertaining than inspirational, especially when certain “emotional leaning” personalities would take their turn to testify. I would set on the side of my bench wondering what they were going to say or do next.

As I grew older I began to see the value of testimony meetings. I now see that it gave the congregation the opportunity to publicly participate in the service, fulfilling 1 Corinthians 14:26 “…when you assemble each has a psalm, has a teaching, a revelation…” It was an opportunity for each person to tell how God had become practical in their daily life. To a young Christian this was a valuable experience that helped me get over the fright of publicly sharing my faith. As I look back on this experience, I think these meetings were one of the most important activities in my development of walking out my faith in my younger years.

However, with all the benefit derived from this experience there was also a downside. Now that I am older and more mature in my faith, there were a few glaring doctrinal errors I picked up in those meetings. One of the most prevalent errors was the one concerning thankfulness. As I recall, being thankful was reserved for salvation, the health of your family, the raise you got on the job, and your new car. In other words, it was perceived that thankfulness only related to being thankful for the good things, and the answered prayers. Don’t get me wrong, those are areas where we should be thankful.

But having a thankful heart is not just related to the good things that God gives us. Equally important is being thankful for all the other things that come our way. No one desires to have illness, marriage problems, relational issues, and financial reversals. But as growing and maturing believers we understand that our most significant growth comes when we are plucked from our comfort zone and placed in a state of unrest and brokenness.

Brokenness means coming to the “end of yourself.” I have been asked many times, “Which comes first, brokenness or coming to the end of yourself?” I usually respond, “I think they are most often simultaneous.” When we spend time in the valley, unable to help ourselves, we are forced to depend on God’s sufficiency. The result is we get to know God at a deeper level. Our faith has grown and we now trust God like never before.

So this Thanksgiving season, lets be careful to remember that having a thankful heart also includes being thankful for the pain, the suffering and those uncomfortable situations that God has seen us through.

So if you have the opportunity to tell what you are thankful for this season, how about telling how you are thankful for the valleys that He has seen you through? Then tell how the valleys has strengthened your faith. Maybe someone may need to hear how God has led you through the valley.

I am thankful for the valleys that God has led Brenda and me through this year. We have learned that God is faithful in and through the valley. We are also thankful for you, our friends. May your Thanksgiving holiday be blessed with wonderful memories and plenty of good food.

Blessings,
Larry Bennett

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Maintaining a Sense of His Presence

The Scripture teaches us that under the New Covenant the Spirit of the Living Christ is placed within each believer at the time we give our life to Him (John 17;21). The Scripture also teaches in John 16 that the Holy Spirit resides within us to teach, guide and lead us into all righteousness. Therefore, God can give us the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Since we have the promise of God’s omnipresence in our life, we can live with the assurance that wherever we go, God is there. He fully understands the gravity of our situation. This distinguishes our Lord from all the false gods of the world. Our God is a personal god. He knows us by name, He knows all about our life and He allows us to commune with Him. What a wonderful privilege to be a child of the living God.

God wants to move us to the next level by growing in our degree of intimacy. I don’t think there is a theological word that adequately describes this level, but I like to refer to it as “Maintaining the Sense of His Presence.” Some may refer to this as Abiding.

As mentioned above, God is always with us and dwells in us, and He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. That’s a great truth that brings us comfort. However, beyond that knowledge, there is personal intimacy with the Father. We should always seek to maintain and enhance that personal intimacy.

This personal intimacy is not gotten by good works or acting more spiritual. Nor is it obtained by good works. It is realized by a deep longing to “know Him.” When we seek personal intimacy we turn our affections toward the Jesus within us, and have a deep longing to know and commune with Him. We begin to pass into another spiritual dimension. We are immediately challenged to have a fresh look at our sinfulness and examine our motives. We develop a longing for a deeper level of holiness. It’s like a thawing of our spiritually cold heart. We may even acknowledge that our outward spiritual activity has masked the inward coldness of our heart.

Madame Guyon says it best in her book Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, where she comments on intimacy; “(For a believer) The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where He dwells. The Lord once promised to come and make His home within you. (John 14:23). He promised to there meet those who worship Him and who do His will. The Lord will meet you in your spirit. It was St Augustine who once said that he had lost much time in the beginning of the Christian experience by trying to find the Lord outwardly rather than by turning inwardly.”

All true believers have been to the place where they sense His abiding presence, but they have a difficult time staying there. In the busyness of life we let little things creep in that slowly hardens our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. When we lose this sensitivity our speech resembles the world’s language, our attitude reflects our culture and we slowly begin to lose the sense of the Lord’s presence. We become satisfied just to know that He will never forsake us, but give no thought to the fact we have lost the sense of His abiding presence.

Maintaining a sense of His presence is a deliberate and willful act of our will. It is an act of surrender and abandonment. Surrender is the willingness to surrender all those things that drive away the sense of God’s presence. It’s surrendering our worry, doubt and fear as well as those things that we know grieves the heart of God. It’s surrendering not only what the Lord allows to come your way but it’s also surrendering your reaction to what He allows to come your way.

Abandonment is forgetting your past and leaving the future in His hands. It is being satisfied with the present moment and laying all your concerns at Jesus’ feet. It is being fully immersed in His presence.

Bottom Line
Are you like me? I have a problem staying in that sense of His abiding presence. I know I am not there when my behavior and my thought life is inconsistent with my identity. I know that I have stepped out of that fellowship when I am full of fear, or when I snap back with cutting words to someone who was rude to me. Sometimes I quickly repent but sometimes, I’m sorry to admit, I enjoy my moment in the flesh too much to immediately confess my sin. But my desire is to live every moment guided by a sense of His daily presence. I think this is God’s intention for us, to continually dwell and live with a sense of imminent presence.

Do you long for a daily sense of His abiding presence? If so, make a deliberate turn toward the inward Savior. Ask Him to show you what is hindering you from having that daily sense of His abiding presence.

I am reminded of a gospel chorus that was written in 1972 by Stephen Adams, Where the Spirit of the Lord Is. It speaks to the subject of experiencing His presence. Perhaps you remember the little chorus.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is peace
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is love.
there is comfort in life’s darkest hour,
there is light and life,
there is help and power
in the spirit, in the spirit of the Lord.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

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Facing Critical Moments

When we became followers of Jesus something inward happened in us that changed the way we approach life. First of all, spiritually speaking, we passed from death to life. We became someone we have never been before. We have a new identity. “…even when we were dead in our transgressions, (God) made us alive together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Secondly, because of our new identity, we have a new belief system that drives our decision making. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s guidance becomes our new standard for decision making and handling life’s critical moments.

The Scripture plays a big part in our framework for how we make decisions. I use to wonder why God allowed all those stories of failure to become part of the cannon of Scripture. Then it dawned on me one day that all those Bible characters were just like us. We fail in a similar manner. The Scripture records many examples of failure and its consequences. We read of God’s instruction, His promise of blessing if we obey, and His warning of judgment if we disobey.

Throughout our life we have all faced critical moments of decision. These events are often designed by God to be pivotal moments in our life. These are moments when our walk with God is challenged. It becomes a pivotal moment by how we respond. Are we going to wait on God and trust Him, or are we going to take things in our own hands?

This is where the examples in Scripture become valuable instruction. In 1 Samuel 13 King Saul faced a critical moment. He was facing the Philistine army and there were only two swords among Israel’s army, one for Saul and one for his son Jonathan. Everyone else had to use makeshift weapons, such as wooden spears or crude farm tools.

A week earlier, Samuel had warned Saul to wait for him at Gilgal before going into battle with the Philistines. The prophet had said he would arrive after seven days to make the proper sacrifices to the Lord.

When the seventh day came and Samuel hadn’t arrived, the soldiers began to scatter. Saul didn’t have God’s direction for battle. At this point Saul had two choices. One, he could stand firm and wait on the prophet Samuel for God’s direction. Or, he could go ahead and have the local Priest make his own sacrifices. Saul chose the latter.

Saul panicked. Because of his impatience he decided that he couldn’t wait any longer. He manipulated his way around God’s Word. He took things into his own hands and ordered the on-site priest to make the sacrifices without Samuel. He allowed himself to be overwhelmed by his circumstances. In doing so he committed a grievous sin against God. To him, in that moment, his circumstances were bigger than God’s ability to deliver.

This was Saul’s pivotal moment. He chose not to trust God to deliver him. Because of Saul’s impatience and willful disobedience, God took away his kingdom. Soon after, he committed suicide when he fell on his sword during a battle.

Bottom Line
When we are facing a critical moment, like Saul, we have two choices. We can choose impatience and fear or we can choose to wait and trust God to deliver us. Just as God knew that the Philistines were pressing on the Israelites, He knows every detail of our predicament. Every crisis has the potential of being a pivotal moment. These pivotal moments are our tests from God to propel us to new heights of trust in His power and ability.

The Lord chooses crisis moments to bring us to a deeper fellowship with Him. He wants to know, in our moments of crisis, if we will trust His ability to deliver us more than we trust the Devil’s ability to deceive and destroy us. Remember, God is fully aware of every element of our life. Choose to trust Him and, “trust in the Lord with your whole heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 -NAS)

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A Reminder of God’s Goodness

In the busyness of life we often forget how good God is to us, His children. We are often guilty of taking for granted our good health, our wonderful children and grandchildren and even our material blessings. Sometimes we may even develop a “entitlement mentality” about life. We don’t mean to, it just happens because we have lived so long in a prosperous, trouble free world, surrounded by good friends and plenty to eat.

Sure, we have struggles, but compared to the rest of the world, we have an abundantly, blessed life. With that in mind, I want to share a passage of Scripture that has recently reminded me of the depth of God’s goodness. To many of you, this passage is a familiar one, you may have even quoted some of the verses contained in this chapter. I especially like the flow of this passage in the New Living Translation. I trust you will read it prayerfully and join me in rejoicing in God’s blessings.

A Psalm of David – Psalm 103 (New Living Translation)

Let all that I am praise the lord;with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
The lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.
The lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
The lord is like a father to his children,tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;he remembers we are only dust.
Our days on earth are like grass;like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here.
But the love of the lord remains forever with those who fear him.His salvation extends to the children’s
children of those who are faithful to his covenant,of those who obey his commandments!
The lord has made the heavens his throne;from there he rules over everything.
Praise the lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans,listening for each of his commands.
Yes, praise the lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!
Praise the lord, everything he has created,everything in all his kingdom.Let all that I am praise the lord.

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Six Spiritual Truths That Guide My Life – Part 2

4. A Biblical World View.

There is a century- old belief that says you are the books you read and the people you hang-out with. While that may be an indicator of where your system of thinking comes from, I think it goes deeper than that. I believe you are a product of your “Worldview”.

A Worldview is a belief system that forms your foundation for decision making. Down through the centuries, society has formed many different belief systems, but all belief systems stem from only two Worldviews, a secular Worldview and a Biblical or Christ-centered Worldview. Each Worldview is a system and standard for morality, behavior and decision making.

A Secular Worldview is based on a man-centered logic that everything is relative. It is driven by societal and cultural changes. The sense of right and wrong is based on cultural patterns that change with the belief system of the current culture

In other words, there are no moral absolutes. Anything goes as long as society thinks its ok. A recent example is the redefinition of marriage and the status of an unborn child. Who would have ever thought that our country would murder over 6o million babies through abortion? It is a secular worldview that causes a society to eventually make the decision for what is morally right and wrong.

