God is good.

Today I have been thinking about the goodness of God.  God is good in every situation and circumstance of life.  I remember a story of Corrie Ten Boon of the Hiding Place and Brother Andrew who is God's smuggler.  They were having lunch at Corrie's new home.  Corrie had just shown Brother Andrew the house and the grounds to which he remarked, "Corrie, God has been good to you."  Corrie's face turned stern and she remarked back, "Andrew, God was good when I and my sister were in the concentration camps and the Nazi's were hurting us."  God is always good.  This story affacted me because it reminded me that no matter what situation I find myself in God is still good.  Things are still going to work out for good.  The apostle Paul said, "Whatever state I find myself in, I am content."  Paul knew that God was good.  The goodness of God is the thing that takes us through the bad times and helps us appreciate the good times.  Remember, God is good.

Do not be an enemy of God.

Today in my deoviton I was reading Isaiah 17, and the prophecy against the city of Damascus and Syria.  Syria has been a neighbour of Israel for centuries but not a friend.  Right now Syria is involved in an ugly civil war where thousands have already lost their lives.  The present government is trying to stay in power using any means possible to remain there.  Syria is an enemy of Israel and ultimately God's.  Israel is the apple of God's eye.  He established this country and defends it supernatually.  Think about this.  Israel has a population of 9 million.  It is a little under 10,000 square miles and yet it has the most powerful military in the middle east.  It is surrounded by over 200 million enemies and yet still survives.  Naturally it does make any sense but supernaturally it does.  As a child of God you may be one person.  You have an enemy who has billions of followers and demon minions but you are still in Christ greater than them.  You see supernaturally you are a victor, an overcomer a conquerer.  Naturally you should be destroyed but supernaturally you are a winner.  The indiivudual who tips the scales in your favour is God.  With God for you, who can be against you.  Today, do two things, remember to pray for the peace of Israel and Jerusalem and remember in Christ you can do all things.

Who is Jesus

When I was a young man there was a t.v. preacher who was a smooth talker and con man.  His name was Garner Ted Armstrong.  He presented on one of his programs, the question, "Who is Jesus."  Now my father and I listened to the program and when he was finished I was no closer to knowing who Jesus was as I was to living on Mars.  Later through the pages of the Bible and the ability of the Holy Spirit I began to know who Jesus is.  Jesus is the beloved Son of God, He is God incarnate, God with a face, 100% God and 100% man, the perfect union of the divine and humanity.  Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  He lived a perfect sinless life and when the time was right He died for the sins of mankind.  Jesus died, was buried and rose again.  He gave His broken body and shed His precious blood that we may have life now and eternal life later.  Jesus is our Saviour, Healer, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and our Soon Coming King.  This is who Christ is and so much more.  Jesus is the perfect representation of love.  He is our role model on how to walk in the Spirit.  He is our example on how to love and give love.  This is who Jesus is.  This is what I have discovered over the many years that I have served Him.  The scary part for me is that I have just scratch the surface of who Christ is.   John put it very beautifully, "There is not enough books to contain what Jesus did."  I will add and who He is.  My exhortation is get to know Him and spend the rest of your life discovering what a beautiful and wonderful person He is. 

A true love story.

This morning in my devotions I was looking at the Song of Solomon which is a true love story.  You have these two people who are so much in love it is profound.  Love as described in this book is now only found in movies and romance novels.  This book is also a Old Testament picture of the love that Jesus Christ has for His church.  True love these days seem rare.  Society as a whole is telling people to do their own thing.  The real victims of this philosophy are the children.  Mom and dad are doing their own thing and the children become the victims.  To safeguard your home you must have Jesus Christ as the center of your home.  He must not only be the unseen guest but also the foundation on which you build any relationship.  The word of God is full of wonderful promises for the family but these promises must be applied.  Application is the key to any successful adventure in faith.  Today make Christ the center of your home and apply the principles of the word to your home and see God keep it through the hard and difficult times.  The reward is a lifetime of victory.  

