Leading Fig Trees

Today's Reading: Zechariah 7:8-14 & Luke 13

Scripture:

"And He began telling this parable: 'A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any...'" Luke 13:6

Observation:

In the verses that follow the one above, a conversation takes place between the vineyard keeper and the owner. In the parable the vineyard keeper displays three traits a leader should always keep in mind when dealing with a struggling person who is under their charge.

First, the keeper took ownership of the problem. He did not join the owner in giving up on the tree; instead, he took a chance by saying that maybe he had not done all he could have done to help the tree bear fruit.

Second, the keeper agreed to make a special investment in the tree. He did not just leave the tree's turn around to chance and he did not treat all the plants in the vineyard equally. He devised a plan that would position the struggling tree for success.

Finally, the keeper did not absolve the tree from its accountability. The keeper took care of the first two ingredients needed for a turn around, but in the end it was up to the tree to produce.

Application:

My call in life is to stand in the gap for the people God has given me to lead, to make special investments in them when they struggle, and to allow them to stand accountable for their growth and development. From my home life to my work life this lesson in leadership applies to helping a struggling person turn it around.

Prayer:

Leadership is a trust. The people that You have given to my charge are Yours and You expect them to bear fruit. I ask today that You give me the patience, wisdom, vision, and resourcefulness I need to know who to stand in the gap for, who to make a special investment in, and who I need to let go of.

You are the owner, I am the keeper. I ask that You forgive me for the times I forget that. I pray that I serve You well and that I position the people around me to serve You even better. The greatest desire in my heart is that my wife, my kids, and my teams fulfill the expectations, plans and purposes You have for their lives.

Kingdom Focused

Today's Reading: Zechariah 4 & Luke 12

Scripture:

"But seek His kingdom and these things will be added to you." Luke 12:31

Observation:

God is just another strategy for success nor is He another means to satisfy greed. This text is an invitation to abandon desires for building earthly kingdoms that expire at death for the pursuit of a heavenly kingdom that will never die.

Application:

Becoming kingdom focused is a bit of a mystical term that can become twisted in my mind and totally missed in outcome of my decisions. This morning I see three things that will contribute to me becoming kingdom focused: 1.) Devalue earthly success. 2.) Pursue God's call. 3.) Live expectantly.

Prayer:

Devaluing earthly success is a hard first step. I know that until I make a move in totally shifting my definition of success away from things that happen on earth I will never fully experience You; but I get so confused in trying to do this. I fully acknowledge that I know beyond any doubt that success according to the world is empty, but I also confess that I still base my self-worth on it. I ask that You continue to encourage me as I struggle to make this happen in my life.

Pursuing Your call on my life is an even harder second step. I feel so inadequate. I fear what I will say, where I will go, or whether or not I will succeed. I fear the persecution and confrontation that could happen. Most of all, I fear the unknown. As best I can from where I am I fully surrender to Your purpose and trust that You will not rest until I am fully engaged in Your mission for my life.

Living expectantly is the final ingredient I need today. I walk into a store and I fully expect to find what I need. I pick up my phone and fully expect to make a call. But when it comes to things of faith I do not always carry the same level of expectancy. In fact I am often tempted to dumb down my expectations so that I will not be disappointed. I ask today that You fuel inside of me a strength faith and raging fire of expectancy concerning Your promises.

Father all three of these things lie beyond my abilities. I rely today on Your promise in Zechariah 6 that says it is not based on my power to complete these things. I need a massive movement of Your Spirit in my life.

Listening to the Word Spoken

Today's Reading: Luke 8

Scripture:

"So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away." Luke 8:18

Observation:

The Word is being spoken. God is actively act work around me and is sowing seed into my life. Those who are listening, applying and changing will experience God in increasing measure.

Application:

In verse 15, I see three things I must do to take care of how I listen. The first is I must take care of my heart. The Word says I should have a honest and good heart. My heart must be capable of hearing and applying the word God sends.

The second is I must hold fast to the words I hear from God. I can count on three things anytime God starts a work in my life: 1) Satan will attack, 2) My resolve will be tested, and 3) The world will try to choke it out.

