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“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1
We’ve all heard the old saying. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” In most of life, the saying is full of truth, unfortunately. The relationship you found is amazing. He/she does everything you ever expected. You pinch yourself and say ‘It’s too good to be true’, and a few weeks later the relationship ends when the real person emerges and you hear the small voice inside say “If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t’.
You look for a house where you can raise your family. As you are moving in you fight off the visions of watching your grandchildren swinging from the tree in the backyard. Never mind the fact that you are expecting your first child. Years from now the dream will come true. You are sure of it. Until the promising job you have ends abruptly and you lose the house. As you are moving your young family into a too-small apartment the vision of the back yard swing comes back and you hear the voice, ‘If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.’
Life is full of dreams and hopes and anticipation, but all too often that anticipation turns to discouragement because people, careers, finances and health fails us. We watch television shows about the rich and famous and wonder what it would be like to have all the money in the world. To see something you want and get it without a thought of how it will affect the electric bill at the end of month.
I can give you an idea of what it is like. Not because I’ve ever been there of course. I have little hope of ever being in that lifestyle. But I can tell you based on what I’ve read and heard. The suicide rate and drug use rate and divorce rate is amazingly high for many of those who ‘have it all.’
Perhaps the wealthiest man in all of history put it in his own words. “I had it all,” Solomon said, “I had women, and money and power. If I wanted something, I got it. Know what I found? It couldn’t buy my happiness and contentment. It was meaningless and worthless.” (Read the book of Ecclesiastes for the real story.)
The only source of true fulfillment and contentment is found in our Heavenly Father. The only way to find true and meaningful peace is through the God of creation who promises us that he will take from his wealth and his storehouses to give us all we need to be content.
An unending supply of money will provide you with all your physical needs, but the needs of the heart will only be met through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need to fill that hole in your soul. And best of all, it’s all free for the asking.
But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin. Romans 8:10 (GNT)
‘Christ lives in you.’
Let those words dwell in your heart for a few minutes. Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God indwells you. Jesus. The one who touched the leper, the blind, the crippled and in so doing restored not only their physical lives but their emotional, social and spiritual health.
Jesus, the one who reached out to the immoral, the rebellious, the confused and by so doing took away the shame and guilt that had plagued them for so long.
Jesus, the one who took a few uneducated, rough individuals and turned them into a mighty team who turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6) with their teaching and miracles.
Jesus, the one who came so you could get to know the Father; who died so you could live; who rose again so you no longer need to be afraid of death.
This same Jesus indwells each of us. What a marvelous fact. No other religion in the world offers us the opportunity for God himself to indwell us like Jesus does.
Just before Jesus left us to sit at the right hand of the Father and intercede for us, he promised us that he would never leave us, never forsake us, never forget about us. His seal, his proof of the covenant between him and us was his Spirit.
In John 14 & 15 Jesus tells us about his Spirit. He calls him a comforter, a counselor, a friend, an advocate who will guide us through the storms, comfort us in the pain, and give us wisdom when we are under attack.
Why is it then, that this body of Christ we call the church has such a hard time with this Spirit of Christ sent to dwell within us? Go into any Christian Church on any given Sunday to talk about Jesus and you will be welcomed with open arms. But speak about the Spirit and people will squirm.
This Spirit you have within you is the Spirit of Jesus! We don’t have any problem knowing how Jesus would act, but we argue about what his Spirit can do in us, through us and for us. Jesus sent us his Spirit so that we could live in unity, power and freedom, yet we often live in discord, weakness and enslaved by legalistic thinking.
The ultimate irony! That which was given to us to empower us has divided us. That which was given to give us peace has brought fear. Let us, as a community of Christ come together and live by the Spirit of Christ that is within us. By so doing our words and actions will show the world the power of a loving Savior who came, not to condemn, but to free us from condemnation.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you for your promised Holy Spirit in my life. I praise you that your Spirit was given so that You could live in me. Forgive us Lord for failing to use the power within us to show the world your love and forgiveness. Empower us with your Spirit so that the world will see you in us. Amen.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2
What do you do when you have important information you want delivered to someone? Historically, the answer to that question would be to tell them, face to face. To announce the message personally would be the clearest, most understandable way. Messengers would be okay, but sometimes the message may be so important you couldn’t trust it to anyone else. In that case you would most likely deliver the message personally to avoid any misunderstanding.
Today of course, the rules have changed. Face to face contact is no longer necessary and can even be impossible. Still you can send a letter (spelled S-N-A-I-L M-A-I-L); you could send an email; make a phone call or text. Today’s technology makes it easy to contact most anyone at any moment.
Still, with all the technology that is out there, the best and most effective way to get your message to people so you are sure they understand is face to face contact. (For me, that is most preferably done at a coffee shop, but you may choose your own poison!
When the creator God of the universe was nearly finished with his creative work, he looked around him and said (to his Son and his Spirit), it’s not enough. I have one more creative work in me, a masterpiece that will be like none other. The angels watched in awe as the Triune God created man and woman. They marveled at the relationship the ensued in the Garden of Eden. God, Adam and Eve, walking hand in hand down the garden path. The humans listening to the love language of their creator.
When sin entered the world through that first couple, everything changed. While God still loved his ultimate creation, mankind, their sin forced him to look away. He longed for that relationship to be restored. He put a plan in place (the Law of Moses) to try to reconcile them, but that didn’t work. He spoke to them through prophets and through nature. God did everything he could to gather our attention to his desire to enjoy the love relationship we once had with him.
