Have you ever had what you deemed to be the "perfect plan?" Maybe a career path or a plan to save up to buy that special something like a house or a car. Perhaps it was a plan to get married at a certain age, buy that house, and have 2 kids, raise them, have them go to college and then retire and buy a condo in Florida. You may be just starting your plan or maybe you are in the midst of it only to find out that things aren't quite going according to your plan. Maybe it seems like on the surface things are going a completely opposite direction from your plan was or maybe your plan has suddenly taken a different path that actually seems better than your original plans.
In my reading a couple days ago I found myself in 2 Kings chapter 5 where there was a commander of the army in Aram named Naaman. Because of his position people looked up to him and held him in high regard. I also imagine that because of his position he often got his way. There was one thing that plagued Aram and that was leprosy. He wanted this leprosy gone (as I'm sure most of us would) but he wasn't sure what to do until he heard a word from his wife's servant about a prophet who lived in Samaria. So Naamaan consulted the King and the king told him to go and helped finance his trip. He also he sent a letter to the King of Israel to request that he be cured of his leprosy. When the King of Israel read the letter he was greatly distressed because he knew that he did not have the power to cure Naaman of his leprosy. While this was going on the prophet Elisha heard about it and sent word to the King to have Naaman come to him. So Naaman and his crew went to Elisha's house. Of course Naaman realizing that he was going to the prophet's house went with all sorts of preconceptions, or what he deemed to be his "perfect plan", on how things were going to work. He thought, "Surely Elisha was going to come out to see him personally, call on the Name of the Lord, wave his hand over me and then I would be cured!" Instead Elisha sends a messenger telling to wash in the Jordan River seven times. This angered Naaman and then he started questioning the choice of the Jordan River saying "Aren't the rivers Abana and Pharpar in Damascus better?" Fortunately one of Naaman's servants was there to help Naaman and convinced him to go to the Jordan River where he washed seven times and sure enough despite all of Naaman's anger and pre-coneptions the Bible tells us that his flesh was completely restored and became like the flesh of a young boy!
Do our plans put God in a box? Do we have certain expectations on how things should work and when they don't go quite the way we expected we throw a fit about it? Would we have been level headed enough to finally decide to go to the Jordan River to clean our selves or would we have stormed off and gave it all up so that we would continue to be plagued with leprosy? So things in life may not go according to our plans and our logic. The question is, how are we handling those changes or those things that are defying our logic? Are we storming off? Are we quitting? Are we giving up on God? Are we giving up on our spouses, our family, and our friends? Or are we, despite how it may frustrate us, actually going after God and saying, "Okay God, I may not understand this but I know what your Word says and despite my understanding I am going to go your way." The amazing thing that I have found out is that when I make that decision to go after God's Word that He actually had a BETTER plan for me all along with even better blessings.
So what about you? Have you ever had your logic defied? What did you do? Or more to the point - What are you going to do?
Blessings and Love!
DD
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Make It "Personal"
Has God ever told you something that others have tried to talk you out of? Even worse, have you ever been talked out of something that God has told you specifically to do? Or how about this, have you ever been told to do something by someone that just didn't seem right and you weren't sure what to do? Well let me ask you this... how is your relationship with the Lord? Do you really know His voice? If it's a good steady relationship where you can say that you know His voice, then why should you doubt?
The other day in my "daily reading" I found myself in 1 Kings 13 and the Holy Spirit really ministered to my heart about some things and kept bringing me back to them. In this verses 1-26 we have a the story of a "younger" prophet who heard from the Lord that on his journey he was not to eat and drink and that he was not to go home back the same way he came. He was obedient to this in his first encounter with Jeraboam but when he encountered the "older" prophet he was deceived by him and ended up going against what God had commanded him. This sin caused the younger prophet to be killed by a Lion and he was not buried with his family. Why did he decide to go with the "older" prophet's word over God's word? Was it because he was more experienced? Maybe he held a position of authority that made it very easy for the person to fall into the deceit. It is so important to have a personal relationship with the Lord and follow the command that He tells you and not let the influence of others interfere with that even if those others might be in a position of authority over you or a declared prophet.
Now let me clarify something here... this is for areas in your own personal life not in some area where you do not have authority. So no, God is not going to call you to overthrow your boss at work or your Pastor at church and do something that they did not allow or authorize. God is a God of order and not chaos. He may call you to give a word to your boss or pastor (be absolutely certain before you do and be very careful how you address it with them) and then it is up to them to take heed or not.
