Tag: Peace

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A God too Small to Love Me?

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

Have you ever said, “That’s unforgivable.”? Do you believe that there are certain behaviors you should not forgive? Do you have trouble letting go when someone has treated you poorly? We all tend to worship a God created in our image. For most of us, this is not intentional; we can’t imagine anything different or more significant than our experiences.

We try to squeeze God into a mold of our making. We try to define Him through our logic. We view Him as a better, more benevolent and kinder version of ourselves.

What if God was bigger than you can imagine? What if you could not describe God in human terms? What if that God was passionately in love with you?

This Easter, think about this verse, especially the last word; Friends. I am a friend of Christ. He did not die out of obligation or some misplaced sense of altruism; He died for me because I am His friend. We are not strangers in a world far away; we are brethren.

John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

God chose us before the foundation of the world; that is incredible. We need to grasp the intentionality of God’s grace. To God, we are not just a member of a herd called the human race; we were chosen from the very beginning and are considered holy and blameless before Him.

Ephesians 1:4, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love.”

WHO IS GOD?

Adam Clark, British Methodist theologian and biblical scholar in the early 1800’s described God this way:

God: The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: the Being whose purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence: he who is absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, and most spiritual of all essences; infinitely benevolent, beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being, the upholder of all things; infinitely happy, because infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that he has made: illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only to himself, because an infinite mind can be fully apprehended only by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from his infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind.

In J.D. Greear’s book Not God Enough, he talks about God as the author of a universe comprised of three septillions (that’s right, septillion, three and twenty-four zeros) stars. His creation was not about cobbling together a few things; although that would be amazing in and of itself, He spoke them into existence. No flour, no eggs, and no yeast; just a word, and it was so.

Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the worlds (don’t overlook the plural) were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.”

In Exodus, God told Moses, “I AM.” God knew there was no human equivalent to His existence. There was nothing to compare God with other than Himself.  This is the God, who let His son die a horrible death, not just for generic humanity, but for me, and you, specifically.

“A God small enough to be understood is not big enough to be worshiped” – Evelyn Underhill.

WHO AM I?

But can a God this immense care about a person so small? Can a God so powerful that He can speak the universe into existence have time for me? We are called His children, and as such, heirs with Christ. In looking at our insignificancy compared to God, we must also consider our significance because of Him.

John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”

Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”

We are a chosen race, royal priesthood, and a holy nation. No matter what you have done with your life up to this point, you can start this very day to reap your heritage rewards.

1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

God, through His grace, had made us sufficient in ALL things at ALL times. All of the power He displayed through creation is available to you through His grace.

2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

He has provided you with the means of living in a fallen world if you chose to take advantage of what He offers.

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Who are you that a mighty God would care? He will rejoice over you with gladness and exult over you with loud singing. You are the object of His creation that you might glorify Him and thus be blessed through Him.

Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

AND YET

This Easter, remember why. God’s desire to fill your life with joy and peace is so strong that He would stop at nothing to assure it. The original sin separated us from the life God wants for us; don’t let your sin perpetuate that travesty. Our joy and peace can only be made complete through Christ. There is no joy or peace outside of God’s goodness.

Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Our God in His absolute dominion cannot fail us. He is infinitely benevolent, forgiving our sins if we follow Him. Our God is eternally self-sufficient in that He does not needs us, which makes His wanting us more magnificent. Do not worship your self-image; worship the one true God of infinite goodness, that can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

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Set the World on Fire

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

I would like you to do something for me. I want you to visualize the great adventure that God has in store for you. Close your eyes and think big. It might be a conversation with an incredible individual that will change your life, but you never see them again. Or it might be packing your bags for an improbable journey to accomplish something unheard of. What I want you to conjure up is the impossible, that moment when God takes your breath away. A moment so big, so audacious that it could never happen. I want you to experience what it is like when you stop limiting God by your self-awareness. When you say to yourself, “it could never be,” you have arrived at the cusp of what it was meant to be.

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” – Catherine of Siena.

Jeremiah 20:11, “But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.”

I was reading today about becoming the person God made us be. The conundrum was how we could be more of ourselves by surrendering ourselves entirely to God’s will. Surrendering ourselves was to deign ourselves, so I was taught. Greg Ogden in his book “The Essential Commandment,” argues that to be the person God wants us to be, we must first include Him. Including Him is the surrendering part.  God gave us all of these attributes that make us unique and special. We can not unlock our true potential without His key. He is the magic sauce that makes the flavor of who you are come alive. 

