Deaf Devotion 1/15/2011

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” (John 15:16 NLT)

Before we study today’s verse, let’s take a look at a promise Jesus made in John 14:14. “Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (NLT)

Too often people take the verse to suggest, "If you ask anything, I will do it." We tend to overlook the most important part of this verse: "in My name."

Asking in Christ's name has two meanings.

First, believers are welcome to make requests that line up with God's purpose and plan. To do that, we need to ask Him if our prayers match what He already has planned for us. God has several ways of assuring followers that they are on the correct path. For instance, He may increase right desires or decrease wrong ones. Another possibility is that He will use His Word to redirect a Christian's steps or confirm that he is going the right way. God always makes His will plain to the man or woman who seeks to know it. And we know from Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus said if we were to seek first HIS Kingdom and HIS righteousness, all “these” things will be added.

Second, invoking Christ's name means that we desire to glorify Him instead of ourselves. James gives this warning: "And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure." (James 4:3 NLT) To understand that, let's consider those who are trying to pray their way out of a financial hole. The question is really whether a person wants to get out of debt so that he has more for himself or so that he can use the excess in God-honoring ways? Motives are apparent to God. He will not offer help until our heart is right.

But at the same time when there is glory in that which God will use us to work out His plan for another person, and we are willing, then all we do is not for ourselves, but focuses the attention on God. We cannot heal people. God heals people and He will use HIS people to show HIS Healing power. God will use HIS people to bring others to salvation. But it is only the risen Savior Jesus Christ who has defeated sin and death. God will use HIS creation to display HIS work.

In the name Jesus Christ, there is abundant power. However, calling upon Him in prayer is not a magic charm to get what we want. Rather, it is a signal that we are laying down our personal desires and our own way of getting things done. In so doing, we commit to follow God and bring honor to Him.

Obey God’s call and leading. Step in faith to see what God has planned. Trust God to work in the background to work out all the details. He already knows! Whatever happens when it is done in the precious name of Jesus Christ, God is glorified and HIS NAME is magnified.

Deaf Devotion 1/8/2011

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT)

On two separate occasions, the Bible records that Satan petitioned the Lord to test a believer.

In Job 1:6-12 God and Satan discuss Job’s apparent wealth and divine protection. Notice that Satan acknowledges that God is Job’s protector. Also notice that God acknowledges Job’s faith in Him. But what is also interesting is seeing God’s faith in Job.

In Luke 22:31-34 Jesus and Peter are discussing faith. Peter had a habit of speaking before he really thought about what he was saying. Jesus says to Peter that He has faith in Peter but Peter’s humanity will take over no matter what Peter believes. Jesus, in honest truth says, “Peter, I hear what you are saying but when you are tested, you will fail. But go ahead and give it your best shot.” Jesus essentially let Peter’s bring his weak earthly courage to the table and see what happens. Of course Satan took advantage of that.

In both cases, God agreed to let Satan have some leeway. God knew the outcome ahead of time, but you must give Satan credit. The Devil did his best to break the faith of first Job and later Peter, but he failed both times.

Then Satan tried his best test. Just after Jesus was baptized, He went into the desert. Satan, who more than likely heard God saying at the baptism, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased,” decided He would go after Jesus. It was an epic fail. It was failure in a big way. One would think Satan would give up.

Satan failed with Job. Satan failed with Peter. Satan failed with Jesus. Satan failed at the cross.

Have we ever thought that Christ and Satan have ever had a similar discussion about you or me? I think most people are too humble to assume such a conversation has happened. So let me ask the question a different way. Does our life make an impact worth talking about? Is our life making a difference for Jesus Christ that causes our name to pop up on Satan’s computer as a possible threat? Or are we easy for Satan to take advantage of? We must ask ourselves whether or not we are serving God sufficiently to make Satan feel threatened?

Pastors, preachers, Sunday School teachers, and missionaries aren't the only people who make Satan nervous. Any believer who is determined to obey the Lord is a threat to the Devil, particularly when sharing the gospel. God calls on us to witness to certain people because we have just the right knowledge, story, or temperament to reach some person who needs to hear the Gospel. Fearing that the unbeliever might choose salvation because of our testimony, Satan gives plenty of opportunities to fail.

Satan hopes we will be too discouraged to continue serving the Lord. The Enemy would like nothing better than to put a stop to God's plan for believers' lives by undermining their faith. That being the case, we might all be surprised how often our names pass between Jesus and Satan!

Although we may think we aren't important, God knows your true value. When HE was on the Cross, WE were on HIS mind.

Friends, as a Spirit-filled believer, we have amazing potential to serve the kingdom. Satan sees that, and he will try to make us stumble. Sometimes while we try to stay focused on God, our humanity will take over. Most times God has more faith in us than we sometimes have in Him. Satan knows this. But God holds each of our lives in His hand and not even Satan can snatch our life out of God’s hand.

