Friends' Favorites - Time for a Change

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
2nd Timothy 2:24-26 NLT

Did you ever notice in Scripture how the apostles addressed and defined themselves?
Paul, a servant of the Lord;
Peter, a slave to Christ;
His servant John;
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All in submission - all in service to God and Christ Jesus. 

What is it servants do? Whatever the Master instructs them to do. Not IF they feel like it. Not WHEN they feel like it. Not only if the the other servants do or don't do it. Not only when someone's looking...

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

He had to include that one, right? The be patient with difficult people phrase? I noticed tonight there's not a qualifying statement attached to that sentence, either; such as, except for Mondays or be patient with difficult people once or twice, but smack 'em the 3rd time...

Can it really be that big of a deal? Is it that important for us to be patient with difficult people? The Word says, Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap.

Their eternity could be determined by whether or not we CHOOSE to be kind and patient to them. It's time for a change. Let it begin with me.

Prayer:

Father,
          Change MY heart so that I can be kind and not quarrelsome. Patient and not peeved. Let my life reflect Your love. May I never again get down to that last nerve. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Are You Putting Me On?

Then He said to His disciples,

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing."

Luke 12:22-23 NKJV

 We put on a lot of things in an effort to improve how we look and how we are perceived by those around us. We put on deodorant and clean clothes. Women put on makeup and sometimes men wish they could and both put on multiple hair products and colognes. Many people are motivated by not wanting to be judged. However, even when we're not trying to be judgmental, we often have a comment based on something we've decided we like. I like your shirt. Your hair looks great. Your makeup looks really good today. Is that a new jacket? Oh, I love your earrings. It doesn't stop there, but neither you nor I have the time to make a complete list.

Then you've got phrases like, Puttin' on the Ritz, puttin' on the dog, putting on a brave face, puttin' on your big-boy britches. One of my favorite quotes is by A.A. Milne, 'When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.'  Makes me wanna put on my Big Boots...

The greatest adventure of them all has to do with putting on something else entirely. There was a certain crown  - made of thorns  - that was put on His head. And they also put on Him a purple robe. Then they mocked Him, judged Him and falsely accused him, and put Him on the Cross to die for our sin.  

Galatians 3 tells us, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Have we put Him on or are we putting Him on (but not in a good way) and only fooling ourselves?

Colossians 3:12-14 NKJV, tells us, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 

Do we see ourselves putting on all these things, according to this passage of Scripture? If Jesus asked, "Are you putting ME on?" what would be your answer?

Prayer:

Father,
          According to Your Word, Since we have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, help us to throw off our old sinful nature and our former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. Help us to put on our new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - The Makings of a Hero

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 NLT

You may not have heard of Chris Farias before. He received the Navy Cross for his act(s) of valor.  It is the highest award bestowed for Navy and Marine personnel. It is second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is a BIG deal - HUGE honor - and well deserved. His family and friends are extremely proud of him and grateful to God for protecting his life. You see, Chris was wounded in the battle and still, he fought on.

I've been thinking about courage and what it takes to be courageous because I was thinking about Chris. He was one of the little boys who lived next door to where I raised my youngest child - also a boy - a couple years older than Chris. When my son read the Summary of Action nominating Chris for the Navy Cross, he responded with, "Who would have known that back then, I was driving a hero to school every day?"

You know, when we think HERO, we tend to think Large and in charge - topping out over 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and muscles on top of muscles. A superpower or two wouldn't hurt, either. Chris is none of those things. His younger brother towers over him. Chris is lean and well-muscled, but you won't catch him flexing them. As a teenager, he gave his mother fits. He wasn't a model student. So then, what makes a hero?

Courage.

You're not born with it. I believe it is forged in those times when you witness someone making the right choice in spite of the odds or negative peer pressure or response and doing it unpretentiously. I believe it's something that develops in the fiber of your being because of the choices you make as you observe it being played out in life. I believe we can be courageous when someone we respect and believe in expects us to be so.

Joshua and Caleb stood before the people of Israel and declared that the Promised Land was theirs for the taking. Ten others stood up and said, "No way..." and discouraged all of Israel (read the book of Numbers, chapter 32).

Bottom line - Joshua ultimately led the people of Israel into the Promised Land... but not without a fight. It's important to know that. God told him ahead of time they'd have to fight for it - but God also told him to be strong and be courageous.

You may be fighting life on every side. You may wonder why you have to... Joshua had to - JESUS had to... we live in a fallen world. But listen, be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. You have the makings of a hero!

Prayer:

Father, 

            Thank You for teaching us how to be strong and courageous. Thank You for putting the pattern before us. Help us to step up to fulfill Your plan for our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Holey, Wholly, Holy

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. 

Colossians 1:19-23a NLT

Have you ever paused to reflect on holy? On what it is and how it applies to your life? When I think of holy, I think of pure, undefiled, perfect... none of which are naturally included in the list of top ten adjectives I would use to describe me. (I know I can get an 'Amen' on that - I don't even have to ask for one.)

I am so humbled when I stop to think that the God of the Universe sent His perfect and perfectly holy Son to die in my stead, to pay the price for MY sin, so that I could stand - stand, mind you! - in the presence of the Almighty God, holy and blameless, without a single fault. It is almost unbelievable, but for Grace.

When I was thinking about Holy! Holy! Holy! this morning and about how it applied to my life, I thought of it more like Holey! Wholly! Holy! Most of us start our walk of faith holey... Holes in our hearts where hurts blew through. Gaping holes in our love toward each other because of lack of trust. Then we ask Jesus into our hearts and He fills us - makes us whole again. So because of Him our holey can serve Him wholly...and stand holy and blameless before Him. What a mighty God we serve!

Prayer:

Father,
           Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty, You are perfect in power, in love and purity. And we humbly bow before You, Lord, to worship and adore You. In Jesus' Name we pray, the One who made it possible. Amen

Friends' Favorites - What's the Difference?

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Psalm 11:3 KJV

I like reading different versions and translations of the Word of God because sometimes they say it so differently that I am able to understand the BIG picture of it all. This same text for today in the New Living Translation reads, The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?  And I love it in The Message, The bottom's dropped out of the country; good people don't have a chance... Hmmm... I heard that line at the office just the other day.

I remember a conversation I had with a young woman years ago. She believes in God, but she has not yet embraced the Word as her standard for living. She wanted to justify her actions and her beliefs by what was going on in the world system. It seemed right. The infamous 'Everyone else thinks it's okay.'  'There's no law against it.'

Well, actually there is...

It's just not in the book of law that she's reading...

Society (and their lawmakers) will go to unbelievable lengths to justify their actions, even so far as to enact laws saying they're okay. For those fools (that's what Scripture calls them) who say, 'There is no God,' it's almost understandable. However, for those who say, 'We believe in God' and yet still embrace what is clearly opposed to His Word, it's unbelievable... or is it?

Pastor Alan Neel said something a couple years ago that really stuck in my heart. He said, "We've spent the last 30 years making believers out of people. Nowhere in the Word of God does it say go and make believers. It says go and make disciples." 

What's the difference? James 2:19 reads, You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

What difference does it make how many laws are passed to say something is okay if the Word of God says it's sin? What difference does it make if everyone is doing it if the Word says it's sin? 

I'm going to reiterate what I said to that young lady years ago. I don't care how many rules and regulations and laws are presented, passed and posted on the books. There's only one Book of Law that doesn't change. Only one whose standards and truths remain. Immoveable, unshakeable. Only one that has stood the test of time since the beginning of time...and remains. If the Bible says it's sin, it's sin.

What does the Word say about what's going on in the world? Read further in Psalm 11, The Message, God hasn't moved to the mountains; his holy address hasn't changed. He's in charge, as always... and at the end of the chapter, God's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, Setting us straight. 

Setting us straight. Making the difference between believers and disciples. What's your standard? That's the difference.

Prayer:

Father,
          We look to You - the Author and Finisher of our faith. Make our paths straight. Lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake, according to Your Word. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Friends' Favorites: Promises, Promises

What? No Scripture?

That's because I couldn't find one - not one -  in any of the translations I have access to - not one single Scripture that tells me after I accept Christ as my Savior, I won't have any more problems, even though I've heard people say that. Yeah? Well, Promises, Promises.  I can't give you that promise - today or any day - because it has no back up in the Word of God.

However, Christ Himself gave the Promise that He will NEVER leave you (Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6,8, Joshua 1:5 NKJV). And the Promise that He will be with you until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20b NKJV). I can Promise that He will complete the work that has been started in you because He said so (Philippians 1:6 NKJV). You can see those have Scripture to back them up.  

Other Promises God offers include that whatever is born of God overcomes the world (1st John 5:4); that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37); that we have victory over death, hell and the grave. (Revelation 20:14). Jesus also said that in this world we WILL have many trials and sorrows, but we are to "take heart" because He has overcome the world (John 16:33 NLT).

But I'd like to point out something for your consideration... You're not an overcomer unless there is something to overcome (Revelation 12:10-11). You do not become a conqueror unless you face something that needs to be conquered (Romans 8:36-37). How can you have a victory without a fight or battle (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10)? Promises, Promises, and more promises. But those are REAL promises.

Prayer:

Father,
         Give us beauty for ashes. The oil of joy for mourning. Be our Strength. Grow us up in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - I Have to...

Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.

Luke 10:39-40 NLT

And after reading the text, all the "Marthas" groan collectively. Relax. I'm not here to beat you up or down. I was just thinking of how many conversations I've heard this week that contained the words, "I have to..."

I have to complete this project. I have to get this out the door by... I have to pick up... I have to drop off... I have to go... I have to come in... I have to take... I have to give... I have to... I have to... and all of it with an underlying tone of stress. As if the things that had to be done weren't enough, then there are the...If this happens, then I have to do that... If that happens, then I have to... Sound familiar?

We all do it. Subtle satan at his best or worst, depending on how you look at it.

In this present time, where we're all trying to be king and queen of the multi-taskers and see how much we can get or get accomplished, and figure out how we're going to keep it - Jesus' words still hold true. Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.

What do you have to do? Which part will you choose?

Prayer:

Father,

           I want to sit at Your feet. I want to soak in Your Words. I want to bask in Your presence. I have to. Keep me focused, Father. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen