anxiety

Communication: Do You WiFi or Wee-Fee?

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3-golden-rules-for-team-communicationDo you pay a Wee-Fee for your WiFi, or do you hee-hee when some people say Wee-Fee?  Most people reading this blog know that WiFi  is the wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed connection to the internet.

What you may not know is that about 7% of the people living in Arkansas pronounce WiFi as Wee-Fee; however, they are not alone.  In fact, there are several countries that have a significant number of people who opt for the Wee-Fee pronunciation of the word:

  • Spain 49.3%
  • France 46.1%
  • Hungary 41%
  • Belgium 34.4%
  • Netherlands 33.7%

The meaning of WiFi does not change if it is pronounced Wee-Fee, but in some situations a mispronounced word can lead to heated circumstances.

I clearly remember an unclearly spoken word that created a state of confusion.  I was 18, and was asleep on the top floor of an old Air Force barracks when a backwoods sergeant ran down the hall shouting, “Far! Far!”  I thought:  “Far?  How far am I supposed to go and in which direction?”

“Far” took on new meaning and significance when the smell of burning wood began to find its way into my room.  I realized the sergeant with the hick-accent had not been shouting “far,” but was yelling “FIRE!”

One of the basic rules of communication is found in the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).  The Apostle Paul could be profoundly simple in the way he stated truth, and he kept it simple and clear in Romans 6:23:  “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The wages of your sin cost God more than just a wee-fee, it cost Him the death of His son on the cross of Calvary.

Your WiFi might be what directs you to the internet, but it’s Jesus who connects you to Heaven.  Jesus said:  “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

 

Holiness and the Grace of God

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isa6-holiness-e1361342892229The subject that seems to be the focal point of many Christian authors is grace.  Walk down the aisles of Barnes and Noble and look at the titles on the book shelves, and what do you see?  They are lined with rows of books that outline and discuss the subject of grace.

Evidently, grace sells.  But at what expense?  Does this emphasis on grace debase our perception of the Holiness of God?  If we give too much attention to the grace of God, do we lessen our comprehension of His holiness?

Notice the admonition of the Psalmist, and his focus on the holiness of God:

  • Psalm 29:2: Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
  • Psalm 96:9: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Read the sixth chapter of Isaiah, and you will have a better understanding of the power of God’s holiness.  When Isaiah witnessed the glory of God, he saw the sinfulness of man—and he repented.

You diminish the beauty of His holiness and you cheapen His grace when you fail to give appropriate attention to your sin.  Grace is God’s righteous response to the unrighteousness of man.  To fully appreciate His grace, you cannot depreciate the magnitude of your sin.

When Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, he gave a balanced assessment of grace and sin:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

When you get to the place to where you can recognize the prevalence and power of sin, you are at at the point where you will begin to recognize this this truth:  “. . . the grace of our Lord is exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”

The Characteristics of Contentment

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contentment1While watching the Kansas Jayhawks play basketball on Saturday, I became keenly aware of the intent and goal of each of the commercials on TV.  They were designed to arouse a sense of dissatisfaction and an incensed desire.

The pitch lines may have been a little different, but the message was the same:

  • You can’t be happy and fulfilled with the life you have—unless you buy our product.
  • You will never be whole and feel like you belong—unless you join our group or support our cause.

The more you believe the lies of the world, the more you will feel like somebody owes you some- thing. This breeds a sense of entitlement that can be the onset of resentment, and resentment and contentment cannot coexist.

This constant onslaught of “something must be bought” to find happiness and fulfillment or “the world owes you” is foreign to the thinking of the Apostle Paul:

Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit.  For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.  But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that (I Timothy 6:6-8).

Notice the characteristics of contentment:

  • Godliness is enhanced by the presence of contentment
  • There is the realization that you were born with nothing and there is nothing in this world that you can take to heaven with you when you die
  • You are satisfied with the blessings God has given you and do not resent the manner in which He blesses others
  • The key to contentment is the content of your life, and Paul called this godliness

If want to hear the expression of contentment, take a moment to read Psalm 145.  In the first two verses of this Psalm you’ll find the words “praise” and “bless” repeated.  These are the words of contentment not resentment.