The hollowness of life

This morning in my devotions I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes.  This is a book that is very negative in places because it is written by a man who at the time was backslidden.  Solomon had lived the so called good life and now he was reflecting on how hollow that life had become.  Solomon started out well but did not finish well.  He started following God but at the end of his life he followed the gods of his foreign wives.  Solomon for all his wisdom and knowledge forget the first law of the spiritual walk.  You are in a long distance race, so pace yourself.  In the spiritual walk of life, it is not how you start that matters it is how you end that does.  Solomon did not end well.  Solomon may not even be in heaven because it never does tell us if he ever repented.  Solomon is a fine example of how a Christian must never let the things of this life overcome the things of God.  Recently a beautiful and talented singer named Whitney Houston died tragically.  What was so tragic is that she started off singing in church but the lure of the world eventually lead her down a path of self destruction.  A beautiful voice has been silenced.  The other tragedy is that her story is not unique, there are hundreds of similar stories, something the entertainment industry does not tell you.  Solomon learned the hard way and his example can serve as a warning to others.  The wise are those that see what happens to others and learn from their mistakes.  Good advice. 

A good wife.

I was reading in my devotions this morning from Prov 31, where Solomon or Lemuel as he is also known writes about the qualities of a good wife.  Wives can be a blessing or curse it just depends on how they are treated and if they are a believer or not.  The wife that Solomon describes here is based on his view of his own mother who of course was Bathsheba.  Solomon says that a good wife is more precious than rubies.  She brings her husband good not harm.  He is respected because of his wife.  She is a person of character and integrity.  She is honest, pure, upright, moral and delightful.  She knows the value of money and uses it well.  She is a person who encourages and has compassion for those around her.  Her desire is to help and not hinder.  She thinks of others before she thinks of herself.  She has a servant's heart and is doing the will of God.  A godly woman is a real blessing.  If you have such a person in your life you are truly blessed.  I have had such a person in my life for 35 years.  My wife Lois is all of these qualities and so much more.  Today I rise up and call her blessed.  I hope you can do the same for your spouse. 

Be careful of traps.

   In my devotions this morning I was reading in Prov 7, where Solomon warns about being caught up in the trap of adultery.  Adultery is just one trap satan uses to trap people.  John 10:10 gives the motive of operation in which satan's operate.  As a thief, he comes to rob, kill and destroy.  His methods of attack are temptation, accusation and deception.  So when you come accross a situation where the test you are facing involves this three things it is trap of satan.  Traps are traps no matter what form they come in.  They are designed to trip and trap the intended victim.  The wise person is always conscience that there are going to be traps in life and the secret is avoidance not escape.   A good plan of life is to look around and see what is happening and not walk blind and hope you can miss the traps.  There is a story of a sapper which is another name for a bomb disposal expert who was working in an area where old bombs where buried.  He was walking through the minefield carefully when he accidently touched an old mine.  It did not explode but he was trapped.  He needed a fellow sappeer to come along and rescue him.  God is our rescue when we are trapped in the minefield's of life.  Today let the Lord rescue and help you out and save you, sometimes even from yourself.  Also if possible look around and keep your life in such a manner that you will be able to stay clear of the minifield's of life.

The Importance of Wisdom

This morning in my devotions I was reading in Prov 4 and the importance of getting wisdom.  Solomon who was the wisest man who ever lived besides the Lord Jesus Christ knew the value of wisdom.  He even said, wisdom was calling in the streets.  In one of my insightful sayings, I said that wisdom is calling in the streets the problem is everyone is listening to their IPOD'S.  I wish more people exercised wisdom and discretion.  I wish I used these more myself.  The Lord is the giver of wisdom, it is a gift He comminucates to His people.  If we lack wisdom, James says, we can ask the Lord and He will give it to us liberally.  There is no shortages with God on any gift or need.  I do not know what you need today but, I do encourage and exhort you to ask the Lord who gives these gifts liberally and abundantly.  Jesus told in John 10:10 that He came to give us life and with this life He gives us abundance.  Prosperity has nothing really to do with the material world but inward prosperity.  Peace, love, joy, wisdom are intangible but so needed.  You can gain the whole world but lose your soul.  The fool is one who looses their soul.  So today choose wisdom or foolishness.  Obvious choice isn't it? 

