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  • God Has a Way of Working Things Out

    Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  

    One of the most important verses for a believer is Romans 8:28. It is probably referred to more than any other verse as we seek to make sense of life’s circumstances when they don’t make sense.  The believer will find hope and encouragement in times of difficulties and pain, trials and tribulations, heartache and failure as Romans 8:28 reveals an eternal perspective of our circumstances and situations. Our God is watching closely every detail and then working to bring about His desired outcome.  Romans 8:28 tells us that God is at work and while not everything that is happening is good, He works things out for His glory and our good. 

    An illustration we might use to explain Romans 8:28 is the making of a chocolate chip cookie. Think about the various ingredients that are used to make a chocolate chip cookie. Individually some ingredients are sweet but mainly the individual ingredients are bitter, and you absolutely would not want to eat any of those ingredients alone.  But when they are put together with other ingredients you get something very enjoyable. And don’t forget that if the bitter ingredients were not in the mixer then it would not be a delicious chocolate chip cookie!!  It is the mixture of the bitter with the sweet that makes the cookie so good. 

    So today, on 8/28, enjoy a chocolate chip cookie and consider how God is working all things happening in your life for His glory and your good. 

    Continue Strong trusting God,
    And remember to Date the Word

  • Who is this Jesus Christ of Nazareth?  

    Mark 8:27 “Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?””

    When Jesus Christ walked the earth, many questions arose from many different people about who He was. Religious leaders and political leaders wondered who was this man from Nazareth?  John the Baptist said He was the Lamb of God. The Pharisees accused Him of being nothing more than a person born out of fornication.  They even accused Him of being a person controlled by the devil.  People He helped wondered if He could truly be the Christ.  There were many interesting possibilities to the answer of who is this Jesus of Nazareth.

    Here in the 21st century we still have debates on who Jesus was and yes, is. Is He to simply be placed on the list of legendary fictional figures? Is He to be placed on the list of legendary historical figures? Is He to be viewed as nothing more than a liar as He proclaimed to be someone and something He wasn’t? Is He to be viewed as nothing more than a lunatic for making outrageous statements about Himself? Or is He to be viewed as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the one True Messiah who came to earth from heaven’s glories?  

    As we consider who was Jesus maybe to get the best answer is to ask His Father. In Philippians 2:9 we read, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  It looks like the Father believes Jesus is Lord.

    Now, who do you say Jesus is?  It is an answer you don’t want to get wrong!

    Continue Strong with the knowledge that Jesus is Lord,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Help from the Helper!

    Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

    More than once, yes maybe more than a thousand times I have given thanks for the knowledge taught in Romans 8:26 that I have help from the helper, the Holy Spirit when I am praying.  My prayer life for myself and others (I suspect yours also) has had moments of major uncertainty about what to say next.  There comes that moment of silence.  Silence.  A feeling of being paralyzed accompanied by a feeling of sheer weakness.  There is the desire to be bold with our request, but we are unsure what to request.  And then into the mind comes afresh and anew Romans 8:26; “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  Upon reflection of what the Spirit of God is doing, there are no more feelings of helplessness and weakness but rather a confidence that God will be hearing a pure prayer and will give the exact answer needed.  

    As you are developing a dynamic and effective prayer life you will be brought to Romans 8:26 for the more we pray the more we experience “we do not know what we should pray for as we ought.”  At those moments know you have a helper and be very thankful for the Helper who knows our hearts and knows the Father’s heart.   

    Continue praying with Help from the Helper!! 
    And remember to DATE the Word!!!

  • A Storm Becomes School Room

    Luke 8:25 “But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

    The sudden storm on the sea during a boat ride brought about astonishment and amazement that was felt by both Jesus and His disciples. Jesus was astonished at how afraid the disciples were and the disciples were amazed at how awesome Jesus was! 

    We need to know that storms are like Schoolrooms for God to show us just how powerful, and awesome He is. The disciples’ class started with them afraid of a storm and they finished class amazed at the Savior!

    This storm revealed how insecure the disciples were and they reveal how insecure we are. The disciples (many of them skilled fishermen) were scared to death as this sudden storm hit.  “Master! Master! We are perishing is what they screamed in Luke 8:24.”  Their screaming wakes Jesus up (He must have been sound asleep for one would think the storm would have awakened Him) and what happens next is amazing.  Picture it! Jesus turns to the storm and rebukes the storm.  The word rebuke has the idea of demanding one honor the authority.  And quicker than the storm had suddenly come up the storm ceased and all was calm. 

    With the outside storm dealt with Jesus deals with another storm for there is now the storm on the inside of His disciples.  The master discipler will turn this storm into a schoolroom. His disciples are going to learn something.  To help them learn He asked a penetrating question “Where is your faith?” Now they are afraid again for the question revealed they had lots of fear and little faith!  

    With Jesus astonished at their lack of faith, the disciples will now take inventory of the events and they find themselves asking among themselves in amazement “Who can this be?”  This storm has brought about a new understanding of just who Jesus is and just how powerful Jesus is.  It would be a lesson that would help them later as they faced other storms.   

    Are you in a storm?  What is this storm revealing about you?  Is it showing you have lots of fears and little faith?  What is it showing to you about Jesus?   

    In your school room of a storm may you find yourself learning more about Jesus and becoming more amazed at Jesus.  May your storm move your story from lots of fears and little faith to lots of faith and little fear!  

    Please remember that your storms become stories that become opportunities to share the Savior!

    Continue Amazed at Jesus! 
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Handling Hardships With Hope!

    Romans 8:24 “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?”

    In writing to the Romans the great Apostle Paul will primarily address the doctrines of salvation but he will also address issues that the Christian faces such as suffering.  In Romans 8, starting at verse 18 he gives an eternal perspective on suffering as he writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  As we ponder this verse, we begin to think about what will be revealed in glory, and our hope – the anticipation of a glorious future – grows.  

    Continuing he tells how we groan, and how even creation groans as we want the suffering to end.  In Romans 8:23 he writes that “even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

    Now our verse tells us that we are saved in this hope.  one translation has it: “Now we live in this hope!  

    What is the hope that saves us, delivers us, sustains us, that we live in?  It is the hope, the firm conviction that there will be a day when we will be in heaven. We are looking forward to the future!  We have a hope of heaven!  We live in hope because we know the best is yet to come.  With this hope of a glorious future, we can sustain the worst that is here presently.  Verse 25 tells us we eagerly wait for it (our glorious future) with perseverance.

    As you groan know that heaven awaits you!  This is your hope!!  And while you face pain and suffering in this present body and persecution in this present world keep your eyes of faith looking to your glorious future.  You are sustained while suffering by this hope!!

    “Hope thus sustains the soul in the midst of trials, and enables it to bear them without a murmur.”  A. Barnes

    Continue strong staying encouraged as the best is yet to come!! 
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • A Ceremony To Convey Totally Consecration From Head To Toe!

    Leviticus 8:23 “Moses killed the ram. Then he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.”

    The ceremonial dedication of Aaron is a beautiful reminder to us of being totally dedicated to the Lord from head to toe.  Blood was applied to the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe.

    Why these three areas? 

    The right ear represents our hearing.  We need to be able to hear from God! We need to have a mindset of “Speak LORD for your servant is listening.”  We are to use our ears to hear God’s wisdom so that we might live according to God’s ways!  We are to use our ears to hear God’s instructions so that we might implement God’s work!  Hearing is synonymous with obedience.

    The right thumb represents our work, and we should have a mindset of here I am Lord, use me!  As we do God’s work, we are to have clean hands.   We are to lift holy hands to the Lord!  We are to handle holy things with holy hands.  (Psalm 24:3 says, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”)

    The big right toe represents our walk and we are to be walking with the Lord and walking worthy of the Lord! We are to ponder the path of our feet and not walk on the highways of wickedness.  Nehemiah 5:9 calls us to walk in the fear of the Lord! We are to ask God to teach us that we may walk in truth (Ps. 86:11).  As we hear God’s directions for our lives we are to then WALK in that direction.  (Isa 30:21 says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”)  

    Ears to hear God’s way!
    Hands to do God’s work!
    Feet to walk with God doing God’s work and walking in God’s way!
    Head to toe! Totally consecrated to the Lord.

    Consecrate yourself today from head to toe using Leviticus 8:23 as a guide for being a consecrated vessel in the hand of God to impact the world for His glory! 

    Continue Strong totally consecrated to the Lord from head to toe, 
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Doing Their Work Reminds Us To Do Our Work

    Numbers 8:22  “After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.”

    Work is not a four-letter dirty word.  From the beginning, we find God is at work and then He will have a work for Adam to do.  God placed Adam in the garden of Eden to take care of the garden (Gen. 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it and to name all the animals.) After the fall God will pronounce a curse upon man and the land where man’s work will be more difficult.  (Gen. 3:17 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake;  In toil, you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,  and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”)  Doing work has always been part of the human experience. 

    What is your experience with work?  What is your attitude toward WORK?  Our verse tells us how the “Levites went in to do their work in the Tabernacle.” Notice that it says “their work.” They began to do the work that had been assigned to them.  Each Levite had a work to do so the work at the Tabernacle would work.  They had “their work” and they showed up to do their work.

    As a believer reading this, you have a work to do for the Lord. Each of us is to be involved in the work of the ministry as we are to be ministering to one another.  (1 Peter 4:9) Each of us has at least one primary spiritual gift from the list of gifts in Romans 12 and Paul writes that we are to be using it.  

    For your local church to grow you need to be doing your work with a mind to work!
    The church works when you work!

    Continue Strong Doing The Work God Has For You,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Fasting To Know God’s Direction

    Ezra 8:21 “Then I proclaimed a fast here at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.”

    Ponder Ezra pondering.  He has been assigned as the Jewish leader with the huge responsibility of leading a group of his people back to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon. To do so he is pondering the path to take. His diligent preparation for this journey has brought him to a moment of “I don’t know.” He is perplexed.  He is unsure.  He is struggling to finalize the crucial decision of the direction they will be taking.  

    I am thinking you have been to this moment of “I don’t know.”   I know I have.  I know I am supposed to do something but how to do is not clear.  It is at these crucial moments I am reminded of Ezra and how he handles his perplexing moment of “I don’t know.”  Let’s take a look at what he did.  

    Realizing he did not know his next step he proclaimed a fast.  Not knowing what to do has led him to go to the One who knows what to do!  Ezra will fast.  He will call on those going with him to fast.  Instead of relying on his knowledge Ezra will humble himself and acknowledge God.  He conveys his tremendous need for God to be their guide for the perilous journey!  

    I see fasting as a spiritual discipline to help laser focus my attention on God. Fasting is the removal of something like food for a period of time (could be other things) that allows for a focused time where one is seeking the face of God.  For me, a fast is For A Serious Time.  That serious time can be for a variety of things.   Here is Ezra 8:21 it was for a serious time of seeking direction!   

    While we cannot know if Ezra knew Proverbs 3:5-6 Ezra’s actions in Ezra 8:21 sure look like he was applying Trust in the Lord with all your heart and leaning not on your own understanding.  Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path. 

    Pondering your next step? Is a fast in your future so God can determine your future?

    Continue Strong seeking God,
    And remember to DATE the Word!

  • God fulfills His Promises – You Can Stand On The Promises Of God!

    1 Kings 8:20 “So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.”

    As King Solomon recaps all that has taken place in building the temple that was first in the heart of his father David, he tells us that God fulfills His promises. This is the second time in just a few verses that Solomon proclaimed that God keeps His promises.  In 1 Kings 8:15, he said, “And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father.”   He will conclude 1 Kings 8 by saying, “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.”  (1 Kings 8:56)

    Our God has a long track record of keeping His promises.  Just as God fulfilled His promises to Solomon, you can stand firm on the promises of God.  

    The apostle Peter wrote that the believer has been given exceedingly great and precious promises  (2 Peter 1:4).  As you ponder on God’s promises what is (are) the most precious promise (promises) you have from God?  

    My most precious promise from God is that He will never leave nor forsake me.  His presence is the most precious promise to me!

    Continue Strong standing firmly on the precious promises of God,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • The Value Of Wisdom  – Are You Investing In Wisdom?

    Proverbs 8:19 “Wisdom’s fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.”

    Throughout the book of Proverbs, wisdom occasionally brags on itself and unashamedly makes the strongest appeals for us to acquire wisdom.  As one works through Proverbs 8, wisdom will tell over and over of the advantages and the benefits one will have as one acquires and applies wisdom.  To help one make the decision to get wisdom, she gives common things to compare her with, and in verse 19, she wants you to compare her to the revenue of gold and of silver.  Wisdom boasts that what she will bring to a person’s life is better than having all the gold of Fort Knox and is better than investing in a silver mine! 

    Let us ask a most important question.  Why is wisdom so valuable to have?  From the start of Proverbs to the very end wisdom tells that it provides life and how it protects a person from death!  Proverbs 13:14 conveys it this way: “The teaching of the wise (one who has wisdom) is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.”

    Please hear the appeals of wisdom and start acquiring it with all urgency. As you do wisdom will bring multiple dividends to one’s life.  
    Are you investing in wisdom? 

    Ponder: sin always has a price tag, and one pays more than one could have ever imagined. Wisdom is so valuable that as one acquires and applies it to life it is priceless. 
    So, which will it be today – sin or wisdom?

    Continue Strong by Investing In Wisdom,
    And remember to DATE the Word