He Cares for You

Property Managers

1 Corinthians 3:16&17 - Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

We are the temple of God; where the Spirit of God lives. We have been given the privilege of being host to the Spirit of God (see also Rom 8:9) because of our relationship with Him. With this privilege comes responsibility. We are to maintain this property well because it is holy. How do we do that? Well, we can begin by presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices: we tend to our minds to make sure they are renewed in the Lord (Rom. 12:2) and we care for our bodies (1 Cor. 10:31, 1 Cor. 9:27) – this is soul care. We also nourish our spirit through the Word of God (Matt. 4:4).

It’s kind of like being property managers. When charged with caring for a property, we wouldn’t let it become run down or damaged, would we? No! Well, or Property Owner has given us guidelines for caring for His holy residence: tend to the mind, the heart, and the spirit in order to keep the property in tip top shape. Can you imagine saying to the Property Owner, “Sorry, I don’t do windows” or “I’m not really into vacuuming, so you’ll need to handle that for yourself”? This is like saying to the Lord, in response to His expectations for us, “Sorry, I don’t do forgiveness” or “I’m not really into love, so you’ll need to handle that for yourself.”

God has made it clear that His temple is not to be destroyed. We are to care for and not damage (nor let anyone else damage) this precious body. This includes partaking in and abstaining from a variety of practices. Part of that responsibility, I would propose, includes physical fitness. Fitness for the sake of health management is good. Disciplining ourselves to eat healthfully and workout is important and valuable. But fitness can be understood and exercised in the context of overall obedience to the word and will of the Father. Our commitment to weight lifting or Pilates or kickboxing can be the outworking of our commitment to God and treating His temple as holy. The same applies to the variety of habits we have. If they are in line with God’s care plan, carry on! If not, seek His help to remove those from your life.

Remember, we are not our own. (1Cor. 6:19-20) We are to diligently honor God with our body...honoring His presence.

Make sure to take good care of His property.

Psalm 3:3&4

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

Breathing our Thankfulness

As we journey in relationship with Christ, our lives are so robust and complex, they take twists and turns, sometimes they don’t make sense, and sometimes we have moments that are so wonderful, we marvel that we get to be a part of them.

Our precious heavenly Father has so much happening on our behalf that it is unfathomable. But even in our finitude, we at least perceive that it is complex and…well…unfathomable. He is orchestrating circumstances on our behalf and allowing us to live lives that are amazing! When I try to articulate exactly how amazing and wonderful, and frustrating, and glorious, and maddening, and intricate, and challenging, and ??? this life is, I find myself lacking words.

I am so very thankful that this great God has it all under control and is on our side. I’m thankful for this life.

What if...?

What would it be like if we walked through this life not using our natural eyes, but with a relentless faith perspective? I mean, what if we were intentional about seeing the world solely from a spiritual perspective?

What if we viewed our children the same as the Father views them? Our spouse? Our boss?

What if we understood the reason why that person who is a societal outcast talks or dresses or behaves “that way”?

What if our hearts were moved with compassion as Christ’s heart was when He saw certain people? It wasn’t that He just saw their frame; it was that He saw their heart.

What if we could be blind to the physical world and only see in the spirit? How would that inform our behavior or our speech? What kind of tenderness and grace would that evoke? What kind of righteous anger would that stir in us? What actions would result? Would we be moved to care for widows and orphans? Would we tend to the needs of the single parent? Would we take more time to talk with the one who we, right now, have very little patience for?

What if we were walking according to our faith in the transcendent, living God who sent His Son to lay down His life for us…according to the ways of Him who loves us with an everlasting love, Who heals…delivers…strengthens…reveals…desires righteousness?

Oh, what on the earth would happen if we boldly and unapologetically kept our hearts and minds attuned to the spiritual realm? Just a flawed, human attempt at walking in daily and hourly and moment-by-moment awareness of the reality that is beyond what we see. What would that walk look like?

