Author: Allen Forte

Some of you may have in your homes hanging someplace, something we refer to as the Ten Commandments.  These were God’s initial commandments given to the people of Israel while they were in the desert.  Back then, the commandments were written on tablets of stone and presented to the people.  Today it is not that way.

Now you can read the complete account of the creation of the tablets in Exodus 32.  Notice that Exodus 32:15-16 says, “And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand.  The tablets were written on both sides, on the one side and on the other they were written.  Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.”

Back then, it would have been impossible for the people to change the testimony God had given them.  If there was a commandment they did not like, they could do nothing to change what was written.  The tablets were not their work; they tablets were the work of God.

Today, we are His work.  He is trying to finish His work in each of us, writing the last chapter of who we are supposed to be.  Yes, we are His work today.  He is trying to put His handwriting on us, but we make it hard to do.

One day in my impatience I got the feeling that I was getting ahead of where the Lord was in His work with me.  I felt like I was hearing, “I’m not done with you yet.”  I believe a lot of you are like me.  I also believe if you are His, He is not done with you yet.

I used to be the type of person who tired easily of waiting for things to happen, so I tried to make happen what needed to happen for me.  That was wrong.  We must allow the Lord to finish the work He wants to finish.  He’s not done yet with any of us.  Just as with the Ten Commandments, the Lord has work to do with building the stones of our lives.  He still must finish writing the book of our lives.  He is not done yet—not with you, not with me.

Now we are happy to say sometimes, the Lord is doing a work in us.  Or we make mention of the work He is doing on us.  But His most important work is the work He has to complete with us, to make us complete in His who He wants us to be. Until He finishes His work with us, we must be careful that we do not act like we are ready to hang our commandments on the walls around us.

The Israelites were a stiff-necked people back then.  They were as hard as the stones God used to fashion the tablets.  Many of us are like the Israelites in this way.  We are hard-natured, so He is not done yet with either of us.  He is still working to carve the stony nature of our hearts into a soft nature like His own.

Many of us find it hard to love and to care about what others care about.  So, God is not finished with us yet.  He is still writing into our soft hearts, the nature of His love so that we can become loving caring people who show how He has worked with us.

And just like the Israelites were not able to change the writing on the tablets, many of us are unchanging.  So, God is not done with us yet.  He has to write the spirit of forgiveness, of grace and of mercy into our hearts so that we are ready to change in ways that make things better for others.

He is not done with us yet.  Just as the Ten Commandments were the start of what He had to say to us, our lives are just the start of what He wants to do with us.  Let’s not be too quick to act like we are ready to live our lives on our own.  He is not done with us yet.

The Lord is still fashioning us into the material He wants to use with us.  He is still writing into our life the message that He wants to be heard through our lives.  Our lives are not the message that you or I wrote.  It is His message He wrote with the finger and blood of Jesus, right onto the heart for Jesus He gave each of us.

We must be careful not to act like we are complete in who we want to be.  He is not done yet with fashioning us into who He wants us to be.  He still has work to do with us.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

I’m sure most of you have heard of the word scapegoat.  But what does the word really mean?  In the book of Leviticus, the scapegoat was the second of two goats raised to be presented before the Lord.  One as an offering or sacrifice for sin and the other or the scapegoat, to be presented alive before the Lord as atonement.  The scapegoat was then set free in the wilderness to carry the sins away.

You can read more about this in Leviticus 16: 7-32.  The scapegoat then was an innocent goat guilty of nothing but offered as atonement for the sins of someone else.  We typically misuse the term today.  We typically do not punish anyone for the wrongs of someone else.  In the scripture, they were happy to have a scapegoat.  Today we point out how wrong it is for someone to be made a scapegoat.

None of this would matter to us today if we learned that the one thing that would keep us from ever being thought of as scapegoats by society is to learn to rule our sin not the men among us.  We see this in the book of Genesis when God speaks to Cain about the nature of his offering to God.

Cain was angry with himself, with his brother, and with God because God did not respect Cain and his offering, but He did respect and accept Abel and his offering.  Why did God do this?  Because Abel did what God asked him to do in the way he was asked.  But Cain did what Cain wanted to do and expected that to be accepted.

