Trust Him!

Psalm 37:1-15 ¹ Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.² For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.³ Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.  ⁵Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. ⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.⁸ Stop being angry!
    Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. ⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. ¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
    Though you look for them, they will be gone. ¹¹ The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity. ¹² The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. ¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. (NLT)


Wow!  What a great word! This word is so true!  One time in my career I got my focus off of God and onto a situation.  I was not being treated fairly and instead of trusting in God, to take care of me, and doing my job well I started trying to bring justice to the situation.  Let's just say that I could not bring justice to the situation and all I did was start to breed bitterness and discontent instead of joy.  Anyone who knows me well, know that I love to smile and laugh and that had disappeared.  Finally one day the Lord finally got through to me!  I had gone from being a kind and joyful person to being consumed by the person who was at the center of the whole situation and it wasn't pretty.


I was praying and talking to the Lord.  I realized that fear was the root of the whole situation and instead of trusting God to protect me and to be my defender, I took my gaze off of Him and placed it on circumstances.  I repented of everything to the Lord.  Instead of whining and saying, "It isn't fair!"  I took responsibility for my part in the mess.  I decided that I was going to trust God to take care of me no matter what others did.  I was going to go to work and do my job well and look for the gold nuggets in everyone and everything.  I was choosing to be grateful.  I went and apologized to the person who I felt was at the center of the whole ordeal.  He was shocked.  I told him that I was sorry for my part and for how I reacted instead of responding.  The great news is later he came to know Jesus and we are now friends!


A year after I changed my heart and attitude God totally changed my whole situation!  He created opportunities for me that would have normally been impossible!  He was able to bless me and elevate me in position at work! When I accepted my new job I called a retired employee and said, "Ken!  I am moving and I want you to come to my going away party!"  He asked me what my new job was and I told him and his response was, "How in the world did you go from being a range clerk to an Executive Assistant?"  My response was, "Ken, Jesus loves me!"  He laughed and said, "I know that!"


Today when I read Psalm 37 I was like yes!  Just a week ago someone in my family attacked me viciously on Facebook, unprovoked and instead of defending myself and reacting, I prayed and did some preventive measures.  I did not participate in her behavior.  This morning I read this chapter and I just smiled.  It was like, "YES! This is what you are doing for me right now, Jesus!" 


So I am a living testimony of God's goodness to his kids.  Just trust him to care for you and any situation.  Do what is right and be grateful! Focus on Jesus and stand on His promises.  His word never fails!  He can see everything that is happening and what will happen.  He has it all under control and He can do so much more than you ever can!  Just trust Him!


Trusting Jesus and walking in joy,


Shanin

Choosing God's View

²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 13:26-33 NIV

Today I want to talk about how we view ourselves and our circumstances.  Twelve spies were sent to Canaan to spy out the land.  God had already given them the promise that they were going to take the land because He was going to give it to them.  Two of the twelve spies were Joshua and Caleb.  They brought back evidence of the wonderful crops that were there for the taking!  The fruit alone was huge!  A single cluster of grapes had to be carried on a pole between two men!

They came back in to give the report to Moses and Aaron.  Ten of the twelve told this woeful report of how big the people were, they were giants!  They were sure to spread their negative report to all of the Israelites, spreading fear everywhere.  Caleb silenced the crowd and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!" However the terrifying tales of the ten were spreading and gained more "press" than the positive report of Joshua and Caleb.  The momentum of fear snow balled quickly and then I would like you to read verse with me 33  We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.

Two drastically different views.  One viewpoint was looking at themselves in their own strength and other viewpoint was looking at God's promises and how He saw the opposition.  Once the ten spies viewed themselves as small like grasshoppers and assumed that they looked the same to the enemy, they had already lost the battle.  They didn't lose the battle on the playing field, they had been conquered in their own minds.

Caleb and Joshua viewed themselves through God's eyes!  Joshua and Caleb knew that the battle belonged to the Lord.  They would conquer and take the promise land because they could do it in the Name of the Lord!

How often do we filter our circumstances through our own weaknesses and fears?  Shouldn't we focus on how amazing the promises of God are?  And whose authority are we walking in?  If we walk in our own strength we are definitely losers but if we walk in God's strength, direction and authority we will take the promise land! The battle is not ours but it is the Lord's! Don't take your eyes off of Jesus!  Because if you do you will start seeing the giants and then view yourself as small grasshoppers!  Focus on God and what He has promised!  Walk in the authority that he has given us!

