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Some thoughts on gratitude

November 23, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

Two things to start off today. The first is I want to remind you about a very special time of family worship tonight at Lord of Life at 7pm. It is Thanksgiving Eve and we are gathering as the family of God to give thanks to the one who truly deserves our thanksgiving! Looking forward to seeing you and sharing this opportunity to thank Jesus together.

Second, I want to invite you to join me for a Christmas decorating party on Saturday at 10am. We have a whole bunch of guests who are coming to visit during the Christmas holiday season and it is time to get God’s house ready. We will be putting up the Christmas Trees, hanging the lights, and having some fun while we are at it. It is an easy way to serve and make a difference. If you and/or your family can help out, please let me know.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It is difficult to be profound when you talk about being thankful. We have all heard that message before. God has given us so much. We are so blessed. Think of all God has given us compared to others. We are guilted into being thankful. But gratitude that comes out of a sense of obligation is not really gratitude. It is sort of like that kid who is told to say he is sorry, but he is not really sorry. He only says he is sorry because his dad told him to say he is sorry. How many of us during Thanksgiving are saying we are thankful because that is what we are supposed to do at thanksgiving?

I wonder if we miss the place of gratitude in our lives. We often envision gratitude as the result of God’s work in our life. But what would happen if we saw gratitude not as the result of God’s work in our life, but as the work of God itself. Gratitude is not the result of the blessings God pours into our lives. Often times the more a person is blessed, the less grateful they become. There are many who have so much less who are so much more grateful than those who have more. Why is that? The reason is because gratitude is not dependent upon blessings received from God. Gratitude is a matter of the heart. If I am not grateful with what I have I will never be grateful for what I don’t have.

Gratitude starts with a recognition of our sinfulness. It starts by realizing we are only beggars before God. It starts with recognizing that God does not owe me anything. Gratitude is inversely proportional to our sense of entitlement. The greater my sense of entitlement the lower my sense of gratitude. The less my sense of entitlement the greater my sense of gratitude. I can expect great things from God, but I realize I don’t deserve great things from God. If you are feeling ungrateful, maybe it is time to do a heart check and ask, “why is it that I deserve more than what God has already given me?”

The last thing I want to say about gratitude is that gratitude is expressed. There is a saying that “if a tree fell in a forest and no one was there to hear it fall, did it make a noise?” In the same way if I don’t express my gratitude, am I really grateful. Don’t assume others know you are grateful. Tell them. Let them know. Tell Jesus you are grateful. As I shared above there is a great opportunity to do that tonight at 7pm. Then tell others how grateful you are. Tell your spouse. Tell your parents. Tell your children. Tell your friends. Tell your boss. Tell your teacher. Tell that person that goes to of their way to be kind and helpful. You never know how your gratitude will serve as a blessing to someone else. They are working so hard and just one expression can make a world of difference that is beyond words.

Not Abandoned

November 17, 2011 in Weekly Email with 1 Comment

Maybe one of the most telling statements David ever made was at the beginning of Psalm 22. He asks God, “why have you abandoned me?” Hundreds of years later Jesus would quote these same words on the cross. Can your relate? Have you had times in your life that you may felt as if God abandoned you? Was there a time when you cried out and called out but it seems as if no one was listening?

It is in these moments we learn from Jesus. In Luke 11 he instructs his disciples how to pray and tells the following story starting in verse 5.

Luke 11:5–8 (NLT) 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

Jesus tells us to come to God with shameless persistence. I find Jesus’ choice of words to be very curious. Shamelessness often has a negative connotation. but that is exactly how God wants us to come to him. When I make a request and the answer is “no,” I will often give up and throw in the towel. I am not the type of person who will not take “no” for an answer. But Jesus is telling us here not to take “no” for an answer. He goes on further to say:

Luke 11:9-12 (NLT) 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!

