"See" Levels

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. (Nehemiah 6:10-12)

Nehemiah was a man who faced opposition. In chapter 6, we see that several people sought to thwart his attempts to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. But Nehemiah remained focused on his work, repairing the breaches and the broken-down sections, and the task was completed.

During his season of opposition, Nehemiah had an encounter that was unusual. His enemies hired a man to speak a “prophetic” warning, designed to make Nehemiah stop working. In verse 12 of the chapter, we see the reason why Nehemiah did not respond to the false prophet: the Lord had blessed Nehemiah with prophetic insight that kept him from falling into spiritual error. “I realized that God had not sent him…Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” 

Nehemiah was devoted to God. His prayer life supported his work ethic, and in the moments when he needed it most God blessed Nehemiah with spiritual perception. Can we say the same of ourselves?

Lord God, we long for more of You! Transform our devotional life; may it grow deeper every day. Help us to remain anchored in You so that we will not drift into error. Thank You for speaking Your truth into the hearts of Your people. We love You and we ask for Your wisdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Long Time No See

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face,  because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy. (First Thessalonians 2:17-20)

It is disheartening when we are prevented from visiting our brothers and sisters in the faith, especially those with whom we have walked through the process of salvation. Often the longing of our heart is to see them in person, and to speak to them in person, for assurances that they are indeed growing in their faith. In such moments, we can agree with the apostle Paul: our hearts have been knit together by the Divine presence and the love of God. We are separated by distance; we are together in spirit.

Lord God, thank You for saving us. Our friends in the faith whom we cannot see are in Your gaze; please love them. Please protect them. In the face our of inability to embrace our friends, we ask You to embrace them. Though our desires have been hindered by the enemy, we know that You will bring glory to Your own name—so we rejoice. Please assure our friends that they are not forgotten by You, nor by us. We ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Overarching Peace

Those who love Your law have great peace,

And nothing causes them to stumble.

(Psalm 119:165)

What does it mean to have great peace? In Strong’s Concordance, the word “great” in Psalm 119:165 is translated as the Hebrew word rab: it means abundant in quantity, size, age, number, rank, or quality. So, there is plenty of peace available for us! There’s so much, in fact, that our sense of peace can outrank every other feeling and emotion.

Galatians 5:22 reminds us that one of the qualities of the Holy Spirit is peace. If our lives are filled with the Spirit of Christ, then His peace will permeate us. Life’s trials will lose the power to generate a spirit of despair, because there is a greater power at work in us: the Spirit of peace. In the presence of great peace, fear cannot establish a foothold.  We who love the law of the Lord are positioned to receive this wonderful gift… God’s great peace, in great measure, for His great glory.

Lord God, today we declare our love for Your law. Thank You for allowing us to experience great peace. Please let it overflow from our lives into the lives of everyone we meet. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

Praying The Word

I am rushing out of the apartment and don’t have time to write a reflective post, but I didn’t want to leave without sharing with you all. Let’s make this Scripture passage our prayer for today.

Psalm 119:33-40

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.

Delay? Okay.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” (Jeremiah 33:1-3)

There are times when the people of God suffer confinement. It may be in a physical prison, or (figuratively speaking) it may be in a season of delay: permissions are not granted, projects remain uncompleted, we find ourselves unable to move forward, and we feel stuck. In our season of confinement, we can be encouraged by this passage.

The Lord God spoke to His imprisoned servant, the prophet Jeremiah. A promise was given to him: Call to Me; I will answer you; I will tell you some things that will amaze you. Our question for today: Is God’s assurance of His answer sufficient for us?

Sometimes, in our confinement, we don’t want prophetic insights: our only desire is for release and we don’t take satisfaction in anything else. Sometimes we are reluctant to stay imprisoned and listen to God. My prayer is that, for all of us in such situations, we will be empowered to ignore our personal discomfort so that we can delight in the word of the Lord. It is the revealed word of God that gives us the strength to endure our season of confinement.

So, Lord God, we declare our rest in You. We may be confined, but we are at peace. Our ears are open to hear Your voice. We know that, at Your appointed time, You will bring deliverance as You see fit. We thank You for this, and we thank You for hearing our prayer. Your timing is perfect: we will joyfully wait for You to speak and act. Amen.

