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Our Effective Control
The Awakening
As she sits on her ‘have-to-have-it’ couch she thinks back to when there were no choices to make. As a child she was told what to do and as a teenager she fought to make choices of her own. She had no idea at the time what a mess she will make with that right. Then, when she became an adult Leola made too many wrong choices. Too many choices with her time and too many ungodly choices with her morals. The result of that is she has too much furniture, gadgets, clothes, food, body fat, shoes and worse, flimsy morals. Leola just has too much of everything except money and godly morals. How did she get so out of control? Loela was not watching her future nor was she controlling her current wants. She has in effect lost control of herself.
Leola has seen the word ‘sober’ in the bible! It always brought to mind alcohol but she is getting a good picture of what sober means outside of drinking. She wonders if there is much of a difference between what she has been doing with her life and what someone who is drunk all the time is doing. They make impulsive decisions weighing the cost later when they are sober yet is that any different than what she is doing? Are either one of us clear-headed when we are sober? She is recklessly spending her life on useless things meant for instant gratification. She knows it isn’t going to last because she will soon be bankrupt. Her husband, Sam, is frustrated with her spending. As long as Sam stays in the dark about all the purchases and donations he will never voice his frustrations and she is off the hook. Leola has become accustomed to deceiving her husband. She isn’t seeing how ineffective she is at this deception; she is sound asleep.
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6). We need to make sure we do not fall asleep while we are living our life for Jesus. We have a roaring lion following us around whose goal it is too make us ineffective in the Body of Christ and in the world. Our effectiveness depends on our own self-control. This is something we need to learn over time. Self-control doesn’t just show up overnight, it is learned. It takes a little self-control to gain a lot of self-control. The issue with lack of control is it engulfs our whole life and our whole being. If we lose control in one area I am pretty sure we have lost control in many other areas. Let’s think about alcohol for a minute. Someone who drinks to excess has lost control of the alcohol but what has he lost control of before the drink. The area God will go after to get control over is what is causing our life to be ineffective right now. Once we are effective at controlling that other areas to control will show up.
The Conviction
One more lie won’t change anything except Leola. God has had enough of the deception. She has lost control of the truth! God ordained her to teach women life skills but how will she be able to be of any effect to them when lying has become her norm instead of the truth. She is extremely grieved by her behaviour. She looked around the room to see all the money she has spent on frivolous stuff. Sam was right! It is time to clean this mess up. Leola would embark on a two year quest to get rid of the frivolous stuff everywhere in the house and control her spending. The first thing she had to do was stop lying to her husband. Leola has asked the Holy Spirit to convict her on this because it has become so habitual she won’t catch it fast enough before the dirty deed is done. Since Sam is not saved yet, his only view of Jesus is her. She is determined to be a good effect on him and anyone else she teaches!
It takes a long time to clean up a mess that was years in the making. When we lose control it effects our whole life as well as the people around us. Discord is the mainstay with loss of control but we don’t first try to fix it, we attempt to hide it, making everything worse. Paul wants us to watch and be sober about our life because our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and we do not want to be caught in the middle of dishonouring Him when the trumpet blows. Fear not because you can do this! God has chosen us, equipped us and set us to His work that we would be effective to all, honouring Him.
This weeks meditation verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:7
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Believe Him!
Hearing Him!
God has been speaking to Leola as she reads His Word and teaching her things she ought to know (Isaiah 43:19). To her surprise, God is not teaching her friends the same things. She was naïve in believing God teaches everyone the same truths. As she sits on her ‘have-to-have-it’ couch, staring out the window, she ponders what God is teaching her and why her friends do not agree. Why do they disagree? The Words are right there in black and white or are they grey? Is she hearing wrong? Is it the truth? She is not sure just yet! She talked to her friend about what little she knows but her friend vehemently disagrees with her. Leola is not sure what to think and she is hurt beyond measure! Her friend has been a Christian longer than her so she is confused about what to believe. Is God saying something different to her? She is afraid to talk to her about it again because she cannot defend this truth wholly but soon she will be able too.
Leola has discovered the Holy Spirit brings her to Scriptures that seem to be controversial with her friends. Why is He doing this? She is a relatively young Christian compared to her friends. Friends are important to her because she is an extrovert who gets her energy from friendship. No friends, no energy! Elohim was about to turn that concept upside down but first He is going to teach her about the benefits of controversy! Leola continued to fight for her friendships rather than the truths she was being taught BUT Elohim continued to teach her without fail and she believed Him but kept her mouth shut about what she was learning until the day she was challenged and the Spirit set her soul on fire to speak the truth whether her friend would hear it or not!
The Lord equips us to perform His will. He will bring you to truths designed to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up but it will be because He needs you to know it. We are being inundated today by watered down truths spoken to alleviate conviction of sin and make us feel comfortable in our current belief. Disciple of Jesus does not equal comfort! We feel uncomfortable letting God tell us what to do! We feel uncomfortable implementing the truth into our lives when no one around us is. We want to be clones of our Christian friends so we can feel accepted. Jesus says to those who believe, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) The truth shall make us free to believe Him over people. It shall make you free to do what He wants you to do and to be able to stand in what you are doing. It shall make you free to be His disciple not your pastors or your friends. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means you believe Him!
Choosing Him!
Leola was in agony because her friend did not want to have anything to do with her again but she was at peace with it. During, her sometimes heated discussion with her friend, God supplied her with information she didn’t know before to solidify this new truth. She was surprised by her reaction to her friends exit from her life – peace along with grief. Now she was beginning to learn what being a disciple of Jesus Christ meant. The next time she walked into her church building she saw life in there differently. She had lost a friend and wondered how many more she would lose before the Lord took her to be with Him. Leola has walked away from Christians who were using her to forward their own ministry but this was her first loss of a good friend over the truth. Someone she cared about! Someone she admired! This loss threw Leola into another training session with Jesus about peace in the controversy over God’s truth. He taught her the difference between fighting for His truth and her own. Today, Leola knows the difference and accepts it whole heartedly. She is making new friends who enjoy and support her in everything she is doing for the Body of Christ. She believes Him in everything He teaches her!
Abiding in the Words of Jesus is not easy and it can be controversial even inside the Body of Christ. You will lose friends who want to live a comfortable Christian life. You will lose friends you thought had a zeal for the truth. You will be questioned about what you believe. Take heed of what you hear because you DO want to hear more. If you choose your friends over Jesus, what you know will be taken away and you will get your wish to be like them. Jesus wants to reveal the truth to you, should you not know it? Believe the Words of our Saviour!
This week’s meditation verses: Mark 4:24; Luke 8:18; John 8:31-32; Isaiah 43:19
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Who am I?
The Question!
Leola is still pondering what she learned from the play last week about rising out of her sin. She knows she can change but she is not at all sure what to change first. Obedience is coming little by little and not easily. She begins her reading in Matthew 16 this morning sitting on her ‘have-to-have-it’ couch with the sun shining directly on her. Leola admires the sun and looks down at the Word. The first Words that jump out at her is the wicked and adulteress generation seeks a sign (v4). She raises her head to look out the window and ponders this in her own life. Is she seeking a sign from Jesus for her own use? She doesn’t know the answer to this question! Is her faith contingent on miracles or signs rather than who Jesus is? Is this who she is, a Pharisee? Maybe, but she doesn’t know the answer to this question either!
Reading on she comes across a ‘Jesus question’ she cannot skip over, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (v13) She doesn’t know because she never asks! She wants to know who Jesus is but can it be done? If she knows who He is what significance will the answer have in her life? Leola has never much liked herself because she has always been told she is unlikeable. She never thought much about who she is because her life won’t make much of an impact anyway! Perhaps, she thinks, the real measuring stick IS Jesus and compared to Him she is nothing. Jesus is now pointing this out to her but only putting a small longing in her heart she cannot define. Forty-five years of thinking she is nothing has impacted Leola’s life so much so Jesus will have to do a mighty work to change it around! Leola depended on what others said to define who she is and she didn’t like who they told her she was. She never once thought it could be any other way. What others defined her as must be the truth, right, because they can see her better than she can see herself? As a result she only ever asked the question, “Who do people say I am?” but never, until now, will she ask, “Who am I?” and expect to learn the answer!
Many of us go through an identity crisis with or without Jesus. The spectacular advantage of following Jesus is His way of teaching us ‘who we are’ with Him in our life compared to who we were without Him. He created both of us and He knows how to bridge the gap. The difference can be staggering in some cases yet minor in others. If this is true than how do we respond to this revelation? We must be trained by Elohim to put less emphasis on who others say we are and more on who He says we are. He has gifted us differently than anyone else therefore we are created to walk in those gifts for His purpose. I cannot tell you enough about how different we are from others therefore we cannot compare ourselves to anyone we can only compare ourselves to Jesus. Who we are is who He says we are! To discern who we are we must ask, “Who do we say He is?” The answer to that question forms who we are!
Over the years Jesus has changed me so significantly I think it is noticeable yet many people have missed it. I wonder why? The face I wear in public to show everyone ‘life is great’ but behind it the cracks are numerous. My family sees the changes because they are close to me but the only person who sees every change is Elohim. He knows me better than anyone else, He sees me! Him and I are the only ones who know the extent of the transformation in me and we are the only ones who know who I am. Never will I allow another to define who I am. Others define who we are based on their history not ours. They see us through the vision of their own life and what they want from us! The whole answer cannot come from any other person, it can only come from Jesus!
The Whole Answer
Still sitting in the window, the sun making her red hair appear gold, Leola closes her eyes to ask Jesus the most significant question of her life, “Do You see me?” She waits but there is no answer! The answer to this question, many years later, will significantly change her life but for now there is another teaching for her! She lowers her head to read on. But who do you say that I am? (v15) A good question she is not sure she can answer! Again she looks out the window to ponder this question. Who is Jesus and how important is knowing who He is? The questions Jesus asks His disciples make them first think and then answer, if they can. They always elicit the truth from their soul but this time the answer came from the Spirit because they couldn’t possibly know the answer without Him. Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (v16) When the Spirit revealed who Jesus is to Peter and he confesses it with his mouth Jesus, in turn, tells Peter who he was. Leola knows Peter does become the rock but not without rolling of a cliff a time or two first (Read Acts). She prays, “Lord, You are the Son of the Living God! Please tell me who I am?” Leola’s own voice said within her, “Find Me and you will find you, for in Me is you!” After ten years of studying Scripture to find out who Jesus is Leola can testify, indeed she is finally discovering the new Leola Elohim has created just for her! Bridging the gap has been a process she could only do with guidance of the Holy Spirit. Instead of looking at herself through the eyes of people she now sees herself through the eyes of the Father. The significance of having this information for Leola leads her to actually like herself! A first in her life!
