May 18, 2015

^"At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,  and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”  Daniel 3:8-12

How does your faith hold up under threats or pressure from those who oppose what you believe?

Do you "go along to get along" or are you committed to the right thing regardless of the personal consequences to you?

The three Hebrew men developed a fireproof faith that allowed them to survive the heat of the attacks against them by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Do you have a fireproof faith?

Would you like to develop a fireproof faith?

In the last post I shared how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found their faith in a relationship with their God. Faith is based in a personal relationship with God and there cannot be faith without relationship.

God created you to live in relationship with Him and faith is the only way that relationship can happen.

Do you have a personal relationship with Him? Are you living in that relationship?

A second component of faith I see in this account is righteousness. You have been made right with God by entering into a personal relationship with Him. In other words, you have been made righteous. Once you are made righteous you will want to keep right with God by choosing to do the right things.

Faith is concerned about pleasing God. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for those who come to Him must believe that He is and He rewards them who diligently seek Him."

Fireproof faith makes sure it knows what is right and then does what is right, despite the personal cost to him. These three Hebrews knew exactly what would happen to them if they ever disobeyed or dishonored God. AND they also were very clear what would happen to them if they disobeyed and disrespected Nebuchadnezzar.

Bowing before the 90 foot golden image was NOT the right thing to do but it would have made the king happy and saved their lives. Bowing to the idol, the false god, would not have pleased God but it would have taken some heat off of them.

How committed are you to righteousness? Will you please God even when it brings the wrath of the government on you?  Is your faith driven by the desire to remain righteous before God or do you see it as a way to make things right for you?

Fireproof faith develops out of personal relationship and a commitment to righteousness.

May 17, 2015

"........the God we serve is able to deliver us......" Daniel 3:17

What can you expect from God? There are probably not enough enough weeks in a lifetime to fully answer the question, but here are several:

When God puts a giant in front of you, expect Him to demonstrate His giant power.

When He puts a giant in front of you expect Him to raise up the giant within you.

When He raises up the giant within you expect Him to raise up giants around you.

Expect joy from God as you celebrate your salvation.

Expect joy from God as you share your salvation.

You can expect that when God leads you into trouble He will bring you out.

In this devotional you will learn that you can expect if you stand for God and take the heat, God will stand with you!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood for God against the king and faced the heat. In so doing they demonstrated a fireproof faith!

What is a fireproof faith? How did they develop it?

Fireproof Faith Is Relationship

Sometimes people say that they have a faith or they belong to a certain faith and others claim they have faith.

To clarify, I will say that faith is more than:

- A Concept

Faith contains a lot of big ideas but just believing in a big idea is not what fireproof faith is made of. You may believe that there is a God and that He sent His Son, Jesus to be a Savior. But a simple intellectual acceptance of that concept is not what constitutes faith. Demons believe in God and Christ, but what does that faith do for them?

- A Creed

A well organized system of beliefs can be referred to as a "Faith". For instance, the Catholic faith has a creed they expect their adherents to accept.

Creeds are valuable and useful to define a doctrinal system. But fireproof faith does not arise from a creed.

Concepts and creeds are important components of a belief system. They can aid in the development and definition of faith, but fireproof faith requires much more than head knowledge.

Faith is:

- A Connection

Fireproof faith begins with a personal spiritual connection with God through accepting Christ as your Savior. As Romans says, "His Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. '

- A Commitment

Fireproof faith grows out of a commitment of your love and your loyalty to Jesus Christ. After making the spiritual connection with Christ, you then commit to giving Him first place in your life and living in obedience to His Word and His will. Commitment is what you give to God in exchange for what He has given you through Christ.

- A Communion

Additionally, fireproof faith arises out of a close personal faith Christ through the Holy Spirit. Communion is the intimate personal relationship that a converted Christ-follower enjoys and maintains through obedient living. Communion is the strong spritiual connection between God's spirit and yours.

For the person of faith, communion happens through prayer, through reading and studying the Word, and through worship.

These three Hebrew children understood that the most important priority for them as followers of Jehovah, the only true God, was to know God through personal intimate spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ, the on of God.

You were created for fellowship with God and God's people. That fellowship comes from a spiritual connection with God and a spiritual commitment to Him. Connection with God is the starting point of faith. Anything short of that spiritual connection with Jesus is NOT faith.
If there is no spiritual relationship with God, there is no faith!

