Psalm 46.1-3;10-11
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
There are times in our lives where, the more movement we expend, the more we impede the will of God. While God is a God of action and wishes nothing more than for His children to daily execute on the power of His Holy Spirit, there are times when stillness must intercede in our hearts. The willingness to wait upon the Lord is expressed chiefly by the Psalmist in Psalm 46: “Be still, and know that I am God.” In stillness, the fabled beast among a world full of noise, resounds a satisfying and wholesome acknowledgement that God is on the throne. He ensures us that He “will be exalted among the nations...and the earth.” It is only in stillness, only when our lives our surrendered to the point where our spirit is relying fully upon the Lord’s direction, that the peace of God surpasses our understanding.
Why? Stillness primarily is a twofold bonus of servitude and humbleness. It is servitude because we yield our desires completely into the hands of the Lord. Even Christ prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22.42). If the Son of God in His splendor can submit wholly unto the Father, so can we submit our desires to Him. Humbleness also overflows from stillness. Humbleness is the state with which one accepts the lowliness of his own self and expends his confidence into the hands of someone greater than he. James 4.10 instructs us to “humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and he will lift [us] up.” Humbling ourselves to God--sitting still and listening closely for His direction and will--will cause the Lord to move within us. At His timing, He will instruct you and pour His will and blessings upon you for the good of His kingdom. Yes, only in stillness can He “lift you up.”
Are you sitting still in the times of your life where God says to “rest here for a while?” Our Lord often fled to solitude to pray with the Father to hear His Father’s voice. May we do the same. When our heart grows restless, when our spirit is worn, may we “be still and know that [He] is God.”
Monday, September 26, 2011
Weekly Devotion 9.26.2011
A Time to be Still
Psalm 46.1-3;10-11
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
There are times in our lives where, the more movement we expend, the more we impede the will of God. While God is a God of action and wishes nothing more than for His children to daily execute on the power of His Holy Spirit, there are times when stillness must intercede in our hearts. The willingness to wait upon the Lord is expressed chiefly by the Psalmist in Psalm 46: "Be still, and know that I am God." In stillness, the fabled beast among a world full of noise, resounds a satisfying and wholesome acknowledgement that God is on the throne. He ensures us that He "will be exalted among the nations...and the earth." It is only in stillness, only when our lives our surrendered to the point where our spirit is relying fully upon the Lord's direction, that the peace of God surpasses our understanding.
Why? Stillness primarily is a twofold bonus of servitude and humbleness. It is servitude because we yield our desires completely into the hands of the Lord. Even Christ prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22.42). If the Son of God in His splendor can submit wholly unto the Father, so can we submit our desires to Him. Humbleness also overflows from stillness. Humbleness is the state with which one accepts the lowliness of his own self and expends his confidence into the hands of someone greater than he. James 4.10 instructs us to "humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and he will lift [us] up." Humbling ourselves to God--sitting still and listening closely for His direction and will--will cause the Lord to move within us. At His timing, He will instruct you and pour His will and blessings upon you for the good of His kingdom. Yes, only in stillness can He "lift you up."
Are you sitting still in the times of your life where God says to "rest here for a while?" Our Lord often fled to solitude to pray with the Father to hear His Father's voice. May we do the same. When our heart grows restless, when our spirit is worn, may we "be still and know that [He] is God."
Monday, September 19, 2011
Riches and Abundance (Poem)
Riches and Abundance
Matthew 6.19-21
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I thought I would try a slightly different devotion this week. Rather than a message, God has given me a poem that reflects Christ's words in Matthew: that we are to store up our treasures in Him alone and not in this world!
There is glitter and glamour in the world, O Man,
Of gold and glory and untold possessions.
Pleasure is plenty in the greedy man’s hand,
His eyes and his grip solely own his discretion.
But your gold, O Man, shines not in the stone.
It rests not proudly in the palace of lords.
With the crumbling of castles it shan’t be gone,
Nor consumed and corrupted by greedy hordes.
Your gold shall be His brazen feet,
His vivacious spirit your daily treasure.
