Posts from January 2022

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) (focus verse 2b)  …Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.  “We can know the will of God by meeting the necessary qualifications”  and that ability necessitates the transformation (“transfiguration” as in Matthew 17:2) of our mind.  “The thought processes of the renewed mind are based upon…

Colossians 1:9 (NIV)  For this reason since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  The meaning of the term  “divine guidance”  is  “the leading of God in the personal life and experience of man.”  It is clear in the Bible that it IS possible to know the will of God; and we should aim to know…

Genesis 18:1 (NIV)  The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.  The Lord can pay a visit in any circumstances.  For Abraham, it was in a time of rest.  But the Lord has also made visits to people at other times and places: in a time of trouble (Matt. 14:23-25); in a public gathering (John 20:19); during the night (I Kings…

John 20:14 (NIV) …she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.   There are  “diverse attitudes toward the Lord’s visits: unrecognized (John 20:14); unwanted (Mark 5:17); unexpected (Matthew 24:40-42); and not understood (John 6:60-66).”  The natural man is not tuned into the things of God because they are unnatural to Him and cannot be understood apart from the Spirit of God connecting with the spirit of man.  The human mind cannot…

John 14:21 (continued) (KJV) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  The King James Version uses the word  “manifest.”  It can also be translated as: show, exhibit, reveal, and disclose.  It is so strong that it implies a manifestation perceivable by the human senses.  The Bible is full of examples—Moses and…

John 14:21 (NIV) Whoever has my commands and obeys them, He is the one who loves me.  He who loves me will be loved by my Father; and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  God wants to show Himself to us.  He wants to visit His people.  How does He do that?  He answers prayer (I Sam. 2:21).  He providentially intervenes (Zeph. 2:7).  He fulfills His promises (Luke 1:67-70).  He supernaturally delivers (Luke 7:15-16).  He personally…

Luke 9:59-61 (Focus verse 59)  He  (Jesus)  said to another man,  “Follow me.”  But the man replied,  “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”   “The call of the Master will inevitably reveal where our first loyalties lie.”  I will never forget the scene of my Aunt Velma saying goodbye to her youngest son, Gary, as she and Uncle Jim packed the last suitcase into the car to leave for India.  Gary was in high school and had…

Luke 14:21-24 (focus verse 23 – NIV)  Then the master told his servant,  “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full…”  Those on the original guest list were preoccupied with conflicting interests and excused themselves from the invitation.  So, the invitation was extended to others.  What does this text teach us?  If we do not respond to the invitations that the Lord extends to us to sit at…

Luke 14:16-20 (NIV) (focus verse 18a) …But they all alike began to make excuses…   “There is a danger in allowing conflicting interests to become an excuse to justify unwillingness and lack of interest”  in prioritizing the Lord’s table, His work, and His calling to an intimate relationship.  How many times have we made excuses, been too busy, had other responsibilities and refrained from the ultimate opportunity of knowing God and walking with Him through this life?  What do you…

Mark 1:16-18 (NIV) As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,”  Jesus said,  “and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.  There are things we need to overcome in our response to the Lord’s call, such as occupational claims (Luke 5:27-28).  What social claims must you overcome to follow the Lord…

Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. The Lord  “knocks” (Rev. 3:20) on our heart’s door in diverse ways.  First and foremost, He knocks as we read the Word.  He also knocks by His Spirit (I Corinthians 14:22-25).  He knocks through a sense of need (John 7:37).  He knocks by His…

Revelation 3:21 (NIV) To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne. Response to the Lord results in  “overcoming things instead of being overcome by them”  through Him who has made us kings (Rev. 1:6).  God has a much higher objective, viewpoint, mark of high calling for us than we set for ourselves.  He wants us to become overcomers, undefeated,…

Revelation 3:20-21(KJV)  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock;  if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. We must pay attention.  He seeks to arrest our attention  “to make known His desire and obtain a response”  from us.  The opportunity is  “if ANY man” (any person).  The opportunity for communion with the Lord is given to all;  but we must hear, not…

