★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 3 – Be Thankful ★

I hope you are surviving the arctic blast that has sent the country into a deep freeze for the last 4 days.  Here in Texas, we have hit as low as 13° F overnight but THANK GOD the power grid has held up and we have not had a repeat of 2022 when our power was out for days.  Well, I guess that is a good way to reveal today’s emphasis…BE THANKFUL!  We are currently in a series called “The Call on Our Life”  which is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  In Part 1, we discussed that there are roadblocks we must persevere through to achieve the state to “ALWAYS BEING JOYFUL” regardless of circumstances.  In the Part 2, we examined what it means to “NEVER STOP PRAYING.”  Today we wrap up with what I believe is the hardest one of all.  Let’s read our theme verse one last time…

“Always be joyful.  
Never stop praying.  
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)

Let me ask a silly question, do you struggle with “BEING THANKFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES” as well?  I want to be, I try to be, but then discontentment creeps in over situations I cannot change and then my gratitude goes out the door which is crazy!  We are in a Spiritual War as Ephesians 6:10-12 tells us, against a real enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10).  So, what are some areas that we are vulnerable to attack?  Think about it before you scroll down…  

 

 

Here are some of the major areas I see…  

1. Struggling in School.
   • Or questioning what to do with your life?

2. Unfulfilled at our jobs.
   • In a dead-end job or underutilized or not allowed to work on the project you want.

3. Lack of money in the bank.  
   • Not able to meet your needs — There is more month there is money to pay all the bills.
   • Not able to meet all your wants — Can’t keep up with the Joneses. 

4. Unhappy in your marriage.
   • Or you cannot find a spouse.

5. Children are far from the Lord or making choices that do not honor the Christian lifestyle they were raised in.
   • Or you want kinds but you’re unable. 

6. What else? 

The enemy is ruthless and will hit us every way possible.  I think that contentment or should l say discontentment is the biggest obstacle to “being thankful in all circumstances.”  However, the world’s culture demands that we have the newest and best gadgets, phones, houses, cars, you name it…SO, GRATITUDE is difficult to muster when we have endless advertisements hitting us showing how much we don’t have INSTEAD of realizing what we do have.  One of my favorite passages on this is from Proverbs 30:7-9 (NLT) which says:   

“O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.  

• • First, help me never to tell a lie. 
  • Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 

• • For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?”  
  • And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.”

How different would our lives be if we embraced this wisdom?  I struggled not with “keeping up with the Joneses,” but with having “too much month left” after getting paid.  I prayed and prayed for more money so that we did not have to struggle so much but I was not doing my part at the time to remove the consumer debt we had nor save money.  The interesting thing is, it was not until my wife, and I got serious about getting out of debt that God answered my prayer for “more margin” in our finances.  Once we were doing things God’s way, things snowballed (in a positive way that is) and miracles started happening.  With the car paid off and no consumer debt, we started paying down the mortgage and as of April 30, 2022, we paid off the mortgage!  There is nothing greater than seeing “PAID IN FULL!”  Without a mortgage, we started saving money like crazy and paid for our two kids to go to college in cash, (the last payment was made just recently on January 7, 2024) PRAISE GOD!  He is so good, so faithful and yet I doubted that this could have happened, ugh!  The key is following what the Bible says, and instead of going to God for our greeds, go to Him for our needs.  The bridge is a grateful heart.  Psalms 100:4-5 (NLT) says, 

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” 

Too often we get consumed with what we don’t have instead of being thankful for what we do.  I shared this a while ago in the ★ Thought for the Day – Begging God For_____? ★ post but thought it would be good to revisit.  I saw a plaque once that said… 

“What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” 

If that were true, how much would be gone when the alarm clock broke the silence at 5:30 am?  It is really convicting to me.  Cultivating a heart of gratitude really is the key, I would like to reverse this and pose this question to you… 

“I am thankful for ____________?” 

For me I am so grateful for the life God has blessed me with: 

1. A beautiful wife, who is my best friend and has been a constant motivator to help me reach a healthier lifestyle (In the past year, we have started routinely going to the gym, hikes/walks, and started learning to play pickleball and paddle boarding.)    
2. Wonderful children who are both married, out on their own, and this May 2024 will both be college graduates. 
3. A great home which is paid for – no mortgage, praise God!  
4. And an amazing job which I complain about way tooooo much about, BUT God has used it as the vehicle for providing for me and the family for the last (15) years here in Texas! 

Words cannot express my thankfulness!  Most of all I am thankful for who I am in God and though I am far from perfect, He has blessed me regardless with an incredible life and a ministry of facilitating Bible Studies Monday through Friday to help men engage with the Bible which has given me a community of friends who have supported me through the turbulent times.  A heart of Gratitude is essential because without it, I could overlook all that he has done for me and just focus on the number of zeros in my bank account or the size of my house or the year of my car.  1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NLT) is a quintessential passage to focus on when we feel a spirit of discontentment creeping in. 

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” 

There is so much in these (5) verses that I could write a post on this alone but suffice to say, contentment is what unlocks joys.  Being grateful for the provisions from God guards from going down dangerous paths to gain more.  And loving God over money and possessions will bring freedom!  And at the risk of repeating myself, the antidote of course when we are not following 1 Timothy is to go back and to Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV):  

“Do not be anxious about anything [or you could say Persevere through everything,] but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  

Being joyful, prayerful, and thankful is not my first response when life beats me down.  As I shared in the previous post in this series, the last 6 months of my life both personally and professionally has been anything but that, but

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a call for us to be different from those around us and a blueprint for how to overcome.  

• Our life should reflect Jesus and we should “ALWAYS BE JOYFUL.”
• Each and every day we are to “NEVER STOP PRAYING,” and commune with our Father in Heaven. 
• And regardless of what we are going through, we should “BE THANKFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU WHO BELONG TO CHRIST JESUS.”

We achieve that through…Perseverance – Petition – Gratitude!  Stay warm!

If you want to read all the post in this series including my 2023 retrospection, just click on this…“The Call on Our Life”

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Here is a collection of where we have unpacked the Biblical Worldview of Money (How our Finances and Possessions should be handled from God’s Perspective) called $ Building Your Money Muscle $.

★ Thought for the Day – Begging God For_____? ★

★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 2 – Never Stop Praying ★

In the last post, we kicked off our new series called “The Call on Our Life,”  which the Holy Spirit downloaded to me during the worship time  Sunday morning based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  In part 1, we discussed that there are roadblocks that we must persevere through to achieve this state to “always being joyful” regardless of circumstances.  I was talking with my brother-in-law about this series, and he said the times that he is truly joyful are when he is in the presence of God.  I could not agree more and for me that could be reading the Bible, listening to Praise and Worship music or praying.  The last one will be the emphasis that we will look at from Paul’s instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5.

Before we Read our theme verse, I wanted to touch upon something Craig Groeschel said around the time that I received this message when he was a guest at my church that struck a chord in me.  The message was called “Make Me Bold” and he started by asking for a show of hands of…

“How many of you know God can do all things, yet you probably know you should pray more often than you do?”

He went on to say that even as a pastor he feels inadequate as a prayer.  Craig Groeschel said: 

“If the prayer goes on 5-7 minutes, my mind begins to wonder.  I can be an A.D.D. prayer…I start off strong and then I remember that we need cereal…and I forgot to mow the lawn…and my mind drifts off.” 

I am lifting a virtual hand as I type this because that is without a doubt me!  Like Craig Groeschel, I struggle with this myself, my prayer time has not been as meaningful or impactful.  I remember really praying and really seeking Him but now, I am not putting in the effort and I feel like I am letting God down by not spending the time I should. Let’s read our theme verse again…1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) says: 

“Always be joyful.  
Never stop praying.  
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 

What do you think “Never Stop Praying” means?   

A prayer that I used to pray all the time was:  

“God please make me more like You…Help me to be a better husband, a better father and a better servant to all.”   

There is nothing wrong with Prayers like that, but I think the intention of “NEVER STOP PRAYING,” is to be MORE significant, MORE purposeful, and MORE bold (as Craig Groeschel said), then the casual prayer I lift up to “Bless the food to the nourishment of my body” or the ask to “Give me traveling mercies.”   

I see verse 17 of 1 Thessalonians 5 more of a Petition.  That is not a word that gets much use these days, but I think it is appropriate when you dig in.  What do you think of when you hear the word “Petition?” 

• Someone serious about getting something done.  
• A relentless person who wants you to support whatever their cause is.  (Whether by joining up with them or by signing the Petition).
• I also think it is someone who is patient because petitions take time to come to pass.

Just because I love vocabulary and the meanings of words, let me again share what the I found in the dictionary about what Petition means — It is BOTH a noun and a verb: 

As a noun, Petition is: 

1. A formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority with respect to a particular cause.
2. An appeal or request, especially a solemn or humble one to a deity or a superior.

It is a Verb in relation with an object, Petition is to: 

1. Make or present a formal request to (an authority) with respect to a particular cause.
2. Make a solemn or humble appeal to (a figure of authority).

So, in our context, we are to continually make a solemn or humble appeal to God, our father.  Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) tells us: 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

So, let’s make this personal…How much have you been praying about the issue(s) that you have been persevering through? 

I will say for myself, not nearly as much as I should, and that is why this post is more for me then you.  As I shared in the last post, I have allowed the things of this world to distract me from really pressing in to pray about what is weighing me down.  And like in our first post of this series, I want to do a lighting round of scriptures that the Holy Spirit gave me but in the interest of not having you scroll forever in this post, click here.  So, based on these verses and your own life experiences, what is the common thread that we need to develop in our prayer life?  Think about it before you scroll down… 

I believe to fulfill the “Never Stop Praying” command, we will need to be: 

1. Serious and committed in our prayers… 
2. Relentless and Bold in our prayers…  
3. Consistent in our prayers…   
4. Persistent in our prayers…  
5. Patient in our prayers…  
6. Repentant in our prayers…   
7. Honest in our prayers…  
8. Expectant in our prayers…   

Which one of these stand out to you that you need to work on? 

For me, it is to be RELENTLESS and BOLD.  I was saved in 1998 and was on fire to share the good news.  I read a book called “The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life” by Bruce H. Wilkinson which profoundly affected me.  It is an easy read, which is good for me and is based on a powerful prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10.  Over the years I have consistently prayed this… 

God bless me indeed so that I can be a blessing.  Enlarge my territory, have Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” 

In the post called ★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #1 – Opening the Pipeline ★, I shared that I really emphasized on the part of God “enlarging my territory,” or another way to say it, to increase my influence on others, not for personal gain but for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.  I love to teach, encourage, and help people connect with God’s Word.  God answered that prayer by opening opportunities for me to disciple men in Virtual Bible Studies Monday through Friday for the past 7-1/2 years!  I am so thankful for this privilege to partner with the Holy Spirit.  I heard a missionary say once: 

“That when we work, we work.  But when we pray, God works.” 

God will work in our life through our prayers.  When we pray, we are opening up a pipeline to the creator of heaven and earth and the possibilities are endless!!   

The final post is here ★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 3 – Be Thankful ★

   

    

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Here are the scriptures again that I shared above on Petition: Matthew 7:7-8, Psalm 27:14, Luke 18:1-8, 2 Chronicles 7:14, James 5:16, 1 Chronicles 4:10, Galatians 6:2, Psalm 51:12

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #1 – Opening the Pipeline ★

★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 1 – Always be joyful ★

Last night my wife and I were at Cycle class and the instructor said, “Welcome to 2024, New Year, New You.”  Then quickly said “No, it’s still the same old you, but will you choose to push through to make a change.”  That put a fire in me, and I left it all on that bike last night.  Then this morning I decided to get going on the post I teased you about 3 days ago.  We are starting a series today called “The Call on Our Life,”  in which we will be unpacking the Apostle Paul’s succinct, yet very powerful instruction from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) that will lead to victory in our life…This will be our theme verse that we will continue to go back to.   

“Always be joyful.  
Never stop praying.  
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 

This passage first hit my radar over a decade ago when my little girl (who is now a college graduate and married) told me what her favorite bible verse is.  Today, we will be looking at verse 16 – “Always be joyful.”  A key differentiator that we need to understand is that Joy is not happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances being favorable.  I shared this quote from Rick Warren in the ★ Day 14 – Reason for the Season – Joy to the World ★ post which seems fitting to revisit as we just celebrated Christmas and now trying to keep those New Year Resolutions:

“My problem was my definition of joy.  I thought joy meant feeling good all the time.  That’s impossible!  Even for those who are naturally upbeat and optimistic, that’s impossible…

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

You’ll find nothing in that definition about happy feelings, because, as we all know, happiness is fleeting and temporary.”

Happiness is fleeting, only Joy remains!  Joy transcends happiness and is regardless of circumstances.  But there are roadblocks that we must persevere through, in order to fulfill this instruction.  What is perseverance in your mind?  I know I have been fixated on this a lot, my last 2 posts have been on this but indulge me as I believe the Holy Spirit has more to say on this topic.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: 

Perseverance is the “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” 

I love that definition because it activates something primal in me.  Two months ago, I went to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park and did a 4.1-mile hike to reach the highest point in Texas (8,751 Feet to be exact)!  Before the trip some people questioned:  

“Why would you do a 4.2-mile hike with a 3,000-foot elevation change?”   

And my response “BECAUSE IT’S THERE!”  I’m not going to lie, when I looked up the elevation gain to Guadalupe Peak, I was taken aback because the highest peak I climbed was Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona which only has a 1,264-foot elevation gain in 1.14 miles.  It took significant effort and at points, I was not sure I was going to make it but I pushed through and reached the summit and enjoyed this majestic view of God’s creations.      

I don’t know about you, but when you hear about overcoming a physical mountain, that is invigorating but what Paul is challenging us to do is climb an emotional one which is far, far more difficult in my opinion.  When the battle is in our mind, it needs to be conquered in the spiritual realm through the help of the Holy Spirit but wait, I am getting ahead of myself.  We are still at “base camp” so to speak, and I need to first lay the groundwork.   

Whether a Christian or not, adversity comes into the lives of every single person whether through “bad luck,” bad decisions or what Christians know, through spiritual warfare (because we have an adversary).  Perseverance is a common thread that connects a believer and non-believer alike.  Tony Evans recently preached at my church (10/15/2023) and reminded me of a reality I know but all too often forget about… 

“You’re either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or heading into a storm.”  

So, knowing this to be true…What have you had to persevere through in the last 6 months?  For me 2023 has been the year of change that has brought unending stress and pressure both professionally and personally that has made it the toughest time in our family’s life, you can go back to these posts to read if you want ★ Life is Ball Game ★  /  ★ What I RE-LEARNED in 2023 ★.  I will say, just for context I am ashamed to say it, but with all that activity personally and professionally, God slipped in my priorities.  In my personal Bible Study, I have not made this a priority.  I have allowed the stuff of life here in this temporary life, to crowd out what is important…Service to God and sharing the Good News to all I encounter.   

The truth is we WILL, NOT MAY face trials, hardships and adversity that perseverance is required in order to overcome. 

Jesus Himself said in John 16:33 (NLT)…  

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 

In the interest of not having you scroll forever in this post, I wanted to do a lighting round of scriptures so click here.  So, based on those verses and your own life experience, what do you see as the (3) Causes of Adversity?  Think about it before you scroll down…

I believe they are:

1. A Result of Spiritual Warfare:  There is adversity like in the case of Job, we go through NOT because of sin BUT because of Spiritual Warfare.    
2. A Result of Our Own Bad Decisions:  Then there are hardships that we have to endure because of bad decisions which the Galatians 6:7-8 clearly illustrates.
3. A Result of a Trial that God will use to Transform Us: And finally, there are the storms of life that we must persevere through which will transform us if we accept it.  If we do, I believe we can achieve the first goal set by the Apostle Paul to “Always be Joyful.”  But that will take discipline, a word that no one really likes but. 

There is a Benefit to Discipline!  Hebrews 12:1-12 is the “go-to” passage on this topic in which the unknown author makes the case that “God’s Discipline Proves His Love for us.”  Assuming you clicked on that link, what stands out to you in these 12 verses, what hits you the hardest?  For me, it’s Hebrews 12:10-11 (NLT) which says: 

“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening — it’s painful!  But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.  So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.” 

I love that passage because like in my cycle class and on that mountain, disciplining my body is painful but I love the results.  In the same way we are called to discipline our minds that when we find our faith dwindling, we need to take a beat, and remember that Jesus persevered through the disrespect, torture, and death on the cross to save us and give us hope that we too can live the overcoming life and “always be joyful!”  It will take effort though, we must stay vigilant in reading the Word EVERY SINGLE DAY, not out of obligation but for strength and to be reminded of the faith that we profess.  If anyone is not reading the Word every day, then I would encourage you to start.  If there is a blockade to doing that or you don’t know where to start, then get in a Bible Study.  Nothing changes, if nothing changes!

If you are interested, here is the next post in the series ★ Thought for the Day – The Call on Our Life – Part 2 – Never Stop Praying ★    

    

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Here are some additional passages on Perseverance: 1 Timothy 4:7-8, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 4:12, Hebrews 13:14, James 1:13-15, 1 Corinthians 15:58

★ “Back to the Basics” – Silencing the Noise ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★

★ Thought for the Day – Life is Ball Game ★

★ Thought for the Day – What I RE-LEARNED in 2023 ★

★ Thought for the Day – What I RE-LEARNED in 2023 ★

Happy New Year!  I pray that the last days have been good and that you have been sticking to the New Year’s resolutions!  If you have been following this page, you know that I believe in “commitments” rather than “resolutions” because I typically have failed at every one of them that I have made, (if you want to read about this, click here).  I will share that my 2023 commitment to work out and live a healthy lifestyle has been maintained!  The gym that my wife and I joined one year ago has been frequented weekly throughout last year, and have continued going to, (in fact we will be there tonight for Cycle Class).  We also started playing Pickleball 6 months ago which I am absolutely obsessed with!  It’s a great workout and more importantly is an awesome time with my wife!!  In the last post ★ Thought for the Day – Life is Ball Game ★ I shared that my “Word for the New Year” for 2023 was “PERSEVERE” which was so on point for what I went through last year.  While our family went through a ton of change last year and 2023 marked the most insane year of my career at work, committing to a healthy lifestyle has resulted in my wife and I connecting in a deeper way through fitness.

I will say though there was something else that I learned, or should I say RE-LEARNED in 2023, we ALL need to persevere because NEWS FLASH: We are in a Battle for our Souls and the Souls of Our Family, and we must be prepared with the Armor of God.  I KNOW THIS, BELIEVE THIS BUT COMPLETELY WAS DECEIVED BY THE ENEMY.  In an older post called ★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★, we discussed all about the attacks of Satan, spiritual warfare and the importance of putting on the Armor of God, so I will not duplicate what we covered there, but I wanted to share Ephesians 6:10-18 from the Message Translation that gives a fresh viewpoint of the Spiritual Warfare that IS COMING AGAINST US and how to have victory: 

“And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” 

We are going to go through tribulation but take heart, God WILL USE it for our good, to learn something that we can in turn help others with.  We are, who we are, because of the trials and hardships we go through.  Through all the stress, pressure, and phenomenal change in my personal and professional life, I lost sight of the fundamental truth of my walk with Jesus — I must die to myself and stop focusing on the circumstances, but rather my Creator and ultimately what I am supposed to learn in the midst of the storm.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us that there is a season and purpose for everything, and the key is to “cling tightly to the Lord as you have done until now” (Joshua 23:8 NLT).  I realized that I held onto things I should have let go because of fear and the “what ifs” scenarios I allowed to run rampant while simultaneously blocking the relief and support that I would have received from my Heavenly Father if I had not drifted away from Him.  This life is temporary — WE MUST KEEP ETERNITY on the forefront of everything we do as 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 4:3-8 reminds us.  Over the past two years I have lost sight of that.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT), the Apostle give this encouragement:

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

I need to get back to this place, where people and the things of God are my priority and not my own selfish desires.  In the next (3) posts I am going to be sharing some truths about what God downloaded to me during worship one Sunday morning back in October 2023 that I have been trying to embody.  The series will be called “The Call on Our Life.”  Given that we just flipped the page on the calendar to the new year, it only seems appropriate to hit the reset button and focus up on what God desires from us.

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – Life is Ball Game ★

★ Thought for the Day – Unstoppable Determination for God’s Holiness ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Life is Ball Game ★

What does the current heat wave, moving the lawn, Sister Wynona Carr and the Book of Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 have in common with one another?  No, there is no punch line, just my stream of consciousness and the Holy Spirit working through the mundane to speak into my spirit!  According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas-Fort Worth has seen 29 days of at least 100 degrees, (starting on June 25).  Honestly, I was shocked it has been less than a month of this sweltering temperature, feels more like 290 days; but then my wife reminded me we had a day or two of 99 degrees which broke the streak.  I thought this was hysterical from this morning’s weather report, take note of the headline…

“SOUTHWEST & SOUTHERN STATES ROASTING WIDESPREAD TRIPLE-DIGIT TEMPERATURES”

So, so true, there is definitely widespread roasting!  Well like most people, I tried to beat the heat and get out early to get the yard work done yesterday.  I grabbed my beats headphones, put on an upbeat playlist, and got to mowing.  As I walked back and forth with the lawnmower, an obscure but fun song came on from Sister Wynona Carr, who in 1952 wrote and recorded what became the muse for this Thought for the Day — “The Ball Game,” is a tale of a baseball matchup between Jesus and the Devil.  The storytelling is brilliant as one by one, the Giants of the Faith, both Old and New Testaments are alike, are mentioned, from Solomon to Daniel then Job to Moses and finally John (the Discipline that Jesus loved).  Here are some of the lyrics for those who may not be familiar with this 71-year-old tune…

“Yes you know, Jesus standing at the home plate
He is waiting for you there
You know, the life is a ball game
But you’ve got to play it fast

The first base is temptation
You know the second base is sin
The third base tribulation
If you pass, you can make it in

Old man Solomon is the umpire
And Satan pitchin’ a game
He’ll do his best, strike you out
He playin’ just the same”

As I was listening to this, I thought about America’s favorite pastime, Baseball, and the fact that they play throughout the summertime enduring these oppressive temps!  It took a lot of energy to mow my postage stamp size of a yard, I can only imagine what it is like for these players running around in this heat, what fortitude and endurance they must have to play this fast-paced game.  Life is like a ball game, but as you play it fast, it requires perseverance.  And boy has that been a lesson for me to relearn!  For those who have been with me for a while, you know that at the beginning of each New Year I post about the “Word for the New Year” that I feel the Holy Spirit has given me for the upcoming year; in fact, today is my 8th one to post.  But as you see from the lack of posts, life has continued to be really crazy for me both at work and in my personal life for the past year and 8 months.  You probably can guess it but before we flipped the calendar to start 2023, I felt Him tell me to “PERSEVERE!”  Something that I have been trying hard to do.  Now I did a post called ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★ based on the life of the Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel as part of a series on the ordinary men and women who Overcame Adversity so today I was inspired to pick another giant of the faith who was mentioned in the song, see if you can guess who it will be; but before I reveal him, I wanted to share some fortune cookie wisdom with you that I just got Thursday night…

I thought this was quite apropos as work has been crushing me (just about the time that the heat wave started in DFW).  Though I don’t live my life through fortune cookies, I felt like God was reassuring me that I was going to “pull through” this season of adversity.  

Okay rabbit trail over…Going back to the song that got me back to the keyboard…Several of the men mentioned in the song are directly or indirectly heralded in the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.”  That is not the Hall of FAME, like the one in Cooperstown, NY but the Hall of FAITH, (sorry for the Dad joke, I could not help myself).  These are Men and women who are known because they “pulled through” and persevered in their faith as Hebrews 11:39-40 (NLT) says:

“All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”

These Heroes of the Faith never received all that God had promised until they were on the other side of eternity, but their faith never wavered.  Though he is not mentioned in Hebrews 11, Job is given an honorable mention by Sister Wynona Carr:

Picture taken at the 7/14/2023 Cleveland Guardians at Texas Rangers Game

“Yes you know, Job is up to bat next
Satan’s struck him in every way
But Job hit a home run
And he came on in that day”

In the book that bears his name, Job is also given high praise twice in the first (8) verses of the book:

“There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.”  Job 1:1 (NLT) 

“Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”” Job 1:8 (NLT) 

Wow!  What a recommendation!  Job 1:1 and 1:8 are two of the most amazing verses to me!!  Job was an outstanding man who even God Himself thought was significant enough to go through some of the most horrible tests imaginable!!  For those who know the story, the testing of Job is a difficult reality to accept.  For me, I see this book as a fascinating tennis match between two opinions, BOTH of which are wrong!  Job wants an answer for why he has been so afflicted even though he is blameless, and his (3) friends – Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar want Job to come clean because there definitely HAS TO BE a reason “why” all this calamity has come down on Job!  We don’t have time to unpack all of this but check out chapters 4 through 31.

In Job 32, the action turns in a different direction when suddenly, a new character is revealed — a young man named Elihu who seemingly has been listening to the whole exchange between these wise older men.  He then goes on for 6 chapters (Job 32 thru 37) attempting to teach true wisdom!  David Guzik had this commentary on Job 32:1-5 that I thought was fascinating summarizing what the tennis match being played out between Job and his (3) friends was all about… 

“We can easily understand how Elihu felt this. Yet what he did not understand was that both Job and God were right. The friends had forced themselves and Job into a false dilemma: either Job is right or God is right. They could not see or understand how both were right.”

What a mess!  There’s no winner in this matchup which is why I guess God steps in and challenges Job in Chapter 38!   We don’t have a third conversation between God and Satan, but I wonder if another test for God’s righteous man was through Job’s (3) friends!  Each one of Job’s “friends” respond to him in ever-increasing harshness and contempt.  Which is particularly vicious when you consider that Job not only lost all that he had but that also was grieving the deaths of his (10) children!

Job was a man who feared God, prayed, and offered sacrifices for his children and was an honorable man, but yet he went through adversity like no other.  If ever there was a man who was a model of persevering through hardship, it was Job!  Look at all he went through:

• Satan took away all of Job’s possessions (see Job 1:12-17), killed all his children (see Job 1:18-19), and afflicted his body with painful boils (see Job 2:7).  
• His wife attacked Job telling him to “curse God and die” (see Job 2:8-9). 
• Job’s (3) friends attacked him mercilessly over and over trying to get him to confess his sin for why all this trouble has come (see 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25). 
• Then Elihu presents his case against Job (see Job 33-37).
• And finally, God challenges Job (see Job 38-41).  

Going back to Job 1:1 and 1:8, when you read those verses side-by-side it is so perplexing to me that a man who “is blameless—a man of complete integrity” would be given over to be tested by Satan by God Himself.  That is really hard to reason out with my finite brain.  That is why I need to pray for wisdom and search the scriptures for direction.  The Bible is God’s instruction manual for life and as we spend time in it, we get encouraged and see that we are not unique in the problems we face.  In fact, Romans 15:4 (NASB 1995) gives this insight: 

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Another way to say it, the Bible was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  So, as I see a Godly man go through hardships and be attacked by the people closest to him and overcome, I can draw strength to face the challenges before me.  I started talking about how hard life has been and how I have been trying to persevere through it but let me be clear, my stress and pressure I am under at work pales in comparison to what Job went through!  That is why it is good to stop and reflect on the goodness of God because at the end of the day, it goes back to trust and faith that God is good regardless of the adversity we go through.  I pray that I too can persevere and responded to tragedy and verbal assaults as Job did:

“Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.”  Job 1:20-22 (NLT) 

“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.”  Job 2:10b (NLT) 

What perspective!!  Not to blame God and to accept that sometimes we must go through pain and suffering in life which we may never understand why this side of heaven.  But praise God that we have these heroes of the faith to read about.  Praise God that He sent His Son Jesus to be the ultimate example to show us how to persevere and handle anything that came His way without sinning!  I will close with this final passage from Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG); I love how the Message translates it:

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 

When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

I pray this post ministered to you as much as it did for me.  When you find yourself flagging or dwindling in your faith, look to those who came before us for encouragement and perseverance in your walk!  Hope you stay cool!

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

If you are interested here are the Past Words or phrases that I have received from the Lord and share:

• 2015 – “UNSTOPPABLE DETERMINATION FOR GOD’S HOLINESS”
• 2016 – “LIVING OUT A LASTING LEGACY”
• 2017 – “CHOOSE TO PURSUE”
• 2018 – “ROOTED”
• 2019 – “TRANSFORMED”
• 2020 – “CONSISTENCY”
• 2021 – “ABIDE IN THE LORD FOR BREAKTHROUGH”
• 2022 – “RENEWED THOUGHTS & ATTITUDES”

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Encouragement – Part 7 ★

Today is a big day.  It’s my sister’s birthday, four months since we got out puppy Maggie 🌸 and of course 1 week until Christmas!  If you follow this blog, you will know that the last post was almost 12 months ago!  The post was called ★ Thought for the Day – Renewed Thoughts & Attitudes ★, and boy was that a prophetic Word from the Lord, as this past year has been the “YEAR of CHANGE”… both good and bad.  It is funny that I had today’s post almost completely done back in January, but the torrent of events tore me away from this post that was so important to me at the time.  I am saddened to think of how I have deprioritized God these past 11-1/2 months and allowed the things of this world to choke out my love of studying God’s Word, writing, and even praying to the One who can change the circumstances!  So, without further ado, I will pick this post back up and bring it to completion in the hopes that the encouragement that I have so desperately needed over the past year could be obtained through the message the Holy Spirit was trying to speak to, and through me back in January.  At the time, I had been studying the Book of Acts with my Monday Virtual Bible Study and in my own personal devotional time.  I was planning to wrap up our Overcoming Adversity Series with Barnabas, another early church believer who overcame adversity through encouragement; but before I do, I just wanted to mention that if you are just coming into the series now, you can go and read them all in order by just clicking here.  At the end of the post, I will have them all listed individually with the Overcomer(s) name for easy reference.

Today’s Thought may seem a little bit of a stretch, how do you “Overcome Adversity Through Encouragement?”  Well one thing that I have learned is that when I focus on ME and about my problems, then it is so much harder to get through whatever dark season of life I am in.  But when I lay aside my worries, fears, or issues, and try to be an encouragement to help others then I find that I am helped even more than the person I was reaching out to.  When Jesus walked this earth as a man, He gave us the example that our lives should be spent serving God and helping others.  And that is what I believe Barnabas was all about!  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Honest Self-Evaluation ★, I spoke about this great man of God who consistently chased after God, so if you want some additional background, I would stop and read that first as we will not be repeating the content here.

We are first introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4:36-37 (NLT) which says…

“…there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”).  He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.  He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.”

What a nickname…“A Son of Encouragement!”  Practically speaking, it was appropriate for Barnabas to be sent to Antioch since he was from the nearby island of Cyprus but being familiar with the region and being an encourager was not his only qualifications.  Barnabas is described in greater detail in Acts 11:24 (NLT):

“Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.  And many people were brought to the Lord.”

In these two passages we learn a lot, Barnabas…

• Thought of others — He was an encourager.
• He was generous, and Kingdom-minded — Selling his field and giving the proceeds to the Apostles.
• Full of the Holy Spirit.
• Strong in the faith.
• And an Evangelist!

Wow!  What a resume.  This is my earnest desire, to be “A Son of Encouragement” and to be “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith,” that many people will come to the Lord as a result!  But if I am being honest, I have been pretty self-consumed with my own issues and the competing outside pressures that I have not been much like Barnabas of late.  I know this is the enemy trying to discourage and fill me with disillusionment, but I also want to be transparent with you as I think, “what have I done for the Kingdom lately”…but back to Barnabas.  If we back up just 2 verses, we see that Barnabas was sent to Antioch, a pagan city because of the reports Gentiles were believing and turning to the Lord.  In Acts of the Apostles 11:22-23 (NLT) it says:

“When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.”

David Guzik had this commentary on Acts 11:22-24:

“The church in Jerusalem sent an able man in Barnabas, previously known for his generosity (Acts 4:36-37) and his warm acceptance of Saul of Tarsus after he was converted (Acts 9:26-28).”

“Barnabas rightly focused on his main job as a leader of the congregation.  He strengthened the church family itself, with the result that a great many people were added to the Lord.”

I have heard it said that when the Holy Spirit is moving, get on board wherever that may be. Barnabas rolled up his sleeves and got to work encouraging and ministering to the Gentiles in Antioch.  Then as you continue to read Acts of the Apostles 11:25-26 (NLT) it seems to be a side note but it is quite profound:

“Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”

Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36-37), who helped Saul (AKA Paul) to get connected to others believers after his conversation (Acts 9:26-28), is now leading many people in the pagan city of Antioch come to faith in Jesus (Acts 11:22-24), now leaves to go look for Saul.  What I love is that Barnabas does not want to go it alone, but instead he searches for him and brings Saul back so they could work together in this ministry opportunity.  You may recall from that Saul was sent to Tarsus for his own protection after the Jews in Jerusalem tried to murder him, (See Acts 9:28-30). David Guzik also had this commentary on Acts 11:26:

“Saul had spent some twelve years in Tarsus since we last met him; these years were not wasted or lost, but spent in quiet ministry and preparation for future service.”

This is quite interesting when you think about the fact that Saul, who will eventually go by the name Paul, is known for his missionary journeys throughout the known world as one of the chief evangelists of the faith, and an author of most of the New Testament; this same man stayed in one place for (12) years.  One could conceivably attribute Barnabas for helping to launch Saul’s ministry career.  It is unclear exactly why Barnabas left to get Paul, it could be that the church growth was exploding in Antioch, and he needed help, or perhaps it was that he wanted to follow the model that Jesus set forth in Luke 10:1-2 (NLT)…

“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them:

“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs, so I think Barnabas desired to have a partner in ministry like how Peter and John, who travelled together.  Reminds me of what Charles Stanley once said:

“Our faith is never a solitary business, but it is meant to grow in community.“

That, to me, has become my life’s mission, to connect with other men in Biblical Community to help them grow in their knowledge of the Bible, and love of the Lord.  The Virtual Bible Studies that I facilitate Monday through Friday have become my ministry which started off as a solitary quiet time with the Lord and as I grew in my understanding and love for His Word, He gave me the privilege to work alongside the Holy Spirit to challenge men to engage with the Bible and get to know the Author of the faith they profess in a deeper way.  It all starts with us being faithful in small, consistent ways and then all of sudden God will give you your assignment.  That is what happened to Barnabas and Saul in Acts of the Apostles 13:2-3 (NLT) as they were worshiping the Lord and fasting with other brothers, they received their life’s calling from the Holy Spirit.

“One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.” 

From Acts 13:4 thru 15:35 Barnabas and Saul did incredible work together traversing a huge part of the know world is what is referred to as Paul’s first missionary journey:

But with all good things, their partnership came to an end.  Acts of the Apostles 15:38-40 (NLT) proves that no matter how anointed you may be with the Holy Spirit, personal feelings can cause division between believers, resulting in the separation of the dynamic duo of Paul and Barnabas.

“But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work [See Acts 13:13]. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care.”

I am closing this post on what may feel like a bit of a downer, but that is intentional because in life we will face challenges and have people disappoint us or abandon us, but it is in that moment we must decide, will we walk away from the assignment God has given us or persevere?  Barnabas and Paul separated, but Barnabas continued, working for the Lord with John Mark.  One might say, why?  Perhaps Barnabas saw another “Paul” in the making with John Mark?  After all it was Barnabas who helped Paul to get started when he went to Tarsus to ask for his help in Antioch (See Acts 11:25-26).  Also, there is the fact that Barnabas was John Mark’s cousin (See Colossians 4:10), so besides that and the fact that being an encourager, Barnabas was probably more willing to cut John Mark some slack.  Once again Barnabas gives us another encouragement.  As we approach Christmas let’s persevere through whatever adversity we are facing through the encouragement we offer to others.  Don’t let the enemy steal the joy of this season and truth that Jesus is all we need!  Please pray for me for what the next series will be…and that I will overcome this season of adversity!

Merry Christmas!

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Here are the previous post to our Overcoming Adversity Series:

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★ based on Daniel.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★ based on Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego).
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★ based on Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★ based on Jehoiada the Priest.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★ based on Joshua.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6A ★ based on Phillip.
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6B ★ based on Stephen.

★ Thought for the Day – Renewed Thoughts & Attitudes ★

Happy New Year!  I hope that you are doing well, I know it has been some time since I have posted anything.  Life has been exceedingly difficult with much spiritual warfare that has kept me away from my keyboard to share the goodness of God.  Unlike other posts, this one is going to start off a little bit rough but if you bear with me, I promise it will turn around.  I don’t know what it is about New Year’s Eve, but I have never been overly excited about going out to celebrate the ending of the year and the beginning of a new one.  I know metaphorically it is an opportunity for a clean slate or “do-over,” but I guess with all that our family has gone through this year, and the grim reality that the Omicron Variant has brought hospitalizations back to levels that we saw at the peak of Covid in 2020, I really have been struggling this year to be excited about flipping the calendar to 2022.  I know I am killing the GOOD VIBES of NEW YEARS DAY, but I have always tried to be genuine in my struggles and the reality of spiritual warfare.  Jesus said it Himself in John 10:10 (NASB1995) that:

“The thief [or devil,] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Charles Stanley had this great life lesson on John 10:10…

“Do you know how Jesus gives us abundant life?  He does so by giving us Himself!  You could have all the money, relationships, wealth, and power, but you would still have a deep sense of emptiness because life isn’t found in these things.  The only one who can truly satisfy you is Jesus Christ.  To live the abundant Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life through us.  His love motivates and empowers us, so we will obey Him out of joy and thankfulness.”

I so needed that reminder as the devil has been working me over BIG TIME, and my family, trying to STEAL our Joy, KILL our Peace and Destroy our Lives but as just you just read…“The only one who can truly satisfy you is Jesus Christ.  To live the abundant Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life through us.”  The trouble is when we focus on circumstances and not the One who can change them, we tend to spiral out of control, I know that is true for me…

Okay, I promised I would turn this around so…Switching gears back to last night, I would like to share how focusing on my Savior changed my sullen disposition but first let me set it up for you.  This year we were blessed to have some extended family with us from South Carolina.  In addition, my oldest daughter brought her boyfriend home from college to meet them in person since all we have been able to do these past two years was FaceTime video calls.  Last night, the two of them were leading the family in an acoustic worship set singing about the goodness of God.  My daughter encouraged us to reflect on the past year and how God has moved in our lives amidst the stress, hardships, and unprecedented change that we had experienced in 2021.  By the end, the Holy Spirit gave my Word for 2022…

This year’s Word — “Renewed Thoughts & Attitudes” which came from two passage of scripture.  If you are new to our site, each year I wait on the Holy Spirit to reveal a “WORD” or phrase for me to stand on for the upcoming year.

If you are interested, you can click on the link to check them out…

“Word for the New Year” Posts.

This first passage is from Romans 12:2 (NIV) which says:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Many people question ‘What is God’s Will for their life?’  But don’t realize that they will never get there unless they first break the cycle of living according to the world’s standards.  Continuing to immerse ourselves in the culture that is adversarial to the Kingdom of God will dampen our walk and slow our growth.  I have this plaque on my wall that says

“Inhale Grace and Exhale Love.”    

That however is difficult to do when you are consuming primarily on the 24/7 news cycle, Instagram / Twitter feeds and believing that what Hollywood tells you is the good life.  When you do that it is more likely that you will…

“Inhale Pride and Exhale Indifference.”   

As a nation, we are so Covid fatigued, so divided over the vaccine and masks, and quite honestly just plain hostile to anyone with a differing view than ours.  Part of my tailspin into despondency is we as a people keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result which is the very definition of instantly!  That is why I need a fresh wind, a renewed mind and attitude!  Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT) is the second passage that was my muse for my Word from the Lord for 2022:

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

The Christian walk is not easy.  It is not a one and done, set it and forget it lifestyle. We don’t just pray a prayer and then cruise until we meet Jesus in Heaven; but rather we must “throw off our old sinful nature…let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes,” and “put on our new nature, created to be like God!”  God did His part by sending Jesus to die for us as payment for the sins of the world, past, present, and future forever and ever (See John 3:16).  Now we must do our part and allow the Holy Spirit to work within our lives to become righteous and holy.  It is now 2022, 22 years after I have given my heart to Jesus as Lord and Savior and yet at times, I feel like I still have so far to go in my pursuit to become more and more like Jesus.  The Message translates Ephesians 4:23-24 this way which I so resonate with:

“And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” Ephesians 4:23-24 (MSG)

That is my prayer for this new year to be the best possible representative of Jesus to those around me.  I so desire for God to reproduce His Character in me and that 2022 would be an entirely new way of life, that no matter what I am experiencing in the natural, I would allow the Holy Spirit to renew my thoughts and attitudes and be transformed!  I pray the same for you too!

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

If you are interested here are the Past Words or phrases that I have received from the Lord and share:

• 2015 – “UNSTOPPABLE DETERMINATION FOR GOD’S HOLINESS”
• 2016 – “LIVING OUT A LASTING LEGACY”
• 2017 – “CHOOSE TO PURSUE”
• 2018 – “ROOTED”
• 2019 – “TRANSFORMED”
• 2020 – “CONSISTENCY”
• 2021 – “ABIDE IN THE LORD FOR BREAKTHROUGH”

★ Thought for the Day – Who Are You Imitating? ★

Check out this awesome message called “The Seven Churches of Revelation – Week 4 – “Resist the Enemy” by Robert Morris.  This is about the church of Thyatira and is one of the greatest sermons I have ever heard on spiritual warfare.  He shared this on what are some signs that I’m being attacked?