Finally, I must persevere in bearing fruit. Fruit is never for the tree that bears it. The fruit is for feeding others and planting new trees. The word God gives me is ultimately designed to multiply in the lives of others.

Prayer:

Father I ask this morning for a pure heart. Teach me to sit at Your feet with honesty and goodness. Many days go by and I am tempted to feel like You are not speaking to me. I confess to You this morning that I believe Your word when it says You are actively at work sowing seed in my life. You speaking is not the problem. The dirtiness of my heart is.

It always feels like all hell breaks loose in my life when You are trying to teach me something and so I pray that You strengthen me to hold fast to the words You speak to me.

There are many days that I need to be constantly reminded that Your ultimate intent in my life is that I bear fruit for others to be fed. I pray that Your word spoken to me be multiplied in the lives of others.

A Godly Challenge

Today's Reading: Psalm 85 & Luke 7

Scripture:

"O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalm 84:12

Observation:

Trusting in God does not mean believing in God to give me everything I want. I think that many times I struggle with trusting Him because I fear He may not give to me the thing I seek.

As I reflect on this passage, see three challenges I can offer to God and trust that He will prove them true.

Application:

First, I can trust that it is better to dwell with God. The desires of my heart paint a picture of me dwelling at some place of peace. That is the intent of my desires for prosperity. I do not have a desire for indulgence as much as I have a desire for a peaceful existence in which I have no need to worry about resources. God's claim to me is that one day fully dwelling in His presence is better than a thousand days with earthly prosperity.

Second, I can trust that He will ignite my heart and flesh with song. The desires of my heart also paint a picture of my heart and flesh being full of life, joy, and celebration. Regardless of what I seek; that is the result I hope to find. I want to be alive with joy and celebrate the richness of life. God's claim is that He can supply that to me in greater measure than anything earthly I can find.

Finally, I can trust that He will lead me in strength. The final picture painted in my heart by my desires is one of strength. I want to land at a place where I feel safe, strong, and secure. I want to be confident, assured, and fulfilled. God's promise to me today is that He can be in me strength for today, strength for tomorrow, and strength for eternity.

Prayer:

As I read this Psalm this morning I must admit that I read it more as a man staring at something I desire to be true more than I read it as a man celebrating something I know to be true.

I accept what I feel today is Your invitation to challenge You to prove the truth of Your Word in my life today. I ask that You move me into a connection with You that provides a place of peaceful rest, a joyful celebration of a life full of Your glory, and a confident place of strength from which to serve.

My life is not mine and You owe me nothing. I thank You for visiting with me this morning and comforting the longings that I have. You are my God and I am Your adopted son. Protect me today from the pressures I feel to be worthy of Your adoption and lead me instead to rest in the completeness of my being Your son.

Selfish First Moves

Today's Reading: Daniel 12:1-3 & Luke 6

Scripture:

"And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all." Luke 6:19

Observation:

Most everyone who comes to Jesus takes their first step for purely selfish reasons. There is something in their life badly out of sort and in Christ they see a solution. That is certainly true of me.

I wanted to go to heaven and be a part of something bigger than myself when I prayed to received Christ. I wanted out of the mess I had created and was looking for peace when I confessed to rebelling against God and rededicated my life to Christ. My career had lost its edge and I was looking for deeper fulfillment when I surrendered to full time ministry.

Just like the folks in this passage every first step towards a major transition in my life started for purely selfish reasons. Just like the folks in the passage, Christ graciously met me at my point of need. But then, just like the folks in this passage, Christ makes the second move and teaches four really important lessons.

Application:

Lesson one, I will spend myself on my mission. Jesus moves in my life not so that I may store up blessings, but so that I may spend it on others. And this not just talking about money. All my time, energy, knowledge, and resources are part of the deal. All of me spent in pursuit of all of Him.

Lesson two, I will never get my fill. Christianity is not some meditative religion designed to find inner peace. Experiencing Christ will create a hunger deep inside that refuses to settle for this world. The more I know of Christ the less I will be satisfied by what is in the world.

Lesson three, I will be broken over the world. There is no way possible for me to know Christ deeply and not be broken over what my eyes see in this world.

