Developing You

Don't compare yourself with others. Your life is not theirs. Your faith is not their faith. Your faith is what He has given you, and what He builds in you. Look to Him and trust Him to bring about all in your life that He desires. If you reach to be “perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect”, you will discover a sacrifice of heart that builds your character.

 

Always assess your character. Honestly look at yourself and how you live your faith. Look at how your life impacts others, and what it says about you. Pray about your relationships, family, friends, and all those who are in your life. When He reveals something you didn't handle well, pray about how you might have handled it better. Pray about how such mistakes can be avoided. If you have absolutely failed, ask for forgiveness and move on. Don't freeze out of fear of failing again. Be honest with Him and with yourself. He loves honest repentance, and forgives. Allow Him to develop you.

Keep Him close. If you do, He is always as close as your next breath. He is always your helper in your darkest moment. He leads your through circumstances that overwhelm. He brings you from your weakness to His strength and power, from danger to His protection, from poverty to supply, from doubt to faith. Don't ever forget He has saved you from sin, and brought you His love, peace, and joy. Don't allow any circumstance or failure to destroy His life in you. Turn it around for His glory. Allow it to make His life stronger in you.

Just like a photo negative that is developed, allow His to develop you into His perfect picture.

The Motive of Heart

We have all heard statements that are meant to elicit sympathy. “I’m doing this for your own good. This will hurt me more than it hurts you. It only hurts when I walk. I’d rather you have a nice dress than I get that warm coat.” The possibilities are endless.

 When I was a child the word “martyr” had this kind of connotation. A martyr was a person who suffered in order to make another person feel guilty for his sacrifice. Later I learned another kind of martyr. He is a person who suffers in order for another to discover freedom from his own guilty pain. Making you aware of the cost his sacrifice is the last thing on his mind. The difference between the first martyr and the latter is found in the motive. The first suffers for self, and the later is willing to die to self.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a martyr as a person who chooses to die rather than deny a strongly held belief. He is someone who makes sacrifices or suffers for the sake or another. A Christian martyr is one, like martyrs of the faith in Hebrews 11, who believe in the message of Christ, and choose to suffer rather than sacrifice his faith. His motive is not selfish. It is about the Savior who changed his life, and he yearns to share that promise with the world. This sold-out disciple would rather suffer and perhaps even die than deny His calling. He chooses to serve no matter what his eyes see, or ears hear, or even how he feels. He is willing to lay down his life so another will discover the forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ.

Are you like Christ? Is the personal cost of your sacrifice the last thing on your mind? Or does the personal cost weigh on your mind and claim your heart? Have you discovered the humility found in giving yourself away only for the sake of another person? Or does your sacrifice become your badge of service? Jesus' sacrifice reveals the heart of the humblest servant. “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8)! The greatest sacrifice He made was never about Him. It was all about you and me.

 So what is the motive of my heart and of yours?

I KNOW NO OTHER

“Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'” (John 14:6. NIV).

Do I believe He is the way, the truth, and the life? If I believe He is the only way, then I will always have a sure path to follow. If I believe He is the truth, then I will always know what is right and what is wrong. If I believe He is the life, then I will faithfully follow that sure path.

I believe He is the only way. I believe there is no other one by which I can come to God. Of that I have no doubt. He is the truth for my life. On that I place my faith. I will seek His truth, and I will live the life He has ordained for me. I will faithfully apply His truth, and then I will live the life in which I believe.

He is the only way. He is the only truth. He is the only life. On this I have placed my whole life. He is my life. I know no other.

Generous Wisdom

When you face a trial, do you suddenly feel desperate and yearn for wisdom from God to handle it? “If any of you lacks wisdom,” James writes, “he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). Do you feel overwhelmed by a hard circumstance and don't know where to turn? Turn to the Lord and ask for His wisdom. You will receive divine abundant wisdom to know what to do or not do in your situation. Sometimes we ask God why something has happened, and we don't hear an answer. We are not meant to know “why” in all circumstances. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). God lets you know that you are not meant to have all the answers about why something has happened. However, when you ask in faith for His help, you can trust Him to give you divine wisdom to safely guide you through your circumstance.

James not only instructs to pray for wisdom, but he tells you to pray believing you will receive it. If you pray for wisdom and do not receive it, it is probably not because you don't have enough faith. The Word says that faith the size of a little mustard seed can move mountains. James identifies the problem as being “double minded”. Someone who is double-minded does not live for God, but expects God to answer his prayers. James says such a person is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). God does not grant wisdom to a person who is double-minded. Such a person should not believe God is obliged to give him anything.... let alone His infinite wisdom. On the other side, a single-minded person surrenders to God, and trusts in what the Lord imparts. His mind is stable. He surrenders his whole life to God, and He lives only for Him. He is well aware that if he lacks God's support, he will fail. So when this single-minded person cries out to God for wisdom, He gives it generously.

Do you feel you have faith the size of a mustard seed, but can't move your mountain? It is not your place to move your mountain. It is His. Focus on God's Word instead of your problem. Focus on His power and promise. If you give all your energy to your problem instead of seeking the Lord, you will be double-minded. “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). You become single-minded when you focus your mind and all your energy on Him. Your problem is never the real issue. He is the real issue. When you give Him your all, He grants you His greatest wisdom to handle your problem.

Move Forward

The problems that arise in life are not meant to stop you in your tracks. They are not even meant to slow you down. They are meant to give you determination to move forward with new intention. How many times do you give up instead of facing an obstacle in your way? God's power is available, but sometimes you feel too weak to move forward trusting God to give you strength. His power is not just a strong force you summon to help in your time of need. His power is His love in action. No matter how weak you feel, when you allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you, then you are powerful.

Life is a race with problems that must be overcome. Whatever problem you face, don't allow its hardship to stagnate you or conquer you. You conquer it. God's power is found in moving forward in faith. Move forward and He moves with you. Don't allow difficulty to defeat you. Make it work for you. With God's power, you discover success.

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a), NIV). Run life's race with commitment. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Don't allow anything to deter you from your goal. Breathe deeply the wind of the Holy Spirit to carry you over hurdles, and give you strength to endure the race. Greater faith will be your reward. And when trials come, for they will, you will have God's strength to overcome. You will have His peace to carry you forward toward another victory.

I Live You

“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” (Matthew 13:16, NIV).

I can't tell you the number of times that I end up typing “live” instead of “love” on my iPhone. I type to friends “I live you”, and then go back and change it to “I love you”. It hit me this morning that not only do I need to tell the Lord “I love you”, I need to tell him “I live you” in my obedience and commitment.

Living for Jesus is dying to self. If I allow Him to live through me, I am giving Him the greatest respect and love. I have exchanged my life for His love. There is no greater love than dying for another. He died for me. He demonstrated this incredible love by living His purpose and dying in order that I might live and know His love. He gave up himself for me on the cross. How I can I not give up myself for Him now, and allow Him to live through me?

Dying to self is the hardest commitment. I deal with human issues like pride, control, and my own desires. It is human to want my way instead of His. But I am called to live His love, and I can't live it if I want my own way. If I really love Him, these human issues should be crucified with Christ. The life and love He has given for me are meant to be the heartbeat and purpose of my life.

When I live Him and when I love with His love, I become less and He becomes more. Instead of seeing with my human eyes, I see with His spiritual eyes. He helps to recognize the need and potential of others. Instead of hearing with my human ears, He gives the ability to hear the reason for a broken heart. If I fully love Him, I gain spiritual insight and understanding to live Him. My life not only tells Him “I love you”. It says “I live you.”

