To Be Honest With You

The sanctified body is one whose hands are clean. The stain of dishonesty is not on them, the withering blight of ill-gotten gain has not blistered them, the mark of violence is not found upon them. They have been separated from every occupation that could displease God or injure a fellow-man.  A.B. Simpson

I looked up the word honesty in the dictionary and one of the definitions it gave me is “freedom from deceit or fraud. 

One of the interesting phrases we often use and I have used it in the past is “I’ll be honest with you.” Do you ever say things and not really think about their meaning?  Has someone ever asked you to do something or asked you a question and you prefaced your response with “I’ll be honest with you.”  As opposed to what?  “I’ll be dishonest with you.” Does this statement mean if you don’t preface your statement with it that you will be dishonest in all your dealings. To use them becomes a habit so we spout them without thinking what our language is telling another person about us or if it even makes sense.

Why do we find it so hard to be honest with others?  Fear.  We are afraid of what the other person will think of us if we are honest with them.  As readers of my blog, I have told each of you more about myself than even my own family knows or I should say knew, since most of them read my blog too.  I have shared my fears with you, my shame, my insecurities and my sorrow.  If I can’t describe to you honestly who I really am then the devotionals I write are meaningless.

 

The interesting thing is God already knows my fears, shame, insecurities and sorrows.  He knows all my secrets and yet He loves me anyway.  When we are able to understand that we have an all knowing God who loves us it gives us the freedom to let the rest go and be honest in everything we do. 

Freedom is what we get when we let go of our fear of what others think and focus on what God thinks.  We are free to be the person God wants us to be. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have not always been honest in my dealings with others because I was afraid.  I was afraid they wouldn’t love me anymore.  When I focused my energy on being honest it freed me to understand others failings and to love them anyway.  The power of Your love set me free.  Free to be honest, free to love and free to be me. 

Scripture: “If I have walked with falsehood, or if my foot has hastened to deceit, let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity.  If my step has turned from the way, or my heart walked after my eyes, or if any spot adheres to my hands, then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.  Job 31:5-8

Fault Line

Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is a still greater evil to be full of them and to be unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion.  Blaise Pascal

Fault: a defect or imperfection; flaw; failing: responsibility for failure or a wrongful act: an error or mistake: a misdeed or transgression.

We are human and every one of us has fault lines. We also have different degrees of fault lines.  If I apply this to sin in my life, I find that I will have fault lines that cause tremors and then there are the full blown earthquake causing fault lines.  

If all of us know we have these fault lines why do we so often ignore them and pretend they don’t exist? 

In Romans 5:12 the Bible tells us “ Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. This verse doesn’t say some of us sinned or a few of us sinned.  It says “because all sinned”.  When Adam sinned death spread to all of us. 

I think one problem with our fault lines is we look at our own sin as minor and someone else’s sin and major.  When we finally figure out that our sin is equal to another person’s sin; that is when we start looking at other sinner’s differently.  We stop elevating ourselves above the other person because our perception of our sin is skewed.  We start to see the other person in a different light.  They are just like us.  Sinful.  When we look at each other that way we can then be empathetic to their plight because they are no different than we are.

It doesn’t matter whether your fault line is tremor or earthquake size; we will see others as equals if we understand their need for a Savior is as great as our own. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for Jesus Christ Your Son.  He came to this earth for one purpose and He fulfilled that purpose.  He died so that I might live.  Help me to look at other sinners as equals in need of a Savior.  Remind me of my own fault lines so that I don’t judge or compare my sin to theirs.  We are all equal in Your eyes.  You love each of us as if we were the only one. 

Scripture: Bear and Share the Burdens

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. Galatians 6:1-5

How Will You Be Remembered?

The Lord is not compelled to use theologians. He can take snakes, sticks or anything else, and use them for the advancement of his cause.  Billy Sunday

“You can never give up because quitting is not an option. No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight.” ~ Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009)

I am a big music lover and I love listening to music in my car.  I have plenty of drive time every morning so it is great to be able to turn on the music, (with no commercials), and sing and listen. 

I like all different types of music and sometimes I will go out to iTunes and randomly select songs.  It allows you to hear the music before you buy.  So this weekend I went to iTunes and found a song from 2009 that I had never heard before.  What drew me in was the music because there was a saxophone playing in the background.  I ended up buying the song but what I loved about this particular song was that it was a farewell song from Toby Keith (a country artist), to Wayman Tisdale (a jazz musician). 