How is your faith relationship? Do you know God in a personal spiritual connection? Are you in the Word? Are you praying regularly?

May 16, 2015

First, Caleb had a Visionary spirit!

Second, Caleb had a Vigorous spirit!

And finally, Caleb had a Victorious spirit!

Here's what I'm talking about.

"Only  do  not  rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the
land, because  we  will  devour them. Their protection is gone, but  the Lord  is
with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14:9 

That’s how winners talk!

I can imagine General George Patton saying something like that to rally his troops before a battle.

I can hear Coach Coleman motivating his FCS Eagle football team with words like these!

Winners win in their heads and in their hearts before the win on the field of battle!

Caleb was a winner! I would follow him into battle, wouldn’t you?

“Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said. So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance” Joshua 14:12-13

If you need more examples of how victors think and act, take notice of this verse! Look at what Caleb claims victory over!

“give me this mountain” – it’s one thing to fight FROM a mountain but it’s quite another thing to fight FOR the mountain! To fight FOR the mountain you must overcome the people who are already ON that mountain! But Caleb said, “Bring it on! I’ll take that mountain!”

That’s a victorious spirit!

“the Anakim were there” – if it isn’t hard enough fight FOR the mountain imagine the people ON the mountain were GIANTS! That is who the Anakim were! This is how winners think! Caleb says, “I’ll take the mountain and whip the giants that are up there!”

That’s a victorious Spirit!

“the cities were great and fortified” – what do winners do after they take the mountains and kill the giants? What they do is attack the fortified cities! Caleb says, “First I’ll take the mountain, then I’ll smack down the giants and when I’m done I will sack their cities!”

Is this guy serious? What’s wrong with him?

He’s a winner! That’s what winners do!

Are you ready to win?

May 15, 2015

“And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. “As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” Joshua 14:10-11

Caleb was one of the few from his generation to enter the Promised Land and gain his inheritance. According to the Scriptures, this happened because he had a “different spirit”!

So, we are looking at several significant ways this “different spirit” manifested itself.

First, he had a Visionary spirit!

Second, he had a Vigorous spirit!

When God’s people finally returned to the region of Canaan after forty years of additional wandering, Caleb was now an 85 year-old man! But no ordinary octogenarian was Caleb! By his own testimony: “As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in”

Wow!

How can that happen?

I can offer several observations!

Caleb had a purpose!

Living for a purpose much bigger and better than your self is very invigorating! Caleb was living to fulfill God’s purpose for his life and for God’s people. When you have a godly purpose for your life every day matters and every deed matters! Even when Caleb was wandering for those forty-five years he was doing it on purpose!

No wonder he had a “different spirit”!

Caleb had a promise!

God had promised Caleb an inheritance for him and his family! There was a place in Canaan with his name on it, it was a better place, it was a belonging place and Caleb was determined to possess it! That’s invigorating!

No wonder he had a “different spirit”!

Caleb had a presence!

By Caleb’s own testimony, God had kept Him alive! It’s not a bad idea to have a personal relationship with the Source of Life, is it? Because Caleb believed God and knew God and trusted God and obeyed God, God’s Spirit lived in him! Caleb had life everlasting and abundant!

Now we know what that “different spirit” was!

How do you get to your eighty-fifth year with the same vigor you had in your 40’s? Discover God’s purpose, claim His promises, and receive His presence into your life by faith!

It worked for Caleb!

May 14, 2015

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Numbers 14:24

Caleb is an example of what can happen when you consecrate yourself to God’s will in Kadesh Barnea – the place of decision.

We examined why he had a different spirit – he was a servant and he was sold out to God.

Over the next few days I want to call attention to HOW he was different.

First, Caleb had a Visionary spirit!

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30

“The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.  If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” Numbers 14:7-8 

Because Caleb was tuned into God’s will he say life in God’s way! That is the heart of vision. Here are some more contemporary definitions of vision.

Andy Stanley,  -  “Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.”

John Maxwell  - “Vision is a clear compelling picture of a preferred future”

George Bernard Shaw – “Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?"

I say, “Vision connects your past story to your future glory”

When it came to the vaunted giants reported to dwell in Canaan, the ten spies said, “They are so big they make us seem like grasshoppers.”

But Caleb had the same spirit as David did when he went out to face Goliath. When the others were saying, “Goliath is too big to challenge,” David said, “He’s too big to miss!”

