Archive for June, 2010

6-28-10,

Dear TC-HOP Family,

As Moses asked the Lord, “Please, show me Your glory,” the Lord responded in saying He would make His goodness pass before him and He proclaimed His name to Moses, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…” (Ex. 34:6) It seems so often we are looking for the glory of the Lord to be revealed to us in ways that are great and powerful, and yet the Lord, as in this passage, shows us His glory by Who He is, and revealing His character to us. We look for the awesome manifestations and fail to hear the “gentle whisper.”
(I Kings 19-12)

Over the past few days I was blessed to see the glory of God move, not only in my heart, but in the hearts of four young people who went with me to the Fascinate Conference in K.C. As they came into the presence of the Lord they began to receive some inner healing and experience the love of Jesus. They became strengthened in their inner man and became aware of who they are in Christ, and by the end of the time there, they were then able to pray for others. The great manifestations of God’s glory to them was the still small voice speaking into their hearts and making Himself known by His mercy and grace.

Last week I wrote about God’s glory being revealed through His mercy, and now I would like to look at His grace.

First, the Lord is so gracious in how He relates to us in our labors in that He rewards us so well for our efforts to serve and obey Him. The smallest and seemingly insignificant acts of obedience and service are remembered and rewarded by God forever. This dignifies and sanctifies every hour of our day. “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints…” (Heb. 6:10)

The Lord is also gracious to us in that He evaluates us differently than anyone else does. He is not like a harsh leader or angry coach who rejects all weakness. Many think of God as being mostly mad or mostly sad when He relates to us. We need the revelation of a God with a smiling heart which can release security in us with a free spirit instead of being dominated by condemnation. The Lord is a just judge who is slow to anger and abounding in love and He will rescue us, restore us, and bring us into spacious places because He delights in us and wants to give us good things. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Eph. 1:8)

Finally, “In your presence is fullness of joy.” God’s presence is full of joy because God’s heart or personality is full of joy. By His grace the Holy Spirit imparts Jesus’ joy to us through revealing the knowledge of God to us as we feed on God’s word.

Come into the glory of His presence as we seek Him together this week at
Traverse City House of Prayer.

Blessings,
Gary

6-22-10 Devotional

Dear TC-HOP Family,

            Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory.”  He said, “I will make My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you…” (Ex. 33:18-19)

Moses had just been with the Lord for forty days and received the Ten Commandments only to return to the people, witness their sin, and hear the Lord tell him that He will not go with them, because if He did He might destroy them.  It is at this time that Moses cries out to God, pleading with Him, that He would show him His glory, His beauty and character.  Isn’t it at what seems like at the lowest times in our lives, when we feel the Lord has left us and is no longer near, that we cry out, as Moses did, that the Lord will give us a little taste of His glory, just to reassure us that He is still near? 

It is at this time that I say as Moses did to the Lord, “If You are pleased with me, teach (show) me your ways, so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”  I need to know You, the Lord, are still there, that You find favor with me, and will continue to lead me. 

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…” (Ex. 34:6)  It is now that the Lord reveals His emotions to Moses, assuring Moses of His character and who He is. The first thing He tells Moses is that He is merciful.  God is tender in how He relates to us in our trials, weaknesses and sin. This is the first aspect of His personality that He reveals because it is the one we need first.

The Lord delights in mercy.  It is one of His favorite things to do in leading us.  He enjoys the heart response of His people as we encounter His relentless mercy.  “Who is like You, pardoning iniquity…because He delights in mercy. (Mic. 7:18)  God’s mercy is beyond anything we can compare to it and He will give it to all who repent.  “He will have mercy on him…for He will abundantly pardon.  For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:7-9) 

God offers a new start every day if we will only repent of our compromises and seek Him.  “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  I will say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lam. 3:22-24) 

God wants us to have confidence before Him in love so that we run to God instead of from God when we encounter our sin and weakness.  Knowing the Word and feeling some of God’s affection for us gives us confidence and boldness even in our weakness.  May we say as David did, “Your gentleness (mercy) has made me great.” (Ps.18:35).

Come join us this week as we seek the Lord together at the TC-HOP. 

Blessings,

Gary

6-6-10

Dear TC-HOP Family,

            Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:6-7 when He states that, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”.  Last week we began to look at reasons why the Lord would say that prayer is the first priority for His house.  First, that we would know Him and make Him known.  It is through prayer, communication with Him, that we get to know Him, and thus through knowing Him, make Him known to others.

            Another reason why His house should be a house of prayer is that He, God, is great and greatly to be praised!  As you pray, take time to meditate on the vastness, the ingenuity, and the beauty of the universe, and then think about the One who created it all.

  “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.” (Ps. 48:1, 96:4, 145:3, I Chron. 16:25); for He is to be feared above all gods and His greatness no one can fathom.  “God is the builder of everything,” (Heb.3:3); “When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars…(Ps.8:3), “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,” (Ps.33:6).  Read again Job 38-40, and take time to meditate on the awesomeness of God, what He has done and continues to do throughout the universe. 

      Meditate too on the thought of thousand of prayers being heard and answered at once by one mind.  Ps. 65:2 says, “O You who hear prayer, to you all men will come.”    Meditate on the character, the beauty, and the promises of this One who humbled himself, took on flesh and died for us, while we were still sinners. “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (Jn.1:14)  Meditate also on the many wonders He has done through history and in your own life. Our worship and prayers begin to make sense in the light of these reflections on the greatness of God.

      His house shall be called a house of prayer because of the many promises regarding prayer.  Here are just a few:

      God will give us wisdom as we ask Him for it. (James 1:5-6)

      God will give us the Holy Spirit if we ask Him for it. (Luke 11:13)

      God will forgive us if we ask for it. (I Jn. 1:9)

      God will heal us if we pray in faith (James 5:14-15; Ps. 103:3)

      God will give us the nations if we ask Him. (Ps. 2:8)

      God will release speedy justice when we cry out day and night.(Luke18:7-8)

      God will release His End-Time judgments through our prayers (Rev. 5:8, 8:1-5)

      Christ will return in response to our cries. (Rev. 22:17; Matt. 23:39)

            To quote E.M. Bounds; “Mighty is the power of prayer.  Wonderful are its fruits.  Remarkable things are brought to pass by men of prayer.  Many are the wonders of prayer performed by the Almighty’s hand.  The evidences of prayer’s accomplishments almost stagger us.  They challenge our faith.  They encourage our expectations when we pray.”  I encourage you this week to begin to make your house, your life, a house of prayer, for who He is, what He has done, and for what He is yet to do.

            Come join us this week at the TC-HOP as we corporately seek the Lord.

Blessings,

Gary