HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Psalm 119:18
“Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.”

Here are four ways to come to God’s Word with open eyes.

1.  Come Humbly:  ”Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2)  What’s more helpless than a baby?  What’s more needy, or dependent?  That’s how we should approach the Bible, like babies going after a bottle.  Forget asking if you’ve read your Bible today . .  ask how much you’ve been in it?  How many times have you turned to God’s words to sustain you today?  To give you answers you needed?  To give you hope and joy?  How many times have you recalled memorized scripture from days gone by?  Crave God’s word as a baby craves life-giving milk.

2.  Come Hungry:  ”For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”  (Psalm 107:9)  What we hunger for determines what satisfies our hunger.  Accept no substitutions!  Refused to be satisfied with the junk food of television, movies, music, and consuming when you can sit at God’s table with the One who loves you so much.

3.  Come Persistently:  Ask more from each verse.  Paul speaks of the manifold wisdom of God” in Ephesians 3:10.  The word manifold means that each verse is like a diamond – every angle brings us another beam of light.  Martin Luther said, “Study your bible like you pick apples.  First, shake the tree, then shake the limbs, then shake the branches, then shake the twigs, then look under every leaf.  Don’t just read passages that are familiar and comfortable to you.  Dive into God’s word and soak it all up.

4.  Come Openly:  Don’t read the Bible to try and pinpoint what’s wrong with your neighbor.  Personalize what you read.  Ask God to help you understand and apply His truths to your life.  Don’t just read it and change nothing, allow God to change whatever needs it.

Come with open eyes and an open heart and experience God’s living Word!

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 6:5-9

James 1:12
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

Testing is a part of life.  We are tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible situations, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and seemingly senseless tragedies.

When we understand that there are things we go through in our lives which God uses to mold us and strengthen us and teach us, then we must realize that nothing is insignificant.  Every day is an important day, and every second can be a growth opportunity that deepens our character, demonstrates our love, and makes us depend more on God.

Do you feel like you’re in a time of testing?  Do you feel like your being stretched way to far beyond what you think you can handle?  If so, take strength from the promise that God never allows the tests we face to be greater than the grace He provides.  ”He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you strength to endure it.”  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Every time we pass a test, every time we endure under harsh circumstances, God takes notice and blesses us.  (James 1:12 – top of this study)  When I was little, I always thought of God’s blessings as presents.  And as a little boy, I always wanted toys (the fun, instant gratification blessings) instead of clothes (the practical blessings that I need, even if I’m too immature to know it) .  As I grew physically and spiritually, I still found myself thinking of (and sometimes expecting) blessings to be “toys”.  As we grow in Christ, and as  God transforms our lives and our minds, we come to understand that God’s blessings take all forms.

As painful as it may be, we must persevere with strength from God, and we will be blessed.

Related Text:
Romans 5:1-5
Hebrews 12:1-3

Proverbs 11:30
“The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
a wise person wins souls.”

God’s Word tells us to be prepared to Share Christ (1 Peter 3:15).  Witnessing to others about Jesus Christ requires wisdom, especially in three areas:

1.  Don’t assume that people understand the Gospel because you were raised in a church, and don’t think that they will catch your faith through osmosis just because you are around them.  Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”  Share your testimony – the short version.  Forget the good advice and focus on sharing the Good News of God’s love.

2.  Be patient – sometimes you have to sow the seed and leave the rest to the Lord of the harvest.  Don’t try to corner them into a decision.  Don’t become frustrated and angry because there is no instant belief.  Share the Word, leave the door open, and trust in the One who said, “I am watching over My word to perform it.”  (Jeremiah 1:12)

3.  Be alert to opportunities that God places before you – and don’t be afraid of them.  Some people call them divine appointments, God meetings, or holy coincidences.  Whatever term you have heard most often, the fact remains that, as Christians, God uses us in the lives of others.  God’s strength and power and joy should enable us to meet the opportunities head on and do the will of our Heavenly Father.  If we cower away, we will never know how God wanted to use us.  R.A. Torrey tells of an experience that totally changed his attitude toward witnessing.  While he was eating at a restaurant with some friends, he felt that he should talk to the waiter who seemed to look very depressed.  But he shrugged the feeling off, and never said a word.  At the end of the meal, when the waiter didn’t return, he asked another employee about his whereabouts.  The manager came to their table and said, “We just found him dead in the back of the restaurant.  He has hanged himself.”

When God leads you to speak to someone about His Son, get on the ball and do it!

Related Text:
James 1:5-8

Ecclesiastes 5:20
“It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.”