Genesis 4:7 says this was God’s reaction after learning that Cain was angry with God and with Abel because he believed neither God nor Abel liked who he was or what he did.  God said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”  Cain didn’t listen.  He went right out, and in his anger, he killed his brother Abel.

Cain failed to rule his sin; instead, he tried to rule man.  Cain wanted to be respected and he wanted his actions to be accepted.  But Cain did not want to do or be what made others accepted and respected.  Cain wanted to rule over God, and he wanted to rule over man.  Cain wanted respect and acceptance just as he was.

Does this sound anything like us today?  Well, it should.  Just like back then, God wants you and I to learn to rule over sin not men.  I know some of us would like to say we are nothing like Cain.  But if we want others to respect us and to accept our sins or our views on sin above God’s view, we are more like Cain than we are like God.

It’s important for us to learn that we are wired to want respect and acceptance from others.  We may not think about this each day, but it is the nature of our being.  Many people have been killed because they disrespected someone else.  And many relationships have been broken because someone was not respected for a behavior that someone thought was no harm to anyone.

Respect is something that is given when it is earned.  In a way, respect is the wages for the work you earn when you work on ruling your sin.  Some people will respect you because they are great people.  But most people give respect to others because others have earned that respect.  When you learn to rule your sin and not men, you will come to earn the respect others will naturally give you.

Acceptance of what you do cannot be separated from respect from the person you are.  Acceptance is more about who you are that leads to what you do.  Because others know who you are they come to accept the things you do.  When you learn to rule over sin more than men, you come to be respected and accepted.

A trustworthy person will do trustworthy things.  Be trustworthy.  A loving person will do loving things.  Be loving.  A caring person will do caring things.  Be caring.  A hard-working person will do hard-working things.  Be hard-working.  When you are any of these things, people will respect you and accept the things you do.

Likewise, a sloppy person will do sloppy things.  Rule your sin.  A lazy person will do lazy things.  Rule your sin.  A selfish person will do selfish things.  A condemning or accusing person will condemn and accuse.  Rule your sin.  When you are any of these things, people will have a hard time accepting you or the things you do.

So, listen to what God said to Cain.  It was life-saving advice back then and it is the same today.  When you learn to rule your sin instead of ruling men, you don’t need to be a scapegoat, and you don’t need to have a scapegoat.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

Did you know one of the hardest things we have to face in life is to learn that we need help living our lives?  Why is it so hard?  Because we grow up encouraged to believe we can do anything that we put our hearts and minds to do.

I imagine all of us at some time come to rely on an idol-like thing we call “it.”  We are told that it is in us to do whatever we want to do; we just have to believe.  Well, that is not exactly true.  We should ask ourselves – what is the “it” that is so powerful that “it” can enable us to do all the things we want do to?  Does it think?  Does it talk?  Does it act on our behalf?  Does it have a name?  

It is nothing.  It cannot even help us figure out who “it” is.  We need help.

It is not in us to do all that we can do.  We don’t need an “it” to help us live; we need a He.  It can do nothing for us, but He can do anything.  Adam found out about how helpless it is while in the garden.  Adam needed help, and he knew that.  It could not make Adam’s first pair of pants, but God did.  Like Adam, you and I need help.

Psalm 121:1-2 tells us as much.  The psalm says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”  Plainly this is saying “I need help and I know where to look for Him.”  We don’t look for “it,” and we don’t look for the help.  Instead, we look for Him from whom the help comes.

King David wrote this Psalm.  He had the sense to know that he needed help with life.  So, he says he looked to the hills wondering if that is where his help would come from.  Then he said to himself that his help with life comes from the Lord, the Person who made heaven and earth.  Thank goodness, God is not an “it”.  He is a person.

David is saying to us, if the Lord can make heaven and earth, surely, He is able to help us with our life.  But we must recognize that we need help.  If we don’t acknowledge we need help and look for Him, then we will have to rely on “it.”  But it cannot help you find Him when it cannot help itself find itself.  You need help.

If you are finding that things are not working out for you as much as you think they should, perhaps it is because you are relying on “it” to do for you what only the Lord can do.  We tend to choose to rely on “it” for our help because we do not want anyone telling us how to act or how to behave or what to do.

