| ............ | A Word In Due Season June 2023 6/1/23 FIRM CHOICE Scripture: Luke 9:61 "Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go and bid them farewell which are at home at my house." Jesus extended an awesome invitation for men to follow Him in His ministry, but His offer was met with excuses. The reasons may have sounded legitimate, but Jesus wanted total surrender to His call and His voice of direction. Jesus' answer to this man's plea to wait until later was, "No man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God." Jesus was looking for more than faith; He was also looking for a determined focus to His agenda and immediate commitment to His will. The most limiting thing in life is a firm choice to be totally submitted to God's will. Total submission means that we must continually deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord. It is a forward walk in His footprints every step of the way. There is no time to look back at the failures or successes of yesterday, and there is no room to wander from the straight and narrow path. Think about yourself and the circle that is about you. A circle has 360 degrees. As you position yourself at the edge of that circle, see yourself standing on the first degree. This means there will be 359 degrees remaining or in other words there will be 359 other directions that you could go. Most of us would never think of turning and going 180 degrees in the opposite direction of God's will, but many times we do alter our course by a slight degree. We fail to realize that if we go one degree in the wrong direction for a length of time, we will eventually be very far from the presence and purposes of God. There are many distractions and temptations in life. Jesus declared that if we are considering any options other than following Him, we are not ready for His Kingdom. Being human is a challenge because living in the natural world conflicts with life in the spiritual realm. We must understand that God's ideas are better than ours and then walk as wise servants of the Almighty God. Our present season is a seed for our future. What we do today will determine our tomorrow. We have a choice to either follow our own way, the persuasions of others, or the voice of the Living God. We must ask ourselves these questions, "What did God tell me to do?" and "Am I doing it?" When we discover the answer, then we must put our hand to the plow, follow Him, and never look back. +++ 6/2/23 ENDURING THE PRESSURE II Corinthians 1:8 & 9 " ... pressed out of measure, above strength ... that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God." The Apostle Paul identified his own sufferings with those that Christ suffered and declared that his suffering had a special purpose. He believed the hardships that had come to him because he preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ were not in vain but were meant to encourage other believers. Even though he had been pressed out of measure and pushed beyond his strength until he despaired even of life itself, he was still confident that God would deliver him in all situations. Instead of trusting in himself, Paul put his trust in God and believed that the things he was experiencing would be a testimony of God's grace, mercy, and comfort. We love to hear music played on a piano but may not realize that it takes eleven tons of pressure on the strings of a piano to keep it in tune. Each of the eighty-eight keys must be dealt with separately and each string must be stretched to its limit until the right tone is sounded. It takes an expert to accomplish this feat. In the end, no string can be loose, for just one key that is out of tune can disrupt the melody of the whole song. If the piano were a living being, it would probably shout out a protest against this painful process, saying that the pressure was too much to endure and that the results really were not worth it. Yet, when the piano is perfectly tuned, it makes beautiful music. If a piano has keys that are out of tune, the most noticeable notes are those that need to be corrected. Anyone, even those who do not know music, can determine that the keys are not in tune. Our lives are similar. God works with us very patiently tuning our lives so that we make the right sounds in His Kingdom. It takes much faith to submit to God's tuning process because many times it is an unpleasant ordeal as He takes us through things that are quite painful. He allows pressures that we do not understand and that we think are unbearable, and just like the piano tuner, He works on us one string at a time. He tightens our situations, stretches us to our very limits, and then listens carefully to the tones that are coming forth from our lives. God does not want anything within our being to be out of tune. When He strikes a key, He wants our heart to be in harmony with His will and His purposes. He has designed us to be an instrument of excellence in His Kingdom. There are others about us who are listening and taking notice of the melodies of our lives. They discern when our lives are out of tune and respond to the harsh notes they hear. They also rejoice with the beautiful notes that come forth when our lives are submitted to God. If we want to be an instrument that sounds forth Heaven's melodies, we must trust in God and submit ourselves to Him. We must allow Him to finely tune us and remember that the things in our lives that bring pressure in the natural will be the same things that will shape our lives and give beauty in the spiritual. +++ 6/5/23 ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANY COST Scripture: Matthew 26:8 "When the Disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?" While Jesus was sitting down for a meal with his Disciples a woman approached Him carrying an alabaster box that contained very precious ointment. This small box of ointment was worth about a year's wages. When she began to pour this precious ointment upon Jesus' head, it caused much turmoil amongst His Disciples. They could not see the purpose of this act and felt that it was very wasteful, for the ointment could have 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." It would take many of us several years to save up a year's salary 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 even though 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 did not count the cost as a loss. 