2 Corinthians 5:7 - For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Uncle or Earthquake?

God is not a kindly old uncle, He is an earthquake. – Yiddish Proverb

It is a wonder to be in a personal relationship with God. He is the Creator of the universe yet He is loving and kind toward us. He is paternal in nature; dearly providing for and protecting his children. He is our Comforter in our times of pain and He rejoices with us when we are triumphant.

But this saying reminds us that it is not to be forgotten that God is holy and requires us to be holy. That He is righteous and just. That He hates evil. And that there is no negotiation when it comes to our salvation…

Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:11&12

So, although we have the sweet privilege of being in tender, loving relationship with the Creator of the universe, we must never forget that He is the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Most-High, Everlasting, God Almighty. He is to be respected, feared, and worshipped. He is the only wise God and my words fall short. There is no one like Him.

Close Cousins

Job 1:21 - …and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

After Job got the last report on the death of his family (and with more turmoil to come), he fell to his face, worshipped the Lord, and uttered these words. And the scripture tells us that even in the face of this tragedy, he did not sin in his heart.

We learn from this that surrender is a close cousin to faith and trust. Job had faith and trust in the Lord. We looked at that yesterday. But here at the very beginning of his trial it’s clear that Job had already surrendered his life to God. When I say surrender, I mean that he was symbolically holding his family and possessions, and even his own life, with open hands to God. The posture of Job’s heart was that all he had belonged to the Lord; nothing was intrinsically his. So when the Lord then decided to take away what had been given, Job did not count it as unfair. It was painful but Job had a perspective that helped him process this painful reality. He did not charge God with wrong doing.

Oh surrender! That can be a tough one for me. I have the type of personality that really likes the idea of control…often an illusion, I must admit. But Job understood the value of surrender. It can be argued that surrender is foundational to trust. We accept Jesus Christ as our Savior – surrendering our life to Him, then we grow in trust as we deepen in relationship with Him and see Him fulfill His word. And in this process our faith becomes more robust.

Before Paul wrote these words, Job lived them:

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.    Romans 12:1(AMP)

Surrender. Yes, surrender.

The Faith of Job and Our Faith

Job 13:15a - Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

In this statement, Job was expressing that he really wasn’t sure that the Lord would relieve his suffering and that, as a matter of fact, He may very well lose his life in the process. But Job says, even if this kills him, he won’t lose faith in the Lord.

Job had a relentless trust in the benevolence and righteousness of God. He trusted the love of the Father. Even if the difficulty God was allowing ended up crushing Job, he would go to his grave still believing that the Lord’s will was best and that He was to be trusted with Job’s very life. Job also was secure in His relationship with the Lord; that he was in right standing.

Recorded earlier in the book of Job, when Job’s wife encouraged him to simply “curse God and die” in light of the level of pain and loss he was enduring, Job said that he would not dare to gladly receive the blessing of the Lord but resent Him for the trouble that He allowed (see 2:10). Job was truly a “ride or die” brother!

How about you? Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve repeatedly looked at this matter of how we handle trials. Some of you have been through trials as horrendous as Job’s. Did you maintain your trust? When the next big one comes, will you dig your heels in and not waiver? Now, I think it would be irresponsible to just leave it there and not acknowledge that trusting can be hard or seemingly impossible - especially when we are in the midst of deep turmoil and when circumstances look bleak. But we know that we are to live by faith; not by sight. It is in just these very times that it is most important to hold on to God’s promises. His word is a lifeline to us and He is faithful to His word. He is with us in our trials and He has wonderful plans for our life – plans to prosper us and not to harm us. When it’s hard to see how our circumstances could turn out for our good is when we have to be especially diligent to trust in and lean on God.

So I encourage you, like I did back when we talked about having grit – DIG IN! God is our hope in the midst of these troubles. Even though you may be battle-weary, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!

Christ Alone (a praise break)

Christ alone is our hope. He is the only One in whom we can fully trust. He is our Provider and Protector. He is the One who guides us. He is the One who moves upon our hearts to desire His will and empowers us to do His will. He loves us unconditionally. He sacrificed His life for us. He never leaves us. He never turns His back on us. He is our strength. He is our contentment.

Christ alone is worthy of our praise. Today is a good day to praise Him!

