Compassion

August 18th, 2009

How many times do we find ourselves in a situation, and think, “I deserve this. I brought it on myself,” and find ourselves ashamed to ask for help and strength from God?

I know I have felt this way.  Because of failure, sin, or downright ignorance I get myself into a tight spot, and feel like I should not receive help from God because I knew better, or at least should have.

It is easier to accept that God is merciful and will forgive us, but it is sometimes hard to believe that He wants to aid us after our own mistakes.

That is when we need to realize and remember the compassion of God.  Psalm 145:8 (NKJV) states, “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,     Slow to anger and great in mercy.”  Also we find in Lamentations 3:22 (NKJV), “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.”

Just like God’s mercy, His compassion is greater than our sin, greater than our errors, greater than our flaws.  In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) the father not only receives his wayward son, and forgives him, but also begins to take care of every need.  Even though this son had failed miserably, his father not only forgave him, looking at his repentant son through eyes of mercy, he began to provide for his son’s needs, looking at him through eyes of compassion.  The wrongs had been forgiven.  The only thing the father saw now was the need.

There is a very old song which comes to my mind, entitled “He Looked Bey0nd My Fault and Saw My Need.”  This is the compassion of God.  He forgives the fault, then deals with the need.

If you believe in God’s mercy, and have faith in His ability, then trust in His compassion in your time of need, even if it was caused by your own doing.  He has not changed, and wants to meet you at that point of need.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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A Clean Heart

August 14th, 2009

There is a scripture on my mind, and I have been quoting it lately.  It is from th fifty-first Psalm, a prayer of repentance made by David after sinning with Bathsheba.  It states, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Verse 10, KJV)

This has not been on my mind because I have been involved in some unspeakable sin (doesn’t that make you feel relieved?) but because I have been examining my own heart, trying to see what is really there, wanting to surrender it fully to God.

To be truthful, I didn’t like everything I found there.  I had to look at my own feelings and motives honestly, and was ashamed at the level of selfishness.  Yes, I said selfishness.

Admittedly, like anyone else, I carry the emotional scars and baggage of past disappointments.  Recently when something from the past was recalled and stirred up, the twinge of that disappointment’s pain was felt again.  As I was thinking about the reasons why I could still feel this, I realized it was because I had from the very first been more focused on myself than anything else.  I was primarily concerned with what I wanted, and when that did not materialize I was disappointed.

The reason it still hurt when I thought about it was because rather than surrender my desires to God, I let a sliver of bitterness get into me.  I was like a pouting child in that sense because I was holding on to a hurt because I didn’t get my way.  And it involved a great deal of selfishness in me that I did not want to face or admit to having.

That is not to say that we will not face disappointments even when we are pure of heart, or are not motivated by selfishness.  Sometimes things do not work out, but Jesus said he would heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18).

However, sometimes we don’t always have the purest motives.  We hope to gain something (other than the promises of God) so we go forth with a bad motive trying to do a good thing.

For example, we love, but only because we expect that love to be reciprocated in like manner.  Most of us are guilty of this from time to time.  We exhibit kindness to others, but do it with the motive of gaining their loyalty to us, not because we see a need and are moved by compassion.

Then we face disappointment when those expectations are not met.  We become undone by our own impure motives.

So now I find myself praying daily that God will create a clean heart in me.  I want to do the right thing for one reason - simply because it is right.  I want my relationships to be based on exhibiting the love of Christ, not to fulfill a selfish need or desire for approval or affection.  I want my good works and actions toward others to stem not from a selfish motive, but from allowing God to work through me, to show Himself through those actions, so that He can be glorified.

I hope you understand what I am feebly trying to express here. Thanks.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Hope

August 12th, 2009

Hope is an important part of who we are.  Without a feeling of hope, we wither away.  Without hope, we give up. And, hope is the groundwork of our faith (Hebrews 11:1).

Where we place that hope is important.  We all know the feeling of having hope destroyed, that feeling of being let down.  Sometimes our hope is misplaced, and we are pinning our hopes to something that will fail.

Individuals, institutions, and situations ultimately will fail us.  Everyone experiences loss when hope is placed in these things.

The one place that we can place our hope, the one in whom our hope truly rests, is God. In Psalm 38:15, it says,  “For in You, O LORD, I hope;  You will hear, O Lord my God.” (NKJV)  When our hopes are placed elsewhere, we run the risk of great disappointment.  When our hope is in God, we are hoping in someone who has been proven over and over, many times before.  Nobody else, nothing else, has that track record.

