Connected?

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, 8)

As we close out another year, let us keep in mind two things Christ asks of each of us - two things that will give us the best start to our new year. First and foremost, connect with him. We cannot expect to make wise decisions about our future, much less our present circumstances when we are not actively connecting with him. Secondly, we need to remain in a close relationship with him. The branches of a vine are no good without connection, but when connected, they have a source for life. Branches that are intertwined will actually grow stronger than those that are just trying to do things on their own. One vining branch may attempt to grow in the opposite direction of the rest, producing just a bit of fruit, but in time, the heat of day will scorch it, the birds will pick it clean, and the landscaper will lop it off!

The vine always has a 'trunk' to which it is connected. That 'trunk' is what has the root system attached to it - the means by which all the vine requires for growth will enter into the vine. Without connection to the 'source', the vine cannot expect to find nourishment, fruit will become non-existent, and it will soon wither and die. Perhaps the best thing we can do as we enter this new year is examine where we are finding our connection. If it is in the things of this world such as the value of our bank accounts, the upward mobility of our career, or the 'steadiness' of a hoped-for relationship, we may find ourselves a bit 'dry' and the fruit of the Spirit pretty much non-existent in our lives. If the source of our lives is the connection we find with Jesus each and every day, the fruit may not always be evident, but it is on the way!

If we want a strong start to our year, we will refocus our attention toward making the 'right connection' - that which is found in relationship with Jesus and nothing else. Then we will find that the strength that comes as we 'intertwine' with others who have also made such a commitment to remain connected to the source of all life (Jesus) will be exactly what we need in order to realize the growth and development of true spiritual fruit. Connection is paramount - to Christ first, then to others who also follow him. We may experience seasons of 'leanness' at times, but as long as the connection remains secure to the source of all life, the 'leanness' of what appears to be a non-fruit bearing season in our lives will reveal just how much prep has gone into the development of the fruit that is just about to break forth! Just sayin!

A hole filled cross

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. (Galatians 5:24-25)

Hey, does your cross have a bunch of holes where the nails have been driven time and time again? I know I have a seen God drive a nail home when he convicts me of something he wants to change in my life, then after a while, there I am with the hammer trying to remove that nail! Nail and hammer in hand, I go about doing the very thing God asked me to allow him to nail to the cross! It is likely we all struggle with that from time to time, all because we want to control the course of our lives just a bit too much. The 'control thing' is really a combo of our pride and our lusts getting the best of us. We want what God says we should not have, then we struggle with the desire to possess it, before long giving into that desire instead of leaving that thing nailed to the cross where he helped us to secure it in the first place. God's greatest hope is that we give him the hammer and allow it to remain there!

Passions and desires are not a bad thing unless they are moving us away from Christ's best for our lives. When God convicts, our response is usually repentance. That conviction leads to God taking up the hammer and driving the nail home - we experience a change in our actions because that sin was nailed to the cross. Whenever we take our eyes off Jesus, we find our desires soon gravitate once again toward what we were asked to leave on that cross. Taking up the hammer and trying to remove that nail will only leave holes in the cross and 'holes' in our heart! We need to leave it there - like it or not. The struggle to do what God says we shouldn't do is real, but the more we lean into Christ, the less likely we will be to feel the pull away from the cross. 

We have frequently explored the need to keep the right focus, but it cannot be said enough. What we focus upon, we lean upon. When the cross is what we lean upon, we will find there is less likelihood of us trying to take back what God asked us to leave there. The cross isn't a 'temporary holding place' for our sins - it is the place where they find permanent death. In order for death to occur, they have to stay on the cross! If you find you have your hammer at the ready almost immediately after God asks for you to relinquish control of some sin in your life, nailing it to the cross, then it is time to also give him the hammer. We may not want to immediately relinquish the hammer, but the more we lean against that cross, the quicker the death to that sin will actually be. Just sayin!

Withered Wineskins

Have you been waiting for what seems like forever to see the fulfillment of a dream, answer to a prayer, or intervention of some kind in your life? I imagine all of us are in this position from time to time, finding it harder and harder to wait, even wanting to give up on whatever it is we hope for entirely. If you find yourself there today, you aren't alone 'waiting for your rescue'. The one thing we must do is put our hope in God's promises. What he says is true - trustworthy, firmly grounded, and never failing. In the 'wait', it may not seem that way, but God will never compromise his watchfulness or his careful attention toward us!

I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me? I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees. (Psalm 119:81-83)

Waiting makes us feel like withered up wineskins, doesn't it? It invades the spaces within our minds where it has a chance to affect the way we think. It weasels its way into our emotions, giving us every high and low we could imagine possible. It brings havoc to our bodies, causing us to lose sleep, tossing and turning while ruminating over whatever it is that we 'wait' for to happen. In the end, the one thing that is accomplished by all that is a 'withered up wineskin' kind of feeling!

What is the key to waiting? It is obedience. Like it or not, the key to waiting is to do what we know to be right, in the ways God tells us to do them. Period! Most of the time, we start out this 'waiting process' well, then somewhere down the line, we don't do as well with that obedience stuff. We think it isn't 'doing any good', so we waver a bit, allowing compromise to enter in. Truth be told, the waiting is made even more difficult to endure whenever we allow compromise to move us off the 'obedience track'. 

God isn't impressed by our obedience, but we will be less likely to find ourselves in a position where God will have to bring correction into our lives in order for us to handle whatever it is we have been waiting upon. We must remain consistent in our walk, spending quality time with Jesus each and every day, following through on each step of action he requires of us in his Word. Waiting will happen, but we don't have to end up like old, withered wineskins at the end! Just sayin! 

Be resilient!

Even though I have troubles and hard times, your commands give me joy. (Psalm 119:143)

Sophocles said, "There is no success without hardship." Eric Greitens said, "Of course fear does not automatically lead to courage. Injury does not necessarily lead to insight. Hardship will not automatically make us better. Pain can break us or make us wiser. Suffering can destroy us or make us stronger. Fear can cripple us, or it can make us more courageous. It is resilience that makes the difference." I'd have to say the 'resilience' we have in our lives is heaven sent - it is not humanly possible to endure some of the hardships life sends our way!

Resilience is the power or ability of a particular 'material' to return to its original form/position after being bent, stretched, or compressed. There are hard times that seek to disturb our 'form' and remove us from our secure 'position' in Christ Jesus. We must be able to 'bend', be 'stretched', or face the inevitable feeling of being 'compressed' under pressure without actually being removed from the security of our position in Christ. We may 'change' when faced with hardship, but we do so for the best when the change is the result of his power within us.

