Craig's Living H2O

November 22nd - "Thanksgiving Week"

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."    Colossians 3:15

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."    Psalm 100:4

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."    Psalm 69:30

"So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture will give thanks to You forever; to all generations we will tell of Your praise."    Psalm 79:13

November is Thanksgiving month so let's fill all our months with thanksgiving and praise. Enjoy your family and friends and remember the One who makes it all possible.

November 21st - "Skilled in the Word"

"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statues and ordinances in Israel."    Ezra 7:10

Every generation needs more men like Ezra. He not only set his heart to study God's law, but he also set his heart to practice it. Ezra was intent on practicing what he preached. Ezra was God's man. Do you want that distinction? Do you want to be known as a man or woman of God? Ezra has given us the pattern to follow. Talk is cheap, but Ezra backed up his talk with his walk. Have you become "skilled" in the Word of God? We must know it, to live it. Ezra was a diligent student of God's law in a pagan environment. Our excuses won't work. We do what we want to do. Only those who pay the price reap the rewards. Where is the next Ezra?

"This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him."    Ezra 7:6

November 19th - "The Counselor"

"Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors."    Psalm 119:24

Our primary counsel for all of life is God's Word. All other counselors are secondary to His Word. Are we listening? Our first questions should always be, "What does God say about it? What is His counsel on the matter?"  Violating His counsel is a sure recipe for disaster.

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."    Psalm 119:105

November 18th - "The Price of Praise"

"The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise."    Proverbs 27:21

Very rarely have I viewed a compliment in this way, but I hope I can remember to do so in the future. This Scripture is saying that when we are praised, we are put in the furnace, in the crucible. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be polite and thank those who compliment us, but we should stop and realize that praise comes with a warning label. It kind of drives me crazy when Christians make you feel like you've done something wrong anytime you compliment them. You know, you say, "Good job," and they say something like, "Well, you know it's not me, it's Jesus." Too often it sounds like they are really saying, "You should KNOW its not me, its Jesus." There is nothing like the pain of a rebuke for simple trying to compliment someone. I think a better response is both gracious and polite, while at the same time, we take to heart this warning. A simple "thank you" is a great response, while always considering that  "a man is tested by his praise."

 

November 17th - "A Composition"

"He said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.  They are not just idle words for you—they are your life."    Deuteronomy 32:46-47a

May we all pray this prayer, "O Lord, make my whole life a composition of Your Word. Oh how I love Your Word." For His Words are our very lives.

 

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."   Psalm 91:14-16

October 9th - "When the Heat is On"

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes: but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought nor cease to yield its fruit."    Jeremiah 17:7-8

How true these words ring! "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord."  How blessed? Even "in the year of drought," even "when the heat comes," the man or woman of God shall be blessed! In the midst of hard times we need "not be anxious." God has called us "Blessed!" Who can rescind His Word? Who can thwart His plan? We are not bound by this world's economy for we live by and on a heavenly one. God has called us blessed! When I was a kid I played little league baseball. I was the lead-off batter and played shortstop. I remember one game in particular that we played when I was in the sixth grade. As the lead-off batter I was the first to bat against the opponent pitcher who was already six feet tall and had facial hair. I was still a normal runt size sixth grader, so this pitcher looked like a giant on the mound. To top it all off his warm-up pitches were wild. Just as I nervously stepped in the batter's box it got better!  I suddenly heard his catcher yell from behind me,  "Bring the heat!"  All these years later as a grown adult, I know that this life can throw you some pretty hard pitches. But even when the devil throws us his "heat," the "blessed man" need not be anxious. God has made provision for us to increase even in these hard times. It may or may not be monetarily, but we definitely can increase in depth of character and compassion. Isaac was a man "blessed" of the Lord. Isaac sowed in the land in the year of famine and look at the outcome.

"Now Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy."   Genesis 26:12

October 8th - "Who Daily Bears Our Burden"

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation."    Psalm 68:19

Daily the Lord bears our burdens! What an amazing thought! All the universe is His making, and yet He tenderly bears each of our burdens. Your concerns and cares touch Him deeply. Meditate on this truth today and your life will be much lighter no matter how heavy the load may be. God sees and He cares.

"For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth. By You I have been sustained from my birth ... I have become a marvel to many, for You are my strong refuge."    Psalm 71:5-7

October 7th - "The Key is Remembering"

"But Jesus, aware of this, said, 'You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?"    Matthew 16:8-9

We can never afford to measure our faith by what those around us are doing. We are given to comparisons, but Jesus is the One who measures our faith. If we are to measure up, we must remember the loaves that He has already multiplied for us in our past. The key is remembering. How soon we forget yesterday's Red Sea partings in our lives, while only focusing on the present problem we are facing. To keep your faith level up you must focus on the God who has already multiplied your loaves time and time again. None of us wants to hear Jesus say, "You men of little faith." You must meditate on His Word and remember the faithfulness of your God and King.

"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?  Jeremiah 12:5

October 6th - "Doubting is a Luxury You Can't Afford"

"But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'"    Matthew 14:30-31

If  you are going to walk on the water, you don't have the luxury of doubting. When Peter turned his gaze off of Jesus and on to his circumstances it brought fear. As soon as fear came in, Peter started going in the wrong direction. The Scripture says, "Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." Our thoughts either support or demolish our faith. You can't walk on the water and be a doubter. To not doubt you must be disciplined in your thoughts and keep your focus on His last Word that were given to you. We need to say to ourselves, "Though I am in a storm and out on the water, Jesus bid me come and I must obey." Remind yourself that Jesus is leading your life. He has led or allowed you to enter into your storm. Only a disciplined mind that violently resists fear and doubt, staying fixed on the Word of God, will keep you from sinking. If we do succumb to fear and doubt, Jesus will immediately rescue us. He won't let us sink. But to walk on the water and only partially succeed is in Jesus' own words, "Little faith." Great faith leaves no room for doubt.. I want to exhibit great faith. It is much better to walk all the way to Jesus then to be consistently rescued.

October 5th - "Clinging to Jesus"

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."    Psalm 63:6-8

Our need is so great that we must constantly "cling" to Jesus. Even when we don't feel our need, it still remains. Any man or woman, who has come to believe that they can navigate his or her own life, has been sorely deceived. We need a compass, a North Star, a guide to lead us. If we are to find our way, then we, like a child clutching its mother when among strangers, must cling to our Savior. Make it your habit to "cling," to listen, and to obey.

"I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me , O Lord, but with justice; not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing."    Jeremiah 10:23-24