When I'm on the road and staying in a motel, I'm often leaving early for that day's responsibilities. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made! I have new, clean towels! Everything is straightened and neat. I even have new little soaps in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I've seen the maid (I haven't), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about 'God All Over Your Day.'
He is, you know. It's not unlike that maid scenario. You may not see the one who made the difference, but you sure can see the difference they made ...if you're looking for it.
If you've ever been to one of those church meetings where they ask people to share their favorite verses, you've probably heard somebody mention our word for today from the Word of God. Proverbs 3:5-6 - it might be your favorite - 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.'
Notice what's the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your own heart--trying to figure it out for yourself, doing what you think is best...leaning on your own understanding.
Now comes a formula for finding out what God wants you to do in any given situation. Verse 6 says, 'In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.' Now, God says, 'If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you're in.'
Now you know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you've gone totally ungreeted? Nobody noticed you? You were saying to yourself, 'Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice me.' God knows that. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don't acknowledge Him.
The other day I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing--the dentist's office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife--they're both in their 90s. He's working hard to care for his wife because her health is really deteriorating.
Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back in, really touched by what had happened in those two minutes--so touched that he brought it up two more times.
He said, 'When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn't raining. And George said, 'Isn't it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?' Then he just looked heavenward and said, 'Thanks, Father.''
Now that's acknowledging Him. That's noticing God's working in the details of your day. And that's where praise comes from...where joy comes from...where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times.
But you have to go into your day looking for God at work. If you don't, you'll miss God and you'll miss the joy. But if you do train your heart to go on a daily God-hunt, you'll experience what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon talked about when he said, 'He who looks for providences (or God-actions) will never lack a providence to observe.'
If you haven't been seeing God a lot lately, it's because you haven't been looking. You may have been focused on your circumstances...other people...or yourself--you've missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn't happen. I know there's never a day where He doesn't show up because His 'mercies are new every morning!'
In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I seethe results of her work. In the little and big moments of your day, you may not see God, but you can see the results of His work on your behalf-- His much-loved child. You'll see God all over your day--if you're looking for Him.
Showing posts with label Proverbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proverbs. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Are you foolish?
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
When I read this verse, the thought that struck me was whether I was a fool. I think we all can picture this scene. A dog returning to its vomit. That's disgusting and unthinkable, it's foolish and dumb. In the same way, when we return to our own foolishness and sin, we are like the dog who returns to its vomit. Maybe there are struggles in our lives that we struggle with and we find ourselves always falling into the same sin and temptation, may this verse wake us up from our constant failures and realise that we are like dogs returning to our own vomit if we keep doing the wrong thing over and over again.
Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. "First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night.
So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!"
It is a fearful thing that people can be "consumed by their own lusts." Only God's grace keeps us from the wolf's fate.
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
When I read this verse, the thought that struck me was whether I was a fool. I think we all can picture this scene. A dog returning to its vomit. That's disgusting and unthinkable, it's foolish and dumb. In the same way, when we return to our own foolishness and sin, we are like the dog who returns to its vomit. Maybe there are struggles in our lives that we struggle with and we find ourselves always falling into the same sin and temptation, may this verse wake us up from our constant failures and realise that we are like dogs returning to our own vomit if we keep doing the wrong thing over and over again.
Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. "First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night.
So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!"
It is a fearful thing that people can be "consumed by their own lusts." Only God's grace keeps us from the wolf's fate.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A fruitful two days
Today is my last day off, got to book back in tomorrow. Well, I guess these two days off have been rather fruitful. I'm just thankful for these past two days.
Yesterday, I managed to spend some time with my princess. We went to Parkway Parade and ate Swensens. Well, I'm glad I could meet up with her and spend some time with her. I must say that I'm so thankful for how He has blessed us and preserve us. We've been together for almost 15 months and I'm delighted to be together with her.
The past two weeks of confinement wasn't easy. I couldn't meet her and only managed to squeeze some time out to talk to her daily. That's why I'm so happy to be able to meet her after a long absence. Well, they say absence makes the heart fonder. I'm growing in love for her and I want us to be a couple for Christ.
