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Be Still

9/30/2014

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10.

The power of these verses is not simply in what it says but also where it lies in the context of the verses around it. Psalm 46 is a very tumultuous Psalm. It begins with a declaration not to be afraid though the very earth around us is melting and the mountains fall into the sea. Quite the unnerving scenario. It goes on to describe nations raging, entire kingdoms being displaced, war, and desolation. Yet in the midst of this turmoil is the admonition for us to "Be still". Literally the Hebrew word used here, "rapha", means to relax and let go; to release our need to control the world around us; to cease our struggle to have everything our way; to surrender our hold on the things of this earth. In the midst of a world wildly out of control, what security can we possibly find that would bring peace to our chaos? The knowledge that God is still God. The awareness that, despite the way circumstances may appear, He knows exactly what He is doing. Nothing has caught Him off guard, nor is He intimidated by unfolding events around us. We rest in the knowledge that the Almighty King of the Universe has ways that we don't need to understand. The creator of all that exists knows His own plans and is under no obligation to explain His actions to us. He simply says, "Be still and trust me." When all is said and done, the fact that He will still be God is more certain than the sun rising tomorrow. Regardless what happens, He will be exalted among the nations, and He will be exalted in the earth. And why is this knowledge supposed to calm our hearts? The answer lies in verse 11. This same God, "the Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge."

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The Struggle Of Prayer: Crying Out

9/29/2014

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We care too much how we appear to become desperate enough to cry out.

“…The Bible makes a distinction between ‘prayer’ and ‘crying out to God.’…What I have noticed…is that He will arrange or allow circumstances to arise that have no solution – and then do nothing to remove the problem. Until I cry out. And not one second sooner!” – Bill Gothard (The Power of Crying Out)

When my son, Nathan, was about 4 years old, I lost sight of him in a department store one day. After realizing he was not in any of the surrounding isles, I became frantic and loudly began to call his name. The longer I went without finding him the louder and more intense my cries became. Eventually I reached a point where I didn’t care about the scene I was making or what others thought of me. I knew I had to find my son!

Crying out comes from a place of desperation where we no longer care about our appearance, protocol, or dignity. I've often heard people say, "I'm just not a vocal person." or "That's just not my personality." The fact is, crying out in prayer has nothing to do with our disposition, personality or preference, and everything to do with the passion of our heart to see God move. It requires a total abandonment of our pride and self-sufficiency. A person who cries out to God is one who realizes the hopelessness of their situation without Him and is desperate enough to not care what others think, or how uncomfortable their cry makes those around them feel. This is the prayer of utter dependence on the One who can act on our behalf and the realization of utter despondence if He chooses not to do so.

Such a prayer renders the right words unnecessary. Romans 8:26 speaks of a condition of desperation in prayer where we do not even know how to pray and all we can do is groan. It is in that wordless groaning that our spirit and God’s Spirit unite and He takes over translating what we cannot verbalize. This agony of the soul gives birth to prayer that moves the heart of God and carries with it the promise of His presence. Isaiah 58:9 promises: “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Consistent throughout scripture is the fact that whenever God’s people found themselves in overwhelming circumstances, facing impossible obstacles, and were moved to cry out to God in despair, the Lord heard and acted on their behalf. Repeatedly He drew them back to Himself through their troubles and interceded in their situation when they cried out.

Often the Lord allows our hardships and trials for the express purpose of crushing our pride and stoking our desperation until we will get our eyes off of our circumstances and on to Him, and cry out. Do you find yourself in a struggle that is over your head? Know this: your desperation for God must exceed your frustration over your situation. When you reach this point and you find yourself at a loss for words, with no clue what to do, let your cry arise from your heart to His throne and watch what He does. You will find that God was not refusing to act, He was just waiting for you to get out of His way.

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I'm In

9/27/2014

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There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 NKJV)

Imagine that I wanted to send a friend a book, then decided to write him a note on a small piece of paper as well. I wanted to be sure that he got them both so I put the note inside the book. Though they are separate items, I wouldn't have to mail them seperately. I would simply need to mail the book. Because the note is in the book, it goes where the book goes. Spiritially speaking, this is what it means to be "in Christ". When by faith, I surrender my life to Him, and trust Him for forgiveness, God places me "in Christ". I no longer have to strive for God's favor; I have it because Jesus has it. I no longer have to strive to be holy; I am holy because HE is holy. I simply remain in Him and all the benefits, blessings, resources, power and love that are His are now mine. This understanding explains why Jesus put such an emphasis on abiding in Him in John 15:

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." (John 15:4-11 NKJV)

When we abide in Him our Christian life lives itself. God no longer demands perfection from us because He has included us in His son who is perfect. Does this release me from living a holy life? Absolutley not. Rather, it enables Christ's holiness to surround, flow through and be reflected in my life. My focus then becomes abiding, not striving. He died to sin, therefore, because I am in Him, I am dead to sin as well. He lives in righteousness, therefore, because I am in Him, I live in righteousness as well. This truth motivated the Apostle Paul's revelatory proclaimation in Galations 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Are you abiding? I hope so. It's the only way to live.

"Lord, I abide in You today. I rest in Your favor, acceptance, and redemption. Because I am in You, I will live in Your life, love with Your love, and walk in Your power. Strengthen my faith and let my patterns, thoughts and actions reflect this truth today. Thank You for including me. In Jesus' name, Amen."

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The Struggle Of Prayer: Wishful Thinking

9/26/2014

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We mistake wishful thinking for faith.

“The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him.” - J. G. Machen.

An indispensible aspect of effective prayer is Faith; truly believing that God both hears and will answer. The reality is that often we approach God in prayer with the attitude that we don’t really expect Him to answer, we are simply hoping against hope that, maybe, He will grant our request this one time. It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket; we know we probably won’t strike it rich but there is a small chance we will so we figure, “what do we have to lose?”. Hoping reluctantly that God will hear and answer is not faith; its wishful thinking, and will diffuse payer of its power every time. The underlying problem in this struggle is not unbelief, it’s lack of intimacy with God. The prayer of faith rests not in imply believing in what God is able do, but in being familiar enough with the heart and personality of God to understand what He is willing to do. When we begin to know God intimately, we begin to understand where His heart is and what He is passionate about. We begin to look at His promises in scripture as more than words on a page but bonds of a covenant between the Creator and His creation. This is the foundation of effective prayer; knowing that this God who has all power, knows me, loves me and has the desire to use His power on my behalf.

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The Struggle Of Prayer: The Unknown

9/25/2014

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It is easier to resort to human reason and strength than it is to depend on what we can’t see.

"Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord." - Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV)

We are creatures of the familiar. Our nature is to trust in what is known and fear or avoid what is unknown. This struggle manifests itself in prayer because the essence of prayer is faith. We are speaking to an invisible God asking Him for things that we do not immediately see granted.This requires blind trust. It also requires patience. In our trusting we must believe that God really does hear and that He really will answer, then wait in anticipation for Him to do so. This is much too hard for us who have been conditioned to rely on the visible; who have been trained from birth with the notion that if we want to get something done we must do it ourselves. Factor into this dilemma our cultural climate of independence and hard work and it is no wonder prayer is often our last resort. Our mentality many times is, “I will do all that I can do and then pray.” The reality of prayer however hinges on taking the opposite stance; “I will pray first and then do what the Lord says,” or as John Bunyan said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you've prayed.” It is a difficult and sometimes scary process,but those who allow the Lord to reshape their thinking to align with this truth discover the secret of those who wait on the Lord. These are the people whose daily lives are full of possibilities; not the things that are possible with man, but the things that are possible with God.

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Standing in the Counsel

9/25/2014

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“But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. (23) "Am I a God near at hand," says the Lord, "And not a God afar off?” Jeremiah 23:22-23 NKJV

God spoke to Jeremiah in a time when those calling themselves prophets of God were giving messages of peace and comfort to people who had no intention of trying to serve God or ever turning from their sin. In this passage the Lord reveals the root of both the sin of the prophets as well as the lack of salvation among the people with one phrase: “If they had stood in my counsel.”

Two words in the phrase are of great significance: the word “stood” and the word “counsel”. “Stood”, is the Hebrew word “amad” which can also be translated, “continue”, “stay”, or “abide”. The word “counsel” in Hebrew is “sod”, which carries with it a connotation of privilege. It can also be translated, “secret session” or “familiar converse”, indicating a depth of relationship between the one being counseled and the Counselor. Some scholars have translated this word, “intimacy”.

The ramification of this is a strong admonition to those who claim to speak for God; The Almighty requires intimacy with His messengers. This passage is clear that the effectiveness of the prophet is directly related to his decision to live with his ear and heart tuned to the voice of the Most High. This requires time in His presence. It mandates a regular shutting out of the world and humbly waiting at the Throne of God for both the message and the power to proclaim it. Look at what God says would have happened if the prophets had sought Him: the people would have heard the words of God, and would have turned from their sinful acts as well as their sinful habits.

Preacher, does your preaching result in changed lives? Do you find yourself struggling to find things to preach? Do you spend a great deal of time seeking illustrations and ideas that will speak to the emotion of your listeners or gimmicks to engage their attention? Perhaps the question you need to consider is this: are you regularly alone with the Father? Are you listening to His voice and His voice alone? Are you waiting in His presence at His feet, or are you so filled with the importance of your own education, talent and agenda that you don’t have time?

The transforming power of God does not, and never will, come through human intellect, eloquence or ingenuity. God couldn’t care less about your knowledge, degree or skilled tongue. E.M. Bounds said it well, “…a pulpit without a closet will always be a barren thing.”

Grasp this truth: you have no business speaking for God if you are not daily speaking with God. The saving work of Jesus is a miraculous thing and can only be accomplished by miraculous means. God has never relegated His miraculous power to any vessel or messenger that was content to operate of his own accord. If our ministry and message come up short of the power of God, it may very well be that we have neglected the Presence of the One who called us in the first place. Close your books, clear your calendar and do what you need to do to find the “Secret Place of the Most High.” The salvation of those God has entrusted to your care may very well depend on it.

Pastor Chet Todd

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Author: Chet Todd

Hello, I'm Chet. From the time I was a child I knew God had called me to preach and teach. My prayer is that God will use me to help others grow closer to Him.

Be Still

The Struggle Of Prayer: Crying Out

I'm In

The Struggle Of Prayer: Wishful Thinking

The Struggle Of Prayer: The Unknown

Standing in the Counsel

Author: Chet Todd

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