Turning Bad Into Good

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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absence of bad, agathos, all things are not good, believing in God's goodness, God allows evil to exist, good, good originates with God, how can we believe God is good, Jesus, Romans 8:28, worshipping ourself

Have you ever heard someone comment, “How can God be good when thousands are killed in disasters and tragedies everyday. I can’t believe in a God who would allow situations like this to happen.”

Let’s say they are right in their observation… and God isn’t good. Let’s take it one step further and say God doesn’t exist. Thousands of people are still going to die tomorrow from tragedies, accidents, and disasters. Blaming God or getting rid of Him doesn’t solve the problem.

How do we answer the dilemma? If God is good, why do bad things happen?

The answer is – If an event isn’t good, then it didn’t have its source in God. In other words, He didn’t author it. Yes, God is totally sovereign and He is in control. God allows bad things to exist in our world for reasons we will never be able to fully understand. Our problem is we use the wrong standard for goodness. People use their own standard for what is good and bad. Good is whatever is personally good for them and the world in which they live. When we blame or accuse God for the bad in the world we are basically saying, “I know better than God and my standard for goodness is higher than His.” Are you going to believe in God only if He acts like you want Him to act? You would be better off carving a god out of a piece of wood or chipping one out of a rock.

Many today have become their own standard for goodness. In essence, they are worshipping themselves and their own standards. Once this happens we will never be able to discern the true source of good and bad. We will remain blind.

As I was saying in the previous blog, the proof of goodness cannot be discovered in our experience or circumstance. Good can only be discovered by going to the source. God’s goodness doesn’t mean that bad things will not happen to you. We live in a bad, evil world. Jesus even warned His disciples that even more bad things would happen to them because they were followers of Him. So the absence or presence of bad doesn’t prove or disprove anything. The only ones who struggle over this issue are those who refuse to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The good news is found in knowing that God is good. He promises to take the very worst life has to offer, if we let Him, and create eternal good from it.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

This verse doesn’t say “all things are good“. All things are not good, but God can cause “all things to work together for good.” When we allow God to set the standard for good, then it doesn’t matter what happens. Circumstances and situations may get extremely difficult for us. But God’s goodness can be discerned even in the middle of evil situations.

I don’t always know what “good” God has in mind when He allows tragedy, heartache, and disappointments to come into our lives. But I am not in charge and I am not God. I can ask Him and He may answer. But I am not in charge and I may never know. My job is to trust in the Lord’s leadership. I have discovered that the worst thing to do in difficult circumstances is to consult other people before I consult the Lord.

Romans 8:28 reminds us all of what we need to know. “God causes all things to work together for good.” I may not be able to see how God is working for good… I may not be able to feel God working for good… I may not even understand how God could work out some terrible situations for good. If God says He will, then He will. It is His job. My job is to continue to love Him and stay in my calling as His child. God always knows what is best.

The greek word for good is agathós. It means what is inherently (intrinsically) good; as to the believer. Agathós describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life, through faith.

Did you catch this? If we cannot intrinsically believe God is good, all the time, everywhere, in everybody, and especially towards us personally… then how can we ever, ever, ever pray and believe in faith towards Him. We cannot! Believing in the goodness of God is an absolute necessity. If you want to radically change your prayer life today, set God as your permanent standard for goodness. You will see Him and His Kingdom in a whole new light.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

God Is the Standard for Goodness

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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being able to process good, belief system, Charles West quote, discerning good and bad, experiences and circumstances, foundations are shaking, James 1:17, Jesus, knowing our source, Luke 18:18, Matthew 19:16-17, only good comes from God, prayer, rich young ruler, spinach and chocolate, the good life

Did Jesus really mean that no one is good but God alone? I think He did. This means that no one, absolutely no one knows what is good, and conversely no one knows what is bad… outside the Lord telling them. Yet we hear people inform us of what is good and bad all the time. People say, “So-in-so is bad and so-in-so is good. Why doesn’t God do something about ______ bad things and why doesn’t He do more _____ good things.”

If believers are not careful they will even fall prey to thinking and speaking like this. Eventually, not discerning good from bad will affect your belief system.