Turn to his word in hard times - it is what gives us the resilience. Find joy in his commands, celebrate his promises, and hold tightly to his assurances found deep within those pages. Words on a page are simply than until we ask God to put those same words deep within our hearts. As we do so, we find there is a supernatural ability to 'adjust' to the situation - not be bent by it, but to adjust our frame of mind to look beyond it and directly into the eyes of Jesus. All manner of crises and disturbances will come our way, but when his word dwells within our hearts and is settled deep within our minds, those things stand no chance! Just sayin!

One teaches - two learn

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Robert Half told us that 'when one teaches, two learn.' I couldn't agree more! In order to teach, one must learn first what one is teaching, but within the teaching, additional learning actually occurs. It is kind of like a tiny embryo of knowledge begins to break into two, then four, and so on. Half also put a question out there for us to consider today: "When your future arrives, will you blame your past?" Too many times, we blame our past, but did we have the opportunity to learn from whatever it was in our past that we blame today and just didn't heed that opportunity?

If you ever get into the scripture and find there is 'new meaning' in a passage you have likely read time and time again, you are just seeing it from today's perspective. The scripture didn't change - your perspective did! The 'relevance' of the scripture is based upon the issues you are encountering at this moment. If you didn't realize it, you were learning something from that passage with each time your present perspective changed. What you 'learned' in an earlier season is not 'unlearned', it is 'added to' by your present season. Scripture is powerful that way - it teaches those who are willing to learn.

The past can be blamed for a bunch of stuff, but your present isn't going to benefit from blaming something or someone in the past for your present perspective. Instead of playing the 'blame game', embrace your present perspective, take it to Jesus, get his perspective on the matter and then let the learning begin. One teaches, two learn. Take what you have learned and use it to help another. In so doing, you are using the knowledge you have received to create a new perspective in someone else's life. Sadly, some feel what they learn at the feet of Jesus is 'just for them', but in truth, God's plan was always to have one learn, then teach, then learn again. 

Go out and make disciples of all men - that is one learning, then teaching, then coming back to learn again. Sometimes our greatest learning comes in those times when we stop blaming the past and take responsibility for the present. Just sayin!

What we behold, we become

The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error. (Voltaire)

People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble. (Proverbs 28:13-14)

Voltaire also reminded us that "God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." How well are we living today? Some will say their life is 'pretty good', others will remark that 'it could be better'. Either way, we still have room for improvement no matter how long we live. We can never 'outlive' doing right any more than we can outlive doing wrong! We need to be honest with ourselves when we don't live up to what God desires of us and confess that we need his help to 'do better'. Mankind has always made haste to get into trouble. What we need is God's help to make haste to move away from sin's pull! 

Concealing our sin gets us nowhere. Confessing it is the beginning of true change, but confession alone is not enough. We need to repent - do a '180' so we no longer are pursuing that sin. A man makes the greatest 'progress' toward righteousness when his eyes are on the one who can make him strong enough to resist the pull of sin. Repentance changes our focus - that '180' actually changes what we are focusing upon. Too many times, our focus remains on the thing that entices us away from God's right-living and then we wonder why we are so easily caught in the snare of sin. What we 'behold' we 'become'. 

Why are we slow to turn from our sin? It is probably because it 'promises' something we secretly desire, and we haven't asked or trusted God to change those desires. If we want to be free of sin, we need to ask for God's help. When he offers that help, we cannot pick and choose what we part of his help we will utilize - we must utilize ALL of it. He gives us the scriptures so we can identify our sin. He provides the Holy Spirit so we can be taught how to resist that sin. He affords us the opportunity of relationship with others who also walk with him so we can have the encouragement of others to live well. Use all of them and we might just see our way onto a new path and away from sin's pull. Just sayin!

Enter Here

If someone actually pointed out the way for you to find entrance to something you didn't even know you were looking for, would you go there? There are a whole lot of individuals who don't know they are looking for Jesus in their lives, but when they find someone pointing the way for them to find him, they are amazed at what they discover when the 'enter in'. We all need to be 'pointers' to the one who can answer every question, settle every dispute, open every mind, heal every heart, and bring peace to every troubled emotion. 

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:9-10)

Come in through him - no other way will matter, nor will it bring the same reward. We try a whole lot of 'ways' to get peace, settle our emotions and sort out our troubled minds, but there is but ONE way - discover that 'entrance point' and you will discover more than you ever knew you needed! The moment we say "yes" to Jesus is the moment we discover hope. The 'thief' of our peace, joy, and stability has many ways to disturb those things - lots of entry points, so to speak. The ONE entry point into truth is through Christ alone.

A rich and satisfying life is the gift offered to you today. Will you accept it? You may have been looking all over the place to find that 'one thing' that would bring you deep and lasting satisfaction, but it is futile to look elsewhere. There is only 'one thing' that we all need - Christ. The enemy of our souls will try to convince us that we don't need Christ in our lives - that 'religion' is silly or kind of lame. 'Religion' isn't what Christ offers. He offers eternal life, freedom from our hurts and hangups, and even a deep and lasting peace that surpasses all of our understanding.

We can enjoy this life with him - not because we find the entry point, but because he prepares that entry point, readying our hearts, and opening our minds. Then, when we say 'yes' to him, he enters into our lives, sets things in order that where once kind of a mess, and begins the work of transforming our lives into lives of purpose, with a truly rich and satisfying end in mind. Just sayin!

No peace in there?

Wayne Dyer told us, "Conflict cannot survive without your participation." The conflict we feel at times is not always because someone else is causing it - there are clearly times when we are the ones choosing to engage in the conflict ourselves. There are also times when the conflict is not with another, but rather with one's own self! If we are to overcome conflict, some of us will need to deal with the internal conflict we bring upon ourselves, as well.

Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish. The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit? (Proverbs 18:13-14)

The human spirit can endure much, but when we are in conflict within ourselves for any reason, it is easy for us to feel rather 'crushed' under the burden of that conflict. Repeatedly ignoring the inner conflict one feels is kind of futile, isn't it? The more you try to sweep it under the rug, the more it rears its ugly head. Inner turmoil must be dealt with, but not just with our own willpower - we need God's strength to let go of those things we hold that result in all that inner conflict.

The very next verse in this chapter of Proverbs says, "Intelligent people are ready to learn. Their ears are open to knowledge." We cannot rid ourselves of inner conflict when our ears and heart are not ready to listen and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit within. Some of the greatest conflict we experience is not in the arguments and hostility we express in moments of anger with another, but in the repeated times we hold onto some regret or anger toward ourselves because of some action we took. 

Dyer reminds us, "You can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego." So many times, the internal conflict we experience is really a result of our own ego. Our personal pride or self-absorption can be the greatest enemy to our peace. Listen closely to what God says, and you sometimes find out things about yourself that you didn't want to hear. What you do with that knowledge is what determines how long you might deal with that internal conflict! Just sayin!

