Will You Put Your Promise on the Altar of Obedience?

Genesis 22:12

1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

¹² Then he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing for my sake thou hast not spared thine only son.

 

This passage has struck me in the past week. God has given me promises that, like Abraham, have yet to come to pass. Eventually Abraham's promise from God was accomplished, and his son Isaac was born. Yet the most confusing thing happened next: God wanted Abraham to give Isaac back to God.

 

Abraham now had his one and only direct heir, a promise from God fulfilled, and now the Lord wanted the promise to be returned?

 

Wow. Abraham, the man of faith, simply obeyed God. And what heartache he must have had as he prepared to sacrifice his only son to the One who gave him to him. I know that some of us today have been given a promise.

 

Some of us have come so close to obtaining what God had said He would give. I know what God said to me, and affirmed to me through many prophetic confirmations. He promised me a new wife. And yet, such a promise is so close, and so far. I have gone through some pains and heart aches through the past while and in the midst of it, God has recently asked me: "Would you put what I promised you on the altar for me?" And because I was already in the process of doing so, I said "yes Lord." With pain and difficulty, I have been choosing to obey God over obtaining the promise. That is what this Genesis account boils down to. It is the principal of making sure God is still first in our hearts.

 

This verse from Genesis 22 shows me, and all of us, that God was actually just testing to see what was number one in Abraham's heart. Was it the promise God gave? Or was it God Himself (with or without the promise given)? In the end, God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son because Abraham had proven himself to be completely obedient, willing to hold nothing back from God. This is where the Lord Jesus is taking me. It is my journey so far, and there has been much positive growth.

 

I am prepared to keep choosing Jesus over my desire to obtain His promise. It is His full intent to give it. When, I will not know- perhaps for a long time yet. But we must be prepared not to love the promise more than the promise maker. He is faithful to fulfill His word, just trust and obey Him. Abraham's historic event as seen here was a foreshadowing of the greatest event of history: God the Father did not spare His Perfect Son Jesus. He laid Him on the altar for all of us - you and me - that we may be free and cleansed from sin. How faithful and wonderful He is to us! God is willing to do the very thing He asked Abraham to do! Jesus was obedient to the death. Now He is raised from the dead, and alive forevermore. Awesome.

 

Blessings

~Pastor Curtis

 

Eyes on The Lord

Eyes on the Lord

Psalm 25:15-18
15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

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David had learned what to do when he was "desolate and afflicted". In the original Hebrew it literally means David was "lonely and depressed".
David had sometimes sinned because of his depression, and knew he needed forgiveness. His lonliness would cause him to make poor choices, and we can all relate to that.
And yet, David was determined to fix his eyes on the Lord, the only One who was able to untangle David's feet and steps.

So it is for us: Put your eyes on the LORD, who is JESUS. Fortunately for us, we can CHOOSE to look at Jesus even when our emotions are in the tank. That's because we don't live by feelings but by faith (Hab. 2:4).

Keep your eyes there. He is the only One who will protect your feet and untangle your steps. David's heart was true toward God, and whole. Yet... at times he carried an awkward and mixed bag of emotion. Sometimes all he could do was pour it all out in "ugly prayer" like the Psalm above. For him, it would have seemed ugly. But the Lord cherished David and his prayers of brokeness and trust, and God received such a heart. God loves the heart that chooses to focus on the Lord in the midst of these strange and inconvenient emotions and feelings. If you feel you have this mixed bag, just empty it before the Lord with a whole heart. Your prayer won't sound amazing to you. It'll sound like a hodge-podge and a mess. But God will hear the heart that comes with the outpouring. He will rescue you. No need to feel shame in coming to Him.

You will be loved and cherished, as David was.

God bless,
~Pastor Curtis

What do you do?

So here is the question today: What do you do when you can't have what you want?
It is a challenging question. Perhaps you have prayed and asked the Lord. Perhaps you have asked according to Biblical standards and you believe you are within His Will. Perhaps you have been patiently waiting for years or months.

But there is nothing but closed doors.

We know from Revelation that Jesus is the only one who can truly open and close doors.

 Revelation 3:7 (Geneva Version)
"And write unto the Angel of the Church which is of Philadelphia, These things saith he that is Holy, and True, which hath the key of David, which openeth and no man shutteth, & shutteth & no man openeth,"

He is the One who closes that no man can open, and opens so that no man may shut it. We must yield and be cognizant of the fact that Jesus is in charge of the believer's life. It is the life of a disciple. It is His life now, not ours. We were bought for a price, the High Price of His blood.

So when you ask Jesus for years, and you don't receive the answer you were expecting, I would surmise that the Lord in His sovereignty has possibly chosen a different path for you. Pray and ask for that path to be revealed. He orders our steps and lights our path. He is a good and faithful God and Saviour. We can trust Him, even when in deep pain and disappointment, and yes, perhaps depression. And whatever you do, always thank Him for His provision in the midst of the wilderness. Always trust Him for He knows best.
Even if you can't have something, you can ALWAYS have His love and acceptance and His plan. Yield your hopes and dreams to Jesus, and let Him be Lord of all you are and have. As the Scripture has said in Revelation 3:7... Jesus is Holy and True. Praise Him forever.

~Pastor Curtis

The Life of Light

1John 1:7 (Geneva Version)"But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

I believe this is a powerful verse because in it John tells us believers what the nature of the Christian walk is: We walk in the Light, just as He is in the Light. We know we walk in light by our lifestyle and by our fellowship with other believers. By walking in light, we are coming to Him, and acknowledging our sins, and practicing a right lifestyle. Stepping into the light can be scary. What if one is rejected? Ridiculed? Accused? What if.... and the list goes on.

But God gives us His WORD here, and promises us, that if you come into the light, and indeed WALK in openness of light, then you KNOW that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son CONTINUALLY cleanses you from all sin! It is this practice of walking in honesty, righteousness and purity that opens the door to the fellowship of light! You and I are called to walk in the light. It requires humility to step into that light and courage too. 

But you are accepted and forgiven if you will choose the life of light. That lifestyle of walking honestly and purely before God. When you do fall down, (it happens) you will be able to get help, because He knows you and sees you... in the LIGHT! You will be able to get back up again and enjoy His love and forgiveness.

So let us walk in the forgiveness and joy we have in His Blood and walk the Life of Light!
~Pastor Curtis

Reevaluate

Now that it is 2014, it is time to reevaluate.
What goals do we have? Are they still in tune with what God wants in your life?

Just reexamine things and revisit everything to see if some adjustments may be needed. Pray and read the Bible.

I know I have been reexamining things for myself. And I find that what I do for the church is still very much what God wants for me. So I continue. Some of my personal goals, however, seem to have fallen by the wayside over the years and I realize they just aren't all that important in God's greater scheme. His plan is all that matters so I must continue to learn how to yield things and hopes and plans up to Jesus. It is more freeing when you have surrendered your plans to Him. When you give those plans to Him it is indeed an excercise in trust.  See, by trusting your plan with Him, He may lay it to rest and you may never see that plan again. But if He does that, it's because He has something far better and completely different in mind.
Happy new year.