HOW TO LITERALLY HOLD ONTO GOD!

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

—2 Peter 1:3-4

When the apostle Peter mentions how God “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” he can’t help but look forward to the way God will follow through on His “precious and *very* great promises.” The word great means more than size. It’s also a measure of quality, and this dual understanding applies to what God promises to do for us.

Why are God’s promises great? 

First, because they come from a great God. His promises are huge because of who said them. Would you believe your four-year-old if he said in his best grown-up voice, “I promise I’ll make enough money to put food on the table next month”? A promise’s reliability is tied to the one who is making the commitment—and to their ability to fulfill it. (Selah)

Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord . . . and his greatness is unsearchable.” 

We might as well admit we don’t have a clue how great God is because no one can discover the limits of His greatness. There are none. BUT His promises allow us to explore and experience a measure of how great He really is.

A second note of greatness in God’s promises comes from the way they address great issues.Don’t search the Bible for divine assertions about superficial things. God doesn’t do that. The promises He makes are about big things: fear, unknowns that would paralyze us regarding our future, our family, and our finances. If your god can’t promise you anything bigger than an occasional good parking place or a husband or wife and a decent job your god is way too small!

God’s promises are also great because they respond to our deepest doubts: Am I going to make it? What’s going to happen up ahead? Who will care for those I love when I’m gone? God makes promises about this kind of uncertainty so we won’t have to wonder and worry.

As David declared, “I would have despaired if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13 NASB). His encouragement can be yours: I’m not going to have to wait until heaven—I’m going to see God’s goodness right here on this earth while I’m still alive.

God told Jeremiah “I am the Lord . . . Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). Sometimes we look at our needs or our overwhelming circumstances and we feel beaten before we start. But God asks, What exactly is it that you think I can’t handle? To which we would have to reply, Nothing is too hard for You, Lord.

Does that give you courage and hope? 

It should. Holding on to God’s promises is the closest we get to actually holding on to God. His promises come from a great God, they’re about great issues, they respond to our greatest concerns, and God always delivers on them in the greatest ways.

Based on what you just read, what reasons do you have right now for being able to say, “I’m doing great”? How have you seen the greatness and goodness of the Lord in the last few days? Pray Lord, You are great and Your promises are great. I realize I haven’t begun to experience all You have to show me of Your greatness, but I long to have You make me alert to the evidence. I want to look for Your goodness in the land of the living and point it out to others as I let it renew my hope. Thank You for Your great promises, Lord. Because they come from You, they make today worth living. In Jesus’ great name I pray, amen.

GET SOME "UGLY SLEEP!"

This post is inspired by Camille LeNoir. This parable that we call  "Ugly Sleep" is found only in Mark 4:26-29:

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Jesus said "Go To Bed!" 

Jesus had already spoken parables of the Kingdom being like sowing a seed, but in this parable, he gives us the secret knowledge of how it works. 

We love to understand how things work so we feel like we are more in control; we love the how to messages that fill in the blanks with the knowledge we need to be happy and a bit more holy.

But in this parable Jesus explains how the Kingdom works when the seed is sown by telling us “the seed sprouts, and grows though the sower does NOT know how.” You may say that is not an explanation, but a mystery--and you’d be right!! How the Kingdom works is beyond our understanding, BUT!.... it does work! 

Can you live with that? 

(Seriously, think on that!) 

I am very cautious about anyone who is an expert about how God works. The longer I walk with Jesus the less certain I am about ALOT of things.  The more I learn about the Kingdom the less I really understand. This is ugly theology, but trust transforms it into beautiful childlike faith.

In essence, Jesus tells us that after we have done our part by sowing in faith, (bible reading that we didn't understand,  praying for family and friends to know God, charity work, other types of petitions, and the like) ALL we can do is ...... go to bed! 

GET SOME UGLY SLEEP! 

The alternative, which I used to select often, is to stay up striving, worrying, fearing, and doing some faithless praying. 

One of the best examples in my life would be Evonne's teenage years.  I sowed the seed over and over in my kids heart, by example, singing over it, praying for it, crying about it, shouting at it to grow, but rarely did I just go to bed in perfect peace knowing that in the hiddenness and silence God was powerfully at work. 

It is a battle to believe that God’s seed is more powerful than a persons rebellion.

Jesus goes on to describe the growth of the seed as producing “all by itself.” 

The word Mark uses, automato, is only found one other place: in Acts 12:10 where a huge iron gate that is locked “opens for them by itself,” so Peter is able to escape from prison. 

This word is of course where we get our word automatically. Jesus says that the seed needs no help from us, leaving us in a place of humbleness and helplessness. 

Once we have done our part, we must believe that God is faithful to do His. The miracle of resurrection is the basis of our faith for which we wait on Holy Saturday while the “seed is planted.” We will not know how, but we will know who is working. 

Is it enough for you to see no evidence, hear no noise of work going on, to stand helplessly by knowing there is nothing God needs from you, but to go to bed -in trustful peace?

The sower went about his daily life being faithful to his responsibilities, knowing that in the unseen, the underground Kingdom was at work ready to break forth at any moment. 

This hope floods the ordinary moments of life with Kingdom expectations. Free from the need to understand in order to believe and be delivered from the false responsibilities of trying to make His seed grow, we rest in Him.

In many ways going to sleep is like dying, in fact, the New Testament refers to dead believers as “sleeping.” I am not sure teaching little children the traumatic prayer “now I lay me down to sleep, and pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray my soul the Lord to take” is the best way to get this truth across. Jesus teaches us in this parable, that one of our greatest acts of faith is going to bed with a complete trust that while we sleep He is working, and His kingdom is advancing.

In sleep, we are completely helpless, and totally inactive depending on Him who never slumbers or sleeps. (Ps.121:4) 

The seed will sprout all by itself in the miracle of resurrection, and we will not know how it happened, but we will certainly know Who made it happen. 

Yes, God is working while we sleep, and while we live our ordinary lives, but it is usually unseen and without noise.

To be Kingdom people we must embrace our helplessness, knowing He does not need our help. We should celebrate our ignorance of how His Kingdom works, while we in faith expect the blade to sprout up. TONIGHT, why not try laying your head on the pillow in faith, and practice dying?

Get some “Ugly Sleep,” knowing God is at work.

A tall DECAF, so you can SLEEP! 

Now..... GO TO BED! 

Robbs