1 Samuel 16:7 – “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
January 31, 2011
Inspiration in Times of Trouble
As I sit down to write today’s article, I am reminded by a quote from Saint Nicholas of Flue who says that
Each stage of life has its special duties; by accomplishing them, one may find happiness.
Indeed there are many duties we are called to attend to, be it in our daily jobs, parenting roles, relationships and interactions. Try to find time to discover the fulfillment of each of our busy, daily tasks and relish the happiness that they bring to your life.
In times of trouble, we are often faced with the question… why? The answer is not always apparent, but with prayer and faith we learn to be at peace with the outcomes because these outcomes are always a product of God’s glory in this world.
To the question: Why is God testing me?
Rick Warren writes that “Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.” Life is a test for the next world beyond. Character is something that you carry with you every day – it is shaped and formed by the Lord. It is a measure of the thing that God sees without fail. As the Bible writes: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God sees the heart.” What you should be concerned about is this measure that God sees in us… not in the outward nature that man looks at first.
At the “heart” of the matter, “Your true character is something that no one can injure but yourself.” -C.H. Spurgeon; We are constantly tested and molded in our character… a part of us that is of high importance in matters of faith.
To the question: Why do bad things happen to good people?
“God doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.” – Warren Wiersbe
“Sometimes your medicine bottle says, ‘Shake well before using.’ That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are usable.” – Vance Havner
“After all, a crisis doesn’t make a person; it reveals what a person is made of.” – Warren Wiersbe
A crisis isn’t meant to be a punishment or a product of God’s wrath. Faith reminds us that the Lord is a loving God, watchful of our needs and constantly guiding us in matters of the heart. The circumstances we are under aren’t meant to bring us down – they should be treated as opportunities to “shake ourselves up” so that we are useful to the Lord and His purpose. God doesn’t abolish “bad” things or negative outcomes. These are circumstances intended to change us instead – they are opportunities to elevate ourselves to a stronger moral fiber and character.
To the question: How do I survive this difficult time?
To this, C.H. Spurgeon writes: “If you seek to know the path of your duty, use God as your compass.” Steer your way with faith. Pray for guidance and look carefully for the messages and the hints left behind for you to follow.
To the problems we encounter, Victor Hugo reminds us to
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.”
Go in peace knowing that God is preparing you for the challenge and testing those changes so that you too will notice and give praise to Him for his greatness. Have courage because God is at the helm, steering your journey through life. Your role is to take heed and notice all the contributions He has made towards your character and your survival in this life.
Go in peace. God Bless.
January 29, 2011
A Bitter Pill to Swallow
What kind of message do you take home each time you read scripture? How about when you attend church? What lessons have you taken from countless sermons you’ve sat through on the Gospel of Christ? DO YOUR ACTIONS match the message that the Gospel wants us to hear? The truth is, many of us are living a contradiction in our lives. There are things that we like to hear and want to hear, but then there are things that we turn away from because the message is too strong or too poignant for us to bear.
From the second book of Timothy:
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. -2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
I first discovered this scripture from a blog post challenging me with: What Path Are You On? The author aptly warns us through an interpretation of Timothy that:
They wanna hear its OK to do as you please and you are saved so there are no consequences for your actions now. They wanna hear that its OK to be in the world and partake of its evils. They don’t care about the sacrifice That Gods Son made for us or His Laws. They say disregard The Laws for you are under grace.
That time that Timothy warns us of is now. Confusion and mediocrity plagues the ranks of Christ’s followers because of this warning from God. It is too easy to follow “ala carte” faith: picking and choosing the elements that suit us and ignoring the ones that do not. Seeing this truth in ourselves as mediocre Christians may be a bitter pill to swallow. How can we be proud of a self image that is less than flattering? Jesus preached the truth and immediate obedience to the Lord and His Laws. Jesus did not preach obedience later. He did not preach obedience tomorrow. God’s Laws must be followed NOW. And what became of Him for sending this message? He was crucified for it.
Hear now that in this world, it is far too easy to let our faith take a backseat to all our worldly desires and worries. We scurry to pull together a meager (or even prosperous) living for ourselves and our families: show up to work on time, commute, shop, and do a thousand other things to “get ahead” in this life. This is what we do to “make a living”. We must pay attention however, to ALL the lessons of the Gospel at the same time. Salvation is not a buffet line of practices, formulas and prayers. Salvation is about turning your life around and dedicating it to the Lord… not the other way around.
Dedicating.
One more time:
Dedicating.
It bears repeating because as Timothy further reveals:
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy (2 Timothy 3:2 NIV)
Have you dedicated your life to yourself? Is your worship in a temple filled with your achievements or lined with your wealth? Have you put off your relationship with Christ as secondary to these temptations? Don’t let the worldly desires pull you away from the mission that should be paramount in your life. The Gospel warns us to avoid men that Timothy writes of. The time is now.