1. Fear
2. Depression
3. Fatigue
4. Sickness
5. Immorality
6. Insecurity
7. Rehearsing Your Speech

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Sacrifice – Part 6B ★

Today we recognize Labor Day in the United States, to celebrate the achievements of workers.  It is apropos to today’s “worker” for Jesus Christ who we will be unpacking.  In the last post, ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6A ★ we were introduced to Phillip and Stephen who were the first deacons in the early church.  They were described as being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, appointed to help solve a food distribution problem between the Greek and Hebrew widows (see Acts 6:1-5).  These two men were the continuation of the Overcoming Adversity Series that we have been in about the Men and Women who consistently chased after God.  Phillip and Stephen modeled a life of Service and Sacrifice.  

At the end of this post I have listed all the posts thus far from the series but if you want to read them all in order, then just click here.  In the post, we focused primarily on Phillip who Overcame Adversity Through Service, and went from the bread line to the front line after the persecution of the Early Church, being God’s messenger to the long hated, and ostracized Samaritans.  He is an example for us that when we take time to meet people’s physical needs as Phillip did, they will be more open to listen to the truth about Jesus, who is the only One who can meet their spiritual needs.  Today we will look at Stephen who is our paragon of Overcoming Adversity Through Sacrifice.  Now this one may be a little tougher to receive than the past (6) posts because Stephen did not reach the other side of adversity as we would all choose to make it.  For those not familiar with this great man of the early church, brace yourself.  In Acts 6:8-10 (NLT) we get a little insight into the man:

“Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.”

Like Phillip, we first met Stephen in the previous (7) verses of Acts Chapter 6 as a solution to a food distribution problem that arose in the early church between the Hebrew-speaking widows and the Greek-speaking widows (or Hellenists), see Acts 6:1.  Now Luke, the author of the Book of Acts is taking us into a deep dive into Stephen who “full of God’s grace and power, [who] performed amazing miracles and signs among the people,” and who “none [who opposed Stephen] could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.”  That is an impressive resume to say the least!  No doubt the Lord’s blessing was upon him but something to keep in mind is that just because you are a Christian does not mean that you will not experience trouble and storms of life.  In fact, oftentimes because you are a believer in Jesus you will face persecution.

In James 1:2-4 (NLT), the half-brother of Jesus gives this warning:

“Dear brothers and sisters, WHEN troubles of any kind come your way, CONSIDER it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that WHEN your faith is tested, YOUR ENDURANCE has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for WHEN your endurance is fully developed, YOU WILL be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”  (Emphasis added.)

Notice all the “WHENs,” NOT IFs.

• WHEN troubles of any kind come your way…
• WHEN your faith is tested…
• WHEN your endurance is fully developed…

Those are some some promised challenges ahead of every Christ follower but then there are some wonderful promises for those who persevere through the opposition:

• …CONSIDER it an opportunity for great joy.
• …YOUR ENDURANCE has a chance to grow.
• …YOU WILL be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So, if you think that being a Christian = No problems, I am sorry to burst your bubble, and tell you that it just does not line up with the Bible as we are about to see in Acts 6:11-15 (NLT).  Stephen, a man of God through no fault of his own is about to be thrust into a significant storm of life:

“So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.”

This is a good reminder that you can do everything right and yet still go through hard times.  It is amazing that Stephen is arrested and in chapter 7 will be on trial before the highest religious court he could face but yet in Acts 6:15 it says, “his face became as bright as an angel’s.” David Guzik had this commentary on Acts 6:15:

“Stephen’s face did not have that mild, soft, angelic look that we see in so many paintings; nor was it a look of stern judgment and wrath. Instead, his face reflected the perfect peace and confidence of one that knows and trusts his God. His face had the same reflected glory that Moses had as he beheld God intimately.” (See Exodus 34:29).

May we all face persecution as Stephen, reflecting “the perfect peace and confidence of one that knows and trusts his God!”  In the post, ★ Thought for the Day – Opposition Will Come ★ I shared that opposition WILL come against you as a result of being a Christian.  Being associated with Jesus is going to cost you.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is peddling a false Christianity.  At the time of this post, the ministry Open Doors USA had these startling statistics on their website of the cost Christians around the world were experiencing for their faith in Jesus: 

In just the last year*, there have been: 

• • Over 340 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination.
  • 4,761 Christians killed for their faith.
  • 4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked.
  • 4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned.

* 2021 World Watch List reporting period.

In American, most Christians will never face this level of Opposition or to pay the ultimate sacrifice of their life to share the hope of Jesus to the lost people but these statistics of the persecution of believers should:

1. Open our eyes that the Christian life is not an easy path.
2. Motivate us to move out of our comfort zones…from complacency to conviction.   

Stephen is without a doubt a man who did not choose the easy path but was convicted to share the hope of Jesus.  In Acts 7:1-2a (NLT)

“Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me.””

I will stop there because instead of defending himself and instantly saying “of course not, they are lying about me,” Stephen goes into a dissertation of the history of the Jewish people from the calling of Abram, the life of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.  Jacobs’ (12) sons, Joseph’s sale into slavery and eventual rise to Pharaohs’ Palace.  The Egyptian slavery of the Jews, the rise of Moses and eventual exodus from Egypt to the (40) years in the wilderness.  The Ten Commandments, and the Tabernacle being carried through the wilderness and then into the Promised Land under Joshua where it stayed until King David.  David wanted to build the Temple, but it was actually Solomon who was given the privilege.  All of this was covered in see Acts 7:2b-50.  Stephen then closes with an indictment of his own in Acts 7:51-53 against the religious elite:

““You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.””

I pray that if I were even in a tight spot like Stephen that I would have such boldness to speak the truth without fear and with boldness!!  And though the Message was not received well, (as one would expect, see Acts 7:54), look at the reward that he receives by this Testimony in Acts 7:55-56 (NLT)…

“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!””

What an honor to receive from the Lord!  I cannot even imagine what that would be like, to glimpse into Heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus on the throne!  I think that shows how beloved Stephen was to God, and He was signaling to him that the way Stephen was going to overcome this adversity was through sacrifice as Acts 7:57-60 (NLT) shows:

“Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.”

How heart-wrenching to be stoned to death and yet to have the presence of mind to pray “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And then to shout, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” Wow, that is incredible.  His last words are reminiscent of Jesus’ recorded in Luke 23:34a (NLT)…

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.””

I think that Stephen received an unbelievable gift of peace to not only pray as he was pelted with stones, but to also pray for those who were persecuting him and literally killed him in the next breath!  Stephen was one the first Deacons of the early church, and now he is recorded as the first martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ!  It is sad to see according to the statistics from the Open Doors USA ministry that Stephen certainly was not the last to be executed for his faith, but his sacrifice is not forgotten and should be an encouragement to us to keep working to build the kingdom of God!   

Stay tuned for the next post in our series…

 

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

• ★ Thought for the Day – Opposition Will Come ★  

Here is the previous post to our Overcoming Adversity Series:

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★

 

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6A ★

If you can believe it, I started this right before Memorial Day, (May 31, 2021) and for some reason never finished it.  I had planned to tie this post into the day that we honor those men and women who have given their lives in service to our country.  With the recent events at the Kabul Airport, where a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. Service Members (8/26/21) it seemed appropriate to return to the post.  Even though it is is three months later, I still want to thank those who given the ultimate sacrifice as Jesus said in John 15:13 (NIV):

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

It got me thinking about our series about the men and women in scripture who consistently chased after God, and how two men who Overcame Adversity Through Service and Sacrifice came to mind…

Phillip and Stephen may not be on the top of your list, or perhaps you may not even know who they are, but that is precisely the point.  People whose sole desire is to serve do not look for glory or to make a name for themselves as is the case with our overcomers today.  Phillip and Stephen faithfully worked in the background building the Kingdom of God.  By the way, since it has been a while since I have posted about the series, here is a quick rundown what we have covered so far:

• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★
  
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★
• ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★

Our anchor verse for the series is from Joshua 1:8 (NLT):

“Study this Book of Instruction continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.  Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

This passage has certainly been applicable to our previous Overcomers, but I think you will see it especially describes Phillip and Stephen as well.  We first meet them in Acts Chapter 6 as a solution to a food distribution problem that arose in the early church between the Hebrew-speaking widows and the Greek-speaking widows (or Hellenists), see Acts 6:1.  Earlier this year, my wife and I visited the church that my daughter is attending near her college, and the Pastor explained the context of the discord and that when the church prospers, there will inherently be some growing pains, as was the case when we meet our two overcomers.  The Greek widows were complaining that they were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.  This revealed a need in the community.  So, the position of Deacons was created so that the Apostles could focus on teaching the Word of God.  Acts 6:3,5 (NLT) records,

“And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.”

“Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).”

My daughter’s pastor, Ross Appleton, made the point that this was a joint coalition to take care of the Hellenist widows.  These (7) deacons served humbly, not as Apostles in the spotlight but rather as part of the church’s food bank which shows us that:

“Serving enables the Word of God to move forward.”  Ross Appleton

That is a word that I think many people including myself need to take to heart.  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Audience of One ★, I shared how I struggled for years wanting to be in the spotlight, believing that if I was upfront, I could have the greatest impact for the Kingdom of God, but God spoke to me at a men’s conference back in 2014 that I needed to repent as my motives were off.  You see what started off as me wanting to serve, was really motivated unbeknownst to me by a thirst for the approval of others rather than the approval of the One.  Now I am not saying that if you are the Lead Pastor or Ministry Leader that your motivations are wrong, that is just what happened to me.  I am merely making the point that people who are serving in the background are just as important to “moving the Word of God forward” as anyone else.  In fact, I remember Jimmy Evans making the point that small group leaders will have a bigger impact on the people in that circle than he could ever have preaching in front of thousands of people.  The key is whether you are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit or not.  I was reading a commentary on Acts 6:3 and I thought this was quite powerful:

“The idea behind full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom is that these men were to be both SPIRITUALLY MINDED and PRACTICALLY MINDED. This can be a hard combination to find.”  David Guzik

I will say that I learned a lot from the commentary and have used it in this post for context. Also, I did want to say, because there is so much to unpack, you may have noticed that this is “Part 6A” to our series.  That is because we will start off with Phillip in this post and then in “Part 6B” we will put our lens on the life and sacrifice of Stephen.

So, let’s focus now on Phillip, who we can deduce was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom since he was selected.  He is not the same Phillip mentioned in John 1:43-44 who becomes a Disciple of Jesus but the “other Philip,” who I just discovered is distinguished with the name “Philip the evangelist” or “Philip the deacon.”  The amazing thing about Philip is that though he was one of the original seven deacons selected, he must have had a heart for evangelism because when the “great persecution” arose in Acts 8:1, Philip left Jerusalem to become an evangelist in Samaria (Acts 8:4-13).  This is significant because Jews typically stayed away from Samaria because they generally hated them because they were half-breeds.  If you recall your history 600 years earlier when the Assyrians conquered Israel, they scattered all the wealthy, and middle-class Jews from Israel, and then proceeded to move into the area and intermarry with the lowest classes of the remaining Jews from Northmen Israel (see 2 Kings 17).  So not only was Phillip humble, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom but he was also not a racist, following the example of Jesus who ministered to the Samaritan Woman at the Well (see John 4) and told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37) as a lesson about how we ought to treat others.  The Apostle Paul instructed in Galatians 3:28 (NLT) that…

“There is no longer Jew or GenJtile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

And that is something that Phillip took to heart because he saw no separation from the Samaritans and extended the hope of Jesus to them.  At that time the Samaritans used to listen to a Sorcerer named Simon, but his influence was waning because of all God was doing though Phillip.  In Acts 8:12-13 says:

“But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.”

Phillip went from the bread line to the front line, being God’s messenger to the long hated and ostracized Samaritans.  It is interesting to note that later on in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Paul’s mentee Timothy gives clarity on what the qualifications for a Deacon are.  You could extrapolate that the list came from these first (7) men who served in this role.  My daughter’s Pastor also made this point that is apropos to Phillip:

“People don’t accidentally love people; we must be intentional.”  Ross Appleton

I love that!  If we want to make a difference in this world, we must be intentional.  It will take time, effort, potentially even money.  But as believers in Christ, we have a clear mandate from Jesus.  In Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT), Jesus gave His last command before ascending to heaven.

“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

This instruction is commonly referred to as “The Great Commission” that Jesus charged His disciples to go out to make disciples throughout the earth so that the Kingdom of God can be expanded.  Phillip, a humble servant to everyone understood this well as he had a profound effect in expanding the church. 2,000 years later, that is still relevant for us today.  If we want to Overcome Adversity, perhaps it is through service.  When we take time to meet people’s physical needs like Phillip did, they will be more apt to listen to the truth about Jesus, who is the only One who can meet their spiritual needs.

Click here for the next post in our series that covers Stephen, called:

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6B ★

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

 ★ Thought for the Day – What is the X-Factor of Leadership? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Back Into the Fire ★ 

★ Thought for the Day – Interruption or Opportunity? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★

I hope that you have been enjoying the series about men and women in scripture who consistently chased after God and faithfully worked at building His Kingdom, overcoming adversity because of a particular trait.  So far, we covered:

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Faith – Part 2 ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★

These (8) men and women as well as the other “OVERCOMERS” we will study lived out our anchor verse from Joshua 1:8 (NLT) that we have been reviewing each post:

“Study this Book of Instruction continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.  Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” 

This truth is as applicable to us today as when it was spoken thousands of years ago, but I thought today we would look at the context of this verse through our next two Overcomers: Joshua and Caleb, who did so through courage! 

I will forever beat the drum that “context is everything.”  I truly believe that we do a disservice to ourselves and to God when we just à la carte the Bible, cherry-picking verses to build our theology upon.  So, in keeping with that, let’s look at the events of when this word of encouragement was spoken.  The nation of Israel was at a preverbal crossroad in their history.  They had just finished (40) years of wandering in the wilderness because of their lack of faith that God would deliver them.  For those who may not know or remember. Moses has sent 12 spies into the Promise Land to see what the land was like.  After 10 of the 12 spies gave a bad report about how hopeless their odds were to actually overcome the giants that lived there, the people rebelled against Moses and his brother Aaron and as a result God punished them, (see Numbers Chapters 13-14 and Numbers 33-38).  I did want to point out the other 2 spies who gave a good report to the people were our Overcomers spotlighted today.  In Numbers 14:6-9 (NLT):

“Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!””

Amazing huh?  In the previous verses, the 10 spies whipped the people into a fear-full frenzy about the inhabitants of the land, but these 2 courageous men stood in the gap for God and boldly testified that regardless of their size, “They are only helpless prey to us!  They have no protection, but the Lord is with us!  Don’t be afraid of them!”  It is not easy standing up for what is right, especially when the vast majority is opposed to you.  In today’s world we see that too, that what is wrong is right and what is right is wrong.  Calling yourself a Christian or Christ-Follower is a label that many see as intolerant and hateful to what the world celebrates.  Persecution of Christians is rampant all over the world and though in America Christians are not out rightly being imprisoned or executed for their faith, there is still consequences for standing for God.  Numbers 14:10-12 (NLT) records the reaction the people have to Joshua and Caleb’s faith in the God, who mind you had delivered them from Egyptian Slavery 40 years earlier …

“But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. 

Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.  And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?  Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?  I will disown them and destroy them with a plague.  Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” 

Have you ever heard of such an insane reaction to a word of encouragement?  The whole community wanted to kill Joshua and Caleb!!  That has always baffled me, what did they say that deserved to be stoned to death?!  I love how God stepped in and saved his courageous servants with a threat of His own!  As the story unfolds, Moses interceded for the people and God relented from killing them on the spot but there were consequences for their sin as Numbers 14:28-30 (NLT) recounts:

“Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”

If you are curious, in Numbers 14:33-38 it gives the justification that the Israelites would wander in the wilderness for forty years as payment for the community’s faithlessness, until everyone of that generation would die off.  The number of years of wandering was because the spies explored the land for forty days, so they had to “wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of [their] sins…Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.”  If you want to dig into this some more, here are some key passages to look at: Numbers 14:20-24, 14:33-38 and Numbers 20:6-13.

So fast forward to the time of when our anchor verse was spoken to Joshua.  Moses, the great prophet and deliverer of the Israelite people from Egyptian slavery is dead (see Deuteronomy 34:5).  Before his passing, Moses announced to the people in Deuteronomy 31:1-3 that Joshua would be his successor and that he would lead them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.  But before that was to happen, God visited with Joshua to give him encouragement and to let him know that it was time for them to enter the Promised Land (see Joshua 1:1-4), in verse 5, the Creator of the Universe says:

“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  For I will be with you as I was with Moses.  I will not fail you or abandon you.”

Could you imagine getting that promise directly from the LORD?  What a way to start a book and to prepare to go into battle.  I often wish that I could get an audible message from God like that, but we live in different times.  Today, we have God, the Holy Spirit living inside of us as 1 John 4:4 (NLT) says:

“But you belong to God, my dear children.  You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

Notice the capital “S” which is for the Holy Spirit and then the second reference with the lowercase “s” which represents the satanic forces that are coming against us daily.  When you look at 1 John 1:1-4, it is clear that the passage is referencing the Holy Spirit who lives inside us!  So, we have to listen for that “small, still voice inside us” where Joshua needed to be visited by the Lord and look what He says to him in Joshua 1:6-9 (NLT):

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you.  Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.  Then you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of Instruction continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.  Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.  This is my command — be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

What a great passage telling us that even when we WILL face adversity, that God will always be with us through the storms of life!  In (4) verses God says, “Be strong and courageous” (3) times!  That tells me that Joshua (and myself) need to work out our faith and trust God regardless of circumstances!  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Be Strong and Courageous ★, we unpacked this passage thoroughly, so I’d recommend you go check it out for more context but something that you don’t typically see is an instruction repeated three times in the same passage of scripture.  But in Joshua 1:6-9, we find that the Lord saw the need to repeat Himself.  In my Monday Bible Study we have been going through the book of Ezekiel, the LORD felt the need to repeat Himself 3 times in Ezekiel 2:6 (NLT) to encourage his Prophet to the people of Judah with the command to “not be fearful, afraid or dismayed.”

““Son of man, do not fear them or their words.  Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions.  Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels.”

It is interesting that though there are over 800 years separating these mighty men of God, the same Holy Spirit was speaking through them to His servants!!  I thought how interesting that Ezekiel who we just unpacked in the post ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★ was in need of some encouragement just like Joshua, just like you and I do!  We all have seasons of doubt and fear, but we must remember that God is always with us, we just have to trust Him!  I thought how perfect this is that though written centuries apart, Ezekiel 2:8 and Joshua 1:6-9 are perfect companion verses.

• Do not fear = Be strong and courageous.
• Don’t be afraid = Be strong and very courageous.
• Do not be dismayed = Be strong and courageous!

We don’t have time to get into all the stories but if you have not read the Book of Joshua lately I would check it out because after this encouragement from the Lord, Joshua gives the charge to the Israelites that they were going into the Promised Land and ultimately one battle after another they saw God come through for them.  Today regardless of what you are facing whether it be isolation because of your faith, persecution, illness, or unemployment, follow the example of Joshua and Caleb and be strong and courageous!

Stay tuned for the next post in the series…

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – What’s Your Blanket? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Chain Reaction Catalyst ★

★ Thought for the Day – Stand Up for What is Right ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4★

We have been in a series about men and women in scripture who consistently chased after God who faithfully worked at building His Kingdom and overcame adversity because of a particular trait.

• In the first post ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★, we looked at the life of Daniel and how his character literally impacted the entire world.
• In ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★, we saw how Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) boldly stood their ground and did not worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol while simultaneously giving us a great example to not lose faith if our prayers are not answered the way we expect. We need to trust that there is a reason for everything that happens and that God’s “PLAN A” may have a higher purpose.
• In the last post in our series ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★, we studied the ministries of Jeremiah and Ezekiel who were major prophets like Daniel, living at the same dark time period in Judah’s history — from the decline of the nation and during the Babylonian Captivity, yet in very different situations. Both men of God had difficult assignments to stiff-necked obstinate people who God used as “object lessons” to convey His plans.  Each of them overcame significant persecution, threats, and personal loss but persevered, nonetheless.

These (6) men as well as the other “OVERCOMERS” we will study lived out our anchor verse from Joshua 1:8 ( which you can read for yourself by clicking here).  Today we will be looking at a power couple who you may never have heard of before, but before I reveal their names, let me ask you, how intently have you studied the books of 1 and 2 Kings in the Old Testament?  Some of you may be like “oh yeah, I love it,” but I would guess by and large most probably “phone it in” when it is time to read these historical books as part of a Bible Reading plan.  I know I did for years and years.  I dreaded it until 2015 when I felt the Holy Spirit convict me and challenge me with this question…“Why don’t you try to get something out of it?”  I prayed for Him to open my eyes and I have to tell you it was incredible!!  I have such an affinity for these under-read books now.  If you don’t know, they record the history from King David’s old age when he passed the baton to his son Solomon, the reign of Solomon and then the history of Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah until the Babylonian exile.  If you are curious 1 Kings 11:1-13 gives the reason why God divided the land into the northern and southern kingdoms.

Here is a great timeline of the Divided Nation with the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judah which makes a great cheat sheet in keeping it all straight.  Okay so now that I have laid a significant foundation let’s reveal who are today’s muse for Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty…

…Jehosheba and Jehoiada the Priest.  Not familiar characters that you have heard preached but two consistent, God-fearing people of integrity like no other!  I have been going through 1 Kings and now 2 Kings on my Friday morning Virtual Bible Study which has been amazing!  This last one was our 56^th study and we still have (7) more chapters to go!  There is so much to learn in these Old Testament books!  Back in September 2020 we covered today’s Overcomers who have very little mentioned of them.  In fact, Jehosheba only has 3 verses about her (2 Kings 11:2-3 and 2 Chronicles 22:11), while Jehoiada the Priest has 1-1/2 chapters dedicated to his work in 2 Kings 11 – 12 and also in 2 Chronicles 23 – 24.  So, you may ask why not study someone who is more well-known from the list like Isaiah, John the Baptist or Mary and Jesus?  Well for me, I love those who faithfully labor behind the scenes and consistently serve the Lord regardless of the dangers in doing so. And that certainly is the case for this husband and wife duo.  If you look at the timeline above, you will notice an anomaly in the list of the Kings of Judah – There is a Queen in the list named Athaliah.  We are first introduced to her in 2 Kings 11:1-3 (NLT)…

“When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family. But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him from Athaliah, so the child was not murdered. Joash remained hidden in the Temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.”

Pretty shocking!  Athaliah becomes queen and kills all the rest of the royal family in Judah and attempted to kill her grandson Joash who you see from the timeline becomes King of Judah after her death.  That is in large part thanks to the courageous action of his aunt Jehosheba who saved him from his murderous Grandma!!  How anyone can say that the Old Testament is boring is beyond me!  But I digress…Athaliah reigned in Judah for 6 years and promoted Baal worship, leading the people further and further from God.  Charles Stanley had this great life lesson on 2 Kings 11:2…

“Through Athaliah, Satan tried to wipe out the Davidic line and so frustrate the promise of God concerning the Messiah (2 Samuel 7:8-16).  But no one, not even the devil, can derail any of the Lord’s promises.”

God used Jehosheba to save Joash so that the promise that someone from David’s line would be on the throne forever would not be thwarted.  Unfortunately, this is the extent of what we know of her life as the 2 Chronicles verse essentially says the same thing.  David Guzik had this commentary on her:

“But Jehosheba: This little-known woman had an important place in God’s plan of the ages.  Through her courage and ingenuity, she preserved the royal line of David through which the Messiah would come.  Evil people like Athaliah will begin their work, but God can always raise up a Jehosheba.”

Amen!  Shifting gears to her husband, Jehoiada the Priest was also used powerfully by God to orchestrate the appointment of Joash as the rightful King of Judah.  2 Kings 11:4-11 shows how he planned and mobilized those who were loyal to the throne of David to revolt against Queen Athaliah.  I love Jehosheba and Jehoiada!  Collectively, their loyalty to protect the child who would be king in the face of danger is an example to us all to not allow anyone or anything to stop the work of God.  The other thing that amazes me is that Jehoiada was a Priest, not a general and yet he executed his plan and ousted the wicked Queen Athaliah.  We don’t have time to unpack the whole passage so I would recommend you read 2 Kings 11:4-16 for yourself.  After Jehoiada crowns Joash king and has Athaliah killed, I love what he does next in 2 Kings 11:17 (NLT)…

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people.  He also made a covenant between the king and the people.”

There certainly was no “separation of church and state” during the lifetime of Jehoiada the Priest!  Hahaha!  What wisdom he possessed.  Again Jehoiada was not a military leader, but he realized that to prevent further rebellion it was important to restore the covenantal relationship not only between God, Josiah and the people but also the relationship between the young King and the his would be subjects.  Amazing!  Though the focus of this Thought is about Jehosheba and Jehoiada, I did want to cover 2 Kings 12:1-2 (NLT) which gives this overview of Joash’s reign because of the last part of verse 2 (which I put in red):

“Joash began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”

I wonder since Joash took the throne when he was 7 years old (2 Kings 11:21) whether Jehoiada was really running the show in the beginning and influencing the young King.  That piqued my interest to look into it more and I found in 2 Chronicles 24:17-18 (NLT) this nugget:

“But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice.  They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead!  Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.”

Idolatry plagued the people of Judah as well as the people of Israel for 100s of years and though Jehoiada had implemented religious reforms (see 2 Chronicles 23:16-21) to root out all the wickedness of Queen Athaliah, clearly the King Joash’s faith had not roots of their own!  In the post called ★ Thought for the Day – Fair-Weather Faith ★, I shared a pun that my daughter told me:

“Do you have ‘fair-weather faith’ or ‘faith that can weather when life isn’t fair?’”

And it is without a doubt that once the influence of Jehoiada the Priest was gone, so was Joash’s faith in the One True God leading to the reversal of Jehoiada’s religious reforms!  Charles Stanley had this great life lesson on 2 Kings 12:2 that builds on this idea that the King’s faith was transitory:

“Jehoash (also called Joash) began well — even restoring the temple (2 Kings 12:4-15, 2 Chronicles 24:4).  But after Jehoiada the godly priest died, Jehoash listened to dishonorable advisors, committed idolatry, and greatly displeased the Lord (2 Chronicles 24:15-22).  This illustrates that we must make our faith our own.  We must each choose to make Jesus Christ our Lord over our hearts, because the faith of others will never suffice.”

Jehoiada’s loyalty and Godly example was not enough to sustain King Joash and instead he went down a dark road that would not heed any counsel to turn back to the Lord.  In fact, in 2 Chronicles 24:21-22 (NLT) after Jehoiada’s son Zechariah rebuked the people for their sin, it says:

“Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that they stone him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty—by killing his son.  Zechariah’s last words as he died were, “May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!””

Wow!!!  That is hard to imagine!  Not only did Jehoiada’s wife and him save and care for Joash for years as well as secure his place as King by organizing a mutiny against the Queen, but Jehoiada even chose the King’s two wives (see 2 Chronicles 24:3)!!  In the end though, Joash meets an untimely end as two of his trusted advisers Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer assassinated him (see 2 Kings 12:20-21 and 2 Chronicles 24:23-25).  Joash’s end is a testimony to the truth of Galatians 6:7-8a (NLT)…

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God.  You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.”

Joash was loyal to the Lord at a surface level which then disappeared once Jehoiada died and, in the end, Joash reaped the consequences of a sinful life.  Jehoiada the Priest on the other hand according to 2 Chronicles 24:15-16 (NLT)…

“…lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130.  He was buried among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good in Israel for God and His Temple.”

Jehoiada is the epitome of the second half of the Galatians passage 6:8b-10 (NLT)…

“But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.  So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.  Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.”

Jehoiada the Priest overcame adversity through his loyalty to the throne of David and was honored to be buried among the kings in the City of David because of all the good he did and reaped the harvest of blessing for not giving up!  I will close with this final thought from Charles Stanley:

“Jehoiada is a bright light in a dark time.  He demonstrates that we can remain faithful to God and His Word, even when the culture around us decays.”

