Category: Strength for Today

1 Samuel 13:12
“Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.”

The verse above was truly the turning point of Saul’s life. Saul was a good man by God’s own admission, but good men are faced with turning points that will determine their course for the rest of one’s life. Samuel was supposed to come at an appointed time to sacrifice before Israel went off to war. Because Samuel delayed his coming without any notice, Saul presumptuously took the duties of the prophet into his own hands which was a direct contradiction to God’s Word. Certainly, Saul had some good excuses as to why he did this, but those excuses were simply the turning point of his life that turned a good man into an evil one. There are three lessons we can learn from this turning point in Saul’s life.

First, you are always responsible for your own actions. We live in times when people are always looking for an excuse to blame their actions upon, but you must always remember that you are responsible for your own actions. Romans 14:12 says, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Saul wasn’t to give an account for Samuel not being there on time, but he was to give an account to God for himself when someone else didn’t fulfill their responsibility. The turning point of your life will be whether you take full responsibility for your own actions or if you are going to blame your actions upon another.

Second, another’s lack of character only reveals your level of character. Samuel not arriving on time only revealed Saul’s character level. Character does right whether or not anyone else does right. When you find yourself in a situation where others lack character, it will reveal your character level. A person with character doesn’t rely on the actions of others to determine their own actions. A person with character determines their actions by right and wrong. The turning point of your life will be determined when others around you do wrong. It will reveal your character. My advice is to always do right. Don’t let their lack of character cause you to lower your level of character. A person with character rises to the top when the character of others around them decreases.

Third, excuses are a revelation of your heart. When Saul started giving excuses, it revealed that his heart’s true focus was upon himself. This whole situation revealed that Saul was more concerned with Saul than he was in obeying God. If he had kept his eyes on God, he would have done right and wouldn’t have had to give excuses. His excuses simply revealed his heart. Always remember that whatever excuse you give is only revealing who you truly are. The turning point of your life will come down to whether you keep your eyes on God or man. When excuses start flowing from your lips, you are revealing that your focus of life is on man because you are more concerned with what man thinks than God. If your focus is upon God, you will take responsibility for your actions so that you can keep your heart in tune with God.

Friend, these three areas of life are truly turning points in your life. Yes, they are all tied together, but each turning point in and of itself is an individual decision. If you want your life to turn out right in the end, you need to make the proper decisions at each of these turning points.

1 Samuel 8:5
“And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

I was sitting at a restaurant with a friend of mine when a couple from his church walked in. He waved at them as they were going to their seat and told me that they were from his church. Honestly, the family looked a bit rough, but this preacher greatly complimented them by telling me that their children were some of the best youth in his church. He told me not to let their appearance fool me because they seemed to have their family life under control as evidenced by their children.

On the other hand, I remember when I was still a child that my father would oftentimes take me with him when he took missionaries out to eat. There was one missionary family that I still remember, not because of the presentation of their field or because of his preaching, but I remember them because of their children. We sat in the restaurant trying to have a good meal, but their children were jumping from booth to booth. It got so bad that the manager came over and told us that unless we got control of the children that we would have to leave the restaurant. Needless to say, they didn’t get our church’s support.

The one thing that validated or invalidated these parents to others were how they controlled their children. Right or wrong, their children were the determining factor of what others thought about them. This is very much what happened with Samuel. Samuel was the beloved prophet, but his boys were out of control. It was so bad that the people of the land wanted a king over them because they didn’t want Samuel’s sons leading them. Sadly, though he was a good prophet, his son’s actions took some of the luster away because of their ability to follow their father’s instructions on how to live.

If you are a parent, let me encourage you to work hard on controlling your children, especially in public. Every parent understands that a child will at some point embarrass them in public, but it shouldn’t be a common occurrence. People should know that your children are under such control that if they do act up everyone knows it will be a long night for that child when they get home. I have found that if a parent will take the time to be sure their children are under control at home, they will mirror the same actions in public.

Parent, stop letting the children rule you and be a parent. Start dictating how they should act. It is simply done by  having rules, boundaries and limitations by which you expect them to live. Whenever they break those rules, boundaries or limitations, they should be punished accordingly. It isn’t always easy, but if you will take the time to establish the rules boundaries and limitations, especially when they are young, you will be rewarded by their obedience in public.

Let me ask you, if we looked at how your child acted most of the time, would your ministry or family be validated? It may seem unfair, but people judge you by how your children act. Let me encourage you to not be aloof to what your children do in public. Always know where they are, who they are with and what they are doing. This is a parent’s responsibility. When your children know that you always know where they are, what they are doing and that you will discipline them if they do wrong, they will act right when they are in public.

