What God Is Really Looking For

Reference: I Samuel 15:22-23 But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

Observation: We can be very good at sacrifice and very bad at obedience. There are a lot of us that make the effort to go to church every Sunday, even when it is a sacrifice. We give our tithes and support missions, even when we feel like we can not afford it. But when God asks us to do something we are not comfortable with, or He asks us not to do something that we really like to do, are we willing to obey?

A lot of Christians, for example, are hooked on pornography, alcohol or drugs. They are willing to sacrifice some things but they are not willing to obey when God tells them to give these things up. Some of us indulge in movies, TV, magazines or other media that we know God wants us to stay away from. We are not willing to obey. Sometimes God tells us clearly that we need to talk to someone or help someone. We are not willing to respond. We sacrifice but we do not obey.

As far as God is concerned, obedience is what counts. We need to be committed to doing what He tells us even before we hear what He is going to ask of us. Real obedience is the only way to please God and the best way to be blessed by Him.

Application/Confession: I hate the fact that my heart can rebel against the God who I love. A part of me wants to do what it wants to do, no matter what God thinks. I need to really understand and commit to true and complete obedience, no matter what He asks.

PRAYER: Lord, remind me that you value obedience over sacrifice. I am glad that I can sacrifice for you but I know that it is more important that I obey you. That is exactly what I want to do.

You - The Human Water Fountain

Reference: John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Observation: We ought to observe, from time to time, what is the outflow of our lives. Are people more filled with life because they are around us? Are we filling people with the right things by the way we speak and act?

It is too easy to thing of ourselves in isolation. We may consider how we are with God without considering the implications for others. We have the power and the responsibility to be dispensers of life instead of death. Your family, your friends, your church needs the life that God can uniquely pour through you.

It is time that we step up and realize that God wants to give others a taste of His live--but it has to come through us.

Application/Confession: Sometimes I can be touchy and moody. When I am that way the only person I am thinking about is me. My family, especially, needs me to be a source of real life, not death, and that is just what I want to be. I want the way I talk and act to encourage them and to cause them to believe that I am love them and I am on their side. On the other hand, I can crush their spirits and wound their hearts. That is bring death not life and I don’t want to ever do it again.

PRAYER: Lord, show me the role I have to play in the lives of the others that you have put around me. Show me what kinds of water of life they need and enable me to give it to them. Convict me when I am sickening people instead of helping them to be more alive in You.

The Celestial Vending Machine

Reference: I Samuel 13:14 For the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.

Observation: We want God to be a God after our own hearts. In other words, we want Him to love what we love and to hate what we hate and to bless us how and when we want to be blessed. Too often, we see God as the great vending machine in the sky. Put in the right prayers enough times and out comes the blessings we are looking for.

This verse forces us to face the brutal truth. It is not a matter of us getting God to see things our way. It is about learning to see, feel and react to things God’s way.

Here Saul tries the vending machine approach. He is about to go to battle and he has not put the right coins in the slot yet to get God’s blessing. He has been instructed to wait for Samuel before he sacrifices but he mistakenly thinks that it is the sacrifice that brings the blessing rather than understanding and getting in line with God’s heart. As a result, he lost his right to the throne.

We need a deep desire and willingness to pursue a heart like God’s. We need to know Him so much and to be so close to Him that we love what He loves and hate what He hates and pray, naturally, according to what He wants to see done. Those are the kinds of prayers God answers.

Application/Confession: I want that kind of understanding and relationship with God. I still find myself trying to get Him to sign up for my agenda. I want to pursue Him with more passion. I want to have more power and insight in my life but I know that it comes, first, from having His heart.

PRAYER: God, please give me a heart that is like yours. Convict me when I love what you hate and when I hate what you love. Reveal to me when I am trying to manipulate you rather than cooperate with what you are up to. Help me to see you and know you so well that it becomes natural to simply be your servant - doing whatever you want done and nothing more.

"One Year Bible" Daily Reading

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1 Samuel 10-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3

Why Don’t You Tell Somebody?

Reference: Psalms 107:2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

Observation: Bill Hybels in his new book Just Walk Across The Room suggests that many of us as Christians have made a deal with God that is not so good. We have said, in essence, "I will follow you, I will serve you, I will love my fellow Christian and grow in discipleship just as long as you do not ask me to talk to anyone outside of the church about you."

