"Know Your Calling" (Part #1)

20, June 2017

"Know Your Calling" (Part #1)

‘What is that in your hand?’ Exodus 4:2 NIV

When God called Moses, one of the first questions He asked him was: ‘What is that in your hand’?  Moses was holding his shepherd’s staff—the one he used each day to lead and protect his sheep.  But God had a different plan for it—a greater one!  He used it to part the Red Sea and lead Israel into the Promised Land. When God asks you, ‘What is that in your hand’?  He wants you to think about your talents, experiences, relationships, education, resources, your mind and your temperament.

‘Signature strengths’ fall into six categories:

(1) Wisdom and knowledge. These include things like curiosity, love of learning, sound judgment and social intelligence.

(2) Courage. This includes perseverance and integrity.

(3) Humanity. The capacity for kindness, and the ability to express mercy.

(4) Justice. The ability to bring about fairness and leadership.

(5) Temperance. Qualities like self-control, prudence and humility.

(6) Transcendence. An appreciation for beauty, the expression of gratitude, the ability to hope and the capacity for joy. We all have the capacity for each of these strengths, but the ones that resonate most deeply within you are your ‘signature strengths’.

Once you identify these you begin to understand your calling. But be careful; the enemy wants to convince you that God can’t use you because of your weaknesses, when in fact the opposite is true. Who can speak to those who are grieving better than those who’ve suffered loss?  Chuck Colson was the chief White House lawyer until Watergate.  But only when he became a convict was he equipped to begin his ministry, Prison Fellowship.  So, know your calling.

"Shalom"

16, June 2017

"Shalom"

‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ (Exodus 33:14 NIV)

The Hebrew word for peace is ‘shalom’. And apart from God it will always remain a pipe dream, a philosophical fantasy, or a tantalizing fish that is just beyond your bait and hook. Marriages go awry and fall apart because we look to an imperfect mate to give us the perfect peace we’re searching for, and we discover they can’t.

The story’s told of a woman at a cocktail party who was trying her best to look happy. Noticing the gargantuan sparkling rock on her finger, a guest exclaimed, ‘Wow!  What a beautiful stone’!  She replied, ‘Thank you. It’s the Callahaune diamond'.  The onlooker said, ‘I wish I had one'!  The woman replied, ‘No, you don’t.’ ‘Why not?’ the onlooker asked. ‘Because it comes with the Callahaune curse,’ she replied.  ‘The Callahaune curse—what’s that?’ asked the questioner. She sighed and said, ‘Mr Callahaune’!

Perfect peace can only come from a perfect peace-giver, and the only one who meets that qualification is God.  Peace isn’t the absence of problems; it’s the presence of God in the midst of your problems. What’s more, nobody ever finds peace by looking for it.  Peace isn’t something you find; it finds you when you surrender your life to the One who said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’.  Note the words ‘My Presence’.

Only God’s presence can bring peace. The assurance of God’s love, God’s help, and God’s presence is what takes the stress out of living.  Are you longing for peace today? When you surrender your life to Christ, you’ll ‘experience … peace … far more wonderful than the human mind can understand' (Philippians 4:7 TLB). 

"Trust In God’s Goodness"

15, June 2017

"Trust In God’s Goodness"

‘The Lord is good.’  (Nahum 1:7 NIV)

The Bible says, ‘When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come … down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us … gods who can lead us”’ (Exodus 32:1 NLT).  Why did Israel make a golden calf?  Because they wanted a god you can see.  It’s harder to relate to an invisible God, and Moses, His representative, stayed on Mount Sinai so long they felt helpless and abandoned.  So they did what we do when we’re scared—resort to the comfort of the familiar.

Mark D. Roberts writes:  ‘How often do we find ourselves in a situation like the Israelites?  We hear God’s call to something new, and boldly step out in faith.  But when we don’t sense His presence and our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, we feel abandoned, scared, and helpless.  We grasp for the familiar’.  The Bible says, ‘The Lord is good … He cares for those who trust in Him’.

Nancy Ortberg says:  ‘The difficult parts of change are most often where God lives … All the things I glibly say, in change I have to live out … Most of us go kicking and screaming instead of moving into it with an assuredness that not only is God on the other side, but new facets of Him that we haven’t before understood are also there. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a job loss, broken promises by others, a wayward child, a broken marriage, a move across the country, becoming an empty nester — if we allow ourselves to push through the difficult parts, we’ll discover God is there … and He’s entirely, wonderfully, amazingly, good.’

