Do You HOPE?

But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.

1Peter 3:15

 

I had been teaching a series of Bible Lessons and one of the the people in the class came to me afterwards and said, "You're SUCH an optimist!"  I thought about that for a while, and at the next session, asked the group how they would define an Optimist.  

 

Here are a few of the answers:

     1.  "One who has lost all sense of reality."

     2.  "A person who sees the world through rose colored glasses."

     3.  "Delusional Idiot"

     4.  "Someone with an unrealistic view of the world."

     5.  "The person who clings to hope in spite of what they see around them."

 

 

Look at what Peter wrote: "Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the HOPE you possess."  

 

Giving up is easy.  Rolling over and getting trampled is simple.  It takes no effort to swim with the current.  It's not difficult to bury one's head in the sand and become part of the "EVERYTHING IS AWFUL" mentality that is so prevalent.

 

How does Peter expect us to have a hope worth giving an answer for?  "Set Jesus apart as Lord in your hearts!"  Yes!  When our hearts are lifted by Christ, we begin to see things differently because we get to see that God truly does have a plan, and Romans 8:28 really is true!  

 

Being an optimist takes EFFORT!  It means you don't take things at face value, because you learn to see beyond the face value to the true worth.  It's not simply slapping on a dopey grin and telling everyone that "All is well."  Being an optimist is a conscious decision!  Usually many times a day and sometimes every moment of every day.  But Scripture tells us that we are to be ready to give an answer for the HOPE we possess, so that means we have to possess Hope in order to give an answer for it.  

 

Do you have Hope?  Have you sought it?  Have you asked God for it?  

 

 

  

Money Just Can't Buy...

Better to be poor and honest
    than to be dishonest and rich.

~Proverbs 28:6

You see it quite frequently, people wanting to impress others with their money.  Where they got their money is irrelevant to them, all they care is they have wads of it and everyone else doesn't.  Doesn't that impress you?

 

You see...money can buy any number of things:

     - cars

     - houses

     - boats

     - trips

     - jewelry

     - gadgets

 

While having those things might appear impressive, my question is this: if you have all this money, how are you helping others? Okay, I'll admit it, I was stunned and rather impressed when I saw a man who had purchased a golden toilet.  But then, my sweet Bride reminded me that this man spent quite a lot on a device that is merely a waste disposal unit.

 

The things that should impress us are the things that cannot be purchased:

     - honesty

     - love

     - integrity

     - courtesy

     - caring

     - loyalty

 

Remember the story of the Prodigal Son?  He got his inheritance and went off and spent it freely.  As long as he had money to spend, he had 'friends' to help him.  Where were those 'friends' when the young man had to slop pigs? 

 

Remember the Rich Young Ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do to gain eternal life?  He was trying to work a bargain, and was absolutely crushed when he found out that Eternal Life cannot be bought, sold, or earned!

Say what you will, but it is better to be poor and honest than rich and hellbound.

     

When the Morning Comes

The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison.
    I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed.
    Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:

The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue,
    Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
    The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.

The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him,

Lamentations 3:19-25 

Have you ever had a time in your life where you felt your life was caving in around you?  It felt as if life had imploded on you and everything you had hoped for, dream of, and prepared for suddenly can crashing down?  And all you could hear in your soul was the laughter of the enemy?

Let me be brutally honest....there are times that Life really just sucks swamp water!  There are times when you feel as though Life just cannot get any worse, yet somehow....it does.  There are times when you go to bed begging God not to let you wake up, and yet God awakens you the next day anyway.

There are times.....not minutes, not hours, not even days.....sometime this goes on for years!

But what are we to take from this?  Are we supposed to just give up and accept that Life is going to trample us so might as well just lie down and accept it?  Or are we to cling to even the dimmest ray of hope with the last of our strength?

Remember what the Apostle Paul said, "For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

God's love is unfailing (never, Never, NEVER has it or will it fail) and His love for us is always a fresh as the new sunrise!  Why do we wait until our world is collapsing before re remember that God is in control and that NOTHING has ever surprised Him.  Once we understand that sometimes God allows us to find ourselves in situations where the only one we have to cling to is Him, we will (hopefully) learn to cling to Him always, in spite of what Life throws at us. 

When we cling to Him, our lives won't get easier, rather we'll get stronger! 

