Following In The Wilderness

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (English Standard Version)

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When God led Israel out of Egypt, He led them with a cloud – a puffy one at day and a fiery one at night. “... the cloud lifted... and the cloud settle down in the wilderness...” (Numbers 10:11-12). It was impossible to miss God’s leading. The people’s problem was not lack of direction, it was lack of trusting God as they went. Sometimes we are like that, especially when He leads us into the wilderness.

It is wonderful when God leads us into green pastures beside still waters (Psalm 23:2), but at times He leads us into the wilderness, just as His Spirit led Jesus there (Mark 1:12). Sometimes we end up in the wilderness due to our own stupidity, but sometimes it is because God sent us. Regardless of the reason, to benefit we must embrace the wilderness, not fight against it. Embrace it because a loving God who is all wise and all powerful is leading, and will cause all things to work for our good when we surrender to Him. Ponder that. – David

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"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39 NLT)

Pondering Following Jesus

Oh, how I love all you've revealed; I reverently ponder it all the day long. Your commands give me an edge on my enemies; they never become obsolete. I've even become smarter than my teachers since I've pondered and absorbed your counsel. I've become wiser than the wise old sages simply by doing what you tell me. Psalms 119:97-100 (The Message Bible)

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"Trust your own vision as you follow the Lord. ... Don't try to plan your life, but follow Jesus and you will find yourself being moved along by God. ... Keep your humility intact, and keep your mind on God. He will use people to assist the vision, but He is the source. ... Open your heart and let Jesus speak through you. Don't try to build up great plans for yourself; He has plans you cannot imagine." They were the last words of council my dad gave me before he went to be with the Lord a few years ago.

Jesus beckons us to follow Him. Much of the time it is not clear to us where He is going or what He is doing. We may have a general idea, but the details are often very unclear or even confusing. Consider how Joseph must have felt looking frantically for lodging that evening in Bethlehem. As Mary’s labor pains intensified, I can imagine Joseph screaming at God, “Hey, where are you? Don’t you know this is an emergency? Where is the plan?” That stressful hour for Joseph and Mary was part of God's perfect plan.

Maybe you are in a stressful hour, trying to find God's perfect plan. Maybe you are in the middle of it and don't recognize it. God is always at work even in the mundane affairs of life. His plans are usually hidden, disguised as ordinary circumstances. Ponder that. – David

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Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me... John 12:24-26 (NLT)

Choose: Human Systems Or An Invisible Kingdom

Many of us have lost sight of the goal. Amid the noise of political debate and the warnings of economic disaster, along with the daily cares of life -- it can be a struggle to keep a Kingdom perspective. A nugget from Dallas Willard helps me adjust my focus.

"Jesus did not send His students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convey some elements of a human system. They were, instead, to establish beachheads of His person, [His] word, and [His] power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life simply by fully living in the kingdom with Him.

"We must make no mistake about it. In thus sending out his trainees, He set afoot a perpetual world revolution: one that is still in process and will continue until God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. As this revolution culminates, all the forces of evil known to mankind will be defeated and the goodness of God will be known, accepted, and joyously conformed to in every aspect of human life. He has chosen to accomplish this with and, in part, through [us] His students." excerpt from Renovation of the Heart

That's something to ponder.

David

Sincere Prayers

Growing up in a non-liturgical church, we almost never recited a written prayer, not even the Lord's prayer. In our tradition, prayer had to be spontaneous in order to be sincere, or so I thought. But as an adult, I began to discover the rich prayers in the Bible, and often relied on them to express my feelings to God in heart-felt prayer.

Any written prayer can be made your own, and will be heard by God, if it expresses the desire of your own heart and is in harmony with the will of God. At times the following prayers have served to focus my heart and mind when talking to God. I have seen Him answer many times. They are an adaptation from Glenn Clark, one of the most widely published authors on the life of prayer in the 20th century. You will find they are in harmony with the Bible, and that God is eager to answer them.

Blessings,
David

1. I pray for Your spirit to enter me and fill me completely. "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

2. I pray for Your kingdom to come in earth as it is in heaven.
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." (Jn 14:13)

3. I pray for my will to become completely and utterly Your will. "...I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (Jn 16:23)

4. I pray for my actual needs to be met by the right supply in the right way and at the right time. "We receive from him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him." (1 JN 3:22)

5. I pray for the right persons to come into my life, at the right time and in the right way. "And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him." (1 Jn 5:15)

6. I pray for the right ideas to come to me in perfect sequence and in perfect order, in the right time and in the right way. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (Jn 15:16)

7. I pray for my deepest soul's sincere desire to be fulfilled in the right time and in the right way. "But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." (Jn 11:22)

8. I ask You, Father, for the health and strength that will enable me to serve You, and never fail You. "Ask and it will be given to you...For everyone who asks receives." (Matt 7:7-8)

9. I seek from You, Father, the money and things that will supply the resources for a creative and fruitful life. "Seek and you will find...for he who seeks finds." (Matt 7:7-8)

10. Open the door, Father, to the right work that will enable me to make my finest contribution to mankind. "Knock and the door will be opened to you...for to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt 7:7-8)

Pondering 'Ordinary' Discipleship

I often ponder the nature and meaning of "discipleship." The cost of discipleship appeals to me, perhaps because I love a challenge. But that is based upon human zeal, and human zeal will not take a person very far.

Oswald Chambers reminds us that "discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on the water is easy to impulsive pluck, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing."

"We do not need the grace of God to stand crises -- human nature and pride are sufficient. We can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in [ordinary] paths, among [ordinary] people, and this is not learned in five minutes."

Holy Desperation

We are not likely to have a significant encounter with God until we become desperate. Desperation provides the impulse necessary for us to be willing to lose our lives; and in so doing, we discover life. God will use dissatisfaction, frustration, and consternation to lead us to the place of reckless abandonment. There we will get a such a wonderful revelation of God that we are willing to make known to the world the truth of His Kingdom regardless of the price.

Jesus said: I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me" ... John 12:24-26 (NLT)

The Birth of A Vision

Do you have a vision for your life? God does.

"I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). When we surrender our plans, God gives us His plans. As we seek an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we begin to get a vision of how His plans will unfold. That becomes our vision.

Vision must be birthed in each of us by the Holy Spirit. God may use other people to plant the seeds of our vision, but until the vision becomes personal it will never be our passion.

Owning another person’s vision will not suffice, even if that person impacted a generation or a nation. The other person’s vision may be noble, pure, and scriptural, and God may give me the same vision, but if I only receive it from a man and not from God, the fruit of my labor will be limited by human strength. We need God's strength if we are to accomplish God's work.

Ponder and pray over your vision, and God will bring it into sharper focus through failures and successes.

"... for this I toil, striving with all the energy that God mightily inspires within me" (Col 1:29).

And that is a point to ponder.

David