"I Just Want To Be HAPPY! Is That Asking Too Much?"

The Lord is my shepherd,
I lack nothing.
 He takes me to lush pastures,
He leads me to refreshing water.
 He restores my strength.
He leads me down the right paths
for the sake of his reputation.

Psalm 23:1-3

Every so often I remember the carefree days of childhood.  I never had to wonder whether there would be food, even if I was not (and AM not) a fan of vegetables.  I never had to worry about having clothes to wear.  Some would say such a childhood was a happy time.  You'd think that, but in reality I was not exactly a happy child, because I was prone to wonder and ask "Why?" so many times that I could see my parents' expressions twitch.

I thought this thing we call "happy" was a result of not having to be concerned about anything, and Abba has taken a LOT of time to remind me how mistaken I am.  You see, "Happy" is not a destination or goal which can be achieved and then lost again.  If you win an award, there is great excitement and hoopla, yet over time that excitement and hoopla dissipate. "Happy" is not like that.

Permit me, if you will, to offer some insights which Abba has shown me over and over in His patience:

1. Happy is not a feeling!  Happy is a decision. The Apostle Paul called it "content.'

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:11-13

2. If you aren't experiencing "happy" ask yourself why.  Are you listening to the Deceiver whispering into your mind telling what a horrible person you are and all those mistakes you have ever done in your entire life?  Do you know how to overwrite the whispers of the Deceiver? Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  To overwrite the negativity from the Deceiver, fill your heart and mind with prayers of praise to Abba, sing to Him, thank Him for loving you, and here's the most important part of the verse "IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES".  Write your prayers, thoughts, songs, write your heart and soul, so that when the Deceiver comes again (and he will) you can read your contentment and joy which irritates him.

3. If you truly want to be happy and content, change your perspective.  Don't look at your circumstances, rather give your circumstances to Abba KNOWING He will provide what His precious children need. 

"The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need." - Psalm 23:1

You see, Happiness and Contentment really are available and it's free!  Think About That!

Why Are We So Bent On Being Angry?

"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure."

James 4:1-3

 This is NOT a political commentary, just my weird mind sharing some information.  Have you noticed how we seem to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy being angry?  We don't like what someone said or did so we get angry and yell, rant, rage, and generally cause a lot of noise.  

Why are we so angry so much of the time?  You'd think we had forgotten that we only have a few trips around the Sun on this rock and we'd try harder to make them actually rather pleasant.  Yet, for some reason, it seems as if humans aren't happy unless we are unhappy and making a bunch of other humans unhappy.  "Misery loves company" as the saying goes.

Let's look at today's passage and chisel out a few nuggets, shall we? 

First, we fight, quarrel and argue because of our own desires!  Let's face it, if our truest desires were as pure and altruistic as we want others to believe, we're lying to everyone (including ourselves) and falsely believing that God's okay with it.  But if we were to, say, take our focus OFF of our own desires and work for the betterment of others...(if I may quote Louis Armstrong) "What a wonderful world this would be."

Second, when we can't get what we want...what do we do? We try to figure out how to get what we want.  We want a bigger house or new clothes or new car and we don't have the money so...."God will understand if I cut back on my giving for a bit. After all, He's got all the riches of the universe at His disposal."  Let's face it, humans are selfish!

Third, we ask Abba for what we want, yet we don't get it because Abba has other plans for us, like helping a neighbor who is going through a tough time or has lost everything in a tragedy, or needs food.  Yes, I realize there are a LOT of organizations with their hands out wanting your "only $19 dollars each month."  I'm not saying we are to be tightwads, nor am I saying we should just through great wadges of cash at every hand that is stuck out.  We need to learn is the face Abba is not going to give us everything we want, yet He'll provide exactly what we NEED.  

Finally, today's passage isn't so much about arguing, plotting and scheming. It's a reminder that we need to get our heart right with Abba.  It's a reminder that we need to focus on HIM.   It's a reminder that we need to look beyond ourselves and see what opportunities Abba brings into our lives every single day.  When we focus on HIM, we will experience peace, contentment, caring, and the desire to do for others.

Think about it.

What Do You Do When You Can't Fix It?

I have a friend who had a massive stroke last year and now he has to use a walker and he cannot speak very well.  He reached out to me yesterday to let me know all this, and his question to me was "Why did God do this to me?"

Remember Humpty-Dumpty?  He found himself in a situation that he could not fix and neither could anyone else.  Have you ever found yourself in a situation you just couldn't fix?  Did you get mad at Abba and scream "WHY ARE YOU LETTING THIS HAPPEN TO ME"?  Did the screaming help?  

I found some notes I had taken from a sermon I heard many years ago.  Re-reading them, the sermon came back to me as if I were reliving the day.  It made such an impact re-reading them that I sensed Abba's nudge to share them.  

What should we do when we find ourselves in situations that we just can't fix?  Let's think about this for a moment...did your unfixable situation surprise Abba?  Nope. So our response should be to ask what He is doing in the situation and then act accordingly. 

