WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF

“Worry about yourself”, said my little 2 ½ year old granddaughter to me the other day, as I was asking her if she was “supposed to be getting into her mother’s purse”. No sooner did she get those words out of her mouth, did her mother respond back to her in the spirit of a 911 emergency operator, loving, but stern rebuke, by telling her not speak to her Granna like that. She bowed her little head and said, “I sorry Granna”! How precious that was! Not her harsh rebuke to me for questioning her business, but the humility she showed, when her higher authority spoke. My daughter apologized and told me that our little princess was copy-catting her Mom because that is the response that she gets from her mother when she tries to tell her brother what to do. Her mother tells her to, “worry about yourself” and leave your brother to me. My little granddaughter is having to learn one of the toughest character builders in life, and that is to mind her own affairs. God’s word even tells us to do that! It says, “And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you…”  in 1 Thessalonians 4:11. In Proverbs 26:17 Solomon provide us with a little bit of imagery or practical mental picture to help us understand the importance of minding our own business by saying, “Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.”, Proverbs 26:17.

 

Fooling with someone else's problems, butting into other's arguments, meddling in other people’s affairs is just not smart. In fact, it is just about as smart as grabbing a dog by his ears. When I see people in big quarrels and animosity towards each other that causes division and conflict, I am sometimes so tempted to step in and get everyone straightened out by giving them some great advice, but then, I quickly remind myself about what would happen, if I picked up a dog by the ears. As I hold my own tongue, and not get involved, I do as Jesus told Peter to do in John 21:20-22,  Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” I do this because I believe in Romans 14:12, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God”. Some people will go through life and never learn to keep their tongue under control. You can tell that by looking at the long trail of damage they have brought about that leads straight to their own mouths. In the end they too will give an account of what they have said, and friend it will not be a good thing! I think my daughter hit the nail on the head when she said, “worry about yourself”!

Hold Fast,

Bren

 

SUCCOTH, A TEMPORARY PLACE

 

A city, east of the Jordan River in the territory of Gad, about 30 miles north of the Dead Sea, is a very important little piece of land. It is important because, it is a part of Bible history. On the way back to Canaan, after Jacob had ended his exile from his family, in fear of his brother Esau’s anger against him from Jacob having stolen his birthright; Jacob built himself a temporary place to live and made booths for his cattle, and he called the place Succoth. Succoth was not a place that Jacob intended to stay forever. But to only dwell for a short time, until he could make amends with his brother Esau, for having wronged him. Succoth appears in a number of places in the Bible, as a physical location, and even as one of the Feasts that the Children of Israel were commanded to keep and celebrate throughout their generations.

 

Today, the place that used to be known as Succoth is part of the country of Jordan. There is a two-fold meaning for this little name; Succoth. It has both a spiritual and a practical meaning to God’s people. Because of its importance, it was a  Biblical Mandate to remember it and celebrate it as such. The exodus from Egypt by the Children of Israel is probably the most significant event in the history of the Israelite people. In fact, many Judaic festivals owe their origins to this event. After the Children of Israel departed from Egypt in route to the Promised Land, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. During their nomadic wanderings, they too dwelt in these small temporary booths and shelters like the ones in Succoth.

 

 For the child of God today, Succoth should represent to us, and be a physical reminder that this world is not our home. We are only here for a very short time.  It should also remind us that Succoth  has a spiritual aspect as well, and remind us that we should consider the places that we often end up at in our lives, as little plots of Succoth. Temporary places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. Just temporary places, until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Because of the hardness of their hearts where they ended up in the dessert, many Jews died there, never seeing the promised land that was intended for them, while others eventually moved out, and into the land that God had promised.

 

You see Succoth represents to the believer that our time frame is not always Gods, and it is always best to stay at the place we may be at, until God instructs us to move on to the next phase of our lives. Like the patriarch Abraham, Gideon also was a great example of waiting on God. Gideon stepped out of his comfort zone where he was, as Abraham did, not having all the answers he may have wanted and obeyed God, even though he may have been a little skeptical about what he was ask to do. When we step out of our comfort zones at the leading of the Lord, He doesn’t expect us to remain comfortable; that’s the whole point. If it wasn’t uncomfortable then we’ve merely stepped from one comfort zone into another. The idea is that we do uncomfortable things in faith. That is what faith is. So never think, that you aren’t demonstrating sufficient faith when facing a grueling challenge, and you have fears and worries along the way.

