True Protection

Psalm 40:11 says, "Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me."

I read this last week and I used it as my prayer for that day and the days following.  Here is what I got out of what David was saying:

• He asked God to "not withhold your mercy from me".  Basically he is saying that he knows he is a sinful guy and that he has messed up a bunch.  So as he is trying to do what is right he is asking for God to be merciful and gracious to him.
• He says, "may your love...always protect me."  I believe love is personal.  Relationships in general are messed up as they can be very self-centered and conditional; a sort of a "what have you done for me lately" mindset.  But God gives unconditional love and it will always cover and protect us no matter what situation we are in.  His love is greater than all things and it will protect us through the great times and the bad as long as we allow ourselves to feel the love.
• Finally he says, "may your truth always protect me."  The fact is people will always have their own version of the truth as truth can sometimes be how we perceive things to be (whether we are right or wrong).  But REAL truth rests in the Lord.  After all He did say, "I am the way, the TRUTH and the life".  He is the ultimate truth and understanding.

We all make mistakes and we try to learn from them.  It is when we rest in the Lord and trust His will and His control, then we know that His love and Truth will come out on top.  We must become less (and do less) so that God can become greater and shine through it all.

May you all be encouraged by this as much as I was.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving and so it is appropriate to write about something that I am thankful for. So, here I go.

On Sunday night, at PowerHouse we talked about Jesus's question to his disciples found in Luke 9:18-20. He asked them, "Who do you say that I am"? Peter answered by saying, "The Christ (Messiah) of God". Peter knew this to be true about Jesus because of the many experiences he had with Jesus.

In the same way, my experiences with Christ recently have backed up entirely who I say Christ is. This fall has been a very challenging one for me on a lot of levels and it has caused me to draw closer to Him because of it. So, with that being said, who do I say that Christ is and what am I thankful for is very similar.

I say and I know for sure that Christ is

• MY PROVIDER
• MY SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT
• MY PROTECTOR
• MY ANXIETY RELIEVER

Scripture backs up all these characteristics of Christ. But, there is a difference between knowing the Truth and really experiencing the Truth. This fall, I really experienced the TRUTH of Christ.

Because Christ is all these things and so much more, I am extremely thankful today, thankful beyond I have ever been in my life.

THANK YOU JESUS!

What about you? Take a moment and identify who do you say Jesus is and thank Him for it!

The Way, the Truth and the Life???

On Sunday we began our 1st week in a 3 week series entitled "Knowing God". How you know God begins in a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in John 14:1-7.

In it, Jesus says that the way to know God is to know him and that he is the only way to know God (v.6-7).

The question I challenged the students with is if Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to know God, are we making him OUR WAY to know God? By that I meant that there are many people and many religions out there that will say that they are the way and that they have the right truth and if they follow them, they will get to God. Or, there are things out there that are tempting like that great party coming up or a hook-up that will make them feel that if they just do that, they will have found their way and that life would be complete because of that.

But, what Jesus is saying is that He is the way, the truth and the life. That if we want to get to know God, we have to go through Jesus. That is the only way.

So, the question is - is He YOUR way and YOUR truth? If so, why and if not, why not?

The challenge this week is to go out and discover who Christ is so that:

1. You can get to know who God is and what He is about.
2. You can begin to make him your way so that when that next big event that comes about or when that next person comes up and says he know the way to true happiness, you can say, "That's ok, I know the real way and the real truth that leads to true life".

This week, discover who Christ and God is by opening up the Bible and reading. If you need a place to start, start with Luke 1 and do a chapter a day for the rest of the week. When you are done with that chapter answer these 3 questions:

1. What did Jesus say or do?
2. What does Jesus' words or actions communicate about who God is?
3. How can I apply what happened to my life?

Based on my life, I know that when I follow Jesus' way, His truth, I know God better and my life is more complete. How about yours? This week, let's all go out of our way to search the way and the truth Christ was about so that our way and truth can lead up to a full life that Christ promises to give us by following Him (John 10:10)

Sharing the Truth with others

Two weeks ago, Grant Diamond shared with us on Sunday the benefits of staying in the word and how spending time daily can help us.

Read Deuteronomy 6:3-9

Some of this scripture is familiar from previous weeks, but as you can see, God is preparing to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land - the land filled with milk and honey.

1. Why is God telling them to obey?
2. What should we do with all the knowledge we have gained from spending time with God?
3. How will this benefit others?
4. How will this benefit us?

Application:

Oftentimes, when I read the Bible, I can become me-centric. By that I mean that I tend to focus on myself and how the verses apply to myself. But, God challenges us to look beyond ourselves here. In verse 7-9, he tells us share them with our children, talk about them as you are hanging out with others, and make it known to others what the Truth is.

How are you doing sharing the Truth of God to others? Remember, in Christ's command to make disciples, he challenged his followers to teach others everything he has commanded them (Matthew 28:20). Are you doing that?

This week, spend time reading the Truth. Then, write down an application. When you are doing your application, include one thing you can share with someone else and see how God blesses that.

Pray

FYI - To download Grant Diamond's message, go to http://tompounder.podomatic.com or go to iTunes and search Tom Pounder

The Truth be told

On Sunday, Bruce talked about being honest and telling the truth. He shared his experience of being caught trying to change a grade in high school and how that had a snowball effect on his life as his character quickly came into question.

Take a minute and review the scripture he shared. Read Matthew 5:33-37

If we are people who honor our promises and oath, then we have a sense of integrity and truth. Being truthful and honest are a direct reflection on your character - who you really are and what you really believe.

So, where do you get your truth from? Where do you get your sense of integrity and honesty?

Is it from your friends, TV or movies (seriously), what you read in the newspapers or online?

How do you know that those are the truth?

Ultimately, we find truth through Christ. Read John 14:6. What a bold statement! He IS the Truth and since we know that God does not lie (Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19), we know that we can take him for his word and his promises will never fail.

Is that true of the other places we can find truth?

Application:

Even though we may know that the 100% undeniable truth can only be found in Christ, we rarely take the time to spend it with Him. When we become so busy with life and the things we have to do, we fail to get that knowledge and understanding that will help us throughout the day.

So, today, take time and get to know the truth! Spend time reading through the Bible and discovering or rediscovering the truth found in Christ and God alone. Don't rely on other sources, rely on the one who IS the truth.

Then, jot down a note or 2 about what truth you learned and stick it in your pocket so you can reflect or turn to it throughout the day. Who knows, it may end up being very helpful for you throughout the day!

Pray and spend time with Christ today!