When God’s child makes a request, God responds. God is not in the business of giving snakes and scorpions. He gives you what is good for you in the right time and the right place. You have not received a snake from God. You have not received a scorpion from God. It is hard to believe that sometimes. It is by faith we receive that is true. We often think we know what is better than God. But God is the Father and we are his children.

Many times the answer to our prayer is just part of a puzzle. It may feel as if God abandoned you because he is up to a greater work than we can imagine but may not be able to fully see right now. He is putting all the pieces of the puzzle into place. The answer to our prayer is a piece at the very center of the puzzle and before it will fit all the other pieces need to get into place.

So don’t give up hope. Keep praying. Keep listening to him through the Word. God does hear and God is up to something really great.

Obstacles to God’s Plan

November 10, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

God has an amazing plan for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Yet, there are times when we fail to see that amazing plan become a reality. The reason this happens is because we get in the way of God. We get in the way by:

1) Procrastination. You are waiting for a better day when you have more money, more time, more knowledge, more convenience. If you wait for the perfect day or the perfect situation, you will find yourself waiting for a long time.

James 1:22 (NLT) 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

2) We allow the past to define us. You need to learn from your past, but not live in your past. Jesus died upon the cross to take away your sin. You are a new person today.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

3) You care more for what other people think about you than what God thinks about you. If you are doing what God has called you to do, you will have critics. If you don’t have critics there might be a problem that you are not doing anything worthwhile.

Galatians 1:10 (NLT) Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

4) You forget that the Holy Spirit lives in you and that God is able.

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

5) You are afraid. You don’t want to take that step of faith. It is too big of a risk. You prefer to stay in your comfort zone.

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) And it is impossible to please God without faith.

6) You believe the lie that you are an accident. You are not special. You don’t have any special gift. You think you are just taking up space.

Psalm 139:13–16 (NLT) You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

7) You are obsessed and passionate about things that have zero eternal significance. What gets you fired up? Sports, entertainment, shiny gadgets, etc? What will you gain from those passions?

Matthew 6:21 (NLT) Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

There is so much need and hurt in the world. If we open our eyes to the things around us we will see the need. It can be overwhelming and we don’t know where to begin. We are stricken with the paralysis of analysis. There is so much to do and so we don’t do anything, but I want to encourage you today to just start. Pick just one thing that you can do today to serve the Lord. It doesn’t need to be anything greatly significant. In fact, some of the most significant work we do for the Lord is the most insignificant things according to the world’s standards. Pray for open eyes to see the neighbor who needs you to pray with them. Pray for open eyes for the frustrated volunteer who news someone to help them. Pray for open eyes to see the family that would be encouraged by a meal you might provide. Pray for open eyes to see all you have been given that you might make a difference for the kingdom of God in someone else’s life.

What Will God Do For You?

November 3, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

David accomplished much in his life. Almost everything he set his heart to, he was able to get done. Towards the end of his life he desired to build a temple for the Lord. But God comes back and tells David, that he would not be the one to build this temple. I imagine this was a great disappointment to David. David was not accustomed to be told “no.”

However, God makes a promise to David. It was not about what David would build for God, but what God would build for David. God had a greater plan in mind than David’s plan. God reminds David about all he had done for David. Everything David had accomplished up to this point was because of what God had done. Without God, David would have never succeeded in the way he had.

Just read this paragraph from 2 Samuel 7:8-11 (NLT). Take special note of what God accomplished versus what David accomplished.

“I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings!”

How much of that was David? How much of that was God? It was all God! God did it! It was not about what David did for the Lord, but what God did for David.

Too often we got it all backwards. We make it about what we do for God. But it is really about what God does for us and through us. Everything we have accomplished and everything we possess is because of God. God is not looking for more accomplished people. He is looking for more surrendered people.

Maybe you are dissatisfied right now. You are disappointed that God has said no to what you wanted to do. If so, maybe it is time to look at see what God is doing. What does God want to build in your life? If what we are working on is not from God then we are just wasting our time. It will fail. As it says in Psalm 127:1 (NLT), “Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.”