Others vision of us can cause untold damage to our soul but who we are can be changed! Not liking ourselves leaves us susceptible to false teachers who prey on our insecurities, the devil who plants lies about who we are and consequently a rebellion against Elohim. Who we are does not depend on our work, our family, our spouse or anything else outside of Jesus. It is extremely important for us to know who He is because within Him is the truth of us! Who do YOU say He is? Do not delay in discovering who Jesus is because He IS the whole answer to the question ‘Who am I?’
This week’s meditation verses: Matthew 16
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The Escape is Obedience!
The Excuse!
She is walking through the parking lot excited about a new prospect she has ahead of her. Leola Lurned squeezes her coat tighter as much a result of the cold as out of an uneasiness about attending church for the first time in ten years. This is her mother’s church, her grandmother’s church, and her family church. It is a traditional religious institution or so she thought. In the time she attended before she doesn’t remember ever walking out of a sermon with anything that would make her a better Christian. She was a ‘knob shaker’ extraordinaire during the time she graced the building with her presence, but it is different today. Today, she is expecting something different, something life changing and she will not be disappointed!
Growing up Leola never saw religion in her house even though Sunday best was a requirement. She came from a ‘knob shaking’ family! She wondered no more about where she got her ideas and habits about God. The door to the church was easy to open and enter though what was to come would be harder. The hall was filled with familiar but unknown faces, some smiling, some frowning, some talking and some listening. The noise was an indicator she was on time. Leola wandered the halls from memory to the sanctuary to find a seat. True to her word of last week she had been reading the Scriptures daily without understanding. He lack of understanding gave her reason to look for a legitimate escape from that daunting task. She found a seat in the back row praying under her breath it doesn’t belong to a bitter old man who has a need to sit in the same seat every week. Sitting down Leola drags her brain for just one iota of information she understood from Scripture this week.
How many times did we have to drive before we understood how to do it well? How many times did we cook a meal before we understood spices? How long have we worked at our job before we understood it enough to be competent? Obedience to a manual or a recipe was the key to understanding each of those topics. How do we think we can understand Scripture if we don’t obey Them? In our walk with God whether we are baby Christians or seasoned Christians we look for excused to avoid putting time into knowing Elohim. I remember when the Father first called me I actually had no idea I was supposed to read the Bible. No one told me ‘to know God is to know Scripture’ and if they did my ears were not hearing. It wasn’t until I learned of the familial relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist was a zeal for His Words put into my heart.
Up until that point the only obedience I could be accused of is confessing my sins to each other (James 5:16). I had no understanding of Scripture or His commandments and no understanding how to escape my sin either. I was fooling myself in thinking shaking the doorknob once a week was going to give me the skills I needed to improve my life. My lack of understanding was no longer valid after that and neither is yours. We do not have an excuse for a lack of understanding of the Scripture because it is outright disobedience to the Lord. We think if we read the Word over and over we will eventually understand it but according to the Word Itself our understanding comes from the obedience of the Words we are reading. One day we will stand before Jesus and NO excuse will be valid. Ignorance is not bliss in God’s economy because the escape is obedience. We must make it a priority to understand His Words through the obedience of the Words. We have the escape now let us take it!
The Escape!
Leola is pulled from her thought when the Pastor begins to speak into the microphone perfectly placed on the pulpit to his tall stature. He begins with a prayer so soft at first she can barely comprehend the words then the sound rises above her pounding heart to her ears. He is speaking directly to her and it makes her uncomfortable. He asks God to bless us with complete understanding of the Words God has given Him to speak on this day. Would God so touch us that we would feel it down to our core? Would He give us the power to obey Him thereby getting understanding of the Scriptures. How did the Pastor know? How did he know Leola’s silent struggle to sustain her resolve to read Scripture? How did he know she was looking for an excuse to quit?
Leola stared wide eyed at the Pastor! There was a sensation in her she had never felt before. Before she could get over the last shock, he threw out another one. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. (Psalm 111:10) His bold knowledge of her struggle continued to make her feel awkward. He knew she was looking for excuses and Leola’s cheeks beamed bright red with embarrassment at the prospect of him knowing such a deep secret. She wanted to leave but her sudden fear of gossip kept her planted in that seat. She continued to listen with great distress believing he would soon publicly call her out. When she thought she was going to explode she heard the Pastors words, “God knows you so deeply, even you will be amazed at His understanding of your struggles!” He glanced at her with such love in his eyes she knew that new sensation was Jesus! Her resolve returned out of love for the Man! She knew she needed to continue in her promise to read the Scriptures every day excited to allow the Spirit to talk to her about obedience. She understood one thing this Sunday morning, her excuses are not escapes; obedience is the escape!
Our own understanding of the Scriptures will not come until we obey the Scriptures and we cannot obey the Scriptures if we never read them. Therefore in all of your getting in life, get understanding!
