Believe, Apply and Act

I would like to speak to you today about one of my favorite subjects, FAITH.

I have found, that no matter when or how often I speak on the subject of Faith, it is ALWAYS a relevant topic for people.  

Why is that?

It is because we are always going through something that requires us to choose between trusting God and His Promises, or falling into an emotional mess, despair, depression, anger...etc.

The Lord spoke to me one day with this idea:

"My Promises are NOT merely statements of OBSERVATION." 

In other words, when we read the Scriptures and find a Promise that God makes to us, it is not a given, that we find this Promise as true in our lives. Actually, most of the time, we may find our "reality" is in direct conflict with the Truth of that Scripture.

Can you relate?

Here is an example: 

Psalm 37:25 NLT

Once I was young, and now I am old.

    Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned

    or their children begging for bread.

The Promise from the Lord that is implied here, is that the Children of the Righteous will Never have to Beg for Bread.

Does this mean that no Christian in the history of the world has ever begged for bread?

Here's another example: 

Psalm 30:5b NLT

Weeping may last through the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.

So after a night of lamenting and sadness, if you wake up happy, you say, "oh I guess the Bible is true!" However, if you wake up still sad the Bible is false???

What about healing scriptures?

What about scriptures that Promise: Joy, Peace, Blessing, Abundance, the Holy Spirit, Power, Spiritual Authority, Signs following those who believe...this list can go on and on.

The question is: If we OBSERVE these Promises manifesting in our lives, does it make the Scriptural Promises of God true, and if we do not OBSERVE these, is the Scripture no longer relevant?

I think this example may shed light on the subject:

1 John 2:2 NLT

He himself [Jesus] is the sacrifice that atones for our sins - and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

So Jesus' sacrifice atoned or paid for the Sins of the WHOLE WORLD! Praise the Lord!

Does this mean EVERYONE is going to Heaven?

As Christians who know our Bibles, we understand this is not the case. 

So what is the factor that makes the difference for a Promise of God to become reality in our lives?

FAITH!

MANY great things are Promised to us in the Bible, however, few if any, are automatic. No. You must grab hold of the Promise and obtain the Promise by Faith! 

When I has about 13 years old, I came running down the stairs in my house. I was barefoot. At the bottom of the stairway, as you make the turn into the living room, sat my mother's sewing-table.

Some of you are cringing already!

As I flew around the corner, my bare foot came in direct contact with the leg of her sewing-table at high velocity! 

Actually, the wooden table leg which was square in shape, split right between my two smallest toes on my right foot.

The pain was immediate, and immense!!! 

A glorious involuntary howl erupted from my lungs for my whole neighborhood to hear! 

If that wasn't bad enough, after running and dancing across the living room into my parents bedroom and flopping on their bed, when I finally looked at my foot, my pinky toe was sticking straight out, perpendicular to my foot!

Then I let out a shriek of abhorrence at the freakish site! 

When my father finally got me calmed down, while gently praying, he simply pushed my pinky toe straight and back in line with the others like it was no big thing...and it was better! 

I never had a problem with it after that. 

Wow.

So was Psalm 91 not true?

Psalm 91:11-12 NIV

11 For he will command his angels  concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You might think, well the sewing-table was Wood not Stone. Ha!

The point of this Promise is that God's Angels will protect us, even in the simple things like stubbing your toe!

I learned two things here. 

1. I would not know the benefit of the Promise if I didn't know the alternative
2. I had not appropriated or applied that Promise to my life yet

So if you are unaware of God's Promise or choose not to Believe, Apply and Act on that Promise...you will not walk in that Truth. 

Isn't that true of our Salvation?

Jesus died for the Sins of the WHOLE WORLD, yet only those who Believe, Apply and Act on the Promise come to Salvation.

So I encourage you, take what belongs to you today. Find His Promise in the Bible for your situation. Read it. Think on it. Meditate on it. Speak it. Act on it! 

Joshua 1:8 NIV

Keep this Book of the Law [Scripture] always on your lips;  meditate  on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Milestones

A Milestone is defined as:

1. A stone setup beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular destination.

2. A significant Event or Stage in the Life, Progress, Development of a person, nation, etc.

If you are like me, it is important to have a sense of moving forward, accomplishing goals, and seeing progress in your life.