What God will always talk to us about is about things in our personal life, our homes, our family relationships, our marriages, where we are called to serve, who we are to minister to next, etc. Bottom line it is about what God says to us directly and it is about our own personal relationship with him. We can't let anyone take us away from that or try to influence another direction... even if they are "ones in authority". Be sure to check your leadings in this... does it line up with the Word of God? Jesus told us in John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Besides time in the Word we must also spend time in prayer, talking to Him and letting Him talk to us. Here is a little secret when He does talk to us... LISTEN! After that be obedient to what He tells you and don't let anyone else talk you out of it. I can't help but think about Elijah when he was the only prophet for the God of Israel when he faced the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). He could allowed the pressure of the multitude get to him and back down but he didn't and did the God show up in a major way for Him!
So how is our "personal" time? Are we letting God speak to us and are we really spending time with Him? How will we know what is God's voice speaking to us or someone else just trying to take control of our lives. It's time to start making it "personal" folks!
Blessings and Love!
DD
The other day in my "daily reading" I found myself in 1 Kings 13 and the Holy Spirit really ministered to my heart about some things and kept bringing me back to them. In this verses 1-26 we have a the story of a "younger" prophet who heard from the Lord that on his journey he was not to eat and drink and that he was not to go home back the same way he came. He was obedient to this in his first encounter with Jeraboam but when he encountered the "older" prophet he was deceived by him and ended up going against what God had commanded him. This sin caused the younger prophet to be killed by a Lion and he was not buried with his family. Why did he decide to go with the "older" prophet's word over God's word? Was it because he was more experienced? Maybe he held a position of authority that made it very easy for the person to fall into the deceit. It is so important to have a personal relationship with the Lord and follow the command that He tells you and not let the influence of others interfere with that even if those others might be in a position of authority over you or a declared prophet.
Now let me clarify something here... this is for areas in your own personal life not in some area where you do not have authority. So no, God is not going to call you to overthrow your boss at work or your Pastor at church and do something that they did not allow or authorize. God is a God of order and not chaos. He may call you to give a word to your boss or pastor (be absolutely certain before you do and be very careful how you address it with them) and then it is up to them to take heed or not.
What God will always talk to us about is about things in our personal life, our homes, our family relationships, our marriages, where we are called to serve, who we are to minister to next, etc. Bottom line it is about what God says to us directly and it is about our own personal relationship with him. We can't let anyone take us away from that or try to influence another direction... even if they are "ones in authority". Be sure to check your leadings in this... does it line up with the Word of God? Jesus told us in John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Besides time in the Word we must also spend time in prayer, talking to Him and letting Him talk to us. Here is a little secret when He does talk to us... LISTEN! After that be obedient to what He tells you and don't let anyone else talk you out of it. I can't help but think about Elijah when he was the only prophet for the God of Israel when he faced the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). He could allowed the pressure of the multitude get to him and back down but he didn't and did the God show up in a major way for Him!
So how is our "personal" time? Are we letting God speak to us and are we really spending time with Him? How will we know what is God's voice speaking to us or someone else just trying to take control of our lives. It's time to start making it "personal" folks!
Blessings and Love!
DD
Monday, June 08, 2009
Heart Of A Leader
As God's creation we have been given an innate instinct to be leaders as He commanded us in Genesis 1 to take dominion over all of the creatures on this earth, to fill the earth and subdue it (verses 26-28). Of course this is in the context of animals and the earth in general. But what about humans? Are we instantly good leaders to our brothers and sisters in Christ? If not, what makes us good leaders? Is it about us "laying down the law" and "expressing our authority?" Or is it about something deeper? As leaders are we instantly entitled to certain things that others aren't?
I think one of the greatest examples of a Godly leader shown in the Old Testament was Solomon. What made Solomon so great was his heart. In 1 Kings Chapter 3 we see the heart of Solomon shown in verses 5-14 where, while in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what is it that He (the Lord) should give him. How would we have answered that question? A healthy life? A good home? That smokin' sports car that you have been eyeballing at the local dealership? Maybe for our families to be blessed? While these aren't necessarily bad things to have what really impressed God was Solomon's heart for the people. In verse 6 Solomon acknowledges the position that he was in as king and the awesome responsibility that comes with that. He also acknowledged in verse 7 that he couldn't handle the task on his own as he was a young and inexperienced king with very little knowledge on how to lead. The biggest acknowledgment that Solomon expressed was actually in verse 8 about how all of the people that he was given to lead were the Lord's people, who were great in the eyes of the Lord and so many that he couldn't even count them.
In verse 9 Solomon answers the Lord's question by asking for an understanding heart, that he would be able to distinguish what was good and what was bad, and finally that all of his judgements towards his people were right based on that understanding heart and knowing what was good and bad.