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The Hope of Change
Do you still make mistakes you thought you’d be done with by now? Are you still getting angry at the dumbest things when you feel you shouldn’t? Do you think things are so far gone there is no hope of change? I love Paul’s writings because he understands our dilemma here on Earth so much more than we ourselves do. One of the biggest problems I see today is emotional overload followed by inappropriate actions. We get offended so easily and react so violently. As a woman I have ‘been there and done that’ so many times it is embarrassing to even think about but there is hope for me to change and for you too. In Ephesians 4 Paul brings to our attention three valid truths to believe there is a hope of impending change.
- We all have the same Spirit. (4:1-6)
- The Saints are gifted by God (4:7-16)
- A new you is created by God (4:17-32)
Same Spirit
I know on the outset this doesn’t look like it could give me hope but it will. As I look around at other Christians who can control their emotions and never seem to lack holiness I know they are that way because the Holy Spirit drew them to His way. In the whole of the Scriptures we see the Spirit at work drawing people into holiness. We watch as people have uncontrolled emotions and the havoc they reign over people while others have controlled emotions and God uses them tremendously.
Women and men are not different in this area we just struggle with different emotions. Each of us lose control and act out differently. The same Spirit is in each of us showing us all how to have true righteousness and holiness (V24). So, when you look around feeling forlorn about your lack of change you will see differently. See the hope residing in the people who have been changed and develop your own hope of change.
The Gifts of God
Sometimes we think these gifts of God are for those running a church but they are not! Read V11-13 again to see the truth. These are the gifts God supplied to us for you personally! They are specific to the Saints because they are used for equipping us and edifying us until the day we are capable of doing our ministry on our own with Jesus. I can testify this day will come because I am at a time in my walk with Jesus I need no one to teach me about Scripture except Jesus. When Paul became a minister to the Gentiles he was not taught by humans but Jesus Himself (Galatians 1:12). I do not rely on others to teach me but I still rely on my brethren to edify me. I use my gifts to edify and you should use yours for the same. When I edify someone, using what God has given me, I too feel edified especially if you grow from it. If you have indeed heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus (v21), He will bring people gifted as apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers into your life, when you need them most, to equip you and edify you to develop a hope of change.
Created by God
Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (V24). The new you Paul is talking about was also created by God according to His plan. How marvelous is that? This has the most hope attached to it because when He starts a good work He always completes it (Philippians 1:6). I know for sure my wavering emotions seemingly out of control sometimes will be brought into submission by the new me following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is a truth everyone should know. We struggle with our emotions on a daily basis with no end in sight but I am at the end of some of my emotional outbursts so I can see the future end to the rest knowing this. The new me is completely different than the old me! She still has some issues with the old me popping up in specific areas but she knows in time those issues will be dealt with. We become who God has created us to be by putting off, concerning our former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt (v22). This new me created according to God certainly gives us hope of change.
Growth is Change
This whole chapter speaks of growth. Growth is change regardless of whether we grow in corruption or grow in righteousness. Paul says in Ephesians 4 to put on the new man because that new man is endowed with the Holy Spirit who is our change agent. Since there is one in the same Spirit in us he is asking us to check our former conduct at the proverbial door. God is fully capable of removing our emotions but what’s the sense of living if you have no emotions. What’s expected of us is to learn control so the main purpose of our emotions is to edify the body then we will bring hope of change to them as well.
I know facing the facts of our uncontrolled emotions is frustrating and maddening. Every time we lose control we degrade ourselves even more and the skills we thought we had we diminish. We look at change as unsuccessful and slow. But I can assure you, if you keep at it, one day you will wake up and be faced with great change that even you didn’t notice. The Holy Spirit is so thorough at His work we won’t even notice the small changes until they all add up to the big change. As long as we have the Holy Spirit living in us we can be assured of the hope that comes from change.
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You can Problem Solve your way into Real Truth!
When it comes to life skills, desperation is a driving factor for all manner of horrible things to happen. What is the driving factor for those who have been caught up in human trafficking? They were desperate for a better life and someone took advantage of that. What is the driving factor for overwhelming debt? They were desperate to have what they wanted or to have what someone else has. In the world today we are taught to have what we want and if we don’t have it, get it. We are taught to buy now pay later but, my lovelies, later comes sooner than we expect and we still don’t have everything we want. Now we not only are still desperate for our wants but we have to pay back the debt for our past wants we really don’t want now. What we need to do is face the truth and learn how to problem solve.
Three Truth’s to Face Head-on!
Truth 1: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. John 10:10
Whether you are saved or not this is the truth. We are in this life for one purpose – to live the abundant life Jesus promised. If your life is not filled with abundant peace, love and joy you are being killed by the thief. BUT John 10:10 also says “I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Instruction: Face the truth the devil may very well have a grip on you. If indeed you have been called by the Father for salvation then submit yourself to Him, resist the devil and he will flee. James 4:7
Truth 2: You might be able to have everything but not everything is good for you. 1 Corinthians 6:12
We see so much stuff in the world we become desperate to have what others have or even not to have what we already have. We become desperate when we allow stuff to control us. We might have too little stuff so we class ourselves as lacking or our stuff isn’t the right stuff. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Instruction: Face the truth that stuff has power over you and relinquish what you have! Unless you relinquish the grip stuff has on you it will continue to upset you and dig a deep pit for you to wallow in. You cannot worship mammon and God therefore do a Scripture search about heavenly treasures to see what you will get if you worship God before stuff.
