How we see God changes how we see everything else in our lives!  Because I have learned that God is truly the great I AM, Lord over all; I can realize that even the trials that come into my life are good.  Those trials drive me to my knees where I learn of God.  The more I learn of God, the greater I realize His Grace, His Love, His Majesty and His Faithfulness to keep His promises.  Most miraculous of all, I find that over the years; He has through the deep valleys, taught my heart to rest secure in His peace and His joy.  Therefore, my suffering really leads to joy; because, I find my joy in God.  His presence is my hope and joy of life; overriding the pain of suffering.

Joy from trials, you might ask?  Yes, great abounding joy that allows me to face a complex world with a heart overflowing with hope for each day.  God allows the pains, sorrows, and even suffering in my life at times; not as punishment: but, rather as a catalyst that forces me to take my eyes off me and to place them on Him. So, how does that work?

PAIN THAT AWAKENS OUR SOUL

Continue reading How Can Suffering Really Lead to Joy? →

Along this journey of life, we encounter great ebbs and tides.  There are moments of great delight, abounding joy, beauty, and pleasures; yet, there are trials and questions that cause our hearts to tremble.  Sometimes, our dreams shatter into pieces, leaving us with despair; because, we do not understand.  We look around us to seek comfort and see a world of confusion, chaos, well-meaning fake narratives, philosophies, and ideologies which leave us less comforted than ever.  We want to withdraw into a cocoon of darkness; yet, because we have been there, we realize there is no hope or solace there.  God has proclaimed that He is Yahweh (I AM) and He bids we come to know Him, commune with Him and that there we will find peace, joy, and hope in every circumstance we face; because He is all we really need.

Over the course of this week I hope to show you that knowing this truth changes how we view everything else in life.  It is the crux upon which our faith stands.

HEBREWS 11:6

he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So, let us begin there.  What does it mean that God is the Great I am?  In all my attempts to write this truth, I realized I fell short.  Then in my search, I found this explanation within the archives of John Piper’s sermons and wanted to begin this series by sharing this excerpt with you. Continue reading How to See God as Yahweh-the Great I AM →

When Christ walked upon this earth, division rose among the people.  He came to bring hope, peace, love and to present the only way of salvation.  As He went about performing miracles and drawing people to His ministry, there arose an opposition crowd who proclaimed throughout the land that He was evil.  They tried to diminish His ministry.  Because He cast out demons and healed the sick on the Sabbath, they wanted Him arrested.  He had upset the status quo.  We, His followers, are often met with this same opposition and resistance throughout our land.  Particularly, we are hated when we take a stand for righteousness; despite, our doing so with gentleness, kindness and a spirit of humility.

DIVISION GROWS

The division and opposition screams loudly against the voice of reason presented by the Christians.  The true Christian is meek and quiet in their response; allowing the loud, bold to out shout them from every corner of this land and earth.  However, we know that the victory is ours; because, Christ won that victory on the cross.  Yet, just as Christ; we are saddened and even angered within our hearts by the hardness, crassness and the rhetoric of the crowds.  At times, they rise up with violence and we cry out to God, “how long?” Still, as exampled by Christ; we are to press forward doing that which is right and good and kind in the face of their division and opposition. Continue reading How to Overcome Opposition and Division →

Tainted by our own feelings of self-worth; often, we listen without truly hearing the truth.  We see this played out every day in nearly every situation we face.  It is the screaming rhetoric surrounding the news talk shows; because, everyone is so busy talking they cannot hear or seek truth.  Furthermore, this is the problem blocking our human hearts from seeking God as He truly is.  We want to change the story to fit our own narrative.  Because we want to put our Creator, Almighty Sovereign God into a box of our own making, we fail to hear or spread the beautiful truth of the gospel story of Grace.

Even, those who follow Jesus want to change the story. That was true in the Old Testament.  It was true when Jesus walked upon the earth. And it remains true today. So, how do we get past our own self exalting, humanistic ideas to find and live at peace with the truth?  To help answer that question, let us turn to Matthew 26.

MATTHEW 26:1-2

 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Continue reading How to Truly Listen with Hearts That Hear →

Life is filled with encounters!  Some encounters are very brief; while, others intermingle with us for our entire lifetime.   Our encounters are varied and wide from finances to illnesses we must battle.  Then there are those encounters with other people that weave in and out of our lives.  The lady selling tacos on the corner stand in Mexico.  Co-workers, friends, family, taxi drivers, the young man at the checkout stand, the drive through attendant, law enforcement, and church groups all are people with whom we may encounter in our life time.  Jesus said that we are salt and light to the world.  But what could that possibly mean? How should that affect the way we see encounters in our life.

Paul advised the church at Colossae to beware of false doctrine seeping into their community.  He, then asked them for prayer that God open doors for Paul to continue teaching the truth of the gospel; that others might come to know Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, immediately after asking that the church pray continually; he then wrote:

Colossians 4:5-6

 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.  Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

WALKING IN WISDOM-ENCOUNTERS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Continue reading Encounters of Life as Opportunities of Grace and Truth →