Grace and Peace

2 Peter 1:2 - May grace and peace be yours in full measure through your knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Philippians 1:2 - May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Ephesians 1:2 - May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

1 Corinthians 1:3 - May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul seemed to truly desire grace and peace for the early believers! (Peter did too!) Looking at what grace and peace really are may help us to give us an idea of why…

Grace: The word "grace" in biblical parlance can, like forgiveness, repentance, regeneration, and salvation, mean something as broad as describing the whole of God's activity toward man or as narrow as describing one segment of that activity. An accurate, common definition describes grace as the unmerited favor of God toward man. In the Old Testament…there are examples of man's favor to man, but the theological concept of importance to us is the grace of God demonstrated toward man. The term occurs most often in the phrase favor "in your (i.e., God's) sight" or "in the eyes of the Lord." This assumes the notion of God as a watchful master or king, with the one who is finding favor, a servant, an employee, or perhaps a soldier.

Peace: In English, the word "peace" conjures up a passive picture, one showing an absence of civil disturbance or hostilities, or a personality free from internal and external strife. The biblical concept of peace is larger than that and rests heavily on the Hebrew root slm, which means "to be complete" or "to be sound." The verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning "to be complete or whole" or "to live well."

The word also reveals that the Father desires grace and peace for us and is, in fact, our source!

In the midst of trial, the Lord assured Paul “My grace is sufficient for you…” And we see the Lord extending His grace to Peter, the thief on the cross, Mary (who washed Jesus’ feet), the woman caught in adultery, in the story of the Prodigal Son, and in numerous other circumstances.

John 1:17 - For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

And Jesus tells us that not only is He the Source of our peace, but that the peace He gives abides with us so that we need not be troubled or afraid – so that we may be complete, sound, whole,  and thriving.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Praise God for grace and peace!

Welcome Nigeria!!!!

I'm so delighted that you've found us! Please know that I pray for all of our blog readers on a daily basis, so you are being prayed for. We welcome you to come back to this page on a daily basis - we post a new blog Sunday through Friday (taking Saturday off). You can also follow us on Facebook at Simply Christian. And don't forget to forward the blog to your friends and family if you are being blessed by it.
Most people feel more comfortable commenting on FB, but you are welcomed to leave comments here on the blog if you like. Either way, I'd love to hear from you!
Blessings!


Kristy

Eating Well

Paleo, Clean Eating, Low-Carb, High-Protein, DASH, TLC, Flexitarian, Ornish…our options for eating well plans are endless! But…

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 when He said “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” These were the God-inspired words of Moses who was admonishing the Israelites not to forget their God – the One who had promised a land to their ancestors, led them through the wilderness, and had fed them with something they had never seen before and could not fully comprehend (manna). The Israelites, were to be careful to follow every command of God, because that would be how they would “live and increase” and possess what God had promised.

Nothing has changed in the approximately 3400 years since Moses wrote those words. We are still to live our lives in accordance with the Word of God. Better stated: we are to draw life from the Word of God. You see, we are spiritual beings who are created in the very image of God. Because of this, we must live by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24&25 - Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. (GW)

John 6:63 - Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life. The words that I [Christ] have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life. (GW)

We see that our spiritual life is nurtured from the Word of God. We thrive and grow and experience what God has for us when we are in tune with the Spirit. Our physical being is nourished by bread and water – both are necessary to sustain life. But more importantly, we must nourish our spirit by maintaining a steady diet of “Word consumption”. We must read, meditate upon, and adhere to the Word of God in order for our spirit to thrive!

In case you don’t know, I will tell you that we all will one day leave this earth and move on to an eternal existence. We are spiritual beings with a spiritual eternity to experience after our time here on earth is over. We will either spend that eternity with God in heaven or without God in hell. Sorry to be so blunt, but it is true. We must understand that there is so much more for us than what we get to see and experience for the 79.3 years (give or take a few) that we have here. There is an eternity to begin once this life is over, so we want to set ourselves up for the most wonderful eternity possible. That eternity is with God…with Christ…with the Holy Spirit. And all of that begins with the Word of God.

So…have you eaten well today?

FAITH

Two quotes I appreciate regarding faith…

Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods. – C.S. Lewis

Don’t doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.  – assorted authors

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Platitudes vs Investment

Platitude: a statement that expresses an idea that is not new. 1:  the quality or state of being dull or insipid  2:  a banal, trite, or stale remark

Investment: an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

The Word of God tells us that believers are actually brothers and sisters in Christ. The Word tells us that we are to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). The Word implies that we are our brother’s keeper (Genesis 4). We can also conclude from several passages in the Word as well as from how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to one another, that we are to live in intimate community with one another. Further, we understand that it is especially important to build intimate relationship so that we have a support system that provides wise counsel and partnership in the midst of life’s challenges.

Over the last decade or so, I have been blessed to observe and experience the investment in my life and the lives of others by my brothers and sisters in Christ - ones who have walked alongside me and others through cancer (or other) diagnoses, divorce, the loss of a parent or spouse, troubles with children, and even conflict within the body of believers. These wonderful men and women have chosen to not simply utter platitudes in an attempt to fire off a word of wisdom and move on; no, they have settled in for the ride. They have prayed, sat in the hospital from sun up to sun down, cared for children in the absence of their parents, rallied the community for various acts of support, cleaned houses, cooked meals, tended to the ill, and done many other things.

As we discussed yesterday, life is hard. We face many challenges. It is so much better and it is the Lord’s desire for us to be able to face both the everyday and the monumental challenges with a few loved ones who care for and support us.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-12 reads: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

That third strand that Solomon refers to is our Lord. He is at the center of relationship between believers.

So, my beloved, may I encourage you to invest in the life of someone who needs your loving kindness…your wisdom…your strength? May I encourage you to (appropriately) allow the concerns of your life to take a back seat to the concerns of someone else? When we do this for one another, we find that each of our burdens become lighter and we can walk through this life with an increased measure of spiritual, mental, and emotional agility – a worthwhile result.

God and Grit

James 1:12 (CEV) - God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him.

Colossians 3: 23&24 (NIV) - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Grit: n. courage and resolve; strength of character.

Life on this earth is not easy. As you may recall, Christ told us that we were going to have tribulation in this world (see John 16:33). That tribulation is not just experienced in those “big events” in life; it is applicable to everyday circumstances. Making it to the grocery store without getting into a car accident is a blessing. Mowing the lawn without a rock flying up and breaking a window is a blessing. Your escrow process…that budget meeting…a birthday celebration – all of these things are everyday occasions where trouble can rear its ugly head.

But there is more for us than everyday things. God has a calling on each of our lives. And although He directs our paths and gives us His power to accomplish His will, it’s not always easy. Much of what we are called to accomplish can present a challenge to us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and possibly physically. This is where grit comes in. We need to have courage, a resolve, and a focused intensity on accomplishing all that the Lord has for us.

Exercising grit means that we choose to do even those things that we can’t do comfortably. We choose to fulfill our call in the face of opposition. (You do realize that the enemy will try to oppose you every time you are working for God’s kingdom, right?) We must ask the Lord for wisdom regarding how we may accomplish His purposes when it seems like man has closed every door. We’ll go around the side, over the top, or dig underneath to get to whatever it is that God has for us. We get scraped up, we get knocked down, we may even have a limp but because we have grit we put a bandage on, we get up, and we’ll walk with a cane to get to our goal – God’s purposes for us.

You have a call. It’s not going to come easy. God’s got your back. Dig in and do that thing!

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there! All of you who have not just been a part of creating a life, but actually invested in the life of your child – thank you. To those who have adopted or fostered, worked with youth or otherwise made it your business to invest in the lives of the next generation – thank you!

Some of us have grown up with a father who was nothing short of superman in our eyes - others of us have not. Either way, we learn in the scriptures that we all have a Father who loves us eternally and unconditionally. God the Father, our Maker, has proven that He loves us and assures us that He is always with us….strengthening us and providing for us.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jeremiah 31:3b - I have loved you with an everlasting love…

Deuteronomy 31:6b - …He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Tommy Walker made this song famous:

I have a Maker.
He formed my heart.
Before even time began
my life was in His hands.

