future

It’s in the past

/ EllieJ

There is a scene in Disney’s The Lion King where Rafiki, a baboon, swats Simba, a lion, on the head. When Simba asks what it was for, Rafiki responds, “It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past!” He goes on to say that you can either run from the past or learn from it. In Joshua, Israel chooses to set up a memorial so that the generations to follow could learn from the past.

These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.

Joshua 4:7b (NIV)

On significant occasions, Israel would often build landmarks or altars to commemorate what God had done for them. These stones would serve as a reminder to future generations of their rich heritage.

He did this so that all the people of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God

Joshua 4:24 (NIV)

Simba had to leave some things in his past, but he also had to remember the past so that he could lay hold of his inheritance—an entire kingdom. Sound familiar? Even after Israel took the Promised Land, they needed perpetual reminders of the fact that they were God’s chosen people, and of how they got to be where they were. Even the painful reminders of past sin would prove to be helpful for generations to come.

Like Israel setting up stones and Simba facing the hurt of the past, we can’t turn our backs entirely on our own history. In many cases, we need to celebrate it. If you needed to be rescued, celebrate and talk about the fact that God brought you out! If you were healed, speak of the Lord’s faithfulness. If you have been made whole, share it with the world.

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness know through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

Psalm 89:1-2 (NIV)

How is the present generation to know of God’s goodness and faithfulness if the previous generation never speaks of it? Our sin is in the past, but God’s love, mercy, and grace endure forever—through all generations. We need to speak of these things and celebrate them as well.

How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)

If you need to erect a monument to commemorate God’s goodness, go for it. If you need to share your story, do it. If you want to sing a song of praise, go ahead. Just don’t keep it to yourself!

Read: Joshua 4-6, Luke 2:1-24

The God of my father

/ EllieJ / 1 Comment

Read: Genesis 31-32, Matthew 10:24-42

My grandfather was a pastor. For nearly my entire life, he was my pastor. That is, until he died.

Called to the ministry long before he entered it, he had an anointing to heal. People from all over were drawn to his charisma, his grand personality. He was a strong man in ideals and in faith. When he passed away, another minister preached—yes, preached—at his funeral. A room full of people from every facet of his life, both from church and work, heard this pastor speak of the mantle that would now be passed on. Like Elijah to Elisha, the anointing of Papa’s ministry would pass on, but not just to one person. It would spread. The foundation that he laid would not go to waste. The ceiling of his ministry would become the floor for those who would follow in his footsteps.

What is the significance in those who have gone before us?

All through the Bible, God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). It was recognised that the men who had gone before had a certain relationship with God. It was generational. And it was important to remember.

…the God of your father…

Genesis 31:29 (NIV)

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac…

Genesis 31:42 (NIV)

Genesis 31:53

“O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac…”

Genesis 32:9 (NIV)

In two chapters of Genesis, there are no less than four examples of God being referred to as the God of a generation passed. Why?

Because God made promises to Abraham and to Isaac. Over and over again, God had proven himself faithful to Jacob’s father and grandfather. In his persistent reference to the God of his fathers, he reminded himself of those promises and that faithfulness.

We may throw away many things from the previous generation, but one thing that should never be set aside is the faith—the God—of our fathers. I don’t for one second take for granted the spiritual foundation that my grandfather laid. I know that he prayed for every person in his family by name every day. He prayed for me. I know that his work and his prayers were not in vain. I know that the relationship with God that I enjoy today has a lot to do with the relationship he had with God while he still walked this earth.

If you are fortunate enough to belong to the God of your fathers, don’t take it for granted. Look into your heritage and see the promises and the faithfulness.

If you are the first in your line, lay the foundation for future generations. Be the Abraham in your lineage.

Let us never forget the God of our fathers.

No doubt

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To even the most accomplished scholar, the book of Revelation can be daunting. Filled with inexplicable visions and prophecy, who can really know what the writer saw? But there are a couple of things that we can be sure about.

First, no matter what’s going on, worship continues. Aside from that half hour pause, every being in heaven continues to worship God. Their songs, their attitudes and their posture never changes.

Second, is the assurance holding on to God’s promises.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15 (NLT)

The host surrounding the throne of God was so confident in their remarks that they announced long before the end what the end would be. According to John, the entire world is in turmoil at this time and yet the declaration is past tense.

