May 1, 2006

The Word May 1, 2006
The Story & Lessons of Jonah


-The book of Jonah starts with God telling Jonah to “arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for there wickedness is come before me,” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah did the exact opposite of what God told him to do; he “rose up and flee unto Tarshish from the presences of the Lord,” (Jonah 1:3).
-The first part of this story is interesting because that is what many of us are doing today. We are running from the presences of the Lord. Wherever there is God’s spirit, we try not to be. Remember, “And the Lord said, My spirit will not always strive with man,” (Genesis 6:3). So, we need to embraces God while he is still calling us.
-I believe that people run from the presence of God because they don’t understand God and this lack of understanding places fear in their hearts. 1 Timothy 1:7 states, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind.” Lord, please remove the spirit of fear from me and cause me not to run from your presence.
-Later this week we will come back to running from the presence of the Lord.

The Psalms of Shambee

I’m still here praising you

All that I’ve done and all that I’ve been through,

I’m still here praising you.

My nights have been long; my days have been few,

I’m still here praising you.

I’m not singing a sad song, because I know you’ll come through,

I’m still here praising you.

I’m not afraid of what tomorrow may bring,
I love to laugh and I love to sing.
All of my choices
And all of my mistakes,
When I was to early or showed up late.

I’m still here praising you.

I refused to quit; I refuse to go quiet in the night,
No matter how weak I am, no matter how long the fight,

I’m still here praising you.

Can I get a witness? Is Jesus worth the praise?
Have you ever tried him? Has God ever made a way?
He has for me and it’s easy to see,

I’m still here praising you.


I praise Jesus for he is worthy all day, when I am on the right path or when choose to stray,
My situation, never matters much to me, tears can fill my eyes,
Hope can fade away, but I can say with no hesitation,

I’m still here praising you.

April 28, 2006

The Word April 28, 2006
Joy & Suffering/Sorrow

Matthew 6:33 (King James Version)
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added on to you.”

Psalms 37:4 (King James Version)
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Ephesians 3:20 (King James Version)
“Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

Jesus 1st
Others 2nd
You 3rd

You 3rd
-Now that we have taken care of following the will of God and then caring for the needs of others now we can deal with us. However, when I look at the above verses I see that I don’t have to take care of myself. In Matthew, it says, “ all these things shall be added on to you,” if I seek God first (we are doing that). Psalms states that, “He shall give you the desires of thine heart,” if I delight myself in him (we still doing that).
-You will notice that when you are following the path that God has laid out for you he will take care of you. All we have to do is keep our eyes on him. The best part is what is stated in Ephesians, “Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Not only is he able to supply our every need, he is able to do it “exceeding abundantly.” Now I don’t know about you but on my own I can ask and think pretty big and God is even able to do above that, wow! Lord, please keep me mindful to put your will followed by the needs of others before myself. Also remind me that you will take care of me; that is not something that I need to worry about.

April 27, 2006

The Word April 27, 2006
Joy & Suffering/Sorrow

Matthew 7:12 (King James Version)
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law of the prophets.”

Jesus 1st
Others 2nd
You 3rd

Others 2nd
-The above verse tells us that we should do unto others, as we would have them do unto us. We have all, I’m sure, heard of this as the “Golden Rule.” When you really take the time to understand what that really means it might surprise you. I believe that by nature we are very selfish people. We want the best for our self. We also want others to treat us with the best respect that they know how and even give us no less then what they would do for themselves. So in turn, if this is what we would want from others then this is what we need to be willing to give. It is always nice when someone puts your needs before his/her own. If I like that, then that is what I should give in return. The bottom line is that everyone is different and each of us enjoys different things. However, take some time and really evaluate how you would like others to care for you and then do that for them. Lord, please give me an understanding of how I enjoy to be cared for by others and then keep me mindful of that is how I should treat them. Even above my own needs.

April 26, 2006

The Word April 26, 2006
Joy & Suffering/Sorrow

1 John 2: 17 (King James Version)
“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Jesus 1st
Others 2nd
You 3rd

Jesus 1st
-Living by this order will bring joy into your life. The scripture above tells us that if we do the will of God we will “abideth for ever.” All through the Bible, there is verse after verse that tells us that we must follow the will of God. We even studied one last week when Jesus said, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done,” (Luke 22:42). As long as we stay on the path that God has laid out for us no real harm will ever come to us. We also learned last week that Jesus did nothing until the Father told him. If I am putting Jesus first in my life, then I should not do anything until the Jesus tells me. Everything that I do should be put before God first. Lord, please remind me to run everything that I do by you first.

