A Word In Due Season
1st Week of November 2005
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in His time."
God orchestrates our lives to fashion it for His purposes. We don't always understand what He is doing, but we do know that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God's timing is also a great mystery in our lives. He ordains not only the seasons, but also the individual moments that we experience. Everything is held in His hands. We often think that we are waiting upon God when in reality He is waiting on us, for we are not yet prepared for the journey that is set before us. God is wise and will not send us into battle until we are prepared or use us for His glorious purposes until the spiritual fruit is ripened in our lives. Each phase of our life is a preparation time for the next level. We must learn that when we are not doing exactly what we want to do or seemly not accomplishing very much that if we will use that waiting time wisely, we will be ready when God is ready.
We should be encouraged as we look at the men in scriptures who experienced long waiting periods before God allowed them to complete their purposes. Moses was sent to the backside of the desert for forty long years before God spoke to him from a burning bush. Joseph endured the pits and prisons for sixteen years before his dreams and visions came to pass. King David waited patiently upon the timing of God for his kingdom to be established and in one of his psalms he declared, "My times are in your hands" (Psalms 31:15). The Apostle Paul spent eight years in the desert preparing for the ministry set before him. God, Himself, also waited four thousand years after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden before He sent His Son to redeem the world from sin. God may have wanted to do something earlier but He waited until the fullness of time had come before He released Jesus to complete His divine purpose (Galatians 4:4).
We must put our faith in God and forget about the timetable of our life, for God is aware of our limited life span. In His perfect way, He will put everything together at the right time. He will see to every detail and arrange every circumstance. He will even change the hearts of others who need to be involved in our dream and order every step of our way to bring to pass the things that He has planned. So until your dreams actually come to pass, wait on God and realize that wherever you are and whatever you are doing right now, you are actually on the way to where you are going. Don't try to push or rush God because He will get you there at your appointed time. He has a special timing for every event in your life and as long as you wait for Him, He will make everything beautiful in His time. +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Scripture: I Corinthians 10:11 (NRS) "All these things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us."
When the Israelites came out of Egypt they experienced many miracles and faced many adversities. They probably never thought that thousands of years later we would be reading about their actions in the wilderness and their reactions to Moses' leadership. Little did they realize that there would be sermons preached, books written, and movies made about their flight out of Egypt and that everything that happened to them would serve as examples for us today. They experienced success and failure. When we read the accounts of their deliverance, we take courage and find strength. As we consider their mistakes and acts of disobedience, we gain instruction and are warned not to follow the same path. When we see the miracles that God performed for them throughout their journey, it inspires us to believe. And when we realize that the majority of them did not make it to the Promised Land because of their unbelief, it urges us to hold on to our own faith regardless of those about us who are murmuring and complaining.
Each and every event in the wilderness had a purpose for the Israelites and reveals to us that our experiences and troubles also have purpose. It is in the valleys and dark places that we find the reality of God. We may not see Him in the darkness of the moment, but we come to know by experience that He is always near, hiding somewhere in the shadows. It is also in the darkest season that men tend to watch our witness and look for the light of Jesus in our testimony. We are just struggling through the dark season, simply trying to get to the other side of the ordeal. We are not trying to impress anyone or consciously think about our lives being an example to others any more than the Israelites were. Yet, in the midst of our challenge, people are watching to see if our faith will endure to the end.
In life, you are either setting an example or you are learning from someone else's example. Everyone is following someone and everyone is leading someone. The tables turn in life and at some point those you teach become your teacher and even your own children become your instructors. We must always strive to follow the best examples and to set the tone for those who are under our own influence for we are all held accountable in the eyes of God. It doesn't matter if He leads us through the dry barren desert, to the highest point on the mountain, or to the lowest valley, our faith must speak that God's provisions are always sufficient and that His protection is always adequate. Our lives must be a living testimony to the world that we believe that God is in control of every aspect of our life, for someone is always watching. We must rejoice in our life's events for every experience has purpose and is bringing us closer to our destiny. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
"Where is your God?" - Vs. 10
The psalmist so longed for the presence of God that his thirst
to find God became audible and visible to those close by. Like
a panting deer, he was desperately searching for God's answers
and deliverance. The psalmist was thirsting for the living God,
for he knew that only God could help him and meet his needs. In
his search for God, the psalmist shed many tears, felt rejected
and forgotten, and suffered reproach from the mocking enemy. In
desperation, he spoke to his own soul and said, "Why are you
cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted, troubled, and in
great commotion within me?" Disquieted means "loud." In other
words he was saying, "Emotions, why are you making so much noise
on the inside of me?"
