Joining the exiles in despair?

Are you disappointed? Perhaps you are frustrated or confused? Woke up to find yourself in a situation you do not like, that you cannot change?  So did some people in ancient Babylon! The Assyrians arrived to besiege Jerusalem. When the city fell, thousands were marched over hundreds of miles and resettled to become servants of Nebuchadnezzar. There were men who claimed divine inspiration telling those exiles not to put down roots. Others were advising them to resist the empire’s orders. Some were just in despair pronouncing woe and the ‘end of the world.’

Jeremiah, who remained in the ruined city of Jerusalem, heard from the Lord and sent a letter to the Jews in Babylon. One of lines in that letter captivates us still and it is a wonderfully encouraging truth. Most likely you are familiar with it - "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) It is a much misunderstood passage that some use like a magic chant, falsely assuring themselves that everything will work out in just the way they desire.  The context is important to give us a true understanding that will sustain us in tough time.

He widened the lens of their understanding with a reminder that God’s plans and purposes reached far beyond what they wanted.  First he told them that God wanted them to settle down and make a life right where they were.  “Build houses and make yourselves at home. “Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country. “Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away." (Jeremiah 29:5-6, The Message)  It was not what most of them wanted to hear.  Their hope was a quick return to Jerusalem to reclaim their old way of life.  He went on to assure them that their children’s children would be restored to their land, but only after 70 years of time.  It was a hard word that meant those reading them for the first time would die far from home! 

Jeremiah then repeats what he had heard from the Spirit. "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)

Your Father in Heaven has plans for you! His plans may be much different from our dreams.  He does not promise to give us everything we desire in this moment. He does that His purposes will ultimately prevail if we walk humbly and obediently with Him. The sins of others may cause us to experience difficulties or sorrows or even disaster in the short term. He invites us to take the longer view, to catch sight of the promise of our eternal home, and to be about the business of building His kingdom, where we are, in the situations in which we find ourselves.

I do not believe that everything that happens to me, in this moment, is the perfect will of God. He has given humanity the gift of choice and many use their will to resist Him, to rebel against Him, to act selfishly. I have done that and so have you. Remember that “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”  Yet, I am assured by a truth that God ultimately reigns over all, that He will accomplish His purposes, and best of all – that He has secured my eternal salvation with a covenant that was written in Heaven, by Christ at the cost of His life on the Cross. His Resurrection is the guarantee that I will make my home with Him for eternity!

Are you ‘in exile’ this morning? Are you feeling frustrated, confused, hopeless? "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)  

Here is a word from the Word. Write it on your heart and go on, steady in hope of His purposes that will prevail over the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." (Romans 8:35-38, NLT)

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I Surrender All

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live

I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Savior

I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender

Humbly at His feet I bow

Worldly pleasures all forsaken

Take me Jesus take me now

All to Jesus I surrender

Make me Savior wholly Thine

Let me feel the Holy Spirit

Truly know that Thou art mine

All to Jesus I surrender

Lord I give myself to Thee

Fill me with Thy love and power

Let Thy blessing fall on me

Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter | Winfield Scott Weeden

© Words: Public Domain

So, you’re just going to eat that cookie?

“Nothing in the world is certain but death and taxes,” Ben Franklin said.  I would edit that by adding temptation to the list. It is no joke! Sometimes we experience temptation in ways that are inconsequential like that extra cookie for dessert. And then there are those moments when our whole being is seemingly obsessed with food, drink, sex, ease, comfort, or stuff. (Each of us could add to that list.)  It is a struggle. When temptation comes we just know that we want what we want now. Take it from a man whose heard a lot of confessions in my lifetime – you are not unique in your struggle. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to people,” Paul teaches. You might feel like you are the first and only person to ever feel the desire in the way you do, but you are not.

The first mistake about temptation is to conclude that failure is inevitable! No, it is not. God gave us two amazing gifts.  When we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior we are given His transforming Spirit Who lives in us- counseling, convicting, and empowering. He also gave us the power of choice.  You and I have the power to choose our response to life today. “So, choose life!” the Word counsels us. When we fill our minds with truth, when we put ourselves in the company of those who share our desire for the things of God, when we choose the disciplines of prayer, serving, forgiveness and such things – the glitter of temptation dims and the grip of the Tempter loosens.

The second mistake is to focus on the issue of our temptation. Whatever the fight, acknowledge it to yourself and God (Be honest about it, no excuses.) and then change the channel.  Call a friend. Go somewhere different. Pray, not just about how much you want whatever is tempting you, but also thanking God for Who He is and what He’s done.  If we simply sit and obsess over our desire, it will overwhelm us.

Make a positive decision today to build spiritual strength and reserves before the temptation arrives.  Let me illustrate from health practices. Too much of our current healthcare happens only after disease is diagnosed. We spend billions of dollars on pills and potions to cure our ills. We are beginning to understand that preventative care needs to be emphasized.  Controlling weight, getting up and moving, and eating better food does not eliminate every possibility of disease, but it strengthens our body’s natural systems of health. 

Christian, there are choices for spiritual health that we can make today. 

15 minutes of real prayer and meditation each day is a choice will open pathways for the Spirit’s entry. 

Practicing active forgiveness, refusing to take offense, is a powerful choice we make over the little things first!

Staying involved with regular worship with other Christians and creating strong, intimate connections to the Church has a value beyond calculating.

Reading the Scripture, with the help of a daily guide, gets God’s Truth into us.

Consistently serving in a way that dethrones Self and that is done for Jesus is a choice for health.

The Word reminds us that though our sinful nature continues to whine and look for our attention, Someone greater lives in us. "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live." (Romans 8:11-13, NLT)  The struggle is real but our victory is assured!

Here is a word from the Word. Take time to let your mind and heart absorb this passage. Learn it, live it, and be an overcomer!

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test,
he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."
(James 1:12-14, NIV)

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King Of My Heart

(worship at this link)

Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh He is my song

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

Let the King of my heart

Be the wind inside my sails

The anchor in the waves

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the fire inside my veins

The echo of my days

Oh He is my song

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

John Mark McMillan | Sarah McMillan

© Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Raucous Ruckus Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

McMillan, Sarah (Admin. by Moniker Music Group)

CCLI License # 810055

How to make life richer today

Thanksgiving sort of crept up on me this year. Business? Preoccupation with the stuff of life? I do not know why but this morning, the thought arrived in the front line of my mind – it is almost Thanksgiving!  Why not start the celebration today, right now? Before you read on, send someone a text that says a simple ‘thank you.’  Then, breathe a sincere prayer of thanks – for life, for love, for Jesus, for friends, for … you can do this.  Just make it more than ‘thank you, God.’  

If there is one ugly part of being American, it is the entitlement that causes us to believe that we are owed happiness, respect, or things.  Every time I ask “Why me?” I reveal that I think I deserve better.  When I start to think that life is conspiring against me, that people are out to get me, that God is ignoring me -  it is  short leap into misery and meanness. I do not want to be ‘that guy.’  How did we avoid that pit of pitifulness?  Learn ‘thanks-living’ - for God’s sake, really. 

Gratitude is a spiritual issue. When the Holy Spirit is given access to our heart and we begin to practice genuine gratitude, we open up great possibilities for God to do amazing things in us and with us. Luke tells a story about 10 men who approached Jesus  because they were in a desperate situation. 

They were ‘lepers.’  They had a skin disease and because of it, they had to live isolated from friend and family, begging and generally despised because most people thought they had leprosy because ‘they deserved it.’  To be a leper at that time was a kind of living death!  These men heard about Jesus’ healing work and when they saw him, they yelled “Have mercy on us!”  He directed them to an act of faith. “Go show yourself to the priest.”  If a person’s skin issue cleared up, the priest could certify that and allow them to return to society.

Do you remember what happened when they did want He told them to do?  A miracle. "And as they went, they were cleansed.”  How many times have you thought, “If I just received this, got that, solved this problem, … I know I would become a more thankful person.  This story reveals something about our human nature that is not very pretty.  Read on …  “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:14-17, NIV) 

Just one even thought to go back to Jesus and express his gratitude. Luke includes the detail that the grateful one was another kind of social outcast, a Samaritan; not a ‘true child of God’ in the opinion of the majority. He was  ‘praising God in a loud voice.’  Today we might say he was freaking out. He was yelling, pointing at his new skin, jumping up and down, and crying. He didn’t kneel reverently when he found Jesus. He threw himself at His feet in an expression of complete humility, realizing he deserved nothing and received everything.

Does the Lord give life and blessings only to find Himself looking at a person who, like those nine healed men in Luke’s story, has forgotten the Source of those blessings? Do you remember to give thanks?

Real gratitude begins with bent knees and an open heart. The Bible urges a ‘sacrifice of praise.’  Some days we must make the choice of thanksgiving when for a thousand reasons we would rather complain.  From personal experience, I can tell you that when I choose to thank the Lord for people, situations, and past mercies, I often find that the joy of the Lord finds me. Is life all that I would like it to be?  Not always, but He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! 

Ready to get thankful? Take a pointer from Paul. We cannot become grateful just by trying to handcuff our negativity!  Instead we look up, becoming Jesus focused. He says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:12-13, NIV)

Here’s a word from the Word.  "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name." (Hebrews 13:15, NIV)

Don’t be one of the 9 who forgot their Source! Be the 1 who worshipped! And, by the way, did you send that text of thanks yet?

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10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

(worship with this great song)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

O my soul;

Worship His holy name!

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning.

It's time to sing Your song again.

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,

Let me be singing when the evening comes.

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger,

Your name is great and Your heart is kind.

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing.

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come,

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending,

Ten thousand years and then forevermore.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul;

Worship His holy name!

Sing like never before, O my soul,

I'll worship Your holy name!

Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman

© 2011 Said And Done Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

SHOUT! Music Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055