Greatness

What does it really mean when we say, “God is great!”

Does it mean that He has somehow decided to listen to us and do things according to our opinion? Does it mean that we silly humans have stopped hurting each other and ourselves? Does it mean that we have finally attained everything that we think we should somehow have or deserve?

OR does it mean that we have surrendered our opinions and admitted that we are short sighted and myopic in our views?

OR does it mean we have decided to not allow the roller coaster called life and life situations to dictate our faith in God?

OR does it mean we have come to the conclusion that we need to walk in thankfulness instead of deservedness?

It is only when we purpose to disconnect from the things of this world and put focus on who and what God promises to, will we be able to stand firm in the face of adversity. God is an amazing and mighty God with our without our approval. He is the one who spoke this earth into existence and is the one who intersected our lives with hope, peace, and joy.

How long will we choose to allow this world and the people in it to decide our worth and what goals we should run after? God has called us worthy and has an amazing journey in store for those who call Him Lord. I am challenged today to lay aside my own ideas of what this life should look like and allow the Lord to redefine my motives, my goals, and my ultimate destination.

Saying God is great means that He is big enough and awesome enough to lead and guide me. Saying God is great means that I don’t have to be anything but His child.

Deuteronomy 3:23-24
At that time I pleaded with the LORD: “Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?

It is 5:30 AM

It is 5:30 AM and I am sitting here thinking about the more important things of this life. The Lord is my #1 thought this morning. He has walked with me since I have been a child teaching me how to best navigate this life. He has stood by me when I have walked down wrong paths and embraced sin and temptation- loving me, healing me, and placing my feet back on the path of truth. He has also placed a barrier around me of peace when the nuclear warheads have attempted to blow up my life. In truth, the scars are very real from some of those bombs that have went off, but as the destruction was set in motion, so was the Holy Spirit’s guiding, leading, and healing touch. As with anyone who lives through life trauma and the dying of something, there are questions that may never be answered, but where I am sitting now, I am thankful for the presence of the Lord. One of the greatest things that has happened in my life in these last years is the ability to find God’s fingerprints where He is working, and at times even get to see Him in action. Today, as I think of my life that is filled with the joy of marriage, children, friends, a purposeful ministry, and a fulfilling job- I am at peace.

Thank you Lord for being the faithful and consistent healer and life giver for my life and family.

I am not sure where this devotional finds you this morning. You may be in the midst of suffering the consequences from your own personal life decisions, possibly facing the ramifications from someone else’s decisions, or at a time of peace from the worries of this world. Whichever situation you are in- be encouraged! Your Lord and Maker is actively present in your life and longs to be invited to draw near into your situation. He has jumped through all of the hoops, built the bridges, and created the paths for you to be able to have a life giving relationship with Him. All you need to do is choose to sit at His feet and surrender.

In Joshua 4, the Bible tells us of a time that Joshua was leading His people across the Jordan and the Lord went before them and made a way for them to walk on dry ground. Though it may seem impossible that God would move in your life like this, He can, and He will. Take the first step to seeing a miracle and turn to Him. He has an amazing way of taking care of His children.


Dear Lord,
It is time for me to start my day and I choose once again to ask the Lord to go before me and guide my day. Please be with my wife and my boys. We need you to be present and active in each of our lives.

Amen

Be Strong- Be Courageous

I have to first apologize for not writing a devotional in a few months. The Dahir family has been through quite a few changes and the time factor has become a little difficult to manage. We have started a new church in the Sparks area called Freedom Fellowship in Spanish Springs. The Lord has been bringing us wonderful people to touch and transform our community. I have also become the Vice Principal of Excel Christian School and help run the sports program, teach, and administrate. It has been a blast to be a part of the faculty at this school and get to know the students that the Lord has put in our care. On top of that, I will graduate in May of 2011 with my Psych degree and a minor in Christian Counseling from Liberty University. I share all of this to catch you up on my life and to lead into today’s devotion.

It is easy to look at all of the work, all of the difficulties, all of the despair and become overwhelmed with the work that is at hand. The idea of being strong and courageous sounds wonderful for about an hour and then when the flood of this life does not begin to recede, become taken by worry and fear. The idea of being strong becomes a dismal dream and any hopes of being courageous are a play-write at best.

Joshua 1:7-9
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Over the years when I have read this scripture, I would try to use it as a steroid boost in order for me to be stronger and face my life. When Melissa and I read this for our morning devotional there was a totally different message that was being clarified for me by the Holy Spirit. God is not telling me to toughen up and quit complaining! Though that is a good idea. He is saying to stand firm in the truth and keep your eyes on Him. Nothing that Joshua was being asked to do was going to happen because Joshua made it happen. God was telling Joshua to be strong and courageous and watch what He, Yahweh, was going to do for the people He loved so much. This is such an important message for each of our lives. When you look at your life and believe there is no way you are strong enough to face what is before you. I have to agree that you are probably correct. However, you are strong enough and able to stand as a disciplined child of God and watch God, who is strong enough, take care of you and the people surrounding your life.

I hope you are encouraged to be STRONG and to find your COURAGE. God can and will do wonderful things in your midst. You can trust Him!