Listen, when you believe you are your own and rely on “it” for your help, this is how your life will grow and how it will be seen.  

You may rise only to fall to pride.  If you are given a position or some authority, it will make you act in a prideful way.  But when you seek help from Him for your provision, He will position you with the authority to live in a humble, grateful, and thankful way.  To overcome your pride, you need His help.

You will use knowledge incorrectly.  When you acquire some knowledge, it will make you exalt yourself and act without intelligence.  But when you seek help from Him for what you need to know, He will make you wise, discerning, and respectful of how little you really know.  To overcome your sense of intelligence, you need His help.

You will seek more of everything.  When you are given a little success, it will make you act like enough will never be enough for you.  But when you seek help from Him for your needs, He will make you grateful for all that you have.  You will never run out of oil when He is your helper.

You will become high-minded.  When you are given a little victory over anything, it will make you trust yourself more than you should.  But when you seek help from Him in how you live, work and play, He will make you trust Him more than you do anyone else or anything else.  To overcome selfishness, you need His help.

We need help with life. That help cannot come from a thing.  Help must come from Him who made all things.  We have the life of the Holy Spirit inside us, and we have the Wisdom that comes with Him.  When we are guided by Him in all we do, He will make the simple knowledge of things pleasant to us.  Discretion will preserve us, and understanding will keep us safe and sure.

You need help.  Yes you.  Look to the Hills of your heart.  That is where you will find your help.  Throw yourself into His arms, and He will keep you.  He will not fail you because He is your keeper if you permit Him to be.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

We typically use the phrase “the moment we have all been waiting for” to suggest we have arrived at a long-awaited time for something to happen.  The key is it’s a time we have been expecting to come—you know, like graduating from high school or something like that.  That is how we are in our secular lives, but it is not how it is with the Lord.  

Luke 26:42-43 says something similar but in a different and more profound way.  It says, “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise.’” This scripture is talking about a conversation Jesus had with one of the criminals who was crucified alongside Him.

The thief was crucified that day for crimes he had committed.  I’m sure he wasn’t looking forward to that time coming.  But he was crucified alongside Jesus, and that made the time different. When the thief saw all the commotion going on down below about Jesus, he thought surely this must be someone special.

The thief came to the time when he knew he had to pay for his crimes.  I’m sure he had thought about that time and what it would be like when it came.  The thief, like many of us, probably thought in terms of a time that he had anticipated to come.   Time doesn’t care about who we are.  There is a time to live and a time to die.  A time to weep and a time to be joyful.  A time to plant and a time to reap. Time comes to us all with the things that time carries.

But this time, Jesus brought this thief to something he did not expect.  He brought a Moment.  It was a Moment the thief knew wouldn’t just come and go.  This time, time brought to him a Moment in which he knew he would die, but he would also live to be with Jesus for eternity.

In times past I have lived my life like that thief.  I looked at the time I had to live, and I tried to live it to the fullest.  You know the saying, “live life to the fullest.”  Generally, that means we live trying to have more of the things that make us happy.  We live trying to have what really matters.  We live wanting to have and achieve much.

Funny thing happened to me along the way to having a life like that.  I spent my time seeking things I thought would make me happy, yet I found it was missing the Moments that defined my time.  I remember the time when the Moment came to me that I understood happiness was impossible without having the Lord in my life.  I wanted the Moment more than the time.

I understood the time I spent trying to have what really mattered was a waste of time the Moment I realized that having Jesus as my Lord was all that really mattered.  I wanted the Moment more than the time.

I understood the time I spent achieving much didn’t mean much the Moment I realized it was through the Lord I had my greatest achievement.  I wanted the Moment more than the time.

Listen, if you are like me, you have lots of times in your lives that are missing the Moments that make the time great.  We are no different from many who have lived before us.  

Noah lived in a time when he thought people did all that they wanted to do.  All that changed the Moment God spoke to him and told him to build an ark.

Abraham lived in a time when people wanted to stop wandering about, but all that changed the Moment God asked him to leave his people and go to a place he didn’t know.

Joseph lived in a time of bondage being sold as a slave by his own brothers.  But all that changed the Moment he realized God wanted to use his circumstance to prepare a way for his brothers to be saved from a famine.