A true and certain defense

Wealth is elusive - we seek it through career moves, investments, and maybe even through inheritance. Billy Graham once said, "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost." Many put all their hope and trust in the wealth they can attain on this earth, almost lording it over others who don't 'possess' as much as they do. Kevin Gates reminded us that "true wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind." 

The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. (Proverbs 18:11-12)

Our wealth on this earth will never be a very strong defense. Inflation will dwindle what we have amassed, markets will crash our faith in what we have invested, and illness can destroy both our ability to amass or enjoy what we have laid aside. Our greatest wealth is what we find within relationship with Jesus. When we are willing to lay down our own pursuit of things and monies, finding contentment in Christ alone, very little of what we 'lay-up' on this earth really matters anymore.

The 'wealth' of this world only leads one to seek more. It doesn't fulfill us. Some of the 'wealthiest' men have been the most miserable, isolated, and depraved in our society. It might not appear to 'hinder' our relationships with each other, but it has a way of driving a wedge. We begin to fear others will abuse our wealth, befriending us because of what they can gain, so we isolate. We imagine the various ways it can all be taken from us, so we obsess with ways to 'protect' it. Earthly wealth doesn't bring 'fulfillment' in any permanent way, causing us to look for 'another way' to find contentment.

True contentment of heart, mind, and emotions comes when we realize our greatest 'wealth' is the relationship we have with Christ. Instead of focusing on the 'strong defense' of earthly wealth, wouldn't it be wiser to settle into the true and lasting 'defense' of living devoted to Christ? Just askin...

Emotions in battle mode?

I have had those moments when I just wanted to say or doing something, but if I did, I knew the backlash would be more than I wanted to receive. It is a battle of the mind and will over emotions at times, isn't it? We 'think better' than our emotions tend to lead us on occasion - perhaps making 'emotions' one of the hardest and most fickle things we have to deal with once we get our mind under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Doing wrong is easy - doing right is a bit harder at times. Behavior matters, no matter what anyone says - behavior stems from all three - mind, will and emotions.

Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt. (Proverbs 18:3)

Back in the day, teachers used to give out little 'awards' to students with great academic achievements, including those who consistently exhibited good 'classroom behavior'. As you might have guessed, I might have received a few notes home to mom saying I was a bit of the class clown. She may not have put it that way, but it was my mode of operation in elementary school, somewhat in middle school, then full-blown in high school! I really didn't consider my behavior wrong, it was just silly, sometimes a bit inappropriate, but it got people to laugh. I thought if they laughed at my weirdness, I wouldn't be so 'weird' to them.

My emotions were all over the place in those days. I didn't think anyone really liked me, maybe because I didn't like myself. I was using sarcasm, 'funny actions', and the like to cover over being very insecure. It wasn't until I invited Jesus into my life that I began to realize those 'emotions' I was telling myself were true and honest appraisals of how others saw me were actually quite wrong. All my 'class clown' actions were just driving them away - even though they laughed. Sometimes we 'do' things thinking they will have a different effect than they actually do. We count on them to accomplish something, but it kind of backfires on us.

It might be hard to hear this, but God is very concerned with our behavior. He wants it to reflect his grace and love, even when it is hard to let those 'actions' outweigh what our emotions are telling us to do at that moment. His hope is that we will let emotions lead us less and less, trusting his Holy Spirit to lead us into right actions even when the mind, will, and emotions are in 'battle mode' against each other. Just sayin!

Don't ignore the need

 "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have."(Margaret Mead)

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

A few caring people was all Jesus needed to spread the good news about the grace he offered. A few caring people is all this world needs to see that message continue to bear the fruit of changed lives today. We have a commission, but are we fulfilling it to the best of our ability and to the best of his enabling? Our ability may be lacking at times, but his ability always exceeds our expectations!

All that we have - Jesus never asked for more than that we lay down our lives in service to him. What might that look like today? It could be that he asks us to reach out to the shut-in widow or even stop long enough to talk with the woman at the grocery store awaiting her rideshare pick-up, helping her to load that purchase into the ride when it arrives. We don't have to change the world from a pulpit - we need to change it from our own front door!

Give - not take. We live in a society bent on what is in it for them - it seems that if there is no immediate benefit to one's own self, there is little desire to do something. What can we 'give' of ourselves this week that will make someone's day brighter, a little less burdensome, or draw them closer to God in some way? It could be that one action you are being urged to do is the very thing another needs more than any wrapped gift under their tree this year.

Don't hang on - let go. The more we let go of our own agenda, the more we see the needs of those around us. Perhaps this is why Jesus told us to lay down our lives - to not hang onto it. He knew the more we focus on our own life, the less we see those around us. The less we see them, the easier it is to ignore the need we have been called to meet in that very moment. Disciples aren't afraid to both see and meet the need. Just sayin!

Challenged Faith

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (Matthew 3:8)

As a kid, we'd often find a friend boasting about something they had seen or reported to be able to do, so we'd challenge them with 'prove it' dares. We wanted evidence that what they said was actually to be trusted. It is not uncommon to ask for someone to prove something we find just too difficult to believe, or that we have a 'block' toward receiving, isn't it? We seek evidence in order to 'validate' the claim. Is it any wonder John the Baptist would challenge those who made claims to be 'believers' to 'prove' their faith by the way they lived? I think it is a fair thing to request - to see evidence that our life is more than just a set of rules without the substance of a changed inner character.

Prove by the way you live - that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? If we want others to trust our statement of faith, they have a right to see the evidence of our changed inner character. Christ's presence in our lives should produce change - evidence that a relationship exists between us and Christ, not just that we perform various 'religious actions'. Too many times, we accept 'religious actions' or 'statements of faith' as evidence, but we neglect to look beyond the statements into the very character of a man. If Christ indwells us, our inner character isn't as concerned with the 'religious actions' as much as it is with doing everything to preserve our relationship with him through deep, intimate communion with him.

We sometimes miss the mark on that one, don't we? We get ourselves to church each week, have our Bible apps on the phone, listen to Christian music on the radio, and even help out at a local charity once in a while. All good 'actions', but is there evidence of a changed character? Do we do what we do because Christ's love and grace moves us to serve others, worship at his feet, learn from his word, and celebrate his presence with one another? Consider yourself challenged today - prove that the testimony of faith you speak forth is backed with a changed inner character. A character that comes from a deep, intimate, continually maintained relationship with him. Can you do it? Just askin!

Go and produce what lasts

"Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished."

