Tag Archives: Trust

God Has a Plan

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Before today’s reflection – a quick note. This week, Asbury released a mobile app for smartphones. You can download this app and listen to my weekly sermons, read this devotional, and find out all that’s happening here at Asbury. To download the app for iPhones/iPads, click here. To download the app for Andorids, click here.

Now, on to today’s reflection!

God had a plan for Paul. God had big things for Paul. Paul was going to go to Rome and preach the gospel before Caesar. God was going to use Paul to literally change the world. God was going to use Paul to make sure that the Good News of Jesus Christ was heard all around the world.

God has a plan for Paul.

Listen today what happens in Acts 27:23-24:

For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’

In the text today, it looks like the plan may be in trouble. Paul and his companions on the ship they were sailing in have now been shipwrecked. It doesn’t look good. It looks like they will be stranded. It looks like the plan won’t happen. The story looks over.

Paul says no – an angel appeared to him and said that he WILL preach in Rome. It will happen. Don’t worry. Don’t fret. God had a plan.

The same is true for us today. God has a plan. God has a plan for our lives. God has a plan for what He wants to do. Now, it may look like we stranded on an island. It may look like the plan won’t happen.

Don’t worry. God has a plan. God has this. God has a plan.

We don’t have to spend our lives worried about everything. We don’t have to spend our lives terrified of everything; of every mistake. God has a plan.

Even if we are stuck on an island. Even if we feel along. Even if we think that it’s over. God has a plan. Don’t worry. Trust. Hope. Keep going.

God has a plan. Today, and each day, we can trust in that.

A Few Thoughts on an Election Day

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I’m writing this on November 8, 2011. It’s an election day here in Mississippi. If you’re not in Mississippi reading this, sorry about it. But maybe these thoughts will be helpful the next time you get to vote!

Every election day brings a couple of thoughts to my mind. The first is that voting is a privilege. I think about what Paul writes in Romans 13:1-7:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed

Paul writes to Christians at time when the Roman government was starting to persecute Christians for the fact that they would not worship Caesar as God. It was tough to be a Christian in the world they were in. The government was working against them to stop and, potentially kill them.

How does Paul respond to this? He tells them to be the best citizens. Respect the authorities placed above them. Do right. Trust in God, even when the authorities might not be the ones you’d like, trust in God and be a responsible citizen.

So, today, vote. Too many people have sacrificed too much for us to have this right and not use it. Today. Vote.

But my second thought comes from Psalm 2. Listent to Psalm 2:1-4:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

This Psalm deals with the kings of earth making their plans. They are plotting and scheming. They have a plan. They are going to thwart God and His plan. They are going to win. They are going to stop God and they are going to prevail.

And how does the Lord respond to this? The Lord in heaven laughs.

Why? Because no human can stop the Lord’s plan.

They can’t stop the Lord’s plan. They can’t stop the Lord’s will. They can’t stop what the Lord is going to do.

God is God. He is in control. He has a plan and a way. No mater what happens in an election. No matter what happens in life. No matter how bad we think it may be.

God is in control. God wins. God is king.

So, do your duty. Vote. But more than voting, know that God is God, He is in control. He has a plan.

Do your duty. But trust in God more.

The Unbaptized Mind Podcast

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The sermon podcast for Sunday, October 16, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website.  This is the third sermon in our series “The Unbaptized Arm.”  This sermon deals with “The Unbaptized Mind.”  It deals with the fears that we all face, the fears of our head, and the fears of our heart.  The texts for this sermon are 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 and 1 John 4:18.  Also by clicking on these verses you can see my notes from the sermon as a note in the YouVersion online Bible.   You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.

Fear Not

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One of the things that we preachers try to do is share, present, and interpret scripture in a way that helps you. I want this daily reflection of scripture to a be a help to your day, an encouragement, a challenge.  I want it to be something that will enable you to know God’s love for you and to feel the challenge to go out and live in His grace.

So, sometimes I tell I story. Sometimes I try to relate it to your (or my) life. Sometimes I just talk about what it means to me.

Today, through, this reading is one of my favorites, and one of the most powerful in scripture.  So, I ask you right now to stop and listen.  Stop what you are doing (unless you are driving) and listen. Listen to what Isaiah 43 says:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

God created you.  He formed you.  You are His.  He loves you.

Today, no matter where you are in your faith, whether you are where you need to be, whether you are walking daily with Him, or whether you have drifted.  Maybe you are just starting to come back to faith. Maybe you’ve never had faith before at any point in your life.

