"Black Friday perspective"

Happy Thanksgiving . On the verge of "Black Friday" Jesus' words provide a fitting perspective. "do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; nor your body, as to what you shall put on...But seek for His kingdom...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Lk.12:22,31,34).

Love Mercy

In Micah 6:8 the prophet called upon the people to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God." Powerful challenge to treat people with justice (treat others fairly); to love mercy (treat others kindly when they don't deserve it); and to walk humbly (to serve willingly). It's pretty natural for us to demand justice--to insist that we be treated fairly. But it is supernatural for us to demonstrate justice, mercy, and humility. Micah 6:8 calls us to live completely counter to our self-centered natural inclinations. We want to be treated justly, but often neglect to deal with others fairly. We desire to receive mercy--not getting the punishment we deserve, but we are arrogantly reluctant to extend mercy to those we are certain do not deserve it. We long to be recognized and appreciated, but struggle to take a back seat, serve, and let others receive the credit. Lord, work in my heart today to put you first and think about my own actions towards others rather than their actions towards me. Teach me to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.

Rejoice in this...

I love the story of Luke 10 and Jesus sending out the disciples on a short-term ministry trip. The interaction at the end of the trip is so fitting for this Thanksgiving week. The disciples come back all "juiced up" over the fact that "even the demons are subject to us in Your name" (Lk.10:17). After all that God was doing the disciples were focused on the power they had. Jesus gave them some much needed perspective when He said, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Lk.10:20). As we approach Thanksgiving I find this reminder so fitting. Can I spend some time focusing on the marvelous mercy of God in sending His son to die on the cross so that I could have my name written in the book of life? What a blessing to be the recipient of God's grace and to be one of His children.

Love Mercy.

Jonah knew that God was merciful so he ran away from Ninevah. When he finally showed up God proved compassionate and Jonah didn't like it. God gave Jonah a lesson in mercy. Jesus, likewise calls us to "be merciful just as your Father is merciful" (Lk.6:36). When I think of the mercy I have experienced from God it is a motivator to express mercy towards others.When I forget how God has extended His mercy towards me it is easy to become judgmental of others. It is really a twisted sense of pride that allows me to self-righteously and inappropriately judge others while basking in the mercy God has given to me. Lord, help me reflect more seriously on your mercy in my life so that I more consistently extend that mercy towards others.

What motivates our Obedience?

In Luke 4 Jesus was lead into the wilderness where He was tempted 3 times and three times he resisted by quoting Scripture. One thing that strikes me is that the Son's love for the Father was manifest through his resistance of temptation to act in ways contrary to the Father's words (Jesus quoted the Old Testament--predominately Deuteronomy as grounds for resisting Satan). Jesus obeyed out of devotion, not duty; out of love, not legalism. May our love for the Father grow to the point that our obedience is driven by true devotion as well.

Spiraling Out of Control

It is easy to lament the moral degeneracy in our society and for good reason. Dishonesty, immorality, and corruption are just a few of the indicators of our departure from virtue. I'm pretty good at identifying the culprits, the "ring leaders" of moral decline and then lambasting them. The Lord has used His word to challenge my knee jerk reactions. First of all, Scripture commands us to "hate evil and love good" (Amos 5:15; Ro.12:9). I'm pretty good at hating other people's evil and self-righteously loving my "own comparative good." Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure these verses are a command to "start with myself." For me to hate evil and turn from it in my own life personally and to love what is good, by pursuing it. Secondly, there is the matter of GRACE--unmerited favor/kindness. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn..." (Mt.5:3). They mourn over their own sin and the sin they see around them. Do I mourn for either? Do I pray for repentance in my life and in the lives of others...that I will turn from sin and so will those I'm quick to vilify? What if I began to pray more consistently for those whose actions offend me? I cannot and should not ignore the downward spiral of morality. Neither am I bound to remain silent in the face of gross degeneracy, but I hope to react with greater integrity.

Talking before Thinking

If I were to pick one disciple that I feel that I most closely resemble my initial pick would be Peter because of his impetuous nature. I seem to share a proclivity to speak first and think later which means that I find myself removing my foot from my proverbial mouth more often than I would like. Fact is that we speak out of that which fills our heart (Mt.12:34)so any mistakes in speech are really a reflection of what is on my heart. So the following verse is a good one for me to keep always on my mind. "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness" (Psalm 141:3-4). A fitting prayer to start the day.

Everywhere that I go, God is there.

