July 6, 2012
“Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Isaiah 40: 4-5)
The essence of Isaiah’s great sermon is that when you build a highway you do four things: you level mountains, you fill valleys, you straighten crooked places, and you smooth out rough places.
Isaiah preached that God was coming into our world and when He did He was going to travel on the highway of the life of His Son. In that life the mountains of pride would be leveled, the empty spaces would be one hundred percent filled with the Holy Spirit, the crooked ways of sin would be perfectly straight and His rough places would be made smooth by the way He responded to them.
Just before Jesus parted with His apostles He told them that in the same way the Father sent Him into the world He was sending them into the world. If His life was to be a highway on which God traveled into this world, our life is also to be a highway for God. I challenge you to ask God to make your life into a highway for Him to travel into this world.
If you pray that prayer when God’s bulldozers start leveling your mountains of pride, His Holy Spirit fills your empty spaces and straightens out your crooked ways of sin and then gives you the grace to smooth out the rough challenges that come into your life.
While all that is happening you can write “Caution: God at work” across your life.
I dare you to have the courage to pray this prayer.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
July 1, 2012
“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?… And He said, ‘Who told you?’” (Genesis 3: 9, 11)
A police officer on a motorcycle noticed a large enclosed truck driven down Sixth Street, in Los Angeles, California. The driver stopped every few blocks, got out of the truck, and beat around the sides of the truck with a large baseball bat. After observing this for some time, the officer turned on his siren, flashed his lights and with strong hand signals ordered the driver to pull over. The policeman asked the driver, “Mister, as far as I can tell, you’re not breaking the law. But I just gotta know, what are you doing?”
The truck driver explained, “Officer, this truck here has a capacity of five thousand pounds. But, you see, I got six thousand pounds of canaries in this truck. So, I gotta keep a thousand pounds of canaries up in the air all the time!”
When you begin reading the Bible it may surprise you to discover that the first four things God says to us are questions. Why would the creator God ask questions of the man He has created? I’m convinced God does this because He knows His creature is up in the air about life. God loves us too much to leave us without a definition of life and some direction. He wants to dialogue with us so He can bring what he calls salvation into our life.
Are you up in the air about your life? Because He loves you God would like to greet you with that question “Where are you?” and follow it with the question “Who told you?” when you respond to Him.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: faith, Genesis 3, God the Creator, spiritual dialogue, Spiritual Discernment, spiritual questions, spirituality, the Creation, where are you? | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
June 20, 2012
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)
Paul declared that the greatest virtue of a servant of the Lord is faithfulness.
The story is told of a man who was told by God to push against a huge rock as his primary work for a lifetime. The man did that and exhausted, burned out and discouraged told the Lord that rock had not moved a centimeter. The Lord responded that He had not told the man to move the rock, but to push against it. He made the observation that pushing against the rock had given him a strong healthy and muscular body. God knew all along that only He could move that rock.
This leads to an acrostic based on the word push. It goes like this:
P- Pray
U– Until
S– Something
H– Happens
I am now living in by 82nd year of life. One of the observations I have made in my long life is that God is our Mentor. He is always teaching us and He is fiercely committed to the proposition that we are going to grow spiritually and in every other way. He deliberately assigns us tasks that are not only difficult but impossible knowing that those tasks will grow and mature us into a faithful servant He can use to do through us what only He can do in this world.
Another observation without which I could not function as a human being or especially as a pastor is what I call four spiritual secrets. They are that I’m not, I can’t, I don’t even want to but He is He can He wants to and He does.
So push and pray until He does work through you.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: 1 corinthians 4, faith, Faithfulness, Four Spiritual Secrets, God's faithfulness, Jesus, moving rocks, P.U.S.H., prayer, religion, Trusting God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
June 7, 2012
“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.’ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’” (Mark 4: 35-40 LB)
I have not posted a blog for quite some time because I had a medical crisis that put me in the hospital followed by a limited ability to work for about eight weeks. This experience has reminded me of the story above of a fierce storm that was turned into a great calm by a profound question asked by Jesus.
The disciples clearly believed they were all going to drown including Jesus. The question of Jesus was essentially “When are you going to get some faith?” In other words, “Do you think that all I have told you about My kingdom and your part in it is going to drown at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee?”
