From the Kitchen Table

Day 1

Seeking AHA

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.              Psalm 119:18

I love witnessing AHA. I see it almost every weekend at the church where I serve. I listen to people as they tell about the spiritual awakening they have experienced. In that moment there was a beautiful collision. At just the right time, a person’s life collides with God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, and everything changes.  (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (p. 19). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)

Today I’m reminded that God gave me eyes to see and if I’m willing He will bring honesty out of the haze.  Things will begin to appear that have been obscured in my past by the haze created in my world of fears, frustrations, and foolishness.  God wants me to see.  His word says I will see (Heb 4:12) and His work enables me to see (1 Cor 2:12) but He waits for us to want to see.  God comes asking us, “Where are you?”  What a great image of how God comes to us, not with a judgmental attitude but a sincere and caring heart.  “Where are you?”  And if we are willing to see our true situation we can find ourselves back on the farm (the Prodigal Son) and back in His space (Matthew 11:28).  God has made me to see.  I’m not made to live in deception and death.  It can be scary to see the truth, but God is with me and His plans for me are good.  I can’t be afraid to see the truth or I’ll miss the dance of this life with Jesus.  And it all begins by asking God to open my eyes.  The author writes, “Lasting change requires aha moments.”  That’s so true.

Driven by Eternity                                                    Day 39

THE CONFRONTATION OF LOVE

So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.

(1 Corinthians 13:13 TPT)

Many people know the darkness of their hearts when they come to Jesus. This is why they cry out to Him in the first place. Many others, however, have no idea just how much sin is hiding in their hearts until after they give their lives to Jesus, for it is then when He begins confronting areas of our lives that will rob us of reward on Judgment Day. (John Bevere)

This morning I’m made aware, once again, that love lives in the truth.  We cannot walk in love and not operate in truth.  Being nice doesn’t cut it but being harsh isn’t the answer either.  Love lives in the truth even though we often mistake love as a lie.  Love confronts everything that is not loving and it does so in love, for love and out of love.  That sounds strange, doesn’t it?  Love is the attitude and action of another or toward another.  That’s why we can’t know love all by ourselves.  It all starts with Jesus coming to us in love and confront us with love so that we don’t miss out on His love.  We can’t afford to be afraid of love or we will miss out on life.  But, we cannot embrace love if our arms are full of lies.  Let God’s love deal with any and every lie in our arms so that we can embrace love in life and for life.

Driven by Eternity                 DAY 38

ATTITUDES FOR VICTORY

But you know…how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith and how long I have suffered. You know my love and my patient endurance. (2 Timothy 3:10 NLT)

Our faithfulness—what God will base His eternal judgment on—includes every area of life, including how we live and daily treat those around us. (John Bevere)

John Bevere brings up a topic that we easily forget about in a world that demands that we are treated right.  It’s not that anyone should be treated wrong or bad but for the believer, there is more at stake than being treated right.  The believer lives for heaven and knows that resentment and remorse keep him/her tied here.  But resent and remorse also keep those around us tied here.  The believer lives today for tomorrow believing God for now and then.  We have bigger fish to fry and forgiveness is about fishing for bigger fish, greater rewards, in this life and in eternity for us and for those around us.  The faithful believer is willing to suffer for salvation in their lives, the lives of those around them and for life now and then.  Our purpose is His, not ours!

Driven by Eternity                                                                                                                         DAY 37

LEARNING TO MULTIPLY

As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever! (2 Corinthians 9:9 AMP)

The greatness of our eternal reward depends wholly upon our faithfulness to multiply what God has given us on earth. (John Bevere)

We might not admit it, but we live for rewards.  There’s a promise at the end of our pathway that keeps prodding us to go on down the road we have chosen.  We take what we believe, and we build on it and when it comes to God and His kingdom we work to multiply that life in and through our lives.  Four words are important to multiplying in this life: (1) Sowing or investing what we know and believe in our lives.  (2) Seeking or pursuing the knowledge and help that we need to increase this life.  We call that prayer.  (3) Sharing or working with others to see the influence of God’s plans and purposes expanding in our lives and in our world.  (4) Service or helping others to know and experience the love of God in their lives too.  This way of living will reveal His way of living with all its rewards.

