Don't Miss the Miracle

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)

Most people say they have never experienced a miracle, but the truth is, not a day goes by that we don't experience a miracle. For example, take this planet we live on - scientist tell us that Earth is spinning on its axis at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour while suspended in space. On top of that, this third rock from the sun is orbiting at a rate of about 67,000 miles per hour; that's about 87 times faster than the speed of sound, or 366 times faster than a race car at Talladega. And we did it all without noticing. On a Monday when it seems like you didn't accomplish much, remember that you traveled about 1.6 million miles through space

Not a big enough miracle for you? Then just look in the mirror. Every moment of every day your body is performing thousands upon thousands of functions you don't even notice. Every moment you are inhaling oxygen, metabolizing energy, digesting food, purifying toxins from your blood, directing muscles, processing data through multiple streams of information and much, much more. Your body is an incredibly complicated masterpiece of machinery. That 7lbs of brain in your head that runs everything in your body is making about ten quadrillion calculations every second. 

Ever feel like your brain is so full of information you have no room for more? That feeling is false! According to Northwestern University psychologist Paul Reber, the brain’s memory storage capacity is around 2.5 petabytes [1 petabyte ≈ 1,000 terabytes]. For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage.

One more bit of "miracle" information - every individual person has a unique personal genome sequence that describes who you are. If your personal genome sequence were written out long-hand, it would be a three-billion-word book. By comparison, the King James Version of the Bible contains 783,137 words, so your genetic code is the equivalent of nearly 4,000 Bibles. No wonder the Psalmist wrote, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Everyday you not only experience a miracle, you are a miracle. There never has been and there never will be another you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made - that's not a testament to you, that is a testament to the one who knit you together in your mother's womb. He is a God of miracles, just look in the mirror. And every day there are miracles happening all around you, so don't miss the miracles. As Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Live the miracle that is you and that is your life!

A Lineage of Grace

Last year I began H.E.A.R. journaling through the Gospel of Matthew. (H.E.A.R. is a Bible study method developed by Dr. Robby Gallaty and stands for "Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond." You can learn more about it here [or HEAR, lol]). This has been good prep for preaching through Matthew this year.

The first 17 verses is the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, the man God chose to raise His Son. There are  names of a lot of the great men of the Old Testament like Abraham and David, but I'm always struck by the fact that Matthew lists four women in the genealogy of the Lord. This is unusual because women are rarely listed in genealogies in the Scriptures, but what is even more remarkable is the women Matthew chose to include:

• Tamar, who deceived her father-in-law Judah into sleeping with her and bore him twins (Gen 38).
• Rahab the prostitute of Jericho who spared the Israelite spies (Joshua 2). Rahab eventually married an Israelite, Salmon and they had a son named Boaz, who would eventually marry...
• Ruth, a Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem where she met and married Boaz (Book of Ruth) They also had a grandson named Jesse who becomes the father of Israel's greatest king, David. And David will eventually meet ...
• Bathsheba, not mentioned by name in the genealogy but is the woman with whom David had and affair and then kills her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 11).

Matthew reveals some the “skeletons” in Jesus’ family closet.

As I was thinking through the application, I was reminded that God OFTEN uses the least likely candidates to accomplish His plans and purposes. The genealogy shows that God is not limited by human perspective and understanding; His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. God often uses people we would write off as disqualified. But the truth is that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace, nor beyond His ability to be used for His glory.

The "R" in H.E.A.R. journaling stands for "Response" which means - what is my response to what I learned from studying the passage. My response to the genealogy of Jesus: Don’t write people off because of their past sins or current circumstances. Don’t attempt to limit God’s ability nor His plan. God can accomplish whatever pleases Him through whomever He pleases. Don’t miss His work or His blessing by judging others or writing them off. Join God in seeing all people as valuable, beautiful and useful to the Lord and His work. This is something I have known, because God should have written me off a long time ago, but He has faithfully pursued me and called me back to Himself and to His ministry. I'm thankful for His faithfulness even when I am not, and for the reminder of His faithfulness through the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew.

Saved to Serve

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

We are beginning the process of developing Ministry Teams and selecting Elders and Deacons for our church, so I've been reading on servant-leaders in the church. I’ve been working through Paul’s first letter to his apprentice Timothy. Chapter three really stirred me up. Paul begins saying, “This is a faithful saying.” It’s the equivalent to Jesus saying in the Gospels “Truly, truly or Verily, verily.” When Jesus said those words He was saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!” That is what Paul is doing here as well. Then he says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

The word “desire” really jumped out at me in this passage. It appears twice in my translation, but it is actually two different words in the Greek. The first word translated “desire” literally means “to stretch oneself” or “to reach out for.” The image is that of a child reaching out for his mom or dad. The second word translated desire means “to set your heart upon.” It has to do with the inward emotions and this word is also translated “covet” or “lust after.” So the Bible says, it is a good thing to "stretch yourself" and "set your heart" on a place of service for the Lord.

