Wednesday is for Encouragement

Beseech the Favorable Hand of God

 

Men of God,

Brothers it is truly with joy that I write to you today.  I gain strength and joy from reading the encouraging and challenging words here.  You encourage me to stay in God's Word.  You encourage me to continue living the life that honors God. I pray, too, that my words are used by God to challenge and uplift each of you.  As I begin to read through Nehemiah in preparation for the study starting next week, I keep finding passages that grab me.  Sunday afternoon I was struck by 1:10-11.  "And they are Thy servants and Thy people whom Thou didst redeem by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive the prayer of Thy servant and the prayer of Thy servants who delight to revere Thy name…"  

 

I know this passage was written by a Hebrew man, referencing the Hebrew people, His chosen people.  But we too, the followers of God, the Men of God, are chosen and loved.  And did He not redeem us by His great power and strong hand?  How else would you describe the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? 

 

I want to be counted among those called "his servants."  I want my actions and my words to cause others to know that I am a follower of God.

 

Sometimes I let Satan trick me into thinking I should not ask so much of God.  Not really so much about physical, worldly things- it's obvious that I shouldn't ask for those things all the time.  Sometimes I feel I should not ask so much for peace and prosperity and holiness and …. just so many things that I ask Him for.  But look at this verse, "I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive."  It is okay to ask from God.  We are encouraged by Nehemiah's example to bring our petitions before God.  He wants to hear our requests.  Don't let Satan fool you too.  You are not bothering or pestering God.

 

Another verse that grabbed me was 2:18, the first part.  "And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me….."  The simplicity of that hit me.  So many times God has been "favorable" to me.  How often do I tell others how the hand of God has been gracious to me?  Has God not indeed been merciful and loving and bountiful to us all?  How dare we not tell others about "how the hand of my God has been favorable to me." 

 

Go do that today.  Tell someone, tell two or three someones how God's hand has been favorable to you. 

 

Be encouraged and lead.

Philip Buford

 

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While it is hard to motivate someone with no Vision, it is almost impossible to stop someone with a Vision. 

 

Regarding righteousness

The Lord has been dealing with me recently and thankfully has not turned me over to my sin! He has shown me truths that I have read and heard before, but never integrated into my life (this is called ‘practical theology’ – not what we know, but what we live – sadly there is sometimes a large gap between the two).

 

All this time – even though I knew that God viewed me as righteous because of Christ – I never really lived that way. I always said, “I want to be better, or be more holy & righteous” so I would ‘try harder’ and it never worked. I would reprimand myself for not reading the Bible more, for not having an active prayer life, for still being angry, for all of my other sins. But all I was doing was following a checklist like assembling furniture. The problem was that I was working to earn righteousness, which I finally understand will never bring anything but failure. I am incapable of attaining righteousness by any work, no matter how ‘good’. It wasn’t until I confessed all of my sins, confessed how evil and wretched I am down to the very core -  telling myself and others the truth about how worthless I am as a moral agent really opened the door to new life in Christ. Martin Luther said “Righteousness does not come through righteous acts, rather, righteous acts are borne from righteousness.” Now that I have totally ‘given up’ and am relying on Christ to be my righteousness, guess what? I have had devotional time with God nearly every day for the past two weeks. My wife and I pray nearly every night (real, honest prayer too), my desire for what I listen to has changed, my desires for what I view have changed – and get this – I have a desire for evangelism! I am coming close to being ready to live as Thomas a’Kempis said: “To live a spiritual life, you must be contented to be considered a fool in this world for Christ’s sake.” And it isn’t a task list – I simply don’t feel satisfied without them. It’s a 180 degree turn.

 

Hopefully, this is encouraging to you – because maybe you are like I was – asleep in light. I had more scriptural knowledge that I knew what to do with. I knew that I should have a desire to know God more intimately, to serve Him with all my heart, but I never really felt it or all of my best efforts never lasted because my heart just wasn’t in it. God had to show me that my efforts were failing because I still was unrepentant in several areas of my life; I had never fully turned over my entire essence to Him. Once I did that men - words cannot describe the change. How did this happen with me? I had to confess to God that I was still deliberately sinful. I confessed to my wife. I confessed to several other, important, accountable and Godly-minded men. Doing that forced me to get real. The truth will set you free!

Nathan Campbell

 

Monday Blog - Supporting your Brothers

Without a doubt, The Lord of the Rings is a great trilogy, both in print and film. I was able to recently sit and watch the films again and I think I enjoyed them even more this time around. My favorite line comes from the character of Sam. Some background: Frodo has the difficult job of carrying the ring to Mount Doom. The task nearly killed him on more than one occasion. Frodo is at a point where he cannot go on. That is when Sam steps up and says, "Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it for you... but I can carry you! Come on!" Sam lifts up Frodo and walks with him the rest of the way up the mountain. What an incredible picture of brotherhood!

This scene always reminds me of Moses. Exodus 17 tells us the story. Moses had just led the Israelites across the Red Sea and God provided manna and quail for their food. These people with no battle experience were suddenly attacked by the Amalekites. They had no idea what to do! God told Moses as long as he held his staff up above his head, the Israelites would be victorious. Joshua led an army into battle and as long as Moses held up the staff, they were victorious as God said. When he let his arms down, the enemy would begin to prevail. What a job for Moses! His arms grew tired and he could no longer hold them up. Nobody else could do the job God gave to him, it was his and his alone. Here we see Aaron pull a Sam Gangee and come to the rescue. The Bible tells us he brought a stone for Moses to sit on and people stood on each side of Moses, holding up his arms for him. Israel was victorious.

God has given us the opportunity to be this kind of help and encouragement for each other. Men, we must stand together against the enemy, kneel with each other before the throne, and carry each other throughout the hard times. God has given each a purpose and often it is overwhelming. This is why God says "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Brothers! Make that phone call. Send that note. Visit that friend. Get to know your Christian brothers and be there to walk in Christ together.

For His Glory,
Darrell Baty

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