Does this place seem familiar? Have you felt like you were in a
hopeless situation and that everything inside of you was
crying out in a loud voice? You felt like a deer running wildly
through the forest in search of the water brook. When this
happens, I encourage you to slow down and know that God is God.
Then, address your soul and speak these same positive words that
the psalmist spoke to himself when he was in a state of
desperation.
Tell yourself to hope in God - Vs. 5
Praise Him for the help of His countenance
or that His face is turned towards
you - Vs. 5
Remember who God is and recall past victories - Vs. 6
Trust God to command His loving kindness towards you - Vs.
8
Sing songs and pray in the night - Vs. 8
Confess that God is your rock - Vs. 9
Praise Him for He is your God - Vs. 11
As you allow your soul to pant after God, He will quench your thirst. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Scripture: James 3:5 "The tongue is a little member, and boast great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles!"
The tongue is very small when it is compared to the rest of the body but even though it is small, it has many important assignments to perform, such as eating, speaking, and praying. Because the tongue is gifted to speak, it can be a very positive or a very destructive instrument. Proverbs 18:21 confirms this saying, "There is life and death in the power of the tongue." The tongue can bring blessings by speaking words of comfort and encouragement or it can bring destruction by speaking words of discouragement, doubt, and unbelief. Whatever the tongue speaks, it influences and sets the tone for the entire body.
In the natural, we take our tongue for granted and are usually not very conscious about it, but I recently had a lot of trouble with this one member of my body. I had to have some dental work done and one of the teeth that the dentist put a crown on was left with a very slight uneven spot on it. The dentist has looked at this tooth three times and has attempted to file it down once. The dental hygienist has polished it twice. Yet neither of them can see the problem even with magnifying glasses. To make matters worse, I can't see the problem either. Yet my tongue has discovered that small imperfection on that one tooth and can not leave it alone. It continually goes to that area in an attempt to expose the problem to the whole body. As long as my tongue is taking care of its own business such as eating and speaking, it is not bothered by the tooth. But when the tongue has an idle moment, it will search out the one tooth and examine the imperfection again and again. This action is an aggravation to my entire body.
Like the problem with my natural tongue, James warns the church about this member of their body, which can cause many problems. The tongue can take a small or insignificant matter and make it into something great, for it is often looking to expose the imperfections in others. It is like a small match that ends up burning down the entire forest. It takes only a few words of gossip to destroy a life, a marriage, or a home. The tongue can speak a few words of doubt and unbelief and destroy someone else's faith. It can speak discouragement and drive someone into a pit of despair. Or the tongue can be discreet, speak words of faith, and be an encouragement. James said, "Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10). Let us consider these words and be careful when we speak so that our tongues are used for good purposes and not evil. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
A Word In Due Season
2nd Week of November 2005
11/07/05
GOD ANSWERS PRAYER
Scripture: Psalms 143:7 (Message Bible) "Hurry with Your answer, God! I'm nearly at the end of my rope.
King David asked the Lord to come speedily to his rescue because his enemies were pursuing him. They were attempting to crush his life into the ground and all of the turmoil that was happening around David caused him to be in a state of deep depression. Because of the darkness that surrounded him, David felt that if God did not come to his aid quickly, he would go down to the pit, which meant that he would just give up and die. David was at the end of his rope and he was desperate. He needed some kind of answer from God and he needed it right away.
We have all heard the expression that when we get to the end of the rope, just tie a knot and then hang on. That expression gives the impression that the knot is supposed to be a source of deliverance for us, but hanging on to a knot in mid air for a long season is a very difficult task in itself. We must understand that the knot at the end of the rope is not our salvation, for the truth is that we can't do it alone. We are only going to be able to hold on for just so long before our own strength begins to fail. It is good to do all that we can do to survive, but if we are going to tie a knot at the end of the rope, we are definitely going to need God to strengthen us physically, mentally, and emotionally so that we can hold on until His supernatural deliverance comes.
