Feb 25, 2011

You Need a Shepherd—Scripture: Mark 6:33-44


Many people in our world today truly believe that they do not need organized religion to get to God. They cite the notion that all organized religion is tarnished and filled with hypocrisy. They go on to say that I don’t need a man to point me in the direction of God; I can see God in nature. While some of these observations may be true, they are also fatally flawed, the truth is this: We need The Shepherd and we need under shepherds that will assist in getting us into a right relationship with God.

I cannot speak for other religions but as far as the Christian is concerned the church is the actual body of Christ. We are more than just a group of people who get together on Sundays and hang out. God has ordained pastors to feed his people with his words.  When Jesus was on that mountain looking down at the people he was not angry that they had disturbed his rest, but he had compassion in them. This is what our friends who criticize the church cannot see; we serve a God who is compassionate about his sheep. Not only did the Lord feed his sheep with physical food, Mark declares that he taught them many things. Oh beloved, the Lord is Good and greatly to be praised, for He will feed us not just with the natural, but also the supernatural.


Thought:
Lord thank you for being my shepherd and teaching me, “many things”.

Pray: 
Lord you are my shepherd and because of that I have everything I need.

Determined to live by faith,
Dr. Stan

Feb 24, 2011

Trusting God, No Matter What You See—Scripture Habakkuk 3:17-19


Trusting God is a lifelong process for the believer. We are told that, “the just will live by His faith” and “that we walk by faith and not by sight.” While these are deep spiritual truths we still must face the natural fact that we are affected by what we see. Yes, sometimes we are discouraged when we see the innocent suffer. We are confused when those who live ungodly lives prosper greater than those determined to live by faith. In the midst of these concerns, God is telling us I love you with an everlasting love and we hear Job say, “even if he slays me I will trust him.” 

Where does one get this kind of faith? How do we cultivate this kind of blind faith in a world that is driven by materiel success? Well, perhaps the prophet Habakkuk can assist us in this task. He ministered during a terrible time in the History of Judah.  They had forsaken the Lord for the pleasures of the flesh and were determined to do things their own way. After pronouncing a certain judgment on the people he leaves them with a flicker of hope. He in essence tells them that if you are to be saved you are going to have to trust God in the midst of your struggle. For the truth is that God responds to faith. The prophet delivers perhaps three of the most powerful and poetic verses ever written in the Old Testament. He speaks in a language that they can understand:  The fig tree, vines, olives, fields, flocks, and cattle. These are objects that the people were well acquainted with, for in truth they had spent their whole lives trying to gain these possessions. We could replace them, with cars, clothes, money, favor, good looks and it would be the same. The prophet says if all these things fail I will still trust the Lord. He says I will trust the Lord because he is the God of my salvation, he is my strength and he will take my inability and make me able to do great and marvelous things.

Pray:
Lord I confess I want some material things, but Lord I want you more than anything the world can offer.

Determined to live by faith,
Dr. Stan

Feb 23, 2011

Lord There Is Water in My Boat and I Am Afraid!—Scripture: Mark 4:35-41


As much as we try to live life safely we still find ourselves in dangerous waters. Paul said, “When I would do right evil is right there.” I think that one of the most terrifying things that can happen to a person is to catch hell while attempting to do what is right. It is terrifying but it is predictable. Beloved, nothing angers the enemy more than you and I are doing the right thing in the sight of the Lord. When these times come our way, we might as well be honest and tell the Lord that we are scared.

The disciples were following the commands of Jesus and everything went wrong. (Sound familiar?) The Master told the disciples to get in a boat and go across to the other side of the lake. This simple command got the disciples into all kinds of trouble. So it is with our lives, the very simple command of our Lord to live Holy brings out the worst in those around us. The disciples must have been confused; for they were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do, and yet a storm broke out. Just because you are in the will of God does not mean you escape storms. In fact, it makes you a candidate for more storms! They must have been confounded; for they were in the right place, the boat that Jesus told them to get into. Just because you are in the right place does not mean everything is going to come up roses, in fact you might find even more trouble. If you notice, in the scripture they did not call Jesus until the water began to fill up their boat. The waves tossed them, the sea roared, but they did not panic until it came into their boat. Such is life my friends, we usually don’t panic until we are affected.  Here is the good news.  Jesus was on board and they were scared enough to call Jesus. Beloved, no matter what the storm in your life, and even if your boat is about to capsize, for God’s sake, call Jesus.

Pray:
Lord though the storms keep on raging in my life, please keep my souls anchored in your love, grace and mercy.


Determined to live by faith,
Dr. Stan

Feb 22, 2011

Lord What Shall I Do When the Wine Runs Out?—Scripture: John 2:1-10


One of the great challenges of life is life itself, by that I mean that we can’t predict nor can we control all the happenstances of life. Often the unexpected, can be pleasant and gratifying, it can make your life exciting and worth living. However, my friends sometimes life takes a deep curve around the bend and when we get our bearings we find ourselves lacking and unprepared for the next step in our sojourn. My friends what I am saying is this, what happens when the wine runs out? What do we do when the marriage is in trouble and it appears to be getting worse? What do you do when children choose a path of death and destruction? How do handle the news of illness and sudden death? Well I am glad that you asked the question, for the scriptures will help us out today.

Jesus has been invited to a wedding in a town called Cana. When he arrives at the wedding the wine runs out. This would be a major embarrassment to the wedding party for if you invited people and the wine ran out, you were a bad host. Word would go out throughout the town about your inadequate marriage ceremony. This would start the marriage off on the wrong footing and have far reaching ramifications. Knowing all this Jesus’ mother came to him and explained to him the predicament. The first blessing in the story is that when things started to go bad, Jesus was already there! Question, has Jesus been invited to every event in your life? Well, if Jesus is not welcomed maybe you should skip it too. This is important because as stated earlier you never know when the straight road will take an unexpected turn. Second, be prepared to come to Jesus and be honest about your situation. Many of us stay in bad situations because of pride, when all Jesus wants you to do is confess that you need him. Finally do whatever Jesus tells you to do. This is the most difficult thing for most of us to comprehend. Here are two spiritual truths: Jesus knows what is best for you and He will not ask you to do stupid stuff.  If you and I can trust Jesus during the grey days of our lives Jesus can certainly turn water into wine and turn our tragedies into triumphs.

Thought: 
Lord I want you with me all the days of my life!

Pray:
Lord I know that I cannot avoid the day of trouble, so I pray that I have invited you into every area of my life. 

Determined to live by faith,
Dr. Stan

Feb 21, 2011

Good for Me—Psalm 119:71


When I look back over my life I can see now that the Lord was using the very things that I thought were unfair, difficult, hurtful, and even embarrassing to bless me. While I do not wish to repeat those days, I have grown enough now to realize that the Lord uses my valley experiences to teach me lessons I could not have learned while I was on the mountain. 

So as strange as it might sound, I can now say that some of the hardest days in my life were good for me! Think about and it might throw you for a second, the death of a loved one, good; the loss of a job you loved, good; the ending of a marriage, good; public failure, good; sickness in your body, good! How can something painful be good?  Well David ended this verse with these words, “because they taught me your statutes or ways”. The reason they are good, because they drew me closer to the Lord. They gave me wisdom that I never could have gained. They made me stronger, wiser and better.  Finally, they are even now shaping me and you into the glorious vessels the Lord had in mind all along!  Good for me, say it a couple of times. (smile)

Pray: 
Lord I truly wish you could teach me valuable lessons in another way, but not my will but your will be done in my life. Help me to say in the midst of it all, good for me!

Determined to live by faith,
Dr. Stan