God Hears and Answers!
Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you atoned for our transgressions. Psalm 65:1–3.

We must realize that everything that manifests itself physically, emotionally, or psychologically has its roots in the spiritual. Everyone must consider what they are chasing in life and if it will last. The world offers dry wells from which people seek fulfillment. But Father God who is the fountain of living water offers an oasis in a very dry and desolate world. When we are in a counseling people with some troubled person who has a marital problem or financial problem or some other kind of problem; I must tell that person very honestly: God is extremely interested in you. However, we must understand that we live in a culture where we want instant answers and instant success. We want everything we see on TV and more.

We want everything at the speed of a microwave oven. We want instant healing, success, instant discipleship, instant holiness, and instant answers to our prayers. How many people do you know that have many material things but are miserable? When one chooses to follow Christ, this is not an easy road to embark on. We are constantly being pulled way to follow our desires and our will. God wants us to depend upon Him and follow His example. He does not want us to rely on our own strength, wisdom, or how the world wants us to think and act. He wants to lead. He wants us to ask Him for every area in our life. His answer may not what we want to hear but God will answer. Usually, the answer to our questions is in God’s Word. We must also understand that we have an enemy that will resist us drawing near to God at every situation and circumstance in our lives. We need to check our hearts and see if really, we are embracing God and His promises.

That’s what the psalmist says, “O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.” Ultimately everybody needs God. Everybody needs to know that God hears and answers prayer. That’s what’s going to bring, is the fact that God hears and answers prayer. It may not be the answer we expect or like but it is His answer. And there’s one special prayer that He delights to answer above all others and that is the prayer for forgiveness of our sins. When we’ve sinned and failed God and man we don’t need to turn away in despair, we can turn back to God, cry to Him for forgiveness and then we’ll be able to say, as the psalmist says there, “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you atoned for our transgressions.”

Don’t let fear or guilt or despair keep you from praying. When you are in trouble don’t blame God. Don’t run from the cross, run to the Cross of Calvary. Following Father God and His word is a long road of obedience in the same direction towards the Cross of Calvary. Remember, in the depths of your agony God hears and He answers prayer.

A Servant in Name or Deed?
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21.

I must ask myself, often am I a disciple in Name or Deed. I am reminded of Jacob, who addressed himself before his brother, Esau, as “your servant”. (Genesis 32:18). Jacob said that out of fear; therefore, it was in name only. I must be careful not to call myself servant, but to be a servant. It was only after the Jabbok experience, when Jacob wrestled with God, that he became a true servant (Genesis 33:5). Lord let me never fail to have a Jabbok experience; otherwise, my servantship becomes hollow.

I remember a man when I first began my journey in Christ who called himself a humble servant, but he was anything but that. I must be careful not to give out titles about myself, but rather give out the content of the titles. I have come across many who become preachers so they can tell people what to do. They wanted the office for all the wrong reasons without understanding the function of such a call. Many Christians, including myself, are just as childish. We love the thought humble, servant like, but not wanting to undergo the discipline of becoming like that.

There is only one way to become a servant, or slave, as the Bibles describes it; by relinquishing. A slave has no rights, owns no property, is completely controlled by his master. The moment I pretend to be someone or lay claim to something, I cease to be a servant. Even my claim to salvation is through another, Jesus Christ. I cannot become an acceptable servant until I have experienced self-denial (Philippians 2:5-8), and I cannot experience that until I am willing to follow the One who denied Himself everything in order to give us everything. The aftermath of servantship is honor and glory (Philippians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 2:12), and God longs to see me through to the finish.

El Shaddai-the God Who is More than Enough!
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2.

The greatest problem I have as a disciple of Jesus Christ is thinking naturally. I have been made this way since my birth as a result of my sinful nature. All my secular education and sometimes the sacred education was to deny the supernatural of the miracle working power of Father God. This is why the Apostle Paul stated that we need to constantly renew our mind so we think and see how God sees His creation (Romans 12:1-2).

El Shaddai-God who is more than enough is not limited as we are limited. Father God is more than able to meet every need I have if I trust in Him. We see time and again in scripture how God fed hundreds out of a few loaves of bread and fish (John 6:9).

I look at my income and I can’t see how needs will be met. By the age of 23 I already had a large family of three sons but I knew God would meet our needs. I remember one time when all I had was $20. My children did not have anything to eat for the whole day and with that money we were going to buy some food. At the same time, we were ministering to a family and the lady had a very sick child and needed medication. I was prompted by God to give her my $20 for the medicine. I must admit I did not want to but I was obedient. When we got home my son stated daddy, I don’t like fasting. I told him to have another glass of water and God would supply. To our surprise the next morning someone left three $25 gift coupons for food at a local market on our door. We had a feast! But I know if I did not be obedient and give that lady my last $20, we would have missed that miracle. There have been many more miracles, too many to mention now.