While David was in his perplexing situation, he told the Lord, "I remember your glorious miracles that You did in the days past and I reach out for You" (Verse six). God had delivered him many times, so David decided to let go of everything and trust in God. You may be at the end of your rope because of the circumstances that surround you and you may not know whether to let go or hang on, but you do know that things cannot continue as they are. You need God to hurry, to come speedily to your rescue with His answer, for you recognize that time is running out. I encourage you to speak to God very plainly as David did and tell Him that you are at the end and that you need Him to come through for you one more time. God understands exactly where you are, for He sees your needs and He has answers for you. So set your gaze upon the Lord and stretch forth your arms to Him. Let Him know that you are trusting totally in Him rather than the knot at the end of your rope. As you reach out to Him, He will reach out to you. +++=================================================================================
Scripture: Deuteronomy 9:1 "... go in to possess nations greater and mightier than yourself."
These words must have brought a great challenge to the heart of the Israelites. They were just about to cross the Jordan River when Moses made this announcement and informed them that their enemy was greater and mightier than they were. In fact, their enemies were actually giants whose cities were walled and fortified. They were up against a tough battle, but Moses did not leave them in a pit of discouragement with the words that he spoke. He encouraged them by telling them that the Lord would go before them as a consuming fire and bring down their enemies before them.
Have you ever been given an assignment by God that seemed to be greater and mightier than yourself? Or did you ever feel that you needed to do something that seemed beyond your capabilities? Maybe you felt that you should start a ministry, pray a prayer of faith over someone who needed a miracle, give a special donation that would drain your personal funds, or make an application for employment that you felt that you were not totally qualified for. God may also be dealing with you to lay down an addiction or walk away from some other unhealthy or immoral situation. Whatever the case may be, it all seems too big for you to handle, for it is greater and mightier than you are.
When God speaks to our heart and tells us to go and possess the destiny that He has set before us, it demands that we go beyond ourselves. As He shares His new vision with us, it sets our whole world spinning. For even though we say that we believe in God and have faith in Him, it is often hard to rest in His promises, especially when He is telling us to go in and possess situations that are greater and mightier than we are. When His word comes, we begin to realize that our trust has been in ourselves and our own abilities. We may even trust those about us, but our heart begins to tremble when we are forced into a situation where we must totally trust in God. Yet, we must understand that God knew the challenges and the strength of our enemy before He called us into the battle. When He tells us to possess, we can be assured that He is going to give us the power to accomplish that command, for He will never tell us to do more than He has equipped us to do. He is God and He will enable us to go beyond ourselves and help us possess the things that are greater and mightier than we are. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
11/09/05
ANYHERE, ANYTIME, ANY COST
Scripture: Matthew 26:8 "When the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?"
Jesus was sitting down for a meal with his disciples when a woman approached Him carrying an alabaster box that contained very precious ointment. This small box of ointment was worth approximately a year's salary. When she began to pour this precious ointment upon Jesus' head, it caused much turmoil amongst His own disciples, for they could not see the purpose of this act and felt that it was very wasteful. They thought that the ointment could have been put to better use if it had been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Jesus commended the woman's actions, however, by saying, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work upon Me ... She did this for My burial."
Can you imagine being able to save up a year's salary? For most of us, it would take many years to do that because after we pay our bills and necessities each month, we have very little left over. For me, it would be a great temptation to dip into those funds every time a special need came up. Yet somehow this woman was able to save the ointment for this occasion. She may not have understood at the time why she was even saving it. She probably never dreamed that God had a special purpose or that He was going to use her gift to honor His Son. It is said, "What we receive too cheaply, we esteem too lightly." To her, Jesus was worth every drop of this expensive ointment, so she didn't count the cost. And while others esteemed her actions as waste, she esteemed her sacrifice as an honor to the Son of God.
There was a man from India who came to America in hopes of a better life. His dream came true and after many years he had gained a prosperous and wonderful life. Yet, God called him to give up everything and return to his poverty stricken homeland to minister. After a season of struggling with the desires of his own soul, he obeyed God's command. He made a commitment to God, "Anywhere, Anytime, Any Cost." We must understand that God's purposes are not designed to fit our lives but our lives are meant to fit His purposes. We may not understand the things that are happening in our lives but we can be sure that the things we going through are producing precious ointment within our souls. We may not have an alabaster box but we do have a heart and it should be filled with a desire to do God's will. If we give our all to Him, every sacrifice that we make will be used in its season for His glory. Others may question our sacrifice and have indignation because they see it is as a waste, but we must remain true to God's purpose and be ready when He is ready. Our commitment should always be "Anywhere, Anytime, Any Cost!" +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Scripture: Revelation 3:8 "I have set before you an open door."