Jesus promises to take us to the other side. When fierce storms break into our lives they will not invalidate what Jesus is doing in and through us if we will let this profound question turn our fierce storms into a great calm.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: facing storms of life, faith, Jesus Christ, Questions of Jesus, Sea of Galilee, spiritual questions, spirituality | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
May 22, 2012
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)
An attractive young lady was returning from a church meeting at a late hour. When she stopped at a traffic light, a large “eighteen-wheeler” truck was in the next lane. As the light changed and she pulled away, the large truck “tailgated” her car while blinking its lights and blowing its loud air horn.
She was very frightened and increased her speed as she drove out of the city limits toward the farmhouse where she lived with her parents. The huge truck followed her all the way, blinking its lights and blowing its horn. She turned into a long dirt road that led to her home. The truck followed her as she drove right up to the porch of the house. When she frantically popped open her door to run for the house, the back door of her car suddenly opened and a man with a large knife bolted for the woods.
When she stopped for that light, the truck driver saw the man crouching behind her front seat with a knife in his hand. Realizing that she was going to be attacked as soon as she drove into the country, the truck driver was determined to save her from that tragedy.
Sometimes, our suffering and limitations seem like that eighteen-wheeler bearing down on us. Actually, however, that suffering can be a vehicle of our loving God, purging out of our lives the evil one who is determined to ruin us. This is what our Lord was profiling when He instructed us in the disciple’s prayer to pray that we might be delivered from the evil one.
Can you meet yourself in this story?
Editor’s Note: Dick Woodward (my Papa) recently returned from a hospitalization & has recovered nicely (thanks be to God!!) He is now getting back into his normal schedule (blog writing inclusive.) We appreciate your continued prayers as we give thanks – Life is a Gift!!
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: deliver us from evil, faith, faith & suffering, God's faithfulness, Matthew 5, Our Father, The Disciples' Prayer | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
May 4, 2012
“… your fellowship in the Gospel…” (Philippians 1:5)
When you read the first words of Paul’s letter to his favorite church they show you the passion of Paul and the heart of this church he loved. The bonds that made them so remarkably one in heart are expressed in the repetition of one word: “Gospel.” Paul writes that the things he has experienced have fallen out to the furtherance of the Gospel. And that he has them in his heart because in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel they all are partakers of God’s grace.
As Paul continues to repeat the word “Gospel” he expresses his heart’s passion when he describes what he calls “the faith of the Gospel.” He precedes that with the concept of behavior that becomes the Gospel. Paul is describing the purpose and function of a church when he calls their church “a fellowship of the Gospel.” The context in which the Gospel is to be believed is that fellowship of the Gospel.
Paul is in prison when he writes these words and he doesn’t know if he will be released. In verse 27 he writes his ideal for his ideal church. His great Gospel prescription is: “I want to hear that every member of your church is a Christian; every Christian is Christian and Christians are Christian together in a way that results in other people believing the Gospel!”
Paul’s plan for filling this prescription for his ideal spiritual community is to “Stand fast in one Spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel!” (1:27) That Church in Philippi is to act as if they have one mind among them because in fact because they do.
It is the mind of Christ.
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 22, 2012
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23: 1-3)
These are some of the most familiar words in the Bible loved by Protestants, Catholics and Jews. They describe our relationship with God. They tell us that when God is our Shepherd we have green pastures, still waters and a full cup that never empties. This is because our great Shepherd makes us lie down. He may use problems we cannot solve to make us lie down. However, since we are creatures of choice we can choose to get up again. When we do our green pastures turn brown and our cup empties again. He then restores our soul by driving us into the paths of righteousness that restore us.
Many devout souls also love this psalm because they see in it a description of a believer’s death. To them death is the great Shepherd coming into a life for the last time making a devout person lie down so He can give them the green pastures that never turn brown and the full cup that never empties in the eternal state. The only way He can give us these eternal blessings is to make us lie down in death.
