BEFORE

Troubles come into everyone’s life at some point or another. So often, we try to fight our own battles rather than trusting in the Lord. Here’s a fantastic passage from God’s Word that shows a better way!

Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. ⁶He prayed, “O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 2 Chronicles 20:5 - 6 (NLT)

Then Jahaziel, a prophet of the Lord spoke,

He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 (NLT)

The response of the King on hearing God’s word was to

WORSHIP…

Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD. 2 Chronicles 20:18 (NLT)

Trusting that God would do what His word had foretold they sang

PRAISES OF THANKSGIVING…

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever!” 2 Chronicles 20:21 (NLT)

The faith they had in God’s word was remarkable. God rewarded their faith

PROMISE was FULIFILLED

²²At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. ²⁴So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. 2 Chronicles 20:22,24 (NLT)

Trust God with your battles. Listen to His word (the Bible). Worship Him and sing praises of thanksgiving BEFORE you see the results and He will reward your trust in Him.

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RESPONSIBILITY

I have seen discipline in the family change greatly during my lifetime (wow, that makes me sound old!). Spanking used to be part of the parenting “repertoire” but civil liberties or child abuse laws (?) have changed all that.

Is discipline in the church being changed from what God intended as well? Let’s see what Paul has to say in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

¹²It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12 - 13 (NLT)

The Old Testament reference (“Scriptures”) here is Deuteronomy 17:7. God is talking about someone who violates the covenant He has made with them and in verse 3 of chapter 17 and says, “For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden.” He goes on to say, that they should be put to death by stoning! Now that ought to make us extremely grateful for God’s grace!

The last part of verse 7 (Deuteronomy 17) is what Paul has referred to in our main passage for today. It says, “In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.”

Obviously God took evil (sin) among His people seriously and that is the message Paul is trying to convey to the church at Corinth and the Church today. The problem is we tend to overlook things like that because we don’t “want” to offend a particular person. In the end though, we offend God.

¹¹ My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline,

and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

¹² For the LORD corrects those he loves,

just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Proverbs 3:11 - 12 (NLT)

“Wait,” you say, “that is speaking of the LORD’s discipline, not our church.” WHOSE CHURCH? The Church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head of that body.

We have a responsibility to God to make sure that His body, what we call church, is “clean and pure.”

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EYES

American Idol is a huge smash on television. Now there are other shows coming out where different people (bands, etc.) compete for things like recording contracts and more.

Contests or talent shows like that are nothing new. Ed Sullivan used to showcase different talents. The Miss America Pageant and others like it have been around for years.

If we place ourselves in the spotlight, there are always eyes trained upon us to compare us to others.

There is one set of eyes that I want to please. It has nothing to do with outward appearance or how well I sing, but with my inner most thoughts and desires…

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a (NLT)

My prayer for you today is that the Lord would strengthen you as He gazes upon a heart that is “sold out” to Him.

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HARMONY

I’ve been a music lover and musician for as long as I can remember. You and I may not have the same taste in music, but we can usually agree on what good harmony is.

When I was going to college, I had to listen to a lot of 20^th Century music that was often devoid of traditional harmony. While I can say it took skill to write, put it all together and perform it, I can say with much more delight that I like sounds that “get along with each other” much better.

I think God feels that way about His children. He prefers us to act together in harmony. Hear these words of Paul:

¹⁰I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)

It reminds me of a tug-of-war contest. If all the people on one side are pulling together and the people on the other side pull when they feel like it, at different times from their other teammates, guess which team is going to win!

We are in a spiritual battle and the forces of darkness in this world seem to be pulling together as they vie for the lives of our young people and those who don’t know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

Come on Church, unite, live and act in harmony for your ONLY purpose; living a life that is Christ-like, showing others the love of God and leading them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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FULFILL

There was some discussion a few days ago on “following the law.” I didn’t mean to imply that the law was bad, only that we were no longer “slaves” to it. The law in it’s entirety pointed out that we are sinful creatures and none of us can keep the law in it’s entirety. Apart from Jesus, we can’t do anything!