When God closes one door, He opens another — but you must be willing to walk through it.

"Forgive—And Set Yourself Free"

14, June 2017

"Forgive—And Set Yourself Free"

‘Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.’  Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

Years after her harrowing experience in a Nazi concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom was speaking in a church when she found herself standing face-to-face with a man who had been one of the cruellest guards she had ever met in the camps. This man had humiliated and degraded both her and her sister, jeering at them and visually ‘raping’ them as they stood in the delousing shower.  Now he stood before her with an outstretched hand, asking, ‘Will you forgive me’?

Corrie said, ‘I stood there with coldness clutching at my heart, but I knew that the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.  I prayed, “Jesus, help me"!   Woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me, and when I did I experienced an incredible thing.  The current started in my shoulder, raced down into my arm, and sprang into our clutched hands. Then this warm reconciliation seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.  “I forgive you, brother,” I cried with my whole heart. For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner.  I have never known the love of God as intensely as I did in that moment.’

The Bible says, ‘Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you’ (Ephesians 4:32  NAS).  Who are you struggling to forgive today?  Rise above your feelings and do it!  When you do, you will set yourself free and be able to walk in the peace and joy of the Lord.

"Today God Is With You"

13 June 2017

"Today God Is With You"

‘Although they saw Him, they didn’t recognize Him.’ Luke 24:16 GWT

When you face a crisis it’s easy to lose perspective.  It happened to two of Christ’s disciples on the Emmaus Road. Discouraged about Jesus' death, they were ‘talking with each other about everything that had happened … Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him’ (Luke 24:14–16 NIV).  When you take your eyes off Jesus, you start to feel helpless about your situation.

Dr Michael Youssef says: ‘Facing a major crisis, I tend to be the kind of person whose vision becomes blurred.  My perceptions are shot.  My contemplations are one-sided. I often shut out the very people who can deliver me, just like those two disciples … Their vision was blurred about the person who was walking with them and talking to them. The one whose death they were mourning was alive … but they didn’t realize it because their focus was on the wrong thing’.

But everything changed the minute they recognized Jesus.  ‘Within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There … the two … told … how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along … and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread' (Luke 24:33–35 NLT). Note the words ‘within the hour’.   In an instant they went from fear to courage, pain to joy, and despair to hope.  Paul wrote, ‘I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened’ (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).  When you stop focusing on the problem and fix your eyes on Jesus, you get 20/20 vision and you’re filled with hope.

‘Precious Blood—Precious You!’

12, June 2017

‘Precious Blood—Precious You!’

‘It was the precious blood of Christ.’ 1 Peter 1:19 NLT

The Bible says, ‘God paid a ransom … it was not paid with mere gold or silver … it was the precious blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:18–19 NLT).  You must come to a place in your life where you are secure in who you are ‘in Christ’; where you don’t allow your sense of worth to be based on the opinions or actions of others.  Stop trying to find your worth in how you look, or in what you do for a living, or in how people treat you. Your worth in God’s eyes is incalculable because Jesus shed His blood for you.

‘Precious blood, precious you’!  Yes, you have faults. Yes, there are things about you that need to be changed, but God is working on you just as He is on everybody else. Don’t let somebody else dump their issues on you. You’re a blood-bought child of God! Don’t allow them to make you feel worthless or useless because they don’t know how to treat you right, or love you as you deserve to be loved. Don’t spend your life trying to win their acceptance or approval.  You’ve already been accepted and approved by God, so make sure your validation and sense of worth come from Him.

You’re redeemed by Christ’s blood, covered by Christ’s blood, and accepted through Christ’s blood.  And since His blood is ‘precious’, that makes you precious too!

Satan, who’s called ‘the accuser’, would like you to forget that and see yourself only in the light of your flaws and failures.  Instead, get up every morning, look in the mirror, and announce, ‘I am precious, because I have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus’!  

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #3)

11, June 2017

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #3)

‘Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious.’ 1 Peter 2:7 NKJV

We learn from looking at the breastplate worn by Israel’s high priest that:

(a) we are precious to God;

(b) we are close to His heart;

(c) He will never turn His back on us.

