What We Need Every Sunrise - (For Son to Rise in Us)

God knows exactly what we need.  In Psalm 143:8 David speaks out what is needed in each of our hearts, "Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul."   

Many times, we wake up with negative feelings and problems running through our minds.  We don't "feel" blessed and walking in abundant life.  In truth we may feel overwhelmed with the challenges. Psalm 142:6 reminds us of the truth that "the enemy is too strong for me."  Sometimes we forget that we are fighting a spiritual war not a flesh battle.  God's mercy is fresh every morning according to Lamentations 3:23, but the Lord waits for us to take it, to receive it.  

So, there is a need to take a moment to stop before God and "hear" Him declare His fresh lovingkindness to set us free from our natural fallen-nature thoughts and feelings.  To "lift up my soul" simply means to turn our focus and attention on Him, letting His Word and the truth of His love transform our thoughts.  Then the truth of Psalm 23 can happen, "He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul."  We let God's Spirit take over and the Word of God dwell richly in us.  

Psalm 142:7 says it even stronger.  "Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Your name."  We are in prison, captured by our flesh until we let God deliver us to know the truth which sets us free. Then we are available and teachable to accept "the way in which we should walk." 

Paul instructs us to pick up His cross daily, obviously to die to the flesh. The Spirit gives us power to put to death the deeds of the flesh helping us set our minds on the Spirit and His truth.  May the Lord continue to renew our minds every morning with His fresh lovingkindness and teach us how we should walk. 

Let this Christmas season remind you of His glory and greatness of love in becoming a man and doing everything needed to ensure that His peace and joy daily fill our hearts.  Every sunrise it is up to us to let the Son rise in our hearts.  

Got Hope--It's What You See?

We live in a world that has lost hope.  Even in America, there is such division and hatred that the majority of comments in the news and social media are negative.  Discouragement and even suicide are often reported among teens.  People do not see things getting better and therefore, in their own despair can only strike out in critical judgment.

Psalm 11 asks "If the foundations are shaken, what can the righteous do?"  The more focused question is what is hope and how do we get hope?.  We commonly use the word "hope" to mean "wish", such as we hope the Broncos win today.  However, the Biblical definition of hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised.  When man fell, he allowed sin and death to enter the human race, and a condition that Romans 8 describes as "the whole creation groans...from the bondage of corruption."  Naturally our minds tend to likewise see things going wrong, have anxiety and fear from things out of control, and in general, expect negative circumstances.  Have you ever heard of Murphy's law?

There is an answer.  We can change the "old flat tire" of negative thinking and put on a brand new tire of "positive vision."  Proverbs declares "without a vision, people perish."  The Word of God was given to man to renew his thinking and transform his picture of life.  As a man thinks so is he.  Thinking is more than rational thoughts.  It is the imagination, the picturing, the vision and goals that drive our actions and well-being.  What do you see in your mind when someone mentions a dog?  What if we added a large fierce dog?  Or a small black and white beagle?  The point is that words trigger a picture in our mind.

God wants us to have a living hope, an image that He makes "all things work together for our good."
His Word paints a picture of us being loved with an everlasting love, of being overcomers, and of being a people who enjoy abundant life and peace through His Spirit.  He sent forth His Word and delivered them.  His Word delivers us from our negative carnal thinking to embrace a new picture of us as now being His workmanship capable of being a light in the darkness.  This truth opens up a whole new world of purpose and hope for the future.  God Himself is for us and with us.  How can we fail?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away. ( Peter 1:3)  This truth is like an anchor to the soul, that through the finished work of Jesus and with the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead now living in us, we are assured to make it..  We let the Word of God transform our thinking and what we see God has done and continues to do for us.

By faith, and faith is the assurance of things hoped for, we transfer our hope into reality.  Take time to deliberately let the Word of God paint fresh pictures of hope and vision in you.  Read it, think about what it says, picture this in your life, and continue to meditate on His truth until you can see it.  God is faithful to be found by those who seek Him.  What do you see?