Lift Up His Name!

 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

We will celebrate Christmas and prepare to enter a new year.  A year that I am sure has many new challenges for us as it does blessings. This year has been a rocky year to say the least. Political chaos, unusual, even weird weather, a lot of sickness. Many have lost jobs, loved ones, relationships, etc. Life just gets tough sometimes.  Whether it is health, finances, family issues or other difficulties, one thing I have learned is to call upon the name of the Lord, for it is He alone who can rescue us

In the bible there are many references to various Hebrew names of God that point to a particular area of His care for us in our lives.   I would like to share a few of those names with you and how you can apply them to your life.

Jehovah Shalom – “The Lord our Peace” – “So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace..." (Judges 6:24)

When life is stressful and you’re feeling no peace, run to the Prince of Peace and let him fill you with his peace that passes all understanding.  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  (Isaiah 26:3)

Jehovah Nissi – “God is my Banner” – “And Moses built an altar and called its name, THE-LORD-IS-MY-BANNER;” (Exodus 17:15)

In those times when you just want to run and hide under the covers, run to Jesus instead and let him cover you with his banner of love and protection.

Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord is my Provider” – “And Abraham called the name of the place, THE-LORD-WILL-PROVIDE; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided." (Genesis 22:14)

This name of the Lord is a reminder of God’s promise to provide for our needs. Notice it’s our needs he provides for, not always our wants. I remember a time about fifteen years when I saw a $900.00 bill forgiven. Praise God! More recently, in the past four years I have seen God provide in ways that I never dreamed.

Jehovah Rapha – O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. Psalm 30:2 

This Hebrew word, Rapha means to “restore, to heal, to cure and to repair.” This can apply to physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Jehovah Shammah – “The Lord Who is always Present – “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. ”- (Ezekiel 48:35)

What a wonderful promise! He is always there when we need him!  Now there may be times when it feels like He is not there and instead of trusting His hand we have to trust His heart. People may leave us. But as the song Matthew West sings, “He’s the God Who Stays.” We can’t always “feel” God, but we know that His word is true because it says, “He will never leave us nor forsake us. “ (Hebrews 13:15)

Yahweh Roi – “The Lord is my Shepherd” – Psalm 23

This chapter is the Book of Psalms is probably the most read chapter of the bible. Many turn to it for comfort during difficult times. The Lord does care for us tenderly as a shepherd tends to his flock. To gain a greater understanding of Jesus being the Good Shepherd in your life I would highly recommend the book “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23” written by W. Phillip Keller.    

It’s amazing how when new trials come our way, we quickly forget what God has done for us in the past. When I face those times of wondering what God is up to in my life, I often go back and refresh myself with some of the meanings of His name.

Christmas isn’t an easy time for many. My friend, be encouraged today, the Lord is for you, not against you. Ask Him to help you focus on the positives of what He’s done for you. Take a step in a new direction and trust the Lord with this season of your life. Sometimes we just need to stop and listen to what God is saying to us. 

Lastly, don’t fall into the trap of isolation. That is one of the devil’s biggest schemes. He wants you to withdraw and be alone, making you susceptible to discouragement.  Instead of running into hiding, go to your local church or Christian friend and ask for prayer. Take time to pray His name over your life. There is power in the prayer of agreement with another person and proclaiming His name over your life!

As Tasha Cobbs Leonard sings, “There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.”

Friends let’s go forward in Christmas season and the new year STRONGLY declaring the power of the name of Jesus!

 

Hope In the Painful Journey

Wow! It’s December 7 and the month has already been busy, and Christmas is just two weeks away! Sadly, for some it’s a month of pain. Some have lost loved ones due to death. Some have been through the pain of separation and divorce, or having a child go wayward. Or facing illness. This time of year often brings painful things to people. However, there is hope. God through his son Jesus wants to bring comfort to your life during this season.

You may think I don’t understand that I’m just writing my blog. I have been through some personal battles in the past five years. What I share with you today I have been applying to my own life. So, once again let’s use an acronym to see how we can receive God’s comfort in our lives.

Cares – “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

We must cast all our cares on the Lord. Despite what you may feel or what others have told you, God does care for you. But it requires faith and trust to believe that.

Omniscient – “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk...” Psalms 142:3

The word “omniscient” means, “all knowing.” God knows everything from the beginning to the end. He knows the paths our lives will travel. As I have often heard preachers say, “Nothing comes to our lives that doesn’t first go through the hand of God.” His grace and His all-knowing can be trusted to carry us through any situation.