God loves you and wants to do a great thing in your life. An incredible thought is that God wants more for you than you even want for yourself. That is hard to imagine, because I know I want a lot for me. But God wants even more!

That is why he sent us Jesus. Jesus is God’s answer. “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!”” 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT) Jesus has come that we might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). It is in Jesus we discover everything God has done for us and wants for us.

This next weekend we will be talking about David’s Mighty Men. These were men who accomplished great feats of valor through the power of God. The reason they were able to do what they did was not because of their confidence in themselves. It was because of their confidence in God. We will take a look at what that confidence enabled then to do and how a lack of confidence will paralyze us from doing the amazing things God has called us to.

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday at 8:30am or 10am for worship at Lord of Life. And don’t forget we fall back this weekend as Daylight Savings ends. Set your clocks back on an hour on Saturday night before you go to bed and then give thanks to the Lord for an extra hour of sleep.

It’s about the relationship

October 26, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

It’s all about the relationships! Relationships bring us our greatest joys. They also bring us our greatest challenges. The more intimate the relationship the greater the joys and the greater the challenges.

That is why it is sometimes easier to get along with a perfect stranger than it is to get along with a family member. But the relationship with the stranger is never going to bring the satisfaction the relationship with the family member or close friend will bring.

A healthy relationship will have conflict and tension. If there is no conflict in a relationship, that may be a sign of trouble. It may signal that communication is not taking place. It may show that instead of becoming a deeper and more intimate relationship, the relationship is becoming more and more superficial.

Relationships are hard. That is why some shy away from deep relationships. We want the joys that come with a deep and enduring relationship, but we don’t want the pain. It is easier to hop from one marriage to the next, one friendship to the next, or one church to the next. But we never go deep. We have people around us, but we are living in isolation of others. We don’t want to get too close out of fear of what may be revealed in us or in the other person.

God created us for relationships. Without deep and intimate relationships there will be something missing in your life. Yes, it takes time. It takes effort. There may be pain, but it is so worth it. That is why part of our vision at Lord of Life is to connect people with each other. We want everything for you, that God wants for you.

Another thing about relationships is Jesus wants a relationship with you. This is the most important relationship. He wants you to know him and to be known by him.

Many in this world don’t really want a relationship with Jesus. They would rather have a checklist. Give me 5 things to do that I can check off to make sure I am right with God and leave it at that. Go to church, pray a prayer, volunteer to serve a meal at the soup kitchen, give an offering for a missionary, and help out as an usher from time to time. That is five easy things I can do. But it doesn’t necessarily mean I have a relationship with Jesus.

We can have religion without a relationship, but this is not a good thing. Religion is about doing for God the bare minimum that is necessary. It is like being an employee of a large corporation. There is no relationship with the CEO. The orders come down from on top for us to follow. But that is not what God desires. We wants to know you as family and friend. Jesus doesn’t say “do what I tell you.” He says, “come follow me.”

The Apostle Paul puts it well when he talks about the type of relationship he desires to have with Jesus:

Philippians 3:8 (NLT) 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

He goes on to say:

Philippians 3:10–11 (NLT) 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

I want to know Jesus in this way. Jesus wants to know you in this way. Jesus wants the relationship with you because he want more for you. And that is why the primary emphasis of our vision at Lord of Life is to connect people with Jesus. There is nothing greater we could do that to point ourselves and others to Him.

So as I leave you this week, I would like you to consider just one thing you can do that will better connect you with Jesus or another person. And don’t wait. Do it now! Go deep. Experience all God wants for you.

Some thoughts on sin

October 19, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

Whether we admit it or not, we are all experts on the subject of sin. Unfortunately, we are experts for all the wrong reasons. It is a topic we know all too well.

Sin is something that must be dealt with. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Sin is what separates us from God and creates a barrier between us.

