Words unspoken

Good grief why did I just say that?  Why did I feel I had to say something that wasn't true to get out of a situation?  And the words came so easily...too easy!

Truth was I really didn't have to say anything and it would have been ok, so why did I feel the need to 'explain'?

The hearer of my words didn't know any different and my words had no ill effect on them, yet the nagging hurt in my heart was still there.  It was because my disappointment was not from the person I was talking to but rather the heart of God, his spirit was grieving inside me.

A good friend of mine often says, "words unspoken don't have to be retracted."

May this be the cry of my heart every day...multiple times throughout the day:

O lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, lord. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 

Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalms 139:1, 4, 23, 24 NLT)

Take control of what I say, O lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong. (Psalms 141:3, 4 NLT)

I pray my words always reflect truth and the spirit living within me.

Character of the Worshiper

The character of the worshiper will always be molded by the character of what he worships. 

Worship the past or life's challenges and our character will reflect anger, depression, loneliness, regret, hopelessness, etc.  We can't function today by living in the past or by life dictated by challenges or consequences.

As with emotions our circumstances are not the foundation upon which to base our lives or opinion of who God is.  

Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!  The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:17-26NLT)

Here are some lessons we can learn from Jeremiah:

1. In the midst of difficulties Jeremiah drew from truth he learned and experienced about God.  Reliance on truth rather than emotions as a result of circumstance will help see us through the difficult times.  Emotions are fickle and will always disappoint us.

2.  God knows our limits...He will never allow more than we can handle but will always be our help if we allow him to be. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

3.  No matter what happens today, there will always be a tomorrow...a fresh start.  I am so very thankful God does not give us 'left-overs' but new mercies, new grace and new hope every morning. 

4.  The best way to handle emotions that would seem to overwhelm us is to hope on him; seek him; and wait quietly for his deliverance. The attitude we take during waiting is just as important as the waiting. Waiting is a discipline that yields great rewards and a promise:  "Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31)

Don't hide or run from difficult circumstances, that only prolongs the outcome.  Work through them, don't use them as an excuse to stay where you are.  Sometimes seeking Gods help will come through wise Godly counsel from someone you can trust who will care and walk with you through the difficult times in your life. That person should always direct you to God not away from him nor to themselves for your help. 

Today may we be a worshiper of the God of truth not what others say or what our emotions may try to convince us is truth.  Through our worship may we be molded by his hope, strength, and wisdom.

O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!  

In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure. (Isaiah 33:6 NLT)

Traditions or truth?

You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. (Galatians 1:13, 14 NLT)

Do we teach the gospel of Jesus Christ or the traditions of our faith?  Do we accept what others teach as gospel or do we compare it to scripture? When was the last time you or I questioned a teaching to make sure it aligned with scripture? We would do well to follow the examples of the Bereans, "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11 NIVUK)

Traditions will never truly fill the longing in our hearts, give hope when all else fails us or have the power to bring healing and forgiveness.  Traditions can muddy the waters of truth with half truths and keep its followers bound through guilt. The truth of Gods Word acts like a surgeons knife cutting out falsehoods and half truths to allow truth to take root and the the seeds of hope to grow. "God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions." (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)

Because the Bereans measured Paul's words against the standard of scripture change took place in their hearts and lives.

"As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." (Acts 17:12 NIVUK)

Paul's life is proof of the power of Truth versus traditions. He was so steeped in the traditions of his forefathers he was willing to kill to protect those traditions. I wonder how many we have been willing to 'kill' in their search for God because we were willing to put church or denominational traditions ahead of Truth.

I'm not saying church, denominations or all traditions are bad but if they are in direct conflict with scripture are we willing to forsake them for the truth?

The Word

“I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6

When Jesus made this statement it wasn’t that his physical birth prompted these truths.  He already was the way, truth and life from before the beginning of time.

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. (John 1:1-9)

 “I will never leave you or forsake you” was not just a promise to Jesus disciples when he physically walked this earth.  Since Jesus has always been, he will always be with us…never leaving us.

His coming into our world did not originate the promises Jesus made, but rather proclaimed what had been since before time as we know it and will continue to be truth for all eternity.  Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” (Mt 24:34)  Why?  Because the Word…the Truth has ALWAYS been and ALWAYS will be.  That is why we can stand firmly on his promises!

Fan the flame

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:6-7, 14

Every fall my nephew has a huge bonfire and then bakes the most delicious pizzas in his outdoor oven.  The scent of wood burning pizza and the bonfire sticks to our clothes for days bringing with it the sweet remembrance of times spent with each other.  I thought of him when I read this verse.  The bonfire starts off with a strategically placed Tepee built with different size tree limbs and trunks.  Although powerful looking it serves no purpose until it is lit and nursed into a strong powerful heat source.  When the time is right, the spark is lit and the night sky becomes brilliant with the light from the fire.  The outside temperature can be in the teens and yet the closer we get to the fire the warmer the air around us becomes.