Petition As Disruption

For some of us, prayers revolve around the classic petitions of Christendom: the Lord’s prayer, the Jesus prayer, or some other prayer. Some of us memorized prayers in childhood; others of us may simply pray from the heart, based on our immediate circumstances. In all our prayers, though, do we make room to pray for the salvation and deliverance of persons whose lives are filled with evil words and actions?

There is a verse that is well-known in the faith community: "Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly." (Deuteronomy 32:35) If taken as a stand-alone verse, we may assume that God’s desire is satisfied when the wicked are destroyed. But, tucked away in the book of Ezekiel, there is another verse: "'Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?' This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. 'Instead, don't I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?'" (Ezekiel 18:23) That is God’s heart.

So, as we pray, let’s take time to pray for the deliverance of those whose lives have been patterned on evil. Let’s agree with God. Yes, He punishes the wicked, because sin carries consequences. However, He is calling everyone to repentance, so that all of us might experience God’s life and God’s love. He longs for every person to enter into abundant, eternal life in Him. Our prayers can be the catalyst that moves a person from wickedness to righteousness. Let’s pray to that end.

Lord God, You know the pains that wicked people cause. You have given them free will, and their life-choices have broken Your heart and ours. Please send circumstances to them that will move their hearts away from wickedness and turn them towards righteousness, so that they can be saved. May Heaven expand with a worldwide conversion of souls. We ask this in the name of Christ Jesus, the One who redeems. Amen. 

No Need To Worry

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-12)

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

During yesterday's sermon in Bronx Bethany's Ministerio Latino, Pastor Martha shared from the intersection of Deuteronomy 6 and Matthew 6:

• We serve the Lord, who has a track record of providing for His people.
• We have the privilege and the responsibility to reflect on the word of God, covering our household with the remembrance of who He is and what He does.
• We, because of Him, can live every day without worrying about temporal needs.

God has not changed. In our moments of need, we can be encouraged that the Lord who fed ancient Israel in the wilderness will feed us; the Lord who brought water out of the rock can satisfy our thirst; the Lord who caused Israel’s clothing not to wear out can clothe us (see Deuteronomy 8:1-10). We can claim the prophetic promise and move from the land of servitude to the land of supply.

As we wait for God's promises to show up in our circumstances, how ought we pray? Instead of continually asking God to do things for us, let’s choose to thank God for what He has already done in us. He is our Father. He is trustworthy. God is not worried. His Spirit, who lives in us, is the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23a). May His character inform our conduct today.

Speak God’s word to yourself and to others.

Seek God’s kingdom and righteousness.

See God’s hand of miraculous, abundant provision.

Celebrate God's eternal faithfulness.

In The Produce Aisle.

With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;
He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:20-21)

Those of us who have been Christians for a long time may have memorized Proverbs 18:21 at some point during our faith journey. Whether from personal study or practical experience, we've seen that words spoken over us by other people can be powerful. But, are we diligent to watch our own words? Just as food fills our stomach, speech fills our spirit. Our words are the nutrients that can build us up or wear us down. 

We can produce love, or indifference, or jealousy, or compassion, simply by speaking. Our body takes in each word— even the words we have spoken in reference to others— and Scripture asserts that the words hold so much power that they can affect us for ill or for good: death and life are in the power of the tongue. As we go through our day, let’s be careful to fill others (and ourselves) with the healthiest fruit our mouth can bear: words that please God and bless people.

Lord Jesus, Living Word, help me to speak words of life today. Amen.

For The Sake Of His Servant

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. (Second Kings 8:19)

Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign. But the Lord had mercy on them and felt pity for them. He extended his favor to them because of the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day. (Second Kings 13:22-23)

Long after Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David had died, the Lord continued to honor His word concerning them and their households. The evil acts of some of their descendants, heinous as they were, did not have the power to nullify the covenant God had made with these men of old.

Are you seeing your children or grandchildren living in a way that dishonors God? Pray for them, and take heart. Though there may be seasons in which it’s difficult to watch family members drifting from the faith, you can be sure that God will uphold His word to you. If He has given you a word concerning your descendants, then don’t be swayed by what you see happening in front of you. Hold fast to His word.

Our God keeps His promises!

On-Time Delivery.

Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. (Daniel 6:16-17)

Daniel spent the night in the lions’ den. Was Daniel delivered? Yes. However, let’s take a few minutes to consider Daniel’s plight. From a sunset to a sunrise, he was placed in a dire situation that could not be changed.

