God Is Here and God Will Hear

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘“For He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). “I will never leave you . . .”— not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again. “I will never . . . forsake you.” Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me.’ CHAMBERS

 

When you are facing problems in life .. illness, relationships, money, work … do you feel alone .. anxious … maybe desperate?  Some might not want to admit it, particularly the men reading this, but I think that we all feel that way from time to time.  You may be in the midst of something right now.  God needs to be the “first” that we turn to .. not the “last” in those times.  God is always faithful, God is always able, God is always willing.  He may not calm the sea … or bring healing .. but He will be with you .. He will be your strength … your peace .. your assurance … In Psalm 139, King David said that there is no place that he could go that he would not find God there already.

 

You may want relief but what He may give you is strength.  Put your trust in God and do not fear your circumstances.

 

“He Will Come And Save” Don Moen

 

Say to those who are fearful hearted,  Do not be afraid. The Lord your God is strong with His mighty arms

When you call on His name, He will come and save

 

And He will come and save you,  He will come and save you

Say to the weary one,  “YOUR GOD WILL SURELY COME”  He will come and save you

 

And He will come and save you,  He will come and save you

Lift up your eyes to Him,  You will arise again.  He will come and save you

 

Say to those who are broken hearted,  Do not lose your faith

The Lord your God is strong with His loving arms, when you call on His name, He will come and save

 

Amen

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

When You Push the Holy Spirit Out Of The Way

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, “I wonder why I shouldn’t do this?” God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, “Now, Lord, what is Your will?”’ CHAMBERS

 

Have you ever felt the “tug” of the Holy Spirit during the day?  A sense that you should not do something?  But you push your way past that and do it anyway?  We are so determined to do it our way.  Paul talked about his tendency to do what he should not in Romans 7.  It is so frustrating.  And the real danger is that if we do it often enough, it becomes less and less difficult to push past the Spirit. God has warned us … “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) … Do not ignore what the Spirit is saying to you .. God put His Spirit in you for a number of reasons .. teaching .. directing … sanctifying are several of them …  You must condition yourself to recognize when the Spirit is leading you … (Galatians 5:16-17) “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

 

(Galatians 5:24-25) “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. “ The only way you are going to do that is to pursue God through His Word, prayer and worship.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Why Can't People Be Like Me? Really?

My Utmost For His Highest

“He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’” —Ezekiel 37:3

‘Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3).[…] It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do?[…] When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace.[…] God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.’ CHAMBERS

 

Are there people that really irritate you? Maybe they are Christians.  You wonder, “Why can’t they be better?  Why do they persist in doing the wrong things? Why do they act like unbelievers?  “Why aren’t they more like … well … more like me?”  So the Holy Spirit shows you what you are like.  That you are a sinner saved by grace.  That you struggle with obedience to the word .. satisfied with qualified obedience.  You cut yourself a lot of slack, but for others .. not so much.  It is like the parable of the unforgiving servant … Matthew 18:21-35 … that guy wanted forgiveness and mercy, but was unwilling to show the same to others. 

 

Is there someone or more than one someone who you hold bitterness in your heart toward? You need to forgive them just like God has forgiven you.  You need to cut them some slack .. encourage them to let the light of Christ shine .. how do you do that?  By letting it shine from you.  Speak kindly to them .. treat them well … None of us deserve grace and mercy but God gave it to us anyway … Let them see Jesus in you …

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

It Won't Get Better If You Are Bitter

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. […] Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.’ CHAMBERS

 

“Who can I trust?” I have asked that question many times while serving in Haiti.  It is hard to know … There is a Haitian proverb, "Bèl dan pa vle di zanmi: dan pa kè."  (Nice teeth do not mean friends: teeth are not the heart.) Another way of saying that is “just because they smile does not reveal the heart”  I have never met a used car salesman who did not smile when he greeted me … So often because people appear to be friendly we ascribe qualities to them that they have not yet proven to be theirs.  When we discover that those qualities are absent, we soon have a bitter attitude towards those people.