Meditate - "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8

One of the best things we can do to receive the comfort of the Lord is to daily read the bible. Did you know that the book of Psalms is the most read book of the bible? Why? Because David shows that he is human, which we can all relate to. Many of his psalms start off with a trial but he always end with giving praise to God for providing a way out of troubling situations. W can do the same. Things may look bleak, but if we will hide God’s word in our heart, the praises will begin to flow from our lips before all is said and done.

Faith -  “… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Do you see that? Even if your faith is as small as a mustard seed it is enough to move mountains. So don’t accept the lie from the devil that your faith is too little to do receive strength and comfort from God. Put to use what you have and the Lord will multiply it.

Omnipotent – Psalms 147:5 - “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite.”

Here we see another interesting word. Omnipotent means “all powerful.” God is more powerful than anything else in the world.  When you find yourself feeling weak and defeated ask God to show up in his power to remedy things as only he can do.

Rest –"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

What an offer! Jesus was telling us in this verse that if we will give him all of our burdens, he would give us his rest. That’s a great promise to hold on to when the going gets tough.

Trust – ^“5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This may be a familiar scripture, but it is so true. If we lean on our understanding, we will mess things up every time. No matter how difficult this season is, try to make an effort to trust the Lord. Trust Him that he will help you with the pain, with the memories, with whatever it is that you need in your life right now.

All of this takes me back another familiar scripture found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

^"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Oh, my friend, how the Lord wants to comfort you! He wants to comfort you so that you have peace and are comforted. But He also wants to comfort you so that someday you will be able to share that same comfort with someone who crosses your path and is need of healing from the scars of life.

In closing, While the pain you’re experiencing is real I want to encourage you that it’s not the end. God wants you to move forward with your life. He wants to heal you of your pain so that you can be His instrument of comfort to someone else along the way in your journey. I am speaking this to myself as much as you!  Be encouraged, the best is yet ahead!

 

Abiding in the Rush

 

 We just celebrated Thanksgiving. After that it was Black Friday and things kicked into high gear to get ready for Christmas. But… I got to thinking…

When most people read John 15:1-14 they usually end up talking about bearing fruit for the kingdom of God. That is an important principle for us to live by. If we’re true disciples of Jesus Christ, we should desire to bear much fruit for the sake of the Gospel.

However, as I read this recently, I had a unique perspective on it.

In this passage in John 15 two verses stood out to me. The first is in verse 5, which says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” As I read this, I thought about how we all are in the “rush mode” getting ready for Christmas. The Lord spoke to my heart through this and reminded me that we must keep our focus on God, His Word, and His son, Jesus - the reason for the season. Maintaining this focus will help us be less stressed with more opportunities to bear fruit for the Lord.

Understanding that in this passage Jesus is the Vine we’re to abide in, let’s see what we can learn about abiding in the Vine. I have made an acronym of the word “abide” from which we can glean five principles of abiding. Apply, Build, Involve, Deny, and Examine.

Apply – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15KJV - If we’re going to walk in tune with the Lord, we’re going to have to know His Word. I don’t mean that you have to be a scholar or read twenty-five chapters a day. Just be consistent to read something from the bible every day.

Build – ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)   Ask the Lord to help you build these qualities in your life. They will certainly be helpful in the crowded stores! (smile)

Involve – ⁴⁶And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47NAS) The believers in the early church stayed in close contact encouraging each other and they were committed to involvement in their local church.

Deny – “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) Again, if we keep Jesus first in our life, and think of others more than ourselves, we’ll be less apt to growl back at another tired shopper.

Examine – “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified.”  (2 Corinthians 13:5) We must regularly take inventory of our lives to make sure that we’re living in righteousness.

Earlier I mentioned two verses that stood out in John 15. We looked at verse 5. Now let’s look at verse 11.   John 15:11 - "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”  “These things” refer to the scriptures Jesus just share in verses 1- 10. So, what Jesus is saying to us is that if we abide in him, we will have JOY. What a promise to hold on to as we move into December! The stress of shopping, the pain of being alone, missing a loved one, financial strain, etc. As we abide in Jesus in the midst of it all, we can still have joy in our heart.

Be encouraged, my friend. Even in the stresses of life, even in the rush of the holiday, we can call on the grace of God to strengthen us as we abide in Him. If you are struggling, pray the following: “Lord, I am hurting, I am tired, I feel so alone. Please send Your Spirit, the Comforter, to come alongside me. Help me to focus on You so that I may have joy in this season of celebrating the birth of your Son. In Jesus name, amen.”

