You Can’t Do It Alone (2)

“They shall bear the burden…with you.” Nu 11:17 NKJV

You may be a great visionary, but you will not succeed until you learn to inspire others with your vision and transfer it to them. If you can’t do that, you are condemned to experience an ancient curse that was reportedly used in Romania: “May you have a brilliant idea, which you know is right, and be unable to convince others.” Now, while the ability to communicate is important in transferring your vision to others, it takes more than that. You must have credibility and conviction. People will only buy into your vision if you are sold out to it. Convincing others of the significance of your vision can happen only if you are convinced of its significance. That requires the right message, spoken by the right messenger, to the right people, at the right time, and in the right way. Psychologist and author Dr. Larry Crabb describes this convergence, saying: “A vision we give to others of who and what they could become, has power when it echoes what the spirit has already spoken into their souls.” That power can convince people to join you in the pursuit of your vision, and greatly enhances your chances of success. There is an interesting mathematical dynamic in the Bible which states that one person can put a thousand others to flight, but two people can put ten thousand others to flight (See Dt 32:30). Yes, the Scriptures teach the power of synergy. When you get the right people involved, plus the blessing of the Lord, you’ll accomplish more than you ever dreamed possible.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/you-cant-do-it-alone-2/

The Royal Dance

“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.” — 2 Samuel 6:14 –16

In one of the most potent and joyous accounts in our scriptures, we are offered a description of the bringing of the Holy Ark into the City of David. We can almost hear the music and see the dancing as the verse tells us that “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” And yet curiously, the following verse describes how this wonderfully joyful scene somehow upset Michal, King David’s wife:  “And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.”

Apparently, Michal felt that it was inappropriate for a king to let loose in public. She expected a more dignified manner from a man of such stature. Michal felt that King David’s behavior diminished him in the eyes of the public. In contrast, King David’s only concern was that he gained favor in the eyes of the Lord.

There are many different ways to serve the Almighty. Some people are exuberant during services, singing, clapping, and even dancing. Then there are those who choose to sing along more quietly or even thrive on absolute silence. But there are also those who want to dance and sing, yet somehow just can’t bring themselves to do so for fear of what others might think of them. That mindset has no place in truly authentic service to God.

Our drive to please other people can take away from our service in other ways. Perhaps we were quiet when we knew we should have spoken up. Or we may have shied away from taking a stand for a good, but unpopular, cause. To fully serve our Creator, we need to live our lives as King David did; “leaping and dancing before the Lord.” That means saying and doing the things that please God even if it makes our family and friends uncomfortable.

Next time you find yourself holding back from saying or doing something you know you should, resolve to be as fearless as King David. Humble yourself in front of men, and you will find that you stand as royalty before God!

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-royal-dance

“My expectation is from Him” (Ps. lxii. 5).

When we believe for a blessing, we must take the attitude of faith, and begin to act and pray as if we had our blessing. We must treat God as if He had given us our request. We must lean our weight over upon Him for the thing that we have claimed, and just take it for granted that He gives it, and is going to continue to give it. This is the attitude of trust. When the wife is married, she at once falls into a new attitude, and acts in accordance with the fact, and so when we take Christ as a Saviour, as a Sanctifier, as a Healer, or as a Deliverer, He expects us to fall into the attitude of recognizing Him in the capacity that we have claimed, and expect Him to be to us all that we have trusted Him for.

You may bring Him ev’ry care and burden,

You may tell Him ev’ry need in pray’r,

You may trust Him for the darkest moment,

He is caring, wherefore need you care?

Faith can never reach its consummation,

‘Til the victor’s thankful song we raise:

In the glorious city of salvation,

God has told us all the gates are praise.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/a-b-simpson-devotional.shtml

The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Crucified by Mark D. Roberts

Luke 23:33-34, 47

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

Luke 23:33-34, 47

According to Luke, Jesus was crucified at “the place that is called The Skull” (23:33). The other Gospels mention that it was called Golgotha, the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word Gûlgaltâ that means “skull.” We get the English word “Calvary” by way of the Latin calvariae locum, which means, “place of the skull.”

The precise location of Golgotha is not clear from Scripture. It was near Jerusalem according to John 19:20, and therefore, by implication, not in the ancient city proper. Hebrews 13:12 mentions that Jesus “suffered outside the city gate.” John 19:41 adds that there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified.

From the earliest days Christian tradition has identified the location of Golgotha in a place that is now within an ancient church in Jerusalem (the Anastasis Chuch, or Church of the Resurrection, also called the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre). This church is now located near the center of Jerusalem. But in the first century this location was actually outside of the walls of the city.

