Be a Bible...

Everyday, as we go about our routines, doing our jobs, taking care of our families, buying groceries, paying bills, running errands, taking the kids to ball practice or whatever it is our day holds...we are setting an example to everyone who sees us go about our day. This could be our neighbors, friends, check out clerk, a child we don't know, a child of our own, or someone behind us in the checkout line.

Question is... what kind of example are you setting? As a Christian, you should be setting a Christ like example, displaying humility and love, a willingness to help, a cheerful countenance... Just keep this in mind... For some people, YOU may be the only BIBLE THEY READ. That is an awesome responsibility and an awesome opportunity to spread the LOVE of CHRIST and HIS WORD without even opening your mouth! Make sure the pages of your life reflect the TRUTH of Gods WORD...  it's so easy to do! Be generous in your praise of others, be thankful to those who help and assist you, have joy in your heart as one of God's elect and let that joy shine for others to see, be humble, put others needs before your own, help and assist others whenever you can... and do it gladly! Show others that being a Christian is a happy, freeing, joyous place to be... and your example might win them over to the idea to!

I think its about forgiveness....

Ephesians 4:23  (ESV) and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds

Like anything else, the first step to recovery, is admitting you have a problem! So, how do you know you have things you need to let go of? Some of it is easy... you know if you are angry with someone, if you hold a grudge, if you harbor hatred in your heart or even if you are just perpetually irritated by some family member. To me, the biggest problem was deep seated anger, which I guess amounted to a grudge... but for many years I felt it was justified, considering what had been done to me by that person.

As Christians, we change when we are saved and Baptised. We put on our “new man”. This means we are a NEW person in Christ. And we have to start living it. Our joy in the Lord should shine in our lives, and be evident in our every action and word!

It is so important to deal with your past issues... and lets face it, we all have past issues. Jesus died on the Cross to forgive our sins and give us new life, and a life of abundance. We cannot accept or obtain that if we are still living in or holding onto our past life, our past problems and the person we used to be before we were saved and washed clean by the blood of the lamb!! God has forgiven you! The hard part is forgiving yourself and forgiving the people in your life who have hurt you and wronged you. It is hard, but essential.

After being saved, the Lord will allow you some time to address and work through these things, to make amends and come to peace with the things that dwell in your heart. HE will guide you as you pray for guidance, and be a healing salve to the wounds of the past, BUT you have to do your part. You have to be willing to let go of the past, you have to be willing to take an honest look at why you were holding on to certain things from the past, and even certain people and you even have to be willing to examine relationships and evaluate how they are going to fit into your new life as a Christian.

If your past involved addictions, I urge you to pray hard for guidance, to reach out to people who can help you and to break ties with people who are also involved in such activities. I think it’s imperative for your well-being to be away from that influence until you a strong enough in your faith to decide if you can be around them without being tempted.

When you are ready, your testimony could lead them to Christ, but if you attempt it before you are strong enough, you could be opening yourself up to temptation you are not equipped to resist. I don’t pretend to be an expert on this kind of dependency, so please do seek out those who know more about the subject than I do.

For this first, brief installment on overcoming the past, let me leave you with this... pray and pray hard... for help in recognizing things you need to address, things you need to get rid of, things you need to forgive, and forget, and what the lessons are you need to learn from these trials. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you on this journey.  This goes for forgive and forget scenarios as well as situations where you need to stop a bad habit... like smoking, over eating, an addiction to cookies, etc. Turn over to the Lord. If you do it with all sincerity, He will help you.

Phil 3:13-14  Forgetting those things that are behind.....

One thing that I do know about and that gives many new Christians so much trouble is the issue of forgiveness. When you’ve been hurt and damaged by friends and family members, it may seem impossible to forgive them. You can. First you have to understand what it means to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean that whatever they did to hurt you is okay, or that you are dismissing the wrong that was done. Forgiveness means that you are no longer going to harbor hatred and animosity towards that person, you are letting go of those negative feelings. You are not freeing them from their responsibility, you are freeing yourself from the negative feelings that are dragging YOU down and affecting your life, your thinking and your SPIRIT in a very negative way. The HOLY SPIRIT cannot bless you and dwell in you to the fullest when you have huge black spots of unforgiveness and bitterness on your heart. Once you let it go, you will see and feel the benefit of it, and it gets easier and easier because you don’t want that feeling in you!! You don’t want that weight on your spirit!

