Wheels of Glory! Blog

Affirming: Seeing and Saying – VOTD.04.03.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 3rd, 2018 | by

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Last time we looked at 2 ways we can affirm the people around us. 1) listen to them. 2) Use positive words. There’s power of our words. And if we’re believers, that power is for good: If people make any effort, commend them on that. If they make any effort to being more responsible, more productive, whatever… when we see something good in their life, compliment it and that area will grow. What we compliment tends to grow.

We left one more way we affirm the people around us: 3) Pray for them. Paul writes, “You are helping us by praying for us” (2 Cor 1:11). Pray for them and see what happens. And tell them we’re praying for them. We can even ask them, “What do you want me to pray about?” When this is done in the right attitude (not holier than thou), even unbelievers may respond positively. Whenever we pray for someone else, we’re building a bridge on which we can minister to people.

And while you and I are praying, maybe we should take time to pray that God would enable each of us to be more affirming of the people around us. Because for many of us, it’s going to take a heart change to become affirmers. And the Holy Spirit is the one who Changes hearts.

Most of us want to be affirming, but don’t even know where to get started. Here are a few suggestions to jump-start our thoughts about how we can be affirming that I pulled off the internet:

1.      Take time to affirm someone you know who is doing something risky yet right.
2.      Next time a friend’s birthday reminder pops up on social media, instead of just writing “Happy Birthday”, add a few words of affirmation highlighting a Christ-like quality you see in that person.
3.      Positively compare someone you know to a Bible hero or point out an example of them constructively using their spiritual gift.
4.      Commend a parent you know or see. “What a beautiful family” goes a long way in a checkout line and can be a good conversation starter.
5.      Affirm people you know who solve problems without waiting to be asked, commending their initiative.
6.      Rather than sending a card written by someone who works for Hallmark, spend some time studying the phrasing in the cards in the card section, and then take time to deliberately compose your own card.
7.      Next time an error of yours is brought to your attention, not only own it, but affirm the person who brought it to you for their alertness in catching it.
8.      When someone passes along a good idea, or helps you change your mind about an issue, affirm their taking the time to set you straight.
9.      Affirm the flexibility you see in others when they readily adjust plans to accommodate a need.
10.     In conversation, ask people to tell you about the nicest compliments they ever received. See if you can learn from their experiences and implement ideas on your own. (more…)

Wheels of Glory! Blog

Affirming People – VOTD.04.02.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | April 2nd, 2018 | by

Encourage each other and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We live in a very pretty negative culture—in a society where put downs are the number one form of humor. People are marginalized, ostracized, and criticized in an attitude of elitism, where exclusiveness and snobbery seem like the only way to not get swept down the disapproval drain. And it happens in the world, it happens in our churches, it happens in our homes.

God calls us to do the exact opposite. He says, as believers, we are to value everybody. When we look around at people—even people who are insulting us and putting us down, denigrating values we hold dear—we must keep focused on the truth that Jesus died for them. They matter greatly to God.

And while this is true of our attitudes toward the obviously disenfranchised, the needy…those on the outside, it’s also true of those we interact with on a daily basis. We all need affirmation and encouragement.

Call it appreciation, affirmation, when we encourage others and build them up, we raise their value. We treat them as if they matter. We say nice things about them—both in their hearing and out of their hearing. So how can you and I affirm people? (more…)

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The Power of the Resurrection – VOTD.03.27.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 27th, 2018 | by

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11:23-26

Today’s verses expose a common limitation that we find even today about the resurrection of Jesus. When He said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” Martha immediately concluded that He was talking about heaven some day. And it wasn’t that she was wrong, but Jesus wanted to expand her understanding.

The Power of Jesus’ Resurrection is at work today: The Power of the Resurrection that is just as powerful now, as it was then, and when it will be through eternity. Yes, it’s what makes us Christians today. It’s the only reason that we can be Christians.

Power of the Resurrection is the SALVATION of Jesus.
· It’s the Power of the Resurrection that gives us Faith to call upon the name of Jesus.
· It’s the Power of the Resurrection that gives you and me the power to draw others into God’s Kingdom.

But what the Resurrection has given you and me is more than Salvation, as wonderful as that is. It’s more than the Saints being raised up in a cloud with Believers when the last trumpet sounds. The Power of the Resurrection isn’t a “thing” or a “force”. The power of Jesus’ resurrection is Love, Hope, Joy, Peace, Victory, and Freedom: (more…)

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Waiting on God’s Promises pt 4 – VOTD.03.26.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 26th, 2018 | by

So, my very dear brothers and sisters, don’t get thrown off course. Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, and comes down from the Heavenly Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:16-17

It would be appropriate to say, every ‘promise’ God freely gives us is a gift, and as a gift from God, it is good and perfect, just like He is. Last time we began looking at what we can do while we’re waiting on God to fulfill His promises to us. How can we partner with Jesus in responding to His promises as we wait for their fulfillment?

