An Open Door

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." - John 10:9

So many times you hear people talking about open doors or praying for God to open doors for them as a means of God revealing His will to them.  Have ever stopped and considered that we might be looking at this thing of "open doors" all wrong?

Here is what Henry Blackaby said about this: "What we are asking God to do is engineer our circumstances to match what we think would be best.  The problem is that we misunderstand what the door is."  That is so true, Jesus said He is the door!  Blackaby goes on to say, "If you have substituted activity for your relationship with Christ, then circumstances can disrupt your activity.  When the activity is hindered, you may assume the door has been closed.  Yet, if Christ is the door in your life, He will guide you into every experience of Him that He wants, and there will be nothing that people can do to stop Him."

I know that I have been completely guilty of this in the past.  I did not have a proper understanding of what the door was.  The door is not opportunities or circumstances, the door is Jesus Christ Himself!  I'm afraid that there are many today in our churches who do not have the proper understanding of what the door is and Who the door is.  So many times from a human perspective we look around us at the circumstances and think that the door is closed for us; however, from God's perspective, we are exactly where God wants us to be.

So many times when people oppose us we become discouraged or we worry about what others are doing to us.  We are also guilty, many times, of trying to take matters into our own hands and accomplish what we think is the will of God.  Notice what Blackaby says about taking matters into our own hands: "This reveals that we do not really believe Jesus is the door for our lives.  If we did, we would be assured that through Christ we have access to everything He wants us to do in and through us."

Are you guilty of asking God to engineer circumstances in your life to match what you think is best?  We all have been guilty of this at some point, especially me.  Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is the door for your life?  If He is, then you can be assured that Christ will guide you into every experience of Him that He wants.

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times when I have asked you to engineer circumstances in my life to match what I want or what I think is best.  Help me to realize that Christ is the door for my life and that You will lead me into every experience of You and put me exactly where I need to be at the exact time I need to be there.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Vagabond Christianity

"When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." - Genesis 4:12


This coming Sunday morning at Fairystone Baptist Church I plan to preach a message entitled "Vagabond Christianity."  I do not want to give away my entire message, but I just wanted to share a quick thought with you.  I was very intrigued by the word "vagabond" as I was reading through this chapter.  After Cain murders his brother Abel the Lord tells Cain that he will be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.

What does vagabond mean?  How is that significant to us in our walk with Christ?  Websters 1828 Dictionary defines vagabond as someone wandering, with no settled habitation, no certain direction, and driven to and fro. Do you see the relevance and significance now?

I can help but wonder how many people we have in our churches that are simply vagabonds.  They are wandering, they have no settled habitation, they have no certain direction, and they are driven to and fro.  Does this describe you?  Is this an accurate description of where you are spiritually today?

There are so many people in our churches today that are simply existing, they are wandering into the middle of nowhere in their spiritual life.  They literally are floundering and starving to death spiritually because they are vagabonds.  I'm afraid this is why we are not seeing the spiritual growth in our churches like we should is because of this very thing.

If you read on in Genesis 4, you will find one of the saddest statements ever made.  The Bible says that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.  Unfortunately, that is the end result of "Vagabond Christianity."  Examine your heart today and ask God to show you if this describes in you spiritually today.  Are you a "Vagabond Christian?"

Prayer For Today:

Lord, please help me today to examine my heart to see if I am vagabond in my spiritual walk with You.  Help me Father to be rooted and established in Your Word everyday.  I desire to grow closer to You each day and to have a higher level of intimacy with You than I presently do.  If I begin to wander and stray towards being a vagabond, I pray that You would open my eyes and show me through Your Word.  In Jesus name, Amen!