(Og Mandino)

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:12-17)

The same way Christ loved us - is it possible to love that much? I don't believe Jesus would have told us to do so if he wouldn't also empower us to love in such a manner. How does one actually lay down their life for another? Does it always require physical death? I don't believe Jesus would have told us to all die - he might want us to have the attitude of heart and mind that considers the other person's need as 'worthy' of being met, not just our own need. We have no issue with meeting our own needs, but when another expresses their need, do we always realize we could be instrumental in helping to meet it?

Whatever we ask for - could it be that Jesus wants us to take the needs of each other before him more than we take our own? I think Jesus wants us to look out for each other, knowing that some will not be able to bring their needs to him as well as we can. At times, we see the other's need better than they do, but if we don't 'lay down our life' to bring those needs before Jesus, what good does it to just 'see them'? Perhaps the greatest thing we could do for each other is lift one another in prayer each day - knowing there will be things that challenge our consistency, interfere with our willpower, and become too hard for us to handle alone.

When we have another so 'dedicated' to showing us the love of Christ, we should treasure that relationship. There are many who give 'lip service' to our needs, promising to pray for us, but those who put 'feet' to their prayers, coming alongside, lending a hand, and being the hands and feet of Christ to us are most valuable indeed. We are appointed to go and produce lasting fruit. I believe we do this whenever we bring the love of Christ into the relationship. Love lasts long after the action is done. Just sayin!

Sticks and Stones

Our words have a tendency to just escape our mouths before we have a chance to really think about how we are responding, don't they? On occasion, we say things that should have been left unsaid, causing hurt feelings and sometimes crushed dreams. I know Covey says we are to seek to understand the other person first, then make ourselves understood AFTER we have listened well. That part about 'listening well' isn't actually in operation when we are blurting out our words without thought!

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:1, 4)

A tree of life - did you ever think of your words in that way? Our words reflect more than our present attitude - they reflect our 'indwelt attitude'. The more Christ fills our hearts, the more of his grace and truth we will express - even when our 'attitude' is tired, on edge, or bordering on needing an adjustment! A good tree cannot bear bad fruit for long - it will rid itself of the bad fruit, so the good fruit is free to grow without hindrance. Sometimes we have to just rid ourselves of the 'bad fruit' - but we don't need to spew it at others.

A gentle answer isn't always our first response, is it? Sometimes we come across just a little 'clipped' in our tone, or 'harsh' in our response. We may not have intended to, but there it is - out there for the hearer to digest - good, bad, and the ugly. How do we get a handle on our words? I think it begins at the start of each day when we turn over our words to his Holy Spirit, asking him to help us communicate well, without harshness, and only what needs to be said when it needs to be said. When we invite God into our minds at the beginning of the day, our heart is less likely to veer down emotional courses that lead to disastrous words.

As a kid, we all might have learned that little sing-song quote: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." In case you didn't know, words can sometimes damage us more than those sticks and stones! We need God's Spirit to help us 'temper' those words, so they deflect anger, giving life wherever possible. Just sayin!

A lifebuoy is offered

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:5, 10-11)

Put to death...put on your new nature. These are very clear instructions - put the old away, put on the new. Stop going back to the old - stick with the new. How? Be renewed - we need a renewal process to occur. It is not enough to just say 'yes' to Jesus - one must press in to know him well, forsaking all manner of sin, and embracing this new life in Christ with all the passion we once put into pursuing our sin!

In counseling realms, we call this the 'put off - put on' dynamic. We 'put off' some behavior that is not good for us to pursue and we replace it with one that is honorable, upright, and 'good'. We stop and we start. Seems pretty basic, doesn't it? Yet, we have the hardest time with this when it comes to putting it into operation in our lives. As silly as it may sound, when a counselor advises us to write a letter, putting all our thoughts, hurts, and even our anger into that letter, then rip it up, there is a cathartic effect to that task.

While God doesn't ask us to 'write a letter' putting in all our hurts and hangups, he does ask us to bring those things to him, allowing him to be the one to 'destroy' them in our lives. He asks for us to have a catharsis - where sin once dwelt, let it go, be done with it, move on. Put something else in its place - the Word of God, a new action that brings honor into our lives, or even just the peace he gives when we finally let it go. He moves heaven and earth to help us be free - why do we still hold so tightly to those things that he asks us to purge from our lives with his help?

If a drowning man was offered a lifebuoy, do you think he'd reject it and just keep sinking deeper until he finally drowned? Only if that was his ultimate intent! Most of us are drowning in our sin, not sure where our help will come from, but when Jesus offers us that lifebuoy, will we take it? I think so! When he offers us a way to be free of the things that weigh us down and give us such trouble in life, do we let them go? If we are smart, we would! Just sayin!

Solid Roots

"One that would have the fruit must climb the tree." (Thomas Fuller)

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Fuller also reminded us that all things are difficult before they become easy. We may not find our walk with Jesus all that 'easy' right now, enduring some struggles along the way, but you can trust me on this one - the longer you remain consistent in following his path, the easier it is to trust him when the path becomes hard. One that wants fruit may find it is higher up in the tree than he can reach easily - so he has to find a way to obtain that fruit, doesn't he? Why would it be any different when we desire God's rich spiritual fruit to be produced and enjoyed in our lives? 

We have to continue in our walk - suggesting we might just want to give up along the way because it gets too hard. Roots don't just happen - they have to press deep within the soil the seed was planted within. The more they press into the soil, the 'solider' the connection becomes between the seed and the soil. Some of us haven't really allowed those roots to press into the soil of our hearts - we just watch as the roots wither and dry. Then we wonder why our connection with Jesus is kind of 'bland' or 'dry'. If we consider the effort we put forth to be 'rooted well', we might just find we didn't put forth all that much effort!

Strong faith isn't accidental - it is purposefully sought. Just as the roots of the tree seek moisture within the soil, so our spirit seeks the refreshment that comes from spending time in God's presence. Whenever we deny ourselves the privilege of time with Jesus, we are allowing the soil to go dry. We may have 'roots', but they aren't finding much refreshing! Fruit isn't always within reach - we must climb the tree to obtain it. This suggests there is a bit of 'work' on our behalf to actually see the fruit of God's Spirit developing within our lives. The more 'effort' we put into the bearing of fruit, the more fruit will be produced.

Was the fruit produced just because there were buds upon the tree? No, it took solidly planted and nourished roots! Therefore, if we want God's spiritual fruit within our lives, we need to focus on getting those roots solidly planted, sinking deeper and deeper into the soil he has prepared. Just sayin!

Reject your sense of injury

I frequently shake my head over something silly I have done or notice around me. It as though I am standing there in just a bit of amazement over the 'stupidity' of my actions or someone else's, wondering just how I ever thought 'that' would work out well for my situation or theirs. I don't know what your 'that' may be, but I do know I don't stand there shaking my head alone as I have observed others shaking theirs, too! It is as though all 'good sense' exited the building and now we are left to deal with whatever the 'lack of good sense' left behind. 

