What God Wants

After a wonderful anointing of the Holy Ghost in both services yesterday and after watching God deal with people and pull them to Him, here is a study to start your week. I challenge you to go get your Bible and turn to this chapter and read along with this thought. If you will and apply it to your life you will see a big difference in the days to come. But remember the seeds we sow come up in seasons. You may have to deal with some of yesterday’s seeds but you can start making a difference by planting the right ones from now on. Go get your Bible.

This study comes from the 58^th chapter of Isaiah. Turn there in your Bible and follow along.

The chapter starts with a full throated yell at the people of God.

In verse two God says that they seek Him every day. They come to Him in some sort of prayer and praise and delight or are bent towards the ordinances of God and ask that His ordinances bring them right things and prosperity.   The Message commentary says this about verse two. “They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people-- law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side.”

Then, verse three starts with their complaint and then the Lord gives the reason He is addressing them in this chapter.

Their commitment was for their own wants and lust. They fasted and prayed with a “look at me” mentality. They prayed that they might heap their answered prayers up for their own benefit. 

In the New Testament James warns of this same action.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3 NKJV

The writer Isaiah goes on to let them know they are angry and bitter. They were carrying grudges and having fits of rage. They boiled over often to such a place that they seemed to swing a mean fist. Verse six starts with what God wants to see in one’s life if we want our fasting and prayer to be effective. God list eight things He wants to see daily in their lives.

1 To break the chains of injustice, to become fair with all your dealings.

2 To get rid of exploitation or abuse in the workplace,

3 To free the oppressed or discouraged,

4 To cancel debts. This would be more than financial also people who have done you wrong.

God then starts verse seven with, “What I'm interested in seeing you do is:”

5 To start sharing your food with the hungry,

6 To inviting the homeless poor into your homes,     

7 To put clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

8 To become available to your own families.

God gave them these eight things to do daily and said if they would do this the Lord would follow it up with five blessings.

1 God would cause the lights will turn on,

2 Your lives will turn around at once, healing would come speedily.

3 Your righteousness (KJV same word as justice in verse 2 – right but also prosperity) will pave your way.

4 The God of glory will secure your passage. God will guard your back so you will not be taken by surprise.

5 Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

The Amplified Bible puts verse 8 and 9 like this.

8 Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. [Ex 14:19,20; Isa 52:12.]

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am.

But God didn’t stop there, He takes it even farther. God ends verse nine with the starting of another list. God gives another five things to change in our lives.

1 If you get rid of unfair practices,

2 If you quit blaming victims, or stop pointing your finger with blame.

3 If you quit gossiping about other people's sins,

4 If you are generous with the hungry

5 If you start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Again the Lord follows up the list of, if you do these things, then He will causes some things to become an assumed thing in your life.  

1 Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, (Original meaning was to shoot forth like beams of light)

2 Your shadowed (misfortune) lives will be bathed in sunlight (doubled light).

3 God will always show you where to go.

4 God will give you a full life in the emptiest of places —

5 God will give you firm muscles, strong bones. (He will strengthen your body)

6 God will make you be like a well-watered garden,

7 God will make you like a gurgling spring that never runs dry. (Original text, fail means never lie or be a liar)

8 God will cause you to use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

9 God will cause you to rebuild the foundations from out of your past. (Possibly past failures will be given a second chance.)

10 God will cause you to be known as those who can fix anything, (God is using you.)

11 God will cause you to restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, and make the community (your surroundings) livable again.  

(These verses were taken from the Message Commentary.)

You want to make a difference in your world?

Live a holy life: Be faithful to your spouse. Be the one at the office or on the job who refuses to cheat and lie. Be the neighbor who acts neighborly and not crabby. Be the employee who does the work and doesn’t complain or the employer who is not unkind. Pay your bills. Do your part in life and enjoy life. Don’t speak one message and live another. People are watching the way we act more than they are listening to what we say.

From the book, A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado

God bless your day and may this chapter change the direction of your life.

Stop The Drifting

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-18 NKJV

This is one of my most read and thought on scriptures. On a regular basis I try to walk through these verses and see how I am doing personally. I like to see my life mirrored in these verses of scripture and look at what I need to change. I want to continually be walking the Christ-like life, looking and watching all around me rescuing time and opportunity. I remind myself these are evil days so not to be foolish and unwise in my daily actions. I know what the will of God is, its clearly seen in His Word, so I must live daily like I know to live.

