Month: January 2023

Ephesians 4:2

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Sirius shook his head and said, “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals” (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).

What is your true character? Oh, it is easy to show how humble, gentle, and patient you can be when surrounded by people you already love. How about when you are surrounded by your “enemies”? How do you treat those you would really rather not be around? Or what about all those people you most definitely disagree with their points of view? That is your true character.

Being humble, gentle and patient does not mean being a doormat. I want you to understand that right now! You are entitled just like everyone else to your opinions. You are most certainly entitled to stand up for God and His ways. No, being humble, gentle, and patient means to love everyone enough to not give up on them in prayer. It means to treat them with the same grace that is offered you from God. It means providing peace even if that means walking away. It means not going on and on behind their back with gossip. It means being the bigger person. So, I will ask you again, what is your true character?

Lord, I am sorry that I am not always the person You want me to be. Help me work on my true character. ~amen

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Ephesians 6:11

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Are you ready to take a stand? Are you equipped? Have you placed on the full armor of God? What is it that you need to make a proper stand?

Satan has a full toolbox of schemes. Schemes that are tried and true. By the way, that true refers to accuracy as in hitting a target not true as in telling the truth. LOL, that is the only time the word true has ever been used to describe anything about Satan.

If Satan has all the weapons he needs to knock you to the ground, shouldn’t you have the ones that will help you remain standing? Having them is not enough though. I can have everything I need to make chocolate chip cookies, but if I don’t use it I will never get to eat them. You have access to all the weapons you need, but if you don’t use them, you will never stand.

So, no matter what weapons are aimed at you today, it is time to open the closet. Dust off that helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, belt of truth, shoes of peace, and sword of the Spirit. The battle is on and raging. It is time to make your stand!

Lord, I am prepared to stand! Thank you for equipping me for this battle! ~amen!

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1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

“I don’t have a choice!” I can’t tell you how many times I heard my students or even kids say this phrase. I told them there is always a choice. You just may not always like the options.

The same goes for all of us. You always have choices no matter what situation you find yourself in from day to day. God provides exits even where temptations are concerned. You just need to go looking for them instead of staying where you are. When you kick and scream against them you are no better than my students.

There is no such thing as I just couldn’t help myself. There is no blaming other people. No, you have control over you. As a matter of fact, you are the only thing you can control. You have choices.

Here is the best part. Listen carefully! When you have made the wrong choice, you have a choice too! God will still provide exits here, here, and here! You still have a choice to get out. Those paths may be lined with harder choices than you have ever made, but they are choices. Each choice can lead you right back to God where you belong. So what choices will you make today?

Lord, thank You for choices. Thank You for helping me find the right ones. ~amen

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Matthew 7:7-8

7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8 is frequently quoted by pastors and Christians. I only have one question for them. Are you prepared for the answers you will get?

God, promises us all that we will find answers to everything we bring Him. We often forget that we don’t always get the answers we want or expect. We also don’t always get them in our timing. When these options happen we often blame God. That one hand on hip, finger shaking in the air we throw this verse in His face. May I point out that nowhere in these verses does it say you will be given, find, or the exact door will be opened exactly when you want it to be? NEWS FLASH! This verse is not ABOUT you, it is FOR you.

These verses prove that when we take the time to give up control and turn everything over to God, we will get the perfect answer at the perfect time. If you don’t believe me read the next few verses. God, the Father is much better than any human father. He not only gives us what we need, but He also knows exactly what we need and when we need it. So go ahead seek, knock, and open for the scoop, but if He is ready to give you the whole sundae!

Lord, I am ready to seek, knock, and open. More importantly, I am ready for Your best! ~amen

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Matthew 7:12

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Did you ever play with two cups and a string? They were awesome! I even use it before in my middle school science class to show them how sound travels. In a day of technology, these 7th and 8th graders thought it was the coolest thing in the world. They actually made one that went completely across my classroom and would whisper into it. Yep, it worked like a charm. One thing they quickly caught onto was that they could only talk one at a time.

When you are in an argument with someone and you feel like they are not listening to you, have you stopped and listened to them? Have you used phrases like ‘if I understand you correctly’ or ‘if I am hearing you right’? Yes, you may not have heard them either. All because you did not take the time to do the exact thing you want them to do. Listen to you. You skipped right over the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12.

I am not in any way saying that you are wrong and the other person is always right. I am saying you need to treat them the way you want to be treated. Now, once you have listened carefully, you are still entitled to your opinion. However, remember as we have been saying all week, what you do next is the most important. So, check in with the Holy Spirit and make your next sure your next step follows the sum of the Law and the Prophets!

Lord, it is so easy to get caught up in an argument. Help me learn to listen as well as I want them to listen to me. ~amen

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1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Did you ever notice how exhausted you are after an argument? When I was a teacher, I was trained in crisis management. We learned about the there stages your body goes through during a blow-up after a trigger is put in place. You have the escalation where your blood just starts pumping. That leads to the climax where you hit your max limit. You know that spot where you can’t even see straight, sometimes literally. Finally, you hit de-escalation. Students during this point it isn’t unusual to actually fall asleep. You have expended all your energy and need to reboot. So let me ask you this? If you are going to put that much energy into something shouldn’t it be worth it?

Have you ever heard the statement, “Pick your battles”? Well, God is so worth the battle. The best thing about fighting for the good fight of faith is God provides all the strength you need. There is no de-escalation needed. As a matter of fact, the climax will not make you lose control, it will help you gain it. The harder you fight the more clearly you will see. All you need right now is that trigger to start the fire. Then feed that fire and let it burn bright. Don’t give up! Keep fighting the good fight. The prize is so worth it!

Lord, I want to be the Champion! Give me the strength to fight the good fight of faith. ~amen

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Philippians 2:14-15

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Anyone else read Philippians 2:14 and go OUCH! You are not alone. “Do EVERYTHING without GRUMBLING and ARGUING” (v 14). Not so easy to go through the day without grumbling or arguing about something or someone. Does this mean we never stand up for ourselves? We just become doormats? No, God did not expect that either, but He did expect us to do EVERYTHING in a respectful way and to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Yesterday I talked about the importance of what you do next. These verses tie right into that thought as well. When something is wrong you have a couple of choices. One, you can grumble and argue about it. Two you can find a solution and implement it as far as you are capable. Being a part of the gossip train or getting into a screaming match isn’t going to do you any good. It certainly isn’t going to set you apart from the world. They will probably look at you and scream, “Hypocrite!”

I am not going to sit from my ivory tower and pretend this is easy. No way! As a matter of fact, that lie, cheat, and steal are a walk in the park compared to this one. However, you have no excuse to not try and when you screw up you know what to do. You stand up and be the Christian God knows you can be and apologize. That is how you shine.

Lord, I am not perfect and this is hard, but I want to keep trying to shine! ~amen

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Isaiah 43:18-19

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

My mother-in-law got me hooked on a tv show called Blue Bloods. On an episode I watched last night, a young character felt guilty for not sticky up for her friend at school. She was beating herself up with the guilt. During a conversation about it with her uncle he asked, “Do you know what your grandpa would Say?” She replied with ideas like “He would tell me how disappointed he would be in me.” He looked in her eyes and said, “He would say, what is important is what you do next.” I think we could also use that advice from grandpa and Isaiah. They were wise men!

Isaiah was saying the exact same thing in today’s scripture. Your past is just that, your past. What is important is what you do next. You see God is working on you. He is teaching you and guiding you down a new path. All you have to do is follow. Yes, you will probably deviate a few times, but what you do next is more important. Do you make your own path? Do you fall in a pit and stay where you are? Perhaps, you look up and find that Star of David that will lead you back to the way through the wilderness. The choice is all yours. The important question today is what will YOU do next?

Lord, I fall off the path, but You are always there to lead me back. Thank you for grace. ~amen

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Proverbs 21:21

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Did you know ‘catastrophising’ is a thing? It means to constantly imagine the worst case scenario. I had no idea that was a word! I will admit it has come close to being a habit for me at times and it is not so easy to break.

Did you also know there is an old saying about when you expect bad to happen, you will get it? Now, this isn’t saying you will get the bad you expected to happen, just bad is going to happen. Tie this with catastrophizing and well you can probably feel the stress and all of its effects already!

One article I read said the only way to overcome it is “to be logical and calm, and having a support network of sensible people you can call when you feel out of control” (Dodgson, Lindsay, Insider, 2018). Hmmm. . . wonder where she got that advice? I am pretty sure the Bible is full of advice like that. Proverbs 21:21 is a good example. This verse is not saying you will never face problems, bad things, or even catastrophes. What it is saying is keep your eyes on God through them and well, you will get through them. Maybe that should be our new saying!

Lord, I choose to stop catastrophising and keep my eyes on You! ~amen

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Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Just because information is at your fingertips doesn’t mean people will use it. It also doesn’t mean people can figure out what is the right information and what is the wrong. False media is everywhere! Boy is it hard to tell the difference! What one man calls conspiracy another man calls facts. The biggest problem is both can come up with compelling arguments and “facts” to back their stories.

My case in point, I think it is a fact that the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. There are churches everywhere preaching the gospel. There are bible apps available on just about every electronic device. You can pick up a bible online or in a store. There are places in the world where even the mere word Christianity is outlawed, but it doesn’t stop people from finding out about Christ.

I know that there are many other religions out there that try to dispute Christianity. But for me, the knowledge is indisputable. I choose to follow a risen Savior. I choose a religion that is based on truth, love, hope, and faith. I believe Genesis 1:1 through Revelations 22:21. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord fills the earth. Will you believe it and use it today?

Lord, I firmly believe in You, from in the beginning to the fact that You will be with me. ~amen

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