Use this for inspiration and equipping you to be a Christian who is fulfilling the Great Commission!

Matt 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

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What does this look like in real life?  Does it mean we never sin, never get angry, never say the wrong thing or stumble in our walk?  What does it mean when the Lord talks of looking for hearts fully committed to him?

I read this verse and am convinced he can’t be talking about me.  The desire is there to be fully committed, but my life tells a different story.  My life is messy, smelly at times with sin, I get frustrated, say the wrong things….frankly this verse can’t be talking about someone like me….but then I realize that he’s looking at the heart.

If God just looked at my life he would pass by without a second glance.  I’m a mess.  There is nothing of the material saints are made of in my life, nothing that would tell you  I’m a godly man, very little of a holy life for others to see and evaluate.

In fact, if I were under close scrutiny to evaluate my life and determine if I were a Christian I think I would fail the test.  Fruit rejected.  Life a waste.  Failure.

But then I reread these words…God is looking for hearts fully committed.  I so want to be that person, that fully committed one.  Can my heart be fully committed and my life an utter mess?  If God is looking for fruit, I fail.  If he’s looking for a heart that wants to please him no one wants that more than I.

How do I reconcile this paradox?  How do I bring together a heart that wants God with all that is in me and a life that wanders, choices that are messy, a life that doesn’t look much different than the world around me at times?

I don’t know.  I only know this…when his eyes pass my way he will see a messy life, but a heart that truly wants to be fully committed to him.  In the mess of all of this all I can do is trust him to help me follow my heart’s passion for him.

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Stiff necks describe people who are, even knowing what God wants from them, unwilling to change directions, unwilling to repent. They have set their course and will not “turn their necks,” change their minds or direction.

I’m thinking about this because I’m reading a passage, studying a portion of scripture where I see the disciples witnessing some of the most amazing miracles of all history and seems untouched, unaffected by them. They had hardened their hearts. They had become insensitive to God’s amazing work in their midst.
I wonder….I wonder how hard my heart is. I wonder what God is doing in my life, around me, speaking to me and I simply don’t hear it, sense it, feel his presence. This is a dangerous place to be because we don’t realize that a hardness has developed in our lives and our relationship with God. I wonder if my stiff neck, my unwillingness to change my course is made worse by my hard heart?

These are my challenges. These are your challenges. I pray that my heart will be soft to God, sensitive to his touch, responsive to his voice. I pray that I will not be so stubborn that I can’t change, can’t turn my neck to God’s directions in my life. I’m thinking about this because 12 men who lived for three years in the very presence of God on earth struggled with it. I know I do to.

Lord, soften my heart, massage my stiff neck. Help me to respond quickly, to hear well your voice and respond to your leading in my life.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

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Psalm 46

One Sunday morning not long ago, I was doing some daily Bible reading. Ps 46 was in the que. As I was reading it, the song Peace Be Still came to mind and I decided that I should memorize this passage in an effort to learn a verse a day.

Being able to quote this passage from memory has served me more than I would have imagined. Here are my thoughts on this amazing passage of comfort:

Vs. 1-3 – God is our refugee and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Thought the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Daily, everyone of us can stand to hear a reminder that God is our strength. He is with us in trouble. We face trouble on daily basis.  More often than we want to admit, we are weakened and are driven to our knees.  If we would only grab ahold of this verse and cling to its Holy Promise! During the moments in my life when the mountains seem to be falling into the sea, I have been able to pull comfort from these verses. Praise the Lord for being my strength and help in trouble.

Vs. 5 – God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

 This verse reminds me that God Will help and wants to help.  That I do not have to go through my journey alone and scared.  God, the creator of the universe, the Master of the seas, the One that the winds obey his very voice, is in the midst of MY journey.  How amazing is that?

Vs 10a – Be still, and know that I am God…

Worry has a way of grabbing ahold of us and not letting go. We drag our worries around with us, fretting about tomorrow. We wonder what are we going to do, we waste precious time that we could be making a difference for Heaven on worry. That is what satan wants from us. He wants to distract us, so that we forget about this verse. We need to remember to be still and KNOW that God will take care of us, he wants to take care of us and will continue to take care of us. Instead of looking around at the raging storms and taking our eyes off of our Lord, we need to remain focused on him. We need to fix our eyes our heavenly Father and run to Him. We need to crawl right up into his lap and just be still, knowing that He is in control, that He wants to bless us, guide and direct us. Knowing that He is God!

I’m just as guilty as the next person about worry, about discouragement, about distractions.  Having hid these verses in my heart, where I can grab them at a moments notice has proven beneficial so many times. Speaking with my best friend on the phone who is afraid for her prodigal daughter. Consoling my daughter when she feels like the school can’t protect her. Re-assuring my son that God will provide the necessary funding for college. When my own heart is aching, with the desire to give big, with the need to see my son, with various heartaches and breaks – I too, claim these promises from the Lord.

Have you hidden these words in your heart? Can you grab them when you need them? You know the storms are coming, you know the battle will rage? What other passages do you need to hide in your heart?

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And the LORD said unto satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth…. Job 2:3

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, or what financial status you achieve – YOU are going to have problems.  I realize I’m not being little Miss Sunshine with that statement nor am I spreading joy, but let’s face it, it is the truth.

The question then becomes, what are you going to do with your troubles?

When we are looking at our troubles, our hearts are tired, weak and weary.  We aren’t thinking straight because we are desperately searching for a way to escape, a way to fix what is broken or a new path because the old one is nothing more than a huge sink hole, waiting to swallow us into the belly of the earth.  Desperation is not fun. Then the horror really sets in when you think your friends will be there to help you and they decide to tell you why you are deserving of what you are receiving.  You were simply looking for some comfort, some support or even just some company and that just never happened as your friends decided to explore the possibilities of how you brought your trials upon yourself.

Troubles come at us for so many reasons.  Here are just a few.

1. To grow our faith. When we have endured the night of horrors, our faith is strengthened for the next time. Each trial, each tribulation and every victory over them increases our faith.  Have you ever really thought about what you are praying when you pray “Lord, increase my faith?”
2. To allow us to help others. I do not know the pain and grief of sending a child on to heaven before me.  I have several friends who do know this.  In the year 2000, both of my children’s best friends died.  Megan was 5 and Todd was 9.  I encouraged, prayed and helped where I could but I still had my children.  When a friend is grieving over the loss of their Dad and she happens to be a daddys girl – THAT kind of pain…I know.  There are so many ways we can encourage each other.  I’ve prayed for many people who needed jobs, but until recently, I did NOT know their frustrations in looking for one. Filling out the endless ocean of boxes and questions that take an hour to apply for one job is nothing short of a nightmare.  When I pray for those who need jobs now, I pray with more of an understanding of what they are going through in even looking for a job.
3. For God’s glory. Sometimes we have troubles just so that when God has brought us through and we sing “how great is our God” because His mercy and grace were enough, our Lord is glorified and all those around us see.
4. We reap what we sow. Then there are times that we have troubles because we have brought them upon ourselves.  Sure we may have asked for forgiveness, sure we may have stopped sowing that which would produce trouble, but the fact remains that sometimes we bring it on ourselves.  The bad part about this is that we don’t simply hurt ourselves when we do this, we hurt everyone around us.  You never just hurt your own self.  Ever.

What I really want to get through to you is, maybe JUST MAYBE the reason your troubles are mounting up one right after the other, the mountain is getting bigger by the minute and you’ve been beat down time and time again very well could be because God said…. “have you considered my servant………………?” and you may as well insert YOUR name there.

Out of everyone on the earth at that time, God PERSONALLY picked out Job and asks satan if he had considered him.  I know Job probably didn’t realize what an honor this was nor did he consider it an honor at the time, but have you ever really thought about that statement? I don’t know how many people were on the earth at that time, but God named JOB.  Can you imagine with me the kind of love Job had to have for the Lord for him to be singled out by God in that fashion? Do you wonder what Job must have done day in and day out to grab the heartstrings of the Lord so that he would call him by name, saying there is none like him on the earth?

If you feel like you are enduring the worst times of your life and you know you’ve been faithfully serving the Lord. Stay faithful, keep trusting in the One that holds your soul in His hands.  Allow him to carry you through. Just as His grace was enough for Job, it will be enough for you. Look around and see what you can learn, see what you can carry with you and rest safe in your Father’s arms. I Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that He will not give us more than we can handle.  Please do consider that the trials you are going through could be because God said to satan “have you considered……..?”

If things are going good for you right now and you are faithfully serving your redeemer, consider this – is it enough to grab His attention the way Job did?  Would you be willing to endure the trials if the Lord said your name instead of Job’s?

I don’t know about you, but I want the Lord elbowing the angels….pointing down at me and saying…hey – there she is – THERE’S my girl!!!  Essentially, that is EXACTLY what he did in Job’s case.

Have you considered……..?

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