Little by Little

I really enjoy watching people and being able to notice their personality types. I don’t see that so much as a hard and fast rule about who a person is, but more how a person sees and reacts to the world around them. If you have ever looked into the Meyers Briggs personality types, I’m noticing the P and J traits today.

I like to call P impulsive. It’s the person who is bored at home and suddenly comes up with “let’s drive 5 hours to some botanical garden and go have a picnic!” It doesn’t have to be this extreme of course. It could be a person who is just not great with schedule, is late a lot, and often forgets appointments. Impulsive people are very fun and also the bane of any planners existence. They are great to have around in a crisis. They think clearly when things are off track or not going according to plan and are flexible and able to adapt quickly to ever changing situations.

Versus the J person is called “Judging”. In my mind, I like to call them planners. They plug your birthday into their mental calendar when they meet you. They are good at being on time, staying on task, and have an emergency plan for every scenario. Actually like 2-3 emergency plans. They also think very far ahead, tend to worry over circumstances that haven’t happened yet, and make plans accordingly. They are wonderfully structured and nothing in life could happen without planners! But when things go off the schedule, they struggle and get stressed out.

The most ideal person has learned how to operate in both. Of course, you are always prone to live in one of these ways. For example, I am impulsive (P type) and I really enjoy a random let’s go to the arcade and get ice cream and go have a picnic and then spend the weekend at a hotel day. I am a lot of fun and also good to have in crisis because I am good at coming up with plans on the spot. But I am NOT good at making sure my kids take baths every night or stay on task when it comes to homework or saying no to a party in the middle of the week or being on time to school events or…well you get the idea. I have had to LEARN how to do these things. I am much better now when it comes to schedules and being on time and my kids appointments. But it takes work. I call it discipline. And when God calls you to impulsively step out of your plan and trust him for the next step even though it’s very off task, I call that obedience.

Impulsive is good for obedience.
But planning and structure is good for discipline. You need both!

How can I be obedient to God telling me to go to a remote country to preach if I am sorely out of shape? That takes discipline first!
How can I say yes to venturing off the beaten path if I am so focused on staying on task? That takes obedience.
We need to give the Holy Spirit the room to be God in our church service, but we need to first have built the structure of the church service.
We need to trust God with our finances when he is pulling at our hearts to put our only two talons in the tithe box. But we need to first have done the work necessary to earn those talons.
We need to trust that Jesus will calm the storm that has popped up, but we also need to have first been diligent to row to the middle of the lake.
We need to build our house first on the solid rock. And then when the storm comes, we need to trust God and not panic.
It’s both discipline and obedience.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago (Aka Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) are an amazing example of this.

Daniel 1:11-16

Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

This shows us discipline in real time. We cannot expect to suddenly have a healed marriage overnight. We cannot suddenly lose all the weight we have been putting on for years. We cannot suddenly have an orderly organized home with kids on schedule. These things must happen little by little. This is discipline and structure.

These young men were disciplined in Christ. They knew right from wrong. They were strong and determined to follow Gods laws. And they were disciplined to eat what was not “choice food” because they were disciplined to follow God.

Later on, they show up again and now their obedience is great as a result of the foundation laid by discipline.

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

These three were immediately obedient and bold. This didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen in an instant. Discipline grows little by little. Obedience should be the immediate response then when that foundation is laid.

