How many know the 23rd Psalm? Many can recite it by heart. Yet, how often have we stopped and truly thought about the words of the first verse. It sums up all the rest of the Psalm.
There are many translations, but most say, "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not be in want." or "...I shall not want." Today, while I was reading this something hit me about the verbiage. I mean seriously, how many times have I read this? I have got to have the I.Q. of a rock to have just seen it, just now.
I have read this Psalm at least a hundred times. I have clung tightly to, "Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil." Screamed it at the top of my lungs at times of extreme attack from the enemy. Oh yeah, I have been standing fast on this scripture. Scared to death, but repeating, "If God is for me, who can be against me?" a paraphrase from Romans 8:31.
Think about this though, if I truly believe that first verse of the 23rd Psalm, what am I so afraid of? My fear was stemming from what fear always stems from. Truth being twisted into something other than what it truly is. Fear is the opposite of truth. Fear binds, truth frees.
What is the truth of this verse? David says I shall NOT BE IN WANT, not I shall NOT BE IN NEED... This is very important. The difference between these two phrases is universal. First, let's look at what the two words that make the difference actually mean.
Want means to "feel" a need or desire for, something wished for.
Need means a requirement, destitution, or poverty.
There is a huge difference here. I shall have no wants because God is my Shepherd. the definition for this is a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or a group of people. My needs are already handled because He is my protector and guardian. The necessities are being handled, I don't have to fret myself with them. So what's left? Wants of course.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Need is a well known theory in the Psychological field. Perhaps, this being my major, is why this has become so clear. It is a pyramid theory, much like the food pyramid of good nutrition. According to this theory a person's largest and most fundamental needs are at the bottom, each need supports the need that is on top of it. Unless the first need is met, the others cannot be addressed by the person.
The first level is Physiological - breathing, food and water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, and excretion. (Homeostasis is the bodies ability to adapt to its environment.) Once this is achieved we move to the next level Safety - which is security of body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health, and property.
This continues with Love/Belonging; Esteem, and finally Self-Actualization. According to the 23rd Psalm God takes care of the base automatically. Think about it, we breath...when is the last time you had to "think" about breathing? Food and water are supplied, in America to the point that obesity is an epidemic.
Sex has been thrown so out of whack from God's original intent it is frightening. Things ranging from pedophilia to ritual calling for defecating on another person for sexual gratification. The number of "allowable" sexual partners is now infinite. However, sex was meant to stay within the bounds of marriage. Sex was not to be engaged in until after one was married. Wow, if we had stuck with this there would be NO STD's! Every single one is caused by multiple partners, so where would we be if each person only had one? Okay, my mind is now officially boggling at the prospect of what the world would look like if we followed God's rules. Moving on...
Sleep, the bible says that He gives His beloved sleep. When we do not rest in Him, when we toss and turn at night, why is this happening? Because we are not trusting in Him, as Proverbs 3 tells us to do. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." When we adhere to our own concepts of anything, of any circumstance we are not trusting Him. The result is usually unrest.
The two that are left homeostasis (body regulation to the environment), and excretion. These are things that like breathing we don't have to think about. Seriously, when you have to "think" about excretion it is never a pleasant experience, now is it?
All this brings us back to the first verse, because He is my Shepherd I shall have no wants, because my needs are being handled. If we trust Him for this, let us let go and trust Him for the rest. Without these basic needs being dealt with nothing else that follows will have any real meaning.
Not to be gross, but how appetizing and exciting would a gourmet meal in a resort-like venue, with attendants waiting on you hand and foot be if you were either constipated or suffering from diarrhea? Or if you were say, vomiting uncontrollably. If you were freezing cold or burning up?
We take so much of what He supplies for granted. So, let us go back to this scripture and heartily say, The Lord IS my Shepherd. I shall NOT want. He has it under control, just like everything else.
Next blog, I'll dive into the next verse of this Psalm. What a powerful word for a hurting world this is. For the next 24 hours meditate on this 1st verse, and see that you will not want. He challenges to trust Him to do as His word says He will do.
Holy Father,
Thank You for taking care of our every need and even more so for giving us the things that we want. We forget sometimes how blessed we are to have You looking out for us. Although, we don't always see Your hand at work in our lives as a blessing, we know we need You more than the very air that You give us to breath. Thank You for knowing us better than we know ourselves, and taking care of us as a loving Shepherd takes care of His flock always does. We praise and worship You in full humility of our dependence on You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Monday, November 1, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Consistency is Christianity
Ever notice how easy it is to get distracted? I find that I have to fight the temptation to do "something else", when I am trying to be productive on a consistent basis. Even getting down to writing this blog has been more than an effort lately. I haven't written in 10 days, and I was going full steam when I first started this. Blogging every single day. So what happened? Am I no longer on fire for the Lord and getting His message out? Have I become apathetic to life? Am I just so busy that I don't have time? The answer is an unequivocal NO. None of these reasons even ring at the truth.
The truth is I get distracted. The temptation to do other, less important or sometimes even not important, things gets a hold of me and all my good intentions go out the window. I go to Facebook and start talking to old friends, only for a minute mind you. Right. Or, I start trying to clean out my email inbox 'cause that's uber important. Not, as my kids used to say. Or, I start reading. Nothing wrong with that, but I can do that at anytime. How about when I start playing the stupid Facebook games? Oh, yeah that downright imperative!
My point is that I have been allowing myself to get side-tracked. The enemy throws out something I think may be interesting and I get caught up in it. He plays on my propensity to be inconsistent. I realized this today while listening to Joyce Meyer on t.v. She talked about being consistent, and the Holy Spirit didn't nudge He shoved, THAT'S IT!
While I considered this, it came to me that this is another application of what James is talking about. James 1:6 - "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
I ask God for something, such as being blessed in writing and being able to make a living at it. However, when it comes to being obedient to what He tells me to do to help it along, I allow myself to get thrown off course. Why? Because, a part of me is doubting that it is really going to happen. That He will deliver on His promise. I allow the enemy to sabotage me, by sabotaging myself and not staying consistent.
Consistency is the firm footing of Christianity. You can't be a true follower of Christ and change your mind on a regular basis. Jesus, stood by His actions and continued on no matter what was coming at Him. So did the Apostles. No matter what they were threatened with they kept spreading the good news. They were consistent. They didn't allow good times or having fun distract them either.
Neither did Jesus. Let's look at His first miracle. It was in the middle of having a good time. John, Chapter 2:1-11 tells the story. He and his disciples are partying at a wedding they have all been invited to. The wine runs out, probably because this person didn't have enough money to buy more, so he went with what he had and hoped for the best. This was an act of faith in itself. Mary, Jesus' mom says, "Son, the wine is gone. Fix it." He replies to her that it's not His time yet, but rather than ignore His mother's (and child's - interesting paradox, huh?) request. He grants it.
This is representative of Jesus' ministry. He was consistent in granting the requests of those who believed and had faith in Him. Even though it was not "time" for His ministry to begin, he did not get sidetracked by that. He fulfilled His calling and did what He knew He had the ability to do. Turn the water into wine.
Not only was He able to reinforce the faith of His disciples, but think about what the guys who scooped the water out of those jars must have been thinking. The jars were the ceremonial washing jars. YUCK! Who knew what kind of nastiness was in there. Yet, God turned the cleansing liquid into an extraordinary ambrosial drink. So much so that the master of the ceremony regaled the host for saving his best for last. I'm sure he was quite shocked as well.
What good can be done when one embraces consistency? The sky truly is the limit. For when I am consistent in seeking the Lord, studying His word, loving myself as He loves me so I can show love to everyone else, and yes...writing. I am showing the world what it is to truly be an obedient Christian. I can't accomplish this unless I am consistent. Honestly, no one can.
Daddy,
Help us to stay consistent in being obedient to Your will and ways. Keep us on track with what You want us to do. Protect us from the evil that can come from being distracted. We love You, we praise You, and we want to be inline with Your every desire. Help us to see when we are being tempted to get off course, and bring in Your angels and tune our ears to Your Holy Spirit so we can stay on task until it is completed.
We praise and thank You that You are there for us, and You answer our every prayer. That You are faithful to deliver when we do not doubt or become discouraged.
We claim the righteousness that can only come from You, in Jesus' precious name.
Amen
The truth is I get distracted. The temptation to do other, less important or sometimes even not important, things gets a hold of me and all my good intentions go out the window. I go to Facebook and start talking to old friends, only for a minute mind you. Right. Or, I start trying to clean out my email inbox 'cause that's uber important. Not, as my kids used to say. Or, I start reading. Nothing wrong with that, but I can do that at anytime. How about when I start playing the stupid Facebook games? Oh, yeah that downright imperative!
My point is that I have been allowing myself to get side-tracked. The enemy throws out something I think may be interesting and I get caught up in it. He plays on my propensity to be inconsistent. I realized this today while listening to Joyce Meyer on t.v. She talked about being consistent, and the Holy Spirit didn't nudge He shoved, THAT'S IT!
While I considered this, it came to me that this is another application of what James is talking about. James 1:6 - "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
I ask God for something, such as being blessed in writing and being able to make a living at it. However, when it comes to being obedient to what He tells me to do to help it along, I allow myself to get thrown off course. Why? Because, a part of me is doubting that it is really going to happen. That He will deliver on His promise. I allow the enemy to sabotage me, by sabotaging myself and not staying consistent.
Consistency is the firm footing of Christianity. You can't be a true follower of Christ and change your mind on a regular basis. Jesus, stood by His actions and continued on no matter what was coming at Him. So did the Apostles. No matter what they were threatened with they kept spreading the good news. They were consistent. They didn't allow good times or having fun distract them either.
Neither did Jesus. Let's look at His first miracle. It was in the middle of having a good time. John, Chapter 2:1-11 tells the story. He and his disciples are partying at a wedding they have all been invited to. The wine runs out, probably because this person didn't have enough money to buy more, so he went with what he had and hoped for the best. This was an act of faith in itself. Mary, Jesus' mom says, "Son, the wine is gone. Fix it." He replies to her that it's not His time yet, but rather than ignore His mother's (and child's - interesting paradox, huh?) request. He grants it.
This is representative of Jesus' ministry. He was consistent in granting the requests of those who believed and had faith in Him. Even though it was not "time" for His ministry to begin, he did not get sidetracked by that. He fulfilled His calling and did what He knew He had the ability to do. Turn the water into wine.
Not only was He able to reinforce the faith of His disciples, but think about what the guys who scooped the water out of those jars must have been thinking. The jars were the ceremonial washing jars. YUCK! Who knew what kind of nastiness was in there. Yet, God turned the cleansing liquid into an extraordinary ambrosial drink. So much so that the master of the ceremony regaled the host for saving his best for last. I'm sure he was quite shocked as well.
What good can be done when one embraces consistency? The sky truly is the limit. For when I am consistent in seeking the Lord, studying His word, loving myself as He loves me so I can show love to everyone else, and yes...writing. I am showing the world what it is to truly be an obedient Christian. I can't accomplish this unless I am consistent. Honestly, no one can.
Daddy,
Help us to stay consistent in being obedient to Your will and ways. Keep us on track with what You want us to do. Protect us from the evil that can come from being distracted. We love You, we praise You, and we want to be inline with Your every desire. Help us to see when we are being tempted to get off course, and bring in Your angels and tune our ears to Your Holy Spirit so we can stay on task until it is completed.