Satan does not have much faith in our faith. If one were to fail and fall, the smart move is to lean on the Lord as we get to our feet and carry on.

If God is for us, who can be against us? It’s certainly not Satan. Satan tries to make us think God is against us. Satan will not give up until he achieves his goal of destroying everything God has created.

I imagine Satan coming crawling back to God for a follow-up discussion. “Well I tried to break (insert name here)’s relationship with you. I could not do it. Their faith in you is as strong as your faith in them. I will not give up. I will find others.”

God says, “Me too. I will not give up. I will find others. I have too many people who will tell the story. Now go away.”

Satan has no choice but to leave. You see He must obey God also.

Deaf Devotion 1/1/2011

“‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’” (Deuteronomy 20:3-4 NLT)

Okay. It is January 1, 2011. It is New Year’s Day. It is the day we all look back and say, Thank goodness it’s done and gone and we can forget it.” But what is done, gone and being forgotten? It is a span of time. There were 365 days; 8,760 hours; 525,600 minutes; and 31,536,000 seconds. They are gone, spent and we cannot get them back to do over again. This means the good and the bad. We want to relive the high points but forget the mistakes, mess-ups, and the times we were less than what we should have been. What did we do with the time? Was it so terrible that we want to stop the calendar from turning to 2011? Or did we see miraculous things happen to give us hope for a future?

I am here to tell you that God was with us in the best of times and God was right there with us in the worst of times. God is still in control and God is still the God that created the universe and named the stars. Jesus is still Savior and is still living at the right hand of God in heaven.

So what has changed? God has not moved or changed His address. Not Jesus: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NLT)

We have changed. We made promises at the beginning of 2010 which were meant for self-improvement. Most of them were broken by January 2, 2010. We gave up. When we give up it invites more hardship. Some had successes. They became more than what they were in 2009. They overcame the hardship and frustrations. Now it’s not “what changed,” but “what’s the difference?”

A lot of negative emotions accompany hardship: frustration, feelings of hopelessness, fear, and doubt. People ruled by those feelings often make poor choices. This is why God’s Word says that we are to decide right now to respond to troubled times the way the Israelites did: with praise. Even in the darkest hours, worshipping God fills the heart with joy and the mind with peace. A believer who is filled in this way can wisely keep a commitment to obey the Lord no matter what.

But wait, Pastor, You said, “OBEY the LORD no matter what.” Yes, that’s right. I said it and I said it because it’s the truth.

Worshipping the Lord enlarges our vision. By doing so, we begin to see how He is at work in the world, perhaps in ways and places we never noticed before. More particularly, we see what God is doing in our situation and notice areas where He requires our obedience.

Our human tendency is to plot a course through a situation toward the easiest solution. But believers who strike out on their own do not mature in faith. Moreover, they miss out on the blessings of following the Lord's plan. Stopping to praise can divert us from the easy way out and direct us to the right path—namely, the way of God's will. Taking a step forward in obedience and faith can be frightening. However, believers are completely safe risking their whole future on the Lord's faithfulness. He has never disappointed anyone!

It's hard to feel hopeless while honoring the Lord for His love and strength. We can dispel doubt by recalling His past faithfulness—and ease frustration by committing our future plans to Him. Praise is not the obvious reaction to hardship, but it is the wisest response.

So, here it is 2011. Are we going to make more empty promises to ourselves? And then become frustrated when we fail? Or do we step out in faith and obedience to what God has planned, let Him take over control, and then actually let God work out the details of how to work HIS plan in our life instead of us trying to figure out how we can to work God’s plan into our life.

It comes down to a statement people sometimes have backwards. People say “I will trust you Lord to work out the details then I will obey.” Nope. If we do that we are delaying God’s plan. If we wait for God to work out the details on our terms, there will never be obedience. If, on the other hand we say, “Obedience then trust,” and we commit to this, then God can and will show exactly how glorious and powerful He really is. God does not want our ABILITY. God wants our AVAILABILITY. “Ability” is what we are able to do. “Availability” is letting God do what He does through us.

Let 2011 be a year of praise and worship of God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes that means 365 days; 8,760 hours; 525,600 minutes; and 31,536,000 seconds worth of praise, worship, lifting up, and encouragement, blessing, and yes, obedience. It means we cannot let anything else stop us from focusing on God and His plan for us.

Then as Paul said to the Church at Philippi, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

Happy New Year!

Deaf Devotion 12/25/2010

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (Romans 1:20 NLT)

Today is Jesus’ Birthday. It was not a surprise party. And what’s more, you and I received the gift. You and I do not deserve any gifts, but still there was one gift wrapped on that day that brought eternal life to all.

What a wonderful giver. The angel came and first came and told Mary she was chosen as the Mother of God’s Son. The angel came to Joseph and told him what he needed to do. The angel came and told the shepherds they would find a gift, wrapped and ready to be revealed.

What’s interesting is that God had planned this birthday party even before He planned the universe. In His wisdom and power He wanted to live among us. He walks with us. He talks, laughs, cries, and fellowships with us. He arrived as a gift and the gift continues for eternity.

That first Christmas, the heavens declared the glory of God! By looking into a night sky filled with stars, the shepherds learned about God. The night sky so limitless was suddenly filled to capacity with angels shouting and praising God. About that same time some Magi or “King-makers” also looked into the sky and saw God. They knew they had a long road ahead of them and they would not stop until they found the gift. Since the universe appears almost limitless, so God must also have no limits. God does not live in time and space. God lives in eternity.

The universe God created literally pulsates with energy, He must be all powerful.
Since the universe is wonderfully complex and contains intelligent life, God must possess all knowledge. Since the universe contains feeling and emotions and love and human relations, God must have a love that knows no limits. It is a personal love.

It is the love of a baby in a manger. He was born to die. No person took His life. He gave up His life for you and me. He died so you and I could have our re-birth day. We are new creations.

How do you explain the meaning of Christmas in just a few words? Well the best way I know is this: "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 KJV)

Marvel at THE GIFT He has given today!

Deaf Devotion 12/18/2010

I have one word on my mind this morning. It is the word “gratitude.” It comes from the adjective “grateful.” Other words for this are: “appreciation;” “recognition;” “credit;” and “acknowledgement.” The dictionary defines being grateful as “warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.” It is being so full of thanks that we are sometimes not able to put into words how thankful we are.

We are led to feel like this: “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV)

There was a movie a few years ago called “Pay It Forward.” A young man had something given to him. He knew he would never be able to repay the person who gave him the gift. He also knew that the person gave the gift out of love and they would never accept repayment anyways. It was a gift and not a loan. Instead of trying to repay the person who gave him the gift, he started with one person and with gratitude in receiving the gift, gave a gift to another person. This person was expected not to repay, but to also pay it forward. It is blessing someone else with a blessing one has received. This was done in the spirit of love in the person who gave the young man the gift in the first place. The gift was not re-gifted, it was not “see who could do more, and it was not hidden. The gift was paid forward. This is why repaying a loan is called paying it “back.”

The point is that “You do not need to repay me, just pay it forward.” Do something to make someone else’s life better. We are thankful for the gift and the giver, but the gift and the giver are honored if the blessing is passed along to someone else.

Note to those who blessed us this week: You know who you are. God knows who you are and how much you have blessed someone else. We may not be able to ever pay you back. We also know what you have done is out of love and you would never expect to be paid back. Please know that the blessing God enabled you to pass along to us will be used to bless someone else at the time God decides and in the manner God chooses. Thank you.

We do not give to draw attention to ourselves. Remember God gave to us first and we can never ever give more than God. We give to draw others to God. We love because He first loved us and died for us.

Isn’t this the way it is with God? Our salvation has been won. Sin and death are overcome and defeated. Jesus said, “It is finished.” I believe Him. There is no more paying "back." only paying "forward." The gift is ours. The victory belongs to Jesus. The glory is God’s. And this truth sets us free.

Jesus said we are to go into ALL the world to make disciples. To me this is God saying that He does not want us to repay Him. It is God saying, “Now go and pay it forward.” The gift of Jesus Christ and the Giver who is God are honored and glorified if the gift we have been given is passed along to others.

This is why Mary and Joseph rejoiced. This is why the baby John the Baptist jumped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary and Elizabeth met. This is why the sky was filled with angels the night the angel appeared to the shepherds. This is why the shepherds left the stable rejoicing. This is why the wise men showed up around two years later. All of them knew they had been given a special gift that was beyond description, beyond anything they had ever dreamed of. And the list goes on and on.

We have received a gift that was paid forward. It is a gift from eternity to eternity. It is a gift that is the perfect gift for any person. It is a gift that keeps on giving.

Suddenly we realize that God has been so good to us that we can’t keep it inside any more. From the depths of our being we shout our joy to God. In 2 Corinthians 9:15 Paul is clearly speaking about the gift of Jesus Christ. But with any blessing from any person by any method, our response should be, “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”

Our response should be to now pay it forward and not pay it back. The debt is paid. It is a gift not a loan.

Pay it forward.

Deaf Devotion 12/11/2010

“Let all that I am praise the Lord. O Lord my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens.” (Psalm 104:1-2 NLT)

We have a God who is simply presented in all of creation. He was born a baby on a cold night in a stable. He was laid in a manger. Shepherds were told to look for Him. They were told they would find Him in a stable wrapped in cloth. They found the Savior. We should recognize Him.

We have a God who is sovereignly powerful. How many of us have been out at night and looked up at the starry night sky? How many stars are there up there? Are there millions? Are there billions? Are there even trillions? Who put each one in place? Who holds them all in their place? It does not matter how many stars there are. There is only ONE light. God is the only one. Is that not amazing, extraordinary? Yes, of course- think, imagine. Who is this God we worship? We should respect Him.

We have a God who is surely purposeful. He said we have eternal life. He said our sins are forgiven. He said we already have a place to live with Him forever. He said He will never leave or forsake us. In fact, He said it’s already done for us. All if we accept His Son Jesus Christ as Savior. It was all confirmed and completed at the Cross. All of heaven’s angels announced His birth. Mary and Joseph obeyed. The Shepherds did as they were told by the angel. They searched, found, and worshipped. Two years later, after a long and dangerous journey, the wise men from the east did not rest until they found Him. They cut the red tape of government and found Jesus. They entered the house and worshipped. All of these were given a purpose and plan directly from God. We should worship and adore Him.

We have a God who is able to save personally. Christ is with us. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10b-11 NLT) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NLT) Now every day of our lives is an invitation.

It is an invitation to a birthday party. Jesus Christ was born once to die once for all sin. Yes there will be mistakes. We are human and will mess things up. But God is faithful and just to forgive through the blood of His Son who died once for all.

We need only turn to Him and open our hearts and eyes. Look full into His wonderful face. Bask in His presence and share in His life. Yield to His Lordship; celebrate the glory and wonder of His birth, of His life, of His death and resurrection, and of His victory over sin and death. Just like children on Christmas morning, just like the shepherds coming from the field to the city searching, just like the wise men on a long journey, we need to become a child again looking afresh at our Savior. We should receive Him.

All of that is in Genesis 1:1 which says, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.” The Word became a baby in a manger. The Word became a baby, born to die. We have an obligation to God. We are twice His. First, we are His because of creation and secondly, we are His because of redemption. He made us, and then He bought us back.

We need to celebrate Christmas with Joy and Thanksgiving.

Deaf Devotion 12/4/2010

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:7-10 NLT)

"Come close to God and God will come close to you." The King James Bible says if we “draw near” to God He will “draw near” to us. That is an amazing promise! When we open ourselves up to the Lord He opens heaven up for us. When we come to Him in surrender, repentance, and brokenness, He hurries to answer with forgiveness, love, and faithfulness. God, His love, His faithfulness, and His forgiveness have been there since before the universe was created. We are the ones who sinned against God and ever since He has been calling us to “draw near” to Him.

Many people have this “get close,” but “not too close” attitude. Closeness to some people has a limit. But with God there is nothing ever too close. There is also nothing that is too far away. Have we ever thought about giving God all control in our life? Wait a minute Pastor, that’s toooooo close for comfort. Satan wants to deceive us and have us to believe that we cannot do that. That means God will know everything and see everything that happens in my life. Trust me He already sees and knows. What could be closer than that? Everything that happens to us has already come across God’s desk. He is not surprised.

There is no room for self-sufficiency or self-protection in this interaction. Only in the humility of helplessness will we discover the all-consuming peace and love of His presence.

At first glance, we may seem to be the ones who begin this open relationship, but in reality, it is all God’s idea. We are merely responding. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” (John 6:44 NLT) Many times He uses situations and difficulties to get our attention and motivate us to seek Him.

What appears to us to be a painful or desperate situation is His invitation to draw near. When we feel overwhelmed and there is no hope or no way out, He invites us to draw near. Imagine what would happen if we accept God’s invitation to draw near and then actually let him take over. With God nothing is impossible.

Even our greatest failures and mistakes can lead us to Christ. We seek to make up for our mistakes with an attitude of humble repentance. Hopefully we learn and we can enter into a more cherished relationship with God.

However, if you and I continue living in rebellion and are unwilling to confess and repent, He will not open up and reveal more of Himself to us. Satan can step in and use this to his advantage to draw you and me AWAY from God. Sin always blocks our ability to know the Lord.

Have we let hardship or failure make us feel like we are pulling away from God instead of moving toward Him? Or do we believe God has forgotten us and pulled away from us? When there is this feeling of moving away or being left alone, God is still there. He is still God and He is still in control.

Satan knows this and will remind us and will misuse any situation to deceive us into thinking that we are abandoned and there is nothing we can do because after all, we are human. And we are all sinners. But I affirm, on the Word of God, we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. But these are the very situations that the Lord can utilize to draw us to Himself. Don't let the enemy, his deceit, and his lies win the battle. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NLT)

Accept the invitation. Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you.