I Want This Life

Psalm 112:1-8

"Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, Who cherish and relish his commandments, Their children robust on the earth, And the homes of the upright—how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth And a generosity that never runs dry. Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people— God's grace and mercy and justice! The good person is generous and lends lavishly; No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation. Unfazed by rumor and gossip, Heart ready, trusting in God, Spirit firm, unperturbed, Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, They lavish gifts on the poor— A generosity that goes on, and on, and on. An honored life! A beautiful life! "

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Look at the blessings that come upon the man that trusts in God. The man that lives by God's word. God desires and seeks such a man so much that he pours out all He has on him. It not only extends to material blessings and prosperity, but to personal protection for his well being and integrity/reputation. He brings peace to this man's mind. There is no strife in any area of his life.

AS FOR ME
I WANT THIS LIFE!!! After working so hard on my own, it is almost unimaginable, to-good-to-be-true if you will, to think that God simply wants me to rest in Him...to allow Him to bless me. And all I have to do for that type of life is to establish His word in my life. To walk according to His will. Seek His guidance and then follow His direction. This only comes by continual study and fellowship with Him. I've slacked up a bit the last couple of days and I can tell you that I noticed it. I noticed my lacking attitude in prayer and study time. I felt the old man attempting to creep back in. I got so over loaded with the world and it's pressures again, that I just put off that important and life-sustaining commitment. I'm back on track though...I WANT THIS LIFE!!

Committed

Psalm 37:5,6

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Commitment and trust go hand-in-hand. The word "commit" here means to make a decision that is from the heart and one in which there is an establishment of trust - trust that God can and will care for me more than and better than I can do for myself.

The second half is a promise that He will protect and provide for me - on time and faithfully. The dawn comes everyday, regardless of the circumstances or feelings I'm facing. The noonday sun shines down and creates growth and burns away the fog that works to conceal and confuse.

AS FOR ME
Commitment is two sided. The Father is not going to require me to act in faith without rewarding me. He understands my struggles and weaknesses. Funny, my love language is appreciation. God demonstrates that with every step I take (no matter how large or small). I just have to recognize it!!

God's Power vs. The World's Power

Daniel 3:1-30 (Msg translation)

"King Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue, ninety feet high and nine feet thick. He set it up on the Dura plain in the province of Babylon. He then ordered all the important leaders in the province, everybody who was anybody, to the dedication ceremony of the statue. They all came for the dedication, all the important people, and took their places before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

A herald then proclaimed in a loud voice: "Attention, everyone! Every race, color, and creed, listen! When you hear the band strike up—all the trumpets and trombones, the tubas and baritones, the drums and cymbals—fall to your knees and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who does not kneel and worship shall be thrown immediately into a roaring furnace."

The band started to play, a huge band equipped with all the musical instruments of Babylon, and everyone—every race, color, and creed—fell to their knees and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Just then, some Babylonian fortunetellers stepped up and accused the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Long live the king! You gave strict orders, O king, that when the big band started playing, everyone had to fall to their knees and worship the gold statue, and whoever did not go to their knees and worship it had to be pitched into a roaring furnace. Well, there are some Jews here—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have placed in high positions in the province of Babylon. These men are ignoring you, O king. They don't respect your gods and they won't worship the gold statue you set up.

Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought in. When the men were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar asked, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don't respect my gods and refuse to worship the gold statue that I have set up? I'm giving you a second chance—but from now on, when the big band strikes up you must go to your knees and worship the statue I have made. If you don't worship it, you will be pitched into a roaring furnace, no questions asked. Who is the god who can rescue you from my power?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn't, it wouldn't make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn't serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up."

Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger, cut off Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace fired up seven times hotter than usual. He ordered some strong men from the army to tie them up, hands and feet, and throw them into the roaring furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bound hand and foot, fully dressed from head to toe, were pitched into the roaring fire. Because the king was in such a hurry and the furnace was so hot, flames from the furnace killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it, while the fire raged around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, "Didn't we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?"
"That's right, O king," they said.

"But look!" he said. "I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!"

Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire.

All the important people, the government leaders and king's counselors, gathered around to examine them and discovered that the fire hadn't so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them!

Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him! They ignored the king's orders and laid their bodies on the line rather than serve or worship any god but their own.

"Therefore I issue this decree: Anyone anywhere, of any race, color, or creed, who says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and their houses torn down. There has never been a god who can pull off a rescue like this."

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. "

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
King Nebuchadnezzar showed how the world reacts to Christians that stand up to the traditions of the world. The king makes a statement in V.15, "who can rescue you from my power?" In studying obedience, trust, and power, I have to recognize that the world does have power. Through laws and policies, and just plain traditions, there will be repercussions for my actions. However, God's power SUPERSEDES the world's power and deliverance is possible!

There is no contest between the world's power and God's. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego proved that. When they placed total trust in God, defied the world's power over them, and was thrown into the fire, God's power superseded the king.

AS FOR ME
If God is for me, who can be against me? I have to follow the laws of the world, but God is able to move on my behalf if those powers place me in harm or against God's will for my life. He is even merciful enough to help me out of messes I get myself in. My deliverance may not come in the form of AVOIDING the fire or flood, but it will certainly keep me safe through them so that He gets glory from it.

In the area of finances (where my MAJOR disobedience lies), I have to pay my bills, but God can move supernaturally to provide a way to make the payments and pay them off ahead of schedule. I do have to be aware of when God moves on my behalf and be ready to step in line with Him. Once that is done, I have to be a good steward and not get back in that place again.

It will start wit my choosing to be obedient - to the point of commitment (stubbornness) and to stick with my choice. Thereby walking into the fullness that God has for me.

Total Abandon

Daniel 3:1-30

If you read the whole story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you will find their trust in God is made through total abandonment. They show that trust is a faith where the end result in life or death is GLORY. Through the fire, Nebucadnezzar could SEE God at work. When he brought them out, he could see what God had done...no singed hair or clothes, no smell of smoke, etc. It is because of God's power that Nebuchadnezzar was "converted" as well as the whole nation.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
There is a message here that God's power was shown as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated their willingness to trust God with their lives and defy the king (V.28). There is not enough of that type of total abandon in the lives of Christians today (especially MINE). When that commitment/choice for total abandon is made, the following will occur:
1. God WILL move on your behalf in acts of deliverance.
2. Others WILL see God's power and ability.
3. These signs, wonders, and miracles will convert the hearts of the lost and convict the fellow believers that are not walking in the Light.

AS FOR ME
I'm beginning to see that God does have the power and ability. V28 stands out as the largest reason in my life that I don't see God's power...I need to trust with my life. Maybe not physically, but all that I have and am. Total Abandon. God has blessed me so far - just because He's adopted me into the family - think of what He could do if I let go of those areas that are holding me down!

Trusting the Father's Abilities

Daniel 3:17

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced this issue with their lives. Beginning in V13, we see that the three Hebrew boys were told exactly what their fate would be - the furnace. They were not deterred from obedience. They knew that God was able to deliver them. They were willing to put that trust to the test.

That's when faith arrives.

However, they might have expected Him to deliver them before they got to the furnace door. They said in V18 that even if He didn't deliver them, they would not worship idols. This tells me that they expected to be thrown into the furnace if God didn't deliver them before then.

Though it could be interpreted that they doubted, they were DETERMINED to be obedient.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Obedience and trust is just as much a CHOICE as love is. That trust in abilities comes from a developed relationship. The commitment to trust over-rides the mental fear that comes and creates doubt. Some may see this as just plain stubbornness.

AS FOR ME
When was the last time I was called stubborn? I can tell you that it certainly wasn't meant in a positive context. However, I see that I have to put that characteristic to work on the positive force in my walk with Christ. Stubbornness could be counted as commitment. But I still need to feel that regardless of the circumstances I'm facing, God is ABLE to help me. I need to look at his power to understand his ability.

Obedience

Genesis 22:18

God promised Abraham and his descendents blessings as a result of their obedience. This promise was reinforced after Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God's instruction.

->Abraham's obedience came from God's promise.

->God's promise came from his covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:9)

->Abraham's covenant came as a result of his faith in God, demonstrated through the tithe to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20).

->The tithe came as a result of Abraham's recognition of God's blessings.

->God's blessings came as a result of His relationship with Abraham.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH
When a relationship is made, those in the relationship begin to trust each other and a desire to help protect each other is forged. This desire to protect produces blessings on both sides of the relationship. Both want to provide support to the other. Both want to see the other's success. As that heart attitude develops, actions begin to take place to prove the relationship. The end result is that BOTH are blessed with:
1. Stronger relationship
2. Increased trust in each other
3. Furthering their united cause

AS FOR ME
I see that ultimately, my lack of obedience comes from a lack of trust. These are areas of my life where I simply don't trust the Father. I don't know if the lack of trust comes from not being sure of His ability or His willingness. This will be the path of my search for now.

In The Ditch

For the first time in my life, I have not only been able to, but have the desire to spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day in devotion to the Lord and seeking His voice. It's July and I'm in Colorado spending a week with my wife of 25 years, finally getting a honeymoon we never had. We are with another couple and everyone likes to sleep in but me. Getting up at 7 and seeing no one else until at least 9, sitting in the sun room overlooking mountains covered with snow so close I could probably walk to make a snowball (if I could breath in that altitude!) - gave me the perfect opportunity to really spend some one-on-one time with the Father; something I hadn't really expected. I spent the week reading and praying during that time and, while it was very calming and peaceful, I realized that I had become so detatched from not only my relationship with Him, but everyone around me as well.

Towards the end of the week, I felt a yearning to really speak with my Pastor.

To really have him speak to me, actually.

I couldn't pinpoint what was causing the seperation but I wanted to find out. It opened up a discovery that I was actually very "alone" in the world. If you have ever found yourself in this place, it won't surprise you when I tell you that my mind began flooding with thoughts of "Pastor doesn't have time for you", to "You're just not important enough". If I wasn't feeling alone to begin with, I certainly was when my mind began running away. With every UNCONTROLLED thought that came, I felt less and less significant. (A common trend in my life over the last couple of years.) Nevertheless, I kept praying for the Lord to make a time when my Pastor and I could be alone and he would just start speaking into my life, telling me what I needed to hear to place my life back on the right road.

We returned home and back into our normal routine. Weeks went by and nothing happened. Again, those thoughts came to me that I wasn't important enough for him to bother with. After all, he had other men in Leadership that he was molding and praying for. Then it happened. On August 28, 2008, my Pastor said that he had some things on his heart that he wanted to talk to me about. I was prepared for him to speak into my life...or was I?

He started by telling me that he was having alerts going off in his spirit regarding some dangerous times in my life. That there were things in my life that I needed to address once and for all or risk stepping out from God's protection. With each word he spoke, my spirit-man yelled in my head "YES!". I knew he was right. I knew there was unrepentant sin in my life that needed to be dealt with. I knew that I was in a ditch and needed to get out of it before I became buried. And I was amazed that God cared enough to speak to me through my Pastor. I sat, I listened, I agreed, and I took it all like a man. The man God was creating me to become. I sat there while Pastor spoke into my life non-stop for two hours straight before giving me the opportunity to speak. I listened as he told me that he loved me too much to allow me to just lay in the ditch. He loved me enough to risk me getting offended and walking out. He had enough faith in me to stay and make the corrections needed in my life.

And I sat there taking it all in because I loved him enough to allow him to speak to me.

The hunger for God was so strong that I couldn't do anything but soak the experience up. The bottom line was that I was not being obedient in a major area of my life and it was affecting EVERY OTHER area of my life. I had never been a faithful tither, and because of that I was not expressing my faith in God. Jesus was my Savior but he was not my Lord. I told my Pastor that I knew this was going on in my life and that I was willfully disobedient and defiant because I didn't feel that I had to tithe in order to show my love for my God and Savior. However, in the recent months I had become increasingly aware that the outward expressions and actions are visible signs of the inward love. The genesis of these expressions were there, but the obedience was not.

Tracye and I left 3 1/2 hours after the start of the meeting just in awe of what God wanted in our lives and the desire to allow Jesus to help pull me out of the ditch.

I'm reminded of someone else that was in a "ditch" of sorts. Peter walked to Jesus on the water and found himself sinking when he was confronted by the winds and rains pelting him from the storm. When he found himself sinking (my analogy of the ditch) he cried out AND ACCEPTED help from Jesus and they walked back to the boat (my analogy of getting back on the road) TOGETHER. I left that night realizing that I don't have to, and even can't, crawl out of the ditch on my own. Jesus is there to reach out and take hold of so that together we can get me out of the ditch and back on the road.

So that's where I am.

My plan for getting back on the road is this:

1) Determine what I need in my personal devotion time in order to get to the place of obedience.
2) Set a plan and goal to be at various stages of growth so that I can see where I am.
3) Hook up with an accountability brother. One of the most important things I can do because if I don't, I'll eventually stop the first two tasks.