Category: Psalms

Posted in 1Timothy, 2Corinthians, Ecclesiastes, Genesis, Luke, Malachi, Proverbs, Psalms

Monopoly Money

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb; and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” Ecclesiastes 5:15

If you play Monopoly by the real rules a game should take about an hour. During that brief period Monopoly money has value – you can buy property, improve property, and pay your debts with its currency. But when the game is over you put everything away, put the box on the shelf, and there is no longer any worth in those dollars. It will be seen that the same is true of our money on planet earth.

Compared to eternity our time here is called a breath or a vapor. Money has value during this time and how we use it is one way God tests our hearts. Jesus said, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth who will trust you with true riches.” (Luke 16:11) A few verses later He went on to say: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

How do we pass God’s money test?

  1. Recognize we are stewards, not owners. We are to love God and use money; not love money while trying to use God.
  2. We are to give back to God the first fruits of our income (Proverbs 3:9-10) which Scripture defines as a tithe or ten percent. (Genesis 14:20; Malachi 3:10-11)
  3. We are to be willing to share in any good deed as God leads us. (2Corinthians 9:7-8)
  4. As riches increase, we are to guard our hearts. (Psalm 62:10) Money is a useful servant but a terrible master.
  5. We are to trust God as our Source and be thankful because He “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1Timothy 6:17)
Posted in Hebrews, Psalms, Song of Songs

Prolonging God’s Discipline

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes those He accepts. Endure hardship as discipline.” Hebrews 12:6-7

God doesn’t want to constantly discipline his children any more than earthly parents want to. He tells us in Psalm 32 He wants to guide us with only His eye, but He also assures us that He will use bit and bridle if He has to. Earthly parents tend to either under or over discipline, but our Father in heaven disciplines us perfectly for our good. (Hebrews 12:10)

What is often imperfect is our response which can lead to a prolonged discipline that was never intended. Here are two natural, but wrong responses to discipline:

  1. “Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline.” We sometimes miss what God is trying to do in our lives, so we end up blaming people, the devil, or “bad luck” for something that God is trying to use to get our attention. Don’t just plow through life; listen for what God is saying. He wants to use our unhappiness to drive us close to Him so He can make us holy. (Hebrews 12:10) He uses hardship to soften us and beautify us if we will let Him. If we keep running away from difficulties He wants us to face, He will just bring larger ones until we finally slow down and listen to Him.
  2. “Do not lose heart when He rebukes you.” God loves us so much that He won’t let us go the wrong way without eventually intervening. If you think hardship is evidence that God has rejected you, you will become disabled by the very thing God intended for your healing. (Hebrews 12:13) When we believe the lie that God has rejected us, we end up on the disabled list and God waits for us to come back to Him like the father waited for the prodigal. When we doubt God’s love, darkness keeps us from the intimacy and adventure that should be ours in Jesus.

Let’s respond quickly to our Father and come out of the wilderness leaning on our Beloved. (Song of Songs 8:5)

Posted in Ephesians, Psalms

The Heartbeat of Missions

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18

The modern missions movement is often cited as beginning in 1732 when two Moravians by the names of Johann Dober and David Nitschmann were willing to sell themselves into slavery to reach the natives of the West Indies with the gospel. It wasn’t their act of going that became the heartbeat of missions, it was why they were going. Why would they leave the comfort of their homes and families to go reach people they had never met?

It is said that they called out to their loved ones on shore as the ship pulled away, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!” It wasn’t their love for humanity that called to them; or the fear that people would perish in hell if they weren’t reached with the gospel; it was their burning love for Jesus.

The gospel promises forgiveness and eternal life for us, but the Father isn’t just thinking of what we get; He’s thinking about what His Son gets. He had promised Him in eternity that if He would be born as a son of man, He would be given the nations as His inheritance. (Psalm 2:7-8) Think of it: Jesus died and shed His blood for every human being that you know. If He got His full inheritance, everyone would worship Him, love Him, serve Him, and follow Him.

We all have loved ones we want to reach for the gospel because we want them to be with us in heaven. Maybe instead of praying God would save them for their sake, or for our sake, we should pray that the Father would draw them, so that the Lamb of God might receive the reward of His suffering!

Posted in 2Corinthians, Isaiah, Psalms

Is Your Calling Hard? 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell this to the people: be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:8-11

Is it hard to do what you do day in and day out? Do you ever find yourself growing weary and falling into self pity? I sure have. In times like these it’s helpful to remember some of those who have gone before us.

Consider Isaiah’s calling in the text above. Basically God is telling Isaiah that if he does exactly what God wants, and says exactly what God says, people will get worse. God is in essence saying: “They don’t want the light so your ministry will actually make them harder but I want you to go to them anyway.” Really? And I thought my calling was hard.