In Matthew 6 there are three spiritual truths: There is a God; you are NOT Him; so deal with it.  Now there are also three things we can actually do:

1.When you can't fix it, worship.  "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value they they?" - Matthew 6:26

When we are facing pain, suffering and evil, we ask the same questions as everyone else.  Eventually we will ask what is it we TRULY believe.  Here's the truth, regardless of the circumstance: We believe that Abba is good and is good all the time.  You see, the deceiver wants us to get angry with Abba and focus on our situation, pain and suffering.  When Abba revealed Himself to us in Jesus, He didn't rule over us; He identifies with us.  Jesus was God suffering.  Jesus was God lonely. Jesus was God weeping beside open graves. Jesus was God dying.  Even though Abba doesn't always remove our pain and struggle, He always says, "I know, my child. I get it.  I feel it too." Focus your worship on Him!

2. When you can't fix it, wait. "And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single moment to the span of your life?" - Matthew 6:27

Here's a rule of thumb: If it is broken and YOU can't fix it, don't YOU even try to fix it.  Do you know why Abba allows us to be in situations we can't fix?  Because we will have to look to Him to either fix it Himself, send someone into our lives who can fix it, or remind us that "My grace is sufficient for you" as He reminded the Apostle Paul.  Talk to Him!

3. When you can't fix it, watch. "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." - Matthew 6:33

Abba IS at work and He can be trusted.  Think about this, there's a whole lot of what we face in our lives is WAY above our pay grade.  And Abba says, "Why don't you come along and watch? Let me show you, as we go along, so you can see my plan unfold before your eyes."

Follow Him!

Here's the truth of the matter: We can relax in the knowledge that Abba is at work and Abba has everything under control!

 

Just How Sweet Is Revenge?

"Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: 'I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.'"

Genesis 27:41

Have you ever wanted revenge because someone did you wrong?  Have you ever dreamed about getting revenge because of the pain someone has caused you by their words or deeds? When you are awake, you are daydreaming about the multiple ways you would punish them.  When you are asleep, you can't help but feel a twinge of glee as you imagine the pain and humiliation you want to inflict on them.  After all, they deserve it....don't they? Jacob had stolen Esau's birthright AND their father's blessing.  Esau was furious! Esau wanted to kill his brother!  Esau didn't want justice, he craved revenge!  

Aren't we like that? We aren't too interest in justice, we want revenge.  OH We'll call it "justice" but in reality we want revenge! And the Deceiver keeps dumping fuel on that fire with his whispering reminding us of the pain, hurt, and humiliation we suffered. 

Somewhere along the line of history, someone invented a symbol for revenge as two interlocking signs for infinity. Why?  Because the cycle of revenge seems to be unending!

Here's the worst part: We, who claim to embrace the love of Abba and pray "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us", are among those deceived by the Deceiver into believing it's okay for us to seek revenge.  What example are we setting for others?  What example are we setting for our children, spouse, friends, neighbors, people who know we claim to be Christians?  Do we truly love others as we are instructed to?  Do we forgive as we pray to be forgiven?

Let me make a couple of points:

     * First, we can only forgive to the degree that we have been forgiven.  Let that sink in for a minute!  We ask Abba for forgive us, and He does, but are we willing to forgive others in that same loving and restorative way?

     * Second, We can only love to the degree that we have been loved.  Again, let that sink in. Abba loves us so much that He sent His Son to pay our debt.  Are we willing to even pray for those who hurt us?

In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus instructs us: "You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Jesus is telling us that WE are to be the example to others!  

So let's begin with this: "Abba, You have taught us, and teach us, that we are to be your ambassadors to the earth. Forgive us for failing You with our lack of love.  We fail to love because we fail to rely on You to fill us with Your love.  We think we know better than You.  Return us to You. Teach us how to love. Teach us how to forgive. Teach us to rely on You. Let everyone who sees us see only You."

 

Perspectives Change

Imagine you're a Roman centurion.  You've fought in lots of campaigns for the glory of Rome. You've had to kill, capture, or maim countless people in these conquests.  You are tougher than tough. You have seared your feelings against feeling pity for anyone. You have battle scars to prove your toughness.  And here you are at the foot of three crucified "enemies of the state."  You have no sympathy or pity on these three. After all, they got what they deserved and your orders are to make sure they are dead by sundown.  While you wait, you do the same thing you have done countless times before and gamble for the possessions of the condemned.  Today, the only possessions are a few bits of clothing.  But it's still part of your habit.

You hear the guy in the middle cry out asking why his father had abandoned him, and you smugly chuckle at the misery.  And you truly wish they were hurry up and die already because you're hungry and want to spend time drinking, but duty first.  Finally, the guy in the middle lets out another shout and dies.  "One down, two to go" you think to yourself.  And then....

• The curtain in the Temple is torn from top to bottom as if it were paper.  You know from seeing the curtain that it is 30 ft long, 30 ft wide, 30 ft high and 4 inches thick.  What could possibly tear such a curtain?
• Then the earth begins to shake.
• Rocks begin to split apart.
• The tombs in the cemetery open up.
• The bodies of the godly men and women who had died are raised from the dead.

Your mind can hardly grasp all of that is happening.  Nothing in all your experience in battle and conquest could compare with all of this.  Then it hits you! There is only ONE answer:

"The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, 'This man truly was the Son of God!'" - Matthew 27:54

Abba has a way of changing our perspective in very powerful ways!