It Will Make Sense Later On

"His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him."
John 12:16 (NKJV)

In John 12 we see Jesus talking with His disciples about things that they did not completely understand at the time.  During Jesus ministry on the earth, when He was arrested, crucified and buried, the disciples and other people around Jesus did not always understand was He was talking about or what was happening, but it all made sense later on.  We can see a parallel in our own life in how God guides us and directs us; everything God is telling us and everywhere He is leading us does not always make sense at the time, but it will later on.

So often we try to live our life based on what we know and we usually resist what we don't understand.  If we limit where God can direct us in our life based on what we know and understand we will miss some of what God is trying to work in us.  In my own life I can look back at several different situations that I thought were unnecessary and just a waste of time and effort.  But, as I continued in my walk with God I could look back and see exactly how these seemingly random things all fit into what God had planned for me and how God used them prepared me for my future.

We need to develop in our relationship with God to where we are obediently following His direction, no matter what He might lead us to do.  We need to learn to trust God and realize that what He is leading us to do today is preparing us for what we will face tomorrow.  Now I am not saying that God will bring tragedy or some dreadful disease into our life to teach us some mysterious lesson.  What I am saying is that God knows the best course for our life and He knows what lies ahead.  God is always at work in our life developing us and preparing us for the future.  If we trust God to guide us in the present then we will reap benefits now and especially in the future.

Run Your Race, With Endurance

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

When I was in high school I was on the track team.  Our school would compete against other schools in various events, including different running events, during regular track meets.  I usually ran the one and two mile races, but one time the coach had me run the quarter mile race.  Although I did not finish last in that race it was not my best race; I had a hard time running the right pace because I was used to running longer distances.  I was so used to running a certain way that when I had to change I struggled, this is similar to the kind of spiritual problem that a lot of Christians are having today.

Many people are so used to doing things at a fast pace that they have a hard time doing something that takes a longer amount of time.  This kind of thing is often seen around the New Year when people make all kinds of resolutions with good intentions and a lot of zeal.  However, after a month or two, and possibly even after only a few weeks, when things don't happen as fast as they had hoped people give up and don't pursue that resolution any more.  It is not that what they wanted to do was wrong but they expected something to happen quicker than it did, and that is where the problem is.

The Christian life is compared to a race, but it is more like a marathon than a 100 meter dash because our race for God happens over the course of our entire life.  In Hebrews 12:1 we are told to run our race with endurance; we have to be consistent and persistent with the right attitude, moving forward no matter how fast or slow things seem to go.  We keep on going, staying focused on what the Bible says about our life and knowing that God by the Holy Spirit will help us and direct us in the things we are doing.  That is how we run our race with endurance and finish the race with success!

Happy Holidays?

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

During this time of the year, around Christmas and the New Year, you will often hear people wish one another "Happy Holidays!"  The idea is that this should be a time of happiness and celebration, especially with family and friends.  Some people also travel somewhere to enjoy themselves and find time to relax.  But for others the holiday season is actually a time of sadness and depression because they are not able to be with family and friends, or they are unhappy because none of the hopes and dreams they had for the holiday season came to pass.

It is certainly good to be able to spend some time with family and friends as well as to get away from the usual routine.  The only problem is that no matter who you are with or where you go, the one constant is you!  Visiting with some people or doing something that will bring us some joy and satisfaction is nice, but no other person and no thing can really make us happy and satisfy us.  Too often people have been disappointed during a special time like Christmas because they are expecting someone to do something for them or for something to happen outside of themselves to make them happy.

If we look for some thing, some person, or some situation to bring us joy and happiness it will at best be short lived.  Christmas, a New Year with all of its hopes and dreams, or any other holiday or special time of year will never be as nice as it could be if we ourselves are not in the right frame of mind and living the right kind of life.  We need to put into practice the advice given to us by the writer of Hebrews, we need to have a life of contentment focusing on the fact that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us and that no matter where we go He will be there to help us and to take care of us.  Doing this will help us, and everyone around us, to have a satisfying life and a really happy holiday season.