In the tradition I have grown up in, those who served the Lord were those who received a specific calling to serve. It’s still part of our tradition – you ask people about doing things in the church and you may get the response – “I haven’t been called to do that.” That is a legit response and we shouldn’t force people into positions they are not qualified for nor passionate about. But it is also a response that is often abused. The next question to ask is, “What have you been called to do?” and the answer may be, “I don’t know?” It seems it’s easier to identify what we’re not called to do than it is to identify what we’re called to do.

What do you want to do in/through the church? Many Christians don’t want to do anything; they don’t have the desire to serve the Lord. I want to say, “Do you believe Jesus died for you and saved you so you could do nothing for Him? Do you believe God brought you to a church so you could ‘do nothing’?" It’s good to have a desire to serve the Lord; it’s good to stretch yourself and reach for a place of service in the Body of Christ. Our general calling is to serve the Lord in some capacity; we are saved to serve. 

A God of New Beginnings

"God is a God of new beginnings!" I love that statement, and I love this time of year. For some, the New Year is just another day, but for me it symbolizes the opportunity to start over, fresh and new. I've always used this time of year to reflect on the past and plan for the future. I used to make "New Year's Resolutions" and I still do, but now I call them "goals;" things I want to go after in the coming year.

In Philippians 3, writing about his own spiritual life, the Apostle Paul wrote, "...But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13-14 (NIV) Paul was never content where he was in his relationship with God or his life, he was always pressing forward toward the goal and toward personal growth.

So, this time of year I set some "personal growth" goals:

1. Spiritually - Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I always desire to deepen my relationship with the Lord. Our theme verse for Grace Point this year is 2 Peter 3:18, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (ESV) A goal without a plan is just a wish, so how will I accomplish this goal? By being very intentional in study, meditating, memorizing and obeying His word; by maintaining the discipline of daily prayer and being intentional about sharing my faith with others - just to name a few of the steps.

2. Physically - Become healthier
I've always struggled with my weight and two of my biggest problems are that I don't always eat the best foods and I tend to be too sedentary. So my plan is to make better food choices, eating smaller portions at a time, drinking plenty of water and being active for at least 30 minutes a day. It probably doesn't sound like much, but I've heard that small changes can make a big difference, and can lead to the ability to make bigger changes. I'll probably never run a marathon, but there are some trails in the Smoky Mountains that I'd like to hike again.

3. Mentally (attitude) - Be more positive
Near the end of each year I pray and ask God for a word or phrase that I can focus on in the coming year, and for 2019 the word I have sensed God giving me is "Believe." Faith, of course is a gift from God, but it is also an intentional mental/spiritual practice. The verse that God has highlighted is Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (ESV) I want to be intentional about not only believing IN God, but believing God - taking Him at His word and acting up on it. All of that starts in the mind, and having a more positive attitude toward God and in life in general.

4. Relationally - Deepen relationships with friends and be intentional to build new friendships
I am blessed to have many friends, and to have a few very dear and close friends. More than friends, I have men in my life that encourage, challenge and mentor me. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another." I am thankful for the men who sharpen me. I also want to sharpen others. I currently meet with an accountability/prayer partner and a few different groups of men for discipleship. I want to deepen those relationships; but I'm also praying for the opportunity to develop discipleship relationships with some younger guys, and perhaps some couples. I have to be careful not to spread myself to thin, but we are called to make disciples and discipleship only happens in relationship.

5. Vocationally - improve as a preacher/pastor and teacher
When I was around 20, God made my calling clear - "Preach the gospel." Over the years I've sometimes drifted from that calling and got focused on the "busyness" of ministry (and life). Recently God has been calling me back to my original calling to preach the gospel (Acts 6 - the ministry of word and prayer). The plan is to focus less on developing church programs and activities, and focus more on proclaiming the word of God, and being myself as a pastor and preacher. Too often I slip into the "professional pastor" mode and pretend to be something I'm not just because I think it is expected with the job. God has to always remind me that He is my first calling, and He called me to be me, not what I think others think or want me to be. (I realize that may not make sense to the people reading it, but it does to me, so I guess that's what matters most, lol.)

There are a few other areas where I have some goals and am developing plans or steps to see those goals come to pass (finances, marriage, parenting, missions, etc.), but these are the "Big Five" areas. All of this is what I call a "Personal Growth Plan" and if you's like to talk about developing a growth plan for your life, I would love to spend some time with you - shoot me an email at glmiller1965@gmail.com, or a text - 865-236-4159. Thanks for taking the time to read this; as a reward for reading it all the way through, let me know you read it and I will treat you to breakfast or lunch one day in the coming weeks! (If you're a female reading this, my wife and I will treat you to a meal) God bless.