Jesus said,

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 (NASB)

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the law was, He replied,

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸“This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37 - 40 (NASB)

For us to follow the myriads of laws, commandments and/or the tradition of the Rabbis we would have to be “brainiacs” to simply remember what they are. Jesus, when He came “fulfilled” the law and we, through Him, may accomplish the same.

Jesus did not set us to thinking about all those little “pieces” of what is considered law, but gave us a one-word prescription…love. Paul summarizes that thought in Romans 13:8-10 (NASB),

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

So, when we are tempted to do something out of selfishness or to prove we are right or for any other motive than love…we are not merely breaking the law but the heart of Jesus, the One who died a horrible death on the cross for our sin. Love Him and love each other with God’s kind of love. That will fix the problem!

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EVERYTHING

This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24 (NASB)

³³ Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁴ For who can know the LORD’s thoughts?

Who knows enough to give him advice?

³⁵ And who has given him so much

that he needs to pay it back?

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

Romans 11:33 - 36 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)

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WHICH

There are a lot of people running around these days “modifying” the Bible. Some do it in the name of PC (political correctness) as with the “degenderization” of the scriptures (him = people; her = people, etc.). Still others change God’s Word to suit their fleshly desires (I want to do ________, the bible says it’s wrong, so I’ll re-interpret it to fit my desires).

Paul tells the Corinthians…

⁴For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! 2 Corinthians 11:4 (NKJV) (see also Galatians 1:6-10)

Notice it doesn’t say “receive a different Spirit.” The “s” is in lower case. The Nelson Study Bible (Copyright © 1997 by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville) has this to say about verse 4:

Another Jesus would be one who was a man but not God, or crucified but not risen. A different spirit would be one of fear, not faith (4:13)—of bondage, not freedom (3:17; see Gal. 5:1). A different gospel would be one of law and not grace, one of works and not faith.

There will be smooth talking preachers who try to lead us down a different path, but it is still our responsibility to stay close to the One True Jesus. His Spirit lives in us and warns us when things are against the Truth. There are no “new revelations.” God’s Word has been around a long time and does not change.

If fear gets in your face…remember

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) ⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

If bondage comes into your life…remember

Romans 6:6 - 7 (NKJV) ⁶knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷For he who has died has been freed from sin.

If people try to tell you that you have to follow the “law”…remember

Romans 6:14 (NKJV) ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Galatians 2:21 (NKJV) ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

The Gospel is simple…

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

Which Jesus will you believe in, the One in God’s Word, or the one that lets you do whatever you want?

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HOME

Home on the range…

Home is where the heart is…

There’s no place like home…

Home has always been important in our society. That’s where our family lives, where we were brought up and where we feel most comfortable. There is a home I haven’t mentioned that’s even more important…

¹ Lord, through all the generations

you have been our home!

² Before the mountains were born,

before you gave birth to the earth and the world,

from beginning to end, you are God.

Psalms 90:1 - 2 (NLT)

That’s the “home” where our heart should be centered. The Lord God Almighty.

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HE

Today’s WORD is for me and all that have partnered with me in the project that God has set before us called, The SPRING Student Center. It is also for you because God sets projects before us all.

We can all become bogged down in the details of the work or discouraged because something didn’t go the way we thought it should. In the following passage from First Chronicles, David is warning his son Solomon about that discouragement…

Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly. 1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)

God is with you and me as we go about His work. Notice, David says, HE will not fail you...that He is God almighty. HE will not forsake you…that He is God almighty. HE will see that the work is finished, and may I point out the word correctly. God will see to it that His plans, His projects are completed correctly.

So how can any of us get discouraged when it is God working through us that is not only the planner or architect of the project, but the general contractor and building inspector!

I think that when we get discouraged we need to go back to verse 28 in this same chapter where David was telling his son the background and requirements for success and encouragement.

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰So take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 - 10 (NLT)

1. Know God intimately

2. Worship God

3. Serve God

4. Seek God

We are to do these things with a willing mind and all of our heart or inner desire. So, what’s the answer?

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and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

CERTAIN

Not too many things in life are guaranteed. Special sales can disappoint. New cars may break and need repair. That new computer may not even start up when you take it out of the box. You’ve heard people talk about a “sure thing” in regards to horse races and that does not always work out.