Driven by Eternity                                                                                                                         DAY 36

MULTIPLYING GRACE

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:2–3)

Jesus had an important message about how we may be found faithful.  It was so important, in fact, that He told this lesson twice in two similar, yet significantly different, parables—the parables of the talents and the minas.  Every believer is given the same access to Christ’s infinite grace and we are all called to multiply it through prayer, obedience to His Word, following the Spirit’s leading day by day, giving, reading Scriptures, worshiping, and many other things. (John Bevere)

What are we doing with what God has given us?  God has given each of us access to His heart and His help.  Success is measured by obedience in our lives not the objects around our lives.  Through pondering His word, we learn how to pray His will.  Believers who pray will do something with what God has given them.  People who don’t pray won’t play.  You might not like the word “play” for living the Christian life but it works.  Those who pray play and those that don’t pray, don’t plan.  They are afraid to get leave their seats and get out into the game.  Praying leads to playing and playing leads to greater praying.  Do you want to use what God has given you?  Start praying and you’ll start playing.

Driven by Eternity                                                                                                                         DAY 35

BUILDING WITH WISDOM

Through wisdom, a house is built. (Proverbs 24:3)

Scripture tells us, “Through wisdom a house is built” (Proverbs 24:3), but there are two different kinds of wisdom—the wisdom of God, and the wisdom of the world. Both forms of wisdom are able to build things that look godly, but only one comes from a heart that is able to build something of eternal worth. The wisdom of this world has a nature of selfish ambition.  God tells us how to recognize wisdom that comes from above.

Two things about the wisdom from above:  it’s pure and submissive.  Wisdom from above is motivated by God and molded by God.  A smart man is a surrendered man and you can tell what a man is smart about by what he is surrendered to.  I think John Bevere is right when he says that results are not what is important to God, obedience is.  When we let His Spirit surge as we let our spirit submit, we live in obedience and God builds the house.  The results are up to God when we make Him the Lord of our lives.

Driven by Eternity                                                                                                                         DAY 34

EMPOWERED BY GRACE

But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

It’s easy to admire those who have large international influence reaching millions of people for Jesus Christ, but that is not the call on every person’s life. God will not give us our eternal rewards based on man’s standard, but by whether we were obedient to our own call. (John Bevere)

This morning I’m reminded, once again, that our lives are not measured by human standards but by God’s script.  What did we do with what God gave us?  It’s impossible to live out God’s script if we can’t or won’t listen to God’s Spirit.  The wisdom of God for life is found in God’s Scriptures and from God’s Spirit leading us along the way.  God’s involvement in our lives is what we call grace and grace, is what we find in the presence, perspective, passion, power, and purpose of the Holy Spirit.

It all seems so strange because we’re seeking the advice of someone we can’t see, but we can hear.  Living by faith in this grace isn’t merely about obey the Scriptures but operating our lives under the leading of the Holy Spirit.  He writes the script for us each and every day and by the way, it will agree with the Scriptures, the Bible.  What are we doing with what God is saying?  That is the measuring stick.

Driven by Eternity           DAY 32

DISPLAYING YOUR WORK FOREVER

If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. (1 Corinthians 3:14–15 MSG)

Many begin their work in God’s house well, but then veer off and fail to finish. Whether financial worries, relational pressures, the trap of offense, hurt, disappointment, or some other entanglement ensnared them, the final statement on their lives is they did not fulfill their calling. This work must be torn out and redone, leaving these saints nothing to show for their labors when they reach eternity. Can you imagine that? (John Bevere)

God wants to keep and complete His work in and through our lives and by His grace, we will be able to see it through to the end.  We’ll have something to talk about in heaven.  Imagine that!  Don’t let anyone or anything steal your reward in heaven.  Without God’s work in our lives what will talk about after this life is over?  Just asking!

Driven by Eternity                                                                                                                         DAY 31

REMOVING ENTANGLEMENTS

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith.  (Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV)

We discover our calling in life when we seek God wholeheartedly. We develop it by planting ourselves within a local church. But even after doing these things, we may still fall short of God’s intended purpose for our lives if we have become entangled in the things of this world.  (John Bevere)

I’m reminded of that place in Matthew 22:14 where Jesus says that many are called but few are chosen.  He was addressing the man who had joined the wedding party but without his wedding garment.  Why and how does this guy get into the party without the right attire?  I don’t how but

why often takes us back to when we decided to do things our way.  We become distracted or entangled by the day to day issues of life.  We want to go but we just never get it done and if we do get there we come half dressed for the occasion because we had other things to do.

Today I’m reminded not to let the issues of life keep me from the issues of heaven.  What is more important than Him?  What is more pressing than the eternal work of God?  What is more critical to talk about then the conversations the Holy Spirit wants to have with me and through me?  It’s so easy to become entangled in the thoughts and things of man.  I don’t want to be late and half-dressed for the occasions of God.