A Biblical/Christ-centered Worldview is based on, and guided by a set of moral absolutes. God, through the Holy Scriptures, gives us moral absolutes that guide and direct our life. As followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit, and the life of Christ within us, to make the written Word alive. That enables us to live with a sense of peace and joy, even though the world around us is falling apart. We no longer have to fall victim to a world system that brings us moral confusion. We know who we serve, who we are, how we are to live and where we are going.

5. Expect the light of Christ to affect those around me.

Sociologists say that every person influences at least 5 people. That means that at least five people are influenced by what I say, what I do and how I treat other people. They are influenced by the decisions I make and how I respond to adversity and disappointments. They watch our response when we don’t get our way. They observe how we react when someone disagrees with us.

The Scriptures teach that we are to be “Salt and Light” to the world. Even though salt can be an irritant, its primary function in the end is to bring healing and flavor. Our life should bring healing to those who are hurting and are looking for answers.

Our life is to bring light to a dark world. It is not necessarily our words that bring light but the inner glow of Jesus that draws others to the light.

I have been preaching and teaching for several decades and the best sermons and lessons I have ever delivered are given without a word spoken. It’s the light of the risen Christ shining through me, emanating the Light of the world. Wherever I go, every stranger I meet could be a recipient of His light through me. That’s the reason we should never underestimate the power of a smile or a kind word.

6. Develop moral absolutes.

Moral absolutes are lines you have predetermined not to cross. These may be lines that our culture says is OK, but because of my Biblical/Christ-centered Worldview, these are lines that we have decided not to cross. It’s having a set of moral absolutes that act as a daily guide for your life. It’s not a law but rather a discipline based on the absolutes of God’s Word. It keeps us from crossing a line that would cause us to have regrets. (Titus 2:11-13)

Bottom Line
God has given us everything we need to live a victorious and happy life. But we must allow God’s truth to drive us to the sufficiency of Christ. Do you have some moral absolutes? If not, think about developing your own set of biblical moral absolutes that will serve as a guide to your daily walk with God (Colossians 3)

(See last week’s post to read part 1.)

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Six Spiritual Truths that Guide My Life – Part 1

1. I will live with the daily assurance that God loves me.

Knowing you are loved is one of the greatest needs humans possess. Knowing you are loved by someone, no matter what, is a basic God-given need. God wired us that way, to have an ever longing need to feel loved and accepted. He designed us that way in order that we may be driven to get our need of belongingess and love from Him.

Throughout Scripture we are told how God loves us and constantly cares for us, even more than the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. (Matthew 6). I know His love is constant and absolute because His love is a “vested love” because I am in Christ. God can never “unlove” us. Because we are in Christ, to stop loving us He would have to stop loving Christ.

2. I know God has a path for me.

All my Christian life I have heard the phrase, “God has a plan for your life.” It has become such a common place saying that most people glaze over when they hear it. But I think God’s plan goes deeper than the generic saying. God created us with a purpose in mind and a path to walk. The path includes lots of choices along the way, and it may include several different places we live and things that we do.

I don’t believe that there is a difference in the secular and the sacred. To a follower of Christ, everything is sacred. Your occupation, who you marry, how you train your children, where you live, how you spend your spare time is all sacred. There may be phases of your life you want to forget or do over, but as a committed follower of Christ, God is at work in and through you accomplishing His divine purpose.

Through the sovereignty of God, He opens and closes doors dependent upon His end purpose for you. You may think a certain part of your life was a failure, but God had you there for a divine purpose for a specific time in history. That even means your screw-ups and sin would somehow be woven into His overall purpose.

3. Trust God Completely.

Some prefer to say “put God first” but I think a more accurate phrase would be, “trust God completely.” Learning to trust God is a lifelong learning experience. As we go through the different phases of life, I am convinced that God’s intention for us is to grow in our level of trust.

New levels of trust are reached when we go through a trial or a difficult issue. Those things that cause you to be out of control when you were in the beginning of your trust level, is now just a little bump in the road. The more difficult the trial, the greater the trust level.

