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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Declaring – VOTD.02.27.18

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

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:5

We demolish every deceptive thought that opposes Who we know God to be. And we break through every arrogant and self-important attitude that is raised up in defiance of truly knowing Him. We take prison every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to Jesus.

Today’s verse is set in the middle of one long, complicated Greek sentence that begins in verse 3 and ends in verse 6. Paul describes some areas where not only knowing, but declaring, the Word prevails for us:
– We are empowered to declare the Word to dismantle strongholds.
– We demolish beliefs, opinions, theories, and philosophies, not by argument but by declaring the truth.
– We allow our thought-life no wiggle room but declare it captive to what lines up with the mind of Christ.

Last time we talked about Understanding God’s Word. Today we’re looking at Declaring it. In reality, we don’t really understand God’s Word if we don’t declare it… because declaring it is how it’s intended to be used. “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1)

So we don’t just use the Word for mental exercise; we use it to speak forth present-day realities. By speaking things that are true, we demolish all arguments and pretentions with the weapons of our warfare that are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds – God’s Word, when we declare it, has the power to effectively dismantle the falseness and lies that people hide behind or use as a defense. It has the power to overcome puffed up feelings that knowledge alone can bring.

Using it, we harness the power to speak so that when temptation comes we can answer like Jesus did (Matt 4:1-11). We can answer with the Word of the Lord. We can speak the Word and cut through the lies of the enemy. (more…)

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Understanding – VOTD.02.26.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | February 26th, 2018 | by Wheels of Glory

Do you understand what you are reading? Acts 8:30

I was chatting with some very Bible-literate friends and they were marveling that so much of what the Bible is clear on is missed by so many people who avidly read the Bible. How can people miss what’s right in front of their eyes? I was explaining, from my background in cognition, how our brains pick up on an idea and then filter all new data through the filter of what we already know (or assume) and that makes us likely to read right over things that don’t square with the filter of what we already think.

It works like this: An idea is planted in our heads that we buy into. Then other ideas come along that don’t support or challenge our original idea. If we actually stop to consider these new ideas, we may find they create dissonance with our closely held belief. So, since our minds don’t like dissonance very much, rather than put up with the dissonance, we will either get angry at the person or book that presents the new idea, or more often, ignore it, without even realizing we’re doing it.

The evidence of this problem is everywhere. It’s the reason mystery-fiction writers can snooker us right up to the very end despite planting clues blatantly before our eyes. It’s the reason that political and religious zealots can completely miss the evidences that don’t support their mantra. It’s so pervasive in Bible teaching that I often pray that God would lead me beyond my own assumptions and understanding when I come to read or teach the Word. In fact, He has often answered that prayer and stretched my understanding. (more…)

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Hope – VOTD.02.20.18

Posted in Verse of the Day | February 20th, 2018 | by

We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven.  Colossians 1:4,5

A couple of important points of today’s verse:

1) Our hope comes from Jesus (heaven), and that hope produces two essential Christian qualities: Faith and Love. That’s how essential hope is, and it’s why the enemy attacks hope far more often than faith or love, individually. It’s also why the enemy gets along just fine with optimism. It masks the need for faith-and-love-producing hope.

2) We need to take hold of hope: God gives hope and our hope is in Him. Hebrews tells us that “we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” (Heb 6:18-20)

Sure, hope encourages us – it’s where we find Jesus’ strength and comfort. But hope also empowers us to seize what God has already determined to give us. Hope is the anchor which holds us to Jesus and His power. And notice this: It is hope that enters in to the mercy seat where Jesus is.

Which brings us to the difference between hope, and what often masquerades for hope: optimism. As we saw last time, hope is not some optimism trip or a mind over matter self-influence. Optimism and hope are not the same thing. The difference is this: optimism is inside of us; it rises from within us. It’s an attitude toward life that we choose, or maybe one we’re just born with or nurtured with.

However it got into us, optimism is internal, a personal disposition, part of our make-up… or not. But more to the point, if it’s something that’s just “in me,” it can fade away when life gets really tough. Or to use another image, it’s something like fuel that I have in my car’s gas tank. I can eventually run out of it. (more…)

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The Promises of God – VOTD.02.19.18

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

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him. (1 Jn 5:14)

Hope, peace, and joy are only a few of the promises of God to every believer. His promises are both universal and unique – That means He has promises that apply to all believers and He has promises that apply only to me or to you, individually. Either way, it is in these promises that we walk out our Christian journey.

But it’s important to understand that God’s promises are not always inevitable – We may or may not experience all that God has promised us. Yes, God always keeps His promises. But often, whether or not we experience the fulfillment of one or more of His promises depends on whether we receive it and act on it. God’s promises are more like an invitation that He wants us to agree to join Him in.

So God has given each one of us an invitation, but we still need to RSVP. For example, He promises us, “Open your mouth and I will fulfill it. And you will see. The words that you speak, so shall it be.” (Ps 81:10) Now, that’s a promise. He’ll give us what He wants us to say, and He’ll back up the Words He puts in our mouths. But it depends on whether our “mouths” – our appetites for Him – are open to receive how much of that promise we will experience in our lives.

The point is, when it comes to God’s promises to us, we’re not passive in receiving His promises. We are co-laborers with Him. He is the King and we are the bride and we are called to actively walk out the faith that He provides us and by that faith to walk in the promises He has made. (more…)

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