Truth 3: What you see is not always thought worthy! 2 Corinthians 4:18
Our senses are running overtime with all of the great things out there to sense. We smell those delicious Cinnabon’s, we hear great things about stuff, we touch soft things, our mouth waters for a taste of great things and we see so many new and wonderful things we are constantly confused about what we want and what we need. God is clear about what we need – the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness and all of the other things will be provided to us. Matthew 6:33 How much time do we waste fulfilling our senses when we shouldn’t be putting any thought into it at all.
Instruction: Face the truth that your daily bread is from the Scriptures. Matthew 4:4 Please relinquish the fact that time is not of the essence about this. Jesus is coming soon and we are not ready. We are living in the world and are of the world. This should not be so. Know the Lord and all the things you need will be provided to you.
Problem Solving Starts in the Mind and is Proven out with Action!
We have faced truths because that happens to be the first step in problem solving. There is no problem until we admit there is one. Sometimes others see our problems as problems before we do so if you think you have no problems just ask a friend yet I am sure by this point God has already convicted you about your need to do something different. Problem solving begins in the mind because it takes time to solve some of the life problems we have such as debt. We need to formulate boundaries and set goals. The best person to go to is Jesus and His Words because His plan for us will always overrun our best plans anyway. We have to decipher in our mind first what this problem fully solved looks like and go in that direction. Our problem may have continued to be a problem because we were never able to imagine ourselves being free from it. In that case we will need to rely heavily on Jesus to show us the way until we can see it ourselves.
The proof that we have problem solving skills is apparent in our actions. When the solution begins to take form we will see how functional our problem solving skills are. First, act out the solution for your eyes only. There are only two people who know your problem deeply enough to see if it is being worked out or not – Jesus and you! Your actions will prove nothing to the people around you except that you are not doing what they want you to do. Be prepared to have opposition but fight for the solution because your life is worth it.
Every Problem is Solvable if you Develop the Skills it takes!
None of this is easier said than it is done, but what is said, can be done! Each piece of advice I have written for you is written in the Words of God therefore it can be done. We can problem solve our way into real truth! Some find one problem easy to solve while another almost impossible and will have to go again and again to their knees before the Lord for help. The most helpful thing we can do at this point is learn to take our negative emotions out of each and every problem so we can see clearly to solve it completely. Only Jesus can help with that by providing the fruits of the Spirit.
We have three truths to face up too: the devil is out to kill, everything is not good for us and we do not have to think about everything we see. The solution to those is to admit them and fight them every minute of the day. Solve your problems in your head first with the help of Jesus and then act accordingly. There is always going to be opposition but know this – your own thoughts and the devils plan for you will be the hardest to fight. Every problem is solvable if you have the skills to do it and you are going to need every skills you can get your hands on. Developing those skills will improve your life significantly. Wanting a better life is not good enough! What we need is the life that Jesus has planned for us filled with peace, love and joy and the abundance. We can have that in spades if we seek Him!
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If God is in CHARGE, why do we Worry? Life should be filled with Wonder!
How often have we gone on for days about a particular topic to ultimately give up the worry because we have come to the conclusion that we have no control? We even allow the unpleasant thing to invade the other areas in our life we thought were just fine. Even the unsaved do that? One of the advantages we have over the world is we have our Jesus to turn too. Think about when we couldn’t do that. What did you do? Did you worry for hours? Did you cry about how unfair life is? Have you said, “Why me?” So tell me, why not you? Why not me! As I write this I am in the middle of an emotional crisis myself. The same one that has plagued me for 40 years. Same old, same old!
How can I be so ignorant of the power of God? How can we read the powerful Words of God and walked away from them with such ambiguity over who is actually in charge? What a hypocrite I am! I know in my heart most of the time that our God is in charge, but then when something comes along to overwhelms me with disappointment, I conveniently forget there is a plan and, unfortunately for me, even my broken heart is part of the plan. Even with this information in mind we need to learn to come around from worry about our issue to the wonders of God’s power quicker. James 1:2-4 has two truths for us that will help us get to wonder quicker: stop fighting the test and expect perfection.
EVERY TRIAL IS A TEST!
If you have a trial right now you are in a test because every trial is a test. Let us not delude ourselves thinking there is no rhyme or reason behind what is happening. If you can show me one place in the Scriptures that God has lost control I will admit that He is not in control. He has put trials in our lives that we would become more faithful. Have you seen a child who wanted something? They do everything within their power to get what they want including violence. We are not children but adults, mature in our thinking. Believing that Jesus is who He says He is makes us faithful but what about during trials? What about when you aren’t getting your way? What about when we are disappointed? How is our faith then? If we know that Jesus got us through the last trial or the last ten trials before what makes us think He will not do it this time. When we believe He will do what He said He will do we gain patience to wait for the other side of the trial. The patience we gain from our continued faith is how we will get through each and every test we are put through. If we bury, deep in your soul, every trial is a test of our faith that we NEED to pass one day we will get to this premise almost instantly and go from worry to wonder much quicker.