When we have hoped elsewhere, and get let down, it is important to remember where our true hope lies.  Psalm 42:5 states, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”  (NKJV)

Our true hope is in the true Source of life, the Giver of what is good and perfect (James 1:17).  When everything and everyone else fails, even that in which we believed strongly, and defended adamantly, fails, we know that we can return to our true hope.  We need not be destroyed and despairing (”Why are you cast down, O my soul? “) but we can hope in believe in someone who wants to see our greatest hopes realized (”Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”)

Be blessed and have a great day.

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My Take On A Little Passage

August 10th, 2009

I have been debating what to write about today.  I finally settled on this passage:

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”  And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”  So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NKJV)

Here we see Elijah faced with great trouble.  He had gotten a great victory over the prophets of Baal,  but was now running in fear of his life.  He had reached the point of exhaustion, and could not go any longer.  He sat down, just wishing he could die.

We tend to get a little judgmental of Elijah, thinking “How could he act that way when God gave hime such a victory?  Where was his faith?”

Yet when we get to a point when we can go no longer, we feel the same way.  We don’t want to go on either, we would rather die, and the anguish of the heart is more than we can bear.

While the victory we had in the past can encourage us, and the hope of the future can encourage us, we sometimes are faced with a horrendous present.  The immediate situation is dire, and the pain is so deep, so terrible, that we would welcome the end.

After this Elijah has a visitation, an angel that gives him provision. After a time of rest he recieves a second visitation, gaining further provision.  Only then does he have the strength to go on again, and he goes forward in supernatural strength for forty days and nights.

After that, Elijah was able to speak with God concerning his condition (1 Kings 19: 9-14).  Then God gives him instruction, and sends him to Elisha, who would be his protege.   He also tells Elijah that there are others who do not serve Baal. (1 Kings 19: 15-18)

When faced with these situations, we sometimes need the same kind of help.  It can be very hard, heartbreaking, and lonely.  That is when we need God.  We need His visitation, His provision of strength, His promise of help in the future (our “Elisha”).  And most of all, we need to know that we are not alone.  We need to know that God is there, and we need to know that there are others who have not “bowed to Baal” - in other words, there are those who stand with us.

To those who are faced with tremendous difficulty, I say hold on.  God loves you just as much as He did Elijah, why should He not respond in like manner?  And to those who are not faced with great difficulty, there is someone who needs to know that you are willing to stand with them.  Don’t take it lightly when someone is in deep need, in deep anguish, and in need of assurance that they are not standing alone.  That may take commitment, time, and putting one’s self on the back burner for awhile.  Be willing to do whatever it takes.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Return of “Bearing the Burden”

August 6th, 2009

A while back, I wrote a post called “Bearing the Burden.”

It addressed the commandment that we bear one another’s burdens, found in Galatians 6:2.

Lately in more than one conversation, I have heard comments concerning how this is often not the case.  One of the things I have heard repeatedly is that people are often “busy” and don’t take time to involve themselves with the struggles of others in the family of God.  They have their own families, their own struggles, their own things to deal with.  On the surface, this seems to be a justifiable reason.  The time is just not there to get overly involved with others.  So folks do what they can; however, sometimes hurting people need more than a Facebook comment or a quickie email.  If that is the best we can do, we are falling short.

In the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20) Jesus talked about the cares of this world choking out the word of God (Mark 4:19).  We are commanded to bear one another’s burdens in order to fulfill the “law of Christ.”  What is the simplest and purest description of the “law of Christ?”  Jesus said in John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”  The way that He loved (and loves) us was with the ultimate expession of love, giving His life as a ransom for us.  Sometimes we have to do what is not convenient, not pleasant, or not easy.  We may have to sacrifice something.  In fulfilling this commandment of Christ we are told to bear one another’s burdens.  If we fail to do this, to hold to this conviction, we are failing to love.

Another thing I have heard is that people sometimes don’t reach out.  This one sometimes comes from the fear of offending someone, not wanting to violate someone’s privacy, or even uncertainty about whether or not it is the right thing to do.  In most cases, it is best to reach out.  Sharing the love of God is never a mistake, even if someone has trouble receiving it.  If we make a mistake trying to do what is right, God will forgive.  Probably the offended party will as well.  It reminds me of the old saying, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.”  Fear of failure or making a mistake should never stop us from trying to be obedient to God.  If He gave us the commandment, He is able to give us the grace to obey it properly, and He is able to make things work out if we miss the mark.