Until next time, I pray that you are filled with the overflowing joy, love, and peace of the Lord!

 

 

 

Anchor of Hope

 Recently I have had a few conversations with people who are facing some tough things in their lives. There is much devastation all around us. There is much turmoil over the recent elections, the state of our economy, etc. And there is the stress of the holidays. This caused me to wonder what kind of hope people are holding on to. How can we persevere with hope during our trials? What can we be thankful for this Thanksgiving? Then I thought about Hebrews 6:19, which says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.”  As believer’s we have hope! Let’s look at an acronym for the word HOPE.

 Hear God’s Word- “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

We need to hear the word of God on a regular basis, not just on Sunday morning. I would encourage you to listen to teaching tapes or CD’s during the week.  We need to be feeding our spirit a daily dose of biblical teaching. And doing so will help build up our “hope tank.”  Remember in Romans 10:17 it says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

 Obedience – “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

Sometimes we think that by doing good deeds or giving money to the church will pacify God. But if we genuinely want to walk in hope we will need to walk in obedience. You see, when you walk in complete obedience to the Lord you can live with the hope of Heaven in your heart. In recent weeks, the Lord has really stirred within me this thing of obedience and drawing near to Him, nearer than I have ever been.

 Prayer – “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Prayer. There is so much that could be shared about this subject. Since our time and space are limited in this column let me simply say that spending quality time in God’s presence is one of the best things to do when you need hope restored in your life. Notice I said quality time, not quantity. While it would be great to spend several hours a day in prayer that just is not realistic for most of us. Let me encourage you to have a set aside time of prayer every day for at least ten minutes. When you begin to consistently do this you will be amazed at how long you actually end up praying.

 Expect a move of God – “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:3

One of the ways we show that we expect a move of God is study the bible, pursue having more knowledge of God and his ways. Notice I did not say know about God, but to know him. Have a relationship with Him. When we are anticipating something good like an upcoming vacation, or a visit from a special friend, it fills us with hope of something to look forward to.

 As we close let’s look at another scripture passage. Look at Romans 5:3-5… “3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

 When we go through rough times these verses promise us that if we stay connected to the Lord, the trial will produce his character in us, and we will once again experience hope as God pours his love into our life.

 There is no doubt in my mind that someone out there reading this needs to be encouraged to hope again! God has a purpose and a plan for your life, and it is good. Yes, there may be some hurdles to jump and some dark times to endure but as the scripture says, joy comes in the morning! Hallelujah!

 If you are struggling and need a word or prayer of encouragement, please feel free to drop us a line or give us a call.

Guard Your Heart

It seems like the month of November just started just a few days ago. With November comes what is known known as the “Holiday season.” It’s a time when everyone begins to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This season often stirs up a lot of emotions and memories. As we prepare for this season, I want to encourage you to guard your heart.

Recently the Lord took me back to Proverbs 4:23NKJ which says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”  As I pondered this scripture my thoughts turned toward one of the promises Jesus made. The promise is that He is coming again for those who have believed His word and accepted Him as Savior and Lord of their lives - "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:3 NKJ)

However, while we know that He will return, the time of His return is uncertain - "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Matt 24:42 NKJ) No one knows the exact time of the return of Jesus Christ, but we can recognize the times we’re living in.  With all that is happening prophetically all around the world it’s obvious that time is short. I often challenge myself with this question; “What do I want to be found doing with my life when the Lord returns?’ This helps me to keep my life and priorities in perspective.

Looking back to the verse I started out with, Proverbs 4:23. How do we guard our hearts? Let’s look at a few thoughts on keeping a guard in our lives.

Guard our Attitudes – “²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23) We need to make sure we’re building these characteristics into our daily lives. This will help us to walk in the Spirit rather than in our flesh, meaning our own thinking.  See Galatians 5:16

Guard Against a Deceitful Heart - ⁹"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?  ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings”. Jeremiah 17:9-10 

Daily ask the Lord to show you what needs to be purged from your heart.  Remember, as believers we are in the world but not of it.

 Guard Your Tongue – “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”  (Proverbs 21:23) and "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. (Matthew 15:18) Check out Matthew 15:18 in the New Living Translation – “But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.”

Guard Your Family – “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) As the verse clearly shows, without the Lord leading us in our homes we will not do the best we could do.  There is so much in the world today that wants to tear apart families and best protection against these evils is the presence of the Lord in our lives.

