I Will, Lord, I Will

"I Will, Lord, I Will"
By Zach Wood
Psalm 9:1-2
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.


I remember as a child being told to clean my room, take out the garbage and wash dishes.  These were the main chores among others I had to do.  I did not really enjoy my chores and would have rather done many other things.  What kid really enjoys chores and wants to do them?  We want to play as kids and do not feel like doing things we consider hard work.  Most of the time I did my chores with a "have to do this" attitude thinking "just want to get this over with and done".  I know my parents are reading this devotional and can remember those times when I did my chores. 

There are many things we do in life that we do not enjoy.  Things at work, at home and at church.  That is a part of life.  We are not going to like every single thing we are asked to do.  Sometimes in our minds we are thinking, "If I just hurry and get this done, I can do the other things I REALLY want to do".  It happens to all of us.  It is normal to like some things we do and not like some things we are asked to do and need to do. 

I cannot help but think we treat our relationship with God in this way at time.  God desires us to praise His name, tell of His wonders and rejoice in Him.  But so many times the way we live our lives does not show any desire in glorifying Him or exalting Him.  We must make the choice in our hearts to desire Him and and live for Him.  If our hearts are truly desiring Him and we want to live for Him, then this passage in Psalms will come to life in us!  If we are sold out and dedicated in our lives to worship Him, we will praise Him.  We will rejoice in Him!  We will sing His praises! 

Do you find yourself living to praise Him?  Do you find yourself hungry and desiring Him above anything else?  Is He your priority?  Will you stop at nothing to glorify His name?  These are questions to take to heart and pray about.

He Is

"He Is"
By Zach Wood
Psalm 18:1-2
I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.


There are some things in life that we wish were for sure and guaranteed.  We wish our health was guaranteed good for as long as we live.  We wish people could all get along all the time.  We wish our finances would always remain constant and cover the bills each month.  So many things we wish could be constant and for sure.  However, that is just not the way life is. 

When I think of all the things in this life that are not guaranteed or are guaranteed, but bring major disappointment, I am reminded that I can look to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for constant, unchanging love and protection.  This verse is powerful and should be on our hearts each day.  HE IS our strength.  HE IS our rock.  HI IS our fortress.  HE IS our deliverer.  HE IS the rock in whom we take refuge.  HE IS our shield and salvation and our stronghold.  Those statements ring with proclamation! 

The question is, do we truly believe God is our everything?  Do we truly believe He is our ultimate source of strength?  Do we truly love Him and trust in Him enough to follow Him and give Him all we are and are not and let Him direct us? 

Could you imagine if this verse read, "The Lord might be our rock, could be our fortress and deliverer.  He might be someone in whom we could take refuge and possibly be our stronghold"?  If we read that, we would completely fall apart!  There would be no trusting totally in God for what He could do.  Aren't you glad you don't serve a God who "might" be there for us and who "possibly" can save and protect us? 

HE IS the only One we can fully rely on!  HE IS the only risen Son of Man!  HE IS the only begotten Son of God!  Wow!  Aren't you thankful HE IS our sufficiency??? 

Amen.

Growth Can Be Painful

"Growth Can Be Painful"
By Zach Wood
John 15:1-2
"I am the true vine and my father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."


Most of us would probably agree that we enjoying our growth in our relationship with God.  Not a one of us would say that we do not enjoy our growth in our Christian walk.  We could not imagine life without growing in God.  We truly do live for the experiences that bring us closer to God.  We enjoy going to conferences and conventions where we are challenged.  We invite opportunities where there is potential to grow our faith in Jesus Christ.  We thrive on these experiences that bring excitement and a new perspective of our Lord and Savior.  These things are good and are meant for us to be encouraged and grow. 

There are also times of growth that we do not look forward to, however, we know that through these times we sometimes learn the most and grow more in God than we ever have before.  We grow when we make a mistake and learn we cannot do things that way.  The pain is real and the consequences are very real, but we have learned and will move on.  We grow when we have a disagreement with someone and we have said something we never should have said.  No, we can never take those words back, but we can ask God for strength to mend that relationship and learn how to use our words in more loving ways. 

God wants us to grow.  He enjoys seeing us grow and learn.  The growing is not always a great feeling at the time.  He is the gardener.  He looks into our lives and sees areas that need growth and maturing.  When He sees things in our lives that will not bring any fruit to the Kingdom, He needs to cut those things off.  Ouch!  Those branch cracks are painful indeed.  At the time, we may wonder why He is breaking us and keeping us away from certain things, but later on, we can look back and see the beauty from the work he performed. 

