Do You Scare Yourself?

by Paul Tripp

Are you scared of you? Some mornings I look in the mirror and scare myself, but there’s something much less comical and much more destructive that I should be afraid of. It’s the dark condition of my heart.
In Psalm 51, we encounter a man terrified of himself. David, after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, pens this phrase: “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:2-3, ESV) David doesn’t explicitly use the words, “I’m afraid of me,” but he employs a “trinitarian vocabulary” to express his fear.

1. Iniquity

Iniquity is moral uncleanness. We don’t become morally unclean because we commit acts of moral uncleanness. Rather, because we’re morally unclean from our beginning, we’re capable of committing morally unclean deeds.
The reason we think those vile thoughts and say those hurtful words and commit those violent actions is because we’re unclean in our soul. We ought to be terrified of our iniquity and the harm it can cause. It’s only when we recognize the depth of our uncleanness that we will reach out for purifying grace from the Divine Trinity and begin to experience personal change.

2. Sin

Sin means “missing the mark.” Select your most skilled archer, hand him the finest bow, and wait for the day with the most beneficial weather conditions. Even at the peak of human effort, the target is too far away for any archer to hit.
That’s our righteousness - on our best day, our deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We ought to be terrified of our sin and the inability it causes. It’s only when we recognize the depth of our helplessness that we will reach out for empowering grace from the Divine Trinity and begin to experience personal change.

3. Transgression

Transgression is trespassing. It’s parking in the “No Parking” zone, even though you tell yourself you’re going to be in the store for just three minutes. You know the law has been established, but in that moment, you couldn’t care less.
When you yell at your spouse or child, when you browse the Internet for explicit content, or when you cheat someone, you’re not doing so out of ignorance. We ought to be afraid of our transgression and the boundaries it enables us to cross. It’s only when we recognize the depth of our rebellion that we will reach out for rescuing grace from the Divine Trinity and begin to experience personal change.

A Divine Trinity

This “terrible trinity” of words captures with power and clarity the dark and destructive nature of our hearts. Iniquity, sin, and transgression ought to produce fear in our soul and drive us to seek the help and hope that can only be found in the Divine Trinity.

We need a Father who will exercise sovereign power to establish a plan that will rescue us from us. We need a Son who will take our punishment and earn forgiveness on our behalf. We need a Spirit who will dwell within in us and empower us to do what we would not be otherwise able to do.

So yes, you should be scared of you, but you shouldn’t feel hopeless. You haven’t been left to the ravages of the “terrible trinity,” because you've been rescued by the power and love of a Divine Trinity.

Pray this with me: Thank you, Sovereign Father, for your unshakeable plan. Thank you, Sacrificial Son, for standing in our place. Thank you, Warrior Spirit, for your empowering presence. In you, Triune Lord, we really find help and hope for personal change.
God bless
Paul David Tripp

Step Toward Freedom

From Good Morning, Lord by Sheila Walsh

Today I will take a step toward freedom and away from the brokenness in my past. 

His father was a violent alcoholic who beat his family mem­bers every day. His mother’s paranoia made her no source of comfort. Furthermore, she tended to set the two brothers up in competition with each other. This young man realized that nothing he accomplished would ever be enough to please his parents. Even when he later gave his life to Christ, he still dealt with fear that was rooted in the pain of his childhood—but now he didn’t deal with it alone. Every time he sensed the beast of fear and shame approaching, he could invite the love of God into that dark place.

What kind of brokenness have you experienced? Whatever it is—how­ever irreparable the damage seems—you can do what my friend does and what I do: invite God’s light into that darkness. Ask God to flood every part of your wounded soul with his love and to shine his light into every dark corner. You can fall on your knees and take any crippling thoughts about your past or haunting fears for your future to God’s throne of grace. Although he does not guarantee us pain-free passage through this world, he does promise the companionship of Christ and a peace that passes understanding.

Light brings healing to wounds, comfort to fears, and guidance to confusion. In what specific ways has God—who is light—been any or all of those things to you?

Loneliness

by Max Lucado We’ll try anything to get rid of our loneliness. But should we? Should we be so quick to drop it? Could it be that loneliness is a gift? A gift from God? A friend turns away. The job goes bad. Your spouse didn’t understand. The church is dull. One by one he removes the options until all you have left is God. He would do that?  Hebrews 12:6 tells us, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” If he must silence every voice, he will. He wants you to discover what David discovered and to be able to say what David said, “You are with me.” Loneliness. Could it be one of God’s finest gifts? Scripture says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” If a season of solitude is his way to teach you to hear his song, don’t you think it’s worth it? So do I. From Traveling Light

WHOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS?

By  Pastor Bob Hanna

Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:9
The apostle Paul defined Israel's self-imposed barrier to securing salvation: "They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). And Paul declares, regarding his own spiritual condition, as "not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Philippians 3:9). "I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18).
The prophet Isaiah describes the condition of natural man: "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). And David stated, "In thy [God's] sight shall no man living be justified" (Psalms 143:2). It is clear that man, by his own efforts, cannot attain to righteousness. This state of affairs has been pondered since time immemorial. Job asked, "How should man be just with God?" (Job 9:2.) The answer can come only from God Himself. He sent His Son and " ... made Him to be sin for us, [Him] who knew no sin: THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We, being saved by grace, are "in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us ... righteousness" (I Cor. 1:30).
That righteousness is attained by faith, and is the only way acceptable to God, has always been the one approach. "Even Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Galatians 3:6).

Look at What You Have

by Max Lucado   Linger too long in the stench of your hurt, and you’ll smell like the toxin you despise.  I spent too much of a summer sludging through sludge.  Oil field work is dirty at best.  But the dirtiest job of all?  Shoveling silt out of empty oil tanks. The foreman saved such jobs for the summer help.  Thanks boss!  My mom burned my work clothes.  The stink stuck!   Your hurts can do the same.  The better option?  Look at what you have.  Your hurts and pain took much, but Christ gave you more! Catalog His kindnesses.  Everything from sunsets to salvation—look at what you have.   Let Jesus be the friend you need.  Talk to Him.  Spare no detail.  Disclose your fear and describe your dread. Will your hurt disappear? Who knows?  And in a sense, does it matter? You have a friend for life. What could be better than that?   from Facing Your Giants

Judgment is Coming

So many are groaning about the increasing persecution of the churches and Christianity in our country in these Last Days. I would suggest to you the complacency in the pews have not only accepted but demanded the wimpishness in the pulpits coupled with false teaching and preaching even as prophesied to come by the Apostle Paul to his son in the faith Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3 & 4:

 

 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 

I have been preaching that at every ordination service I have been invited to participate in for nearly thirty years.

 

                How many demand wimpy preaching that must not offend, where hearers feel they have been ill-used if the sermon goes over twenty minutes; runs past the noon hour, or effects their place in line at the local restaurant. How many have attended travesties called prayer meetings where one forgettable “Polly wants a cracker” general prayer is uttered for the sick and shut-in to be followed by ridiculous ill prepared talk about some Bible passage?

 

                Let me share with you the first prayer uttered in the Continental Congress of the United States by Jacob Duche’ the rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia at 9a.m. 7 September 1774:[i]

 

“O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle! 

 

Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.”

 

                I submit to you that if we had more praying like that to begin our solemn assemblies in the House of God we would have less problems in the Nation today. But this was not even a church meeting but the conduct of the critical business of seeking the sort of freedom they believed God would have His people to possess. If the Presbyterian Church has men who prayed like that today perhaps it would not be turning against Israel and tolerating all manner of evil to be creeping in! But then they are but one of the religious bodies that have left their first love in America!

The Pure Word

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Proverbs 30:5)

 

When the inspired writer of Proverbs testified here that God’s Word was “pure,” he did not use the usual word for, say, moral purity or metallic purity. Instead, he asserted in effect that every word of God had been refined and purified, as it were in a spiritual furnace, so that any and all contaminants had been purged out, leaving only the pure element.

 

The same truth is found in the great psalm of the Scriptures (Psalm 119). “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it” (Psalm 119:140). David used the same word in another psalm, where it is translated “tried” in the sense of “tested for purity.” “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust in him” (Psalm 18:30). The word for “buckler” in this verse is the same as for “shield” in our text. Thus, God equips with a perfect shield against the weapons of any foe, because “His way is perfect” and “every word” in Scripture has been made “pure” before the Spirit of God approved its use by the human writer.

 

This surely tells us that the human writer of Scripture (that is, Moses or David or John or whomever), with all his human proneness to mistakes or other inadequacies, was so controlled by the Holy Spirit that whatever he actually wrote had been purged of any such deficiencies. Thus, his final written text had been made perfectly “pure,” free from any defects. This control applies to “every word,” so that we can legitimately refer to the Scriptures as verbally inspired and inerrant throughout.

 

As the apostle Paul stressed, our spiritual armor in the battle against evil is “the shield of faith” and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17). HMM

Our Responsibility Has Eternal Consequences

Our Responsibility Has Eternal Consequences 

by Dr. Robert Jeffress

 

You wicked, lazy slave, . . . you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
—Matthew 25:26–28 (Not King James)

The first two servants in Jesus’ parable of the talents were faithful to obey what the master asked them to do. As a result, the master rewarded them with much.

 

Notice the response, though, of the third servant: “The one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours’” (vv. 24–25). Apparently this third slave forgot all about the master. He probably figured the master wasn’t coming back, so he started using his life as he wanted to use it. The master’s return caught him by surprise. So when the master came back, he panicked and all he could think to do was to make excuses about why he hadn’t obeyed the master’s command. He starts accusing the master. He says, “The reason I did this is because you are a cruel person. You sow where you do not own land. And you reap property that is not your own. That’s why I was lazy and did not do what you told me to do.” By the way, this is how unbelievers treat God. There are many people out there right now who profess to be believers, but as soon as their back is up against the wall, they start attacking the character of God. It simply reveals they never knew God to begin with. 

 

Notice how the master responds: “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest” (vv. 26–27). Now I don’t think the master is admitting to what he was accused of. I think what he is saying to the third slave is this: “If you really thought I was cruel and unfair, then shouldn’t you have done what I asked you to do? Shouldn’t you at least have put my money in the bank where it would have earned interest every year? No, the problem is your wickedness and your laziness.” 

 

This verse reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:19 about the Day of Judgment. He says that on that day, every mouth will be silenced and the whole world will be accountable to God. When the great judgment comes, no excuses will be acceptable in God’s eyes. And notice what the master said about this third slave. He said, “Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents” (v. 28).

 

That leads to the fourth principle. Our faithfulness in using our opportunities here on earth has eternal consequences. Why take away from the one who only had the one talent and give it to the one who had ten talents? Jesus said, “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away” (v. 29). 

 

Jesus doesn’t end this parable the way I would have ended it. You see, if I were to end this story, I would say something like, “He who has little in this life will have a great deal in the next life. And he who has a great deal in this life, will have very little in the next life.” Doesn’t that seem fairer to you? It doesn’t sound right to say, “He who has little will lose what he has in the next life. And he who has much will have more in the next life.”

 

But that’s exactly what Jesus is saying when it comes to opportunities for serving Him. If you have been faithful to use what God has given you in this life, then you will have even more in the next life. If you have been unfaithful to use what you have in this life, you will have even less in the next life.

Smallest Life Form Discovered

Mark 8:7-8  "And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets."

A bacterium has recently been photographed that is so tiny, researchers have debated about whether it could even exist. The bacterium has a volume of only .009 cubic microns. To put that into perspective, a micron is one millionth of a meter. This means that more than 150,000 of them could fit on the tip of a single human hair.

Despite their small size, these bacterium have everything they need to survive and reproduce. And what they don't have, they borrow. For instance, these bacteria have tiny string-like structures called pili. Scientists suspect the bacteria use these pili to link up with other microbes so they can borrow key nutrients from them.

Now, don't let evolutionists tell you it would be easy for evolution to produce a life form as tiny as this bacterium. If anything, its small size speaks loudly of an incredibly intelligent Creator. Consider, for example, the phone in your purse or pocket. Today's typical smart phone is so technologically advanced, it has far more computing power than computers from the past that filled up entire rooms. And they can do far more than make phone calls. Hey, we call them smart phones for a reason!

Little things can accomplish astonishing things in the hands of a great God. Jesus took a few small fish and used them to feed thousands. God took a little boy and used him to vanquish a giant. So don't ever think you are too small or insignificant to do great things with God.

Heavenly Father, from the tiniest life form to the greatest galaxy, You have created them all! Amen.

E. Brodwin, "Scientists have finally found and photographed the tiniest life on Earth,"

Love so Amazing, so Divine - Days of Praise

“In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” (Colossians 1:22

The past two days, we have been studying the verses of the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” We have seen insights into the sufferings of Christ on the cross for our behalf, the love which led Him there, and its bountiful gift to believers. We are now prepared to consider our response.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

The author, Isaac Watts, begins verse four with a mention of creation. If we were to own it, it would not suffice as a suitable gift, for He is the Creator of all (Colossians 1:16-17), including the vastness of space, the intricacies of life and Earth systems, the mighty spiritual angels, and even the creation of His image in man. “There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Corinthians 8:6). He is Lord of all! He knows us better than we know ourselves, and yet He loves us so.

The most amazing line of the hymn is the final couplet. A fitting response to His love would be a complete offering of one’s soul, life, and all. He is our great Creator and the offended Judge. He gave up aspects of His eternal essence in order to take up our likeness and die for us. He is our everlasting King! It all focuses in on the cross—the wondrous cross!

“My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:17). JDM

His head, His hands, His feet

“Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side....And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My LORD and my God.” (John 20:27-28)


Perhaps no other means of execution ever inflicted more physical pain than Roman crucifixion. Today as we ponder verse three of the precious hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” we reflect on the facts that when Christ was crucified a cruel crown of thorns was mashed down upon His head and His body was held suspended in place by painful Roman spikes nailed through His hands and feet. He knew what awaited Him, for a description of the dying process had been written long beforehand (Psalm 22). Yet He endured it all out of love for us.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

We get some perspective of His love from these verses: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

He has done it all for us. We cannot earn salvation, but we have an obligation to conform our lives to His example, even His death. Scripture informs us that we can “know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10). His death on the cross and His resurrection pave the way for us to follow. JDM

Are We the Shepherd's Sheep?

We may judge ourselves tonight by considering whether or not we are Christ's sheep. Do we acknowledge ourselves as belonging to him, spirit, soul, and body? Do we regard ourselves as being, in relationship with him, no wiser, no stronger, than sheep to a shepherd? I know some who are certainly not sheep of Christ's flock, for they will be led by nobody in heaven, or on earth; but must have their own sweet way. They are critics of the Bible, not disciples of it. They might be very good dogs, but they are very abnormal sheep. They would make very respectable wolves, for they are great with destructive criticism; but they certainly are not sheep; and their disposition and spirit are such that they would scorn the character, if they understood it. "What! to go where I am led? To lie down where I am told to lie down? Not to choose my own way? Just to see nothing, and know nothing; but to have my eyes always on the Shepherd, and my wisdom subject to his? To be shepherded by another mind than my own? Is it so? Am I to be nothing but a sheep to the Lord Jesus?"

Yes, it is true; and therefore the modern wise man and woman are indignant, and proudly repudiates the character of a sheep. As for us, we accept all that the name implies. O brothers and sisters, we can act as a man or woman before other people, but when we come before our Lord, as the sheep is a mere animal in comparison with its shepherd, so we feel ourselves to be less than that. How often have we cried with David, "I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you." [Psalm 73:22] O my Lord, in your presence I sink as low as low can be, and you become very high, yes, everything to me, the Shepherd of my weak, vacillating, trembling spirit!

--C.H. Spurgeon

Came to Save

Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come destroy men's lives, but to save them. …..

In spite of what you might think, Jesus did not come to this earth to mess up your life! But he will. Jesus did not come to cause confusion for you. But he will. Jesus did not come to cause you unhappiness, loneliness, or, heart break. But he will. 

 

Jesus will do what ever to bring mankind back to his redeemed position with GOD.

 

Jesus will not force anyone to accept him as their savior. Jesus will draw, persuade, and, use people and places to win lost souls. 

 

When Jesus saved us, he left us here to be soul winners. One problem with our churches today is folks are waiting for others to do the work. Some people think church is where we go to watch others and criticize them for doing a poor job.

 

NO! Christian friend, church is where we go to pray, to worship, to praise the name of Jesus. We go to fellowship with like believers, to get strengthened that we might go into this world as a better witness.

 

So you see, neighbor, Jesus did not come to destroy nor kill. Jesus came to save the soul, to heal the sick, and point the way to the Heavenly Father.

Are you glad you know Jesus?

 

God Bless;
Walter D. Hill D. Min.

Nothing Is Impossible With God

One of the greatest verses in the Bible is, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Do you believe it? It’s what the angel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, when he announced that she would give birth to God’s son as a virgin.

If you are facing a particularly tough challenge where you need strength and wisdom beyond yourself, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? 

If you are in a season of grief and not sure you can make it, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? 

If you are facing discouragement, disappointment, depression, or despair, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? 

If you are struggling in your family, will you believe nothing will be impossible with God? 

Mary did and because she did, Jesus came to be our savior. He died and rose, conquering sin and death for you and me. The story of Jesus reminds us of how nothing will be impossible with God.

What Would I Give In Exchange

What would you give in exchange for life?  What is precious to you?  Would you cut off your arms to save your life?  Poke out your eyes?  What do you prize above all things?  Would you give it in exchange for another’s life?  Personally, I question myself.

Millions of people give blood to help save complete strangers’ lives.  Some people are willing to give up their kidneys, parts of their liver in order to save a loved one.  Several months ago, I saw a news account of a coffee-shop owner who gave a kidney to a customer.  Would I risk my life for another?  I think about police officers and firemen who risk their lives every day to protect us–soldiers who fight to keep us free.  I think about Christians around the world who risk their lives to study the Bible, to share the Gospel, to simply profess their faith in Christ.  Would I do that?  I’d like to believe I would, but I don’t know.  God knows.

God gave Egypt to the Babylonians as ransom for Israel. He gave Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for Israel’s release. Even though Israel was stiffnecked and stubborn, God gave life in exchange for life.  He did this because…because He loved Israel. 

”Because you are precious in My sight and honored, and because I love you, I will give men in return for you and peoples in exchange for your life.” Isaiah 43:4

They were precious in His sight.  He loved them.  Today God continues to ransom those whom He loves. Through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, He has paid the final ransom for our sin-blackened souls.  There are no more sacrifices to be made.  No more exchanges.  Jesus is the propitiation–the appeasing offering–for our sin, the wages for our death sentence.  Paid in full.

Because God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son to die on Calvary to set us free from the bondage of sin and everlasting punishment. Because He first loved me and you, He gave.  Simply “because”.

“Because you are precious in My sight…and because I love you.”

“I love Him because He first loved me.” 1 John 4:19 
Because He loves me, and because I love Him…What will I give in exchange?

What does He ask of us?  Go, tell, baptize, make disciples, teach.  So we can’t teach.  So we can’t make disciples.  So we can’t baptize.  So we can’t go.  Can we at least tell?  Can we at least tell others what God gave in exchange for our lives?
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

Has Your Heart Become Calloused?

Ever know you ought to do something, but just don’t feel like it?  The desire is not there.  You ought to encourage, but don’t.  You ought to give, but won’t.  You ought to change, but remain the same. I get that way sometimes and wonder if perhaps I’ve hardened my heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” Matthew 13:15

When our hands become calloused, we are able to do work with less to no pain.  We can actually cut away some of the skin and not feel it.  The same is true with our hearts.  We become so conditioned to the world’s troubles we lose feeling for others.  We become so comfortable with our own security we cannot see the insecurity of others.  We are so consumed with our own needs, we cannot notice another’s.  We are so intune to our own thoughts, we cannot hear the despair of others.

Jesus spoke to his disciples in the above verse.  He was preaching to a crowd and some within the crowd were only there because of the miracles they’d seen Jesus perform.  Yet still, they could not see the Miracle before them.  Others, the leaders, only followed Jesus to gather information and trick him.  They really were not interested in what Jesus had to say.  They had no intentions of following Him; they’d calloused their hearts and made up their minds that they had all the answers.  Therefore they could not be healed–or saved.

I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to feel calloused toward truth the Lord wants to show me.  I want to be so sensitive to God’s voice that I not only hear Him whisper, but discern a pinprick from the Holy Spirit upon my heart.
How about you?  Are your eyes closed to the truth?  Have you turned a deaf ear to His teachings?  Is there someone in your life with whom you need to reconcile?  What holds you back?  Is there some temptation you are unwilling to resist?  Will you turn it over to the Lord now and let Him heal you? 
PRAYER:  O LORD, for those who find these words touching them today, I pray Your grace abounds.  Let them accept the mercy You give.  Give them strength, and wisdom and discernment and let them live abundantly in Your goodness.
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

Staying On Track

I often ask God to help me know His voice. To help me stay on track and not sway from His direction in my life. You see, I don’t want to get lost in the world.  I know I’m human and I’m not too big in my own britches to think that someday I might make a terribly wrong choice that could mess up everything I’ve worked so hard for in my life.

Integrity and honesty are important to me. My values and morals are something I take seriously. I love my God and I love His commands. Yet the world has a very strong pull. And all it takes is one little concession on my part that will lead to a bigger concession and a bigger one. I have to be intentional and vigilant about the choices and decisions in my life.

In Isaiah 30, verse 21, it says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’

That is my heart’s plea and desire. That God will be ever-present in my heart and life so that I will hear His voice when He speaks to me and tells me which path to walk on. And if I don’t? If I should get on the wrong path? Then with everything in me, my prayer would be that God would direct me back to the right path.
You see, I pray for myself AHEAD OF TIME. I ask God to help me and to hold on to me. For He is faithful and I know that a prayer I say today, He will remember a year from now when I’m struggling or feeling rebellious.

I pray that my ears will hear my God when He speaks. That my heart will feel Him and that my mind will know Him. And may my lips only speak from a soul that is consumed with His love.

~ Dionna Sanchez (http://beautyinthestorm.blogspot.com)

I OVERHEARD A MOTHER SAY…

It’s not that I intentionally eavesdropped. The mother sat next to me on a bench in the mall playground. Her toddler was playing with a built-in wall puzzle. My granddaughters were climbing giant blocks, and jumping off the monstrous drum. I was resting from my long walk across the mall…and watching…the kids, the parents, the shoppers.

The “mother” encouraged her son as he walked atop the giant xylophone. “Red, blue, green, yellow…green, blue, red.” Each step he took, she called out the color. You get the picture. A few moments later she watched as he nudged his way between a wall-puzzle and a baby who could barely stand.
“No, no! Watch out for the baby!” she cautioned as she jumped up and went to the other side of the play area. She picked up her two-year-old, carried him back to her seat and softly said, “You must not push. Now you must sit a minute to remember not to push.” She hugged him close. Her gentle voice instructed. “Watch. See? Everyone is playing. They are sharing. You must share, too. If someone is playing with something you want, you do not push. If you are playing with something, and someone does not want to share with you, then you find something else to do.” Slowly she released her grip. “If you learn this lesson, you will avoid a lot of suffering in life.” He squirmed out of her lap. “…a lot of suffering,” she repeated as he scurried off to play again.

I wondered. Was she speaking from experience?
Do we avoid suffering by letting others have their way? by relinquishing that which we are interested in, playing with, or doing? Wise warning that we must not push…nor bully our way into another’s space. And we most definitely should share. But walk away when trouble comes our way? When another treats us less than we are taught to treat them? When they want what we have?

Perhaps that is a lot like turning the other cheek…
Or like going the second mile…or handing over our best cloak when someone asks for it. Or sacrificing ourselves for another–or for a better good–or simply to avoid suffering something far worse in life. I can hear the wisdom. Can you? If not, how’s this?

“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:30-31

Thank you, LORD, for this little bit of wisdom and picture of grace You reaffirmed in my mind today. Help me, LORD, to let go and not hold back the kindness you show the unlovely and the wicked. Let me live my life, not to escape suffering, but to avoid causing suffering for others.
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

Stoned but Unshaken

We only had the car 3 months–a 2005 model, but in mint condition. Garage-kept, not a speck, nick, or scratch. Near perfect. One day my husband returned from an errand and asked how I got the crack in my windshield. I was dumbfounded. I went out to inspect my car and noticed a tiny hole on the driver’s side where the nine-inch crack had originated. I spotted another tiny hole on the passenger’s side.  To me, it was obvious; a couple of stones fell off a truck, or were tossed by a lawnmower and popped against my window.  As I drove over speed bumps, potholes and rough roads, the tiny hole trailed across my windshield.  Now the crack has grown; it extends nearly the entire height of the window.

^“5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. ⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. ⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:5-8

Just when life seems to be rolling along rather smoothly, a stone pops up and cracks the windshield of our lives. Often Christians can be like those stones which inadvertantly pop into the air and hit an unsuspecting soul. We do not notice the significance of that hit; we do not feel the sting of words hurled impulsively without thought during a passing conversation. We roll on thinking nothing of how we affect another’s world. I dare say that a good majority of the people who have hurt me in my lifetime are totally unaware of it.
I tend to stuff stuff; I swallow insults and tuck things away. I live with pinpricks and stone-fissures. Then one day, I hit a bigger bump that causes the tiny fissure in my security to fracture my heart. Unless I take the time to follow the crack to the origin, I may not know exactly why I am upset. But once I’ve gotten alone with God, prayed about my pain, lain my hurt before Him, He heals my heart and seals the fissure. He helps me see the initial offense I ignored that produced the crack.
Yes, sometimes a scar is there…visible to me, but not to others. Its tenderness, when touched by some unguarded moment, is a reminder for me to watch how I walk each day. I use it to pray for more discernment as I talk with others, as I pass them on the roads of life. I pray they not be shaken by troubling and burdening experiences. I pray they find the refuge available in Christ. I pray for those who cast stones to be filled with grace, to know the love of Christ. I ask God to have mercy upon them for the things they do and say that may inadvertantly crack my windshield.  Then I forgive and move on.
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs

by Hariette Petersen

Has someone hurt you?  Have you been wronged?  Have you done the best you know how to do and it still is not enough?  If you are human and walking among other people in this world, then I’m fairly certain you can answer “yes” to each of these questions.  As Christians we know we will encounter people who dislike us, who hate us, who will insult us if we are living a life for the glory of God.  Our Savior forewarned us and told us that we are “blessed if we are persecuted” on His account. Mt. 5:11.  Somehow it seems less shocking to have unbelievers who treat us wrongly.  It’s life.  It’s hardest for Christians when we endure rebuke, rebuffs, and anger from fellow Christians, or family.  It’s hard sometimes to remember that love:

“…is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5

This is the season when so many of us gather to be with family.  Tradition bids us come together and celebrate.  Yet, so often family members find themselves at odds with one another.  Many times conflict arises that has nothing to do with who carves the turkey, who sits next to whom at the table, who is late for dinner, or gets the wishbone.  Conflict comes from digging up bones from past grievances.  From harbored anger.  From unforgiven contention–sometimes decades old.  Sometimes we come with the best of intentions.  We vow to accept another’s irritating habits, to keep peace no matter what.  Then something happens and it dredges up the previous hurt feelings.  It’s time to let them go.  It’s time to ask God for grace to forgive.  For me to accomplish this, I center on the mercy the Lord has shown me.  He does not count my past against me.  I am forgiven from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9-10.

As we face the days ahead, I pray each wrong committed against us is quickly forgiven.  Life is so very short.  We show our love by not acting rudely, selfishly, or begrudgingly.  Yes, I know others may act that way towards us.  But we are not accountable for how others act, only ourselves.  We show accountability by not keeping record of wrongs.  May this be our sacrifice to a Savior who gave His all for our sin.  © Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2011

Wholesome and Clean

by Patricia Day

Ezekiel 37:23b – I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (CEV)

There is a major house renovation going on close to where we live. Actually, it has been in progress for weeks and weeks – new roof, insulation, siding, windows, doors, sunroom and storage addition – a complete overhaul! I don’t know, because I have not seen inside, but I have to assume that there is a great deal of updating, repair and cleaning being addressed inside the home too: and I assume this due to the time it is taking to complete the work.

I recall when my husband and I, were looking for a home in this park, that we viewed one particular unit that was in a beautiful location, the price was amazing (it would have left a great deal of ‘spare’ cash for renovations) but the condition inside was nothing short of ‘disgusting’: how anyone could have lived in the home in the condition it was in, was beyond our comprehension.

We had agreed that we were willing to move into a house of our choice and do work while living there, but the filth and the updates needed in that particular house, were way too bad for us to even consider moving in and living there in – there was far too much to do to make it habitable.

When some people are challenged to give their lives to God and invite Jesus into their hearts, they recognize the truth that they have sinned before God. As a result, they want to clean up their lives before they issue an invitation to Jesus. They don’t yet understand that God comes into our lives to clean us up, precisely because we can’t do it for ourselves.

Isaiah 64:6a – But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. (NKJV)

The good news is that God loves us just as we are. So when we become willing to accept God into our lives, thankfully, He does not shun our dirty lives like we rejected that dirty home. He welcomes us and cleanses us. He does not leave us as we are, with our disparaging thoughts, our criticism of others, our idolatry of all things material, and all our major and minor sinful ways. This process is called “sanctification”.

 Isaiah 1:16 – Wash yourselves clean! I am disgusted with your filthy deeds. Stop doing wrong. (CEV)

Just as the house we viewed had much to clean up before being habitable, so God needs to clean up our lives, thoughts, and actions, so that we become a true reflection of His Son, Jesus, in our hearts, minds, and spirits.

James 4:8 – Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind. (CEV)

Prayer: Abba, make us aware of all that is in our lives, our thoughts, and our deeds, that is unworthy of Your presence within us. Wash us clean, and renew our spirits and hearts so that we are wholesome, presentable, and welcoming to all who look at us and the ways that we live. We want to be acceptable to You and winsome to them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Proverbs 6 - Do Not Ever Co-Sign a Note

In order to succeed in life, there are certain do’s and don’ts that we must all follow. If we ignore these admonitions, we will find ourselves less than successful. As we study Proverbs 6 and 7, you will see that He warns us over and over again about finances, immorality, and laziness. We will examine these subjects each time they are brought up, so we can get God’s perspective.

Proverbs 6 has six big DO NOTS. Let us look at the first one today:
  Do Not Ever Co-Sign a Note
In thirty-seven years of ministry here in Las Vegas, there have been many times people have asked me to co-sign on a loan. It was to help them out of a tight situation they found themselves in financially. Because of this passage of Scripture, we have made it a policy never to co-sign. If I cannot give someone the money they need, than I should never put my name on a note that will put me in worse financial shape than I am right now. If I cannot give it, I will not lend it.

Verse 1 - God says that you should not go with a friend to a stranger and promise that he will pay with your name as guarantee.

Verse 2 - Your words will trap you. Remember Proverbs 22:11, says, “the borrower is servant to the lender.”

You may be reading this and thinking - What if I have already done this? Solomon answers that question.
1. He says, “Get out of the situation as soon as you can.”

2. Humble yourself before your friend. Tell him you cannot afford this. Often times, our pride causes us to over commit in areas God does not want us to commit.

3. Make sure your friend - the words make sure means to strengthen or to help his pride. Let your friend know he can do it without you. Strengthen him. Let him see he is as good or better than you are and he does not need your help. If he cannot get the loan on his own then you certainly do not want to help him get in worse shape than he is in right now.

4. Solomon goes on to say, this is more important than sleep. He says in verse 4, “Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe.” You are like a roebuck or a gazelle. You are being hunted. Run from co-signing like you would if you were a deer, and you saw a man with a gun aiming it at your head. RUN. RUN. RUN. Never co-sign a loan.

Your Friend,
David Teis

Proverbs 6:6-11 - Do Not Be Lazy

The Christian should be no stranger to hard work. In this passage of Scripture, we are instructed to learn how to live by watching the ant. “Go to the ant thou sluggard.” The wordsluggard means lazy person. He tells us to consider her ways and see them from God’s perspective. She has no one telling her what to do. She is wise enough to know her responsibilities. She does not get involved in everybody else’s job. She is diligent enough to fulfill her responsibilities. She provides herself food for the summer by gathering her food at harvest time.

I hope you enjoy this poem.
 

If you want to eat tomorrow, 

you must not stop today
If you want to fill your table, 

you must learn to work not play
There is a time to rest, 

but very first and best
You must labor for your meat, 

or expect no food to eat
The ant learns to store food in the good time, 

to assure plenty in the bad time

They never hinder, but always help one another in their work. They unite to accomplish tasks that are too large for one. They store their goods in places that will be protected. They are wise investors. They know how to preserve their hard earned resources. Ants will bite off the end of the grains of corn that they may not grow when they get wet.

Solomon ends this conversation with a sluggard by saying do not waste your life sleeping. You should learn to be a quick riser. The sleeper winds up in poverty, like the person who travels, like a person fit for destruction.

Your Friend,
David Teis

 

Do Not Hang with the Wicked Man (Proverbs 6:12-15)

In this passage, Solomon describes the wicked man and warns his son Rehoboam to stay away from him.

1. He is naughty.
He is worthless and good for nothing. It literally means he is a man of Belial.
  2. He is a troublemaker.
He is wicked. The word wicked means troublemaker, self-willed. He causes problems for others.
  3. He walks with a forward mouth.
Forward is a King James word which means crooked or distorted. You cannot trust what is coming out of his mouth. He says one thing to one person and another thing to another person. He is comfortable with distorting the truth.
  4. He will tell you much by his body language.

a. The Bible says, “He winketh with his eyes,”
Watch what he is looking at, and what he will not look at. Be careful about the man who will not look you square in the eye.

b. “He speaketh with his feet,”
Where he is going, tells you a lot about who he is.

c. “he teacheth with his fingers;”
His fingers are grasping on to things that he should not be grabbing on to.
  5. He has forwardness or perverseness in his heart. He devices mischief continually.
He uses his time to cause evil for others. This brings him peace. Be careful of the guy who wants revenge. He delights in causing division according to verse 14.
  6. His end is described in verse 15. His calamity will come suddenly. His disaster will come without notice. He shall be broken with no one to recover.

Stay away from the wicked man.

Your Friend,
David Teis