The Mystery of Life
I wish that life was as easily explained as that great philosopher of the comic strips, Charlie Brown, once deduced that it was.
Lucy is saying to him, "Life is a mystery Charlie Brown…Do you know the answer?" Charlie Brown answered, "Be kind. Don't smoke. Be prompt. Smile a lot. Eat sensibly. Avoid cavities and mark you ballot carefully…Avoid too much sun. Send overseas packages early. Love all creatures above and below. Insure your belongings and try to keep the ball low…" Before he can get out another platitude, Lucy interrupts: "Hold real still," she says, "because I am going to hit you a very sharp blow upon the nose!"
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Betrayals
Psalms 55:12-13
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend.
"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.
I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.
If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut-wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend.
"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.
I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.
If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut-wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.
Work
There is an old fable from Aesop about a man who called his sons to his sick bed. "I am about to die," he said. "In my vineyard lies a treasure. Dig and you will find it." Not long after that, the man dies. The sons busily went to work digging in the vineyard. After they finished their repeated digging, they concluded there was no treasure. The next season, due to the digging, the good ground allowed the vineyard to produce more than it ever had before. There truly is a treasure for those who are willing to work.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Complaining
Charles Dickens once visited America and gave some lectures across the country. He told one audience that we here in this country are a bit mixed up. He said we should not have one Thanksgiving Day, but that we should have 364 Thanksgiving Days. The one day left over would be used just for complaining and griping; the other 364 to thank God. We do just the opposite. We complain for 364 days and then, perhaps, on one day count our blessings.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Happiness
Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
--1 Peter 1:8
I love to laugh. And if you know me, you know that the happiness that Jesus Christ gives is worth expressing. But, I have noticed something about happiness in the lives of believers—they don’t have much. Most of you have heard it said, that happiness is a choice. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
In addition to that, I believe happiness is a consequence. It is a result of something that takes place in our lives that produces happiness. It’s a habit—one that is produced in our lives when we practice spiritual disciplines and godliness. It is a consequence of the character and the attitude of our lives built in when our faith grows. Happy, happy, happy!
Have you noticed in the Bible how often the great qualities of the Christian life are described in superlatives? It’s not simply hope; but it’s the blessed hope! It’s not simple life; but Jesus said, “I’ve come that you might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s not just grace; but it’s wonderful and glorious grace. It’s not just joy; but it is “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
The Lord doesn’t just dole out His blessings one at a time, but He pours them on. That is our promise. As a believer in Christ, we need to learn that life is not simply something that we endure, but it is to be enjoyed to the fullest.
Next time you show up at church, don’t go looking like you just swallowed the communion rail with a stained glass look in your eyes. Go to celebrate the goodness and graciousness of God in your life! And when it’s time to laugh, let it loose!
The happiest people on earth are not the richest, most talented, or the most beautiful. They are the ones who have that happiness is the Lord! Happiness is in knowing Jesus Christ. And that happiness then if produced…a process that is produced every day, and a
HAPPINESS IS AN EVERYDAY PROCESS, AND
A CONSEQUENCE OF LIVING OUR LIFE GOD’S WAY.
--1 Peter 1:8
I love to laugh. And if you know me, you know that the happiness that Jesus Christ gives is worth expressing. But, I have noticed something about happiness in the lives of believers—they don’t have much. Most of you have heard it said, that happiness is a choice. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
In addition to that, I believe happiness is a consequence. It is a result of something that takes place in our lives that produces happiness. It’s a habit—one that is produced in our lives when we practice spiritual disciplines and godliness. It is a consequence of the character and the attitude of our lives built in when our faith grows. Happy, happy, happy!
Have you noticed in the Bible how often the great qualities of the Christian life are described in superlatives? It’s not simply hope; but it’s the blessed hope! It’s not simple life; but Jesus said, “I’ve come that you might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s not just grace; but it’s wonderful and glorious grace. It’s not just joy; but it is “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
The Lord doesn’t just dole out His blessings one at a time, but He pours them on. That is our promise. As a believer in Christ, we need to learn that life is not simply something that we endure, but it is to be enjoyed to the fullest.
Next time you show up at church, don’t go looking like you just swallowed the communion rail with a stained glass look in your eyes. Go to celebrate the goodness and graciousness of God in your life! And when it’s time to laugh, let it loose!
The happiest people on earth are not the richest, most talented, or the most beautiful. They are the ones who have that happiness is the Lord! Happiness is in knowing Jesus Christ. And that happiness then if produced…a process that is produced every day, and a
HAPPINESS IS AN EVERYDAY PROCESS, AND
A CONSEQUENCE OF LIVING OUR LIFE GOD’S WAY.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Our Concept of Happiness
This is my happy way of life: obeying your commandments. - Psalm 119:56
Philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness." Someone else once said, "There are two sources of unhappiness in life. One is not getting what you want. And the other is getting it."
So for many people today who are searching for happiness, the cold hard truth is they will never quite find it. You look at all of these people in Hollywood - with all of the accomplishments, fame, and money - and so many of them live miserable and empty lives. They are searching for happiness in the wrong way. True happiness is always a byproduct of holiness. You get your life right with God and happiness will soon follow.
That is why the nonbeliever will never know true happiness. They will go after the devil's cheap counterfeits, but the counterfeits are shallow, because they possess no deep well from which to draw. The world's concept of happiness is dependent on good things happening. The Christian's concept of happiness depends on a good God.
Philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness." Someone else once said, "There are two sources of unhappiness in life. One is not getting what you want. And the other is getting it."
So for many people today who are searching for happiness, the cold hard truth is they will never quite find it. You look at all of these people in Hollywood - with all of the accomplishments, fame, and money - and so many of them live miserable and empty lives. They are searching for happiness in the wrong way. True happiness is always a byproduct of holiness. You get your life right with God and happiness will soon follow.
That is why the nonbeliever will never know true happiness. They will go after the devil's cheap counterfeits, but the counterfeits are shallow, because they possess no deep well from which to draw. The world's concept of happiness is dependent on good things happening. The Christian's concept of happiness depends on a good God.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Satan's Lies to Families
John 8:44
Whenever he [the devil] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
I can think of at least four lies Satan tells families:
1. "You're a failure. You'll never make it." The lie of self-condemnation is one of Satan's chief weapons. You may struggle with feelings of guilt, failure or inferiority. Satan would have us believe that our faults are much too damaging to be covered by the grace of God. If you believe this lie, it renders you powerless, passive and paralyzed without any hope of progress as a parent.
2. "You don't deserve to be unhappy." Of course God does want us to be happy, but the way Satan puts the statement is a lie because he means, "All you need to do is get out from under this relationship or these family pressures and you'll be happy." It's a "feel-good lie" because what really feels good is working through problems together.
3. "Nobody will find out." Have you ever heard a little voice tempting you to do something illegal or immoral that would bring instant satisfaction or pleasure? You may think nobody will discover what you do, but that's a lie. The truth will come out.
4. "If I had what Sam has, I'd be happier." Satan wants you to think that what you have is inferior to what someone else has. The lie is exposed when we realize that such comparisons are always made from a distance. If we had what Sam had, we would probably experience Sam-type problems, and they may be worse than ours.
Remember that Satan is a counterfeiter. If we refuse to believe his lies, he is rendered powerless. Resist him by remembering the truth of God's Word.
Prayer:
That a sense of God's own power will fill your heart, and that His voice through the Word will drown out each of Satan's lies.
Discuss: Which of these lies do you see Satan using with you? Be specific.
Whenever he [the devil] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
I can think of at least four lies Satan tells families:
1. "You're a failure. You'll never make it." The lie of self-condemnation is one of Satan's chief weapons. You may struggle with feelings of guilt, failure or inferiority. Satan would have us believe that our faults are much too damaging to be covered by the grace of God. If you believe this lie, it renders you powerless, passive and paralyzed without any hope of progress as a parent.
2. "You don't deserve to be unhappy." Of course God does want us to be happy, but the way Satan puts the statement is a lie because he means, "All you need to do is get out from under this relationship or these family pressures and you'll be happy." It's a "feel-good lie" because what really feels good is working through problems together.
3. "Nobody will find out." Have you ever heard a little voice tempting you to do something illegal or immoral that would bring instant satisfaction or pleasure? You may think nobody will discover what you do, but that's a lie. The truth will come out.
4. "If I had what Sam has, I'd be happier." Satan wants you to think that what you have is inferior to what someone else has. The lie is exposed when we realize that such comparisons are always made from a distance. If we had what Sam had, we would probably experience Sam-type problems, and they may be worse than ours.
Remember that Satan is a counterfeiter. If we refuse to believe his lies, he is rendered powerless. Resist him by remembering the truth of God's Word.
Prayer:
That a sense of God's own power will fill your heart, and that His voice through the Word will drown out each of Satan's lies.
Discuss: Which of these lies do you see Satan using with you? Be specific.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Living Your Thanksgiving
Make a glad sound to the Lord, all the earth. Give worship to the Lord with joy; come before him with a song. Be certain that the Lord is God; it is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep to whom he gives food. Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name. For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations.
Psalm 100, The Bible in Basic English
When I was younger, Thanksgiving was pretty much just another holiday?a day when I got to eat a whole lot of good food and nibble on all the sugary stuff I wanted.
But besides being a holiday when I had permission to indulge, thanksgiving was also a word my grandmother always incorporated at the end of her prayers: "And with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, Amen." I always wondered why she used a word that made me think of cornucopias and construction-paper turkeys; but she had the Th.D. in our family, and I did not. So I knew she must have had a good reason.
Years later, I think I now understand. In that one word, she was saying "Thank You for giving." You, being God. From my grandmother's example, I see that thanksgiving was more than a one-day family gathering. It was and is a way of living, a daily act of expressing gratitude to our Maker who first gave to us.
At this time of year, I sit and think about when I last thanked God for giving me anything?let alone His son, Jesus Christ. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember. But I know that I want to make such gratefulness as prominent as the giant turkey on the table and see thanksgiving become a way of life.
There's no better thanksgiving wisdom than that found in God's Word, specifically The Old One-Hundredth (Psalm 100). If you open your Bible and take a look at this passage, you'll see a notation under the heading: "A psalm. For giving thanks."
Following that, there are many directives listed that can help us live our Thanksgiving ...
Make a glad sound to the Lord
Give worship to the Lord with joy
Come before Him with a song
Be certain that the Lord is God
Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise
[Remember] for the Lord is good … His mercy is never-ending … His faith is unchanging
Reflect on these today, and ask the Lord how He can help you really live your Thanksgiving each day of the year.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Your celebration with friends or loved ones is probably already planned by this point. But here is your Thanksgiving Day challenge: take time to “live your Thanksgiving” and call or visit someone who is alone or having a hard time (for whatever reason) on this holiday.
Further Reading
Psalm 150
Psalm 100, The Bible in Basic English
When I was younger, Thanksgiving was pretty much just another holiday?a day when I got to eat a whole lot of good food and nibble on all the sugary stuff I wanted.
But besides being a holiday when I had permission to indulge, thanksgiving was also a word my grandmother always incorporated at the end of her prayers: "And with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, Amen." I always wondered why she used a word that made me think of cornucopias and construction-paper turkeys; but she had the Th.D. in our family, and I did not. So I knew she must have had a good reason.
Years later, I think I now understand. In that one word, she was saying "Thank You for giving." You, being God. From my grandmother's example, I see that thanksgiving was more than a one-day family gathering. It was and is a way of living, a daily act of expressing gratitude to our Maker who first gave to us.
At this time of year, I sit and think about when I last thanked God for giving me anything?let alone His son, Jesus Christ. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember. But I know that I want to make such gratefulness as prominent as the giant turkey on the table and see thanksgiving become a way of life.
There's no better thanksgiving wisdom than that found in God's Word, specifically The Old One-Hundredth (Psalm 100). If you open your Bible and take a look at this passage, you'll see a notation under the heading: "A psalm. For giving thanks."
Following that, there are many directives listed that can help us live our Thanksgiving ...
Make a glad sound to the Lord
Give worship to the Lord with joy
Come before Him with a song
Be certain that the Lord is God
Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise
[Remember] for the Lord is good … His mercy is never-ending … His faith is unchanging
Reflect on these today, and ask the Lord how He can help you really live your Thanksgiving each day of the year.
Intersecting Faith & Life: Your celebration with friends or loved ones is probably already planned by this point. But here is your Thanksgiving Day challenge: take time to “live your Thanksgiving” and call or visit someone who is alone or having a hard time (for whatever reason) on this holiday.
Further Reading
Psalm 150
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