We are sometimes tempted to believe that the process of deliverance is a preventing process that keeps us from experiencing situations like Daniel’s. We think that we are saved from crises. Daniel’s experience reminds us that, sometimes, we are saved through crises. Our great testimony is not that we avoided unjust actions; it is that we have experienced unjust actions, survived, and were vindicated.

King Darius’s words and actions in Daniel 6:16-17 may have seemed contradictory, but they were not. The king knew that he could not alter the laws of the land, and he knew that God had the power to supersede the laws of men. So, even though the king had to use signet rings as proof of a binding law, the king also used his own mouth to testify to the truth: God will deliver.

Has your faith caused you to be punished under a binding law? Have no fear. The law can be upheld, as it must, and the Lord God can deliver His people. “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:27) Be at peace in the den. The lions won't harm you. Evening will become morning, and you will be vindicated.

A Psalm And A Prayer

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Lord God, thank You. You give us the power to sow, even as we sow in tears. Today some of us are walking back and forth, weeping. Some of us are captive to the consequences of past sin and error. Our prayer is that we will stay faithful to You, the Faithful One. We will keep praying, and thanking, and giving, and serving, because we have Your assurance that there will come a day when we will rejoice. Though we long for the days of harvest, we also long to be found trustworthy in the days of sowing. So we thank You for the bag of seed, and we thank You for the fruit that has not yet appeared. We know that Your promise still stands: seedtime and harvest will not cease. We believe You, Lord. Thank You for being with us in every moment of the cycle. Please receive our praise today, in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Pray-Tell.

And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him (Luke 9:18a)

Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; (Luke 9:28 and 9:32a)

Some of us are incredibly privileged regarding our access to ministry resources. We can hear Christian broadcasts, or we can read books written by Christian authors. Some of us attend seminars from time to time; some of us are studying in seminaries. Some of us get to hang out with amazing ministry leaders, learning from their years of experience. But there is no greater connection than when we, led by the Spirit of God, are able to participate in the process and mystery that is prayer.

Like the disciples in Luke 9, we may find that challenges show up when we seek to engage the ministry of prayer. There is the risk of merely being a spectator, watching and listening to others’ Spirit-led prayers without adding our voice of agreement (Luke 9:18). There is the risk of falling asleep (Luke 9:32). There is the risk of entering into worship and service paradigms that are out of line with God’s desire (Luke 9:33-35).

There are these risks, and yet we are drawn to be with our Lord daily in the place of prayer. Let’s embrace the opportunities we’ll have today to pray. It is our privilege.

Lord, help us to pray.

Retrieval System

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I shall go.” So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. (Second Kings 6:1-6)

There are times in our lives where we need a miracle, or where we know of someone else who needs a miracle. In those moments, we can take encouragement in the testimony of Scripture. In the Bible we see that the power and anointing of God can cause the miraculous to occur. In the Second Kings 6 passage, the response of iron in water was transformed: the thing that would normally sink was made to float.

What is our “axe head”? What are the things in our lives that have been lost? Things borrowed? Things owned? Lost dreams? Lost desires? Expectations that fell so far that we assumed they were irretrievable?

“Then the man of God said, ‘Where did it fall?’” (Second Kings 6:6a)

Today, let’s appeal to God for deliverance. Let’s petition Him regarding the places where we have lost things that we need to recover. Let’s be open to His leading, trusting that He has not lost the power to do what seems impossible. Let’s even be open to His using people as instruments of His power, just as He used Elisha. Who knows? He might even use us.

Lord, we are Your people. Please see us, please hear us, as we point to the places where we’ve lost things of value. God, have mercy on us: restore to us our property, our dreams, our longings, things we had borrowed, and things we have owned. Equip us with a believing faith in You. We know that You still have people on the earth who, like Elisha, believe and execute the miraculous. Lord, we thank You for the chance to see Your power at work. And, Lord, we stand ready to participate. Axe head, we call you to submit to the power of God: float to the surface today. We pray in the name of Christ Jesus, our Deliverer. Amen.

Understandably.