It ain't going to be easy. It will be a battle against flesh and the world. It will be a challenge to walk righteously. It will not be easy choosing the right path and high road. But I believe that as long as God is in the center of our lives and relationship, He will lead us along.
Today, I was reading a book entitled 'every man, God's man' and it has been an insightful experience for me thus far. One thing that stuck me a lot and I would like to share this. It's a story by Kenny Luck, one of the co-author of the book.
When I became a Christian in 1982, I found it relatively easy to put together the appearance of a committed follower of Christ. My days as a navy brat and my adolescent focus on appearances had taught me how to build a new image. In my high-school yearbook, there is a picture of me holding a bear mug, wearing lampshade for a hat, and sporting a Groucho Marx nose-and-glasses disguise. The inscription underneath reads: Life of the Party - Kenny Luck. That was me, all right, but the caption should have read: Best Actor Award - Kenny Luck. You see, I was acting my buns off to get to the top 0f the 'Most Liked' list. I learned that if I could make people laugh, they would like me - at least for a little while.
I've since learned that all men are good at creating and building images. Our single-minded, task-oriented, emotionally compartmentalized, super-competitive, cause-and-effect, problem-solution handwriting makes is almost inescapable. We really believe ourselves when we say 'I can do that'. We find it easy to utilize the necessary appearances, props, equipment, accessories, and images so that we can project our act to the viewing audience.
Intuitive observation of how other Christians acted brought me the messages that I needed to read the Bible when I became a believer of Christ - and lots and lots of pages. Most importantly, I had to be able to quote it.
Besides reading a heavy concordance version of the Bible, I had to go to church a lot because that was where the action was and where 'good Christians' needed to be. Speaking of action, Christian service also was critical to the whole package. Evangelism and 'where you spend your vacation in the mission field' rated high on the charts in these circles.
I found the Christian fast track in no time. I became deeply involved with a Bible study group and joined an organisation whose mission statement included helping fulfill the Great Commission. It wasn't long before I decided to reach for the next level by attending Fuller Theological Seminary, and subsequent retreats and conferences drew me closer to going overseas to 'serve' God. I joined a mission agency full-time, married a beautiful Christian woman, connected with and befriended other Christian couples, and began raising three kids to follow in their dad's footsteps.
Well into my Christian fast track, however, certain character flaws and inner conflicts kept this question begging in my subconscious: Why aren't you changing for the better? I still had so many faults. In many areas of my life I saw little progress, which caused me to feel like the fool described in Proverbs: 'As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly' (Proverbs 26:11, NLT)
For most men - especially me - assembling an appearance comes naturally. It's much tougher, however, to put together a character that performs well under pressure. Sure, back in the summer of 1982, God forgave me, accepted me, and delivered me from an eternity separated from Him. But He did not deliver me from my character. The fatal mental mistake that I made back then - and that countless Christian men make today - was figuring that my conversion fundamentally changed my character traits (who I was and how I would react under pressure) at the same time that I accepted Christ into my life.
Once a man has given his life to Christ, God's aim is not to make him comfortable with the character and mannerisms that were ingrained into his psyche prior to becoming a member of the team. In fact, God's plan is for His Holy Spirit to bring about the necessary changes (although for stubborn characters and certain behaviour patterns, His method of choice is to allow delays and difficulties to enter our lives). Character is curved out rather than instantly created.
Take the story of Justin, who 'went Christian' to his friends' amazement. A lot was going on in his life, including an insatiable capacity for alcohol, which led to a room reservation at a rehab facility. Later, he and a friend drove from Arizona to California in a bold move that eventually led to Justin's conversion. The sense of a fresh start enthralled Justin almost as much as the emotional thrill of dropping in on Trestles Beach, where he loved to surf. No longer was he getting high on crack; now he was high on Christ. What could go wrong now? He had sobriety, a newfound hope in Christ, new friends, and a church based recovery program that would help him toe the line. Justin felt like a new man. He was married, had kids - life was pretty good.
