The Death Rate is Still One Per Person

Scripture:
Psalm 49:7 – 17
No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him- the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough- that he should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. (NIV)
Observation:
No man can save a life forever. While heroes, surgeons, paramedics may be able to rescue and save a life for the moment, no one has the payment to save a life eternal. While some may have the riches that seem almost to defy death – riches that will preserve their life forever – no one can purchase eternal life. Even when people are drawn to leave legacies of their name upon land and structures – man does not endure. Our lives and possessions will pass away – but God alone has the power to redeem us.  
Application:
The death rate is still one person! No matter what opulence someone may live in, death is the great equalizer. While mansions and large estates surround our county and our state, there are also hospitals, mortuaries and cemeteries to remind us of our fate. The Psalmist is not in awe of what people possess for he knows what he possesses is far more valuable. He possesses the assurance of eternal life. Though the rich man cannot take his riches with him, the psalmist can take his eternal life with him because God alone has the power to redeem. Our focus should not be on the Trump towers, the wealthy and the famous. Our focus should be on the Lord and His riches for He has the power to even “trump” death itself. In the moments we get enamored with possessions, may we quickly move to the greatest possession of all: The Lord’s ability to have paid the price for us, a costly price, with His life.  
Prayer:
Lord, help me to never stand in awe of others, but to stand in awe of you. Help me to remember, as I get older each day, that you will redeem me and I will live with you forever. May it be so, Oh Lord, Amen.

Following the Lord

Scripture: Mark 8:34&35 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Observation: If you really want true joy in life it comes from following the Lord. You must give up your worldly ways and thinking to experience a rewarding life.

Application: To stay focused on the Lord and try each day to be more like him. To listen to him and his will for my life.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me letting me be your child. Give me strength Lord to do things i could not do without you. Help me to live each day for you and bring others to know your Joy!

God is offering so much – but we must possess it.

Scripture:

Joshua 18: 1 – 7

Division of the Rest of the Land

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.  So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God.  The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. (NIV)

Observation:
God have given the country to the control of Israel and yet there were still seven tribes who had not possessed what God had provided. So, Joshua rises up as the leader he is with the capacity to set forth a plan. He appoints three men from each tribe (Doing Tribe as a Team) and sends them forth to make assessment of the land so that it might be divided up fairly. The key in this section is also the truth of the Levites – their service of the Lord is a great value, even more valuable than the possessions of land.

Application:
The question comes from Joshua and could easily come to us as well: “How long will you wait before…?”  It is a statement that breaks through any of our walls of procrastinations. It cuts through the excuses we venture to put up when God and right choices, direction, desire confronts us. What must we do to move forward? What must we do to not put off until tomorrow what we can do today?
For me:

·        Taking better care of myself.

·        Not allowing the demands of my life to become so large I have little time for laughter and joy and recreation. (just to name two)

You should make a list also.

But we must also consider the things the Lord has promised us, forgiveness, power, the Holy Spirit, the blessing of His word and the honor to serve. As we closed our four Easter services, I challenged each person to find places to serve. Serving at LFC, or at a school, in our community, but to consider Easter as a time to remind us of the servanthood of Jesus Christ and to go and do as He did – serve. 

Another application in this passage is to value and follow God’s prescriptions for our lives - to trust Him and go His way. To realize He has placed people in authority to lead and guide us, even in our church. My role, that of our staff, our team leaders and others, that God has placed in position to assess, to report and to guide. We must support those who lead us.

Prayer:

Father, help us to follow you – help all of us to not procrastinate from your blessings and to not miss out on the inheritance you have for us. Let us see places where you may call us to lead others, and also places where we may need to bolster our support for those who lead us. Help us to wait on you and once we know what to do, not to wait but move for you and to where you would have us.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Leaders Need God to Lead Them

Scripture:
Joshua 9: 14 & 15
The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Observation:
With all that is going on in today’s reading (Good Friday) one phrase stands out in my mind. It literally leaps off the page at me - “but did not inquire of the Lord.” It is clear from the decpeption that takes place by the Gibeonites that Joshua (the leader) and those leading with him, missed a critical piece in their planning. They forgot to seek the leader of them - God. So without God’s wisdom, they make a treaty of peace with the Gibeonites and notice, the “leaders of the assembly” ratified it by an oath. There oath was promised to the Lord, even though they never sought out His guidance and wisdom on the matter.

Application:
How often do I, as a leader, lead and move forward without seeking the leader of my life - God? How often do you do the same thing? We beleive we can handle life, move forward, get things done. We believe we are a good judge of character, possess grand amounts of discernment and can navigate without the greatest leader - God. This God is available to us. James 1:5; “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” We must be ready to ask, eager to listen and learn and not miss oportunities to inquire of the Lord.