Modern archeology has substantially confirmed the accuracy of traditional Christian belief about the location of Golgotha. Since the nineteenth century, an alternative location for Jesus’ crucifixion has been popular. The so-called Gordon’s Calvary (near the Garden Tomb) does look somewhat like a skull, but most scholars don’t believe it was the location of Jesus’ death for a variety of reasons.

Christians throughout the ages have made pilgrimages to Golgotha, walking along the Via Dolorosa, and pausing to remember the Stations of the Cross along the way. Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem and to make my way from the Mount of Olives, along the Via Dolorosa, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Why? Why did I join the millions of Christians who have made a pilgrimage to Golgotha?

There’s something about being in the actual place where something momentous happened that makes the event more real. When I was in college, I used to ride my bike to Concord, Massachusetts, to the North Bridge, the place where “the shot heard round the world” began the War for Independence in 1775. As I leaned on that bridge and looked upon the peaceful countryside, I’d think about the men who died that day, and about the freedom I enjoy because of their sacrifice. I’d leave Concord with a deeper gratitude for blessings I usually take for granted.

Sadly, I also can take the freedom I have in Christ for granted. For over four decades, I’ve known that Jesus died for my sins. And, even though I’ve staked my life upon this good news, there are times when it can almost seem old hat. A visit to Golgotha, like to the Concord bridge, retools my perspective. It reminds me that the death of Jesus really happened, in a real place at a real time. There the Lord of Glory suffered and died for the sins of the world…and for my own sins.

Even if you are not able to visit Jerusalem, the Stations of the Cross allow you to approximate a pilgrimage to Calvary. The images and verses of the Via Crucis invite you to follow Jesus to the cross, so that you might experience deeper gratitude for the blessings of God’s amazing grace.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: What helps you to experience in a deeper way the reality of the cross? Why do you think it is easy for us to take the cross for granted?

PRAYER: Gracious Lord, how can I ever thank you for dying on the cross for me? Your death has given me life. Your sacrifice has led to my blessing. Yet I confess that I can sometimes take your death for granted, forgetting what you did for me and neglecting its significance. Forgive me, Lord. And even when I can’t go to the actual place of your crucifixion today, may the reality of your sacrifice press itself upon my mind and flood my heart.

All praise to you, merciful Lord, for Your cross! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/tenth-station-jesus-crucified?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29

The Name

What is it about a name that makes it so special to us? I began thinking about this after talking to a teenager as we stood outside her church in Black River, Jamaica, one Sunday morning. She asked, “Would you mention my name in Our Daily Bread?” I asked her if she had a story to tell, and she said, “No, just mention my name.”

As I thought about her request—and her name—I wondered why her parents named her “Joyeth.” Seeing the happy nature of her personality led me to conclude that if their rationale was to urge her along toward “joy” in her life, they had succeeded.

Most parents have that choice when a new baby is coming. But one baby received His name in a far different way. It wasn’t His parents’ choice that led to His moniker, and His wasn’t a name given to coax Him toward a personality trait. I’m speaking of the One whose name was provided by an angel who told His parents to “call His name Jesus” (Matt. 1:21). Why? “For He will save His people from their sins.”

No wonder His is the name above all names (Phil. 2:9). It’s a name that reveals His purpose—to provide salvation from the penalty of our sins. Jesus is indeed the name worth mentioning.

The name above all other names Is Jesus Christ the Lord; He came to save us from our sins So we could be restored. —Sper

Jesus: His name and His mission are one and the same.

http://odb.org/2012/04/03/the-name-5/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+odb%2Ffeed+%28Our+Daily+Bread%29

Tozer Devotional-Delighted Wonder!

Delighted Wonder!

God always acts like Himself, wherever He may be and whatever He may be doing; in Him there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Yet His infinitude places Him so far above our knowing that a lifetime spent in cultivating the knowledge of Him leaves as much yet to learn as if we had never begun. God’s limitless knowledge and perfect wisdom enable Him to work rationally beyond the bounds of our rational knowing. For this reason we cannot predict God’s actions as we can predict the movements of the heavenly bodies, so He constantly astonishes us as He moves in freedom through His universe. So imperfectly do we know Him that it may be said that one invariable concomitant of a true encounter with God is delighted wonder. No matter how high our expectation may be, when God finally moves into the field of our spiritual awareness we are sure to be astonished by His power to be more wonderful than we anticipate, and more blessed and marvelous than we had imagined He could be. Yet in a measure His actions may be predicted, for, as I have said, He always acts like Himself. Since we know, for instance, that God is love, we may be perfectly sure that love will be present in His every act, whether it be the salvation of a penitent sinner or the destruction of an impenitent world. Similarly we can know that He will always be just, faithful, merciful and true.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=508

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