"Sunday's Best!"
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Don't Just Stand There...Pray Something!
My Dear Friends in the Faith:
Today across the state of Texas is a day of worry, stress, anxiety, doubt, fear, and severe intensity for many. Why? Grade level students are taking the TAKS test. TAKS stands for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test. It is an examination that students must take and pass that measure their progress in the areas of reading, writing, math, science and social studies. This test is so important across the state of Texas until seniors cannot graduate from high school without a passing score on this exam.
Isn't it amazing how God permits and allows us moments of examination? God does not keep us from moments like this at all. But, He knows that nothing can bring you closer to Him like a test can. So He allows and permits them just to get you closer to Him. So while you are in His presence just don't stand there, pray something!
As you read this week’s devotional there are principals that are on the edge because they know that if their school does poorly on this test it is a reflection of them and their ability to lead. There are teachers who are looking at students who are in class every day that come from challenged environments at home and they know that the only way for that student to pass this test is for a miracle to take place. There are counselors who are on pins and needles today because they have to make sure everything is in order regarding the test and if it is not, it is a horrid mark on their ability to do their job effectively. And, there are some parents who have done their best and given their all and yet they know that today will be difficult for their child.
What do you do when you have given your all, done your best, and exhausted all of your resources? What do you do when it is test time and you have prepared yourself to the max and still you know that the exam looms about you like a dark shadow? What do you do when you know that the examination that you are faced with is not going to go away? Here's one good suggestion straight from the heart of the pages of Holy Writ...PRAY!!!
Prayer is...........
An earthly license for heavenly interference
The slender nerve in the hand of God that moves the heart of God
Carte Blanc access into the essence of the eternal
Height without a top
Depth without a bottom
Width without a measured circumference
Admittance into the holy of Holies
A VIP pass into the board room of the Almighty
A talk with the God of the Galaxy
A conversation with the maker of oxygen
A chat with the architect of the human anatomy
A ticket into the hallowed sanctuary of the maker of matter
Listening to the still voice of God
Touching the untouchable
Reaching the unreachable
The incubator for every miracle
The birth place of healing
The production line of deliverance
The place where you commune with Jesus Christ!!!
In fact, here's a really good devotional question to ask you. Have you prayed about it today? I mean I know that you have thought about it, some of you have worried about it and yes still others of you have suffered some degree of anxiety about it, but have you prayed about it? If you have not prayed about it, I have some sound advice for you that is going to bless you tremendously. Don't just stand there, pray something!
By now you have to know for yourself that God really does answer prayer. Here's what the Word of God has to say on the issue.
St. John 14:13-14
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
St. John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
James 5:15-16
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Isaiah 65:24
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Have you ever heard the old cliché' "don't just stand there, say something"? Well, in my opinion we've done enough talking at this point. I challenge you right now to just stop right where you are and do it! Pray something!!! Pray for principals, counselors, teachers, curriculum coordinators, students, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and those who need healing, deliverance and blessing. Do it! Pray something! And, remember when you do God will answer you!!!
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
Today across the state of Texas is a day of worry, stress, anxiety, doubt, fear, and severe intensity for many. Why? Grade level students are taking the TAKS test. TAKS stands for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test. It is an examination that students must take and pass that measure their progress in the areas of reading, writing, math, science and social studies. This test is so important across the state of Texas until seniors cannot graduate from high school without a passing score on this exam.
Isn't it amazing how God permits and allows us moments of examination? God does not keep us from moments like this at all. But, He knows that nothing can bring you closer to Him like a test can. So He allows and permits them just to get you closer to Him. So while you are in His presence just don't stand there, pray something!
As you read this week’s devotional there are principals that are on the edge because they know that if their school does poorly on this test it is a reflection of them and their ability to lead. There are teachers who are looking at students who are in class every day that come from challenged environments at home and they know that the only way for that student to pass this test is for a miracle to take place. There are counselors who are on pins and needles today because they have to make sure everything is in order regarding the test and if it is not, it is a horrid mark on their ability to do their job effectively. And, there are some parents who have done their best and given their all and yet they know that today will be difficult for their child.
