John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father… Imagine the following scenario: A father tells his little girl, “Come here, girl. Mummy says that you have been playing by the roadside. Is that true?” “Yes, Daddy. I am sorry.” “Sorry? How many times have I told you not to play near the road? Come here! Lie down on the road and stretch out your legs!” Daddy drives his car over his little girl’s legs. You can hear the sound of bones being crushed and the poor girl screaming in pain! “Now, darling, you know that Daddy loves you. And Daddy did that to teach you a lesson, that playing by the roadside is dangerous.” You are probably shaking your head in horror by now, wondering which sick father would do that. Yet, there are many Christians who believe that our heavenly Father does the same thing. They say that He gives people sicknesses, accidents, earthquakes and death to teach them lessons. But Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the nature of God in action. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus or God going about healing the sick. If God wants some people sick, then there should be at least one incident in the Gospels where you see Jesus saying, “Behold, your complexion is too lovely, receive leprosy,” or “Blindness is good for you. Remain blind.” But no, never once! In fact, Jesus “went about doing good andhealing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) That’s the heart of God. As a father, if your child is sick and in pain, your heart just wants him well. How much more your heavenly Father! My friend, God does not give your child a sickness to teach both of you some lesson or to glorify Himself. To think so is to talk out of a warped mind bound by religion! And Christianity is not a religion. It is a loving relationship with your Father in heaven. Beloved, hear God speaking this to your heart today: “I will never punish you for your sins because they have been punished in My Son’s body. I do not wish you ill. I will not take away your child or give you a car wreck to teach you some lesson. My heart always wants My children well and joyful!”
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The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 NIV
In Genesis 32, Jacob had wrestled all night with a man, who was actually God. Genesis 32:27 says, “The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered” (NIV). What a strange request. God obviously knew Jacob’s name. Whenever God asks you a question, it’s never for his benefit. He already knows the answer! The reason he asked this was that he wanted Jacob to admit what he was. In ancient times, names were chosen for their meaning, not for how nice they sounded. So you could be named after a profession like a baker or a carpenter or a smith. You could be named after a relative or you could be named for the situation you were in. Jabez was named “painful” because he came in a painful birth. But parents mostly named their kids based on their character. When people said their name, they were telling someone what kind of person they were. Jacob’s name means “deceiver.” And — oh boy — did he live up to his name! His entire life he lied to get out of many situations and one conflict after another because he was a deceiver. He was a manipulator. When God asked Jacob what his name was, he wanted him to own up to who he was. Here’s the cool thing about it. When Jacob says, “I am Manipulator,” God was not shocked. He didn’t say, “You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m fighting with a manipulator? How did I miss that? I didn’t see that one coming.” God already knew everything bad about Jacob, just like he already knows everything bad about you — even the stuff you don’t know about yourself. The Bible says in Malachi 1:2, “I have loved Jacob.” I like that verse because it gives me hope. If God loved Jacob who was so unlovable, who was such a manipulator, who was such a scoundrel, who was such a crook, who was such a liar — then God can love someone like me, too. If you want lasting change in your life, you have to stop making excuses and rationalizing and blaming others for your brokenness. You have to be honest with God and with yourself and admit in humility, “I am the problem.” How does God respond to our brokenness? The Bible says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Galatians 6:2, NIV) When we live in peace and unity, it pleases God. When we love and serve others, putting their needs above our own, we are honoring Him. When we carry each other's burdens, we are fulfilling the law of Christ, which is to love others. What does it mean to carry each other’s burdens? There are many ways to reach out to people and help shoulder their load of life. Just by giving an encouraging word or smile, you can help lighten the load for someone. When you pray and intercede for others in their day of difficulty, you are helping to carry their burdens. Maybe there are other ways to help the people around you. Maybe you can pay for someone’s groceries or give someone cash at the gas pump. Anytime you help others and reach out to those in need, scripture says you are directly lending a hand to God Himself. Today, look for ways to lighten the load for the people around you. Be a burden lifter. Remember, in God’s kingdom what you sow, you shall reap. When you help others, God promises to repay you. He’ll pour out His victory and blessing upon you all the days of your life! "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16
A famous heart surgeon, once received a letter from an 11-year-old girl with this question, "Is there any love in an artificial heart?" Love is illusive, yet we long for it. How would you define love? Most everyone knows it is real, but who can really describe it? I can't define love, but God's Word sure can. The Bible reminds us that love is patient and kind, not envious, selfish, or arrogant. Love doesn't keep records when people let us down or do us wrong. Love forgives. Love is happy for others' successes. Love is very optimistic. Love bears all things; it believes in others and what they can be, thus putting up with a lot. Love hopes for the best in others. True love never gives up; it just keeps on keeping on; it means a commitment to love a person whether they love us or not. Love can be found in an old heart made new by the power of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised. Hebrews 10:23
Your disappointments too heavy? Read the story of the Emmaus-bound disciples. The Savior they thought was dead now walked beside them. He entered their house and sat at their table. And something happened in their hearts. "It felt like a fire burning in us when Jesus talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us" (Luke 24:32). Next time you're disappointed, don't panic. Don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he's still in control. It ain't over till it's over. He Still Moves Stones (Max Lucado) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Love. How often we use the word. We love warm weather. We love our husband or wife. We love our sports teams. We speak the word in our most tender moments and then use it to describe our feelings about a flavor of ice cream. Do you know that you are loved? The God who created all of life loves you even if you don't love Him in return. He doesn't wait for you to demonstrate your love for Him. He loves you first. He clearly demonstrated His love through Jesus Christ, especially when Christ gave His life for us. Over the next few days, try to notice how many times the word "love" is used in casual conversation. Each time you hear it, think about the love of God--real love. Think of how much He loves you and begin to experience His love. When you begin to know His love, you'll be amazed at the joy in your life. In the world we live in today, it is very easy to get so incredibly caught up in all of the demands that culture places on us that we don't have any time to spend with God.
However, the fact that so many things compete for every person's time isn't new to the world. Indeed, in Luke 10:38-42, we see the story of how two people responded to this same problem in two very different ways: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ... We see that after Jesus entered the home, He evidently started teaching, and Mary, Martha's sister, stopped what she was doing and listened to Jesus. It's important to realize that Mary didn't know Jesus was coming, and so it certainly wasn't her plan to stop what she was doing and sit at His feet, listening to Him. However, Mary considered hearing from God so important that she altered her schedule to spend time with God. ... But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Here, we see that Martha responded very differently than her sister: she became really busy and caught up in what she was doing -- probably preparing a meal, cleaning the house, or something similar. When Martha complained to Jesus about how Mary was using her time, Jesus responded: "Martha, Martha, ... you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." One sister was willing to drop everything in order to hear from God; the other was too busy with everyday life in order to spend time with God. Jesus makes it clear that the way Mary chose to use her time was better. In your life, you need to be willing to use your time like Mary did. Don't let little things steal your time away from what's really important in life. You must realize that there is no lasting value to the "urgent" things many people often allow to interfere with what's truly important. It would not have mattered if Martha hadn't cleaned the house that day. You need to be willing to let your schedule be altered if knowing God better requires it. Don't be like Martha and get so caught up in life's distractions that you miss Jesus. 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 |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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