success | Revelations From The Road

Steps To Peace

November 25, 2011 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 21, 2011

I heard a verse of scripture this week that spelled out four steps to Peace that I wanted to share with you. Then just yesterday I read another verse that said almost the same thing and I thought it was a “revelation” that God really wanted me to share.

The first verse was Phillipians 4:6 from the New Living Translation, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” I love scripture that seems to spell things out in steps. Step 1 – Don’t worry! Worry shows fear and fear is the opposite of faith. Many times in the Bible we read; fret not, don’t worry, don’t be anxious, don’t let your heart be troubled, and many other ways of saying the same thing. Worry shows a lack of trust in God and His Word.

Step 2 – Pray. And not just about the big things but pray about everything. Nothing is too small for God to want to help you with. Pray at all times with all kinds of prayers, (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer is simply talking, and listening, to God.

Step 3 – Express your needs. Tell God what you need, what you want. Now, He will straighten you out on the difference in your wants and your needs. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus said to say it like this, “Give us this day our daily bread,” (Matthew 6:11), give us what we need today. The more you talk to Him, the better you’ll understand what you need and what you just want. But if you are in line with His will, He will give you your wants too.

Step 4 – Thank Him. God knows what’s best for you so we must give Him thanks for His decisions. We must thank Him for what He’s done for us in the past, what He’s doing now, (whether we are aware of it or not), and what He has planned for our future. It’s a good plan you know, (Jeremiah 29:11). Always give thanks, (Ephesians 5:20).

So there you are: Don’t worry – Pray – Express your needs, and Thank God; four steps to peace. But I told you earlier I found another scripture that said almost the same thing. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If you’re rejoicing, you’re not worrying, pray and give thanks. We say we want to know God’s will for us, well, there it is. Do these things and you will find peace and a whole lot more.

What A Tragedy

September 20, 2011 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given September 20, 2011

Imagine this: Someone has just experienced a tragic loss; they’ve lost a loved one, ended a relationship, lost a job, lost something very valuable, had an accident, or got a serious disease. They can’t understand why God would allow this to happen to them. They are suffering and get so mad at God that they reject Jesus, renouncing Him as Lord and Savior. What a tragedy! Why does God allow things like this to happen? I suggest because He loves us. You think this is crazy, don’t you?

What about a coach who “allows” his players time in the weight room, hard practice drills, and exhausting activities accompanied by pain. Why does he make them go through all this? Could it be he wants them to improve their strength, skills, and abilities so they will have success later? Do you think that’s crazy?

I’m suggesting we all go through trials, loss, and pain. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). If we’re all going to suffer at times, wouldn’t it be better to trust God and see what we can learn in our trials; to be strengthened by the situation and stay faithful to Him? In our loss we can get closer to God and have His joy and peace, even without what we lost. Maybe we were putting too much emphasis on what we lost and God wanted to get us back in balance because He loves us and knows what would happen in the future if we continued the way we were going. “.. he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6).

Compared to eternity, we are only in this life for less than a second. Think about it…how tragic would it be for someone to get mad at God and give up eternity with Him because of a loss we suffered during that fraction of a second. And keep in mind that if we stay faithful and allow God to minister to us through the trial, when we get to Heaven, we’ll have no loss. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10). We’ll be healed, reunited with loved ones, and realize how insignificant the other things were. What a tragedy…giving up eternity with God because of a one second loss!

So, if you’re going through something right now, if you’ve suffered some tragic loss, ask God to show you how you can be “refined” as gold and come out much better on the other side. “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

I Will Not Be Moved!

August 20, 2011 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given August 16, 2011

I will not be moved. I have my feet solidly planted on the rock, (Luke 6:48), the firm foundation and I will not be moved! The devil can’t touch me. He can only try to get me to step off into the sand, but I will not be moved! He can try to lure me out from under the wings of protection (Psalms 91), or the strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). I will not be moved! He can try to get me to believe his lies about fame and fortune but I’m already a part of the Blessing of Abraham, (Galatians 3:14) and I cannot be moved! The devil can try to entice me to exit off the straight and narrow path, (Matthew 7:14) but I will not be moved! He will try to tempt me with my own evil desires (James 1:14) but guess what… I will not be moved! He is going around like a roaring lion seeking to devour me, (1 Peter 5:8) but he can’t because I will not be moved! I may have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, (Psalm 23:4) sometime but I will not be moved because God is with me. The devil may try to make me believe I’m nothing but I will not be moved because greater is He that is in me, (1 John 4:4) than he is. The devil will try to remind me of my past but I have been forgiven, (1 John 1:9) and I will not be moved! I’ll remind him about his future and the lake of fire, (Revelation 20:10).

