Don't Be Deceived!

The Deceiver seems to know how to overwhelm us, doesn't he? He knows when we are emotionally exhausted; mentally drained; spiritually desolate and he just keeps throwing more at us.

Every time we give in to temptation, the Deceiver is right there in your ear whispering "Look what you did! How can God possibly love you?"

Every time we KNOW what is the right thing to do and have been reminded by someone who loves you, but reject having to do it because it's too difficult, the Deceiver is right there whispering, "You pushed away the one person who would support you no matter what! God can't love you! And now you don't have anyone to lean on."

Every time we make a say something hurtful, do something hateful, act out of fear, the Deceiver is right there to tell you "God doesn't want ANYTHING to do with you! You are weak and a waste of breath. And now, you are mine!"

Do you know the despair?

Believe it or not, God does! "But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Did you see that? Christ, the ONLY Son of God, died for us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS! No matter what you have done or not done, God still loves you enough to let Jesus die FOR YOU! Life is tough! Decisions are DIFFICULT sometimes. But God loves you and wants a relationship with you!

Is Vengeance and Revenge Really Worth It?

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”
    says the Lord.

Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 12:17-21

"Oh you're going to PAY for that one!" 

"I'm going to see to it that you regret this for the rest of your life!"

We see it every single day. We want revenge!  We want vengeance! If someone hurts us or someone we care about, we want them to pay and pay dearly!  That's our human nature. We aren't about to let any slight pass. 

Remember Jesus' teachings? He taught that we need to go against our human nature.  He taught that we need to LOVE and FORGIVE just as we want to be loved and forgiven. Does that mean the one who hurt us will get away without having to pay?  Do YOU want to have to pay when you hurt someone? 

Yes, it is EXTREMELY difficult in the heat of the moment to show love, kindness, and forgiveness.  Paul stresses that we should not let our evil nature be in control! We are to conquer our evil nature by doing good, especially to the person who hurt us.  It takes a LOT of prayer, practice and patience, but following God's instructions will help us keep our eyes on Him!

Are We Losing Focus?

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose

Romans 8:28

Let me be clear, I am NOT here to talk about politics, I'm here to talk only about our focus. 

Have you ever looked at the world and wonder if God has stepped away for a bit to take care of some other business? If we watch the news, we may become fearful or discouraged. Maybe even angry. 

But let's think about a couple of things:

First, God takes everything into account and makes it work for good.  Not just some things, ALL THINGS!  "But what about.....?"  God's Word say ALL THINGS, no exceptions!  God makes all things work together for good.

Second, God makes all things work for good.  Who's good?  OUR good!  I remember the day I was told my Grampa died.  I was devastated!  I couldn't imagine a world without him in it.  But God worked that for my good through the memories I have of him.  The wisdom he shared with me has become part of me.  While Grampa was alive, he would share his wisdom and I would listen but that was the extent of it.  Now, it is ingrained in me.

You see, if we look at the world, we lose focus.  When we look to God, we KNOW beyond any doubt, this He is in control and He has not gone away on vacation, but is working ALL THINGS together for OUR good because we love Him and are called according to HIS purpose. We may not like His process, but the results He brings are phenomenal!

Consider that.

By The Same Standard...

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

Matthew 7:1-2

There I was, sitting in church, feeling pretty good about myself, when the pastor said something that smacked me sideways. He said, "God will judge us by the standards we set for others!"  Talk about a punch to the gut!  I could not stop thinking about that one statement.  The standards and expectations I have for others will be the same used by God to judge me.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize how judgemental I had become.  Why didn't that shortstop go for the double play is he an idiot? That was before I played baseball and realized the difference of watching from the comfort of my sofa and passing judgement and actually being on the field having to make split second decisions.

Don't get me wrong, we need to have standards and expectations, but they must be the same that WE meet consistently.  Have I ever murdered anyone? According to social standards, I have not.  But according to God's standards, I have. I have been so angry at others that, according to Jesus' teaching, constituted murder.

We need to be very careful before passing judgement.  First, make sure the standard by which you judge someone else is the standard YOU meet.  Second, put yourself in the place of the person you are judging (If I were in their shoes in that moment, would I have acted differently?).

Let's face it, God is God and He is the judge.  I am not, and had better not think myself a judge. The moment I begin to judge others, I am guilty of trying to assume the Throne of Grace.

Bitterness to Betterness

You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Matthew 5:46-47

Believe it or not, I am not a nice person.  I am prone to anger, resentment, and even bitterness toward those who have hurt me or someone I care about.  I am learning to let these feelings go, but I still have moments.  Don't we all?

When we hold grudges, when we hold on to our anger, when we hold on to our resentment, we are giving a home to the roots of bitterness!  Believe it or not, I have seen people who are so filled with bitterness that they can't stand anyone.  It shows on their faces, in their voices, in their actions!  When bitterness sets down roots, they are extremely difficult to pull up.  And we, as humans, aren't too keen on doing the hard work of getting rid of such roots. 

Have you noticed that Jesus' teachings always seem to go against our "natural" responses?  Someone hurts me, I get ticked off and want to hurt them worse, then the back and forth begins each trying to inflict more hurt on the other.  Where does it stop?  When we are on our deathbed and realize that we have wasted so much of our short time on this earth being miserable?

Something I have prayed for, a LOT, is that God would soften my heart and make me His ambassador.  You know what that looks like? Learning to smile at people that I don't even know, saying "Hi", holding a door open for them, helping them in some way.  Most people who know me know that I almost always keep candy or cough drops in my pockets to give out when I get a chance.  And you know what?  More times than not, when you smile and greet someone, they may initially be stunned, but they will smile and greet you as well.

If I just smile and say "Hi" to only the people I know (and like) what difference does that make?  Jesus calls us to love others just as much as we love ourselves.  Notice He says "Others" instead of "people you like".  Wonder what kind of world we could have if we actually cared about others as much as we care about ourselves?

How Good of an Encourager Are YOU?

Go ahead and admit it, it's nice to be told you're doing a good job. It certainly beats having teethmarks on the back pockets.

Here's a verse we hear at funerals, but I would like to look at it from a different perspective:"The master answered, ‘You did well. You are good and loyal. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’" - Matthew25:21

When someone does a good job, do you let them know? Let's say you dine at a restaurant and have good service. Do you tip a couple of dollars or do you make sure the server knows they have done a good job?

Let's take a different approach...you come up to a building with your hands full and the person ahead of you not only holds the door open, but helps you with your burden. How do you respond? Do you ignore the act as it is owed to you? Do you punch them in the face for interfering with your predicament or are you grateful for their kindness?

If we pay close attention, we will find that almost all of Jesus' teachings revolve around three things:

1. Loving God First! Because, let's face it, God is God and we are not. (Matthew 22:37)
2. Love others as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:39)
3. Because you love God and others, treat others in the same way you want to be treated. (Matthew 7:12)

Scripture reminds us to be encouragers. We get hammered with negativity regularly...but encouragement? Understand, I am not trying to say correction should not given where correction is due. Not at all! But give correction in proportion to the issue that requires correction and give encouragement in proportion to the need for encouragement.

If you want to be encouraged, then encourage!

There's ALWAYS Something

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

Consider this, when our heart is grateful, it becomes like a magnet collecting more and more reasons to be grateful!  More and more reasons to say, "Thank You Abba."

Did you know we inhale and exhale, on average, around 11,000 liters of air every single day?  How's that for a reason to be grateful?  How about the peanut butter that goes so well with the jelly that makes such a tasty sandwich?  How about the cow who gave her milk so you can pour it in your coffee, on your cereal, or in your glass to dip your Oreos in?  What about that bad pun that makes you chuckle? 

Guess what an attitude of gratitude does?  It burns of anxiety like the Sun burns off the mist.  True gratitude pushes us to focus on God instead of ourselves!

Abba,

Teach us to be truly grateful.  Show us what You have freely given us to be grateful for.  Remind us of all You have given us when we take our eyes off of You.

We NEED AOG!

Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together to be united as one body to have peace. Always be thankful!

Colossians 3:15

There is a question I hear quite often, especially of late: "What do I have to be grateful for?"  Have you ever said that?  Perhaps not out loud, but I'll wager every one of us has, at one time or another, had that same question in mind.