I share with you this week’s email, some thoughts on sin from last Sunday’s message on David and Bathsheba.

  • We like sin. Sin tastes good and feels good. There is no doubt that sin brings pleasure. It is desirous.

  • Sin is debt. There is literally hell to pay for sin. We might receive pleasure from sin upfront, but there is a cost that follows. Long after the pleasure we derived from our sin is gone, we will still be paying the consequences.

  • Sin has an irresistible pull. As irrational as it may be, we are still attracted to sin. If David had knew what his sin with Bathsheba would cost him, he would have ran as fast as he could. But the pull of sin is so strong, we let our guard down, and forget the consequences.

  • We can try to resist. There are certainly efforts we can make to avoid sin. We can get an accountability partner who will pray with and for us while holding us accountable for our actions. We can safeguard ourselves by avoiding situations where we are tempted towards sin. These are good, but . . .

  • The only thing that overcomes temptation is divine power. As much as we rely upon human will-power for over-coming temptation, we will eventually fall without God’s divine power. This is why Jesus teaches us to pray, lead us not into temptation. Jesu knows that without the Spirit of God at work in us we will never be able to overcome temptation.

  • When you stumble into sin, admit it. Sin loves to hide in the dark. It does not want to be exposed. When the time comes that you fall into sin, don’t keep it inside. Confess it to another believer or pastor. Write it down. Don’t make excuses or try to rationalize it. Just come clean. Do more than just think thoughts about how you are sorry. Externalize it. Until you get it out of you, it is going to continue to hurt you.

  • After you admit your sin, ask God for forgiveness. Don’t ask for forgiveness expecting him to forgive you. There is nothing that you have done to make you worthy of God’s forgiveness. It is not God’s obligation to forgive you. There is no reason he should forgive you. Ask humbly. Appeal to his mercy and kindness.

  • Receive God’s forgiveness by faith. Know that your sins are forgiven because Jesus died on the cross. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. If God can forgive David, who was a murderer and adulterer, then he can forgive you. To say that my sin is so bad that God cannot forgive me is to say that the cross is not sufficient enough. It is to say that Jesus needed to do more than be beaten and die an excruciatingly painful death. Don’t think your sin is so bad that God’s love cannot cover it.

  • Make restitution for your sins. You can see the word restore. Making restitution is about making right was is wrong. Unfortunately, sometimes we cannot fully restore the damage we have done. In these moments we do everything that we can in our power no matter how much it costs us, trusting God will do the rest of the work.

  • Live a 180° life. This is what we call repentance. In the ancient Greek of the New Testament the word for repentance means to turn around and go the other direction. When I receive God’s forgiveness, I now seek to live differently than I lived before. I take a different road to travel. Jesus has given me a new life and a fresh start. I desire to honor him by doing everything possible to avoid going down the same road again and falling into that sin.

Worshipping When You Don’t Feel Like Worshipping

October 12, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

There are times when life is so hard. You feel down and depressed. You are overwhelmed and frustrated. There is not much happening that makes you very happy. All you can see is the bad. You don’t feel much like thanking God. Sure you recognize a few blessings here and there. You try to think good thoughts. You try to look at the bright side. You want to see the cup half full. This human effort to make yourself feel better works for a short time, but eventually you end up back in the same place. Reality hits you in the face and you find yourself imagining that dark future.

It is like aprison you cannot escape. If you have ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, you feel like Bill Murray living the same day over and over. You want so desperately for things to change. Things to get better. You want something you can celebrate, but all you find is another dead end. It is the same story lived over and over.

You long to go to that place you can escape these frustrations. You try to distract yourself with television or the internet. You try to numb your mind with alcohol, drugs, or sexual promiscuity. But none of that does much good. Your problems are still there. Nothing has made them go away. The things you have tried have only compounded the burden you bear.