When Solomon made that request the Lord was pleased! How amazing would that be to know that your requests that you made to God actually might put a smile on His face! You see it is about a heart that has the ability to look beyond ourselves and any "selfish ambition" to see the people around us as more important. That we can do right by them, that we can approach them with an understanding heart. This is at the very heart of God and is the example of a loving heart.
Of course you might be thinking "But Dave - is it wrong for me to have that car or that house? What about my health?" No, but it is more about evaluating your heart about the matter. In verses 12 and 13 the Lord tells Solomon because of his heart and asking for that understanding that He was not only going to give him that wisdom and understand but He was also going to give him things that he didn't ask for. The Lord was referring to riches and honour, and even more than that... that there wasn't going to be another King like Solomon! If we read on in Kings we can see countless times where not only that wisdom is shown but how richly blessed Solomon truly was!
So what about us? What about the positions that God has put us in? What about the people in our lives? Are we approaching it with a heart for them or out of a selfish heart? As bosses are we more concerned about our "bottom line" than the well being of our employees? As husbands are we more concerned about what we are getting out of the marriage relationship more than our wives? What about the wives? Are we looking beyond ourselves to our husbands? What about the parents hearts towards our children? I am going to take some time to truly evaluate myself and my heart and see where I am at in all of this so that I can do right by all that I come in contact with daily. I pray that we all can take a moment to do that as I think we might be surprised at what we'll see.
The exciting thing is that when we truly repent and decide to get our hearts right not only will be blessed by being a blessing to others, verse 14 reminds us that as we walk in His ways that we will have long days!
Blessings and Love!
DD
I think one of the greatest examples of a Godly leader shown in the Old Testament was Solomon. What made Solomon so great was his heart. In 1 Kings Chapter 3 we see the heart of Solomon shown in verses 5-14 where, while in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what is it that He (the Lord) should give him. How would we have answered that question? A healthy life? A good home? That smokin' sports car that you have been eyeballing at the local dealership? Maybe for our families to be blessed? While these aren't necessarily bad things to have what really impressed God was Solomon's heart for the people. In verse 6 Solomon acknowledges the position that he was in as king and the awesome responsibility that comes with that. He also acknowledged in verse 7 that he couldn't handle the task on his own as he was a young and inexperienced king with very little knowledge on how to lead. The biggest acknowledgment that Solomon expressed was actually in verse 8 about how all of the people that he was given to lead were the Lord's people, who were great in the eyes of the Lord and so many that he couldn't even count them.
In verse 9 Solomon answers the Lord's question by asking for an understanding heart, that he would be able to distinguish what was good and what was bad, and finally that all of his judgements towards his people were right based on that understanding heart and knowing what was good and bad.
When Solomon made that request the Lord was pleased! How amazing would that be to know that your requests that you made to God actually might put a smile on His face! You see it is about a heart that has the ability to look beyond ourselves and any "selfish ambition" to see the people around us as more important. That we can do right by them, that we can approach them with an understanding heart. This is at the very heart of God and is the example of a loving heart.
Of course you might be thinking "But Dave - is it wrong for me to have that car or that house? What about my health?" No, but it is more about evaluating your heart about the matter. In verses 12 and 13 the Lord tells Solomon because of his heart and asking for that understanding that He was not only going to give him that wisdom and understand but He was also going to give him things that he didn't ask for. The Lord was referring to riches and honour, and even more than that... that there wasn't going to be another King like Solomon! If we read on in Kings we can see countless times where not only that wisdom is shown but how richly blessed Solomon truly was!
So what about us? What about the positions that God has put us in? What about the people in our lives? Are we approaching it with a heart for them or out of a selfish heart? As bosses are we more concerned about our "bottom line" than the well being of our employees? As husbands are we more concerned about what we are getting out of the marriage relationship more than our wives? What about the wives? Are we looking beyond ourselves to our husbands? What about the parents hearts towards our children? I am going to take some time to truly evaluate myself and my heart and see where I am at in all of this so that I can do right by all that I come in contact with daily. I pray that we all can take a moment to do that as I think we might be surprised at what we'll see.
The exciting thing is that when we truly repent and decide to get our hearts right not only will be blessed by being a blessing to others, verse 14 reminds us that as we walk in His ways that we will have long days!
Blessings and Love!
DD
Thursday, June 04, 2009
NT Church = Community
In my daily reading today I found myself in Acts 2 and what really struck me was in verses 41-47 we are really given the definition of what the New Testament church is all about. Ultimately what community is all about as historically many communities were established and based around the church.