Committed To The Course That God Has Given

"And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
Acts 20:22-24 (NKJV)

The Apostle Paul is a great example for us.  Paul was someone who persecuted the church before he became a person who built up the church.   Once Paul became a Christian he found God's plan for his life and he pursued it; Paul did not let anything stop him from doing what God wanted him to do.  Paul is not unique; God has a plan and a purpose for everyone's life.  Like Paul, we all need to be committed to doing God's will no matter what challenges we face.  Paul said he knew that difficulties were going to come to him but he was committed to fulfilling God's plan for his life. 

The biggest factor in determining whether or not we will fulfill the will of God for our life is with us. Just like Paul, we will all face challenges in life.  Following God's plan might not always be the easiest choice for us but it is always the best choice.  If we are committed to doing the will of God then nothing can stop us.  The devil will try many different ways to hinder us and get us off course.  If we get distracted or we stop and give up then we are defeated.  If we are determined to do the will of God no matter what then we will win!

God will speak to us through His Word and by the Holy Spirit to give us the direction we need for every area of our life.  Once we have the direction from God it is then up to us to follow through.  We can read in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 about all of the problems that Paul faced but he did not quit; Paul made the decision that he would follow God's plan no matter what.  What about us?  Do we know God's plan for our life?  Are we committed to fulfilling that plan no matter what?  We need to be like Paul and be committed to finishing the course that God has given to us.

Pull Out The Weeds Before Planting The Flowers

"Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant."
Jeremiah 1:9, 10 (NKJV)

One of the greatest challenges we will ever face is with our thoughts.  Many people have wrong thoughts and wrong beliefs based on those thoughts that are causing them to be ineffective in what they do.  For example, you may think that you are not able to succeed in life or you may think you are not the kind of person who can do anything great for God.  Thinking like this leads to wrong decisions and wrong actions, which will hold you back and hinder you from doing what you need to do.  To change our life we must change our thinking.

God told Jeremiah that He had put His Words in his mouth, this is a good thing for us as well; we need to say what God has said in His Word.  Next God told Jeremiah to root out, pull down, destroy, throw down, build, and plant.  Notice that God talked twice as much about getting rid of some things as He did about adding some things.  Sometimes we have to remove the wrong thoughts before we can build and plant the right thoughts.  It would be like pulling all the weeds out of your garden before planting the flowers.  To make room for one you have to get rid of the other.

What we think is based on the information we have received, the question is if the information is actually good.  Our beliefs, actions, and the words we speak are based on the things we think about.  If we find ourselves having the wrong kinds of thoughts then we need to remove those thoughts and replace them with thoughts that we find in the Bible.  We have the choice as to what we will think about, it is up to us.  We need to choose to think about the right kinds of things and weed out the wrong kinds of things; this will help us to live the kind of life that God wants us to live.

Walking In Love - Being Moved With Compassion

"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
Matthew 9:36-38 (NKJV)

Jesus is our example in every area of life.  It is good that we have a record of the life of Jesus and the things that He did so we can learn about how He lived and follow His example.  We can know what worked in the life of Jesus and in turn what will work for us.  Wherever Jesus went it seemed that people followed Him.  People came to hear Jesus teach, to get healed, and sometimes people probably just came to see Jesus because they were curious.  What is interesting for us to see is how Jesus acted with these people and how He reacted to them.

In Matthew 9 we see Jesus teaching, preaching, and healing.  After this Jesus saw a multitude of people around Him, there were a lot of people and Jesus noticed that these people needed some help.  How did Jesus react to this multitude and their situation?  Jesus did not just feel sorry for the people because they had problems, He looked for a way to meet the need.  Jesus had a reaction of compassion; He told His disciples that more workers were needed to help these people and to pray for more laborers.  How would we have reacted to this and how do we react to people and their needs today?

Jesus did not say, Oh I wish these people would leave me alone. I've been busy with all my work and now there's this whole crowd that needs help!  No, Jesus reacted with love and compassion realizing the need and seeking a way to meet the need.  We can have a similar reaction because we have God's love in us (Romans 5:5), we can be moved with compassion just like Jesus was.  Jesus did not just focus on what He wanted and what was best for Him, we too need to look past our own needs to the needs of others.  Start looking past the crowd and the problems and start looking at people with compassion and see how you can help to meet their need.  We have the love of God in us, we just need to let it motivate us to help others.