The urgency of the message determines the method of delivering the message. The most urgent message is relayed face to face. So that is just what he did. Time was short and his message needed to be heard. So, Creator God sent his very own son, his flesh of flesh so to speak, to send a face to face message to his beloved.
Jesus Christ was sent to deliver Gods’ message of love, forgiveness and grace. The ultimate message of love delivered in the most marvelous of ways. God with us. Emmanuel. Alleluia. When your smart phone has a message for you it says something on the order of ‘you have mail’. Jesus was sent to remind you of the message of love from your Heavenly Father.
PRAYER: Father God. Jehovah God. Daddy. I am so thankful for Jesus. So unworthy of your love, but so glad to receive your message of love, hope and forgiveness through him. Thank you for seeking me out. Thank you for sending the ultimate message of love. Amen.
Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Isaiah 46:9 (NLT)
I recently read a book on leadership and values in business. The author tells the story of how he took an ‘educated risk’ early in his career. His company was considering buying another company. He was on the team that would make a recommendation to buy or not buy the company. While the rest of the team gave the go ahead, he had a hunch that it was a bad situation. He went over the heads of his team and supervisor to tell the CEO his opinion.
As a result of his risk, the issue was reopened and it was decided not to buy the company. History would show that the decision he suggested was the right one. His decision was made on the basis of the things he learned about the other company’s track record among other things. His investigation told him that the company simply wasn’t worth the cost.
What’s true in the business world is true in the spiritual realm as well. Yet, ironically, we seldom treat our spiritual lives the same way as we treat our finances and physical life. Jehovah God tells us to count the cost. Look at his track record; consider what you’ve seen about him in the past when you make a decision about the future.
There are many god’s in our world, and they all have one thing in common, they have a cost involved. The god of relationship demands that the relationship remain exciting, fulfilling and new. If it doesn’t measure up our nature tells us to look elsewhere, to find a new, exciting relationship to fulfill our desires.
The god of want tells us that true happiness comes from the newness and amount of our toys. Gaining possessions at all costs is the demand of this god of want. The true cost isn’t realized until our kids are grown and we realize we’ve never taken time to get to know them. We aren’t aware of the true cost of want until we’ve built a wall of debt so thick we will never see the light of financial freedom.
The god of self-indulgence demands that we pursue a lifestyle that keeps us happy. Monetary cost is no issue. The bodies strewn in our path are of no consequence. The important thing is to realize that ‘life is too short to take it seriously’.
The god of religion demands that you act a certain way; that you worship in a certain style; that you hold to a certain set of dogmas and doctrines. The god of religion is a sly one because he knows just enough to lure you into a trap of feeling you are a good person, until you realize you’ve paid with your soul.
There is only one God in this world that is different from all the other god’s. Jehovah God asks nothing from you. He’s not about rules, he’s about relationship. He’s not about changing the plan in the middle of the game. The cost was paid at the cross. He simply calls us to be everything he hoped we could be.
Count the cost. When you choose who to follow realize that the best deal out there is the God who’s already paid the cost and offers you the deal of a lifetime…and eternity.
PRAYER: Father God, my prayer today is for those who’ve been following after god’s who require a cost they will never be able to pay. Draw them to yourself. Thank you that you are about relationship, not rules. Amen.
Your anger lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for a lifetime. At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate. Psalm 30:5 (CEV)
There is a common misconception that if you are living under the will of God you will always feel his presence and power in your life. The reality however, is that sometimes, even if we are working hard for the kingdom, we struggle to find ‘God’ in our lives.
When God seems silent, our natural assumption is that he is angry at us; that we have done something that has separated us from full fellowship with the Father. Some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time have endured the ‘silence of God’. David asks God why he has forsaken him in several of his writings. Even Jesus Christ asked, “Why have you forsaken me?” as he died on the cross.
Mother Teresa endured several periods of spiritual drought in her life as she ministered to the needy in India. She writes, “If there be God — please forgive me — When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart”
So how do we handle those times when God seems angry with us? How do we cope with the silence during those times when it seems our prayers barely make it past our lips; when the words from the Bible seem empty and we struggle to find our faith?
There are no easy answers. We can ask God to examine us, to spend a time of serious self-reflection in which we open the floodgates of our soul to him and implore his Spirit to enlighten us. But there are times when even this seems futile. That’s when the promise of Psalm 30:5 may give us comfort.
The Father’s anger lasts for a moment. He is a patient daddy. He doesn’t blow his lid at the smallest infraction, doesn’t lash out unexpectedly and wound our soul. He’s a patient teacher, a friend, a confidant. But there are times when he must rein us in; when he steps back to discipline, to correct, to catch our attention.
But when God’s anger seems directed towards us we can know his anger lasts for short time. When the dawn begins to lighten the eastern horizon we know the darkness of our night is over. The fears, the anxiety, the worry will soon be over. All that was shadows in the dark will be revealed.
In the same way, God will eventually reveal himself to us once more and we will rejoice in his presence. Have faith. Endure those silent times. Focus on the words of promise we have. He loves us with an everlasting love. His anger and silence doesn’t last forever.
PRAYER: Father God, there have been times when I’ve felt your anger and I confess it was my own doing. Selfishness, pride, lust and arrogance convinced me my way was better. There have been other times I’ve sought you and could not find you. I praise you for the promises of your word and that your silence and anger lasts only a short time. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 