He is the Water of Life

 Isaiah 41:18
I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

When going on a hike through the mountains, I always like to find trails that take me to water. It may be a creek, or a lake in the valley, or a waterfall high in the mountains. There is something about water that is calming as I sit and watch it move down the valley creek, or see the reflection of the mountains on the lake surface. The Bible is filled with analogies of water that represents the life-giving presence of God. Jesus said, “​​But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus is the answer to all who are thirsting for more than what this world has to offer. He is the river to anyone who will seek Him. To the rich in high places, He is there, to those in the valley of despair, He gives hope, to those lost in the wilderness of sin, He brings new life, and to those who are going through hard times, He is a spring of water that will revive the soul.  His presence comes in different forms. It may be a river, fountain, pool, spring, or even a well. We are all given the opportunity to avail ourselves of the water of life that flows from the heart of God.

His Word Dwells Within Us

 Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

To dwell is to live in. How does the word of Christ live in us? Reading His word and committing it to memory is one aspect of His word dwelling in us, “if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee”- Prov 2:1. It is good to know the word of Christ and know His teachings. But, His word living in us must be more than a mere intellectual knowledge of knowing his teaching, it is an abiding presence that lives in us from day to day. It is a fountain of life that springs from our heart. The word is living and working in our lives every day. It is not something we do on Sunday when we go to the house of worship. His word lives in our heart and is expressed in how we live. Through prayer, mediation, singing, and reading his Word, we learn to let the word of Christ abide in our hearts, to dwell in us richly.

The Lord Is In This Place

Gen 28:16 …he said, Surely the Lord is in this place…

The presence of God is everywhere, He is not restricted by time and physical boundaries, He is omnipresence. But, there are times in our lives that His presence is especially noticeable. We sense His presence in the place of worship, He comes in a special way during times of private devotions, when it is just you and God. In the solace of your heart, His Spirit sweeps over you as a sweet aroma fragrance. You bast in His love and His glory is all around you. Jacob was afraid when God came, He was running and He knew that God knew what he had done, but we need not fear. We can come boldly to the throne of God and bow before Him and let His grace fill our lives. Yes, God is everywhere and knows everything, but having Him visit your heart and touch your soul is greater than gold and the honeycomb. Surely the Lord desires to visit you in a special way. 

Beautiful Creation

Ecc 3:11  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:…

It’s a beautiful morning, the sun shining through the morning brisk air heating up the surface of the land. In His time, He chose this morning to allow the beauty of creation to shine into my life. Not every morning is this way, but in His time everything in life is planned and created for His glory. We were all made beautiful and in the image of God. Made to love and desire Him. We seek beauty in this world and a measure of beauty can be found through relationships and His creations, but true beauty is found when we seek Him with all of our hearts. How beautiful it is to walk with God to live in His presence. We live not for the beauty of this world, but for the world to come.

Thunderstorm from God

Hosea 6:3 if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain,

After a long dry spell of warm weather, the falling of rain is refreshing. A good rain will wash away the debris and soak the ground with moisture to allow the grass and flowers to flourish. We have gone a few weeks without any significant amount of moisture here in the Denver metro area. I enjoy the dry air, but if we want to see the new life of spring, we need to see some rain. We often go through dry spells in our spiritual life, we go day by day doing what is right and doing our best to follow Him, but every once in while we need a thunderstorm from God. We need Him to come down from heaven and flood our hearts with His glory and presence. Let the heavens open up and let the rain of His love and grace fall upon us. We are in need of fresh outpouring of rain. Stay faithful to follow the Lord, cry unto Him and beseech Him for His presences. He shall come unto us as the rain.

The Call of Gideon

Judges 6:11-16, 22-26
January 20th, 2008

Before heeding the call of God, one may often be faced with fears of uncertainty. “What does God really wants me to do?” Feelings of inadequacy and inability to perform the task plague the mind with doubt. “Does God really expect me to do this?” It is not until we see God for who He is that we begin to realize that it is not through our capabilities, but through the mighty power of God’s presence and His promise to go with us, that we can accomplish the task. We can rest in knowing that God will be with us and help us through our battles.

Visitation of The Lord (vs11. There came an angel)
• The ordinary world- Gideon doing his job
• Silent invitation- “Lord deliver us”
• Mercy of God to visit mankind
Valor Man (vs12. Mighty man of valor)
• What does it mean to be a valor person?
• Backbone, fearless, firmness, gallantry, fortitude, true grit
• Character that matters.
Verification of His Presence (vs13. if the Lord be with us)
• It is important to know that God is leading
• Gideon’s doubts seem to be founded-
Vessel of God (vs14. Thou ‘Gideon’ shall save Israel)
• God uses men and women to fulfill His will.
• He promises to “clothe us with his presence”
Void of Pride (vs15. I am the least…)
• Humbleness of spirit- God desires to use the humble
• It is not in our abilities, but our availability
Victory through God (vs16. Thou shall smite…)
• There is no god compared to thee O God!
• It is through Christ that we can do all things
• It is God who receives Glory- It is He who give the victory
Vision of the LORD (vs22. I have seen… the LORD)
• When we see the LORD all else fades away into the background
• Seeing Him for who He is.
Voice of Assurance (vs23. The LORD said… fear not)
• When He speaks all is well
• The assurance of knowing he keeps His promises
Veracity of Gideon (vs24. Gideon built an altar, and threw down Baal)
• Gideon is a true man of God and does what is right
• Returns to worship and opposes false worship