Pastor Bruce’s blog

I was reading in Proverbs 10 today and noticed that it comments about what comes out of your mouth in a few places in the chapter.  (Verses 11,19-21, 31-32)  Verse 11, the first mention, says this: “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.”  As I thought about it, it seemed so true; what comes out of your mouth has everything to do with your heart.  If your heart, your life, has been transformed by God, your expressions will reflect that transformation.  You really can’t help it!  If you have peace with God, a sense of security with Him, a new life, what you say and how you say it will bear the marks of what your insides are like.  The  truly “wicked” hardly speak at all (their mouth is covered) and when they do, it’s violence revealed.  Violence of intentions, violence against someone else’s identity, their person, or actual threats of physical violence.

So listen to yourself.  What do you hear?  Are your communications a “well of life?”  If they aren’t, there’s something in your heart that God wants to change – for the better!    PB

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to change, but the change was so large, so new, that it seemed like jumping off a cliff? From time to time in my life, I’ve felt that way. This is where God asks us to trust Him. I know you’ve heard of the old hymn which has, as a part of the chorus, the line “leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”
I’ve heard it said that trust in God is leaping off the right cliff, knowing that those Everlasting Arms are just past the brink and ready to catch you.
If God called you to do something new, would you do it? If it meant going beyond your comfort zone and saying something to someone, could you open your mouth and trust that He would give you the words? If His path took you a way you’ve never been before, would you go?
I believe the key to great accomplishments and change are found in the prayerful, trusting, leaps into new territory. I’m going to try to take a few new leaps myself; care to join me? Blessings, PB

It literally means to become alive after one has died.

Jesus gave up His life on a Roman cross after having been brutally tortured and publicly humiliated.  He was sinless, perfect in every way, was actually God-in-the-flesh, and yet, gave up His life for a reason.  He came to make a substitution.  His life given in substitution for your and my imperfect, sinful and godless life.  We’re walking dead.

When we realize that we’re spiritually “done for”, we can have hope.  Because when Jesus gave His life as a substitution for ours and was resurrected from the dead, we can be resurrected from the dead with Him.  As in, you can come alive spiritually.  It’s all in you making it personal by repenting and believing.  Believing that His death and resurrection was enough for you.

Resurrection means the dead come to life.  It was first in Jesus.  It can now, by substitution, be in you.

PB

We’ve almost made it through!  I’m so happy that we’re doing this, even though it’s a stretch for many.  As we pray and seek the Lord like this, God will send His answers in amazing ways.  Let’s thank Him for hearing and responding to our prayers!

Day Fifteen

Nehemiah 2.9-10

Nehemiah is actually seeing physical progress come to the plans that the Lord had given him! He is beginning to walk in the steps that will bring him to the fulfillment of the vision. He travels to visit the secular governors in the area of Judah, bringing letters authorizing Jerusalem’s repair from the king. Note in verse nine that Nehemiah was sent with captains of the army and horsemen. Why was that? Very simply, there were enemies on the way to the fulfillment of this God-given vision. And as you see in verse ten, the most imposing of those enemies turned out to be ungodly representatives of local government! They were “deeply disturbed” concerning Nehemiah’s plans. You will always find that the godly progress you need to make will be opposed by enemies. They may take a form that you can or cannot see, but if people seem to be your problem, take a note from the Apostle Paul. It’s not flesh and blood, but principalities and powers, dark demon forces that are behind the opposition. Put on the whole armor of God, bind them in Jesus’ Name and trust that your Heavenly Father has sent an army to stand with you as you battle through to the goal.

Day Sixteen

Nehemiah 2.11-16

Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, finally. He spent a few days there, initially, to begin the project of reconstructing the wall around the city. His first recorded act was to get up in the night while no one was awake, take a few chosen men with him, and inspect the situation. It was sobering. Just as he had been told, the walls were broken and the gates were burned with fire. Before you go any further with the fast, your plans, the vision that God has given you, ask Him this question: God, would You let me see the full extent of the condition I am in? You may not have paused long enough yet to really see the condition of your heart. You may not see just how far you are away from a holy, committed, “first love” kind of life. Let Him convict you with the truth. The one wonderful thing it will do is to convince you that only God can do in you what needs to be done. Only God has the resources to carry you from here to where He wants you and your family to go this year. Let the distance make you helplessly dependent upon God and you’ll be in the right place.

Notes:

Day Seventeen

Nehemiah 2.17-18

No one but his travelling companions knew that Nehemiah went out in the night to see the ruins. It was good that he let the burden build in his heart alone, as he was the one whom God had put in place to compel the people there to actually do the work. It was only when it was clear that Nehemiah spoke to them. Look at what he spoke. In verse 17, he defines the problem, the distress we are in. Then he defines the goal, the work to be done, the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Lastly, he tells them about the miraculous involvement of the Lord, as evidenced by the king’s favor. It was compelling! You are called to be a leader on some level. Can you define a godly burden after you’ve seen it clearly? Can you define what needs to be done? Can you point to the backing, the favor of God in the process? If you can communicate those three things to the people in your life, you’ll compel your family, your coworkers, your world to help you to reach the goals He has set before you this year. You can’t do it alone.

Day Eighteen

Nehemiah 3

This chapter from the book of Nehemiah is full of names and tasks. It’s interesting to see who worked where, hear some of the side comments (I like the one in verse 5 about the nobles who wouldn’t work) and read the descriptions of the gates. It may seem boring to some, but to us it’s not boring at all. In this we can see that God has differing parts of a larger work for everyone to do. There is a big Kingdom out there and lots to be accomplished. It encompasses the whole world and it’s important work, vital work. How about your part of the wall? Do you feel like you got the “dung gate” (verse 14, referring to where the garbage, including manure, was taken out of the city) of assignments in life? Don’t despise the assignment you’ve been given by the Lord. Every part, and I mean every part, is important. If any gate of the city was not completed, the rest of the work would have been in vain, as all an enemy needed to loot the city was just one opening in the wall. Thank God for the place He’s given you, pray you can do the very best there and continue to rely on Him to help you do it.

Notes:

Day Nineteen

Nehemiah 4

Here we find that the wall was closed up, but built only to half its eventual height. The work was going well, but it wasn’t done. This is where the enemy chooses to do his worst. See verses 7 and 8. The enemy’s tactic was to intimidate them by fear, first and foremost. You won’t make it. You’ll be attacked when and where you least expect it. And the people were tired, the mess was very overwhelming and the continued need very great. What did they do? Just what you and I need to do. They prayed (verse 9), they were watchful (also verse 9) and they didn’t stop. Your life is given to you by God. Your future is given to you by God. Enemies will tell you that you won’t make it, the mess is too big and enemy strength is too great. Just be satisfied with status quo. No! Press on toward the goals the Lord has given you and don’t stop. In verse 17, we find that the people of God worked with the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other, building steadily. The enemy is real, but so are the weapons of our warfare. Fight and build.

Day Twenty

Nehemiah 5

Issues! We often think that the enemy will try to discourage us from the outside, but then he really gets at us from the inside. Just when things seemed to be moving along and well defined, Nehemiah has to deal with the fact that nobles and rulers had long oppressed the common people by debts owed the rich. The poor weren’t able to even feed their own children. What was the answer to this situation? Giving in the Name of the Lord! Nehemiah had to answer a parallel situation himself. Previous governors had taxed the people to death, but he decided it was time to reverse that. He fed over 150 folks at his table without demanding from the people. Are your issues, the things that hinder your progress, internal? Is it possible that you need to reverse some things that have been a staple in your life for many years? Don’t let the enemy hinder you from within. Get the help you need from those who have the care for your life. And then discipline yourself to reverse the pattern. Instead of taking this year, give!

