How Do We Pray?

 

How Do We Pray?

 

 

When one of the disciples asks Jesus to teach them how to pray Jesus answers by teaching them the Lord’s Prayer.  But then Jesus continues teaching them more about how to prayer through a story.

 

 Here is His story or parable about prayer.   “Suppose one of you has a friend who goes to his neighbor at midnight and says, ‘Neighbor lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey just dropped in and I have nothing to serve him for dinner.’  Then the neighbor inside the house answers, ‘Don’t bother me.  My door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything.’”  (Luke 11:5-7) 

 

Jesus seems to be teaching here that prayer often occurs because of a sense of need.  In this story the neighbor would probably have never gone over to his friend’s home in the middle of the night to borrow food if he was hungry.  But the need seemed so much greater when his traveling friend needed dinner and he had nothing to give.  In ancient times it was very important be hospitable to a traveler.  How many times do we pray and ask for help or strength or money when we have nothing to give and someone in our care is in need? 

 

Even though the man’s neighbor insisted that he would not get out of bed and unbolt his door the man who wanted the bread didn’t listen to his excuses.  He just kept pounding on the door and begging and crying about how hungry his friend was after his long journey.  Jesus continues with the story.  “I tell you, even though the neighbor will not get up out of bed and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the friend’s boldness and persistence his neighbor finally got up out of bed and gave him as much as he needed.”  (Luke 11:8) 

 

What is Jesus trying to teach us in this story?  Is He teaching us that God is a reluctant God who must be wheedled out of things?  Or is He asking us to be bold and come to God and ask for what we need and pound on the door and know that if a reluctant neighbor would finally answer that of course God will answer? 

 

Jesus doesn’t stop teaching about prayer with this story.  He continues with these instructions on how we should pray.  Jesus says: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds: and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Luke 11: 9-10) 

 

Jesus’ words sound too good to be true.  He continues his teaching with more insights and truths.  Jesus wants us to trust our heavenly Father.  So He tells us:  “What father among you if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent: or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  (Luke 11:11-12) 

 

Jesus is saying that God does not hold out false hopes in prayer:  You as an earthly father would not do that and of course neither will your heavenly Father.  God, our heavenly Father means what He says.  He holds out His hands to us inviting us to ask and receive.

 

 But we are still not sure.  We remember so many times when we have prayed for something and God didn’t give it.  Or perhaps we didn’t receive it?  Just last month we prayed over and over again that our sick dog would get well.  Our vet did everything he could but our beloved dog died, leaving a big hole in our hearts.  So what does this mean?  Did God not answer our prayers?  Or did God answer with a “no” because He sees the beginning from the end and knows what is best? 

 

The apostle Paul had a physical problem – a thorn in his flesh.  Whether this was a real thorn or his “thorn”: represented some physical problem, we don’t know.  But we know that Paul either had a real thorn or a pain or illness that he had to live with- that God did not remove or heal.  Scripture says that Paul prayed three times asking God to remove this painful thorn and God did not remove it.  His answer was “no”.

 

 God answered by saying this to Paul:  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor.12:9)  In the past God had revealed great revelations and visions to Paul and the Holy Spirit was moving with great power through Paul’s ministry.  Perhaps Paul would have become proud and arrogant if he had not had this physical problem to keep him humble.  God knew best. 

 

The Bible tells us that God answers our prayers and gives us what we ask for if it is in His will.  And God’s will is always good and loving.  Here is one of the many Scriptures that speak to this.  “And this is the confidence we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”  (1 John 5:14)  Aren’t you glad that God has to approve what you and I ask for?  He doesn’t just give us a blank check but He tells us to ask and He will co-sign. 

 

We may ask for things that would not work together for good for reasons we can not understand at this time.  God promises to give his followers what will work together for good for them. (Romans 8:28)  We can learn to trust the providence of God since He is all knowing and all seeing and all loving.  Since our walk is a walk of faith, trusting the providence of God is one more way that we can learn to trust God.     

 

Scripture says: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.”  (James 1:6-8)

 

We are told to ask in faith.  God’s gifts are given on the basis of faith and not unbelief.  The problem is what do we do after we pray and ask?  We have faith that God will answer since God is faithful.  God loves to give His children good gifts.  When we ask, we take it for granted that He will answer because He promises that He will.  God loves to be trusted and faith lays hold of what He gives.  Jesus says: “Ask and it shall be given.”  Thank God and move out on it, trusting that God is answering.  

 

Scripture tells us that we are God’s children because we have been “born again” when we believed in Jesus as Savior.  (John 3:16)  We can not come into God’s presence on our own since we are sinners and God is holy.  But we can come to God through Jesus Christ because in Christ we are cleansed from all our sins.  So when we come to the Father God we come in the Name of Jesus and when we pray to God we pray in the Name of Jesus.  All of God’s promises to us are through Christ.      

