The Secret Place

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1)

I recently read an interesting story illustrating the power of God’s presence. A guy landed a new job on the opposite side of the country that required him to start immediately. So he left with his family and arrived at their new home on the west coast. A moving company moved all of their possessions except for one item – the husband’s pickup truck. The man’s grandmother, who was in her 70s, offered to drive his pickup truck to the family’s new location and then she would fly back home. To complicate matters, the day before she left, the grandmother broke her left wrist and had to have a cast put on her arm. Even though she had never driven this far, she insisted on making the trip anyway. After plotting her trip on the map she started off. It was a difficult trip. The truck was a stick shift and her cast made it hard to steer while she was shifting gears. She was so nervous that she seldom drove over 60 mph. She cringed with fear every time a huge 18-wheeler passed her. After several days of driving she pulled into a rest stop in to take a nap. After her nap, she stopped at a truck stop to get some coffee. As she was leaving the coffee shop a strange man walked up to her and said, “Ma’am, are you driving a white GMC pickup?” She was apprehensive about answering him, but he assured her he meant her no harm. So she reluctantly answered his questions. The man said, “Just a minute.” He stepped aside and called somebody on his cell phone. When he finished his call, he explained a trucker had reported a seeing an elderly lady with a cast on her arm having a difficult time. The truckers nicknamed her “Granny” and they started watching her in case she needed assistance. One trucker would report what motel she stopped at and in the morning, another trucker would pick her up and report on Granny’s location. He further explained, “We lost you when you pulled off into the rest stop, and we were about to call the state troopers. When I saw your truck, I stopped to see if you were okay. I just called a friend to report that Granny was safe and sound.” The lady had no idea that while she had been driving all those miles that someone cared enough to be watching over her. The rest of the trip was much easier. She wasn’t afraid when an 18- wheeler passed her, instead she smiled and waved. What a difference it made for her to know that she wasn’t alone. Aren’t you glad to know there is Someone watching over you as well? As nice as many truckers are, God will never lose sight of you.

Psalm 91 is often quoted as being a favorite – at least among those that spend time in the Word. I like to think this psalm was one of Jesus’ favorites. How do I arrive at that conclusion? In Matt. 6:11, when Jesus was facing the temptations in the wilderness, the devil used a portion of Psalm 91 in a sarcastic attempt to mock him and instill fear in his heart. One of the serpent’s most predictable schemes it trying to undermine the integrity of God’s word. During Jesus’ temptation I think the devil picked portions of Scripture that were most meaningful to Jesus and attempted to weaken his confidence in them. But our Lord didn’t fall for it. He avoided becoming prey to the devil’s scheme through his confidence in God’s promises.

This is a passage of Scripture that reminds us of the amazing security we have as we journey through this world. Throughout this psalm we are reminded that God is constantly watching over us – protecting, guiding, sustaining, and delivering us. But like many passages in the Bible, you cannot claim the promises in the psalm unless you meet the requirements. The Psalmist makes it clear at the very beginning: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. The promises contained in this Psalm are conditional. They are yours, providing you meet the stated conditions. What must we do to appropriate the promises made in this psalm? “Dwell in the shelter of the Most High” The word dwells means “to abide.” The author of the Psalm is not talking about a person who visits every now and then. This person lives with God. I like the way the KJV translates this verse: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. “The secret place” is most likely a reference to the “Holy of Holies” in the temple. It was the most intimate meeting place with God that existed. In the secret place it was one-on-one with God. The Psalmist says if you live there – stay there – dwell in the secret place then the promises in this Psalm are yours. What does God promise in the Psalm?

1. “I will deliver him” - vs.14 We all have times when we need God’s deliverance.
2. “I will set him on high” - vs. 14 He will help us to rise above our problems
3. “He shall call upon me and I will answer him” – vs. 15 He will hear and answer our prayers.
4. “I will be with him in trouble” - vs. 15 We will never face a problem as an orphan.
5. “I will deliver him and honor him” - vs. 15 God will establish and protect our reputation.
6. “With long life will I satisfy him” - vs. 16 We will live a long and satisfying life.
7. “And show him my salvation” - vs. 16 He promises to show a path to heaven – through Jesus His Son.