Solomon says, “It is good for a man to enjoy his work whatever his job may be . . . The person who does that will not need to look back with sorrow.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 TLB) Don’t wish your life away by constantly thinking: “If only I had . . . a bigger house . . . a more understanding spouse . . . better grades . . . a better paying job . . . a beautiful body . . . a higher IQ . . . then I would be happy!”

Happiness doesn’t work like that. David says, “This is the very day God acted – let’s celebrate and be festive.” (Psalm 118:24) This very day, not tomorrow!

Related Text:
Romans 5:1-2
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

Proverbs 4:7
“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.”

Jimmy’s mom said, “Get up, it’s time for school.”  He didn’t answer.  Again she said, “Get up jimmy, it’s time to go to school!”  He said, “I’m not going anymore.  There are 1500 kids in that school and they all hate me.”  Sharply she replied, “you’ve got to go to school!”

“I can’t,” he said, “even the teachers hate me.  Give me one good reason that I should have to go through that misery?”  Looking him in the eye, his mom said, “I’ll give you two; first, you are 42 years old, and second, you’re the principal!”

Life is a never-ending education.  When he was 85, Pablo Casals, the grea cellist, was asked why he still practiced 5 hours a day on his musical instrument.  He replied, “Because I think I’m getting better.”  What an attitude!  Peter said, “Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ . . .” (2 Peter 3:18)  One of the toughest decisions we all must make is whether to be content with who we are now – or to keep striving to reach our full potential.

Built into every painful experience is the wisdom to build a better future.  All we need is the right teacher and the right textbook.  In the Old Testament, when God found Gideon, he was hiding in a cave, thinking,  ”There is nothing anybody can do.”  But God showed him that he wasn’t a captive to the Midianites; he was a captive to his own inferior attitude, to his own fears and the opinions of those around him.  God had the power!  He also had the plan; all that was needed was for Gideon to be willing to trust God and open his heart.

God has things He wants to teach you.

So the only question that remains; Are you ready to go to school??

Related Text:
Judges 6-7 (yes it’s 2 chapters, and yes it’s the Old Testament, but it’s the story of Gideon; and besides, you’re ready to learn, right? put understanding on the top of your list, study God’s word and be taught by God)

Romans 7:5-6
“For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we’re no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we’re free to live a new life in the freedom of God.”

Living a “new life on the freedom of God” is an antidote to stress.  although obeying God usually has it’s own reward, obeying the “still, small voice of God” is especially rewarding.  You see, when God speaks to us, it is usually more like a gentle prompting than like a hammer pounding us on the noggin.  We can ignore His prompting, disobey it, argue with it, even try to postpone it.  Bu when we decide to take any of those options, we always finish up under stress.  After all, what is more stressful than knowing that things are not right between you and God?

The word obedience is a turn-off to many people.  Right away, they think of God as asking them for huge sums of money, or sending them to a mission field of horrors, or telling them to do something they really don’t want to do.  Get Real!  If we don’t listen to Him when He wants us to turn off the tv and spend 10 minutes with Him in prayer and some Bible reading, why would He send us on a mission??

Obeying God in little things – not big ones – is what lowers our stress level.  For example, when He prompts us not to say another word and we keep right on talking, that’s when arguments seem to erupt and, or course, our stress sky-rockets.

God’s word says, “If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your god . . . you shall be above only and you shall not be beneath.” _Deuteronomy 28:1,13)  the difference between being under the situation or on top of the situation is usually found in one word – obedience.

Do what god wants you to do, and you will see your life transform before your eyes!

Related Text:
Romans 6:6
Ephesians 4 (entire chapter)
John 14:15 (you just gotta read this today)
John 15:10 (this one too!!, it’s super short, just take 10 seconds and read it)

Proverbs 3:27-28
“Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God’s hand for that person.
Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”
or “Try me tomorrow”
when the money’s right there in your pocket.”

Beware of the someday trap – you know, the way we all rationalize our inactivity by thinking “Someday when I have more money or someday when I have the time or someday when I’m through with school.”  This is the trap that Solomon describes in Proverbs 3:27-28.  It’s a very easy trap to fall into because it’s so easy to believe that we really would love to serve or to help, but we just don’t have the resources.  God will provide the resources, what He needs is a willing heart.

God pours his blessings into pipes, not pots. (if you don’t understand that saying, message me and I’ll explain it.)  As long as we constantly dwell on what we don’t have instead of what we do have, we will never feel that we have enough to give to others.

don’t wait until you can afford a “big” gift.  Instead, do what you can with what you have now.  Take a box of groceries to a needy family.  Turn the clutter in your cupboard into the answer to somebody’s prayer. (do you realize, no matter where you live, that your town has a hungry family in need of help?)  Better still, give away something you really want to keep.  Generosity develops character, crucifies self-centeredness, and helps us become more like Jesus.

Instead of measuring your generosity with that of your peers, measure it by the Macedonian church – the most impoverished church in it’s location.  ”Though desperately poor . . . they gave . . . far more than they could afford! – pleading for the privilege of helping out . . . this was totally spontaneous . . . and caught us completely off guard.  What explains is was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us.  The other giving simply followed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.”  (2 Corinthians 8:3-5)

Walk toward those who need help and offer your hand.  Always be moving toward generosity and remember that God have us such a great gift, and Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Related Text:
2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Hebrews 10:35-36
“So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.”

Francis Cabrini applied to join a missionary organization at the age of 18, but was rejected because she was too sickly.  She spent the next 6 years working in an orphanage only 50 miles away from her home.  Her superior said to her one day, “If you want to be part of a missionary organization, you will have to start one yourself.”  so she did.  She spent the next 8 years building foundations and planting mission’s “seeds” in Milan, Rome, and other Italian cities.

finally she was given a mission assignment to go to, of all places, New York City.

But when she arrived, she was welcomed with even more bad news.  She was told that all the plans had fallen through and that she should just go back to her home in Italy.  But she refused.  Instead, she stayed, solved problems and built schools and even an orphanage.  It didn’t matter what difficulties she faced, she believed that with God on her side, she could overcome anything.  and she did.

By the time she died at the age of 87, she had founded 70 hospitals, schools, and orphanages in America, Spain, France, England, and South America.  Her impact was incredible.  She was the Mother Teresa of her day – displaying the same compassion, grit, and leadership.

But she would have never made a difference if she had allowed her past and her disappointments hold her hostage.  Instead of lamenting the loss of her dream, and the hurts of her youth, she moved on and did hat she could where God put her.  You and I can do the same as well – if we just stick with God and trust in Him!

Related Text:
Hebrews 10:19-39

Matthew 25:25
“I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”

Jesus’ parable to His disciples about the talents (the money given for investment purposes from a master to his servants) teaches us that the one who risks will be rewarded; but the one who plays it safe will lose. Jesus was not just talking about “the sweet by and by” here. He wasn’t just giving a story for story’s sake. He was pinpointing our lives. This principle applies to our lives here and now. Many failures usually precede any success. If we let the fear of failure keep us from taking risks, we will never do anything significant. Walking by faith involves taking risks and making mistakes, and learning along the way.

One day, a ceramics teacher divided her class into 2 groups. The first group was graded on the number of pieces they produced during the class (50 for an A, 40 for a B, 30 for a C, and so on) but the second group was graded on quality and only had to produce one piece. It had to be perfect to get an A. The results weren’t what you would imagine. The group that was graded on quantity began working at breakneck speed. At first the pieces were sloppy and ugly, but by the end of the class, they first group was producing excellent artwork. They were getting practice, turning out so many pieces. But the second group sat around trying to think about how to start and wondering where the inspiration would come from. The second group failed to finish their piece and had nothing to show for their effort, while the first group not only got an A, but were producing amazing peces by the end of the class. UNLESS we overcome our fear of making mistakes, we will never make a difference.

Faith means following God to the very edge, trusting Him that when we do, He will either put a solid foundation underneath our feat, or He will teach us to fly!

Related Text:
Matthew 25:14-30 (entire talent parable)

2 Peter 1:5-9
“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Lord Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.”

Learning to control your impulsive reactions instead of “mouthing off” with the first thing that pops into your head takes great restraint: “Patience is better than strength.  Controlling your temper is better than capturing a city.  (Proverbs 16:32)  Learn to respond with wisdom, instead of reacting with anger.  The difference between responding and reacting is subtle, but crucial.

For instance, if your boss fires you and your first reaction is to take a swing at him, take 10, go for a walk, and realize you have a better long-term options than getting an assault charge.  If you can rely on God to keep your head above water during the flood, you might be able to negotiate severance pay, a letter of recommendation, or even a referral for your next job.  And if you want to be a learner instead of a loser, find out why it happened and what you need to do different next time.  Take the time to learn ad make the necessary changes.  There’s wisdom in every crisis – ask God for His wisdom, even if the situation makes you feel like your world is falling apart.  Be patient and remember that faith in our Savior is the bridge that will take you from where you are right now to where you need to be.

Don’t overreact to a crisis.  Instead, trust that God is working on angles you haven’t even considered:  ”13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.  14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Exercise self control in any crisis by learning to see beyond the eclipse of the present situation.  The sun will shine gain.  God has promised it, so you can count on it!