The Prayer that Few People Pray

I have a thing for Superman, and you have probably gathered that if you have read the post "God's Phone Booths". I have a plate at the house that I eat comfort food from. This is THE plate. Yes, I know what you are probably thinking. Yes, I know, and yet I still love you.
This is indeed how I roll my friend!

I want to use this plate to share something with you that has rocked my world in regards to my Paradigm of God allowed circumstances in my life.

When I was growing up my parents had a law in our house. The law was very plainly spelled out before each and every meal. I will reproduce the law in a bold type so that you may fully understand where I am coming from.

"YOU MUST CLEAN YOUR PLATE. ANY FOOD NOT EATEN TONIGHT, WILL BE EATEN FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW, AND EVERY MEAL FOLLOWING UNTIL IT IS CONSUMED"

Now I have to be honest here in saying that I HATED that law. I hated it because my mom liked to provide a healthy balanced meal that contained...green beans.

I HATE, no... I despise green beans. Mom made green beans one night, and on this particular evening I asked for a small portion. Mom gave me the full portion (Because there were children starving on the other side of the world... I would have given them my beans if I could have thrown that far)
I sat there during dinner absolutely dreading those warm beans sliding down my throat. Then, out of the blue, the most diabolical idea came to my mind! It came to me when I noticed my sister eating.
Everyone drops food from their mouth right?

Of course! I will drop a spoonful of beans at strategic intervals onto my lap, then carefully, toss said beans under each persons seat! This plan was foolproof.

Only if I had thought to drop beans under my own seat. How could I have overlooked this?

After dinner I readily volunteered to vacuum up the evidence, but while I went to get the vacuum my mother did not overlook my fatal mistake. She always caught everything!

Mom notified Dad, and Dad pronounced the sentence. Mom was to cook every can of beans in the house, and I was to eat them. I think that was the day that my hatred of all things bean formed within my heart.

Fast forward many years later I am sitting at the table of my future wife's parents. this is the first meal that I am eating with them. My future mother-in-law placed a plate in front of me, and my heart nearly dropped from my chest. GREEN BEANS. Steaming, and slimy. Staring up at me, and taunting me. I did not want to offend the parents of this beautiful girl, when suddenly out of the blue, the most diabolical plan came to me! I covered them with my napkin, and after dinner I personally cleared off my plate into the trash can. It was foolproof! Until my mother-in-law opened the trash can. Why is it that moms can catch everything?

What does this have to do with a spiritual truth?

Let me bring the plate back into your mind and present you with a prayer that very few people will ever in their life time have the courage enough to pray.

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: " ~Proverbs 30:7-8

WOW! The prayer here is to remove vanity and lies, but then it goes even further and asks God to feed us only with food convenient for me.

Convenient is not what we think it is. When I think of convenient I think of fast food. Not God's definition though. The biblical word here is the word NECESSARY.

What this prayer does is place God in the driver seat.

May I submit to you today that God is the parent who knows exactly what we need nutritionally in order to grow up to be the adult (Image of Christ) He made us to be.

We all want pizza, chocolate, and Cheetos on our plate. These are the good times, and fun days. Every light is green, and every word spoken to us is exactly what we wanted when we wanted it. We have great health, and feel as though we can do no wrong.

We love to fill our plate with that food, but the truth is, it does nothing to help up mature in Christ.

The stuff we would rather not have on our plate is the _____________. (fill in the blank with your equivalent to green beans).

Health issues? Financial instability? Relationship difficulties? job? family issues? You name it. It is what the Bible calls purging. God allowed circumstances that cause us to stretch our faith.

See what happens when God places these things on our plate (For our good by the way. See Romans 8:28), We tend to throw those opportunities away. We push them off on others in blame, and in a sense we waste them. Sometimes we cover them up with a napkin so to speak. The napkin can come in the shape of distraction or even addiction. An addiction is anything we do intentionally that prevents us from living life as God intended us to live it. Some people cover up their green beans with work, relationships, drugs, alcohol, parties, TV, Internet, and a number of other options. It is a refusal to accept that God, our parent, is capable of providing us a balanced meal.

I love the reasoning behind this prayer.

"Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." ~Proverbs 30:9 

There is a law that our heavenly parent has and it applies to every plate that is served up.

"YOU MUST CLEAN YOUR PLATE. ANY FOOD NOT EATEN TODAY, WILL BE EATEN FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW, AND EVERY MEAL FOLLOWING UNTIL IT IS CONSUMED"

 

 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."

~Psalms 37:23-24

Hiding the portion that we don't like does not get rid of it, it only causes it to get colder and colder.
We will continue to have to hide it or blame it on other people until we face up to the fact that it has been placed on our plate for us to consume. God loves us enough to provide for us exactly what we need to grow the way He wants us to grow.

 Victory is  only achieved when we learn to clean our plate!

It blows my mind to think of a parent (God ) that knows us to such an intimate detail that He would prepare food that is necessary for me individually.

Would you be willing today to step up to the plate God has prepared with this prayer?

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: " ~Proverbs 30:7-8

It will change your life!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

Who Built This Furnace Anyway?

This story has always been an incredible demonstration of how God delivers His people as they go through persecutions for Him.

I love to read of the resolve that these three men possessed and showed in the face of incredible adversity. I say men because I was taught growing up that these were "Three Hebrew boys". No, these were men. They were taken captive as boys, but these boys grew up to be men of renown and responsibility.

Reading it through this lens I discovered something that I had not noticed before.


"Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon." ~Daniel 3:1 

(We will call him Nebby in order to save me from getting carpel tunnel from typing his name.)

Nebby decides to build a statue of himself in order to ensure loyalty of his crown and to exercise his ego. He selects one of the provinces of Babylon to be graced with this statue. He then orders the rulers of this province of Babylon to build this statue in their province.

"Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." ~Daniel 2:49

"There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." ~Daniel 3:12 

Guess who would get that memo placed in their "In" box in the morning? 

They were to oversee everything. They had the land cleared, had a furnace built on site to handle the smelting of materials, and no doubt were aware of every detail of this project.

Rack, Shack, and Benny! I am truly amazed at how I missed this every time I have read it.
These three men were men who excelled, by God's design, were now in a place of prominence and power. Can you imagine what went through their mind when they got that memo? They started out this journey by turning down the king's meat and wine, now they get to face round 2!

The first thing that I notice is:

1.THE STATION.

These guys were allowed to be in the position that they were in by God himself. These were three captives that became rulers. They had found favor with God and man. They were in a position to oversee all of the affairs in the province of Babylon.

 

"CHRISTIANS DO NOT HAVE JOBS, ONLY ASSIGNMENTS"

We find a lot of ways to complain about the circumstances that we are either in, or have been in. We like to think that it was a mistake that we had THAT job, or knew THAT person in life, but I have to tell you that God allowed those circumstances for a purpose. If you are His child, then you are on mission with Him. That means that He places you where He wants, around who He wants when He wants. It does not matter if you recognized it at the time or not. God makes no mistakes.

Think about that co-worker that you had such a hard time with and ask yourself this, "Of all the people they could have worked with, why on earth did God let me be the one? What was He trying to tell them, and what was He trying to tell you?"
Have you ever run across someone that you would swear was another person that you knew, except for the name and the way they looked? Other than those details, the attitudes and behaviors were just the same? Why is God bringing those attitudes and behaviors across your path again? What did you miss about responding to and learning from those the first time that He needed to repeat the lesson?

We explain away God's hand too easily these days I am afraid. God is closer than we think. There is no job that you have ever worked that God did not have purpose in. I think the clearest example of that would be the life of Joseph in the Bible. God is trying to speak with those who employ you and He is trying to speak to you as well.

You are where you are because GOD has placed you there! It is a station by God that He has allowed you to fill.

We think sometimes that we earned, or we were savvy enough to gain a position of power. We are delusional at best when we entertain that thought. It does not matter if you are a President, a Pastor, or a Plumber... It is a God allowed station.

 

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."

~Romans 13:1-4

We like to apply this passage to the political party candidates that we approve of, but that is not Bible. Truth says, "God allows those with the power to have the power".

The people with the power might not even fully understand God's reasoning for their power, but it will be for His end and His purpose in the end.

Stations by God will always produce opportunities to "STAND".

2.THE STAND.

"Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." ~Daniel 3:8-18

They had in no doubt, been preparing themselves for this moment. These were not little kids who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They knew that this day had been approaching, and I believe as they worked they prayed that God would intervene.

Each day they were informed of the building progress of this statue. They applied a premeditated determination to make a stand.

Stations by God will always produce an opportunity to stand that will always prove...

3.THE STRENGTH.

Stations by God will always produce an opportunity to stand, these will ALWAYS prove the strength of His presence!

"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.   And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.   He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." ~Daniel 3:19-25

This is a truth that God taught to me in the most amazing way.

Think for just a minute and ask yourself, "When was the last time I recognized being put through a furnace in my life?"

I was in a situation in my past that carried a lot of similarities to a furnace.

I graduated from Bible College and wanted to do something "Big" for God!
I had the privilege of serving the Lord in a church in Illinois as a youth director and I loved it. It was there that God taught me how to do His work. I wanted to serve the Lord and do His work, but I wanted to do it MY way and in MY strength and ability.

So God did for me what He does for any of His children that need it. He helped me prepare my very own furnace. He moved me from Illinois and placed me in a province where I could discover that His way was very different than my way.

I got busy, very busy, adding bricks to the wall of my furnace, and without recognizing it, bringing my time in the fire closer and closer..

I had in fact been a part of building a work that was not done God's way. It was built on fancy sales techniques where the bottom line was the number of decision cards and not true conversions. It was as if the last command of Jesus on earth was, "Go into all the world and get decisions." When in fact it was to make Disciples.
This sounds a little harsh, but there were a lot of people who would walk the aisle and say "The Prayer", but when I saw people "Added to the church" it was rarely a convert; instead it was someone from another church that we had wowed and amazed with a program that was better than what they had before.

What does the size of a building, or the number in the bank mean if people within the shadow of the steeple do not see anything real about what you have? If you can only see a person as 10% of what they make or for what you can get out of them, what lasting impact are you providing the kingdom?

I built a furnace where I was taught by word and example to see people as just the means to an end and despite "Christian emphasis" in words, slogans, and vision statements, the actions and attitudes that I saw behind closed doors were anything but Spirit led. I would see anger, flesh, and insecurity justify the mistreatment of people in "The Lord's Work". The Fruit of the Spirit would be blown off of the tree at the slightest breeze from a stress storm.

This was a God allowed furnace for me.

I was frustrated because I had been part of "Selling Jesus" in order to have someone repeat a prayer within 4 stanzas of a hymn. This was a furnace. The more I read in the Word, the more conflicted I became. The part where MY strength came in was beginning to quickly burn. In fact, the day where the Lord prompted my heart with the question, "Dan, you are really trying hard to make me and those you work for happy with you... What is it that you can do that would make me love you any more than I already do?" was a difficult day. The heat was on. God allowed me to see something fantastic, and I would have missed it if it had not been for the furnace.

God has revealed Himself to me in so many powerful way since I stepped out of that furnace. I am quite sure that I have more to come as I climb the steps with God, but I am confident in Him and His faithfulness.

Your furnace is no doubt different than mine, but it may be that you have found yourself in a situation that you yourself have helped to create. It is a furnace.

 God used this passage to help me understand something profound.

Many times, God allows us to have a hand in building the very thing that He uses as a furnace in our lives.

"God allows us to have a hand in building the very thing that He uses as a furnace in our lives."

I am very thankful for the furnaces that God has let me have a hand in building. I am grateful for them, because without them I would still be doing God's work MY way and in MY strength. My furnaces were and continue to be necessary. Yours are too!

I talk to many good people who have never learned to understand the God allowed furnaces for what they are, expressions of God's love for us. God takes us just as we are, yet He loves us too much to let us stay that way.

Where would you be today had God not allowed you a station that provided you the opportunity to stand? Would you have seen His strength?

I encourage you today to take a moment and thank Him for the furnaces that He allowed you to build!


Climbing with you,
~Dan

Every Road Needs a Rest Area

 

If you have ever traveled any length of time on the highway, you have no doubt seen a sign like this.

 

If it was a long trip, you no doubt have prayed to see a sign like this! 

 

REST AREA.

 

It basically is a description of a place where you can stop traveling for a minute. You can get out of the car and  stretch muscles that went to sleep, re-check the map or GPS, make a phone call to a loved one to let them know where you are, buy an overpriced cup of coffee, or just rest.

 

You don't plan on living at a rest area, because it is very clearly just a place to rest. (You would go broke on the coffee and vending machines anyway)

 

We look forward to these places because every one of us needs at one point in the travels of life to stop and rest. When I was a kid and we travelled as a family, the only thing that concerned me was, "Does this place have any monkey bars?"

 

I have changed a bit in the qualifications of a good rest area now. When I travel, I am on the lookout for something more along the lines of this:

 

A spot where I can see something, anything but the highway in front of me. I look for a place where I can take my mind off of where I need to be next, and what the deadlines are.

In most cases what I have found was something I would have missed had I kept driving. Once it was an elderly man helping his wife out of the car and helping her up the steps like she was the Queen of England, another time it was a parent pushing their child on a swing, a man stretched out sound asleep on the hood of his truck, and once it was a man who tripped over his large German Shepherd and spilled his overpriced rest area coffee.

 

This morning, I would like to offer you just that.

 

No matter where your road may have you traveling today, I invite you to just pull over, and notice what you would have missed if you had kept driving.

 

I want to invite you to pull over at the rest stop called PHILEMON.

 

It is an extremely short book. 25 verses in fact and really, this is nothing more than a letter from one man to another. So as you read these 25 verses, please be aware that you are in fact, reading someone Else's mail.

 

The story is beautiful.

 

There was once a young man named, Onesimus. He was a servant in the house of Philemon.

One day, Onesimus has decided that he has had enough of Philemon and decides to leave. In fact, he decided to leave with some things that did not belong to him. He leaves with a black mark upon his name, and it is not surprising that some time later he winds up in prison in a destination far from home.

 

I can see him sitting in that dark prison. Angry? Bitter at the way his life has turned out? He is sitting there, when from out of the shadows he hears a raspy, aged voice.

 

"Hello there son" I imagine he would hear. "My name is Paul...What is yours?"

 

What are the odds that this servant ends up sharing the same cell as the Apostle Paul? I do not know about you, but I see God's hand all over this one. Paul ministers to Onesimus, and he is converted. After a time, Onesimus is going to be set free and he wants to return home. He has told Paul about what he had done, and about the bridges he had burned. Can you see Paul's face when Onesimus tells him the name of his former master?

 

Philemon was a very old and dear friend of Paul, so Paul writes a letter for Onesimus to take back to Philemon. I will not take the time to list out the entire letter, but I would like to encourage you to read it sometime today.

 

There is one passage that I would like to lift out to you, since you are stopped at this rest area called Philemon, and you would miss this had you have continued to drive.

 

 "For perhalps he therefore departed for a season, that thous shoulldest recieve him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved..."

~Philemon 1:15

 

That is powerful!

 

You see, I believe that each one of us would fall into one of these character parts.

 

Philemon: You have done all that you know to do, and yet it was not good enough. You have been hurt, wronged, even trampled on by an Onesimus in your life. Please understand, it is possible to do all that you know to do, and still have your care and devotion thrown back up in your face. Kids do go wrong, and loved ones do walk out on you. "Godly" people do very "Ungodly" things, and if you are a Philemon this morning, there is no doubt that you have been left shaking your head and asking God "Why?".

 

Then there is another character that this story provides here at REST AREA PHILEMON.

 

Onesimus: You have wronged someone, and you know it. You are hurt as well, and you have done everything you can think of to justify what you did. Philemon had it coming right? They could have done more right? People don't know your Philemon like you know your Philemon. You have avoided making things right, and your life is similar in many ways to a prison. You cannot be free from it no matter where you lay your head, what you soothe your conscience with. This was not the life you had envisioned as a little boy. If someone had asked you as a little girl to describe what your life would look like...it would never be this. If you are an Onesimus this morning, there is no doubt that you have been left shaking your head and asking God "Why?".

 

Finally I observe one last character here at REST AREA PHILEMON.

 

Paul: You have devoted your heart to the Lord, and in spite of your hearts desire to be doing His work His way, you are in a place where your path has crossed and Onesimus. They seem to be a good person at heart, but they are rough...very rough. They talk rough, they smell rough, they behave rough, and they even treat you rough. If you are a Paul this morning, there is no doubt that you have been left lifting your hands to heaven and thanking God for this opportunity!

 

I think at one point in time in my life I have played each of these parts. I think we all have.

 



Every single one of us has had or will have times of departure from the Lord, but those times of departure can be just as valuable as the times of arrival.

 Luke 15 tells of a young man who departed so that he could return. 

I am so very glad that during my departure times that God sent a Paul to help me prepare for an arrival.
If you are praying for an Onesimus in your life, pray for the Paul that God is going to provide for them. Pray that the Paul in their life will have the wisdom to look past the excuses and help your Onesimus see the power of Christ.


 If you are a Paul for someone, ask God to help you be the one to help that Onesimus find Christ and through Christ, find restoration!

If you are Onesimus, ask God to help you see the Paul for who they are... an extension and demonstration of God's redeeming love and grace! You have been given a Paul, but you just may have been looking past them. They are not here for the fun of it. They are on mission for God, and they have been brought into your life by the prayers of the Philemon's in your life. You are loved, and God is using Paul to prove it!


The thing about rest areas that is so interesting is that if you drive past them, there is so much that you would have missed seeing.

Thanks for stopping with me for a minute at REST AREA PHILEMON.

Climbing with you,
~Dan






 

Psalms 1 (Part 2)

We started this study on wed and I would like to continue the thought of "Choice". We are given the choice of final results of this vapor called life. The "How to" of both destinations.

A) Be like a tree, planted, firm, steady, well nourished, and a shelter.
B) Be like the chaff, dry, unstable, brittle, and ultimately leave no lasting mark.

Psalms chapter 1 will be our testimony one way or the other.

Reaping the blessing of the tree, or the curse of the chaff is a Kingdom law. It does not matter if you believe it or not, it is true.


"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." ~Psalms 1:1-6 

We looked at verse one on wed and spent the time to lay the groundwork for the rest of the Psalm. Today I would like to spotlight the benefit of the blessing. 

Verse 2 states that that the one that chooses to reap the blessing of the tree will make their delight (Desire, pleasure) the law of the Lord.(Precepts and statutes)

Do you delight in the things God delights in? Do you desire Him? This is not conforming to a list just for the sake of checking boxes, this is desiring to know Him.

Paul said that he had built up quite a resume of good deeds and actions, but he counted them as dung. Why?

"That I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." ~Philippians 3:10

Outward achievements are nothing if you do not know Him. You cannot superglue the fruit of the Spirit on your tree. Either you have it or you do not.

The psalmist says, that his desire was God. Not Godly activities or speeches, but God.

"...In His law doth he meditate day and night."

God does not promise to prosper Bible memorizers, He does however, promise to prosper Bible meditators.

Mediating on what you have memorized is the key. I am all for Bible memorization, but it is powerful only if you take the time to think about what you memorized. There have been a lot of responses that I have given to the walls in my life that were wrong, not because I did not know scripture, but because I did not take the time to think about and properly apply the scripture that I knew.

When I was dating my wife, she would write me letters. (Texting was only for the rich and famous) I did not just memorize the cards she sent me, I meditated on them. I thought about them, how she phrased things, how she darkened some words more than others, and I even dissected and defined sentence structure.

Prospering comes from choosing those I allow to write on my heart carefully, and what I choose to mediate on.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Notice the wording. "Be" comes before "Do". Why is that? Being like a tree is something that comes from being planted. You cannot "Do" your way in the Christian life as a substitute of "Being". I think one of the problems that plagues the church today is the overabundance of people willing to "Do" in place of being willing to "Be".

It takes work to "Be", and it is far easier to show up and "Do". When you are planted, you will produce fruit, and you will "Do". Not in your own strength, but through Christ which strengthens you!

Then in verse three we get the result that we all want.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 
I love the word PLANTED.

Firmly fixed. Planted by a source of nourishment. Planted and bringing forth fruit in his season.

I love the terminology of the leaf not withering.

The tree depends on it's leaves. They take the light from the sun, and transform it to life for the tree.

PHOTOSENTHESIS: is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert the light energy captured from the sun into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the organism's activities.

For the Christian, his leaf is straining to soak up the SON. The leaf does not wither. This person knows that the planted state comes not from the river, not from thinking "Tree like" thoughts, or saying "Tree like" words. It comes directly from the SON!

Whatever he does will prosper.

Can I just be frank here? What area of your life do you NOT want to prosper?

Reading on down the remaining three verses outlines very plainly the flip side of the coin. God loves us enough to give us the freedom of choice.

I want to be planted for my family, because I want that area of my life to prosper.
I want to be planted in my walk with the Lord, because I want that area to prosper.

A)Planted comes from being careful where I get my direction counsel.
Do those I get counsel from fall into the scriptural definition of the ungodly?
B)Planted comes from Where I am positionally.
Do I make it hard for others to see Christ, or do they get a clear picture of Him
C)Planted comes from how I view God
Do I make light of God, His revealed Word, and my relationship with Him?
D)Planted comes from operating in my new nature: Delighting and meditating in and on the Word of God.
Where do I choose to set my thoughts and affections?

When I was a kid, we had these books called, "Choose your own adventures". The story line and outcome would depend on the choices you made. Life is no different. Psalms one presents the final outcome, and it even outlines how to make the choices!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

Psalms 1 (Part 1)

It started on Pintrest.

How I have come to despise this website. We were getting ready to redecorate our daughter's room. She had a little bed, and boring walls. My wife saw this picture, and decided that since it was on pintrest that this bed could be built and that this wall could be duplicated. Did I fail to mention how much I despise pintrest?

When I saw the tree, my mind immediately went to the passage of scripture that displays God's heart for us and our life better than any other.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." ~Psalms 1:1-6


I want to take the next several posts to look at this chapter in detail. There is a lot for us to see, and once my eyes were open to some of this stuff, my life's course was changed for the better.

On Monday, we looked at the book of James and saw that our life was comparable to a vapor. Here one minute and gone the next. So what do we do with it in mid-vapor stage?

In the first post, "God's created picture of us", I told how I have had the privilege of dealing one on one with a multitude of people who have looked at their life and asked the brutally honest question. "Have I botched this up?"

Psalms 1 reflects God's heart on what our testimony will be one way or another. One way or the other, we will be like the tree, or we will be like the chaff. The choice is ours to make. The end result will be guaranteed!

Would you join me for a minute as we look at this passage and ask the question, "How do I make this vapor count?"

"Blessed is the man..." vs 1

What is it to be blessed? Blessed is the direct opposite of cursed.

The Kingdom laws do not change for anyone. We have the law of gravity, we have the law of thermodynamics...those laws do not change. It really does not matter if you believe in the law of gravity or not, it still applies to you and to me.

Kingdom laws work regardless if you believe in them or not. Psalms one starts out with a few Kingdom laws. Here is a cause and effect checklist of you will. Do this, and you will be blessed, disregard this and you will operate your life under a curse. Cut and dry.

See from the beginning, God planned our path. He did not create us to be chaff. We were made in His image and He designed us to be like the tree. Steady, planted, firm, and a place of shelter for those around us. The design was His. Everything was put into place for us.

 

 

 

 

He also loved us enough to give us Free Will. An opportunity to respond to His allowed circumstances in our life. Please understand that not everything that happens in our life is NOT in God's will, but it is allowed. A love demanded is no love at all.

What this passage tells me is that God designed the path, and has given us the map on how to get there. He gave us His Spirit to lead us into all truth, and direct each brushstroke (Response) on the canvas.




"Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly..." vs 1

 

I missed this verse for a number of years because I had a poor definition of "The Ungodly". If you would have asked me awhile back who that was, I would have listed off for you a number of traits and activities that defined a person as ungodly. All valid traits, except for the important ones.

Ungodly means: Morally wrong, or opposed to God.

An ungodly person is one who goes in opposition to the moral character of God.

I had always assumed that this was the biker type. You know, with the shaggy long beard, tattoos everywhere, and rough exterior. Not a correct assumption, but in all honesty the one I had. Open outward actions helped me categorize the ungodly.

If it was someone I had respect for that displayed the attitudes, motives and actions of ungodly, well there was always a good reason for it. They were just under a lot of stress, or they had a heavy workload... I found a way to justify behavior and attitudes that screamed ungodly. I chose to walk in that counsel, because the outward exterior seemed to "fit" my definition of good.

This can be very dangerous because ungodly can be found in the church just as easily as the biker bar. It is possible to wear a suit, attend church weekly,hold a Bible, teach a Sunday school class, counsel others, visit hospitals, and even preach from the Word with a life that is wrapped up in the flesh. Remember, the flesh in proper definition is:

Finding identity in what I do, what I have, or what people think of me. It is finding identity in anything, or anyone other than God.

Excuse it or not, it does not change Kingdom principles.

I was talking with a person sometime back, and they made the statement, "I just wish there was a way to identify Godly from ungodly."

There is!

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." ~Matthew 7:13-18

By their fruits. Let's understand the term fruits is not the size of buildings, crowds, what kind of "outreach" programs we have, the songs we do or don't sing, or the typical Christian street creds we like to hand out to others. Paul counted those as dung. Fruits here are found in Galatians.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." ~Galatians 5:22-25

It does not matter who they are or what they say, if a person does not exhibit these fruits in their life, they are false prophets. Bad trees cannot bear good fruit. This fruit of the Spirit comes from abiding in Christ. If there is no fruit, there is no root. Choosing to listen to counsel from a source that is ungodly is choosing to operate under a curse. What is the curse? Becoming like the chaff. Dry, brittle, as far from the tree pattern as you can get.

I say this with difficulty because I was raised to hold a person in religious work, even a  Pastor in a high status. I have respect for the office of the Pastor, but the Pastor is a person like me and like you. Just having the title Pastor does not mean you are " God's Anointed". In Jesus's time, a prophet was held in regard, and Jesus found the need to explain that there were in fact, prophets by title that were indeed false.

If I do not want to operate under a curse, the very first thing given here is for me to choose where I get counsel from very carefully! If we are children of God, this is not intimidating because we have the Holy Spirit within us. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into all truth!

Jesus tells us in John 8:31 & 32, that if we CONTINUE in His word, we will know the Truth. Continuing simply means to study. The more I study His Word, and ask His Spirit for guidance, the more I find He is there to teach me. This is true for you as well!

We put a lot of value in men, and we need to be very careful that we do not allow that value to overshadow and excuse what God has warned us not to overshadow and excuse. We need to be very careful about where we get our counsel from. This was something that God used an addiction program called Reformers Unanimous to teach me. It broke this passage in Psalms down and it answered a great deal of questions that I had about how to identify proper counsel.

Christianity is not just a name only thing. There are evidences to be found. It starts with genuine love. You can only see this when time has been spent with a person. If you can spend time with someone and not see evidences of fruit, then you may need to be willing to make the hard choice. If there is no fruit, then there is no root!

Excusing a lack of fruit on stress, workload, or even on others is not good enough. Galatians 5 also outlines the works of the flesh. They are very interesting when you break them down. You cannot excuse these away. Broad is the road that leads to destruction.  

So we find that reaping blessing is possible, and it is outlined for us in Psalms 1. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth as we paint on the canvas of our lives.

 
I love the fact that God is our Father!

When my daughter and I were painting the "Psalms 1 tree" on her wall, we were able to discuss what it meant to be a tree for God. It was an awesome thing to be able to instruct her on painting the tree I had patterned for her and see that pattern form.

"Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners..." vs 1

Standing in the way of sinners is preventing them from getting to Christ. This is not the ticket to reaping blessings. I have in fact done this more times than I am comfortable listing. I think we all do this. Do I prevent others from seeing Christ?  The gas station attendant, waitress, church member, neighbor, and the list can go on and on.

Christian means, Little Christ.

Do we hold that up? Is that what we are? I think in our culture we throw the term "Christian" around very freely. When the disciples were first called Christians, the term meant more than just a feel good name. It was called to them by OTHERS, not themselves. It was because OTHERS saw Christ in them.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" vs1

The scornful is someone who mocks the things of God. This is the intentional mocking of God, His Word, and His principles. When a person sits in this seat, I don't care who they are, they will NOT reap the blessings of God. God is Wisdom, and all Truth. The sacrifice of Jesus was not for us to ridicule or make fun of. God's wrath is expressed for the rejection of His Son.

The incredible thing about this passage to me is that it is outlined here is the clear cut path choices. Blessing or curse? Which one do we want to operate under?

The finished result can be awesome!

 



Did I mention that I dislike Pintrest?

 

 

So my father-in-law and I did make a custom 6 drawer day bed, and that and the tree made for a happy little girl! And mommy liked it as well as printed off a gazillion other "Too cute" projects.

 

Don't miss Saturday's post as we look further into Psalms 1! I love this passage, and I love the truths that are just waiting to be noticed!

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan

 

 

 





Just a Vapor!

Ok, Who is this kid on the tire swing?

Well, first of all, this is no ordinary tire swing, this is actually a real, honest to goodness X-Wing Fighter, and this is no ordinary kid. This is the one and only Luke Skywalker!

I was seven, this was "THE" tire swing, and it hung at my Uncle Ron and Aunt Linda's house. Something absolutely fantastic would happen every time you climbed on it. It transformed into whatever you could imagine it to be.

 My Uncle Ron  had introduced me to The Empire Strikes Back that summer, and my seven year old world was officially rocked. I would spend my turn on the tire swing blasting Tie Fighters out of space (In a back and forth flight plan of course) and loving every minute of it.

In fact, as long as the swing was in motion, you could not convince me that it was not an X-Wing spaceship. After all,I was the one screaming at my droid R2D2 to repair the hyper-drive motivator amid laser blasts. Desperately trying my best to avoid losing my ship to a first year empire pilot. As long as that tire was in motion you could not convince me that the stick I had hanging from my belt was not a light saber, or that I was not Luke Skywalker.

Life is a lot like that tire swing.

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. "
~James 4:13-15

James tells us that life is like a vapor. Like when you pull the lid off of a pot of spaghetti on the stove, it wisps up and away. That is what our time on the tire swing of life is like. Each of us see our tire swing ride as something else. For some it is a constant drive to gain significance  and approval, for others it is an endless cycle of finding love and acceptance in every source but the right one. But the fact remains that life is just a few swings.

Let's look at the tire for a minute.

There will come a time when the tire that we ride will come to a stop, our turn will be over, and the X-Wing Fighter will be recognized for what it was all along...a tire. Just a turn on the swing.

I want to start this week off with just a reminder for all of us that we only have one turn. We take it for granted that everyone will come home safe tonight. The kids will be waiting to play ninja turtles and princesses. Our spouse will be there to help us hold the X-Wing fighter together as we fly through space. Our lights will come on when we flip the switch and clean water will come out of the pipe in the wall. The car...well the car will always be ready to give up the ghost.

We tend to believe that if we don't give it our best on the job today, that there will be another chance tomorrow to "Really give it our all", and that there will only need to be a few more paydays to finally be financially secure enough to take that family vacation.

The tire swings.

We sit through the preaching service and miss what the Pastor is bringing because after all, we have got a lot on our mind. We mumble through the praise and worship time worried about what other X-Wing pilots will think if we raise a hand, or shed a tear. (These are most definitely not the actions of a well trained pilot of the rebellion!)

The tire swings.

We just assume that there will always be time to pick up the Bible and read its pages freely.

We assume:

 There will be another chance to be the light God made us to be.
We will have another chance to make things right with our spouse. 
That our children will be waiting to play with us.
We will all meet at the dinner table.
There will be that loved on at the other end of the phone line for us to tell they are loved.

The tire swings.

We have plenty of time to give God. We have plenty of opportunities to put His name on the ears of those around us.
See, we assume that since this star fighter has few interstellar hours logged on it, and since the companion droid has little to no carbon scoring, we are set.

The tire swings.

You know, I loved that swing at my Uncle Ron's house. There was one thing however that pulled that swing to a stop without fail. Dad's voice announcing that it was time to stop and go home. (The emperor who could use the force to bring even the most engaging battles to a screeching halt!)

Whenever that happened and I got down from the swing, I looked back over my shoulder and I saw my X-Wing Fighter for what it always had been... a tire swing, with a worn yellow rope.

One day our Father is going to call us by name, and it will be time to go home. This life will stop swinging, and what we thought we had will be revealed to us for what it always was.

A gift.

We create the life we have we with our responses to what He allows. Like it or not, recognize it or not, call it whatever you have chosen to create it to be.

 It is in fact a gift.

 One turn.

One swing.

See it for what it is today! Take time to thank God for the gift, and to tell someone that you love them.

Climbing with you,

~Dan