Speaking a NOW word from the Lord

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.  Isaiah 50:4  ESV

As I sat quietly before the Lord this morning studying...one bird awoke to let me know the morning had dawned.  He was a lone voice chirping away until he was joined by a host of other birds calling forth the morning.  He began chiming in on cue, as if his internal alarm clock was saying, “wake up, it is a new day”.

Those who desire to speak the wisdom of God to others must learn the art of listening.  We care much about the words that we speak.  Many of you will preach in the pulpit, lead a Sunday School class, facilitate a small group or teach a children’s class.  We pray that God would use us as we speak on His behalf.  For there is someone who needs to be encouraged by the word of the Lord.

 Isaiah understood from the beginning the connection between the tongue and what is spoken and the connection of God’s transforming presence.  In Isaiah 6 we see the angel touch Isaiah’s tongue with a coal from the altar to cleanse his mouth.  Then God used Isaiah to speak the word of the Lord to the people.

 The tongue of the “one who is taught” reveals the source of the wisdom.  That person sounds like their teacher.  Some versions even translate this word as a disciple.  We talk like those that those with whom we are spending the most time.  What has the greatest time allotment to your ears?  TV? Radio? News? Sports? Gossip?  The words of our mouths are formed in the channels of our ears.

 To have a sustaining word that brings encouragement to those who are weary needs a NOW word from the Lord.  Morning by morning reveals two aspects to his NOW word.  First, it reveals the priority of the word.  It comes fresh at the beginning of the day.  This does not mean that it has to be before daylight.  It just means that God moves in the environment of “first place”.  We see that Jesus often withdrew to a solitary place before the dawn to pray.  His direction for his ministry came from this “alone” times when God spoke to him.

 Secondly, the phrase refers to the consistency of the word.  It is fresh, appropriate, directive, important, applicable to you every day.  Morning after morning God awakens our ears to hear his words.  God is speaking and desires to speak.  As we listen and respond in faith to that which we hear, we begin to sound as “one who is taught”.

Our source for the NOW word is always from the Lord.  He uses our unique giftings to craft our words to bring forth his purposes on the earth.  Today, some need to hear that God has not given up on them; some need to hear that God still loves them -he always has and he always will; some need to hear “repent” and cease doing the things that hurt them; some need to know that God is with them, even when they need help to take one more step forward in life; some need to hear that God enjoys working in and through them to help others; and some need to hear that God still speaks and they have the capacity to hear his voice.

You have the words of God that sustain the weary.  Be taught of the Lord.  Be known as one who is taught of the Lord.  May He receive the glory and honor as He wakens you morning by morning for you to “hear His NOW word”.

Sharpen your ax

If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.  Ecclesiastes 10:10 NIV

King Solomon used simple imagery to convey profound truths.  Can you picture the worker, Solomon is watching from his window as he observes a young man who is building one of his many projects?    The worker is swinging away at a piece of wood, sweat covering his entire body.  His friends are cheering him on to make more head way with his work.  Fatigue sets in much quicker than he would like…but his pride keeps him pounding away.  Meanwhile, an older man under the shade of a tree sits sharpening his ax, with his project nearly finished.

Let’s not be too quick to judge.  Let’s not think that we are all the wise old man sitting under a tree sharpening our ax.  For Solomon’s words invite us to take a moment to pause and ask some very good questions.

What activity am I involved in doing right now that seems to have lost it’s edge?  Things that have grown dull should be speaking to us that they are not performing in the way that they were created to work.  This could be a literal moment for you to stop and give some care to a physical tool that you use to work.  Your computer may need some maintenance…it is running slower.  Your car may need some repairs…before major work happens.  And of course, your kitchen knives probably need to be sharpened.  But, this also applies to your busyness of schedule.  Have you become so busy in so many ways…that you are not effective in any area?  Have you let the important priority of sleep, rest and exercise grow dull?

What changes can you make to start to sharpen the areas that have grown dull?  More work and working harder are not the same answer as taking time to sharpen your situation.  Yet, our default many times is to buckle down and gut it out rather than make the needed changes. 

Take a long, slow and deep breath.  Pause and ask God where you need to take some time to sharpen your life.  What adjustments do you need to make in your relationship with your spouse?  A date night? A change in your tone of voice so that you are communicating that this person is still the most important and best relationship that God ever gave you?  Find ways to serve them just because you love them? 

What about your health?  Have you been putting off the needed test that you need to take? What is stopping you from implementing the rest, diet and exercise that you need?  Don’t let your resources of your body become dull for lack of sharpening.

A skill is a learned activity of small steps organized by time and sequence.  We learn to count by adding and subtracting, then multiplying and dividing.  Sharpening our lives is a skill that requires pause, reflection, revelation and then adjustment.  Revelation is where the wisdom comes from to bring about change.  This change is necessary, so we will not keep doing the same things in the same way over and over.  God brings revelation to us when we pause long enough to ask.  This revelation can come from His word, His Spirit and even through other people (His body building itself up). 

