Peace

Have you ever noticed that some people cannot live without a problem? If they don't have a problem they will create one? Our society and our tendency to gossip and our tendency to take up other people's hurts can keep us in a constant state of turmoil. It becomes such a habit that you end up never knowing any peace, so that if there is no problem handy you will create one.
I would think that many TV shows make this tendency worse. People who have to have a constant problem love the TV shows that emphasize a bunch of people having a big problem and go about solving it in ineffective ways.
So what is the solution? Know God. God doesn't want us to go around living in a constant state of turmoil. Doing so says that we want to be in charge instead of Him.
Here is the thinking (or lack of it): "God, you aren't big enough to handle my problem. I have to continually carry it around and get everyone I can involved in it. Poor me! You just don't understand this and I can't trust You to handle it." Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Yet that is what we do. Why can't we understand that a God that could create the heavens and the earth and me and then give me a means to peace through Jesus Christ can do ANYTHING. He does understand our problems and He can carry them IF we let Him. Our problem is weak faith and failing to think through Who God IS. We don't allow God to be God.
God can do anything. That is why we can pray. Anything is possible with God because that is part of the definition of God. That is who God claims to be. We have not because we ask not and we also have not because when we do ask we ask selfishly. God is God. He knows what He is doing but we can move His hands with a prayer of faith. We are told to "pray in the spirit". You can't go wrong praying in the spirit and in doing so you will say things from the spirit that you would not have thought of. The problem is to get beyond my selfish praying to "praying in the spirit." God overrules our selfish praying and speaks to us through "praying in the spirit." Lord, teach me to pray in the spirit.
If you stop and ask yourself this about your problem: In three weeks, will this still be a problem? You may just find that in a time perspective of three weeks it will no longer exist. If it does persist ask yourself what you did to cause it and take ownership of it. If it is the second or third time you have seen this problem you need to ask the Lord what He is trying to teach you. God will recycle your lessons until you learn what He is trying to teach you. He will not give you more than you can handle and you may receive some temporary relief from it but it will return until you learn what He wants you to know and do.
We are warned about gossip in The Word. Proverbs says that when gossip goes away so does strife. Refuse to be embroiled in other people's supposed hurts. It is one thing to empathize with someone and something completely different to take up their banner and go try to solve "their" problems by including a whole bunch of people that have nothing to do with the solution. Go only to the person that can help solve the problem.
Many times we jump to conclusions because we haven't heard the other side of the story. When the other side of the story is told we usually find understanding. I have had many students sit in my office and tell me how they were so badly mistreated by a teacher. When I have taken the child to the teacher and asked the teacher what happened I got the other side of the story and usually ended up with a student hanging his/her head because the truth came out. To listen to the student only would have been a mistake. I had a boss that would listen to others and not check out their stories. He would believe the person and then jump on the other person who usually never had a clue. He would start things rolling based on rumor and untruth. You can't trust someone who does that and eventually he had everyone mad at him because sooner or later everyone got on his bad side. I usually figured that the truth would win out. Truth stands the test of time and God will bring out the truth eventually. God did that many times where I was concerned.
Do you lie to God? Do you say to Him that you have no sin? What would His side of the story sound like? Do you have peace? Can you live without having to have a problem? Check yourself out and start pursuing the path of peace that God promises. There is a peace that passes understanding. Search for it.

Healing

I recently underwent open heart surgery which was a complete surprise and shock. I had signed up for a counseling class (missed the first session) and for part of that class we are to study the healings of Jesus. In looking them up and reading them I have noticed several things. One of the pre-requisites in some healings was faith but in some healings it was the faith of a parent or friends. In more than one case there was humility displayed and in the case of demons the demon was told to go without any response required on the part of the possessed person. There was also one case of Jesus healing a woman's daughter who was not a Jew because of her faith and her persistence, with humility.
So what are the lessons to be learned from the healings of Jesus? The biggest thing I see is faith. Jesus cautioned Jairus, the father of a soon to be healed girl, to just believe. The woman touching Jesus' robe was told "go in peace, your faith has healed you." The Centurion asked for his servant to be healed and didn't even require Jesus to go there (because he understood the Jewish culture) but more importantly he understood authority and humility. He said to Jesus that all he had to do was command the servant to be healed and it would be done. Jesus told the others that nowhere in Israel (who should know the power of God) had he seen such faith.
The next lesson is that we should be holding up our friends to healing because in several instances a person came on behalf of someone else so we have power to bring about the healing of others by going to Jesus for them. I am the recipient of this act by others. I was having shortness of breath, thinking it was asthma. I couldn't walk fifty yards at my normal pace without running out of air. I went to a pulmonary specialist (a Christian, I found out later). She said that to listen to me describe the symptoms it sounded like asthma but her tests did not completely confirm it. She insisted that I do heart testing. She even called my doctor and expedited the process. She saved my life. In the stress testing my cardiologist just happened (hoho) to be in his office across the hall and he came in and saw me run out of breath. He then recommended a cardiac catheterization test and in that test they found four 70-90% blockages. I never left the hospital. BUT - the overriding factor of the success of the operation (6 hours and five bypasses) was that I was on at least 4 Prayer Chains in at least 4 different churches and my recovery has been above average. I was sent home in four days. I cannot thank enough the hundreds of Christians who went to Jesus for me in prayer. It made my day and my life. I went from a walking time bomb to great hope for a full recovery and a better life than I was facing before. I personally had been praying for healing all along and my prayers have been answered, also. I take seriously the prayer requests from the prayer chains and I hope you do, too. Your prayers of faith carry a lot of weight.

What do I owe God?

The Bible begins with, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) It doesn't begin by describing how majestic God is, by telling what He looks like or how big or fierce or tough He is. It makes a simple statement that "God created the heavens and the earth." There are very few more simple statements that could be made about God, yet that one simple statement contains reams of information. God created the heavens and the earth.
Do you understand the ramifications of that one statement for us as a people that were part of that creation?
If God created the heavens and the earth then who owns the heavens and the earth and all else that was made?
If God owns all that was made then who owns me?
If He owns me then who has the right to make the rules and decide what is the best way to live in His creation?
And the biggest question of all is: If everything created is His and I was created - then what do I personally owe to God?
I believe the answer to the question of what I personally owe to God is found in the way we end our time here on earth. God has decreed that from dust we come and to dust we shall return. We do not take anything with us from our time spent on earth. That means that all that we could possibly owe to God is the time He allows us to spend on His earth and in His creation. All we owe Him is our time which is our life.
What He asks of us is that we love him with all of our being (heart, mind, soul and strength) and that we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. I suggest that we should also love His creation. How can we love God and not love His creation?
I don't know about you, but I don't feel that I have given Him all that I owe Him. I have not devoted all of my time to God. I have given to Him the little pieces and extras that fall around the edges of my great plans. I have made my plans and asked Him to bless them without first asking Him what He needed me to do with His time.
There is a question - "Are you going to know God or are you going to use God?" I have fallen well into the area of using God. Many times my plans have been first. In some instances my plans and His overlapped and those places have been areas of immense blessing in my life. Out of His goodness He has led me into His way many times but sometimes it has been "kicking and screaming the whole way." (Spoiled Child Syndrome)
So what is the answer? The answer is found in the Greatness of God. God says, "I am love." He knows me and everything about me. He is faithful when I am not. When we are told to grow in grace and to be filled with the Spirit and to attain the attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self-control we are simply describing God. When we fail to be faithful, He remains faithful. When we fail to love, He loves us. When we fail at joy, He remains joyful. When we fail at peace , patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self control, none of those slip for Him. The answer is that we must lean on Him, trust Him to lead us and depend on His provision for us. We must repent and ask Him to forgive us as we find ourselves not giving to Him His time. We must find a way to listen to what He would say to us. We must know His Word, the Bible, and be willing to do what it says. If you read the Word carefully you will find that Love for God is equal to obedience to His Word. It also says that He will discipline us because He loves us just as we discipline the child we love and want the best for. So love also equals discipline.
PRAYER: Lord, I want to begin a new relationship with you. I want to be available for the work You would have me to join You in. I want Your plans to be my plans. I want to see you working and be part of it. I ask Lord that you would teach me to love myself as You love me so that I can love others. I ask for a cup full and running over that will spill onto those I meet because You love everyone. I ask these things in the name of Jesus and ask that Your Holy Spirit would fill me for these tasks. Amen.

One Month to Live

I have been in a class called One Month to Live based on a book of the same name by Kerry and Chris Shook. The question is "What would you do if you were told you only had one month to live?" As you read the book it takes you through different ideas and scenarios, asks questions, etc. to raise your awareness to the fact that none of us is guaranteed any time, let alone a month and that probably we should be doing the things that we think we would do if we only had 30 days to live. It has made me more aware of the present moment and the little things that are so valuable that we take for granted. God's goodness to us every day: The hug of a spouse, time spent with family and friends, the hug of a child, the love for animals and pets, a good, deep, early morning breath of cool air, the smell after a rain, all take on extra meaning to the person with only a month to live. What would you do if you only had 30 days to live? Which of those things could (and should)you do now, anyway? What would you not want left undone if the Lord called you home?

Psalm 90:12 - Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom
Psalm 39:4-5 Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.
Psalm 139:1-24

PRAYER: Lord, my time is indeed limited and I ask that you would place in my heart and mind the things You know that I need to do and not leave undone if my time on earth would end. I praise you for your faithfulness to me and ask that you would make me faithful to You, my family and friends, and any people that you place me in contact with. In Jesus' name, amen.

Success

Success in God's eyes is completely different than success in the world's eyes. God is not impressed by your money, your personal power or your drive to achieve these things. In fact He will be saddened by them if it means lying, cheating and squelching people for you to get there. So how do I become a success in God's eyes? I have long called Proverbs 3 the Success Chapter of the Bible, especially these verses.
Proverbs 3:3-4 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. THEN you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. (He will direct your paths.)
       God wants to be the author of your success. He has a plan for your life but you have to surrender to it. I love the saying "you never see a hearse followed by a U-Haul". All you get to take with you when you leave this earth is your history of your love for God. So then, what is the most important thing in all of life?

The Second Act

       God's first act was creation. His second act was to give man a choice. He let them choose to eat or not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but He told them not to eat of it. We still have the power to choose. We either choose God or we choose against God.
       How do we choose God? Obedience to His Word.
       How can I do the Word unless I read or hear the Word? How can you can claim to be a Christian and not read or hear God's word. How can you obey what you don't know?

James 1:22   Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (Look up the next two verses and learn how to receive God's blessing.)
Joshua 24:15   But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household , we will serve the Lord.
Proverbs 8:10   Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

PRAYER: Lord God, maker of heaven and earth, owner and master of all that is created, be merciful to me, a sinner. I praise your faithfulness and love to me as I struggle to follow your Word. Teach me your wisdom that is more valuable than gold that I may truly proclaim: As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. In Your glorious name, Amen.

The Basis of Faith

Because God created everything there is nothing He can't do.  We put our trust in Him because He created it all, He owns it all and He is the sovereign, the king, the master.  There are many attributes of God but the basis for our faith is Creation.  If your God doesn't claim to create it all I would say that you really don't have a God.  Because nothing is impossible for God we can pray and believe that He can do anything that we pray for.  (The answer may be "no" but that is a topic for another day)

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 
Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mark 9:23,24 " 'If you can?' " said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."  Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

PRAYER:  Dear God, I know that You created everything and that I owe my life to you.  I don't always understand the twists and turnings of my life but I believe in your love and faithfulness in those twists and turns.  Help me overcome my unbelief and replace the unbelief with faith in You and Your Word.  Speak to me from Your Word.  In Jesus name amen.