Walking Miracles

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

It is now time to step into a world that most people avoid. It is the world of Godly judgment and righteousness. Most of society love to hear about how God loves them no matter what and that God’s arms are open so wide, how He has closed His eyes to their short comings, and how He doesn’t even smell the stench that has entangled their lives. All of these things bring a great smile to my face and they are even fun to preach about. However, we must remember that the God of this universe, as laid out in scripture, is also a just God and is full of righteousness and truth. God has not closed His eyes to your sin and yes, his olfactory (the smelling part of a nose) is not broken. He sees it all and smells it all, but has chosen to not make you pay the consequences by allowing Jesus Christ to die for our short comings and take on the punishment for our depravity. Sin is not to be looked at lightly and the fact that we are human does not give us a get out of jail free card whenever we choose to jump into the deep end of the world and its muck and mire. God has made a way to continue relationship and yet, we will always suffer the consequences for our sin.

I saw this article that made me laugh, as the person writing it was a bit extreme and possibly is the type of person who has painted his car and his house with messages of God’s destruction. But this title was so true and it brings into the light the balance of how the Lord’s forgiveness and love is applied.

What Happens In Vegas
… Is RECORDED In Heaven!

Being from Vegas myself and watching the gaming business exploit people and find ways to tempt its visitors and residence with destruction has been very sad and heart breaking. While I was a pastor in Las Vegas, there were many prayers sent out asking the Lord for direction of how to make a difference in a place that is trying to drag everyone to the pit. I do believe that God is doing wonderful things in Las Vegas and some of the most wonderful people I have ever met have been placed there to help keep the Lord’s name shining bright.

The point of this man’s article is based out of the book of Revelations.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” -Revelation 20:12

I cannot even begin to explain to you what this will look like or mean to each of us. However, I do know that there will be a time to give an account for every word that has been spoken, attitude formed and action agreed to. This scripture is not one that has a lot of popularity today and I would be shocked to see it placed in a church growth book of messages to get more people in your church. And yet, the fact that the God of scripture is loving and righteous at the same time must be up held for all to see. He does care about the sin in your life. He does want you to be a good husband, wife, father, mother, child, friend, neighbor, employee, boss, and stranger. Choosing to follow the Lord in these areas does not earn your way into heaven. He has already taken care of that part of the equation.

Ultimately, the goal is not based upon anything we have or experience here on this earth. It is based upon that future time in heaven with our maker. There are many horrible decisions that I have made in my past and will have to stand before my God and face those head on. But starting today, right now, right here, I can make decisions to be able to stand in front of the creator of the universe and hear the words spoken in Matthew 25:21.

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

And so can you!

God does love you and has a great plan for you. Even if yesterday was full of great shame and self-disappointment. Today is a new day; full of new opportunities to honor the Lord and be an example for others to see what kind of miracles our God is capable of. Your life is that walking miracle!

What Do We Fear?

The next portion of our study, out of Isaiah 11, brings us to a subject that seems to only bring confusion for the Christian of the 20th century. People are taught about a loving God that is only full of good and promises. If this is all that is to our God then why do we need to fear Him? Why did Jesus delight in the fear of the Lord? There are many religions out there that take pieces of scripture they like and create the God that makes sense to them and that is comfortable. As Christian men and women, we do not believe that is an accurate action to take. We believe that we take scripture and apply it to our daily life- even if it causes us to be uncomfortable. I believe that part of the problem in the church and with those who call themselves children of God is the casualness by which God is approached and revered. Yes, God is called many things in scripture and longs to have an intimate relationship with each of us. His hope is that His children will feel comfortable to rest in His mighty arms to find the rest and healing needed. But He is also our Almighty God, who deserves the respect and honor that brings a natural fear and awe upon approaching His very presence.

After people watching for the last 37 years and evaluating my own heart, I have learned that people worship what they fear. This may sound strange, but take a moment and see if it applies. When someone learns that they have a debilitating disease or find themselves in a relationship or financial crisis, a fear begins to set in of the future. If they try to carry it on their own then this fear begins to consume their time. That which we give our heart, mind, and time to is where our worship is given. However, if those same people believed that the Lord was more powerful than the financial crisis, health issue, or relationship turmoil, then they would keep their focus on the Lord and not spend their days reeling and tormented by the circumstances in place. Over the years, I have lost my focus many times and have begun to be consumed by the disappointments of the day instead of being faithful to trusting the Lord. I thank the Lord for His guidance and for staying faithful to me, even when my eyes become blinded to His amazing power and love.

