Trust God with Your Heart

Psalms 62:8 (KJV)

Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

Three small phrases here, but they pack a punch. The first simply puts it to trust God at all times. Building on that, we CAN pour out our hearts to Him. And because we can do that God is able to take our concerns and be that comfort (refuge) that we need in a chaotic world.

My opinion is that the second phrase is what we need to focus on. We can pour out our heart to God. How many times have you poured out your heart to a person and have been betrayed? People do that, even the best of them. Go through enough betrayal and you just stop pouring out – even to God. There’s the mistake; God is not human, so His response is not human. God is not going to take advantage of what you pour out, because He already knows. He’s not going to crush you when you share your fears, doubts and angers – He’s been waiting for you to give them to Him. Lay it all out before Him – let go of it. When you really need to let it all out, even if you feel that you are griping or being whiny, go to God. He will bring you to the place you need to be.

And that is how we come to the last phrase – God Is our refuge (our comfort; our security).

Keep These Things In Mind (4)

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (ESV)

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, [13] and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. [14] And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22] Abstain from every form of evil. 

We have finally reached our last day with Paul’s letter ending encouragement. These last 3 sentences further our responsibilities to God and others.

First, we need to continue to obey the Almighty. Don’t put your hands over your ears and yell, “LA LA LA!!! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” when the Spirit talks to you. Some things that God has us do will take us out of our comfort zone (okay, most things He has us do will take us out of our comfort zone). And the Spirit deals with our hearts. He tells us when and what we need to do (just stay connected in PRAYER and BIBLE study).

“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” Literally this means not to take sermons lightly; listen and use God’s word to divide what is truth and what is opinion; and to hold tight to what is the truth. All of us, even preachers, let a little too much self get into the message, but Paul is telling us not to throw out the whole message, because God did inspire it. Paul is telling us it is our responsibility to listen to the TRUTH and to embrace that TRUTH.

Paul finally tells us to abstain from every form of evil. If you know its evil you know to stay away from it. If you are embracing God’s truth, you will know how to discern what is evil a little more day by day.

Keep These Things In Mind (3)

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (ESV)

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, [13] and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. [14] And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [ [16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22] Abstain from every form of evil. 

Verses 16-18 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Why is that? Because I’m a pessimist by nature (some may call it being a realist, but whatever you call it you tend to focus on the negative). This section reminds me not to be pessimistic but take joy in all that the Lord has done for me.

“Rejoice always.” Sometimes it seems we just can’t rejoice. And truthfully we may have to get through our anger, our disappointment, our sadness or grieving first. We are human, we have emotions. But rejoicing is not about emotions, it’s about knowing the truth. God loves us; He will never forsake us. He has plans for us. Jesus died on the cross to give us life. God does not lie. He is our rock. “Rejoice always” tells me to not let my emotions blur my knowledge.

“Pray without ceasing.” Keep your communication going with God. We have many ways to keep up with friends and family through Blogs, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter (some of us spend way too much time there – I’m guilty), but do you communicate your status with God throughout the day? I’m sitting at a doctor’s office as I write this, and there’s a part of me that is concerned – but I know with whatever happens today that my God is there for me. So I pray. Nothing long and drawn out in King James oratory fashion, just “Lord calm my fears and let me trust in You.” Can you pray a five word prayer? Yes, you can. Include the Lord in your day, your whole day.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” How is giving thanks God’s will for us? Because you are acknowledging Him as your Lord. All situations may not be thankworthy, but what God can with us as we surrender to Him can be. Life happens, so thank God that he will get you through situations and grow you in the process. Thank Jesus that He took your place so that you could have life. Thank God that you not only have eternal life, but you have the ability to have an abundant life now in Him.

It’s hard to have a pessimistic view when you take these things into consideration. Focus on the bottom line – God loves you and He gave His life for you and He will always be there for you.

Keep These Things In Mind (2)

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (ESV)

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, [13] and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. [14] And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22] Abstain from every form of evil. 

The end of verse 13 starts us on the next area Paul wants us to keep in mind: to be at peace with each other. And verse 14 gives practical advice on the matter: first to spur on those who just may be loitering in our midst; next we are to encourage those who fear to make the next step in their journey; and we are to help those who have no strength. On top of this, we are to be patient with all these folks.

Why would Paul include all this? I think because he is addressing our human nature. Instead of spurring on, encouraging and helping we would be judging these folks. We seem to forget our own faults when we start seeing the faults and weaknesses in others (Matthew 7:3-5).

Have you noticed a trend so far? Paul is calling us to what God would have us to do, not what our nature calls for.  This is followed up in verse 15; for us to do what he asks we need to have the indwelling Holy Spirit guiding us: not to repay evil with evil but to always seek to do good to one another and to everyone (Romans 12:18-21). Remember that it just takes a thought to repay evil with evil (Matthew 5:22). I’ve done this, but I’m thankful that I’m learning to hold my peace and not compound the evil. I tell you though, the first reaction or thought is to “stick it” to them; or teach them a lesson. But the more that I yield to God in how I react to situations, the better I am to not repay evil with evil.

The last two days we have learned to respect our leaders, love each other and spur each other on, and not to seek revenge. We know that for the most part this is not our nature: our nature is to rebel, to judge and to get back at our attackers. Paul reminds us that we have a new nature (Ephesians 4:22-25), and its only through this new nature that we can follow “these things to keep in mind.”

(continued tomorrow)

Keep These Things In Mind

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (ESV)

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, [13] and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. [14] And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22] Abstain from every form of evil. 

Once again we can find some great instructions / reminders in the closing of Paul’s letters.

This section starts out with a plea to respect your pastor/minister (“over you in the Lord”). Remember, ever since Adam, we’ve been rebellious towards God; so is it a far stretch for us to be rebellious towards those who have been called as shepherds and leaders? I mention rebellion because Paul indicates two aspects about leaders that may cause folks to rebel: 1) “are over you in the Lord,” and 2) “admonish you.”

ad•mon•ish

Pronunciation: \ad-ˈmä-nish\

Function: transitive verb

Etymology:

Middle English admonesten, from Anglo-French amonester, from Vulgar Latin
*admonestare, alteration of Latin admonēre to warn, from ad- + monēre to warn.

Date: 14th century

1 a: to indicate duties or obligations to b: to express warning or disapproval
  to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner 2: to give friendly
  earnest advice or encouragement to

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary copyright © 2009 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Though “admonish” is defined as a gentle way to correct others it is not always taken that way: “You’re not the boss of me!!!” Sometimes (and sometimes deservedly), our church leaders are treated like worldly leaders – but if the man is preaching God’s word and as a shepherd trying to lead you to righteous living Paul asks you to esteem him highly in love. We are in a time when folks don’t want to hear the truth nor make choices that lead to righteous living, so they will dog the servant of God to put in someone with a “feel-good” message (2 Tim 4:3-4).

To recap: respect and esteem your pastor in love. I will add pray for him. If you have opportunity, do what you can to enable him to be in the Word of God, to preach the Word of God, and to shepherd his flock.

(will continue tomorrow).

Security that I Can’t Provide

Psalms 61:2 (KJV)

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

Sometimes one verse can give me much comfort and this is such a case. Just five phrases, but they pack a lot in them:

1. “From the end of the earth” – Wherever I am,
   
2. “Will I cry unto thee” – I can call out to You.
   
3. “When my heart is overwhelmed” – When my heart is in anguish:
   
4. “Lead me to the rock” – Let me find security,
   
5. “That is higher than I” – That is beyond what I can provide.
   

Have you ever heard the expression, “Let go and let God?” I think this says the same thing. We all have our ways of securing chaotic situation, but the best solution is always to go to the Rock that is higher than us.

Love and Don’t Meddle

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 (ESV)

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, [10] for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, [11] and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, [12] so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 

This portion of scripture asks us to do things, to love one another and to mind your own business. We are told to do this so that we may live properly before those who don’t know Christ and that we are not a burden.

This seems simple and straightforward, but think about some major criticisms of Christians. If we don’t love one another, even through the tough times – we don’t show Christ, and we are no different than those without Christ. If we are “busybodies” and “gossips” how do we show Christ in our lives? If we have the ability to work and become a dependant on society – how do we show Christ in our lives? We are showing that we like a free ride.

Be separate! Be a new creature in Christ! Don’t be like everyone else in society, because you are not like everyone else. God has called you to be holy. It is only through Him that we can be holy, but we still need to choose to obey Him. And the obedience that we called to in this scripture is to love and not to meddle.