I Hope We Don't...I Hope We Do!

I'm very thankful for the recently agreed upon peace treaty in the middle east. Who among us doesn't want a world of safety and peace?
However, peace not centered on the prince of peace is not lasting peace.
True peace only comes from Christ. In John 14:27, Jesus told us, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; its not like the peace that the world gives."

The definition of the world's peace is, The absence of conflict or war. The peace Jesus gives to us refers to Peace in spite of conflict or war.

There will always be a war between good and evil.  There will be wars when good and evil are indeterminable in knowing which is which! Internal and external conflict has been around since the Garden of Eden and the story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Good and evil will continue to be at war through Armageddon..

The Apostle Paul spoke about peace in his time that applies to us now. Regarding the age we now live in, 1 Thessalonians 5:3 gives us insight to part of what’s going on in our world now.,
"But as far as times and seasons go, my brothers, you don’t need written instructions. You are well aware that the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a burglary to a householder. When men are saying “Peace and security” catastrophe will sweep down upon them as suddenly and inescapably as birth-pangs to a pregnant woman." 

Let me insert this tidbit of truth here; Nothing is ever as it appears! In any given situation, there's always something else going on that we don't see! I’m sorry to say that this “deal” has more to it than what we know. The lines of demarcation will be blurry.

Ephesians 2:14-16 gives us hope of a new peace treaty with God.
"For Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two groups, (Jew and Gentile) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (between God and humanity, and between humanity and other humanity)  by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,  and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."

So, as much as I love the idea of the current peace talks, I hope we don’t put our hope in a peace treaty made by men. I hope we do place our hope in the God of peace who treaties with us to provide peace with Him, each other, and peace within our hearts in spite of the circumstances in this world we live in..
Jesus is our Peace!

There's an app, (I mean a grace) for that!

In 2009, Apple came out with the slogan, “There’s an app for that”. This commercial promoted the various applications available to the user of their new iPhone.

If you want to do your banking with your phone? There’s an app for that! Do you want to shop online? There’s an app for that! If one wanted to order concert tickets, there was an app for that too. A whole new world opened to us, that is now commonplace for a person to do more things from their cell phone than could be done from a computer.

I don’t think that was an original idea though. About 2000 years ago, God provided a grace to us for everything we have need of!

Hebrews 4:16 encourages the reader to “Come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.”

This scripture promises mercy, which is forgiveness, and grace, which is empowerment, in our time of need!

Our walk of faith is a walk of grace. We are saved by grace, and we continue needing grace throughout our journey. Grace is the power to be and do what we can’t be and do by ourselves. The gospel of John tells us that Jesus provides grace upon grace. We need different graces for different things. There’s a grace at salvation, an enabling to become children of God. That’s the greatest grace of all!

The Apostle Paul said, “I’m an Apostle by the grace of God.” He didn’t claim his education or influence was the base of this calling. It was the grace of God, that enabled him. He was the same author who credited the grace of God for helping him through his hard times as well. The Lord spoke to Paul and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Paul describes many of his trials including beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, threats of death, robbers, false brethren and so on. He claims to have overcome these difficult times by the grace of God.

The Apostle Peter called the grace of God multi-faceted. I think of a diamond when I read this verse. A diamond does not become beautiful until it is cut, or faceted. It takes the facets or cut angles to collect light from different directions and feed the light into the diamond causing them to reflect internally off each other, creating the brilliance. When we accept the grace of God into our lives, in multiple areas of our lives, there’s a similar brilliance, or glory that reflects from our lives.

There’s a grace for all things we need help with. The only prerequisite to receive that grace is humility. Scripture informs us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Displaying humility is simply recognizing our need for help and asking. What do you need help with? There’s a grace for that! Struggling in a relationship? There’s a grace for that! Need wisdom for your future? there’s a grace for that!

So, if you’re feeling weak in an area of your life, remember that God’s power is made perfect in (our) weakness. But there’s an empowering grace that’s available for the asking.

What’s a one-word definition for grace? Help! God offers help as we boldly and assuredly come before him in prayer. Whatever we need, THERE’S A GRACE FOR THAT!

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Peace in Spite of Negative Circumstances!

One of my favorite scriptures is found in the Book of John, chapter 14, verse 27. Jesus said, “I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give. So. don’t be worried or afraid.”