There was a time when Daniel was thrown into a den of lions.  The lions thought he was to be their dinner.  But Daniel had a Moment with God Who used the time to shut the mouths of the lions.  The lions went hungry that time because Daniel was saved in that Moment.

I could go on, but I am hopeful you see the point.  You have times in your life that are missing the Moments that Jesus wants to show up.  Don’t be so busy spending your time living that you miss the Moments Jesus is trying to say to you, “I have something special for you.”   In all your time living and doing whatever you do, don’t miss the Moments that Jesus wants to make your time special for you.

And if you still find that all your time is spent living trying to save yourself from all the troubles that are out there, stop!  Be like that criminal on the cross.  Turn your time of living apart from the Lord into an opportunity for the Lord to come into your time and create Moments you will come to cherish.

There are times we all live for ourselves even when we know the Lord.  Then there is the Moment we give up living our lives so that we can receive the life He has waiting for us.  The time to stop living apart from Him happens the Moment you decide to live for Him.Live a Delivered Life.  Love you

In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks about seeing the invisible work of God.  When I read that, it didn’t make any sense to me.  Being invisible means that we are unable to see a thing.  So then why would Paul claim he, and perhaps we, can see the invisible work that God does?  He was clearly seeing something that I was not seeing.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says it this way: “Therefore, do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Now I understand that what we often see on the outside with our eyes is working something more glorious inside that we do not see yet.  If only we didn’t lose heart or become discouraged at the work we do see, we’d see more of God’s invisible work in us.

Often the Lord’s work appears to be invisible to us because we look for the one thing we want, but He works the thing that we need the most.  Listen, it is difficult for us to see the Spiritual Work of God in our situations when we look solely for the temporal.  We are hungry and thirsty, so food and water become our prayer.  But the Lord chooses to provide us with work we don’t have so we can provide for ourselves all our nourishment.

In Exodus 14:13, Moses said to the Israelites, “Do not be afraid.  Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.  For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more.”

The Israelites were running from the Egyptians. They were trapped at the banks of the Red Sea, and the people were afraid. They saw only two possible outcomes: being destroyed by the Egyptians or drowning in the Red Sea.  These were the temporal fears of the people.  Naturally, they looked for God to provide a temporal solution, to build them a bridge.

Oftentimes we fail to see the invisible work of God because we look so intently for the evidence that He changes our circumstance.  We look for the bridge.  But God doesn’t build bridges at the first; first He provides a Way for us to move.

The bridge allows the same you to cross from one place to another.  But preparing a Way for you enables the Spirit to teach you to choose ways to avoid being trapped by your red seas.  The same you is likely to end up in the same predicament again and again. God doesn’t want to just teach us lessons.  He wants to develop us to choose ways that will change the lessons we face in life.

Jesus tells us He is the Way.  Your spiritual nature grows when you learn to look for the Way more than for the bridge.  It’s a new you God is after, and when you learn to see His way, a new you is developed.  You don’t just learn a lesson, you discover a new you.

If you are always looking for a bridge, you will be slow to develop the insight to learn that He has made a better Way for you to travel.  He builds faith and confidence in you to know that He will develop in you the ability to see with more than your eyes.  What is possible in the spirit is impossible in the flesh.  You learn to see the possible as you develop yourself to believe that you can see through to the impossible.

So, if today you want to see His invisible work in your mess, you must start looking for what you might be missing more than what you believe you need.  Learn to stand still.  Do not lose heart.  A little pain in your life today could be needed to produce much health and glory in your life tomorrow.

If the Lord answered all your prayers with the solutions you want, you’d be blind.  You will never learn that you have within you the ability to solve many of your problems yourself.  Learn to see His invisible Ways at work inside you.  These make you better each day.

Let this be your prayer:

“Look at me Lord!  I found the Way through this mess of mine that You had made for me.  I was looking for a way out, but You had already provided me a Way through.  I thank you Lord for Your invisible work that teaches me and helps me to grow up strong in my spirit so that I live stronger in my flesh.”

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

Have you ever known people who reject the truth of a thing just because they do not understand that thing?  We have done that with Jesus from the beginning of time.  Like people of old, we sometimes reject the facts of the Lord because we cannot understand the facts about the Lord.