 

When Jesus said “Seek and you shall find” it would seem that there might be an element of time involved in the seeking. Prayer is not just asking but it can be seeking and knocking too.  Seeking or searching is a process, a series of acts.  Something may be lost and we search for it.  We pray for insight, for understanding, and for help.  We may have to search or knock for a long time before we find, or wait for years before we receive.  Abraham and Sarah waited almost seventy years for the son God had promised them to be born.  In our modern generation we want to get what we ask for instantly.  But often we have to wait awhile for God’s answer to be fulfilled.  We, like Abraham, need to keep trusting while we are waiting.

 

It takes power to live a Christian life.  And God gives us this power by giving us the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus as our Savior.  We can open our lives to the Holy Spirit or we can shut Him out and try to run our own lives.  The Holy Spirit will be a river of life flowing out of us if we keep asking and believing that He is there working through us.  And if we don’t keep trusting God that mighty river can slow down and be a tiny stream in our lives.  Trusting God keeps the door open.

 

Our heavenly Father is here beside us with His hands outstretched towards us inviting us to believe and ask and seek and knock.  He is asking us to stand on His promises. Promising us that if we ask in His will even the most difficult problems will be taken care of.  And promising us that in the end there will be victory for things we have almost given up on if we believe His promises.  Scripture says:  “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all “Yes” in Christ.  And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”  (2 Cor. 1:20).

 

  God’s promises to us are all “Yes” in Christ!  And we are to say “Amen” to (or to trust in) all of God’s promises!

 

 

Some of these ideas are taken from Ray C. Stedman’s article,” Prayer’s Certainties”. 

     

 

 

 

 

 

An Invitation to Enter "His Rest"

 

An Invitation to Enter “His Rest”

 

 

We knew Joe and Linda from church.  Young and in love and excited about their faith.  They were newly married and were the leaders of our church youth group. But then Joe got a job teaching high school in a small town several hundred miles away. Our church threw them a going-away party and we helped them pack their car.  Linda was excited about the move since she thought it would be nice to live in a small town where they would know everyone.  She and Joe would be part of a loving community of kindly neighbors. 

 

But then two years later Joe and Linda were back from their small town and people were shaking their heads.  The first time I saw Joe I didn’t recognize him.  Our church had hired him as a gardener and when I saw him gardening and walked over to greet him he hid behind a tree.  There was fear all over his face. He was afraid of me – afraid of people.  We were shocked at how much he had changed in those two years.

 

Linda told us that Joe had suffered a mental breakdown while they were living in this  town.  The pastor of a church in the town didn’t like them for some reason and told all of his church members that Linda and Joe were bad people.  He preached against them from the pulpit and spread stories about them.  Soon the whole town had heard the pastor’s rumors and Linda and Joe were shunned by everyone – isolated – and treated as if they didn’t exist.  No one in this mean town would speak to Linda or Joe for the two years that they were there.  Two long years of hate - a hate that nearly destroyed them - and worse yet a hate from so called fellow Christians!  

 

During this dark time Linda had become ill and Joe had not been able to function.  When Linda was too sick to care for their new baby, no one was there to help.  Battered and broken in spirit this young couple came stumbling back home to live with their parents until they could get back on their feet.  We church members tried to reach out to them and love them back into our church.

 

But it took time for Joe to come around – to feel comfortable again with other people, especially good Christian people.  He needed lots of time to regain his bearings.  He would have flash backs and panic when he was among friends.  Become fearful that he might say the wrong thing. Worry that he would be attacked and rejected again.  And Linda kept wondering what was wrong with her personality – why so many people had rejected her.  Surely she must be a flawed person or a whole town wouldn’t have hated her so much.  They must have had a good reason to not speak to her?  She lost confidence in herself and was a shell of the friendly outgoing person she had once been.

 

I have never forgotten Joe and Linda.  Never forgotten how a church of judgmental Christians could bully this young couple – tear them down to almost nothing in just two short years.  Hate is an evil and powerful force!  Especially in the hands of people who call themselves Christians with values?  God commands His children to live lives of love and forgiveness.  And Scripture says that Christians are to be known by their love. (John 13:35)  I have to wonder about some Christians today who seem to be known by their never ending self righteous hate!   

 

When a whole town treated Linda and Joe as if they were failures they also began to think of themselves as failures.  Their self images were shattered and their very lives were almost destroyed  .We will probably never face a whole town full of people who treat us badly, but all of us at some time in our lives will probably face rejection from a few people that we care about.  And it will be emotionally painful.

 

 When a friend doesn’t want to see us anymore we may be like Linda and wonder if there is something wrong with us.  Sometimes our self image is built on what our friends think of us.  Or if we lose a job or a position we may think of ourselves as a failure. We must not give in to our feelings because feelings are changeable and fickle.  We need to give God our reputations and let Him be in charge of them and ask Him to deliver us from caring too much about what people think about us.  Scripture says that Satan is the accuser of believers (Rev.12:10) and he wants us to have a negative attitude about ourselves and to feel hopeless.

 

 But God has come to give us life and hope and a positive attitude.  If we ever find ourselves depressed and wondering if we are a failure we need to change our negative self image by reading what the Bible has to say about ourselves.  Yes, the Bible has a lot to say about us – about believers in Jesus – about followers of Christ.  Let’s start viewing our self image as God views it.  Let’s see what Scripture says about you and me, and who we really are!.

 

First of all the Bible says that God doesn’t see us as alone or all by ourselves but God sees us “in Christ”.  Scripture says that we believers are acceptable in the Beloved (the Beloved is Jesus).(Ephesians 1:6)  We are “in Christ” and we “can do all things through Christ” (Phil.4:13)  We are the branches and He is the Vine.  He chose us and we accepted Him.  Scripture says that Jesus will present us blameless and faultless to God, if we place our trust in Him.  (1 Cor. 1:7-8)   Scripture says that we are “joint heirs” with Christ.  We share His inheritance, His righteousness, (He gives us His own righteousness) and His holiness.(He gives us His holiness)   -We will see the fullness of this in heaven!  (Romans 8:17)

 

Because we believe in Christ we have His Spirit living in us and helping and guiding us.  We are to “live by faith”.  Have faith that Jesus’ Spirit is with us and give Him our lives – our problems – and ask for His guidance.  He will give us His guidance and His grace and power and joy.  Our self-image won’t be hung up so much on what other people think because Christ will give us freedom and boldness and confidence.  Knowing our position in Christ will give us confidence.  

 

When we are made right with God, we start to talk right and act right and think right.  The Holy Spirit is working in us and we are growing in Christ.  This is the “new and living way” mentioned in the Bible. (Heb.10:20)  Scripture says that we are more than conquerors through Christ.  (Romans 5:17)  We need to change our poor self image and start seeing ourselves as more than conquerors “in Christ”.  We need to learn to speak victoriously.  Move into our new identity in Christ. 

 

When we make mistakes let’s confess them to God and receive His forgiveness.  Peter denied Christ three times and yet he pressed past that sin and God used him to bring many people into the kingdom.  And Matthew was a hated tax collector and probably cheated people.  But he turned from his sin and accepted God’s forgiveness and became one of the twelve disciples.  (Mark 2:14)  Let’s accept God’s forgiveness too and put our past in the past. Let’s not sit in judgment on ourselves for past sins after God has already forgiven us.  . 

 

All of the great men and women of God had weaknesses.  But they accepted God’s forgiveness and God used them.  Scripture says that “His (Jesus’) strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)  He will help us in our weaknesses and cover them with His strength.  Where we stop, He will begin.  Let’s do our best but give ourselves permission not to be perfect.

 

The world tries to push us into its mold.  And if we try to please everybody and struggle to live up to all that we are told that we should do and be we will end up exhausted and guilt ridden and depressed.   But God calls us to a different way of living.  He calls us to enjoy our lives and to “enter His rest”. (Heb.4:3) We can remember that our lives are hidden “in Christ”. Jesus speaks to us, His followers, and says:  “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am meek and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls.”  (Matthew 11:29)  

 

We can choose either way.  We can try to run our own lives and run ourselves ragged making the right impressions and pleasing everybody and feeling guilty about what we didn’t get done.  Or we can take Jesus’ yoke upon us and live our lives “in Him” and enter into His joy and “rest”. What will it be? 

 

 

Some of these Scriptures and ideas were taken from Joyce Meyers’ book, “Approval Addiction, Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone” 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

Our Pharisaical Fungus Infection

Our Pharisaical Fungus Infection

 

 

Way back in 1980, the then President, Jimmy Carter, observed that the United States was undergoing a “crisis of confidence” caused by the selfish, worship of consumerism.  He observed that “piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives that have no purpose or meaning.” Although many believed that Carter wasn’t a particularly successful President, his observations regarding the malaise besetting our culture were both very Christian and very astute.  Consumerism in its many forms has discouraged community and encouraged radical individualism.  It has also promoted harmful changes to our sex and marriage mores.  Radical consumerism, manifested in our media, has also been a factor in the gruesome rise of violence that is brutalizing our society.

 

The response of Evangelical Christians to this crisis of meaning and purpose has been puzzling. The history and traditions of the Evangelical church has been one of simplicity and frugality.  Historically, there was a rejection of the opulence of the Roman Catholic Church and a movement toward simplicity in worship and general Christian demeanor.  This was supported by Scripture (e.g., 2 Cor. 14:33).  This orientation carried into the 1960’s; “worldliness” was something that many Christians were taught to avoid. For example, we have Free Methodist female friends who vividly recall that they were taught to not own or wear jewelry because it was “worldly” and thus offensive to God. My wife and her friends still recall youth-group lectures regarding the necessity of modest clothing and the dangers inherent in enticing males by wearing “worldly and immodest” clothing. Such concern, even among Christians, seems ludicrous today. This all began to change in the 1970’s.

 

 Instead of acknowledging that the increase of consumerism was damaging the Body of Christ and alienating believers from each other and calling for a return to the Christian traditions of simplicity, self-denial and concern about sharing God’s love, the modern Evangelical church embraced consumerism in a whole-hearted manner.  Denominations and Pastors became obsessed with “Church growth,” employing behavioral science and consumerist marketing models to become “successful.” The work of the Holy Spirit has become eclipsed by materialistic schemes to “grow the faith,” largely by forming large and affluent “worship centers.” Most worship centers are in fact large theaters that employ the latest in electronic technology. Sunday services have become theatrical productions that have little to do with individual worship and piety.