Getting Wisdom

In my morning devotions I have been studying and meditating on Proverbs.  Solomon listed reasons why we should study the book of  proverbs.  He said that we should so it because we need to learn how to have a dsicipline and fruitful life.  Proverbs can help us have wisdom, understanding, insight and knowledge.  Through the proverbs we can mentor, guide and help the simple, young and uninformed.  Solomon says that all wisdom and ends with the fear of the Lord.  I have written over 600 insightful says and thoughts in the past two years.  I have wanted to become a wise man.  It may be a phase I am going through.  I want the next generation to see how good God is and to see God move in our land.  Lately, I have seen many things among the believers because I cannot call them Christians that disturbs me.  I have seen pettiness, childishness, selfishness dishonesty and coldness.  So in my quest to know God better I have to issue this warning to myself and all in the sphere of my influence.  Stop what you are doing and come back to your first love.  Love and work for love.  Be an instrument of peace and healing.  Stop hiding your selfishness in a cloak of concern and be honest with yourself and God.  Many today have no fear of God.  One day all of us will have to give an account.  I pray that He will be pleased with our lives and interaction with others.  Food for thought.  

Praise the Lord

I love Psalm 150, because it is all about the praising the Lord.  Praising the Lord lifts us from our place of defeat into a place of victory.  Praise gives us the power to overcome any natural situation because it allows us to see the victory instead of the defeat.  Praise allows the Lord to work because we are focusing on the solution not the problem.  Merlin Corruthers wrote a book back in the 60's-70's, about how he went from prison to praise.  He learned that praising the Lord in all situations released the supernatural into our lives.  He said praising God even in the bad situations allow us to see God's victory and not the victory of the circumstances.  I have been serving the Lord for decades and many times I have been ruled by the situation and not by faith or praise.  Recently, I have been given tremendous opportunities but I have never been so attacked in my life as I have been lately.  With great opportunties comes greater attack.  The enemy knows that I have the privilege of sharing the gospel now not to a single group of people, but to millions.  Every day I pray for boldness, favour and faith.  Psalm 150. is such a great psalm is tells me praise the Lord.  So praise the Lord.

God's love endures forever.

The theme of my blog today is a very popular song, "His love endures forever."  David when he wrote Psalm 136, he reminded his audienece that the love of God endures forever.  Opinions of men and the world can change on a moments notice but the love of God endures forever.  This love stabilizes our life.  Life is so uncertain.  When I was a young man I had a friend named Jack, he was fifteen when he decided one night to go for a joy ride in his Dad's car with a group of friends.  I was not able to go with him.  Jack was driving through the back roads of the foothills west of where we lived.  He did not make a turn on one of those roads and rolled his dad's car.  He helped all our friends out of the car and then sat down beside the car and fell over dead.  He had bang his head on the dashboard and received a massive concussion which killed him in less than five minutes.  This shook all of us up and made me think of the tragedies of life.  When I lost two more friends to alcohol and car accidents.  I thought I must get ready for eternity.  I did not know how to go about it but fortunately the Lord knew my heart and met me only a couple of months later and since then I having been serving Him with all my heart.  I remember even today the frailty of life and my sole desire is to live for Him and reach as many people as I can with the message of salvation.  Jesus came and will change you life if you let Him.  Please let Him change your life because His love for you endures forever.

A righteous person.

In the past several days I have been spending time in two places in the bible.  My morning devotion has been in the Book of Psalms and my aftertoon time has been in Joshua.  One is based on worship the other on taking the land.  When we praise the Lord and understand the power of worship we know that any foe that comes our way can be overcome.  Praise, worship and prayer are the secrets of taking our land and world.  I love knowing that all of heaven is at my disposal for releasing those in my world that need God's deliverance.  My world is all those that I rub shoulders with every day and are are within the reach of my life.  For me my world increased many fold within the last few months.  I use to just touch the city of St. Albert and the church I pastored.  This change when I became a radio personality on AM 930 the light.  My world became all of Northern and Central Alberta as well those who listen on the World Wide Web.  Now I touch people wherever God wishes people to hear.  This challenge has made me more aware of the responsibility I have for the gospel and my part in it.  I want to say the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.  Writing this blog has made me aware that whatever we write has an impact on people's lives.  I do not want to say silly stuff.  I want to write something that will change someone for good and God.  My world is important to God.  I know that I am only one voice speaking for Him.  There are many others touching their world's My prayer is for all of us is that we will do it with His anointing and power, for His praise and glory.