This passage in John 15 is one of my most favorite Scriptures in the Bible.  It speaks about how God is the true vine.  If we hang on and do not let go, He will help us through tough times.  No matter how painful the experiences in life, if we just hang onto Him, He will carry us through.  There are times when we feel all alone and feel like letting go because it just seems too hard.  However, when we completely put our trust in Him, no matter how much pruning and cutting He does to us as branches, we will start to see the growth that comes from the pain. 

Every time I read this passage, it reminds of an old Whiteheart song called "The Vine".  I would encourage you to look up that song on-line and read the lyrics.  It speaks about this passage so well and illustrates how we many times in life feel so alone and like we have to take on this world alone.  I remember when I was in college and Whiteheart was at a concert and one of the band members said things, "Sometimes, you just feel like you're hanging on by only a thread in life and feel like you're going to fall, but if you just trust in Him and at least hang onto that one little thread, He will see you through."

Growth can be painful, but we do learn and He guides us.  If we want to be more fruitful in our lives, we must allow our Gardener to prune and cut us as needed.

Now Hiring

“Now Hiring”

By Zach Wood

Matthew 9:36-38

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We see these signs many places, “Now Hiring”.  We see them in the paper, on bulletin boards, on job listing websites, and many other places.  Businesses are looking for people to fill job vacancies.  However, most places are not looking for just any person to come and fill the spot.  Businesses go through interviews and find people who have the job skills, attitude, and commitment essential to get the work done. 

These places do not want to hire people who will come and do just enough work to get the paycheck.  They want committed people who have a positive attitude and will do their best to get the job done. 

Jesus Christ is very strong in His job announcement for those who have given their lives to Him.  He commands us to go out and work the harvest field.  There are so many lost people who are dying with the love of Christ and need Him so desperately.  He has called you and I, the workers, to go out and spread the Gospel so that they may hear the Good News. 

He desires to have workers who are committed, loyal, devoted, determined and dedicated to seeing lives changed for the Kingdom.  There are lost sheep out there in this world who are wandering helplessly and hopelessly for something to fill the void in their lives.  The question is, "What am I doing about that?"  Each of us must ask ourselves that question everyday and look for opportunities to just simply be kind and courteous to others. 

One thing I would highly encourage you to do is to not bombard people with in-your-face evangelism.  Yes, some of us are bolder than others and have the personality to just be blunt and direct with people.  But, for the most part, many of us are just not that way and cannot imagine approaching someone that way.  Especially "lost sheep" that need Him.  Jesus Christ built relationships with people and shared with them in the process.  I truly believe this is how we build successful evangelism opportunities.  It just comes in natural conversations with others.  But there are also times when we hear things and we may choose to resopnd and give our input.  In these times, people may be more open to our input and knowledge of God and our relationship with Him. 

Please understand, I am not in any way trying to tell any of you how to do evangelism, but simply encouraging to go about it in a non-forceful way.  There are so many people today turned off to Christianity and the last thing they probably need is someone to get in their face.  Build the relationships and then share with people.  Building the relationships is a sure way to get a foot in with sharing with someone who is lost. 

"Now Hiring"  Are you up for the job?

Unhealthy Comparisons

“Unhealthy Comparisons”

By Zach Wood

Luke 18:9-14

If I have done it once, I have done it probably a hundred times or even more.  I am sure you have probably done it as well.  I compare myself to people.  I know you do the same.  We all do.  We are human.  We seem to feel better when we justify what we are doing by comparing ourselves to someone else and say, “Well, at least I’m not like that person!” 

To be honest, that phrase becomes like a disease that seems to permeate through our relationships with other people.  We separate ourselves from those people who seem worse off than we are.  We like to think we are better than those who do really bad things.  The problem is we have come up with the rationalization that what we are doing is ok and what those people do is terrible. 

Sad thing here is, Jesus Christ sees sin as sin.  We can rationalize, justify, and convince ourselves that are better than “those people” who do really bad things.  We try to do good things, so we strive to many times separate ourselves when good and bad people are categorized. 

Jesus Christ is showing us in this parable that our comparison problem stems from when we compare ourselves within our reasoning and understanding and feel we are better than those who are doing really bad things in our eyes.  We are not comparing ourselves to who Christ wants us to be, but rather what we personally think is better.  His standard is so higher than ours and we many times fail to see the way He wants us to see.  The harsh truth is when we think this way in comparing ourselves to others, we are just as bad as those who we think are doing worse things. 

Jesus Christ calls us to be humble and repentant.  We should not think of ourselves in any other way than humble and responsive to what He commands.  He compares us to what He asks of us.  It is extremely unhealthy when we compare ourselves to others and feel we are better.  We become like the Pharisees.  We show off and try to explain how we are better.  We are no better. 

When I read this parable, I want to be more like the tax collector who admits his inadequacies to God and becomes humble before the Lord.  The last part of verse 14 is so powerful.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 

Which one are you right now?  The Pharisee or the Tax Collector?  Be humbled and let go of your rationalizations, justifications and comparisons you’ve made. 

Work Dedication

"Work Dedication"
By Zach Wood
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I am amazed at the people I see each day that are totally dedicated to their work.  You have seen them.  They always seem to have a smile on their face.  You very rarely ever hear them complain.  They are always willing to help someone else out if a need arises.  They are encouraging to others and uplifting to be around.  I see people like this every single day and I admire their attitude.  Then, I look inward at the condition of my heart and I question my dedication.  I question whether I am dedicated to the work I do each day. 

To be honest, I find myself complaining so often about what I am doing.  I may say voice the complaint in a way that is trying to be humorous, but underneath, I am really trying to complain and get my frustration out.  I have been convicted of this so many times no matter where I am at or what I am doing.  This does not just apply to my current day job, it applies to any work I do at home, helping others out, and even volunteering at church.  I find myself sometimes thinking of what I would rather be doing.  There are times when the dedication is just not there and I want to be somewhere else.  I believe we all struggle with this.

The other night when I was reading this passage, I became very convicted and heart broken.  God really challenged my thinking and convicted me that no matter what I am doing or where I am, I need to be doing what I am doing with all my heart as working for the Lord.  My mind and heart need to be focused on doing the absolute best I possibly can do with the task(s) in front of me.  As I continued to think about this, I realized that my attitude is going to speak volumes to people.  People will either see someone who is dedicated to the work or someone who just feels like complaining whenever approached.  I surely do not want to be that kind of person, especially if I am trying to be a witness for Christ. 

I want to encourage all of us to be better dedicated workers wherever we are and whatever we are doing.  No matter what we have been asked to do, we need to be positive and do the best job we can do.  If our attitude becomes sour, people will be affected and our witness weakened.  If we strive to do the best we can with whatever work we are doing and give our best effort, that will spread like wildfire to the people around us and they will see a dedicated worker.  That draws people's attention! 

Christ calls us to be our best wherever we are, no matter what we are doing.  Is it hard?  Sometimes yes.  Is it impossible?  Well....yes.....that is, without God!  With God, it is totally possible! 

How is your work dedication?

Faithfulness Through Testing

"Faithfulness Through Testing"

By Zach Wood

Genesis 22:1-18

Are you a person who always gets(or got) the highest or one of the highest scores on tests in school?  Well, I was not one of them.  Except for vocabulary words in my high school English class, I did not make exceptional grades, either with homework or on tests.  While is felt great to sometimes receive a B+ or A, I was content many times with a B- or C.  I didn't look on D's or D-'s very well, but if I did get them, at least I passed.  I must admit many times throughout my school years, I was happy to receive a passing grade so that I would not "flunk" out.  Not all classes were hard, but many were and they really challenged my learning abilities. 

What if each of the tests you received in school were either an A or F?  Nothing in between.  You either get everything right or you fail.  That would probably raise the pressure and the amount of stress.  Talk about sweating!  Think about the pressures and the challenges you face in life.  God brings tests into our lives to test our faithfulness to Him. 

Picture Abraham when God told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  What an amazing story of testing and faithfulness!  Abraham didn't hold the knife back and wait for God to stop him.  He obeyed God and was bringing the knife down to sacrifice his son when God stopped him.  It was not until Abraham was in the act of the sacrifice that God stopped him.  God was testing Abraham's faithfulness.  God wanted to know if He was the single most important thing to Abraham.

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ and not just "lip service" people, we will follow God no matter what the circumstances.  When He gives us a test, it's either A or F.  We either obey Him all the way, or we fail completely.  I don't even like the sound of "failing completely", do you?  We have all been there.  There are times when God has called us to something great, but we fail to pass tests that He puts in our lives to see if we're ready for the next level of the journey of life.  If we don't pass, we take the test again. 

God’s testing will challenge our faithfulness.  What grade are you getting?