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Everyone who sees me makes fun and sneers. They shake their heads, and say, “Trust the Lord! If you are his favorite, let him protect you and keep you safe.” Psalm 22:7-8 (CEV)
It’s a small thing, something I decided to do on a whim of sorts and thought little about it until one day a few weeks ago as my daughter looked over my shoulder at an email I was writing.
The auto signature on my email account has a motto, a statement of my philosophy. It reads, “ENLISTED by His Grace; FORGIVEN by His Blood; EMPOWERED by His Spirit; SUSTAINED by His Resurrection,” and is accompanied by the Built with Grace Logo.
She pointed to that and asked me, does everyone you send an email to get that? I assured her they did. She simply nodded her head and went changed the subject.
I thought about that situation later and about how I’d never realized that ‘everyone would see’ this testimony of my faith with every email. Those who know me probably think nothing of it since they know my faith is important to me. Others may look at it and think I’m some religious fanatic. There may be many, unfortunately, who don’t have a clue as to what it means.
That little incident got me thinking about how many things we do, or don’t do regarding our faith out of fear or uneasiness at the reaction of others. It pleases me when I’m at a restaurant and I see a group at a table thanking God for their food. They aren’t making some statement to the world that they are better than anyone else (at least I hope not), but they are refusing to change their convictions and behavior because of others.
Here in theUnited States of Americawe are blessed with the freedom to openly express our faith in Jesus Christ. I fear for some of my brothers and sisters in Christ who risk their lives if they are caught even mentioning the name of Jesus. I fear the day may be approaching in which we may need to be cautious of our profession of faith.
The Psalmist tells of those who mock and jeer him for his faith. The original language implies that these are words of sarcasm and harassment. They are meant to ridicule, not encourage.
In response to the attacks, the Psalmist reaffirms his faith in God. Like the Apostle Paul states in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (NKJV)”
That doesn’t mean I’ll drop a dump truck load of Christianity on everyone I meet. It does mean that I will refuse to change my words or my actions for others. My faith in Christ isn’t an ‘add-on’. It’s a part of my DNA. Sure, I’ll fail from time to time, but my goal is to show the love of Jesus in everything I do regardless of the smirks, the condescending smiles or outright harassment for my beliefs. It’s the least I can do for my Jesus.
How about you? What changes do you make in your behavior or words because of the crowd you are with? Do you stop and say thanks at a business luncheon? Do you live one way with the church crowd and another in the workplace? Be willing to risk the mocking of this world for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ. I am not ashamed of my faith in you. I thank you for all you have done for me. Show me on a daily basis areas of my life in which I unintentionally change my behavior in ways that may hide my passionate love for you and others. Amen.
We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:26 (GNT)
I have a friend who seems to find great fulfillment in annoying people. He’d never admit it, of course, but it’s almost as if he considers irritating others a spiritual gift of some sort! He would often boast to me about how he cornered people who had differing views politically, theologically or socially. He was a well-versed and well-studied man in both the scriptures and the political scene so his arguments were hard to dispute and his persistence was relentless.
While I agreed with many of his arguments, his tactics bothered me. There was one time in which he actually boasted to me about how he’d offended the people in a particular political party booth. Not surprisingly, my friend had few close friends although he was well known in many circles.
When Paul is writing to the Galatians he is writing to a group of people who were well-versed in doctrine. However, they had taken their knowledge and used it as a platform to let everyone know how ‘right they were’ and had no patience or time for anyone who differed with them theologically or doctrinally. His message to the believers is to refrain from using their knowledge of scripture as a tool to irritate and antagonize those who believed and lived differently than they did.
The key to peace with God is relationship, a relationship built on Jesus Christ. The key to peace with ourselves is confidence in and acceptance of who we are, or, again relationship with ourselves. The key to peace with others is, you guessed it, relationship. To have a strong relationship with others means we are more intent on building peace than arguments.
When we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that most of the conflict we have with other people is the result of our trying to be ‘better’ than someone else either in what we believe or what we do. Jesus, as creator God never used his superior knowledge to antagonize those who needed forgiveness. In the same way, we are called to spread the good news, not adversity. As believers in Jesus Christ we are commissioned to build up not tear down. To live in peace and unity, not antagonize.
Paul admonishes us to ‘live at peace with others when at all possible.’ Don’t be the reason for the strife in your relationships. Hold others in higher esteem than you hold yourself. Living at peace with yourself is the first step to living at peace with others.
There is no place in the Christian life for us to ridicule others, or mock them for their beliefs. People have a right to be wrong and to be valued in spite of their beliefs. We don’t need to agree with others to live at peace with them.
PRAYER: Lord I thank you for who I am. Forgive me for those times when I compare myself and what I have to others. Empower me to live at peace with myself and what you have given me so that I can live at peace with those around me. Amen.
In the same way you younger people must submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5 (GNT)
The story went largely unnoticed. A little boy disappears and for two years no one seemed to notice he was gone. No school inquiries. No social service visits. No neighbors or friends wondering aloud what happened to ‘Johnny’. Not even a mention from the sister. Johnny’s body was discovered two years later.
Horrendous! Unthinkable! To be sure. But, although this is an extreme case, similar things happen all the time. They don’t find these bodies though because they are still up and walking around. They don’t see the wounds because skin still covers them.