It is a process... sometimes forgiving someone can take some time.  Seek God’s comfort through prayer to expedite this process.  Don’t take too much time. And I caution you about over thinking it or over talking it. Repeatedly talking about a bad experience, past what it takes to work through it initially, is only the devils workshop and just keeps the experience alive, therefore keeping the bad feelings alive. This is not what you want. In order to forgive, you want to put the issue down, not repeatedly re-live it. With the Lord’s help, you can forgive those who’ve harmed and offended you.  And then you will have peace.

You might ask, “Why should I forgive them? Why should I let them off the hook? They did the wrong, not me!!” The reason is simple. The people who wronged you, the people who have you bound up and busy hating them, those people have most likely moved on. They aren’t “busy” wondering if you are hurting, or if you are mad or if they did you any damage! If they care to think on it, they know what they did. But they have moved on. It’s only YOU who are wasting your TIME, and YOUR ENERGY and YOUR EMOTIONS feeding a grief or an anger that is only eating at YOU! It doesn’t do them any harm at all. In the end, they will have to answer for their actions, and you for yours. The Bible tells us that we should forgive.

John 20:13  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Phil 3:13-14  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

Ephesians 4:23  (ESV) and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds

1 Corinthians 15:53 (ESV) For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Romans 8:11 (ESV)

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus[a] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 3:24-25 (ESV)  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

If it stops you....

Names of God

FEAR NOT!

Speaking LIFE to your children....

Matthew 12:36-37 "I tell you, son the day of judgment tpeople will give account for uevery careless word they speak,for vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

As parents, it is so easy to get overwhelmed with all that needs to be done, and frustrated when we can't get it accomplished. It's easy to get frustrated with ourselves when we feel like we fall short and there isn't enough of us to go around. It's easy to get frustrated with our mates when so much needs to be done and our spouse comes home and goes to bed instead of helping. It's easy to get frustrated when our children aren't as cooperative as we would like, won't clean their rooms, do their homework without being forced into it, eat the dinner we present to them, help with household chores, or worse, be openly defiant and into things we know are dangerous and detrimental. 

It is okay to address all these issues with your children and with your spouse... but I caution you about the manner you go about it. I hear so many people screaming, yelling and name calling with their children and it's pathetic. There is nothing whatsoever that could merit a three year old to be screamed at or called names ( Okay, you can scream at him if he's about to fall in a hole or get hit by a falling limb or something like that!). It is equally shameful to address any child, or adult for that matter, in such a manner. But for the purpose of this discussion, I think I'll stick to the very young children, since that is what I recently witnessed. 

People lose their cool with children  for so many reasons... but mainly I think out of frustration with themselves. Yes, toddlers and young children act up. They will push you as far they can. They get tired, hungry, bored, mad because they can't have the toy/candy they want... they pitch fits, whine and otherwise engage in unruly behavior, often in public where it is embarrassing. But when you, as the parent, resort to yelling, threatening, cursing and name calling, you reduce yourself and your authority over that child to being a bully, instead of being the loving, caring, in-charge, in-control adult God meant for you to be when HE entrusted that child to your care. You let the tongue be controlled by your flesh, which is  the natural evil of the world, instead of controlling it with the loving patient spirit your are capable of through the love of Christ and the blessing of the Holy Spirit. When you are saved and Baptised, you put off that "old man" , that worldly man who acted in worldly ways and you put on your NEW MAN... your new righteousness, with the need and ability to live rightly, practicing the things we are commanded and now desire to do:

1 Corinthians 

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The "rebirth" we experience through being saved and inviting Jesus into our lives and hearts, and by being Baptised causes a renewal of our spirit and we are no longer the same as we once were. However, that is not to say that we cannot get caught up in our frustrations or anger and let our emotions and tongue get away from us. We must 'renew' everyday, for although we are a ' peculiar people ' and not to be part of  'the world ' , we still must live in the world, and daily stresses of doing so wear on us.

James 3:8 "..but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." 

We as mere humans, could not control our tongues without the blessing of the Holy Spirit and his continual help. And He is there to help us, always. 

1 Peter 3:10  Forb“Whoever desires to love life and see good days,  him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit..."

Fortunately for us, the Lord is full of forgiveness and grace! And new Christians as well as seasoned ones, may benefit from repenting of these things. Keep in mind that repenting means to "turn away from", not just that I'm sorry I did it this time, but I'm not making an effort to change my behavior, so I'll be repenting again in a few days.. You have to make an effort too. 

Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Now that we've covered the effects that not controlling your tongue has on you, lets talk a little bit on what it does to those on the receiving end of hateful words, the children. 

