by Jeffrey Bush

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words: And a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” — Proverbs 17:27-28

This proverb goes against popular culture and practice. It’s thought that the more someone knows, the more they should speak. There are certainly times to speak up and speak out, this verse bluntly says that the best advice is to spare your words. 

Though you may strongly be tempted to say something, remember that knowledge and understanding choose NOT to respond in many situations. You might want to justify or be witty, but hold your peace.  In fact, even a fool looks wise if he’ll be sparing in his words. So the next time you’re provoked, choose knowledge and understanding by sparing your words.

“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” — Jude 9 

Michael wasn’t just an angel; he was an archangel. He had status and rank. At this time he was contending with the devil about the body of Moses. Maybe they were discussing the location of the body, but whatever it was, Michael stopped and said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” There was no need to fight a fight that belongs to God. No need to carry a load that God can carry. Turn it over to the Lord!

The accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), the devil, loves to remind us of why we are unworthy and unfit to serve God. A Christian can beat himself up with guilt and depression because of something they did, said, or saw. It might have been wrong, but our loving and forgiving Father casts our sin from the east to the west and remembers it no more. Confess and forsake sin (Proverbs 28:13), and then move on for the Lord. Don’t allow the devil to drown you in depression or guilt you into gloominess. Instead of trying to argue with the devil, just tell him, “The Lord rebuke thee.” God forgives and restores no matter how bad the devil makes you feel. God lifts and loves. Don’t try to justify or defend; turn it over to the Lord. As 1 John 3:20 says, “if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart.” It may feel like our conscience, mind and heart beat us down, and very likely the devil is the one feeding that fire, but God is greater than feelings and emotions. Trust God. Throw it to God. Tell the devil,  “The Lord rebuke thee” and let the peace, joy and truth of God’s Word flood your heart. Don’t fight the devil, rebuke him. It’s not your fight, it belongs to the Lord.

by Jeffrey Bush

God can and will use various elements to mold and build you, but below are a few of the common tools He uses. Last week we spoke about Your Past and Your Experience, and today we will touch on the last two. 

Your Faithfulness 

Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you should be faithful to do it. You never know what God has in store for your future, but you can be assured that He wants you to be faithful right now. Before you think of what else you would like from God, ask yourself how you are currently doing with what He has given you. According to Luke 16:10, if you are not faithful with little, you will not be faithful with much. One of God’s preparation tools is to find out how you will manage what He has placed in your hands at this specific moment of your life. God knows that tomorrow you will only be more of what you are today, so He waits patiently to watch your current faithfulness. 

Remember the story of Joshua? He was the servant of Moses, and later replaced Moses. In Joshua 1, God spoke to Joshua and said, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people” (vs. 2). Though it seems tremendously intimidating, Joshua was ready for the task. The readiness of Joshua had much to do with the fact that he was one of the twelve spies sent to check out Canaan, he led the army against Amalek, and served Moses. His faithfulness to each task he was given led him to being prepared for what God had next for him. And the same goes in your life. If you will be faithful with whatever God places before you, you will be prepared for the future He has for you. 

If you are faithful today doing what God has placed in front of you, tomorrow will take care of itself. On the contrary, if you are not faithful with what God has placed in front of you, you can’t expect God to entrust more to you. 

Your Trials 

God allows trials in your life, and how you deal with them will determine if you become better or fail the tests God has placed in front of you. God does not place trials in your life because He dislikes you, rather because He loves you. He loves you too much to remove all trials from your life. He wants to build, mold, and form you into His image. 

I love what Paul says in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” I love that. I want to know God, and I want to have the resurrection power upon my life. The problem is, the verse does not end there. There is no period after speaking of the power of His resurrection. It continues saying, “and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” There’s a sweet fellowship with God that can only be found in suffering. When money is in your pocket, family is well, and no one is criticizing, it’s easy to keep moving forward… and regrettably, you won’t look to God so much in the good and prosperous times. But in the moment of trials, there’s a desire to nestle up to God and receive the help, love, comfort, and fellowship. Trials do not have to cause you to run from God, they can cause you to get closer to God, and be “conformable” unto Him. He might just use trials to bring you close to Him and teach you to be more like Him. 

The Psalmist David says in Psalms 119:67, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” Though it’s not clear which affliction or trials he is speaking of (possibly when Absalom tried to kill him, when Saul tried to take his life, when people were criticizing him, or when his mighty men wanted to stone him), we do know that he accepted and allowed the afflictions to teach Him to keep God’s Word. And a few verses later, in verse 71, he went a step further by saying, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” Not only did he learn to keep God’s Word by being afflicted, but now he says it was good for him to be afflicted. Could I say this? Could you say this? I must admit that when I’m in trials, I beg God to rescue me as soon as possible, when I should ask God to teach me from the situation. Trials might just be what God uses to conform you to His image, and to better you for His service. You can accept the trials and afflictions, or you can reject them, but if you desire for God to use your life, you should accept the trials He sends your way. 

