For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Matt. 13:15)
"And I would heal them." That's a different offer from: "And I would forgive them." It's a different offer from: "And I will give them a place in heaven." No, Jesus is offering healing to us. Look at what he does to people who are broken. How does he handle them? The blind are able to see like a hawk. The deaf are able to hear a pin drop. The lame do hurdles. The corroding skin of the leper is cleansed and made new. The woman with the issue of blood stops hemorrhaging. The paralyzed servant hops out of bed. They are, every last one of them, healed. Now follow this closely: everything Jesus did was to illustrate what he was trying to say. Here-look at this-this is what I'm offering to do for you. Not just for your body, but more important, for your soul. I can heal your heart. I can restore your soul.
Source: Ransomed Heart Ministries by John Eldredge
8.31.2010
8.24.2010
Boyd Bailey: Benefits of Brokenness
“My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.” Job 17:1
Brokenness is a prerequisite to God’s thorough usefulness. Before brokenness we were still self-sufficient and self-dependent. There was no authentic humility. It was either false or non-existence. Before brokenness anger lurked behind the corner of every situation that did not go our way. Then it pounced on our unsuspecting victims.
Before brokenness prayer was a routine rather than a necessity. Our fellowship was not sweet and refreshing. Before brokenness our life could be explained by our own efforts. There was no resurrection power harvesting results. Rather, results were rooted in our limited strength. Before brokenness there was a subtle spiritual pride that intimidated or impressed others by our “wisdom”, instead of pointing them to the Author of wisdom.
Brokenness is the rite of passage to blessings. It is a bridge across into the depths of God’s love and intimacy, but it is not without discomfort, even pain. Brokenness seems on the surface failure, but on the contrary, it positions us for success. A sleek, stubborn and strong willed stallion must be broken before it can benefit its riders. Otherwise, its unfocused energy ravages its environment and terrorizes those with whom it comes in contact. Our full potential can’t be unleashed without heaven’s taming. The “choking point” in spiritual maturity isn’t from outside forces. Let God break your will, before it breaks you.
There is an important distinction between a broken will and a broken spirit. God’s desire is not to chronically crush your spirit, but to break your will. His goal is to tame your stubbornness. Do not buck God. He will eventually have His way, one way or another. We can work with Him or we can work against Him. A bridle is not comfortable, but it is necessary to get the required results. God’s bridle will lead you into His eternal benefits.
We miss the Lord’s best without brokenness. In some ways it is a life long process of ‘three steps forward and two steps backward’. We make progress, but not without still messing up. We will repeat some mistakes and sometimes it takes a protracted time for us to ‘get it’. However, for some of us we need brokenness to come upon us with God’s loving intensity. Without Him arresting our attention we tend to move nonchalantly through our Christian life. Our bad habits never change and we settle for behavioral modification, instead of Christ living His life through us with His resurrection power.
Your life should be markedly different from the world. People should question the peace, power, grace, mercy and love that consistently flows from your life. If there is no fruit of the Holy Spirit, there is no brokenness. Pray for God to break your will, not your spirit. Your spirit is where hope resides. Your spirit communes with God. Your tamed spirit trusts in Him. Let go and let God break you and make you into the image of His son Jesus Christ. What he breaks He makes. And what God makes is beautiful!
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
Have I experienced true brokenness? Have I allowed the Lord to heal my heart?
Related Readings: Psalm 34:18; 51:17; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18
Brokenness is a prerequisite to God’s thorough usefulness. Before brokenness we were still self-sufficient and self-dependent. There was no authentic humility. It was either false or non-existence. Before brokenness anger lurked behind the corner of every situation that did not go our way. Then it pounced on our unsuspecting victims.
Before brokenness prayer was a routine rather than a necessity. Our fellowship was not sweet and refreshing. Before brokenness our life could be explained by our own efforts. There was no resurrection power harvesting results. Rather, results were rooted in our limited strength. Before brokenness there was a subtle spiritual pride that intimidated or impressed others by our “wisdom”, instead of pointing them to the Author of wisdom.
Brokenness is the rite of passage to blessings. It is a bridge across into the depths of God’s love and intimacy, but it is not without discomfort, even pain. Brokenness seems on the surface failure, but on the contrary, it positions us for success. A sleek, stubborn and strong willed stallion must be broken before it can benefit its riders. Otherwise, its unfocused energy ravages its environment and terrorizes those with whom it comes in contact. Our full potential can’t be unleashed without heaven’s taming. The “choking point” in spiritual maturity isn’t from outside forces. Let God break your will, before it breaks you.
There is an important distinction between a broken will and a broken spirit. God’s desire is not to chronically crush your spirit, but to break your will. His goal is to tame your stubbornness. Do not buck God. He will eventually have His way, one way or another. We can work with Him or we can work against Him. A bridle is not comfortable, but it is necessary to get the required results. God’s bridle will lead you into His eternal benefits.
We miss the Lord’s best without brokenness. In some ways it is a life long process of ‘three steps forward and two steps backward’. We make progress, but not without still messing up. We will repeat some mistakes and sometimes it takes a protracted time for us to ‘get it’. However, for some of us we need brokenness to come upon us with God’s loving intensity. Without Him arresting our attention we tend to move nonchalantly through our Christian life. Our bad habits never change and we settle for behavioral modification, instead of Christ living His life through us with His resurrection power.
Your life should be markedly different from the world. People should question the peace, power, grace, mercy and love that consistently flows from your life. If there is no fruit of the Holy Spirit, there is no brokenness. Pray for God to break your will, not your spirit. Your spirit is where hope resides. Your spirit communes with God. Your tamed spirit trusts in Him. Let go and let God break you and make you into the image of His son Jesus Christ. What he breaks He makes. And what God makes is beautiful!
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
Have I experienced true brokenness? Have I allowed the Lord to heal my heart?
Related Readings: Psalm 34:18; 51:17; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18
8.17.2010
The Daily Verse: Truth
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Philippians 3:19
Too often, we've got our mind set on earthly things, and not on the big picture of what God is, who He is, and what He's doing in and around us. If you find yourself consumed with life and all of its nuances, pull back a bit and set your mind on what He is doing around you. Allow that to realign the priorities of your thought processes and your heart.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
Too often, we've got our mind set on earthly things, and not on the big picture of what God is, who He is, and what He's doing in and around us. If you find yourself consumed with life and all of its nuances, pull back a bit and set your mind on what He is doing around you. Allow that to realign the priorities of your thought processes and your heart.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
8.16.2010
Boyd Bailey: Prayerful Planning
“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalm 20:4
Planning is a prerequisite for anyone who desires to get results. But, prayerful planning is essential to experience God’s best. After all, His best is the goal for the follower of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we are limited to what only our efforts can produce. This self-imposed limitation is misery compared to partnering with the Almighty.
We can work hard to plan—and sincerely produce a best-laid plan—but make the mistake of asking God to bless the plan after the fact. This presumes on God. He is not thrilled with the presumption of His blessing. Presumption communicates distrust and disrespect. He may choose to bless the unprayed plan, but why take the chance? And why take the credit? He will share His glory with no one.
So, a prayerless plan will leave you in a perilous position. This is an easy step to forget or to assume. You are so excited about the possibilities before you that you rush ahead without checking in with the originator of the plan. He already has the blueprints sketched out. He is a generous giver, waiting to validate your plan and even disclose part of His plan you have yet to discover. It is a beautiful process of discovery and learning.
In the nighttime, as your head ponders on your pillow, He will speak to you. Through other people and circumstances, He will speak to you. Your wife or financial constraints will be accurate indicators. And obviously, His Word is a great check-and-balance for your planning process. Prayerful planning keeps you married to Christ and not to the plan. Your plans will change, but He will not. What reassurance and peace our unchanging God gives.
So, involve Him in the beginning and throughout the process, not just with the final draft. Like a good earthly father your heavenly Father will be engaging and helpful. He will affirm you and challenge your thinking. He will give you a perspective that may be out of the box and a little scary. God’s plans are not always safe and secure from our vantage point. Sometimes His plans are risky and riling.
If you are not planning prayerfully, you may miss His unconventional thinking. His way of doing something may be the very opposite of what you were originally thinking. Do not be afraid of conflicting opinions. God will use this to sharpen your thinking. It is much better to have a scrubbed over plan than one that is soiled with wrong assumptions and fat with lazy thinking. Engage others to pray with you through the planning process.
Especially involve those who have been where you are trying to go. Their prayers are informed and productive. They will pray from an understanding and empathetic heart. These praying saints will not throw toward heaven some half-hearted, wimpy softball. Rather, their passionate prayer will storm the throne of grace on your behalf with boldness and conviction. Look for those whose only agenda is God’s best for your life and invite them in the process of prayerful planning.
Prayerful planning may slow down the process or accelerate it. Either way, it will require trust in the master planner. His overall plan is what is best. Trust Him with the results. Prayerful planning produces powerful performance!
Source: Wisdom Hunters by
Planning is a prerequisite for anyone who desires to get results. But, prayerful planning is essential to experience God’s best. After all, His best is the goal for the follower of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we are limited to what only our efforts can produce. This self-imposed limitation is misery compared to partnering with the Almighty.
We can work hard to plan—and sincerely produce a best-laid plan—but make the mistake of asking God to bless the plan after the fact. This presumes on God. He is not thrilled with the presumption of His blessing. Presumption communicates distrust and disrespect. He may choose to bless the unprayed plan, but why take the chance? And why take the credit? He will share His glory with no one.
So, a prayerless plan will leave you in a perilous position. This is an easy step to forget or to assume. You are so excited about the possibilities before you that you rush ahead without checking in with the originator of the plan. He already has the blueprints sketched out. He is a generous giver, waiting to validate your plan and even disclose part of His plan you have yet to discover. It is a beautiful process of discovery and learning.
In the nighttime, as your head ponders on your pillow, He will speak to you. Through other people and circumstances, He will speak to you. Your wife or financial constraints will be accurate indicators. And obviously, His Word is a great check-and-balance for your planning process. Prayerful planning keeps you married to Christ and not to the plan. Your plans will change, but He will not. What reassurance and peace our unchanging God gives.
So, involve Him in the beginning and throughout the process, not just with the final draft. Like a good earthly father your heavenly Father will be engaging and helpful. He will affirm you and challenge your thinking. He will give you a perspective that may be out of the box and a little scary. God’s plans are not always safe and secure from our vantage point. Sometimes His plans are risky and riling.
If you are not planning prayerfully, you may miss His unconventional thinking. His way of doing something may be the very opposite of what you were originally thinking. Do not be afraid of conflicting opinions. God will use this to sharpen your thinking. It is much better to have a scrubbed over plan than one that is soiled with wrong assumptions and fat with lazy thinking. Engage others to pray with you through the planning process.
Especially involve those who have been where you are trying to go. Their prayers are informed and productive. They will pray from an understanding and empathetic heart. These praying saints will not throw toward heaven some half-hearted, wimpy softball. Rather, their passionate prayer will storm the throne of grace on your behalf with boldness and conviction. Look for those whose only agenda is God’s best for your life and invite them in the process of prayerful planning.
Prayerful planning may slow down the process or accelerate it. Either way, it will require trust in the master planner. His overall plan is what is best. Trust Him with the results. Prayerful planning produces powerful performance!
Source: Wisdom Hunters by
8.13.2010
The Daily Verse: Obedience
Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19
Re-read this passage and consider what things would look like if we prioritized our activities with the same attitude.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
Re-read this passage and consider what things would look like if we prioritized our activities with the same attitude.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
8.09.2010
Boyd Bailey: Divine Defense
“You have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.” Psalm 9:4
God is our ultimate defense. This does not mean we are not involved in defending worthy causes. It is good to defend nation and family. Effective leaders defend their mission and their business model. Excellent athletic teams defend their goal from the opponent. An explosive offense will strategize in vain without the support of an aggressive defense.
Successful defense attorneys are paid a lot of money because they keep their clients from serving time in prison. They are the experts that understand the law and its implications. Orphans and widows need defending. The helpless are vulnerable in need of defense. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ are called not to stand idle but to stand in the gap for those who cannot defend themselves. We are advocates for the poor and needy.
Your friends who have been mistreated, misunderstood or maligned behind their backs need you to step up on their behalf. You are their defender because you know their character. You know the facts of the situation and that the accusation does not line up with reality. So, it is appropriate for you to risk your safe position and to defend your friends in the face of their accusers.
Do not back down from defending truth. God’s Word is truth and, yes, it can stand on its own. But we are called to be educated—not ignorant—defenders of His Word. Be so familiar with God’s Word that in the face of heresy you can confidently say, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” But, after all is said and done, God is our ultimate defender.
There are some situations where our defense is woefully lacking, but He more than fills in the gaps. You cannot defend your reputation, but God can. People, because of misinformation or malice, may misdiagnose who you are and what you stand for. This is out of your control. You can go through a very professional and prayerful process of letting an employee go, and that employee may still erupt in disappointment and lash back at you. Even with generous severance terms, they may gossip about you and spread rumors. It is futile to chase down a rumor.
You must maintain your trust in God and do not lower yourself to attack this individual. They are in God’s hands, which is exactly where you want them. Don’t take matters into your own hands. You cannot handle that type of pressure and responsibility. God is your defense. Since He manages the universe, He can handle this situation. He will defend you in ways you could never conceive. The truth will persevere and, left unattended, lies will slowly die off. Like ignoring a child’s temper tantrum they will eventually stop from lack of attention.
You cannot defend your motives, but God can. Over time God will use your generosity, humility and consistency to validate your motives. There will be those who question your motives because of their own struggle with impure motives. But there is no need to default to insecurity; trust God to defend you.
Cynics and naysayers have a skewed perspective. It is hard for them to accept authentic motives because they have been burned in the past. Do not debate your motives with them; let God defend you. A prayerful, patient and personal process eventually will answer many of the questions. God is our advocate. Let go of those things beyond your control, and trust Him with the results. He is the righteous judge!
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
God is our ultimate defense. This does not mean we are not involved in defending worthy causes. It is good to defend nation and family. Effective leaders defend their mission and their business model. Excellent athletic teams defend their goal from the opponent. An explosive offense will strategize in vain without the support of an aggressive defense.
Successful defense attorneys are paid a lot of money because they keep their clients from serving time in prison. They are the experts that understand the law and its implications. Orphans and widows need defending. The helpless are vulnerable in need of defense. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ are called not to stand idle but to stand in the gap for those who cannot defend themselves. We are advocates for the poor and needy.
Your friends who have been mistreated, misunderstood or maligned behind their backs need you to step up on their behalf. You are their defender because you know their character. You know the facts of the situation and that the accusation does not line up with reality. So, it is appropriate for you to risk your safe position and to defend your friends in the face of their accusers.
Do not back down from defending truth. God’s Word is truth and, yes, it can stand on its own. But we are called to be educated—not ignorant—defenders of His Word. Be so familiar with God’s Word that in the face of heresy you can confidently say, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” But, after all is said and done, God is our ultimate defender.
There are some situations where our defense is woefully lacking, but He more than fills in the gaps. You cannot defend your reputation, but God can. People, because of misinformation or malice, may misdiagnose who you are and what you stand for. This is out of your control. You can go through a very professional and prayerful process of letting an employee go, and that employee may still erupt in disappointment and lash back at you. Even with generous severance terms, they may gossip about you and spread rumors. It is futile to chase down a rumor.
You must maintain your trust in God and do not lower yourself to attack this individual. They are in God’s hands, which is exactly where you want them. Don’t take matters into your own hands. You cannot handle that type of pressure and responsibility. God is your defense. Since He manages the universe, He can handle this situation. He will defend you in ways you could never conceive. The truth will persevere and, left unattended, lies will slowly die off. Like ignoring a child’s temper tantrum they will eventually stop from lack of attention.
You cannot defend your motives, but God can. Over time God will use your generosity, humility and consistency to validate your motives. There will be those who question your motives because of their own struggle with impure motives. But there is no need to default to insecurity; trust God to defend you.
Cynics and naysayers have a skewed perspective. It is hard for them to accept authentic motives because they have been burned in the past. Do not debate your motives with them; let God defend you. A prayerful, patient and personal process eventually will answer many of the questions. God is our advocate. Let go of those things beyond your control, and trust Him with the results. He is the righteous judge!
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
8.06.2010
The Daily Verse: Worry
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:27
This passage contains simple words with great depth. If you think about it, being anxious actually robs you of time and joy, so stop doing it.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
This passage contains simple words with great depth. If you think about it, being anxious actually robs you of time and joy, so stop doing it.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
8.04.2010
The Daily Verse: Freedom
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? John 5:6
You are offered freedom from what holds you back - are you willing to accept it?
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
You are offered freedom from what holds you back - are you willing to accept it?
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
8.03.2010
The Daily Verse: Progress
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead… Philippians 3:13b
Learn from the past, but don't live in it. There's not one thing you can do to change what has already happened, so start putting your energies toward something you can influence instead of something you can't.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
Learn from the past, but don't live in it. There's not one thing you can do to change what has already happened, so start putting your energies toward something you can influence instead of something you can't.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
The Daily Verse: Worry
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs 12:25
Be intentional to look for and offer a good word amidst the influx of someone's daily worries today. It may also benefit you by changing your outlook on your own concerns.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
Be intentional to look for and offer a good word amidst the influx of someone's daily worries today. It may also benefit you by changing your outlook on your own concerns.
Source: The Daily Verse by Kat Davis
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