Prayer:
Dear God , help me to never forget my need of you. To quickly inquire of you on all issues and then to trust in your will and your ways. Give me the wisdom to know I need you in every situation. Thank you for your desire to lead me and guide me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Where am I going?

Scripture:

Joshua 3

2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards ^[a] between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

Observation:

Here the Israelites were heading out under the new leadership of Joshua into the promised land. This was it! God was going to take them to that amazing place he had set aside just for them! In order for this to happen, the Israelites had to follow and obey God to get there because they had “never been this way before.” (v. 4). While doing this, they also needed to maintain that reverance for the presence and power of God (”But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.”)

 Application:

Something I have heard asked and pondered by people many times (including myself) is “What does God have for me?” or “What is God’s plan for my life?” As we wonder this and pray about it, we are often expecting the answer to just fall in our laps or to suddenly appear in a concise letter in our email inboxes. But here, we see God telling the Israelites to set their eyes on the presence of God and to move out from their positions…not knowing the WAY and to remain in an attitude of worship and reverance toward God along the way. I know I get frustrated sometimes feeling “blind” to what God’s next step is for me, but it’s clear that if I just focus on God (and not myself), that He will take me there. He will take YOU there. It all happens when we focus on His presence and not our own. When we obey, worship and seek growth through perseverance…then God will take us through and into the plans He has for our lives. It will all fall together when we do just that.

Prayer:

Father God, you are so amazing and I thank you for the plans you have for my life –plans for tomorrow and for today. Help me to not long for them to become MY plans, but to walk in them as YOUR plans — for YOUR Glory. Help me to persevere through trials, through those times where it is hard to see how You are moving with an attitude of reverance and praise, knowing that you will guide me. ~Amen

Remaining as the Student – Possessing a Teachable Heart

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 32: 1 - 7

Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!  He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.  A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.  They have acted corruptly toward him; to their shame they are no longer his children,
but a warped and crooked generation. Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?  Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (NIV)

Observation:
God’s way is perfect and His life is stable like a Rock. Rock is more than a name, it denotes the character of God Himself. He is faithful in all He does and never has been or will be wrong. He is the master teacher and life goes best when we follow Him. In this Psalm we see how easy it is to disregard His teachings and believe we know best. We can follow the “warped and crooked generation” and move away from wisdom and become foolish. It is easy to do. But it is up to us to keep an open, teachable heart and always be a student.

Application:
Whenever we loose our way, we must take a look at God once again. Not only is He a Rock, but He is also a Father and desires us to be His children. Children He can teach and train in His ways. He is the Creator and desires that we remember He formed us and that we are the creature. This passage calls us to remember the days of old – to consider what God has done in generations before us. We are not the only ones who have ever been or ever will be. We need to seek out those who have gone before us, both biblical (historical) and those in our lives (present). We need to learn from these “divine mentors” God has placed in our lives and allowed their stories through the bible to be told and retold to us. Others have walked where we are about to walk. The problem is not that the truth is hard to uncover or that there is a lack of wise guidance. The problem is that we are not always willing to be students, and learn from others. We are not always willing to be life-long learners.

• Where can I learn today from someone else?
• Where have I forgotten the “rockness” or my God?
• Where have I ceased learning and growing?
• Who can I ask to show me the terrain up ahead, since they have already walked it?

Prayer:
Dear Lord, show me the areas that I am not seeking wisdom and truth. Reveal the areas in which I am allowing the warped and crooked to have place in my mind and heart. Give me the courage to run to you and seek your face and your truth. I will grow Lord and I will remain and learner in all things.  In Jesus Name, Amen

Walking in the Spirit

Scripture: 

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16 TNIV)

Obsveration:

This scripture is pretty clear. We are called to walk (an action!) by the Spirit of God that was put in us when we said Yes to Jesus. If we walk in that Spirit then we will not give in to our old nature that wants to sin.

Application:

I can choose with every decision if I will walk in my old man or walk in the Spirit. My ability to make that choice seems to be influenced by other choices I have made that day. Did I read my Bible? Pray? Journal? When I am making the first choice to develop my relationship with God through spiritual disciplines (and it’s no coincidence that discipline looks like disciple) then I am more likely to choose to walk in the spirit when an opportunity to sin occurs.

Prayer:

Lord, today help me to walk in your Spirit. Help me to make right choices so that I will honor Your name in all I do. Amen.