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 declaring, "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 are going through are producing precious ointment within our souls. Even though we do not have an alabaster box that is filled with precious ointment, 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 the Lord, 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 our gift or sacrifice 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." +++ 6/5/23 WHERE IS GOD? Scripture: Psalms 42:5 (Living) "Why be down cast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God?" God is your Heavenly Father and He wants you to feel safe, protected, and loved. He wants you to know that you have nothing to fear because He is in control of every situation in your life. You are to be like a small child in His loving arms. He said that He would never put more upon you than you could bear. And He promised you grace and strength for every challenge that life has to offer. You will never have to face hardships and disappointments alone because He said, "I am with you always, even until the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20) The writer of this psalm was discouraged because of his circumstances. While he was exiled in a foreign land, his enemies mocked him continually, saying, "Where is your God?” He longed to return to Jerusalem so that he could worship God in the temple again. He was so thirsty for the presence of God that he compared himself to a deer panting for a water brook. He revealed the depth of his oppression and despair as he spoke of being in tears night and day. There were times that he even questioned God saying, "Why have you forgotten me?" His emotions took him on a roller coaster ride. When he was down, he poured out his soul to the Lord in despair and when he was up, he remembered the goodness of God and praised Him. While the psalmist spoke of his adverse circumstances, memories of past victories flooded his mind and he rejoiced and began to sing in the darkness of his hour. The doubts of his mind challenged the faith in his heart, but his spirit rose immediately within him, and he came to this conclusion and confession of hope. He spoke to himself and said, "Don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act! ... He is my help! He is my God!" Do you wonder where God is in your situation right now? He wants you to know that He is in the same place that He was when He created you. God is sitting on His throne and is high above the confusion and turmoil that you are facing right now. Although you may feel like you are held captive by circumstances that are beyond your control, remember that God is still God. He is your help! Do not be discouraged if your finances do not take a sudden turnaround the moment you pray and do not be confused when your health does not spring forth immediately. Do not allow your emotions to stretch you from high to low because you do not have all the answers. Isaiah 50:10 says, "Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the Lord and rely on his God." When you have no answers, submit to God's deeper work within you, and simply trust in Him. Instead of being cast down or discouraged, be encouraged knowing that God is your Father and He is with you in the darkness. +++ 6/7/23 GRACE TO THE HUMBLE Scripture: I Peter 5:5 "God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble." There are two opposing forces that battle against each other in our spirits, which are pride and humility. God acknowledges and deals with both spirits in a different way. He resists the spirit of pride, and He exalts the spirit of humility. Pride is deceived and lifts itself up to the level of God. Pride declares, 'I did it'; while humility recognizes the truth and says, 'God did it.’ Even Jesus declared that He could do nothing of His own self (John 5:30). He could only judge as the Father judged, speak as the Father spoke, and do what the Father showed Him to do. Jesus was able to accomplish the purposes of God because He was meek and humble. and He walked in strict obedience to the Father's Word. Like Jesus, if we are going to minister to people and reach their hearts, we are going to have to be concerned about the things that are important to God. God hates pride so much that He does not even want us to look proud. Proverbs 6:16-17 includes a proud look with the things that are an abomination to God. We may not think that pride is too evil, but God lists a proud look with sins such as a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, wicked imaginations, false witness, mischief, and sowing discord. We all want to be humble and appear to others as being humble. We may even be proud that we are so humble, but humility is not just an act. Humility is a heart attitude that never takes the honor or glory for the work that is done. We may be called and have the anointing of God upon our lives, but God's plan will be hindered if pride stands in the way. We will not experience God's best if we are not adhering to His demands. We must examine our own situations. It is not God’s fault if things are not happening in our lives as we expected. It is our fault, for disobedience stops His blessings. God resists the proud and He is not going to bring us up to the next level and give us another assignment until we get our hearts right. We must ask God to deliver us from the spirit of pride and to fill our hearts with humility so His grace can lift us up and promote us. +++ 6/8/23 FAITH IN LIFE AND DEATH SITUATIONS Scripture: Job 13:15 "Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him." The devil sought to dislodge Job from his faith by destroying his possessions, killing his children, destroying the respect that his wife had for him, afflicting his body with disease, and separating him from the bonds that he had with his friends. Yet, Job remained