Monthly Archives: January 2016

Who do You Think You Are?

Exodus 3:5

Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

 

I was a handful as a teenager. I was one of those kids who had the world by the tail and knew it. I was arrogant, cocky, and always had the answers, even if they were the wrong ones. During those times of self assertion my mother would always step in, pull me aside and say, ” remember Larry, a everything with a teaspoon of humility.” Uggh! That drove me crazy! Doesn’t she understand that you don’t get anywhere by being humble? I honestly thought my mom was out of her mind at times. But, after being saved, I have come to understand that she wasn’t wrong; I was. My mother was doing as scripture instructed her.
2 Chronicles 6:27

then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

My mother was teaching me that God expects us to be humble. He expects us to be humble in all things. Scripture tells us that God gives grace to thr humble but resists the proud (James 4:6). It seems that when we are ministering to others it is easy to exhibit humility and council for the same. We are quick to remind someone else to be careful and in all things be humble. However, when we are alone, when it’s just us and the Lord, that desire for humility can often change.
In the text the Lord tells Moses that he is walking on hallowed ground and to remove his sandals. This is a representation of the way we are to approach the Lord; with an understanding of who He is and who we are by comparison.
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Jesus Christ is the whole deal. As I have said before, He was here when it all started and He will be here when it is all over. Who are we then when we approach God or even as we simply live our lives? We are His creation. Our creator loves us and had given us a direct connection to Him – prayer.
Revelation 8:4
And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.
God loves our prayers. When I read this verse I am reminded of a women I dated in college. She always burned incense in her room. The aroma was always so present and calming. I picture the Lord just enjoying our prayers, drinking them in as incense. The Lord invites us to come to Him with no intercessor. What a privilege! We need no pope, no pastor, just a penitent heart; for there is one intercessor between God and man, Jesus Christ!
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
 We have unprecedented honor: to go before the Lord, to enter His throne room and present our petitions to Him through prayer.  I fear that often we go before the Lord with our petitions, hitting our knees, we start the list. ” Lord, I need this, I want that, help me with this circumstance over here, ” and the list goes on and on until we are done. we end our session with an appropriate, “In Jesus name,” and we move on checking the lackluster event from our to do list.
Prayer is a two way street. It is intended to be a conversation between us and our maker. To many times it becomes one way; we talk ( a lot) God listens and we are done. Moses did that as well. God said, “Hey, I’m going to do this great thing through you.” And instead of listening, instead of drinking it in Moses started talking.
Exodus 3:11

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

How many times have we done this? How many times have we questioned God? I heard it said once that it was okay to question God – just don’t expect an answer. I am not in any way saying it is not okay to question God. In truth that is an entire study unto itself and perhaps I will develop it soon. The point here is Moses had many insecurities and as a result,  through the remainder of Exodus 3 and 4, Moses immediately discounts himself as an instrument of God.

There are two primary ways we can miss out on what God has for us to do. 1. we come to Him with a list of needs and spend all of out time (actually God’s time) going through it. 2. We put God in a box not based on Him but based on us and our issues. In doing either one of these things we miss out on God’s will for our lives as well as the sweetness of a one to one RELATIONSHIP with the creator of the universe

Jesus taught us to pray. It is commonly refereed to as the Lord’s prayer. I like many of you memorized it growing up. It is an amazing prayer all by itself. Did you know that it is intended to be a model for all of our prayers?

Matthew 6:9-13 [Full Chapter]

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. …
In this first section we acknowledge God for who He is: holy, expected to return, and in charge. I challenge you this week to examine your prayer life. Are you talking more than you are listening? Are you putting God in a box based on your insecurities? Or, are you humbling yourself in His presence? I would be encouraged and honored to hear from you this week. Let me know what God has revealed through your prayer life. Email me at savediiserve@gmail.com
Grace & Peace,
LD

 

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Sometimes We Just Don’t Know

Genesis 50:19-20 New King James Version (NKJV)

19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

I have worked in corporate America all of my adult life. If there is one thing corporate America is big on (other than the bottom line) it is team building. If you work for a corporation of any size, at some point in your career, you will find yourself in a room or on an outing doing a team building exercise. Within this exercise is always some type of trust activity. I don’t know how you feel, but these are always my least favorite. I can handle the egg toss, the what do you know about me game, I can even deal with all manor of races. I just loath the trust game because it inevitably involves a trust fall. One person stands behind the other and the person in front forces themselves to fall backward and the person standing behind them is supposed to catch them before they hit the ground. inverably, I would always get the wise guy that would step backward when I would start my trust fall, catching me at the last possible moment.