In Deuteronomy 8:2, it says, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” If you look back in your life, you certainly have seen how faithful and good God has been to you. He has provided, protected, and been present in each moment. But along the path, God allows trials to come into your life to humble, prove, and know what is in your heart. Instead of kicking against the difficult times God allows in your life, accept them, learn from them, and allow them to cause you to grow closer to God. 

by Jeffrey Bush

God can and will use various elements to mold and build you, but below are a few of the common tools He uses: 

Your Past 

Each person has a unique past, and somewhere along the way it’s likely that negative things have happened to you. For some there is abuse (physical, verbal or sexual), abandonment, lies, or various forms of trauma. Though God is not the author of these horrific events, God does allow things to happen in the lives of each individual. Your past is your past, meaning it cannot be changed no matter how much you dwell on it or despise it. But your past does not have to make you bitter. If you do allow bitterness to settle in, whether against a person, event, or even God, it will end up destroying you (Hebrews 12:15). You have some decisions to make about your past. First, accept it as it is from God whether you understand it or not. And next, allow God to use it to make you stronger and use it to serve and help others. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, it uses the word “comfort” five different times in these two short verses. The abbreviated lesson is that God comforts us so we can comfort others. As you know, you don’t need comfort if you haven’t been hurt. But when you are hurt, God comforts you, and God intends to use that situation so that you can turn around and comfort others. God likely wants to use your difficult past so that you can help others to victoriously overcome their tragic situation. Your past doesn’t have to be your present misery; you can choose to allow God to make you a better suited person to serve others. 

Philip 3:13 speaks about “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” You can’t move forward while looking back. If you keep dwelling on the past, you will be obstructed from moving forward. Just as the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror, so you must intentionally stop looking back in order to press forward.

The clearest Biblical example, in my opinion, is the life of Joseph. His brothers were insanely jealous because of Joseph’s dream, so they sold him into slavery. Joseph was sent to Egypt, abused, mistreated, falsely accused, and forgotten multiple times. Yet we see a tremendous insight into his life when he has children. According to Genesis 41:51-52, the name of his two sons were Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh meant “God made me forget” and Ephraim meant “God caused me to be fruitful”. The profound lesson is found in the order. Joseph had to learn to forget before he could be fruitful. The very things that could have caused him to bitterness, anger, deny God, or quit, allowed him to become fruitful. And you as well must forget the hurtful things of your past in order to have a fruitful future. You don’t have to be a victim of your past, you can be a victor!

Your Experience 

God is currently providing you opportunities, and you must determine to gain all the experience you can right now. Don’t just do your job where you are, you can learn everything you can where you are and who you are with to be stronger for the next step. Get involved in multiple ministries, learn from others, read books, take notes in preaching, ask questions, and observe others. Don’t let time fly by without learning all you can at the stage where God has you. You get out of life what you put into it, so insert effort, energy, and interest, and you will receive much more than the average person. 

Several years ago, I was on a furlough from Argentina visiting the US. I had the opportunity to travel to dozens of churches, so I decided to to make a list of questions that I would ask pastors when I visited their church. Some of the questions were, “What do you believe makes a strong marriage?” “What evangelistic ideas have you seen God use to grow the ministry?” “What best helps you when you are discouraged?” I underestimated how much those questions ended up helping me and the pastors in Argentina. 

You cannot live long enough to gain all the experience, but God has placed people around you to teach and help you. Gain personal experience through the opportunities you have and from the people around you. 

by Jeffrey Bush

All of us serve in various place around the country and around the world. You understand the blessings and challenges in service and undoubtedly are grateful for people with good attitudes that help you serve the Lord. You want, even need, good people that help you along the way. Now, I ask you to remember that your pastor needs the same. You can be that breath of fresh air, that encouragement, and cold water to his soul. Allow me to give you a few ideas on how you can show appreciation to your pastor this month:

1. Verbalize it. Proverbs 16:24 says your word can be sweet and healthy. Your words can lift up, encourage, and make someone’s day. Good words cost you nothing, but could mean the world to someone else. You can verbalize your appreciation to your pastor today through a text, an email, or a handwritten card. 
2. Show it. Jump on Amazon and send your pastor and his wife a small gift. It’s not about the amount you spend, but the fact you took time and effort to show your love. Show your appreciation today! 
3. Share it. Take a few extra minutes to tell your children how grateful you are for your pastor, and pray with them for your pastor. Then take a picture of your family and send it to your pastor, letting him know that you are praying for him. Share your appreciation on social media, with your friends, and most importantly, share it in prayer to the Lord. Your pastor needs and wants your prayers. The devil constantly stalks your pastor, so intervene for him in prayer today! 

Hebrews 13:17 says your pastor watches for your soul, but it goes on saying your pastor can do it joyfully or with grief. The power to make your pastor enjoy his job lies within each member. You have the power to submit, encourage, love, support, pray for, and help your pastor. You can hold his hands up as Aaron and Hur did to Moses. You can use your words and actions to show appreciation to your pastor. May we appreciate the pastor God has placed in our life!