Decisions Decisions!

There is a path before each person that seems right,
    but it ends in death.

Proverbs 14:12 

When tough decisions need to be made, what do you do?  Doing nothing and hoping they will work themselves out might SOUND like a good course of action, but the destruction of your reputation, your relationships, your respect....are they worth it?

Some would rather follow the path of the convenient....after all, tough decisions can lead to conflict and conflict is uncomfortable.  But convenience does not solve the problem, does it?

The best way to deal with tough decisions is as follows:

    1.  Understand that God is God and we are NOT!

    2.  Keep God first.

    3.  Keep your primary relationship on Earth second.

    4.  Everyone else comes after!

Think about this, God promised Abraham that he would have ancestors more numerous than the stars and the sands of the seashore.  Yet when he had Isaac. God put Abraham in a position where he had to make the tough choice.  Who did Abraham love more: God or Isaac?

And again, when the Israelites cried out to God because they were in bondage, God sent Moses to lead them to freedom.  The Israelites became disgruntled, worshiped idols, and spent their time complaining.  So God made the hard choice that the disgruntled generation would die before He would allow the Israelites into the promised land.

And finally, God had to make the tough decision to let His only begotten Son die, so we could become His children.

Facing tough decisions? Face them head on!  Rely on God, not your emotions, and you will see that God's way really is the ultimately best decision. 

We're Have To GROW UP?

The glory of young men is their strength,
    but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Proverbs 20:29

As I may have mentioned a few hundred times before, I like most of Jimmy Buffett's songs.  Many of them have meanings that are very deep (and then there are the others).  One of the songs that came to mind when I saw today's verse is, "I'm Growing Older, But Not Up" where we are reminded that, while our bodies are not what they used to be, our minds are more than they used to be.

 

I don't want to grow up.  It's just that simple.  I still have toys (I collect minions and gadgets and such), and love playing games.  Confession:  I was never (and am still not) what one might call "athletic" or "coordinated" or "graceful" or anything of the sort.  Because of that, I played games more for the fun instead of the competition (some people takes games WAY too seriously).

 

As I have progressed in years (yeah, let's call it that instead of "Got Old"), I have noticed that so many people take everything so seriously.  Try people watching sometime.  You'll see more scowls and absence of smiles.  Some people actually look like they are angry at everyone, hate life, and are just passing the time of going through the motions, and have given up on everything and everyone.

 

Look at what today's verse says, The glory of the young is their strength.  The splendor of the older is their grey hair (experience and wisdom).  Just because we grow older doesn't mean we stop enjoying life!  Growing older doesn't mean we stop learning!  It just means.....well....we might want to consider not trying to relive our "glory days."

What Are You Afraid Of?

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 

What scares you?  What is it that keeps you from truly living a life worth remembering?  Did you know that there are far too many people who are AFRAID to live?

• Could it be we fear what others will think or say?  Why? This is the life God gave YOU!  God gave THEM a life of their own.  We are extremely bad about letting someone else live our lives for us because our life is "too hard" or we just want to be taken care of.  Just remember, God gifted YOU with His life-breath and made you uniquely odd. 

•  Could it be that we fear failing? Why? If we succeeded in everything, we would not learn anything.  It is through our errors, missteps, and screw-ups that we learn.  We learn to give second chances.  We learn that no one is perfect.  We learn that we can use our experiences to help someone else.  We learn!

• Could it be that we fear succeeding?  Why?  Sometimes we want to "fly under the radar" because we don't want to be noticed.  Let's face it, if you succeed then people will expect you to do it again, only bigger and better than before.  Yes, there are times I would rather go off the radar, because then I can get a cleansing WOOSAH breath without anyone noticing.  But when God brings success to us, we have the responsibility to use that be an encouragement and inspiration for others!

• Could it be we fear life will hurt?  Yep......Life is going to punch you in the heart!  Not only that, but it's going to hurt, and will probably hurt for a while.  Sometimes we learn to avoid the punches by distancing ourselves from hurtful people.  But anytime we allow ourselves to care as God cares for us, we will get hurt.  We will get hurt when we don't achieve the goals we set for ourselves. We will get hurt we allow ourselves to love. We will get hurt by the expectations others have for us.  We will get hurt when loss finds us (expectedly or unexpectedly).  Life is going to hurt.  We learn from it and we keep going.

