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Wealth Without Sorrow

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

Have you ever noticed how sorrow seems to attach itself to the riches of this world? If you haven’t noticed, dear one, perhaps you should.

It’s time we get wise to the scheme and stop buying in. The prince of this world would tell us that money buys happiness. It doesn’t. When we look closely at those who have laid claim to the world’s riches, we rarely find the happiness it promises.

Instead, we find sorrow. Brokenness. Heartache. Depression. Addiction. Hatred. Loneliness.

Yet for some reason, we still believe the lie. We still long for the blessing of the world and seek its riches.

What if we just decided to stop believing it? What if, instead, we sought the blessing of the Lord?

Here’s God’s promise, dear one. His blessing will make you rich, and it comes with no sorrow attached.

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

Wouldn’t you love a little wealth free from sorrow?

Jesus provides that, dear one. He longs to make us rich. But the wealth of God isn’t limited to dollar signs as the world’s is. It’s all encompassing. He desires to make your relationships rich. He wants to enrich your marriages and overwhelm them with joy. He wants to make singleness rich, and even bring joy from your work.

Whatever situation you find yourself in, dear one, God longs to enrich.

He is the fullness of joy, and He longs to enhance our lives as we experience the blessing of who He is. But His purpose is even greater than that. He wants His blessing to so overtake and fill us that it begins to flow out of us and bless others.

Beloved, God seeks to pour out and multiply blessing through His people.

You see, that’s simply who God is. He blesses. In fact, that’s the first thing He did after creating man and woman.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion . . . ” Genesis 1:27-28

Have you considered what that means for you and me, dear one? This is the evidence of God’s blessing resting upon us: His blessing prospers and multiplies.

Before we go further, I think we should consider what exactly God desires to multiply. What was God looking to accomplish with that blessing?

I believe it’s best understood through the context in which He spoke it.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Apparently God didn’t want us to miss the fact that we were created in His image. He repeated Himself in case we missed it the first time. And this is the context in which He blessed them. “I have made you in my image. Now be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with who I am.”

Can you even imagine it? A world in which every man and woman reflected God’s character? Where loving, giving, nurturing and selflessness were the norm?

Unfortunately, the deceiving serpent convinced Adam and Eve to step outside of God’s blessing. And when he did, he enslaved man’s heart, changing the kind of fruit we produce.

He replaced love with selfishness. Sorrow overtook our joy. Instead of peace, we naturally worry. Instead of patience, anger erupts. In place of kindness, we hurt people. Evil has overrun goodness. Faithfulness withers into doubt. Harshness crushes gentleness, and self-control is all but lost.

The fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)—meant to nourish, grow, and produce abundant life—has been replaced by the fruit of God’s enemy. The image of God has been overshadowed in the hearts of the people He created to reveal it. Instead, the character of man naturally reflects the image of His enemy.

God gives of Himself. Satan takes for himself.

Beloved, Jesus went to the cross so that you and I could once again reflect the image of God. He conquered the deceiver and poured out His Spirit to all who will believe, equipping us to become who He is.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29

And now He asks us to take up His commission and do what we’ve been appointed to do.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last . . . This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16-17

Lasting fruit, dear one, will always find its source in love. Love drove Jesus to the cross. And if we allow it to come alive in us, love will change the world.

I think it’s time we let God fill the world with His image.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV

 

The Sacred Portion

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Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! 1 Chronicles 16:29

Last week we looked at God’s desire to be first in our lives. He deserves first place, beloved. After all, you and I wouldn’t even be here without Him. He gives life and provides every good thing.

I think you’ll find that He will never agree to be second.

And He has established by His Word that those who honor Him first will walk in the bounty of His blessing.

Is He first in your life, dear one? Does your life center around Him and His purpose?

Perhaps you’re wondering how to put God first. It’s simple, really. We put God first when we honor and trust His Word.

When you and I seek to know and understand God’s heart through His Word and choose to live by the principles He reveals, we begin to live by faith. And faith, dear one, opens the door to His marvelous grace.

Today we’ll focus on one particular principle woven throughout scripture: the sacred portion.

Let’s begin by establishing a truth I pray you already know.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

As the Creator of all things, everything belongs to God. Yet He chose to do something remarkable.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. Psalm 115:16

God created a world by the breath of His mouth, and then gave it to the people He formed from the dust of its surface. He handed us authority (Genesis 1:26), allowing us to choose whether we’d walk with Him and live in His promises, or whether we would discover the hardship of life lived apart from Him.

He desperately longs for us to choose fellowship with Him and trust His Word. He wants our believing lives to become evidence of His truth. And one way He ordained that we can honor Him is by returning the sacred portion to Him.

You see, although He has given His creation to man, He has set aside a portion of everything for Himself. He allows us to live on His provision and enjoy it, but He has set apart the first of everything His hand brings forth and marked it as holy.

The sacred portion belongs to Him, dear one.

And He promises that if we will offer Him the first of everything, He will bless all the rest for our use.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Proverbs 3:9-10

God has also claimed the first of everything born.

“You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.” Exodus 13:12

Mary and Joseph honored this decree when they brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” Luke 2:22-23).

Ezekiel 44:30 reveals the benefit of living by this principle.

And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.

God promises His people that if we will honor Him by returning to Him the first of all He provides, He will bless the rest.

You may be tempted to argue that these principles were a part of Jewish law that we are no longer bound to. I would challenge that thinking by pointing out that this principle shows up long before Israel or its laws had been established. We only need to venture into the fourth chapter of Genesis to find it.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Genesis 4:2-5

I used to wonder why God seemed to regard Cain unfairly. I mean, if Cain worked the ground, isn’t it only right that his offering would come from its fruit?

Then God showed me the principle of the first.

You see, Cain brought an offering of some fruit to God in the course of time. Abel brought from the firstborn and the best portions.

Abel returned to God what was rightfully His, honoring Him with his first and best. Cain took the best for himself and offered to God what was left over. Abel received the blessing of God. Cain did not.

Perhaps we should consider God’s words in Malachi 3:6.

“For I the Lord do not change.”

You might be interested to read the context of that declaration.

“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:8-10

God’s challenge is simple. Return to God what is His, and ours will be blessed. Take from what belongs to Him, and He will remove His blessing from what is ours.

You and I are not bound to the law, dear one. But we are bound by the principles God has declared in His Word. And He has declared that the first of everything is sacred and His.

Will you trust God by returning the holy portion, full of faith that He will provide more?

Then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, . . . Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people. Deuteronomy 26:13a, 15a

 

The First and Only

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“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

God has this thing about being first.

You can’t blame Him, really. After all, He is the First. And the Last. And He’s everything in between.

“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. Isaiah 48:12-13

The God who IS —who existed before time and created all things—longs for us to recognize His preeminence. And to honor it.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

God created us to live in relationship with Him, fully dependent on Him as our source.

Source of what, you may ask? Of everything.

God gives life and He takes it. He commands the sun and the moon. He spins the earth on its axis. He created and governs time. He is our source of love, joy, peace and security. He gives and maintains health. He causes the rain to fall and the ground to produce so we can have food to eat. He gives us the ability to prosper.

Beloved, God simply asks for us to recognize His role.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:16-17 NIV

Every good thing we long for can only come from God. And He longs to bless us with those perfect gifts. But to receive from God, we must acknowledge Him as our source.

This, dear one, is where the deceiver wreaks his havoc among us. He convinces us that we’re responsible for providing our own good. He whispers the same lie he offered Eve in the garden, suggesting we don’t need God. No, we ourselves can be like Him.

So we strive and toil to build the life we desire instead of learning to trust God and receive.

Wise King Solomon had a few things to say about that.

What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

Have you ever noticed that the harder we work, the more miserable we become? And we never seem to attain the goal we seek. We may get close, but satisfaction remains elusive. Because even if we reach the goal, it changes on us like a shifting shadow. Suddenly what we thought we wanted isn’t enough.

And our hearts can’t rest.BlogPosts_TheFirstandOnly

Solomon saw the answer to this vain struggle.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

Do you see it, dear one? Every good and perfect gift comes from above, even our ability to enjoy our work. You see, joy is a gift. We can’t manufacture it. We must receive it from its source. And God is the only source of everything good.

Just in case we missed it the first time, Solomon repeated the concept in chapter 3.

. . . also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. Ecclesiastes 3:13

God wants us to find pleasure in our work and in our lives, but that pleasure can only come from Him. Otherwise, it will be fleeting, changing and shifting. Never resting.

That’s why He invites us to come close and trust Him. He declares, I AM the First and the Last, and He asks us to live like we believe it. He calls us to put Him first so His blessing can flow into our lives and out on this earth.

Is He first in your life, dear one? Do you run to Him first to share good news? Do you offer your grief to Him before you transfer the burden to one of your loved ones? Is He first in your thoughts when you wake in the morning? Do you recognize He is your only true Healer?

Our enemy would have us believe we can extract our own good from life. If we work hard enough we can prosper ourselves. We can find healing through physicians and medicines.

God may use physicians, but He alone is Healer. Asa, king of Judah, learned that lesson the hard way.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. 2 Chronicles 16:12-13

Asa was a man of God. He rid Judah of its idols and won great battles by the Lord’s hand. Yet after so much success, he began to rely on his own strength instead of continuing to depend on God.

It cost him dearly.

Nothing the world offers is an adequate substitute for God. He asks you, dear one. Will you live like you believe it?

Soiled Garments

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Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. Revelation 3:4 ESV

You might be surprised at how many times scripture references clothes. Particularly washed clothes.

We find our opening scripture in Jesus’ address to one of the seven churches in Revelation, penned by the apostle John. John opens the book with a blessing included in no other book of scripture.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Revelation 1:3

I don’t know about you, but I could handle a little blessing. After all, the opposite of blessing is still cursing. And God declared that those who hear and keep His words written in Revelation are blessed.

Are you listening?

Since God has captured my attention with garments, we will focus today on Jesus’ words to the church in Sardis.

He begins His address with some unsettling words.

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1

Do you know your reputation, dear one? What do those who know you believe about you? Does it match what God sees?

I can’t help thinking of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Jesus shows great concern that our outward appearance matches our inner reality. That shouldn’t surprise us, really, when we consider that Jesus is the Truth and His enemy deceives.

Yes. Jesus desires authenticity.

I know this from experience, dear one. Several years ago, God used Revelation 3:1 to get me to deal with an area of sin in my own life I’d been trying to ignore.

At the time, God was in the midst of opening doors and expanding my borders in ministry.

Yes. God still uses imperfect people.

And to the outsider looking in, God’s hand was apparent. I had dedicated myself to earnestly living my faith, and God was actively using me to reach people and awaken them to His truth.

But God desires far more from us than our service, dear one. He wants our whole hearts. And He requires us to freely offer them so that He can transform them into the likeness of Jesus. That means holding nothing back.

So one day during my study of scripture, He spoke straight to my heart through His words to the church at Sardis. “I know your works, and I know your reputation. You have a reputation for being alive, but in this area, you are still dead.”

His next words through those verses brought me straight to my knees in repentance.

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Revelation 3:2-3

Jesus spoke these words to one of His churches, beloved. And He spoke them to me.

I wonder, dear one. What does He desire of you?

Repentance is the precursor to every blessing available to us in Christ. Without sincere, repentant hearts we will never transform and become His righteousness. And that leaves Jesus unable to use us to pour out His blessing on this desperately needy earth.

Jesus is asking us to trust His Word, dear one. To believe it and live according to it so that He can manifest our faith as righteousness. When we don’t live by what we have received and heard from Him, we soil our garments.

Thankfully, scripture also reveals that what Jesus requires of us is absolutely possible to accomplish, even in our humanity. It’s possible because God Himself provides the power to succeed when we choose to trust Him.

“Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:4-6

What will you choose, dear one? Will you overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony? God longs to see it, beloved, to make you a living witness to His glorious power.

And consistently throughout His Word, He offers an unbreakable promise. God fights for and rescues the righteous.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands . . . These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. …Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Revelation 7:9, 14, 22:14

Are You Getting Dressed?

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I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Today we press in close to Jesus as He tells the parable of the wedding feast. I’ll warn you, dear one. You may want to prepare your heart. Our story takes a rather unpleasant turn.

Jesus begins by comparing the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Only when he sent his servants to call the invited guests, they refused to come.

The patient king then sent additional servants commanding them to tell those invited,

“See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” Matthew 22:4

Again the king received a disappointing response.

But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. (verses 5-6)

The invited guests were too busy with their own lives to bother with what the king had planned for them. They rejected him, ignoring his invitation, and focused instead on their own means of prospering themselves. Some of them even mistreated and harmed the people the king had sent to bless them.

Put yourself in the story, beloved.

I can’t help wondering how many times our King has invited us to dine with Him but we’ve denied His request. Think about it. He hand delivers an invitation marked with your name, only you’re too busy building your own kingdom to even pay attention to Him.

But here’s the thing about God’s plans, dear one. Our refusal to participate in what God is doing doesn’t stop Him from doing it. It just causes us to miss the blessing we would have received from Him when He passes the offer along to someone else.

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. Matthew 22:8-10

Here’s where the story really gets interesting. The time for the wedding has come, and the hall is filled with guests. The king enters the room and makes a startling discovery.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.” Matthew 22:11-12

Apparently one of the guests wasn’t properly dressed. When the king questioned him about it, he had no answer. So the king did something the man didn’t expect.

“Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:13-14

Something pierces deep in my heart when I consider Jesus’ words. This man was sought out by the king’s servant and given an invitation to the wedding. He accepted the invitation from the king and entered the hall with the others.

But he didn’t bother to get dressed.

His negligence got him bound and cast out from the feast into the outer darkness.

I have to ask, beloved. Are you getting dressed for the wedding feast? Have you put on the clothes that the King has provided for you to wear?

. . . he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness . . . Isaiah 61:10

You and I aren’t responsible to provide the wedding clothes, dear one. But we are responsible to put them on.

Consider the people in the parable. The king’s servants found them out in the roads and invited them in off the street. It’s unlikely these guests would’ve had proper clothes. The passage implies that the generous king provided them with garments when they accepted his invitation. All the guests had to do was put on what was given them by the king.

Only this gentleman refused. And it cost him dearly.

I can’t help thinking of Hebrews 12:14,

. . . without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Jesus is our righteousness, beloved. God has gifted Him to us in His grace, and He is asking us to put Him on.

. . . put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

Putting on Christ’s righteousness isn’t something that we do by the strength of our own effort. We receive it by faith as we submit to Jesus and allow Him to make us like Him.

But it is necessary.

You see, righteousness is the true gift of your salvation, beloved.

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. Psalm 11:7

Only righteousness will usher us into the blessings and promises of God. It’s time we put on the garments Christ made available to us. After all, we do have a wedding to attend.

“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8

 

 

Do You Know What You Have?

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“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25

Recently God captured my attention with a portion of scripture from Acts 3.

It begins with Peter and John heading to the temple at the hour of prayer. As they were about to enter, a man who had been lame from birth asked them for money. Peter responded with something the man did not expect.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:4-5

I wonder how many times this man had lived this very scene. Verse 2 reveals that he was carried and laid daily at the temple gate to ask for alms. I imagine the monotony of the routine left him with little expectation. I wonder how many temple visitors passed by pretending not to see him. Still others may have tossed him a coin without ever actually looking at his face.

And yet this day, Peter and John gazed right at him and asked him to do the same. “Look at us.” Their response got his attention, stirring the lame man’s heart with hopeful expectation. These two would surely provide him something.

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Acts 3:6-7

I can only imagine what the man must have thought in that life-changing moment. He extended his hand to receive coins from a stranger. Instead a hand raised him to his feet. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Most of us can’t remember our first steps. This man, lame from birth, would never forget his.

And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:8-10

Are you desperate to experience wonder and amazement at the hand of God, dear one? I am. I long to see God reveal Himself again in our midst. And I believe what I desire is something God longs to give.

You see, Hebrews 13:8 declares simply,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus hasn’t changed, dear one. If our experience of Him has changed since He first birthed His church, that only leaves one explanation. We’ve changed.

What’s different now? Take a look at Peter’s words when he addressed the crowd to reveal the power behind this miraculous healing.

And his name [Jesus]—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16

Faith in the name of Jesus gave a lame man perfect health. Legs that had never stood before lifted him to his feet. Muscles that should have atrophied from years without use carried him into the temple. And he didn’t just walk. He leapt.

What had been dead came alive, all because of faith. Sounds like the Gospel message to me.

But whose faith, dear one?

This is the part of the story that intrigues me most. You see, it wasn’t the faith of the lame man that ushered in his miracle. It was Peter’s faith that produced a work of God on his behalf.

I can’t seem to let go of Peter’s words to the lame beggar.

“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

Peter knew what he had. He knew exactly what was available to him through Jesus. And he knew he was free to give it. He believed, and his belief poured out blessing on a man who had no faith.

I wonder, dear one. Do we miss seeing Jesus reveal His glory in our midst because we don’t know what we have to give? Do we simply no longer believe?

Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit our opening scripture.

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25

Jesus repeats those words five times in the four gospels. [See Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, and Luke 19:26] I think He may be trying to get our attention.

At first glance Jesus’ words appear confusing. How can God take something from someone with nothing?

Take a look at His words again.

“From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

What if Jesus’ words reveal that this man’s problem isn’t really that he didn’t have, but rather that he didn’t acknowledge and use what he had? The consequences are clear. If we don’t use it, we lose it.

You and I need to know what we have, dear one.

Let’s not allow unbelief to quench the Spirit of God in our day. It’s not our place to tell God how He should move. He manifests His Spirit through each of us as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11). But if He’s going to release His work through you, He will require something of you.

A little faith.

Why Do You Love Jesus?

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But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15

A friend of mine once shared a story with me about a visit to her son’s elementary school for parent visitation day.

A little girl in his class had her turn as the “star of the day” and was given the opportunity to share some things about herself with the other students. After telling some stories about a few fun adventures she’d experienced, she finished by adding, “And I love Jesus.”

Caught off-guard by this bold declaration, my friend rejoiced inwardly that this child had been able to proclaim her love for Jesus in the public school! Anxious to see what would happen next, she watched as the little girl selected three students from the class to ask her one additional question.

One child wanted to hear more about her trip to Disney World. A young boy asked about the NFL game she’d mentioned. And then the last little girl surprised my friend by raising the curious question, “Why do you love Jesus?”

All eyes rested on the star of the day. Why, indeed? A hush fell over the room as both the children and the visiting parents waited to hear her answer.

The hush grew to a tense silence, her unanswered question hanging in the air on pins and needles. No reply followed. The star could find no words to speak in response.

Moments passed before the teacher finally redirected the conversation and brought her time of sharing to a close. And what of the little girl who wondered why this Jesus was worth loving?

She never got her answer.

My heart goes out to the star of the day. I probably would have sat there dumbfounded as well if someone had asked me that question at her age. If I had found the courage to muster up a reply, I’m quite sure my answer would’ve disappointed. “My parents told me I should.”

I spent years fearfully dreading the reality that Christians are supposed to witness to others and share the hope of the Gospel. I never wanted to tell anyone about Jesus.

More than two decades would pass before I realized why it frightened me so much. The truth is, I didn’t have anything to say. I had no real testimony to share.

I knew a lot about Jesus, but I didn’t really know Him. I had learned to respond with the “right” answers, but that’s all they were. Empty, recited answers.

I was 26 before I discovered the difference. Jesus just showed up one day when I was working through a Bible study.

I wasn’t looking for Him. I was too busy filling in the blanks in my workbook. After all, I couldn’t leave embarrassing empty spaces on the page for eyes to glimpse at our next small group meeting.

But then one question—four little words—leapt from the page and changed my life forever.

Do you love Jesus?

I lifted my pen to answer “yes” without even thinking. But that day Jesus decided we were going to get real. I’d been pretending long enough, and He had determined to show me the truth about myself.

Conviction fell over me like a shroud, drowning out any pretense. In that moment, I saw what Jesus saw. I didn’t love Him. I never had. I’d been saying it all my life, but they were just words on my lips that didn’t reflect my heart.

I remember my hand trembling as I struggled to answer the question. I couldn’t put down the answer I’d started to write. Through the blur of tears, I managed to scratch out two letters on the page. No.

That moment changed everything. I chose to see what Jesus revealed about the darkness in my heart and stepped into His light.

I repented.

And I discovered I wanted to remain there. I realized I didn’t know how to love Him, but I wanted to. I wanted to offer Him my heart and trust Him to teach me about Himself. I wanted relationship.

And so the little girl who had grown up in church, attended Christian school, prayed the sinner’s prayer, and married a Christian man, finally got saved at 26.

I began a relationship with Jesus where I invited Him to lead and I would follow. This time, love shaped the foundation instead of knowledge, and He began to heal my broken places. And the more I discovered about Him, the more I realized I wanted more of Him.

Today, if you were to ask me, “Why do you love Jesus?” you would find I have no loss for words. Instead of Christian platitudes about the cross and salvation, I would tell you sincerely that I love Him because He rescued me out of my emptiness and taught me the way of love.

He is the source of every good thing in my life. He whispers encouragement to my soul when I’m fearful. He assures me of His love when I’m broken and losing my way. He meets me in His Word every time I give Him the opportunity. He has given me purpose. He empowers me to be what I can’t be without Him. He rejoices with me in gladness, and He catches my tears so He can redeem them and bring beauty out of my pain.

Beloved, I love Jesus with everything that I am. He is worth every moment I give Him, every battle I fight for Him, every prayer I utter to Him. I pray you will not settle for knowledge about your Savior. Press your way past the crowds “doing church” and enter the inner sanctuary where His Presence dwells. There He waits to reveal Himself to your seeking heart.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:13-14

Breakfast of Champions

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But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Jesus made a powerful statement in our opening scripture. Perhaps you should read it again.

According to Jesus, every word that God speaks remains as integral to our survival as the food we eat. We can’t live without His words.

Do you believe Him?

Perhaps I should point out that Jesus said every word. Not just the ones we like, or the ones that first brought us to salvation. All of them. Even the ones we haven’t bothered to read.

Here’s the truth straight from the mouth of Jesus, dear one. You and I can’t live on food and water alone and thrive. If we want to sustain real life, we also need to feed on the Word of God.

Which is precisely why the enemy convinces us we don’t need it.

I imagine you’re familiar with his tactics. Have you ever felt an oppressive feeling rise up in you when someone suggested you needed to spend more time in the Word—as if the idea of spending time with Jesus was burdensome? Perhaps when you have a busy day the first thing you naturally tend to cut out is your quiet time. You don’t really need it, after all, and you need to accomplish the rest of the things on your list.

Do you know where those thoughts and feelings come from, dear one? From a deceiver who desires to render the people of God powerless.

Take a moment to ponder Psalm 138:2.

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

I found something interesting when researching this scripture. The ESV gives an alternate interpretation from the Hebrew that also appears in many other translations.

. . . you have exalted your word above all your name.

The Amplified Bible includes both translations.

I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

According to scripture, God has elevated His Word above all else that exists. He has proclaimed His truth as the standard over all things, and He declared in Jeremiah 1:12,

“I am watching over my word to perform it.”

At all times, you and I either cooperate with the word of God or work against it. Listen carefully, dear one. We cannot live contrary to the revealed Word of God and expect to experience the blessings that flow from the power of Jesus’ name.

Revelation 19:13 reveals why.

He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. (NIV)

We can’t call upon the name of Jesus to bless our finances while neglecting His command to give. We cannot expect God to release our oppression while ignoring His mandate to forgive.

Beloved, many in the body of Christ are floundering and powerless because we’ve tried to invoke the power in the name of Jesus without exalting His Word.

We lift high His name on Sunday morning. We attach His name to our prayers in an effort to release His power. And we pray big prayers hoping for grand results and awesome answers. But we do all this while disregarding the words God has already spoken.

Here’s why the enemy works so hard to convince us to neglect God’s Word, dear one. The Word of God carries and releases the power of God.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11

The Word of God accomplishes His purposes. When you and I embrace and agree with what God has spoken by faith, His purpose becomes realized in us as well.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

God’s Word coming alive in us gives the victory over our enemy. It unleashes every promise God has spoken. God watches over His Word, and when He sees a faithful follower trust what He has spoken and live by His principles, He performs the work of that word in our lives. Our believing faith ushers us into the power of His grace.

Let’s not allow our enemy to snatch the Word of God away from us any longer. Let’s partake, feed on His words, and live.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

Playing in the Sand

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“ . . . But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Revelation 12:12

In case this is news to you, let me make something very clear: Satan knows he has been defeated. You should know it too.

In the great battle between good and evil, victory has already been declared in heaven. Satan and his demons have been cast down to the earth and rendered powerless by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:7-11).

You and I aren’t waiting to see who wins this thing, dear one. It’s been decided. Now we wait to see the victory God accomplished in heaven realized on this earth.

Perhaps this is a good time to remind you how Jesus taught us to pray.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

The enemy knows full well that one day his defeat will become abundantly evident here on earth as well. So in the meantime, he has set his fury on the one thing that can hinder his movement and power here. He comes with a vengeance against Christ’s bride, the church.

Why? Because of what Jesus declared in Matthew 16:18.

“ . . . and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t say that hell would not prevail against Him. He clearly states that His church will secure the victory, a church built on this rock.

It seems appropriate to ask a significant question: Upon what rock will Christ build His prevailing church?

Let’s check the context of Jesus’ statement. He had just asked His disciples a question.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:15-16

Look carefully at Jesus’ next words.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:17-18

Peter had only one way of knowing Jesus was the Christ, the same way we do today. God revealed the truth to him. Jesus called Peter blessed because he had discerned and trusted what the Father had spoken to his heart about Jesus.

Peter heard and believed, and Jesus proclaimed, “on this rock I will build my church.” Only a church founded and built on believing God’s words will prevail against our enemy.

Jesus gave a similar message in Matthew 7:24-25.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Only the house established and built on hearing and living the words of God prevails.

You might be interested to read how Revelation 12:15 describes the enemy’s attack on Christ’s bride.

The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.

What pours from the mouth, dear one? Words. The ancient serpent, the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9), spews lies at the bride of Christ to carry her away like a flood.

And he isn’t passive about it. Verse 17 reveals he is furiously making war on all who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. But the ESV, heralded to be one of the more literal translations from the original Greek, adds these words about Satan.

And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Several other translations put the phrase at the beginning of chapter 13 as if John, the writer of Revelation, were the one standing on the sand. But when I read it in the ESV, something stirred in my heart.

You see, Jesus didn’t only teach about the strength and safety that comes from building on the rock in Matthew 7. He also warned of the dangers that come when we establish our foundation on the sand.

“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26-27

The torrents of lies flowing from the mouth of the serpent have one agenda: to convince us to stand with him on the sand.

When we believe his words over the Word of God we willingly step from our secure position onto his ground. As we move onto his turf, we give up all authority Christ provides.

But when we stand on the Word of truth, refusing to believe the enemy’s deceptions no matter what our eyes might see, we invite the supernatural power of the Word to reveal itself.

Only believers standing on truth and living the Word of God can defeat our enemy and reveal Christ’s victory on this earth. So Satan’s plan is simple: keep us from actively believing God’s words.

Know the power you wield, dear one. It comes from aligning your life with truth.

Let’s quit playing in the sand—and crashing in the surf.

Instead, let’s stand on the Word. Let’s feed on it. Live it. Believe it. Wield it.

It’s time we tossed our enemy in his own waves.

The Full Rights of Sons

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I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Galatians 4:1 ESV

A few weeks ago, our opening scripture took hold of me in my quiet time. I haven’t been able to let go of it. I don’t think Jesus wants me to.

You see, you and I are children of God—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)— entitled to the full riches of our inheritance upon maturity.

But we have refused to grow up. So we’re living as slaves instead of heirs.

Jesus wants to see us live out the riches of our inheritance. He lovingly demonstrated this to a woman suffering under a disabling spirit.

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. Luke 13:10-13

Take a moment to picture the woman with me. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself (verse 11).

Perhaps the image hits a little close to home. Have you known oppression so heavy it seemed you couldn’t straighten under its weight? I have. And I experienced it as a believer.

I need you to notice something about this woman. She didn’t approach Jesus for her healing. He called her to Him.

I wonder, dear one. Had she so resolved herself to her situation that it didn’t even occur to her that she could find freedom in Christ? After all, she had suffered under the weight of this oppressive spirit for 18 long years. This was simply who she was.

But Jesus saw something else in her, something only He could know. He knew she was a woman of faith.

How can I say that? Consider His words after the synagogue ruler condemned Him for healing her on the Sabbath.

“You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Luke 13:15-16

What strikes me here is what Jesus called her: a daughter of Abraham.

Perhaps that seems insignificant to you. There’s nothing too surprising about a Jewish woman visiting the synagogue on the Sabbath.

But Jesus never threw that term around loosely. In fact, several times when Jews claimed to be Abraham’s children, He rebuked them (Matthew 3:9, John 8:39).

So what did it mean that Jesus called this woman a daughter of Abraham?

Romans 9:6-8 sheds some light on it for us.

For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

God only counts children of the promise as Abraham’s offspring. And who are the children of the promise?

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:29

When Jesus proclaimed this woman a daughter of Abraham, He declared that she belonged to Him. She was a woman of faith, a believer who chose to sit in the synagogue listening to the teaching of her Lord.

Listen carefully, dear one. Jesus called her a daughter, yet she remained bent in bondage to an oppressive, disabling spirit. What she suffered physically came directly from the kingdom of darkness, yet she could not conceive that she had the potential to live free of it.

So, in His merciful love, Jesus called her over to Him and told her the truth.

“Woman, you are freed from your disability.” Luke 13:12

I can’t help thinking of John 8:32.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus called her to Him and simply told her the truth of her condition. She was free. As she embraced the truth He revealed and believed it, she experienced the very freedom He had declared.

Beloved, Jesus still calls us to Him so that He can tell us the truth. Only most of us don’t approach Him when He calls. We find every excuse not to open His Word. Then we wonder why we don’t experience His power.

Freedom is found in truth, and truth is found in Jesus. It’s time we draw near to the Word and start living as heirs of the promise.