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt

I challenge you to stop and evaluate what gets your worship.

Are you more afraid of your present circumstance than you are of a life absent of the presence of God?

If it has been some time since you have spent time with the Lord, He does not have a whipping stick that is prepared for you. He is waiting for you to choose Him once more and He has nothing but good, honest, fulfilling love in store for you. Be careful. Approach the Lord with the understanding that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also as His son or daughter. When you begin to step into His presence you may feel out of place or as if you do not deserve to be in that place and will be tempted to run. These feelings are fully understood and should be followed; that is if the Lord had not paid the price for all of our shortcomings. Spend some time with your Jesus today. He has given His very life to be able to have that personal time with you. You do not need to run and hide anymore...

Why the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

This scripture tells us about our Saviour who came to this earth to bring us life and be an example for those who choose to follow. The key elements that I see in this prophecy about the coming Messiah are the Holy Spirit and His affect, the fear of the Lord that He not only walked in but he delighted in, righteousness that affected every decision made, and a faithfulness that was always present. This prophecy, that was just read, has been fulfilled in every way by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I hope to take the next few weeks to focus in on these qualities of Christ and help make sense how we can apply them to our daily decisions.

This week I will focus on verse 2.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD –

What does it mean to have the Spirit of the Lord rest upon Him? Is this some type of strange ethereal concept or is this a practical possibility for you and me?

To answer this question let’s look at more scripture and the words of Jesus himself.

Acts 1:4-5
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus himself came to this earth and showed us how to be led, filled, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then made it very clear that His disciples should not even think about being a part of any ministry until the Holy Spirit does His work. This is the same mandate for us today. Jesus didn’t function without the Holy Spirit guiding Him and so what makes us think that we should be making any decisions that are not first submitted through the filter of our Counselor, the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah 11:2, tells us that Jesus walked in the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and fear of the Lord. This all came through the fact that the Holy Spirit rested on Him. At this moment, I am praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me, rest on me, guide me, and if necessary, hog tie me- so I can walk in that same wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear.

How about you? I encourage you to look at each of these results and that were evident in our Lord’s life and see if you need to press in a little more and ask the Holy Spirit to guide more of your life than you are letting Him. Take a moment and pray over each of these areas. i would love to hear what the Lord is saying to you. He will guide you and encourage you if you ask Him.

Wisdom

Understanding

Counsel

Power

Knowledge

Fear of the Lord

Stop Trusting in man

“Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?” Isaiah 2:22

This is the message that the Lord is screaming at me today. I say screaming because I think it is the only way He has found to get through my thick skull. This week’s devotional has nothing to do with anyone, but me and my walk with the Lord. I blame no one for the way I act or for the attitudes that are created inside of my heart. They are all just a rotten overflow of a heart that must learn how to yield and trust His creator. I know that I need to quit looking around and comparing my life to others. I know that God has placed so many blessings in my lap and that I should be thankful and show gratitude and joy for His continued healing and support for the battles this life has brought, but instead I get angry and want to shutdown. I feel like the Lord is telling me to grow up. Remember when you were a child and when things did not go correctly in your world and the other children were being nasty. It was then as a child we would just simply run and tell on them. I currently live with my sister and her family, which we are so grateful for. In this home, including my two boys, there are 7 children-- 5 of them being under the age of 11 years old. Let’s just say that there is a lot of tattling going on. I find myself saying on a regular basis. “Go away and worry about yourself. If you keep spending all of your time worried about them your life is going to be very sad.” What a great quote to live by! Quit worrying about other people and what they have and what they do or don’t do. Most of what you think you see is a façade and should not be trusted anyway. Worry about what is front of you and live for the Lord. Last night, I found myself wanting to shutdown and run to God to tell on everybody for the things that I think are not happening or at least when I want them to happen. I believe that He tried to talk to me last night, but I was not in the mood and so I went to bed with all of these swirling emotions- hoping that when I awoke that the Lord would be paying attention this time. Well, I was right. He was paying attention and He told me pretty clear. .

“Worry about yourself! If you keep spending all of your time worried about them your life is going to be very sad. Stop putting your trust in man and put it in me.”

Dear Lord,
Today, right here, and right now, I repent. Please Lord, forgive me, help me keep my eyes focused on you and be grateful for who you are in my life. Help me see those people and situations that you want me to step into and be an example for you. I know that when I am looking at everyone else and allowing attitudes to form that I become blind to the real purpose that you have placed me where I am. I love you and apologize for acting so childish at times. Please help my faith and trust grow.
Love your broken child