Notes:

Day Twenty One

Nehemiah 6.15

Here we are at the end of the fast and here we are at the end of Nehemiah’s journey. Or is it? Nehemiah finished the wall reconstruction in a nearly unbelievable time of 52 days. It was so quickly and efficiently done that even their enemies had to admit that God was behind the effort. (verse 16) However, this was not the end but the beginning of the next stage of the work. Now that the wall was rebuilt and the gates re-hung, worship needed to be re-established, the Word needed to be replanted and holiness with repentance had to be carried into everyday life. During this fast, God did a great work in you. You were challenged, you had to endure, you had to resist the enemy and you have prevailed because of the Lord. What will you carry on from here? A renewed sense of closeness to the Lord in relationship? A new pattern of prayer and discipline? A new schedule and priority in life? Sit down today, write down what you’ll do from here and plant it deep into your life and plans. We didn’t fast just to make it through a fast. We fasted for a changed life. Congratulations on taking a very big step in finishing our 21 day fast!

Notes:

With going away to minister this weekend, I’ll post the next installment of the fasting devotional here a few days early.  Fasting and prayer are precious to God!  Do it in secret, don’t look like you’re fasting, don’t brag about it, and God will “reward you in secret!”  His Blessings, PB

Day Eight

Nehemiah 1.7

We love it when God speaks! His voice is like nothing else and when He speaks we are changed by what He says. We most often, however, want Him to speak to us in special, personal and outward ways. Have you ever seen people line up for a word of personal prophecy? It’s hard to keep folks away when there’s an opportunity!

Nehemiah was convinced that God had spoken to him and to the whole nation of the Jews, yet God’s voice was disobeyed. And it wasn’t the voice of the prophet that he referred to. He referred to God’s Word given to Moses; the written Word! Have you ever looked at the Scriptures and breezed over what you’ve read, yet poured over a prophetic word spoken to you by a prophet? Ask God to give you a new respect for His Word, the Bible. Make a plan to read the Bible through this year. And plan on how you’ll obey His Word as you ask Him to make it alive to you.

Day Nine

Nehemiah 1.8-10

In these verses we hear another part of Nehemiah’s prayer. He ‘reminds’ God of what He said, who the Jews were to Him and what He had done for them in the past. Did God need reminding? I’ll let you answer that for yourself! This was interaction with God on the basis of God’s Word, taken to God in prayer and believed on in faith. God seems to love it when we ‘remind’ Him of His Word. We are changed by rehearsing what is unchangeable. Faith rests on what God has said and done and has promised for the future. Link what you are asking of the Lord to God’s promises in His Word. Stand on His revealed will and believe that what you seek is connected to what He wants. Faith pleases God and stands on what He has revealed about Himself and His will.

Day Ten

Nehemiah 1.11

Nehemiah, so far, has done all his responding to the burden of his heart with prayer and fasting. There have been no specific requests for anything until the end of his prayer. Somewhere in the middle of his praying the Holy Spirit began to speak to him about direction. He asks the Lord for His ear to be attentive to further prayer, to hear the prayers of the Jews, to let him prosper “this day” and to grant him mercy in the sight of “this man,” King Artexerxes. He began to see that his position as a cupbearer was the beginning of the answer that the Lord wanted to bring. Specific direction arrives in the middle of our personal prayer life. So many times we think and ponder and analyze before we get into God’s presence and pray. God wants to give you specific direction for your specific requests but they will come while we’re on our knees, concerned about Him alone. Are you looking for specific direction? Answers that defy logic? Continue to get in God’s presence, be honest, be confessing, be full of faith in Him and His Word and then ask for specifics. God loves to give them.

Day Eleven

Nehemiah 2.1

Notice the time frame of the beginning of this chapter. “…it came to pass in the month of Nisan…” Compare it to the beginning of the first chapter. “It came to pass in the month of Chislev…” Nehemiah began to pray in the ninth month of the Jewish calendar year, Chislev, or Kislev, as it is now spelled. This chapter records the first outward evidence that God had heard his prayer, and when did it happen? On the first month of the calendar year, Nisan. That means that Nehemiah waited about 4 months to see the Lord’s hand move in response to his prayer and fasting. Counting on instant results? Don’t! God’s timing is perfect and He answers prayer when we pray it, only we see the results later. Sometimes much later! Don’t be surprised if God takes months to answer what you agonize over in these three weeks. Praying is like sowing seed; it comes to harvest in another, but the right, season.

