“Finding Refuge”

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. “Selah” -Psalm 46:1-3

How are you today?
Do you feel beat up, crushed, broken and worn out?
How is your spirit?
Are you running on empty today?

There is much in the world that never seems to turn out right.
There is so much pain and suffering in our world!
Sometimes I feel as if this world is hopeless and that evil has won.
Sometimes I turn on the tv and hear news stories or genocides, terror, natural disasters, political tensions and it all just seems to inundate our lives. Is this all that we are? With all of our progressive science and medicines and technologies we still see death, famine, disease and death.

Some would say that this is just life, they way it has always been.
I’m not happy with that simplistic answer. It seems too apathetic to me, too jaded.
Innocent die every day in every corner of the world, and we could compartmentalize this and say, “well at least it’s OVER THERE, and not here…” Really? Are we not all human? Are we not all connected to the very fabric of what makes us live on this earth? I don’t presume to have the answers to the sickness of our world, but I do know that there is refuge. I do know that there is hope. I do know that we ~~can~~ must rise above this existence!

Finding the Strength to overcome?
It comes from God – “God is our refuge AND strength...” (Psalm 46:1)
Is God something evident in our lives today?
Are we relying on His strength?
Is He accessible to you?
Do you call out to Him in your desire to find refuge from your problems, sickness and fears?

He is our ever-present help in times of trouble! (Psalm 46:1)
When we recognize Him for who He is, we can find the strength and courage to overcome.
When we seek out His refuge in our lives, it makes all the difference in the world.
In fact the writer of this particular Psalm states that even if the earth gives way and everything crumbles before us we don’t have to fear. Why? Because God is near. God will be our strength. God will be our refuges. The creator of the very earth that is crumbling before our feet is there to offer His help to us.

I don’t know what is going on in your life today, but I do know that there is a mighty God who wants to be included in it! He wants to be your guide, your refuge, and your strength! If you’re seeking refuge the deluge of life today, look no further…because God is there!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me in my day to day, moment by moment. Help me with the problems that I am facing today. You know my situations and I am seeking refuge in your loving arms! Grant me peace, allow me to feel your strength and guidance just now. In your Holy name I pray these things. -Amen.

Something more to ponder today, He can and will be your refuge in your times of trouble…do you trust Him?
God bless!

April 28, 2015 0

Perspectives Day #3 Featuring Major Leti Crowell

Perspective on God’s Timing- Is He Slow or is He Patient?

Ingredients of the Soul

2 Peter 3:9 (New Living Translation)

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

Value Meal

John Wesley says this about God; “Therefore “he is long-suffering:” he gives us space for repentance, without any inconvenience to himself.” How wonderful to know that God always wants the best for us. So what is the best for us and how is repentance best for us? He wants all His children to enter the Kingdom. I look at it this way, when I make a mistake, big or small it changes me for the worse and I feel horrible and full of remorse, so when I ask God to forgive me I not only ask Him to forgive me, I ask Him to change me and not back to how I was before my mistake but to change me and make me even better. It’s simple, I want to practice living my life here on earth as I will live it in heaven. God wants that for all of us, to change us for the better to not be destroyed and wind up in eternal hell but to have an eternal life in the kingdom of His Heaven. We can never understand God’s timing in the moment of our petitions to Him but we do come to realize His timing when our petitions have been answered. How wonderful to know that he is not being slow but being patient on our behalf His promise will happen in His time and when it does we must be ready.

Prayer

Dear God, How amazing it is to me that you are patient for us. A thousand years is to one day for you. You give us chance after chance to get it right. Thank you for sending your Son our only way to you so that we can confess our sins to Him. Amen.

November 19, 2014 0

Come All Who Are Weary And Burdened…

“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.…” Matthew 11:27-29

As a pastor I find these word of Jesus to be both refreshing and comforting.
We all face times in our lives when we feel anything but comforted and rested. This passage isn’t really about physical rest though is it? Jesus says that if we learn from Him we will find rest for our souls.

Questions:
“Say is your soul weary?”
Are you dealing with trouble far too heavy for you to care for on your own?
Is your soul, the very fiber of your being, worn out, discouraged, defeated, burned out?
Are you tired of doing it your way only to find another dead end?

If any of these questions resound in you today then perhaps it’s time to let go of the strangle hold that you have on your life and allow God to help you. It isn’t about losing control of your identity, it is about gaining a deeper, richer identity in Christ. Our paths lead to temporal successes and failures, God’s path leads us to eternal successes and victories.

Are you in need of rest for your soul?
Are you in need of some soul-care?
His path is not easy, but we will find comfort and peace in knowing that He is with us each step of the way.

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free.
	Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

Something more to ponder today…have you allowed God’s Yoke to be placed upon you? His rest and peace for the soul is beyond measure! Ponder that!

October 29, 2014 0

Devotional Pondering – “I have to sacrifice WHAT???”

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1

Just the idea alone of sacrificing or giving up something in our lives, at times, seems preposterous. Why would we ever want to sacrifice anything…it’s an honest confession, and a shared sentiment with many. Sacrifice can be a hard thing to do in our lives which often include more excess and over-excess rather than “less”. I’m sure you have heard the phrase “less is more” and in the case of the Holiness this certainly fits, at least in the practical physical sense.

Question: What are we willing to sacrifice in order to have a closer relationship with God?
Perhaps the idea of giving up something physical in your life bothers you. Perhaps knowing that the Lord requires this in order to help you grow seems hard even harsh. Let me ask you this – what consumes your day? Is it your job? Is it your pursuit of more stuff? Are you living beyond your current means? I don’t mean to pry but honestly mammon or the pursuit of stuff has ~~almost~~ become our worldly false god especially in the Western world. We see a new commercial on T.V. for the biggest and nicest car and we crave it. We go to a friend’s house and they show off their new 60′ television with all the new features and we covet it. Mammon – this pursuit of stuff has a way of choking our spiritual lives to death.

I’m not saying money or things are inherently evil, not at all. Some of these things are necessary items and can be used for good…but if it becomes our obsession, then perhaps we have placed things and “stuff” above God.

Sacrifice requires something from us. Sacrifice in the spiritual sense means we are willing to think more about our relationship with God and less about our own selfish wants and desires. Sacrifice is more than just a way of life it has to become a thought process and a lifestyle.

“he (Jesus) humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” -Philippians 2:8 (NLT)

If we are to become holy in our lifestyles, attitudes and actions, then we have to emulate the very attributes of Christ who became death, took death from us, and in so doing redeemed us. Humility, in the spiritual sense, goes hand in hand with becoming a living sacrifice for God and for the people around us (regardless if they are good or bad).

Prayer: Dear Lord, show me what a living sacrifice looks like. I have, at times, filled my life with pride, arrogance and things that attempted to replace you. Forgive me of this, help me to see the threat of mammon in my life and guide me in your truths…lead me Lord. I long to be like you, help me to see how I can become humble in spirit so that I may be your witness to the world around me. Help me to see others through your eyes and guide me in your truths. -Amen.

June 30, 2014 0

Devotional Thought – “Lord Humble me, and Cleanse me”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God” Psalm 51:10

This is a psalm of David. He wrote these words after his sins were found out and the prophet Nathan had confronted him. When someone else knows about your sin, let alone God, the devastation can be total. David doesn’t try to go “on the record” and defend his actions. He doesn’t move away or run from his mistakes. He confronts his sins. He was a murderer, a liar and an adulterer. He had been caught, found out, and left wanting. Yet, David returned to the only place one can return to when humbled by crippling sin – God. Scripture records this sinner to be “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) but what made David fulfill this kind of criteria in life? How can we also be men and women after God’s own heart?

Humility

It should be noted that David was identified as such a man before his downfall; but this psalm and his actions following his downfall should also give us a clue into His humble character. David was a shepherd as a young person. He worked a lowly job which, at times, was considered one of the dirtiest and most undesirable jobs. While working as a shepherd he wrote songs of praise to his God. He understood where his joy came from and also his blessings.

Following His downfall into sin, his reaction to being caught was not one of indignation but rather humility and grief. He had broken God’s heart, and David pens these words of regret, remorse and was in search of God’s forgiveness. Right relationship with His Salvation was his desire. Sure he had messed up royally (no pun intended), but he longed to recover that which had been tarnished and nearly destroyed. Scripture records David tearing his cloak, putting on sack cloth and pouring ashes on his head. This is a sign of grief and mourning but is also a very humbling picture for us to see of a king.

How humble are we? Do we recognize how in need of a Savior we are daily? We are all far from perfect people. We all struggle with sin and temptation. Do we seek after God with great passion just as David did, or do we merely think about Him on Sundays or special holidays? Our lives were given to us as a gift. Each one of us comes with struggles and concerns, but we don’t have to carry them alone. Connecting with The Father connects us with the Divine and unburdens us, but we must first become humble.

Psalm 51:10-12

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, I confess my sins to you today. Forgive me when I have stumbled along this path. Help me to be who You have called me to be. Restore me, renew me and cleanse me. I long to be a person after Your own heart, show me how I ought to live. Instruct me in Your ways, and walk beside me every moment of every day. -Amen

June 16, 2014 0

Help, Safety and Provision

“He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…the Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.” -Psalm 121:3-6

Isn’t it encouraging to know that we are never alone? Despite circumstances in life, we have a God who loves and watches over us! I find solace in these verses. To me it brings to mind a sovereign God who cares about me and wants to provide and protect me. He wants to do that for all of us if we allow Him to. This wonderful provision and protection comes straight for the source of all life, and if He says that He will not let our feet slip then we are armed with the best and the strongest!

“Got any rivers you think are impossible? Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible, and He can do what no other God can do!”

God can do this for all of us today! He wants us to know that He is there for us and that He is watching over our lives. Find comfort in these verses today, and celebrate His care and love through the way that you live it!

June 11, 2013 0

Today Superman is as sick as a dog.

Isn’t it interesting that inspiration is spontaneous and seeks us out in the oddest of circumstances. Me? It found me today, bent, back aching from coughing all night, sick as a dog minus fleas…at least Im pretty sure i don’t have fleas. Medicine induced funky dreams that make as much sense as spaghetti in cereal…I know yuck! For everyone else in the world who is currently sick or about to get sick…I feel your pain, and it ain’t pretty…did I just say ain’t (don’t look now my red neck is showing)?!

I digress. I’m sick today hacking worse than a man with one lung In a marathon (no offense to my uni-lung compadres). Headache will undoubtably be at the door soon begging to come in. I’m frustrated with much to do and house bound…this truly sucks. Here today, I’m reminded though that I am not superman. I never was, and I never will be (is that a kick to my macho ego? Yep, it sure is). So in the spirit of the unhealthy and the unwell, I am putting the cape, silk yet indestructible, away today…(can I still hold on to it for a moment?).

There’s a passage in the Bible that says “apart from me (Jesus speaking) you can do nothing” (John 15:5). I’m really feeling that verse today. News Flash: I am not invincible. Sub-title: Jesus is.
Hmm…in my weakened state today, hacking and feeling achy…I realize that in every aspect of my life, I am better off with Christ than without him. There…I’ve admitted it…I don’t feel any less like a man, in fact I realize that I am not whole without my relationship to God through Christ.

He is healer, savior, friend, defender and so much more…and not just today when I’m hangin’ with the crud of sickness, but everyday.

Inspiration: I don’t want to be apart from Him…ever. It doesn’t mean that I there wont be days when I forget and try and reassume this role of superman, cape and all…what it does mean is that I’ve become more aware of this earthen vessel that is temporary and breakable…yet in my weakness He is strong.

So here I am today sick as a dog, yet feeling mighty blessed to know the one who has Saved and Redeemed me is unbreakable, mighty and everlasting. Do you still have a strong hold on your Superman cape today? Can I refer you to my Heavenly doctor? ;).

-Blessings on you today…keep reaching for Him, he’ll never let you fall!