"Stay Small"

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."  Proverbs 16:18

There seems to be a "trend" in modern Christianity for bigger and bigger.  Mega churches and large ministries are becoming the norm.  Pastors want their churches to be the largest one in town.  Many are working hard to have churches that have more attendees than the next church.  Ministers want to be prophesied to about having a world-wide evangelistic ministry.  Many evangelists, or "big" name ministers won't even go to speak at another church or conference unless promised large sums of money.  It is becoming all about crowds, large congregations, making a name for yourself, being well known and popular. 

If God has called you to a mega ministry, serving a large congregation, or ministering world-wide do it following Him and for His glory.  But be on guard, we have seen many ministries and ministers get so "big" that they forgot God.  They become self-serving, people-pleasing, full of pride about what they have done, what they are doing and "who" they are. 

But to all of us whether we are used in mighty or small ways by God, there is a warning-- we must keep ourselves humble before the Lord.  The key to staying humble when God is using you is to "stay little in your own eyes".  When God starts enlarging your tents, when He promotes you, when He calls you to do a greater work for Him, don't think more highly of yourself than you should.

Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel.  He was head and shoulders taller than the other men.  He was anointed by the Prophet Samuel.  The Spirit would come upon him.  He prophesied.  He was used by the Lord.  But Saul fell.  He disobeyed God.  Therefore, God took the kingdom from him.  We have the reason why he fell and our answer to keep from falling.  "And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?" (1 Samuel 15:17) The answer is-- when God is using you to do His work, stay little in your own eyes.  Don't look at yourself as bigger than you are.  You aren't the big one, God is.

Have a great day.  Stay small in your own eyes when God is using you.  (Don't get too big for your own spiritual britches.) 

 

"God Knows The Plan"

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

"I know, declares the Lord".  We don't always know the plans that God has for us.  When Joseph was in the pit, he didn't know the plan God had for him.  When he was in prison, or serving as a slave in Egypt, he didn't know God's plan for his life.  He didn't know that God had planned for him to rise to position and power in Egypt in order to save the nation of Israel.  But God knew.

When God told Abraham to leave his father's house and go to a place where He would show him, Abraham didn't know that God had a plan to make him the father of many nations.  But God did.

When Moses was on the backside of the desert tending sheep, he didn't know the plan that God had for his life.  When his mother put him in a basket as a baby and placed him in the Nile River, she didn't know the plan that God had for her or her son.  But God knew. 

While David was tending sheep for his father, he didn't know the plan God had for him.  He didn't know that one day he would be anointed King of Israel.  When Mary was growing up, she didn't know the plan that God had for her to be the mother of the Messiah.  They didn't know, but God knew.

We don't always know the plan God has for our lives.  We may speculate.  We may hope.  We may dream about or wish for a certain plan, but we don't always know.  We don't always have to know, until God choses to reveal it to us.  But it should bring us comfort to know that not only does He have a plan for our lives, but He knows what His plan is.  It should bring us peace and reassurance to know that He knows.  It should strengthen our trust in Him, that even when we don't know, He knows.

Have a great day.  We don't always know the plan that God has for us, but He knows what it is.  As long as He knows, then we know we can trust Him in whatever it is.     

"Be Successful"

"Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."  Proverbs 3:9, 10

Everyone wants to be prosperous.  We want to have plenty, and even more than plenty.  There is a key to achieving it.  It is called giving.  When we give God the first fruits of all our increase, He gives it back to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  There is a promise that when we give Him the tithes and offerings, He will rebuke the devour for our sake. 

In this verse it is talking about material things-- money, crops, etc.  But there are other ways to be prosperous as well.  The word prosper means to be successful.  We can be successful in our journey through life, in our soul, in our business dealings, in our work for the Kingdom, in the ministry God has called us to, and so on.  But the route to prosperity, in any area, comes one way.  "Honor the Lord."

We said earlier that it comes through giving.  It comes when we give honor the Lord.  The word honor is the same word as "glory".  When we glorify God, when we do what we do for His glory, when we keep Him in mind, when we honor Him-- by obeying His commands, by seeking Him first, by doing what He requires-- He in turn makes us prosperous.  This is when success will come.  In other words, He fills our "barns with plenty".  Our "vats burst forth with new wine".  "Our way will be prosperous".  We will be "fruitful in every good work". 

Have a great day.  The key to prosperity (success) is to honor the Lord.

For further reading:
Psalm 1:1-3
Joshua 1:8
Roman 1:10 
3 John 1:2
Colossians 1:10

"A Reason To Rejoice"

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24

Today I don't know what I may face or what I may go through, but I know that I can still rejoice and be glad in this day.  The Apostle knew this when he pinned the words, "... we glory in tribulations.." (Romans 5:3)

So today I might find myself walking in a dark place, but I can rejoice because Jesus is the Light.  I might go through the fire but He will be the fourth man in the fire with me.  I might go through the storm but He still speaks, "peace be still", to it.  I might face enemies, but I can rejoice because He fights my battles for me.  I might face many temptations, but He makes a way of escape in everyone.  I may find myself in lack, want and need.  But I can rejoice anyway because my God shall supply all my need.  If I become weak today, His strength will be made perfect in my weakness.  I may need wisdom, but He will give it to my freely. 

I won't rejoice because of the tribulations, problem, trials, trying situations, but I will rejoice in spite of them.  The reason is because "You (The Lord) are with me".  I never face them alone, in my own strength, or by my own power and ability.  He is with me.  He will give me all that He has and all that I need to make it through them.  He will endue me with power, strength, grace, understanding, deliverance, healing, and anything else I need to make it through the day.  So, when you have everything you need, in every situation you face, and you know that God is supplying it because He loves you and is with you, you don't have a good reason to do anything but rejoice.

Have a great day.  When going through difficulties, we can rejoice because the Lord is right there with us providing all that we need to make it through them. 

"Mercy For Today"

"O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever."  Psalm 136:2

Each verse of Psalm 136-- all 26 of them-- ends with, "for his mercy endureth for ever."  If you read each verse leaving out this ending, you will see that it paints a picture of how truly great, mighty, awesome and powerful God is.  He is the God of gods.  The Lord of lords.  He created the sun, moon and stars.  He defeated great nations, kings and kingdoms.  He did signs, wonders and miracles.  He brought judgment upon oppressors and the wicked.  He is a deliverer.  Keeps His promises.  He makes provision for and takes care of His people. 

Even though He is so great, mighty and powerful; and even though He is God and does not have to answer to anyone nor seek the approval of any; and even though He is so highly exalted above everything and anyone else-- He is also a merciful God whose mercies endure forever. 

This all powerful, all knowing, all present God is a God who is full of mercy.  He shows compassion, kindness and benevolence to those who are so undeserving of any goodness.  He is gracious and gives favor.  He bestows His blessings on us.  He forgives our sins and heals our diseases.  This is why we are reminded repeatedly that His mercy endures forever.  It isn't here today and gone tomorrow.  It didn't cease after the Old Testament.  It didn't stop after the New Testament.  He is a merciful God forever.  This means He is as merciful to us today in our faults, failures and short comings as He was back then and has always been.  His mercy endures forever because He is Mercy and He is Eternal.

Have a great day.  God's mercy endures forever.... even today.