You open up your Bible. You try to loose yourself in the Scripture. But your mind is spinning so fast. You are so distracted and off somewhere else. The Word may be present before you, but you are not present in the Word.

Then you are told, “worship the Lord.” You think to yourself, “I don’t feel much like worshipping the Lord or anything.” Your heart is so heavy. You feel your life is collapsing around you. You feel you sinking more and more into a pit you cannot climb out of. Worship? Are you serious?

Yep! Worship! Sing! Praise him! Your heart may not be into it, but that doesn’t matter. Keep singing a song of praise to God.

How great is our God!
Great is his faithfulness! True are his promises! Blessed be his name! Amazing Grace! Hallelujah!

Even though you may not feel very confident in this moment, speak confidence unto the Lord. Give it voice. Make it know that the Lord is on your side. Tell your despair of how nothing in all creation can separate you from his love.

You might think to yourself, “what good is that going to do? It seems like foolishness.” You might feel like a hypocrite. You have these feelings of despair in your heart and at the same time you are praising God for his victory and triumph over your burdens. It does not make sense.

As we have studied the life of David we learn he was a passionate worshipper of the Lord. Yet, there are many times David was not in a good place. He was on the run from Saul. He was deserted by many of his so-called friends. There were times when his family was in turmoil. His own son, Absalom, tried to murder him. Many of the Psalms express David’s despair and sense of hopelessness.

In Psalm 22 David cries out, “my God, my God, why have you foresaken me.” These words would later be echoed by Jesus on the cross. In so many ways this is a depressing Psalm. But we find hope in verse 3. Psalm 22:3 says, “God is enthroned on the praises of Isreal.” Essentially what this means is that when you are worshipping and praising God, that God is present in the words that are said and sung. You may not feel like reading your Bible. You may not feel like praying. Then just start singing! God’s presence will come upon you. His presence will displace the doubt, the fear, the despair, the frustration, and the anxiety. God is your healer. If you’ve got nothing else, then start signing.

There is a story in the book of Acts (16:16-40) where Paul and Silas find themselves in prison. If there was anyone who ever had a right to a pity party it would be Paul in this moment. There is no hope. Both he and Silas had been severly beaten and whipped. Surely they were suffering from an intense physical and emotional pain. But of all the things they did, it says, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners where listening to them.” (16:25) In the very next verse the hand of God moved. An earthquake shakes the prison and prison doors flung wide open. Their entire circumstance was changed in a moment in such a miraculous way.

So what do you say? Let’s start singing. Let’s raise the roof. Let’s watch what God will do and free you from your prison. Believe, he is the Lord! He is able!

Living on Purpose

October 6, 2011 in Weekly Email with 0 Comments

David had served God’s purpose in his own generation . . . Acts 13:36

What a tremendous compliment! I pray the same will be said of me after I am gone. “Phil served God’s purpose in his own generation.” It is my pray for you that the same will be said of you as well. That is what we are all here for. We are here to serve God’s purpose. If we do anything else, we have missed the mark.

We admire people who have discovered their purpose and live significant lives. The big news in the last 24 hours has been the death of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was a man who certainly lived a significant life. He revolutionized the way we interact and communicate with one another. In a commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005 he shared with the students a question he often asked of himself:

“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Steve Jobs would not allow himself to settle for an ordinary life. He had a drive to live as a person of significance.

In our culture there are many who are seeking their “purpose” in life. Pastor Rick Warren wrote one of the best-selling books of all time called the Purpose Driven Life. It struck a nerve. God created us to live a significant life. He created us to work and and to be fruitful. He did not create us to sit around and do nothing. There is a reason why unemployment often leads people to despair. Feelings of uselessness can be devastating.

But I must caution you that our search for significance can be dangerous. Not everyone who lives in this world is searching for significance. They are many looking simply to survive. They are looking for the basic necessities of life like food, water, shelter, clothing, and safety. They are looking for hope in a world filled with such hopelessness. They would love to have our problems. We talk about how recessions come and go. For them recessions never go and they would love to have our recessions.