What if I told you that you personally don’t know good from bad, would you believe me?

What Is Actually Good?

How then do we determine what is “good” … and what isn’t “good”? You probably already have a belief system in place to process goodness. The best way to know goodness is to use Jesus’ system.

And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:16-17

Jesus wanted this rich young ruler to teach Him the standard of good. The young seeker was like most people. He thought the good life consisted of good things, good circumstances, and good feelings. In other words… if it was good to him personally, then it was good. He had been earnestly keeping most of the Ten Commandments from his youth. Like most people I know, he thought by keeping these good commandments he was good enough for heaven.

According to Jesus – Good is defined by source (God) not by experience. Follow my logic here. Anything that is good, comes from God because God is good. If it is not from God, then it isn’t good. If something isn’t good, then it didn’t come from God. It doesn’t matter how good it looks… how good it feels… how good it tastes …. if it doesn’t come from God, then it isn’t good. Also, if it isn’t good, then it didn’t come from God. Can you agree?

Most of us can look at these last statements and understand that this is how it ought to work. The Bible says, “God is good.” Jesus confirms God is good… Therefore, only good can come from Him. But, our experience and circumstances betray how we really process goodness. This is how we really process goodness.

Spinach didn’t come from God but chocolate did. There will be no spinach in heaven. Spinach is a result of the fall of man. It is a part of the curse God placed upon the ground. As a result, people in hell will eat spinach and people in heaven will consume boat loads of chocolate. How did I come to this conclusion? I am being facetious of course, because I don’t like spinach. In fact, I might even be allergic to it. Conversely, I love chocolate… all chocolate. It is good. It tastes good and it feels good in my mouth. In fact, I love just about all things dipped in the stuff. The truth is (as much as I hate to admit it) spinach is good for you. It even provides a spiritual lesson for us today.

Here is the point: Good is not determined by experience, it is only discerned by discovering it’s source. I may have had a bad experience with spinach, turnips, and cauliflower but that doesn’t determine whether they are good or bad. Goodness is determined by its Creator, not by any experience. In reality, chocolate tastes good all the time. Chocolate makes me feel good in limited quantities. In fact, chocolate has a soothing attribute about it which makes many people happy, happy, happy. But a steady diet of only chocolate wouldn’t be good for me. Why? Experience is not the gold standard for goodness.

Likewise, you can never determine whether what you are going through is either good or bad by how you feel or by what you are experiencing…. never! If feelings, experience, and circumstances are your guides you will miss goodness every time. The only way to know whether something is good or bad is by knowing who authored it.

Paul and Silas were in jail. Peter and John found themselves in jail too. By all objective assessments, jail was bad. But no… they considered it good and rejoiced. This explains why most believers simply collapse in trying circumstances… they are only looking for a chocolate experience.

This is why most believers do not know how, why, and what to pray for in difficult circumstances. They pray for “bad” things (chocolate) and neglect praying for God’s “good things” (spinach). They never take time to discern something’s source.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

Every good thing has God as its source. God only produces that which is good. We might use it for a bad purpose (marijuana, cocaine, alcohol) … but goodness is determined by its source, not by experience.

Today, ask God if what you are going through is from Him. Stop attempting to discern your circumstances and problems. Our call as believers is to discern the Lord and the Lord’s will. Psychics and mediums strive to interpret circumstances. Believers seek the Lord. Only the Lord can teach us whether something is good or bad. He also knows how to take the bad in life and make something good out of it. More on this next time.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Is God Really Good?

24 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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bad things happen, basic lessons of life, calling God good, clearer picture of God, complaining, discerning good and bad, doubting the goodness of God, goodness of god, Jesus, Luke 18, only seeing bad, opinion of God, Plutarch quote, reality check, reason prayer fails, rich young ruler, suffering, thankful, tragedies

A young man tried to call Jesus “good” one day. We don’t know his motivations. Maybe he was flattering the Lord or maybe he honestly saw Jesus as being good. Jesus didn’t let the compliment sit. He corrected him. In all of Jewish history no rabbi was ever called “good“. This title was reserved for God and God alone. In the English language “good” and “God” are interchangeable. It is the extra “o”.