Here's the point:  The last thing to happen to us on this Earth is death.  But because Christ defeated death, we know that death no longer is a reason to fear.  Because, whatever happens between your birth and your death, God already knew and had a plan for, before time began.    

No Man Is An Island

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything.

John 15:5

Today is another Jimmy Buffett inspired thought about our dependence on Christ for everything.  You've heard the expression "No Man Is An Island"...well it's true! Listen to the lyrics of the song.

You see, we might be able to survive for a time, because the enemy wants us to believe that we can make it without God.  But the truth of the matter is that we are ultimately helpless without God. 

Think about it this way, you find yourself shipwrecked.  You are the only survivor.  The only things you have are a leaky life raft that is on the verge of sinking, a few gallons of semi-fresh water (which not is sun cooked and tastes like the plastic container), and some dehydrated food packs. You see an island.  You paddle for all you're worth and on reaching the island, you feel grateful.  You make a shelter, you gather the provisions you had on the life raft, and you believe you have been saved...

Eventually, your provisions are going to run out.  You will need to find food, a source of water, shelter, firewood, a means of getting meat, and the list goes on and on.  One person can only do a few things.  No one can do everything.  When we remember that Christ is the source of our everything, then we will begin to see how He brings people into our lives that can help us just when we feel like giving up.  We will see how we are prompted to help someone keep from giving up.

The enemy would have us believe that if we struggle then it's because God is angry with us and we are being punished or God doesn't care about us and has left us to our own resources. Remember the song, "Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow"?  Without Him we can do nothing (not even breathe), so why look elsewhere for strength?

It's Not Just My Job....

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17

 

As you are aware, I am a Jimmy Buffett fan.  While I like most of his songs, there are some that really stick in my mind.  "It's My Job" is one such song.  In this song, Jimmy asks a street sweeper why he's so happy cleaning up after everyone else, the reply Jimmy gets is simple ""It's my job to be cleaning up this mess, And that's enough reason to go for me; It's my job to be better than the rest, And that makes the day for me"

 

And that's the thing that whacked me between the eyes.  I have had many "careers" in my lifetime which have turned out to be just jobs.  And I was miserable!  I was frustrated!  I was angry!  I was bitter! I was ticked off!  Why? Because I didn't want just a job, I sensed God had called me to a purpose that I just couldn't find.

 

Finally, after years and years and years of trying and failing. God sat me down, none too gently, and reminded me that I needed to stop trying to do His job.  I had to learn to "be still and know."  I had to be quiet and listen.  When I FINALLY learned (and am still learning) to do that, God has opened doors where He uses me to bring Him glory every single time He allows me to help someone else.  And the best part....God uses all my screw-ups to help others.

 

Why do I do what I do?  It's Not Just My Job.....It's who God created me to be!  When we let God be in control (which is, after all, His job) we will find ourselves on an adventure worth having!

Wisdom Is Sometimes Painful

Words from wise people are like sharp sticks used to guide animals. They are like nails that have been driven in firmly. Altogether they are wise teachings that come from one Shepherd. So be careful, my son, about other teachings. People are always writing books, and too much study will make you tired.

Now, everything has been heard,
    so I give my final advice:
Honor God and obey his commands,
    because this is all people must do.
God will judge everything,
    even what is done in secret,
the good and the evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 

I can only speak for myself, and from what I have seen in others, humans aren't exactly the most excited about learning from other humans.  Case in point, parent tells a child "don't throw the ball in the house."  How does the parent know throwing a ball in the house is a bad idea?  Usually from experience.  In my case, have the belt of knowledge applied to the back pockets for breaking things with the thrown ball.  However, each generation is told the same thing and one would think we would hear it enough for the logic to become incorporated into the genetic make up of each human.  

In ancient times, cattle herds were moved from one place to another with the caretakers prodding them along with pointy sticks.  And, quite honestly, that would make me move along as well.  Do you thing the cattle thought being poked was fun?  Or a good idea?  One would think the cattle would learn that the appearance of the stick meant to MOVE.

How about the person who simply will NOT stop talking?  No matter how many hints, loud sighs, eye rolls, or watch checks you give, they just keep on talking undeterred.  One would think that a person who has received SO many hints to stop talking would actually.....stop talking.  (I have found that a water spritz will sometimes get the point across).