It is a bit ironic in a way that we have one group of people on one part of the globe seeking their purpose when there are people on another part of the globe who are dying of hunger and other preventable diseases. Our purpose and calling to significance is right before us. It is not hard to see. The problem is not so much to find our significance but to overcome the obstacles we put in our lives to hinder our ability to live out God’s purpose.

We are our own worst enemy when it comes to living God’s pupose in our own generation. The opportunities are before us. God is at work. He is calling us to join us in his work, but we have all kinds of excuses. We always have a but! Check out his video we showed last Sunday:

How will you serve God’s purpose for this generation? One of the opportunities that is before us right now is the Ready to Go Community Week of Service. I am sure we all have our buts as to why we can’t serve. There are always excuses that keep us from living God’s purposes. You are not going to overcome them on your own. It is not a matter of willpower.

It all goes back to what really matters. Jesus knew what really mattered when he came to this earth. You were what mattered to him. His time was limited here. He had so many excuses. To die on the cross for the sins of the world was not an easy thing. But there was nothing that mattered more to Jesus than to fulfill the will of His Father and the purpose for which he was sent.

Living a life of significance is not easy. It starts with living in relationship with Jesus. It is to talk and walk with him daily. Follow him. Know him. Love him. The more Jesus is a part of your life, the more and more his purpose will be lived out through you. The things that once matter will matter less and less. The important things will matter more and more.

There are sacrifices to be made. Jesus said, “whoever would come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Ouch! That does not sound like the most pleasant road. But it is a road that we chose by faith in the knowledge of his grace. It is the only road worth taking. Live God’s purpose!

Overcoming Anger

September 29, 2011 in Weekly Email with 1 Comment

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Ephesians 4:26–27 (NLT)

Yikes! Anger gives the devil a foothold in your life. That is not something I want. The devil looks for that “in” into your life anywhere he can get it. He works to exploit your weakness.

For years King David had been on the run from King Saul. King Saul was out to murder him. Yet, David showed great restraint and mercy. When he had the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge on King Saul, David relents and spares Sauls life (see 1 Samuel 24 & 26).

When we come to 1 Samuel 25, a wealthy man by the name of Nabal insults David and his men. Yes, Nabal insulted David. Yes, David had every right to feel slighted. But Nabal’s insult was minor in comparison to what Saul had attempted to do with David. After having seen how David showed such restraint towards King Saul, we would have thought we could have expected more of David. But David flies off the handle. He gets word of Nabal’s insult and David tells his men to stap on their swords. They are going kill Nabal.

Satan had lost so many battles with David. Time after time David had shown himself to be a man after God’s own heart. But now Satan finds and exploits David’s anger problem. If not for the intervention of a wise and godly woman by the name of Abigail, Davids’s entire life would have been set off course and he would have never fulfilled the calling for which he was destined. If David was going to be King he would need to show greater restraint than this. It is interesting that Nabal’s name means fool. But the real fool in this story is David.

In verse above from Ephesians, it says do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Anger is a real and raw emotion. We all experience it. Even Jesus became angry. He got angry towards his disciples when they rebuked the little children. Jesus said, “let the children come to me.” Jesus became angry when he saw the corruption in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and lamented how they had changed his Father’s house into a den of thieves.

You will get ngry. It is part of life. But don’t let the devil get a foothold in your life. Don’t let the sun go down on that anger. Release that anger. Give it to the Lord. Recognize that whatver wrong has be committed against you, that God sees. He knows about it. Pray to him about your anger. Ask him to create within you a pure heart. Ask for a heart that is filled with love, mercy, and grace. Nothing good will ever come from holding on to your anger.