First of all, (and we talked about this last time) we are rejoicing while we wait. We’re not rejoicing about our waiting. We’re rejoicing in Jesus who is with us as we wait because our capacity for His presence is expanded as we visualize the mystery and wonder of who He is.

Secondly, we are patient while we wait. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We can be patient because we trust the One who has made the promises. Patience goes against our human nature—but it is so much a part of God’s nature—it’s the way Jesus is.

So as we wait, we work with God as He develops His own nature in us, so we become more like Him; including patience. It is not enough to just ACT patient; we must actually BE patient.

But often, when the waiting gets long, Holy Spirit’s fruit of patience deteriorates into passivity, which isn’t a good way to wait for God’s promises. We need to wait actively. Waiting on the Lord isn’t passive, it’s active. Passivity encourages us to “just get through it”. It is what leads so many Christians to accept something less than the promise of God just to arrive at a solution.

Passivity leads to pragmatism. If we’re waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promises in passivity instead of patience, we’ll often just settle for anything that works…anything that ends the waiting. (Remember Sarah giving Abraham her maid to produce God’s promised child? (Gen 21) Same idea.) We’ll settle for something lesser and miss the real promise that God will produce: “Christ in us, the hope of glory”, not just rescue us from our current dilemmas (Col 1:27). (more…)

Wheels of Glory! Blog

On the Path to God’s Promises – VOTD.03.20.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 20th, 2018 | by Wheels of Glory

Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In today’s verses, Paul identifies three areas of our lives we must focus on as we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled to us: 1) unbounded joy; 2) praying continually; and 3) giving thanks to God no matter happens. Last time we began looking at what we can do while we’re waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled. We began by looking at rejoicing.

As we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled, we need to be faithful to what we know we are supposed to do. Here are 3 ‘basics’. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life…” The devil is roaming about “seeking whom he may devour”(1 Pet 5:8). Jesus is our safe path (Jn 14:6). Most towns have a Main Street, every Christian has one also. As we stay on it we’re in Jesus’ protective care. But, especially when we get anxious to see God’s promises fulfilled, we look for shortcuts, and we end up needlessly exposed to the enemy’s harassment.

So here’s a few ways to stay on Jesus’ path while we wait:

Don’t look Around (Avoid Distractions)
It’s easy to be lured away into worldly thinking (1 Jn 2:15) and be deceived by the enemy by the “innocent” distractions that are presented to us… To fixate on what is not Jesus; obsessing over something that is beneath Jesus’ high calling for our minds: “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” (Phil 4:8)

Many of us know the Proverb that says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is”(23:7). We become what distracts us.

Don’t Look Down (Avoid Fixation on the Need)
Never once does the Bible tell us to look down. We are always told to look up. Some of us are so wrapped up in longing over our unfulfilled promise that we exude dissatisfaction with our current state. Self-pity and then resentment press in and our relationships with other believers (especially those who God has fulfilled His promise to) are disrupted or damaged.

Many believers miss God because of negativity…don’t join them. We need to keep our gaze on Jesus, not our problem. And we know that we’re looking at Him because when we’re looking at Jesus we’re possessed by thankfulness instead of dissatisfaction. (more…)

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Rejoicing in God’s Promises – VOTD.03.19.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 19th, 2018 | by

If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.  John 4:10

Jesus spoke today’s verse to the Samaritan woman who had come to the well at midday to draw water. Jesus was waiting there and engaged her in conversation. He asked her to give Him a drink from the water she was drawing. Her objection may have been motivated by many things, but the one she chose was, “Why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water?”

The passage goes on to reveal that this woman was waiting for God’s promise of the Messiah to set everything right, but she didn’t seem to be waiting very intently. In fact, she can represent many of us as we wait for God’s promises.

In the busyness of life, we can get distracted from God’s promises and find ourselves marching mindlessly one foot after another, just trying to keep up on a weary journey without much enthusiasm or purpose. How often are we settling for the lesser things, when God is offering a far more magnificent ones? And why do we do that?

The woman at the well thought Jesus was promising to save her from her boring daily task of trudging to the well each day. She didn’t recognize Jesus’ promise initially, though she would receive it eventually. Often we only recognize God’s larger promises—what He’s really orchestrating in our lives—in retrospect. His promise came and we didn’t even notice at the time.

So what are the primary obstacles in recognizing the promises of God? And how can we partner with Jesus in seeing them more clearly and quickly? (more…)

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Waiting on God’s Promises pt 2 – VOTD.03.13.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 13th, 2018 | by

Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

Last time we looked at how we rediscover and realign ourselves to God’s promises when the waiting gets long. First we looked dwelling on His loving commitment to keep fulfilling in us all that He promises. Second, we talked about keeping our agreement with God’s promises active and practical rather letting them fade into the theoretical and abstract.

