“Be Still”

Psalm 46:10   New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

There is a saying Silence is Golden but this is an understatement.  Those of us that are still on planet earth are use to being in an environment where noise is normal in our society.

Everyday sounds like traffic, construction, sirens and loud music are just a few of the daily echoes that flood our ears.  We have gotten too familiar with noises like TV, radio, MP3 players or other entertainment devices that leave silence as not an option.  Silence is one commodity that has almost become extinct.  It has become commonplace to have some type of noise going on around us all the time. 

We are inundated with sounds and noise continually and the enemy makes sure that our way of life welcomes and embraces more noise.  I have heard people say “Where is GOD?"  “HE’s abandoned me”.  “I can’t hear HIS voice.”  “I don’t feel HIS presence.”  I am sure you have heard someone say one or all of those statements at one time or another or you may have even said them yourself.  I know I have.

With all the noise that we involuntarily listen to and the noise that we voluntary listen to, it is no wonder that we cannot hear GOD’s voice.  When we let noise filter into our lives GOD’s voice becomes drowned out.

We should remind ourselves that noise is anything that manages to interfere with the intended receiver.  We are the intended receivers of GOD’s word, HIS voice and the dreams/visions that HE may send us.  We can easily become distracted by other people, our environment and ourselves simply because we refuse to BE STILL.

When was the last time that you were able to be still? Being still in silence can be transforming if we allow it.  It can reveal things to us that would otherwise remain hidden and revelation that is priceless.  A French philosopher Bluse Pascal said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  

It is important to be with yourself in periods of silence.  Society values distractions but as believers we must be in a position to be still and hear from GOD.  Being still is a conscious state of mind where outside forces or distractions are removed.  This is where you will find GOD in all HIS splendor in our silence and stillness.  HE will not be found in chaos or noise.

We must come to a place where we can remove all distractions and welcome an atmosphere where we can hear from GOD.  If we are still long enough we cannot help but be reminded of who GOD is, see what HE is doing in our lives and be fully reassured that HE is with us.  

Get rid of the noise, chose to be still, wait in silence and you’ll find yourself in a place where you can finally hear GOD.  And oh, what a sweet sound it is.

GOD BLESS

“Consider Your Ways”

1/21/14

At the beginning of a new year we start out with excitement and anticipation for the things that we want to accomplish.  Sometimes our new goals are based on the fact that there were some goals that we didn’t accomplish last year.  In preparation for this  new year our thoughts should be reflective on actions, habits and priorities that we had last year that may have been the key factor on why we failed to accomplish what we set out to.

In the book of Haggi 1 verses 1-7 (summary):  It tells us that there was a call to rebuild the temple.  The Jews returned home to build GOD’s house.  They start out with a priority to start and complete the temple for GOD’s glory.  They get as far as building the foundation when they run into opposition at which time they turn their attention from GOD, abandon their work on the temple and leave it in ruins.  They now begin to build their own houses. GOD was no longer first on their list of priorities.   Haggi is sent by GOD to speak to the people. Haggi 1: 5-7  says: Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Twice within two verses GOD tells them to consider their ways.  Why?  Because they had given up their priority of being obedient by putting GOD first in exchange for disobedience and selfishness.  What started out being about GOD now became about them. 

Verse 5, 7 - Consider; literally, means set your heart upon your ways.  What ye have done, what ye have suffered, your present projects, and the consequences thereof.  We are at a place in history, a place in our lives that we must begin and take serious the consideration of our ways.  Time isn’t standing still, the signs are evident. 

How faithful are we when it comes to the priorities of GOD?  Where is GOD on our list of priorities?  Have we put him first? or last?  What will be our priorities for 2014?  And how do they align with GOD’s priority?  These are questions we should have no opposition in being asked and have a willingness to answer honestly.  I found these questions and came face to face with them as I was doing my research for this post. But I, like you, have to consider my ways.

These questions are a call to action and adjustment to our attitude and our ways. They are like seeing our ways in a mirror and being able to see everything but the consequences of our ways.  They clearly test our commitment and faithfulness in several areas of our lives: GOD’s position, our personal lives, relationships, church, work, and family.  I believe you’ll find these questions necessary and in most cases life changing. Please cut and paste them, print them out and answer them truthfully.  Answer one a day or all at once.  Most require only 1-2 sentences.  Don't let the number of questions overwhelm you or the enemy distract you.  Do one a day if you need to but you will be blessed in ways you can't imagine. These questions will open your eyes to all sorts of possibilities and the enemy will try to prevent this any way he can.  STAND STRONG AND JUST DO IT!