We praise and thank You that You are there for us, and You answer our every prayer. That You are faithful to deliver when we do not doubt or become discouraged.
We claim the righteousness that can only come from You, in Jesus' precious name.
Amen
Monday, October 18, 2010
Yardwork in My Mind
Every time I work in the yard, I am brought back to the correlation between our spiritual lives and horticulture. I understand why Jesus used agricultural analogies so often in His parables.
Today, as I was pulling out weeds I paused as I reached out for one. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if it was a weed or a plant I would like to keep. Let me explain further. I live in Southern Nevada, where many plants "blow" into our yard. Some are beautiful and useful, like the tree we know have growing in our front yard. Others are not, like the crab grass that I am consistently battling.
Over the years, I have planted numerous flowering plants that didn't make it. This is a desert climate and only the heartiest of plant life survive. Although, the mature plant died, in it's death seeds were dropped into the soil which tend to come up later, sometimes years later, as the offspring of the original.
So today, my hesitation stemmed from my wondering was this an offspring of what I wanted or what I was trying to get rid of?
As I thought about this, it occurred to me that my thought life has, in many ways, the same dilemma. As thoughts come up I have to determine to keep them or pluck them out. So many times though, the thought as it is just forming is difficult to determine if it is good or bad because in the beginning they look very much alike. Just as the weeds look like a keeper at first, but as it grows I realize it was a sleeper agent. Fooling me into believing in the interim that it was going to enhance my psychological and emotional landscape.
It is so difficult to tell the difference, at first. When I'm really unsure, I'll go look it up and see what I have going on. By the same token, I must do the same thing with my thoughts. When I'm unsure as to if it is good or bad, an encourager or a discourager I need to turn to the Authority. I take the thought and compare it to His word, if it fits I keep it if not I pluck it and chuck it.
When I pluck negative thoughts from my mind, I can't keep them in a jar somewhere. I have to through them away like the weeds from my yard. Bag them up and cart them off to the dump, where they belong. In actuality they are nothing more than garbage. Also, if I don't get them out they will start to choke the positive thoughts that God has given me, just like a weed.
When Jesus spoke of the parable of the four soils in Luke 8:5-8, this is exactly what He was talking about. The various soils represent the states our minds can be in.
The seed that falls along the path and is trampled, is a mind set that is so caught up in getting where its going way it doesn't have time to stop and let the seed in. It spiritually tramples the truth of His word underfoot with double dealing and willingness to do anything to get ahead. It listens to Satan and his lies about how success is achieved in life and acts upon it. Subsequently, God's word is crushed beneath the unbelief and supposed self-reliance.
The seed that falls among the rocks is a mind set of willingness to believe, at first. As long as it is easy. When the trials and tribulations come, that James book states we should count as pure joy, this mind counts it as overwhelming torture. It believes the lies of Satan that tell it, Jesus and God lied to them and there is no truth to what it first believed, otherwise these things wouldn't be happening. This thought life soon turns to the previous way as the seed of truth is stolen, and they try to do things on their own.
The seed that falls among the thorns is a mind set that is unwilling to sacrifice all for Christ. Worry is it's constant companion because it is trying to determine how to hold on to everything it has while serving the Lord. Unwilling to seek first the Kingdom, day by day the thoughts go first to what is going on in life and God gets pushed further and further into the background, until He is the foundation of their life walk but not the reason. Study of God and His will for life is not a priority, this mind never becomes useful for growing more Christians because the weeds of negativity are never plucked from this garden.
The seed that falls on good soil is a mind set that puts God first, no matter what. This mind is willing to let go of all that it possess to possess Christ. It regularly weeds its garden by reading and studying and hearing the Word of God. Thoughts that are not in line with what it is learning are plucked and discarded. This mind is able to reach other minds and help them grow into what God created them to be, while becoming itself what He had in mind. (No pun intended)
So you see, Jesus used parables that spoke to tending the soil because our minds are like soil. What we plant in them is what grows. The only way to keep ugliness from growing is to have a regular schedule of weeding and pruning so that the thought life flourishes and spreads out its positive seeds to other fertile soil.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for speaking to us in ways that we are able to understand. For letting us see the correlation between the natural world around us, and how you created us to think and be. We love You for Your willingness to do what ever it takes to get through to us. Thank You for Your patience, mercy, grace, and loving kindness to a species that does not deserve it. Please, continue to show us the truth of Your word around us, and how to implement it on a daily basis.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Today, as I was pulling out weeds I paused as I reached out for one. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if it was a weed or a plant I would like to keep. Let me explain further. I live in Southern Nevada, where many plants "blow" into our yard. Some are beautiful and useful, like the tree we know have growing in our front yard. Others are not, like the crab grass that I am consistently battling.
Over the years, I have planted numerous flowering plants that didn't make it. This is a desert climate and only the heartiest of plant life survive. Although, the mature plant died, in it's death seeds were dropped into the soil which tend to come up later, sometimes years later, as the offspring of the original.
So today, my hesitation stemmed from my wondering was this an offspring of what I wanted or what I was trying to get rid of?
As I thought about this, it occurred to me that my thought life has, in many ways, the same dilemma. As thoughts come up I have to determine to keep them or pluck them out. So many times though, the thought as it is just forming is difficult to determine if it is good or bad because in the beginning they look very much alike. Just as the weeds look like a keeper at first, but as it grows I realize it was a sleeper agent. Fooling me into believing in the interim that it was going to enhance my psychological and emotional landscape.
It is so difficult to tell the difference, at first. When I'm really unsure, I'll go look it up and see what I have going on. By the same token, I must do the same thing with my thoughts. When I'm unsure as to if it is good or bad, an encourager or a discourager I need to turn to the Authority. I take the thought and compare it to His word, if it fits I keep it if not I pluck it and chuck it.
When I pluck negative thoughts from my mind, I can't keep them in a jar somewhere. I have to through them away like the weeds from my yard. Bag them up and cart them off to the dump, where they belong. In actuality they are nothing more than garbage. Also, if I don't get them out they will start to choke the positive thoughts that God has given me, just like a weed.
When Jesus spoke of the parable of the four soils in Luke 8:5-8, this is exactly what He was talking about. The various soils represent the states our minds can be in.
The seed that falls along the path and is trampled, is a mind set that is so caught up in getting where its going way it doesn't have time to stop and let the seed in. It spiritually tramples the truth of His word underfoot with double dealing and willingness to do anything to get ahead. It listens to Satan and his lies about how success is achieved in life and acts upon it. Subsequently, God's word is crushed beneath the unbelief and supposed self-reliance.
The seed that falls among the rocks is a mind set of willingness to believe, at first. As long as it is easy. When the trials and tribulations come, that James book states we should count as pure joy, this mind counts it as overwhelming torture. It believes the lies of Satan that tell it, Jesus and God lied to them and there is no truth to what it first believed, otherwise these things wouldn't be happening. This thought life soon turns to the previous way as the seed of truth is stolen, and they try to do things on their own.
The seed that falls among the thorns is a mind set that is unwilling to sacrifice all for Christ. Worry is it's constant companion because it is trying to determine how to hold on to everything it has while serving the Lord. Unwilling to seek first the Kingdom, day by day the thoughts go first to what is going on in life and God gets pushed further and further into the background, until He is the foundation of their life walk but not the reason. Study of God and His will for life is not a priority, this mind never becomes useful for growing more Christians because the weeds of negativity are never plucked from this garden.
The seed that falls on good soil is a mind set that puts God first, no matter what. This mind is willing to let go of all that it possess to possess Christ. It regularly weeds its garden by reading and studying and hearing the Word of God. Thoughts that are not in line with what it is learning are plucked and discarded. This mind is able to reach other minds and help them grow into what God created them to be, while becoming itself what He had in mind. (No pun intended)
So you see, Jesus used parables that spoke to tending the soil because our minds are like soil. What we plant in them is what grows. The only way to keep ugliness from growing is to have a regular schedule of weeding and pruning so that the thought life flourishes and spreads out its positive seeds to other fertile soil.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for speaking to us in ways that we are able to understand. For letting us see the correlation between the natural world around us, and how you created us to think and be. We love You for Your willingness to do what ever it takes to get through to us. Thank You for Your patience, mercy, grace, and loving kindness to a species that does not deserve it. Please, continue to show us the truth of Your word around us, and how to implement it on a daily basis.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Friday, October 15, 2010
You Have To Fight to Stay Faithful
Faith doesn't come easy. It isn't an automatic pilot type of thing. It requires that we focus on God and not our circumstances consistently. The enemy is going to try to steal your faith, every single day of your life. Whatever he can do to make you doubt, which is the opposite of faith, he's going to do it.
This has been going on since the beginning. Before man was on the scene there was a battle in heaven. Why? Because Lucifer convinced other angels that God's sovereignty was in doubt. That His supremacy could be challenged.
The one thing that Satan is is tenacious. Even though he was booted out of Heaven, and doomed for the Lake of Fire he doesn't stop in his rebellion. Perhaps it is a, "I've got nothing to lose" mentality. Who knows? What matters is that he goes after God's prized creation, man.
He does this by planting seeds of doubt into Eve. Here we see the first incident of man not fighting to stay faithful. This is from two people who had direct interaction with God daily. If they had these difficulties staying faith, how much more of a fight is it for us? Yet, I digress from my point I am trying to make here.
Let's see how they didn't fight to remain faithful. In Genesis 3, Satan approaches the woman in the guise of a serpent. The serpent must have been a willing party to this because he gets in trouble later, but let's stay on track that's a commentary for another blog. He starts the conversation by questioning her faith in God's desire for them to have the very best of everything. "He said to the woman, "Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Let's dissect this statement, the first part is immediately a challenge to her faith. "Did God REALLY say..." How many times do we question what God has told us? Did He really tell me to forgive that person? Did He really say to tithe 10%? Did He really tell me to speak to that person about my faith? The list is infinitesimal. This is working on our faith, any time we question what God has said we are not being faithful. I'm not talking about making sure it is God speaking to you, no I'm talking about when you know that you know it is God and you question what He has told you to do. That is what Eve did, let's continue...
Verse 2 has her answering the serpent with what God has instructed, that they are not to touch the tree in the middle of the garden or they will die. Satan responds with a rationalization, he tells her that she won't die. That in reality the only reason God doesn't want them to eat of this tree is because they will become like Him. Essentially, he perpetuates the lie that God is afraid of them. Why in the world would God be afraid of what He had lovingly created? He has provided for their every need, denying them nothing, and wanting to protect them from what would hurt them. Just as any loving parent would.
So often as children we question our parents' decisions, not understanding why they say no to things that can ultimately do us harm. This is the same situation for God and His first creations, as well as us today. Satan did not create the lack of faith, Eve did not fight to maintain her faith it what she knew from what she had seen her entire existence. She takes a second look at the tree, and starts to rationalize again. It's good for food (she has plenty of other sources of food), it's pleasing to the eye (she was in the Garden of Eden everything there was pleasing to the eye), and it was desirable for gaining wisdom. The last is the most important part, her desire was to gain wisdom on her own instead of relying on her faith in her loving Creator to give her wisdom. She gave up, and gave in without a fight. Adam, did even less although he had known God longer that Eve he did not question for one moment her actions, he just went along with it. Not putting up one once of a fight at all.
