Word!

So much information bombards us it is next to impossible to sort out truth from lies, what is worthy of our trust from what we should just discard. There is a torrent of advice about how to live. We are counseled about what it means to be a man, a woman.  There are multiple advisors about parenting – strict, permissive – what is the best way?  Financial advisors will offer you many ideas about how to invest your resources. What does a healthy diet look like?  In my lifetime the accepted wisdom for all of those things, and more, have been radically rewritten.

There is one thing that is unchanging, a solid foundation for life. The Gospel, God’s Message of hope and life in Christ Jesus, is one thing not subject to revision.  Paul writes of his joy in the believers who accept that Word by faith.  "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NIV)  Peter joins Paul in affirming the truth of the Gospel. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:16, NIV)

There is no better hope than the anchor of the love of God, shown us through Christ Jesus. Regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, social status – there is one message. It is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us, to restore us to our Creator Father, and to assure us, by His own Resurrection, that we can live beyond this brief existence on this earth. This is Truth. Do you believe it, receive it, and hold to it?

Many other roads to God may be suggested, but there is but One Way. We cannot reach God with a bridge built of our own goodness. We need a Savior. We cannot reach God by study and discovery. We need Someone to reveal the truth.  When we respond to His invitation, in faith, a whole new kind of existence begins to emerge for us.  We learn to love. There is hope and joy. Peace is possible, with other people and with God Himself.

Jesus describes the settling of the Truth as being like the planting of a seed.  His parable used 4 soil types to represent the human mind and heart and our response to the Word of the Gospel. "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” (Mark 4:3-8, NIV)  Some hear and are just hard, the seed unable to germinate. Others hear eagerly, perhaps in a desperate time, but fail to grow roots to sustain their faith. Some let life get too full of other things and the Word Seed’s growth is stunted. Some are fertile rich soil where God’s Gospel produces a rich quality of life.

Who are YOU, friend?  Are you receiving the Gospel, acting on it, loving Christ?  In one way, we could speak of this as a ‘once and done’ moment, for we are born into the kingdom by faith, given new life at a moment of conversion. Yet, it is also true that the Gospel is received anew each day so that the life of the Spirit can flourish making us fruitful in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5: 22)

This Monday morning, the first day of Thanksgiving week, thank God for showing you His love in Christ Jesus. Receive the Word as the word of God, not as some bit of advice from a counselor.

Here is a word from the Word. “When God wanted to guarantee his promises, He gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God.”  (Heb 6:17-19, The Message)
___

Anchor
(listen and know peace)

I have this hope

As an anchor for my soul

Through ev'ry storm

I will hold to You

With endless love

All my fear is swept away

In ev'rything

I will trust in You

There is hope in the promise of the cross

You gave ev'rything to save the world You love

And this hope is an anchor for my soul

Our God will stand unshakable

Unchanging One

Who was and is to come

Your promise sure

You will not let go

Your Name is higher

Your Name is greater

All my hope is in You

Your word unfailing

Your promise unshaken

All my hope is in You

Ben Fielding | Dean Ussher

© 2012 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Do you like me?

 

For whom are you dancing today? Well, perhaps you are not actually dancing, but who are you trying to please? We all have some level of need for appreciation, wanting to be liked. If we make that kind of approval our first priority, misery is guaranteed. A hundred voices will call us to a hundred pathways. Public pressure will try to squeeze us into conformity to a dozen different sets of expectations.

Paul writes this, not from vanity, but with a laser-like focus.  "We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else," (1 Thessalonians 2:3-6, NIV)

In ancient Israel, King David wanted to bring the symbol of God’s Presence home to the city of Jerusalem. The story of his attempts has some fails and missed cues, so when the day finally came for the Ark of the Covenant to come to Jerusalem, he was overcome with joy in the Lord. As the procession entered the city, he started to dance, then spin, and then… he shed his royal robes, dancing in front of his people in just his tunic. In a sense, he was down to his royal underwear:  leaping, dancing, and shouting the praises of God.

Some people were delighted by his enthusiasm, but not all! "Michal daughter of Saul (David’s wife) watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart." (2 Samuel 6:16, NIV) When he got back to the palace, he expected to share his joy. Instead, she met him with her contempt.  “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”  Just to be clear – David was not naked. Her contempt came out of her notion that he had not kept his royal dignity intact.

