April 13, 2015

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."Proverbs 14:34

What does it mean when a nation is exalted? That sounds like a good thing, but how good is it? What are some specific benefits wrought by righteousness?

Let me share at least three things that are meant by "exalted".

Exalted means "lifted".

Righteousness lifts a nature and a culture. It lifts the morality of that people. It lifts the civility of that society. The morale of that nation is higher than cultures where people don't value righteousness. Doing the right things obviously results in positive and constructive outcomes.

Exalted means "lightened".

Righteousness flows from truth. Truth originates in the character and very nature of God. With God as your source and His Word as your resource there is going to be knowledge and wisdom. Jesus said that He is "the light of the world". When you have Jesus you have light and in Him is no darkness. From the light of God's Word, truth and wisdom beam forth revealing what is right and what is wrong. Being "lightened" by righteousness leads to rightness in actions, attitudes, values and moral decisions.

Exalted means "liberated".

A people who are lifted by the truth and lightened by the truth will find freedom and liberty from His Word. Truth results in freedom. Ignorance leads to bondage. Ignorance leads to confusion and doubts. Ignorance leads to strife and fear.

A people lifted by truth and lightened by truth are free to become who they want to become in Christ. They will act right and have the right attitudes which will enrich their relationships and increase their opportunities for freedom. Listening to His truth and living in His truth shape a godly character that is free to pursue godliness.

How is a nation exalted by righteousness? Simple!

A nation is exalted by people who are lifted by the righteousness of God's Word. As a result they tend to think right, which leads to right decisions, which translates into godly living. Godly living results in lifting God high in the estimation of those who may be seeking for solid answers. God is exalted by the practical everyday decisions, actions and values you make.

A nation is exalted when lighted by the truth of God's Word and the principles it gives to live by. It makes better decisions and is better able to make quality decisions. Truth reveals the right thing to do in all decisions, and clarifies the application of that truth in daily situations. God is exalted by a people who know and show His truth.

A nation is exalted when God's children live in the liberty of His knowledge and His love. God's children live within the law and finds freedom in self-governing his thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. An ignorant nation will not endure as a free nation. Study history. You will see.

I know you love the USA and desire to see her rise to the exalted standard. You, of all people will understand the value of self-governing and liberty of self-discipline. God WILL set you free!

"Righteousness, or rightness, allows God to get involved personally in that project. God will be strong and powerful in the life of those who have chosen to walk in the light of His power and glory. And over time, people will be set free and God will be glorified!

April 12, 2015

"But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

I have never been a Michigan Wolverine fan!

Growing up in Northern Indiana I was an Indiana Hoosier basketball fan and a Notre Dame football fan. Michigan regularly beat Indiana in football and often beat them in basketball. The Wolverines always played the Fightin' Irish tough in football and often beat them. 

So, the Big Blue often left me blue when they went up against my favorite teams. Apparently, I am still holding it against them! 

But that changed for a day this past week when in response to a University of Michigan decision not to show the "AMERICAN SNIPER" movie on the U of M Campus at the request of a few Muslim student groups on campus.

Upon learning of the University's decision to ban the showing of the movie, U of M Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh responded boldly in declaring via Twiter: "Michigan Football will watch "American Sniper"! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it!" - Coach Jim Harbaugh

Shortly following Coach Harbaugh's announcement the tweets and emails that poured in supporting his position were so overwhelming that the University reversed it's decision and rescheduled the showing of the movie.

I can't go so far as to say I am a Michigan fan, but today I am a Coach Harbaugh fan! He demonstrated what strong leadership looks like!

Just like Joshua of old:

He stepped up with courage when a vocal minority tried to impose its will on the silent majority.

He stood up with conviction for what he believed.

He didn't attack the beliefs of others or threaten them he just let people know where he stood on this issue.

And, he spoke up clearly for what he intended to do.

His team, the group that he had authority over, were going to watch the movie and if others chose not to that was fine with him.