You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. (Psalm 119:73)

Marcus Aurelius said, "Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears." We can get all upset over injuries others cause us, but we can really get ourselves in a tizzy over the ones we inflict upon ourselves because of our lack of 'good sense'. They say poverty is the mother of crime, but Jean de la Bruyere said the father of it was a lack of good sense. We have much poverty in this world today, not just in the traditional sense of 'financial poverty', but also in the sense of 'spiritual poverty'. Although we have 'religious institutions' abounding, society is still quite lacking in 'good spiritual sense' many times.

The sense to follow God's commands isn't innate - it has to be learned. There is a yearning for God that is 'internal' within each of us because he created us with that 'hole' in our lives that really cannot be adequately filled with anything other than himself. We lack good spiritual sense whenever we reject his commands or alter them to fit our set of ideals. To really embrace his commands, one has to embrace him, allowing him to take control of our thought life, emotions, and even our will. To many, that is a scary thought because they feel 'giving over control' to another is going to 'cramp their style'. Let me assure you of this - you have ZERO style without Jesus! It isn't until he enters that space created just for him that your 'style' really begins to show through!

God made us, creating us with a desire to know him - though we sometimes don't know how to put that 'inner desire' into words - it still drives us to 'find' whatever we sense is missing. Whenever we seek to understand him better, we are going to find him welcoming us into his presence. When we enter his presence, there is a change in perspective that comes into our lives. We begin to see things just a bit differently than we did when we were trying to 'control our style'. We find the 'good sense' we thought we had really wasn't all that 'good' after all. His 'good sense' begins to infiltrate our lives, and we begin to see different actions emerging, as a result. 

We are able to reject the injury we caused ourselves or others brought upon us, and in time, we sense the injury falling away. We find a sense of peace, allowing his commands to define for us what makes 'sense' in a world that sometimes makes very little sense at all. Just sayin!

Need a little bit of a push?

There is probably not one of us that would be able to say we haven't endured at least a bit of suffering of some sort in our lives. At one point or another, we will go through something that challenges us beyond our capacity. What our response is in those challenging times usually helps us to realize where our focus has been directed - what has our attention and even our affection. We might not always view suffering as a positive thing - mostly because there is a whole lot of unpleasantness in it! We might not always feel like we came away from it in an 'unscathed' manner - probably because our emotions are a bit raw, and our lives have been in upheaval for a bit longer than we might have wanted. Truth be told, our suffering is actually good for us, even when we think it might not have been the most rewarding thing to endure.

My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. (Psalm 119:71-72)

Our suffering actually helps us to see what it is we have been paying so much attention to - it uncovers or unmasks our true focus. What happens to most of us when we go through hard times? Don't we find ourselves actually pressing into Jesus just a bit harder? We might even find ourselves dusting off that Bible that had gathered a bit too much dust on the corner of our nightstand! We get into it, finding promises we cling to, holding onto each one like it was our lifeline. Guess what - it is! The Word of God isn't just for the good times or Sunday sermons. It is a life-giving source for our daily walk - both in the good times and in the hard ones. We just forget that from time to time, allowing a little misdirection in our focus and less concentration on what actually gives us clarity, hope, and strength.

Read it again - we actually have to be taught to pay attention to God's Word! We don't just do that on our own. We need God's help to develop that attentiveness. Obedience is the result of attentiveness - we come to the place of realizing the direction we have been traveling isn't right and we adjust our course. We don't do that all on our own - we need God's 'push' on occasion to get us moving in the right direction. Most of the time our 'inattentiveness' is little more than us allowing life to get a little too busy, pushing time with God out of the 'agenda' for the day. God may not send the suffering our way, but if he allows it to come in whatever form it comes, remember he isn't going to allow it to crush us. It is a call to 'pay attention' to him, get close to him, and allow him to walk us through those 'tough times' in his strength. Just sayin!

Too hot to handle

When I shop, I am kind of a 'wanderer' - I go with a certain thing in mind, but I wander a bit to see what I may find that is a 'bargain' that I didn't count on finding. The moment I find that 'bargain', I am glad I wandered a bit, but not all my wandering is that successful! Sometimes I find the wandering doesn't produce much more than a few extra steps. It is possible to find 'good' within our wandering, but it certainly isn't the best mode of operation when it comes to our Christian walk!

You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised. I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge. I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word. (Psalm 119:65-67)

A walk of integrity requires a commitment to stay the course. In other words, there isn't a whole lot of 'wandering' to see what one may find. God has frequently had to show me where my 'wandering' wasn't really producing the best results. In fact, the wandering was kind of producing outcomes that weren't all that edifying. They weren't helping me but were rather hindering me in my walk with him. No wonder he had to send a little discipline my way in order to get me to commit to the course!

Good judgment may come with a bit of wandering, though. It is because of the misplaced steps that I knew not to step there again! One does not need to burn one's hand on a hot stove to know it is hot. One can feel the heat long before their hand ever comes into contact with it, but one must be receptive to observe the heat! The reason we wander is that we aren't being all that observant of the warnings we are given. The glowing red burner, emanating heat, and the red warning light on the stove are just a few of the warning signs we could ignore when we aren't paying attention to the condition of the stovetop. 

It is quite possible we have been given various warning signs of 'this is too hot for you to handle' in our life's circumstances, too. God makes every effort to warn us to dangers in our midst, but when we are so caught up in the 'wandering' that we refuse to focus on the signs, we can find ourselves in dangerous circumstances. Just sayin!

Muddled Minds

To 'reflect' one must realize the power of the mind to direct the course of action one's mind actually takes within that time of 'reflection'. What our minds contemplate may be quite different than what we intended as we began that time of reflection, being influenced by what we have seen and heard earlier, or whatever makes demands upon our thoughts at the moment. We tend to have a hard time 'reflecting' today because of the varying number of distractions we have that vie for our attention, don't we? I find the night hours can be the most troublesome at times, being awake for hours 'contemplating' something that is 'worrying' my mind. Rather than 'contemplating' our worries, it would be best to let God take those and contemplate his instructions or promises instead!

Your decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived. I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions. (Psalm 119:54-55)

I often use the term 'cogitate' when I want to get the point across that I need time to reflect upon something that is troubling me, or that I need time to ponder how it is a solution could be found. When we 'cogitate', we are envisioning a certain way a thing is or could be. We see it this way, then that way, until we have dissected it into 'manageable pieces'. An apt word we use today to describe this process is 'brainstorming'. It is as though our brains are mulling through all the ideas, envisioning this or that, then we kick out the bad ones and keep ruminating on the better ones. Sometimes God's word can do that within our thoughts - helping us consider all the different ways we have been handling life's challenges, all the while helping us to 'kick out' the bad ways and focus on the better ones.