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking:   “Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness ( Pearl S. Buck).”

Like A Satin White Snowflake

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sad-snowmanWhen I walk down the street or press my way through a busy mall, it seems people are as adrift as a satin white snowflake that’s blown by a fierce wind.  They participate in a vigorous celebration of an annual winter holiday that is a time of jubilation, but they have never experienced that infusion of joy that Peter described as being “unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8).”

Paul wanted the saints at Ephesus to embrace a joy-filled relationship with Christ, so he prayed for them to “have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The joy and fullness of Christ is the essence of the incarnation, and as John said:  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth . . . and of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:14, 16).

When I observe people today, I wonder if their holiday happenings are a celebration of this grace and truth or an aberration of its substance.

When you look at the faces and into the eyes of the people you meet on the street:  What do you see?  Is it a lighthearted twinkle or a heavyhearted wrinkle?   Is it the glad refrain of the fullness of Christ or is it the sad disdain of the world’s dullness?

What’s the difference between the two?  Isn’t the incarnation the demarcation of wholeness and hole-ness?  Christmas is a contrast between the love of God and the lack of the world. Paul captured this in his letter to the Colossians:

  • In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).
  • In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19).
  • In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

The joy, peace, and fullness that you hunger for will never be found in a neatly wrapped package beneath a tree:  It is only found in the baby who was born on Christmas day.

Tough Love or Pass the Rolaids

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rolaidsDo you have a roll of Rolaids or a Tums or two lying around? If you do, you may want to get them ready. What you’re about to read is hard to chew, difficult to swallow, and tough to digest.

When tears stream from your eyes and the weight of grief is so heavy you feel like you’re suffocating, you want words of comfort—not tough love. Words of comfort may sound good, but sometimes they are just sugar-coated, feel-good truisms, that have little to offer.

Tough love is different. It isn’t as apt to cuddle; there may be a sharpness to it; and, it might even shock you. The sovereignty of God is a tough love explanation of how God works in your life, and James and Peter define it. Before Jesus called them as disciples and positioned them as Apostles, they enjoyed time together on the Sea of Galilee. They had a lot in common: Jesus called them to leave their fishing business at the same time, and both of them were part of the inner circle that also included John.

But, when you come to Acts 12, their lives take a nasty turn in direction: James is martyred, but Peter is spared. In spite of the truth of Jeremiah 29:11, this is a Rolaids moment extraordinaire: “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope.”

How would you like to try and explain that to the wife of James? Peter’s wife might quote it, but James’ wife may not comprehend it.

Here’s the tough love take-a-Tums-or-two principle of theology: If you believe in the goodness of God when everything in your life is going great, you need to trust it when everything is going wrong. The darkness of evil does not extinguish the light of God’s goodness. God is sovereign in what you perceive to be good as well as in what you deem to be disastrous.

Even though aching hearts turn a deaf ear to Ecclesiastes 7:14-15, it is a tough love truth of Scripture: “When times are good, be joyful; when times are bad, consider this: God made the one as well as the other, so people won’t seek anything outside of his best. I have seen it all during my pointless life: both a righteous person who dies while he is righteous, and a wicked person who lives to an old age, while remaining wicked.”

When times of adversity interrupt your life, you can benefit by taking an eternal perspective on your predicament. This is what Joseph did when his guilt-filled brothers approached him, he said: “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive (Genesis 50:22).”

Life is an on-going conflict between a righteous and holy God and sinful man, so the cycle of life might startle you, but it never surprises God. The truth that needs to guide you is that, “for those who love God, and those who are the called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good (Romans 8:28).”

Remember this the next time you each for a toll of Rolaids: His grace is sufficient for all your trials (2 Corinthians 12:9); His peace is present for your anxieties (Philippians 4:6-7); and, He is always present with the strength you need (Isaiah 41:10).