One final way we can keep refreshing God’s promises in our lives and realign ourselves to them:

3) Declare our partnership with God. Declaration allows us to affirm our passion and re-calibrate our thinking to align with His. Once we know the specific promise God wants to bring into our daily reality, we can be quick to declare our agreement and commitment to partnering with Him to see that promise become reality.

It works like this: “Jesus has given me everything that pertains to life and godliness to become all that He promises.” AND “Because I have this promise from Jesus, I will see the promise fulfilled.” This isn’t presumption. We have Jesus’ promise and what we’re doing is aligning our mind, will, and emotions with that promise. (more…)

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Waiting on God’s Promises – VOTD.03.12.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 12th, 2018 | by

The One who began this glorious work  in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Philippians 1:6

A common question when considering the promises of God is, “Why haven’t my promises come to pass yet?” What does it mean when the gap only seems to widen between promise we’ve received and promise fulfilled? And what do we do with the time in between?

Often, when we find ourselves waiting for God to fulfill some promise He’s given, it means that God is creating a new level of partnership and fellowship with us – and you and I are invited to join Him. He’s making us able to receive the fulfillment of the promise – capable of handling the responsibility that goes along with any of the gifts that He gives us.

And sometimes when we find ourselves waiting a long time for God to fulfill His promises, we become distracted from those promises. We remember them, but we’ve stopped actively agreeing and aligning our hearts with God’s intention. When we do that, we step out of the place of agreement that He has for us and lose some of the and fullness that is needed to walk out His promises.

So how do we rediscover and realign with God’s gifts of promise?
1) Hear the unchanging commitment of God in His promises. Dwell on His loving commitment to keep fulfilling in us all that He promises, just as today’s verse promises us. (more…)

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Finding God’s Promises – VOTD.03.06.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 6th, 2018 | by

For all God’s promises find their “yes” of fulfillment in him. And as our “amen” ascend to God, we bring him glory! We owe our position in Christ to this God of positive promise. 2 Corinthians 1:20-21

Everyone likes a positive promise from God, but often the more complicated part of living out God’s promises, or waiting for them in faith, is discovering what God’s promises are in the first place. Sure, there are plenty of promises in the Bible and they’re all ours, and we should claim them. But there are also more unique promises God has; one-off promises for you or me. How do we find them and how can be sure we’re putting our faith in the right place?

1. Ask. Want wisdom? James tells us to ask God for it (1:5). Want to know God’s promises? Ask God for them. Many of us forget this and think we have to figure things out on our own or get them from some especially spiritual person. Ask God. Trust that He’ll answer.

2. Be faithful where we are. There are lots of God’s promises we already know – they’re in the Bible. Faithfully hold onto the promises God gives us collectively in His Word. When we handle the little He’s given us, He trusts us with more (Matt 25:23).

3. Listen. Continue to study the Word of God and pray (two way communication) (Mal 3:6, James 1:17). Sometimes it helps to get away with Jesus and just talk it out. Take a walk, a drive, do something mindless and manual – get beyond the distractions and spend some TIME. This leads to:

4. Get to know God. Many are afraid they’ll get tricked into “presuming” a Promise that God hasn’t really made. But the better we know God, the less of an issue that will be, because we know He won’t give us a promise that is contrary to His nature.

By the way, Jesus is not worried about our presuming. We’re the ones who are worried about presuming. Do we really think the Lord is fretting in heaven because His followers are believing Him for too much? Is it Jesus who wants to put a brake pedal on our faith? Or would that be the enemy of our souls?

Can we presume too much? Sure. But Jesus can handle that… He can deal gently with people who believed Him for something we’re not ready to receive yet. He can lead us into a fuller revelation of the Truth. But if we shy away in unbelief or double-mindedness, it makes it tough for Him to gently nudge us in a better path. Some of us are so fearful of presumption that we’ve not actually moved. And the only one who profits from that is the enemy.

5. Wait. Waiting is not usually easy. But the good thing about waiting on God is that it drives us deeper into Jesus, where our trust of Him grows and toughens. Waiting on God allows us time to think, pray, and listen for that wisdom God has promised. (more…)

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Fact vs. Truth – VOTD.03.05.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | March 5th, 2018 | by

We know that “all of us possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he will possess the knowledge of God.  1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Those of us who teach can (and often do) end up limiting our effectiveness by increasing our knowledge of the truths of God without increasing our awareness and experience of God’s presence and glory. As today’s verse says, “Knowledge puffs up”.

That is equally true for those we teach if we are presenting the truths we are teaching as the central focus of the Christian life. And that is where knowledge-based Christianity falls short.

Fact-based knowledge about truth without an equal or greater experience of God (seeing His Glory is how John 1 expresses it) –this fact-based truth will inevitably lead to puffing us up: pride–and that pride paves the way to a fall (Prov 16:18).

It is telling that most Christian congregations in North America revolve around passing on facts, cognitive understanding/truth. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if our churches fill us with facts and don’t coach us into a moment-by-moment experience of God, then they are setting us up for a fall. (more…)

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