WRESTLING WITH GOD

"The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because
of his hip." - Genesis 32:31

Jacob was a man who was a controller. He connived and manipulated his
way to get what he wanted. It was a generational stronghold passed down
through his mother, who encouraged her son to play a trick on his
father, Isaac, by pretending to be Esau. This trick led Isaac to give
the family blessing to Jacob, which meant Jacob would eventually inherit
the land God had promised to Abraham's seed. Jacob also learned control
from his uncle Laban who caused Jacob to work for 14 years to take
Rachel as his lifelong mate. One must ask which was more ugly in God's
sight, the self-centered nature and worldliness of Esau, or the control
and manipulation of Jacob?
Control is a problem for men and women. Many women use sex to control
their husbands. Many men use power and force to control their wives.
Control is at the core of that which is opposite the cross-self-rule.
What delivers us from this fleshly nature of control? A crisis. Jacob's
crisis came when he was faced with the prospect of meeting a brother who
said he would kill him the next time he saw him. Esau had built his own
clan and was about to meet Jacob and his clan in the middle of the
desert. Jacob was fearful, so he retreated. There he met a messenger
from God who wrestled with him. Jacob clung to God and refused to let go
of this angel. It is the place where Jacob was given a painful but
necessary spiritual heart transplant. From that point on, Jacob would
walk with a limp, because God had to dislocate his hip in order to
overcome Jacob's strong will.
For workplace believers, God often has to "dislocate our hip" through
failure and disappointment. Sometimes it is the only way He can get our
attention. Our nature to control and manipulate is so strong that it
takes a catastrophic event to wake us up. Yet God did not reject Jacob
for these character traits. In fact, God blessed him greatly because He
saw something in Jacob that pleased Him. He saw a humble and contrite
heart beneath the cold and manipulative exterior of Jacob's life, and it
was that trait that God needed to develop. He did this by bringing about
the crisis in Jacob's life that led to total consecration. This event
was marked by Jacob getting a new name, Israel. For the first time,
Jacob had a nature change, not just a habit change. What will God have
to do in our lives to gain our complete consecration to His will and
purposes?
"Beware of the Christian leader who does not walk with a limp."
Bob Mumford (Used by permission.)

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

"This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven." - Matthew 6:9-10

Imagine that you have never driven a car. You are not aware of all the
features of a car. Up to this point, you have had to walk everywhere you
go. All you are told is that you are about to receive something that
will get you anywhere you need to go. The day arrives and you are given
a brand new car. You get in and drive the car. However, the emergency
brake is on, preventing you from going faster than 20 miles per hour. No
one tells you that you should unlock the brake. Regardless, you are
excited because you no longer have to walk to your destination. You are
not told that the car has lights, which would allow you to drive at
night. Neither are you told about the many other wonderful features of
the car. You just know you have a new car that will get you anywhere you
want to go at 20 miles per hour. For the rest of your life, you drive
this incredible car during the daytime only at 20 miles per hour.
Why would Jesus pray that things in earth would be like they are in
Heaven if it were not possible? When Jesus came to earth, He came in
order to penetrate the very kingdom of darkness with light. He came to
bring healing to sickness, replace sadness with joy, and fill
meaninglessness with purpose. He came to change things for the better
for a world that had no hope outside of God.
Using the illustration above, Jesus did not come to merely give us a
ticket to Heaven (a car that you drive only in the daytime at 20 miles
per hour). He came to bring us much more-the Kingdom of God on earth.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find the term, gospel of salvation. The
Church does not exist for Heaven, but for earth. If it existed only for
Heaven, then each of us would immediately be taken to Heaven. There
would be no reason for us to remain on earth. So why has God allowed us
to receive this new birth and remain on earth? It is so that we might
bring the Kingdom of God into our world-our families, our workplace, and
our communities.
God wants you to bring the Kingdom of God into the territory He has
given you so that His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Your
domain is your workplace, family, and community. Ask God to show you how
He wants to penetrate the darkness of your domain with His light. Then
you will see and experience all the features of this gift that has been
given to you.

HEARING GOD'S VOICE

"Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet
been revealed to him." - 1 Samuel 3:7

Samuel was born to Hannah, a woman who had a deep commitment to God. She
was barren, but she cried out to God for a son. The Lord gave her
Samuel, whom she completely gave to the Lord for His service. After
weaning him, she took him to the house of the Lord to be reared by the
priests. Eli was the priest of Israel, but he was not a godly leader. He
had allowed much corruption, including the sins of his sons, in God's
house. God was not pleased with Eli and later judged him and his
household.
Samuel grew up in the temple serving God. He also grew up seeing the
hypocrisy of Eli's household, yet this did not change the young man. God
was with him. We learn that even though young Samuel had a belief in
God, he had not yet experienced a personal relationship with Him. God
called to Samuel three times, but Samuel thought it was Eli, the priest,
calling him. Finally, Eli told him to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant
is listening" (1 Sam. 3:9b). This is what Samuel did, and God began
telling Samuel important things to come.
Many of us grow up in religious environments. We go to church every
week. We have a head knowledge of God, but we do not recognize God's
voice in our lives. There comes a time when we must recognize God's
voice for ourselves. God does not want us to have a religion; He wants
us to have a two-way relationship with Him. Samuel was never the same
after this encounter. He would know God's voice and would respond to Him
in obedience.
Do you know God's voice? Can you recognize it when He speaks? In order
to hear God's voice, you must be clean before Him and listen. Listen to
God's voice today and follow His plans for you.

ONE FLOCK, ONE SHEPHERD

"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them
also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and
one shepherd." - John 10:16

A friend of mine told me a story about an experience he had in Israel.
They were in the country visiting some of the famous biblical sites when
they saw a group of sheepherders. A shepherd brought his flock of sheep
into a round pen for the night. Then, a few minutes later, another
shepherd brought his flock into the pen. Then, a few minutes later, yet
another shepherd brought his sheep into the pen. There were three groups
of sheep in the pen with no identifying marks among any of them. My
friend wondered how in the world they would separate their sheep the
next day.
The next morning, a shepherd came over to the pen and made a comment to
his sheep. One by one, the sheep filed out to follow him. Only his sheep
followed his voice. My friend said it was an amazing scene to see only
that shepherd's sheep follow him and the others remain in the pen. What
a picture of Jesus' words spoken centuries earlier.
Hearing and responding to Jesus' voice is the key to having a two-way
relationship with God. It is the difference between having religion and
a relationship. Can you recognize God's voice in your life? Are you
listening to the Shepherd's voice? Do you respond when He calls? Ask
Jesus to help you increase your ability to hear. Give more time to
spending quiet moments in His presence to hear His voice. He wants to be
your Good Shepherd.

DESERT PREPARATION

"Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I
was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus." - Galatians 1:17

The apostle Paul tells us in the first chapter of Galatians some of the
facts surrounding his own conversion. He tells us that he clearly
understood the call Jesus placed on his life. He did not have to consult
other men about this calling. But before he was released to begin his
own mission, He went to Arabia for three years. Why did Paul have to go
to Arabia for three years before he ever met another disciple of Jesus
Christ?
The Scripture does not tell us plainly why Paul spent three years in
Arabia. However, based upon many examples of God placing special calls
on people's lives, we know it often requires a time of separation
between the old life and the new life. No doubt, Paul had plenty of time
to consider what had taken place in his life and time to develop an
intimate knowledge and relationship with the newfound Savior. His life
was about to change dramatically.
So often, when God places a call on one of His children, it requires a
separation between the old life and the new life. There is a time of
being away from the old in order to prepare the heart for what is
coming. It can be a painful and difficult separation. Joseph was
separated from his family. Jacob was sent to live with his uncle Laban.
Moses was sent to the desert.
When God began a deeper work in my own life, it required a separation
from all I had known before. He removed all that I had placed confidence
in up to that point. It was very painful and very scary since I was in
my mid-40's. In my mind, it was not the time to start life over. I had
been making plans for early retirement. God had a different idea. He
removed all my comforts and security in order to accomplish a much
greater work than what I could see at the time. The picture is clear
now. I understand why it was necessary, but I didn't at the time.
Perhaps God has placed you in your own desert period. Perhaps you cannot
make sense of the situation in which you find yourself. If you press
into God during this time, He will reveal the purposes He has for you.
The key is pressing into Him. Seek Him with a whole heart and He will be
found. God may have a special calling and message He is building in your
life right now. Trust in His love for you that He will fully complete
the work He has started in you.

CHECK UNDER THE HOOD

"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger,
rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." -Colossians 3:8

"The root issue you are dealing with is fear. The physical symptom is
control, and when you cannot control, you get angry because of unmet
expectations." These were the words I spoke during a conversation in a
restaurant to my friend who was separated from his wife. He described
his anger and how he never saw some of these characteristics in his life
until he entered this marriage.
A friend once said to me, "Anger is like the lights on a dashboard. They
tell you something is going on under the hood. You must find out the
source of the problem." Whenever we have expectations of another person
and those expectations do not materialize, our tendency is to get angry.
The source of the anger is often the fear that the unmet expectation
will negatively impact us. We fear that our finances, our well-being,
our image, or any number of things may be impacted by the unmet
expectation. My friend's wife had not met his expectations in many areas
of his life, so then, many times it resulted in harsh words that damaged
his wife's self-esteem. Now, it was leading to a marriage crisis.
Jesus often spoke of living as though we were dead. How can you live as
though you are dead? "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but
alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). It is a choice each of us
must make. Once you become dead to that which stirs an emotion in you,
God is free to change that situation. Until then, you can expect God to
allow that situation to remain until you reckon yourself dead to the
effects of the issue that causes you to struggle.
Is there something that causes anger within you? Ask God what the source
of that anger is. You might be surprised at what you find. Then ask God
to give you the grace to reckon yourself dead to that issue. You will
find new freedom in your relationships and your own peace of mind.

ANGER BORN OF THE SPIRIT

"When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power,
and he burned with anger." - 1 Samuel 11:6

There are occasions in which God justifies righteous anger. It is a type
of anger that does not lead to sin, but fulfills God's purposes.
Saul had just been crowned as the new king of Israel. His first battle
was upon him, and he had to bring a new nation together to fight the
Ammonites. The Spirit of God fell on Saul and resulted in righteous
anger against God's enemies. God led him to send an unusual
"direct-mail" package to all the regions where the people lived. He cut
up pieces of oxen and sent the pieces throughout Israel with a
warning-"Join the army or your oxen will be as these!"
Sometimes God uses strong measures to accomplish His purposes. In this
case, fear and intimidation were used to motivate the army of God to be
as one. God must have felt this is what was needed to drive this army to
become a unified force.
God knows the only way to achieve success is if the army is one. A house
divided cannot stand. What will it take to unify your company, your
church, and your family to be one? Unless you are one, you cannot win
the battles you will face. Ask God to make you and those you walk with
to be one in mission and one in spirit.