Jesus wanted to know why the young man called Him “good.” Jesus has a way to get to the heart of any issue. I don’t think Jesus was denying His Deity… He simply wanted this young man to give further thought on what he just said. Have you ever called something “good”, but knew in the moment you were making an over-exaggeration? The noun good in modern vocabulary gets tossed around far too often. It really doesn’t mean much anymore. Jesus was basically saying, “If you want to call Me good, then you must be willing to call Me God. If you will not call Me God, then you can’t call Me good!” In other words for Jesus, knowing God as being truly good was serious business. Jesus knew if a person knew God, they also knew good. If a person couldn’t discern good, it meant they didn’t know God.

In your estimation… has God always been good to you? Are you willing to call Him good, right now, in all things?

The “goodness” of God is one of the first and basic lessons we learn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stick to us throughout our life. We have to relearn this lesson time and time again… I know I have had to start over. Your first prayer over meals was probably something like this… “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” Did you ever learn the chorus: “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me?”

We are told things like this as children and then the hard realities of life kick-in and we begin to wonder if God is really good. The Bible constantly reminds us of God’s goodness. But just because the scriptures speak of something often, doesn’t mean it seeps down into our innermost being.

Here is the point… Continually being able to discern God’s goodness can prove to be difficult for many people. Sometimes we don’t see, detect, or even discern the goodness of God in certain situations, especially when something bad happens to us personally. When we experience a heartache, a tragedy or disappointment … it appears as though God isn’t so good. Why? Good is not happening to me!

If God is so good, then why do tragedies happen?
If God is so good, then why did my dad die of cancer or my mom develop Alzheimer’s?
If God is so good, then why is there so much suffering in the world, right now?
If God is so good, then why do bad things happen to “good” people?
In fact, why does bad even have to exist?

Let me say, it is easy to see bad. I can have a thousand good things happen to me in one day and only focus upon the one bad problem. As I type this blog, it is 77 degrees and feeling nice… but I know I haven’t thanked the Lord for any of the good things He has given me today. Part of our problem is we spend too much of time complaining about the bad things around us and never spend a nanosecond thanking the Lord or rejoicing over the good we know He provides. If you are one of those people who can only discern the “bad” issues of life, you have larger issues which need addressing. True discernment detects both good and bad… and discerns the source.

I am going to discuss this more in my next blog but if you struggle with discerning the good and bad of life… maybe it is time to start over and get a clearer picture of God. You need an update! Your files have become corrupted. If the Bible is correct and God is indeed good, then no one can know true good without Him. He is our definition. He is our compass. He is our Northern Star. If we don’t know Him or understand Him, then we cannot truly know what is good. If we don’t really understand good, then we cannot detect bad either. Sound crazy? Stick with me because I believe this is one of the major reasons most believers don’t get immediate answers to their prayers…. they inwardly doubt the goodness of God. Yeah, Yeah… they say God is good, they sing it, and they even speak and teach it. The problem is …. inwardly they doubt it! In other words, they don’t believe in a good God. Nothing will cause your prayer life to sink, stink, or come to a crashing halt like doubting the goodness of God.

Hey, you either pray to a good God or you don’t. It is this cut and dry. More next time.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Attempting to Appease God

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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a Pharisee by nature, bad, black and white, do's and don'ts, horizontal commandments, Jesus, John 5:39, keeping the law, Luke 18:18, negative boundaries, negative law, positive law of love, releasing our possessions, religion, religion verses a relationship, sin, the rich young ruler, the Ten Commandments, vertical commandments

A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 18:18

This young ruler didn’t ask Jesus what “bad thing” or “bad sin” he needed to stop doing in order to get into heaven. He asked Jesus about what he needed to do next to ensure he inherited eternal life. But Jesus met this young man on the grounds of the Ten Commandments. In fact, Jesus only mentioned five. Jesus alluded to all the horizontal commandments (commandments directed toward men)… but He didn’t mention the vertical commandments (commandments directed toward God).

Isn’t this what most people think about God, the Bible, and salvation. They believe it is mostly composed of a list of “do’s and don’ts“. Most are somewhat familiar with these lists and know which ones they have broken and which ones they have kept, even from a young age.