What do you do when you have given your all, done your best, and exhausted all of your resources? What do you do when it is test time and you have prepared yourself to the max and still you know that the exam looms about you like a dark shadow? What do you do when you know that the examination that you are faced with is not going to go away? Here's one good suggestion straight from the heart of the pages of Holy Writ...PRAY!!!
Prayer is...........
An earthly license for heavenly interference
The slender nerve in the hand of God that moves the heart of God
Carte Blanc access into the essence of the eternal
Height without a top
Depth without a bottom
Width without a measured circumference
Admittance into the holy of Holies
A VIP pass into the board room of the Almighty
A talk with the God of the Galaxy
A conversation with the maker of oxygen
A chat with the architect of the human anatomy
A ticket into the hallowed sanctuary of the maker of matter
Listening to the still voice of God
Touching the untouchable
Reaching the unreachable
The incubator for every miracle
The birth place of healing
The production line of deliverance
The place where you commune with Jesus Christ!!!
In fact, here's a really good devotional question to ask you. Have you prayed about it today? I mean I know that you have thought about it, some of you have worried about it and yes still others of you have suffered some degree of anxiety about it, but have you prayed about it? If you have not prayed about it, I have some sound advice for you that is going to bless you tremendously. Don't just stand there, pray something!
By now you have to know for yourself that God really does answer prayer. Here's what the Word of God has to say on the issue.
St. John 14:13-14
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
St. John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
James 5:15-16
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Isaiah 65:24
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Have you ever heard the old cliché' "don't just stand there, say something"? Well, in my opinion we've done enough talking at this point. I challenge you right now to just stop right where you are and do it! Pray something!!! Pray for principals, counselors, teachers, curriculum coordinators, students, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and those who need healing, deliverance and blessing. Do it! Pray something! And, remember when you do God will answer you!!!
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
Praying for TAKS Taking Today!!!
Praise the Lord!
As you may know, students across the state of Texas are taking the TAKS test today. Please lift them and all that regards them before the Lord in your prayer time.
Thanks and God Bless,
Dr. Adolph
As you may know, students across the state of Texas are taking the TAKS test today. Please lift them and all that regards them before the Lord in your prayer time.
Thanks and God Bless,
Dr. Adolph
Monday, April 27, 2009
He Blocked It!
My Dear Friends in the Faith:
Barbara Jean Jackson Adolph (my mother) was a woman of love and discipline. To put it plainly, she did not take any stuff from her kids at all. She did not believe in time out and counting to ten. If you talked back to her in any way it was very possible for you to get knocked out and have to rise to your feet after being down for a ten count. She was firm but, she was fair. She said things one time and one time only. And she expected for her children to obey.
I will never forget the day that my mother left in the rain to go grocery shopping. She left clear instructions for the kids. She said "clean up your rooms and no playing ball in the house." In complete ignorance we did the exact opposite. We did not clean up and we played ball every kind of ball imaginable! We played every sport with a ball in it. Know what I mean? We played baseball, basketball, dodge ball, and kick ball. The trouble happened when we decided to play football. I threw a pass in the hallway and broke a vase. She was not there so we cleaned it up (so we thought).
A few weeks later, while doing some serious spring cleaning she found pieces of the broken glass left over from the sloppy domestic work performed by yours truly. And that's when judgement came upon us. My mother exclaimed with punishment in her vocal chords, "who broke the vase?" She interrogated each child like we were in a holding tank at a police station. When silence ensued she thought of creative ways to motivate us. So she rushed into the kitchen, took a knife out of the drawer, cut a lamp chord and put an extension chord in her hand.
She said "it's bad enough that you all disobeyed me but if you do not tell me who did it I am going to get all of you starting from the youngest to the oldest." Have you ever been in trouble for something that you did, but you did not want to suffer the punishment for it? If so, good because you can identify with my silence. I wanted to say "I did it!" My my tongue just would not talk at all.
It was then that maternal hand of judgement struck. My mother raised her hand to hit my younger brother Ron with the first lash, but my older brother Butch leaped from the front of the couch to the end of the couch to stand between my mothers judgement and my brothers punishment! When the blow landed that should have been for one of us, my older brother blocked it! My mother then proceeded to smite him in such a way that we cried sitting on the couch and she was not hitting us at all. Have you ever heard one of your siblings get in trouble and you cried because the sound of it hurt you too? That's how it was that day. You see, the punishment was designed for me. But, I had an older brother that blocked it!
Many people misconstrue the message of the cross. There are some churches and Pastor's who refuse to even acknowledge it. But, for true Christians it means everything. It is the place where our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ blocked it! God does not just wink at sin. Someone had to pay the price for all of our errors, mishaps, missing the mark, transgressions, mess up's, and the like. That momentous day at calvary something marvelous happened. He Blocked It! The judgement that should have fallen on us, fell on Jesus Christ!!! What God would have done to you and me, He did to His only begotten Son! The Bible says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:13-14, KJV).
Barbara Jean Jackson Adolph (my mother) was a woman of love and discipline. To put it plainly, she did not take any stuff from her kids at all. She did not believe in time out and counting to ten. If you talked back to her in any way it was very possible for you to get knocked out and have to rise to your feet after being down for a ten count. She was firm but, she was fair. She said things one time and one time only. And she expected for her children to obey.
I will never forget the day that my mother left in the rain to go grocery shopping. She left clear instructions for the kids. She said "clean up your rooms and no playing ball in the house." In complete ignorance we did the exact opposite. We did not clean up and we played ball every kind of ball imaginable! We played every sport with a ball in it. Know what I mean? We played baseball, basketball, dodge ball, and kick ball. The trouble happened when we decided to play football. I threw a pass in the hallway and broke a vase. She was not there so we cleaned it up (so we thought).
A few weeks later, while doing some serious spring cleaning she found pieces of the broken glass left over from the sloppy domestic work performed by yours truly. And that's when judgement came upon us. My mother exclaimed with punishment in her vocal chords, "who broke the vase?" She interrogated each child like we were in a holding tank at a police station. When silence ensued she thought of creative ways to motivate us. So she rushed into the kitchen, took a knife out of the drawer, cut a lamp chord and put an extension chord in her hand.
She said "it's bad enough that you all disobeyed me but if you do not tell me who did it I am going to get all of you starting from the youngest to the oldest." Have you ever been in trouble for something that you did, but you did not want to suffer the punishment for it? If so, good because you can identify with my silence. I wanted to say "I did it!" My my tongue just would not talk at all.
It was then that maternal hand of judgement struck. My mother raised her hand to hit my younger brother Ron with the first lash, but my older brother Butch leaped from the front of the couch to the end of the couch to stand between my mothers judgement and my brothers punishment! When the blow landed that should have been for one of us, my older brother blocked it! My mother then proceeded to smite him in such a way that we cried sitting on the couch and she was not hitting us at all. Have you ever heard one of your siblings get in trouble and you cried because the sound of it hurt you too? That's how it was that day. You see, the punishment was designed for me. But, I had an older brother that blocked it!
Many people misconstrue the message of the cross. There are some churches and Pastor's who refuse to even acknowledge it. But, for true Christians it means everything. It is the place where our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ blocked it! God does not just wink at sin. Someone had to pay the price for all of our errors, mishaps, missing the mark, transgressions, mess up's, and the like. That momentous day at calvary something marvelous happened. He Blocked It! The judgement that should have fallen on us, fell on Jesus Christ!!! What God would have done to you and me, He did to His only begotten Son! The Bible says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:13-14, KJV).
