Happiness Comes When You Embrace And Work Through Your Problems

Matthew 5:1-3 - Jesus saw many people. He went up on the mountain and sat down. His followers came to Him. He began to teach them, saying, “Those who know there is nothing good in themselves are happy, because the holy nation of heaven is theirs.

 

Jesus didn’t need a fancy church…or a building at all for that matter.  He just sat down on the nearest hillside and taught his disciples. It was a pretty big hillside…because crowds of people had followed him and pushed close enough to listen in while he taught the men he had chosen to help him in his ministry. Commentators think that this was at least a long weekend’s worth of material.

 

He taught about humbleness….sadness… meekness…. Justice and goodness… kindness … purity…. peacefulness….and persecution.  He told them to work through these issues and embrace what they would do for their countenance when they came through these things with God’s help. He told them to stop focusing on the earthly thing that bothered them and begin to search their hearts for what God needed them to learn by allowing it in their lives.

 

Jesus told them to be the salt of the earth…to season it with His love and mercy….to forgive and learn to be greater than the petty things that try to tear down our faith. He told them that the world was dark and needed the light that could only reflect off of their lives if they adopted the character traits of His father.  Jesus deepened their understanding of the rules that were given to Moses...teaching them that happiness was a state of mind…not a collection of things…or earthly blessings.

 

I am reminded once again that the life I was granted to live is not my own.  It’s not about me…it’s about every other person that I come into contact with. I will only find happiness if I work through the things I see as problems so that others can be seasoned with God’s salt.  I will only be someone in God’s eyes if I embrace the times he wants me to reflect his light to others.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I belong to you.  You put me here to be a vessel of your salt and light to others so that more people may join you in Heaven when you return to get us all. Forgive me for the times that I have made it about me….and whined about my problems instead of embracing them to learn from them. Help me to really let this concept soak into my spirit …so that I can spend more time working through things and learning how to help others do the same.  Amen.

Every Response To Every Problem Is In The Bible

Matthew 4:1-4 - Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. There He was tempted by the devil.  Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights. After that He was hungry.  The devil came tempting Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to be made into bread.”  But Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live on bread only. Man is to live by every word that God speaks.’”

 

After Jesus was baptized he was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.  We are told only that it lasted for 40 days and nights and that he fasted food and water during his time there. It must have been a very intense time for Christ...as he spent so much time alone. When he left this time of fasting and reflection he would start his short ministry that would end with the greatest sacrifice ever made for man’s future.

 

The three temptations of Jesus were picked by satan carefully.  He tested his character three times with three things that Jesus would have struggled with.  His need for physical food was great after his 40 days fasting….what kind of power Jesus held on earth was a constant misunderstanding with all that would follow Jesus…and the wrong kind of pride could have changed the timing of when Jesus took obedience to the ultimate level in obedience on the cross.

 

I am reminded that temptation is a part of God’s great plan.  He uses it to strengthen our faith…confirm the power he gave each of us in the Holy Spirit….and give us all an opportunity to be obedient to what he has called each of us to do. All we need is a library of Bible scriptures planted firmly in our heads….so that when satan comes with his lies…we know the scripture better than he does. Each of the lies satan tried to convince Jesus with were based on some scripture….but Jesus knew the scripture so well that he blasted satan right back with the truth in each one.

 

I admit that even though I read my Bible daily…and write about some scripture each day…I have a long way to go before I know the Bible as well as Jesus.  I think of  phrase...and because God has allowed such great technology in the internet…I am able to find a reference and use it in my writing. Oh how I am reminded that I need to bury more of the whole word in my heart like David says in the Psalms.

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that your word of truth is all that I need to fight against any lie that satan tries to use against my faith. Forgive me for not knowing your word nearly enough….but thank you for making an allowance for my weakness in the internet so that I can use it anyway. Help me to find a way to begin to memorize more of your word…so that when I am not around the tools of technology I still have scripture to fight satan off with.  Amen.

More Of Him....Less Of Me

Matthew 3:1-3 - In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert in the country of Judea.  He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them! The holy nation of heaven is near.” The early preacher Isaiah spoke of this man. He said, “Listen! His voice calls out in the desert! ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’”

 

John the Baptist…the cousin of Jesus…knew clearly his mission in life was to reveal the coming of the Messiah to the people in Judea.  He lived a radical life out in the wilderness.  He ate what God provided…honey from wild bees and locusts. He wore a simple cloak of animal skins. He spent his days preaching and baptizing those who came to hear his sermons about repenting of their sins and turn back to God. He accepted his calling and it became his passion.