“Ah ha,” the young man replied, “I have already stopped doing all those wrong things. What else have You got good teacher?” He must have thought Jesus was letting him off the hook by only mentioning 5 of the 10 commandments. Lucky day!

Jesus said, “Well, if you are really serious about this whole business, if you really want to be perfect, why don’t you go out and sell what you have and fully serve your neighbor.” This response shocked the rich young ruler. He was expecting more negatives from the Lord… maybe even some new commandment… something exotic which no one else was performing. He wasn’t let off the hook, he was pierced through the heart!

Jesus had directed the young man to search beyond the negative law to the positive law of love. This was, of course, more than the young ruler was ready to commit. Jesus knew by releasing his possessions (which had a grip on his heart) that this would cover all the commands and assure the young man a relationship with God.

This young ruler is like most people. He felt relatively comfortable with the negative law. We expect a certain negativity from “religion.” Religion is constantly watching and on-guard. Religion has laws which keep everybody in-line. Knowing where the line of black and white flows is a comfort. We can walk right up to it and continue to feel relatively safe.

The young man was good at not doing this and not doing that, but he was not ready for the unlimited reach of God’s love into every area of his life. By simply releasing his possessions… he would have been giving God everything and the Lord would have been able to give him everything in return.

I am personally uncomfortable with this whole concept of being a Christian as Jesus explained it. I am a Pharisee by nature. Most people are as well, whether they admit it or not. We are more comfortable and content with the negative approaches to keeping the law and following religion… because we like to know where the limits are. The scales are either tipped our way or they are not.

The negative boundaries remind us of when we are coloring outside the lines.
They remind us of when we go beyond the speed limit.
They remind us of where the dangers lie.
We all feel more comfortable when we can see the extent of our obligations and also understand where others are in their walk… because we love to compare!

Unfortunately, the young man walked away. He is the only person who ever came to Jesus seeking help and walked away in worse condition than when he first arrived. Thankfully our story doesn’t have to end like the young ruler. Jesus didn’t offer His life so that we might further follow a religion. He gave Himself so that we might have a relationship with Him. The choice is always ours.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Kingdom Awareness

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Kingdom of God, Luke

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Abraham, Adam and Eve, Elijah, Exodus 3:2-5, hearing God's voice, Jacob, Jesus, John 19:10-11, kingdom of God, Luke 17:20-21, miss God's will, Moses, physical signs, Rome, signs, spirituality

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20-21

Jesus said people miss out on what God is doing in and around them because they fail to detect or discern what the Lord desires to accomplish in them personally. In this verse Jesus calls His followers to become Kingdom Aware.

So are you Kingdom Aware? Are you looking for the Lord to work outside you or inside? When we are looking for the Lord’s action some other place rather than inside ourselves, we will probably miss the Lord’s movements. I wear glasses. Occasionally, I misplace them and go searching for them. In desperation, I will finally ask my wife… “Have you see my glasses?” She will give me one of those looks and say… “They are on top of your head!” It is embarrassing. It must have been embarrassing for Jesus’ followers to hear Him say, “Stop looking and expecting the Kingdom of God to arrive with physical signs…The Kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus could have said, “Hey, stupid… the Kingdom is starring you in the face… can you feel me now?” Jesus is, was, and will continue to be a perfect gentleman.

The major focus for Jesus was the Kingdom of God. It still is! The power of Rome and its occupying force was hardly a blip on the radar for Jesus, even though it was foremost in the minds of almost everyone else. Jesus wasn’t concerned with the power of Herod, the Jewish leaders or even Pilate. In fact, when Jesus was being questioned by Pilate at His trial, Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10-11).

Jesus’ focus was not on the power of the government, but on the power of God. He stood before Pilate in complete confidence. What was it that freed Jesus from fear and gave Him such confidence? It was the constant awareness of the presence of the kingdom of God. The same Kingdom that ruled and reigned in Jesus’ heart and life should be ruling and reigning in ours as well.