1 Samuel 3:8
“And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.”

We all know the story very well. Samuel was just a young boy who was given to the LORD as a fulfilled promise by his mother. He grew up in a culture of corruption where the leader, Eli, would not deal with the sins of his sons. It was not the ideal atmosphere for Samuel to grow up in, but he did grow up and turn out right.

It was late at night and Samuel was almost asleep when he heard someone call his name. Samuel, thinking that Eli had called him, quickly got out of bed and ran to the man of God to see what he wanted. When Eli told him that he hadn’t called, he sent Samuel back to bed. This happened two other times before Eli finally realized that the LORD was calling Samuel. This time Eli told Samuel that the next time he heard the voice that he was to say, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.” Of course, the LORD did call again and Samuel responded as he was told to do.

A simple truth is often missed in this story. Eli was the man of God, but Samuel was just a child. Samuel could hear the voice of the LORD, but Eli could not. It was a rare thing in those days for God to speak. Verse 1 says, “And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” Only a child could hear the LORD in those days. The man of God who should have been in tune with the LORD should have heard the voice, but he didn’t. There are some important principles we need to learn when we see the LORD speaking to others but we can’t hear the voice ourselves.

First, remove the corruption that is causing you not to hear the LORD’s voice. There was a reason Eli couldn’t hear the voice of the LORD and that was because he had not dealt properly with sin. You will always find it hard to hear the voice of the LORD when you have dealt improperly with sin. Sin cannot be covered up. That is exactly what Eli had done with his son’s sins. He knew what they were doing, but for the family name sake he wouldn’t deal with it because it would be embarrassing. It is always better to be embarrassed for a short period and deal with sin than it is to cover it up and have the LORD deal publicly with your sin. Your first response when it seems the LORD is not speaking to you should be to deal with any sin in your life.

Second, go to the place where the LORD is speaking if you want to hear His voice. It is interesting that Eli stayed in his room instead of going to the place where the LORD spake. Let me ask you, are you so entangled with what you are doing that you don’t want to “inconvenience” yourself to go to the place where God speaks? Friend, don’t expect to hear the LORD’s voice when going to where He speaks is too inconvenient for you. Your heart should be so in tune with God that you would go anywhere to hear his voice.

Do you find yourself wondering why the LORD seems to be speaking to everyone else and not to you? Do you wonder why it seems the LORD is answering the prayers of others but your prayers seem to go unanswered? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but please let these two thoughts be your guide when you can’t seem to hear the LORD in your life. God wants to speak to you, but you must live in the right atmosphere so you can hear His voice.

Judges 18:9
“ And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.”

The verse above is the response from five men who spied out the city of Laish. These men came back with the report that Laish was careless with their defense and was ready to be taken. They challenged Israel to “Arise…” and “…be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.” They were challenging the men to not let their slothfulness be the hindrance of their progress in taking the Promised Land.

Progress is a forward direction. Progress is the fuel of success. You will never experience success without progress. It is progress that determines the potential of an individual or business. Without progress, the Christian will never grow in grace for growth is progress. As I study the Scriptures, I find there are four hindrances to progress.

The first hindrance to progress is the inability to step out. The verse above says, “…be not slothful to go…” This verse was not saying they were slothful in everything, but they were “slothful to go.” That inability to step out has kept many people from fulfilling God’s will for their life. If you continue to wait for the perfect setting, you will be waiting your entire life. It may be difficult, but you must be willing to step out if you are to see progress in your life.

The second hindrance to progress is a lack of initiative. In Joshua 18:3, Joshua chides the men of Israel for being “slack” to possess the land. At some point in your life you have got to stop waiting for someone else to push you, and you must have the initiative to push yourself. Those who reach their potential in life are those who have the initiative to push themselves. Great leaders don’t have to be pushed to do what they are supposed to do, because they push themselves to do what needs to be done. If someone constantly has to push you to get your responsibilities done, you are hindering progress.

The third hindrance to progress is fear of the “what if’s.” Israel faced this when the ten spies came back with their evil report about the obstacles they faced. I often tell people that I refuse to live in the land of “what if.” There will always be a “what if” to stop progress if you entertain “what if’s.” Instead of worrying about what might happen, keep going forward and deal with it if it comes. I have found that most of the “what if’s” that we worry about never happen.

The fourth hindrance to progress is a lack of strength to face the impossible. In 2 Samuel 10:12, Joab told the army to “play the men for our people.” They were surrounded by the enemies, and it seemed as if it was impossible to win, but he challenged them to step up and face the impossible and see if God would come through. You must not let the impossible stop you from progress. Find a way to overcome the impossible. You can retreat in the face of the impossible, but retreat will stop and kill any momentum and progress you may be experiencing.

