"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him" Matthew 7:11
This story really touched my heart and I want to share it with you. How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? Enjoy this and please don't miss much more. With His Loving Heart, Pastor Fred
"Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and the people all lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground." Nehemiah 8:6
Tonight my face is on the ground. I am bowed down and worshiping my King. I am in utter awe of His grace and forgiveness. I say "Amen! Amen!" to Him. 'Amen' means "So be it" and I am asking God that His will be done in every area of my life, and in the life of His church.
As Pastor of Grace Harbor I must lead you in worship, not only in principle, but also by example. Sometimes as this verse says, we must bow down and worship Him with our faces to the ground and do so after we have lifted our hands to praise Him. Tonight, I am lifting my hands and praising Him by counting my blessings in the midst of some despair. The more I count, the less I despair. The less I despair, the more I can count. Once I get started I can just keep going. But I had to start by praising Him.
"Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up." Nehemiah 8:5
The book Ezra opened was probably the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible). The people, out of reverence for The Word, stood all at once. We actually do this each time we gather to worship at Grace Harbor. The people listened attentively as Ezra read and their lives were changed.
As I read this Max Lucado message, I found it very interesting that my neighbor has "gone to war" with me and Lois, and has made herself totally unreasonable and unlovable. Lois, to her credit, took the high road, and while I was dreaming up ways to "strike back" against this woman's incorrigible "well-poisoner" attitude, she suggested that we pray the "BLESS" prayer for her. So, rather than play to this woman's level, with a self-righteous anger (I do that very well), Lois has us both praying for her thus:
Our Bible verses for today come from Ephesians.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. " Ephesians 6:10-18
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." Proverbs 17:3
I think everything gets tested. Creation is full of examples of how things get tested. Human life is certainly a never-ending progression of trials and tests. It takes intense heat to purify gold and silver.
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
I heard an interesting reference today when a coworker described the difficult people she had to deal with as EGRs. Instantly I started trying to decipher its meaning and even came up with a few good ones. Starting with 'E', I went down the line…egregious, enormous, extreme…you get the picture. Until finally I asked, "What’s an EGR?"
"Apply your hearts to instruction and your ears to words of instruction." Proverbs 23:12
I do so enjoy reading, studying and applying the principles of The Book of Proverbs. No wonder it is called The Book of Wisdom. Each proverb has meaning, substance and worthy application to real life. The heart and soul of Proverbs 23:12 jumps up with the first word, APPLY. Truth, God's Word, wisdom, knowledge, instruction, understanding all have limited worth and effect without application. Many people have told me over the years regarding my preaching that it is all about the application and the take home points. Sound doctrine is essential, compelling delivery is really important, but more vital is the absolute necessity to be able to give the listeners something to take home. Take home points are more important than humorous stories or textual analysis or theological constructs. People really want to know not only what your points are, but what to do with them. The proverb though is not written just to preachers so they study hard, get real and feed the sheep something that is spiritually nutritious. The proverb is written to believers, so they can learn to listen to the Spirit instruct their hearts. My job on Sundays is more to teach how to access the truth for self-feeding than it is to hand-feed anybody. In my life, as a Bible learner I seek knowledge and instruction from His truth so I can obtain His wisdom. Of course I do some reading of the writings of people far smarter, deeper and more learned than me. But, that does not replace my responsibility to dig into the Word as an individual Christian desiring truth. I don't ever read other Pastor's sermons and then reformat them on Sundays. I don't go to websites that outline sermon series or give clever illustrations to entertain. If I hear something pertinent that applies I will weave it in, but most often I use what is happening in my life or in the last week or two or even that morning that is fresh and real life oriented. I share this to encourage us all to let the Word of God speak to us personally. I never want to make sermons like some kind of a "big pitcher- little cups" type of experience.
"Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, through all generations. For the Lord will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants." Psalm 135:13-14
I just shared this whole passage from Psalm 135 in a recent devotional, but these two verses deserve a devotional thought, and are on my heart today. God has always been the way He was and is. He is famous for His compassion and protection, deliverance and provision for His people. From generation to generation it is passed down, His reputation for justice, mercy and grace. Isn't it funny that we initially think of justice as getting punished, mercy as catching a break and grace as only totally unmerited favor? While there is some truth in that it does paint a "tough God" picture. We hope God will "set things straight", rather than "set the captives free". We would like to see God give people what they deserve instead of remembering that mercy is not getting what we deserve. We worry so much about the over abundance of "cheap grace" that we easily forget the price that was paid for our grace. We live in testing times.
2 Corinthians 9:7