I challenged you to spend the next 30 days learning to be grateful.  How's that going?  It's fairly to list the things for which we are grateful when they are the usual things like "I'm grateful for my family" or "I'm grateful that we have food to eat."  But once we run through those, what are you grateful for?  Because it's those things we struggle to think of for which we should be truly grateful.

Try some of these on for size:

     1.  I'm grateful for that co-worker who talks to me so much I get a headache, because they need to share and God put me in the listening line.

     2. I'm grateful for that neighbor who is SO loud and plays their music so loud I can tell when they are exiting the interstate to come home, because that means I can hear.

     3.  I'm grateful for people who challenge my beliefs because it forces me to re-think and prove to myself why I truly believe what I believe.

     4.  I am grateful for that person who keeps stealing my lunch because God is using me to give them something to eat that they may not have to bring from home.

     5. Here's one that's I've been struggling with for many years: I'm grateful for that driver in front of me who seems to not understand what the gas pedal is for, because God is using this to slow me down and give me time to think.  Instead of getting upset, I should use this time to pray or sing praises to God.

     6. I am grateful for that person in church who sings very loudly and off key, because they draw my attention to the words of the song even more and the meaning becomes more clear.

How about it?  What kind or weird things can help us develop a TRUE A.O.G. (Attitude Of Gratitude).

Noticing the Unnoticed

"The good deeds of some people are obvious, the good deeds done in secret will come to light."

1 Timothy 5:25

Have you ever known someone who did some good deed and made a big production about it to draw attention to themselves?  Don't get me wrong, good deeds are definitely needed, the issue comes from the intention.  Was the intention to do this admirable thing in order to garner attention?  God knows our hearts and knows out intentions.

I used to be irritated by the attention seekers who do things for show, and God has had to remind me (again and again) that HE sees our deeds and will reward us in HIS time. And here's the best part, God is the only one who's opinion matters.

Perhaps It Would Be Wise...

 But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

Acts 5:34

Peter and the Disciples had been teaching at the Temple after being ordered not to do so.  The Temple Guards arrested them and brought them before the High Council to answer for their crime.  In fact, when the High Council heard what they were teaching, the were FURIOUS!  They were SO furious, that they wanted to kill the Disciples right then and there.  Except for one member...a man named Gamaliel (you might remember that he was the teacher of Paul). 

I find it interesting that the writer of Acts makes a point to state that Gamaliel stood up.  You see, because he was revered by the members of the High Council, when he stood, they honored him with their respectful silence.  Gamaliel ordered the Disciples to be taken out of the chamber so he could address the Council.

He addressed the Council with these words, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!"  You see, the people were listening to what the Disciples were teaching.  The people LIKED what they were teaching.  If the Council Members killed the Disciples, the people would have revolted and torn the Council Members to pieces.  So Gamaliel urged them to think the matter through.  In fact, he stated in verse 38, that if these Disciples were acting on their own, then they will prove themselves false and will be overthrown. 

Wise counsel....let them seal their own fate.  Yet Gamaliel goes even further in verse 39: "But if [their message] is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”  I, for one, have no desire to try to fight against God.

Temporary Or Permanent?

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

2 Corinthians 4:17

In 2005, I had to have quadruple bypass surgery.  I don't remember much after I counted back from 10...the anesthesia worked very quickly and I think I made it to 7 before everything went black.  When I woke up in recovery, I was in more pain that I had ever been in my life!  It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, it hurt to blink, it hurt to think, and my chest from my throat to my navel felt like I was on fire.  When the nurses realized I was awake, they started asking me questions and I didn't want to talk.  The pain was horrible for the entire 3 months of recovery.  And even now, my sternum hurts when I take a deep breath or it's cold and damp.

Even though this pain will be with me for the rest of my life, I know that when I stand before the Throne of God, there will be no more pain, no more tears, only basking in the Glory of God!

We all have pain in our lives.  Perhaps you are dealing with a painful illness, maybe it is the pain of depression or loss, it could be the gnawing emptiness of loneliness.  Our pain on this earth is temporary.  It will only last for a while.  But the Glory of God will last forever!  And THAT is a party I can't wait to attend!!!