Obedience doesn't have to be difficult, but if we refuse to take the time to allow reflection upon his word, there is really nothing to help us sort out the stuff we need to 'kick out' of our minds. We retain way too much 'stuff' in our brains that doesn't need to be influencing our decisions, don't we? Things we see on TV, hear at work, listen to on the radio, see in print, or just 'make up' because we don't understand what is happening. We make obedience more difficult when we don't allow times of reflection upon his word to 'sort out' the stuff that needs to go and cement the stuff that needs to remain. Reflection is a time when our minds are being made healthier. We need these times more than we might realize. I set aside time each day for a bit of reflection. How about you? If it is not a habit with you yet, why not begin today? The time you take today to sort out the stuff that just muddles up the mind might just be the beginning of something good! Just sayin!

A push in the right direction

We might want to 'walk a straight path', but find ourselves kind of wishy-washy in some way, seeking to find 'happiness' in all those elusive places our mind creates or society touts as the 'answer' for our unhappiness. We don't exactly know how it happens sometimes, but we find ourselves seeking 'happiness' instead of contentment and joy. We find the plans God has for us a bit 'burdensome' because they don't produce 'instant happiness' in our lives. What we need more than anything is to ask God to help us stay the course, walking only in his path that is laid out in his word, and to have our focus changed from the elusive things that only report to bring us happiness, but really leave us quite unfulfilled and seeking something else.

Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. (Psalm 119:35-37)

If our psalmist asked God to 'make him' walk within his commands, what makes us think we don't need to ask the same thing? We are ALL weak and get wrapped up in the 'things' or 'schemes' that promise us happiness but are only temporary at best. Our eye-gate seems to be the very thing we need God to help us with most of the time. It is what we behold with our eyes that gets our minds to start working, isn't it? We 'see', then we want. We 'see', then we create ideas. We 'see', then we pursue. We need our 'seeing' to be clear and our actions to be wise and that only comes when God is the one who governs both!

The love of any 'thing' in our lives can take our eyes off of God's best for us. It can make us pursue an elusive form of happiness - superficial, unsustainable, and very unwise. Things that promise happiness in this world seldom provide more than a temporary 'fix' for some craving we have. We might want a relationship with someone but pursuing it outside of who God has planned for us to be in relationship with might seem to produce some form of 'happiness', but in the end, it leaves us quite empty and unfilled. 

Make us to walk - we need a little push in the right direction from time to time, don't we? The path of his commands - because what we behold with our eyes isn't always God's best for us. Give us an eagerness for your laws - the boundaries are important, the wisdom found while staying in them is essential. Turn our eyes - because they get drawn into the hype of this world and away from the things God says are important for us to consider and embrace. We need his help to walk upright much more than we need the fulfillment of our happiness, don't we? Just askin...

Do more than reflect

I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. (Psalm 119:15-16)

There are some in society today who equate 'study' with 'debate'. The real meaning of 'study' in our passage is to apply - to make application of the truth one is reading and reciting. We may not realize it, but society's norms may not be God's norms. When we 'study' God's word in such a way as to apply it in our everyday living, we may find just how far society has drifted from God's commands. God asks us to examine, inspect, and investigate his word. We aren't just to read it, pick out the pieces we like, then discard the rest. Some call that 'cherry picking' the best from amongst the hardest. We aren't going to understand the entirety of God's word the first time we read it, so when we reject any portion that is too hard for us to understand completely, we are 'cherry picking'.

It is in the continual 'review' of his word that we come into a place of revelation. We begin to truly see and understand things the more we are exposed to them. Society might expose us to stuff over and over again that simply is not truth, but due to the frequency of exposure to that thing we accept it as truth. God's goal is that we get into his word and allow his word to sort our truth from 'half-truth' or 'untruth'. Study his word long enough and you might just recognize where some 'half-truth' you embraced just because someone told you it was true isn't truth at all.

Delight in his decrees - his instructions - his directives on how to live with each other. These decrees may seem a bit 'archaic' to some, but they were given to us as a 'standard'. A standard is merely a set of boundaries that we live within. When we understand the standard, we appreciate that things outside of that standard may actually bring harm into our lives. We don't fully understand 'why', but we trust that the one who defined the standard knows why. That is where faith comes into play in the study of his word - we trust he knows us well, knows how we think and operate. If we can trust him, then we should trust his word and seek to live as it defines we should live. Just sayin!

Upbeat?

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. (Psalm 119:1-3)

Would you say you are 'upbeat' about all the steps of obedience God asks you to take in life? If you are anything like the rest of us who serve Jesus, you have your moments when being 'joyful' about a step of obedience God seeks isn't exactly your first response. In fact, your first response may be, "You've got to be kidding!" When he asks us to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply and doesn't really seem to be remorseful, we might respond like that. When he asks us to let go of some habit we have been holding onto forever, we might balk at the request because we know how hard it will be to let go. We don't always respond with an 'upbeat' attitude when obedience is requested, do we?

Joyful are people of integrity - who follow the instructions of the Lord. It could take us more than once to hear we need to take certain steps toward full obedience in our lives, but when we finally 'get there', we find the transition from resistance to repentance seems to be easier than we imagined. Sometimes God is waiting on us to come to the end of our resistance much longer than he'd like, but he is patient with us, isn't he? We toy with the idea of being 'mostly obedient', then wonder why we aren't all that 'joy-filled' with the half-hearted steps we took. It isn't that God isn't pleased with some movement forward, it is that he desires so much more for us, and we know it!

Be perfectly honest with me today - is that step of obedience God is asking you to take actually 'pleasurable'? It could be that we see it as just a bit 'unpleasant', so we resist. I would like to propose that remaining in disobedience can produce a much greater sense of 'displeasure' in our lives. We may not think that at first but given enough time operating in the realm of 'partial obedience', we will soon realize it isn't all that 'good'. God asks us to not compromise with evil. Period. Partial obedience is compromising with evil - maybe not outward forces of evil, but at least our own inward ones! Just sayin!

We need those circumstances

Open my eyes so that I can see all the wonderful things in your teachings. (Psalm 119:18)

Most of the time, the main thing we need in life is to see things just a bit clearer. We have a general idea of what may be happening, or where we may be headed, but we seldom see the bigger picture of all that will be involved as we get from here to there. We need eyes opened, hearts prepared, minds cleared of certain expectations, and a willingness to move forward. There is no greater thing we can seek than to ask God to do just that in our lives!

