No Pressure

"And I have led you forty years in the wilderness.  Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet."
Deuteronomy 29:5 (NKJV)

Have you ever felt under pressure in a situation where it seemed like if you did not do everything right there would big problems?  There are some legitimate pressure situations that people do have to deal with, like a doctor performing surgery, a pilot flying an airplane, or someone operating a sensitive piece of equipment.  Most of the time, however, people are not in real pressure situations like this but they do feel like they are under pressure.  The reason we sometimes feel like this is because we believe that the outcome of our situation is depending completely on us and if we make a mistake we will end up with a disaster.

There are times in life where we do have to use some skill and ability to get a certain thing done, but generally speaking we often only feel pressured because we place too much emphasis on what we do and our own efforts.  We can have the same attitude in our relationship with God where we think everything depends on us and we forget how much God loves us and what Jesus has done for us.  The story of Israel in the wilderness is good to remember because even when they had done wrong God still took care of them.  They missed God's best and did suffer through some negative consequences, but God still found a way to work in their lives and help them.

God is so loving, gracious, and merciful that He did all He could to help Israel in spite of their failures and shortcomings.  This is not to say that it does not matter how we live or that disobeying God is alright, but too often we feel pressured in a situation because we think if we fail God will forsake us and we will be doomed.  Yes, we should live according to God's Word but we should also learn to rely on our wonderful Heavenly Father to be there to help us in every situation.  Next time you feel under pressure to perform in life remember everything that God has done through Jesus and realize that the pressure is off of us and good things are ahead!

Building Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Some things can take longer to build than others and this can depend on a number of factors.  One thing that determines how long it will take to build something is the quality of what is being built.  You can build something very quickly, but most of the time those things do not have a very high quality to them.  It may take longer to build something the right way but it is always better to build something the best way possible so that it will stand the test of time and not be something that falls apart quickly.  In the same way, trust is not something that is normally built quickly but something that develops over time.

To trust someone means that you know them; the better you know someone the greater your trust can be.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says that we should trust in the Lord with all of our heart and acknowledge Him in all of our ways.  It can be easy to trust in the Lord a little bit and to trust in ourselves a lot and to acknowledge God in some ways but not in others.  In our walk with God it may seem that our level of trust in Him is very high, but when difficulties arise then we come to find out that we don't really trust in God and acknowledge Him as much as we thought we did.  The solution to this is to get to know God better through His Word and by spending time with Him in prayer.

It is one thing to know that the Bible says God does not lie (Hebrew 6:18), He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and He will supply everything we need (Philippians 4:19), but it is another thing to completely trust Him about these things.  To develop our trust in God we need to be in an intimate relationship with Him.  Then, no matter what happens in our life, we are confident that God will do exactly what He has already said because we completely trust Him.  Wherever you are in your walk with God take it to another level and learn to trust Him more than ever before.  Trusting in God and acknowledging Him in every area of our life is the best way to live!

Inspiration Or Perspiration?

"And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."
Exodus 14:15-16 (NKJV)

Balance is very important.  If you lose your balance you might fall and get hurt.  If you are setting up stereo speaking you need to put them in the right place to balance the sound.  In religious circles there has been a debate for many years about the sovereignty of God and the will of man.  Some believe that because God is all powerful He can and will do whatever He wants to do, no matter what people might think or want to do for themselves.  Other people believe that while God is all powerful it is up to us who believe in God to act on His Word in faith and if we don't then God will not do anything. This is how things often are, there are two extremes and in the middle is where you find the truth.

Everything is not just up to God, inspiration, and everything is not just left to the work of man, perspiration; there is a part God plays and a part we must play.  While God is all powerful there are still some things that He wants us to do.  We repeatedly see situations in the Bible like what happened with Moses by the Red Sea, God had already given Moses something to use in the situation.  Moses had to stretch out the rod believing that God would do His part, but if Moses had never acted then God would have had nothing to work with.  The rod that Moses had was not some magic wand but it was symbolic of the power of God that would and had worked in the life of Moses.

Another example is in John 9 where Jesus put clay on the eyes of the blind man.  Jesus then told the man to go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the clay.  When the man did so he could see.  But what if Moses had not stretched out his rod, or the blind man had not gone to the pool?  Then neither one would have received what God intended.   In every situation God is ready to act but we must realize that it is not all up to the inspiration of God or the perspiration of man.  God's power alone or our work alone will not bring the right results, we must find our part and act on God's Word to receive the results we desire.