As you can see, from the beginning of mankind we have had to fight to maintain our faith. When we don't we fall prey to the enemy and his unscrupulous and conniving ways.
What are you not being faithful about? Look into your life and honestly exam your walk with Christ. Are you fighting for your faith or are like Adam and Eve are you giving in to the temptation of unbelief? Faith is a gift, as it states in Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God --" (Italics mine). You see faith is a gift that we must protect. Don't take it for granted. If you cherish something you will fight for it, tooth and nail.
Fight for your faith, fight to remain faithful. Through prayer, and petition, as Philippians 4:6 states for us to remain in faith. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." When we act in faith seeking God for direction because we trust Him to take care of all things Philippians 4:7 continues the promise with "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
You can't understand faith, or the results that it creates. Yet, it is the most precious thing we have, with it we can move mountains. Mountains of debt, bad relationships, health problems, or any other issue that may be happening in your life. You have enough faith to do whatever God has destined you to do. I know because His word says He gave us our faith. Why wouldn't He have given us enough to get us to the other side, to help us walk on water so to speak?
You have to decide will you fight or will you fold?
Daddy,
Please forgive us for the times we have not fought to stay faithful, for the times that we have listened and believed the words and lies of the enemy. Help us to keep focused on Your truth and fight to protect the faith You have gifted us with. It is a treasure as is our salvation. We praise You for Your love and devotion to us, even in our fallen state. Thank You Jesus for Your sacrifice to bring us into right standing with our Father. Thank You Lord, for the faith You have bestowed upon each of us, and help us to see it every day of our lives and live every aspect of these gifted lives for You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
This has been going on since the beginning. Before man was on the scene there was a battle in heaven. Why? Because Lucifer convinced other angels that God's sovereignty was in doubt. That His supremacy could be challenged.
The one thing that Satan is is tenacious. Even though he was booted out of Heaven, and doomed for the Lake of Fire he doesn't stop in his rebellion. Perhaps it is a, "I've got nothing to lose" mentality. Who knows? What matters is that he goes after God's prized creation, man.
He does this by planting seeds of doubt into Eve. Here we see the first incident of man not fighting to stay faithful. This is from two people who had direct interaction with God daily. If they had these difficulties staying faith, how much more of a fight is it for us? Yet, I digress from my point I am trying to make here.
Let's see how they didn't fight to remain faithful. In Genesis 3, Satan approaches the woman in the guise of a serpent. The serpent must have been a willing party to this because he gets in trouble later, but let's stay on track that's a commentary for another blog. He starts the conversation by questioning her faith in God's desire for them to have the very best of everything. "He said to the woman, "Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Let's dissect this statement, the first part is immediately a challenge to her faith. "Did God REALLY say..." How many times do we question what God has told us? Did He really tell me to forgive that person? Did He really say to tithe 10%? Did He really tell me to speak to that person about my faith? The list is infinitesimal. This is working on our faith, any time we question what God has said we are not being faithful. I'm not talking about making sure it is God speaking to you, no I'm talking about when you know that you know it is God and you question what He has told you to do. That is what Eve did, let's continue...
Verse 2 has her answering the serpent with what God has instructed, that they are not to touch the tree in the middle of the garden or they will die. Satan responds with a rationalization, he tells her that she won't die. That in reality the only reason God doesn't want them to eat of this tree is because they will become like Him. Essentially, he perpetuates the lie that God is afraid of them. Why in the world would God be afraid of what He had lovingly created? He has provided for their every need, denying them nothing, and wanting to protect them from what would hurt them. Just as any loving parent would.
So often as children we question our parents' decisions, not understanding why they say no to things that can ultimately do us harm. This is the same situation for God and His first creations, as well as us today. Satan did not create the lack of faith, Eve did not fight to maintain her faith it what she knew from what she had seen her entire existence. She takes a second look at the tree, and starts to rationalize again. It's good for food (she has plenty of other sources of food), it's pleasing to the eye (she was in the Garden of Eden everything there was pleasing to the eye), and it was desirable for gaining wisdom. The last is the most important part, her desire was to gain wisdom on her own instead of relying on her faith in her loving Creator to give her wisdom. She gave up, and gave in without a fight. Adam, did even less although he had known God longer that Eve he did not question for one moment her actions, he just went along with it. Not putting up one once of a fight at all.
As you can see, from the beginning of mankind we have had to fight to maintain our faith. When we don't we fall prey to the enemy and his unscrupulous and conniving ways.
What are you not being faithful about? Look into your life and honestly exam your walk with Christ. Are you fighting for your faith or are like Adam and Eve are you giving in to the temptation of unbelief? Faith is a gift, as it states in Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God --" (Italics mine). You see faith is a gift that we must protect. Don't take it for granted. If you cherish something you will fight for it, tooth and nail.
Fight for your faith, fight to remain faithful. Through prayer, and petition, as Philippians 4:6 states for us to remain in faith. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." When we act in faith seeking God for direction because we trust Him to take care of all things Philippians 4:7 continues the promise with "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
You can't understand faith, or the results that it creates. Yet, it is the most precious thing we have, with it we can move mountains. Mountains of debt, bad relationships, health problems, or any other issue that may be happening in your life. You have enough faith to do whatever God has destined you to do. I know because His word says He gave us our faith. Why wouldn't He have given us enough to get us to the other side, to help us walk on water so to speak?
You have to decide will you fight or will you fold?
Daddy,
Please forgive us for the times we have not fought to stay faithful, for the times that we have listened and believed the words and lies of the enemy. Help us to keep focused on Your truth and fight to protect the faith You have gifted us with. It is a treasure as is our salvation. We praise You for Your love and devotion to us, even in our fallen state. Thank You Jesus for Your sacrifice to bring us into right standing with our Father. Thank You Lord, for the faith You have bestowed upon each of us, and help us to see it every day of our lives and live every aspect of these gifted lives for You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Monday, October 11, 2010
Keep Our Mind On Things Above!
This has been a particularly hard day. The battle for my mind has been arduous to say the least. However, as long as I can keep it in perspective, I'm okay. It is a battle for my thoughts, between God and the enemy. God wants me to keep my mind on things above, Satan wants me to think about all that has gone wrong, and could go wrong in my life.
When I allow the negative to win, my mind goes to places it shouldn't. Like, why am I here? I have no purpose, I should just give up. That's the lie!
God says, that I have a purpose, that before time began He had plotted out my destiny. So what gets in the way? Doubt and unbelief. Lack of faith. All of which are sins. How can I doubt the One who created me?
When I begin to doubt it shows two things at work in my mind. The need to control and lack of patience. The more I want to control and the more impatient I am, God is funny this way, the longer He makes me wait. Think about it. Whenever you have been anxious about something, it never seems to happen.
It's like the child who is promised that they will go to Disneyland soon. The day never seems to come, and the longer the parent delays in taking them the more impatient and demanding the child becomes. However, if the child were to say to the parent, "You're never going to take me, I don't believe you!" The parent would probably say, and rightly so, "If you're going to act like that, you are correct we aren't going."
Sometimes we step on our own blessings by trying to "demand" that God do it our way and in our timing. How do we do this? We go out and try to make the situation happen according to our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5, say we are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and we are not to lean on our own understanding.
When we attempt to handle things according to our own understanding and ideas, we really mess it up. We have to be on constant guard with our thoughts, and ever vigilante against the ploys of the enemy. Temptation comes from both sources. We must be careful not to blame or give too much credit for our wrong thoughts to the devil.
The only way to stay on top of this and keep our minds straight is to keep our minds on things above. Reading scripture on a regular basis, praying consistently, turning away from the things that would distract us or make us despondent.
One way to handle this is to memorize a Psalm in it's entirety. These treasures are the key to sanity when all is falling into insanity around us. I would not suggest trying to remember the 119th Psalm unless your just a glutton for wearing out your brain. That's a very, very long one.
It may sound cliche, but I recite the 23rd Psalm when things are feeling overwhelming. Sometimes I repeat it a couple of times, until I am sure that my mind is back where it belongs. Focusing on God's grace and mercy, and the fact that He is in control.
Write the Psalm out on an index card so you can carry it around with you until you have it down, or download an app on your smartphone. Whatever works, just have it with you always until you have it down to memory. Try it, I promise you'll like it.
Father,
Please help us to stay focused on You and Your word at all times. Keep us meditating on what is pleasing in Your site. We praise You for Your patience with us as we waver in our faith and belief. Trusting You to get us back to right standing with You, in all our ways, thought and deeds.
In Jesus name, Amen
When I allow the negative to win, my mind goes to places it shouldn't. Like, why am I here? I have no purpose, I should just give up. That's the lie!
God says, that I have a purpose, that before time began He had plotted out my destiny. So what gets in the way? Doubt and unbelief. Lack of faith. All of which are sins. How can I doubt the One who created me?
When I begin to doubt it shows two things at work in my mind. The need to control and lack of patience. The more I want to control and the more impatient I am, God is funny this way, the longer He makes me wait. Think about it. Whenever you have been anxious about something, it never seems to happen.
It's like the child who is promised that they will go to Disneyland soon. The day never seems to come, and the longer the parent delays in taking them the more impatient and demanding the child becomes. However, if the child were to say to the parent, "You're never going to take me, I don't believe you!" The parent would probably say, and rightly so, "If you're going to act like that, you are correct we aren't going."
Sometimes we step on our own blessings by trying to "demand" that God do it our way and in our timing. How do we do this? We go out and try to make the situation happen according to our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5, say we are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and we are not to lean on our own understanding.
When we attempt to handle things according to our own understanding and ideas, we really mess it up. We have to be on constant guard with our thoughts, and ever vigilante against the ploys of the enemy. Temptation comes from both sources. We must be careful not to blame or give too much credit for our wrong thoughts to the devil.
The only way to stay on top of this and keep our minds straight is to keep our minds on things above. Reading scripture on a regular basis, praying consistently, turning away from the things that would distract us or make us despondent.
One way to handle this is to memorize a Psalm in it's entirety. These treasures are the key to sanity when all is falling into insanity around us. I would not suggest trying to remember the 119th Psalm unless your just a glutton for wearing out your brain. That's a very, very long one.
It may sound cliche, but I recite the 23rd Psalm when things are feeling overwhelming. Sometimes I repeat it a couple of times, until I am sure that my mind is back where it belongs. Focusing on God's grace and mercy, and the fact that He is in control.
Write the Psalm out on an index card so you can carry it around with you until you have it down, or download an app on your smartphone. Whatever works, just have it with you always until you have it down to memory. Try it, I promise you'll like it.
Father,
Please help us to stay focused on You and Your word at all times. Keep us meditating on what is pleasing in Your site. We praise You for Your patience with us as we waver in our faith and belief. Trusting You to get us back to right standing with You, in all our ways, thought and deeds.
In Jesus name, Amen
This has been a particularly hard day. The battle for my mind has been arduous to say the least. However, as long as I can keep it in perspective, I'm okay. It is a battle for my thoughts, between God and the enemy. God wants me to keep my mind on things above, Satan wants me to think about all that has gone wrong, and could go wrong in my life.