The story isn’t all doom and gloom. In Matthew 5:17: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” In it is the saving grace of the Lord, for even though Christ was crucified for bringing to the world God’s Truth, God isn’t coming to bring about destruction and ruin in return. On the contrary, he is comforting us to know that no other sacrifice except for His son is necessary to appease Him for our sinful nature. To FULFILL means that He is coming to fulfill His promises of salvation for those who choose to follow Christ. To FULFILL means that those who choose not to follow his laws will also be appropriately handled by Him. To FULFILL also means that we as Christian people must keep up our end by following the Lord obediently now. A man cannot serve two masters. Choose your master in this world wisely. Choose to follow God and do so with your whole heart.
January 28, 2011
Surviving Through Change
Change is inevitable. So goes the saying. As in a previous post on changing life circumstances, the book of Malachi presents God’s promise, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NKJV). So, I may have to edit that adage and say that “Change (for us humans) is inevitable but we can put faith in the Lord that He will not change and His promises are non-negotiable.”
Here are some inspirational quotes from other historical figures and thinkers on the nature of change and the type of character-building experience they have to offer:
The only way a person can remain consistent amid changing circumstances is to change with them while preserving the same dominating purpose. – Winston Churchill
We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles. – Jimmy Carter
It is well and good if all things change, Lord, if we are rooted in You. – St. John of the Cross
He who is fretted by his own failings will not correct them; all profitable correction comes from a calm, peaceful mind. – St. Francis of Sales
Life is too short and the world too compassion-starved for you to keep subsisting in situations that drag you down and curtail your potential to help advance the Kingdom. There’s just too much at stake. – Bill Hybels
I think the quote from Bill Hybels is an important parting note for this post. In difficult times of change, we as Christians and born again followers of Christ have a mission that can’t be bogged down by the shifting sands of everyday life.
The scriptures tell us as Christians it is our duty to preach the Gospel to every living creature. And Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” -Mark 16:15-16
He wasn’t asking us to do this. He was commanding us to do this. The advancement of the Kingdom is in the preaching of the Gospel. EVERYTHING is at stake when it comes to this. As Abiel Disciple posted in her blog post on preaching the gospel, she writes:
Every born-again believer has a responsibility to preach the Gospel, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified with lost sinners so that they can be forgiven and spend eternity in Heaven.
I like Winston Churchill’s words when he talks of a “dominating purpose”. As Christians we do have a dominating purpose to fulfill His command to preach and spread the word of the Gospel for all to hear… and it is a mark of our character as Christians. So when you are faced with adversity, seek God. When times get tough, stick to your principles. When you are challenged, remember your faith and God’s greater challenge to spread word and win believers for Christ our savior. Tough, changing times aren’t easy, but they are a hallmark of how circumstance builds our character and tests our resolve for Christ.
January 26, 2011
Purging Religious Yeast
The first book of Corinthians writes in a figurative sense about “yeast” when it says:
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed. – 1 Corinthians 5:7
From an old post on the blog “Finding the Motherlode” the author poses a theological discussion on the nature of religion. Religion (religious thoughts, rules, ways and means), the author writes, is selfish. It stems from self and revolves around self. This selfish sense of “religion” is present in all of us and like a speck of yeast, it is very difficult to spot and remove. Some examples of this sense of “religion” that we should be warned of:
- Religion is when I try to make something happen before God has ordained it.
- Religion is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
- Religion is saying Hallelujah before having the faith to say Amen.
- Religion is saying “Yes” to God without saying “No” to ungodliness.
I think I have a sense from where the author is coming from and I offer up an example from another blog which studies the works of James and the warning “Faith Without Works is Dead.” This selfish notion of religion is in saying and doing things that are biblically advisable but not really making the effort to make it happen. That in itself is a contradiction. It’s in the contradiction that we find the “yeast” in our lives.
But if a brother or sister is naked and may be lacking in daily food and any one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but does not give them the things the body needs, what gain [is it]? – James 2:14-15
This is a tough brand of yeast for me to purge from myself as I am faced daily with many homeless and poor individuals on the streets, all of whom are begging for their meager living. I usually pass them up knowing that a smile or a good word is not enough to fulfill their bodily needs, as the Bible demands. Finding ways of fulfilling my obligations to the poor is a lifelong challenge that faces me and possibly many others.
Like I said, once you recognize what yeast is in your life, it’s really, really hard to figure out how to remove it. It takes work and it takes sacrifice. As in the promise of salvation through Christ, we are challenged by Corinthians to prepare and make ourselves “new” (a new batch without yeast) to meet Christ’s sacrifice.