Let's fast forward to one year later. Justin was still sober, but many of the attitudes, habits, and temptations that he had developed before he committed his life to Christ still hounded him. He thought that these flaws, along with his sins, had been washed away because now he could 'do all things through Christ who strengthened him'. Now Justin was disillusioned by his inability to overcome his temper with his wife and kids. His flaws reminded him of a bad cut that wouldn't heal.
Justin reminds me of myself. Like so many men I know, I often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to personal change. We would love a twofer or threefer - solving multiple problems and issues with one big decision. But God's deal goes like this: 'Reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground' (Hosea 10:12). To God, our lives are like fields that need to be worked. Once we have worked one field of change, we move on to the next plot, where He bids us to get back to work other character flaws by tilling weed-infested soil. Sometimes this takes more time than we'd like, but we have to keep driving that tractor back and forth across the fertile earth.
As history has shown, God will give a man a desert experience to prepare him for the future. Such a desert experience happened to my brother Chris. I'll never forget the late-night phone call from a frantic lady in Arizona, who screamed, 'Come get your brother off my porch'. In other words, she wanted him out of her life because my brother was a druggie and a drinker who changed girlfriends as often as he changed T-shirts.
Chris was a messed-up guy with big muscles and a small brain, or so we thought. My family had written him off as an unreachable jerk, his own worst enemy. When I received the phone call from Arizona, Chris was using and out of control, so I helped get him admitted to a Teen challenge program in Santa Cruz, California.
Then a miracle happened. After only two weeks Chris gave his life to Christ ... and the character curving began. One year later, Chris graduated from the program and joined the staff as an intern. Within two years he went to full time and was promoted to floor director and then to center supervisor. It wasn't long before Chris's leadership skills earned him a promotion to associate director and then to director of the center. He was helping hundreds upon hundreds of men turn their lives around.
Chris devoted five years to learning, listening, and serving others. Seeing the changes God has brought into his life, a Teen Challenge board member asked Chris to bring his talents to his small company. Chris accepted and rose through the ranks to chief operating officer in only four years. After the business was sold, he became a managing partner in a financial services company that bears his name. He is my living, breathing example of what God can do in carving out a man's character.
God hasn't changed His methods of His focus when it comes to accomplishing His purposes in the lives of men. Nor has he shown that He is any less concerned with our comfort than He is with our character. God understands that the conduct of a man will never outperform the content of His character, because conduct is an expression of character. One precedes the other. Or, viewed another way, if we want change, we need character to pull it off. God made us and knows us. He designed the mainframe, the software, and the applications.
I want to be a man who is authentic, a man who is real in my walk with God, a man who walks uprightly and stands firmly on the Word of God, a man who lives humbly and is willing to let God enter my life and changed it all the way around.
It's going to take time but it's worth it.
Yesterday, I managed to spend some time with my princess. We went to Parkway Parade and ate Swensens. Well, I'm glad I could meet up with her and spend some time with her. I must say that I'm so thankful for how He has blessed us and preserve us. We've been together for almost 15 months and I'm delighted to be together with her.
The past two weeks of confinement wasn't easy. I couldn't meet her and only managed to squeeze some time out to talk to her daily. That's why I'm so happy to be able to meet her after a long absence. Well, they say absence makes the heart fonder. I'm growing in love for her and I want us to be a couple for Christ.
It ain't going to be easy. It will be a battle against flesh and the world. It will be a challenge to walk righteously. It will not be easy choosing the right path and high road. But I believe that as long as God is in the center of our lives and relationship, He will lead us along.
Today, I was reading a book entitled 'every man, God's man' and it has been an insightful experience for me thus far. One thing that stuck me a lot and I would like to share this. It's a story by Kenny Luck, one of the co-author of the book.
When I became a Christian in 1982, I found it relatively easy to put together the appearance of a committed follower of Christ. My days as a navy brat and my adolescent focus on appearances had taught me how to build a new image. In my high-school yearbook, there is a picture of me holding a bear mug, wearing lampshade for a hat, and sporting a Groucho Marx nose-and-glasses disguise. The inscription underneath reads: Life of the Party - Kenny Luck. That was me, all right, but the caption should have read: Best Actor Award - Kenny Luck. You see, I was acting my buns off to get to the top 0f the 'Most Liked' list. I learned that if I could make people laugh, they would like me - at least for a little while.