God Values You

This week in church I taught about how God values you as an individual. He does not look at you or me and decide that we are too messed up, broken, or beyond repair. He looks at us and believes we are just as valuable as the day he chose to send His son to this world to take our place. Jesus does not for a moment wonder what compelled Him to step out of the Garden of Gethsemane and accept our place on the cross. There are days that I feel He should have sold the whole lot of us and start over. That brings me right back to the part o the story that I get on my knees and thank my Jesus for sparing me and loving me in spite of myself.

Have you thanked the Lord today? Have you noticed that He is not surprised by who you are? Not the facade you allow everyone to see but the true you. He sees you and values you!

This is why we need to be careful to not allow our personal views of each other to get in the way of how God sees things.

If there is anything I want to leave you with today is that God has such love for you and that alone should inspire you to show that same love to the world around you.

Think about this today.

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Because God made us in His image and in His likeness should that fact alone cause you to treat the person next you a bit different?

Blessings- PK

Judge Not- Grace only

Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

What a difficult and freeing scripture. Depending on if you are the one that did the hurting or the one hurting will determine how much you either enjoy this scripture or disdain it. What has helped me walk forward in forgiveness and bring my judgmental attitude to a lower level is to take my life and look at the whole picture and not only my immediate surroundings. Maybe the person who has wounded me has truly been a worse friend than me today. However, take the picture of my life from as far back as I can remember to the present day and it is far simpler for me to see that I am just as rotten and diseased as any amount of evil this world has thrown at me. On the days where the memories of the wrong doing are too difficult to handle or the pain is still distracting, I take a walk on the wild side and imagine what my life would be like if I stopped following the Lord and ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is when I can see who I really am and at that point, it becomes very easy to extend grace and mercy to the people in my life.

When we get to heaven and stand before the Lord, He is going to ask me why I did the things I did, adopted the attitudes that were expressed, and walked in judgment towards the people He entrusted in my life. At that point I could try and argue my point of view, but I have a feeling that there is not an excuse that is going to matter. I am responsible for my actions, attitudes, motives, and each and every word spoken. One day I will give an account to the Lord for me, and I pray on that day, that this scripture helped guide each and every moment that He has left me here on this earth.

Lord,
I truly thank you for allowing me to be your representative on this earth. I choose to walk forward with my eyes focused on you and my heart loving each and every person you put in my path. I am only a mere man and have no right to judge another. Please help kill my pride and give me the eyes to see what you see. Instead of brokenness, you see them healed and complete. Instead of despair, you see them beaming with joy. Instead of using drugs, fame, sex, or success to bring fulfillment, you see them robed in your righteousness with a peace on their face that only comes from finding hope in you. I love you Lord and thank you for forgiving me and allowing me to experience your grace. Help my daily life truly represent who you have been in my life. Amen and Amen

True Worshippers

Why is worship so confusing for people?

For those of us who grew up with the concept of singing songs at church it seems to be natural but depending on your background, depending on your gender, depending on your experience, it will have different meaning and may bring a nuance of fears.

As you read through the following scripture I encourage you to ponder the thoughts and questions in bold that I have inserted. Worship truly is one of the main avenues that the Lord speaks to me, calms my heart, and gives me direction. If you need a touch from God, I encourage you to set aside your pride, your preconceived ideas about worship, and take the time to fall on your knees and surrender to Him. He is always faithful to show up.


John 4:4-42
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.
18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

1. People will always use their differences in worship to deflect truth

21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

2. What must be done to worship in spirit and truth?

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 ¶ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no-one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

3. Religiousness will always distract from the heart of worship

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
30 They came out of the town and made their way towards him.

4. Worshipping the Lord will bring empowerment

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.”
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

5. We Worship That Which Seems Most Powerful!

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”

6. Worshipping the Lord as a lifestyle is the best witness

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This is a wonderful song that reminds us to come to God as we are. He loves us more than we can imagine.

Just Come As You Are
By Pocket Full of Rocks

Come as you are
He’s not mad at you
And He’s not disappointed
His grace is greater still
Than all of your wrong choices
He is full of mercy and he is ever kind
Hear His invitation
His arms are open wide

You can come as you are
With al of your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come…
As You are
As You are

Louder than the voice
That whispers you’re unworthy
Hear the sound of love
That tells a different story
Shattering the darkness
And pushing through the lies
How tenderly He calls you
His arms are open wide
Oh you can come as you are

You can come as you are
With all your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come as you are

As You Are

Jesus is about bringing freedom!

Luke 4:14-20
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."


Do you notice that it does not say to pull yourself out of your poverty and then come?

Or get free of your depression, your addictions, your habits, your self destructive tendencies, your sadness, your chains, and then come….

Or heal yourself of your brokenness and then come…

Or overcome the oppression you are feeling and then come…

Instead it is clear that Jesus took care of it all.

Roman 5:6-8
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is important for our own lives and as we share the gift of faith, grace, and hope with others.

For those of us who have heard this for years it is very easy for us to believe and even possibly quote these scriptures, but have we taken the time to realize how this truth should change how we think, how we act, and who we are?

Here are a few points to ponder. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His scriptures and as you read these questions.

1. How does this affect us?

2. How should we approach God?

3. How should we approach life?

4. How should we approach others?