Offer Praise to the Lord.

In the past few days I have been spending time in two places in my devotions.  I have been reading in Deuteronomy and Psalms.  The two themes I have been meditating on has been praise and the word.  These two themes are two pillars of the faith.  You need the word as your final standard of faith and practice.  You need praise because it releases the emotional experience of being connected with God.  The word gives us focus and guidance, praise gives us freedom and victory.  Both are essential for spiritual life and growth.  The word releases God's promises and praise releases His power.  The word helps us to understand God's will, praise releases it into the realms in which we live.  The word tells us that we have victory in all areas of life, praise makes it a reality.  You need both to balance out your walk with the Lord.  Many times in my life I have sung the word in my devotional times.  This tandem of praise and the word releases victory in my life like nothing else.  The word spoken creates a powerful explosion of spiritual power into your world.  It sets up a spiritual reality like nothing else.  More has been accomplished in spiritual warfare in my life during these times than anything else.  Speak God's word aloud or sing it with a heart of praise and spiritual reality will be released in your life for the praise and glory of God.

Theme of Psalms

In the last few days I have been doing my devotions from the book of Psalms it has been a great experience because I am learning again the importance of worship.  Worship is an attitude of the heart expressed.  The Christian was born and made to worship.  It is at the very core of who we are in Christ.  We were not saved for eternal life only but to worship and serve the Lord in the beauty of holiness.  We worship the Lord with our thoughts, words, actions and attitudes.  Worship comes through our lips and by what we do.  Every action should be for the praise and glory of God.  Jesus said in John 4, that we are to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth.  Truth is an honest expression of love for God.  Your life is a sacrifice of praise.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit so we should glorify God with our bodies.  Everything we think, say, and do displays the glory of God or should.  What bothers me is that many of us today do not express the glory of God as we should.  My exhortation today for all of us is that we examine our hearts to see if we are honest worshippers or just fair weather friends. Do we really glorify God or are we just going through the motions?  The choice is ours.  Let us live like this could be our last day on the planet because it could.  If you had only five minutes left and you knew it, what would you do?   I know what I would do, praise the Lord.

Creation praises the Lord.

   In my devotions this morning I was reading Psalm 73, which is all about how creation praises the Lord.  Creation is called the silent witness for God.  It literally yells out that there is a creator.  Man has tried to explain creation through the theory of evolution which is so flawed that you have to have more faith to believe in it, then creation.  David writes that the world was firmly established and it cannot be moved.  He says the Lord's throne wass firmly established long ago and eternal.  The seas and the surf pounding on the shore show God's majestic power.  The Lord's statutes stand firm and His holiness adorns His house forever.  God is to be praised in all things.  Every animal, tree, rock, mountain and created thing show the glory and creative power of God.  Man of course is God's greatest creatiion.  If you have any doubt about God, just look in the mirror.  You are wonderfully and marvelously created.  Today praise the Lord with your lips and your life.  Live so well that you will have no regrets at the end of this day.

The Lord is good.

This morning I was doing my devotion and it was from Psalm 73:1, which renminds us that the Lord is good and gracious to those who love Him.  We all know that the Lord is good in our heads but many times we fail to move it from our heads to our hearts.  Our heart is where the issues of life are.  Many times in our lives we will not feel that the Lord is good.  Circumstances, situations and people can really attacked the concept of the goodness of God.  You can find yourself under the burdens of problems and betrayal and the goodness of God can seem like a foreign concept.  In those times you need to stand in faith and the word of God and declare that the Lord is good.  One time I was at a very low point of my life and ministry.  God in His grace sent an old friend to me and he encouraged me and reminded me about God's goodness.  This helped me and I went on to bigger and better things.  The grace of God is a wonderful thing to know and live in.  The grace of God is the blessing that comes because of Jesus Christ.  Jesus died so we could have eternal and abundant life.  We will never deserve or earn the grace and goodness of God so my exhortation is to just enjoy and live in it.  Cast all you cares on Him this morning and let Him show his grace. mercy and goodness today in your life.

Real Wisdom

   I wrote in my blog on Am 930 the Light about real wisdom this morning.  I talked about how wisdom like faith, is a gift of God.  It is something that can be grown and used best with the word.  Wisdom in a nutshell is the ability to know what to do, at the right time, for the right reason, with the knowledge and information you have at that time.  It is life skills.  Solomon says that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord.  Having a healthy respect for God is real wisdom.  Wisdom allows us to know that we have but one life to live and then judgment.  Wisdom helps us to understand that we must be about our masters business.  It helps us to understand that redepmtion and the salvation of souls is the most important thing.  Wisdom teaches us that the world does not end or start with us and what we want.  Wisdom helps us to understand that what we do here does effect our eternity.  Wise people know they are only one day from eternity and that what we do today will effect eternity.  Wise people know that love for God and for others is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others.  Wisdom teaches us that God's purposes and priorities is what it is all about.  One last thing widsom teaches us is that when all have been said and done all one phrase is what we should want to hear, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into my rest."  My question for myself and you is, "Are you wise?"

God please answer and hurry.

There have been many times in my life where I wanted God to answer my prayers yesterday.  I was reading in my deovtion this morning, Psalm 42, where David is crying ou to the Lord for answers.  David was in a season of, "Why me God."  This is a period of life where nothing seems to make sense and your prayers seem to be bouncing off the ceiling.  In these times we have to go by faith and not by sight.  We have to trust God and His word and not how we feel.  The word is clear it states that the Lord will never leave or forsake us.  Just because we do not feel His presence that does not mean He is not near.  God is always with us, He is always near.  He just sometimes chooses to not be as visible and so it is here we learn to trust.  A daughter and father were in the habit of walking together to the school bus stop.  The little girl said, one day, "Daddy, tomorrow I want to walk by myself."  She wanted some independence.  At first the Dad said no, but then as he thought about it, he realize that his little girl was growing up, so he relented and agreed.  The following morning she kissed him goodbye at the door and walked the half block from their home to the bus stop.  She waited at the stop with her friends and they boarded the bus and went off to school.  That afternoon she returned home and ran up to the steps of the front door where she was greeted by her father.  "She said, "Daddy I did it all by myself."  to which her father smiled and they went inside.  Little did she know that her Father had followed her to the bus stop that morning and afternoon carefully watching in the shadows, watching in the distance, making sure she was safe.  That is how God is.  He is watching, making sure we are safe.  So just because He seems to be silent, He is not.     

Wait upon the Lord

I have been reading through the Psalms in my morning devotions and a recurring theme has been developing, "waiting upon the Lord."  This is something that I must admit I am not very good at.  Being an action kind of person which most pastor's are, waiting is not a strong point for me.  This of course is something that is essential for life.  The things of God are very much like comedy, timing is everything.  One thing that I have discovered about God is that He is never early or late, He is always right on time.  Just when I think I am about done or finished then God arrives and clears up the whole mess.  Which must of the time I have created or someone else has done to me.  Job says that we are saved by the skin of our teeth, so true.  Today you might right now be in a time of waiting.  I have four small things to share with you about waiting.  First, wait with expectation and faith.  God will come through.  Next, trust God for the answer, He has come through before and He will come through again.  Thirdly, prepare and get ready.  It is always good to be ready and be watching.  Lastly, when He moves, go with Him.  God moves quickly and you may find yourself running to catch up.  So wait upon the Lord and be renewed for the glory of God.     

Trust in the Lord.

I love what I learn in my morning devotions.  Today I was reading in Psalm 37:3-5 and the Lord reminded me that if I trutsed in the Him and did good He would bless me and keep me.  God promises safety and abundance.  When we delight pirselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our heart.  When we commit our ways to the Lord He will give us so many blessings.  God has made a promises that He will make us shine as lights.  Our lives will be like the dawn or the noon day sun.  I am amazed at the goodness of God.  I will quote this morning one of my own insightful sayings.  Live your life so well everyday that at the end of it you will have no regrets.  This day I do not want any regrets.  I want my life to reflect Jesus and all around me see Him.  I trust that is your desire as well.