10,000 Reasons

I took some time to “count my blessings” this morning. I remembered the first time I saw the woman whose been at my side for 40 years.  The summer of 1974 we fell in love and the memory makes me smile.  I remembered when my children were born, when God brought a beautiful little 4 year old girl into our family. I remembered marriages.   Memory is like a web, one story woven with another.  On the shelves of my memory, there are stories of changed lives, celebrations, milestone achievements, and God's wonderful works. In remembering my faith was strengthened. (If you know me, you know I shed some tears, too!)

It is important to mark the moments; both ordinary and stupendous, that God answers prayers, gives assurance, touches us with His joy. Many times in the Scripture, we read of memorials being built, records being written - just for the purpose of reminding future generations of the goodness of God.  Malachi tells us that "those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child." (Malachi 3:16-17, NLT) They remembered, praised, and made note!

After a spectacular experience of God’s provision, Joshua instructed Israel to "choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’ ... We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever." (Joshua 4:2-7, NLT)

Is your faith taking a beating in life right now?  Does it seems that God is far away, that some difficulty is too big to overcome?

Take a few moments for a memory review. Bring to mind a victory or two from your past and thank God! If you can't remember one from your own 'faith story,' then borrow one from some Christian's biography and thank God for His faithfulness to them; or, review a story from the Bible - Daniel in the lion's den when God showed up and closed the lion's mouth; young David on the field of battle confronting Goliath in the name of the LORD of Israel; or Paul and Silas in the jail in Philippi singing worship songs at midnight until God rocked the house!

"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) Let's not misunderstand this directive of the Word. It is not just an encouragement to optimism.  It is more than positive thinking!  Praise restores our place before God, helps us to renew our appreciation for His greatness, and restores our faith to receive His care.  Praise renews our hope given to us through Jesus Christ. We bring our worshipful praise to Him as a sacrifice, which He finds deeply pleasing.

Go ahead, offer a sacrifice of praise right now. Make it sincere, even if it's simple. Then, add another and another. Soon, you will have discovered the amazing power of praise, for praise ushers us into the Presence of God, where "we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:16, NLT)

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10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

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.

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.

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.

Worship Your holy name

Worship Your holy name

Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman

© 2011 Said And Done Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

SHOUT! Music Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Don' Quit Today!

Don’t quit today!

I read the following bit of 'wisdom' recently.  "Respect yourself enough to be willing to walk away from situations that don't make you happy."  That is wrong, not good, nor godly.  We are too ready, too quick, to call it quits these days. Some marriages end, not because of abuse or adultery, because two people will not grow with each other, letting love die. Joe and Sally Christian quit their church when offended, bored, or discontent. Quitting frequently has unintended consequences, too. A young woman who has been spiritually wandering told me, “It started when my parent’s pulled me out of the church where I had a spiritual home just because they were unhappy. I lost my roots, my anchor, and then my way.” I wonder how many other kids would say the same, if they could?

Jesus said, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62, NLT) Serious words, aren’t they?  I’ll be honest. This Pastor occasionally is tempted to quit. When the budget is tight, when lots of ‘people needs’ pile up, when I’m staring at a blank computer screen wondering what to say on Sunday morning, when the pressure is on to produce bigger numbers for our reports – I sometimes daydream another assignment in life. I don’t linger long in that fantasy land, because it is a waste of time to do so! My son calls me ‘the finisher,’ because he says I don’t know how to quit! I hope he’s right.

One of the key traits of a mature disciple of Jesus Christ is perseverance.

In the Scripture there are several synonyms for this word: patience, endurance, and longsuffering. James tells us to "Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail." (James 5:10-11, The Message)

The kingdom of God needs people who show up even when they don’t feel like it, who do what they’re called and equipped to do even when they’re bored or tired. We need steady men and women who are willing to say: “I know that God has called me. My feelings are secondary to my commitment. I’ll serve, I’ll stay, I’ll love – so help me God!” Those kind of disciples are key players, incredibly valuable, and the ones who get things done for God, often quietly and without accolades – but it matters little, for they serve for the joy of obedience, not for applause or even self-fulfillment. Yes, I know that paragraph reads like heresy to the average ‘happy hungry’ American who can’t imagine doing anything hard for any length of time.

Here’s some of the best encouragement you will ever get on the subject of commitment and endurance. "Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)

Are you considering quitting? 
Ready to walk out on your covenant with your spouse?  
Ready to just let that teenage rebel go his own way? 
Ready to lay aside your ministry calling?
Thinking about ending a friendship that has become strained?
Ready to leave your church?

Pray about it! Tell God how you feel. Your emotions are real, so don’t deny them. Then, listen carefully for the Spirit’s counsel. “Run with endurance!”  And remember this glorious promise for the weary, the battered, the bruised who remain faithful to the Lord: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:14-17, NIV)

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Am I a soldier of the cross,

A follower of the Lamb.

And shall I fear to own His cause,

Or blush to speak His name?

Sure I must fight if I would reign,

Increase my courage, Lord:

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,

Supported by Thy Word.

And when the battle's over We shall wear a crown!

Yes, we shall wear a crown! Yes, we shall wear a crown.

And when the battle's over, We shall wear a crown

In the new Jerusalem.

When The Battle's Over

Watts, Isaac / Waters, Harriette / Lind, A.E.© Public Domain

What's hidden deep inside of my head?

