Author: kezha1

Self-help books centering around mental health & wellbeing are very popular these days. Many instruct you in how to, “forgive yourself in 12 easy steps” or something like it. But the fatal flaw in all these types of books is this – you can’t forgive yourself…only God can. So instead, there’s an endless vicious cycle within you of declaring you’ve forgiven yourself…only to be bombarded with guilt, shame, and despair…because you really can’t. So things like, “I will never be able to forgive myself, or similar words, slowly become self-fulfilling prophecies as you struggle on. But stop for a moment – the Scripture here in Isaiah tells us that God Himself wipes away, and will never recollect or even mention our sins again … so it can’t be God that’s heaping shame & guilt on our heads for a sin that we’ve repented of and asked forgiveness for. No, rather it’s the accuser of the brethren, the devil, who doesn’t want us to have inner peace & the reassurance that God’s forgiveness is complete, total, case closed.

From the moment we say yes to Jesus, there’s a starting point of learning the ABCs of Christianity…of growing & striving daily towards the goal of maturity in Christ. But many times, as we grow in Christ, we start to see stark differences between the new Christian principles we’re learning about, and the standards & code of conduct we’ve come to accept from our old crowd of friends. This is where the rub begins. We love hanging out with our friends, but their behavior & ethics are going directly against what God teaches. Charles Spurgeon put it very well, “When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:48 that we are to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect…and compromising our Christian principles in order to blend in with the crowd is not growing in the Lord. Sometimes we need to say, “No, I can’t do this anymore.”…trusting God for the sake of our own personal welfare, safety, and moral well-being.

In the United States, stores lose between 13-20 billion dollars every year due to shoplifting…with Walmart losing 3 billion annually. So it’s no wonder Loss Prevention is a huge part of its security. Rather than just shrugging their shoulders in disregard for stolen inventory walking out the door, they aggressively monitor with cameras & other high tech tools to keep their stores under surveillance. In the same way when Jesus was teaching with this Parable of the 100 sheep, He could of said, “The Shepherd knew one of the sheep was lost, but oh well, he figured one lost sheep doesn’t really matter.” But I ask you…what if that one lost sheep was you…would you be overjoyed that God not only went purposefully searching for you, but kept looking for you until you were found and safely brought back to the fold?

We have all had feelings of being unappreciated…either at work, in the areas we volunteer for, or even within our own family. And as it continues, our feelings of invalidation, apathy, and indifference can lead to us to assume that others are just ungrateful or unappreciative of what we actually do for them. Thus if left to grow, this can easily morph into resentfulness, discouragement, and walking away from the work entirely. But before that drastic step is taken, we need to do a paradigm shift…a total mindset of thinking about just who in reality we’re working for. In several passages of the New Testament Paul is addressing Christian slaves. In Ephesians 6:7 Paul instructs them to, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not man.” And again Paul reminds them in Colossians 3:24, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” So for us, we also need to shift our focus…we are not serving an earthly master, but rather serving the exalted Christ.

Have you ever thought about the phrase to “take offense”? What does it mean? Usually it’s something said or done to us that causes an outrage of our senses…with hurt feelings of being attacked, insulted, and the big one now a days -disrespected. But if we look at those two words – take offense – it means that we have the choice to react & response, or not, to the perceived insult. For what happens when we choose to be offended is that we will be hearing but not listening…we will assume things that weren’t actually said…and we will read & respond to body language, not to the words spoken by the other person. To overlook or cover over an offense means to forgive in that moment and choose not to take offense. The choice is ours whether we take the bait or not, but the outcome can be disastrous…as Proverbs 18:19 points out, “An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.”

In the Bible, the word “walk” isn’t just about locomotion, but more about the character of a person. Across the Scriptures we read about devout people “walking with or before God.” But walking with God requires getting into stride with Him, and this can be a wearying endeavor. For we’ve only taken a few steps & He’s already far ahead. But walking in His ways stride for stride is what we’re called to do…and Yes, He commands disciple, hard work, & striving towards oneness with Him…and Yes, it’s a difficult journey, but don’t give up. And the pain may become intense at times, but keep on with it…for before long you’ll find that you’ve a new vision & purpose…as you walk with Him.

Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, and Rehoboam was his son who succeeded him on the throne. But instead of consulting his father’s court elders for their wise & sage counsel, a arrogant Rehoboam sought out the advice from the buddies he had grown up with. This very unwise choice came back to bite him when the Northern tribes of Israel declared a rebellion & renounced Rehoboam’s power & authority over them. Rather than listening to his father’s senior officials and their diplomatic approach…he listened to his cronies who had no experience or knowledge in conducting negotiations. Our take away is this -if you keep company with fools – you’ll become exactly like them…but if you seek out people full of wisdom & expertise in something you’re desiring to learn, it will rub off on you just by being around them.

Paul did nothing to merit or qualify for God’s mercy…quite the opposite! In Acts 8:3 we see him doing everything he could to destroy the Church by going house to house, dragging out both men & women and putting them into prison. This was not simple harassment but an attempt to ravage the fledgling Church into oblivion…it was calculated mistreatment for the pure pleasure of afflicting pain on others. But on that dusty road to Damascus Jesus got ahold of Paul (or Saul) and he became a changed man. Yet Paul is not saying here that ignorance can excuse sin…for we don’t know what we don’t know. Later, in this letter to Timothy, Paul is impressing on Timothy the “even though’s” of his past life. Even though Paul reviled & tried to destroy the good name of Jesus…even though he oppressed & tormented innocent people…even though he was a violent man…God still showed him mercy. Or as we see in verses 15-16, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.” Maybe your life right now isn’t all it could be and you’re searching for peace…know that just like Paul all your “even though’s” will never negate the mercy & grace of God if you will just believe.

The wonders of God aren’t ever too difficult for Him. It’s beyond our comprehension though to imagine that God called into being the universe by His absolute power – creating everything out of nothing. But Jesus attested to this in Matthew 19:26 when He said, “With God all things are possible.” Elsewhere in Jeremiah, the prophet wrote, “He made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.” (Jeremiah 51:15) God is the Maker of all things…sovereign over all…existing before time began. So it’s simple – the miracles of God are an easy thing in His eyes, for He can accomplish what He desires according to His Divine Will.

Have you ever had someone lambaste you with such a stinging & malicious accusation that it was worse than being backhanded across the face? And as you stood there in startled disbelief, you could feel two forces rising up within you. The old you immediately taking offense with feelings of indignation & resentment…while the new you taking a very deep ragged breath and then imitating the very nature of Jesus Christ…demonstrating humility & meekness. Romans 12:18 calls us to be a peacemaker by obligation & aim…while still acknowledging that harmony isn’t always possible – since truth divides as well as unites – we should still strive for peace in all relationships. For that insult can become a opportunity to show the incredible sweetness of the Lord…of speaking a blessing rather than a curse, and praying for your enemies. (Matthew 5:44)