Colossians 1: 27, “God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Christ in you, not with you, not beside you, and not just when you call on Him; but in you at all times.

Paul was not a different person after his encounter with Jesus. He was a better version of himself. All the attributes God gave Paul at birth were rechannelled and made stronger. God didn’t transform his personality; He magnified him. He became a force to be reckoned with.

2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

We put limits on ourselves based on a lot of biased, worldly input. Much of that input is well-meaning but limiting. At a very early age, we start to define ourselves based on that world perception. By the time we are in our adolescence, we have crafted a comfortable expectation. We don’t know where we are going or how to get there, but we know our limitations. We are not consciously aware of most of these. Those limitations were not directly articulated, but subtly implied, they direct our decisions.

If God is with us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

By submitting ourselves to God’s will, we negate a lot of this influence. We start to view our potential through a new set of lenses. If we are in the center of God’s plan for our lives, the improbable not only becomes possible, it becomes absolute. God will not transform you from someone who can’t carry a tune to a concert pianist; He could, but probably won’t. What He will do is magnify your talents. He will guide you in ways you had not imagined. He will stretch you, challenge you, and make you stronger. The fear of being outside the artificial fences the world has put around us will be gone.

He will take your breath away. He will show you potential you never thought you had. In all of this, He will smile. He will see you come alive.

Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.”

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2021 – Bringing Peace to Conflict

Ephesians 4: 29-32, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

THE PROBLEM

This last year has been a year in which people seem to have lost the ability to have a civil conversation with those with whom they disagree. We have become a culture in which saying what is on our mind is more important than understanding why others think differently. Our culture is starting to take this divisiveness to a new level; it has become visceral for some. It is no longer a philosophical difference; it has taken on a emotional repulsion that others would dare think the way they do. We have lost our guiding light.

Judges 21:28, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

In Ephesians, Paul points out that we sometimes forget that in everything we do, do it as if we were talking directly to God. When our emotions start to take over our common sense and our brain disconnects from our mouth, would we dare speak to God how we are talking to each other?

Ephesians 6:6-7, “And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men” 

There is a lot of craziness going around. Some of the ideas are unbelievable. Christians, which should be looking to Christ first, are now following their favorite Social Media Influencer. Years ago, we used to laugh at the comment “If it is on the internet it must be true.” It was a joke. There are now people who believe if their favorite internet personality said something, that person exhaustively researched it, and facts back it up. Most of the time, these influencers are doing nothing more than feeding their followers. Growing followers is how they make money. The more controversy they stimulate, the more advertising dollars they earn. Loyal followers are their cash cows. They engage their audience emotionally first, intellectually second. If I can hook you emotionally, you are less likely to question my intellectual logic; you want my argument to be valid.

APPROACHING OTHERS

Galatians 5:22-23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

As a Christian, who should always speak the truth, how do I approach these discussions? First of all, what you say or do reflects who you are, not who they are. They can be as crazy as they like, but you must stay true to your beliefs. It is having that level of integrity that will ultimately win the day. We are responsible for our actions, not the actions of others. So, I would suggest you approach this delicately. Try to avoid flashpoints that will ramp up emotions. Try not to challenge their beliefs, but ground your comments on spiritual truth. Never make the conversation a personal attack.

Proverbs 11:3, ” The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

We should have a grace like rain falling from an empty sky on a hot summer day; unexpected and refreshing.

Ephesians 4: 2-3 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

I have to be honest with you; I find most of these conversations to have no earthly or spiritual value. Someone is either proposing a future action that they have little, if any, control over or speculating on a past story that cannot be proven; It is an opinion, nothing more. God will lead the outcome regardless of our opinion. At the end of the day, what you or I think of the future has little actual meaning. God knows the future; we do not.

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We should approach these conversations with compassion. Take a deep breath and ask yourself, what is God’s play in all of this? Will this conversation bring both parties closer to or farther away from God? Other than the sinful by-products like anger, bitterness, or rage, how does this discussion impact their salvation? Most do not. The real risk is in the sinful by-products. Those are the sins that will make it harder to have a genuine relationship with God. Those are the sins we should help avoid.