Lesson four, I will experience persecution. People are not always that receptive to God's view of their life; especially hypocrites. Choosing to follow after Christ is often accepting an invitation to anger the religious elite.

Prayer:

Father I need Your strength today. I can not live the life to which You have called me unless I am void of me and full of You. Lead me to spend all the life I have in me today for You, Your purposes, and Your glory.

Amazed by God

Today's Reading: Luke 5

Scripture:

"For amazement had seized him and all of his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken." Luke 5:9

Observation:

Peter, James and John experienced the unexplainable. Christ did something for them that was far beyond what they could rationalize and they stood before Jesus in total amazement.

I wonder; when was the last time I was amazed by God? When was the last time I experienced something so great, so fresh, and so unexplainable that it literally shoved me down a pathway to further surrender my life to serving God?

Application:

As I read this passage from Luke, I see three things that will improve my chances of maintaining my amazement with God. First, I have to be in fear of the glory of God. If I am not in awe of God and showing Him respect then I will never do the things required to experience Him. Above everything in my life I pursue, I must pursue a deeper experience of God.

Second, I have to be alone with God. If Jesus had to often withdraw from everyone and everything to be alone with God; how much more should I expect to need to follow His example? I can’t expect to find all I need of God if I am not alone with Him regularly.

Finally, I have to be with the lonely, the broken, and the outcast. I can not stay in my zone of comfort and experience the greatness of God. I have to allow God to lead me into places that are beyond my normal and more than I can handle.

Prayer:

I spend to many days settling for explainable faith. I ask this morning that You show me Your glory. Store up in my heart the awe, wonder, and fear I need to stay in pursuit of Your will.

I ask that You teach me how to withdraw to be alone with You. It is really hard to find a place of isolation and it is even harder to know what to do once I get there.

I ask that Your Spirit guide me in positioning myself among the people You desire to impact with my life. Place people in my life who need a miracle and enable me to share in that with them.

Father I do not want to live my life wondering about my faith. I want my faith to be alive, active and on display. I want to go to bed each day smiling at the greatness of Your glory I say displayed.

Facing Temptation

Today's Reading: Luke 4

Scripture:

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness." Luke 4:1

Observation:

Jesus was not tempted because He was lonely. He was not tempted because He was bored or lazy. Jesus did not wake up tired of His ministry and run into temptation while He was searching for release. He was full of the Holy Spirit and was being led by the Holy Spirit when He encountered His temptation.

Application:

Where I am with God as I head into temptation has a huge impact on the experience I have in resisting the temptation.

Prayer:

Father, the never ending pursuit of my discipleship, the twisting journey of learning to be a better husband, the total mystery that is raising kids, and the haunting questions regarding my purpose in life all take their toll on me. There are days I wake up and simply wonder if what I am experiencing is really all there is to life.

In the heat of those moments I become incredibly vulnerable to temptation. The appetites of my flesh become full awakened and finding something to feed them is never very hard. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. Most of the time; I leave the temptation feeling defeated all the same.

The sense that I have this morning is that I need to worry less about my life and its temptations and focus more on being filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit. I confess to You that I do not have a clue as to how this works or what I need to do, but I am incredibly open to Your teaching me and completely willing to submit to Your guidance.

What He was Before

Today's Reading: Luke 2

Scripture:

"Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions." Luke 2:46

Observation:

Before Christ was a teacher He was a learner. He respected His elders and the teachers of the temple. He sat with them and learned from them. Before Christ was a leader He was submissive. He honored His parents and elders by allowing them to lead Him. Before Christ was a reformer He was a traditionalist. Mary and Joseph took care in walking Him through all the traditions of the law according to what was expected and Christ followed them to the letter.

Jesus did not just show up one day and decide to cast a new vision. He spent time learning, understanding, and clarifying what God wanted Him to do. When the time was right, He launched His ministry and began the new work God had planned for Him. But until that time came, He was content to be a student of His context.

Application:

Being patient with change is not an easy thing for me. When I spot a problem or see something that could be better it is really hard for me to sit still. This is especially true when the problem or improvement would improve my circumstances or when people are being negatively impacted.

