God wants you to be unshakable

I recently preached a sermon on being unshakable. I want to share an overview of that message here with you.

The Bible says that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:26-28) and furthermore David says that because the Lord is ever before him and at his right hand that he will not be shaken (Acts 2:25).

From the many verses in the Bible that declare that God’s children do not have to be shaken, as well as Christ’s example of unshakableness, we can know for certain that God desires this for us as well.

But it is important to establish what being unshakable is and also very clearly state what it is not.

Being unshakable is not the removal of emotions, desires, temptations, circumstances, people, difficulties, trials, or a sense of justice. Jesus was fully unshaken even while He continued to experience a full range of emotions and Godly desires and a pursuit of holy justice. Jesus was unshaken even when He was tempted and tried. Jesus was unshaken even when circumstances, people, difficulties and trials came against Him.

So what does it mean to be unshaken? Simply this: all of the things of the world will not be able to move me from my devotion to God the Father or to doing His will. Nothing on earth will move me from my commitment to walk according to God’s holy and righteous ways. As a believer in Christ I will stay rooted and grounded in love, and will walk by faith and not by sight, and I will build my life on the solid rock, the foundation of Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. To be unshaken means that God will hold me fast, give me a way of escape from temptation, will provide grace sufficient to my need, and will anchor me in His steadfastness.

When we are unshaken it is because we do not allow emotions, desires, circumstances, people, difficulties, trials or a sense of justice, to move us from our absolute devotion to the Lord and commitment to doing things His way. Being unshaken does not mean never having doubts or feelings but rather that those things will not rule us or decide how we live or what we believe.

Of course to have an unshakable life we must do certain things that the Lord reveals:

  • Keep the Lord ever before me (fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith) – See Psalm 16:8 and Hebrews 12:2
  • Keep the Lord always at my right hand (the preeminent place of prominence in my life) – See Psalm 16:8 and Acts 2:25
  • Walk in His holy ways (Psalm 15 and Psalm 55:22)
  • Trust in the Lord (Psalm 21:7 and Proverbs 3:5-6)
  • Rely on the faithfulness of the Lord at all times (Psalm 21:7)
  • Make the Lord the foundation of my life (Psalm 62:2 & 6)

I pray that the Lord helps you to know His desire to make you unshakable and also that you will practice the things that God has established to root you, ground you and establish you. Pray to the Lord that you will be unshakable as you are anchored in Jesus, and as you keep on walking by faith and not by sight, circumstances or feelings.

God is setting all things straight

Dear friend,

Please, please, please, I beg of you: Believe all the Bible says about the righteous judgment of God.

God is perfectly holy, righteous and good so please know He is actively working to fix all of the situations in your life (and in this world) that are broken, evil and unjust.

Please do not for a moment begin to believe that God is going to leave wickedness unaddressed. His holiness and His love would NEVER allow that.

Don’t ever forget that God is being patient with you (and others as well) giving many opportunities to repent. (Praise be to God for His patience!) 

I cling to the promise that God does not leave us alone in our brokenness, sinfulness and selfishness. 

We must always also remember that just as sure as He loves us, so also He WILL always pour out all of His loving power to deliver humanity and the rest of His creation from the enemies of sin, evil, darkness and worldliness.

Therefore, when God says that something is unhealthy or unholy, He will absolutely pour forth His power to deliver His beloved from that thing which is causing harm. 

But you and I also WILL stand under God’s holy judgement IF we decide to call evil things good or good things evil. And furthermore, if we cling to what is evil and refuse to let go we also will find ourselves under His judgment.

You and I thank Him for His judgment that means violent offenders and tyrants and mass murderers and back-stabbers will answer for their sins, but please, please, please remember that all sin will come under judgement (including yours and mine!)

The answer is this: let go of sin, don’t hold on to selfishness or wickedness. Don’t participate in the deeds of darkness. Don’t buy the lies of the world or follow the lusts of the world. 

Please, rather than passing judgment on another person for their sins, confess your own so that you will receive the forgiveness and redemption of the Lord.

