Getting back in tune with God

    Back in the early 1930's there was a sheep rancher in the remote mountains of Idaho who loved to play his violin and listen to the radio. He loved to listen to one of the only stations that would come through clearly, which was located in California. He would try to play some of those songs on the radio, and sometimes try to accompany them from time to time. It was a source of great joy for the rancher. 

    As the rancher played his violin, the violin started to become out of tune and no longer sounded the way it should. He tried to fix it time and time again but it was always either a little to sharp or a little to flat. He had no way of getting his violin in tune because he did not have a tuning fork with that correct pitch. 

    As the rancher thought about his dilemma a thought occurred to him. Perhaps this radio station in California might be able to help him out. So he sat down and wrote a letter to the radio station, informing them of his situation and asking them if they would please help him out. He asked the radio station if they would on a certain hour and minute on a particular day, would they please strike the right note for him to tune his violin. 

    The radio station did just that. On the exact request date and time they stopped everything else, silenced all other sounds for just a moment and struck that note for that rancher. Hundreds of miles away was that rancher with his violin in hand heard the right note that was struck and was able to tune his violin and got it back in proper working order. 

    Many years ago when people started seeing all of the new inventions and various things that would make life easier. Many people thought that there would come a day in the future were we would be working less and have more and more time for leisure activities. 

    Fast-forward to today and we find ourselves busier, more stressed out, and working more hours. We live in a fast paced society where we are constantly connected. Life is moving faster than ever before. Whatever the people back in the day thought about what life would be like, sadly they were mistaken. Instead of slowing down, we are speeding up. 

    This business of life is further complicated with all the things that keep pulling at our attention. From social media, movies, music, TV, politics, hobbies and sports and events. We have an abundance of things to keep us occupied and busy even in our down time. 

    All of these things has a tendency to take its toll on our lives. Just like the ranchers violin no longer was in tune do to the constant use, our busy lives can cause us to go out of tune as well. This busyness can cause us to become our of tune in several ways.

    It can cause us feeling out of tune with our selves, leaving us exhausted and stressed out. The busyness of our lives can leave us with no room for ourselves. It can cause us to miss out on the very things that we enjoy and bring us a since of joy in our lives. It can become out of tune with the people around us. The relationships that are closest to us and most dear. Relationship can be strained under the pressure of our lives that have become to busy to build and foster the relationships around us. 

    This busyness can cause to to become out of tune with God. We can become so busy that we fail to spend time with the Lord, failing to foster our relationship with Christ and build on our faith. It can cause us to become lukewarm in our walk. Its this busyness that causes us to compromise our devotion, silence our prayers, stop our service, and weakens our worship. 

    Sadly this is where many Christians are these days. This is why church attendance is dropping. This is why 80 percent of the work done in the church is done by 20 percent of the people. This is why we are no longer seeing God move mightily in our lives and in the life of the church. This is why more and more pastors are leaving the ministry and why more and more Christians are no longer serving in the church. What we see in the church today and in the average believers life, at least here in America, is the result of being out of tune with God.  

    It is in such a time as these that we really do need to get back in tune with God. It is in these times that we need to set out a time in our busy lives to sit down and listen. To spend some time with God. To go to the Lord in prayer. Sit down and read the word of God, study it, meditate on it and listen to what God maybe trying to say to you.  We need to be intentional about it and set out to do it. We need to be get tired of being out of tune and do whatever we can to get our lives back in tune with God. 

Listen to the words found in Psalm 95;

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Jehovah our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart, as in the day of strife, as in the day of testing in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted Me, tested Me, and saw My work.- (Psa 95:6-9)

    This passage is a call for you and I to be refreshed and revived. A call to go back to worship, to prayer, to devotion. A call to come to God as sheep of his pasture, another words going back to where we belong, getting back in tune. 

    Notice that the passage tells us that this should not wait till Sunday rolls around. It should not wait until you have got all your ducks in a row. When you feel you have enough free time to do it. The passage tells us "TODAY" if you will hear His voice,...HARDEN NOT YOUR HEART! Surrender your time, your plans, you busyness and GET BACK IN TUNE WITH GOD! 

GOD HAS GOT THIS

    I believe that many of us love to be in control. No I don't mean to be a boss or own a company per say. What I mean is simply this, all of us want to feel like we have a say in what happens with our lives. We want to manage our own life and think that we can make our own decisions. We don't like it when we are told what to do, or even worse we are told what we have to do. However, if are made to feel like it is our idea, not only will we do it, but we will do it putting all of our energy to it. Why? because we like to feel like it was our idea, our decision. We want to be in control. 