strong and faithful in all of his sufferings and did not charge God foolishly. He placed his life in the hands of God and determined to trust in Him even if it meant death to his physical body. This showed Job's great faith in the goodness and the sovereignty of God. It is one thing to have faith for life, but it is quite another to have faith for death. It is easy to have faith when you are walking on the water, but it becomes difficult to maintain that same faith when you begin to sink. It is not so hard to worship God and stand for the things you believe in until you are faced with the fiery furnace for expressing those beliefs. It is easy to say prayers in public, but it would be frightening if you knew the consequences of saying those prayers was a lion's den. It is not so difficult to believe that your ship can make it to the other side of the lake until a raging storm begins to toss you about in the midst of your voyage. We have to admit that the threat of death is a great challenge to our faith. Yet, when this one foe is conquered, we are brought to a higher level. Like Job, we must come to understand that we can trust the One who created our body, and that death has no sting for the child of God. If our Heavenly Father wants to take us home with Him, we must have faith to submit to His bidding, and say, "Though He slay me, I will trust in Him." The furnace we face may be heated seven times hotter, but we must trust the One who kindles the fire and realize that except for the final episode of our lives, it is not intended to consume us, but to refine us so that we can come forth as pure gold. Neither are the raging storms meant to destroy us, but to show us that the Lord is the Master of the Sea. Our lives may have many hardships, tangles, and tears, but if we use our mouths to pray and worship, God will close the mouths of the lions and keep us safe when we are in their midst. Each of our earthly challenges are meant to show us Heaven's provisions and bring us to a place of faith so that we can have victory in the midst of life situations and in the midst of even death itself. +++ 6/9/23 WORD IN DUE SEASON Scriptures: Proverbs 15:23 "A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" It would be wonderful to always be able to say the right words in the right season to encourage someone in their daily walk. It is like planting a seed in fertile soil. However, you cannot share words from God if you have not heard from God any more than you can plant a seed that you do not have. You may speak words, but they will be empty and without power unless they are anointed by God. A cartoon once showed two ladies gossiping at a water fountain at work. Finally, after much discussion, one of the ladies said, "Well, I guess I need to go back to work. I've already told you more than I know." How many times do we find ourselves telling other people more than we really know about a subject? Isaiah says, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned and of those who are taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He wakens me morning by morning, He wakens my ear to hear as Disciples - as those who are taught" (Isaiah 50:4). This prophetic scripture reveals that God the Father awakened Jesus' ear so that He could hear, yet Jesus still had the responsibility to discipline Himself to listen to the voice of the Father. Even at a very early age, Jesus began to discipline Himself to hear from God. He sat in the temple with the teachers and doctors. He listened and asked questions of them, and all those that heard Jesus were astonished at His understanding and answers (Luke 2:46-47). Jesus could have been outside playing with the other boys, but instead He disciplined Himself to hear the Word. And because of Jesus' diligent study of the scriptures and His continual communion with the Father, He was able to speak into the lives of men with authority and with wisdom. His Words were always in season and brought forth fruit. He also showed us how to take time to listen and hear from God in the following scriptures: Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Matthew 14:23 "And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening came, He was there alone." Luke 6:12 "And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Let us follow Jesus example and diligently set our hearts to seek God in a greater way so that we too may minister words in due season to those who are weary. +++ 06/12/23 TRUST GOD’S SOLUTIONS Scripture: James 1:2 "Count it all joy when you fall into various temptations..." The Apostle James knew that the followers of Jesus Christ would encounter various trials and temptations. He was aware that challenges would come against their deep desire to walk uprightly. He knew that spiritual falls were inevitable, so he did not say "if" you fall, but rather "when" you fall. Falls are never planned. They just happen suddenly and without warning. We find ourselves going down and there is not much we can do but brace ourselves and hope for the best. In verses two through five, James gives instructions as to what to do when we fall into temptation and our faith is being tried. He says, "When you fall, be joyful, be patient, and ask God for wisdom." When we are able to maintain our joy and patience it puts enormous pressure on the devil. As we respond to the situation in joy, we are letting the devil know that we believe that God is still the One on the throne, and that He is in control regardless of what is happening. As we remain patient, allowing God to do a perfect work, we in essence show that we are trusting God's perfect timing. Our faith speaks and says, "Everything is in God's hands." His Word assures us that He will not put more upon us than we are able to bear. We know that if things get too rough, God will make a way of escape, for He is the keeper of His eternal Word. However, our enemy, the devil, is roaming about seeking whom he can devour, and we are his open prey. He knows our individual weaknesses and uses every means to cause us to stumble and fall. But if we ask God for His guidance and help, He will provide a way