Crossroads of Life

 

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
 This story is about loyalty in the toughest of times. What do you do when everything seems to be lost? What Ruth decided to do was to stay with Naomi, the mother of her deceased husband. She could not leave her and she felt this deep sense of love and loyalty, even loyalty that overrides her own needs. She could have gone back to her old way of life, to her home town and sought a husband to have a new life. The choice was hers and yet here it was, she was to go ahead and to make sure that her husband’s mother was going to be taken care of. Naomi was in despair and without hope, as you can see in this chapter. Ruth decides to stay, minister to her mother in law and take care of her. This is the greatest story about loyalty and love. But, it is also a great story about how at times in our lives, when we come to a defining moment in our lives, which path do we choose. This is where the road splits into two, one path to the right and the other to the left. Which way do we go? The consequence of our choices will determine our entire lives. When we look at the spiritual side, Ruth would have gone back to the “other gods” of her homeland, but when she decided to go with Naomi, she decided to choose the one God, the God of Naomi. This was the defining moment in her life and her life will change forever. Defining moments come around quite infrequently. When they do, we need to  seek guidance from the Lord and to which path to take. Regardless of how we would feel, which is the way the Lord wants us to go. It is not about satisfying ourselves and putting ourselves first, but it may mean a sacrifice at the time. We need to ask ourselves, “what is the right thing, the honorable thing, the thing that God wants me to do?”. For God knows the path He wants us to choose and he has our whole future decided upon from this. May we make those right decisions based on God’s Will for our lives and be like Ruth, who followed loyalty over self.
Question: Are you at the crossroads of your life and not sure which path to take?

Reverse the Curse

"The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,[b] and to plunder the property of their enemies. The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.  A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies." Esther 8:11-13

As I was reading through the book of Esther, I got to Chapter 8 and realized something about God and His plans in our lives. What happened in Esther was that  the King had issued a decree to kill all the Jews. Once this decree went out, it could not be cancelled - but there was a way around it. This was to issue another decree that stated that the Jews were ALLOWED to protect themselves against any attack and that they also were allowed to plunder the property of those that attacked them. This is really cool, for this decree, basically makes the first decree invalid. No one would attack a Jew, knowing that they had the right to fight back and claim all property.  There always seems to be a way around an impossible task. God was in control of this whole situation from the beginning. The Jews didn’t see the whole picture but God had everything under control and He worked it out for His good. But what did it look like from the human perspective? It looked like the situation was impossible. What made the difference? FASTING AND PRAYER. Sometimes when we are in what we may think of as impossible situations, we need to remember that God always has a plan B. Who would have thought that the curse could be reversed? It seemed impossible that once an order was given, it could not be withdrawn. But there WAS another way. What kind is situation are you in today? Does it seem impossible? Is there no way out when you look at it with your human perception? Is it a job situation? Is it a failed marriage? Is it finances? We can be up against a wall and see no way out, but God has a way out and always has a way for the curse to be reversed. I am grateful to know that no matter what impossible situation I may face,  God always has an alternate solution to the problem. We need to do our part by fasting and praying, then God does His part. We are in partnership with Him and He delights when we come to Him in prayer and lay all of our cares and worries at His feet and trust Him that He is going to get us through those tough times. 
Question: Are you facing an impossible situation? Do you think there is no way out?

Accept or Reject

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43

 it is important to remember that there were three men on crosses that terrible day. There was Jesus and two other men that were guilty, and only Jesus was not guilty. So let us look at that scenario. Two men in the presence of Jesus in the midst of pain and suffering. They both had the same choice. They could either accept or reject Jesus. It is the same today, everyone is given that same choice, do you want eternal life or do you want eternal death. The choice is up to the individual. Jesus was there, he was present is their suffering and only one chose to acknowledge that Jesus was Lord and all he wanted was to be remembered in God’s Kingdom. Jesus saw his heart and told him that he would be with him in paradise. Good choice. Now the other man is a different story. It is a story of a man that was full of bitterness and resentment. Even at the end of his life, he choice to take that to the grave with him. Two men on a cross and two different decisions that would make a difference in where they would spend eternity. Do we want others to perish? Do we want to see those that have this gift of eternal life, die and not be able to spend eternity in paradise with Jesus? This is the good news that we need to carry out to others to let them know, it is a decision that will carry them into eternity.