This is not something I can just major in on Sunday and not think about it the rest of the week. Tuesday is part of the evil days just like Sunday is. So I have to pay attention every day and walk in the will of God. Too many Christians waste time simply drifting. Living from Sunday to Sunday never considering what the will of God really is. This drifting is costing many their callings and will end up causing many to spend eternity in the wrong place. Drifting is a dangerous action in the life of a person who is trying to be a Christian.

Drifting is not to be confused with waiting. Waiting is an intentional choice. Drifting is choosing not to choose. One passage in Psalms tells us to “wait upon the Lord.” We wait with intention, believing that something will happen although we know not when. We wait when we pause to reflect and contemplate for insight. We wait on the Lord with anointing in our life.

Drifting is different. It is listless: It neither waits nor acts.  Ever heard it said of someone that he stopped to think and forgot to start again? That’s drifting. Do you recall what Paul asks the church in Galatians 5:7, “You did run well but who hindered you?” That’s drifting. He goes on to say in verse 16, Walk in the Spirit and you will not fall under the direction of your own desires and wants. We should pause – to reflect, to relax, or to reenergize – but not to check out and start drifting. There are some things that will cause us to start to drift. There may be many but there are four I have listed that I believe and feel the scriptures bear out that can cause all of us to start to drift.

1.                  Lack of Prayer and Devotion to God

When we get ourselves to the place where we don’t have time for unhurried moments with God we are quickly becoming like a ship who doesn’t stop for fuel. You can never get enough strength in your life just at a church service. You will have to personally stop for Prayer and Devotion if you are to keep from drifting. In the business magazine, Christian Professional, I came across an article that centered on this subject. The writer made some powerful points as to why we must stop and refuel through Prayer and Devotion. He said, “How you choose to fill your calendar has profound implications. Giving time to God involves sacrifice, but it is the most meaningful offering you can bring to the altar as you worship Him. Honoring God has a cost. Neglecting time with the Lord in favor of other pursuits is, in essence, idolatry. The hard truth is, when we do not have enough time for God, that says more about our view of God than our busy schedule.” The lack of continual Prayer and Devotion sets you and me up for a storm in life to take us under or blow us into a place that we may never fully recover a portion of our life. God never intended on us making it through life or to heaven without His daily hand in our life.

2.                  Failure to Value Continual Growth

Paul uses word like “Strive” “Work” and “Endurance” to describe the walk of faith.

Jesus said in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in…” The word, strive here means, to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or generally (to endeavor to accomplish something): Each day, week, month and year, we should strive to be better than we were before. Stagnation is not an option. We are either moving forward or we are moving back. If we stay as we are and the church grows on we simply backslide by staying in one place. As a child of God what are your growth plans? What are your goals in God?

Are you growing and putting value on growth or are you simply staying the same as you always have been? One of the quickest ways to start to drift is simply too stop growing in grace and the admonition of the Lord. 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...” NKJV Can you look and see your walk for God is clearly greater than it was this time last year? Or does everything just seem the same? If it is, you may be just drifting and I would warn you that the next storm of life could take you under.

3.                  Failure to be Instructed and Accountable

The truth is, while most of us hate to have someone checking up on us, accountability keeps us on track. To know someone is watching to see if we are changing will cause us to try. Often when it comes to our faith and walk for God we tend to avoid accountability. We say, “My faith is between me and God.” Yet, we fail to realize that we have a greater chance of being productive in Christ and our Christ-like-life if we have someone checking up on our progress.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.” NKJV

Yesterday I was blessed to spend several hours between our services being coached. I got up this morning still tasting the wonderful nourishment of having someone speak into and at my life. I hope I never get to the place I can't park my life and truly listen to someone instruct me and I be accountable to them. It is amazing to me that we understand the importance of coaching in the sports world and the powerful need for coaching in the business world. Yet, we tend to make our walk with God so personal that we refuse to listen to someone giving us personal instruction and coaching about our walk with God.

