LIVING

A few years ago a friend of mine went through a very trying time for both his ministry and personal life.  What he went through was so rough that it shook his faith to the core.  I asked him just what it was that got him through those tough times and he said he “…lived every day in Psalm 91.”  When I asked him what he meant by “lived” he told me:

“I read it every morning and asked God to make it real to me.  I thought on it throughout each day and the Holy Spirit would bring a part of it to my mind that would show me how to respond to what was happening to me at that moment.  Personalizing verses, like verses 9 & 10, I would pray them out like this:  'Because I have made You (Heavenly Father) my place to live and take refuge in, You shall see that no evil comes upon me or any disease come into my home.'”

My friend also told me he went to sleep at night with peace knowing that God was making Psalm 91 a reality in his life, to be applied to each day’s struggles.  He truly lived in Psalm 91.

Jesus said in John 15:4, “Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me."  When we look up the word ‘abide’ we find it means to live and make a permanent home.  Observe a couple that have been married for a long time.  They have made a permanent home with each other for so long and have come to know each other so well they can finish each others sentences and confidently speak for the other about their likes and dislikes.  This is the kind of abiding Jesus longs to have with us.

He wants us to read His Word every morning, think on it throughout the day, allow His Holy Spirit to show us how to respond to what happens to us every moment, and make His Word a personal prayer.  "If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.” (John 14:23b)

He is waiting to abide, truly live, with you.  Why not join Him?

FROM GLORY TO GLORY

Let me share with you why I choose 2 Corinthians 3:18 for my blog page heading:

A caterpillar can be quite pretty or somewhat drab to look at but both have great potential.  The first part of their lives they just consume.  They come out of their eggs eating their way through life.  That is their nature, to eat, eat, and eat.  Then, in time, they move to the next stage of their life, they wrap themselves up in a cocoon and rest.  They have stored away enough energy from all their eating for the next stage of their journey.  While they are safely tucked away in their cocoon resting and using up that stored energy God changes them.  By the time their change is complete their cocoon has become fragile and, with great effort they are able to push through.  They emerge totally changed: morphed into a new form, not at all like they were before, butterflies.  It is sad that once butterflies emerge they only live for a very short time; but they sure are beautiful while they are here.

God created caterpillars to change, literally and physically change from one body to another.  This process is called metamorphosis.  It comes from the Greek word “metamorphoo”, which means to transform.

“But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we “earnestly and patiently await (the coming of) the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (as) savior, Who will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and be like the body of His glory and majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself.”  (Philippians 3:20-21)

The word “transfigured” in 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Philippians 3:21 is translated from the Greek word “metamorphoo”.  When we believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross and accept Him as our Master and Savior we start eating.   We are so excited in our new life in Christ that we go to Bible Studies and Church, gobbling up as much of the Word of God as we can.  Then when the newness of the experience starts to wear off we settle into a rest of walking in our new found life and mulling over what we have learned, digesting (as it were) our stored-up food.  As we rest in God and adsorb what we have learned from His word God changes us.  We then emerge from our cocoon of rest into the same world we left, but we are changed:  morphed into a form more like Jesus.  But unlike the butterfly we continue to change, ever increasing in likeness to Jesus.  Each time we learn and absorb something from His Word we continue to change from one glorious creation of God to another.  We become one glorious representation of Him to a greater glorious representation of Him.  But, unlike butterflies, we do not have short life spans.  We will live forever, from glory to glory.

THE NOISE OF OUR DAY

In this day and age we deal with an overwhelming amount of information.  Televisions, radio, computers, cell phones, i-pods, and many more sources bombard our minds with information. This is the noise of our day and age.

Many of us start our day with a clock radio, waking to the sounds of our favorite music.  We then turn on the television to watch/listen to the latest news on the news channel as we get ready for work.  A call on the cell phone interrupts us as we walk to the car and then after the call we tune into the local radio station and hear latest road reports to avoid traffic jams on our way to work.  When we enter the lobby at work we hear the morning bustle of people on their cell phones making their way to and from their offices.   Phones are ringing unanswered as the receptionists and a customer discuss directions to an office.  Even in the elevator there is no respite from noise as your mind is distracted with background music.  I could go on and on about how we do not have a respite from noise all day and really are not aware of it.  This is the noise of our day and age.

In the day and age of Elijah, he also dealt with noise (1 Kings 17-18.)  The noise started when King Ahab married Jezebel, a Sidonion who served Baal and worshiped him.  Ahab built a house (temple) and allowed her to set up Baal worship in Israel.  Jezebel also had many of the prophets of the Lord killed as she established more prophets and worship of Baal.  The land of the Israelites was full of the noise of Baal worship.  This was the noise of Elijah’s day-and-age.

Elijah brought all this noise to a climax when he commanded King Ahab to gather all Israel in one place and he challenged the prophets of Baal to prove their god was the only true god.  When all were gathered together he asked all the Israelites why they wavered between following the God of Elijah or Baal.  When he asked that, the whole crowed became silent.  That silence spoke volumes.

Then the noise started back in earnest.  He then challenged the prophets of Baal to set an altar and ask their god to light it with fire from heaven.  The prophets of Baal did that, and they spent the rest of the day calling out to Baal, asking him to light the fire.  They went so far as self mutilation to try to get their god’s attention.  Nothing worked.  Then Elijah set up his altar, put a bull on it and had it drenched with water.  He wanted to make sure all Israel KNEW Who was the One True God.  He then prayed one prayer and God sent fire from heaven that not only suddenly consumed the sacrifice and wood, but also the stones, dust and water.  Literally nothing was left.  The Israelites bowed and cried out that “The Lord, He is God!”  Elijah then commanded the Israelites to seize all the prophets of Baal and he took them all and killed them.

Immediately after this victory Elijah became afraid at Jezebel’s threat to kill him and ran away.  Why?  Did he forget how strong his God was?  He listened to the wrong voice, fear.  Even as he fled, God had a plan to restore him.  God ministered to him physically and prepared him for a long journey to Mt. Sinai.  He then took refuge in one of the caves there for the night.  The next morning God asked him what he was doing there and he responded about how the people of Israel broke all His commandments, killed His prophets and were trying to kill him too.  He did not admit to his fear, he blamed others.  God told him to go stand before Him up on the mountain.  Elijah did so, and there was a great noisy wind storm which tore up rocks, but Elijah did not hear God in the wind.  God was not in the wind.  Then a big rumbling earthquake came, but Elijah did not hear God in the earthquake.  God was not in the earthquake.  After that a roaring fire came, but Elijah did not hear God in the fire.  God was not in the fire.  Immediately after the destructive noise of these disasters there was a gentile whisper and Elijah did hear God’s voice in the whisper.  What did God say?  “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Elijah repeated the same thing he did before all those noisy disasters.  God then reassured him that he was not the only one in Israel who followed Him, but that He had preserved 7,000 people who had never bowed to Baal or kissed him.  He then commanded Elijah what to do next and Elijah went and did those things.

We can be overcome with the windy storms in our lives.  We do not hear God in the storms.  God is not in the storms.  There are circumstances happening around us that shake the very foundations we stand on.  We do not hear God in the shaking.  God is not in those shakings.  Great fires come and burn all round us, consuming things of this world we need or hold dear.  We still do not hear God in those fires.  God is not in the fire.  It is when we quit looking for God IN the midst of these circumstantial disasters and tune out their deafening roar that we hear that gentle whisper of our Savior.  He then can comfort us and direct us what to do.

Are you letting the noise of our day-and-age deafen you to that gentle quiet whisper of God?  Listen, His voice is there ready to comfort you and direct you.

DO YOU WANT TO LIVE A PEACEFUL LIFE?

FIRST OF all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way.  For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, - 1 Timothy 2

When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to Timothy, he wrote during a time when Nero, whom history reveals as a cruel emperor, was famous for his heavy persecution of Christians in Rome.  The believers were discouraged, tired and may have not understood why they should pray for such an evil ruler.  God knew why.  Such prayer unlocks the door to many breakthroughs and miracles.

OTHER THAN THE ABOVE VERSES, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS?

When the [uncompromisingly] righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked man rules, the people groan and sigh. – Proverbs 29:2

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.  – 2 Chronicles 7:14

WHAT SHOULD WE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS?

For our civil and political leaders pray...

• ·         That they will “be saved” and “come unto the knowledge of the truth.” -1 Timothy 2:4
• ·         That they acknowledge, honor, and praise God who is THE sovereign ruler. –Daniel 4:34
• ·         That they rule by example. -1 Peter 5:3
• ·         That they have and demonstrate the wisdom of God. –James 1:5
• ·         That they grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. -2 Peter 3:18
• ·         That they be filled with and walk in the Spirit of God. –Galatians 5:25

For our spiritual leaders pray the above mentioned things as well as:

• ·         That they have the freedom to boldly share the Word. –Ephesians 6:19
• ·         That they minister by the grace of God given to them. –Romans 12:6
• ·         That they shepherd the flock willingly and with a ready mind. -1 Peter 5:2
• ·         That they are diligent in the Word and properly interpret and apply it. 2 Timothy 2:15
• ·         That they rule their own house well. -1 Timothy 3:4-5
• ·         That they speak the Word with power. -1 Corinthians 2:4
• ·         That they will labor with other laborers in the Lord. -1 Corinthians 3:9-10
• ·         That God will richly prosper their work. -2 Corinthians 9:8
• ·         That they will fully know the love of Christ. –Ephesians 3:19
• ·         That they will preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. –Ephesians 3:8
• ·         That there will be a unity of the Spirit with those who share like callings (other elders, deacons, pastors.) Ephesians 4:3-6
• ·         That they will humbly submit themselves to God and resist the devil as directed by God. –James 4:7 & 1 Peter 5:9
• ·         That they will seek wise counsel. –Proverbs 24:6
• ·         That God’s will be done in their (and our) lives. –Matthew 6:9-13