I WILL (Part II)

I WILL (Part II)

Let’s recap Kingdom Principle Number One: being too willful can get you into trouble, and having no will at all can have the same result.  Both conditions create difficulty since both could abort God-ordained destiny and cancel God-ordered benefits, which are designed exclusively for Word-Based and Right-Willing believers.  To illustrate this truth, consider the amusing story of “Toad and Frog.”

One fine day in August, Toad baked some delicious chocolate chip cookies.  “These cookies smell great,” Toad said aloud to himself.  “And they taste even better,” he proudly exclaimed.  So Toad hurried over to Frog’s house.  “Frog, Frog!” cried Toad, “Taste these amphibi-delicious cookies I baked just for us!”

Frog ate one right away.  “These are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten!” declared the hungry Frog.

Frog and Toad devoured those mouthwatering cookies, one after another.  “You know, Toad,” said Frog with his mouth quite full, “I think we better stop eating.  We’re gonna’ get sick!”

“You are right of course,” agreed Toad.  “Let’s eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.”  Frog and Toad ate one last cookie as agreed, but there were many delectable cookies left in the bowl.

“Hey Frog,” said Toad, “let’s eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.”  So Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie as agreed, but there were many tasty cookies left in the bowl.

“We simply must stop eating!” cried Toad as he reached for one more desert delicacy.

“Yes,” said Frog as he chomped on yet another, “We need willpower!”

“What is willpower anyway?” asked Toad with a puzzled look.

“Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do,” instructed Frog.

“You mean like trying hard not to eat all these scrumptious cookies?” asked Toad.

“Right!” said Frog.  So Frog placed all remaining cookies in a beautiful box.

“There,” he said.  “Now we will not eat any more of these savory cookies.”

“But we can still open the box,” cautiously observed Toad.

“That is true,” agreed Frog.

So Frog tied some string around the box.  “There,” he said.  “Now we will certainly not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can still cut the string and open the box,” Toad whispered, though no one was nearby.

“That is true,” said Frog.  So Frog retrieved his ladder.  Putting the box up on a very high shelf, he proclaimed with a flourish, “There…now we will definitely not eat any more cookies!”

But Toad had his hand up…waiting to offer another insight.  “But Frog, we can climb the ladder, take down the box, cut the strong, open the box…and it will be ‘cookie time’ up in here,” shouted Toad!

“This is true,” sadly conceded Frog.  Then he climbed the ladder, took down the box, cut the string, opened the box and raced out the door with it.  In his loudest voice Frog trumpeted, “Hey birds…free cookies!”  As you might imagine, birds flew in from everywhere!  After pecking and picking up cookie crumbs with their beaks, they flew off, quite happy and full.

“Now we have no more cookies to eat,” concluded Toad sadly, “not even one.”

“Yes,” said Frog with a smile, “but we do have lots and lots of willpower!”

“You may keep it all for yourself, Mr. Frog!” exclaimed Toad.  “I’m going home to bake a cake!”

Kingdom Principle Number Two: Life presents challenging choices; we must navigate wisely through bends and forks in the road.  These decision points constitute the privileges, pleasures and problems of life.  So consider carefully.  Which direction should the African woman travel today…her way or God’s way?  What should pilot the Scottish man’s ship…his pride or God’s compass?  How many cookies should a young Frog eat…the number his flesh cries for or the number his Creator knows is best?  Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow!

I WILL (Part I)

I WILL (Part I)

A middle-aged African woman journeyed from house to house selling gorgeous fabrics, threads and buttons.  Because she was a Christian, it was her custom to consult the Lord each morning concerning the direction of her travels for that day.  This woman would pray in a most unusual manner; she would toss a stick into the air and then proceed in the direction in which the stick pointed after it landed on the ground.

However, one morning she was observed tossing her stick up into the air, not once, but several times.  “Why do you toss your stick more than once today?” a close friend asked.  “Because,” replied the woman, “it keeps on pointing to the left…and I want to take the road to the right.”  After making this explanation to her friend, the woman returned to the same spot and persistently tossed her stick into the air, again and again, until it pointed precisely in the direction she had the WILL to go.  All the while, in her mind at least, she had been seeking for the will of GOD!

Perhaps, that African woman had a ‘cousin’ of Scottish ancestry because her story reminds me of an old Scottish sailor who repeatedly got lost at sea.  In fact, he got lost so many times that his friend pitched in and bought him an expensive nautical compass.  They urged him to make use of it every day, so the next time he got into his boat he dutifully carried the new and costly compass with him.  Nevertheless, as was the norm, he became hopelessly confused, lost, and unable navigate back home.

Eventually, he was rescued (once again) by his dear friends.  Disgusted and impatient with him this time around, they asked “Why didn’t you use that exceptional compass we gave you?  You could have saved yourself and us a lot of trouble!”  The old sailor responded, “Oh, I had to stop using that useless thing.  I threw it into the sea.  Every time I wanted to head north, that stupid compass kept pointing south!”  This sailor was thoroughly convinced in his mind that he knew which way north actually was; he was so supremely certain that he stubbornly insisted on imposing his ‘wrong opinion’ on a ‘right compass.’  So he foolishly tossed an accurate compass aside, and was lost once again.

Kingdom Principle Number One: being too willful can get you into trouble, and having no will at all can have the same result.  Both of these conditions, 1) being too willful, or 2) having no will at all, can land you in deep and difficult waters.  Think about it.  Both conditions will potentially abort your God-ordained destiny and deny you of the God-ordered benefits that were designed exclusively for your life.  Consider this.  Whatever you allow to be written on that blank-sheet-of-life initially bestowed upon by your Creator will have a huge impact, both in time and eternity.  So who is doing the writing…God…you…or others?

In our next devotional, we will illustrate this truth with the amusing story of “Toad and Frog.”  Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow!

THE BLOOD TRANSFUSION

THE BLOOD TRANSFUSION

It’s a Wednesday night and you are at church when somebody runs in from the parking lot yelling, “Turn on a radio, turn on a radio!”  And while the church listens to a little transistor radio with a microphone stuck up to it, the announcement is made: “Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from a ‘mystery’ flu.” Within hours it seems an epidemic sweeps across the country.  People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working…from California to Arizona to Florida to Massachusetts.  It’s sweeping across the states! 

And then, all of a sudden, the news comes out.  The code has been broken.  A cure has been found.  A vaccine can be made but, it’s going to take the blood of somebody who has not yet been infected.  And so, through every channel of emergency broadcasting, people are asked to do one simple thing: “Go to the nearest hospital so we can get a sample of your blood.”

Sure enough, when you and your family arrive, there is a long line.  Nurses and doctors are pricking fingers, taking blood and putting labels on vials.  When they take your blood they say, “Wait here in the parking lot and we’ll let you know when you are dismissed to go home.”  You stand around, scared, wondering if this is really the end of the world.

Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital yelling to the top of his lungs. He’s shouting a name and waving a clipboard.  What?  He yells it again!  And your son tugs on your jacket and says, “Daddy, that's me!”  Before you know it, they have grabbed up your boy.  Wait a minute!  Hold on!  And they say, “It’s okay, his blood seems clean and pure, but we want to make sure he doesn’t have the disease. We think he is just the right type.” Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses, crying and hugging one another, some are even laughing. It’s the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and a doctor walks up to you and says, “Thank you, sir. Your son’s blood is just what we need.  It’s clean, it’s pure, and we can make the vaccine and save our world.”

As this tremendous news spreads across the globe, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying.  Then a gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and asks, “May we see you for moment?  We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need you to sign a consent form.”  You start to sign, but then you notice that the number of pints of blood needed has been left blank.  “How many pints?” you ask.  And that is when the doctor's smile fades and he says,

“We had no idea it would be a little child.  I'm sorry sir, we need it all!”

“But, but…that’s my son!”

“We are talking about saving the whole world, sir.  Please sign.  We need it all!”

“But can't you give him a transfusion?”

“If we had clean blood we would.  Could you sign?  Would you just sign?”

In numb silence and tears, you sign the document.

Then they say, “Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?”  Could you walk back to that hospital room where your child anxiously waits, sitting on a gurney?  “Daddy?  Mommy?  What's going on?”  Could you take his hands and say, “Son, your mommy and I love you, and we would never let anything happen to you that did not have to be.  Do you understand that?”  The doctor comes back in and says, “I’m sorry, we’ve GOT to get started.  People all over the world are dying!” Could you leave your son behind?  Would you walk out while he is crying: “Mommy?  Daddy?  Father…why?  Why have you forsaken me?”

-Author Unknown

For GOD so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)

SOUL THIRST

SOUL THIRST

Arguably the most familiar teachings of Jesus Christ were presented during the “Sermon on the Mount,” in which he outlines what we know as ‘The Beatitudes.’  One such saying that is especially significant describes the blessings that are part and parcel of a heart that is dedicated to a perpetual search for the things of God.  “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) 

Kingdom Principle Number One: In order to nurture and sustain our Christ-Connection, we must develop a personal and persistent thirst for His presence.  David is the poster child for this soul thirst.  Despite personal issues and recurring challenges, he longed fervently for the presence and power of the Lord.  “As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)  David’s statement of desire for the things of God looms large in light of the fact that the human soul is comprised of five distinct functions: mind, will, intellect, imagination and emotions.  Put simply, all aspects of David’s soul (his emotions, his imagination, his intellect, his mind and his will) were fully engaged in establishing (or re-establishing) authentic fellowship and spiritual union with God.

Kingdom Principle Number Two: God summons believers to daily fellowship; the response is on us.  In the words of David, “When thou saidest, Seek ye my face; my heart [soul] said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8)  The choice is ours.  The potential benefits are enormous.  In his presence, we find “forgiveness” (II Chronicles 7:14), “strength” (I Chronicles 16:11), “water” and “seed” (Isaiah 44:3), “fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11) and “all things” (Matthew 6:33).

Kingdom Principle Number Three: Whenever dry places appear in our walk with God, our thirst for Him is purified, intensified and actualized.  To wit, in David’s desert place of tragedy and testing, he cried out with soul force (soul passion) to the Father: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” (Psalm 63:1-3)  Implicit in David’s statement are several truths: 1) he did not always sense (feel) the manifest presence of God; 2) he had constant awareness of his absolute dependence upon God; 3) he acknowledged the sanctuary (the house and people of God) as conduits to the power and glory of God, and 4) he resolved to praise God (despite his sensory feelings) because of his enduring faith.

Kingdom Principle Number Four: That which we have soul thirst for is that which we inevitably seek after.

Question: ‘What are you thirsty for these days?’  Pause one moment to reflect and think deeply.  Have you fallen head-over-heels for the affirmation of family and friends (or) for possible fortune and fame (or) for the acquisition of power and privilege (or) for a tawdry and temporary romantic relationship (or) for another fleeting form of pleasure (or) for ________?  [Fill-in-the-blank with the ‘flavor’ you mostly ‘savor’]. 

I firmly believe that these are the last days.  Christ will return soon to gather His people and judge His world.  In light of this, let’s resolve to seek Him…as never before.  (Deuteronomy 4:29 and II Peter 3:10-12)