by David Scott Robertson
I started my prayer walk about 5am this morning.
A new day was being birthed on my side of the planet.
The sounds, smells, sensations, and sight of dawn
Were sweeping over me in all their glory.
No wonder Jesus made it a personal policy
To rise early in the morning and enjoy quality time with His Father.
(Mark 1:35 NIV) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
So, in His footsteps I began my day.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, David got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
But today, something interrupted this nearly ideal situation.
Something invaded my comfort zone
So stealthily,
So effectively that it literally shut down my prayer time.
This thing caused me to pull away
From a mental, emotional, and spiritual quest for the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may be wondering
What could possibly dislodge a committed Christian person from his or her prayer path?
What in the world (or perhaps “not of” this world)
Could so suddenly and so thoroughly cut off
My hot pursuit of God on my prayer path?
First, I will tell you what it was not.
It was not evil.
It was not demonic.
It was not anything horrible or supernaturally powerful that you might imagine.
As a matter of fact,
It was something so natural and commonplace
That you will probably snicker and chuckle a little
When you read the answer in the next few lines…
You see, I received “a call” that interrupted my prayer time
And it wasn’t from my cell phone.
It was “a call of nature.”
I had to “go to the bathroom.”
I had to “use the facilities.”
I had to “visit the toilet.”
Whatever cute or polite way your family taught you to say it
The bottom line was that
My digestive system was screaming to me
In no uncertain terms
“I need attention now!”
Suddenly and with little warning
I found myself in a predicament being a long way from home on my prayer path.
You would be surprised how quickly I ceased
From singing praise and worship songs,
Praying in the Spirit,
Interceding for loved ones,
Glorifying and magnifying the Lord
And trying to seek Him and hear His precious voice.
Right then I stopped prayer walking
And turned and started running back towards my house…cutting through yards!
Oh I was praying all right
But not for anybody else.
I was praying I would make it home in time!
Well, even this little silly circumstance
At least for me packed a spiritual wallop.
(The Holy Spirit is such a creative and innovative Teacher!)
I understand,
Better,
That people can have a difficult time
Hearing, receiving, and being tender to the spiritual side of life
When their physical needs are screaming loudly.
In my case,
When my physical need was met,
I settled right down and quickly, happily, peacefully with contentment
Picked up my Bible and began to enjoy reading the Word of God.
But five minutes earlier,
To be quite honest,
The last thing on my mind was to pick up my Bible and read it!
Think about this
The next time you are trying to share the gospel with a friend or stranger…
Consider their situation.
Get discernment.
Try to see them through God’s eyes.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you
If there are any
Natural distraction or common invaders
Occurring in their lives that might obstruct the message?
Are there genuine felt needs
That may need to be dealt with before
The message of the cross,
The truth of the gospel,
Can be shared in such a way that it can be heard?
DSR
7/19/01
Thursday, July 19, 2001
Friday, July 13, 2001
I Will Help You Speak
by David Scott Robertson
The Torah talks about a man named Moses.
In Exodus chapter four,
Jehovah calls Moses to be His apostolic statesman to Egypt.
Almighty God had decided to offer Moses the privilege of being His ambassador
To the government of Egypt on behalf of His enslaved Israeli people.
But Moses was reluctant to take God up on His generous offer.
Why?
Because Moses had a speech impediment.
He didn’t t-t-t-talk well.
Listen to what Moses says in Exodus 4:10 and the incredibly generous offer
That Jehovah makes to him that I believe He is also extending that offer to us today:
(Exo 4:10 NIV) “Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
Have you ever felt that way?
Have you ever felt unqualified to speak for God?
Have you ever been intimidated about speaking in front of large (or small) groups of people?
Does it make you feel uncomfortable to speak one-on-one with someone
A weighty message that you know is going to make them furiously mad?
Well, Moses could relate to how you feel!
But when feelings get in the way of God’s commands
Guess which one has to go?
Now here’s the sweet deal that God offered to Moses to offset his fear:
(Exo 4:11 NIV) “The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
(Exo 4:12 NIV) Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
God plays no favorites.
If He did it for Moses I’m convinced He’ll do it for us.
God WILL help us speak.
God WILL teach us what to say.
God WILL fill our mouths with good words to speak on His behalf
If we will just have the faith to accept this truth.
Never forget that truth overrides facts.
The fact of the matter may be that we,
Like Moses,
Have never been eloquent but we are slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10).
Please note that God didn’t rebuke Moses for lying.
He was disappointed in him for not believing, for not trusting God:
(Exo 4:13 NIV) “ But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
(Exo 4:14 NIV) Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses…”
Never forget that truth overrides facts.
Faith always overrides circumstances.
And faith is something God highly prizes and greatly rewards.
(Heb 11:6 NIV) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Therefore,
(Heb 4:16 NIV) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Please realize that although you may be limited in your own abilities
It is not your own abilities that you are relying on.
You must come to understand, fully believe, and act upon the established truth that
God will do for you what He did for Moses:
(Exo 4:12 NIV) “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
(Mat 10:19 NIV) “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
(Mat 10:20 NIV) for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
DSR
7/13/01
The Torah talks about a man named Moses.
In Exodus chapter four,
Jehovah calls Moses to be His apostolic statesman to Egypt.
Almighty God had decided to offer Moses the privilege of being His ambassador
To the government of Egypt on behalf of His enslaved Israeli people.
But Moses was reluctant to take God up on His generous offer.
Why?
Because Moses had a speech impediment.
He didn’t t-t-t-talk well.
Listen to what Moses says in Exodus 4:10 and the incredibly generous offer
That Jehovah makes to him that I believe He is also extending that offer to us today:
(Exo 4:10 NIV) “Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
Have you ever felt that way?
Have you ever felt unqualified to speak for God?
Have you ever been intimidated about speaking in front of large (or small) groups of people?
Does it make you feel uncomfortable to speak one-on-one with someone
A weighty message that you know is going to make them furiously mad?
Well, Moses could relate to how you feel!
But when feelings get in the way of God’s commands
Guess which one has to go?
Now here’s the sweet deal that God offered to Moses to offset his fear:
(Exo 4:11 NIV) “The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
(Exo 4:12 NIV) Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
God plays no favorites.
If He did it for Moses I’m convinced He’ll do it for us.
God WILL help us speak.
God WILL teach us what to say.
God WILL fill our mouths with good words to speak on His behalf
If we will just have the faith to accept this truth.
Never forget that truth overrides facts.
The fact of the matter may be that we,
Like Moses,
Have never been eloquent but we are slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10).
Please note that God didn’t rebuke Moses for lying.
He was disappointed in him for not believing, for not trusting God:
(Exo 4:13 NIV) “ But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
(Exo 4:14 NIV) Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses…”
Never forget that truth overrides facts.
Faith always overrides circumstances.
And faith is something God highly prizes and greatly rewards.
(Heb 11:6 NIV) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Therefore,
(Heb 4:16 NIV) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Please realize that although you may be limited in your own abilities
It is not your own abilities that you are relying on.
You must come to understand, fully believe, and act upon the established truth that
God will do for you what He did for Moses:
(Exo 4:12 NIV) “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
(Mat 10:19 NIV) “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
(Mat 10:20 NIV) for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
DSR
7/13/01
Monday, July 2, 2001
Today, Yes Today, Is a New Day
by David Scott Robertson
It’s been a long time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve recording any of my thoughts about God on paper.
That is something I like to do a great deal.
To write about the Lord,
To write to the Lord,
Is something that is, at least for me,
Unusually fulfilling, satisfying, precious to my soul.
What does it for you?
What is your hot button?
What jerks you out of bed in the morning?
What do you dream about?
If money wasn’t an issue
And you had all the time in the world to do the thing,
What would it be?
Maybe you’re a painter.
A sketch artist.
A songwriter.
A musician.
A writer.
A composer.
A dancer.
A sculptor.
Maybe you used to visit the nursing home,
Mow lawns for sick folks,
Or volunteer in the church office.
Maybe you used to do a lot of things that you don’t do anymore, because…
Well, just because.
But also like me…
Perhaps it’s been a long time
Since you’ve allowed creativity or acts of service to bubble up.
Could it be that you have dammed up a spring that used to gush forth so easily?
Is it possible that you, yourself,
(There’s no one else to blame, really)
Have squelched and squashed a gift that God has implanted in you
To be used for His glory?
Have you,
Like so many others
(Why does that fact that the multitudes are doing it seem to lessen to severity of slothfulness?)
Allowed the busy-ness of business
To subtlety and stealthily
Suppress the joy of inner-most expression?
That’s been my deal.
I can’t point my finger at anyone but the man in the mirror.
I could ramble off a long list of good reasons why I couldn’t, haven’t, didn’t…
But the bottom line is where there’s a will there’s way
And where there ain’t there’s not.
My painful conclusion?
I didn’t will it.
I didn’t want it bad enough.
I didn’t hurt enough.
I wasn’t persecuted enough.
I wasn’t threatened enough.
I wasn’t hungry enough.
I wasn’t motivated enough internally and was waiting on external circumstances to change.
Bad move.
Fatal move.
Our fleshly, carnal desires are supposed to die not the gifts of God inside us.
If that’s you
Then I encourage you to do what I have done today:
Declare to yourself that today is a new day.
Today begins a new era in your life history.