In John 6:68, scripture tells us of a time when some of Jesus’ disciples turned from Him and went back to what they could understand.  They went back to what was comfortable because they refused to accept the truth and facts of Jesus.

Scripture says Jesus was teaching them about who He was – that He was the bread of Life.  He told them no one could have eternal life except they eat the bread of His body and drank of His blood.  You will find this account in John 6:48-59.  Many of His disciples found this too difficult to understand.  They couldn’t believe what He was saying.  So, they turned away from Him and headed back to what they knew.

Then in John 6:68-69, scripture says Jesus asked the twelve disciples “Do you also want to go away?  But Peter answered Him, Lord to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also, we have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

In a way Peter was saying, “Jesus, Who else can You be?  You have the words of eternal life.  Who else has that?  You are the bread of life.  Who else is that?”

The disciples knew Jesus in a personal way.  They had seen Him work miracles in the lives of others.  They had seen Him do the unimaginable.  They had seen Him talk with God the Father.  They had seen Him escape the harm of the Jews.

Who else could He be if He were not the Christ?  That is what Peter was saying to the Lord.  Who else can You be if You are not the Person we have come to know You to be?

So, I have some questions for you.  Perhaps there have been times in your life when Jesus wondered if you wanted to go back.  So, for you and for your life, Who else can Jesus be if you cannot believe He is Who He says He is?

Who else can heal the sickness you have that no one else can heal?  Tell me.

Who else can mend a broken heart so that it continues to beat to life?  Tell me.

Who else can take away the pain of loss you have suffered so that you can live again?  Tell me.

Who else can save you from the world and save you for Himself?  Tell me.

You may not understand everything in the Word of God, but who else can help you believe everything in the word because you believe Who is the word?  Tell me.

Peter was confidently saying to the Lord, we may not understand what You just said, but what we heard we believe because we believe everything spoken by You.

Who else then can help you come to a place where you may not understand all that you hear but you can believe all that He speaks?  Tell yourself.

Don’t ask yourself but tell the Lord who else are you going to follow.  You believe, you know, and you understand that He is Jesus, the Son of the Living God. He is no one else.  And no one else can be who He is. 

When you don’t understand all that the word may say, believe anyway.  When you don’t understand all that is happening around you, believe God anyway.  When your sickness is not healed the way you want, believe anyway.  When things don’t go the way you want, believe anyway.

Who else can do what seems impossible to be done.  Only the Lord can, so believe in no one else.  When you do this, you are saying to the Lord, “Who else am I going to believe if I cannot believe You are who You say You are.”

You will never find anything He is not able to do, so you will never have occasion to look for someone else to turn to when it means turning away from Him.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul speaks to us about the power we have inside as believers.  Scripture says it like this, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”  What is this treasure Paul is talking about?  Well, it’s the light of the gospel of Christ Jesus that shines in our hearts.

Paul is also saying to us that because we have this treasure inside, it is difficult for us to be overcome by worldly things.  Why is this?  Because the life of Jesus in our hearts gives us the power to never be conquered by the things we face in the natural.  If you are a believer, you have a treasure of power inside you.  You were made for more.

Well, now some of you are probably saying you have lost something recently, or you missed out on something, or you have been sick or in poor health.  You ask, “So why didn’t this treasure of power keep me from these things?”  Well, faith and belief in the Lord doesn’t mean we won’t suffer losses.  It means that although we may lose some things some time, all is never lost.  You have a treasure of power inside you.  You were made for more.

With the treasure of the knowledge of Jesus inside us, Paul reminds us of these things:

• We may be hard pressed often, but we are never crushed.
• We may be perplexed, but we are not pushed to despair.
• We may be struck down but not destroyed.  And persecuted but not forsaken.
• We live so that we may die so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in the death of our bodies.

You have a treasure of power inside you.  You were made for more.  So, since you are a believer, let this mindset be fully in you in all ways.

The mountain of trouble before you is there to be a ladder to help you learn to climb higher and stand above your troubles.

The wall of resistance is before you to help you learn to climb over the obstacles that keep you outside where you belong.