Well, after my brother took our punishment we ask him why did he do it? And, he said "I don't know. But, I do know this, you owe me big time!" Every time his room needed cleaning he would look at us and say "you owe me." When it was his turn to wash dishes, he would look at us and say "you owe me." When he needed something done, he would call one of us and if he sensed that we did not want to do it, he would say "have you forgotten what I did for you? You owe me!"
Wow! In many ways that is what I feel Jesus Christ is saying to every real believer today. In fact, scroll back up to the top of this devotional to the horrid painful image of Jesus on the cross and say this to yourself, "he blocked it for me and I owe Him big time!"
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
Your Situation Is About To Change!
My Dear Friends in the Faith:
It was the summer of 1982 and a small group of high school students made their way to New Day Deliverance Church on Mesa Drive, in Houston, Texas. Bishop Taylor was the leader of the flock. We were in prayer at the altar when a woman moved by the spirit of God approached a young man that was with our group whose name was Allen Hebert. He would spend the summer months with us and then return home afterwards. His parents were poor so he didn't have much at all. In fact, that day he was wearing a pair of run over tennis shoes from a K-Mart blue light special and a t-shirt with a hole under the arm. But, he was at the altar!
The woman that had approached Allen pulled him out of the crowd and took him aside to pray with him. She told him to hold his hands up before God because he needed to surrender. She said to him "young man I can see things in your life because the Lord is showing them to me." She said to him "there are times that you steal and you are poor right now, but you have the hands of a rich man. Poverty has run through your family for years but God is going to reverse the curse starting with you. Your situation is about to change." She said "you have been smoking, I can see smoke coming out of your mouth. But, smoke no more says the Lord. Your situation is about to change." The woman of God said, "you have been cursing. Curse no more says the Lord!" She said to Allen, "You have been chosen. Live like you are chosen. Walk like you have been chosen. God says your situation is about to change!"
The word that the Lord gave Allen years ago is the Word that I want to speak over the life of every believer reading this devotional right now. Hear the Word of the Lord for your life today, your situation is about to change! If you are sick in your body I want you to plant this in your soul, your situation is about to change. If you are sharing this lesson and you have been struggling all year long the Lord of heaven has given me some great news for you. He says "your situation is about to change." If you are reading this devotional and you have struggled with financial disparity the healing news of the moment is this, your situation is about to change. If your going through a legal trial, if you are dealing with marital discord, if you have a wayward child in your home and if you are in the midst of a demonic attack from the corridors of hell, the Word of the Lord for you is this, your situation is about to change!!!"
When ever you read the gospels regarded in the New Testament canon one thing happens to everyone who comes in contact with Jesus Christ. Their situation soon changes! In John 5;1-9 a miracle takes places with a man that's been lame for thirty eight years. Here is what it says,
After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath (John 5:1-9, KJV).
Just like Jesus changed this lame man's situation, He can change yours too. Here is how you know that your situation is about to change.
First of all, you know that your situation is about to change when your condition demands the flava of His favor. The passage says that there were several groups of people at the pool of the Bethesda. But, Jesus looked and saw a "certain man." Can you hear that? It is a group of sick people, but when Jesus looks at the whole group there is something about this one man that makes Him say, "today is your day!" Now that my friends is favor. Hear this, the blessings of the Lord are for everyone who believes but, not every believer will get them. You have to have the favor of the Lord with you. And the way you get His favor is to have His flava. This man is in a situation that only the Lord can fix and that demands His favor. Has God every done it for you before? Has He ever fixed it? It was because you had His favor on that day and if He's done it before He will do it again!
Secondly, you know that your situation is about to change when the Lord steps into your story just to flip your script. The man at the pool had been there thirty eight years. It had been a long sad story. But, Jesus passes by just to turn things around. The Lord poses a question to him. He says, "do you want to be made whole?" The word whole is the opposite of the idea of shattered. In short, Jesus says to him, "I can see that you are shattered. Are you ready for me to take your pieces and make you a master piece?" Here's the shocker, the man does not shout yes. He had been down so long, he was not ready to get up. But, when the Lord is about to change your situation not even you can stop it! Jesus commands the lame man to rise. Could that be what the Lord is saying to you right now? In other words, I found you lying down, but today you are going to stand up! I found you out, but today you are going to get in! I found you sick, but today you are going to get well! Jesus says "Rise!!!!"
And lastly, you know that your situation is about to change when what use to make you cry becomes the source of your shout. Notice that Jesus tells this man not just to rise, but to take his bed with him. That bed had been a sore spot for him. It held his tears, his hurt and his pain. But Jesus tells him to take the bed. Why? Because it use to carry him and now he is carrying it. Wow! You see, what once made him cry would now be the very source of his shout. Every time that lame man looked at his bed he would remember from whence he came and thank God for what He had done in His life. Praise the Lord! Have you ever watched God take a problem from your past and cause it to be the source of your praise for the present? When this happens in your life, your situation is about to change!
In closing today I have a question for you. What would you do if the Lord sent you a message via the web that told you that your situation was about to change because you have the flava of His favor? How would you act if you knew that God was going to change your situation for the better? How would you bless the Lord? What would you say to Him? I've got goodnews for you, that is the Word of the Lord for you today! God has seen your hurt, He knows your affliction, and He has watched your tears and the spirit of the Lord says this to you....."your situation is about to change." Yes, you have cried but it is about to change. Yes you have struggled but it is about to change. Yes there have been days when you have thought about giving up. But your situation is about to change! And, yes you may have been down but, you are going to get up!
It was the summer of 1982 and a small group of high school students made their way to New Day Deliverance Church on Mesa Drive, in Houston, Texas. Bishop Taylor was the leader of the flock. We were in prayer at the altar when a woman moved by the spirit of God approached a young man that was with our group whose name was Allen Hebert. He would spend the summer months with us and then return home afterwards. His parents were poor so he didn't have much at all. In fact, that day he was wearing a pair of run over tennis shoes from a K-Mart blue light special and a t-shirt with a hole under the arm. But, he was at the altar!
The woman that had approached Allen pulled him out of the crowd and took him aside to pray with him. She told him to hold his hands up before God because he needed to surrender. She said to him "young man I can see things in your life because the Lord is showing them to me." She said to him "there are times that you steal and you are poor right now, but you have the hands of a rich man. Poverty has run through your family for years but God is going to reverse the curse starting with you. Your situation is about to change." She said "you have been smoking, I can see smoke coming out of your mouth. But, smoke no more says the Lord. Your situation is about to change." The woman of God said, "you have been cursing. Curse no more says the Lord!" She said to Allen, "You have been chosen. Live like you are chosen. Walk like you have been chosen. God says your situation is about to change!"
The word that the Lord gave Allen years ago is the Word that I want to speak over the life of every believer reading this devotional right now. Hear the Word of the Lord for your life today, your situation is about to change! If you are sick in your body I want you to plant this in your soul, your situation is about to change. If you are sharing this lesson and you have been struggling all year long the Lord of heaven has given me some great news for you. He says "your situation is about to change." If you are reading this devotional and you have struggled with financial disparity the healing news of the moment is this, your situation is about to change. If your going through a legal trial, if you are dealing with marital discord, if you have a wayward child in your home and if you are in the midst of a demonic attack from the corridors of hell, the Word of the Lord for you is this, your situation is about to change!!!"
When ever you read the gospels regarded in the New Testament canon one thing happens to everyone who comes in contact with Jesus Christ. Their situation soon changes! In John 5;1-9 a miracle takes places with a man that's been lame for thirty eight years. Here is what it says,
After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath (John 5:1-9, KJV).
Just like Jesus changed this lame man's situation, He can change yours too. Here is how you know that your situation is about to change.
First of all, you know that your situation is about to change when your condition demands the flava of His favor. The passage says that there were several groups of people at the pool of the Bethesda. But, Jesus looked and saw a "certain man." Can you hear that? It is a group of sick people, but when Jesus looks at the whole group there is something about this one man that makes Him say, "today is your day!" Now that my friends is favor. Hear this, the blessings of the Lord are for everyone who believes but, not every believer will get them. You have to have the favor of the Lord with you. And the way you get His favor is to have His flava. This man is in a situation that only the Lord can fix and that demands His favor. Has God every done it for you before? Has He ever fixed it? It was because you had His favor on that day and if He's done it before He will do it again!
Secondly, you know that your situation is about to change when the Lord steps into your story just to flip your script. The man at the pool had been there thirty eight years. It had been a long sad story. But, Jesus passes by just to turn things around. The Lord poses a question to him. He says, "do you want to be made whole?" The word whole is the opposite of the idea of shattered. In short, Jesus says to him, "I can see that you are shattered. Are you ready for me to take your pieces and make you a master piece?" Here's the shocker, the man does not shout yes. He had been down so long, he was not ready to get up. But, when the Lord is about to change your situation not even you can stop it! Jesus commands the lame man to rise. Could that be what the Lord is saying to you right now? In other words, I found you lying down, but today you are going to stand up! I found you out, but today you are going to get in! I found you sick, but today you are going to get well! Jesus says "Rise!!!!"
And lastly, you know that your situation is about to change when what use to make you cry becomes the source of your shout. Notice that Jesus tells this man not just to rise, but to take his bed with him. That bed had been a sore spot for him. It held his tears, his hurt and his pain. But Jesus tells him to take the bed. Why? Because it use to carry him and now he is carrying it. Wow! You see, what once made him cry would now be the very source of his shout. Every time that lame man looked at his bed he would remember from whence he came and thank God for what He had done in His life. Praise the Lord! Have you ever watched God take a problem from your past and cause it to be the source of your praise for the present? When this happens in your life, your situation is about to change!
In closing today I have a question for you. What would you do if the Lord sent you a message via the web that told you that your situation was about to change because you have the flava of His favor? How would you act if you knew that God was going to change your situation for the better? How would you bless the Lord? What would you say to Him? I've got goodnews for you, that is the Word of the Lord for you today! God has seen your hurt, He knows your affliction, and He has watched your tears and the spirit of the Lord says this to you....."your situation is about to change." Yes, you have cried but it is about to change. Yes you have struggled but it is about to change. Yes there have been days when you have thought about giving up. But your situation is about to change! And, yes you may have been down but, you are going to get up!
Today is your day, your situation is about to change!
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
I Refuse To Lose!
My Dear Friends in the Faith:
I have been a sports enthusiast for many years; I love watching and playing sports. Not long ago I decided to follow a sport that I do not normally watch nor pay attention to- cycling. I watched the long grueling race called the Tour de France. I gained particular interest when repeated champion Lance Armstrong was accused of taking performance enhancing drugs to produce his repeated wins.
I have been a sports enthusiast for many years; I love watching and playing sports. Not long ago I decided to follow a sport that I do not normally watch nor pay attention to- cycling. I watched the long grueling race called the Tour de France. I gained particular interest when repeated champion Lance Armstrong was accused of taking performance enhancing drugs to produce his repeated wins.
A reporter from a sports magazine posed this interesting question to Lance Armstrong during an interview: "Lance, did you do it? Did you use steroids or any form of performance-enhancing drugs to win?" Armstrong's answer blessed me. He replied, "No! I have never used performance-enhancing drugs. Instead of watching what goes into me they should keep their eyes on what's coming out of me." Candid and fearless, the reporter asked this world-renowned athlete, "How do you explain the numerous wins? How do you explain repeatedly beating the world's top athletes year after year?" Armstrong responded in a fashion that helped me, and I hope that it helps you as you run this race of life. He said, "I show up the day of the race prepared to roll. I bring to the table an attitude that simply says losing is not an option!" Armstrong explained, "In spite of the opposition and the people that I am racing against, I tell myself one thing before I get there that sticks with me the entire race. It stays in my mind when I am tired and my legs are hurting. I think of it when it seems like it is impossible to continue on. I keep telling myself, 'I refuse to lose!'"
