Wait On The Lord

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
‭‭John‬ ‭11:32‬

Waiting For God’s Blessings

One of the greatest things about God is everything good happens in His timing. There are great rewards for those who patiently wait for the Lord to show up.

Lazarus had been dead for 4 days when Jesus arrives to Bethany to perform His last public miracle. Mary and Martha come to Jesus and they are both an emotional wreck. A messenger had been sent to tell Jesus to come quickly so He could heal their brother but He delayed and Lazarus died. As Mary and Martha are mourning the death of their brother, Jesus shows up. They are sad, angry and even blaming Jesus for not saving their brother. Little did they know something wonderful was about to happen. Jesus walks over to the tomb and cries out with a loud voice for Lazarus to come forth and instantly he comes walking out. Everyone who saw was amazed and Mary and Martha rejoiced.

Jesus is never late showing up. He knows what is happening in your life but the timing is all part of His master plan. Sometimes we develop a bad case of “stinkin’ thinkin'”. We think we know what is best and we don’t wait for the Lord to show up. This is when we mess up and take matters into our own hands. Abraham made this mistake with Sarah’s servant, Hagar, and forced a son (Ishmael) before having Isaac (Genesis 16)? It caused years of havoc.

Always wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31) because He is going to show up.

Prayer

Pray for the Lord to give you a spiritual mindset to understand His master plan and patiently wait for all things to come together in His perfect timing.

He Who Humbles Himself

January 31, 2018 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Faith

He Who Humbles Himself

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
‭‭Luke‬ ‭14:11‬

A Lesson of Humility

In Luke 14:1-6 Jesus was invited to a prestigious dinner with the religious leaders. He was the honored guest but only for evil intentions. There was also another man invited that day who had dropsy (known as edema). The lawyers and Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus into breaking a law on the Sabbath but their plan backfired. Jesus asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath but they remained silent. Jesus then healed the man and sent him away. The lawyers and Pharisees were speechless.

The miracle of healing should have been enough to demonstrate that Jesus was God but Jesus wanted to teach them a valuable lesson concerning the Kingdom of God. He used His position of honor to honor God. The Pharisees used their position of honor to elevate themselves. Every person who was honored would then honor someone else, as this was their custom. It was all about being recognized.

Jesus used this opportunity to share another parable. He said, “Instead of placing yourself at the end of the table where the most distinguished guest should sit, move further down the table. In doing so you will save yourself from shame when the host comes to you and asks you to move because that seat was reserved. Sit further away and let the host move you to the position of honor. Then you will be honored by all.”

God does not look lightly upon prideful people. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Every Christian needs to learn the important principle of humility. Let’s learn from the Master and use our God given positions to praise Him and not ourselves.

Prayer

Ask the Lord to make you more aware of your sin and position yourself at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.