What if He Were Exactly Like Me?

What if Jesus had come to earth only to live a life of comfort and luxury?

What if Jesus only came to be loved and admired, craving the respect of others?

What if Jesus had come solely to be entertained and have a good time?

What if Jesus came to have everyone else serve Him?

What if Jesus spoke only to those who received Him well and refused to forgive those who mistreated Him?

This past week as Christians have been celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior of the world, I began to evaluate the humility of Christ in stark comparison to my selfish pride.  How could Jesus leave heaven to come to a sin filled earth full of people who despised and rejected Him?  How could He be so loving and gentle in His reaction to the mistreatment He received from those He came to die for?  How could Jesus be so selfless, serving and sacrificing for those who beat, bruised, spit on Him and nailed His hands and feet to a wooden cross?  If we were to be truly honest, how many of us would ever fathom the thought of enduring that kind of suffering at the hands of the very ones we serve.   In our human selfishness, we often tend to concentrate on ourselves and elevate our own needs and desires above those we claim to serve.  As I’ve been reflecting on the Awesome sacrifice Jesus made for all humanity, I began wondering where mankind would be if Jesus were exactly like me?

I know a lot about dealing with prideful people who look out primarily for themselves because I used to be a very selfish person.   When my husband and I were married 24 years ago, I was still a teenager and then became a mom at the age of 21.  I remember being shocked at all of the work that was required of me as a new wife and then new mother.  Suddenly I couldn’t just think about myself anymore, there were others whose needs I had to learn to place before my own.   Over the years, and with each new child the Lord blessed us with, He also continued chiseling away at my selfishness and arrogance. I’ve had to learn that when you are a servant you are not always honored for every little thing that you accomplish.  As a servant, you can’t be consumed with your own well-being above everyone else’s.  As a servant, you will not always be treated the way you feel you deserve to be treated.  As a servant you can’t expect people to pamper you and treat you with the respect you feel you deserve for your efforts.  Even through all of these lessons over the years, there are times now when I may be tempted to complain when I have what seems like an insurmountable “to do” list.  It is at that very moment that I am convicted of my sin and am drawn to the ultimate example of humility that I can find only in my Savior.  In Mark 10:45 we see how Jesus viewed servanthood, “The Son of Man came not to be ministered to but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

If Jesus were like me, He would never have asked for suffering.  If Jesus were like me, He would prefer a life of comfort and luxury, spending His time being entertained and having a fun with family and friends. If Jesus were like me, He would prefer to be served by others rather than serve.  If Jesus were like me, He would choose to talk only to those who were kind to Him and wouldn’t feel like forgiving those who mistreated Him.  If Jesus were like me, He would not willingly love those who didn’t love Him first.  If Jesus were like me, there would be NO cross, NO substitutionary atonement, NO forgiveness of sin, NO eternal life, and absolutely NO hope for mankind.     

During this time of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, I am especially thankful that Jesus is absolutely nothing like me!  I’m grateful that Jesus did not come to earth to be served, respected, pampered, honored, loved, admired, adored or entertained.   In Isaiah 53:3 we truly see how Christ was treated as He came to die in our place, “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” I am humbled and in awe of His greatness as I reflect on the humility, love, mercy, grace and forgiveness of Christ.

 The power of Jesus shed blood on the cross for my sin has washed away the penalty and debt that I owed but could never repay myself. Peter tells us in I Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. The resurrection of Jesus from the grave showed that death has no power over Him. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting?  O grave, where is your victory?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 15:54b-57 Jesus finished work on the cross is our only source of hope!     I Peter 1:18-21 explains this hope, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, BUT with the precious blood , as a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.  For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and HOPE are in God.”

 Praise God Almighty that Jesus is nothing like me!  Because Jesus is the spotless lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, we have the hope of eternal glory.  I pray that you will take time to examine your heart in light of the sacrifice Jesus has made for us on the cross and humbly reflect on the condition of your heart in comparison to God’s Holy Word.  What if Jesus were exactly like you?

Faithfully Rescued Once Again

Have you ever gotten yourself into an extremely embarrassing predicament and you weren’t quite sure how you were going to get out of it?  For some reason, these sort of silly but potentially serious situations happen to me quite often.  I believe that God must enjoy using me as an example to others about the reality of human frailty and our need to rely on HIS power to rescue us.  Hopefully I’m learning all of the lessons God has for me along the way.  I pray that I will remain transparent in my inadequacies so that others may see the awesome power of our God to accomplish what sometimes seems to be humanly impossible.

One of these interesting situations occurred several months ago while on our farm.  The day started wonderfully as I looked forward to some special time alone with our youngest son Joshua.  Our three older teens were all at camp for the week and my husband was gone on a business trip out of town.   Joshua and I had exciting plans for our day together, but we first needed to take care of our chores around the farm. We were in charge of feeding all of the animals for the week, which was usually the responsibility of our older kids.  As we went out of the house and shut the door behind us, suddenly I felt a large lump in my throat.  I definitely knew something wasn’t quite right.  Have you ever had that nagging feeling where you just knew without a doubt you had forgotten something but couldn’t recall what it was?  Within seconds of closing the door to the house I realized that the door was indeed locked, and I had NO key! 

 A wave of panic swept over me like you wouldn’t believe!  Have I mentioned that besides the fact that I did NOT have a key, I did NOT have a phone, I did NOT have any money, I did NOT have any food and I did NOT have any makeup! To give you an even more vivid picture of the situation, I was wearing my pajamas and I had not yet combed my hair!  For those of you who really know me, need I say more?  How much more embarrassing could it get?  I’ve learned not to even ask such a question anymore. Trust me, things CAN and HAVE gotten EVEN far more humbling for me at times.  This may explain why my Grandma used to compare some of my nutty escapades with those of Lucille Ball in the “I Love Lucy” episodes from the 1950’s.

In my depair, I then turned to my 8 year old who possesses the reasoning skills of a middle aged man and informed him that we were indeed locked out of the house.  Josh, being a huge fan of the 80’s television show “MacGuyver”, quickly transitioned into creative idea mode as he reviewed all of the episodes in his mind where MacGuyver was able to skillfully open locks with some sort of homemade device.  One such solution involved the breaking of a light bulb, but I quickly dismissed that notion due to the fact that it sounded slightly dangerous.  After realizing that none of the attachments on his pocket utility knife were going to unlock the door, I said, “Josh, let’s pray right now and ask God to help us because He promises in His Word that He will always come to our rescue in times of trouble.”  Although we weren’t sure what God was going to do, after praying we decided to go ahead and proceed in feeding the animals.  As we walked down the long lane of our farm, Josh kept persistently asking how we were going to get back into the house.  I reassured him and myself that even though we didn’t have the answer, God always has a solution and we needed to trust Him and wait for Him to reveal it to us.