Around 2 am, this morning I was staring into the darkness.  “What if” scenarios ran through my mind in succession. None of my concerns were beyond the realm of possibility.  But, does worrying about them in early morning hours do any good?  Those are ideas that cannot make their way into my consciousness during my busy daytime hours.  They find a pathway into my thoughts as I emerge from sleep and lay quietly in the dark.

We all have a head that is full of thoughts, emotions, impulses, and ideas that exist just beyond the edge of our awareness.  They can be a real blessing, a source of tremendous creativity. We dream about an idea that proves to be just the right solution to a problem.  The work of sorting through solutions was largely done outside of our conscious mind. 

Would you like to rest better, live more faithfully, do better at dealing with others?   Then, fill your mind with good, godly, and faith-filled thoughts.  The practical advice God gives is to be “filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20, NIV)  When we invite the Presence of the Holy Spirit into our lives, when we regularly take in the Truth of Scripture, when we take care about what we consume as entertainment (many of us are much more careful about what we put into our stomach than our brain!) we form a rich resource for healthy thinking.

Want to change your actions?   Don’t start at the surface. Change the way you think. Right thinking always goes before right living. Scripture says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2, NIV)  Another passage urges us to focus on the Lord. The result? "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!" (Isaiah 26:3, NLT)

Those fears that visit me in the night-time reflect some area that I can and must more fully transform by faith; so, I drag them into the light.  How?  I talk about them in prayer with God.  Sometimes I seek the counsel of a friend. Often I meet them with what I learn in the Bible.  Exposed to the Light, they wither and die. This is my declaration - "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2, NIV)  

Fighting fear today? 
Do the headlines find a way into your head and resurface to make you anxious? 

Has temptation battered you, left you on the ropes, feeling like a failure?

Here is a word from the Word.  Receive it with faith.

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
But this is not true of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction."

(Psalm 1, NLT)

“What is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies?
Yet God does not forget a single one of them.
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows." (Luke 12:4-7, NLT)

And, don’t forget to keep those good, godly friends close!  We are not Lone Rangers, we are part of the family of God! Let’s live like it.

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Change my heart, oh God.

Make it ever true.

Change my heart, oh God.

May I be like You.

You are the Potter,

I am the clay!

“Mold me and make me,”

This is what I pray.

Eddie Espinosa

© 1982 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

CCLI License # 810055

Seeing as He does

Many years ago, Dunkin’ Donuts made us chuckle with an advertisement that featured Fred, the baker, headed out the door early in the morning to get the coffee and donuts ready for their customers. The tag line was “Time to make the donuts.”   It turned into a way to say, “It’s time to do that same thing I did yesterday!”   Do you ever feel like  you’re just slogging through the 'stuff' of life, eyes to the ground, trying to make a buck? Does the grind get you down, make you feel that life is meaningless?  Have whatever dreams you once had become mirages, shimmering on the horizon, unreal yet beckoning?

The answer to the emptiness is not diversion, not necessarily change (though it could be), and certainly not just giving up!  We need “vision!”  A real vision gives 'big picture context' to the work of the day.

On Tuesday I start to think about the following Sunday sermon. On Friday my primary task is to take the notes, thoughts, and readings and shape them into a manuscript.  From that I will deliver a sermon to the congregation on Sunday morning.   Preaching, a primary and visible part of my pastoral responsibilities, can be seen as just 'filling 30 minutes with words because that's what is expected of me.'   With that perspective my effort is an exercise in futility. If I take those 30 minutes as a privilege given to me to help people know God better as I point them to eternal wisdom, the effort is filled with passion.  Even with 'vision' the work is hard, but it is also purposeful.

Sometimes we plant trees and sometimes we plant flowers.  Tree planters need real  vision! That little sapling that a person plants in the back yard, won't be a shade tree to sit under for many years.  But, our grandchildren will still enjoy that oak we put in the yard. Setting out marigolds does not require much vision at all.  The tiny sprigs will grow quickly, in a matter of weeks, into flowering gardens.  But, they will die in a matter of months, too!

Our God calls us to active pursuit of the good He has purposed to do through us -- patiently and persistently.  James says, "Wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time." (James 5:7-8, The Message)  

If you’re starting your day feeling like it’s just “time to make the donuts,”  you need to step away, take a break and pray for renewal.  This is one reason God gave us the gift of Sabbath, one day in seven focused on Him.  Rest and worship are keys to maintaining the right vision for our lives.  Remind yourself why you started down the road.  Pray that God will set this day into the context of the larger picture of life for you, then - push ahead, steadily.  It is true that life can become routine even for visionaries, but with vision, we know why we do what we do.   Andy Stanley writes, "The daily grind of life is hard on visions. Life is now. Bills are now. Crisis is now. Vision is later. It is easy, therefore, to lose sight of the main thing, to sacrifice the best for the good. All of us run the risk of allowing secondary issues to rob us of the joy of seeing our visions come to completion. Distractions slowly kill the vision."  (Visioneering, Multnomah, 1999)

Jesus saw an opportunity that God prepared for Him at Jacob’s well in Samaria. A woman came to know her Heavenly Father that day.  His disciples were puzzled by His efforts with people they saw only as worthless, beyond hope.  The Lord challenged them to see as He does.  May His words give us vision, too.

 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’?
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life,
so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together." (John 4:33-36, NIV)

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Be Thou my vision,

O Lord of my heart.

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art.

Thou my best thought,

By day or by night.

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom,

Be Thou my true Word.

I ever with Thee

And Thou with me Lord.

Thou my great Father,

I Thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling

And I with Thee one.

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won.

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun.

Heart of my own heart,

Whatever befall,

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all!

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain