Pleasures

Psalms 16:11

“You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Recently, in one of our staff prayer meetings was a couple who had served as missionaries for years and are now semi-retired. She has been suffering debilitating pain for the past year that has made it difficult for her to do much. As we prayed around the room for missionaries and nations, I could see the pain in her face, but when it came to her turn, I was struck by these words in her prayer; “Lord, I so enjoy your presence.”

We are so often performance-oriented that we often fail to enjoy God’s presence. In fact, when we pray our minds can become so full of what we need to do that we really can’t enjoy the pleasure of His presence. Our heavenly Father, however, is more interested in spending time with us than our performance. We are His delight!

The Psalmist reminds us that the path to life is not in what we do, our accomplishments, or what we accumulate. The path to true abundant life is found in God’s presence; that true joy and perpetual, on-going, eternal pleasure is found in Him. What gives you pleasure today? Is it a temporal pleasure that can evaporate in changing circumstances? Jesus said in John 14:6, 9, "I am the way, the truth, and the life….I am the door.” Jesus says, “I am everything that you need. Our relationship is not based on your performance but upon my character.”

King David said in Psalms 27:4,

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the LORD,

And to inquire in His temple.”

What is the one thing that you desire of the Lord? What causes you to get up in the morning? What is the driving passion of your life? When you face obstacles and challenges, what gives you the drive to overcome? Or, like the missionary lady, what gives you fulfillment and joy when all else is stripped away? God desires to become our life, our reson de etre (reason for being).

There is a song I learned in Kenya that I love to sing. In His presence, in His presence there is peace. In His presence, in His presence there is joy. I will linger, I will stay in His presence day by day, till His likeness shall be seen in me.

Spend time with Him and you will find that He is all you need.

Andy

Running With Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Lately, I have become more aware that I need to work with purpose, God’s purpose. So often we become so absorbed in the multitude of things that demand our time, that we lose sight of God’s purpose. People, jobs, and circumstances put demands on us. Most of those things are good and often necessary but steal away our time from what is most important. I’m reminded of the illustration where you have sand gravel and stones to put into a jar. If you put the sand and gravel in first, you will not have room to get all the stones in. But if you put the stones in first, then pour in the gravel and sand, it will all fit.

Paul challenges us here not to run aimlessly and not to fight like a man beating the air. Sometimes we need to step back and check to see if what we are doing or thinking about getting involved in fits into our gifting and what God has called us to do. And be careful about the fights you pick. Satan often wants us to get so occupied in spiritual warfare or putting out fires, we don’t have time to do what God has called us to do.

God told Jeremiah, “ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

God prospers His plans. When you are in His plans, he will prosper you and give you a hope and a future. As I shared in my devotional God is in Control, we need to ask: “What are you doing, God, and how do you want me to participate in what you are doing?”
It is interesting to note that in God’s promise to Jeremiah that “God knows the plans He has for you,” verse 12 says, “THEN you will call upon me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” The condition of our prayers being answered is to be in God’s plan.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

I pray today that God will help you to step back from the urgency of the moment to re-affirm what He has called and equipped you to do and realign yourself with His plans and purpose for you.

Andy Clark

Now Is the Time

John 4:35

“Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Of course, we understand from the context of this Scripture that Jesus is referring to the salvation of the Samaritans. He had just finished talking with the Samaritan woman, and because of her testimony the Bible says, “many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.” The disciples who had just been in the city to buy bread failed to see the harvest because of their prejudice, religious practices, and doctrinal beliefs.

However, there is a greater principle we can also learn from this story in the life of Jesus. The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying because they were looking at things from a natural perspective. When they looked out over the wheat fields, it was still four months until harvest. The wheat fields looked like green grass that was about two feet high. There was no head of grain ready for harvest. Yet, Jesus saw a harvest where there was no grain.

God’s perspective of things is so different from ours. Many times we are waiting for the right circumstances and time to act. We are waiting for just the right time to tell someone something. We are waiting for adequate resources before we do something. If we are not careful, we keep projecting into the future what God has spoken to us today, because we are waiting for everything to come together before we do whatever it is God is speaking to us to do. We believe God is going to do it, but the time is not quite right.

The writer of Hebrews warns us saying, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13) We see here that unbelief causes hardening of the heart, which inhibits us from responding to the voice of God. As a result, like Israel we fail to enter into the promise because we are overwhelmed by our circumstances.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” If we only act when our circumstances are right, the enemy will make sure we never act. We live in uncertain times, but we cannot be paralyzed by uncertainty. We are told to “exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today!”

I want to encourage you today to begin to act on what the Lord is speaking to you. Take those beginning steps, speak what the Spirit prompts you to speak, and begin to do what God is asking you to do. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of harvest.

Andy Clark

Kingdom Conflict

Hebrews11:32-35

“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.”

As I read the above portion of Scripture from the chapter of faith, I see action, conflict and miracles. As I look over the mission fields I am involved with and over the world that we live in today, there is ever-increasing conflict. Over the past thirty years the kingdom of God has experienced unprecedented growth, and we are beginning to feel the backlash of the enemy. Our response to this backlash and increased opposition is critical to the future of what God is going to do. We can pull back, become politically correct or engage the enemy.

Our natural tendency of self-preservation oftentimes causes us to avoid conflict, go with the flow, and maintain silence. We can become deceived into thinking that through compromise or peaceful coexistence we can somehow preserve ourselves and draw people into the kingdom. However, as you read and meditate on the portion above, we see that true faith produces confrontation and conflict resulting in the supernatural demonstration of God’s power. It is that demonstration of power that destroys the power of the enemy, delivers us, and draws others into the kingdom.