You say, ‘If God will never turn His back on us, does that mean we can live any way we please'?  No, and here’s why.  As a redeemed child of God, not only are you precious in His eyes, He is also precious in your eyes.  So you will value your relationship with Him above all else and protect it from anything that threatens it. Question:  When you realize how valuable and precious you are in God’s eyes, does that make you want to go out and sin, or continue living in sin?  Of course not!  On the contrary, your thoughts will run more along the lines of:  ‘This is not how a believer who is precious to the Lord behaves'.  A precious diamond doesn’t belong in the mud, grime, and filth of sin. Its rightful place is close to the heart of God where it sparkles and shines. Knowing your true, righteous, and precious-to-God identity in Christ elevates you above the desire to give in to sin.  It makes you want to walk and live as a child of the King.  Indeed, holy living is the result of seeing yourself as God sees you—‘in Christ’.  Instead of giving in to temptation, you’ll ask yourself, ‘What would Jesus do in this situation'?  Then you’ll draw on His strength and do the right thing.  A true understanding of God’s grace doesn’t prevent holiness, it produces it.

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #2)

10, June 2017

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #2)

‘We have a great High Priest … Jesus the Son of God.’ Hebrews 4:14 NLT

Notice two more things about the breastplate worn by Israel’s high priest:

(1) It was close to his heart. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, he went into the ‘Holiest of Holies’ where God’s presence was, in order to obtain forgiveness for the people’s sins ... And he wore different things, each signifying different truths.  But of all the garments he donned, the breastplate was the closest to his heart. This speaks of how much God loves and values you, and His desire to be close to you. Today He’s saying to you:  ‘I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]’ (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC).  What a wonderful promise!

(2) The name of each tribe was not merely written on the breastplate, but engraved on it (see Exodus 39:14). When something is written, it can be erased or accidentally blotted out, but not when it’s ‘engraved’. There are two ways you can sin.  First by deliberately choosing to, and second by stumbling through weakness ... And God will chastise and correct you in order to get you back onto the right path, but He will never turn His back on you or throw you away.  No, you’re too precious to Him.

He remembers the price He paid for you and He says, ‘I will not blot out [your] name from the Book of Life’ (Revelation 3:5 NKJV).  As long as you are trusting in Christ, you can be sure of God’s love and acceptance.

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #1)

09, June 2017

"The Beauty of the Breastplate" (Part #1)

‘Twelve stones … engraved … according to the twelve tribes.’ Exodus 39:14 NKJV

As you look at the breastplate worn by Israel’s high priest, you see how precious you are in God’s eyes as His redeemed child. The Bible gives us very detailed information about what the high priest wore, and there are no insignificant details in God’s Word.

As we examine this breastplate we see something wonderful about the way the Lord sees us. There were twelve stones on it, each with the name of one of the twelve tribes. And since Jesus is our great High Priest, let’s look at this breastplate and see what we can learn. These were precious stones.  God didn’t use common rocks and pebbles found in abundance in Israel; He chose the most costly, rare and precious gems such as sapphire, topaz, emerald, amethyst, diamond, onyx and jasper to represent us. Note the word precious. The Bible says you are ‘precious’ in God’s sight (see Isaiah 43:4).  It also says that you were redeemed with the ‘precious’ blood of Jesus (see 1 Peter 1:19).

How do you establish the value of something?  By the price someone is willing to pay for it.  So here’s a truth you must keep in mind when you have blown it and Satan is condemning you because of your sins and shortcomings. With full knowledge of all your sins—past, present, and future—God loves you so much that He sent His Son to redeem you by shedding His precious blood.  And as long as you are trusting in Christ, your value in God’s eyes never diminishes.  Why does God think you are precious?  Because at all times He sees you ‘in Christ’.

"Use Words Befitting A Christian"

08, June 2017

"Use Words Befitting A Christian"

‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting.’ Proverbs 10:32 NIV

When George HW Bush was running for president of the United States in 1988, he admitted he’d made an inappropriate remark about American journalist Dan Rather and White House correspondent Lesley Stahl after an on-air confrontation.

Bush referred to Rather in an unprintable term, and also took God’s name in vain in speaking about the Columbia Broadcasting System.  When confronted, he said, ‘If I’d known the microphone was on, I wouldn’t have taken the Lord’s name in vain, and I apologize for that".  The fact is, he shouldn’t have said it whether the recorder was on or not.

Remember, God’s recorder is always on! The Bible says, ‘A man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths' (Proverbs 5:21 NIV).  Centuries ago Jesus declared: ‘There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs' (Luke 12:2–3 NIV).

Take a moment and consider these two Scriptures:

‘The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil' (Proverbs 15:28 NIV).

‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse' (Proverbs 10:32 NIV).

