Where Does Our Fear Come From

This past Sunday night I spoke to a number of men from different men's groups that was sponsored by Becks Reformed Church. As I prepared for this presentation, and when I finally got to the point of delivering the message that I was there to speak on, I felt a huge sense of inadequacy. I felt I was not qualified to speak before these men about anything.  Last month at this men's gathering there was a decorated war veteran who spoke about his life and his faith; next month there will be a man speaking who has spoken to numerous Fortune 500 companies.  And here I was a little country pastor or "Redneck Pastor" as I call myself standing before about 50 to 60 men of God feeling I was not good enough to speak to them.  As I began the presentation a calmness came over me and I delivered the message in a way that I never had before.  I was confident; recalled material on the spot without searching my material; and the material flowed just as it should. My talk was so well received that a radio host from Winston-Salem ask if I would come on his show in the future to speak on the topic I presented. 

Afterwards I spoke of my uneasiness and feeling of inadequacy to a few of my pastor friends and they showed me just where this fear and apprehension came from: my PRIDE. I have always seen pride as being arrogant, but false humility is also a form of pride. When we have the fear of not being good enough we have taken God out of the picture and we have hindered Him working fully through us.  When we feel we are incapable to do something we feel God is leading us to do because it is not our gift, or we are worried we will mess up, or someone will ask us something we cannot answer; we are relying on our own self and our own knowledge.  For all intense purposes we have taken the power of God out of the situation because we have relied on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Fear comes from Satan and it is his way of keeping us from doing the will of God.  Pride comes from Satan as well and it his tool to tell us we cannot do somethings because we are not qualified to do or that we are not good enough to do what God is asking of us.    I praise God that the enemy did not win his battle with me last Sunday night and that is not because of anything I did, but because the Holy Spirit stepped in and took over for my hinderance of God's will because of my pride.  Trust the Lord and we can all do great things as His vessels and His instruments!

Thank You Jesus

Come down now from the cross
                           - Mark 15:32

Jesus was being heckled and ridiculed on the cross and was asked that if He was the Son of God to come down from the cross.  Every time I read about the cross I want Jesus to come down from the cross and put those ridiculing Him in their place.  I want Jesus to zap them with all His fury.  Yet, if Jesus would have come down from the cross His atonement for our sins would have never took place.  In order to fulfill God's plan for you and me Jesus had to stay put.  The Word of God says that the meek will inherit the earth and we know that one day Jesus will inherit the earth for His people.  His meekness was the strength that you and I needed to have our sins removed.  Don't take the cross for granted - Thank you Jesus is not a strong enough reply from us when it comes to what Jesus did on the cross, although it is what we can offer; but a way of showing our love for Jesus is to love one another as He has loved us and let us live for Him!

What Is In A Word?

They came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many people told him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; He’s calling for you.” He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Rabbouni,” the blind man told Him, “I want to see!” “Go your way,” Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.^[1]

This passage of Scripture is an awesome example of the many of us in The Church today.  In this passage Bartimaeus who is blind knew that Jesus was the Messiah that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke about because he used two terms that help us understand this: “Jesus” and “Son of David.”  We know from Matthew 1 that Jesus is the Messiah and that Jesus means, “to save His people from their sins.”  In addition, Bartimaeus used the term “Son of David” which we know the prophets spoke that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David.  He believed that Jesus was the Messiah and asked for mercy.  Jesus stopped, some translations say “stood still,” and asked for them to call the man to Him.  When Bartimaeus approached Jesus something great happens that we must not miss; when asked by Jesus, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Bartimaeus address Jesus as “Rabbouni.”  This term in Greek is translated as “My Teacher”. Do you see what happened here? Bartimaeus addresses Jesus as his Master, Savior, Teacher; he has now become a disciple of Jesus Christ!  He has not even been healed physically, but has become a follower of Christ and we see this more clearly when Jesus told him to “go your way”; the Word of God says that He began to follow Jesus on the road.  Is Jesus more that someone we know about from our forefathers and Scriptures; is He our Lord and Master, our Rabbouni!  A great message from the Gospel of Mark for us to meditate on!

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^[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mk 10:46–11:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

Join a Group!

Last week I wrote about my personal devotion time and this week I want to expand that idea a little deeper.  Every Tuesday a group of my pastor friends and I gather together to study the Word of God.  I look forward to this special time each week because we pick a passage and discuss what it means. We allow ourselves to be vulnerable and listen to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us concerning the Word of God.  It is a time spent in the presence of God, study and discussing how God's Word can be woven into our lives on a daily basis.  I recommend that those reading this blog find a few friends to gather on a weekly basis and spend time in the Word!  Now we spend about 2 hours each week studying and discussing the Word, but you can set the time limit you desire.  Also, the place can change each week and you can work through a book of the Bible or do an organized study from such authors as Max Lucado, Charles Stanley, etc.  I can tell you when you gather with a group that is intent on studying the Word in a serious manner you will find it to be a wonderful and gratifying experience.  Join a group and let the Holy Spirit soar!

Setting Out On A Personal Bible Study Plan

Recently I dealt with a severe case of bronchitis and it was during my time of convalescence that the Lord led me to a wonderfully new and exciting personal time of devotion.  One night as I laid in bed I felt the urge to go across the hallway into a room that I had designated as a study area and bring the small desk and chair into my bedroom beside the window that looks toward the church.  Little did I know that this would become such a sacred and wonderful place in my life.  From that point on the first thing I do each morning is retire to this desk and spend time in the Word of God.  I have all sorts of computer equipment available, but for this process I have chosen to write in a journal.  I started off by wanting to write how the Word affected me, but soon realized that God had a greater plan.  That was for me to read over the Scripture He leads me to for the day and write that Scripture in the journal, writing in a somewhat artistic format the part of the Scripture that speaks to my life.  Here is an an example of one of my journal entries...As I read through 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 on January 31, 2014 the Lord spoke these words in the passage to my heart that day: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation...Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ...We are ambassadors for Christ...He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him! This little procedure has changed my life in a very dramatic and wonderful way.  However you choose to do a personal Bible Study, the main thing is to start one and do it daily with a focus to let God speak His Word and His Will into your life.

Know the Enemy

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. (Genesis 3:1-6, NLT) 

This is man's first encounter with Satan here on earth.  Notice that Satan was the shrewdest, the most devious and cunning animals God created; what a great definition of who Satan is. He starts off with a somewhat innocent question about what God has said that they could and could not do?  He appeals to two basic needs of mankind - food and power! When the woman explains the reason for not eating from the tree, Satan tells her the only reason they are told not to eat of this tree is because her and Adam, if they eat from it, will be just like God, knowing all things and being just like Him!  What a loaded question this is and it is exactly how Satan works today in our lives.  He tricks and deceives us into thinking we have all the wisdom and knowledge we need to be like God and just like God. He leads us to believe that if we study textbooks and science enough we will be just like God.  However, we may have earthly wisdom, but there is a wisdom that goes well beyond human understanding and that is godly wisdom that is supplied to us by the Holy Spirit.  Let us continue to seek godly wisdom over human wisdom each and every day of our life.  Let us know our enemy and his schemes so that we will not fall into his trap of wanting us to think we can be on the same level and just like God!  

Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:6-9, NLT) 

The Author

Mark 1:21-22

Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority. (HCSB)

This morning as I sat down to spend time in the Word I was led to these two verses of Scripture.  As I spent time meditating and reflecting on this passage the Holy Spirit led me to a wonderful find and that was in the word "authority" is the word "author".  Jesus is the Author and Finisher, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last!  When we read the Word we are hearing the Author of the Word.  We hear the One speaking the Word into our lives!  The Word is being revealed to us by the Author of Creation!  Jesus knows everything about us and we need to allow the Author to lead our life, as well as allow the Author to have authority over our life; that is what we should strive for. Jesus loves us so much and He desires to have an intimate relationship with us - so reach out and allow the Author to write the next chapter of your life; He knows everything about you and desires what is best for you!