Exodus 23:30

Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

Right before the end

Revelation 14:9-11

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Matthew 25:1-13

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

So many people on this earth have this idea that they will just continue to sin and then right at the end, they will repent and be saved. I’m here to tell you right now that it doesn’t work and it’s frankly a backwards mentality. To treat a person badly, constantly hurting them, and constantly stealing from them, cheating them, lying to them, and being completely self centered speaks to that person that you despise them. How can you turn at the end and say “Dear person, I am so sorry for what I did to you. I was doing it all on purpose at the time, but now that I’m about to die I thought maybe you’d realize it was all just for fun, not because I actually hate you, but because I just wanted to have a good time. It wasn’t against you, it was for me.” That person knows what real love is. To be treated kindly, because someone has their best interest in mind. Love means looking out for the best for someone else, even at the expense to yourself. Selfishness and flesh desire looks like doing whatever you want for your fleshes benefit, even at the expense of someone else. It’s not love. And God, who IS HIMSELF LOVE absolutely knows what real love looks like. So to keep on sinning, with the intention of repenting right before you die, will not be accepted by God. If you did not turn when you first learned of His love, you had your chance. You passed it by. Of course God has continued to give you chance after chance after chance to repent and come to Him. He continues to knock. But to say “I will answer the door, but only when I’m about to die”, He will leave you. He will stop knocking. You will open the door one day and not find Him in the streets. He has already gone into his wedding banquet with his virgins. And when you go knocking at the door, showing Him your oil, He will say go away. I never knew you. And that is true. You never opened the door. He never had the chance to meet you.

Age Backwards

Every now and then when I am out with my kids having fun or playing at home, I get a glimpse of their innocent joy and it reminds me of my own childhood. How often do we forget, but we should always remember it. When I was a child, there were no worries or concerns. You didn’t have to have them. I had amazing parents who were reliable. I could count on them and they took very good care of me and my brother and sister. So I didn’t worry, even when I heard their voices in the background of my games, talking about money concerns. I didn’t stress when they discussed the dangers of the country we were living in and the real terrifying things that had happened yesterday. Even when those things crept into our back yard to try to break into our home and we were told to hide, I wasn’t ever afraid. I had a really good father who took care of our family and got rid of the dangers. My parents provided for us. They gave us security and they gave us blessings and joy. I was constantly in my joy-filled childishness. I would imagine and play all day. I was loving and considerate to other people. I was completely fearless, because my parents were always protecting us. And when I look at my children, I often see that in their eyes and it warms me to my core to know I’m doing this well for them.

But today, when I saw it in their eyes, it was accompanied by God’s voice and it gave me pause. He reminded me of a time when I was a child and someone asked me what I was afraid of. I really didn’t know what I was afraid of, because truthfully I wasn’t. I was never afraid, but I pretended that I was afraid of something. I was so good at pretending, because I was an innocent child. I started convincing myself over and over again that I was actually afraid of this thing. It turns out I never did become afraid of it. (Heights, because I know you were incredibly curious lol). But as I grew, even though that fear did not ever sink into heart, other fears did and they followed the channel of the practice I had laid by pretending to be afraid.

This wasn’t the only time that I convinced myself of something like this. When I grew older, I was spending time with co-workers who were constantly complaining about bills and how expensive life is. They also complained endlessly about work. I didn’t feel either of those things. Yes, I only made enough money to pay my rent and bills and buy food to live on, but that was absolutely enough for me and I was very content naturally in that. I also really enjoyed my job and it was all the entertainment I ever needed. I would have worked all day every day if they had let me. To be fair, I was working in the theater department at an amusement park, so it was very entertaining to be there and there was endless fun to be had and my friends were all such a joy. But I managed to convince myself by practicing and rehearsing what I had heard, that I needed more. That I was not satisfied. That this wasn’t enough.

And as I remember back to these things, I’m reminded of my kids today. My daughter had a girl run up to her today and say “Hey, wanna be friends?” And my daughter smiled and said “Okay!” and off they went to play together. Whenever one of them forgot the others name, they just asked for it again and the play and smiles and joy continued. They didn’t get insulted or hurt that the other had forgotten. They didn’t have to stress over social anxiety and maybe this person won’t like me or will reject me. They just jumped fearlessly into a friendship. Something we adults ache and struggle with.

I saw a video online about children who were asked “if you could change anything about your body, what would it be?” And their responses were inspired! Some said they would grow wings and be able to fly. Some would get super powers and be able to teleport. Some would have legs like a cheetah to be able to run super fast. The sweetness of these innocent answers! You know adults don’t think like this.

Beyond this, a study was conducted many years ago that showed of children who are below age 5, 98% in this study were considered genius’s. As the children grew, the number lessened and lessened over time until into young adult age, only 2% of that same population remained in the genius level.