J.O.Y. at Christmas

This past Wednesday we re-read the story of the angel making the announcement of Jesus' birth to the shepherds in the fields of Judea (Luke 2:8-20). The angel prefaces the announcement of the Messiah with the words - "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people..." (v.10, emphasis added). Our group discussed how a missing element for many people during the Christmas season is "great joy." For a lot of people, including many Christians, Christmas is a time of great stress and frustration, much of it self-induced by trying to have the "perfect Christmas." The celebration of this glorious event has been overwhelmed by commercialism, perfectionism and a lot of other "isms" that distract us from the main message of Christmas - the Messiah has come!

I shared, using the acronym J.O.Y. and the story of the shepherds, how we can get back our Christmas joy. This isn't original with me, and it is a little cliche, but here is the truth if you want to experience the "great joy" the angels were talking about.

J - Jesus first
Again, it is cliche, but He is "the reason for the season." Christmas is about Christ and if you want to experience great joy at Christmas, your focus has to be on Him. Jesus was a priority for the shepherds - after the angel gave them the good news that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, the shepherds left their sheep and went to Bethlehem to find the Messiah. Think about that - they were shepherds, but they left their flocks to find the Great Shepherd. Tending those sheep wasn't just their jobs, it was their livelihood, it was their lives. But they "laid down their lives" and left their sheep in the field to go find the Messiah. They didn't let their jobs, or anything else keep them from Jesus. He was their focus, and they didn't stop when till they found Him. And after they found him, they returned "glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard..." (v.20) Yep, when they focused on Jesus, they got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY down in their hearts!

So what is your focus this Christmas season - getting your work done, buying gifts, decorating the house, cooking the food, planning the family gathering?  None of those are bad things, and they do need to be done, but none of those things should keep us from Jesus. He is to be the focus of all that we do. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be added unto you." Whatever you are doing this Christmas season, keep your mind on Christ, and Christ on your mind.

O - Others
The good news of great joy wasn't just for the shepherds, it was for all people. And after the shepherds had come to Jesus they "they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child." (v17). They didn't keep the good news to themselves, they shared it with others, everywhere.

The Great Commandment says we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, AND to love others like we love ourselves. Christmas is about Jesus, but it is also about letting others know about Him as well. You probably already have people in your circle of influence that need a "squirt of joy" for Christmas - what can you do to make that happen? Bake some goodies and take to emergency workers who can't be with their families during the holidays? Buy a few pair of socks and visit some elderly people in nursing homes? Invite a neighbor to join in your family celebration of Christmas? Ask the Lord who you need to reach out to, He's pretty good at communicating those kind of things.

Y - You
The angel made the message personal for the shepherds - "I bring YOU good news of great joy..." (v.10) Shepherds weren't generally well thought of in those days. They spent a lot of time with sheep and probably smelled a lot like them. It's kind of remarkable that when it came time to announce the birth of the Messiah, the angel didn't go to the priests, the rabbis, the Pharisees, the kings or any of those in authority; he came to the shepherds who were generally ignored or looked down upon. They may have even felt like they were the forgotten ones of their culture, but God doesn't forget or overlook anyone and He sent a personal message to them - a message of good news of great joy!

If God didn't overlook the shepherds, it's not likely He will overlook you either. His message of good news of great joy is for you also... so receive it, internalize it and let the good news that the Christ has come for YOU saturate your mind and infect every area of your life this Christmas season!
Jesus loves you and He has come to bring you great joy!

Saturday Sermon: "Deeply Wounded" 1 Kings 17:1-9

Last Sunday I began a new sermon series on the lives and ministries of two of the Old Testaments most significant prophets - Elijah and Elisha. These two ordinary men were used powerfully by their extraordinary God to show their people who the One True God was/is. As we study their lives, we will learn some important truths about the God we worship and serve today.

To prepare for the next message on Sunday morning, you can listen to the previous message here. Last Sunday we were introduced to the prophet Elijah and learned that God was preparing him for a significant event on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). God's plan was to teach Elijah to be totally dependent on Him, and the lesson came through a very difficult episode in Elijah's life. One of the important lessons we learned about the One true God is that “Before God can use us greatly, He must wound us deeply.” Listen to the sermon below to learn how that truth played out in Elijah's life.