Juli and I reached a major Milestone in our lives yesterday...

25 Years in Marriage!!

Wow. I am amazed myself. What a wonderful wife God has blessed me with to walk this life together. She is such a Godly Woman and still takes my breath away. I am excited to experience the next 25 years together!

I really believe  reaching Milestones is a God-given desire He places in each of us. 

Jesus, our model and standard, was Goal-Oriented when He walked this Earth. He came on a Mission and would not be deterred from accomplishing what He was sent to do!

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He is not only the author, (the designer, instigator, architect, creator) of our Faith. He is the one to see us through TO THE FINISH! 

1 Samuel 7 relates a story of Isreal coming out of a season of transition and even doubt, into a moment of great Victory! 

The Arc of the Covenant, that golden box that contained the 10 Commandments, whose lid was called the Mercy Seat, had been stolen by the Philistines. This Arc was the core piece of Israel's worship. God Himself sat upon the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The Blood of the Yearly Atoning Sacrifice was sprinkled on this box, appealing to God's Mercy to cover the sins of Israel for that year.

Now, it was in the Enemy's hands! And not just for a week or two...but for 7 months! Then upon receiving it back, 70 Israelites opened it up to look inside and died! So they put it in storage for the next 20 YEARS!

The people became depressed believing God had abandoned His people. Yet, the truth was, God's People abandoned Him to worship idols. That is why this whole problem came about!

Here is what happened:

1 Samuel 7:3-11 NLT
Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel told them, "Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you." 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.)

7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 "Don't stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!" they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.

10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.

 

What a Victory from an impossible situation!

Look what Samuel did next:

1 Samuel 7:12 NLT
Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah & Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the Stone of Help"), for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"

Along the Journey of our Spiritual Life it is good to hit Milestones that encourage us to KEEP GOING!

Markers like: 

• Salvation
• Baptism
• Victories over sin
• Moments of Healing & Deliverance 
• Moments of stepping out in Obedience
• Overcoming Obstacles
• Experiencing Break-Throughs as we walk by Faith

All of these Milestones are encouragements that we can look back upon as we face the next challenges life brings.

So don't be discouraged today! Don't give up!

Victory is yours!

Philippians 3:13b-14 NKJV
13b ...Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

To See and Understand

Last week I wrote about the spiritual gift of Discernment.  I would like to continue with another aspect of this gift.

Again, Discernment could simply be defined as the ability to SEE and UNDERSTAND the things of the Spirit.

One way God uses this gift at times is to grant one the ability to see and understand what is happening in the invisible spirit realm. 

Throughout Church history as well as Bible history, people of God have seen visions, angels and demons.

One such account is when Elisha and the city are surrounded by the enemy closing in to destroy them. Yet, he is as calm as ever, with an unexplainable peace. 

His servant is freaking out thinking they are all going to die. So Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the servant's eyes TO SEE and UNDERSTAND (implied). 

2 Kings 6:15-17 (NKJV)

And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

16 So he answered, "DO NOT FEAR, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may SEE." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When we are up against what seems like insurmountable odds, and it feels like the enemy is closing in, we must not give in to fear! 

Ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes, to allow the gift of Discernment to operate in your life.

It reminds me of a testimony in my family of my great grandmother. Her husband was away and a great thunderstorm was raging giving her anxiety. 

That very night in the midst of the storm, an Angel appeared in her room telling her not to fear but to trust the Lord. He left the room and she heard his wings flutter as he flew away.

Wow!

God still moves in these miraculous ways.

Are you seeking Him?

Are your eyes open to what He will reveal?

Haiti Mission 2010

Juli and a team have been in Haiti for the last week doing missionary relief work. Andy and I join them this coming Tuesday.

I have received news from Juli and the team that things are going very well. Some of you may have seen updates on her facebook as they have wifi there, Praise God. This really helps with inexpensive communication.
Easter Sunday they ministered at the local church; Juli taught the children a simple resurrection lesson using the butterfly. Afterwards there were tons of butterflies outside!
A few people from team 1 are returning already. The church had a sending home service for them giving them all nice gifts! Can you imagine them in their deep poverty having the hearts to give and be generous to us "rich" Americans?! It moves me to tears thinking about it.
It reminds me of the Macedonian Church, (Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea).