The first Scripture tells you that a wise person will think before he or she speaks, because they realize every word has a consequence. The second Scripture tells you that a righteous person automatically knows what’s acceptable, and keeps in mind the fact that God hears every word.

‘To Thine Own Self Be True’

07, June 2017

‘To Thine Own Self Be True’

‘A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor.’ Proverbs 21:6 NIV

It’s easier to maintain your integrity than to regain it.  It may cost you to do the right thing, but it will cost you more to abandon your principles.  ‘Like a bird hatching an egg it did not lay, so are … people who get rich by cheating. When their lives are half finished, they will lose their riches.  At the end … it will be clear they were fools.’ (Jeremiah 17:11 NCV)

In 1994 golfer, Davis Love called a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round of the Western Open. He moved his marker out of the path of another player’s putting line; then later he couldn’t remember if he’d moved his ball back to its original spot. Since he wasn’t certain, he gave himself an extra stroke ... And that one stroke caused him to be eliminated from the tournament.

At year’s end Love was $590 short in winnings to automatically qualify for the Masters, and needed to win a tournament to get into one of golf’s most coveted events. Fortunately, the story ends well. The week before the big event he qualified by winning a tournament in New Orleans, and went on to earn $237,600 by finishing second in the 1995 Masters.

Later, when asked how he’d have felt if he’d missed the Masters because of calling a penalty on himself, Love replied, ‘The question is how I’d have felt if I’d won and spent the rest of my life wondering if I’d cheated'.

In the words of Shakespeare: ‘To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

"Let Go Of Your Past"

06, June 2017

"Let Go Of Your Past"

‘Do not call to mind the … past.  Behold, I will do something new.’ Isaiah 43:18–19 NIV

Comedian Jerry Lewis joked that his best wedding gift was a film of the ceremony—because when things got really bad in his marriage he could go into a room by himself, run the film backwards, and walk out a free man!  We smile, but you can’t go back and rewrite history any more than you can unscramble an egg.  When you dwell on the past it’s always at the expense of the future, but when you learn from the past it has the potential to make your future better.

Whenever you find yourself saying, ‘If I knew then what I know now,’ remind yourself that unless you grow you’ll be saying the same thing ten or twenty years from now.  You say, ‘If only I’d been willing to forgive a close friend instead of doling out punishment, maybe I could have kept our friendship together and built an even greater relationship'. Maybe you struggle with the memory of an abortion, wondering about the child who might have been and the joy he or she might have brought. Perhaps you’re a good person who did a bad thing and ended up with a criminal record; now you’re saying, ‘If only …’

Well, here’s what God says:

(1) ‘Your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.’ (1 John 2:12 NLT)

(2) ‘I … will blot out your sins for My own sake and will never think of them again.’ (Isaiah 43:25 NLT)

(3) ‘Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth …’ The word for you today is: let go of your past.

"Anger Management" (Part #5)

05, June 2017

"Anger Management" (Part #5)

‘Those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.’ Proverbs 11:13 NLT

If you’re serious about managing your anger, here are two things to keep in mind:

(1) Don’t hang out your dirty laundry in public.  Keep it in the laundry room.  When you’re hurt and angry, spreading gossip about your offender comes naturally.  Don’t do it. The Bible says, ‘A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence'.  Dirty laundry generally gets aired in two ways:

(a) Embarrassment: you say things when you know others will hear them.

(b) Subtlety:  you make jokes about their appearance, their friends and family, their personal hang-ups and habits in order to belittle them. This results in embarrassment for the other person, widens the gap between you, and makes reconciliation virtually impossible. The Bible says, ‘Love covers all sins’ (Proverbs 10:12 NKJV).

(2) Don’t act in an un-Christlike way.  For example, don’t say, ‘He brought it on himself, so let him get over it’.  That may be true, but as a follower of Christ, don’t walk away and leave wounds to fester and become infected.  ‘Forgive … just as God forgave you' (Ephesians 4:32 CEV).  How did Christ forgive you?  Was it after you’d acknowledged, confessed, repented, and earned grace?  No.

Paul says, ‘When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son’ (Romans 5:10 NKJV).  Just as God took the initiative, you are called to extend grace to other people before they ask for forgiveness.  And even if they choose to remain your enemy, you must forgive them anyhow.  Only then will you have peace, your wounds will be healed, and you will be able to put it behind you.

"Anger Management" (Part #4)

04, June 2017

"Anger Management" (Part #4)

‘Don’t use … abusive language.’ Ephesians 4:29 NLT

The Bible says: ‘Don’t use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live' (Ephesians 4:29–30 NLT).  Notice, when you lash out in anger you not only hurt the other person, you grieve the Holy Spirit.  Have you considered that?  As followers of Christ we’re called to try to understand what the other person needs. That means not bringing up previously confessed offences, dragging in other people, or using wisecracks about someone’s weight, color, IQ, or physical, mental and emotional limitations.  Don’t bring up things that cloud the issue and keep you from finding a solution ... And don’t raise the decibel level in order to intimidate or manipulate. God made you with a capacity for anger because, when handled right, it can be the fuel needed to bring positive change and the medicine that heals. So:

(1) Seek a solution, not a ‘victory'.  Name-calling and ‘diagnosing’ others just makes things worse. Your focus shouldn’t be on what they did, but what you can do together to resolve it.

(2) Acknowledge your flaws and ask for forgiveness. Admitting your imperfections makes it easier for the other person to admit theirs.

(3) For every difficulty you address, give a sincere compliment.  Instead of criticizing, try saying, ‘I’m sure this wasn’t easy for you to hear. Thanks for listening to me so graciously. 

Being solution-focused instead of blame-focused gives people something to live up to, not down to.

"Anger management" (Part #3)

03, June 2017

"Anger management" (Part #3)

‘Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.’ Luke 6:45 NIV

What you store on your computer’s hard drive can be recalled with a few clicks. Jesus said:  ‘The good man ... brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart … the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks' ... And when you download old resentments you grow bitter.  When you’re angry, deal with it quickly.  Don’t walk around on a ‘slow boil’ ... And don’t sit around hoping the other person will see the light and apologize to you.  What if they never do?

Jesus said, ‘If your brother wrongs you, go and have it out with him at once—just between the two of you.  If he will listen to you, you have won him back' (Matthew 18:15 PHPS).  What do you value most—your point of view, or the relationship? When you ‘stuff’ your anger and refuse to deal with the issue in a healthy way, you add another skeleton to your emotional closet .... Imagine what that does to you.

Some doctors say resentment eats at your stomach lining, attacks your immune system, and predisposes you to heart problems, cancers, and other physical, social, and emotional disorders ... And that’s not all!  It preoccupies your mind, drains your energy, and cripples your creativity.  It strains your fellowship with God, your family, and friends, as well as denying your offender an opportunity to clear their conscience and make things right with God and with you. Until you deal with the issue, you’ll drag it around like a ball and chain.  Refuse to live that way!  Ask God for the humility and courage to deal with the issue—today.

"Anger Management" (Part #2)

02, June 2017

"Anger Management" (Part #2)

‘My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things.’ Proverbs 23:16 NKJV

When it comes to practicing anger management, here are two important Bible principles:

(1) Don’t blame people and things. Blaming is a way of evading responsibility while pointing your finger elsewhere. ‘If only you’d arrive on time, I wouldn’t have to nag you,’ or ‘If you’d stop nagging me, maybe I’d start being on time’.  Words like that don’t help, they just antagonize the other person, perpetuate your anger, and fail to get the results you want.

(2) Don’t use words as weapons or a form of control.  Instead keep your emotions in check and express them in a healthy way. Remember, your goal is to solve the problem and strengthen the relationship, not leave wounds that fester.  Is this easy to do?  No—that’s why you need God’s help. The Bible says that your words can crush the other person’s spirit (see Proverbs 18:14), break their heart (see Proverbs 15:4), and destroy the relationship (see Proverbs 18:21).  Solomon said that angry words ‘go down to a man’s inmost parts' (Proverbs 26:22 NIV).  What you say can live in the memory of another person their whole life—all the way to the grave.  Is that what you want?

Surely not!

On the other hand, anger properly managed never needs to be regretted or repented of. Learn to discern the difference between the anger you feel and the words you speak. Anger can reveal what needs to be changed in the relationship. So ask God to show you what needs changing—first in yourself, then in the other person.

Anger Management (Part #1)

01, June 2017

Anger Management (Part #1)

‘Don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Ephesians 4:26 NLT

Here’s a Bible plan for growth that includes anger management: ‘Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.  So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.  And “don’t sin by letting anger control you".  Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil … Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them … Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you' (Ephesians 4:23–32 NLT).

God gave you every emotion you have, including anger.  But He wants you to handle it the right way.  Note the words ‘let us … tell the truth’.  When you’re angry, instead of denying it, use it to bring about positive change.  Saying, ‘I’ve been feeling angry because I value our relationship and I’d like to talk about it,’ brings healing and solutions. Pretending you’re not angry when you are is basically dishonest ... So is exaggeration.  ‘You never listen to me … You always ignore my wishes … Nobody does anything around here except me'.  Such generalizations are untrue and serve only to aggravate and polarize, guaranteeing the problem gets obscured and goes unsolved.

God’s will is for you to control your anger rather than letting your anger control you.

"Focus On What Really Matters"

31, May 2017

"Focus On What Really Matters"

‘Life is not measured by how much you own.’ Luke 12:15 NLT

One day a man was talking to an angel.  The story goes that the angel said, ‘What can I do for you’?  The man said, ‘Show me the Wall Street Journal one year from today. This way, I’ll know where to invest my money and become a multimillionaire'.  So the angel snapped his fingers and out came a Wall Street Journal dated one year in the future. The man flipped the pages of the newspaper, studying the listings and observing which stocks would be high and which ones would be low.  But in the midst of his joy, tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Why?  Because when he looked over the obituary column, there was his face.

God is not opposed to you acquiring and achieving things in life.  But He wants you to know that this life can only offer so much, and unless you live each day in the light of eternity, you’re going to waste your time on the wrong things. It’s ok to enjoy temporal things, as long as your main focus is on eternal things.

Paul said: ‘My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God' (Acts 20:24 NLT). If you live to be one hundred, you may receive a ‘congratulations’ card from Buckingham Palace, signed by the Queen herself. But it doesn’t compare to the ‘well done’ you’ll receive from God for fulfilling the assignment He has given you here on earth. 

"The Truth About Marriage" (Part #2)

12, May 2017

"The Truth About Marriage" (Part #2)

‘Love … cannot be bought, no matter what is offered.’ Song of Solomon 8:7 CEV

The truth about Mr and Mrs Right:  many who excel in their careers struggle when it comes to meeting people in a social setting. This has given rise to the twenty-first century phenomenon of finding a mate through the internet. Today, in the western world, two out of five marriages begin that way.  Generally speaking, dating services profile people based on their age, looks, values, tastes, ambitions and preferences, and help them get together for a date.

Well, guess what?  The divorce rate is just as high among couples who met via the internet as those who did it the old-fashioned way.  How come?  Because ‘love … cannot be bought, no matter what is offered'.

And when the bubble bursts, three things happen:

(1) We cry, manipulate, or pressure our mate.  And when that doesn’t work we blame them for changing and making us miserable.  ‘He’s not the man I thought he was'.   Maybe not, but he’s the one you married—and, with some exceptions, the problem isn’t all his .. or vice versa.

(2) We conclude that Mr and Mrs Right are Mr and Mrs Wrong.  So we start searching for the right one, or give up on the person as being false, faithless, and fickle.

(3) Finally, we realize that lasting happiness can only be found in one Person—God.  So instead of trying to find the right person, we decide to become the right person; the one God created us to be … giving generously, allowing others to be real, limited, changeable human beings, and looking to God for our joy.

"God Will Make It Up To You"

26, April 2017

"God Will Make It Up To You"

‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten’ Joel 2:25 NIV.

Kristine Steakley writes: ‘Loss can make us feel forsaken and utterly destroyed …  For many, divorce meant leaving the house we shared, our neighborhood, our friends, our school … even our church because we were ashamed and heard condemnation from those who should have been concerned for our souls.  To use Joel, the Prophet’s metaphor, locusts ate our family; more locusts ate our friendships ... our hopes and dreams ... and still more ate our church … But God promised, “Never again will My people be shamed” (Joel 2:26).

I can’t tell you what restoration will look like … or when it’ll happen. Some of us will see relationships with parents, siblings and friends mended … others will build great marriages and loving families … hopes and dreams restored ... and some may have to wait for Heaven where all wrongs will be righted, all wounds healed, all tears wiped away’.

Kristin Armstrong says: ‘Resist the temptation to despair or delve into disappointment. You may feel like you've forfeited years, opportunities, finances, and a significant return on investment of self.  But hear the fantastic promise of redemption: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten".  No one on earth can make anything up to you. No one can repay your loss.  No one can set things right or make things fair. Pressure and manipulation won’t bring justice. So let it go and let God fill your life with new blessings.  If you’re full of resentment and wrath He can’t find space for His gifts.  God will make it up to you if you keep an expectant attitude of faith, and thank Him that His promises are yours’.