Far too often we seek the blessing and forsake the Blessor. We seek prosperity, healing, power and forget to seek Him. Living a life out of order we dry up like a leaf without water. Oft asking why God is silent. God desires to bless you more than you do, but will always withhold blessings if it interferes with His good, pleasing, and perfect will for your life. Most then choose to find a way to meet their needs in a manner more suitable to their intellect, letting their faith and love grow cold. His presence is KEY. (more…)
“I will do anything ….”
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I woke up this morning with a strange song playing in my mind over and over. You may remember the 90’s number one hit by Meatloaf, “I will do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” It was over and over. Waking up with this strange song repeating in my head I began my normal morning. I’ve been reading through Exodus, so I pick up where I left off. I hope you’re familiar with the highlights; God delivers the Israelites out of bondage and they were given gold, silver, clothing by the Egyptians. He then led them through the Red Sea and the enemy army pursuing them is completely destroyed. Pretty impressive and miraculous experiences. God then leads them into the desert and after turning the bitter water sweet He gives them a decree, a law and He tested them. As I read His decree it was like words stood out;
Listen Carefully
Do What is Right
Pay Attention
Keep His Decrees
He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD , who heals you.” – Exodus 15:26 (emphasis mine)
Anytime we receive a directive, revelation, or word from the Lord we can expect, as the Israelites were, to be tested. We will find ourselves in a situation that proves by our actions and words what we believe. God always gives us opportunities to see our heart. Do we say the right thing, or do we DO the right thing? The Israelites walk through miraculous deliverance singing and praising God, rest at an oasis, then in the desert chose not to listen, or do what was right, or pay attention to His commands. They grumbled and failed the test.
As I pondered this, I couldn’t help but question how often I say the right thing yet find myself in the heat of the battle, the test, and do something else. It’s easy to justify looking at others, but the Holy Spirit gently whispers, “Listen Carefully to what I say, Do What is Right, Pay Attention.” It’s the little things we must prove faithful in, then He can trust us with bigger. I know God is love (1 John 4:8), and I trust Him. I choose to pass the tests of life and walk in the grace Jesus provides. I am changing the song in my head, by the grace of God I say, “I will do anything for love period.” How about you?
Take the Challenge
Imagine if everyone decided to read a Psalm or chapter of Proverbs when they woke up before they ever said a word. Imagine if those reading believed the words they read. Imagine if they became reflection of the author of those words; a reflection of Jesus. Lives would improve astronomically. Entire cultures would shift for the better.
When we align our lives, our words, and out actions to the Word of God then we walk in life in abundance.
Take the challenge. Read a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs before you start your day. Read it with eyes of faith, believing they are the words of life. Align your life to match the words you read. You are not the one who merely listens to the word, and deceives yourself, but you are the one who does what it says and walks in life abundantly.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
-1 Peter 1:22
Share what you read and learn by showing it in actions. Share your thoughts and insights in the comments.
Unity is Not Conformity
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Many people, in an attempt seeking to fulfill the scripture of “unity of the body of Christ” found in Ephesians 4, come together and commit to be in agreement. They can agree with their doctrine, dress code, commitment to lead a sinless life, almost anything. The problem is they never find unity. They find a poor imitation of unity; conformity.
People that commit to intimate relationship with God and each other find unity. They live a life founded on God’s love and resulting in family. These people are in the secret place, in unity, where God has bestowed a special blessing.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.Psalm 133
The fundamental difference between being in “agreement” versus being in relationship is seen in our interaction with each other. All relationships need open communication in order to be functional and fulfilling. When people are not equally transparent, accessible, and committed to ongoing dialogue, be assured things will grow stagnant quickly.
Conformity leads quickly to not being real and open, but holding back and drowning in stagnation. Unity is fresh and alive because it is founded on love, not agreement. Think of a marriage. It’s absurd to think a husband and wife will always agree. Agreement doesn’t bind them together it’s their commitment to love each other no matter what. Now they have a safe place that they can disagree and work through things because their relationship is not built on their performance or “agreement,” but on an eternal love that can never be broken. There is freedom in love. Freedom to grow, the opposite of stagnation.
Unity, built on love advances the Kingdom, while conformity advances an agenda which results in stagnation and isolation. We are all called into a divine “relationship of grace” with God, and each other. This requires honest, sincere, open communication on our part, not agreement.
Unity or conformity are both fruit of our actions. Be who God made you to be, love, and share your heart. Others will be attracted to the life in you and God will be glorified.
Love
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Have you ever been loved? I mean like LOVED! Every single empty space inside you just shifts and fills up with this amazing feeling of being loved. Well I have and I want to share some of this love story with you.
I recently returned home from seeing my family in Kentucky. I had such an amazing time and made so many memories that I treasure. This got me to thinking about my family. I have a huge family. My dad was one of 11 children. They all went on to have families of their own and now those kids are making families of their own. I know, that’s what usually happens, but it is on such a large-scale that there are people I have never met. And that seems unacceptable to me. But it is true. I will work on that 🙂 All of these people from literally all over the country come together usually the second weekend in July. The reason we do this is because of love. The person who taught us the most about this love was my Granny.
Eyes are useless when the mind is Blind
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As we approach mid-term elections I experience more and more political encounters that seem to end in train wrecks. Which certainly shouldn’t be real surprising. When both sides have their mind made up and have zero interest in understanding each other than the result will always be a tragic breakdown in communication. Popular opinion is that yelling louder than the other guy somehow helps. It doesn’t. It strengthens the divide and sets people up for offense, bitterness, and a life of distress. Just watch any television news and you will see exactly this.
If we want to nurture any hope whatsoever that the other side may “see the light,” then we MUST be willing to have a conversation. You know, like two real grown ups. Hoping to convince someone of their wrong beliefs or incongruent logic is impossible if you are not willing to put yourself in their shoes. This requires you to enter into the conversation with a willingness to understand and not just a desire to change someone else. The scary part about this is if two adults enter into a conversation with the intent to understand then they may change the way they think. It is possible, however unlikely you believe it to be, that you may discover your logic was incongruent. Easily ignored while in the isolation of our own minds, but obvious to the person sitting across the table talking with us.
Listening leads to effective change while yelling leads to irreconcilable differences. The next conversation you have with someone other than your echo or clone please try to understand their point of view. Ask yourself and them why they believe that. This simple question will help you understand and help them cement their current stance or see the flaw in their thinking. To have a conversation you must be willing to set aside your views, beliefs, and biases and be willing to try to understand the other’s position along with WHY they believe what they believe.
You will be surprised at the results. You probably won’t both walk away agreeing but you will walk away with the start of a relationship. You will walk away with thoughts that churn inside like the sand in an oyster. The Bible tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
We are not as sharp as we think we are. Sit down with someone and have a conversation with a heart to understand. When elections are over we have to be able to reach out across differences and unite as human beings, even if we think differently.
You can Win even if you Fail
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Do you ever feel like you’re stumbling through life? Are you familiar with Kung Fu Panda?
It is a kids movie that came out a few years ago. It is very popular with children, just ask mine, and is a fun story set in ancient China with talking animals fighting evil. The plot revolves around a bumbling panda named Po who aspires to be a kung fu master (the good guy). Po is funny but appears to have no chance of ever coming close to a kung fu master, much less being one. (more…)