Wednesday Word: Saint

To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Colosse, in Christ.” 
Colossians 1:2

Someone has said that most of our problems as followers of Christ stem from the fact that we sometimes forget who we are in Christ Jesus. We're studying the book of Colossians in our Wednesday night Bible study and in v. 2 Paul addresses his letter “To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Colosse, in Christ” (v.2)

That word "saint" is such a profound word and we so often overlook the meaning and power of it. We don’t typically refer to people using that title to identify them. "Saint" isn’t something we typically put on our business cards - “George Miller, Saint of God”. We don’t even use it when referring to people in the church, fellow believers. We use the term “Christian” which is not a common term in the Bible, in fact it is only used 3 times in the New Testament. Saint, on the other hand, is used over 60 times in the NT to refer to the people of God. The root word is used more than 200 times and it means “to be holy, to be set apart, to be sanctified.” 

This word has has to do with identity in Christ. Saints are those people who have been saved by God, have been set apart by God, who have been made holy by God. This is not usually how we identify people, even people in the church, is it? There is another word the Bible uses and it is the one we most often gravitate toward when describing people including ourselves... "sinners." We most often describe ourselves as sinners, because that’s how we see ourselves, even those of us who are saved. We often say it this way, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace…” And while technically that’s true, the Bible doesn’t generally identify followers of Christ that way - the Bible identifies us as saints of God. 

This is so important because your identity or how you see yourself determines how you will act. If you see yourself as a sinner, even a sinner saved by grace, you will have a propensity to continue to sin and excuse yourself and say, “that’s just who I am. I don’t have a choice but to be this way because... I'm just a sinner.” But when you are saved by Christ, you are set free from the power of sin - you are set apart, sanctified, made holy by Christ; you are a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away behold all things become new. You are a saved sinner, and that makes you a saint in Christ Jesus. And when you see yourself as a saint in Christ, you will begin to live out who you really are. 

The key is, “in Christ” - you are a saint in Christ. That is who you are, not because of what you have done or are doing, but because of what Christ has done and is doing in you. You have to know who you are in order to be rightly aligned to the truth of Christ. Sinner describes who you were, but saint describes who you are, and who you are becoming. In Christ, you are becoming less of who you were (sinner) and more of who you are (saint in Christ.)

There is a saying circulating on the internet: "The devil knows your name, but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin, but calls you by your name." Satan, the "accuser" condemns you because of what you have done, but Jesus forgives you because of what HE has done, and He calls you not just by your name, but by His name... and that makes you a "saint in Christ." Never let the enemy tell you that you are just a sinner, when the word of God calls you a saint.

Join us each Wednesday night at 7:00pm at Grace Point Baptist Church as we study through the book of Colossians.

Knowing vs. Knowing About

TobyMac is a very successful Christian music artist, producer and author. He has sold more than 10 million albums, won 7 Grammy Awards, and has had 6 number one singles. His music and ministry has inspired millions in their walk with Christ. (You can check out his Youtube channel here.)

My wife jokingly tells peoples sometimes that we grew up with TobyMac. At first people think she means that we personally know Toby because we grew up in the same neighborhood or something, but what she means is that we grew up listening to and being inspired and encouraged by his music. We know a lot about him from his songs, his books, and articles written about him, but we don't have personal relationship with him. We've seen him in concert several times, but he wouldn't know us if we ran into him on the street. We know about him, but we don't know Him.

Unfortunately, I fear that many who call themselves "Christian" have a similar relationship with Jesus - they know about Him from His book (the Bible), been inspired by the stories about Him, and may even be big fans, but if they ran into Jesus on the street, they might know who He is, but He wouldn't "know" them in the sense of a personal relationship (see Matthew 7:21-23). I also fear that many "Christians" will find out this truth too late.

There is a big difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone in a personal relationship. Many people in Jesus' day knew about Him; they were touched by His ministry, encouraged by His teachings, maybe even blessed by His miracles, but never transformed through a saving relationship with the Savior of the world. That is still true today.

What does it mean to truly know Jesus as Lord? The Bible is the clear that we can know Jesus and enter a relationship with Him through repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Jesus alone for our salvation (Mark 1:14-15). "Repent" is not a word we often use in common conversation, but it is an important biblical word. Pastor John MacArthur says:

The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoia . . . Literally it means “afterthought” or “change of mind,” but biblically its meaning does not stop there. As metanoia is used in the New Testament, it always speaks of a change of purpose, and specifically a turning from sin. In the sense Jesus used it, repentance calls for a repudiation of the old life and a turning to God for salvation.
Such a change of purpose is what Paul had in mind when he described the repentance of the Thessalonians: “You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

To repent means to make a "U-Turn", turning away from the gods of self and sin, and turning to the living God to follow Christ.

To believe is to recognize our own hopeless condition as a sinner, and putting our full trust in the person and finished work of Christ on the cross to save us from our sin. A relationship with Christ doesn't come when we try harder to do better, when we call ourselves "christian", or when we begin to practice religious rituals. A relationship with Christ happens when we come to the end of ourselves and trust that Jesus is enough for our salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus, not by any "good works" that we do (see Ephesians 2:8-10).