The teachings of today may not amount to 'the whole deal', but they will add to the ones from yesterday, preparing us for the ones tomorrow will bring, but we need to be patient as God unfolds them to us. When things unfold just a little bit here and there for us, we can get a little impatient waiting for the final reveal, can't we? What happens when we set out on a journey? We have a destination in mind, don't we? We 'sort of' know where we are going, have 'tentative' plans to do this or that, and 'dream' of some encounter that might occur. Does all that we knew, planned, or dreamed come to pass? Not always.

What we are doing when we ask God to open our eyes to the things he wants to teach us is acknowledge that we don't 'own the moment' - he does! We just live in it, making the most of it, learning what we can from it, and taking that learning into the next. Line upon line, precept upon precept, our learning is built upon. Our dreams our expanded, our plans fall away as he exposes bigger ones he has for us, and we begin to realize what we thought we knew from the beginning was a pittance compared to what he wants to show us right now.

His teachings aren't limited to the words on the pages of our Bibles. Yes, they are the start of many a great lesson for us, but as when those lessons are taught through circumstances or 'moments with him', they are expanded upon until we come to understand the purpose within the lesson. We need that expansiveness of learning, don't we? We crave it! The next time you are going through a circumstance, you may just want to ask God what the lesson is within it. He is sure to show you how he has prepared you for the moment. Just sayin!

So, that's what you were thinking!

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)

Fix your thoughts - this certainly is a telling statement as our thoughts have a way of getting away from us in rather short order, don't they? What we think about matters. What we ruminate upon over and over again will eventually cause us to make the right choices, or it will lead us further down the road of wrong choices. We cannot afford to be 'unaware' or 'willy-nilly' in our thought life. We need our thought life to be disciplined and determined.

While this is not an all-inclusive list of what we are to think upon, it is certainly a "telling" list that could help us see what we have been thinking upon and whether those thoughts are doing us more harm than good. Positive, true, and honorable words and actions actually stem from positive, true, and honorable thoughts. God is faithful to us - we are to be faithful to him. How many times do we choose a path that doesn't reveal much faithfulness on our part? If it is more frequent than not, we might just do well to consider what has occupied the space between our ears!

Our heart is filled with all manner of emotions - to trust our emotions to guide us is kind of silly because emotions can be positive or negative, uplifting or browbeating, wholesome or defiling. We cannot trust our emotions to be our guide. Mix bad thoughts with bad emotions and you will set a course for wrong actions. This is why Paul reminds us to set our minds on things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. If we want to make 'excellent' choices it starts with 'excellent' thoughts. Emotions should never be our reason for doing anything - they will lead us astray quicker than we can blink an eye!

Whatever we do today, let it begin with taking every thought captive. That might mean we 'stop' thinking upon something we know isn't honoring to God and 'begin' thinking upon something that will not only bring him honor but will uplift us and set us on a straight course for our day. We don't accidentally think right thoughts - we have to purposefully choose to change our thinking. We can do this with Christ's help, but until we ask for his help, we may flounder a while in our negative and defiling way of thinking. Just sayin!

Our own little world

Some people like to do things their own way, and they get upset when people give them advice. Fools don’t want to learn from others. They only want to tell their own ideas. (Proverbs 18:1-2)

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. (Charles Spurgeon)

The right use of knowledge - have you given that idea much thought in your lifetime? I have possessed some knowledge on occasion, never really sharing it, holding onto that knowledge because I never felt it an appropriate time to share it. We probably all have done that, but to really consider if there is a 'right use' for the knowledge we have been given is always an act of wisdom. Not all knowledge is something to be 'broadcast' or 'touted'. Sometimes it is meant to be held close to the heart, prayed over, and then released to God.

Fools take all the 'knowledge' they can get, then spread it around like it was some sort of treasure everyone had to hear. We might refer to that as gossip in some circles! Not every tidbit of knowledge is 'share-worthy'. The knowledge that comes from God himself may actually be worthy of the 'share', but there may be a timing issue that makes the 'share' appropriate. Some 'fools' find it hard to wait for appropriate timing, trudging ahead with fool-hearted abandon. The right knowledge in the wrong timing won't produce the best of results, though.

The issue with fools is that they want they own way. They might not realize it, but their own agenda drives what they are willing to learn. They may actually miss out on one very crucial aspect of learning - wisdom. When we are so intent on the knowledge WE possess, we can frequently miss the wisdom someone else may want to share. Wisdom doesn't demand its own way - it waits until there is a way prepared. Fools don't want to learn from others because they think they already know it all. 

God puts us together in a 'family' of other believers because no one can possess all of the knowledge all of the time. We need the 'learned wisdom' of other believers when our own fool-hearted ways are about to cause us great difficulty. We can either accept that we have been given 'wise counsel', putting aside what 'knowledge' we felt was so important for us to act upon, and grow up in Christ, or we can trudge ahead in our own little world. Just sayin!

Change the narrative, don't just control it

When you do good, you stop ignorant people from saying foolish things about you. This is what God wants. Live like free people, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as those who are serving God. (I Peter 2:15-16)

Have you ever wanted to stop someone from spreading bad things about you or someone else? It is only natural to not want someone's 'dirty laundry' aired in front of others, isn't it? As some would say, they hope to 'control the narrative' when it comes to what gets shared about how they live their lives. I would say it is much better to have the right 'narrative' than to attempt to control a wrong one!

Truth be told, ignorant people go around telling things about other people that would be best left unsaid in the first place. Whatever we do, we want our 'doing' to be honoring of Christ - when it is, we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the 'narrative' of our lives. The narrative will be written in such a way that it reflects well on what Christ has done within us, is doing through us, and wants to see replicated in those we touch every day.

I think it is our goal in life to live in such a way that we won't regret the moment someone begins to share things about us. Instead of hanging our head, or ducking away from the conversation, we will know God is getting the glory for all that has been accomplished. If we want the 'narrative' of our life story to change, we need to submit to the leadership of Christ in our lives. That is more than giving lip-service to him by saying we are Christians - it means we reveal a changed heart, renewed mind, and healthy emotions.

We stop ignorant people from sharing the 'wrong narrative' every time we take a step of obedience to Christ. A whole lot of the 'narrative' could be changed if we'd just get off the throne in our lives and really let him take that seat! As long as we are seated in the position of control, there will always be some form of narrative that we must 'control'. When he is seated there, the narrative is under his control, and it is a much better one! Just sayin!

Pray for others

Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. (Colossians 1:9-11)

It is good to hear that someone is praying for us, isn't it? If we are struggling with even the simplest of things, we want that support behind us. We also want someone to be lifting us before the throne of God when it comes to our spiritual growth. We want to know that no matter how much the trials and temptations come against us, we have an advocate lifting us up over and over again, don't we? God listens for those prayers with an intense desire to answer each of them!

How should we be praying for each other? 