I admit I didn’t know who Wayman Tisdale was until I heard this song.  I wanted to know what it was about this man that made a country music singer write a farewell song to him. 

Wayman Tisdale never liked basketball growing up.  His brother’s played in the yard but he didn’t care for the sport.  He was 6’9” with a smile that could light up a room.  When he learned how to dunk the ball, he went on to become a three time All-American at Oklahoma, an Olympic gold medalist and a 12-year NBA veteran. 

His first love was his wife of 27 years, Regina, and his second was music.  He never took a lesson and didn’t know the key his songs were in but he loved to play bass guitar at his father’s church.  He recorded eight jazz albums after his NBA career was over. 

In 2007 he fell in his home and broke his leg.  During that time doctor’s found cancer in his leg and when chemotherapy didn’t help his leg was amputated. 

In an article by Anna K. Clemmons, she wrote about what made Wayman Tisdale an unforgettable person.

"He loves people and meets no strangers," Weldon says of his younger brother. "He's one of those guys you think wouldn't be touchable, but he's extremely touchable. Even as my brother, I can say that. He didn't allow the accolades or the notoriety to cause him to become egotistical. My father and mother helped to keep him grounded in who he was, where he came from, and now, who he continues to be."

The best evidence? His smile. "I've been blessed with this great gift, but I think it's not music or basketball," Tisdale says. "My greatest gift is to make other people feel better. What better tool than to have gone through something like this? If you see me smile, you see the genuine love. That's me."

One day in 2009 at the age of 44, his wife Regina took him to an Oklahoma hospital because he had trouble breathing and he died later that day.

As I read the articles about this remarkable man, I thought about the words of Toby Keith’s farewell song Cryin’ for Me. 

Got the news on Friday morning but a tear I couldn't find
You showed me how I am supposed to live
Now you showed me how to die
I was lost 'til Sunday morning, I woke up to face my fear
While writing you this goodbye song I found a tear

I'm gonna miss that smile, I'm gonna miss you my friend
Even though it hurts the way it ended up, I'd do it all again
So play it sweet in heaven 'cause that's right where you wanna be
I'm not cryin' 'cause I feel so sorry for you, I am cryin' for me.

How do you want to be remembered after you are gone?  Will people say you were kind and generous or that you spread joy wherever you went?  I pray that one day when I am gone that people will say that I exhibited the fruits of the Spirit to others.  I still have a long way to go but I want to leave a legacy of love so that others can see God through me.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, as I read this story of someone who brought joy to others through his life, it reminded me of the type of people You want us to be.  This giant of a man showed others how to live and also how to die.  I pray that I can be half the person this man was to so many others.       

Scripture: Serve God with Spiritual Gifts

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:3-8

On My Feet Again

Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.  Corrie Ten Boom

We are urgent about the body; He is about the soul. We call for present comforts; He considers our everlasting rest. And therefore when He sends not the very things we ask, He hears us by sending greater than we can ask or think.  Richard Cecil

When your soul is thirsty where do you go? There is a song by Jonny Lang called On My Feet Again.  One of the lines in the song goes like this, “On my own I just can’t get it right, It doesn’t matter how hard I try, But with You I become a much stronger man, Getting on my knees puts me back on my feet again.” 

Doesn’t this describe our everyday lives? When we realize that we can’t do life on our own, that is the beginning of great wisdom.  We come to the end of ourselves and our abilities and realize that if we want eternal life, we need a Savior. 

One of the things that trips us up is we strive for the wrong things.  God considers the eternal and we live in the present.  We want comfort now in the present often not realizing that comforts of this world are fleeting and will soon be gone.  How many times do we ask God for stuff?  When we pray earnestly for someone else God answers.  The problem is when we are on our knees praying we also have an expectation of how God should answer.  We have it all planned out how God should answer and what he should do. 

God has a great plan and He doesn’t need our help to accomplish His great plan.  Sometimes His plan is going to send you down a path of pain and anguish.  When we don’t recognize His blessing in the middle of that pain, we miss the very thing He wants to teach us about life.  We also miss what he wants us to learn about eternity. 

Take the time to get on your knees because in the end it will put you on your feet again.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I often miss the blessings you send my way because I have a preconceived idea of how You should answer my prayer.  I need Your help to get back on my feet again so help remind me that Your blessings are beyond what I can ever imagine.  If they are beyond what I can imagine, help me to let go and be amazed.   

  

Scripture: The Appreciation of the Mystery

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21

Seeing the Invisible

The grandest operations, both in nature and grace, are the most silent and imperceptible. The shallow brook babbles in its passage and is heard by every one; but the coming on of the seasons is silent and unseen. The storm rages and alarms, but its fury is soon exhausted, and its effects are but partial and soon remedied; but the dew, though gentle and unheard, is immense in quantity, and is the very life of large portions of the earth. And these are pictures of the operations of grace in the church and in the soul.  Richard Cecil

In life, if we are going to follow God we will need to understand the invisible.  Too many times I think we look at the world and miss the things that God is doing to reveal Himself to us.

Here are a few examples:

Have you ever seen a physician, firefighter or individual perform CPR on a person having a heart attack?  Logically we know that this person will die if they don’t receive help.  If we know the way God works we can understand that God has given a skill to the person performing CPR in order to help others.  God is there in this circumstance.

 

Have you ever been driving down the road and someone almost hits you?  I had one not long after I bought my car.  I was traveling down a busy three lane road driving the speed limit (40 mph) when I glance over to the right lane and see some car parts in the road and a vehicle stopped.  When I turn back to look in my lane there is a car in front of me who swerves to the far left lane and I look up and there is a car stopped in the lane I am in with no flashers or break lights to identify it is stopped and parked in my lane.  Since I had just passed the car in the right lane and couldn’t go to the left I slammed on the breaks and swerved to the right.  God was with me in that moment because I swerved in front of the car on the right and didn’t hit either one.

   

Have you ever held a newborn baby?  You look down at this tiny person who has lived the first nine months in its mother’s womb with no visible means of breathing and then it grows up to be a teenager.  That alone is a miracle. 

Have you ever watched a hummingbird fly?  I have always been fascinated with them because they can hover in one place and their wings are moving so fast that you can’t see them.

 

I think too many times we expect God to give us more evidence.  We want Him to perform like a circus act and do great daring feats when He has and is already giving us the evidence we need to understand and know Him. When we take time to look around us we finally understand that he is performing miracles every day.  Sometimes we miss the everyday miracles because we are too busy looking for something bigger.

    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, remind me of the miracles You perform every day.  Help me to see them for what they are and not discount them.  Too many times I think You are invisible, but if I look closely, Your miracles are there for anyone to see if we will take the time to look.  Show me the things that are not seen but are eternal. 

   

Scripture: Seeing the Invisible

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Bad Driving  

Real Life Insurance Claims

I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a different direction going the opposite way.

I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.

I knew the dog was possessive about the car but I would not have asked her to drive it if I had thought there was any risk.

Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I haven’t got.

Cow wandered into my car. I was afterwards informed that the cow was half-witted.

I wonder if I am the only one who notices bad drivers.  This morning I get on the freeway and there is a van in front of me.  I am several car lengths behind him so it gives me plenty of time to observe his driving habits. 

First, I notice he had a big dent in the back panel of the van.  Well I know there are a lot of people driving around with dents in their car so I don’t think much of it.  So I let my mind wander on to other things when all of a sudden he bounces off of the retaining wall in the center of the road.  He swerves a little bit then continues driving.  I’m thinking most people would pull over to see what kind of damage was done to the car.  Not this guy.  He just kept on driving. 

At this point I decide to get over in the lane farthest from where he is driving because I am not taking any chances with this guy.  As I drive by I see he has a big dent in the driver’s side of the car.  I pull past him and then he changes lanes and gets behind me.  The first thing that popped into my head is maybe this guy wants a dent on every side of the car so they will all match and since he doesn’t have one in the front maybe he wants to hit me from behind.

I must admit that I started speeding.  I couldn’t get away from this guy fast enough.  Then I look up in front of me and a car crosses two lanes and then pulls over in the median and passes another car in the fast lane in the median. 

This started me thinking, how many times do we pray to God that we will have a safe journey wherever we are going.  The number of times God has saved me in bad driving situations are too numerous to count. God blesses us in the smallest ways every day and sometimes we don’t even realize it.  So today I thank God for the blessing of getting me to work in one piece and not letting that guy driving the dented van use me as a decoration for the front of his car.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are days when I don’t even remember how I got to work.  I get distracted and I will sit down at my desk and not even remember how I got there. I pray that You will help me to keep my eyes focused on You. Thank you for saving me and protecting me.  
           