Friend, the world needs Christians who won’t allow any hindrance to stand between them and progress. You serve a great God Who is capable of helping you face any obstacle that stands between you and progress. Decide to go forward and let progress continue.

Joshua 18:8
“And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.”

Opportunity may lie at your door, but you must open the door to realize the opportunity. Israel had the opportunity to possess the Promised Land, but they faced several obstacles before the opportunity became reality. You also have a Promised Land that God has for you, but what you do with the obstacles that stand in your way will determine whether or not you possess it. Let me show you some of the obstacles and give you some suggestions on how to deal with them.

First, every opportunity has an excuse as to why you should not pursue it. You will also have your giants, walls and iron chariots that will keep you from your opportunity, but you must never allow excuses to keep you from pursuing what God has for you. You will always find an excuse if you seek for one. You must become the type of Christian who never allows an excuse to hold you back. Excuses are the damper to the fire of opportunity. The Devil will provide you with excuses as long as you are willing to use them.

Second, every opportunity takes work for it to become reality. Israel had the whole Promised Land before them, but they had to conquer and build it. If you are waiting for an opportunity that requires no work to become a reality, you will never experience the blessings. Every opportunity that God has for you requires work. Why? Because God’s principle is that you must work before you enjoy the fruit. Your opportunity becomes that much better because you worked for it.

Third, every opportunity has dangers you must avoid. Inside the Promised Land there were idols and lifestyles that Israel needed to avoid and destroy. Always remember that once you start experiencing the blessings of opportunities, the dangers of that opportunity will start rearing their ugly head. Inside of opportunities are always opportunities to do wrong, but you must not allow them to keep you from God’s ultimate blessings for your life. Israel, at times, became complacent and those dangers pulled them away from God. The blessings of God will continue to open His doors of opportunities as long as you slam shut the doors of sin’s opportunities.

Fourth, every opportunity takes an initial step of faith before it becomes reality. Israel had to take the first step toward the Promised Land before they started seeing their dream become reality. Friend, it is going to take that first step of faith to see the doors of opportunity open. That first step will be scary, but you have the LORD on your side to help you every step of the way. Don’t let the fear of the first step hold you back from your opportunity.

Opportunity lies ahead for you. What are you going to do with that opportunity? God has something very special for you, but you must realize it won’t come without some obstacles. Don’t let those obstacles keep you from realizing your opportunity. Trust God and step out by faith. After the initial step of faith, you will find that the next steps won’t be as difficult.

Joshua 14:10
“And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.”

One of the things I love about Joshua and Caleb was that they didn’t let their age become an excuse to sit back and do nothing. In the verse above, Caleb is eighty-five years of age and he still had the drive to dream and conquer. He and Joshua truly grew young with age. In other words, their bodies got older, but they kept the zeal, vision and drive of their youth. They realized there was a generation following them who needed an example on how to grow old.

One of the problems I have observed throughout my life is that people with age seemed to let their zeal, vision, attitude and drive age with them. Like Solomon, they stopped standing where they once stood and used their age as an excuse for not doing right. I believe we should try to be more like Joshua and Caleb who grew young with age. Joshua and Caleb had more zeal and fire than many of the young men who surrounded them. Your goal in life should be to die standing where you always stood with a vision and drive that motivates the next generation to continue on. There are some things you are going to have to guard as you grow older if this is going to happen.

First, you are going to have to guard your attitude. Be careful about becoming critical the older you get. I have watched many older men become critical of the younger generation. Instead of getting a critical spirit, you should strive to encourage them. You will never influence the next generation by criticizing and denigrating everything they do. You might find that you will have a better chance of teaching them if you guard yourself from getting a critical spirit.

Second, you are going to have to guard against comparisons. Joshua and Caleb never compared generations, instead they led their generation. Be careful about thinking the present generation is not doing what previous generations have done. You must realize that you are approaching the end of your life. You are looking at life through the prism of decades and comparing the present generation to the accomplishments of decades. That is unfair! The present generation is still working on their accomplishments, and you must not discourage them because your comparison of what they are doing just doesn’t match up to the decades of your viewpoint.

Third, you are going to have to guard your positional drive and stance. Joshua and Caleb stood where they always stood and kept doing what they always did. Let me encourage you not to do less because you are getting older. You may not be able to do what you have always done, but you can keep doing what you have always done. Stay faithful to church, soul winning and serving God. Keep standing where you always stood. Don’t do less or become loose with standards the older you get. Age is never an excuse to compromise or do less.