APPROACHING OURSELVES

Although I firmly believe that we have an obligation to others to help ramp down the level of angry discourse, I also think that we need to look inward. How many times are we emotionally hijacked by what someone else believes? How many times do we walk away from a conversation angry or upset? How long does that conversation echo through your brain until it starts to affect other conversations you have that day?

Ephesians 4:14, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”

The foundation of all thought must be a faith that God uses all things for His good. That we can have peace in all situations because God is in control. God’s plan may not be our plan, His plan is better than our plan. I may believe that something is evil and should never be allowed to exist. Its very existence upsets me. God knows this and has a plan to deal with it; His timing may not be our timing. His actions may not be our actions. But God will prevail.

Don’t let other people write your narrative. Remember who you signed up to serve.

2 Timothy 2:4 “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.”

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A Quick Thought for 2021

1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.”

Teddy Roosevelt, April 23, 1910, Sorbonne in Paris  

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

May 2021 be filled with visions of greatness followed by the efforts of zealots. Do not resolve to do better or be better, just get up every morning and do it. Dreams are for those who sleep, vision are for those who achieve. Organization don’t publish dream statements, they publish their vision statement. Visions are filled with plans, and tasks, and goals. Remember that true greatness is not about today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year; it is about a life worth living. Do not measure yourself by others, but measure yourself by the potential God gave you.

May you look back on 2021 to see that you accomplished the impossible, or at least the unbelievable.

Proverbs 14:23-24 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly.

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When…If…Then

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

2020 has been a very tough year. I hear competing ideas and philosophies about why this has happened. It covers everything from we live in a fallen world to God’s judgment for evil people.  I know I am not smart enough to answer that question. But I am smart enough to question what it means to me and what God wants me to do about it. 2 Chronicles guides me. It does not explain why, but it does explain what. Executing “the what” opens my eyes to the love God has put all around me.

WHEN

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people.”

We have had to deal with a worldwide pandemic, social unrest, economic upheaval, and an extremely vitriol election. If this isn’t modern-day locust, drought, and plague, it is as close as I have seen during my time on this earth. I don’t know the why of this, but scripture tells me what. We are in the situation we are in for reasons only God may fully understand, and God will use it. If….

IF

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.”

The first and most important clue is “my people, who are called by my name.” Our worldly problems are not about a political ideology, political parties, government legalism, social movement, or any other earthly pursuit; it is not a third-party issue. It falls in the lap of believers. God says the solution is not in the hands of others; it in the hands of people who call themselves Christians. The first step after the when is to recognize that the solution starts and ends with believers acting like believers. But there are conditions.

1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

HUMBLE THEMSELVES

Step back for worldly issues. Set aside temporal bias and wants. Get on your knees and let God know that you are pushing those issues behind you and only seeking His will. Acknowledge that you have let the world creep in between you and Him. Let Him know you were wrong, the only real guide is the Messiah. You allowed the worries of the world to distract you from your mission.

Titus 2:12, “Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

PRAY

Now speak to Him. Acknowledge your weaknesses and your desire to be back in harmony with Him. Ask that He will do His will in your life and this country and this world. The Bible says we have not because we do not ask. It also states that He will answer all prayers that are in accordance with His will. Prayer is the beginning of all healing.

Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

SEEK MY FACE

We need to prioritize the information that enters our brain. God made an incredibly complex computer between our ears. But like all computers, it is garbage in garbage out. If you continue to fill your brain with worthless or even harmful information, you will find it increasingly difficult to communion with God.

In all things, seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Perform every interaction as if it was being performed in front of God. Consume every conversation, every video, every book or article as if you were on God’s knee. Do not think you can hide your distractions in the closet to be brought out when God is not looking.

Deuteronomy 4:29, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS

Change is the indication of repentance. It is easy to say you are sorry; it is easy to be remorseful of your actions or fearful of the repercussions. It is challenging to modify your behavior to minimize the chance of falling back into old ways. You have to break the habits that created the problem. God knows we will never be perfect this side of Heaven, but He expects us to try. He will continue to forgive our earnest failures.

Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

THEN

“then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Here is the excellent part. Our God is a God of love and redemption. He is a God who wants us to bask in the radiant splendor and warmth of His compassion. God does not want us to fall or fail. If we accept that it is us, the body of His Church, that have failed this nation and this world, then He will heal the land.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

The non-believers are lost in a world they do not understand. They are part of the problem, but only because they do not understand. How can they learn, but that we would teach them? If we commit to doing our part, He will do these three things:

HEAR FROM HEAVEN

He will hear our prayers. Without repentance and change, we build a wall between God and us that hampers our prayers. The roar of our pain becomes a whisper. Once we repent and turn, all the white noise goes away, and our voice becomes loud and clear.

John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”

FORGIVE THEIR SIN

Forgiveness of sin is so much better than relief from worldly troubles. Sin separates us from God for eternity. Earthly pain lasts just a short time. We live in this world, and we have to deal with what it throws at us. Many of those moments can be extremely painful. But that pain is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

HEAL THEIR LAND

Now God heals the world around us. We are right with Him, which is His priority. We will never see the end of world hunger, social injustice, or disease on this side of Heaven, but we can find peace. God will raise Godly leaders; He will dampen our sorrows and lighten our loads.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

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Love as the Weapon of Choice

It is the summer of 1832, and Aldous has inveterately questioned the linage of Montague. Montague, in a fit of rage, takes offense and challenges Aldous to a duel. Aldous, being the one challenged, has the right to choose the weapon; he chooses to love. This type of duel will never make a good movie script. It lacks panache and flair. Dueling pistols at ten paces outperforms coffee and a Danish. Choosing to love someone as a means of settling a disagreement isn’t the way we see things done.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM HERE?

God created us to enjoy the world in which he planted us. It is His plan that we live a life of peace and joy. He wants us to love every moment we spend here on earth.

I believe that one of the strongest desires of most people is to love and to be loved. Expressing love or receiving love connotates that there are two parties involved; the giver and the receiver. We know from practical experience that love is easy when the two parties are in synch; to love the person who loves you is a comfortable and warm place to be. Let’s move away from the romance novel into real life. Life is full of unlovable people. How do we live a life of peace?

The second greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:39, “The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'”

Aside from the everyday jerk who took your parking place or cut in front of you in line, there are the genuinely unlovable. California passed a new law that it is no longer a crime to possess child pornography. You live in California and just found out your neighbor does. You live in Oregon. Your neighbor has a drug store of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, LSD, psilocybin, methadone, and oxycodone for personal and recreational use; how do you love them? We have differences concerning abortion, gun control, taxes, economics, affirmative action, gay marriage, international relations, and the list goes on and on.

That’s a big mountain to climb. But how can we love our neighbor if we don’t know them? I suggest knowing about them is not good enough. Relying on others opinion of them is not good enough.

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

In Larry Crabb’s SoulTalk, he brings up an excellent point. At first, it seemed minor, but the more I applied it, the more critical it became in my thinking. Larry asks us to first look at our sin before jumping into criticizing others. At first, I thought of this as; I don’t have to be right for you to be wrong. I turned a corner on this. I now think about it as not a me-against-you statement but as a grounding statement about all human nature. When I apply critical thinking to my state, I can then apply critical thinking to others. When I start to understand the underlying issues to my sin, I can begin to look for the underlying problems that drive others. How I rationalize what I do helps me understand the dynamics of why other people think the way they do.

We are all sinners separated from God. Just as God cared enough about me to reach down and lift me out of my sin, should I expect Him to do less for others? I’ve always looked at this as the Jonah issue. Jonah spent some time in a whale because he did not want God to forgive his enemies, and he knew God would. The requirement is that they had to repent and turn from their wicked way; much to Jonah’s dismay, they did.

I am not trying to rationalize the behavior of others, as much as their motivation. Destroy the foundation, and the house will fall. When I realize that my lack of self-esteem makes me envious, I can start to deal with my envy issues. A lack of real love often drives lust; substance abuse can indicate a sense of being out of control. God provides all of these things that are missing. God enables us to take an approach of getting something more valuable than we are giving up. Understanding God’s love may not solve the immediate problem or resolve the worldly differences, but it will provide a different platform from which to try at least to love them a little more.

CAUTIONARY TALES

Even if you cannot find common ground, you need to make sure their issues do not create new problems for you. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against your neighbor. It is easy to start to think that you are the standard-bearer for God’s kingdom. Don’t let your sense of righteous indignation trick you into believing you have the right to be judge, jury, and executioner. That is God’s domain. If you cannot find a path toward love, then pray for salvation, not destruction. It is not yours to command. Be careful that your attitude doesn’t cause people to start praying that about you.