        Consider Your Ways

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of GOD?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask GOD to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual  discipline  do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by GOD's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do too improve your prayer life this year?
10.What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? in eternity?
11.What's the most important decision you need to make this year?
12.What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?
13.What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?
14.What habit would you most like to establish this year?
15.Who do you most want to encourage this year?
16.What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?
17.What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?
18.What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or another person who ministers to you) this year?
19.What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?
20.What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?
21.What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?
22.What single blessing from GOD do you want to seek most earnestly this year?
23.In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?
24.What's the most important trip you want to take this year?
25.What skill do you want to learn to improve this year?
26.To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?
27.What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?
28.What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?
29.If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?
30.What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?
31.In what area of your life do you most needs change, and what will you do about it this year?

Save the answers, look at them every 3-4 months, at the end of the year review them and see where you’ve come from and where you’re going.  Have you changed your ways?

These are profound questions when answered truthfully will cause us to sit down, consider our ways and ask ourselves are they in line with GOD’s? And this is where the blessing is found.

GOD BLESS

“ALL THINGS NEW”

1/14/14

When we go to the store or order a purchase on-line we pick out what we’re looking for and then check out.  We pay the price that has been set and we take the item home and begin to use it for our pleasure. 

Our lives are no different.  GOD has chosen us; the price has already been paid over 2,000 years ago by CHRIST.  The price paid wasn’t so we could live mundane lives, lives of unrest, lives of constant chaos, lives that have lack of meaning or purpose, hopeless lives or lives with no balance.

We were born to be thoroughly and exclusively used by GOD to be the salt and a light to make a difference, be a witness for HIS purpose according to HIS plan and HIS will.  This is the beginning of a new year, where all things can become NEW regardless of what we experienced last year.  There are some who may have come into this year with their life in limbo, stagnant, a life of uncertainty, without direction, lack of vision or mission.  This is not what GOD has purposed for your life.

At times we may go through life in a daze, in a fog, or with our head in a cloud never trying to see through the density to see and recognize just what we’re destined to do.  We may be afraid to see our destiny because once we understand where GOD is taking us it might require us to change our direction (our will), our choice of vocation, ministry or interest to follow HIS will.  And let’s face it, many times GOD’s will is much different than ours.

For some there has not been a yearning to see ourselves through the eyes of GOD in regards to our call that HE’s orchestrating.  For others there has been a tug felt on their hearts, a prompting by GOD, to go in a certain direction but have been reluctant to change their course and haven’t heeded to what they're feeling because this potential change isn’t what they planned for their lives. 

This is 2014 a time for reflection and making decisions.  This is a NEW YEAR that may usher in new experiences and divine interventions if we become open to it.  What if we stood still long enough to hear what GOD is saying to us about our assignment and HIS will for our lives in 2014?  What if we searched our hearts and found COMPASSION, GRACE and FORGIVENESS for that person who hurt us?  What if we got up off the church pews and began to be the church?   What if we answer the call to service in our churches and communities?  What if we became ambassadors for CHRIST in our homes, on our jobs and in our neighborhoods?  What if??

Time is passing faster than any of us want to believe.  It was just Christmas a few weeks ago and now it’s almost the end of January.  What have we done differently with our time during this first 14 days of this NEW year?  Is this year going to be a repeat of last year and the years that proceeded?  Or are we going to effort to seek and find HIS will for our lives? 

Any time you see something repeated in the Bible it’s repeated because of its significance.  The word FAITH is mentioned in every book from Exodus through Revelation.  There are a total of 248 verses that speak of FAITH.

Let’s take a walk down FAITH lane:

Hebrews 11:3   By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:4   By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

Hebrews 11:7   By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Hebrews 11:8   By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews 11:11  By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

Hebrews 11:21   By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:22   By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

Hebrews 11:30   By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

And the list goes on through Revelations about FAITH and its role in the lives of believers. I have 40 pages of 240 verses to prove FAITH IS THE KEY!

This life requires a faith walk that must increase daily.  Our banner of victory flies proudly because of our faith.   There is a work to do, each of us have apart in GOD’s kingdom building.  When it comes right down to it everything we do is based on a matter of faith.  Remember: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) We all know that this is where it gets tricky for us.  The words “not seen” means unknowing.   As humans we want to know everything and leave nothing to chance.   

Faith is and always has been based on the unknown and unseen.  But we each know enough about GOD, HIS character, HIS faithfulness and HIS love to know that HE can be trusted.  We have seen HIM move in our lives.  So why not look at what we know about HIM and leave what we don’t know about what’s going to happen to HIM.  Faith, even as small as the mustard seed discussed in the last blog, is pleasing to GOD. We please HIM every time we trust HIM.  So why not trust HIM now?  We don’t know what HE has for us in 2014.  What we do know is we’re here to be used by HIM and without FAITH it is impossible to please GOD.

And I bet you thought this was going to be just another uneventful year.  Whether it is or isn’t is up to you.  Step out of your boat and walk by Faith because GOD knows the plans that HE has for you, HE has declared it.

GOD BLESS