When I allow the negative to win, my mind goes to places it shouldn't. Like, why am I here? I have no purpose, I should just give up. That's the lie!
God says, that I have a purpose, that before time began He had plotted out my destiny. So what gets in the way? Doubt and unbelief. Lack of faith. All of which are sins. How can I doubt the One who created me?
When I begin to doubt it shows two things at work in my mind. The need to control and lack of patience. The more I want to control and the more impatient I am, God is funny this way, the longer He makes me wait. Think about it. Whenever you have been anxious about something, it never seems to happen.
It's like the child who is promised that they will go to Disneyland soon. The day never seems to come, and the longer the parent delays in taking them the more impatient and demanding the child becomes. However, if the child were to say to the parent, "You're never going to take me, I don't believe you!" The parent would probably say, and rightly so, "If you're going to act like that, you are correct we aren't going."
Sometimes we step on our own blessings by trying to "demand" that God do it our way and in our timing. How do we do this? We go out and try to make the situation happen according to our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5, say we are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and we are not to lean on our own understanding.
When we attempt to handle things according to our own understanding and ideas, we really mess it up. We have to be on constant guard with our thoughts, and ever vigilante against the ploys of the enemy. Temptation comes from both sources. We must be careful not to blame or give too much credit for our wrong thoughts to the devil.
The only way to stay on top of this and keep our minds straight is to keep our minds on things above. Reading scripture on a regular basis, praying consistently, turning away from the things that would distract us or make us despondent.
One way to handle this is to memorize a Psalm in it's entirety. These treasures are the key to sanity when all is falling into insanity around us. I would not suggest trying to remember the 119th Psalm unless your just a glutton for wearing out your brain. That's a very, very long one.
It may sound cliche, but I recite the 23rd Psalm when things are feeling overwhelming. Sometimes I repeat it a couple of times, until I am sure that my mind is back where it belongs. Focusing on God's grace and mercy, and the fact that He is in control.
Write the Psalm out on an index card so you can carry it around with you until you have it down, or download an app on your smartphone. Whatever works, just have it with you always until you have it down to memory. Try it, I promise you'll like it.
Father,
Please help us to stay focused on You and Your word at all times. Keep us meditating on what is pleasing in Your site. We praise You for Your patience with us as we waver in our faith and belief. Trusting You to get us back to right standing with You, in all our ways, thought and deeds.
In Jesus name, Amen
When I allow the negative to win, my mind goes to places it shouldn't. Like, why am I here? I have no purpose, I should just give up. That's the lie!
God says, that I have a purpose, that before time began He had plotted out my destiny. So what gets in the way? Doubt and unbelief. Lack of faith. All of which are sins. How can I doubt the One who created me?
When I begin to doubt it shows two things at work in my mind. The need to control and lack of patience. The more I want to control and the more impatient I am, God is funny this way, the longer He makes me wait. Think about it. Whenever you have been anxious about something, it never seems to happen.
It's like the child who is promised that they will go to Disneyland soon. The day never seems to come, and the longer the parent delays in taking them the more impatient and demanding the child becomes. However, if the child were to say to the parent, "You're never going to take me, I don't believe you!" The parent would probably say, and rightly so, "If you're going to act like that, you are correct we aren't going."
Sometimes we step on our own blessings by trying to "demand" that God do it our way and in our timing. How do we do this? We go out and try to make the situation happen according to our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5, say we are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and we are not to lean on our own understanding.
When we attempt to handle things according to our own understanding and ideas, we really mess it up. We have to be on constant guard with our thoughts, and ever vigilante against the ploys of the enemy. Temptation comes from both sources. We must be careful not to blame or give too much credit for our wrong thoughts to the devil.
The only way to stay on top of this and keep our minds straight is to keep our minds on things above. Reading scripture on a regular basis, praying consistently, turning away from the things that would distract us or make us despondent.
One way to handle this is to memorize a Psalm in it's entirety. These treasures are the key to sanity when all is falling into insanity around us. I would not suggest trying to remember the 119th Psalm unless your just a glutton for wearing out your brain. That's a very, very long one.
It may sound cliche, but I recite the 23rd Psalm when things are feeling overwhelming. Sometimes I repeat it a couple of times, until I am sure that my mind is back where it belongs. Focusing on God's grace and mercy, and the fact that He is in control.
Write the Psalm out on an index card so you can carry it around with you until you have it down, or download an app on your smartphone. Whatever works, just have it with you always until you have it down to memory. Try it, I promise you'll like it.
Father,
Please help us to stay focused on You and Your word at all times. Keep us meditating on what is pleasing in Your site. We praise You for Your patience with us as we waver in our faith and belief. Trusting You to get us back to right standing with You, in all our ways, thought and deeds.
In Jesus name, Amen
Thursday, October 7, 2010
True Faith Results in Courage
Faith and courage are interesting things. So often we say we don't have it when God instructs us to do something, yet we show it in another not so great way. Now, Paul defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. It causes us to be double minded as James spoke of in chapter 1. Verses 6 - 8, "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
Looking through the Bible, I see several instances of folks being double-minded. Pure faith, means that I have to do things afraid. That no matter how I "feel", faith gives me courage and allows me to do it anyway. Let's look at a few examples of this through the Scriptures.
If we look at the literal meanings of faith and courage, the dictionary defines each word as follows:
Faith - Confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on truth;
Courage - The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. Bravery.
Both words require my mind to be in the right place. I believe there is another definition, that faith is me acting in spite not in response to my fear, which results in courage. Yesterday, I spoke of acting versus re-acting, this is another instance of it. I can either act, and do God's will, or re-act to the stimulus of the circumstances in my life. There are so many stories of this in the Bible. What folks put their faith "in", inspired their action or re-actions.
- Moses - After killing someone, he flees for his life. Why? He was the grandson of Pharaoh, he had killed a "guard". What reason would he have had to be afraid that he would be put to death for this? He was of much greater worth in their hierarchy than a servant of Pharaoh. He ran because he did not have faith that he would not get into trouble. He neither had faith in who he was, or the courage to face what he had done. What if he had faced the music? Who knows he probably would have been exonerated, and continued to know the luxury of living in the palace. He also would have done nothing to help his people. Staying as a prince, over time he would have had no interest in the plights of the slaves. God causes him to run and hide in the desert for 40 years. When God comes to him 4 decades later, in a burning bush and tells him he needs to go back and help the slaves. His first response exhibits his faith in the his fears, which destroyed his courage. Yet, he argues with God about his inability to speak clearly. He clearly speaks to God that he is unable to speak clearly! What a contradiction. He has the faith and courage to argue with God about his perceived inabilities, but not to do what He has commanded?
- Barak - I have blogged about this story before. Deborah and Barak are an amazing team. However, they were not intended to be a team. God has been telling Barak to go fight Sisera, yet he has not moved. He doesn't go until Deborah comes to him and "reminds" him he has been instructed by God to attack their oppressors. He shows his faith in his inabilities, and destroys his courage by stating he will only go if Deborah goes with him. His faith in Deborah was stronger than his faith in God. He was re-acting to his fear, instead of acting in faith. Jael acted in faith. She hammered a tent peg through his temple. Do you think she had no fear while she walked up to him? He was drugged, he was simply sleeping. He could have woken up at any time. I envision her hands shaking as she approached, and her holding her breath as she positioned the stake over his head. Quivering fingers as she raised the hammer, and then drove it home. She had more faith in what she knew she had to do, than in him waking up. Her faith resulted in courage.
- Esther - A young Jewess is selected to be the next queen, after the former one disrespects the king. However, she is instructed by her cousin Mordecai to keep her ancestry a secret. Haman, the king's second hand man, hated her cousin and his hatred led to his desire to destroy every Jew. He devised a plan to get rid of all of them, and tricked the king into signing their death warrants. Esther had to go before the king to deal with this, however he had not called her in quite sometime into his presence. It was a death sentence to go into him unsummoned, unless he pardoned the indulgence. She has everyone pray and fast for her, and she does the same. She summons up her courage by having faith that God will take care of the situation. It turns out well, and because of her faith and courage, Haman's duplicity is uncovered and the Israelites are allowed to protect themselves and survive.
- Peter - Where do you start with this disciple? Peter continually wavered between faith and doubt. Courage and cowardice. The most infamous of all of his exploits is probably his ascertain that he would never turn his back on Christ, then denies he even knows him 3 times. He re-acted, on both occasions. Both times he came from emotion, he didn't act from faith at all. Yet, in Acts he stands before a large crowd and preaches to them, converting 3000 in that one day. His faith was renewed and courage ensued.
The facts are very obvious, when we act in faith, God gives us courage. He tells them in Joshua 1:6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them." He is calling him to act in faith, when he does strength and courage will follow.
He tells us the same, that each and every time that we will step out in faith, He will give us the strength and courage to finish it. This is why Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
Each of the stories above, shows where people had to face their fear or run from it. God only gives us strength and courage when we walk in faith that it is His ability to get us through whatever it is He has brought us to face.
So you have to ask yourself, "What do I have faith in?"
Father,
Thank You for teaching us how to connect with you, and the importance of doing so. Thank You that Your word shows us not only the successes, but the failures. That You do not expect us to be anyone other than who we are. We praise You that You consistently show us how to follow You, and the benefits of doing so. Thank You for Your grace and mercy.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Re-Actions Benefit No One...
Life is full of choices, or so we are told. In reality we have only two choices, we can act or we can re-act. Jesus says we are to act, not re-act. Acting is coming from love and humility, re-acting is from the self and a need to defend one's self.
Your probably thinking, "Cyndi what in the world are you talking about?", at this moment so I will clarify the revelation that the Lord placed on my heart today.
When people inter"act", they are bouncing off one another. This is considered conversation and develops our relationships. One person speaks about something and the other responds. How the person who is receiving the message responds is based on many factors. Their mood, the climate, past exchanges with this person or people whom they consider to be like them, outside distractions, the list goes on. Conversations and relationships are a conglomeration of these verbal and physical (body language) ball passes.
If I am speaking to someone and they act as if they are not really listening to me, or seem to be not particularly interested I can act or re-act to this. God showed me today that reactions are just that, an action that is replayed to the other person (or people) based on what they did (or didn't do) to us. He showed me that the action is repeated back and forth until one of the individuals decides to break the cycle by purposely "acting".
Now, I am speaking about negative actions mostly. However, positive can be done as well. If someone gives me a present than I usually want to give them something back. That is a re-action.
The same applies when they criticize me. When I re-act, I criticize them in return. I am acting as they are acting towards me. To break this pattern requires that I stop, think and pray about what I should do next, and ACT accordingly. Acting is on purpose, re-acting is not. Re-acting happens when we are coming from an emotional mind set. It causes us to act in ways that many times we thought we would never behave.
Jesus was the perfect example of action vs. re-action. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, he is placed in a situation where many, no most would have reacted to the emotional tension of the moment. The Pharisees were acting in a judgmental and condemning manner. Jesus could have reacted to their behavior and judged and condemned her as well. Yet, take a look at what He does.