April 25, 2006

The Word April 25, 2006
Joy & Suffering/Sorrow

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 (King James Version)
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might be depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace if sufficient for thee: for my strength is made prefect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

-I really love this. This was Paul talking to God and asking him to remove “a thorn in the flesh.” He requested this three times from God. God told Paul that his grace is enough and that his “strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we are weak and going through a situation that is when God’s strength is perfect in us. Paul’s response to that was keep me weak so that the power of God “may rest upon me.”
-Once we truly understand that God is strongest with us when we are going through our suffering and sorrow; that is when we will walk in his true joy. God’s joy is being happy when you are going through your worse suffering and sorrow. When we understand that God is with us and as long as we are walking on the path that he has laid out for us and when we are on this path, no real harm will ever come before us. Lord, teach me how to rejoice in the mist of my suffering and sorrow because I understand that is when you are strongest in me.

April 24, 2006

The Word April 24, 2006
Joy & Suffering/Sorrow

Psalms 126:5 (King James Version)
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

Psalms 30:5 (King James Version)
“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

-Definitions
Joy - feeling of great happiness or pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind.
Suffering – physical or psychological pain and distress, or an experience of it.
Sorrow - an unfortunate event, experience, or other cause of sorrow
(Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation).

-Like the two words that we studied last week, these words are in direct opposition to each other as well. To really experience the fullness of joy we have to have experienced some suffering and sorrow. The above verses tell us that joy follows suffering and sorrow. As we go through things, we need to be mindful that suffering and sorrow only last a season.
-If God always gave us joy, we would not appreciate it as much. A person who has never been financially challenged doesn’t appreciate the value of a dollar the same as a person who has been financially challenged. Lord, please keep me mindful that to know joy is to know suffering and sorrow.

A Spiritual Poem from The Psalms of Shambee

Obedience

I found that I am not always right,
Even when I dream their still is a fight,
When I look, it not always to see,
Sometimes it’s lust motivating me,
Maybe…

Obedience separates you from doing what you think is right,

All the choices I’ve made, I didn’t counsel with God first,
All the things that I’ve bought, will it bring out the best in me or the worst?
The word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway,
If I know so much, I ask myself, why do I still stray?
Because…

Obedience separates you from doing what you think is right,

Why can’t I act right, for more than just a season?
When will I give abundantly just for no reason?
Lord, what is my motivation? Why do I do what I do?
Are all my works to glorify you?
You lead me every day and your not always whispering,
I’m like so many others; I’m not always listening,
But I found out one day that…

Obedience separates you from doing what you think is right,

Often my thoughts tell me” sure go head “
But obedience shows me; walk in that direction and you will end up dead,
Often my thoughts tell me “ you deserve it you’ve been good”
But obedience shows me “ you’re not insecure anymore but back in the day you know you would.
Often my thoughts tell me” you’ve waited long enough, just do it”
But obedience shows me “God is in control, you waited to long now is not the time to lose it,
There is a battle, that war daily in my mind,
After searching high and low I can only find,

Obedience separates you from doing what you think is right.

April 21, 2006

The Word April 21, 2006
Obedience & Rebellion

Romans 5:19 (King James Version)
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

-The one man that the verse is referring to that disobeyed was Adam. When Adam disobeyed God and partook in the forbidden fruit, he caused death to befall on all men. Genesis 3:19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
-Jesus, in his obedience, caused many men to become righteous. As we have learned in the last couple of days, Jesus only did what God told him to do. Even to the point where he gave up his life for us. That was still something that was hard for him to do. As he prayed to God, he said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove the cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done,” (Luke 22:42). Jesus obeyed God even when he really did not want to. Lord, give me the strength to obey your word, even when I really don’t want to.

