SHARING YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS

"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me". Acts 26:18

Son, so many of my sons and daughters have not understood the Holy Spirit who is equal to myself and my Son. He plays a special role on the earth and in the life of every one of my kids. He is the one who convicts you of sin. He is the one that prompts you to do something. He is the one who operates through your gifts (Isa 11:2). He was there when my Son was baptized (Mt 3:16). He is the source of my power imparted to every son and daughter. He is as real and tangible as I am. He is the reason you have motivation to seek me every morning. "God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will" (Heb 2:4). We both operate as the wind; you can feel our presence, but you cannot see us. I know you have experienced his special touch in your life and have experienced his unique expression on many occasions. Help my sons and daughters understand and honor the Spirit's role in their lives. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39

MOTIVATIONS TO CALL

 ..."Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Mark 10:49

Do you recall the circumstances when God first called you into relationship with Him? Were you in need of something? Were you in a crisis situation? Every day God calls someone into relationship with Him through different circumstances. More often than not, the circumstances relate to a need in their life that only God can meet.
Bartimaeus had the need to see again. He was a poor blind beggar, who had heard about Jesus and the miracles He had done. The crowds rebuked him for seeking Jesus, yet he continued to cry out. "Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!'...Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus" (Mk. 10:48,50). That day, Bartimaeus saw for the first time. But more than that, he saw with spiritual eyes for the first time.
Each workday, we rub shoulders with someone who has not met this Jesus we know personally. God uses needs to draw us to Himself. What need has He placed in a coworker that only Christ can meet? Perhaps you are the instrument He wants to use to introduce that person to Himself. It requires availability and a willingness to look for people with needs, then point them to Christ to meet their needs. Pray for divine appointments today.

WHEN HIS WORK EXCEEDS HIS PRESENCE

 

If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here (Exodus 33:15). One of the great dangers in Christian service is to move from a presence-based work to operate purely on our natural skill. Once we become established in something, the daily maintenance can lead us into complacency until a crisis arises that forces us back to our knees to appeal to the Lord for His presence to return. Things were going well for Moses as he led the people out of Egypt. God was calling him to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, to receive the Ten Commandments. While he was there, the people fell away from the Lord by returning to the ways of Egypt by building and worshipping a golden calf under Aaron’s watch. This revealed that the spiritual foundation of the people and the leadership of Aaron had not been grounded enough for the leader to have an extended absence. God’s presence had left the people.  If you are in management, you must know the condition of your team to know how long you can be away from hands-on leadership. When Moses came back and saw what had happened, he recognized the solution as well. Having God’s presence return was the only way they could proceed and have success. “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:16). Moses also realized a weakness in his own ability to lead. He pleaded God to mentor him: “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you." Is the presence of God in your current activities? Are the people you lead mature in their faith that allows you to be off site? Ask for God’s help on both counts.

FAITH PROVED GENUINE

 

Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."  This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth (Titus 1:12-15). In December 1983, The Princeton Religion Research Center published a landmark survey conducted for The Wall Street Journal by the Gallup Organization. The researchers measured a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, such as calling in sick when not sick, cheating on income tax, and pilfering company supplies for personal use. The results were disappointing, to say the least. But what the researchers found most startling was that there was no significant difference between the churched and the unchurched in their ethics and values on the job. In other words, despite the fact that more and more people were attending churches, churches seemed to be having less and less of an impact on the moral fiber of their people, at least in the workplace. To quote the researchers: “These findings will come as a shock to the religious leaders and underscore the need for religious leaders to channel the new religious interest in America not simply into religious involvement but in deep spiritual commitment.”[1] “Either these are not the gospels, or we’re not Christians,” said Thomas Linacre, Henry VIII’s doctor and Renaissance thinker, after given the four gospels in Greek. Linacre recognized a great disparity between those who proclaimed Christ and how they lived their lives. If our faith life is not validated through our behavior then one must question if we even have a genuine relationship with Christ. The apostle Paul didn’t like what he saw in the believers on the island of Crete. They proclaimed Christ with their mouth, but their behavior looked no different than those who did not claim Christ. Pray that your faith is “proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7-8). [1] – Princeton Religion Research Center Study, 1983

FREE TO STAND

 

"That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies..." Joshua 7:12 It matters not how strong you are. It matters not whether you have the greatest resources and talent. It matters not if you have the best plans and procedures. It will all fail if you have a break in your armor. This is the message God told Joshua when he attempted to go against a small army at Ai, which was the Israelites' second battle in the Promised Land. Sometimes we try to figure out why we are not successful in an endeavor. We look at all aspects of our performance to see what went wrong. For the people of Israel, it was not easily seen on the surface. Everything seemed just as it should be from Joshua's vantage point, so when his army was soundly defeated, he cried out to God, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?" (Josh. 7:7a) The people had been defeated because God could not bless them. One person had violated the covenant with God. They were not to take any possessions from the first battle, but one person failed to live up to this, and the whole army suffered. Sin makes our armor vulnerable to attack from satan, who then gains permission from God to attack us in the area where we have failed to uphold righteousness. If we break down in moral purity, satan comes in and establishes a stronghold. If we give place to bitterness and unforgiveness, we will break fellowship with God and others. If we become money-focused, we will fall into greed and deception. It is a vicious cycle. Examine your armor today. Make sure you are not susceptible to attack. Begin from a solid spiritual foundation and your chances of success will be great.

VESTED INTEREST

 

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed (Neh 4:1). Leaders who attempt something greater than themselves will always get attacked and it often comes from those who have a vested interest in what you are changing. Nehemiah was rebuilding the ancient wall of Jerusalem. It was a major undertaking. Not everyone was pleased with this initiative. Sanballat, another government worker, did not want this to happen. When Jesus began confronting the Pharisees about religious traditions, He was attacked by the religious establishment because they had a vested interest that would be negatively impacted by His teaching. The apostle Paul confronted a religious tradition that generated income for those in the trade. Opposition arose because he was impacting a vested interest. “About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty" (Acts 19:23-27). Whenever you introduce a new product into the market, expect opposition from competitive products that have a vested interest. If God leads you to initiate a cause greater than yourself, expect opposition from those who may have vested interest.

SEEING THORNS AS BLESSINGS

 

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me (2 Cor. 12:7). Have you ever had something in your life you wish was not there? If God gave you one wish, perhaps it would be to change that one thing. Perhaps it is the source of pain or challenge in your life. You seek God continually for relief from it, but He seems strangely silent. Paul also experienced an ongoing burden that he called a “thorn in [his] flesh.” Bible scholars have speculated as to what this thorn might have been, but no one knows for sure. We do know that it was so hurtful to Paul that he asked God on three different occasions to remove it from his life: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Paul had a great calling on his life. The revelations and faith experiences that God gave him would have been too much for any man’s humility. So God, in order to insure His investment in Paul’s life, gave this man a thorn in his flesh to help him maintain a humble, godly perspective. Perhaps God has given you such a thorn designed to allow you to place greater trust and reliance upon Him. Ask God to reveal to you the blessing of the thorn He has placed in your life. The bloom of a rose is beautiful, but the thorn of a rose produces only pain. Thorns hurt us yet they humble us. That is the blessing of thorns.

BLAMELESS

 

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11 If you were running for political office, what approach would your opponent take against you? If he wanted to launch a smear campaign, would there be any ammunition for him to use? Think how you would feel if the director of the opposing campaign came to you afterwards and said, "Sir, we tried to find something negative to play up in our campaign against you, but we couldn't." What does it really mean to be a person who is blameless before God? Being blameless before God does not mean we are perfect. No human being is perfect. It means that we so fully trust in God that we are willing to make things right when we fail. We are willing to humble ourselves continually before the throne of God. "...Blessed is the man who trusts in You" (Psalm 84:12). God has a specific plan for the people who fully trust in Him. He promises to be their shield, to bestow honor on them. He will not withhold any good thing from them. What a promise! What motivation to be all that we can be in God. Imagine living a life that God views as blameless, which allows Him to withhold no good thing. Pray that God would make you and me that kind of person.

WAITING ON GOD

 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" Isaiah 30:18 Have you ever noticed that God is not in a hurry? It took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead the people out of Egypt. It took 17 years of preparation before Joseph was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. It took 20 years before Jacob was released from Laban's control. Abraham and Sarah were in their old age when they finally received the son of promise, Isaac. So why isn't God in a hurry? God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet He was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment. First, He accomplished what He wanted in them. We are often more focused on outcome than the process that He is accomplishing in our lives each day. When we experience His presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives. However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Him. Through those times, we become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens, we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome is a result of our walk with Him. It is not the goal of our walk, but the by-product. Hence, when Joseph came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn't have cared less. He had come to a place of complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow or his circumstances. This is the lesson for us. We must wait for God's timing and embrace wherever we are in the process. When we find contentment in that place, we begin to experience God in ways we never thought possible.

OUR STAFF AS OUR PROTECTOR

 

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands" (Ex 17:9). Moses’ staff represented his vocation as a shepherd. When God first met Moses’ in the desert at the burning bush, he told him that he was going to use his staff to perform miracles and bring a people out of slavery. God related to Moses through his vocation as a shepherd. Moses later faced one of his enemies in the new land, the Amalekites. God told him to go to the top of the mountain and hold his staff up to heaven. As long as his staff was outstretched to heaven, Israel would win the battle. But if it was not uplifted, they would suffer defeat. “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.”  (Ex 17:10-11). Isn’t this an interesting picture? When we raise our “staffs” up to the Lord, He becomes our protector. He is our defender. As long we offer up our staffs before the Lord, He can work through it. He works on our behalf. When we lower it, we lose the blessing of God. When God told Moses He was going to use his staff to bring a people out of bondage, he first had to lay his staff down on the ground. God changed it into a snake and then God told Moses to pick it up by the tail. God was telling Moses to take authority over the serpent in this prophetic act. When Moses picked up the staff, the scripture tells us it is no longer Moses’ staff, but it is now the staff of God. Friend, the lesson for us is to continually offer up our work lives to the Lord and see His protection and blessing upon us as we continually raise our work to the Lord for His use.

BEING A SHELTER FOR THOSE IN NEED

 

"Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." Isaiah 32:2 Have you ever walked in a dry, hot climate for an extended time? The sun beats down, sweat begins to pour off your brow, and your throat and mouth are parched with thirst. A little shade, a slight breeze, or a cool drink becomes the greatest thing one could value at the moment. When you and I walk with Christ in the workplace, we become that kind of oasis for non-Christians. However, they may not recognize it at the time. Let's face it, the workplace is pretty tough, especially when Christ is not in the center of it. When a person becomes aware of their need of Christ through you or me, we have become a shelter from the wind. We become their refuge from the storms of life. Someone once said that you and I might be the only Bible someone ever reads, so we need to be something worth reading. Are you available to be that shelter for a non-believing friend? If so, then you may open the eyes of someone who has been blind his whole life. What an incredible blessing to know you were the instrument God used to bring a person into the Kingdom of God. "Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen" (Isaiah 32:3).

MAKING JUDGMENTS

 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37).

Have you ever made a judgment about a person or situation only to discover how wrong you were in your assessment?  Such was the case in a story told by Os Guinness in his book, The Call.

“Arthur F. Burns, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve System and ambassador to West Germany, was a man of considerable gravity. Medium in height, distinguished, with wavy silver hair and his signature pipe, he was economic counselor to a number of presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan. When he spoke, his opinions carried weight and Washington listened.

Arthur Burns was also Jewish, so when he began attending an informational White House group for prayer and fellowship in the 1970s, he was accorded special respect. In fact, no one knew quite how to involve him in the group and, week after week when different people took turns to end the meeting in prayer, Burns was passed by—out of a mixture of respect and reticence.

One week, however, the group was led by a newcomer who did not know of Burns’ status. As the meeting ended, the newcomer turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close the time with a prayer. Some of the old-timers glanced at each other in surprise and wondered what would happen. But without missing a beat, Burns reached out, held hands with others in the circle, and prayed this prayer: ‘Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.’

Burn’s prayer has become legendary in Washington. Not only did he startle those present with refreshing directness, but he also underscored a point about ‘Christians’ and ‘Christianity’ that needs repeating regularly. It highlights another important aspect of the truth of calling: Calling reminds Christians ceaselessly that, far from having arrived, a Christian is someone who in this life is always on the road as ‘a follower of Christ’ and a follower of ‘the Way.’[1]

Before you judge a situation, consider that your judgment might not be an accurate assessment of the situation.

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[1] Os Guinness, The Call, Word Books, Nasvhille, TN p. 101 1998

WHEN OTHERS DISAPPOINT YOU

 

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica (2 Tim 4:9-10). Adversity molded the apostle Paul into the greatest warrior for Christ the world has ever known. But there were times when adversity and disappointment took its toll on this rugged warrior. We can sense Paul’s hurt and discouragement near the end of his second letter to Timothy: Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica…At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. . . . Do your best to get here before winter (4:9-11,14,16,21). Do you hear the pain in those words? Twice he urges Timothy to come to him. Do you feel his anguish when he twice speaks of being deserted by his friends? In most of his letters, Paul seems to have an invincible spirit. Yet he was a man who suffered, felt betrayed, and was at times very lonely. However, Paul chose to look at life from a heavenly perspective. That’s why he could write: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Cor. 4:8-10). Paul had experienced a level of opposition and suffering that you and I can scarcely imagine. People said they would do things but did not follow through. He could not depend on certain people. Yet he was not crushed, and he refused to give in to despair. He viewed his life as a continual process of dying. His goal was to live in such a way that the life of Jesus would be revealed in his response to adversity.  Beware of placing too much expectation on others. Realize that people will let you down from time to time, but do not let that impact your faith. Trust God to work even through these disappointments.

BEING A VESSEL TO BLESS OTHERS

 

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25 One of the reasons God entrusts money to us is to bless other Christians by meeting their needs. God uses the transfer of money within the Body of Christ to build unity among Christians. Sometimes we withhold money that God has designated for someone else. He wants to bless through us, but His will cannot be accomplished through us if we are disobedient. This was the case for a business owner who tells of the time when God told him to forego a company bonus one year. God directed him to share his year-end bonus with an employee to show his appreciation for him. He wrestled with God for three full days before obeying the Lord on the matter. When he finally met with the employee to give him his check, the man said he had been praying about a financial need he had three days earlier. He had decided to borrow the money to meet his need. The amount of money he borrowed was the exact amount the business owner gave him. God had already planned to provide for the employee through the business owner, but because he was hesitant, he almost missed the opportunity to be an instrument of God in this man's life. Even so, he could have prevented the man from having to borrow money. It was an important lesson for the business owner. How many people do we let down because we feel the "harvest" God provides is all ours? In America, the pressure is always on to move up the ladder of material accumulation. Jesus warned us about this. If our focus is on accumulation, we will not look for opportunities to be God's vessels of financial blessing to others. Ask the Lord if you have an open hand when it comes to finances.