Revelation 3:20-22 (NIV) (focus verse 20) Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. The general thought of this verse is the Lord’s call to fellowship between Himself and His people.  Our communion with Him is contingent upon our response to His approach (vs. 20).  Our response may involve a conflict between Him and other interests. (Notice…

Proverbs 8:34 (NIV)  Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  God’s response to our waiting  “may come through certain gates (KJV) or doors, i.e., through certain means and circumstances.”  Remember, He is sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscient.  He wants to enable us to live on a higher plane above the things of earth (Eph. 2:6).  What He sees and values is so much greater than we can understand with our natural…

II Kings 6:33(NIV) …Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? “There is a danger of becoming impatient with God and His seeming delays and failure to respond.  “But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for his counsel” (Psalm 106:13).  There is a danger in failing to wait for the counsel of God (see Joshua 9:3-16).  But those who wait for God will not be put to shame because of God’s failure to respond…

Isaiah 64:4 (NLT) For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for Him! “God sets the wheels of divine providence into motion on behalf of those who wait for Him in loving anticipation.  God works while man waits and continues to work as long as man continues to wait.”  Are you trusting God for something particular and continuing to wait for Him to come…

Proverbs 8:17 (NIV) I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.  (NLT – those who search will surely find me.)  (The Message – those who look for me find me.) We must seek the Lord preferentially.  “Those who desire Him in preference to anything else”  will find Him.  Revival comes to those who love to linger in that holy waiting space.  Revival comes when a group of people prioritize time with the Lord above all…

Lamentations 3:26 (KJVS)  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. (The Message: It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.) HOW we wait before God is important.  We must wait hopefully,  “with quiet and unwavering confidence in the ultimate response of God.”  He will come to us when we are sufficiently prepared to hear what He wants to say and to receive what He…

Psalm 40:1 (NIV)  I waited patiently for the Lord;  He turned to me and heard my cry. We live in an American culture that demands quick fixes and easy answers.  How difficult is it for you to slow down and sit quietly before the Lord?  Does your mind race, are you easily distracted, and do you keep looking at the clock?  Contemplative prayer requires us to bring our whole selves before the Lord and to sit quietly before Him.  Your…

Proverbs 8:17 (KJV)  I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. As we wait before the Lord in prayer, we do so with proper postures of heart.  Do we love God?  Then we will come to Him early—early in the morning, and early in any escalating situation.  We won’t turn to Him as a last resort.  We will listen for His guidance first and foremost.  We will come to Him daily and systematically,…

Psalm 37:5 (NIV) Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in Him and He will do this… We will find rest from the burdensome need to fix everybody and everything if we will just commit our ways to God and turn our problems over to His care.  What changes are you facing this year?  What challenges loom before you or those you love?  “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).  As you wait…

Psalm 37:1 (NIV) Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong.  Fretting is not resting.  “We must not permit ourselves to become fretful and envious.”  Instead, we are to “trust in the Lord” (Psalm 37:3) and have confidence in His integrity and character (Isaiah 50;10).  We will be able to rest from fretting as we seek and find in God our greatest joy and deepest satisfaction (Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the…

Psalm 37:7 (NIV) Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  Here are the renderings of this verse in other translations. (Revised Version)  “Be still before (‘silent to,’  margin) Jehovah and wait patiently for Him…” (Young)  “Be silent for Johovah and stay thyself for Him…” (Hebrew)  “Resign thyself unto the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…” (Rotherham)  “Be resigned to Yahweh, yea…

Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)  Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him! Sometimes we must wait on God over a period of time concerning a particular problem or need.  Some solutions don’t come with quick fixes and easy answers.  God lets us wait for a while because it creates within us a posture of heart that enables Him to…

Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;  it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  January is a good time of the year for us to fast and pray and sit before the Lord in quiet meditation as we seek for His guidance and direction for a new year.  And seeking God involves a waiting for God.  He waits for us to wait…