    Nothing has taught this better than my experiences with teaching my two daughters how to drive a car. To be forced to sit in that passenger seat with no breaks, no steering wheel has stretched both my faith, and challenged my patience. There has been many times as my daughters have started to learn to drive that I have pumped the imaginary breaks on my side of the car. 

    Now to be fair to both my daughters it is not that they are bad drivers that maid me nervous. Although there have been times when my nervousness was warranted, but it is not always the case. No, sometimes my nervousness has nothing to do with the skill of the driver and has everything to do with me not being in control of the vehicle. I know this to be the truth because I have had these same feelings when I am riding in the passenger seat with other people.  

    Sometimes I can be that way about prayer too. When it comes to my prayers sometimes I can want to be in control. I sometimes bring my problems and issues of life to God, as I should, but fail to let God handle them for me. Sometimes I come to God praying for my solutions to the problems, rather than giving my problems for God's solutions. I sometimes am guilty of seeking God to give me the answers I want, but not seeking Him for the answers I need. I start pumping my imaginary spiritual breaks on what God wants to do. I start trying to bring about the answers to my prayers, rather than putting it in God's hands and waiting for his answers.  Perhaps you can relate. 

    It has been said that "Spiritual forces cannot work, while earthly forces are active" Isn't that our problem most of the time? We tend to work in our own power so much so that we give so very little room for God to work in and through our lives. Perhaps the reason why we fail to see great blessings from God is because we refuse to get out of the way for God to work. Maybe, just maybe the biggest hindrance to your prayers being answered is you. 

    Listen to what the psalmist says about the need to let God have control. 

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.- (Psa 37:5)

     The writer tells us that we should commit our way to the Lord. What that means is allow God to have the final say. Let the Lord handle the problems in your life. Don't go to God with you plans, proposals and prospects. Trust your life and the direction it is taking to the Lord.  Stop being a backseat driver and allow the Lord to have full control of your life. After all he is a far better driver for your life than you are. 

    What's the result of committing our way to the Lord, well the psalmist tells us "HE WILL ACT"!! God will begin working things out, in His way, and in His time. We will see God do things in our life that only God can do. 

    So here is my little advice for you today. Get out of drivers seat, and let God direct your path. No its not easy being in the passenger seat, it can sometimes be frightening. Just remember that the fear you face is not do to the lack of ability on God's part to work, but your own issues of letting God to have complete control. 

    However if you want to see God work in your life. If you want more power in your prayer life. If you desire to see God move in a powerful way. Then it will have to take you allowing God to direct your path, no matter where that path is going to take you. So just let God work, enjoy the ride, and remember that GOD HAS GOT THIS!! 

Fear Not

  

  Some years ago there was a counselor on the first night of church camp who was about to shut off the lights to the boy's cabin. However as the camp counselor went to shut off the light one of boy's screamed out "NO, DON'T TURN OFF THE LIGHT!!" 

    The counselor was startled and asked the boy if he was scared of the dark. The young camper said, "No." "Well why don't you want the lights turned off them" the counselor asked. The boy replied "I don't want to the killer rabbits to kill me" When the boy said that there were several boys in the cabin that started snickering, because it turned out that the other boys had tried to scare this boy and told him that at night there are killer bunny's that come into the cabin when the lights are turned off. 

    That boy was scared, but being fearful is not just for children. There are a lot of people today that live in fear. There are moments in our lives when we can become worried and fear full over various things. Perhaps your "Killer Rabbit" is a decision you don't want to make, or a problem you don't know how to solve. It might be a situation you don't know how to get out of.  The thing you fear may be something to do with your health, financial situations, or your family. 

    Lets face it in life there are many killer rabbits that we face throughout our life.  You probably can think of times when you were fearful or worried and there will be moments when fear will grip us once more. You know like I do that sometimes these "killer rabbits" are just that, imaginative. Many of the things that we worry about and are fearful of never materialize. Some of the biggest "killer rabbits" are the "What if's" in life. "What if I can't pay my bill this month?" "What if the economy tanks?" "What if I don't get well?" "What if I lose my best friend?" The list could go on and on but you get the picture. Many times we are fearful and worried over nothing! 

    Now we see in the gospels that Jesus was constantly reassuring the disciples to "Fear Not" Through out the bible you will find several passages that tell us to "Fear Not". It has even been said that the phrase "Fear Not" is used in the bible a total of 365 times. That is one phrase for every day of the year. Now I don't really know if that is actually true or not, but I do know that the bible has a lot to say about Fear. 

    Out of all the references and phrases in the bible that talk about not living in fear. I want to focus on just one of those passages for you. 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes, and when mountains are slipping into the heart of the seas.- (Psa 46:1-2)

    It is in this passage that the psalmist gives us a key to help you and I when fear begins to take over. He points to a help that is present no matter what changes have occurred. A help despite how dreadful the world looks. A source of strength when everything around you looks bleak. No matter how cataclysmic the events surrounding you are, the psalmist tells us that we should seek the Lord in such times. 