We, as a species, tend to have to learn things the hard way.  Adam and Eve did that by eating the forbidden fruit.  They learned that their choice was the wrong thing to do, and we have been having to learn that lesson ever since.

We aren't very good at learning for the most part.  But some of it gets through.  Solomon was the wisest person of his time, and he wrote an entire book on his journey.  After all of his trying various paths to truth and wisdom, Solomon came to the conclusion that God will judge everything done in secret, good or evil. Therefore, the wisest thing to do is: "Honor God and obey His commands." Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? Thank Jesus for taking our place before God to speak on our behalf! 

Jesus Didn't Die To Make Us Good!

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
~John 20:24-27 

I was wrong!  Yes, I heard you gasp and start to fan yourself.  I was wrong for many years.  You see, I was convinced that Jesus death on the Cross was to make me good and I have lived most of my life frustrated and irritated because "good" is simply not something I seem to be able of accomplishing.

Don't get me wrong, I can do good deeds, but I have never been able to BE good!  No matter how much I tried, how focused I was, how long and hard I studied Scripture, no matter what, my efforts were never enough. And I wondered, why did Jesus die if it was not to make me good?  Why did Jesus suffer if it was not to make me good?

Then I came across a couple of quotes by two of my favorite people:

1. "God had only one Son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering."                - St. Augustine
2. "Jesus did not die to make us good, but to make us His." - Dr. Steve Brown

 

 So, does that mean I should stop trying to be good?  Nope!  I still must try, but instead of beating myself up when I fail, I give it all to God through Jesus' and let Him remind me how much He loves me and forgives me and helps me.

 

Thomas said he needed proof that Christ had risen.  If you read carefully what Thomas said, you will find that not only did he need proof that Jesus had risen, but also that Jesus had suffered.  Why else would he need to put his fingers into Jesus' nail holes?  Why else would he need to put his hand into the wound in Jesus' side?  Thomas needed to be reminded of Jesus' love for him and THAT love didn't make Thomas good, but made Thomas HIS!

 

Inseparable!

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Romans 8:38-39

Ever had situations where you wondered if God even remembered your existence?  Ever felt so alone that you thought even God had abandoned you?  I have.  I admit it, I even yelled at God for leaving me to face the torments of life alone!  Even saying something to the effect of, "YOU claim that You love me!  YOU said You would be with me always!  YOU claimed that You would never leave me or turn Your back on me!  Okay Big Boy.....WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?"

To my surprise, and annoyance, within my soul I heard God chuckle. Not in a mocking way, but the way my Grampa used to chuckle when I would tell him about my day.  It was the chuckle of infinite love.  

In THAT moment, my mind played the conversation: 

     God: "What's got you all riled up?"

     

     Me: "Can't YOU see all that I'm having to deal with?"

     God: "Yeah....I can see it.  I also can see how everything will play out.  I can also see how this will be helpful later on."

     Me: "Hang on!  If that's true, then WHY not skip to the 'helpful' part?"

     God: "Because you have to learn to trust Me through this so you can use this experience to help someone else later."

     Me: "On REALLY!  Who will I help with this chaos pulling my life apart now?"

     God: "First, let Me take care of the details.  Second, trust Me especially with the painful parts.  Third, remember that I love you.  Finally, stop trying to do MY job."

Here's what I learned through that absolute crushing period of life....God REALLY does know what He's doing.  Through the darkest and most painful parts of life, God's plan is working.  He's always, always, ALWAYS with us, loving us, caring for and about us, and, believe it or not, God is ALWAYS protecting us. 

Rescued!

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 34:17-18

We've seen people get rescued.  We see the effort that is put into rescuing a puppy from a dogfighting ring.  We see what it takes for the Coast Guard to search for and rescue someone at sea.  We see the undertaking of Firefighters rescuing people from a fire.  And it gives us a good feeling that rescues are happening.  

 

What is one thing you never see when someone gets rescued?  You never hear the person to be rescued say "You only brought a single helicopter?" or "Why can't that pretty blonde from the Firefighter Calendar be the one to rescue me?"  Why don't we hear such things?  Because, when we need rescuing, we just want to be saved from the peril and we aren't picky about who does the rescuing!

