The Blessings and the Lessons

Father in heaven, look down upon me today with

love and mercy. I'm going through some tough times

lately, and right now I fail to see the light at the end

of the tunnel. God, help me stay focused on the good

that will come out of this, even if I cannot imagine

what that good is at the moment. I have faith that you 

will always help me handle whatever situation I find

myself in and that what you give me has

a purpose for my life. But just for now,

send a little bit of light my way to guide

me through the long, dark night ahead.

Amen.

Sometimes God will send others to help you see your wrong ways. Will you be OK with that?

Proverbs 27:6

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

A True Friend

Imagine you saw a blind man headed for the edge of a cliff. You likely wouldn’t hesitate to go up to him and warn, would you? You’d be uninhibited in going right up to him and trying to tell him that where he’s headed is going to lead to disaster. Why would it be any different than if a friend came up to you and told you that you were headed in the wrong direction and that if you didn’t change your direction, you were going to face something very serious that was going to hurt you? A friend will tell you the truth, but someone who is only pretending to be your friend will hide it from you. Isn’t it better to hear the truth and be somewhat hurt by it than to hear falsehoods and run into more serious trouble later? As painful as it is, I would rather my friend tell me the truth than tell me what I want to hear. Sometimes God sends others to help us see that we’re wrong. So, isn’t that a good thing?

Open Rebuke

In Proverbs 27:5 it says that it’s better to receive open rebuke than pretending they love you by hiding the truth. By open rebuke, I don’t mean that someone tells you your fault in front of a huge, public gathering. I think what Solomon is saying is that it’s better to be told openly, frankly, and honestly before your face than to have something hidden from you that you might not be aware of, walking right into something that does a lot of harm. The psalmist went so far as to say that he’d rather have a righteous person slap him in the face if he needs it because it’s really a kindness to him (Psalm 141:5). In the long run, the person who rebukes someone will gain their favor (Prov. 28:23) because even though the truth hurts, hiding the truth hurts even worse. Judas went up to Jesus and gave Him a kiss, but the kiss of an enemy can end up doing a lot more harm than good (Matt. 26:49), like it did to Jesus.

Does an Enemy Speak the Truth?

Paul asks the rhetorical question of whether he became the enemy of the Galatians because he spoke the truth (Gal. 4:16). The obvious answer is no, of course not, because even the Word of God cuts in order to heal, and the blows of a friend are in our best interest. I don’t mean actual physical blows, of course, but words that hurt can heal in the end. If we see a brother or sister living in serious, grievous sin, it is our Christian duty to try and restore them (Gal. 6:1). The truth can hurt, but silence is not golden; it can prove fatal in some cases. How will you or I react if God sends someone to help us see our wrong? Is that okay with us? Can we see that they only want to help us?

A Closing Prayer

Father, You chastise every son and daughter You love (Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19); so, help me to receive it as being done in love, whether it’s directly from Your Word, the Bible, or from someone You send. In the Savior’s precious name I pray.

Amen

If you had one day to live, how would you spend it?

Proverbs 27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

An Appointment With Death

This sounds morbid, and I don’t mean for it to, but no one knows the day of their death. All we know for sure is that we’re all destined to die and then face the judgment (Heb. 9:27), so none of us can take our lives for granted and just rest, relax, eat, and be happy (Luke 12:19) because our very life might end tonight. What would you do differently if you knew you had only one day to live? I have been with some people who were on their deathbed and knocking on heaven’s door, and none had remorse over the lack of money they could have made, their desire to have finer things, or that they’d spent more time at work. Just the opposite is what I found to be true. They wished they had studied the Bible more to know God better, they wished they had spent more time with their family and told them more often how much they loved them, and they wished they would have been better witnesses to their lost friends and family members. I suggest you live like today is your last because you never know–it might be.

Don’t Boast About Tomorrow

How can we ever brag or boast about what we’ll do tomorrow when there is no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come (James 4:13-14)? Life is like a morning fog–it comes and then suddenly is gone. What would you do today if you knew it was your last? Would you go to that friend with whom you’ve been sharing the Gospel and tell them once more about how they might be saved (Acts 4:12)? Would you have one last great meal like they offer those on death row just before their execution? What would be your priority today if you knew it was your very last one? Should we not live like that every day?

Make Today a God’s-Will Day

James said that we shouldn’t brag about doing something tomorrow but rather seek to do God’s will today and tomorrow and say if it’s God’s will then I will do this or I will do that (James 4:15) because if you confidently boast about what you’ll do tomorrow, God sees that as evil (James 4:16). That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan things for tomorrow, but your plans should include seeking what God would want you to do. We should live today like there’s no tomorrow because there might not be a tomorrow for us on this earth. Would you be more generous today with your money, with your time, and with your prayers? I believe we should live every day like it could be our last for another reason: Christ could return at any given moment (1 Thess. 4:16-18). So live today like it’s your last on earth and like Christ will return today!

A Closing Prayer

God, You alone know the day of my death, so teach me to number each and every day (Psalm 90:12) like it might be my last because it could be. Let me die with no regrets or remorse if You were to send Your Son back to earth today for His church, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

What area of your life requires courage today?

