You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘changed lives’ tag.
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14
For many people the idea of loving yourself sounds a bit suspicious. This is especially true for Christ-followers who have heard sermons on the dangers of pride and the benefits of being humble. But loving yourself is really the key to having a close relationship with God as well as with others.
Paul summarizes the entire law in one phrase: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. But we can’t love our neighbor until we love ourselves. Loving ourselves means that we are so comfortable with who we are that what others think of us has no bearing on how we feel about ourselves.
Jesus is the ultimate example of love. As the Son of God He knew who He was. That’s why He was able to respond so well to the attacks leveled against Him. Rather than reacting to the attacks in anger or becoming defensive, He responded in love and wisdom.
One of the most well used scriptures about love is I Corinthians 13. We call it ‘The Love Chapter’. The description of love in this chapter should be applied to ourselves before we can apply it to others.
“Love is patient…” We need to be patient with ourselves as we journey through life. Too often we get frustrated when we can’t accomplish a task or we fail once again or we fall into sin. Being patient with ourselves means we work as hard as we can to reach our goals (whatever they may be) while we acknowledge that we are only human. Thank your Heavenly Father every day for the fact that He is patient with you. Your actions and failures never surprise God. He never tires of brushing the dust from our clothes, picking us up and helping us back on the way.
“Love is not arrogant or proud…” Loving yourself means you have a grasp of who you are. You enjoy the gifts God has given you and use them freely and openly for His glory, but, at the same time you realize that your accomplishments are not because of you but because God is using you.
“Love keeps no record of wrongs…” Okay. So you failed again last week. Confess it, repent and ask God to help you do better this time. Loving yourself means that the mistakes of last week are gone! Move on now. Stop beating yourself up. Our Father is ready and willing to forgive you and you should forgive yourself as well.
“Love always protects…” If you love yourself you need to protect yourself. Don’t allow yourself to be put in positions where others can hurt you.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, sometimes it seems like I fail You on a daily basis. I look in the mirror and don’t like what I see. I thank You for loving me as I am, for being patient when I fail, and for forgiving me when I rebel. Help me to live as a child of the King because through Jesus that is who I am! Amen.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
Imagine what it would be like if you were caught red-handed in a crime. You were arrested and brought to jail, and then before the judge. There was no way out. You were guilty. The judge knows it, everyone knows it. Your crime carries the punishment of life in prison with no hope of parole. In essence your life is over. All the freedom, all the dreams, all the hopes for your future have been dashed by this one desperate and stupid decision.
Now imagine that while you are standing before the judge he stands up, comes around the bench and stands beside you. He states to all in the court room that He, Himself, will take full responsibility for your actions. As a result, you are free to go. The judge not only removes the penalty for your sin, but, with the power vested in his position he removes your criminal record as well. You are free to go with no record of any wrong doing. Awesome!
You leave the court room that day and go directly to the local office supply store and by a lanyard to hang around your neck. You hang a sign from your neck that says, “Guilty. Sentenced to life in prison” in big bold letters. Everyone you come in contact with sees the sign and avoids you. If, by chance they don’t see it, you point it out to them, making sure they are aware of your despicable crime.
Everyday that lanyard reminds you of your failure. Some days the weight of it is almost more than you can bear. It keeps you from pursuing your dreams. It affects the relationships you have now, and keeps you from moving ahead to build new, vibrant relationships. Eventually, the weight of the lanyard is too much. You lose it all.
One day you are sitting on the curb and you hear a voice behind you. You turn to see the judge who pardoned you. He has a completely shocked look on his face and asks you what you are doing here. You show him the lanyard and explain how its weight has completely destroyed your life.
The judge sits down on the curb beside you. Gently he reaches around and takes the lanyard from your neck. The relief you feel when the weight of the lanyard is gone is unbelievable. “Thank you!” You say to the judge. He puts his arm around your shoulder and looks into your eyes. “You were never meant to bear this burden,” he says as he looks you straight in the eyes, “I took this from you once. Why take it back. You are free. Now, go! Go enjoy the freedom of life!” With that he takes the lanyard and destroys it before your very eyes and you feel freedom like you have never felt before.