Guard Your Testimony – “… “So that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.” (Philippians 2:15 NLT)

The bible talks a lot about living a holy life separated from the ways of those who are not disciples of Jesus Christ.  As Christians we are to be different than the world, not like them.  A friend often says “No matter where you are you’re being a testimony for either God or for the devil. You make the choice.”

     Guard Your Love – “So he answered and said," 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)   We must love God with every area of our lives. Remember, he loved us enough to send his son to die on a cross for our sin, so that when we come to him in repentance we can be forgiven and spend eternity with him in heaven.  Let’s not be like the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:4 who bore the indictment of leaving their first love. Let’s love God and those around us.

     In closing, as you see we have much to guard in our lives. So, until next time think of your life in the light of eternity.

 

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

“Problems are the gifts that make us dig out and figure out who we are, what we’re made for, and what we’re responsible to give back to life.” Tony Robbins

“Problems are not stop signs; they are guidelines.” Robert Schuller

“No matter what our problem, God is the solution.” Pauline Creeden

Where is the Real Church?

For the past year I have been thinking a lot about the church in general. I have been concerned that as the church we just need to stand up for truth and be who God called us to be to influence those around us. While we should pray for our government, I don't think our focus is to not get so involved fighting the government that we forget what we're here for.

One thought that keeps surfacing and was especially strong recently as I was reading the book of 1 Thessalonians is this: As the apostles went forth ministering the gospel in various communities, people received the good news of the Gospel, which is what the word gospel means. It means “good news.”

 But it didn't stop with preaching the gospel, discipleship followed. Look at the following command from Jesus that we in the church are to obey.

  Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Emphasis mine)

Hmmm, so the command wasn't to see how flashy the service could be designed or how flamboyant a minister can be, it was simply to preach the gospel and make disciples.

Throughout the New Testament (NT) one of the main teachings that was emphasized was the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus wasn't just some celebrity preacher. He was the son of God who died for us and gave a promise that He would one day return for us. The NT disciples believed that. Yes, Jesus did miracles along his journey. But the one thing that impacted people was the love and acceptance Jesus extended to them. Yes, there was both truth and grace as He ministered. He was sensitive to what each individual needed for them to be free. The subject of ministering in truth and grace is a whole separate teaching which we won't go into at this time. Back to my earlier statement, the focus was on preparing ourselves and others for the return of Jesus. Look at this verse -

1 Thess. 4:16-18

 ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words. (Emphasis mine)

While Jesus was on earth and after he was taken up, the focus of the believers was always on Him. Their hope was in the promise of His return. Look what happens after the Apostle Peter preaches a fired-up message about Jesus where 3,000 people make Jesus their Lord. The apostles and other believers didn’t simply rave about what had just happened or ramble about Peter being a superstar Christian, they followed up with discipleship. They didn’t try creating sensationalism, a doctrine or movement out of that event. They recognized it was a supernatural move of God which turned out to be the birth of the Church.

OK, put on your steel-toed shoes for a moment. Peter after that great revival didn't change his image to “look the part” he just continued to minister on a day-to-day basis as did all the other apostles and believers. Where did we get the idea that we have to market the Holy Spirit? OK, enough on that let me move on.

Let’s take a brief look at the New Testament Church.

ACTS 2:40-43, 46,47

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles… ⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

 Those of you who have known me for a long time know that my word is the word “balance.” We read in the passage above about many being saved and baptized and continuing to be taught and discipled on a regular basis. In verse 43 it talks about signs and wonders being done among them. I believe in signs and wonders. I believe that miracles are for today. And they have their place. The supernatural will be a huge part of the next great awakening.

However, that is not to be the emphasis of our gatherings, it is a byproduct of being a part of the Kingdom of God. In the book of First Corinthians chapter 12 it talks about how the Holy Spirit offers those gifts as He wills. It's not something that we decide. But what we can choose is… Here I come with my balance statement; We can choose to make disciples of people as they come to Jesus. We can choose to love people, to give them hope beyond where they are, to give them Good News.

The focus needs to be worship of Jesus our king and discipleship. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32 NKJ) As we worship the Lord in sincerity, the power of His presence will draw people. Out of the depth of our worship the supernatural will flow.

Where will the people come from who become believers and need discipleship? They will come to our services when corporately or individually we have been a part of the community showing them the love of Jesus. When we show that we accept them as they are, and that there is hope beyond where they are, tell them transformation is possible. It appears to me that the church at large has lost our sense of awe of Jesus… no longer have a burden for the lost. We got comfortable. We got distracted and deceived with popularity, celebrity preachers, sensationalism, the list goes on.

