Watch Him Work

Acts 12:4-11 NRSV

“When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.  Peter Delivered from Prison The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

While there is great power in prayer, there is great power in collective prayer. Get the picture of how God delivered Peter from sure death as he would be executed right after Passover. The thing is that while the church was praying, Peter was resting. With all of the precautions to keep Peter locked up, he walked right out. 

There are times in our lives that we may feel so bound, under duress and in distress that there is no way out. But God. When we are clear of whom we serve, we can rest in spite of - we rest knowing that God is moving. We rest knowing that prayer changes situations. Trust that God is moving on our behalf. Watch what he is doing. 

enough for now.

Change Agents

2 Chronicles 7:13&14 NRSV

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

‘When’ and ‘if’ are subordinate conjunctions. ‘Then’ is a conjunctive adverb which joins the independent clauses. You can’t have a’then’ without the ‘if’.  We have three movements: Our foundation: in our identity (my people) and heritage (called by my name). The action we must take: (humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, turn from wicked ways), if we do that, the we will receive-

The promises from God: He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal the land.

When we do that, we become the change agents he created. Our doing, our following him changes everything. The divine formula: humble+pray+seek God+turn from wickedness= God hearing from heaven, forgiving our sins, healing the land. The land needs healing, we need healing. It will happen as we step up as God’s change agents. enough for now.

Stay in It

I Cor 9:24-26 NRSV

“Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”

After coming out of conference I was reminded of one thing- while that was the business of the church- the responsibility is to advance the kingdom. Our responsibility is to hear from God, wait on God. We are still in this race. It is ours alone, no one can run it for us. Sometimes we may slow down, but at all times we stay in the race. Stay in the race. It has already been secured for you. more later.

You Need A Word

Luke 4:1-13 NRSV

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”  Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,  ‘Worship the Lord your God,  and serve only him.’ ”  Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,  ‘He will command his angels concerning you,  to protect you,’  and  ‘On their hands they will bear you up,  so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”  Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

We know the story of Jesus taken by Holy Spirit  to the wilderness. Satan’s temps with physical needs, power & fame, and by testing God. But each time he tempted Jesus, Jesus answered with scripture. We need a word to keep us when crazy happens. To hold us when temptations come. We need a word to hold in our heart. 

I have always been stuck in that last sentence. “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” 

Temptations will come and we can succeed because Jesus did. We suceded with a word. We need a word in our heart, a word for that situation. “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against you.”

When studying Hebrew in seminary, we studied the passage, Isaiah 58:9 , “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.” Now in Hebrew the word “Hanai” takes on a grander meaning. It’s not just ‘here I am’ it’s “Behold me.” How powerful is that? No one can say that but God. Behold me! 

With that knowledge and a word that is in our heart, we will stand, as we are standing on God’s word and with him having our back. Get a word! enough for now.

Great

Lamentation 3:19-24

“The thought of my affliction and my homelessness  is wormwood and gall!  My soul continually thinks of it  and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind,  and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,  “therefore I will hope in him.”

 Jeremiah shows us how to lament our pain, our sorrow. It is raw. We lament because only God can handle where we are. When we reflect on where we are, we realize that there is none like God. The we can release all hurt to God and receive peace and that assurance. With that, we can resolve like Jeremiah that The steadfast love of God never ceases, his mercies never fail, they are new every morning. That’s quite a resolve! Ain’t nothing can deter us because of God’s love. We don’t stay in our stupid because of God’s love. Every day is a new day for to receive what he has for us. Receive it. Walk in it. Rest assured that he is faithful! enough for now.

Our Lies

Acts 5:1-11 NRSV

“But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2 with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” 5 Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6 The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. 

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.”

Bottom line - lying will mess you up. Lying to Holy Spirit will kill you spiritually. In this case physically. There was no reason at all for their lie. Ananias and Sapphira pledged the proceeds of their land. They didn’t have to pledge but they did. So when they sold the land the proceeds were to go to the community of believers. 

It’s the little things that mess us up. The little lies are really big lies that we can see the full ramifications of- because we think it’s just a small lie. But our lies to self are also lies to self are also lies to God. And he will slow walk us down.

Our tithe helps the church but more than that- it’s out of obedience to God. Many times we don’t give God the tenth and wonder why we can’t work with the 9/10 we get to keep. 

Let’s just bear in mind and in heart what we say and do as our lies will mess us up. enough for now.

Shout it Out

Joshua 6:1-7

“Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. 3 You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, 4 with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” 6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

Look at verse two. Although Jericho was fortified against the Israelites they didn’t know who they were with . . . They didn’t know what God would do. Jericho then was less than four acres, and took about an hour to walk around. Although larger now it is 846 ft below sea level, the lowest city on earth. It held a strategic position. Joshua gave the instructions to march as per God’s command. It was actually a ritual. 

Jericho was a stronghold, that was taken down. There are strongholds in our lives. When we humble ourselves, and follow God’s already promises, big things happen. You see, God had already given Jericho over. He has already. We just follow instructions. Sometimes we just need to shout it out, shout it down, shout it through. The shout is a praise. We praise him and things happen. We praise him and we win. We praise him on the way to victory. You see, it’s already done. We just follow and move when he says move. He is so good to us! Whatever causes us grief is a Jericho that can be defeated. Shout it out! enough for now.