Perhaps The Lord Will Help

Today’s Bible readings are 1 Samuel 14:1-52, John 7:31-53, Psalm 109:1-31, & Proverbs 15:5-7

 

1 Samuel 14:6

⁶ “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”

Jonathon is such a great man of God. As we will read in future readings he was loyal, trustworthy, & a man of honor. Here we see another characteristic of his that is worth modeling, the willingness to take a risk.

The biggest tragedy that a person will ever experience is the risk that they never took for God. The dreams that people take to the grave with them is the saddest thing about a person dying. Graveyards are filled with God given dreams that people never acted on.

I could tell story after story of dreams that God gave people that they came to talk to me about but they never took a risk & acted on it. Jonathon was not that kind of a person. He was willing to step out & take a risk. He wasn’t even convinced that God was with him on it. But I love his expression:

“Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”

Most people only want to take that first step when everything is perfect. They don’t want to step out in faith until they have had 20 meetings with 3 different committees. If the numbers aren’t there, they don’t act. This was not the case for Jonathon.

Numbers were against them. The only person he had to consult was a loyal armor bearer who would have followed Jonathon anywhere. I think that is an important point to make. We all need somebody who is willing to ride out anywhere with us. People who believe so much in us & our ability to lead that they are willing to follow & support us where ever we decide to go.

I have had a group of people like that in my life since the beginning. I can remember when I was first praying about accepting the pastorate at our church. I was nervous & unsure BUT it seemed right. I remember an older gentleman who was a close friend of mine tell me:  “Richard you have the anointing & I would follow you anywhere.” That was the encouragement that I needed. It helped push me over the edge to step out. The rest is HISTORY!

2 things I want to say to you today:

1.      Don’t be afraid to take a risk.

Sometimes you don’t know for certain what God wants you to do until you start doing it. If it seems right, & if the Spirit is not screaming NO, sometimes you just have to take the plunge. I have learned to trust in the mercy of God. There have been great things happen in my life as a result of doing what seemed right in a spontaneous moment.

That is not to say that we throw conventional wisdom out the window. We still operate in wisdom. But sometimes miracles come as a result of a risky decision that is made in the moment. Many examples of this in the gospels.

2.      Surround yourself with people who will support you & help you reach your dreams.

God connects us with people for a reason. He is all about relationships. It is beneficial to step back & evaluate the relationships that you are most invested in. Sometimes we fail to realize that our best assets our right beside us in a willing, loyal armor bearer.

Don’t let fear & indecision stop what could be the great chapter in your life. Trust in God. Don’t doubt His mercy. He is fine with us making mistakes when the motive was right.

Spend some time today looking for opportunities that might have been missed. This may be the day that you win your greatest victory.

Pastor Richard Schlotter

 

A Confident Heart

Today’s Bible readings are 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23, John 7:1-30, Psalm 108:1-13, & Proverbs 15:4

Psalm 108:1-5

¹ My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! ² Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. ³ I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. ⁴ For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

How confident is your heart in God? Confidence is everything when it comes to receiving from our Father. It is confidence that gives us boldness to ask. It is confidence that gives the courage to stand. It is confidence that gives us the patience to wait. It is confidence that builds our faith to believe.

David spoke of his confidence & how it moved him to sing. People who are confident in God are people who sing even when the fire is blazing & the storm is raging. People who are confident in God don’t need a reason to praise. Their confidence moves them to praise. It is knowing that something is about to happen that causes us to praise in advance.

Acts 16:22-29

²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

At first glance of this story we could easily say that there is not much to be excited about. There is not a lot of stuff happening at this moment that would give many a reason to praise God. Yet, that is exactly what Paul & Silas did. They began to sing praises to God.

I wonder what the other prisoners were thinking as they heard these two men who had just been severely beaten began to raise their voice & song of the goodness of God. The others must have thought that they were crazy; that is, until their chains fell off.

Many people in the body of Christ are like the other prisoners. We all go through adversity. We all have moments where the enemy attacks. These things come to weaken our faith & cripple our confidence. The problem is that too many Christian just stay quiet when it happens. They don’t praise God. They don’t have confidence in Him. So when the going gets tough, they assume God has abandoned them. NOT TRUE!!!

Paul & Silas represent a different breed of believer. They are the ones who KNOW the integrity of God & His promise. They are a breed that doesn’t need something good to sing about because they have a GOOD GOD to sing about! They have confidence in God. They KNOW that He will do it again.

What kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to be a Paul & Silas or do you want to be like the rest? The choice is yours. For me, when I take a look at where I am now & what all God has brought me through, it leaves me with only one conclusion to come to—I can have total confidence in God. He has always come through for me & He never changes.

Here is the truth—God is faithful! You can trust Him & have confidence in Him. You don’t have to be a “fair weather” Christian. You can have confidence in Him every day because He loves you. His love reaches to the heavens & His faithfulness stretches the skies.

1 John 5:14-15

¹⁴ And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. ¹⁵ And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

Pastor Richard Schlotter

Gentle answer

Today’s verses are 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15, John 6:43-7:1 Psalm 107:1-43 and Proverbs 15:1-3

Gentle answer!

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.

I always quote this verse to my children and my husband.  I also have to remind myself to use it because I can be a very passionate person at times. When listening to the way people speak to each other, both young and old it is very shocking to my ears.  We can ignite anger and hate in a person so quickly and most times a softer tone and word can ease the anger and calm the storm in a person.  Here is a commentary I found informative.

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible Proverbs

Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turneth away wrath
Mild words, gentle expressions, delivered with kindness and tenderness, humility and submission; these will work upon a man's passions, weaken his resentments, and break and scatter the storm of wrath raised in his breast, just breaking forth in a very boisterous and blustering manner; so high winds are sometimes laid by soft showers. Thus the Ephraimites were pacified by Gideon's mild answer; and David by Abigail's very submissive and respectful address, ( Judges 8:1-3 ) ( 1 Samuel 25:25-32 ) ; but grievous words stir up anger;
such as are rough and menacing, scornful and sneering, reproachful and reviling, proud, haughty, and overbearing; like those of Jephthah to the Ephraimites; and of the Ephraimites to the Gileadites; and of Nabal to David's servants, concerning him; and of Rehoboam, who answered the people roughly: in all which instances anger was stirred up, and either were or like to have been attended with bad consequences, ( Judges 12:1-4 ) ( 1 Samuel 25:10 1 Samuel 25:11 1 Samuel 25:21 1 Samuel 25:22 ) ( 1 Kings 12:13 1 Kings 12:14 ) . Or a "word" causing, or rather expressing, "grief" ^F18; upbraiding others with being the cause of grief to them.

So this week when speaking to someone you know is upset about something.  Respond gently and see how it can put out the fire burning in anger. Pray for that person.

Kelly Schlotter

Great Wealth

Today’s Bible readings are 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27, John 6:22-42, Psalm 106:32-48, & Proverbs 14:34-35

 John 6:35

³⁵ Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

This particular day the people who were following Jesus asked Him to prove to them that He was the one they should believe in. They said that their ancestors were given the miracle of bread from heaven to prove to them that Moses was going to be the one to guide them & provide for them. Jesus reminded them that it was not Moses but God who sent them bread.

The people of Moses’ day experienced their natural needs being met. But now, standing before the people this day, is the TRUE BREAD OF HEAVEN. Unlike the bread that they ate in the wilderness, this bread would take away a different hunger. The bread that fell from heaven in the wilderness took care of only the natural hunger. This New Bread would take away & satisfy their spiritual hunger.

The people were so blinded by the natural hunger that they had that they were missing the bigger point; Jesus wanted to meet their spiritual needs. He wants to satisfy the longing they had on the inside.

Jesus wants to satisfy your spiritual needs also.

1.      The need for peace.

2.      The need for love.

3.      The need for hope.

4.      The need for belonging.

5.      The need for connection with our Creator.

6.      The need for forgiveness.

7.      The need for cleansing.

8.      The need for healing.

9.      The need for strength.

10.   The need for transformation.

The bread that they ate in the wilderness could never do anything to meet these needs. That’s why God sent the Son. It doesn’t matter how much food you feed somebody. If you don’t fill the hunger inside their soul, they will still be empty & weak.

We still make this error today. We come to God with of prayer list. It consists mostly of STUFF we want from God. Don’t make me say something that I am not saying. GOD WANTS TO MEET OUR PHYSICAL NEEDS! But generally speaking, our prayer lists are usually over crowded with material stuff. We think that more stuff is going to fill the emptiness inside BUT IT NEVER WILL. Stuff can never make up for what a person is lacking in character. Stuff can never produce character in us.

BUT…

1.      CHRIST CAN PRODUCE CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER IN EACH OF US.

2.      CHRIST CAN PRODUCE CHRIST-LIKE VIRTUES IN US.

What would happen if we quit treating Jesus like our “Sugar Daddy” & started to treat Him like our Lord? What if we stopped seeking material things & started to pursue true treasure? What if we realized that the only change that matters is a change of the heart? What if we actually started to do what the bible suggests?

1 Timothy 6:6-11

⁶ Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. ⁷ After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. ⁸ So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

⁹ But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹¹ But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

Jesus, teach us to be content. Help us to desire what really matter. Remind us that YOU are all that we need. You are more precious than silver & more costly than gold. Nothing we desire compares with YOU!!!

 

Pastor Richard Schlotter