No More Stony Heart

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Has someone hurt you? Are you unable to forgive what they have done? Is your heart now as cold as stone? Jesus asks for you to forgive. He waits for your response. He offers hope through conviction. Satan wants you to remain wrapped up in anger and bitterness. He wants your hardened heart to grow even harder. Christ forgave you. Are you willing to offer what He has freely given? Will you actually do as He asks? Make something good come out of what is bad. Turn it around for God’s glory. Open your heart so that another might be healed. Allow forgiveness to set you free from the bondage of anger and pain. The Lord will remove that heart of stone, and give you a heart that forgives. Once opened your heart will rejoice in its freedom. Out of your life will flow rivers or living water. You will discover that forgiveness is a mighty work of God which springs eternal in the human heart.

YOUR PROMISE OF PEACE

Tucked away in the book of Isaiah is a verse that I discovered years ago. It uses the analogy of birth for the promised new life for Israel. It also speaks to whatever pain we face. After months of pregnancy a woman discovers the intense pain of delivery, and at the moment when her pain is the greatest, there is release. What is the result? A new birth and a new life. Joy is the result. The months of discomfort, and the intense pain of delivery have been worth it. All along the way, she has anticipated the joy to come. She has believed in her promise, and the months of preparation have been worth the incredible result.

“'Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?' says the Lord. 'Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?' says your God” (Isaiah 66:9). No, He doesn't close up the womb. No, He doesn't stop the release that comes forth from all the pain. The intense joy that comes from your delivery is your promise. You are even protected from the pain that would be too much for you to handle. “Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son” (Isaiah 66:7). What we might consider the harshest pain is not really what the most horrible pain might be. God has protected us. He has made our labor easier than it might have been, and has brought us to the point of delivery from it all.

Whatever trial you are going through holds the promise of peace. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36). Hang on and find His will for you. Believe the promise is very real. During your time of “pregnancy” you will discover the biblical truths that make your faith stronger. Please believe that “weeping my stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b). The dawn of morning is your promise, and it will come.

Deep Rooted and Blooming

Consider a flower seed. It sends a shoot down into the earth in order to be securely grounded. At the same time another a shoot grows upward to become a thing of beauty that will bring joy to the world. Without a strong root the beautiful plant that the world sees would  fade away. The higher the growth of the plant, the deeper the root must go to keep it grounded and strong.

So are our lives in Christ. Without a deep, abiding, and grounded faith the work we do withers and fades. Our attempt at ministry dies on the vine if we have no deep root in Him. Just because a ministry appears gloriously beautiful does not mean it is lasting. Without deep roots of faith and dedicated commitment, efforts will fail.

Let you roots grow deep in Him. Study His word, and pray for His guidance in your life. If you want to bloom with His purpose, your roots must grow deep enough to withstand the winds of circumstance that will disrupt your life. When you are grounded in Him and His will, no weapon formed against you will succeed.

In Him is your life, your heart, and your purpose. Be planted and bloom. 

The Gift of His Peace

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6, NIV).

 

Worry will destroy you. It eats at your faith, and steals your joy. Your anxious heart accomplishes nothing but fear. That fear rips your very spirit into shreds. There is a promise of peace, and it is real. In every fear and in every circumstance that brings heart-wrenching pain, PRAY. Give your fear to God. Present it as your gift of faith in Him. When you give a gift you don't take it back. Don't take back your fear. Trust Him to handle it. Ask believing that He will supply all that you need to handle the circumstance. Ask believing that He will take the fear out of your heart and mind. Trust His love for you. Giving Him your fear with thanksgiving, means that you trust His faithfulness to you. Bring Him your need knowing that to lay it on the altar means help in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

His desire is to supply what you need, but you must ask, believing that He will supply what is best for you. Faith is the key that unlocks the door, but faith is only found through knowing His Word (Romans 10:17), and through intimate contact with Him. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15, NIV).

 

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, NIV). Here is your promise! His peace, that your mind can't understand or comprehend, is just “there” in the midst of your pain and circumstance. It is a peace the world can't grasp, because it is comes from the Holy Spirit. When you give Him the gift of your fear, He gives you the amazing gift of His peace.