Our world is desperate for leaders who have clear convictions and are unashamed to stand for them and clearly articulate a plan of action.

When leaders stand up boldly they rarely stand alone because their courage and conviction When leaders clearly announce what they plan to do, it will embolden others to stand with them.

It worked for Joshua centuries ago and it worked for Coach Harbaugh a few days ago!

What will you do?

April 11, 2015

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus."  Matthew 17:1-8

"After six days" - so what happened six days before this that lead to this supernatural manifestation that is recorded in three of the four Gospels? It is important to get a context for a Bible encounter.

Jesus had begun shaping the vision for His Kingdom and calling them to discipleship. As they began to understand the enormity of the challenges of their calling, Jesus sensed the fear rising within them. Let me add that if God's call on your life doesn't scare you, you aren't getting it! I find it a bit frightening that He calls us to do God-sized stuff in man-sized bodies. So did the disciples.

The Master, Himself, was facing some scary stuff in the coming days. He would be sold-out, scorned, shackled, spat upon, scourged, stripped naked, and suffer as a sinner on a cross. When facing a fearful future, even Jesus needed a fresh encounter with God. The only cure for human fear is holy fear!

When Jesus invited Peter, James and John to share a mountain-top experience with Him what He was saying was, "Fear this!" As you face the frightening events in your future, you will need a holy fear of Me to help you not be paralyzed by human fears!" Big jobs call for a big Jesus! Jesus was the God/man sent to help men connect with God and channel God's power and love to a needy world. Up until now, they had seen Jesus, the man. Now was the time to reveal Jesus, the Son of God! They needed to behold His glory!

Later, John would record in His Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind."  John could testify to the light of God because he had seen it revealed on the mountain! And then later in that same chapter, John writes, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." He could testify to glory of Jesus because he had witnessed it at the transfiguration when Jesus peeled back His humanity to display His holiness!

If the guys who walked with Jesus and who worked with Jesus needed a fresh vision of Him to help them overcome their fears. What about you? Once they understand what Jesus wanted them to do, they needed to understand Who He was! So do you!

Peter, James and John were powerfully used of God after they understood Who He was. Their Godly vision brought Godly victories! From their fresh perspective came fresh power! When they were willing let Him out of their boxes, He was able to be Who He is!

Could you use a fresh vision of His glory! 

Could you benefit from a fresh vision of His holy fear to free you from your human fear!

There will be some Godly victories when you get a fresh Godly vision!

Are you willing to let Him out of your box?

April 10, 2015

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law 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.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. ” So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:  “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’” JOSHUA 1:1-11

Change requires courage. Major change requires major courage.

Where do you find the courage to deal with change?

The life of Joshua is a profile in courage and these few verses are a quick study.

Courage begins with a connection that leads to a calling.

When God needed someone to take the place of Moses He looked for the man with the strongest faith connection to His self. The man who got the call was Joshua.

Courage starts with connecting at home plate!

Courage grows from a calling that leads to a conviction.

When God gave the call Joshua had to decide two things: (1) do I believe God will do this; and (2) do I believe He will do this through me?

Because of Joshua’s strong connection with God He was convinced that the God Who called Him is able to use Him!

This was a home to first base issue.

Courage develops from conviction to commitment.

There is no change without obedience - at least not a positive change without obedience.

Joshua had to make a commitment to obey God’s calling to lead His people to a major change.

This was a first base issue for Joshua.

Courage comes from a faith connection from God that leads to a calling from God which requires a conviction about God resulting in a commitment to His calling.

But it didn’t end there! He had to encourage God’s people to share his conviction and embrace the change. They would have to find the courage to cross over the Jordan and their courage would come from Joshua’s.

That was a second base matter.

Are you facing some major changes in your life right now?

Perhaps it is in the form of a calling from God or maybe it is a life challenge sent from God.

Where will you find the courage to deal with the change?

We will find it from the same God and according to the same pattern as Joshua!

And, it will all begin at Home Plate!

