Seekers Wanted

Can you remember as a child playing Hide-n-Seek?  I can, we had the best times playing that game.  We would hide up in trees, in tall grass, in the hay loft of the barn.  Those were great times.  I can remember when it was my time to be the “seeker” in the game.  I would finish counting and yell out “Ready or not here I come!”  I can remember the excitement and curiosity I felt seeking out all of my friends who were hiding.  I would always look in the weirdest of places with great anticipation of finding what I was looking for.  I can remember the adrenaline that was pumping in my body when I could see someone hiding and they hadn’t seen me.  It was exciting being the “seeker.”  As I think back on that game with fond memories, I can’t help but think of God.

You see, the concept of hide-n-seek has a lot to do with our pursuit of God.  The only difference is, God is not hiding.  He is right there, right out in the open.  He won’t even run from you if you try to chase him!  Yet, we sit back and wait, for what I am not sure, but we wait. Why don’t we seek after God with the same excitement and curiosity we once did playing games as a child?  We find ourselves seeking after things that are temporary and that gives us instant gratification.

In the book of Jeremiah, we find that for years Jeremiah had been warning the Israelites that God would be judging His people by sending them into captivity for seventy years.  But, they ignored his warning over and over again.  Then one day it happened, the Babylonians invaded and conquered them and took them into captivity.  Now there they are, wishing they would have listened, wondering if God would have anything to do with them again.  But listen to what God has to say, Jeremiah 29:10-13, This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  AMAZING!  Despite the disobedience of His people, God says this!  You see, God’s people stopped seeking after Him.  God says here is verse 13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”(Italics and Bold letters added for emphasis.)

There is a lesson for us here, if we seek God with all of our hearts, we will find him.  It’s a desire to Know God, a deep longing to be in relationship with Him, a commitment to please Him.  When you seek God with all your heart, you make all this a priority!  You ignore the harsh voices of our culture and listen intently for God’s voice.  I want to challenge you to not lose the excitement of seeking after God, if you have lost it, I challenge you to think back to your childhood and bring back that same enthusiasm and excitement and go after God!  Remember, He isn’t even hiding, He’s right there ready for you to come home!

In His Amazing Grace, Dan Daugherty

Natural Reflectors

As I grow and mature in my faith I am evermore mindful of the way I reflect God in my life.  For my morning devotion today, I was reading in Ephesians 5:1-21.  Such a rich chapter!  I was, as I often am, so convicted.  You see, verse one starts off by saying, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”  I am fully aware of that verse and have been for quite some time.  In fact, it is a verse that I have quoted to youth and adults alike over the years.  One year at camp I had a small group that I ran for the week that we called the “Imitators!”  By the way, it is really fun when you say that in a super hero voice.  Anyway, as I was saying, this verse is one that I am familiar with.  However, as I grow in my faith, so does the meaning of this verse in my own life.

If you read in chapter four it sets up the entire chapter five.  Chapter four, especially verses 17-32 are about a new way of life.  “We are to out off our old selves” (vs. 22) and “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God…” (vs. 24).    Then in comes verse 1 of chapter five with the ever famous, “Therefore”.  After we begin this new life we are to become imitators of God!  Sadly, I believe this part is often over looked.  Think for a moment.  How many people have you seen give their lives to the Lord but never have fully surrendered?  Who want to claim Jesus as their Savior and God but reflect him very little?  It is those people that need to re-examine their initial commitment.  This passage in chapter 5 talks about what must change in order to imitate God.  Let there be no “sexual immorality, impurity, or covetousness” (vs. 3), No “filthy or foolish talk” (vs. 4).  We are to become “light in the Lord and walk as children of light” (vs. 8) and we are to expose “unfruitful works of darkness” (vs. 11).  You see, someone who genuinely imitates God will follow this pattern naturally.  It is a result of Christ living in you!

Daily, I am challenged by God to step up to the plate and be the man He has created me to be!  I am to be ever mindful of my identity in Him and so that I can reflect Him in every way.  This life is hard, but we have been given everything we need to succeed.  We must remember that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we live and if we daily depend on Him, we will become natural reflectors of Jesus.  Choose this day to reflect Christ!

In His Amazing Grace,

Dan Daugherty

Fully Committed

Tomorrow, February 23, my wife and I reach a milestone in our marriage.  Tomorrow we will be married 10 years.  In today’s society, 10 years is a pretty long time.  With the divorce rate at 50% for non-Christians and Christians alike, there seems to be an ever-increasing lack of committment.  Not only in marriages but also in parenting.  Parents that give up on their responsibilities and let selfishness take control abandon their children and chase their own desires.  We see lack of committment in the financial responsibilities that we have too.  We, as a whole, have lost the meaning of a committment in our lives.

The lack of committment even permeates the Church, the Bride of Christ.  Our churches are full of people every week that are just there. They come and go never making a stand in their life.  They are comfortable with just attending, but never want to involve themselves in ministry.  As soon as they feel pressure to commit to their faith or to a ministry of the church, they leave and go somewhere else where, at least for a little while, they can blend in with the crowd.

This lack of committment is not what God had intended for his people to be doing.  I love the story in 1 Kings 8, when Solomon is getting ready to dedicate the Temple and he gives a prayer of dedication and in verse 61 of this passage he says, “But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time.”  This is such a powerful statement.  This is the last line of the prayer but it follows a whole prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God for His goodness and mercy.  So in essence, this verse is a response to that goodness and mercy.

God desires everything we are, not certain aspects of our life, but everything.  It is a committment!  As Solomon said, our hearts must be fully committed to God.  As a church we often chastise people for cheating on their spouses and breaking their commitments.  However; when we break our committment to God, by our sin and selfishness, we too commit adultery.  As the bride of Christ we must remain committed to Him in the good and bad times.  That means obeying Him in every area of your life.  I want to challenge you to fully submit to Him and commit yourself to the furthering of God’s Kingdom.  Obey His decrees and enter into a committed life of devotion to our Creator.  The promise and reward are amazing to those who are faithful.  Will you be fully committed?

In His Amazing Grace,

Dan Daugherty

Stop the Division!

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.   For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Romans 16:17-18 ESV

While at home one day my doorbell rang.  I answered it and there stood two women.  I asked them what I could do for them and they introduced themselves and opened a book and began to share with me.  I knew who they were; I have dealt many times with this particular group of people in the past.  They were representing the Jehovah’s Witness Church.  They were very nice women and seemed to have a big heart, however; what they were sharing with me was completely contrary to scripture.  I didn’t reveal to them right away that I am a pastor; I just allowed them to share their information with me.  They asked if I had any questions so far and it was then that I revealed to them who I am and what I do for a living.  I then proceeded to share with them the truth from the Bible and their whole attitude changed.  They quickly said thank you and then excused themselves.  It was really quite awkward.

The first century Church faced the same challenges.  In fact, Paul addresses the idea of false prophets and teachers all the time in his letters.  Other than technology and methodology, the early church was not all that different than it is today.  They faced division, false doctrine and consumerism in the church just as we do today.  The fact is; then and now there was and still is an issue that Paul addresses.   Paul writes in Romans 16:17-18 that we are to avoid people who cause division and create obstacles that go against what the Bible teaches.  Believe it or not there are those that claim to know Christ yet cause division among the church.  A lot of times they don’t know what they are really doing as I believe was the case with the two women that came to my house.  They have been raised in a certain belief system.  Sometimes they have become comfortable with where they are in their faith and become self-reliant and ignore Biblical truth.  There are many reasons why division is caused, yet the warning remains the same, watch out and avoid them.  1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

How do you test everything?  You have to know what the Word of God says.  Study and meditate on the Word.  Ask questions to those that may be further along in their faith.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in the Word that you may be able to take from it the truth and apply it to your life.  I want to encourage you to get deep in the Word on a daily basis.  Take notes during messages at church and go home and study them.  When faced with a belief system that seems to be contrary to what the Bible teaches, study the Word to see if what you have been told matches the context of the Bible.  May you be ever diligent in your journey to serve the Lord and know Him deeper!  Have a Christ-centered week!

In His Amazing Grace, Dan Daugherty

Let Me See!

This morning in my devotional time I was reading Mark 10:46-52.  If you are not familiar with this particular story it is of a blind man named Bartimaeus.  Jesus and His discples were leaving Jericho along with a large crowd when they came upon a blind man named Bartimaeus.  Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus and then called out to Him.  Those in the crowd rebuked him.  But the man could not be silent he called out again.  This time Jesus stops and tells His discples to call him over.  Bartimaeus immediatley gets up and goes to Jesus.  Jesus asks him a question, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bartimaeus says that he wants to recover his sight.  Then Jesus tells him to go his way and his fatih has made him well.  Immediatley, Bartimaeus could see and followed Jesus.

While I was reading this it hit me.  I never really payed attention to it before, but earlier in chapter 10:35-45, Jesus is talking with two of His discples James and John, you know the sons of Zebedee, and they want Jesus to do something for them.  Jesus asks them the same question that he asks Bartimaeus, the blind man.  “What do you want me to do for you?”  The difference?  The answer given to Jesus.  James and John desire power and status.  Bartimaeus? He wants to see!  James and John are already disciples of Jesus.  They follow Him day and night learning from the Messiah.  Bartimaeus is a blind beggar that is just trying to do his best to survive.  Yet, he seems to have a faith in Jesus that seems to be lacking in James and John.  He calls out “Son of David!”  It’s really quite amazing if you think about it.  This man can’t see with his eyes but has a faith in Jesus that is astonishing at the least.   See he didn’t necessarily need physical sight to see Jesus, just the eyes of his heart.  However, we know that its the lack of physical sight holding him back.

Put yourself in this story.  What is holding you back?  We all have certain “ailments” that hold us back.  Many times they are not even physical.  Most of the time they are emotional or spiritual.  Maybe it is a sin we are struggling with or a depression that we cannot seem to shake.  Whatever it is, call out to Jesus and when He asks you “What do you want me to do for you?” ask Him to Let Me See!  Let you see him for who He is and what He has called you to do.  Let you see people through His eyes and with His compassion.  Let you see who you really are because of Him.  It is never by our own strength that we overcome sin or other ailments, but by the power of God.   Many of us have great faith, we just need to see again.  Call on Jesus to help with that, but be prepared to pick up your cloak and follow Him the rest of the way!

In His Amazing Grace,

Dan Daugherty

 

A Year With Jesus

I recently reviewed a book through Thomas Nelson Publishers calles “A Year With Jesus” by R.P. Nettelhorst.  This is a year-long devotional book.  I must say it is a little odd to review a daily devotional in a few weeks, lol, but it was worth it.  Nettlelhorst take the very words of Jesus and breaks them down into several categories.  I liked this because each devotional was centered on Jesus’ words which are always very encouraging.  I have been a Christian for a while and in Ministry for 10 years and I found these devotions to be quiet reminders of God’s love and direction for me in my life.  There were no earth shattering pages in this book for me, however, it was a great reminder.  I believe too often we overlook the very words of Jesus as just words from a friend, when I believe His words hold much more than that.  He is God and deserves our attention when He speaks.  This is a great book for hearing and studying His words.  Hold them and treasure them, for they are the very words of God!

This review is my own opinion and I have received no compensation, other than the book itself, for this review.

In His Amazing Grace,

Dan Daugherty

Do you care?

This is my favorite time of the year!  I love Christmas!  I love Christmas not because of the lights and the snow or even the spirit that Christmas brings, although those are good.  I love Christmas because hearts are open to hear about the saving Grace of Jesus.  I believe that in the last 5 years people have been even more open.  Why?  Because more people are going without.  Bills are barely being met, if at all.  Hunger in this country, not to mention the world, is at staggering numbers.  There are children in our schools who do not have food at home and in some cases really don’t even have a place to call home.

Yet, as we shop for loved ones, enjoy hot meals with family, dress our children in warm, sturdy clothes in the morning, and send our children off to school with full bellies, we forget about those who go without.  I am just as guilty.  It’s easy to allow ourselves to become blind to everyone else but our own.  We should thank God everyday for the things we have.  All of this is sounding cliché I know.  It is the same crap you here all the time from your pastors or on the news.  You walk into every holiday season knowing stuff like this is going to be said.  Maybe you even feel a little guilty every now and then.  I can assure you none of this is being said to bring guilt to your heart, just maybe a little conviction.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24, then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  We are to deny ourselves!  That means we sacrifice a little for the sake of others.  That means in humility we serve those who are less fortunate.  I am not saying that you can’t have stuff, but what are you doing that is reflecting Jesus?  What are you doing with the resources God has given you?  What are you teaching your own children when it comes to reaching out to those less fortunate?

I am passionate about this because I was once there.  I know what it is like to go to school hungry because there is no food in the house.  I know what it is like to have to find a different place to live all the time because we were never able to pay the rent.  I know what it is like to have to go days without bathing because we couldn’t afford to fix the hot water heater or even keep the water on.  It was through the generosity of God’s people that I am where I am today.  When God’s church stepped in needs were met.  Jesus tells us again in Matthew 25:40 that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Him.

What does this time of year mean to you?  Does your generosity stop on December 31st?  What if His Church stepped up and truly reached out to those in need?  What if His Church set the example to the unbeliever once again?  What if, once again, we exalted the name of Jesus and through love, grace, mercy, and truth shared His love to a hurting world.  This Christmas season and beyond, may you be challenged to truly deny yourself and take up your cross.  May you reach out in love to those who are hurting.  May you teach your children what it means to give.  I challenge you to make a difference in someone’s life.  Even if they never know it was you.  Be the hands and feet of Jesus.

In His Amazing Grace,

Dan Daugherty