Unfortunately, we miss Kingdom’s movements all the time. Most of our favorite Bible characters did too. It started in the garden with Adam and Eve. God told the first couple they could do anything they wanted and eat anything they wanted except for one small item. As soon as they thought God was off somewhere snoozing, they proceeded to make a dinner of the forbidden fruit. They acted as if God didn’t exist anymore. Because God was absent, His presence didn’t seem to appear as important. Bottom-line, the first couple didn’t value the Presence of God or His Kingdom.

God broke into the world of both Abraham and his son. He made special promises to both generations. Apart from these special visitations, they seem to be unaware that the Lord was continually with them. It was mainly during down times of testings and trials in which they doubted God’s word and forgot His promises.

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob was on the run when God spoke to him in a dramatic way. While he was sleeping, the Lord revealed to him that earth and heaven were not two separate places, but connected. Jacob saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth with angels traversing in between. Jacob called the place “Bethel”, which means “house of God.” He was partly correct. God did live there, but He also lived everywhere. This dream was not a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence…. it was an eternal truth about the Presence and Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is always waiting to be discovered by seekers. Bethel was not an unusual experience for one man way back in history, but a reality for every person, in every place, in every time. How many of us have had times when God’s presence broke through into our everyday lives? These experiences should have made us want more of God and His Kingdom.

I have had Bethel type experiences in prayer or when reading the Scripture, and I have had them when I least expected it. The point is, God is always trying to break through our world, if we will only be aware of Him. I believe God had been attempting to speak to Jacob many times earlier in his life, but he was not ready to experience Him. It was only until Jacob became desperate enough and needed the Lord that the Lord was able to capture his heart.

At first Moses tried to force the Kingdom of God into action and killed a man in the process. It was not until Moses had spent a long time away from Egypt, and came to the point of desperation that he was ready for God to speak to him.

The Bible says, “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up… When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:2-5).

I believe that every place can be holy ground, and the only thing that keeps us from experiencing God is our willingness and readiness to experience Him.

Elijah may offer the best example of how the Kingdom of God should move in our life. Elijah knew and experienced the power of God. He had witnessed God consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. Immediately following this great victory, Queen Jezebel sought to kill him. Feeling dejected and depressed Elijah ran. At this point he desperately needed a word but couldn’t get one from the Lord.

God sent a great a powerful cyclone, but the Lord voice couldn’t be heard in the cyclone.
God sent a great earthquake, but God’s voice was absent here as well.
Then the Lord sent a consuming fire that ravaged the area, but God was not in the fire.

NOTE: This is why it is never a good idea to attempt to discern God’s will right after a natural disaster. Yet, you hear people all the time attempting to do so. If you find it difficult to hear God in peaceful quiet times, how much more difficult do you think it will be to discern His voice when melee ensues.

Finally, Elijah heard God’s voice in a gentle whisper (small voice). This gentle, small voice was so holy and full of the presence of God, it made Elijah pull his cloak over his head, cover his face and fall on his knees.

Maybe you have been in this place? You desperately needed a word from the Lord, but couldn’t hear. You sought for the Lord to speak in a big way, but heard nothing. Later, God spoke in a still small voice. Why does God move in this way? Because the Kingdom of God will not arrive with signs to be observed… the Kingdom of God is within you.

The Good News is the Kingdom of God is coming! The better news is even though God’s Kingdom arrives in small ways… it doesn’t have to stay small. Jesus confirms to us that God’s Kingdom will grow if we water, nourish, and allow it to grow within us. It is a mistake to believe that just because the Lord is quiet at times, He is not with us. Our job is to be constantly Kingdom aware. We bless the Lord when we value His presence whether we sense it or not. Keep Seeking!

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Is Faith Really a Secret Weapon?

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Kingdom of God, Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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doing the impossible, faith, Hebrews 11:1-2, increase our faith, James 2:17, Luke 17:5-6, more faith, Mount of Olives, move mountains, must be planted, mustard seed, never feel ready, pods, seeds have life, spiritual gas tank, spirituality

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Almost every believer I have ever met felt like they needed more faith. They’ve prayed for it, attended conferences, read books, attended services to bolster their faith, and even prayed earnestly for increased faith. The twelve closest to Jesus sure felt the need for an increased level of faith. Evidently they looked at Jesus and concluded,”Hey, we are lacking!” Jesus basically told His small band of ruffians they were not lacking, but slacking. The faith they had was enough! They were simply not properly using what faith they did possess.

