No Vacancy

Summer time and vacations are upon us.  While we look forward to them, if we don't make plans ahead of time we will be faced with a lot of No Vacancy signs along the roads.

Could this be the imagery we think of when reading Philippians 3:13, “…I focus on one thing:  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.  But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”

You might be thinking, “Where is the No Vacancy in that??”

The purpose of a No Vacancy sign is to let those seeking lodging know there is no room at that particular establishment.  Our past is a guest refusing to accept the No Vacancy sign and keeps coming back looking for a place to stay.

Our memories can become entanglements preventing us from moving out of our past and letting go of unhealthy patterns or behaviors in order to make better decisions for our present and future.

To stay in our past can be strangely comforting.  While we don’t like the end results at least we know what to expect.

Paul tells us in the above passage it isn’t easy but he focuses on “forgetting and looking forward.”  This takes a conscientious effort and determination not to invite and entertain the past but rather celebrate the change that comes from moving out of the past.  Look at change as an unexpected rain shower in the middle of summer, cleansing, refreshing and invigorating.

Once we deny our past a home we must then renew….restore…refurbish…replenish…(get the point?) our minds with new.  How do we do that?

Paul puts it this way, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”(Philippians 4:7) 

To fix our thoughts means to determine and strengthen our thought process and this takes practice.

“Those dominated by the sinful nature (which could be our past and its affects*) think about sinful things (dwelling in our past*), but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.  But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.  You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.  Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” (Romans 8:5,6,9,12) 

So when Mr. & Mrs. Past want to take up residence in your mind stand firm to the progress you are making.  You are under no obligation to let them in.  Flash the NO VACANCY sign and flex your thought/mind muscle on truth. 

*thoughts added

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.  

M28 Discipleship Blog: The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success

M28 Discipleship Blog: The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success: The following blog is an excerpt from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers Copyright © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Asso...

Who is your standard?

At 15 years of age Tom was diagnosed with a rare degenerative eye disease that would eventually steal his sight. Anyone who knew Tom always commented how positive his attitude was even in the face of difficult circumstance. But this was something he never anticipated nor wanted in his life. The floodgate to his emotions flung wide open in those first few days and weeks of receiving this diagnosis; shock, anger, fear, smashed hopes and dreams and anxiety to name a few. He would never be able to fulfill his dream of playing football for a big name team, never be able to drive, never see the face of the one he would hope to marry one day or even the faces of any
children God would bless their marriage with. Would anyone even want him without his sight?

His faith was tested.
Would he be able to live the words he often encouraged others with? Tom was faced with a decision we all face at some point in our lives; how and in what do we measure our value and worth? Is it in a particular physical or mental feature, a talent, a checkbook balance or material items? And what happens if one or more of these are snatched away without warning?

What we use today as a standard to measure our value and worth will either build or eventually destroy us. We must look to a standard that has always remained the same will never change according to fashion, “religious”, financial or political climates around us. We cannot look to Hollywood, a particular Wall Street or Washington, DC to determine our worth or value.

There is only one standard by which we can determine our value. God’s standard revealed in his Word. Nothing is greater than God and He holds himself true to His faithfulness and the validity of his Word. God’s value and worth He places in us is like a thread sewn throughout His word, it is strong and will never break, tear or crumble. The circumstances that come into our lives won’t scare him or change his mind about us.

God’s word says, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change is mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? (Numbers 23:19)
“And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!” (1 Samuel 15:19)

Tom came to realize that God uses difficult circumstances in our lives to refine us not to define us. He was still Tom whether he could see or not.

What about you? In what or whom do you find your value and worth, and is it reliable and unchangeable?

Robbed or protected?

My home was broken into and robbed. Everything of value was taken and the aftermath left me with fear and a sense of defilement. Doors are now locked at all times, everyone must knock before entering. The so-called “Welcome” mat is no longer as welcoming. Everyone that comes to the door is viewed with suspicion. Every little noise is no longer heard as charming character noises in my old home but rather unnerving as nails going down a chalkboard. “Is he
back?” and “Am I safe?” are questions that frequent my minds speech.

I am not talking about a physical burglary but rather an emotional and spiritual burglary. The culprit has been caught and sentenced but not without leaving his mark in my life. I’m talking about Mr. Worry.

He has broken into many homes. He is a scavenger looking for the unsuspected victim and taking advantage of anyone whose guard is down leaving fear and anxiety trailing behind him in the aftermath of his invasion. Has he ever broken into your home?

Jesus gave us some steps to combat and guard against having this invasion happen in our lives today in Matthew 6:
1. Don’t have a pack-rat mentality. (v19)
2. Invest in commodities that have a failsafe future and can't be stolen today. (v20-21)
3. Know who your Investor is. (v24)
4. Don’t be impulsive and fall for the latest “must-have” advertisements. (vs25-30)
5. Base every decision on Truth and the “returns” of your decisions will sustain you. (vs 31-34)

Worry and faith are like oil and water. They cannot exist in the same house together.
Paul said, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
The “cannot see” is the part that trips us up today thereby letting our guards down for the invasion of worry.

Jesus asked the crowds a very powerful question that day which begs repeating today, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Is what you and and I spend our time thinking and worrying about today going to add a single moment of peace and resolution to our life or does it just rob us of life?

Who has access to the door of your heart today?

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?

Celebrating uniqueness

I was in a meeting recently where there was a clear distinction between different personalities and even God given gifts. From the discussion it would seem some were either trying to become like others in the room (and becoming frustrated or disappointed in their “lack of___”) or trying to get others to come into their
particular gifting (“you just need to allow the Spirit to……………”). While I believe we need to allow the Spirit to move in and through us, this too can be frustrating at times. But what happens when we don’t sense the Holy Spirit moving in a particular situation; revealing the answer for either yourself or the person asking you for help; or when we don’t hear the Holy Spirit concerning the next move we should make? All the while He seems to be doing all these in others.

While I truly believe everyone’s motives were not to duplicate themselves in that meeting but rather be an encouragement for each other to think-out-of-the-box for new possibilities, let’s face it--it can be frustrating to not see ourselves or others in a spiritual gift we want to be in.

It was very clear at this meeting that hearts were touched by the message; they believed the message, stood in awe at the results of the message yet at the same time to fulfill the message would be a complete 180 in not only thinking but ‘doing’. It would take a complete overhaul of preconceived ideas so ingrained it would
shatter their world as they knew it. It was also very clear the Holy Spirit had been working in their hearts and lives moving toward this change. This too was frustrating.

Paul said in Corinthians we are all part of the body. An arm can’t pretend or act like an eye, or an ear like a foot, yet all are important for the healthy function of the body.
“It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person” should have (1Cor 12:11)
Paul then describes the functions of the body and makes this statement, “So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other…one suffers…all suffer…one is honored…all are glad.” (I Cor 12:24-25)

I started thinking how I treat others that are different than me. Do I honor those that wouldn’t ‘do as I would do’ or who aren’t as ‘spiritually mature’ as I am (said with tongue-in-cheek)? Whichever part I am, am I working in harmony with the others?
Encouraging them in their uniqueness and different thinking? For those who are acting less honorable do I try to clothe them with love, grace and mercy or expose them for who they are?
“In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care.”

God not only gives to each of us gifts and the ability to work in those gifts, he uses our personality through which those gifts take shape. Each of us is going to be different. It is the vehicle through which the world around us sees God in action.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (Prov 27:16-18)
When we stop trying to mold fit but rather encourage one another in the uniqueness and richness God has created each of us for His glory to be seen, the body of Christ will once again become healthy.
There is friction in sharpening one iron with another…let us be careful not to stab one another in the process.