Wait!

"Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27:14

The Hebrew word usually translated "wait" (qawah) literally means "to bind together by twisting." The picture that is painted emphasizes that process of weaving things together - in other words, patience with the time it takes for the weaving to be completed. Waiting on God is an acknowledgement that He is weaving circumstances and situatins together and that He is not going to give us everything we want when we want it, but rather, when we need it.

In America convenience is king. When we want instant breakfast, we just add milk. Dinner goes from the freezer to the microwave to the table in less then ten minutes. When we need instant cash, we have automated teller. As I read through the Psalms, I am amazed at how many times that annoying word wait appears.

Do you think God is trying to tell us something?

Dealing with Glitches!

Dealing with glitches in life means that you have to wait. I don't know about you, but waiting is not my favorite things. I would rather do just about anything than deal with delays. But guess what? If you want to experience God's miraculous intervention in your life, you'll have to wait from time to time. You'll have to deal with snags and complications and setbacks. It doesn't mean that God isn't involved in what you're doing; it's just a necessary part of the process. You have to be willing to surrender to the process.

What are the terms of surrender? It's not that you give up and quit. It's not that you let go and let God do everything for you. It's that you do all you can, and you leave the results in his hands. If you're willing to lookout for others, and you're willing to take the necessary risk, and you're willing to deal with the inevitable delays ... God is ready to do marvelous things in your life.

Time really does fly!!

This post is for my daughter-in-law - who reminded me of how long it has been. My last post was in February. Wow. I thought it was just last month. But - it simply seems like just last year that my youngest was born - AND know he is a high school graduate. Amazing.

Things do change around us and we don't even realize it. Do you remember 1991? In 1991,when Jonathan was born:
- Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.12
- 911 Emergency Number tested in US northwestern cities
- Internet is made available to unrestricted commercial use and number of computers on the net reaches 1 million
- Microsoft Releases MS Dos 5.0
- Airbag were invented by Geoffrey L Mahon and Allen Breed
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a TV sitcom featuring Will Smith as a kid from inner city West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Hook
• The Addams Family
• Sleeping with the Enemy
• Father of the Bride
• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
• Beauty and the Beast

Really! See, time flies. Don't WASTE it!!

Disturb Me!

A few weeks ago I received a newsletter from the North American Christian Convention and it had a prayer posted on the front of it that started out like this, "Dear God, disturb me". The prayer is written by Ben Cachiaras (the 2010 NACC President). That opening line seemed to disturb me. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. How often do I get in ruts. Faith ruts. My call is simply to follow and sometimes I simply go my own way. So today I pray along with Ben - "Lord, disturb me. Push me, Jesus, with the lifting power of your Spirit out of the stagnant places I've been in."

God contains space!

A.W. Tozer says, "God doesn't extend into space; God contains space"

C.S. Lewis stated, "If you could think of a sheet of paper infinitely extended in all directions, and if you took a pencil and made a one-inch line on it, that would be time. The bgeinning of time would be when you started to draw, the end of time when you lifted your pencil. And all around, infinitely extended in all directions, is God.

WOW! God, You are so big!! I have no idea why I tell you what to do!! You amaze me!

God sits high above the round ball of earth.
The people look like mere ants.
He stretches out the skies like a canvas—
yes, like a tent canvas to live under. (Isaiah 40:22, The Message)

How did I get to this place?

“He restores my soul” – Psalm 23:3

I'm looking forward this weekend to get some time to focus on the soul. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, "how did I get to this place"? Just how do we get to a place where we have a depletion of the soul? That's what I'm going to explore for a few hours this weekend. How often to do we hear or repeat the 23rd Psalm? I have gone over it many times and even preached it many times. But today, the promise of restoring my soul is speaking to me. There have been times over the past few years that I have experienced a depletion of the soul and I always have asked "how did I get to this place"? But I've decided that many of us have these times. That is why His word tells us that He retores my soul. I have a new apprication for vs. 3 of the 23rd Psalm!!! Looking forward to some restoration!

An Enthusiastic Redeemer

Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue. (Luke 15:4-7)

What is the verb in vs. 5? The verb in vs. 5 is rejoicing! What this means is that He really ejoys saving! A.W. Tozer said it like this: "God is not only pleased with Himself, delighted with His own perfection and happy in His work of creating and redeeming, but He is also enthusiastic."

I knew that there was a party in heaven when I yeilded my life to Jesus - but I always pictured the angles in party mode and Jesus smiling. But the truth is that He is the lead partier! He is my enthusiastic redeemer!