 

Predictably, consumerist success led some Evangelical groups into a quest for power. Soon, Evangelical groups began to form alliances with political organizations. This brought increased power, recognition and prominence to these churches and denominations. It did not however, reduce the angst brought by our consumerist culture. In order to assuage the alienation felt by Christians and non-Christians alike in our consumerist society, Evangelical leaders began to focus attention upon sin.  Evidently, this has become a means of distracting the Body of Christ from the real cause of its alienation.  Note that this focus is not about sin in general, but on selected and very specific sins. So, for instance, little has been said about the misuse of power or the oppression of the poor, which are major themes in Scripture and major problems in our society.  Rather, Evangelicals have been fixated upon the sexual sins of homosexuality and abortion. To be sure, in terms of Scripture, these behaviors are sinful, but interestingly, they do not warrant the Biblical attention that other, more prevalent, sins do. Why then are Evangelicals fixated on these specific sins?

 

Part of the reason is that U.S. culture has had a very strong orientation towards individualism.  It is not surprising that Evangelical churches favor an individualist worldview. In doing so, it is easy to ignore that there are two types of sin in Scripture: i.e., corporate sin and individual sin. Certainly, “the sins of the nation” occupy a lot of God’s wrath in the Old Testament. This did not go away in the New Testament: God still holds nations accountable for their collective sin. Addressing sins such as oppression of the poor and powerless would force us to focus on collective sin. In the current consumerist church – political alignment atmosphere, this is inconvenient and evidently is not to be even a matter of consideration. 

 

Individual sin has less political - economic implications, so it is safer to condemn.  Interestingly, adultery, a major, individualistic sin in Scripture does not receive the magnitude of condemnation that the chosen “politically correct” sins do because it has become so commonplace.  In our recent presidential campaign a least one prospective candidate had adultery issues which were dismissed out of hand by Evangelical “leaders.”  Homosexuality and abortion are also sins which are products of modernity, which is also seen as more strongly embraced by a particular political party.  Accordingly, the opposing political party, in their alliance with the Evangelical churches has capitalized on utilizing legitimate Christian concern for political gain.  King Herod – the Roman puppet king of Israel – liked to cull out so called “lawbreakers” and “sinful people.”   He would be very familiar with this tactic and championed it as a means of keeping the troubled citizens of Israel happy. 

 

Our faith, which we are expected to contend for, that was entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3), is now being converted into political statements and a series of “don’ts” and judgments.  This judgment of the Pharisees is gradually spreading like a malevolent fungus that is taking over the Evangelical church.  Instead of preaching the joy of God’s love and the wonders of His grace, we rail against very limited and specific sins. Small wonder younger people are no longer associating with Christianity. Condemnation is replacing love and as a consequence His church is becoming irrelevant clanging gongs and cymbals (cf., 1 Cor.13).   All we can say is” even so come quickly Lord Jesus” (Rev.22:20).    This article was written by Brendan Furnish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Your Neighbor

Love Your Neighbor

 

“Love your neighbor,” the Bible tells us.  But this verse goes on to say: “Love your neighbor as yourself.  But if you bite and devour one another be careful that you are not consumed by one another.”  (Galatians 5:14-15)  Paul spoke these words to the church in Galatia.  Evidently the church in Galatia was squabbling and fighting. The members in the church were family in Christ and when one family member “bites and devours” another family member, he is destroying himself as well the verse is saying!  When we hurt the family we belong to we hurt ourselves as well!  And we hurt the heart of God who designed us to live in families.  We have a special duty to protect the unity of the family- both our spiritual and our physical family.     

 

When Jesus was on earth the Jews followed many hundreds of laws.  And no one could ever keep them all.  Once when Jesus was asked what the most important laws were, He answered that just two laws covered everything, making it simple.  And those two laws were: 1.) Love God with all your heart and 2.) Love your neighbor as yourself. 

 

It sounds easy but what if your neighbor is a bad person or does immoral acts!  Or she makes a lot of noise, throws wild parties and keeps you awake all night. Or he doesn’t believe the things that you hold dear and he votes for things that you think are very wrong.  Jesus is not saying to only love your neighbor if she is good enough to deserve your love.  Jesus simply says to love your neighbor!  Following Jesus was never meant to be easy!

 

God calls us to be peacemakers – peacemakers in today’s world where fighting and offensive disagreements seem to be going on all around us.  Joyce Meyers says that probably more damage is done by the spirit of offense than any other spirit.  It is the believer’s number one enemy.  And once an offense breaks out it can be like an infection – it can be contagious.  And we need to treat hateful arguments as we would an infection! Quarantine them –not pass their gossip on and keep them from spreading as much as possible.

 

Offensive anger is a peace stealer, a joy killer, a destroyer of community.  The upset it causes brings hatreds, bitterness, resentments, jealousies, loneliness, suicide, and many more human miseries.  Offensive anger destroys relationships and marriages.  It splits churches and communities.  At this moment in time the anger of a small group of congressmen has even shut down our United States government, causing untold misery.  So offensive anger even has the potential to destroy a great country! 

 

The stress from offensive anger also causes sickness.  Scripture says: “A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.”  (Proverbs 14:30)  God created us to live together in loving community but when we live “biting and devouring” one another, our health is sure to suffer along with everything else that is harmed.

 

We may even find offensive anger in our churches!  Sadly a friend of mine finally had to leave the church that she loved so much – the church she had belonged to all of her life.  The church that had been her loving family - it gradually began to change.  And the warm and loving environment began to cool.  The church members began preaching their hatred for the U.S. government right along with preaching about their love for Jesus Christ! 

 

Church members started arming themselves with military weapons to fight our government -the government they hated so much.  And year after year this hatred grew and grew.  This monster hatred continued growing along with the criticizing and the condemning and the judging!  Until the church group’s growing frenzy of hate – the never ending drum beat of hate –the blind and insane hate– turned reality into fantasy.  And finally the church member’s love for Jesus Christ was lost and gone and drowned out by their on going political hatreds and criticisms.

 

 And for my friend it all became too much.  She misses the way it used to be with her loving church family.  She is alone now and confused.  And now that she doesn’t have a church any longer, she is discouraged about her faith.  It makes me sick.  I wonder how many people have been turned away from Christ by this critical and divisive spirit.   

 

So how do we manage in a world where we find offensive anger everywhere?  The Word says, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone .”  (Romans `12:18)  And then the Bible also instructs us to: “Be angry and sin not.”  (Ephesians 4:26)  And the rest of that verse in Ephesians goes: “Do not let the sun go down in your anger.”  I think this verse is telling us that it is dangerous to hold onto our anger.  Get rid of it quickly- within the day.  Forgive and forget.  Let it go! Give it to God.  I have known people who hold onto their grudges year after year remembering each little offense and replaying each ugly word in their minds as if the argument had just happened.  This is terribly wrong. Our physical wounds heal over time and so should our emotional wounds!  God commands us to forgive one another as He has forgiven us. (Colossians 3:13)    

 

The scripture in Ephesians says: “Be angry and sin not.”  How do we obey these instructions in God’s Word?  We experience righteous anger when we see acts of cruelty or injustice performed.  And God is also angry when He sees these things.  But we are instructed to do what we can to correct injustice but not take our anger out on the other party.  Instead we are to give the ones who angered us to God who will take care of the them. Instead of fighting with the person who angers us we are to pray and give the situation to God.  Romans 12:19 tells us: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s anger, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge: I will repay.” says the Lord.”  We are to rest and let God take care of the situation.

 

Of course if the one who offended us commits a serious crime, we turn them over to the law.   But for non criminal offenses we are to turn the other cheek.  Over and over again in Scripture we are admonished not to sin in our anger.  It is so easy to sin when we are angry!  Scripture says: “And the servant of the Lord must not fight: but be gentle unto all people.”  (2 Tim. 2:24)  Our kindness will often keep offensive anger out.

 

Let’s remember that we are fighting a spiritual battle when fights and disputes come our way.  And we are to fight our spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. –  with a humble spirit and with the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God and the breastplate of righteousness which is Christ.  And with faith and peace and love. It’s a new way to fight. 

 

And we are to follow Jesus – especially stay close and follow Jesus when we are angry and having disagreements!  And when we follow Jesus, He warns us: “If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny (lose sight of himself and his own interests, ignore, disown, forget) himself and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it.  But whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”  (Mark 8:34-35)  It’s not easy to deny one’s self, to lose one’s life, or to take up one’s cross.  None of it is easy.  But no one said that it would be easy to follow Jesus!      .   

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Enjoy Life and Have Good Days

 

How to Enjoy Life and Have Good Days

 

The Bible says:  “For let the person who wants to enjoy life and have good days keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from treachery and deceit.  Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right.  Let him search for peace and go after it eagerly.”  (1 Peter 3:10-11)   

 

I think we all want to have a good life.  This verse gives four things a person can do to have a good life.  1.) Keep your tongue free from evil.  2.)  Turn away from wickedness.  3.)  Do what is right.  and 4.)  Search for peace.

 

The first principle – keeping our tongue free from evil – is more difficult to accomplish than it might appear.  Our words are powerful – they can bring life and blessing into the lives of others or they can bring misery and death.  Our words come out of what is in our hearts so that is why it is so difficult to control our words.  If our hearts aren’t right, you guessed it.  Our words won’t come out right either! 

 

So we not only need to watch our words but we also need to watch our hearts.  If we have the habit of being anxious about how we are going to take care of ourselves, it can cause us trouble .There is nothing wrong with taking care of ourselves and our loved ones, in fact we are supposed to work hard to care for ourselves and our families.  But I said “anxious” self-care.  We do our very best and then we ask God to do what we can not do and trust Him to see us through.  This following scripture illustrates how ugly words and trouble come in through anxious self-care.

 

“You are jealous and want what others have and your desires go unfulfilled: so you become murderers.  You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain what you want, so you fight and war.  You do not have, because you do not ask.”  (James 4:1-2)  We are encouraged here to pray to God and ask Him for the things that we need or want instead of fighting with one another.