I encourage you to take a few moments today and read through the entirety of Psalm 91. Spend some time dwelling in the secret place as you continue on your journey and rest comfortably with the knowledge that your Heavenly Father is watching over you.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Pay Attention to the Decals

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
(2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

Sam Bass may not be a name you recognize right off the bat, but chances are you’ve seen his art work numerous times. He began his career in art somewhere around the age of six or seven. He always had a love for race cars - so much so that his parents would often buy him those little Hot Wheels toy cars from the toy store. Upon receiving them, Sam would tear open the boxes and then tear off all the wheels and start to repaint the bodies. When his mom complained and asked him why he was doing it, he’d say, “Mom I want them to look the way I want them to look.” Apparently, his fastidious attitude towards race cars has served him fairly well. Bass’s passion for the excitement and the color of racing fueled his desire to excel in a field that wasn’t even in existence before he put his hand to it. Today as NASCAR’S preeminent car artist, Sam has designed over 350 paint schemes for drivers like Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon. He calls them his “200mph paintings.” And works of art they are. When you’re dealing with a vehicle that costs 15-20 million dollars to sponsor, you don’t just slap any paint job on it. With the popularity of NASCAR and the sizable viewing audience it commands, advertising on the cars is at a high premium. Even though race fans only see the cars for a few seconds as they flash by, television cameras will follow the cars around the race track lap after lap, thus enabling drivers to charge premium prices for every square inch of paint on their car. And when a NASCAR competitor wants his/her car painted, Sam is the man to call. Sam is known world wide for his unique ability to combine dynamic color schemes with the numerous logos and advertising that adorn NASCAR vehicles. You can believe that he works in an extremely lucrative venue. Every surface on these vehicles that can be clearly seen by the camera becomes a billboard for some potential sponsor. The hood and rear quarter panels can cost as high as 20 million dollars. Decal placement on the smaller, lower rear quarter panels can run upwards of half a million dollars. It’s arguably the most expensive advertising space in the world.

The quality of Sam Bass’s work is seen world wide every time there is a NASCAR race. You can bet every inch is meticulously inspected before it is released for public viewing. It would be unthinkable to have a paint job go out the door that had runs or air bubbles or some other oversight in it. When something is watched as closely as NASCAR racing, nothing would be allowed that could compromise the integrity of the message on the car.

Paul says in the passage above that our Christian life is the same. “You are our letter…known and read by everybody.” In other words, we are all walking billboards for the reality and quality of the Christian life. We are walking, living advertisements for the Lord. Speaking to his brothers and sisters in the Corinthian Church Paul says, “I don’t have a better way of advertising the love of Christ than you. I don’t need an eloquent piece of literature. I don’t need a strongly worded sermon. I don’t a finely worded book. What I need to advertise Jesus – is you. You are it. You are the living proof of the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

Words written with ink can fade away. Words written with ink are silent. Words written with ink just sit there until someone comes along to read it. But you - you are a living letter - written not with ink but by the Spirit of the Living God. In other words, in every situation, in every circumstance, with every person – the Holy Spirit of God is using you to advertise the love of Jesus Christ to someone else. Many years ago, prior to the arrival of Jesus, Almighty God revealed His will by writing his law on tablets of stone. But now he uses a different way to advertise his will for our lives. He writes on human hearts. The ink he uses is the Holy Spirit. And you and I are the nothing more than the postman – delivering a message of grace, deliverance, forgiveness, love and mercy to the world in which we live. Because Jesus lives within you – you are a work of art.

The question is what kind of message are we advertising? The whole world is watching. So pay close attention to the decals attached to your life. Don’t let anything go out the door that compromises the clarity of the message. Do you portray Christ in your attitudes and your reactions to circumstances and to others? Do you properly portray what a Christian’s life should be, or are people disappointed with what they hear and how you act? Make sure your life is a letter worth reading. God designed you for the purpose of displaying his love to the world. Pay very close attention to the decals in your life.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Go For the Gold with Self Control

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1Corinthians 9:24-27)

As the world turns its attention to the Winter Olympics I am reminded from the Bible that in one way or another – every one of us are already involved in competition. “Who are we competing with?” you ask. Ourselves. >From the moment we enter into this world, we are in a battle to learn how to practice self-control.