That’s what it means to be free of condemnation. When the apostle Paul penned Romans 8:1 he wanted us to know that we are free. We don’t need to be tied to the sins of our past. They are done. They have been removed by the judge. You are free because of Jesus Christ to enjoy life, to pursue your dreams and to grow healthy strong relationships with those around you.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for taking my sin on the cross. Thank you that I no longer have to be burdened by the mistakes of my past. You know I have made many mistakes, hurt people and destroyed the trust of many. Please forgive me for those sins. I praise you that I am no longer condemned. Empower me to live life free of the feelings of condemnation. I hereby give you my lanyard. Amen.
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” Ruth 2:10
Stereotypically speaking, we guys are supposed to run frantically at the mere mention of a love story. But the story of Ruth and Naomi has always been one of my favorite Bible stories. Imagine for a moment what it must have been like for Naomi. Like any mom, she watched her boys grow with hopes of having grandchildren running around the hut someday, hearing the little pitter-patter of feet on the clay floor, etc. etc.
Naomi and her husband moved with their two sons to a far off land due to famine. Naomi’s husband died and left her alone, as a widow. Hard as that must have been for her, she still had hope since her sons had married two wonderful women that Naomi loved dearly. Someday she would be cared for by her sons and she, in turn, could be the grandma she always hoped to be. Then tragedy struck. Both sons died. Naomi was left alone in a foreign land with no family and no hope. Her only recourse was to return to her homeland and hope to find family, and perhaps a life.
One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, insisted that she go with Naomi. She would rather die with Ruth than to stay in her homeland. That’s loyalty. That’s love! The story gets better when Ruth goes out into the fields and begins to pick up grain after the harvesters came through. She’s noticed by the owner of the field who happens to be related to Naomi. Ruth and found favor in the eyes of Boaz. They fell in love and got married. Naomi finally got her grandson and little could she know that her great-great grandson would be King of Israel. His name? David!
That’s how God works sometimes. He seems to wait until the last possible moment to ‘rescue’ us from bad situations. Naomi could have given up. Ruth could have stayed home and remarried someone from her homeland. Both of these women stepped into the unknown, gave up what little they had and trusted God for the rest. In the midst of their darkest hour God not only provided their immediate needs, He used this situation for good years down the road! We can never know how our decisions for God today will impact our tomorrows.
Don’t let the enemy discourage you. God can use you where ever you are and in whatever circumstance you are in for His glory. Boaz looked on Ruth with favor for no apparent reason and changed Naomi’s and her future. In the same way, God looks on each of His children with favor and wants to change your world. He is preparing you today for whatever you will need to face tomorrow.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the story of Ruth is one more reminder to me that you are an Awesome God of love and provision. Forgive me for the times I fail to remember how much you love me. Help me to live with the realization that my decisions for today will have an eternal impact on those who go behind me. Help me to trust you completely as I make choices that will draw others into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Amen.
For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. Psalm 89:17
When I was growing up we had a big Cornucopia that adorned the Thanksgiving table. It was one of my favorite decorations, although to this day I’m not sure why. There was just something about that horn shaped basket full of brightly colored fruits and vegetables that stirred my made me happy. Now when I look at one it reminds me of the many blessings that we have been given from our heavenly Father.
I wonder if that was on his mind when the Psalmist writes, “by your favor you exalt our horn”? In the original languages the word ‘horn’ refers to strength, so perhaps the New Living Translation gives us a better idea of what the verse means when it says, “You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. Psalm 89:17 (NLT)”.
This part of the Psalm is talking about those people who follow God’s commands and walk with Him. Our Father delights in helping us grow strong. His desire is to see our strength result in healthy vibrant fruit that, in turn, will empower us to live healthy, satisfied lives even in the midst of turmoil.
The fruit of the Cornucopia signifies several things. It shows the hard work, determination and commitment of the farmer to plant, cultivate and harvest the fruit. But all the planting, cultivating and loving care of the plants would be of no use unless the Father provides the growth. The Apostle Paul attests to that when he says, “Some plant, and some water, but God gives the increase.”
The ‘fruit’ our Father has for us is not always physical fruit. At least not right away. His intention is for us to rely on Him for inner strength and inner growth. As we grow closer to Him and rely on him more he gives us the physical things we need to go on. For a crop to grow healthy the weeds and rocks need to be removed and the soil needs an adequate supply of water. Think of rocks and weeds a being those things that keep us from trusting God. It could be worry, addictions, anger, a judgmental attitude or any other number of sins. These things must be removed from our lives and the ‘refreshing water’ of God’s word administered to the dry soil of our lives so that His fruit can grow in us.
The beauty of all of this is that our Father wants us to succeed. He wants to see fruit in our lives. One of the Father’s greatest joys is to give me the strength to make it through challenges of today. That’s why, like a patient farmer, He is willing to patiently and lovingly help us remove the things that keep us from enjoying all that He has for us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, there are too many times when I’ve tried to do things entirely on my own only to find out I’m too weak to accomplish the task. It seems like the fertile soil of my life is strewn with rocks and weeds. Help me this day to trust you to empower me to remove the rocks and weeds in my life and trust you fully to provide my spiritual, emotional and physical needs. Amen.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 1 Peter 1:13-14
On September 11, 2001 the world was shocked into attention by the terrorist attacks leveled against the United States in and around New York City and Washington D. C. The attacks that day served as a wake-up call to the United States of America as well as the rest of the world. The world would never again be the same and security would always be in jeopardy.
In order to try to offer some sort of warning the Department of Homeland Security came up a system to alert us to the possibility of terrorist attacks and/or activity. Threat levels range from Green (low risk of terrorist attack) to Red (high risk of terrorist attack). To authorities it is no longer a question of ‘if’ we are attacked, but ‘when’ we are attacked, and ‘how’?
When the Apostle Peter wrote to the early Christian church his world was equally dangerous. The threat wasn’t nuclear attack or blowing up airplanes or shopping malls of course. In his day Christians were more likely to be used as lion food or as torches to light Nero’s gardens at night. A Christian, or ‘little Christ’s’, as they were mockingly referred to, lived under constant threat of attack.
It’s under these circumstances the Peter pens the warning. “Prepare for action…don’t conform!” The warning still holds true for us today as Christ followers. We are under a ‘threat level of Red’ because our enemy is standing at the door waiting to attack when we least expect it. His attacks aren’t physical but mental and emotional. That’s why Peter tells us to prepare our minds for action. That’s where the battle is fought. We need to live with the knowledge that the enemy is at our door. It isn’t a question of ‘if’ he will attack, but ‘when’ and ‘how’?
The enemies attack on our minds is often a subtle one, telling us that this sin or that sin isn’t so bad. We start to believe the lies we hear about ourselves, about God, about Christianity. We lose sight of who we are and what it really means to be a Christ follower. We take God for granted and take advantage of the fact that we are forgiven. We harbor hatred and unforgiving attitudes towards those who reject us.
Peter tells us to stop thinking as the world thinks. Don’t allow your mind to guide you into a life of negative thoughts about yourself or others. Don’t allow your bodies to become subject to the actions you know are displeasing to Jesus. Focus on making your thoughts and actions take the form of Jesus. Each day, before you even get out of bed ask Jesus to help keep your mind and actions focused on Him. Even though our enemy is powerful, “greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.”
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I confess that I’ve been lulled into being complacent. My thoughts and actions too often take on the form of the world and I find myself succumbing to the attacks and losing the battle. Help me to seek your help and power each day to live with a mind ready for action and a body that refuses to be conformed to the sinful actions of the world. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 