II Corinthians 8:1-2 GW Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness to the churches in the province of Macedonia. 2 While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous.
They had a revelation of God's generosity and promise to care for us. They chose to be a reflection of Him. Wow. It gives me pause to ponder the pursuits of my life.

Senior Chorus Concert

This past Friday was my daughter's Senior Chorus Concert. As a special tradition, the seniors are allowed to do a duet or trio with a friend or two choosing any song they like. Brittany, or as her friends at school call her, Alex, and 2 friends chose Dust in the Wind. She asked me to accompany them on my guitar.

I was a bit nervous as I'm not big on performing. Leading worship at church is a totally different thing. Performing asks for greater scrutiny. Nonetheless, I was so privileged to play for the big crescendo of her high school singing career.

Take a listen:


There was an unexpected surprise at the end of the concert. First you must know the background. Last year, their beloved music director, Mr. Brown, had resigned and moved away. It was a crushing blow for the students whom he had deeply impacted. Mrs. Rice had very large shoes to fill coming in this year as the new director.

At the end of the concert the seniors would sing their final song. She said, "I have a surprise for you. Directing the final piece will be...Mr. Brown." The whole choir gasped as he came running in from the side. They were incredulous. He was so moved by the opportunity he was crying and shaking. As the song began, you could not even hear the first 3 lines as they were so moved by his return.

Everyone was touched by this selfless act of Mrs. Rice. Her moment to shine, the big finish, validation, vindication...she chose Love.

Amazing Skies

We just spent Christmas and the New Year with my parents and 5 siblings and families in a log cabin in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. The cabin had a large balcony/porch overlooking a forested valley with mountains in the background. One day we watched the sun traverse the sky somehow creating 2 hot-spots with rainbows crossing them.

There was also a 3rd rainbow straight up above us in the clear sky. Unbelievable.

This is a pic of Sunrise off Interstate 90 between Rochester and Syracuse January 8th, 2008.

My Daughter

The following is a Personal Mission Statement my daughter wrote in health class. It really touches my heart.

I will remain an intangible constant
A stone
Ever-weathering
Changing
Becoming
Remaining
Rooted into the richest, deepest places of the Earth
Always facing the Son
Reflecting His light
Deciding
Mending
Dividing to find the Only One
Living a Ferocity
A passion untapped
The reservoir of Life inside of myself
A loyalty falling and unfailing
Two nail-pierced hands lift every wound and fight just to stand between
No one else but the Only One can fulfill to entirety
I am nothing, nothing without Him
A void less empty but still untaken
Surrounded but ignorant until That Day
The Day I stepped from complacency and self
To His embrace
To feel the rush and take part in its Fury
Fueling its ardor to conceal a Greater Plan
It’s all I’ll breathe for
A choice I make
I’ll stand behind so He can stand between
The choice He made
I won’t be insulting
I give in to His tides
His love like the ocean shore
I feel it recede but it’s really only me
It’s my push-away gravity
I clutch at the foam to see it dissolve in my hands
It fills me up
I ask for His fullness so I can pour out where my feet fall
Where they touch the ground
When they touch the Earth
They fall into it to try to find their Maker
When He’s always just beside them.

Summer Vacation

This past August I took my family up to the Alexandria Bay area for a little vacation. We stayed about 15 minutes inland in a newer cabin on a small lake. It was quite private.

We caught fish.

We visited Boldt Castle on the St. Lawrence River in Alex Bay. Quite a place.

We even saw and heard the loons that live on the lake. I caught one on film making its call for almost a minute. Click to hear the audio. Quite beautiful.
A few hundred yards from the cabin was a rock formation that hung over the water about 16 feet high. The water below is said to be about 40 feet deep. Standing up there the first evening we arrived, we made plans to do some cliff diving the next day.
Morning came...late morning that is. I put on my bathing and headed out with Andrew. Now that is was time, as I stood up there it seemed a bit more intimidating. My son watched on as I was working up my nerve to jump. Finally after about 15 minutes of questioning why anyone would jump off a perfectly good rock, with a shout and splash I made the plunge.

