Month: July 2014

Feed-Sack Faith

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7802561-horse-and-carriage-in-florence-italy-resting-horse-having-feed-from-a-hessian-sackSince I come from a family of eight children, I know the importance of being on-time when it is meal time, and when possible, being at the head of the line. In fact, eating is one of the few things I do well, so I do as much of it as I can.

This may be why I like what Solomon said in Proverbs 15:15: “a merry heart has a continual feast.” I’ve never been too concerned about eating a large meal; I would rather put the feed-sack on and “graze” all day long.

You don’t have to be a cardiologist to know that the health of your heart is a key factor in the health of your entire body; and Solomon knew that the attitude of your heart determines your perspective on life.

There is a direct connection in Scripture that links a healthy heart to the outcomes of your life. The key here is not the circumstances of life, but the Christ who died to give you life.

Notice the principles in the following verses:

• Psalm 13:5-6: Because I have trusted in Your mercy my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
• Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
• Proverbs 4:23: Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.
• Proverbs 14:30: A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.
• Proverbs 16:23: The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.
• Proverbs 23:26: My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways

Are you living a life that is characterized by a robust faith, or is your spiritual health busted? In Proverbs 17:22, Solomon said: “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” If your life is all famine and no feast, you may need to get into God’s medicine cabinet and take a healthy dose of His Word.

Destestable or Acceptable?

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echoIf someone surprised you with a tape recording of everything you have said this week, what would you discover? This question came to my mind after I read Psalm 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

After listening to the recording, what would you discover about the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart? Would God find your words to be detestable or acceptable?

There are several places in the Bible that remind us of the importance of minding our tongue:

• Psalm 144:8 Warns of a person “Whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.”
• Proverbs 6:2 reminds us that, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.
• Proverbs 16:24 says that, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

If you could stand at the edge of a valley and hear the echo of every word you have spoken in your life, what would you hear? Would you hear the reverberating sound of pleasant and wholesome words, or would you hear the hollow sound of rude and crude language?

I encourage you to take the next day or two and focus on Psalm 19:14, and make it your prayer to God: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

Resistance Measures

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6C8299885-1307017-magicphoto-hmed-0220p-filesTo say that my skills as an electrician are poor would be a gross understatement of my ability—I have almost none.

I remember an incident in a house in Texas that needed some wiring in the attic. After I had applied my talent to the problem, I flipped a switch and there was a momentary flash of fire. After that experience, I decided it was cheaper to call an electrician.

Even though I don’t know much about electricity, I do know a little about the function of a resistor. It’s used in a circuit to control the flow of current to other components. As an example, if too much current flows through an LED it’s destroyed. A resistor regulates the current, so the LED can shine without getting fried.

As I was reading the book of James, I thought of the importance of resistors. James said: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you (4:8).” James knew that by resisting the devil, you can control the flow of a negative current to the various components of your body.

Think about it: To be the salt of the earth and the light (LED) of the world, you have to be a resistor for Jesus. James gives several instructions in the building and maintaining of a powerful resistor (4:7-10):

• Submit to God
• Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
• Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
• Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts
• Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

I hope these last ten words will help you remember everything written above: James insists that you resist, so your light will persist.

The Rhythm of LIfe

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cadenceIn a recent blog, I mentioned the rhythmic cadence of the Christian life. This is easily heard in the metronome of Ecclesiastes where Solomon counts the time for us: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).”

In John 12:23-26, we find the secret to this rhythm is dying to live. Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

You may not realize it, but there is a good chance that your morning routine is already reflecting this principle. Each morning, you take off your nighttime clothes and put on your daytime clothes. This is the rhythm Paul has in mind when he says, you are to, “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).”

There is also a rhythm to life when it comes to your goals: Greatness is achieved through service. In Mark 10:42-45: Jesus said to the disciples, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

As you consider the rhythm of life, I encourage you to notice the cause and effect relationship of the word “come” in Psalm 95: “Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord, and shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the mountain peaks are His. The sea is His; He made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care.”

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking: When you come to Him and confess, you’ll receive the power you need to go and profess.

The Breath of Life

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hotWhen hot air balloons, a conversation can go from bad to ugly. When a balloon is filled with hot air, it can go from loose and baggy to beautiful.

There is something captivating about hot air balloons. Once during a trip to New Mexico, I was fortunate to have a room that faced the mountains, and the land between the hotel and the mountains served as a launching pad for hot air balloons. As each balloon slowly filled with air, it would begin to gently rise upward and would eventually float up into the sky and out of sight. This event reaches a grand scale each year during the month of October when Albuquerque has its annual festival.

Whenever I see a balloon launch, I’m reminded of the words of Solomon: “the dust of mortals goes back to the ground as it was before, and the breath of life goes back to God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7).” The “breath of life” is a reference to the spirit that dwells within you.

The words of Jesus help to explain this: “Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life (John 5:24).”

Just as the hot air gives life to the balloon, the regenerated spirit gives eternal life. When life ends, Jesus makes an eternal difference. You can pass from “death to life.”

What is it that you think of when you see a hot air balloon in flight? Watch this time lapse video of the Albuquerque festival, and share your thoughts.

The Loggerhead LIfe

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Loggerhead_Sea_turtleLoggerhead is one of those words that has several different meanings. There is a large-headed turtle that is a reddish-brown that is called a loggerhead, and there is a bird that also bears this name. Some people are confused by the word and associate it with a logger who works in a forest and harvests trees—but this is incorrect.