It Is Good To Give Thanks To God

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"
Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31 (NKJV)

If we hear something once it might or might not be important.  If we hear something repeated two or three times we usually take notice.  But, when we see something repeated four times it is obviously something we need to pay attention to.  In Psalm 107 this one statement about being thankful is repeated word for word four times, that is significant!  This Psalm is filled with reminders of good things that God has done and it repeats the idea that it would be right for people who have experienced God's goodness to give thanks to God for all of the wonderful things He has done.

A good example of this is seen in the story of Israel coming out of Egypt and traveling through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  When you read the story of this journey, instead of seeing Israel giving thanks to God as they should, you see them complaining about how bad the wilderness is and how wonderful it was back in Egypt (where they were slaves), how they wished they had better food to eat (even though God's provision literally came out of nowhere to feed them), and how every difficulty brought crying and complaining (even though time after time God delivered them).

It is easy for us to say, "Well, if I was in that situation I would be thankful".  But in reality we are often just like the people of Israel, instead of being thankful for what we do have we wish we had something even better.  Certainly there are times when things could be better than they are but we have the choice about what we will focus on.  We can be thankful for what we do have or we can complain about what we don't have.  If we take some time to really consider the good things that God has done in our life it will help us to be thankful.  Make the choice today to be thankful and focused on the good things you have received and not be a complainer about what you don't have.  It is good to give thanks to God!

Following The Direction Of The Holy Spirit

"Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."
Exodus 40:36-38 (NKJV)

In the Old Testament we find many great stories about God dealing with and helping His people.  There are many examples of spiritual truth in these stories.  One great example is how God led His people through the wilderness.  God brought them out of their bondage in Egypt to lead them into the place He had planned for them.  God did not just deliver them and then tell them to figure out how to get where they needed to go.  God gave Israel a means of continual guidance throughout their journeys, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.

The story of how Israel was led by the pillar of cloud and fire shows how God directed His people to know when to move and when not to move.  This is a problem for many Christians.  We sometimes think we need to constantly be in motion and moving forward by doing, doing, doing.  But there will be times that God leads us to a certain place spiritually or even geographically and we need to stay in this place for some time.  We may feel like the scenery, spiritually or geographically, is too boring but unless God is leading us on we should not go further.

Another good example of this is found in the life of Jesus, He only did what His Father directed Him to do (John 5:19).  Jesus was not just doing something to keep busy, Jesus was divinely directed by God in everything that He did and even didn't do; this is a good pattern for us to emulate.  Sometimes it is better for us to stay where we are, doing what we are doing, for a time.  If we are always in a rush to move on to the next thing to do we might miss something that God has for us right where we are!  We need to follow the direction that the Holy Spirit gives us for every area of our lives; when He wants us to move, we follow; when He wants us to stay where we, are we stay.

Your Real Life Is In Christ

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
Colossians 3:1-3 (NKJV)

There are a lot of things that we can use to identify ourselves.  Many people have a passport, a driver's license, an identity card, or something else that they can use to show who they are.  The same thing is true for us as Christians, we have something we can use to show who we are and to identify ourselves.  We are not just who we were born as naturally with the identity of a man or woman from some country with some ethnic background.  When we become born again we get a whole new identity and our new identity is found in Christ.

Some people base their identity on the family they come from, the color of their skin, their educational or economic standing, or some other external factor.  But, for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior we now have a new identity.  The Bible tells us in Colossians 3 that we need to have our attention focused on heavenly, spiritual realities because our life, who we really are, is hidden in Christ.  What is even better than this is that our new identity is described to us throughout the New Testament so we have an easy way to learn all about who we really are.

The Bible tells us that we are new creations in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).  No matter what you have done in the past, good or bad, you have a new start with God in Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that we are now the righteousness of God in Christ, we have the same right standing with God that Jesus does!  These are just a few of the things about who we really are in Christ.  We need to learn about our true identity from God's Word and know who we are in Christ.  Once we know who we really are it will change how we live and help us to change the world!