No matter what dangers are happening around you, GOD IS IN CONTROL and is working in the background and His plans will ALWAYS PREVAIL!  May we all be “Jehoshebas” and “Jehoiadas” who live out Proverbs 17:17 (NLT)…

“A friend is always loyal, and a brother [or sister] is born to help in time of need.”

Click here for the next post in the series…

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – Stay the Course ★

★ Thought for the Day – Fair-Weather Faith ★

Looking for a great way to engage the Bible?  Check out the YouVersion bible reading plan called ‘The One Year® Chronological Bible.‘

It is especially helpful to understand the 340 years of history that is covered in the books of 1 and 2 Kings and how they tie into the books of the Major and Minor prophets.  The reading plan gives you a segment of different books of the Bible written around the same time period which is fascinating.

★ Thought for the Day – Abide in the Lord for Breakthrough ★

Today marks my 7th “Word for the Year” post.  If you are new to our site, each year I wait on the Holy Spirit to reveal a “WORD” for me to stand on for the upcoming year.  Past Words or phrases have been:

• 2015 – “UNSTOPPABLE DETERMINATION FOR GOD’S HOLINESS”
• 2016 – “LIVING OUT A LASTING LEGACY”
• 2017 – “CHOOSE TO PURSUE”
• 2018 – “ROOTED”
• 2019 – “TRANSFORMED”
• 2020 – “CONSISTENCY”

You can click on each link to read, or if you want to see them all check out…“Word for the New Year” Posts.  This year’s Word — “ABIDE IN THE LORD FOR BREAKTHROUGH” is probably not very unique from what others are praying for as we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, political and social unrest and the recent chaos in Washington D.C. with domestic terrorism.  The events of 2020 (and now the first 3 weeks of 2021), have been the most unsettling time I have lived through BUT I have never had as much Shalom (or peace) in all my life!  And as I recently discussed in the post ★ Thought for the Day – The Purpose of Resistance ★, that is not because of an absence of problems but by fixing my eyes on my Savior, Jesus Christ to keep the proper perspective through the storms.  Now that may seem cliché but I have seen time and time again, when I focus on the negatives or the nightmare “what-if” scenarios my peace ebbs away BUT when I am pushing through, trying to find the silver lining and trust that God will get me through, my disposition changes and fear is driven out.

Yesterday as I was reading the devotional from the ‘The Principles of First Mention’ reading plan, this jumped out at me…

“God wants to tell us who He is, no matter what we’re up against.  When we get out of our own heads, we learn He is the “I AM” for every single thing — big or small — that comes our way.”  Kyle Fox

There are many “I AM” declarations in both the Old and New Testaments made by God and Jesus to reassure and comfort the people that regardless of circumstances, God is still in control and willing to rescue us if we will trust in Jesus and “abide”, or “remain” in Him!  One of most expanded upon “I AM” statements is found in John Chapter 15 which is the muse for this “Thought.”  I am going to start in the New Kings James Version (NKJV) since it specifically uses the word “ABIDE,” but we will unpack it with the New Living Translation (NLT) to make it a little more accessible.

John 15:1, 4, 7 (NKJV) is the specific scriptures that the Holy Spirit spoke into my spirit…Jesus said:

““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

“Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.””

This symbology is not unfamiliar as it is in the Old and New Testaments since they were an agrarian society but I love the interconnectedness of God the Father as vinedresser (or Gardner as the NLT has it) and His Son as the vine.  As Jesus continues the metaphor we see if we will stay connected to Him, we will produce fruit and have our prayers answered. I wanted to expand our view and look at John 15:1-4 in the New Living Translation…

““I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

Go back and reread the red test again, it is so powerful!

APART from Jesus WE CANNOT BE FRUITFUL.

It is only when we

REMAIN A PART of Jesus WILL WE BE FRUITFUL!

The connector verses from 1 to 4 illustrate that there are consequences if we drift from the vine (Jesus).  Pruning.  Not something to look forward to.  This could also be a trial sent to get our attention to get us back on the right path.  However, it is necessary so that our branch is not severed completely from the vine.  D.L. Moody had this insight that goes perfectly with this…

“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” 

It is amazing how fast that happens.  When I am off track, my enthusiasm for reading the Bible wanes BUT when I am staying close to Jesus, I am invigorated to study.  It comes down to discipline and how committed we are to the faith we profess.  We all have 24 hours in a day; the question is how do we spend them?  It’s funny every Sunday morning I get an alert on my iPhone of the “Screen Time” that was spent in the previous week, it is almost like God is tapping me on the shoulder…“what is your priority?”  Mark Batterson had this point…

“We want success without sacrifice, but life doesn’t work that way.  Success will not be shortchanged.  You have to pay the price, and it never goes on sale.  The best decision you can make for yourself is making decisions against yourself.  You have to discipline yourself to do the right things day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out.  And if you do, the payoff is far greater than the price you paid.”  From the ‘Play The Man’ reading plan.

For me, success is the legacy I leave.  How will I be remembered by my wife and daughters, family and friends or co-workers?  Will I be remembered as a Man of God who ”ran the race well” as Paul testifies in 2 Timothy 4:7-8?  Did I make other people’s lives better while I was here on earth?  If the answer is yes, then I would consider my life a success but that does not come without effort and abiding/remaining in a right relationship with Jesus.  That means consistently pursuing what matters most to Him until we are called home, or He returns to Rapture His people! However, we must remember that there will be opposition from the enemy!  In 1 John 2:18-27 we see warnings about various antichrists who will lead us astray if we do not abide or “remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.” (1 John 2:24b).  Fun Fact: Did you know that the name Antichrist is found only in the book of 1 John?  And if you are thinking “wait, it says it in Revelation,” look again the name for the Antichrist in Revelation 13:1 is “Beast.”  But I digress…Just like in John 15, the Apostle John brings a similar instruction in 1 John 2:28 (NLT)

“And now, dear children, remain [NKJV translates “abide”] in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.”

David Guzik had this commentary on 1 John 2:28 which has some good questions for self-evaluation of the sincerity of our faith:

“Do you abide in Him?  Or do you just visit Jesus every once in a while?  Abiding in Jesus gives us confidence because we know we wouldn’t change our lives substantially if we somehow knew Jesus would come back next week.  We would already be abiding in Him.”

I will close with the second half of my anchor passage for 2021 from John 15:5-8 (NLT) which Jesus continues the instruction to His followers:

““Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.  Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father.”

Meditate on that red text for just a moment.  As we go through this unprecedented time of uncertainty, let’s stand on the truth of John 15:1-8 that if we remain or abide in Jesus, we will see a breakthrough!

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Check out this sermon from Pricilla Shirer called “Remaining in a Leaving Culture.”

★ Thought for the Day – Fair-Weather Faith ★

★ Thought for the Day – True Shalom ★

Or if you want to check out past “Word for the Year” posts <<<CLICK HERE>>>

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★

Today we remember a great man who gave up his life in service to his fellow man.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and activist who is probably the well-known leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.  One of my favorite quotes from him is….

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches.

Motivated by his Christian beliefs, Martin Luther King Jr. persevered to advance the civil rights movement through nonviolence and civil disobedience.  He is an amazing modern-day example of our topic today Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance.

We are in a series looking at great men and women of the faith exemplified an attribute that aided them to overcome the storms of life.  We started in the book of Daniel with Daniel refusing to pray to another god resulting in him being thrown in the Lions’ Den and then about his 3 friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego who refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue.  Daniel and his (3) friends were just a few Jews who were taken from their homeland and brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar but what we don’t think too much about are those Jews who were not taken away.  Today we will be looking at the lives of two men of God who prophesied to the people of Judah during the same time as Daniel.  The first is the prophet Jeremiah who was left behind in Jerusalem as many of his countrymen were carried away.  He is the author of 2 out of the 5 books of the major prophets — One bearing his name which warns of the impending consequences of Judah’s rebellion and subsequent downfall.  The second is the book of Lamentations that picks up after the destruction of the Holy City.  Like Martin Luther King Jr., Jeremiah was a shining light who persevered in a very dark period of Judah’s history.  He also had his life threatened and was imprisoned several times for preaching an unpopular message that judgement was coming.  Charles Stanley described him this way…

“Jeremiah, who was called the “weeping prophet,” labored for more than 40 years proclaiming a message of doom to the stiff-necked an unrepentant people of Judah.”

The other prophet, who was also a contemporary of Jeremiah was Ezekiel who was in Babylonian captivity like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego.  His ministry was also one of perseverance trying to push back the darkness with the light and truth of God’s message to a rebellious people.  In fact before Ezekiel started his ministry or spoke his first message, God told him in Ezekiel 3:4b, 7-9 (NLT):

““Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages…But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me!  For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn.  But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are.  I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock!  So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.””

I don’t know about you but that does not sound like an assignment I would want!  Hahaha!  Like Jeremiah, his message was not well received, and he too faced great opposition.  God used both men as “object lessons” to convey His plans to a stiff-necked obstinate people.  Tasked with difficult assignments, they had to overcome significant persecution, threats to their life and great personal loss.  So, if you are keeping track, I have added Jeremiah and Ezekiel onto our list of the men and women who pursued God faithfully…The seemingly futile ministry of Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the people of Judah to bring His people back into right relationship with Him.  In the sermon called “God’s Greatest Desire” by Robert Morris, he made the point that

“You will be my people, and I will be your God” is one of the most repeated phrases in the Bible.  Genesis 17:7 (NKJV) is where it all started off.  God tells Abraham…

“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Here is the list of passages that Robert Morris mentioned and others that I have found as well that you can refer to (If you want to read all the references for click here.)As I looked at the list of scriptures I found it interesting that in the Old Testament Book Jeremiah, the phrase “They will be my people, and I will be their God” is mentioned (7) times, the most than of any other book!!  I think since Jeremiah was left behind in Jerusalem after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Holy City and exiled the people to Babylon, he had a unique perspective of the events.  I recently discovered this one from Jeremiah 32:37-41 (NLT) that beautifully displays the amazing grace of God who promises to restore the people once again to the land even after all the hurt they have inflicted on God!!

“I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.”

God is without a doubt in the restoration business!  I forgot to mention this in the beginning introduction to Ezekiel, but Charles Stanley had this to say about him:

“Ezekiel’s prophecies for God’s people can be seen as a companion piece to those of Jeremiah.  While Jeremiah delivered a frightening message primarily of judgment and destruction, Ezekiel’s messages focused more on restoration and reconstruction.”

Ezekiel 36 is a powerful chapter that lays out God’s plan clearly.  Ezekiel 36:22 (NLT) shows how lost the people were.  God promised to bring the people back not because they deserve it but because of how bad they made Him look…

““Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.”

I pray that is never true of me that I make God ashamed that I call myself a follower of Christ.  I am reminded of Colossians 3:17 (NLT) which says:

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

And if I may go back to Dr. King for a moment, that is without a doubt the case with that great man of God!  My prayer is that my actions will ALWAYS represent my Savior well.  The way this happens interestingly enough is found just 4 verses later in Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT) which says:

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

Only with a new heart and the Holy Spirit activated in my life can I even hope to fulfill the command in Colossians 3:17!  Right after God promises to give them a new heart and put in a new spirit, Ezekiel 36:28 (NLT) reinforces the familiar promise…

““And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

I so love Ezekiel and how he preserved through so much.  We have been going through the book in our Monday morning Bible Study for the past 8 months — lots to unpack from this major prophet!  Going back to the list of scriptures, it is interesting to me that there are (6) mentions of the phrase “They will be my people, and I will be their God” in the Book of Ezekiel, so between Jeremiah and Ezekiel God reminds His people (13) times!  I wonder if it is stated so many times because God really wanted His people to know how much He loved them, and that regardless of their circumstances of captivity that they were in, He desires to bring them back into relationship with Him!  The same is true for us today!  No matter what you are going through whether it is no fault of your own or as a result of bad choices God wants to restore you.  And if you are still wondering what is God’s greatest desire?  Well Robert Morris made this point…“God’s greatest desire is you!”

Through a relationship with Jesus, ANYONE who calls on the name of Jesus is instantly grafted into the Family Tree.  And then these verses from Jeremiah and Ezekiel do not just apply to the People of Israel but to EVERYONE!  God wants to bring ALL people into relationship with Him!  “How can I do that” you say, well I am glad you asked…The answer is found in Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)…

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

That is why Jesus came into this world to be the light that leads us back to the Father.  He achieved what Martin Luther King Jr. said that…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Jesus is the light of the world and is the epitome of love in its purest form, will you trust in Him today?   If you have already made Jesus the Lord of your life, let’s continue to persevere as Jeremiah and Ezekiel had done and drive out the darkness and hate through our light and love as Dr. King urged us to do!

Click here for the next post in the series…

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★

★ What to Dig Deeper? ★

★ Back to the Basics – GOD IS…A SURGEON ★,

In which we studied the ministries of Jeremiah and Ezekiel who were major prophets like Daniel living at the same dark time period in Judah’s history (of the decline of the nation and during the Babylonian Captivity) yet in very different situations.  Jeremiah prophesied while still in the land of Judah while Ezekiel was taken off to Babylon.

★ Back to the Basics – Validity of God’s Word ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Faith – Part 2 ★

In our last post ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★ we revealed that in the coming months we will unpack stories of different “OVERCOMERS” in scripture who consistently chased after God, and faithfully worked at building His Kingdom.  Men and women who modeled our anchor verse from Joshua 1:8 (NLT) well:

“STUDY this Book of Instruction CONTINUALLY.  MEDITATE on it day and night so you will be sure to OBEY everything written in it.  Only then will you PROSPER and SUCCEED in all you do.”

And just a reminder this was the list of people that we will pick some to explore to draw encouragement from the lives they lived.

We kicked off the series discussing one of my favorite Old Testament characters Daniel and how he overcame adversity through the strength of his character and his faithfulness to God’s Word.  The consistency of which was so strong that his life impacted the whole world (see Daniel 6:25-27)!  Since the book of Daniel is a favorite of mine I thought I would go back to it for today’s Thought as we look at overcoming adversity through faith in Daniel Chapter 3 with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  You may be thinking who are they?  You probably know them by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We first meet them in Daniel 1:5-7 (NLT), which recalls how Daniel and his (3) friends literally had their identity changed!