Day Twelve

Nehemiah 2.1&2

In response to your prayers there will come surprising responses from Heaven. You might ask the Lord to change something very important and have an expectation as to how He does it. God will most likely not address your needs in the way you expect. He likes to take care of the “how” of His answers because, well, He’s God! Nehemiah was just doing his job here at this point, four months after his heartfelt prayers and fasting. On this nondescript day the king looks at him and says “Why is your face sad, since you’re not sick?” No one was allowed to be sad in the king’s presence and Nehemiah made sure he was always smiling and positive when he was on duty. Nehemiah was petrified! It could mean his head would be the price of this slip. However, this particular day God initiated His answers to prayer by the unexpected; He let Nehemiah look sad to the king! Don’t expect God to answer by the method of your choice. Look for the unusual, the unexpected, to come about in answer to your prayers and even if it seems scary, trust that He is at work.

Day Thirteen

Nehemiah 2.3-4

Nehemiah is nearly frozen in fear. The king has seen that he showed sorrow in his face and asked why he was feeling that way. Nehemiah could have done a few things, but chose to take a leap of faith. He understood that this unusual circumstance was from God, but couldn’t have known how it was going to turn out. So he blurts out his heart’s burden to the pagan leader of the most powerful nation of the world at that time. He admits he’s sad, tells the king why and pauses. The result? God’s favor! Artaxerxes said “What do you request?” Take a leap of faith, based on your prayers this year. Expect that God’s favor will follow when you see Him change circumstances in a surprising way. God really is on your side when you concern yourself with what concerns Him. Favor follows your prayerful actions every time.

Day Fourteen

Nehemiah 2.4-8

Nehemiah continued to depend on the Lord, as evidenced by his “flare prayer” launched up under his breath but with his whole heart: “So I prayed to the God of Heaven.” Notice that Nehemiah had dependence upon God and a plan that God had birthed in his heart, ready for action. I need you to send me to Jerusalem, I’ll be gone this long and I need letters from you and resources from your forests. In this time of prayer and fasting, God will give you a plan that comes from His heart for what He has ahead for you. It will emerge from your prayers, your heartfelt, faith-filled times with Him. Write it down, run it by those in spiritual authority, hold it in your heart and at the right time, implement it. But don’t leave God in the dust of your actions; as if you could! Stay reliant on God in continuing relationship with Him. Put the Lord of the plan before the plan itself, but have the plan ready for action. Prayer and fasting has very real results.

Here’s the first seven days of a devotional written for our fast!  I’ll post the next seven days next Sunday, the 10th…

A 21 Day Devotional…

The Introduction

This fast and our prayers over these three weeks are meant to be a journey. We all have various burdens on our hearts, problems we face or important considerations for the year to come. Some of us have needs we’ve brought before the Lord many times before and have not seen them budge thus far. As we follow the story of Nehemiah, let’s determine, like he did, that we’re going to believe the Lord and find His answers for even the thorniest problems. Like Nehemiah, the concerns we have may have been around for years. Can we trust that this will be the year of fulfillment and relief?

Some of the background of Nehemiah…

This book is set during the time that the Jews are emerging from captivity. God had warned previous generations of Jews to turn away from idolatry and godlessness but they wouldn’t listen. The result was that an enemy country, Babylon, and their king, Nebuchadnezzer, came and conquered Israel. They took captive many of its people, bringing the best and brightest to Babylon. After many years and many stories of God’s continued love and faithfulness to His people, God used a subsequent foreign leader to send willing Jews back to Israel to rebuild the temple, re-establishing the Jews in their own land. At the same time, many Jews stayed in the country(ies) of their captivity, now settled in those societies. Other Jews were able to travel back and forth from Israel to Persia and related to both groups. It’s here that we find Nehemiah, one of those who stayed in Persia, in an honored and trusted position in the Persian government: he was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. As such, Nehemiah tasted all the food given to the king, preventing the king’s assassination by poisoning, but also arranged the inner circle details of the king and queen’s personal service. He was “set for life” in this important position.