Fatherhood in Tough Times
Today’s reflection comes from Purpose for Everyday Living for Fathers, which really speaks to this current life and times facing families today. It talks about the nature of unpredictable change and the anxiousness that some fathers may feel about factors affecting their families that seem so far out of their control.
Our world is in a state of constant change. God is not. At times, the world seems to be trembling beneath our feet. But we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is the rock that cannot be shaken. His word promises, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NKJV)
The author reminds any father facing difficult circumstances that God is far bigger than any of those problems that you may face.
By putting your faith in the Father and His only begotten son: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV) Because the savior does not change “you can face your challenges with courage for today and hope for tomorrow.”
I myself as a father experience this anxiousness each day as I prepare my children for their day, struggle to pay the bills and expenses or hear about yet another violent crime happening in my community. Sometimes the number of troubles at my feet seem insurmountable and the pressure that comes from having a family count on me introduces a whole new level of change and uncertainty.
With God there is certainty. God will protect you if you ask Him. So ask Him and trust in Him to handle the many things that seem out of your control.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
Corinthians reminds us that we are meant to be beings of faith. If we succumb to what we see before us, it is certain that we will be overcome and overrun with the multitude of problems that face us. By walking with faith we look beyond and towards the Lord instead. With faith, we trust in Him to handle what seems out of our control allowing us to serve Him instead of the problems before us.
January 24, 2011
Where is Jesus?
Many of us are familiar with the promoted acronym: WWJD. For those who don’t, it stands for “What Would Jesus Do?”; it is a reminder for those who wear bracelets or accessories with the simple saying to consider their actions and decide if they are Christlike in nature. I’ve been reflecting on this saying and find it very catchy. It really gets to the point about a Christian’s journey seeking the path that Jesus has laid down for us to follow. On the other hand, in a post on “Eventful Journey“, a blogger makes an apt statement about the WWJD sentiment when he wrote:
Recently I have been rephrasing the bracelet: What WILL Jesus Do? This seems a much better way of looking at things. Jesus is not absent. Nor is he waiting to see if, through our own efforts, we can live up to his enormous expectations. Instead, he is in us, working through us by the same Holy Spirit that raised him from the dead (Romans 8:11). We are co-workers with him, not second-rate replacements for him. I have found this new way of thinking profoundly liberating.
I like that thinking because I agree that Jesus is NOT absent at all throughout our lives, our trials and our struggles. On the contrary, He is guiding our every action and gently leading the way. WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) is a nice sentiment, but to some people who consider its nuance will realize that the saying pits each of us alone at a crossroads, faced with decisions that are eminently beyond our ability to handle. As Jesus said in John 14:6: “no one comes to the Father except through me.” Our lives as Christians isn’t about rediscovering some hidden formula or path behind the life Jesus led on earth. It’s in finding Jesus Himself within the things that we pursue and the things that we do. So, where is Jesus? As in the beautiful poem about the footprints in the sand, we continue our life’s journey not alone and falling behind a trail Jesus has left behind. Instead we are right there, side by side with Jesus through whom we find our way to the heavenly Father.
Stormy Weather
Read a wonderful post titled: Surviving Storms today. It was a synopsis of a Sunday sermon witnessed by the author. The blogger begins: “We all have to endure storms. They show up in the form of financial, occupational, and/or personal crises.”; She uses Acts 27:19-41 to illustrate a story of Paul and others who were sailing to Rome when they got caught in a terrible storm.
The points of weathering a terrible storm was illustrated by their visiting pastor based on this reading including the following challenges:
- What is God asking you to throw overboard so you can survive the storm?
- What simple step is God asking you to do to move out of the storm?
- What opportunity does God want you to see right now?
I liked point #1: what kind of burdens do you carry now that keeps you from staying afloat? What are the most important things that will help us survive and stay afloat? Check out the passage and read the original blog entry; the discussion is as encouraging as it is wonderfully metaphorical. Remember that “It doesn’t matter how big your sail is… it matters how much wind is behind your sail. If you rely on God’s grace, you will always survive the storm.“
What kind of storms and hardships have you lived through in your life? What did you do to survive? What helped you to survive and see a future that is worthwhile?
For me, my job has been a daily source of pressure and unmitigated stress. I still wake up in the wee hours of the morning, every morning, from worry or doubt related to the previous day’s work. Though the conditions weighed me down, I was never expected to get rid of any of it. I had many grievances against my managers from past incidents – a past that was already set in a long ago time frame. Should I continue to address what angers me, or should I focus my energies on the new, future opportunities that were made available by God for me to grow.
January 23, 2011
Christian Ways to Reduce Stress
Rediscovered an old blog post that I had put up based on a nice email I received. The advice is on “Christian Ways to Reduce Stress” and the tagline is a quote and a reminder about the stresses of daily life:
An angel says, “Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it does not happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.”
Here’s the top list of ideas, re-blogged for you to read:
- Pray
- Go to bed on time.
- Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
- Say NO to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
- Delegate tasks to capable others.
- Simplify and unclutter your life.
- Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
- Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
- Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don’t lump the hard things all together.
- Take one day at a time.
- Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.
- Live within your budget; don’t user credit cards for ordinary purchases.
- Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
- K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
- Do something for the kid in you everyday.
- Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
- Get enough rest.
- Eat right.
- Get organized so everything has its place.
- Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
- Write down thoughts and inspirations.
- Every day, find time to be alone.
- Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until it’s time to go to bed to try and pray.
- Make friends with Godly people.
- Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
- Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good “Thank you Jesus”.
- Laugh.
- Laugh some more!
- Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
- Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can!)
- Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
- Sit on your ego.
- Talk less; listen more.
- Slow down.
- Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
- Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before. God has a way of turning things around for you.
The one I need to follow the most is #33: Talk less; listen more. My favorite is #35 because I have many people in my life who take on quite more responsibility than they need to (God bless their intentions) – it’s just that accepting more burden than a single person can possibly carry isn’t a Christian thing to do. It is up to us to put the stuff we can’t handle or manage in God’s able hands. All the others are great advice at any rate. I encourage you to take a moment and find something in this list that has personal meaning for you.
January 22, 2011
Getting What You Need
Like the Rolling Stones song that goes: “You can’t always get what you want…” We have to remember daily through our disappointments and shortcomings that
Faith in God will not get for you everything you want, but it will get for you what God wants you to have. The unbeliever does not need what he wants; the Christian should want only what he needs. – Vance Havner
This rings some truth in many ways. We don’t always have what we want, which contrary to common wisdom, is a good thing. The trick is in paying close enough attention to the things we do have. These are our blessings. This is what the saying “count your blessings” is all about. All our needs are laid out before us for the asking. All the needs for the moment have already been provided for us. It is up to us to be thankful and to recognize this throughout our moments of disappointment and want.
Perhaps you may want a better job, or a bigger pay raise. Maybe you want more recognition for your labors at the office. Maybe you want to win big money in the lottery or in a casino. The important question is however, what will become of your life if these moments or events never come into your life? Chances are very good that you will still go on living and breathing. The important thing is that you don’t imprison yourself in the cycle of “wants”.
There is a parable I recall from Max Lucado’s book: “Traveling Light”, about a man who in a bad turn of the stock market lost overnight his entire fortune and savings. When asked of his situation, he replied: “I lost everything“. A colleague and close friend of his then asked “Have you lost your faith?”; “No,” he replied. “Have you lost your character?”; “No,” he replied again. “Have you lost your salvation?” his colleague quizzed once more. “Why, no.” To which his friend replied: “Then it appears to me that you have lost none of the things that matter.”
The friend is a wise one. Indeed, when you think about it, what really matters in this life? God doesn’t look at the number of cars you own, the brand name labels on the clothing on your back, the money in your wallet or bank accounts and assets or even the fanciness of the home you live in. God looks at your heart.
That is where all of us should begin to look… at the inside and all of the needs that originate from that place within. When we look there, we circumvent the slavery of “wants” and materialism that takes us places, but eventually takes us nowhere. Having better things, more things or any things doesn’t increase the value or the worth of our inner being. Take some time to focus on the needs that we have to make our inner beauty shine and pray for them.
“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)
In the long run, if you focus on putting these anxieties on the Lord, you’ll find that “You can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” (Rolling Stones) Search through your countless blessings and look for the needs that have been answered… most evidently at the right time, place and situation. You may surprise yourself when you do.
January 21, 2011
In This Place
Dear Lord,
In this place where I am, this situation I am living, I find peace. I know you have led me here, through time and troubles; through good times and bad. There is much work to be done, but I have faith that you will stick by me and see it all through. I have no fear because I don’t have to do this all alone. I have my family. I have my friends. Most of all, I have you.
Let those who sling their arrows, or spit in my face find peace in their own lives. It is not out of intentional hatred or angst that they seek to harm me; they have simply mistaken that something I do or something I have done stands in their way. With you nothing stands in the way. With the faith of a mustard seed, as you once inspired the gospel writers to pen, one can move mountains.
Let others who find their way to this place find peace and contentment in their lives. The Lord is my shepherd. there is nothing I shall want. There is nothing I shall want. I must focus on that because until I do, I am enslaved to something that has no meaning outside of this world. I will remember the Lord.
For those of you reading this, give thanks. Give a thought. Give a prayer. Remember that you have all this… and Jesus too. Greater victories have been won in the name of the Lord… and salvation is here now and forever because of that one single victory on a cross, on a hill, in a distant land that may as well be the soil under your feet. Meditate and bring yourself to this place – this place where I am – and find peace.
God Bless and have a wonderful, blessed day.