He knows my name.
He knows my every thought.
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call.

I have a Father,
He calls me His own.
He'll never leave me
no matter where I go.

Even if you do not have an earthly father to celebrate today, you may celebrate the fact that you are cherished and adored by your heavenly Father.

The Implications of Separation from God - Part 2

Our Separation from the Father

Yesterday we looked at Jesus’ separation from the Father. His separation was temporary but He understood the implications of separation and, because of that, the thought of it was torturous and the experience of it was excruciating. He also understood the implications for us and this grieved Him as well. Because it is not the will of God that any human being should be eternally separated from Him, Christ died in our place and paid the penalty for our sin.

John 12:46 - I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

We are born as sinful creatures. Early on we have a type of innocence that lasts for a while, but then we grow into what some refer to as the “age of accountability”. This is when we have the spiritual and mental faculties to understand and respond to the truth of who God and Christ are, as revealed in the Scriptures.

So man is born, comes into a place of accountability for the truth, and then must decide how he will respond to the truth. Some will believe the truth and will be saved…

Romans 10:9&10 - Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

Unfortunately, some will reject the truth. God gives us free will which means that we can choose to accept or reject Him and He will not encroach on our choice. My prayer for everyone is that they will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

For humanity, the implications of separation from the Father included eternal separation from God. This includes both physical torture and spiritual torture. Jesus endured both on our behalf, there is no reason why we should also. His torture was temporary but ours will be eternal. The implications also include the powerlessness that comes from living life on this earth without the power of Christ to strengthen us and work on our behalf.

It is not worth it to live our lives on this earth with toil and trouble only to die and live forever in a state of toil and trouble that is so evil it defies sufficient description. The scriptures tell us that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend (see John 15:13). Jesus did exactly that for us! Have you accepted His gift of love? If not, inbox me and let’s chat about that.

The Implications of Separation from God - Part 1

Jesus’ Separation from the Father

Mark 15:34 - And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

It seems impossible that God and Jesus could be separated; that the Father could forsake the Son. But regarding this matter, Rev. Billy Graham clarifies “The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death includes two dimensions—physical and spiritual. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the spirit from God. Since Jesus was dying for our sin as our substitute, He was experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. It was the agony of hell.”

Jesus was temporarily separated from the Father and it was so severe of a reality that He cried out! Jesus fully knew and understood “why” the separation was happening – for our good and God’s glory – so the question was not asked from ignorance. No, this cry is better understood as an exclamation in the midst of pain – the pain of separation from the Father. Jesus, who had been with the Father from eternity past; never separated, was now experiencing this phenomena of separation from the One with whom He had always been one with! I do not claim to even understand all of the implications of this. But with my limitations, I do understand that this separation must have been excruciating. Although temporary, it was, in my estimation, the most identified that Christ could possibly be with the state of man. Before we come into relationship with Christ, we are separated from God. Further, some of us will die in a state of spiritual separation from God. Jesus understood the implications of this separation and wanted no part of that! Jesus understands the vital importance of being spiritually connected with the Father. He understands it so deeply that He did not, even for a moment, want to experience separation – it was excruciating.

You will remember that when Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane, as He had sweated drops of blood, three times He asked that He be delivered from what was to come. Yet, in obedience to God and in relentless love for us, He said, “…not My will, but Yours be done.” He, in His humanity, could not help but dread what was to come and sincerely desired to avoid it if possible. In His Deity, He understood that it was needful and so relented from his plea for deliverance and subjected Himself to the perfect will of the Father. I imagine that the physical torture would have been at the forefront of His human thoughts while the separation from His Father would have been the impetus for this plea from His perspective as Lord.

Jesus’ separation from the Father was horrendous. But He willingly endured it for us. Remember we talked a while ago about the definition of love being “willing the good for another”? Well Jesus’ will was for our good – that we would have opportunity to live forever with the Father in heaven. He desired (along with the Father) that we would never experience spiritual death: eternal separation from the Father. Jesus’ torture was not just physical, but was also spiritual. We diminish His sacrifice by either not accepting His sacrifice freely given to us (but at great cost to Him) or by accepting His sacrifice but essentially make it of no value by living dishonorable lives.

For Christ, the implications of separation from the Father included torture for Him and victory for us. And, in reality, the victory was His as well because He defeated the enemy and took away his power to see us forever separated from the Father.

HALLELUJAH!

The Joy of Family

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 excerpts - For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

As members of the body of Christ, we have people who are similar to us in that they share the same basic beliefs, focus, joy, and world view. But with this “body” also comes a family dynamic. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are called to love one another, to provide wise counsel, to bring accountability, to support each other, and to walk along side one another through this life. Sometimes our brothers and sisters in Christ are closer to us than blood relatives.

Praise God for this family!

Check Your Thought Life

Proverbs 23:6&7 - Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].

This script is indicating that no matter what we see on the outside, the truth of who we are is made known by our thoughts. This host appeared to be generous but in his heart he was begrudging every bite of food that his guests consumed.

Further understanding of this principle lets us know that what we meditate upon will be manifested in our life. This is the lesson I want to focus on today. I’m not talking about some hocus pocus or “positive envisioning”; I am talking about the grounded Word of God which indicates that our thoughts are powerful and bring forth realities for us:

Proverbs 4:23 - Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Colossians 2:3-5 - Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Mark 7:20-23 - And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Because our thoughts are so powerful, we need to examine our thought life. We need to keep our thoughts in check, ensuring that they are in line with the truth of the Word of God. Psychologists who study depression will confirm that negative thought patterns are often the culprit for depression. Now, I will pause and say that some people have a genetic predisposition to depression, some are affected by hormones, medications and medical conditions, and other factors – but a frequent cause for depression is as simple as rumination on negative thoughts. I experienced something like this just the other day.

I began my day doing some work around the house and something I did (I can’t recall what it was) triggered a memory of a negative exchange that happened with a friend a few years ago. And without realizing it, as I continued to do my housework, I continued to ruminate on that incident as well as some subsequent encounters. I was working and thinking, thinking and working, cleaning and ruminating, ruminating and cleaning. I went on about my day doing some other things but realized toward the end of my day that I had a bad attitude. I had a cloud hanging over my head and I was feeling down. I had not had a bad day at all – I was productive, I’d spent time with family, it was beautiful weather - but I realized that I had started my day with negative ruminations and that negativity had stayed with me throughout the day, resulting in a bad attitude, feeling down, and feelings of dissatisfaction at the end of my day.

What a man meditates upon in his heart, he becomes. As a man meditates on the negative, he is negative. As a man meditates on injustice, he lacks grace. As a man meditates on his faults (or the faults of others), he is judgmental. As a man meditates on hurt, he is hurtful. BUT… As a man meditates on the positive, he is positive. As a man meditates on mercy, he is merciful. As a man meditates on compassion, he is compassionate. As a man meditates on love, he is sacrificial.

How is your thought life? What do your life circumstances or behaviors reveal about your thought life? Are your thoughts in line with your goals? Are your thoughts in line with your foundational beliefs? Are your thoughts in line with what the Word of God says?

Just some questions to explore.

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Be Blind

Like a Good Soldier

2 Timothy 2:4 - No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Have you seen the intense battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan or Glory (or your favorite war movie)? Can you imagine, under those circumstances, having your mind on anything other than the battle? Would you be thinking about practicing for your piano lesson or making a phone call to your best friend? No. Your mind and every part of your being would be concerned with the task at hand and accomplishing the goal.

Paul writes to Timothy and tells him to be strong and then invites him to join him in his sufferings “like a good soldier of Christ Jesus”. He then pens the words we see here in chapter 2, verse 4. Paul is telling Timothy that he is in a battle! And like any good soldier, there is suffering but there is also an unwavering focus on the matter at hand.

As followers of Christ, we need to understand that we are in a daily battle against our enemy…

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

…and the enemy desires nothing less than our destruction…

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10a)

…so we must be alert and prepared to engage in the battle. God has equipped us, so we need to focus our attention on pleasing our Commanding Officer.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.  (2 Corinthians 2:4)

Come on soldiers, let’s do this!

Who Are You?

These are a few of my favorite things…

My relationship with Christ

Quality time with loved ones

Diamonds

Boxing

Stand-up comedy and laughing really hard

Dominoes (the game; not the pizza)

Cheese

Weight-lifting

This is me. Sometimes my love for cheese negatively impacts my love for lifting. Sometimes I don’t get the time I want with loved ones. I have diamonds but I’m very open to having more. I love watching boxing and I truly enjoy kickboxing, (not too keen on the idea of actually sparring though). Laughing is one of the best things in the world! I could play dominoes every day of my life for the rest of my life. And it is my joy to be in a loving relationship with the Lord, to study His word, and to have the privilege of sharing His word with others. This is me. This is who I am. Pretty simple.  

What about you? We each have been perfectly designed by God. He has taken time to gently craft us: our eye color, our smile, every hair on our head, our heart... He made us in His own image; we are spiritual beings in our nature. But who we are is also shaped by “nurture”, which can be our parents, our circumstances, teachers and other people of influence, where we live, etc. Both nature and nurture conspire to make us who we are. Each of us has our talents, our quirks, our preferences, our aptitudes and none of us are exactly alike.

What I’d like you to remember is that you have been designed by a wonderful Creator. We talked a few days ago about choosing confidence. This is related. We can have confidence in Christ but also I’d like to see us appreciate who we are and how we are because of the Lord’s hand in our lives.

So embrace who you are in Him…be you. Let go of what is not from Him…be you. Take note of your favorite things as this will give you an insight into the true you, and just be you.

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Managing Opposition

Titus 2:2-6 excerpts - Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands….Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

Paul wrote to Titus to encourage him as he remained in Crete. Paul advises Titus that he is aware that there is opposition to believers in Crete, especially from the Jews who had not yet come to faith in Christ. Paul admonishes Titus to get things in order and to rebuke the believers who are beginning to be swayed by influential non-believers. Then he goes on to point out these four very specific directives. Interestingly, the common denominator in these directives is the concept of self-control.

Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. And as believers faced strong opposition from strong non-believers, the principle thing they needed was a spiritual self-control that would allow them to stay the course in their faith. We need that too! There is opposition all around us all day long. When we deal with the strong beliefs of those who do not believe according to the Word of God, we must exercise a spiritual self-control and not be influenced by their charismatic arguments or our own resonating desires. Man, woman, young, or old, we need the Spirit of God to keep us upright and diligent in the faith.

Perfect & Holy

Hebrews 10:14 - For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Our precious Savior Jesus, by His sacrifice, has forever made perfect those people who are also in the process of being made holy – Christ-followers. When I read this scripture, I wondered what the differences were between being perfect and being holy and why believers are already perfect but in the process of being made holy. The following is what I learned:

Already Perfect

God requires perfection in order to live eternally with Him in heaven. There is no sin in heaven…no illness…no strife…no imperfection. So in our sinful humanity, we are not qualified to reside with Him upon our death. God tells us that the payment for sin is death. Well, in the Hebrews 10 verse, we understand that Jesus sacrificed His life on our behalf. He died in our place so that we could live forever with Him and the Father. If we accept Jesus as our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, we then are “qualified” to enter into heaven. His sacrifice has made us perfect forever. Upon Christ’s death, every believer was (past-tense) made perfect in the spiritual sense; not yet in the physical sense.

“Only in death, when our earthly bodies will be dissolved and we receive the promised glorious new bodies like the Lord (1 John 3:1-3), will we be actually made perfect.  However, as Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and if we abide by the spirit of His law (Romans 8), we are in the process of being perfected.  Through Jesus’ sacrifice, and His love working through us, and not by our own works, we can be ‘perfect.’”¹

In the Process of Becoming Holy

Leviticus 11:44a - I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.

This word holy has the connotation of being set apart, sanctified, and dedicated. Perfection is a spiritual state to be experienced after death. In contrast, holiness is a spiritual posture that we take in this lifetime, whereby we decide that we will consecrate ourselves; we will set ourselves apart for God’s purposes in our lives. And the “heavy lifting” in this process is not even actually done by us – it is done by our Savior Jesus.