Has your spiritual gas tank ever run dry? You go to church, worship, or spend some time with the Lord to fill yourself up. While your spiritual life may resemble a gas tank which occasionally needs filling, your faith level doesn’t operate along these same lines. Faith is not like a gas tank which constantly needs topping. The church is not a gas station that merely exists to service your Christianity. Like Jesus’ disciples, we falsely conclude if we had just a little more of God, just a little more faith, just a little more spirit …. then we could accomplish all of the things the Lord requires. Our request for the Lord to “top off our tanks” or “increase our faith” is invalid. These types of requests will not make us better disciples or stronger followers.

According to Jesus, we don’t need more faith. Faith is such a powerful weapon, we only need a tiny amount of it to do incredible things in the Kingdom. Faith is like an atomic bomb. The energy released from a tiny mustard seed amount of faith can literally move mountains. If you are a believer, then you already possess some faith.

I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land a few years back. As our group was walking down the Mount of Olives I began to pick some of the branches and twigs from the trees along the path. I noticed some little pods growing from some of the trees and asked our guide about them. He told me they were mustard seeds. The pods were about the size of a pencil eraser. As I examined these little pods, the guide then instructed me to break one open. It was then that I discovered the real size of mustard seeds. Thousands of little ground pepper sized seeds burst forth from the little pods. They were minuscule. Jesus obviously used the smallest item known to his followers to explain just how little faith we need to see God move.

Faith is our secret weapon, but it is not used to destroy like the atom. Just a minuscule amount of faith brings about the impossible. Jesus used the example of mustard seeds because even though they are the small, they possess something a pebble, a grain of salt or a grain of sand doesn’t possess. Mustard seeds have life! The question is not whether there is life in the mustard seed. Each seed has an abundance of life. The question is have we planted our faith in God’s Kingdom so that He might do the impossible? Sized doesn’t matter. What does matter is action. Have we planted what faith we do possess?

Jesus knew that the quantity of faith is not as important as whether faith is present at all. It’s like being pregnant- either you are or you aren’t. There is no such thing as being a little pregnant. In the same instance, you either have faith in God or you don’t. If we do, then God will work amazing things in our lives. It serves no purpose to keep asking God for more of something we have never used in the first place. Faith, like seeds, must be planted. This is why James said, “Faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Are you planting what faith you do possess today or are you still waiting for the Lord to give you more. Your faith will not increase until you begin to use the faith you possess. None of us will ever feel qualified enough, know enough, or have enough experience to feel comfortable in seeing God move in our life. He only requires we believe in His process.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Can God Trust You With True Riches?

12 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke

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bigger words, Canaanite god of riches, deeper truths, first-fruits, heavenly riches, Jesus, leftovers, Luke 16:11-12, mammon, Oscar Wilde quote, peace, security, spiritual blessings, strength, test us, tipping God, tithing, true riches, trustworthy, worldly riches

I have been thinking a lot lately about true riches. Jesus coined the phrase in Luke 16:11-12.

So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

Lets face it… riches in general (worldly riches) are mainly where our minds dwell. The good news is we don’t have to stay in this place. God has a plan to move us into the next level… into handling true riches. The main reason God gives us worldly wealth is to test us. The Lord wants to see how well we manage this kind of wealth (mammon), before He blesses us with true riches.

Has God allowed you to handle a little worldly wealth or mammon yet? Mammon was the Canaanite god of riches. So in the Lord’s plan, if you cannot handle a Canaanite god’s riches, how will you handle His real riches?

If you are trustworthy with a little thing like money, God knows you can be trusted with a heaven’s true wealth. True riches have nothing to do with money per se. They do include spiritual blessings like peace, security, and strength. They also include bigger words, special revelations, and deeper truths. These are so valuable they can’t be bought at any price.