Consider Paul’s calling. “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; I’ve been in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2Corinthians 11:24-28)  Maybe my calling isn’t that hard?

Consider David’s calling. Psalm 54 was written by David when he was in the wilderness being chased by Saul and about to be betrayed by some of his own people, the Ziphites. This is the David who God had anointed king and had been called because his heart was after God’s heart. At this point he had not disobeyed in any way, yet he is not only not king but is living day by day with an army chasing him down.

How is your life compared to these? It’s amazing what a little perspective will do!

Posted in Matthew, Psalms

Hidden Treasure – Part Three

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

David said, “in Your presence is fullness of joy,” (Psalm 16:11) and when he had sinned, prayed: “Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:11-12) God’s presence restores the joy of truths we may not have believed for years. It takes the “have to” out of our faith, and turns it into a “want to”. It makes our spirit “willing.” Yet God will not force His people to value His presence.

In October of 2009 I had a dream where I was fighting a man with no face because he had stolen the tabernacle and I was trying to get it back. I was at the point of exhaustion when I finally knocked him out and then secured the suitcase that held the tabernacle. (Don’t ask me how it fits in a suitcase!)

In the second scene of the dream the tabernacle was all set up and on a pallet waiting for a ship to come and pick it up. But there was a problem; the ark wasn’t in it (the ark was where God’s manifest presence dwelled). I was scurrying around trying to find where the ark was hidden, fearful that this enemy would soon wake up to fight again.

Then I had an idea. I called the ship that was coming and asked if they would pick up the tabernacle without the ark. They said they would. The last part of the dream was me hanging up the phone and thinking about the enemy, “He never would have guessed we’d sail without the ark.”

In January of 2010 I was given the interpretation – the dream was about me. For years my vision was for genuine revival where God’s Spirit would be poured out in such a way that people would see God and not man. Wherever I went, this was what I contended for.

But in Madison I had become tired. People had disappointed me, God hadn’t done things I asked Him to do, and the responsibilities of ministry had taken a toll on me. I still talked the talk, but was in grave danger of settling for life and church without God’s manifest presence.

This dream and its interpretation were just what I needed to get a new beginning. Isn’t God good!

Posted in 2Timothy, Habakkuk, Hebrews, Psalms

Long Term Joy

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.” Habakkuk 3:17-19

God wants you and I to have a joy in His love and union with us that transcends our circumstances. Habakkuk is declaring an absolute freedom from God having to do anything a certain way or give a certain outcome. God is Sovereign and it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life or on this planet, it really doesn’t change anything. He loves me, He delights in me, and His joy and salvation are my strength. Whatever faces me, God will show me how to walk on my “high places,” or as the Amplified version says, “make me to walk (not stand in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!”

We live in a culture that is addicted to short-term pleasure and has often lost the ability to sacrifice for long term joy. Paul said that in the end times people would be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2Timothy 3:4) God is all about pleasure, “at His right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11), yet He is more concerned about the long term than the right now. This is a problem for us because we want pleasure now, and if we aren’t having it we can be tempted to think that God has left us or is somehow mad at us because obviously, in our minds, “He’s not blessing me now!”

Yet to become godly we will go through much suffering, internal and external, and often be called to sacrifice short term success in man’s eyes for Christ’s sake. We can resent this, or like Moses, we can by faith “see Him who is invisible” and choose to embrace ill treatment with the people of God rather than live for the passing pleasures of sin. (see Hebrews 11:25-27)

God does care about what we’re going through. He cares so much that He will not short-change a process that He knows will lead to our long term joy.

Posted in 1John, John, Philippians, Psalms, Romans

The Will of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and accomplish His work.” John 4:34

Consider with me three things about the will of God: the delight, the cost, and the result.

The delight. David said that when Messiah came He would proclaim, “I delight to do Your will O My God, Your law is within My heart.” (Psalm 40:8) In the text above we have Jesus saying that the will of God is His hidden food, sustenance, and supply. Jesus’ yoke was easy and His burden was light because He never measured Himself by anything or anyone else – it was enough to do the will of God. Life can be very complicated, but when your passion is the will of God the questions change. It is no longer “what will I choose to do,” but only, “what is the will of God so I can obey.” Deciding to do God’s will, whatever it is, answers a thousand other questions for you. For instance, you don’t have to decide whether to forgive someone or not. You always forgive because He’s forgiven you.

The cost. Jesus prayed, “not My will, but Yours be done.” He didn’t finish the work God gave Him to do until He said, “It is finished,” on the cross. He did work for us that we couldn’t do for ourselves which is why the beginning of us doing the will of God must be putting our faith in Christ. But there’s a cross for us as well if we really want to accomplish God’s plan. Romans 12:1-2 says, “In view of God’s mercy, present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We must offer ourselves before God as a sacrifice willing to do anything, before we will be able to walk out the specific plan He has for us.

