It's All In How You Look At It

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

John 10:28-30 

 

This has been a rough week.  Ever had one of those?  One of those weeks where you just can't seem to get anything right?  When these times come around, I have the tendency to come down hard on myself.  I will doubt myself. I will berate myself. I will also tend to not like myself.

 

But it is in these times that God will allow me a short pity party and then He will remind me to change my perspective. He will remind me that I am His and nothing....absolutely NOTHING can change that.  He will remind me that Christ came to this earth, giving up everything He had in Heaven, just so He could love me, understand me and save me.  I will be reminded that my Abba holds me in His hand and protects me and loves me.  I will be reminded that there is NOTHING that can ever separate us from the love of Christ. 

 

He will remind me that the negativity is from the Pit Dweller and to let it go.  He will remind me that the Pit Dweller has no power over me because Christ died for me.  He will remind me that as a child of the King of Kings, I should hold my head up and remember just whose I am.  And when I look at my life from that perspective...I'm not drenched, I feel the rain and welcome it!

Weighed Words

Worry weighs a person down;
    an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Proverbs 12:25 

 

How does it feel when someone discourages you?  You hear the harsh words, the harsh tone of voice and your heart sinks.  The words weigh you down.  Discouragement is HEAVY!  Is it demoralizing.  It is awful.  So why do we do it to each other?  

 

I visited a church several years ago where the pastor seemed to only preach gloom, doom, and guilt.  I visited 5 times hoping he would preach something positive, but each of the 5 times I visited, I left feeling as though I had been chewed out.  I came for encouragement but instead was pounded with discouragement. On my last visit I asked the pastor why he only preached such harsh sermons, his response was "I tell people what they need to hear."  I thanked him and never returned.

 

When you talk to people, do you encourage or discourage?  Are you a positive or negative person?  Do you talk with people in the same way you would want others to talk with you?  When you deal with others are you one of those people who only have discouraging things to say? 

 

Being encouraging takes a conscious effort!  Yet when we encourage someone, we build them up.  When we build them up, that reflects positively on us.  Thus, encouragement is a win-win situation.  Try it! 

Mobility

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

1 Corinthians 13:4 

 

Have you ever thought you could do a better job that those above you?  I have.  Not only that, but I was put in a position where I had the responsibility of supervising a team of 15.  Let me tell you, it was nowhere close to being as easy as it appeared.  It was extremely stressful and frustrating.  Yet we all want to move up in our jobs.  Many want to have higher titles at church, so people will respect us.  We seem to be all about the "pecking order."

 

Yet look at what Paul is telling us about love.  It is NOT jealous and it is NOT bragging and it is NOT pompous!  Paul, who had the pedigree of pedigrees, reminds us that position in this world is fleeting and should not be a source of pride!  As a matter of fact, Paul reminds us that we are to "Regard others as more important than ourselves" (Philippians 2:3).  Why would we ever do that?  Because of the example of Christ who gave up His throne to be born in a stinky stable.  Because of the example of Christ who gave of the adoration given Him by the angels so he could be rejected on Earth and killed as a criminal.  Because of the example of Christ who put on a servant's towel and washed the feet of the Disciples.  Because of the example of Christ when He said, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last" (Matthew 20:16).

 

What is so important about pushing to get ahead if that is your only focus?

We Are Rescues!

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

1 Corinthians 1:13-14 

 

I like rescues.  Matter of fact, I have found that rescue pets are the most loyal, loving, and grateful companions.  Rescues, I'm convinced, know where there life was going and are so happy that they were saved from that fate that they bond themselves with their rescuer.

 

Now, I am also convinced that God uses ALL of His creations to get His message to us.  We are not pets, but consider the parallels.  Our lives were headed in the wrong direction and the outcome was not going to be pleasant.  Then God rescued us!  Through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, we were saved from that dreadful fate and we were adopted as children of the King of Kings, Creator of Everything!  Did you see that?  WE are HIS children now!

 

Shouldn't we be grateful, loving, loyal, and happy? Take just a moment to thank God for rescuing you and adopting you. 

Qua-nah

Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

Proverbs 27:4 

 

It's seductive.  The way you look at someone else's life and secretly wish it was your life or you secretly wish their life would suddenly take a nosedive.  The daydreams of being able to see their wonderful life with you in the scene instead of them.  The desire that grows to HAVE that life or their things...like most seductions, it starts out small.  A passing thought. A sight. And it builds into full blown jealousy.

 

The Jewish word for Jealousy is Qua-nah which means "to be intensely red."  Have you seen someone who was so jealous that they were actually red-faced angry?  I have.  It's not pretty.  And people don't tend to enjoy being around such people, which feeds into the intensity of the jealousy.

 

Did you know that God will withhold what we desire in order to give us what we need?  This is why I am not a follower of the "Name It And Claim It" crowd.  God will withhold that new house in order to give you the ability to provide for your family.  Yet we look at the THINGS other people have and we become fixated on that and want it to the point of craving.  Guess what?  Jealousy is actually our being angry with God for not giving us the things we want. Sound like the actions of a spoiled child? Yep!

 

But here's the best remedy for jealousy....focus on the love that God has for you in providing what you NEED!  Love drives our jealousy!  God's love destroys jealousy!

How Contagious Are You?

I want you to show love,
    not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me
    more than I want burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6 

 

Kindness really IS contagious!  Think for a moment how contagious are you?  Do you exude kindness?  Look carefully at today's verse.  God is telling us that He wants our relationship, not our "holy acts."  Let's face is, how easy is it to make offerings yet still ignore that person who may be shy?  How easy is it to drop a few bucks in the plate once in a while, yet still not give a second thought to the grumpy coworker who might just need someone to listen?

 

You see, relationships take time and effort.  They tend to start slowly and increase in depth over time.  But how good are we at building relationships?  Especially with people we might not consider "worthy" of our time and effort.  What if God took the attitude that He would only want relationships with those He deemed "worthy" of His time and effort?

 

But God is LOVE!  And kindness is a result of love!  Since God wants to have relationships with us, who are we to judge others as to their worthiness for a relationship with us?

World's Strongest

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who is 6'9" and weighs in right at 400 pounds. At 29 years old, he is the World's Strongest Man.  The feats of strength he performed to gain this auspicious title are mind boggling!  If you have ever seen the Game of Thrones, he played the part of "Mountain."  This is quite an intimidating individual and enormously strong, and yet.....

When Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Jesus was talking to Hafþór as much as He was talking to you and me.  The burdens we ALL carry are not the burdens which can be seen, save only by those who truly know us.

Think of the burdens we tend to carry: 
"Oh no, the refrigerator broke, how are we going to afford a new one and what about all the food that will spoil." 

"Why do these people want to yell at me for something I have no control over?"

"My child is in the hospital and is so sick the doctors are stumped."

"I just can't seem to understand what the professor is talking about and if I fail this test, I lose my scholarship."

"I've worked hard all my life and now I am tired, but don't have enough money to retire."

There are millions of similar burdens we carry within us and they will build up and build up until we implode into full blown depression. Each one is a distraction, taking our attention off the One who offers to carry our burdens for us.  Let me ask you, How many burdens do you think Jesus is carrying?  And yet He reminds us that He wants to carry ALL of our burdens.

Jesus carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carried them all the way to the cross and laid them all down at the Throne of God having washed them in His blood.  How often do we Thank Him for that?  How often are we mule-headed and tell Jesus "I've got this" only to waste so much time and energy in worry and inner turmoil? How do we get rest from our burdens? By taking Jesus at His word and let Him deal with them.

Think about it.