It was at this point in his life that Nehemiah was confronted with a problem that he could not ignore. Its solution would require that he go to God with the issue, trust God as he petitioned the king himself and leave his tidy life behind. The risk he took threatened his very life and the rewards would benefit the entire race of the Jews…Would he be the one God would use in his day?

Day One

Nehemiah 1.1&2

Nehemiah, the son of Hachiliah, was hard at work in the center of society. He was a Jew, of a priestly heritage, in a position of influence in the most important city of the day. He didn’t get there by accident! God had put him there by virtue of circumstances beyond his control and by Nehemiah’s faithfulness in those opportunities. You are where you are by those same two factors! Today, thank God for the position(s) He has given you in life. Are you young, are you old, are you prominent, are you obscure, are you influencing thousands or are you influential with just a few? Wherever you are you can be faithful in what He has brought to you in life. Ask the Lord to give you an appreciation for His sovereignty regarding your situation and a resolve to be trustworthy where you are this year.

Day Two

Nehemiah 1.1&2

A friend and relative of Nehemiah, Hanani, along with some other men, came to visit him. In the background of Nehemiah’s heart was what Christians like to call a “burden.” It was a long term concern of the heart, and it came up during the visit because it was always just under the surface and found opportunity for expression in the conversation. For Nehemiah, the state of God’s people was his great concern. It popped up whenever and wherever something touched his heart strings. What is your particular burden? What is it that pops up whenever someone has a deep conversation with you? We’re all meant to be concerned about poverty, sickness, and especially someone’s salvation. But in your heart there’s a God-given burden, something special that you are to pray over and take action on when the right time comes. Ask the Lord to help identify your particular heart concern today and during the fast.

Day Three

Nehemiah 1.3

Hanani answered the question posed by Nehemiah by telling him the truth. Using words like “great distress and reproach” to describe the state of the Jews couldn’t have been easy for Hanani. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to gloss the situation over? He knew his friend would be moved to tears, but he stated the facts: “The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” I’m sure he used all of the grace he could muster for his friend, but in the end it was the truth he told. Is there someone you need to be truthful with? Is there a situation that requires that you say what needs to be said even though you know there will be an emotional price to pay afterward? Or if you’re one of those tell-it-like-it-is people, do you need to add grace to what might be a difficult truth? Ask the Lord for the wisdom, opportunity and the grace needed to speak the truth in love, especially the situation you may be currently facing.

Day Four

Nehemiah 1.4

Nehemiah heard the answer that he didn’t want to hear. It was painful to realize that the burden of his heart for God’s people was now bringing him to near emotional collapse. Is there anything in your life that makes you sit down and weep? There should be! We hear so many disaster and horror stories in the news and see them played out in theatres so often that we find ourselves numbed to what should move us. Apathy is so prevalent that people have been found watching crimes being committed and yet do nothing to stop the crime. Christians, who have God’s Spirit, should be moved by what moves Him. Ask the Lord to heighten your concerns for what concerns Him. Let the Lord move you to tears about the plight of man and allow Him to cause your heart to be broken over specific situations of His choosing.

Day Five

Nehemiah 1.4

Nehemiah didn’t pick up the phone and call his network of contacts. He didn’t search his mind for the most logical response. He didn’t call in favors or check his bank account to see how much he could contribute to the cause. He fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven. This is really what we’re doing in these first days of 2010. We have a laundry list of concerns: our families, our friends, our neighborhood, our state and nation, our own personal lives. Is our first response to difficulty that we get before the Lord? Commit yourself to bring your burdens, your problems, the people and things you care most about, to the Lord. Let Him be “First Responder” to the most pressing of needs this year.

Day Six

Nehemiah 1.5

Nehemiah’s prayer is recorded for us. It’s so significant that God wanted us to read it! And like the Lord’s prayer that begins with “Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name,” this prayer begins with a rehearsing of, and praise for, the God of Heaven. He told God that He is great and awesome, that He keeps His covenant and has mercy ready for those who love Him. Did God need to hear that? No, but Nehemiah needed to remind himself and say it all over again to God. It was the expression of his faith and knowledge of the One who rules in Heaven. What is God like in your mind and heart? Is He the “God who listens every once in a while” or the “God who might care a little bit about people other than me” or “________” and you fill in the blank? In your prayers, remind yourself of who God has revealed Himself to be: the God of Heaven and Earth who loves and listens to my faith filled prayers in Jesus’ Name.