This is where tithing comes in to play. It proves to the Lord we trust Him with our worldly riches. Sometimes people say, “If I was making a million a year, I’d be happy to give God 10% of it.” The truth is if you are not tithing on $10,000, or $20,000 or $30,000 a year, what makes you think God will trust you with a million dollars? It’s not about tithing, it’s about trusting.

The problem with many believers is they give God their “leftovers” instead of their “first-fruits.” They pay all their other bills and if they have anything left over, God gets a tip. God knows the difference between a tip and a tithe. The real issue is not whether God is trustworthy–it’s whether or not we are trustworthy in managing God’s money. Do you want God to trust you with more than you are managing right now? Prove it… because God wants to bless you with the true riches of His Kingdom.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator

Pastor

Why Doesn’t God Stop Me?

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Dying to Self, Luke

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Abraham, Adam and Eve, attractiveness of sin, big sins, blood relationship, break fellowship with God, deep sin, father and younger son, free choice, free to go, God didn't stop me, God's voice, inheritance, Luke 15, Noah, the prodigal son, we cannot sever our relationship with God

I have had the opportunity to talk to a lot of Christians who have fallen into deep sin. Occasionally, some of these folks have opened up and confessed something like this…“When I first started to drift into sin, I noticed God didn’t stop me. If it was so wrong, why didn’t God stop me? Since God didn’t do anything, I assumed it was alright to proceed. So I kept sinning because God didn’t do anything.” I have even had people tell me after they were married,“I knew I shouldn’t have married this person, but God didn’t say ‘No’. Why didn’t God stop me? Since God didn’t say anything, I thought it must have been alright.”

Why doesn’t God stop people from sinning, especially from participating in “big sins“? Shouldn’t God’s voice get louder when we are about to commit some whopper sized sin? God doesn’t stop us from sinning for the same reason He didn’t stop Adam and Eve from eating the forbidden fruit. God didn’t stop Adam and Eve for the same reason He didn’t stop Noah from making moonshine and exposing himself. God didn’t stop Noah for the same reason He didn’t stop Abraham from lying to everybody he met about his wife being his sister. God doesn’t stop us because He loves us and gives us the freedom to choose.

In Luke 15 we are introduced to the story of a loving father who allowed his younger son to walk out the door with his inheritance in tow. This younger son insulted his father by asking for his inheritance early, long before his father passed. The son basically treated his father like he was dead. I am sure the father was wounded by this harsh demand, but he granted it. He basically said, “If you want to act and live like your father is dead, then go ahead… I will let you. It will hurt and wound me, but you are free.”

God doesn’t stop us from sinning for the same reason the father in Jesus’ parable didn’t fling himself across the door and say, “Stop it son, I won’t let you leave!” It is not the nature of God. God loves each of us so much, He allows us to make our own choices, even though He knows what the consequences will be. Even though some consequences are more devastating than others, He voice will not modulate.

There’s a very important principle all believers need to understand. We cannot sever our relationship with God, but we can break fellowship with Him. The whole time the prodigal son was away, he was still a son but He had left the presence and favor of his Father. Christians can do this. Through Jesus Christ we have a “blood relationship” with God… Jesus’ shed blood. Even though we break fellowship with God, the blood relationship remains… we are still His children.

Once you become a Christian, God establishes a love relationship with you. He is your Father and nothing can ever change this. But if you choose to rebel and disobey the Father, He’ll allow it. He will never leave you, but if you walk out of fellowship with Him–He will let you go. One of the messages of the Bible is that God loves us so much we are free to go. He will never force any of us to stay in fellowship with Him. So, if we are bound and determined to do something as foolish as walking out on God, He won’t stop us. This is how so many believers have gotten themselves into their messes. God doesn’t coerce obedience and loyalty; He wants us each to freely love and serve Him.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator

Pastor

Just What Is God Really Like?

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke

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a mean God, Dillon Burroughs, explaining God, funeral of a child dying, God searches for us, God talking a child, God's love, heart deformity, inaccurate concept of God, Jesus came to reveal the Father, Luke 15, what kind of God do you believe in

Many people go around asking others, “Do you believe in God?” The response is usually in the affirmative. Most do believe in God. Maybe the better question to ask is, “What kind of God do you believe in?” This gets to the heart of the issue. There is something worse than being a non-believer… it’s possessing an inaccurate or erroneous concept of who God really is. A lot of people want to believe in God, they just don’t want to believe in the God of the Bible. Why? They are not impressed with the Deity most Christians have presented… either by tongue or deed.

