Resolutions 2008: Grace

Give yourself some grace!

Grace means you do not have to be perfect. You do not have to keep your resolutions perfectly just keep on trying. Remember God loves you more than you can comprehend.

Now for the real challenge, give someone else some grace.

I have come up with another Older brother trait and it is no forgiveness. Older brothers really appreciate Gods love and grace he gives them but do not transfer that to other people. “God will not forgive them,” they may say.

Well it does not work that way. Jesus told us to forgive others.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15

Giving the grace we ourselves expect to receive is a big part of becoming like Jesus.

God bless. Spread the grace.

Flashlight Fetish

I have a deep personal love affair with flashlights. Not sure when it really took hold, probably when all the different LED flashlights came available. I really think they are neat. Everyone should have 3 or 4 around the house. I actually carry one with me all the time.

It may be genetic. My Grandfather, Papa, always carried a flashlight too. This Christmas I gave a Craftsman LED equipped Ball Cap away in our family free for all. I put a little card in the package that said, “In loving memory of “Papa” who’s light still shines in all of us.” I have so many fond memories of us giving him a hard time about having a flashlight all the time.

In another way, because he was a good Christian man, his Christian light shines through us too. His dedication to Christ has lead many to know Jesus, especially his Grandchildren. Papa never mentioned a spiritual connection to his love of lights so I will.

“Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”- Luke 2:28-32

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness. John 3:19 says the world loved darkness instead of the light. I hate sitting in the dark at work when the power goes out. I hate sitting in the dark of my sin lost spiritually too. We do not have to be in the dark.

God bless. Turn on the light.

No Warning Shots Fired

I heard of a prison sign that reads, “No Warning Shots Fired!” The message  is clear, if you try to escape you will be instantly shot.

Sometimes it seems Christians fear that the Bible teaches God has such a sign too. Do you see God standing over the earth withing to catch you in sin to wipe you out? I hope not.

God loves us as a father. Consider Paul’s writing in Ephesians.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:5-8

Think about all the good things God has done for us in this short passage.

1. We have been adopted into God’s own family
2. He poured out His glorious grace on us
3. He purchased our freedom and for gave our sins
4. He showered us with kindness

The words used to describe what God has done in this verse makes me believe that he actually loves us.  Imagine that! I believe he loves us even more than we love our own children. He is a better father than I am.

Even I as an earthly father love my children. They are mine. I give them all they need and often even more. I give them things they want (especially around Christmas). Do my children make mistakes? Absolutely. Do I love them any less because of their faults? NO! Do I cast them out of the house when they hit each other? No. There might be some timely consequence to their mistakes; however, they are no less my children.

So it is with us who are in Christ. Who through faith and obedience have been adopted into God’s own family.

God bless. Be thankful.

Resolutions 2008: Contentment

You have a lot of choices when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. You could pick the usual culprits, lose weight, eat better, control anger, get up earlier, exercise more, read you bible more, pray more, saving money, and etc. But what if you did something different?

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?” ^{Hebrews 13:5-6}

What if you decided to be content with everything you have in 2008? Everything? I mean everything.  Here is a list of things to be content with,

How much money you have, the things you own, house, car, clothes, shoes, your job, friends, family, your kids, your spouse, your sex life, how about pets or your lack of pets, your looks, and ultimately yourself.

I am not talking about grudgingly accepting your lot in life. I mean really learning to be happy with what God has provided and how God has created you. Remember, He gives good gifts and He loves you.

I have seriously considered trying to get through 2008 without buying any stuff. No new clothes, no car, no major new purchases of any kind. I would limit my spending to food, shelter, and family. Think you could do it? Think for just a minute about all the things you were thinking of getting for yourself next year. Just think about it.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

God bless. Think more. Be content.

I am Resolved

Okay, this is bad bible study but it was too fun to pass up. So reader beware. I did a search for the word “resolved” on bible gate way and got the following hits.

1. 2 Chronicles 20:3
   Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
   2 Chronicles 20:2-4 (in Context) 2 Chronicles 20 (Whole Chapter)
2. Psalm 17:3
   Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
   Psalm 17:2-4 (in Context) Psalm 17 (Whole Chapter)
3. Daniel 1:8
   But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
   Daniel 1:7-9 (in Context) Daniel 1 (Whole Chapter)
4. 1 Corinthians 2:2
   For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
   1 Corinthians 2:1-3 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 2 (Whole Chapter)

I just thought it was interesting.

1. Resolve to inquire of the Lord. Take everything to God in prayer.
2. Resolve to keep your mouth from sin. Oh, boy. This is a hard one. No cursing, no gossip, no lying, no hateful speech.
3. Resolve to eat good foods. Eat less and eat better.
4. Resolve to know Jesus Christ. Time studying, getting closer to Christ. To boast in nothing but Christ and Him crucified.

I just thought it interesting to get these hits. Yes this is sorta irresponsible bible usage but it was fun.

God bless. Resolve.

What Gives Hope?

We all want something to hope for. As Christmas approaches I bet you are hoping for a few presents. I have been thinking about Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Here is something from Lamentations. Not the first book in the bible I would have looked for a lesson on hope.

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:21-26

We have hope because of the great love of God. He loved us so much he sent his son to die for us. Not that we deserved it first, no, because he loves. AND this God is good to those who hope in him and who seek him. Seeking is very important when it comes to finding.

One thing I think is hard is waiting quietly for the salvation of the Lord. God works in his own time and way.

God bless. Seek, have hope, keep the faith.

Abandoning Your Schedule

I enjoyed Phil’s comments in his blog entry, Prayer Requests. The end of the year makes us all reflect on time. I always have.

In our culture our focus is on success, beauty, and self esteem. This is the closing comments of Phil’s post. Very thought provoking.

A word to U.S. busy-freaks like me: I’m reminded that being busy with ministry tasks does not produce fruitfulness, but being obedient to God does. Do you ever feel like God is calling you to obey him by abandoning your schedule for the rest of the evening or weekend? In those moments, where do your loyalties lie? Do you obey Him or keep meeting the many needs and demands of others? Do you obey “them” (them could be real people or imagined pressures you’re placing on yourself, or both), or do you create the space needed to live out the gospel through rest and play? Sometimes Jesus is calling me away from people to solitude with him. Other times, he’s calling me away from “obligations” and back to people. A Latino friend told me, “You Anglos plan everything. You don’t have time for people.” I’m happy to say that today I resisted the urge to be busy and obeyed. And now I’m going to go be more effective as a way-of-life missionary!

How will you spend the next couple of weeks? Reflecting on your spiritual condition? Visioning your next year to be one for Christ?

God bless.

Have Faith Always

I just love this poem. I have told it to myself often over the years. I shared it with you about a year ago and want to bring it up again now. It fits in with my current topics. Actually it will probably always fit into my topics.

always have faith
always faith have
have always faith
have faith always
faith always have
faith have always

Three simple words that mean the same thing no matter how you say it.

God bless.

The Difference Between Life and Death

I just got through watching Nova: Deadly Ascent on PBS tonight. It was about climbers on Denali the highest mountain peak in North America. It was very interesting. On this very unforgiving mountain 45% of deaths were caused by falls. The rest caused by exposure and complications trying to survive in this harsh world. When bad weather swept upon the climbers they had to get into shelter quick. During these times survival depended on three things, eating, drinking plenty of water, and maintaining body heat.

Three things between life and death.

I am convinced that we are in a life and death struggle today. The outcome of our spiritual survival hangs in the balance every day. There are things we can do to help us survive.

Like the climbers on Denali, some people die their spiritual death from falls. While Jesus took care of our sin problems on the cross, practicing sin, leads us down a path that ends in a crevice we cannot climb back out of. That is why it is so important to train ourselves to resist sin. What I mean is, if you keep on sinning after the sacrifice, you will come to a point where you give into it and then there is no way to come back.  NOTE! If you just read that last statement and said, “I am there.” or “God will not take me back.” Then stop what you are doing right now. Get on your knees and pray, because there is still hope, and God will take you back. Tomorrow morning, find someone to talk to about God.

When a climber falls into a crevice they may have fallen to an instant death. However, some few, because of friends, safety gear, or fortune, are able to get back out of the hole. I believe we think we can handle sin. We only fool ourselves. There comes a time, sometimes after the first sin, when our hearts grow cold and we by our own choices become unreachable. Beyond God or any influence that will allow us to reach up and take hold of Gods precious grace once again.

But for those who do not fall. There awaits the exposure to the harsh environment we are in that taxes our spiritual health. The day in and day out need to keep putting one foot in front of the other on our walk with God gets to be hard. We get down, discouraged, and can loose hope. That is why fellowship with other survivors is so important. We spur one anther on, encouraging, sharing, and loving together.

Just as there are three components to survival on Denali, I like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, ” And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

God bless. Keep the faith, hold to hope, and share the love.

Woe is Me

I hope this list does not apply to you but if it does today is the time to start doing things differently. Jesus really let the Pharisees have it in this passage from Matthew.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

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

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. 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. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

“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. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

“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 dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! Matthew 23:13-32

The real question is, “Do you relate to any of these seven problems?” I hope you do. I do. If you do not WONDERFUL. However, I would probably think you were lying. And not being able to see sin in you life is a key Older brother characteristic, so watch out.

God Bless