One thing is certain though, God loves us. Because of this love, all the other things that God has shared with us in His Word are a certainty. For example, He has promised us eternal life if we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Look at the following and see how Paul put it in his letter to the church at Rome:

¹⁶So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

¹Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 4:16, 5:1 (NLT)

If you want a “sure thing,” trust in God. Look at His Word and see what other promises and certainties that you can count on.

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FAITH

We want to believe we can accomplish something on our own that is worthy, that we are good because we try hard. The reality is the only “good” thing we can do is trust in God.

But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. Romans 4:5 (NLT)

The problem is if someone does not believe in God, we have to love them, understanding that they cannot hear or understand the things of God. Only then, as we love them, will they “see” Jesus in us and, by His grace, believe.

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. ⁸ Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.” Romans 4:7 - 8 (NLT) (Greek version of Psalms 32:1-2; Hebrew says, “cleared of guilt”)

We need to realize that we owe it ALL to Jesus. Perhaps then we won’t be so judgmental, harsh or even cruel to non-Christians. If someone trusts us, they may take a serious look at what we believe and come to know Christ for them.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8 - 9 (NASB)

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RIGHT

How simple the gospel (which means “good news) is. It is for all people that will hear it and…

1. Accept the fact that they aren’t perfect

2. Accept the fact that God made man

3. Accept the fact that God, in His perfection, created a way to commune with sinful, imperfect man.

²²We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

²⁴Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:22 - 26 (NLT)

Tell someone about this incredible gift today.

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LORD

We are so blessed to be loved by God. Though we are not perfect, we can dwell in the perfection of His Son Jesus Christ. He has given us everything we need, both here and in the heavenly realm. He is the One True God, the Almighty, King of all the earth…praise Him, and worship Him today.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

Psalms 19:7 - 9 (NASB)

Are you holding anything back from Him? If so, turn it over to Him; give Him control of everything in your life. Allow Him to be Lord of who you are.

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INVEST

I didn’t know that Pastor Futral was going to speak this past Thursday night, but since he did, I must report on his final message of the camp at Glorieta, New Mexico.

He spoke on Mark, chapter 5…

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ²When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, Mark 5:1 - 2 (NASB)

The man Jesus met was in bad shape. Nobody wanted to be around him. Most of us, at some point in life, become a little depressed. This man was seriously depressed…

Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Mark 5:5 (NASB)

But then…he met Jesus.

Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; Mark 5:6 (NASB)

Jesus took pity on him and healed him. The man was truly blessed.

This newly healed man was so excited he begged Jesus to go with him…

And He did not let him, but He said^* to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 5:19 - 20 (NASB)

You get the point. We all get depressed at times or have problems. But when we meet with Jesus, through His Word or in prayer, and we should often, we are truly blessed. However, it shouldn’t stop there. What we have been blessed with, we are to invest in others.

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THOU

This is my report on the final day of the conference in Glorieta, New Mexico…

Pastor Jim Futral spoke in the morning on Philippians 3:10

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; Philippians 3:10 (NASB)

He told us a story of a Pastor friend who had reflected back on his fifty years of ministry and found it divided into three divisions.

The first was the “Thou Shalt Not” time. He preached against things he didn’t like. The second was the “Thou Shalt” period where he preached about things Christians should do. The third and final phase he called simply, “Thou.” By that, he meant that anything and everything that was important was by and of GOD.

That’s where we all should be, simply looking to God…getting to know Him better…loving Him better. That is what is really important.

In the afternoon, I had a class called “Fuel.” It too was very good. Fuel being the term the teacher used for prayer. Craig Adams from Nashville was the teacher and he related a story of taking his praise team to a church in Ohio and being amazed at how quickly the congregation engaged in the worship of God…deep, sincere worship.

At lunch with the worship leader, he asked how he got them to this point. The worship leader responded, “He didn’t.” He had tried every trick in the book, on websites, things he learned from conferences and it just wasn’t working. He then decided to pray! When the praise team came in the next week, he asked them to pray with him. To make a long story short, their prayer time turned into a very large service with many people attending. God did a mighty work, not only in the lives of the praise team and that worship leader but also in the church as they saw God at work in their lives. Apart from Him (Thou, Thee, Jesus, GOD) we can do nothing (John 15:5)

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; Colossians 4:2 (NASB)

Pray without ceasing; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB)

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FEARLESS

The third day of a conference in Glorieta, New Mexico…

My condensation of the day’s events and messages by Pastor Jim Futral

Many of the problems we have in our lives and in our churches are results of fears. However, if we read God’s Word carefully, we will see that He has given us the perfect solution to eradicate all fear…LOVE

In verse 18 of the passage below, the word for “casts out” fear in the Greek is the same word as when Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple area. Perfect love, God’s kind of love (refer to 1 Corinthians 13) drives fear out of our lives, thoughts and actions…

¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. ¹⁹We love, because He first loved us. ²⁰If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. 1 John 4:18 - 21 (NASB)

Pastor Futral listed three fears specifically in his message: the fear of rejection, the fear of ridicule and the fear of reprisal. These are big ones in our lives today.

Later that night, I attended a youth worship time. It was a little different format than what they had been doing (sing, pray, preach). They had a Talent Showcase. There were only about 25 kids in the room but almost half went up and did something. It seemed that they were with fear as they sang, spoke or played for each other. In just a few days, they had learned to love each other to the point where fear no longer existed because God was in their lives, working in and through them.

May we adults learn a lesson from them (and God’s Word!), putting aside ego, pride and fear to let God work in and through us.

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SERVE

This is the second WORD that is coming to you from Glorieta, New Mexico. It is a synopsis of yesterday’s speakers, testimonies and musicians.

God’s Word can best summarize the theme that consistently ran through all of the sessions….

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; Philippians 2:3 (NASB)

Travis Cottrell said that our primary function in life was to “help people meet Jesus,” and that as “servants.”

“But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43 - 45 (NASB)

Pastor Jim Futral spoke on Hebrews 10:24-25

and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (NASB)

Last night we were blessed to hear the testimonies and musical talents of Darko, who had come to the US from communist Yugoslavia and Bruce and Lisa, who gave up incredible careers (Honolulu Symphony, Carnegie, etc.) to serve the Lord in song and word. The theme again, “It’s not about me.”

I’ll close with a comment from Travis Cottrell to a question from a Worship Leader Search Committee person. She asked, “How do we get somebody to come in and keep our very talented pianist happy, and our extremely gifted soloists.” His response was “There’s no room for self or ego when serving the Lord.” AMEN

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DISTRACTIONS

I am writing to you from Glorieta, New Mexico. The setting is beautiful and the worship and word have been fantastic after just one day of being here! I will share with you over the next week, what God is teaching me through His people here. The conference speaker is Pastor Jim Futral from Mississippi. The worship leader last night was Travis Cottrell. He led us to the throne of God, giving us time to reflect, pray, confess and seek the face of Jesus. Then the camp pastor spoke to us on “distractions.”

You may or may not be familiar with the story in Luke when Jesus visited the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Mary was engrossed in hearing what Jesus, the Messiah, had to say while Martha was “busy.” Here’s the passage…

³⁸As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. ³⁹Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴²There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38 - 42 (NLT)

Martha’s focus was on “things.” She was busy doing “things” while Mary was being blessed by the words and presence of Jesus.

Martha was distracted by friction between herself and Mary with whom she was upset because she wasn’t helping with the dinner.

Martha had lost her fervor, her enthusiasm, for Christ.

Where do you see yourself today? Is your focus on Christ or on other things? Does friction in a particular relationship or situation distract you? Have you lost your enthusiasm for Jesus and His marvelous gift of salvation?

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KNOW

We human beings don’t like to come across things that we don’t understand. In fact, if we don’t understand something we usually invent something that will explain it. We want to feel in control, like there is nothing beyond our understanding.

Paul had just healed a crippled man in Lystra. In an attempt to explain things, the people made some false assumptions:

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” ¹²They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. ¹³Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles. Acts 4:11-13

We are going to come across some things that can only be explained by God’s incredible power…

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! Psalms 147:5 (NLT)

That is why we worship Him! He alone is worthy, because He is greater and far beyond us…

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9 (NLT)

Praise God who is knows all and is above all things. Worship Him alone.

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