That’s the Caleb difference!

If you want a different outcome you must have a different outlook! For Caleb, like David, that different outlook was godly vision!

At FredWes, God has brought us out of some difficult places and into our Kadesh Barnea with hopes we will catch His vision of a preferred future. He wants to give us a different spirit so we can have a better outcome.

It is important to understand that Caleb was not out of touch with reality or psyched into some sort of wishful thinking. He saw the size of the Giants who dwelt in Canaan with his own eyes! But with his “different spirit” he saw the size of His God!

A different spirit manifests itself in a different outlook, a godly vision that looks at life’s giant challenges and says, “Ok, God, the bigger they are the harder they fall!”

How’s your vision?

May 13, 2015

“Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 1:19-21

God was calling His people into their destiny. He had promised them this land of promise, a holy place, a place to rest in Him. And He promised to lead them in.

How could they be sure He would lead them in?

How could feel good about taking this risk?

They could be sure God would lead them in because He had led them out!

Through Moses, God brought His people out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt. God displayed His power in sending plagues throughout Egypt while sparing the Hebrews. Finally, He sent the Death Angel to take the first born sons of all the Egyptians and passed over those who had the blood of a lamb over their door posts.

God’s people were saved and delivered by the blood of a lamb. Sound familiar?

They could be sure God would lead then in because He had led them out.

They could also be sure He would lead them in because He had led them through!

When they were threatened by defeat and destruction on the shore of the Red Sea, God opened the sea and led them through – ON DRY GROUND!

As the Egyptian army pursued them God closed the Red Sea on top of them and drowned them all!

The very thing that looked like it would be their destruction God turned into their deliverance! It’s not unlike the Cross of Jesus, the very thing that looked to destroy Him became our deliverance through a stream of red from His hands and feet.

God also led them through the wilderness with a cloud by day and pillar of fire at night. He provided manna for them to eat and water in the desert!

They could trust God to lead them in because He had led them out and He had led them through.

So, now they found themselves in Kadesh Barnea, the place of decision and consecration. They were there because He had led them there. Now He was calling them into the next great blessing He had for them. Would they decide to trust Him? Would they realize that the best predictor of what someone will do in the future is what he has done in the past?

Perhaps you find yourself in Kadesh Barnea. God is calling you into a new level of fellowship with Him. Will you consecrate yourself to the One who led you there so He can lead you on?

May 12, 2015

“When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” Numbers 13:25-27

Because the Bible is divinely inspired and every word has a purpose, often within the great stories of the Bible is usually a story within the story. And sometimes the story within the story is as good as the main story!

So, let’s put together this story within the story!

God called His people to consecrate themselves in Kadesh Barnea so Joshua could lead them into the promised rest. Caleb was the only one who did. No wonder he had a different spirit!

Only Caleb entered into Canaan and claimed Hebron as his inheritance because of his different spirit!

I want to call your attention to one of the stories within the story of God’s people camping near the Jordan across from the Promised Land. It centers around several names and places:

“Kadesh Barnea“

 “Caleb”

“Hebron”

“Joshua”

Kadesh Barnea was the place where the Israelites were in or around for 38 of the 40 years they spent in their wandering. It was near Canaan, the Land of Promise, and where the spies were chosen to be sent into spy out Canaan. It was where Moses buried His sister, Miriam. Kadesh was the place where Moses got water from the rock to provide for God’s people. Kadesh Barnea was symbolic of consecration or preparation. It was a holy place but still a place of struggle.

Their unwillingness to commit, to consecrate themselves to the will of God kept them from entering into the land of Promise.

God calls individual believers and churches to a place of consecration so they can leave their wandering and enter into His promised rest. Only a “different spirit” will allow you (and us) to enter into inherit Hebron.

Hebron was another significant place in Biblical history. It was located within Canaan, the Land of Promise. It was where Abraham met God and built and altar in days of old. It was the place Abraham buried his beloved Sarah. It was the city where David ruled the divided Kingdom.  It was the place given to Caleb as his inheritance. It literally means “union”, as in union with God, a place of rest. It is where Jesus wants to lead us.

Joshua was the Old Testament representation of Christ. It was Joshua who led God’s people into Canaan, the land of the promised rest. Joshua defeated the giants that dwelt there and chased them out so Caleb could have a place of rest. Caleb is regarded as the Old Testament representation of the Church.

Get the picture?

Is there a message here for you?