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 11:12-13, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus came to usher in a new kingdom. When you usher in a new kingdom, the result is kingdom conflict. The two kingdoms cannot coexist, nor can they run parallel to one another, for they are complete opposites. There is no compromise, and as the day of the Lord approaches, the clash and conflict will increase.

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” We cannot run away from conflict. It is not time to pull back. It is not time to be silent. It is time to rise up in faith and take on the enemy. When we do, God’s power will be revealed, and we will subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, be made strong, become valiant in battle and receive back the dead. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelations 3:21)

May God grant you the wisdom, grace, and strength to stand up for truth and righteousness in an ever-darkening world.

Andy

A Commanded Blessing

1 Kings 17:8-9

“Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

Israel had been experiencing seven years of drought and famine. It must have been terrible. There was no international food supply like we have today. Elijah the prophet of God was caught in the midst of this famine that was brought on by Israel’s idolatry. Yet, God had supernatural provision for this man of God in the midst of the famine.

Notice in the above verse that Elijah’s provision came at “the word of the Lord.” Supernatural provision always comes through divine direction. To walk in God’s provision we need to have a relationship with God to hear his voice. In Matthew 17:27, when Jesus and Peter needed to pay their taxes, Jesus tells Peter to go catch a fish and the money for the tax was in the fish’s mouth. In Luke 5:5, the disciples have fished all night and have caught nothing. Jesus commands them to throw their nets on the other side. They object because they know that in the natural there is no provision there. But Peter said, “nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net," and when they did they caught so much the they had to have help to pull it in. In both these stories God provides through their means of employment, as they were fisherman, but in a supernatural way.

The second key in the story of Elijah is that God tells him, “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” Notice command is in the past tense. God has already prepared the provision for Elijah even before he speaks to him. However, Elijah has to respond in obedience to God’s instructions, even if did not make much sense in the natural. In Psalms 133:3, God commands a blessing on those who walk in unity. Our provision comes by the authority of Almighty God. God commands provision for those who follow after Him.

We serve a creative God who has a multitude of ways to provide for us. We oftentimes miss God’s provision because we only expect provision in a certain way and, therefore, are not receptive to God’s ways. Elijah and the widow, the receiver and the giver, both participate in the miraculous provision of God. Just like the manna for Israel in the desert, they received a daily provision of oil and flour for the duration of the drought. I have learned through 35 years of ministry in missions that God’s provision comes many times from the least likely source and oftentimes right at the last minute in our point of need.

Today as you walk with God in obedience to Him, He has a commanded blessing for you. Don’t limit God to your ways, but expect God to provide in the most unexpected and creative ways that you may know it only comes from Him. Step out of your world of the natural and into God’s world where the supernatural is natural.

Andy Clark

Withered Hand

In 2 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul referred to a “thorn in the flesh,” which has led to a lot of speculation over the centuries. But if we are not careful, we miss the crux of what Paul is trying to teach us, and that was God’s response to his request for God to remove the thorn."My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Paul’s response is, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” I Corinthians 12:9

We are not too good about boasting in our infirmities or weaknesses. We usually boast in our strengths and hide our weaknesses, or we are embarrassed by or frustrated with our infirmities. In Mark chapter three, Jesus approaches a man with a withered hand and commands him to “stretch forth his hand.” When he does, his weathered hand is healed and Jesus is glorified. It is only in stretching forth the withered part of our character, life, and ministry at Christ’s command that we can be healed and God glorified. As long as we hide our withered hand in shame, we remain handicapped and unable to reach our full potential in Christ and be used for His glory.

We all tend to operate in the areas of our strengths and abilities. However, when we do, we box ourselves into the limitation of our vision, resources and talents, and God does not receive the glory. God wants to do far beyond what we could ask or think but can only do so as we are willing to seek His will and launch out beyond the borders of our comfort zone into the area of our inability.  As Jesus glorified the Father in the earth, God in these last days is looking for a people He can empower and through whom He can be glorified.

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." I Corinthians 1:26-31

God is not looking for gifted, talented, educated and beautiful people, though He can use all these things for His glory. God is looking for people who, despite all their shortcomings and frailties, are willing to launch out into the deep and respond to God’s initiative, people who are willing to cast their net out again when they have already fished all night with no success. God is looking for people who are willing to be foolish in order that He may be glorified, people who despite all the odds are willing to believe God for the impossible.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7) The world is looking for real people, not perfect people.

May God, by His Spirit, be your strength and enabler today.

Andy Clark

Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:6-9

“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua was facing an overwhelming challenge. He was to take a nation of Bedouins with their families and herds of animals to conquer a land of great walled cities, and men in armor riding in chariots. It was like the Masai warriors taking on the US Marines. The odds were totally against Israel. However, in this portion of Scripture God gives Joshua three reasons they could be strong and courageous against these odds.

The first reason was that their victory was based on God’s promises. “You shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” “You shall!” It was a done deal, no matter what the odds were against them. Revelation 13:8 says, “Christ was slain before the foundation of the earth.” In God’s mind and time frame, redemption of man was accomplished before man was created. In God’s mind Canaan was already belonging to Israel before the first battle was fought, because God had promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

The second reason for success was God’s law. God’s promises are based on God’s ways. God’s law is not bondage, but a lifestyle that leads to victory. God’s laws are an expression of himself. David said, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalms 119:97) David was in love with God, and he was in love with God’s law. Psalms 119:165 says, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” God told Joshua, if you meditate on my law day and night and do all that is written in it, your way will prosper and you will have good success.

The third reason we can be strong and courageous when all odds seem to be against us is because God commanded it. Our success is not contingent on our ability, other people, or our circumstances. Out success is based on the authority of Almighty God. Hebrews 6:13-14 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." God’s word, God’s promises and our success are based squarely on the character and authority of God.

No matter what you are facing today, dust off God’s Word and His promises and be strong and courageous, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Andy Clark