Scripture:   Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:5-7

Don’t Delay the Pain

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.  C.S. Lewis

I was reading Builder Magazine yesterday and there was an article by its Editorial Director John McManus.  In the article he spoke about the housing industry but the statement that struck me was this: “When we mess with things and try to “fix” them when they don’t work the way we want them to, we don’t prevent pain – we only delay it.   And, by messing with it and delaying it, we only make it worse.”

I started thinking about how we do this very thing.  Instead of depending on God to see us through the pain, we mess with it and try to “fix” it.  So in reality we delay the very thing God has allowed to happen for our own good. 

If we look at this from a physical therapy standpoint, the physical therapist doesn’t tell you to stay motionless.  If we stay motionless the muscle will “atrophy” or waste away.  The therapist will get you up and get you moving.  That moving of your body will bring pain but the result is you may be able to walk again.  The pain is worth the effort.

When we apply this to our Christian life it may go like this. We want to avoid pain at all cost.  So what do we do?  We deny it, ignore it and go around it.  Anything to avoid what we know will be painful.  The best lessons I ever learned in this life were when I was in the midst of my pain.  God didn’t create pain to punish us.  He created it to help us become stronger.   If I delay the pain, I am circumventing what God wants to teach me. 

One of the best examples of this in the Bible is Peter.  Remember when Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times.  Jesus knew that Peter would fail yet Peter said that he would die for Jesus.  Immediately following this denial, Peter wept bitterly because he knew he had failed Jesus.  But that wasn’t the end of the story.  Peter later would suffer through many trials and great pain, but that one denial was the best lesson he would ever have in life.  He later wrote some of the best scripture about life that we can still follow today.  How many people gave their lives to Christ because of the results from Peter’s greatest pain?  We will never know, but it is an example we can follow daily.  Don’t delay the pain.  Grab God by the hand and walk through it.  Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I suffer pain it draws me closer to You.  I am human and weak and I know I need Your strength to get me through the pain of life. You never promised life would be easy.  If pain draws me closer to You, then I am thankful for it.  One day there will be a place in heaven where there will be no pain.  I look forward to that day and that beautiful place. 

         

Scripture: 

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And they all said likewise. Mark 14:27-31

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps

Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”  But he denied it again.

And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”

 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.  Mark 14:66-72

Bleeding Love

The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don't have to play defensive games anymore. We don't have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross. Jerry Bridges

I was thinking about Jesus’ death on the cross.  Prior to His death He had gone into the garden to pray.  He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him.  It was no surprise.  Can you imagine living every day of your life on earth knowing how you would die in the end; and knowing that your death wouldn’t be that you died in your sleep?  There was no peaceful death for Jesus.

I think we sometimes forget the reality of Jesus’ death and the cruel manner in which He died.  Remember those long ago words from Jesus’ prayer in Luke 22.  “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  Then an angel appeared to give Him strength.  God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer was My will be done, not that He would take this cup away from Him.  Then the scripture goes on to say that being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  Jesus knew what God’s answer would be but still asked anyway. 

If you think about it, Jesus bled love for each of us.  Our sin could not be washed away any other way.  He had to die so that we could live.  To help put this in perspective; can you imagine your dad coming to you and saying, “tomorrow I want you to sacrifice yourself for a sinful people and many will not appreciate your sacrifice.  I am not going to give you a shot of morphine so that you will be pain free when the time comes.  Even though you asked me to take this death from you I am asking you to do it anyway for my sake.” 

How many of us would go through with what our dad asked?  Jesus bled love for each of us and we often repay Him with ridicule, disbelief and disobedience.  We don’t share what Jesus did for us with anyone else.  We don’t spend time with Him or thank Him for the sacrifice of His life.  He didn’t come to this world for any reason other than to save us.  Take time to get on your knees and thank Him for saving You.  His sacrifice means something.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am ashamed to admit that I often forget the great sacrifice of Jesus’ life.  He came here for no other purpose than to save a wretched person like me.  I praise Jesus’ for the sacrifice.  I would not have a chance at heaven without Him.  Thank You for giving each of us a way back to You through Jesus’ death on the cross.  I am forever grateful.

Scripture:  The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”  Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”  John 6:52-54

Prideful or Humble

No one enjoys feeling weak, whether it is emotionally, spiritually or physically. There is something within the human spirit that wants to resist the thought of weakness. Many times this is nothing more than our human pride at work. Just as weakness carries a great potential for strength, pride carries an equally great potential for defeat.  Charles Stanley

I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.  D.L. Moody

The focus of health in the soul is humility, while the root of inward corruption is pride. In the spiritual life, nothing stands still. If we are not constantly growing downward into humility, we shall be steadily swelling up and running to seed under the influence of pride.  J.I. Packer

PRIDEFUL - a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

HUMBLE - not proud or arrogant; modest

I started thinking about pride and being humble.  The first thing I thought was Jesus never exhibited prideful behavior.  He never made His purpose on earth to be all about Himself.  Jesus is our best example of what it means to be humble.  He always referred to His Heavenly Father as to why He was on earth.

“Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”  Mark 9:37

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. John 9:4

Over the past few years I have focused on prideful behavior in my life.  One of the interesting things about pride is it can sneak up on you without you ever knowing about it.  Here are a few examples.  You are at work and you make a mistake.  You have two options.  You can ignore the mistake, cover it up and hope no one finds out.  The other option is to admit to the mistake or confess and accept the consequences.  What is the first feeling that you get when you make a mistake?  It could be embarrassment, fear or guilt.  These feelings can lead to pride.  We don’t want someone else to know we were wrong.  We let pride stand in the way of more relationships than any other sin. 

Another example is you speak harshly to someone.  Pride steps in and says, “I don’t have to apologize because they know that is just the way I am”, or how about “I was just being honest.”  If we use the excuse that we were just being honest and we hurt another person, we have stepped into pride. If we can’t lower ourselves to relieve another person’s hurt that we have caused, we are allowing pride to interfere with the relationship.

The only way I can destroy pride in my life is to examine my actions carefully and most of the time is isn’t pretty. One of the things I figured out is that I will never become more like Jesus if I don’t learn humility. Being humble means you have to get lower than someone else.  Most of us don’t like humility because it is the height of vulnerability.  When we are vulnerable, other people can attack and often do.  If you are prepared the humility can come easier.

How do you prepare yourself to be humble?  The most important step is to realize Who you belong to.  If we can ever wrap our arms around the fact that God loves us and accept it as truth, we can take the first step toward humbleness. When we realize God loves us, we no longer base our worth on what someone in the world thinks about us.  When what the world thinks doesn’t matter anymore we are free to become more humble because we understand that God is always there.  Our friends, family and acquaintances may not always be there but God will.  That is all we need to know.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I wish there was a day that I came to You and didn’t have to ask for forgiveness for things I have done wrong.  There are times when pride stands in the way of my leading a humble life.  It is a constant battle and I know I need Your help because I just can’t do it on my own.  You are always there for me.  Remind me that being humble means being vulnerable.  Remind me that You are supporting me when I am at my most vulnerable.   

Scripture: Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.  When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.  Proverbs 11:1-3

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.  Proverbs 16:17-19

Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. A proud and haughty man— “Scoffer” is his name; he acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:23-25

An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression. A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.  Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; he swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing. Proverbs 29-22-24

Loving the Ones Who Hurt You

The person who is living by grace sees this vast contrast between his own sins against God and the offenses of others against him. He forgives others because he himself has been so graciously forgiven. He realizes that, by receiving God's forgiveness through Christ, he has forfeited the right to be offended when others hurt him.  Jerry Bridges

One of the absolutes in life is that one day someone is going to hurt you.  It may be intentional or not, but the bottom line is it will happen.  We are all human with human failings and we will one day be the recipient of hurt or the giver of hurt.  No one is exempt.  If Jesus wasn’t exempt, why should we be the exception?

Have you ever thought that how we handle hurt in our life can make a difference in another person’s life as to whether they will be saved or not?  How we handle hurt can also increase the chances of the other person sinning against us again, or sinning against another person.

Rick Warren says it best when he said, “Hurt people, hurt people.” When we are hurt our immediate reaction is to hurt back.  Our first instinct is to protect ourselves.  We don’t look at the other person when they hurt us and say, “Man that felt good, would you do that again.” 

If I retaliate against someone who hurts me, I have fallen into sin and I am no better than the person who is hurting me.  One of the things I have started doing to remind myself of another person’s hurt when they are in the midst of hurting me is I look at their forehead and see the printed word “HURT” stamped on it.  It brings to mind that this person is human and may have hurts that I don’t even know about. 

You may be saying at this point, “This person has abused me, ridiculed me, verbally lashed out at me and done any number of other horrible things to me.” If our example to follow is Jesus then we are required to do what He did when He hung on a cross.  Our suffering does not excuse the abuser.  In Romans 12:19 we are told Who will avenge the hurt we receive.  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. If we are told to be a “living sacrifice” we are to be like Jesus.  He was our sacrifice so that we could be restored into fellowship with our Heavenly Father.  Don’t repay hurt with hurt. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have hurt others and others have hurt me.  I want to love as Jesus loved.  He hung on a cross and looked up at You and asked you to forgive them because they didn’t understand what they were doing. I am so grateful that You created a son that would be an example for us to follow.  If I hurt another person because they hurt me, I am not becoming more like Jesus.  Give me the strength to not repay hurt for hurt.

        

Scripture: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:1-21

 

Beating Around the Bush

Jesus' life was a storm of controversy. The apostles, like the prophets before them, could hardly go a day without controversy. Paul said that he debated daily in the marketplace. To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. We can have peace, but it is a servile and carnal peace where truth is slain in the streets.  R.C. Sproul

If I fear to hold another to the highest goal because it is so much easier to avoid doing so, then I know nothing of Calvary love. Amy Carmichael

When we help seekers diagnose which path they're treading, assist them in avoiding its pitfalls, and expose them to the logic and evidence that uniquely support the Christian faith, we're introducing them to the only spiritual option that truly qualifies to be called the way, the truth, and the life.  Lee Strobel

All of us have probably heard the phrase “beating around the bush”.  This phrase is believed to have come from hunting.  When royalty would go hunting they would have servants take sticks and beat the bushes so that their prey would run out and then they could shoot them. The servants weren’t really supposed to beat around the bush; they were supposed to beat the bush.  The problem came in when there was a boar (or wild pig) in the bushes with long tusks.  No one wanted to be standing next to the bush when it came running out.  Hence, the phrase beating around the bush. 

I am not a hunter so if you are, please don’t take this wrong.  If I want to exhibit my skills as a great hunter, it would seem to me that it would be more of a challenge if you weren’t sitting around a bush waiting for a servant to beat it so that the animal or bird will fly out and you shoot it.

We have a friend that goes bow hunting every year.  Now that is a challenge.  A bow doesn’t have the range that a bullet does so I would think that would make the whole hunting thing more challenging because you would have to get closer to the animal to kill it. What happens when you get closer?  It runs and becomes harder to shoot.  I read somewhere recently that a company has designed a gun with GPS. Where’s the challenge in that and how does that work.  You type in your prey “deer” and then the lady comes on and says “in 20 feet make a left turn” and when you ignore her she says “make a legal u-turn at the next tree and Bambi is under the bush.”  Now that I have exhausted my lack of knowledge about hunting I will get back to the point of my story.

How many times do we beat around the bush with other Christians and non-Christians?  We see someone who is heading down the wrong path and we don’t speak up. We don’t want to hurt their feelings, or we think they will get offended or angry.  We don’t speak up because we are more worried about their opinion of us than God’s opinion.

When we don’t confront others “in love” about the wrong path they are taking, then we have compromised our faith.  Jesus didn’t die on a cross because he didn’t confront people.  He died “because” he wasn’t afraid to confront others in love.  His entire life on earth was one confrontation after another.  When we confront others in love, we are becoming more like Jesus.  None of us knows how long we have left on this earth, so I challenge you to take up your cross and follow Him.  There are souls left to save so don’t beat around the bush.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of beating around the bush or just plain avoiding confrontation that would benefit someone else.  I have opportunities that present themselves daily and yet I still don’t step up and claim You as my Savior.  Help me to be like You; not afraid to step out in faith on your behalf and theirs.

   

Scripture: The True Vine

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  John 15:1-8

Love When You Are Busy

You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Amy Carmichael

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.  Augustine

Have you noticed how hard it is to love others when you are busy?  When we get so busy with our lives that we don’t have time to love others, we are too busy.  How do I know this?  I know this because I have walked in those shoes.

How many times do you get so busy at work that you don’t have the time to see someone else’s hurt?  If you think about it, every single person on this earth is hurt or has been hurt in their lifetime.  It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, every single human being has been hurt and in the midst of our busy lives is when they need someone to love them. God didn’t create us to be all about us.  

Yesterday I was busy.  Things that I didn’t have on my “to do” list when I got to work showed up in my inbox.  Our field supervisors couldn’t pull permits because the city didn’t have our current insurance certificate.  I had a check that had to be cut and sent by overnight mail.  A contract had to be written and emailed.  These are just a few of the things that weren’t on my original “to do” list. 

Then I had a coworker call to tell me she was going to help her mother make funeral arrangements for her sister.  Her sister is 35 years old and dying.  She was given two months to live and yesterday they told her she probably wouldn’t make it two weeks.  When she got to the office she came in so I closed the door and she just cried.  She is trying to figure out how to help her mother get through this.  What did I do?  I know I have a job to do every day. I sat with her and we talked.  Too many times I think we have become so uncomfortable with death that we ignore it.  We bypass the people who are the most in need of our love.  We’re busy so we don’t have time.  How did I fix this so that I could honor my employer but also love the person?  I stayed late to make up the time.

What I have learned over the years is that when I give love sacrificially, I benefit.  When you love sacrificially, it means in the midst of giving that kind of love it is costing you something.  In this instance I knew my cleaners closed at 6:00pm, I work 37 miles away and I am leaving work during rush hour traffic.  I left work at 5:05pm and made it to the cleaners 5 minutes before they closed.   

When we love sacrificially and give up something we want or need, to do something for someone else, it comes back to us ten-fold.  We reap what we sow. The other thing I learned is that the person I am giving love to doesn’t need to know about the sacrifice.  They don’t need to know what it cost me.  When we put ourselves last, that is when God reveals Himself the most.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me instances where I can love sacrificially.  Please keep me from getting impatient because if I do, I will miss out on the blessing.  You teach us about sacrificial love through the life of Jesus. He gives us the best example to follow.  

     

Scripture: The Greatest Gift

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

What Will He Say?

We are sinners simply because we choose to sin or live selfishly. We are never held accountable for what we are not the author of. Ability is always the measure of responsibility. God has given us the ability to direct our lives, either according to intelligence in recognition of our obligation to God and our fellowmen, or according to selfishness and unintelligence in the supreme seeking of our own happiness. - Gordon Olson

Do you ever think about what God will say to you on judgment day?  I will admit that day will be a painful one.  Why?  Because there are a lot of things I’ve said and done in my lifetime that I regret and because it will all be laid out for everyone to see.

Can you imagine it?  Everyone will be standing there and God will look down at you and say, “Why did you say that to your parent when I expressly told you “to obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Don’t you remember Me saying, “honor your father and mother which is the first commandment so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 

How about this one?  God looks at you and says, “I thought I told you there shall be no other gods before Me for I am a jealous God.”  “Why did you put sporting events, TV, cars, houses, food…before Me?"

Here is a good one.  “What did I tell you about keeping the Sabbath day holy? Six days you will labor but you will rest on the seventh. I blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  It took me six days to make heaven and earth and everything in it and then I rested on the seventh.  Why didn’t you?

Then there is this one. “I told you not to covet your neighbor’s wife, house, ox, ass nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” 

I don’t know about you but this conversation is getting worse by the minute and God hasn’t even gotten to the parts that I thought I did a good job of covering up.

 

The quote above makes this very easy to understand.  “We are never held accountable for what we are not the author of.”  One day God will get tired of our sin just as he did in Noah’s time.  The thing is our punishment will be far worse.  I think drowning would be preferable to burning forever in eternity. 

God gives us the opportunity to repent and come back to Him.  He also gives us a way back to Him.  There is a quote by Adrian Rogers that has stuck with me over the years.  He says, “I wouldn’t trust the best fifteen minutes I ever lived to get me into heaven.”  This is so true.  Even on my best day I fail and fall short.

Jesus is our way back to Him.  He didn’t give His life for nothing.  He gave His life so that we could have everything.  When will we come to our senses and will it be too late?   Lay down your life for Him because He has forever in mind.

 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sin every day.  There is not a day that goes by that I don’t sin.  I want to be more like Jesus but I will need Your help because I am weak and all too human.  Forgive me Father for I have sinned over and over again.  I need Your help.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that when I start to sin again I will know in my heart what path to take that will draw me closer to You. 

       

Scripture: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20