The blessing of pressure

Pressures and  blessing

Paul said he prayed 3 times for a thorn in the flesh to leave him, and God spoke," Your strength is made perfect in weakness". Pressure makes diamonds I am told. James says, “Count it all joy when you fall in to many kinds of temptations.” Really James! What part of that pressure is full of joy? Then he points us to what this produces in our lives. Pressure is producing something good in us as well.

I have been having pressure coming at me from many different directions lately. Concerns for loved ones, friends overwhelmed, another friend committed suicide, counseling situations that are way beyond me. Help Lord!

I can tell you I wanted to run and bail out. But the God of grace came and strengthened me. I still don’t have the answers, but I know who does.

Deep inside of me something good is happening. At the end of myself I am finding a cry to God for help. I am seeking God’s face with a greater intensity and passion than ever before. I am pruning crap out of my life that is keeping me from seeking Him and worshipping Him. (These aren’t gross evil, just distractions for me right now.) (time-suckers!)

And then I am meditating on Psalm 63, which I am now calling, the psalm for God-seekers. Interestingly enough, David may have written this psalm in the wilderness, experiencing the pressure of Saul chasing him to kill him. In spite of that, he sings.

Here are several things I am discovering in this song to God: 1.) As we seek Him we will see Him in His Sanctuary. And we will discover His power and Glory. 2.) As we seek Him we will discover that His love is better than life. (This will cause us to praise and glorify Him even more.) 3.) Seeking Him causes us to praise Him as long as we are alive and lift our hands in worship to His name. 4.) As we seek Him, we will find Him and He satisfies our innermost being (soul) completely! (Which causes us to praise Him with singing.) 5.) Finally, even on our beds at night when we think about and meditate on Him praise will flow out of us because we trust in His help and the protection He gives us.

My challenge to you is to set your heart to run after Him. Follow close. Praise Him morning, noon and night. Saturate your life with loving God. Cut out some things in your life that keep you from pursuing Jesus whole-heartedly. There is a strength that comes in His presence that enables us to patiently endure any pressures that might come to us. He truly becomes our Strength, our Rock!

The Power and Importance of Praise

It seems that there are seasons where God focuses my on renewed emphasis.
For a month God has been reminding me of both the power and importance of daily, heartfelt praise.
I dont think this has anything to do with the musical abilities of the worshipper. It's all about a heart of gratitude and honor.
I'm reminded of 1 Thess. 5:15-18 where Paul reminds us that 'this is the will of God', to give thanks always. Too many things rob us of that focus. Interestingly enough several friends of mine have died lately. Too young in my opinion, but then God doesn't consult me on the plans for everyones lives. (for which I am thankful.) but all of these men where God-seeking, men of faith and it reminded me that I have to trust God and live a life of faith if I am to praise Him and give thanks, even when I don't understand His plan.
Well, I recently re-read a book that impacted my life 30 plus years ago. It's in my mentoring booklist that I give the young guys that God puts into my life to pass on what God has graciously deposited in me. It's called "From Prison to Praise" by Merlin Carothers. It reminded me of not only how praising God for everything, like Eph. 5:20 says is biblical, it also releases the power of God to work in our circumstances. Amazing! Such a simple truth and yet so foundational. It first helps our attitudes. It humbles us to trust that God is big enough for any problem. Secondly, it keeps our heart positive and faithfilled as we focus on the solution, the person of Jesus, instead of the problem or circumstances.
Finally, as we truly worship him, we are drawn into a present reality of his presence and receive strength and grace for enduring whatever is going on.
I have been so stirred, I have been making time every day for personal worship. It is impacting my life. One of the things I have doing as well is surrounding myself with worship! I am a great love of many kinds of music. But for a season I am going to listen to and sing only that which glorifies God.
I am soaking myself for a while I guess. I can already see the impact as I minister to others.
I have discovered on youtube that many of the great worshipping churches have videos available for free. SuzY Yaraei, Anthony Skinner, Bethel Church in Redding California, Morning Star Ministries with Leonard Jones and Potter. If we want t be worshippers, there is no kind of music that isn't avilable from sancticfied blues to hymns to rap. Whatever our taste is there is music available that the spirit will be lifted in and the words will be life-giving.
so I put out this challenge: To what are you listening? Are you taking time daily to minister to the Lord in Psalms, Hymns or spiritual songs.
try it, it will change your life and release the flow of ministry though you.

