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I Can’t Do This Alone – Part III

Dr. I. David Byrd,  March 1, 2020
Pastor Sheffield teaches, “To the disciples who were as disconcerted about their lives as we often are about ours, Jesus said: You don’t have to do this alone!

 

“The Holy Spirit will come and help you,
because the Father will send the Spirit
to take my place …
So don’t be worried or afraid”
John 14:26-27 CEV

 

The teaching in John takes us back before the crucifixion, when Jesus’ disciples were, perhaps, only beginning to realize the political realities of Jesus’ situation. It wasn’t any easier than it is for you or me for Jesus to fight “City Hall.” It wasn’t any easier than it is for you or me for Jesus to stand for right in face of wrong. It wasn’t any easier than it is for you or me for Jesus to make hard decisions. And the Bible never tells us it will get easier. What it does tell us is that when it gets harder, we can hold fast to God’s promise to be with us and not to leave us hanging out there alone. Jesus knew full well that those who hang in there sometimes get hung out to dry, and even hung on a cross to die. He is not denying that reality. He is pointing to a greater reality — the presence of God with you and me, knowing full well how hard it is for you and me to hear it.

 

 

English tends to limit our understanding of the role of God’s Spirit with us. The New Revised Standard Version translates the Holy Spirit as “Advocate”, one who stands up for us, who speaks out for us, who acts on our behalf. But even that doesn’t go far enough in telling us what it means to say the Spirit of God is with us. The Greek word parakletos, means to be with you forever. Yes, he stands up for us, but the “Paraclete” that Jesus promised is also the one who comforts us and holds us accountable and exhorts us to do the same for each other. To do the same for each other is to do what Jesus said, when he said, “If you love Me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you” (John 14:15 CEV). What He’s telling you is He’ll be there for you even when it seems in what you do, you’re all alone.”

 

Father, we are thankful for the earthly community that supports us in times of trouble. And we are even more thankful for the Holy Spirit you have sent to ensure we don’t have to live life alone. We repent for being so prideful to think we can handle life on our own; that we don’t need anyone with which to share our burdens.

 

In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
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I Can’t Do This Alone – Part II

Dr. I. David Byrd February 15, 2020

 

Often times in worship we sing songs that say, “All I need is Jesus” and while it is sung out of a heart that means well, it’s actually not biblical. He created us to be part of a community.

 

In Part 1 we discussed the need for a close friend. Today we will look at the force multiplier, being in community. A community is a group of people we lean on when times are tough – our friends, family, neighbors and church members; People who are there for us when we need love, support and encouragement. As human beings, we need a sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging is what connects us to the many relationships in community. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the Beloved Community which isn’t just based on proximity but purpose. The point of community isn’t just to connect; it’s to move forward together by trusting God’s plan in the midst of our circumstances. That is why Jesus takes the fatherly tone of authority when He says in the Bible:

 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

 

The church is meant to be the refuge for those who are hurt, a place where people come to have their spiritual, emotional and physical needs met. For the grieving, grief is the 24/7 awareness of the tragedy that’s befallen him or her. More and more children are growing up in broken homes, unemployment is on the rise, people are sinking deeper into debt and struggling to make ends meet. The church is where believers receive all the “one anothers” of scripture. Receiving the love of others is evidence of God’s love for us and living in us.

 

 

According to scripture, there is no such thing as a churchless Christian. God chose the Israelites to be his people. “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). They lived and worshipped him together in community. Following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, God then instituted the church, the Body of Christ as a community of believers. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27). I admit it’s not easy. We sometimes hurt each other, families can be dysfunctional in so many ways! But God still uses us and His design is still the best design. His way is the best way. It works and accomplishes His purposes.

 

Father, I’m thankful to be part of Your family and part of the family of our local church. It is a blessing like no other and one You desire and command Your children to partake in. Help us to not miss out on this amazing blessing You want to give you. Break our hearts to be the support that encourages the hurting in our church and in our community.