God doesn't give us everything that we want, but He gives us all that we need to complete our journey in life. He sets before us an open door and tells us that He will go before us and make a way where there seems to be no way. He will clear a path through the wilderness and also make the crooked ways straight. His word will be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path so that we don't have to walk around in darkness. He will make our feet stable like hinds feet and set us upon the high places that He has ordained for us. He will lead us beside still waters and in paths of righteousness. He will be with us each step of the way, even on the other side of the door. All we have to do is go through the door.
However, doors can be very frightening and intimidating because we never know what is on the other side. When a door opens before us, it requires a new level of faith and trust on our part, for the door could lead to a room full of light or a place of total darkness. The other side of the door could offer joy unspeakable or grief and sadness. We could discover new relationships or we could find ourselves all alone. There could be prosperity or lack waiting on the other side. The door may lead to the mountaintop or to the lowest valley. Who knows what is on the other side? Small doors can open into wide places and large doors can lead to narrow passages. We will never know what awaits us until we take that step of faith and go through the open door that God has set before us.
God wants us to open our hearts to all of the possibilities of life, but He will not force us to go through any door. He opens the door and then we must choose to experience all that He has for us or to shrink back in fear and miss out on His bountiful blessings. Yet there is no reason to fear when we are under His leadership, for where God leads there will be protection and where He guides, He will provide. When God is leading us by His Holy Spirit, we can be sure that it is a promising door and that He wants us to follow Him in faith. He doesn't withhold any good thing from us but He allows us to make our own personal decision. It is a simple choice to leave the familiar behind and to go forward into the unknown. Behind the door is the future and it holds many adventures and mysteries. As we go through, we must surrender to His assignment and set our expectations upon Him. He has set before us an open door. We need to trust Him enough to take advantage of the opportunity. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Scripture: Matthew 17:20 "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed ... nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Jesus spoke this verse to explain the growth that can result from a small beginning. In Mark 4:31, He explained that the mustard seed was the least of all the seeds. Yet, when it took root and began to grow, it became a tree large enough for even the birds of the air to lodge in. Jesus compared the growth of the mustard seed to our faith and said that if we had faith as a grain of a mustard seed, nothing within the scope of God's will would be impossible to us. In fact, when our words come in line with His words, they become filled with enough power to enable us to speak to the mountains to be removed and they will be cast into the sea.
There is no need for us to remove literal mountains, but there are mountains of adversity that surround all of us. We are to deal with these mountains with mustard seed faith. The mustard seed is not only small, it is pure and unmingled. We don't have to have a lot of faith; we just need pure faith. Pure faith is being persuaded that God's word is true. Pure faith rests. It is absolute dependence and reliance upon God's word. It demands full confidence and trust in God's faithfulness to perform His word. It is a full surrender and obedience to the truth and to the conviction that God will complete the things that we are hoping for. Pure faith is not mixed with doubt. It never struggles, but is a joyful experience.
When you have mustard seed faith, you can release your last handful of meal and your little supply of oil to God and expect Him to see you through the hard days ahead (I Kings 17:16). With mustard seed faith, you can give your five loaves and two fish unreservedly and know that God will turn the little that you have to give into a miracle meal for over five thousand people (Matthew 14:17-21). Mustard seed faith will cause you to pay your tithes and give offerings with the expectation that God is going to open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing that you will not have room to receive (Malachi 3:10). Mustard seed faith never fails. It encourages you to plant in the time of famine and causes you to reap a one hundred fold harvest because of your obedience (Genesis 26:12). It keeps you at peace in the lion's den and keeps you from being burned or having the lingering smell of smoke upon you when you have passed through the fiery furnace. It will keep you untouched as you pass through the Red Seas of your life and also allow you to walk on the waters in the midst of the storm. Mustard seed faith is all that you need, just a little faith in a great God. As you take your seed of faith and place in God's hands, He will enable you to conquer all of life's circumstances and nothing will be impossible to you. +++Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
A Word In Due Season
3rd Week of November 2005
11/14/05
POSSESSING HIS PROMISE
Scripture: Numbers 13:33 "And there we saw the giants ... and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
God took His people out of Egypt with a mighty show of power. He then provided for them miraculously while they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. When they were close to the Promised Land, Moses sent the leaders of the tribes of Israel to spy out Canaan. When the spies returned, their report verified God's promise that the land was indeed prosperous. Yet, their unbelief caused them to bring an evil report concerning God's ability to carry out His promise. When they saw the giants in the land, they began to compare themselves with their enemy and saw themselves as grasshoppers. The giants in the land became bigger than God's promise in their hearts.