In Acts 2:41 it shows the powerful place that God has Peter in ministry as he preached and as a result of the power of God present in that preaching the number of people that were baptized and added to the church that day was 3,000 people! From there we really see what the New Testament Church/Community is all about. We almost can break this down by bullet points.
In Fact, I think I will:
1. They devoted themselves to the teaching.
2. They devoted themselves to fellowship.
3. They devoted themselves to sharing meals together (including the Lord's supper).
4. They devoted themselves to prayer (also worship).
As a result of those four things a deep sense of awe came over those who were in attendance. Was it mainly the teaching or the prayer? In our eyes that can be noted as the most "spiritual" things. But I really believe that what the Holy Spirit was trying to convey to us here was the fact that it was combination of all four of those things. Jesus did after all tell us to not only love the Lord our God but to love one another. The value of this relationship with each other can often-times be downplayed but it is really a vital aspect. This prepared the hearts of everyone there and created that sense of awe which in turn brought about signs miracles and wonders.
From that point everyone there shared in all that they had. Properties, possessions, talents, etc. to see that everyone had their needs met. They not only met at church together but they also met in each others homes and fellow shipped and ate together. They did this with joy and their hearts and abandoned selfishness so that they could truly be generous. Along with everything else they Praised God together and enjoyed each others company.
Finally we are told that the number of people that were joining up with them and being saved increased on a daily basis. I truly believe this is because of the "goodness of God" (Romans 2:4) that leads people to repentance. That my friends is the very definition of the New Testament Church and ultimately is what community is about! I have heard about people starting "church growth" programs and doing different things to bring people in and grow their numbers. Unfortunately the motivation behind this can be somewhat misplaced. Here in Acts 2 we are shown the ultimate church growth program based on the right heart. This is not merely a growth in the number of people attending but it is also a growth in the people themselves. It is my prayer that we become more than mere "church goers" and do our part to bring this into the church. As church leaders it is my prayer that we do our part to promote this in every way possible. I also consider myself blessed to be a part of a church that does indeed promote that!
In Acts 2:41 it shows the powerful place that God has Peter in ministry as he preached and as a result of the power of God present in that preaching the number of people that were baptized and added to the church that day was 3,000 people! From there we really see what the New Testament Church/Community is all about. We almost can break this down by bullet points.
In Fact, I think I will:
1. They devoted themselves to the teaching.
2. They devoted themselves to fellowship.
3. They devoted themselves to sharing meals together (including the Lord's supper).
4. They devoted themselves to prayer (also worship).
As a result of those four things a deep sense of awe came over those who were in attendance. Was it mainly the teaching or the prayer? In our eyes that can be noted as the most "spiritual" things. But I really believe that what the Holy Spirit was trying to convey to us here was the fact that it was combination of all four of those things. Jesus did after all tell us to not only love the Lord our God but to love one another. The value of this relationship with each other can often-times be downplayed but it is really a vital aspect. This prepared the hearts of everyone there and created that sense of awe which in turn brought about signs miracles and wonders.
From that point everyone there shared in all that they had. Properties, possessions, talents, etc. to see that everyone had their needs met. They not only met at church together but they also met in each others homes and fellow shipped and ate together. They did this with joy and their hearts and abandoned selfishness so that they could truly be generous. Along with everything else they Praised God together and enjoyed each others company.
Finally we are told that the number of people that were joining up with them and being saved increased on a daily basis. I truly believe this is because of the "goodness of God" (Romans 2:4) that leads people to repentance. That my friends is the very definition of the New Testament Church and ultimately is what community is about! I have heard about people starting "church growth" programs and doing different things to bring people in and grow their numbers. Unfortunately the motivation behind this can be somewhat misplaced. Here in Acts 2 we are shown the ultimate church growth program based on the right heart. This is not merely a growth in the number of people attending but it is also a growth in the people themselves. It is my prayer that we become more than mere "church goers" and do our part to bring this into the church. As church leaders it is my prayer that we do our part to promote this in every way possible. I also consider myself blessed to be a part of a church that does indeed promote that!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Service
Do we really love Jesus? In John 21:15-19 Jesus poses a question to Peter which we should also use as a sort of "self-evaluation." Jesus asked, "Do you Love me?" I'm sure that all of us would probably respond the way Peter did and say "Lord of course we love you!" But Jesus presents us with a sort of evaluation point for our love for Him when he replied with, "Feed my sheep."
Where is our walk with the Lord? Do we really, and I mean REALLY love Him? Jesus points out to us the importance of service when it comes to our love and heart for Him. It appears that maybe Peter didn't get it initially because Jesus asked him again, "Do you Love me?" This actually frustrates Peter a bit as he comes back with the same answer to which Jesus replies "Tend my sheep."
