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Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20
How are you today?
The question is a common one when people greet each other. There’s a couple ironies to the question though. Often we ask that without really wanting or waiting for an answer!
Secondly, when we are asked that question we respond with, “good!” or some other sterile generic version of the answer.
Then, of course, there are those people who, when asked, give you a detailed answer much longer you needed. (We tend to avoid that question to those people.)
For those times when we are sincere with each other, the question is a valid one. We want to know how the other person is feeling, what’s going on in their lives and perhaps how we can support/pray for them.
Feelings are powerful. They can determine our outlook on life, affect how we respond to crisis, and impact our relationships.
They also make us vulnerable and that’s the scary part. Few of us would respond to “How are you feeling today” by saying, “I’m feeling really guilty today” or “I’m really ashamed today, thanks for asking.”
During those times when our feelings can get the best of us it’s nice to know God not only knows our deepest, most secret feelings. He is stronger than them!
Rather than focusing on our feelings, which can be fickle, focus on our God and His promises to love, forgive and strengthen us when emotions try to tear us away.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12
I think one of the most shocking things about my illness was what we didn’t know!
The fatigue, the pain I mistook for muscle pain, the spot on my chest were caused by something laying beneath the skin.
Had I seen the whole picture, I would’ve responded differently. But as with a lot of other things in life, I simply didn’t have all the information.
1 Corinthians 13:12 concludes a portion of Paul’s letter dealing with love. We often call it “the love chapter” and portions of it are used in virtually every wedding ceremony.
The love spoken of here isn’t just between husband and wife. This love is to be for all people. Especially those belonging to the body of Jesus.
Paul doesn’t call us to understand. Paul doesn’t challenge us to get all the information before we respond to people and situations. Knowledge and wisdom will never be as powerful as love.
Don’t ever let yourself think you see the whole picture. You don’t. Only God does. Love isn’t based on what we know but on who we know. Through the work of Jesus on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit within us God will reveal what you need to know in order for you to do what He’s called you to do, love.
Love one another patiently. Love one another when you don’t understand or agree. Love one another when you’ve been hurt. Love one another even when you can’t trust.
Someday we’ll understand, but today? Love one another!
“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
I read a story awhile back about a couple who were hiking in the mountains. As they were walking through a beautiful mountain meadow a storm suddenly erupted.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the mountain. Lighting crashed around them. In the midst of an unexpected storm they were vulnerable, scared, and helpless.
Then the rain and hail came. There was no place to run to. No place to take shelter. Then one of them noticed in the distance, a cave. More like a indentation in the rocks. But it offered them shelter in the storm. They ran to the spot and waited out the storm in the safety of the rock.
The Bible tells us that God is our shelter in the midst of a storm. When the enemies of worry, doubt, broken, relationships, or consequences from bad decisions attack us, He is the shelter that we can run to.
Three things I notice about this verse. First of all the shelter doesn’t take us out of the storm, it simply gives us protection during the storms.
The second thing is that we as believers in Jesus need to run to the shelter. We are not automatically protected unless we run to the shelter.
The third thing I notice, is that there is no particular place to run to. We don’t run to a place, we run to a name.
You can carry a name with you everywhere. It’s a shelter you have with you during every storm, you encounter.
Run to the shelter of the name of the Lord. He won’t take you out of the storm, but he will carry you through it.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. 1 Corinthians 6:19
If money were no object what kind of house would you have? Would it be a beach home where every evening you could sit on the beach and watch the sunset?
Would it be a cabin in the mountains where you enjoyed wildlife, solitude and scenery on a daily basis?
Let your mind wander. Dream a bit. Dreaming can be good for the soul. Walk through your dream home. This is where you want to spend your time. Enjoy!
Now imagine you are God. What kind of home would you like to live in? When God formed you in your mothers womb he created you to be the man or woman he wanted to live in. The problem is, He couldn’t live in a place that sin had desecrated. His beautiful home was ravaged like a home destroyed by fire.
But when we turn our lives over to Jesus, he doesn’t reconstruct our home, he recreates it!
Through Jesus we are chosen, a new creation, a brand new temple God himself is pleased to enjoy. You are the Father’s dream home.
Of course, He’s not done yet. Even though we are a new creation there’s still some stuff from the old place. Poor choices…greed…lust…worry…anger, you get the idea. But you are new. You are chosen. With all the blemishes you have you are still His creation.
No one else is like you because he only wanted one of you. You are enough. You are chosen. You are His temple (dream home).
Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:7
In the early 1960’s a picture was published of John F Kennedy Jr playing under the desk of his father, John F Kennedy, president of the United States.
This picture was taken during a time of world crisis, yet John Jr played at the feet of his daddy, totally oblivious to the crisis at hand.
He didn’t understand the severity of what was going on around him. All he knew was he was with daddy and that’s all that mattered.
He didn’t realize that his dad was, at that time, considered the most powerful man in the world. He was with dad and that was all that mattered.
Throughout the Bible, fathers are honored and respected. None of them were perfect. Some were evil. But the standard of fatherhood rested in Jehovah God not in men.
Because of Jesus, I am a child of God! I don’t need to worry when others attack me.
When others fail to have compassion over my situation, my Heavenly Father understands.
When Truth is hard to find, He knows and ordains what goes on in secret. Even when hardships come my way He gives me strength in the attacks.
Even the best earthly dads fail regardless of their intentions. But your Heavenly Father never fails.
He never loses his temper but is always patient.
He believes in you regardless of how many mistakes you make.
No matter what’s going on around you, the seen and the unseen, He’s never surprised, never frustrated, never second guessing his decisions.
He understands you at every stage of life. As an infant he feeds you. As a teenager he guides you. As an adult he encourages you. As a senior citizen he strengthens you.
You are a child of the most high. Live in the power of his promises.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 