Making a list checking it twice

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:27

 

God keeps a record in the Lamb’s book of life of those who have trusted His son as their Lord and Savior. Salvation from hell to heaven begs the question, “Is my name written in the book of life?” “Am I on the list?” Yes, if you believe Jesus died for your sins and rose from the grave to give you life in Him; you are known in heaven. There is a required transaction of faith in Jesus before you can enjoy fellowship with Jesus. God’s good list offers eternal security.

 

Believers in Jesus do not receive a final judgment of separation from God. The option of exclusion from the Lord’s presence in eternity is removed when His presence is invited on earth. However, there is a judgment after death for disciples regarding how they behaved in this life. Did we store up treasures in heaven or did we waste our time with the trivial and trinkets of earth? Joyous will be followers of Jesus who bow before their Lord and hear from Him, “Well done.”

 

By God’s grace we seek to be righteous in this brief life for this is the caliber of our eternal life. Assurance of being on the good list is not a ticket to live for the flesh, rather it is freedom and motivation to live for the spirit. Our corruptible flesh will perish, but our incorruptible spirit will live. An individual who chooses heaven over hell desires its quality of life. The Holy Spirit within yearns for holiness without. Love wins when our name is in His Book.

 

Rejoice, since our Savior never ever employs an eraser. He writes our name in stone on the pages of His book. Just as the government records your physical birthday, so heaven records your spiritual date of birth. It is well with your soul, since your salvation is sealed by the Holy Spirit. You are on the list, so do good with God.

Promises

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:10-12

 

In recent years, my children have come to realize that promises are a big deal. I can tell them directly and explicitly all sorts of things, such as “I’ll be home early today,” “We’ll go to the zoo, or the store this Saturday,” or “You can have a bedtime snack as long as you eat all your food.” Yet these statements never seem to give them the confidence and assurance that they are seeking. To each of these questions and countless more, I’m confronted with a familiar question, “Do you promise, Daddy?”

 

I think my children’s desire for a promise is rooted in their deep desire for assurance that what I’ve said will, in fact, come true.

 

Throughout the Bible we encounter the promises of God, words that have offered comfort, hope, and peace to countless people throughout all of human history. We are told that the Lord will bless His people and through them bring His blessings to the entire world (see Gen. 12:2). We are reminded that the Lord is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble (see Psalm 46:1). And we know that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us (see Deut. 31:6).

 

Yet what we often find in Scripture, such as this passage from Isaiah, is our need for the Lord to reassure us of His faithfulness to the promises He has made. Especially in a world that so often suffers under the crippling weight of injustice, at times it is hard to see the hand of God at work in our midst. We, like my young children, look around us and say, “Lord, do you promise?”

 

When we are invited to have a childlike faith, part of that invitation is to trust in the goodness and love of God just as a child trusts the love and care of their parents. When God promises to lead His children into joy and peace, He does so as a loving father who delights to give good gifts to His children (see Mt. 7:11). As our creator and sustainer, the one in whom we live and move and have our being (see Acts 17:28), we trust that He is strong enough and powerful enough to bring about that which He commands. Even when we don’t understand, even if we aren’t sure how He is going to bring good out of so much pain and tragedy, we must take heart and remember that the word of the Lord never returns empty and always achieves its purpose.

Eternal reward

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Revelation 20:12

 

Those saved by grace and faith in Jesus are eternally secure. But, eternal rewards are based on a disciple’s efforts on earth. Disciples who ignore their spiritual opportunities and obligations will miss out on their Lord’s affirmation and remuneration. Those sober saints who take seriously their Savior’s expectations will enter into the joy of the Lord. Christ rewards obedience to Him and faith in Him.

 

Rewards in heaven are meant to be godly motivation. Yes, our first response is to serve Jesus out of love and our overflowing gratitude for His goodness and grace. And it is wise to fear the Lord and allow our holy awe of the Lord to be foundational for our life of faith and works. But there is an end in mind: Jesus wants His children to be devoted and compelled by anticipating His generous gifts.