I look at my scarcity and God looks at His overabundance to provide if I believe. I look at the mundane, the usual set of circumstances and possible outcomes while Father God looks at these events through the miraculous. If I sit down and count the cost, I will never reach the correct figure because I am looking at the problem with my natural understanding. Father God wants us to be free from the restraints of the natural to enable Him to deal with me from the supernatural. I have walked with the Lord for 53 years now and He has never failed. God wants to challenge us with this question. “Is there anything too hard for the Lord”. (Genesis 18:14).

Going Back to Lystra!
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

God will never allow His disciples to “get around” scrapes; they must go “through” them. Nor will he allow us to get beyond defeat unless we have sucked every drop of victory out of it.
Paul and Barnabas “returned to Lystra” (Acts 14:21), the very place earlier they were stoned. After such treatment, the natural man would have avoided Lystra like he would avoid the plague! But not the spiritual man. God will not allow him to bypass the Lystra’s in their lives without learning its lesson and winning a victory.

Maybe, the reason I am not making progress in my discipleship is because there is a Lystra in my life and I will not go back and turn it into a victory. Jesus did this with Jerusalem; they very place where He was crucified was the place where He harvested three thousand believers in a single day! I must conquer my Lystra’s or I will never grow an inch toward maturity.

God will allow and even plans many “Lystra’s” in my life, and I will bear the scars of such encounters for the rest of my life. But God will not allow Lystra to be a blot on my record. The heated quarrel, that unchecked appetite, that strained relationship must be refaced, and the damage must be undone by contrition, repentance, and forgiveness. I may have to return to it many times until God is satisfied that the defeat has eventually become a victory. It takes immense courage to face the pain and shame again, but out of the prevailing conditions of that pain is born a mature disciple. God encourages me to face the pain again, despite the threat of a second stoning! I cannot do it alone, my great “returner” will go with me! Did He not say, “My presence shall go with you” And did He not promise, “I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).

Drastic Choices!
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.

As a human being I crave acceptance, but as a disciple of Christ I must expect to be misunderstood and at times rejected. I have experienced this many times on my journey with the Lord. I used to get discouraged regarding the pettiness of the body of Christ but I realized that is man’s fallen nature. When Jesus was growing up, He found favor with both God and man. But once baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost He was no longer in favor with his neighbors, kinfolks, or the religious community. When they heard Him preach, they became angry and plotted against Him. (Luke 4:28-29).

The world does not like to be disturbed and unfortunately neither do many in the body of Christ. As a psychologist I have seem time and again that when I begin to touch on the very area of concern people resist. I went from being called a “helper” to someone to be careful of. Like Jesus His Father called Him to preach, teach, and heal the sick spiritually, physically and emotionally. But His very actions of faith were rejected by those He wanted to help.

Like our Master, we as disciples cannot worry about being rejected or even misunderstood. The life of the self-sacrificing disciple is at variance at times and in steep contrast with both the world and the carnal body of Christ. The Lord stated beware when all men speak well of you. (Luke 6:26). If a am too popular I better check my message. Many say to have success you must give them what they want. But we must hang onto the Lord and reach out to the faithful ones who want to hear and obey the truth. As for me, the words Joshua exclaimed to those who were rebellious still ring true today. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Jesus said that He is “the door”, not one of many doors. The “truth” not many truths. And the “way”, the only way. (John 14:4). To be “hears of the word” is very different then being “doers of the word”. (James 1:22).

Are You Fake or the Real Deal?
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:12.

I must understand that what it means to be a counterfeit Christian. The bible reveals many-Judas, Demas, Diotrephes- and so does the human experience. I have known a number of people who said they were Christian but their lives did not reflect this and no longer walk with God. I know we all sin, but there is a difference of sinning, repenting, and changing our lifestyle than those who habitually live a sinful lifestyle. I know many who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk! My question to myself is am I doing the same? This is enough to drive me to my knees and examine my life.

What is counterfeit? I see one outstanding characteristic: accepting unconcern. No where do I find Judas examining his relationship to Jesus. I only see him living out his life with a numbing indifference to everything spiritual. Like a chameleon, the counterfeit takes on the color of his surroundings without asking, “Am I still a chameleon?

A counterfeit Christian really does not ask any probing questions regarding their relationship to God because there is no relationship. It is a mixture of shadows that only produce darkness. Paul stated, “Take heed least you fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If I “take heed” and “examine myself” then I am doing what the counterfeit does not do nor are they willing to do because there is no remorse over their lack of relationship to God.

My continual concern about my relationship to Christ is positive proof that I belong to Him; to be unconcerned is to be fatally wrong. When Christ offered us, forgiveness does not mean we are to take Him for granted. A soldier on inspection does not need to ask themselves if they are in the army, only, am I pleasing my Command and Chief? A counterfeit never asks that! Are you fake or the real deal?

Praise in the Midst of Emptiness!
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Isa. 54:17

God wants to develop in me a continual expression of praise thinking, praise speaking and praise believing. Our confession should be “there are better things yet to come”. At times we may feel alone and bewildered. Not knowing where or how God is going to rescue us from our self-created chaos. We always expect the worst. We can see it, feel it, and even dream about it. This is the spirit of foreboding.

However, when a person has made up their mind that no matter what happens they will praise the Lord, it is the key to victory. It’s important to understand that praise should not arise merely from our feelings or our circumstances. It should arise out of our will; it should arise out of a deep will-seated decision. My heart is fixed: no matter what happens I’m going to praise God.
There are many examples of people who faced a dismal future yet believed God. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, my joy is in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18). Israel was on the verge of collapse with the invasion of Babylon empire yet the prophet could see victory because he was a person who would trust God over dire circumstances.

It is easy to praise God during plenty, but praise amid poverty is a true believer in Jesus! The psalmist says, “I will give praise even with my glory.” What does he mean when he says, “my glory”? Fortunately, the Bible does not leave us to wonder, because on the Day of Pentecost in his sermon in Jerusalem, the apostle Peter quoted that particular verse but he changed one word. He changed glory to tongue. He quoted it this way:” I will give praise with my tongue.” So that tells us a wonderful secret, our tongue is our glory. Why is that? Or why did God give us a tongue? Do you know the real reason why God gave us a tongue – the primary reason why you and I have a tongue? It’s to praise God with, and only when we use our tongue for God’s glory are we using it aright. And our tongue is our glory because with it, above all other members of our body, we can glorify God and use it for the purpose for which we were created.

There is real power in the words we speak. Whatever circumstances you may be encountering today, know that your Heavenly Father cares about you. Your circumstances may look bleak, but those circumstances can be changed when you speak the Word of God. Choose to have a good day; say you will have a good day; and your good day will become a reality!
REMEMBER, HOW YOU THINK will be HOW YOU WILL SPEAK. AND HOW YOU SPEAK IS HOW YOU WILL LIVE!

Eternal Eyes
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not (invisible), to bring to nought things that are (visible):
1 Corinthains 1:28.

The true disciple lives in the upper room where he sees “invisible things”. Anxiety exists in the temporal realm which always is at war with the heavenly realm. The temporal realm produces fear, fear of sickness, an empty pocketbook, fear of the unknown. Father God always has said’ Fear not, for I am with you; do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10).

Everything is the visible is subject to decay- houses crumble, economies fold, wars, famines, and people die. But everything in the invisible is beyond decay. Angels do not grow old, the human spirit never dies, and God Himself never changes. Paul stated there are three things that abide-faith, hope, and love- all these characteristics are of the invisible world that need to be practiced in the visible world.

True worldliness is really lack of vision. The worlding says, “What I see is all there is”. So, he uses his time, strength, and will cultivating the physical and the tangible. Result? The world is passing away (1John 2:16-17) and so is the man of this world.

I must follow the footsteps of those who went the “invisible” way: Abraham, looked for the invisible city (Hebrews 11:8-10); Elijah, saw invisible armies (2 Kings 6:17), and Moses, who followed an invisible God (Hebrews 11:27). Only as I immerse myself in the invisible world do I abide; and only if I obey invisible laws do I live.

God First, Family Second, and the Church Third!
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37.

I remember that early in my relationship with my wife I told her that if I did not put God first and her second, I could never be the husband she needed. I know this took her by surprise but this is true. As a disciple of Christ I must come to terms that my family is second to God. My natural tendency is to become dependent upon them-upon my wife for physical and emotional comfort, and my children for companionship. If I do this, I am going against everything that characterizes the discipled man. The key word is dependence. God has graciously given me a beautiful wife in every sense of the word and wonderful children, but they must not be my dependence.

I must relate to my loved ones as Abraham related to his son Isaac. On Moriah, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his dearest possession. So, I must give them up, I must cut clean dependency forever. To be dependent on any person means to be vulnerable to tragedy. I have seen many God’s children devastated because they built their lives around their loved ones. Someone dies, a pastor fails, but we must go on living. I must always place the shadow of the cross over their faces.

This does not mean loving or enjoying them less. It simply means I cannot love them without putting Jesus between us. We must remember whatever the outcome God is still in control. I think this is what our Lord meant when He said unless I hate my loved one, I could not be His disciple. (Luke 14:26). If I consign my dear ones to Moriah it seems like hatred, but in really it isn’t rather it is the deepest kind of love, both to my Savior and my dearest early treasures. That is the inseparable kind of love Paul refers to in Romans 8, and it is born in a Calvary relationship with those who are very close and precious to me.