Our job as parents is to love our children, to teach them love. To discipline them with love, teach them about the LORD's ways, HIS love for humanity, HIS forgiveness and grace. Our job is to speak LIFE into our children. Our greatest tool for doing this is by example. At the brink of lashing out, take a breath, and imagine what you look and sound like to your child. What would Jesus counsel you to do? Screaming, threatening and name calling not only hurts their feelings, the damage can have life long implications for them. They learn to distrust the very people they should trust the most. They learn that they aren't worth respecting. If you tell them they are stupid, they will believe it. If you tell them they are fat, ugly, clumsy, incompetent, useless.... they WILL believe it.  Many times, children will become what you convince them they are.

They will get these beliefs into their spirits and believe that they are what you say they are, and once it is ingrained in them, it is very difficult to ever change their opinion of themselves. This low self esteem that you put into your child will effect who that child is well into adulthood. It will effect who he chooses to hang out with, how well he achieves academically, activities he chooses to participate in both good and bad, if he is a bully, or if he is withdrawn.  It will affect the kind of mate he chooses and habits he falls into. 

Children who cannot get love and validation at home will seek it outside the home at the first opportunity. Children who are ignored will act out in order to get your attention. They will cry out in a number of ways, trying to let you, as the parent, know they are in distress, they are in pain. 
Our juvenile systems and prisons are not filled with people who were raised with the LOVE of the LORD and positive images of themselves. 

Discipline of course is important. I advocate methods that don't tear at a childs self esteem or make them feel belittled or question their trust in you. What have you, as an adult,  accomplished by bullying, berating or terrifying a 6 year old? If you participate in that kind of behavior, the only thing you are really doing is teaching that child how to be a bully. Instead, follow Gods word, and discipline with love. You can be firm and mean business without bullying tactics. 

I urge you to seek out the Lord, first for your salvation and then continually seek His Word for wisdom and knowledge on how to best conduct yourself, and harness the ever dangerous tongue! 

DON’T PRAY IN FAITH THEN SPEAK IN DESPAIR

How often have you prayed earnestly for something you really needed? You know the scriptures, and you appeal to God with all humbleness to supply your need. What did you ask for? Family protection, salvation for a distant sibling, a replacement car for the old clunker in the driveway? Or maybe there is sickness in the family and you or a loved one needs healing? Scripture says:  You have not because you ask not! 

2 Corinthians 4:10-11 "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus (which was for our victory), that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." - Bodily Health!!!

Regardless of what it is, we all know that God is able to supply any need, to heal any wound and to guide us through any storm.

But do we really KNOW it?? Do we LIVE IT? SPEAK IT?

Countless times I have heard fellow Christians request prayer for their situation.... then hear them late exclaim gloom over that same situation! “Please pray for my Mom, she’s sick with blah blah”... then later .. “They say there is no hope for it”.  Or  “ Lord, please bless my finances so I can afford a new car.... mine is falling apart!” then complaining to friends that you’ll never be able to afford a newer car. And one I hear often... "We ask prayer for our son/daughter... that they be brought into believing and be saved." Then the next conversation you hear, " That kid will never act right, no matter what! I give up!"

Is that faith? No. Its not. That is talking yourself right out of a blessing!! And its not only telling God, who already knows your heart, but the Devil, who can't read your thoughts, that your FAITH is WEAK and that gives him a pretty good foothold in your mind to work in more doubt, more worry, more anxiety.....

SPEAK IN FAITH! When you pray for or about something, I assume you pray in faith that God hears you and that as one of His elect, He wants to heal you or your situation. You must then speak in faith, as though you have already received that blessing or at least that the resolution of it is imminent! To do otherwise is to betray our faith.

If we continually speak bad things over our lives, then that's exactly what we will have. Speak positive, Godly, faithful things, as the Bible tells us to do, and you will see a huge difference not only in your attitude and countenance, but in the bounty of your life!

^{Mark 11:22-24}

²² And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received^[a] it, and it will be yours.

Withstanding Hardships

"At some point in life we all face hardships. It may be something physically or emotionally challenging. Or it may be a dream or an opportunity that we missed out on. Whatever your difficulty is, don’t let it discourage you from believing in God’s best. The enemy wants to keep you focused on everything negative that’s happened, but don’t let him steal the dreams God has given you. He knows that if he can deceive you into thinking things won’t get better, you’ll lose hope and give up." KEEP THE FAITH. Stand firm. Focus on all that God has done for you and blessed you with. Be grateful under all circumstances! You will soon have a different outlook on your situation.

We are chosen to be a Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;