A God Who Provides What We Need

My post today quotes Mr. Frank Moore, General Editor, Church of the Nazarene. His words remind us as God's children why we should give thanks every day of our lives:

Most citizens of the United States and Canada celebrate a special thanks event this time of year. We get together with friends and family to visit and play. eat and watch parades and sporting events on television, share a big Thanksgiving meal.

Most folks also take time to recount their blessings. Some do it publicly around the Thanksgiving Day table; others in private devotion time. Blessings that usually top the list include family members, friends, a safe home, health, an education, and a land of freedom. Reflection time reminds us of some of the great benefits we enjoy daily.

We dare not forget the incredible blessings we enjoy as God’s children. Ask yourself, “Would I still have anything to be thankful for if I lost everything I now hold dear?” Some have experienced great loss this past year, yet even they have much for which to be thankful.

As Christians we have a source for enjoyment in life and peace of heart that extends far deeper than recounting family blessings and material possessions. Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8:28-39. He begins with, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He continues by enumerating some of the blessings we enjoy in Christ, such as

God who loves us unconditionally.

A God who knows us individually by name.

A God who cares enough to work all of the events in our lives together for our good.

A God who has predestined us to become like His Son, Jesus Christ, when we accept His plan of salvation. Once we accept Christ, He gives us the power to live for Him daily as He leads us safely to heaven.

A God who loved us enough to give His Son to minister among us, then die on the cross for our sins.

A God who is “for us,” who meets our spiritual needs. If God is for you, what more do you need?

A shield of protection around our heart and character that prevents any charges or condemnation from the evil one to affect us.

A best friend who sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

A God who makes us more than conquerors. That is, we don’t just squeak by in a photo finish; we win by a country mile.

A love from God that keeps finding its way to us. A love that cannot be taken away by trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth . . . absolutely nothing. Nothing will ever change God’s everlasting love.

Yes, we have much for which to be thankful. We are the richest people in the world because we know the God Paul describes in Romans 8. We find life’s fulfilment in relationship with God. Be sure this week to stop and thank Him for His incredible love, then fall in love with Him more completely than ever.

Storm Chaser

Today's post is a song by Bishop Paul Morton. I always feel "snackish" when it rains. Of course, this song speaks of the rainy situations that sometimes assail us, and gives the perfect solution. 

I wrestled with the thought of giving up, giving in

Though the pain I felt inside was much too much to bear

I found the strength, the power, to whisper one more prayer.

Everything around was looking bad

Oh so sad

Rainy days and stormy nights just wouldn’t go away

Broken dreams and promises stared me in the face

That’s when you said I could make it 

Your words were greater than my pain

They fell on me like falling rain.

You said I could take it

I felt secure from hurt and harm

I realized you chased my storm away

Storm chaser, you chased my storm away

Today is brighter than the day before

Thank You Lord

The sky is clear, the clouds are blue

The sun is on my face

I’m encouraged just to know

You chased my storms away.

You said I could make it 

Your words were greater than my pain

They fell on me like falling rain.

You said I could take it

I felt secure from hurt and harm

I realized you chased my storm away

Storm chaser, you chased my storm away. 

Now I walk in light and not in darkness

Storms arise I know just what to do.

Fear and doubt will no longer haunt me

I will listen to hear a word from you.

When you said, I could make it

Your words were greater than my pain

They fell on me like drops of rain.

You said, I could take it

I felt secure from hurt and harm

I realized you chased my storm away

Storm chaser, you chased my storms away.

Storm chaser, thank You for chasing them away

Storm chaser, you chased my storms away

You chased my storms away

You chased my storms away.

Help! I am a Repeat Offender

What is a repeat offender? A repeat offender is someone who fails at a particular sin most times, and has to ask God for forgiveness every time. Hebrews encourages us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets (overwhelms) us, looking unto Jesus…

Each of us as human beings has some weakness that we struggle with. As a matter of fact, there are persons who struggle with more than one sin. It might be an addiction like smoking, drinking, gossiping, lying, stealing, bad-talking the pastor, cursing, or something more common like feeling we are better than someone else because of our physical beauty, our salary range, our academic qualifications, or something as mundane as the car we drive or the house we live in.

Some folks might even argue that they are not struggling with anything, but for those of us who truly see ourselves in the light of God’s word, we would readily admit that we are stumbling at the door of certain sins.

What I find in myself though is that I want God to be patient with my persistent flaws, the most damning of which is incessant procrastination, especially when coming to my school assignments, but I am almost intolerant when it comes to a particular fault of which my spouse is very guilty. He is a repeat offender!

I must admit that I rail on him about the particular habit that is most certainly overwhelming him, and instead of being more mindful of my own repeat offender status with Jesus, I get really angry at him.

Recently I was late with a class assignment again---Jesus really has to help me---and the patient, easy-going lecturer forgave my indiscretion once more and kindly asked that I turn it in at another time. I skipped away so relieved. But what of my dear husband, and even others, who I believe should buck up and “stop de chupidness”?

Up comes the Holy Spirit, reminding me that I have “chupidness” that overpowers me as well. He brought to my mind that famous verse: Take the beam out of your own eye, before telling your brother about the speck in his eye. Ouch!

The lesson for me: I am a repeat offender, and so is everyone else, but we are all a work in progress.

Deal Quickly with Sin

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. - (Galatians 5:9)

Because we are human beings, born with a sin nature inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, from time to time we find ourselves committing transgressions. But let's face it, there are very few times that we do not know that we have broken one of God’s laws.

We cannot pretend that we’re totally unaware that we have committed sin. The Bible declares that if we say we have no sin, we lie and do not the truth. We know better, but we fall into sin anyway. The children of Israel were no different. They flagrantly broke the laws God laid out for them to follow. They were God’s chosen, covenant people, and they had seen his power demonstrated many times.

They saw the Red Sea parted as they passed through on dry land. They saw the waters close in on the fast-approaching Egyptian army. They saw manna come from the sky, provided by God for them every morning.

They saw God’s pillar of fire by night and His cloud by day to guide them as they journeyed in the wilderness. They saw miracle after miracle, but yet time and time again they disobeyed God. As one writer said, much had been given to Israel, and so much was expected.

So when they worshiped the golden calf that Aaron formed from their jewellery, it was a radical sin. Moses had gone up in the mountains to spend time with God and to receive the Ten Commandments from him, and they got into idolatry and nude dancing.

When Moses came down, he was angry with this disobedient group of people God asked him to lead. He threw down the commandments written on stone by God’s own hands, took their golden calf, grounded it into powder, put it into water and made them drink it. He also commanded that some of them be put to death for their sin.

It almost seems unfair that God would deal so harshly with these people. But God was demonstrating that sin will not be tolerated. It must be dealt with swiftly, lest it spreads and do even more harm.

The Bible compares sin to yeast that is put into bread to cause it to rise before baking. Some would dare say that sin is like cancer, it needs to be cut out before it spreads through someone’s system. That is why the Lord tells us to deal quickly with sin.

Hebrews 12:1 reminds us: Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us...

After The Victory

My blog post today looks at the phenomenon of failure coming soon after masterful success; a very common occurrence. 

One example is Elijah after his Mount Carmel victory, where he destroyed all the prophets of Baal. But after a threat from Jezebel, he went into hiding, sat under a Juniper tree and wanted to die. 1 Kings 18-19:4

I heard someone say once that it is not the rock in our path that causes problems, but the tiny pebble in our shoe that discomfits us.

Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. When they returned, they told Joshua:

Joshua 7:2-3:

There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.

The Israelites had a supernatural victory over Jericho, so going after a small city like Ai seemed such like a little challenge. As we would say today, “Dat is small ting, man”.  But we must never underestimate our enemy; he is a very cunning deceiver. 

We might convince ourselves that a situation is too small or too insignificant to pray about, so we complacently enter into a circumstance that we believe is nothing for us to conquer. We leave off praying; we leave off asking God for specific directions; we do not even consult with our inner circle, our intercessory team, and we go off on our own.

Of course, like the lamb who wonders away from the flock, we become defenceless against the onslaught of demonic forces. The lesson is clear: Our victory is dependent on God. He alone can protect us from the wiles of the wicked. We cannot fight this battle of life alone. We must depend on our Saviour Jesus Christ. We have got to stay within Jesus’ embrace.

God’s plan for his children is victory after victory, but we must be obedient and follow his directions fully. God did not make us robots. As human beings we have free will, so we can choose God’s way or our way.

But we face a ruinous future, if we feel that we can make it on our own. We are no match for the enemy, and we will surely be defeated if we try to face life in our own strength.

Ai was smaller than Jericho, but the Israelites faced defeat, as they sought to face the battle on their own. Of course, there was more to their defeat, but as one writer observes, we seem to be more vulnerable after a time of victory in our lives. We are more vulnerable after God has blessed us. But we need to be watchful; the devil lies at the door of our celebration, waiting to take us down, waiting to attack.

After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove, but shortly after, He went into the wilderness where He was tested by satan. The dove came, but so did the devil.

We need to be as watchful after the victory, as before the battle.

The Upside/Downside of Setbacks

After preparing for my final semester at Costaatt, I failed one of my courses. I have never failed a course outright before, and it broke my heart. I pleaded with the institution to reconsider failing me, because the differential in my grade was just 1.5 per cent. They bluntly refused, and I had to redo the entire course.