But those two songs which precede it show that the real result is the coming of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom. The tense is that of prophetic certainty—the Kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, though all is in the future. But there is no more doubt about the future than about the past if God has determined it.

F. Bertram Clogg, The Abingdon Bible Commentary

When God makes a promise, we can be as certain that He will keep it as though it has already come to pass.

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say, “Amen” when we give glory to God through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)

Notice the use of past tense again here. All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in him. In whom? Him. Jesus. The Amen. The Alpha and the Omega. The One who knows both the beginning and the end because he is the beginning and the end.

You may question or doubt a few things in Revelation, but there should be no doubt at all when it comes to whether or not God’s promises will be fulfilled.

Daily Bible reading: Micah 4-5, Revelation 11

Trust issues

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TRUST: Confidence; a reliance, or resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship, or other sound principle of another person.

In today’s world, who doesn’t have trust issues? Some of us trust too much and some of us trust too little.

For some of us our lack of trust has more to do with control than anything else. To trust someone means to give up control in a particular area. This becomes a big issue when we project our own insecurities regarding other people on God. We humanize Him to the point that we have a difficult time even trusting in the One who keeps the entire universe together.

Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.

Psalm 37:5 (NLT)

Everything. Yikes. I like to be in control. I like to know what’s happening and how it’s going to happen. The more I can control in a situation, the better. I don’t like unknowns. And then I put all of that insecurity on God. But here’s the thing, God isn’t an unknown. He gave us His Word to make Himself known to us.

Perhaps our greatest struggle in trusting God stems less from trust issues and more from relationship issues. When you really know someone, trusting them becomes easier. You know how they will react and respond and can predict a likely outcome for many situations. That is how it should be with God. The more we know Him, the more likely we will be able to anticipate the outcome. We have a giant book full of promises. How is it that all of that escapes our memory as soon as we’re asked to put our trust in the Lord?

Can we predict the future down to the tiniest detail? No, of course not. Only God knows all of that—and that is exactly why we should trust Him!

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.
He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

How many friends do you have that delight in every detail of your life? None, right? Thought so.

For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

Psalm 37:9 (NLT)

Life isn’t without its struggles, but if we can put our issues aside, get to know God better and learn to put our trust in Him, He’ll fight our battles for us.

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act!
Travel steadily along his path.

Psalm 37:34a (NLT)

Daily Bible reading: Psalm 36-37, Acts 23:1-11

He controls my destiny

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So he will do for me all he has planned. He controls my destiny.

Job 23:14 (NLT)

For those who are in Christ and have surrendered themselves to the will of God, this is a comforting statement. For those who may see God as a big bully in the sky, this can be a frightening thought. Since I’m not one to see this as a scary idea, let’s pursue the comfort in this verse a little more.

We know that we are created in God’s image. He didn’t create the world, fill it with animals, populate it with humans, and then walk away from it all to see what would happen. God is very interested in what happens—especially with us,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Many are tempted to and even do lose hope when things don’t go the way they expected. They forget that God has a good plan for them and give in to the lies the enemy would have them believe that God cares nothing for them. That God wants to punish them. Nothing could be further from the truth!

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

The good things that God has planned for us come when we are walking in His will, not our own will. Will it all be easy? No. Will it all seem good when it’s happening? Probably not. But is the end goal worth it? Yes! A thousand times, yes!

Who do you think has the better plan, you with your limited knowledge and experience? Or God, with His infinite knowledge—the one who knew the end at the beginning?

So I will let Him to do for me all he has planned. He controls my destiny. Thank God for that!

Daily Bible reading: Job 23-25, Acts 10:24-48 

Behind the scenes

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Read through the book of Esther. You won’t find any mention of God.

Does this surprise you?

If you know the story, you probably imagine it with folks praying and praising and God leading someone to do this and telling someone else to do that. The name of God is never mentioned, but we cannot deny the fact that He is still there behind every action taken throughout the story.

Maybe you feel like your life has started a little like Esther’s. She wasn’t born a queen. She was born to a race which, more often than not, was scorned throughout Persia. The Jews had more than their fair share of enemies. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she lost both her parents and her uncle took in his orphaned niece. For many, this would be reason enough to give up. But somewhere along the line, whether it was her nature or the nurture of her wise uncle, Mordecai, Esther grew into a beautiful, wise, strong woman.

As she grew up, Esther couldn’t know that she would one day capture the attention of the king. She couldn’t have known that God was preparing her to rescue her people from an enemy who would see them all dead. She couldn’t have known that she would have to put her own life on the line to spare the lives of her people.

We can never really know what God may be preparing us for as we go through life. Your struggles now may be strengthening you to do something great. And if you give in now, you may never know what God had in store for you in the future.

Like the book of Esther, you may not see God working in your life, but don’t make the mistake of believing He’s not there working, fighting, preparing behind the scenes on your behalf.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Daily Bible reading: Esther 7-10, Acts 6

Firstborn

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There are some that believe we are all predestined for a certain purpose and eternal end. That we have no choice in the matter. No matter what we do, nothing will change what God has laid out for us whether it be good or bad.

I cannot bring myself to agree with this idea.

The idea of predestination could be derived from Romans 8:29 where it states that, “those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” It makes sense. Almost.

Think about it.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them

Psalm 139:16 (ESV)

God foreknew all of us. Every last human being on earth. He formed us in our mother’s wombs.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30 (ESV)

God predestined the entire population of planet earth to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. He called us. He justified us. He glorified us.

So why aren’t we all living the happy, wonderful Christian life?

Because in giving us a destiny, God also gave us free will. You can make plans for someone. Good plans. But that doesn’t mean that the person you’ve made plans for will follow them. If we have no choice in the matter, there’s no point in the matter.

I take great comfort in the knowledge that God loves me enough to have set out good things for me. A hope and a good future. I was skillfully made for a purpose. God thinks about me. Good thoughts. Many thoughts. He has a plan for my life.

Is this plan just going to happen on it’s own? Does any plan just happen on it’s own? No! In order for plans to be carried out, you need to know what they are. The best way to learn the plan is to get to know the planner.

Daily Bible reading: Psalm 82-84; Romans 8:19-39

Your Future

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Does it ever feel like the whole world is against you? Like nothing goes your way? As though God has turned his back on you?

If you think you’ve got it bad, take a look at Job. Not to make light of anything you may be going through, but Job had it bad. Really bad.

Job is also a bit of a whiner. I’d probably whine, too, if I were in his situation.

But in chapter 8, Job’s buddy, Bildad, gives him a bit of a smack upside the head.

How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?

Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.

And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.

Job 8:2-7 (ESV)

Bildad is basically telling Job that he’s wasting his breath. God doesn’t change. Get yourself into a place where you can seek God and He will respond.

Where you began will seem unimportant, because your future will be so successful.

Job 8:7 (NCV)

It’s time to stop looking at your circumstance and start looking at God.

God is greater than your circumstance.

Daily Bible reading: Job 7-9; Acts 7:44-60

Nothing and No One

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For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

Did you know that the word nothing means nothing? Non-existent. Not anything. It denies the existence of any thing or entity.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

John 10:27-30 (ESV)

We talked yesterday about following the voice of the shepherd. Listen to the voice that leads you beside still waters and restores your soul (Psalm 23:2). Listen to the voice that tells you to come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:8). Listen to the voice that tells you that you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37). Listen to the voice that says He has good plans for you, a hope and a good future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Whether you can tangibly feel the presence of God in your life or not, if you’ve invited Him to be there, He’s there. Nothing and no one can ever take that away from you. Ever. You are His and He is yours. Walk today knowing that the God of all creation holds you in His hand and He will never let go.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 20-22; John 10:22-42

He knows

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He said this to test him for he himself knew what he would do.

John 6:6 (ESV)

Do you always have a plan? Do you know what you are going to do every minute of every day? Does nothing ever surprise you or take you off guard? If this is you, I’d like to have a chat because things rarely go exactly as I plan them – if I plan at all.

I often compare Jesus to human standards. I treat him like I would everyone else. We all have fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants moments, days… weeks… And we assume Jesus does, too. We act as though God is just making it up as He goes along. He’s not.

I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NCV)

O Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you, I will praise your name. for you have done wonderful things; plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Isaiah 25:1 (ESV)

God is not waiting to see what happens before He makes plans. He’s already made plans. He knows what He’s going to do. He has good things planned for us. He wants us to have a hope and a good future. We just need to trust in those plans.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Kings 15-17; John 6:1-21