Not My Way But Your Way

Lean not to your own understanding, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6). This scripture is very valuable to every believer. I know when this was written, God had given us important instructions to help us win. We have to practice this Word from the Lord daily to achieve the best He has for us. When He tells us, that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). Both scriptures tie in together to say, we cannot trust in or rely on our fleshly intellect. We have to call on Him for the wisdom when we need to make daily decisions. 

Solomon knew best, when He said He wanted the wisdom of God first, before he asked for anything else (2 Chronicles 1:7-12). Pride is the very thing that will keep us from moving ahead in the will of God. Wanting to control every situation based on your own understanding will keep you from receiving better. Trusting in the Lord with all you got will get you to the higher levels you desire. 

Most importantly what He desires for you. Leaning not to your own understanding, but trusting Him instead, will take you to levels you never dreamed of. I will do exceedingly and abundantly above all you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). God has “AMAZING” in store for you. It’s up to us to trust Him, lean on Him, stand still and see the salvation of The Lord. Doing it our way will cause weariness. If we grow not weary in well doing, then we will receive our blessings in the due season (Galatians 6:9). Doing well is doing it the way God has instructed. I believe our season has come and God is ready to release. Stand under His covering and trust. He will direct your path to success. 

Scripture of the Day: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Because of Calvary

Artis L. Smith

Lessons From A Child

New Hope, one of the greatest parts of being a parent are the many lessons about God that our children are able to teach us. When our children were infants, they had this beautiful way of bringing so many scriptures to life for us, and they had no idea that they did it.

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather in barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:25-26 

God tells us not to worry about our needs being met, for He is in control. Yet many of us are constantly worried about bills being paid, our jobs being secure, our cars not breaking down, etc. Sometimes those worries try to rise up in me as well but then I take a look at my children, they don’t have a care in the world. 

Yes, they get hungry and thirsty. Yes, they need clothes to wear and a place to rest their heads. But that doesn’t keep them up at night or keep them from being the happiest children ever. 

They know that their needs are going to be met, so they don’t have to take on that burden. If only we trusted God the way our children trust their mothers (and fathers).

Often times, God will direct us to do something but we allow fear to stop us from moving in it. We have all kinds of excuses like not being qualified to do it or simply being fearful of the unknown. It happens to most everyone at some point. These days when fear tries to grab me, I again take another look at my children who seem fearless to me. 

I think about when they were learning to take their first steps. They could have thought to themselves, “I’ve never walked before so I better not try to walk now.” But instead, they (like most babies) had that innate trait that pushes them to try almost anything (including those things we wish they wouldn’t). 

Watching them try so many different things without hesitation is a constant reminder to me of how my “faith walk” should look. If I can only step out with the same confidence that they do, I might be surprised at how far my faith can take me and how many wonderful things I could accomplish.

When I truly learn how to put all my trust in God in the same manner that they put their trust in me, confident that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt them, my relationship with God would soar to levels I never thought possible! Children have an incredible way of putting the “scriptures in motion.” And these are lessons we all need to embrace!

Scripture of the Day: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.“ - Matthew 17:20

 

 

Artis L. Smith

Yada, Yada, Yada

New Hope, there is no substitute for time alone with God. His presence is the divine encounter that we all need in order to maintain the proper balance our lives require. Time alone with God lends itself to knowing Him in an intimate way that we can't get any other way. This intimate "knowing" is parallel to that which is shared between a husband and wife in a holy, sexual relationship. This is a completely different depth of fellowship than that found in casual sex relationships. 

The Hebrew word for this kind of intimacy is YADA. It is found in Genesis when speaking of Adam and Eve's consummation. It is also mentioned in Nahum 1:7- "The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7 AMP)

Maybe you've heard the phrase "Yada, yada, yada", which generally means "so on and so forth". It's a casual saying that's thrown around without much thought. Well, our English use of this word couldn't be farther from its Hebrew meaning found in the Bible. Yada is more than an act of intimacy-- it is the highest form of fellowship, and we need it in order to survive and live the more abundant life that Jesus provided. 

We see in the gospels that Jesus withdrew often, by Himself, in order to spend much needed time alone with Father God. In Mark 1:35 it says, "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." 

So how do you get that time alone? You don't have to tell me; I know your life is so busy that you have to schedule time to breathe. But answer this question for yourself: have you noticed that on those days when you make time to be in His presence, in the secret place, in that yada moment, that your life tends to be less hectic, more orderly, just plain easier? I have. But yet and still, life places its demands on us and we put off spending time with God because we know He's always available and we can "catch up with Him later". Let's put ourselves in His shoes for a moment: who wants a relationship with someone whose responses are always rushed and always promises to get back to us but seldom does? Do you? Can any relationship survive like that? Hardly. And here's the irony: we put God off as though He's requesting our presence for His sake!! Have we forgotten that He has everything to give and only us to gain? Time in His presence is for our benefit, not His. Don't get me wrong, He enjoys your fellowship; you are the only one with your DNA who can give Him YOU. But He is the greater one in the relationship who imparts to us. 

Sit down today and evaluate your life. What can you simplify in order to make room for God? A TV show, a hobby? Remember that you can't beat God giving and whatever you give, He will multiply back to you. Now go fellowship with God and yada, yada, yada.

Scripture of the Day: "The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him."  - Nahum 1:7

Artis L. Smith

A Fond Farewell

1-P1100526, a photo by J. Benton Adams Photography on Flickr.

The Women of New Hope #2

The Women of New Hope #2, a photo by J. Benton Adams Photography on Flickr.

A Great Service!

1-P1100316, a photo by J. Benton Adams Photography on Flickr.

A great service was had today at New Hope!

Even in the Small Things

I’ve often found myself labelling other people as being ‘wise’ or ‘having wisdom beyond their years’. This label is usually awarded because they’d either made a decision that I thought was tactical, or said something that I thought was profound. Hence, I’d reach into my bag of adjectives and pull out the age old descriptive: ‘he/she is wise’. But have you ever wondered if you’d be considered by those around you to be a wise person? Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about this godly attribute. 

 

In the Book of Exodus, Moses is given the task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt and being a prophet unto them, reacquainting them with the principles of their God. Embedded within his mandate was the construction of the tabernacle where the people would meet with God in worship. The building of the tabernacle was not a light task. It had certain divine specifications that had to be met in order to fulfill God’s vision for His designated place of meeting. As a result, God handpicked the workmen. Yes, that’s right, He picked each man Himself and placed within them the wisdom they needed to accomplish their specific tasks (Exodus 31:1-6). 

 

Now, in today’s world, an architect or handyman is usually selected on the virtue of his license, his experience, his skill, and his training. But having the wisdom of God is not usually a requirement. In fact, godly wisdom is not typically a prerequisite on most of our job descriptions. Yet, being endowed with wisdom from God is paramount in the accomplishment of so many of our daily tasks and decision making. 

 

So what did God mean when He said, “I have filled [the workman] with the Spirit of God, in wisdom”? (Exodus 31:3). According to the following verses, wisdom from the Spirit of God was a necessary ingredient in order for the men to “make all that [God had commanded Moses].” Does that mean they were not skilled, talented, or well trained? No, it means that despite their highly esteemed qualifications, without godly wisdom they would not have the ability to understand and fulfill God’s will. 

 

Today I encourage you to tap into the wisdom that God has downloaded in your heart, so that you will effectively accomplish that which He has set before you to do. Nothing you do for God is exempt from the application of His wisdom. Therefore, it is only when we speak, act, and make decisions through His spirit of wisdom that we will succeed in pleasing Him.   

 

Scripture of the Day: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” - James 1:5

Pastor Artis L. Smith