So all of these facts are starting to make me realize something. We need to follow God’s word and example to be innocent like little children.

Matthew 18:1-5 says “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

We have got to age backwards to that time in our lives when we could play and enjoy this world, knowing that money and fears and the things of this world were covered by our Father. We need to age backwards to the time when the things that God called us to do were not just a chore that we checked off the list for His sake, but they were a satisfying and enjoyable task that we were purposed and pleased to do. We need to age backwards to the time when we could run up to a stranger and say “Hey, wanna be friends?” and be Christ-like in our approach to them, unafraid of rejection and happy to share love. We need to age backwards to a time when we weren’t so concerned with the things we’ve been traumatized by or the social norms and instead just be satisfied to dream and imagine. We need to age backwards to a time when our brains weren’t so bogged down with all the cares of this world and could explore freely, the way God created us to. Most of all, we need to age backwards to be able to share Christ freely, unafraid of what people will say or do or think or feel. We need to stop worrying about pleasing society and start caring truly in our hearts about pleasing God. His original design was children. Two naked, happy, loving friends who wandered and played all day in a garden with God. How terribly we need to get back to that. How swiftly it is approaching.

How desperately we need to give up our fears, our traumas, our anxieties, our cares of the world, and become like little children.

Pharisee or Follower

Anachronism is when we read modern problems into ancient texts. It isn’t inherently bad or good and if used as a means to understand the Holy Spirits conviction in our own lives, is an amazing tool. But take a look at this drawing to understand the problems with reading an ancient text out of context and for the sake of the law, forsaking Gods mercy.

The Bible does apply to modern times when it is Gods Voice speaking into our lives through His Word and the Holy Spirits conviction. But when a legalist or Pharisee uses it for the purpose of upholding the law, it becomes a took of manipulation and the text is taken out of context. This image shows how Pharisees search for rule and proofs of why others are evil or don’t “follow” as well as they do. It defeats the purpose of the law, which is not to keep us caged in, but to give us freedom and protection. Legalistic Pharisees believe they have a special “understanding” of the Word that allows them to point out all the rules and laws that modern society is breaking. The truth is when you are in relationship with God, those borders are set up to protect us and when we get close to them, we become convicted by the Spirit. Legalists though, instead of being convicted, stand close to the borders, pointing out unbelievers just on the other side and calling out condemnations. They don’t realize in fact that they could be standing on that sinful side of the border themselves, outside of Gods grace, and far from relationship with God. They care so greatly for the boundaries that they sacrifice their relationship with Christ.

When we follow Christ, our aim should be closeness with him. Mimicking his footsteps and His ways. We won’t find ourselves close to borders which dont concern us if we are busy looking at our savior.

Song of Solomon speaks of not letting the little foxes into our garden. They will eat the buds off the vines before they have a chance to produce fruit. We shouldn’t even go near the boundaries, not even to observe. The Holy Spirit is strong and mighty enough to convict people from the borders. Let God be God and come back to the Masters feet. Instead of judging, let us be servants.

Matthew 23:13-32
¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^[14] [b]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

It’s not Humility

There’s this opposite issue of pride. We like to call it meekness, but it’s really self-loathing. Imposter syndrome. Victim mentality. It’s this idea that I am humble, when I am actually just not confident and broken down. I’ve believed the lies for so long that I am not worthy of friendships and that’s why people think I’m awkward. I’m not worthy of a relationship and that’s why my spouse cheats or abandoned me. I’m not worthy of blessings and that’s why my life is so meager and small. It’s all lies. It’s the enemies way of crippling us to keep us small.

So let me ask you a question. Does God create small things? When He knit you together in your mothers womb and planned you BEFORE He created the earth, was He just sprinkling some extra garbage across the earth to fertilize the self-important people?

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Philippians 1:6 says “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Titus 2:14 says “[Jesus] who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Let me ask you this. Would you die for garbage? You believe yourself to be less than nothing, unworthy, but Jesus died for you. Why would He do that? Why would He give up His life for something worthless? He is God, after all. Creater of all the universe, all the stars, all the sky, all the earth, all the people and things of the earth. He could have easily just discarded you and moved on, but instead He died to save you. Why would He do that for something worthless?

Because you aren’t. You’re not worthless to Him. You are worth the loss of His life to Him. We belittle the sacrifice He made for us by giving up His life, when we treat ourselves as though we are nothing. My life wasn’t worth His, you say. Of course it wasn’t! But that’s not how He sees you! He sees that you were worth it, which is why He did it! He has great purposes for you. Yes, even you disabled person. Yes, even you single parent. Yes, even you depressed and lonely man. Yes, even you prisoner. Yes, even you children. He has plans for your life and purpose for your life. Live up to how He sees you. As long as you are taking in breath, He has plans for you. Stop looking at yourself through the eyes of others, aiming to please people, and being convinced that you are a burden on them. Instead, look at yourself through God’s eyes. You will never be disappointed in who He sees and you will begin to live up to who He says you are.

Dividing lines

It’s so confusing in our world. There’s so much division between people politically and we get confused about truth. Can a sinner be a Christian? Can a consistent lifestyle sinner like a gay person be a Christian? Is it better to associate with conservative non-Christians then liberal Christians? Can a liberal even be a Christian? What does the Bible say about all of this?

In the diagram above, you can see the dividing lines. On the top are Christian people. Both liberal and conservative.

Acts 16:29-34

“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”

The qualifications for being saved are pretty straight forward and laid out in this verse. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Therefore, sinners (and we all are sinners), gay people, liberals, murderers, adulterers, liars, theifs, abusers, addicts, and any other flavor of sinner is welcome and able to be saved. That means that yes, you can be a Christian as long as you recieve Jesus as your Savior. And for us already Christian people, yes the drug addict sitting next to you at church can be a Christian! The gay person can be a Christian. Even a liberal can be Christian.

Check out the dividing lines again. Above the horizontal line are the Christians. Salvation is a veritcal step, going from unbelieving to believing.

Politics is a horizontal step. The diving line is vertical. We even call it left (liberal) and right (conservative). So we as Christian people need to understand that politics is not a determining factor in our salvation! We as a conservative Christian population seem to forget that God died for ALL of us, not just the ones who agree politically with the Bible.

And I say this to make it clear, Biblical values do overall agree with conservative politics. Examples include conservative mentality that life is precious and aborting a child in the womb is murder.

Psalm 139:13-14

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Leviticus 18:21

“Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the LORD. “Don’t give any of your children to be burned in sacrifice to the god Molech – an act of sheer blasphemy of your God.”

Another example of Biblical values aligning closer with conservative politics is marriage of a man and woman, not a man and man or a woman and woman.

Gensis 1:27

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Leviticus 20:13

“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

That does not mean all conservatives are Christians however. It also does not mean that a person who is liberal can not be a Christian!

The trouble with truth in our world is that we are focused on the wrong thing. God doesn’t care if you are gay or you’ve had an abortion! He doesn’t care about your right to bear arms or your self-righteousness. If Salvation is the main goal, that is accomplished simply by believing in Jesus and accepting him as your Savior. So you can be a gay Christian or you can be a conservative non-believer.

God is not satisfied however to leave us where we are. He is always drawing all of us towards Himself, because He loves us. He died for us and that should mean something to us. He is never satisfied to leave anyone where they are and longs for a close relationship with Himself.

This does mean that God will be drawing us always towards Biblical values. There is so much mercy and grace for His beloved children though. He doesn’t force a person who loves someone of the same sex to just “cut it out”. But He will gently love and convict and put us through refining fires to bring out more of who He designed us to be. Sin is not an identity. Sin is an action. Identity is found in Christ. We are His. He is I am, so I am I ams.

Even those sitting squarely in the conservative Christian, Biblical values-following camp need to be careful. Self righteousness is a sin and being politically far right can be dangerous. I’ve had first hand experience with friends who are so intolerant of others specks that they can’t notice their own plank. It’s not your job to fix everyone nor is it right for you to judge another persons life. It’s God’s job to draw people to Himself and you are not God. Protests that turn into shouting matches are not counter-cultural, as Christian people are called to be. Being unloving and intolerant, not allowing sinners to come to the hospital for sin (the church) and pointing out every persons flaws will not win them over for Christ. Being loving, having mercy and grace is how Jesus won over tax collectors and prostitutes for His Kingdom. Not tolerating the sin, but loving the sinner.

Jealousy lost

I watched the most amazing thing happen today. I’m puppy-sitting my sisters dog at the moment and my puppy is in heaven and loves her dearly, however he’s been severly jealous of the attention she is getting. I think he thinks that he’s somehow getting less attention now that she is around, although I am probably petting him way more and playing more then I normally do, because she is around and wants attention too.

I called the dogs over to me and they both came. She is such a sweet dog and politely came to one side, making room for him. He is such a force of energy and jealousy that he came plowing straight to the middle of me, trying to push her out. I patted my lap and he jumped up and was sitting in my lap, while she sat to the side patiently. I pet her head with one hand while I was cuddling, petting and roughing him around.

Can you believe this, even though he was clearly getting way more attention then she was, he was still jealous! Trying to push her away, trying to get underneath my left hand that was really at this point just sitting on her head barely moving. Even though he was getting so much attention, he couldn’t handle her getting any bit of it.

So I called him, “Oreo…” and his ears perked and he took a step back into his place and he watched me and smiled as I continued to rough him around while I was petting his cousin Minnie gently. He was so happy and filled with joy as he looked me in the eyes, not worrying at all that I was still giving some love to Minnie.

That’s how it is with God too. We look at all the things in this world. Social media especially has taught us that other people have it good. Movies and music in the world tell us narratives about things we should hope for. Even the church is a culprit at times. We see people’s beautiful families, nice things, good jobs, amazing homes, and we think God is somehow giving us less. We compare our lives to one another and then we get jealous, unable to see the abundant blessings that God is currently pouring out in our laps.

It’s time to take your eyes off the things of this world. We need to refocus and put our eyes on God. Once we do that, our faces will light up with a bright smile as we start to recognize how much love He is pouring out over us. We don’t have to be jealous about what other people have. And not because what they have isn’t wonderful or better, because maybe it is. But it doesn’t matter when I’m looking into the eyes of my Father. All that matters is that love with Him.

It reminds me of that old song that goes “Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glorgy and grace.”

Luke 10:27 “And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Colossians 3:1-2

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 123:1-2

“I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.”

Proverbs 14:30

“A peaceful mind gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones.”

Galatians 5:19-21

“The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.”

James 3:16

“Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and everything that is evil.”

Romans 12:21

“Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.”

Exodus 20:17

“Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

1 Peter 2:1-3

“Therefore, get rid of all ill will and all deceit, pretense, envy, and slander. Instead, like a newborn baby, desire the pure milk of the word. Nourished by it, you will grow into salvation, since you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Because I love Him

This morning I’ve been fighting my flesh into submission. I need to go do this volunteer project that I’ve promised myself I will do. It’s for the kingdom. It’s got to be Gods will. And I got all the way there and had to leave because of a kid emergency. Why does that happen God? Was it the enemy coming against me? And He answered.

“I don’t need you to make your future happen. I have it planned out perfectly for you.
I don’t want legalistic worship or scheduled visits.
I want your time and your love and your relationship because it’s what you want. Don’t you want me? Well I am with you wherever you are! I am with you at home and on the go. I am with you at church and volunteer but also on the lake and camping at on roller coasters. I’m with you because I love you and you are with me because you love me.
Now stop Sharon. Stop thinking I need a performance. I want you to volunteer because you want to. If you don’t want to, don’t. I give you what you need. I will provide the missions when the time is right. It’s not now. But this was given as hope for your future. I do have hope for you dear one. I have a plan for your future and you don’t need to make it happen by being a good little Christian who shows up and does tasks. Accomplishing things is the things of this world. I was with my son in the quiet moments and he often went away to have those with me. I am with you in your quiet moments too. Enjoy them. Don’t squander them.

Don’t waste your time thinking you must do a task to keep me close. Here I am. I am right here. Closer then you know. With you. In you. Around you. You are in me. You are safe and close to me. You don’t need to do, to be with me. Stop imposing rules on yourself that I have not imposed onto you. Go when you feel led to. Not when you are begging not to. I’m not interested in seeing your strong will take control of your flesh. I am interested in seeing my kind and gentle will being followed because of your great love for me.“

God has called me to step into this volunteer position, but He wants a willing heart. This is like tithing or worship. He is giving me the opportunity to show Him how much I love Him by doing something in His kingdom. So when my attitude is to do it grudgingly and with a lot of complaint and arguing, it’s not a blessing to Him and it defeats the purpose. What parent says to their child “I would love for you to clean your room!” And isn’t so pleased when their child happily leaps to please their parent? What parent isn’t sorely disappointed when their child’s response is “Oh man! I had other plans today!” And sulks off to obedience. God wants me and us to choose to do the things He has given us to do because we love Him and want to show Him our love. Not because we have to, feel obligated, and are “being obedient”. Just like a parent, He doesn’t need us to do those things He’s asked us to do. He is fully capable without us. He asks us because He is showing us how we can love Him and also giving us opportunity for blessing. A parent would so quickly take their child up in their arms and say thank you and cover their sweet cheeks with kisses for a job done (well or not), because the child showed their love in the way the parent requested. God wants to shower us too with His kisses but we make it so hard with our complaints and groans.

Philippians 2:1-4, 12-16 MSG

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand…

What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.”

God help me to do what You call me to do because I love you. Not because I am going to be blessed or for an advantage to myself. Not out of obligation or with no enthusiasm. Thank you for reminding me that I want to do what you call me to, because I love you. I don’t want to have a bad attitude and say yes with no heart for You. I love you. I want to show you that.

It is finished!

As we are sitting in the in between of Jesus’s death and resurrection, I am remembering Jesus’s last words on the cross, as I’m sure His disciples did that day.

It is finished.

Jesus came to bring reconciliation and in that spoken word, that is exactly what He did.

But if that is the case, why do we live in such a divided world? Why is there so much pain and frustration and anger. Why are liberals standing on the corners at the schools crying out for gun control to protect the lives of their children while conservatives are standing at the abortion clinics also crying out the lives of children. We all seem to have the same hearts for what is right, but somehow can’t come together to see all the hypocrisies in our laws and how the division is not necessary.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Some people feel harmed because they are disagreed with, so they feel justified in causing physical harm, property harm, or creating laws and policing people in order to right the harm they believe they were caused. Which again, is a violation of the individuals freedom.

In the example here, maybe the person who took this pie felt wronged, because there were 9 people and they were the smallest person and knew they would not be able to get a piece of pie unless they took it. So in this instance, they feel justified in taking a piece that is harmful to others, because they would have been harmed otherwise.

This goes for both sides of the aisle.

Maybe the person who took the pie believes that we have a right to own firearms to protect ourselves and our loved ones. So they legally purchase their gun, take a conceal carry class, and take their firearm legally with them where they want. They’ve taken the piece of the pie above. Someone however could feel their rights are being violated and they are being harmed, because maybe they were witness to a violent crime involving an illegally owned weapon and they are terrified when they see this person wearing a holster and carrying their weapon. They call the police and the battle ensues.

Another scenario. Someone feels their rights are being violated by not allowing them to choose abortion as a form of birth control for example. They go above the federal law by going out of one state to another that allows the procedure. Conservatives then argue that they’ve taken a piece of the pie unfairly and violated the right of the living child in order to get their own peice of the pie. It’s at the expense of someone elses life and freedom.

This is not just two sides fighting against each other.

This is the devil trying to cause division.

There is another force in the midst of this. A spiritual force that God has warned us about.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Christ followers, we know what we are fighting against! Why do we keep fighting against flesh and blood. We are God’s children! We are the ones who carry the truth! They do not know the truth, but the truth can set them free.

John 8:31-38

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father. ”

See, Jesus knew they were willing and wanting to kill him. We’ve heard that a lot these days. People wanting to kill people over disagreements. But Christians, followers of Christ, we are NOT slaves of sin. We sold ourselves out to Christ and now it is our duty to follow Him, to be His hands and feet, to speak His words in truth, to carry our cross, and yes if necessary to die on that cross. We are supposed to share the truth, but share it as Jesus did. You can see plainly, these men who accused Jesus completely lied. We have never been slaves to anyone. Blatant lies! But Jesus was so wise. He didn’t stoop to attack the low hanging fruit. His purpose wasn’t to win the argument. His purpose was to share the truth of who He is and what He came to accomplish. The forgiveness of sins to set people free.

True and real freedom.

Our country, our government. They attempt to give us this faux version of freedom. I get to do whatever I want and as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else, it’s fine. That’s not real freedom. Real freedom is found only in Christ. We shouldn’t be arguing like this for rights. We should be spreading seeds.

This is enemies goal. Trying to cause people to hate one another and to not act in Christ’s purposes for our lives. Christ came to reconcile people, not to cause division and strife. The devil is the one who causes all of the chaos. We are represantatives of Christ and He is the redeemer and the one who reconciles us to Himself and to one another.

Christian people would realize we are called to be different then the world. We are Jesus’s hands and feet. Jesus died, not for a cause or a political affiliation. He died for people. Because God loved them. People that did cause him harm, He still died for them. We need to be willing to die for them too. Not for our causes, but for the people who are fighting against us. We need to love them as Christ loved them and gave himself up for them; as He gave himself up for us too.

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

You cannot serve two masters

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].

The gap between Christian and not becomes wider and more vast daily. In some areas of our lives, Christians feel that they can still toe the line, keeping their toes dipped in sin, while remaining in Christ. But the crack is coming down the middle and a great cavern is opening up between us. It is lengthening and widening and it doesn’t let people stand wishy washy in the middle anymore. If you do remain in the middle, it will swallow you up.

It’s often plain when you stand in the world, speaking to the world, associating with the world, who those of the world are. It’s like talking to carboard. They don’t care about others; the just care about themselves. They don’t care about justice; they just care about getting ahead. They don’t care about the truth; they just care about live and let live. They might not intentionally be harming anyone either, but if the opportunity arrises to take advantage of someone, they see that just as their lucky day. And if the opportunity arises to stand up and fight for the truth (jury duty, standing as a witness to a crime or accident, speaking up against someone in public who is harming someone else), will they? Or will they take a back seat and act like they never saw a thing? They don’t fight battles; they want to remain nuetral.

The problem is that we can’t.

God isn’t allowing any people to remain lukewarm any longer. He is spitting them out of his mouth. Either know Jesus or no Jesus. You can’t remain in between.

Revelation 3:15-16

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

And we all know these confused “Christian’s” who live in sin blatantly while professing Jesus name. Maybe I’m striking a chord with you. Maybe you’re starting to realize that it’s possible you are one. I just want you to know that Jesus loves you to death (literally to his death) and he forgives you for your sin. He forgives us all for our sin, but it’s time to choose whose you are. Are you a slave to sin or are you a slave to Christ? Remember, you do serve someone, but you can’t have two masters and Jesus is by far the kinder and gentler and more merciful master.

We all know these “Christians” and many of us have been these “Christians”, but we need to listen, we need to hear conviction, and we need to choose Jesus. If we are blatantly living in sin, we need to try to stop and give it over to God. I know it is difficult. Paul spoke about how difficult (and actually impossible) it is in our own power to overcome sin.

Romans 7:14-25

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

He never really did give us the answer except to sell ourselves at slaves to Christ. We have to remember this. God always has a way out for us when we are tempted. There is always a way. If we will slow down and try to look at Christ in those moments of temptation, we will find it. God is not making it hard to find, but we can’t keep running with wreckless abandon into the throws of sin. Then who really is our god?

The day is coming and is already here when the ground beneath you and I is splitting and we have to decide to serve God or our sin. You cannot serve two masters.