Deposits And Withdrawals

"Then He said to them, Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and things old."
Matthew 13:52 (NKJV)

There are many different banks and all of them have some unique characteristics and rules.  But, there is one rule that all banks have in common; if you want to withdraw money from an account you have to have money in the account.  That sounds pretty simple but people have been known to try and get more money out of their bank account than what they have in the account.  It is nice to be able to withdraw a lot of money from your account or to use your bank card for a purchase, but all of that is based on the idea that you have made some deposits in your account to cover the withdrawals.

In Matthew 13 Jesus compared a scribe to a householder.  Someone who owns a house would normally have some things in their house that they could bring out whenever they chose to do so.  Jesus said that a scribe, a person who spent their time studying the scriptures, who was taught about the things of the kingdom of heaven would also have some things that they could bring out.  In both cases, for a scribe or householder to bring something out of what they have, they first have to have it.  You can't give someone something you don't have and you can't bring something out that you have not first put in.

God's Word is filled with many wonderful things that will help us and other people, so we need to learn about everything that is in the Word.  As we spend time reading and studying God's Word we will make deposits into our heart that God can then bring out to help us and others.  But to bring out the truth we first have to know that truth.  John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit will remind us of what Jesus has said, but to remember something means that you have already learned it.  By having some regular time of depositing God's Word into our life we will be ready for God to work in us and also through us to help others.

Don't Know? Don't Go!

"Then Jesus answered and said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner."
John 5:19 (NKJV)

Have you ever been driving in some unfamiliar area and you come to an intersection where you are not sure which direction to turn? If the direction you need to go is not clear, then you should check which way to go before proceeding further.  But what if you just decided to keep driving anyway?  What if you thought that going some direction is better than doing nothing?  What if you had the idea that if you start driving fast in one direction you would at least accomplish something rather than taking the time to sit there and check the directions?  Most likely if you just start driving without any idea of where you are going you will get lost.

Jesus is our great example and there are many, many things we can learn from Him.  One very important thing we can learn from Jesus is about what to do in every situation.  While the Bible does not give us a detailed list of every action we need to take in life we do know that the Holy Spirit will help to lead and direct us (Romans 8:14).  Jesus said in John 5:19 that He only did what He saw the Heavenly Father do.  We also read that Jesus did the will of His Father (John 5:30; 6:38), Jesus only said what His Father told Him to say (John 8:28), and Jesus only did things that pleased His Father (John 8:29).

Jesus was successful in everything He did because He only did what He knew God wanted Him to do.  Too many Christians do things just because they think it is a good thing, but it is not the thing that God wants them to do.  So many believers act before they really know if what they are doing is the right thing for them to do or not, this happens sometimes because people feel pressured and think they have to do something.  We need to follow God's direction in His Word and by the Holy Spirit to know what is right to do in every situation.   If we don't know what to do then we need to find out, but if we don't know, we don't go.

A Lifestyle Of Faith

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

Every person has some kind of lifestyle.  Our lifestyle is our unique way of living; it is how we do things.  How we live is often a result of how we were raised, where we live, and the values we consider important.  We of course all like to have a type of lifestyle that we enjoy and one that fits with how we believe life should be.  No one would normally choose a lifestyle that would lead them into problems.  If there were bad things coming into our life as a result of our lifestyle choices, then any wise person would make the necessary changes.

There is a certain type of lifestyle that God has planned for His children, it is a lifestyle of faith.  In 2 Corinthians 5:7 it says that we walk by faith.  The word "walk" here is really referring to a way of life and not just an occasional stroll somewhere.  The way a Christian is supposed to live is by faith and nothing else.  Faith is based on what God has said and a lifestyle of faith means that no matter what happens our life is based on and governed by what God has said in His Word.  What we do and what we say must be founded on God's Word, this is what it means to walk by faith.

It is very easy to live a life based on what we see, hear, feel, and think; but this is not a lifestyle of walking by faith.  Too many people are mainly focused on what their circumstances and senses tell them and not on God's Word.  We must follow the guidelines God that has given us for every area of our life and Hebrews 11:6 even says that without faith, without a life lived by faith, it is impossible to please God.  God has given us His Word but it will not produce the desired results in our life if we do not act on it.  The lifestyle of faith is the best way to live, it is the way that God has designed us to live.

Have You Graduated Yet?

"that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ -"
Ephesians 4:14-15 (NKJV)

Every school year there are graduations.  Graduation is not really an end but a time of transition.  For example, those who are graduating from a high school are transiting into college or university, some trade school, or into the work world.  Those people graduating from college, university, or some other school are transiting into a time when they will put all of the things they have learned to use.  To have a graduation, or a transition, means that there has been some development.  Without learning, growth, and development a person will have no transition or graduation but they may have to do more courses or go back to redo the school.

Spiritually we are in a continual state of learning, growth, development, and even graduating from one level of spiritual maturity to another.  The Bible talks a lot about spiritual growth and development.  In Ephesians 4, and in other places, Paul talked about believers growing up and doing their part in the plan of God.  Paul said in Ephesians 4 that we need to stop being children who are so easily swayed and grow up in all things.  We need to know who we are in Christ and take our place in the Body of Christ so that we are able to do our part and contribute to God's work in the earth.

As Christians we should be growing from one level of spiritual development into another.  But for us to graduate and move into another level of spiritual maturity we need to learn and grow.  If we do not learn, grow, and develop then we will not move forward in the plan and purpose that God has for our life.  Spiritual growth and development come through learning God's Word and putting it into practice in our lives.  God needs mature, spiritually developed believers to help carry out His plan on the earth; if we remain spiritual children, we limit the amount of things God can do through us.

What We Do And Who We Are

"Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
Luke 11:1 (NKJV)

Several years ago I had a job that involved training people to work on different machines.  While I was not an expert at operating all of the machines that we had in this factory, I did know how to use them well enough to do what needed to be done.  This was one of the reasons I was put in charge of training others, I knew what had to be done and I knew how to do it.  The majority of the people I trained had no previous experience working with the machines we had but I showed them how to do the work until they could operate the machines on their own.

Jesus had His twelve disciples but there were many other people who followed Jesus besides the twelve.  As these disciples followed Jesus they learned through His teaching and His life examples how to live the best kind of life, a life connected to and in service to God.  The story in Luke 11 is interesting because we see that it was after Jesus was done praying that His disciples asked if He could teach them how to pray too.  It was not just that Jesus knew a lot of principles about prayer but Jesus knew how to pray and that was the key to Him being able to teach His disciples how to pray.  Prayer was not a theory to Jesus it was a part of who He was.

Jesus was successful in teaching His disciples how to pray, how to live by faith, how to deal with people, and how to teach and preach because Jesus knew how to do these things.  What Jesus did was not something that was separate from who He was, it was a part of Him.  Too often people learn how things work but there is no practical experience involved, theories are being passed along by people who have no real experience in what they are talking about.  What we do for God should be a reflection of our relationship with God.  What others see us do they can do too and we can teach them how, if what we do is a part of who we are.

Great Minds Think Alike

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

In my lifetime I have met people from all over the world and from all walks of life.  There have been several times when I have met someone who was very successful in the business world or in ministry.  One thing I have noticed with these successful people is that they have a different way of thinking than most people do.  There were times when I was in a conversation with someone who was successful where I realized that how they thought and how I thought was very different and I wanted to think more like them; to have their kind success I realized I had to change my thinking.

Some people have the idea that God and His thoughts are completely unknowable to us; God certainly has different thoughts than we do but we can change how we think.  How does God think, what kind of thoughts does He have?  Does God look at situations and think He will fail or does God have thoughts of success?  Does God have depressed and fearful thoughts or does God have thoughts of peace?  Does God look at people and think that they will never change or does God think He can help people?  While it is true that He is God and we are not, God has given us His Word to help us change how we think to be more like Him.

To live a successful life our thoughts must become more like God's thoughts, this is something the Bible calls renewing the mind (Romans 12:2).  Reading and studying the Bible can change how we think, which will change how we live. As we fill our mind with the Word of God we are filling ourselves with God's thoughts.  We may have old thought patterns from the past that are holding us back from doing the things that God wants us to do and that is why we need to change how we think.  As our thoughts become more like God's thoughts we will see changes happening in our lives as we are transformed to become more like Him.