Question: What can you do today, to share the Good News with others?

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

"Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?" Luke 12:22-26
 “No worries” is an expression that we often hear! Or, “Don't Worry, Be Happy!” was a song by Bobby McFarrin that summed it up too. So easy to be said, but Jesus was the originator of this. Just as in Luke 12:22-26, Jesus tells us to not worry about things in life for what will it do for you? It does nothing for you. God provides everything that you need, so why even go there to that place of worry? The verse that sums it all up is verse 25, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” So true! Worrying gets you nowhere. I think of the people that are in Hospice right now and they would give everything they have to be in our shoes...they would be happy to take your worry right now and trade place with you. All those worries about getting the cookies baked, gifts wrapped, cards sent out, shopping done, finding parking places in malls, the patients in Hospice would take it all for you because they have lost everything and they are now in the last moments of their life and all of those worries are meaningless. We need to be at that same place as them. What really matters? What is it that counts in our life right now? It is our relationship with God and the relationships with others. As Jesus summed it up, we are to do two things, LOVE GOD AND LOVE OTHERS. That is what is important. So, may I encourage you, to focus today on what is really important and get your priorities straight. May all of our eyes be on Jesus and celebrate the blessings that we have today.

Transition in Our Lives

"Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:  Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.  “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing." John 21:1-3

Can you imagine what Peter was feeling after the death of Jesus? Can you think about the difficulty it was to loose the “teacher” and beloved friend? They traveled, they were discipled, they ministered, they were all in a close relationship with Jesus  and then came the day when Jesus was gone. Everything changed. Life was not the same anymore. Life had turned up side down. Now what? What do you do when life as you know, suddenly changes and you are forced with the "now what?"  Well, what often happens, we may go back to the old and familiar way of doing things just like Peter, whom goes back to what he knows, the former life, the life of a fisherman. He goes to the default – fishing. That was the old life and with the transition of having this new life, he goes back to the old ways. We too can be like that. Our lives change. It may be the death of a spouse, moving to a new city, broken relationships, changing jobs – it could be any time in our lives when we are in transition. What would be the most common thing for us to do? It would be to want to go back to our old familiar ways. That is taking a step backward, to go to the “comfort zone” instead of moving ahead. It was a time for the disciples to not go back to their old life, as it was before Jesus. It was to move foreward in God’s Kingdom to another unknown but to move forward using all they learned with Jesus, then minister to others. It could be grief, it could be discouragement, it could be any of those emotions that could propel us to go backward to the “old ways”. We are to see these transitional times as opportunities to move forward into a new chapter of our lives. Let us build upon the old and not return to the foundation. Jesus had a better plan and that was like in Matthew 28 where he tells the disciples to “go” and to tell others the good news. Notice that Jesus did not tell them to go back to their old lives and live in complacency. That would mean that everything they learned and experienced was not to be used. It is like taking a class on how to use the Word Document on your computer and you know how to use it and apply it. Then as you finish the class, you go back to using a manual typewriter because it was familiar to you. This is a lesson we need to learn as it applies to our own lives. We are not to go back to our “old ways” and become complacient. We are to always move forward and keep doing God’s work, even when it is not familiar and we are in transitions of our lives. Let us not settle for the familiar but begin to always strive for newness and doing things built on our experiences with Jesus. In Hawaii, there is the saying, “Imua”, which means to “move forward”. That sums it up. We are to move forward and not go backward. Let’s learn this lesson from Peter.It was a good reminder for me today, not to stick to the old familiar ways, the old behavior patterns, the old mind sets and the comfortable way of doing things that were familiar. We are to take off those old comfortable shoes and put on new ones that may take awhile to wear in, but they are new and they are going to last. We need to always be improving and learning – so we can endure and finish the race! Imua!
Question: Are you in transition and want to go back to the "old and familiar"?

