Man of Faith

     “Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him,  ‘I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:5-9 NKJV) 

   “When Jesus heard it, He said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8-10 NKJV)

   I have written about this centurion in a previous post but recently I read a sermon by the late Pastor Ron Dunn and he has some very good points that I didn’t see before. Pastor Dunn says this:

   “Now, I have a great respect for the Word of God. But I must confess to you that for a long time I couldn’t see what was so great about what that man said. I didn’t understand it. What did he say? He said, ‘I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me…..”(verse 9)

    Why was Jesus amazed at this man of faith? I couldn’t see what the man said had to do with faith. But I got to thinking, If it amazed Jesus, it ought to amaze me. I would think it would take a lot to amaze Jesus. He was amazed twice in the Bible. Both times He expressed amazement at the faith of a Gentile. What could you show Jesus, or what could you tell Jesus that would amaze Him? He’s seen it all! He made it all!

     If this encounter amazed Jesus, it ought to do something to me. I thought to myself that I must be missing something. Let’s look at the encounter again. Jesus told the centurion that He would come to his house and heal his servant. But the centurion replied, ‘Oh, no, Lord, don’t do that. I’m not worthy to have You come under my roof. Just speak the word, and my servant will live, for I also am a man under authority.’ Now I would expect his next words to be,  ‘And if I am told to go somewhere, I go somewhere, and when I am told to do something, I do something.’ But that is not what the centurion said.

     He said,  “For I also am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to this one go, and he goes. And to this one, do this and he does it.’ The centurion was saying, ‘ I live under authority; therefore, I have authority.’ And he did. He had authority over one hundred soldiers. That’s why they call him a centurion.

    As long as the centurion was submitted to the authority of the emperor, he had the emperor’s authority over those one hundred soldiers. If he rebelled against the authority of the emperor, he lost his authority over those one hundred soldiers. So that was the principle by which he was living. But that is still not what amazed Jesus. What amazed Jesus was one little word that the man said. Some translators say ‘also.’ Some say ‘too.’ And unfortunately, some leave it out. But it belongs there.

    Now listen to me as I quote it: …..’Just speak the word, and my servant will live, for I also am a man under authority.’ In other words, ‘I don’t have to run my own errands. If I want something done, I tell others to do it, and it’s done for me. And Lord, I understand that You live by the same principle I live by.’ When he said, ‘I, too,’ or ‘I, also, am a man under authority,’ this is what amazed Jesus, that this centurion had such great insight into the truth that Jesus Himself lived by that same principle. He said, ‘I have never seen such great faith.’

    The point I want you to get is that this was the principle by which Jesus Christ lived. He lived under the authority of His Father; therefore He had His Father’s authority. That’s the principle by which the centurion lived. He was under the authority of the Emperor; therefore, he had the emperor’s authority. That’s the principle by which (the Apostle) Paul lived. That’s the principle by which we should live if we want to experience victory in the Christian life. 

   I’m trying to say that the responsibility for the victory is not mine, it is God’s. I realize that many of us use the expression, ‘win the victory.’ I’ve got to go out there and ‘win the victory,’ to overcome the devil, and win over temptation. But I want you to know there are no victories to be won. Christ won every victory two thousand years ago when He died for us on the cross! Every temptation you will face has already been overcome by Jesus. The responsibility is not ours…….The responsibility for victory in the Christian life does not rest with us. It’s not our victory; it is God’s victory through Christ.” (Ron Dunn by Ron Owens, pp 267-269)

PRAY

1. Lord, we praise You because You alone are worthy of our praise. You are our Creator, Savior, Father, and LORD!

2. Help me today to stay completely under Your authority and banner so that You can lead me in the Victory that You have already won.

3. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today so that I may speak of Your wonders and mercy to all that You send into my path today. I belong to You, and help me to stay under Your authority as You lead me in the victory that You have already won at Calvary!   

Chained to the Chariot

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-14, NKJV)

   In Roman times when Paul wrote his epistles, it was a Roman custom to hold a victory parade after every major victory of one of its armies over an enemy such as  Carthage, or Greece, or Gaul. The parade would be led by priests burning incense, followed by the victorious general in a golden chariot pulled by four white horses. Behind him would be some of the enemy commanders in chains. The prisoners would be followed by musicians and then soldiers of the victorious army. The crowds would line the route of march cheering the general and throwing flowers. The victorious general would dismount the chariot where the Ruling Cosul, or Emperor of Rome, was stationed and the ruler would place on the victor’s head a wreath, in honor of the victory. 

   There is a great example of this scene in the 1962 version of the movie Ben Hur, played by Charlton Heston. Ben Hur, who had been a galley slave on the ship of the victorious general, had saved the general’s life when the ship went down. Then as the general was ready to start the parade, he invited Ben Hur to ride with him in the chariot as the celebration began. 

   This is the way I always envisioned what Paul was saying in the verse above. God has invited me up into his chariot to share in the victory that Christ has already won for me. WRONG!  Wow, did I ever get that wrong!

    Ron Dunn, an awesome pastor and evangelist, who went to his reward in 2001, preached a sermon many times entitled “Chained to the Chariot,” that explains in a much better way just what the Apostle Paul was trying to tell us.

    Describing the victory parade Pastor Dunn said: “When the people saw their hero in that chariot, they would cheer and shout. They would throw garlands and confetti into the air. But when they saw the officers of that defeated army chained to that chariot and being dragged along behind, they would really go wild. This was a demonstration of the power of their hero. Paul was referring to that custom when he said, ‘Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession.’ In other words, Paul was Christianizing that custom. He was saying there was a time when he was at war with Jesus Christ. There were hostilities between God and Paul. But the Lord Jesus had conquered him, and he had yielded to Him in unconditional surrender. He had put Paul in the chains of His lordship, and he was chained to His chariot. And everywhere Paul went, Christ led him in His triumphal procession.

    The New English Bible brings it out well by saying, ‘Thanks be to God, who continually leads us about, captives in Christ’s triumphant procession’ (2 Cor. 5:14) Paul is saying, ‘I came to Jesus Christ; He overcame me, and I yielded to Him in unconditional surrender. He placed my hands in the chains of His Lordship and chained me to His chariot. Now thanks be to God, everywhere I go I am being led in His triumphant procession.’

   Paul was wanting everybody to know this before he details his apostleship, because when you get over to chapter 4 of 2 Corithians, he will speak about some bad things happening to him. He is saying in anticipation, ‘Now I’m going to tell you some things that some of you are going to think reveals failure and defeat. But I want you to know at the outset, thanks be to God, He always leads me in His triumph in Christ, and wherever I go, it may look like defeat to you; it may look like failure to you, but I am chained to His chariot, and that means that everywhere I go I am following in his own triumphant victory in Christ!”

   ‘But Paul;--how is it that you can say everywhere you go there's victory?’ Paul:’Because I’ve been conquered by Jesus Christ. I’m chained to His chariot, and I’m simply following along in the wake of His victory.’

The Fourfold Secret to a Victorious Life

1. If you want to be a conqueror, you must first be conquered.

2. If you want to be an overcomer, you must first be overcome.

3. If you want to be a master, you must first be mastered.

4. If you want to exercise authority, you must first submit to it.”

(Ron Dunn, His Life and Mission by Ron Owens, pp. 264-265)

    Obviously, we need more humility and submission than comes naturally if we are to be used by God to advance His Kingdom. We need to be chained to His chariot and led where He leads us and not where we want to go. Everytime I get the idea that I should be riding up in the chariot, next to Jesus, telling Him where I would like to go, I need to remember that that is not the way it works. I can be led to victory only if I remain chained to Jesus's chariot and obedient to go where He leads!

PRAY

1. Lord, thank You so much for accepting my surrender to You and allowing me to be chained to Your victorious chariot!

2. Keep me In your procession, and use me to accomplish whatever You have ordained for me since the day I was born.

3. Oh how I praise You and thank You for giving me another day to serve In Your Army! Fill me with Your Spirit daily so that my natural desire will be to be obedient and sensitive to Your directions.

Don't Just Stand There, Pray Something!

    “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:16-18 NKJV)

   “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14 NKJV)

Pastor Ron Dunn was a faithful man of God, a pastor and evangelist. In one of the churches he pastored, the church experienced a revival that lasted two years! In his biography written by Ron Owens we get these insights into the power and importance of prayer in our lives individually and as the body of Christ.

   “Ron calls prayer ‘the Christian’s secret weapon.’ Prayer means,’ he points out, ‘that no one has to say, ‘There’s nothing I can do,’ because there is! You don’t have to just stand there, you can pray something.’

    Prayer is like a missile that can be fired toward any spot on Earth. It can travel undetected at the speed of thought and hit its target every time. In His prayer of John 17, Jesus said, ‘I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.

 (John 17:20 NKJV). His prayer spans the centuries and embraces all who have and will yet believe. And Satan has no defense against this weapon. He doesn’t have an anti-prayer missile. 

     We do not pray by default–because there's nothing else to do. We pray because it is the best thing to do. Whatever the need or situation, we don’t have to just stand there–we can pray something.

     When God created prayer, He did not intend it to be just for some select group. He created it for people just like us, people who are weakened by sin, at times overcome by doubt, sometimes discouraged and bewildered.

   Prayer was a conspicuous part of Jesus’ life. If He could only say and do what He heard and saw the Father do, He had to spend a lot of time listening and watching. And He did. Prayer was the secret weapon Jesus passed  on to people just like us.

    I remember when we initiated the Intercessory Prayer Ministry at MacArthur, (Baptist Church) following  a fourteen week blitzkrieg of preaching on intercessory prayer. The beautiful prayer chapel was ready and we were in business. The phone rang, signaling the inaugural petition. It was one of our mothers calling from the hospital. Her two-year-old son had swallowed a can of automotive engine cleaner. He was screaming and convulsing and the emergency room doctor gave him little chance of living, and if he did he would probably be blind.

    I hate to admit it, but among my first thoughts was this sorry one: I’m going to give this to our intercessors and they’re going to pray, believing that this child will be healed and he is going to die (that’s what the doctor said and he ought to know), and then they are going to be discouraged.

     After all my preaching on the power of intercession, the folks were hyped-up, chomping at the bit, ready to charge hell with nothing but prayer. I had hoped we could start out with something easy and work our way up to the hard stuff. I just knew this was going to be a big let-down.

   Well, these rookies entered the prayer chapel and besieged the throne of God. Then, twenty-four hours later, the phone shattered the hush in the chapel once more. It was the mother. She was crying, laughing, and praising God. The doctor didn’t understand it, but her baby was going to recover without any damage to his eyes or any vital organs. It had been a miracle! (Ron Dunn, His Life And Mission, by Ron Owens, pp. 158-160)

    “Prayer doesn't prepare us for greater works. Prayer is the greater work.” Oswald Chambers

PRAY

1. Oh Lord, we cry out to You to help us to be more faithful in spending time praying for the needs of those around us that you have put on our hearts to pray for. 

2. Help us to  pray for the lost, the broken-hearted, the sick, the disillusioned, the overburdened, the misguided, the tired, and the sinful. 

3. Strengthen us to do battle for Your Kingdom daily, and to not grow weary even when we too are tired and battling our own problems. You are our strength and our shield, and with Your Spirits help we can do all that you have commanded us to do.

    

   

The Sovereignty of God

    “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens counsel By words without meaning? Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements since you know? Or stretched the line on it? ” (Job 38:1-5)

    If you have read the book of Job you know that these verses start God’s magnificent reply to Job after he had been complaining to God about the terrible calamities that had happened so suddenly; the loss of his livestock, his hired hands, his children, and his health all in one day! Then he had the additional burden of his friends telling him he must have sinned greatly to have this happen to him.

    After God is done reminding Job just who it is that he has been complaining about,  there is nothing else for him to do but humble himself before his Creator: “Then Job answered the Lord, and said, ‘I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.’,,,,,,,Therefore I retract, And repent is dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-2,6) 

     Pastor Chuck Swindoll  tells of his search, as a young divinity student, to understand  the sovereignty of God. Here are some of his insights into God’s sovereignty:

    “Whoever is sovereign must have a total, clear perspective, He must see the end from the beginning. He must have no match on earth or in heaven. He must entertain no fears, no ignorance, and have no needs. He must have no limitations and always know what is best. He must never make a mistake, He must possess the ability to bring everything to a purposeful conclusion and an ultimate goal. He must be invincible, immutable, infinite, and self-sufficient. His judgments must be unsearchable and His ways unfathomable. He must be able to create rather than invent, to direct rather than to wish, to control rather than hope, to guide rather than guess, to fulfill rather than dream. Who qualifies? You guessed it….God, and God alone.

    And that does not begin to describe His resume’. He is our God, the One who says ‘It shall be’ and it is done, and ‘It shall not be’ and it is held back.

     The apostle Paul developed this topic as well as anyone in Romans 9-11, and I want to challenge you to make your own study of those chapters. And if you don’t struggle with those chapters, you’re not really studying them…..

     ‘Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways!’ (Romans 11:33)

  

     Let’s revisit the scene of this grand doxology. This brilliant apostle, under the direction of the Spirit of God, extols the Lord our Father as being full of wisdom and knowledge. When He makes His decisions, which here are called ‘judgements,’ they are ‘unsearchable.’ because we live in a finite realm and He in the infinite. We live in the temporal now. He lives in the eternal forever. So His decisions, his judgements are ‘unsearchable.’ Furthermore, His ways, while they are right, are in the final analysis ‘unfanthanable.’  You cannot get to the bottom of them. You do, however, often come to the place where you say: ‘I just accept it.’ And that requires a humility that is very difficult for the educated, intelligent person of today. 

     All this has led me to a simple definition; Sovereignty means our all-wise, all-knowing God reigns in realms beyond our comprehension to bring about a plan beyond our ability to alter, hinder, or stop. 

   Let me go further. His plan includes all promotions and demotions. His plan can mean both adversity and prosperity, tragedy and calamity, ecstasy and joy. It envelops illness as much as health, perilous times as much as comfort, safety, prosperity, and ease. His plan is at work when we cannot imagine why, because it is so unpleasant, as much as when the reason is clear and pleasant. His sovereignty, though it is inscrutable, has dominion over all handicaps, all heartaches, all helpless moments. It is at work through all disappointments, broken dreams, and lingering difficulties. And even when we cannot fully fathom why, He knows. Even when we cannot explain the reasons, He understands,And when we cannot see the end, He is there, nodding, ‘Yes, that is My plan.’

   “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:34-36)

  (Chuck Swindol, from chapter five of the book, The Mystery of God’s Will.)

     

PRAY

1. Lord God almighty, I bow down before You and lift my hands in praise to You because You are the only who deserves my praise, my love, my obedience, and my selfless service.

2. Thank you for creating me in Your image so that I can come to know you as my Creator, my personal God, my Savior, my Father, and my Redeemer. Help me to keep my eyes upon You today so that if You desire to speak to my heart today, I will be attentive to Your “still small voice.”

3. Fill me with Your Spirit and use me in any way that You choose. I trust You for everything that happens in my life because You are my commander and my loving Father!

Meditation, the key to God's Word

      “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:-8 NKJV)

    David, the writer of this Psalm, gives an awesome explanation of the benefits of meditating upon God and His Word, the Bible. He is lying on his bed and meditating throughout the night. He remembers that it is God who has been with Him through the previous day and he can rest under the wings of his loving Father and Lord. He can also look forward to whatever the Lord has in store for him the next day because his God has always been faithful to carry him through the good times and the bad.

    Pastor Roger Bennet, of Martinez, GA is an awesome man of God and is an excellent expounder of the Word of God. In a recent sermon of his he was talking about this very subject and he had these words to say:

  “There is a vast difference between the study of Scripture and the meditation of Scripture. The study of Scripture centers on exegesis, the lifting out of the text only that which is in the text. But meditation on Scripture centers upon internalizing and personalizing the passage. In the study of Scripture, we  gather information from technical studies and analysis that we can share with others. But meditation upon the Scripture, the written Word and the information grasped from our study of Scripture becomes the living word in our hearts.

     In the study of Scripture, we gain an intellectual understanding of the Bible, but in the meditation upon Scripture, we not only intellectually understand it but we feel it, visualize it, touch it, smell it, taste it, and act upon it. Through  Christian meditation we live the experience of Scripture. David said: ‘Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.’ (Psalm 51:6)

    The real reason you, as a Christian, may neglect the discipline of meditation is not because you are too busy or don’t have the time to meditate. The real reason you neglect the discipline of meditation is because you lack a heart for the things of God! Jesus said, ‘For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.’ (Mathew 6:21) Whatever occupies your heart will govern your actions.

   In chapter four of the book of Proverbs, Solomon gives us several aspects in the meditative process which gives us a better picture of the meaning of the word meditation. Solomon said: ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings. Don’t let them depart  from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh…Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.’ (Proverbs 4:20-22,26)

   ‘Give attention to my words’ means keep these words (these thoughts of God) continually fixed in your mind. Meditation requires concentrating on the thoughts or words of God with the intent of comprehension and understanding. This kind of intense thinking takes determination and discipline. For the word is only fixed in our minds by turning it over and over and over again in our thoughts. 

     Then Solomon said, ‘incline your ear to my sayings’ (vs 21). Meditation is seeing events, things, people, and circumstances as God sees them. Our natural tendency is to see only the outward appearance of situations though our biological senses. But the Bible tells us, ‘God sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7) God looks at the heart of man. God sees beneath the outward appearance of circumstances. So though meditation upon Scripture, ‘we look not at the things which are seen (through the five senses), but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’(2 Cor. 4:18) Meditation brings us to a position in which we see everything (including ourselves) in the light of God’s truth.

    Then Solomon said, ‘Keep them in the midst of your heart’ (vs 21). It is by meditating on God’s Word that we come to understand them, that our consciences are impressed by them, and that our wills are moved to do them. Reading the Word, hearing the Word preached, and studying the Word are not enough to transform the inner man. It is only by meditating on the Word, going over it again and again in our minds, that the word is tattooed on the brain and that it sets our hearts, hands, and feet to work. 

     Finally Solomon said, ‘Ponder the path of your feet. (vs 26). Meditation is the process whereby we allow the Word of God to rule in our hearts so that when we ponder the decisions we have to make today and tomorrow, the sovereign Word of God directs our path, guides our feet, and determines our decisions.”  (Pastor Roger Bennet, Overcomers Church, Martinez, Ga, June 2023)

    Wow! What an awesome encouragement to spend more time meditating on the Word of God today and for everyday for the rest of the time the Lord gives us on this planet! 

     

PRAY

1. Lord God, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Father, oh how I praise Your Holy Name! You are my “Strong tower” my “Deliverer” my “Refuge” and my King, I want to draw close to You and know You better each day.

2. Help to remember to meditate on You and Your Holy Word when I lie on my bed tonight and if I wake up during the night I will once again meditate on Your faithfulness and mercy to me.

3. Thank you that Your Word has been written down for me so that I can always have Your words of wisdom to meditate on and to direct my path each day of my life.

The Secret of Decision Making

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called his disciples to Himself and from them He chose twelve whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Phillip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became His traitor.” (Luke 6:12-16, NKJV)

   Do you have any important decisions you need to make right now? Do you think you may have some important decisions to make in the future? I am pretty sure the answer is yes to one of those questions. It is just as important how you go about making those decisions as it is what decision you will make. God wants to be involved with you to help you during this important time of your life. How you execute this process and the decisions you make says a lot about what you believe about God and His Son Jesus. Bob Sorge in his book, Secrets of the Secret Place, has these awesome thoughts abouts how you and I can allow the Creator of the Universe to help us make not only a good decision, but the best decision!

  “When making major decisions, Jesus showed us how by going to the secret place. For example, when it  was time to appoint the twelve apostles, those choices were so important–historic in implications–that He got alone with His Father in prayer.

   Even the choice of Judas, His betrayer, was bathed in prayer. In fact, the selection of Judas was especially bathed in prayer because he knew that choice would culminate in his horrific destruction. Such a weighty decision necessitated a nightlong of solitary prayer. 

    Disciples of Jesus make important decisions from that same place of intimate prayer. Your loving Father is deeply invested in all your affairs and He wants to help in all your decision making. He said so here:

   ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.’ (Psalm 32:8-9)

   Notice the final phrase,  ‘Else they will not come near you.’ The horse and the mule must be harnessed with a bit and bridle if you’re going to get them close. They won’t draw near volitionally. The passage describes divine guidance received from a place of relational closeness. The Lord is saying, I don’t want to yank you and jerk you around in order to get you on course. I  want you to draw close–real close–so I can direct your steps in the context of an enjoyable relationship.

    The Lord says the horse and the mule have no understanding, and that’s why they don’t come near. They don’t understand, for starters, that proximity to the Master is wisdom. An unharnessed horse is likely to charge ahead of its master; an unharnessed mule is likely to drag behind. Either mode makes their energies counter-productive to the master. 

  Some people are mulish. They just don’t get it. They pull away foolishly from their source of life and care. It hasn’t penetrated their thick skulls that the smartest place in the universe is right next to Him. The wisest  thing you'll ever do is draw close to God and lean on Him with all your heart.

   As you pursue this proximity, you’ll begin to unlock the greatest secrets of life. Here He guides with an eye that sees everything from beginning to end. Sometimes we make lif choices based on our analysis of all the pros and cons, but there is a better way.Instead of looking outward, we’re invited to look upward. What an adventure–to receive life direction by beholding His beauty, enjoying His company, and receiving the guidance of His gaze. Consider the vantage His throne gives Him. His eyes miss nothing! Gaze on His mouth until He speaks to you. Look into His eye until He shows you the way to walk.

   Those who make decisions based on observable data become thermometers of society; but those who decide based on what they see in God become thermostats of society. They shape their world by bringing heavenly initiatives to earthly spheres.

   Intimacy precedes insight. Passion precedes purpose; First comes the secret place, then comes divine guidance. God doesn’t simply want to get you on the  right path, He wants to enjoy you in the journey. When some folks know His will, they’re finished with prayer and take off running. But He wants to keep the conversation going during the mission. He wants to know you and be known.

   Again, pursuing an intimate  relationship with God in the secret place is the smartest thing you’ll do. You’ll discover your destiny in life and you'll come to know Him. So stop right here. No need to read the next chapter just yet. Set this book down and find a quiet corner with your Friend. Talk to Him about the  options in front of you. He wants you to make this decision together. Get  close and catch His eye! (Secrets of the Secret Place, by Bob Sorge, pp.37-39)

   

PRAY:

1. Lord, I come before You to humbly praise You and thank You for being such a loving andl wise God that created me in Your image and wants to have fellowship with me right now.

2. Help me to be faithful to set some time apart with You every day in a secret place so that I can get to know You better and share with You my dreams, my needs, and my love for You.

3. Teach me to always make my decisions with Your help so that You can point me in the right direction and that my decisions will not only be best for me and my family but will  bring Glory to Your Holy Name, a “name which is above all names."

Who am I?

    “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: ‘Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD know Your servant. For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart,You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.” (II Samuel 7:18-21, NKJV)

    Have you ever sat down like David before the Lord and asked this question? Have you taken the time to look back on your life and see the many times He has been there for you and blessed you by his provision of a job, a spouse, children, a close friend, grandchildren, or any other blessing that you know He has provided? It can be a very humbling experience but one that will help remind you how much you have been blessed by the Creator of the universe who was willing to die on a cross for our sins and then adopt us as his child. 

   I guess it helps a little bit if you are 74 years old like I am because I actually have some spare time to think about these things, but it is also something my Lord led me to do many times in the last 30 years of my life. Each time I was able to take a few minutes to reflect on how God has guided my wife and I on this fantastic journey called life by reflecting on how God has met our needs an carried us through each of the trials we have faced, and allowed us to thank the “author and finisher of our faith”(Heb. 12:2) of all the blessings in our lives. 

   Just like the Hebrews under the command of Joshua set up a stone monument to celebrate the crossing of the Jordan River on dry land by the nation, as it began its conquest of  the land of Canaan, we also need to write down the times our Lord has intervened in our lives. Joshua told the people that it would be a reminder to them of what God had done for them so that they could tell their children and their children's children for generations to come of the faithfulness of God.(Joshua 4:1-9)

   Yes, God is the faithful one even when we are not always so faithful. He has said many things that show us that we can depend upon Him during the good times and the bad, the joyous and the sad, the prosperous and the times of need. 

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”(Hebrews 13; 5b)

“ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread I give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:47,51)

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!” (Isaiah 41:10)

“Through the LORDS’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His  compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Reflect today on God’s faithfulness to you and your family. Write it down so you can go back and remember His great mercy and faithfulness to you today, and many times in the past. 

PRAY

1. Lord, thank you for bringing to my memory the many times I was at a crossroad in my life and You showed me the way to go. 

2. Help me to keep my eyes on You today and not to look to the right or to the left but only to You who I can depend upon to guide me correctly.

3. Thank you for always being my “Strong Tower", my "Shield," and my "Deliverer!”