Often times, as followers of Christ, it can feel as though God will never catch us – as though we are destined to fall, destined to fail. We have all felt this way. And, have also kicked ourselves for it. We have all felt guilty at one time or another for doubting, wondering how a situation was going to play out, or (and let’s be honest) been absolutely afraid. If no one has ever told you this, let me be the first-fear is okay.

As we read scripture and meditate on its meaning for our lives, it is to easy to lose sight of the fact that the people that appear n the pages of Gods word, the characters we find in the accounts of the Lords people were people; real people. They were people who got up in the morning and wondered, just as we do, what the day would bring. They laughed, cried, loved, and had bouts of anger. In short, they were humans with flaws just like us. The most difficult thing to remember is that they did not know how their story would end, they were living it. When we read scripture, we have the gift of knowing how the account ends. David, Moses, Joshua and all the rest lived it, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, and year by year.

Genesis 37:28
Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

The verses that serve as the back drop to this weeks post come at the end of Joseph’s journey. Do we honestly believe that Joseph woke up on the back of some slave traders cart, stripped of his belongings, a prisoner and said “hallelujah! Let’s see what happens next!” I seriously doubt it. He was most likely scared, not knowing what was to become of him.

Fear in the face of the unknown , as I said earlier is a human response – expected and okay. Why? because we are human after all and God made us, fear included. I listened to a pastor tell a parishioner recently that the bible grows us up spiritually. This is accomplished by the honesty of the spirit. We see God’s people: their triumphs, tragedies, successes and failures We see it all and the common thread is the grace and mercy of God almighty. He is our deliverer. In Joseph’s case God used his circumstance to pave way for  the burgeoning nation of Israel to make their way to Egypt and escape a famine that would have killed them all.

Romans 8:28 [Full Chapter]

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
 This is not simply a nice bookend to a good story. It shows us an abiding truth – God’s ways are not our ways.

Isaiah 55:8 [Full Chapter]

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the 
In the final analysis, God’s word teaches us that He is in charge. His word shows us time and again that we can and should trust Him and our testimonies back that up for they are the manifestation of God’s work in our lives.
Grace& Peace,
LD
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God’s Purpose for Your Life

Ephesians 3:8
[ Purpose of the Mystery ] To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
If I were to sit down and try to determine which question I am asked most often regarding God, which thing I am asked to pray for regularly I would say it if for purpose. Everyone wants to know what God wants to do with them, myself included. What is our mission? in essence it is that age old question: why am I here? The short answer  is: To know God and make Him known. It is a simple answer but the journey to the point of even asking the question can be as complicated as the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness.
The best place to start is at the beginning. Scripture tells us that we were created. Contrary to the worlds view – we were created by God we did not evolve from a puddle of goo or from star dust and we most assuredly were not the result of the evolution of apes. No, we were created  by the creator of the universe.
Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

 

The first step to finding God’s purpose for your life is to realize there is a creator behind the creation and He created you. Just as he created Adam, he created you. To understand that God created us is liberating and provides focus for our lives. Think about it. If God created you that means you did not simply evolve from nothing, you did not arrive by accident. You are here because God almighty wants you to be and therefore must have a purpose for your existence.

Jeremiah 1:5 [Full Chapter]