April 20, 2006

The Word April 20, 2006
Obedience & Rebellion

John 8:28-29 (King James Version)
“Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself; but as my father has taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

-Jesus represents the ultimate example of obedience. He said he did nothing until the Father told him to. One example that I love that shows Jesus obeying is in John 11: 5-7 “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith to his disciples, let us go to Judaea again.” Jesus loved Lazarus and when he was told that Lazarus was sick he did not just jump up and run to him. He waited until God told him to go. That had to be hard. Far to often, we respond to things with our compassion and not to the will of God. We need to operate in God’s compassion.
-If Jesus had disobeyed God and went as soon as he heard that his friend was sick, when he got there he would not have been able to heal him because that was not God’s will. God is not going to bless us to act outside of his will. By the time Jesus got to Lazarus, he had been dead for four days. No one believed that Jesus could bring him back. They told him it was to late. Jesus called Lazarus to “come forth” and he did. The people knew and believed that Jesus could heal the sick. In Jesus’ obedience, he taught them to not put limits on God. God can raise the dead as well as heal the sick. Lord, please show me how to obey you even when everything around me looks like I shouldn’t.

April 19, 2006

The Word April 19, 2006
Obedience & Rebellion

Romans 2: 6-8 (King James Version)
“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.”

-Yesterday, we talked about the positive outcome of obeying the Lord: “so that it may go well with us,” (Jeremiah 42:6). Today, we will look at what the word says if we choose not to obey. God will bless us according to what we do, both good and bad. The scripture states that if we don’t obey the truth, indignation and wrath will fall upon us.
*Indignation- anger or annoyance because somebody or something
seems unfair or unreasonable.
*Wrath- great anger.
(Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation).
-I do not want God’s anger on me. Lord, please keep me mindful that we reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

April 18, 2006

The Word April 18, 2006
Obedience & Rebellion

Jeremiah 42:6 (King James Version)
“Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

-This scripture answers the question of why we should obey God; “that it may be well with us.” In Jeremiah 42, the people were asking Jeremiah the prophet to pray to God and ask him to “show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do,” (Jeremiah 46:3). After that, the people said the above verse.
-We are constantly asking God for something; however, when he tells us what to do we don’t always comply. Their response was good or bad, if the Lord said do it, we will. This reminds me of King Saul in yesterday’s word. Killing all of those people may have looked evil to us but it was what the Lord said do (God is not going to tell us to kill anyone today). Everything God tells us to do won’t always look right or good but remember he sees the entire picture we only see part of it. We need to get to a point where as soon as God tells us to do something we move; no questions asked. Lord, help me to obey your word as soon as we are told; no questions asked. So, that “it may be well with us.”

April 17, 2006

The Word April 17, 2006
Obedience & Rebellion

I Samuel 15: 22-23 (King James Version)
“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou has rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

-This week we will be talking about obedience and rebellion. These two words work in opposition to each other because you can only do one or the other.
*Obedience- the action or condition of obeying authority.
*Rebellion- opposition or defiance of authority, accepted moral codes,or social conventions
(Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation).

-In I Samuel 15, God told King Saul (the first king of Israel) to go and kill the Amalekites because “that which Amalek did to Israel, how he lay wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt,” (I Samuel 15:2). He told him to “utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass,” (I Samuel 15:3). Samuel went and destroyed everything expect the king of the Amalekites and the best of their ox, sheep, and camels. When Samuel asked him why he did not obey God his answer was it was the people. They wanted to sacrifice the animals to God. That was not what God told him to do and his disobedience to God caused him to loss his crown.
-We know that God is the authority in our lives. We choose to be obedient to his word (authority) or to act in rebellion to it. When we choose to act in rebellion to God, like Saul, there will be a price to pay. God said, “to obey is better than sacrifice, and “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.” Lord, help me to obey your word and show me when I am acting in rebellion to you and your word.

A Spiritual Poem from The Psalms of Shambee

Forgotten

How could God ever forget you?
He allowed your mother to conceive.

With each challenge that you face,
Stand strong and believe.

You are not forgotten,
No matter what it looks like,
Lean not to your own understanding and do what you know is right.

You have chosen to follow God and you’ve lost some close friends,
Never forget God has always been there from the beginning and will stay until the end.

You are not forgotten,
No matter what it looks like,
Lean not to your own understanding and do what you know is right.

You are the apple of God’s eye.
He is smiling on you; you no longer have to cry.

You are chosen amongst millions,
Seek his face daily and when you pray stay in his pavilion.

You are not forgotten,
No matter what it looks like,
Lean not to your own understanding and do what you know is right.

Joy is just around the corner,
Hope will finally come to pass,
You have all the strength you need,
All you have to do is last.

Praise him while you have breath,
Raise your hands it’s time to dance.
Shout for the victory now,
Your number has been called it’s your chance.

You are not forgotten,
No matter what it looks like,
Lean not to your own understanding and do what you know is right.