No matter where you are – know this. God formed you.  You are made in His image. And He loves you. He sent His son to redeem you.  And if wants to know you.  He wants a relationship with you. He wants to carry you.

He formed you.

And He wants you to trust in His strength and provision today. So that when you pass through the fire and the water, you will be ok.

Not if you pass through them. When you pass through them. There will be fire. There will be water. We will go through trials in this life.

When we cling to the one that formed us we know we will be ok. He will be with us.  He will uphold us.  He will strength us.

Today, know that God has formed you.  You are His.

Today, trust in Him.  Trust in His strength.  His might.  His power.  His comfort. His grace.

Fear not.  He has redeemed you.  You are His. Today, may we trust in Him, in all things.

Mysteries

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There are some things in life we don’t understand.  There are some (many) mysteries about God that I can’t fathom.

There are questions about suffering that while I may have an explanation for, I can’t understand.

There are moments of pain that I don’t fully understand the reason for.

There are parts of God’s character that I don’t know, and won’t know, until I stand before Him one day.

There are many, many mysteries that I don’t know the answer to. And I’m thankful that I’m not the only person that feels that way. And I am also thankful that I’m not the only person that has walked with God to feel that way. Listen to the words of Psalm 131:

O LORD, I am not proud;
I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters,
or with things that are too hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet,
like a child upon its mother’s breast;
my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, wait upon the LORD,
from this time forth for evermore.

You and I, we don’t know everything. There is a mystery to God and to life. There are things too great and too deep and too wide for us to know.

The Psalm says that’s ok. Quiet yourself.  Wait upon God.  Know that He loves you. Know what you “know.”

What do we know? God is good. God loves us. God cares for us. God has saved us. God will take care of us.  We can trust Him.

I fully believe God is not as worried about the stuff we don’t know, as He is with the stuff we do know. Don’t worry about what you don’t know.  Worry about what you do know. And what you do about it.

This is not an excuse not to think and grow and learn. But, what it is the reality that we don’t know everything.

But we do know this. God loves us more than we’ll ever know.  And He wants us to love each other in the same way.

Today, know what you know, and what you don’t know. Don’t worry about what you don’t. That’s ok. None of us know it all.  Today, live in the knowledge of His love. And live out His love for all to see.

Yes, there’s a mystery to God. That’s ok. May we have the faith to believe. And may we live in the reality of the knowledge of His love.

Help my Unbelief

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Yesterday I reflected a little on worry.  Worry is something that I deal with A LOT myself. I spent most of yesterday worrying and fretting over a bunch of stuff when the Lord reminded me, hey dude, you need to listen to the things that you tell other folks.

I’m the kind of guy that Lord doesn’t always whisper to. Sometimes He has to smack me on the head.

And today, the Lord maybe continuing His smacking on the head, to me, if to no one else. I was reading today in Mark, and I read this passage:

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Worry, to me, is so closely tied to doubt.  I worry when I doubt something will work out ok. I worry when I feel like a situation is out of my control and I doubt that anything can be done about it.

Worry seems to thrive off of doubt. Doubt seems to the oxygen to worry’s fire.  Worry seems to be fed and driven by doubt.

When there is no doubt, through, there would not be as much worry. Without that doubt, worry would become less.

So, what is the opposite of doubt?  Faith.  Faith drives out doubt. Faith drives out worry.

And so, look at this passage today, with a verse that I love. Lord I believe, help my unbelief.  None of us have as much faith as we ought to have. None of us are exactly where we ought to be in our walk.  None of us are perfect.  That’s ok.

Lord we do believe.  Help our unbelief.  Help us have more faith.  More trust.  More confidence in your plan.

Today, we believe.  We have faith. We have trust. Today, may we have MORE faith and trust.

Today, we believe.  Today, may the Lord help our unbelief.

Don’t Worry About It

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Don’t worry about it. That’s one of my favorite phrases.  The other may be “it is what it is.”  Or I guess “Hotty Toddy.”  One of those is definitely my favorite phrase!

I say don’t worry about it to a lot to people. I say it in meetings when we are thinking through a situation. I say it when I’m talking to people about situations they are going through. I say to family when we are a looking towards the future. I say it a lot.

And I mean it too. When I tell people not to worry about it, I mean that, I believe that, and I trust it be true.

I just wish I could do a better job of not worrying about it myself. I’m a worrier.  But, at least I get it honest.  My mama is, and her mama was, and I guess in our family it’s just a family tradition.

That’s why reading verses like this one of our Philippians 4 is always such a good reminder to me:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

We can’t “will” ourselves to not worry.  Not worrying comes through prayer. By giving everything to God, we experience God’s grace. And in receiving that grace, we find that peace guards our hearts, and we don’t have anything to worry about.

So, the first step shouldn’t be “don’t worry about it.” The first step should be “take to God in prayer.” And when we take it to Him in prayer, we find grace.

And grace brings about peace.

And peace keeps us from worry.

So, today, don’t worry about it. But, before you can do that, take it to God in prayer.  And through that prayer, we will find all that we ever need.

For every last worry.

Rest

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I’m a busy body.  My wife accuses me of never being able to leave well enough alone. I’ve always got some plan, some thought, some something that I’m up to or thinking through.

I tend to stay on the move, going and doing.

And it’s not just me. We are all busy. As we talk in church, it’s hard to find time to have a meeting at night, most everyone so busy they just don’t have time.

We are busy, busy people.

The notion of rest is something that we don’t do well, we don’t observe well.

Listen to what God says through the prophet Isaiah this morning:

This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.

Only in resting in God can we be saved. Resting in Him.

What does that mean?  That means, to me, that we trust totally in Him. We don’t have to worry, don’t have to work. Don’t have to “do” anything.

God has done it. God has taken care of it. It’s done. Don’t worry about it. God has it.

Rest.  Relax. Trust.

In placing our full trust and faith in Him we are saved. And in placing our full hope and trust in Him, we can relax. We don’t have to do anything. We just rest.

Today, if we are overly anxious or worried or stressed, are we resting in Him? Are we totally trusting in Him?  Is He our trust rest?

Trusting in Him allows us to rest.  Today, we may know the power of salvation. Today may we know the power of resting in God.

Promises

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Promises are a powerful thing.  I was raised to not take a promise lightly. If you promised someone something, that’s the same as giving your word. And you should never go back on your word.

You should never break your promise.

Ever.

That’s the way I was raised.

The Bible is full of God’s promises to us. He promises so save us. To be there for us.  To help us in our time of need. To be our rock.  Our defender. Our safe haven.  Our help.

We see in the Bible that He promised the nation of Israel (and the world) a savior.  He promised to send them (and us) a deliverer.  He promised to bring forth hope and salvation to the people.

And they waited.  And waited.  And waited. And waited.

They waited hundreds of YEARS (yes, years) between the promises He made and the fulfilment of the promise.

Today, we read in Luke, what it looked like when the promise came true:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
he promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham

God hadn’t forgotten His promise. He hadn’t forgotten His word.  He was true to what He said He would do. He was true to who He was.

He kept His promise. Even if the time was not the time the people may have liked.  Even if it didn’t fit their schedule.

It fit God’s time.  It was on His schedule.  It was according to His plan.

God kept His promises and His word to His people.

Just as He will keep it to each of us.

You can trust God and His promises today.  He will keep His word.  The time might not be the time you’d like. But it will be God’s time.

Today, trust in His promises. Trust in His word.  He will take care of you.

Two Roads

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I had a teacher in high school that loved poetry. So, part of what he did for (perhaps to) us was that he made us memorize poems. Some of this memorization was standard class stuff. Others were for extra credit or to replace a bad grade.

Fail a test?  Memorize a poem.

Need more points?  Memorize a poem.

In his class, sometimes it seems like the answer to almost every question was memorize a poem.

And believe it or not, I’m thankful.  Almost 20 years later I can remember bits and pieces of almost every poem that he had us memorize, and I’ve found as a preacher, that can come in handy a lot of days!

When I read the passage that I read this morning from Proverbs 3, I always think of the poem by Robert Frost – The Road Not Taken.  You know it, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both.”  In life, there are always choices, there are at least two road to choose between, sometimes there are even more.

Listen to the two roads before us this morning, as laid out by Proverbs 3: 5-7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Today, you have a choice. Will you choose your own road, or will you choose God’s road?

Will you choose your own wisdom, or will you choose God’s?

Will you choose your own route or will you let God guide you down the steps that you need to be going down?

There are two choices before each of us today. Our way or God’s way.  Our wisdom or God’s wisdom. Our leading or God’s leading.

Today, we have a choice. Who’s way will we follow? Who’s wisdom will we trust?  Who’s direction will we place our trust in?

If we trust in ours alone, we will fool ourselves into thinking we are heading down the right path.  If we trust in God’s, He will direct our steps.

Today, what path are we walking down? Today, who are we trusting?