4.                  Defining Motion as Productivity

Lisa was determined to get a big bonus. So she was shocked when the bonus checks arrived and hers was underwhelming. She stormed into her boss’ office, “I made more sales calls, sent out more samples, and logged more miles than anyone else last year! She said. “Why is my check so small?” Her boss leaned back in her chair and said, “But how many deals did you close, how many contracts did you get signed?”

Lisa’s mistake is obvious: She focused on activity, not results. It’s the same mistakes a lot of Children of the Lord make. We can list a lot of motion and action of stirring around, but there is little productivity to show for it. Lack of production frustrates us and often causes us to do two things.

1.         We give up and quit because we are embarrassed simply because our actions, or motions has us doing a lot of talking and when we don’t produce we become easily discourage and we quit.

2.         We tend to blame or point at other people’s failures because we don’t want to be the only one not producing and we want others faults to be noticed.

Watch both of these happen in the story found in Luke 10. Martha is busy with action and no doubt embarrassed by the fact she has not stopped to hear Jesus so she points out that she doesn’t think Mary is doing enough action. To which Jesus says, "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."  Luke 10:41-42 NIV

I challenge you today to look around you and at your life. How are you doing? How are you walking? Don’t be unwise these days are evil. Understand what God wants and grab hold of the chance to get closer to Him today.

Work On Your Marriage

In my office are two small framed photos of the young lady who turned my head almost twenty-eight years ago. I spent some time today walking down memory lane about the day I first saw a glimpse of her. I knew at that moment I wanted to ask her out and a few days later I did. From that day my life has been centered around her. I married her later on and we are getting the wonderful privilege of getting older together. (No I am not old; the two of us are just having birthdays).

Being that a lot of time and money will be spent this week on romance and rightly so, I thought I would dedicate this note to encouraging people to work and improve your marriage. This is something that, like me and Stephanie, you will have to plan on doing. Yes, you like me need to do better and your marriage can improve. You see Stephanie and I made a promise on our wedding day to make our marriage last until death do we part. If you look around today you will find that part of the wedding vows don’t seem to mean much. The odds of a marriage failing are pretty high. So if you want yours to beat those odds you will have to continually work on it.

Through the years of our marriage we have stopped along the way to read books on how to have a better marriage. We have tried to change the things that need to change and improve the things that need to improve. I have noticed as life changes and we move from season to season we must adjust our thoughts and feelings. So we have attempted to learn to change and make our marriage better. You are making a foolish mistake if you are not improving and working so your marriage gets better no matter how long you have been married.

Something I have noticed through the years as a minister, as I have done both pre-marriage and marriage coaching, is the instruction is closely the same. Here are some points I want to pass along that Stephanie and I have found is good advice.

·         As best and if possible, Stay Out Of Debt! Money problems are one of the greatest hindrances to a good marriage. We can live and live peaceably with a lot of the stuff we think we can’t live without .

·         Never make an important decision, Quickly, Without Prayer and Without Godly Counsel. Don’t get caught having to rush a big decision. Stop and seek direction.

·         Take time to be with each other Without family and friends.

·         Seek to Understand not just be Understood – Steve Covey

·         She is not going to be just like your MOM! He is not going to be just like your DAD!

·         Realize quickly and know it is OK that each of you brings into the marriage a different point of view and a different way of doing things.

·         Three words that must never be said during a disagreement are, Never, Always, and Hate. The word Divorce should never be used in connection to any part of your relationship communication.

·         Don’t be Brutally Honest. Years later you will never remember the reason for the argument but you will always remember the words that were said.

·         Don’t keep Score, life is too short.

·         Listen because listening says, “I value your opinion and I care about our relationship.”

·         Learn to talk. Put the phone down. Value the time you have with one another. (I personally think when on a date we would do better to leave the phone in the car.) I sat some time ago in a restaurant and as I looked around the room I saw couple after couple not enjoying being with each other but rather locked away in their own world on their phone. Learn to talk to each other.

·         When you are wrong admit it. When you are right, be quite.

·         Don’t use the silent treatment, it just shows your immaturity and unwillingness to grow up.

·         Have fun together.  Find things, hobbies or events that the two of you can enjoy together. I like the way Perry Nobles puts this, “When couples date they have fun… when they get married it seems there is a sprint to become “normal” as soon as possible. Guess what normal is the pits! The LAST thing I want to be is a normal married couple!” No matter how long you have been married learn to have fun with you mate.