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”  
This is an amazing truth! Not only did God create you and me but He did so with a purpose in mind. The word sanctified in the passage above is a bible word that means  set apart. There is a deep truth here: The Same God that created the universe took time out from making the world spin, the grass grown and the birds of the air fly to make you and me?! Not only that but He set us apart from all other living things as well as each human being from another for something special? Wow!
It is apparent that we are all set apart, created by a creator, and intended for something wholly unique; but what is that exactly- how do we find out?  God will tell you because God knows.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
That’s right, God thinks about you. The creator of all things takes the time to have specific thoughts about you. Here is the amazing part, although scripture tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) The God that created you has not written you off. God says that He thinks thoughts of peace and not evil and that He wants to give you a future of hope. God wants the best for you. He made you, set you apart, and loves you.
Romans 8:31
[ God’s Everlasting Love ] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
The answer to this question is: no one. No one can come against a child of God and hope to win. there is one problem. For all that God has done for you, for every oportunity he has given you to succeed; you remain separated from Him by sin. We are born sinners, all of us and no one can escape that fact. The good news is, God knows that and He loves us so much in spite of ourselves, that He sent His Son to die so that we may live.
Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 
Because of Adan and Eve’s sin in the garden, (Genesis 3) man was separated from God. God loved us anyway and made a way for imperfect man to commune with God. scripture tells us that blood sacrifice was the only covering for the sin of man.
Genesis 3:21
Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
 God covered Adam and Eve, not because He was ashamed but because they were. In doing so He showed them how to maintain a right relationship with him, through blood sacrifice. God told the devil that he would settle things, He would bridge the divide between God by and man once and for all.
Micah 5:2
[ The Coming Messiah ] “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
God has a plan and has had a plan since the beginning of time. Because we were created by God and not by some cosmic accident, we are part of that plan. He has a plan, a purpose for our lives.
God sent His son, the only perfect man to ever walk the earth: God in human flesh, to serve as one last blood sacrifice. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross does not simply cover our sin as animal sacrifice did. It washes us clean of sin in the eyes of the father.

Isaiah 1:18 [Full Chapter]

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

 

As I said before our purpose in life is to know God and make Him know. Jesus tells us how to return to our Father creator:

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.No one comes to the Father except through Me.

We must accept the gift that God provided us. We must believe that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and after three days rose again form the dead; thus conquering death and the grave. Forever bridging the gap between God and man. The God who created you has also provided you with a purpose; to know Him and make Him known.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to settle your affairs with the Lord today. Humble yourself and acknowledge that you are a sinner broken before God. Profess your faith in Jesus, your knowledge that he died for your sins and after three days God raised him from the dead. Ask Him to come into your life and He will.

Once you start living for Jesus – living not just with purpose but on purpose; there is no limit to what God will do with you.

Grace and Peace,

LD

*If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, email me at savedIIserve@gmail.com and let me know! I will be happy to lead you through what the bible says about salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.*

 

 

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Light in The Darkness

Exodus 9:16
But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
I love the imagery of a lighthouse- the majesty and loneliness all wrapped up into one.  To look at a lighthouse is to look upon a sentinel erected to protect, save, and point the way. All who pass by are shown the way; they are given a harbor in a storm. Lighthouses stand alone in a storm, or on a moonless night buffeted by the wind, pelted by the icy daggers of rain- a light in the darkness.
I liken a lighthouse to the Christian walk. Some days we feel like we have it all together and the light of Christ is shining off of us with the magnitude of a supernova and others we are standing alone being pelted by a cold and angry storm. Yet we are still called to stand.
Moses was called by God to Stand up for the Children of Israel. He was called to tell Pharaoh on behalf of the one true God to, “Let my people go.”
Exodus 3:10
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
God had called him to do a job and yet, Moses was afraid. Scripture tells us that he had some things to be concerned about. He was not Egyptian but a Jew saved from slaughter by his mother and taken in by the daughter of Pharaoh. That would be enough to concern me. But, that’s not all. We read in Exodus 2:
Exodus 2:12
So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Moses had committed murder and run from Egypt. He had stayed away for 40 years and made a life for himself and here was God, saying I am going to rescue my people and I will use you to do it.  Needless to say Moses felt more than a little inadequate. He (Moses) protests, argues with God, saying that he is slow of speech and holding to his fear that no one will listen to him; not the Hebrews and certainly not Pharaoh! As we read, God will have none of it:
Exodus 4:11
So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?
God is saying to Moses, “I am in charge here.” “Now go and do as you have been commanded.”
Before we fit Moses with a custom dunce cap, we should take stock in our own walk with the Lord. Have you ever run from a call of the Lord on your life? If you say no, then you are committing a sin; you’re lying!  It is hard sometimes to stand up when God tells you to.
As I recently told a friend, it is okay to be afraid. It is a sign of our fleshly weakness; it is a sign of our humanity and, most importantly, an indication that we need God.  We can not do anything apart from God. We can’t lead our families, have productive lives; we cannot do anything of real consequence if God is not with us. Those things we do apart from the will of God are built on sinking sand and will not last. As the poet C.T. Studd reminds us:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
 So, how do we deal with our fear? Just like Moses, we do have some things to be concerned about. The world we live in is growing more and more hostile to Christians as it moves toward a more tolerant world view. Simply speaking the truth can get you ostracized at the very least if not jailed or martyred.
As with everything Jesus is our example. First and foremost, scripture tells us that He left glory coming  and  living among us to serve and the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He paid a debit that was ours to shoulder and saved us from an eternity apart from the father and he asks for nothing in return other than acceptance of His eternal gift.
Luke 12:48 [Full Chapter]

But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
 Jesus’ sacrifice alone moves us to action, moves us to share the truth of the gospel, moves us to stand as a sentinel, a lighthouse on the rocks reflecting the light of Christ in an ever darkening world. And fear stimies our action.
Jesus, on the night of His betrayal shows us how to deal with fear: by going to the Father in prayer and trusting His plan for our lives.
Luke 22:42 [Full Chapter]

saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

 

 The Christian walk can be lonely and, in these last days, there is much to fear. remember friends, just as a lighthouse is built on rock to withstand storms, we to are held steadfast in the truth of Jesus Christ. Trust in His promises.
Matthew 28:20 [Full Chapter]

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Grace & Peace,
LD
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Peace in the Middle of a War

Matthew 8:26
But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
It is dark outside and the darkness is closing in. I will admit, in the wake of all that has happened since I last shared my thoughts, the world at large has become a frightening place. It is, I suppose, no more frightening than  it ever has been; perhaps it is simply in sharper focus.
As a boy growing up in the midwest, I remember the thunderstorms. Because Kansas and Oklahoma are flat you have the advantage of seeing them coming. You could literally watch the horizon and see mammoth thunder heads marching toward you and you could prepare.
Jesus spoke of being prepared for the end times and His coming using the analogy of weather:
 Matthew 16:3
and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The Pharisees were searching for a sign here. In essence they were looking for a miracle like the others Jesus had performed. They wanted another show. Instead, Jesus rebukes them for their hypocrisy:
Matthew 16:4
A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
Jesus is omnius here. As usual, He cuts through the menutia and gets right to the point by using that which they know so well – the Torah (Old Testament).  God used Jonah, after great protest, to deliver a final warning to the people of Nineveh and because of that warning, there was a great spiritual awakening in that city. The people repented of their sins and turned back to God. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees in a language they understand and  making a point; no more signs, I am here as your last warning. Stop being so outwardly religious and repent. The signs are all around you and you’re so busy doing right you’re not being right with the father!
That is the message Jesus has for the unbeliever, the hypocrite, ” Stop worrying about looking right, sounding right, and doing right and BE RIGHT! In a world that is less and less right, a world that is less focused on the God of the bible today than at any other time in recent memory, what message is there for the believer?

Isaiah 41:10 [Full Chapter]

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
 God tells us not to be afraid. But, you might say, as I have recently, “I am afraid!” When we are afraid, we must return to the truth of the scriptures. God’s promises can be trusted and leaned on as rock stands against the storm. So, as this unrighteous generation sinks deeper into the mire of sin and debauchery,  know the truth. God is in charge and he will help us, protect us, and indeed uphold us for He is righteous.
The storms come as the world system tightens its grip on the imagination of the people. Take rest in the truth that the world system is not in charge. God is and He has given us our marching orders. We are to go not stay, pick up our cross, not stand idly by. for those of us who are saved can not have our salvation taken from us; what of those who remain lost? Are we to forsake them to the devil and eternal damnation? No! we are to go forth with no fear.
Matthew 28:19 [Full Chapter]

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
 This course of action is neither easy nor safe but the consequences of inaction are dire. In  these last days, we who believe must proclaim the truth to all who will hear it Safe in the knowledge that God is with us. Scripture tells us in the book of John:
John 3:18 [Full Chapter]

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
If you are reading this today and your heart aches for the lost then take solace in Jesus and the peace that he brings. Though it has been said before, I will echo it again. ” I would rather go through a storm with Jesus than sail through life without Him.”  If you are afraid, know that I echo your fears but I also know that the promises of scripture can be trusted. As the storm gathers I leave you with this:
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Grace & Peace,
LD
 
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