The message of repentance and faith in Christ for salvation is what the Bible calls the gospel, or "good news." And here is the REALLY "good news" - unlike TobyMac who isn't seeking out a relationship with me (other than to get me to buy his music), Jesus is seeking out a relationship with you. He wants you to know Him, to really know Him, not just know about Him. And He, through the Holy Spirit, calls you into a relationship with Himself; He calls you to repent and believe, to turn from yourself in repentance, and turn to God in faith, AND He gives you the ability to do it.

I know this post isn't for everyone, but my prayer is that perhaps someone who stumbles across this may realize that there is a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him as Savior... and God would use this to draw them to Himself. If you'd like to continue the conversation, feel free to email me at glmiller1965@gmail.com, I'd love to connect with you.

Revive Us Again

Habakkuk is my favorite Old Testament prophet and I recently taught through the book on Wednesday nights. I'm partial to the last few verses of chapter, which have been my "life verses" for the last 30 years, but the Lord has caused verse 2 of chapter 3 to burn in my heart the last few weeks. It is Habakkuk's prayer for the Lord to revive or repeat His awesome works which He had performed in the past. Basically this is Habakkuk's prayer for revival.

Habakkuk had seen the Lord work in the past. Scholars put the prophetic ministry of Habakkuk sometime after King Josiah had been killed in the Battle of Meggido with the Egyptians. During his reign, Josiah had led the nation of Judah in a great spiritual renewal. Under his leadership false idols had been torn down and removed from Jerusalem, the Temple had been restored, a scroll (probably the book of Deuteronomy) had been found, and there had been a covenant renewal ceremony. Though Habakkuk had not yet begun to prophesy during this time, he was a witness to work of the Lord in spiritually reviving his nation.

But after the death of Josiah, the nation took a turn for the worst. Habakkuk's book begins with a series of questions about how long he was going to have to cry out to God about the sin, wickedness and violence that permeated the community of God's people. By the time we get to chapter 3, the prophet is crying out for God to renew His great works during his days and have mercy on His people.

Revival is a work of God that always begins in burdened prayer from God's people. When God determines to revive His people, He first weighs on them to pray and cry out to Him. Every move of God in history has been preceded by desperate, persistent and focused prayer. As God has worked in the past, He still works now. If we are to see God "renew His works" and revive His people in our day, it will only come when God's people get serious about prayer.

Worry into Worship - Battles into Blessings

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.  So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:11-13 (NIV)

I have several friends and family members who are facing some tough times and much of it is spiritual warfare. As I was praying this morning God brought to mind the story of the Israelites battling the Amalekites in the Valley of Rephidim. It was the first major conflict the Israelites had experienced since coming out of Egypt. According to Deuteronomy 25:18 the Amalekites attacked Israel from the rear, attacking first those who were weary and worn out from the journey. The enemy often focuses on those who are tired and struggling. 

Moses called on Joshua to choose out some men for battle and go fight the Amalekites at Rephidim, and Moses would go to the hilltop and stand with the staff of God in his hand. As the battle rages, as long as Moses holds his hands in the air, the Israelites have the upper hand. But when his arms get tired and his hands are lower, the Amalekites have the advantage. Moses is joined by his brother Aaron and another man, Hur. When they realized what was happening, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for Moses to sit on and they stood one on each side and helped him keep his hands in the air. As a result, Joshua defeated the Amalekites at Rephidim. 

As I was reading the story again, it hit me that raised hands are often a sign of praying, worshiping, and praising God (see Nehemiah 8:6, Psalm 134:2, 1 Timothy 2:8, and others...) As long as Moses' hands were raised, God's people were winning the battle, but when the hands dropped, the enemy gained control of the conflict. As long as God's people are praying and praising God we are winning the battles, but when we stop praying and praising we begin to be defeated by the enemy. 

In this world, we will have trouble. We have been set free from the Egypt of our sin and we are journeying to a Promised Land of eternal salvation, but for now we live in a world infected by sin and infested by an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). There will be battles, and they will come when we are weary, tired and worn out from the journey. The key to victory in the battles is to pray, worship and praise the Lord until the victory comes. 

Sometimes we will grow tired in the battle, and we will need some "Aarons" and "Hurs" to help us. We were never meant to fight alone, so don't resist help from God's people. And sometimes it will you who need to be an Aaron of Hur for someone else; don't let those opportunities pass you up - others need you too. 

By the way, though the Amalekites were defeated that day, that wasn't the last time the Israelites had to fight them. But God made a promise that one day He would "completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” (Ex. 17:14) The battle you are going through now won't be the last one you will fight; the enemy will continue to harrass and attack as long as he can; but we have a promise from God that one day the enemy will be removed and will never disturb the people of God again (Revelation 20:10). Until that day, fight the good fight of faith, and use the weapons pf prayer, worship and praise to experience the victory God has promised you!