The ocean of deep water is all around to teach you to push through the waves of life that are sure to come.

The clouds in your life are there to teach you to search for where the sun hides itself just for you.

You see your limits so that you can be taught that God has not limits.

You see your troubles so that you can learn to appreciate all that you have.

Sickness is a part of your life so that you can learn to love and appreciate the health of life.

Sometimes you will suffer loss so that you can learn to recognize the value of gain.

And loneliness is with us sometimes to teach us that we have the everlasting love and friendship of the Lord.

In all these things you may be challenged, but you are never conquered.  You have a treasure of power inside you.  You were made for more.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

Recently I was reading the area of scripture in Matthew 21:15-17 where Jesus said to Peter, Peter, do you love me?  He asked him this question three times.  Each time Peter told the Lord that he did love Him.  I thought that Jesus just wanted to hear Peter say, “Lord, I love you.”  Then I learned the Lord never just wants this or that one thing.  There is always more.

Each time he was asked this, Peter said Lord you know that I love you.  So, this made me wonder if I had ever heard the Lord say to me, “Allen, I love you.”  Then it came to me that I know that the Lord loves me.  So why then would I need to hear Him say it when I know Him to be it?

Here is what I learned.  The Lord was asking Peter for more than to hear Him say I love you.  And likewise, He was telling me there are better ways to know He loves me.  Yes, hearing Him speak those words to us would be great, but being Lord to us is a greater demonstration of the fact that He loves us.

In Jeremiah 31:3 the Lord is speaking to Jeremiah about His love for the people of God at that time.  He is telling him that He will not leave them alone.  He wanted the people to know that He loved them.  But they had been in captivity for a long time and probably wondered if they were loved by anyone.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord of old has appeared to me saying:  Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with kindness I have drawn you.”  If you need to hear the Lord, say He loves you, hear what He is saying here.

He is not speaking to Jeremiah, just about Jeremiah.  He is asking Jeremiah to speak to the people what God says to the people.    God loves us with an everlasting love.  That means His love for us will never cease.  In this He says to you He loves you.  You should hear that before you see that.

It is in His kindness towards us that He says to us I love you.  His kindness says I love you and His I love you speaks through His kindness.  You should hear that.

It is in His grace towards us that He says to us I love you.  His grace says I love you and His I love you speaks through His grace towards you.  You should hear that.

It is in Him forgiveness towards us that He says to us I love you.  His forgiveness says I love you and His I love you speaks through His forgiveness towards you.  You should hear that.

It is in His gift of salvation for us that He says I love you.  His salvation says I love you and His I love you speaks through His salvation for us.  You should hear that.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

The gift of the Lord speaks of His love for you and His love for us is captured in His gift of His Son.

He loves you.  Can you hear those words in your life today?  Look around at all your life.  The “I love you” words are everywhere because He is an everlasting God who loves us with everlasting Love who is Everlasting Love towards us all.

If you have ever experienced anything of God, you have heard Him say I love you.  He loves you.  Now hear that always.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

Many of us struggle with a lack of patience.  I’ve shared on this topic before.  But at the beginning of a New Year, I believe it is good to do it again.  In Luke, 21:19 scripture tells us, “By your patience possess your souls.”  We are also encouraged in our patience in Philippians 4:6 which says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Still with this assurance, some of us continue to struggle with both patience and faith.  Patience is simply our ability to wait till the right things happen before we try to make the right thing happen.  Faith is the strength of our belief that God is involved in the things we hope for even if our hopes are not realized just yet.

Patience then and faith work together to strengthen us in our walk among others.  In this way, it is through our patience we are able to control ourselves and keep ourselves from getting out ahead of the work of our faith.

In Luke 21, Jesus teaches us that we will not have answers to questions that have not been asked.  We will not have responses to things that have not happened yet.  We will not have control of what is not yet out of control.  But we can have the Patience of Faith if we want.

Still there are times that our minds may tell us to watch out for the possibility that bad things will happen, but Patience of Faith tell us to be calm because there is also the possibility that those same things you fear may simply be fear that will never be realized.

Some of us are so fearful that we will run from our own shadows thinking it is out to harm us.  Jesus is telling you that your shadow will always be just beside you, but it will never be able to harm you.  Patience of Faith tells us to settle it now that our shadow is just a cloudy day away from disappearing.  

Some of us fear what others have said or are saying or will say about us, so we worry, and we try to keep control of what is known of us by others.  Patience of Faith tells us to settle it now in our hearts that there will always be talk about us.  We must control ourselves now so that when the time comes, we have a word ready and right for the moment.

Some of us fear what our adversaries can do to us, so we worry about keeping watch over those who are our enemies and prepare to react to the things they will do to us.  Patience of Faith tells us that no matter what our adversaries can do, they will not be able to do anything that will contradict or resist what we come to say and to do when the time is right.

So, settle it now in your life that you will live in the strong patience of your faith.  Then you will be able to overcome all the things that you believe might have a chance to overcome you.

Even if you are betrayed by your closest friend, your Patience of Faith will enable you to snatch a victory from that.

Even if you are hated by someone you love, your Patience of Faith will enable you to find love from that.

And even if you are ridiculed and talked about by those you know and love, your Patience of Faith will enable you to become the talk of how you responded in God and of how God responded through you.

Settle it now to let your Patience of Faith walk ahead of you and clear your way of all the things that could happen to you.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.

Now it is fitting as we look at the start of the new year 2024, to take a moment to understand what keeps us from having what is ahead for us.

In Luke 9:62, Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  He was speaking to a man who wanted to bury his father before he set out to follow Jesus.  Jesus’ response seems harsh, but is it?

Back then, an ox or some other animal was used to pull a plow through a field.  The ox only responded to what man trained it to do.  It walked where it was trained to walk.  The ox walked at the pace it was driven to walk and turned when it was trained to turn.  Everything the ox did was done because someone behind it held the plow and looked ahead.

As we close out 2023 and we look forward to a prosperous 2024, let’s start by understanding that we need to look ahead more than we look back.  Some of us live sloppy lives because we believe we need to look back at what went wrong so we learn what not to do again.

By sloppy I mean the rows we plough are not straight.  The depths we walk are not consistent.  The places we go are not the best.  The things we produce are not high quality.  All because we spend most of our time walking forward but looking backward.

Now, don’t be alarmed at what I said.  For sure, we need to learn from our mistakes.  We don’t want to live a life of repeating the same mistakes over and again.  If you fail an exam because you did not study, you learn that it is a mistake not to study.

Tomorrow, 2023 will be in our past.  It can do nothing for us but exist as a memory of some of the things we experienced yesterday.  What is ahead of us is 2024.  God wants us to focus on what is ahead more than to dwell on what has passed.

Still, someone is saying, “Yes Allen, but scripture tells us to fix things we did wrong before we move to things ahead.”  For sure we must apologize and reconcile ourselves with others where that is right.  But you cannot fix a wrong done yesterday.  We do not have the ability to undo what has been done.  It is only by looking ahead that we can learn to do what will keep us from doing the wrong we did yesterday.

So, for 2024, let’s start the year by learning to walk forward looking ahead.  The great plans God has for you are ahead of you not behind you.  He is with you.  He has hold of the plow of your life.  He knows where you need to walk and where you need to go.

We are not oxen.  We are not just wondering about in the fields of our lives ploughing where we are living today.  God gives us the ability to look ahead, not just to see where are going.  We look ahead because we can decide on what we want our tomorrow to be.

If yesterday you were wronged, look ahead and let it go.  You will have a better tomorrow.

If yesterday you did wrong to anyone or with anything, look ahead and do what is right.  You will have a better tomorrow and so will others.

If yesterday you didn’t have all you needed, look ahead and let it go.  You will see where you can walk to have more tomorrow.

If you learn to live by looking back at what has happened to you, you will find it difficult to have all that can be yours tomorrow.  When we look back, we find it difficult to let go of what we cannot take into our tomorrows.

We don’t have to forget yesterday, but let’s not try to relive yesterday.  2024 is the tomorrow of 2023.  Let’s learn to look forward to each of our tomorrows and live in a way that we can have more of what is ahead.

I pray that 2024 is full of the blessings of God for you and your life.  Look ahead to that with the great assurance of God’s faithfulness to want the best for us.

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.