Whether we realize it or not, we are connected.  We are also created for relationship with God and with others.  Let’s get involved and loft one another up.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Edification

August 3rd, 2009

I really want to start this off with some scripture to lay a foundation for what I am going to say.  Romans 14:19 (NIV)  states,  “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) states, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

We all need and desire encouagement.  It blesses us when someone speaks something or does something that lifts our spirit, brings us hope, or simply makes us feel better.  We all like the feeling of a “pat on the back” or any other form of encouragement, especially when we are feeling down or discouraged.

This is the more upbeat side of being edified, or built up, nad we have no problem with it.  But there is also another type of edification.  The words that challenge us, bring us to a point of humility, or point out something to us that we would rather not think about.

I am not saying that we should seek out the criticism of others,  or even heed all of it,  but there are time that the very things we do not want to hear are the exact things we need to hear.  Sometimes that slap in the face is the very thing God wants to use to build us up in the proper way.

I will use this illustration.  My grandfather was not a carpenter by trade, however he could have been.  He was quite good at it and did everything to an incredibly high standard.  I remember one project that I was working on with him when he found something wasn’t up to that standard.  It was something unseen, something he could have covered up, but he chose to tear it out and redo it.  He didn’t wat to settle for “good enough” just because no one else would know.  He wanted it to be right.  And that required tearing down the “good enough” so he could build “the best.”

Likewise, God wants us to be built up in a way that is not just “good enough”, but He wants us built up to be “the best.”  Sometimes this requires tearing something out that is “good enough.”

God uses the gifts of the ministry, and even sometimes our friends, to speak things to us so He can do that in our lives.  Sometimes it humbles us, maybe even hurts our feelings a little bit for a moment,  but if we react properly and submit to God,  He will use it to make us the best we can be.

Proverbs 27:6 (NIV) says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted,  but an enemy multiplies kisses.”  Sometimes the kind words come from people with the wrong motives, looking to gain something for themselves.  Other times they may come from a friend or acquaintance with good intentions, but the words are really not what we need.  Maybe that well intentioned soul is not really a follower of Christ, someone who gives no thought to your spiritual life.  And sometimes the truth that a God-fearing friend tells you hurts a little, but if their motives are right, they want to you be built up to reach your highest and best potential in Christ.

In the end, we need people of God to do both in our lives, to encourage us and to challenge us.  And we need to respond to both by allowing God to work in our lives and submitting to Him.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Good Times and Bad

July 31st, 2009

Over the course of a lifetime,there are many events, good and bad, milestones and tribulation, highs and lows. We rejoice on the mountaintop, try to struggle through the valleys, and do the best we can to deal with all of it.

When we look at Romans 8:28 - “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (NKJV) - we tend to forget that it is exactly that - all things. The good, the bad, and the otherwise (you probably thought I was going to say “ugly” for the last one, but no, “otherwise”.)

The good works together with the not-so-good.  That is not so hard to grasp. We can all agree that the good things work for our good.  After that, we grudgingly admit that the bad and the otherwise work for our good as well, even if we don’t see it. But somewhere, in the back of our mind, we think, “What good could possibly come of this?”

It just so happens that the next verse gives us an idea on that. Romans 8:29 states  “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (NIV) .  God wants us to be like Jesus.  Many of the things that look as if they can never be worked for good are the things that God will use in our lives to make us more like Jesus.

Life is full of highs and lows.  We have good times and bad.  If we submit ourselves to God, He can use all of it to make us more like Christ.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Seeking

July 29th, 2009

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” - Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)

The Bible reminds us in many places of the importance of seeking God. Likewise, it promises that we will find Him when we seek. Throughout the scripture there is promise of reward to those who seek Him.

In our modern society, many people call themselves “seekers”, and churches advertise services that are “seeker-friendly.”  It would seem that with all the “seeking” going on, there would be a lot more “finding” than seems to be evident.

This is not intended to be a rant against society or the church, but rather an encouragement.  Although I am sure that there are people who fit the description of 2 Timothy 3:7 - “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” - there are also many who are sincere, desperately wanting to know God.

We live in an era of mass communication and commercialization of everything in society.  It is also an era of high speed, quick-fix, ready-made, and instant everything.  Even relationships are increasingly disposable when the time investment and effort become too much for us.  We can become quickly discouraged when everything isn’t on the “fast-track” and we can’t see results at the speed of light.

Seeking God is not of that nature.  God asks us to invest our time and ourselves in pursuit of Him, in the deepening of that relationship.

Think about this as an example: the longer we know someone, the more time we invest with that person, the more we get to know who they really are.  Think about the people whom you have met that did not impress you at first.  Then when you got to know them, you really liked them.  Then think of the people that you met who made a killer first impression, but later on were found out to be people with distasteful qualities.  In both cases, it took time to discover the person. Likewise, it takes time to discover God.  The more time we invest, the more we know Him, and the closer the relationship with Him becomes for us.

It takes time and effort to grow, it takes time and effort on our part to have a truly deep realtionship with God.  But it is not impossible. The first part of James 4:8 states, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (NIV)

God desires us to seek Him, to pursue Him with our whole heart.  He promises that we will find Him, and that as we come near Him, He will come closer to us.  God is not playing hard-to-get, He is accessible and desires us to be near to Him.  Keep seeking, keep moving forward, and keep growing and deepening that relationship that exceeds all others.

Be blessed, and have a great day.

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Thieving Foxes

July 27th, 2009

There is a verse in the Song of Solomon that I heard quoted a lot when I was a kid.  It was being stated in a context that was very applicable, and the further I go in life the more I begin to see this application of the verse is really helpful.

The verse is found in Song of Solomon 2:15 - ” Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.” (NKJV)

I often hear people discussing their opinions on certain activities and behavior that they “have no problem with” or they “see nothing wrong with.” Without sounding too conservative or preachy, and without getting to the point of condemning specific actions, I would like to point out that some things do need to be examined in light of the effects that they have on our lives.

It is often found that the habits, activities, behavior, and attitudes in our lives can be counterproductive.  Even though it may not be “wrong”, or “evil”, “wicked” or “sinful”, it is still an issue for us.  It may be something small, even seemingly benign.  No matter what it is, the litmus test for it is this: Is it robbing our lives of Godly fruit, and the blessings of God?

Just like the little fox in the aforementioned verse, it is destroying the vineyard.  The fruit that should be there is not.  We show no increase, no bounty, in what our lives produce.  The blessings and the bounty dry up,  and we begin to wonder why.

That is the situation that requires a self-examination, looking at our lives humbly and honestly, to see if some “little foxes” that we all too often choose to ignore are getting into the vineyard, tearing up the vines, and destroying the fruit that should be there.

Just because something is small and seemingly minor and unimportant does not mean that it is not destructive.  The most successful thief is the one who can go about robbing unnoticed.

If we truly want good fruit and the blessings of God in our lives, we need to be on the lookout and catch the little foxes that enter our lives before they begin to do big damage.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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Walkin’ In The Sunshine

July 23rd, 2009

There is an old Roger Miller song from way back called “Walkin’ in the Sunshine” (you can see the lyrics here.)

I am bringing this up in order to talk about Proverbs 17:22 : “A cheerful heart is good medicine,  but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”  Life is often tough, and it is difficult to maintain cheerfulness sometimes.  That is why it is important for us to encourage each other.  Even to occasionally make each other laugh, and enjoy that moment of stress release that comeswith it. Just as there is a proper time to mourn, there is a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

It is great to have friends around at times of stress and trouble.  They often bring some cheer to an otherwise sorrowful time.  I’m not saying that lightheartedness is appropriate in every circumstance, but often the cheerful attitude of another person is exactly what we need to influence our perspective, and keep us on the right track.

One of my friends in particular comes to mind (for sake of her privacy, we will just call her “Sunshine.”)  Sunshine gave me a laugh this very morning, which I needed.  We very often exchange lighthearted remarks, even when one of us or both of us are under stress.  I would have to rate Sunshine as one of the most fun people I  know (maybe the most fun.)  Often we look upon such actions as small or trivial, when actually it sometimes goes a long way in helping someone else’s mood to improve, or just helping them get through a rough day.

Never underestimate the power of a kind word, or a cheerful attitude.  They can make a lot of difference in someone’s world.

Be blessed and have a great day.

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