Saturday, May 26, 2012

You Can Have What You See


Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east…” Genesis 13:10-11 NKJV

This week we took our executive team out of town for two full days of planning and dreaming as we set our faith goals for the next couple of years as a church. I was reminded of the power that vision plays in life as we reviewed where we’ve been, and set our sights on where we’d like to be. Today’s text is a reminder that we need to set aside times in our lives when we can lift up our eyes beyond the here and now and just let God help us to see what could be.

Have you found yourself in a rut lately? Are you focusing all your emotional energies on dealing with today’s issues and loosing sight of tomorrow’s possibilities? I believe that God wants to breath some fresh vision in your life if you’ll just lift up your eyes.

Proverbs 29:18 tells us, Where there is no vision, the people perish…” The word vision is quite often translated; “revelation”, or we could say a divinely inspired vision. God is telling us here that without a vision people perish, they run wild, they live without a goal— they live their whole life below what could be.

It all starts with a vision. So what do you see? Because if you can’t see it, if you can’t picture it, then most likely you’ll never achieve it.  So lift up your eyes, set your sights on a new prize and dream a God inspired dream for your life. Then do what Habakkuk 2:2 says to do, "Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” It really is amazing what can happen if you will just begin to write down your vision of what you would like things to be.


So lift up your eyes, catch the vision, and run for it, full of faith, with a confident expectation.  Because you can have what you see!


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Seasons

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 

It’s graduation season, it’s the season when we celebrate the accomplishments of our family and friends. We have four graduations at our house this year. Our oldest daughter Meghan is graduating from Rhema Bible Training Center today so our family is in Tulsa today to celebrate her accomplishment. She’s been school for the last eighteen years, and I’m guessing that she’s ready for this next season. Annie, daughter number two graduated last week from Spring Arbor University. She’ll be home for the summer and then she too is heading down to Tulsa to attend Rhema next fall. Our son Luke finished his second year at Western Michigan University but is also graduating from his first year as a member of our Epic Commission discipleship program as well as his first year of our Epic School of Ministry. Finally, our baby Eric is graduating from High School in a few weeks. Then on top of that we are moving into a new home after ten years of living at the same address. So the Jones’s are experiencing a whirlwind of seasonal change. How about you?

 This text is a reminder to all of us that seasons are a part of life. There are seasons of sowing and seasons of reaping. Seasons for taking risks and seasons for experiencing the rewards that accompany them. There are dry seasons, and there are rainy seasons. One thing is certain though—God is working through every season we experience. So if you’re in a tough season right now, don’t give up. Maybe it’s just a time for you to hunker down, dig in, and set your sights on Jesus and the new season that’s just beyond the horizon.

For those of you graduating this year, you have been in a long season of gathering knowledge. A season of being stretched, pulled and pushed beyond what you thought was possible. But you finished, you stuck it out, you got your degree. Now you are facing a new season. A season to take those things that you’ve learned and begin to apply this new found knowledge in every day practical ways. So here’s today’s word of encouragement for you. The same God who was with you in your past season will be with you in this new season. Did you know that He’s been preparing you for this new season all along? Of course He has, He’s the God of every season, so you’ve got nothing to fear. In fact He’s ready to do a new thing in you and through you in this next season.


“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

So get ready because God is about to blow the doors off of your self imposed limitations. It’s time to think big. It’s time to put away the old, and embrace the possibilities of the new. You’re moving from faith to faith, from glory to glory, and your best days are ahead. Remember with God all things are possible. So rejoice in your new season. It’s time for you to shine!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Listen and Obey

"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2

 Today’s text is both inspirational and instructional in nature. On the inspirational side, who wouldn’t want to have God set them on high and have His blessings overtake them? But, did you notice that God gives us some pretty clear instructions in terms of actually qualifying to receive those blessings? The key is found in just one word—a big one, “if”. If we will listen and if we will obey, the blessings come, if we don’t, they don’t. Pretty simple, huh? Our ability to receive these promised blessings from God requires our willingness to diligently obey the voice of the Lord. There are a lot of voices in our world that are daily trying to influence us. Advertisers have a voice, our friends and family’s have voices, and even popular opinion has a voice. But those voices are always changing. The voice of what’s in and what’s not, what’s today and what is so yesterday. Aren’t you glad that God’s Word never changes?

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89 

 While these voices may speak to us, we need to establish ourselves firmly on the ONE voice that will see our through our whole life—The Word of God. God’s voice should always have preeminence in our lives because His voice never changes. We can always take Him at His Word. His voice in our lives is not moved by current culture or by popular opinion. He is the Lord and He doesn’t change. Do you remember what He said in Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord I change not…” God’s positions on life and social issues don’t evolve; they stay the same, because He stays the same. We can place our trust in Him.


"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 

 Finally it’s important to note, that we’re required to do more than just hear the word of God, we are to obey it. In other words, we’re not to debate it, massage it, manipulate it, nor are we to try to adjust it to fit the times. We’re to obey it, period! We don’t ask God to adjust His Word to fit us; we adjust our lives to fit His Word. We don’t have an option, either we build our lives upon the truth of God’s word or we don’t. There is no middle ground, no room to compromise, only obedience. But because we’ve chosen to listen and obey, our faith is now under attack. Because of our love for God and His Word we are called haters, bigots, intolerant, or even simply minded. So let’s make our stand upon the Word of God. Let’s stay strong in our trust in the truth we find within its pages. Let’s continue to diligently obey the voice of the Lord our God.