All of our lives we attempt to explain what God is really like to those around us. This usually happens in a passive way. Let me explain. I was officiating the funeral of a young infant who died prematurely days after birth. The little infant had a heart issue. A lot of well meaning church friends came by to offer comfort to the hurting and troubled parents. On more than one occasion some well meaning Christian said something along these lines… “They were sorry about God taking their baby or God must have wanted or needed their child in heaven“… or some variation of that phrase. After so many people said this to these parents, it was left to me to explain why such a mean, vindictive God took their child. The truth was that God didn’t take their child from them. The child died of a heart deformity. The Lord didn’t give their child a deformity so He could take her in heaven.

So why do we say such things? One reason is we don’t know what to say in such situations. The best course of action to take is to say nothing… simply love on people. The other reason we say such things is because we have heard it uttered before from some other ne’er do well. Since God is responsible for everything from earthquakes to hurricanes, it must be His fault. It is much easier to blame God than to seek to understand the effect of sin upon the world. The truth is we live in a fallen world and bad things happen. It is not all God’s fault. My point is we give God a bad rap when we utter faulty theology in difficult circumstances. Yet, this is done everyday. More is caught than taught. When a sermon is later delivered about the love of God, most have difficulties in believing in God’s love because they only know of a God who kills little children, wipes out thousands of people with hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.

Jesus said one of the reasons He came to earth was to reveal His Father to people. How Jesus responded to people’s needs and His actions to the hurting gives us our best description of God. Jesus Christ came to planet earth to show us exactly what God is like. In Luke 15 Jesus shares three parables to reveal how God searches for us like a shepherd searching for his lost lamb, like a woman for a coin from her dowry and a father waiting for his lost son to return home. It’s not enough for any of us to believe in God; we must understand the nature of God … the God Jesus came to introduce. Is this the type of God you believe in?

Blessings From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

The Hardest Lesson of All – Giving Up Control

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Discipletips, Luke

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being in control, christianity, disciple, do His work through me, doorpost, doorpost of heaven, Exodus 21:5-7, God's slaves, Hudson Taylor Quote, humility, Luke 14:31-33, no longer in control, outmatched, outnumbered, outsourced, pierce my ear, slave set free, weaker king surrenders, who is in control

I don’t know many people who don’t like being in control of their life. Lets face it… even when circumstances are bad, we like to think we are still in control of everything. It offers a certain veil of comfort, even if it is not entirely true.

Jesus reminds us that real disciples are no longer in control of their lives. This is what this three verse parable reveals. The weaker king surrenders to the stronger king. Listen to Jesus’ words.

Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Luke 14:31-33

In order to understand this parable you and I must realize we are the weaker king. The Lord is the stronger King. We are outsourced, outmatched, and outnumbered. The best course of action is to make terms of peace and surrender.

Like all of Jesus’ demands of discipleship, I have struggled with this issue. I have totally submitted all of my life to the Lord, only to pick certain issues back up again. The cycle is difficult to break until we come to the end of ourselves.

Surrender requires humility on our part. It requires we come under the reign of a new king and kingdom. We are in essence… God’s slaves. The point is none of us can really be a disciple of Christ unless we are willing to give total control over to the Lord. It is easy to determine if Jesus is Lord of all by asking ourselves… “Who is in control?”

In the Old Testament, when a slave was set free after his service was completed, he was free to go and live as he pleased. Sometimes a slave didn’t want to leave his master. If this was the case, his master was to bring the slave before God, take an awl and pierce the slave’s ear on the doorpost of his home. In this way everyone, including the slave, knew he was a slave for life…permanently. (see Exodus 21:5-7)

Sometimes we need to ask the Lord to pierce our ear on the doorpost of heaven. Somewhere in the process of real discipleship we come to the end of ourselves. This must happen. It may get ugly before we get to this point… but is must happen.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor