PRAYER: I am learning, Lord, to walk daily under the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. I know there will be times when Your Spirit asks me to act, to speak, to move and I will be afraid of what how a person will react. Remind me in those moments that test my faith that to respond to my fear is to rebel against You.

What Are "They" Saying About You?

Reference: Numbers 12:1-5 While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. 3 (Now Moses was very humble--more humble than any other person on earth.)  4 So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. 5 Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 

Application/Confession: I get so upset when I hear that someone is saying something about me that is not true. I want them to quit, and I want to set the record straight. What I need to learn is that humility and wisdom walk together. The wise and righteous course is to let God take care of it instead of me.

PRAYER: Lord, I put my reputation in Your hands. I give up my pride and trust You to take care of my reputation. What better hands could it be in?

Ever Feel Grasshopper-ish?

Reference: Numbers 12:31-33 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”. 

Observation: Don’t we feel like this sometimes? We can see the Promise Land, we are close to what we know God wants to give us, and yet we are afraid of the obstacles between us and the promise. The challenges look like giants and we feel like grasshoppers.What they were forgetting and we forget is that the equation is not giants vs. grasshoppers (i.e. us) but giants vs. God and guess who wins in that encounter? We have to be convinced that God is on our team and if He has sent us into this land of blessing He will make sure we can take it.

Application/Confession: It is easy for me to become fearful. When I see problems looming I do feel like a grasshopper without any control over the situation, overwhelmed by what I face. I need to remember who is in control and who is going to do the fighting.

PRAYER: Lord, I can get so anxious over things like financial provision for the church I lead. It is your church and it is your battle. Please give me the grace to let You fight it instead of me.

Don't Ever Try To Lead Alone!

Reference: Numbers 11:10-17 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.  . . . 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!” 16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. 17 I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone. 

Observation: There is no way to get around it, leadership is a burden. Imagine what it would be like to lead this many people (just after this, Moses tells God that he leads 600,000 foot soldiers alone). Imagine the work of making sure they are fed and cared for, and then they whine on every occasion. How many times do leaders feel like this; “Just kill me now, this is more than I can carry!”? God doesn’t contradict him. He seems to agree that it is more than Moses can carry alone. God’s solution is to give him some who can carry the burden with him. It is instructive to note what kind of people they will be; 

1.    They are already recognized and respected by their peers. If we are looking for leaders who can carry the burden with us, look for those who are already doing the job instead of those we might hope will work into it. Recognize the gifting that God has already made evident. 

2.    God told Moses to bring them before Him. We must follow this example and make sure the leaders we appoint know that they are working for God and not just for us or for a paycheck. They need to have stood before God and received their commission from Him. 

3.    God took the same spirit that was on Moses and put it on them. We need to look for those who have a similar spirit as we do for leading and loving God’s people. If those we choose have a different agenda, philosophy or direction, all it will do is add to the burden rather than lessen it. 

4.    These men were called to carry the burden with Moses. We need to make sure that not only are we choosing leader-helpers who are willing to help take on the burden of leadership (not just do-my-job-and-get-out kind of people) but we have to be willing to give some of that over to them. Our ego or sense of self-sufficiency can get in the way of getting the help and relief we need. 

The most important point here is; God never intended us to carry the burden of leadership alone. His cure for burn-out is to learn early to find like hearted people who will carry it with you. 

Application/Confession: I need to be always aware of my tendency to take on more than God intended for me to bear in leadership. I need to be constantly on the lookout for those He is releasing to me to help bear the load and keep me sane. 

PRAYER: Lord, part of me wants to look like the superman; the pastor dude who can do it all. I know that it is not what You want for me. Teach me, grace me, to stand arm-in-arm with the others You have given to support me in leadership and help me to know how much to give them and help me to let go when I should.

Help Me Clean Up!!

Reference: Psalms 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey.

Observation: Sometimes people wonder; “Can I ask God to make me more able to obey or is it simply a matter of discipline and discipleship?” Here David, at least, asks God to given him a heart to obey. If he can, we can too! 

Application/Confession: I want God to take my rebellious heart and give me one that desires, more than anything, to do what He commands. I am so tired of the fight. I want my life to be about what He wants, not what I want. 

PRAYER: Lord I say, with David, create in me a clean and loyal heart and make me willing, always, in every way, willing to obey. I know I need your grace to change.

When You Move, We Move

Reference: Numbers 9:15 On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. 16 This was the regular pattern; at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. 18 In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. 19 If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. 20 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. 22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. 23 So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses. 

Observation: It is amazing how committed the Children of Israel were to stay close to the presence of God. When He moved, they moved. When He stayed, they stayed--no matter what. Could you imagine the frustration of setting up camp and then breaking it just the next morning? Or, being stuck somewhere you hated for months on end waiting for that cloud to move?