Refocus and Reimagine

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What Why When Dice Representing Questions And ChoicesWhen you went to bed last night, did you worry about tomorrow? When you woke up this morning was your mind filled with regrets from yesterday?

When your life is filled with worries and regrets focused on the past or the future, you rob yourself of the necessary strength to live in the present; and, the simple truth is this—your life can be filled with joy and peace?

If you had to rely on just internal resources, living a life of joy and peace could be difficult, but there’s good news— the God of hope will fill you with joy and peace in your faith, and it is by the power of the Holy Spirit, that your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope (Romans 15:13).

Seven words in the verse above give us the key to doing this: “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes you have to remind yourself that you will fail when you try to live in just the power of your might and strength. The secret is to live in the power of the Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

This is a principle that helped to guide David. In Psalm 16 he said, “I keep the Lord in mind always.” Because David did this:
• He praised the Lord who counseled him
• He could sleep at night because his conscience instructed him instead of worrying him
• His heart was glad, his spirit rejoiced, and his body rested securely
• He knew God would not abandon him and that he had the promise of Heaven
• He found abundant joy and eternal pleasures as he walked the path of life

The next time you find your mind full of worries and regrets, refocus your thoughts on this truth: “Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).”

Head Games

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skull3-01-111413-2344I came across some statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health concerning fear and worry. After reading the findings, I find myself fearing that people worry too much or, worrying that people fear too much.
The study by the NIMH indicates that:
• 60% of fears are over things that will never happen.
• 30% of fears are focused on things that happened in the past
• 90 % of fears are somewhat insignificant
• 88% are health-related fears (hypochondriacs)

The Anxiety and Depression Society of America has stated that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population). Uncontrolled worry can have a debilitating effect on a person’s appetite, relationships, job performance, and sleep.

Please pay attention to this: Whatever gets your attention gets you. The content of your thoughts determine the contentment of your life.

As you read this you might say: “You’re crazy! You don’t know what’s happening in my life!” Statements like this are externally focused. While it’s true there are times when we have no control over the externals of life, we do control the internals.

A key means of controlling the internals is to be introspective with a proper perspective. This is a technique that is at least as old as the Apostle Paul, who said: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.”

It takes discipline and practice to make this a habit. This is because many people are born with a negative bias in the way they see life. Research indicates that the brain is more likely to focus on negative feelings instead of positive feelings.

The brain’s focus on negative feelings has been called the FUD Factor (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). When our thoughts are left unattended they wander into the wilderness of negativity and stumble into the cesspool of distress.

This is one reason Paul said that we need to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Some thoughts can be wonderfully captivating; however, others are so powerful in their negativity a person becomes a prisoner of his own mind.

How aware are you of the hundreds of mental-messages that flash through your mind each day? Is your self-talk wholesome conversation that builds your self-esteem and glorifies God? 1index When you begin to recognize the pattern of your thoughts, you’ve taken the first step into the transformation that renews your mind (Romans 12:2).

The Day and the Hour

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Before you get started reading, I want to ask you to do three things.  First, look at your calendar and see what the date is.  Second, look at your watch or a clock to see what time it is.  Third, answer this question:  What were you worrying about in 2011 at this exact date and time?

Most people have a little trouble answering my question.  If you can remember what you were worrying about, I hope you discovered that all that worrying didn’t really change the outcome of your situation.

People worry about all sorts of things.  Some people get depressed because they worry about what they perceive to be impending doom.  I know some people who worry themselves into anxiety attacks because they are focused on what might potentially happen.   Anger, shame and guilt can also be the results of thoughts that focus on catastrophic thinking (thinking in terms of always, never, should have and oughts).

The truth is, sometimes people worry themselves sick.  Worry and stress have been linked to a higher risk for illness, including conditions such as obesity and hypertension.  Some people attempt to manage their proclivity to worry through self-help techniques.

While self-help measures can be very beneficial, I put a priority on the principles of Scripture.  In the case of worry, I like Philippians 4:6-7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I hope  the words of Charles Mayo are thoughts that will keep you thinking:  Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the health. I have never known a man who died from overwork, but many who died from doubt.