Send Worries Back From Where They Came

Do you worry? Do you constantly think about things in which you can't control? I don't know about you, but I like to control things. Like a GPS, I like to see where things are going at all times. I like to see the roadblocks and traffic ahead to give me time for optional routes.

Sometimes God gives us a GPS-like view of our situations. He shows this to allow us to maneuver toward our destinations. God is showing that he trusts us with the given information. But sometimes God allows our GPS signal to become weak. We are unable to see where we are, where we are going, and what roadblocks are ahead. It's there that God asks us to trust in him.

Matthew 6:33-34 reminds us to "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." God does not live within our concept of time. He is outside of time. So that means he is in our tomorrow, today. He controls tomorrow. That alone gives me comfort.

Just last week our seven-year old son, Logan, went to check the mail. (It's one of his chores) He came back in the house empty-handed. Suzanne asked, "Where's the mail little postman?" Logan explained that he did not like any of the mail, so he left it in the mailbox. Come to find out, the mailbox held nothing but bills. I like Logan's way of dealing with those bills. Those bills only bring worry.

Like a mailbox, we sometimes receive deliveries of worry. We don't like these packages because we can't control them. It's then that we should raise the flag of surrender and send them back from where they came.

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Who is After You

Isaiah 14 is typically seen as prophetic and speaking to the king of Babylon, which represents Satan.
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.
12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Ezekiel 28 is also seen as a similar passage, against the king of Tyre, who also represents Satan.
12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[b] Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

In Luke 10:18 Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

It’s clear here that Satan was created to be the worship leader in Heaven. One day, he kept some of that glory for himself and was kicked out of heaven. He lost his job.

Who took his job? You and I did. He is after the worship leaders to try to stop worship to God.

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The Touch of Faith

Have you ever lost something of value? If so, then you probably searched for that item with great intent on finding it. In Luke chapter 8 we see two people who have lost something of value; one was his daughter, the other was her health.

Jairus was an important man in the community, a synagogue leader. We find him bowing down at the feet of Jesus asking for a life-saving miracle. Even after hearing that his daughter was dead he did not give up his faith.

We will never know the name of the other person in this story. She was an outcast because of her continuous bleeding. Yet her faith will always be remembered. She revealed the power of Christ like no other person.

Both of these stories involved faith that had the end result solved before Jesus even spoke a word. Jairus believed his twelve-year old daughter would be healed and raised from the dead before Jesus took a step toward his house. The woman believed her twelve-year old illness would be healed without Jesus touching her or looking at her.

There were many people touching Jesus that day. But these two people touched the heart and the garment of Jesus with an intent of finding something they had lost. They were desperate. In return, Jesus revealed God’s power in their lives.

If we want to see God’s power revealed we must ask, touch, worship and seek with the expectation of the end result.

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Time | Talent | Treasure

In our Reveal series we have discussed that God reveals himself to our church through us a worship team. God also reveals himself directly to our church while His people lift up His name. And last, God reveals himself as we walk with him daily.

Today I want to bring our attention to God’s revelation of His will. We often get caught up in seeking God’s will for our lives. When actually our focus should be to just seek God’s will. Once we see His will then we line up our lives in accordance to His will.

The looming question is how does God reveal His will. He is always revealing His will. We’re just not always looking for it. So we need to place ourselves in an environment where we can see God revealing His will and where He is working. Once we see that we join Him.

There are three environments in which if we settle we can see God working. Those areas involve serving God with our time, talent and treasure.

Have you ever heard the phrase? “Time is more important than money.” There have been many situations in which I believed this statement. Because of the value placed on time I believe God chooses to reveal his ways while we spend our precious time serving Him. If you want to see God revealing His will then spend some time serving Him.

God has created each of us with gifts and abilities in which to bring Him glory and to serve and grow the body of Christ. Some of us wait on God to show us how to use our talents when God is actually waiting on us to use their talent. As we use our talents God shows where He is working. God has a vision for the use of our talents. We can’t bury them and wait for God. He wants us to experience God working while we are using our talents.

God’s word states, “Where your treasure is there your heart also will be.” (Matt. 6:21) If we have a heart to know God’s will and where His is working then we need to put our money where are heart is. If we don’t serve God with our treasure then we truly don’t care to know where God is working. The more we understand that our money belongs to Him the more God will choose to reveal His will.

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The Image of Christ

Robert Hale was my grandfather. He was a Christian extremist. He walked with God. I know I serve the Kingdom this day due to his prayers on my life. I loved being around him because it was the closest to being with Jesus.

I have an old picture of me sitting on my grandfather’s lap. It resembles another picture that was taken in 2005 of Logan sitting on the same knee. The little boys in both pictures were the same age. They look like sets of twins yet are several years apart. These pictures are proof that Logan has been made in my image. My face is revealed in his face.

If we want to see where God has revealed Himself just look in your life mirror. In Matthew 10:22-23 Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me.” He continues to say, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.” Not IF but WHEN. We think that if we become like Jesus the world will love us. The opposite is true. The more we become like Jesus the more the world will hate us.

Are you hated or persecuted by the world? Then you have the face or image of Christ. In his book, Radical, David Platt states, “To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus. The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.”

You want God to be revealed in your life? Then pray that the image of Christ be a reflection in your life mirror as you walk the straight and narrow. But watch out because the straight and narrow is a highway to the danger zone.

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Make it Real

Last Friday night child #1 & #2 were off at birthday party sleepovers, which left child #3 with mom and dad. It’s rare that we are able to spend one-on-one time with our little guy. So Logan, Suzanne and I went out for dinner.

We had a great time just talking and catching up on everything that is in his little world. At one point in our conversation Logan says, “Is this what you do on a date?” Without telling him too much information we simply said, “Well yes it is.” His next words got me thinking as he said, “This is it? That’s all you do? I can’t believe this. I think it would be more romantic if I were not here.” Then he informs us that he may not need to go with us next time.

Now, I don’t know the reason why he doesn’t want to go on one of our dates. It could be that we are boring. If that’s the case then obviously he is trying to tell me something. It could be that he does not want to inhibit us to make our date more exciting. Enough said.

One of the many ways God reveals Himself is through personal time with Him. I enjoy my time with God in the morning. One morning last week I was spending some time in prayer but was very distracted. I had so many things on my mind. I was writing in my prayer journal while writing a task list of all the items I had to unload.

Then it hit me. His voice saying, “Is this it? It this what you call a devotion?” I’ll have to admit that after 35 years of being a Christian this particular prayer meeting was a little anemic. I should know better.

Spending devoted time with your spouse will reveal things you never knew or maybe forgot. The same could be said of our loving Father in Heaven. Make it romantic. Make it rich. Make it real.

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