Trust me, God is even now judging all that is broken and wicked, but there is coming a day when all people will see His power and judgment in full force. And on that day I want to be covered and redeemed by the blood of Jesus and changed by His forgiveness, His grace and His Spirit.

Please, don’t trifle with the righteous judgments of God. 

And please believe all that God has said about how He is actively working to fix all of the situations in your life (and in this world) that are broken, evil and unjust.

I praise God (and fear God!) for His righteous and holy judgement.

Confusion, chaos and trust

How exactly are we supposed to trust God when things make no sense?

When we can’t figure out what is going on and when we can’t do anything about the people or circumstances around us, how do we trust God then?

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to not lean on our own understanding but instead to trust God and to acknowledge Him in all our ways and then He will direct us.

When life is confusing and chaos abounds around us and when we are at the end of our rope and just can’t figure out what we are supposed to do: we must learn to trust. Sometimes we might be tempted to believe that it is impossible even for God to resolve it, but of course this is not true. God is willing, ready and able!

Even though we are to have faith in God it is not blind faith. He actually does give us evidences of His power, wisdom and ability. And yet, when we trust Him we are not actually trusting the evidences of His past activity in the world, but we are trusting His present goodness and ability. Furthermore, trust actually comes to life when we make a decision of the will to wait, watch and believe that God will do what is needed even though we cannot see how.

As Christ followers we must learn to trust God when we are tired and when we are emotional. We need to trust when we want Him to go faster (and He just won’t) and we need to trust Him when we wish He would do things differently.

You and I have to learn to trust God even in the instances when we know that the mess we are in is from our own making. We need to trust Him to rescue us even though we know He has already given us past help and grace that we sometimes wasted and squandered. We need to trust God when we know that without His help we will surely be undone and defeated. We need to trust God to take care of us because of His holiness and love.

May we embrace the opportunity to trust God, even though we know He might have every “right” to refuse to help us because of our choices, and yet we know He is actually compelled to help us not because of our repeated failures but because of His eternal holy love.

As God grows our faith, we realize that we place our trust in Him not because we have earned it or because we know we will do things perfectly this time. Our trust in God is that He gives grace and help not because we are worthy or deserving of it nor because we have shown our righteousness, wisdom and responsibility but simply because of His glory, goodness and grace.

We must trust as God’s Word declares, that He can and will avail ALL that is needed in His perfect way and timing. Let us trust that God is working radically, supernaturally and miraculously, beyond even what we could even imagine is possible. May we trust that God can do what we cannot do no matter how much we plan or how many resources we have. Praise be to God that He is willing and able to take what is dead, broken and/or intended for evil and raise it up, heal it, transform it, redeem it and use it for our good. Let’s trust Him, He is worthy of it!

The desire of God’s heart

God does not want.. “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9)

Recognize this: God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4)

God loves you and me so much that He is actively reaching out with a heart of compassion and He is actively working so that you and I will not perish but will come to repentance and salvation.

I wonder what has you tied up in knots right now? What has you in bondage?

  • What are you worried about?
  • What are you afraid of?
  • What concerns and bothers you?
  • What are you facing that you don’t know how to address?
  • What are you facing that you don’t know if you have what it takes to deal with it?

I want to tell you the desire of God’s heart: He deeply desires to rescue you, deliver you and save you from each of the things in your life that have you in bondage. If there is anything in your life that has you tied up in knots God is actively working to set you free from from it. Do you believe this? Will you let Him?

In what ways can you see God blessing you right now?

  • How has He healed you?
  • How is He making you whole?
  • What good gifts has He given you?
  • How is He causing you to prosper or flourish?
  • What evidences can you see that He is seeking to give you an abundant life in Him?

Let me remind you of the desire of God’s heart: He is passionate about blessing His beloved (that’s you!) as well as healing us, transforming us and causing us to flourish in Him. He wants to give you an abundance of fruitfulness in your life that you can in turn share with others. Do you believe this? Will you ask for and receive this from Him?

Lastly, how do you think God wants to use you? Are you aware that He want to equip you, motivate you and mobilize you?