Prayer, It's Not Just For Emergencies

"Pray without ceasing"
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)

Prayer is a topic that is often misunderstood.  Some people think prayer is some mystical experience that can only be done by super spiritual people.  Others think that prayer is going to God and begging and pleading with Him to convince Him to do something.  Still other people think that prayer is nothing more than a desperate, last resort that is only used in great times of crisis.  But, none of these views are based on what the Bible says about prayer.  Prayer is simply communication with God and it can be done by anyone, anytime, anywhere.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul encouraged believers to pray without ceasing.  Did Paul mean that all Christians should be talking to God nonstop?  This is obviously not correct.  So what did Paul mean when he talked about praying without ceasing?  What else does the Bible say about this?  In Luke 18:1 Jesus talked about people always praying and not giving up or fainting.  In Romans 12:12 Paul told the believers to continue to persevere in prayer.  All three of these verses show us that prayer is something we need to do on a regular, persistent basis and we need to be ready to pray at all times.

Prayer should not be a difficult and strenuous activity that wears us down.  Prayer is communicating with God and it should be done on a regular basis and not just in an emergency.  Our foundation for prayer is what God has already said in His Word and as we pray we take our place as a child of our loving Heavenly Father to fellowship with Him and do business with Him, to bring our requests to Him and to receive His wisdom. We all need to have a lifestyle of prayer where we bring our problems to God but where we also come to worship God and to spend time with Him and to allow Him to speak to us.

Reminding Yourself To Remember

"Beloved, I now write to you in this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,"
2 Peter 3:1, 2 (NKJV)

Most people today lead very busy lives and because of that it can be easy to lose track of and forget things.  There are many ways you can remind yourself about appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates and events.  There are apps for smart phones that can remind you, reminders in your calendar, and other things you can do to remember what is really important.  What is true for our "natural" side of life is also true for our "spiritual" side of life, we need to be sure that we remember what is important and to do that we have to remind ourselves about those things.

The apostle Peter wrote two letters to believers and in chapter three of his second letter Peter mentions something very significant.  Peter said in both letters that he wanted to remind the people he wrote to about something that was very important.  Peter wanted to remind them to remember the things written in God's Word.  Peter said he wanted to stir up the minds of the believers to be sure that they would not forget what is really important, God's Word.  We too need to keep ourselves stirred up and remember what God's Word has to say about us and our lives.

In Hebrews 2:1 we are told to pay attention to what we have heard so that we don't just let it slip away from us.  It is easy to get so caught up in the busyness of life that we fail to keep our attention on what is really important and where our real source of strength and help comes from.  God has given us His Word to show us who He is and how He looks at us.  God's Word shows us what Jesus has provided for us and who we are in Christ.  We all need to be sure to have a regular time with God and His Word to keep ourselves reminded about all that God has done for us and revealed to us.

The Best Bible Teacher Of All

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
John 14:26 (NKJV)

Most Christians have a favorite Bible teacher.  It may be their pastor, a home group leader, a teacher in a Bible school, or some minister they have heard somewhere in person or on television.  But no matter who it is, it seems we all have a teacher that we always enjoy listening to and we always seem to learn something great from them.  We read in Ephesians 4:11 that the teacher is one of the gifts that Jesus gave to the Church, so teachers must be important.  In churches and Bible schools there are many great teachers today but we must realize that the best Bible teacher of all is the Holy Spirit.

While we may enjoy the speaking style some person has or the way they relate their topic to an everyday life situation, if we are learning something about the Bible while listening to our favorite teacher we need to understand that it is really the greatest teacher of all, the Holy Spirit, who is revealing the truth to us.  If we look to the Holy Spirit, the best Bible teacher of all, and not just to the person we may be listening to, we will receive the truth we need when we need it.  If we just get focused on the person that is speaking and we don't realize that the person is only a channel and a vessel that the Holy Spirit works through we may miss something.

Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit to us and that the Holy Spirit would help us by teaching us all things.  This is so wonderful because the Holy Spirit lives in us and He knows exactly how to teach us and reveal God's Word to us to answer the questions that we have and to help us deal with the situations we face in life.  We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us through the Word of God and expect Him to speak to us through the man or woman of God we are hearing in our church, home group, or wherever.  The Holy Spirit is the best Bible teacher of all and He will teach us what we need to know when we need to know it, and He can use a variety of people to do it.