April 9, 2015

“He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel:” Psalm 103:7

Moses came to know God as few others did. He got real good looks at God because he allowed God to be real to him. It is interesting and instructive, as well as inspiring, to trace how God made Himself known to Moses.

It began with the bush that burned but was not consumed. Burning bushes were not that unusual in the arid desert heat, but a bush that burned but was never burned up WAS unusual. And a bush that burned and was not consumed AND that spoke to him – well that got Moses curious. From that bush God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.

Next, we see Moses before the Pharaoh demanding that he let God’s people go. Of course the Pharaoh refused so God brought the series of plagues that eventually broke the Pharaoh’s resolve. But it took a series of ten supernatural plagues from the hand of God to do so. However, in those plagues Moses saw how powerful His God was.

From there, we see Moses and the people of God trapped between the Red Sea and the invading Egyptian army. God instructed Moses to raise his rod over the waters and when he did, God opened the sea so they could walk across on dry land.

Then God revealed Himself in the pillar of fire and the cloud that lead Israel through the wilderness. That was followed by the miraculous provision of the manna and the quail.

All those experiences with God had prepared Moses to climb the holy Mount Sinai to meet with God and receive the Commandments. That was the first of several encounters with God on Sinai for Moses. On one occasion Moses asked God to reveal Himself to Moses, but God only consented to allow Moses to see His backside as he passed by. So, Moses looked at God but only from behind.

Few, if any attain to the level Moses did in his relationship with God. Therefore, God was more real to Moses with each successive God-encounter they had. As a result, God was more real than any of the challenges or problems that confronted him.

How real is God to you?

Are you in tune with the power of His presence?

Are you living to please Him as Moses did?

Are you living in the reality of a God Who is bigger than life and bigger than death and able to deliver His people?

That was REAL important to God and to Moses!

April 8, 2015

"Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."   Matthew 24:1-14

Have you noticed that dire predictions about the future are being issued by politicians, environmentalists, talk-show hosts, sociologists, theologians, economists, movie producers, educators, and bloggers world-wide?

Rarely do these folks agree on anything but all agree that the future does not appear especially bright. There is a prevailing sense of doom permeating our planet. You really only need a casual knowledge of history to know how unregenerate human beings are bent toward self-destruction.

So, whose predictions should we pay attention to? Whose advice should we heed?

You make the call for yourself, but when I plan my future I will get my information from the One Who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Who better to depend for end-time advice than the One Who stands apart from time and sees the whole continuum of history? After all, history is HIS STORY!

Also, His track record is perfect! Everything that He has predicted has happened or is in the process of unfolding. What He forecasted to His disciples in this portion of Scripture did, in fact, happen. And the suffering He said would come, happened to Him! While His prophecies are dire like all of the other predictions, His have a happy ending!

So, as you look for someone to believe about the future, trust Him for your predictions! And, oh, by the way. Also trust Him for your protection!

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

April 7, 2015

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"John 11:25-26

This is quite a claim made by Jesus! Very confident and quite comforting!

If you will live and believe in Jesus, and if you allow Him to live in you by faith, you will never die!

However, there ARE several things that WILL die when you die and I feel compelled to point  those out.

When you die, suffering dies. The moment you slip away from your earthly body and into eternity with Jesus - your suffering is over! Forever!

When you die, sorrow dies. At your last breath in this life, you are done with sorrow! Once your spirit enters into the presence of God there will be only joy! Sadness has no place in Heaven! You will shed no more tears. You will know no more heartbreak!

When you die, sin dies. If you die in Christ and enter into His paradise you will enter a safe, secure, sin-free environment. Not only will you be free from sin but you will not have to deal with temptation either!

So, you see, death is final - final for the things that are not worthy of God or right for eternity!

As we bring the Easter Holiday to a close I just wanted to remind you of a few reasons why it is the pivotal event in all of human history! You will never die, but all the things that make your life difficult or painful will die!

He's alive! You will live! Your heart-ache and hardships won't! Your crises and crosses will become crowns!