Sometimes we misunderstand the passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.” Some believers think that nothing we deem unbearable will ever come our way, but that is not true. He will sometimes allow you to go through trials that you know you can’t handle. Matter of fact, you may even feel that you had rather die than go through the trial.

When God allows some seemingly, unbearable circumstance in our life it may seem we can’t bear it. But God is faithful to His Word. The rest of the above passage says, “…but He will provide a way of escape in order that you can bear it.”

God is stretching your trust level. He wants us to go through things that put you out of control. Sometimes those things will shake our faith and cause us to question all that we believe. He wants us to have no place to turn for help but Him. That increases our trust level.

Bottom Line

This does three things for me.
1. When I have an unshakable assurance that God loves me I can run to Him with confidence that He loves and accepts me. That creates a state of rest and peace, even when the storm is howling.

2. Knowing that God has a path for me allows me to approach everyday as a new day. A new day where God can reveal Himself to me in a new and fresh way. Even though sometimes I can’t see it or feel it, I know He is at work in me manifesting Christ’s life to the world.

3. Learning a new level of trust creates a new level of fellowship with the Father. There is an inner circle of fellowship with the Father for those who are willing to have a greater level of trust.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. “ (Proverbs 3:5)

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Radical Christianty

 

“Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.” (Jeremiah 10  New Living Translation)

The above verse is an account of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah telling Israel to turn from the false wooden and stone idols and return to Jehovah, the only true God.

When I read the accounts of the Israelites constant turning from the one true God and worshiping wooden and stone idols, my first response is “what’s wrong with these people?” Have they forgotten their rich history of God’s faithfulness? Have they erased the memory of His multiple, miraculous deliverance? How could they snub God for a wooden or stone idol?

However, when I think of our present day society, aren’t we guilty of a similar thing? No, we may not be erecting wooden and stone idols, but we are guilty of turning to other things that become our gods. Our hobbies, possessions or even our recreation can replace our affection and devotion to the supremacy of Christ in our lives.

The Christian life is not about how many times you attend church in a week, nor how many hours you spend in prayer and Bible study. Even though it may include those things, the Christian life is about personal intimacy. It’s about developing a continual and constant dependency on the sufficiency of Christ. It’s about abandonment and surrender to the supremacy of Christ in all things. It’s giving God permission to lead, guide and develop every aspect of our life.

Total surrender is not giving God 10% of your money, time and talents; it’s giving Him 100% control of all you have and all you are. It’s yielding everything to the Holy Spirit’s control. It’s metaphorically laying every aspect of your life at Jesus feet and acknowledging that all you are, all you have and all you will ever be is vested in Him.

You see, God’s point in our utter abandonment is for us to acknowledge that we are created for a purpose. We are not just a biological happenstance created to wander about on the earth. As committed followers of Christ, we become “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 4:20) We really do figure into God’s grand scheme of things. We are created for this moment in history to be a demonstration of what God is like to your world.

The Bottom Line

You may be thinking, “This is radical stuff.” Yep, you are correct; this is radical Christianity, designed by God to impact our cultural for eternity. Anything less could be a form of idolatry. Will you take the challenge to lay your life at Jesus feet and be a radical follower of Christ and change your world for eternity?

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ( Jim Elliot, Martyred Missionary)

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God Has a Plan

 

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

What a marvelous promise. Many times I have used that verse to give a glimpse of what Heaven will be like, yet it is still unimaginable to our finite minds.

Even though it’s a wonderful thing to imagine all God has prepared for us in Heaven, the proper context of the verse has to do with what He reveals to us today. Paul was describing to the Corinth believers how God has chosen to reveal Himself to the common man, instead of the socially and politically well connected influencers of society.

“For consider your calling brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despise, God has chosen the things that are not so that He might nullify the things that are, that not man may boast before God.”(1 Cor. 1:26-29)

This is good news for two reasons:

First, we are assured that God’s power, and His calling is for everyone regardless of our social, cultural or educational background.

It’s always been that way. A walk through scripture will reveal that God has always chosen shepherds, fishermen, carpenters, poor widows, and even harlots to be His most effective servants. He reveals why He chooses ordinary people in the above verse: “so no man can take credit for what only God can do.”

Many who are gifted, talented and successful are so “self-made” that it’s sometimes difficult for them to possess the humility to give God the credit. That’s the reason the scriptures say that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved.

One of the most vivid pictures of this principle is the Dalit people of India. As you may know, India is a culture that uses a caste system. This is a system that socially classifies its citizens from the most socially acceptable to the least acceptable. The Dalit are the least acceptable. They are the street sweepers, beggars and possess the least desirable jobs in society. They have virtually no possibility of higher education, home ownership or wealth. Their destiny is set and controlled by their social status. Low class does not mean ignorant, many are very intelligent; they just don’t have the same opportunity for education and equal access to the job market.

However, God in His mercy and infinite wisdom has visited the Dalit and there are hundreds of thousands of them coming to Christ. There are many churches being planted among this rejected and neglected people group. I have had the wonderful privilege of being around these believers in India.

Status and ranking in society mean nothing to God. The late Dr. J Vernon McGhee would say, referring to Balaam’s donkey that stopped in the path and talked to Balaam, “That just proves that God can use any ole jackass.” That’s a crude way to put it but he nails the point.

God uses me through my natural/spiritual giftedness

I am sure you will agree that God is a god of order. He is predictable and unpredictable at the same time. He is unpredictable because He can use unusual methods to accomplish supernatural results. In other words, God often surprises us by accomplishing His purposes in ways we could not even imagine.

But mostly He is predictable. He is predictable by observing how He has worked throughout history. He is predictable because of the cause and effect of the promises of His Word. He is predictable when we know and observe his character.

God chooses to use common, ordinary men and women whom He has given natural and spiritual gifts. If God leads you to do a certain things it means that in a natural and supernatural way he gifted and equipped you to do those things. When I sensed a calling to vocational ministry I felt incredibly inadequate but as I began to do the work of the ministry I discovered that God had given me a natural gifting to communicate.

A close observation of the Bible characters will reveal that even though they were common ordinary people they possessed a natural giftedness that God worked through. Take Joseph and David for example. They were lowly shepherds. But what we fail to observe is that proper management of a herd of sheep required certain natural giftedness such as patience, livestock management, compassion, and the ability to protect and lead.

God almost always uses us through our natural/spiritual giftedness. For example, if you do not enjoy teaching He is not going to call you to be a minister or school teacher. If you can’t sing or find it difficult to understand music He is not going to call you to be a choral director or solo singer. If you find it difficult to balance your checkbook it doesn’t make sense that you would go to college to train to be an accountant.

Just because someone is trained to do something does not mean that they have the natural giftedness to do that kind of job. Matter of fact Marcus Buckingham wrote a book based on that very premise. In his book Strengthfinder he tells of a multi-year survey that reveals that millions of people were working in jobs that were outside of their natural giftedness. The result was over 80% of workers were unhappy, unfulfilled or downright miserable with their job. Why were they unfulfilled? Because even though they were trained to do a certain job, it was outside of their natural giftedness.

The Bottom Line
God created you for a purpose. (2 Timothy 1:9) Your gifting and talents are always connected to God’s overall intentions for you. He gave you natural and spiritual gifting just for that purpose… to be used by Him. God’s overall purpose is for you to be a conduit for the life of Christ. Your gifting is not your signal to “go it on your own,” but your gifting is for the sole purpose of equipping you so that the life of Christ will flow effortlessly through your life. That’s the reason this old saying is a true statement, “God always equips those He calls.”

God wants to reveal Himself to the world and He has chosen and gifted you to be His unique example and mouthpiece to a hurting world. You can rest assured that whatever situation you find yourself in, God is at work in you reveling Himself to someone within your little world.