Then David gave to his son Solomon the plan of the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms and the room for the mercy seat; and the plan of all that he had in mind, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the details of this pattern.” (First Chronicles 28:11-13 and 28:19)

Whether we are constructing a building, or writing a song, or preaching a sermon, there is the possibility of our experiencing God as our Divine Director—the One guiding every step we take.  

Like King David of old, we may have things that we want to accomplish for God: things we want to do for Him and for His kingdom, just because we love Him so much. In David’s case, the Lord did not permit him to build the temple, but He did allow David to receive the plans and to prepare all the supplies needed for the work (see First Chronicles 22:5-10).

It’s an incredible privilege to be directed by the Lord. It is He who reveals to us what we can do, and what we must delegate to others. When we experience the desire to do something for the glory of God, let’s pray for God to help us and to show us His plan for transforming our desire into His reality.

O Lord God, Source of Divine direction,

Grace me to receive Your pure instruction;

Make me understand Your prescribed pattern.

Guide my hand, that I might build a temple,

Or perhaps to leave raw material,

The next generation to build withal:

The gift of everlasting legacy.

Lord, write Your heart-desire into me.

-G.A.R.

Tell What God Has Done: It Is The Better Story (by Rev. Ronald A. Benjamin)

Everyone is telling something. Talk shows; social media, news networks, texting, magazines, periodicals, mobile apps, news alerts…there is no scarcity of news. In addition to those who are telling there are those who are listening…there is a desire to know what is happening, what is being said or what’s not being said. I have watch several persons whose attention is constantly on their mobile devices catching up on the latest tweets. There is no scarcity of news…good and bad.

For over two years I have been conducting a weekly Bible study on Wednesdays in the Gospel of Luke. We began the study on Ash Wednesday intending to do it for the Lenten season. So we started our study in chapter 9:51 which informs us of Jesus’ deliberate decision to go to Jerusalem knowing that He was going to be crucified. Since then, we have completed the book and we resumed our study at chapter one. We are now in chapter eight.

Our recent study was the account of the deliverance of the Gerasenes demoniac (8:26-39).

That whole account actually began with Jesus telling the disciples to sail to the other side of the lake, 8:22. While on their way they encountered a storm which threatened their lives. Jesus was sleeping in the boat (I cannot imagine where He found a place to sleep on such small vessel) during the storm. In their fear, the disciples woke Him up and pretty much accused him of not caring that they were going to die. (If anyone was in danger of dying it would have been the sleeping passenger). Jesus spoke directly to the storm and it ceased. They did not abort the trip. They continued to the other side.

Upon arriving on the shores, Jesus was met by a man who was possessed by demons…legion. A legion could include between four to six thousand troops. Through direct command again, Jesus delivered the man from this severe case of demonic possession. There was some loss to valuable assets in the process because an entire herd of pigs were drowned in the lake due to the demons that came out of the man and entered them.

Now comes the time of reporting. The swineherds went to the city and reported what had happened. The citizens came out to see what had happened. They saw the man who was healed. He was sitting down at the feet of Jesus; he was clothed and he was in his right mind. The response of the people was fear. A human, a person was made well. The people saw the healed man. But his healing meant nothing to them. Instead of celebrating the amazing healing of the man, they became fearful and most likely concerned that there could be the possibility of more economic loss should any more demons got into more pigs. So they asked Jesus to leave their region.

The man who was healed was now begging Jesus to allow him to leave the area with Him. Instead of allowing him to leave with Him, Jesus told him to go home and report of the great things that God had done for him. At that very moment, there were several things that could be reported. But Jesus’s instructions to the man was very specific: “…describe what great things God has done for you”. The man could have reported about the drowning of the pigs; he could have reported the actions and request of the people. However, he was told to report what God had done for him. Jesus knew that it would be of greater worth to talk about what He had done than what the people or the demons had done.

Not everything needs to be reported. Some reports only stir up strife; some stir up anger; some endanger our souls because they make us gossipers and tale bearers. When we choose to report what God has done for us we become messengers of hope and blessings. Isaiah describes the beauty of the feet of the one who spreads good news: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings news of happiness, who announces salvation and says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’”, 52:7.

The decision not to report some things may displease some people because they take pleasure in negative things. By being intentional to make known only what God has done places us on the Highway of holiness. It takes away the opportunity from Satan to breed discord and dissension. The next time you give a report, make sure it is about what God has done for you. You can’t say the wrong thing in talking about what God has done.