  • Who do you know that needs help?
  • Who do you know that needs hope?
  • Can you think of a friend or family member who is bound?
  • Who do you know that is lost?
  • Or hurting?
  • Or lonely?
  • Or depressed?

May you and I always remember the desire of God’s heart: He is fervently working so that you and I can be built up, equipped, resourced, motivated and mobilized in order to bring His good news to the earth and to each person we meet. Do you believe this? If you do, what will you do about it?

God is reaching out to you today. He is reaching out to set you free, to heal, bless and prosper you and to use you to help others along the way. Now that you and I have been reminded of the desires of God’s heart, may we faithfully come to Him, finding rest, healing and wholeness in Him and then as we freely receive from Him, may we freely give to others. What a gift! What a privilege. How great is our God!

We can’t change them

Last week I shared a post about the fact that in life and in ministry we cannot save other people. We can’t even save ourselves. Only Christ can do that (with our believing and acceptance).

In this post I would like to explore the reality that ultimately we cannot change the people whom we interact with or minister to.

Sounds kinda discouraging, doesn’t it?

And yet it is vitally important that we come to understand this if we are going to be effective in ministry

There is an old expression that might be helpful for us to consider here:

“You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.”

I think a follow up colloquialism is also appropriate:

“Yes, but you can salt his oats.”

We can’t change people, we cannot force them to do anything. We cannot bribe, cajole, beg, plead or ultimately cause people to change. Husbands and wives understand this (or at least they come to understand it over time).

Pastors would do well to understand this as soon as possible.

And although we cannot change them (or force them to drink) perhaps we can make them thirsty to where they themselves will desire to take a deep quenching drink from the Living Water that is Jesus Christ.

So how can we make them thirsty? And how can we lead them to Jesus, the Living Water?

I offer these few quick suggestions that might help:

  • Preach often on the goodness, holiness, generosity, graciousness, benevolence and promises of God
  • Share the testimonies of other people who have been miraculously saved, healed and changed
  • Speak highly (and often!) about the power, authority, authenticity and trustworthiness of the Bible
  • Share your own stories of how God has changed you
  • Be constantly spiritually inquisitive yourself and in turn ask the people around you about what God is teaching them and what God is prompting them to do
  • Show deep and radical grace, love, compassion and generosity which will pique their curiosity as to why you are the way you are.

Of course the list goes on, but we simply must remember that Jesus saves and Jesus sanctifies & transforms. We point people to Jesus. We brag on Him. We live a life of worship and praise unto Him. We boldly and joyfully declare His Word (commands, warnings and promises all three). And then as we pray for them and keep pointing to Jesus, we can watch and see how God Himself saves and then begins transforming them.

So please, before you try to guilt people, bully people or bribe people, instead just share the good news of who God is and let His glory pierce their hearts and watch and see as they themselves ask Him to change them. I promise, it’ll be miraculous, beautiful and far better than anything our meager efforts could do.

We can’t save them

Here is a hard reality for us pastors.

We can’t save them.

This is true for ourselves too: we can’t save ourselves.

First of all we must remember that there is only one Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ.

And we all need Him to save us. We need Him to forgive us. We need Him to cleanse us. We need Him to rescue us. We need Him to change us.

We always get ourselves into trouble when we try to save ourselves by our efforts, by our cleverness, by our plotting and planning. But when we come to Jesus in full surrender, then He is willing and able to save us completely!

And the people whom we pray for, the people we serve, the people we share the gospel with: we can’t save them.

Our words won’t save them. Our compassion won’t save them. Our diligence and service won’t save them.

Of course God can use our words and compassion and diligence and service. Furthermore if we are abiding in Him, then it should be His eternal and life-giving words, compassion, diligence and service at work through us.

But they will have to surrender to Jesus just like we do if any of us are truly ever going to be saved.

It is His grace, His stripes, His atonement, His sacrifice that saves us.

Yes, we must believe. We must have faith. We must place our trust in Him.

Beautifully, He enables us to believe and He changes our mind about sin and selfishness and self-preservation. He convinces us that He is willing, ready and able and that we can’t do it alone, no matter how hard we try.