Seconds after I hit the water I looked up to see Andy had left and was running back to the cabin to put his bathing suit on. This spoke to me about the influence we have on our children. He went from, “I’ll do it later,” to sprinting to the cabin to suit up just because he saw me do it while shouting, “I’ll be right back!”

When he returned I had already climbed back to the top and was drying off in the sun. Now it was his turn. He pretty much had to go through the same process I did. Lots of posturing to jump, rocking back and forth, countdowns from 10, the whole deal.

I took the opportunity as a teaching moment. Andy wants to be a Marine when he finishes high school. I talked to him about all the difficult things he’ll have to force himself to do in training and his time in service. I explained to him the difference between making an emotional decision versus choosing to do what you know is right, (not that jumping off cliffs is always the right thing to do but he got the point).

He was ready, as long as I went first. My concern was that I’d jump, and find that he still didn’t. So I told him, “when you see me leave the rock, don’t think about it, don’t wait for your feelings to say ‘I’m ready,’ just do it because you already decided to do it.” I explained that when I jumped, the feelings never came to say it was a good idea. I jumped because I decided to.
Finally I made the leap. As I surfaced, I looked up to see if he did it. He wasn’t there but a few feet away from me was a 3 foot diameter circle of white bubbles. Hoorah!

Crash

What a year so far. Two stories of God’s great protection.

Yesterday Juli and Brittany were in a bang-up. She was coming down an icy hill to a stop sign at a major crossroad. There was not a chance of stopping though she did slow down quite a bit. Just barely nosing out into traffic she sent another car into a spin and off into the ditch about 40 yards down the road while she and Brit spun around into the ditch.

No one hurt. Need a new bumper, but that’s replaceable. My darlings are not.

Around the first of the year my father, down in Alabama, had a similar experience. The end result was a totaled car as a vehicle tore off the entire front end. To add insult to injury, when the mechanics went to restart the car, it exploded and burnt it to a crisp. Now he's driving my sister’s little white pick-up, (affectionately known as “Tighty-Whitie”) until he gets a new vehicle.

But God is good and has shown His Grace again.

Psalm 91:9-11 GNB You have made the LORD your defender, the Most High your protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.

Kryptonite

It has been said: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Man’s best friend is a dog. Nice. I want to get a dog and name her Diamond.

It was Christmas Eve, 1991 when I asked Julianna to marry me. I had spent all the money I had, emptying my savings account to buy her a Diamond Ring. I can’t even begin to describe my feelings of elation as I went on my hunt for the best ring I could afford.

I found a simple, yet elegant, beautiful, nearly flawless ½ karat diamond set in white gold. Perfect. Not to mention, a 75% off sale affording me 4 times the ring my budget would permit. I was only 18 at the time. I didn’t have a giant vault filled with gold coins to swim in like Scrooge MacDuck. What a find!

It was that year that I truly learned the joy of giving. My heart was jocund and sublime the whole holiday season, anxious to give her my gift and make my proposal. I still occasionally look at her left hand, the exhibit of my love and commitment to her, and get that same blissful feeling inside. Even as I write this it takes me back to that euphoric evening, giving me an endorphin rush.

I was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the time. She flew down from North Tonawanda, NY for a week or so. That night we were at some Christmas party in the city, friends of my parents I suppose. Mom & Dad knew my intentions for later that evening but they didn’t let on. I like to tell myself Juli was unaware of my plan.

Around 10pm we left the party. It was a cold, clear, starry skied night. I drove her to this small church perched atop a hill overlooking much of the town below. We sat there awhile as I worked up my nerve to bespeak my request. She was saying something as I’m sure I mechanically nodded and made affirming sounds.

I felt my heart thumping in my chest and my body weaken as I pulled out this tiny piece of Kryptonite and proposed. We kissed. My anxiety melded into jubilation. She said yes!

What a great night. It had gone perfectly. I didn’t ride in on a white stallion or post the question on the side of the Good Year Blimp, but still, the moment was perf…KNOCK, KNOCK!

What was that?

To our surprise it was a police officer tapping his flashlight on Juli’s window. “Everything all right in there?” he inquired. Now what on earth did he think was going on? Two young people, parked in a car at “Inspiration point” around 11pm. Well I guess that was his job, you know, being a church parking lot and all.

But it didn’t matter. We moved along. It was still a perfect night.

She wears my diamond.