    The psalmist knows that God is a refuge for the storms that we face in life. He knows that in the midst of trouble, what ever that trouble might be God is a present help. He knows that in the times of our lives when we feel weak and unable to go on, we can rely on God to be our strength.  It is the presence of God that gives this psalmist the reason not to live in fear. He does not have to live in fear even if the earth changes or the mountains are slipping away into the sea. 

    I believe that is something that we would do well to remember as well. That when fear begins to place its icy hands on our hearts. When worry begins to rob us of both our sleep and our peace. We need to remember to call upon God. We need to run to the presence of God and seek His shelter and strength. We would do well to remember to call out to him in our moments of distress. 

    So watch out for "Killer Rabbits" They can destroy your peace of mind at camp and throughout your life. 

#1 Condition for an effective prayer

    A couple of years back I had done something I have never done in my life. I replaced a thermostat at the church.

    Now I had installed other things in the past, things like a new light fixture, or setting up a new TV. If those past experiences taught me anything, it taught me that the first thing I need to do is grab the instructions. Yes it has taken me nearly 40 years of my life to learn that lesson, but I have finally learned that it is better to read the instructions instead of trying to figure things out my self. 

    So that is what I did before I tried to figure out by trail and error how to put the thermostats in. I took a little time to read the instructions. 

    Now everything went fairly smoothly as I recall that is until I came to a problem. There was one thermostat that was giving me some problems. I had wired it just like the others and I had checked and rechecked what I had done with the instructions I was given. However, no matter what I did this thermostat was not working.

    It took awhile but I finally figured out what the problem was. It turned out that the furnace that I was trying to put the thermostat to was not compatible with that particular thermostat. You see there were conditions that were not met for the thermostat to communicate properly to the furnace to get it to turn on. You see I found out later that the thermostat that I had needed an adaptor to be plugged into the right power source. 

    When we think about prayer and specifically when we think about getting an answer to our prayers. We need to understand that there are certain conditions that must be met as well. One of the things we need to understand is that we need to get connected to the right power source. 

    There are a lot of prayers that people pray. Many different religions spend time in prayer, yet they are not connected to the right power source. So there prayers are merely words that people speak that are not heard by God.  

    Sometimes we as Christians will pray, and though we should be connected to the right power source. We sometimes are disconnected for one reason or another making the prayers we pray disconnected. This is why sometimes we may feel our prayers are not being heard. This is why we fail to see any answers come about through our prayers.

     So How can we get the right connection? Well listen to these words of Jesus Christ found in 

"If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you" - (John 15:7) 

     Many times when we pray we pray with our own agenda in mind. We have our own ideas of what we need or what we think is best. Many times when we pray we rarely think about or consider what our relationship with God is when we come to the Lord in prayer. Many times we rely to heavily on our own power, strength and efforts. All of these things bring about connection issues when it comes to prayer. 

    What Jesus is saying in that passage is that there is a condition if you want your prayers to be heard and answered. You need to be properly connected to Jesus first. That is what abide means, it means to be connected to, plugged in, attached, unified with Jesus. 

    You see we can't come with our own agenda in mind, but our agenda needs to be aligned with Gods. We can't rely on our power, ability or efforts, we must surrender our control and rely on the power and ability of God!  We need to be completely and solely dependent on Jesus.

    So great we identified the problem so how can we fix it. Well it is simple by having and building a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

    We need to first, if we have not done it yet, put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. 

    You see all of us are born sinners (Romans 3:23), we are born separated from God because of our sin and we sin because we have a sin nature. We are separated by God because unlike us God does not sin, He is sinless. The bible tells us that all of us (because of our sin) must answer before God. God must Judge our sin and the bible says that the judgment of our sin is death (Romans 6:23).

    However Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, lived a life we could not live a life free from sin. So that He could die a death we deserve, to offer us a life we could never earn. Jesus came and died for your sin, for your punishment, a punishment that you deserve. All so that your sins would be forgiven and having your sins forgiven you would have a real relationship with the one true God. It's that relationship with Jesus Christ that allows your prayers to be heard. 

  However its not just having a relationship with Jesus Christ that allows our prayers to be heard and answered. It building that relationship, it is daily drawing close to Him. It is daily getting into the word and leaning and growing your walk with God through Jesus Christ that allows our prayers to be heard. It is that daily growth that aligns our will with His, that leads us to rely on His strength instead of ours. 

    So before you pray, take some time drawing close to Him. Read his word. Sing His praises. Repent of the things that have separated you from a close relationship with God. Spend sometime thanking Him for all the good things He has done in you life and in the lives around you.  And then when you have done all of that go to God in prayer and see what a diffrence that will make in your prayer life. You will be glad that you did. 