Do What You Can While You Can

 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

Recently a good friend of mine passed away. We worked pretty closely together for about 15 years, and spent a lot of time laughing, crying, praying and talking together. One thing my friend often said was, "I wish I would have..." or sometimes "I should have..." Looking back on life my friend realized there were some things left undone. 

All of us probably do the same thing. I turned 53 in April, and for me birthdays are generally a time of reflection. I thought about where I am in life - spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, relationaly, etc. - and I recognize that there are a lot of things I wished I had not done, or done differently. I hear people sometimes say, "I don't have any regrets..." Not me. There are several things I did as a child or young person that have affected me for the rest of my life; some things I wish I could undo, un-say or un-see. But I can't so I have to live with them. Many of them I have grown beyond, but some still haunt me. 

I have also realized there are a lot more things that I wished I had done earlier in life; things that would have benefited me in many ways: spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, relationaly, financially and more. Looking back I see things I could have done that would have improved my life dramatically. In some ways, I would like to have a "do-ever", an opportunity to redo somethings in my younger years. Of course I realize that we rarely get a do-over in life. Once something is done, seen or heard, it is impossible to completely undo. 

The good news is that while there aren't any do-overs in life, there is new beginnings. God is a God of new beginnings; His mercies are new each morning, and if we are in Christ we are a new creation. We can't go back and change the past, but we can begin where we are to have a different future. Where we are is not where we have to always be. 

In writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul encourages the believers to pay attention to how they are living. He says, "Be careful then how you walk..." The first word in the verse is the Greek word “blepo” and it literally means “look” or “watch.” It has to do with the eyes, but in this sense it means to look in order to evaluate, or take an inventory. So Paul is saying, “Take a look at your life. Do a little self-examination. What are the things you are living for? What are you giving yourself too? What are you spending your time on?" 

Year ago I was at a lunchtime Bible study being led by Dr. Randy Davis, currently the executive director of the TN Baptist Mission Board, and he was talking about priorities. And he said something that really convicted me. He said, to determine a person’s priorities, we need to look at only two books: the datebook and the checkbook. What you give your time to and what you give your money to are what your priorities are.

Paul says we are to “look carefully” how we are living. Some people read that and see the word "carefully" and think think "be safe"or "don't take any risks." There are some people who are always living their lives on the defensive. Instead of striving to accomplish their purpose or goals, they’re just trying not to make too many mistakes. They don’t want to try anything new. They don’t want any change. They just want to live in their comfort zone. In fact they never attempt anything out of their comfort zone. Their motto is “Just don’t rock the boat.” Consequently their life is dominated by fear rather than by faith. They think “look carefully” means never take any risks. 

But the word Paul uses that is translated "carefully" is the word “akribos”. It means to be precise, diligent, perfect, etc. It is related to the word from which we get "acrobat." When I think of an acrobat, I don't necessarily think of one who plays it safe or does nothing. I think of someone who is active and precise. A good acrobat is one who trains and takes every precaution for safety, but still does their performance. Every time they do, they take a risk, but it is a careful, calculated risk. A person who lives carefully, doesn’t act foolishly, but does live fully!

Paul is saying, "Pay careful attention to how you are living your life." In other words, do some self examination; are you living your life to the fullest? Are you giving yourself to the things that matter most? Are you leveraging your time and resources for that which will make the most difference in the future? Are you doing what you should do while you have the opportunity to do it? You can't go back and change the past, but you can begin today to do what will make the future different. Pay attention to how you are living your life. 

Spiritual Warfare: Prison, Prayer and Praise (Pt 3)

Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day and I thought I would take advantage of the nice weather and sit out on the carport to read. Unfortunately the nice weather also brought the bees out. Several large yellow jackets flew into the carport, and began to hover close to the ground near where I was sitting. I looked around to see what I had to defend myself, and found a can of bug killer. When I sprayed it, it came out as a fog so it was hard to make a direct hit on the bees. I noticed though, that some of the bees continued to hover close to the ground as the fog came over them. In just a short time, the spray covered their wings and body and they went to the ground where they were easy prey for my flip-flop. However, some of the bees didn't stay close to the ground; as soon as the fog began to encroach upon them they flew upward and out of the carport to the safety of a tree. 
         As I was thinking about why some immediately flew away to safety while others lingered near the ground till they were covered and killed, the Spirit spoke to me in that still, small voice - those who linger too long near the ground end up being covered by the spray and destroyed, while those who fly upward get to safety. In the same way, those who are under spiritual attack and linger too long trying to fight the battle in the fog are defeated and sometimes destroyed. But those who fly upward as soon as they sense the attack coming are safe. In spiritual warfare, those who "fly upward" do so in prayer and praise to the Lord. As we praise the Lord, He lifts us above the fog of the enemies attack. 
       In our study of this section of Acts 16 we have noticed some of the weapons of the enemies warfare - intimidation, incarceration and isolation. In a physical sense, he tried all three on Paul and Silas, and in a spiritual sense he continues to use those weapons against God's people. But, as with Paul and Silas, God gives us weapons to fight back with...

