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March Journal Archived
Friday,
2 Mar:
Hello again. You know it’s
really been a joy sharing with you. I got to thinking today, after remembering
my one on one with God the other night, that I was in good company.
Good company? Absolutely...I was making excuses not to write and to not go
back to the band. Now that I know
what the deal was, I can honestly say that I was being foolish.
I think I may have already admitted that, but, unfortunately I am not the
only follower of God that made excuses. Moses
and I could have been brothers after what I did for the last few weeks.
That’s right, and you can see what I mean in Exodus 3:1-4:12.
That’s where Moses is visited by God in the form of a burning bush.
I didn’t get a burning bush, just a burning in my heart.
So, who has ever been asked or told by God to do something and you have
made excuses why you thought you couldn’t do it? Well, let’s see, I am sensing plenty of you.
It’s easy to make excuses. We
can literally talk ourselves out of a blessing or blessing someone else by
justifying out excuses. But, shame
on me – shame on us! When God
tells us to do something we should jump at it, just like Joseph did several
times before and after Jesus’ birth. Let’s
look at the excuses Moses gave for not doing what God told him to do and maybe
learn a thing or two. First,
DON’T QUESTION YOUR ABILITY BY YOUR STATUS IN SOCIETY.
Moses said, “Who am I…? He
felt he could not fulfill God’s command because he was a nobody.
Sure, he was once a prince, but now back to be a lowly shepherd, and he
was supposed to go before Pharaoh and give him a command.
Yeah, right, Moses didn’t think Pharaoh would listen to him.
It was a status issue. Have
you ever not witnessed to someone because they appeared smarter, better educated
or more powerful than you? What was
God’s response? “I will be with you.”
It just doesn’t matter, because the all-powerful creator of the
universe was with Moses and will be with you, too.
Second, DON’T FEAR THE REJECTION OF SOCIETY.
Moses was afraid that the people would not listen to him and not believe
that the Lord had appeared to him. But
God gives him 3 miracles that He will perform, and all that Moses has to do is
show-up. Folks, that’s half the
battle. How much does Moses sound
like you? Take heart.
God knows that people will reject you, but He is ready and willing to
show up and help you do great things. He
happened to tell Moses what He was going to do, but He may not always reveal
those things to us. We just have to
trust the God will do what He said he will do and not concern ourselves with
whether people believe us or not. Lastly,
USE YOUR PERSONAL HANDICAPS AS MOTIVATION.
Moses admitted to being “slow of speech”.
Some say he stuttered, but I guess he thought he needed to remind God
that he was physically incapable of speaking to Pharaoh.
God, once again, assures Moses that, because He created his mouth, He
will give him the words to speak. What
we need to do is rely on God even more to help us in His ministry.
People will see our “handicaps”, see us overcome them, and see how it
was God that helped us through. That,
in itself, is a powerful testimony. Let
us NEVER allow a handicap to keep us from our ministry.
So, can you identify with Moses like I can? Now focus real fast on the outcome–-Moses went-God
showed up-Captive set free. Mission
accomplished! “We must go till He
comes, give till we drop, preach till all know and work till he stops us!”
I got that from Ryan Akers. NO
MORE EXCUSES! Until next time...Todd out.
Saturday,
3 Mar:
Hello again. Today was a
fairly busy day. It has come to an
end, though, and it’s time for me to share with you again what God is
whispering in my ear. In case you
missed it, that is a reference to a previous entry about listening to the wrong
voice. We are going to look at
another godly man that some of us may be in good company with from time to time.
It’s amazing how God is putting daily devotionals in front of me and
increasing the scope of them for me to learn from.
Gideon was called by God to save Israel out of Midian’s hand (Judges
6:1-16). In verse 13, Gideon said,
“Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?”
What was he really asking? I
believe he was asking God where He was. So,
where is God when we need Him? HE
IS ABOVE, WATCHING OVER US. Listen
to God’s reply, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from
the hand of the Midianites. Have I
not sent you?” Hey Gideon,
don’t you think I know you well enough to know you can do it.
That’s what God was basically saying.
He knew Gideon’s strength could be used toward the solution. This knowledge proved that God was watching OVER Gideon all
along. God always has a plan and we
have to trust that it is good one. It
may not be what we expect, but God is always watching over us.
God knows perfectly what we are good at doing.
HE IS NEARBY, STANDING BESIDE US. Look
at verse 15. Gideon asked how he
could save Israel, his clan was the weakest and he was the least in the family.
Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t meet life’s challenges?
You are not alone, because many of God’s servants felt that way.
Remember, God promised to never leave us. Since
He never breaks a promise, we can be assured that we will NEVER have to go it
alone. At some point in our lives,
God will tell us to go do something, but He will go with us.
He knows perfectly what we need. The
promise of His presence is one of the most precious in all of the Bible. Next
time you feel alone, reach out to God, he is standing right beside you!
HE IS PERSONAL, LIVING WITHIN US! Verse
16, “And the Lord said to him (Gideon), “Surely I will be with you, and you
shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”
Gideon didn’t have the privilege of being a Child of God like we do
through Christ, but we learn later that before the battle, the Spirit of the
Lord fell upon Gideon. He was one
of the “select” that the Spirit came upon.
As you read on further about Gideon’s conquest, you will see that he
won a great battle and the God’s Spirit was just “upon” him.
That was incredible, but we have the honor and privilege of having the
Holy Spirit INSIDE us. We get to
take it a step further than Gideon did and look what he accomplished.
How much more, then, can we get done?
We don’t need to go on some spiritual journey to the ends of the earth,
or climb the highest mountain or even cross the widest ocean.
God lives on the inside and at any moment God is right where we are. Read Judges 8:28 to find out the conclusion of the story of
Gideon and the Midianites. Now a
brief illustration of where God was when I was told I had to come to Iraq.
He was and is watching over me and knew that I could make a difference in the
lives of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.
He was and is standing beside me
as I do my best to minister to anyone that will listen.
He was and still is living inside me and that’s why, when everything around me looks
bleak, I can have his JOY that gives me strength! Don’t ask where God is anymore.
You know the answer. Until
next time...Todd out. |