After forty years of wandering, God's people were only one day away from their dreams being fulfilled. They were close enough to go in and spy out the land. And they were close enough to bring back some of the grapes, pomegranates, and figs without the fruit perishing. Yet, their hearts were far away from receiving God's promise, for they still could not believe for victory over the giants that they faced. This scene mirrors our own situation, for many times we come close to God's plan for our life but allow the giants of doubt and insecurity to hold us back. Instead of looking at God, we look at our own strength and it shrinks before the challenge that is set before us. If we allow it, this comparison will undermine God's plan for our individual lives. It will destroy our faith by distorting our vision. It will usher in fear that will birth a negative report. We will see ourselves as grasshoppers in the sight of our gigantic problems and reap failure because we discount God's ability to fulfill His promise.
What has God spoken to you that requires faith? To possess God's promise and complete His will, you must become aware of the strategies of the devil. You must let God be God and stay off of His throne by doing your job and then allowing God to do His. Victory demands that you be obedient to His voice and allow Him to work out all of the details. When God speaks, trust Him to equip you to fulfill His will. When you face the giants of adversity, do not give in to a spirit of fear and doubt. Never think of yourself as being unworthy or allow yourself to focus on your inability. Refuse to give in to the grasshopper mentality. Instead, allow God to enhance and build your self-image by seeing yourself as God sees you. He sees you as a unique vessel that He has created and chosen for such a time as this. Don't stay in the wilderness of defeat. Find the will of God for your life and possess His promise. +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Scripture: Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than receive."
God's ways are much higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. In fact, Isaiah 55:9 says that His thoughts and ways are as far away from our thoughts and ways as the Heavens are from the Earth. That is quite a distance and shows us that we are nowhere near God's level of thinking, for our natural and carnal thoughts are opposite of His. It is only as we learn from His word that we are able to understand His ways and operate in His concepts. He declares that it is more blessed to give than to receive and this concept is foreign to our thinking because it is opposite of what the world teaches and demands. Yet, God has set a law of sowing and reaping into motion and there is a two-fold blessing to be received when we give. We are blessed when we sow because we not only get to see the joy of the receiver, but we reap a blessing ourselves. Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given to you; pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
I am watching my grandchildren as they grow and mature. Right now, they are two and five years old. The five-year-old has learned to give and to share, for she has been taught and has experienced first hand the joy of giving. Recently, she told me that she was going to use some of her birthday money to buy her brother a gift. Her two-year-old brother, however, is still tied to his nature. He is just beginning to talk and one of his main words is "Mine." Giving and sharing at this stage in his life is not a strong forte, but as time passes, he too will learn that there is joy in giving and sharing. This sounds elementary, but how many times in our own adult lives have we stood up and declared, "That's mine" when possibly God wanted us to let it go and give it away? He wanted us to experience the true joy that comes from giving.
When Jesus was born, the angels declared, "I bring you good tidings of great joy." The great joy that was being announced meant that God, Himself, was giving His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. How could this action be joyful to the heart of God? Yet when He gave His Son, He reaped many sons in return. Jesus had the same mindset as the Father. He not only willingly laid down His life for us, but also counted it as a joy that was set before Him, even as He endured the cross and its shame (Hebrews 12:3). Both God the Father and Jesus the Son gave sacrificially and both considered it to be a joy. We must take their actions to heart and follow their examples. When we do, joy will come and we will discover that it is more blessed to give than to receive. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
11/17/05
STAYING IN GOD'S WILL
Scripture: II Chronicles 20:11 "They have come to cast us out of Your possession."
Jehoshaphat and the people of God were faced with an enemy that was trying to drive them out of the land that God Himself had given to them. God's will was that they dwell in the land and possess it forever, but a great multitude was coming against them. When Jehoshaphat heard the news, his first reaction was fear. None of us are exempt from being attacked by this awful spirit. However, Proverbs 3:25 says, "Do not be afraid of sudden fear." When fear attacks, we are to shake it off and seek God just as Jehoshaphat did in this story. He went to God with three honest and simple statements:
1) The enemy is trying to cast us out of Your land.
2) We are not strong enough to fight this battle.
3) We don't know what to do.
Have you ever found yourself in this place? You know that God has spoken a word of direction to you. You begin to follow after His perfect will, but as you try to possess the vision and fulfill His purpose, the challenges seem more than you can handle. You feel that you are not strong enough for the battle and you don't know what to do next. You know that the Greater One lives within you, but fear of failure lurks on the perimeter of your heart.
Jehoshaphat experienced these same emotions, but when the enemy sought to dispossess him, he turned his focus to God and spoke to Him saying, "But our eyes are on You." God told Jehoshaphat, "You shall not need to fight in this battle ... I will be with you." He instructed Jehoshaphat to appoint singers and send them out before the army. They were to worship the Lord and praise Him with a loud voice. As they began to sing praises, the enemy became confused. Suspecting each other of betrayal, they destroyed one another. Only God could come up with a plan this amazing.
Like Jehoshaphat, as long as your eyes are upon God, you will stay in His will and be able to possess His promise. When you stay in loyal relationship to Him and submit to Him, He obligates Himself to bring His word to pass in your life. As you keep your eyes upon Him and worship Him, He will show you the way out of every situation and fight every battle for you. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
God is able to do exceeding and great things in us but we must be filled with His power. In Jeremiah 33:3, God tells us how to find His hidden power and how to cease from limiting Him. He says, "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know - things you have never seen before or even considered thinking of." He is able to do great and mighty things when we ask. +++
Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
A Word In Due Season
4th Week of November 2005
11/21/05
TOTAL PERSUASION
Scripture: II Timothy 1:12 "For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."
To know Christ and the fellowship of His sufferings had been one of the Apostle Paul's greatest desires. Now Paul speaks very tenderly to Timothy, his young son in the faith, concerning this issue. Paul obviously had obtained the knowledge that he had desired, for he declares that he not only knows the One Whom he believed in, but has staked all of his faith in Him. Paul also acquired an assurance in his spirit that the Lord would keep everything that Paul had committed to Him until the Day of Judgment. He believed that none of his accomplishments or the faith that he had found in Christ would be lost.
Paul's deep and abounding knowledge of the Lord had come because of the intimate time that he personally spent caught up in His divine presence. And his total persuasion that the Lord would be faithful to him had not come easy, but it had been developed during the many hardships that he had endured and the persecutions that he had experienced. Paul's life and ministry had produced many difficulties, yet in his walk with the Lord, he had come to this place of total persuasion. He knew Jesus whom he believed in and knew that He would be faithful until the end. When Paul wrote these words, he was alone in a cold dungeon and knew that he was near death. According to tradition, soon after this intensely personal letter to Timothy, Paul was beheaded.
Paul had come to know God's only begotten Son, Jesus, who had died on the cross for his sins. This was God's ultimate sacrifice for all of us for which we should always be thankful. If we cannot think of anything else to praise God for, we can always praise Him for Jesus who made a difference in our lives. For when we choose to believe in Jesus and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, He spares us from a personal eternity in Hell. The next phase of our relationship with Christ after salvation should be the same as Paul's commitment. We must get to know the One in Whom we have believed. Yet this total trust and persuasion in Him can only be birthed by His presence and the knowledge of His covenant with us. We must search for this personal and intimate relationship with Jesus like Paul did, for it will sustain us even when we are at death's door. And like Paul, we too will be able to declare without any reservations, "For, I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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Scripture: Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God..."
This is the season that we set aside to give thanks and even celebrate a special day of Thanksgivings. Yet, for many of us the meaning of this special day is lost in the celebrations of the day itself. We become so busy cooking, visiting, and eating, that we forget what the day is all about and neglect to truly give thanks in our hearts for all that God has done for us. We may offer a special prayer because of the occasion, but our thoughts are on the feast set before us and our focus is on our fellowship with friends and family.
However, Thanksgiving should be a continual celebration of our gratefulness to God. The Apostle Paul encouraged us to give thanks always for all things. While we recognize and give thanks to God when He does something special in our lives, there are many things that are more wonderful to us than the occasional extra blessings that we celebrate. We tend to get excited when a financial windfall comes our way but forget the blessings that we experience everyday in our lives. We take our eyes for granted and fail to give thanks for our sight. We give little thought to our ears or praise God regularly that we can hear, listen to music, or enjoy the sound of a child's voice. We never consider that even our mouths are a bountiful gift from God. Our tongues and lips equip us to communicate with each other and our teeth make it possible for us to eat food that is set before us. Even our legs that carry us places and the strength in our body is a gift from God. These are daily blessing that we enjoy, yet rarely are these wonderful blessings present in our daily list of things to be thankful for simply because we take them for granted.