THE MIRACLE OF PERFECTION
Each test of our faith that we pass produces patience which in turn perfects us and completes us making us lack for nothing for the good works we were predestined to do. As I write this sentence I cringe over my immaturity and milk drinking ways. Perfection does not happen overnight but I want it too. To tell you the truth I am tired of waiting. That tiredness has brought me to this place of disappointment. Things I enjoy or expected have been taken away again leaving me disappointed again. This is not the first time this happened it is probably the one hundredth time it has happened. I am blinded by the loss and cannot see the miracle but I have seen miracles in my past that have left me in awe therefore I have to look past the disappointment to the miracle of perfection so I can allow this trial to create more patience in me that I will become perfect again. This is not an easy task since I feel like everyone around me is advancing and seeing progress while I feel like I am standing still or even going backwards. Every time I go through a trial I feel like it is a miracle that I come out the other side at the very least the same person I went in as. I know it is a miracle when I come out the other side and haven’t given up. Right now I feel like there is no other side because it has been a long 15 years but I know the patience miracle is coming because it always does. Then perfection is right around the corner.
Don’t give up and I promise I won’t either
Lord, help us to see the wonder of your miracles! The miracle of perfection is coming if we don’t give up. The promise of good is coming if we don’t give up (Romans 8:28). There are many stories in the Scriptures of Elohim fulfilling His promises to people. I know sometimes that just doesn’t help because we want to stay disappointed but we will never see miracles in our disappointment. During the good times I prepared myself by knowing the Word of God and practicing the promises in the Scriptures. I don’t have anything I thought I would have but I still have Elohim who gives and takes according to His manifold grace. There is no power within me to change what is happening but there is power within me to accept it and move on. As I look around me I see the miracle of advancement in others’ lives that I love so I will ask for another miracle to get me through this test while waiting patiently for it’s perfect work to be completed so I lack nothing! Pray with me, and for me, while we welcome the test to our faith and expect the miracle of patience to perfect us!
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How far away is improving our life skills from applying the Words of God?
Our life skills, in my vision, are more advanced than brushing our teeth. It is caring for our everyday life from the time we wake up until we retire at night. They engulf our every decision for today and the future. They are personal and social, mental and physical, financial and environmental and, of course, moral. I also know that the actions we take are based on what we believe is right whether it is morally right or not. Moral laws are defined in this area as well. If you do not believe in God then your moral compass doesn’t always point to North but if you do then your compass should always point North.
So then, how far away is improving our life skills from applying the Words of God into our lives? Closer than you think. Accepting Jesus as Saviour has put us in a position to improve our life skills the Spiritual way. God is very interested with our everyday life from the time we wake up until we retire. How do we know? How can we tell? There are two topics prevalent in the Scriptures; our mind and our actions. These topics are talked about so much it is hard to miss it even if we aren’t looking.
Our Thinking Process can be Transformed!
How does God approach this topic in His Words? We can see right from the very beginning of man that our mind is a horrible place to be. Sin began with Satan deceiving Eve’s with her thinking (Genesis 3). Her mind was on what she was doing for God then Satan got her thinking about forbidden areas. Then that was all she could think about. Have you ever had food in front of you that you are trying to stay away from but cannot stop thinking about it? The minute your thinking changes from ‘stay away’ to ‘it’s okay’ you’re done. You eat until you are delighted but later the delight fades, a bellyache ensues or a guilt trip invades. We are peculiar creatures. In spite of our peculiarity God still transforms us.
The truth about our thinking process being transformed is found ‘literally’ in the Words of God! We are called and will be raised up on the last days (John 6:44) so we need to set our mind on the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6). This takes our thinking process (our choice) in a whole new direction from inward/worldly to heavenly! The Father endows us with grace that instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts living a righteous life (Titus 2:11-12). The Spirit teaches us what to think about with many different methods designed to transform the way we think. We can do exactly this because we are endowed now with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). We are able to do exactly what Elohim is instructing us to think about due to the fact that we do have the mind of Christ. If we choose to take on the mind of Christ our thinking process will be transformed beyond what we ever think possible as a result our actions change.
Our Actions Reflect our Thinking Process!
I think I want a cookie, I get a cookie and eat it! Don’t think that we do anything mindlessly because as we think we do! It is a Biblical principle (Proverbs 27:3). You might say this verse has nothing to with actions! How will we know what a man thinks other than his actions? Only the spirit of the man knows what the man is thinking (1 Corinthians 2:11) therefore since we are not his spirit we are only privy to how he thinks by observing his actions. Since our thinking process is transformed by the instruction of God what must follow is our actions being a reflection of that change. I think I want a cookie, Spirit lead sugar fast, Spirit power upon me, no eating the cookie! It is that simple but that hard. Our Spirit is telling our soul what to do and our soul is telling the body. The body wants that cookie so the soul must repeat itself but if our soul is weak the Spirit will endow us with the power needed to resist the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13) and a way out is provided. Can you guess what the way out is? You guessed it – Romans 8:5-6. Why would fighting a temptation be about the mind? Because as a man thinks so he is! Paul talks about this in Romans 7:13-25. He delights in the law of God according to his inward man (spirit) but another law is present in his members (body) and it is warring against his mind. Our mind caught in the middle between Spirit and body but can take control of our body. The arm does not punch unless the mind tells it too nor does the foot stomp. As we transform our mind into Spiritual things our body will throw an absolute fit. What do you mean I cannot hit that person? I need to hit him! Did you hear what he said? Yes, I did but the Spirit is telling my soul to restrain you, arm, because it will hurt that person and drive him away from God. Transformation complete in that situation!
