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Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. 1 Peter 4:10 (CEV)
Suppose you had a very important job to do and money was no object. Would you settle for some inexpensive tool to complete the job or would you search for the very best tool available to complete the task?
No doubt the answer to this question would be something like, “The best tool available of course! I’d want to do the very best job and I’d spare nothing to get the best tool for it.”
Your Heavenly Father feels the same way. He has a job to do. His job is to tell the world all about his great love for others. He wants to let people of all ages, races and ethnic groups to know that he longs to spend eternity with them. He sees people struggling with addictions, relational difficulties, financial ruin and abuse that he is the great healer and wants to touch them with his hand of love. He wants people struggling with the effects of illness and natural disasters that he has everything under control.
So, what tool does the Almighty, creator-God of the universe have at his disposal to get the word out about his great love, mercy and forgiveness? You. Yep. You read that right. You are the best tool God has to accomplish this great work.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “He could never use me. I’m not very talented; or have too many mistakes in my past; or have too many other things going on in my life right now to be used by God.”
All that is simply untrue by the way. God’s great plan for all mankind, no matter where they are in life, is to show them his great love and forgiveness. His best tool for that is people. Peter tells us that every one of us has gifts to be used for his glory. No gift is more important than any other.
You may be blessed by being the leader of a huge ministry that reaches thousands of people for Christ. You may have a day-care in your home. You may be flipping burgers at a local fast food joint or cleaning restrooms at a shopping mall. Where ever you are in life, God has given you gifts to be used for his glory.
Don’t let your past keep you from helping others with their future. Don’t let society lead you to believe what you do isn’t important. You are your Father’s best hope for telling others of your love. The things you do today may very well change someone’s life for eternity.
PRAYER: Father God. I’m so unworthy of your great love. There are so many times I feel weak, inadequate for the task ahead of me or simply unimportant. So many times I get too busy to think of others and how I can make a difference. Thank you for gifting me with things I can do to help others. Empower me with your Spirit to proudly use the gifts you’ve given me for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.
The LORD hates every liar, but he is the friend of all who can be trusted. Proverbs 12:22 (CEV)
I was a seminary student and out of work. A friend of mine needed some help for a couple days preparing for a trade show and asked if I’d like to fly with him to the show for a couple days to get things prepared. I jumped at the chance to get away for a couple days ‘vacation’ even if it meant work.
Once inChicagohe decided he needed a paint sprayer and went to a local store to purchase one. We used the sprayer to prepare for the show and then, while he stayed at the show I boarded a plane for home.
When he returned the next week I asked how the show went. He chuckled and told me it went fine. Then he said his brand new paint sprayer was stolen and he thinks it was taken by his contact in Chicago, a guy named Joe.
“Joe swore he didn’t take it, but I’m pretty sure it was him since it was under lock and key. Only he and I had access to that room. Then, to top things off he accused you of taking it!” My friend went on, “I told him I knew you wouldn’t take it. I’d trust you with my life!”
I’ve thought about his words on occasion. True friends trust each other with their lives. I hadn’t really done anything to build that kind of trust, I was just honest.
When you build a lifestyle of honesty in every situation you protect yourself from attack. Your lifestyle speaks much louder in your defense than any words you can utter. Jesus says ‘If you can be trusted with little things, God will allow the greater things into your life.’ (Luke 16:10)
Being honest with yourself builds trust with others when you are attacked. It isn’t about doing the big things. It’s about doing what you say you will do. It’s about being honest about your feelings and when those feelings may hurt others, to be graceful and loving in sharing them.
Take the small steps needed on a daily basis to build trust in others. Allow God’s spirit to guide you in your words, actions and thoughts. Building a lifestyle of honesty will protect you from the false accusations that come your way. That way not only will your friends be able to trust you, God himself will be able to trust you with the big things in life.
PRAYER: Father God, when I was growing up I’d always dream of doing something big. Usually those dreams revolved around my own personal desires. Now that I’m older I still desire to do big things, but to do them for you. Empower me with your Spirit to start small by being honest with myself about who I am so that I can build trust in others. In Jesus name, Amen.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
Ever been in a situation where people have been sharing about how God is working in their lives and wondered if he forgot about you?
You are struggling with finances and praying and working hard and doing all the ‘right things’ to make things work. You feel like you are trusting God for answers but none come.
Or you are in the midst of a very tense issue with some relationship and some guy stands up to share how they’ve had this conflict that has been eating them up, but that God has restored this relationship and they are praising him for intervening.
Or you are struggling with an addiction. This addiction has plagued you for years. You’ve prayed. You’ve sought counsel. You’ve asked for help from friends. You’ve done everything you can think of to free yourself of this problem and it still controls you to the point where you have considered just giving up on the whole ‘Christianity thing’ because it’s not working for you.
Or maybe you are thinking that if you hear just one more person say: “You just have to have faith. I just decided one day to give all my problems to God and he has blessed me tremendously” that you just may throw up.
These are just a few examples. What’s your story? If God were to appear to you as some genie in a bottle and ask you for your biggest desire, what would you ask him for?
In our most honest moments we’ve all had experiences when these struggles rear their ugly heads. You may be going through one right now. You believe in the God of Genesis. You trust Jesus fully and believe he has all things in his control. Yet there are areas in your life that just long for a touch, a message from God that says “I’m here. I’ll do what I’ve told you I’ll do.”
I have some bad news for you and some good news for you. First the bad news. There is no easy button in life. There’s no 12-step plan for seeing God work. There are things you can do to open yourself to his power, such as prayer, reading his word and being involved with other believers. But we serve a God that is a rebel at heart. God promises to be with us always, but he doesn’t promise to do things the same way for every person.
The good news is that he will fulfill his promises in his time and his time is always perfect. Imagine how the two on the road to Emmaus felt as they mourned the loss of Jesus. Full of confusion, fear and grief they thought everything was over…until Jesus showed up! The Bible is full of examples of Godly people doing the right things but not seeing God’s working for a long time.
When God seems to have forgotten us we need to hold on tightly for the ride knowing that in his time he will make himself known in real and marvelous ways. As the writer to the Hebrews says, God can be trusted to fulfill each of his promise.
PRAYER: Father God. I hear how you are working in other people and wonder why I can’t see you working in my life. If there is something within me I need to change, search my heart and reveal it to me. If, on the other hand I just need patience, give me strength to trust your promises. In Jesus name, Amen.
He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. Psalm 62:6 (GNT)
When something fantastic happens we say God was in it. When prayers are answered we say God is a great God who answers prayer. When healings happen we marvel at his power. When things seem to be going our way we thank him for his love and watch care over us.
But what about the other times? What do we say when the prayers seem unanswered, the bills aren’t miraculously paid, the doctors report isn’t good, the judge goes against us? What do we say when the house is foreclosed on or the boss gives us a pink slip?
It’s a natural human tendency to measure the greatness of God by our own personal comfort level. When things are going our way, we say we are blessed. But it’s hard to stare bankruptcy or foreclosure or terminal illness in the face and say we are blessed. It’s hard when a judge makes a decision that will negatively affect the lives of our children and say ‘God is good’ and really mean it.
Society has an answer to our dilemma. It tells us we are on our own. We need to band together, support each other, and pour money into this program or that program to make sure everyone is educated, research is done and protection is granted. Problem is money hasn’t solved any issues lately. We’ve made great strides in the medical community to cure a variety of illnesses, but people still get sick and die. We have more and more government intervention to make life ‘safer’ and it’s still a dangerous world we live in.
Religion tells us that when things are going good, God is pleased and full of love for us. Religion also tells us that when things are going bad it is because God is angry. When God is angry he sends illness and natural disasters and evil dictatorships. Religion says that if we follow more rules and have more faith and speak louder against evil God will change his ways and make our lives comfortable again.
So what is the right answer? How do we respond when things seem against us? Part of the problem is that we often mistake consequences for God’s lack of protection. Grace teaches us that the penalty of our sinful lifestyle was paid for on the cross. In God’s eyes we are made righteous (perfect) from a spiritual perspective. He promises us that he will be with us in everything we go through.
What we aren’t promised is that the consequences of our own mistakes won’t have to be served out on earth. Sometimes God allows us to suffer the earthly consequences of our actions in order to help us grow stronger. He promises to protect us but consequences of our refusal to listen will remain.
For example, let’s say a young man and woman (both Christ followers) make a mistake and she ends up getting pregnant. Will God forgive them of their mistake (sin)? The answer is yes, of course. Will they have a baby? Yep, probably. We don’t like to think of that beautiful young life as a consequence of course, but it is, and both of them will have that reminder to carry with them.
Here is a nugget of truth to carry with you as you endure the consequences of your actions. The same God who is with you to bless you is the same God who will walk with you through the consequences of your bad choices. He still forgives. He still walks with you hand in hand. He still reaches out his arms and says, ‘I love you more than anything.’
Even in the consequences we endure God tells us “I am your protection. I will defend you. I will walk with you along the way and together we will NEVER be defeated.
PRAYER: Father God, I find myself in a situation I can’t get out of. I confess to you that the consequences I face are of my own doing. I have no one to blame but myself. Forgive me for the decisions I made to get me in this situation. If by your mercy you choose to remove the consequences I thank you for your deliverance. If, by your grace you choose to have me go through this, I praise you for your presence. In Jesus name, Amen.