Where's The Fruit?

"because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;"
Colossians 1:5-6 (NKJV)

Several years ago there was a humorous and well know television commercial that featured a couple of elderly ladies at a fast food restaurant.  They had ordered some hamburgers but when they received their order, one of the ladies looked at the hamburger with disappointment and said, "Where's the beef?" because the hamburger patty was so small.  She was obviously expecting something bigger and better.  Her idea was that by ordering this hamburger it would include much more beef than what she had received; for a hamburger to be a good hamburger there has to be some good beef.

When someone gives their life to Jesus there is a spiritual transformation, they become a new creation in Christ.  While there may not be any outward evidence of this at first the Bible is very clear that every believer should have some fruit in their life, an outward demonstration of the inward change that has taken place.  Paul wrote to the people in Colosse that the Gospel was "bringing forth fruit" in all the world as well as in them.  The words Paul used here in the original Greek show a continual process that is taking place.  Just as fruit is produced on a healthy plant there should be fruit seen in the life of a healthy Christian.

Why is it that some Christians seem to produce an abundance of fruit while others seem to have no fruit at all?  We can find an answer for this in Colossians 1:5 where Paul talked about the word of the truth of the Gospel.  Some people do not produce fruit because what they spend their time with is not the truth of the Gospel; they are producing something but it is not fruit for the Kingdom of God.  We need God's Word to help us grow and develop spiritually so that the life of God on the inside of us is seen on the outside.  So what about us?  When people look at our life do they see fruit or do they ask, where's the fruit?

Is It My Will Or God's Will?

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

Over my years of traveling I have gone through dozens of airports in different states and countries.  In some ways all airports are very similar and in some ways they are different.  There have been times that I was in an airport looking for the right concourse and gate for my flight when I have not been sure exactly which direction to go.  Sometimes because airports look so similar I think I should go one way when actually I need to go in a different direction.  If I had not checked the information that was provided I could have gotten lost thinking I was going the right way when really I was going the wrong way.

One of the biggest questions that Christians have about the will of God is if the direction that they have is from God or if it is from them.  Sometimes people even wonder, "Was that from God, me, or the devil?" when they have some idea about what to do.  The Bible says that as believers we are led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14).  The problem we have with decisions that we need to make is that we have trouble separating our own ideas and thoughts from the ideas that God gives us, or even from what the devil might say.  We are often very familiar with our own thoughts and emotions but not so familiar with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We can have a hard time distinguishing between what God is saying and what our own thoughts and emotions are saying, not because God is not speaking to us but because we do not recognize His voice, His leading.  This is where the Bible can help us.  The Holy Spirit guided people to write the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21) and so God will speak to us through His Word.  By spending time in the Bible we not only become more familiar with God and His ways, which helps us know the direction God wants us to go, but we learn to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us.  As we spend time in the Word of God the will of God in our heart becomes clearer and clearer.

A Need To Know Basis

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
John 16:12-13 (NKJV)

Sometimes I like to watch movies about spies and espionage.  Often in these movies there is someone on a mission to right some wrong or even save the world.  The main character sometimes runs into a situation where things are not what they seem to be because of something else that is going on.  When the main character asks their superiors about what is happening the response sometimes is that they are asking about information that is only available on a need to know basis and the information that the character currently has is all they need to know to get their job done.

God has a purpose for each of our lives; we do not need to be in some teaching or preaching ministry leading a church or organization for God to have a plan for our life.  No matter who you are or what you are doing for God there is a plan and a purpose that needs to be followed.  God has given us His Word and He has sent His Holy Spirit to live in us to help us and to guide us.  Everything we need for our success in life has already been provided for us through Jesus.  But there are times that we feel like we are missing information and we want something more from God.  This is when we need to realize that God has us on a need to know basis.

Before Jesus went to the cross He told His disciples that there were still many things He needed to say to them, but they were not ready to hear those things.  The good news is that Jesus did not stop there but He said that the Holy Spirit would come to help us and to guide us into all truth.  The question is, what truth, what information do we need from God to do what He is calling us to do?  There may be things we want God to talk to us about but that is information that we don't need to know.  We need to operate in the truth that we do have from God and trust the Holy Spirit to give us the truth we need as we need it.  Whatever God is calling us to do, we need to realize that He knows best and will give us whatever we need when and if we need it.