His grace arrives daily in a mighty fleet,
With a substantial portion too large to measure.
His name and prestige are known through the earth,
His riches flow freely throughout His domain.
Such glamorous love of immeasurable worth!
Eternally abundant lie those in His reign!
Matthew 6.19-21
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I thought I would try a slightly different devotion this week. Rather than a message, God has given me a poem that reflects Christ's words in Matthew: that we are to store up our treasures in Him alone and not in this world!
There is glitter and glamour in the world, O Man,
Of gold and glory and untold possessions.
Pleasure is plenty in the greedy man’s hand,
His eyes and his grip solely own his discretion.
But your gold, O Man, shines not in the stone.
It rests not proudly in the palace of lords.
With the crumbling of castles it shan’t be gone,
Nor consumed and corrupted by greedy hordes.
Your gold shall be His brazen feet,
His vivacious spirit your daily treasure.
His grace arrives daily in a mighty fleet,
With a substantial portion too large to measure.
His name and prestige are known through the earth,
His riches flow freely throughout His domain.
Such glamorous love of immeasurable worth!
Eternally abundant lie those in His reign!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Are You Advancing?
1 Peter 2.1-5
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 19.26
But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
An uncomfortable but necessary question we must ask ourselves periodically is, “Am I growing?” What a simple, innocently framed reflective inquiry, but within that question is packed a plethora information pertaining to the very health of our spiritual health. Many of us are afraid to ask that question. We are as the man afraid to go to the doctor for fear something might be fatally wrong. But, beloved, the vitality of spiritual growth in our own life is an essential mineral for the Christian soul. That is why Peter tells us to be “like newborn babies [and] crave spiritual milk, so that by it [we] may grow up in [our] salvation.” Like a newborn babe, we need doses of spiritual milk to help us grow. A mother’s breast milk is designed not only to provide an infant with nutrients he or she needs to grow, but also minerals used to keep the child’s immune system effective. Likewise, it is we who, upon craving the spiritual milk to grow and prosper in the Lord, receive the nutrients we need to submit to God and resist the devil.
How do we grow? How can we be sure we are advancing purposefully into and for the kingdom of God? Paul lays out the groundwork in Philippians 3: 13b: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The strongest evidence of advancement in the Christian’s life is his desire to “press on” for God. What are your affairs? Are they Christ’s? Are you using every thought and opportunity for action towards His kingdom? Action requires movement, and movement requires our hearts, our minds, and our hands to be ready to serve the Gospel.
What are some methods employable to advancing ourselves for God? One of the chief methods we see outlined in Hebrews 11: model yourself after a Biblical or godly mentor. We ought to strive to model ourselves after the faith heroes of Hebrews 11. This requires constant action and self-improvement which prevent stagnation of the heart and weariness of pursuing God fully.
Prayer is the chief method of advancement. When we pray, God reveals to us our weaknesses, strengths, goals and ambitions. Prayer is a time of unbridled intimacy with God. The more we spend in it, the more He consumes us. We must make it a conscious effort every day to be hungry for prayer. It is not a religious ritual, but a personal conversation with our Lord and Savior. In it He reveals His will and desires for our own personal growth for the use in His kingdom.
Are you advancing daily in your faith? Are you growing more intimate with God so that you are in His will and He entangled in your heart? What a beautiful entanglement it is to have Jesus centered in your heart, infecting you with His love and purpose every heartbeat you have. The more we grow, the closer we detect His presence.
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 19.26
But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
An uncomfortable but necessary question we must ask ourselves periodically is, “Am I growing?” What a simple, innocently framed reflective inquiry, but within that question is packed a plethora information pertaining to the very health of our spiritual health. Many of us are afraid to ask that question. We are as the man afraid to go to the doctor for fear something might be fatally wrong. But, beloved, the vitality of spiritual growth in our own life is an essential mineral for the Christian soul. That is why Peter tells us to be “like newborn babies [and] crave spiritual milk, so that by it [we] may grow up in [our] salvation.” Like a newborn babe, we need doses of spiritual milk to help us grow. A mother’s breast milk is designed not only to provide an infant with nutrients he or she needs to grow, but also minerals used to keep the child’s immune system effective. Likewise, it is we who, upon craving the spiritual milk to grow and prosper in the Lord, receive the nutrients we need to submit to God and resist the devil.