No amount of effort on your part is ever going to rid you of anger. It is ony by the Spirit of God working in your life that you will overcome anger. That is why we let him do his work in us. In the story of David and Nabal, it was Abigail who interced in behalf of the Lord. She spoke the Word of God into the life of David. I have no doubt in my mind that God sent Abigail to speak into David’s life And praise the Lord that David had the sense to listen. When we find ourselves angry, the best thing we can do is listen. We listen to God first and then others. But when we are angry we are not often in listening mode. We are in revenge mode.

Do you find yourself angry towards another person? Then take your mind off that person, and set your mind on Jesus. When you continue to stew over the person who made you angry, your anger will continue to grow, but when you put your mind on Jesus anger will start to lose its grip. Reflect on Jesus’ goodness towards you. Reflect on how Jesus has every right to be angry at you, but he has replaced his anger with love and grace. When we see how good Jesus is to us and are confronted by amazing grace the anger will begin to melt away. The burden of revenge will be replaced with the burden of forgiveness.

I would love to hear from you. When you struggle with anger, how do you seek the Lord to overcome that anger? Feel free to leave a comment and share.

Overcoming Lawlessness

September 22, 2011 in Weekly Email with 2 Comments

Last week’s message seemed to strike a chord with more than a few. The one thing that seemed to resonate the most was the idea of lawlessness. Not many sermons are preached on lawlessness, but it is something out there. In a culture focused on self, lawlessness is often glamorized yet camoflauged as an independent spirit.

There are warnings against lawlessness in the Scriptures.

Proverbs 14:12 (NLT) There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

2 Peter 3:17 (NIV84) Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

David had the opportunity to kill King Saul not once, but twice (see 1 Samuel 24 & 26). He would have had to opportunity to rid himself of his greatest enemy and claim the throne of Israel for himself. It would have made many people happy to have Saul gone, but God would not have been the one who was happy. Killing Saul would have been the popular thing, but it would have been the lawless thing.

Saul was God’s anointed leader. However, Saul was not a good leader. Saul had fallen from glory. He was not a man after God’s own heart. But none of that changed David’s responsibility to honor the one whom God had placed in authority. It was not easy for David to show restraint, yet it was the godly thing to do. When everyone else would have have had David kill Saul, David chose to obey the Lord. David chose to fear the Lord more than man.

The spirit of lawlessness is at work around us. Some ways to identify the spirit of lawlessness in others and in ourselves are as follows:

  1. Lawlessness rebels against those God has placed in authority.
  2. Fosters a distrust towards leadership. Creates an “us vs them” mentality.
  3. The self becomes more important than the community.
  4. Insists “I am right and you are wrong!” It does not listen and is not teachable.
  5. Will grow resentful and spiteful when confronted. “How dare you question me.” Is not open to correction.
  6. Rumors, gossips, and lies against others. Especially those in authority. (see 1 Timothy 5:19)
  7. Does not like being told “no.” Will skirt the system to accomplish its objectives.
  8. May promote a “good” cause, but will use any means necessary. Will use the end will justify ungodly means.
  9. Apathetic to any collateral damage it might cause. Will boast about its accomplishments while ignoring those who have been wounded.
  10. Looks to receive the praise and sympathy of others and thrives on receiving that praise. Will seek the praise by putting others down and playing the role of a victim.

If we are all honest with ourselves, we see a bit of ourselves in this. A lawless spirit stems from pride. The lawless spirit looks to exalt itself. There are many times where I have made myself to be my most important priority to the detriment of my relationship with God and others.

The answer to the lawless spirit is humility which is given by the Holy Spirit. The great paradox is that if we want to be first we make ourselves last. We show restraint and submit ourselves to God’s Word and those he has appointed over us. We show a humble heart and a teachable spirit willing to listen. We are open to correction. We don’t worry about receiving the praise of others, but approval from the Lord. Let’s trust in the words of James 4:10: Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. Let’s not think of ourselves more higly than we ought, but think of ourselves with sober judgement (see Romans 12:3), that Jesus would be glorified in our lives.

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