It remains a truth that when you devote yourself fully to the Lord there will always be critics. Even some Christians will come to despise you. Your devotion may challenge their apathy, the fire in your heart exposing the coldness of theirs. In those situations it is much easier to turn on the true worshiper, to criticize his devotion and/or his motive, than to repent.  If you listen to them they will kill your joy, hinder your worship, and diminish your love of God.

We seek the applause of the “audience of One,” to borrow the words of Kierkegaard.  God’s approval must be enough for us. It was for David.  When his wife mocked his worship, he told her:  “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." (2 Samuel 6:20-22, NIV)

Critics will turn you into a puppet dancing at the end of the strings they pull. Gently, humbly, refuse their demands. Beware of arrogance or pride that devalues the fellowship of Believers. We are part of His Body and submitted to one another, and yet the deepest intimacy and our greatest sacrifice generally will be reserved for God alone. Jesus warned that we can turn prayer and worship into a performance designed to impress others. Our only reward, He said, is their admiration.

Heaven falls silent when we start to dance for the crowd!  But, there will be moments when the Spirit of God sweeps over us and we just forget ourselves, enthralled by His love. In those moments, we forget the critics. As Paul asks, Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, NIV)  

Struggling with critics? Listening to many voices, feeling pressure to conform? Here is the word from the Word. “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)

For God, and God alone.

_______________

Build My Life

(what or who is your foundation?)

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Loud and Clear

I want one thing to be obvious about me, above anything else – that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I have no desire to be like “Captain Obvious” that obnoxious character that markets for hotels.com. The gag that the commercials feature is his complete lack of awareness about how he is coming across to those around him.  Some Christians turn their faith into something like that: insensitive, sometimes just silly, often unnecessarily offensive, as they claim to be doing the work of Christ. Jesus becomes part of their political ideology, the Gospel turns into a ‘get out of Hell’ pass, and superstitious ideas replace deep intimacy with the Spirit.  Then, there are those beautiful Believers who are true saints, not because a halo hovers over their head, but whose lives demonstrate a deep faith and a godly direction.

Paul commended the Thessalonian Christians for a faith that came through loud and clear!  "And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. ... They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1 Thessalonians 1:7-10, NIV)

That phrase challenges me this morning – “the Lord’s message rang out from you… your faith known everywhere.”  People in that region of Greece were talking about these believers, not because they were obnoxious, but because they had found a powerful faith that completely changed the way they lived. They no longer held onto their old idols, they loved the Lord. They had found real hope of salvation and eternal life, no longer fearing the future, or even death itself.  They were not making a lot of self-congratulatory noise; God, the Holy Spirit was using them to proclaim His Message.  

As you head into life today, I encourage you to pause for a few moments to pray a different kind of prayer. Pouring out our petitions is a wonderful privilege and we should do that. There is another way to pray that involves listening, with a focused heart and mind that wants to hear from the Spirit. We almost instinctively pray “Lord, I’m speaking so listen,” but do we remember to pray as young Samuel was counseled? “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Contemplate the works of God. Spend time with the mystery of the love of the Almighty for you. Let God love you.  

Something amazing happens to Christians who are listening to God. They begin to take on the character and beauty of the Savior. Grace pours into their lives and then spills over out of their lives. The Gospel ‘rings out’ through their love, their patience, their forgiveness, their gentleness, their steadiness in joy and sorrow alike.  When people talk about this kind of Christians, it is not to mock. Instead they speak about something beautiful, a message that ‘rings out’ through them. Oh, I want that to be true of my life.

Lord, let Your beauty shine through, Your amazing love owning my heart so that it overflows to those with whom I talk and walk today.

In our word from the Word today, Peter urges us to "Live such good lives among the pagans (those who do not know God) that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12, NIV)  How can we do that? "As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! …  So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better." (2 Peter 1:3,5, NLT)

Let Him be revealed in you today.

_________

Yes I Will

(A desire to let Him shine)

I count on one thing

The same God that never fails

Will not fail me now

You won't fail me now

In the waiting

The same God who's never late

Is working all things out

You're working all things out

Yes I will lift You high

In the lowest valley

Yes I will bless Your name

Yes I will sing for joy

When my heart is heavy

All my days yes I will

I choose to praise

To glorify glorify

The name of all names

That nothing can stand against

For all my days

Yes I will

Eddie Hoagland | Jonathan Smith | Mia Fieldes

© All Essential Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

HBC Worship Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055