Within seconds, God brought to mind what had happened the previous week when I was washing windows in our great room on the second floor.  We were getting ready to have company and I had been cleaning the windows at the highest part of our house.  In the process, one of those windows got stuck and no matter how hard I tried it would not completely close after it was clean.  In my forgetfulness I left it that way and neglected to inform my strong husband that it needed to be fixed.  In my mind, it seemed as if the possibility of being able to climb in the window would be our best solution.  To explore this option, Josh and I went around the house and starred at the window that seemed so far away from the ground where we were standing.  Indeed there was a very tiny opening at the bottom of the window which was great news, but how in the world would we be able to reach it without a very tall ladder?  If we did have a ladder to reach, how would we be able to get up there and get through the small window?  Who would God send to help us accomplish this seemingly impossible task?

As I’ve learned through all of these crazy situations, God is faithful and always has perfect timing!  Just then, one of our two neighbors came out to leave to go to work for the day.  For some divine reason, he had not left as early as usual, and I mustered up enough courage in my embarrassing state of mind and presence to go over and ask him if he could help us.  I explained how we had locked ourselves out, and that my husband and older kids were gone for the week.  I was thankful that he didn’t even seem to bat an eye at my ridiculous appearance and I believe he was already aware of my tendency to be absentminded from previous conversations. Our kind neighbor said he could call a locksmith but that it may take hours for them to arrive and try to open the door.  I then mentioned the incident where I wasn’t able to shut the living room window from the week before.  He asked if we had a ladder tall enough to reach the window but I thought it was locked up in an outbuilding so he drove his truck over to another neighbor to borrow one of their ladders. I found some hedge cutters and quickly began cutting down shrubs and bushes so that we could even get near the side of the house where the window was located.  When he returned with the ladder, we both realized that the only one who could fit up there and crawl through the window would be Joshua.  Josh was scared to climb that high, and I’m also fearful of heights, so our neighbor gently guided Josh up to the top of the ladder by holding onto him and carefully following him.  As soon as they were finally at the top, he helped Josh open the window and slowly crawl inside the house. Although visibly terrified, Josh was SO very excited that even though he was a little boy, he was the one person who could get inside to unlock the door.  He said, “Praise the Lord that I am small enough to fit through the window”.  Those were such joyful, beautiful words for me to hear our young son give God the glory for what He had done.  It also showed his sensitive and thankful heart towards God’s sovereignty and provision in our lives.

Although our uncertain circumstances only lasted less than two hours, it seemed like an eternity. Praise God that the incident was finally over! I was really not interested in hanging outside all day in my pajamas, but if that would’ve been the case, then I believe that God would’ve had a purpose in allowing it to happen.  God orchestrates and works even the littlest details in our lives together for our good and for His glory.  “And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The fact that our neighbor was home to help us at just the right time and that the window would not shut from the week before were evidences of God’s hand at work in fulfilling His promises to take care of us.   It was God who reminded me that the window had not shut completely.  It was God who allowed the whole incident to take place so that we could testify of His power to do what seemed to be humanly impossible to us that day.  Through this situation Joshua was able to see that God uses little kids to accomplish His purposes, which was a huge faith builder for him. 

This was just another chapter in the book of God’s amazing teaching moments in my life.  My desire is to give a transparent picture and encourage others in their relationship with the Lord.  He desires for us to call upon His name in times of trouble and desires for us to trust Him completely.  Too often we attempt to solve our problems in our own strength, and wait for every human resource to be exhausted before even asking God for help.  Our Deliverer wants us to come to him in our desperation and cry out to Him for help, knowing that HE is our ONLY solution, we do not need to fear.  For this reason, we are reminded in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.  Therefore, I will NOT fear.”  I pray that the next time you are faced with a situation that seems hopeless or humanly impossible that you will remember this story of how God rescued me and have the faith that He will also deliver you. 

Confessions Of A Former Shopaholic

Recently my kids and I decided to tackle the huge task of cleaning out our storage room.  I’d been successfully procrastinating this monumental chore for months but because we had accepted an offer for the sale of our home I could no longer put it off.  The thought of loading up all of those totes and moving them to yet another house seriously made me want to sit in a corner and cry.  We are by no means pack rats, for with each move over the past several years we’ve continued to weed through and get rid of many possessions that we no longer needed.  I guess I had prided myself on the fact that I had already purged our home of most of the materialistic remains from my days as a shopaholic.   Apparently since I had given away numerous boxes full of clothing with tags still on them a few years ago, I had fooled myself into believing that I had the right to hold on to just a few extra home décor items.  As I began looking through all of those totes and boxes, I was surprised to discover 38 pillar candles, 26 votive candles, 15 decorative wreaths, 8 totes full of fall décor (although, my favorite season), 10 boxes of fabric and trim, 7 totes filled with Christmas decor, 4 totes of silk and dried flowers, 3 totes containing dining room curtains that I’d made for different seasons and several extra lampshades in case I decided to change out our homes color schemes.

 Overwhelmed and confused, with tears in my eyes, I desperately cried out loud, “What insane person bought all of this stuff!?”  One of my daughters smiled and wisely told me that I’d get my answer if I would only look in the mirror.  Although I do appreciate her sassy sweetness and honesty, I’m still trying to figure out where she inherited her spunky personality from (hmmm?).  Of course my question was rhetorical, I knew that I'd been solely responsible for purchasing every single one of those decorative items. Although I’m a thrifty shopper, what’s really alarming to me is at the time I bought them I believed with all my heart I “needed” them.  For some reason, I always felt the need to be ready for any decorating emergency that would ever arise at home or at church.

Please know that I’m not in any way condemning people for decorating their homes.  It’s important for us to make our homes an inviting, cozy, comfortable refuge for our family and to extend hospitality to others and serve them; however, this sentiment can be taken to an extreme. “Extreme” is a colorful yet kind way of describing myself in my former years labeled as a “shopaholic”.  I was consumed with every little detail of decorating to the point where I was painting some new color in my home almost every week because I was never content.  I guess that I was out to find that one paint color that would meet all of my needs and could give me the peace that I’d been searching for.  In reality my discontentment was not with the paint colors I was choosing, but with the inner sinful condition of my heart in trying to meet my needs with everything else besides the only One who could fulfill me.

My former shopaholic confessions do not stop there!  Home décor was not my only obsession.  Along with the desperate need I felt to make my home look perfect, was the distorted view I had of myself and my appearance.  Clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, make up, and hair products were very important to me as well.  A few years ago, my separate walk in closet was so stuffed full of clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry to the point where I couldn’t even shut the door! Most clothes hung there for months with store tags on them. I would not leave the house without wearing all of my jewelry and would never be caught dead carrying an inexpensive purse.  Only the top designer brands would do because I was so consumed with what other people thought of me.  This sad reality is completely embarrassing and difficult for me to comprehend now when my family reminds me of how things used to be.  I was so unhappy with myself that I dyed my hair a different color every week to where some people at church didn’t even recognize me at times. I had to have tan skin, whether real or fake and I couldn’t go a day without my fake French manicured nails.  I'm not saying that it's wrong to want to look nice or have nice things, but if that is your consuming focus and you put those desires above your relationship with God, it is sin.

Okay, let’s pause right here so I can address all of those people who are now feeling sorry for my husband.  My husband traveled and worked lots of hours because someone needed to pay for all of those material possessions.  I didn’t feel like he could ever meet all my needs so I thought buying material items would fill the void in my heart and make me complete.  In one aspect I was totally right, no wife should ever think that her husband should be responsible or even has the ability to meet all of her needs.  A person can ONLY be fulfilled and complete through a deep relationship with our loving heavenly Father who knows us better than anyone else ever could.  My heart and mind were so blinded to the truth because of believing way too many of Satan’s lies!

Our enemy is seeking our destruction, in John 10:10 we are warned about Satan and his intentions for us, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy”.  When we adopt the world’s belief system about materialism and relationships instead of clinging to the Truth of God’s Word, we are only headed for heartache and pain.  Once we buy into Satan’s lies in our minds, reality seems to become a little blurry and we begin to make some very wrong choices.  Those wrong choices that we “think” are going to meet our needs never can and we are only left with our guilt from doing wrong.  Once we’ve believed the lie and acted on the lie, we are then left to deal with the guilt of our disobedience.  There are only two choices to make with our guilt, we either confess the sin, or choose to tuck it away and harbor it in our heart and allow it to fester and grow which causes more destruction.  I knew down deep inside that the choices I was making were in disobedience to God and I’m extremely thankful that He humbled me to the point where I finally saw my sin for the ugliness that it was.  It was when I became a humble beggar before God that I confessed my sin of materialism in every area and finally discovered that inner peace that has drastically changed my life.

 Only a pure heart before God can allow us to possess that joy, peace, freedom and contentment we all so desperately long for.  Being a shopaholic seems harmless, but no matter how minute our sin problem may seem, we have to realize that we are seeking to fill a void with material things that only God can fill, which is idolatry.  Our fulfillment ONLY comes when we have a pure heart cleansed from our sin, and are being used by God to accomplish His purpose for creating us.  Oh how I mourn over the fact that I could’ve used God’s money and my time in a much better way to serve others and not just myself.

  No mall shopping experience will ever meet our deepest hopes and desires.  No outfit, designer purse, jewelry or home décor items have the ability to grant us peace and joy. Peace never comes from owning any material possession, it can only come from God.  I finally realized that when we are craving anything other than a deep relationship with our Creator, we are grasping to satisfy an appetite that will only leave us hungry every single time.   Even though we must face the fact that shopping is an unavoidable necessity in this world, our true heart condition will be clearly evident in how we shop, why we shop, where we shop, how often we shop, what we buy and how much of God’s money we spend while shopping. Matthew 6:21 explains a very important truth that each of us must grasp in order to enjoy an abundant life on this earth, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  What we put importance on and value clearly shows the condition of our heart. I now understand why the most contented people in this life are those who lay up treasures in heaven and are not consumed and entrapped by the material things of this world. 

Do you struggle like I did for so long with being consumed about what other people think of you, your outward appearance and the things you own ?  Have you been trusting in superficial material possessions to fill the void that only God can fill?  I pray that this transparent glimpse into my former way of life and heart condition will help others see their need to change as well.    

Never Alone

Is your pathway difficult?

Does the road you travel seem lonely?

Do you struggle to find a reason for why you face the trials at hand?

Do you wonder how long your journey will last or if your suffering will ever end?

Trials in this life are not a question of “if” but “when.  Every person who has ever lived from the beginning of time has had sorrow enter into their lives at one time or another.  I’ve also learned through experience that suffering always involves some sort of loss.  There was someone or something that we once enjoyed that is now gone and that loss has left a void in our lives.  Even though suffering cannot be avoided, does this mean we have no hope? 

No matter what kind of suffering we may encounter, whether it's from sickness or a health problem, losing a loved one through death or abandonment, having a child choose to deny their faith, losing a job, or the betrayal of a spouse or friend ….. It is NEVER a surprise to God.  He foreknows exactly what path each of us must take in this life and when we need to follow it.  He knows how steep and long the road will be, but safely leads and guides us through it.  We won’t be aware of the many bumps and turns we'll find along the way, but Jesus tells us in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  We can safely follow our unknown path with confidence, guided by the light of His faithful presence.

Sometimes it seems as if we're traveling alone on our path of suffering but God reassures us in Deut. 31:8, “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you.  He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”We will never have cause for worry or fear because we're reminded in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” During distress God is our only source of true peace, comforting beyond anything we could ever conceive or imagine.

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that Jesus was “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…” because He experienced extreme torture and agony on the cross that we could never begin to fathom.  Because of God’s deep love for His creation, our Deliverer chose the road of suffering and bore our pain and sin on the cross.  Jesus’ choice to die in our place gave us the opportunity to choose eternal life through His precious blood.  Our Father longs to carry the weight of our burdens and gathers each tear that we shed and stores them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).  The Sovereign One knows we would never reach the destination He‘s planned for us except by following this specific road of heartache.    
The Great Physician has the power to heal the sick, physically and spiritually. He may choose to make us well either in this life or by ushering us into His awesome presence.  He is the Living Water, our Creator and the Sustainer of each breath that we take.  In Colossians 1:16-17 we are told that “…All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”  The King of Kings and Lord of lords has the power to do as He pleases to accomplish His will.  God always has the highest and best reasons for what He allows in our lives, but He does not always choose to make those purposes known to us.  “All things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)  God continues to use our suffering for our good and bring greater glory and honor to His Holy name.

Our Infinitely Wise Father knows we would never make the choice to walk this dark path. We would much rather remain in the comforts of our complacency, traveling the easy road.  God has our best in mind and tenderly leads as the Good Shepherd who loves His sheep.  When we’re weary and exhausted from our walk and feel we can’t go on, He wraps His strong arms around us and carries us.  God tells us in Psalm 23 that “His rod and His staff comfort us”.  Our shepherd watches over His flock and protects us from any dangers that may cross our path.  “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” (Isaiah 40:11)  Our faithful Shepherd will never abandon His sheep.

We must keep our eyes on our Guide and Stay as He lead us safely to our destination.  Our Rock and Anchor will hold us secure through all the storms we may encounter.  Psalm 61:2 says, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed:  lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  No matter which path, no matter where it leads us, we must humbly go.  It is imperative that we continue trusting in our Father's promises and be commited to following His will for us through our suffering.  We must hold firmly to our Savior’s strong hand that has lovingly filtered every event that's been allowed to enter our lives.  We must remain faithful to the Author and Finisher of our faith until His work in and through us is accomplished.   

We witness the godly example of Job in Scripture and how his focus remained on the Lord throughout his journey of extreme suffering in his life. In Job 23:10 Job says, “But He (God) knows the way that I take;  When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”  God knew the exact path  Job was to take, and when and where Job’s journey of suffering would end.  Just as Job trusted God, it is imperative that we trust Him. Job knew God was working his suffering for his good, and we must also look for the ultimate benefit in why God is allowing our suffering.  We don’t all travel the same road of suffering, our paths may be very different, but the destination Christ intends is exactly the same for us all.  Our loving Daddy desires a deeper, richer, more intimate relationship with His children.  He is the Bread of Life who desires to use our suffering to bring more people into a saving knowledge of Him, to bring Himself glory, and to accomplish His eternal purposes.

There have been times that I've experienced sorrow in my life to the point where I thought my heart would actually physically break.  My husband and I have spent many sleepless nights on our knees, sobbing and crying out to God to intervene and put an end to our excruciating pain. All the while, God heard our cries and gently reassured us that He had all things under control.  As our hearts were breaking, we began to cling to the precious Scripture in James 1:2-4 that describes the purpose for our trials. “Finally my brethren, count it all joy when you endure various trial, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”   On the other side of that painful situation, we have witnessed our Father’s faithfulness numerous times in our lives.  God used that suffering to radically change us, humble us and brought us to the place where we could even have joy in the midst of our suffering.  Only our God can give us peace and purpose inside the fiery furnace.  When we see the result that the intense fire has had in purging and cleansing our hearts, we are amazed and thankful for the trials He allows. In our finite human minds, we may never fully understand our Father’s sovereign reasoning for allowing some of our trials until we enter into eternity.  However, even if we may not immediately identify the purpose for our pain, we CANNOT waste precious time questioning our Creator’s sovereignty. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13)  We can rest assured that our Creator does ALL things in perfect wisdom and goodness and does not have need to consult His creation before carrying out His plan. We are His workmanship and must confidently and completely trust Him, for HE ALONE is God! 

How about you, will you be found faithful in your suffering?  Are you trusting God to accomplish His will in and through you, and to others who witness your suffering? Do you truly believe that God has designed your path and every turn and bump has been lovingly placed in your way for a reason?  Just as Job was found faithful in all that he endured, will you also come forth shining as pure gold when your trial is finally over?   When this journey of life has ended, we must long to hear the words from our Master as the servant did in Matthew 25:23, “Well done good and faithful servant.”    

A "Sorry" Excuse

What does it mean when someone utters the phrase “I’m sorry” or “I apologize”?  What do those words really mean anyway? What are the true heart motives behind speaking these words to someone we’ve wronged? Because of our pride, most of us tend to avoid taking personal responsibility for any wrong doing. We'd much rather make excuses for our sin and shift the blame to someone else instead. If we do decide to own up to the fact that we’ve offended someone, our attitude and the words we choose to say to them definitely reflect the genuine condition of our heart.   

It has been my experience that the phrase “I’m sorry” doesn’t necessarily indicate a person’s repentant heart but can have several different connotations. Maybe someone is “sorry” that they were caught doing whatever they are apologizing for. A person may just be saying that they are “sorry” because they’re trying to patch up and gloss over the fact that they’ve offended you.  There are those times when an offender may even genuinely realize they’ve wronged you, but is a simple “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” enough?  Are using those phrases really setting the stage for true biblical reconciliation and restoration in a relationship that’s been severed?  I don’t believe for one minute that saying “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” go deep enough to allow for healing because of the lack of humility behind using those words.  In the Greek, the actual definition for apologize means “a speech in defense of”.    This is where we get the word “apologetics” from, which means “to defend our faith”. When we “apologize” what we're really doing is giving a defense for our wrong actions or making excuses for our sin.   

In reference to myself in this area, for the first 38 years of my life, I rarely acknowledged that I was ever wrong.  In my mind whatever happened was always someone else’s fault, never mine.   My pride blinded me and caused me to neglect taking personal responsibility for my sin in relationships with others and to God.  When something was blatantly my fault and I couldn’t come up with a good excuse to shift the blame to someone else, then I said the words “I’m sorry”.  I may have uttered the phrase “I’m sorry” but what I really meant in my heart was “I’m sorry that I have to deal with this situation” or “I’m sorry I have to deal with you.”  I just said whatever it took to get myself off the hook and move on to something else that did not further damage my ego.  Doesn’t sound like I had the spirit of humility now does it?  There are many other Christians out there, maybe even someone reading this blog post today, who are exactly the same way I was!

 Because of how God radically changed my heart in this area, I will no longer allow my kids to say “I’m sorry” when relating to those they have offended. “I’m sorry” is apologetic but cannot and should not take the place of true repentance. The words we instruct our children to say in the spirit of humility are, “I was wrong! Will you please forgive me for…” Biblically, there is no other phrase that can be substituted because true repentance shows that we are sincerely resolving to turn away from our sin, not just make defenses for it.

In God’s Word, we are never given the example to say “sorry” or “I apologize” to anyone.  When we come to God for salvation, we don’t pray “sorry God” and that makes everything all better.  In Romans 10:10 we see that we must confess our sin to come to salvation. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  In Psalm 51:17 David describes the heart condition of one who is genuinely repenting of their sin. “A broken spirit and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  The biblical definition of a “contrite heart” literally means to be broken-hearted for our sin; to be deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God.  God never wants us to be “sorry” for our sin. God desires us to deeply sorrow and mourn over our sin and in brokenness come to Him in true repentance.  We are to admit that we’re a sinner who can never measure up to His holy standards and must ask Him to “Please forgive us”, which He so faithfully promises to do in I John 1:9.  Our confession and God’s forgiveness allows us to be able to enjoy a right relationship with Him.  

The next time it’s brought to your attention or you realize on your own that you’ve wronged someone, please don’t just say “sorry”, but humbly admit you were wrong in the situation, and ask those whom you’ve hurt to please forgive you.  Others can definitely sense whether your spirit is humble or prideful.  If the one whom you’ve offended senses pride in your demeanor, the biblical forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration process with not be fulfilled.  Just as we are told in James 4:6 that “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”, people also resist us when they detect pride in our apology.  Do you have some changes to make in this area like I did?  We would all enjoy a better relationship with God and others if we would only admit when we’re wrong, deeply mourn over our sin and humbly ask forgiveness from those we have offended .    

Who's Birthday Is It Anyway?

 

What if your life was so influential to all of mankind that your birthday was declared a worldwide international holiday?  Just picture in your mind for a moment how wonderful and amazing your special day would be!  Everyone would express their deep love and appreciation for your life by sending you cards, delivering special gifts to you and singing various birthday songs in your honor.  All businesses would be closed that day so that people could gather together with their family and friends for the sole purpose of celebrating your amazing life.  Can you even fathom all of these events taking place across the globe simply because of your existence?  In order to receive that kind of glory, you would have to be someone of greatness, someone of power, some sort of royalty or deity.

There is only One in all of mankind deserving of this kind of birthday celebration. His miraculous birth was foretold in the Old Testament and the prophecy was fulfilled in the New Testament.  Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” In Matthew 1:21 we are told, “She will bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  Jesus chose to leave His heavenly home of perfection to be born as a baby in a manger.  He chose to suffer and die as the substitute for our filthy sin because of His deep love and compassion for us.  Jesus came to earth to be born as a baby to offer mankind the greatest gift of all, salvation.  

“Christ”mas is not about Santa, Rudolph, toy making elves or finding just the right gift for family and friends.  None of these traditions are wrong, in and of themselves, but if we allow them to overshadow or replace the “true” meaning and purpose of “Christ”mas then it is a form of idolatry!  Isn’t all of this used by the master deceiver to cloud our vision and lead us away from devoting our time and adoration to the Savior of the world whose birthday we’re celebrating?  If we’re so set on celebrating Santa driving a sleigh across the world led by Rudolph’s red nose and singing festive songs that don’t even mention Christ’s name, then let’s find another day to celebrate those things and call it something other than “Christ”mas.  We should NOT become distracted from giving the proper honor, glory and ultimate praise due to the name of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ, especially on the day that’s been set aside to honor His birth.

 One of my very favorite songs “It’s About the Cross” hits the nail on the head in describing the real meaning of “Christ”mas. “Christ”mas is not all about the manger, the angels or the wise men bringing gifts.  “Christ”mas is ALL about the cross!  “Christ”mas is ALL about our sin!  The ultimate and most costly gift we could ever receive is not from our family or friends, but is the eternal life made possible only through Jesus’ blood. John 3:16 sums up the purpose of Christmas and why Christ came.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

During this “Christ”mas season, instead of being concerned about finding just the right presents for our loved ones, maybe we should focus more on what gifts Jesus would like for His birthday? Jesus wants our heart, our life, our time, our talent, our treasure and ALL of our honor, glory and praise!  May we all have a blessed “Christ”mas this year honoring the “Christ” whose birthday is the reason we celebrate. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpybjMd_Xfs     "It's About the Cross"

Prodigals In The Pew

Do you believe that a prodigal is someone who forsakes God by recklessly participating in destructive sinful behaviors with no concerns that it will ultimately lead them to ruin?  I used to think that a rebellious person was one who abandoned God, their family and the church to pursue a selfish worldly lifestyle, searching for what they thought would bring them peace, joy and fulfillment.  I then came to the realization there is a form of rebellion that isn’t quite as blatant as I once had believed, for there are MANY prodigals occupying church pews every Sunday!  Outwardly they may not appear to be the stereotypical rebel as they carry their Bible, are involved in various church ministries, and seem to have it all together. The prodigal may give the outward facade to others around them that they are living a holy, righteous life. People may be easily fooled because they cannot see the condition of the prodigal’s rebellious, prideful heart, BUT God certainly does!

I am extremely familiar with how a prodigal in the pew can go through the outward motions of the Christian life, but have a wretched inner heart condition.  It never dawned on me that I was  in rebellion until the Lord used the preaching of His Word in the Sermon on the Mount to penetrate my cold apathetic heart.  A prodigal can graduate from a Bible College, a prodigal can be a Sunday School teacher, a prodigal can be a pastor or deacon’s wife, a prodigal can be a homeschooling mom.  Prodigals in the pew can try to fool just about everyone, BUT will never be able to deceive God!  A rebellious person is blinded by their unconfessed sin and justifies their sin because they think it’s not a bad as someone else’s.  Their rebellion and guilt that comes from harboring unconfessed sin causes their “spiritual eyes” to be closed and their “spiritual ears” to no longer hear God’s voice.  Carelessness and indifference set in and the desire to have a humble and pure heart before God disappears.  Prodigals have NO joy and NO desire for close fellowship with the God who created them.  They believe the lie that this life is for US and is solely for OUR own entertainment and pleasure.  The prodigal proudly proclaims, “This is MY life and I WANT to live MY life the WAY I want to!” and isn’t concerned about breaking God’s heart or causing enormous pain and heartache for those who love them most.

Outwardly, for many years, I appeared to be a committed follower of Christ.  I went to church, sang in the choir, attended Bible studies, spoke at ladies events, counseled ladies and was involved in many other “God honoring” activities.  I believed that as long as I was doing all of those good external things I could hold onto my bitterness, unforgiveness, envy and silent anger. I was SO blinded and deceived by my sin!!!  My sin stole my joy and took away any desire to read God’s Word.  I seldom made it through a sermon without falling asleep and occasionally didn’t bother bringing my Bible to church either.  I was NOT living the abundant life God intended for me and I was certainly NOT fulfilling the purposes that God created me for.  I was on the road headed for destruction!  I would have continued down that deadly path if I had not finally come to the end of myself and humbly confessed my sin before my Father.  

Luke 15:17 describes the account of how the prodigal son “came to the end of himself” and finally humbled himself before God and his earthly father.  The key to restoration and finding a peaceful, joyful life is confessing our pride and asking forgiveness for our sin.  The prodigal son at last had recognized his need to seek full forgiveness from his sin in Luke 15:21,  “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.”     

Every prodigal will eventually bow their knee to God.  Whether they willingly make the choice to humble themselves, or be brought to their knees in brokenness by their Creator through devastating circumstances.  However, if the prodigal stubbornly chooses to remain in their defiance, God may even decide to prematurely end their earthly life.  We all have the choice to submit ourselves now, or be humbled by God later.  Romans 14:11 shows us this confirmation, For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."   How much heartache, pain, and distress are we willing to inflict on ourselves and our loved ones before we decide to wake up and realize that we’ve been blinded and deceived by the father of lies?  In John 10:10 we are warned that Satan’s goal for us is to kill, steal and destroy us. He is crafty and will use whatever it takes to try to bring about our destruction so we must be on guard to His schemes. 

Can you identify with some of these same rebellious attitudes that I have struggled with?  Have you lost your joy and excitement in the Lord and no longer hunger and thirst after God’s Word and righteousness?  Are you apathetic or unconcerned about the needs of others and lack genuine love for people?  Have you been so blinded by your pride that you feel you have no sin to confess?  Maybe you have been more concerned about keeping up a good “outer” testimony rather than taking care of your “inner” heart condition? 

 Just as in Luke 15 where the father eagerly and faithfully watched for his prodigal son to come home, our Father God has been patiently waiting and watching for us to return from our rebellion with open arms full of compassion.  He is ready to embrace us and welcome us back into sweet fellowship with Him.  We ALL need to recognize our foolishness and pride, humbly bow down at the foot of the cross and beg for God’s forgiveness from our sin.  Just like the prodigal son, we will be restored and there will be a GREAT celebration in heaven!  Jesus says to the proud and hypocritical Pharisees in Luke 15:7, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 “righteous” people who need no repentance.” If you’ve been a prodigal in the pew, the time for repentance is now.  Please don’t waste one more minute believing the Enemy’s lies that will most assuredly bring you more needless suffering, regret and devastation than you ever bargained for. 

       

Eliminating Frustration, Aggravation and Irritation

 

Are you frequently aggravated, frustrated, annoyed, or irritated when things don’t go the way you’ve planned?  We must realize that no matter how carefully we may plan out our daily schedule we are not in control of ANY of our circumstances in this life. There will be times when our sovereign Creator chooses to make unexpected changes in our day.  When those upredictable events come, will our reaction be one of thankfulness in understanding that God has distinct intentions for those changes, or will we become angry because our will is not being accomplished?  When our agenda is altered by unforseen situations, how should we respond?

There are numerous things we all strive to get accomplished during our day, however, quite often we find ourselves stalled by an interruption, delay or cancellation of our plans.  All of these unpredictable events can cause us frustration because we are not accomplishing what we had originally set out to do. Sometimes we may bring these irritations upon ourselves through the choices we make, or our dilemma may be totally unsolicited.  I have had my share of unanticipated circumstances that weren’t scheduled in my calendar. 

One such incident occurred last Saturday evening when I accidently pumped more than 10 gallons of “unleaded” fuel into the gas tank of our “diesel” truck.  Sitting for over two hours at a gas station waiting for a tow truck wasn’t at all what I had planned for my evening, but the Lord turned a seemingly frustrating incident into an opportunity to demonstrate to our three teens that we needed to spend some time in prayer, trust God to help us and be flexible.  If we look close enough, we will find the benefits and blessings God has for us through the situation.  If I hadn’t gotten the wrong fuel, I wouldn’t have taken the time to talk with the gas station attendant about how God answers prayer. God also used the gracious reaction of my husband to my absent mindedness, to demonstrate to our children that we all should be forbearing and merciful to others who make mistakes.  I also witnessed the great love my husband has for me because of his patience and willingness to spend several hours fixing the problem I had created.   It would not have accomplished anything good for us all to have become frustrated. God is in complete control and always has a purpose for every unexpected situation.  It is good to have goals and make plans but we must realize that God may have a far different agenda for us.  Proverbs 20:24, “A man’s steps are of the Lord, How then can man understand his own way?”  It’s beyond our comprehension to fully understand God’s sovereign ways.  He desires for us to rest in the peace of knowing He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).  We must look above the obvious circumstances we face and gain deeper spiritual insight, so that we develop a more intimate relationship with Him.  

 

When we become frustrated we are actually elevating our own will above God’s eternal purposes. We do not share the same perspective that God has.  We’re told in Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  We must remind ourselves that our sinful human tendency is to focus on the here and now, but God’s perspective is ALWAYS eternal!  God’s intent is not to spare us from every disappointment or dilemma in this life.  God’s will for us is to place our dependence on Him, trust Him and give Him the honor and glory through our responses in every situation we face.  We must realize that we will never be in control of anything, so our faith and trust must be firmly secured in the only One who is in authority over ALL things.

 If we resist God’s control and stubbornly rebel against His all-knowing plan and intent for us, we will be frustrated, irritated, angry bitter people. Furthermore, God will persist in chiseling away at our selfishness by bringing more of those unexpected predicaments into our lives because His mission for us is holiness.  We choose to become angry because our expectations are not being fulfilled and question God’s goodness in allowing those disappointments into our lives.   

 It is imperative that we understand that no matter how we justify our frustrations, irritations or annoyances, they are all terms we use to describe our root sin of anger.  Anger is an indicator that we care more about what pleases us than what pleases and glorifies God.  If we’d like to live a more frustration free life, we must confess every form of anger that is in our hearts.  The sin of anger or frustration not only breaks our communion and fellowship with God but it also destroys relationships with our family and friends. There are devastating effects on our loved ones because a frustrated, angry person tends to be quite difficult to live with.  Proverbs 29:22 “A man of wrath
stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.”

 Whether our frustration is inward or outwardly manifested, the physical effects on our body have been medically proven.  Angry people experience some forms of heart problems, the tendency to suffer from high blood pressure and even strokes.  Before I bowed my stubborn will to my sovereign Creator, I could’ve died in the Critical Care Unit because of my sin of anger.  I was frequently irritated, offended, bothered, frustrated, and silently angry when things didn’t turn out my way, when people didn’t meet up to my expectations, or when I wasn’t treated the way I thought I deserved to be treated.  Does this sound like a joy filled existence?  A few years later I read that there are some heart problems that can be caused by anger and I realized I’d been placing my will and desires above God’s. I finally repented of my anger and asked God to forgive me.  I then was led to write about how His power had radically changed me, which I included in my first blog “Saved from the road to destruction”.        

In examining your own heart, do you become frustrated, irritated and angry when things don’t go the way you thought they should?  Have you ever realized that frustration and irritation are really anger?   God’s desire for us to live the abundant life does not include being enslaved to the sin of anger.  We waste precious time in this life when wrapped up in our petty annoyances.  We must humble ourselves, and seek forgiveness from the Lord.   We will then be free to live a life filled with joy and abundance, trusting in our sovereign Savior who is in authority over ALL things and desires only our best.  2 Samuel 22:31 shows us “As for God, His way is perfect.”   

Freedom or Bondage, Which Will You Choose?

Are you a person who struggles with forgiving those who have hurt you?  Forgiveness is not always easy to extend to those who have willingly chosen to bring us or our loved ones harm. By forgiving our offenders, it seems as if we are simply letting them "off the hook" for what they've done. We think that we can somehow punish those who have hurt us by refusing to forgive and holding a grudge toward them.  We believe that if we ignore them, treat them badly or even seek revenge, we are making our offenders pay for the pain they have caused.  I am extremely and utterly humbled and grateful for the fact that God does not have our same sinful perspective about our offenses toward Him. 

 

If God is in control of everything that happens, why would He allow those hurtful situations to come into our lives?  We must realize that those offenses, hurts and misunderstandings all must first be filtered through the hands of our loving Lord before they are even allowed to happen to us.  God's greatest desire for us is not to be untouched by the hurts of this world, but for us to be conformed more and more into the image of His dear Son, Jesus.  Everything we endure has eternal purposes and is being orchestrated for our good and for God's glory.   Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  HOW we respond to the wounds we receive is a direct indication of WHAT we believe to be true about our heavenly Father. If we doubt His goodness, His wisdom, and His love for us we will become bitter. No one has any right, for even a moment, to question the goodness of our God! Instead of questioning, we need to TRUST the One who sees all, who knows all and is working to fulfill His sovereign purposes in and through us. God desires to pour out His mercy, love and grace upon us through the process of transforming us to be more like His Son. We can also chose to resist God's mercy, love and grace because of our pride and allow the root of bitterness to take hold in our hearts.  Hebrews 12:15 tells us how our bitterness will then defile many others in our lives.  "Looking diligently unless anyone fall short of the grace of God; unless any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled."  Satan will use our bitterness to bring about our destruction and cause devastion to all of those around us. Our bitterness never punishes those who have hurt us, it simply places us in chains and holds US hostage in a nasty prison that wreaks from the poison in our hearts. Being in bondage to bitterness steals all the joy, peace and contentment that we can savor in this earthly life.  It's a lie straight from the master deceiver that our bitterness will ever hurt our offender more than it damages us.
 

In reality, the prison we think we are holding our offender in, is the very prison WE are being held captive in! Having spent 20 years in the prison of bitterness myself, I’ve seen the destruction that it causes. It almost destroyed my health and my relationships. It consumed my thoughts and stole my joy! I was so blinded by my sin, until I humbled myself and finally realized that if I wanted God to forgive me, I needed to forgive others. Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you REFUSE to forgive others your Father will not forgive your sins.”  God has shown me that HE is the righteous judge and it is HE "Who will render to every man according to his deeds." Romans 2: 6.  It's never our job to retaliate or punish our offender because God is perfectly capable of handling the problem Himself. 

I’ve also learned that forgiveness is not always a “one time” event. Sometimes Jesus calls us to forgive the same person over and over and over again.  This is the same kind of forgiveness that God grants to us, over and over on a daily basis for ALL of the things we do to offend Him. God’s ultimate forgiveness is offered through Jesus on the cross and has set us free from the eternal penalty of our sin. May each of us continually humble ourselves and choose to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. Ephesians 4:32 says, “…forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” 

 So have we fulfilled our spiritual duty by simply forgiving others, or would God desire us to even go the extra mile to bring Him more honor and glory? Taking offenses one step further beyond forgiveness involves us "seeing" our offender as Christ sees them. Maybe the person who hurt us has a need? Maybe God allowed the situation to come into our life so that we could have mercy on our offender and meet their needs. The grace that God grants us during this situation is quite amazing! We could never humanly muster up enough pity toward those who've wounded us, it's a demonstration of God's grace that enables us minister to them. 

 

When Jesus Christ arose from the grave, He could have emerged with a perfect body with no visible traces of the torture and suffering He endured on the cross.  Instead, Jesus CHOSE to keep the scars from the nails in His hands as a reminder of His amazing love for us.  It is crucial that each of us  have this same perspective of the wounds and hurts we've received from others. Once we have forgiven our offenders, the scars that are left behind by their wounds can remind us of God's forgiveness to us and the mercy we must also extend to others by forgiving them.  This may seem like a foreign concept to most of us, but that is exactly how our God works.  Our natural human inclination to hold a grudge and make our offenders pay for what they've done can be supernaturally transformed through the power of the forgiveness of the cross.   

 

 God's ways are higher than our ways and bring us joy, freedom and blessing. Bitterness will lead us into bondage EVERY SINGLE TIME and puts us on the road to destruction. Choosing to forgive will keep us on the road to blessing and ALWAYS set us free! Have you been harboring unconfessed sin that you need to make right with God or others you may have offended?  Are there people in your life that you need to extend forgiveness to?  Today is the day to make things right and determine what choice you will make the next time someone offends you.  Freedom through forgiveness or bitterness through bondage, which one will you chose?

Breaking Up The Dirt

Learning everyday tasks involved with living on a farm has given me greater insight to a few spiritual truths found in God’s Word.  I had never given soil or dirt too much thought before moving to our farm, other than the fact that I’ve never enjoyed getting dirty.  As we’ve learned about preparing the soil in the garden each spring before planting, I now see the importance of tilling the dirt, and breaking up the ground to eliminate any hard, dry soil that may have been matted down over the winter. By plowing up the tough, brittle ground, our goal is to prepare the surface to become soft and fertile so it will ready to accept the seeds.  We will then plant those seeds and water them so that strong, healthy plants will grow, providing us with food in which to feed our family. 

If we were to go out and attempt to plant seeds in our garden on that hard, dry ground, it would not be a successful endeavor.  It would be a futile waste of time, because there would be no growth, no healthy food and the ground would simply remain in its brittle useless state. Soil that has been unplowed is sometimes referred to as “fallow” ground and simply cannot be used for any productive purposes. 

In God’s Word we often see the analogy between our mind and hearts in comparison with the soil of the ground.   At times our hearts become hardened and brittle from unconfessed sin, and like fallow ground, we become useless to carry out God’s purposes for us.  God told Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah 4:3 to, “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.”  The Lord desires for His children to make sure we are continually breaking up any unplowed soil in our hearts.  When our hearts are in need of spiritual tilling, we will exhibit the tell tale attitudes of apathy, indifference, unresponsiveness, carelessness, insensitivity, stubbornness and resistance to readily receiving the seed of God’s Word.  These attitudes are displayed when we have a lack of interest or involvement in ministering to other people’s needs, no longer have a burden to see the lost come to the Savior, or when we choose to rebel against God given authority in our lives.  Neglecting to continually till up the soil of our hearts is used by Satan to cause hard heartedness, stubbornness and rebellion to set in and create hard, matted ground where we can’t receive the seed of God’s Truth.  In this unplowed condition, we also cannot bear godly fruit. Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord…”  Refusing to break up fallow soil caused by unconfessed sin in our hearts leads to destruction and we simply will not prosper in our lives.  We are warned of the contrasting results of how we choose to deal with our sin in Proverbs 28:13, “He that covers his sins will NOT prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”        

I know the toil and hard labor that comes from living with a heart full of soil that I rarely tilled.  It’s hard work being selfish and prideful.  It’s hard work being bitter and holding onto all of those grudges.  It’s hard work being frustrated and irritated over petty offenses.  It’s no wonder I was always exhausted!  Please listen to someone who knows the heartache of choosing to live in disobedience and rebellion to the God of the universe!  Whether it’s inward or outward sin that leads you to the road of rebellion, you will never find the freedom, joy and peace you are searching for by indulging in the empty pleasures of this world.  I can’t even explain the peace and joy that has filled my life now that I’ve surrendered my will to live in submission to the authority of my Savior.  The difference between a life FULL of heartache, and an ABUNDANT life FULL of blessing, is our willingness to humble ourselves and break up the hard soil in our hearts by confessing our sin.  Unconfessed sin is the tool that our Enemy uses in an attempt to bring about our destruction!  If Satan can’t destroy us, he’ll steal precious time from us fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives by getting us to believe the empty deceptive promises of sin.  We must humbly examine our thoughts, attitudes, speech and actions under the microscope of God’s Word if we are to break up the hard, fallow ground in our hearts.  How about you?  In close examination of the soil of your heart, have you found hardness, indifference, rebellion, insensitivity or apathy?  Is it time for you to do some spiritual tilling?  I John 1: 9 says that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL our unrighteousness.”

Shooting Our Wounded

When we find out someone we know is enduring devastating trials do we automatically assume God allowed it to happen because they’re living in sin?  In the back of our minds maybe we believe that God is punishing them for making wrong choices?  The fact is that we don't have all the facts and we don’t ever need all of the facts about their situation.  What Christians truly need to be is an extension of Christ’s love and compassion to those hurting people, not their judge.

It’s sad when wounded people come to the body of Christ for compassion, love and healing but what they find many times is judgmental, prideful, critical eyes who would rather shun them than minister to them.  They are blinded by the enemy and don't even realize the fact that there WILL come a day when God will allow some of those same trials in their own lives.  During those difficulties they will also need the love, support and mercy from other Christians but they should not expect to receive it.  Jesus says Himself in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful for THEY will be shown mercy.”  God also tells us in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.” We cannot count on receiving help when we are hurting if we have not been willing to reach out and help other people going through trials.

It’s a far too common occurrence to see Christians shooting our own wounded!  In military terms this is called “friendly fire”.  We need to be on guard and watchful for enemy attacks, planning strategies to block any victories for our enemy’s kingdom.  Instead we CHOOSE to do damage to the kingdom of God by discouraging, ignoring, shunning or shooting our own soldiers.  If we were soldiers of war, we would never even fathom the thought of wounding our own comrades or refusing medical treatment to those who had been hit by enemy fire.  We would never dream of leaving that wounded soldier there to die without trying to do whatever we could to see that they would recover.  The truth is that we ARE in a battle. The battle we fight is not physical but spiritual. 
     
Christians need to put away our pointing judgmental fingers and stop pulling the trigger to shoot our own wounded.  What hurting people desperately NEED is a refuge in which they can come to find love, compassion and help.  It is in this atmosphere where situations are handled Biblically in love that those hurting people can also see how God might be working to change their hearts in some sin areas as well.  In Psalm 46:1 we see that “God is our refuge and help, our very present help in times of trouble.”  This means He will come to our aid in times of trouble.   If Christians are supposed to be exactly like Christ, then why aren’t we faithfully coming to the aid of hurting people who desperately need our help?

It's heartbreaking, but there are also Christians who take the shunning and judging of those going through trials even one step further.  Putting on the disguise of a concerned saint they like to gather as much information as they can, mostly negative, so that they can “pray” for the wounded.  They haven’t gone out of their way to respond in love personally to help treat the hurting person’s wounds.  Instead they take it upon themselves to “appear” to be helping by spreading information to others which was none of their business to begin with.   Satan uses those gossips as tools to infiltrate the church with misconceptions and lies in an attempt to further rub salt into the wounds of the hurting by destroying their reputations.  Throughout the Bible we see how nosy busybodies or talebearers cause harm by spreading information. The talebearers 'words' are compared to causing internal wounds to people in Proverbs 26:22, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”

If Christians are to be known by our love but choose not to demonstrate it to the hurting, it’s no wonder that so many people are turning away from the church.  Whether it’s the innocent party of a marital separation or divorce, victims of abuse or those who have repented of past sin and seek to start over in their Christian walk, they need our help.  When we fail to reach out to the wounded to lovingly meet their needs we grieve the heart of our Savior who willing left glory to suffer and die on the cross to meet OUR spiritual needs.  This is blatant hypocrisy and there’s no difference between the Pharisees of Jesus day and Christians today who choose to turn their back in arrogance to a wounded neighbor.  The Pharisees proudly claimed to follow the letter of the law perfectly, even questioning Jesus about His obedience to it.  We Christians claim to love Christ with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength which is the first and great commandment mentioned in Matthew 22: 7-8, but miserably fall short in obeying the second commandment to “Love our neighbor as ourselves”.  We CANNOT talk about how much we love God and also refuse to show love by turning a blind eye to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of others.

This situation of friendly fire among the body of Christ should not continue.  Every single one of us has sin areas that we need to humbly acknowledge and confess before God.  We each have the responsibility and privilege to love God and serve Him by loving others and serving them.  In examining your life, how do you measure up in this area?  When you know someone who has been wounded do you automatically play judge and jury and quickly dismiss yourself from any involvement in meeting their needs?  God is faithful because where we’ve failed before, with His help we can obey in the future.  Imagine what our churches would be like and what kind of impact we could make for Christ on a lost and dying world if we’d simply follow God’s Word and show His love to the wounded He brings across our path every single day.