 Putting this all together…

 Recently I have been thinking about how we all have concerns as to what our gifting is and how we can serve in the body of Christ.  While I may not be the best out there, I do know that my calling is to teach, disciple, and counsel people through the ministry of teaching, discipleship, and writing. Lately I find myself being so burdened with the need to reach people in the community, to see them become born-again, then walk them through the process of discipleship. I'm not sure how the Lord will put this all together, but I am preparing for that moment now.

 In closing, I am aware of a few churches that are clearly following the NT church model. But the question remains; From the Pulpit to the Pew, what are we really living for? What are we really emphasizing in our churches? How many disciples have we made who in turn have discipled others?  How many people are excited about attending their church? They're there early, they're excited about what the church has to offer versus just going to get full of more information. At a revival service I heard the preacher say, “Is your church full on Sunday morning? If not, why not?” Ouch!

Brothers and sisters let's move forward empowered by the Holy Spirit to be the servant leaders we are called to be. My sharing here is not to condemn anyone but to challenge all of us to be who Jesus has called us to be. The world needs us now more than ever!  May each of you be blessed in all your endeavors to sincerely further the Kingdom of God!

 

 

Are You Really Hungry for God?

 

Some time ago I read the following in an e-mail – “When I look at myself, I see how desperately I need to change. When I look at the Church, I see how desperately we all need to change. And I'm so hungry for that change, I can hardly stand it. I do thank God for what He's done. I am grateful for it. But I can't be satisfied because we're still so far short of all He has for us.”

There are times the Lord allows us to experience what I call times of “Divine Discontent.”  Author Tommy Tenney says it this way - It’s like having a “compulsive addiction for God that makes you tired of church games, man’s manipulations, and passionless worship services consisting of religious gymnastics & emotional hype designed to excite & stroke the flesh.”   And recently while reading a book by John Bevere I cam e across this statement: “We’ll hunger for what we feed on.”  That reminded me of a teaching I did some time ago & I want to share with you. I titled it Hungry for More of God. Once again, I’ve used an acronym, this time for the word HUNGER.  Let’s see how we can feed our hunger for God.

Hear His voice 

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."' Rev 2:7

We must be willing to hear his voice. Then when we hear his voice, we must obey what the Lord is saying to us. It’s not always easy. But being obedient will make your life easier. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Undistracted Worship – 2 Sam. 6:20-23

We must come to a point when nothing will distract us from our worship of God. Undistracted worship will lead you to have a passion for wanting to get close to God. When you are in his presence you will have thoughts like: “if I can just touch the hem of His garment” or

“If I could just see Him” or “If I could just get His attention…” You get to this point where it’s all you can do to maintain your composure & you think you’re going to burst. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry… That’s a good place to be in the Lord.  For some other examples of people who pressed through see Luke 19:1-6 and Mark 10:48-52.

Nevertheless

But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." Luke 5:5

We need to be determined that we are moving forward with the Lord regardless of what comes our way or what things look like. Sometimes we can be in a difficult season when the Lord is giving us challenging directions and things just don’t make sense in the natural. That’s when we have to say, “OK, Lord, nevertheless, I will follow you. Remember one of my favorite quotes – “Obedience doesn’t require understanding.”

Grasping for More

My soul follows close behind You; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:8

Quoting author Tommy Tenney again - “A God chaser is a person whose hunger exceeds his reach... a person whose passion for God’s presence causes him to desire more.”  Too many of us put limits on God. It’s time to break out of our religious box… God is bigger than our box!

Exalt the Lord

“You are my God, and I will praise You; you are my God, I will exalt You.”  Psalm 118:28

Take time to praise the Lord. Sing to him. Read from the Psalms – out loud. Let your whole life praise the Lord! Singer Chris Christian puts it this way: “Worship is more than just singing a song, it all that you say and everything that you do.” He is worthy of all our praise!

 Rearrange Priorities

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Matthew 6:33

This means that your relationship with God should hold more importance than anything else in your life.  Now, that doesn’t give you an excuse to be irresponsible. We all still have jobs to go to, families to take care of, etc.  This just means that if we will give God first place in our life he will take care of everything else.

OK, let’s try to pull all this together. Here’s one more quote from Tommy Tenney – “God is not going to pour out His Spirit where He doesn't find hunger.”  My friend, are you hungry for more? Cry out to God! He is waiting to hear your voice.  It’s time for us to crawl out of our safe boxes and trust God to be all HE IS!