Let me ask you, are you the reason previous generations compromise and do less for God. Always remember that you are training previous generations how to grow old. You can’t stop age, but you can prevent age from affecting your vision, drive and positional stances by guarding these three areas.

Joshua 1:15
“Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.”

The Christian life is to be enjoyed. God doesn’t want the Christian to go through life begrudgingly because they serve Him. Though life may deal the Christian some unpleasantries, you can still enjoy serving the LORD. There should be enjoyment with your family as you serve the LORD. There should be enjoyment as you serve the LORD in your ministry. But, enjoying life doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want to do.

God told Israel before they went in to possess the Promised Land to “enjoy it.” What you must not miss is what is said before He tells them to enjoy it. God wanted Israel to enjoy His perfect will for them in the Promised Land. He wanted some great memories to be established with their families while they lived in the Promised Land. But, it didn’t mean they could live however they wanted to live. There are several things that enjoying the Christian life doesn’t mean.

First, it doesn’t mean you can live any way you want. God still held them accountable to the Word of God. Yes, enjoy life, but “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you…” (Joshua 1:13) Remember that God’s Word is still the guidelines and boundaries to your enjoyment. You can do anything you want as long as it is found not to go against God’s Word.

Second, enjoying life doesn’t mean you can shirk your spiritual responsibilities. The two and a half tribes still had to fulfill their responsibility to go conquer the Promised Land. Too many Christians have shirked their spiritual responsibilities for the sake of enjoying life. If enjoying life means you must quit your ministry responsibilities then you are not to do it. If enjoying life means you must shirk your responsibility of being a godly parent or spouse then that is not enjoy life but disobeying God’s Word. You can enjoy life as long as enjoyment is found within the boundaries of God’s Word and personal responsibilities.

Third, enjoying life doesn’t mean you won’t fight battles. It is interesting that God told Israel to enjoy the Promised Land before they even conquered it. Why? Because He wanted to set a principle that you must still fight battles. Many Christians have stopped fighting for the sake of enjoying life, and that is wrong. You still must fight for truth. Moreover, God also wanted to set a principle that you can enjoy life in the midst of battles. Just because you are fighting battles doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life. Even in the midst of battles, you will find enjoyment in life by living within the boundaries of God’s Word and personal responsibilities.

Friend, serving God doesn’t mean life must be gloomy, blah and boring. I truly enjoy life, but that enjoyment is found within the boundaries of the Scriptures and personal responsibilities. Yes, battles have been fought, but that doesn’t take the enjoyment away. You also can enjoy life, but always remember that enjoyment also has its boundaries, and when you cross those boundaries enjoyment will turn into heartache.

Deuteronomy 31:4
“And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.”

Israel could have easily thought they had seen everything after seeing God deliver them from Egypt and the wilderness. Yet, that was just the beginning. God said this much in the verse above when He says, “And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to…” God was reminding them that what they saw Him do in the past was just the beginning.

Anyone who has been around Christianity for any length of time has heard about God’s great works of the past. I remember growing up and hearing miraculous stories of God’s power and work in the lives of my parents and preachers. These stories always motivated me to want God to do the same in my life.

We must be careful not to adopt the mentality that those days are over. There are many naysayers out there who say that the best days of Christianity in America are over, and to them I want to remind them that what we have heard about is just the beginning of what God is about to do. God is never done working, and He has plenty of power to do great works in our day. Just like He told Israel that this was just the beginning, we should be encouraged that we have only begun to see the works of God. There were three things necessary for this to be just the beginning.

First, this is just the beginning if you’re strong enough to go forward for God. God says in verse 6, “Be strong…” The word “strong” is the same word used when Pharaoh hardened his heart. In other words, you must be determined that you are going to see God do something in your life. The determination that nothing is going to sway you from God working in your life must be present if this is going to be the beginning. It will take a strong individual who has hardened their heart towards anything that would sway them from the work of God for this to be the beginning.

Second, this is just the beginning if you are courageous enough to trust God. It takes courage to go forward when others are saying it can’t be done. It takes courage to step out on your God-given dreams. There has to be something inside of you that must be courageous enough to face the impossible and believe it is possible if you want God to work in your life. It is just the beginning if you have the courage to believe God.

Third, this is just the beginning if you have the faith to step out. It is silencing the voice of fear and acting upon faith that calls God to action. When you act upon the voice of faith, you begin to see enemies defeated and miracles performed. It just all depends upon which voice you will obey. Obey the voice of fear, and this is the end. Obey the voice of faith, and this is just the beginning.

Let me ask you, is this just the beginning for you? Are you going to trust God’s plans for your life and step out? Don’t let the best works of God be in the history books, but make history with God by believing His Word and acting upon His leading in your life.