The key to these eternal blessings is found in the opening words of the psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Meditate on these words one word at a time. They are the key to living here and in the hereafter. Can you say that He is your Shepherd today and always?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: christianity, death, eternal blessings, faith, god, Heaven, Jesus, King David, Peace of God, Psalm 23, Relationship with God, Trust in God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
April 12, 2012
“Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.” (1 Corinthians 15: 49)
Have you ever watched a dragonfly move from one plant to another with its two sets of wings making it possible for it to hover like a helicopter? A dragonfly actually spends the first two years of its existence at the bottom of a large body of water. When that phase of its existence comes to an end, it rises to the surface of the water, climbs up on the bank and lets it wings dry in the sun. Then it spreads those magnificent wings and begins the second dimension of its existence when it becomes an aeronautical wonder.
Easter reminded us that like the dragonfly we are meant to live out our existence in two dimensions. If you did a cross-section of that under-water dragonfly you would see that it has two respiratory systems. It has one for living under water and one for breathing air in the second dimension of its life.
If you could do a spiritual cross-section on a born again believer you would find that we are also equipped with two systems. We have an outward man and an inward man. Our outward man is just a little clay pot in which our eternal inward man lives.
We are told in the great Resurrection Chapter (1 Corinthians 15), that we are given a body for living this life and we will be issued another body for living in the eternal state. According to Paul, that new body will be a spiritual body that will equip us for living throughout all eternity. I don’t know about you but as a bed fast quadriplegic I’m really looking forward to being issued that new body!
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Easter, faith, Heaven, I Corinthians 15, Jesus Christ, religion, Resurrection, resurrection chapter, spiritual bodies, spirituality | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
March 30, 2012
“… the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)
The prophet Habakkuk lived in one of the most difficult times in Hebrew history. God gave him a prophetic message to preach when the Babylonians were about to conquer God’s people. The watchtowers were manned with soldiers who were listening for the dreadful sounds of the Babylonian army. This little prophet had witnessed the terrible ways the great Prophet Jeremiah was treated when he preached his message. Being a simple choir director he could only imagine how he would be treated if he assumed the role of a prophet.
He therefore came up with a very clever literary form. He proclaimed that he was going to build a spiritual watchtower and ask God all the difficult questions that were on their hearts at that time. Questions like, “Why will you use a people more sinful than we are to chasten us?” He told them that when he heard from God he would tell them what God said in answer to these and other questions. His literary form was like a talk show in which he was the host and God was the Guest being interviewed.
God’s answer was that the wickedness of the Babylonian would be their undoing, but the just would live by their faith. Originally this meant faith in the prophecy of Jeremiah that they would return from the Babylonian captivity. By application these seven words, which are quoted three times in the New Testament, were used to inspire the great protestant reformation.
People say God does not speak today as He did then. The truth is we do not listen for God as this prophet did. Do you have a spiritual watchtower? Do you listen for God and expect to hear from Him?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Christian devotional, faith, Faith in God, God's faithfulness, Habakkuk, hebrew history, justice, listening to God, prayer, prophetic message, protestant reformation, Spiritual Discernment, spirituality | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
March 25, 2012
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:30)
The Apostle Peter is the only man besides Jesus Christ who ever walked on water. Yet millions of us only remember that he took his eyes off the Lord and would have drowned if the Lord had not saved him.
We read that his magnificent faith was flawed. He saw the wind. Since we cannot see wind this actually means when he saw what the wind was doing, he lost sight of what Jesus was doing and he was afraid. The remarkable thing here is that when he kept his eyes on Jesus he walked on water!
It was not until he was beginning to sink that he prayed this prayer that is a model prayer for us all. Jesus taught that our prayers should not be long and we should never think we will generate grace with God by our much speaking. If Peter had prayed a longer prayer, the words beyond the third would have been glub, glub glub! When Jesus caught Peter by the hand He gave him the nickname “Little faith” and I believe our Lord was smiling when He did. He literally asked Peter “Why did you think twice?”
Rick Warren took his entire congregation of twenty thousand people through the eight steps of what is called “Celebrate Recovery.” When asked why, his response was: “Because we are all in recovery. What do you think the word ‘salvation’ means?” When we truly understand the meaning of this word “salvation” we will frequently pray this model prayer.
Pray this three word prayer of Peter often and don’t think twice. Don’t be a “Little Faith.”
Lord, save me!
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: apostle peter, celebrate recovery, daily prayers, faith, Faith in God, Jesus Christ, model prayer, prayer, Saint Peter, salvation, spirituality, walking on water | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
4SpiritualSecrets 