Living Water Church

“Give all your worries and cares to God, because He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NLT.

About a month ago, we bought my mom the cutest toy poodle puppy.  Her name is Mandy.  She is a dashing, playful ball of fur.  I don’t know that I have ever met such a loving puppy.  My boys adore her.  In fact, they are so fascinated by her that they fight over her frequently.  (Shocker.)  However, last week she got sick.  Really sick, really fast.  She could hardly even lift her head up off of the pillow.  This broke my heart to the point that I lost sleep over it, praying and asking God to heal her.  I feared having to tell my boys that our precious Mandy had died.  It was very upsetting, to say the least.

I relate this personal story because it once again reminds me that we serve a God who cares.  He instructs us to cast our cares on Him.  Why?  Because He cares!  What matters to us, matters to God. Don’t we serve an awesome God?  In light of the different crises in the world, our puppy situation is minor.  But for me, it wasn’t minor.  So I spent a lot of time talking to God about Mandy.  And I knew that He cared about the situation.  And thanks to modern veterinary medicine and bunch of prayers, Mandy is all better.  Praise God.  What matters to me, matters to God.  Pray!!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

One of my philosophies of life (and pastoring) is that people will learn a lot more from me if I share my failures than if I share my successes.   Personally, I have found this to be true.  I have sat and listened to numerous success stories by Christian speakers and walked away thinking, I wish my life was as easy as theirs.  However, when someone I respect talks about how s/he failed, I am drawn to them, and I learn from them, because I can totally relate to feeling the disappointment of failure.

So, in that vein, I failed this week.  I was talking with my neighbor over the fence.  She was pulling weeds and having a rough time of it.  I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me, “Go and help her.”  For a plethora of reasons I won’t expound on, I didn’t want to go and help.  I argued with the Lord for awhile about this, and finally I just walked away and went inside.  But in my heart, I knew I had disobeyed the Lord and that I would have to deal with it.

And deal with it I did.  I spent time on my knees repenting to the Lord for my disobedience to His voice.  I asked Him for another chance to help her.  I haven’t had that opportunity yet.  The Scripture says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9 I found that this scripture dealt with me exactly where I was at.   I was weary of doing good.  And consequently, in that situation, I had no eternal impact on my neighbor.   Lord, teach me (us) to be giving, kind, unselfish, and obedient to Your voice.

Would you describe yourself as a patient person?   If you’re like me, sometimes you are patient and sometimes it’s an area that is desperately lacking in your life.  Someone once prayed, “Lord, give me patience and give it to me right now!”  I wish that patience was something I could learn by reading about it in a book.  Unfortunately, we all know it doesn’t work that way.  God teaches us patience by making us wait.

I find it interesting that in I Corinthians 13, the very first adjective that God uses to describe love is…patience, “love is patient…”  Since God is love and love is patient, God is the ultimate example of patience.  Aren’t you grateful for God’s patience for you?   I sure am.  Lord, teach us to be patient, patient like You.

Guest Post by Pastor Ken

I love to keep good financial records at home and at church.  Knowing where every dollar has been spent is really important.  It causes me to be accountable for each and every purchase.  In fact, each month I create a personal summary sheet of our expenses to show how much we spent on housing, groceries, gas, restaurants, medical, entertainment, and incidental expenses.  When we know where we have been, it can help us know where we need to go.

Even though keeping good financial records is prudent, I would not recommend keeping close records of some other items.  I Cor. 13:4-5 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”  Do you count up wrongs that others have done?  Are there certain people that push your buttons?  Keeping record of others sins not only hurts relationships, but it destroys your heart.  It amazes me that Jesus poured His life into 12 disciples, more specifically Judas Iscariot.  Over time Judas was found unfaithful as treasurer.  Yet, Jesus kept no record of wrongs.  He continued to love Judas, even washed his dirty feet knowing that he was about to betray Him.  Be diligent to keep good records in some areas of life, i.e. finances.  But, more importantly, be diligent to not keep records of offenses, hurts, the sins of others.  It will free you to love others and love God with all your heart.

If you’re like me, there is something inside of you that rejoiced with the news that the United States had finally ended Osama Bin Laden’s reign of terror.    Proverbs 11:10 says, “They shout for joy when the wicked die.” At the same time, I confess that I reacted to the outward jubilation of some reporters as they announced the news that a man was dead.  One TV announcer appeared almost giddy.  Something about that felt wrong to me.

I felt especially convicted when I read Ezekiel 33:11.  It says, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Sovereign LORD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.’” If God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, neither should we.

So how are we to respond to the events of this week?  As I’ve pondered that question, I came to conclusion that I can rejoice in justice.  At the same time, instead of being giddy and obnoxiously patriotic, God has called me to humble myself and pray.  In light of the current events, consider this verse.  “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.