In John 8, He is in the temple court very early in the morning, at dawn actually. He is teaching the people who are there, when in comes a group of Pharisees and scribes with a woman. I have to believe they had set her up, because seriously how would they have known to catch her before the sun came up?
Verse 3, "When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him."
Verse 4, "Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery."
They then proceed to remind Him of the Law and what Moses had commanded. (That women offenders were to be stoned to death). Which is not what it says at all, according to Deuteronomy 22:22, "If a man is found lying with another man's wife, they shall both die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel." (italics mine) Again, I believe that she was set up, because where was the man? Did they promise him immunity if he would do this despicable deed, solely for the purpose of trying to trip up Jesus?
Anyway, back to the story. So they, point out just this portion of the commandment and ask what Jesus thinks they should do with her. They are trying to get a re-action out of Him. However, Jesus acts instead. He bends down and begins writing on the ground with his finger. He didn't not respond, so they kept at Him.
Finally, He stands and says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7b. He then bends back down and continues to write.
They all stopped and listened to Him, then they began leaving one by one, their conscience had gotten to them. Jesus effectively stopped the bouncing ball of re-action and forced each of them to stop and think and ACT.
The key here is that to act instead of react, we must STOP and think about what we are doing. Think through our responses, and compare them to the Word of God. Does what we are about to do coincide with it, or contradict it?
The next time you find yourself in a situation where you have something negative happening, STOP. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit, get your emotions in check and ACT, not re-act. Mercy which is an action, must always be ON PURPOSE. No one reacts in mercy or grace or love, no this is something we must do, a way we must act, in response to all interactions.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for showing us the difference in our responses. For letting us know we do have a choice. That when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us we will alway act. This lets us stop the horrible tail-spin of re-actions. Letting You be in control, and helping us to treat each person with the greatest commandment, LOVE. Love is never a reaction, but an action. It calls for us to do what is not expected or deserved to another. It is what You gave us by sacrificing Your Son on the cross. Love brings us to mercy and grace and can only come through purposeful actions. We praise and worship You for teaching us these truths.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Your probably thinking, "Cyndi what in the world are you talking about?", at this moment so I will clarify the revelation that the Lord placed on my heart today.
When people inter"act", they are bouncing off one another. This is considered conversation and develops our relationships. One person speaks about something and the other responds. How the person who is receiving the message responds is based on many factors. Their mood, the climate, past exchanges with this person or people whom they consider to be like them, outside distractions, the list goes on. Conversations and relationships are a conglomeration of these verbal and physical (body language) ball passes.
If I am speaking to someone and they act as if they are not really listening to me, or seem to be not particularly interested I can act or re-act to this. God showed me today that reactions are just that, an action that is replayed to the other person (or people) based on what they did (or didn't do) to us. He showed me that the action is repeated back and forth until one of the individuals decides to break the cycle by purposely "acting".
Now, I am speaking about negative actions mostly. However, positive can be done as well. If someone gives me a present than I usually want to give them something back. That is a re-action.
The same applies when they criticize me. When I re-act, I criticize them in return. I am acting as they are acting towards me. To break this pattern requires that I stop, think and pray about what I should do next, and ACT accordingly. Acting is on purpose, re-acting is not. Re-acting happens when we are coming from an emotional mind set. It causes us to act in ways that many times we thought we would never behave.
Jesus was the perfect example of action vs. re-action. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, he is placed in a situation where many, no most would have reacted to the emotional tension of the moment. The Pharisees were acting in a judgmental and condemning manner. Jesus could have reacted to their behavior and judged and condemned her as well. Yet, take a look at what He does.
In John 8, He is in the temple court very early in the morning, at dawn actually. He is teaching the people who are there, when in comes a group of Pharisees and scribes with a woman. I have to believe they had set her up, because seriously how would they have known to catch her before the sun came up?
Verse 3, "When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him."
Verse 4, "Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery."
They then proceed to remind Him of the Law and what Moses had commanded. (That women offenders were to be stoned to death). Which is not what it says at all, according to Deuteronomy 22:22, "If a man is found lying with another man's wife, they shall both die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel." (italics mine) Again, I believe that she was set up, because where was the man? Did they promise him immunity if he would do this despicable deed, solely for the purpose of trying to trip up Jesus?
Anyway, back to the story. So they, point out just this portion of the commandment and ask what Jesus thinks they should do with her. They are trying to get a re-action out of Him. However, Jesus acts instead. He bends down and begins writing on the ground with his finger. He didn't not respond, so they kept at Him.
Finally, He stands and says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7b. He then bends back down and continues to write.
They all stopped and listened to Him, then they began leaving one by one, their conscience had gotten to them. Jesus effectively stopped the bouncing ball of re-action and forced each of them to stop and think and ACT.
The key here is that to act instead of react, we must STOP and think about what we are doing. Think through our responses, and compare them to the Word of God. Does what we are about to do coincide with it, or contradict it?
The next time you find yourself in a situation where you have something negative happening, STOP. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit, get your emotions in check and ACT, not re-act. Mercy which is an action, must always be ON PURPOSE. No one reacts in mercy or grace or love, no this is something we must do, a way we must act, in response to all interactions.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for showing us the difference in our responses. For letting us know we do have a choice. That when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us we will alway act. This lets us stop the horrible tail-spin of re-actions. Letting You be in control, and helping us to treat each person with the greatest commandment, LOVE. Love is never a reaction, but an action. It calls for us to do what is not expected or deserved to another. It is what You gave us by sacrificing Your Son on the cross. Love brings us to mercy and grace and can only come through purposeful actions. We praise and worship You for teaching us these truths.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Monday, September 27, 2010
Relationships with Ourselves
Why is the most difficult thing in life relationships? I have pondered this question on a number of occasions. Life is made up of them, that is why. That's the answer I have come to. Whether they are positive or negative, it is impossible to live without them. We even have a relationship with ourselves, so becoming a hermit and avoiding people wouldn't help either.
The key is how to have a successful relationship. It must be based on positive interactions. What ends up happening is, all we do is based on our relationship with guess who? Ourselves. That relationship can be enhanced or decreased based on our relationship with God. This is not something that can be put to the side, and dealt with outside of day to day events. God needs to be in everything we do. If we want to have a better relationship with ourselves, we have to cultivate our relationship with Him. By doing this we are able to see ourselves through His eyes, and not the world's. In this, even in this, we must ask for His help.
Think about it, your ideas about yourself, where did you get them from? Most people it was from their parents. If they nurtured your individuality, than you were truly blessed. For most of us, our parents did not do this, they tried to turn us into miniatures of themselves. This is not a evil plot on their part, it is just how they were treated, so they pass it on. Trying to form us into something they could relate to and understand. From parent to child, to parent to child. The Bible refers to this behavior as a "generational curse". It is something that is passed on from one generation to the next, and has a negative effect.
It has taken me 47 years to become the person God created me to be over 47 years ago. To turn off all the negative influencing that I received because I was not what others wanted me to be. I have finally been able to turn off the voices inside my head and listen to that still small voice that has been speaking to me my entire life. He tells me I am beautifully and wonderfully made. That I am mysteriously knit together. Though He knows, I do not, the things that He has in store for me. I need only hold on to the fact that His plan is to bless me, not to curse me. Unlike my earthly parents, he is not trying to change me into His image so that He can better understand me. He is changing me so that I can be fully blessed by what He created, originally.
Because of Jesus, I know that I am not a failure, or a flake, or a loser. Bad things have happened to me in my life, as they do everyone. It rains on the good and the bad. The sinner and the saint. My original relationship with me caused me to see myself as something inherently bad. That these things happened because there was something wrong with me. Men mistreated and abused me because I deserved it. God has shown me that this is not true. I am what He created me to be. I'm extremely empathetic, I feel what others feel. Unfortunately, this makes me very susceptible to becoming a fixer. It causes me to put myself into relationships that tear me down, instead of building me up. I "sacrifice" myself trying to make everyone's hurts go away.
When I read the Bible I find that this is not the way Jesus worked. He was an empath as well of course, He's God. Yet, He did not try to help people who didn't want to be helped. People too prideful to admit that their relationship with themselves, the world, and ultimately Him was askew. I am sure He knew the story behind each Pharisee that challenged Him. He could have healed their hurts, but they never asked.
Look at Matthew 16:1, "Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up to Jesus, and they asked Him to show them a sign (spectacular miracle) from heaven [attesting His divine authority].
You see, they didn't ask Him for healing or forgiveness. No, they wanted Him to prove that He was the Christ. Jesus saw into their hearts and knew their condition, verse 4 has Him replying to their challenge of His authority, "A wicked and morally unfaithful generation craves a sign..." This is direct contrast to what He said to those He helped.
Time and again, every one of the people He helped He told them it was their faith that made them able to receive their desire. They didn't ask for a sign, they asked for help. They had a relationship with their own psyche, that said I need help. I am weak and unable to do this for myself. It doesn't make me a bad person or a failure. This is just a situation in my life that is bigger than my ability to deal with it. Jesus has the ability so I am going to get help from Him.
In our relationships with ourselves, we need help. We need to ask God to reveal what is wrong in our hearts that is keeping us from having a great relationship with Him. His grace is sufficient, because it covers everything that could possible be in error in ourselves. It is how Paul was able to live with little or plenty and never change his opinion of himself. What he had did not equal what he was. As Joyce Meyer says, he was able to separate his who from his do.
Who do you see yourself as? What are you measuring your self-worth by? Jesus or the world? This is why we must take time out as Jesus did each day to reconnect with our Creator. He will keep us on the right path, the narrow path that leads to righteousness. Once you have that understood, you will be able to move into the next realm of your relationship with others. There are no shortcuts in this, it takes time, prayer, meditation, and study of His Word. Then and only then will you be able to "honestly" be able to build the relationships around you.
Father,
We know that nothing is impossible for you. If we only ask, You are faithful to reveal to us Your original plan for our lives. This starts with our relationship with You and ourselves. Help us to see ourselves through Your eyes, and blank out all the negative input. Help us to restore our minds to the original factory setting. Your original design. We know that this is possible through Your hand moving in our lives as we permit. Give us the strength, Your strength to do this.
In Jesus name,
Amen
The key is how to have a successful relationship. It must be based on positive interactions. What ends up happening is, all we do is based on our relationship with guess who? Ourselves. That relationship can be enhanced or decreased based on our relationship with God. This is not something that can be put to the side, and dealt with outside of day to day events. God needs to be in everything we do. If we want to have a better relationship with ourselves, we have to cultivate our relationship with Him. By doing this we are able to see ourselves through His eyes, and not the world's. In this, even in this, we must ask for His help.
Think about it, your ideas about yourself, where did you get them from? Most people it was from their parents. If they nurtured your individuality, than you were truly blessed. For most of us, our parents did not do this, they tried to turn us into miniatures of themselves. This is not a evil plot on their part, it is just how they were treated, so they pass it on. Trying to form us into something they could relate to and understand. From parent to child, to parent to child. The Bible refers to this behavior as a "generational curse". It is something that is passed on from one generation to the next, and has a negative effect.
