May 4, 2010

"In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." I Samuel 1:10-17

The second godly woman we will honor is Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her name means "favored by God".

Initially that was not the case, however. She was the favored wife of Elkanah despite the fact she was barren. There was no greater shame for a married woman in that culture than being unable to bear children. It was a burden that nearly crushed her and certainly tested her faith.

One day during an annual feast she went to the tabernacle and was crying out to God with such earnestness that she was thought to be drunk by Eli, the priest. He began to chastise her for her totally inappropriate behavior. When she explained herself and her woeful situation, Eli blessed her and assured he that her prayer would be answered.

Indeed it was! She became pregnant and had a son she named "Samuel" - which meant "heard by God". Samuel went on to serve Eli and later became one of the great priests and prophets of Israel. He would be the one God used to choose David and later anoint him as king.

I want to focus on three things that are admirable about Hannah that modern women can emmulate:

1) She called upon God in her time of trouble. She turned to prayer rather than despair.

2) She promised God to consecrate the son to God if God would honor her with a child. If God would deliver her from her shame she would dedicate the child to Him.

3) When God answered her prayer and gave her the long-desired child she kept her word. God delivered on His promise and so did she.

Modern mothers would benefir from being women of prayer like Hannah. Peter reminds you to "cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you." Turn to prayer and don't despair.

Recognize that your child (children) as gift(s) from God. Like Hannah, you are a mother by virtue of a sacred contract with God. He gives life and you are to nurture and shape it.

Dedicate your child(ren) to the Lord. Give back to Him what He has trusted to you.

Hannah is a model for modern motherhood. Read the story. Learn the lessons. Live it out!

May 3, 2010

"But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:20-24

This week leading up to Mother's Day I want to focus on the great mothers of the Bible. It's kind of hard to do that without beginning with Eve. None of us would be here without her.

God made Eve from Adam and for Adam to be a "helpmate". Life is challenging and even more so when you tackle it alone. I find it a great tribute to women that even though Adam was intricately connected with God, He saw the need to create another "helper" or "soul-mate" for Adam. It almost looks as though God created woman to be a helper for man BUT ALSO as a helper for God!

I told my son the other day, "Next to God, a good woman is the best thing that can happen to a man." It has been true in my life. I think God would agree with that.

As happy and satisfied as Adam was with God it was God Himself Who recognized Adam needed something else - woman. She was handmade by Him to complete a perfect creation!

Eve, the first wife and the first mother was a marvelous gift from God! She was hand-picked and hand-made for Adam by God. She was God's gift to Adam and God's tool to help shape his life, grace his journey and lighten his burden.

Of course, we know how it ended. We know that the very same one who completed paradise eventually brought it down by her disobedience. So, she was the first and final perfect woman.

Still, women are one of God's great ideas! I am thankful that He created them. Not only have the played a HUGE part in the history of mankind, they have been key contributors in the development of the Christian faith and particulary in the local church.

Thank God for women! Thank God for the women in my life - my mother, my wonderful wife, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, my sisters, my grand daughters and the strong women in my church. I honor you. I bless you!

This is your week leading up to your day! May you know how much you matter!

May 2, 2010

An inspiring challenge from Max Lucado:

Take Goliath Down by Max Lucado


Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression.

Super-size challenges still swagger and strut, still pilfer sleep and embezzle peace and liposuction joy. But they can't dominate you. You know how to deal with them. You face giants by facing God first.

Focus on giants—you stumble.

Focus on God—your giants tumble.

You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of …

1. THE STONE OF THE PAST

Goliath jogged David's memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn't he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.

"Remember His marvelous works which He has done" (1 Chron. 16:12). Catalog God's successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today's worries in sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select …

2. THE STONE OF PRAYER

Note the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David's descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don't face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, "Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long" (Eph. 6:18 MSG).

Prayer spawned David's successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he "strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul's soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: "You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble" (Ps. 59:16).

Invite God's help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don't neglect …

3. THE STONE OF PRIORITY

Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God's reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that "all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's" (1 Sam. 17:46-47).

David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.

What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God's chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God's opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God's power. See your struggle as God's canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God's name and then reach for …

4. THE STONE OF PASSION

David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David's siblings or David's king. But God did.

And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.
Do the same!

Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion.
One more stone, and finger, remains:

5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCE

David didn't think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they'd come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that's what it took.

Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don't quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling.

David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence.

Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he'll be out of the room before you can load your sling.

From Facing Your GiantsCopyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Max Lucado

May 1, 2010

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:" Psalm 37:3-5

All this week I have been sharing with you on the thought "either you control your desires or your desires will control you." As we come to the end of this study on temptation we are face to face with the fact that people usually end up doing what they want to do. Most people are driven by their desires. They don't have to be, but most are.

The key to controlling your desires is to forget about your desires and focus on what God desires.

In this Psalm the Psalmist tells you three ways to do that and we have talked about two of them:

Want God - "trust in the Lord and do good"

Worship God - "delight yourself in the Lord"

Today you will learn the third thing God desires - Walk with God - "commit your your way to the Lord"

In the Hebrew the word for "commit" is literally translated "roll". "Roll your way on the Lord" or in other words, "roll with the Lord". Since we don't roll, walking with the Lord is a good translation.

When God first created Adam, they walked together in the paradise of Eden. That fulfilled God's desire and made Adam happy, too.

It stands to reason that if God desired to love Adam and to be loved by Him, and if God created you with a need to love God and to be loved by Him, then wanting Him and worshiping Him and walking with Him should satisfy you both!

When God IS your chief desire, His desire is met and so is yours!

April 30, 2010

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:" Psalm 37:3-5

Everyone wants to know how to get God to give them the desires of their heart. Delight in the LORD seems easy enough! So, how does one delight in the LORD? There have been many fanciful interpretations of what it means to delight yourself in the LORD, but only one revelation of what this means is found in the Scriptures.

"Delight" here in Psalm 37:4 is the Hebrew word "oneg", which means "to treat as a delicacy." There are very few places in the Scriptures were the word "oneg" is used. Yet, because it is a rarity, it will help us solve a mystery. There is one place, and only one, where it tells us exactly how to delight in the LORD, even using the word "oneg".

This word used in the combination and context as it is here has the connotation of worship, which brings us to our second idea of how to desire God. We should WANT Him more that we want anything else on the planet. In the words of the Psalmist, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

A second way He tells us we should desire Him is through WORSHIP. What does that mean?

Our word "worship" comes from to old English words "worth - ship" and literally means "giving worth" to God. What gives worth to God? Your devotion and desire! So, if you want to keep your desire above temptation make God the object of your chief desire. Honor Him with your emotion and your will.

Worship is so much more than what you often think. When you think about worship you may think about several songs an offering and a sermon. If worship is only a one hour per week deal with you, you will not give God the worth He desires - and deserves. Worship is a 24/7 and a 365 proposition. Worship is absolute devotion to God. As the Apostle Paul, one of the most devoted Christ-followers of all time, wrote: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

If you want to strengthen yourself against temptation aim your desire - your wants and your will - at God. In other words, worship Him. Not just for an hour on Sunday, but live a life-style of worship. Live in His Word daily, that's worship. Walk in His ways daily, that's worship. Love your spouse and your children, that's worship. Give eight hours work for eight hours wages, that's worship. Whatever you do you do it as unto the Lord - that's worship. That is what He desires and therefore, what you must desire.

This is what the Psalmist meant when he said, "Delight yourself in the Lord". Will you take delight in Him today? Will you aim your want and your will at Him? How will you do that today?

April 29, 2010

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:" Psalms 37:3-5

Desire is a combination of emotion and intellect. Desire is part want and part will. Temptation is a battle over where we will aim our desire.

The First Adam aimed his desire at a lie and we have been a deceived race since.

Jesus, the Second Adam, aimed His desire at God and remained holy.

What about you? Are your desires being steered by your wants or by your will?

The Psalmist knew about desire. He wrote some of the most personal, poignant, and passionate poetry ever written. Few people have chased God harder than David. He gives us some insights here in Psalm 37 that you could benefit from. The Psalm promises that if you, "delight yourself in the Lord" the Lord will "give you the desires of your heart".

So, the question becomes, how do you do that? How do you delight yourself in the Lord?

Before we explore that, let me point out something even more obvious - you must first desire to please God. You must decide that God's desires are more important than your desires. You will not be delighted in God if He is not your chief desire.

What does that look like?

"Trust in the Lord...." The word picture painted here means "to rely on", "to be confident", "to lean your full weight on" Him.

The first way to delight in the Lord is to WANT Him more than to want anything or anyone else. Aim all of your desire at Him. Make it the purpose of your life to meet His desires. Don't even make it about your desires - focus on satisfying His!

When you want the Lord more than anything, temptation loses it's strength against you! I doubt if the devil will tempt you toward desiring God.

Will you aim your desires at God today? Will you make Him your chief desire? Will you confess and surrender any misplaced desires?

April 28, 2010

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:" Psalm 37:3-5

The more I study this Psalm the more insight I gain into the relationship between desire and temptation. And make no mistake, there is a strong relationship! Temptation happens at the intersection of your desire and your will. If you have no desire for something then you can't be tempted by it. It really is that simple. For the most part, people end up doing what they most desire to do.

So, that is why desire matters and that's why if you have any hopes of defeating temptation you must be in touch with and in charge of your desires.

But this morning, the issue I want to address is this, what should you desire? The answer is simple - you should desire what God desires. Or even better than that, you should desire God! God should be your chief desire! The fact is, unless God is your chief desire - HE IS NOT YOUR GOD!

So what is it that God desires and what do we need to desire in order for Him to be our God? The Psalmist mentions three things. I will be highlighting those over the next three posts.

But for now I want to focus like a laser on your chief desire. What is it? Is there something you desire more than you desire God? Do you love God because He is your chief desire or do you love Him hoping that He get you what you desire? Are you serving Him or are you trying to get Him to serve you? Only you - (and Him) - know the true answer to that. And ultimately you will answer to Him for that.

As I conclude this thought for this morning I want to tie together several statements that I have made during this series on temptation. First, "we are tempted because we are sinners and we sin because we're tempted". In other words, when our desires are wrong and when our desires are not lined up with God we will be tempted more! Second, "temptation is a test that reveals what we love most". What you desire will be exposed by how you are tempted and where you yield to temptation.

Adam sinned at the moment God ceased to be his chief desire. Jesus resisted sin because God was His chief desire! How about you?