Holiness is not an elusive concept that Christians talk about but can never experience. I think that we confuse holiness with perfection. We believe holiness means infallibility and we all know that we can’t achieve that, so we almost dismiss the concept all together. Holiness, however, is not an unattainable state. God did not tell us to be holy knowing that we could never do it. We are fallible. That is fact. We are flawed. And even with the best of intentions, we still mess up. But with the Holy Spirit living and working inside of us, we are inspired and empowered to live lives that are set apart for God’s purposes. We present ourselves to God as living sacrifices – doing our best to deny our flesh and live according to His spirit.

Romans 8:5&9a - Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit…

When we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, Jesus does the work of making us holy, just as God is holy. And by the mercy of this same God, Christ has given His life to cover our sins – past, present, and future since we will not execute holiness perfectly. J

So we can rejoice because we, right now, in the Spirit-realm, are perfect! When we pass from this life to the next, we will experience that perfection.

We can also rejoice, right now, because Christ is working in us so that we may set ourselves apart for God and walk in true holiness here on earth.

Amazing.

Battles...again

We posted this devotion last month but so many people have shared with me that they are struggling right now, I thought we should post it again. Be encouraged, even if you don't see it right now, the Lord is right by your side and moving on your behalf... (Hmmmm, this theme of battle seems to be recurring)

No “Poker-Face” Whatsoever!

Have you even been trusting on the Word of the Lord regarding ...a matter? Have you ever heard from Him but then had to await the manifestation of what He said? In those waiting periods, have you ever noticed the enemy will launch a full-scale attack on you, your family, your loved ones, your health, your job, etc.? That is the enemy tipping his hand, so to speak. When you see him doing that, he is inadvertently revealing that the Lord is moving on your behalf. The enemy is making one last ditch effort at discouraging you and hoping to cause you to doubt before you see the blessing of the Lord come to pass. He wants you to be miserable. He wants to destroy you.
So, when you see the attack…smile. Because you just got confirmation that the Lord is working things out for your good.

Adding Praise to our Battles

Yesterday we talked about enduring hardship as the loving discipline of our heavenly Father. Well, today my pastor talked about a very similar concept and emphasized our need to count it all joy as we go through the diversity of trials we will face in our lifetime.
As I’ve walked through various times of trial, I must confess that I’ve often forgotten the concept of intentionally praising God in those times - praising Him in response to the trial. But as soon as James put pen to paper (or whatever the 1st century equivalent would have been) the first thing he wrote about was this concept of counting it all joy as we go through trials because “you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” He goes on to tell the early believers to “let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” As I listened to the sermon I was also reminded of the scripture that says: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
My pastor also reminded us of Moses who, when he held his hands up (exalting God as he held up the staff of God), the Israelites were successful in battle against the Amalekites but when he dropped his hands, they were overcome. In fact, Moses enlisted Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands, to ensure victory!

Praise, worship, exaltation, joy, thanksgiving…these are the things we cannot forget about in our times of battle. But that is very easy to do! When Moses held up the staff of God, the soldiers could see it. They were reminded, in the midst of battle, that the Lord was on their side! Like those soldiers, we need to be reminded that the Lord is always on our side, fighting on our behalf. Reading His word will help us to remember this. Singing songs of worship will help. Praying will help. Speaking words of praise will help. Whatever your unique way of worshipping God is, that will help you remember Him.
Yes, we may be in battle, but we will overcome. So since we have to face these trails (no way to avoid them) we may as well praise God in the midst of them. As a matter of fact, God directs us to do exactly that. We are not to mourn and lash out at God and be resentful; we are to praise and to draw even closer to our precious Savior who never leaves nor forsakes us. And we can do this because we know we will be victorious! He has already won the battle on our behalf. So with patience, we can journey through the battle and praise Him for the victory. Hold these words close to your heart as you battle…
1 Corinthians 15:57 - But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Deuteronomy 20:4 - For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.
2 Corinthians 4:8&9- We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
2 Corinthians 2:14 - But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
Praise Him right now for your victory!