IT CAME TO PASS

    Someone once asked an elderly Christian woman what her favorite scripture was.  Without hesitation the elderly woman said "It came to pass". The person responded 'Out of all the passages of scripture why that one?"  She smiled and said "Because it does not say it came to stay" 

    There are some days so wonderful and so joyful that you wish time would stand still just a little longer. There are moments in life you wish you could return to, or repeat because they were wonderful experience's in you life. 

    A few Sunday's ago me and my wife went out and ate at Cracker barrel and beside us was a family with a small child. The mother laid out a place mat for the child and put a bib around his neck. The mother gave the boy some mashed potatoes and a hand full of cheerios.

    Both me and my wife were reminded of when our children were that age. We remember with fondness of how cute our kids were when they were that little. We both smiled as we saw this boy and remembered a time in our own lives when our children were that little. 

    Its moment like that you sometimes wish you could repeat. Moments you wish you could enjoy just a little longer. 

    However not every experience or circumstances in life are the same. There are moments in life that time does not go fast enough. Moments in you life that you would never want to repeat or experience ever again. 

    There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves going through various trials and difficulties. Some of these times maybe minor irritants, while others may seem to be insurmountable obstacles.  However no matter how big or small the problems come in our lives, one thing is certain, we all have problems. No one is immune to difficulties in this life.  Difficulties come to all of us and it does not matter how much money you have or what positions you hold. 

    Now as a believer there are a few things that we need to keep in mind when we think of our problems that I think can be helpful. 

    The first thing we need to keep in mind is all our problems are comparatively small when we place them beside what awaits us in Glory.  No matter how terrible, how overwhelming our problems seem to be, it is a small thing when we look at what awaits us in Heaven. We can always look beyond the problems we face and know that there are better days still ahead of us. We are able to look past the dark clouds of the storms we are in and see the bright day of eternity that await us. This is what Paul was pointing to when he wrote in Romans chapter eight verse eighteen. 

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us ( Romans 8:18)

    Paul did not just write those word, he lived those words. Paul was a man who knew all to well the sufferings that you and I might face. In his lifetime Paul was beaten many times over, and was once beaten so badly that the people who was beating him thought he was dead. He was mocked by both the outside world as well as some of the  Christian believers. He was lied about, dragged into court and imprisoned.  On a number of occasions Paul's life was threatened. 

    Yet we see that Paul who had a great deal of trouble in his life is able to write that the sufferings of this life, cannot compare to what is waiting for him. I have to believe that Paul relied on that truth as he was lying in prison or healing from his wounds that he endured or when he got news of the lies being told about him. I have to believe that one of the helps Paul had when he was suffering was he looked past all the troubles that he was going through to be reminded of the great blessings that awaited him in the end.  I think if Paul could do that certainly you and I should do that as well. 

    Second thing I think we need to keep in mind is that our problems, though we might wish to avoid them all together, can and often are used of God. In fact we may find this truth hard to swallow, but it may just be that our problems that we are desiring to run from, is in all actuality God's way of positioning us to be blessed or be a blessing to others. 

    When the nation of Israel came to the Red Sea they looked behind themselves and saw the entire Egyptian Army behind them. It was then that they turned to Moses and blamed him for getting them in this situation. They told him "are there not enough graves in Egypt that we had to come here to die, didn't we tell you leave well enough alone?" Yet what they failed to see was that there trouble, the very place that they found themselves at was the very place that God wanted them. It was at the Red Sea God delivered the Nation of Israel. You see it was only after the nation of Israel traveled through the Desert that they came into the promise land. Most of the Psalms in the bible that we read were written by David after or during his own hardships. Some of the sweetest hymns we sing in church today are a result of some difficulty that the write had endured. 

    I think the greatest example of this is seen in Jesus Christ. Remember when Jesus was arrested and falsely accused. Jesus did not resist but willingly submitted himself to the cross. Wasn't it in the garden of Gathsemine where He prayed "If it is possible, let this cup bass from me" but he ended his prayer with "But not my will but thine be done." You see it is through his suffering, that you and I were able to be saved. It was His sacrifice, His shed blood that made our redemption possible. It is Jesus Christ who endured the cross for us, that is our example for enduring suffering. 

    So as we go through certain trials and tribulations in our lives let us remember these two things. 

1. Better days are ahead of you because of your faith in Jesus Christ. You have something greater awaiting you that far surpasses any trial you are facing today. 
2. The trials you are facing today are opertunties in your life God is using to bless you and bless others through it. 

If you will do these two things, it won't make the problems go away, but I believe it will help you to endure with a since of hope and peace. 

  "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Rom_8:18).