 

John understood the concept that John talked about in John 3:30 before it was even written. It says… “He must become more important. I must become less important.”  We know this because when Jesus came to be baptized by John….he said he was not worthy of it.  He wanted Jesus to baptize him.  Jesus reminded him that some things just have to be done because they fulfilled the many prophecy’s about his coming....so John baptized him despite his personal feelings.

 

What a model of how we are all supposed to live our lives for Christ.  Once we accept him as our Savior and Lord …we are all bound to prepare the way for others that do not know him.  Matthew tells us later in chapter 26…verses 16-20 that we are all to go to the ends of the earth and preach his truth.  He charged us all to make followers…make sure they are baptized…and taught how to do exactly what Jesus modeled for us while he was here on earth.

 

I admit that my passion stops with waking early most mornings to write.  Perhaps I could justify that I am fulfilling my calling with just that…but I know in my heart that would be settling for less than God intends in my life. If could adopt the mentality of John…be ready to drop everything and move to whatever wilderness God needs me too….dress in the oldest …least fashionable clothes…and eat only what he provided for me while I am there….I might get to see amazing things like John did. After all…he was the first to see the Trinity all together in the same place at one time. The Holy Spirit in the form of that dove sat right on Jesus somewhere…as God the Father spoke so everyone could hear his voice how proud he was of his son.

 

Father...thank you for the reminder that God has a plan for my life…and it is more about Him that it is me.  Forgive me for the time that I have allowed my selfish nature to control my decisions…and have shied away from the plan that you really have planned for me.  Help me to use the time that I do seek you out…to listen closely to the direction you need me to go. Help me to lessen my need to be important and loved by others…so that you can use me like you did John.  Amen.

Seek Out Jesus

Matthew 2:1-2 - Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in the country of Judea. It was the time when Herod was king of that part of the country. Soon after Jesus was born, some wise men who learned things from stars came to Jerusalem from the East.  They asked, “Where is the King of the Jews Who has been born? We have seen His star in the East. We have come to worship Him.”

 

Matthew’s second chapter begins with the account of the wise men from the east coming to worship Jesus.  They followed a star for an amazingly long distance to find the baby that was to be the King of the Jews someday. They brought him costly gifts…and fell to their knees in worship as soon as they saw him.

 

What a great model of how we are to seek out God once we learn about the greatness of his love and mercy. God did not give us a star...he gave us an even easier way to learn about him.  If we pick up our Bibles every day….and spend time talking to him in prayer….we will have all the guidance that we need.

 

The wise men also modeled for us how to worship God.  We should bring him the best that we have to offer…going as far as we need to find him….and fall to our knees in humility and awe. Our gifts don’t have to be costly gold or frankincense or myrrh…they can be as simple as the precious gift of our time…or simply sharing the resources he gave us with others.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that we need to seek you out evry day and worship you for who you are. Forgive me for the times that I have run the opposite direction of where I know you are waiting for me. Show me how to truly worship you and bring you the best that I have been given to share with others.  Amen.

Always More Choices Than We Think

Matthew 1:1-2 and 16 - These are the families through which Jesus Christ came. He came through David and Abraham.  Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers…..

Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary. She was the mother of Jesus Who is called the Christ.

 

Around 400 years pass before God calls Matthew to record the life of Christ…the Messiah they had all looked for so long. He is careful to begin his book with the long genealogy of Jesus. Beginning with the father of all Jews…Abraham….he carefully mentioned 52 generations of royalty like David….sinners like Rahab….strong personalities of faith like Boaz and Ruth….to the simple young humble parents of Jesus….Mary and Joseph.

 

It was a supernatural birth….Mary impregnated by the Holy Spirit…and facing sure ridicule….divorce before he is born….and a possible stoning. But God chose a man of character…of stern principles…a discretionary man….responsive to God’s voice…named Joseph.  He even had the self-discipline to become the model adoptive parent ….keeping Mary’s purity intact until Jesus was born.

 

Joseph initial reaction was probably like most of us...he thought he only had two choices when he discovered his betrothed wife was with child…and it was not his. He could divorce her quietly so that the second option of stoning might be avoided.  But God knew he had chosen the right family mix to raise his only son…and a third option was given to Joseph….marry her anyway …and help raise Jesus…the Messiah….Emanuel…so  God could live among us fully human yet fully God.

 

It is a great reminder that the options my finite …fully human mind and heart can think of are so incomplete once God starts revealing his ideas to my heart.  If I can ask God to embed my character with the principles….responsiveness to God’s voice….self-discipline and discretion of Joseph…I can do so much more with what God gave me.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that my options are always more than I can think of when I keep my heart focused on you.  Forgive me for the times that I limit who I am because I forget I can tap into the supernatural power that gave us Christ in the first place.  Help me to keep my heart and mind completely open and willing to accept all the plans you have to prosper me and bring about good in my life. Amen.

Judgment Is Coming

Malachi 4:1-2 - “Watch now,” the Lord Almighty declares, “the day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. The proud and wicked will be burned up like straw; like a tree, they will be consumed—roots and all.  “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

 

Malachi closes the Old Testament with one more admonishment to ‘watch.’  This will be the last word from God recorded from a prophet for around 400 years. He tells us to watch for the day of judgment….a time when all the evil elements of the world God created will be burned up quickly and completely.  The only way to be freed from this process is to fear God’s name so we may rise above the heat with the power of the joy we will receive from his grace.

 

The word ‘watch’ is one of those multiple meaning words I lecture so much about in the classroom I teach. The Pioneers’ New Testament …in an article titled word study #125….says it represents …. “eight different Greek words, whose primary meanings range from guarding a prisoner through the simple measuring of time and ordinary sleeplessness to sobriety and diligent faithfulness....”

 

It’s a curious thing….and perhaps a reason to keep more than one version of the Bible in our possession at all times…for the KJV does not translate the word watch here as my Living Bible does.  It simply states one more time that “judgment is coming.” The NIV states… “Surely the day is coming.”  But I will add my own opinion here and say I am glad the writers of the Living Bible added it here. It puts into a single word the expectation that we should all have as we approach the next moment of our lives. The promised time of judgment is closer than it has ever been.

 

The important thing here is to spread his truth to as many people as we can…so that less people are consumed in that burning fire…and more people join us in eternal life in heaven.  The more active we are in loving others and modeling God’s great power for others…the less evil will have to be destroyed.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have promised an end to the greatest story ever recorded.  Forgive me for allowing the worries of the world to interrupt my call to spread your love to others and help to decrease the amount of people that are consumed by satan’s great lies. Help me to watch actively…and boldly proclaim your love to others.  Amen.

The Story Of How God Creates Jewels

Malachi 3:16-18 - ­ Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of him to each other. And he had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which he recorded the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him. “They shall be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares an obedient and dutiful son. Then you will see the difference between God’s treatment of good men and bad, between those who serve him and those who don’t.

 

Malachi continues his words of prophecy with the foretelling of John the Baptist and the Messiah.  He adds a few rebukes about robbing God by not giving him the tithes he was due.  The he reminds them about how God hates pride and arrogance…how it changes our attitude and makes us less humble. He finishes his chapter with a reminder of how it will be at the end of the story….how God will collect all the jewels he has been working on…how they will be spared when all men are judged in the end.

 

Jewels are just rough stones when they are found. They are covered in dirt….crazy sizes and shapes.  They are usually buried deep within the earth…where God uses the pressure of that place and heat from the core of the earth over many years to form the crystals that make them so special. They sometimes have other things attached to them that need to be separated from the pureness of the element that makes them a rare gem.

 

Even after God finds us and cleans us up…..separates us from all the mess in our lives that made us sinners…we need to be cut…polished….and shaped into a form that will fit perfectly in the setting that he made special for us when we were born. God wants all of the beauty inside us to shine as bright as it can…so others will see the maker of his jewel.

 

What a great reminder and picture of how God is constantly working on the raw person he created.  We pick up so much stuff and become impure….so that he has to wash us clean. It’s not always easy to withstand the pressure and heat of the changes he needs to make in our lives…but if we allow him full control…let him chip away all the sharp edges...he will change us into a perfect gem…a jewel that will be able to share what he has done in our lives.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that we are just raw stones in your hands.  Forgive me for the times that I ran away from the table where you were working on me…cause I thought the pain was too great.  Help me to look forward to the time I spend with you…so I can see the benefits and blessings that will come from the cutting and polishing you do in my life.  Amen.