 

If you ask any soldier who has ever been in combat if they were afraid, they will tell you “absolutely, they were!” What they had to learn was to control that fear in order to function, not dismiss it. Even so, Gideon would have to appear sure and confident among his men because, nothing frightens soldiers more, than to have a wavering leader. We can trust God’s leading, for He never wavers and our faith in Him will move us from our temporary places to the places of better dwellings.

 

As I said, we should always consider the places that we oftentimes end up at as little plots of Succoth. Simple places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. But temporary places until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Into a better place, a place of promise!

Hold Fast,

Bren

HOPE IS HOW YOU COPE

Man cannot measure its effects nor can they tell exactly how it’s power is released in the human body when someone chooses “Hope”. Hope is mostly intangible, until you have reached out for it. It may be impossible to see or touch it, until you have crossed over to where hope waits. It plays a most important role in our lives when we are at wits end and in need of a deeper help other than ourselves. Hope brings us healing and promise and it powers us to move ahead in our life. Hope can be contagious as we see other’s being gratified by its power. Hope in one person, can very well activate and raise hope in another and before you know it, it becomes contagious. The Bible teaches that hope fills us with joy and peace as we lay aside our gloom and doom and reach out for something better. The truth is that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He promises to help those who cry out to Him. Jesus says to you, “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I’ll give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

There are a lot of dark places in life and while they appear to be like long dark train tunnels, keep in mind that a lot of engineering went into designing those tunnels, and are actually true marvels of engineering, as they help trains navigate through harsh and unwelcoming territories. You may be yearning today sweet friend for that light at the end of your tunnel. But while you are waiting, through faith, the flame of your hope can provide some much needed glimmers of God’s light. It's there, shimmering and dancing waiting for you to see it. You simply need to break out of your tunnel vision and gaze a little wider and when you do, hope steps in and helps you cope, with whatever it may be that is causing your darkness. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
 

Loving on you today,

Bren

Finding God's Place For Your Life

God has a plan for every life that He creates. His plan is sure, wise and designed to fit our personality and position in this world. His design involves where we go and what we do, and the people that He places in our lives. How do we know this? Because His Words tells us so. Before God created the first man and the first woman, He created a place for them to be, and He placed them there. When He established His relationship with Israel as a people set apart for Him, He had already established a place for them to live in the Promise Land. Even the Son of God, as He left the throne of God, to come to earth and live amongst a lost world, had a plan and a place already picked out for His arrival as well as His leaving.

 

You too, sweet friend have a promised future if you will diligently seek Him and follow where He will lead you. You see, when we seek after God, we run into His goodness, we find the wisdom we need in every area of our lives and we open the door for His Kingdom to be done in our personal lives as it was for-planned in heaven for us to live. However, if we choose to not seek God on the level that He ask of us to seek Him on, we will miss out on the plans that He has prepared for us. Like Adam and Eve’s failure in the garden as they chose to disobey God, because they chose to do things their way, it ended up costing them the very plan that God had designed and intended for them to have, the Garden Paradise. While life is no longer perfect since sin came into the world, God though His own plans has a place of blessing for each of us, but we must continue in His ways and not fall short.

 

Staying connected to God means you must make the effort it takes. An occasional trip to the church house to drop a few dollars in the plate, posting sweet pics with Bible verse on it about Jesus on your Facebook, is not how the true child of God, stays connected. I, am talking about a real, live connection to the Son of God, and to the God Who created you. To connect with God, Webster describes it this way, to bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established. To join together so as to provide access and communication. To link to a power source. Are you really connect to God? Are you in a place that God has for you or do you wish you were? If not, seek Him for that place in faith, and stay expectant. For God knows the plans that he has for you, to prosper and not to harm you. But you must seek Him, on His terms. Are you doing things God’s way, or yours? Remember, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 

 

Loving on you today,

Bren

JUDGING GOD

God is not a man who has somehow acquired great power, wisdom and authority. Instead He is Deity, the supreme supernatural being who is far superior to man and who has a perfect mind and heart. He wills only from His perfect being. Unlike other life forms such as plants and animals, man was created in God’s, own image according to Gen. 1:27.  

Scripture also tells us that, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” according to Psalm 24:1. So all that exists is God’s personal property. We are not our own! Everything exists for God’s purposes. Humans have this illusion concerning their independence from God. Most believe that as they make their own choices, those choices shape their environment and control their own destinies, and that through their own efforts they provide for themselves, will and do as they please apart from any outside help or intervention. This is an illusion though, because in general we have no control whatsoever over the most basic factors of our life. The scriptures teach us in Proverbs 16, that man makes his plans but in the end it is God who directs his steps and wills the results. Our human tendency often times puts us at odds with God, who is judge over all the earth according to Genesis 18.

 

Some might ask, what right does God have, to decide whether our behavior is worthy of reward or punishment? Primarily it is, because He created us. Some Scientist tell us that humans evolved through a process of mutation and natural selection. If this were the case, there would be no standards of behavior that were more right than any other. Life would simply be a what evolves, with the outcome determining who was most fit to survive.  But God has revealed in the Bible that He is the great intelligence that created the universe and everything in it. Whether we believe it or not is our choice.

 

The apostle Paul expresses this principle in his letter to the Romans: “Indeed, o man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay?” Romans 9:20-21. satan would have us believe that God is a selfish liar who wants to maintain His power and exclusive privileges, keeping mankind from the truth. Satan wants us to believe that God desire to Lord over us as satan himself would love to do. He would like nothing more than that we disobey God as Eve did the day the he deceived her with his lies.

 

The Bible however presents a totally different picture. It reveals that God is love, who longs to offer His grace and mercy to us, even if we reject it. His judgments are an expression of His love to His creation, not a desire for control or revenge or an expression of malevolence. “He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth” Psalms 96:13. God promises in this verse that He will not pervert justice, and falsehood will not be able to prevail in His judgment. Some of the resentment that people have towards God and His judgments’ stems from the misconception that God is judging every little thing that we do and that the trials, pain and tragedies that we experience are God’s punishment for our transgressions. In actual fact, God is continuously shielding us from the worst consequences of our own actions. He nailed our judgment to the cross by sending His Son to take our judgment on Himself and pay for all mankind’s sin. If man does not accept that payment, then in the end he will in deed die a sinner’s death and be separated for eternity from his creator who loved him enough to make a way of escape.

 

God is holding back His wrath on us.  This is represented in the Book of Revelation as it speaks about the “four angels… holding back the four winds of the earth” Revelation 7:1. This world has suffered enough from sin, and the judgment is simply God’s way of bringing it to an end.  We usually think that judgment is all about our deeds and behavior, but actually when you think about it, God is being judged as much as anyone. At the very beginning, soon after creation in the Garden of Eden, the accusations were against God. satan cast them himself. Eve believed those accusations and disobeyed what God had told her not to do.

 

So maybe man’s issue is not so much about, “what right does God have to judge him”, but rather, “what right does man have to judge God”? Because that’s what people do when they consider God’s laws and the gospel message, and rejects them.

 

Loving on you today!

Bren

 

Lukewarm Complacency

Part 1

Sometimes God’s children fall into spiritual ruts. They seem to be going through the motions of being a child of God, but without passion or a genuine feeling of the closeness that they have had in the past, to the Lord. I admit, that I have found myself in that situation myself. It is in those times that we lose our excitement about the things of God and even damage our relationship with Him. While we do not reject Him altogether, we find ourselves in a very uncomfortable situation, for a while any ways. It is that in-between, not wholly with the world, but not totally in love with God either place. This place the scripture refers to as spiritual complacency, being lukewarm and straddling the spiritual fence. This may not be your  problem right now, but sometime in your Christian life, you will be, if you are not very careful to guard yourself by being filled daily and walking in the Holy Spirit. All of us have the tendency to slip into a lukewarm spiritual state. Instead of being the thermostat, we become a thermometer. When everything is going well and we don’t need anything, it’s very tempting to let our guards down assuming that it will always be grand. In Revelations 3:14-22, Jesus wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea, a church located in Turkey. He told them that they were spiritually complacent: "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus is telling us to not be content in that condition. Get up, move out! He stand ready and waiting to help us out of that retched state, but we must desire Him more than anything else. You see it’s always “things’ trip us up and get us sidetracked. Don’t become so lukewarm that you like that common place you may be in. Be ready to pick up and move on to a higher spiritual calling. (continued)