That cloud was God’s glory and they weren’t going anywhere without it.
We need to be as desirous and faithful to following the presence of God. If there is anything that the Church of Jesus Christ does wrong it is that we move when we want to move and stay in place when He wants us to move. For some Churches it is all about trying out something new; following the latest trend or fad. It doesn’t matter if God is leading them there, it is where they want to go.
For others, it all about tradition; how it always has been done. God may have moved on decades ago but we want to hang out where it is safe and comfortable.
What ought to matter to us, more than anything else, is the cloud of God’s glory and the fire of His presence. We ought to work so very hard to stay where His presence is and move only when it moves. Otherwise, as Moses said, how are we different that all the other people of the world? What made them different, what makes us different, and powerful, is the presence of God in our midst. We can’t afford to go on without it.  

Application/Confession: I want to do what will bring success for the church I pastor. It is easy to look for schemes and plans that have the promise of success from man’s perspective but may not be what God has in mind for us. I have to always remember that we are to move with His presence--not before or after. It is His presence in our midst that is the only success strategy that matters. 

PRAYER: Lord, give me the patience to wait for You to move. Please grace me with the courage to move with You I am reluctant. May I, as a person, and we, as a church, always completely value, honor and pursue Your presence in our midst.

What Are You Afraid Of?

Reference: Psalms 49:5 Why should I fear when trouble comes? 

Observation: This is an exceedingly good question for us to ask of ourselves. Why do we fear when hard times come? So often it is a reflection not of the danger of the situation we are in, but the state of our hearts. We fear because our value is wrapped up in our success and it is vulnerable at that moment. We fear because our sense of security is vesting in something of this earth that we might be losing. Yet, most of all, we fear when trouble comes because we don’t believe that God will really take care of us. As a result, we have the anxiety of feeling like we must take care of ourselves and we are not built for that kind of stress.
The rest of this chapter makes a simple point; everyone is going to die, including us, God has defeated death and if you don’t need to fear death, then there is nothing left to afraid of. If we know that eternity is absolutely taken care of then the rest is gravy. 

Application/Confession: I am tempted to fear when trouble comes because I am afraid it will make me look like a failure, a loser. I, too often, find myself too concerned about how others will view me instead of realizing that it is only how God sees me that matters.
The really good news is that He loves me no matter if I succeed or fail. 

PRAYER: Lord, I know that trouble is inevitable. Give me the grace to trust You in it and to look to You for my salvation, provision and value.

What Really Matters In Life

Reference: Mark 12:29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’” 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 

Observation: Jesus shows us here that the most important issue, both towards God and towards people, is simply the quality of our relationships with them. Think of all the books that have been written, and how much time has been spent dealing with the nuance of what God requires of us and how to please Him. Think of all that has been said about our responsibilities towards each other.
Much of that is true and there is nothing wrong with studying and understanding it, but how often do we first approach God and each other based on a performance standard rather than a relational one? Our relationships, many times, are weak because we are more concerned about how people perform than we are committed to loving them. We are sure that God will love us more if we can simply perform up to the standard we set for ourselves. Our focus becomes what we are doing for Him much more than how we are being with Him, how we are loving Him.
Jesus made this radical statement to bring us back face to face with what matters; falling in love with God totally and completely and learning to let Him love others completely through us. It’s that simple, let’s not complicate it. 

Application/Confession: I am just so sure in my heart that if I do a little more for God, if I spend a few more hours a week serving Him or more time in prayer He will be more pleased with me. This same mentality causes me to make my relationships with people be about what they should do or what I should do rather than how we should be together.
I want to be free from this performance trip. I want to live in love (for God and for others), and for that to be enough. 

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for loving me. Teach me, help me to simply love You in return and to, finally, see that this is what You want from me more than anything else. Free me from what I have falsely learned all my life that the more I do, the more I will be loved and teach me to make relationship, love for You and people my most important concern.

God's Strategy For Success

Reference: Proverbs 10:24b The hopes of the godly will be granted. 

Observation: Recently we’ve seen that God responds to faith. Believing that God will act, expecting it, is a key to seeing it done. Here is another of these keys; godliness brings blessing. We have many, many strategies for getting what we hope for. We educate ourselves, we work hard, we network with the right people, we make plans and we get organized. Here is one approach that many people don’t think about as a success strategy; do the right thing!! Learn to see life and live life like God would want you to.
In fact, in our pursuit of our hopes we may find ourselves tempted by exactly the opposite. We may come to believe that godliness inhibits us from competing with others to see our hopes fulfilled. We may feel like we have to "cut corners" or cheat, just a little, to make it in this world.
On a natural level that may seem to be true. Yet, on a supernatural level, when we choose godliness over compromise, we have God on our side. That constitutes a major competitive advantage.

Application/Confession: How many times has God brought me back to the simple idea, “I will build my church.” Some of my greatest hopes have to do with my ministry and the church family I lead. God makes it clear here that my character, even when no one is looking or hearing, is an important factor in seeing my hopes for my ministry fulfilled. Instead of always looking for the latest and greatest business or leadership insight, I need to always be allowing Him to form me into His image--that will bring success.

PRAYER: Teach me Lord to focus more on my character than on increasing my competence. The fulfillment of my hopes is not based solely, or even primarily, on how great a leader I am but on Your promise of blessing.