Leviticus 19:18, “Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord.”

Do not give false witness against your neighbor. Gossip is not just telling a lie; it is about spreading harmful information, even when it is true. We may have differences with people, but that does not give us the right to talk poorly about them to others. Even when it is true, unless it is germane to a critical situation, we need to watch our tongue. When someone is making a decision and needs your consultation, you must be truthful; I would suggest you distinguish between fact and opinion. Most of the time, we spread information through idle chatter or within confidential friends. Be careful not to let someone else’s sin create sin in you. Don’t escalate the situation by talking too much about it to others.

Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

James 1:26, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”

Do not let your difference simmer into a quarrel or outright war. Don’t let these differences keep you up at night with unclean thoughts. Often, what we want is not material; it is emotional; we want to be right. Their opinion or their actions makes us angry, and we cannot let it go. I like the saying that anger is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.

James 4:1-2, “Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.”

God commands us to build up our neighbors. Rather than despise or discourage others who think differently, why not spend our time reinforcing the excellent qualities. Don’t spend so much time thinking about what is wrong, but find common ground to have a friendly conversation. This common ground is what will give you the right to share the gospel. Contention has never been the best breeding ground for change. Change comes from a shared desire to live a peaceful life. That has always been God’s plan while we are still here on earth.

Romans 5:2, “He has brought us by faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory!”

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Christmas – The Story of a Promise and Patience

Psalms 9:10, “Those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who trust in you.”

Waiting for the Good News

Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah over 400 years before Jesus was born. Daniel thought it was 70 weeks after the temple’s destruction, but Gabriel used a turn on words to say it was 70 sevens. By the way, Biblical writers say that Jesus arrived a full 1,500 years after God gave Moses The Law.  Remember, I am a layman and in no way pretend to know the scriptures well; so, let’s say Christmas came later than expected and leave it at that.

For children waiting for Christmas day, excitement crescendos from Thanksgiving day until December 25th; as each day passes, the wait becomes almost unbearable. The anticipation of getting just the right gift, but not knowing if you will, is overwhelming. Christmas day comes, and the bubble burst into excitement.

Israel thought the Messiah’s coming was right around the corner, but then there was another corner. Corner after corner came and went with no Messiah.  Did their anticipation crescendo or faded away? From what we know from the scriptures, I would have to say anticipation faded away for most. When He came, not only did they not recognize Him, some actively denied it was Him.

Matthew 12:14, “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

Receiving the Good News

Jesus was the answer to a great promise God made before creation, but many missed its blessing because it was not in their timeframe. One of the messages we should take from Christmas is patience. Remember Simeon, the man that God promised he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Simeon was late in years but had not lost faith that God would keep His promise. God rewarded his faith, for he recognized the Savior when he saw Him. Had he lost faith that God would keep His promise; he might have seen Jesus and not recognized Him.

As we celebrate Christmas, let us not lose sight that God’s timing is not our timing. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. God didn’t create the universe and say, “Let’s see how this plays out.” He wrote the complete story, end-to-end, before it even began. He loved us then, and He loves us now.

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new  every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Acknowledging the Good News

Patience is one of the great virtues. Patience not only serves us well when dealing with each other, but it is essential to seeing God in action. Many times we ask God for things that we think are right and good, and for the most part, they are. But we are finite, and God is infinite. God sees solutions we could never dream of seeing. He wrote our story and knows our path.

Be patient in looking for your blessings. God will keep His promises to you. You need to stay obedient to His will and be patient. We wait 364 days every year for Christmas to arrive; Israel waited over 400 years. Those that lost faith missed the blessing. Don’t miss your blessings.

Gabriel heralded the significance of Jesus to Mary; it was the start of God’s promise to redeem His people. Jesus came for all of us. His patience with us and His love for us endures forever.

Luke 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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Christmas 2020 – A Year of God’s Favor

Luke 4: 18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

In one of the most dysfunctional years that I can remember I find that this year is the year that God challenges us to proclaim His favor in all things and proclaim His glory to those in which He has put us in contact.

