Many of us have experienced that low Spiritual valley where we thought the sun would never shine again. Some were sent quickly into the valley by a very specific event; others drifted slowly to the bottom and can't say by what path they arrived. In either case, we wandered in this gloom until something began to lift us to new heights.
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31) An eagle seems to fly effortlessly through the air with only an occasional flap of the wings. These great birds are experts at finding areas of rising air called thermals which allow them to soar without using any of their own energy. God uses Spiritual thermals to lift up those who hope and trust in Him. Those who believe the truth of His Word and diligently search for the rising currents through prayer and undeterred worship will be freed from the heavy baggage which prevents upward flight - they will be lifted up by the guidance and strength of God's Spirit. If we find ourselves back in the valley today, we must continue to seek Him with all our heart and trust that our thermal is on the way. He has promised to strengthen us and cause us to soar once again! And if we're currently flying high in our communion with God, we must give praise and honor to our Heavenly Father; but we must also recognize there are many others in the valley who desperately need a lift - many who are searching and feeling overcome with darkness. As we soar, we must understand that we are never called to fly alone. God has chosen to use people to accomplish much of His work on earth. He could have chosen other methods; "If they {the people} keep quiet, the stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40), but He chose us. We are to "encourage one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13). Why? Because there is a valley full of people waiting and hoping for that rising current to lift them up and set them free. We can be a rising current for others with simple words or acts of encouragement which show them God's love and gently lead them back toward His peace. We have been adopted into the "Family" of God...and our Family needs each other very much! Let's dedicate ourselves to soaring high by worshipping God in absolutely every area of our life. Let's continue to rise to new heights and always look for others in need of God's thermal of encouragement! Steve Troxel God's Daily Word Ministries
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When God led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He told them to prepare for a quick departure by making bread without yeast. He gave instructions to remember their departure through the celebration of Passover - also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this celebration there was a seven day period when yeast was not even allowed in the home: "For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel" (Exodus 12:19).
When God established the various offerings through Moses, yeast became associated with an unworthy sacrifice; "Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast" (Leviticus 2:11). About 1500 years later, Jesus used the symbolism of yeast to give His disciples an important warning. Luke 12:1 "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." With this choice of words, Jesus warned that hypocrisy has the ability to contaminate our lives, and therefore the offering we present to God. The Pharisees had an outward appearance of godliness, but their hearts had compromised true worship and become contaminated; "On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:28). When we examine our own heart, does it match how we appear on the outside? Or have we too become full of hypocrisy? The symbolism of yeast gives another clear warning; "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough" (Galatians 5:9). Every day we are tempted to make compromises with the world; compromises which cause us to behave contrary to our professed beliefs. This is hypocrisy and must be avoided at all cost! Each incident seems so small - like only "a little yeast" - but soon the compromises work through all areas of our life. The only worthy endeavor during our allotted time on earth is to present ourselves, with complete abandonment, as a living sacrifice to God; "this is your spiritual (or reasonable) act of worship" (Romans 12:1). Our Heavenly Father is worthy of our very best...a pure and holy offering. Let's celebrate our release from the slavery of sin by cleaning our home and removing all spiritual compromise. Let's give our whole heart to God in loving worship and guard against ANYTHING which pulls us away. Let's fight the hypocrisy in our lives and diligently guard against the yeast. Have a Christ Centered Day! Steve Troxel During the ministry of Elisha, a widow came to him for financial help. Creditors had threatened to take her two boys as slaves if she didn't pay her debt, but all the woman had left was a little oil. Elisha told her how to miraculously multiply her oil and pay her bills...and in the process bring great glory to God.
"Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side." (2 Kings 4:3) The woman gathered empty jars and began to fill them from her one small jar of oil. She continued to fill the jars until each one she collected was full; "Then the oil stopped flowing" (2 Kings 4:6). The woman was able to sell the oil and pay her debt. Notice that the oil stopped flowing as soon as the last jar was full. If the woman would have collected half as many jars, the oil would have stopped flowing when the collected jars were filled. And if she would have collected twice as many jars, the oil would have continued until every last one was full. God's provision was equal to the number of jars she collected - equal to the number of jars she believed God would fill. In our limited understanding of God we often place artificial restrictions on what we think He can accomplish, and our prayers become reduced to what we believe is actually possible. In this sense, our low level of faith has limited what God provides. Peter never would have stepped out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus if confined to the realm of his own understanding. Peter left room for God to work beyond what he could understand. Please do not read this message as a formula for worldly prosperity! God's Word never teaches that we are all to be rich with material wealth (this is an ugly distortion of His truth). But God desires for each of us to trust Him beyond the bounds of our best analysis, and to draw closer than what we believe is ever possible. Peter didn't need to understand how the atomic structure of water might be altered to provide stability, he simply needed to know with certainty that Jesus was calling; "Lord, if it's You, tell me to come to You on the water" (Matthew 14:28). We serve an Awesome God - more awesome than we will ever comprehend; "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). We must never believe there's a problem too big for God to handle; "He is able to do immeasurably more..." (Ephesians 3:20). Let's pray with a faith that truly believes our Father is the Creator of the Universe, and let's refuse to place limits on God's provision. Have a Christ Centered Day! Steve Troxel God's Daily Word Ministries www.gdwm.org Many of us have experienced that low Spiritual valley where we thought the sun would never shine again. Some were sent quickly into the valley by a very specific event; others drifted slowly to the bottom and can't say by what path they arrived. In either case, we wandered in this gloom until something began to lift us to new heights.
Isaiah 40:29-31 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." An eagle seems to fly effortlessly through the air with only an occasional flap of the wings. These great birds are experts at finding areas of rising air called thermals which allow them to soar without using any of their own energy. God uses Spiritual thermals to lift up those who hope and trust in Him. Those who believe the truth of His Word and diligently search for the rising currents through prayer and undeterred worship will be freed from the heavy baggage which prevents upward flight - they will be lifted up by the guidance and strength of God's Spirit. If we find ourself back in the valley today, we must continue to seek Him with all our heart and trust that our thermal is on the way. He has promised to strengthen us and cause us to soar once again! And if we're currently flying high in our communion with God, we must give praise and honor to our Heavenly Father; but we must also recognize there are many others in the valley who desperately need a lift - many who are searching and feeling overcome with darkness. As we soar, we must understand that we are never called to fly alone. God has chosen to use people to accomplish much of His work on earth. He could have chosen other methods; "If they {the people} keep quiet, the stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40), but He chose us. We are to "encourage one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13). Why? Because there is a valley full of people waiting and hoping for that rising current to lift them up and set them free. We can be a rising current for others with simple words or acts of encouragement which show them God's love and gently lead them back toward His peace. We have been adopted into the "Family" of God...and our Family needs each other very much! Let's dedicate ourselves to soaring high by worshipping God in absolutely every area of our life. Let's continue to rise to new heights and always look for others in need of God's thermal of encouragement! Steve Troxel God's Daily Word Ministries We must encourage our Brothers and Sisters when they are down and remind one another that God is near, that our trials will soon fade; "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today!" (Hebrews 3:13). But as we encourage, we must do so from a position of Biblical truth. We must continually direct each other toward Christ and the life He calls us to live. It is never true encouragement to simply lend our agreement and "comfort" to a complaining or selfish attitude. This actually keeps someone down and threatens to pull us down in the process. We began this journey through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus; "whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Our Salvation, our eternal life, even our very existence, is based on a personal belief that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins so we could live with Him for all eternity. The faith of our parents cannot save us, nor can the doctrine of our church - WE must believe. Jesus endured ridicule and humiliation from His accusers, and overwhelming pain on the cross, simply because He dearly loved us (Oh Lord, help me to better understand this love!). The joy of seeing our restored relationship with the Father allowed Him to persevere through unbelievable hardship. His sacrifice brought us Salvation - His perseverance should bring us strength and a renewed hope. Hebrews 12:3 "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." There are going to be days when the burden seems extra heavy - days when the attacks come fast and furious and feel like they will never end. It may bring temporary relief for someone to agree and confirm the difficulty of our situation, but the only way to truly ease the load is to focus our heart back to Christ and pray for His strength; "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance" (2 Thessalonians 3:5). We must persevere... because He first persevered for us! There is definitely a place within the Body for compassion and the sharing of one another's sorrows; but when our burdens become seemingly unbearable, we must also encourage one another to simply put one foot in front of the other and boldly continue down His path. His grace and His strength WILL be sufficient! We will not lose heart if we focus on His love. We will persevere and not grow weary if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and consider Him who endured. Have a Christ Centered Day! Steve Troxel God has always set aside a select group to carry forth His Word and to help guide His people. In the Old Testament times God designated the descendants of Levi to be priests. The priests were to perform the various sacrifices, give instruction regarding God's Law, and be the general interface between God and man. Since the priests were accountable to God for maintaining His standard, this great privilege also carried an enormous responsibility.
Malachi served as a prophet of God approximately 900 years after the Levitical priesthood had been established. The priests had once held a deep reverence for God, but they now ceased to teach the truth and lost all sense of their calling. Through Malachi, God sent the priests a sharp rebuke. Malachi 2:7-9 "The lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble...you have not followed My ways." In one regard, this speaks directly to those called into Church leadership - those who are given the responsibility for leading a congregation in the way of truth. But it also speaks to ALL who now believe in Jesus Christ and are committed to following His ways. We must not cause others to stumble by failing to follow the ways of God! When Jesus came to earth and gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, a new covenant was established. No longer is there only a select group of priests who have access to God; rather, all believers are now declared "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" (1 Peter 2:9). The primary duty of a priest in the Old Testament was to seek God's will and effectively communicate the truth of God's Word to those placed within his care. And as members of God's New Covenant royal priesthood, we all have this same responsibility - this same privilege! We must seek His will and speak truth to whoever God places in our path. We do not have the option of watching others wander from God. Allowing someone to destroy their life and their intimate relationship with God through a life of unbelief and sin is neither gracious nor loving - it's cruel and irresponsible! We are never held accountable for the response of others, only for our presentation of the truth. We must now become faithful to our calling. We must become a priest within our family, at our work, among our friends, and even within our church. We must diligently seek His will and not stray. We must learn His truths and live by them...and speak His truth with grace and compassionate love. Let's give thanks for the opportunity to serve and for being allowed to lead others to a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father. Let's praise Him and faithfully accept our privileged responsibility. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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