Here we are admonished to do exactly the opposite--to tell what God has done in our lives. The people around us will have a hard time accepting the Truth about Jesus until they have heard the truth about what God had done for us.

We need to learn to open simple conversations. We don’t need to convert people--that is God’s job, we just need to try to bring them one step or even a half of a step closer. Even if we are not able to do that, even if they don’t respond at all, if we will just be open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and engage people, we have done what God is calling us to do.

Application/Confession: I want so much to be a better witness for God. I’m not, but I am trying to learn and practice. Soon, I believe, I will be a lot better at it.

PRAYER: You, Lord, gave your disciples new abilities to be witnesses for you when the Holy Spirit came on them. I have been filled with your Holy Spirit. I look for, I value that new ability. Please give it to me.

Don’t Give Someone A Piece Of Your Mind

Reference: Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.

Observation: What a great and important concept. If we could just learn to live this way all the time. We tend to be programmed to respond in kind. We respond to gentleness with gentleness, to harshness with harshness.

The real question is; which side of this equation will we be on? Will we be the proactive one or the reactive one? We can choose to get the ball rolling in the right direction or to let it simple roll over us as it goes on it course in the wrong way.

What it takes is that very important moment of reflection. We need to slow down so that we can think before we react. If we do then we turn anger into peace.

Application/Confession: I am getting better at this, especially with my wife Gloria. I want to get a lot better. I don’t want to have any "buttons" that can be pushed. I want to respond in the spirit and not react in the flesh.

PRAYER: Put a watch over my mouth, Lord. Warn me when I am about to say the wrong thing. Please grow more of your spiritual fruit of peace and self-control in my life.

Nation GReatness

Reference: Proverbs 14:34 Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Comment: As a nation we are trying to be great by any other means we can employ besides Godliness. We rely on our military might, our financial power or political muscle. Yet, what make a nation truly great in how they relate to God. It is so very sad how far our country has fallen on that scale.

One of our largest exports is entertainment; TV shows, movies, music, videos, books and magazines etc. The terrible truth is that much of that material is a disgrace from Gods perspective. The US exports more pornography that any other country. The music we put out to the world is coarse and full of sexual imagery and references. It is no wonder that conservative Muslims feel like western culture is trying to destroy their spirituality. Our pop culture, too often, deadens the soul and plays on our lower nature.

If we are going to be great again, the United States needs a revival. Business men will not stop producing this ugly stuff until people stop buying it. They won't stop buying it until their hearts are changed and they will only be changed when God intervenes. What we can do, and must do, is to pray for that kind of revival.

the "I Have To Have It" treadmill

Reference: I Samuel 8:20 "We want to be like the nations around us."

John 6:35 Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Observation: In the United States today there is a huge marketing effort to tell us that we will not be satisfied unless we have "what everyone else has." Advertisers spend billions of dollars to convince us that satisfaction comes from having the right things and using the right stuff.

Just as Samuel warned the Israelites that having a king, just like the other nations had, would be bad for them, this enormous materialistic push has several pernicious effects. We feel pressed to work more in order to have more money to have more stuff. Many of us live with a low level sense of not measuring up because we can't have what others have (truthfully, very few have everything). We judge people by materialistic standards. Our happiness is held hostage to the latest fashion or gadget. It is costly and dangerous to want to be "like everyone else".

Jesus offers another way. He tells us that true satisfaction comes from Him instead of "stuff". Unlike the lure of materialism, what He has to offer does not disappear in the next fashion season. It is not lessened when the latest Ipod arrives. It is an eternal supply.

If we want to get off the treadmill of wanting more and getting less happiness, we need to only look to Him.

Application/Confession: For the most part, I am not really much of a materialist. Having the clothes or things that others have doesnt really appeal to me. The one thing that can catch my heart is technology. I love having the latest gadget and I feel deprived if I can't. Gloria and I have not come to an agreement about a wide screen TV, for example. Not that we can afford one, but if we could, I would like one and she most definitely would not. When I watch a show like Discovery Channel's Planet Earth, I can't help but think how nice it would look in wide screen HD.

I need to always focus on my real source of satisfaction - Jesus Himself. Just like in dieting, if you eat the right thing first you wont want the wrong thing. I need to start my day, every day, eating the eternal bread and drinking the eternal water. Then I won't hunger and thirst for the things of this world so much.

