“Don’t Let Your Joy Be Extinguished”

By Pastor Tim Burt

John 1:4-5 (NLT) “Life itself was in Jesus, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

One of the great challenges in any person’s life – Christian or not – is to try to stay up when the circumstances of life are trying to beat you down. Many people (me included) know how to put on a good face when things do not feel so good inside. In my airline career, I would often fly on 747, an aircraft with about 400 plus seats. I enjoyed greeting people so I would frequently stand at what was called “the boarding door” where the passengers would board the aircraft. I’d put on a big smile and greet all 400 plus people on the way in and say good-bye and thank them for joining us on the way out. There were occasions were I did this twice in one day. Sometimes my face hurt from smiling so much in one day although I think I built up pretty good facial “smile muscles” if there is such a thing.

Now I am just like anyone else. I have days where things go less than desirable – days that could even feel downright discouraging. But, I hated when that discouragement tried to control me and ruin my day. I did all that I could to turn those kinds of days around. I never would have been able to without the help of Gods’ Word and His Holy Spirit. There were a couple of powerful lessons the Holy Spirit taught me through the Word that helped me stay on the victory side of defeating discouragement and bad days.

First I learned from the Word of God that my mind amongst other things is like a muscle. 1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind…” The picture painted here from the original Greek is to tighten your belt or exercise and get in shape. The Lord spoke to my heart early on in my Christian walk and said, “Tim, I am going to tell you something and I don’t ever want you to forget it. Your mind belongs to you – not the devil. You think that the random thoughts that go through your mind are beyond your control. That is not true. Your mind is yours to think my thoughts and to glorify me.” Then the Lord brought me to 2 Cor. 10:4-5 to confirm this truth. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down imaginations and arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”

Learning that I could have control over my thought-life and that I could cast down and out the thoughts that were contrary to God’s Word was one of the most powerful and life changing revelations I had ever experienced. I would definitely have to “gird up the loins of my mind.” I discovered that it wasn’t easy but it could be done with God’s help. It was like exercise – it was work. But after months of casting out thoughts that were contrary to God’s Word, I started truly getting a hold of my mind. It started to become like a filter and it eventually happened more instinctively. Today, I do it for the most part, well. The devil may try to steer my imagination to a wrong place, buy the Holy Spirit will help me get it right back to where it should be and promptly!

Secondly, the Lord helped me think upon today’s Fresh Manna verse and it also revolutionized my walk with God. It says, “Life itself was in Jesus, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:4-5) I didn’t like discouragement. I didn’t like feeling or looking downcast. I didn’t like thinking negative things. Obviously Jesus didn’t’ either. It says, “Life was in Him and this life gives light to everyone.” I wanted to be filled with His light giving life. Jesus wasn’t the picture of despair. He was the picture of one who brought truth, love, hope, and encouragement to everyone. He was like a light in a dark place. The verse continues saying exactly that – the light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

Those words become my words and foundation for daily living – “darkness can never extinguish it.” If I kept my heart full of God’s promise, hope, love, and encouragement, I would shine with light and darkness could never extinguish it.” This would help me carry a real smile – not just put on a plastic face on a bad day. And the circumstances and negative things going on around me could not extinguish them or me. To the contrary, my light would help extinguish them.

Smiling was something required in my job. That was okay because smiling is something wonderful – it is a light that shines. When there is substance behind that smile, it becomes the “life that gives light to everyone.”

What revelation! My mind and thoughts were mine to be governed by God’s Word and promise – not by discouragement and circumstances. And as I carried God’s hope, promise, love and encouragement in my heart, I could be like Jesus – the one who “gives light to everyone.”

This beats discouragement. This beats plastic smiles. This is the smile of God. Job knew this light, this smile, and this incredible power to influence people. He said in Job 29:24 “When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.” Negatives circumstances tried to prevail in his life. I guess he knew the secret of God that helped turn them around – that could not extinguish God’s light in His life.

Put the light of Jesus behind your smile today!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2008 Tim Burt, All rights reserved

Defeat Bad Reports

By Pastor Tim Burt

 

Luke 10:19  “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

 

Have you ever received bad news? Sure you have. We all have at one time or another and for many, way too much lately! Bad reports seem to have a way to make our stomach twist in knots. The loss of a loved one or some type of calamity or tragedy is never easy to hear about. But there are far too many bad reports that come to our hearing than we should not pay attention to.

 

You may have noticed that in the Old Testament Kings were never pleased with those that couldn’t wait to bear bad news. Kings often had them killed or punished. Many of us have been guilty of bringing a bad report at sometime or another. The really sad part about that is, sometimes people are almost seem excited or in a hurry to do it. “Did you hear about Mary? She and David are getting a divorce!” “I just heard that Peter has been cheating on Pam.”

 

In 2 Kings a very wicked King Sennacherib, spreads a very evil report about all the evil he is going to do to the children of Israel and how their God can do nothing to stop him. He puts a report out there that sends a chill of intimidation and fear down the backs of King Hezekiah and God’s people. It’s is an ongoing tactic Satan has used throughout all time. He brings an evil report and then gets as many people to begin to repeat it as He can. The result becomes a bad report that gains in momentum, ultimately working to rob all hope and faith instead create feelings of helplessness and despair. In 2 Kings 19:6-7 God speaks through Isaiah the prophet and tells King Hezekiah, “This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard–those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me… I will have him cut down with the sword.”

 

In Mark chapter 4 the Bible again exposes that tactic of the devil. It says that when the Word of God is planted in our heart, “Satan comes immediately to steal the Word of God from our hearts.” It tells us that one of the ways he does that is to bring the cares of this world. An evil or bad report will definitely bring cares which are used to steal our faith.

 

The entire Bible is written to encourage us to believe God’s truth – “that with man things are impossible but with God all things are possible.” When Hezekiah heard the bad report, he did what God wants us to do – to be still and instinctively begin to pray. When King Hezekiah did that, he heard from the Spirit of God and even though a whole army was coming down on them, God spoke these words:  “Do not be afraid of what you have heard…” He then delivered God’s people from the evil report and destruction.

 

God so desires us to move away from responding to every negative thing our five senses tell us and learn to instead pray and stand on the promises of His Word – what our spirit should be hearing from the Holy Spirit. If we are spending time in the Word of God we will hear God’s voice and promises. With God, things are not over till they are over, and even then they aren’t over. His Words say that the enemy has no right to harm us. It is a covenant promise. Yes, I know that people are hurt every day. You can’t answer for every person. You can only personally learn to stand in faith yourself. It is all the more reason to pray. If you do and you learn to stand on God’s covenant promises, you will begin to see evil reports change. If you are a believer, then you belong to God. Part of today’s Fresh Manna verse says, ”Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Behold means to pay attention and listen and learn. God then tells us He gives us power over Satan. He then promises – “…nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

 

When my daughter Stephanie was three year old, I was at the bottom of the stairs going up to her bedroom. She was standing at the top stairs with a long window shade stick in her mouth. She started walking downstairs. I yelled out to her not to but she fell and the stick ripped a hole on the inside of her throat. Blood flowed from her mouth and was choking her. I swept her in my arms, called for Renee and we raced for the hospital. We prayed over Stephanie all the way there and took authority over the devil reminding him of God’s promise, “nothing shall by any means hurt her.”  The doctor told us he could do surgery – cut the outside of her throat to sew up the inside and then sew up the outside again. Or, we could walk it out a day at a time but it would be at least a month before she could eat solid foods and she would be in great pain for a while. We felt led of God to take the latter choice. Within hours she was running around home like nothing happened. We had hamburgers on the table that night. We were going to feed her yogurt. Before we knew it, she grabbed a hamburger and started eating – no pain – nothing. She ate the whole thing. She never showed an adverse affect from this accident again. Praise God!

 

Replace evil reports with God’s promises and then pray and believe. I am not saying to ignore circumstances. I am only telling you to pray and believe that God’s promises are true and that He is greater than any circumstance in your life. Be the bearer of hope, good news and the promise of God. Don’t repeat a bad report. Instead grab the hand of the reporter and say, “Come on, this situation needs prayer. Let’s agree in prayer right now for this situation to change.” As Proverbs 15:30 says, “…a good report gives health to the bones” Now you are a carrier of good news, of faith, and of hope. You will be used of God and be a great blessing! 

 

In His Love,

Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/ 

 

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2008 Tim Burt, All rights reserved

Don’t You Be Blown In the Wind!

By Pastor Tim Burt

Ephes. 4:14 “Then we will no longer be like children, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.”

Have you ever noticed that the weather report comes to you from your media source without bias? The weather reporters are not interested in giving their emotional input or bias about how they feel about the weather. They just give you the facts that are available to them.

With most of the news and media sources around the world – that is not true. Newspapers often do much reporting with their personal bias built in. Most media sources have a bias and agenda in some of what they do. If a newspaper does not like a particular political party or candidate that reflect their views, their bias will show it. Someone at the top will make sure that happens. They may follow legal guidelines for equal time and the rules that would keep them from fines or trouble, but their bias is there and comes out. That is true from newspapers, to network news and television, and beyond. The powers of media that many years ago worked to stay neutral and let people create their own opinions based on fact, have moved from reporting, to working to influence views from their bias positions.

We live in a country with a legal system that is built on the foundation of “innocent until proven guilty.” Media sources don’t feel they have to play by the same rules. They will report, build discussion panels, and express formed views about the innocence or guilt of people before a case has ever hit a courtroom. A person might be proven innocent, but is toast in reputation by the time the media has finished with them – and this before they’ve had their day in court.

Famous figures are photographed and made the object of public display over where they eat and who they are eating with. This leads to public national broadcasting of their lunch with bias speculation as to whether they are having an affair with the person they had lunch with.

People that constantly subject themselves to taking in this kind of information will find themselves thinking and talking about things they really don’t care about. Do you really care who Paris Hilton was out partying with last night? Does it add anything to your life? Is it truly any of your business? Can you believe you are even thinking about it? Maybe even talking about it? Do you really care about every squabble that Hillary and Obama argue about?

Here is even a better question. Do the sources of information that are trying to sway you to a particular belief or view hold your moral values and love for God? Does their opinion on behavioral boundaries and lifestyle match those that Jesus teaches us? If not, why let them influence or even touch your thinking? Why let them have any input into your life?

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul that God’s goal for those that mentor us in ministry is to Christians grow up and mature becoming productive members of the body of Christ that learn how to reach, teach, and touch others with the love of God. God has given us His Word that we should grow up in spiritual maturity and become productive members of the body of Christ reflecting His love.

Verses 14 and 15 go on to say, “Then we will no longer be like children, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ who is the head of his body, the church. “

Media will teach us that sex before marriage is okay. That making fun of the President is okay. That homosexuality is just an alternative lifestyle. That abortion isn’t the taking of a life. That defending your country against terrorists is an act of aggression. The media will desensitize us to crime and murder and senseless violence. It will make profanity a part of normal communication. Does God agree with all this? When the world of opinions fly, people get discouraged and think, “There is no truth – it’s all a matter of perspective and opinion.” When someone comes to that conclusion, Satan has won. Wrong from right becomes blurred. There are no more absolutes. That leads to this conclusion. “People can do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else.” That’s a myth because everything everyone does affects someone else – eventually!

So what do we think? We let God become the anchor of our thoughts so we aren’t tossed to and fro like children. God wants to be the anchor of our soul and the primary input to our counsel – the advisor on how we think.

Ephes. 4:17-31 says, “Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They don’t care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. Since you have heard all about Him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true…”

World views, morals, and believes shift with the wind. Don’t you be tossed to and fro. Make God’s Word the anchor for all you believe and for how you live. He never changes! Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2008 Tim Burt, All rights reserved.