• With continual focus - never giving up on lifting that individual up in prayer, even when we don't see change.
• Seeking God for them to have spiritual confidence - in other words, that their faith would become certain, well-grounded, and not easily swayed
• Asking him to give them wisdom and spiritual understanding that is beyond their present understanding, opening the scriptures to them where it has been hard for them to understand them before, and to build upon past learning until one precept is laid upon another
• With a hope that God will create a desire deep within their hearts for more of his grace, power that is beyond their own abilities to overcome even the hardest of life's habits, and that life change would occur that brings about a living life testimony that honors God in every way
• Continually lifting them when we see troubles surrounding them, and even when we don't see those troubles plainly, so they will be covered with a hedge of protection much like a hedge of thorns kept out the wolves from the shepherd's flock at night

We may not realize how much our prayers on behalf of another can help them not only get out of troubles but avoid them entirely. We might find it easy to pray these things for ourselves, but never forget that God wants us to pray them for each other, as well! Just sayin!

    

Advice isn't wisdom

Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful. (Psalm 1:1-3)

We receive all manner of advice on how to invest our money, where to buy a car, what neighborhood is the best for our children, and what to wear if we want to impress. All this advice may be of some benefit to us, but there is no 'advice' on this earth that is going to open the door for us to share in relationship with Jesus. We need the wisdom to listen to truth, not just advice. 

Advice might be formed after many trials and errors on someone's part. After failing a good number of times, when they finally find the 'formula' that works, they feel like they can offer their advice with some amount of integrity. While this may be good in terms of which automobile may last us the longest and have the best warranty, it is seldom the 'formula' that will help us to meet Jesus, much less learn to live with him at the center of our lives each day.

Some of us need to listen to less of this world's advice and start pouring over scripture a bit more. It is the wisdom that comes from hearing and incorporating his word into our lives that really helps us live well, make better decisions, and enjoy the company of each other. Yes, we need to understand how interest is compounded so we can make the most of our money, but we also need to know that God is the one who provides for all our needs. We use the wisdom gained through trial and error, comparing it with what God says, and leave behind any 'advice' that doesn't match up to his word.

We all want God's blessing on our life, so we need to forsake the 'advice' of this world and embrace the 'wisdom' God gives through is word, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and the 'learned wisdom' of those who also follow this path with Christ. The teachings we listen to the most are likely the ones we will embrace the easiest. If we are embracing too much of this world's 'advice', perhaps it is time we listen a bit more to God's word! Just sayin!

Misguided and Misplaced

We have seen that God All-Powerful really is all powerful! But he is just and never treats anyone unfairly. That is why people fear and respect him. He shows no respect for those who think they are wise. (Job 37:23-24)

We serve the one who makes heavens heavy with rain and snow; winds that gentle the leaves and topple them at times; oceans that flow in and out with rising and ebbing tides; and the one who takes notice of our every action or inaction with his watchful eye. God's justice is sometimes not understood - as much as we try to understand his holiness requires the need to judge sin, it is hard for us to wrap our heads around a merciful and loving God bringing 'justice' in a sinful world. I think we have come to think of justice as everyone being treated equally rather than that a morally righteous God cannot tolerate sin and must expose it for what it is. Sin is sin - give it all kinds of other names, but it is still sin. All sin must be judged by a holy, righteous, and upright God. The good news is that the penalty for sin need not be 'meted out' to us any longer because we have a Savior who has already paid the price for ALL our sins.

God never treats anyone unfairly. He might hold us accountable for our actions, and even our inaction, but he does so in a 'fair' and 'equitable' manner. No sin is worse than another - all sin is a violation of his holy standards. We might want to call a lie a 'little white lie', but all untruth is simply untruth - even when we put a bow on a pig it is still a pig! God's justice does something other forms of 'human justice' doesn't - it calls us to repentance. His justice might bring conviction of our sin, allowing certain 'calamitous things' to occur that bring us face-to-face with our sin and his holiness, but it never leaves us without a means by which to leave that sin behind and move into his grace. Some may think they can escape his judgment, but we are unable to find a place 'secure enough' for our sin to never be exposed and looked upon as sin through his holy eyes.

The All-Powerful God is really all-powerful. His main reason for exposing sinfulness is to give us an opportunity to repent (turn from it) and find his path of right-living. You may have heard the scripture alluded to that it is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. The passage doesn't deal with man having wealth - it deals with what wealth does to a man's heart. The main point is that 'things' and 'activities' can take up all our attention and demand our unyielding affection. When they do, we find ourselves making those things the 'all-powerful god' in our lives. God's plan is for us to have no other 'gods' but him - if we do, we can count on his judgment in order to help us realize our misplaced affections and misdirected attentions. Just sayin!

Things and Thoughts

Don’t love this evil world or the things in it. If you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. This is all there is in the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. But none of these comes from the Father. They come from the world. The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever. (I John 2:15-17)

Where are our affections placed? Whatever we focus on the most likely has more than our attention - it may also have our affection! Three very clear indicators our life may need a bit of adjustment are laid out in our passage today. There is a tremendous desire to please one's own self in this world today - go after what YOU want and don't be concerned about what it may do to others. The thought of pleasing oneself can take over the thoughts and heart of an individual, making everything they do very self-focused. The sinful things we see might just fuel a deeper 'lust' that lies deep within us - the desire for more, the craving for what we don't have, and the urge to 'get' in order to feel 'fulfilled' all give us more than one headache, don't they? If that weren't enough, we find ourselves caught up in comparing what we 'have' with what others 'don't have'. You've heard the saying that a man's head can get too big for him to pass through the door - pride swells within, driving us to do and say things we frequent regret later. All three of these 'patterns of behavior' are fueled when our focus is not rightly placed. Perhaps this is why we are warned that none of these behaviors exhibit the behavior God wants to see in the lives of his children.

All the things we want 'in this world' will one day pass away - they are fleeting. Even the 'accomplishments' of our incessant 'doing' will one day pass away. We might have a tombstone that suggests we 'did something' worthwhile, but if we lived with our focus on what we thought others would see as 'worthwhile', we likely missed what God actually sees as worthy of our affection and attention. The world has a very different view of what is 'important' and what we should 'run after', doesn't it? The message of the world's philosophy is 'put your needs first'. The message of God's Word is put others first. The world's philosophy says our accomplishments will matter, while God's message is that what his Son accomplished on the cross is all that matters! We may not see much harm in seeking after things, a better position in life, or even having a bit of 'pride' when we finally achieve whatever it is we are seeking to accomplish, but if all our 'striving' has taken our focus off of Jesus, we have accomplished very little in the end. The world's 'stuff' and 'positions' all pass away in the end. What remains is the relationship we developed with Jesus along the way. If things or thoughts get in the way of that, perhaps they aren't what should have our affection in the first place. Just sayin!