- Part 155

Let God Drive

February 20, 2006 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given January 24, 2006
I’m the kind of guy that has to plan everything. I guess it’s a curse. If I’m doing a presentation or teaching a class, I have to have everything thought out and every potential problem solved. If I’m driving somewhere unfamiliar, I use Google Maps and my Delorme software to plan every turn. And you know what happens….I rarely think of everything and frequently make wrong turns.

But you know, if I’m attending a presentation, going to a class, or riding with someone else, I don’t get stressed out at all! If someone else has the responsibility for planning or driving, I’m cool. God brought this to my attention recently about the driving thing and reminded me how I could relieve myself of all that stress. He basically said, “Let Me drive.” “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7”

I know that’s what I’m supposed to do. But how many times do we know what to do but don’t do it? Shame on me and on us. God wants to drive. He wants to direct our lives and take us places. He says, “Calm down son, I’ll take care of it. Just move over and let me drive.”

If this thing in my life is a curse, I have the power to bring it to nought, (1 Corinthians 1:28). When I feel the stress coming on, I need to say, “Hey, not this time! Father, here’s the wheel. You drive.” Then, sit back and enjoy the trip!

The Blessing Chase – Part 2

February 19, 2006 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given Spring 2004
As I mentioned in the previous post, most people want to be blessed and, I hope we realize, we can create an atmosphere of blessing in which blessings will more frequently come our way. I heard something the other day that reminded me of this revelation of blessings I received a couple of years ago.

I got a clearer picture of the relationship between us and these blessings God has for us. If we pursue blessings, they will usually outrun us. So how do we “get together” with our blessings? The answer is in Deuteronomy 28: “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 28:2”

Here’s how I see it. If we chase after blessings and pursue them, if we spend our energy and resources trying to get blessings, they’ll usually stay just ahead of us and are rarely obtained. Now, I’m talking about the blessings of God. Sure, we can attain what this world says are blessings but the Bible says they are fleeting, Proverbs 21:6.

But….if we pursue God, if we focus on catching Him, then, as it says in Deuteronomy, the blessings will overtake us! They’ll even jump out on us from the side of the road! Another way of saying this is: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33″

Pursue God, love people, be a servant, give and you’ll find many good things overtaking you and being added to you.

The Blessing Bubble – Part 1

February 16, 2006 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given Spring of 2004
If you’d ask people if they would like a blessing, most of them would say, “Why, of course. Bless me!” Most everyone likes to be blessed and, for Christians, that’s part of the benefits of having God as your father. However, those same people might say they aren’t receiving all the blessings they desire. So why do some of God’s children get blessed more than others?

I would offer this answer: We can create an atmosphere of blessing for ourselves that makes it easier for God to send blessings our way. You might visualize this as a, “blessing bubble”, that surrounds us wherever we go. Here’s what Peter says about it: “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it. 1 Peter 3:9”

By blessing others, being nice to EVERYBODY, and even going about looking for ways to bless people, God will see you as someone who is in the place to receive a blessing of your own. Look at it this way; if you’ve got two kids and one of them is a stinker and the other does everything right….come on now…your tendancy will be to give the “good” kid what he asks for. You love both of them the same because they’re your children but….isn’t that the way it is? I think God’s the same way. So, go about doing good and see if blessings don’t start showing up around you, in your “bubble”.

I Don’t Work For You Anymore

February 14, 2006 by Bill 1 Comment

Given January 27, 2005
Jesus told the Jews when they were questioning Him about who was their father, ” You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” John 8:44. I imagine they got a little riled about that as evidenced by them saying He was demon possessed. Well, that got me thinking….

Let’s say you work for a hard boss; someone who’s unreasonable, orders you around and takes advantage of you as a worker. Well, you get fed up with it and God releases you to quit and get another job. So you do. Then this old boss of yours comes to your new job and starts telling you what to do and ordering you around just like he did before. Well now you can tell him, “Hey, look here buddy. I don’t have to do what you say, I don’t work for you anymore! Hit the road, Jack!”

That’s just the way the old devil, our former boss, tries to do us. When we get saved, we move over to a new life, old things are passed away and all things become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. We’ve got a new boss! But the old boss, (the devil), still comes around and tries to trick us into doing what he says. And why in the world we do it, I don’t know, but sometimes we listen to that rascal!

But listen here….if you’re saved, Jesus is your boss and you don’t have to do anything the old boss says no matter how he lies and makes it sound good. Tell him to, “…hit the road, Jack!” And if he gives you any trouble, pull out your sword of the Spirit, (which is the Word), and jab him with it. He’ll leave.

The Still, Small Voice

February 9, 2006 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given February 4, 2006
I’ve heard the question several times lately from a pulpit, “Do you hear from God?”, “Does God speak to you?” Of course, I can’t hear what people’s answers are but it’s obvious from this blog that sometimes God speaks to me.

I sense that people who think, (and I mean they think), they haven’t heard from God either can’t tell when He speaks or are not listening. As I’ve mentioned, God usually speaks….now wait a minute, let me explain. I’ve never heard the actual voice of God. When I say He speaks, I mean I get an unmistakable impression or vision or thought inside me that is related to what I’m doing or thinking. And, it usually happens when I’m praying, listening to teaching tapes, or music, all of which I do while driving which is where I got the title of this blog.

OK, back to what I was saying; God usually speaks to me during times when I’m alone with Him, when it’s quiet and I have no distractions around me. I can’t recall that God has tried to holler at me at a ball game or tried to get my attention while I was watching TV or something. He doesn’t do it that way. “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still, small voice.” 1 Kings 19:12

I think God is speaking to us all the time but most of the time we can’t hear Him because the “noise” of our lives is all around us. We have to be quiet, in a quiet place to hear from God. Otherwise, we miss that, “still, small voice”.

Try it. Get in a quiet place, sit down or kneel down and ask God to speak to you. Say something like, “Here I am Father, I love you. What do you want to tell me?” Then, be quiet and listen! It will be uncomfortable trying to be quiet. Don’t ask again, just be quiet and listen for as long as it takes. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Now, you may be convicted to repent and ask forgiveness but, if so, that’s what God is telling you to do first. He’s speaking…are we listening?

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