As in Water, Face reflects Face!
The topics, the mind and the body, are talked about so much it is hard to miss them in Scripture even if we aren’t looking. As in water face reflects face; so a man’s heart reveals the man (Proverbs 27:19). We are revealed for every human to see by our actions but God searches the heart and tests the mind (Jeremiah 17:10). If we modify our life skills we need to start with the mind knowing that any action we take has started in our mind. The best place to go to learn the right thing to do in every subject is the Scriptures. We will not only get a life lesson but find love too. Search the Scriptures and see for yourself.
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Our Significance in the Body of Christ is Christ’s Job not Ours!
We are significant to Christ at all times because He chose us but how often do we feel as if we are making a significant difference in the Body of Christ? Do we know how significant we are to the Body of Christ right now? Are we pushing our way in to make significance or are we so far removed we believe we make no significant difference? Who has defined significance? Do we understand how significant we are to the workings of the world right now? Not knowing this causes two type of mindsets. The one mindset leads us into the direction of laziness while the other leads us in the direction of uselessness. Getting a balance between these two will improve the life skills we get from finding significance in every day living for Jesus. Jesus has put us on this earth TODAY for His use in His Body. He wants us to overcome our feeling of insignificance by knowing there is something you can do, doing what you deem as useful and knowing you need not know the future to live for today.
There is something I can do!
Our significance comes from what God has designed us to do for Him. It is not enough to know that we are significant we need to work out our understanding or we will lose the knowledge. To sustain the feeling of worth we need to see our worth in what we are doing right now. At this moment I am learning but I am also doing what God has asked me to do on a daily basis. I have been doing the same thing for almost two years now and my patience is being tested but because I am learning I am also maturing. The way I felt about my significance two years ago is completely different from what I feel today. Our attitude that our work means nothing is not the truth but we have to see it to believe it. The Bible tells us faith without works is dead and as I continue in my walk with Jesus I can understand the whole ramifications of that statement. Faith is believing that something will happen even though you cannot see it right now. I am learning right now but that learning will be put to use in the Body of Christ eventually. Doing nothing is not an option for those who follow Jesus therefore a Christian should never be called a sluggard. Whatever you are doing for Jesus right now is something that is adding significance to your life and the Body of Christ. Jesus is always working to make that happen.
I am going to do what I deem useful
The other end of this is doing so much that nothing is useful. Let’s slow our pace for a while to see what we are supposed to do. Sitting down alone with Jesus is not going to hurt your ministry in any way. As a matter of fact, if you are aware whose ministry your ministry actually is, you will understand the more time we spend with Jesus the better off we will be. I know how hard it is to slow down because we begin to feel useless ourselves because we have identified ourselves with the work we are doing rather than identifying ourselves with Jesus. Jesus sends us each day to do works useful for His Kingdom and they may very well be all done in your own home or they could be outside of your home. Both are uncomfortable in their own way but they are being done to prepare us for the next work. I am an extrovert so doing works in my own home by myself is very uncomfortable, and in my head, useless. As I continue to do what Jesus leads me to do I have discovered how important my alone time with Jesus is? That time is useful to the Body of Christ more so now than before. My demeanor has changed, my understanding has broadened and my love for Jesus and His people has transformed into something significant. What I fear most now is when He sends me out will I want to go because I like spending time alone with Him. My house has become my haven. I am over the feeling of uselessness away from the body and I don’t see significant communion beginning any time soon. I am ready to make use of myself outside of my home when He makes a way for it because I have learned to be of use inside my home. Useful is defined by Jesus and my goal is to follow Him being as useful as He wants me to be.
We don’t need future knowledge
We do not need to know what the future holds to do what Jesus wants us to do today to feel significant. Our need to know the future is what allows us to deem ourselves insignificant in the body of Christ. We know the future – Jesus wins but how are we contributing to that? Are we saving souls? Are we teaching? Are we serving? We might say no to all of those because He has us learning right now and we might say yes but too much. You might have heard a preacher tell you that you are supposed to do this and that because we are all supposed to do it but the bigger questions is – is Jesus calling you to do this or that right now? If He isn’t but the preacher said we are then we feel insignificant because we aren’t doing what that man tells us to do. That man’s opinion is not important especially because he does not know us or our life. The Man that is important is Jesus. What He wants us to do is more important than what a preacher wants us to do. Don’t base your significance in the body of Chris on what the preacher or teacher thinks base it on what the Holy One says. Our significance, in the Body and out of it, comes from Him alone.
Ask yourself some questions this week.
- Am I called to what I am doing now or am I doing it to feel significant?
- Am I doing nothing because I feel insignificant or because I am ignorant of what I should do?
- Am I overworking because I think I can find who I am in that work?
Let Jesus define who you are and you will see your significance in the Body of Christ much more clearly. Let Jesus do His job while we do ours!
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Our Mind Sustains Change like a Rock Retains Water!
