A Change Of Perspective

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 New International Version (NIV)

It is human nature to question “why” when trouble comes into our lives. But how we deal with our trouble is an issue of perspective. It’s like the well known question, is the glass half empty or half full? Unfortunately for me, I tend to be one of those who sees the glass half empty. I have to constantly remind myself that the Word has instructed us: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” ~ I Thessalonians 5:18 King James Version.

Can I be real here? I used to struggle with this scripture. It’s one thing to be thankful about the good things in our lives; but being thankful for trials, hurt, pain, injustice, evil, disappointment, etc. requires a whole new mindset … a whole new perspective.

II Corinthians 4:18 provides two keys to obtaining a proper perspective, regardless of our natural personality style.

1. To fix (keep) our eyes focused on the eternal, which is unseen.
2. To remember that what is seen is temporary.

Anyone who has ever raised a teenager knows the emotional roller coaster they ride during their journey between childhood and becoming an adult. Minor problems seem monumental. You must constantly assure them that the world is not going to end and that five years from now they won’t even remember what is so upsetting at that moment.

Yes, sometimes events do happen that change our earthly lives forever; but if we have given our hearts and souls to the Lord, we will shed the physical and emotional wounds of this life the moment we step into eternity. That is why we must fix our eyes on the eternal. In light of eternity it becomes easy to see how the Lord could expect us to rejoice in all things. This life is just a vapor when compared to eternity.

God never promised we would have a life without problems. In fact, He confirmed the opposite. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”. ~ John 16:33 New International Version

The good news is the Lord is our salvation and He is also our stronghold in times of trouble. (Read Psalm 37)

My perspective of my personal problems shifted dramatically this year when two of my dear friends were diagnosed with serious health issues within a few months of each other. The things I struggle with pale in comparison. Both of them are facing their battle head on with positive, faith filled attitudes. They are an example and an inspiration to me. They are also a painful reminder that no matter how difficult our situations are, there is always someone who is going through something far worse.

I’d like to challenge you to sit down and write a list of everything you are thankful for. Then, when trials come and the enemy tries to steal your peace, pull out your list and begin to praise God for your blessings and your burdens. Fix your eyes on the eternal and remember, this too shall pass.

Home … Our Mission Field

When I was about 16 years old, I remember feeling the call on God on my life to go into full time ministry. I was so afraid that God was going to send me to Africa or some jungle where I’d never see civilization again.

Unfortunately, shortly after graduating from high school I backslid and spent the next 20 years living like a ship on a stormy sea, tossing back and forth between serving God and serving self. Finally, I put down anchor and determined to ride out the storms of life with God. I learned to run to Him instead of from Him when I failed.

Once I developed some stability in my walk with the Lord I began to feel that hunger again to serve Him in full time ministry; but I was a single parent and needed to work to support myself and my family. I was vested in a job and knew it would be several years before I could retire.

Being the dreamer that I am, I began to focus on retirement instead of living in the present because I thought that was the only way I could fulfill God’s call on my life. Then, while reading the book “Radical” by David Platt it hit me … This IS my mission field! This is where God has planted me. While I may not be able to go into full time ministry, I certainly have an endless supply of opportunities to minister to my family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and anyone else the Lord brings into my life. There are millions of people we will never meet but I believe we have an opportunity and an obligation to pray for and serve those we know personally.

Obviously we can’t meet the needs of everyone we know, and we must use wisdom but if you want to ‘win’ people to the Lord then show them His love by meeting their needs whenever possible. The following scripture is a perfect example of this principal: Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? – James 2:15-16 (New International Version)

I have begun to see how vital it is to focus on seizing the opportunities God brings into our lives each day; because the reality is, none of us know how much time we have left on this earth. We can’t all go into foreign missions, but our circle of influence is ripe for harvest and God is still asking, “Whom shall I send?”.