Day Seven

Nehemiah 1.6

Nehemiah was a pretty high powered guy. He had a position that I’m sure many envied. He was respected by everyone. And yet he was a humble man. As a matter of fact, he admitted to sins that he likely didn’t commit personally, but lumped himself in with his rebellious ancestors and disobedient contemporaries. He saw himself for what he was: a part of a family of people who, by and large, left God in the cold. What have you been like? A liar? A thief? Idolatrous? Nehemiah, like all of us, knew he wasn’t worthy of God’s attention. But he was honest and humble. God doesn’t want the dressed-up you. He wants the real you. We can’t make God listen to us because we’ve got anything worthwhile to give to Him. He listens because He’s gracious and merciful through His Son Jesus. And when we’re honest about ourselves, humbly coming to Him, we’re coming the right way. Ask the Lord to help you see who you really are, admit who you are and what you’ve done. Humble yourself, you aren’t worthy. Let Him shine the light on your true self and yet believe that He is the God of all mercy and will hear you.

It’s really just Him!  God has given us His Holy Spirit because we need Him.  The state of the world, the challenges to reach lost people, transform our neighborhoods and society around us is much too much for us.  The filling of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the power of God to change lives and hearts by the Holy Spirit is what is needed, now as much as in the early New Testament days.  The Spirit, the Word and unified believers can and will bring needed change to human lives and society.  Open your heart to the Holy Spirit!  His Blessings, PB

Happy 4th of July! 

I’m preaching a message entitled “True Freedom” tomorrow.  The Lord showed me again what’s obvious: true freedom doesn’t always mean that you’re free on the outside, but you’re definitely free if you’re free on the inside.  The Lord Jesus Christ is freedom and He sets people free as a “byproduct” of knowing Him, as His nature is freedom.  He is a slave to no one and just by being near Him you become free, a slave to no one or nothing!  His Blessings, PB

Today is the day that our president has proclaimed as a day to seek the Lord on behalf of our nation.  What an important time to seek Him!  Our nation is attempting to crawl slowly out from under an economic downturn of great proportions.  Our state and national legislative bodies seem completely bent on legislating immorality in the form of new laws that redefine marriage and give special protection to multiple forms of sexual deviancy.  New laws that further liberalize abortion are also close to enactment.  If all of this is pressed forward, we can expect that God will further remove His hand from our state and nation. 

But God listens to prayer!  Today, if on any day of the year, we ought to spend some time before the Lord and ask Him to be merciful to us.  To reverse the influence of the wicked and strengthen the righteous.  To remove those who oppose godliness and common sense.  To bring many to salvation and permanent change. 

Our prayers count!  Spend some time with Him and do what only believers can do!  Blessings, PB

In Psalm 78.38 we find a mention of the character of God.  It says there that God is “full of compassion.”  What does that mean?  It means that, among many other characteristics, that God feels what you and I feel, understands us, sees our predicaments and has compassion on us.  He doesn’t long to squash us, destroy us, or otherwise remove us from life.  He has compassion, a deep seated, emotional care for us when He sees what we’re going through. 

Do you realize we were never meant to live in a world filled with violence, immorality and hatred?  I pause once in a while to think that it’s our own race, our disobedience to God, that has brought the sorrows we see everyday in the news.  I just read today about yet another shooting, this time in Binghampton, NY.  Will those things ever end?

They will!  At one point in future history God will say it’s enough.  He will, in His great compassion for man, fold up the earth.  And there, God will take to Himself all that belong to Him through His Son, Jesus.  In His compassion, He gave His only Son to live among us and then to lay His life aside at the Cross.  That we could live.  That we could live with Him, no more pain, violence, immorality or death.  God is full of compassion.  The gift of His Son is the proof.  Blessings, PB