It has taken me 47 years to become the person God created me to be over 47 years ago. To turn off all the negative influencing that I received because I was not what others wanted me to be. I have finally been able to turn off the voices inside my head and listen to that still small voice that has been speaking to me my entire life. He tells me I am beautifully and wonderfully made. That I am mysteriously knit together. Though He knows, I do not, the things that He has in store for me. I need only hold on to the fact that His plan is to bless me, not to curse me. Unlike my earthly parents, he is not trying to change me into His image so that He can better understand me. He is changing me so that I can be fully blessed by what He created, originally.
Because of Jesus, I know that I am not a failure, or a flake, or a loser. Bad things have happened to me in my life, as they do everyone. It rains on the good and the bad. The sinner and the saint. My original relationship with me caused me to see myself as something inherently bad. That these things happened because there was something wrong with me. Men mistreated and abused me because I deserved it. God has shown me that this is not true. I am what He created me to be. I'm extremely empathetic, I feel what others feel. Unfortunately, this makes me very susceptible to becoming a fixer. It causes me to put myself into relationships that tear me down, instead of building me up. I "sacrifice" myself trying to make everyone's hurts go away.
When I read the Bible I find that this is not the way Jesus worked. He was an empath as well of course, He's God. Yet, He did not try to help people who didn't want to be helped. People too prideful to admit that their relationship with themselves, the world, and ultimately Him was askew. I am sure He knew the story behind each Pharisee that challenged Him. He could have healed their hurts, but they never asked.
Look at Matthew 16:1, "Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up to Jesus, and they asked Him to show them a sign (spectacular miracle) from heaven [attesting His divine authority].
You see, they didn't ask Him for healing or forgiveness. No, they wanted Him to prove that He was the Christ. Jesus saw into their hearts and knew their condition, verse 4 has Him replying to their challenge of His authority, "A wicked and morally unfaithful generation craves a sign..." This is direct contrast to what He said to those He helped.
Time and again, every one of the people He helped He told them it was their faith that made them able to receive their desire. They didn't ask for a sign, they asked for help. They had a relationship with their own psyche, that said I need help. I am weak and unable to do this for myself. It doesn't make me a bad person or a failure. This is just a situation in my life that is bigger than my ability to deal with it. Jesus has the ability so I am going to get help from Him.
In our relationships with ourselves, we need help. We need to ask God to reveal what is wrong in our hearts that is keeping us from having a great relationship with Him. His grace is sufficient, because it covers everything that could possible be in error in ourselves. It is how Paul was able to live with little or plenty and never change his opinion of himself. What he had did not equal what he was. As Joyce Meyer says, he was able to separate his who from his do.
Who do you see yourself as? What are you measuring your self-worth by? Jesus or the world? This is why we must take time out as Jesus did each day to reconnect with our Creator. He will keep us on the right path, the narrow path that leads to righteousness. Once you have that understood, you will be able to move into the next realm of your relationship with others. There are no shortcuts in this, it takes time, prayer, meditation, and study of His Word. Then and only then will you be able to "honestly" be able to build the relationships around you.
Father,
We know that nothing is impossible for you. If we only ask, You are faithful to reveal to us Your original plan for our lives. This starts with our relationship with You and ourselves. Help us to see ourselves through Your eyes, and blank out all the negative input. Help us to restore our minds to the original factory setting. Your original design. We know that this is possible through Your hand moving in our lives as we permit. Give us the strength, Your strength to do this.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I Choose to Exemplify Christ
A few days ago I blogged about getting angry. About controlling our anger and not letting it control us. It never fails that when you get on a subject that is going to bless many, the enemy comes at you to try to get you to betray the very thing that the Lord gave you to stand up for.
So here's the deal. My husband and I were separated for almost 2 years. The original reason for our separation was to keep us from getting divorced. We argued consistently and each day became more tense than the last. It was to be a time out to get closer to the Lord and allow Him to do a work in each of us. Needless to say, it didn't go that way. The enemy got a hold of my husband, and twisted him off the path of the Lord and after his own desires. I know this because his actions did not align with the Bible in any way, shape, or form. I don't blame him, I keep it where it belongs...the influence of Satan on his mind. We are reconciled now, although he filed for the divorce, so by man's law we are no longer married. However, God does not do things as man does so by the law of the Lord, yes we are still married. Legalism has no place in Christianity.
So, to fast-forward a bit, during the time he spoke negative words against me, spreading his bad feelings to others. Yes, many were at the church we now attend. However, we are back together now and although we are fine and building our relationship up each and every day... those he spoke evil towards me to see me as the woman he said I was, and they despise me. I'm not talking about secular folks, in fact those folks have welcomed me back to town, and expressed how happy they are that my husband and I are back together. It has only been the "Christian" community that has rejected me. A woman last week actually glared at me for several moments before moving to the other side of the church because she didn't want to sit near me. The others ladies are not quite that blatant, but their coldness leaves no doubt that they don't approve of or like me. This is a church I used to bless by singing in, I am no longer asked to do that, either. I am a pariah as far as they are concerned. It is not racial, yes I am one of the very few blacks that go to this church, because prior to our separation these same women were very pleasant to me. No this is pure and simply a judgment based on words that were spoken about me to them. This is why we must be so careful about what we say, once words are spoken they can do some serious damage. God's word tells us time and again to think before we speak. The tongue according to James can set aflame an entire forest, and it certainly has here. This is a classic case of the word in action.
Well, I could get angry and be hurt. No one would blame me, except Jesus. Okay, I am hurt, I can't help my feelings, but I don't have to "act" from those feelings. I can either allow myself to get angry or see this as an amazing opportunity to not only bless those who curse me, but be a witness to an unbelieving world.
What an opportunity indeed. Instead of judging in return those that are judging me, I pity them. For they are not truly following the ways of our Christ, and will need to answer to it come Judgment Day. You see that's when judgment should happen, not now. We have to be so careful about what we say and do. We cannot give any room to the enemy, let him through any door or through our armor.
James says to count every trial and tribulation as pure joy. It is an opportunity for me to become more like Jesus. This is an incredible spiritual growing and learning experience. God is blessing me through this. It may not seem to be that way as I face rejection week after week. However, rejection has always been something that was difficult for me to deal with. Whenever I came across it, I would run. This blog would go on forever if I started going into my childhood and what made me this way. God is unmaking me, He is re-creating me into the person I was when I came from my mother's womb. Before the impact of interaction with man caused me to respond in defense, and not as He created me to act.
So now, He is putting me in place where I have to face what I have always run from, rejection. Time and again He has done this, and like Elijah after dealing with the false prophets. Each time He has brought me back to it, with the question; "How are you going to respond?" This time I choose, yes I choose to respond with love. The love of Jesus Christ for all mankind. People are wrong for judging me, but I am not going to fall into the trap of judging them and retaliating. No, I wish each and everyone the best. I pray that God blesses them and pours out His love on them. Why, because as Jesus said, I say now. Forgive them for they know not what they do.
Only God can reach them and show them how He wants them to live. It is not up to me. What is up to me, is living up to His sacrificial example. Being an example for others, showing them the way to Jesus. I will never do that by trying to get even, or get ugly with folks. No, I want others to come to Christ because He has a better way. They will only know that by seeing the way I react when under fire. The folks around you, are the same. They will see Jesus in you each and every time that you respond to the attack with prayers and blessings. Let only positive, uplifting words flow from my tongue. This is truly walking in faith. For what I believe I create. If I believe I let Jesus work through me to help other people, even if I must feel hurt and betrayed.
Jesus said in John 15:16-25, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you. This is what I command you; that you love one another. If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But, because you are not of the world [no longer one with it] , but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you. Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours. But they will do all this to you because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would be not be guilty of sin [would be blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me also hates My Father. If I had not done (accomplished) among them the works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin. But [the fact is] now they have both seen [these works] and have hated both Me and My Father. But [this is so] that the word written in their Law might be fulfilled, They hated Me without a cause."
So, if Jesus was not exempt from this kind of behavior towards Him from people who supposedly believed in Him, remember many while He was being scourged and crucified were at one time followers of Christ, how am I any different? Why would I be exempt from this treatment, when He says in His word that this is what will happen? This just proves to me that I am truly His follower and I truly belong to Him not the world.
It was a long trip to this place I sit right now, but it has been worth every emotional bump, bruise, and cut along the way. I am today closer to Him than I ever was, and tomorrow I will be even closer. For I must decrease, and Christ must increase and this is how He does that.
Father,
Let me keep my eyes on You. Jesus, help me to emulate You in all that I do, but especially in my responses to others. I do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities as Your word speaks. I trust You to bless me each and every day. I trust You to keep me on point, neither looking right or left. Help me to know the peace that goes beyond all understanding. Help me to remember always, that I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who gives me strength, and not by my own strength. The battle belongs to You, I will be still and let You do Your work. I will praise You as Your right hand moves within my life and makes my path straight and sure. Thank You for loving me this much to keep me under the pressure until I am re-created into Your original creation.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
There are Two Kinds of Faith
Faith, I wrote about the difference between common sense and faith yesterday. It go me to thinking a little more deeply on the subject. My thoughts lead me to two distinct questions. What is faith...exactly? How do I make sure I'm "walking" in faith each day?
So first, what is faith? Well, according to Hebrews 11:1 (I use the amplified bible, I love the way it expands the text to all the meanings that the Hebrew or Greek word meant) Paul explains faith this way. "Now faith IS the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.]. (Italics mine)
What is a title deed exactly, well it is a piece of paper that says you own something. You can have a title for your car, or a deed for your house. They are all "proof" of ownership. So this means to me that faith is proof of my ownership of what I am hoping for. Something that has not manifested in the natural, by faith is mine spiritually because I believe it is so.
This causes me to absolutely convinced that they are real. Want an example? Your faith in Jesus Christ. You have all that He promised, you will have eternal life with Him because you have a conviction in your heart that it is so. Nothing physical proves it, there is nothing "tangible" that says this is what is going to happen after you die. No one has come back as far as I know to let any of us still here know for sure what is on the other side, save Jesus. This we believe as well, through FAITH. So in a nutshell, faith is a hardcore belief in something you haven't received yet, in things you cannot see. Once you see them you no longer require faith to sustain your belief in it. I hope I am making sense.
So my next question was, how do I make sure I am walking in faith everyday. Well, the truth is that this is not the real question. I walk in faith every single day, every hour, every moment. How? I have faith that I will be able to breath in and breath out with no difficulties. Nothing says that something wont happen to me to make that so, but by faith I believe that this is not a problem. When I am in FULL FAITH, I don't think about it, I just do it, expecting a result.
Ever have an asthma attack? The worse thing in the world you can do in the midst of one is tense up and worry about being able to take your next breath. You have to force yourself to relax, let the air come in and out, and stop thinking about how hard it is to breath. You have to have faith that the next breathe is going to come, and it does.
How about getting out of bed in the morning. Every morning I wake up and I have faith that I will be able to swing my legs around, sit up and get out of bed. I expect it to happen and it does.
Whenever I walk, I have full faith that one foot will go before the other. One leg will follow the other. I don't think about it I just do it. In faith. I believe, first, that I will be able to take the next step, the action comes next.
I can go on like this for pages and pages, but I'm sure you get the picture. We live in a state of faith at all times. The big hurdle is what are we putting our faith energy into? Am I having faith that I WONT be able to pay the bills this month? Or, am I having faith that God will provide everything, just like He provides my ability to breath and walk?