Let's face it, sometimes we lose things. We lose our joy and end up in worry; we lose our peace and end up in anger; we lose our patience and end up getting ahead of God; and, we lose our hope and end up in despair. There are even moments when we lose our families and end up in divorce; we lose loved ones and end up at a grave site; we lose our resources and end up wondering what happened to our money; we lose our jobs and end up unemployed with bills still due; we lose our way and end up in darkness; and, we lose faith and end up sinking when we should be walking on the water. But, I have good news for everyone who has suffered some losses and know that its time for some gains, you can reach a place in life where you just refuse to lose!
Get this, you are on the Lord's side, which places every believer on the winning team. As Paul writes to the Philippians he says,
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you (Phil. 1:19-24, KJV).
Here is what the great Apostle is really saying, I refuse to lose! Paul has reached a point where losing is just not an option with God on His side. He gets to a point where he argues that he will win no matter what happens. If he lives, he wins. He can continue preaching, teaching, and doing the work of the ministry. If he dies, he wins because in death he is with the Lord, and he knows that this is gain. The end result is awesome; he cannot lose in Christ! So what attitude must you possess so that you too can say "I refuse to lose?"
You must have an attitude of complete deliverance. There comes a time in life when you face an obstacle and after you pray about it something comes over you that just lets you know that everything is going to be all right. Have you ever been there before? It's what happens to Paul. He says "for I know..." He means this, that I have prayed about it, you have prayed about it and I have made my peace with God about it and it is going to be okay, my God is going to deliver (soteria) me! There is an interesting figure of speech here called a metonymy. Metonymy is the intermingling of one idea with another. Paul says it was your prayers, but it was also God's provisions that saw me through. The more I know and the more you pray, the more God supplies. The word used to describe the supply is epichorgia. It is the same term used to describe the flowing waters of a river. River water flows all of the time like God's blessings and provisions in your life. It flows in every season; summer, winter, spring, and fall. It flows on good days and tough days. You are not going to lose because your river is flowing! God keeps providing!
You must have an attitude of confident discovery. Here's the truth, too many of us spend our time inspecting what God says instead of expecting what God has promised. However, if you are going to win and not lose you must reach a point where you expect for God to do what He has promised that He would do! Paul says, "my earnest expectation." This phrase is a tongue twister in the Greek language. It comes from the word apokatadokia. Apo means to lift the head. Kata means to stretch the neck. And, dokia means to strain the eye. Thus, great expectation means to lift the head, stretch the neck, and strain the eye. It's that look you use to have when you were waiting on your school bus to pick you up from school. If you were like me, you were waiting with great expectation. Likewise, spiritual victory comes to those who look to the Lord with that kind of expectancy. Here's a great devotional question for you. If you could only have what you expected from the Lord, what would you possess right now? Hear this, winners in Christ look to Jesus expecting for Him to do great things and He in turn does great things for them!
And, lastly you must have an attitude of Christ-Centered determination. The enemy wants you to quit. He wants you to give up. He wants you to lose. He wants you to worry about things you cannot control, lose sight of things that are real, forget about God's goodness, and lose. If you are going to win in life you have to be determined to do it. Paul says, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Now that's determined!!! True determination comes when you are too stubborn to quit, too crazy to become discouraged, and too confident to consider losing as an option. Winning only comes through the attitude of a person that says, "I am determined!"
While in his interview Lance Armstrong made the comment that the reason he won so many races was because he specialized in winning from behind. You see, unlike his competitors he does his best riding in the hill country, when others are too weak to continue to make the climb. It is then that he gives himself a pep talk and says, "I refuse to lose!"
Consider this devotional your pep talk and know that in Jesus Christ you have the victory and face today and everyday with a made up mind that says, "I refuse to lose!"
Your Friend and His Servant,
Dr. John R. Adolph, Pastor
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