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Finances

I don’t personally know of anyone who has not struggled at one time or another with fears over their finances and needed the courage to trust God. God has promised in His word that no child of His will suffer from hunger or starve to death (Prov. 10:3), and those who fear God will lack nothing at all, even if they grow weak from hunger (Psalm 34:10). The fear of finances keeps so many people up at night that I lost track of counting them all. Is this an area where you require courage? I suggest you read some of the Proverbs and the Psalms because God promises to never forsake us by reminding us that His own children will not have to go out and beg for bread (Psalm 37:25). If God provides for the birds of the air that don’t even need a job, then why would He not do the same for us, whom He values infinitely more (Matt. 6:26)?

Witnessing

I have done door-to-door and street evangelism and even one-on-one witnessing, and I still tremble at times. My heart starts to pound, my brow grows sweaty, and my voice sometimes gets shaky, but real courage is not being afraid–it is doing what needs to be done despite the fear. Courage is not the elimination of fear; it is acting regardless of fear. Take comfort in the fact that it’s hard for everyone. Ask God to give you the courage to step out and risk for the sake of the kingdom. Ask others to pray for you about this. Great rewards come with great risks, and I can look back on times in my life where I was afraid to share the Gospel with someone but who later placed their trust in Christ. What if I hadn’t gone through with it? Paul frequently asked the church to pray for Him in witnessing boldly for Christ and specifically asked that he might declare it fearlessly, as he should (Eph. 6:19-20). The fear of man is a big obstacle that can trip us up, but trusting God always helps (Prov. 29:25) because if we trust in God, we have no reason to fear anything that man can do to us (Psalm 56:11).

Goliaths

Many of us have our own giants that we face. These might be a disease or illness, a troubled marriage, a dying spouse, unemployment, or whatever else seems to be impossible to you. David had his Goliath, but we have ours, too, and even though David faced a giant about ten times (or more) his size, David trusted in God. David told Goliath that he was certain that God was going to take him down that day (1 Sam. 17:44) because the Lord was going to give Goliath into David’s hands, for the battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam. 17:47). When Moses was near the end of his life, he told Joshua to have courage and be strong because he had no reason to be in fear or dread the future because the Lord promised to go before them in battle when they crossed over into the Promised Land because God was not going to forsake them (Deut. 31:6).

A Closing Prayer

Oh mighty God of the universe, please forgive me when I fall into fearful circumstances and don’t trust You enough, knowing that You will never leave me or forsake me and that You will take care of my every need. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Did you know that God often works in the ordinary?

First Samuel 16:7

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

God is most glorified when he does extraordinary things through very ordinary people. In that way, people must give God the credit, and when they do, He is glorified by it and not the person who does the amazing things for Him. The amazing things that God does through people are done by our amazing God. God prefers to use the least of all people to do the most unlikely of things. God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11), and He often uses the minority, the smallest or the weakest, to do His work here on earth. In reading the Bible, you’ll frequently discover that God uses the smaller groups or those who are small in their own eyes because He resists the proud of heart (James 4:6). It seems that the majority is wrong most of the time in the pages of the Bible, so just because the majority might think something is good doesn’t guarantee that it is. God can you use, too, even though you and I are both only jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7).

The Least Likely

When God was having Jesse pass all of his sons before Samuel to find the next King of Israel, Jesse thought that surely the first and then the next several sons would be the right one. They all seemed to have the look of a king but they forgot one thing; God looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance (1 Sam 16:7) because God values what’s inside and not what people see on the outside. God often works in people that we might never imagine He would. Otherwise, why would He use Gideon who essentially called himself the runt of his family and he was in the least of all of the tribes of Israel (Judges 6:12-24)? To put it this way, God loves the underdog so that He receives the glory, therefore we should never underestimate people who we think God would never use because those may be the very ones that He will use the most!

You and Me

Don’t overlook yourself either because God will likely use you if you are small in your own eyes. It’s so amazing that God’s history of working through mankind is His tendency to use those whom most would never even think about being used by God. What about you? Do you consider yourself an unlikely vessel that God could use in a powerful way? If you think it’s impossible that God would use you, then you’re already qualified in God’s eyes and in God’s eyes is all that matters! Don’t sell yourself short, because God won’t. Someone who really thinks a lot of themself is the one whom God cannot likely use. They first must humble themselves. The person who is unseen by human eyes but is doing the very works of God on earth is someone we’ll probably never hear about or read about, but those who do things to not be seen by man are those who may be doing the greatest work on earth for God today.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for using those who seem small in their own eyes because this gives all of us hope, as you have called, for the most part, the weak and what the world calls the foolish things of the world (1 Cor. 1:27) so that You can show Yourself strong and be more glorified. So thank You, God, for doing such a work in those whom most may have little regard for, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Is your view of love based on the world or the Bible?

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

What Is Love?