The spiritual gift God gave to Timothy, and likewise to each of us, started with a spark.  The wood for the bonfire had been instilled in Timothy as a youth by his godly mother and grandmother.  Now was the time Timothy would have to ‘fan into flames’ that spark through exercising the power of the Holy Spirit living within him.  Flames will not come when wood is wet and likewise our faith will not grow when saturated with fear and anxiety.  These do not come from the Holy Spirit but rather the enemy trying to keep the bonfire from existing.  

Timothy didn't know the exact outcome of the flames any more than we know the end of the dreams and visions God plants in our hearts.  We don’t need to know, we just need to fan those dreams and visions with the power of the Holy Spirit by renewing our minds daily with his word and his strength.  Our controlling and manipulation will always leave us with wet wood.  God’s word stands guard over that precious truth and he will bring it to pass in his timing.   He then becomes our source of power, love and self-discipline, and strength…never be extinguished. 

The slippery road of a half truth

Ever been caught in a half truth and tried to squirm your way out of it? All the while knowing what you are saying is not completely right but enough to sound like the truth?
The problem with a half truth is it is also a half lie.
The Bible is an open book revealing flaws in ordinary people we sometimes elevate because of the extraordinary feats God accomplished through them.  God did not require perfection from them, only obedience...the same he requires from us today.  1 Samuel 15 is a perfect example of this.

Because of the opposition the nation of Amalek gave to the Israelites when they were passing through from Egypt, God decided to destroy their nation...everything and everyone.  Saul was given this mission to accomplish.
Enter half-truth half-lie.  Saul tries to convince the prophet Samuel he has accomplished the entire mission.  Samuel's response, “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Gotcha, caught in the half-truth.  Saul squirms, blames his army (not once but twice) and then sugar coats the disobedience with the God element.   “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”

Just because Saul, you or I put the God element in the mix still doesn't make a half truth a whole truth.  Notice it was not Saul's God he refers to but Samuel's God.  Big clue into the condition of Saul's heart.

Again Samuel called him out on the lie: "Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? 

 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.  Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

 But Samuel replied,

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
    your burnt offerings and sacrifices
    or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
    and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
    and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

Saul had no idea the web he was spinning would become the entrapment that would change the course of his life.  Rebellion and stubbornness in our lives are like threads woven together that reflect beauty on the outside but one false move and that pattern becomes the sticky chords of entrapment and death.  Half truths always end this way, we just can't predict the moment. 

Bold confidence

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.  Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.  And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.  Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

1 John 3:18b-24

Truth is our foundation for confidence, not our feelings or emotions.  When our ‘house’ is built on this solid foundation the winds of doubt, discouragement, fear, disbelief, etc. will not destroy it.  This bold confidence does not come with a spirit of arrogance in demanding our own way or dictating to God what he should do in any given situation.  Rather it is a spirit of freedom in whom and whose we are that brings an innocence of trust, of hope and of expectation. 

David said in Psalm 5:3,7 “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.”

David didn’t live under the freedom of grace that we do today, his was a covenant of laws and regulations that brought death and guilt not life.  Yet David proclaimed this bold confidence not in his feelings or emotions but the truth of God’s unfailing love towards him. 

Today, if you believe in the name of Jesus Christ and call yourself his follower no matter the circumstances you find yourself in start building your house on truth not feelings…on hope and confidence not fear and guilt.  

Solid foundation

“Honey you just got the rug pulled out from underneath you.” As a little girl I used to think this was a rather strange saying. How could someone pull a rug out from underneath me while I was standing on it?

As I grew up and lived life I realized the meaning of this saying: the unexpected will come into our lives and unless our footing is secure the very foundation we stand upon will be pulled out from underneath us and usually without warning.

When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” could Jesus have been saying the same thing? Peter’s answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-20) Peter was declaring the very foundation he would be standing on from that day forward. At times, he didn’t understand it, maybe didn’t always live it, but the foundation was being built with every word, every experience, everything he witnessed walking alongside Jesus.

Verse 21 says, “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many terrible things...” Jesus couldn’t tell them the horrendous things he was about to experience until they had discovered for themselves the foundation they would not only stand upon but lay their very lives down for. That foundation was and is today solid and unwavering; nothing can destroy or change it.

The same question begs an answer from us today. Who do we say the Son of Man is? Our answer becomes the foundation upon which we stand during good times and what supports and keeps us from falling during rough times. Any foundation that is not solid, not built upon the truth of who Jesus is, will collapse at the first tremor. There is no storm the truth of God cannot weather yet remain solid through.

Paul gave witness to this foundation. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
(2Cor 4:7-9) Isaiah said, “In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD will be your treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6)
These are truths we can stand upon.

So, who do you say the Son of Man is? Who or what is the foundation you stand upon and is it safe?