What God starts, he finishes!

Psalm 57:2 says, "I will cry unto God most High, Unto God that performs all things for me." Or like another passage that says, "the good work God has begun, he will complete."
I think we need a reminder that it is God working in us and what He has started he will finish. Remember, He is the author and the 'finisher' of our faith. This is great news!

Our success is in God's hands. Obviously we have a part. Like a lump of clay in the hands of the potter, must surrender or yield to the master Potter, we must also surrender to our Father and our God.

When we think of His love and care for us surrender becomes much easier. Because His will for us is good, because He is good, because His plans for us are good, and His power is without limit we can joyfully give up. Ah! This is sweet surrender!

What is God's ultimate purpose for us then? First, it is to make us capable of receiving the immenseness or His love and goodness. We must grow to grasp and receive all that He is. He must enlarge our hearts. Secondly, every revelation of who He is, changes us into that same image, from glory to glory and faith to faith. We are in process, we are changing, we are becoming through His power and grace.

Where are you in that divine process of transformation? Has He dug you out of the dirt of the earth yet? Has He begun the cleansing process to remove the sticks and stones and false pictures of who you really are? Are you in God's vat being softened, with the hard places being removed from your life? Or are you now on the potters wheel being shaped and molded into a vessel of honor? Praise God for the process! Praise God for His patience! And thank Him for His power to press us into His beautiful design that He has had in mind since before the world began. What love and what perseverance.

This note is a reminder to surrender, no matter where you are in the process.
As you trust in Him, He will finish the process He began in you and you will be glorious!

Another purpose God has for us is to pour Himself through us. He wants to pour His life, His power, His love and Holy Spirit river through us onto the world around us.

One more, as He pours himself into us He causes us to become like Him. In character and lifestyle, in thoughtfulness and compassion for others we become instruments of grace to the hurting world around us.. We become a channel of the character of God. Love overflowing!

 He has so much He is accomplishing in us,
and He will complete it, right on time!

Begin again

I have new opportunities on my plate these days.
I am excited about serving people in River City Church as their small group pastor.
For me it's coming full circle. I began as a church planting pastor in communities around the Northwest and we planted churches by moving to an area and starting a small group,
What fun in God it was to become entwined in peoples lives and help them in their pursuit of God.

Now in RCC, they have given me an opportunity to impact the leaders of many small groups and encourage them to be God's instrument of blessing.

I believe that all of us are called to be encouragers. Hebrews 10:25 says, "let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day (of Jesus soon coming) appoaching." What a calling and what a gift. The Holy Spirit is in us to strengthen and help one another. We can do this by considering how we may spur one another to good deeds, by meeting together in uplifting environments. Sometimes just a simple phone call and prayer are powerful. Just hearing your voice may be all they need to remind them that someone cares.

If I could equip these young men and women in God's purpose and plan I would impart to them the capacity and grace to love God first and every human that God bring's into their presence. How to love is such a practical question. And the scriptures are filled with pragmatic ways to do just that.
The bottom line is to treat those around us as we want to be treated.

This is a simple challenge to all of us.
Are we loving God first and authentically caring about and loving others?

Today, November in 2012 I am beginning a new series of blogs.
I wanted to make sure I had something valuable to say and comment on.
To me, everything is about personal relationship with God. He is the center and everything flows from that perfect center.
In Psalm 56:13 David prays, "...that I may walk before the Lord in the light of life."
This struck me as an important prayer. David was pursuing God for most of his life. In fact it was when he quit pursuing that he sinned and fell. In Psalm 16:8  it records David saying, "I have set the Lord always before me." That is what I want to do.
I want to be continually tuned in to God and his presence in my life. I want to choose a God-focus moment by moment and be listening intently as I walk. As Paul says, "keep in step with the Holy Spirit." Isn't this what we want?
As we learn to keep in step with Him, we will cast aside anything that hinders that relationship.
And in his presence is light and life!
Daily he illumines our way, leads us into all truth and directs our steps on a lighted pathway.
As John says, "In him was life and that life was the light of men."
Some will indeed love darkness, but let us be those who love light.
Let us be those who pursue intimacy with Him, by his grace, through the veil, living in that holy place.