You’re sitting in your favourite chair staring at the television with your lot coursing through your mind. Not one of the 1500 channels you flip through sooths it. You search out the recline button and press until the chair that used to calm you can recline no more. You would rather just lie down and pass out but your thoughts of imminent disaster won’t allow it. Days have rolled into months, months have disappeared into years and years have swung into decades without any relief. Your Finances are suppressing you, your marriage is oppressing you, your job is stifling you and you need a deep breath of relief but none comes. Breathing is getting more difficult to do because you know you can do something different but you just keep falling back into the same old habits you are responsible for taking your breath away in the first place. You are running out of the courage to live just one more day. Fear not! Jesus has overcome this world for you! He is for you but you must begin to focus on Him and what He can do! Let Him breathe for you as you get the courage to change your mind.
Our mind sustains change like a rock retains water. We have hard habits of saying, doing and acting in a certain way and we get stuck. We fight for what we want but what we want is not good for us! Only Jesus knows what is good for us. We continue to do what is not functional. Only Gods will is functional. There are three ways we can begin to change our mind and find courage right now that will make a difference.
- Bend a knee
- Search the Scriptures
- Act on them
Bend a Knee
If you are reading this blog you are seeking Jesus and a way to improve your life skills. We cannot improve our life skills without Jesus. You are created to do good works for Him and until we admit we have been ruining our life it can never be fixed. Ruin might be a strong word but dead is an even stronger word used in Scripture. Without Jesus your life is dead therefore ruined. On your knees rather than lounging is the place to be. When we lay out dead in our distresses there are no options for us. We continue down the same path as if it is our lot in life. It is NOT! Jesus has a new way for us although bending our knees alone will not change our mindset. The change comes from the understanding of our powerlessness and the Power we call Jesus! He alone has the Power we need to sustain courage. His only requirement is we hear Him. It is difficult to hear what Jesus says sometimes because we are not focused on Him but on what is going on in our own mind. Bending a knee is a powerful statement of faith helping us focus on Jesus rather than ourselves. The power we give up on our knees opens our ears to hear Him giving us instruction to do the right thing (Hebrews 4:12). What is that right thing and how will you know it is right?
Search the Scriptures!
When you have been given instruction you begin searching the Scriptures. We will always know the right thing if it lines up with the Scriptures. We are told to test EVERY spirit. Jesus has Written Himself and who He is on every page in every Word. What is right to do is on those pages and what we need to know is on those pages. Jesus allows us to search the Scriptures to find Him and until we do our search we will not know what is right. I know there are 2000+ pages, 30,102 Scriptures and 770,430 Words in the NKJV but let me ask you, “How much time have you spent on television, Facebook, Twitter or other time wasting shenanigans?” How have they helped you efficiently solve your problems? How was your mindset when you finished? Our mindset toward life changes when we search the Scriptures rather than the internet. Searching for powerful Scriptures alone will not change our mindset but understanding the Words of Jesus are what changes our mindset. For instance, a search on our topic of time revealed Ephesians 5:15-17; Psalm 39:4-5; Psalm 90:12 read together gives us solid instruction of how we should regard what little time we have and how significant every single day is marching toward the Day of Lord. There are good software’s available to compile Scriptures on specific topics therefore we have no excuse for the lack of knowledge of our Saviour and His plan for us. Searching the Scriptures is not enough, we have to act on what we know to do!
Act on it!
There is no possibility of an improved life if we do not participate in the improvement. How often have you said your life is not going well then continued down the same path as yesterday? How frustrating is that? We see other folks living better lives while deliberately ignoring the work they’ve done. We have set our mind on our ingrained excuses rather than doing the work to fix the problems. Our mindset must change from the worldly things to the Spiritual things or we will never have the life Jesus longs to give us. Acting on the Scriptures alone will not change our mindset unless we understand what Jesus wants us to do. We need to take courage and start acting out the Words of God! Start with the simple apparent things such as not lying. We lie to ourselves when we say there is nothing we can do about our situation. There is plenty we can do even if it is just acceptance for now. We are responsible to improve our situation so let’s get going and make the changes needed. The best way to get started is to document, document, and document! Find a good notebook or even a day timer and begin each day with a simple goal. If money is your issue, buy one less coffee. If lying is your issue, tell one less lie. One less means change and before you know it your mind will be changed. Everyone knows how hard it is to do this but the rewards of being an overcomer are beyond earthly measure (Revelation 1, 2, 3). We can take action even though our mind is not ready and our mind will eventually catch up. Try it today and set your mind to doing it for at least 7 days. Don’t give up!
The day will come!
Bending a knee alone will not change our mindset. The change comes from the understanding of our powerlessness and the Power we call Jesus! Searching for powerful Scriptures alone will not change our mindset but understanding the Words of Jesus is what changes us. Acting on the Scriptures alone will not change our mindset unless we understand what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus is not going to change your mind for you but before you know it you will be in the middle of Gods goodness. It is that goodness that bring us to the courage behind change. This may be the only thing we have control over so be diligent about making it happen. The day will come when your continued courage will result in a change of mind because you have stayed it on Jesus.
I have come to you on my knees preaching the Good News of Jesus and Him crucified that you would put your faith in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) to gain the courage you need to make the change of mind needed. I have been where you are and I did exactly this to escape myself. If I wrote down all the things Jesus has done for me since I began this process I suppose the world could not contain the books and it won’t be able to contain your books either.