 

It is a process of renewing your mind with an eternal decision-making filter that facilitates biblical thinking and doing. Ask the Lord in prayer how He wants you to invest your life in others. How does God want you to use your experience, your assets, your time, your money, and your influence for His purposes? In other words, how can you make eternal investments on earth that bear fruit for God’s glory?

 

What you do does not get you to heaven, this comes only by faith in Christ and God’s amazing grace. But what you do after becoming a disciple of Jesus does determine the quality of your eternal experience. The persecuted and martyred in this life have a great reward waiting in the next life. Those who initiate resources and influence on behalf of the poor and needy bring great satisfaction to Jesus which He expresses in bountiful blessings. Indeed, He rewards all those who diligently seek Him by faith.

 

Love God and your reward will be great. Be a faithful witness who plants or waters the gospel of Jesus Christ and you will be rewarded by spending forever with eternally grateful souls. Send your investments ahead to heaven, by aggressively giving it away on earth. Resist; even reject rewards from the culture, so you are positioned to receive Christ’s rewards. Remain faithful to God’s call and look forward to His reward.

These are my confessions

The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.     Numbers 21:7

 

Confessional prayer is coming clean with God. There is sensitivity to the Spirit that abhors sin and its consequences. It knows it is in need of repentance and forgiveness. Oddly enough, our sin may come on the heels of a great act from the Lord. God may have previously worked mightily in our midst, but we forget to thank Him for His recent past provisions and we rush to judge whether He or others will see us through our uncertain future.

   

We grow impatient when God does not give us immediate results, though we have seen Him work things out beautifully before. Unless we catch ourselves, we spiral down into fearful living. We know in our head that He is faithful, but our heart is drawn away by fear. So, confessional prayer comes full circle and comes clean with Christ. We get honest about our own frustrations, murmuring, and complaining. We take responsibility for our own bad attitudes. We can’t change the other person with whom we have conflict, but by God’s grace, we can change ourselves as the .

   

We may not be able to improve our circumstance for the better, but we can become better by acting as if Almighty God is in control. We can throw ourselves on the need for His mercy and forgiveness. He listens to our contrite prayer of confession. Our sincere pleas to sovereign God solicit Him to forgive our sin, so confession matters. It moves the heart of heaven when He hears your cries. Your prayer of repentance engages God. Your teachable heart is how the Spirit is able to bring about life transformation. There is no need to stay on the treadmill of temptation and tentative obedience. Step off with the Spirit’s help, and run by faith. Lastly, use your confession of sin as an invitation for others to intercede on your behalf.

   

Your prayer of repentance is not reserved for God alone. Accountability grows when we ask for prayer over our awful attitudes. Yes, it is humbling and sometimes humiliating, but the prayers of godly people are levers for the Lord and a surge of the Spirit’s support. Sin loses its grip when you involve praying people over your process of repentance. We do much better when we ask a friend to pray that our lustful looks at an attractive person become glances of admiration and respect. Specific prayers for a marriage that models unselfishness reinforce our role as a faithful husband or a loving wife. Ongoing prayer reinforces our confession. We succeed at resisting sin when we know others are praying for us. We have a much higher probability for change when we confess our sin to God and to the saints who love us too much not to pray for us and hold us accountable.

   

Therefore, pulverize any preoccupation with sin by confessing your need for prayer and accountability. Sin slithers back into its dark corner when exposed by the light of confession and prayer. Reveal your secret sin to somebody you trust. Ask them to pray for you, it facilitates freedom and healing.

Divine direction

I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:23

We do not own our lives.  We have been bought with a price ( See 1 Corinthians 6:20). Jesus’ sacrificial blood purchased our freedom from the fire of hell, sin, and death.  By faith, He owns us.  A great exchange took place when you first believed in Jesus.  What’s yours became His, and what’s His became yours.  The life of Christ became your life. It is not your life to define, but His.  He has wrapped a wonderful definition around whose you are in Him. You are a child of God.  You are secure because your Savior keeps you.  You are valuable because the Lord values you.  You are protected because the Lord owns you as you are His prize purchased possession.

The Bible is God’s glossary of how to define yourself.  Scripture gives you a family tree of faith for you to trace your spiritual roots.  It is a mirror of how God sees you.  He sees you as accepted in His Son, though you suffer rejection from others.  Cherish and enjoy daily the acceptance of Jesus. Moreover, your mistakes are His opportunity to affirm His acceptance and love.  There are still consequences to your sin, but He is always available to receive you back because you are His.    

Furthermore, He directs His own (See Isaiah 48:17).  God’s desire for you is to understand and follow His will for your life.  Beloved it’s a step-by-step process and He directs your steps by and through the unction of His Spirit.  The Lord leads you in lockstep with His steps and voice as He leads us to join Him in the work of His will.    

Learn to walk patiently with Him, and watch Him work.  The Holy Spirit is your guide.  Learn how to let the Lord direct your steps.  Prayerfully listen to the quiet prompting/unction from His Spirit.  Stop when you need to stop.  Speed up when you need to speed up.  Slow down when you need to slow down.  God directs the steps of a submitted, surrendered heart.  

The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”    Nehemiah 8:10

 

God’s joy is free and available for all who will receive. The joy of the Lord is limitless. It is like a wellspring of living water that flows forever. You cannot pump it dry. No thirsty soul who has ever tasted God’s joy has been dissatisfied or found their thirst unquenched. The weak soul is rejuvenated under the influence of heavenly joy.  An athletic victory is fleeting, to be enjoyed only so briefly; but the joy of the Lord penetrates the depths of who you are. God’s joy wells up to provide resilience during times of testing. This is the result of tapping into His divine resource. Natural resources deplete over time but the joy of the Lord is infinite. The joy of the Lord also travels way beyond happiness. Happiness is based on your circumstances; joy is based on your faith and relationship with God. Your circumstances will change, and with every change comes the possibility of losing your happiness.

 

God never changes not. Therefore, the chances of losing your joy are null and void, if you are focused on the Joy-Giver. Just as you depend on the local power company to provide your home with electricity, so the wise follower of Christ looks to God for his provision of joy. God’s joy is ready and waiting to be deployed into your heart. He is not stingy. Go to the eternal dispenser of joy and receive what the world cannot sustain and money cannot buy: the joy of the Lord; it is your strength. So, how can His joy be retained?

 

The joy of the Lord comes through the channel of faith. This is the coupon you need in exchange for this wonderful prize. Your faith is bolstered and made alive through the word of God. This joyful energy does not come from a cursory reading of God’s word, but rather a reading for understanding, application, and transformation. Joy explodes from the pages of Scripture as we understand our utter dependence on God and His tender compassion and mercy. Your mind is washed of the sin-stained lies of the world, and you begin to believe the truth that you have great significance in God’s eyes. Your exposure to the repetition and teaching of the Bible garners understanding. Your understanding of whom God is and what He has done, and is doing,for you, will cause joy to explode in your heart.

 

Furthermore, His strength created by His joy will sustain you even in the most difficult of circumstances. Holy Spirit-initiated life-change spews joy over you and everyone around you. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”(3 John 4). When a more mature Christian witnesses a young believer growing in the faith as a result of their discipleship time, it brings joy. When a spouse experiences unconditional love from their life mate as a result of a divine encounter, it brings joy. Application of God’s word elicits joy.

 

Lastly, joy comes from celebrating God’s faithfulness. Regularly recall the goodness of God. Once you were blind, but now you see. Your family, your health, your friends, your career, your opportunities, your joy, and countless other blessings are all gifts from God. These precious memories are cause for celebration. This is reason to be joyful. This is the joy of the Lord. This is the source of your strength. Be joyful in Jesus, so you can be strong in your Savior.

My thinking His mind

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8

 

God’s will does not always make sense. It may not make sense because we factor in our own understanding. If left to our understanding, we would be miserable. There is a greater pool of knowledge reserved for us in Christ. Do not underestimate its value and availability. It is valuable because of the divine direction that can save us from running down paths that waste our time and the time of others. God’s way may not make sense now, but it will later. His thoughts and ways are easily accessible by faith.

 

Faith is our constant connection to God-thinking, but we struggle with this because we have been programmed differently. Some of us wrongly think we don’t deserve God’s grace, so we don’t feel the need to receive it. We cannot, however, live the Christian life without the grace of God. God’s way is the grace way. We give Him glory and He gives us grace. We give Him praise and He gives us peace. We give Him worship and He gives us confidence. This is the way of God. He created the original “road less traveled.” Avoid the mindless masses and follow God. His ways may not be the most popular, but they are the most productive. His thoughts transcend our thoughts.

 

God-thinking takes discipline. This temporal world does not necessarily reward eternal thinking. In fact, it may punish you for thinking God-thoughts. You think people outside of Christ are lost in their sins and hell-bound; the world thinks you are narrow in your thinking. Yet these are Jesus’ thoughts. This is not popular thinking, and may be not practical, but it is true. As a follower of Christ, you can think God-thoughts. You can think like God because you have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16).

 

Your conversion experience infused you with a new worldview. No longer are you limited by what you can do, but by faith, you anticipate what God can do through you. Instead of thinking self-centered thoughts, you focus on God-centric thinking. When you think like Jesus, you do not have to be in control. You trust Him to handle people and circumstances in His timing. This is tapping into the mind of Christ to renew your thinking on a moment-by-moment basis. God-thinking is only a faith-step away.

 

The mind of Christ gives you an advantage. You do not have to think inaccurate thoughts. Zealous ignorance tears down, while passionate truth-thinking builds up. Test what you believe and see if it withstands the scrutiny of critical thinking (Acts 17:11), that is, critical thinking based on the Word of God. You may currently believe something that is untrue. You may believe God does not love you and He will not forgive you. This is not true. He loves you right where you are, and wants His very best for you. God’s best is best. Why settle for anything less?

 

Think God-sized thoughts, and expect God-sized results. Make His ways your ways, and incorporate His thinking into your thinking. It may seem peculiar at first, and others may label you as strange, but you know better. This is right-thinking. And when your thinking is right, you can’t go wrong.

Spiritual Amnesia

Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. 2 Peter 1:12-15

 

As human beings, we are forgetful people. We’re prone to forget important events like birthdays and anniversaries, and I’m sure we’ve all, at one time or another, turned the house upside down looking for a lost wallet or set of keys. While these kinds of mistakes may be embarrassing or frustrating, the consequences are relatively small. What’s far more costly and significant is spiritual amnesia.

 

Spiritual amnesia is something that every single person is vulnerable to and must learn to defend against. If, as the old hymn says, we are “prone to wander,” in our spiritual lives we are also “prone to forget.” This is why in just a few short verses Peter three times encourages his readers to remember the ways of the Lord and the hope that we have in Christ. He is fully aware of the fact that, though our intentions may be good and sincere, without a consistent rhythm of prayer, worship, and study, our thoughts and lives turn away from the things of God and turn instead to the countless things that vie for our attention.

 

Did you notice how Peter prays that they would “be able at any time to recall these things?” There is a profound lesson for us in this phrase. We must learn to be people who trust in God and live lives that look like Jesus at all times and in all places. Following Jesus isn’t just for Sunday services, small group studies, or early morning devotions. It is also for office break rooms, soccer fields, and grocery stores. This is the heart of Peter’s prayer: his desire is that we would be so deeply formed in the ways of Jesus that in life’s greatest joys and darkest fears, in the most sacred of moments and those that seem unbearably mundane, we would recall in our minds and know deep in our bones that God is good, faithful, and true.

 

The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart, today, right here and right now. He desires deeply to fill you with his joy and peace. Do you hear him?

 

Protect yourself today from spiritual amnesia and learn to encounter the Lord afresh in every area of your life

Bridge building

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.     2 Samuel 14:14

 

Sometimes, people do dumb, stupid, and even shameful things. Their unwise choices may have inflicted great harm and even compounded into calamity and crisis. They are foolish because they chose to inflict pain when they knew better. Sin has caused them to suspend their good sense and Biblical worldview for a season. It is a season of misery and messiness. They are confused, alone, and humiliated.

 

However, they may not be at a point where they’re ready to admit their mistakes, but deep down in their soul there is a wondering of how much they have disappointed God and those who love them the most. They feel confused, for sin does complicate matters. And now they are caught in a web of deceit that will not let them go. They have lost perspective and seem to be swirling down into a spiritual and a relational vortex. Not only are they estranged from their loved ones; they are estranged from their heavenly Father.

   

Separation from God is a lonely place. You can know for certain that your estranged loved one is conflicted, confused, and bitter. It is the love of God and your love that will bring them back to their senses. Sin has confused them and they have lost their bearings, but you know the way. It may take a third party to counsel you and coach you through this process of reaching out, but do not underestimate the effectiveness of your ability to build a relational bridge.

   

Relational bridge-building is not easy, and it takes time. But it can become necessary to woo the wandering one back home. Yes, they have made their bed, and now they are sleeping between its twin sheets of fear and insecurity. However, the bridge you are building leads to a bed of acceptance and peace. This current war of words is in need of a cease-fire. No one wins in a vicious and venomous volley of blame. Instead, a bridge-builder prays; he prays to first be changed. They accept blame and replace perceived rejection with action-oriented acceptance. A bridge-builder calls, writes, and sends gifts of encouragement and even takes the initiative to over-communicate. A bridge-builder seeks to understand and then love the estranged one at their point of need.

   

Maybe your child is living with an undesirable roommate. Reach out and get to know this person who is negatively influencing your son or daughter. By God’s grace, become the influencer of the influencer. Invite them into your home and love them to God. Let your home become a magnet of grace that draws them into a reminder of what’s good and right.  The bridge you build may not be crossed immediately. But just its presence speaks volumes to your availability, care, and compassion. One day, circumstances will unravel for your estranged loved one. When it does, you want your bridge of love and acceptance staring them right in the face. Stay faithful as a relational bridge-builder, just as the cross of Christ is God’s bridge to you. The cross you bear is your bridge to broken people. So, continue to pray and pursue this Christ-honoring outcome.

Simple prayer

When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Matthew 6:7-8

I believe the Lord teaches us profound truths about life and faith through our children, especially when they are young. If you are a parent or have spent any time around children, you know this to be true. At times, without even knowing it, in a single sentence they can speak a deeper truth about God than an entire sermon or book on the same topic.

In my own life, my children have taught me a great deal about how to approach God in prayer. Prayer for them is never a display of the sincerity of their piety or the depths of their Biblical knowledge. Prayer is instead the simple request from the heart of a child, offered to a heavenly Father that they believe and know hears them, loves them, and desires a relationship with them. They also remind me of the profound truth of Jesus’s words in Matthew 6: God knows the needs and desires of our hearts before we ever speak a single word.

The Lord knows us and loves us more than we even know and love ourselves. The concerns, burdens, bruises, and hurts that we carry with us are already known by a God who deeply desires to wash our wounds and heal us from the inside out. Your connection to God in prayer is never based upon the eloquence or length of your prayers but upon the fact that God is a loving Father who has called you His son or His daughter.

Prayer is never a transactional agreement but is always an exchange of love where we encounter the goodness and faithfulness of God and we in turn respond with a renewed, childlike faith.

When you pray, remember that you are first and foremost entering into a relationship in which you are loved and learn to love in return. This will forever free you from the pressure to impress the Lord with persuasive, articulate, or extensive prayers. Come instead with a simple faith that always remembers that the Lord knows your needs before you even ask.

Ambitions

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you. 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Every new year, we find ourselves filled with ambitions and dreams for the year ahead. During this first week each year countless individuals set goals for themselves in hopes of improving and bettering their lives. Common resolutions include eating healthy, exercising more, getting out of debt, or taking up a new hobby. 

If you’re anything like me, your ambition for these resolutions/goals greatly exceeds what you’re actually able to accomplish. I’ll set a dozen highly ambitious goals and faithfully pursue them for a few weeks, but by the time March rolls around I can barely remember what those goals even were or I have given up on them cause my hear got bigger than my ability. Perhaps you can relate.

As we look to the Scripture today, we’re confronted with a rather unusual resolution. We’re told to be ambitious, yet our ambition is to pursue a peaceful and quiet life. What a paradox On the one hand, we’re told to have great ambition, to strive and seek after the goal set before us. Yet unlike virtually all other resolutions, our ambition is directed towards a calm and gentle spirit that finds peace in the simple and the ordinary.

At the root of our ambition we often find discontent. We are unhappy with our lives, our health, or our jobs, so we seek new ways to expand our identities or enhance our lifestyle. Yet so often this striving fails to deliver what it promises, and instead of finding contentment and peace, we find ourselves stuck in a vicious cycle of unrest and anxiety.

This year, I challenge each of us to make one very simple yet profoundly radical resolution: be content to live a quiet life.

Look for ways to find peace and joy in who God has made you to be. Encounter His blessings in small and simple ways, finding satisfaction in His presence and in time spent with those you love. Free yourself from the pressure to perform, to land your dream job, or to have a perfect body. Instead, take time this year to ambitiously pursue the peace and contentment that comes from leading a quiet and simple life with God and others.

Model it

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  John 13:15

 

Attitude is everything. It is the difference between goodness and greatness. It separates the mature from the immature. Attitude is what causes people to give up or persevere. Indeed, every leader has a responsibility to inspire hope with an optimistic attitude. Anyone can be negative and assign blame, but wise is the leader who is positive and takes responsibility. This is the attitude God blesses. He dispenses more opportunity to one whose attitude is aligned with His agenda/will. The attitude God honors is humble, unselfish, and hopeful in Him.

 

Therefore, proper attitude alignment requires a prayerful attitude. This attitude depends on God and seeks His wisdom. It is a positive attitude that always looks for the good in an individual or situation. It is also an appreciative attitude. Gratitude generates a right attitude because it rarely complains. So, our attitude is infectious, but our actions also speak volumes. It is imperative that we model with attractive actions. Behavior validates our beliefs. If we say one thing and do another, we are dishonest with others and ourselves. Actions are a barometer of our character. Appropriate actions earn us the right to influence and lead. If we are inconsistent in our actions, we confuse the team. Consistent actions facilitate faithfulness in followers.

 

Moreover, the manner in which we arrive at our definition of right actions is important. The greater context of work expectations is based on the principles found in God’s Word. The Bible is our baseline and guide for attitude and behavior. Respectful behavior is illustrated with collaborative discussions over strategy and execution. Wise actions then become the pattern of an effective and efficient culture. Wise actions align around follow-through. We do what we say and say what we do. Wise actions also solicit feedback from everyone. We rely on the wisdom of the team over our own perspective. The Bible defines right actions; so while everyone on the team may not believe in Jesus, they all agree to act like Jesus.

 

Lastly, model with your words. Words can build up or tear down. Your words can be pure and encouraging or poisonous and discouraging. Moment by moment, you have the opportunity to inject courage into your colleagues with truthful, kind, and caring words. A good rule of thumb is to measure your words prayerfully and patiently before you speak. Do not allow anger and harshness to dominate your delivery. Use words as an ointment rather than an irritant. Your words are a reflection of your heart. A healed heart produces healing words. Therefore, use words wisely by speaking as you would like to be spoken to, with a spirit of compassion. When you speak, build up rather than tear down. Speak the truth in love. Choose caring conflict over insensitive passive aggression. Words matter, so model your speech well.

 

Trust Him

A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Psalm 33:16-17

We are tempted to put our hope and trust in countless things: military might, economic strength, education and beauty, to name but a few. Each of these offers a promise of significance, success, and safety. Yet if we have learned anything from history, we know that armies are defeated, economies can crumble, and beauty is fleeting ( See Proverbs 31:30).

When we live surrounded by prosperity and success, it is easy to think that these promises are true. As a result, though we may not say it, we live in ways that show how we’ve placed our hope and trust in these earthly powers. We misplace our hope when we allow anxiety and fear to arise within us when one of these powers begins to fail. In times of political strife and turmoil, for example, are we as Christians able to remain hopeful in the steadfast love and unshakable power of the Lord? This is the way of life that the Psalmist invites us into (See Psalm 33:20-22).

In each and every generation, God’s people must learn and live out this profound truth. The Lord alone is our source of help and protection. Our joy and happiness is not linked to our personal success or national strength but is found only in the love of God that He freely lavishes upon us. And when we encounter times of great trial, conflict, or pain, we are never to despair for we know that the Lord is with us. As we are reminded in the book of Isaiah, “though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, my unfailing love for you will not be shaken” (Isaiah 54:10).

If you are tempted today to put your trust in the empty promises of this world, turn again to the Lord and trust in him. If the storms that swirl about you cause fear and turmoil within, hear afresh the words of the Lord Jesus, “do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” ( See John 14:27). Trust in the Lord, for He alone is our strength and our salvation.

Don't be afraid

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Mark 5:35-36

 

Of all the things that burden us and weigh on our souls, sickness and suffering in the lives of those we love is likely at the top of the list. Is there any greater trial than to observe a loved one in pain and yet be entirely helpless to bring them relief and rest? Though we do all that we can to comfort and console, we reach a point of exhaustion, desperation, and helplessness. This is exactly the sort of person Jesus encounters in Mark chapter 5.

 

Jairus, we are told, was “one of the rulers of the synagogue,” clearly a man of personal means and great influence. When his daughter fell gravely ill, he certainly would have secured for her the best care in the entire region, sparing no expense. Yet in spite of this, we find him begging and pleading with the Lord Jesus for his daughter to be made well. He was, as we say, at the end of his rope. 

 

As the story unfolds, we see the situation go from bad to worse as the last light of hope goes out, with word reaching the man that his daughter had already died. In light of this tragic news, as the messengers say, “why bother the teacher anymore?” When all hope is lost, why continue to pursue Jesus? Jesus’ response to this question invites us deeper into the mystery of God’s love, nature, and power.

 

To follow Jesus is to believe that there is never a time, moment, or situation in which all hope is lost.   Even when staring death in the face, we must learn to hear the words of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” We must remember that we serve a God who is Lord of heaven and earth, in whose hand “is the life of every living thing.” (see Job 12:10) We must believe that the God who defeated death on the cross is powerful enough to bring hope and healing to the darkest and most painful moments of life, even when all hope seems to be lost.

 

Do we seek Jesus in prayer only for the things that seem likely to be answered, or are you and I willing to learn from this story and continue to open ourselves up to God’s plan and power even when it is beyond what we can see or understand?

 

Take whatever weighs heavy on your heart today to the Lord in prayer, and find comfort and peace for your soul. Do not be afraid. The Lord is with you and will never abandon you, and in light of the resurrection we know that a day is coming when all shall be made well. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus

Handling stress

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45, NLT

 

When stress begins to drizzle down and dampen my soul, or anger bubbles up in my heart, I am almost certain to be in a mode where I am focused on a person or circumstance that is out of my control. Why would I try to harness another person’s heart and seek to change them, anymore than I could attempt to guide the weather into conditions pleasing to my desires? It’s my heart that I’m expected to monitor and make better under the influence of God’s grace and love. If I let go of trying to control the uncontrollable, I can work on the stubbornness of my own wandering heart.

 

Jesus describes our heart as a treasury of good and evil, a repository of abundance for good or bad. For example, a healthy government treasury is full of resources necessary to invest in opportunities and to step in during times of crisis and calamity. So it is with a healthy heart. Instead of being jealous of another’s success or angered by pride, we can store up in our hearts: humility, forgiveness, acceptance and love. In collaboration with Christ, we daily invest into His righteous treasures and over time the compounding interest of gracious words flow from our heart.

 

Has not getting your way caused you to lose your way? What started out as feeling slighted has grown into a combative posture of full blown rejection. Maybe at work you have run into a rough spot and there needs to be clarity around your expectations and your supervisor’s expectations. Because of the warp speed pace of your work, your boss may have assumed they clearly communicated their changes to you, but they didn’t. Big decisions require all involved to slow down and understand each other. Respectful, candid conversations invite the team’s influence.

 

Once you’ve given your input, the results are in the Lord’s hands and with those in a position of authority over you. Trust. Believe the best and rest in Christ’s control. If the direction of your company grows contrary to your convictions, perhaps they are doing you a favor, by giving you an open door to do something different. Better to move on and not be tempted to be disloyal. Or, by waiting out the uncertainty at work, a new day may arrive where you are rewarded for your patience. Most of all, deposit into the treasury of your heart, good things, so your words give life.