I've since learned that all men are good at creating and building images. Our single-minded, task-oriented, emotionally compartmentalized, super-competitive, cause-and-effect, problem-solution handwriting makes is almost inescapable. We really believe ourselves when we say 'I can do that'. We find it easy to utilize the necessary appearances, props, equipment, accessories, and images so that we can project our act to the viewing audience.
Intuitive observation of how other Christians acted brought me the messages that I needed to read the Bible when I became a believer of Christ - and lots and lots of pages. Most importantly, I had to be able to quote it.
Besides reading a heavy concordance version of the Bible, I had to go to church a lot because that was where the action was and where 'good Christians' needed to be. Speaking of action, Christian service also was critical to the whole package. Evangelism and 'where you spend your vacation in the mission field' rated high on the charts in these circles.
I found the Christian fast track in no time. I became deeply involved with a Bible study group and joined an organisation whose mission statement included helping fulfill the Great Commission. It wasn't long before I decided to reach for the next level by attending Fuller Theological Seminary, and subsequent retreats and conferences drew me closer to going overseas to 'serve' God. I joined a mission agency full-time, married a beautiful Christian woman, connected with and befriended other Christian couples, and began raising three kids to follow in their dad's footsteps.
Well into my Christian fast track, however, certain character flaws and inner conflicts kept this question begging in my subconscious: Why aren't you changing for the better? I still had so many faults. In many areas of my life I saw little progress, which caused me to feel like the fool described in Proverbs: 'As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly' (Proverbs 26:11, NLT)
For most men - especially me - assembling an appearance comes naturally. It's much tougher, however, to put together a character that performs well under pressure. Sure, back in the summer of 1982, God forgave me, accepted me, and delivered me from an eternity separated from Him. But He did not deliver me from my character. The fatal mental mistake that I made back then - and that countless Christian men make today - was figuring that my conversion fundamentally changed my character traits (who I was and how I would react under pressure) at the same time that I accepted Christ into my life.
Once a man has given his life to Christ, God's aim is not to make him comfortable with the character and mannerisms that were ingrained into his psyche prior to becoming a member of the team. In fact, God's plan is for His Holy Spirit to bring about the necessary changes (although for stubborn characters and certain behaviour patterns, His method of choice is to allow delays and difficulties to enter our lives). Character is curved out rather than instantly created.
Take the story of Justin, who 'went Christian' to his friends' amazement. A lot was going on in his life, including an insatiable capacity for alcohol, which led to a room reservation at a rehab facility. Later, he and a friend drove from Arizona to California in a bold move that eventually led to Justin's conversion. The sense of a fresh start enthralled Justin almost as much as the emotional thrill of dropping in on Trestles Beach, where he loved to surf. No longer was he getting high on crack; now he was high on Christ. What could go wrong now? He had sobriety, a newfound hope in Christ, new friends, and a church based recovery program that would help him toe the line. Justin felt like a new man. He was married, had kids - life was pretty good.
Let's fast forward to one year later. Justin was still sober, but many of the attitudes, habits, and temptations that he had developed before he committed his life to Christ still hounded him. He thought that these flaws, along with his sins, had been washed away because now he could 'do all things through Christ who strengthened him'. Now Justin was disillusioned by his inability to overcome his temper with his wife and kids. His flaws reminded him of a bad cut that wouldn't heal.
Justin reminds me of myself. Like so many men I know, I often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to personal change. We would love a twofer or threefer - solving multiple problems and issues with one big decision. But God's deal goes like this: 'Reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground' (Hosea 10:12). To God, our lives are like fields that need to be worked. Once we have worked one field of change, we move on to the next plot, where He bids us to get back to work other character flaws by tilling weed-infested soil. Sometimes this takes more time than we'd like, but we have to keep driving that tractor back and forth across the fertile earth.
As history has shown, God will give a man a desert experience to prepare him for the future. Such a desert experience happened to my brother Chris. I'll never forget the late-night phone call from a frantic lady in Arizona, who screamed, 'Come get your brother off my porch'. In other words, she wanted him out of her life because my brother was a druggie and a drinker who changed girlfriends as often as he changed T-shirts.