Slow Down and Listen, Will Ya?

Reference: Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God!  

Observation: There are two ways we can take this potent phrase; we need to slow down, listen up and pay attention, “be still” and then we will be where we need to be in order to discover, at a heart level, that He is God. God reveals Himself to the still at heart (and body).

Second, calm down!! When we are reacting to all that happens to us and around us, in all our anxious running around, we forget who is in charge.
Remember, no matter what happens, our Savior, Lord, Friend and Father is God--He is absolutely in control. 

Application/Confession: In the busyness of my life I sometimes miss the stillness that is necessary to be fully in touch with the greatness of who God is. I need the security of fully knowing and understanding it. My faith depends on it, my confidence is invested in it, and my life is based on it. 

PRAYER: Slow me down Lord. I need to live in the heart assurance that you are Lord over everything. Teach me to know, always and deeply, that you are God; Lord over everything and every circumstance.

Three Of The Most Offensive Verses in The Bible

Reference: Mark 11:22-24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.  

Observation: This section of verses is offensive for so many reasons;
1) No one, that we know of, not even Jesus, has ever thrown a mountain into the sea simply by their words.
2) Jesus asks us to believe the impossible and then says we have no chance of getting it unless we do and “have no doubt in (y)our heart(s).” How can anyone say to Mt. Hood “go jump in the Pacific” and have no doubt in their heart--they would have to be crazy!
3) Then He tells us that if we believe for anything we will receive it; but we know that we have prayed for many things and not received them.
4) This is even more offensive because Jesus is such a reasonable person. He has to know that what He is saying makes no sense.
So what is this all about? Someone once said that God offends the mind to inform the spirit. We need to see that Jesus is pressing us as hard as He can to underline the value of faith.

When we look at other verses (The Lord’s Prayer for example) we see that God does not act outside of His will and our faith has to understand what that will is, and line up with it, for anything to happen. If it is not His will that mountian ain't going no where.
Still, in all our theology and sophisticated ways of dissecting the scripture, we must come back to this simple but profound point; God honors, responds to, acts in accordance with our faith. That is the point we must never forget.  

Application/Confession: I find myself, at times, giving into Christian fatalism. I start singing in my heart “what ever will be will be”. That is not a stance of faith. What I must do is to pursue a vital relationship with Jesus so that I know what He wants to do and then to ask, and keep on asking, in faith for it to happen.
I need to expect good things, answers to my most outrageous prayers. None of them are yet to the “throw the mountain into the sea” level. 

PRAYER: Lord, I believe You. Help my unbelief. Forgive me for my simple laziness--not pursuing the answers with aggression and “taking them by force” in the spirit. I want to see You act miraculously in my life.

How You Get Your Money, Matters

Reference: Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

Observation: There are a lot of ways to get rich. Some of them (like working ourselves half to death) are not worth the effort. What anyone really wants money is for the emotional fulfillment that it brings; why else have money? Since that is true, it is wise to find ways of becoming rich that will enhance your emotional state, not undermine it.
So what should we do? As Jesus told us; “seek first God’s Kingdom and His right way of living and everything else you need will be given to you.” Our “riches” may not be a big pile of money, but if it comes from doing things God’s way, our needs will be supplied and there will be a big pile of joy and fulfillment--just what we are looking for!!

Application/Confession: I can get as crass as the next person. I can, erroneously, believe that money will take care of all my needs, can fulfill me, can make me happy.
That is nothing more than making money an idol. I have to remind myself, regularly, that God is my source and if I hold close to Him, all my needs will be met; physical, spiritual, financial and emotional.

PRAYER: Your blessings, Lord, make me rich, and give me joy besides. I will trust in You for all I need and for all the church I pastor needs. Keep me from the worry that comes from trusting money instead of You.

"To Love And Serve" or "To Boss and Demand"

Reference: Mark 10:42-45 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Observation: The first thing that ought to impress us about this passage is the incredible thought that God Himself would be humble enough to serve mere man. How can God be humble? It is almost more than we can comprehend.

Jesus served and gave His life, in part, to be an example for us about how we should lead and influence others. We don’t do it by command, demand or enforced authority of any kind. The power we have to lead or influence comes from our willingness to love and serve.
Even those outside of the kingdom are learning that a leader’s job, if they are going to be effective, is to serve those they lead. To constantly ask; “What can I do to help them be more effective, to enjoy their jobs more and to be more fulfilled in what they do?”
It is the leaders who ask those kinds of servant questions that become effective leaders. 

Application/Confession: At times I am tempted to lead from my position rather than from relationships. It just seems that it would be easier to get things done by simply demanding that someone do them and my ego would get a boost too. However, that is not the kind of leadership that Jesus demonstrated or requires. If I am going to lead as He did, I must always put relationship and service before position. In the end, it is not just the right way to lead; it is the most effective as well. 

PRAYER: Lord make me a servant. A servant to my family and to the people of the church I pastor. If You, God Himself, can lead that way, so can I. Heal up in me the need for power; the desire to make myself feel better by being able to “boss” others around. Teach me to get all of my worth and value from You alone.