Caleb silenced the people when he declared, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!" So today we need to choose, are we going to listen to the fearful woes or tales and lose sight of our Victor (and think of ourselves as grasshoppers)?  Or are we going to stick to the promises God has given us and go and take the land?  We will certainly win with the Lord when we are obedient and follow his directions!

Choosing to filter my position through the Lord!

Shanin

Old School Social Media Bullying

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. Act 6:8-15 NLT

Stephen was described as a man full of God's grace and power!  That is quite the description. Let's take a section of this passage and talk about if it happened in today's world.

Stephen would be considered a motivational speaker and life coach in 2019! The reviews about him could read like this, "Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power.  A real miracle performer!" 

"Stephen's pod casts are so informative and inspirational!  You need to follow Stephen today!"
"Stephen is wise beyond his years. Under Stephen's coaching and mentoring, my life was transformed."

But then something Stephen said took a wrong turn.  He spoke against something politically incorrect and the local celebrities got angry!  One person went and watched him and took out their phone and recorded just part of something he said and hurried and posted it! Then another person took a quote out of context and wrote a story around it and posted it on his blog.  Others started tweeting about the travesty. Before long it made it to a post on Facebook and someone else created an incriminating picture that they photo shopped and then shared it with the original post.  Practically overnight the story went viral!  People heard how Stephen had treated the political figures and had spoken out against the local minorities. Oh this generated an outcry from all over the country!  Soon the local radio stations, talk shows, the AP wire and blogs all shared the story. Well meaning people would copy, paste and share it.  They didn't do their fact checks, they just believed the thread at face value and were outraged! Soon it even started to spread among the religious community, "Did you hear about what that Stephen was saying??? He is changing laws and ..."  False witnesses would come forward to testify against "something he had said or did before." Stephen, in today's world, would have been crucified on social media.  From hero to zero.

Stephen, the man full of God's grace and power, who performed amazing miracles and signs, was now arrested and being brought before the high council. In verse 15 it says that when they stared at Stephen his face became as bright as an angel.

The accusations didn't persuade Stephen to change his story.  He took advantage of the platform (being brought before the high court) and shared the history and testimony of God's greatness. Later in chapter seven (please read it!)  it says that what Stephen said infuriated the crowd and they placed their hands over their ears and rushed at him.  They drug him out of the city and stoned him to death with the approval of a young man named Saul. The whole time Stephen didn't recant or change his story under peer pressure.  He spoke the truth and did what was right.  He kept his focus on Jesus.

When I read this I thought to myself that today it really isn't much different.  Except we have the internet and social media to do the bullying (oh I know you would hate to use the word "bully" in this setting) but isn't that what a lot of people do on social media?  They can hide behind their laptop screen, in the privacy of their own home and click copy and paste (without even checking to see if a story is true) and hit publish! I see well meaning Christians spreading gossip and false accusations about other Christian ministries before fact checking simply because someone posted a partial truth or even an out and out lie but phrased it in a way that someone wanted "to share it to warn others." We might not literally kill someone but I have seen people ruined so quickly. 

Stephen was an integral man, full of God's grace.  He didn't cower or recant the truth.  He faced his accusers and still stood firm in his representation of Christ. I think that we will see more and more of this as time goes on.  Please fact check stories before sharing them.  Don't hurry and share because a friend said to share it.  Chances are that your friend didn't fact check the story either. 

Stephen kept his focus on Jesus even when he was facing death.  May I be so noble, to keep my focus locked on Jesus in any circumstance.  Did his faith in Jesus spare him death? No.  They stoned him.  Was it all in vain? No!  The young man who gave his approval to the stoning?  His name was Saul who would later become Paul the apostle.  You see Stephen's testimony planted a seed.  His firm conviction and passion in Christ must have puzzled Saul.  All of the witnesses said his face was that of an angel.  I am sure that picture echoed in Saul's mind when he slept.  It wouldn't be much longer after this time when Saul would have a pivotal moment happen in his life.  You never know what seeds your testimony is planting.  You might think no one is listening or even noticing.  You might think that your life story isn't making much of a difference or that is isn't turning out how you planned it to be, but do not be discouraged.  Stand firm with integrity, living for Christ and I will promise you that none of it is in vain.  God will weave it into his plan and glory.

Sharing in today's world,

Shanin

Transformation Isn't Magical, It's a Process

Luke 9:51-56 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵¹ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, ^[a]just as Elijah did?”

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, ^[b]and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ^56 [c]For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

James and John were know as the "Sons of Thunder."  They were brothers and let's just say that they weren't always politically correct. If you were going into a fight you would want James and John on your side.  James and John were the rowdy boys!

James and John loved Jesus, so naturally they took great offense when the people of Samaria didn't want Jesus to minister to them.  They were highly offended and then asked the Lord if He wanted them to call fire down from heaven to destroy them all!  This makes me laugh.  I can just hear them, "Hey Jesus, those people are fools!  What do you mean they don't want you to come and minister to them?  Who do they think they are?  Do you want us to call fire down on them?  You just say the word Jesus and we will take care of them!" LOL  It just makes me laugh to think about the situation.

Jesus didn't encourage them but instead he chewed them out.  He told them, "You don't know what kind of spirit you belong to or you do not know what manner of spirit you are of." (NKJV)

James and John had made a decision to follow Jesus.  They had left the life that they knew to follow him, they loved him, but there were still some rough edges.  They didn't fully grasp the transformation that they were making!  They were in the process of changing.  it wasn't magic, they didn't change overnight, it was a process.  When they offered to call down fire and destroy the whole city, Jesus didn't kick them out, but he did correct them.  Jesus went on to tell them that He didn't come to destroy the souls of people but to save them.

How true.  Jesus didn't come to destroy people but to save them.  Perhaps we (me) should think about that before being so quick to take offense and react to people's actions.  We should filter everything we do or say through the "He came to save them not destroy them" filter.  Before we write some snarky response on Facebook or before we cut someone with our words, we need to take moment and think, "Will these words reflect God's mission of saving or do these words destroy?  Are we reflecting our Father's mission or vision?"  We shouldn't be so quick to take offense, we should be quick to remind ourselves that if we are a Christ follower then we should reflect His mission!  We need to be patient and loving to those who are just starting their journey.  We need not to say something that will hurt them and mess them up but we need to love them along the way.

I am really happy to report that James and John did do a transformation.  Their passion for Jesus was still strong but instead of being known for the Sons of Thunder, John was known as the beloved, a far cry from the terminator!  He grasped the mission of Jesus!  James did too!  He actually died as a martyr for Jesus.

Jesus, help me to remember your mission.  Help me to remember that I belong to Your Spirit so I should reflect that same Spirit.  Help me to continue in changing and growing to reflect You more and more each day.  Thanks God for Your Word and great example.

Shanin

The Choice is Yours

Motive, noun, 1. a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.

Trust, noun, 1. the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him. ¹⁸ Whoever puts his trust in His Son is not guilty. Whoever does not put his trust in Him is guilty already. It is because he does not put his trust in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18 NLV

Have you ever had someone doubt your motives?  I have, and when they doubt you it hurts.  Today I was reading Chapter three in John and something stood out to me that I had never pondered before in verse 17, "For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty.  He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him."  Wow this stood out to me today!  How often do we doubt the motives of God?  I see the world doubting the motives of God everyday, everywhere.  Just take a look!   Who do we question first when times get hard?  When tragedy strikes what do you read on social media?  "How can a loving God do this?"  or "God, why did you do this to me?"   Now we have gone from doubting his motive to blaming him in that one simple question.  I cannot even imagine how much that hurts Jesus.  It literally is spitting on his sacrifice.  He gave his life for us out of the motive of love.  Not only did he give his life, but he was tortured before being executed.  You see, it wasn't the big spikes that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for us that held him to the cross.  He was providing salvation for us, a way of escape from our sins, from our death sentence.  Before he was arrested he was praying and asking God if there was any other way because what he was about to do wasn't going to be easy.  He had to think about his mother, Mary.  The hurt she would experience when having to watch her son be beaten, his skin torn to shreds only to be nailed to the cross and watching them mock him only to see him take his final breath.  It makes me cry just to think of what hell she went through that day and the following three days.  Jesus did all of that for the world just so that we would have the choice to choose life.  We have been given the gift of free will to choose to accept or reject Christ!  Yet how many of us choose to doubt his motives?   The choice is ours to choose to trust him or choose to not believe, to doubt him.  But let me reassure you that his motive, to face abuse and torture to only die, is love.  He loves you so very much.  He wants you to choose to believe, to trust him, and his motive of love.

Trusting and Choosing Him,

Shanin

Live Life Firsthand

Paul’s First Missionary Journey

⁴ So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. ⁵ There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

⁶ Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
⁹ Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. ¹⁰ Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. Acts 13:4-12 NLT


Okay this was Paul's first missionary journey.  I love it because this is where it is first mentioned that Saul, was sometimes known as Paul.  If you start reading in verse nine you get to see Paul truly minister what he knew!  Before Saul served God he was traveling on the road to Damascus to torture and kill the Christians. The word says that a bright light blinded Saul and that is how God got his attention, it was a pivotal moment for him.  It was when he was blinded for three days that he was desperate and prayed to God for help.  If you want to read the story it can be found in Acts 9.  So fast forward to Acts 13 and now Paul is on his first missionary trip to tell others about Christ.  So how did Paul minister? Paul shared what he knew that worked for him! He basically prayed or used the authority of the Lord. to make this man BLIND! 