The result. Because Jesus obeyed He was given the highest Name and the greatest place in all the universe. (Philippians 2:11) When we do the will of God we end up sharing in His glory forever and ever. “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1John 2:17)

Posted in Luke, Psalms

Perseverance

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” Luke 11:7

Jesus is teaching about prayer and He tells this story of a friend who seems unwilling to help. In Luke 18 He again is talking about prayer when He describes an unjust judge. In both instances the point is perseverance in prayer. “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)

You and I need to be confident in who God is and how He views us because prayer is a battle. I think Jesus is giving us insight on emotions we will face when God delays answers to our prayers. We may feel like God is sleeping and telling us to go away because we’re bothering Him. We may feel like God is a callous, unjust judge who doesn’t care about our needs, but only His own kingdom. What do we do when God’s character is attacked in our minds and emotions?

Jesus told us to press through them and keep praying because God isn’t like that, and those feelings are not reliable. The truth is that He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, who never slumbers or sleeps. (Psalm 121:4) I read a plaque on a wall recently that said: “When you go to bed, leave your problems with God. He’s going to be up all night any way.”

Fight through the accusations that God isn’t just and keep praying and believing because Jesus assures us that God does hear our prayers. “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8)

In essence Jesus is saying this: “God will be faithful to do His part, the real question is will we be faithful to do ours’?” Our part is to have faith in the character and promises of God even when our circumstances seem to contradict them. Will the Son of Man find us persevering, or will we give up?

Let’s stir ourselves to pray and not waver in the midst of our trials and emotions.

Posted in 2Chronicles, Jeremiah, Matthew, Psalms

Seeking Prayer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Seek, and you will find.” Matthew 7:7

Jesus describes three types of prayer that we will look at over the next three days. The first is seeking prayer which is a description of prayer that seeks after God for who He is. Jeremiah 29:13 gives the essence of this kind of prayer: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Singing worship songs is considered part of seeking prayer because it is God focused instead of need centered. Jesus gave us an outline for prayer which starts with who God is: “Our Father who lives in heaven; hallowed by Your Name.” Seeking prayer is when we remember it’s not about us or our name (reputation), but about God and His Name.

The best selling book The Purpose Driven Life, starts with the words, “It’s not about you.” In seeking prayer we remember this truth and long to find our satisfaction and identity in God, instead of in ourselves.

“When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.’” (Psalm 27:8) God invites us to come after Him and find a deeper faith based more and more on His character and less and less on our momentary feelings about Him.

People often start prayer by asking for God’s hand which is fine, but the real action comes when we prioritize seeking His face. Consider one of the greatest promises in the Bible: “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14) Isn’t it interesting that this verse never mentions anyone asking God to heal the land? If you seek His face, you will see His hand move on your behalf without even having to ask!

I remember when my kids were young. A lot of their interaction with me was because they needed something, but once in a while they would bring a picture that they made “just for me.” It didn’t matter what was on that paper, it was a masterpiece that was going on the refrigerator because of their loving intent. I think that’s how God feels when we seek His face!

Posted in John, Matthew, Psalms

The Benefits of the Good Shepherd

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” Psalm 23:1

In John 10 Jesus revealed that He was the good shepherd Psalm 23 was written about. There are three tremendous benefits in making the Lord our Shepherd:

  1. Security – Sheep are timid creatures and don’t eat or rest well when they’re afraid. When Jesus is truly our Shepherd we have somewhere to take our fears and can learn how to live our daily lives free from anxiety. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; Your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Through the forgiveness offered in the cross, Jesus takes away the fear of death by giving us eternal life now. Death becomes a promotion instead of an end and getting older no longer means we’re past our prime; we’re only getting closer to coming into it. In Christ, our best days are before us because we were created for eternity and not just time.
  2. Success – When the shepherd is not close by, sheep immediately form a butting order by which each sheep learns its place. Sheep won’t even lie down without the shepherd nearby because they’re afraid they’ll lose their place. The world’s definition of success is often about power, money, and fame, and it requires a lot of energy to protect one’s place. But Jesus redefines success for His people – “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.” We only have to do the right thing in each situation we are in and live to honor His Name.  When we live to please God and make that our priority, “goodness and mercy will follow.” We always get in trouble when we seek God’s blessings instead of letting them follow us. Jesus said it this way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
  3. Satisfaction – “My cup overflows.” Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) God’s idea was that witnessing would be a very natural outflow of our satisfaction in Him. Is it a burden to tell someone about a movie or book you loved? The witness is spontaneous because you want those who you love to experience the blessing that you enjoyed in watching or reading. George Mueller said, “I consider the first duty of every day is to get my soul happy in God.”  Let’s do the same!