It's amazing what will happen if you start really thinking about how much you use faith each and every second of your life. Satan can't steal my faith, he can't keep me from having faith. It is what makes me able to function. So he has to do what he can do, steer my faith in the wrong direction. It is up to me to stay focused on Jesus Christ, on things above as Paul put it, so the enemy is not able to do this. There is so much power in faith. This is why Jesus said with faith the size of a mustard seed I can move a mountain.
If I can move my body, teach it to do "new" tricks, etc... which is all by faith, than there is nothing that can stop me from attaining what God has promised me.
What stops me dead in my tracks, what stalls my forward momentum? Doubt. Which is nothing more than negatively charged faith. It pulls my faith in two directions at once, and like James wrote, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with NO wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord. [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. James 1:5-8 (Capitalization mine)
I cannot be of "two" minds, one will always be at war with the other and stop me from making any progress. Stagnated and putrefied, that is what becomes of all my efforts when I allow my faith to waver towards the negative, while trying to stay positive. Ever been around stagnate water? It is disgusting to look at, smell, and feel. If I let this continue, my physical life begins to reflect my spiritual. Things start to fall apart and I feel at a loss, consistently. This is when I am most prone to cry out, "Why God, Why?" The answer is right in front of me. Because, I have not been applying my faith towards things above as He directed.
Now, I know this is not an easy proposition. God knows it as well. That is why Jesus directed us in Matthew 6:33-34 this way, "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble." First thing when I get up, I should be seeking my connection with Him, He will show me the way through today's concerns. When I get really worried, it is not about today I am worrying, no it is my faith being applied negatively towards tomorrow and what will happen if I don't do this, or if I do this the wrong way, or don't make the right decision, etc...
So let me wrap this up. You and I are always walking in faith, but there are two kinds of faith. Negative and positive. Which one we use is up to us. The key is that we have to decide to use one exclusively, otherwise we get pulled in two directions at once which causes anxiety and distress, and a sense of no control over any circumstances in our lives. Personally, I have no desire to use negative faith, I will stick with the positive. To do this, we must each take time out every single day to seek God's face and have a real relationship with Him. It can't just be a Sunday morning visit, He wants to spend every waking (and sleeping) moment with us and for that to be our conscious decision. This is a life that He rewards, if with nothing more than an incredible peace of mind.
Daddy,
Thank You for giving us faith. You have given us free will as well, and we can use our faith to advance or retreat. Thank You for showing us and revealing to us consistently Your hand at work in our lives. We are not able to make progress without positive faith. Show us each and every time we begin to slip into the realm of negative faithfulness, and accept our humble plea for forgiveness. We repent of the propensity to doubt You, and pledge ourselves to You this day. Making a complete sacrifice of all we are, to become more like You Jesus. Help us to follow Your example, and seek our Father's face each and every day, so we are consistently running the race to win. Keeping our eyes on the prize, which is eternity with You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
So first, what is faith? Well, according to Hebrews 11:1 (I use the amplified bible, I love the way it expands the text to all the meanings that the Hebrew or Greek word meant) Paul explains faith this way. "Now faith IS the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.]. (Italics mine)
What is a title deed exactly, well it is a piece of paper that says you own something. You can have a title for your car, or a deed for your house. They are all "proof" of ownership. So this means to me that faith is proof of my ownership of what I am hoping for. Something that has not manifested in the natural, by faith is mine spiritually because I believe it is so.
This causes me to absolutely convinced that they are real. Want an example? Your faith in Jesus Christ. You have all that He promised, you will have eternal life with Him because you have a conviction in your heart that it is so. Nothing physical proves it, there is nothing "tangible" that says this is what is going to happen after you die. No one has come back as far as I know to let any of us still here know for sure what is on the other side, save Jesus. This we believe as well, through FAITH. So in a nutshell, faith is a hardcore belief in something you haven't received yet, in things you cannot see. Once you see them you no longer require faith to sustain your belief in it. I hope I am making sense.
So my next question was, how do I make sure I am walking in faith everyday. Well, the truth is that this is not the real question. I walk in faith every single day, every hour, every moment. How? I have faith that I will be able to breath in and breath out with no difficulties. Nothing says that something wont happen to me to make that so, but by faith I believe that this is not a problem. When I am in FULL FAITH, I don't think about it, I just do it, expecting a result.
Ever have an asthma attack? The worse thing in the world you can do in the midst of one is tense up and worry about being able to take your next breath. You have to force yourself to relax, let the air come in and out, and stop thinking about how hard it is to breath. You have to have faith that the next breathe is going to come, and it does.
How about getting out of bed in the morning. Every morning I wake up and I have faith that I will be able to swing my legs around, sit up and get out of bed. I expect it to happen and it does.
Whenever I walk, I have full faith that one foot will go before the other. One leg will follow the other. I don't think about it I just do it. In faith. I believe, first, that I will be able to take the next step, the action comes next.
I can go on like this for pages and pages, but I'm sure you get the picture. We live in a state of faith at all times. The big hurdle is what are we putting our faith energy into? Am I having faith that I WONT be able to pay the bills this month? Or, am I having faith that God will provide everything, just like He provides my ability to breath and walk?
It's amazing what will happen if you start really thinking about how much you use faith each and every second of your life. Satan can't steal my faith, he can't keep me from having faith. It is what makes me able to function. So he has to do what he can do, steer my faith in the wrong direction. It is up to me to stay focused on Jesus Christ, on things above as Paul put it, so the enemy is not able to do this. There is so much power in faith. This is why Jesus said with faith the size of a mustard seed I can move a mountain.
If I can move my body, teach it to do "new" tricks, etc... which is all by faith, than there is nothing that can stop me from attaining what God has promised me.
What stops me dead in my tracks, what stalls my forward momentum? Doubt. Which is nothing more than negatively charged faith. It pulls my faith in two directions at once, and like James wrote, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with NO wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord. [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. James 1:5-8 (Capitalization mine)
I cannot be of "two" minds, one will always be at war with the other and stop me from making any progress. Stagnated and putrefied, that is what becomes of all my efforts when I allow my faith to waver towards the negative, while trying to stay positive. Ever been around stagnate water? It is disgusting to look at, smell, and feel. If I let this continue, my physical life begins to reflect my spiritual. Things start to fall apart and I feel at a loss, consistently. This is when I am most prone to cry out, "Why God, Why?" The answer is right in front of me. Because, I have not been applying my faith towards things above as He directed.
Now, I know this is not an easy proposition. God knows it as well. That is why Jesus directed us in Matthew 6:33-34 this way, "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble." First thing when I get up, I should be seeking my connection with Him, He will show me the way through today's concerns. When I get really worried, it is not about today I am worrying, no it is my faith being applied negatively towards tomorrow and what will happen if I don't do this, or if I do this the wrong way, or don't make the right decision, etc...
So let me wrap this up. You and I are always walking in faith, but there are two kinds of faith. Negative and positive. Which one we use is up to us. The key is that we have to decide to use one exclusively, otherwise we get pulled in two directions at once which causes anxiety and distress, and a sense of no control over any circumstances in our lives. Personally, I have no desire to use negative faith, I will stick with the positive. To do this, we must each take time out every single day to seek God's face and have a real relationship with Him. It can't just be a Sunday morning visit, He wants to spend every waking (and sleeping) moment with us and for that to be our conscious decision. This is a life that He rewards, if with nothing more than an incredible peace of mind.
Daddy,
Thank You for giving us faith. You have given us free will as well, and we can use our faith to advance or retreat. Thank You for showing us and revealing to us consistently Your hand at work in our lives. We are not able to make progress without positive faith. Show us each and every time we begin to slip into the realm of negative faithfulness, and accept our humble plea for forgiveness. We repent of the propensity to doubt You, and pledge ourselves to You this day. Making a complete sacrifice of all we are, to become more like You Jesus. Help us to follow Your example, and seek our Father's face each and every day, so we are consistently running the race to win. Keeping our eyes on the prize, which is eternity with You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Monday, September 20, 2010
Faith vs Common Sense
A huge part of being a Christian, well actually the primary part of being a Christian is "faith". According to Paul, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In respect to our salvation, this is purely done on Faith. We trust and believe that we are saved or redeemed from certain alienation from God for eternity by the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. We trust and believe in this by the grace of God's Holy Spirit imparting it into our hearts, and accepting it as truth or gospel.
With that I would like to get to the meat of what I'm talking about today. This weekend I received a letter and "cashiers check" from a reputable company, supposedly. The problem is that it wasn't actually from the company. It's a scam, to get me to wire money to them, thus living me in severe financial straights when this check comes back fraudulent in about 30 days. Now, I could " by faith" have moved forward, since I could definitely use money right now, but God gave us something else...common sense. Too often we Christians get messed up with faith vs common sense.
Quite often common sense will get in the way of faith, this is a fact! The steps that God often asks us to take many times go against every ounce of common sense we could factor. However, we have to adhere to one truth, God never goes against His own word. We are told that we are to compare everything to the scriptures to see if they align with it. If not, it's not from Him. Remember, Satan is very subtle, he will appear as an angel of light to fool us. So with that here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to help you make an informed decision in regards to these letters.
With that I would like to get to the meat of what I'm talking about today. This weekend I received a letter and "cashiers check" from a reputable company, supposedly. The problem is that it wasn't actually from the company. It's a scam, to get me to wire money to them, thus living me in severe financial straights when this check comes back fraudulent in about 30 days. Now, I could " by faith" have moved forward, since I could definitely use money right now, but God gave us something else...common sense. Too often we Christians get messed up with faith vs common sense.
Quite often common sense will get in the way of faith, this is a fact! The steps that God often asks us to take many times go against every ounce of common sense we could factor. However, we have to adhere to one truth, God never goes against His own word. We are told that we are to compare everything to the scriptures to see if they align with it. If not, it's not from Him. Remember, Satan is very subtle, he will appear as an angel of light to fool us. So with that here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to help you make an informed decision in regards to these letters.
- Look at the envelope. Does it have a return address? Does it have a postage meter mark or a stamp? No reputable company these days send anything out to anyone without a return address, and they also never, ever use "stamps". For tax purposes, and account expenditure tracking, as well as saving on labor usage, they use a postage meter.
- The letter - Even if it looks like an official letter, take the time to look it up online. Go to a library if you need to. Use Google, find the official company site. Now, more than likely the address on the letter will match the address on the internet, however there is usually a phone number on the letter. It WILL NOT match any number on the site. This screams SCAM. If the company site states they are open Mon - Fri 8 - 5, and you call on a Saturday and someone answers the phone, even if they answer with the company name.... It's a SCAM.
- Now, lets get down to some real common sense here. Even if you don't have any of the other information available, think about this. What company would send thousands of dollars to an individual expecting them to "wire" the money back to them, without any type of written or oral contract stating that you WILL return the money. What is to keep the person from cashing the check and running with them money? If they tried to prosecute, you would only have to say they "gave" me the money. The burden of proof is on the company. They sent a check to you, so who's to say they didn't just give it to you. What company would do this? No business is that trusting of the general public at large.
This is a case where common sense is plain and simple. Nothing in the Bible directs you to do something like this. God would never send money to anyone in this fashion. It's not how He works. When money comes from him it is clean, clear and without any questions attached.