Chris was a messed-up guy with big muscles and a small brain, or so we thought. My family had written him off as an unreachable jerk, his own worst enemy. When I received the phone call from Arizona, Chris was using and out of control, so I helped get him admitted to a Teen challenge program in Santa Cruz, California.
Then a miracle happened. After only two weeks Chris gave his life to Christ ... and the character curving began. One year later, Chris graduated from the program and joined the staff as an intern. Within two years he went to full time and was promoted to floor director and then to center supervisor. It wasn't long before Chris's leadership skills earned him a promotion to associate director and then to director of the center. He was helping hundreds upon hundreds of men turn their lives around.
Chris devoted five years to learning, listening, and serving others. Seeing the changes God has brought into his life, a Teen Challenge board member asked Chris to bring his talents to his small company. Chris accepted and rose through the ranks to chief operating officer in only four years. After the business was sold, he became a managing partner in a financial services company that bears his name. He is my living, breathing example of what God can do in carving out a man's character.
God hasn't changed His methods of His focus when it comes to accomplishing His purposes in the lives of men. Nor has he shown that He is any less concerned with our comfort than He is with our character. God understands that the conduct of a man will never outperform the content of His character, because conduct is an expression of character. One precedes the other. Or, viewed another way, if we want change, we need character to pull it off. God made us and knows us. He designed the mainframe, the software, and the applications.
I want to be a man who is authentic, a man who is real in my walk with God, a man who walks uprightly and stands firmly on the Word of God, a man who lives humbly and is willing to let God enter my life and changed it all the way around.
Monday, November 12, 2007
May the Lord find us faithful (Part 1)
May the Lord find us faithful
God has not given us the spirit of fear,
But has given us the strength to obey.
With power and sound mind,
with love, the unfailing kind,
O be not ashamed of His way.
Chorus:
May the Lord find us faithful.
May His Word be our banner held high.
May the Lord find us faithful.
Everyday, though we live, though we die.
No man that seeketh after things of this life
is a soldier who passes the test.
Be faithful, be working,
be running, be serving,
Be searching His Word for His best.
Living or dying, may honor be Thine,
From this wretched life, You loved and forgave.
A life that is on fire,
be only our heart’s desire.
Be faithful from now to the grave.
God has not given us the spirit of fear,
But has given us the strength to obey.
With power and sound mind,
with love, the unfailing kind,
O be not ashamed of His way.
Chorus:
May the Lord find us faithful.
May His Word be our banner held high.
May the Lord find us faithful.
Everyday, though we live, though we die.
No man that seeketh after things of this life
is a soldier who passes the test.
Be faithful, be working,
be running, be serving,
Be searching His Word for His best.
Living or dying, may honor be Thine,
From this wretched life, You loved and forgave.
A life that is on fire,
be only our heart’s desire.
Be faithful from now to the grave.
As we sang this song on Sunday, many thoughts struck my mind. I took some time looking through the Bible and meditating on some of the truths in this song. Actually one truth - faithfulness.
What is faithfulness?
It seems like faithfulness is no longer such a big thing today. We rarely hear the word 'faithful' being mentioned. As the song goes, I started to think over the meaning on faithful and what does it mean by the line 'May the Lord find us faithful'.
“Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;" (Deuteronomy 7:9)
Faithfulness is a quality possessed by God! Here, we see the meaning of faithfulness. God demonstrates His faithfulness by keeping His covenant for a thousand generations, which means that God never breaks His Word. In the same way, let's ask ourselves, are we faithful in keeping our word? Do we make promises just to break them?
"Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?" (Proverbs 20:6)
People are constantly seeking to be praised, exalted and lifted up. We are always going around and proclaiming and boasting about our goodness and our glory, but rarely we can find a faithful man.
Where can we find someone who will arrange chairs without seeking to be noticed? Where can we find someone willing to do powerpoint without wanting to be recognised? Where can we find someone serving without the desire to be singled out?
So practically, what does it mean for us to be faithful?
Let's find out in our next installment of May the Lord find us faithful.
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