‘They’ are the single girl that’s the topic of discussion at the office water cooler. You know the one. She’s the one who’s pregnant…again. No one knows who the father is to this child. Although she is friendly and polite, she hears the whispers. She feels the glares. Wounded and bleeding on the inside, she goes about her tasks, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
‘They’ are the kids on the street corner. You know the ones. Skateboards in hand and jeans at their ankles, they seem unaffected by your stares and unresponsive to your opinion of their dress and their leisure activities.
‘They’ turn up everywhere. They are in every crowd, yet all alone. They are looking for something to hold onto. Something within themselves that tells them they are okay, that reminds them they are worth being loved. They’ve shunned the religious rules and regulations. They’ve found no peace there, no acceptance, no understanding.
For many, too many, they never find it. Never find that someone who assures them that in spite of the baggage they are okay; that regardless of the poor choices they make there is someone who loves them enough to die for them. No judgment. No pre-requisites. No expiration date.
The Apostle Peter remembers the day he felt like that. The day he’d failed miserably and left his best friend alone to die. He remembers, just hours before Jesus’ death the apron he wore to wash Peter’s feet.
Now, he asks us. Will you wear the apron? Will you show others the great love Jesus’ has for you by wearing the apron to serve, accept and love those who others see right through? They are alone and unnoticed; wounded and afraid; ashamed and embarrassed. They are the ones Jesus sent us to find.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you sought me out when I was unlovely. You accepted me when I rejected you. You forgave me when I willfully rebelled against you. Empower me with your Spirit to show others the same humble spirit you showed to me. Help me to wear the apron of humility around those who, while in the crowd, feel completely alone. Amen.
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20 (NIV)
Take a moment to sit back and contemplate what this means: God loves you.
Before you think I’ve totally lost it, take some more time and ponder what this really means.
If you believe God to be Jehovah God, the creator/sustainer of the universe, the one who put all this together, every seen and unseen thing around us. If you believe this God to be the one who steers the hurricanes, rattles the earth during an earthquake, and directs all of nature in its course. Remember. God loves you.
It’s really too huge to wrap your mind around it in some ways. I am so insignificant. My influence on this world will be a in a tiny little corner of the world and for only a few years when compared to eternity. I’m nothing more than a speck on the timeline of eternity! Yet God loves me!
The phrase translated, “And we are in him’ eludes us if we aren’t careful. ‘We are in him.’ To be in him describes the most intimate of relationships. We’ve cheapened that word intimacy to refer to a physical, sexual encounter but it’s so much more than that.
Intimacy speaks of those relationships where we know exactly what the other is thinking. We know their next move; we anticipate correctly their response to a question, a joke, a life event. We laugh with them; we cry with them…we laugh at our crying over silly movies!
How can I, a mere speck, know God so well that I know his thoughts intimately? There is only one way this miracle could happen happen. He had to desire me, long before I could desire him. He had to want to know me so well that he was willing to go to any length to reach me.
That’s where Jesus comes in. A personal, deepening relationship with Jesus Christ allows us to join together in a most intimate of relationships. Jehovah God WANTS to love me. He WANTS to know me. He WANTS to reveal himself to me through his Spirit, nature and his Word. But it all starts with Jesus.
Perhaps I haven’t told you anything new today. You already knew all this? Then take some time to remind yourself of his love and to remind him how thankful you are.
On the other hand, perhaps you are enslaved by fear of the future, frustrations of the present or shadows of your past. For you, ask him to reveal himself through his son Jesus. Jehovah God has been looking for an opportunity to show you his love.
PRAYER: Father, I get busy with my writing. I get busy with family, church, my career and all the good things in life. But sometimes I get so caught up in the good I miss the excellent. Thank you for loving me passionately. Empower me through your Spirit, because of Jesus, to understand you more. Amen.
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! Psalm 21:1 (NIV)
Effective leadership is leadership that acknowledges their success is the result of God’s power and strength and not their own.
As I write this post we are in the midst of Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day was established in 1868 to remember those who had fallen in one of the darkest times ofUShistory, the Civil War. During this time brothers fought against brothers; fathers against sons.
The meaning of this day has lost its impact as we’ve focused more on the beginning of summer, trips to the cabin, picnics and other celebrations. But let us not forget those who died so that we could celebrate freedom in a variety of ways.
Another aspect of our freedom that has become lost over the years is that many of the movements and battles we have fought over the years had moral implications. We went to war not because we enjoyed the fight, but we saw a need to protect the freedom of people groups on our home soil or abroad. Regardless of your political views, this fact can not be denied.
The foundation of theUSAwas laid by men and women who realized the importance of Gods blessing in our endeavors. ‘God BlessAmerica’ was more than a rousing song, it was a life style. It was the motivation for all we did. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and many other presidents and leaders of this country openly testified to the fact that it was by God’s strength, not mans that victory was to be had. It was by God’s working in the lives his people that true joy would come.
True leadership, effective leadership isn’t the result of political programs, electoral colleges or catering to special interest groups. True leadership comes when the Creator God of the Universe is acknowledged as the supreme commander-in-chief. Effective leadership comes when Jesus Christ is acknowledged as the underlying reason to move on.
We don’t need more leaders who rely on their own expertise and ability to bring the crowds to their knees. We need more leaders who fall to their knees themselves in humble adoration to the one who brings ultimate victory.
God BlessAmerica. God Bless those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free. As King David declares, We rejoice in the strength we receive from the King of Kings, Jehovah God.
PRAYER: Lord I thank you this morning for freedom. Not just the political freedom you have granted us by your own hand, but the spiritual freedom we have in Christ Jesus. I pray that our leadership would bow their knees before you in acknowledgement of your greatness. Amen.