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your Presence?" (Ps.139:7). The Psalmist's rhetorical questions are definitively answered in the ensuing verses. We cannot escape God's presence. This reality is cause for both reverence and relief. We cannot hide our wickedness from the Lord which should stir us to obedience. We are always in the presence of the Lord which should provide us with great comfort.

"Fight the Good Fight"

I'm sure that with a title like I've chosen many will be thinking that I'm going to comment on 2Timothy 4:7 where Paul says, "I have fought the good fight. Well, I am....sort of. Paul fought the good fight of faith and was near the end of his life when he wrote to Timothy. His example and words are certainly an encouragement for every believer to stay faithful in their ministry. And it is this faithfulness in ministry that I was struck with this morning as I was reading an article that appeared in Christianity Today. There are two things I was struck by as I read the article. First of all, the faithfulness of many people in proclaiming Christ as the answer to the needs of a particular person. Secondly, I was touched by God's relentless pursuit of people. God asks us to work while He works. Indeed, Peter is correct that believers are a people of God's own possession to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1Pet.2:9). As many people were faithful in fighting the good fight of faith by sharing the truth of Christ with Kirsten Powers (Fox News Contributor, The Daily Beast) God did His work in her as well. I found myself encouraged by the faithfulness and boldness of many believers in her life sharing the truth about Christ. There was a pastor who was faithfully proclaiming the truths of Christianity and relentlessly pointing people to Christ. This is evangelism as it is suppose to be. Then there was God doing His work drawing Kirsten to Himself. How easily we tend to "write certain people off" as unredeemable, as unreachable, as impossible. God is the God of the impossible. Finally, I applaud Kirsten's courage to speak out publicly about her faith. It was courageous for those who shared Christ with her, but for her to face the anti-god establishment in which she has been so intertwined for many years requires monumental courage. Her is the link to the article. This link will take you to an abbreviated article. scroll down to the "read entire article" bold words and click on them to read the entire article. I've read both. I'd recommend that you read the entire article first. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/november/fox-news-highly-reluctant-jesus-follower-kirsten-powers.html?paging=off

Help in these times of tumult.

The past couple of days I've been reeling from all of the information coming out about the new health care law. I feel my personal and religious liberty being violated by all of the mandates. I feel the economic realities of higher premiums and higher deductibles. I feel angry that the deceptions around the law keep being perpetuated. It is unaffordable, unnecessary unworkable, and unwanted by the majority of Americans. And when I think about the fact that those people most directly responsible for the enactment of Obama Care (The President of the United States, The Congress and their staffs, the Unions) are NOT forced to be subject to it I find myself very angry. The height of hypocrisy is to push something as in the best interest of the people, to sing the praises of "better care at a lower price" (which is simply NOT true), and to demand implementation of a law the impact of which these people are intentionally and purposefully able to avoid because of their power and privilege is upsetting. In fact, the only people guaranteed to keep their current health care plans and their doctors are the President, Congress and their staffs, and ALL Federal Employees who are able to take part in their own special health care system not available to the rest of the people. The Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan is an entity all it's own that is highly subsidized by taxpayers and as far as I can tell after the incorrectly labelled "Affordable Care Act" was passed, the President and the Secretary of HHS went in and unilaterally changed certain provisions so that the President, Members of Congress and their staffs would be free to remain on the FEHBP or if they wanted to enter the "exchanges" they could do so. Additionally, certain powerful unions have also been granted special provisions so that their health care plans do not have to comply with the ACA as it is written. They too can keep their current plans and doctors. I find it quite offensive that with our individual family policy that we are forced to pay for maternity coverage, contraceptives, abortion services, mental health examinations, all pre-existing conditions, and a host of other provisions that we have chosen NOT to include in our health insurance over the years. We are now forced to pay for some things that violate our conscience and are contrary to our Christian beliefs. In the swirl of this and many other disturbing events on the local, national, and international scene these words bring me needed perspective. "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" Psalm 124:8.

What to do in Difficult Days.

Paul told Timothy that "in the last days difficult times would come" (2Tim.3:1) and he would find himself on a sea of corruption and compromise. The descriptions given in verses 1-11 of 2Timothy 3 are eerily familiar as men today are "lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving...without self-control, haters of good...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." In this toxic environment Paul promises Timothy and every person who seeks to live godly in Christ Jesus that we will be persecuted (2Tim.3:12). The solution Paul offered to dealing with a wicked and worsening world is timeless truth, "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of...the sacred writings which are able to give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2Tim.3:14-15). He punctuates the priority of God's Word in the familiar close to the chapter in verses 16-17. To be thoroughly equipped for every good work when the world is wicked, the man/woman of God needs to stay connected to the WORD of GOD.