Our Greatest Source Of Problems

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)

Everyone will have some problems sometime in their life.  Some people seem to have more problems than others and some people have problems that they never seem to be able to fix.  While there can be many reasons that there are problems in our life, one of the biggest reasons we have problems is often overlooked.  Many times the greatest source of the problems in our life is us; if we want to know who to blame for our troubles we often just need to look in the mirror!  There are times we are in difficult situations simply because we are reaping the results of the things we have sown.

When we have problems we want to point a finger at other people, our circumstances, or even the devil; we want to blame someone for what is happening but we don't realize that sometimes we just need to be honest and blame ourselves for our problems.  We make a poor choice that results in something bad happening, or we get involved with a person who is not so right with God and trouble develops.  It can be true that other people, our circumstances, and even the devil can be a source of trouble but sometimes we will just have to admit that we may be the greatest source of our own problems.

While we can be the greatest source of problems in our own life we can also do something about our problems.  We need to use wisdom and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in every area of our life, everyday.  We must make it a habit to spend regular time with God in His Word and in prayer to know His plan and direction for our life and then follow it.  But even if we have caused our own problems, when we go to God He will be there to help us and guide out of the mess we have created and bring us back to the place He wants us to be.  There will always be problems and difficulties in life but by doing the right things we can chart a course that will avoid some of major problems that many people face in life. 

The Company You Keep Is Important

"After they were permitted to go, the apostles returned to their own company and told all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. And when they heard it, lifted their voices together with one united mind to God and said, O Sovereign Lord, You are He Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them,"
Acts 4:23, 24 (Amplified)

There is a story in Acts 4 that tells about the apostles getting into trouble with the religious leaders in Jerusalem for preaching the Gospel message.  The religious leaders told them not to preach in the Name of Jesus anymore and they even threatened the apostles before they let them go.  What is interesting is what happened next, the apostles went back to the group of believers that they were already a part of; the apostles had their own group of people that they could go to for help in their time of trouble.

Who do we turn to for support when we face a difficult situation?  Who is it that we can rely on for help and wise counsel when there is a problem in our life?  The answer to these questions will go a long way to determining what the outcome of our situation will be.  If we have built good relationships with the right kind of people then we too will have our own godly group of people to support us and help us in our time of trouble.  If we do not have good relationships with people who can help us, the people we do turn to may only be contributing to our downfall.

Everyone has relationships with people like their neighbors, co-workers, or even family members who may not always be as helpful and supportive as they could or should be.  But, it is who we choose to build relationships with that is important.  We need relationships with people who will build us up and not tear us down when problems come, people like the apostles own group who turned to God for the answer and did not just focus on the problem.  If we look around and see that we don't have these kinds of friends then it is time to build some new relationships; we need to seek out good, godly people and build relationships with them.  The apostles in the Book of Acts had these kinds of friends, what about us?

Stay In The Word And You Will Know The Word

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31, 32 (NKJV)

Our society today is all about everything happening quickly.  There are fast food restaurants that even have drive through windows, we have microwave ovens that heat and reheat food in minutes, and there are shortcuts and tips and tricks for computers and computer programs.  So much of what we have in life is designed to get things done as fast as possible to minimize the amount of time we have to wait to move on to something else.  This is all well and good but when we carry this same mentality over to God, His Word, and spiritual things we can get into trouble.

We often want to run to God's Word in a hurry and find just the right verse we need to apply to our situation and find a quick solution to the problem at hand and then go off to the next task.  But, in John 8 we see a different mentality.  Jesus said that if we truly want to be disciple, to be a follower of Jesus, we have to stay in the Word and this will allow us to know the Word.  Jesus did not say to take a quick glance at the Word or just to give attention to God's Word once and a while; the idea Jesus gave was that we would spend a significant amount of time with His Word.

Jesus said in John 8 that we need to "abide" in His Word, Colossians 3:16 says that we need to let God's Word dwell in us richly, James 1:25 tells us to keep looking into the perfect law of liberty, God's Word, and to then be a doer of it.  Many people have not taken the time necessary to really know God's Word and as a result it is not a reality in their life and the Word produces no fruit in their life.  We need to spend time reading and studying God's Word on a regular and continual basis and then apply it to our life.  By doing this we will know the Word and experience its powerful working in our life.