Knock, Knock. Who's There

Knock, Knock. Who's There?
July 6, 2009
Rev 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

I was out of town this past weekend and staying in the same city where the richest man in the world lives. Having studied and read about him since I was a teenager, I decided to see where he resides. Upon arriving at his unassuming residence, my boldness overcame me and I approached the front door of his house. Not seeing any "No Trespassing" signs, I went ahead with a knock, knock, despite not having a scripted idea of what I might say. A burly bodyguard quickly came running from the side of the house and questioned my presence on the property. After realizing that my credentials didn't warrant a visit, the guard kindly asked me to leave, as the Richest Man did not accept visitors, even though he was home.

It's funny how the richest man in the world doesn't want to meet me, but the Richest Man in the universe desires my attention everyday. God is not like the man with the bodyguard, keeping visitors at bay. God stands at my door, knock, knocking. In fact, scriptures says that He stands outside knocking, saying, "Here I am!" He doesn't just wait to see if I'll answer the door when He visits, He stands there calling to me. Scripture uses an exclamation point on the sentence, indicating that God is - more like - yelling for me. Even though the original translation of the Bible didn't contain much punctuation, if any, the words do translate like a loud calling out.

This is not a one-time deal, either. The original verbiage in Scripture indicates that it is an ongoing activity for God. God stands at your door, every day of your life, wanting to spend time with you, yelling for you. Even though you may have opened the door for Him once, He wants you to open the door for Him EVERY day of your life. God wants to spend time with you. He desires to come in to your life everyday and fill it with His presence. But He will not force it upon you; He is a gentleman. He waits for your response. He waits for you to hear his voice and open the door. You must invite Him in.

The problem is, we are so busy with life and are so guarded against being vulnerable, that we can't hear God calling for us, knocking on our door. Life seems less complicated if we don't pay attention to the knocking on our door, as we have so many more 'important' things to do than see who is standing out there begging to spend time with us. We engulf ourselves in our own importance and miss out on a great opportunity to spend time with someone who actually cares. Christian, God is standing at your door, begging to spend time with you, only you didn't answer the door today.

1. What does God's knocking sound like?
2. How can you attune your heart to hear Him knocking?
3. What can you do to spend time with Him every day?

Add. Scriptures for Study: Ps 53:2, Song of Solomon 5:2, Jer 29:13, Matt 7:8, Acts 17:27

God Can't Do It

God Can't Do It
June 29, 2009
Malachi 3:6 "I the LORD do not change. . ."

There is no typo in the title of this devotional. Despite God being All Knowing and All Powerful, He has limits. Consider the question: can God make a rock so big that even He couldn't pick it up? The answer is, no. God cannot do anything that contradicts Himself or His character. There are limits to what God can do and those limits are set up by God, Himself. Specifically, God gives each of us a free will and He is a gentleman with that. God will not intervene in our lives if it means contradicting the free will He has given to each and every one of us. If we resist Him, God will not force Himself upon us.

I was having a conversation with someone recently regarding a pending divorce between two Christians. The man said that the divorce was going through despite the prayers to save the marriage. He suggested that it must not be God's plan to save the marriage. But that is certainly not the case. God's plan and His will are never divorce, but God cannot save a marriage unless both parties are submitted to Him. If one of the parties in the marriage is resisting God, or not submitting to Him, then God cannot and will not save the marriage. Yes, God can make Himself known to both parties, but if one of them resists God's work in their lives and their marriage, then the marriage will continue as the parties involved continue to make it happen. He will not force them to stay marri ed and work it out.

This is true with everything in your life, Christian. God cannot violate the free will that He has given you. God will not intervene if you do not let Him. God wants to make Himself known to you and make Himself available to you, but He will not force His will on anyone. He would rather let you make your own decision and fail miserably in life, than force you to do things His way. Consider the story of the Prodigal Son. The father allowed the son to make his own decisions and mistakes, even if it meant the son had to sit with the swine in their filth. When the Prodigal Son came to the end of himself and his own ways, he realized that returning to the father was ideal. God will let you wallow in the consequences of your own decisions until you realize that God's way is actually ideal. He will no t force it upon you and He certainly won't chase you down in order to cram it down your throat.

Aside from God being a gentleman and not forcing His will upon you, there are some major bonuses to the limits of God. Consider the other things that God can't do:
God can't stop loving you.
God can't be quick in His anger.
God can't leave you or forsake you.
God can't stop pouring His grace upon your life.
God can't remember you sin, if you've accepted His forgiveness.
God can't condemn you at the judgement throne if you've applied the blood of Jesus Christ to your life.

1. In what areas of your life are you resisting God?
2. How can you submit those areas over to Him?
3. How can you stop from doing things your way?

Add. Scriptures for Study: Deut 4:31, Psalm 103:8, Neh 9:31, Luke 15:11-31, Heb 4:16, Heb 13:8, Jas 1:17, Jas 4:6

The Part of a Fool

The Part of a Fool
June 22, 2009
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

No matter how smart you might be, your intelligence cannot compare to that of God's. God is far more wise than you and me. In fact, if you consider brain capacity and understanding, God's would be comparable to the size of the sun, while man's would be comparable to the size of the head of a pin (hence the term pinhead). Yes, we are pinheads, yet we try to figure things out on our own, using our own understanding and wisdom. God thinks this is foolish; it is actually insane. In the Bible, the word "man" is often synonymous with the word "fool" or "foolish." Yes, that's right; you and I play the part of the fool. Don't be offended by this; the smartest and wisest man in the world is still a fool compared to God and His wisdom.

It is okay that we are foolish, as God wants us to be dependent upon Him for all leading and direction and understanding. God does not want us or require us to figure things out on our own. Take that burden off your shoulders; you are not supposed to figure it all out. In fact, you can't figure it out. God's ways are higher than our ways and God's understanding is much higher than our understanding. And He wants to give that understanding to you, abundantly. Aside from God's love and grace, the thing He is most generous in giving to us is His wisdom. That's right, God does not want to keep all His wisdom to Himself, He wants to make His wisdom and guidance clear to you. Since you and I cannot really understand anything, God has designed all the right solutions and He wants to make all those known and available. God wants to give you His wisdom for all the things you are trying to figure out on your own.

God has set up His wisdom as a free gift to all who ask of it, regardless of age, gender, social status, or level of sin. There is a 'no-fault' provision in God's book when it comes to doling out His wisdom. You don't have to pay for a guru; you can get advice free from God. His gift of wisdom is a promise. But when you get direction from God, you might not think it correct, as often it is counter intuitive to what man would suggest as prudent. You see, since God's ways are higher and man's wisdom is foolishness to God, His solutions actually might appear to be, well, silly. The trick is learning to quiet your own ideas in an effort to truly tune in to the voice of God's wisdom in every situation and then be able to act upon it. It is not easy, as the voices in your head are SO loud. It takes a lifetime of practice to get it down, as it is a still, small voice inside of you that slowly becomes stronger the more you listen to it.

In every situation in life, Christian, God wants you to consult Him and get your guidance from Him. He has the right answers, but it takes wisdom to realize you don't have any wisdom. In fact, the wisest person in the world is the one who recognizes that he doesn't have any wisdom at all apart from God. And before you ask for wisdom, be sure to set aside your own preconceived ideas and notions. That's the key. Get rid of your own thoughts and ideas before God can fill your mind with His. If you are still considering your own ideas, you will not be able to hear God's.

1. What situation in life are you lacking wisdom?
2. How can you clear your own ideas in order to hear God's ideas?
3. How can you set up a precedent to always consult God first?

Add. Scriptures for Study: Prov 12:15, Prov 16:25, Is 55:9, 1 Cor 1:19, 1 Cor 1:28