The last question.  Will you take the time (wisdom) to sharpen the dull areas of your life (needed revelation) so that you can stop exerting so much energy and getting less results?  Ask God to give you the skills (small action steps) to make you highly effective in His hands to complete His work through you.  Philippians 2:13  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

The understanding in your heart another Whisper from your Father God

³⁰ And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart. Daniel 2:30 NIV

I know everything about you from the time of your birth until the earth receives your body.  Your ways are never hidden from me and I hear your thoughts before you speak them.  I know your lying down and your getting up.  I know your favorite coffee and the desserts you crave.

I also know the struggle you have when your thoughts are scrambled.  You try to make sense out of your world and how you are in the predicaments that come your way.  The paths you have taken seem to have not brought you to your desired end.  Your mind spins like a mighty turbine gushing the huge gravity of water from above, hoping it will slow down so that you can process the issues of life

I have the power and desire to bring the light of understanding into the darkness of your confusion.  I have already spoken to you through the power of my Spirit.  The wisdom that you need to sort through the mess is readily available.  I REVEAL understanding to you. 

Cease trying to figure it out.  Stop looking for the one piece of puzzle that holds the clue to your dilemma.  Allow Me, to reveal what has been hidden, but now will be uncovered in your heart.  The connection to what you desire is ME!  Learn to listen to my still small voice and see how I speak to you.  I will show you that some of your experiences came from evil in the world, other problems arose from decisions that you made without consulting me, some situations are my corrections in my discipline for you, and some destinations were created that you might call out to me and find me.  But I REVEAL to you the wisdom that you desire to understand what I have already placed within your heart. 

There is an expectation that you must seek me, but I promise that you will find me.  I want you to see what I already know about your love for me.  And I want you to hear again and again of my commitment and love for you.  I have you in this season for us, and for those around you that need to see Me. 

When Daniel asked for me wisdom to reveal the secrets of the king, I opened the door for him to see.  It is through Me, that you gain understanding.  With your knowledge gain understanding.  I love revealing myself to you.

Whispers from Your Father, God.

The Weight of the World

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left,  Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  Matthew 25:41 ESV

I have the privilege to meet with men who are Chinese scholars each week to study the Bible.  Many have never seen a Bible before or heard any of the great stories in the Bible.  Most have been told all of their lives that there is no person as God and that science is the only truth that can be believed.

So, much of our interaction involves sharing some of the core beliefs of a Christian worldview.  God created the world and everything in it.  God desires to have an intimate relationship with all people. All men are separated from being able to have that relationship because we violate God’s standards for living purely. The consequences of those violations are death – a separation of life with God.  Jesus died in our place.  We must individually accept his right to his Lordship over our lives because he became our death substitute,   Those who reject his offer will spend eternity in a place of torment called hell.

Recently, we were studying the temptations of Jesus as recorded in Luke 4.  I took a few minutes to share the creation and concept of the devil who was tempting Jesus.  I voiced out loud of his impending defeat and his ultimate destination.  “God, created a place of torment called hell.  It was created for the devil and the other fallen angels….but, also, those who reject Jesus will spend eternity in this place.”

For one moment the impact of those words were heavy upon my heart.  These men in front of me…represented all of China.  They represented all the lost who have never heard of the good news that Jesus offers mankind.  I realized the importance and urgency of the last statement regarding eternity.  I realized the hypocrisy in my beliefs and my actions.  For one brief second…I felt the weight of the lost world.  I regained my composure and finished the lesson.  But the damage had been done…Jesus had pricked my conscience with the conviction that people are lost and dying.  Their death is on my watch…during my lifetime.  What am I doing about this knowledge of what I say is a core belief of Christianity?

Don Francisco wrote a song entitled, “I Gotta Tell Somebody”.  The chorus says, “I got to tell somebody, what Jesus did for me”.  When I was in my second year of college I met a freshman wondering the campus about 10:00 at night during our first week of the new school year.  He seemed to be looking for someone.  I stopped him and struck up a conversation.  He was a Christian and told me of a commitment that he had made.  “I ask God to give me an opportunity everyday to tell someone about Jesus.  I still haven’t shared with someone today.  So, I am walking around campus looking for that person.  I believe God will lead me to them.”  Thanks for the example Steve Wilson.

What about you?  Do you believe that God loves the lost so much that He will bring them across your path?  Maybe, not every single day, but on a regular basis?  Do you have an answer to describe the hope of the good news that you carry?  Do you believe that God can impart his love for the lost into your heart?  Paul says that the love of Christ had so captured his heart that he was imploring others…be reconciled to God.

When we share about Jesus, we may not “scare the hell out of them”.  But the reality of hell should be a very weighty motivation for those who are followers of Jesus to share His invitation to a new life. 

Let’s imitate Jesus and spread the good news often and to many people.  Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.^[f] 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”  Mark 1:14-15 NLT

God HONORS your prayers

 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?... ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”…but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^[d] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  Genesis 18:17,20-23

 Abraham interceded with God to save Sodom if there were at least 10 righteous people.  There were not, but God rescued Lot and his family before destroying the cities.

 God desires to include us in His work on earth through our prayers.  We must recapture the incredible privilege and honor that God bestows on us to allow us to participate in His work.  Our prayers MATTER!