How do we grow? How can we be sure we are advancing purposefully into and for the kingdom of God? Paul lays out the groundwork in Philippians 3: 13b: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The strongest evidence of advancement in the Christian’s life is his desire to “press on” for God. What are your affairs? Are they Christ’s? Are you using every thought and opportunity for action towards His kingdom? Action requires movement, and movement requires our hearts, our minds, and our hands to be ready to serve the Gospel.
What are some methods employable to advancing ourselves for God? One of the chief methods we see outlined in Hebrews 11: model yourself after a Biblical or godly mentor. We ought to strive to model ourselves after the faith heroes of Hebrews 11. This requires constant action and self-improvement which prevent stagnation of the heart and weariness of pursuing God fully.
Prayer is the chief method of advancement. When we pray, God reveals to us our weaknesses, strengths, goals and ambitions. Prayer is a time of unbridled intimacy with God. The more we spend in it, the more He consumes us. We must make it a conscious effort every day to be hungry for prayer. It is not a religious ritual, but a personal conversation with our Lord and Savior. In it He reveals His will and desires for our own personal growth for the use in His kingdom.
Are you advancing daily in your faith? Are you growing more intimate with God so that you are in His will and He entangled in your heart? What a beautiful entanglement it is to have Jesus centered in your heart, infecting you with His love and purpose every heartbeat you have. The more we grow, the closer we detect His presence.
Weekly Devotion 9.12.2011
Are You Advancing?
1 Peter 2.1-5
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 19.26
But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
An uncomfortable but necessary question we must ask ourselves periodically is, "Am I growing?" What a simple, innocently framed reflective inquiry, but within that question is packed a plethora information pertaining to the very health of our spiritual health. Many of us are afraid to ask that question. We are as the man afraid to go to the doctor for fear something might be fatally wrong. But, beloved, the vitality of spiritual growth in our own life is an essential mineral for the Christian soul. That is why Peter tells us to be "like newborn babies [and] crave spiritual milk, so that by it [we] may grow up in [our] salvation." Like a newborn babe, we need doses of spiritual milk to help us grow. A mother's breast milk is designed not only to provide an infant with nutrients he or she needs to grow, but also minerals used to keep the child's immune system effective. Likewise, it is we who, upon craving the spiritual milk to grow and prosper in the Lord, receive the nutrients we need to submit to God and resist the devil.
How do we grow? How can we be sure we are advancing purposefully into and for the kingdom of God? Paul lays out the groundwork in Philippians 3: 13b: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." The strongest evidence of advancement in the Christian's life is his desire to "press on" for God. What are your affairs? Are they Christ's? Are you using every thought and opportunity for action towards His kingdom? Action requires movement, and movement requires our hearts, our minds, and our hands to be ready to serve the Gospel.
What are some methods employable to advancing ourselves for God? One of the chief methods we see outlined in Hebrews 11: model yourself after a Biblical or godly mentor. We ought to strive to model ourselves after the faith heroes of Hebrews 11. This requires constant action and self-improvement which prevent stagnation of the heart and weariness of pursuing God fully.
Prayer is the chief method of advancement. When we pray, God reveals to us our weaknesses, strengths, goals and ambitions. Prayer is a time of unbridled intimacy with God. The more we spend in it, the more He consumes us. We must make it a conscious effort every day to be hungry for prayer. It is not a religious ritual, but a personal conversation with our Lord and Savior. In it He reveals His will and desires for our own personal growth for the use in His kingdom.
Are you advancing daily in your faith? Are you growing more intimate with God so that you are in His will and He entangled in your heart? What a beautiful entanglement it is to have Jesus centered in your heart, infecting you with His love and purpose every heartbeat you have. The more we grow, the closer we detect His presence.
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