1. Prayer - v.25a
The Bible says in v.25, at midnight Paul and Silas are praying. If I’m Paul or Silas I’m emotionally and physically and spiritually spent. I’m drained to the last drop. I’ve got nothing left to give. Their backs are bleeding from their beating. They are black and blue all over. And they had to be ticked off. I’ve never had a mob form against me, but I’m guessing that’ll set you off emotionally. And to top it off they land in the maximum security cell in stocks! It just doesn’t get much worse than that.
       But instead of complaining or just crashing, Paul and Silas are praying to God. Why? Because they understood that spiritual strength comes from communication with God. There is power in prayer. Prayer connects you to the Creator of the universe, and opens the floodgates of His spiritual power in your lives. Paul and Silas had no strength, they had been accused, abused and beaten - they had no strength, so they drew on a power beyond their ability, they were praying to God. 
Prayer connects you to the greatest person and the greatest power in the universe. The writer of Hebrews says,  "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
        The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God, and one of the greatest weapons we have is the weapon of prayer. But for prayer to be effective, you have to utilize it, and you have to do it even when you don’t feel like it, even when you don’t have ideal circumstances, even when you are under spiritual attack or oppression. When you fail to pray because you don’t feel like it, or because your circumstances are hard, you’ve just handed the enemy a victory in your life, because he has gotten you to disconnect from the Person and power that can rescue you from your prison. Give attention to prayer, especially when it is hardest to pray. 

2. Praise - v. 25b
Not only were they praying, but they were praising God. Through praise, we acknowledge the power of God. Praise focuses our attention away from our problems to God's sovereign power. It causes us to be reminded that God is on His throne and that He is in control. Through praise, we are enabled to surrender to His divine purpose and abandon ourselves to His sovereign will.
        Praise is also a declaration of faith by which we declare the greatness of our God. Charles Swindoll has said, "Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems."
       Through prayer we can tell our God how big our problem is; and through praise, we can tell our problems how big our God is. Through praise, I testify to my faith in an all-powerful God who is worth serving, despite the problems I face, because I know that His power is greater than any problem, and that His purpose for my life transcends any difficulty I might encounter. As Paul write in Romans 8:18: "Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later." (NLT) 

3. People - vs. 27-32
       Rather than thinking only of themselves, Paul and Silas concerned themselves with those around them who could be influenced by their testimony in their time of trouble. In this case, it was not only the other prisoners, but the jailer and his family.
      Notice how Paul and Silas were concerned for both the jailer's safety (vs. 26-27); but his salvation (vs. 28-32). In times of trouble, there are many who concern themselves with the safety of their fellow man. And, certainly, the Christian should be concerned for the physical well-being of others. But if that is the limit of our concern, we will have failed to effectively bear the witness that is needed. We must also be concerned about their salvation.
       Difficulties have a dramatic way of causing people to think about eternal things. As Christians, we also must be alert to matters of eternal significance and take advantage of every opportunity we have to urge others to make sure they are prepared for eternity; and to also testify to them about how a personal relationship with God can see you through daily difficulty and troubles in this world. We have a mission given to us by God, to get the gospel to the lost, and we need to be aware of that mission regardless of the circumstances. 

       In spiritual warfare, your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. I think there are two basic types of people in the world: complainers and praisers. Complainers can always find something to complain about. Praisers can always find a way to worship God regardless of circumstances. Worshiping is taking our eyes off of our external circumstances and focusing on God. We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or with our circumstances. We start focus on what’s right with God.
Worship is refocusing on the fact that two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. It’s refocusing on the fact that God loves me when I least expect it and least deserve it. It’s refocusing on the fact that God is going to get me where God wants me to go. It’s refocusing on the fact that I have eternity with God to look forward to in a place where there is no mourning or sorrow or pain. Worship releases the power of God in our lives and restores the joy of our salvation. 
Is it easy? Absolutely not. Nothing is more difficult than praising God when everything seems to be going wrong. But one of the purest form of worship is praising God even when you don’t feel like it because it shows God that your worship isn’t based on circumstances. Worship is based on the character of God.
        One of the best books ever written is Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken away from these prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. They even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119,104. Everything was taken away except one thing. Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
         I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make everyday is your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. The outcome of your life will be determined by your outlook on life. If you have a critical or complaining spirit you’ll complain till the day you die. Your life will get worse and worse because you’ll accumulate more and more negative experiences. But if you have a worshipful spirit life gets better and better. Why? Because you accumulate positive memories. At the end of the day, one way or the other, your focus determines your reality!
        Paul and Silas were in prison. Their bodies were chained. But you can’t chain the human spirit. That’s what Victor Frankl discovered in the concentration camp. That’s what Paul and Silas modeled over two thousand years ago. Their bodies were chained, but their spirits soared.   And when you worship God in the worst of Circumstances you never know what is going to happen. Worship sets the stage for miracles! Worship causes spiritual earthquakes that can change the topography of your life. It may or may not change your circumstances. But it will change your life.