 

Now, think about this: When we cry out to God to rescue us....don't we put conditions on Him?  "I want You to rescue me, but I want it to be done like this and here's when I want it and here's who I want to handle things on this end."  In short, we want God to rescue us the way WE want!  We want to put conditions on God, as if we're doing Him some kind of favor for allowing Him to rescue us.

 

Here's a principle:  "When God rescues us, He also teaches us!"  This means God's plan for our rescue will probably not be what WE had in mind.  It might even be a painful learning experience.  He might use people we don't like, who might *gasp* hold us accountable and have expectations that we should actually DO something to keep this situation from happening again.  

 

There's a story I heard back when carved tablets were the hottest form of communication:

 

"A man built a strong, sturdy house.  Rains came and the river flooded.  The man prayed for God to save him.  The flood waters rose, the man moved upstairs and prayed for God to save him.  The flood waters rose more, the man moved to the roof and prayed for God to save him.

 

After a while, a man in a boat came by and asked if he could be of help. The homeowner said, 'NO, I have prayed and God will save me.'  Later, a helicopter came and the rescue crew asked if they could help. The homeowner said, 'NO, I have prayed and God will save me.'

 

The flood waters rose and the man drowned.  When he stood before God's throne, he shook his fist at God and yelled, 'I prayed that You would save me!  And You DIDN'T!'  God said to the man, 'I sent a boat.  I sent a helicopter with a crew.  What MORE did you want?'"

 

God uses weird ways to rescue us in weird ways.  God uses weird people to teach us in weird ways.  When we pray for rescue, remember that God has THE plan....not us."

 

 

"You're Right, But I'm Not Listening"

Listen to advice and accept correction,
    and in the end you will be wise.

Proverbs 19:20

Have you ever had someone tell you that you're counsel was correct and then kept to their "comfort zone" because actually implementing the counsel would create a conflict?  Or you try to help someone stop being a doormat, yet they choose to remain a doormat?

 

Why is that?  Why do we seem to insist that wisdom is irrelevant?  Why to we lie and say "I agree" knowing that everything will remain the same?  Why do we claim to respect wisdom yet refuse to heed it?

 

Because we are a stubborn bunch.  Because we don't like conflict.  Because it's easier to live miserably and just roll on being used than it is to change for the better.

 

Here's an analogy that was used on me: 

 "If you break your leg, you have a choice to make: go to the doctor and have it set or ignore it and hope it will heal on its own.  If you choose to ignore it, you could get gangrene which you will have to either go to the hospital or die.  If you choose to let the doctor set your leg, it's going to hurt, but it will heal properly.  You will have to endure some discomfort for a bit, but eventually you will be able to walk, run, dance and enjoy life.  It's YOUR choice!"

 

I've used this analogy several times when counseling others.  Some have listened and made some tough decisions.  Some have decided to hear but not listen, and are still miserable.

 

Remember when Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler what he must do to receive eternal life?  Jesus told him to make some tough decisions and changes, but the man refused and walked away miserable.

 

Consider today if there are some tough decisions that need to be made and are you willing to make them.  

It's Just STUFF!

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, 

and thieves do not break in and steal.  

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Matthew 6:19-21

 

Have you ever seen those tabloids that focus on the "rich, famous, and glamorous"? Have you even secretly wanted to have their life?  How about just their stuff?  

 

Take a look around you, how many people work hard for the sole purpose of stuff accumulation?  How many people just have to have the latest and greatest?  Do they ever seem content with anything? 

 

No, I'm not trying to fault anyone for working hard or for their getting new stuff.  But please remember, it's just stuff!  

 

When the Great Depression arrived in 1929, there were two groups of people: 

     Those who had a lot and lost everything.

     Those who had very little and lost very little.

 

Those who had very little knew how to survive on very little.  They learned to adapt, overcome, and share what little they had.

 

Those who had a lot and lost everything were devastated!  Several even committed suicide because they couldn't survive without all their stuff.  Many learned to scale back and survive though, but with a lot less stuff.

 

We focus so much on stuff that we crowd out the provisions that God gives us every single day.  Jesus reminds us that whatever it is that holds our focus and our desires reveals our hearts.  So.......stuff or God?  That must be proven by our actions and focus.