 

Joyce Meyer in her book “Life without Strife” writes: “We can live our lives trying to take care of ourselves or we can trust God to take care of us.  God want to take care of us! …Self-care leads to strife.  Trusting God leads to peace.  The strife resulting from self-care will ultimately destroy the people who have failed to trust in God for His care.

 

When things seem out of control and when people are taking advantage of us or harming us we want to strike out and put them down.  If they fight dirty then we want to fight dirty back.  But anxious self-care does not produce supernatural results.  We need supernatural results in our lives that only God can give!  We need to give God our problems and ask for His guidance.  The Bible tells us: “Cast all of your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:7)  Scripture teaches us that God is our defense and our vindicator and our reward, (Psalm 27:1: 59:9 and Matt. 22:44) We need to let God be God in our lives!

 

God has given strong promises to those who love Him.  When we are in trouble we can stand on these promises and be comforted.  One of my favorites is: “Fear not for I am with you, be not afraid for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with the right Hand of My righteousness.”  (Isaiah 41:10)

 

There are other things we can do to “keep our tongues from evil”.  Scripture says: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another just as Christ has forgiven you.”(Ephesians 4:32) Our hearts and our words need to be ruled with the law of kindness.

 

 And we also need to keep our words truthful.  One of the Ten Commandments states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16) We will live the good life when we go after the truth and when we are kind and caring and forgiving of others. 

 

The second thing we need to do to enjoy a good life is to” turn away from wickedness”, according to our verse in 1 Peter. And when Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer (Matt.6:9-13) He also taught us to ask for God’s deliverance from evil.  Staying away from all appearances of evil is a recurring theme throughout Scripture.  We may believe that we aren’t at risk for playing with evil.  We don’t even get near evil we tell ourselves.  We are upstanding folks – we don’t rob banks or harm others. But don’t be too sure!  Think again!  Destructive attitudes and angry hatreds can slip into our hearts and minds when we least expect them to and hide out under our radar screen.  And soon we are dancing with the devil.

 

Scripture says:  “For wherever there is jealousy and contention, there will also be confusion and all sorts of evil and vile practices. (James 3:16)  As we live our lives we will have temptations.  Dark clouds can descend upon us.  Along our way we are sure to encounter disagreements and arguments and troubles. We can count on it!  And these hateful surprises can cause us to hate back in return and our joy and our peace and our good life is gone. .

 

When we least expect it friends betray us; family members stop speaking, insults hurt our feelings.  With the pain and confusion we become angry and judgmental.  And if we are not on guard, the love that burned so brightly in our heart for these dear ones can grow cold.  Yes, the temptations will come!

 

 Like James 3:16 says,-where arguments and jealousy are in the mix, the door is opened to evil and vile practices..We don’t win the argument so we become jealous because we are competitive and winning is important to us!  We are angry that we aren’t getting our way and they think we are wrong!  Why is it so difficult to be wrong?  So important to be right?  Does our pride make it easy for evil to get in the door?  Pride will trip us up every time!

 

We must be vigilant – watchful – staying away from evil is not as easy as we thought!  We are in a war – a spiritual war - onward Christian soldiers!  We have to constantly humble ourselves and keep giving our egos to Christ - hide in Him- give Him our problems and keep giving them to Him when we take them back.  He can take care of our problems no matter how impossible they appear and He promises that He will even if we don’t see it until after we die. But we will be victorious in Him!  We can count on it!   .       

 

The third rule for enjoying a good life according to our scripture verse is: “Do what is right.”  Sounds so simple!  But watch out, it’s harder than you think to do right!  Joyce Meyer writes in “Life without Strife”; “The decision to do right must follow the decision to stop doing wrong.  It may appear that the one automatically follows the other, but it doesn’t.  Both are definite choices.  Repentance is two-fold: it requires turning away from sin and turning to righteousness.  Some people turn from their sin, but they never make the decision to start doing right.  As a result, they are lured back into sin.” (p. 79) So we must make a choice to do good! And keep making that choice! 

 

And the fourth principle for good living in first Peter is, “Search for peace.”  Here we are told to “search” for peace.  We must go out after it and work for it.  To have a peaceful resolution to a problem requires wanting it, picturing it, believing in it, praying for it negotiating for it, humbly giving up something for it, not insisting on always having your own way!

 

When people are treating us badly we feel like fighting back.  Such a natural reaction but then Scripture tells us to “search for peace.” Jesus teaches us a different way to fight our battles.  He spoke these words: “But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  (Matt.5:44)  This is a new way of thinking!  Jesus came to open up a “new and living way.” (Heb.10:20)  We are to minister life instead of death.  We are to be peacemakers.    

 

Living and enjoying God’s “good life” requires fighting a spiritual battle. And we can not fight this battle on our own.  Our victory is in Christ so we must fight our battles in Him.  Jesus tells us:  “I am the Vine and you are the branches.  If any person remains in Me and I in him/her, that person will bear much fruit.  For apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  We can’t do anything outside of Christ!  But if we stay close to Him – in Him – we will bear much fruit.  He is the one who fights our battles.  And He always wins!   

 

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How to be a Peacemaker When We Would Rather Fight

 

How to be a Peacemaker When We Would Rather Fight

 

 

God calls us, His children, to be peacemakers in this troubled world.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He gives each of us a wonderful gift - the gift of His peace.  He promises his followers:  “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you.  Not as the world gives, do I give you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (1 John 14:27)  Jesus has given us peace, but it will slip away from us if we do not make an effort to hang onto it.

 

 It is not so easy to hang onto to the peace that is ours or to be the peacemaker that God calls us to be.  Not so easy at all!  It is easy to argue!  Take sides and become angry.  Scripture says that we are in a spiritual war and if we are to obey God and be peacemakers we will have to fight against strong spiritual powers.  (Ephesians 6:12) 

 

There are so many things to be angry about these days!  When we are angry it’s easy to criticize people, spread gossip and pass judgments.  We feel better about ourselves when we put someone else down.  As Christians we know that God wants us to cooperate and love each other and we usually do love the people that love us back.  But does God expect us to love some of the people that we have good reasons not to love?

 

Well, the answer to that last question is “yes”.  God does call us to love the unlovable.  Jesus tells us to love our enemies.  Hate is not conquered with more hate- but with love.  And evil is not conquered with more evil but with good.  “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  (Romans 12:21)  If we walk in love aggressively, evil will not be able to overtake us. 

 

We can keep the peace by the words we say or do not say.  Wrong words can certainly start trouble.  Scripture says:  “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.”  (Proverbs 15:1)  And “A gentle tongue is a tree of life.”  (Proverbs 15:4)  And a verse I love: “A fool’s anger is quickly and openly known, but a prudent person ignores an insult.”  (Proverbs 12:16) 

 

Most of us have a hard time ignoring an insult because we worry about our reputation.  But God will take care of our reputation.  We don’t need to carry that heavy burden around. There is little hope for peace without a willingness to humble oneself.  Scripture says:  “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  (Proverbs 16:18)  How many divorces have happened because of pride and selfishness?  Neither party is willing to say “I am sorry or “I was wrong.”  We can be God’s peacemakers when we have a humble spirit and apologize when we need to.  And when we don’t have to have our own way all the time.

 

To accomplish being the peacemakers that God has called us to be we need to set our loved ones free to be themselves.  Respect them and understand that our loved ones don’t have to agree with us on everything.  Give up your right to be right.  Agree to disagree and allow the other person the liberty of having her/his own opinions.  If you feel that your loved one’s opinion is wrong and hurtful then pray and trust God to take care of them and you.  All of this requires us to learn to walk away from our selfishness and learn to be humble.  Not an easy task!

 

Joyce Meyers writes in her book, “Life Without Strife”  “One of the best ways to turn around a sour relationship is to ignore the negatives and magnify the positive aspects of that person’s character.”(p.110)   She adds: “I believe many divorces could have been prevented if the marriage partners had magnified each other’s strong points…What a difference it would make in our lives if we could be totally positive.”

 

I still remember the look of sad discouragement on my second cousin Linda’s face as her handsome husband laughingly told some not so nice jokes about her to her relatives and then openly fussed and fumed about her many faults.  I wasn’t surprised when shortly after we heard the news that Linda and her husband were getting a divorce.  Over the years I have talked with many women who have been divorced. And nearly every divorced woman has described her ex as a person who daily criticized her and who found fault with nearly everything she did. Scripture says that real love “keeps no record of wrongs.”  (1 Cor. 13:5b)  Did these failed marriages ever have “real” love in the first place? 

 

 Of course a wife or husband should never overlook a serious problem in a marriage.  Too many marriages are less than they could be because the husbands and wives have the habit of criticizing each other over little things.  The husbands and wives who enjoy grand marriages that are long lasting and loving are the husbands and wives who respect one another and try to build one another up.  These successful husbands and wives give compliments to one another and work together as a team.  And when one isn’t perfect the other knows how to give their spouse a break.  Scripture says: “Love always protects, always trusts (God), always hopes, and always keeps on going.”  (1 Cor. 13:6) 

 

Recently the new Pope Francis called for the Catholic Church to be more about spreading love to hurting souls and less about being so legalistic and judgmental.  Pope Francis realizes that God desires that we live in a climate of love and not in a climate of legalism.  Just before Jesus was arrested and put to death He prayed an intense prayer for us and all of His followers.  He asked: “that they (believers in Him) may be one, as You, Father are in Me and I in You.  That they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.”  (John 17:21) 

 

When Jesus prayed this prayer for you and me He knew that He would soon be whipped and scorned and brutally murdered on a cross.  But during this dark time in His life He  was still concerned about us – His followers and how we would live in the future.  He was praying that we believers would stay together and be one in the Spirit.  That we would give up our hatreds and prejudices and love and forgive and protect one another.  And that the world would be attracted to His love shining out from us and from our churches.  And that hurting souls would come to this Jesus and be saved through the witness of our love..

 

This was – and is – the deep desire of Jesus’ heart - that His followers would be as one - unified and loving and forgiving of one another.  That is what He prayed for.  Are we willing to do what it takes to answer His prayers? 

   

Some of the ideas in this blog were taken from “Life without Strife” by Joyce Meyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

What Does the Bible Say About Death?

What Does the Bible Say About Death?

 

 

It seems that the apostle Paul listed death as one of the many things we have been given - one of our belongings.  This is what he wrote: “All things belong to you, your teachers Paul and Apollos and Cephas belong to you and also life and death and things present and future; they all belong to you, and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.”  (1Corinthians 3:21-23) 

 

We have been given many things in this package called life – and death is one of the things in the package.  We don’t want it but it is there just the same.  We fear death, hope it won’t come for a long time, wish it would go away.  But there are some good reasons why we have to die!

 

In the beginning God had warned our first parents, Adam and Even that if they ate the fruit growing on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that they would die.  Adam and Eve probably did not know what dying meant since nothing ever died in God’s newly created healthy loving world.

 

 But sadly Adam and Eve ignored God and disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit and they began to die from that time on.  They knew right away after they disobeyed that things weren’t the same.  That the world and their lives had somehow been changed for the worse!  Just as God had warned, they were no longer immortal and their bodies would no longer last forever.  And their sin brought all of creation down with them.  And Scripture tells us that all of this broke God’s heart.

 

God told Adam and Eve that because they had sinned they would have to leave their beautiful garden home, the Garden of Eden.  For Adam and Eve it may have seemed like God was punishing them when He drove them out of the Garden of Eden, but really this was proof of God’s kindness.  The Tree of Life was in the middle of the Garden and God was afraid that Adam and Eve might eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and live forever. (Genesis3:22)  So that is why He told them to leave.

 

If Adam and Eve could have stayed in the Garden and eaten the fruit from the Tree of Life, it would have kept them from ever dying!  But then they would live forever in their sin!  Forever is a long time to be stuck in sin and sickness and God had better things for them.  He wanted them well and sinless and with Him in heaven.  God prevented Adam and Eve from eternal sinfulness by giving them the gift of death.  Only death could give them the gift of eternity.  Death, though it would appear to be our greatest enemy, would in the end be our friend! 

 

Let’s read through the Bible and check out some of the things it says about death. First of all the Bible describes death in several ways.  Death is referred to as an exit or a departure.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ and “were speaking of Jesus’ departure (his death) which was about to happen in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31) 

 

And just before His death, Jesus told the disciples that He was going where they could not come.  Peter was upset since he wanted to follow Christ everywhere.  And Jesus lovingly told him,” Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”  (John 13:36)  Paul said about death: “to be absent from the body (to depart from it) is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)  Death is an exit from this world to another place - a departure.

 

Sleep is used as a picture of death in the New Testament.  Perhaps Scripture speaks of death as a restful “sleep” because death is a means of rejuvenation  “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…that they may rest from their labors,…”  (Revelations 14:13)

 

The Bible describes death as a collapsing tent!  Paul speaks of death this way:  “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

 

 Our present body is like a tent, (a temporary structure) where our spirit lives. Tents deteriorate in the face of changing weather and storms.  If used regularly, a tent often needs to be repaired.  A tattered tent is a sign that we will soon have to move.  Death takes us from the tent to the mansion.  Our address changes from earth to heaven.  A tent (our temporal body) reminds us that we are only pilgrims here on earth on our way to our permanent home.

 

Scripture speaks of death as walking with the Lord through a valley while He continually comforts and protects us as a Shepherd takes care of his sheep.  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.  For You are with me.  Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  … and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”  (Psalm 23:4-6)

 

We will be the same person in heaven as we are here on earth, except we will be glorified and purified.  And our desire to sin will no longer be a part of our being.  We will see our family and friends and we will be “known even as we are fully known.”  (1 Corinthians 13:12)  At the point of transition between life and death some people have actually testified that they saw departed relatives awaiting their arrival.  As he was dying, my great grandfather told his children who were gathered around him that he could see his wife who had died years earlier waiting there for his arrival into heaven. 

 

The New Testament doctrine of the resurrection teaches that God intends to put us back together again.  In 1 Corinthians 15 we are given four contrasts between our present bodies and our future ones.  “It (your body) is sown a perishable body, but it is raised an imperishable body.  It is sown in dishonor, and it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness and it is raised in power.  And it is sown a natural body, but it is raised a spiritual body.”  (1 Cor. 15:42-44)    

 

And when the Bible describes heaven, the descriptions go way over the top!  Here are just a few hints as to heaven being more than we can imagine.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  (Romans 8:18)  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”  (!. Cor. 2:9)   And speaking about how we will be in heaven: “You will fill me with joy in Your presence, and at your right Hand are pleasures forever more.”  (Psalm 16:11)   

 

Most of us are fearful of that future time when we will be called upon to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  But we have the promise that God will walk that valley with us.  And we know that even though it may be a deep valley, there will be victory for us on the other side if we belong to Christ.  We have that promise again and again throughout Scripture.   “Oh death, where is your sting?  Oh grave, where is your victory?  …Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 15:55a-56)