Cutting Through The TV Static in My Mind

My mind is filled with static. Kinda like the static on an analog TV. Wikipedia says it is caused by electromagnetic radiation being picked up by an analog TV receiver. Here is what it looks like. (Thought it might be helpful in our digital world.)

Like a TV, my mind is filled with all the noise of life. Work, family, hobbies, national news, politics, personal problems, sin, guilt, worry, friends, and on and on.

The noise makes it hard to focus. I find I cannot keep a thought for more than one or two minutes before I am off on some worry or concern. When in prayer, I get distracted by thoughts. When the fog clears, I remember I was praying.

Here are my thoughts about getting through the static to get a clear connection to God. (Apologies for the corny TV analogy)

Shield your antenna

I find the only way to stay focused on God is to tune out to the crazy things going around me. Turn off the news, quit reading new web sites, no talk radio that does not build up or focus in on my object of affection, God. Work hard at work and then leave work at work or within well defined limits at home. Let go of all the things in life we have no control over. Matthew records these words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34, “do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Point your antenna in the right direction

So often I find myself looking for peace in all the wrong places. I get stressed and I start eating. Bad habits start to creep in and then guild follows. None of these things help me in my prayer life. I get busy trying to fix things my way only to have things get worse. Panic and depression are the only result of looking for help in the wrong place. This is where the world is. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:12-13

12remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to (the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Stay tuned into THE source of peace

Once we get the signal (I know, I am sorry), we have to stay on target. When we are far off, we have no hope. But now, we are near to God. Paul continues in verse 14, “for he himself is our peace.” Christ the Prince of Peace has finished the work of Salvation. Now I stay in the word. Pray often. Meditate on Christ. I don’t let the world creep back in.

6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:6-8

Don’t think for one moment God is not listening because you cannot focus. Instead of getting down on yourself, talk to God about it. Ask for his peace. Keep working on it, do not give up. Stay faithful. He loves us so much.

God bless.

Sin Happens!

Despite all the commands against sinning, you still do. It just happens. Paul wrote in Romans 3:20, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”

All the laws teach us how good at sinning we are.

The Israelites left Egypt in glory. God rescued them with many miracles and they still forgot. They did not get very far before they started to grumble and complain.

When they got to the promised land they were afraid to enter the land. God became angry and told Moses he would make a new nation through him. But Moses prayed.

“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. Numbers 14:17-20

Don’t let anyone lie to you and tell you God does not forgive. Or that the God of the Old Testament gave no grace. He knew, more than that, He knows we are imperfect and we sin. That is why he sent Jesus the Christ to come and save us from this world of hurt we are in.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

God did this. He loves us so much. He made the way to take care of our continuous sin problem. This does not mean we should just go do what we want. Do not be so ignorant of God’s Word. He did forgive the offense in Numbers, but he also punished the Children of Israel too.

We cannot make a practice of sinning. We must keep fighting. Don’t give up.

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.

What Pleases God?

Have you ever felt like you were working overtime to please someone but end the end found out you had no idea what would make them happy? Confused?

How often have you bent over backwards trying to do something for someone else and they never ever appreciated what you did for them?

It happens all the time. We work hard, sacrifice the things we want, spend time with people we do not want to, obey unwritten rules, and basically make ourselves miserable trying to get the next promotion, win a mate, satisfy a friend, or _______. You fill in the blank.

Unfortunately the world is doing the same thing with God. Stop and think of all the ways, methods, rules, and groups worshiping God. The funny thing is, there is only one Bible that tells us about God and what he wants. I just cannot imagine that God ever intended it be so complicated.

Know what? It is not complicated.

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:15-16

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “What does God really want?” The world’s religions are looking for the perfect sacrifice to appease God. AND all he really wants is for us to do good and to share. Christians the world over could do no better this Christmas than to proclaim allegiance to God and offer to him a sacrifice of praise, good works and share.

I am reminded of what God said through Micah,

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Stop sinning and stop loving the wrong things. Walk, walk humbly with God. Know Him, love Him, rely on Him. Glorify Him.

God bless. Be simple.

Do You Feel Okay?

Do you feel saved? Do you feel like you are doing the right things? You might even have a checklist of things you do to make you feel okay about yourself.

• Went to Church on Sunday – Check
• Read my bible this morning – Check
• Fasted yesterday – Check
• Did not eat meat on Friday – Check
• No Catfish – Check
• No Pork – Check
• Dressed up for Church – Check

Alright that is enough, I am not trying to pick on anyone. (There is certainly nothing evil or wrong about having rules and rituals, we all have them.) I just want to make the point the Hebrew author made in Hebrews 13:9.

So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them. Hebrews 13:9

The author is talking about the struggle Jewish Christians had converting from Judaism. They grew up with  many rules and regulations governing their spiritual and physical lives. When they converted to Christianity they put the law and its regulations behind them and their faith and trust in Christ.

They found that hard. Especially when all those things made them feel okay. We can fall into the same trap when we put trust in doing certain rituals or abstaining from things to feel okay. This is a problem because it is very easy for us to fall away when our human strength cannot keep us on the straight and narrow.

The good news is we do not have to worry about these things any more. Our strength comes from God’s grace, not from what we do to feel okay.

God bless.

Die, Endure, Confess, be Faithful

If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is. 2 Timothy 2:11-13

Paul wrote to Timothy to encourage him to stay faithful. This short poem, Paul called it a trustworthy saying, reminded Timothy of some basic truths of the early Christian faith.

I suppose the early Christians may have memorized and repeated this poem to one another for encouragement.

Die & live

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Romans 6:4

Endure hardship

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Confess don’t deny

“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. Luke 12:8-9

God is faithful

True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,

“You will be proved right in what you say,
and you will win your case in court.” Romans 3:3-4

Please forgive my taking this verse out of context a little. However, my point is, even when due to hardship and struggle we feel faithless, God will never give up on us. When He makes a promise it cannot be broken.

The early Church knew they had to stick together and they did. Encouraging one another to remain faithful to the end.

God bless. Die, endure, confess, be faithful.

Don’t Give Up

How long must we endure? When will Jesus’ promised rest come?

Welcome to the faithful few who wait. The recipients of the Hebrew letter did not know how long they would have to wait either. Not knowing how long you have to wait makes the wait even longer.

It is one thing to wait in a line that is slowly shrinking. It is entirely another to stand in a stagnant line waiting another move.

God has always wanted to test his faithful. He wants to know we will wait. That is what Hebrews 11 is about. Faithful heroes who died waiting for their promises to be fulfilled. In Hebrews 10, the Christians are called to persevere.

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

“For in just a little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
And my righteous ones will live by faith.
But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. Hebrews 10:35-39

We must not be like those who turned away. We must keep our eyes on Christ. Then we can enter Christ’s special rest.

Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. Hebrews 4:8-11

I know this is heavy stuff. I also know how nearly impossible it is to remain faithful, practically unattainable. I have no secret power, no great knowledge. I only know what remains.

God bless. Faith, hope, and love. (1 Corinthians 13)

Who is the Greatest?

When you are struggling with faith or second guessing your decisions, how do you work out your doubts? When you are trying to make a important decision you weight the pros and cons. You might also make a list of the reasons to believe something and the reasons not to believe something.

The writer of Hebrews did this very thing. He wrote to a group of Jewish Christians who were struggling with their commitment. Because of trials, persecution, hardship, and alienation, these Christians seem to be playing at the idea of going back to Judaism. To encourage these Christians the author made a lengthy list of doctrinal arguments why Christianity is far more superior to Judaism.

• Jesus is superior to angles (1:4)
• Jesus has a better message(2:2-4)
• Jesus is superior to Moses (3:3-6)
• Jesus brings a better rest (4:8-11)
• Jesus is a better High priest (5:9)
• Jesus priesthood is superior to Levi (7:11,16 & 8:1-2)
• Jesus brings a better covenant (8:7)
• Jesus is the perfect sacrifice (9:13-14)

The encouragement these arguments gave these early Christian readers is still available to us today. These are not wasted arguments. We are, today, still being served by the perfect high priest Jesus Christ the Son of God.

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:15

God bless. Hang in there, do not give up.

Have You Never Heard?

Just in case you have recently forgotten the truth about life….

Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-32

Anytime you forget who God is just read this passage. It is very encouraging. I am convinced that once this sinks into the core of the Christian much joy will be produced.

God bless.