In a department store a young husband was minding the baby while his wife was making a purchase. The infant was screaming and wailing and creating quite a distraction in the middle of the store, but the father seemed quite unperturbed as he quietly said over and over, “Easy now, Albert, - calm down - watch your temper – take it easy Albert.” A woman passing by took note of the way the husband was rocking the child back and forth and calmly handling the situation. She stopped for a moment and remarked, “I must congratulate you! You seem to know just how to speak to a baby.” “Baby nothing!” came the reply. “MY name is Albert!”

OK, let’s see a raise of hands – and be honest now; Has anybody reading this ever struggled with self-control? (You can go ahead and raise your hand as you’re reading – nobody is looking!) Like Albert, we’ve all faced situations where maintaining self-control is very difficult. For many, developing self-control is one of the most difficult battles they face in life. From the cradle to the grave it can be one long battle that never ends. Yet it is one of the qualities that God fully expects to develop in every one of his children. Self-control is listed last in the Fruit of Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) While scholars may argue over why this quality appears last in the list, one thing is certain; Without self-control, there is no way the other qualities can be produced and maintained in our life. You might be the wisest person in the world, the strongest person in the world, or the most educated person in the world. Without self-control you will still live a self-defeating lifestyle. Remember Samson from the Old Testament? He literally was the strongest man in the world, but was enslaved by his lusts and desires because he lacked self-control. Strength without self-control got him into a great deal of trouble.

The opposite of a self-controlled person is a person who has no discipline in their life and responds to life by simply reacting to impulse - much like an infant does. Whatever impulse comes their way, they respond to it. If they feel the urge to smoke – they are reaching for the pack. If they feel angry – they are vomiting verbally all over the people around them. Whatever impulse comes their way – they respond to it without processing it through a grid of discipline. They can’t say “no” to themselves. Just think of the problems in your life, which could have been avoided if you had only practiced self-control. How can it be produced in your life?

* Make it a goal (9:24) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” The goal for the athlete is to win the prize. The prize is the motivation the athlete needs in order to persevere during the training and discipline required to be a winner. The reason most of us do not exercise self-control is because we haven’t thought much about seeing it develop in our lives. There is no motivation to discipline ourselves if we haven’t made it a goal in our lives.

* Learn to practice self-discipline. (9:25) “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” Athletes train their bodies to compete. If an athlete expects to excel, he voluntarily and often severely restricts his liberty. His sleep, his diet, and his exercise are not determined by his rights or by his feelings but by the requirements of his training. Stop thinking about “what you think you deserve” or “what you think you have a right to do.” Those thoughts are a clear expression of pride in your life - which will keep you enslaved as long as you live on this earth. Accept the reality that a mature lifestyle involves self-sacrifice and self-discipline.

* Focus intently on developing self-control. (9:25b-26) “They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” Pay close attention to every single detail in every single step you take. Paul says, “I watch each step I take very carefully.” Don’t allow yourself the license of “one little slip-up.” Don’t give in to “just-this-time-only.” Don’t fall for, “I-deserve-this-right-now.” I can pretty much guarantee you can come up with some rationalization of why you think you have a right to abandon self-control. Whether you are facing stress, job pressure, family issues, or financial pressures or an unfair situation – these are all excuses people use to justify their lack of self-control. Every time you focus on your “reasoning” instead of maintaining self-control, you will stumble. Each time you stumble there will likely be a price to pay - in your life and in the relationships in your life.

. * Decide to live by a higher standard. (9:27) I beat my body, and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” There are days when the athlete’s body is tired and sore, but he continues training. There are days when he doesn’t feel like training, but he does so anyway. There are days when he begins to doubt his ability to outperform the other competitors, but he keeps on training. In other words, he behaves according to the standard he sets for himself, not the impulses he feels. Because he has set a higher standard to live by – he keeps his bodily impulses under control. He leads his body – not the other way around.

Now you might be reading this and thinking, “I’ve failed so many times in this one area. I just don’t think I will ever see victory.” Don’t you believe that, because it’s not true according to God’s Word. 2 Peter 1:3 teaches, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” Get your strength from your relationship with Jesus and you will see self-control begin to develop and grow in your life. Go for the gold!

Live the Victorious Life,
PT