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalms 18:1-2).

When you are tempted, have an errant thought, make a mistake, become fearful, or get discouraged say this out loud, “I WILL NOT BE MOVED!” Copy and paste this and read it daily as a declaration that you are the victor and not the victim. Together…we – will – not – be – moved!

Jesus In The House

August 6, 2011 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given August 3, 2011

I said this on Facebook this week, “If Jesus comes into your house, there are more important things to be done than cooking supper.” I want to expand on that today. In Luke 9:10-17, we have the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. Keep in mind that was 5000 men, surely there were some ladies and kids there as well. When it was time for supper, the disciples wanted Jesus to send the people into town for food. They were thinking practical, money, worldly. Jesus basically said, “Tell them to sit down and I’ll feed them.” “What do you have I can work with?” You know the rest of the story; all were fed with lots left over. They didn’t have to worry, Jesus was there.

Now, let’s go to Mary and Martha’s house a little later in Luke 10. Martha was the owner of the house and she had about 70-some people come in with Jesus to visit. Martha was in the kitchen preparing the meal for that crowd and got upset with her sister Mary for not helping. Mary was listening to what Jesus had to say. Martha sort of got a little huffy with Jesus for not making Mary help. Jesus told her Mary was doing the, “better” thing, (v. 42). Martha was thinking practical, worldly, I-gotta-do-it-myself. I don’t know if she’d heard of how Jesus fed 5000+ people but if He could do that, surely He could provide food for 73! She didn’t have to worry, Jesus was in the house.

In this time of economic uncertainty, our thinking too often is practical, money, worldly, I-gotta-do-it-myself. I’ve got to make a living, make a deal, make a way for my family. Remember what happened to the folks at Babel? What did they say? “..let US make brick, let US build us a city and a tower, let US make us a name,”, (Genesis 11:3-4). They were thinking of doing it without God and He put a stop to it. That’s the Babylonian system and our government is pushing it hard. We, as followers of Jesus, have been added into the blessing of Abraham and we don’t have to, “do it ourselves”. Let’s try God’s system! Jesus is in the house!

Big Baby!

July 23, 2011 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given July 23, 2011

When we hear this term we usually take it as a negative thing unless you’re talking about a 12 pound baby at birth. Now that’s a big baby! But as we get older, to be called a baby is a cut. What if we saw a mother carrying her 12 year old child into church? Ridiculous right? What if it was because she had carried him everywhere he needed to go because she didn’t want him to fall down? He never learned to walk! As we know, a baby must fall down some while learning to walk but they get back up and try it again. We fall down, we get up. We fall down, we get up, and we learn to walk. How does that compare with our Christian walk? “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

What if you went to visit a first grade classroom and there in the first row was a 40 year old man all scrunched up in that little desk? Ridiculous right? He had not progressed in school because he had not followed the teacher’s instructions, had not read his books, had not studied, nor done his assignments. He had not practiced anything he’d learned either. So there he sits in the classroom and the church pew, never progressing to the next level because he was content to just come and sit. What a shame. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,” (2 Timothy 2:15).

These examples are extreme cases and would never happen in society but they do happen in the church. But it’s not too late! God, our Father, is right there beside us saying, “Come on now get up and try it again. I’ll help you.” Jesus, our teacher is saying, “Students, here’s your text book, (Bible), read it and follow my example.” “Do your homework and if you need any help, I’ve sent my assistant, (Holy Spirit) to guide you.” “Learn the material, put it into practice and you will be promoted.” Today, you are encouraged to step out and walk¸ trot, then run. You are encouraged to do the work and try for that promotion. That’s the plan of the Master and it makes Him happy.