Spiritual Warfare: Prison, Prayer and Praise (Pt 2)

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Acts 16:23-24 (ESV)

In my last post I began talking about spiritual warfare. Whenever we act in obedience to the Lord and pursue Him and His will for our lives, we are going to encounter opposition from the enemy. That truth is clearly seen in the account of Paul and Silas preaching in Philippi where they ended up in prison.

This is sometimes hard for us to get our mind around because we live in such prosperity gospel culture, but when you follow Christ, and when you live out the mission, you will experience opposition. It may be in the form of persecution by people, but more than likely the opposition we experience will be spiritual and circumstantial. What I mean by that is that the enemy will seek to use our circumstances to oppose us and hinder our ministry for the Lord.

From the story of Paul and Silas, we see some of the methods the enemy uses in his battle to hinder or stop our obedience to the Lord. In the last post I talked about the enemy's Intimidation - planting negative thoughts and self talk in our minds. Looking at the rest of the passage we see two other methods the enemy uses.

2. Incarceration (locking,binding)

v23 “they cast them into prison” Again, don’t think in terms if a physical prison; there are many other types of prisons we find ourselves in.

1. Some people are imprisoned by their past. Something has happened to you, or you’ve done something and that event has defined you. You may have committed a grievous sin, or you may have been in an abusive relationship, you may have endured a divorce, and the enemy is always reminding you of that event. In fact he is trying to define you by your past, he’s saying this isn’t just something you’ve done, or something that has been done to you, this is who you are and you will never be better than your past. You are imprisoned by your past.
2. Some are imprisoned by pain. You’ve experienced great emotional pain in your life, and you can’t seem to overcome it. The pain may come out of a broken relationship, or the loss of a significant person in your life. It may come out of a dream that has been shattered or never fulfilled. The hurt is real, but the enemy wants you to keep dwelling on the loss. He wants to keep the wound fresh, he wants you to dwell on the pain because it paralyzes you, it imprisons you and keeps you from living out the purpose for which you were created. He wants you to stay in a prison of pain.
3. Some are imprisoned by fear. It may be the fear of failure, you’ve attempted something in the past and it didn’t work out and now the enemy has convinced you that you can’t do anything. You’ve failed once, you will probably fail again so you just don’t try. It may be a fear of success, you’re afraid to succeed because then you think more will be expected of you, and you don’t want that pressure. You are afraid of expectations, so you just don’t have any or try to live up to any.

There are many prisons that the enemy tries to incarcerate us in to keep us from serving the Lord.

3.Isolation (separation)

v24 “the inner prison”  This may be the enemy’s greatest tactic. When he wants to hinder you from serving God and fulfilling the mission God has called you to, he seeks to isolate you from others in the body of Christ. The enemy is described as a roaring lion, and when lions hunt they isolate their prey from the rest of the pack and then devour them. And the devil works the same way - he gets you in a funk and gets you to withdraw from the body to isolate you.

In my nearly 30 years of ministry, one of the first indicators of spiritual attack and oppression on a Christian, is a regular absence in the weekly assembly. The thing is, God created us for community, He created it in such away that we can’t fulfill His purposes for our lives apart from the body of believers. God calls us to love Him and then love one another, we can’t do that apart from community. But the enemy wants to isolate us in order to have his way with us.

Intimidation, incarceration and isolation are tactics of the enemy that he uses to oppress us and hinder our ability to serve the Lord. He means to use these things for our harm; but God causes all things to work together for our good;even those things that don’t seem good at the time.What the enemy intends for harm, God can use for good. The enemy has Paul and Silas arrested and thrown in jail; he’s trying to stop them from sharing the gospel and seeing people saved, but did it work? No, because Paul and Silas didn’t respond the way normal people would respond. Normal, unsaved people would respond in anger, frustration, and pity. But the Bible says that at midnight Paul and Silas are praying and singing praises to the Lord.

Next time we will let’s look at what we can learn from Paul and Silas response to their prison situation. God's design is for Christians to bear testimony in troubled times to the difference God makes. And God uses our "tests" to allow us to present a "testimony." But how? Let's see what we can learn from the example of Paul and Silas. To bear testimony in troubled times . . .