Today,
Yes, today,
Even now
Is the precise moment when destiny intersects time
And you move out in a conscious decision
To release what is held hostage inside of you.
My recommendation to you
Is to pay whatever the cost of starting might be
And get on with it.
The anything that we are doing
Is better than the nothing that we have done.
There is great wisdom, therapy, and enjoyment
In waking up dormant gifts.
Great energy is released when we fan into flame the spark of creativity
And it is a special victory to start a fire in a rainstorm.
Whatever the opposition,
Real or imagined,
If God be for you then who can be against you?
Just make sure God is in the thing
Or you’ll end up scrambling to climb the ladder of success
Only to discover
(Sometimes years later)
That it’s been leaning against the wrong wall all the time.
So I would say to you today:
Declare,
Decree,
Announce,
Acknowledge,
Speak forth,
Proclaim that today is a new day for yourself, in Jesus’ name.
Today you will return to the ancient paths.
Today you will revive something you know at one time worked well in your life.
Today you will begin the journey of a thousand miles with the first step.
Today you will engage your will and begin what seems impossible.
Today you will call upon the name of the Lord for His help
In pushing through the excuses
And conquering the greatest hindrance to our progress –
Our own mental limitations and restrictions
(I’ve met the real enemy and he is me.)
I say,
Today,
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Do it!
And remember this most important factor:
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17 NIV)
DSR
7/2/01
It’s been a long time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve recording any of my thoughts about God on paper.
That is something I like to do a great deal.
To write about the Lord,
To write to the Lord,
Is something that is, at least for me,
Unusually fulfilling, satisfying, precious to my soul.
What does it for you?
What is your hot button?
What jerks you out of bed in the morning?
What do you dream about?
If money wasn’t an issue
And you had all the time in the world to do the thing,
What would it be?
Maybe you’re a painter.
A sketch artist.
A songwriter.
A musician.
A writer.
A composer.
A dancer.
A sculptor.
Maybe you used to visit the nursing home,
Mow lawns for sick folks,
Or volunteer in the church office.
Maybe you used to do a lot of things that you don’t do anymore, because…
Well, just because.
But also like me…
Perhaps it’s been a long time
Since you’ve allowed creativity or acts of service to bubble up.
Could it be that you have dammed up a spring that used to gush forth so easily?
Is it possible that you, yourself,
(There’s no one else to blame, really)
Have squelched and squashed a gift that God has implanted in you
To be used for His glory?
Have you,
Like so many others
(Why does that fact that the multitudes are doing it seem to lessen to severity of slothfulness?)
Allowed the busy-ness of business
To subtlety and stealthily
Suppress the joy of inner-most expression?
That’s been my deal.
I can’t point my finger at anyone but the man in the mirror.
I could ramble off a long list of good reasons why I couldn’t, haven’t, didn’t…
But the bottom line is where there’s a will there’s way
And where there ain’t there’s not.
My painful conclusion?
I didn’t will it.
I didn’t want it bad enough.
I didn’t hurt enough.
I wasn’t persecuted enough.
I wasn’t threatened enough.
I wasn’t hungry enough.
I wasn’t motivated enough internally and was waiting on external circumstances to change.
Bad move.
Fatal move.
Our fleshly, carnal desires are supposed to die not the gifts of God inside us.
If that’s you
Then I encourage you to do what I have done today:
Declare to yourself that today is a new day.
Today begins a new era in your life history.
Today,
Yes, today,
Even now
Is the precise moment when destiny intersects time
And you move out in a conscious decision
To release what is held hostage inside of you.
My recommendation to you
Is to pay whatever the cost of starting might be
And get on with it.
The anything that we are doing
Is better than the nothing that we have done.
There is great wisdom, therapy, and enjoyment
In waking up dormant gifts.
Great energy is released when we fan into flame the spark of creativity
And it is a special victory to start a fire in a rainstorm.
Whatever the opposition,
Real or imagined,
If God be for you then who can be against you?
Just make sure God is in the thing
Or you’ll end up scrambling to climb the ladder of success
Only to discover
(Sometimes years later)
That it’s been leaning against the wrong wall all the time.
So I would say to you today:
Declare,
Decree,
Announce,
Acknowledge,
Speak forth,
Proclaim that today is a new day for yourself, in Jesus’ name.
Today you will return to the ancient paths.
Today you will revive something you know at one time worked well in your life.
Today you will begin the journey of a thousand miles with the first step.
Today you will engage your will and begin what seems impossible.
Today you will call upon the name of the Lord for His help
In pushing through the excuses
And conquering the greatest hindrance to our progress –
Our own mental limitations and restrictions
(I’ve met the real enemy and he is me.)
I say,
Today,
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Do it!
And remember this most important factor:
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17 NIV)
DSR
7/2/01
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