PRAYER: Jesus, only you can satisfy. Help me to remember that. Give me the grace to keep from loving the things of this world and saving my affection only for you.

"One Year Bible" Daily Reading

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1 Samuel 5-7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33

The Only Reason Not To Be Afraid

Reference: John 6:18-20 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, "Don’t be afraid. I am here!"

Observation: There are a lot of reasons to be afraid in life. Reports of $4 gas by the end of summer. We have no idea if we will be financially secure in the future. We can not guarantee that we will remain healthy. People can be fickle and so our most valued relationships can end when we least expect it.

We have only one place of peace and security in this insecure world; God Himself has promised to be with us. Just like Jesus said to His frightened disciples, God would say to us; "Don’t be afraid. I am here!" In Romans it says; "If God be for us who can be against us?" What a great question!

We need to learn to look at all of life and instead of seeing the trials we face as something we must deal with alone, we need to see that God is there and always will be there to go through them with us. And not just to go through them, but to save us out of them. His Word promises us that He will work everything out for our good. What a great thing to know when we are facing hard times.

Application/Confession: I find myself fearing too often. It is usually a financial issue. I want to be free from that fear and confident in the fact that Jesus is walking through every trial with me and will rescue me. I want to live in faith instead of fear.

PRAYER: Turn my eyes to you Lord. Allow me to hear you say, "Don’t be afraid. I am here!" You will always be with me. Teach me to live in that confidence.

How To Be Happy and Healthy

Reference: Proverbs 14:30 A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.

Observation: It is hard not to live in jealousy in our world. We are told day after day, time after time that we ought to have what others have. The "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" are pushed into our faces constantly. The result is that many of us live with a low level of anxiety nearly all the time. We have a vague sense that we are missing out on something we ought to have.

Healthy living comes from living in peace. Peace comes from knowing that God has your life in His control and that He will provide for you all that you need. There is simply no reason for jealousy. We will never know the difficulties that those who have more go through. Perhaps they are under stress to pay for and maintain all that they have. Perhaps that are constantly worried about it. Perhaps they have to work more than they should and that negatively effects their family.

We can only see the outside, what they have, not what it costs them.

It is far better to work on having a peaceful contented heart, trusting in God’s faithful provision. Then we will be healthy in mind and body.

Application/Confession: I wish I was free from covetousness and jealousy. I, unfortunately, am not. I realize that it cost me something to be this way. It costs me a certain level of happiness and contentment with life. I want to learn the balance of praying and believing with passion for God’s provision for me and my family and, on the other hand, living in peace and acceptance for what He has given me.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for all you have done for me. Thank you for the ways you have provided for my family. Help me to be happy and content with your provision. Yet, Lord, I am still looking to You to bless us even further, not because I am jealous of anyone or anything but because You simply love to do good things for your kids.

The True Power Equation

Reference: John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

Observation: Could it be, simply, that the reason we do not have the supernatural power that Jesus had is because we are not connected to the Father like He was? It is interesting here to note that Jesus does not say that He only chooses to do what the Father does. He, in fact, says that He can only do what the Father does. It is very clear in the Greek wording that Jesus was making the statement that He did not have the "dunamis" the ability, not simply lack of authority, to do anything other than what He had already seen His Father doing.

How much do we try to accomplish with no regard for what God our Father is doing?

Certainly, with the best of intentions we are doing it "in His Name". However it is a real tragedy if He does not even want to see it done - at least not at the time a place that we have chosen.

Here is the simple equation for seeing powerful things happen; we get close enough to God to discover what He is doing and then, and only then, will we have the power to participate in it.

Application/Confession: It is my mission in life to do everything I can to use my gifts to advance the cause of the Kingdom of God. I work hard, maybe too hard, to see people won to Christ and discipled in Him. This verse challenges me to spend more time getting to know God intimately, understanding what He is up to and learning how to cooperate with it. It seems that this is the only way to true powerful supernatural ministry.

In the end, if my ministry does not have a supernatural edge to it, I don’t want to do it.

PRAYER: Lord, please forgive me for simply inviting you along on my agenda. I realize how unfruitful and unproductive that is. I ask You, instead, to help me to get to know You better, see what you are doing more clearly and know how I can simply participate.

 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU BELIEVE?

Reference: John 4:48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

Observation: This is a question and an issue that is just as real and relavant in the church today as it was in the time of Jesus's visitation here on earth. Too many Christians predicate their believe on signs and wonders. It is almost like God has to keep proving Himself to them over and over. The real reason we ought to believe is His witness in our hearts; the reality of our relationship with Him.

We couch our pursuit of miracles in the best of terms; we want to see people blessed and relived from their suffering, we want the world to see a powerful God and be drawn to Him, we want His people to be provided for. These are all great motivations! The danger is that we lose the centrality of relationship for the pursuit of the flashyness of miracles. It is as if we were to say to our spouse, "I know you love me and we have a great relationship but I can't really be happy until you do something extrordinary for me. Prove yourself to me and then I can be satisfied." Such a conversation shows a weakness at the very core of the relationship.

So it is with our relationship with God. We ought to pray for signs and wonders, we ought to believe for them--Jesus told us to--but at a deeper level we ought to be more in awe of the simply fact that God wants to know me and Jesus died to make that possible. That is the real sign and wonder.

Application/Confession: In my frustration in what I perceive as unanswered prayer, I need to make sure that I do not ever devalue the greatness of simply knowing God. As Paul said, "compared to knowing God everything else is dung." He's right and I need to live in the joy and gratitude of that revelation.

PRAYER: I want to know You Lord. If You never do another thing for me, I want to remain full of gratitude for what you have done for me. I am a blessed man, blessed to know You and to be loved by You. Thank you so much.

Are You The Worshipper God Is Looking For?

Reference: John 4:23-24 "But the time is coming--indeed it’s here now--when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

Observation: God is looking for those who will worship Him not just in words but from the depths of who they are and by living out what we say in worship. Too often we may find ourselves telling God how great He is but living like He is no one of importance. We may say in worship that we want to be holy but do little to pursue it in our lives. We extol Him as the King of the Universe but neglect to make Him the King of our hearts. We claim that He is utterly worthy of trust and then fail to trust Him ourselves.

God wants worship from us that is true. Not that the words are simply, objectively true, but that they truly represent how we feel and live our lives. He wants not just to be lifted up by what we say, but to possess a central place in our hearts and affections.

Application/Confession: I spend considerable time in worship, sometimes alone and sometimes with people. I do not regularly consider if what I am saying is being fully lived out in my life. I am sincere. I mean it when I say it - at least I think I do. But feeling like I mean it and actually worshipping in truth as measured by all the choices I make, well that is the challenge.

PRAYER: I know, Lord, that you are looking for those who will worship in spirit and in truth. I want to be one of those kind of people. Convict me when I am just mouthing the words and putting no effort into living like I am singing. I want to worship you with my life as well as my words.

When You Feel Like You Can’t Keep Going

Reference: Judges 20:26-28 Then all the Israelites went up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the Lord and fasted until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 27 The Israelites went up seeking direction from the Lord.  . . . 28 The Israelites asked the Lord, "Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again, or should we stop?"

Observation: The lesson of this passage (the men of Israel had, under God’s direction, gone to war against a much smaller group from the tribe of Benjamin and had lost the battle with many of their men killed) is that when God has called you to action, you do it. This does not mean that there will not be setbacks or losses. Their example reminds us to not let our apparent defeats stop us but to go back before God, in the midst of our tears and grief, make sure we had the instructions right, and set out for action one more time. Victory is assured. It is just a matter of time and determination. With God on our side how can we lose? The issue is; will we keep on fighting when our nose has been bloodied and all we can see, so far, is defeat. Victory is often just beyond a heart wrenching setback.

Application/Confession: This section of scripture reminds me of all the times that I have done what I felt God had called me to do and then got beat up in doing it. I can really identify with these men as they come before God weeping over their catastrophic losses. How many times have I had the same feeling; "God, I was just doing what you told me to do, how could it end up this way?".

PRAYER: God, I am not going to quit. I may cry before you over those who abandon me. I my feel weak, tired and ready to give up, but I won’t. What I will do is to come before you, off the sacrifice of worship and let you give me the strength to carry on. The victory is yours. I just want to stay around to be a part of it.

Dancing In The Dark

Reference: