When Things Don't Go As You Would Like

"WHEN THINGS DON'T GO as you would like, accept the situation immediately. If you indulge in feelings of regret, they can easily spill over the line into resentment. Remember that I AM SOVEREIGN OVER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, and humble yourself under My mighty hand. Rejoice in what I am doing in your life, even though it is beyond your understanding. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Me you have Everything you need, both for this life and for the life yet to come. Don' t let the impact of the world shatter your thinking or draw you away from focusing on Me. The ultimate challenge is to keep fixing your eyes on Me, no matter what is going on around you. When I am central in your thinking, you are able to view circumstances from My perspective." (Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling" book - May 22)

References:
1 Peter 5:6 (GNT) "Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in His own good time. (7) Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you."

and John 14:6 (GNT) Jesus answered him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one goes to the Father except by Me."

If the World Hates You...

John 15:18 (GNT) "If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated Me first."

I Am Able To Do Far Beyond All That You Ask

(from Jesus Calling book by Sarah Young)

"I AM ABLE to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine.  Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish.   Ask My Spirit to control your mind, so that you can think great thoughts of Me.  Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered.  Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark.  The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation.  Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention.  Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life."

Wow, I just noticed that.   To view our troubling situations as "setting the scene for God's intervention".

References 3 scriptures:

Ephesians 3:20-21 (GNT)  "To Him who by means of His power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen."

Romans 8:6 (GNT) "To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace."

Isaiah 40:30-31 (GNT)  "Even those who are young grow weak; young men can fall exhausted.  But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed.  They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak."

Revelation 5:13 (GNT) "And I heard every creature in Heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea - all living beings in the universe - and they were singing:  'To Him who sits on the throne and  to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"

Applying God's Grace to Our Lives

From Pastor Rex Holt, Mercy Chapel:

Ok everyone, let's get back to the 50 days of grace daily devotionals.  I had a great time in Haiti and look forward to sharing with you some of the exciting stories and events of this past week. It has been thrilling to see God at work in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

The past two days I have talked about "G" and "R" using the acrostic GRACE. Today let's look at the last three.

The doctrines of grace have been expressed through he acrostic TULIP.  But how are these dynamic doctrines of grace expressed practically in our lives? Try another acrostic. GRACE. I have summarized below each of these five practical expressions of grace. Each point has a key scripture and a symbolic element to help us better understand and apply it to our lives. Since I have already talked about the first two in previous posts, I will expand more on the last three.

God’s glory above all else  - A passion for God’s glory is the heart that pumps life into the entire body.

Scripture: “Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, (truth) we (eagerly) wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)

Element: Fire – Fire is a symbol for us of the glory of God.
“Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29

Relationships are more important than rules. Grace flows through relationships. We grow best in the context of relationships. Growth takes place not in isolation but in connection with others.

Scripture: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

Element: Wood - Trees in a forest illustrate this. Aspens, for example, grow as a community; they are interconnected by their roots and share nutrients and resources to support each other.

Acceptance of others - Acceptance of others is not mindless tolerance of sin. It is an attitude that looks beyond the externals and the masks people wear to cover their real needs. Acceptance is seeing people the way God sees them. When Samuel was told to anoint David as king, God said to him, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature … For the Lord does not see as man sees: for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  If we are to live in grace then we must look beyond outward appearances and see the needs of the heart.

Scripture: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7 (NIV)

Element: Earth – The ground reminds us that we were formed from the dust of the earth and that we are all of equal value and worth to God.

Compassion - Before the world will care what we know they must know that we care.  We have the great honor of sharing the water of life with thirsty souls. Someone said, “The greatest sin of the desert is to know where water is found and not to tell others.”

Scripture: “Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4:13-14

Element: Water

Encouragement - People need hope like a suffocating person needs air. We must breathe the air of encouragement into those who have had the wind knocked out of them by the blows of life.

Scripture: “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13 

There was a man named Barnabas who constantly encouraged the early church. The name Barnabas means “Son of encouragement”. He amazed people by his generosity and attitude of encouraging others. (Acts 4:36-37)

Nobody wanted anything to do with the madman Saul of Tarsus after his conversion. The apostles were all afraid of him. Was it genuine? Is this a ploy? But Barnabas believed in him and brought him to the other apostles and thus Paul the Apostle, the greatest missionary who ever lived got his start. (Acts 9:26-27)

When young John Mark dropped out of his first missionary journey, leaving Paul and Barnabas, it looked like the end for John Mark. Paul refused to take him on the second missionary journey but Barnabas, Mr. Encourager, took Mark with him. (Acts 15:36-40) Because of Barnabas’ encouragement we have today the Gospel of Mark.

Ask God today to make you a person of grace and encouragement. How many lives are hanging in the balance waiting for their Barnabas to show up and give them the fresh wind of encouragement.

Element: Wind

Know How Much You Are Loved

God fully forgives and forgets our sins

From Pastor Rex Holt, Mercy Chapel....

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” - Isaiah 43:25 NIV

Spurgeon wrote for all of us, “None but God would ever have thought of justifying me. I am a wonder to myself. I doubt not that grace is equally seen in others. Look at Saul of Tarsus, who foamed at the mouth, against God's servants. Like a hungry wolf, he worried the lambs and the sheep right and left; and yet God struck him down on the road to Damascus, and changed his heart, and so fully justified him that before long, this man became the greatest preacher of justification by faith that ever lived. He must often have marveled that he was justified by faith in Christ Jesus; for he was once a determined stickler for salvation by the works of the law. None but God would have ever thought of justifying such a man as Saul the persecutor; but the Lord God is glorious in grace.”

God fully forgives and forgets our sins. He blots them out. They are no more. Read carefully the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) and see how the forgiving father received the returning wanderer with as much love as if he had never gone away, never wasted his fortune, and had never defiled himself with harlots. So far did he carry this that the elder brother began to grumble at it; but the father never withdrew his love. If you will only come back to your Father, He will treat you as if you had never done wrong! He will regard you as just, and deal with you as a beloved son.

It's Not Enough to Have Faith --- It's WHO Your Faith Is In That Makes the Difference

Faith is a channel (from Pastor Rex Holt, Mercy Chapel)

Faith is a channel or conduit pipe. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the aqueduct along which the flood of mercy flows down to refresh thirsty souls. We must never elevate faith above grace, but see faith as the hand that appropriates the gift of God’s grace. Today many have faith in faith and work feverously to crank the engine of faith in order to move mountains or do the impossible. But faith is only as strong as the object of that faith. You can have a large amount of faith on very thin ice and drown. Or you could have a small amount of faith in very thick ice and walk on frozen water. So the object of faith is more important than the amount of faith. What then is the object of faith? Or better, who is the object of your faith? 

Do not allow the weakness of your faith to cause you to stumble. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. Salvation comes to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed. The power lies in the grace of God, and not in our faith. Great messages can be sent along slender wires, and the peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of a thread-like faith. Do not focus on your faith. Look away from yourself and see nothing but Jesus and the grace of God revealed in Him. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” – Hebrews 12:2(a)

Look to Him by faith and His saving grace will reach your heart.