Your Faith

 Scripture:

“Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.””  ‭‭Luke‬ ‭8:48‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

This is the conclusion of the story of the woman with the issue of blood.  She had bled for many years, been to doctors, and done everything she could afford to do.  When she heard Jesus was in town, she said within herself, “If I can touch the hem of His garment, I will be made whole.”  She pressed through the crowd and touched Jesus.  When she did, Jesus asked who had touched Him.  He knew power had gone out of Him, but wasn’t sure who had released that power.  After she was healed, he said to her, “Your faith has healed you.”

Application:

Sometimes as believers, we get so into the sovereignty of God that we lose our faith in who He is.  Rather that approaching Jesus in faith, we come to Him like, “I know You can heal me, but I’m hoping you will.” I want to walk in faith and overcome all sickness and disease in my life.  I want to stand on faith in the word of God and not just give in to whatever my current situation is.  

Prayer:

Lord, help me to walk in faith in Your word.  Help me not to give in to sickness when it comes my way, but to have faith to get rid of it.  In the story it says, “Her Faith” made her well.  Increase My Faith!  Let me walk in healing.  When sickness comes, let me speak Your word in faith and overcome all the attacks of the evil one.  Let me be a man of faith.  I release healing in my own body right now.  Let the fever go down and let strength and energy return to my body.

Your Son,

Jeff

God Displays His Glory Through Those Who Pursue Him

 Scripture:

"Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me.  I will display my glory before all the people.’”

Observation:

Nadab and Abihu had just offered impure fire before the Lord.  They had not followed the ways of the Lord exactly how the Lord said to do it and the Lord punished them for it.  They thought their way would be just fine, but God was not happy.  The Lord chooses others to take their place and says this verse, "I will display my holiness through those who come near me.  I will display my glory before all the people."  In other words, God was saying He would show the world who He is through those who come near to Him.

Application:

As we draw near to God, He draws near to us.  As we seek after Him, He will display His holiness and glory in and through our lives.  He just needs people who are seeking Him in the way He wants to be sought.  He longs to demonstrate His glory through His people, but He needs vessels who will come to Him according to His ways and not our own.  We can't try to imitate what God wants to demonstrate.  We can pursue Him and let Him work through our lives in whatever ways He chooses though.

Prayer:

Father, I want to draw near to You and walk with You every day.  I want to reveal Your glory to the world.  Help me to hear Your voice and do as You want me to.  Keep me close to You and never let me lose my heart for the things of God.  Help me to always be a God seeker.  Reveal Your glory through me today in Pakistan.

Your Son,

Jeff

Fire of God's Approval

Scripture:

"Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground." Exodus 9:24

Observation:

When Moses had done all that the Lord wanted in presenting burnt offerings, He confirmed His pleasure with their actions by sending His fire to consume the sacrifices.  He sent HIs presence and His fire.  When the people saw it, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.  People react and respond to the presence of the Lord.

Application:

I desire the presence and fire of the Lord to fall whenever I share Christ.  I want God to confirm His word with signs following so people's faith is not in man, but in the power of God.  I want to see more and more of God's power and signs and wonders so that God will be glorified.

Prayer:

Father, let the fire fall.  Let Your presence increase everywhere I go.  Help me to fully be one with You and let me see the day of Your miracles.  Let the world see how awesome You are.  You are amazing and I want the whole world to know You and see Your goodness.

Your Son,

Jeff

God Provided for Unintentional Sin

 Scripture:

22 “‘When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, when he realizes his guilt 23 and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

Observation:

The Lord gave Moses a word for those leaders, and all the people, who sinned unintentionally.  He told them exactly what to do when they had committed sin unintentionally.  In other words, God knew sin would happen and made preparations for His people to remove the sin and guilt from their lives, even in the Old Testament.

Application:

God knows that his people have sin struggles and issues.  He prepared a way for restoration when you sinned and you didn't even know you sinned.  In the New Testament, we confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse our land.  God is incredible and prepared a way before us, knowing we would mess up.  This isn't an excuse for sin, but does show us the heart of God for us when we mess up unintentionally.  

Prayer:

Father, thank you for thinking of us and preparing for our sins, intentional and unintentional.  You are incredible and I appreciate you for your faithfulness and love for me, even when I mess up.  You are awesome and I love serving You.  Lead us here in Pakistan today and be with us.

A Soothing Aroma

Scripture:

8‘Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 9‘Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. Leviticus 1:8-9

Observation:

As we enter the book of Leviticus, many people step away and avoid this book like the plague. Personally, I love Leviticus. It is very interesting to me. In this passage, and several following, we see that the burnt offerings came up to the Lord as a soothing aroma or a sweet aroma. A sacrificial offering caused a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Application:

We no longer offer sacrifices to the Lord like they did in Leviticus, but in the New Testament, we offer our lives to Him for His purposes. When we offer ourselves to Him, it is a pleasing, soothing, sweet aroma to the Lord. God has always loved sacrifice. God smells every sacrifice we make. He knows every time that a sacrifice is made. As we lay our lives down before the Lord, He takes notice and will bless everything we do.

Prayer:

Father, let my life be a sacrifice to You. Help me to live a selfless life that blesses You and Your kingdom. Help me to walk as a continual sacrifice to You. I want to live fully surrendered in every area of my life. Teach me Your ways and let my life be a soothing aroma to You. I want to bring You honor and praise with everything I do.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Live Ready

 Scripture:

““Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.”  ‭‭Mark‬ ‭13:35-36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Jesus was with His disciples and they asked Him about the end of all things.  He was describing what it would be like before His return, which seems very much like today.  He tells them that they, we, should keep watch because we don’t know the when He will return, but we should not be asleep when He comes. We should be watching and waiting for His appearance.  

Application:

There is no doubt in my mind we are very close to the return of the Lord.  Lately, when I walk and pray in the mornings, I find myself looking up more and more to the stars when I pray.  It is like there is something within me that is looking for His return.  We are to live our lives ready for His return.  When He comes, we don’t have time to repent, change, do better, etc.  We need to be ready to meet Him and stand before Him.  I need to press in closer to Him at this time and I want to do everything He asks me to do as I prepare for His return.

Prayer:

Father, let me be waiting and watching, building Your kingdom, when You come again.  Help me to live a life that gets things done for You and Your kingdom.  Teach me to live effectively and lead effectively until You come again.  I want my life to count for You and the extension of Your kingdom.  Help me to live ready for Your return and to have as many others ready for Your coming as possible.

Your Son,

Jeff

Take Up Your Cross

 Scripture:

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8:34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Jesus called the crowd and His disciples to Himself at this point and told them that they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him if they wanted to be His disciples.  Disciples are learners who are becoming like their teacher.  Jesus didn’t even try to make it easy for them or give them the easy way of following Him.  He told them straight up they needed to deny self and follow Him, then they could be His disciples. 

Application:

As a preacher of Christ, I want everyone to follow Him.  As a result of wanting this, I also try to make it as easy as possible by saying things like, “Just repeat this prayer”.  We tend to widen the gate as wide as we can, hoping people will come in And begin following Jesus.  He did it the other way, He made it difficult to follow Him and people responded.  Maybe it’s time to redraft my altar calls to say something about picking up your cross, or being prepared to die, for Jesus if you want to follow Him.  May God show us how to represent Christ well as ministers.

Prayer:

Father, help me to know Your voice.  Show me how to lead people to Christ.  Help me never to water it down so people don’t realize what they are doing.  Empower me to speak as Jesus spoke.  Help me to say the right things in leading people to Him.  I want to represent You well.  Help me to call people to a higher level of commitment and sacrifice than just repeating a prayer after me.

Yours,

Jeff

What You Use Gets Multiplied

 Scripture:

““Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Jesus was telling His disciples about hearing the Word of God and having the right heart when you hear it.  He finished by talking about using what You hear.  He told them to consider carefully what they hear.  Then He talks about using what you hear and it will be measured back to you... and even more.  

Application:

When we hear God’s word, we are to put it into action.  We can say this about anything God gives us.  When we use it, it will come back to us in increasing measure.  When we hear God’s word, we should look to use it, and not be hearers only, but doers of the Word.  When we do what it says, more will be given to us.  I want to see multiplication of everything God gives or speaks to me.  I need to sow what I hear from Him and trust Him to give me more.

Prayer:

Lord God, I want to serve You well in my generation.  When you measure something out to me and give me something, I want to use it well and receive more from You.  What You put into my hand, I will use for Your glory.  Teach me to use what I’m given so You can multiply it over and over again.  I want to give Yo more than what You entrusted to me.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Eating with Sinners

 Scripture:

“When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””  ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.  He hung around people most religious people would not want to be around.  The religious Jewish leaders asked Jesus disciples why He was eating with sinners.  Jesus overheard them and replied that the healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick.  He said He didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.  Jesus hung around bad people because bad people needed Him.

Application:

It is hard as a pastor today to have ungodly friends.  We are so busy attending to the flock that we have no time, nor interest, in being with ungodly people.  Jesus did the opposite.  He didn’t mind being around the bad people of society.  He felt they needed a doctor and He was just what the doctor ordered.  Maybe we need to re-think who we spend our time with.  Maybe we need to at least carve out some time in our busy schedules to spend time with some non-churched people.

Prayer:

Father, help me to see things the way You see them.  Help me to see people how You see them.  Teach me to love the ungodly and actually spend some of my time with them.  Help me to live a life that would cause the unsaved to love being around me.  Help me be a doctor for those who need You the most.  Teach me Your ways.

Your Son,

Jeff

Follow the Cloud

 Scripture:

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted.”  ‭Exodus‬ ‭40:36-37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

When Moses and the people of Israel finished all the preparations for the Tabernacle, the glory of the Lord came down on in as a sign that He was with them and that He approved of their labor in preparing everything He had told Moses to build.  The cloud stayed over the Tabernacle constantly while the people of Israel were in the wilderness.  When the cloud moved, they would pack up and begin to move.  This went on for 40 years.  They followed the visible cloud of the glory of the Lord.

Application:

In the New Testament, we don’t have a visible cloud to follow.  It would be so much easier.  Instead, we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit to guide us and who us the way forward.  We must learn to hear His voice and follow Him intently.  We must learn to follow the Spirit like the children of Israel followed the cloud.  I need my ears attuned to heaven at all times and I need to see what the Father is doing.  I long for the manifested presence of the Lord.  It is always confirmation to me that I am dong what He wants me to do.  In between those times, I need to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.

Prayer:

Father, I don’t want to be out of step with You.  I want to do Your will every day of my life.  Help me to walk in step with You and move when You re moving.  Help me know when to go and when to stay.  Help me know when to pray and believe and when to walk away.  Teach me Your ways and help me to follow You well.  I wouldn’t mind a visible cloud over me the rest of my life.  Then I would know exactly where You are leading me.  Teach me to follow Your voice well.

Your Son,

Jeff

More Than Enough

 Scripture:

“Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.”  ‭Exodus‬ ‭36:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

The people of God were bringing offerings to help build the Tabernacle.  They came every morning with offerings until Moses had to stop them because they had brought more than enough to meet the need.  Moses had to restrain the people because they had brought enough for the task at hand.

Application:

When God is in something, you don’t have to beg His people to invest in it.  You may actually have to tell them to stop because the need has been met.  When God is in something and wants it to happen, He will stir the hearts of people to help and give.  Our job is to make sure we are doing what God is saying and then to let the people give accordingly.  There will always be more than enough with God.

Prayer:

Father, you know I have been praying for a building and land for our church for 20 years now.  Step in and meet the need and allow Your people to catch the vision.  Give us property for Your glory and let us see the day of Your incredible provision for Word of Life.

Your Son,

Jeff

God’s Self-Description

 Scripture:

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.””  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Moses meets with God and God introduces Himself to Moses.  The passage above is how God describes himself.  We should see Him as He sees Himself; compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  He also says He doesn’t let the guilty go unpunished, but punishes them to the third and fourth generation.  God is loving and compassionate, but He hates sin and rebellion.

Application:

We should make sure our perception of the Lord is the same as His self-perception.  He is the best one to describe His character and values.  I need to make sure I see the Lord in this same way so my perception is not based on feelings, or what’s going on around me, but on WHO HE IS.  When we don’t understand what’s going on around us, we must trust WHO He is according to His own words and not our feelings.

Prayer:

Father, let me know You more and more each day.  Help me to see You as You are and not as I feel You are.  Help me to present You to others well and to accurately divide the word of truth.  Teach me to represent You well and to communicate on Your behalf.  You are amazing and I love You with all my heart.  Go before me and prepare the way for my upcoming trip to Pakistan.

Your Son,

Jeff

God’s Permanent Pursuit

 Scripture:

“They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.” ‭Exodus‬ ‭29:46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Throughout history, God has had one passionate pursuit.  He has always desired a people who would be completely His and He would be completely theirs.  From the Old Testament times, God wanted to dwell among His people and to be their one and only God.  He has longed to live among His people and He went to great lengths in the Old Testament to make that happen.  Everything in the Tabernacle had to be exactly right so He could meet with the priests and they wouldn’t die.  

Application:

God wants to be with us more than we want Him to.  By the blood of Jesus, this is now possible for all of us at any time.  We can now enter boldly into the throne of grace and obtain mercy and grace.  Because of Christ, we can have unity with the Father.  We can have Him as our God and we can be His people.  We can walk with Him through life and He can work through us.  We need to thank God for sending His Son so we could finally have the relationship God has always wanted.  We also need to live lives of holiness because God was very clear about how everything had to be pure so He could meet with people.  We are no longer under Law, but grace.  At the same time, we want to walk in holiness before God.

Prayer:

Father, sanctify my life.  Cleanse me from everything that is not pleasing to You.  Help me to walk in holiness at all times and to live a life You can be one with.  I want unity with the Father.  I want to hear what You speak.  I want to do what You are doing.  Purify my life and teach me to walk in unity with You at all times.  Let my words be Your words.  Let my heart be Your heart.  I am completely Yours Lord.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

God is in the Details

 Scripture:

““Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.”  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭25:10-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Exodus 25-27 describe the details of exactly what God wanted for every part of the Tabernacle that His people were to build.  He didn’t leave out a detail.  He gave them every measurement, every minute detail of what would be engraved and what materials would be used for what parts of it.  God wanted it built exactly to His specifications.  God wanted what He wanted and didn’t explain why he wanted those materials.  It was exact, down to the type of string to hold it together with.

Application:

When God gives detailed instructions, He means for them to be adhered to.  We should use these patterns when we are doing something for God.  When He doesn’t give us details, we should remember HOW He does things with excellence, and do whatever we do with excellence.  Details can be frustrating, but God is a very detailed God and He wants us to do things right.  Whatever we do for Him, we should do at a level of excellence that is better than what we would do for ourselves. 

Prayer:

Father, let me live a better life.  Help me to live and minister in excellence and in a way that would bring You the highest levels of honor and respect.  When people see my life, let them see that You are in the details.  Help me to not settle for second best in things, but to strive to live a life of excellence.  Help me not to complain about the details, but to embrace them.

Your Son,

Jeff

Bless Your Enemies

 Scripture:

“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.”  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

God was giving Israel instructions in the wilderness about when they come into the Promised Land.  He gave them practical laws that were to be put into effect immediately as they wandered in the wilderness.  Here He tells them to help people that hate you when something goes wrong for them.  When their donkey falls under the load, help them instead of laughing at them.  God has always been about loving those who hate you.

Application:

Jesus told us to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us.  He told us that it is easy to love those who are good to you, but God wants us to love those who are bad to us. Rather than gloating when things go wrong in the lives of those who are against us, we are to help them out.  We should be those who help out the people who are trying to destroy us.  In this we are living Christlike.  He loved us and died for us when we were His enemies.  

Prayer:

Father, this is a hard word, but it is Your word.  Help me to love my enemies and bless those who persecute me.  Help me to be a blessing to those who have hurt me in the past.  Give me opportunity to show kindness to those who have spoken evil about me.  Teach me to live a life that brings You honor.  Empower me to live like Jesus lived each day.

Your Son,

Jeff

On Eagle’s Wings

 Scripture:

“‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭19:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

God is speaking here through Moses about how He had delivered the people of Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians.  We know about the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea and how God stood between them and the Egyptians before the crossing.  God describes it as carrying them on eagle’s wings and bringing them to Himself.  Being carried on eagle’s wings meant that there was no work on their part, they just went where the Lord was taking them and He did all the work.

Application:

In the New Covenant, we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us into all truth.  He is to carry us on eagle’s wings in our day.  Our job is to follow His voice and do what He says.  His part is to carry us and do all the work.  We don’t have to learn how to fly, we just need to mount up on the eagle called the Holy Spirit and enjoy the ride.  He does the work and we take the ride.  I need to learn to rest in God while He carries me to Himself.

Prayer:

Teach me to walk with You Hoy Spirit.  Teach me to know Your voice as clear as my own.  Help me to mount the eagle and ride to the Father.  Lead me where You want me to go and take me there on Your wings.  Help me to live yielded to You every day.  You are the wings that carry me every day.

Yours,

Jeff

Teaching Lifts the Counseling Load

 Scripture:

“Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭18:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Moses’ father-in-law saw what he was doing in hearing all the cases and problems of the people of Israel.  He realized that Moses could never continue to do all he was doing, but must delegate what could be delegated.  He told Moses to focus on teaching and showing people how to live and behave, which will cause less judging to need to be done, then Select men who can hear the cases and bring only the really difficult ones to Moses.  

Application:

I’ve never heard anyone say this before, but Jethro was basically telling Moses that he could teach the people God’s ways and he would have less counseling and judging to do.  He was also telling him to raise up other judges, but in focusing on teaching, Moses would help the people learn how to live, which in turn, lightens the judging load.  

Prayer:

Father, help me to teach Your people well.  Help me to teach and train in righteousness so the people of God can prosper and grow in You, requiring less counseling and intervention.  Help me to help people well.  Empower me to teach Your ways and to show people how to live so they don’t need as much intervention.

Your Son,

Jeff

Stand Still

 Scripture:

“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.””  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

The Israelites were coming out of Egypt, the Egyptian army was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them.  It seemed like they were doomed to die in that place.  Moses told the people to stand still and they would see the deliverance of the Lord.  He prophesied that they would never see the Egyptians again and told them that the Lord would fight for the, just be still.  Strong prophetic words in a crazy situation.

Application:

Moses knew that God was going to deliver them.  He probably hadn’t figured it out, he just knew God would do something.  Sometimes in life we need to stop trying to figure out what God is going to do and simply know that He will fight our battles and make a way that we can’t figure out.  We need to trust that God will fight for us and we need to only be still.  Being still is hard when you see things falling apart, but it is the greatest statement of faith in God we can have.

Prayer:

Father, teach me to stand still and see your salvation.  Help me not to worry and fret about about things, but to always know that You will work them out.  Teach me to trust You more and more each day.  Fight my battles, protect me and my family, and help us to trust You more and more.

Yours Forever,

Jeff