Jump Right In

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)

At one time or another most people have gone swimming.  The whole point of swimming is self-explanatory: to swim.  You don't go swimming to look at the water or have someone else tell you about their experience, you go swimming to swim for yourself, or else you are not swimming!  How people go about swimming is another matter.  Some people jump right in while others slowly wade into the water.  Some people just get into the water a little and decide that swimming is not right for them.  Others never get into the water and the only thing they know about swimming is what they see or hear from someone else.

In some ways being a Christian can be compared to swimming; to really find out how great the Christian life is you just have to jump right in.  Some people find out about how Jesus died for their sin and took their place on the cross so they jump right in.  Then, as the live their life for God they follow His plan and do what He says.  But, there are other people who hear the truth about God without ever acting on it.  These people might wade into things a little bit to get a feel for what church is like or they might watch how others live and think that there being a Christian is not right for them.  Sadly, these people do not know what they are missing.

There are people who take a stand on what the Bible says and live a life based on what they see in it.  These are the people who are walking by faith and not by sight and they experience the best that God has to offer.  Other people think that following God and living a godly lifestyle is not realistic or much fun, but they have never even had the experience for themselves! Too many people have missed out on the best things in life because they are holding back and not really getting into the things of God for themselves.  Christianity is not a spectator sport; we need to jump right in!

An Example To Follow

"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV)

Have you ever seen someone do an imitation of another person?  Maybe they did their impersonation of some celebrity from a television show or a movie, it might even have been a politician, an athlete, or just some local person that everyone knows.  When that person did their imitation, the way you recognized who they were imitating was in the way they talked, what they said, and how they behaved.  If the person doing the imitation did not sound like the person or act like the person that they were imitating, then it was not really an imitation at all.

The Bible talks about Christians imitating God like a child would imitate their parent (Ephesians 5:1).  Paul told people to imitate him just like he imitated Christ.  The word "imitate" that Paul used is the Greek word for "follow".  In 2 Timothy 3:10 Paul mentioned to Timothy that Timothy knew Paul's teaching and way of life.  Once again Paul is showing that he was an example that others could follow.  Paul was a spiritual leader who understood that other people need examples to follow, people need to be able to see someone who is a pattern of how to live a godly life.

Christians would agree that Jesus and even Paul are great examples for us, but neither Jesus or Paul are with us on the earth today.  So while we can read about them and learn from them in that way we don't have their example for us to see and learn from and we can't ask them questions.  All of us need some good examples of what it means to live the Christians life, how we should talk and how we should live.  Each of us should also be a good example that others can follow.  If we said what Paul did, imitate me as I imitate Christ, would we be a good pattern for others to follow?  If not, what changes do we need to make to become that example that others can follow? 

Doing Some Good Things

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him"
Acts 10:38 (NKJV)

It may seem strange, but some people do not do what they could do because they set a standard that is too high.  This can be true in many different areas.  For example, some people think that to succeed in school they have to get the best grades and when they get less than the best they become discouraged and even quit.  Some people think that learning a new skill means that they have to be an expert at it within a short period of time, when this does not happen they give up.  The same is true with saving money, people think of saving some huge amount when really just starting by saving a small amount is a good start.

Often when people think of Jesus they remember of course that He was raised from the dead, He healed lepers, and He performed miracles.  While these are all things that Jesus did that was not all that He did, Jesus did not do miracles twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  We often just think about the amazing and miraculous things that Jesus did but Acts 10:38 says that besides healing the sick that Jesus went around doing good.  Jesus was anointed and empowered by God to do miracles but God also helped Jesus do good things for others; this is an example that all of us can follow.

God wants us to do great things but He also wants to help us in every area of our life.  Instead of thinking about doing some miracles, how would it be if we would ask God to help us be a better employee or employer, a better parent, husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister?  What if we would expect God to help us improve in walking in love and treating others with the respect and honor they deserve?  Maybe we don't know any lepers but do we know anyone who could use our help in some way, could God empower us to be helpful to a friend or neighbor?  What good thing can God help you to do in your life or the lives of others?