out of each temptation and every trial. He is the God of all wisdom, and He is still the Almighty Creator. He will create a way where there seems to be no way. He can make a way in the wilderness or streams in the desert. Nothing is too hard or impossible with God. He specializes in rivers that are un-crossable, and He overpowers mountains that are too big and dense to be tunneled through. God’s wisdom is so much higher than our wisdom, and He can do what no other being, or power can do. God is the God of all grace, and He wants to impart Himself and His wisdom to us. The Lord always has our best interest in mind. What a marvelous thought. So, when we are tempted, we must stop for a moment and in simple faith ask God for His wisdom and then trust His solutions. +++ 6/13/23 CHEERFUL GIVER Scripture: II Corinthians 9:7 "... God loves a cheerful giver." God loves a cheerful giver, but He never intended for us to give to Him because He was in need. God has no lack whatsoever because He created everything and owns everything. There is nothing existing that He cannot duplicate, and there is no new thing that He cannot create. If He needs a stream in the desert, He simply carves out a place with His own hands, and it is there. If He needs a dry pathway through the sea, He rolls back the water with the wind of His breath. If He needs the mountain to be moved, just one word from His lips will cause it to come to pass. If God wants to provide a meal for several thousand people, He blesses a small portion of fish and a few loaves of bread and causes it to multiply. He can also change the water into wine. He can plant a seed of life into the barren womb of an older woman or even a young virgin woman and create life where there was no hope. He can also give life back to the dead, sight to the blind, and cause the deaf to hear. He can make the withered hand stretch forth like new and cause the lame to walk. He can create, multiply, restore, and resurrect. He is almighty God and He is unlimited in His power. God is not desperate for our help but knows that we desperately need His help. He knows the seed that we sow will produce a greater harvest for us in return. Yet, the process of the harvest will not begin until the seed is planted. In the natural or spiritual, a seed that is never sown will never produce. Our mere intentions to plant or to give will never reap a harvest. God is our Father and He wants us to have more in life than we need, but He will only multiply what we sow. Verse six says, "He who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly, and he which sows bountifully shall reap bountifully." God allows us to be in control of our seed, but the harvest remains in His hands and produces according to His law of the harvest. Sow little, reap little. Sow much, reap much. Sow nothing, and when it is multiplied, it remains nothing. God shares all that He has with us cheerfully and He wants us to give back to Him and others in the same manner. We are instructed not to give grudgingly or out of necessity. God does not need the money or the item that we are giving but He wants us to give because it is a picture of our love for Him, our honor to Him, and our trust in Him. Everything that we have or will ever have come because of God's great love and provision for us. He is the source of our supply, and we should follow His example of sharing. We should give cheerfully whenever we give because of our gratitude for the Lord's blessings to us and our intimate feelings for Him. +++ 6/14/23 CHILDREN ARE A GIFT Scripture: Psalms 127:3 (New Living Translation) "Children are a gift of the Lord." Children come into our lives by the hand of the Lord, for He alone is the one who creates life. Conception and birth are both miracles of God. There are many instances in the scriptures where the barren woman was blessed with children because God intervened in her life. Sarah was one of those women who were barren, but when she was ninety years old, she gave birth to Isaac. Another miracle was Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She conceived at a very young age and gave birth as a virgin. God spoke about Sarah's child, Isaac, and about Mary's child, Jesus, before they were ever created. He knew these children and had plans for them before He ever formed them in the womb of their mother. In the eyes of God, no child, then or now, comes into being as an accident, for God creates and plans the life of every being. Each child is precious and has a purpose in the Kingdom of God. Yet, there may be a time when our children stray away from God's ordained plan for their lives. There is a hope that is given to us by the Word of God when this happens. God's Word tells us that if we train up our children in the way that they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Eventually, they will return. In the meantime, and in the middle of their situation, we need to be there for them. We must love them where they are and accept them unconditionally, just as God, our Father, loved us through our many temptations and failures. We cannot minimize our children's battles that we do not understand nor write off their pain that we do not feel. We must ask God to give us wisdom and help us empathize with them. Empathy does not mean that we feel sorry for them. Instead, it means that we experience their pain with them. We feel what they feel and hurt as they hurt. We become so involved with our hearts that we understand their temptations and what they are going through. Jesus did this when He came to Earth to die for us. He emptied Himself of His deity and took on the nature of mortal man so that He could understand what we go through and be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was tempted in all points that we would be tempted in, yet He remained without sin (Hebrews 4:15). When things begin to get unsure with in relationship with our child or we know that the path that they are taking is wrong, we must remember these words that King Solomon spoke in the Psalms, "Children are a gift from God." Then, treat them in that manner. When we realize that God created our children and that He loves them just as much as we love them, we will be able to put them into the Lord's hands and confidently trust in Him to take care of them. +++ 6/15/23 THE HEART OF OUR LOVING FATHER Scripture: Luke 15:20 (Living Bible) " ... while he was still a long distance away, his Father saw him coming, and was filled with loving pity, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him." The youngest son of a father asked for his inheritance and then he left home. He went to a foreign country and there he wasted all of his inheritance on a wild lifestyle. He finally came to his senses when his resources were gone, and he found himself eating the food that he was supposed to be feeding to the pigs that he was tending. When the reality of his situation finally hit him, the son decided to return home and ask his father if he could become one of his hired servants. He never expected the grand welcome that awaited him. His father, like any natural father, was waiting and diligently watching for his son's return. He had prayed the whole time that his son had been gone and possibly walked to the bend in the road many times hoping to get a glimpse of his son’s return. When the father saw his son coming home, compassion filled his heart, and he ran and took his son in his arms and kissed him. The father took the best robe that he had and put it upon his son. He put shoes on his son's feet and a ring on his finger. He then killed a fat calf to celebrate his son's return. The father was not concerned about how long the son had been gone or how low he may have sunk. His only interest was that his son was now home where he belonged. This is a beautiful picture of our loving heavenly Father. Our Father God never forces us to follow His will, but always waits for us to return to it. When Satan seeks to sift us as wheat as he did Peter, Jesus intercedes and prays for us that our faith will not fail. Yet sometimes we fail because even though our spirit is willing, our flesh is weak. Our prayer becomes like the words of the prodigal son who said, "Give me." When God gives, we often misuse our inheritance and abuse the liberty that He allows. We then find ourselves in a pit of despair. But God never gives up. He waits and watches diligently for us to return to Him. He listens for our words to change just as the prodigal son's words changed from "Give me" to "Forgive me" Father, for I have sinned." Our Father God sees our heart from a long way off and knows the moment that it changes. As we approach God's throne for forgiveness, He runs to meet us and is always faithful to forgive. His heart is filled with compassion for us, and He restores our relationship with Him as His child. He covers us with His robe of righteousness, puts His shoes of peace on our feet, and places a ring of authority on our finger. Our Father embraces us in His loving arms and celebrates our return because He has a heart of a loving father. +++ 6/16/23 GUIDANCE FROM OUR FATHERS Scripture: Proverbs 4:1 "Listen, children, to the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding." We have all learned from our fathers in one way or another. A good father teaches us the principles of life and guides us into truth by their pure examples. They may never say a word concerning certain matters, yet their actions alone will cause us to understand the difference between right and wrong or good and evil. Their heartbeat will be the drum that we listen to and learn to follow. A father who is not a good example also teaches us, but in a different way. With a father of this sort, we learn the things that we should not do if we want to live a good and blessed life. It is a matter of choice, for many good sons and daughters have come from less desirable parents. Earthly fathers are meant to be a type and shadow of our Heavenly Father. They are to love us unconditionally but also be there to discipline us when needed. They are to be our comfort, protector, and provider, but more importantly they are to be our guide through life as they lead us down the paths of righteousness. King Solomon said, "Hear the instruction of your father, and give attention to understand what they are saying." There is wisdom when we listen and heed our father’s guidance and that wisdom will preserve and keep us (Vs. 6), promote us and bring honor to us (Vs. 8), be an ornament of grace and a crown of glory to us (Vs. 9), give us life (Vs.13), and bring health to our flesh (Vs. 22). It is one thing to hear, but it is another thing to follow. Being told that the stove is hot and not to touch it is good instruction and guidance, but understanding and giving attention and obedience to those words is wisdom. I had a wonderful earthly father who honored and served God faithfully. Was he perfect by Heaven's standards? No, but his heart was perfected by God's love. He made mistakes for sure, but I knew that he loved and cherished me and that he always had my best interest at heart. He went to be with the Lord many years ago, but I still honor his life. The Apostle Paul tells us to honor our father and mother, and then he reminded us that this is the first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2). In all of the other commandments, God just said, "Thou shalt" or "Thou shalt not" and never gave a stated promise with the command. When He gave us the commandment to honor our father and mother, He promised that our obedience to that command would give us long life on this Earth. Solomon reiterated the promise by saying that honoring the wisdom of our fathers would preserve us, keep us out of danger, and give us life. We will have many fathers who will give guidance to our lives and there are great rewards for listening to their words and then yielding our lives to their instructions. We must understand that honoring these faithful men of God and giving attention to their words of wisdom is not a one-day event as on Father's Day. Instead, it should be a continual lifestyle that will bring us long life. +++ Copyright © 2023 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
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