Friday, December 24, 2010

True blessing

Do I see all that happens to me or that I suffer as God's design for blessing me?
When experiencing distress in any form or cause, the natural reaction is to find an escape from, or solution to this distress. Life becomes an endless pursuit of avoiding distress, whether it is emotional or physical. As it is impossible to avoid everything that will upset us or prevent all physical ups and downs, life becomes a frustrating struggle in which there are brief moments of "success" surrounded by situations in which we are unable to avoid distress. "Joy" in experienced when physical or emotional stress is avoided or resolved; God is praised for these "blessings".
But blessing does not come from a stress-free life. It comes from: 1)being poor in spirit; 2) mourning over sin; 3)being in submission to the Spirit's control (meek); 4) hungering and thirsting after righteousness; 5)being merciful; 6) purity of heart; 7)being a peacemaker; and 8) persecution for being righteousness. (Matthew 5:3-10)
How can poverty of spirit, mourning over sin bring blessing? Blessing would not be possible without them. Blessing comes from delight in, and fellowship with God. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8) If we are trusting in ourselves, and putting our confidence in what we do, then God isn't what we are delighting in or trusting; therefore, no blessing. If we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Him! Those who are poor in spirit are those who see the utter futility of their efforts to achieve peace, joy, contentment and satisfaction. They see that they are unable, God is able; that we are weak, He is strong; He never fails, but we do. The start to blessing is acknowledging our need of God and what He provides for us. Once this is done, acknowledging what offends Him and prevents fellowship(sin)and depending on Him for the forgiveness made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus. The more we know Him, the more we are offended by what offends Him,and mourn over our sin; as we agree with Him about our sin and the sin of others, we are blessed, for we honor Him.
Everything else described in v.5-10 of Matthew 5 are a result of abiding in Christ, having fellowship with the Father. When we are in fellowship with Him, we will hunger and thirst after righteousness; we will have mercy because of the great mercy shown to us; we will be pure in faith and in heart; we will bring peace and not strife, because we will bless and not curse when attacked (v.9, 44-45); the more we are like Christ, the more we will be persecuted (v.10-11), "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." (John 15;18)
To want to avoid that which is painful, uncomfortable, or inconvenient is understandable. Doesn't the absence of these things make life more enjoyable? On the surface, that is exactly what they may appear to do; but any "enjoyment" that is found this way is temporary and lasts only for a moment.
If however, we choose to abandon our way, our means, and our will for God's, and accept all emotional and physical distress as part of His design to bring true blessing into our lives, we will find that knowing Him is a blessing that far surpasses anything the we can achieve without Him.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Driving me crazy

Is there anyone else out there who finds themselves getting bent out of shape when behind the wheel of a car? I am amazed at just how quickly I lose patience and get frustrated with the way other people drive. To compound the problem, try driving when you are tired, hungry, and irritable. While for me it does not develop into "road rage", if anyone could hear the conversation I are having with people that cannot even hear me, they would think it ridiculous. Many times I have found myself saying a few choice words, and then are convicted straight away. I know that the way I am reacting is not honoring the Lord or being loving to others.
So I prayed about it. What God enable me to understand is that when you are emotionally and physically worn out, and when someone frustrates your method of driving (the way you want to do things),it will reveal whether at that moment you are walking by the Spirit or according to the flesh.
Our flesh does not make demands or complain as long as it is comfortable and things are going our way. But when it is not comfortable and is being inconvenienced, our natural response is to resolve it immediately. Whatever means we use to cope: whether it is food, TV, games, socializing (Facebook), etc. is sought. When we cannot get to or use our coping mechanism, that is when we will get angry and frustrated. Everything and everyone that is hindering us from coping becomes our enemy. Our flesh will irrationally accuse others of purposely going out of their way to make us miserable.
When we allow the frustration that we feel control our responses, this is walking according to the flesh. Walking according to the flesh will always result in interpersonal conflict, for it is placing our needs before the needs of others and seeing what they do as preventing our happiness. It is self-centered, self-destructive and will only result in misery. It is opposed to the will and way of God, who is love.
What to do then? How do we respond when other cars won't let you merge on, cut us off, go ten miles under the speed limit, etc.? As soon as there is an irritated or angry reaction, bring it to the Lord and let it go; accept the circumstances that He is allowing and thank Him for them! Praise and give thanks to Him for all things. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7, NKJV)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What is a call of God?

A call of God is an inward desire, compulsion or conviction that God gives us to do a work of ministry for Him. This work of ministry can be anything from teaching to hospitality to foreign missions; it can be for a particular people or place.

A call of God is not anything we can develop on our own. Neither can another person develop it in someone else. Only God calls; and when He calls us, He always makes it crystal clear what He wants us to do; He will provoke us until we do it! An example of this is the prophet Jeremiah, who was called of God to preach; he testifies in 20:9 of what happened when he tried to keep silent: "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."

If we are wondering if we are called for a particular task, people, place or ministry because we are feeling a response to an outward appeal, always bring this response to the Lord. If this is what He wants us to do, He will make the call certain; He will burden us to do it, and will bring other people to confirm it. If He has a different work in mind for us, uncertainty will remain. If there is no clear answer in the affirmative, then do not pursue it! Continue to seek His will and what particular work He has for you. He will always place a burden on our hearts, a desire to do what ministry He has for us to do.

Can we miss a call from God? Yes, if we are out of fellowship with Him (we are walking by the flesh and not the Spirit, that is, we are in sin) we will not be able to hear His call. "If I regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord will not hear." (Psalm 66:18)NKJV We can also hear it and choose not to obey it (which is sin and results in misery).

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Something to think about

The flesh (our human nature) cannot be reformed, "worked" with, "dealt" with, or
appeased without submitting to it. The only victory obtained in our struggle with
the flesh is to deny it and submit to God.