As we think about God's awesome blessings to us, we realize that we can't attribute any of these blessings to our own success, for who can cause the eye to see or the ear to hear? Who can make the lame to walk or the dumb to speak? Who can infuse strength into our bodies and cause them to function properly? These things come to us because of the graciousness of God our Father and our gratitude should be directed to Him. We must never be so wrapped up in our blessings that we forget the Blesser or look at our gifts and forget the Giver of all things, for our blessings come from the hand of God. Let us meditate on these things and be truly thankful to Him, for He has dealt bountiful with us. As long as we have air to breathe and lungs to breathe it, let us remember to be grateful and give thanks to God our Father, Always for All things! +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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Scripture: I John 3:16 (NIV) "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
In the portals of time, God sets ordinary men in special places for special times, and takes their natural lives and uses them in supernatural ways to bring about His plans and purposes. In the early 1600's, 102 Pilgrims left England and set out for the New World with the hopes of finding religious freedom and a better way of life. After a dangerous and treacherous 65-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower, the passengers arrived in what is now known as the state of Massachusetts. It was a desolate location and the winter proved very difficult and devastating. Many died because of the lack of food and inadequate housing. By spring of that same year, nearly half of the original group had passed away. It was a painful and discouraging season, yet those who remained relied upon God for help and trusted in Him with all of their hearts. Their faith and beliefs are evident in the laws that govern our country even today. William Bradford, one of the original leaders and governor of the Plymouth Colony for more than thirty years, wrote of these brave and determined people. He said, "But these things did not dismay them (though they did sometimes trouble them) for their desires were set on the ways of God, and to enjoy His ordinances; but they rested on His providence, and knew Whom they had believed."
These people of great faith knew who they believed in and dedicated their futures to Him. They looked to God for their source of strength. Yet it is interesting how God helped these struggling Pilgrims to make it through this incredibly difficult time. He sent one man named Squanto, a Native American Indian, to teach them how to plant corn, where to fish, and how to trap animals, and his instructions sustained them. William Bradford declared "Squanto was a special instrument sent of God for their good and beyond their expectations." We never hear much about this simple man with his simple knowledge, but Squanto laid down his own life and agenda to teach others how to live and survive, and in doing so saved a nation.
As we look at Squanto's life, it helps us to realize that we all have gifts that God can use. Our ordinary talents may not seem too important to us in the light of someone else's glamorous gift, but it may be the one thing that our neighbor needs for his survival. Like Squanto's gift, it may be as simple as knowing how to plant corn, catch fish, or trap animals. Or it may be a kind word, a silent prayer, or a good deed that we can do that will be the instrument that God uses to make a difference in the lives of those about us. God has called each of us to follow the example of Christ and lay down our lives for others. All we need to do is to dedicate the little that we have to the Lord and allow Him to turn it into an instrument of blessing. We will find that our little can be multiplied into much when it is put it into God's hands and we will also discover the amazing difference our one life can make in the lives of others. +++Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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A Word In Due Season
5th Week of
November 2005
Scripture: Psalms 98:4 "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."
Seven times in the Psalms we are exhorted to "Make A Joyful Noise" unto the Lord, and four of those Psalms began with these same words. It seems that God is trying to get a message to us and is not being shy about the fact that He wants us to express our love and appreciation to Him in an exuberant way. Joyful in the original text means, "shout or make a triumphal proclamation with a thundering voice." Loud shouts and sounds seem to be okay for open air ball games, but for many of us it almost seems too wild for the quiet worship services that we are accustomed to. Yet, the psalmist encouraged us to praise God in this manner and even said that our expressions should be accompanied with loud instruments such as the trumpets, coronets, and drums.
By definition, noise is sound that is loud, disagreeable, and unwanted. It is also described as commotion or random disturbance that obscures or reduces clarity. We've all heard the noise that children make, which in most cases fits the definition of noise very well. However, when my two small grandchildren were visiting me the other day, one sat down at the piano and began to bang and the other one picked up an old out of tune banjo and began to play with it. As they both were making noise with their particular instruments, they also began to sing individual songs. Nothing was flowing together and there was no real beauty about the noise they were making. Their music would have been deemed a pitiful sounding concert by anyone else's standards. However, the joyful noise they were making was a joy to my ears and beautiful music to my heart because my granddaughter told me that they were singing for me. Their intent had suddenly caused the noise to be very precious music to me.
As I thought about my reaction to my granddaughter's expression of love, I realized that God our Father is much the same, for when we praise the Lord, He doesn't hear as the world hears. The world may hear the noise of missed notes and ill timing, but God hears as a Father who is listening to His child. God's ear is turned towards our hearts and He hears a melody of love. Skill and perfection are not as important to Him as a joyful noise that is filled with the content of thanksgiving, praise, and adoration. Deep is calling unto deep and He is listening for the praise that is deep within our soul. We must never be afraid to express ourselves to Him, for we are precious in His sight. Let us remember that the most perfect praise that we can offer to Him is a joyful noise that comes from our heart. +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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Scripture: Psalms 34:3 "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together."
Magnify means to enlarge, make greater, or increase in size. We can magnify something visible with a magnifying lens, but the lens can never make the object actually larger in size. Instead, it just enlarges the image of the object or draws it closer so that it can be seen better. The magnifying lens is an invaluable tool to the scientist. The lens in his microscope can take a particle that is invisible to the human eye and enlarge it into an image that can be seen in great detail. The astronomer's telescope can draw the stars and moons nearer for observation. Even the eyeglasses that we use magnify the world around us to give us more precise vision.
King David said, "Magnify the Lord," but how can we make God bigger, for God is as big as He is ever going to get. We can't increase the measure of His greatness, for He is omnipotent or all-powerful. We can't make Him more knowledgeable than He is for He is omniscient and knows all things. He is also omnipresent, which means that He is always present everywhere. These attributes of God go beyond our comprehension. We can't explain how God's power works because we ourselves are not very powerful. Neither can we share with others the knowledge of an all-knowing God, for the measure of our understanding is limited. And we can't even think about being everywhere at all times because that concept is beyond our own human abilities. Yet our lives either magnify or de-magnify the image of God. Paul said that we are epistles that are known and read of all men. People are looking at our witness daily in the market places and we must understand that our lives become the lens through which they see Jesus.
I recently had a conversation with someone who blamed God for her adverse circumstances, and declared the Lord to be unjust in His ways. I literally shook as I heard her bitterly speak of the evil ways of God, and when I saw God through her eyes, He became a very small God and a terror to the human heart. This individual was seeing a totally different God than I see and know, for even in hard times and pain, God was always there to comfort my heart and caress my wounds. We have a choice with every word that we speak and every action that we do. We can either allow our lives to diminish the greatness of God or we can allow our praise, our good deeds, and our faith to magnify Him. We can make God bigger than the problems and adversities in our lives by standing strong in faith. By our uncompromising trust and peace, we can show others that God is more powerful that any storm that rages about us. Others are looking at our lives in an attempt to see Jesus, so whether the times are good or bad, let us magnify and exalt the Name of the Lord together! +++Copyright
© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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Scripture: Lamentations 3:24 "The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in Him."
The prophet Jeremiah was distraught and lamenting over his life. He felt like God was against Him because of the affliction and darkness that was surrounding his life. He declared that there was a hedge placed about him and that none of his prayers were being answered. It seemed to him that God had made his way crooked and desolate. Jeremiah even wondered if God was secretly lying in wait to attack him like a lion or a bear. There was no peace remaining in his life. In his struggle to make it through this season of despair, he said, "My hope is perished" (Vs. 18).
If a great prophet like Jeremiah had these thoughts and emotions, is it any wonder that we too are tempted to walk into the same trap of doubt and unbelief? When things do not go as they should or the way we want them to in our lives, we must remember that the same devil that was working against Jeremiah nearly 600 hundred years before Christ was born is the same devil that is working against us. Even though it is a different time, the devil's strategies have not changed. He still twists God's words into lies and attempts to distort our perception of God by making us think that God is against us. Yet all the while, God is for us and is sovereignly working His plan in our lives.
Jeremiah did not stay in his despair for very long, for he changed his perception of God. He began to remember the mercy and the compassions of the Lord that he served. He thought about who God really was and decided to quietly wait for God's salvation and deliverance. Like Jeremiah, there are many uncertainties in our life, and things can get very discouraging as we struggle through our circumstances and experience hurt in our relationships. It may be hard to understand what God is doing in our lives when we don't even understand what is happening in our lives. Yet, the events in our lives do not determine who we are. Our responses make that determination. Our future will not be shaped by our current circumstances but by our perception of God in the midst of those circumstances. In the midst of our challenges, we must learn to keep our perception right and know that there is One whom we can always trust, and His name is Jesus. He is our portion and He is our hope. When we understand this completely, it will unlock the door to our prisons of discouragement and despair and set us free. +++
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© 2005 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
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