Wearing Peace

 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." John 14:27

 In Chapter 14 of John, Jesus begins to comfort his disciples when they realize that He is leaving and his words address the disciples' concerns and even fear. Jesus reassures them all that He is not going to abandon them, but when He leaves to be with the Father, that another is going to come and it is the Holy Spirit. He calls Him, the Advocate, and "The Advocate" gives us truth and guides as a counselor. When we get to Acts 2, we will see that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit (The Advocate) comes upon the Disciples in power! But Jesus is reassuring them now, not to worry and not to be troubled or afraid. We too can become like that in our daily lives. We can get caught up in the troubles that may surround us, but it is the Holy Spirit that will guide, correct and will give us the most wonderful gift of all, Peace! Like in Ephesians, there is the full armor of God and the armor has the “shoes of peace”. No matter what situation we are in, we can be walking with those little pink fuzzy slippers of peace on our feet. If we are not in a state of peace at all times, then the enemy has stolen it! Yes, think about it, the joy of the Lord should be our standard operating system. If we are not in the state of joy, then the enemy has robbed us of our peace. This is what we call an oppression. I think of the earthquake victims in Haiti and when our mission team went there, the people that had nothing were still filled with the joy of the Lord. The missionaries reported of the most anointed worship sessions and people were praising God and singing love songs to God, even in the middle of their crisis. The enemy was not able to steal their peace! We should be the same, for that is the gift that Jesus left with us...perfect peace.
Question: Are you in a state of peace now? If not, what has stolen your peace?

Faith Requires Action

"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. " John 6:5-6

 Oh, I just love this!! I can just picture this scene. Jesus is watching all this from the Father’s eyes and knows the answer even before the question comes about. The disciples are worried and trying to figure out in their human logic, how can they begin to feed all the people. They seek human solutions and have not opened their spiritual eyes. They have not begun to believe in Jesus, that He is the son of God, even after miracle upon miracle. Hello?! Don’t you guys get it yet? Jesus says that He came from Heaven and that God was His Father and yet, the disciples go back to the same old human thinking and reasoning. Jesus was testing them with a real life situation. They could say with their mouths that they believed, but unless they put their faith and belief into action, it really does not mean anything. (James 2:17) This is the same for us. We can say we have faith and trust in God but when the real life situation comes to test our faith, do we exercise our faith? When the medical tests show a negative report, can you walk in faith? When you get laid off a job and there is no work in sight, can you walk in faith? When your aging parent is slowly declining, can you walk in faith? This is where all that we have learned in scripture is now going to take a physical action and response from us. Now we have to walk it and not just talk it! Jesus tested the disciples in their faith and in the end, Jesus performed a miracle not with the purpose of feeding the multitude, but to point the way to God through himself. He was the Messiah, the son of God. I am grateful for this verse today for it is about not just knowing about scripture and God’s promises, but it is about when the rubber meets the road, how are we all going to do? Will we actually put our faith into action?  We are to give Jesus what we have and then He will provide the miracle. It starts with us - we do our part and He will do his.
Question: Is your faith being tested? How can you walk in faith through this challenge?

Jesus Transforms

"Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.  “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:9-11)

The entire chapter of John 2,  had so many things that I could write about but as I sat here and meditated on some of the details of the first miracle of Jesus, it became really clear to me that there was a deeper significance of the changing of the water to wine. Let me begin with a scripture from 2 Corinthians 4:7. It says:

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Our bodies are considered, “clay jars”. We are like those water pots in John 2. But what I know of these waters jars is that the Jewish ceremonial washing was to take  dirty hands and to wash them in these jars as a purification and cleansing. So think about that jar! The jar has dirt and filth from the many washings. Get a picture of this when you think of washing your hands after being outside in the yard and then washing over and over again in the same filled sink. Ugh! So we know that these water jars were filthy and people would NEVER drink water from those jars. Not only that, the water that was poured into the jars, probably was not drinking water from the well, but household water for cleaning. So you get the picture now...really nasty water in really dirty jars. Gee, we are like those jars. Before we were born again - before salvation, we were like those filthy jars and then the miracle that happened, was Jesus pouring into us and changing us from the inside out. We have now gone from filthy water to the best of wine! We are transformed by Jesus! So the image I got this morning was deeper than just the first miracle of Jesus, it was symbolic of the ministry of Messiah, it was the transformation of our lives into being vessels to hold the living water. It is done only though Christ Jesus himself, son of God!! Boy, was that an eye opener for me today!
Question: What condition is your fragile clay jar today?