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Light Your World

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” (Ephesians 5:8-9 NLT)

I have to admit, I am a movie buff. I like all sorts of movies but my preferences fall into two categories, true life stories and, believe it or not, animation. Talking animals just crack me up. I guess that is why I laugh every time I read the story of Balaam’s donkey looking back at Balaam and asking him, “What have I done to you that deserves you beating me three times? (Numbers 22 NLT)

However, there is one thing about animation that cannot be duplicated; it’s the light in the eyes. This last weekend I was watching an animated movie with my granddaughter. I said to her, “Look at the eyes of the animated adults. The animators can reproduce everything just like a live person but the light in the eyes. That can only be given by God.”

But this principle of the “light in the eyes” goes even deeper. God gives every living creature life and it is demonstrated by the light of life that is in their eyes. But He goes even further with His children. He gives us a light that is different from the average creature. “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:7)

The light we now have within us is the light of Christ. It is His life in us that draws others to want to know Him. It’s Christ’s life shown through our eyes that the Holy Spirit uses to draw people to Himself. As the Scripture explains, God could use the rocks to cry out or the trees to sing His glory. But God, in His infinite wisdom, chooses to use us to display “the Light” to the world.

It is the love of Christ in us that is displayed through our life and shown through our eyes that makes us different. It is not our religious performance, Bible knowledge or debate skills that will draw someone to Christ. It is the light of Christ shown through our eyes that will cause someone to get a glimpse of God’s character and nature.

How can we make sure that Christ’s life is shown through our life? The light of Christ will be shown as we love Him with all our heart, our mind and our soul. (Matthew 22:37-39) It is a matter of surrender. As we surrender our rights and expectations, our dreams, and our plans to Him, we are changed into His likeness. It’s often called the great exchange. When we exchange our self-centered life for Christ’s life, a change occurs. The focus of our life is no longer “us”, but our new focus is Christ. We become a reflection of His glory.

That reminds me of the words of a beloved old hymn.

“Oh that will be, glory for me
Glory for me, glory for me.
When by His grace we shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.”

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit,makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT)

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Being Awestruck by God

This week I’ve had the privilege of taking morning and evening walks on the beach. I can’t tell you how many times during my lifetime I have taken a walk on the beach, but every time I take a stroll I have been in awe of God’s creation. I am just as awe struck today as I was as a child.

To think that God spoke all of this into existence boggles my mind. He causes the tides to work together with rotation of the earth and with the movement of the sun and moon. The ocean never runs dry and it is filled with all sorts of living creatures. God doesn’t need the fish and game commission to stock the ocean; He abundantly supplies the ocean with all sorts of fish, and it is enough to feed the nations.

If God in His infinite wisdom can manage the oceans of the world, how much more can He guide and direct our life. If He cares so meticulously for the marine life in the depths of the sea, how much more can He care, manage and direct our lives?

To the committed follower of Christ, life is not about being religious and following a set of strict rules. It is about trusting God for every moment of our life. It’s about seeing God in everything. It’s seeing Him in the beauty and wonder of nature, it’s observing Him at work in the events of our life, and in the lives of our loved ones. It’s realizing that open doors are not just happenstance but it’s God at work leading us to the next step in our chance to be light and salt to our world.

Even during those times when we feel that God isn’t hearing our prayers, He is in our midst, leading us to new depths of fellowship and understanding of who He is. Just when we think we really know God, He appears with a new experience to teach us something about His character and nature that leaves us awe struck. Then that new knowledge enables us to be a “sweet aroma” to others.

Paul gives us a glimpse of this principle in 2 Corinthians 2: 3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”(NAS)

The Bottom Line
To a believer, life is deeper than “making lemonade out of life’s lemons.” It’s about discovering the depths of Jesus Christ in the midst of our problems. God’s desire for us is to be able to look through the challenges of life, put them aside for a moment, and become awestruck by His love for you.