I love Biblical promises.  I tend to highlight them, write them on 3×5 cards, and memorize them.  However, there are some Biblical promises that are not quite so appealing to me.  One such promise Jesus made:  “In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33  I have never posted that promise on my refrigerator.  Have you?

In my life, sometimes I feel like I go from one difficulty to another.  Just as one problem works itself out, another is waiting around the corner.  Beth Moore wrote a statement that impacted me.  She said, “But fear of trials sometimes depletes more energy than facing trials!  Once we accept the inevitability of hardship, we can begin to redirect our focus from fear of trials to faithfulness.”   Beth Moore, To Live As Christ, pg. 44

God allows trouble to come our way.  He uses tough times to soften our hearts, make us pliable and  teachable, so that we bear fruit that remains.  “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of heaven.” Acts 14:22

Often when I pray, I cry, ‘Lord I want to hear Your voice.’  But the truth is, according to the scripture, I do hear God’s voice.  How can I proclaim that with such clarity?  Because God’s Word declares, “My sheep hear My voice.” John 10:27 Are you a sheep?  Are you a believer?  Then, you can know, that you know, that you hear God’s voice.  However, if you’re anything like me, it’s easy to doubt my ability to hear accurately.  The truth is that God is talking all the time.  Why don’t we hear Him more frequently?  More accurately?  Quite simply -   we’re too distracted.

There are two things in my life that distract me more than most anything else.  The first is the devil.  He is  the father of all lies.  He was defeated at the cross and yet he still has the power to lie to us, to deceive us.  Beware of the devil’s deception, because he is speaking too.  His goal is to get me to listen and respond to his voice instead of God’s voice.

The 2nd thing that distracts me from hearing God’s voice is entertainment.  I have read that entertainment is the god of our culture.  The Bible warns us to set no idols before us.  Can entertainment be an idol?  Absolutely!  Steve Sampson called TV – a Talking Viper.  Television and entertainment, in and of themselves are not evil.  But it is easy to substitute our relationship with God with entertainment.  If we want to hear God’s voice, we need to eliminate distractions, and tune into God.  Adjust your antennas.

This week I listened to the CD of Steve Sampson ministering to the youth last year.  I plead with parents to get a copy of this CD and write down the prophetic words spoken over your children.  Prior to the personal ministry, Steve spoke an admonition over our youth that seems applicable to us all.  Steve gave seven practical things we need to do to make our lives count for God.

Consider these admonitions:
1.       Keep God first.  Matt 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”  Work on your relationship with God.  Make God your best friend.
2.      Have a relationship with the word of God.  Read the Bible everyday, make it a part of your everyday life.
3.      Set goals.  Write them down.  “Where there is no vision the people perish.”  Proverbs 29:18.
4.      Talk to God, and to other people, about your goals.  Steve said the more you talk about it, the more God will talk to you about it.
5.      Keep company with achievers.  Bad company corrupts good morals.  Don’t be around negative people.
6.      Redeem the time.  Use your time well.  Time passes away so quickly.
7.      Have an attitude to give your life away.  “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”  Luke 17:33

Fear is something we all struggle with from time to time.  I have read that the command given most often in the scripture is “fear not.”  It seems as though the enemy wants us to be consumed with fear because fear makes us ineffective for the Kingdom.  When fear rules our lives, we live in a self-focused, self-defensive kind of way.  Suddenly, we are no longer on the offensive, taking ground for God.  Rather, in fear, we tend to hide and shrivel in retreat.

In Isaiah 43:1-2, God declares, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine!  When you walk through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.”

Notice that the Bible doesn’t say if you walk through the water or if you walk through the fire, but rather when.  Jesus said that in this world we will face adversity.  If you’re serving God, it’s going to happen.  But then Jesus said, “Take courage, be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”  So, today, be of good cheer.  God is with us; God is for us.  We walk under the shadow of the Almighty.  Fear not!

Ken  is a saver.   He loves making deposits into our savings account.  He finds pleasure in watching our account grow and frequently shows me the bank statements, so that I too might share the joy of saving.  I, however, love to go shopping, not window shopping, mind you – real shopping.  (My love for shopping makes saving money a bit harder for me.)

But consider this, God is kind of like a bank.  You get out of Him what you put into Him.  If you go to the bank and keep making deposits, the money is going to be there.   In the same way, the more you put into God – a deposit of prayer, a deposit of time, a deposit of worship – giving Him your heart, you will get all kinds of benefits.

Jesus declared that the most important commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Mark 12:30  Sometimes love is spelled TIME.  How much do you love God?  How much time do you spend with Him?  Start making deposits.

“When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.’”  Psalm 27:8