“The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.”

A buddy of mine had this in his study bible that is so helpful to see the reprogramming that was being done to them:

This was common practice to immerse foreigners into the Babylonian culture from literature to learning the language so that they would be ready to enter the royal service.  It’s interesting to me that we hardly ever hear Daniel referred to as Belteshazzar, he is referred to primarily by his Hebrew name for most of the Book but yet his (3) friends are known primarily by their Babylonian names after chapter 1 and never their Hebrew names.  For the purpose of familiarity, I will continue to use their Babylonian names.  Iain M. Duguid made this point:

“These Babylonian names invoked the help of the Babylonian gods, Marduk, Bel, Nebo, rather than Israel’s Lord.”

In every way possible, the Babylonians tried to erase who they were.  Iain drew from the lives Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were living in exile and made it relevant to us today…

“As citizens of heaven, Christians live as aliens and strangers in a land that is not their own and there are times when the world’s enmity to the people of God becomes evident. The hostility of the world is often shown in the efforts it makes to squeeze us into its mold. It wants to make us conform to its values and standards and not to stick out from the crowd…We have to choose daily whether to be a part of this world in which we live, or to take the difficult path of standing against it.” 

And that is where faith comes into play, will we trust in God no matter what threat comes against us or will we buckle under the pressure?  It is a choice that will definitely have consequences, whether they be minor inconveniences or a major life impact to the point of death.  In the post called ★ Thought for the Day – Chain Reaction Catalyst ★, I shared Romans 1:16 (ESV) in relation to Rachel Joy Scott who was a devout Christian that did not waver in her faith and as a result was killed in the Columbine High School Massacre which says:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

It is undeniable that Rachel was not ashamed to the point of giving her life up for her faith.  And in today’s case study of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we will see that is the case as well.  Daniel Chapter 3 will be the main text for today which starts off with King Nebuchadnezzar setting up a 90-foot-tall x 9-foot-wide gold statue in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.  He calls all his high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue and then in Daniel 3:4-6 (NLT) it says…

“Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command!  When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.  Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

This presented a major problem because the #2 Commandment is quite clear:

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”  (Exodus 20:4-6)

Any Jew complying with Nebuchadnezzar’s demand would be breaking this commandment as well as bringing a curse down upon their descendants to the third and fourth generations!  Well as the story unfolds, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose not to worship the King’s idol and as a result their enemies brought this rebellion to Nebuchadnezzar’s attention.  I should mention that at the end of chapter 2, Daniel and his (3) friends we promoted to a high position of power (see Daniel 2:48-49) which is probably what prompted some of the astrologers (or Chaldeans) to inform on them, either out of jealousy or political motivation.  The interesting thing is that in verse 12 they single out the (3) friends even though there are many other Jews who probably did not bow their knee to the gold statue, namely Daniel.

“But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”  (Daniel 3:12)

As you would expect, Nebuchadnezzar flies into a rage and interrogates to try to get them to change their mind with the threat that they “will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace” if they do not worship the gold image.  Quite a dilemma huh?  Betray the God who created you by worshipping a false god or be immediately burned alive.  Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT) is one of the greatest responses to the threat of death I have ever heard.  Their answer to this impossible circumstance echoes Rachel Joy Scott and is what every believer should be ready to say:

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.””

All I can say is WOW!  Every time I read Daniel 3:16-18, I am amazed at how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego courageously stood their ground and overcame adversity through their faith.  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Be Strong and Courageous ★ I shared about my oldest daughter going to Africa on a mission trip for two months to eSwatini (formally Swaziland) and South Africa; (it’s hard to believe that was a year and a half ago…a lot has changed in the world since then).  While in eSwatini, she learned to say hello in the Swazi language which is “Sawubona.”  One of the other girls on the trip got this tattoo in memory of her time there:

When my daughter came back, we got to hear the meaning firsthand from her friend.  The first part, “but if not” is a reference to Daniel 3:18, that even if God does not save them, their faith will not waver.  “Sawubona” is the greeting they used that literally translates to “I see you.”  Throughout the trip, God reminded my daughter’s friend with every person that greeted her that “He sees her.”  She said…

“So, put together, it means that even if God does not answer her prayers as expected, He still sees her and cares immensely for her God sees each and every one of us.” 

What a beautiful reminder!  In a recent Bible Study one of the guys brought up Jeremiah 1:12 (NLT) that dovetails beautifully:

“And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.””

God will certainly fulfill His plans though it may not be the way we would wish as I am sure our heroes of the story would attest too as we are about to see.  In his rage Nebuchadnezzar commanded the furnace to be heated SEVEN TIMES HOTTER than normal. Then three men threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire but as they did, the flames incinerated the executioners simultaneously.  Some good old retribution against those who would hurt God’s people.  And indeed, God did save the (3) friends.  Daniel 3:24-25 (NLT) says:

“But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”  “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.  “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted.  “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed!  And the fourth looks like a god!””

Many believe this is an Old Testament visitation of Jesus who was in the fire with His faithful servants. The King then calls them out of the furnace, and all were astonished because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not only unharmed, but did not even smell of smoke!  And in one of the greatest reversals ever, Daniel 3:28 (NLT) recounts:

“Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar added a threat against anyone who would speak ill of their God and just then in Daniel 3:30 (NLT) the reward of persevering through adversity is given:

“Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.”

What an incredible ending!  This story in my opinion expresses the depth of faith we as Christians need to have…

— GOD CAN save us.

— GOD WILL rescue us.

— BUT EVEN IF GOD DOESN’T . . .

    . . . WE WILL STILL TRUST HIM.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego give us a great example to not lose our faith if our prayers are not answered the way we expect.  I am sure that they prayed to not be found out that they would not worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol and yet they were.  And of course, they certainly would have rather been rescued BEFORE being thrown into the fire but then God would not have been able to display his power by saving His servants and showing to the King and everyone else that He is all powerful.  Like Daniel’s (3) friends, we need to be steadfast and committed to our faith even if the answer may be our “PLAN B.”  We need to trust that there is a reason and God’s “PLAN A” may have a higher purpose.  I will close with this reminder from Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)…

““My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

 

Click here for the next post in the series…

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★

 

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

Check out the song “Another In The Fire” by Hillsong UNITED that is all about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire.

★ Back to the Basics – GOD IS…FAITHFUL ★

★ Thought for the Day – The Unfathomable Payoff of Faith ★

Check out this message called “The Seduction of Pride” by Robert Morris.  He uses the biblical story of King Nebuchadnezzar to show how the enemy uses pride to attack us.

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★

On Monday we got Chinese food, and this is the message that was in my fortune cookie:

“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

Ordinarily I read the fortunes and throw them away but this one got my attention.  Such a simple statement but so, so true.  One my absolute favorite quotes from John Maxwell that I heard at a Men’s Conference echoes this truth:

“I am always one step away from stupid.”

One bad decision can destroy your reputation as a person with character, your legacy and possibly your life.  It got me thinking about the list of men and women in the Bible who consistently pursued after God that I shared 7 months ago in the post called ★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★.  Since then I have been adding to the list which are in red.Now of course the number one name that should be on the list is Jesus which Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) proclaims:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Without a doubt He is the example we should be following as no one has ever lived a more consistent life then the Savior of the World!  But I did not include Him on the list because I thought it would be interesting to look at ordinary men and women.  A buddy of mine asked why I was compiling this list and I told him that I was looking throughout scripture for people who I believe were great examples of what a life of Godly character looks like.  I am NOT putting them on a pedestal as some “Super-Christian,” because we all have has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard as Romans 3:23 reminds us…But rather to use their life as an encouragement, that like them, we too could overcome the enemy if we consistently seek the Lord!

So, in the coming months we will unpack stories of different “OVERCOMERS” in scripture.  This will be the opposite of the Temptation Series that we did back in 2017, which was all about learning from notable characters like LOT, NOAH, DAVID, ESAU, KING SAUL, THE 10 ISRAELITE SPIES and CAIN of “WHAT NOT TO.”  I pray that you will be encouraged by the people who consistently chased after God, and faithfully worked at building His Kingdom.  People who undoubtedly understood Joshua 1:8 (NLT) well:

“STUDY this Book of Instruction CONTINUALLY.  MEDITATE on it day and night so you will be sure to OBEY everything written in it.  Only then will you PROSPER and SUCCEED in all you do.”

This will be our anchor verse as it gives the battle plan on how to overcome the enemy!  Without further ado, today’s case study of Overcoming Adversity is the Old Testament character Daniel.  The Book of Daniel has always been a favorite of mine.  So many Sunday School Stories have come from there…

• Daniel and his friends refusing to eat King Nebuchadnezzar’s Food (See Daniel Chapter 1 – Especially Daniel 1:9).
• Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about the shining statue of a man that foretold the downfall of the Babylon Empire; and the subsequent rise and fall of the Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires along with the future Divine Kingdom to come (See Daniel Chapter 2 – Especially Daniel 2:48-49).
• Daniel’s (3) friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego being thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to worship the Gold Statue that King Nebuchadnezzar set up (See Daniel Chapter 3 – Especially Daniel 3:16-18).
• Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about the tree that was an analogy to his reign. Just like the tree would be cut down, God was going to humble the King because of his pride.  He would be driven from human society for 7 years until Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that “the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world,” at which time then his kingdom would be given back to him.  (See Daniel Chapter 4 – Especially Daniel 4:34-37).
• Daniel interpreting the “Writing on the Wall,” which signaled the ending of Babylonian reign of King Belshazzar through the conquest of Darius the Mede. (See Daniel Chapter 5 – Especially Daniel 5:29-31).
• Daniel being thrown into the Lions’ Den because he ignored the law that was passed that for the next (30) days everyone must pray only to King Darius. Instead Daniel prayed to God just as he had always done regardless of the consequences (Daniel Chapter 6).

There is so much we could unpack with anyone of these major stories, but I think that the one that I want to focus on is chapter 6 but before I do, let’s cover some fun facts about Daniel.

First, I am a firm believer that God will equip and promote you in His timing.  In Daniel 1:17 (NLT) it shows that God blessed Daniel, and his (3) friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego) mightily with various gifts.

“God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.”

Secondly, favor is better than success.  Daniel 1:21 (NLT) shows the extent of God’s blessing:

“Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year (539 B.C.) of the reign of King Cyrus.”

Daniel remained in a high position of authority through the reigns of (4) pagan kings!  Now that is supernatural favor!!  Something to consider is the fact that Daniel was a foreigner living in exile in Babylon, he was in a position of power that spanned almost (70) years which is unheard of!  Think about when a new president is elected, EVERYONE is moved out and the winning side replaces them with “their own people.”  Daniel on the other hand, served for 7 decades under a (2) Babylonian Kings, a Mede and then a Persian King.

Lastly…most of the stories about Daniel in the book that bears his name, deal with events when he was under great stress and/or fearing for his life, but in reality, most of his life in Babylon was probably uneventful.  Iain M. Duguid made this point that really opened my mind to this, he said:

“Daniel lived a long life, spanning from the days of Nebuchadnezzar when he was carried off into exile from Judah to the time of Cyrus when the exile came to an end.  His adult life covered some 70 years. Much of that time was probably not very interesting at all. During many of those years, as far as we know, nothing special happened. There was just the difficult regular routine of Daniel’s faithfulness in a faraway land, trying to balance the demands of his two masters, the Babylonians and the Lord.”

I can honestly say, I never really thought of that before!  But like I mentioned in the last post, the routine of 2020 where I am under a mandatory work from home order and the exploding Covid cases has led to this year being one of the most consistent years of my life.  One day looks very much like the next which I think with the exceptions of these (6) well known stories, Daniel’s daily life was probably similar with a steady rhythm.  When I started the list, Daniel was the very first person I added because what we know of his life is the very definition of consistency.

Since that was a very lengthy introduction to the subject of this post, I am going to give you the Cliff Notes version of Daniel in the Lions’ Den (if you don’t you can click here to read it) and focus mainly on the events that preceded the seeming death sentence.  Like with King Nebuchadnezzar (in Daniel 1:18-20) and then King Belshazzar (in Daniel 5:29), Daniel was promoted by the third King to rule over the land, Darius the Mede.  Daniel 6:3 (NLT) recalls that:

“Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.”

And just like today, when people are promoted, those who are passed over inevitably become jealous and look for ways to discredit the victor which is exactly the case with Daniel.  In the next two verses it says:

“Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.””  Daniel 6:4-5 (NLT)

Not to make this political, but could you imagine someone in governmental office with so much character that the only way that they could be taken down is “in connection with the rules of his/her religion?”  That certainly would be refreshing, but I digress.  In the next 5 verses, Daniel’s enemies come up with a plan to entrap him.  They go to King Darius and play to his ego and propose a law that everyone in the Kingdom must only pray to the King and no other God or else they shall be thrown in the Lions’ Den.  We could go down a rabbit trail here and break down how Darius was susceptible to his administrators and high officials’ deception because of his pride but let’s put a pin in that one and just recognize that the King was played and that pride left unchecked in one’s life can have dangerous consequences both for ourselves and others.  My favorite part of the story is what Daniel did right after the law was enacted.  Daniel 6:10 (ESV) says:

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.  He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”

Isn’t that amazing?!  Daniel was completely unaffected by whatever anyone did or what laws had changed, he just went home, knelt down as usual and prayed to God, just as he had done every day before!  The rhythm of Daniel’s life was one of praying three times a day and of gratitude despite living the majority of his life in captivity!  When you trust God completely, no king/governmental official, or changes in the law should affect how we conduct our life!  You can read Daniel 6:11-24 but in essence the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and immediately reported to the king that he broke the law and MUST BE PUNISHED because no law of the Medes and the Persians that the king signs can be changed.  Daniel was not the only one entrapped by this law, the King was too.  So even though he was distraught, the King gave the order and Daniel was thrown in the Lions’ Den.  I do want to note that the consistency of Daniel’s faith was so well known that this pagan king in Daniel 6:16b (NLT) held out hope that perhaps Daniel’s God would indeed rescue his faithful servant!

“The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.””

What a testimony!  As the story goes, the next morning Darius ran to the Lions’ Den to see if Daniel was saved and indeed, he was!  Then the King turned his attention on those who tricked him and had all of them along with their families thrown into the Lions’ Den.  Daniel 6:24b says:

“The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.” 

In Daniel 6:25-27 King Darius sends a message that “everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.  For He is the living God, and he will endure forever.  His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.”  And then the chapter simply ends with:

“So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”  Daniel 6:28 (NLT)

Daniel overcame adversity through the strength of his character and his faithfulness to God’s Word was so strong that his life impacted the whole world!  Consistency is key!  I will close 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT) which says:

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.  Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

Check out the next post in the series…

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★

 

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – Honest Self-Evaluation ★

Check out this great sermon called “The Deception of Pride” by Robert Morris in which he teaches about the deception of King Darius and the dangers of pride in our lives.  Very applicable message!!

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds Check-In ★

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds Check-In ★

On January 18, 2020 I posted my Word for 2020 in the post ★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★.  As a reminder, my prayer for this year was that I would be CONSISTENT in all areas of my life – Spiritually (that my walk with Christ would be strong), Physically (that my health would be the best that it ever has been), and Emotionally (that my relationships with my wife, daughters, friends and co-workers would be better than ever and life-affirming.). Well today is the 4 month anniversary of that post and I thought it would be good to pause for a post from our “GOD IS…” series and give an update on where I am at.

Today is Day 66 of quarantine and my 10th week of working at home as the result of COVID-19.  I must say that the days and weeks are all running together but I have been blessed to be able work out of my dining room and receive a pay check every 2 weeks, something many people are not as fortunate to be able to.  Though it’s been hard watching the news casts of all those suffering, I have been looking for the silver lining and have see that there are definitely benefits that have resulted.  I can honestly say the quarantine has helped me to stay consistent with my goals for 2020, so like in the first post, I will break this up in 3 parts:

SPIRITUAL CHECK-IN:

Through Facebook Messenger and other video chat Apps, I have been able to stay connected with all the guys that I met with previously each morning at my house and now I am hosting Bible Studies virtually and reaching more men then I was before if you can believe that?!  Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to do this and technology we have been making the best out of a bad situation.  Also you may have noticed an increase in posts as I have been exploring the attributes of God in our “GOD IS…” series.  In the past month, we have looked at (22) different aspects of our Heavenly Father which is far greater frequency then ever before!

PHYSICAL CHECK-IN:

Now if you have followed this blog for awhile, you know full well that exercise has always been a struggle for me.  Whether it was a lack of motivation or just trying to fit it in my day, I always had an excuse for why I did not workout.  Over the past 5 months I am happy to say that the excuses have been kicked to the curb, and especially over the past 65 days I have been more consistent then ever!  I hope you will not think me to be bragging, but I wanted to share this with you from my Fitbit app exercise tracker that shows I have consistently exercised for an entire month straight!!  First time ever in my life doing this!!

EMOTIONAL CHECK-IN:

As a part of the workouts, I have been going on walks with my wife and oldest daughter which has helped also strengthen the emotional connections simultaneously.  My youngest daughter and I have been working on and off together building a bed to look like a Chevy pickup truck (which is her favorite vehicle!)  Many people have been asking me if I am looking forward to going back to the office but honestly, I have been enjoying getting (2) additional hours back in my day since I don’t have to drive to and from work (and also eliminating the stress of the commute).  I do miss my friends at work, but MS TEAMS has helped to keep that community connection.  And one final benefit has been having breakfast and lunch with the family every day which in the past was only possible on the weekend.  Oh, and probably the highlight of the past 65 days was this past Saturday when my oldest daughter cleared out her bedroom so we could have a “Family Dance Night Surprise!”  Yesterday I felt so sore from all the dancing…hahaha!

I share all of this to say, regardless of circumstances we can always improve things if we will consistently look to make the environment better.  I shared this in the post ★ Thought for the Day – What’s On The Inside? ★, but it bears repeating as I am a firm believe of what Marvin J. Ashton once said:

“Be the one who nurtures and builds.  Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people.  Leave people better than you found them.”

A bad attitude can spread like a wild-fire within the home or at work and when you compound that with 65 days of captivity, I man self-quarantine you have all the conditions for a “five alarm fire!”  So regardless of how we feel, we must push through and not allow the media to tear down our spirits or boredom to stop us from getting into the Word everyday or laziness to stop us from going on a walk or riding a bike.  I heard this great sermon called…“New Found Life” by Mondoe Davis who preached on the importance of physical training and how it ties into the spiritual.  He read 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) which says…

“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”

And drew this powerful parallel:

“You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a physical body.  What you feed each one of these aspects of who you are, determines how you will grow.” 

That is what I desire to be “holy in every way” and that my “whole SPIRIT and SOUL and BODY [will] be kept blameless!”  But that is up to you and me, “what we feed each one of these aspects” of who we are, “WILL DETERMINE HOW WE WILL GROW!”  Unlike what the 1977 rock song “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad” by Meat Loaf said…2 OUT OF 3 IS BAD!  We need to be 3 for 3 in our CONSISTENCY!  MIND (SOUL), BODY and SPIRIT running on all cylinders.

Over the past five months, I have been compiling a list of men and women from the Bible who I believe are great examples of what that looks like to be CONSISTENT!  It is far from complete but as I read and study, I will be adding to it.

I am thinking about doing a series on what we can learn which would be the opposite of the Temptation Series which is all about learning what not to.  But this opposing list will help us to see that you it is possible.  When you are consistently chasing after God, and working for the building of His kingdom, the gracious hand of the Lord will be upon you!  That happens when like these men and women, you are determined to make a difference to see lives changed, healed, restored and transformed here on earth!  But the choice is up to you.

 

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – Be Strong and Courageous ★

★ Thought for the Day – Leaving It All On The Field ★

★ Thought for the Day – What’s On The Inside? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★

Well we are 18 days into 2020, any revelations?  Do you have a Word for the New Year?  Or maybe I should say, have you asked God for one?  For those of you who may not have done this in the past, let me just pause a moment and explain.  Since 2015, as the year draws to an end, and a new page of the calendar is about to be flipped, I ask the Holy Spirit to give me a Word for the year.  Sometimes it has been a phrase and other times a single word.  Here are the past “Words/Phrases” so you can get an idea of what I mean:

• 2015 – “UNSTOPPABLE DETERMINATION FOR GOD’S HOLINESS”
• 2016 – “LIVING OUT A LASTING LEGACY”
• 2017 – “CHOOSE TO PURSUE”
• 2018 – “ROOTED”
• 2019 – “TRANSFORMED”

If you are interested, just click on the link and you can read the associated post.  There have even been times that it comes before I even ask, as was the case this year.  It was December 29, 2019, and we were at my in-laws’ church in South Carolina that I felt the Holy Spirit impress upon me the word “CONSISTENCY” as my Word for the new year.  I heard John Maxwell at the Gateway Church Legacy Conference talk about consistency in a way I never heard before.  He said that it is the most underrated word in the dictionary which is not sexy or even something that you would love to be called but, in the end, “CONSISTENCY COMPOUNDS.”

When I think of “compounding,” my 401k comes to mind, and how the interest on the money over time gains momentum and produces a good return on my investment.  Well the same is true when you consistently apply yourself in an area of your life, whether that is committing to a daily quiet time with God, scheduling time at the gym to stay healthy or being intentional with cultivating genuine community with the people in your life.  It all comes down to discipline!  Something that I struggled with for most of my life, but I have come to realize that it is absolutely necessary in order to be consistent.  As Hebrews 12:11 (HCSB) reminds us:

“No discipline seems enjoyable at the time but painful.  Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

As I was looking into my Word for 2020, I came across this Minute With Maxwell called “A Non-Sexy Word That Leads to Greatness,” in which John Maxwell made this powerful point:

“Consistency is the ability to continually do the right thing every day regardless of whether the odds are for you, or the circumstances are favorable.  If you want to go to greatness, don’t go to greatness, go to consistency.  Practice it, that’s the path that will lead you to greatness.”

“Consistency is the ability to continually do the right thing every day!”  I love that!  And just like the verse in Hebrews, we must “practice it!”  No meaningful change happens without work and unfortunately it never happens overnight!  I read somewhere this quote that puts it perfectly…

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.”  John Maxwell

2020 is going to be the year that this will be true of me!  I want to be known as a man who is CONSISTENT in ALL areas of my life:

• SPIRITUALLY…that my walk with Christ would be stronger than ever as I grow in my daily dependence on the Holy Spirit.
• PHYSICALLY…that my health would be the best that it ever has been.
• AND EMOTIONALLY…that my relationships with my wife, two daughters, friends and co-workers would be better than ever and life-affirming.

I am not going to grow in my relationship with Jesus and exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25) unless I connect daily to follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of my life.  I wish after my workouts I would instantly see a difference in the mirror, but I don’t.  My target weight will only be achieved after months of effort.  The same is true for my relationships.  Unless I reach out and put in the effort to show the people in my life that I care and am invested in what matters to them, the connection will be surface level at best.

Over the past 20 days since I received my Word, I have been ruminating over this and looking for an example of someone who has modeled this in their life.  So here goes…

SPIRITUAL MODEL: DAVID.

Now you may be thinking, why would he not choose Jesus?  After all He is the only perfect person who ever lived!  While that is certainly true, I landed on David because he is the only human who is described as “a man after god’s own heart” in the Bible (see 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22).  David is a complex person and you may remember in our “Temptation Series,” that I used him as the example of what not to (see the post ★ Thought for the Day – Avoiding the Consequences of Lust (Part 3b) ★,) but even so, the scriptures are clear that David consistently chased after God with his whole heart!  As a main contributor to the Book of Psalms, you see the love, trust and devotion he had for the Father.  David said in Psalms 119:5 (NLT):

“Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!”

I want that to be true in my life!  That everything that I think, say or do would reflect God’s Word.  I read a commentary from David Guzik on Psalm 119:5 in which he said:

“This is not only a pious wish; it is also a prayer for the ability to obey God’s Word.  We received God’s commands understanding our lack of ability to keep those commands, apart from His work in us.”

To achieve this I know, I must have a consistent quiet time with God where I daily pray, read the bible and seek the Holy Spirit’s leading in my life.  I have also found that Bible Studies with other believers have strengthen me as Proverbs 27:17 says.

PHYSICAL MODEL: MY WIFE.

Now before you start groaning and judging me that this is some self-serving sucking up, there is no one I know who has consistently made her health a priority in her life.  If you have been on this blog before, you no doubt have seen me post pictures from her Facebook page Fit Family in which she integrates her 3 loves – Faith, Family, and Fitness.  I have been married to her for over 20 years, and she has shown me day after day what it means to live a healthy life, one which is balanced with exercise and proper diet.  Not dieting, BUT good choices with correct portions.  My wife, who is very healthy and loves to workout, made this point to me in the past that the Holy Spirit just brought back to me remembrance, she said:

“You are so disciplined in your quiet time with God, why can’t you be disciplined in your health as well?”

Great question huh?  Now you may think this was rude, but it honestly said in love because she wants to keep me around for as long as possible!  Hahaha!   When she met me, working out and watching what I ate was NOT me at all.  I never exercised and I was a “biggie” size consumer, that the larger the portions, the better.  Through her example I have learned what a balanced life looks like, and over the years I have improved but I am far from consistent.  It is funny that what my wife challenged me with, is actually found in scripture!  I was just reading 3 John 1:2 (NLT) last week in which John offered this greeting to his friend Gaius:

“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.”

So, though I desire first and foremost, to be consistent in my spiritual walk, I realized that I need to be consistent in EVERY part of my life so part of my prayer for 2020 is that I am “as healthy in body as [I am] strong in spirit!”  Last year I hit 45, and with my mom dying from a stroke in 2016, it’s time that I commit to a consistently work at improving my health!

EMOTIONAL MODEL: FRED ROGERS.

Some may be thinking, who is Fred Rogers?!  Others may only know him only as Mr. Rogers, the much-loved host of the TV show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which was a permanent fixture on TV sets across the country, airing on PBS from 1968 to 2001.  Last Saturday we went to see the movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” for the second time, and as I watched again Tom Hanks brilliantly portray the caring man who was so invested in helping kids understand the world, I was mesmerized all over again and thought this would be the perfect example of emotional consistency!  Interestingly enough, it was not until the credits that I discovered that the movie was based on the 1998 Esquire article called “CAN YOU SAY…“HERO”?” by Tom Junod.

I looked up the article and was amazed to see the tag line under the title:

“Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a very long time.”

That is perfect!!  Both in the movie and in real life, Fred Rogers reached out to everyone and worked to connect on an emotional level that made you feel so special.  The author of the article was jaded by the world and in need of someone to care for him.  As I read the Esquire article, I was moved to tears to read story after story of how profoundly affected people were by this meek man of God who made a simple offer every time “Will you be my neighbor?”  One part that hit me really hard was this:   

“The connections we make in the course of a life—maybe that’s what heaven is!”  Amen?  Jesus made this clear in Matthew 22:37-39 (NLT) when answering the question from one of the experts in religious law who asked him which is the most important commandment?

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

The third part of my pray for 2020 is that I will consistently pursue a deeper connection with those in my life as modeled by Fred Rogers and to love my neighbor as much as I love myself!

So, I close with my original question…What’s your Word for 2020?  I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for one, it is a great way to center your year as you delve into the Bible in 2020.

If you are interested, you can see the follow-up to this post called:

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds Check-In ★

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

If you want to read more about the importance of Developing a Daily Quiet Time with God check out this post called:

★ Back to the Basics – Silencing the Noise ★

If you want to read more about Discipline, check out this post called:

★ Thought for the Day – The Benefit of Discipline ★

If you want to read more about developing impactful relationships, check out this post called:

★ Thought for the Day – Community That Matters ★

Or if you want to check out past “Word for the Year” posts <<<CLICK HERE>>>