This doesn’t take away from our responsibility to support foreign missions. But hopefully it will awaken us to the fact that people are in our lives for a reason and we can have an eternal impact if we are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

If you open your heart and pray for God’s direction, He will lead you in ways you might never even think about. Get creative. For example, buy a sleeping bag and give it to a homeless person. Start thinking about ways to bless the people you already know. Listen carefully when they open up to you and pray for the Lord to quicken your spirit with divine inspiration about how to minister to their physical, emotional, and/or spiritual needs.

The next time you step out your front door remember, this is your mission field as well. Will you answer the call?

Know His Voice

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” ~ John 10:4

Have you ever wondered how you can know if you are hearing from God? I certainly have. The answer is really quite simple. When someone we are ‘familiar’ with calls us on the phone they don’t need to identify themselves because we recognize them by their voice. We recognize their voice because we have spent time communicating with them. We cannot know God’s voice unless we have spent time ‘hearing’ His voice. We learn His voice through prayer, His Word and by revelation of the Holy Spirit.

It is vital to our spiritual survival to know the voice of our shepherd for there are wolves waiting to lead us astray.

God will never tell you something that contradicts His Word. Sometimes we just need to be still and listen. Examine our motives.

Sometimes when we don’t feel clear direction, we just need to wait for God to bring confirmation. Many times this has happened for me. I would feel God telling me something and the next thing I know someone else was confirming by sharing that God was speaking the same thing to them as well.

Sadly, I once missed a chance to write a book because I waited too long and the Lord gave it to someone more obedient. I don’t ever what to lose my blessing like that again.

Spend the necessary time with the shepherd to know His voice and then follow Him WHERE EVER He leads.

Food For Thought

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

This verse came to life for me recently when a family member underwent a kidney transplant. One of the restrictions following her surgery was that she could not eat any food that has been allowed to sit at room temperature longer than 30 minutes. If the food was to be served cold, it had to be cold … If it was to be served hot, it had to be hot.

The reason had nothing to do with taste preference. The limitation was to protect her from the growth of bacteria on the food. What might cause mild stomach issues for you and I could be life threatening for her.

I used to wonder why the Word said He would ‘spit’ them out … or why He would prefer cold to lukewarm. When writing this though I felt He was revealing to me that you spit something out when it has gone bad or is ranchid and that is exactly what happens when food is left out and not kept at the proper temperature. Similar to the example of salt losing it’s flavor. It’s no good once that happens.

Could it be that our Heavenly Father used this analogy because the early church, who never enjoyed the luxury of a refrigerator or a microwave, would be able to relate to the dangers of ‘lukewarm’ food?

Just ‘food’ for thought.

Are You A Doer?

James 1:22 Amplified Bible (AMP). But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

We live in a driven society. If you aren’t constantly ‘doing’ something you might even feel guilty about wasting time. The question is, are the things we are doing driven by obedience to the Word of God, or are they driven by human expectation? Sometimes what we need to ‘do’ is to be still and hear the voice of God.

Salvation is a gift, we are not saved by our works, but that doesn’t excuse us from our works. In fact, Phil. 2:12 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

This is why it is so important that we study God’s Word, in addition to reading it. When you are studying the Word ask yourself, what does God what me to DO with what I’ve just learned. If we are willing to listen, He is willing to teach us His ways and to bless us for our obedience.

Isaiah 1:19 New International Version (NIV): If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.

American Idols

Isaiah 42:8. New International Version (NIV)
“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Now that I have your attention, I want to assure you that the point of this lesson is not to condemn anyone who enjoys watching American Idol. I used to watch it myself. My biggest problem with the show is the use of the term ‘idol’. Some may find this petty, but to me it is a perfect example of the deceptive way Satan desensitizes us to something God has clearly condemned repeatedly in His Word.

Before this study I did a search on the words idol and idols on BibleGateway.com and it resulted in almost 400 scriptural references.

When we read about idols in the Bible it is usually in reference to a manmade object of worship. It is hard for me to even imagine that someone could be foolish enough to believe that something carved or molded by a human being could become a living god, worthy of worship, and yet we see it over and over in scripture.

The sad thing is we see it over and over again today as well; but we don’t recognize it as idol worship because we no longer put our faith in innate objects. We are much to civilized and educated for that.

What we fail to realize is that an idol doesn’t have to be an object. It can be anything that takes priority over God in our lives. Examples include our careers, our relationships, our dreams and ambitions, our possessions, our habits, our talents, and even our obsession with sports and entertainment icons.

Our creator is the only one worthy of our worship! He is unwilling to share His glory with anyone or anything.

I am not writing to bring condemnation my friends. I am writing to encourage you to examine your heart and make sure that God holds His rightful place in your life and to make adjustments as needed. In a future study entitled, Lord of all OR not at all, we will explore this further.

Until next time, May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Put Down Your Weapon

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. – Proverbs 12:18 (New International Version)

Most of us remember the nursery rhyme we learned as a child – “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” I remember it well! It was the one I usually quoted defiantly when someone said something ‘hurtful’ and I had to pretend the words didn’t sting. But, words DO hurt. In fact Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. The truth is sometimes words hurt even worse than sticks and stones!

I have never met anyone who didn’t regret something they’ve said at some point in their life. We have all said things we regret; and not just things we have said TO others, but also things we have said ABOUT others. Both can be deadly.

Today I am writing from personal experience. If I point a finger at you there are three pointing back at me! Since I was planning to focus this week’s writing on the tongue, Satan decided to ‘test’ me and unfortunately I failed. Now, I could let that stop me from moving forward with this writing – after all I do not want to be a hypocrite, or I could allow it to humble me and recognize that I too have learning to do. I chose to move forward. I repented to God and apologized to the person I had an argument with.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. – James 3:9-12 (New International Version)

When we think of cursing we think of profanity. When the Word refers to cursing someone it means to condemn them. On the Day of Judgment we will give an account for every idle (careless) word we have spoken and we will either be acquitted by our words or condemned by them.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. – Matthew 12:35-37 (New International Version)

Why will our words acquit or condemn us? Because what comes out of our mouth is a manifestation of what is in our heart.

You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. – Matthew 12:34 (Amplified Bible)

Do you remember when you were young and your parents would tell you, “If you can’t say something good about someone don’t say anything at all?” They may not have known it but they were teaching you a Biblical principal.

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. – Ephesians 4:29 (New International Version)

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. – Proverbs 21:23 (New International Version)

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. – James 1:26 (New International Version)

While the damage we can do by what we say TO someone can be devastating, what we say ABOUT someone can do just as much, if not more harm! Let’s look at what God’s Word has to say about gossip?

Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit. With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. – Jeremiah 9:8 (New International Version)

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. – Proverbs 11:12 (New International Version)

A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. – Proverbs 16:27-28 (New International Version)

A few years ago I was mentoring a woman who constantly talked bad about her neighbors. When I tried to explain that this was wrong and shared scriptures on gossiping with her she replied, “Oh it isn’t gossip, if it is true.” Wrong! Just because something is true doesn’t mean it is ok to discuss. I have found a good way to judge what you share is this; would I discuss this if the person I am speaking about were here? If not, then zip it! It is not your business to tell someone else’s business, even with the ‘pretense’ of requesting prayer for the person! If you would not want them to find out what you said don’t say it!

You also have to ask yourself what good can come of what you are saying. It is going to create friction? If so, think long and hard about it and seek spiritual advice (from pastoral leadership) before uttering a word! Galatians has some pretty harsh words to say about those who create discord (disagreement, conflict, argument, friction and disharmony) and/or dissension (opposition, discord, rebellion and conflict).

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 (New International Version)

In closing I want to encourage you to begin to pay close attention to how you are using this tiny yet powerful weapon, the tongue. Are you using it to bless others, or to curse them? Make a commitment to the Lord to speak only that which is beneficial for building others up rather than tearing them down. If you have something negative to say about someone take it to the Lord in prayer and trust Him to deal with the other person. This is especially important when you have been offended. Do not be vengeful and God will honor your integrity.

Start each day by praying that the Lord will use you to bless others and that He will quicken your spirit to hold your tongue if your words will offend someone or create discord. Determine to master your tongue and reflect the Lord in both word and deed.