We can’t save ourselves and we can’t save them. And the sooner we remember that, the better. Because in the end we all have to give up trying to be a savior and instead we must surrender and let Jesus save us. Then and only then will we be saved. Kinda takes the pressure off, cause it’s not up to us. On the other hand, it is a timely and all-important reminder, as Christians and as pastors, that in all things at all times we need to point to Jesus, the Savior of all who will believe.

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.

In between the extraordinary

It is so amazing when we see miracles.

How affirming, encouraging and life-changing when we hear the voice of God!

And how exciting when God moves and brings times of revival, renewal and spiritual growth.

But what about in between the extraordinary times?

Let’s think back on Abraham’s life. He lived to be 175 years old. That’s pretty old. And for sure that means he saw and heard a lot of different things. But according to Scripture we have record of only about 9 interactions between God and Abraham. 9 times of hearing God’s voice and talking with Him over a period of 175 years. That means that Abraham might’ve gone decades in between the extraordinary times.

Sounds like Abraham probably had a lot of ordinary time on his hands.

Do you think that he got bored? Do you think he questioned his memory of what God said or did the last time he heard/saw Him? I wonder if Abraham ever struggled with the idea that he was wasting his life or like maybe he had missed something along the way.

You and I will have plenty of ordinary time in our lives. More than we probably want. And during the ordinary time we might just reflect back or peer forward to an extraordinary time, but in the meantime we wait, and wonder.

I want to encourage you today that God is still at work in the ordinary times. He is still present, He is still using us, He is still speaking. It may not seem as extravagant or miraculous as the extraordinary times, and yet the ordinary times are full of life and goodness and blessing as well.

Please don’t squander the ordinary times daydreaming about the extraordinary. May we see God’s handiwork in each and every day and may we let Him teach us contentment in our unhurried moments of trusting and walking with Him in between the extraordinary.

A constant reality for pastors

There are many never-ending aspects of ministry.

Sunday comes every week.

There always seems to be another hurting person.

We endlessly seem to work on another ministry task, another parishioner’s need or another Bible study/sermon.

But I personally think that one of the most difficult realities of ministry is that we are daily and weekly praying, studying and ministering out of an awareness of sin and the shortcomings of humanity, especially our own!

We are, of course, praying for God’s help in people’s lives, we are declaring regularly the promises and gospel of Jesus, we are pointing people to the Lord and we are seeking to base our teaching and our ministry on the Word of God.

And yet through it all we are constantly aware of the fact that we ourselves are people who need a Savior. We pastors, as humans, often fall short of the glory of God in terms of our impatience, unkindness, hardness of heart, or other areas of compromise, impurity and sin.

Most other vocations do not so deeply or clearly deal with the shortcomings of not only humanity but also the very person doing the work. Of course counselors and therapists come to mind as having a comparative understanding and yet they don’t necessarily deal with the personal spiritual and eternal consequences of their daily vocational choices.

It’s not like we as ministers can just do our work with personal detachment. We are dealing with the heart of people and therefore with our own heart. Sometimes it might be nice just to go to work and not have to worry about whether or not our work will reveal another personal area of insufficiency, selfishness or immaturity.

But on the positive side of things, we as pastors do have the privilege of coming face to face with our own selves and simultaneously with the answer to our sins and shortcomings (Jesus!).

I understand that you might prefer to be in a vocation that is more 9-5 and that you can just leave it at the door when you clock out for the night. I understand that pastors might prefer to be in a job that doesn’t seem to shine such a bright light on our own personal faults and flaws. But the good news is that we can each personally receive God’s unconditional love and abounding/sufficient grace as part of our daily/weekly time at work. So then when we tell others that God is able to save and deliver them and give them hope, peace, forgiveness, freedom and healing, then we have something to really talk about, because God first did His work in us, before we ever declared it to others.

Of course we have to make sure not to desensitize ourselves to our own guilt and shame or tune out the voice of God, for then we will have less than nothing to say to others in terms of ministry and preaching but we might even lose our own souls!