Consistently Constant

Do you like consistency?  Being a creature of routine, I thoroughly enjoy consistency...for the most part.  When my world is consistently good, I smile, laugh, and enjoy life.  When my world becomes consistently bad, as it does at times, the smile disappears into a grimace, my laughter becomes jaded, and I'm not thrilled with life.

Let me give you a simple example: In my office area we have a copier.  It's a wonderful device that staples, punches holes, prints in color, scans and emails documents and is fairly quick.  When it's working properly, I am a happy guy getting all manner of tasks completed.  When it decides to do its own thing, my happiness turns to thoughts of vile means of destroying this traitorous menace.

Let me ask a question: When Life is going great, are we praising God for the wonderful life?  What about when life isn't going so great, are we blaming God for being fickle?  God is consistent!  He does NOT change.  He is ALWAYS good.  And when He does something that is good for us, we may not like it, but God is still good. 

God allows us to be tested by the enemy, but He does NOT let the enemy win.  Our testing is to shape us and strengthen us.  Therefore, I challenge you to praise God every single day for the next 30 days, regardless what's happening.  Praise Him and thank Him for being consistently good and loving. 

Are you in?

Who's Responsible?

"It is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law."

James 2:8-9

With the chaos of the protests this week, I have heard many different comments about how such events could have been prevented and how we can prevent them from happening again.  After pondering this, I have come to realize that the issue actually began with Cain and Able.  Cain thought of Able as being of lesser value and, as a result, killed him then tried to go on with his life as if Able didn't exist.  Until God asked Cain, "Where's your brother?  Have you seen him?"

Throughout history, this same scenario has played out again and again. One group of people think they are better than everyone else and, therefore, subjugate others as "lesser."  Thus, without going through the history of prejudice, I would like to BEGIN with who is responsible for changing the way we see each other. 

Are you sitting down?  The ones responsible for changing our society is.....each of us!  We can claim that we "love our neighbor as ourselves" but, in reality, if we show favoritism toward anyone, then we are trampling God's Law into the dirt and throwing it back in God's face.

Think about this, if God had wanted one particular group to rule everything, He would have only created that particular group!  Instead, He was creative and created us like a beautiful mosaic.  Wouldn't it be boring to have everyone look alike, act alike, sound alike...?

So if each of us is responsible, how do we go about changing our society?  Romans 12:18 is where Paul gives us the answer:  "As far as it depends on YOU, live peaceably with everyone!"  Did you see that?  Paul reminds us that WE are the ones to make every effort to live in peace with everyone!  In order to do that, we have to regard every person as God's Precious Child!

Holy Abba,

You have reminded us that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and we need Your help to accomplish this.  Remind us that every single person we meet is Your Precious Child, loved completely by the Creator of All.  Any injury, any injustice, any hurt done to Your Child puts us as odds with YOU.  Forgive us for our failures to live and love peaceably.  Strengthen our love for You and in so doing, strengthen our love for our fellow sojourners.

Descending Into Chaos?

2020 started off with COVID-19 and all of the fears, quarantines, social distancing, economic impact, and we thought it couldn't possibly get worse.  Then came the reprehensible act of law enforcement officers who took the life of one of God's children, not because they had to do it, they chose to do it.  This has been followed with violence, chaos, looting, and destruction by some.

Please don't get me wrong, peaceful protests are something I am all in favor of.  But when a few seek to use that opportunity to turn things violent...

What do we do when our society seems to be descending into chaos?  First, pray.  Unload all your fears, concerns, frustrations, anger on God's heart.  Tell Him everything that is on your mind and heard.  Hold NOTHING back.  Second, pray! Pray for the safety of those dealing with the chaos.  Pray for those whose livelihoods are in jeopardy because of the situations.  Third, Pray!  Pray for those who stand up to protect our society by facing those who would do harm.  Pray for their families. Pray for their strength, that they may have peace, that they will have encouragers who will come alongside them.  Finally, PRAY!!! Pray that God will cleanse us of hatred. Pray that God will fill US with encouragement we can infuse into others. Pray that God will fill us with His love to the point we can see others as His Children. Pray that God will fill us with so much of Himself that we become His peace keepers, peace sharers, and peaceful.

In times when we feel we are descending into chaos...PRAY!