If you receive one of these letters, do the right thing, contact the company and let them know. Not the number on the letter, but the one on their official site. If these people start to see that they will spend time in prison for these acts, perhaps we can get them to slow it down. I don't think it will ever stop, any more than any other crime has been completely stopped by the threat of jail time, but perhaps a few will back off.
We need to do what we can to protect our Christian brothers and sisters as well. Many of the targets of these scams are older people who aren't savvy when it comes to this stuff. Let's keep an eye out for each other and use the gifts that God has given us when appropriate. This the Holy Spirit will direct.
Father,
As we go through our day to day lives, we know that we will run into strife and stresses. We ask that You give us the wisdom to know what is from You and what is from the enemy. Help us to be a vanguard to protect those who are not in the know. Let us be Your servant in this, and not be afraid to put ourselves out and do what is right. Let us not look at the time and energy it may cost us to do the right thing, but to obediently do what You have lead us to do.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Bless those who persecute you...
Ever have a situation where someone, or maybe a group of someones don't like you? You don't know why, you didn't say anything to them, in fact if you could piece together ten sentences you had spoken to them in your entire knowledge of their existence you would be stretching yourself. Beyond the courtesy "Hello, how are you?", well you just haven't interacted with them. I'm sure you have, I don't think anyone over the age of five hasn't. I find this mind-boggling, when I think about it in the natural. When it is even more, confusing is when it happens within the church body. When one Christian or set of Christians commit this against another.
Recently, I have been dealing with this. I realized that this is an opportunity. I am counting it pure joy, just as James said. You know the scripture, it starts out the book of James for the most part, it's the second verse of the first chapter, "Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations."
Let's dissect this a bit, he says "trials of any sort". Pretty broad statement. He doesn't say, when the world comes against you. When secular folks attack you. He says "any sort". That includes unwarranted disapproval from our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, this test is probably the hardest of them all. We expect them to hold themselves to a higher level of behavior or attitude, yet they are humans. They are plagued with a sinful nature. Just like me and just like you. That is why they need Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, just like me and just like you. So what is the test? How am I going to choose to respond to this "rejection."
I can choose many options, the selection is like a menu of wrong attitudes I could develop and cultivate in response, and the "world" wouldn't blame me. However, Jesus would. Here's a sampling, I could:
1. Shun them
2. Start a smear campaign
3. Speak negatively of them every opportunity I had, with the cover of "Let us pray for them."
4. Say nothing, yet harbor a grudge
Oh the list could get really, really long. How does God say I should respond? Let's turn to the book of Hebrews for the answer.
First, I need to remember that these things happen the most when I am seeking to follow the Lord, wholeheartedly. The devil is still out there, and he is still roaming around like a lion seeking someone to destroy. How does he destroy us? By getting us to respond incorrectly to circumstances, especially if the negative circumstance is being inspired by a brother or sister. Remember, they are being use of the enemy to get to you, and to tear down their Christian walk as well. Plus, if new Christians see this behavior, if non-Christians see this behavior what does that do to their concepts of who we say we are vs. how we act?
I am running a race, my goal to become the child of God that He created me to be and become more like Christ everyday. In Hebrews 12:2, "Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Italics mine) Endured and ignored the shame is what Jesus did for me, can I not do the same?
Go on to verse 3, "Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself, [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. (Italics mine). See it's in my head that all this gets blown up and out of proportion. If I keep it in perspective, comparing it to what Jesus went through for me, it's nothing and I will continue to do what is good, and walk the road of righteousness He lays out before me.
Skip to verses 14 and 15, "Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord. Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God's grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it -" (Italics mine). This tells me that I am susceptible to getting grief from anybody, Christian and non-Christian. However, if I don't keep my response correct, I am not pursuing His holiness and bitterness starts to build up within me. Subsequently, the people I come in contact with are affected by it and may be thrown off to pursue the wrong path. Do I really want the pressure of that responsibility? Do I want to stand before Jesus and have to answer to being the person who was responsible for showing a new Christian the wrong way to handle strife? Do I want to have to answer to being the person that caused someone to say, "See that's why I don't bother with Christianity, look at her, that's how they act. They talk about love, but they can't even be loving towards each other." Not for me, no thank you.
Now, go to Romans 12:14, "Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them. Again, this is an all-inclusive statement, I am to bless people no matter how they treat me, or what they do or don't do for me.
Verse 16 says, "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits." Clearly when we start to think too much of ourselves, start to become self-righteous we are in danger of breaking this command. We fall prey to the enemies tactics, convincing us that it's okay because look what that person is doing. Yet, how is this living in harmony. As well, if I start looking at ways to get back at the person or people who are ill-treating me, how am I living in harmony? Am I not thinking of myself better than them, in a sense?
Verses 17 & 18 continues, "Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Italics mine) There it is again, live at peace with everyone, and guess what it depends on me not the person attacking me. Paul is saying, there is a way to live in peace with all people. Let's go back to Hebrews... Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus. That's the answer, right there. Look away FROM the backbiting, the ugly looks, the finger pointing, or slanderous comments, and look TO Jesus.
Let me skip to Romans 12:21 to cement this, "Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good." (Italics mine). Only I can allow myself to be overcome by evil. Moving back to the book of James, I'll wrap this up. James 4:1, "What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?" Sensual, means sentient. The archaic definition of sentient is the conscious mind. So what leads to all that James was speaking of? The conscious desires within our mind that are consistently at war with Holy Spirit which is within our bodies. This is why we must have a complete renewal of our mind, if we are to truly serve the Lord.
Why do I count these attacks as joys, like I said before? Because, it gives me an opportunity to see how far I have progressed with the Holy Spirit. I can see, am I more like Jesus and less like me, or have I stubbornly dug in my heals and refused to mature?
So next time someone or a multitude of someones comes at you, look away from them, look to Jesus and pray to Him, "What can I do to bless this person or these people? For, as Your word prescribes I choose to bless those who are persecuting me, just as You did."
Heavenly Father,
So often it is difficult for us to give up or let go of the harmful daggers and arrows others throw at us. Lord, help us to remember that these come from the enemy ultimately. Let us don our armor, wearing it consistently so that we are protected from each and every attack. Let our actions and words be pleasing in Your sight Lord. We thank You for allowing us the ability to come to You with these things and giving us a way out of every temptation, as Your word directs. Each and every day let Your Holy Spirit guide us.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Recently, I have been dealing with this. I realized that this is an opportunity. I am counting it pure joy, just as James said. You know the scripture, it starts out the book of James for the most part, it's the second verse of the first chapter, "Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations."
Let's dissect this a bit, he says "trials of any sort". Pretty broad statement. He doesn't say, when the world comes against you. When secular folks attack you. He says "any sort". That includes unwarranted disapproval from our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, this test is probably the hardest of them all. We expect them to hold themselves to a higher level of behavior or attitude, yet they are humans. They are plagued with a sinful nature. Just like me and just like you. That is why they need Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, just like me and just like you. So what is the test? How am I going to choose to respond to this "rejection."
I can choose many options, the selection is like a menu of wrong attitudes I could develop and cultivate in response, and the "world" wouldn't blame me. However, Jesus would. Here's a sampling, I could:
1. Shun them
2. Start a smear campaign
3. Speak negatively of them every opportunity I had, with the cover of "Let us pray for them."
4. Say nothing, yet harbor a grudge
Oh the list could get really, really long. How does God say I should respond? Let's turn to the book of Hebrews for the answer.
First, I need to remember that these things happen the most when I am seeking to follow the Lord, wholeheartedly. The devil is still out there, and he is still roaming around like a lion seeking someone to destroy. How does he destroy us? By getting us to respond incorrectly to circumstances, especially if the negative circumstance is being inspired by a brother or sister. Remember, they are being use of the enemy to get to you, and to tear down their Christian walk as well. Plus, if new Christians see this behavior, if non-Christians see this behavior what does that do to their concepts of who we say we are vs. how we act?
I am running a race, my goal to become the child of God that He created me to be and become more like Christ everyday. In Hebrews 12:2, "Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Italics mine) Endured and ignored the shame is what Jesus did for me, can I not do the same?
Go on to verse 3, "Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself, [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. (Italics mine). See it's in my head that all this gets blown up and out of proportion. If I keep it in perspective, comparing it to what Jesus went through for me, it's nothing and I will continue to do what is good, and walk the road of righteousness He lays out before me.
Skip to verses 14 and 15, "Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord. Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God's grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it -" (Italics mine). This tells me that I am susceptible to getting grief from anybody, Christian and non-Christian. However, if I don't keep my response correct, I am not pursuing His holiness and bitterness starts to build up within me. Subsequently, the people I come in contact with are affected by it and may be thrown off to pursue the wrong path. Do I really want the pressure of that responsibility? Do I want to stand before Jesus and have to answer to being the person who was responsible for showing a new Christian the wrong way to handle strife? Do I want to have to answer to being the person that caused someone to say, "See that's why I don't bother with Christianity, look at her, that's how they act. They talk about love, but they can't even be loving towards each other." Not for me, no thank you.
Now, go to Romans 12:14, "Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them. Again, this is an all-inclusive statement, I am to bless people no matter how they treat me, or what they do or don't do for me.
Verse 16 says, "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits." Clearly when we start to think too much of ourselves, start to become self-righteous we are in danger of breaking this command. We fall prey to the enemies tactics, convincing us that it's okay because look what that person is doing. Yet, how is this living in harmony. As well, if I start looking at ways to get back at the person or people who are ill-treating me, how am I living in harmony? Am I not thinking of myself better than them, in a sense?
Verses 17 & 18 continues, "Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Italics mine) There it is again, live at peace with everyone, and guess what it depends on me not the person attacking me. Paul is saying, there is a way to live in peace with all people. Let's go back to Hebrews... Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus. That's the answer, right there. Look away FROM the backbiting, the ugly looks, the finger pointing, or slanderous comments, and look TO Jesus.
Let me skip to Romans 12:21 to cement this, "Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good." (Italics mine). Only I can allow myself to be overcome by evil. Moving back to the book of James, I'll wrap this up. James 4:1, "What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?" Sensual, means sentient. The archaic definition of sentient is the conscious mind. So what leads to all that James was speaking of? The conscious desires within our mind that are consistently at war with Holy Spirit which is within our bodies. This is why we must have a complete renewal of our mind, if we are to truly serve the Lord.
Why do I count these attacks as joys, like I said before? Because, it gives me an opportunity to see how far I have progressed with the Holy Spirit. I can see, am I more like Jesus and less like me, or have I stubbornly dug in my heals and refused to mature?
So next time someone or a multitude of someones comes at you, look away from them, look to Jesus and pray to Him, "What can I do to bless this person or these people? For, as Your word prescribes I choose to bless those who are persecuting me, just as You did."
Heavenly Father,
So often it is difficult for us to give up or let go of the harmful daggers and arrows others throw at us. Lord, help us to remember that these come from the enemy ultimately. Let us don our armor, wearing it consistently so that we are protected from each and every attack. Let our actions and words be pleasing in Your sight Lord. We thank You for allowing us the ability to come to You with these things and giving us a way out of every temptation, as Your word directs. Each and every day let Your Holy Spirit guide us.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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