But my role in life is to follow the example of Christ. Christ did not act on impulse or instincts. He did not respond to concerns or convictions. He only moved according to the will of His Father.

Prayer:

Father discerning the difference between my impulses, instincts, convictions or concerns and Your voice is really tough. I am always bent toward action. I move fast into things I feel are calling for my attention. I am afraid of little and will charge head first with the slightest nudge. This is a great strength when I am right and a destructive mess when I am wrong.

I confess to You this morning my need for a greater connection with You. My prayer times can become very one sided as I have a tendency to spend most of it talking and little of it listening. I ask that You slow down my sense of urgency and allow me to rest until I am certain of Your direction and leading. I pray that You help me find the humility to sit and learn while I am waiting on You to release me into a work.

I pray that You continue to strengthen me in favor, statute and wisdom. Guide me as I continue to seek Your will and equip me as I step forward at Your invitation. I am thankful that You are faithful to complete everything You desire for my life.

Deliverance in Waiting

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 45:9-10 & Luke 1

Scripture"

After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months..." Luke 24:1

Observation:

Elizabeth would have carried many emotional wounds over her lack of having children. In her times, Childlessness carried a reproach in a culture where blessings were tied to birth rights and family line. Bareness was often associated with Divine disfavor and was accompanied by speculation and ridicule from others.

Upon the announcement of her pregnancy at such an older age all the rumors, false judgments, and mockery would stop. She would be able to do something she was never able to do before; stand before the people without there being any doubt regarding God's pleasure with her and her husband.

But in the moments following her encounter with an angel, Elizabeth did not gloat. She did not run out into the streets to avenge her hurt or to shame her mockers. Instead, she hid herself for five months. The vindication she had sought her whole life arrived and yet she maintained her humility and chose to just draw near to God.

Application:

The desire to be used by God and the desire to be honored by man can not cohabit with each other. The pursuit of one always neglects the other. There are many lessons I can learn from Elizabeth, but the primary one I see this morning is her humble devotion to God. She did not care to have man's approval once she felt assured that she was being used by God.

Prayer:

I am not quite sure how to pray to You today. I sense that You want me to draw a lesson this morning from Elizabeth's reaction to both her struggle and her deliverance but I can't quite get a clear picture of what that is. I submit to what You are trying to do in my life and commit to keeping this passage on my mind until You have completed its work in me.

The Present

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 43:1-5 & Revelation 22

Scripture:

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and man enter by the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14

Observation:

Salvation is more that just a one time act. It more that just a prayer. It is more than just the forgiveness of sin. Salvation is a call to a daily pursuit of a new life that can only be tasted here on earth, but will be enjoyed in full in the life that is to come.

Application:

My robes are clean. My past is forgotten. My future failures are covered. My inheritance is beyond what I have the capacity to envision. These things I know. These things I believe. In these things I find rest and comfort.

The issue is my present. In the present my robes fill dirty. In the present my the failures are fresh. In the present I am still uncertain of what has succeeded and what has failed.

My past no longer torments me and my ability to rest in the glorious future that is mine through Christ grows each day. But the wear and the tear of the present haunt and torment me daily.

Prayer:

Father is relatively easy to find closure and healing once a season has passed by. Learning to rest in the fact that the future can't be totally controlled and trusting in You for it is very feasibly. But learning to rest in You in the midst of what is presently taking place in my life is flippin hard to do. My emotions highjack my faith. My doubt overwhelms my belief. My uncertainty attacks Your promise. The waves crash in and I at times feel like my house is made of sand.

You are the God over my past and the God of my future, but I have never fully allowed You to become the God of my present. That is what I ask today.

Teach me to fully enjoy You in the present moments of my life. Give me a faith that will soothe my emotions. Enable my belief to secure my doubts. Allow Your promises to crush my uncertainty.

I ask that I be able to walk fully in Your joy, peace, comfort, power, glory and majesty while today is still called today.