I am sure you have a list of things you could add to these. No,  don’t send them to me, put them into practice in your marriage. Work on your marriage. I dare you to go get a book like His Needs, Her Needs by Dr. Willard Harley or Cracking the Communication Code by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs or another helpful marriage book. I dare you to read and put into practice the things listed on the pages. I read where one couple did this that had been married for more years than I and they said their marriage had never been as good as it was now. So, what are you waiting on? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

To finish up here are some questions I want you to ask each other.

What do you worry the most about?

What really bothers you that I do?

What do you wish I would never do again?

What is your greatest dream?

Now that you know the answers to the above questions fix them to the best of your abilities. Yes, you will have to work at it every day. That is part of being married.

Not As Fools

I have to stop today and agree with all the other comments that Saturday and Sunday were a wonderfully anointed time at FPB. The power of God left me shaking my head at the wonder of God. Yes, we were WOWED by His glory and power. Like David in the Psalms 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”  We can say we truly beheld His beauty (His delight and splendor) and we enquired (broke forth with admiration and studied after). I stand today expecting with anticipation for God to hear and answer the prayers that were presented over those two days. It is wonderful to live and walk in His light and anointing.

A few things that stand out to me about the last two days:

·       Saturday’s Unscripted Devotion time was like sitting in the gate of Heaven. Those two hours seem to have just flown by. I think this must have been what it was like to go to the tabernacle of David in the Old Testament. I can hardly wait until the next one.

·       Sunday’s first service was filled with the power of God and new guest sitting in the pews. I really believe God called loud for us not to become strangled by the cares of this everyday life. Because He is soon to come and we cannot be distracted away from Jesus by the busy and pressured things we call life. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36 NKJV

·         It was a joyful thing to know that God loves and wants to bless children just like adults. In Kid’s Church the Holy Ghost broke out and the altar filled up with children seeking God. Their service lasted longer that the adults. The anointing will leave no sincere seeking heart out!

·         Sunday evening’s communion service was so full of the anointing one didn’t really want to leave. One person told me they expected at any moment to see the angels ministering and looking into that powerful service. “To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.” 1Peter 1:12 NKJV

Nothing, not talent, not abilities or positions will even be able to do what the powerful anointing of Jesus can do in a church service and in a life.

I challenge everyone to go into His presence every day and be touch and changed by His anointing. Pray because it will make all the difference.

On that note and walking through your daily life I want to share several comments by Raymond Woodward that he posted on twitter.

85-year-old Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne 60 years ago today when her father, George VI, died on Feb. 6, 1952. "In this present time of glaring, intrusive media, it is hard to imagine the proportions of the Queen’s achievement in serving 60 years every one of them as one of the most prominent and publicized people in the world, without one gaffe, one embarrassing photograph, one injudicious utterance or slip on a banana peel, literal or metaphoric." ~

Conrad Black, National Post

Queen Elizabeth has walked circumspectly because she is ROYALTY. Apostolics, "ye are a chosen generation, a ROYAL priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9).

As I read this I realized I have been missing much of what the Apostle Paul was talking about in his letter to the Ephesian church. Paul said; See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV

We are told to walk our life for Christ circumspectly (exactly, diligently, looking all around) and not act unwise and as foolish people. We need to recuse time, value every day and every action we take in this day because we live and walk in an evil and sinful time. Our day should not influence the child of God for evil in their actions. We must not make unwise choices with our living. Remember what the will of God is.

After reading this scripture and knowing by the Word of God what the Lord expects from us I wonder how many, quote “Christians, Apostolics” can declare the same testimony of the Queen of England. That you have lived your days to this point and there are no days with sinful errors and blunders, no embarrassing photos, not one foolish utterance or slip of the tongue. She has lived such for 60 years. How are we doing calming to be Spirit filled and a child of God?

Yes, it would do all of us good to start walking like Paul told us in the book of Ephesians. Walk looking and watching. Stop living and acting foolish and unwise with our living. We will one day give and account for all our life, even our idle words (Matthew 12:36).

Remember we are a royal priesthood a holy nation. Get your life anointed and start living every day like you are a child of the King. Take on the nature of your heavenly Father. God is watching to see how we are doing. We will one day have to listen as He reads His notes about us.