April 7, 2006

The Word April 7, 2006
Trust

Numbers 23:19 (King James Version)
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
-There is one thing that God cannot do; lie (“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” Hebrews 6:18). He will do whatever he said he would do. This is a new concept for us because we know that man is more then capable of lying. When someone tells us something there is a chance that it could be a lie, regardless of who they are. With God there is only one way, the truth. We have to get use to hearing the word of God and expecting it as the truth. Lord, help me to expect your word as the absolute truth.

April 6, 2006

The Word April 6, 2006
Trust

Jeremiah 17:5 (King James Version)
“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.”

-It seems like when man tells us something we are more likely to believe him/her. When God tells us something there is doubt and disbelief. How can we trust in the plate of food and not in the cook that created the dish? Curse, according to the Encarta World English Dictionary, means, “to inflict something unpleasant on somebody.” The word is telling us that when we put our trust in man and not in God we are inflicting something unpleasant on our self.
-How can we live with man and not put any of our trust in him? Here is an example of how that can be accomplished. On my job I get paid once a month. When that time comes I am not trusting my job to pay me, I am trusting God. Too many things can go wrong with man; the computer can crash, someone can input the wrong information. So I would say, “Lord, I am trusting that you will provide my monthly income.” Even when someone tells us they are going to do something for us. We can pray and say, “Lord, if this is your will, I trust you and not so and so to get this done.” Lord, help me to put my trust less in man and more in you.

April 5, 2006

The Word April 5, 2006
Trust

Psalms 5:11 (King James Version)
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Isaiah 26:3 (King James Version)
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
-What do we get when we put our trust in the Lord? The above scriptures answer that question. We get joy, a defense, and perfect peace. Joy means “feelings of great happiness or pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind” (Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation). Who doesn’t want an elevated happiness?
-Encarta defines defense as “the protection of something, especially from attack by an enemy.” So when attacks in our finances, job, or family come up against us, when need to know without a shadow of doubt that God will protect us from all things.
-The word peace, defined by Encarta, means “a state of mental calm and serenity, with no anxiety.” What this means is that I never have to worry again because I am trusting God to get it done. Image being married and your better half takes cares of everything, if you ask him/her to. Each time you ask they do it and never let you down. You can trust that it will get done. It may not be according to your time, however, it will get done. We need to have that same worry free trust with God: that will lead us to “perfect peace.” Lord, help me to trust you more and more, so that I can obtain joy, a defense, and perfect peace.

April 4, 2006

The Word April 4, 2006
Trust

Luke 5:27-28 (King James Version)
“And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him.”
-These scriptures are when Jesus was calling his disciples. He went to Levi (AKA Matthew) and said to him, “Follow me!” Levi, without hesitation, left ALL, got up, and followed Jesus. This story displays an example of ultimate trust in the Lord. Can you imagine sitting in Starbucks enjoying your coffee and someone you don’t know came up to you and said, “Leave everything that you have and follow me.” That is what happened. Levi did not ask questions; he didn’t even hesitate. Wow! This level of trust in God seems so far removed in today’s world. However, I believe that it is possible: If we only believe. Lord, help me to believe that this level of trust in you is still possible in today’s world.

April 3, 2006

The Word April 3, 2006
Trust

Job 13:15 (King James Version)
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

-This is what Job said after he lost all of his children, his wealth, and his health. He lost everything at one time. As one man was telling him of one loss, another man was coming in to tell him about the next lost. We can’t even image losses as great as his. What is so amazing about this is his response to it all. That regardless of all he was going through, he still trusted the Lord. We can’t hardly trust the Lord in our good times because we are always worried that the bad times will soon return. Lord, please give me the trust in you that Job had in you; through the good as well as the bad times.

A Spiritual Poem From The Psalms of Shambee

Honor

I respect the President, Governor & their mission,
But I give the credit to God who gave them that position.

I respect the Teachers, Preachers & Pastors,
But I give the credit to Jesus, who you are supposed to model after.

I respect Men, Women, and Children what a pleasant picture,
But I give the credit to God, for he created that structure.

I respect the student who worked hard for that degree and I respect the small business owner who dared to believe.

I respect the Officers who patrol day and night, but I call on God when
They are nowhere in sight.

I give the credit to God for everything; he makes my heartbeat and my voice sing.

I will give honor to whom honor is due, but not the glory even if you feel the glory belongs to you.