Freedom - I am Known

Scripture:
Gal . 4: 8 & 9

 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

Observation:
Paul reminds the Galatians  (and us), that they (and we) are not slaves to their (and our) past. God desires that we be free and a major portion of the book of Galatians is Paul telling the Galatians to trust in the freedom of God. Galatians 5:1; “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”  Galatians 4:4 says that “at the right time God sent His Son… that we might receive the full rights of sons… We are heirs to a future and the past is behind us!”

Application:
We are known by God and He knows our past, our present, and our future! Nothing goes without His notice. He even knows what we carry today that came from our past and should have been left behind. But, at the right time He provides us with whatever we need, so that we can move forward in freedom. He provides, His forgiveness, love, grace and His parenting.  He does this because, I am an heir and He is my Father. Focus ahead and don’t look back!

Prayer:
Dear God, I am thankful that I am known by you… every part of me and yet you call me daughter. Continue to make my focus you! Thank you that you are my Father.  Amen.

Worshipping Other Gods or Diluting Your Worship of the True God.

Make it glorious - Make it wonderful
Make it excellent - The praises of our King
Make it glorious - Make it wonderful, The praises of our King
Make it passionate - Given from our hearts, Sing praises to our King
Make it excellent - Make it beautiful, The praises of our King 
Let Him hear how much, we really thank Him, Sing praises to our King,
Shout with joy, To our God, All the earth, Give glory to His Name,
He deserves nothing less,  Than our hearts and souls, Our very best. 
Make it Glorious, Tommy Walker  

 

Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 6: 21 & 22 ; Deuteronomy 17:1
Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates. Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.  

Observations:  
God wants to be worshipped and not along with others but exclusively.  We know God is a jealous God and as Isaiah prophesied:“I am the Lord; that is My name!  I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42: Now while we may not blatantly worship other Gods we can, if not careful, place other things as our focus either in front of Him or right next to Him. Moses and the Israelites lived in a polytheistic world, a world where most cultures believed in many gods. They looked at the powers of nature and attributed individual powers to individual gods, such as storm gods, sun gods, earth gods, crop gods, etc. The truth about the one God was known in their hearts, but that truth was pushed aside because of selfishness and sin. (Romans 1:20) The truth is, the sinful heart does not want to bow to the one, true God. The selfish heart has other focuses and plans rather than God and His ways. The Israelites had left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan. God warned the Israelites about Canaan. He warned them about the competition they would find there for the loyalty of their hearts. Deuteronomy 11:16: “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”  

Application:“Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar for the Lord.”  Don’t let anything else take up space that is reserved for God. Some of the enticement is the allure of other Gods but quite often it is the allure of other things. It is getting caught up in things that may even be connected to God – like being busy working or serving in ministry while missing the one we are called to minister to. Like being so busy in life you forget the giver of life. It is also possible (Deut. 17:10) to give God our left-overs or residue religion, yet this is not what He desires. Some may feel God wants our best because He feels He deserves our best. While this is true, God wants our best, not only for what it provides Him but all the more for what it builds in us. You see when we give God our sacrifices, our time, talents and treasures and not try to skimp or bargain with Him on it, we build some great things in our lives. As we give God our best, He is praised. It is like an accomplished piano player who is able of playing a piece of music with great expertise and choosing to play with only one hand (not both) and only ½ the song. When the conclusion to their piece comes and they stand for applause there will most certainly be disappointment in the hearts of the audience. God is disappointed when I have more to give Him and withhold it – God is disappointed when other things crowd out His will and purpose for my life. God is disappointed when I don’t give Him my best so that He might release His best into my heart. Putting God first builds huge capacity for His blessings and character to become a part of the fabric of my life.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, Help me to order my time and my days with you first in all things and as the key to my life. Let me give you my first and best rather than what is leftover. You deserve my very best. In Jesus Name, Amen.    

Remember the poor.

Scripture:

6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, ^[a] just as Peter had been to the Jews. ^[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas ^[c] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.  (Galatians 2)

Observation:

Throughout the Bible you see that God has huge compassion for the poor and downtrodden. Here we see that the early Church as led by Peter still had this heart when they sent Paul out to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. They approved of Paul going to everyone with the Gospel, but wanted to be sure that the poor everywhere did not get forgotten.

Application:

How can I remember the poor in what I do today? There are poor everywhere and it is easy to be overwhelmed by it and end up doing nothing. I think that the heart of Jesus when He walked the earth was to simply do what he could and help one person at a time. When God puts a under-resourced person in front of me, I just need to have the heart to be Jesus to them in whatever way I can. Even Peter when confronted by a beggar in Acts did not have any money. What he did have, however, was the compassion of Jesus that led him to minister to him in a way that honored God and healed the broken mans body.

Prayer:

God help me to remember the poor around me and in the world today. But Lord help me to not just remember them, but to love them just like You love me. Amen.