A more common use of the word is when it is used in reference to people who dispute the facts of a situation. They begin to quarrel over the issues, and they are said to be at “loggerheads.”

Paul spoke about the loggerhead-life of Christians when he wrote about the relationship between the Spirit and the flesh: “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:16-18).”

Because the desire of the flesh runs contrary to the desire of the Spirit, the Christian is at “loggerheads,” and this is an impasse that will sap you of your spiritual vitality. When you experience times of dryness and a sense of emptiness, it might indicate that you are not walking in step with the Spirit.

When, however, you walk in the rhythmic cadence of the Spirit, the power of the flesh begins to falter. The Christian walk is stepping out of the darkness and into the light. John said, when “we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7).”

The key to “walking by the Spirit” is realizing that you do not cleanse yourself; you do not create the light; and, you do not generate the power—it all comes from the relationship you develop as you take a stroll through life with the Lord.

There are three brief statements about this “walk” in Ephesians 5, and I share them with you to keep you thinking:
• Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (5:1-2).
• Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (5:9-10).
• Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (5:15-17).

Today is the 4th

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4-july_1100030757012814-intSince today is the 4th of July and the start of a long weekend, I will not post to this blog again until Monday.

Each year at this time, I like to listen to God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood. You can click here to listen to it now.

Enjoy your day as you celebrate the vision of our Founding Fathers.

Take A Number

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28241276-take-a-number-words-on-a-ball-or-sphere-of-3d-numbers-to-illustrate-waiting-patiently-for-your-turn-In an effort to lighten her heavy load, Mom instituted a numbering system. Steve was #1, I was #2, and Brad was #3.

Whether it was our clothes or a drinking glass, each of these items had a number. When Mom had finished the laundry, she would tell us to get our clothes and put them away. When I was thirsty, I would drink from the glass with a #2 printed on it.

I would never drink from a glass that had the #3 because Brad had drank from it, and I most certainly would never wear underwear marked with #1 because Steve had been in them.

According to Jesus, God is in the numbering business as well. He said, “the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30).” This is evidence of the love and care of God for His children.

The Psalmist spoke of this when he wrote: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite (147:3-5).”

When you realize that your days are numbered and there will come a time when you will step off into eternity, it causes you to reevaluate your life. This why David said: “Teach us to number our days, so we may gain a heart of wisdom Psalm 90:12).”

So, before your number is up, you may want to get things in order.

Eye-Opening Behavior

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downloadWhy do you do what you do? Why do you work where you work? You may have never given much thought to these questions, but Paul knew the answers to them, and he testified of it in Acts 26: “I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Paul believed he had been commissioned to open eyes and to turn people from darkness to the light. It takes more than just talk to accomplish such a task. It also takes a consistent walk. This is why you are to, “Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).”

Do you live an eye-opening life that turns people from darkness to the light? Do people look down on you or do they look up to you? This was a topic that Paul discussed with Timothy: “Don’t let people look down on you because you are young; see that they look up to you because you are an example to them in your speech and behavior, in your love and faith and sincerity (I Timothy 4:11-12).”

When you live a Christ-honoring, eye-opening life, you are an example in your speech, behavior, love, faith, and sincerity. I think this is part of what James had in mind when he said: “You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works (James 2:18).”

Is your faith an eye-opening example that points people to Jesus?

Routine and Rhythm

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rrI rarely complain about too much rainfall because you never know when the next rain will come; but, it was either too much rain or rain at the wrong time that caused a delay in a Royals-Angels game this past weekend.
I watched as the playes rain to the dugout and the umpires called a “rain-delay” of the game. During this time, a documentary on the life of Warren Spahn was broadcast.

Spahn was a left-handed pitcher who was a sensation for the Boston Braves. He won the Cy Young Award—the pinnacle for pitchers. Even though his career was interrupted by World War II, Spahn still won 20 games in 12 seasons—a tremendous feat for a pitcher.

In an interview, Spahn once said: “Hitting is timing, and pitching is upsetting that timing.” Spahn knew that if he could interrupt the timing of a batter by mixing in off-speed pitches, he could keep the batter from hitting the ball.

Trying to hit a round ball with a round bat is a hard skill to develop, and it takes both routine and rhythm. Successful hitters will spend hours in the batting cage and studying pitchers—this is routine.

The rhythm part of the game is visual. It is done before the game ever starts. It is closing your eyes; rehearsing the routine of the pitcher; seeing the spin of the ball; and, feeling your bat make contact as you drive the ball out into the field.

You also need routine and rhythm in your walk with Jesus. The routine is the daily spiritual disciplines of prayer and reading the bible. The rhythm is closing your eyes and seeing what God has in store for you.

Routine and rhythm were key to the lives of both Jesus and Paul:
• Routine: Luke 4:16—Jesus went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
• Rhythm: Hebrews 12:2—For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Jesus’ routine was the custom of worshipping, and His rhythm was to look ahead to see the full impact and benefit of His death for us.
• Routine: 2 Timothy 4:12 (Paul speaking to Timothy)—When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
• Rhythm: 2 Timothy 4:7-8—I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
• Paul’s routine was a daily study of the Scripture, and his rhythm was to look for to the heavenly prize.

As you go through your routine, take the time to reflect on what God has done for you; what He is going to do for you; and what He is using you to do. This is the rhythm that will add joy to your daily routine.