Let's shift gears for a moment. Let's say that I am struggling with my weight and someone really heavy tries to sell me this amazing weight loss program but they are still heavy, why would I want to invest in that program?  However if someone who used to be heavy, and lost weight with this amazing program then shares with me her before and after pictures, wouldn't I be more inclined to invest in the program for myself?  Same thing with our walk with Jesus.  We need to experience it for ourselves and then share what we have learned!

Paul ministered what he knew and what he had been through.  Isn't this how we should minister? When we spend time with God, in word and prayer, He teaches us in how we can apply his word to our lives.  It is what we have learned through those experiences that we can share with others because we have lived it out for ourselves! When we spend more time reading books and listening to sermons about other's experiences (not that it isn't good to read books or listen to other pastors) than we do reading the word, we are regurgitating someone else's stories.  When I read stories on Facebook about "someone's neighbor's cousin" how do I know if it is true? When all we have to share is other people's testimonies it does not have the same effect, because we haven't experienced it for ourselves firsthand.  When we spend time with the Lord we are developing our own relationship with him. When we live out our own encounters with God first,  then we can effectively share what we have learned with others!


Praying that you live life first hand!


Shanin

Decision Time

“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? ¹⁵ I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:14-18 NLT

This is a great story about three young men taken captive from their Country.  Not only were they kidnapped but their captor changed their names from Hebrew names to Babylonian names.  Hannaniah, which means, “My God is gracious”, was changed to Shadrach (which is believed to be a reference to a pagan god, Marduk).  Mishael’s name meant “Who is what God is?” was changed to Meshack (another reference to Marduk). Azariah (Yahweh has helped) was changed to Abednego which meant servant of Nebo.  The young men were immersed in the Babylonian culture and language.  This was all part of the plan of assimilating them into becoming Babylonians.

The three young men were placed in a position of where they were ordered to bow down and worship this statue.  When they refused to bow down they were given a choice, worship the statue or you will be put to death by being thrown into a furnace of fire. Now although these young men had learned the language, culture and name change, they still loved God. 

Let’s reflect on this situation for a moment.  How many of you let your circumstances determine your current relationship with God?  These three young men were kidnapped, had their names changed, immersed into a foreign culture and now were being forced to either bow down before a statue or die.  Not once does it say that they abandoned their faith.  It certainly would have been easier to bow down when commanded.  After all, there was a bit of peer pressure being put into play. I have heard so many people say, “Well when I prayed and asked God to do this and it didn’t happen, I decided to no longer believe in him, or I got so angry with him.”  Let’s pick back up in the story verse 16.

Their response was to stay faithful to God and not bow down or cave in to the pressure.  They made a decision that they were going to remain faithful to God no matter what happened.  They answered the King, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  I love verse 18, but even if he doesn’t…  They had made a decision to serve God no matter the circumstance and it showed.  They had made a decision to serve God no matter the outcome, even when faced with death.  Wow, that is so impressive. 

Did you know that when it was all said and done, the three young men were thrown in the fire?  They were bound by ropes and thrown in to be burned alive.  When the King looked in to watch them burn, he didn’t see three men, he saw four men.  He said that the fourth man looked like a god.  He had them brought out of the fire and not even their hair was singed or was one thread of their garment burned, shoot, they didn’t even smell like smoke! What a testimony of God’s greatness!  Even if they would have died, it would still have been a testimony of serving the Lord God Almighty.

I want to reflect a little further on the story for a moment.  What would you do if you were placed in a situation like this?  Would you stand by your decision to serve God no matter the circumstance or outcome?  Think back across your life, when tough times have happened did you press into God, or when things didn’t go as planned did you just jump ship?  If you have gotten mad at God, it’s okay, He won’t abandon you, He loves you.  He simply desires to have a relationship with you.  It’s not too late to make a decision.  When you are weak, He is strong.  Cry out to him to give you strength.  Sometimes he delivers you from those tough situations and other times he walks with you.  He will walk with you through the fire or floods.  Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Bottom line, you are loved.  He desires to walk with you through good times and bad!  Make a decision today!  Choose Jesus.