Pastor, I pray that although you and I have this constant reality of having to let God deal with us first before He ever works through us, may we accept this as a gift of God. What other job in the whole world can say that it puts you in touch with the Creator of the universe, the Savior of mankind and the Good and Gracious Heavenly Father, literally as part of your job?!

Wow, what a privilege! Thank you Lord for your abounding love to me.

Be present

God has been teaching me (over and over again in fact) that one of the most important things in all of life is to be present to Him and present to each person that I with in each moment.

And of course God is always and ever present, so I ought to be present to Him each and every moment as well. Brother Lawrence called this “practicing the presence of God.” Paul expressed this as “praying without ceasing.” Other Biblical passages talk about keeping our eyes fixed on God and our mind fixed on the things above.

We also should be available and present to the person in front of us. Sometimes this is especially difficult if we have an important decision or appointment coming up, or if the person in front of us is boring or aggravating (and we would just prefer to be anywhere else but here). Other times it can be hard if we haven’t slept well, or if we are worrying about something. And on and on the list goes. But just as it is vitally important to be present to God, so too we must be present to the person in front of us. God did not cause or allow that person to be there with us in that particular moment if we were not to be available to them (and them to us).

Finally we need to be present to the circumstance and opportunity God has in front of us. We can do nothing about the events of the past (other than commit them to Him for His redemption). In regard to the future, all we can do is pray and prepare for upcoming circumstances. So the most important thing in life is to discover what God has for us to do in this moment and then be fully present in this moment.

  • In this moment should I be serving?
  • Or planning?
  • Or praying?
  • Or listening?
  • Or learning?
  • Or meditating?
  • Or praising?
  • Or helping?

And the list goes on. But we simply must be present to God and listen for His voice. And if His voice speaks the name of a person to us (or physically brings a person before us) then it is our responsibility (and privilege!) to be present to that person, even as we are present to God and letting Him guide our interaction with them. And if God brings no person before us then we must ask God what else He would have us do in the moment. There is always something to do (whether work, play, worship or rest) and we must learn to be fully available to that thing that God prompts us to do.

Do you believe in them?

Dear pastor,

I once read a story about a little boy who wanted to play darts with his dad. He told his dad: “I will throw the dart and you say ‘wonderful!’”

How important for each of us to remember that we really need people to believe in us and to cheer us on.

As you and I pastor our people, we need to think about the words we use to help them know that we believe in them.

If we mention to them that we miss them in church and they come up with some excuse why they couldn’t be there, we can either respond with:

  • “you know you are letting you family down when you don’t come” or we can say:
  • “we will always save you a seat. I know that as you come to church and bring your family you will truly be a blessing and encourage to them.”

I have visited with people before who really were convinced that they could never forgive someone because the pain was too deep. But as the Lord led, me I said to them: “I believe that God is going to help you to forgive them. I know you can do it as you lean on the Lord.”

So many people have been told so many times that they cannot do it (even by themselves) that they have begun to believe it.

Between the harsh, critical words that people regularly hear from others and from their own negative self-talk it is no wonder that people throw in the towel, sometimes before they even make an effort.

As pastors, we need to believe in people. We can’t reproach them negatively and expect to get a positive response. We can’t criticize how well they are singing, how regularly they are “amen-ing” or deride them for not exuberantly saying “good morning” when we great them in worship service. This will never glean a positive response.

As pastors, we need to say things like:

  • You are so kind
  • You are such a good listener
  • We have such a generous congregation
  • I’m so proud of you, seeking to do the right thing
  • Thank you for making such a great effort
  • I know that with God helping you, you will be able to _____________________

We know that flattery is lying and that the world is all about using platitudes to puff people up and get things from them. That is not at all what I am talking about.

Instead we need to be the ones that believe God can save their marriage, God can deliver them from addiction, God can provide for them what is lacking, and we need to be the ones who believe that our people can indeed walk by faith, believing and doing what God says.

So please, this week, believe in people, let them know that you do, and spur them on toward love and good deeds by your affirming words: “I know that with God’s help you can!”