Love has been described as a feeling, an emotion, or something that is attractive, but really love is not just a noun; love is a verb. Love is what you do more than what you feel. Feelings are fine, but the true measure of love is by what is done, not by what is felt. Has there ever been any greater display of what love really is than what was done on the cross (John 15:13)? That was the most defining moment in human history because it bridged the unbridgeable gap that stood between humans and God due to sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Is that your view of love? For the longest time, I had confused what love really was from what love really is. Real love is a sacrificial, selfless, giving action that does more than what is felt or said. Talk is cheap, but action is a lot louder than words. When I read about what Christ did for me–and for many others–I had to redefine what love really is. Love is not what is felt but what is done. Love is a verb; it’s what you do.

I Love the …

I have seen a lot of bumper stickers that have read “I love the (name of a football team),” “I love weekends,” they love this and that, but that is not really love to me. That is a very strong like, yes, but that’s not what love is really all about. Is your view of love based upon the world’s view of love? Mine was for the longest time. I had the wrong idea about what love really is. I fixed the word “love” on things and not people or, most of all, God, but God displayed His love for us first before we ever loved Him (1 John 4:19). He made the first move; He was the first to love. We didn’t initiate that love. Even our love for God comes from God Himself by His Spirit. Sometimes we confuse love with lust, but lust is really the exact opposite of love because if often desires something that’s not good for us (except in marriage), and we lust after things that will hurt is. Love never hurts us, if it is, indeed, real love.

God, the Author and Giver of Love

God is love (1 John 4:8), and we can say we love God, but in reality, the Bible says that God poured out His love into us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), so our own love for God did not even originate with us. But once we are regenerated by the Spirit of God, only then can we truly love God according to the biblical definition. We might think we know what love is, but is it based upon the way the world defines it or the way God’s Word does? Love is patient and kind, doesn’t brag or boast, isn’t arrogant, doesn’t dishonor people, doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, doesn’t delight in sin but always loves truth, has hope, always perseveres, and includes trust (1 Cor. 13:4-7), and when everything else will fail, love never does (1 Cor. 13:8). Love is what love does–it is action-oriented, not a touchy-feely, intangible thing.

A Closing Prayer

Great God in heaven, I thank You that You first loved me, even though I was unlovable. You still reached down out of heaven to save a sinner like me and then sent Your Son to die for me. That is what real love is, and I thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

What does full surrender mean? Are you working towards this?

Proverbs 21:31

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Victory in Surrender

This goes against the way that mankind thinks, in that there can be victory only when we lay down our arms and that we can gain victory only by surrendering. The Bible is full of such accounts where the battle is said to be the Lord’s. This is how God is more glorified. Today nations depend solely on their armament, but in the ancient days, Israel depended upon God. Sometimes God was their only hope for defeating a far superior army. These ancient kings of Israel, like King David, knew that the battle never depended on horses and chariots but always on the Lord (Psalm 20:7). Despite all the strength of their force, it wasn’t up to them but up to God (Psalm 33:17). Deliverance is always from God (Psalm 3:8) and never from the hand of man. That was the way the nations that were opposed to Israel thought (Isaiah 31:1), but they never truly understood that, until after their defeat, they were actually fighting God, and that is a fruitless attempt.

His Victory for Us

The believer in Jesus Christ never fought for and achieved their own victory over sin and eternal punishment (Eph. 2:8-9). That victory came through only one Man, and He is the God-Man, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57). Even in ancient Israel, as skilled of a warrior-king that David was, the victory always came from God’s hand (2 Sam. 8:14). The only reason that we can put on immortality and leave our mortality someday is because of Christ’s victory over death (1 Cor. 15:54), as He took the final sting out of death (1 Cor. 15:55). This reminds me of a young boy and father who were driving together and a wasp was flying around inside the car. The boy panicked trying to avoid the wasp, but the father said, “Calm down, son, he can’t sting you anymore.” The boy asked why, and the father said, “Because he had only one stinger and it landed on me, so the wasp can’t sting you anymore because I took the sting out of the wasp.” So it was with Christ for us: He took the sting out of death so ours would no longer be there.

Working for Victory or From Victory

I have counseled a lot of men who battle pornography, and a close friend of mine, who has battled this for many years, finally gave up and said, “Okay, God, I can’t do this. You’re going to have to help me.” It was within a few short days that my friend called me back and said he finally got over his addiction to pornography. I asked him how he did it, and he said, “I gave up. I surrendered it all to Jesus because I just couldn’t do it.” What godly wisdom my friend revealed, so I asked him, “Exactly how did you do it?” He said that God suddenly changed his heart’s desire for it. He found an accountability partner (me!) and started deleting all of the pornographic images on his computer. Next, it was time to put on a filter that was password protected. He finally had victory over pornography but not until he surrendered. Are you trying to overcome a similar type of stronghold? Full surrender to me means begging God for help to do what you can’t do for yourself. That means there victory only in surrendering, surrendering to God, that is.

A Closing Prayer

God, my Father, thank You for showing me by the example of a precious Christian brother of mine that surrender is the only way we can ever have victory because You can fight an enemy for us that we cannot handle and is too strong. In Jesus’ name I thank You and pray.

Amen