I have a big request for this season of celebration; reach out to those who are hurting and offer them a lifeline. Don’t try to cheer them up; love them. Quiet desperation is the most suffocating emotion one will ever face. We are not the solution, only God is, but He can work through us. 

The fortunate among us, myself included, see what God has done in our lives and are thankful. We enjoy the relationships God puts in front of us, the opportunities we have been privileged to experience, and hope of a greater future. We may reminisce about good times, maybe even better times, but we are grounded in the moment. That moment, this moment is ours to make what we choose. God gave us that choice. And at this moment, we choose hope.

Psalm 100: 4-5, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

There are those around us that, for various reasons, see the holiday season differently. They have broken relationships, their opportunities are few, and the future is bleak. Their minds are clouded by what could have been, but never will be. What they have experienced in their life darkens the soul and grieves the heart. Their life is not a glass half empty; it is a glass too small. 

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

I have compassion for these; I have been there. I have known the darkness of despair. Evil lurks for a desperate heart. No matter how bad life is, it finds a way to bring it further down. Christmas is not a time of reflection; it is a time to try to forget. The joy of others amplifies their pain. The light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Salvation is a myth. Comfort and joy a fairy tale. 

I have prayed not to wake and for tomorrow to never come. I wanted all the endless pain to go away and leave me in peace. But peace does not await the person without Christ. Their destination is not something to be desired no matter how cruel life has become.

Matthew 25:45, “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

This Christmas, invest in another. Don’t try to “fix” their life, instead give them hope. Let them know there is someone who will travel their journey with them. Be that person. Be the one that God weeps for joy over. 

One last thing; We all have broken connections. We have people that have hurt us, or we have hurt them. Extend a kind word. It will change the world for both of you.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

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Finding Peace

Finding peace in challenging times is extremely hard. It is exhausting to filter out the cultural chaos of the constant and sometimes conflicting media reports to understand the truth. Making it more difficult is that we live in a time when the truth is relative. There is so much information; you can prove almost anything as true. The saying is: “Figures lie, and liars figure.”

Even as Christians, we are on opposing sides. After Abraham Lincoln’s death, the following note was found in his papers: “The will of God prevails – In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war, it is quite possible that God’s purpose is somewhat different from the purpose of either party.”

During the Civil War, Lincoln met with a group of ministers at a prayer breakfast who tried to encourage him. They told the president that they had prayed that “God would be on our side.” Lincoln corrected them, saying, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

Remember, God wins.

I rest on one simple fact; God loves me unconditionally and wants the best for me. That is the filter I use to judge all thoughts and actions. We have the Presidential Election, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter protests all climaxing to distract us from our one real focus. Everyone who prays will not get the answer they desire. Peace will not come from the right party winning or the distribution of a vaccine or even resolution of centuries of bigotry and hate. Something else will always rise to take their place. We will never live in a perfect world this side of heaven.

So how do I stop my mind from leap-frogging from issue to issue seeking peace? How do I convince myself that just like the latest car or a better job or a bigger house won’t provide long term peace, neither will solving worldly problems? It is paramount that we continuously strive to eliminate injustice, famine, and disease, but that fight will never end, it will just change venues, and we should change with it. It is part of our Christian charter to fight evil on all fronts.

If you believe that you can not achieve peace and joy until all of the world’s problems are solved, you will remain an unhappy camper until your death. You have to find something above that. You have to find something that is long-lasting and perfect. Folks, it is not here.

No matter how any of this flush out, I rest in the palm of God’s hand. He will not allow harm to touch me. I may suffer, but it will not shake me. For me to put my peace in the hands of non-believers doesn’t make sense. To have the world work out to the benefit of those who do not love Him doesn’t bring me peace. The only peace I will ever have is the peace I receive because I have accepted His way over mine.

The truth remains that had all of us, worldwide, chose to live according to God’s promise, little of this would have ever come to fruition. We would have solved the problems before they became problems; we would have treated each other with love and respect. But we didn’t.

To expect to have peace only after all have been blessed with peace is foolish thinking. My peace comes from my relationship with Christ, and the world’s peace comes from their relationship with Him. When I make my peace conditional to their peace, I lose.

Fight the good fight. Make a positive difference in the world. Never accept inequality or evil. But remember your strength does not come from the fight, but from the God, for whom you fight. Fight for Christ to rule over all, and peace will follow. Both sides can’t win, accept that God’s plan may not be our plan.

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