Really Knowing

Jesus answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29

So many of our difficulties and unvictorious situations are a result of not knowing God's Word and God's power. It is not true that what we don't know can't hurt us. It is tragic to not know God's Word and God's power. God's Word is alive and active, full of wisdom, direction, promises, commands, and the very heart and mind of God. But if we don't know His Word we have so little to hold to.

Knowing something to be true makes a difference in our actions and reactions. If I am driving down a road at night and am warned of a bridge that is out, I will change my course to avoid an accident and possible death. My ignorance will not do away with the reality of the bridge.

Knowing God's power goes hand in hand with believing God's power. Faith moves God to a demonstration of His power. I think of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. She believed and extended her hand in faith. May I learn to do the same.

I want my view of God to be enlarged. I want to see God in new, living, and powerful ways. I want to see his intervention in my life and the lives of others. I marvel that people in the Bible saw the miracles but with time their experience lost its excitement in their life. May I never desire to see God's hand more than His face. May knowing Him personally lead me to knowing His power. May I be found asking Him for more than He is willing to do.

Father, may I stop playing my life so safely. May my prayers become extravagant! Amen.

My Willful Choice

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:18

It seems that the hardest times to proclaim rejoicing and joy in Christ are when we face the harshnesses of life. The unfairnesses and injustices of this world sometimes paralyzes our faith. When needs go unmet, friends desert us, health fails us, or provisions are no where to be found, our view of God is suddenly exposed for what it really is.

When life gets difficult can I still proclaim the truths I voiced so easily during the good times? Do I still say God is good? Do I still trust Him? Do I still find my satisfaction and fulfillment through Him? Do I still feel like I am the apple of His eye and revel in the truth that my name is engraved in the palm of His hand?

It is in the midst of difficult moments that those truths become more precious to me than ever before. I must not look at God through my gird of uncomfortable circumstances but rather I must look at the circumstances through the grid of truth about God.

I have found great strength during my seasons of doubting when I began to voice out loud the truths about God. My circumstances and feelings do not change who God is and how He feels toward me one bit.

So like Habakkuk, when life is not going well and all seems to be hopeless, I choose to rejoice in the Lord and joy in my God. I choose to continue to believe I am in his care and sheltered by His arms. I choose to believe God and praise Him at ALL times!

Father, sometimes I have to proclaim these truths in sheer faith. Amen.

Deliverance

There shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of the enemies. Micah 4:10

I use to not like the wildernesses of my Christian life. Spiritual highs were what I lived for and spiritual lows were avoided as much as possible. I did not know their purpose, what to do during the "dry" season, or what God could accomplish through them. So instead of reaping the richness of the moments I looked for the quickest way to exit!

Now that I am further along on my journey I can see a pattern. In Micah 4:10 God brings Israel out of the city. He often brings me out of my comfort zones and places of security. He lead them to a field. He brings me into my own spiritual wilderness. A place that feels dry and uncomfortable. But then deliverance comes!

I have enemies He desires to set me free from. Israel had other nations as their enemies. I have Satan, the flesh, and the world. Satan seeks to destroy me, my flesh longs to control me, and the world wants to influence me. Anything or anyone that leads me away from God and His purposes must be looked upon as an enemy to my walk with God.

God wants me to live in bondage to no person, habit, attitude, or idol. His desire is that I walk in victory and freedom. I must ask Him to reveal to me the places where I am not yet doing that. The areas that seem to have such a strong hold on me that I despair of ever being delivered.
God's words through Micah are for me to claim today and every day. He longs to redeem and deliver me. May I learn to see the truth and cooperate with his work to set me free.

Father, You hold the key to every lock on every chain that binds and confines me. May I allow You to continually set me free. Amen.

Who Am I Imitating?

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:5

I find that the people I get to know, spend time with, and highly respect have the biggest influence on my life. Their words begin to live in me as I find myself thinking like them, responding like them, even talking like them. That's called imitation and that's a good thing if who I am imitating is Christlike.

The same is true of following Christ. If I am saturating myself with His Words then it will have an effect on the way I think, act, and speak. He is the ultimate pattern for me to follow.
Sometimes I need a visual example of His character. So He graciously sends people into my life who demonstrate His qualities. When I see tenderness in another person I can more fully understand God's tenderness toward me. When a mentor allows me to be dependent on her for wisdom and guidance I can see Jesus as my personal mentor. When I have blown it and a dear friend embraces me (instead of abandoning me) I can understand more clearly Christ's willingness to forgive me and still love me.

I think of the gods people follow and they cannot compare with my Father. No other god daily demonstrates love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Under them there is no realization of being cherished and embraced. I have a personal God who wants me to know him.

Father, may I always chose to walk in Your name. How I thank You for letting me follow You! Amen.

Full of Power

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Micah 3:8

What is the key to owning power through the Spirit of God, and of judgment, and of might? Obedience! In Micah 3, God's judgment for Israel's disobedience was silence and the withdrawal of His presence. God saw the leaders' cruel treatment to His people. Just as Satan seeks whom he may devour, we see the devouring of God's people by the very ones who should have been protecting them, encouraging them, and patterning God to them. James says that teachers will receive the greater judgment. Why? Because they affect the lives of so many people. They can lead with the tenderness of Jesus or the cruelty of Satan.

There are times I feel the presence of God in my life. Just last night He replaced turmoil with peace, confusion with direction, and idolatry with worship of Himself. Like the tide that comes to shore and then returns to the sea, my load gave way to His touch. It took tears and a time of getting out in the open what was living in my heart. God truly does require honesty in the inward parts. It is then that He can come in and heal my spirit and restore to me the joy of my salvation. It is then that I can let go of the very things that have prevented me from taking His hand. Like the peace that follows a storm, God calms me inwardly and at that point surrender becomes my catalyst for receiving what He longs to give to me.

He is a God of exchange. He longs to give me strength for my weakness, forgiveness for my sin, direction for my wandering, joy for my tears, peace for my turmoil.

Father, today I revel in Your presence. Your Spirit as well as the spirit of judgment and power are mine when I yield to Your touch. You have once again engaged my heart and it is a place I long to always abide. Amen.

Settling Things

But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord..." Numbers 5:8a

Ever have a nagging feeling over a sin in your past that you have never been able to make right with the person? Maybe they've died or you've lost complete contact with them? I have often wondered what to do with those things. Although they have been confessed and forgiven I have often wished I could still make it right with them.

This morning in Sunday School a verse became crystal clear to me and I was greatly encouraged. According to Numbers 5:8 I can make restitution to God in the cases where the person is no longer reachable.

Think back to a time when you were younger and you decided to take some candy from a store without paying for it. I have found that the sins that nag at me are the ones I never got caught doing (at least caught by people). The store no longer exists and the owners are long gone. How can I then repay them for my theft? According to Numbers 5:8 I can give the money to God. It is the closure I need and the encouragement I appreciated today.