 God is sovereign and can do whatever He desires without us.  But He, also, honors us by listening to our cries of intercession before him.  This is not just for pastors or those in authority.  God invites us to participate in His work on earth.  When we pray in accordance with His will, it opens avenues for his work to be manifest.

 Let me illustrate.  Suppose you have an employee at work that is unsaved.  This person may also be offensive, rude, vulgar, and distasteful.  He lies and has offered false reports about you and others repeatedly.  Many people would be praying….for him to get fired and leave the job, so that peace would come to the work place. 

BUT, you have a still small voice that is urging you to pray for his salvation.  If you are talking about the employee negatively with others and continuing to judge his short comings…nothing seems to change.  But when you begin to intercede in agreement with the still small voice for his salvation, two things begin to change.

 Your words of cursing have stopped, now God can move freely over the guy’s life, because you are releasing blessing.  Your former words inhibited God from freely speaking and bringing conviction for this guy.  Secondly, God’s unconditional love begins to saturate your heart.  You will start to become this expression of God’s pursuit for this person that is in need of salvation.  You may not be the person to lead him in a sinner’s prayer for salvation, but God begins to move when our prayers are in alignment with His work.

 I don’t know how to say what I am feeling any bolder.  GOD HONORS OUR PRAYING!  He responds and moves when we pray…not just the pastor or spiritual leaders… when his children bring their concerns to him.  I know the answers may seem slow and hard for us to see their impact.

 Let us not LEAVE prayers unspoken.  We have the privilege to intercede NOW this side of heaven.  Can you imagine getting to heaven and we look at all of our wasted time and missed opportunities to pray for those who needed OUR intercession? God has given you a voice for good and to help others, not to judge and become bitter.  We have this treasure in an earthen vessel to share with God what concerns us…He listens and moves in our behalf.

Don’t only “think” your prayers, but whisper them aloud to God.  Your voice is needed.  Your voice helps direct your own focus and reveals what lies within your heart.  If you need a closet for focus and privacy…go to the closet.  The important thing is to start voicing your prayers.  Then watch to see how the movement of God occurs through your intercession.

 Let’s see what happens when we begin to share with God what is important to us…perhaps someone’s salvation is in the balance.

When you say that I am an all-powerful God, what does that really mean to you?

Ah, Lord GOD! You made the heavens and the earth by your strong hand and your powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! Jeremiah 32:17 ESV

Not only did I create the world, but I sustain it.  All the principles of gravity and time remain in sync so you live in a stable and safe world.  You don’t have to worry about the sun rising or the change of seasons.  I replenish the earth with water and cause the food to grow again and again.

Come, let us reason together.  What burden are you carrying that needs the expression of my power?  When you say that I am an all-powerful God, what does that really mean to you?  You are far more than just an element in my creation.  My eyes are attentive to your needs.  Why do you try to solve your problems like I don’t exists?   Why do you try so hard to “figure life out”?  I am HERE.

 Bring your problems and see how they match up to my great power.  Describe to me your dilemma.  Explain how impossible and difficult a solution you face.  Pour out your cries of helplessness.  Then watch to see My deliverance.  Surely and steadily my answer unfolds for you.  Like water on a dry and thirsty land, hope will fill your soul that I am the Almighty God.  I am working always on your behalf to bring glory to my name.

Whispers from Your Father, God!

Singing of God's great mercies takes us there

A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. Psalms 89:1 NIV

Some are not known as great singers, like me.  But a good song resonates.  Most of the time it has a “catchy” beat that invites others to join in.  But sometimes it is the subject matter or at least the lyrics that get stuck in your head.  Those lyrics will reverberate at odd times through out your day, even if they have no intrinsic value.  But singing of the Lord’s great love forever (his mercies) always has value to our spirit man and our whole emotional being.

The Hebrew word is a derivative of the God’s covenantal expression of love toward man called “chesed”.  We don’t have one English word that captures the fullness of the expressions of His commitment to love us.   Some synonyms are his love, kindness, mercies, goodness, or his faithfulness.

My desire today is not a word study, but rather a reflection study.  If we are to sing of God’s great love forever, then there should be an abundance of expressions of that love experienced in our lives.  Where do you see God’s “chesed” in operation in your life?  Could you readily spout off ten examples of God’s love toward you?  When our family has bought a new car for us, we see so many other people that own one just like ours.  When you ask the Lord to reveal his commitment of faithfulness you to, his love can be seen in so many ways.

Singing scripture is one of the ways to express God’s love.  The whole point is to intentionally direct our focus to the goodness of God.  There is so much bad news in the world to steal our concentration.  There are ample problems and cares of the world that smother our peace from breathing freely.  There are people who want us to focus on the poor work environment and bad conditions that we must live in.  Singing of God’s love changes the channel.  Singing of God’s goodness helps us to recognize where God is already at work.  Singing of God’s faithfulness brings us into His presence.  Singing of the mercies of the Lord connects us to the close relationship that always exists for those He loves.

Please try to intentionally focus on the Lord’s great love now.  He knows what we need to navigate through this life…singing of his mercies takes us there.