 

That is not to say that no one can be trusted .. but that we must not become bitter when some are found not to be trustworthy … who they seem to be.  The Bible helps us understand the sinful nature .. but it also helps us understand God’s grace and mercy … While we should not expect people to be perfect … we should also remember that Jesus went to the cross for them.  That “all have sinned” and God loves the world .. even those people who disappoint us.  On a final note … remember that bitterness is more painful for the one who has it than it is for the one who caused it.  Bottom line .. bitterness is a sin .. you need to confess it and move on. Just sayin’

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Expect Great Things From God .. Attempt Great Things For God - Wm Carey

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? […] Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.” […] In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense. […]Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it.’ CHAMBERS

 

William Carey, the famous missionary in India, said “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”  What God asks each of us to do is not the same.  It is a function of the grace given and the faith applied, all in the context of His purposes and plans.  Purposes and plans that he made long before any of us were born. Look at the people of faith in the Bible and you will see that they were “ordinary” people chosen by God for His work.  God selected them … but they had to say “yes”.  They had to trust the One who called them.  It is a mystery why God uses us … He can do whatever He wants to do … and He did and does … He uses mere men and women to accomplish “great things” for the kingdom.

 

A longtime friend and Brother shared this scripture with me the other day.  It sums this up quite well.

 

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (The Message) “If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

Look To The Hills

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘the Father’s love is evidence that our union with Jesus is complete and absolute. Our Lord does not mean that our lives will be free from external difficulties and uncertainties, but that just as He knew the Father’s heart and mind, we too can be lifted by Him into heavenly places through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that He can reveal the teachings of God to us.’ CHAMBERS

 

When you are struggling with life, yo need to look up.  Look unto the hills from whence your help cometh (Psalm 121).  That was my grandma Elgin’s favorite psalm.  I didn’t know that until her life on this earth was nearly over.  Now whenever I reference it, I think of her and of her quiet influence when I was a small boy.  The Haitians have a proverb .. Dye Mon gen Mon which means behind a mountain is another mountain ... but I tell them ... I look to the hills for my help ... and with faith as small as a mustard seed, I can cast those mountains into the sea!

 

Christian, God really is sufficient in any circumstance.  He is the creator God … everything starts with Him.  Why wouldn’t we want to put our trust in Him?  Why wouldn’t we seek His counsel when we are face with life’s challenges.  Remember Whose you are.  Let God be glorified through you as you walk in the valley.  Let the people around you see that God is real .. your faith has value … and they need Him.  Bring glory to God by the way you live this life …

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

It's Time To Get Your Fender Painted

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘If anything is a mystery to you and is coming between you and God, never look for the explanation in your mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner nature— that is where the problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and you, His child, because the Lord has made you one. “In that day you will ask Me nothing.”’ (John 16:23) CHAMBERS

 

True Spiritual Nature.  Think about that.  You were not saved from your true nature .. but you were saved “to” your true nature.  Walking in fellowship with Him is what God intended .. it was sin that denied us … that robbed us of our true nature.  I think for many Christians, they see their life in Christ as almost a side-note to their life on earth.  As if it is “what” they are but not really “who” they are.  It only becomes “who” they are when they submit their lives to Jesus.  Your whole life .. every facet .. should be immersed in your true inner nature.  Have you ever seen a car that had a fender replaced but the fender had not yet been painted the same color as the rest of the car? That is what our lives are like when we are not immersed in our true inner nature.  Some people will drive their car like that … maybe until it won’t drive anymore … content with the way it is.  God has saved you to a much greater life than living with the an unpainted fender … accepting some things from your old nature that are comfortable and seem to work.  Jesus prayed that we would be one with the Father …

 

John 17:11  “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world [the disciples] , and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.” John17:20-21  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word [that would be you and me]; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

 

You see it is not about being just another pretty car … it is being a witness to the world that Jesus is the Christ … the Lamb of God .. who took away the sins of the world .. so all who believe will not perish but have eternal life … So don’t think it doesn’t matter what you do … your life can make an eternal difference for someone.  Don’t you think it’s time to do something about that fender?

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)