Taking Every Thought Captive

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:3-5

I teach in the Prayer 101 classes, this very concept when it comes to Spiritual Warfare. We come against the schemes of the enemy and his plans to “steal, kill and destroy” our identity in Christ and to steal our faith. It would drive you crazy if you had to try to hold back every single thought you have and try to take it captive. So what is it saying here? What thoughts do we take captive? When we find ourselves in spiritual warfare, that is the time we are called to action, to begin to identify our thoughts, match them up against God’s Word and to cast out those thoughts that do not line up with God’s Word. Let me give you an example. You are in a meeting and you represent a project that you had spent time, energy and it is your best effort. At the meeting, all the other projects are being discussed and your project is not. Everyone there is lifting up and praising the other projects with the exception of yours. The discussion ends and they go on to another topic, and your project was never mentioned. Now, you begin to feel offended. This is where it starts. Feeling insecure and unworthy the thoughts, “see, you didn’t do a good job”, “you are not important”, “everyone is better than you”. Are you getting a picture of the thoughts and lies that the enemy is influencing you to think. This is spiritual warfare! You can begin to believe the lie and accept the sadness, rejection, insecurity and unworthiness that the enemy is enticing you to believe OR you can stop and recognize these thoughts as coming from the enemy and TAKE THOSE THOUGHTS CAPTIVE. How do you do that? You tell your thoughts, “STOP”, those are lies and I will not believe them. Because they did  not mention my project does not define who I am nor does it say that my project was not acceptable. You stop that thinking, you begin to refocus on truth of who you are as defined in God’s Word. I am HIS masterpiece, I am the apple of His eye, He delights in me, He sings over me, I am a Child of God...”. Taking thoughts captive is to stop the negative thinking and replace them with God’s Word and with affirmations of who you are. We choose to not be offended for it is by accepting lies about who we are that we can become oppressed by the enemy. The best way to always come against principalities and strongholds is to use God’s Word to see the truth and be set free from lies of the enemy. It will become more automatic as time goes by, to renounce the emotions/lies and to redirect our thoughts to God’s Word and to thoughts that line up with it.
Question: What lies have you been believing that you need to renounce and take the thought captive?

Purification Process

"With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Becoming pure is the topic for today. It is like a water purification system. When there are elements in the water that can be harmful to us physically, we can use a water purification system to take out all the impurities of our water before we drink the water. Isn’t this exactly what Paul was writing about to the  Church of Corinth? What he had to do was to be honest and have to correct the members of the church. If you have never been corrected, then you have been spared a painful, but necessary process. What may happen,  is that well-meaning people start to get off tract and away from biblical practices and they believe they are doing things the right way – but they are NOT. One with spiritual maturity or one that is in authority over the person, sees that a correction needs to be made. Correction is not pleasant, and it is often painful. I have been corrected by those in authority over me and it does not feel good but it was the necessary growing process that I needed. The intent of correction is NOT to make you feel badly. It is to help us grow and get us back on the right tract and to make us more “pure”. We are humbled, repentant and begin to change in our ways. It is that purification process – like the water purification system. God’s Word does that same thing. We read the Logos (written word) and the Holy Spirit teaches, guides and corrects us (rhema). We  are convicted of our actions, deeds, words and the course correction or purification begins to take place. We now can remove the pollutant from our lives and we can begin to become more like Christ. This process is called “sanctification”. It is going from one level of learning to another and always be filtered through God’s Word and becoming more pure, through correcting our behaviors, actions, deeds and words to become more like Christ. This process is life long and we continue to keep working on being filtered everyday and staying in His Word. Honestly,  I don’t know what I would do if I was NOT in God’s Word everyday. I learn more and more about how God wants me to live this life He has given me. I am to be obedient and when I get corrected, I am to thank Him and know that it is that purification system that is taking out all the pollutants from my life.
Question: Are you reading God's Word daily as a purification process?