Finding delight during times of trouble

Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.

Psalm 119:143

Have you ever wondered where to find delight during the hard times? We all face troubles. The word is very clear on that. John 16:33 informs us that in this world we will have trouble. David was surely no stranger to this, but during the difficulty he found pleasure in the commands of God. Why is that so? Because His commands are the answer. Following the Lord’s instruction is life. It’s joy. It’s peace. It’s safety. It’s a light unto the path that is darkened by tribulations.

During your troubles, be obedient. David doesn’t say he delights in God’s suggestions. He doesn’t say he delights in His opinions. David says he delights in the commands of the Lord. These are the clear given instructions. In other words, I have peace because I don’t have to wonder what to do during these moments. I’m going to do what I know to do… and that’s to obey the Lord’s commands.

Dive into the word. Seek out His instructions for your life and as you do, take delight in His commands.

Tailor made Righteousness

His Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21 (nasb)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Isaiah 64:6 (nlt)

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

We as believers should desire righteousness. The question is, what is it that makes you righteous? Many wear costumes of deceit that are good looking on the outside, but never reveal the filth on the inside. Some wear mask of self-made righteousness to make others think everything is ok. They smile on the outside or have lofty eyes, but it’s all a front. Others just attempt to be righteous by working diligently at things they believe are good causes. But the truth is, even our best attempts at self-righteousness is filthy in the eyes of God. But here’s the good news, He provided a way for us to have true righteous that is pure in His eyes. Jesus became sin, even though he knew no sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God! But this righteousness doesn’t fit over our self-righteousness. It doesn’t fit over our costumes and masks. You see, it’s tailor made to fit perfectly over our unrighteousness. It’s when we confess our condition to God, impurities, mistakes, and all our sin, that He covers us with something we could never obtain on our own. Righteousness in the truest form.

Be honest today. Don’t think you’ve got to have it all together for God to clothe you in His garment. Confess the weaknesses he already knows and allow him to clothe your nakedness with His Holiness.

Fighting Fear

Fighting Fear

by Chris Taylor

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Nothing comes more natural to our human nature than fear. From being a child who is afraid of the dark, to being an adult who is afraid of failure, fear is very real. Our culture is constantly fueling the fires of this emotion by the popularity of scary movies and even the nightly news. We have mass shootings and terrorist attacks at public events and in schools. It seems that no one is safe.

Beyond the fear of these things happening in the world, we have our own personal fears. Fears regarding our success or finances. Fears regarding our parenting or even the lack of ability to become a parent. We fear the distant future. We fear what tomorrow may bring. We fear what others may think of us. There are so many things we fear, but this is not from God! (2 Timothy 1:7) In fact, His word is very clear on this issue. Do not fear!

That’s easier said than done. We can read this and know the LORD is commanding us not to fear, but our focus on the problems and what may happen has become so big that the command can seem impossible. I remember as a child, I didn’t only want to hear what I could or couldn’t do, but I also wanted to know why. “I don’t need to do this? Well why?” “I need to do that? Why?” I know this may seem childish; however, the explanation gives us understanding. That’s why we read on…. FOR I AM WITH YOU! Wait now… hold up… this almighty, all-powerful God is with me? That’s why I don’t have to be afraid!

If we just grasp the reality of His great love for us, and understand this truth that He is an ever-present help and will never leave us or forsake us…then, this prefect love will cast out our fears and we can rest in His divine peace. (Hebrews 13:5, 1 John 4:18)

If you’re struggling with fear today, shift your focus from the problem to the promise. Fight the fear with truth knowing that He is with you. You can trust Him!

GOLD

Gold

Job 23:10

He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

Are you seeing this God? Why am I going though this trial? What’s up with this temptation? Why does everything seem to be falling apart?

These are questions you may be asking yourself. Sometimes the heat of life seems to be on high and we struggle to hold tight to what we know. Pressure builds up, weaknesses are revealed, our total reliance on God is all we have, and yet we wonder if He’s even seeing this. Why would He even allow these things to happen? Darkness may be overwhelming like a sky covered with storm clouds. David understood that feeling…In Psalm 139, the Psalmist wrote,

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

God still sees. Your endurance is important to Him, and these trials and the testing of your faith produce the endurance you need for this race of life. We as believers are meant to shine like Gold. We are meant to show His reflection and to walk in purity. But pure gold comes through a process.

It takes 150 degrees to make Tin

It takes 500 degrees to make brass

It takes 1130 degrees to make silver

It takes 1400 degrees to make Gold

The decision has to be made. Do you want to be a tin Christian, or do you want to be a gold Christian? If you want to be a gold Christian, you have to know that God’s going to turn up the heat until everything that is impure rises to the top so that He can remove it. So if you’re in the middle of the test, know today that God sees every choice you make. Know that the suffering of this present time cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed in you. Dark clouds cannot hide you from their maker. He’s watching. He’s with you. Have a made up mind powered by the Holy Spirit. Live you’re life in such a way, that you’ll be able to declare the words of Job…

“He knows the way that I take, and when He has tested me I will come forth as GOLD”.

He Knows Me

Psalm 139

1O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.

3You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

Part of my reading today was one of my favorite chapters in the Bible…Psalm 139. Verse 3 says He’s intimately acquainted with all my ways.

He knows me. Everything about me. All of my ways… my moods, my likes, my dislikes, my fears, my struggles, my efforts, my thoughts, my tendencies, my desires, the way I like my coffee, the movies I enjoy the most, the type of music I find most beautiful. He knows I love his word. He knows I enjoy making things look good and that I observe every space that I enter. He knows how I pick up paper towels off the bathroom floor whenever I go into a public restroom…He knows everything! And all of those things He has worked into His design for my life.

Because He knows me, He knows what I need. He knows what I don’t need. He’s faithful despite the the ways that are not pleasing to Him and He gently (and sometimes not so gently) corrects me and instructs me so that my ways become more like His.

We serve a God who is intimately involved in our lives. He doesn’t rescue us and then throw us out to make it on our own. He’s a part of every step, ordering them, and guiding us. Know today that He knows where you are. He knows how you got there. He knows where you’re going. We do nothing that surprises Him! If you know you’re headed in the wrong direction, He knows how to reach you. Listen, obey, and be blessed.

Like a Palm Tree

Psalm 92:12-15

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD. They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

There’s a reason we see palm trees by the beach. They are meant to withstand the storms and the hurricanes that tear other trees apart. They bend (bow) without breaking. They aren’t filled with fear at the sight of trouble because they were made to withstand such winds and waves. They continue to flourish. They continue to grow.

The Bible tells us that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. We’re rooted in Christ and we’re planted in his house. We still face trouble and we still see the storms, but we bow so we don’t break. Circumstances that devour others don’t uproot us because we’ve been made to withstand even the roughest storms. We continue to grow. Our nearness to God causes us to flourish.

If there’s a storm in your life, don’t fear. Some storms he calms and others his strength allows us to endure. When it seems too much and you feel like you’re going to break, bow down before the maker of the wind and the waves. Remember, even when we bow, he is always upright! He’s always stronger. Find your refuge in him and trust that he won’t fail you! Proclaim today that the LORD is upright, that he is you’re Rock, and that there is no wickedness in him!

Despite the storm…You’re going to flourish, you’re going to remain green, and you’re going to bear fruit.

-Chris Taylor

Clean

Written by Chris Taylor

Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.”

Today I spent some time visiting with the locksmith who had come to fix the front door at work. He told me several stories and shared his memories of my workplace, which used to be a nursing home where his mother had lived. After sharing a lot of his own health conditions, he told me that he and his wife had quit smoking after 40 years. When I asked him if he felt better, he responded quickly with a YES!

He went on to tell me that many things had changed since he gave up this habit. He knew it was something that he needed to give up but never knew all of the benefits it would bring when he did. He could taste his food. Some foods he didn’t like anymore, and others he now enjoyed that he didn’t before. He could breathe better, sleep better, and felt more confident about his health. He also told me that his wife began to wash everything in the house. They didn’t realize that the walls had become brown. They also rediscovered that their drapes where actually white, not yellow.

I thought, wow, what a picture of what Christ does to our lives when we turn from sin. First we bring Him our issues, our sins, and our habits and He not only changes us, but he cleanses us. The word says that He washes us white as snow. Even when we knew things weren’t clean, we see it even more when we experience the newness and brightness we have through Christ. Then there are things we used to enjoy that lose their luster, and things we didn’t like that are now pleasant. We can breathe with the breath He’s placed in our lungs, sleep peacefully, and feel more confident about our eternity knowing that our sins have been washed white!

I’m thankful for the reminder of God’s changing and cleansing. I’m grateful that He allowed me to see the true condition I was in before He washed me clean. If there’s an area in your life that needs to change, take it to God. Take the steps and allow Him to cleanse you. Allow Him to bring you into a newness that you can’t currently imagine!

First Hand Testimony

By. Chris Taylor

There’s nothing like hearing a story first hand. Working with men who are finding freedom from addictions, I hear a lot of testimonies that really stir up my spirit. You can feel the fire burning inside as these men tell of the goodness of God and how his word is so true. They tell of promises in the word they’ve held onto and how those promises became reality to them. I can, and do, share several of their stories, but the impact is so much greater when it’s heard directly from the lips of the delivered! There’s a power flowing from the true faith that comes from experiencing and knowing that this really happened. There’s power in your testimony.

I imagine this power as I read the story of the two disciples met by the Lord on the resurrection day. (Luke ch. 24) They were blinded to who He was and they were downcast due to the recent events and the uncertainty they felt as to what was going on with His body. Jesus came and walked along with them as they discussed everything that had been happening and He questioned them to hear their take on the situation. As they begin to explain everything that had taken place, we quickly realize that not only are they blinded to who’s walking beside them, but current situations and confusion have blinded them from God’s word. They’d heard it several times, but now that things look hopeless, they’ve forgotten the promise. They were focused on the trouble, when the greatest triumph is standing beside them. Then Jesus, calling them foolish, reminded them of all the things the prophets had spoken. He reminded them of the suffering that had to take place before the glory. Then He began to open up the scriptures to them concerning everything that was written about Him all the way back to the time of Moses. They had no idea that they were hearing a first hand testimony! Later He reveals Himself to them and they see clearly that it was Him all along. When He disappeared from them they ask each other (vs. 32), “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?” They’re hearts where burning because they were hearing this from the Master Himself. A first hand testimony.

Sometimes circumstances, fear, and confusion blind us, just like these two followers of Christ. We may even miss the fact that He is right here with us, in us. Our minds get focused on the trouble rather than the triumph. That’s when we have to remind ourselves of what God has said and what He’s promised. We look at what the word says concerning Him and how that relates to us. Then, as we read the word, it begins to burn inside of us because we have His Spirit living in us that brings the word to life in our hearts. The word IS the first hand testimony of every believer! He want’s to remove the blinders today so that you can see that victory has already been won. Remember today that the word isn’t just a book or a man, this is your life story. Share the victory today. Focus on the triumph today!

Ministry

My view of Ministry

By Chris Taylor

Ministry is a word that includes so many things. Many think of the Pastor of their church when they hear this word. Some think further to encompass things such as prison “ministry”, children’s “ministry”, music “ministry”, homeless “ministry”, or ladies’ and men’s “ministries”. The list could go on and on because there are so many forms and so many types of people who need ministered to. In fact we all need ministered to. This is why ministry is so special and essential to the Christian life.

Every believer in Christ is a believer because of ministry. Someone had to share the good news of the gospel in order for it to be believed in. Ministry is leading people to Christ and then making disciples of them so that they can do the same. In Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20, the word says Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In these three verses, there are several things Jesus has instructed his disciples to do. The first is to GO and to MAKE disciples. He’s calling his followers to not only find others to “save”, but to make disciples of them all over the world. Not just Israel, not just Jews, but also every nation. What great news that everyone can receive what we as believers have been given! So how do we do this? It’s more than saying Jesus loves you and passing out a track. It’s more than just telling someone about Jesus and then leaving them to figure the rest out on their own. It’s more because it’s ministry. Part of ministry is the follow up. It’s living life together as a family… God’s family… Christ’s body! It’s the making of the disciple. It’s time invested, it’s gathering in confession and prayer and study. It’s teaching them what the word says so that they can grow in Christ and in faith. It’s baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I think most people know these things from this famous passage of scripture. I also believe that everyone should be obeying these commands given to these 11 disciples, as we are all disciples of Christ.

To the ones who are called into the very sacred place of leadership, I believe there is something much deeper that strikes the heart when we begin to think of the word ministry. I know it does with me. For me, Ministry is the purpose I was created for. It’s a burden for other people that is heavy. It’s a place of standing in the gap for others. It’s a passion for others to know what has been done for them and what is available to them. This passion leads to aspects of ministry that others don’t see. Aspects such as intercession, when you take a person, group, culture, or country before the Lord as if you are the only one who is going to plead with God for them. Aspects such as fasting, when you show through your actions that there’s no thing the body craves that could be worth more than what it is you’re seeking from God.

Ministry is loving others the way Christ has loves us. Ministry is not for wimps because really loving someone could be an event in the Olympics. It can be difficult. It must be selfless even to the selfish. This is ministry to me. It’s constant communication with the LORD so that you’re always prepared to give the Biblical answers to the questions asked. This communication is through prayer, study of the word, and listening to the Living God who still speaks. It’s being a leader and follower at the same time. It’s the life of a servant. It’s carrying concerns and finding ways to meet needs.

If you want to see my soul smile, say “Ministry”. There’s no greater joy than watching true ministry affect the life of another. So when asked my view of ministry… I would have to say it’s loving others in a way that leads to the fulfillment of what the Lord has asked us to do in his word.

I will hold YOUR hand

I will hold YOUR hand

Isaiah 41:13

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,

Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

As a daddy and his little girl where walking through the busy city, the father said to his daughter, “I need to hold your hand.” The daughter responded by saying, “No Daddy, let me hold your hand.” The father informed her that she would be much safer if he held onto hers, but she insisted. So the girl wrapped her little hand around the pointer finger of her daddy and they continued down the sidewalk.

It didn’t take long for the child to stumble, and sure enough, down she went. As the father reached down to pick her up, he gazed into her tear filled eyes and gently said, “If you let me hold your hand, I can keep you from falling.” The little girl then placed her hand into the strong hand of her father who was able to hold her up each time she would have fallen.

What a picture of what our heavenly Father does for us. We’ve all had those moments when we feel as if “we’ve got this”. We think we can handle the task and we decide to do what only God can do best. But even when we try and fail, God is gracious to help us back up and to take hold of us. When He’s holding us, there’s nothing that can take us from His hand. Today, listen to the Father as he reminds you not to be afraid. He’s got your hand and is able to keep you from falling.

Jude 24-25

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.