I have come to realize that if we are to really take a good look at this test we can realize that is not only a test for our love for Jesus but the entire "Golden Rule" of loving the Lord your God with all of your being and also loving others (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27). Jesus also reminded us that to love and serve in that manner towards others that it would ultimately be like doing it to Him (Matthew 25:40). So where are you at in your service towards your friends, your church, your community? What about your Family? Is there stress in your relationship with your spouse and is the love in that relationship hurting? Husbands where are you in your service towards your wife? Wives where are you in your service towards your husband? Has our relationships become so "inward focused" and become about ourselves that we miss the most important part of servicing others? Over the years I have come to realize that this kind of love and service is something that has to be developed and exercised or it becomes dull. It all comes down to the fact that when you love others by serving them, your love for them grows stronger.
Jesus asked Peter a third time "Do you love?" to which Peter replied "You know everything... You know I love You!" Jesus again came back to saying "Feed my sheep." Hey then tells Peter about his coming death and what kind of sacrifice he will have to make in order to show this kind of love. This is at the very heart of Jesus as He laid down His life in service for us. His entire earthly ministry was based in service and sacrificing Himself for us. Just as He told us in John 15:13 that the greatest love is about laying down our lives.
Jesus sums up his conversation with Peter by saying "Follow me." Jesus is that ultimate example of love and sacrifice. When we go through the Gospels we can see how He was constantly about serving others. It is so important in our lives to sit down and have true fellowship with Jesus in prayer and reading the word so that we can take in that love, that sacrifice, and that service and then walk it out.
Where are we at with this? How are we with being a service to our spouse? to our children? to our parents? to our siblings? to our other family members? to our friends? to our neighbors? to our co-workers? to people that we encounter out of the blue and may never see again? Has our relationships been more focused in on ourselves or is about the other person? I think if we were to really take the time to sit down and be honest with ourselves we might be surprised at what our true motives are. If we were to let God truly talk to us and in turn really listen to what He has to say we might be surprised at what we hear.
So I think I'm going test myself a bit here and let God speak to me no matter how I may not like what I hear initially... what about you?
Where is our walk with the Lord? Do we really, and I mean REALLY love Him? Jesus points out to us the importance of service when it comes to our love and heart for Him. It appears that maybe Peter didn't get it initially because Jesus asked him again, "Do you Love me?" This actually frustrates Peter a bit as he comes back with the same answer to which Jesus replies "Tend my sheep."
I have come to realize that if we are to really take a good look at this test we can realize that is not only a test for our love for Jesus but the entire "Golden Rule" of loving the Lord your God with all of your being and also loving others (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27). Jesus also reminded us that to love and serve in that manner towards others that it would ultimately be like doing it to Him (Matthew 25:40). So where are you at in your service towards your friends, your church, your community? What about your Family? Is there stress in your relationship with your spouse and is the love in that relationship hurting? Husbands where are you in your service towards your wife? Wives where are you in your service towards your husband? Has our relationships become so "inward focused" and become about ourselves that we miss the most important part of servicing others? Over the years I have come to realize that this kind of love and service is something that has to be developed and exercised or it becomes dull. It all comes down to the fact that when you love others by serving them, your love for them grows stronger.
Jesus asked Peter a third time "Do you love?" to which Peter replied "You know everything... You know I love You!" Jesus again came back to saying "Feed my sheep." Hey then tells Peter about his coming death and what kind of sacrifice he will have to make in order to show this kind of love. This is at the very heart of Jesus as He laid down His life in service for us. His entire earthly ministry was based in service and sacrificing Himself for us. Just as He told us in John 15:13 that the greatest love is about laying down our lives.
Jesus sums up his conversation with Peter by saying "Follow me." Jesus is that ultimate example of love and sacrifice. When we go through the Gospels we can see how He was constantly about serving others. It is so important in our lives to sit down and have true fellowship with Jesus in prayer and reading the word so that we can take in that love, that sacrifice, and that service and then walk it out.
Where are we at with this? How are we with being a service to our spouse? to our children? to our parents? to our siblings? to our other family members? to our friends? to our neighbors? to our co-workers? to people that we encounter out of the blue and may never see again? Has our relationships been more focused in on ourselves or is about the other person? I think if we were to really take the time to sit down and be honest with ourselves we might be surprised at what our true motives are. If we were to let God truly talk to us and in turn really listen to what He has to say we might be surprised at what we hear.
So I think I'm going test myself a bit here and let God speak to me no matter how I may not like what I hear initially... what about you?
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