If one were to look at the meaning of the word peace in a dictionary, it would define it as, “The absence of conflict or war”. A world without conflict would be nice, but no one can argue that conflict isn’t part of the this world’s system. It’s built in to it!

However, there is the peace that Jesus talked about; another peace that transcends the natural, world-given kind of peace. In the scripture mentioned above, Jesus said, “I’m leaving you with a different kind of peace”. It’s a peace that passes comprehension or understanding. It’s a peace that abides within you, in spite of what we hear on the news, in spite of the condition of the world. It’s not circumstantial! It’s based on a trust and commitment to the character, presence, and word of God.

Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t be worried or afraid". Other translations of the same verse instruct us to “NOT LET our hearts be troubled, DON’T LET them be afraid”. There’s responsibility on our part of living in this beautiful promise - It’s guarding our hearts from all the, what-if’s, all the fears, and troubling expectations!

It’s critically important that we “take our negative thoughts captive, and bring them to the obedience of Christ”. ( II Corinthians 10:5) God promised that He would keep us in PERFECT PEACE, if we keep our thoughts and imagination on him! (Isaiah 26:3) Peace is a gift from God, but manifests in our lives as a product of prayer, trust, gratitude, obedience and being intentional with our thoughts! (Philippians 4:6-9) The God of Peace has promised to be with us! You and I can have His inner peace - in spite of the negative, external circumstances of this world.

Peace in Spite of Negative Circumstances!

One of my favorite scriptures is found in the Book of John, chapter 14, verse 27. Jesus said, “I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give. So. don’t be worried or afraid.”

If one were to look at the meaning of the word peace in a dictionary, it would define it as, “The absence of conflict or war”. A world without conflict would be nice, but no one can argue that conflict isn’t part of the this world’s system. It’s built in to it!

However, there is the peace that Jesus talked about; another peace that transcends the natural, world-given kind of peace. In the scripture mentioned above, Jesus said, “I’m leaving you with a different kind of peace”. It’s a peace that passes comprehension or understanding. It’s a peace that abides within you, in spite of what we hear on the news, in spite of the condition of the world. It’s not circumstantial! It’s based on a trust and commitment to the character, presence, and word of God.

Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t be worried or afraid". Other translations of the same verse instruct us to “NOT LET our hearts be troubled, DON’T LET them be afraid”. There’s responsibility on our part of living in this beautiful promise - It’s guarding our hearts from all the, what-if’s, all the fears, and troubling expectations!

It’s critically important that we “take our negative thoughts captive, and bring them to the obedience of Christ”. ( II Corinthians 10:5) God promised that He would keep us in PERFECT PEACE, if we keep our thoughts and imagination on him! (Isaiah 26:3) Peace is a gift from God, but manifests in our lives as a product of prayer, trust, gratitude, obedience and being intentional with our thoughts! (Philippians 4:6-9) The God of Peace has promised to be with us! You and I can have His inner peace - in spite of the negative, external circumstances of this world.

Failure?

So you’ve failed in the past. Does this mean you're a failure?

If you're carrying the same mistakes from your past into your present, even if you know it’s wrong, you could have an unhealthy issue with your identity. Your identity has many compartments. You may seem healthy in some areas of identity, but be unhealthy in others. You might even have what appears to be a positive sense of identity, but it can still be unhealthy. Our heart is the seat of our identity. We all live out of the beliefs of our hearts. Our behavior is the result of those beliefs.

To change behavior, we must focus on changing the beliefs of our hearts. Behavior modification generally just leaves us exhausted in trying to change the symptom, but not healing the problem.
Is this scriptural? Absolutely!

Proverbs. 4:33. New International Version
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

Proverbs 3:23 Complete Jewish Bible.
"Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences."

Take a step in a healthy direction! Identity is Everything!

Honestly, I Just don't Like This Scripture!

Before you judge me too harshly, let me explain. I do love God’s word. Like you, I have some favorite scriptures, (about 200 or so), but there are scriptures that challenge me.

The one I’m referring too in the title is found in the Book of James, Chapter 4, verses 2-4.

2-4 “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.“

I DON’T LIKE WHEN MY FAITH HAS TESTS AND CHALLENGES! Especially when it seems like these tests really do come at me from ALL SIDES! It’s these tests and trials that expose the true colors of our faith.

But this scripture tells us to consider it a gift! WHY? Because they help us mature. This scripture doesn’t say that these tests and challenges are even from God. After all, He can’t and won’t test us with evil. The fallen world we live in is a test all by itself. I don’t like being proven to be deficient in any way. Do you? The process of life’s challenges is necessary in order to achieve the desired result!

So, if I want maturity and to be well developed, I have to change my outlook! I have to change the way I look at tests and challenges, knowing that as I “trust God” in and through them, I’m being equipped for other things.

Let me share a couple of things that can help in moving through these trying times.

1. There’s always more going on than what we see in the moment. We only see in part. We only know in part. There is a bigger picture. The frustrations and irritations that we feel are based on a part - not the whole. God always has a bigger picture and a bigger plan. God’s plans are good. He said so! Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “ I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; they are good and not evil. They are plans that give you hope and a future and an expected end.”

   Rest in the fact that his plan provides new appointments that have the power to override the the disappointments of our present and past.

2. There’s always a promise from God. During these times of, “the trying of our faith”, we can focus on the promises that God’s word has given us for every situation. I’ve yet to meet the Christian that does not need to grow more in certain areas of his or her life. Our trials, combined with faith and patience have the ability to, “Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

   God’s desire is that we are not deficient in any way - which means that God wants us to grow up into His ways and representation of Him.

I may not like the process while in the process, but I love the idea of being a better representation of Him. In all ways!

Honestly, I Just don't Like This Scripture!

Before you judge me too harshly, let me explain. I do love God’s word. Like you, I have some favorite scriptures, (about 200 or so), but there are scriptures that challenge me.

The one I’m referring too in the title is found in the Book of James, Chapter 4, verses 2-4.

2-4 “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.“

I DON’T LIKE WHEN MY FAITH HAS TESTS AND CHALLENGES! Especially when it seems like these tests really do come at me from ALL SIDES! It’s these tests and trials that expose the true colors of our faith.

But this scripture tells us to consider it a gift! WHY? Because they help us mature. This scripture doesn’t say that these tests and challenges are even from God. After all, He can’t and won’t test us with evil. The fallen world we live in is a test all by itself. I don’t like being proven to be deficient in any way. Do you? The process of life’s challenges is necessary in order to achieve the desired result!

So, if I want maturity and to be well developed, I have to change my outlook! I have to change the way I look at tests and challenges, knowing that as I “trust God” in and through them, I’m being equipped for other things.

Let me share a couple of things that can help in moving through these trying times.

1. There’s always more going on than what we see in the moment. We only see in part. We only know in part. There is a bigger picture. The frustrations and irritations that we feel are based on a part - not the whole. God always has a bigger picture and a bigger plan. God’s plans are good. He said so! Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “ I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; they are good and not evil. They are plans that give you hope and a future and an expected end.”

   Rest in the fact that his plan provides new appointments that have the power to override the the disappointments of our present and past.

2. There’s always a promise from God. During these times of, “the trying of our faith”, we can focus on the promises that God’s word has given us for every situation. I’ve yet to meet the Christian that does not need to grow more in certain areas of his or her life. Our trials, combined with faith and patience have the ability to, “Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

   God’s desire is that we are not deficient in any way - which means that God wants us to grow up into His ways and representation of Him.

I may not like the process while in the process, but I love the idea of being a better representation of Him. In all ways!

It's Not An Easy Thing!

There’s no shame in needing help through the decision and process of FORGIVING OTHERS. More times than not, forgiveness is a journey not just a one time decision. The boundaries we create to keep our offenders out, can also keep us locked in with our offense, pain, and resentment. While those boundaries may temporarily make us feel safe, they can not be a healthy substitute for forgiveness!

The prisoner we set free is ourselves, when we choose to forgive! You don’t have to take this journey alone.

Surviving Estrangement ( With your sanity)! #9 The Root of Bitterness!

When experiencing estrangement from a loved one, we feel a myriad of emotions. The internal trying to make sense of it, the mental roller coaster ride with its ups and downs, loops and jolts, can be wearisome.

Whether we are the estranger or the estranged, It’s important to guard our hearts against the root of bitterness. There’s a pretty good chance that resentment or bitterness has already played a big part in the scenario anyway.

Bitterness is more than just an emotional state that involves sadness, resentment and anger. It can evolve from feeling unappreciated, unloved, disrespected, insulted or injured.

There are consequences that bitterness has on our physical health that cannot be overlooked. It fuels our stress levels which in itself can lead to many other physical issues.

Research has proven that chronic bitterness can weaken our body’s ability to fight off infections and illnesses. I’m not one get sick often, so when I do, I make it a practice to ask myself if what I’m experiencing is associated with any unhealthy, negative feelings like resentment or bitterness. A persistent release of stress hormones suppresses our immune system’s proper functioning - so not only do we have an “open door” for infections and sicknesses, our bodies can’t recover as quickly when we do get sick.

Our bodies also become more susceptible to risks of high blood pressure, which in turn adds to the possibility of heart disease and stroke .

Digestive issues, sleep disorders, accelerated aging, and chronic muscle aches and pains are also some of the ways bitterness can affect our physical health.

We also need to look at the fact that there is the spiritual aspect of bitterness. Bitterness at its core is a self-protecting judgment that we make about someone else. It seems like Jesus may have spoken once or twice about not judging others.

Hebrews 12:15 instructs believers in this way. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”

This scripture offers us a solution to bitterness! It’s not just a command and warning against it.

Bitterness is subject to the grace of God. When we offer our bitterness to God, He provides a grace that empowers us to live above it. Grace is the power to be and the power to do what we can’t be and do in our own strength! God’s grace has many facets to it. Grace is the basis of our salvation. Grace is also the enabling power to fulfill the will of God, as well as strength for obeying his word. In many instances of estrangement, bitterness is the root, that has empowered the problem, by both the estranger and the estranged!

Bitterness is also BLIND! It keeps us searching in the wrong direction, and only leads to deception.

According to the above mentioned scripture, the root of bitterness causes trouble, and defiles us.

Listen, I get it - estrangement is painful! Bitterness only adds to the pain, and increases chances of more pain, physically and spiritually. There is a grace that helps us to forgive. There is a grace that brings health and healing to our hearts and souls.

What is our response to God’s ability going to be? Will we release the bitterness. It’s at the root of many negative consequences we may be facing. It’s at the root of trouble in our lives. Let’s not fail to obtain the grace to forgive and move forward beyond the bitterness.

God Has Never Said OOPS!

Healing the BROKENHEARTED was intentionally placed in the redemptive mission of Christ!

The mission statement of Jesus is found in Luke 4:18-19,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the POOR; he hath sent me to heal the BROKENHEARTED, to preach deliverance to the CAPTIVES, and recovering of sight to the BLIND, to set at liberty them that are BRUISED, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord”

He knew this world would bring heartbreak. He isn’t surprised by it! He hasn’t wondered about what to do. He made healing our hearts part of His plan! Your story has another chapter!

Take The "Lord I Need You" Challenge (John 15:5)

A few weeks ago, as I was driving to town in my truck, Matt Maher’s song, Lord I need You, came on the radio.

The lyrics, “Lord I need you, how I need you! EVERY HOUR I NEED YOU,” began to challenge me. I believe all of us who call ourselves Christians, recognize our need for God, in many ways. But I felt challenged to recognize how much I readily admit that I need Him, which also makes me recognize my attitude of independence, or my “I can do this on my own”attitude . Sure, I recognize my need for grace and forgiveness - consistently! I need strength and joy and wisdom - always. But do I believe that I really need him - EVERY HOUR?

So, I accepted this inner challenge of, throughout the day, telling God, “I NEED YOU!” As close as possible to each new hour, without necessarily setting an alarm, yet being cognizant in as many hours throughout my day - as I wake up - as I lay down to sleep - acknowledging that I NEED HIM!

I could tell immediately that this was going to be beneficial to me in many ways. Here’s a short list of ways it’s helped me and might help you too!

1. It drew my attention and recognition to God, helping me to recenter my thoughts, life and actions on him!

2. It reminded me of his abiding presence.

3. It opened doors of grace. (God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble)!

4. I became more submissive and open to His leading!

5. Helped me to bear spiritual fruit!

It’s been said, “What we look at grows, and what we look at the most grows the biggest!” Of everything that’s in my life, I want His presence to be the most evident. I want His promises and purposes to be manifested! The only way for that to happen is if I consistently LOOK AT HIM!

Perhaps you look for these things as well! If so, I want to invite you to take the “Lord I Need You Challenge!” It’s not to pressure, judge, or condemn ourselves or others over. It is intended to encourage you and help in the areas I’ve found help in, but possibly other areas as well!

LORD, I NEED YOU! EVERY HOUR I NEED YOU!

Jn. 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me…you can do nothing.