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God

 

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I Can’t Do This Alone – Part I

Dr. I. David Byrd  February 1, 2020

 

The Bible says, “He’ll never leave you nor forsake you.” You believe in His Word. It’s the guiding principle of your life. But when faced with a severe illness of a family member or a uncontrollable, devastating loss you can become “conflicted” in your faith. It may seem like the current state is too much to handle on your own. You are supposed to press on physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually but you are exhausted and overwhelmed. Your burdens seem to be crushing you. It’s when we’re weary, exhausted and struggling, that we often tend to shrink back and isolate ourselves. We privilege silence without even knowing it.

 

To surround ourselves with the fellowship we need, we must take the treacherous step to be real and open. We must allow close friends to support us in the midst of our circumstances. We often do not want to admit our need for help. We are taught from a young age that we should be independent; conditioned to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness or failure. We struggle with pride and want to prove our ability in the eyes of the world. While this may be our mindset, it is not the mindset of Jesus.

 

Paul Tripp says in his book, Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy, “We weren’t created to be independent, autonomous, or self-sufficient. We were made to live in a humble, worshipful, and loving dependency upon God and in a loving and humble interdependency with others.”

 

I’m reminded that even Moses couldn’t do it alone. Exodus 17 tells the story of his friends having to hold up Moses arms to ensure victory for the Israelites.

 

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,
but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him
and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side,
one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Exodus 17:11-12

 

Moses hears from God and understands the responsibility God has placed on him by simply holding his hands up. Aaron and Hur couldn’t take his place. They couldn’t do his job. But they could support him as he endured what God had called him to do. God designed us to need people for fellowshipping, helping, encouraging and supporting one another. Regardless of how much power we have, ultimately, we need someone else to lean on. Someone else to lift our hands up, someone else to encourage us as we journey through our circumstances.  Don’t try to go it alone.

 

Dear Lord, I never realized the stress that I was bringing upon myself by assuming that I was capable of handling problems on my own. I must learn to trust your way and accept that I can’t do it alone. Forgive me for trying to do things apart from community. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God

 

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Faithful To Me

Dr. I. David Byrd, January 15, 2020

We have become so conditioned to the influx of marketing around New Year’s resolutions, that the word “resolution” itself has virtually lost its meaning for most of society. Researchers say that 89% of resolutions are dropped by the end of February. This can be your year to shift from resolutions to lifestyle changes. One of my favorite parts of turning the calendar to January is seeing all the blank spaces to be filled.  An opportunity to restart, reset or readjust my life plan. I’ve heard it said that life is to be lived looking forward, but it is to be understood looking backwards. So, before we begin to fill in the spaces with our resolutions, goals and to dos, let’s pause to reflect and give God praise for 2019.

 

 I can confidently say, God has been faithful. In my life I find that through every pain and every tear there’s a God that’s been faithful to me. When friends turned their back and walked away, still He has been faithful to me. I admit that in my heart many times I questioned His will and I failed to believe, but He has been faithful to me. When my strength was all gone and when my heart had no song, still He was faithful to me. When my heart looked away from Him. The many times I could not pray, still in life He proved faithful to me. The days I spent so selfishly reaching out for what pleased me. Still He has proved faithful to me. The lyricist said, “morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand has provided. Great is they faithfulness Lord unto me.”

 

I hope you can start 2020 by recognizing He has and will be faithfulness to you in the midst of all you will face.

 

Dear God, You have done so many things for me, saved me from so many dangers, toils and snares. As I go through this year, may I be so filled with Your praises that I cannot help but tell others what You have done for me!

 

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God

 

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The Journey 2020

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

 

 

Your  practical, inspirational resource for your spiritual walk

 

2020 is the year to ponder his faithfulness.  Through the puzzle of life, the Christian experience  is the greatest faith journey of all. It’s not always easy or fun, but as believers we know that God will help us through the detours and  potholes in the roadway. If you’re feeling weary in your journey, rest assured; nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God’s ordering and permission. There is no such thing as “chance,” “luck” or “accident” in the Christian’s journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are “working together” for the believer’s good. Christ-likeness is your eventual destination, but your journey is where your faith is perfected.

My prayer for you, like Paul’s, is that you gain a spirit of wisdom and revelation:

I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I always remember you in my prayers, asking the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you will know him better. I pray also that you will have a greater understanding in your heart so you will know the hope to which he has called us and that you will know how rich and glorious are the blessings God has promised his holy people.

Ephesians 1:15-18

 

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I Wonder What Jesus Would Want For Christmas

 

Dr. I. David Byrd, December 15, 2019

 

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Matthew 1;23

 

Gift giving is an expression of truly seeing the other person and knowing what they want. Sometimes we look to the past for hints of what a person is interested in and the things that define who they are. So, what we give to He who God sent forth, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, requires reflective thought and consideration. Emmanuel, “God with us”. I searched the scriptures to find hints of the perfect gift and here’s what the Word says:

 

  • Jesus wants you to make Him first, ahead of your finances, personal interests, relationships and schedule – even your troubles. This starts by giving Him your heart. The Bible tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34).
  • Jesus wants our belief in Him to be more than an intellectual agreement. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.” (Hebrew 11:1)
  • Jesus wants us to know God’s love, “I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:26)
  • Jesus wants us to behold His glory as proof of His eternal oneness with God. “Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am.” (John 17:24)
  • Jesus wants everyone to know it’s not about a gavel in his hand, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)
These hints tell me what Jesus wants most is for you to have a personal relationship with Him, forgiveness for your sins and a place in heaven forever. Jesus wants us to be saved so much that he stepped down from the heights of divinity to a cradle in humanity and then ultimately to a cross on Calvary. A relationship with Jesus changes everything! He has set before us an open door. Boldly walk through it, He will be with us – Emmanuel.

 

Father,
In this Christmas season we thank you for the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. We pause to celebrate your gift to the world. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God
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Can We Just Talk?

 

Dr. I. David Byrd, December 1, 2019
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how to answer everyone.”                 Col 4:6
Civility dies when you give up the right to have dialogue without trying to destroy the other person. The starting point for repairing our fractured country is how we interact with others.

 

First, our conversation should be an instrument of grace even to those who we don’t think deserve it. Paul uses the word “grace”, which most often refers to unmerited favor for those who are ill-deserving. Paul anticipating our sinful nature qualified this phrase with “always”.

 

Second, our conversations should be seasoned with “salt ”. Salt makes meat acceptable to the discerning palate and is a preservative that draws out bad organisms that can cause meat to decay. Once salt loses its chemical properties it is of no value. If the “flavor” of our conversation is saltless we are useless to God, of no value in bringing out people’s best tendencies and preventing their worse.

 

  • Deliberately seek to influence the people in your life by showing them the unconditional love of Christ through good deeds (Matthew 5:13)
  • Demonstrate the counterculture to language that demeans, degrades, divides and leads to societal moral decay. (Mark 9:50)
  • Witness to unbelievers being well prepared and focused on building others up according to their individual needs with purity of motive. (Col 4:6)

 

What a privilege God has given us to be in dialogue with others. Use it for God’s glory. It’s the evidence of the call upon our lives.

 

Father,
Your Word tells us we are to be a people set upon a hill; bringing light to the darkness of this world. Help us to live out the grace you provided to us. To not withhold conversation from anyone You put in our path.

 

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God
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Beware of Strangers

Dr. I. David Byrd, November 15, 2019

 

“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:1

 

Reflect on the ways in which you demonstrate love for others, even those that are different than you. Scripture calls us to love strangers and to bring them into our family. To receive and embrace those who do not share our faith and our values. The greatest way to get to know someone and evidence the love of Christ is to demonstrate biblical hospitality. The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenia, which means “lover of strangers”.

 

A relationship with Jesus is the sole source of hope for the world and God longs to use us to love the strangers around us so that they might enter into relationship with Him. Apart from God, our natural propensity is to avoid interacting with anyone we don’t know. But that is not the life our heavenly Father calls us to live. We are not called to keep this free gift of salvation for ourselves, but to share it with those strangers God is beckoning to himself.

 

It’s been said that food can unite, strengthen community bonds and help maintain a common identity among a group of people. Food will be the center of attention at most upcoming holiday celebrations or parties. The dinner table is a time to pause and relish in the ritual of passing food and sharing stories. Demonstrate Biblical hospitality by inviting someone who does not look, think or act like you to your holiday dinner table. It’s not just about opening your home, it’s about opening your heart.

 

Father,
Thank you for loving and pursuing me. Place a name, or even a few names on my heart that I might invite to the dinner table in order to hear their story and tell them your story. 
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God
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Being Public With Our Faith

Dr. I David Byrd, November 1, 2019

 

“For you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light.”                                                                                                  Ephesians 5:8 NRSV

 

Jesus provides the church the behavior necessary for being public about our faith. It starts with simply valuing people. If I value you, I will take time to get to know you. I will be concerned with the things that concern you. When we demonstrate the attributes of love, it causes us to take time to get into the other persons story. John Lederach expressed, “Jesus’ ministry has roots in grace expressed primarily through the quality of presence: the way he chose to be present, in relationship and in the company of others.”

 

Throughout the Bible Jesus first built relationships by compassionately accompanying people, helping them clarify their faith or find faith through their circumstances. Secondly, Jesus viewed people in ways that valuedthemand could not see their situations without being moved, feeling compassion, and acting. Third, Jesus honored diverse culturesto ensure the gospel would reach everyone. Jesus understood that it is hard to be in relationship with people we may view as different when we don’t see, understand or acknowledge their value.

 

The Syrophoenician woman, in Mark 7:24 -31, came to make a request of Jesus. She was culturally a Gentile, geographically a Canaanite and was assumed to be at the margin of the Jewish faith community. She was someone with whom Jesus and the disciples would not normally associate. The disciples allowed their worldviews to cloud their perception and calling. They labeled her as unfit, a foreigner, and an alien with no right to speak to Jesus. In Matthew 15:23, “They requested Jesus send her away.”Jesus used the opportunity to teach the lesson to the disciples that everyone would be included in the plan of salvation. We can be guilty of sometimes initially missing or ignoring those outside our comfort zone who may need our support. As children of light, we are called to ask the clarifying questions that can help us better understand the challenges others face in their life for the sake of their faith.

 

Just as God’s incarnate presence in Jesus Christ is a model for us, we are called to exhibit a coherent Christian perspective and response that is relational in nature. Twentieth century Catholic theologian Karl Reiner believed “the neighbor is given us precisely as the principal way in which God intends us to find our greatest fulfillment … whereby we are led by the Spirit to encounter God most intimately in the communion with one another that the Spirit of Jesus’ presence in another has made possible.”

 

Father in Heaven,

Help us to see people as you see them. To love them as you love them. Forgive us for sometimes thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Change our hearts so that we have the love that will fuel our bold yet humble witness to your grace found in Jesus.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God

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Stay In Peace, Not In Pieces

Dr. I. David Byrd October 15, 2019

 

Because of Peter’s decision to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, all of humankind has the opportunity to live in relationship with our Lord and Savior. Our common identity in Christ can lead to the healing of our divided and sinful nation. “He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).

 

In The Book of Acts, F. Bruce provides a poignant summary for believer to contemplate:
“Like the early church, If believers today do their part to reach out to all who are lost, church congregations will eventually be compromised of people from different racial and cultural backgrounds. When this happens, we most often see our propensity to label and categorize. We are most comfortable with those who are just like us. Clearly, at the root of these tendencies is the ugly sin of prejudice. The more we understand the gospel and embrace God’s version of the body of Christ, the more we begin to transcend these differences. More than merely getting along, we will be able to honestly and authentically say from our hearts that we love each other.”

 

Are you in a mindset to be used to accomplish God’s purpose in someone whose experiences differ from your own?

 

Father God,

 

Throughout your Word you declare, define and demonstrate love. I admit it’s hard to sometimes love people I feel are different or don’t deserve my love. However, I can’t truly love you if I can’t love those you love. So today, I repent and ask you to renew my heart and mind so I may witness to the world through my actions as well as my words.

 

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

 

Thank you for allowing me to speak into your life. Hey, spend a few moments of quiet time discovering your personal application of what you just read by clicking this link  myTime with God