Part 2

Last week I encouraged you not to visit the land of the lukewarm. The place where you become spiritually content. That place where you feel neither hot nor cold for the Lord, just lukewarm. To be lukewarm means, to be indifferent and undecided. You haven’t resolved to do something. You are not passionately invested in a cause. Nothing you do seems to motivate you to exert yourself. When we are lukewarm spiritually, the progress of God’s work is not as important to us as much as it may have been in the past. Outwardly, we may seem to be doing quite well. We may seem to be happy and satisfied, and are committed to our routine of Christian life. However, we dislike anything that “rocks our boat.” We just like the way things are. We are comfortable and feel like we are in our control. But really, we are just pitiful! If this is where you are sweet friend, you don’t realize your true situation. You have no spiritual strength. You think you are doing well, but in fact you are in tremendous danger of being far away from God. I know this because of my own spiritual failures and past waywardness at times. However, the good news is that God loves us dearly and will always be ready to embrace us when we wake up from our spiritual slumber. In verses 15 and 16 of Revelations chapter 3, Jesus tells the Laodiceans their actions indicate their spiritual complacency. When people are truly moved by something, they take action. If you love your family, you will work hard to support them and meet their needs. If  you have ambition for power, if not careful, you will be ruthless in pursuing it. If a child is trapped in a burning building, a mother will do everything she can to save her child. A true believer, will not be able to stay in a place of complacency very long. The Lord wills it that way. He knows that His children can only rebel for so long and at some point they will return to Him. Why? Because upon salvation, God places His Spirit inside them. He promises that His Holy Spirit will lead them into all truth, guiding them as they walk through life and seals them until the day of redemption. No one can remove that seal, no one! A true believer will sense that complacency in their lives and will be convicted by the Spirit of God to repent and turn back. If that does not happen in a person’s life, they will need to rethink and work out their salvation according to God’s Word. However, to the child of God, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” If we could save ourselves by our good works and deeds, or our great motives or any other means, we would not need a Savior. But since we can’t save ourselves, we must surrender to the One who does save, and when we do, we will have the desire that only He gives to want to serve Him and live for Him. The book of James tells us that Faith without works is dead. No good! Ephesians tells us that, it is by God’s grace that we can be saved, through our faith and nothing from ourselves, for it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Today sweet friend, take a moment and gage your spiritual walk. How is your relationship with God? Draw neigh to Him and He will draw neigh to you! Jesus is the way to God. No man comes to the Father but by Him.

Loving on you today,

Bren

 

How's Your Spiritual Walking Going?

 

When I became a Christian, at first I did not know what “walking in the Spirit” meant. As a matter of fact, there were many things about my new spiritual life and future that I had no idea about. However, there was one thing that I knew for sure. I knew that whatever I now had, I did not have before, and that was the desire to know God better. As I began to study God’s word, the Bible became more clear to me, as I took my spiritual knife and began to cut into the Bread of life and break it off piece by piece, mentally ingesting it into my daily life.  Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. That verse is telling us not, to walk as our flesh dictates for us to, but rather to be controlled by God’s Spirit that dwells within the child of God. Once a person receives Christ into their hearts, their old ways of living ceases to exist and God gives them a new life to start over in. Yes, a person can begin again, start over. While they may have to deal with the consequences of their past sins form that point on, they can live in peace knowing that they have been forgiven. Once a person gets born again, they actually become a new person, a new creation. The old person that they were disappears and the new person is free to live, to love and obey God requires them to. That person now sees and knows that something has truly happened to them that they cannot explain, yet they know, that they know, they have been forgiven and made new; and because they know there is a difference from the old life to their new life, it simply urges them to live differently, having new desires that compel them to obedience to God.

 

If, a person does not experience a new change and they continue to live in the same state that they were in prior to asking Christ to forgive them and save them, the scripture describes them as being deceived. If there is no change, there must have been no real repentance. For true repentance brings change. Living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are two different things. You cannot have Christ come into your life and have no heart change concerning sin. Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit”. If one is in (lives) the Spirit, let him walk in therein. Like a new born baby learns to crawl and then walk, drink milk before they take on solid foods, so the child of God must follow that same process. Walking does not come automatically, it takes time and effort. But nevertheless, the true child of God craves the things of God and to do His will. As they seek God by learning about Him and obeying Him, they began to grow and walk in Him. Being saved allows a person the right to become the children of God. As they walk in the truth that is shown to them by and through the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God, their new spiritual inclination is to walk deeper and talk to him on a deeper level, and when that happens God is honored and walks with them. I John 2:6 says, “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” The Christian life is a life of progression, but once a believe understands that the new life they now live, is actually, a life that they no longer live, but a life the Christ lives in and through them, then they will understand what it really means to walk in the Spirit! How is your walking today sweet friend?

 

Loving on you today,

Bren