Warning Signs

Today's Reading: Psalm 128 & Revelation 21

Scripture:

"How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD and walks in His ways." Psalm 128:1

Observation:

The Psalmist outlines several blessings in this text that accompany having a deep respect for God and walking in obedience to His ways. The three that stood out to me this morning: 1.) I will enjoy the fruit of my labor. 2.) I will enjoy my wife. 3.) I will enjoy my kids.

Application:

These three areas are the primary areas of blessing in my life. They also then are most likely the primary areas of discipline in my life. Stress at work, stress in my marriage, and stress in my home should serve as a warning lights for my walk with God.

Prayer:

When I truly fear You, I recognize that You are the Creator and I am Your creation. You are the Master and I am the servant. You are the Father and I am the child.

I pray that my fear of You manifest itself in me having a deep respect for You, Your word and in me having a consuming drive to do what You desire of me.

I ask that You protect my flesh from taking over and seeking Your blessing over You; but I do ask that You bless my work, my marriage and my kids. I ask that the fruit of my labor be sweet and fulfilling, I pray that my wife be my best friend and that my kids be everything You desire of them.

Father I pray that You help me recognize warning signs very early on and run to You for correction, guidance and wisdom. Teach me to be all that You desire for me to be.

Dealing with Problems

Today's Reading: Psalm 145 & Revelation 20

Scripture:

"The LORD sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down." Psalm 145:14

Observation:

God is not passive. He actively works in the lives of those who pursue Him. There are two requirements listed in this text regarding His promise to deliver: 1.) He will be near to those who seek Him in truth. 2.) He will respond according to His purpose and timing.

Application:

My ability to experience God actively working to restore my life is directly tied to my willingness to seek Him in truth and rest in His timing. I am hearing four things God is asking me to do in response to this today.

First, I have got to understand I will fall down and I will be humbled by circumstances. I am a proud man. I am a driven man. Absent of pain and failure, I will not rely on God. If everything in my life rolled on without a hitch then I would not need God and therefore I would never turn to Him.

Second, I have to seek God in truth. This means that my first step in a crisis is to stop and evaluate what is going on in my heart. It means that I have value my relationship and connection with God above my desire to see my situation resolved.

Third, I have to rest in God's timing. I want things now! I can't stand for things to slow down. I move fast from the moment I wake up until I come crashing down at night. I am never not urgent or intentional. That tendency is great strength of mine. It is also a great weakness. I must maintain proper respect of God's sovereignty in my life.

Finally, I have to experience God's greatness. My expectations of God have to be great. My personal witness of His glory must be real, tangible, and powerful. I must constantly meditate on Him and seek Him hard during the good times of my life so that I have something to anchor me during the hard times.

Prayer:

Nothing in my life matters to me more than experiencing the fullness of Your glory. I do not want success. I do not want prosperity. I do not want an easy life. I want You. I have experienced most of what this world has to offer in terms of success, prosperity, health, popularity, and entertainment and have found that these wonderful offerings pale in comparison to walking closely with You.

The cry of my heart today is intimacy with You and that is all I ask.

The Big Three

Today's Reading: Psalm 110; Ezekiel 36:22-27; & Revelation 19

Scripture:

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

Observation:

The greatest work that God has in store for me has nothing to do with tangible rewards in my earthly existence. The higher purpose of His plans for me all tie to the work He desires to do in my heart.

Application:

It is really challenging to sit back and allow God to work on my heart. There are so many things in my life that present distractions. Projects I wish to complete, goals I must accomplish, relationships I need to heal, contacts I need to make, and those are just a few of the higher level tasks that demand my focus. If I descend further into the details of my life it does not take very long to realize that sitting still and allowing God to work on my heart is an amazingly impossible task for me.

But as I read the scripture this morning and pay attention to what God has been doing in my life lately I know that my heart is where He desires to work. It is the most important thing in my order of priorities of life. In every moment and in every situation I should be in constant awareness of the condition of my heart. Anything God does in my life is going to be for the purpose of increasing my heart's knowledge of Christ's work; deepening my heart's comprehension of the greatness of God's glory; and overwhelming my heart with a desire to worship God in truth.

Prayer:

I still remember the day some ten years ago with when You asked me to surrender to You my life's goals. That day I physically surrendered to You over 100 things I had written down as accomplishments I would like achieve before I died; but in my heart I failed to replace them and have longed to return to them.

The conviction that I have this morning is that You desire for all my energy in life to be pointed towards three things and only three things: 1.) Experiencing the fullness of Christ's lordship in my life and His victory over this world. 2). Seeing the fullness of Your glory revealed to a world that is desperate for it. 3.) Living in a constant state of pure worship of You.

Holy Spirit I pray to You today confessing my total dependence on Your help to accomplish these things. Help me connect with Your empowerment, Your wisdom, and Your guidance so that I may walk only in the way that leads to these three things being fully expressed in my life.

The Truth about Me

Today's Reading: Daniel 1 & Revelation 16

Scripture:

"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself..." Daniel 1:8

Observation:

Daniel is one of the few people in the Bible whose record is flawless. Daniel stood by his beliefs and lived a Godly life in the midst of some amazingly difficult circumstances.

The thing that is really sticking me this morning is the fact that Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself.

He looked at all that had taken place and faced an enormous crisis of belief. God's nation, destroyed. The things of God's temple, given to the gods of another nation. The special names given to the men of God, changed to reflect foreign gods.

There was nothing tangible left in Daniel's life that would offer proof that God was alive, powerful or good. Yet, he made up his mind to stick to what he believed to be true of God.

Application:

I would have eaten the steak and gotten drunk. As I read this story this morning that is the dead honest truth of how I would react if I suddenly was awakened one day to find that America was destroyed, all churches were burned, and I was carried away to a foreign nation to serve and worship their leader.

Prayer:

This morning has been a long hard look in the mirror and I have observed some things about myself that merit my attention and need Your intervention. The sense that I have of myself is that my faith is not strong enough to survive the destruction of my world. I recognize that this morning as not being as it should be and I confess it to You.

Father, I can not manufacture the level of faith that I see displayed in Daniel. That type of dedication can only come through the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit. Move upon my heart and life today in a way that will produce in me an unshakable, undying, and unrelenting faith in Your promises.

Following God

Today's Reading: Revelation 14

Scripture:

"These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes." Revelation 14:4

Observation:

This scripture is speaking to the people on earth who during the great tribulation refuse the mark of the beast. They undoubtedly lived during the most defiled era of human existence and yet remained faithful until the end. They were willing to follow the leadership of Christ regardless of the personal cost.

Application:

The measure that applies to this group of people applies to me today. God honors those who walk after the leadership of Christ in their life. There are three things that I must tend to if I am to be counted among those who follow the Lamb.

First, I have to tend to my Holiness. All my sins are forgiven. Past, present, and future failures have all been removed through my salvation in Christ. God did this because He knew I would never be perfect and so He covered it all. As much as I can sin His grace will abounded even more. But that is not a license to live counter to Christ. I have to tend to holy things and run from unholy things. There is no way I can be actively pursuing sin and actively pursuing God.

Second, I need to tend to my awareness. Every moment of every day offers an opportunity to join God in something. He is an active God. The end of humanity will one day come and God is working on earth with a sense of urgency that He expects me to adopt. I need to live my life constantly on the look out for Holy moments.

Finally, I need to tend to my willingness. Salvation from God is a free gift. There is nothing I can do to earn it. That said, there is also nothing free about it. It cost Christ His life and it will cost me control of mine. Taking up my cross and following after Christ is a moment by moment decision I have to make every single day of my life.

Prayer:

My appetite for sin knows no limit. I have seen enough of my darkest side to know that about me. You have brought me out of much and healed me of many things. I am grateful for where I am today but I am also mindful that I have not fully arrived.

My capacity for sin still rests within me. In the blink of an eye can send my life crashing down through my sinful choices. I pray for Your continued protection and deliverance of me from the temptations I face. Give to me a sense of urgency concerning things in my life that should not be there.

The less I am aware of me, the more I am aware of You. I pray that my every need, desire, longing and pursuit be put to rest by the power of Your Spirit so that I may be able to become fully tuned in to the work You have for me. My spirit is so willing to follow, but my flesh is extremely weak. Taking up my cross is no easier now than it was when I first started this journey.

Holy Spirit I pray for Your guidance today. You are my only help and hope in following after Christ today. Equip me with all I need to faithfully pursue the Lordship of my Christ.

Seeking God

Today's Reading: Psalm 48; Jeremiah 42; & Revelation 12

Scripture:

"...that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do." Jeremiah 42:3

Observation:

Reading the book of Jeremiah is a painful view of the stubbornness of man as it pertains to submitting to God. In this passage I see clearly an outline of what not to do when seeking the will of God in my life.

Application:

First, I should never allow fear of man, greed for gain, or desire for personal comfort drive me towards seeking after God. If those things take me to God then they can just as easily can take me away from God. Seeking after God is not about getting my wish list. It is about surrendering my life to serve the only true God. It is about His wish list; not mine.

Second, I should never define the outcome before I come to the LORD. He is the LORD. His ways are not my ways; they are higher. His desires are not my desires; they are purer. His purposes are not my purposes; they are more noble. It is senseless to set my sights on an outcome or change in circumstances that I perceive to be the best solution. At best, my way will simply relocate me to another place and still leave me facing the same issues. At worse, I will find myself sideways with God for not giving me my way.

Finally, I should never expect an easy or logical answer. Jeremiah spent ten days praying to God before he got an answer. I get frustrated when it takes me more than ten minutes to get an answer on anything. I must learn to endure in prayer. Seeking after God is rarely about receiving the thing I desire. More times than not, God uses the pain of my longing or the fear I am experiencing to draw me close and mold me into something new. That is a process that takes time.

Prayer:

The world I live in is a consumer driven beast. Every where I look I the message is clear; "It all exists to make your life better." Steering clear of that mentality is royal battle and it makes enduring challenges or doing without a near impossible feat.

Father I am fully convicted this morning of the idols in my life. I seek You daily but I seek You for the fulfillment of my life's dreams and ambitions; for the easement of my pain and confusion; or for the filling of my loneliness and longings. I have placed the desires of my heart above my fear and respect of You. That is sin and I confess it to You.

If my relationship and experiences with You are not real and tangible then I am toast. There is not a chance in hell I will ever stand firm if my walk with You is anything less than living, breathing, and active.

Father I give to You my life today. Take me and use me as You see fit. Invade my thoughts, my desires and my emotions; turn them all towards You. Allow my experience of Your favor, presence, and love to be the real and tangible sustenance of my life.

No Sense at All

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 & Revelation 12

Scripture:

"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war." Revelation 12:7

Observation:

This makes no sense to me. I have read some commentary on it but it only raises more questions and becomes all the more confusing.

Application:

Passages of scripture such as this one remind me of a couple of things. First, I am reminded that while there are aspects of the Bible that are fun, easy and enjoyable to believe; there are sections that really are none of those things. Sometimes I am tempted to read the Bible much like I would shop for groceries. I walk the aisles of the scripture looking to the verses that speak to something of interest to me and skip past the things I do not want, like or feel. To believe in God is to accept the whole counsel of all the scripture. Even ones I do not like or understand.

Second, I am reminded that there is way more to God, heaven, hell, satan, angels and demons than I can ever process in my finite mind. I often wonder what it would be like if God opened my eyes to see the things of the spirit world? I am quite sure if He did I would depend on Him much more than I do now.

Finally, I am reminded that I need to personally experience God in real and tangible ways. In moments where life becomes confusing and scriptures, circumstances, situations, and outcomes make no sense; it is the real and tangible encounters I have had with God that anchor my emotions and focus me back on my faith.

Prayer:

I can not even pretend to understand You. Even my highest thoughts of You feel like the thoughts of a three year old explaining the inner workings of the planet. But I am still constantly compelled to pursue You. It makes no logical sense to me why, but I do. Thank your for drawing me near.

Your Spirit inside me compels me to continue my pursuit of Your will for my life and my experiences have proven the goodness of Your ways. I pray that those two things continue working in my life.

Enlighten the eyes of my heart to understand clearly what You are asking of me and tangibly affirm my course and direction. I pray that You strengthen my faith and enable me to hold tight to You even when things make no sense at all.