To add insult to injury, the course was removed as a prerequisite for my major. The Dean and the Chair of the department were unmoved. I asked God why. I had worked so hard; I was almost finished. 

What happens when God says no? I encouraged myself by remembering that God always has a plan, and in the past he always rewarded my faith in him.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. —Psalm 27:14

American swimmer Dara Torres had a remarkable career, appearing in five different Olympics from 1984 to 2008. Late in her career, Torres broke the US record for the 50-meter freestyle—25 years after she herself set that record.

But it wasn’t always medals and records. Torres also encountered obstacles in her athletic career: injuries, surgery, as well as being almost twice the age of most other competitors. She said, “I’m also aware that setbacks have an upside; they fuel new dreams.”

That setbacks have an upside is a great life lesson. Torres’s struggles motivated her to reach for new heights. We are instructed by the Word of God that setbacks also have a spiritual benefit as well.

James 1:2-3

Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Adopting this perspective on the difficulties of life is not easy, but it is worthwhile. Trials provide opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. They also provide the opening to learn lessons that success cannot teach by developing in us the kind of patience that waits on God and trusts Him for the strength to endure.

The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

The setbacks of life can teach us to wait upon the Lord for His help and strength.

When No One Is Looking!

I'm struggling to pass Stats 120 in Costaatt. It has been a very difficult journey for me, and part of me wishes I could just drop out of school and give up. I've cried out to God for help, but I'm still in the valley of despair where this course is concerned. 

What does this have to do with integrity? Well, it occurred to me that I could ask someone to do the take-home assignments for me. No one would know but me. Yeah, right! Jesus would know, and he would expect better from me, because integrity is what you do when no earthly person is looking.

I stumbled upon this devotional from Ric Warren and decided to borrow it for today's blog. 

2 Corinthians 4:2 (MSG) We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuvre and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open.

Integrity demands that every area of your life is treated with the same intensity. You have the same commitment to excellence in your marriage as you do in your career. You have the same commitment to excellence in ministry as you do in your parenting.

How can I become a person of integrity? You can become a person of integrity by:

Keeping your promises. People of integrity keep their word. If they say they’ll do it, they do it. If they say they’ll be there, they show up. 

Proverbs 25:14 People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain. (TEV).

Paying your bills. You may not think this is a big deal, but it’s a big deal to God. Do you spend more money than you make? That is a lack of integrity. Do you get yourself in debt for things that you can’t pay off? That is a lack of integrity.

Psalm 37:21  The wicked borrow and never pay back.

 Refusing to gossip. God is looking for men and women of integrity who know how to keep a secret and not pass it around on social media. Don’t talk about people behind their back. Don’t even listen to gossip!

Proverbs 11:13 MSG  A…gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence” ().

Faithfully tithing. Wherever you put your money first is what’s most important to you.

Malachi 3:8-10  Is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings …. Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple …. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. (TEV)

By doing your best at work.

Colossians 3:23  Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (NLT)

If you’re a believer, your real boss is God, and whether or not anybody else sees your work, God does.

By being real with others. A person of integrity doesn’t act one way in church and another way at work and another way on the golf course, and another way at school, and another way in Trinidad and Tobago and another way when they go abroad.

2 Corinthians 4:2 (MSG)  We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuvre and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open.

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What Are Old People Good For?

Many young persons have a tendency to look to their peers for advice on some serious decisions. While there are indeed some very wise youths, this online devotional today calls on teenagers and young adults to seek counsel from the older generation as they can be a source of wisdom and experience.  2 Chronicles 10:8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him....  Age and wisdom do not always equate to one another, but they often do. Rehoboam was the son of Solomon. It appears that Solomon had become heavy-handed in his employment practices by placing an overbearing burden on the workers. This was causing a problem with the northern tribes. It was the equivalent to a threat of a labour strike. Jeroboam was like the head of the labour union. In fact, he had fled from Solomon because of the abuse he perceived was happening. When Rehoboam was selected as the new king, he too was facing opposition to his practices.  2 Chronicles 10: 4-5 "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labour and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you." Rehoboam answered, "Come back to me in three days." So the people went away.... So, Rehoboam asked for advice from the older men who had been a part of Solomon's reign and then he asked for advice from his younger contemporaries. The elders advised Rehoboam to not be too concerned. They told him that if he did, they would be loyal workers the rest of their days.  He chose not to take this advice. The younger advisors told him to tighten the reigns more. This turned out to be bad advice. As a result, the northern tribes rebelled, and the kingdom was permanently divided. Today there is a tendency to discount input from older people. However, God has placed wisdom in older people that the young can learn a great deal from. Do not despise input from those who may be considerably older than you. God has placed a level of wisdom in them that can help you avoid major mistakes. Just for the asking: Who are the people I'm taking advice from on a regular basis? Does the advice take me closer to Jesus?